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Sample records for previous loading experiment

  1. Numerical simulation of the shot peening process under previous loading conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Romero-Ángeles, B; Urriolagoitia-Sosa, G; Torres-San Miguel, C R; Molina-Ballinas, A; Benítez-García, H A; Vargas-Bustos, J A; Urriolagoitia-Calderón, G

    2015-01-01

    This research presents a numerical simulation of the shot peening process and determines the residual stress field induced into a component with a previous loading history. The importance of this analysis is based on the fact that mechanical elements under shot peening are also subjected to manufacturing processes, which convert raw material into finished product. However, material is not provided in a virgin state, it has a previous loading history caused by the manner it is fabricated. This condition could alter some beneficial aspects of the residual stress induced by shot peening and could accelerate the crack nucleation and propagation progression. Studies were performed in beams subjected to strain hardening in tension (5ε y ) before shot peening was applied. Latter results were then compared in a numerical assessment of an induced residual stress field by shot peening carried out in a component (beam) without any previous loading history. In this paper, it is clearly shown the detrimental or beneficial effect that previous loading history can bring to the mechanical component and how it can be controlled to improve the mechanical behavior of the material

  2. Reliability and smallest worthwhile difference in 1RM tests according to previous resistance training experience in young women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matheus Amarante do Nascimento

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was to determine the familiarization and smallest worthwhile difference (SWD of one-repetition maximum (1RM tests in detrained women according to their previous resistance training experience. Three groups of women with varying amounts of previous resistance training experience were recruited: Novice (n = 27, 1 to 6 months, Intermediate (n = 13, from 7 to 12 months, and Advanced (n = 20, 13 to 24 months. All participants performed four 1RM test sessions in the bench press (BP, squat (SQ, and arm curl (AC. A significant (p< 0.05 (group vs. time interaction was observed in SQ suggesting that more experienced participants needed fewer 1RM test sessions to reach a stable load compared to the less experienced groups. Strength changes (p 0.05, suggesting that experience had no impact on familiarization for these lifts. SWDs suggest that strength gains greater than 2-4% in these lifts would indicate a meaningful improvement in strength beyond random variation from trial to trial no matter the experience of the subject. Women with limited previous resistance training experience do not require more trials to reach load stabilization than those with more experience. Stability of 1RM loads for BP and AC may require only two sessions, while SQ may require at least three trials.

  3. PPOOLEX experiments on dynamic loading with pressure feedback

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puustinen, M.; Laine, J.; Raesaenen, A.

    2011-01-01

    This report summarizes the results of the dynamic loading experiments (DYN series) carried out with the scaled down, two compartment PPOOLEX test facility designed and constructed at LUT. Steam was blown into the dry well compartment and from there through the DN200 vertical blowdown pipe to the condensation pool filled with sub-cooled water. The main purpose of the experiments was to study dynamic loads caused by different condensation modes. Particularly, the effect of counterpressure on loads due to pressure oscillations induced by chugging was of interest. Before the experiments the condensation pool was filled with isothermal water so that the blowdown pipe outlet was submerged by 1.03-1.11 m. The initial temperature of the pool water varied from 11 deg. C to 63 deg. C, the steam flow rate from 290 g/s to 1220 g/s and the temperature of incoming steam from 132 deg. C to 182 deg. C. Non-condensables were pushed from the dry well into the gas space of the wet well with a short discharge of steam before the recorded period of the experiments. As a result of this procedure, the system pressure was at an elevated level in the beginning of the actual experiments. An increased counterpressure was used in the last experiment of the series. The diminishing effect of increased system pressure on chugging intensity and on measured loads is evident from the results of the last experiment. The highest pressure pulses both inside the blowdown pipe and in the condensation pool were about half of those measured with a lower system pressure but otherwise with similar test parameters. The experiments on dynamic loading gave expected results. The loads experienced by pool structures depended strongly on the steam mass flow rate, pool water temperature and system pressure. The DYN experiments indicated that chugging and condensation within the blowdown pipe cause significant dynamic loads in case of strongly sub-cooled pool water. The level of pool water temperature is decisive

  4. PPOOLEX experiments on dynamic loading with pressure feedback

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Puustinen, M.; Laine, J.; Raesaenen, A. (Lappeenranta Univ. of Technology, Nuclear Safety Research Unit (Finland))

    2011-01-15

    This report summarizes the results of the dynamic loading experiments (DYN series) carried out with the scaled down, two compartment PPOOLEX test facility designed and constructed at LUT. Steam was blown into the dry well compartment and from there through the DN200 vertical blowdown pipe to the condensation pool filled with sub-cooled water. The main purpose of the experiments was to study dynamic loads caused by different condensation modes. Particularly, the effect of counterpressure on loads due to pressure oscillations induced by chugging was of interest. Before the experiments the condensation pool was filled with isothermal water so that the blowdown pipe outlet was submerged by 1.03-1.11 m. The initial temperature of the pool water varied from 11 deg. C to 63 deg. C, the steam flow rate from 290 g/s to 1220 g/s and the temperature of incoming steam from 132 deg. C to 182 deg. C. Non-condensables were pushed from the dry well into the gas space of the wet well with a short discharge of steam before the recorded period of the experiments. As a result of this procedure, the system pressure was at an elevated level in the beginning of the actual experiments. An increased counterpressure was used in the last experiment of the series. The diminishing effect of increased system pressure on chugging intensity and on measured loads is evident from the results of the last experiment. The highest pressure pulses both inside the blowdown pipe and in the condensation pool were about half of those measured with a lower system pressure but otherwise with similar test parameters. The experiments on dynamic loading gave expected results. The loads experienced by pool structures depended strongly on the steam mass flow rate, pool water temperature and system pressure. The DYN experiments indicated that chugging and condensation within the blowdown pipe cause significant dynamic loads in case of strongly sub-cooled pool water. The level of pool water temperature is decisive

  5. The effects of individual differences, prior experience and cognitive load on the transfer of dynamic decision-making performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholson, Brad; O'Hare, David

    2014-01-01

    Situational awareness is recognised as an important factor in the performance of individuals and teams in dynamic decision-making (DDM) environments (Salmon et al. 2014 ). The present study was designed to investigate whether the scores on the WOMBAT™ Situational Awareness and Stress Tolerance Test (Roscoe and North 1980 ) would predict the transfer of DDM performance from training under different levels of cognitive load to a novel situation. Participants practised a simulated firefighting task under either low or high conditions of cognitive load and then performed a (transfer) test in an alternative firefighting environment under an intermediate level of cognitive load. WOMBAT™ test scores were a better predictor of DDM performance than scores on the Raven Matrices. Participants with high WOMBAT™ scores performed better regardless of their training condition. Participants with recent gaming experience who practised under low cognitive load showed better practice phase performance but worse transfer performance than those who practised under high cognitive load. The relationship between task experience, situational awareness ability, cognitive load and the transfer of dynamic decision-making (DDM) performance was investigated. Results showed that the WOMBAT™ test predicted transfer of DDM performance regardless of task cognitive load. The effects of cognitive load on performance varied according to previous task-relevant experience.

  6. Loads Providing Ancillary Services: Review of International Experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heffner, Grayson; Goldman, Charles; Kintner-Meyer, Michael

    2007-05-01

    In this study, we examine the arrangements for and experiences of end-use loads providing ancillary services (AS) in five electricity markets: Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), the Nordic market, and the ERCOT and PJM markets in the United States. Our objective in undertaking this review of international experience was to identify specific approaches or market designs that have enabled customer loads to effectively deliver various ancillary services (AS) products. We hope that this report will contribute to the ongoing discussion in the U.S. and elsewhere regarding what institutional and technical developments are needed to ensure that customer loads can meaningfully participate in all wholesale electricity markets.

  7. Specimen loading list for the varying temperature experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qualls, A.L.; Sitterson, R.G.

    1998-01-01

    The varying temperature experiment HFIR-RB-13J has been assembled and inserted in the reactor. Approximately 5300 specimens were cleaned, inspected, matched, and loaded into four specimen holders. A listing of each specimen loaded into the steady temperature holder, its position in the capsule, and the identification of the corresponding specimen loaded into the varying temperature holder is presented in this report

  8. Analysis of previous perceptual and motor experience in breaststroke kick learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ried Bettina

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available One of the variables that influence motor learning is the learner’s previous experience, which may provide perceptual and motor elements to be transferred to a novel motor skill. For swimming skills, several motor experiences may prove effective. Purpose. The aim was to analyse the influence of previous experience in playing in water, swimming lessons, and music or dance lessons on learning the breaststroke kick. Methods. The study involved 39 Physical Education students possessing basic swimming skills, but not the breaststroke, who performed 400 acquisition trials followed by 50 retention and 50 transfer trials, during which stroke index as well as rhythmic and spatial configuration indices were mapped, and answered a yes/no questionnaire regarding previous experience. Data were analysed by ANOVA (p = 0.05 and the effect size (Cohen’s d ≥0.8 indicating large effect size. Results. The whole sample improved their stroke index and spatial configuration index, but not their rhythmic configuration index. Although differences between groups were not significant, two types of experience showed large practical effects on learning: childhood water playing experience only showed major practically relevant positive effects, and no experience in any of the three fields hampered the learning process. Conclusions. The results point towards diverse impact of previous experience regarding rhythmic activities, swimming lessons, and especially with playing in water during childhood, on learning the breaststroke kick.

  9. An experiment for determining the Euler load by direct computation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thurston, Gaylen A.; Stein, Peter A.

    1986-01-01

    A direct algorithm is presented for computing the Euler load of a column from experimental data. The method is based on exact inextensional theory for imperfect columns, which predicts two distinct deflected shapes at loads near the Euler load. The bending stiffness of the column appears in the expression for the Euler load along with the column length, therefore the experimental data allows a direct computation of bending stiffness. Experiments on graphite-epoxy columns of rectangular cross-section are reported in the paper. The bending stiffness of each composite column computed from experiment is compared with predictions from laminated plate theory.

  10. Assessment of LWR piping design loading based on plant operating experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Svensson, P.O.

    1980-08-01

    The objective of this study has been to: (1) identify current Light Water Reactor (LWR) piping design load parameters, (2) identify significant actual LWR piping loads from plant operating experience, (3) perform a comparison of these two sets of data and determine the significance of any differences, and (4) make an evaluation of the load representation in current LWR piping design practice, in view of plant operating experience with respect to piping behavior and response to loading

  11. Influence of previous experience on resistance training on reliability of one-repetition maximum test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ritti-Dias, Raphael Mendes; Avelar, Ademar; Salvador, Emanuel Péricles; Cyrino, Edilson Serpeloni

    2011-05-01

    The 1-repetition maximum test (1RM) has been widely used to assess maximal strength. However, to improve accuracy in assessing maximal strength, several sessions of the 1RM test are recommended. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of previous resistance training experience on the reliability of 1RM test. Thirty men were assigned to the following 2 groups according to their previous resistance training experience: no previous resistance training experience (NOEXP) and more than 24 months of resistance training experience (EXP). All subjects performed the 1RM tests in bench press and squat in 4 sessions on distinct days. There was a significant session × group effect in bench press (F = 3.09; p reliability of the 1RM test is influenced by the subject's previous experience in resistance training. Subjects without experience in resistance training require more practice and familiarization and show greater increases in maximal strength between sessions than subjects with previous experience in resistance training.

  12. Previous experiences and emotional baggage as barriers to lifestyle change - a qualitative study of Norwegian Healthy Life Centre participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Følling, Ingrid S; Solbjør, Marit; Helvik, Anne-S

    2015-06-23

    Changing lifestyle is challenging and difficult. The Norwegian Directorate of Health recommends that all municipalities establish Healthy Life Centres targeted to people with lifestyle issues. Little is known about the background, experiences and reflections of participants. More information is needed about participants to shape effective lifestyle interventions with lasting effect. This study explores how participants in a lifestyle intervention programme describe previous life experiences in relation to changing lifestyle. Semi-structured qualitative in-depth interviews were performed with 23 participants (16 women and 7 men) aged 18 - 70 years. The data were analysed using systematic text condensation searching for issues describing participants' responses, and looking for the essence, aiming to share the basis of life-world experiences as valid knowledge. Participants identified two main themes: being stuck in old habits, and being burdened with emotional baggage from their previous negative experiences. Participants expressed a wish to change their lifestyles, but were unable to act in accordance with the health knowledge they possessed. Previous experiences with lifestyle change kept them from initiating attempts without professional assistance. Participants also described being burdened by an emotional baggage with problems from childhood and/or with family, work and social life issues. Respondents said that they felt that emotional baggage was an important explanation for why they were stuck in old habits and that conversely, being stuck in old habits added load to their already emotional baggage and made it heavier. Behavioural change can be hard to perform as psychological distress from life baggage can influence the ability to change. The study participants' experience of being stuck in old habits and having substantial emotional baggage raises questions as to whether or not Healthy Life Centres are able to help participants who need to make a lifestyle

  13. Perceptual load affects exogenous spatial orienting while working memory load does not.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santangelo, Valerio; Finoia, Paola; Raffone, Antonino; Belardinelli, Marta Olivetti; Spence, Charles

    2008-01-01

    We examined whether or not increasing visual perceptual load or visual working memory (WM) load would affect the exogenous orienting of visuo-spatial attention, in order to assess whether or not exogenous orienting is genuinely automatic. In Experiment 1, we manipulated visual perceptual load by means of a central morphing shape that in some trials morphed into a particular target shape (a rectangle) that participants had to detect. In Experiment 2, the possibility that the presentation of any changing stimulus at fixation would eliminate exogenous orienting was ruled out, by presenting two alternating letters at fixation. In Experiment 3, we manipulated visual WM load by means of arrays consisting of three (low-load) or five (high-load) randomly located coloured squares. The participants had to remember these items in order to judge whether a cued square had been presented in the same or different colour at the end of each trial. In all the experiments, exogenous visuo-spatial attentional orienting was measured by means of an orthogonal spatial cuing task, in which the participants had to discriminate the elevation (up vs. down) of a visual target previously cued by a spatially nonpredictive visual cue. The results showed that increasing the perceptual load of the task eliminated the exogenous orienting of visuo-spatial attention. By contrast, increasing the WM load had no effect on spatial orienting. These results are discussed in terms of the light that they shed on claims regarding the automaticity of visuo-spatial exogenous orienting.

  14. Loads and loads and loads: The influence of prospective load, retrospective load, and ongoing task load in prospective memory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Beat eMeier

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In prospective memory tasks different kinds of load can occur. Adding a prospective memory task can impose a load on ongoing task performance. Adding ongoing task load can affect prospective memory performance. The existence of multiple target events increases prospective load and adding complexity to the to-be-remembered action increases retrospective load. In two experiments, we systematically examined the effects of these different types of load on prospective memory performance. Results showed an effect of prospective load on costs in the ongoing task for categorical targets (Experiment 2, but not for specific targets (Experiment 1. Retrospective load and ongoing task load both affected remembering the retrospective component of the prospective memory task. We suggest that prospective load can enhance costs in the ongoing task due to additional monitoring requirements. Retrospective load and ongoing task load seem to impact the division of resources between the ongoing task and retrieval of the retrospective component, which may affect disengagement from the ongoing task. In general, the results demonstrate that the different types of load affect prospective memory differentially.

  15. Comparing CTH simulations and experiments on explosively loaded rings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braithwaite, C. H.; Aydelotte, Brady; Collins, Adam; Thadhani, Naresh; Williamson, David Martin

    2012-03-01

    A series of experiments were conducted on explosively loaded metallic rings for the purpose of studying fragmentation. In addition to the collection of fragments for analysis, the radial velocity of the expanding ring was measured with photon Doppler velocimetry (PDV) and the arrangement was imaged using high speed photography. Both the ring material and the material used as the explosive container were altered and the results compared with simulations performed in CTH. Good agreement was found between the simulations and the experiments. The maximum radial velocity attained was approximately 380 m/s, which was achieved through loading with a 5g PETN based charge.

  16. Laboratory experiments of bucket foundations under cyclic loading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foglia, Aligi; Ibsen, Lars Bo

    This report collects information on the experimental campaign concerning bucket foundations under lateral cyclic loading conducted by the authors between 2011 and 2014. The report includes a step by step manual on the test procedures and a number of information and graphs for each experiment...

  17. Do emotional intelligence and previous caring experience influence student nurse performance? A comparative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stenhouse, Rosie; Snowden, Austyn; Young, Jenny; Carver, Fiona; Carver, Hannah; Brown, Norrie

    2016-08-01

    Reports of poor nursing care have focused attention on values based selection of candidates onto nursing programmes. Values based selection lacks clarity and valid measures. Previous caring experience might lead to better care. Emotional intelligence (EI) might be associated with performance, is conceptualised and measurable. To examine the impact of 1) previous caring experience, 2) emotional intelligence 3) social connection scores on performance and retention in a cohort of first year nursing and midwifery students in Scotland. A longitudinal, quasi experimental design. Adult and mental health nursing, and midwifery programmes in a Scottish University. Adult, mental health and midwifery students (n=598) completed the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-short form and Schutte's Emotional Intelligence Scale on entry to their programmes at a Scottish University, alongside demographic and previous caring experience data. Social connection was calculated from a subset of questions identified within the TEIQue-SF in a prior factor and Rasch analysis. Student performance was calculated as the mean mark across the year. Withdrawal data were gathered. 598 students completed baseline measures. 315 students declared previous caring experience, 277 not. An independent-samples t-test identified that those without previous caring experience scored higher on performance (57.33±11.38) than those with previous caring experience (54.87±11.19), a statistically significant difference of 2.47 (95% CI, 0.54 to 4.38), t(533)=2.52, p=.012. Emotional intelligence scores were not associated with performance. Social connection scores for those withdrawing (mean rank=249) and those remaining (mean rank=304.75) were statistically significantly different, U=15,300, z=-2.61, p$_amp_$lt;0.009. Previous caring experience led to worse performance in this cohort. Emotional intelligence was not a useful indicator of performance. Lower scores on the social connection factor were associated

  18. Loads and loads and loads: the influence of prospective load, retrospective load, and ongoing task load in prospective memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Beat; Zimmermann, Thomas D.

    2015-01-01

    In prospective memory tasks different kinds of load can occur. Adding a prospective memory task can impose a load on ongoing task performance. Adding ongoing task load (OTL) can affect prospective memory performance. The existence of multiple target events increases prospective load (PL) and adding complexity to the to-be-remembered action increases retrospective load (RL). In two experiments, we systematically examined the effects of these different types of load on prospective memory performance. Results showed an effect of PL on costs in the ongoing task for categorical targets (Experiment 2), but not for specific targets (Experiment 1). RL and OTL both affected remembering the retrospective component of the prospective memory task. We suggest that PL can enhance costs in the ongoing task due to additional monitoring requirements. RL and OTL seem to impact the division of resources between the ongoing task and retrieval of the retrospective component, which may affect disengagement from the ongoing task. In general, the results demonstrate that the different types of load affect prospective memory differentially. PMID:26082709

  19. Loads and loads and loads: the influence of prospective load, retrospective load, and ongoing task load in prospective memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Beat; Zimmermann, Thomas D

    2015-01-01

    In prospective memory tasks different kinds of load can occur. Adding a prospective memory task can impose a load on ongoing task performance. Adding ongoing task load (OTL) can affect prospective memory performance. The existence of multiple target events increases prospective load (PL) and adding complexity to the to-be-remembered action increases retrospective load (RL). In two experiments, we systematically examined the effects of these different types of load on prospective memory performance. Results showed an effect of PL on costs in the ongoing task for categorical targets (Experiment 2), but not for specific targets (Experiment 1). RL and OTL both affected remembering the retrospective component of the prospective memory task. We suggest that PL can enhance costs in the ongoing task due to additional monitoring requirements. RL and OTL seem to impact the division of resources between the ongoing task and retrieval of the retrospective component, which may affect disengagement from the ongoing task. In general, the results demonstrate that the different types of load affect prospective memory differentially.

  20. Effects of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis parasitism on the survival, hematology and bacterial load in channel catfish previously exposed to Edwardsiella ictaluri

    Science.gov (United States)

    The effect of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (Ich) parasitism on survival, hematology and bacterial load in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus, previously exposed to Edwardsiella ictaluri was studied. Fish were exposed to E. ictaluri one day prior to Ich in the following treatments: 1)- infected by...

  1. Load-redistribution strategy based on time-varying load against cascading failure of complex network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Jun; Shi Xin; Wang Kai; Shi Wei-Ren; Xiong Qing-Yu

    2015-01-01

    Cascading failure can cause great damage to complex networks, so it is of great significance to improve the network robustness against cascading failure. Many previous existing works on load-redistribution strategies require global information, which is not suitable for large scale networks, and some strategies based on local information assume that the load of a node is always its initial load before the network is attacked, and the load of the failure node is redistributed to its neighbors according to their initial load or initial residual capacity. This paper proposes a new load-redistribution strategy based on local information considering an ever-changing load. It redistributes the loads of the failure node to its nearest neighbors according to their current residual capacity, which makes full use of the residual capacity of the network. Experiments are conducted on two typical networks and two real networks, and the experimental results show that the new load-redistribution strategy can reduce the size of cascading failure efficiently. (paper)

  2. Modeling and Depletion Simulations for a High Flux Isotope Reactor Cycle with a Representative Experiment Loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chandler, David [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division; Betzler, Ben [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division; Hirtz, Gregory John [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division; Ilas, Germina [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division; Sunny, Eva [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Reactor and Nuclear Systems Division

    2016-09-01

    The purpose of this report is to document a high-fidelity VESTA/MCNP High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) core model that features a new, representative experiment loading. This model, which represents the current, high-enriched uranium fuel core, will serve as a reference for low-enriched uranium conversion studies, safety-basis calculations, and other research activities. A new experiment loading model was developed to better represent current, typical experiment loadings, in comparison to the experiment loading included in the model for Cycle 400 (operated in 2004). The new experiment loading model for the flux trap target region includes full length 252Cf production targets, 75Se production capsules, 63Ni production capsules, a 188W production capsule, and various materials irradiation targets. Fully loaded 238Pu production targets are modeled in eleven vertical experiment facilities located in the beryllium reflector. Other changes compared to the Cycle 400 model are the high-fidelity modeling of the fuel element side plates and the material composition of the control elements. Results obtained from the depletion simulations with the new model are presented, with a focus on time-dependent isotopic composition of irradiated fuel and single cycle isotope production metrics.

  3. Feature binding and attention in working memory: a resolution of previous contradictory findings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Richard J; Hitch, Graham J; Mate, Judit; Baddeley, Alan D

    2012-01-01

    We aimed to resolve an apparent contradiction between previous experiments from different laboratories, using dual-task methodology to compare effects of a concurrent executive load on immediate recognition memory for colours or shapes of items or their colour-shape combinations. Results of two experiments confirmed previous evidence that an irrelevant attentional load interferes equally with memory for features and memory for feature bindings. Detailed analyses suggested that previous contradictory evidence arose from limitations in the way recognition memory was measured. The present findings are inconsistent with an earlier suggestion that feature binding takes place within a multimodal episodic buffer Baddeley, ( 2000 ) and support a subsequent account in which binding takes place automatically prior to information entering the episodic buffer Baddeley, Allen, & Hitch, ( 2011 ). Methodologically, the results suggest that different measures of recognition memory performance (A', d', corrected recognition) give a converging picture of main effects, but are less consistent in detecting interactions. We suggest that this limitation on the reliability of measuring recognition should be taken into account in future research so as to avoid problems of replication that turn out to be more apparent than real.

  4. Mass transfer experiments for the heat load during in-vessel retention of core melt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Park, Hae Kyun; Chung, Bum Jin [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-08-15

    We investigated the heat load imposed on the lower head of a reactor vessel by the natural convection of the oxide pool in a severe accident. Mass transfer experiments using a CuSO{sub 4}–H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} electroplating system were performed based on the analogy between heat and mass transfer. The Ra′{sub H} of 10{sup 14} order was achieved with a facility height of only 0.1 m. Three different volumetric heat sources were compared; two had identical configurations to those previously reported, and the other was designed by the authors. The measured Nu's of the lower head were about 30% lower than those previously reported. The measured angular heat flux ratios were similar to those reported in existing studies except for the peaks appearing near the top. The volumetric heat sources did not affect the Nu of the lower head but affected the Nu of the top plate by obstructing the rising flow from the bottom.

  5. A Survey of Patients' Preoperative Need for Information About Postoperative Pain-Effect of Previous Surgery Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavridou, Paraskevi; Manataki, Adamantia; Arnaoutoglou, Elena; Damigos, Dimitrios

    2017-10-01

    The aim of this study was to determine the kind of information patients need preoperatively about postoperative pain (POP) and whether this is affected by previous surgery experience. A descriptive study design using preoperative questionnaires. Questionnaires with fixed questions related to POP and its management were distributed preoperatively to consenting, consecutive surgical patients. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with previous surgery experience (group A) and patients without previous surgery experience (group B). Of the patients who participated in the study, 94.2% wanted information about POP and 77.8% of them believe that they will feel calmer if they get the information they need. The patients' biggest concern relates to pain management issues after discharge. Next, in order of preference is information about the analgesics that they need to take. The patients want to be informed primarily with a personal interview (59.4%). Previous surgery experience has no effect on patients' needs for information. Most of the patients want to be informed about the management of the POP after being discharged. It is remarkable that patients who had previous surgery experience need the same information with those who had no previous surgery. Copyright © 2016 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Comparative thermal cyclic test of different beryllium grades previously subjected to simulated disruption loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gervash, A.; Giniyatulin, R.; Mazul, I.

    1999-01-01

    Considering beryllium as plasma facing armour this paper presents recent results obtained in Russia. A special process of joining beryllium to a Cu-alloy material structure is described and recent results of thermal cycling tests of such joints are presented. Summarizing the results, the authors show that a Cu-alloy heat sink structure armoured with beryllium can survive high heat fluxes (≥10 MW/m 2 ) during 1000 heating/cooling cycles without serious damage to the armour material and its joint. The principal feasibility of thermal cycling of beryllium grades and their joints directly in the core of a nuclear reactor is demonstrated and the main results of this test are presented. The paper also describes the thermal cycling of different beryllium grades having cracks initiated by previously applied high heat loads simulating plasma disruptions. (orig.)

  7. Impact of Previous Pharmacy Work Experience on Pharmacy School Academic Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mar, Ellena; T-L Tang, Terrill; Sasaki-Hill, Debra; Kuperberg, James R.; Knapp, Katherine

    2010-01-01

    Objectives To determine whether students' previous pharmacy-related work experience was associated with their pharmacy school performance (academic and clinical). Methods The following measures of student academic performance were examined: pharmacy grade point average (GPA), scores on cumulative high-stakes examinations, and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) grades. The quantity and type of pharmacy-related work experience each student performed prior to matriculation was solicited through a student survey instrument. Survey responses were correlated with academic measures, and demographic-based stratified analyses were conducted. Results No significant difference in academic or clinical performance between those students with prior pharmacy experience and those without was identified. Subanalyses by work setting, position type, and substantial pharmacy work experience did not reveal any association with student performance. A relationship was found, however, between age and work experience, ie, older students tended to have more work experience than younger students. Conclusions Prior pharmacy work experience did not affect students' overall academic or clinical performance in pharmacy school. The lack of significant findings may have been due to the inherent practice limitations of nonpharmacist positions, changes in pharmacy education, and the limitations of survey responses. PMID:20498735

  8. Impact of previous pharmacy work experience on pharmacy school academic performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mar, Ellena; Barnett, Mitchell J; T-L Tang, Terrill; Sasaki-Hill, Debra; Kuperberg, James R; Knapp, Katherine

    2010-04-12

    To determine whether students' previous pharmacy-related work experience was associated with their pharmacy school performance (academic and clinical). The following measures of student academic performance were examined: pharmacy grade point average (GPA), scores on cumulative high-stakes examinations, and advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) grades. The quantity and type of pharmacy-related work experience each student performed prior to matriculation was solicited through a student survey instrument. Survey responses were correlated with academic measures, and demographic-based stratified analyses were conducted. No significant difference in academic or clinical performance between those students with prior pharmacy experience and those without was identified. Subanalyses by work setting, position type, and substantial pharmacy work experience did not reveal any association with student performance. A relationship was found, however, between age and work experience, ie, older students tended to have more work experience than younger students. Prior pharmacy work experience did not affect students' overall academic or clinical performance in pharmacy school. The lack of significant findings may have been due to the inherent practice limitations of nonpharmacist positions, changes in pharmacy education, and the limitations of survey responses.

  9. Pay for load demand - electricity pricing with load demand component

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pyrko, Jurek; Sernhed, Kerstin; Abaravicius, Juozas

    2003-01-01

    This publication is part of a project called Direct and Indirect Load Control in Buildings. Peak load problems have attracted considerable attention in Sweden during last three winters, caused by a significant decrease in available reserve power, which is a consequence of political decisions and liberalisation of the electricity market. A possible way to lower peak loads, avoiding electricity shortages and reducing electricity costs both for users and utilities, is to make customers experience the price difference during peak load periods and, in this way, become more aware of their energy consumption pattern and load demand. As of January 1st 2001, one of the Swedish energy utilities - Sollentuna Energi - operating in the Stockholm area, introduced a new electricity tariff with differentiated grid fees based on a mean value of the peak load every month. This tariff was introduced for all residential customers in the service area. The objective of this study is to investigate the extent to which a Load Demand Component, included in electricity pricing, can influence energy use and load demand in residential buildings. What are the benefits and disadvantages for customers and utilities? This paper investigates the impact of the new tariff on the utility and different types of typical residential customers, making comparisons with previous tariff. Keywords Load demand, electricity pricing, tariff, residential customers, energy behaviour

  10. Metal loading in Soda Butte Creek upstream of Yellowstone National Park, Montana and Wyoming; a retrospective analysis of previous research; and quantification of metal loading, August 1999

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boughton, G.K.

    2001-01-01

    Acid drainage from historic mining activities has affected the water quality and aquatic biota of Soda Butte Creek upstream of Yellowstone National Park. Numerous investigations focusing on metals contamination have been conducted in the Soda Butte Creek basin, but interpretations of how metals contamination is currently impacting Soda Butte Creek differ greatly. A retrospective analysis of previous research on metal loading in Soda Butte Creek was completed to provide summaries of studies pertinent to metal loading in Soda Butte Creek and to identify data gaps warranting further investigation. Identification and quantification of the sources of metal loading to Soda Butte Creek was recognized as a significant data gap. The McLaren Mine tailings impoundment and mill site has long been identified as a source of metals but its contribution relative to the total metal load entering Yellowstone National Park was unknown. A tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling study was designed to determine metal loads upstream of Yellowstone National Park.A tracer-injection and synoptic-sampling study was conducted on an 8,511-meter reach of Soda Butte Creek from upstream of the McLaren Mine tailings impoundment and mill site downstream to the Yellowstone National Park boundary in August 1999. Synoptic-sampling sites were selected to divide the creek into discrete segments. A lithium bromide tracer was injected continuously into Soda Butte Creek for 24.5 hours. Downstream dilution of the tracer and current-meter measurements were used to calculate the stream discharge. Stream discharge values, combined with constituent concentrations obtained by synoptic sampling, were used to quantify constituent loading in each segment of Soda Butte Creek.Loads were calculated for dissolved calcium, silica, and sulfate, as well as for dissolved and total-recoverable iron, aluminum, and manganese. Loads were not calculated for cadmium, copper, lead, and zinc because these elements were infrequently

  11. LOFT facility PSS experiments: analysis of wet well vertical loads resulting from transient initiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berta, V.T.

    1977-05-01

    Fourteen experiments on the Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) facility pressure suppression system (PSS) are analyzed in relation to the vertical load generated on the suppression tank in the first 0.5 sec of the transient. Variations in principle parameters affecting the generation of vertical loads were included in the experiments. The internal and external vent submergences are identified from the analysis as being parameters which are first order in influencing the magnitude of the vertical load. These parameters are geometric in nature and depend only on PSS design. Physical parameters of total energy input and rate of energy input to the dry well, which influence the dry well pressurization, also are identified as being first order in influencing the magnitude of the vertical loads. The vertical load magnitude is a direct function of these geometric and physical parameters. The analysis indicates that a small value in any one of the parameters will cause the vertical load to be small and to have little dependence on the magnitude of the other parameters. In addition, the phenomena of nonuniform nonsynchronized vent inlet pressures, which have origins that are either geometric, physical, or a combination of both, act as a significant vertical load reduction mechanism

  12. Loads Providing Ancillary Services: Review of InternationalExperience-- Technical Appendix: Market Descriptions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grayson Heffner, Charles Goldman, Kintner-Meyer, M; Kirby, Brendan

    2007-05-01

    In this study, we examine the arrangements for andexperiences of end-use loads providing ancillary services (AS) in fiveelectricity markets: Australia, the United Kingdom (UK), the Nordicmarket, and the ERCOT and PJM markets in the United States. Our objectivein undertaking this review of international experience was to identifyspecific approaches or market designs that have enabled customer loads toeffectively deliver various ancillary services (AS) products. We hopethat this report will contribute to the ongoing discussion in the U.S.and elsewhere regarding what institutional and technical developments areneeded to ensure that customer loads can meaningfully participate in allwholesale electricity markets.

  13. Age, training, and previous experience predict race performance in long-distance inline skaters, not anthropometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knechtle, Beat; Knechtle, Patrizia; Rüst, Christoph Alexander; Rosemann, Thomas; Lepers, Romuald

    2012-02-01

    The association of characteristics of anthropometry, training, and previous experience with race time in 84 recreational, long-distance, inline skaters at the longest inline marathon in Europe (111 km), the Inline One-eleven in Switzerland, was investigated to identify predictor variables for performance. Age, duration per training unit, and personal best time were the only three variables related to race time in a multiple regression, while none of the 16 anthropometric variables were related. Anthropometric characteristics seem to be of no importance for a fast race time in a long-distance inline skating race in contrast to training volume and previous experience, when controlled with covariates. Improving performance in a long-distance inline skating race might be related to a high training volume and previous race experience. Also, doing such a race requires a parallel psychological effort, mental stamina, focus, and persistence. This may be reflected in the preparation and training for the event. Future studies should investigate what motivates these athletes to train and compete.

  14. Working memory and spatial judgments: Cognitive load increases the central tendency bias.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allred, Sarah R; Crawford, L Elizabeth; Duffy, Sean; Smith, John

    2016-12-01

    Previous work demonstrates that memory for simple stimuli can be biased by information about the distribution of which the stimulus is a member. Specifically, people underestimate values greater than the distribution's average and overestimate values smaller than the average. This is referred to as the central tendency bias. This bias has been explained as an optimal use of both noisy sensory information and category information. In largely separate literature, cognitive load (CL) experiments attempt to manipulate the available working memory of participants in order to observe the effect on choice or judgments. In two experiments, we demonstrate that participants under high cognitive load exhibit a stronger central tendency bias than when under a low cognitive load. Although not anticipated at the outset, we also find that judgments exhibit an anchoring bias not described previously.

  15. Cognitive constraints increase estimation biases: Cognitive load and delay in judgments

    OpenAIRE

    Allred, Sarah; Crawford, L. Elizabeth; Duffy, Sean; Smith, John

    2014-01-01

    Previous work has demonstrated that memory for simple stimuli can be biased by information about the category of which the stimulus is a member. These biases have been interpreted as optimally integrating noisy sensory information with category information. A separate literature has demonstrated that cognitive load can lead to biases in social cognition. Here we link the two, asking whether delay (Experiment 1) and cognitive load (Experiment 2) affect the extent to which observers' memories f...

  16. The Role of Cognitive Load in Intentional Forgetting Using the Think/No-Think Task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noreen, Saima; de Fockert, Jan W

    2017-01-01

    We investigated the role of cognitive control in intentional forgetting by manipulating working memory load during the think/no-think task. In two experiments, participants learned a series of cue-target word pairs and were asked to recall the target words associated with some cues or to avoid thinking about the target associated with other cues. In addition to this, participants also performed a modified version of the n-back task which required them to respond to the identity of a single target letter present in the currently presented cue word (n = 0 condition, low working memory load), and in either the previous cue word (n = 1 condition, high working memory load, Experiment 1) or the cue word presented two trials previously (n = 2 condition, high working memory load, Experiment 2). Participants' memory for the target words was subsequently tested using same and novel independent probes. In both experiments it was found that although participants were successful at forgetting on both the same and independent-probe tests in the low working memory load condition, they were only successful at forgetting on the same-probe test in the high working memory load condition. We argue that our findings suggest that the high load working memory task diverted attention from direct suppression and acted as an interference-based strategy. Thus, when cognitive resources are limited participants can switch between the strategies they use to prevent unwanted memories from coming to mind.

  17. Differential effects of cognitive load on emotion: Emotion maintenance versus passive experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeFraine, William C

    2016-06-01

    Two separate lines of research have examined the effects of cognitive load on emotional processing with similar tasks but seemingly contradictory results. Some research has shown that the emotions elicited by passive viewing of emotional images are reduced by subsequent cognitive load. Other research has shown that such emotions are not reduced by cognitive load if the emotions are actively maintained. The present study sought to compare and resolve these 2 lines of research. Participants either passively viewed negative emotional images or maintained the emotions elicited by the images, and after a delay rated the intensity of the emotion they were feeling. Half of trials included a math task during the delay to induce cognitive load, and the other half did not. Results showed that cognitive load reduced the intensity of negative emotions during passive-viewing of emotional images but not during emotion maintenance. The present study replicates the findings of both lines of research, and shows that the key factor is whether or not emotions are actively maintained. Also, in the context of previous emotion maintenance research, the present results support the theoretical idea of a separable emotion maintenance process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  18. Response of porous beryllium to static and dynamic loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Isbell, W.M.; Walton, O.R.; Ree, F.H.

    1977-07-01

    Previous investigstions of the mechanical response of porous materials to dynamic loading have been extended to include the shock wave response of a brittle metal. The complex response of berylliums of 85 to 90 percent porosity in two initial conditions has been examined in a theoretical and experimental program to be described. The study has resulted in the development of constitutive relations placed in hydrocodes which are capable of accurately predicting wave propagation in the berylliums. A comprehensive set of static (0 to 4 Gpa) and dynamic (0 to 35 Gpa) experiments was performed to measure the behavior of these brittle, porous materials to imposed loads. The results of the experiments guided a modeling effort which added several new features to previous models, including deviatoric stresses, porosity-dependent relaxation time of pore closure, elastic-plastic reopening of pores, and improved compaction functions.

  19. Response of porous beryllium to static and dynamic loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Isbell, W.M.; Walton, O.R.; Ree, F.H.

    1977-07-01

    Previous investigstions of the mechanical response of porous materials to dynamic loading have been extended to include the shock wave response of a brittle metal. The complex response of berylliums of 85 to 90 percent porosity in two initial conditions has been examined in a theoretical and experimental program to be described. The study has resulted in the development of constitutive relations placed in hydrocodes which are capable of accurately predicting wave propagation in the berylliums. A comprehensive set of static (0 to 4 Gpa) and dynamic (0 to 35 Gpa) experiments was performed to measure the behavior of these brittle, porous materials to imposed loads. The results of the experiments guided a modeling effort which added several new features to previous models, including deviatoric stresses, porosity-dependent relaxation time of pore closure, elastic-plastic reopening of pores, and improved compaction functions

  20. The Effect of Previous Co-Worker Experience on the Survival of Knowledge Intensive Start-Ups

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Timmermans, Bram

    The aim of the paper is to investigate the effect of previous co-worker experience on the survival of knowledge intensive start-ups. For the empirical analysis I use the Danish Integrated Database of Labor Market Research (IDA). This longitudinal employer-employee database allows me to identify co-worker...... experience among all members of the firm. In addition, I will make a distinction between ordinary start-ups and entrepreneurial spin-offs. The results show that previous co-worker experience has a positive effect on new firm survival. This effect appears to be valid predominantly for ordinary start-ups than...

  1. Load-following performance and assessment of CANDU fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tayal, M.; Floyd, M.; Rattan, D.; Xu, Z.; Manzer, A.; Lau, J. [Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, Mississauga, Ontario (Canada); Kohn, E. [Ontario Power Generation, Fuel and Fuel Channel Analysis Dept., Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    1999-09-01

    Load following of nuclear reactors is now becoming an economic necessity in some countries. When nuclear power stations are operated in a load-following mode, the reactor and the fuel may be subjected to step changes in power on a weekly, daily, or even hourly basis, depending on the grid's needs. This paper updates the previous surveys of load-following capability of CANDU fuel, focusing mainly on the successful experience at the Bruce B station. As well, initial analytical assessments are provided that illustrate the capability of CANDU fuel to survive conditions other than those for which direct in-reactor evidence is available. (author)

  2. Cognitive load selectively influences the interruptive effect of pain on attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, David J; Eccleston, Christopher; Keogh, Edmund

    2017-10-01

    Pain is known to interrupt attentional performance. Such interference effects seem to occur preferentially for tasks that are complex and/or difficult. However, few studies have directly manipulated memory load in the context of pain interference to test this view. Therefore, this study examines the effect of experimental manipulations of both memory load and pain on 3 tasks previously found to be sensitive to pain interference. Three experiments were conducted. A different task was examined in each experiment, each comprising of a high- and low-cognitive load versions of the task. Experiment 1 comprised an attention span (n-back) task, experiment 2 an attention switching task, and experiment 3 a divided attention task. Each task was conducted under painful and nonpainful conditions. Within the pain condition, an experimental thermal pain induction protocol was administered at the same time participants completed the task. The load manipulations were successful in all experiments. Pain-related interference occurred under the high-load condition but only for the attention span task. No effect of pain was found on either the attentional switching or divided attention task. These results suggest that while cognitive load may influence the interruptive effect of pain on attention, this effect may be selective. Because pain affected the high-load version of the n-back task but did not interrupt performance on attentional switching or dual-task paradigms, this means that our findings did not completely support our hypotheses. Future research should explore further the parameters and conditions under which pain-related interference occurs.

  3. Dynamic Response and Failure Mechanism of Brittle Rocks Under Combined Compression-Shear Loading Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Yuan; Dai, Feng

    2018-03-01

    A novel method is developed for characterizing the mechanical response and failure mechanism of brittle rocks under dynamic compression-shear loading: an inclined cylinder specimen using a modified split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) system. With the specimen axis inclining to the loading direction of SHPB, a shear component can be introduced into the specimen. Both static and dynamic experiments are conducted on sandstone specimens. Given carefully pulse shaping, the dynamic equilibrium of the inclined specimens can be satisfied, and thus the quasi-static data reduction is employed. The normal and shear stress-strain relationships of specimens are subsequently established. The progressive failure process of the specimen illustrated via high-speed photographs manifests a mixed failure mode accommodating both the shear-dominated failure and the localized tensile damage. The elastic and shear moduli exhibit certain loading-path dependence under quasi-static loading but loading-path insensitivity under high loading rates. Loading rate dependence is evidently demonstrated through the failure characteristics involving fragmentation, compression and shear strength and failure surfaces based on Drucker-Prager criterion. Our proposed method is convenient and reliable to study the dynamic response and failure mechanism of rocks under combined compression-shear loading.

  4. Low cognitive load strengthens distractor interference while high load attenuates when cognitive load and distractor possess similar visual characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minamoto, Takehiro; Shipstead, Zach; Osaka, Naoyuki; Engle, Randall W

    2015-07-01

    Studies on visual cognitive load have reported inconsistent effects of distractor interference when distractors have visual characteristic that are similar to the cognitive load. Some studies have shown that the cognitive load enhances distractor interference, while others reported an attenuating effect. We attribute these inconsistencies to the amount of cognitive load that a person is required to maintain. Lower amounts of cognitive load increase distractor interference by orienting attention toward visually similar distractors. Higher amounts of cognitive load attenuate distractor interference by depleting attentional resources needed to process distractors. In the present study, cognitive load consisted of faces (Experiments 1-3) or scenes (Experiment 2). Participants performed a selective attention task in which they ignored face distractors while judging a color of a target dot presented nearby, under differing amounts of load. Across these experiments distractor interference was greater in the low-load condition and smaller in the high-load condition when the content of the cognitive load had similar visual characteristic to the distractors. We also found that when a series of judgments needed to be made, the effect was apparent for the first trial but not for the second. We further tested an involvement of working memory capacity (WMC) in the load effect (Experiment 3). Interestingly, both high and low WMC groups received an equivalent effect of the cognitive load in the first distractor, suggesting these effects are fairly automatic.

  5. "My math and me": Nursing students' previous experiences in learning mathematics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Røykenes, Kari

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, 11 narratives about former experiences in learning of mathematics written by nursing students are thematically analyzed. Most students had a positive relationship with the subject in primary school, when they found mathematics fun and were able to master the subject. For some, a change occurred in the transition to lower secondary school. The reasons for this change was found in the subject (increased difficulty), the teachers (movement of teachers, numerous substitute teachers), the class environment and size (many pupils, noise), and the student him- or herself (silent and anonymous pupil). This change was also found in the transition from lower to higher secondary school. By contrast, some students had experienced changes that were positive, and their mathematics teacher was a significant factor in this positive change. The paper emphasizes the importance of previous experiences in learning mathematics to nursing students when learning about drug calculation. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  6. The influence of previous subject experience on interactions during peer instruction in an introductory physics course: A mixed methods analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vondruska, Judy A.

    Over the past decade, peer instruction and the introduction of student response systems has provided a means of improving student engagement and achievement in large-lecture settings. While the nature of the student discourse occurring during peer instruction is less understood, existing studies have shown student ideas about the subject, extraneous cues, and confidence level appear to matter in the student-student discourse. Using a mixed methods research design, this study examined the influence of previous subject experience on peer instruction in an introductory, one-semester Survey of Physics course. Quantitative results indicated students in discussion pairs where both had previous subject experience were more likely to answer clicker question correctly both before and after peer discussion compared to student groups where neither partner had previous subject experience. Students in mixed discussion pairs were not statistically different in correct response rates from the other pairings. There was no statistically significant difference between the experience pairs on unit exam scores or the Peer Instruction Partner Survey. Although there was a statistically significant difference between the pre-MPEX and post-MPEX scores, there was no difference between the members of the various subject experience peer discussion pairs. The qualitative study, conducted after the quantitative study, helped to inform the quantitative results by exploring the nature of the peer interactions through survey questions and a series of focus groups discussions. While the majority of participants described a benefit to the use of clickers in the lecture, their experience with their discussion partners varied. Students with previous subject experience tended to describe peer instruction more positively than students who did not have previous subject experience, regardless of the experience level of their partner. They were also more likely to report favorable levels of comfort with

  7. Impact of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on Situational Judgement Test performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schripsema, Nienke R; van Trigt, Anke M; Borleffs, Jan C C; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

    2017-05-01

    Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are increasingly implemented in medical school admissions. In this paper, we investigate the effects of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on SJT performance. The SJT was part of the selection process for the Bachelor's degree programme in Medicine at University of Groningen, the Netherlands. All applicants for the academic year 2015-2016 were included and had to choose between learning communities Global Health (n = 126), Sustainable Care (n = 149), Intramural Care (n = 225), or Molecular Medicine (n = 116). This choice was used as a proxy for vocational interest. In addition, all graduate-entry applicants for academic year 2015-2016 (n = 213) were included to examine the effect of previous academic experience on performance. We used MANCOVA analyses with Bonferroni post hoc multiple comparisons tests for applicant performance on a six-scenario SJT. The MANCOVA analyses showed that for all scenarios, the independent variables were significantly related to performance (Pillai's Trace: 0.02-0.47, p performance on three scenarios (p performance on two scenarios (p performance, as was previous academic experience. Gender and age were related to performance on SJT scenarios in different settings. Especially the first effect might be helpful in selecting appropriate candidates for areas of health care in which more professionals are needed.

  8. Simulation of Stochastic Loads for Fatigue Experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Brincker, Rune

    1989-01-01

    process by a Markov process. Two different spectra from two tubular joints in an offshore structure (one narrow banded and one wide banded) are considered in an example. The results show that the simple direct method is quite efficient and results in a simulation speed of about 3000 load cycles per second......A simple direct simulation method for stochastic fatigue-load generation is described in this paper. The simulation method is based on the assumption that only the peaks of the load process significantly affect the fatigue life. The method requires the conditional distribution functions of load...... ranges given the last peak values. Analytical estimates of these distribution functions are presented in the paper and compared with estimates based on a more accurate simulation method. In the more accurate simulation method samples at equidistant times are generated by approximating the stochastic load...

  9. Simulation of Stochastic Loads for Fatigue Experiments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, John Dalsgaard; Brincker, Rune

    process by a Markov process. Two different spectra from two tubular joints in an offshore structure (one narrow banded and one wide banded) are considered in an example. The results show that the simple direct method is quite efficient and is results in a simulation speed at about 3000 load cycles per......A simple direct simulation method for stochastic fatigue load generation is described in this paper. The simulation method is based on the assumption that only the peaks of the load process significantly affect the fatigue life. The method requires the conditional distribution functions of load...... ranges given the last peak values. Analytical estimates of these distribution functions are presented in the paper and compared with estimates based on a more accurate simulation method. In the more accurate simulation method samples at equidistant times are generated by approximating the stochastic load...

  10. Attentional capture under high perceptual load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosman, Joshua D; Vecera, Shaun P

    2010-12-01

    Attentional capture by abrupt onsets can be modulated by several factors, including the complexity, or perceptual load, of a scene. We have recently demonstrated that observers are less likely to be captured by abruptly appearing, task-irrelevant stimuli when they perform a search that is high, as opposed to low, in perceptual load (Cosman & Vecera, 2009), consistent with perceptual load theory. However, recent results indicate that onset frequency can influence stimulus-driven capture, with infrequent onsets capturing attention more often than did frequent onsets. Importantly, in our previous task, an abrupt onset was present on every trial, and consequently, attentional capture might have been affected by both onset frequency and perceptual load. In the present experiment, we examined whether onset frequency influences attentional capture under conditions of high perceptual load. When onsets were presented frequently, we replicated our earlier results; attentional capture by onsets was modulated under conditions of high perceptual load. Importantly, however, when onsets were presented infrequently, we observed robust capture effects. These results conflict with a strong form of load theory and, instead, suggest that exposure to the elements of a task (e.g., abrupt onsets) combines with high perceptual load to modulate attentional capture by task-irrelevant information.

  11. Microcrack propagation under multiaxial loading - experiment and simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poetter, K.; Suhartono, A.; Yousefi, F.; Zenner, H.; Duewel, V.; Schram, A.

    2000-01-01

    The accuracy of lifetime prediction for technical components subjected to cyclic loading is still not satisfying. One essential reason for the deviation between the results of the lifetime calculation and experimental results is that it is not yet possible to generate a model capable to describe the microstructural damage process which occurs in the tested material and to integrate this model in the calculation. All of the present research results recognize that the growth of microcracks is significantly influenced by the microstructure of the material. In order to take into account the influence of the microstructure on the damage process a simulation model is suggested in this paper which considers the local stress state in addition to the random nature of the material structure in the form of grain boundaries and slip systems. The results generated by means of the simulation model are compared and verified with those experiences obtained from multiaxial fatigue testing of the investigated aluminum material. For this purpose the surfaces of the tested specimens are carefully observed to discover and analyze microcracks which are classified according to their number, length, and orientation. Moreover the mechanisms of crack initiation and propagation are major points of interest for the comparison of theoretical and experimental results. The developed computer software is suitable to simulate the microcrack initiation, the propagation and coalescence of microcracks as well as the transition of stage I cracks to stage II cracks for uniaxial and multiaxial loading. Results obtained from the simulation model could be verified with the experiment. The future aim to be emphasized is the utilization of the parameter investigations carried out with the computer simulation model in order to improve the lifetime prediction. (orig.)

  12. The impact of cognitive load on delayed recall.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Camos, Valérie; Portrat, Sophie

    2015-08-01

    Recent studies have suggested that long-term retention of items studied in a working memory span task depends on the refreshing of memory items-more specifically, on the number of refreshing opportunities. However, it was previously shown that refreshing depends on the cognitive load of the concurrent task introduced in the working memory span task. Thus, cognitive load should determine the long-term retention of items assessed in a delayed-recall test if such retention relies on refreshing. In two experiments, while the amount of refreshing opportunities remained constant, we varied the cognitive load of the concurrent task by either introducing tasks differing in their attentional demands or varying the pace of the concurrent task. To verify that this effect was related to refreshing and not to any maintenance mechanism, we also manipulated the availability of subvocal rehearsal. Replicating previous results, increasing cognitive load reduced immediate recall. This increase also had a detrimental effect on delayed recall. Conversely, the addition of concurrent articulation reduced immediate but not delayed recall. This study shows that both working and episodic memory traces depend on the cognitive load of the concurrent task, whereas the use of rehearsal affects only working memory performance. These findings add further evidence of the dissociation between subvocal rehearsal and attentional refreshing.

  13. An Examination of Game-Based Learning from Theories of Flow Experience and Cognitive Load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lai, Chih-Hung; Chu, Chih-Ming; Liu, Hsiang-Hsuan; Yang, Shun-Bo; Chen, Wei-Hsuan

    2013-01-01

    This study aims to discuss whether game-based learning with the integration of games and digital learning could enhance not only the flow experience in learning but achieve the same flow experience in pure games. In addition, the authors discovered that whether the game-based learning could make learners to reveal higher cognitive load. The…

  14. E-learning, dual-task, and cognitive load: The anatomy of a failed experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Nuland, Sonya E; Rogers, Kem A

    2016-01-01

    The rising popularity of commercial anatomy e-learning tools has been sustained, in part, due to increased annual enrollment and a reduction in laboratory hours across educational institutions. While e-learning tools continue to gain popularity, the research methodologies used to investigate their impact on learning remain imprecise. As new user interfaces are introduced, it is critical to understand how functionality can influence the load placed on a student's memory resources, also known as cognitive load. To study cognitive load, a dual-task paradigm wherein a learner performs two tasks simultaneously is often used, however, its application within educational research remains uncommon. Using previous paradigms as a guide, a dual-task methodology was developed to assess the cognitive load imposed by two commercial anatomical e-learning tools. Results indicate that the standard dual-task paradigm, as described in the literature, is insensitive to the cognitive load disparities across e-learning tool interfaces. Confounding variables included automation of responses, task performance tradeoff, and poor understanding of primary task cognitive load requirements, leading to unreliable quantitative results. By modifying the secondary task from a basic visual response to a more cognitively demanding task, such as a modified Stroop test, the automation of secondary task responses can be reduced. Furthermore, by recording baseline measures for the primary task as well as the secondary task, it is possible for task performance tradeoff to be detected. Lastly, it is imperative that the cognitive load of the primary task be designed such that it does not overwhelm the individual's ability to learn new material. © 2015 American Association of Anatomists.

  15. Concentrated loads on concrete

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lorenzen, Karen Grøndahl; Nielsen, Mogens Peter

    1997-01-01

    This report deals with concentrated loads on concrete.A new upper bound solution in the axisymmetrical case of a point load in the center of the end face of a cylinder is developed.Based on previous work dealing with failure mechanisms and upper bound solutions, new approximate formulas are devel......This report deals with concentrated loads on concrete.A new upper bound solution in the axisymmetrical case of a point load in the center of the end face of a cylinder is developed.Based on previous work dealing with failure mechanisms and upper bound solutions, new approximate formulas...

  16. Previous experience in manned space flight: A survey of human factors lessons learned

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chandlee, George O.; Woolford, Barbara

    1993-01-01

    Previous experience in manned space flight programs can be used to compile a data base of human factors lessons learned for the purpose of developing aids in the future design of inhabited spacecraft. The objectives are to gather information available from relevant sources, to develop a taxonomy of human factors data, and to produce a data base that can be used in the future for those people involved in the design of manned spacecraft operations. A study is currently underway at the Johnson Space Center with the objective of compiling, classifying, and summarizing relevant human factors data bearing on the lessons learned from previous manned space flights. The research reported defines sources of data, methods for collection, and proposes a classification for human factors data that may be a model for other human factors disciplines.

  17. Impact of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on Situational Judgement Test performance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schripsema, Nienke R.; Trigt, van Anke M.; Borleffs, Jan C. C.; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

    Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are increasingly implemented in medical school admissions. In this paper, we investigate the effects of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on SJT performance. The SJT was part of the selection process for the Bachelor's degree

  18. Optimized core loading sequence for Ukraine WWER-1000 reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dye, M.; Shah, H.

    2015-01-01

    Fuel Assemblies (WFAs) experienced mechanical damage of the grids during loading at both South Ukraine 2 (SU2) and South Ukraine 3 (SU3). The grids were damaged due to high lateral loads exceeding their strength limit. The high lateral loads were caused by a combination of distortion and stiffness of the mixed core fuel assemblies and significant fuel assembly-to-fuel assembly interaction combined with the core loading sequence being used. To prevent damage of the WFA grids during core loading, Westinghouse has developed a loading sequence technique and loading aides (smooth sided dummies and top nozzle loading guides) designed to minimize fuel assembly-to-fuel assembly interaction while maximizing the potential for successful loading (i.e., no fuel assembly damage and minimized loading time). The loading sequence technique accounts for cycle-specific core loading patterns and is based on previous Westinghouse WWER core loading experience and fundamental principles. The loading aids are developed to “open-up” the target core location or to provide guidance into a target core location. The Westinghouse optimized core loading sequence and smooth sided dummies were utilized during the successful loading of SU3 Cycle 25 mixed core in March 2015, with no instances of fuel assembly damage and yet still provided considerable time savings relative to the 2012 and 2013 SU3 reload campaigns. (authors)

  19. Impact of Vocational Interests, Previous Academic Experience, Gender and Age on Situational Judgement Test Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schripsema, Nienke R.; van Trigt, Anke M.; Borleffs, Jan C. C.; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke

    2017-01-01

    Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) are increasingly implemented in medical school admissions. In this paper, we investigate the effects of vocational interests, previous academic experience, gender and age on SJT performance. The SJT was part of the selection process for the Bachelor's degree programme in Medicine at University of Groningen, the…

  20. [Effect of previous experience in reacting to a danger signal on "open field" behavior in the rat].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poltyreva, T E; Petrov, E S

    1983-01-01

    Modification of rats behaviour in an "hopen field" test was investigated, induced by an acoustic stimulus, previously subjected to conditioning in a shuttle chamber in experiments with possibility and impossibility of avoidance from electrical shock. It has been established that presentation of a stimulus having the meaning of a danger signal, in a new situation, significantly suppresses investigating behaviour of rats, whereas the stimulus which had not been subjected to conditioning exerts no marked effect on behaviour. The greatest suppression was observed in rats with "learned helplessness". This fact suggests that the degree of suppression of the behaviour in an open field in response to a danger signal, depends on the animal's previous experience in reacting to this signal.

  1. Measurements of loop antenna loading in RF heating experiments on the KT-5C tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhai Kan; Deng Bihe; Wen Yizhi; Wan Shude; Liu Wandong; Yu Wen; Yu Changxun

    1997-01-01

    A new method to measure the loop antenna loadings in the RF wave heating experiments (IBWH at reasonable RF power with relatively low frequency) on the KT-5C device is presented. The method is characterized by determining the RF current ratio only, so it eases the needs of instruments and simplifies the requirements for calibration and data processing in the experiments

  2. The relationship between emotional intelligence, previous caring experience and mindfulness in student nurses and midwives: a cross sectional analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snowden, Austyn; Stenhouse, Rosie; Young, Jenny; Carver, Hannah; Carver, Fiona; Brown, Norrie

    2015-01-01

    Emotional Intelligence (EI), previous caring experience and mindfulness training may have a positive impact on nurse education. More evidence is needed to support the use of these variables in nurse recruitment and retention. To explore the relationship between EI, gender, age, programme of study, previous caring experience and mindfulness training. Cross sectional element of longitudinal study. 938year one nursing, midwifery and computing students at two Scottish Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) who entered their programme in September 2013. Participants completed a measure of 'trait' EI: Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire Short Form (TEIQue-SF); and 'ability' EI: Schutte's et al. (1998) Emotional Intelligence Scale (SEIS). Demographics, previous caring experience and previous training in mindfulness were recorded. Relationships between variables were tested using non-parametric tests. Emotional intelligence increased with age on both measures of EI [TEIQ-SF H(5)=15.157 p=0.001; SEIS H(5)=11.388, p=0.044]. Females (n=786) scored higher than males (n=149) on both measures [TEIQ-SF, U=44,931, z=-4.509, pemotional intelligence. Mindfulness training was associated with higher 'ability' emotional intelligence. Implications for recruitment, retention and further research are explored. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  3. Laterally loaded masonry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Raun Gottfredsen, F.

    In this thesis results from experiments on mortar joints and masonry as well as methods of calculation of strength and deformation of laterally loaded masonry are presented. The strength and deformation capacity of mortar joints have been determined from experiments involving a constant compressive...... stress and increasing shear. The results show a transition to pure friction as the cohesion is gradually destroyed. An interface model of a mortar joint that can take into account this aspect has been developed. Laterally loaded masonry panels have also been tested and it is found to be characteristic...... that laterally loaded masonry exhibits a non-linear load-displacement behaviour with some ductility....

  4. Experimenting with Electrical Load Sensing on a Backhoe Loader

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Torben Ole; Hansen, Michael Rygaard; Pedersen, Henrik Clemmensen

    2005-01-01

    Where traditional load sensing is made using hydro-mechanical regulators and load pressure is fed back hydraulically, electrical load sensing employs the usage of electronic sensors and electrically actuated components. This brings forth new possibilities, but also imposes problems concerning...... dynamic performance and stability. In this paper the possibilities for implementing electrical load sensing (ELS) on a backhoe loader is investigated. Major components in the system are modelled and verified, and a linear model of the pump is presented, which is used for designing the pump controller....... By comparing results from linear analyses performed on both the conventional hydraulic load sensing system (HLS) and the modified electrical load sensing system, it is concluded that system performance closely matching the conventional system is obtainable....

  5. Results of the critical experiments concerning OTTO loading at the critical HTR-test facility KAHTER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drueke, V.; Litzow, W.; Paul, N.

    1982-12-01

    Critical experiments concerning OTTO loading are described. In the KAHTER facility an OTTO loading has been simulated, therefore the original KAHTER assembly was reconstructed. The determination of critical masses and reactivity worths of control rods and of additional absorber rods in the top reflector and in the upper cavity was of main interest for comparison with reactor following calculations. Besides this, reaction rates in different energy regions were measured in the upper part of the core, in the cavity and top reflector. (orig.) [de

  6. Opposite effects of capacity load and resolution load on distractor processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Weiwei; Luck, Steven J

    2015-02-01

    According to the load theory of attention, an increased perceptual load reduces distractor processing whereas an increased working memory load facilitates distractor processing. Here we raise the possibility that the critical distinction may instead be between an emphasis on resolution and an emphasis on capacity. That is, perceptual load manipulations typically emphasize resolution (fine-grained discriminations), whereas working memory load manipulations typically emphasize capacity (simultaneous processing of multiple relevant stimuli). To test the plausibility of this hypothesis, we used a visual working memory task that emphasized either the number of items to be stored (capacity load, retaining 2 vs. 4 colors) or the precision of the representations (resolution load, detecting small vs. large color changes). We found that an increased capacity load led to increased flanker interference (a measure of distractor processing), whereas an increased resolution load led to reduced flanker interference. These opposite effects of capacity load and resolution load on distractor processing mirror the previously described opposite effects of perceptual load and working memory load.

  7. Reducing cognitive load in the chemistry laboratory by using technology-driven guided inquiry experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hubacz, Frank, Jr.

    The chemistry laboratory is an integral component of the learning experience for students enrolled in college-level general chemistry courses. Science education research has shown that guided inquiry investigations provide students with an optimum learning environment within the laboratory. These investigations reflect the basic tenets of constructivism by engaging students in a learning environment that allows them to experience what they learn and to then construct, in their own minds, a meaningful understanding of the ideas and concepts investigated. However, educational research also indicates that the physical plant of the laboratory environment combined with the procedural requirements of the investigation itself often produces a great demand upon a student's working memory. This demand, which is often superfluous to the chemical concept under investigation, creates a sensory overload or extraneous cognitive load within the working memory and becomes a significant obstacle to student learning. Extraneous cognitive load inhibits necessary schema formation within the learner's working memory thereby impeding the transfer of ideas to the learner's long-term memory. Cognitive Load Theory suggests that instructional material developed to reduce extraneous cognitive load leads to an improved learning environment for the student which better allows for schema formation. This study first compared the cognitive load demand, as measured by mental effort, experienced by 33 participants enrolled in a first-year general chemistry course in which the treatment group, using technology based investigations, and the non-treatment group, using traditional labware, investigated identical chemical concepts on five different exercises. Mental effort was measured via a mental effort survey, a statistical comparison of individual survey results to a procedural step count, and an analysis of fourteen post-treatment interviews. Next, a statistical analysis of achievement was

  8. Discrimination and anger control as pathways linking socioeconomic disadvantage to allostatic load in midlife.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zilioli, Samuele; Imami, Ledina; Ong, Anthony D; Lumley, Mark A; Gruenewald, Tara

    2017-12-01

    Recent evidence suggests that experiences of discrimination contribute to socioeconomic status health disparities. The current study examined if the experience and regulation of anger-an expected emotional response to discrimination-serves as an explanatory factor for the previously documented links between socioeconomic disadvantage (SED), discrimination, and allostatic load. Data were drawn from the second wave of the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study and included 909 adults who participated in the biomarkers subproject. Results revealed that perceived discrimination was associated with higher levels of allostatic load. Furthermore, we found evidence that perceived discrimination and anger control sequentially explained the relationship between SED and allostatic load, such that greater discrimination was associated with lower levels of anger control, which, in turn accounted for the effects of discrimination on allostatic load. These results remained significant after controlling for negative affect, positive affect, other forms of anger expression, as well as demographic covariates. Our findings suggest that low anger control may be an important psychological pathway through which experiences of discrimination influence health. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Multiaxial loading of large-diameter, thin-walled tube rock specimens

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hecker, S.S.; Petrovic, J.J.

    1981-01-01

    A large-scale mechanical testing facility permits previously impossible thin-walled tube multiaxial loading experiments on rock materials. Constraints are removed regarding tube wall thickness in relation to rock microstructural features and tube diameter as well as test machine load capacity. Thin-walled tube studies clarify the influence of intermediate principal stress sigma 2 on rock fracture and help define a realistic rock fracture criterion for all multiaxial stressing situations. By comparing results of thin-walled and thick-walled tube fracture investigations, effects of stress gradients can be established. Finally, influence of stress path on rock fracture, an area largely ignored in current rock failure criteria, can be examined in detail using controlled loading changes as well as specimen prestrains

  10. IL4 gene polymorphism and previous malaria experiences manipulate anti-Plasmodium falciparum antibody isotype profiles in complicated and uncomplicated malaria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalambaheti Thareerat

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The IL4-590 gene polymorphism has been shown to be associated with elevated levels of anti-Plasmodium falciparum IgG antibodies and parasite intensity in the malaria protected Fulani of West Africa. This study aimed to investigate the possible impact of IL4-590C/T polymorphism on anti-P. falciparum IgG subclasses and IgE antibodies levels and the alteration of malaria severity in complicated and uncomplicated malaria patients with or without previous malaria experiences. Methods Anti-P.falciparum IgG subclasses and IgE antibodies in plasma of complicated and uncomplicated malaria patients with or without previous malaria experiences were analysed using ELISA. IL4-590 polymorphisms were genotyped using RFLP-PCR. Statistical analyses of the IgG subclass levels were done by Oneway ANOVA. Genotype differences were tested by Chi-squared test. Results The IL4-590T allele was significantly associated with anti-P. falciparum IgG3 antibody levels in patients with complicated (P = 0.031, but not with uncomplicated malaria (P = 0.622. Complicated malaria patients with previous malaria experiences carrying IL4-590TT genotype had significantly lower levels of anti-P. falciparum IgG3 (P = 0.0156, while uncomplicated malaria patients with previous malaria experiences carrying the same genotype had significantly higher levels (P = 0.0206 compared to their IL4-590 counterparts. The different anti-P. falciparum IgG1 and IgG3 levels among IL4 genotypes were observed. Complicated malaria patients with previous malaria experiences tended to have lower IgG3 levels in individuals carrying TT when compared to CT genotypes (P = 0.075. In contrast, complicated malaria patients without previous malaria experiences carrying CC genotype had significantly higher anti-P. falciparum IgG1 than those carrying either CT or TT genotypes (P = 0.004, P = 0.002, respectively. Conclusion The results suggest that IL4-590C or T alleles participated differently in the

  11. Tolerance of Artemia to static and shock pressure loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzmaurice, B. C.; Appleby-Thomas, G. J.; Painter, J. D.; Ono, F.; McMillan, P. F.; Hazael, R.; Meersman, F.

    2017-10-01

    Hydrostatic and hydrodynamic pressure loading has been applied to unicellular organisms for a number of years due to interest from food technology and extremophile communities. There is also an emerging interest in the response of multicellular organisms to high pressure conditions. Artemia salina is one such organism. Previous experiments have shown a marked difference in the hatching rate of these organisms after exposure to different magnitudes of pressure, with hydrostatic tests showing hatching rates at pressures up to several GPa, compared to dynamic loading that resulted in comparatively low survival rates at lower pressure magnitudes. In order to begin to investigate the origin of this difference, the work presented here has focussed on the response of Artemia salina to (quasi) one-dimensional shock loading. Such experiments were carried out using the plate-impact technique in order to create a planar shock front. Artemia cysts were investigated in this manner along with freshly hatched larvae (nauplii). The nauplii and cysts were observed post-shock using optical microscopy to detect motility or hatching, respectively. Hatching rates of 18% were recorded at pressures reaching 1.5 GPa, as determined with the aid of numerical models. Subjecting Artemia to quasi-one-dimensional shock loading offers a way to more thoroughly explore the shock pressure ranges these organisms can survive.

  12. Minimizing Load Effects on NA4 Gear Vibration Diagnostic Parameter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dempsey, Paula J.; Zakrajsek, James J.

    2001-01-01

    NA4 is a vibration diagnostic parameter, developed by researchers at NASA Glenn Research Center, for health monitoring of gears in helicopter transmissions. The NA4 reacts to the onset of gear pitting damage and continues to react to the damage as it spreads. This research also indicates NA4 reacts similarly to load variations. The sensitivity of NA4 to load changes will substantially affect its performance on a helicopter gearbox that experiences continuously changing load throughout its flight regimes. The parameter NA4 has been used to monitor gear fatigue tests at constant load. At constant load, NA4 effectively detects the onset of pitting damage and tracks damage severity. Previous research also shows that NA4 reacts to changes in load applied to the gears in the same way it reacts to the onset of pitting damage. The method used to calculate NA4 was modified to minimize these load effects. The modified NA4 parameter was applied to four sets of experimental data. Results indicate the modified NA4 is no longer sensitive to load changes, but remains sensitive to pitting damage.

  13. Working memory load modulates microsaccadic rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalmaso, Mario; Castelli, Luigi; Scatturin, Pietro; Galfano, Giovanni

    2017-03-01

    Microsaccades are tiny eye movements that individuals perform unconsciously during fixation. Despite that the nature and the functions of microsaccades are still lively debated, recent evidence has shown an association between these micro eye movements and higher order cognitive processes. Here, in two experiments, we specifically focused on working memory and addressed whether differential memory load could be reflected in a modulation of microsaccade dynamics. In Experiment 1, participants memorized a numerical sequence composed of either two (low-load condition) or five digits (high-load condition), appearing at fixation. The results showed a reduction in the microsaccadic rate in the high-load compared to the low-load condition. In Experiment 2, five red or green digits were always presented at fixation. Participants either memorized the color (low-load condition) or the five digits (high-load condition). Hence, visual stimuli were exactly the same in both conditions. Consistent with Experiment 1, microsaccadic rate was lower in the high-load than in the low-load condition. Overall, these findings reveal that an engagement of working memory can have an impact on microsaccadic rate, consistent with the view that microsaccade generation is pervious to top-down processes.

  14. Failure of composite plates under static biaxial planar loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waas, Anthony M.; Khamseh, Amir R.

    1992-01-01

    The project involved detailed investigations into the failure mechanisms in composite plates as a function of hole size (holes centrally located in the plates) under static loading. There were two phases to the project, the first dealing with uniaxial loads along the fiber direction, and the second dealing with coplanar biaxial loading. Results for the uniaxial tests have been reported and published previously, thus this report will place emphasis on the second phase of the project, namely the biaxial tests. The composite plates used in the biaxial loading experiments, as well as the uniaxial, were composed of a single ply unidirectional graphite/epoxy prepreg sandwiched between two layers of transparent thermoplastic. This setup enabled us to examine the failure initiation and propagation modes nondestructively, during the test. Currently, similar tests and analysis of results are in progress for graphite/epoxy cruciform shaped flat laminates. The results obtained from these tests will be available at a later time.

  15. Diffuse Ceiling Ventilation and the Influence of Room Height and Heat Load Distribution

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Peter Vilhelm; Vilsbøll, Rasmus W; Liu, Li

    2015-01-01

    Diffuse ceiling (inlet) ventilation is an air distribution system that supplies air from the entire ceiling surface, giving a low supply velocity. The flow pattern in the room is controlled by the heat sources. The system generates high mixing flow and the air velocities in the room are expected...... to be not much influenced by the flow rate to the room but dependent on the heat load. Previous studies have shown that diffuse ceiling ventilation has an ability to remove large heat loads without compromising the indoor climate. However, recent experiments indicate that the maximum accepted heat load decreases...... with a large room height and it decreases in connection with certain heat load distributions. Room geometries and heat load distributions that are optimal for diffuse ceiling ventilation are discussed. A simplified design procedure is introduced....

  16. Reciprocity, culture and human cooperation: previous insights and a new cross-cultural experiment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gächter, Simon; Herrmann, Benedikt

    2009-03-27

    Understanding the proximate and ultimate sources of human cooperation is a fundamental issue in all behavioural sciences. In this paper, we review the experimental evidence on how people solve cooperation problems. Existing studies show without doubt that direct and indirect reciprocity are important determinants of successful cooperation. We also discuss the insights from a large literature on the role of peer punishment in sustaining cooperation. The experiments demonstrate that many people are 'strong reciprocators' who are willing to cooperate and punish others even if there are no gains from future cooperation or any other reputational gains. We document this in new one-shot experiments, which we conducted in four cities in Russia and Switzerland. Our cross-cultural approach allows us furthermore to investigate how the cultural background influences strong reciprocity. Our results show that culture has a strong influence on positive and in especially strong negative reciprocity. In particular, we find large cross-cultural differences in 'antisocial punishment' of pro-social cooperators. Further cross-cultural research and experiments involving different socio-demographic groups document that the antisocial punishment is much more widespread than previously assumed. Understanding antisocial punishment is an important task for future research because antisocial punishment is a strong inhibitor of cooperation.

  17. Specific Previous Experience Affects Perception of Harmony and Meter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creel, Sarah C.

    2011-01-01

    Prior knowledge shapes our experiences, but which prior knowledge shapes which experiences? This question is addressed in the domain of music perception. Three experiments were used to determine whether listeners activate specific musical memories during music listening. Each experiment provided listeners with one of two musical contexts that was…

  18. Students' Scientific Epistemic Beliefs, Online Evaluative Standards, and Online Searching Strategies for Science Information: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Load Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Ya-Hui; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2014-06-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of cognitive load experience between students' scientific epistemic beliefs and information commitments, which refer to online evaluative standards and online searching strategies. A total of 344 science-related major students participated in this study. Three questionnaires were used to ascertain the students' scientific epistemic beliefs, information commitments, and cognitive load experience. Structural equation modeling was then used to analyze the moderating effect of cognitive load, with the results revealing its significant moderating effect. The relationships between sophisticated scientific epistemic beliefs and the advanced evaluative standards used by the students were significantly stronger for low than for high cognitive load students. Moreover, considering the searching strategies that the students used, the relationships between sophisticated scientific epistemic beliefs and advanced searching strategies were also stronger for low than for high cognitive load students. However, for the high cognitive load students, only one of the sophisticated scientific epistemic belief dimensions was found to positively associate with advanced evaluative standard dimensions.

  19. Effect of density and weight of load on the energy cost of carrying loads by donkeys and ponies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pearson, R A; Dijkman, J T; Krecek, R C; Wright, P

    1998-02-01

    Two experiments were designed to compare the energy used in carrying loads by donkeys and ponies. In the first experiment 3 donkeys and 3 ponies were compared on treadmills in the UK. Density of load (lead shot or straw) had no significant effect on the energy cost of carrying loads; however, the energy cost of carrying a load decreased significantly (p < 0.001) as the weight of the load increased (in donkeys 6.44, 4.35 and 3.03 J/kg load/m, in ponies 5.82, 3.75 and 3.68 J/kg load/m, for loads of 13, 20 and 27 kg/100 kg liveweight (M) respectively). Differences between species were not significant. In the second experiment energy expenditures were determined in 3 donkeys carrying loads equivalent to 40 kg/100 kg M over gently undulating gravel tracks in Tunisia. Energy costs of carrying the load were 2.34 (SE 0.07) J/kg load/m. The results of both experiments showed that provided the load is balanced, density does not significantly affect the energy cost of carrying; however, as the load increased then the unit energy cost of carrying it decreased. This suggest that it is more efficient in terms of energy used to carry loads equivalent to 27 to 40 kg/100 kg M than it is to carry lighter loads to less than 20 kg/100 kg M.

  20. Opposing effects of perceptual versus working memory load on emotional distraction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tavares, Tamara P; Logie, Kyle; Mitchell, Derek G V

    2016-10-01

    Throughout our day-to-day activities, we are subjected to numerous stimuli that compete for our attention; consequently, we must prioritize stimuli for further processing and influence over behaviour. Previous research has demonstrated that the extent to which task-irrelevant distractors are processed is mediated by the nature of the cognitive task, and the level of processing load. Importantly though, the interaction between cognitive task, processing load, and emotional distractor processing remains unclear. This is a particularly important question given the unique ways that emotion interacts with attention, and the fact that some other forms of processing load have been shown to reduce emotional distractor encoding. In the present study, participants were presented with emotional distractors during a perceptual and working memory task, under varying levels of load. In Experiment 1, we showed that the impact of emotional distractors on behaviour was reduced under conditions of high relative to low perceptual load. However, in sharp contrast, high working memory load was associated with increased emotional distraction. Importantly, these results were replicated in Experiment 2. Overall, the impact of processing load on emotional distraction varies according to the cognitive function being performed. These results raise the intriguing possibility that working memory operations deplete some of the cognitive resources needed to control the impact of emotion on behaviour. The findings, therefore, may have important implications for clinical populations featuring cognitive dysfunction and emotional dysregulation.

  1. Cognitive Load and Cooperation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Døssing, Felix Sebastian; Piovesan, Marco; Wengström, Erik Roland

    2017-01-01

    We study the effect of intuitive and reflective processes on cooperation using cognitive load. Compared with time constraint, which has been used in the previous literature, cognitive load is a more direct way to block reflective processes, and thus a more suitable way to study the link between...... intuition and cooperation. Using a repeated public goods game, we study the effect of different levels of cognitive load on contributions. We show that a higher cognitive load increases the initial level of cooperation. In particular, subjects are significantly less likely to fully free ride under high...... cognitive load....

  2. Sands subjected to repetitive vertical loading under zero lateral strain: accumulation models, terminal densities, and settlement

    KAUST Repository

    Chong, Song Hun

    2016-08-09

    Geosystems often experience numerous loading cycles. Plastic strain accumulation during repetitive mechanical loads can lead to shear shakedown or continued shear ratcheting; in all cases, volumetric strains diminish as the specimen evolves towards terminal density. Previously suggested models and new functions are identified to fit plastic strain accumulation data. All accumulation models are formulated to capture terminal density (volumetric strain) and either shakedown or ratcheting (shear strain). Repetitive vertical loading tests under zero lateral strain conditions are conducted using three different sands packed at initially low and high densities. Test results show that plastic strain accumulation for all sands and density conditions can be captured in the same dimensionless plot defined in terms of the initial relative density, terminal density, and ratio between the amplitude of the repetitive load and the initial static load. This observation allows us to advance a simple but robust procedure to estimate the maximum one-dimensional settlement that a foundation could experience if subjected to repetitive loads. © 2016, Canadian Science Publishing. All rights reserved.

  3. Shoulder joint loading and posture during medicine cart pushing task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xu; Lin, Jia-Hua; Boyer, Jon

    2013-01-01

    Excessive physical loads and awkward shoulder postures during pushing and pulling are risk factors for shoulder pain. Pushing a medicine cart is a major component of a work shift for nurses and medical assistants in hospitals and other health care facilities. A laboratory experiment was conducted to examine the effects of common factors (e.g., lane congestion, cart load stability, floor surface friction) on shoulder joint moment and shoulder elevation angle of participants during cart pushing. Participants pushed a medicine cart on straight tracks and turning around right-angle corners. Peak shoulder joint moments reached 25.1 Nm, 20.3 Nm, and 26.8 Nm for initial, transition, and turning phases of the pushing tasks, indicating that shoulder joint loading while pushing a medical cart is comparable to levels previously reported from heavy manual activities encountered in industry (e.g., garbage collection). Also, except for user experience, all other main study factors, including congestion level, cart load stability, location of transition strip, shoulder tendency, surface friction, and handedness, significantly influenced shoulder joint moment and shoulder elevation angle. The findings provide a better understanding of shoulder exposures associated with medicine cart operations and may be helpful in designing and optimizing the physical environment where medicine carts are used.

  4. Optimal Control Allocation with Load Sensor Feedback for Active Load Suppression, Experiment Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Christopher J.; Goodrick, Dan

    2017-01-01

    The problem of control command and maneuver induced structural loads is an important aspect of any control system design. The aircraft structure and the control architecture must be designed to achieve desired piloted control responses while limiting the imparted structural loads. The classical approach is to utilize high structural margins, restrict control surface commands to a limited set of analyzed combinations, and train pilots to follow procedural maneuvering limitations. With recent advances in structural sensing and the continued desire to improve safety and vehicle fuel efficiency, it is both possible and desirable to develop control architectures that enable lighter vehicle weights while maintaining and improving protection against structural damage. An optimal control technique has been explored and shown to achieve desirable vehicle control performance while limiting sensed structural loads. The subject of this paper is the design of the optimal control architecture, and provides the reader with some techniques for tailoring the architecture, along with detailed simulation results.

  5. Evaluation of a numerical model's ability to predict bed load transport observed in braided river experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Javernick, Luke; Redolfi, Marco; Bertoldi, Walter

    2018-05-01

    New data collection techniques offer numerical modelers the ability to gather and utilize high quality data sets with high spatial and temporal resolution. Such data sets are currently needed for calibration, verification, and to fuel future model development, particularly morphological simulations. This study explores the use of high quality spatial and temporal data sets of observed bed load transport in braided river flume experiments to evaluate the ability of a two-dimensional model, Delft3D, to predict bed load transport. This study uses a fixed bed model configuration and examines the model's shear stress calculations, which are the foundation to predict the sediment fluxes necessary for morphological simulations. The evaluation is conducted for three flow rates, and model setup used highly accurate Structure-from-Motion (SfM) topography and discharge boundary conditions. The model was hydraulically calibrated using bed roughness, and performance was evaluated based on depth and inundation agreement. Model bed load performance was evaluated in terms of critical shear stress exceedance area compared to maps of observed bed mobility in a flume. Following the standard hydraulic calibration, bed load performance was tested for sensitivity to horizontal eddy viscosity parameterization and bed morphology updating. Simulations produced depth errors equal to the SfM inherent errors, inundation agreement of 77-85%, and critical shear stress exceedance in agreement with 49-68% of the observed active area. This study provides insight into the ability of physically based, two-dimensional simulations to accurately predict bed load as well as the effects of horizontal eddy viscosity and bed updating. Further, this study highlights how using high spatial and temporal data to capture the physical processes at work during flume experiments can help to improve morphological modeling.

  6. Experimental Snap Loading of Synthetic Ropes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.M. Hennessey

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Large tensile forces, known as snap loads, can occur when a slack rope becomes taut. Such forces may damage the rope or masses connected to it. Experiments are described in which one end of a rope is attached to the top of a drop tower and the bottom end is attached to a weight. The weight is raised to a certain height and then released. The force at the top of the rope and the acceleration of the weight are recorded during the first snap load that occurs. Repeated drop tests are performed on each rope. The effects of the type of rope, drop height, drop weight, whether the rope has been subjected to static precycling, and the number of previous dynamic tests are examined. A mathematical model is proposed for the rope force as a function of the displacement and velocity of the weight.

  7. Lightening the load: perceptual load impairs visual detection in typical adults but not in autism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Remington, Anna M; Swettenham, John G; Lavie, Nilli

    2012-05-01

    Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) research portrays a mixed picture of attentional abilities with demonstrations of enhancements (e.g., superior visual search) and deficits (e.g., higher distractibility). Here we test a potential resolution derived from the Load Theory of Attention (e.g., Lavie, 2005). In Load Theory, distractor processing depends on the perceptual load of the task and as such can only be eliminated under high load that engages full capacity. We hypothesize that ASD involves enhanced perceptual capacity, leading to the superior performance and increased distractor processing previously reported. Using a signal-detection paradigm, we test this directly and demonstrate that, under higher levels of load, perceptual sensitivity was reduced in typical adults but not in adults with ASD. These findings confirm our hypothesis and offer a promising solution to the previous discrepancies by suggesting that increased distractor processing in ASD results not from a filtering deficit but from enhanced perceptual capacity.

  8. The Inclusion of Arbitrary Load Histories in the Strength Decay Model for Stress Rupture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reeder, James R.

    2014-01-01

    Stress rupture is a failure mechanism where failures can occur after a period of time, even though the material has seen no increase in load. Carbon/epoxy composite materials have demonstrated the stress rupture failure mechanism. In a previous work, a model was proposed for stress rupture of composite overwrap pressure vessels (COPVs) and similar composite structures based on strength degradation. However, the original model was limited to constant load periods (holds) at constant load. The model was expanded in this paper to address arbitrary loading histories and specifically the inclusions of ramp loadings up to holds and back down. The broadening of the model allows for failures on loading to be treated as any other failure that may occur during testing instead of having to be treated as a special case. The inclusion of ramps can also influence the length of the "safe period" following proof loading that was previously predicted by the model. No stress rupture failures are predicted in a safe period because time is required for strength to decay from above the proof level to the lower level of loading. Although the model can predict failures during the ramp periods, no closed-form solution for the failure times could be derived. Therefore, two suggested solution techniques were proposed. Finally, the model was used to design an experiment that could detect the difference between the strength decay model and a commonly used model for stress rupture. Although these types of models are necessary to help guide experiments for stress rupture, only experimental evidence will determine how well the model may predict actual material response. If the model can be shown to be accurate, current proof loading requirements may result in predicted safe periods as long as 10(13) years. COPVs design requirements for stress rupture may then be relaxed, allowing more efficient designs, while still maintaining an acceptable level of safety.

  9. Properly Evaluating load-following products

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cavicchi, Joseph; Lemon, Andrew

    2009-01-15

    The authors briefly survey the jurisdictions where load-following products have been successfully used, examine the characteristics of the load-following products, and explain the shortcomings and inaccurate conclusions of previous analyses. A more thorough analysis reveals that the load-following products fulfill the public policy objectives for which they have been designed and do not adversely impact wholesale electricity markets.

  10. Does previous open surgical experience have any influence on robotic surgery simulation exercises?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cumpanas, Alin Adrian; Bardan, Razvan; Ferician, Ovidiu Catalin; Latcu, Silviu Constantin; Duta, Ciprian; Lazar, Fulger Octavian

    2017-12-01

    Within the last years, there has been a trend in many hospitals to switch their surgical activity from open/laparoscopic procedures to robotic surgery. Some open surgeons have been shifting their activity to robotic surgery. It is still unclear whether there is a transfer of open surgical skills to robotic ones. To evaluate whether such transfer of skills occurs and to identify which specific skills are more significantly transferred from the operative table to the console. Twenty-five volunteers were included in the study, divided into 2 groups: group A (15 participants) - medical students (without any surgical experience in open, laparoscopic or robotic surgery); and group B (10 participants) - surgeons with exclusively open surgical experience, without any previous laparoscopic or robotic experience. Participants were asked to complete 3 robotic simulator console exercises structured from the easiest one (Peg Board) to the toughest one (Sponge Suture). Overall scores for each exercise as well as specific metrics were compared between the two groups. There were no significant differences between overall scores of the two groups for the easiest task. Overall scores were better for group B as the exercises got more complex. For the intermediate and high-difficulty level exercises, most of the specific metrics were better for group B, with the exception of the working master space item. Our results suggest that the open surgical skills transfer to robotic skills, at least for the very beginning of the training process.

  11. Strengthening of Steel Columns under Load: Torsional-Flexural Buckling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Vild

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents experimental and numerical research into the strengthening of steel columns under load using welded plates. So far, the experimental research in this field has been limited mostly to flexural buckling of columns and the preload had low effect on the column load resistance. This paper focuses on the local buckling and torsional-flexural buckling of columns. Three sets of three columns each were tested. Two sets corresponding to the base section (D and strengthened section (E were tested without preloading and were used for comparison. Columns from set (F were first preloaded to the load corresponding to the half of the load resistance of the base section (D. Then the columns were strengthened and after they cooled, they were loaded to failure. The columns strengthened under load (F had similar average resistance as the columns welded without preloading (E, meaning the preload affects even members susceptible to local buckling and torsional-flexural buckling only slightly. This is the same behaviour as of the tested columns from previous research into flexural buckling. The study includes results gained from finite element models of the problem created in ANSYS software. The results obtained from the experiments and numerical simulations were compared.

  12. Gender-Specific Effects of Cognitive Load on Social Discounting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Strombach, Tina; Margittai, Zsofia; Gorczyca, Barbara; Kalenscher, Tobias

    2016-01-01

    We live busy, social lives, and meeting the challenges of our complex environments puts strain on our cognitive systems. However, cognitive resources are limited. It is unclear how cognitive load affects social decision making. Previous findings on the effects of cognitive load on other-regarding preferences have been ambiguous, allowing no coherent opinion whether cognitive load increases, decreases or does not affect prosocial considerations. Here, we suggest that social distance between individuals modulates whether generosity towards a recipient increases or decreases under cognitive load conditions. Participants played a financial social discounting task with several recipients at variable social distance levels. In this task, they could choose between generous alternatives, yielding medium financial rewards for the participant and recipient at variable social distances, or between a selfish alternative, yielding larger rewards for the participant alone. We show that the social discount function of male participants was significantly flattened under high cognitive load conditions, suggesting they distinguished less between socially close and socially distant recipients. Unexpectedly, the cognitive-load effect on social discounting was gender-specific: while social discounting was strongly dependent on cognitive load in men, women were nearly unaffected by cognitive load manipulations. We suggest that cognitive load leads men, but not women to simplify the decision problem by neglecting the social distance information. We consider our study a good starting point for further experiments exploring the role of gender in prosocial choice.

  13. Creep testing and creep loading experiments on friction stir welds in copper at 75 deg C

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Andersson, Henrik C.M.; Seitisleam, Facredin; Sandstroem, Rolf

    2007-08-01

    Specimens cut from friction stir welds in copper canisters for nuclear waste have been used for creep experiments at 75 deg C. The specimens were taken from a cross-weld position as well as heat affected zone and weld metal. The parent metal specimens exhibited longer creep lives than the weld specimens by a factor of three in time. They in turn were longer than those for the crossweld and HAZ specimens by an order of magnitude. The creep exponent was in the interval 50 to 69 implying that the material was well inside the power-law breakdown regime. The ductility properties expressed as reduction in area were not significantly different and all the rupture specimens demonstrated values exceeding 80%. Experiments were also carried out on the loading procedure of a creep test. Similar parent metal specimens and test conditions were used and the results show that the loading method has a large influence on the strain response of the specimen

  14. Creep testing and creep loading experiments on friction stir welds in copper at 75 deg C

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Andersson, Henrik C.M.; Seitisleam, Facredin; Sandstroem, Rolf [Corrosion an d Metals Research Institute, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2007-08-15

    Specimens cut from friction stir welds in copper canisters for nuclear waste have been used for creep experiments at 75 deg C. The specimens were taken from a cross-weld position as well as heat affected zone and weld metal. The parent metal specimens exhibited longer creep lives than the weld specimens by a factor of three in time. They in turn were longer than those for the crossweld and HAZ specimens by an order of magnitude. The creep exponent was in the interval 50 to 69 implying that the material was well inside the power-law breakdown regime. The ductility properties expressed as reduction in area were not significantly different and all the rupture specimens demonstrated values exceeding 80%. Experiments were also carried out on the loading procedure of a creep test. Similar parent metal specimens and test conditions were used and the results show that the loading method has a large influence on the strain response of the specimen.

  15. Shear strength of shock-loaded polycrystalline tungsten

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asay, J.R.; Chhabildas, L.C.; Dandekar, D.P.

    1980-01-01

    Previous experiments have suggested that tungsten undergoes a significant loss of shear strength when shock loaded to stresses greater than 7 GPa. In order to investigate this effect in more detail, a series of experiments was conducted in which polycrystalline tungsten was first shock loaded to approximately 10 GPa and then either unloaded or reloaded from the shocked state. Analysis of measured time-resolved wave profiles indicates that during initial compression to 9.7 GPa, the shear stress in polycrystalline tungsten increases to a maximum value of 1.1 GPA near a longitudinal stress of 5 GPa, but decreases to a final value of 0.8 GPa for stresses approaching 10 GPa. During reloading from a longitudinal stress of 9.7 GPa to a final value of approx.14 GPa, the shear stress increases to a peak value of 1.2 GPa and softens to 1.0 GPa in the final state. During unloading from the shocked state, the initial response is elastic with a strong Baushinger effect. Examination of a recovered sample shows evidence for both deformation slipping and twinning, which may be responsible for the observed softening

  16. Previous International Experience, Cross-Cultural Training, and Expatriates' Cross-Cultural Adjustment: Effects of Cultural Intelligence and Goal Orientation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koo Moon, Hyoung; Kwon Choi, Byoung; Shik Jung, Jae

    2012-01-01

    Although various antecedents of expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment have been addressed, previous international experience, predeparture cross-cultural training, and cultural intelligence (CQ) have been most frequently examined. However, there are few attempts that explore the effects of these antecedents simultaneously or consider the possible…

  17. Optimal Control Allocation with Load Sensor Feedback for Active Load Suppression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Christopher

    2017-01-01

    These slide sets describe the OCLA formulation and associated algorithms as a set of new technologies in the first practical application of load limiting flight control utilizing load feedback as a primary control measurement. Slide set one describes Experiment Development and slide set two describes Flight-Test Performance.

  18. Full-sized plates irradiation with high UMo fuel loading. Final results of IRIS 1 experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huet, F.; Marelle, V.; Noirot, J.; Sacristan, P.; Lemoine, P.

    2003-01-01

    As a part of the French UMo Group qualification program, IRIS 1 experiment contained full-sized plates with high uranium loading in the meat of 8 g.cm -3 . The fuel particles consisted of 7 and 9 wt% Mo-uranium alloys ground powders. The plate were irradiated at OSIRIS reactor in IRIS device up to 67.5% peak burnup within the range of 136 W.cm - '2 for the heat flux and 72 deg. C for the cladding temperature. After each reactor cycle the plates thickness were measured. The results show no swelling behaviour differences versus burnup between UMo7 and UMo9 plates. The maximum plate swelling for peak burnup location remains lower than 6%. The wide set of PIE has shown that, within the studied irradiation conditions, the interaction product have a global formulation of '(U-Mo)Al -7 ' and that there is no aluminium dissolution in UMo particles. IRIS1 experiment, as the first step of the UMo fuel qualification for research reactor, has established the good behaviour of UMo7 and UMo9 high uranium loading full-sized plate within the tested conditions. (author)

  19. Experiences with tungsten coatings in high heat flux tests and under plasma load in ASDEX Upgrade

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Herrmann, A; Greuner, H; Fuchs, J C; Marne, P de; Neu, R

    2009-01-01

    ASDEX Upgrade was operated with about 6400 s plasma discharge during the scientific program in 2007/2008 exploring tungsten as a first wall material in tokamaks. In the first phase, the heating power was restricted to 10 MW. It was increased to 15 MW in the second phase. During this operational period, a delamination of the 200 μm W-VPS coating happened at 2 out of 128 tiles of the outer divertor and an unscheduled opening was required. In the third phase, ASDEX Upgrade was operated with partly predamaged tiles and up to 15 MW heating power. The target load was actively controlled by N 2 -seeding. This paper presents the screening test of target tiles in the high heat flux test facility GLADIS, experiences with operation and detected damages of the outer divertor as well as the heat load to the outer divertor and the reasons for the toroidal asymmetry of the divertor load.

  20. Changes in spine loading patterns throughout the workday as a function of experience, lift frequency, and personality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chany, Anne-Marie; Parakkat, Julia; Yang, Gang; Burr, Deborah L; Marras, William S

    2006-01-01

    Psychosocial stressors have been associated with low back pain reporting. However, response to psychosocial risk factors may be dependent on the individual's personality type that, in turn, can affect muscle recruitment and spine loading. This study explores how personality might be associated with spine loading during repetitive lifting performed throughout an entire work shift. Assess spine loading as a function of an individual's personality type during repetitive, long-term exposure to a materials handling tasks. Laboratory experiment where experienced and inexperienced participants performed repetitive, asymmetric lifts at various load and lift frequency levels throughout a series of 8-hour exposure periods. Spine loads were monitored throughout the work period. Twelve novice and 12 experienced materials handlers who were asymptomatic for back pain. Spine compression, anterior-posterior (A/P) shear, and lateral shear at the L5-S1 level. Participants were categorized into personality types based upon the Myers-Briggs personality type indicator. An electromyography-assisted biomechanical model was used to assess spine compression, A/P shear, and lateral shear throughout the exposure period. The results indicate that intuitors had higher shear spinal loading regardless of moment exposure, lift frequency, and time through the work period, compared with the sensor personality type. In addition, higher spine compressive and shear forces occurred in the perceiver personality compared with the judgers' personality trait, regardless of moment and, often, lift frequency. Novice lifters typically experienced greater spine loading. The results suggest that when there exists a personality-job environment mismatch, spinal loading increases via an increase in antagonistic co-contraction. The trends suggest that inherent personality characteristics may play a role in one's motor control strategies when performing a repetitive lifting task.

  1. Differences between previously married and never married 'gay' men: family background, childhood experiences and current attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higgins, Daryl J

    2004-01-01

    Despite a large body of literature on the development of sexual orientation, little is known about why some gay men have been (or remain) married to a woman. In the current study, a self-selected sample of 43 never married gay men ('never married') and 26 gay men who were married to a woman ('previously married') completed a self-report questionnaire. Hypotheses were based on five possible explanations for gay men's marriages: (a) differences in sexual orientation (i.e., bisexuality); (b) internalized homophobia; (c) religious intolerance; (d) confusion created because of childhood/adolescent sexual experiences; and/or (e) poor psychological adjustment. Previously married described their families' religious beliefs as more fundamentalist than never married. No differences were found between married' and never married' ratings of their sexual orientation and identity, and levels of homophobia and self-depreciation. Family adaptability and family cohesion and the degree to which respondents reported having experienced child maltreatment did not distinguish between previously married and never married. The results highlight how little is understood of the reasons why gay men marry, and the need to develop an adequate theoretical model.

  2. Intention to breastfeed in low-income pregnant women: the role of social support and previous experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humphreys, A S; Thompson, N J; Miner, K R

    1998-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe the relationship between breastfeeding intention among socioeconomically disadvantaged pregnant women and maternal demographics, previous breastfeeding experience, and social support. A cross-sectional, convenience sampling strategy was employed for data collection. Low-income women (n = 1001) in a public hospital completed a six-page questionnaire about their infant feeding plans, demographics, and social support. Simple regression analyses were conducted to compare maternal breastfeeding intention with the hypothesized correlates. Breastfeeding intention was positively correlated with older maternal age, higher education, more breastfeeding experience, Hispanic ethnicity, and hearing about breastfeeding benefits from family members, the baby's father, and lactation consultants, but not from other health professionals. Health professionals' attitudes were less influential on women's infant feeding decisions than the attitudes and beliefs of members of women's social support networks. When controlling for breastfeeding experience (none vs any), some findings, varied, indicating a need for breastfeeding interventions tailored to women's level of experience. Use of peer counselors and lactation consultants, inclusion of a woman's family members in breastfeeding educational contacts, and creation of breastfeeding classes tailored to influential members of women's social support networks may improve breastfeeding rates among low-income women, especially those with no breastfeeding experience, more effectively than breastfeeding education to pregnant women that is solely conducted by health professionals.

  3. Determining the Frequency for Load-Independent Output Current in Three-Coil Wireless Power Transfer System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Longzhao Sun

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Conditions for load-independent output voltage or current in two-coil wireless power transfer (WPT systems have been studied. However, analysis of load-independent output current in three-coil WPT system is still lacking in previous studies. This paper investigates the output current characteristics of a three-coil WPT system against load variations, and determines the operating frequency to achieve a constant output current. First, a three-coil WPT system is modeled by circuit theory, and the analytical expression of the root-mean-square of the output current is derived. By substituting the coupling coefficients, the quality factor, and the resonant frequency of each coil, we propose a method of calculating the frequency for load-independent output current in a three-coil WPT system, which indicates that there are two frequencies that can achieve load-independent output current. Experiments are conducted to validate these analytical results.

  4. Load event: Aircraft crash

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fritsch, H.

    1985-01-01

    The bibliography includes 48 quotations, up to the year 1983, on the following issues: Experiments and computational methods. Design load for the dimensioning of reinforced concrete buildings and components with respect to the dynamic load in the event of an aircraft crash. (orig./HP) [de

  5. Experience of load following in French nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miossec, C.

    1989-01-01

    The relative importance of the French nuclear programme has reached such a scale that nuclear power stations can no longer be operated in the base load mode: their capacity exceeded the network demands for 1200 hours in 1983 and it is estimated that this figure will move to 5200 hours in 1990; their power should be able to vary flexibly. These figures illustrate the policy of substituting nuclear power plants for fossil-fired plants and explain the need for nuclear units to provide a quality of service at least equal to that of their ''elders'', which, for several years, have regularly participated in load following. Electricite de France (EDF) therefore had to perform the studies and work necessary to provide nuclear units with the required modulation capacity. There are several grid requirements and three types of flexibility are to be distinguished. The first, load follow, is fundamental when adapting to demand. The second type of flexibility, frequency adjustment, is another important factor in the quality of the product delivered to the consumer. The third type of flexibility is participation in the spinning reserve. When automatic operations are inadequate, available power reserves must be used to support the gird. Load following operations are performed. The operating mode with load modulation is subject to authorisations issued by the governmental organisations responsible for nuclear safety. EDF and the manufacturers have had to prove that such operations remain compatible with safety under normal operating conditions and, in the event of incidents, modulation should be capable of considerably modifying the initial conditions. (5 figures). (Author)

  6. Liquid loading experiments with tube wall modifications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Belfroid, S.P.C.; Schiferli, W.; Veltin, J.; Veeken, K.

    2011-01-01

    This paper discusses the multiphase flow mechanism responsible for gas-well liquid loading. It demonstrates that the conventional idea of droplet flow reversal (Turner et al. (1)) does not capture reality and that actual observations are better described by film flow reversal phenomenon. The

  7. The Importance of Business Model Factors for Cloud Computing Adoption: Role of Previous Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bogataj Habjan Kristina

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Background and Purpose: Bringing several opportunities for more effective and efficient IT governance and service exploitation, cloud computing is expected to impact the European and global economies significantly. Market data show that despite many advantages and promised benefits the adoption of cloud computing is not as fast and widespread as foreseen. This situation shows the need for further exploration of the potentials of cloud computing and its implementation on the market. The purpose of this research was to identify individual business model factors with the highest impact on cloud computing adoption. In addition, the aim was to identify the differences in opinion regarding the importance of business model factors on cloud computing adoption according to companies’ previous experiences with cloud computing services.

  8. Previous experience of family violence and intimate partner violence in pregnancy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludermir, Ana Bernarda; Araújo, Thália Velho Barreto de; Valongueiro, Sandra Alves; Muniz, Maria Luísa Corrêa; Silva, Elisabete Pereira

    2017-01-01

    To estimate differential associations between the exposure to violence in the family of origin and victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence in pregnancy. A nested case-control study was carried out within a cohort study with 1,120 pregnant women aged 18-49 years old, who were registered in the Family Health Strategy of the city of Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, between 2005 and 2006. The cases were the 233 women who reported intimate partner violence in pregnancy and the controls were the 499 women who did not report it. Partner violence in pregnancy and previous experiences of violence committed by parents or other family members were assessed with a standardized questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were modeled to identify differential associations between the exposure to violence in the family of origin and victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Having seen the mother suffer intimate partner violence was associated with physical violence in childhood (OR = 2.62; 95%CI 1.89-3.63) and in adolescence (OR = 1.47; 95%CI 1.01-2.13), sexual violence in childhood (OR = 3.28; 95%CI 1.68-6.38) and intimate partner violence during pregnancy (OR = 1.47; 95% CI 1.01 - 2.12). The intimate partner violence during pregnancy was frequent in women who reported more episodes of physical violence in childhood (OR = 2.08; 95%CI 1.43-3.02) and adolescence (OR = 1.63; 95%CI 1.07-2.47), who suffered sexual violence in childhood (OR = 3.92; 95%CI 1.86-8.27), and who perpetrated violence against the partner (OR = 8.67; 95%CI 4.57-16.45). Experiences of violence committed by parents or other family members emerge as strong risk factors for intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Identifying and understanding protective and risk factors for the emergence of intimate partner violence in pregnancy and its maintenance may help policymakers and health service managers to develop intervention strategies.

  9. A comparative experiment in distributed load balancing

    KAUST Repository

    Randles, Martin

    2009-12-01

    The anticipated uptake of Cloud computing, built on the well-established research fields of web services, networks, utility computing, distributed computing and virtualisation, will bring many advantages in cost, flexibility and availability for service users. These benefits are expected to further drive the demand for cloud services, increasing both the cloud customer base and the scale of cloud installations. This has implications for many technical issues in such Service Oriented Architectures and Internet of Services (IoS) type applications; fault tolerance, high availability and scalability for examples. Central to these issues is the establishment of effective load balancing techniques. It is clear that the scale and complexity of these systems makes centralized individual assignment of jobs to specific servers infeasible; leading to the need for an effective distributed solution. This paper investigates three possible distributed solutions, which have been proposed for load balancing: An approach inspired by the foraging behaviour of the Honeybee, Biased Random Sampling and Active Clustering. © 2009 IEEE.

  10. Statistical description of flume experiments on mixed-size bed-load transport and bed armoring processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, D.; Zhang, Y.

    2008-12-01

    The objective of this paper is to describe the statistical properties of experiments on non-uniform bed-load transport as well as the mechanism of bed armoring processes. Despite substantial effort made over the last two decades, the ability to compute the bed-load flux in a turbulent system remains poor. The major obstacles include the poor understanding of the formation of armor lays on bed surfaces. Such a layer is much flow-resistible than the underlying material and therefore significantly inhibits sediment transport from the reach. To study the problem, we conducted a flume study for mixed sand/gravel sediments. We observed that aggregated sediment blocks were the most common characters in armor layers - the largest sizes resist hydraulic forces, while the smaller sizes add interlocking support and prevent loss of fine material through gaps between the larger particles. Fractional transport rates with the existing of armor layers were measured with time by sediment trapping method at the end of flume. To address the intermittent and time-varying behavior of bed-load transport during bed armoring processes, we investigated the probability distribution of the fractional bed-load transport rates, and the underlying dynamic model derived from the continuous time random walk framework. Results indicate that it is critical to consider the impact of armor layers when a flow is sufficient to move some of the finer particles and yet insufficient to move all the larger particles on a channel bed.

  11. A neutral network based technique for short-term forecasting of anomalous load periods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sforna, M [ENEL, s.p.a, Italian Power Company (Italy); Lamedica, R; Prudenzi, A [Rome Univ. ` La Sapienza` , Rome (Italy); Caciotta, M; Orsolini Cencelli, V [Rome Univ. III, Rome (Italy)

    1995-01-01

    The paper illustrates a part of the research activity conducted by authors in the field of electric Short Term Load Forecasting (STLF) based on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) architectures. Previous experiences with basic ANN architectures have shown that, even though these architecture provide results comparable with those obtained by human operators for most normal days, they evidence some accuracy deficiencies when applied to `anomalous` load conditions occurring during holidays and long weekends. For these periods a specific procedure based upon a combined (unsupervised/supervised) approach has been proposed. The unsupervised stage provides a preventive classification of the historical load data by means of a Kohonen`s Self Organizing Map (SOM). The supervised stage, performing the proper forecasting activity, is obtained by using a multi-layer percept ron with a back propagation learning algorithm similar to the ones above mentioned. The unconventional use of information deriving from the classification stage permits the proposed procedure to obtain a relevant enhancement of the forecast accuracy for anomalous load situations.

  12. Cognitive Load and Strategic Sophistication

    OpenAIRE

    Allred, Sarah; Duffy, Sean; Smith, John

    2013-01-01

    We study the relationship between the cognitive load manipulation and strategic sophistication. The cognitive load manipulation is designed to reduce the subject's cognitive resources that are available for deliberation on a choice. In our experiment, subjects are placed under a large cognitive load (given a difficult number to remember) or a low cognitive load (given a number which is not difficult to remember). Subsequently, the subjects play a one-shot game then they are asked to recall...

  13. Influence of sweeping detonation-wave loading on damage evolution during spallation loading of tantalum in both a planar and curved geometry

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gray, George Thompson III [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hull, Lawrence Mark [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Livescu, Veronica [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Faulkner, James [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Briggs, Matthew E. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Meyer, Ross Keith [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Andrews, Heather Lynn [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Hare, Steven John [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Jakulewicz, Micah Shawn [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); Shinas, Michael A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)

    2015-03-30

    Widespread research over the past five decades has provided a wealth of experimental data and insight concerning the shock hardening, damage evolution, and the spallation response of materials subjected to square-topped shock-wave loading profiles. However, fewer quantitative studies have been conducted on the effect of direct, in-contact, high explosive (HE)-driven Taylor wave (unsupported shocks) loading on the shock hardening, damage evolution, or spallation response of materials. Systematic studies quantifying the effect of sweeping-detonation wave loading are yet sparser. In this study, the damage evolution and spallation response of Ta is shown to be critically dependent on the peak shock stress, the geometry of the sample (flat or curved plate geometry), and the shock obliquity during sweeping-detonation-wave shock loading. Sweepingwave loading in the flat-plate geometry is observed to: a) yield a lower spall strength than previously documented for 1-D supported-shock-wave loading, b) exhibit increased shock hardening as a function of increasing obliquity, and c) lead to an increased incidence of deformation twin formation with increasing shock obliquity. Sweeping-wave loading of a 10 cm radius curved Ta plate is observed to: a) lead to an increase in the shear stress as a function of increasing obliquity, b) display a more developed level of damage evolution, extensive voids and coalescence, and lower spall strength with obliquity in the curved plate than seen in the flat-plate sweeping-detonation wave loading for an equivalent HE loading, and c) no increased propensity for deformation twin formation with increasing obliquity as seen in the flat-plate geometry. The overall observations comparing and contrasting the flat versus curved sweeping-wave spall experiments with 1D loaded spallation behavior suggests a coupled influence of obliquity and geometry on dynamic shock-induced damage evolution and spall strength. Coupled experimental and modeling research

  14. How does cognitive load influence speech perception? An encoding hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitterer, Holger; Mattys, Sven L

    2017-01-01

    Two experiments investigated the conditions under which cognitive load exerts an effect on the acuity of speech perception. These experiments extend earlier research by using a different speech perception task (four-interval oddity task) and by implementing cognitive load through a task often thought to be modular, namely, face processing. In the cognitive-load conditions, participants were required to remember two faces presented before the speech stimuli. In Experiment 1, performance in the speech-perception task under cognitive load was not impaired in comparison to a no-load baseline condition. In Experiment 2, we modified the load condition minimally such that it required encoding of the two faces simultaneously with the speech stimuli. As a reference condition, we also used a visual search task that in earlier experiments had led to poorer speech perception. Both concurrent tasks led to decrements in the speech task. The results suggest that speech perception is affected even by loads thought to be processed modularly, and that, critically, encoding in working memory might be the locus of interference.

  15. Patient's anxiety and fear of anesthesia: effect of gender, age, education, and previous experience of anesthesia. A survey of 400 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavridou, Paraskevi; Dimitriou, Varvara; Manataki, Adamantia; Arnaoutoglou, Elena; Papadopoulos, Georgios

    2013-02-01

    Patients express high anxiety preoperatively, because of fears related to anesthesia and its implications. The purpose of this survey was to gain insight into these fears and to study whether they are affected by patients' sex, age, education, or previous experience of anesthesia. Questionnaires with fixed questions were distributed to consenting, consecutive surgical patients before the pre-anesthetic visit. The questionnaires included patients' demographics and questions related to their fears about anesthesia. Four-hundred questionnaires were collected and analyzed. Eighty-one percent of patients experience preoperative anxiety. The main sources of their anxiety were fear of postoperative pain (84 %), of not waking up after surgery (64.8 %), of being nauseous or vomiting (60.2 %), and of drains and needles (59.5 %). Patients are less concerned about being paralyzed because of anesthesia (33.5 %) or of revealing personal issues (18.8 %). Gender seems to affect patients fears, with women being more afraid (85.3 vs. 75.6 % of men, p = 0.014). The effects of patients' age, level of education, and previous experience of anesthesia are minor, except for individual questions. Sixty-three percent of our patients (mostly women 67.4 vs. 57.4 % of men, p = 0.039) talk about these fears with their relatives, although a vast majority of 95.5 % would prefer to talk with the anesthesiologist and be reassured by him. All patients, mostly women, express fears about anesthesia; this fear leads to preoperative anxiety. Slight differences are observed for some individual questions among patients of different sex, education level, and previous experience of anesthesia.

  16. Experiments on Growth and Variation of Spaceship Loaded Plant Seeds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kang, S. Y.; Lee, G. J.; Kim, D. S.; Kim, J. B.

    2008-08-15

    This educational experiment was designed (1)to obtain the basic information on the effects of the space environments on plant growth and mutagenesis, (2)to evaluate plant germination and seedling growth under the effect of microgravity and light conditions and (3)to improve a child's scientific mind through the real-time observations of a seedling growth for two plants conducted both in space and on earth. This project was implemented?as one of the missions in the Korean Astronaut Program. Seeds of eleven plant species (rice, soybean, rape, radish, hot pepper, perilla, arabidopsis, orchids, dandelion, hibiscus, cosmos) was vacuum-sealed in aluminium bags. Those seeds was loaded in the 'Progress' spaceship in Feb. 2008, traveled in the 'Progress', placed in the Russian Sector-International Space Station (RS-ISS), and then was brought by the Korean astronaut from the RS-ISS, and handed over to us at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI). The germination rate, plant growth and mutation type/frequency of the returned plants are under testing in the lab and field in KAERI now. The first Korean astronaut, Dr. So-Yeon Yi, who had returned to earth on April 19, 2008 after successfully completing her scientific mission for 12 days in Space, performed the experiment of plant germination and seedling growth in the International Space Station (ISS), and a similarly designed experiment kit was distributed to conduct the experiment by student and adult volunteers in Korea at the same time. The experiment was to observe the effects of microgravity and light on a seedling growth for soybean and radish. We designed a growth kit that was an all-in-one package consisting of seeds (12 seeds in each chamber) and rock wool as a growing medium filled in four polycarbonate growing chambers in a light proof textile bag or carton paper. The bottom of the chamber was filled with a tightly-fitted rock wool which can hold water and provide moisture during a

  17. Experiments on Growth and Variation of Spaceship Loaded Plant Seeds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kang, S. Y.; Lee, G. J.; Kim, D. S.; Kim, J. B.

    2008-08-01

    This educational experiment was designed (1)to obtain the basic information on the effects of the space environments on plant growth and mutagenesis, (2)to evaluate plant germination and seedling growth under the effect of microgravity and light conditions and (3)to improve a child's scientific mind through the real-time observations of a seedling growth for two plants conducted both in space and on earth. This project was implemented?as one of the missions in the Korean Astronaut Program. Seeds of eleven plant species (rice, soybean, rape, radish, hot pepper, perilla, arabidopsis, orchids, dandelion, hibiscus, cosmos) was vacuum-sealed in aluminium bags. Those seeds was loaded in the 'Progress' spaceship in Feb. 2008, traveled in the 'Progress', placed in the Russian Sector-International Space Station (RS-ISS), and then was brought by the Korean astronaut from the RS-ISS, and handed over to us at Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute(KAERI). The germination rate, plant growth and mutation type/frequency of the returned plants are under testing in the lab and field in KAERI now. The first Korean astronaut, Dr. So-Yeon Yi, who had returned to earth on April 19, 2008 after successfully completing her scientific mission for 12 days in Space, performed the experiment of plant germination and seedling growth in the International Space Station (ISS), and a similarly designed experiment kit was distributed to conduct the experiment by student and adult volunteers in Korea at the same time. The experiment was to observe the effects of microgravity and light on a seedling growth for soybean and radish. We designed a growth kit that was an all-in-one package consisting of seeds (12 seeds in each chamber) and rock wool as a growing medium filled in four polycarbonate growing chambers in a light proof textile bag or carton paper. The bottom of the chamber was filled with a tightly-fitted rock wool which can hold water and provide moisture during a seedling growth. The

  18. Relationship between premature loss of primary teeth with oral hygiene, consumption of soft drinks, dental care, and previous caries experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Gómez, Sandra Aremy; Villalobos-Rodelo, Juan José; Ávila-Burgos, Leticia; Casanova-Rosado, Juan Fernando; Vallejos-Sánchez, Ana Alicia; Lucas-Rincón, Salvador Eduardo; Patiño-Marín, Nuria; Medina-Solís, Carlo Eduardo

    2016-02-26

    We determine the relationship between premature loss of primary teeth and oral hygiene, consumption of soft drinks, dental care and previous caries experience. This study focused on 833 Mexican schoolchildren aged 6-7. We performed an oral examination to determine caries experience and the simplified oral hygiene index. The dependent variable was the prevalence of at least one missing tooth (or indicated for extraction) of the primary dentition; this variable was coded as 0 = no loss of teeth and 1 = at least one lost primary tooth. The prevalence of at least one missing tooth was 24.7% (n = 206) (95% CI = 21.8-27.7). The variables that were associated with the prevalence of tooth loss (p oral hygiene (OR = 3.24), a lower frequency of brushing (OR = 1.60), an increased consumption of soda (OR = 1.89) and use of dental care (curative: OR = 2.83, preventive: OR = 1.93). This study suggests that the premature loss of teeth in the primary dentition is associated with oral hygiene, consumption of soft drinks, dental care and previous caries experience in Mexican schoolchildren. These data provide relevant information for the design of preventive dentistry programs.

  19. Complete mechanical behavior analysis of FG Nano Beam under non-uniform loading using non-local theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghaffari, I.; Parhizkar Yaghoobi, M.; Ghannad, M.

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to offer a complete solution to analyze the mechanical behavior (bending, buckling and vibration) of Nano-beam under non-uniform loading. Furthermore, the effects of size (nonlocal parameters), non-homogeneity constants, and different boundary conditions are investigated by using this method. The exact solution presented here reduces costs incurred by experiments. In this research, the displacement field obeys the kinematics of the Euler-Bernoulli beam theory and non-local elasticity theory has been used. The governing equations and general boundary conditions are derived for a beam by using energy method. The presented solution enables us to analyze any kind of loading profile and boundary conditions with no limitations. Furthermore, this solution, unlike previous studies, is not a series-solution; hence, there is no limitation prior to existing with the series-solution, nor does it need to check convergence. Based on the developed analytical solution, the influence of size, non-homogeneity and non-uniform loads on bending, buckling and vibration behaviors is discussed. Also, the obtained result is highly accurate and in good agreement with previous research. In theoretical method, the allowable range for non-local parameters can be determined so as to make a major contribution to the reduction of the cost of experiments determining the value of non-local parameters.

  20. Load Theory of Selective Attention and Cognitive Control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavie, Nilli; Hirst, Aleksandra; de Fockert, Jan W.; Viding, Essi

    2004-01-01

    A load theory of attention in which distractor rejection depends on the level and type of load involved in current processing was tested. A series of experiments demonstrates that whereas high perceptual load reduces distractor interference, working memory load or dual-task coordination load increases distractor interference. These findings…

  1. Short-term load forecasting of power system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Xiaobin

    2017-05-01

    In order to ensure the scientific nature of optimization about power system, it is necessary to improve the load forecasting accuracy. Power system load forecasting is based on accurate statistical data and survey data, starting from the history and current situation of electricity consumption, with a scientific method to predict the future development trend of power load and change the law of science. Short-term load forecasting is the basis of power system operation and analysis, which is of great significance to unit combination, economic dispatch and safety check. Therefore, the load forecasting of the power system is explained in detail in this paper. First, we use the data from 2012 to 2014 to establish the partial least squares model to regression analysis the relationship between daily maximum load, daily minimum load, daily average load and each meteorological factor, and select the highest peak by observing the regression coefficient histogram Day maximum temperature, daily minimum temperature and daily average temperature as the meteorological factors to improve the accuracy of load forecasting indicators. Secondly, in the case of uncertain climate impact, we use the time series model to predict the load data for 2015, respectively, the 2009-2014 load data were sorted out, through the previous six years of the data to forecast the data for this time in 2015. The criterion for the accuracy of the prediction is the average of the standard deviations for the prediction results and average load for the previous six years. Finally, considering the climate effect, we use the BP neural network model to predict the data in 2015, and optimize the forecast results on the basis of the time series model.

  2. Weight and see: Loading working memory improves incidental identification of irrelevant faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David eCarmel

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Are task-irrelevant stimuli processed to a level enabling individual identification? This question is central both for perceptual processing models and for applied settings (e.g., eyewitness testimony. Lavie’s load theory proposes that working memory actively maintains attentional prioritization of relevant over irrelevant information. Loading working memory thus impairs attentional prioritization, leading to increased processing of task-irrelevant stimuli. Previous research has shown that increased working memory load leads to greater interference effects from response competing distractors. Here we test the novel prediction that increased processing of irrelevant stimuli under high working memory load should lead to a greater likelihood of incidental identification of entirely irrelevant stimuli. To test this, we asked participants to perform a word-categorization task while ignoring task-irrelevant images. The categorization task was performed during the retention interval of a working memory task with either low or high load (defined by memory set size. Following the final experimental trial, a surprise question assessed incidental identification of the irrelevant image. Loading working memory was found to improve identification of task-irrelevant faces, but not of building stimuli (shown in a separate experiment to be less distracting. These findings suggest that working memory plays a critical role in determining whether distracting stimuli will be subsequently identified.

  3. Analysis of ex-core detector response measured during nuclear ship Mutsu land-loaded core critical experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itagaki, M.; Abe, J.I.; Kuribayashi, K.

    1987-01-01

    There are some cases where the ex-core neutron detector response is dependent not only on the fission source distribution in a core but also on neutron absorption in the borated water reflector. For example, an unexpectedly large response variation was measured during the nuclear ship Mutsu land-loaded core critical experiment. This large response variation is caused largely by the boron concentration change associated with the change in control rod positioning during the experiment. The conventional Crump-Lee response calculation method has been modified to take into account this boron effect. The correction factor in regard to this effect has been estimated using the one-dimensional transport code ANISN. The detector response variations obtained by means of this new calculation procedure agree well with the measured values recorded during the experiment

  4. Preliminary report on the experiment performed in MARIUS reactor loaded with teledial fuel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Estiot, J C; Morier, F

    1972-06-15

    The experimental work described in this paper is part of a collaborative programme agreed between CEA and the Dragon Project. The aim of the programme is the measurement of the relative conversion ratio in a reactor loaded with Teledial fuel elements. The results will allow us to check our calculational methods and assumptions upon which the calculations are based, in the case of a teledial core, which represents a very complicated geometry, specially, due to the presence of the U238 with its resonance. The programme of experiments described in the paper have been completed. Some preliminary results are presented in the second part of this report (Part 2).

  5. Previous experience of family violence and intimate partner violence in pregnancy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Bernarda Ludermir

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To estimate differential associations between the exposure to violence in the family of origin and victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence in pregnancy. METHODS A nested case-control study was carried out within a cohort study with 1,120 pregnant women aged 18–49 years old, who were registered in the Family Health Strategy of the city of Recife, State of Pernambuco, Brazil, between 2005 and 2006. The cases were the 233 women who reported intimate partner violence in pregnancy and the controls were the 499 women who did not report it. Partner violence in pregnancy and previous experiences of violence committed by parents or other family members were assessed with a standardized questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were modeled to identify differential associations between the exposure to violence in the family of origin and victimization and perpetration of intimate partner violence in pregnancy. RESULTS Having seen the mother suffer intimate partner violence was associated with physical violence in childhood (OR = 2.62; 95%CI 1.89–3.63 and in adolescence (OR = 1.47; 95%CI 1.01–2.13, sexual violence in childhood (OR = 3.28; 95%CI 1.68–6.38 and intimate partner violence during pregnancy (OR = 1.47; 95% CI 1.01 – 2.12. The intimate partner violence during pregnancy was frequent in women who reported more episodes of physical violence in childhood (OR = 2.08; 95%CI 1.43–3.02 and adolescence (OR = 1.63; 95%CI 1.07–2.47, who suffered sexual violence in childhood (OR = 3.92; 95%CI 1.86–8.27, and who perpetrated violence against the partner (OR = 8.67; 95%CI 4.57–16.45. CONCLUSIONS Experiences of violence committed by parents or other family members emerge as strong risk factors for intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Identifying and understanding protective and risk factors for the emergence of intimate partner violence in pregnancy and its maintenance may help

  6. Energetics of load carrying in Nepalese porters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bastien, Guillaume J; Schepens, Bénédicte; Willems, Patrick A; Heglund, Norman C

    2005-06-17

    Nepalese porters routinely carry head-supported loads equal to 100 to 200% of their body weight (Mb) for many days up and down steep mountain footpaths at high altitudes. Previous studies have shown that African women carry head-supported loads of up to 60% of their Mb far more economically than army recruits carrying equivalent loads in backpacks. Here we show that Nepalese porters carry heavier loads even more economically than African women. Female Nepalese porters, for example, carry on average loads that are 10% of their Mb heavier than the maximum loads carried by the African women, yet do so at a 25% smaller metabolic cost.

  7. BRIT manual after loading brachytherapy kit for intracavitary: initial experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aggarwal, Lalit M.; Mandal, Abhijit; Asthana, Anupam K.; Shahi, Uday P.; Pradhan, Satyajit

    2007-01-01

    Brachytherapy continues to serve as an important and rapidly evolving tool in the management of cancer. Technological developments in the last two decades have dramatic impact on the safe practice of brachytherapy. A wide range of brachytherapy sources and equipment are available for new therapeutic possibilities. However, decision making with regard to new brachytherapy facilities are need based and depend on the patient load, socioeconomic status of the patients, and funds available with the institution. Remote afterloading equipments are fast replacing the Manual After Loading (MAL) systems. However, keeping in view the large number of patients, who can not afford expensive treatment, the utility of manual after loading system which is inexpensive, cannot be ignored

  8. Investigation on the improvement of genetic algorithm for PWR loading pattern search and its benchmark verification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Qianqian; Jiang Xiaofeng; Zhang Shaohong

    2009-01-01

    In this study, the age technique, the concepts of relativeness degree and worth function are exploited to improve the performance of genetic algorithm (GA) for PWR loading pattern search. Among them, the age technique endows the algorithm be capable of learning from previous search 'experience' and guides it to do a better search in the vicinity ora local optimal; the introduction of the relativeness degree checks the relativeness of two loading patterns before performing crossover between them, which can significantly reduce the possibility of prematurity of the algorithm; while the application of the worth function makes the algorithm be capable of generating new loading patterns based on the statistics of common features of evaluated good loading patterns. Numerical verification against a loading pattern search benchmark problem ora two-loop reactor demonstrates that the adoption of these techniques is able to significantly enhance the efficiency of the genetic algorithm while improves the quality of the final solution as well. (authors)

  9. Dependence of loading time on control parameters in a standard vapour—loaded magneto—optical trap

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Yi-Chi; Wu Ji-Zhou; Li Yu-Qing; Ma Jie; Wang Li-Rong; Zhao Yan-Ting; Xiao Lian-Tuan; Jia Suo-Tang

    2011-01-01

    Loading time is one of the most important dynamic characteristics of a magneto—optical trap. In this paper, we primarily report on a detailed experimental study of the effects of some magneto—optical trap control parameters on loading time, including the background vacuum pressure, the magnetic field gradient, and the intensities of trapping and repumping lasers. We compare the results with previous theoretical and experimental results, and give qualitative analysis. These experimental investigations offer some useful guidelines to control the loading time of magneto—optical traps. The controllable loading time achieved is helpful to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio of photoassociation spectroscopy, which is remarkably improved from 7 to 28.6. (atomic and molecular physics)

  10. The Cat Is out of the Bag: The Joint Influence of Previous Experience and Looking Behavior on Infant Categorization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kovack-Lesh, Kristine A.; Horst, Jessica S.; Oakes, Lisa M.

    2008-01-01

    We examined the effect of 4-month-old infants' previous experience with dogs, cats, or both and their online looking behavior on their learning of the adult-defined category of "cat" in a visual familiarization task. Four-month-old infants' (N = 123) learning in the laboratory was jointly determined by whether or not they had experience…

  11. Laboratory Load Model Based on 150 kVA Power Frequency Converter and Simulink Real-Time – Concept, Implementation, Experiments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Małkowski

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available First section of the paper provides technical specification of laboratory load model basing on 150 kVA power frequency converter and Simulink Real-Time platform. Assumptions, as well as control algorithm structure is presented. Theoretical considerations based on criteria which load types may be simulated using discussed laboratory setup, are described. As described model contains transformer with thyristor-controlled tap changer, wider scope of device capabilities is presented. Paper lists and describes tunable parameters, both: tunable during device operation and changed only before starting the experiment. Implementation details are given in second section of paper. Hardware structure is presented and described. Information about used communication interface, data maintenance and storage solution, as well as used Simulink real-time features are presented. List and description of all measurements is provided. Potential of laboratory setup modifications is evaluated. Third section describes performed laboratory tests. Different load configurations are described and experimental results are presented. This includes simulation of under frequency load shedding, frequency and voltage dependent characteristics of groups of load units, time characteristics of group of different load units in a chosen area and arbitrary active and reactive power regulation basing on defined schedule. Different operation modes of control algorithm are described: apparent power control, active and reactive power control, active and reactive current RMS value control.

  12. Apparent Dependence of Rate- and State-Dependent Friction Parameters on Loading Velocity and Cumulative Displacement Inferred from Large-Scale Biaxial Friction Experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Urata, Yumi; Yamashita, Futoshi; Fukuyama, Eiichi; Noda, Hiroyuki; Mizoguchi, Kazuo

    2017-06-01

    We investigated the constitutive parameters in the rate- and state-dependent friction (RSF) law by conducting numerical simulations, using the friction data from large-scale biaxial rock friction experiments for Indian metagabbro. The sliding surface area was 1.5 m long and 0.5 m wide, slid for 400 s under a normal stress of 1.33 MPa at a loading velocity of either 0.1 or 1.0 mm/s. During the experiments, many stick-slips were observed and those features were as follows. (1) The friction drop and recurrence time of the stick-slip events increased with cumulative slip displacement in an experiment before which the gouges on the surface were removed, but they became almost constant throughout an experiment conducted after several experiments without gouge removal. (2) The friction drop was larger and the recurrence time was shorter in the experiments with faster loading velocity. We applied a one-degree-of-freedom spring-slider model with mass to estimate the RSF parameters by fitting the stick-slip intervals and slip-weakening curves measured based on spring force and acceleration of the specimens. We developed an efficient algorithm for the numerical time integration, and we conducted forward modeling for evolution parameters ( b) and the state-evolution distances (L_{{c}}), keeping the direct effect parameter ( a) constant. We then identified the confident range of b and L_{{c}} values. Comparison between the results of the experiments and our simulations suggests that both b and L_{{c}} increase as the cumulative slip displacement increases, and b increases and L_{{c}} decreases as the loading velocity increases. Conventional RSF laws could not explain the large-scale friction data, and more complex state evolution laws are needed.

  13. Short term load forecasting of anomalous load using hybrid soft computing methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasyid, S. A.; Abdullah, A. G.; Mulyadi, Y.

    2016-04-01

    Load forecast accuracy will have an impact on the generation cost is more economical. The use of electrical energy by consumers on holiday, show the tendency of the load patterns are not identical, it is different from the pattern of the load on a normal day. It is then defined as a anomalous load. In this paper, the method of hybrid ANN-Particle Swarm proposed to improve the accuracy of anomalous load forecasting that often occur on holidays. The proposed methodology has been used to forecast the half-hourly electricity demand for power systems in the Indonesia National Electricity Market in West Java region. Experiments were conducted by testing various of learning rate and learning data input. Performance of this methodology will be validated with real data from the national of electricity company. The result of observations show that the proposed formula is very effective to short-term load forecasting in the case of anomalous load. Hybrid ANN-Swarm Particle relatively simple and easy as a analysis tool by engineers.

  14. Numerical modeling of centrifuge cyclic lateral pile load experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerolymos, Nikos; Escoffier, Sandra; Gazetas, George; Garnier, Jacques

    2009-03-01

    To gain insight into the inelastic behavior of piles, the response of a vertical pile embedded in dry sand and subjected to cyclic lateral loading was studied experimentally in centrifuge tests conducted in Laboratoire Central des Ponts et Chaussées. Three types of cyclic loading were applied, two asymmetric and one symmetric with respect to the unloaded pile. An approximately square-root variation of soil stiffness with depth was obtained from indirect in-flight density measurements, laboratory tests on reconstituted samples, and well-established empirical correlations. The tests were simulated using a cyclic nonlinear Winkler spring model, which describes the full range of inelastic phenomena, including separation and re-attachment of the pile from and to the soil. The model consists of three mathematical expressions capable of reproducing a wide variety of monotonic and cyclic experimental p-y curves. The physical meaning of key model parameters is graphically explained and related to soil behavior. Comparisons with the centrifuge test results demonstrate the general validity of the model and its ability to capture several features of pile-soil interaction, including: soil plastification at an early stage of loading, “pinching” behavior due to the formation of a relaxation zone around the upper part of the pile, and stiffness and strength changes due to cyclic loading. A comparison of the p-y curves derived from the test results and the proposed model, as well as those from the classical curves of Reese et al. (1974) for sand, is also presented.

  15. The VELOCE pulsed power generator for isentropic compression experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ao, Tommy [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Asay, James Russell [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Chantrenne, Sophie J. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Hickman, Randall John [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Willis, Michael David [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Shay, Andrew W. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Grine-Jones, Suzi A. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Hall, Clint Allen [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Dynamic Material Properties; Baer, Melvin R. [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States). Engineering Sciences Center

    2007-12-01

    Veloce is a medium-voltage, high-current, compact pulsed power generator developed for isentropic and shock compression experiments. Because of its increased availability and ease of operation, Veloce is well suited for studying isentropic compression experiments (ICE) in much greater detail than previously allowed with larger pulsed power machines such as the Z accelerator. Since the compact pulsed power technology used for dynamic material experiments has not been previously used, it is necessary to examine several key issues to ensure that accurate results are obtained. In the present experiments, issues such as panel and sample preparation, uniformity of loading, and edge effects were extensively examined. In addition, magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) simulations using the ALEGRA code were performed to interpret the experimental results and to design improved sample/panel configurations. Examples of recent ICE studies on aluminum are presented.

  16. Load dependency in force-length relations in isolated single cardiomyocytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iribe, Gentaro; Kaneko, Toshiyuki; Yamaguchi, Yohei; Naruse, Keiji

    2014-08-01

    The previously reported pressure-volume (PV) relationship in frog hearts shows that end-systolic PV relation (ESPVR) is load dependent, whereas ESPVR in canine hearts is load independent. To study intrinsic cardiac mechanics in detail, it is desirable to study mechanics in a single isolated cardiomyocyte that is free from interstitial connective tissue. Previous single cell mechanics studies used a pair of carbon fibers (CF) attached to the upper surface of opposite cell ends to stretch cells. These studies showed that end-systolic force-length (FL) relation (ESFLR) is load independent. However, the range of applicable mechanical load using the conventional technique is limited because of weak cell-CF attachment. Therefore, the behavior of ESFLR in single cells under physiologically possible conditions of greater load is not yet well known. To cover wider loading range, we contrived a new method to hold cell-ends more firmly using two pairs of CF attached to both upper and bottom surfaces of cells. The new method allowed stretching cells to 2.2 μm or more in end-diastolic sarcomere length. ESFLR virtually behaves in a load independent manner only with end-diastolic sarcomere length less than 1.95 μm. It exhibited clear load dependency with higher preload, especially with low afterload conditions. Instantaneous cellular elastance curves showed that decreasing afterload enhanced relaxation and slowed time to peak elastance, as previously reported. A simulation study of a mathematical model with detailed description of thin filament activation suggested that velocity dependent thin filament inactivation is crucial for the observed load dependent behaviors and previously reported afterload dependent change in Ca(2+) transient shape. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Understanding Cognitive Load Using On-line Dictionaries

    OpenAIRE

    Robert F. , Dilenschneider

    2017-01-01

    Cognitive Load Theory may useful for language instructors to understand how the look up conditions ofusing an on-line dictionary might influence learning. This paper first reviews previous studies that haveinvestigated dictionary use for vocabulary acquisition and reading comprehension Second, it explainsthe various elements of Cognitive Load Theory. Third, it describes how Cognitive Load Theory appliesto language learners' to learn unknown words and comprehend texts Last, it discusses the pe...

  18. NASA Task Load Index (TLX). Volume 1.0; Computerized Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Sandra G.

    1986-01-01

    This booklet and the accompanying diskette contain the materials necessary to collect subjective workload assessments with the NASA Task Load Index on IBM PC compatible microcomputers. This procedure for collecting workload ratings was developed by the Human Performance Group at NASA Ames Research Center during a three year research effort that involved more than 40 laboratory, simulation, and inflight experiments Although the technique is still undergoing evaluation, this package is being distributed to allow other researchers to use it in their own experiments Comments or suggestions about the procedure would be greatly appreciated This package is intended to fill a "nuts and bolts" function of describing the procedure. A bibliography provides background information about previous empirical findings and the logic that supports the procedure.

  19. Vectorial loading of processive motor proteins: implementing a landscape picture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Young C; Fisher, Michael E

    2005-01-01

    Individual processive molecular motors, of which conventional kinesin is the most studied quantitatively, move along polar molecular tracks and, by exerting a force F = (F x ,F y ,F z ) on a tether, drag cellular cargoes, in vivo, or spherical beads, in vitro, taking up to hundreds of nanometre-scale steps. From observations of velocities and the dispersion of displacements with time, under measured forces and controlled fuel supply (typically ATP), one may hope to obtain insight into the molecular motions undergone in the individual steps. In the simplest situation, the load force F may be regarded as a scalar resisting force, F x z >0, while more recently Block and co-workers (2002 Biophys. J. 83 491, 2003 Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 100 2351) and Carter and Cross (2005 Nature 435 308) have studied assisting (or reverse) loads, F x >0, and also sideways (or transverse) loads F y ≠ 0. We extend previous mechanochemical kinetic models by explicitly implementing a free-energy landscape picture in order to allow for the full vectorial nature of the force F transmitted by the tether. The load-dependence of the various forward and reverse transition rates is embodied in load distribution vectors, θ j + and θ j - , which relate to substeps of the motor, and in next order, in compliance matrices η j + and η j - . The approach is applied specifically to discuss the experiments of Howard and co-workers (1996 Biophys.?J. 70 418) in which the buckling of partially clamped microtubules was measured under the action of bound kinesin molecules which induced determined perpendicular loads. But in the normal single-bead assay it also proves imperative to allow for F z >0: the appropriate analysis for kinesin, suggesting that the motor 'crouches' on binding ATP prior to stepping, is sketched. It yields an expression for the velocity, V (F x ,F z ;[ATP]), needed to address the buckling experiments

  20. Influential Factors for Accurate Load Prediction in a Demand Response Context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wollsen, Morten Gill; Kjærgaard, Mikkel Baun; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

    2016-01-01

    Accurate prediction of a buildings electricity load is crucial to respond to Demand Response events with an assessable load change. However, previous work on load prediction lacks to consider a wider set of possible data sources. In this paper we study different data scenarios to map the influence....... Next, the time of day that is being predicted greatly influence the prediction which is related to the weather pattern. By presenting these results we hope to improve the modeling of building loads and algorithms for Demand Response planning.......Accurate prediction of a buildings electricity load is crucial to respond to Demand Response events with an assessable load change. However, previous work on load prediction lacks to consider a wider set of possible data sources. In this paper we study different data scenarios to map the influence...

  1. Inattentional Deafness: Visual Load Leads to Time-Specific Suppression of Auditory Evoked Responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molloy, Katharine; Griffiths, Timothy D; Chait, Maria; Lavie, Nilli

    2015-12-09

    stimuli, resulting in inattentional deafness. The dynamic "push-pull" pattern of load effects on visual and auditory processing furthers our understanding of both the neural mechanisms of attention and of cross-modal effects across visual and auditory processing. These results also offer an explanation for many previous failures to find cross-modal effects in experiments where the visual load effects may not have coincided directly with auditory sensory processing. Copyright © 2015 Molloy et al.

  2. Bed-levelling experiments with suspended load

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Talmon, A.M.; De Graaff, J.

    1991-01-01

    Bed-levelling experiments are conducted in a straight laboratory channel. The experiments involve a significant fraction of suspended sediment transport. The purpose of the experiments is to provide data for modelling of the direction of sediment transport on a transverse sloping alluvial river bed,

  3. High Level Waste (HLW) Processing Experience with Increased Waste Loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    JANTZEN, CAROL

    2004-01-01

    The Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) Engineering requested characterization of glass samples that were taken after the second melter had been operational for about 5 months. After the new melter had been installed, the waste loading had been increased to about 38 weight percentage after a new quasicrystalline liquidus model had been implemented. The DWPF had also switched from processing with refractory Frit 200 to a more fluid Frit 320. The samples were taken after DWPF observed very rapid buildup of deposits in the upper pour spout bore and on the pour spout insert while processing the high waste loading feedstock. These samples were evaluated using various analytical techniques to determine the cause of the crystallization. The pour stream sample was homogeneous, amorphous, and representative of the feed batch from which it was derived. Chemical analysis of the pour stream sample indicated that a waste loading of 38.5 weight per cent had been achieved. The data analysis indicated that surface crystallization, induced by temperature and oxygen fugacity gradients in the pour spout, caused surface crystallization to occur in the spout and on the insert at the higher waste loadings even though there was no crystallization in the pour stream

  4. Cognitive load during route selection increases reliance on spatial heuristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunyé, Tad T; Martis, Shaina B; Taylor, Holly A

    2018-05-01

    Planning routes from maps involves perceiving the symbolic environment, identifying alternate routes and applying explicit strategies and implicit heuristics to select an option. Two implicit heuristics have received considerable attention, the southern route preference and initial segment strategy. This study tested a prediction from decision-making theory that increasing cognitive load during route planning will increase reliance on these heuristics. In two experiments, participants planned routes while under conditions of minimal (0-back) or high (2-back) working memory load. In Experiment 1, we examined how memory load impacts the southern route heuristic. In Experiment 2, we examined how memory load impacts the initial segment heuristic. Results replicated earlier results demonstrating a southern route preference (Experiment 1) and initial segment strategy (Experiment 2) and further demonstrated that evidence for heuristic reliance is more likely under conditions of concurrent working memory load. Furthermore, the extent to which participants maintained efficient route selection latencies in the 2-back condition predicted the magnitude of this effect. Together, results demonstrate that working memory load increases the application of heuristics during spatial decision making, particularly when participants attempt to maintain quick decisions while managing concurrent task demands.

  5. Physical Modelling of Cyclic Laterally Loaded Pile in Cohesionless Soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Mette; Wolf, Torben K.; Rasmussen, Kristian L.

    Offshore wind turbines are normally founded with large diameter monopiles and placed in rough environments subjected to variable lateral loads from wind and waves. A long-term lateral loading may create rotation (tilt) of the pile by change in the pile-soil system which is critical in the service......Offshore wind turbines are normally founded with large diameter monopiles and placed in rough environments subjected to variable lateral loads from wind and waves. A long-term lateral loading may create rotation (tilt) of the pile by change in the pile-soil system which is critical...... in the serviceability limit state. In this paper small-scale testing of a pile subjected to cyclic, lateral loading is treated in order to investigate the effect of cyclic loading. The test setup, which is an improvement of a previous setup, is described and the first results of testing are compared with previous...

  6. Laboratory Testing of Cyclic Laterally Loaded Pile in Cohesionless Soil

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Roesen, Hanne Ravn; Ibsen, Lars Bo; Hansen, Mette

    2013-01-01

    Offshore wind turbines are normally founded with large diameter monopiles and placed in rough environments subjected to variable lateral loads from wind and waves. A long-term lateral loading may create rotation (tilt) of the pile by change in the pile-soil system which is critical in the service......Offshore wind turbines are normally founded with large diameter monopiles and placed in rough environments subjected to variable lateral loads from wind and waves. A long-term lateral loading may create rotation (tilt) of the pile by change in the pile-soil system which is critical...... in the serviceability limit state. In this paper small-scale testing of a pile subjected to cyclic, lateral loading is treated in order to investigate the effect of cyclic loading. The test setup, which is an improvement of a previous setup, is described and the first results of testing are compared with previous...

  7. A Mechatronic Loading Device to Stimulate Bone Growth via a Human Knee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prabhala, Sai Krishna; Chien, Stanley; Yokota, Hiroki; Anwar, Sohel

    2016-09-29

    This paper presents the design of an innovative device that applies dynamic mechanical load to human knee joints. Dynamic loading is employed by applying cyclic and periodic force on a target area. The repeated force loading was considered to be an effective modality for repair and rehabilitation of long bones that are subject to ailments like fractures, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, etc. The proposed device design builds on the knowledge gained in previous animal and mechanical studies. It employs a modified slider-crank linkage mechanism actuated by a brushless Direct Current (DC) motor and provides uniform and cyclic force. The functionality of the device was simulated in a software environment and the structural integrity was analyzed using a finite element method for the prototype construction. The device is controlled by a microcontroller that is programmed to provide the desired loading force at a predetermined frequency and for a specific duration. The device was successfully tested in various experiments for its usability and full functionality. The results reveal that the device works according to the requirements of force magnitude and operational frequency. This device is considered ready to be used for a clinical study to examine whether controlled knee-loading could be an effective regimen for treating the stated bone-related ailments.

  8. A Mechatronic Loading Device to Stimulate Bone Growth via a Human Knee

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sai Krishna Prabhala

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the design of an innovative device that applies dynamic mechanical load to human knee joints. Dynamic loading is employed by applying cyclic and periodic force on a target area. The repeated force loading was considered to be an effective modality for repair and rehabilitation of long bones that are subject to ailments like fractures, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, etc. The proposed device design builds on the knowledge gained in previous animal and mechanical studies. It employs a modified slider-crank linkage mechanism actuated by a brushless Direct Current (DC motor and provides uniform and cyclic force. The functionality of the device was simulated in a software environment and the structural integrity was analyzed using a finite element method for the prototype construction. The device is controlled by a microcontroller that is programmed to provide the desired loading force at a predetermined frequency and for a specific duration. The device was successfully tested in various experiments for its usability and full functionality. The results reveal that the device works according to the requirements of force magnitude and operational frequency. This device is considered ready to be used for a clinical study to examine whether controlled knee-loading could be an effective regimen for treating the stated bone-related ailments.

  9. Simulation of a curved flume bed-load experiment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Talmon, A.M.

    1988-01-01

    The mathematical model for river bend morphology, as developed by Olesen, for bed-load transport is discussed, by comparing the results with some new experimental data. The model consists of a two-dimensional depth-averaged flow model together with a sediment balance and can be used to compute the

  10. NASA Task Load Index (TLX). Volume 1.0; Paper and Pencil Package

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hart, Sandra G.

    1986-01-01

    This booklet contains the materials necessary to collect subjective workload assessments with the NASA Task Load Index. This procedure for collecting workload ratings was developed by the Human Performance Group at NASA Ames Research Center during a three year research effort that involved more than 40 laboratory. simulation. and inflight experiments. Although the technique is still undergoing evaluation. this booklet is being distributed to allow other researchers to use it in their own experiments. Comments or suggestions about the procedure would be greatly appreciated. This package is intended to fill a "nuts and bolts" function of describing the procedure. A bibliography provides background information about previous empirical findings and the logic that supports the procedure.

  11. In-line monitoring of Li-ion battery electrode porosity and areal loading using active thermal scanning - modeling and initial experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rupnowski, Przemyslaw; Ulsh, Michael; Sopori, Bhushan; Green, Brian G.; Wood, David L.; Li, Jianlin; Sheng, Yangping

    2018-01-01

    This work focuses on a new technique called active thermal scanning for in-line monitoring of porosity and areal loading of Li-ion battery electrodes. In this technique a moving battery electrode is subjected to thermal excitation and the induced temperature rise is monitored using an infra-red camera. Static and dynamic experiments with speeds up to 1.5 m min-1 are performed on both cathodes and anodes and a combined micro- and macro-scale finite element thermal model of the system is developed. It is shown experimentally and through simulations that during thermal scanning the temperature profile generated in an electrode depends on both coating porosity (or area loading) and thickness. It is concluded that by inverting this relation the porosity (or areal loading) can be determined, if thermal response and thickness are simultaneously measured.

  12. Variability of electricity load patterns and its effect on demand response: A critical peak pricing experiment on Korean commercial and industrial customers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jang, Dongsik; Eom, Jiyong; Jae Park, Min; Jeung Rho, Jae

    2016-01-01

    To the extent that demand response represents an intentional electricity usage adjustment to price changes or incentive payments, consumers who exhibit more-variable load patterns on normal days may be capable of altering their loads more significantly in response to dynamic pricing plans. This study investigates the variation in the pre-enrollment load patterns of Korean commercial and industrial electricity customers and their impact on event-day loads during a critical peak pricing experiment in the winter of 2013. Contrary to conventional approaches to profiling electricity loads, this study proposes a new clustering technique based on variability indices that collectively represent the potential demand–response resource that these customers would supply. Our analysis reveals that variability in pre-enrollment load patterns does indeed have great predictive power for estimating their impact on demand–response loads. Customers in relatively low-variability clusters provided limited or no response, whereas customers in relatively high-variability clusters consistently presented large load impacts, accounting for most of the program-level peak reductions. This study suggests that dynamic pricing programs themselves may not offer adequate motivation for meaningful adjustments in load patterns, particularly for customers in low-variability clusters. - Highlights: • A method of clustering customers by variability indices is developed. • Customers in high-variability clusters provide substantial peak reductions. • Low-variability clusters exhibit limited reductions. • For low-variability customers, alternative policy instruments is well advised. • A model of discerning customer's demand response potential is suggested.

  13. Load-dependent extracellular matrix organization in atrioventricular heart valves: differences and similarities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alavi, S Hamed; Sinha, Aditi; Steward, Earl; Milliken, Jeffrey C; Kheradvar, Arash

    2015-07-15

    The extracellular matrix of the atrioventricular (AV) valves' leaflets has a key role in the ability of these valves to properly remodel in response to constantly varying physiological loads. While the loading on mitral and tricuspid valves is significantly different, no information is available on how collagen fibers change their orientation in response to these loads. This study delineates the effect of physiological loading on AV valves' leaflets microstructures using Second Harmonic Generation (SHG) microscopy. Fresh natural porcine tricuspid and mitral valves' leaflets (n = 12/valve type) were cut and prepared for the experiments. Histology and immunohistochemistry were performed to compare the microstructural differences between the valves. The specimens were imaged live during the relaxed, loading, and unloading phases using SHG microscopy. The images were analyzed with Fourier decomposition to mathematically seek changes in collagen fiber orientation. Despite the similarities in both AV valves as seen in the histology and immunohistochemistry data, the microstructural arrangement, especially the collagen fiber distribution and orientation in the stress-free condition, were found to be different. Uniaxial loading was dependent on the arrangement of the fibers in their relaxed mode, which led the fibers to reorient in-line with the load throughout the depth of the mitral leaflet but only to reorient in-line with the load in deeper layers of the tricuspid leaflet. Biaxial loading arranged the fibers in between the two principal axes of the stresses independently from their relaxed states. Unlike previous findings, this study concludes that the AV valves' three-dimensional extracellular fiber arrangement is significantly different in their stress-free and uniaxially loaded states; however, fiber rearrangement in response to the biaxial loading remains similar. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

  14. Optimization of ciprofloxacin complex loaded PLGA nanoparticles for pulmonary treatment of cystic fibrosis infections: Design of experiments approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Günday Türeli, Nazende; Türeli, Akif Emre; Schneider, Marc

    2016-12-30

    Design of Experiments (DoE) is a powerful tool for systematic evaluation of process parameters' effect on nanoparticle (NP) quality with minimum number of experiments. DoE was employed for optimization of ciprofloxacin loaded PLGA NPs for pulmonary delivery against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs. Since the biofilm produced by bacteria was shown to be a complicated 3D barrier with heterogeneous meshes ranging from 100nm to 500nm, nanoformulations small enough to travel through those channels were assigned as target quality. Nanoprecipitation was realized utilizing MicroJet Reactor (MJR) technology based on impinging jets principle. Effect of MJR parameters flow rate, temperature and gas pressure on particle size and PDI was investigated using Box-Behnken design. The relationship between process parameters and particle quality was demonstrated by constructed fit functions (R 2 =0.9934 p65%. Response surface plots provided experimental data-based understanding of MJR parameters' effect, thus NP quality. Presented work enables ciprofloxacin loaded PLGA nanoparticle preparations with pre-defined quality to fulfill the requirements of local drug delivery under CF disease conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. Measuring Load on Working Memory: The Use of Heart Rate as a Means of Measuring Chemistry Students' Cognitive Load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cranford, Kristen N.; Tiettmeyer, Jessica M.; Chuprinko, Bryan C.; Jordan, Sophia; Grove, Nathaniel P.

    2014-01-01

    Information processing provides a powerful model for understanding how learning occurs and highlights the important role that cognitive load plays in this process. In instances in which the cognitive load of a problem exceeds the available working memory, learning can be seriously hindered. Previously reported methods for measuring cognitive load…

  16. The relationship of previous training and experience of journal peer reviewers to subsequent review quality.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael L Callaham

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Peer review is considered crucial to the selection and publication of quality science, but very little is known about the previous experiences and training that might identify high-quality peer reviewers. The reviewer selection processes of most journals, and thus the qualifications of their reviewers, are ill defined. More objective selection of peer reviewers might improve the journal peer review process and thus the quality of published science. METHODS AND FINDINGS: 306 experienced reviewers (71% of all those associated with a specialty journal completed a survey of past training and experiences postulated to improve peer review skills. Reviewers performed 2,856 reviews of 1,484 separate manuscripts during a four-year study period, all prospectively rated on a standardized quality scale by editors. Multivariable analysis revealed that most variables, including academic rank, formal training in critical appraisal or statistics, or status as principal investigator of a grant, failed to predict performance of higher-quality reviews. The only significant predictors of quality were working in a university-operated hospital versus other teaching environment and relative youth (under ten years of experience after finishing training. Being on an editorial board and doing formal grant (study section review were each predictors for only one of our two comparisons. However, the predictive power of all variables was weak. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms that there are no easily identifiable types of formal training or experience that predict reviewer performance. Skill in scientific peer review may be as ill defined and hard to impart as is "common sense." Without a better understanding of those skills, it seems unlikely journals and editors will be successful in systematically improving their selection of reviewers. This inability to predict performance makes it imperative that all but the smallest journals implement routine review ratings

  17. Evaluative pressure overcomes perceptual load effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Normand, Alice; Autin, Frédérique; Croizet, Jean-Claude

    2015-06-01

    Perceptual load has been found to be a powerful bottom-up determinant of distractibility, with high perceptual load preventing distraction by any irrelevant information. However, when under evaluative pressure, individuals exert top-down attentional control by giving greater weight to task-relevant features, making them more distractible from task-relevant distractors. One study tested whether the top-down modulation of attention under evaluative pressure overcomes the beneficial bottom-up effect of high perceptual load on distraction. Using a response-competition task, we replicated previous findings that high levels of perceptual load suppress task-relevant distractor response interference, but only for participants in a control condition. Participants under evaluative pressure (i.e., who believed their intelligence was assessed) showed interference from task-relevant distractor at all levels of perceptual load. This research challenges the assumptions of the perceptual load theory and sheds light on a neglected determinant of distractibility: the self-relevance of the performance situation in which attentional control is solicited.

  18. Damage to tungsten macro-brush targets under multiple ELM-like heat loads. Experiments vs. numerical simulations and extrapolation to ITER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bazylev, B.; Landman, I. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (Germany). IHM; Janeschitz, G. [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe (DE). Fusion EURATOM] (and others)

    2007-07-01

    Operation of ITER at high fusion gain is assumed to be the H-mode. A characteristic feature of this regime is the transient release of energy from the confined plasma onto PFCs by multiple ELMs (about 104 ELMs per ITER discharge), which can play a determining role in the erosion rate and lifetime of these components. The expected energy heat loads on the ITER divertor during Type I ELM are in range 0.5-4 MJ/m{sup 2} in timescales of 0.3-0.6 ms. Tungsten macro-brush armour (W-brushes) is foreseen as one of plasma facing components (PFC) for ITER divertor and dome. During the intense transient events in ITER the surface melting, melt motion, melt splashing and evaporation are seen as the main mechanisms of W erosion. The expected erosion of the ITER plasma facing components under transient energy loads can be properly estimated by numerical simulations validated against target erosion of the experiments at the plasma gun facility QSPA-T. Within the collaboration established between EU fusion programme and the Russian Federation, W-brush targets (produced either from pure tungsten or tungsten with 1% of La{sub 2}O{sub 3}) manufactured according to the EU specifications for the ITER divertor targets, have been exposed to multiple ITER ELM-like loads in plasma gun facilities at TRINITI in the range 0.5 - 2.2 MJ/m2 with pulse duration of 0.5 ms. The measured material erosion data have been used to validate the codes MEMOS and PHEMOBRID. Numerical simulations, including 3D-simulations (codes MEMOS and PHEMOBRID), carried out for the conditions of the QSPA-T experiments with heat loads in the range 0.5-2.2 MJ/m{sup 2} and the timescale 0.5 ms demonstrated a rather good agreement with the data obtained at the plasma gun facility QSPA: melting of brush edges at low heat loads, intense melt motion and bridge formation caused by the Rayleigh-Taylor instability at heat loads Q>1.3 MJ/m{sup 2}. The melt splashing generated by the Kelvin-Helmholtz, and Rayleigh

  19. THE INFLUENCE OF SWIMMING IN DIFFERENT LOAD REGIMES ON THE LEVEL OF ANXIOUSNESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dragan Krivokapić

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available On the sample of 32 males aged between 18 and 19 characterized asambicious amateur athletes and good swimmers, an experiment was carried out with parallel groups with a view to evaluating the effects of two different programmes of swimming training. The specimen was divided into two homogenous subspecimens of 15 and 17 examinees.The groups were evened out according to the level of specific anxiousnes.The initial and the final approximation was carried out according to two equivalent tests (Martens- SCAT and Martens CSI-2 already standardized in the previous researches. The experiment lasted eight weeks with three training sessions per week. Sessions were different depending on the specific group i.e. program .The first group of examinees always swam in the regime of aerobic load while the other was occasionally exposed to anaerobic load. In ten sity of swimming was based on the criterion of anaerobic threshold. The results of the discriminatory statistics showed the absence of significant changes in both experimental groups which remained quite levelled after the final test.

  20. Multi-band Monopole Antennas Loaded with Metamaterial TL

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Zhi-jie; Liang, Jian-gang

    2015-05-01

    A novel metamaterial transmission line (TL) by loading complementary single Archimedean spiral resonator pair (CSASRP) is investigated and used to design a set of multi-frequency monopole antennas. The particularity is that the CSASRP which features dual-shunt branches in the equivalent circuit model is directly etched in the signal strip. By smartly controlling the element parameters, three antennas are designed and one of them covering UMTS and Bluetooth bands is fabricated and measured. The antenna exhibits impedance matching better than -10 dB and normal monopolar radiation patterns at working bands of 1.9-2.22 and 2.38-2.5 GHz. Moreover, the loaded element also contributes to the radiation, which is the major advantage of this prescription over previous lumped-element loadings. The proposed antenna is also more compact over previous designs.

  1. The Role of Perceptual Load in Inattentional Blindness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cartwright-Finch, Ula; Lavie, Nilli

    2007-01-01

    Perceptual load theory offers a resolution to the long-standing early vs. late selection debate over whether task-irrelevant stimuli are perceived, suggesting that irrelevant perception depends upon the perceptual load of task-relevant processing. However, previous evidence for this theory has relied on RTs and neuroimaging. Here we tested the…

  2. Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis and Microcomputed Tomography Evaluation of Microgap Formation in a Dental Implant Under Oblique Loading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jörn, Daniela; Kohorst, Philipp; Besdo, Silke; Borchers, Lothar; Stiesch, Meike

    2016-01-01

    Since bacterial leakage along the implant-abutment interface may be responsible for peri-implant infections, a realistic estimation of the interface gap width during function is important for risk assessment. The purpose of this study was to compare two methods for investigating microgap formation in a loaded dental implant, namely, microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) and three-dimensional (3D) nonlinear finite element analysis (FEA); additionally, stresses to be expected during loading were also evaluated by FEA. An implant-abutment complex was inspected for microgaps between the abutment and implant in a micro-CT scanner under an oblique load of 200 N. A numerical model of the situation was constructed; boundary conditions and external load were defined according to the experiment. The model was refined stepwise until its load-displacement behavior corresponded sufficiently to data from previous load experiments. FEA of the final, validated model was used to determine microgap widths. These were compared with the widths as measured in micro-CT inspection. Finally, stress distributions were evaluated in selected regions. No microgaps wider than 13 μm could be detected by micro-CT for the loaded implant. FEA revealed gap widths up to 10 μm between the implant and abutment at the side of load application. Furthermore, FEA predicted plastic deformation in a limited area at the implant collar. FEA proved to be an adequate method for studying microgap formation in dental implant-abutment complexes. FEA is not limited in gap width resolution as are radiologic techniques and can also provide insight into stress distributions within the loaded complex.

  3. Effect of load transients on SOFC operation—current reversal on loss of load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gemmen, Randall S.; Johnson, Christopher D.

    The dynamics of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) operation have been considered previously, but mainly through the use of one-dimensional codes applied to co-flow fuel cell systems. In this paper several geometries are considered, including cross-flow, co-flow, and counter-flow. The details of the model are provided, and the model is compared with some initial experimental data. For parameters typical of SOFC operation, a variety of transient cases are investigated, including representative load increase and decrease and system shutdown. Of particular note for large load decrease conditions (e.g., shutdown) is the occurrence of reverse current over significant portions of the cell, starting from the moment of load loss up to the point where equilibrated conditions again provide positive current. Consideration is given as to when such reverse current conditions might most significantly impact the reliability of the cell.

  4. Subsequent childbirth after a previous traumatic birth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Cheryl Tatano; Watson, Sue

    2010-01-01

    Nine percent of new mothers in the United States who participated in the Listening to Mothers II Postpartum Survey screened positive for meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder after childbirth. Women who have had a traumatic birth experience report fewer subsequent children and a longer length of time before their second baby. Childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder impacts couples' physical relationship, communication, conflict, emotions, and bonding with their children. The purpose of this study was to describe the meaning of women's experiences of a subsequent childbirth after a previous traumatic birth. Phenomenology was the research design used. An international sample of 35 women participated in this Internet study. Women were asked, "Please describe in as much detail as you can remember your subsequent pregnancy, labor, and delivery following your previous traumatic birth." Colaizzi's phenomenological data analysis approach was used to analyze the stories of the 35 women. Data analysis yielded four themes: (a) riding the turbulent wave of panic during pregnancy; (b) strategizing: attempts to reclaim their body and complete the journey to motherhood; (c) bringing reverence to the birthing process and empowering women; and (d) still elusive: the longed-for healing birth experience. Subsequent childbirth after a previous birth trauma has the potential to either heal or retraumatize women. During pregnancy, women need permission and encouragement to grieve their prior traumatic births to help remove the burden of their invisible pain.

  5. The Atlas load protection switch

    CERN Document Server

    Davis, H A; Dorr, G; Martínez, M; Gribble, R F; Nielsen, K E; Pierce, D; Parsons, W M

    1999-01-01

    Atlas is a high-energy pulsed-power facility under development to study materials properties and hydrodynamics experiments under extreme conditions. Atlas will implode heavy liner loads (m~45 gm) with a peak current of 27-32 MA delivered in 4 mu s, and is energized by 96, 240 kV Marx generators storing a total of 23 MJ. A key design requirement for Atlas is obtaining useful data for 95601130f all loads installed on the machine. Materials response calculations show current from a prefire can damage the load requiring expensive and time consuming replacement. Therefore, we have incorporated a set of fast-acting mechanical switches in the Atlas design to reduce the probability of a prefire damaging the load. These switches, referred to as the load protection switches, short the load through a very low inductance path during system charge. Once the capacitors have reached full charge, the switches open on a time scale short compared to the bank charge time, allowing current to flow to the load when the trigger pu...

  6. The effect of load-controlled bending load on the failure pressure of wall-thinned pipe elbows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin Weon; Yoon, Min Soo; Park, Chi Yong

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • We evaluated bending load effect on the failure pressure of wall-thinned pipe elbows. • Burst tests were conducted on real-scale elbow specimens with local wall thinning. • The tests were performed under combined pressure and load-controlled bending. • Load-controlled bending reduced the failure pressure of wall-thinned elbows. • Bending load effect was significant for opening-mode and intrados wall-thinning case. - Abstract: In this research, burst tests were conducted on real-scale elbow specimens, each with an artificial local wall-thinning defect, under combined internal pressure and constant in-plane bending load, as well as under simple internal pressure, to evaluate the effect of load-controlled bending load on the failure pressure of locally wall-thinned pipe elbows. Ninety-degree, 65A Schedule 80 elbows, with wall-thinning defects in the intrados and extrados, were used as specimens. The bending loads were in-plane opening- and closing-mode bending, applied in load-control mode. The results clearly indicated that a load-controlled in-plane bending load reduced the failure pressure of wall-thinned pipe elbows, in contrast to observations previously made under displacement-controlled bending conditions. The effect of the bending load was more significant for opening-mode than for closing-mode bending, regardless of the wall-thinning location in the elbow. Also, the effect was greater when the wall-thinning defect was located in the intrados region of the elbow, rather than the extrados region. Existing models that have been proposed to evaluate the failure of wall-thinned elbows under simple internal pressure conservatively predicted the failure pressure of elbows subjected to a combined internal pressure and load-controlled bending load

  7. Spatial working memory load affects counting but not subitizing in enumeration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shimomura, Tomonari; Kumada, Takatsune

    2011-08-01

    The present study investigated whether subitizing reflects capacity limitations associated with two types of working memory tasks. Under a dual-task situation, participants performed an enumeration task in conjunction with either a spatial (Experiment 1) or a nonspatial visual (Experiment 2) working memory task. Experiment 1 showed that spatial working memory load affected the slope of a counting function but did not affect subitizing performance or subitizing range. Experiment 2 showed that nonspatial visual working memory load affected neither enumeration efficiency nor subitizing range. Furthermore, in both spatial and nonspatial memory tasks, neither subitizing efficiency nor subitizing range was affected by amount of imposed memory load. In all the experiments, working memory load failed to influence slope, subitizing range, or overall reaction time. These findings suggest that subitizing is performed without either spatial or nonspatial working memory. A possible mechanism of subitizing with independent capacity of working memory is discussed.

  8. Loading, absorption, and Fokker-Planck calculations for upcoming ICRF experiments on ATF

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shepard, T.D.; Carter, M.D.; Goulding, R.H.; Kwon, M.

    1989-01-01

    ICRF experiments on ATF at the 100-kW level are planned for the current 1989 operating period. These plans include the 2ω/sub cH/ regime at f/sub RF/ = 28.88 MHz, D(H) at 14.44 MHz, and 4 He( 3 He) and D( 3 He) at 9.63 MHz. ECH target plasmas have n/sub eO/ /approxreverse arrowlt/ 0.15 /times/ 10 20 m/sup /minus/3/ and B = 0.95 T. The density and temperature profiles obtained are broader than those from 1988, owing to recent field error corrections. The values used for target-plasma parameters in the calculations were taken from initial 1989 ATF data. Loading and absorption calculations have been performed using the 3D RF heating code ORION with a helically symmetric equilibrium, and Fokker-Planck calculations were performed using the steady-state code RFTRANS with two velocity dimensions and one spatial dimension. 6 refs., 3 figs

  9. Using bench press load to predict upper body exercise loads in physically active individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Del P; Ngo, Kwan-Lung; Tse, Michael A; Smith, Andrew W

    2013-01-01

    This study investigated whether loads for assistance exercises of the upper body can be predicted from the loads of the bench press exercise. Twenty-nine physically active collegiate students (age: 22.6 ± 2.5; weight training experience: 2.9 ± 2.1 years; estimated 1RM bench press: 54.31 ± 14.60 kg; 1RM: body weight ratio: 0.80 ± 0.22; BMI: 22.7 ± 2.1 kg·m(-2)) were recruited. The 6RM loads for bench press, barbell bicep curl, overhead dumbbell triceps extension, hammer curl and dumbbell shoulder press were measured. Test-retest reliability for the 5 exercises as determined by Pearson product moment correlation coefficient was very high to nearly perfect (0.82-0.98, p bench press load was significantly correlated with the loads of the 4 assistance exercises (r ranged from 0.80 to 0.93, p bench press load was a significant (R(2) range from 0.64 to 0.86, p Bench press load (0.28) + 6.30 kg, (b) Barbell biceps curl = Bench press load (0.33) + 6.20 kg, (c) Overhead triceps extension = Bench press load (0.33) - 0.60 kg, and (d) Dumbbell shoulder press = Bench press load (0.42) + 5.84 kg. The difference between the actual load and the predicted load using the four equations ranged between 6.52% and 8.54%, such difference was not significant. Fitness professionals can use the 6RM bench press load as a time effective and accurate method to predict training loads for upper body assistance exercises. Key pointsThe bench press load was significantly correlated with the loads of the 4 assistance exercises.No significant differences were found between the actual load and the predicted load in the four equations.6RM bench press load can be a time effective and accurate method to predict training loads for upper body assistance exercises.

  10. Blur Detection is Unaffected by Cognitive Load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loschky, Lester C; Ringer, Ryan V; Johnson, Aaron P; Larson, Adam M; Neider, Mark; Kramer, Arthur F

    2014-03-01

    Blur detection is affected by retinal eccentricity, but is it also affected by attentional resources? Research showing effects of selective attention on acuity and contrast sensitivity suggests that allocating attention should increase blur detection. However, research showing that blur affects selection of saccade targets suggests that blur detection may be pre-attentive. To investigate this question, we carried out experiments in which viewers detected blur in real-world scenes under varying levels of cognitive load manipulated by the N -back task. We used adaptive threshold estimation to measure blur detection thresholds at 0°, 3°, 6°, and 9° eccentricity. Participants carried out blur detection as a single task, a single task with to-be-ignored letters, or an N-back task with four levels of cognitive load (0, 1, 2, or 3-back). In Experiment 1, blur was presented gaze-contingently for occasional single eye fixations while participants viewed scenes in preparation for an easy picture recognition memory task, and the N -back stimuli were presented auditorily. The results for three participants showed a large effect of retinal eccentricity on blur thresholds, significant effects of N -back level on N -back performance, scene recognition memory, and gaze dispersion, but no effect of N -back level on blur thresholds. In Experiment 2, we replicated Experiment 1 but presented the images tachistoscopically for 200 ms (half with, half without blur), to determine whether gaze-contingent blur presentation in Experiment 1 had produced attentional capture by blur onset during a fixation, thus eliminating any effect of cognitive load on blur detection. The results with three new participants replicated those of Experiment 1, indicating that the use of gaze-contingent blur presentation could not explain the lack of effect of cognitive load on blur detection. Thus, apparently blur detection in real-world scene images is unaffected by attentional resources, as manipulated by

  11. Cognitive load effects on early visual perceptual processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Ping; Forte, Jason; Sewell, David; Carter, Olivia

    2018-05-01

    Contrast-based early visual processing has largely been considered to involve autonomous processes that do not need the support of cognitive resources. However, as spatial attention is known to modulate early visual perceptual processing, we explored whether cognitive load could similarly impact contrast-based perception. We used a dual-task paradigm to assess the impact of a concurrent working memory task on the performance of three different early visual tasks. The results from Experiment 1 suggest that cognitive load can modulate early visual processing. No effects of cognitive load were seen in Experiments 2 or 3. Together, the findings provide evidence that under some circumstances cognitive load effects can penetrate the early stages of visual processing and that higher cognitive function and early perceptual processing may not be as independent as was once thought.

  12. Working memory load predicts visual search efficiency: Evidence from a novel pupillary response paradigm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attar, Nada; Schneps, Matthew H; Pomplun, Marc

    2016-10-01

    An observer's pupil dilates and constricts in response to variables such as ambient and focal luminance, cognitive effort, the emotional stimulus content, and working memory load. The pupil's memory load response is of particular interest, as it might be used for estimating observers' memory load while they are performing a complex task, without adding an interruptive and confounding memory test to the protocol. One important task in which working memory's involvement is still being debated is visual search, and indeed a previous experiment by Porter, Troscianko, and Gilchrist (Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 60, 211-229, 2007) analyzed observers' pupil sizes during search to study this issue. These authors found that pupil size increased over the course of the search, and they attributed this finding to accumulating working memory load. However, since the pupil response is slow and does not depend on memory load alone, this conclusion is rather speculative. In the present study, we estimated working memory load in visual search during the presentation of intermittent fixation screens, thought to induce a low, stable level of arousal and cognitive effort. Using standard visual search and control tasks, we showed that this paradigm reduces the influence of non-memory-related factors on pupil size. Furthermore, we found an early increase in working memory load to be associated with more efficient search, indicating a significant role of working memory in the search process.

  13. Effects of static pre-loading on the dynamic stability of a column on ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper presents, from strictly analytical consideration, the dynamic analysis of a finite column stressed by a step load but in the presence of a previously imposed static load. The results show that (a) the dynamic buckling load for this type of loading is relatively higher than that of a similar column stressed by a step load ...

  14. Visual perceptual load induces inattentional deafness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macdonald, James S P; Lavie, Nilli

    2011-08-01

    In this article, we establish a new phenomenon of "inattentional deafness" and highlight the level of load on visual attention as a critical determinant of this phenomenon. In three experiments, we modified an inattentional blindness paradigm to assess inattentional deafness. Participants made either a low- or high-load visual discrimination concerning a cross shape (respectively, a discrimination of line color or of line length with a subtle length difference). A brief pure tone was presented simultaneously with the visual task display on a final trial. Failures to notice the presence of this tone (i.e., inattentional deafness) reached a rate of 79% in the high-visual-load condition, significantly more than in the low-load condition. These findings establish the phenomenon of inattentional deafness under visual load, thereby extending the load theory of attention (e.g., Lavie, Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance, 25, 596-616, 1995) to address the cross-modal effects of visual perceptual load.

  15. Life-expetancy formulas based on the load model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gubin, A.T.

    1994-01-01

    Reduction in life expectancy is already used as a supplementary measure of radiation safety and has been widely investigated in radiological experiments. Usually, the median or the mean life expetancy calculated form the onset of radiation exposure has been considered. Considerable data on the dependence of the reduction in median and mean life expectancy on the dose in different exposure conditions has now been accumulated. The development of calculation methods for different exposure conditions would facilitate the generalization of these and other data characterizing the change in lifetime under the action of ionizing radiation and their wider use in estimating radiation safety. A mathematical model of cohort extinction in normal conditions and in unfavorable circumstances (henceforward called the load model of mortality) that is in satisfactory agreement with observational data has been previously proposed. The aim of the present work is to obtain expressions for the median and mean life expectancy on the basis of this model. Formulas for the radiational load and age at the onset of irradiation and their relationship are derived for low levels of radiation. Particular attention is paid to short- and long-term radiation exposure

  16. Experience with high percent step load decrease from full power in NPP Krsko

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vukovic, V.

    2000-01-01

    The control system of NPP Kriko, is designed to automatically control the reactor in the power range between 15 and 100 percent of rated power for the following designed transients; - 10 percent step change in load; 5 percent per minute loading and unloading; step full load decrease with the aid of automatically initiated and controlled steam dump. Because station operation below 15 percent of rated power is designed for a period of time during startup or standby conditions, automatic control below 15 percent is not provided. The steam dump accomplishes the following functional tasks: it permits the nuclear plants to accept a sudden 95 percent loss of load without incurring reactor trip; it removes stored energy and residual heat following a reactor trip and brings the plant to equilibrium no-load conditions without actuation of the steam generator safety valves; it permits control of the steam generator pressure at no-load conditions and permits a manually controlled cooldown of the plant. The first two functional tasks are controlled by Tavg. The third is controlled by steam pressure. Interlocks minimise any possibility of an inadvertent actuation of steam dump system. This paper discusses relationships between designed (described) characteristics of plant and the data which are obtained during startup and/or first ten years of operation. (author)

  17. Humic Acid Complexation of Th, Hf and Zr in Ligand Competition Experiments: Metal Loading and Ph Effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stern, Jennifer C.; Foustoukos, Dionysis I.; Sonke, Jeroen E.; Salters, Vincent J. M.

    2014-01-01

    The mobility of metals in soils and subsurface aquifers is strongly affected by sorption and complexation with dissolved organic matter, oxyhydroxides, clay minerals, and inorganic ligands. Humic substances (HS) are organic macromolecules with functional groups that have a strong affinity for binding metals, such as actinides. Thorium, often studied as an analog for tetravalent actinides, has also been shown to strongly associate with dissolved and colloidal HS in natural waters. The effects of HS on the mobilization dynamics of actinides are of particular interest in risk assessment of nuclear waste repositories. Here, we present conditional equilibrium binding constants (Kc, MHA) of thorium, hafnium, and zirconium-humic acid complexes from ligand competition experiments using capillary electrophoresis coupled with ICP-MS (CE- ICP-MS). Equilibrium dialysis ligand exchange (EDLE) experiments using size exclusion via a 1000 Damembrane were also performed to validate the CE-ICP-MS analysis. Experiments were performed at pH 3.5-7 with solutions containing one tetravalent metal (Th, Hf, or Zr), Elliot soil humic acid (EHA) or Pahokee peat humic acid (PHA), and EDTA. CE-ICP-MS and EDLE experiments yielded nearly identical binding constants for the metal- humic acid complexes, indicating that both methods are appropriate for examining metal speciation at conditions lower than neutral pH. We find that tetravalent metals form strong complexes with humic acids, with Kc, MHA several orders of magnitude above REE-humic complexes. Experiments were conducted at a range of dissolved HA concentrations to examine the effect of [HA]/[Th] molar ratio on Kc, MHA. At low metal loading conditions (i.e. elevated [HA]/[Th] ratios) the ThHA binding constant reached values that were not affected by the relative abundance of humic acid and thorium. The importance of [HA]/[Th] molar ratios on constraining the equilibrium of MHA complexation is apparent when our estimated Kc, MHA values

  18. Progress of High Heat Flux Component Manufacture and Heat Load Experiments in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, X.; Lian, Y.; Xu, Z.; Chen, J.; Chen, L.; Wang, Q.; Duan, X., E-mail: xliu@swip.ac.cn [Southwestern Institute of Physics, Chengu (China); Luo, G. [Institute of Plasma Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei (China); Yan, Q. [University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing (China)

    2012-09-15

    Full text: High heat flux components for first wall and divertor are the key subassembly of the present fusion experiment apparatus and fusion reactors in the future. It is requested the metallurgical bonding among the plasma facing materials (PFMs), heat sink and support materials. As to PFMs, ITER grade vacuum hot pressed beryllium CN-G01 was developed in China and has been accepted as the reference material of ITER first wall. Additionally pure tungsten and tungsten alloys, as well as chemical vapor deposition (CVD) W coating are being developed for the aims of ITER divertor application and the demand of domestic fusion devices, and significant progress has been achieved. For plasma facing components (PFCs), high heat flux components used for divertor chamber are being studied according to the development program of the fusion experiment reactor of China. Two reference joining techniques of W/Cu mockups for ITER divertor chamber are being developed, one is mono-block structure by pure copper casting of tungsten surface following by hot iso-static press (HIP), and another is flat structure by brazing. The critical acceptance criteria of high heat flux components are their high heat load performance. A 60 kW Electron-beam Material testing Scenario (EMS-60) has been constructed at Southwestern Institute of Physics (SWIP),which adopts an electron beam welding gun with maximum energy of 150 keV and 150 x 150 mm{sup 2} scanning area by maximum frame rate of 30 kHz. Furthermore, an Engineering Mockup testing Scenario (EMS-400) facility with 400 kW electron-beam melting gun is under construction and will be available by the end of this year. After that, China will have the comprehensive capability of high heat load evaluation from PFMs and small-scale mockups to engineering full scale PFCs. A brazed W/CuCrZr mockup with 25 x 25 x 40 mm{sup 3} in dimension was tested at EMS-60. The heating and cooling time are 10 seconds and 15 seconds, respectively. The experiment

  19. Evaluation of observed blast loading effects on NIF x-ray diagnostic collimators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masters, N D; Fisher, A; Kalantar, D; Prasad, R; Stölken, J S; Wlodarczyk, C

    2014-11-01

    We present the "debris wind" models used to estimate the impulsive load to which x-ray diagnostics and other structures are subject during National Ignition Facility experiments. These models are used as part of the engineering design process. Isotropic models, based on simulations or simplified "expanding shell" models, are augmented by debris wind multipliers to account for directional anisotropy. We present improvements to these multipliers based on measurements of the permanent deflections of diagnostic components: 4× for the polar direction and 2× within the equatorial plane-the latter relaxing the previous heuristic debris wind multiplier.

  20. New after-loading intrauterine packing device: ten years experience

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sklaroff, D.M.; Baker, A.S.; Tasbas, M.

    1985-01-01

    A new variation of the uterine packing device for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma is described. It combines the advantages of the Holter technique with the after-loading method described by Simon. This device has been in use for more than 10 years and has been found most satisfactory

  1. Load Test in Sheet Pile

    OpenAIRE

    Luis Orlando Ibanez

    2016-01-01

    In this work, are discussed experiences in the use of mathematical modeling and testing in hydraulic engineering structures. For this purpose the results of load tests in sheet pile, evaluating horizontal and vertical deformations that occur in the same exposed. Comparisons between theoretical methods for calculating deformations and mathematical models based on the Finite Element Method are established. Finally, the coincidence between the numerical model and the results of the load test ful...

  2. The Impact of Previous Action on Bargaining—An Experiment on the Emergence of Preferences for Fairness Norms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Neumann

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The communication of participants to identify an acceptable bargaining outcome in the Nash bargaining game is all about fairness norms. Participants introduce fairness norms which yield a better outcome for themselves in order to convince the other participant of their bargaining proposal. Typically, these fairness norms are in line with theoretical predictions, which support a wide variety of different but fair outcomes the participants can choose from. In this experiment, we play two treatments of the Nash bargaining game: in one treatment, the participants play a dictator game prior to bargaining, and in the other treatment they do not. We find that participants who have not played the dictator game intensively discuss the outcome of the game and come to solutions closer to the equal split of the pie the longer they chat. This effect vanishes as soon as the participants have previous experience from a dictator game: instead of chatting, they establish the fairness norm introduced in the dictator game. Remarkably, if the dictator is unfair in the dictator game, he also gets a higher share of the pie in the Nash bargaining game.

  3. Plasma opening switch experiments on the Particle Beam Accelerator II

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sweeney, M.A.; McDaniel, D.H.; Mendel, C.W.; Rochau, G.E.; Moore, W.B.S.; Mowrer, G.R.; Simpson, W.W.; Zagar, D.M.; Grasser, T.; McDougal, C.D.

    1989-01-01

    Plasma opening switch (POS) experiments have been done since 1986 on the PBFA-II ion beam accelerator to develop a rugged POS that will open rapidly ( 80%) into a high impedance (> 10 ohm) load. In a recent series of experiments on PBFA II, the authors have developed and tested three different switch designs that use magnetic fields to control and confine the injected plasma. All three configurations couple current efficiently to a 5-ohm electron beam diode. In this experimental series, the PBFA-II Delta Series, more extensive diagnostics were used than in previous switch experiments on PBFA II or on the Blackjack 5 accelerator at Maxwell Laboratories. Data from the experiments with these three switch designs is presented

  4. Is Hand Selection Modulated by Cognitive-perceptual Load?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Jiali; Wilkinson, Krista; Sainburg, Robert L

    2018-01-15

    Previous studies proposed that selecting which hand to use for a reaching task appears to be modulated by a factor described as "task difficulty". However, what features of a task might contribute to greater or lesser "difficulty" in the context of hand selection decisions has yet to be determined. There has been evidence that biomechanical and kinematic factors such as movement smoothness and work can predict patterns of selection across the workspace, suggesting a role of predictive cost analysis in hand-selection. We hypothesize that this type of prediction for hand-selection should recruit substantial cognitive resources and thus should be influenced by cognitive-perceptual loading. We test this hypothesis by assessing the role of cognitive-perceptual loading on hand selection decisions, using a visual search task that presents different levels of difficulty (cognitive-perceptual load), as established in previous studies on overall response time and efficiency of visual search. Although the data are necessarily preliminary due to small sample size, our data suggested an influence of cognitive-perceptual load on hand selection, such that the dominant hand was selected more frequently as cognitive load increased. Interestingly, cognitive-perceptual loading also increased cross-midline reaches with both hands. Because crossing midline is more costly in terms of kinematic and kinetic factors, our findings suggest that cognitive processes are normally engaged to avoid costly actions, and that the choice not-to-cross midline requires cognitive resources. Copyright © 2017 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. Duration of Load Effects on Different Sized Timber Beams

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andreasen, Lotte; Hoffmeyer, Preben

    1997-01-01

    This is the final report submitted to EC in connection with a project on duration of load. The report contains the results of the experimental work on duration of load for beams and notched beams of LVL and of glulam. The report also contains experimental results from duration of load experiments...

  6. Auditory working memory load impairs visual ventral stream processing: toward a unified model of attentional load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klemen, Jane; Büchel, Christian; Bühler, Mira; Menz, Mareike M; Rose, Michael

    2010-03-01

    Attentional interference between tasks performed in parallel is known to have strong and often undesired effects. As yet, however, the mechanisms by which interference operates remain elusive. A better knowledge of these processes may facilitate our understanding of the effects of attention on human performance and the debilitating consequences that disruptions to attention can have. According to the load theory of cognitive control, processing of task-irrelevant stimuli is increased by attending in parallel to a relevant task with high cognitive demands. This is due to the relevant task engaging cognitive control resources that are, hence, unavailable to inhibit the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli. However, it has also been demonstrated that a variety of types of load (perceptual and emotional) can result in a reduction of the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli, suggesting a uniform effect of increased load irrespective of the type of load. In the present study, we concurrently presented a relevant auditory matching task [n-back working memory (WM)] of low or high cognitive load (1-back or 2-back WM) and task-irrelevant images at one of three object visibility levels (0%, 50%, or 100%). fMRI activation during the processing of the task-irrelevant visual stimuli was measured in the lateral occipital cortex and found to be reduced under high, compared to low, WM load. In combination with previous findings, this result is suggestive of a more generalized load theory, whereby cognitive load, as well as other types of load (e.g., perceptual), can result in a reduction of the processing of task-irrelevant stimuli, in line with a uniform effect of increased load irrespective of the type of load.

  7. The integrity of cracked structures under thermal loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Townley, C.H.A.

    1976-01-01

    Previous work by Dowling and Townley on the load-carrying capacity of a cracked structure is extended so that quantitative predictions can be made about failure under thermal loading. Residual stresses can be dealt with in the same way as thermal stresses. It is shown that the tolerance of the structure to thermal stress can be quantified in terms of a parameter which defines the state of the structure. This state parameter can be deduced from the calculated performance of the structure when subjected to an external load. (author)

  8. Dynamic load synthesis for shock numerical simulation in space structure design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monti, Riccardo; Gasbarri, Paolo

    2017-08-01

    Pyroshock loads are the most stressing environments that a space equipment experiences during its operating life from a mechanical point of view. In general, the mechanical designer considers the pyroshock analysis as a very demanding constraint. Unfortunately, due to the non-linear behaviour of the structure under such loads, only the experimental tests can demonstrate if it is able to withstand these dynamic loads. By taking all the previous considerations into account, some preliminary information about the design correctness could be done by performing ;ad-hoc; numerical simulations, for example via commercial finite element software (i.e. MSC Nastran). Usually these numerical tools face the shock solution in two ways: 1) a direct mode, by using a time dependent enforcement and by evaluating the time-response and space-response as well as the internal forces; 2) a modal basis approach, by considering a frequency dependent load and of course by evaluating internal forces in the frequency domain. This paper has the main aim to develop a numerical tool to synthetize the time dependent enforcement based on deterministic and/or genetic algorithm optimisers. In particular starting from a specified spectrum in terms of SRS (Shock Response Spectrum) a time dependent discrete function, typically an acceleration profile, will be obtained to force the equipment by simulating the shock event. The synthetizing time and the interface with standards numerical codes will be two of the main topics dealt with in the paper. In addition a congruity and consistency methodology will be presented to ensure that the identified time dependent loads fully match the specified spectrum.

  9. Impact of thermostatically controlled loads' demand response activation on aggregated power: A field experiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lakshmanan, Venkatachalam; Marinelli, Mattia; Kosek, Anna Magdalena

    2015-01-01

    activation. The outcome of this experimental study quantifies the actual flexibility of household TCLs and the consequence for the different parties with respect to power behaviour. Each DR activation method adopts different scenarios to meet the power reduction, and has different impacts on the parameters......This paper describes the impacts of different types of DR (demand response) activation on TCLs' (thermostatically controlled loads) aggregated power. The different parties: power system operators, DR service providers (or aggregators) and consumers, have different objectives in relation to DR....... The experiments are conducted with real domestic refrigerators representing TCL. Activating refrigerators for DR with a delay reduces the ISE (integral square error) in power limitation by 28.46%, overshoot by 7.69%. The delay in refrigerator activation causes reduction in power ramp down rate by 39.90%, ramp up...

  10. Design of Vickers Hardness Loading Controller

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sihai Zhao

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Traditionally Vickers testing needs manual works, as a result, it will induce low precision and automatization. So this paper design a new type of loading controlling system, it is based on single chip computer 89S52, used PZT as the force generator in micro Vickers hardness testing. It primarily includes the designing of hardware, software of collecting data and PZT signals by AD667. This article has given the sketch of electrical circuit and controlling software, it also offers the experiment data. The experiments have showed that using this system can exactly control the loading results, and the average tolerance is less than 0.43 %.

  11. TU-CD-BRD-01: Making Incident Learning Practical and Useful: Challenges and Previous Experiences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ezzell, G.

    2015-01-01

    It has long been standard practice in radiation oncology to report internally when a patient’s treatment has not gone as planned and to report events to regulatory agencies when legally required. Most potential errors are caught early and never affect the patient. Quality assurance steps routinely prevent errors from reaching the patient, and these “near misses” are much more frequent than treatment errors. A growing number of radiation oncology facilities have implemented incident learning systems to report and analyze both errors and near misses. Using the term “incident learning” instead of “event reporting” emphasizes the need to use these experiences to change the practice and make future errors less likely and promote an educational, non-punitive environment. There are challenges in making such a system practical and effective. Speakers from institutions of different sizes and practice environments will share their experiences on how to make such a system work and what benefits their clinics have accrued. Questions that will be addressed include: How to create a system that is easy for front line staff to access How to motivate staff to report How to promote the system as positive and educational and not punitive or demeaning How to organize the team for reviewing and responding to reports How to prioritize which reports to discuss in depth How not to dismiss the rest How to identify underlying causes How to design corrective actions and implement change How to develop useful statistics and analysis tools How to coordinate a departmental system with a larger risk management system How to do this without a dedicated quality manager Some speakers’ experience is with in-house systems and some will share experience with the AAPM/ASTRO national Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System (RO-ILS). Reports intended to be of value nationally need to be comprehensible to outsiders; examples of useful reports will be shown. There will be ample time set

  12. TU-CD-BRD-01: Making Incident Learning Practical and Useful: Challenges and Previous Experiences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ezzell, G. [Mayo Clinic Arizona (United States)

    2015-06-15

    It has long been standard practice in radiation oncology to report internally when a patient’s treatment has not gone as planned and to report events to regulatory agencies when legally required. Most potential errors are caught early and never affect the patient. Quality assurance steps routinely prevent errors from reaching the patient, and these “near misses” are much more frequent than treatment errors. A growing number of radiation oncology facilities have implemented incident learning systems to report and analyze both errors and near misses. Using the term “incident learning” instead of “event reporting” emphasizes the need to use these experiences to change the practice and make future errors less likely and promote an educational, non-punitive environment. There are challenges in making such a system practical and effective. Speakers from institutions of different sizes and practice environments will share their experiences on how to make such a system work and what benefits their clinics have accrued. Questions that will be addressed include: How to create a system that is easy for front line staff to access How to motivate staff to report How to promote the system as positive and educational and not punitive or demeaning How to organize the team for reviewing and responding to reports How to prioritize which reports to discuss in depth How not to dismiss the rest How to identify underlying causes How to design corrective actions and implement change How to develop useful statistics and analysis tools How to coordinate a departmental system with a larger risk management system How to do this without a dedicated quality manager Some speakers’ experience is with in-house systems and some will share experience with the AAPM/ASTRO national Radiation Oncology Incident Learning System (RO-ILS). Reports intended to be of value nationally need to be comprehensible to outsiders; examples of useful reports will be shown. There will be ample time set

  13. Assessment of the Relationship between Recurrent High-risk Pregnancy and Mothers’ Previous Experience of Having an Infant Admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sedigheh Hantoosh Zadeh

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background & aim:  High-risk pregnancies increase the risk of Intensive Care Unit (ICU and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU admission in mothers and their newborns. In this study, we aimed to identify the association between the recurrence of high-risk pregnancy and mothers’ previous experience of having an infant admitted to NICU. Methods:We performed a cohort, retrospective study to compare subsequent pregnancy outcomes among 232 control subjects and 200 female cases with a previous experience of having a newborn requiring NICU admission due to intrauterine growth retardation, preeclampsia, preterm birth, premature rupture of membranes, and asphyxia. The information about the prevalence of subsequent high-risk pregnancies was gathered via phone calls. Results: As the results indicated, heparin, progesterone, and aspirin were more frequently administered in the case group during subsequent pregnancies, compared to the control group (P

  14. 1.5 MW RF Load for ITER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ives, Robert Lawrence; Marsden, David; Collins, George; Karimov, Rasul; Mizuhara, Max; Neilson, Jeffrey

    2016-01-01

    Calabazas Creek Research, Inc. developed a 1.5 MW RF load for the ITER fusion research facility currently under construction in France. This program leveraged technology developed in two previous SBIR programs that successfully developed high power RF loads for fusion research applications. This program specifically focused on modifications required by revised technical performance, materials, and assembly specification for ITER. This program implemented an innovative approach to actively distribute the RF power inside the load to avoid excessive heating or arcing associated with constructive interference. The new design implemented materials and assembly changes required to meet specifications. Critical components were built and successfully tested during the program.

  15. 1.5 MW RF Load for ITER

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ives, Robert Lawrence [Calabazas Creek Research, Inc., San Mateo, CA (United States); Marsden, David [Calabazas Creek Research, Inc., San Mateo, CA (United States); Collins, George [Calabazas Creek Research, Inc., San Mateo, CA (United States); Karimov, Rasul [Calabazas Creek Research, Inc., San Mateo, CA (United States); Mizuhara, Max [Calabazas Creek Research, Inc., San Mateo, CA (United States); Neilson, Jeffrey [Lexam Research, Redwood City, CA (United States)

    2016-09-01

    Calabazas Creek Research, Inc. developed a 1.5 MW RF load for the ITER fusion research facility currently under construction in France. This program leveraged technology developed in two previous SBIR programs that successfully developed high power RF loads for fusion research applications. This program specifically focused on modifications required by revised technical performance, materials, and assembly specification for ITER. This program implemented an innovative approach to actively distribute the RF power inside the load to avoid excessive heating or arcing associated with constructive interference. The new design implemented materials and assembly changes required to meet specifications. Critical components were built and successfully tested during the program.

  16. Dynamic strength behavior of a Zr-based bulk metallic glass under shock loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu Yu-Ying; Xi Feng; Dai Cheng-Da; Cai Ling-Cang; Tan Ye; Li Xue-Mei; Wu Qiang; Tan Hua

    2015-01-01

    Dynamic strength behavior of Zr 51 Ti 5 Ni 10 Cu 25 Al 9 bulk metallic glass (BMG) up to 66 GPa was investigated in a series of plate impact shock-release and shock-reload experiments. Particle velocity profiles measured at the sample/LiF window interface were used to estimate the shear stress, shear modulus, and yield stress in shocked BMG. Beyond confirming the previously reported strain-softening of shear stress during the shock loading process for BMGs, it is also shown that the softened Zr-BMG still has a high shear modulus and can support large yield stress when released or reloaded from the shocked state, and both the shear modulus and the yield stress appear as strain-hardening behaviors. The work provides a much clearer picture of the strength behavior of BMGs under shock loading, which is useful to comprehensively understand the plastic deformation mechanisms of BMGs. (paper)

  17. Examination of the fatigue life under combined loading of specimens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fojtík F.

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available This contribution describes experimental results under combined loading of specimens manufactured from common construction steel 11523. Specimens were gradually loaded by amplitude of the torque, then by combination of torque and tension prestress. The last set of specimens was loaded in combination of torque and inner overpressure. To obtain the required input values the stress-strain analysis of specimens by finite element method in software Ansys was performed within the last experiment. For evaluation of the results the Fuxa's criterion was applied. The performed experiments and their results embody a good agreement with bellow mentioned conjugated strength criterion. The experiments were performed on reconstructed testing machine equipped by pressure chamber.

  18. Where have we gone wrong? Perceptual load does not affect selective attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benoni, Hanna; Tsal, Yehoshua

    2010-06-18

    The theory of perceptual load (Lavie & Tsal, 1994) proposes that with low load in relevant processing left over resources spill over to process irrelevant distractors. Interference could only be prevented under High-Load Conditions where relevant processing exhausts attentional resources. The theory is based primarily on the finding that distractor interference obtained in low load displays, when the target appears alone, is eliminated in high load displays when it is embedded among neutral letters. However, a possible alternative interpretation of this effect is that the distractor is similarly processed in both displays, yet its interference in the large displays is diluted by the presence of the neutral letters. We separated the possible effects of load and dilution by adding dilution displays that were high in dilution and low in perceptual load. In the first experiment these displays contained as many letters as the high load displays, but their neutral letters were clearly distinguished from the target, thereby allowing for a low load processing mode. In the second experiment we presented identical multicolor displays in the Dilution and High-Load Conditions. However, in the former the target color was known in advance (thereby preserving a low load processing mode) whereas in the latter it was not. In both experiments distractor interference was completely eliminated under the Dilution Condition. Thus, it is dilution not perceptual load affecting distractor processing. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. The Load Level of Modern Wind Turbines according to IEC 61400-1

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Freudenreich, K; Argyriadis, K

    2007-01-01

    The paper describes some effects on the load level of state-of-the art multi megawatt wind turbines introduced by the new edition of the standard IEC 61400-1:2005 W ind Turbines - Part 1: Design requirements . Compared to the previous edition, especially the extreme load determination has been modified by applying stochastic and statistical analyses. Within this paper the effect on the overall load level of wind turbines is demonstrated and occurring problems are discussed. Load simulations have been carried out for four state-of-the-art multi-megawatt wind turbines of different design concepts and from different manufacturers. The blade root bending moments and tip deflection have been determined by applying different extrapolation methods. Advantages and disadvantages of these methods and tail fittings for different load components and wind turbine technologies are discussed and interpreted. Further on, the application of the extreme turbulence model is demonstrated. The dependence of the load level on the turbulence intensity and control system, as well as the interaction with extrapolated loads is discussed and limitations outlined. The obtained load level is compared to the overall load level of the turbines according to the previous edition of the standard, IEC 61400-1:1999

  20. Analysis and Experiments on Sea Load and Fastened Mechanics on Pipe Clamps

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Zhuo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available When an offshore oil field completed and put into production, new subsea pipelines and the new cable need to be established. Cable protection pipe clamp is used to fix cable protection pipe on the jacket. In order to avoid the problem of traditional steel structure clamp splice, counterpoint, fastening difficulty when installed cable protection pipe under water, reduce the risk and workload of under water, This paper develop a new type of portable connecting riser clamp -“backpack clamp” which solve the riser cable protection pipe difficult underwater installation problem. The main structure of backpack clamp used three valves type structure. The load characteristic of a clamping device was determined by the Morison equation which was a classical theory. Clamp device underwater mechanics analysis model was established. The minimum tension pre-tightening force was determined. The results show that the strength of the base meets the requirements after strength analysis with finite element analysis method, stability and strength experiments, which means the clamp based on resin matrix composite is feasible.

  1. Students' Scientific Epistemic Beliefs, Online Evaluative Standards, and Online Searching Strategies for Science Information: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Load Experience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Ya-Hui; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the moderating role of cognitive load experience between students' scientific epistemic beliefs and information commitments, which refer to online evaluative standards and online searching strategies. A total of 344 science-related major students participated in this study. Three questionnaires were…

  2. Unsupervised/supervised learning concept for 24-hour load forecasting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Djukanovic, M [Electrical Engineering Inst. ' Nikola Tesla' , Belgrade (Yugoslavia); Babic, B [Electrical Power Industry of Serbia, Belgrade (Yugoslavia); Sobajic, D J; Pao, Y -H [Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (United States). Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

    1993-07-01

    An application of artificial neural networks in short-term load forecasting is described. An algorithm using an unsupervised/supervised learning concept and historical relationship between the load and temperature for a given season, day type and hour of the day to forecast hourly electric load with a lead time of 24 hours is proposed. An additional approach using functional link net, temperature variables, average load and last one-hour load of previous day is introduced and compared with the ANN model with one hidden layer load forecast. In spite of limited available weather variables (maximum, minimum and average temperature for the day) quite acceptable results have been achieved. The 24-hour-ahead forecast errors (absolute average) ranged from 2.78% for Saturdays and 3.12% for working days to 3.54% for Sundays. (Author)

  3. Cementitious Stabilization of Mixed Wastes with High Salt Loadings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spence, R.D.; Burgess, M.W.; Fedorov, V.V.; Downing, D.J.

    1999-01-01

    Salt loadings approaching 50 wt % were tolerated in cementitious waste forms that still met leach and strength criteria, addressing a Technology Deficiency of low salt loadings previously identified by the Mixed Waste Focus Area. A statistical design quantified the effect of different stabilizing ingredients and salt loading on performance at lower loadings, allowing selection of the more effective ingredients for studying the higher salt loadings. In general, the final waste form needed to consist of 25 wt % of the dry stabilizing ingredients to meet the criteria used and 25 wt % water to form a workable paste, leaving 50 wt % for waste solids. The salt loading depends on the salt content of the waste solids but could be as high as 50 wt % if all the waste solids are salt

  4. Fifty years of genetic load

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wallace, B.

    1991-01-01

    This book discusses the radiation effects on Drosophila. It was originally thought that irradiating Drosophila would decrease the average fitness of the population, thereby leading to information about the detrimental effects of mutations. Surprisingly, the fitness of the irradiated population turned out to be higher than that of the control population. The original motivation for the experiment was as a test of genetic load theory. The average fitness of a population is depressed by deleterious alleles held in the population by the balance between mutation and natural selection. The depression is called the genetic load of the population. The load dose not depend on the magnitude of the deleterious effect of alleles, but only on the mutation rate

  5. A combined loading system integrated with portable winch and polyethylene chutes for loading of timber products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Hulusi Acar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Truck loading operation is an important task during timber production operations in forestry. In Turkey, approximately 50 million timbers/logs are being produced per year, and then they are loaded into the logging trucks. The timber/logs are transported over the forest roads with an average of one million roundtrips. However, the traditional loading methods using manpower are mostly performed while some part is done by using loading machines which can be very costly and risky. This study aims developing a combined loading system in which heavy logs are loaded into logging trucks by pulling them by a log-line powered by a portable crane within the chute system. The slope of the log-line from ground to logging truck varied between 1% and 25%. Within the each work cycle of loading operation, only one log was loaded by pulling with portable crane. The average loading time was found as 161.8 seconds per cycle, in which 67% of the time was spent on pulling the log into the logging truck. The results indicated that the average pulling speed with crane power was 840.4 m/hr and productivity was calculated as 4.94 m3/hr. The result on system speed and productivity indicated close relations with results from previous studies. The hydraulic grapple loader or cranes are widely used and common loading machines, but they cannot be efficiently used in forestry operations, especially ones having a low timber productivity rate or having low economic value timber. In these conditions, loading methods that are cost efficient and do not require higher production rate should be employed. Therefore, a combined loading system introduced in this study can be a feasible solution for loading operations in those cases. Furthermore, it is believed that this loading system integrated with a portable crane can be cost efficient and time saving solution, as well as ergonomic and safe method in the field.

  6. What Is the Correct Answer about The Dress' Colors? Investigating the Relation between Optimism, Previous Experience, and Answerability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karlsson, Bodil S A; Allwood, Carl Martin

    2016-01-01

    The Dress photograph, first displayed on the internet in 2015, revealed stunning individual differences in color perception. The aim of this study was to investigate if lay-persons believed that the question about The Dress colors was answerable. Past research has found that optimism is related to judgments of how answerable knowledge questions with controversial answers are (Karlsson et al., 2016). Furthermore, familiarity with a question can create a feeling of knowing the answer (Reder and Ritter, 1992). Building on these findings, 186 participants saw the photo of The Dress and were asked about the correct answer to the question about The Dress' colors (" blue and black," "white and gold," "other, namely…," or "there is no correct answer" ). Choice of the alternative "there is no correct answer" was interpreted as believing the question was not answerable. This answer was chosen more often by optimists and by people who reported they had not seen The Dress before. We also found that among participants who had seen The Dress photo before, 19%, perceived The Dress as "white and gold" but believed that the correct answer was "blue and black ." This, in analogy to previous findings about non-believed memories (Scoboria and Pascal, 2016), shows that people sometimes do not believe the colors they have perceived are correct. Our results suggest that individual differences related to optimism and previous experience may contribute to if the judgment of the individual perception of a photograph is enough to serve as a decision basis for valid conclusions about colors. Further research about color judgments under ambiguous circumstances could benefit from separating individual perceptual experience from beliefs about the correct answer to the color question. Including the option "there is no correct answer " may also be beneficial.

  7. On the Tengiz petroleum deposit previous study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nysangaliev, A.N.; Kuspangaliev, T.K.

    1997-01-01

    Tengiz petroleum deposit previous study is described. Some consideration about structure of productive formation, specific characteristic properties of petroleum-bearing collectors are presented. Recommendation on their detail study and using of experience on exploration and development of petroleum deposit which have analogy on most important geological and industrial parameters are given. (author)

  8. Development of a dual-layered dielectric-loaded accelerating structure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jing Chunguang; Kanareykin, Alexei; Kazakov, Sergey; Liu Wanming; Nenasheva, Elizaveta; Schoessow, Paul; Gai Wei

    2008-01-01

    rf Power attenuation is a critical problem in the development of dielectric-loaded structures for particle acceleration. In a previous paper [C. Jing, W. Liu, W. Gai, J. Power, T. Wong, Nucl. Instr. Meth. A 539 (2005) 445] we suggested the use of a Multilayer Dielectric-Loaded Accelerating Structure (MDLA) as a possible approach for reducing the rf losses in a single layer device. The MDLA is based on the principle of Bragg reflection familiar from optics that is used to partially confine the fields inside the dielectric layers and reduce the wall current losses at the outer boundary. We report here on the design, construction and testing of a prototype X-band double-layer structure (2DLA). The measurements show an rf power attenuation for the 2DLA more than ten times smaller than that of a comparable single-layer structure, in good agreement with the analytic results. Testing and operation of MDLAs also requires efficient power coupling from test equipment or rf power systems to the device. We describe the design and construction of two novel structures: a TM 03 mode launcher for cold testing and a power coupler for planned high-gradient experiments

  9. Deep Recurrent Model for Server Load and Performance Prediction in Data Center

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zheng Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Recurrent neural network (RNN has been widely applied to many sequential tagging tasks such as natural language process (NLP and time series analysis, and it has been proved that RNN works well in those areas. In this paper, we propose using RNN with long short-term memory (LSTM units for server load and performance prediction. Classical methods for performance prediction focus on building relation between performance and time domain, which makes a lot of unrealistic hypotheses. Our model is built based on events (user requests, which is the root cause of server performance. We predict the performance of the servers using RNN-LSTM by analyzing the log of servers in data center which contains user’s access sequence. Previous work for workload prediction could not generate detailed simulated workload, which is useful in testing the working condition of servers. Our method provides a new way to reproduce user request sequence to solve this problem by using RNN-LSTM. Experiment result shows that our models get a good performance in generating load and predicting performance on the data set which has been logged in online service. We did experiments with nginx web server and mysql database server, and our methods can been easily applied to other servers in data center.

  10. Investigation on cold fusion phenomena using gas-metal loading experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lanza, F.; Bertolini, G.; Vocino, V.; Parnisari, E.; Ronsecco, C.

    1992-01-01

    Previous experiments have shown that tritium is produced in deuterated titanium. The data obtained are highly scattered and non reproducible. In order to try to define better the phenomenon a series of tests have been performed using various metals and alloys and different deuterating conditions. Sheets and shavings of titanium, zirconium, hafnium, tantalum, zircaloy 2 and Ti-Zr 5O% alloy have been tested. The tritium production is obtained as a difference of the tritium content in the deuterated metal and the initial content of tritium in the deuterium gas. The amount of tritium produced is low and reproducibility is rather poor. A statistical analysis shows that significant differences are obtained varying the type of metal used. In general the tritium production increases with the atomic number of the metal. Moreover significantly higher productions of tritium have been obtained using materials of technical purity as tantalum, zircaloy 2 and Ti-Zr alloy

  11. Knee Joint Kinetics in Relation to Commonly Prescribed Squat Loads and Depths

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cotter, Joshua A.; Chaudhari, Ait M.; Jamison, Steve T.; Devor, Steven T.

    2014-01-01

    Controversy exists regarding the safety and performance benefits of performing the squat exercise to depths beyond 90° of knee flexion. Our aim was to compare the net peak external knee flexion moments (pEKFM) experienced over typical ranges of squat loads and depths. Sixteen recreationally trained males (n = 16; 22.7 ± 1.1 yrs; 85.4 ± 2.1 kg; 177.6 ± 0.96 cm; mean ± SEM) with no previous lower limb surgeries or other orthopedic issues and at least one year of consistent resistance training experience while utilizing the squat exercise performed single repetition squat trials in a random order at squat depths of above parallel, parallel, and below parallel. Less than one week before testing, one repetition maximum (1RM) values were found for each squat depth. Subsequent testing required subjects to perform squats at the three depths with three different loads: unloaded, 50% 1RM, and 85% 1RM (nine total trials). Force platform and kinematic data were collected to calculate pEKFM. To assess differences among loads and depths, a two-factor (load and depth) repeated-measures ANOVA with significance set at the P Squat 1RM significantly decreased 13.6% from the above parallel to parallel squat and another 3.6% from the parallel to the below parallel squat (P squat depth and load were increased (P ≤ 0.02). Slopes of pEKFM were greater from unloaded to 50% 1RM than when progressing from 50% to 85% 1RM (P squat loads used with increasing depths are not enough to offset increases in pEKFM. PMID:23085977

  12. Mental load, heart rate and heart rate variability.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Blitz, P.S.; Hoogstraten, J.; Mulder, G.

    1970-01-01

    "Several investigators have shown that diminished sinus arrhythmia can be seen as an indication of increased mental load. The present experiment deals with the influence of different levels of mental load, operationalized as the number of binary choices per minute, on the regularity of the heart

  13. Final Project Report Load Modeling Transmission Research

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lesieutre, Bernard [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Bravo, Richard [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Yinger, Robert [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Chassin, Dave [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Huang, Henry [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Lu, Ning [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hiskens, Ian [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Venkataramanan, Giri [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2012-03-31

    The research presented in this report primarily focuses on improving power system load models to better represent their impact on system behavior. The previous standard load model fails to capture the delayed voltage recovery events that are observed in the Southwest and elsewhere. These events are attributed to stalled air conditioner units after a fault. To gain a better understanding of their role in these events and to guide modeling efforts, typical air conditioner units were testing in laboratories. Using data obtained from these extensive tests, new load models were developed to match air conditioner behavior. An air conditioner model is incorporated in the new WECC composite load model. These models are used in dynamic studies of the West and can impact power transfer limits for California. Unit-level and systemlevel solutions are proposed as potential solutions to the delayed voltage recovery problem.

  14. The influence of cognitive load on spatial search performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Longstaffe, Kate A; Hood, Bruce M; Gilchrist, Iain D

    2014-01-01

    During search, executive function enables individuals to direct attention to potential targets, remember locations visited, and inhibit distracting information. In the present study, we investigated these executive processes in large-scale search. In our tasks, participants searched a room containing an array of illuminated locations embedded in the floor. The participants' task was to press the switches at the illuminated locations on the floor so as to locate a target that changed color when pressed. The perceptual salience of the search locations was manipulated by having some locations flashing and some static. Participants were more likely to search at flashing locations, even when they were explicitly informed that the target was equally likely to be at any location. In large-scale search, attention was captured by the perceptual salience of the flashing lights, leading to a bias to explore these targets. Despite this failure of inhibition, participants were able to restrict returns to previously visited locations, a measure of spatial memory performance. Participants were more able to inhibit exploration to flashing locations when they were not required to remember which locations had previously been visited. A concurrent digit-span memory task further disrupted inhibition during search, as did a concurrent auditory attention task. These experiments extend a load theory of attention to large-scale search, which relies on egocentric representations of space. High cognitive load on working memory leads to increased distractor interference, providing evidence for distinct roles for the executive subprocesses of memory and inhibition during large-scale search.

  15. Selective Impairment of Auditory Selective Attention under Concurrent Cognitive Load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dittrich, Kerstin; Stahl, Christoph

    2012-01-01

    Load theory predicts that concurrent cognitive load impairs selective attention. For visual stimuli, it has been shown that this impairment can be selective: Distraction was specifically increased when the stimulus material used in the cognitive load task matches that of the selective attention task. Here, we report four experiments that…

  16. Rapid pile load tests in the geotechnical centrifuge

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Holscher, P.; Van Tol, A.F.; Huy, N.Q.

    2012-01-01

    Centrifiige experiments were carried out to gain insight into the factors that affect the mobilized resistance during rapid load testing on piles in sand. The influence of generated pore water pressure during rapid load tests is shidied, and its effect on the commonly used unloadmg point method to

  17. What does germane load mean? An empirical contribution to the cognitive load theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debue, Nicolas; van de Leemput, Cécile

    2014-01-01

    While over the last decades, much attention has been paid to the mental workload in the field of human computer interactions, there is still a lack of consensus concerning the factors that generate it as well as the measurement methods that could reflect workload variations. Based on the multifactorial Cognitive Load Theory (CLT), our study aims to provide some food for thought about the subjective and objective measurement that can be used to disentangle the intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load. The purpose is to provide insight into the way cognitive load can explain how users' cognitive resources are allocated in the use of hypermedia, such as an online newspaper. A two-phase experiment has been conducted on the information retention from online news stories. Phase 1 (92 participants) examined the influence of multimedia content on performance as well as the relationships between cognitive loads and cognitive absorption. In Phase 2 (36 participants), eye-tracking data were collected in order to provide reliable and objective measures. Results confirmed that performance in information retention was impacted by the presence of multimedia content such as animations and pictures. The higher number of fixations on these animations suggests that users' attention could have been attracted by them. Results showed the expected opposite relationships between germane and extraneous load, a positive association between germane load and cognitive absorption and a non-linear association between intrinsic and germane load. The trends based on eye-tracking data analysis provide some interesting findings about the relationship between longer fixations, shorter saccades and cognitive load. Some issues are raised about the respective contribution of mean pupil diameter and Index of Cognitive Activity.

  18. +Gz load and executive functions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biernacki, Marcin P; Tarnowski, Adam; Lengsfeld, Kamila; Lewkowicz, Rafał; Kowalczuk, Krzysztof; Dereń, Miroslaw

    2013-05-01

    Pilots are constantly exposed to a number of environmental factors, which include +Gz load. Physiological changes evoked by +Gz stimuli have already been well investigated in aviation medicine. However, the influence of +Gz stimulation on executive functions in pilots has not yet been thoroughly explored. There were 20 pilot cadets between the ages of 19 and 22 yr who volunteered to participate in the experiment. The subjects were divided into two groups: the G-load group, which was exposed to accelerations in the centrifuge, and the control group, which did not undergo this stimulation. Executive functions were assessed by means of the Schulte tables and the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure test. +Gz load exposure significantly improved attention switching. This relationship was valid for performance speed (M = 268.09 s in the pretest in the G-load group; M = 228.09 s in the posttest in the G-load group) and for the cumulative time of mistakes (M = 26.73 s in the pretest in the G-load group; M = 12 s in the posttest in the G-load group), whereas reproduction of visuospatial stimuli from memory deteriorated significantly under the influence of +Gz stimulation (M = 17.18 points in the posttest in the G-load group; M = 28.18 points in the posttest in the control group). These results suggest that the impact of +Gz load is not homogenous and unidirectional, since it improves attention switching but visuospatial working memory decreases under its influence. These aspects are particularly important for understanding the mechanisms responsible for maintaining situational awareness during the flight.

  19. Age-Related Changes in Selective Attention and Perceptual Load During Visual Search

    OpenAIRE

    Madden, David J.; Langley, Linda K.

    2003-01-01

    Three visual search experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that age differences in selective attention vary as a function of perceptual load (E. A. Maylor & N. Lavie, 1998). Under resource-limited conditions (Experiments 1 and 2), the distraction from irrelevant display items generally decreased as display size (perceptual load) increased. This perceptual load effect was similar for younger and older adults, contrary to the findings of Maylor and Lavie. Distraction at low perceptua...

  20. Modeling vertical loads in pools resulting from fluid injection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lai, W.; McCauley, E.W.

    1978-01-01

    Table-top model experiments were performed to investigate pressure suppression pool dynamics effects due to a postulated loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) for the Peachbottom Mark I boiling water reactor containment system. The results guided subsequent conduct of experiments in the 1 / 5 -scale facility and provided new insight into the vertical load function (VLF). Model experiments show an oscillatory VLF with the download typically double-spiked followed by a more gradual sinusoidal upload. The load function contains a high frequency oscillation superimposed on a low frequency one; evidence from measurements indicates that the oscillations are initiated by fluid dynamics phenomena

  1. Fatigue load reductions in co-located wind-wave arrays

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Clark, Caitlyn; Velarde, Joey; Nielsen, Jannie Sønderkær

    2018-01-01

    As offshore wind turbines (OWTs) increase in size and are placed farther offshore, hydrodynamic loads have increased contribution to total load, resulting in fatigue limit states becoming more important to consider in structural design. Previous literature shows that placing wave energy converters...... is investigated. A method for quantifying relative sea state reductions from WECs are applied, and fully-coupled time-domain fatigue analyses are performed for a 10 MW reference offshore wind turbine. Results indicate that a single WEC and a WEC array can lead to 8% and 10% fatigue load reduction, respectively....

  2. Changes in Predictive Task Switching with Age and with Cognitive Load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy-Tzedek, Shelly

    2017-01-01

    Predictive control of movement is more efficient than feedback-based control, and is an important skill in everyday life. We tested whether the ability to predictively control movements of the upper arm is affected by age and by cognitive load. A total of 63 participants were tested in two experiments. In both experiments participants were seated, and controlled a cursor on a computer screen by flexing and extending their dominant arm. In Experiment 1, 20 young adults and 20 older adults were asked to continuously change the frequency of their horizontal arm movements, with the goal of inducing an abrupt switch between discrete movements (at low frequencies) and rhythmic movements (at high frequencies). We tested whether that change was performed based on a feed-forward (predictive) or on a feedback (reactive) control. In Experiment 2, 23 young adults performed the same task, while being exposed to a cognitive load half of the time via a serial subtraction task. We found that both aging and cognitive load diminished, on average, the ability of participants to predictively control their movements. Five older adults and one young adult under a cognitive load were not able to perform the switch between rhythmic and discrete movement (or vice versa). In Experiment 1, 40% of the older participants were able to predictively control their movements, compared with 70% in the young group. In Experiment 2, 48% of the participants were able to predictively control their movements with a cognitively loading task, compared with 70% in the no-load condition. The ability to predictively change a motor plan in anticipation of upcoming changes may be an important component in performing everyday functions, such as safe driving and avoiding falls.

  3. Unstable well behaviour in gas well liquid loading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Belfroid, S.P.C.; Wijhe, A. van

    2017-01-01

    Liquid loading is the mechanism that is associated with increased liquid hold-up and liquid back flow at lower gas flow rates in gas production wells. In laboratory, most liquid loading experiments are performed at fixed gas and liquid rates (mass flow controlled). In the field, the well behavior is

  4. Climate control loads prediction of electric vehicles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Ziqi; Li, Wanyong; Zhang, Chengquan; Chen, Jiangping

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A model of vehicle climate control loads is proposed based on experiments. • Main climate control loads of the modeled vehicle are quantitatively analyzed. • Range reductions of the modeled vehicle under different conditions are simulated. - Abstract: A new model of electric vehicle climate control loads is provided in this paper. The mathematical formulations of the major climate control loads are developed, and the coefficients of the formulations are experimentally determined. Then, the detailed climate control loads are analyzed, and the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) range reductions due to these loads are calculated under different conditions. It is found that in an electric vehicle, the total climate control loads vary with the vehicle speed, HVAC mode and blower level. The ventilation load is the largest climate control load, followed by the solar radiation load. These two add up to more than 80% of total climate control load in summer. The ventilation load accounts for 70.7–83.9% of total heating load under the winter condition. The climate control loads will cause a 17.2–37.1% reduction of NEDC range in summer, and a 17.1–54.1% reduction in winter, compared to the AC off condition. The heat pump system has an advantage in range extension. A heat pump system with an average heating COP of 1.7 will extend the range by 7.6–21.1% based on the simulation conditions.

  5. A comparison of measured wind park load histories with the WISPER and WISPERX load spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelley, N. D.

    1995-01-01

    The blade-loading histories from two adjacent Micon 65/13 wind turbines are compared with the variable-amplitude test-loading histories known as the WISPER and WISPERX spectra. These standardized loading sequences were developed from blade flapwise load histories taken from nine different horizontal-axis wind turbines operating under a wide range of conditions in Europe. The subject turbines covered a broad spectrum of rotor diameters, materials, and operating environments. The final loading sequences were developed as a joint effort of thirteen different European organizations. The goal was to develop a meaningful loading standard for horizontal-axis wind turbine blades that represents common interaction effects seen in service. In 1990, NREL made extensive load measurements on two adjacent Micon 65/13 wind turbines in simultaneous operation in the very turbulent environment of a large wind park. Further, before and during the collection of the loads data, comprehensive measurements of the statistics of the turbulent environment were obtained at both the turbines under test and at two other locations within the park. The trend to larger but lighter wind turbine structures has made an understanding of the expected lifetime loading history of paramount importance. Experience in the US has shown that the turbulence-induced loads associated with multi-row wind parks in general are much more severe than for turbines operating individually or within widely spaced environments. Multi-row wind parks are much more common in the US than in Europe. In this paper we report on our results in applying the methodology utilized to develop the WISPER and WISPERX standardized loading sequences using the available data from the Micon turbines. While the intended purpose of the WISPER sequences were not to represent a specific operating environment, we believe the exercise is useful, especially when a turbine design is likely to be installed in a multi-row wind park.

  6. Hermitian Mindlin Plate Wavelet Finite Element Method for Load Identification

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaofeng Xue

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available A new Hermitian Mindlin plate wavelet element is proposed. The two-dimensional Hermitian cubic spline interpolation wavelet is substituted into finite element functions to construct frequency response function (FRF. It uses a system’s FRF and response spectrums to calculate load spectrums and then derives loads in the time domain via the inverse fast Fourier transform. By simulating different excitation cases, Hermitian cubic spline wavelets on the interval (HCSWI finite elements are used to reverse load identification in the Mindlin plate. The singular value decomposition (SVD method is adopted to solve the ill-posed inverse problem. Compared with ANSYS results, HCSWI Mindlin plate element can accurately identify the applied load. Numerical results show that the algorithm of HCSWI Mindlin plate element is effective. The accuracy of HCSWI can be verified by comparing the FRF of HCSWI and ANSYS elements with the experiment data. The experiment proves that the load identification of HCSWI Mindlin plate is effective and precise by using the FRF and response spectrums to calculate the loads.

  7. Load Experiment of the vDACS Scheme in case of the 300 Clients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazuya Odagiri

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available In the current Internet system, there are many problems using anonymity of the network communication such as personal information leaks and crimes using the Internet system. This is why TCP/IP protocol used in Internet system does not have the user identification information on the communication data, and it is difficult to supervise the user performing the above acts immediately. As a study for solving the above problem, there is the study of Policy Based Network Management (PBNM. This is the scheme for managing a whole Local Area Network (LAN through communication control for every user. In this PBNM, two types of schemes exist. The first is the scheme for managing the whole LAN by locating the communication control mechanisms on the path between network servers and clients. The second is the scheme of managing the whole LAN by locating the communication control mechanisms on clients. As the second scheme, we have studied theoretically about the Destination Addressing Control System (DACS Scheme. By applying this DACS Scheme to Internet system management, we will realize the policy-based Internet system management. In this paper, as the progression phase for the last goal, we perform the load experiment of the cloud type virtual PBNM named the vDACS Scheme, which can be used by plural organizations, for applications to the small and medium size scale organization. The number of clients used in an experiment is 300.

  8. Material properties under intensive dynamic loading

    CERN Document Server

    Cherne, Frank J; Zhernokletov, Mikhail V; Glushak, B L; Zocher, Marvin A

    2007-01-01

    Understanding the physical and thermomechanical response of materials subjected to intensive dynamic loading is a challenge of great significance in engineering today. This volume assumes the task of gathering both experimental and diagnostic methods in one place, since not much information has been previously disseminated in the scientific literature.

  9. On structural reliability under time-varying multi-parameter loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Augusti, G.

    1975-01-01

    Special attention will be paid to the superimposition of loads of different origin and characteristics (e.g. long-term loads like the furniture and usual occupancy load in a building and short-term loads like explosions, earthquakes, storms, etc.): it will be recognized that a single procedure for all cases does not appear practical, and that, within a general framework special method must be devised according to the type of loads and structural responses. For instance, the superimposition of impulsive loads must be studied with reference to the response time of the structure. It will be shown that usually, the statistics of extreme values are not sufficient for a correct study of superimposition: the instantaneous probability distributions of the load intensities are also required. The results obtained with respect to the loads can be joined with previous results by Augusti and Baratta (see e.g. SMiRT-2 paper M7/8) on structural strength, for the evaluation of the probability of success (i.e. the reliability) of a structural design

  10. Heat load imposed on reactor vessels during in-vessel retention of core melts

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Su-Hyeon; Chung, Bum-Jin, E-mail: bjchung@khu.ac.kr

    2016-11-15

    Highlights: • Angular heat load on reactor vessel by natural convection of oxide pool was measured. • High Ra was achieved by using mass transfer experiments based on analogy concept. • Measured Nusselt numbers agreed reasonably with the other existing studies. • Three different types of volumetric heat sources were compared. • They didn’t affect the heat flux of the top plate but affected those of the reactor vessel. - Abstract: We measured the heat load imposed on reactor vessels by natural convection of the oxide pool in severe accidents. Based on the analogy between heat and mass transfer, mass transfer experiments were performed using a copper sulfate electroplating system. A modified Rayleigh number of the order 10{sup 14} was achieved in a small facility with a height of 0.1 m. Three different types of volumetric heat sources were compared and the average Nusselt number of the curved surface was 39% lower, whereas in the case of the top plate was 6% higher than in previous studies with a two-dimensional geometry due to the high Sc value of this study. Reliable experimental data on the angular heat flux ratios were reported compared to those of the BALI and SIGMA CP facilities in terms of fluctuations and consistency.

  11. The estimation of the load of non-point source nitrogen and phosphorus based on observation experiments and export coefficient method in Three Gorges Reservoir Area

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, X. X.; Hu, B.; Xu, W. S.; Liu, J. G.; Zhang, P. C.

    2017-12-01

    In this paper, Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) was chosen to be the study area, the export coefficients of different land-use type were calculated through the observation experiments and literature consultation, and then the load of non-point source (NPS) nitrogen and phosphorus of different pollution sources such as farmland pollution sources, decentralized livestock and poultry breeding pollution sources and domestic pollution sources were estimated. The results show as follows: the pollution load of dry land is the main source of farmland pollution. The order of total nitrogen load of different pollution sources from high to low is livestock breeding pollution, domestic pollution, land use pollution, while the order of phosphorus load of different pollution sources from high to low is land use pollution, livestock breeding pollution, domestic pollution, Therefore, reasonable farmland management, effective control methods of dry land fertilization and sewage discharge of livestock breeding are the keys to the prevention and control of NPS nitrogen and phosphorus in TGRA.

  12. Load and distinctness interact in working memory for lexical manual gestures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mary eRudner

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The Ease of Language Understanding model (ELU, Rönnberg et al., 2013 predicts that decreasing the distinctness of language stimuli increases working memory load; in the speech domain this notion is supported by empirical evidence. Our aim was to determine whether such an over-additive interaction can be generalized to sign processing in sign-naïve individuals and whether it is modulated by experience of computer gaming. Twenty young adults with no knowledge of sign language performed an n-back working memory task based on manual gestures lexicalized in sign language; the visual resolution of the signs and working memory load were manipulated. Performance was poorer when load was high and resolution was low. These two effects interacted over-additively, demonstrating that reducing the resolution of signed stimuli increases working memory load when there is no pre-existing semantic representation. This suggests that load and distinctness are handled by a shared amodal mechanism which can be revealed empirically when stimuli are degraded and load is high, even without pre-existing semantic representation. There was some evidence that the mechanism is influenced by computer gaming experience. Future work should explore how the shared mechanism is influenced by pre-existing semantic representation and sensory factors together with computer gaming experience.

  13. Load and distinctness interact in working memory for lexical manual gestures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rudner, Mary; Toscano, Elena; Holmer, Emil

    2015-01-01

    The Ease of Language Understanding model (Rönnberg et al., 2013) predicts that decreasing the distinctness of language stimuli increases working memory load; in the speech domain this notion is supported by empirical evidence. Our aim was to determine whether such an over-additive interaction can be generalized to sign processing in sign-naïve individuals and whether it is modulated by experience of computer gaming. Twenty young adults with no knowledge of sign language performed an n-back working memory task based on manual gestures lexicalized in sign language; the visual resolution of the signs and working memory load were manipulated. Performance was poorer when load was high and resolution was low. These two effects interacted over-additively, demonstrating that reducing the resolution of signed stimuli increases working memory load when there is no pre-existing semantic representation. This suggests that load and distinctness are handled by a shared amodal mechanism which can be revealed empirically when stimuli are degraded and load is high, even without pre-existing semantic representation. There was some evidence that the mechanism is influenced by computer gaming experience. Future work should explore how the shared mechanism is influenced by pre-existing semantic representation and sensory factors together with computer gaming experience.

  14. The Effects of Metaphorical Interface on Germane Cognitive Load in Web-Based Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheon, Jongpil; Grant, Michael M.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a metaphorical interface on germane cognitive load in Web-based instruction. Based on cognitive load theory, germane cognitive load is a cognitive investment for schema construction and automation. A new instrument developed in a previous study was used to measure students' mental activities…

  15. The effects of laboratory inquire-based experiments and computer simulations on high school students‘ performance and cognitive load in physics teaching

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radulović Branka

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The main goal of this study was to examine the extent to which different teaching instructions focused on the application of laboratory inquire-based experiments (LIBEs and interactive computer based simulations (ICBSs improved understanding of physical contents in high school students, compared to traditional teaching approach. Additionally, the study examined how the applied instructions influenced students’ assessment of invested cognitive load. A convenience sample of this research included 187 high school students. A multiple-choice test of knowledge was used as a measuring instrument for the students’ performance. Each task in the test was followed by the five-point Likert-type scale for the evaluation of invested cognitive load. In addition to descriptive statistics, determination of significant differences in performance and cognitive load as well as the calculation of instructional efficiency of applied instructional design, computed one-factor analysis of variance and Tukey’s post-hoc test. The findings indicate that teaching instructions based on the use of LIBEs and ICBSs equally contribute to an increase in students’ performance and the reduction of cognitive load unlike traditional teaching of Physics. The results obtained by the students from the LIBEs and ICBSs groups for calculated instructional efficiency suggest that the applied teaching strategies represent effective teaching instructions. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179010: The Quality of Education System in Serbia from European Perspective

  16. 101 . experience with hepatitis b viral load testing in nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    ABSTRACT. Background: Quantification of the viral burden is an important laboratory tool in the management of hepatitis B virus. (HBV)-infected patients. However, widespread use of assays is still hampered by the high cost. Treatment reduces viral load to undetectable levels. HBV infected patients tend to have high HBV ...

  17. A new after-loading intrauterine packing device: ten years experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sklaroff, D M; Baker, A S; Tasbas, M

    1985-12-01

    A new variation of the uterine packing device for the treatment of endometrial carcinoma is described. It combines the advantages of the Holter technique with the after-loading method described by Simon. This device has been in use for more than 10 years and has been found most satisfactory.

  18. Femoral loading mechanics in the Virginia opossum, Didelphis virginiana: torsion and mediolateral bending in mammalian locomotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosnell, W Casey; Butcher, Michael T; Maie, Takashi; Blob, Richard W

    2011-10-15

    Studies of limb bone loading in terrestrial mammals have typically found anteroposterior bending to be the primary loading regime, with torsion contributing minimally. However, previous studies have focused on large, cursorial eutherian species in which the limbs are held essentially upright. Recent in vivo strain data from the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a marsupial that uses a crouched rather than an upright limb posture, have indicated that its femur experiences appreciable torsion during locomotion as well as strong mediolateral bending. The elevated femoral torsion and strong mediolateral bending observed in D. virginiana might result from external forces such as a medial inclination of the ground reaction force (GRF), internal forces deriving from a crouched limb posture, or a combination of these factors. To evaluate the mechanism underlying the loading regime of opossum femora, we filmed D. virginiana running over a force platform, allowing us to measure the magnitude of the GRF and its three-dimensional orientation relative to the limb, facilitating estimates of limb bone stresses. This three-dimensional analysis also allows evaluations of muscular forces, particularly those of hip adductor muscles, in the appropriate anatomical plane to a greater degree than previous two-dimensional analyses. At peak GRF and stress magnitudes, the GRF is oriented nearly vertically, inducing a strong abductor moment at the hip that is countered by adductor muscles on the medial aspect of the femur that place this surface in compression and induce mediolateral bending, corroborating and explaining loading patterns that were identified in strain analyses. The crouched orientation of the femur during stance in opossums also contributes to levels of femoral torsion as high as those seen in many reptilian taxa. Femoral safety factors were as high as those of non-avian reptiles and greater than those of upright, cursorial mammals, primarily because the load

  19. Development of a load cell for mechanical testing in hydrogen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCabe, L.P.

    1982-01-01

    Mechanical testing in hydrogen environments is performed on materials to determine hydrogen compatibility. Many tests are performed on small test samples in pressure vessels where monitoring of actual sample load is difficult. A method was developed to monitor small samples by placing inside the vessel a miniature load cell which is capable of measuring loads of less than 100 lbs. The load cell monitors load by means of a Wheatstone Bridge circuit composed of four strain gages. Two of the gages are mounted on a stainless steel stub which becomes part of the vessel load string; the others are wired outside the pressure vessel. Previously, load cells have been short-lived because of hydrogen diffusion into the epoxy-phenolic adhesive used to attach the strain gages to the stub. The use of a flame-sprayed ceramic, however, rather than an organic epoxy to mount the strain gages appears to produce a load cell resistant to the hydrogen test environment

  20. Oscillations of end loaded cantilever beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macho-Stadler, E; Elejalde-García, M J; Llanos-Vázquez, R

    2015-01-01

    This article presents several simple experiments based on changing transverse vibration frequencies in a cantilever beam, when acted on by an external attached mass load at the free end. By using a mechanical wave driver, available in introductory undergraduate laboratories, we provide various experimental results for end loaded cantilever beams that fit reasonably well into a linear equation. The behaviour of the cantilever beam’s weak-damping resonance response is studied for the case of metal resonance strips. As the mass load increases, a more pronounced decrease occurs in the fundamental frequency of beam vibration. It is important to note that cantilever construction is often used in architectural design and engineering construction projects but current analysis also predicts the influence of mass load on the sound generated by musical free reeds with boundary conditions similar to a cantilever beam. (paper)

  1. Oscillations of end loaded cantilever beams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macho-Stadler, E.; Elejalde-García, M. J.; Llanos-Vázquez, R.

    2015-09-01

    This article presents several simple experiments based on changing transverse vibration frequencies in a cantilever beam, when acted on by an external attached mass load at the free end. By using a mechanical wave driver, available in introductory undergraduate laboratories, we provide various experimental results for end loaded cantilever beams that fit reasonably well into a linear equation. The behaviour of the cantilever beam’s weak-damping resonance response is studied for the case of metal resonance strips. As the mass load increases, a more pronounced decrease occurs in the fundamental frequency of beam vibration. It is important to note that cantilever construction is often used in architectural design and engineering construction projects but current analysis also predicts the influence of mass load on the sound generated by musical free reeds with boundary conditions similar to a cantilever beam.

  2. Does the application site of spinal manipulative therapy alter spinal tissues loading?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funabashi, Martha; Nougarou, François; Descarreaux, Martin; Prasad, Narasimha; Kawchuk, Gregory N

    2018-01-31

    Previous studies found that the intervertebral disc (IVD) experiences the greatest loads during spinal manipulation therapy (SMT). Based on that, this study aimed to determine if loads experienced by spinal tissues are significantly altered when the application site of SMT is changed. A biomechanical robotic serial dissection study. Thirteen porcine cadaveric motion segments. Forces experienced by lumbar spinal tissues. A servo-controlled linear actuator provided standardized 300 N SMT simulations to six different cutaneous locations of the porcine lumbar spine: L2-L3 and L3-L4 facet joints (FJ), L3 and L4 transverse processes (TVP), and the space between the FJs and the TVPs (BTW). Vertebral kinematics were tracked optically using indwelling bone pins; the motion segment was removed and mounted in a parallel robot equipped with a six-axis load cell. Movements of each SMT application at each site were replayed by the robot with the intact specimen and following the sequential removal of spinal ligaments, FJs and IVD. Forces induced by SMT were recorded, and specific axes were analyzed using linear mixed models. Analyses yielded a significant difference (p<.05) in spinal structures loads as a function of the application site. Spinal manipulative therapy application at the L3 vertebra caused vertebral movements and forces between L3 and L4 spinal segment in the opposite direction to when SMT was applied at L4 vertebra. Additionally, SMT applications over the soft tissue between adjacent vertebrae significantly decreased spinal structure loads. Applying SMT with a constant force at different spinal levels creates different relative kinetics of the spinal segments and load spinal tissues in significantly different magnitudes. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Assessment of Loads and Performance of a Containment in a Hypothetical Accident (ALPHA). Facility design report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamano, Norihiro; Maruyama, Yu; Kudo, Tamotsu; Moriyama, Kiyofumi; Ito, Hideo; Komori, Keiichi; Sonobe, Hisao; Sugimoto, Jun

    1998-06-01

    In the ALPHA (Assessment of Loads and Performance of Containment in Hypothetical Accident) program, several tests have been performed to quantitatively evaluate loads to and performance of a containment vessel during a severe accident of a light water reactor. The ALPHA program focuses on investigating leak behavior through the containment vessel, fuel-coolant interaction, molten core-concrete interaction and FP aerosol behavior, which are generally recognized as significant phenomena considered to occur in the containment. In designing the experimental facility, it was considered to simulate appropriately the phenomena mentioned above, and to cover experimental conditions not covered by previous works involving high pressure and temperature. Experiments from the viewpoint of accident management were also included in the scope. The present report describes design specifications, dimensions, instrumentation of the ALPHA facility based on the specific test objectives and procedures. (author)

  4. Does Previous Experience of Floods Stimulate the Adoption of Coping Strategies? Evidence from Cross Sectional Surveys in Nigeria and Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sheila A. Boamah

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available In sub-Saharan Africa, hydro-meteorological related disasters, such as floods, account for the majority of the total number of natural disasters. Over the past century, floods have affected 38 million people, claimed several lives and caused substantial economic losses in the region. The goal of this paper is to examine how personality disposition, social network, and socio-demographic factors mitigate the complex relationship between stressful life experiences of floods and ocean surges and the adoption of coping strategies among coastal communities in Nigeria and Tanzania. Generalized linear models (GLM were fitted to cross-sectional survey data on 1003 and 1253 individuals in three contiguous coastal areas in Nigeria and Tanzania, respectively. Marked differences in the type of coping strategies were observed across the two countries. In Tanzania, the zero-order relationships between adoption of coping strategies and age, employment and income disappeared at the multivariate level. Only experience of floods in the past year and social network resources were significant predictors of participants’ adoption of coping strategies, unlike in Nigeria, where a plethora of factors such as experience of ocean surges in the past one year, personality disposition, age, education, experience of flood in the past one year, ethnicity, income, housing quality and employment status were still statistically significant at the multivariate level. Our findings suggest that influence of previous experience on adoption of coping strategies is spatially ubiquitous. Consequently, context-specific policies aimed at encouraging the adoption of flood-related coping strategies in vulnerable locations should be designed based on local needs and orientation.

  5. Experience with Hepatitis B viral load testing in Nigeria | Okwuraiwe ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Quantification of the viral burden is an important laboratory tool in the management of hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients. However, widespread use of assays is still hampered by the high cost. Treatment reduces viral load to undetectable levels. HBV infected patients tend to have high HBV DNA levels, ...

  6. What does germane load mean? An empirical contribution to the cognitive load theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolas eDebue

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available While over the last decades, much attention has been paid to the mental workload in the field of human computer interactions, there is still a lack of consensus concerning the factors that generate it as well as the measurement methods that could reflect workload variations. Based on the multifactorial Cognitive Load Theory, our study aims to provide some food for thought about the subjective and objective measurement that can be used to disentangle the intrinsic, extraneous and germane load. The purpose is to provide insight into the way cognitive load can explain how users’ cognitive resources are allocated in the use of hypermedia, such as an online newspaper. A two-phase experiment has been conducted on the information retention from online news stories. Phase 1 (92 participants examined the influence of multimedia content on performance as well as the relationships between cognitive loads and cognitive absorption. In Phase 2 (36 participants, eye-tracking data were collected in order to provide reliable and objective measures. Results confirmed that performance in information retention was impacted by the presence of multimedia content such as animations and pictures. The higher number of fixations on these animations suggests that users’ attention could have been attracted by them. Results showed the expected opposite relationships between Germane and Extraneous Load, a positive association between GL and cognitive absorption and a nonlinear association between Intrinsic and Germane Load. The trends based on eye-tracking data analysis provide some interesting findings about the relationships between longer fixations, shorter saccades and cognitive load. Some issues are raised about the respective contribution of mean pupil diameter and Index of Cognitive Activity.

  7. Tapping the energy storage potential in electric loads to deliver load following and regulation, with application to wind energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Callaway, Duncan S.

    2009-01-01

    This paper develops new methods to model and control the aggregated power demand from a population of thermostatically controlled loads, with the goal of delivering services such as regulation and load following. Previous work on direct load control focuses primarily on peak load shaving by directly interrupting power to loads. In contrast, the emphasis of this paper is on controlling loads to produce relatively short time scale responses (hourly to sub-hourly), and the control signal is applied by manipulation of temperature set points, possibly via programmable communicating thermostats or advanced metering infrastructure. To this end, the methods developed here leverage the existence of system diversity and use physically-based load models to inform the development of a new theoretical model that accurately predicts - even when the system is not in equilibrium - changes in load resulting from changes in thermostat temperature set points. Insight into the transient dynamics that result from set point changes is developed by deriving a new exact solution to a well-known hybrid state aggregated load model. The eigenvalues of the solution, which depend only on the thermal time constant of the loads under control, are shown to have a strong effect on the accuracy of the model. The paper also shows that load heterogeneity - generally something that must be assumed away in direct load control models - actually has a positive effect on model accuracy. System identification techniques are brought to bear on the problem, and it is shown that identified models perform only marginally better than the theoretical model. The paper concludes by deriving a minimum variance control law, and demonstrates its effectiveness in simulations wherein a population of loads is made to follow the output of a wind plant with very small changes in the nominal thermostat temperature set points.

  8. Preparation of 5-fluorouracil loaded chitosan microparticle and its drug release properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Mingming

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Chitosan is one kind of good biocompatible polymer and is suitble for drug carriers. Preparation of 5-fluorouracil (5-Fu loaded chitosan (CS particles and in vitro release experiment were performed using ionic crosslinking method with sodium tripolyphosphate (TPP as crosslinker. The optimal preparing parameters were verified by 5-Fu release experiments. The drug loading, and release behavior of drug loaded microparticles in vitro were investigated. The optimal preparation conditions were: the temperature 25°C, the ratio of CS to TPP 5:1, the CS concentration 1.5g/L, stirring speed 650rpm. Under these conditions, the drug loading of particles was up to 45%.

  9. Simulating tokamak PFC performance using simultaneous dual beam particle loading with pulsed heat loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sinclair, Gregory; Gonderman, Sean; Tripathi, Jitendra; Ray, Tyler; Hassanein, Ahmed

    2017-10-01

    The performance of plasma facing components (PFCs) in a fusion device are expected to change due to high flux particle loading during operation. Tungsten (W) is a promising PFC candidate material, due to its high melting point, high thermal conductivity, and low tritium retention. However, ion irradiation of D and He have each shown to diminish the thermal strength of W. This work investigates the synergistic effect between ion species, using dual beam irradiation, on the thermal response of W during ELM-like pulsed heat loading. Experiments studied three different loading conditions: laser, laser + He+, and laser + He+ + D+. 100 eV He+ and D+ exposures used a flux of 3.0-3.5 x 1020 m-2 s-1. ELM-like loading was applied using a pulsed Nd:YAG laser at an energy density of 0.38-1.51 MJ m-2 (3600 1 ms pulses at 1 Hz). SEM imaging revealed that laser + He+ loading at 0.76 MJ m-2 caused surface melting, inhibiting fuzz formation. Increasing the laser fluence decreased grain size and increased surface pore density. Thermally-enhanced migration of trapped gases appear to reflect resultant molten morphology. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation PIRE project.

  10. Carbon loaded Teflon (CLT): a power density meter for biological experiments using millimeter waves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Stewart J; Ross, James A

    2007-01-01

    The standard technique for measurement of millimeter wave fields utilizes an open-ended waveguide attached to a HP power meter. The alignment of the waveguide with the propagation (K) vector is critical to making accurate measurements. Using this technique, it is difficult and time consuming to make a detailed map of average incident power density over areas of biological interest and the spatial resolution of this instrument does not allow accurate measurements in non-uniform fields. For biological experiments, it is important to know the center field average incident power density and the distribution over the exposed area. Two 4 ft x 4 ft x 1/32 inch sheets of carbon loaded Teflon (CLT) (one 15% carbon and one 25% carbon) were procured and a series of tests to determine the usefulness of CLT in defining fields in the millimeter wavelength range was initiated. Since the CLT was to be used both in the laboratory, where the environment was well controlled, and in the field, where the environment could not be controlled, tests were made to determine effects of change in environmental conditions on ability to use CLT as a millimeter wave dosimeter. The empirical results of this study indicate CLT to be an effective dosimeter for biological experiments both in the laboratory and in the field.

  11. Rate-independent dissipation and loading direction effects in compressed carbon nanotube arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raney, J R; Fraternali, F; Daraio, C

    2013-01-01

    Arrays of nominally-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under compression deform locally via buckling, exhibit a foam-like, dissipative response, and can often recover most of their original height. We synthesize millimeter-scale CNT arrays and report the results of compression experiments at different strain rates, from 10 −4 to 10 −1 s −1 , and for multiple compressive cycles to different strains. We observe that the stress–strain response proceeds independently of the strain rate for all tests, but that it is highly dependent on loading history. Additionally, we examine the effect of loading direction on the mechanical response of the system. The mechanical behavior is modeled using a multiscale series of bistable springs. This model captures the rate independence of the constitutive response, the local deformation, and the history-dependent effects. We develop here a macroscopic formulation of the model to represent a continuum limit of the mesoscale elements developed previously. Utilizing the model and our experimental observations we discuss various possible physical mechanisms contributing to the system’s dissipative response. (paper)

  12. Process cells dismantling of EUREX pant: previous activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gili, M.

    1998-01-01

    In the '98-'99 period some process cells of the EUREX pant will be dismantled, in order to place there the liquid wastes conditioning plant 'CORA'. This report resumes the previous activities (plant rinsing campaigns and inactive Cell 014 dismantling), run in the past three years and the drawn experience [it

  13. Do previous sports experiences influence the effect of an enrichment programme in basketball skills?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, Sara; Mateus, Nuno; Sampaio, Jaime; Leite, Nuno

    2017-09-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effect of an enrichment programme in motor, technical and tactical basketball skills, when accounting for the age of youth sport specialisation. Seventy-six college students (age: M = 20.4, SD = 1.9) were allocated according to three different paths: (i) non-structured (n = 14), (ii) early specialisation (n = 34), and (iii) late specialisation (n = 28), according to information previously provided by the participants about the quantity and type of sporting activities performed throughout their sporting careers. Then, the participants of each path were randomly distributed across control and experimental groups. Variables under study included agility, technical skills circuit, as well as tactical actions performed in a 4-on-4 full-court basketball game. The results indicated improvements in the early and late specialisation paths namely in the experimental training groups. However, the late specialisation path revealed larger benefits, in contrast with the non-structured path, which showed less sensitivity to the enrichment programme, mostly sustained in physical literacy and differential learning. Higher improvements were observed in agility, and also in reducing the number of unsuccessful actions performed during the game. Overall, this study provided evidence of how early sports experiences affect basketball skill acquisition and contribute to adapt to new contexts with motor and technical-tactical challenges. In addition, a path supported by late specialisation might present several advantages in sport performance achievement.

  14. Effects of cognitive load on trusting behavior--an experiment using the trust game.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katarzyna Samson

    Full Text Available Last decades have witnessed a progressing decline of social trust, which has been predominantly linked to worsening economic conditions and increasing social inequality. In the present research we propose a different type of explanation for the observed decline - cognitive load related to technological development and the accelerating pace of modern life. In an experimental study participants played the trust game while performing one of two different secondary tasks - listening to a disturbing noise or memorizing a sequence of characters - or with no additional task in the control condition. Results show that in both cognitive load conditions participants expressed significantly less trust in the trust game than in case of no cognitive load. Additionally, when cognitive resources were limited, participants' behavior was more impulsive than when their resources were fully available.

  15. Methods for monitoring the initial load to critical in the fast test reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, D.L.

    1975-08-01

    Conventional symmetric fuel loadings for the initial loading to critical of the Fast Test Reactor (FTR) are predicted to be more time consuming than asymmetric or trisector loadings. Potentially significant time savings can be realized by the latter, since adequate intermediate assessments of neutron multiplication can be made periodically without control rod reconnection in all trisectors. Experimental simulation of both loading schemes was carried out in the Reverse Approach to Critical (RAC) experiments in the Fast Test Reactor-Engineering Mockup Critical facility. Analyses of these experiments indicated that conventional source multiplication methods can be applied for monitoring either a symmetric or asymmetric fuel loading scheme equally well provided that detection efficiency corrections are employed. Methods for refining predictions of reactivity and count rates for the stages in a load to critical were also investigated. (auth)

  16. Drug Loading of Mesoporous Silicon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moffitt, Anne; Coffer, Jeff; Wang, Mengjia

    2011-03-01

    The nanostructuring of crystalline solids with low aqueous solubilities by their incorporation into mesoporous host materials is one route to improve the bioavailability of such solids. Earlier studies suggest that mesoporous Si (PSi), with pore widths in the range of 5-50 nm, is a candidate for such an approach. In this presentation, we describe efforts to load curcumin into free-standing microparticles of PSi. Curcumin is a compound extracted from turmeric root, which is an ingredient of curry. Curucmin has shown activity against selected cancer cell lines, bacteria, and other medical conditions. However, curcumin has a very low bioavailability due to its extremely low water solubility (0.6 μ g/mL). Incorporation of curcumin was achieved by straightforward loading of the molten solid at 185circ; C. Loading experiments were performed using PSi particles of two different size ranges, 45-75 μ m and 150-250 μ m. Longer loading times and ratio of curcumin to PSi leads to a higher percentage of loaded curcumin in both PSi particle sizes (as determined by weight difference). The extent of curcumin crystallinity was assessed by x-ray diffraction (XRD). The solubility and release kinetics of loaded curcumin from the PSi was determined by extraction into water at 37circ; C, with analysis using UV-VIS spectrometry. NSF-REU and TCU.

  17. Operating experience with high beam currents and transient beam loading in the SLC damping rings

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minty, M.G.; Akre, R.; Krejcik, P.; Siemann, R.H.

    1995-01-01

    During the 1994 SLC run the nominal operating intensity in the damping rings was raised from 3.5 x 10 10 to greater than 4 x 10 10 particles per bunch (ppb). Stricter regulation of rf system parameters was required to maintain stability of the rf system and particle beam. Improvements were made in the feedback loops which control the cavity amplitude and loading angles. Compensation for beam loading was also required to prevent klystron saturation during repetition rate changes. To minimize the effects of transient loading on the rf system, the gain of the direct rf feedback loop and the loading angles were optimized

  18. Distinctive distribution of lymphocytes in unruptured and previously untreated brain arteriovenous malformation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Guo

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: To test the hypothesis that lymphocyte infiltration in brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM is not associated with iron deposition (indicator of micro-hemorrhage. Methods: Sections of unruptured, previously untreated bAVM specimens (n = 19 were stained immunohistochemically for T-lymphocytes (CD3 + , B-lymphocytes (CD20 + , plasma cells (CD138 + and macrophages (CD68 + . Iron deposition was assessed by hematoxylin and eosin and Prussian blue stains. Superficial temporal arteries (STA were used as control. Results: Both T-lymphocytes and macrophages were present in unruptured, previously untreated bAVM specimens, whereas few B cells and plasma cells were detected. Iron deposition was detected in 8 specimens (42%; 95% confidence intervals = 20-67%. The samples with iron deposition tended to have more macrophages than those without (666 ± 313 vs. 478 ± 174 cells/mm 2 ; P = 0.11. T-cells were clustered on the luminal side of the endothelial surface, on the vessel-wall, and in the perivascular regions. There was no correlation between T-lymphocyte load and iron deposition (P = 0.88. No macrophages and lymphocytes were detected in STA controls. Conclusion: T-lymphocytes were present in bAVM specimens. Unlike macrophages, the load and location of T-lymphocytes were not associated with iron deposition, suggesting the possibility of an independent cell-mediated immunological mechanism in bAVM pathogenesis.

  19. Dynamic control of a bistable wing under aerodynamic loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bilgen, Onur; Arrieta, Andres F; Friswell, Michael I; Hagedorn, Peter

    2013-01-01

    The aerodynamic evaluation of a dynamic control technique applied to a bistable unsymmetrical cross-ply composite plate with surface bonded piezoelectric actuators is presented. The plate is clamped on one end to form a low-aspect-ratio wing. A previously proposed dynamic control method, utilizing bending resonance in different stable equilibrium positions, is used to induce snap-through between the two equilibrium states. Compared to quasi-static actuation, driving the bistable plate near resonance using surface bonded piezoelectric materials requires, theoretically, a lower peak excitation voltage to achieve snap-through. First, a set of extensive wind tunnel experiments are conducted on the passive bistable wing to understand the change in the dynamic behavior under various aerodynamic conditions. The passive wing demonstrated sufficient bending stiffness to sustain its shape under aerodynamic loading while preserving the desired bistable behavior. Next, by the use of the resonant control technique, the plate is turned into an effectively monostable structure, or alternatively, both stable equilibrium positions can be reached actively from the other stable equilibrium. Dynamic forward and reverse snap-through is demonstrated in the wind tunnel which shows both the effectiveness of the piezoelectric actuation as well as the load carrying capability of both states of the bistable wing. (paper)

  20. Stress load during childhood affects psychopathology in psychiatric patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popov Tzvetan

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Childhood stress and trauma have been related to adult psychopathology in different psychiatric disorders. The present study aimed at verifying this relationship for stressful experiences during developmental periods by screening stress load across life in adult psychiatric inpatients with different diagnoses compared to healthy subjects. In addition, a relationship between the amount of adverse experiences and the severity of pathology, which has been described as a 'building block' effect in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD, was explored for non-traumatic events in psychiatric disorders other than PTSD. Methods 96 patients with diagnoses of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD, schizophrenia, drug addiction, or personality disorders (PD and 31 subjects without psychiatric diagnosis were screened for adverse experiences in childhood (before the age of six years, before onset of puberty, and in adulthood using the Early Trauma Inventory and the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale. Effects of stress load on psychopathology were examined for affective symptoms, PTSD, and severity of illness by regression analyses and comparison of subgroups with high and low stress load. Results High stress load in childhood and before puberty, but not in adulthood, was related to negative affect in all participants. In patients, high stress load was related to depressive and posttraumatic symptoms, severity of disorder, and the diagnoses of MDD and PD. Conclusion Results support the hypothesis of stress-sensitive periods during development, which may interact with genetic and other vulnerability factors in their influence on the progress of psychiatric disorders. A 'dose' effect of stress load on the severity of psychopathology is not restricted to the relationship between traumata and PTSD.

  1. Lessons Learned: A review of utility experience with conservation and load management programs for commercial and industrial customers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nadel, S.

    1990-10-01

    This report examines utility experience with conservation and load management (C LM) programs of commercial and industrial (C I) customers in order to summarize the lessons learned from program experiences to date and what these teach us about how to operate successful programs in the future. This analysis was motivated by a desire to learn about programs which achieve high participation rates and high electricity savings while remaining cost effective. Also, we wanted to review the very latest experiences with innovative program approaches -- approaches that might prove useful to utilities as they scale up their C LM activities. Specific objectives of this phase of the study are threefold: (1) To disseminate information on utility C LM experience to a nationwide audience. (2) To review current New York State utility programs and make suggestions on how these programs can be improved. (3) To collect data for the final phase of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy/New York State Energy Research and Development Authority project, which will examine the savings that are achievable if C LM programs are pushed to the limit'' of current knowledge on how to structure and run cost-effective C LM programs. 19 tabs.

  2. Social anxiety under load: the effects of perceptual load in processing emotional faces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Sandra C; Rocha, Marta; Neiva, Tiago; Rodrigues, Paulo; Silva, Carlos F

    2015-01-01

    Previous studies in the social anxiety arena have shown an impaired attentional control system, similar to that found in trait anxiety. However, the effect of task demands on social anxiety in socially threatening stimuli, such as angry faces, remains unseen. In the present study, 54 university students scoring high and low in the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS) questionnaire, participated in a target letter discrimination task while task-irrelevant face stimuli (angry, disgust, happy, and neutral) were simultaneously presented. The results showed that high (compared to low) socially anxious individuals were more prone to distraction by task-irrelevant stimuli, particularly under high perceptual load conditions. More importantly, for such individuals, the accuracy proportions for angry faces significantly differed between the low and high perceptual load conditions, which is discussed in light of current evolutionary models of social anxiety.

  3. Explaining infant feeding: The role of previous personal and vicarious experience on attitudes, subjective norms, self-efficacy, and breastfeeding outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartle, Naomi C; Harvey, Kate

    2017-11-01

    Breastfeeding confers important health benefits to both infants and their mothers, but rates are low in the United Kingdom and other developed countries despite widespread promotion. This study examined the relationships between personal and vicarious experience of infant feeding, self-efficacy, the theory of planned behaviour variables of attitudes and subjective norm, and the likelihood of breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks post-natally. A prospective questionnaire study of both first-time mothers (n = 77) and experienced breastfeeders (n = 72) recruited at an antenatal clinic in South East England. Participants completed a questionnaire at 32 weeks pregnant assessing personal and vicarious experience of infant feeding (breastfeeding, formula-feeding, and maternal grandmother's experience of breastfeeding), perceived control, self-efficacy, intentions, attitudes (to breastfeeding and formula-feeding), and subjective norm. Infant feeding behaviour was recorded at 6-8 weeks post-natally. Multiple linear regression modelled the influence of vicarious experience on attitudes, subjective norm, and self-efficacy (but not perceived control) and modelled the influence of attitude, subjective norm, self-efficacy, and past experience on intentions to breastfeed. Logistic regression modelled the likelihood of breastfeeding at 6-8 weeks. Previous experience (particularly personal experience of breastfeeding) explained a significant amount of variance in attitudes, subjective norm, and self-efficacy. Intentions to breastfeed were predicted by subjective norm and attitude to formula-feeding and, in experienced mothers, self-efficacy. Breastfeeding at 6 weeks was predicted by intentions and vicarious experience of formula-feeding. Vicarious experience, particularly of formula-feeding, has been shown to influence the behaviour of first-time and experienced mothers both directly and indirectly via attitudes and subjective norm. Interventions that reduce exposure to formula

  4. Probability based load factors for design of concrete containment structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hwang, H.; Kagami, S.; Reich, M.; Ellingwood, B.; Shinozuka, M.

    1985-01-01

    This paper describes a procedure for developing probability-based load combinations for the design of concrete containments. The proposed criteria are in a load and resistance factor design (LRFD) format. The load factors and resistance factors are derived for use in limit states design and are based on a target limit state probability. In this paper, the load factors for accident pressure and safe shutdown earthquake are derived for three target limit state probabilities. Other load factors are recommended on the basis of prior experience with probability-based design criteria for ordinary building construction. 6 refs

  5. Concrete under severe conditions. Environment and loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2007-01-01

    The objective of the CONSEC Conferences is to focus on concrete infrastructures, either subjected to severe environment or severe loading, or any combination of severe conditions. Experience from the performance of existing concrete structures, and especially under severe environmental conditions, severe accidental loading or extended lifespan, has demonstrated the need for better integration of structural and durability design, new design concepts including reliability-based durability design, performance-based material requirements, structural robustness, and an improved basis for documentation of obtained construction quality and durability properties during concrete construction. An improved basis for operation and preventive maintenance of concrete structures including repairs and retrofitting is also very important. Premature corrosion of reinforcing steel, inadequate structural design for seismic or blast loading, are examples of reduced service life of concrete structures that not only represent technical and economical problems, but also a huge waste of natural resources and hence also, an environmental and ecological problem. Experience of structures effectively submitted to severe conditions represents a unique benchmark for quantifying the actual safety and durability margin of concrete structures. In fact for several reasons, most concrete design codes, job specifications and other requirements for concrete structures have frequently shown to yield insufficient and unsatisfactory results and ability to solve the above problems, as well as issues raised by specific very long-term or very severe requirements for nuclear and industrial waste management, or civil works of strategic relevance. Recently available high to ultra-high performance concrete may find rational and valuable application in such cases. It is very important, therefore, to bring people with different professional backgrounds together to exchange experience and develop multi

  6. The effect of bi-directional loading on fatigue assessment of pressurized piping elbows with local thinned areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balan, C.; Redekop, D.

    2005-01-01

    An elastic-plastic finite element study is conducted to determine the effect of bi-directional loading on the fatigue characteristics of pressurized 90 deg. piping elbows with local thinned areas. The analysis is conducted on pressurized piping elbows considered previously in the literature, but analyzed only for in-plane loading. Considering also the out-of-plane loading the present analysis seeks to simulate simultaneous horizontal and vertical seismic actions. A validation study is first conducted in which the present results obtained for in-plane loading are compared with previous results. Comparisons are made for deformation patterns, hoop strain histories, and reaction forces. The relative in-plane to out-of-plane load intensities to be adopted for the combined loading case is determined next. Results considering bi-directional loadings are then found for the pressurized piping elbow for a total of 23 cases of local area thinning. Finally conclusions are drawn about the significance of considering the additional out-of-plane loading

  7. Perceptual load in sport and the heuristic value of the perceptual load paradigm in examining expertise-related perceptual-cognitive adaptations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel; Schmid, Simone

    2013-03-01

    In two experiments, we transferred perceptual load theory to the dynamic field of team sports and tested the predictions derived from the theory using a novel task and stimuli. We tested a group of college students (N = 33) and a group of expert team sport players (N = 32) on a general perceptual load task and a complex, soccer-specific perceptual load task in order to extend the understanding of the applicability of perceptual load theory and further investigate whether distractor interference may differ between the groups, as the sport-specific processing task may not exhaust the processing capacity of the expert participants. In both, the general and the specific task, the pattern of results supported perceptual load theory and demonstrates that the predictions of the theory also transfer to more complex, unstructured situations. Further, perceptual load was the only determinant of distractor processing, as we neither found expertise effects in the general perceptual load task nor the sport-specific task. We discuss the heuristic utility of using response-competition paradigms for studying both general and domain-specific perceptual-cognitive adaptations.

  8. Comparison of Theory and Experiment on Aeroacoustic Loads and Deflections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos, L. M. B. C.; Bourgine, A.; Bonomi, B.

    1999-01-01

    The correlation of acoustic pressure loads induced by a turbulent wake on a nearby structural panel is considered: this problem is relevant to the acoustic fatigue of aircraft, rocket and satellite structures. Both the correlation of acoustic pressure loads and the panel deflections, were measured in an 8-m diameter transonic wind tunnel. Using the measured correlation of acoustic pressures, as an input to a finite-element aeroelastic code, the panel response was reproduced. The latter was also satisfactorily reproduced, using again the aeroelastic code, with input given by a theoretical formula for the correlation of acoustic pressures; the derivation of this formula, and the semi-empirical parameters which appear in it, are included in this paper. The comparison of acoustic responses in aeroacoustic wind tunnels (AWT) and progressive wave tubes (PWT) shows that much work needs to be done to bridge that gap; this is important since the PWT is the standard test means, whereas the AWT is more representative of real flight conditions but also more demanding in resources. Since this may be the first instance of successful modelling of acoustic fatigue, it may be appropriate to list briefly the essential ``positive'' features and associated physical phenomena: (i) a standard aeroelastic structural code can predict acoustic fatigue, provided that the correlation of pressure loads be adequately specified; (ii) the correlation of pressure loads is determined by the interference of acoustic waves, which depends on the exact evaluation of multiple scattering integrals, involving the statistics of random phase shifts; (iii) for the relatively low frequencies (one to a few hundred Hz) of aeroacoustic fatigue, the main cause of random phase effects is scattering by irregular wakes, which are thin on wavelength scale, and appear as partially reflecting rough interfaces. It may also be appropriate to mention some of the ``negative'' features, to which may be attached illusory

  9. Active load reduction using individual pitch, based on local blade flow measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Torben J.; Aagaard Madsen, H.; Thomsen, K.

    2005-01-01

    -of-the-art load-reducing concepts. Since the new flow-based concept deviates significantly from previous published load-reducing strategies, a comparison of the performance based on aeroelastic simulations is included. Advantages and drawbacks of the systems are discussed. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.......A new load-reducing control strategy for individual blade control of large pitch-controlled wind turbines is presented This control concept is based on local blade inflow measurements and offers the possibility of larger load reductions, without loss of power production, than seen in other state...

  10. Fuel loading and control rod patterns optimization in a BWR using tabu search

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castillo, Alejandro; Ortiz, Juan Jose; Montes, Jose Luis; Perusquia, Raul

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents the QuinalliBT system, a new approach to solve fuel loading and control rod patterns optimization problem in a coupled way. This system involves three different optimization stages; in the first one, a seed fuel loading using the Haling principle is designed. In the second stage, the corresponding control rod pattern for the previous fuel loading is obtained. Finally, in the last stage, a new fuel loading is created, starting from the previous fuel loading and using the corresponding set of optimized control rod patterns. For each stage, a different objective function is considered. In order to obtain the decision parameters used in those functions, the CM-PRESTO 3D steady-state reactor core simulator was used. Second and third stages are repeated until an appropriate fuel loading and its control rod pattern are obtained, or a stop criterion is achieved. In all stages, the tabu search optimization technique was used. The QuinalliBT system was tested and applied to a real BWR operation cycle. It was found that the value for k eff obtained by QuinalliBT was 0.0024 Δk/k greater than that of the reference cycle

  11. Reliability of Estimation Pile Load Capacity Methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yudhi Lastiasih

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available None of numerous previous methods for predicting pile capacity is known how accurate any of them are when compared with the actual ultimate capacity of piles tested to failure. The author’s of the present paper have conducted such an analysis, based on 130 data sets of field loading tests. Out of these 130 data sets, only 44 could be analysed, of which 15 were conducted until the piles actually reached failure. The pile prediction methods used were: Brinch Hansen’s method (1963, Chin’s method (1970, Decourt’s Extrapolation Method (1999, Mazurkiewicz’s method (1972, Van der Veen’s method (1953, and the Quadratic Hyperbolic Method proposed by Lastiasih et al. (2012. It was obtained that all the above methods were sufficiently reliable when applied to data from pile loading tests that loaded to reach failure. However, when applied to data from pile loading tests that loaded without reaching failure, the methods that yielded lower values for correction factor N are more recommended. Finally, the empirical method of Reese and O’Neill (1988 was found to be reliable enough to be used to estimate the Qult of a pile foundation based on soil data only.

  12. Wave loads on offshore wind turbines: Accurate tools and structural response

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bredmose, Henrik

    2014-01-01

    Can the design models for offshore wind turbine wave loads be improved? And how will that change the overall load picture? Core questions of the Wave Loads project which was finalised in 2013 with two PhD theses, response calculations for jackets and monopiles, a detailed set of experiments and a3D...... coupled CFD wave solver...

  13. Elastic-Plastic Behavior of U6Nb under Ramp Wave Loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayes, D. B.; Gray, G. T. III; Hixson, R. S.; Hall, C. A.

    2006-01-01

    When uranium-niobium (6 wt.%) alloy is shock loaded, the expected elastic precursor is absent. A prior model attributed this absence to shear-induced twinning and the concomitant shear stress reduction that prevented the shocked material from reaching the plastic yield point. In the present study, carefully prepared U6Nb was subjected to shock loading to verify the adequacy of the prior model. Other samples were loaded with a ramp pressure pulse with strain rate large enough so that significant twinning would not occur during the experiment. Backward integration analyses of these latter experiments' back surface motion give stress-strain loading paths in U6Nb that suggest ordinary elastic-plastic flow. Some of the U6Nb was pre-strained by cold rolling in an effort to further ensure that twinning did not affect wave propagation. Shock and ramp loadings yielded similar results to the baseline material except, as expected, they are consistent with a higher yield stress and twinning shear stress threshold

  14. Study of some physical aspects previous to design of an exponential experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caro, R.; Francisco, J. L. de

    1961-01-01

    This report presents the theoretical study of some physical aspects previous to the design of an exponential facility. The are: Fast and slow flux distribution in the multiplicative medium and in the thermal column, slowing down in the thermal column, geometrical distribution and minimum needed intensity of sources access channels and perturbations produced by possible variations in its position and intensity. (Author) 4 refs

  15. Analysis of the role of PCNA-DNA contacts during clamp loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goedken Eric R

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Sliding clamps, such as Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen (PCNA in eukaryotes, are ring-shaped protein complexes that encircle DNA and enable highly processive DNA replication by serving as docking sites for DNA polymerases. In an ATP-dependent reaction, clamp loader complexes, such as the Replication Factor-C (RFC complex in eukaryotes, open the clamp and load it around primer-template DNA. Results We built a model of RFC bound to PCNA and DNA based on existing crystal structures of clamp loaders. This model suggests that DNA would enter the clamp at an angle during clamp loading, thereby interacting with positively charged residues in the center of PCNA. We show that simultaneous mutation of Lys 20, Lys 77, Arg 80, and Arg 149, which interact with DNA in the RFC-PCNA-DNA model, compromises the ability of yeast PCNA to stimulate the DNA-dependent ATPase activity of RFC when the DNA is long enough to extend through the clamp. Fluorescence anisotropy binding experiments show that the inability of the mutant clamp proteins to stimulate RFC ATPase activity is likely caused by reduction in the affinity of the RFC-PCNA complex for DNA. We obtained several crystal forms of yeast PCNA-DNA complexes, measuring X-ray diffraction data to 3.0 Å resolution for one such complex. The resulting electron density maps show that DNA is bound in a tilted orientation relative to PCNA, but makes different contacts than those implicated in clamp loading. Because of apparent partial disorder in the DNA, we restricted refinement of the DNA to a rigid body model. This result contrasts with previous analysis of a bacterial clamp bound to DNA, where the DNA was well resolved. Conclusion Mutational analysis of PCNA suggests that positively charged residues in the center of the clamp create a binding surface that makes contact with DNA. Disruption of this positive surface, which had not previously been implicated in clamp loading function, reduces RFC

  16. Measurement of blowdown flow rates using load cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dolas, P.K.; Venkat Raj, V.; Ghosh, A.K.; Murty, L.G.K.; Muralidhar Rao, S.

    1980-01-01

    To establish a reliable method for measuring two-phase flow, experiments were planned for measurement of transient single phase flow rates from vessels using load cells. Suitability of lead-zirconate-titanate piezoelectric ceramic discs was examined. Discharge time constant of the disc used was low, leading to large measurement errors. Subsequently, experiments were carried out using strain gauge load cells and these were found satisfactory. The unsteady flow equation has been derived for the system under investigation. The equation has been solved numerically using the fourth order Runge-Kutta method and also by integrating it analytically. The experimental results are compared with the theoretical results and presented in this report. (auth.)

  17. Neurotensin-loaded PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes accelerate diabetic wound healing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, Zhifang; Liu, Yishu; Huang, Wenhua; Mo, Yunfei; Lan, Yong; Guo, Rui; Cheng, Biao

    2018-04-13

    Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are a threat to human health and can lead to amputation and even death. Recently neurotensin (NT), an inflammatory modulator in wound healing, was found to be beneficial for diabetic wound healing. As we demonstrated previously, polylactide-polyglycolide (PLGA) and cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) (PLGA/CNC) nanofiber membranes show good cytocompatibility and facilitate fibroblast adhesion, spreading and proliferation. PLGA/CNC nanofiber membranes are novel materials that have not been used previously as NT carriers in diabetic wounds. This study aims to explore the therapeutic efficacy and possible mechanisms of NT-loaded PLGA/CNC nanofiber membranes in full-thickness skin wounds in spontaneously diabetic mice. The results showed that NT could be sustained released from NT-loaded PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes for 2 weeks. NT-loaded PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes induced more rapid healing than other control groups. After NT exposure, the histological scores of the epidermal and dermal regeneration and the ratios of the fibrotic area to the whole area were increased. NT-loaded PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes also decreased the expressions of the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β and IL-6. These results suggest that NT-loaded PLGA/CNC composite nanofiber membranes for sustained delivery of NT should effectively promote tissue regeneration for the treatment of DFUs.

  18. Memory load as a cognitive antidote to performance decrements in data entry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Mary J; Healy, Alice F; Kole, James A

    2016-10-01

    In two experiments, subjects trained in data entry, typing one 4-digit number at a time. At training, subjects either typed the numbers immediately after they appeared (immediate) or typed the previous number from memory while viewing the next number (delayed). In Experiment 2 stimulus presentation time was limited and either nothing or a space (gap) was inserted between the second and third digits. In both experiments after training, all subjects completed a test with no gap and typed numbers immediately. Training with a memory load improved speed across training blocks (Experiment 1) and eliminated the decline in accuracy across training blocks (Experiment 2), thus serving as a cognitive antidote to performance decrements. An analysis of each keystroke revealed different underlying processes and strategies for the two training conditions, including when encoding took place. Chunking (in which the first and last two digits are treated separately) was more evident in the immediate than in the delayed condition and was exaggerated with a gap, even at test when there was no gap. These results suggest that such two-digit chunking is due to stimulus encoding and motor planning processes as well as memory, and those processes transferred from training to testing.

  19. Time- & Load-Dependence of Triboelectric Effect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Shuaihang; Yin, Nian; Zhang, Zhinan

    2018-02-06

    Time- and load-dependent friction behavior is considered as important for a long time, due to its time-evolution and force-driving characteristics. However, its electronic behavior, mainly considered in triboelectric effect, has almost never been given the full attention and analyses from the above point of view. In this paper, by experimenting with fcc-latticed aluminum and copper friction pairs, the mechanical and electronic behaviors of friction contacts are correlated by time and load analyses, and the behind physical understanding is provided. Most importantly, the difference of "response lag" in force and electricity is discussed, the extreme points of coefficient of friction with the increasing normal loads are observed and explained with the surface properties and dynamical behaviors (i.e. wear), and the micro and macro theories linking tribo-electricity to normal load and wear (i.e. the physical explanation between coupled electrical and mechanical phenomena) are successfully developed and tested.

  20. An interim report on the Zenith Exponential Experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Absalom, R M; Cameron, I R; Kinchin, G H; Sanders, J E; Wilson, D J [Atomic Energy Establishment, Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset (United Kingdom)

    1959-06-15

    The following memorandum gives an interim account of the exponential experiments with Zenith-type fuel elements being carried out at Winfrith. Results quoted are still subject to revision: however it is hoped that the description of the work at this stage will stimulate discussion and suggestions for further measurements before the experiment is dismantled later in the year. The measurements are being undertaken in order to form some initial understanding of the reactor physics of uranium 235-thorium-graphite systems of the type later to be studied in Zenith. There have been no previous investigations of this type of system in the U.K. though measurements on enriched uranium-graphite systems have been reported from the U.S.A.. A practical result of the measurements will be a revision of the estimated critical loadings for Zenith, since the exponential systems studied cover the range of loadings proposed for the first critical assemblies. The theoretical work on these systems includes a two-group analysis being carried on in the Zenith group and a multigroup analysis being made by the H.T.G.C. Technical Assessments Group, including a Monte Carlo study of resonance capture.

  1. Steady-state signatures of visual perceptual load, multimodal distractor filtering, and neural competition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parks, Nathan A; Hilimire, Matthew R; Corballis, Paul M

    2011-05-01

    The perceptual load theory of attention posits that attentional selection occurs early in processing when a task is perceptually demanding but occurs late in processing otherwise. We used a frequency-tagged steady-state evoked potential paradigm to investigate the modality specificity of perceptual load-induced distractor filtering and the nature of neural-competitive interactions between task and distractor stimuli. EEG data were recorded while participants monitored a stream of stimuli occurring in rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) for the appearance of previously assigned targets. Perceptual load was manipulated by assigning targets that were identifiable by color alone (low load) or by the conjunction of color and orientation (high load). The RSVP task was performed alone and in the presence of task-irrelevant visual and auditory distractors. The RSVP stimuli, visual distractors, and auditory distractors were "tagged" by modulating each at a unique frequency (2.5, 8.5, and 40.0 Hz, respectively), which allowed each to be analyzed separately in the frequency domain. We report three important findings regarding the neural mechanisms of perceptual load. First, we replicated previous findings of within-modality distractor filtering and demonstrated a reduction in visual distractor signals with high perceptual load. Second, auditory steady-state distractor signals were unaffected by manipulations of visual perceptual load, consistent with the idea that perceptual load-induced distractor filtering is modality specific. Third, analysis of task-related signals revealed that visual distractors competed with task stimuli for representation and that increased perceptual load appeared to resolve this competition in favor of the task stimulus.

  2. Optimal Load Control via Frequency Measurement and Neighborhood Area Communication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, CH; Topcu, U; Low, SH

    2013-11-01

    We propose a decentralized optimal load control scheme that provides contingency reserve in the presence of sudden generation drop. The scheme takes advantage of flexibility of frequency responsive loads and neighborhood area communication to solve an optimal load control problem that balances load and generation while minimizing end-use disutility of participating in load control. Local frequency measurements enable individual loads to estimate the total mismatch between load and generation. Neighborhood area communication helps mitigate effects of inconsistencies in the local estimates due to frequency measurement noise. Case studies show that the proposed scheme can balance load with generation and restore the frequency within seconds of time after a generation drop, even when the loads use a highly simplified power system model in their algorithms. We also investigate tradeoffs between the amount of communication and the performance of the proposed scheme through simulation-based experiments.

  3. Proof load testing of reinforced concrete bridges: Experience from a program of testing in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lantsoght, E.O.L.

    2017-01-01

    For existing bridges with large uncertainties, analytical methods have limitations. Therefore, to reduce these uncertainties, field testing of a bridge can be used. A type of such a field test is a proof load test, in which a load equivalent to the factored live load is applied. If the bridge can

  4. Experiment and simulation study on unidirectional carbon fiber composite component under dynamic 3 point bending loading

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Guowei; Sun, Qingping; Zeng, Danielle; Li, Dayong; Su, Xuming

    2018-04-10

    In current work, unidirectional (UD) carbon fiber composite hatsection component with two different layups are studied under dynamic 3 point bending loading. The experiments are performed at various impact velocities, and the effects of impactor velocity and layup on acceleration histories are compared. A macro model is established with LS-Dyna for more detailed study. The simulation results show that the delamination plays an important role during dynamic 3 point bending test. Based on the analysis with high speed camera, the sidewall of hatsection shows significant buckling rather than failure. Without considering the delamination, current material model cannot capture the post failure phenomenon correctly. The sidewall delamination is modeled by assumption of larger failure strain together with slim parameters, and the simulation results of different impact velocities and layups match the experimental results reasonable well.

  5. Potential nitrogen critical loads for northern Great Plains grassland vegetation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symstad, Amy J.; Smith, Anine T.; Newton, Wesley E.; Knapp, Alan K.

    2015-01-01

    The National Park Service is concerned that increasing atmospheric nitrogen deposition caused by fossil fuel combustion and agricultural activities could adversely affect the northern Great Plains (NGP) ecosystems in its trust. The critical load concept facilitates communication between scientists and policy makers or land managers by translating the complex effects of air pollution on ecosystems into concrete numbers that can be used to inform air quality targets. A critical load is the exposure level below which significant harmful effects on sensitive elements of the environment do not occur. A recent review of the literature suggested that the nitrogen critical load for Great Plains vegetation is 10-25 kg N/ha/yr. For comparison, current atmospheric nitrogen deposition in NGP National Park Service (NPS) units ranges from ~4 kg N/ha/yr in the west to ~13 kg N/ha/yr in the east. The suggested critical load, however, was derived from studies far outside of the NGP, and from experiments investigating nitrogen loads substantially higher than current atmospheric deposition in the region.Therefore, to better determine the nitrogen critical load for sensitive elements in NGP parks, we conducted a four-year field experiment in three northern Great Plains vegetation types at Badlands and Wind Cave National Parks. The vegetation types were chosen because of their importance in NGP parks, their expected sensitivity to nitrogen addition, and to span a range of natural fertility. In the experiment, we added nitrogen at rates ranging from below current atmospheric deposition (2.5 kg N/ha/yr) to far above those levels but commensurate with earlier experiments (100 kg N/ha/yr). We measured the response of a variety of vegetation and soil characteristics shown to be sensitive to nitrogen addition in other studies, including plant biomass production, plant tissue nitrogen concentration, plant species richness and composition, non-native species abundance, and soil inorganic

  6. Modelling of pressure loads in a pressure suppression pool

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Timperi, A.; Chauhan, M.; Paettikangas, T.; Niemi, J. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland (Finland)

    2013-06-15

    Rapid collapse of a large steam bubble is analyzed by using CFD and FEM calculations. In addition, a 1D code is written which takes into account the finite condensation rate. The 1D simulations are compared with the PPOOLEX experiment COL-01. By adjusting the condensation rate, the calculated pressure peak near the vent outlet could be made same as in the experiment. Scaling of the measured pressure loads to full-scale is studied by dimensional analyses and by review of the analysis of Sonin (1981). The structural response of containment during chugging is studied by using an FEM of containment with simplified geometry and loading which was created based on experimental data. The results are compared to the case in which desynchronization is absent, and chugging occurs simultaneously in every vent pipe. The desynchronized loading is created by giving random initiation times for chugs out of distribution corresponding to the desynchronization time presented by Kukita and Namatame (1985). CFD simulations of the PPOOLEX experiment MIX-03 were performed. In the experiment, clear chugging behavior was observed. In the simulation, the interphasial surface was much more stable and oscillation occurred at a higher frequency than in the experiment. The differences are likely caused by the turbulence model and too coarse numerical mesh, which causes numerical diffusion. (Author)

  7. Modelling of pressure loads in a pressure suppression pool

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timperi, A.; Chauhan, M.; Paettikangas, T.; Niemi, J.

    2013-06-01

    Rapid collapse of a large steam bubble is analyzed by using CFD and FEM calculations. In addition, a 1D code is written which takes into account the finite condensation rate. The 1D simulations are compared with the PPOOLEX experiment COL-01. By adjusting the condensation rate, the calculated pressure peak near the vent outlet could be made same as in the experiment. Scaling of the measured pressure loads to full-scale is studied by dimensional analyses and by review of the analysis of Sonin (1981). The structural response of containment during chugging is studied by using an FEM of containment with simplified geometry and loading which was created based on experimental data. The results are compared to the case in which desynchronization is absent, and chugging occurs simultaneously in every vent pipe. The desynchronized loading is created by giving random initiation times for chugs out of distribution corresponding to the desynchronization time presented by Kukita and Namatame (1985). CFD simulations of the PPOOLEX experiment MIX-03 were performed. In the experiment, clear chugging behavior was observed. In the simulation, the interphasial surface was much more stable and oscillation occurred at a higher frequency than in the experiment. The differences are likely caused by the turbulence model and too coarse numerical mesh, which causes numerical diffusion. (Author)

  8. Calculation of equivalent static loads and its application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Choi, Woo-Seok; Park, K.B.; Park, G.J.

    2005-01-01

    All the forces in the real world act dynamically on structures. Since dynamic loads are extremely difficult to handle in analysis and design, static loads are usually utilized with dynamic factors. Generally, the dynamic factors are determined from design codes or experience. Therefore, static loads may not give accurate solutions in analysis and design and structural engineers often come up with unreliable solutions. Two different methods are proposed for the transformation of dynamic loads into equivalent static loads (ESLs). One is an analytical method for exact ESLs and the other is an approximation method. The exact ESLs are calculated to generate identical response fields such as displacement and stress with those from dynamic loads at a certain time. Some approximation methods are proposed in engineering applications, which generate similar response fields from dynamic loads. They are divided into the displacement-based approach and the stress-based approach. The process is derived and evaluated mathematically. Standard examples are selected and solved by the proposed method and error analyses are conducted. Applications of the method to structural optimization are discussed

  9. Study on Determination Method of Fatigue Testing Load for Wind Turbine Blade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liao, Gaohua; Wu, Jianzhong

    2017-07-01

    In this paper, the load calculation method of the fatigue test was studied for the wind turbine blade under uniaxial loading. The characteristics of wind load and blade equivalent load were analyzed. The fatigue property and damage theory of blade material were studied. The fatigue load for 2MW blade was calculated by Bladed, and the stress calculated by ANSYS. Goodman modified exponential function S-N curve and linear cumulative damage rule were used to calculate the fatigue load of wind turbine blades. It lays the foundation for the design and experiment of wind turbine blade fatigue loading system.

  10. Validation of the Nuclear Design Method for MOX Fuel Loaded LWR Cores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Saji, E.; Inoue, Y.; Mori, M.; Ushio, T.

    2001-01-01

    The actual batch loading of mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel in light water reactors (LWRs) is now ready to start in Japan. One of the efforts that have been devoted to realizing this batch loading has been validation of the nuclear design methods calculating the MOX-fuel-loaded LWR core characteristics. This paper summarizes the validation work for the applicability of the CASMO-4/SIMULATE-3 in-core fuel management code system to MOX-fuel-loaded LWR cores. This code system is widely used by a number of electric power companies for the core management of their commercial LWRs. The validation work was performed for both boiling water reactor (BWR) and pressurized water reactor (PWR) applications. Each validation consists of two parts: analyses of critical experiments and core tracking calculations of operating plants. For the critical experiments, we have chosen a series of experiments known as the VENUS International Program (VIP), which was performed at the SCK/CEN MOL laboratory in Belgium. VIP consists of both BWR and PWR fuel assembly configurations. As for the core tracking calculations, the operating data of MOX-fuel-loaded BWR and PWR cores in Europe have been utilized

  11. Social Anxiety Under Load: The Effects of Perceptual Load in Processing Emotional Faces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Cristina Soares

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Previous studies in the social anxiety arena have shown an impaired attentional control system, similar to that found in trait anxiety. However, the effect of task demands on social anxiety in socially threatening stimuli, such as angry faces, remains unseen. In the present study, fifty-four university students scoring high and low in the Social Interaction and Performance Anxiety and Avoidance Scale (SIPAAS questionnaire, participated in a target letter discrimination task while task-irrelevant face stimuli (angry, disgust, happy, and neutral were simultaneously presented. The results showed that high (compared to low socially anxious individuals were more prone to distraction by task-irrelevant stimuli, particularly under high perceptual load conditions. More importantly, for such individuals, the accuracy proportions for angry faces significantly differed between the low and high perceptual load conditions, which is discussed in light of current evolutionary models of social anxiety.

  12. A heavy load for heavy ions

    CERN Multimedia

    2003-01-01

    On 25 September, the two large coils for the dipole magnet of ALICE, the LHC experiment dedicated to heavy ions, arrived at Point 2 on two heavy load trucks after a 1200 km journey from their assembly in Vannes, France.

  13. Stochastic optimization of loading pattern for PWR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smuc, T.; Pevec, D.

    1994-01-01

    The application of stochastic optimization methods in solving in-core fuel management problems is restrained by the need for a large number of proposed solutions loading patterns, if a high quality final solution is wanted. Proposed loading patterns have to be evaluated by core neutronics simulator, which can impose unrealistic computer time requirements. A new loading pattern optimization code Monte Carlo Loading Pattern Search has been developed by coupling the simulated annealing optimization algorithm with a fast one-and-a-half dimensional core depletion simulator. The structure of the optimization method provides more efficient performance and allows the user to empty precious experience in the search process, thus reducing the search space size. Hereinafter, we discuss the characteristics of the method and illustrate them on the results obtained by solving the PWR reload problem. (authors). 7 refs., 1 tab., 1 fig

  14. Divertor load footprint of ELMs in pellet triggering and pacing experiments at JET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Frigione, D., E-mail: domenico.frigione@frascati.enea.it [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Garzotti, L. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Lennholm, M. [EFDA CSU, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Alper, B. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Artaserse, G. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Bennett, P. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Giovannozzi, E. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Eich, T. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Kocsis, G. [WIGNER RCP RMI, POB 49, 1525 Budapest (Hungary); Lang, P.T. [Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching (Germany); Maddaluno, G. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Mooney, R. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Rack, M. [Institut für Energieforschung – Plasmaphysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Sips, G. [EFDA CSU, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Tvalashvili, G. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom); Viola, B. [Unità Tecnica Fusione, ENEA C.R. Frascati, via E. Fermi 45, 00044 Frascati (Roma) (Italy); Wilkes, D. [CCFE, Culham Science Centre, OX14 3DB (United Kingdom)

    2015-08-15

    An investigation of pellet pacing and triggering of Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) was carried out in the frame of ELM mitigation studies aimed at reducing their damaging effects on the plasma-facing components (PFCs). The divertor power load footprint of triggered ELMs was compared with gas puffing controlled ELMs. Small pellets, corresponding to a few per cent of the target plasma particle inventory, were used to minimize the fueling effect and the total particle throughput. There is no evidence that pellets can reduce the divertor power load with respect to gas fueling when operating at the same ELM frequency. The line average density and the energy confinement time remained constant when the gas was progressively substituted by pellets. The launch from the Vertical High Field Side (VHFS) confirmed to be more efficient in ELM triggering than from the Low Field Side (LFS) while the power load footprint remained the same both in time evolution and in spatial distribution when changing the injection geometry.

  15. Early life trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, and allostatic load in a sample of American Indian adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thayer, Zaneta; Barbosa-Leiker, Celestina; McDonell, Michael; Nelson, Lonnie; Buchwald, Dedra; Manson, Spero

    2017-05-06

    Among American Indians, prior research has found associations between early life trauma and the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adulthood. Given the physiological changes associated with PTSD, early life trauma could indirectly contribute to chronic disease risk. However, the impact of early life trauma on adult physical health in this population has not been previously investigated. We evaluated associations among early life trauma, PTSD, and 13 physiological biomarkers that index cardiovascular, metabolic, neuroendocrine, anthropometric, and immune function in adulthood by conducting correlation and structural equation modeling path analyses (N = 197). Physiological systems were analyzed individually as well as in a composite measure of allostatic load. We found early life trauma was related to PTSD, which in turn was related to elevated allostatic load in adulthood. Among the various components of allostatic load, the neuroendocrine system was the only one significantly related to early life stress and subsequent PTSD development. Changes in allostatic load might reflect adaptive adjustments that maximize short-term survival by enhancing stress reactivity, but at a cost to later health. Interventions should focus on improving access to resources for children who experience early life trauma in order to avoid PTSD and other harmful sequelae. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  16. TOWARDS THE USE OF A NOVEL METHOD: The First Experiences on Measuring The Cognitive Load of Learned Programming Skills

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murat Pas UYSAL

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Teaching object-oriented programming (OOP is a difficult task, especially to the beginners. First-time learners also find it difficult to understand. Although there is a considerable amount of study on the cognitive dimension, a few study points out its physiological meaning. Moreover, it has been suggested that neuroscientific studies and methods can enable educational researchers gain an insight into brain and cognitive processes as well. Therefore, this experimental study explored the previously learned OOP skills in terms of cognitive load. By using the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS method, we measured the cognitive load of participants when executing OOP tasks. The average oxygenation changes in prefrontal cortex of the brain represented their total cognitive response to a set of OOP tasks. There were two research questions investigated by this study. The first research question explored whether the average oxygenation changed according to the participants’ academic achievements and task completion status. The second research question was for identifying the instant changes in the oxygenations to find out which programming tasks were more contributing to the oxygenation. Later, we compared the findings with experts’ judgments. We observed that the fNIRS system was an effective and promising technology for monitoring cognitive tasks both in classrooms and in experimental environments.

  17. Cylindrical shell under impact load including transverse shear and normal stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shakeri, M.; Eslami, M.R.; Ghassaa, M.; Ohadi, A.R.

    1993-01-01

    The general governing equations of shell of revolution under shock loads are reduced to equations describing the elastic behavior of cylindrical shell under axisymmetric impact load. The effect of lateral normal stress, transverse shear, and rotary inertia are included, and the equations are solved by Galerkin finite element method. The results are compared with the previous works of authors. (author)

  18. Enzyme loading dependence of cellulose hydrolysis of sugarcane bagasse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Martín

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The enzymatic hydrolysis of steam-pretreated sugarcane bagasse, either delignified or non-delignified, was studied as a function of enzyme loading. Hydrolysis experiments were carried out using five enzyme loadings (2.5 to 20 FPU/g cellulose and the concentration of solids was 2% for both materials. Alkaline delignification improved cellulose hydrolysis by increasing surface area. For both materials, glucose concentrations increased with enzyme loading. On the other hand, enzyme loadings higher than 15 FPU/g did not result in any increase in the initial rate, since the excess of enzyme adsorbed onto the substrate restricted the diffusion process through the structure.

  19. A study on risk analysis for loading and un-loading accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Watabe, N.; Suzuki, H.; Saegusa, T.

    1998-01-01

    Low Level Waste packages are transported from each Japanese nuclear power plants to Rokkasho-Mura by exclusive ship. These packages are contained in half-height 5 ton containers. The handling system for loading and unloading containers is composed of the 25 ton crane, the cell-guide system and transport trucks. These systems are mostly automated and under computer control. By design, the whole handling system should be highly protected from any accident. However unknown causes for accidents might be concealed in this handling system, because of complicated system interaction between computer control and human operation. The representative 25 ton bridge type crane was analyzed in this assessment. As the first step, causes of drop accidents were analyzed using design drawing of the crane and its system operation flow chart as inputs to the analysis. After analysis the protection methods were reviewed, and where necessary, revised in each step accident cause. Those results were rearranged by fault trees for each cause. To provide quantitative details of operational interactions, crane operators and safety supervisors were consulted. Based on their experience, a method to determine probabilities of basic events was tentatively adopted. According to this assessment, each protection method was clarified and some weak points of the loading and un-loading process were able to be identified. Figure 1 shows schematically the sequential steps in the method. As a result of this assessment, the PSA method (including fault trees, etc) was found to be adaptable for the loading and un-loading process (i.e. handling system) and to be effective in understanding the system characteristics. Further, using this PSA analysis method allows transport companies to review protection methods with 'Cost and Benefit' analysis concepts. (authors)

  20. Perceptual Load Affects Eyewitness Accuracy & Susceptibility to Leading Questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gillian Murphy

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Load Theory (Lavie, 1995; 2005 states that the level of perceptual load in a task (i.e. the amount of information involved in processing task-relevant stimuli determines the efficiency of selective attention. There is evidence that perceptual load affects distractor processing, with increased inattentional blindness under high load. Given that high load can result in individuals failing to report seeing obvious objects, it is conceivable that load may also impair memory for the scene. The current study is the first to assess the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory. Across three experiments (two video-based and one in a driving simulator, the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory was assessed. The results showed that eyewitnesses were less accurate under high load, in particular for peripheral details. For example, memory for the central character in the video was not affected by load but memory for a witness who passed by the window at the edge of the scene was significantly worse under high load. High load memories were also more open to suggestion, showing increased susceptibility to leading questions. High visual perceptual load also affected recall for auditory information, illustrating a possible cross-modal perceptual load effect on memory accuracy. These results have implications for eyewitness memory researchers and forensic professionals.

  1. In vivo strains in the femur of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) during terrestrial locomotion: testing hypotheses of evolutionary shifts in mammalian bone loading and design.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butcher, Michael T; White, Bartholomew J; Hudzik, Nathan B; Gosnell, W Casey; Parrish, John H A; Blob, Richard W

    2011-08-01

    Terrestrial locomotion can impose substantial loads on vertebrate limbs. Previous studies have shown that limb bones from cursorial species of eutherian mammals experience high bending loads with minimal torsion, whereas the limb bones of non-avian reptiles (and amphibians) exhibit considerable torsion in addition to bending. It has been hypothesized that these differences in loading regime are related to the difference in limb posture between upright mammals and sprawling reptiles, and that the loading patterns observed in non-avian reptiles may be ancestral for tetrapod vertebrates. To evaluate whether non-cursorial mammals show loading patterns more similar to those of sprawling lineages, we measured in vivo strains in the femur during terrestrial locomotion of the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), a marsupial that uses more crouched limb posture than most mammals from which bone strains have been recorded, and which belongs to a clade phylogenetically between reptiles and the eutherian mammals studied previously. The presence of substantial torsion in the femur of opossums, similar to non-avian reptiles, would suggest that this loading regime likely reflects an ancestral condition for tetrapod limb bone design. Strain recordings indicate the presence of both bending and appreciable torsion (shear strain: 419.1 ± 212.8 με) in the opossum femur, with planar strain analyses showing neutral axis orientations that placed the lateral aspect of the femur in tension at the time of peak strains. Such mediolateral bending was unexpected for a mammal running with near-parasagittal limb kinematics. Shear strains were similar in magnitude to peak compressive axial strains, with opossum femora experiencing similar bending loads but higher levels of torsion compared with most previously studied mammals. Analyses of peak femoral strains led to estimated safety factor ranges of 5.1-7.2 in bending and 5.5-7.3 in torsion, somewhat higher than typical mammalian values

  2. Behavior of annealed type 316 stainless steel under monotonic and cyclic biaxial loading at room temperature

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellis, J.R.; Robinson, D.N.; Pugh, C.E.

    1978-01-01

    This paper addresses the elastic-plastic behavior of type 316 stainless steel, one of the major structural alloys used in liquid-metal fast breeder reactor components. The study was part of a continuing program to develop a structural design technology applicable to advanced reactor systems. Here, behaviour of solution annealed material was examined through biaxial stress experiments conducted at room temperature under radial loadings (√3tau=sigma) in tension-torsion stress space. The effects of both stress limited monotonic loading and strain limited cyclic loading were determined on the size, shape and position of yield loci corresponding to small offset strain (10 microstrain) definition of yield. In the present work, the aim was to determine the extent to which the constitutive laws previously recommended for type 304 stainless steel are applicable to type 316 stainless steel. It was concluded that for the conditions investigated, the inelastic behavior of the two materials are qualitatively similar. Specifically, the von Mises yield criterion provides a reasonable approximation of initial yield behavior and the subsequent hardening behavior, at least under small offset definitions of yield, is to the first order kinematic in nature. (Auth.)

  3. Mixed price and load forecasting of electricity markets by a new iterative prediction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amjady, Nima; Daraeepour, Ali

    2009-01-01

    Load and price forecasting are the two key issues for the participants of current electricity markets. However, load and price of electricity markets have complex characteristics such as nonlinearity, non-stationarity and multiple seasonality, to name a few (usually, more volatility is seen in the behavior of electricity price signal). For these reasons, much research has been devoted to load and price forecast, especially in the recent years. However, previous research works in the area separately predict load and price signals. In this paper, a mixed model for load and price forecasting is presented, which can consider interactions of these two forecast processes. The mixed model is based on an iterative neural network based prediction technique. It is shown that the proposed model can present lower forecast errors for both load and price compared with the previous separate frameworks. Another advantage of the mixed model is that all required forecast features (from load or price) are predicted within the model without assuming known values for these features. So, the proposed model can better be adapted to real conditions of an electricity market. The forecast accuracy of the proposed mixed method is evaluated by means of real data from the New York and Spanish electricity markets. The method is also compared with some of the most recent load and price forecast techniques. (author)

  4. Stroop-like effects in a new-code learning task: A cognitive load theory perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazan-Liran, Batel; Miller, Paul

    2017-09-01

    To determine whether and how learning is biased by competing task-irrelevant information that creates extraneous cognitive load, we assessed the efficiency of university students with a learning paradigm in two experiments. The paradigm asked participants to learn associations between eight words and eight digits. We manipulated congruity of the digits' ink colour with the words' semantics. In Experiment 1 word stimuli were colour words (e.g., blue, yellow) and in Experiment 2 colour-related word concepts (e.g., sky, banana). Marked benefits and costs on learning due to variation in extraneous cognitive load originating from processing task-irrelevant information were evident. Implications for cognitive load theory and schooling are discussed.

  5. Perceptual load corresponds with factors known to influence visual search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roper, Zachary J J; Cosman, Joshua D; Vecera, Shaun P

    2013-10-01

    One account of the early versus late selection debate in attention proposes that perceptual load determines the locus of selection. Attention selects stimuli at a late processing level under low-load conditions but selects stimuli at an early level under high-load conditions. Despite the successes of perceptual load theory, a noncircular definition of perceptual load remains elusive. We investigated the factors that influence perceptual load by using manipulations that have been studied extensively in visual search, namely target-distractor similarity and distractor-distractor similarity. Consistent with previous work, search was most efficient when targets and distractors were dissimilar and the displays contained homogeneous distractors; search became less efficient when target-distractor similarity increased irrespective of display heterogeneity. Importantly, we used these same stimuli in a typical perceptual load task that measured attentional spillover to a task-irrelevant flanker. We found a strong correspondence between search efficiency and perceptual load; stimuli that generated efficient searches produced flanker interference effects, suggesting that such displays involved low perceptual load. Flanker interference effects were reduced in displays that produced less efficient searches. Furthermore, our results demonstrate that search difficulty, as measured by search intercept, has little bearing on perceptual load. We conclude that rather than be arbitrarily defined, perceptual load might be defined by well-characterized, continuous factors that influence visual search. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  6. Neutral versus loaded instructions in a bribery experiment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abbink, K.; Hennig-Schmidt, H.

    2006-01-01

    This paper contributes to the ongoing methodological debate on context-free versus in-context presentation of experimental tasks. We report an experiment using the paradigm of a bribery experiment. In one condition, the task is presented in a typical bribery context, the other one uses abstract

  7. Effects of unexpected lateral mass placement on trunk loading in lifting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Burg, J.C.E.; Kingma, I.; van Dieen, J.H.

    2003-01-01

    Study Design. A repeated measurements experiment of spinal loading in healthy subjects. Objectives. To test whether unexpected lateral mass placement increases low back loading and trunk movement when subjects are lifting a mass in upright posture. Summary of Background Data. Epidemiologic studies

  8. Human footprint variation while performing load bearing tasks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cara M Wall-Scheffler

    Full Text Available Human footprint fossils have provided essential evidence about the evolution of human bipedalism as well as the social dynamics of the footprint makers, including estimates of speed, sex and group composition. Generally such estimates are made by comparing footprint evidence with modern controls; however, previous studies have not accounted for the variation in footprint dimensions coming from load bearing activities. It is likely that a portion of the hominins who created these fossil footprints were carrying a significant load, such as offspring or foraging loads, which caused variation in the footprint which could extend to variation in any estimations concerning the footprint's maker. To identify significant variation in footprints due to load-bearing tasks, we had participants (N = 30, 15 males and 15 females walk at a series of speeds carrying a 20kg pack on their back, side and front. Paint was applied to the bare feet of each participant to create footprints that were compared in terms of foot length, foot width and foot area. Female foot length and width increased during multiple loaded conditions. An appreciation of footprint variability associated with carrying loads adds an additional layer to our understanding of the behavior and morphology of extinct hominin populations.

  9. Buckling Experiment on Anisotropic Long and Short Cylinders

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsushi Takano

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available A buckling experiment was performed on anisotropic, long and short cylinders with various radius-to-thickness ratios. The 13 cylinders had symmetric and anti-symmetric layups, were between 2 and 6 in terms of the length-to-radius ratio, between 154 and 647 in radius-to-thickness ratio, and made of two kinds of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP prepreg with high or low fiber modulus. The theoretical buckling loads for the cylinders were calculated from the previously published solution by using linear bifurcation theory considering layup anisotropy and transverse shear deformation and by using deep shell theory to account for the effect of length and compared with the test results. The theoretical buckling loads for the cylinders were calculated from the previously published solution by using linear bifurcation theory considering layup anisotropy and transverse shear deformation and by using deep shell theory to account for the effect of length. The knockdown factor, defined as the ratio of the experimental value to the theoretical value, was found to be between 0.451 and 0.877. The test results indicated that a large length-to-radius ratio reduces the knockdown factor, but the radius-to-thickness ratio and other factors do not affect it.

  10. Short term load forecasting: two stage modelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SOARES, L. J.

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the hourly electricity load demand in the area covered by a utility situated in the Seattle, USA, called Puget Sound Power and Light Company. Our proposal is put into proof with the famous dataset from this company. We propose a stochastic model which employs ANN (Artificial Neural Networks to model short-run dynamics and the dependence among adjacent hours. The model proposed treats each hour's load separately as individual single series. This approach avoids modeling the intricate intra-day pattern (load profile displayed by the load, which varies throughout days of the week and seasons. The forecasting performance of the model is evaluated in similiar mode a TLSAR (Two-Level Seasonal Autoregressive model proposed by Soares (2003 using the years of 1995 and 1996 as the holdout sample. Moreover, we conclude that non linearity is present in some series of these data. The model results are analyzed. The experiment shows that our tool can be used to produce load forecasting in tropical climate places.

  11. Results of EDS uranium samples characterization after hydrogen loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chicea, D.; Dash, J.

    2003-01-01

    Several experiments of loading natural uranium foils with hydrogen were done. Electrolysis was used for loading hydrogen into uranium, because it is the most efficient way for H loading. The composition of the surface and near surface of the samples was determined using an Oxford EDS spectrometer on a Scanning Electron Microscope, manufactured by ISI. Images were taken with several magnifications up to 3.4KX. Results reveal that when low current density was used, the surface patterns changed from granules on the surface having a typical size of 2-4 microns to pits under the surface having a typical size under one micron. When high current density was used the surface changed and presented deep fissures. The deep fissures are the result of the mechanical strain induced by the lattice expansion caused by hydrogen absorption. The surface composition was determined before and after hydrogen loading. Uranium, thorium platinum and carbon concentration were measured. Experiments suggest that the amount of thorium increases on the uranium sample with the total electric charge transported through electrolyte. Carbon concentration was found to decrease on the surface of the sample as the total electric charge transported through electrolyte increased. Platinum is used in electrolysis experiment as anode primarily because it does not dissolve in electrolyte and therefore it is not electro-deposited on the cathode surface. The results of the platinum concentration measurements on the surface of the samples we loaded with hydrogen reveal that the platinum concentration increased dramatically as the current density increased and that created platinum spots on the cathode surface. Work is in progress on the subject. (authors)

  12. Gust loading on streamlined bridge decks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larose, Guy; Mann, Jakob

    1998-01-01

    The current analytical description of the buffeting action of wind on long-span bridges is based on the strip assumption. However, recent experiments on closed-box girder bridge decks have shown that this assumption is not valid and is the source of an important part of the error margin...... of the analytical prediction methods. In this paper, an analytical model that departs from the strip assumption is used to describe the gust loading on a thin airfoil. A parallel is drawn between the analytical model and direct measurements of gust loading on motionless closed-box girder bridge decks. Empirical...

  13. Sensor comparison study for load alleviating wind turbine pitch control

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kragh, Knud Abildgaard; Hansen, Morten Hartvig; Henriksen, Lars Christian

    2014-01-01

    As the size of wind turbines increases, the load alleviating capabilities of the turbine controller are becoming increasingly important. Load alleviating control schemes have traditionally been based on feedback from load sensor; however, recent developments of measurement technologies have enabled...... control on the basis of preview measurements of the inflow acquired using, e.g., light detection and ranging. The potential of alleviating load variations that are caused by mean wind speed changes through feed-forward control have been demonstrated through both experiments and simulations in several...... studies, whereas the potential of preview control for alleviating the load variations caused by azimuth dependent inflow variations is less described. Individual or cyclic pitch is required to alleviate azimuth dependent load variations and is traditionally applied through feedback control of the blade...

  14. The impact of benthic fauna on fluvial bed load transport: Challenges of upscaling laboratory experiments to river and landscape scales.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, S. P.

    2012-04-01

    The impact on sediment transport processes and channel morphology of several relatively large, iconic animals including beaver and salmon is increasingly well understood. However, many other aquatic fauna are important zoogeomorphic agents and ecosystem engineers. These somewhat overlooked "Cinderella" species include benthic aquatic insect larvae, freshwater crustaceans and many species of fish. Despite relatively modest individual effects, the ubiquity, abundance and cumulative impact of these organisms makes them a potentially significant agency, with as yet undiscovered and unquantified impacts on channel morphology and sediment fluxes. Their actions (digging, foraging, moving, burrowing), constructions and secretions modify bed sediment characteristics (grain size distribution, interlock, imbrication, protrusion), alter bed topography (thence hydraulic roughness) and contribute to biogenic restraints on grain movement. In turn, they can affect the distribution of surface particle entrainment thresholds and bed shear stresses, with implications for bed load transport. Flume experiments have measured some of these impacts and provided direct observations of the mechanisms involved, but many of the most interesting research questions pertain to the impact of these animals at reach, catchment and even landscape scales: Not least, what is the impact of small aquatic animals on bed load flux and yield? This presentation will consider some of the challenges involved in answering this question; that is, of scaling up experimental understanding of how aquatic animals affect bed load transport processes to river scales. Pertinent themes include: (1) the potential impacts of experimental arrangements on the behaviours and activities that affect hydraulic or geomorphological processes; (2) field coincidence of the spatial and temporal distributions of (a) the animals and their behaviours with (b) the physical conditions (substrates, flows) under which those animals are

  15. Previous utilization of service does not improve timely booking in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Previous utilization of service does not improve timely booking in antenatal care: Cross sectional study ... Journal Home > Vol 24, No 3 (2010) > ... Results: Past experience on antenatal care service utilization did not come out as a predictor for ...

  16. Surface instabilities in shock loaded granular media

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kandan, K.; Khaderi, S. N.; Wadley, H. N. G.; Deshpande, V. S.

    2017-12-01

    The initiation and growth of instabilities in granular materials loaded by air shock waves are investigated via shock-tube experiments and numerical calculations. Three types of granular media, dry sand, water-saturated sand and a granular solid comprising PTFE spheres were experimentally investigated by air shock loading slugs of these materials in a transparent shock tube. Under all shock pressures considered here, the free-standing dry sand slugs remained stable while the shock loaded surface of the water-saturated sand slug became unstable resulting in mixing of the shocked air and the granular material. By contrast, the PTFE slugs were stable at low pressures but displayed instabilities similar to the water-saturated sand slugs at higher shock pressures. The distal surfaces of the slugs remained stable under all conditions considered here. Eulerian fluid/solid interaction calculations, with the granular material modelled as a Drucker-Prager solid, reproduced the onset of the instabilities as seen in the experiments to a high level of accuracy. These calculations showed that the shock pressures to initiate instabilities increased with increasing material friction and decreasing yield strain. Moreover, the high Atwood number for this problem implied that fluid/solid interaction effects were small, and the initiation of the instability is adequately captured by directly applying a pressure on the slug surface. Lagrangian calculations with the directly applied pressures demonstrated that the instability was caused by spatial pressure gradients created by initial surface perturbations. Surface instabilities are also shown to exist in shock loaded rear-supported granular slugs: these experiments and calculations are used to infer the velocity that free-standing slugs need to acquire to initiate instabilities on their front surfaces. The results presented here, while in an idealised one-dimensional setting, provide physical understanding of the conditions required to

  17. Perceptual Load Affects Eyewitness Accuracy and Susceptibility to Leading Questions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Gillian; Greene, Ciara M

    2016-01-01

    Load Theory (Lavie, 1995, 2005) states that the level of perceptual load in a task (i.e., the amount of information involved in processing task-relevant stimuli) determines the efficiency of selective attention. There is evidence that perceptual load affects distractor processing, with increased inattentional blindness under high load. Given that high load can result in individuals failing to report seeing obvious objects, it is conceivable that load may also impair memory for the scene. The current study is the first to assess the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory. Across three experiments (two video-based and one in a driving simulator), the effect of perceptual load on eyewitness memory was assessed. The results showed that eyewitnesses were less accurate under high load, in particular for peripheral details. For example, memory for the central character in the video was not affected by load but memory for a witness who passed by the window at the edge of the scene was significantly worse under high load. High load memories were also more open to suggestion, showing increased susceptibility to leading questions. High visual perceptual load also affected recall for auditory information, illustrating a possible cross-modal perceptual load effect on memory accuracy. These results have implications for eyewitness memory researchers and forensic professionals.

  18. Load research manual. Volume 1. Load research procedures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandenburg, L.; Clarkson, G.; Grund, Jr., C.; Leo, J.; Asbury, J.; Brandon-Brown, F.; Derderian, H.; Mueller, R.; Swaroop, R.

    1980-11-01

    This three-volume manual presents technical guidelines for electric utility load research. Special attention is given to issues raised by the load data reporting requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 and to problems faced by smaller utilities that are initiating load research programs. In Volumes 1 and 2, procedures are suggested for determining data requirements for load research, establishing the size and customer composition of a load survey sample, selecting and using equipment to record customer electricity usage, processing data tapes from the recording equipment, and analyzing the data. Statistical techniques used in customer sampling are discussed in detail. The costs of load research also are estimated, and ongoing load research programs at three utilities are described. The manual includes guides to load research literature and glossaries of load research and statistical terms.

  19. Effects of Phase Difference Between Axial and Contact loads on Fretting Fatigue Behavior of Titanium Alloy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Almajali, Mohammad

    2006-01-01

    .... Most of the previous works were accomplished under a constant applied normal load and a little effort was done under a variable contact load, while none of these studies have considered the phase...

  20. Transient heat loads in current fusion experiments, extrapolation to ITER and consequences for its operation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loarte, A; Saibene, G; Sartori, R; Riccardo, V; Andrew, P; Paley, J; Fundamenski, W; Eich, T; Herrmann, A; Pautasso, G; Kirk, A; Counsell, G; Federici, G; Strohmayer, G; Whyte, D; Leonard, A; Pitts, R A; Landman, I; Bazylev, B; Pestchanyi, S

    2007-01-01

    New experimental results on transient loads during ELMs and disruptions in present divertor tokamaks are described and used to carry out a extrapolation to ITER reference conditions and to draw consequences for its operation. In particular, the achievement of low energy/convective type I edge localized modes (ELMs) in ITER-like plasma conditions seems the only way to obtain transient loads which may be compatible with an acceptable erosion lifetime of plasma facing components (PFCs) in ITER. Power loads during disruptions, on the contrary, seem to lead in most cases to an acceptable divertor lifetime because of the relatively small plasma thermal energy remaining at the thermal quench and the large broadening of the power flux footprint during this phase. These conclusions are reinforced by calculations of the expected erosion lifetime, under these load conditions, which take into account a realistic temporal dependence of the power fluxes on PFCs during ELMs and disruptions

  1. Allostasis and allostatic load: implications for neuropsychopharmacology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McEwen, B S

    2000-02-01

    The primary hormonal mediators of the stress response, glucocorticoids and catecholamines, have both protective and damaging effects on the body. In the short run, they are essential for adaptation, maintenance of homeostasis, and survival (allostasis). Yet, over longer time intervals, they exact a cost (allostatic load) that can accelerate disease processes. The concepts of allostasis and allostatic load center around the brain as interpreter and responder to environmental challenges and as a target of those challenges. In anxiety disorders, depressive illness, hostile and aggressive states, substance abuse, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), allostatic load takes the form of chemical imbalances as well as perturbations in the diurnal rhythm, and, in some cases, atrophy of brain structures. In addition, growing evidence indicates that depressive illness and hostility are both associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and other systemic disorders. A major risk factor for these conditions is early childhood experiences of abuse and neglect that increase allostatic load later in life and lead individuals into social isolation, hostility, depression, and conditions like extreme obesity and CVD. Animal models support the notion of lifelong influences of early experience on stress hormone reactivity. Whereas, depression and childhood abuse and neglect tend to be more prevalent in individuals at the lower end of the socioeconomic ladder, cardiovascular and other diseases follow a gradient across the full range of socioeconomic status (SES). An SES gradient is also evident for measures of allostatic load. Wide-ranging SES gradients have also been described for substance abuse and affective and anxiety disorders as a function of education. These aspects are discussed as important, emerging public health issues where the brain plays a key role.

  2. Knowing how you are feeling depends on what's on my mind: Cognitive load and expression categorization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Lubna

    2018-03-01

    The ability to correctly interpret facial expressions is key to effective social interactions. People are well rehearsed and generally very efficient at correctly categorizing expressions. However, does their ability to do so depend on how cognitively loaded they are at the time? Using repeated-measures designs, we assessed the sensitivity of facial expression categorization to cognitive resources availability by measuring people's expression categorization performance during concurrent low and high cognitive load situations. In Experiment1, participants categorized the 6 basic upright facial expressions in a 6-automated-facial-coding response paradigm while maintaining low or high loading information in working memory (N = 40; 60 observations per load condition). In Experiment 2, they did so for both upright and inverted faces (N = 46; 60 observations per load and inversion condition). In both experiments, expression categorization for upright faces was worse during high versus low load. Categorization rates actually improved with increased load for the inverted faces. The opposing effects of cognitive load on upright and inverted expressions are explained in terms of a cognitive load-related dispersion in the attentional window. Overall, the findings support that expression categorization is sensitive to cognitive resources availability and moreover suggest that, in this paradigm, it is the perceptual processing stage of expression categorization that is affected by cognitive load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  3. Load-following operation of PWR plants

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jang, Jong Hwa; Oh, Soo Yul; Koo, Yang Hyun; Lee, Jae Han [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1993-12-01

    The load-following operation of nuclear power plants will become inevitable due to the increased nuclear share in the total electricity generation. As a groundwork for the load-following capability of the Korean next generation PWRs, the state-of-the-art has been reviewed. The core control principles and methods are the main subject in this review as well as the impact of load-following operations on the fuel performance and on the mechanical integrity of components. To begin with, it was described what the load-following operation is and in what view point the technology should be reviewed. Afterwards the load-following method, performance and problems in domestic 900 MWe class PWRs were discussed, and domestic R and D works were summarized. Foreign technologies were also reviewed. They include Mode G and Mode X of Foratom, D and L bank method of KWU, the method using PSCEA of ABB-CE, and MSHIM of Westinghouse. The load-following related special features of Foratom`s N4 plant, KWU`s plants, ABB-CE`s Systems 80+, and Westinghouse`s AP600 were described in each technology review. The review concluded that the capability of N4 plant with Mode X is the best and the methods in System, 80+ and AP600 would require verifications for the continued and usual load-following operation. It was recommended that the load-following operation experiences in domestic PWRs under operation be required to settle down the capability for the future. In addition, a more enhanced technology is required for the Korean next generation PWR regardless what the reference plant concept is. 30 figs., 19 tabs., 75 refs. (Author).

  4. Laboratory triggering of stick-slip events by oscillatory loading in the presence of pore fluid with implications for physics of tectonic tremor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bartlow, Noel M.; Lockner, David A.; Beeler, Nicholas M.

    2012-01-01

    The physical mechanism by which the low-frequency earthquakes (LFEs) that make up portions of tectonic (also called non-volcanic) tremor are created is poorly understood. In many areas of the world, tectonic tremor and LFEs appear to be strongly tidally modulated, whereas ordinary earthquakes are not. Anomalous seismic wave speeds, interpreted as high pore fluid pressure, have been observed in regions that generate tremor. Here we build upon previous laboratory studies that investigated the response of stick-slip on artificial faults to oscillatory, tide-like loading. These previous experiments were carried out using room-dry samples of Westerly granite, at one effective stress. Here we augment these results with new experiments on Westerly granite, with the addition of varying effective stress using pore fluid at two pressures. We find that raising pore pressure, thereby lowering effective stress can significantly increase the degree of correlation of stick-slip to oscillatory loading. We also find other pore fluid effects that become important at higher frequencies, when the period of oscillation is comparable to the diffusion time of pore fluid into the fault. These results help constrain the conditions at depth that give rise to tidally modulated LFEs, providing confirmation of the effective pressure law for triggering and insights into why tremor is tidally modulated while earthquakes are at best only weakly modulated.

  5. Load power device, system and method of load control and management employing load identification

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yi; Luebke, Charles John; Schoepf, Thomas J.

    2018-01-09

    A load power device includes a power input, at least one power output for at least one load, a plurality of sensors structured to sense voltage and current at the at least one power output, and a processor. The processor provides: (a) load identification based upon the sensed voltage and current, and (b) load control and management based upon the load identification.

  6. Perceptual load interacts with stimulus processing across sensory modalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klemen, J; Büchel, C; Rose, M

    2009-06-01

    According to perceptual load theory, processing of task-irrelevant stimuli is limited by the perceptual load of a parallel attended task if both the task and the irrelevant stimuli are presented to the same sensory modality. However, it remains a matter of debate whether the same principles apply to cross-sensory perceptual load and, more generally, what form cross-sensory attentional modulation in early perceptual areas takes in humans. Here we addressed these questions using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Participants undertook an auditory one-back working memory task of low or high perceptual load, while concurrently viewing task-irrelevant images at one of three object visibility levels. The processing of the visual and auditory stimuli was measured in the lateral occipital cortex (LOC) and auditory cortex (AC), respectively. Cross-sensory interference with sensory processing was observed in both the LOC and AC, in accordance with previous results of unisensory perceptual load studies. The present neuroimaging results therefore warrant the extension of perceptual load theory from a unisensory to a cross-sensory context: a validation of this cross-sensory interference effect through behavioural measures would consolidate the findings.

  7. Design Of Load-klystron Equivalent For Jlc

    CERN Document Server

    Grishanov, B I

    2004-01-01

    In this paper a design of a resistive load - an equivalent of a klystron for the Japan Linear Collider JLC is described. The load should operate in a pulse mode at high voltage and high averege power. Different design variants were considered. The choice in favour of ceramic bulk resistor with longitudinal conductivity was done. A caloric and hydraulic calculation was executed. A mesurements of ceramics thermal conductivity of the bulk resistor and of a single radiator produced warmth remooval were done. Unfortunataly the last events on JLC forbad us to realys the project "in metall". But authours houp that this design experience could be usefull for another accelerating centers. The load can find an application as a absorbing resistor in high voltage schemes.

  8. Task-irrelevant memory load induces inattentional blindness without temporo-parietal suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsuyoshi, Daisuke; Ikeda, Takashi; Sawamoto, Nobukatsu; Kakigi, Ryusuke; Fukuyama, Hidenao; Osaka, Naoyuki

    2010-08-01

    We often fail to consciously detect an unexpected object when we are engaged in an attention-demanding task (inattentional blindness). The inattentional blindness which is induced by visual short-term memory (VSTM) load has been proposed to result from a suppression of temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) activity that involves stimulus-driven attention. However, the fact that, inversely proportional to TPJ activity, intraparietal sulcus (IPS) activity correlates with VSTM load renders questionable the account of inattentional blindness based only on TPJ activity. Here, we investigated whether the TPJ is solely responsible for inattentional blindness by decoupling IPS and TPJ responses to VSTM load and then using the same manipulation to test the behavioral inattentional blindness performance. Experiment 1 showed that TPJ activity was not suppressed by task-irrelevant load while the IPS responded to both task-relevant and task-irrelevant load. Although the TPJ account of inattentional blindness predicts that the degree of inattentional blindness should track TPJ activity, we found in Experiment 2 that inattentional blindness was induced not only by task-relevant load but also by task-irrelevant load, showing inconsistency between the extent of inattentional blindness and TPJ response. These findings suggest that inattentional blindness can be induced without suppression of TPJ activity and seem to offer the possibility that the IPS contributes to conscious perception. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Deliberation's blindsight: how cognitive load can improve judgments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann, Janina A; von Helversen, Bettina; Rieskamp, Jörg

    2013-06-01

    Multitasking poses a major challenge in modern work environments by putting the worker under cognitive load. Performance decrements often occur when people are under high cognitive load because they switch to less demanding--and often less accurate--cognitive strategies. Although cognitive load disturbs performance over a wide range of tasks, it may also carry benefits. In the experiments reported here, we showed that judgment performance can increase under cognitive load. Participants solved a multiple-cue judgment task in which high performance could be achieved by using a similarity-based judgment strategy but not by using a more demanding rule-based judgment strategy. Accordingly, cognitive load induced a shift to a similarity-based judgment strategy, which consequently led to more accurate judgments. By contrast, shifting to a similarity-based strategy harmed judgments in a task best solved by using a rule-based strategy. These results show how important it is to consider the cognitive strategies people rely on to understand how people perform in demanding work environments.

  10. A research on motion design for APP's loading pages based on time perception

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Huai; Hu, Xiaoyun

    2018-04-01

    Due to restrictions caused by objective reasons like network bandwidth, hardware performance and etc., waiting is still an inevitable phenomenon that appears in our using mobile-terminal products. Relevant researches show that users' feelings in a waiting scenario can affect their evaluations on the whole product and services the product provides. With the development of user experience and inter-facial design subjects, the role of motion effect in the interface design has attracted more and more scholars' attention. In the current studies, the research theory of motion design in a waiting scenario is imperfect. This article will use the basic theory and experimental research methods of cognitive psychology to explore the motion design's impact on user's time perception when users are waiting for loading APP pages. Firstly, the article analyzes the factors that affect waiting experience of loading APP pages based on the theory of time perception, and then discusses motion design's impact on the level of time-perception when loading pages and its design strategy. Moreover, by the operation analysis of existing loading motion designs, the article classifies the existing loading motions and designs an experiment to verify the impact of different types of motions on the user's time perception. The result shows that the waiting time perception of mobile's terminals' APPs is related to the loading motion types, the combination type of loading motions can effectively shorten the waiting time perception as it scores a higher mean value in the length of time perception.

  11. Sleep restriction and cognitive load affect performance on a simulated marksmanship task.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Carl D; Cooper, Adam D; Merullo, Donna J; Cohen, Bruce S; Heaton, Kristin J; Claro, Pedro J; Smith, Tracey

    2017-11-24

    Sleep restriction degrades cognitive and motor performance, which can adversely impact job performance and increase the risk of accidents. Military personnel are prone to operating under sleep restriction, and previous work suggests that military marksmanship may be negatively affected under such conditions. Results of these studies, however, are mixed and have often incorporated additional stressors (e.g. energy restriction) beyond sleep restriction. Moreover, few studies have investigated how the degree of difficulty of a marksmanship task impacts performance following sleep restriction. The purpose of the current experiment was to study the effects of sleep restriction on marksmanship while minimizing the potential influence of other forms of stress. A friend-foe discrimination challenge with greater or lesser degrees of complexity (high versus low load) was used as the primary marksmanship task. Active duty Soldiers were recruited, and allowed 2 h of sleep every 24 h over a 72-h testing period. Marksmanship tasks, cognitive assessment metrics and the NASA-Task Load Index were administered daily. Results indicated that reaction times to shoot foe targets and signal friendly targets slowed over time. In addition, the ability to correctly discriminate between friend and foe targets significantly decreased in the high-cognitive-load condition over time despite shot accuracy remaining stable. The NASA-Task Load Index revealed that, although marksmanship performance degraded, participants believed their performance did not change over time. These results further characterize the consequences of sleep restriction on marksmanship performance and the perception of performance, and reinforce the importance of adequate sleep among service members when feasible. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  12. Incorporating moving dynamic tyre loads in pavement design and analysis

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Steyn, WJvdM

    2000-07-01

    Full Text Available at the University of Pretoria. 4 REAL LIFE TYRE LOADS Characterisation Pavement loading has been shown by various authors to be a dynamic (time-dependent) phenomenon (Divine, 1997; Cebon, 1999). A pavement experiences a vehicle as a moving, time-varying set... frequencies. Body bounce generally dominates the dynamic loading, and is mainly caused by the response of the sprung mass of the vehicle to the pavement roughness. Axle hop becomes more significant at higher vehicle speeds and higher pavement roughnesses...

  13. Prediction of regular wave loads on a fixed offshore oscillating water column-wave energy converter using CFD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmed Elhanafi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, hydrodynamic wave loads on an offshore stationary–floating oscillating water column (OWC are investigated via a 2D and 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD modeling based on the RANS equations and the VOF surface capturing scheme. The CFD model is validated against previous experiments for nonlinear regular wave interactions with a surface-piercing stationary barge. Following the validation stage, the numerical model is modified to consider the pneumatic damping effect, and an extensive campaign of numerical tests is carried out to study the wave–OWC interactions for different wave periods, wave heights and pneumatic damping factors. It is found that the horizontal wave force is usually larger than the vertical one. Also, there a direct relationship between the pneumatic and hydrodynamic vertical forces with a maximum vertical force almost at the device natural frequency, whereas the pneumatic damping has a little effect on the horizontal force. Additionally, simulating the turbine damping with an orifice plate induces higher vertical loads than utilizing a slot opening. Furthermore, 3D modeling significantly escalates and declines the predicted hydrodynamic vertical and horizontal wave loads, respectively.

  14. Previous Experiences with Epilepsy and Effectiveness of Information to Change Public Perception of Epilepsy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gutteling, Jan M.; Seydel, E.R.; Wiegman, O.

    1986-01-01

    Differences with regard to the effectiveness of health information and attitude change are suggested between people with direct, behavioral experiences with a health topic and people with indirect, nonbehavioral experiences. The effects of three different methods of health education about epilepsy,

  15. The sensitizing phenomenon of X-ray film in the experiment of metals loaded with deuterium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Suhe; Wang Dalun; Chen Wenjang; Li Yijun; Fu Yibei; Zhang Xinwei

    1993-01-01

    The sensitizing phenomenon of X-ray film was studied, in metals loaded with deuterium, by a cycle method of temperature and pressure (CMTP). The experimental results showed that the sensitization of X-ray film was derived from the chemical reaction and the anomalous effect of metals loaded with deuterium. (author)

  16. Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA bacterial load in men with symptomatic and asymptomatic gonococcal urethritis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Priest, David; Ong, Jason J; Chow, Eric P F; Tabrizi, Sepehr; Phillips, Sam; Bissessor, Melanie; Fairley, Christopher K; Bradshaw, Catriona S; Read, Tim R H; Garland, Suzanne; Chen, Marcus

    2017-11-01

    Previous studies have quantified bacterial loads of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in the pharynx and rectum of men but not the urethra. We quantified the bacterial load of N. gonorrhoeae in men with symptomatic and asymptomatic urethral gonorrhoea infections. Consecutive men diagnosed with urethral gonorrhoea by Aptima Combo 2 testing of urine at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre between March and July 2016 were eligible for the study: symptomatic men with purulent urethral discharge and asymptomatic men with no urethral symptoms. The gonococcal bacterial load in both groups was measured by urethral swab using a standardised collection method and real-time quantitative PCR targeting the opa gene. Twenty men were recruited into the study: 16 had purulent urethral discharge and 4 had asymptomatic urethral gonorrhoea. The median gonococcal bacterial load was significantly higher among symptomatic men (3.7×10 6 copies per swab, IQR 2.5×10 6 -4.7×10 6 ) compared with asymptomatic men (2.0×10 5 copies per swab, IQR 2.7×10 4 -4.5×10 5 ) (p=0.002). Gonococcal loads in men with urethral discharge were higher than loads seen with asymptomatic urethral gonorrhoea and loads seen in asymptomatic pharyngeal and rectal gonorrhoea infections in previous studies. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

  17. Study on Stationarity of Random Load Spectrum Based on the Special Road

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Huawen; Zhang, Weigong; Wang, Dong

    2017-09-01

    In the special road quality assessment method, there is a method using a wheel force sensor, the essence of this method is collecting the load spectrum of the car to reflect the quality of road. According to the definition of stochastic process, it is easy to find that the load spectrum is a stochastic process. However, the analysis method and application range of different random processes are very different, especially in engineering practice, which will directly affect the design and development of the experiment. Therefore, determining the type of a random process has important practical significance. Based on the analysis of the digital characteristics of road load spectrum, this paper determines that the road load spectrum in this experiment belongs to a stationary stochastic process, paving the way for the follow-up modeling and feature extraction of the special road.

  18. Effects of load on the guidance of visual attention from working memory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bao; Zhang, John X; Huang, Sai; Kong, Lingyue; Wang, Suiping

    2011-12-08

    An active recent line of research on working memory and attention has shown that the visual attention can be top-down guided by working memory contents. The present study examined whether the guidance effect is modulated by memory load, i.e., the amount of information maintained in working memory. In a set of three experiments, participants were asked to perform a visual search task while maintaining several objects in working memory. The memory-driven attentional guidance effect was observed in all experiments when there were spare working memory resources. When memory load was increased from one item to two items, there was no sign that the guidance effect was attenuated. When load was further increased to four items, the guidance effect disappeared completely, indicating a clear impact of memory load on attentional guidance. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Generating Quasi-Isentropic Loading to Targets via Flier-Plate Technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen Qiang; Su Xiaopeng; Wang Chuanbin; Zhang Lianmeng; Hua Jinsong; Tan Hua

    2008-01-01

    The quasi-isentropic loading technique allows investigation of material properties in a high-pressure, low-temperature regime that is inaccessible by conventional shock wave experiments. In the present paper, the layered flier-plate and graded density flier-plate, which have different variations in the density gradient along the thickness direction but the same density range, were designed and fabricated. Impact experiments were then performed on a two-stage light gas gun. VISAR-measured results show that wave profiles with an initial jump followed by a slowly-rising front to the peak velocity amplitude are generated by using both types of the flier-plate, indicating that quasi-isentropic loading to the targets have been successfully realized. The process of quasi-isentropic loading can be seen as the successive overlap of a series of small shock waves by the transient layers in the flier-plate. It is obvious that the graded density flier-plate creates a more smoothly rising front, and the compression effect must be closer to isentropic loading than that of the layered flier-plate with the same density range

  20. Effect of transient heating loads on beryllium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kupriyanov, Igor B.; Porezanov, Nicolay P.; Nikolaev, Georgyi N.; Kurbatova, Liudmila A.; Podkovyrov, Vyacheslav L.; Muzichenko, Anatoliy D.; Zhitlukhin, Anatoliy M.; Khimchenko, Leonid N.; Gervash, Alexander A.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • We study the effect of transient plasma loads on beryllium erosion and surface microstructure. • Beryllium targets were irradiated by plasma streams with energy of 0.5–1 MJ/m 2 at ∼250 °C. • Under plasma loads 0.5–1 MJ/m 2 cracking of beryllium surface is rather slight. • Under 0.5 MJ/m 2 the mass loss of Be is no more than 0.2 g/m 2 shot and decreasing with shots number. • Under 1 MJ/m 2 maximum mass loss of beryllium was 3.7 g/m 2 shot and decreasing with shots number. - Abstract: Beryllium will be used as a plasma facing material for ITER first wall. It is expected that erosion of beryllium under transient plasma loads such as the edge-localized modes (ELMs) and disruptions will mainly determine a lifetime of ITER first wall. The results of recent experiments with the Russian beryllium of TGP-56FW ITER grade on QSPA-Be plasma gun facility are presented. The Be/CuCrZr mock-ups were exposed to upto 100 shots by deuterium plasma streams with pulse duration of 0.5 ms at ∼250 °C and average heat loads of 0.5 and 1 MJ/m 2 . Experiments were performed at 250 °C. The evolution of surface microstructure and cracks morphology as well as beryllium mass loss are investigated under erosion process

  1. Contribution of apparently non-operating loadings to the buckling of thin shells and plates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delaigue, Didier.

    1980-02-01

    This work includes four parts: in the first part, the Kirchhoff-Love theory of thin shells is described, a theory taken up and developed by Koiter and whose modelling seems to meet the problems of engineers. The second part deals with the buckling of a thin plate subjected to a load along a part of its edge, of which a part or all is seemingly inoperative. In the third part the study is extended to shells of any shape subjected to a conservative loading of the ''dead-loading'' type along part of their edges. On the basis of the results of the previous study, a study is then made on the taking into account of any load applied to the edge of a thin shell. In the fourth part the previous results are applied to the study of the buckling of a thin shell with a circular base subjected along a part of its edge to a normal prestress and to twisting moments linear density [fr

  2. A three-dimensional `Kaiser damage-memory' effect through true-triaxial loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meredith, P. G.; Browning, J.; Harland, S. R.; Healy, D.; Stuart, C.; Mitchell, T. M.

    2017-12-01

    Microcrack damage leading to failure in rocks evolves in response to differential loading. The vast majority of experimental studies investigate damage evolution, the `Kaiser damage-memory' effect, and rock failure using conventional triaxial stress states (σ1 > σ2 = σ3). Such stress states develop a crack population that displays cylindrical transverse isotropy. However, in nature the stress state is in general truly triaxial (σ1 > σ2 > σ3) and experiments that utilise such loading conditions can generate crack populations that display planar transverse isotropy which in turn influences properties such as permeability and strength. We investigate the evolution of crack damage under both conventional and true triaxial stress conditions using results from measurements made on cubic samples of sandstone deformed in three orthogonal directions with independently controlled stress paths. We have measured, simultaneously with stress and strain, the changes in ultrasonic compressional and shear wave velocities in the three principal directions, together with the bulk acoustic emission (AE) output. Changes in acoustic wave velocities are associated with both elastic closure and opening of pre-existing cracks, and the inelastic formation of new cracks. By contrast, AE is only associated with the inelastic growth of new crack damage and as such, we use the onset of AE to determine the initiation of new crack damage. By mapping these damage onsets under both conventional triaxial and true triaxial sequential cyclic loading, we have shown that `damage envelopes' evolve dynamically and can be pushed closer to the failure envelope. Whether a stress state has been `visited' before is key to determining and understanding damage states. Crack damage populations can be generated with multiple orientations depending on the arrangement of loading directions and hence principal stress directions. The sequential cyclic loading tests show that further damage in any one population

  3. A thermodynamic approach to fatigue damage accumulation under variable loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naderi, M.; Khonsari, M.M.

    2010-01-01

    We put forward a general procedure for assessment of damage evolution based on the concept of entropy production. The procedure is applicable to both constant- and variable amplitude loading. The results of a series of bending fatigue tests under both two-stage and three-stage loadings are reported to investigate the validity of the proposed methodology. Also presented are the results of experiments involving bending, torsion, and tension-compression fatigue tests with Al 6061-T6 and SS 304 specimens. It is shown that, within the range of parameters tested, the evolution of fatigue damage for these materials in terms of entropy production is independent of load, frequency, size, loading sequence and loading history. Furthermore, entropy production fractions of individual amplitudes sums to unity.

  4. Field Test of Driven Pile Group under Lateral Loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorska, Karolina; Rybak, Jaroslaw; Wyjadlowski, Marek

    2017-12-01

    All the geotechnical works need to be tested because the diversity of soil parameters is much higher than in other fields of construction. Horizontal load tests are necessary to determine the lateral capacity of driven piles subject to lateral load. Various load tests were carried out altogether on the test field in Kutno (Poland). While selecting the piles for load tests, different load combinations were taken into account. The piles with diverse length were chosen, on the basis of the previous tests of their length and integrity. The subsoil around the piles consisted of mineral soils: clays and medium compacted sands with the density index ID>0.50. The pile heads were free. The points of support of the “base” to which the dial gauges (displacement sensors) were fastened were located at the distance of 0.7 m from the side surface of the pile loaded laterally. In order to assure the independence of measurement, additional control (verifying) geodetic survey of the displacement of the piles subject to the load tests was carried out (by means of the alignment method). The trial load was imposed in stages by means of a hydraulic jack. The oil pressure in the actuator was corrected by means of a manual pump in order to ensure the constant value of the load in the on-going process of the displacement of the pile under test. On the basis of the obtained results it is possible to verify the numerical simulations of the behaviour of piles loaded by a lateral force.

  5. Two-way shape memory effect induced by repetitive compressive loading cycles

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hyun-Chul; Yoo, Young-Ik; Lee, Jung-Ju

    2009-01-01

    The NiTi alloy can be trained by repetitive loading or heating cycles. As a result of the training, a two-way shape memory effect (TWSME) can be induced. Considerable research has been reported regarding the TWSME trained by tensile loading. However, the TWSME trained by compressive loading has not been investigated nearly as much. In this paper, the TWSME is induced by compressive loading cycles and the two-way shape memory strain is evaluated by using two types of specimen: a solid cylinder type and a tube type. The TWSME trained by compressive loading is different from that trained by tensile loading owing to the severe tension/compression asymmetry as described in previous research. After repetitive compressive loading cycles, strain variation upon cooling is observed, and this result proves that the TWSME is induced by compressive loading cycles. By performing compressive loading cycles, plastic deformation in NiTi alloy occurs more than for tensile loading cycles, which brings about the appearance of TWSME. It can be said that the TWSME is induced by compressive loading cycles more easily. The two-way shape memory strain increases linearly as the maximum strain of compressive loading cycles increases, regardless of the shape and the size of the NiTi alloy; this two-way shape memory strain then shows a tendency towards saturation after some repeated cycles

  6. Study of failure criterion applicable to elastic-plastic finite element analyses of wall-thinned pipes subjected to multi-axial loading. Case for groove type flaw under combined internal pressure and bending loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mori, Kosuke; Meshii, Toshiyuki

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, a failure criterion applicable to large-strain finite element analysis (FEA) results was studied to predict the limit bending load M_c of the groove shaped wall-thinned pipes, under combined internal pressure and bending load, that experienced cracking. In our previous studies, Meshii and Ito (2012) considered cracking of pipes with groove shaped flaw (small axial length δ_z in Fig. 1) was due to the plastic instability at the wall-thinned section and proposed the Domain Collapse Criterion (DCC). The DCC could predict M_c of cracking for small δ_z by comparing the von Mises stress σ_M_i_s_e_s with the true tensile strength σ_B. Because the discrepancy in prediction of the M_c in the case of cracking was within 15%, it was considered that the predictability was could be improved further. Thus, in this work, attempt was made to improve the accuracy of M_c prediction with a perspective that multi-axial stress state might affect this plastic instability at the wall-thinned section. As a result of examination of the various failure criteria based on multi-axial stress, it was confirmed that the limit bending load of the groove flawed pipe that experienced cracking in experiment (Hereafter, it was expressed 'flawed pipe that experienced cracking') could be predicted within 5% accuracy by applying Hill's plastic instability onset criterion (Hill, 1952) to the outer surface of the crack penetration section. The accuracy of the predicted limit bending load was improved from DCC's within 15% to within 5%. (author)

  7. Optimal Dispatching of Active Distribution Networks Based on Load Equilibrium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao Han

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the optimal intraday scheduling of a distribution system that includes renewable energy (RE generation, energy storage systems (ESSs, and thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs. This system also provides time-of-use pricing to customers. Unlike previous studies, this study attempts to examine how to optimize the allocation of electric energy and to improve the equilibrium of the load curve. Accordingly, we propose a concept of load equilibrium entropy to quantify the overall equilibrium of the load curve and reflect the allocation optimization of electric energy. Based on this entropy, we built a novel multi-objective optimal dispatching model to minimize the operational cost and maximize the load curve equilibrium. To aggregate TCLs into the optimization objective, we introduced the concept of a virtual power plant (VPP and proposed a calculation method for VPP operating characteristics based on the equivalent thermal parameter model and the state-queue control method. The Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm was employed to solve the optimization problems. The simulation results illustrated that the proposed dispatching model can achieve cost reductions of system operations, peak load curtailment, and efficiency improvements, and also verified that the load equilibrium entropy can be used as a novel index of load characteristics.

  8. Ensemble coding remains accurate under object and spatial visual working memory load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Epstein, Michael L; Emmanouil, Tatiana A

    2017-10-01

    A number of studies have provided evidence that the visual system statistically summarizes large amounts of information that would exceed the limitations of attention and working memory (ensemble coding). However the necessity of working memory resources for ensemble coding has not yet been tested directly. In the current study, we used a dual task design to test the effect of object and spatial visual working memory load on size averaging accuracy. In Experiment 1, we tested participants' accuracy in comparing the mean size of two sets under various levels of object visual working memory load. Although the accuracy of average size judgments depended on the difference in mean size between the two sets, we found no effect of working memory load. In Experiment 2, we tested the same average size judgment while participants were under spatial visual working memory load, again finding no effect of load on averaging accuracy. Overall our results reveal that ensemble coding can proceed unimpeded and highly accurately under both object and spatial visual working memory load, providing further evidence that ensemble coding reflects a basic perceptual process distinct from that of individual object processing.

  9. Observation of multipactor suppression in a dielectric-loaded accelerating structure using an applied axial magnetic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jing, C.; Konecny, R.; Antipov, S.; Chang, C.; Gold, S. H.; Schoessow, P.; Kanareykin, A.; Gai, W.

    2013-01-01

    Efforts by a number of institutions to develop a Dielectric-Loaded Accelerating (DLA) structure capable of supporting high gradient acceleration when driven by an external radio frequency source have been ongoing over the past decade. Single surface resonant multipactor has been previously identified as one of the major limitations on the practical application of DLA structures in electron accelerators. In this paper, we report the results of an experiment that demonstrated suppression of multipactor growth in an X-band DLA structure through the use of an applied axial magnetic field. This represents an advance toward the practical use of DLA structures in many accelerator applications

  10. Quantitative analysis by X-ray fractography of fatigue fractured surface under variable amplitude loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akita, Koichi; Kodama, Shotaro; Misawa, Hiroshi

    1994-01-01

    X-ray fractography is a method of analysing the causes of accidental fracture of machine components or structures. Almost all of the previous research on this problem has been carried out using constant amplitude fatigue tests. However, the actual loads on components and structures are usually of variable amplitudes. In this study, X-ray fractography was applied to fatigue fractured surfaces produced by variable amplitude loading. Fatigue tests were carried out on Ni-Cr-Mo steel CT specimens under the conditions of repeated, two-step and multiple-step loading. Residual stresses were measured on the fatigue fractured surface by an X-ray diffraction method. The relationships between residual stress and stress intensity factor or crack propagation rate were studied. They were discussed in terms of the quantitative expressions under constant amplitude loading, proposed by the authors in previous papers. The main results obtained were as follows : (1) It was possible to estimate the crack propagation rate of the fatigue fractured surface under variable amplitude loading by using the relationship between residual stress and stress intensity factor under constant amplitude loading. (2) The compressive residual stress components on the fatigue fractured surface correspond with cyclic softening of the material rather than with compressive plastic deformation at the crack tip. (author)

  11. Workshop on high heat load x-ray optics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1990-01-01

    A workshop on High Heat Load X-Ray Optics'' was held at Argonne National Laboratory on August 3--5, 1989. The object of this workshop was to discuss recent advances in the art of cooling x-ray optics subject to high heat loads from synchrotron beams. The cooling of the first optical element in the intense photon beams that will be produced in the next generation of synchrotron sources is recognized as one of the major challenges that must be faced before one will be able to use these very intense beams in future synchrotron experiments. Considerable advances have been made in this art during the last few years, but much work remains to be done before the heating problem can be said to be completely solved. Special emphasis was placed on recent cooling experiments and detailed finite element'' and finite difference'' calculations comparing experiment with theory and extending theory to optimize performance.

  12. Workshop on high heat load x-ray optics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    A workshop on ''High Heat Load X-Ray Optics'' was held at Argonne National Laboratory on August 3--5, 1989. The object of this workshop was to discuss recent advances in the art of cooling x-ray optics subject to high heat loads from synchrotron beams. The cooling of the first optical element in the intense photon beams that will be produced in the next generation of synchrotron sources is recognized as one of the major challenges that must be faced before one will be able to use these very intense beams in future synchrotron experiments. Considerable advances have been made in this art during the last few years, but much work remains to be done before the heating problem can be said to be completely solved. Special emphasis was placed on recent cooling experiments and detailed ''finite element'' and ''finite difference'' calculations comparing experiment with theory and extending theory to optimize performance

  13. Effectiveness of disinfection with alcohol 70% (w/v of contaminated surfaces not previously cleaned

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurício Uchikawa Graziano

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the disinfectant effectiveness of alcohol 70% (w/v using friction, without previous cleaning, on work surfaces, as a concurrent disinfecting procedure in Health Services. METHOD: An experimental, randomized and single-blinded laboratory study was undertaken. The samples were enamelled surfaces, intentionally contaminated with Serratia marcescens microorganisms ATCC 14756 106 CFU/mL with 10% of human saliva added, and were submitted to the procedure of disinfection WITHOUT previous cleaning. The results were compared to disinfection preceded by cleaning. RESULTS: There was a reduction of six logarithms of the initial microbial population, equal in the groups WITH and WITHOUT previous cleaning (p=0.440 and a residual microbial load ≤ 102 CFU. CONCLUSION: The research demonstrated the acceptability of the practice evaluated, bringing an important response to the area of health, in particular to Nursing, which most undertakes procedures of concurrent cleaning /disinfecting of these work surfaces.

  14. Effectiveness of disinfection with alcohol 70% (w/v of contaminated surfaces not previously cleaned

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurício Uchikawa Graziano

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the disinfectant effectiveness of alcohol 70% (w/v using friction, without previous cleaning, on work surfaces, as a concurrent disinfecting procedure in Health Services. METHOD: An experimental, randomized and single-blinded laboratory study was undertaken. The samples were enamelled surfaces, intentionally contaminated with Serratia marcescens microorganisms ATCC 14756 106 CFU/mL with 10% of human saliva added, and were submitted to the procedure of disinfection WITHOUT previous cleaning. The results were compared to disinfection preceded by cleaning. RESULTS: There was a reduction of six logarithms of the initial microbial population, equal in the groups WITH and WITHOUT previous cleaning (p=0.440 and a residual microbial load ≤ 102 CFU. CONCLUSION: The research demonstrated the acceptability of the practice evaluated, bringing an important response to the area of health, in particular to Nursing, which most undertakes procedures of concurrent cleaning /disinfecting of these work surfaces.

  15. Effects of age and loading rate on equine cortical bone failure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulin, Robb M; Jiang, Fengchun; Vecchio, Kenneth S

    2011-01-01

    Although clinical bone fractures occur predominantly under impact loading (as occurs during sporting accidents, falls, high-speed impacts or other catastrophic events), experimentally validated studies on the dynamic fracture behavior of bone, at the loading rates associated with such events, remain limited. In this study, a series of tests were performed on femoral specimens obtained post-mortem from equine donors ranging in age from 6 months to 28 years. Fracture toughness and compressive tests were performed under both quasi-static and dynamic loading conditions in order to determine the effects of loading rate and age on the mechanical behavior of the cortical bone. Fracture toughness experiments were performed using a four-point bending geometry on single and double-notch specimens in order to measure fracture toughness, as well as observe differences in crack initiation between dynamic and quasi-static experiments. Compressive properties were measured on bone loaded parallel and transverse to the osteonal growth direction. Fracture propagation was then analyzed using scanning electron and scanning confocal microscopy to observe the effects of microstructural toughening mechanisms at different strain rates. Specimens from each horse were also analyzed for dry, wet and mineral densities, as well as weight percent mineral, in order to investigate possible influences of composition on mechanical behavior. Results indicate that bone has a higher compressive strength, but lower fracture toughness when tested dynamically as compared to quasi-static experiments. Fracture toughness also tends to decrease with age when measured quasi-statically, but shows little change with age under dynamic loading conditions, where brittle "cleavage-like" fracture behavior dominates. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Experimental Investigation on Fatigue Behavior of Epoxy Resin under Load and Displacement Controls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mahmood Mehrdad Shokrieh

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The mechanical properties of epoxy resin including tensile and flexural modulus, tensile and flexural strength for static conditions are currently studied. The frequency effect as significant parameter at room temperature is investigated and fatigue behavior of the epoxy resin in tension-tension loading conditions for different frequencies of 2, 3 and 5 Hz are obtained. The epoxy resin has been taken under flexural bending fatigue loading and fatigue life is investigated. The results of the experiments show the values of 2.5 and 3 GPa of tensile and flexural modules and 59.98 and 110.02 MPa of tensile and flexural strengths for the resin, respectively. To achieve a linear load-deflection relationship in a three-point bending experiment, a maximum allowable deflection of 5 mm is acquired. The relationship between the frequency and fatigue life shows higher frequency results in lower fatigue life. Loading with frequency of 2 Hz has provided 5.8 times more fatigue life compared with 5 Hz loading. For a tension-tension fatigue loading condition, the variation of tensile module of epoxy resin shows no noticeable change during the fatigue loading condition. This module decreases significantly only in the primary and failure cycles close to the fracture point. In further experiments, fatigue behavior of epoxy resin was tested under flexural bending fatigue loadings with controlled deflection at room temperature. Maximum applied normalized stresses versus the number of cycles to failure curve are illustrated and it can be performed in order to predict the number of cycles to failure for the resin in arbitrary applied normal stresses as well.

  17. Photogrammetric Assessment of Flexure Induced Cracking of Reinforced Concrete Beams under Service Loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pease, Bradley Justin; Geiker, Mette Rica; Stang, Henrik

    2006-01-01

    Reinforced concrete structures are known to crack due to restrained shrinkage, temperature gradients, application of load, and expansive reactions. Cracks provide paths for rapid ingress of moisture, chlorides, and other aggressive substances, which may affect the long-term durability...... of the structure. For example, concrete cracks located at the reinforcing steel may contribute to a rapid corrosion initiation and propagation. Previous research has shown that cracked reinforced concrete under static flexural loading may have an increased ingress of chloride ions along the reinforcement....../concrete interface. The aim of this paper is to provide a detailed description of the development of cracks in reinforced concrete under flexural load. Cracking at both realistic service load levels (1.0-1.8 times estimated cracking load) and unrealistically high service load levels (> 0.5 times beam capacity) has...

  18. The Impact of an International Cultural Experience on Previously Held Stereotypes by American Student Nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heuer, Loretta; Bengiamin, Marlene; Downey, Vicki Wessman

    2001-01-01

    Examined stereotypes held by U.S. student nurses before and after participating in an educational experience in Russia. The experience was intended to prepare them to be effective nurses in multicultural health care settings. Data from student interviews indicated that the experience changed students' stereotyped attitudes about Russian culture…

  19. Impact of Spatial and Verbal Short-Term Memory Load on Auditory Spatial Attention Gradients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golob, Edward J; Winston, Jenna; Mock, Jeffrey R

    2017-01-01

    Short-term memory load can impair attentional control, but prior work shows that the extent of the effect ranges from being very general to very specific. One factor for the mixed results may be reliance on point estimates of memory load effects on attention. Here we used auditory attention gradients as an analog measure to map-out the impact of short-term memory load over space. Verbal or spatial information was maintained during an auditory spatial attention task and compared to no-load. Stimuli were presented from five virtual locations in the frontal azimuth plane, and subjects focused on the midline. Reaction times progressively increased for lateral stimuli, indicating an attention gradient. Spatial load further slowed responses at lateral locations, particularly in the left hemispace, but had little effect at midline. Verbal memory load had no (Experiment 1), or a minimal (Experiment 2) influence on reaction times. Spatial and verbal load increased switch costs between memory encoding and attention tasks relative to the no load condition. The findings show that short-term memory influences the distribution of auditory attention over space; and that the specific pattern depends on the type of information in short-term memory.

  20. Impact of Spatial and Verbal Short-Term Memory Load on Auditory Spatial Attention Gradients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward J. Golob

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Short-term memory load can impair attentional control, but prior work shows that the extent of the effect ranges from being very general to very specific. One factor for the mixed results may be reliance on point estimates of memory load effects on attention. Here we used auditory attention gradients as an analog measure to map-out the impact of short-term memory load over space. Verbal or spatial information was maintained during an auditory spatial attention task and compared to no-load. Stimuli were presented from five virtual locations in the frontal azimuth plane, and subjects focused on the midline. Reaction times progressively increased for lateral stimuli, indicating an attention gradient. Spatial load further slowed responses at lateral locations, particularly in the left hemispace, but had little effect at midline. Verbal memory load had no (Experiment 1, or a minimal (Experiment 2 influence on reaction times. Spatial and verbal load increased switch costs between memory encoding and attention tasks relative to the no load condition. The findings show that short-term memory influences the distribution of auditory attention over space; and that the specific pattern depends on the type of information in short-term memory.

  1. Local forearm and whole-body respiratory quotient in humans after an oral glucose load

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simonsen, L; Bülow, J; Madsen, J

    1993-01-01

    the glucose load and had not returned to baseline level at the end of the experiment. Whole-body respiratory quotient (RQ) was, on average, 0.80 (SD 0.05) in the baseline condition and increased to a maximum of 0.91 (0.03) and then decreased to baseline level at the end of the experiment. The local forearm.......17) to 0.63 (0.17) 30 min after the glucose load (P glucose load RQ increased to a maximum level at 0.95 (0.22) and decreased then gradually to baseline level. The experiments emphasize several methodological problems in the measurement of local forearm RQ. The whole-body RQ......The effects of an oral glucose load of 75 g on the local forearm and whole-body energy thermogenesis were measured in normal subjects during the 4 h after the glucose intake. Simultaneous assessment of substrate metabolism in the forearm was performed. Energy expenditure (EE) increased after...

  2. Temporal pattern of emotions and cognitive load during simulation training and debriefing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fraser, Kristin; McLaughlin, Kevin

    2018-04-24

    In the simulated clinical environment, there is a perceived benefit to the emotional activation experienced by learners; however, potential harm of excessive and/or negative emotions has also been hypothesized. An improved understanding of the emotional experiences of learners during each phase of the simulation session will inform instructional design. In this observational study, we asked 174 first-year medical students about their emotional state upon arrival to the simulation lab (t1). They were then trained on a standard simulation scenario, after which they rated their emotional state and perceived cognitive load (t2). After debriefing, we then asked them to again rate their emotions and cognitive load (t3). Students reported that their experience of tranquility (a positive and low-arousal state) dropped from pre-scenario (t1) to post-scenario (t2), and returned to baseline levels after debriefing (t3), from 0.69 (0.87) to 0.14 (0.78) to 0.62 (0.78). Post scenario cognitive load was rated to be moderately high at 6.62 (1.12) and scores increased after debriefing to 6.90 (1.05) d = 0.26, p Cognitive load was associated with the simultaneous measures of emotions at both t2 and t3. Participant emotions are significantly altered through the experience of medical simulation and emotions are associated with subjective ratings of cognitive load.

  3. Mitigating the Long term Operating Extreme Load through Active Control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koukoura, Christina; Natarajan, Anand

    2014-01-01

    The parameters influencing the long term extreme operating design loads are identified through the implementation of a Design of Experiment (DOE) method. A function between the identified critical factors and the ultimate out-of-plane loads on the blade is determined. Variations in the initial blade azimuth location are shown to affect the extreme blade load magnitude during operation in normal turbulence wind input. The simultaneously controlled operation of generator torque variation and pitch variation at low blade pitch angles is detected to be responsible for very high loads acting on the blades. Through gain scheduling of the controller (modifications of the proportional Kp and the integral K gains) the extreme loads are mitigated, ensuring minimum instantaneous variations in the power production for operation above rated wind speed. The response of the blade load is examined for different values of the integral gain as resulting in rotor speed error and the rate of change of rotor speed. Based on the results a new load case for the simulation of extreme loads during normal operation is also presented

  4. Load and wear experiments on the impact hammer of a vertical shaft impact crusher

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, J H; Fang, H Y; Luo, M

    2015-01-01

    Impact hammers are important components of impact crushers, and are often shortlived due to the high-impact nature of their use. Wear-resistant alloys are welded to the surface of impact hammers to prolong their service life. In this paper, a simulation model of the rotor and impact hammers in impact crushers was designed to utilize the Discrete Element Method (DEM). The wear-resistant alloy on each impact hammer was divided into twenty-two action regions. The load distribution on each alloy block is affected by the structural and manufacturing parameters of the impact crusher. The wear distribution of the impact hammer was measured by shape morphology according to relative impact crushers. The results demonstrated that the real measurements of wear distribution on the impact hammer were similar to simulated load distribution measurements on the same surface. The study of load distribution of impact hammers by DEM established a theoretical foundation on which to base the optimal design of impact crushers. (paper)

  5. Measuring the Bed Load velocity in Laboratory flumes using ADCP and Digital Cameras

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conevski, Slaven; Guerrero, Massimo; Rennie, Colin; Bombardier, Josselin

    2017-04-01

    Measuring the transport rate and apparent velocity of the bedload is notoriously hard and there is not a certain technique that would obtain continues data. There are many empirical models, based on the estimation of the shear stress, but only few involve direct measurement of the bed load velocity. The bottom tracking (BT) mode of an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) has been used many times to estimate the apparent velocity of the bed load. Herein is the basic idea, to exploit the bias of the BT signal towards the bed load movement and to calibrate this signal with traditional measuring techniques. These measurements are quite scarce and seldom reliable since there are not taken in controlled conditions. So far, no clear confirmation has been conducted in laboratory-controlled conditions that would attest the assumptions made in the estimation of the apparent bed load velocity, nor in the calibration of the empirical equations. Therefore, this study explores several experiments under stationary conditions, where the signal of the ADCP BT mode is recorded and compared to the bed load motion recorded by digital camera videography. The experiments have been performed in the hydraulic laboratories of Ottawa and Bologna, using two different ADCPs and two different high resolution cameras. In total, more then 30 experiments were performed for different sediment mixtures and different hydraulic conditions. In general, a good match is documented between the apparent bed load velocity measured by the ADCP and the videography. The slight deviation in single experiments can be explained by gravel particles inhomogeneity, difficult in reproducing the same hydro-sedimentological conditions and the randomness of the backscattering strength.

  6. Force reduction induced by unidirectional transversal muscle loading is independent of local pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siebert, Tobias; Rode, Christian; Till, Olaf; Stutzig, Norman; Blickhan, Reinhard

    2016-05-03

    Transversal unidirectional compression applied to muscles via external loading affects muscle contraction dynamics in the longitudinal direction. A recent study reported decreasing longitudinal muscle forces with increasing transversal load applied with a constant contact area (i.e., leading to a simultaneous increase in local pressure). To shed light on these results, we examine whether the decrease in longitudinal force depends on the load, the local pressure, or both. To this end, we perform isometric experiments on rat M. gastrocnemius medialis without and with transversal loading (i) changing the local pressure from 1.1-3.2Ncm(-2) (n=9) at a constant transversal load (1.62N) and (ii) increasing the transversal load (1.15-3.45N) at a constant local pressure of 2.3Ncm(-2) (n=7). While we did not note changes in the decrease in longitudinal muscle force in the first experiment, the second experiment resulted in an almost-linear reduction of longitudinal force between 7.5±0.6% and 14.1±1.7%. We conclude that the observed longitudinal force reduction is not induced by local effects such as malfunction of single muscle compartments, but that similar internal stress conditions and myofilament configurations occur when the local pressure changes given a constant load. The decreased longitudinal force may be explained by increased internal pressure and a deformed myofilament lattice that is likely associated with the decomposition of cross-bridge forces on the one hand and the inhibition of cross-bridges on the other hand. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Contact-Free Cognitive Load Recognition Based on Eye Movement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Liu

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The cognitive overload not only affects the physical and mental diseases, but also affects the work efficiency and safety. Hence, the research of measuring cognitive load has been an important part of cognitive load theory. In this paper, we proposed a method to identify the state of cognitive load by using eye movement data in a noncontact manner. We designed a visual experiment to elicit human’s cognitive load as high and low state in two light intense environments and recorded the eye movement data in this whole process. Twelve salient features of the eye movement were selected by using statistic test. Algorithms for processing some features are proposed for increasing the recognition rate. Finally we used the support vector machine (SVM to classify high and low cognitive load. The experimental results show that the method can achieve 90.25% accuracy in light controlled condition.

  8. Attrition of limestone by impact loading in fluidized beds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fabrizio Scala; Fabio Montagnaro; Piero Salatino [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Napoli (Italy). Istituto di Ricerche sulla Combustione

    2007-09-15

    The present study addresses limestone attrition and fragmentation associated with impact loading, a process which may occur extensively in various regions of fluidized bed (FB) combustors/gasifiers, primarily the jetting region of the bottom bed, the exit region of the riser, and the cyclone. An experimental protocol for the characterization of the propensity of limestone to undergo attrition/fragmentation by impact loading is reported. The application of the protocol is demonstrated with reference to an Italian limestone whose primary fragmentation and attrition by surface wear have already been characterized in previous studies. The experimental procedure is based on the characterization of the amount and particle size distribution of the debris generated upon the impact of samples of sorbent particles against a target. Experiments were carried out at a range of particle impact velocities between 10 and 45 m/s, consistent with jet velocities corresponding to typical pressure drops across FB gas distributors. The protocol has been applied to either raw or preprocessed limestone samples. In particular, the effect of calcination, sulfation, and calcination/recarbonation cycles on the impact damage suffered by sorbent particles has been assessed. The measurement of particle voidage and pore size distribution by mercury intrusion was also accomplished to correlate fragmentation with the structural properties of the sorbent samples. Fragmentation by impact loading of the limestone is significant. Lime displays the largest propensity to undergo impact damage, followed by the sorbent sulfated to exhaustion, the recarbonated sorbent, and the raw limestone. Fragmentation of the raw limestone and of the sulfated lime follows a pattern typical of the failure of brittle materials. The fragmentation behavior of lime and recarbonated lime better conforms to a disintegration failure mode, with an extensive generation of very fine fragments. 27 refs., 9 figs. 1 tab.

  9. Effect of perceptual load on conceptual processing: an extension of Vermeulen's theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jiushu; Wang, Ruiming; Sun, Xun; Chang, Song

    2013-10-01

    The effect of color and shape load on conceptual processing was studied. Perceptual load effects have been found in visual and auditory conceptual processing, supporting the theory of embodied cognition. However, whether different types of visual concepts, such as color and shape, share the same perceptual load effects is unknown. In the current experiment, 32 participants were administered simultaneous perceptual and conceptual tasks to assess the relation between perceptual load and conceptual processing. Keeping color load in mind obstructed color conceptual processing. Hence, perceptual processing and conceptual load shared the same resources, suggesting embodied cognition. Color conceptual processing was not affected by shape pictures, indicating that different types of properties within vision were separate.

  10. Design of digital load torque observer in hybrid electric vehicle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Yukun; Zhang, Haoming; Wang, Yinghai

    2008-12-01

    In hybrid electric vehicle, engine begain to work only when motor was in high speed in order to decrease tail gas emission. However, permanent magnet motor was sensitive to its load, adding engine to the system always made its speed drop sharply, which caused engine to work in low efficiency again and produced much more environment pollution. Dynamic load torque model of permanent magnet synchronous motor is established on the basic of motor mechanical equation and permanent magnet synchronous motor vector control theory, Full- digital load torque observer and compensation control system is made based on TMS320F2407A. Experiment results prove load torque observer and compensation control system can detect and compensate torque disturbing effectively, which can solve load torque disturbing and decrease gas pollution of hybrid electric vehicle.

  11. 1980 survey and evaluation of utility conservation, load management, and solar end-use projects. Volume 3: utility load management projects. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1982-01-01

    The results of the 1980 survey of electric utility-sponsored energy conservation, load management, and end-use solar energy conversion projects are described. The work is an expansion of a previous survey and evaluation and has been jointly sponsored by EPRI and DOE through the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. There are three volumes and a summary document. Each volume presents the results of an extensive survey to determine electric utility involvement in customer-side projects related to the particular technology (i.e., conservation, solar, or load management), selected descriptions of utility projects and results, and first-level technical and economic evaluations.

  12. Committee VI.1. Extreme Hull Girder Loading

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jørgen Juncher

    2000-01-01

    Committee Mandate. Evaluate and develop direct calculation procedures for extreme wawe loads on ship hull girders. Due consideration shall be given to stochastic and non-linear effects. The procedures shall be assessed by comparison with in-service experiences, model tests and more refined...

  13. Degradation of isobutanal at high loading rates in a compost biofilter.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sercu, Bram; Demeestere, Kristof; Baillieul, Hans; Van Langenhove, Herman; Verstraete, Willy

    2005-08-01

    Biofiltration has been increasingly used for cleaning waste gases, mostly containing low concentrations of odorous compounds. To expand the application area of this technology, the biofiltration of higher pollutant loading rates has to be investigated. This article focuses on the biodegradation of isobutanal (IBAL) in a compost biofilter (BF) at mass loading rates between 211 and 4123 g/m3/day (30-590 ppm(v)). At mass loading rates up to 785 g/m3/day, near 100% removal efficiencies could be obtained. However, after increasing the loading rate to 1500-1900 g/m3/ day, the degradation efficiency decreased to 62-98%. In addition, a pH decrease and production of isobutanol (IBOL) and isobutyric acid (IBAC) were observed. This is the first report showing that an aldehyde can act as electron donor as well as acceptor in a BF. To study the effects of pH, compost moisture content, and electron acceptor availability on the biofiltration of IBAL, IBOL, and IBAC, additional batch and continuous experiments were performed. A pH of 5.2 reduced the IBAL degradation rate and inhibited the IBOL degradation, although adaptation of the microorganisms to low pH was observed in the BFs. IBAC was not degraded in the batch experiments. High moisture content (51%) initially had no effect on the IBOL production, although it negatively affected the IBAL elimination increasingly during a 21-day time-course experiment. In batch experiments, the reduction of IBAL to IBOL did not decrease when the amount of available electron acceptors (oxygen or nitrate) was increased. The IBAL removal efficiency at higher loading rates was limited by a combination of nutrient limitation, pH decrease, and dehydration, and the importance of each limiting factor depended on the influent concentration.

  14. Numerical simulation of wire array load implosion on Yang accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao Hailong; Deng Jianjun; Wang Qiang; Zou Wenkang; Wang Ganghua

    2012-01-01

    Based on the ZORK model describing the Saturn facility, a zero dimensional load model of the wire array Z-pinch on Yang accelerator is designed using Pspice to simulate the implosion process. Comparisons between the calculated results and experimental data prove the load model to be correct. The applicability and shortcomings of the load model are presented. One-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic calculations are performed by using the current curve obtained from calculated results of experiment Yang 1050#. and the parameters such as implosion time and radiation X-ray power are obtained. (authors)

  15. Dynamic axle and wheel loads identification: laboratory studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, X. Q.; Law, S. S.

    2003-12-01

    Two methods have been reported by Zhu and Law to identify moving loads on the top of a bridge deck. One is based on the exact solution (ESM) and the other is based on the finite element formulation (FEM). Simulation studies on the effect of different influencing factors have been reported previously. This paper comparatively studies the performances of these two methods with experimental measurements obtained from a bridge/vehicle system in the laboratory. The strains of the bridge deck are measured when a model car moves across the bridge deck along different paths. The moving loads on the bridge deck are identified from the measured strains using these two methods, and the responses are reconstructed from the identified loads for comparison with the measured responses to verify the performances of these methods. Studies on the identification accuracy due to the effect of the number of vibration mode used, the number of measuring points and eccentricities of travelling paths are performed. Results show that the ESM could identify the moving loads individually or as axle loads when they are travelling at an eccentricity with the sensors located close to the travelling path of the forces. And the accuracy of the FEM is dependent on the amount of measured information used in the identification.

  16. Multi-scale analysis of behavior and fatigue life of 304L stainless under cyclic loading with pre-hardening

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belattar, A.

    2013-01-01

    This study investigates the effects of loading history on the cyclic stress-strain curve and fatigue behavior of 304L stainless steel at room temperature. Tension-compression tests were performed on the same specimen under controlled strain, using several loading sequences of increasing or decreasing amplitude. The results showed that fatigue life is significantly reduced by the previous loading history. A previously developed method for determining the effect of prehardening was evaluated. Microstructural analyses were also performed; the microstructures after pre-loading and their evolution during the fatigue cycles were characterized by TEM. The results of these analyses improve our understanding of the macroscopic properties of 304L stainless steel and can help us identify the causes of failure and lifetime reduction. (author)

  17. Effects of Presentation Modes on Mobile-Assisted Vocabulary Learning and Cognitive Load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Chih-Cheng; Yu, Ya-Chuan

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies of multimedia presentations have determined the effects of the combination of text and pictures on vocabulary learning, but not those of the sound of new words. This study was intended to confirm those previous findings from the integration of mobile technologies and the approach of cognitive load. It adopted a within-subjects…

  18. Validation of wind loading codes by experiments

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Geurts, C.P.W.

    1998-01-01

    Between 1994 and 1997, full scale measurements of the wind and wind induced pressures were carried out on the main building of Eindhoven University of Technology. Simultaneously, a comparative wind tunnel experiment was performed in an atmospheric boundary layer wind tunnel. In this paper, the

  19. FMS™ scores and low-back loading during lifting--whole-body movement screening as an ergonomic tool?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beach, Tyson A C; Frost, David M; Callaghan, Jack P

    2014-05-01

    Previous research suggests that a general whole-body movement screen could be used to identify personal movement attributes that promote potentially injurious low-back loading patterns at work. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Functional Movement Screen™ (FMS) composite scores and the low-back loading response to lifting. Fifteen men who scored greater than 14 on the FMS (high-scorers) and 15 height- and weight-matched low-scorers (FMS axes, but there was a tendency for the lumbar spine to be more deviated in the low-scorers. Using the previously established injury prediction threshold value of 14, the composite FMS score was not related to the peak low-back loading magnitudes in lifting. Though not statistically significant, the tendency for the lumbar spines of low-scorers to be more deviated when the peak low-back compression force was imposed could be biomechanically meaningful because spinal load tolerance varies with posture. Future attempts to modify or reinterpret FMS scoring are warranted given that several previous studies have revealed links between composite FMS scores and musculoskeletal complaints. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Mechanics of arterial subfailure with increasing loading rate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stemper, Brian D; Yoganandan, Narayan; Pintar, Frank A

    2007-01-01

    Arterial subfailure leads to delayed symptomatology and high morbidity and mortality rates, particularly for the thoracic aorta and carotid arteries. Although arterial injuries occur during high-velocity automotive collisions, previous studies of arterial subfailure focused on quasi-static loading. This investigation subjected aortic segments to increasing loading rates to quantify effects on elastic, subfailure, and ultimate vessel mechanics. Sixty-two specimens were axially distracted, and 92% demonstrated subfailure before ultimate failure. With increasing loading rate, stress at initial subfailure and ultimate failure significantly increased, and strain at initial subfailure and ultimate failure significantly decreased. Present results indicate increased susceptibility for arterial subfailure and/or dissection under higher-rate extension. According to the present results, automotive occupants are at greater risk of arterial injury under higher velocity impacts due to greater body segment motions in addition to decreased strain tolerance to subfailure and catastrophic failure.

  1. Distribution load forecast with interactive correction of horizon loads

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glamochanin, V.; Andonov, D.; Gagovski, I.

    1994-01-01

    This paper presents the interactive distribution load forecast application that performs the distribution load forecast with interactive correction of horizon loads. It consists of two major parts implemented in Fortran and Visual Basic. The Fortran part is used for the forecasts computations. It consists of two methods: Load Transfer Coupling Curve Fitting (LTCCF) and load Forecast Using Curve Shape Clustering (FUCSC). LTCCF is used to 'correct' the contaminated data because of load transfer among neighboring distribution areas. FUCSC uses curve shape clustering to forecast the distribution loads of small areas. The forecast for each small area is achieved by using the shape of corresponding cluster curve. The comparison of forecasted loads of the area with historical data will be used as a tool for the correction of the estimated horizon load. The Visual Basic part is used to provide flexible interactive user-friendly environment. (author). 5 refs., 3 figs

  2. Observation of radio frequency emissions from electrochemical loading experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kidwell, D.A.; Grabowski, K.S.; Dominguez, D.D.; DeChiaro Jr, L.F.

    2015-01-01

    Palladium foil cathodes were electrochemically loaded with deuterium from alkaline solutions of heavy water in specially designed closed calorimeter cells. Here, one cell is described that showed low levels of constant heat (1-7 mW) and radio frequency (RF) emanations, but the RF was not correlated with the heat production. This cell is compared with Pd 90 Rh 10 alloy cathodes that showed excess energy bursts of 2.4-44.3 kJ. In these cells, RF coincident with the bursts was observed peaking at different frequencies from about 450 kHz and extending into the MHz range. Some of the excess energy production in LENR may be in the MHz RF range, which has no conventional explanation in electrochemistry. (author)

  3. In vivo facet joint loading of the canine lumbar spine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buttermann, G R; Schendel, M J; Kahmann, R D; Lewis, J L; Bradford, D S

    1992-01-01

    This study describes a technique to measure in vivo loads and the resultant load-contact locations in the facet joint of the canine lumbar spine. The technique is a modification of a previously described in vitro method that used calibrated surface strains of the lateral aspect of the right L3 cranial articular process. In the present study, strains were measured during various in vivo static and dynamic activities 3 days after strain gage implantation. The in vivo recording technique and its errors, which depend on the location of the applied facet loads, is described. The results of applying the technique to five dogs gave the following results. Relative resultant contact load locations on the facet tended to be in the central and caudal portion of the facet in extension activities, central and cranial in standing, and cranial and ventral in flexion or right-turning activities. Right-turning contact locations were ventral and cranial to left-turning locations. Resultant load locations at peak loading during walking were in the central region of the facet, whereas resultant load locations at minimum loading during walking were relatively craniad. This resultant load-contact location during a walk gait cycle typically migrated in an arc with a displacement of 4 mm from minimum to maximum loading. Static tests resulted in a range of facet loads of 0 N in flexion and lying to 185 N for two-legged standing erect, and stand resulted in facet loads of 26 +/- 15 N (mean +/- standard deviation [SD]). Dynamic tests resulted in peak facet loads ranging from 55 N while walking erect to 170 N for climbing up stairs. Maximum walk facet loads were 107 +/- 27 N. The technique is applicable to in vivo studies of a canine facet joint osteoarthritis model and may be useful for establishing an understanding of the biomechanics of low-back pain.

  4. Structural health monitoring of cylindrical bodies under impulsive hydrodynamic loading by distributed FBG strain measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fanelli, Pierluigi; Ubertini, Stefano; Biscarini, Chiara; Jannelli, Elio; Ubertini, Filippo

    2017-01-01

    Various mechanical, ocean, aerospace and civil engineering problems involve solid bodies impacting the water surface and often result in complex coupled dynamics, characterized by impulsive loading conditions, high amplitude vibrations and large local deformations. Monitoring in such problems for purposes such as remaining fatigue life estimation and real time damage detection is a technical and scientific challenge of primary concern in this context. Open issues include the need for developing distributed sensing systems able to operate at very high acquisition frequencies, to be utilized to study rapidly varying strain fields, with high resolution and very low noise, while scientific challenges mostly relate to the definition of appropriate signal processing and modeling tools enabling the extraction of useful information from distributed sensing signals. Building on previous work by some of the authors, we propose an enhanced method for real time deformed shape reconstruction using distributed FBG strain measurements in curved bodies subjected to impulsive loading and we establish a new framework for applying this method for structural health monitoring purposes, as the main focus of the work. Experiments are carried out on a cylinder impacting the water at various speeds, proving improved performance in displacement reconstruction of the enhanced method compared to its previous version. A numerical study is then carried out considering the same physical problem with different delamination damages affecting the body. The potential for detecting, localizing and quantifying this damage using the reconstruction algorithm is thoroughly investigated. Overall, the results presented in the paper show the potential of distributed FBG strain measurements for real time structural health monitoring of curved bodies under impulsive hydrodynamic loading, defining damage sensitive features in terms of strain or displacement reconstruction errors at selected locations along

  5. The influence of perceptual load on age differences in selective attention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maylor, E A; Lavie, N

    1998-12-01

    The effect of perceptual load on age differences in visual selective attention was examined in 2 studies. In Experiment 1, younger and older adults made speeded choice responses indicating which of 2 target letters was present in a relevant set of letters in the center of the display while they attempted to ignore an irrelevant distractor in the periphery. The perceptual load of relevant processing was manipulated by varying the central set size. When the relevant set size was small, the adverse effect of an incompatible distractor was much greater for the older participants than for the younger ones. However, with larger relevant set sizes, this was no longer the case, with the distractor effect decreasing for older participants at lower levels of perceptual load than for younger ones. In Experiment 2, older adults were tested with the empty locations in the central set either unmarked (as in Experiment 1) or marked by small circles to form a group of 6 items irrespective of set size; the 2 conditions did not differ markedly, ruling out an explanation based entirely on perceptual grouping.

  6. Calculations of the Acceleration of Centrifugal Loading on Adherent Cells

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Kang; Song, Yang; Liu, Qing; Zhang, Chunqiu

    2017-07-01

    Studies have shown that the morphology and function of living cells are greatly affected by the state of different high acceleration. Based on the centrifuge, we designed a centrifugal cell loading machine for the mechanical biology of cells under high acceleration loading. For the machine, the feasibility of the experiment was studied by means of constant acceleration or variable acceleration loading in the Petri dish fixture and/or culture flask. Here we analyzed the distribution of the acceleration of the cells with the change of position and size of the culturing device quantitatively. It is obtained that Petri dish fixture and/or culture flask can be used for constant acceleration loading by experiments; the centripetal acceleration of the adherent cells increases with the increase of the distance between the rotor center of the centrifuge and the fixture of the Petri dish and the size of the fixture. It achieves the idea that the general biology laboratory can conduct the study of mechanical biology at high acceleration. It also provides a basis for more accurate study of the law of high acceleration on mechanobiology of cells.

  7. Quantification of Nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum Spore Loads in Food Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barker, Gary C; Malakar, Pradeep K; Plowman, June; Peck, Michael W

    2016-01-04

    We have produced data and developed analysis to build representations for the concentration of spores of nonproteolytic Clostridium botulinum in materials that are used during the manufacture of minimally processed chilled foods in the United Kingdom. Food materials are categorized into homogenous groups which include meat, fish, shellfish, cereals, fresh plant material, dairy liquid, dairy nonliquid, mushroom and fungi, and dried herbs and spices. Models are constructed in a Bayesian framework and represent a combination of information from a literature survey of spore loads from positive-control experiments that establish a detection limit and from dedicated microbiological tests for real food materials. The detection of nonproteolytic C. botulinum employed an optimized protocol that combines selective enrichment culture with multiplex PCR, and the majority of tests on food materials were negative. Posterior beliefs about spore loads center on a concentration range of 1 to 10 spores kg(-1). Posterior beliefs for larger spore loads were most significant for dried herbs and spices and were most sensitive to the detailed results from control experiments. Probability distributions for spore loads are represented in a convenient form that can be used for numerical analysis and risk assessments. Copyright © 2016 Barker et al.

  8. Strain Gage Load Calibration of the Wing Interface Fittings for the Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge Flap Flight Test

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Eric J.; Holguin, Andrew C.; Cruz, Josue; Lokos, William A.

    2014-01-01

    This is the presentation to follow conference paper of the same name. The adaptive compliant trailing edge (ACTE) flap experiment safety of flight requires that the flap to wing interface loads be sensed and monitored in real time to ensure that the wing structural load limits are not exceeded. This paper discusses the strain gage load calibration testing and load equation derivation methodology for the ACTE interface fittings. Both the left and right wing flap interfaces will be monitored and each contains four uniquely designed and instrumented flap interface fittings. The interface hardware design and instrumentation layout are discussed. Twenty one applied test load cases were developed using the predicted in-flight loads for the ACTE experiment.

  9. Association between increase in vertical ground reaction force loading rate and pain level in women with patellofemoral pain after a patellofemoral joint loading protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briani, Ronaldo Valdir; Pazzinatto, Marcella Ferraz; Waiteman, Marina Cabral; de Oliveira Silva, Danilo; de Azevedo, Fábio Mícolis

    2018-04-11

    The etiology of patellofemoral pain (PFP) is thought to be the result of increased patellofemoral joint (PFJ) load and aberrant lower extremity mechanics, including altered vertical ground reaction forces (VGRF). However, few studies have investigated the association between an increase in pain and VGRF loading rates in the context of PFP. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the immediate effects of PFJ loading on pain and VGRF loading rate, and to see if there is a link between modification of both pain and VGRF loading rate during stair negotiation. Thirty-four women with PFP underwent VGRF analysis during stair negotiation under two conditions: with (condition 2) and without (condition 1) being previously submitted to a PFJ loading protocol in order to or not to exacerbate their knee pain, respectively. The VGRF loading rates were significantly higher in condition 2 (Mean ± standard deviation (SD)=4.0±0.6N/s) compared to condition 1 (Mean±SD=3.6±0.5N/s) during stair ascent and during stair descent (Mean±SD: condition 1=6.3±1.1N/s; condition 2=7.0±1.4N/s). In addition, VGRF loading rates were higher during stair descent compared to stair ascent in both conditions. There were significant correlations between the increase in pain and VGRF loading rate during both tasks. There seemed to be an important relation between the increase in pain and VGRF loading rates in women with PFP. Based on these findings, interventions aimed at reducing VGRF loading rates are important in the context of PFP. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Fatigue Performance of SFPSC under Hot-Wet Environments and Cyclic Bending Loads

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanshan Luo

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available A new structural material named “steel fiber polymer structural concrete (SFPSC” with features of both high strength and high toughness was developed by this research group and applied to the bridge superstructures in the hot-wet environments. In order to investigate the fatigue performance and durability of SFPSC under hot-wet environments, the environment and fatigue load uncoupling method and the coupling action of environment and fatigue load were used or developed. Three-point bending fatigue experiments with uncoupling action of environments and cyclic loads were carried out for SFPSC specimens which were pretreated under hot-wet environments, and the experiments with the coupling action of environments and cyclic loads for SFPSC specimens were carried out under hot-wet environments. Then, the effects of hot-wet environments and the experimental methods on the fatigue mechanism of SFPSC material were discussed, and the environmental fatigue equations of SFPSC material under coupling and uncoupling action of hot-wet environments and cyclic bending loads were established. The research results show that the fatigue limits of SFPSC under the coupling action of the environments and cyclic loads were lower about 15%. The proposed fatigue equations could be used to estimate the fatigue lives and fatigue limits of SFPSC material.

  11. Dynamic Response of Coarse Granular Material to Wave Load

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ibsen, Lars Bo

    1998-01-01

    The soil beneath vertical breakwaters is subjected to a combination of forces induced by the waves. The forces acting on the soil can be characterized as 1) static load due to submerged weight of the structure, 2) quasi-static forces induced by cyclic wave loading, and 3) wave impact from breaking...... waves. The stress conditions in the soil below a foundation exposed to these types of loading are very complex. The key to explain and quantify the soil response beneath a vertical breakwater is to understand the role of the volume changes and to be able to model these correctly. It is shown...... that the volume changes in soil subjected to static and dynamic loading are controlled by the characteristic line. Experiments have been performed to study the factors that influence the location of the characteristic line in drained and undrained tests for various types of sand and various types of loading...

  12. Can concurrent memory load reduce distraction? A replication study and beyond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gil-Gómez de Liaño, Beatriz; Stablum, Franca; Umiltà, Carlo

    2016-01-01

    The effects of concurrent working memory load in attentional processes have been 1 of the most puzzling issues in cognitive psychology. Studies have shown detrimental effects, no effects, and even beneficial effects of working memory load in different attentional tasks. In the present study we attempted to replicate Kim, Kim, and Chun's (2005, Experiment 3b) findings of beneficial effects of concurrent working memory load in a spatial Stroop-like task. In 3 experiments in which our sample was 3 times larger than that in the original Kim et al. study, we could not replicate their findings. The results are discussed in terms of what may have produced the conflicting results, trying to shed light on how working memory load affects attentional tasks. Also, we emphasize the importance of using adequately large samples in cognitive research. Although we acknowledge the relevance of meta-analyses to analyze conflicting results, in the present article we stress (perhaps more important) the power of an essential trademark in science for research development: replicability. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Behaviour modelling of two aluminas in divergent spherical pyrotechnical experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malaise, F.; Tranchet, J.Y.; Collombet, F.

    1997-01-01

    Two pure aluminas of different characteristics have been subjected to the propagation of a longitudinal divergent spherical shock wave through pyrotechnical experiments. An approach combining a phenomenological analysis and numerical 1D-calculations is proposed to study the behaviour of these aluminas submitted to that type of wave loading. The modelling, proposed in a previous paper, is refined and gives satisfying experimentation-calculation correlations. An analysis of the influence exerted by the various encountered phenomena (plastic activity, pore closure, microcracking) is performed. The significant consequence of the activation of damage with an extension criterion is also underlined. (orig.)

  14. The spatially asymmetric cost of memory load on visual perception: transient stimulus-centered neglect.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gozli, Davood G; Wilson, Kristin E; Ferber, Susanne

    2014-04-01

    Recent evidence suggests that visual working memory (VWM) load reduces performance accuracy on a concurrent visual recognition task, particularly for objects presented in the left hemifield. It has also been shown that high VWM load causes suppression of activity in the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ). Given the resemblance of VWM load effects to symptoms of unilateral neglect (i.e., impaired perception on the left side and lesion to the right TPJ), we investigated whether VWM load effects are restricted to the left side of space or extend to object-centered reference frames. In other words, akin to object-centered neglect, can high VWM load cause a perceptual cost in attending to the left side of the stimulus? We addressed this question using an object recognition task (Experiment 1) and a visual search task (Experiment 2) showing that this transient left-neglect can indeed be modulated by an object-centered frame of reference. These findings suggest that load-induced impairments of visual attention are spatially asymmetric and can emerge within multiple spatial reference frames. Therefore, the attentional consequences of high VWM load on conscious perception may serve as a useful model of unilateral perceptual neglect.

  15. Performance of fuzzy approach in Malaysia short-term electricity load forecasting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mansor, Rosnalini; Zulkifli, Malina; Yusof, Muhammad Mat; Ismail, Mohd Isfahani; Ismail, Suzilah; Yin, Yip Chee

    2014-12-01

    Many activities such as economic, education and manafucturing would paralyse with limited supply of electricity but surplus contribute to high operating cost. Therefore electricity load forecasting is important in order to avoid shortage or excess. Previous finding showed festive celebration has effect on short-term electricity load forecasting. Being a multi culture country Malaysia has many major festive celebrations such as Eidul Fitri, Chinese New Year and Deepavali but they are moving holidays due to non-fixed dates on the Gregorian calendar. This study emphasis on the performance of fuzzy approach in forecasting electricity load when considering the presence of moving holidays. Autoregressive Distributed Lag model was estimated using simulated data by including model simplification concept (manual or automatic), day types (weekdays or weekend), public holidays and lags of electricity load. The result indicated that day types, public holidays and several lags of electricity load were significant in the model. Overall, model simplification improves fuzzy performance due to less variables and rules.

  16. Individual pitch control of NREL 5MW wind turbine blade for load reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Yo Han; Nam, Yoon Su; Hoon, Son Jae

    2012-01-01

    As the size of a wind turbine increases, the rotor diameter increases. Rotor blades experience mechanical loads caused by the wind shear and the tower shadow effect. These mechanical loads reduce the life of the wind turbine. Therefore, with increasing size of the wind turbine, wind turbine control system design for the mitigation of mechanical loads is important. In this study, Individual Pitch Control in introduced for reducing the mechanical loads of rotor blades, and a simulation for IPC performance verification is discussed

  17. Long-term monitoring FBG-based cable load sensor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhichun; Zhou, Zhi; Wang, Chuan; Ou, Jinping

    2006-03-01

    Stay cables are the main load-bearing components of stayed-cable bridges. The cables stress status is an important factor to the stayed-cable bridge structure safety evaluation. So it's very important not only to the bridge construction, but also to the long-term safety evaluation for the bridge structure in-service. The accurate measurement for cable load depends on an effective sensor, especially to meet the long time durability and measurement demand. FBG, for its great advantage of corrosion resistance, absolute measurement, high accuracy, electro-magnetic resistance, quasi-distribution sensing, absolute measurement and so on, is the most promising sensor, which can cater for the cable force monitoring. In this paper, a load sensor has been developed, which is made up of a bushing elastic supporting body, 4 FBGs uniformly-spaced attached outside of the bushing supporting body, and a temperature compensation FBG for other four FBGs, moreover a cover for protection of FBGs. Firstly, the sensor measuring principle is analyzed, and relationship equation of FBG wavelength shifts and extrinsic load has also been gotten. And then the sensor calibration experiments of a steel cable stretching test with the FBG load sensor and a reference electric pressure sensor is finished, and the results shows excellent linearity of extrinsic load and FBG wavelength shifts, and good repeatability, which indicates that such kind of FBG-based load sensor is suitable for load measurement, especially for long-term, real time monitoring of stay-cables.

  18. Reoperative sentinel lymph node biopsy after previous mastectomy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karam, Amer; Stempel, Michelle; Cody, Hiram S; Port, Elisa R

    2008-10-01

    Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is the standard of care for axillary staging in breast cancer, but many clinical scenarios questioning the validity of SLN biopsy remain. Here we describe our experience with reoperative-SLN (re-SLN) biopsy after previous mastectomy. Review of the SLN database from September 1996 to December 2007 yielded 20 procedures done in the setting of previous mastectomy. SLN biopsy was performed using radioisotope with or without blue dye injection superior to the mastectomy incision, in the skin flap in all patients. In 17 of 20 patients (85%), re-SLN biopsy was performed for local or regional recurrence after mastectomy. Re-SLN biopsy was successful in 13 of 20 patients (65%) after previous mastectomy. Of the 13 patients, 2 had positive re-SLN, and completion axillary dissection was performed, with 1 having additional positive nodes. In the 11 patients with negative re-SLN, 2 patients underwent completion axillary dissection demonstrating additional negative nodes. One patient with a negative re-SLN experienced chest wall recurrence combined with axillary recurrence 11 months after re-SLN biopsy. All others remained free of local or axillary recurrence. Re-SLN biopsy was unsuccessful in 7 of 20 patients (35%). In three of seven patients, axillary dissection was performed, yielding positive nodes in two of the three. The remaining four of seven patients all had previous modified radical mastectomy, so underwent no additional axillary surgery. In this small series, re-SLN was successful after previous mastectomy, and this procedure may play some role when axillary staging is warranted after mastectomy.

  19. Overload cascading failure on complex networks with heterogeneous load redistribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Yueyi; Xing, Xiaoyun; Li, Menghui; Zeng, An; Wang, Yougui

    2017-09-01

    Many real systems including the Internet, power-grid and financial networks experience rare but large overload cascading failures triggered by small initial shocks. Many models on complex networks have been developed to investigate this phenomenon. Most of these models are based on the load redistribution process and assume that the load on a failed node shifts to nearby nodes in the networks either evenly or according to the load distribution rule before the cascade. Inspired by the fact that real power-grid tends to place the excess load on the nodes with high remaining capacities, we study a heterogeneous load redistribution mechanism in a simplified sandpile model in this paper. We find that weak heterogeneity in load redistribution can effectively mitigate the cascade while strong heterogeneity in load redistribution may even enlarge the size of the final failure. With a parameter θ to control the degree of the redistribution heterogeneity, we identify a rather robust optimal θ∗ = 1. Finally, we find that θ∗ tends to shift to a larger value if the initial sand distribution is homogeneous.

  20. Effects of noise and task loading on a communication task loading on a communication task

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orrell, Dean H., II

    Previous research had shown the effect of noise on a single communication task. This research has been criticized as not being representative of a real world situation since subjects allocated all of their attention to only one task. In the present study, the effect of adding a loading task to a standard noise-communication paradigm was investigated. Subjects performed both a communication task (Modified Rhyme Test; House et al. 1965) and a short term memory task (Sternberg, 1969) in simulated levels of aircraft noise (95, 105 and 115 dB overall sound pressure level (OASPL)). Task loading was varied with Sternberg's task by requiring subjects to memorize one, four, or six alphanumeric characters. Simulated aircraft noise was varied between levels of 95, 105 and 115 dB OASPL using a pink noise source. Results show that the addition of Sternberg's task and little effect on the intelligibility of the communication task while response time for the communication task increased.

  1. Stimulus recognition occurs under high perceptual load: Evidence from correlated flankers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cosman, Joshua D; Mordkoff, J Toby; Vecera, Shaun P

    2016-12-01

    A dominant account of selective attention, perceptual load theory, proposes that when attentional resources are exhausted, task-irrelevant information receives little attention and goes unrecognized. However, the flanker effect-typically used to assay stimulus identification-requires an arbitrary mapping between a stimulus and a response. We looked for failures of flanker identification by using a more-sensitive measure that does not require arbitrary stimulus-response mappings: the correlated flankers effect. We found that flanking items that were task-irrelevant but that correlated with target identity produced a correlated flanker effect. Participants were faster on trials in which the irrelevant flanker had previously correlated with the target than when it did not. Of importance, this correlated flanker effect appeared regardless of perceptual load, occurring even in high-load displays that should have abolished flanker identification. Findings from a standard flanker task replicated the basic perceptual load effect, with flankers not affecting response times under high perceptual load. Our results indicate that task-irrelevant information can be processed to a high level (identification), even under high perceptual load. This challenges a strong account of high perceptual load effects that hypothesizes complete failures of stimulus identification under high perceptual load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  2. Using Multiple Ways to Investigate Cognitive Load Theory in the Context of Physics Instruction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zu, Tianlong

    Cognitive load theory (CLT) (Sweller 1988, 1998, 2010) provides us a guiding framework for designing instructional materials. CLT differentiates three subtypes of cognitive load: intrinsic, extraneous, and germane cognitive load. The three cognitive loads are theorized based on the number of simultaneously processed elements in working memory. Intrinsic cognitive load depends upon the number of interacting elements in the instructional material that are related to the learning objective. Extraneous cognitive load is the mental resources allocated to processing unnecessary information which does not contribute to learning as caused by non- optimal instructional procedure. It is determined by the number of interacting elements which are not related to learning goal. Both intrinsic and extraneous load vary according to prior knowledge of learners. Germane cognitive load is indirectly related to interacting elements. It represents the cognitive resources deployed for processing intrinsic load, chunking information and constructing and automating schema. Germane cognitive load is related to level of motivation of the learner. Given this triarchic model of cognitive load and their different roles in learning activities, different learning outcomes can be expected depending upon the characteristics of the educational materials, learner characteristics, and instructional setting. In three experiments, we investigated cognitive load theory following different approaches. Given the triarchic nature of cognitive load construct, it is critical to find non- intrusive ways to measure cognitive load. In study one, we replicated and extended a previous landmark study to investigate the use of eye movements related metrics to measure the three kinds of cognitive load independently. We also collected working memory capacity of students using a cognitive operation-span task. Two of the three types of cognitive load (intrinsic and extraneous) were directly manipulated, and the third

  3. Modeling of high-strength concrete-filled FRP tube columns under cyclic load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ong, Kee-Yen; Ma, Chau-Khun; Apandi, Nazirah Mohd; Awang, Abdullah Zawawi; Omar, Wahid

    2018-05-01

    The behavior of high-strength concrete (HSC) - filled fiber-reinforced-polymer (FRP) tubes (HSCFFTs) column subjected to cyclic lateral loading is presented in this paper. As the experimental study is costly and time consuming, a finite element analysis (FEA) is chosen for the study. Most of the previous studies have focused on examining the axial load behavior of HSCFFT column instead of seismic behavior. The seismic behavior of HSCFFT columns has been the main interest in the industry. The key objective of this research is to develop a reliable numerical non-linear FEA model to represent the seismic behavior of such column. A FEA model was developed using the Concrete Damaged Plasticity Model (CDPM) available in the finite element software package (ABAQUS). Comparisons between experimental results from previous research and the predicted results were made based on load versus displacement relationships and ultimate strength of the column. The results showed that the column increased in ductility and able to deform to a greater extent with the increase of the FRP confinement ratio. With the increase of confinement ratio, HSCFFT column achieved a higher moment resistance, thus indicated a higher failure strength in the column under cyclic lateral load. It was found that the proposed FEA model can regenerate the experimental results with adequate accuracy.

  4. Load theory behind the wheel; perceptual and cognitive load effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Gillian; Greene, Ciara M

    2017-09-01

    Perceptual Load Theory has been proposed as a resolution to the longstanding early versus late selection debate in cognitive psychology. There is much evidence in support of Load Theory but very few applied studies, despite the potential for the model to shed light on everyday attention and distraction. Using a driving simulator, the effect of perceptual and cognitive load on drivers' visual search was assessed. The findings were largely in line with Load Theory, with reduced distractor processing under high perceptual load, but increased distractor processing under high cognitive load. The effect of load on driving behaviour was also analysed, with significant differences in driving behaviour under perceptual and cognitive load. In addition, the effect of perceptual load on drivers' levels of awareness was investigated. High perceptual load significantly increased inattentional blindness and deafness, for stimuli that were both relevant and irrelevant to driving. High perceptual load also increased RTs to hazards. The current study helps to advance Load Theory by illustrating its usefulness outside of traditional paradigms. There are also applied implications for driver safety and roadway design, as the current study suggests that perceptual and cognitive load are important factors in driver attention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Hydrogen maser clocks in space for solid-Earth research and time-transfer applications: Experiment overview and evaluation of Russian miniature sapphire loaded cavity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busca, G.; Bernier, L. G.; Silvestrin, P.; Feltham, S.; Gaygerov, B. A.; Tatarenkov, V. M.

    1994-05-01

    The Observatoire Cantonal de Neuchatel (ON) is developing for ESTEC a compact H-maser for space use based upon a miniature sapphire loaded microwave cavity, a technique pioneered at VNIIFTRI. Various contacts between West-European parties, headed by ESA, and the Russian parties, headed by ESA, led to the proposal for flying two H-masers on Meteor 3M, a Russian meteorology satellite in low polar orbit. The experiment will include two masers, one provided by ON and the other by VNIIFTRI. T/F transfer and precise positioning will be performed by both a microwave link, using PRARE equipment, and an optical link, using LASSO-like equipment. The main objectives of the experiment are precise orbit determination and point positioning for geodetic/geophysical research, ultra-accurate time comparison and dissemination as well as in-orbit demonstration of operation and performance of H-masers. Within the scope of a preliminary space H-maser development phase performed for ESTEC at ON in preparation to the joint experiment, a Russian miniature sapphire loaded microwave cavity, on loan from VNIIFTRI, was evaluated in a full-size EFOS hydrogen maser built by ON. The experimental evaluation confirmed the theoretical expectation that with a hydrogen storage volume of only 0.65 liter an atomic quality factor of 1.5 x 10(exp 9) can be obtained for a -105 dBm output power. This represents a theoretical Allan deviation of 1.7 x 10(exp -15) averaged on a 1000 s time interval. From a full-size design to a compact one, therefore, the sacrifice in performance due to the reduction of the storage volume is very small.

  6. The effect of loading methods and parameters on defect detection in digital shearography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fu; Ye, Xingchen; Qiu, Zisheng; Zhang, Borui; Zhong, Ping; Liang, ZhiYong; Sun, Zeyu; Zhu, Shu

    Digital Shearography Speckle Pattern Interferometry (DSSPI) is a non-destructive testing technique, which has a wide range of applications in industrial field due to the merits of non-contact, fast response, full-field measurement and high sensitivity. However, in the real application, the loading methods and parameters usually depend on the experience of the operator, which affect the effectiveness and accuracy of the test. Based on this background and the principle of DSSPI, a model using finite element analysis software and Matlab is established to simulate the defects detections of aluminum plate and composite laminates under different loading conditions. The simulation covers loading methods, shearing direction, shearing amount, loading intensity, defect size, defect depth and defect position. In order to quantify the testing effect, a parameter named the deviation D is first defined. And through the parameter D, the simulation system can evaluate the system detection ability. The work in this paper can provide systematic guidance for the choice of loading methods and parameters in the real DSSPI experiment system.

  7. Plastic limit loads for cylindrical shell intersections under combined loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skopinsky, V.N.; Berkov, N.A.; Vogov, R.A.

    2015-01-01

    In this research, applied methods of nonlinear analysis and results of determining the plastic limit loads for shell intersection configurations under combined internal pressure, in-plane moment and out-plane moment loadings are presented. The numerical analysis of shell intersections is performed using the finite element method, geometrically nonlinear shell theory in quadratic approximation and plasticity theory. For determining the load parameter of proportional combined loading, the developed maximum criterion of rate of change of relative plastic work is employed. The graphical results for model of cylindrical shell intersection under different two-parameter combined loadings (as generalized plastic limit load curves) and three-parameter combined loading (as generalized plastic limit load surface) are presented on the assumption that the internal pressure, in-plane moment and out-plane moment loads were applied in a proportional manner. - Highlights: • This paper presents nonlinear two-dimensional FE analysis for shell intersections. • Determining the plastic limit loads under combined loading is considered. • Developed maximum criterion of rate of change of relative plastic work is employed. • Plastic deformation mechanism in shell intersections is discussed. • Results for generalized plastic limit load curves of branch intersection are presented

  8. Predicting mass loading as a function of pressure difference across prefilter/HEPA filter systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novick, V.J.; Klassen, J.F.; Monson, P.R.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to develop a methodology for predicting the mass loading and pressure drop effects on a prefilter/ HEPA filter system. The methodology relies on the use of empirical equations for the specific resistance of the aerosol loaded filter as a function of the particle diameter. These correlations relate the pressure difference across a filter to the mass loading on the filter and accounts for aerosol particle density effects. These predictions are necessary for the efficient design of new filtration systems and for risk assessment studies of existing filter systems. This work specifically addresses the prefilter/HEPA filter Airborne Activity Confinement Systems (AACS) at the Savannah River Plant. In order to determine the mass loading on the system, it is necessary to establish the efficiency characteristics for the prefilter, the mass loading characteristics of the prefilter measured as a function of pressure difference across the prefilter, and the mass loading characteristics of the HEPA filter as a function of pressure difference across the filter. Furthermore, the efficiency and mass loading characteristics need to be determined as a function of the aerosol particle diameter. A review of the literature revealed that no previous work had been performed to characterize the prefilter material of interest. In order to complete the foundation of information necessary to predict total mass loadings on prefilter/HEPA filter systems, it was necessary to determine the prefilter efficiency and mass loading characteristics. The measured prefilter characteristics combined with the previously determined HEPA filter characteristics allowed the resulting pressure difference across both filters to be predicted as a function of total particle mass for a given particle distribution. These predictions compare favorably to experimental measurements (±25%)

  9. Cyclic deformation and fatigue data for Ti–6Al–4V ELI under variable amplitude loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricio E. Carrion

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the strain-based experimental data for Ti–6Al–4V ELI under non-constant amplitude cyclic loading. Uniaxial strain-controlled fatigue experiments were conducted under three different loading conditions, including two-level block loading (i.e. high-low and low-high, periodic overload, and variable amplitude loading. Tests were performed under fully-reversed, and mean strain/stress conditions. For each test conducted, two sets of data were collected; the cyclic stress–strain response (i.e. hysteresis loops in log10 increments, and the peak and valley values of stress and strain for each cycle. Residual fatigue lives are reported for tests with two-level block loading, while for periodic overload and variable amplitude experiments, fatigue lives are reported in terms of number of blocks to failure.

  10. Antenna loading and electron heating experiments of ICRF wave in TNT-A tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shinohara, Shunjiro; Asakura, Nobuyuki; Naito, Masahiro; Miyamoto, Kenro

    1984-01-01

    Antenna loading resistance and electron heating effects of ICRF wave were investigated in TNT-A tokamak. Lodaing resistance increased with the mean plasma density and decreased with the input power. The effect of the distance between the plasma and antenna surface on loading resistance was studied and had good agreements with the calculated results. The increase in the soft Xray emissivity was larger in the presence of ion-ion hybrid and/or ion cyclotron resonance layer in the plasma than that in the absence of them. With the absorbed power up to two times of the ohmic power, the central electron temperature increased by 20%, the soft Xray emissivity increased by 80% and the mean plasma density decreased by 10%, while the total radiation loss increased slightly (by 15%). (author)

  11. Application of a model of plastic porous materials including void shape effects to the prediction of ductile failure under shear-dominated loadings

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Morin, Léo; Leblond, Jean Baptiste; Tvergaard, Viggo

    2016-01-01

    , a numerical implementation of the model is proposed and incorporated into the SYSTUS® and ABAQUS® finite element programmes (through some freely available UMAT (Leblond, 2015) in the second case). Second, the implementation in SYSTUS® is used to simulate previous "numerical experiments" of Tvergaard...... and coworkers (Tvergaard, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2015a; Dahl et al., 2012; Nielsen et al., 2012) involving the shear loading of elementary porous cells, where softening due to changes of the void shape and orientation was very apparent. It is found that with a simple, heuristic modelling of the phenomenon...

  12. Simulation of reinforced concrete short shear wall subjected to cyclic loading

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parulekar, Y.M.; Reddy, G.R.; Vaze, K.K.; Pegon, P.; Wenzel, H.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Prediction of the capacity of squat shear wall using tests and analysis. • Modification of model of concrete in the softening part. • Pushover analysis using softened truss theory and FE analysis is performed. • Modified concrete model gives reasonable accurate peak load and displacement. • The ductility, ultimate load and also crack pattern can be accurately predicted. - Abstract: This paper addresses the strength and deformation capacity of stiff squat shear wall subjected to monotonic and pseudo-static cyclic loading using experiments and analysis. Reinforced concrete squat shear walls offer great potential for lateral load resistance and the failure mode of these shear walls is brittle shear mode. Shear strength of these shear walls depend strongly on softening of concrete struts in principal compression direction due to principal tension in other direction. In this work simulation of the behavior of a squat shear wall is accurately predicted by finite element modeling by incorporating the appropriate softening model in the program. Modification of model of concrete in the softening part is suggested and reduction factor given by Vecchio et al. (1994) is used in the model. The accuracy of modeling is confirmed by comparing the simulated response with experimental one. The crack pattern generated from the 3D model is compared with that obtained from experiments. The load deflection for monotonic loads is also obtained using softened truss theory and compared with experimental one

  13. Variability in dynamic properties of tantalum : spall, attenuation and load/unload.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Furnish, Michael David; Reinhart, William Dodd; Trott, Wayne Merle; Vogler, Tracy John; Chhabildas, Lalit Chandra

    2005-07-01

    A suite of impact experiments was conducted to assess spatial and shot-to-shot variability in dynamic properties of tantalum. Samples had a uniform refined {approx}20 micron grain structure with a strong axisymmetric [111] crystallographic texture. Two experiments performed with sapphire windows (stresses of approximately 7 and 12 GPa) clearly showed elastic-plastic loading and slightly hysteretic unloading behavior. An HEL amplitude of 2.8 GPa (corresponding to Y 1.5 GPa) was observed. Free-surface spall experiments showed clear wave attenuation and spallation phenomena. Here, loading stresses were {approx} 12.5 GPa and various ratios of impactor to target thicknesses were used. Spatial and shot-to-shot variability of the spall strength was {+-} 20%, and of the HEL, {+-} 10%. Experiments conducted with smaller diameter flyer plates clearly showed edge effects in the line and point VISAR records, indicating lateral release speeds of roughly 5 km/s.

  14. PPOOLEX experiments with two parallel blowdown pipes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laine, J.; Puustinen, M.; Raesaenen, A. (Lappeenranta Univ. of Technology, Nuclear Safety Research Unit (Finland))

    2011-01-15

    This report summarizes the results of the experiments with two transparent blowdown pipes carried out with the scaled down PPOOLEX test facility designed and constructed at Lappeenranta University of Technology. Steam was blown into the dry well compartment and from there through either one or two vertical transparent blowdown pipes to the condensation pool. Five experiments with one pipe and six with two parallel pipes were carried out. The main purpose of the experiments was to study loads caused by chugging (rapid condensation) while steam is discharged into the condensation pool filled with sub-cooled water. The PPOOLEX test facility is a closed stainless steel vessel divided into two compartments, dry well and wet well. In the experiments the initial temperature of the condensation pool water varied from 12 deg. C to 55 deg. C, the steam flow rate from 40 g/s to 1 300 g/s and the temperature of incoming steam from 120 deg. C to 185 deg. C. In the experiments with only one transparent blowdown pipe chugging phenomenon didn't occur as intensified as in the preceding experiments carried out with a DN200 stainless steel pipe. With the steel blowdown pipe even 10 times higher pressure pulses were registered inside the pipe. Meanwhile, loads registered in the pool didn't indicate significant differences between the steel and polycarbonate pipe experiments. In the experiments with two transparent blowdown pipes, the steamwater interface moved almost synchronously up and down inside both pipes. Chugging was stronger than in the one pipe experiments and even two times higher loads were measured inside the pipes. The loads at the blowdown pipe outlet were approximately the same as in the one pipe cases. Other registered loads around the pool were about 50-100 % higher than with one pipe. The experiments with two parallel blowdown pipes gave contradictory results compared to the earlier studies dealing with chugging loads in case of multiple pipes. Contributing

  15. Errorless learning and working memory: the impact of errors, distractors, and memory span load on immediate recall in healthy adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nordvik, Jan E; Schanke, Anne-Kristine; Landro, Nils I

    2011-06-01

    Errorless learning represents an important contribution to current neuropsychological rehabilitation. Previous research has mainly explained the benefits of errorless learning through properties of long-term memory. This study aims to explore how errors affect immediate recall performance. A new, supplementary perspective focusing on the role of working memory in errorless learning is introduced. Sixty university students participated in a within-subject design experiment measuring the effect of errors, memory span load, and attentional distractors on a digit recall task. Errors were found to have significant negative impact on immediate recall, while distractors had an effect only in interaction with errors.

  16. Direct strength method for web crippling—Lipped channels under EOF and IOF loading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heurkens, R.A.J.; Hofmeyer, H.; Mahendran, M.; Snijder, H.H.

    2018-01-01

    To apply the Direct Strength Method (DSM) to web crippling of lipped channel sections, experiments were recently conducted under EOF and IOF loading conditions. In the research presented here, finite element models were first developed to predict the elastic buckling loads and the elasto-plastic

  17. An alternative method for centrifugal compressor loading factor modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Galerkin, Y.; Drozdov, A.; Rekstin, A.; Soldatova, K.

    2017-08-01

    The loading factor at design point is calculated by one or other empirical formula in classical design methods. Performance modelling as a whole is out of consideration. Test data of compressor stages demonstrates that loading factor versus flow coefficient at the impeller exit has a linear character independent of compressibility. Known Universal Modelling Method exploits this fact. Two points define the function - loading factor at design point and at zero flow rate. The proper formulae include empirical coefficients. A good modelling result is possible if the choice of coefficients is based on experience and close analogs. Earlier Y. Galerkin and K. Soldatova had proposed to define loading factor performance by the angle of its inclination to the ordinate axis and by the loading factor at zero flow rate. Simple and definite equations with four geometry parameters were proposed for loading factor performance calculated for inviscid flow. The authors of this publication have studied the test performance of thirteen stages of different types. The equations are proposed with universal empirical coefficients. The calculation error lies in the range of plus to minus 1,5%. The alternative model of a loading factor performance modelling is included in new versions of the Universal Modelling Method.

  18. Spalling of concrete subjected to blast loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Foglar M.

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents outcomes of the blast field tests of FRC and reinforced concrete specimens, which were performed in cooperation with the Czech Army corps and Police of the Czech Republic in the military training area Boletice. The numerical evaluation of the experiments focused on the spalling of concrete subjected to blast loading started after the first set of the tests, took almost 3 years and required further small-scale experiments performed in the labs of the Czech Technical University.

  19. Packaging and shipment of U.S. breeder reactor experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berger, J.D.

    1980-01-01

    Irradiation testing of fuels and materials in the Fast Test Reactor (FTR) required development of a shipping cask (designated T-3) and associated hardware for loading and shipping of these experiments to postirradiation examination facilities. The T-3 shipping-cask program included design, fabrication, and testing of internal cask packages to protect the experiments during loading, shipping, and unloading. The cask was designed for loading in both the vertical and horizontal attitudes

  20. Assessment of wind turbine drive-train fatigue loads under torsional excitation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gallego Calderon, Juan Felipe; Natarajan, Anand

    2015-01-01

    allows the computation of the bearing and gear-mesh loads. The proposed models are validated by experiments from a 750 kW test-rig. The drive-train model is configured for a 5 MW power capacity and coupled to the corresponding wind turbine and load simulations are carried out under turbulent wind...... model is used in comparison to a simplified approach for load calculation. It is found that some of the wind turbine modes can have negative consequences on the life-time of the planetary bearings. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

  1. Analysis of syntactic foam – GFRP sandwich composites for flexural loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paul, Daniel; Velmurugan, R.; Jayaganthan, R.; Gupta, N. K.; Manzhirov, A. V.

    2018-04-01

    The use of glass microballoon (GMB) — epoxy syntactic foams as a sandwich core material is studied. The skins and foam core are fabricated and joined instantaneously unlike the procedures followed in the previous studies. Each successive layer of the sandwich is fabricated when the previous layer is in a semi-gelled state. These sandwich samples are characterized for their properties under flexural loading. The failure modes and mechanical properties are carefully investigated. The change in fabrication technique results in a significant increase in the load bearing pattern of the sandwich. In earlier studies, debonding was found to occur prematurely since the bonding between the skins and core is the weakest plane. Using the current technique, core cracking occurs first, followed by skin fiber breaking and debonding happens at the end. This ensures that the load carrying phase of the structure is extended considerably. The sandwich is also analytically studied using Reddy’s higher order shear deformation theory. A higher order theory is selected as the sandwich can no longer be considered as a thin beam and thus shear effects also need to be considered in addition to bending effects.

  2. Analysis of the Effect of Loading Process on Tribological System Properties

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radoslav Majdan

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The effect of loading on the properties of selected sliding pair is monitored and analysed in the submitted contribution. The obtained results of dynamic loading were also compared with static loading. The experimental tests were performed using the testing machine Tribotestor M10. Steel 11 600 was selected as a material sample for the shaft as it belongs to commonly used materials in the manufacturing of agricultural components of shaft type or pin type. A full-bronze centrifugally moulded bearing shell from the material CuSn12 was selected as the second element of friction pair. Two oils were selected for lubrication of friction node – the mineral gear oil Madit PP80 and ecological oil Plantohyd 46 S. The selected friction pairs were tested in three loading regimes according to the methodology (two dynamic processes and one static process. 60 tribological tests were performed, i.e. 10 for each type of loading and lubrication. The weight losses of the friction pair elements were part of the tracked and analysed parameters. The polluted oil was examined using the ferrographic analysis to verify the weight losses. The abrasion particles of friction pair and their contribution to oil pollution were also analysed. Following the performed experiments different effects of loading regimes may be concluded, essentially in terms of wear size and the number and size of wear particles as well. The obtained results confirmed that the power spectral density of generated signal is probably an important criterion for assessment in terms of simulated random dynamic load in given experiment. In terms of technical application in loading processes – power spectral density is actually the amount of energy supplied to the process.

  3. Load testing circuit

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2009-01-01

    A load testing circuit a circuit tests the load impedance of a load connected to an amplifier. The load impedance includes a first terminal and a second terminal, the load testing circuit comprising a signal generator providing a test signal of a defined bandwidth to the first terminal of the load...

  4. Short-term load forecast using trend information and process reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos, P.J.; Pires, A.J.; Martins, J.F. [Instituto Politecnico de Setubal (Portugal). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Martins, A.G. [University of Coimbra (Portugal). Dept. of Electrical Engineering; Mendes, R.V. [Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisboa (Portugal). Laboratorio de Mecatronica

    2005-07-01

    The algorithms for short-term load forecast (STLF), especially within the next-hour horizon, belong to a group of methodologies that aim to render more effective the actions of planning, operating and controlling electric energy systems (EES). In the context of the progressive liberalization of the electricity sector, unbundling of the previous monopolistic structure emphasizes the need for load forecast, particularly at the network level. Methodologies such as artificial neural networks (ANN) have been widely used in next-hour load forecast. Designing an ANN requires the proper choice of input variables, avoiding overfitting and an unnecessarily complex input vector (IV). This may be achieved by trying to reduce the arbitrariness in the choice of endogenous variables. At a first stage, we have applied the mathematical techniques of process-reconstruction to the underlying stochastic process, using coding and block entropies to characterize the measure and memory range. At a second stage, the concept of consumption trend in homologous days of previous weeks has been used. The possibility to include weather-related variables in the IV has also been analysed, the option finally being to establish a model of the non-weather sensitive type. The paper uses a real-life case study. (author)

  5. Arrow Lakes Reservoir Fertilization Experiment; Years 4 and 5, Technical Report 2002-2003.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schindler, E.

    2007-02-01

    This report presents the fourth and fifth year (2002 and 2003, respectively) of a five-year fertilization experiment on the Arrow Lakes Reservoir. The goal of the experiment was to increase kokanee populations impacted from hydroelectric development on the Arrow Lakes Reservoir. The impacts resulted in declining stocks of kokanee, a native land-locked sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka), a key species of the ecosystem. Arrow Lakes Reservoir, located in southeastern British Columbia, has undergone experimental fertilization since 1999. It is modeled after the successful Kootenay Lake fertilization experiment. The amount of fertilizer added in 2002 and 2003 was similar to the previous three years. Phosphorus loading from fertilizer was 52.8 metric tons and nitrogen loading from fertilizer was 268 metric tons. As in previous years, fertilizer additions occurred between the end of April and the beginning of September. Surface temperatures were generally warmer in 2003 than in 2002 in the Arrow Lakes Reservoir from May to September. Local tributary flows to Arrow Lakes Reservoir in 2002 and 2003 were generally less than average, however not as low as had occurred in 2001. Water chemistry parameters in select rivers and streams were similar to previous years results, except for dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations which were significantly less in 2001, 2002 and 2003. The reduced snow pack in 2001 and 2003 would explain the lower concentrations of DIN. The natural load of DIN to the Arrow system ranged from 7200 tonnes in 1997 to 4500 tonnes in 2003; these results coincide with the decrease in DIN measurements from water samples taken in the reservoir during this period. Water chemistry parameters in the reservoir were similar to previous years of study except for a few exceptions. Seasonal averages of total phosphorus ranged from 2.11 to 7.42 {micro}g/L from 1997 through 2003 in the entire reservoir which were indicative of oligo-mesotrophic conditions

  6. Cognitive load in the multi-player prisoner's dilemma game: Are there brains in games?

    OpenAIRE

    Duffy, Sean; Smith, John

    2012-01-01

    We find that differences in the ability to devote cognitive resources to a strategic interaction imply differences in strategic behavior. In our experiment, we manipulate the availability of cognitive resources by applying a differential cognitive load. In cognitive load experiments, subjects are directed to perform a task which occupies cognitive resources, in addition to making a choice in another domain. The greater the cognitive resources required for the task implies that fewer such reso...

  7. Evaluation of Blast Resistance of Fiber Reinforced Composite Specimens under Contact Blast Load

    Science.gov (United States)

    Janota, O.; Foglar, M.

    2017-09-01

    This paper presents results of experimental programme which took place in 2014, 2015 and 2016. Experiments were focused on the resistance of full scale concrete panels subjected to contact blast loading. Specimens were loaded by contact blast by plastic explosive. All specimens were reinforced concrete slabs made of fiber concrete. Basalt mesh and textile sheets were added to some of the experiments for creating more heterogeneous material to achieve better resistance of the specimens. Evaluation of experiments was mainly focused on the damaged area on the contact side and soffit of the specimens. Dependency of the final damage of concrete panels on the weight of explosive and concrete strength was assessed.

  8. Operational method for demonstrating fuel loading integrity in a reactor having accessible 235U fuel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ward, D.R.

    1979-07-01

    The Health Physics Research Reactor is a small pulse reactor at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. It is desirable for the operator to be able to demonstrate on a routine basis that all the fuel pieces are present in the reactor core. Accordingly, a technique has been devised wherein the control rod readings are recorded with the reactor at delayed critical and corrections are made to compensate for the effects of variations in reactor height above the floor, reactor power, core temperature, and the presence of any massive neutron reflectors. The operator then compares these readings with the values expected based on previous operating experience. If this routine operational check suggests that the core fuel loading might be deficient, a more rigorous follow-up may be made

  9. Effect of loading rate on dynamic fracture of reaction bonded silicon nitride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liaw, B. M.; Kobayashi, A. S.; Emery, A. F.

    1986-01-01

    Wedge-loaded, modified tapered double cantilever beam (WL-MTDCB) specimens under impact loading were used to determine the room temperature dynamic fracture response of reaction bonded silicon nitride (RBSN). The crack extension history, with the exception of the terminal phase, was similar to that obtained under static loading. Like its static counterpart, a distinct crack acceleration phase, which was not observed in dynamic fracture of steel and brittle polymers, was noted. Unlike its static counterpart, the crack continued to propagate at nearly its terminal velocity under a low dynamic stress intensity factor during the terminal phase of crack propagation. These and previously obtained results for glass and RBSN show that dynamic crack arrest under a positive dynamic stress intensity factor is unlikely in static and impact loaded structural ceramics.

  10. 46 CFR 154.1730 - Ethylene oxide: Loading and off loading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Ethylene oxide: Loading and off loading. 154.1730... Operating Requirements § 154.1730 Ethylene oxide: Loading and off loading. (a) The master shall ensure that before ethylene oxide is loaded into a cargo tank: (1) The tank is thoroughly clean, dry, and free of...

  11. Gasoline Engine HCCI Combustion - Extending the high load limit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dahl, Daniel

    2012-07-01

    -way catalyst to reduce the excess NOX. Intake air boosting was also experimented on and is discussed as an alternative method or as a method to use in combination with charge stratification. During the project, experiments have been conducted with a productionlike multi-cylinder engine and a single-cylinder research engine to investigate the potential of various strategies for raising the high load limit of HCCI when using gasoline or gasoline-like fuels. To explain observed phenomena, optical experiments were conducted in which high-speed video was used to capture light from the combustion and the residuals. A method was developed to extract pressure oscillations from these measurements and to correlate them to the combustion. Laser-based experiments were further used to analyse fuel and temperature distributions before the combustion to investigate their effects on combustion and pressure oscillations. Based on the acquired data, plausible reasons why charge stratification can reduce ringing, and the circumstances in which it can do so, are presented. The thesis also shows the extent to which the load can be increased using the strategy, and the resulting efficiency penalties, observed in both the production-like gasoline engine and single-cylinder research engine. Finally, the various strategies for load extension using combinations of charge stratification, EGR and boosting were compared to operating the engine in two-stroke HCCI mode. Although two-stroke operation was investigated very briefly, in an engine not designed for it, indications were obtained that this might be a much better alternative, since it provided higher loads, more stable combustion, less ringing, low NOX levels and higher efficiency than any of the other tested load extension strategies.

  12. Modeling and Measurement of Sustained Loading and Temperature-Dependent Deformation of Carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Bonded to Concrete.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Yoseok; Lee, Jaeha; Kim, WooSeok

    2015-01-29

    This paper aims at presenting the effects of short-term sustained load and temperature on time-dependent deformation of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) bonded to concrete and pull-off strength at room temperature after the sustained loading period. The approach involves experimental and numerical analysis. Single-lap shear specimens were used to evaluate temperature and short-term sustained loading effects on time-dependent behavior under sustained loading and debonding behavior under pull-off loading after a sustained loading period. The numerical model was parameterized with experiments on the concrete, FRP, and epoxy. Good correlation was seen between the numerical results and single-lap shear experiments. Sensitivity studies shed light on the influence of temperature, epoxy modulus, and epoxy thickness on the redistribution of interfacial shear stress during sustained loading. This investigation confirms the hypothesis that interfacial stress redistribution can occur due to sustained load and elevated temperature and its effect can be significant.

  13. Oculomotor capture during real-world scene viewing depends on cognitive load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsukura, Michi; Brockmole, James R; Boot, Walter R; Henderson, John M

    2011-03-25

    It has been claimed that gaze control during scene viewing is largely governed by stimulus-driven, bottom-up selection mechanisms. Recent research, however, has strongly suggested that observers' top-down control plays a dominant role in attentional prioritization in scenes. A notable exception to this strong top-down control is oculomotor capture, where visual transients in a scene draw the eyes. One way to test whether oculomotor capture during scene viewing is independent of an observer's top-down goal setting is to reduce observers' cognitive resource availability. In the present study, we examined whether increasing observers' cognitive load influences the frequency and speed of oculomotor capture during scene viewing. In Experiment 1, we tested whether increasing observers' cognitive load modulates the degree of oculomotor capture by a new object suddenly appeared in a scene. Similarly, in Experiment 2, we tested whether increasing observers' cognitive load modulates the degree of oculomotor capture by an object's color change. In both experiments, the degree of oculomotor capture decreased as observers' cognitive resources were reduced. These results suggest that oculomotor capture during scene viewing is dependent on observers' top-down selection mechanisms. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. PLUTONIUM LOADING CAPACITY OF REILLEX HPQ ANION EXCHANGE COLUMN - AFS-2 PLUTONIUM FLOWSHEET FOR MOX

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kyser, E.; King, W.; O' Rourke, P.

    2012-07-26

    Radioactive plutonium (Pu) anion exchange column experiments using scaled HB-Line designs were performed to investigate the dependence of column loading performance on the feed composition in the H-Canyon dissolution process for plutonium oxide (PuO{sub 2}) product shipped to the Mixed Oxide (MOX) Fuel Fabrication Facility (MFFF). These loading experiments show that a representative feed solution containing {approx}5 g Pu/L can be loaded onto Reillex{trademark} HPQ resin from solutions containing 8 M total nitrate and 0.1 M KF provided that the F is complexed with Al to an [Al]/[F] molar ratio range of 1.5-2.0. Lower concentrations of total nitrate and [Al]/[F] molar ratios may still have acceptable performance but were not tested in this study. Loading and washing Pu losses should be relatively low (<1%) for resin loading of up to 60 g Pu/L. Loading above 60 g Pu/L resin is possible, but Pu wash losses will increase such that 10-20% of the additional Pu fed may not be retained by the resin as the resin loading approaches 80 g Pu/L resin.

  15. Load management for refrigeration systems: Potentials and barriers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Grein, Arne, E-mail: a.grein@tu-berlin.de [University of Technology Berlin, Institute for Energy Technology, Department of Energy Systems, Einsteinufer 25 (TA8), 10587 Berlin (Germany); Pehnt, Martin [Institute for Energy and Environmental Research Heidelberg (ifeu), Wilckensstr. 3, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

    2011-09-15

    As a strategy to deal with the increasing intermittent input of renewable energy sources in Germany, the adaptation of power consumption is complementary to power-plant regulation, grid expansion and physical energy storage. One demand sector that promises strong returns for load management efforts is cooling and refrigeration. In these processes, thermal inertia provides a temporal buffer for shifting and adjusting the power consumption of cooling systems. We have conducted an empirical investigation to obtain a detailed and time-resolved bottom-up analysis of load management for refrigeration systems in the city of Mannheim, Germany. We have extrapolated our results to general conditions in Germany. Several barriers inhibit the rapid adoption of load management strategies for cooling systems, including informational barriers, strict compliance with legal cooling requirements, liability issues, lack of technical experience, an inadequate rate of return and organizational barriers. Small commercial applications of refrigeration in the food-retailing and cold storage in hotels and restaurants are particularly promising starting points for intelligent load management. When our results are applied to Germany, suitable sectors for load management have theoretical and achievable potential values of 4.2 and 2.8 GW, respectively, amounting to about 4-6% of the maximum power demand in Germany. - Highlights: > Potential and barriers for implementation of load shifting for refrigeration. > Empirical investigation for time-resolved bottom-up analysis in Mannheim, Germany. > Suitable sectors and further recommendations for introducing load management.> Extrapolation of results from local to national level.

  16. Load management for refrigeration systems: Potentials and barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grein, Arne; Pehnt, Martin

    2011-01-01

    As a strategy to deal with the increasing intermittent input of renewable energy sources in Germany, the adaptation of power consumption is complementary to power-plant regulation, grid expansion and physical energy storage. One demand sector that promises strong returns for load management efforts is cooling and refrigeration. In these processes, thermal inertia provides a temporal buffer for shifting and adjusting the power consumption of cooling systems. We have conducted an empirical investigation to obtain a detailed and time-resolved bottom-up analysis of load management for refrigeration systems in the city of Mannheim, Germany. We have extrapolated our results to general conditions in Germany. Several barriers inhibit the rapid adoption of load management strategies for cooling systems, including informational barriers, strict compliance with legal cooling requirements, liability issues, lack of technical experience, an inadequate rate of return and organizational barriers. Small commercial applications of refrigeration in the food-retailing and cold storage in hotels and restaurants are particularly promising starting points for intelligent load management. When our results are applied to Germany, suitable sectors for load management have theoretical and achievable potential values of 4.2 and 2.8 GW, respectively, amounting to about 4-6% of the maximum power demand in Germany. - Highlights: → Potential and barriers for implementation of load shifting for refrigeration. → Empirical investigation for time-resolved bottom-up analysis in Mannheim, Germany. → Suitable sectors and further recommendations for introducing load management.→ Extrapolation of results from local to national level.

  17. Peak load-impulse characterization of critical pulse loads in structural dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abrahamson, G.R.; Lindberg, H.E.

    1975-01-01

    In presenting the characterization scheme, some general features are described first. A detailed analysis is given for the rigid-plastic system of one degree of freedom to illustrate the calculation of critical load curves in terms of peak load and impulse. This is followed by the presentation of critical load curves for uniformly loaded rigid-plastic beams and plates and for dynamic buckling of cylindrical shells under uniform lateral loads. The peak load-impulse characterization of critical pulse loads is compared with the dynamic load factor characterization, and some aspects of the history of the peak load-pulse scheme are presented. (orig./HP) [de

  18. Towards Cognitive Load Theory as Guideline for Instructional Design in Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meissner, Barbara; Bogner, Franz X.

    2013-01-01

    We applied cognitive load theory in an heuristic out-of-school science lesson. The lesson comprises experiments concerning major attributes of NaCl and was designed for 5th to 8th grade students. Our interest focused on whether cognitive load theory provides sufficient guidelines for instructional design in the field of heuristic science…

  19. Loading pattern optimization by multi-objective simulated annealing with screening technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tong, K. P.; Hyun, C. L.; Hyung, K. J.; Chang, H. K.

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents a new multi-objective function which is made up of the main objective term as well as penalty terms related to the constraints. All the terms are represented in the same functional form and the coefficient of each term is normalized so that each term has equal weighting in the subsequent simulated annealing optimization calculations. The screening technique introduced in the previous work is also adopted in order to save computer time in 3-D neutronics evaluation of trial loading patterns. For numerical test of the new multi-objective function in the loading pattern optimization, the optimum loading patterns for the initial and the cycle 7 reload PWR core of Yonggwang Unit 4 are calculated by the simulated annealing algorithm with screening technique. A total of 10 optimum loading patterns are obtained for the initial core through 10 independent simulated annealing optimization runs. For the cycle 7 reload core one optimum loading pattern has been obtained from a single simulated annealing optimization run. More SA optimization runs will be conducted to optimum loading patterns for the cycle 7 reload core and results will be presented in the further work. (authors)

  20. The interaction of cognitive load and attention-directing cues in driving.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Yi-Ching; Lee, John D; Boyle, Linda Ng

    2009-06-01

    This study investigated the effect of a nondriving cognitively loading task on the relationship between drivers' endogenous and exogenous control of attention. Previous studies have shown that cognitive load leads to a withdrawal of attention from the forward scene and a narrowed field of view, which impairs hazard detection. Posner's cue-target paradigm was modified to study how endogenous and exogenous cues interact with cognitive load to influence drivers' attention in a complex dynamic situation. In a driving simulator, pedestrian crossing signs that predicted the spatial location of pedestrians acted as endogenous cues. To impose cognitive load on drivers, we had them perform an auditory task that simulated the demands of emerging in-vehicle technology. Irrelevant exogenous cues were added to half of the experimental drives by including scene clutter. The validity of endogenous cues influenced how drivers scanned for pedestrian targets. Cognitive load delayed drivers' responses, and scene clutter reduced drivers' fixation durations to pedestrians. Cognitive load diminished the influence of exogenous cues to attract attention to irrelevant areas, and drivers were more affected by scene clutter when the endogenous cues were invalid. Cognitive load suppresses interference from irrelevant exogenous cues and delays endogenous orienting of attention in driving. The complexity of everyday tasks, such as driving, is better captured experimentally in paradigms that represent the interactive nature of attention and processing load.

  1. Chitosan microspheres loaded with holmium-165 produced by spray dryer for liver cancer therapy: preliminary experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyamoto, Douglas Massao; Pires, Geovanna; Lira, Raphael A. de; Melo, Vitor H.S.; Nascimento, Nanci; Azevedo, Mariangela de Burgos M. de; Osso Junior, Joao Alberto

    2011-01-01

    Chitosan is a biopolymer of 2-deoxy-2-amino-D-glucose that is obtained by deacetylation of chitin. It's biocompatible, biodegradable, non toxic and has antitumor activity. Chitosan has many applications, such as their microparticles that can be used to treat prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and for liver tumor brachytherapy treatment. Our group is developing different biodegradable polymer-based microspheres loaded with holmium-165 for this purpose. The Chitosan microspheres were produced loaded with holmium (III) chloride, and not loaded with it, by Mini Spray Dryer procedure. The microspheres were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), confocal laser scanning microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, particle size, and X-ray diffraction. The EDS analysis confirmed the holmium chloride presence into the prepared chitosan microparticles. (author)

  2. Chitosan microspheres loaded with holmium-165 produced by spray dryer for liver cancer therapy: preliminary experiments

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Miyamoto, Douglas Massao; Pires, Geovanna; Lira, Raphael A. de; Melo, Vitor H.S.; Nascimento, Nanci; Azevedo, Mariangela de Burgos M. de, E-mail: douglas.miyamoto@usp.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Osso Junior, Joao Alberto [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Centro de Radiofarmacia

    2011-07-01

    Chitosan is a biopolymer of 2-deoxy-2-amino-D-glucose that is obtained by deacetylation of chitin. It's biocompatible, biodegradable, non toxic and has antitumor activity. Chitosan has many applications, such as their microparticles that can be used to treat prostate cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, and for liver tumor brachytherapy treatment. Our group is developing different biodegradable polymer-based microspheres loaded with holmium-165 for this purpose. The Chitosan microspheres were produced loaded with holmium (III) chloride, and not loaded with it, by Mini Spray Dryer procedure. The microspheres were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), confocal laser scanning microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, particle size, and X-ray diffraction. The EDS analysis confirmed the holmium chloride presence into the prepared chitosan microparticles. (author)

  3. System and method employing a minimum distance and a load feature database to identify electric load types of different electric loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Bin; Yang, Yi; Sharma, Santosh K; Zambare, Prachi; Madane, Mayura A

    2014-12-23

    A method identifies electric load types of a plurality of different electric loads. The method includes providing a load feature database of a plurality of different electric load types, each of the different electric load types including a first load feature vector having at least four different load features; sensing a voltage signal and a current signal for each of the different electric loads; determining a second load feature vector comprising at least four different load features from the sensed voltage signal and the sensed current signal for a corresponding one of the different electric loads; and identifying by a processor one of the different electric load types by determining a minimum distance of the second load feature vector to the first load feature vector of the different electric load types of the load feature database.

  4. Non-ideal assembly of the driving unit affecting shape of load-displacement curves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, Hu; Zhao, Hongwei

    2015-01-01

    The results of nanoindentation testing strongly rely on load-displacement curves, but an abnormal load-displacement curve with obvious inflection in the unloading portion was commonly observed in previously published papers and the reason is not clear. In this paper, possible reasons involved in a custom-made indentation instrument, such as sensors, control and assembly issues, are analyzed and discussed step by step. Experimental results indicate that non-ideal assembly of the precision driving unit strongly affects the shape of the load-displacement curve and its affecting mechanism is studied by theoretical analysis and finite element simulations. This paper reveals the reason leading to the abnormal load-displacement curve, which is helpful for debugging of indentation instruments and can enhance comparability of indentation results. (paper)

  5. Postural loads during walking after an imbalance of occlusion created with unilateral cotton rolls

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saccucci Matteo

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background It was showed that stomatognathic functions correlate with alterations in locomotion, that are detectable through the analysis of loading during walking. For example, subjects with symptoms of Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs showed a significant higher load pressure on the two feet, respect to health subjects, when cotton rolls were inserted. This previous study appeared to suggest that the alteration of postural loads associated to a particular alteration of stomatognathic condition (in this case, the cotton rolls inserted between the two dental arches is detectable only in TMD's subjects, while it resulted not detectable in health subjects, because in that study, health subjects did not show any significant alteration of postural loads related to the different stomatognathic tested conditions. In other words, in that previous study, in the group of health subjects, no significant difference in postural loads was observed among the different test conditions; while TMD subjects showed a significant higher load pressure on the two feet when cotton rolls were inserted, respect to all the other tested conditions. Thus, the aim of this study was to better investigate these correlations in health subjects without TMD's symptoms, testing other different intra-oral conditions, and to verifywhether an experimentally induced imbalance of occlusion, obtained putting an unilateral cotton roll, could cause an alteration of postural loading on feet during walking. Findings In a sample of thirty Caucasian adult females (mean age 28.5 ± 4.5, asymptomatic for TMDs, when a cotton roll was positioned on the left or the right sides of dental arches, so causing a lateral shift of the mandible, the percentage of loading and the loading surface of the ipsi-lateral foot, left or right, were found to be significantly lower than in habitual occlusion (p Conclusions This study showed that in health subjects without TMD's symptoms, an experimentally

  6. Lie construction affects information storage under high memory load condition.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuqiu Liu

    Full Text Available Previous studies indicate that lying consumes cognitive resources, especially working memory (WM resources. Considering the dual functions that WM might play in lying: holding the truth-related information and turning the truth into lies, the present study examined the relationship between the information storage and processing in the lie construction. To achieve that goal, a deception task based on the old/new recognition paradigm was designed, which could manipulate two levels of WM load (low-load task using 4 items and high-load task using 6 items during the deception process. The analyses based on the amplitude of the contralateral delay activity (CDA, a proved index of the number of representations being held in WM, showed that the CDA amplitude was lower in the deception process than that in the truth telling process under the high-load condition. In contrast, under the low-load condition, no CDA difference was found between the deception and truth telling processes. Therefore, we deduced that the lie construction and information storage compete for WM resources; when the available WM resources cannot meet this cognitive demand, the WM resources occupied by the information storage would be consumed by the lie construction.

  7. Lie construction affects information storage under high memory load condition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yuqiu; Wang, Chunjie; Jiang, Haibo; He, Hongjian; Chen, Feiyan

    2017-01-01

    Previous studies indicate that lying consumes cognitive resources, especially working memory (WM) resources. Considering the dual functions that WM might play in lying: holding the truth-related information and turning the truth into lies, the present study examined the relationship between the information storage and processing in the lie construction. To achieve that goal, a deception task based on the old/new recognition paradigm was designed, which could manipulate two levels of WM load (low-load task using 4 items and high-load task using 6 items) during the deception process. The analyses based on the amplitude of the contralateral delay activity (CDA), a proved index of the number of representations being held in WM, showed that the CDA amplitude was lower in the deception process than that in the truth telling process under the high-load condition. In contrast, under the low-load condition, no CDA difference was found between the deception and truth telling processes. Therefore, we deduced that the lie construction and information storage compete for WM resources; when the available WM resources cannot meet this cognitive demand, the WM resources occupied by the information storage would be consumed by the lie construction.

  8. A study on contraction of pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) for load-lifting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Najmuddin, W. S. W. A.; Mustaffa, M. T.

    2017-10-01

    Pneumatic Artificial Muscles (PAMs) have been known for its wide application in various aspects of industrial automation and robotic equipments. Many advantages in terms of high power-to-volume ratio, high power-to-weight ratio, stick-slip-free operation and high degree of safety offer by PAM compare to traditional actuators. However, behind this benefits lie a limitation of significant compatibility of PAM mechanism which have to be considered so as to fully understand how the PAM works during load-lifting. In this study, the mesh suitability experiment and the effect of force load on PAM contraction experiment have been carried out. PAM is constructed and compatibility of bladder and the braided mesh to produce uniform expansion is investigated. Moreover, the first experimental result of finding compatibility is used to verify the contraction value under various loads.

  9. Hydrophobic lappaconitine loaded into iota-carrageenan by one step self-assembly.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wenxiu; Saldaña, Marleny D A; Zhao, Yujia; Wu, Lingling; Dong, Tungalag; Jin, Ye; Zhang, Ji

    2016-02-10

    New data on the loading of pH-sensitive lappaconitine loaded into iota-carrageenan (LA-ICG) is provided. This LA-ICG ionic biopolymer was prepared by one step self-assembly. The LA-ICG was characterized in terms of the loading capacity, lappaconitine (LA) releasing behavior, pH-sensitivity, and analgesic properties. Iota-carrageenan (ICG) high loading capacity reached up to 26.18% (w/w). Also, the LA, loaded with ICG, was released faster in an acidic environment than that in neutral or alkaline environments. Animal analgesic experiments showed that the LA-ICG of low molecular weight had earlier onset time and longer duration than the LA. These results suggest that the ICG of low molecular weight has great potential to achieve the synergistic effect of LA. In addition, the ICG can be used as a novel natural polymeric carrier for loading a hydrophobic alkaloid. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Postural effects of symmetrical and asymmetrical loads on the spines of schoolchildren

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Negrini Stefano

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The school backpack constitutes a daily load for schoolchildren: we set out to analyse the postural effects of this load, considering trunk rotation, shoulder asymmetry, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis, and sagittal and frontal decompensation from the plumbline. A group of 43 subjects (mean age = 12.5 ± 0.5 years were considered: average backpack loads and average time spent getting to/from home/school (7 min had been determined in a previous study conducted on this population. Children were evaluated by means of an optoelectronic device in different conditions corresponding to their usual everyday school backpack activities: without load; bearing 12 (week maximum and 8 (week average kg symmetrical loads; bearing an 8 kg asymmetrical load; after fatigue due to backpack carrying (a 7-minute treadmill walking session bearing an 8 kg symmetrical load. Both types of load induce changes in posture: the symmetrical one in the sagittal plane, without statistical significant differences between 8 and 12 kg, and the asymmetrical one in all anatomical planes. Usual fatigue accentuates sagittal effects, but recovery of all parameters (except lumbar lordosis follows removal of the load. The backpack load effect on schoolchildren posture should be more carefully evaluated in the future, even if we must bear in mind that laws protect workers to carry heavy loads but not children, and results in the literature support the hypothesis that back pain in youngsters is correlated with back pain in adulthood

  11. Analysis of current research addressing complementary use of life-cycle assessment and risk assessment for engineered nanomaterials: have lessons been learned from previous experience with chemicals?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grieger, Khara D.; Laurent, Alexis; Miseljic, Mirko; Christensen, Frans; Baun, Anders; Olsen, Stig I.

    2012-01-01

    While it is generally agreed that successful strategies to address the health and environmental impacts of engineered nanomaterials (NM) should consider the well-established frameworks for conducting life-cycle assessment (LCA) and risk assessment (RA), scientific research, and specific guidance on how to practically apply these methods are still very much under development. This paper evaluates how research efforts have applied LCA and RA together for NM, particularly reflecting on previous experiences with applying these methods to chemicals. Through a literature review and a separate analysis of research focused on applying LCA and RA together for NM, it appears that current research efforts have taken into account some key “lessons learned” from previous experience with chemicals while many key challenges remain for practically applying these methods to NM. We identified two main approaches for using these methods together for NM: “LC-based RA” (traditional RA applied in a life-cycle perspective) and “RA-complemented LCA” (conventional LCA supplemented by RA in specific life-cycle steps). Hence, the latter is the only identified approach which genuinely combines LC- and RA-based methods for NM-risk research efforts to date as the former is rather a continuation of normal RA according to standard assessment procedures (e.g., REACH). Both these approaches along with recommendations for using LCA and RA together for NM are similar to those made previously for chemicals, and thus, there does not appear to be much progress made specific for NM. We have identified one issue in particular that may be specific for NM when applying LCA and RA at this time: the need to establish proper dose metrics within both methods.

  12. System and method employing a self-organizing map load feature database to identify electric load types of different electric loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Bin; Harley, Ronald G.; Du, Liang; Yang, Yi; Sharma, Santosh K.; Zambare, Prachi; Madane, Mayura A.

    2014-06-17

    A method identifies electric load types of a plurality of different electric loads. The method includes providing a self-organizing map load feature database of a plurality of different electric load types and a plurality of neurons, each of the load types corresponding to a number of the neurons; employing a weight vector for each of the neurons; sensing a voltage signal and a current signal for each of the loads; determining a load feature vector including at least four different load features from the sensed voltage signal and the sensed current signal for a corresponding one of the loads; and identifying by a processor one of the load types by relating the load feature vector to the neurons of the database by identifying the weight vector of one of the neurons corresponding to the one of the load types that is a minimal distance to the load feature vector.

  13. Evaluation of cognitive load and emotional states during multidisciplinary critical care simulation sessions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pawar, Swapnil; Jacques, Theresa; Deshpande, Kush; Pusapati, Raju; Meguerdichian, Michael J

    2018-04-01

    The simulation in critical care setting involves a heterogeneous group of participants with varied background and experience. Measuring the impacts of simulation on emotional state and cognitive load in this setting is not often performed. The feasibility of such measurement in the critical care setting needs further exploration. Medical and nursing staff with varying levels of experience from a tertiary intensive care unit participated in a standardised clinical simulation scenario. The emotional state of each participant was assessed before and after completion of the scenario using a validated eight-item scale containing bipolar oppositional descriptors of emotion. The cognitive load of each participant was assessed after the completion of the scenario using a validated subjective rating tool. A total of 103 medical and nursing staff participated in the study. The participants felt more relaxed (-0.28±1.15 vs 0.14±1, Pcognitive load for all participants was 6.67±1.41. There was no significant difference in the cognitive loads among medical staff versus nursing staff (6.61±2.3 vs 6.62±1.7; P>0.05). A well-designed complex high fidelity critical care simulation scenario can be evaluated to identify the relative cognitive load of the participants' experience and their emotional state. The movement of learners emotionally from a more negative state to a positive state suggests that simulation can be an effective tool for improved knowledge transfer and offers more opportunity for dynamic thinking.

  14. Argos: Residential end-use simulation model for load management strategy analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Capasso, A.; Lamedica, R.; Prudenzi, A.

    1992-01-01

    In recent years, load management (LM) strategies, aimed at the optimization of available energy resources, as well as, the reduction of investments for new power plants, have been applied worldwide in residential end-use assessments. However, the forecasting of LM strategy impacts on the residential sector is very complex because it is based on a preliminary evaluation of the customers' proclivity to adapt their load characteristics to utility aims. In order to reduce load analysis requirements, which are substantial due to the need for thorough statistical analyses, complex field tests and measurements, the availability of models taking into account customer behavioural aspects is of paramount importance. This paper illustrates a simulation model which allows the performance of numerical evaluations concerning the effectiveness of some LM strategies applied to a residential end-use area load profile as previously determined by the aggregation of the contributions of individual households. This model enabled the evaluation of the impact, on the load profile, of a time-of-day tariff such as that recently introduced in Italy

  15. Load-Flow in Multiphase Distribution Networks: Existence, Uniqueness, Non-Singularity, and Linear Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bernstein, Andrey [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Dall-Anese, Emiliano [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Zhao, Changhong [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Wang, Cong [Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL); Le Boudec, Jean-Yves [Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL)

    2018-04-06

    This paper considers unbalanced multiphase distribution systems with generic topology and different load models, and extends the Z-bus iterative load-flow algorithm based on a fixed-point interpretation of the AC load-flow equations. Explicit conditions for existence and uniqueness of load-flow solutions are presented. These conditions also guarantee convergence of the load-flow algorithm to the unique solution. The proposed methodology is applicable to generic systems featuring (i) wye connections; (ii) ungrounded delta connections; (iii) a combination of wye-connected and delta-connected sources/loads; and, (iv) a combination of line-to-line and line-to-grounded-neutral devices at the secondary of distribution transformers. Further, a sufficient condition for the non-singularity of the load-flow Jacobian is proposed. Finally, linear load-flow models are derived, and their approximation accuracy is analyzed. Theoretical results are corroborated through experiments on IEEE test feeders.

  16. Temperature dependent estimator for load cells using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, K-C [Department of Automation Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei, Yunlin 63208, Taiwan (China)

    2005-01-01

    Accurate weighting of pieces in various temperature environments for load cells is a key feature in many industrial applications. This paper proposes a method to achieve high-precision {+-}0.56/3000 grams for a load-cell-based weighting system by using ANFIS. ANFIS is used to model the relationship between the reading of load cells and the actual weight of samples considering temperature-varying effect and nonlinearity of the load cells. The model of the load-cell-based weighting system can accurately estimate the weight of test samples from the load cell reading. The proposed ANFIS-based method is convenient for use and can improve the precision of digital load cell measurement systems. Experiments demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of fuzzy neural networks for modeling of load cells and the results show that the proposed ANFIS-based method outperforms some existing methods in terms of modeling and prediction accuracy.

  17. Temperature dependent estimator for load cells using an adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, K-C

    2005-01-01

    Accurate weighting of pieces in various temperature environments for load cells is a key feature in many industrial applications. This paper proposes a method to achieve high-precision ±0.56/3000 grams for a load-cell-based weighting system by using ANFIS. ANFIS is used to model the relationship between the reading of load cells and the actual weight of samples considering temperature-varying effect and nonlinearity of the load cells. The model of the load-cell-based weighting system can accurately estimate the weight of test samples from the load cell reading. The proposed ANFIS-based method is convenient for use and can improve the precision of digital load cell measurement systems. Experiments demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of fuzzy neural networks for modeling of load cells and the results show that the proposed ANFIS-based method outperforms some existing methods in terms of modeling and prediction accuracy

  18. Can manipulations of cognitive load be used to test evolutionary hypotheses?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, H Clark; Frederick, David A; Haselton, Martie G; Kurzban, Robert

    2006-09-01

    D. DeSteno, M. Y. Bartlett, J. Braverman, and P. Salovey proposed that if sex-differentiated responses to infidelity are evolved, then they should be automatic, and therefore cognitive load should not attenuate them. DeSteno et al. found smaller sex differences in response to sexual versus emotional infidelity among participants under cognitive load, an effect interpreted as evidence against the evolutionary hypothesis. This logic is faulty. Cognitive load probably affects mechanisms involved in simulating infidelity experiences, thus seriously challenging the usefulness of cognitive load manipulations in testing hypotheses involving simulation. The method also entails the assumption that evolved jealousy mechanisms are necessarily automatic, an assumption not supported by theory or evidence. Regardless of how the jealousy debate is eventually settled, cognitive load manipulations cannot rule out the operation of evolved mechanisms. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).

  19. In Situ Estimation of Applied Biaxial Loads with Lamb Waves (Preprint)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-01

    be correct. IV. EXPERIMENTS AND RESULTS Fatigue tests were conducted for an array of six surface-bonded PZT transducers permanently attached to...because of their cumulative effects on the fatigue life of the structures. Waves propagating between array elements are directly affected by applied loads...their cumulative effects on the fatigue life of the structures. Waves propagating between array elements are directly affected by applied loads

  20. Application of Classification Methods for Forecasting Mid-Term Power Load Patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piao, Minghao; Lee, Heon Gyu; Park, Jin Hyoung; Ryu, Keun Ho

    Currently an automated methodology based on data mining techniques is presented for the prediction of customer load patterns in long duration load profiles. The proposed approach in this paper consists of three stages: (i) data preprocessing: noise or outlier is removed and the continuous attribute-valued features are transformed to discrete values, (ii) cluster analysis: k-means clustering is used to create load pattern classes and the representative load profiles for each class and (iii) classification: we evaluated several supervised learning methods in order to select a suitable prediction method. According to the proposed methodology, power load measured from AMR (automatic meter reading) system, as well as customer indexes, were used as inputs for clustering. The output of clustering was the classification of representative load profiles (or classes). In order to evaluate the result of forecasting load patterns, the several classification methods were applied on a set of high voltage customers of the Korea power system and derived class labels from clustering and other features are used as input to produce classifiers. Lastly, the result of our experiments was presented.

  1. Analysis of uplift loads of precast-concrete piles in porous soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stélio Maia Menezes

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the analysis of uplift load tests in three precast-concrete piles carried out in a collapsible sandy soil. The piles with 12 meters (m length and 0.17 x 0.17 square meter (m2 cross section were instrumented with strain gauges, in order to know the load transfer in depth. Three tests performed in a slow maintained load way were conducted in a natural condition of moisture content soil. A fourth test was carried out after the previous soaking of the soil around the pile head. The tests were performed in the experimental research site at the Universidade Estadual Paulista “Júlio de Mesquita Filho” (Unesp. The results obtained were evaluated by analytical and empirical methods.

  2. Minimum load reduction for once-through boiler power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Colombo, P.; Godina, G.; Manganelli, R.

    2001-01-01

    In Italy the liberalization process of energy market is giving particular importance to the optimization of power plants performances; especially for those that will be called to satisfy grid peak demands. On those plants some techniques have been experimented for the reduction of minimum load; these techniques, investigated and tested by an engineering dynamic simulator, have been sequentially tested on plant. The minimum load for up 320 MW of Tavazzano power plants has been diminished from 140 down to 80 MW without plant modification [it

  3. IBL Module Loading onto Stave and Quality Check

    CERN Document Server

    The ATLAS collaboration

    2015-01-01

    During the long shutdown between Run 1 and Run 2 of the LHC, a fourth, innermost, Pixel Detector layer has been installed in the ATLAS experiment: the Insertable B-Layer, IBL. The purpose of the new layer is to add redundancy against radiation damage of the B-layer, to ensure high quality tracking and improve the flavor tagging performance. New pixel silicon detector modules have been produced and loaded onto support structures known as staves, the building blocks of IBL. A total of 20 staves have been assembled. Procedures and results of the stave loading process are presented in this note.

  4. Demand Response Load Following of Source and Load Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hu, Jianqiang; Cao, Jinde; Yong, Taiyou

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a demand response load following strategy for an interconnected source and load system, in which we utilize traditional units and population of cooling thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) to follow the mismatched power caused by the load activities and the renewable power...... injection in real time. In the demand side of power systems, these TCLs are often affiliated to a bus load agent and can be aggregated to multiple TCL aggregators. Firstly, aggregate evaluation of the TCL aggregator is carried out based on a bilinear aggregate model so as to derive the available regulation...

  5. Cognitive Load Theory: How Many Types of Load Does It Really Need?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalyuga, Slava

    2011-01-01

    Cognitive load theory has been traditionally described as involving three separate and additive types of load. Germane load is considered as a learning-relevant load complementing extraneous and intrinsic load. This article argues that, in its traditional treatment, germane load is essentially indistinguishable from intrinsic load, and therefore…

  6. Understanding the allocation of attention when faced with varying perceptual load in partial report

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kyllingsbæk, Søren; Sy, Jocelyn L; Giesbrecht, Barry

    2011-01-01

    . Here we present data from two partial report experiments where we varied the number and discriminability of the task-irrelevant stimuli (Experiment 1) and perceptual load (Experiment 2). The TVA fitted the data of the two experiments well thus favoring the simple explanation with a single step...

  7. Combined impact of transient heat loads and steady-state plasma exposure on tungsten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huber, Alexander, E-mail: A.Huber@fz-juelich.de [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Wirtz, Marius; Sergienko, Gennady; Steudel, Isabel [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Arakcheev, Aleksey; Burdakov, Aleksander [Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP), Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Esser, Hans Guenter; Freisinger, Michaele; Kreter, Arkadi; Linke, Jochen; Linsmeier, Christian; Mertens, Philippe; Möller, Sören; Philipps, Volker; Pintsuk, Gerald; Reinhart, Michael; Schweer, Bernd [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung, 52425 Jülich (Germany); Shoshin, Andrey [Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics (BINP), Novosibirsk 630090 (Russian Federation); Terra, Alexis; Unterberg, Bernhard [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung, 52425 Jülich (Germany)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • W-samples under combined loading conditions show a lower damage threshold. • The pre-loaded W-samples show a lower damage threshold due to the D- embrittlement. • Pronounced increase of the D retention has been observed during the combined loads. • Enhanced blister formation has been observed under combined loading conditions. - Abstract: Cracking thresholds and crack patterns in tungsten targets have been studied in recent experiments after repetitive ITER-like ELM heat pulses in combination with plasma exposure in PSI-2 (Γ{sub target} = 2.5–4.0 × 10{sup 21} m{sup −2} s{sup −1}, ion energy on surface E{sub ion} = 60 eV, T{sub e} ≈ 10 eV). The heat pulses were simulated by laser irradiation. A Nd:YAG laser with energy per pulse of up to 32 J and a duration of 1 ms at the fundamental wavelength (λ = 1064 nm, repetition rate 0.5 Hz) was used to irradiate ITER-grade W samples with repetitive heat loads. In contrast to pure thermal exposure with a laser beam where the damage threshold under pure heat loads for ITER-grade W lies between 0.38 and 0.76 GW/m{sup 2}, the experiments with pre-loaded W-samples as well as under combined loading conditions show a lower damage threshold of 0.3 GW/m{sup 2}. This is probably due to deuterium embrittlement and/or a higher defect concentration in a region close to the surface due to supersaturation with deuterium. A pronounced increase in the D retention (more than a factor of five) has been observed during the combined transient heat loads and plasma exposure. Enhanced blister formation has been observed under these combined loading conditions.

  8. Combined impact of transient heat loads and steady-state plasma exposure on tungsten

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huber, Alexander; Wirtz, Marius; Sergienko, Gennady; Steudel, Isabel; Arakcheev, Aleksey; Burdakov, Aleksander; Esser, Hans Guenter; Freisinger, Michaele; Kreter, Arkadi; Linke, Jochen; Linsmeier, Christian; Mertens, Philippe; Möller, Sören; Philipps, Volker; Pintsuk, Gerald; Reinhart, Michael; Schweer, Bernd; Shoshin, Andrey; Terra, Alexis; Unterberg, Bernhard

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • W-samples under combined loading conditions show a lower damage threshold. • The pre-loaded W-samples show a lower damage threshold due to the D- embrittlement. • Pronounced increase of the D retention has been observed during the combined loads. • Enhanced blister formation has been observed under combined loading conditions. - Abstract: Cracking thresholds and crack patterns in tungsten targets have been studied in recent experiments after repetitive ITER-like ELM heat pulses in combination with plasma exposure in PSI-2 (Γ_t_a_r_g_e_t = 2.5–4.0 × 10"2"1 m"−"2 s"−"1, ion energy on surface E_i_o_n = 60 eV, T_e ≈ 10 eV). The heat pulses were simulated by laser irradiation. A Nd:YAG laser with energy per pulse of up to 32 J and a duration of 1 ms at the fundamental wavelength (λ = 1064 nm, repetition rate 0.5 Hz) was used to irradiate ITER-grade W samples with repetitive heat loads. In contrast to pure thermal exposure with a laser beam where the damage threshold under pure heat loads for ITER-grade W lies between 0.38 and 0.76 GW/m"2, the experiments with pre-loaded W-samples as well as under combined loading conditions show a lower damage threshold of 0.3 GW/m"2. This is probably due to deuterium embrittlement and/or a higher defect concentration in a region close to the surface due to supersaturation with deuterium. A pronounced increase in the D retention (more than a factor of five) has been observed during the combined transient heat loads and plasma exposure. Enhanced blister formation has been observed under these combined loading conditions.

  9. Modeling of concrete exposed to severe loading conditions - impact and fire

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ozbolt, J.; Periskic, G.; Bosnjak, J.; Reinhardt, H.W.; Sharma, A.; Travas, V.

    2011-01-01

    It is well known that the behavior of concrete structures is strongly influenced by loading rate. Compared to quasi-static loading, concrete loaded by impact loading acts in different ways. First, there is a strain-rate influence on strength, stiffness, and ductility, and second, there are inertia forces activated. Both influences are clearly demonstrated in experiments. Moreover, for concrete structures, which exhibit damage and fracture phenomena, the failure mode and cracking pattern depend on loading rate. In general, there is a tendency that with the increase of loading rate the failure mode changes from mode-I to mixed mode. Furthermore, theoretical and experimental investigations indicate that after the crack reaches critical speed of propagation there is crack branching. First part of the present paper focuses on 3D finite-element studies of concrete structures of different kind exposed to impact loading. In the numerical studies the rate sensitive microplane model is used as a constitutive law. The strain-rate influence is captured by the activation energy theory. Inertia forces are implicitly accounted for through dynamic finite element analysis. The results of the study show that the failure mode and structural resistance strongly depend on the loading rate

  10. Cognitive load predicts point-of-care ultrasound simulator performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aldekhyl, Sara; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo B; Naismith, Laura M

    2018-02-01

    The ability to maintain good performance with low cognitive load is an important marker of expertise. Incorporating cognitive load measurements in the context of simulation training may help to inform judgements of competence. This exploratory study investigated relationships between demographic markers of expertise, cognitive load measures, and simulator performance in the context of point-of-care ultrasonography. Twenty-nine medical trainees and clinicians at the University of Toronto with a range of clinical ultrasound experience were recruited. Participants answered a demographic questionnaire then used an ultrasound simulator to perform targeted scanning tasks based on clinical vignettes. Participants were scored on their ability to both acquire and interpret ultrasound images. Cognitive load measures included participant self-report, eye-based physiological indices, and behavioural measures. Data were analyzed using a multilevel linear modelling approach, wherein observations were clustered by participants. Experienced participants outperformed novice participants on ultrasound image acquisition. Ultrasound image interpretation was comparable between the two groups. Ultrasound image acquisition performance was predicted by level of training, prior ultrasound training, and cognitive load. There was significant convergence between cognitive load measurement techniques. A marginal model of ultrasound image acquisition performance including prior ultrasound training and cognitive load as fixed effects provided the best overall fit for the observed data. In this proof-of-principle study, the combination of demographic and cognitive load measures provided more sensitive metrics to predict ultrasound simulator performance. Performance assessments which include cognitive load can help differentiate between levels of expertise in simulation environments, and may serve as better predictors of skill transfer to clinical practice.

  11. Effects of dynamic loading of motor-operated valve actuators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Damerell, P.S.; Daubresse, S.; Wolfe, K.J.; Dogan, T.; Gleeson, J.

    1994-01-01

    Experience has shown that valves with rising, nonrotating stems that are operated using electro-motor driven actuators can be susceptible to changes in output thrust at a constant torque switch setting as a result of changes in stem load time history. This effect is a concern because tests on these types of valves to verify thrust achieved at torque switch trip are often performed in situ under load conditions different from the required performance conditions. As part of a motor-operated valve research program being carried out by the Electric Power Research Institute, tests of typical electric motor actuators used with nuclear services valves have been performed. The test results show that changes in output thrust with load time history occur o varying degrees on different stem and stem nut combinations. When the effect exists, there is generally an increase in thrust at torque switch trip when load is developed rapidly from low initial loads, compared to when load is developed slowly. The effect is mainly a result of changes in the coefficient of friction at the stem-stem nut interface. The coefficient of friction is temporarily reduced under rapid loading conditions from low initial load, leading to increased thrust. The root cause is hypothesized to be a open-quotes squeeze-filmclose quotes effect, whereby mixed-mode lubrication (hydrodynamic plus boundary) temporarily replaces boundary lubrication. This paper describes the results of tests performed to better understand the phenomenon

  12. Using continental land loading for routine data analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petrov, L.

    2013-12-01

    The availability of the hydrological models that are updated regularly made it feasible to apply for analysis of space geodesy data a reduction for 3D displacements caused by the changes in the continental water storage on a routine basis, as it is done for a long time with ocean loading and atmospheric pressure loading. The service of the continental storage water loading was launched in 2013. The service utilizes the outputs of several hydrological models and provides the 3D time series in the form of global maps with 1-3 hour time resolution, time series for the set of ~1000 space geodesy sites, and an on-demand web-based application that allows a user to compute and download the time series of displacements for user-specified sites. The design of such a service and experience of its running are summarized. The loading series were validated by processing all available VLBI data. Results of validation are presented. Impact of using continental water storage for data reduction on estimates of other parameters, such as station velocities, is discussed.

  13. Investigation of Squeeze Film Damping and Associated Loads

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Johansen, Per; Bender, Niels Christian; Hansen, Anders Hedegaard

    2017-01-01

    -viscous case. In consequence, this enable insights concerning the influence of piezo-viscosity on this damping effect. These models are used to investigate the loads, which the approaching surfaces experiences. Based on Hertzian theory, comparisons of impact loads and the dynamic squeeze loading are performed......Digital hydraulics have attracted attention towards fast switching valves and the increased focus on reliable fluid power entail that the lifetime of such valves is of great concern. An inherent feature of most valves for digital hydraulics is that of a mechanical end stop. Consequently...... is reviewed with a focus on maximum surface stresses. Using the Barus relation for viscosity-pressure dependency and different film geometries, the classical lubrication theory is applied together with the equation of motion, to obtain the gap height motion equation, both for the iso-viscous and piezo...

  14. Planning sentences while doing other things at the same time: effects of concurrent verbal and visuospatial working memory load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klaus, Jana; Mädebach, Andreas; Oppermann, Frank; Jescheniak, Jörg D

    2017-04-01

    This study investigated to what extent advance planning during sentence production is affected by a concurrent cognitive load. In two picture-word interference experiments in which participants produced subject-verb-object sentences while ignoring auditory distractor words, we assessed advance planning at a phonological (lexeme) and at an abstract-lexical (lemma) level under visuospatial or verbal working memory (WM) load. At the phonological level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated before speech onset with concurrent visuospatial WM load, but only subject nouns were found to be activated with concurrent verbal WM load, indicating a reduced planning scope as a function of type of WM load (Experiment 1). By contrast, at the abstract-lexical level, subject and object nouns were found to be activated regardless of type of concurrent load (Experiment 2). In both experiments, sentence planning had a more detrimental effect on concurrent verbal WM task performance than on concurrent visuospatial WM task performance. Overall, our results suggest that advance planning at the phonological level is more affected by a concurrently performed verbal WM task than advance planning at the abstract-lexical level. Also, they indicate an overlap of resources allocated to phonological planning in speech production and verbal WM.

  15. Artificial bee colony algorithm for economic load dispatch with wind power energy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Safari Amin

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents an efficient Artificial Bee Colony (ABC algorithm for solving large scale economic load dispatch (ELD problems in power networks. To realize the ELD, the valve-point loading effect, system load demand, power losses, ramp rate limits and prohibited operation zones are considered here. Simulations were performed on four different power systems with 3, 6, 15 and 40 generating units and the results are compared with two forms of power systems, one power system is with a wind power generator and other power system is without a wind power generator. The results of this study reveal that the proposed approach is able to find appreciable ELD solutions than those of previous algorithms.

  16. Dynamical load factor of impact loaded shell structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hammel, J.

    1977-01-01

    Dynamical loaded structures can be analysed by spectral representations, which usually lead to an enormous computational effort. If it is possible to find a fitting dynamical load factor, the dynamical problem can be reduced to a statical one. The computation of this statical problem is much simpler. The disadvantage is that the dynamical load factor usually leads to a very rough approximation. In this paper it will be shown, that by combination of these two methods, the approximation of the dynamical load factor can be improved and the consumption of computation time can be enormously reduced. (Auth.)

  17. Waves on fluid-loaded shells and their resonance frequency spectrum

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bao, X.L.; Uberall, H.; Raju, P.K.

    2005-01-01

    , or axially propagating waves both in the shell material, and in the fluid loading. Previous results by Bao et al. (J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 105 (1999) 2704) were obtained for the circumferential-wave dispersion curves on doubly loaded aluminum shells; the present study extends this to fluid-filled shells in air......Technical requirements for elastic (metal) cylindrical shells include the knowledge of their natural frequency spectrum. These shells may be empty and fluid-immersed, or fluid-filled in an ambient medium of air, or doubly fluid-loaded inside and out. They may support circumferential waves....... For practical applications, steel shells are most important and we have here obtained corresponding results for these. To find the natural frequencies of cylindrical shells, one may invoke the principle of phase matching where resonating standing waves are formed around the circumference, or in the axial...

  18. The effect of tendon loading on in-vitro carpal kinematics of the wrist joint

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Foumani, M.; Blankevoort, L.; Stekelenburg, C.; Strackee, S. D.; Carelsen, B.; Jonges, R.; Streekstra, G. J.

    2010-01-01

    Measurements of in-vitro carpal kinematics of the wrist provide valuable biomechanical data. Tendon loading is often applied during cadaver experiments to simulate natural stabilizing joint compression in the wrist joint. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of tendon loading on

  19. Transient Three-Dimensional Side Load Analysis of Out-of-Round Film Cooled Nozzles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ten-See; Lin, Jeff; Ruf, Joe; Guidos, Mike

    2010-01-01

    The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of nozzle out-of-roundness on the transient startup side loads at a high altitude, with an anchored computational methodology. The out-of-roundness could be the result of asymmetric loads induced by hardware attached to the nozzle, asymmetric internal stresses induced by previous tests, and deformation, such as creep, from previous tests. The rocket engine studied encompasses a regeneratively cooled thrust chamber and a film cooled nozzle extension with film coolant distributed from a turbine exhaust manifold. The computational methodology is based on an unstructured-grid, pressure-based computational fluid dynamics formulation, and a transient inlet history based on an engine system simulation. Transient startup computations were performed with the out-of-roundness achieved by four different degrees of ovalization: one perfectly round, one slightly out-of-round, one more out-of-round, and one significantly out-of-round. The results show that the separation-line-jump is the peak side load physics for the round, slightly our-of-round, and more out-of-round cases, and the peak side load increases as the degree of out-of-roundness increases. For the significantly out-of-round nozzle, however, the peak side load reduces to comparable to that of the round nozzle and the separation line jump is not the peak side load physics. The counter-intuitive result of the significantly out-of-round case is found to be related to a side force reduction mechanism that splits the effect of the separation-line-jump into two parts, not only in the circumferential direction and most importantly in time.

  20. Research of Impact Load in Large Electrohydraulic Load Simulator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongguang Liu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The stronger impact load will appear in the initial phase when the large electric cylinder is tested in the hardware-in-loop simulation. In this paper, the mathematical model is built based on AMESim, and then the reason of the impact load is investigated through analyzing the changing tendency of parameters in the simulation results. The inhibition methods of impact load are presented according to the structural invariability principle and applied to the actual system. The final experimental result indicates that the impact load is inhibited, which provides a good experimental condition for the electric cylinder and promotes the study of large load simulator.

  1. Limitations of subjective cognitive load measures in simulation-based procedural training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naismith, Laura M; Cheung, Jeffrey J H; Ringsted, Charlotte; Cavalcanti, Rodrigo B

    2015-08-01

    The effective implementation of cognitive load theory (CLT) to optimise the instructional design of simulation-based training requires sensitive and reliable measures of cognitive load. This mixed-methods study assessed relationships between commonly used measures of total cognitive load and the extent to which these measures reflected participants' experiences of cognitive load in simulation-based procedural skills training. Two groups of medical residents (n = 38) completed three questionnaires after participating in simulation-based procedural skills training sessions: the Paas Cognitive Load Scale; the NASA Task Load Index (TLX), and a cognitive load component (CLC) questionnaire we developed to assess total cognitive load as the sum of intrinsic load (how complex the task is), extraneous load (how the task is presented) and germane load (how the learner processes the task for learning). We calculated Pearson's correlation coefficients to assess agreement among these instruments. Group interviews explored residents' perceptions about how the simulation sessions contributed to their total cognitive load. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and subjected to qualitative content analysis. Total cognitive load scores differed significantly according to the instrument used to assess them. In particular, there was poor agreement between the Paas Scale and the TLX. Quantitative and qualitative findings supported intrinsic cognitive load as synonymous with mental effort (Paas Scale), mental demand (TLX) and task difficulty and complexity (CLC questionnaire). Additional qualitative themes relating to extraneous and germane cognitive loads were not reflected in any of the questionnaires. The Paas Scale, TLX and CLC questionnaire appear to be interchangeable as measures of intrinsic cognitive load, but not of total cognitive load. A more complete understanding of the sources of extraneous and germane cognitive loads in simulation-based training contexts is

  2. A Questionnaire Study on the Attitudes and Previous Experience of Croatian Family Physicians toward their Preparedness for Disaster Management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pekez-Pavliško, Tanja; Račić, Maja; Jurišić, Dinka

    2018-04-01

    To explore family physicians' attitudes, previous experience and self-assessed preparedness to respond or to assist in mass casualty incidents in Croatia. The cross-sectional survey was carried out during January 2017. Study participants were recruited through a Facebook group that brings together family physicians from Croatia. They were asked to complete the questionnaire, which was distributed via google.docs. Knowledge and attitudes toward disaster preparedness were evaluated by 18 questions. Analysis of variance, Student t test and Kruskal-Wallis test t were used for statistical analysis. Risk awareness of disasters was high among respondents (M = 4.89, SD=0.450). Only 16.4 of respondents have participated in the management of disaster at the scene. The majority (73.8%) of physicians have not been participating in any educational activity dealing with disaster over the past two years. Family physicians believed they are not well prepared to participate in national (M = 3.02, SD=0.856) and local community emergency response system for disaster (M = 3.16, SD=1.119). Male physicians scored higher preparedness to participate in national emergency response system for disaster ( p =0.012), to carry out accepted triage principles used in the disaster situation ( p =0.003) and recognize differences in health assessments indicating potential exposure to specific agents ( p =0,001) compared to their female colleagues. Croatian primary healthcare system attracts many young physicians, who can be an important part of disaster and emergency management. However, the lack of experience despite a high motivation indicates a need for inclusion of disaster medicine training during undergraduate studies and annual educational activities.

  3. Tire-rim interface pressure of a commercial vehicle wheel under radial loads: theory and experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Xiaofei; Shan, Yingchun; Liu, Xiandong; He, Tian; Wang, Jiegong

    2017-11-01

    The simulation of the radial fatigue test of a wheel has been a necessary tool to improve the design of the wheel and calculate its fatigue life. The simulation model, including the strong nonlinearity of the tire structure and material, may produce accurate results, but often leads to a divergence in calculation. Thus, a simplified simulation model in which the complicated tire model is replaced with a tire-wheel contact pressure model is used extensively in the industry. In this paper, a simplified tire-rim interface pressure model of a wheel under a radial load is established, and the pressure of the wheel under different radial loads is tested. The tire-rim contact behavior affected by the radial load is studied and analyzed according to the test result, and the tire-rim interface pressure extracted from the test result is used to evaluate the simplified pressure model and the traditional cosine function model. The results show that the proposed model may provide a more accurate prediction of the wheel radial fatigue life than the traditional cosine function model.

  4. A load-sharing control scheme for a microgrid with a fixed frequency inverter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Zhihao; Huang, Xinhong; Jiang, Jin [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St., London, Ontario (Canada); Wu, Bin [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)

    2010-03-15

    In this paper, a load-sharing control strategy is developed for a microgrid consisting of a fuel cell power module and two synchronous generators in a stand-alone environment. The fuel cell is interfaced with the synchronous generators through a DC/AC inverter to convert unregulated DC to a three-phase AC. Since the frequency of the DC/AC inverter is fixed, the conventional load-frequency control scheme cannot be used for load-sharing control. To alleviate this problem, a load-voltage control scheme is developed. The theoretical analysis and experimental validation of the proposed scheme are presented. It is shown, by theoretical analysis and experiments, that this control strategy can effectively distribute the load among the different energy sources based on their individual pre-defined load-voltage droop characteristics. (author)

  5. Load research manual. Volume 2. Fundamentals of implementing load research procedures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brandenburg, L.; Clarkson, G.; Grund, Jr., C.; Leo, J.; Asbury, J.; Brandon-Brown, F.; Derderian, H.; Mueller, R.; Swaroop, R.

    1980-11-01

    This three-volume manual presents technical guidelines for electric utility load research. Special attention is given to issues raised by the load data reporting requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 and to problems faced by smaller utilities that are initiating load research programs. In Volumes 1 and 2, procedures are suggested for determining data requirements for load research, establishing the size and customer composition of a load survey sample, selecting and using equipment to record customer electricity usage, processing data tapes from the recording equipment, and analyzing the data. Statistical techniques used in customer sampling are discussed in detail. The costs of load research also are estimated, and ongoing load research programs at three utilities are described. The manual includes guides to load research literature and glossaries of load research and statistical terms.

  6. Validation of the Dynamic Wake Meander model with focus on tower loads

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larsen, T. J.; Larsen, G. C.; Pedersen, M. M.; Enevoldsen, K.; Madsen, H. A.

    2017-05-01

    This paper presents a comparison between measured and simulated tower loads for the Danish offshore wind farm Nysted 2. Previously, only limited full scale experimental data containing tower load measurements have been published, and in many cases the measurements include only a limited range of wind speeds. In general, tower loads in wake conditions are very challenging to predict correctly in simulations. The Nysted project offers an improved insight to this field as six wind turbines located in the Nysted II wind farm have been instrumented to measure tower top and tower bottom moments. All recorded structural data have been organized in a database, which in addition contains relevant wind turbine SCADA data as well as relevant meteorological data - e.g. wind speed and wind direction - from an offshore mast located in the immediate vicinity of the wind farm. The database contains data from a period extending over a time span of more than 3 years. Based on the recorded data basic mechanisms driving the increased loading experienced by wind turbines operating in offshore wind farm conditions have been identified, characterized and modeled. The modeling is based on the Dynamic Wake Meandering (DWM) approach in combination with the state-of-the-art aeroelastic model HAWC2, and has previously as well as in this study shown good agreement with the measurements. The conclusions from the study have several parts. In general the tower bending and yaw loads show a good agreement between measurements and simulations. However, there are situations that are still difficult to match. One is tower loads of single-wake operation near rated ambient wind speed for single wake situations for spacing’s around 7-8D. A specific target of the study was to investigate whether the largest tower fatigue loads are associated with a certain downstream distance. This has been identified in both simulations and measurements, though a rather flat optimum is seen in the measurements.

  7. Fatigue data for polyether ether ketone (PEEK) under fully-reversed cyclic loading.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shrestha, Rakish; Simsiriwong, Jutima; Shamsaei, Nima

    2016-03-01

    In this article, the data obtained from the uniaxial fully-reversed fatigue experiments conducted on polyether ether ketone (PEEK), a semi-crystalline thermoplastic, are presented. The tests were performed in either strain-controlled or load-controlled mode under various levels of loading. The data are categorized into four subsets according to the type of tests, including (1) strain-controlled fatigue tests with adjusted frequency to obtain the nominal temperature rise of the specimen surface, (2) strain-controlled fatigue tests with various frequencies, (3) load-controlled fatigue tests without step loadings, and (4) load-controlled fatigue tests with step loadings. Accompanied data for each test include the fatigue life, the maximum (peak) and minimum (valley) stress-strain responses for each cycle, and the hysteresis stress-strain responses for each collected cycle in a logarithmic increment. A brief description of the experimental method is also given.

  8. Effect of ripple loads on sustained-load cracking in titanium alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pao, P.S.; Meyn, D.A.; Bayles, R.A.; Feng, C.R.; Yoder, G.R.

    1995-01-01

    In the present paper, the authors have extended their study on the effect of the ripple loads on the sustained-load cracking (SLC) behavior of two titanium alloys, Ti-6Al-4V (an α-β alloy) and Ti-15V-3Cr-3Al-3Sn (a β-α alloy), in an ambient air environment. The methodology which has been used successfully to treat ripple effects on stress-corrosion cracking (SCC) is employed again to address the influence of ripple loads on sustained-load cracking. Ripple loads can significantly reduce the apparent sustained load cracking resistance of titanium alloys in a relatively benign environment such as ambient air. For a ripple-load amplitude equal to 5% of the sustained load, the ripple-load cracking thresholds (K IRLC ) of beta-annealed Ti-6Al-4V and Ti-15V-3Cr-3al-3Sn are less than half of the respective sustained-load cracking thresholds (K ISLC ). The extent of ripple-load degradation for these alloys in ambient air -- relative to K ISLC , were found comparable to those observed in a much more aggressive 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution

  9. Experiment on Behavior of a New Connector Used in Bamboo (Timber Frame Structure under Cyclic Loading

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junwen Zhou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Connection is an important part of the bamboo and timber structure, and it directly influences the overall structural performance and safety. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the mechanical performance of several wood connections, a new connector for the bamboo (timber frame joint was proposed in this paper. Three full-scale T-type joint specimens were designed to study the mechanical performance under cyclic loading. The thickness of the hollow steel column was different among three specimens. The specimens were loaded under displacement control with a rate of 10 mm per minute until the specimens reach failure. It was observed that the failures of three specimens were caused by the buckling of flanges in the compression and that the steel of connections does not yield. The load-displacement hysteretic curve for three specimens is relatively plump, and the stiffness of connection degenerates with the increasing of cyclic load. The maximum rotation is 0.049 rad, and the energy dissipation coefficient is 1.77. The thickness of the hollow steel column of the connector has significant impact on the energy dissipation capacity and the strength of the connection. A simplified moment-rotation hysteresis model for the joint was proposed.

  10. Cognitive Load Alters Neuronal Processing of Food Odors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffmann-Hensel, Sonja Maria; Sijben, Rik; Rodriguez-Raecke, Rea; Freiherr, Jessica

    2017-10-31

    Obesity is a major health concern in modern societies. Although decreased physical activity and enhanced intake of high-caloric foods are important risk factors for developing obesity, human behavior during eating also plays a role. Previous studies have shown that distraction while eating increases food intake and leads to impaired processing of food stimuli. As olfaction is the most important sense involved in flavor perception, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging techniques to investigate the influence of cognitive memory load on olfactory perception and processing. Low- and high-caloric food odors were presented in combination with either low or high cognitive loads utilizing a memory task. The efficacy of the memory task was verified by a decrease in participant recall accuracy and an increase in skin conductance response during high cognitive load. Our behavioral data reveal a diminished perceived intensity for low- but not high-caloric food odors during high cognitive load. For low-caloric food odors, bilateral orbitofrontal (OFC) and piriform cortices (pirC) showed significantly lower activity during high compared with low cognitive load. For high-caloric food odors, a similar effect was established in pirC, but not in OFC. Insula activity correlates with higher intensity ratings found during the low cognitive load condition. We conclude lower activity in pirC and OFC to be responsible for diminished intensity perception, comparable to results in olfactory impaired patients and elderly. Further studies should investigate the influence of olfactory/gustatory intensities on food choices under distraction with special regards to low-caloric food. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  11. Visual-spatial processing and working-memory load as a function of negative and positive psychotic-like experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Akel, A; Reniers, R L E P; Wood, S J

    2016-09-01

    Patients with schizophrenia show impairments in working-memory and visual-spatial processing, but little is known about the dynamic interplay between the two. To provide insight into this important question, we examined the effect of positive and negative symptom expressions in healthy adults on perceptual processing while concurrently performing a working-memory task that requires the allocations of various degrees of cognitive resources. The effect of positive and negative symptom expressions in healthy adults (N = 91) on perceptual processing was examined in a dual-task paradigm of visual-spatial working memory (VSWM) under three conditions of cognitive load: a baseline condition (with no concurrent working-memory demand), a low VSWM load condition, and a high VSWM load condition. Participants overall performed more efficiently (i.e., faster) with increasing cognitive load. This facilitation in performance was unrelated to symptom expressions. However, participants with high-negative, low-positive symptom expressions were less accurate in the low VSWM condition compared to the baseline and the high VSWM load conditions. Attenuated, subclinical expressions of psychosis affect cognitive performance that is impaired in schizophrenia. The "resource limitations hypothesis" may explain the performance of the participants with high-negative symptom expressions. The dual-task of visual-spatial processing and working memory may be beneficial to assessing the cognitive phenotype of individuals with high risk for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

  12. Determination of glycaemic index; some methodological aspects related to the analysis of carbohydrate load and characteristics of the previous evening meal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Granfeldt, Y; Wu, X; Björck, I

    2006-01-01

    To determine the possible differences in glycaemic index (GI) depending on (1) the analytical method used to calculate the 'available carbohydrate' load, that is, using carbohydrates by difference (total carbohydrate by difference, minus dietary fibre (DF)) as available carbohydrates vs available starch basis (total starch minus resistant starch (RS)) of a food rich in intrinsic RS and (2) the effect of GI characteristics and/or the content of indigestible carbohydrates (RS and DF) of the evening meal prior to GI testing the following morning. Blood glucose and serum insulin responses were studied after subjects consuming (1) two levels of barley kernels rich in intrinsic RS (15.2%, total starch basis) and (2) after a standard breakfast following three different evening meals varying in GI and/or indigestible carbohydrates: pasta, barley kernels and white wheat bread, respectively. Healthy adults with normal body mass index. (1) Increasing the portion size of barley kernels from 79.6 g (50 g 'available carbohydrates') to 93.9 g (50 g available starch) to adjust for its RS content did not significantly affect the GI or insulin index (11). (2) The low GI barley evening meal, as opposed to white wheat bread and pasta evening meals, reduced the postprandial glycaemic and insulinaemic (23 and 29%, respectively, P base carbohydrate load on specific analyses of the available carbohydrate content. (2) A low GI barley evening meal containing high levels of indigestible carbohydrates (RS and DF) substantially reduced the GI and II of white wheat bread determined at a subsequent breakfast meal.

  13. Research on a Method of Geographical Information Service Load Balancing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Heyuan; Li, Yongxing; Xue, Zhiyong; Feng, Tao

    2018-05-01

    With the development of geographical information service technologies, how to achieve the intelligent scheduling and high concurrent access of geographical information service resources based on load balancing is a focal point of current study. This paper presents an algorithm of dynamic load balancing. In the algorithm, types of geographical information service are matched with the corresponding server group, then the RED algorithm is combined with the method of double threshold effectively to judge the load state of serve node, finally the service is scheduled based on weighted probabilistic in a certain period. At the last, an experiment system is built based on cluster server, which proves the effectiveness of the method presented in this paper.

  14. Study of Pneumatic Servo Loading System in Double-Sided Polishing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qian, N; Ruan, J; Li, W

    2006-01-01

    The precise double-sided polishing process is one of the main methods to get the ultra-smooth surface of workpiece. In double-sided polishing machine, a loading system is required to be able to precisely control the load superimposed on the workpiece, while the polishing is being carried out. A pneumatic servo loading system is proposed for this purpose. In the pneumatic servo system, the servo valve, which acts both the electrical to mechanical converter and the power amplifier, has a substantial influence on the performance of the loading system. Therefore a specially designed pneumatic digital servo valve is applied in the control system. In this paper, the construction of the pneumatic servo loading system in double-sided polishing machine and control strategy associated with the digital servo valve are first addressed. The mathematical model of the system established and the hardware of the pneumatic servo system is designed. Finally, the experiments are carried out by measuring the practical load on the workpiece and the quality of the surface finish. It is demonstrated that the error rate of load is less than 5% and a super-smooth surface of silicon wafer with roughness Ra 0.401 nm can be obtained

  15. The Effects of Technical Illustrations on Cognitive Load.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purnell, Kenneth N.; And Others

    1992-01-01

    Outlines two theories of cognitive science that are relevant for instructional design, i.e., schema theory and cognitive load theory; and describes four experiments with Australian secondary school geography students that used these theories to examine the effects of splitting attention between technical illustrations and related text. (20…

  16. Isotonic and hypertonic sodium loading in supine humans

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, L J; Jensen, T U; Bestle, M H

    1999-01-01

    extracellular volume were administered intravenously over 90 min either as isotonic saline or as hypertonic saline (850 mmol L(-1)). A third series without saline infusion served as time control. Experiments lasted 8 h. Water balance and sodium loads were maintained by replacing the excreted amounts every hour...

  17. Effect of laser parameters on surface roughness of laser modified tool steel after thermal cyclic loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau Sheng, Annie; Ismail, Izwan; Nur Aqida, Syarifah

    2018-03-01

    This study presents the effects of laser parameters on the surface roughness of laser modified tool steel after thermal cyclic loading. Pulse mode Nd:YAG laser was used to perform the laser surface modification process on AISI H13 tool steel samples. Samples were then treated with thermal cyclic loading experiments which involved alternate immersion in molten aluminium (800°C) and water (27°C) for 553 cycles. A full factorial design of experiment (DOE) was developed to perform the investigation. Factors for the DOE are the laser parameter namely overlap rate (η), pulse repetition frequency (f PRF) and peak power (Ppeak ) while the response is the surface roughness after thermal cyclic loading. Results indicate the surface roughness of the laser modified surface after thermal cyclic loading is significantly affected by laser parameter settings.

  18. Influence of Thermodynamic Effect on Blade Load in a Cavitating Inducer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kengo Kikuta

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Distribution of the blade load is one of the design parameters for a cavitating inducer. For experimental investigation of the thermodynamic effect on the blade load, we conducted experiments in both cold water and liquid nitrogen. The thermodynamic effect on cavitation notably appears in this cryogenic fluid although it can be disregarded in cold water. In these experiments, the pressure rise along the blade tip was measured. In water, the pressure increased almost linearly from the leading edge to the trailing edge at higher cavitation number. After that, with a decrease of cavitation number, pressure rise occurred only near the trailing edge. On the other hand, in liquid nitrogen, the pressure distribution was similar to that in water at a higher cavitation number, even if the cavitation number as a cavitation parameter decreased. Because the cavitation growth is suppressed by the thermodynamic effect, the distribution of the blade load does not change even at lower cavitation number. By contrast, the pressure distribution in liquid nitrogen has the same tendency as that in water if the cavity length at the blade tip is taken as a cavitation indication. From these results, it was found that the shift of the blade load to the trailing edge depended on the increase of cavity length, and that the distribution of blade load was indicated only by the cavity length independent of the thermodynamic effect.

  19. Surface heat loads during major disruptions in INTOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mioduszewski, P.

    1981-01-01

    The thermal energy contained in the INTOR plasma is assumed to be about 200 MJ. In a major plasma disruption this energy is dumped into parts of the first wall in a time short compared to the energy confinement time. To estimate the surface heat load due to this energy dump, two major parameters are not sufficiently well known at present: the disruption time and the affected first wall surface area. To get a certain idea of the heat loads to be expected, we have employed the model of conserved flux tubes which are successively scraped-off at the first wall. The results reveal that even for a homogeneous deposition in the toroidal direction the heat load is too high for some parts of the first wall. Since, however, the presumptions are very uncertain to date, experiments will have to be set up to study the energy deposition during disruptions. (author)

  20. Distribution load estimation (DLE)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seppaelae, A; Lehtonen, M [VTT Energy, Espoo (Finland)

    1998-08-01

    The load research has produced customer class load models to convert the customers` annual energy consumption to hourly load values. The reliability of load models applied from a nation-wide sample is limited in any specific network because many local circumstances are different from utility to utility and time to time. Therefore there is a need to find improvements to the load models or, in general, improvements to the load estimates. In Distribution Load Estimation (DLE) the measurements from the network are utilized to improve the customer class load models. The results of DLE will be new load models that better correspond to the loading of the distribution network but are still close to the original load models obtained by load research. The principal data flow of DLE is presented