Ray tracing method for simulation of laser beam interaction with random packings of powders

Science.gov (United States)

Kovalev, O. B.; Kovaleva, I. O.; Belyaev, V. V.

2018-03-01

Selective laser sintering is a technology of rapid manufacturing of a free form that is created as a solid object by selectively fusing successive layers of powder using a laser. The motivation of this study is due to the currently insufficient understanding of the processes and phenomena of selective laser melting of powders whose time scales differ by orders of magnitude. To construct random packings from mono- and polydispersed solid spheres, the algorithm of their generation based on the discrete element method is used. A numerical method of ray tracing is proposed that is used to simulate the interaction of laser radiation with a random bulk packing of spherical particles and to predict the optical properties of the granular layer, the extinction and absorption coefficients, depending on the optical properties of a powder material.

Nasal packing with ventilated nasal packs; a comparison with traditional vaseline nasal pack

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alam, J.; Siddiqui, M.W.; Abbas, A.; Sami, M.; Ayub, Z.

2017-01-01

To compare the benefits of ventilated nasal packing with traditional vaseline guaze nasal packing. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at CMH Multan, from Jun 2014 to Dec 2014. Material and Methods: In this study, sample size of 80 patients was calculated using WHO calculator. Patients were divided in two groups using lottery method endotracheal tube and piece of surgical glove filled with ribbon guaze was utilized for fabricated ventilated nasal pack and compared with traditional nasal packs. Nasal obstruction and sleep disturbance were studied at eight hours and twenty-four hours following surgery using visual analog scale. Results: Mean nasal obstruction with ventilated nasal pack was 45.62 +- 6.17 and with Vaseline nasal pack was 77.67 +- 4.85 which was statistically significant (p=0.001) in both the groups. Mean sleep disturbance in both the groups was 46.32 +- 5.23 and 68.75 +- 2.70 respectively which was statistically significant (p=0.001) in both the groups. Conclusion: Patients with ventilated nasal packs were found to have better tolerance to nasal packs due to less nasal obstruction and sleep disturbance

Demagnetization factor for a powder of randomly packed spherical particles

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørk, Rasmus; Bahl, Christian R.H.

2013-01-01

The demagnetization factors for randomly packed spherical particle powders with different porosities, sample aspect ratios, and monodisperse, normal, and log-normal particle size distributions have been calculated using a numerical model. For a relative permeability of 2, comparable to room...... temperature Gd, the calculated demagnetization factor is close to the theoretical value. The normalized standard deviation of the magnetization in the powder was 6.0%-6.7%. The demagnetization factor decreased significantly, while the standard deviation of the magnetization increased, for increasing relative...

Loose part monitoring device

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nomura, Hiroshi.

1992-01-01

The device of the present invention estimates a place where loose parts occur and structural components as the loose parts in a fluid flow channel of a reactor device, to provide information thereof to a plant operator. That is, the device of the present invention comprises (1) a plurality of detectors disposed to each of equipments constituting fluid channels, (2) an abnormal sound sensing device for sensing signals from the detectors, (3) an estimation section for estimating the place where the loose parts occur and the structural components thereof based on the signals sensed by the abnormal sound sensing section, (4) a memory section for storing data of the plant structure necessary for the estimation, and (5) a display section for displaying the result of the estimation. In such a device, the position where the loose parts collide against the plant structural component and the energy thereof are estimated. The dropping path of the loose parts is estimated from the estimation position. Parts to be loose parts in the path are listed up. The parts on the list is selected based on the estimated energy thereby enabling to determine the loose parts. (I.S.)

Random close packing in protein cores

OpenAIRE

Gaines, Jennifer C.; Smith, W. Wendell; Regan, Lynne; O'Hern, Corey S.

2015-01-01

Shortly after the determination of the first protein x-ray crystal structures, researchers analyzed their cores and reported packing fractions $\\phi \\approx 0.75$, a value that is similar to close packing equal-sized spheres. A limitation of these analyses was the use of `extended atom' models, rather than the more physically accurate `explicit hydrogen' model. The validity of using the explicit hydrogen model is proved by its ability to predict the side chain dihedral angle distributions obs...

Pressure solution creep of random packs of spheres

Science.gov (United States)

Bernabé, Y.; Evans, B.

2014-05-01

We performed numerical calculations of compaction in aggregates of spherical grains, using Lehner and Leroy's (2004, hereinafter LL) constitutive model of pressure solution at grain contacts. That model is founded on a local definition of the thermodynamic driving force and leads to a fully coupled formulation of elastic deformation, dissolution, and diffusive transport along the grain boundaries. The initial geometry of the aggregate was generated by random packing of spheres with a small standard deviation of the diameters. During the simulations, isostatic loading was applied. The elastic displacements at the contacts were calculated according to Digby's (1981) nonlinear contact force model, and deformation by dissolution was evaluated using the LL formulation. The aggregate strain and porosity were tracked as a function of time for fixed temperature, applied effective pressure, and grain size. We also monitored values of the average and standard deviation of total load at each contact, the coordination number for packing, and the statistics of the contact dimensions. Because the simulations explicitly exclude processes such as fracturing, plastic flow, and transport owing to surface curvature, they can be used to test the influence of relative changes in the kinetics of dissolution and diffusion processes caused by contact growth and packing rearrangements. We found that the simulated strain data could be empirically fitted by two successive power laws of the form, ɛx ∝ tξ, where ξ was equal to 1 at very early times, but dropped to as low as 0.3 at longer times. The apparent sensitivity of strain rate to stress found in the simulations was much lower than predicted from constitutive laws that assume a single dominant process driven by average macroscopic loads. Likewise, the apparent activation enthalpy obtained from the simulated data was intermediate between that assumed for dissolution and diffusion, and, further, tended to decrease with time. These

Ultra small angle neutron scattering : a tool to study packing of relatively monodisperse small polymer spheres and their binary mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reynolds, Philip A.; McGillivray, Duncan J.; White, John W.; Jackson, Andrew J.; University of Maryland, College Paerk, Maryland, USA

2009-01-01

Full text: We measured ultra small angle neutron scattering (USANS) from polymethylmethacrylate spheres tamped down in air. Two slightly polydisperse pure sphere sizes (1.5/-lm and 7.5/-lm diameter) and five mixtures of these were used. All were loose packed (packing fractions 0.3 to 0.6) with nongravitational forces (e.g., friction) important, preventing close packing. The USANS data is rich in information on powder packing. A modified Percus-Yevick fluid model was used to parametrise the data - adequately but not well. The modifications required introduction of small voids, less than the sphere size, and a parameter reflecting substantial deviation from the Percus-Yevick prediction of the sphere-sphere correlation function. The mixed samples fitted less well, and two further modifying factors were necessary. These were local inhomogeneities, where the concentration of same-size spheres, both large and small, deviated from the mean packing, and a factor accounting for the presence within these 'clusters' of self avoidance of the large spheres (that is large spheres coated with more small spheres than Percus-Yevick would predict). The overall deviations from the hardsphere Percus-Yevick model that we find here suggests fluid models of loose packed powders are unlikely to be successful, but lay the groundwork for future theoretical and computational work.

Modelling heat transfer during flow through a random packed bed of spheres

Science.gov (United States)

Burström, Per E. C.; Frishfelds, Vilnis; Ljung, Anna-Lena; Lundström, T. Staffan; Marjavaara, B. Daniel

2018-04-01

Heat transfer in a random packed bed of monosized iron ore pellets is modelled with both a discrete three-dimensional system of spheres and a continuous Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model. Results show a good agreement between the two models for average values over a cross section of the bed for an even temperature profiles at the inlet. The advantage with the discrete model is that it captures local effects such as decreased heat transfer in sections with low speed. The disadvantage is that it is computationally heavy for larger systems of pellets. If averaged values are sufficient, the CFD model is an attractive alternative that is easy to couple to the physics up- and downstream the packed bed. The good agreement between the discrete and continuous model furthermore indicates that the discrete model may be used also on non-Stokian flow in the transitional region between laminar and turbulent flow, as turbulent effects show little influence of the overall heat transfer rates in the continuous model.

Forced Convection Heat Transfer of a sphere in Packed Bed Arrangement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Dong-Young; Chung, Bum-Jin

2016-01-01

This paper analysis and discuss the forced convective heat transfer from heated single sphere, which is buried in unheated packed bed, depending on Re d with porosity. The present work determines the test matrix for the packed bed experiment. And this study discuss difference of heat transfer according to the location of heated sphere and compared heated bed with heated sphere in packed bed and compared FCC (Face Centered Cubic), HCP (Hexagonal Closed Packed) structured packed bed with random packed. This paper is to discuss and make the plan to experiment the heat transfer for depending on location of heated single sphere in unheated packed bed, to compare single sphere in packed bed with heated packed bed and to compare the structured packed bed with random packed bed. The Nu d increase as heated single sphere is close to the wall and bottom because of increasing porosity and enhancing eddy motion respectively. The existing experiment of heated sphere in packed bed do not consider the preheating effect which decrease heat transfer on downstream. The heat transfer rate of structured packed bed is different from random packed bed because of unsteady flow in random packed bed. In this study, mass transfer experiments will replace heat transfer experiments based on analogy concept. An electroplating system is adopted using limiting current technique

Forced Convection Heat Transfer of a sphere in Packed Bed Arrangement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Dong-Young; Chung, Bum-Jin [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

This paper analysis and discuss the forced convective heat transfer from heated single sphere, which is buried in unheated packed bed, depending on Re{sub d} with porosity. The present work determines the test matrix for the packed bed experiment. And this study discuss difference of heat transfer according to the location of heated sphere and compared heated bed with heated sphere in packed bed and compared FCC (Face Centered Cubic), HCP (Hexagonal Closed Packed) structured packed bed with random packed. This paper is to discuss and make the plan to experiment the heat transfer for depending on location of heated single sphere in unheated packed bed, to compare single sphere in packed bed with heated packed bed and to compare the structured packed bed with random packed bed. The Nu{sub d} increase as heated single sphere is close to the wall and bottom because of increasing porosity and enhancing eddy motion respectively. The existing experiment of heated sphere in packed bed do not consider the preheating effect which decrease heat transfer on downstream. The heat transfer rate of structured packed bed is different from random packed bed because of unsteady flow in random packed bed. In this study, mass transfer experiments will replace heat transfer experiments based on analogy concept. An electroplating system is adopted using limiting current technique.

Comparing the efficacy of mature mud pack and hot pack treatments for knee osteoarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarsan, Ayşe; Akkaya, Nuray; Ozgen, Merih; Yildiz, Necmettin; Atalay, Nilgun Simsir; Ardic, Fusun

2012-01-01

The objective of this study is to compare the efficacy of mature mud pack and hot pack therapies on patients with knee osteoarthritis. This study was designed as a prospective, randomized-controlled, and single-blinded clinical trial. Twenty-seven patients with clinical and radiologic evidence of knee osteoarthritis were randomly assigned into two groups and were treated with mature mud packs (n 15) or hot packs (n=12). Patients were evaluated for pain [based on the visual analog scale (VAS)], function (WOMAC, 6 min walking distance), quality of life [Short Form-36 (SF-36)], and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) at baseline, post-treatment, and 3 and 6~months after treatment. The mud pack group shows a significant improvement in VAS, pain, stifness, and physical function domains of WOMAC. The difference between groups of pain and physical activity domains is significant at post-treatment in favor of mud pack. For a 6 min walking distance, mud pack shows significant improvement, and the difference is significant between groups in favor of mud pack at post-treatment and 3 and 6 months after treatment. Mud pack shows significant improvement in the pain subscale of SF-36 at the third month continuing until the sixth month after the treatment. Significant improvements are found for the social function, vitality/energy, physical role disability, and general health subscales of SF-36 in favor of the mud pack compared with the hot pack group at post-treatment. A significant increase is detected for IGF-1 in the mud pack group 3 months after treatment compared with the baseline, and the difference is significant between groups 3 months after the treatment. Mud pack is a favorable option compared with hotpack for pain relief and for the improvement of functional conditions in treating patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Measurement of loose powder density

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, S.; Ali, A.; Haider, A.; Farooque, M.

2011-01-01

Powder metallurgy is a conventional technique for making engineering articles from powders. Main objective is to produce final products with the highest possible uniform density, which depends on the initial loose powder characteristics. Producing, handling, characterizing and compacting materials in loose powder form are part of the manufacturing processes. Density of loose metallic or ceramic powder is an important parameter for die design. Loose powder density is required for calculating the exact mass of powder to fill the die cavity for producing intended green density of the powder compact. To fulfill this requirement of powder metallurgical processing, a loose powder density meter as per ASTM standards is designed and fabricated for measurement of density. The density of free flowing metallic powders can be determined using Hall flow meter funnel and density cup of 25 cm/sup 3/ volume. Density of metal powders like cobalt, manganese, spherical bronze and pure iron is measured and results are obtained with 99.9% accuracy. (author)

Packing properties 1-alkanols and alkanes in a phospholipid membrane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Westh, Peter

2006-01-01

We have used vibrating tube densitometry to investigate the packing properties of four alkanes and a homologous series of ten alcohols in fluid-phase membranes of dimyristoyl phosphatidylcholine (DMPC). It was found that the volume change of transferring these compounds from their pure states int...... into the membrane core, which is loosely packed. In this region, they partially occupy interstitial (or free-) volume, which bring about a denser molecular packing and generate a negative contribution to Vm(puremem)....... into the membrane, Vm(puremem), was positive for small (C4-C6) 1-alkanols while it was negative for larger alcohols and all alkanes. The magnitude of Vm(puremem) ranged from about +4 cm3/mol for alcohols with an alkyl chain about half the length of the fatty acids of DMPC, to -10 to -15 cm3/mol for the alkanes...

Endoscopic outcomes of resorbable nasal packing after functional endoscopic sinus surgery: a multicenter prospective randomized controlled study.

Science.gov (United States)

Berlucchi, Marco; Castelnuovo, Paolo; Vincenzi, Andrea; Morra, Bruno; Pasquini, Ernesto

2009-06-01

Nasal packings can aid in control of postoperative bleeding and healing following functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS), but traditional non-resorbable stents have several inherent drawbacks. We performed a randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial to assess efficacy of resorbable nasal packing in patients undergoing FESS for chronic rhinosinusitis. A total of 66 patients for 88 nasal cavities were randomized to receive either hyaluronan resorbable packing (MeroGel) or standard non-resorbable nasal dressing after FESS. All underwent preoperative rhinoscopy, CT of sinuses, and, after surgery, were reassessed by rhinoscopy at 2, 4, and 12 weeks in blinded fashion. A total of 44 nasal cavities (MeroGel-group) received resorbable packing, whereas the remaining 44 were packed with non-resorbable nasal dressing. At follow-up endoscopic visit, the presence of nasal synechia was evaluated as primary outcome. Moreover, the tolerability and surgical handling properties of MeroGel and its comfort were assessed by surgeons and patients. Preoperative severity of rhinosinusitis was similar in both groups. No significant adverse events were observed in all patients. Follow-up endoscopy showed a lower proportion of nasal adhesions in MeroGel-group at both 4 (P = 0.041) and 12 weeks (P appearance of nasal mucosa of nasal cavities after FESS was observed in the MeroGel-group. Tolerability and surgical handling properties of MeroGel were positively rated by clinicians and the overall patient judged comfort of MeroGel was favorable. In conclusion, MeroGel can be considered a valid alternative to standard non-resorbable nasal dressings. It is safe, well-accepted, well-tolerated, and has significant advantage of being resorbable. Moreover, it may favor improved healing in patients undergoing FESS and reduce formation of adhesions.

New Structured Packing CUB for Purification of Exhaust Gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina Novikova

2016-10-01

Full Text Available New structured packing for heat and mass transfer processes named CUB is presented in our article. The packing can be applied in packed towers for exhaust gas cleaning instead random packing, for example, rings type that are the most used in such processes. The advantages of the new packing over random packing are lower pressure drop, capability of purification and as a consequence long-term service of the packing. The researches of intensity of liquid-phase mass-transfer in packed bed depending on liquid spray rate and gas velocity were carried out. Obtained data show that packing CUB is more effective than the most popular type of structured packing under all other conditions being equal. As experimental data shown heat transfer coefficient was up by 17% and mass transfer coefficient was up by 51%. We found out optimal geometry of cross section of the new packing, namely, number of elements and parameters of one element. The new construction of structured packing is applicable for both type of column cross-section round and square.

Porous structure analysis of large-scale randomly packed pebble bed in high temperature gas-cooled reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Cheng; Yang, Xingtuan; Liu, Zhiyong; Sun, Yanfei; Jiang, Shengyao [Tsinghua Univ., Beijing (China). Key Laboratory of Advanced Reactor Engineering and Safety; Li, Congxin [Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing (China). Nuclear and Radiation Safety Center

2015-02-15

A three-dimensional pebble bed corresponding to the randomly packed bed in the heat transfer test facility built for the High Temperature Reactor Pebble bed Modules (HTR-PM) in Shandong Shidaowan is simulated via discrete element method. Based on the simulation, we make a detailed analysis on the packing structure of the pebble bed from several aspects, such as transverse section image, longitudinal section image, radial and axial porosity distributions, two-dimensional porosity distribution and coordination number distribution. The calculation results show that radial distribution of porosity is uniform in the center and oscillates near the wall; axial distribution of porosity oscillates near the bottom and linearly varies along height due to effect of gravity; the average coordination number is about seven and equals to the maximum coordination number frequency. The fully established three-dimensional packing structure analysis of the pebble bed in this work is of fundamental significance to understand the flow and heat transfer characteristics throughout the pebble-bed type structure.

Characterization of maximally random jammed sphere packings. III. Transport and electromagnetic properties via correlation functions

Science.gov (United States)

Klatt, Michael A.; Torquato, Salvatore

2018-01-01

In the first two papers of this series, we characterized the structure of maximally random jammed (MRJ) sphere packings across length scales by computing a variety of different correlation functions, spectral functions, hole probabilities, and local density fluctuations. From the remarkable structural features of the MRJ packings, especially its disordered hyperuniformity, exceptional physical properties can be expected. Here we employ these structural descriptors to estimate effective transport and electromagnetic properties via rigorous bounds, exact expansions, and accurate analytical approximation formulas. These property formulas include interfacial bounds as well as universal scaling laws for the mean survival time and the fluid permeability. We also estimate the principal relaxation time associated with Brownian motion among perfectly absorbing traps. For the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the long-wavelength limit, we show that a dispersion of dielectric MRJ spheres within a matrix of another dielectric material forms, to a very good approximation, a dissipationless disordered and isotropic two-phase medium for any phase dielectric contrast ratio. We compare the effective properties of the MRJ sphere packings to those of overlapping spheres, equilibrium hard-sphere packings, and lattices of hard spheres. Moreover, we generalize results to micro- and macroscopically anisotropic packings of spheroids with tensorial effective properties. The analytic bounds predict the qualitative trend in the physical properties associated with these structures, which provides guidance to more time-consuming simulations and experiments. They especially provide impetus for experiments to design materials with unique bulk properties resulting from hyperuniformity, including structural-color and color-sensing applications.

Loose Graph Simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mansutti, Alessio; Miculan, Marino; Peressotti, Marco

2017-01-01

We introduce loose graph simulations (LGS), a new notion about labelled graphs which subsumes in an intuitive and natural way subgraph isomorphism (SGI), regular language pattern matching (RLPM) and graph simulation (GS). Being a unification of all these notions, LGS allows us to express directly...... also problems which are “mixed” instances of previous ones, and hence which would not fit easily in any of them. After the definition and some examples, we show that the problem of finding loose graph simulations is NP-complete, we provide formal translation of SGI, RLPM, and GS into LGSs, and we give...

An Analysis of Spherical Particles Distribution Randomly Packed in a Medium for the Monte Carlo Implicit Modeling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jae Yong; Kim, Song Hyun; Shin, Chang Ho; Kim, Jong Kyung [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

In this study, as a preliminary study to develop an implicit method having high accuracy, the distribution characteristics of spherical particles were evaluated by using explicit modeling techniques in various volume packing fractions. This study was performed to evaluate implicitly simulated distribution of randomly packed spheres in a medium. At first, an explicit modeling method to simulate random packed spheres in a hexahedron medium was proposed. The distributed characteristics of l{sub p} and r{sub p}, which are used in the particle position sampling, was estimated. It is analyzed that the use of the direct exponential distribution, which is generally used in the implicit modeling, can cause the distribution bias of the spheres. It is expected that the findings in this study can be utilized for improving the accuracy in using the implicit method. Spherical particles, which are randomly distributed in medium, are utilized for the radiation shields, fusion reactor blanket, fuels of VHTR reactors. Due to the difficulty on the simulation of the stochastic distribution, Monte Carlo (MC) method has been mainly considered as the tool for the analysis of the particle transport. For the MC modeling of the spherical particles, three methods are known; repeated structure, explicit modeling, and implicit modeling. Implicit method (called as the track length sampling method) is a modeling method that is the sampling based modeling technique of each spherical geometry (or track length of the sphere) during the MC simulation. Implicit modeling method has advantages in high computational efficiency and user convenience. However, it is noted that the implicit method has lower modeling accuracy in various finite mediums.

Hyperuniformity, quasi-long-range correlations, and void-space constraints in maximally random jammed particle packings. I. Polydisperse spheres.

Science.gov (United States)

Zachary, Chase E; Jiao, Yang; Torquato, Salvatore

2011-05-01

Hyperuniform many-particle distributions possess a local number variance that grows more slowly than the volume of an observation window, implying that the local density is effectively homogeneous beyond a few characteristic length scales. Previous work on maximally random strictly jammed sphere packings in three dimensions has shown that these systems are hyperuniform and possess unusual quasi-long-range pair correlations decaying as r(-4), resulting in anomalous logarithmic growth in the number variance. However, recent work on maximally random jammed sphere packings with a size distribution has suggested that such quasi-long-range correlations and hyperuniformity are not universal among jammed hard-particle systems. In this paper, we show that such systems are indeed hyperuniform with signature quasi-long-range correlations by characterizing the more general local-volume-fraction fluctuations. We argue that the regularity of the void space induced by the constraints of saturation and strict jamming overcomes the local inhomogeneity of the disk centers to induce hyperuniformity in the medium with a linear small-wave-number nonanalytic behavior in the spectral density, resulting in quasi-long-range spatial correlations scaling with r(-(d+1)) in d Euclidean space dimensions. A numerical and analytical analysis of the pore-size distribution for a binary maximally random jammed system in addition to a local characterization of the n-particle loops governing the void space surrounding the inclusions is presented in support of our argument. This paper is the first part of a series of two papers considering the relationships among hyperuniformity, jamming, and regularity of the void space in hard-particle packings.

Thermal conductivity model of vibro-packed fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeon Soo, Kim

2001-01-01

In an effort to dispose of excess weapons grade plutonium accumulated in the cold war era in the United States and the Russian Federation, one method currently under investigation is the conversion of the plutonium into mixed oxide (MOX) reactor fuel for LWRs and fast reactors in the Russian Federation. A fuel option already partly developed at the Research Institute of Atomic Reactors (RIAR) in Dimitrovgrad is that of vibro-packed MOX. Fuel rod fabrication using powder vibro-packing is attractive because it includes neither a process too complex to operate in glove boxes (or remotely), nor a waste-producing step necessary for the conventional pellet rod fabrication. However, because of its loose bonding between fuel particles at the beginning of life, vibro-packed MOX fuel has a somewhat less effective thermal conductivity than fully sintered pellet fuel, and undergoes more restructuring. Helium would also likely be pressurized in vibro-packed MOX fuel rods for LWRs to enhance initial fuel thermal conductivity. The combination of these two factors complicates development of an accurate thermal conductivity model. But clearly in order to predict fuel thermomechanical responses during irradiation of vibro-packed MOX fuel, fuel thermal conductivity must be known. The Vibropac fuel of interest in this study refers the fuel that is compacted with irregular fragments of mixed oxide fuel. In this paper, the thermal-conductivity models in the literature that dealt with relatively similar situations to the present case are examined. Then, the best model is selected based on accuracy of prediction and applicability. Then, the selected model is expanded to fit the various situations of interest. (author)

Deterministic indexing for packed strings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bille, Philip; Gørtz, Inge Li; Skjoldjensen, Frederik Rye

2017-01-01

Given a string S of length n, the classic string indexing problem is to preprocess S into a compact data structure that supports efficient subsequent pattern queries. In the deterministic variant the goal is to solve the string indexing problem without any randomization (at preprocessing time...... or query time). In the packed variant the strings are stored with several character in a single word, giving us the opportunity to read multiple characters simultaneously. Our main result is a new string index in the deterministic and packed setting. Given a packed string S of length n over an alphabet σ...

Internal states of model isotropic granular packings. I. Assembling process, geometry, and contact networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Agnolin, Ivana; Roux, Jean-Noël

2007-12-01

This is the first paper of a series of three, in which we report on numerical simulation studies of geometric and mechanical properties of static assemblies of spherical beads under an isotropic pressure. The influence of various assembling processes on packing microstructures is investigated. It is accurately checked that frictionless systems assemble in the unique random close packing (RCP) state in the low pressure limit if the compression process is fast enough, higher solid fractions corresponding to more ordered configurations with traces of crystallization. Specific properties directly related to isostaticity of the force-carrying structure in the rigid limit are discussed. With frictional grains, different preparation procedures result in quite different inner structures that cannot be classified by the sole density. If partly or completely lubricated they will assemble like frictionless ones, approaching the RCP solid fraction Phi_{RCP} approximately 0.639 with a high coordination number: z* approximately =6 on the force-carrying backbone. If compressed with a realistic coefficient of friction mu=0.3 packings stabilize in a loose state with Phi approximately 0.593 and z* approximately =4.5 . And, more surprisingly, an idealized "vibration" procedure, which maintains an agitated, collisional regime up to high densities results in equally small values of z* while Phi is close to the maximum value Phi_{RCP}. Low coordination packings have a large proportion (>10%) of rattlers--grains carrying no force--the effect of which should be accounted for on studying position correlations, and also contain a small proportion of localized "floppy modes" associated with divalent grains. Low-pressure states of frictional packings retain a finite level of force indeterminacy even when assembled with the slowest compression rates simulated, except in the case when the friction coefficient tends to infinity. Different microstructures are characterized in terms of near

Effect of long-range repulsive Coulomb interactions on packing structure of adhesive particles.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Sheng; Li, Shuiqing; Liu, Wenwei; Makse, Hernán A

2016-02-14

The packing of charged micron-sized particles is investigated using discrete element simulations based on adhesive contact dynamic model. The formation process and the final obtained structures of ballistic packings are studied to show the effect of interparticle Coulomb force. It is found that increasing the charge on particles causes a remarkable decrease of the packing volume fraction ϕ and the average coordination number 〈Z〉, indicating a looser and chainlike structure. Force-scaling analysis shows that the long-range Coulomb interaction changes packing structures through its influence on particle inertia before they are bonded into the force networks. Once contact networks are formed, the expansion effect caused by repulsive Coulomb forces are dominated by short-range adhesion. Based on abundant results from simulations, a dimensionless adhesion parameter Ad*, which combines the effects of the particle inertia, the short-range adhesion and the long-range Coulomb interaction, is proposed and successfully scales the packing results for micron-sized particles within the latest derived adhesive loose packing (ALP) regime. The structural properties of our packings follow well the recent theoretical prediction which is described by an ensemble approach based on a coarse-grained volume function, indicating some kind of universality in the low packing density regime of the phase diagram regardless of adhesion or particle charge. Based on the comprehensive consideration of the complicated inter-particle interactions, our findings provide insight into the roles of short-range adhesion and repulsive Coulomb force during packing formation and should be useful for further design of packings.

Heuristics for Multidimensional Packing Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Egeblad, Jens

for a minimum height container required for the items. The main contributions of the thesis are three new heuristics for strip-packing and knapsack packing problems where items are both rectangular and irregular. In the two first papers we describe a heuristic for the multidimensional strip-packing problem...... that is based on a relaxed placement principle. The heuristic starts with a random overlapping placement of items and large container dimensions. From the overlapping placement overlap is reduced iteratively until a non-overlapping placement is found and a new problem is solved with a smaller container size...... of this heuristic are among the best published in the literature both for two- and three-dimensional strip-packing problems for irregular shapes. In the third paper, we introduce a heuristic for two- and three-dimensional rectangular knapsack packing problems. The two-dimensional heuristic uses the sequence pair...

Influence of molecular packing on the corrosion inhibition properties of self-assembled octadecyltrichlorosilane monolayers on silicon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsieh, Shuchen; Chao, Wei-Jay; Lin, Pei-Ying; Hsieh, Chiung-Wen

2014-01-01

Highlights: •Molecular packing plays an important role in determining SAM film properties. •Loose-packed OTS monolayers on silicon were corroded by exposure to KMnO 4 . •Dense-packed OTS SAM films exhibited excellent corrosion protection efficacy. -- Abstract: The corrosion inhibition properties of octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on silicon were investigated. Atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), contact angle (CA), and lateral force microscopy (LFM) were used to determine the OTS film formation time, packing density, and corrosion protection efficacy. The OTS films reached adsorption saturation after 15 s; however, the molecular density continued to increase up to 24 h. The films were exposed to the strong oxidant KMnO 4 , and while 15-s film samples exhibited corrosion after a 1 min exposure, samples with films grown for 24 h were protected even after 24 h

29 CFR 1919.31 - Proof tests-loose gear.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 29 Labor 7 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Proof tests-loose gear. 1919.31 Section 1919.31 Labor... (CONTINUED) GEAR CERTIFICATION Certification of Vessels: Tests and Proof Loads; Heat Treatment; Competent Persons § 1919.31 Proof tests—loose gear. (a) Chains, rings, shackles and other loose gear (whether...

Granular packing as model glass formers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yujie

2017-01-01

Static granular packings are model hard-sphere glass formers. The nature of glass transition has remained a hotly debated issue. We review recent experimental progresses in using granular materials to study glass transitions. We focus on the growth of glass order with five-fold symmetry in granular packings and relate the findings to both geometric frustration and random first-order phase transition theories. (paper)

Quasi-human seniority-order algorithm for unequal circles packing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Dingju

2016-01-01

In the existing methods for solving unequal circles packing problems, the initial configuration is given arbitrarily or randomly, but the impact of different initial configurations for existing packing algorithm to the speed of existing packing algorithm solving unequal circles packing problems is very large. The quasi-human seniority-order algorithm proposed in this paper can generate a better initial configuration for existing packing algorithm to accelerate the speed of existing packing algorithm solving unequal circles packing problems. In experiments, the quasi-human seniority-order algorithm is applied to generate better initial configurations for quasi-physical elasticity methods to solve the unequal circles packing problems, and the experimental results show that the proposed quasi-human seniority-order algorithm can greatly improve the speed of solving the problem.

The determination of gold in activated charcoal by use of a loose-powder technique and x-ray-fluorescence spectrometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balaes, A.M.E.

1984-01-01

The method of analysis described is applicable to samples of activated charcoal with a gold concentration of 15g/t and higher. The use of a loose-powder technique minimizes the time taken for the preparation of samples. A platinum internal standard is used for the correction for matrix effects and for differences that could be caused by the packing of the loose charcoal into liquid-sample cups. The precision of the method ranges from a relative standard deviation of 0,085 to 0,016 for concentrations of gold from 67 to 3800g/t respectively. The agreement between the recommended values for a set of reference samples and the values obtained by the X-ray-fluorescence method is better than 3 per cent. The overall time required for the analysis of ten samples and standards is approximately 1 hour. A detailed laboratory method and a computer programme for the calculations are given as appendices

Impact of Different Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labels on Consumer Purchasing Intentions: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Ducrot, Pauline; Julia, Chantal; Méjean, Caroline; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle; Touvier, Mathilde; Fezeu, Léopold K; Hercberg, Serge; Péneau, Sandrine

2016-05-01

Despite growing evidence supporting the utility of front-of-pack nutrition labels in enabling consumer evaluation of food product healthiness, research on food choices is scarce. This study aims at comparing the impact of front-of-pack nutrition labels on consumers' purchasing intentions. Five-arm, open-label RCT. The study setting was a virtual web-based supermarket, with participants from the French NutriNet-Santé study. The eligibility requirement was grocery shopping involvement. The intervention was to simulate one shopping situation with front-of-pack nutrition labels affixed on food products (December 2014 to March 2015). Participants were randomly assigned to one of five exposure conditions using a central computer system: Guideline Daily Amounts, Multiple Traffic Lights, Five-Color Nutrition Label, Green Tick, or control (no front-of-pack exposure). Given the nature of the intervention, masking of participants was not performed. The primary outcome was the overall nutritional quality of the contents of the shopping cart, estimated using the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency nutrient profiling system. Secondary outcomes included energy and nutrient content of the shopping cart. Impact of the front-of-pack labels was also evaluated across sociodemographic subgroups based on age, educational level, income, and nutrition knowledge. A total of 11,981 participants were included in the analyses (April 2015). The Five-Color Nutrition Label significantly led to the highest overall nutritional quality of the shopping cart, as reflected by lower Food Standards Agency scores (M=8.72; SD=2.75), followed by Multiple Traffic Lights (M=8.97; SD=2.68) and Green Tick (M=8.99; SD=2.71), compared with the control (M=9.34; SD=2.57) (p<0.0001). The Five-Color Nutrition Label was the only front-of-pack format that led to a lower content in lipids, saturated fatty acids, and sodium of the shopping cart (all p<0.05). The impact of the different front-of-pack labels was similar

Advanced loose parts detection system for nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Por, G.; Szappanos, G.

2000-01-01

The importance of loose part detection is discussed. The consequences of a relatively big (7.7 kg) loose part found in a WWER-440 NPP are discussed. A portable loose part monitoring system is presented, which is based on sequential probability ratio test. (author)

Meniscal root entrapment of an osteochondritis dissecans loose body.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Christopher R; McMonagle, Joseph S; Garrett, William E

2014-09-01

Loose bodies are relatively common in the knee. On radiographs they can often be seen in the medial and lateral gutters, intercondylar notch, and the posterior compartment. At times an apparent loose body is not free to move in the knee because it has been covered by synovium and is no longer mobile. It is uncommon for an osteochondral loose body to become incorporated into meniscal tissue. We report a case of an apparent loose body becoming incorporated into the posterior horn and root of the medial meniscus. We are not aware that this condition has been previously reported. Because removing the entire loose body would have destabilized the posterior root of the medial meniscus, it is important to be aware of this potential occurrence.

A linear programming algorithm to test for jamming in hard-sphere packings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donev, Aleksandar; Torquato, Salvatore.; Stillinger, Frank H.; Connelly, Robert

2004-01-01

Jamming in hard-particle packings has been the subject of considerable interest in recent years. In a paper by Torquato and Stillinger [J. Phys. Chem. B 105 (2001)], a classification scheme of jammed packings into hierarchical categories of locally, collectively and strictly jammed configurations has been proposed. They suggest that these jamming categories can be tested using numerical algorithms that analyze an equivalent contact network of the packing under applied displacements, but leave the design of such algorithms as a future task. In this work, we present a rigorous and practical algorithm to assess whether an ideal hard-sphere packing in two or three dimensions is jammed according to the aforementioned categories. The algorithm is based on linear programming and is applicable to regular as well as random packings of finite size with hard-wall and periodic boundary conditions. If the packing is not jammed, the algorithm yields representative multi-particle unjamming motions. Furthermore, we extend the jamming categories and the testing algorithm to packings with significant interparticle gaps. We describe in detail two variants of the proposed randomized linear programming approach to test for jamming in hard-sphere packings. The first algorithm treats ideal packings in which particles form perfect contacts. Another algorithm treats the case of jamming in packings with significant interparticle gaps. This extended algorithm allows one to explore more fully the nature of the feasible particle displacements. We have implemented the algorithms and applied them to ordered as well as random packings of circular disks and spheres with periodic boundary conditions. Some representative results for large disordered disk and sphere packings are given, but more robust and efficient implementations as well as further applications (e.g., non-spherical particles) are anticipated for the future

Hyperuniformity, quasi-long-range correlations, and void-space constraints in maximally random jammed particle packings. II. Anisotropy in particle shape.

Science.gov (United States)

Zachary, Chase E; Jiao, Yang; Torquato, Salvatore

2011-05-01

We extend the results from the first part of this series of two papers by examining hyperuniformity in heterogeneous media composed of impenetrable anisotropic inclusions. Specifically, we consider maximally random jammed (MRJ) packings of hard ellipses and superdisks and show that these systems both possess vanishing infinite-wavelength local-volume-fraction fluctuations and quasi-long-range pair correlations scaling as r(-(d+1)) in d Euclidean dimensions. Our results suggest a strong generalization of a conjecture by Torquato and Stillinger [Phys. Rev. E 68, 041113 (2003)], namely, that all strictly jammed saturated packings of hard particles, including those with size and shape distributions, are hyperuniform with signature quasi-long-range correlations. We show that our arguments concerning the constrained distribution of the void space in MRJ packings directly extend to hard-ellipse and superdisk packings, thereby providing a direct structural explanation for the appearance of hyperuniformity and quasi-long-range correlations in these systems. Additionally, we examine general heterogeneous media with anisotropic inclusions and show unexpectedly that one can decorate a periodic point pattern to obtain a hard-particle system that is not hyperuniform with respect to local-volume-fraction fluctuations. This apparent discrepancy can also be rationalized by appealing to the irregular distribution of the void space arising from the anisotropic shapes of the particles. Our work suggests the intriguing possibility that the MRJ states of hard particles share certain universal features independent of the local properties of the packings, including the packing fraction and average contact number per particle.

To compare efficacy & discomfort in posterior nasal packing with foley's catheters versus bipp gauze packing in cases of posterior epistaxis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M.A.; Ahmed, A.

2015-01-01

To compare efficacy and discomfort in posterior nasal packing with Foley's catheters versus BIPP gauze packing in cases of posterior epistaxis. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Kharian from October 2011 to October 2013. Material and Methods: A total of 206 patients of posterior epistaxis were included in the study through non-probability convenience sampling and randomly divided in two groups of 103 each. In group A patients were treated by posterior nasal packing with Foley's catheter and in group B patients were treated by posterior nasal packing with BIPP gauze and results in terms of control of epistaxis and discomfort during pack insertion, while the packs were in situ and pack removal, based on VAS (Visual Analogue Scale) were observed. Results: Average age in group A was 52.64 years (SD=9.57) and in group B it was 50.27 years (SD ± 10.13). There were 71 (68.9%) males in group A while 67 (65%) males in group B. During posterior nasal pack insertion, the mean pain score in Group A was 6.21 (SD ± I.13) and in Group B was 7.43 (SD ± 1.19). The mean pain score with the pack in situ was 4.27 (SD ± 0.08) in Group A versus 4.76 (SD ± 0.09) Group B. Similarly pack removal was also more painful in group B than group A (6.14 ± 0.91 vs 6.89 ± 1.09) (p =0.000). In the group A, 31 (30.1%) patients had rebleeding after pack removal, out of which 9 (8.7%) had significant bleeding requiring repacking. In 22 (21.4%) cases there was mild bleeding which settled without repacking. In group B 22 (21.4%) patients had rebleeding after pack removal, out of which 5 (4.7%) had significant bleeding requiring repacking. Conclusion: It is concluded that posterior nasal packing with BIPP gauze pack is effective for controlling posterior epistaxis but causes more discomfort to the patients as compared to Foley's catheter packing. (author)

Microstructure Reconstruction of Sheet Molding Composite Using a Random Chips Packing Algorithm

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Tianyu; Xu, Hongyi; Chen, Wei

2017-04-06

Fiber-reinforced polymer composites are strong candidates for structural materials to replace steel and light alloys in lightweight vehicle design because of their low density and relatively high strength. In the integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) development of carbon fiber composites, microstructure reconstruction algorithms are needed to generate material microstructure representative volume element (RVE) based on the material processing information. The microstructure RVE reconstruction enables the material property prediction by finite element analysis (FEA)This paper presents an algorithm to reconstruct the microstructure of a chopped carbon fiber/epoxy laminate material system produced by compression molding, normally known as sheet molding compounds (SMC). The algorithm takes the result from material’s manufacturing process as inputs, such as the orientation tensor of fibers, the chopped fiber sheet geometry, and the fiber volume fraction. The chopped fiber sheets are treated as deformable rectangle chips and a random packing algorithm is developed to pack these chips into a square plate. The RVE is built in a layer-by-layer fashion until the desired number of lamina is reached, then a fine tuning process is applied to finalize the reconstruction. Compared to the previous methods, this new approach has the ability to model bended fibers by allowing limited amount of overlaps of rectangle chips. Furthermore, the method does not need SMC microstructure images, for which the image-based characterization techniques have not been mature enough, as inputs. Case studies are performed and the results show that the statistics of the reconstructed microstructures generated by the algorithm matches well with the target input parameters from processing.

Effect of vacuum packing and temperature on survival and hatching of strongyle eggs in faecal samples

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sengupta, Mita Eva; Thapa, Sundar; Thamsborg, Stig Milan

2016-01-01

Strongyle eggs of helminths of livestock usually hatch within a few hours or days after deposition with faeces. This poses a problem when faecal sampling is performed in the field. As oxygen is needed for embryonic development, it is recommended to reduce air supply during transport and refrigerate....... The present study therefore investigated the combined effect of vacuum packing and temperature on survival of strongyle eggs and their subsequent ability to hatch and develop into L3. Fresh faecal samples were collected from calves infected with Cooperia oncophora, pigs infected with Oesophagostomum dentatum......, and horses infected with Strongylus vulgaris and cyathostomins. The samples were allocated into four treatments: vacuum packing and storage at 5 °C or 20 °C (5 V and 20 V); normal packing in plastic gloves closed with a loose knot and storage at 5 °C or 20 °C (5 N and 20 N). The number of eggs per gram...

Structural characterization of the packings of granular regular polygons.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Chuncheng; Dong, Kejun; Yu, Aibing

2015-12-01

By using a recently developed method for discrete modeling of nonspherical particles, we simulate the random packings of granular regular polygons with three to 11 edges under gravity. The effects of shape and friction on the packing structures are investigated by various structural parameters, including packing fraction, the radial distribution function, coordination number, Voronoi tessellation, and bond-orientational order. We find that packing fraction is generally higher for geometrically nonfrustrated regular polygons, and can be increased by the increase of edge number and decrease of friction. The changes of packing fraction are linked with those of the microstructures, such as the variations of the translational and orientational orders and local configurations. In particular, the free areas of Voronoi tessellations (which are related to local packing fractions) can be described by log-normal distributions for all polygons. The quantitative analyses establish a clearer picture for the packings of regular polygons.

Loose parts monitoring system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wakasa, Kohji; Nishida, Eiichi; Ishii, Kazuo; Yamanaka, Hiroto.

1987-01-01

In the loose parts monitoring system (LPMS), installed for integrity monitoring of the nuclear power plants; when there occur foreign metallic objects in the reactor primary system, including a steam generator and the piping, the sounds caused by them moving with the cooling water and thereby getting in contact with various structures are detected. Its purpose is, therefore, to detect any abnormality in the reactor plant system through such abnormal sounds due to loose or fallen supports etc., and so provide this information to the reactor operators. In principle, accelerometers are distributed in such as reactor vessel, steam generator, coolant pumps, etc., so that various sounds are collected and converted into electrical signals, followed by analysis of the data. Described are the LPMS configuration/functions, the course taken in LPMS development, future problems, etc. (Mori, K.)

Effect of packing fraction variations on reactivity in pebble-bed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snoj, L.; Ravnik, M.

2004-01-01

The pebble-bed reactor (PBR) core consists of large number of randomly packed spherical fuel elements. The effect of fuel element packing density variations on multiplication factor in a typical PBR is studied using WIMS code. It is observed that at normal conditions the k-eff increases with packing fraction. Effects of secondary coolant ingress (water or molten lead) in the core at accidental conditions are studied at various packing densities. The effect of water ingress on reactivity depends strongly on water density and packing fraction and is prevailingly positive, while the lead ingress reduces multiplication factor regardless of lead effective density and packing fraction. Both effects are stronger at lower packing fractions. (author)

Arthroscopic treatment of bony loose bodies in the subacromial space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Li

2015-01-01

Conclusion: The mechanism of formation of bony loose bodies is not clear, may be associated with synovial cartilage metaplasia. Arthroscopic removal of loose bodies and bursa debridement is a good option for treatment of the loose body in the subacromial space, which can receive good function.

Differences between tight and loose cultures : A 33-nation study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gelfand, M.J.; Raver, R.L.; Nishii, L.; Leslie, L.M.; Lun, J.; Lim, B.C.; Van de Vliert, E.

2011-01-01

With data from 33 nations, we illustrate the differences between cultures that are tight (have many strong norms and a low tolerance of deviant behavior) versus loose (have weak social norms and a high tolerance of deviant behavior). Tightness-looseness is part of a complex, loosely integrated

The Story of Closely and Loosely Coupled Organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Plowman, Travis S.

1998-01-01

Examines five types of collegiate organizations (collegial, bureaucratic, political, anarchical, cybernetic) in terms of their interactiveness within closely and loosely coupled organizations. The terminology of closely and loosely coupled organizations is examined and existing definitions are refined. Examples are drawn from contemporary…

Factors Associated with Prosthetic Looseness in Lower Limb Amputees.

Science.gov (United States)

Phonghanyudh, Thong; Sutpasanon, Taweesak; Hathaiareerug, Chanasak; Devakula, M L Buddhibongsa; Kumnerddee, Wipoo

2015-12-01

To determine the factors associated with prosthetic looseness in lower limb amputees in Sisaket province. The present was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Subjects were lower limb amputees who previously obtained prostheses and required prosthetic replacements at the mobile prosthetic laboratory unit under the Prostheses Foundation of H.R.H. the Princess Mother at Khun Han Hospital, Sisaket province, in February 2013. Data including participant characteristics, prosthetic looseness data, and various variables were collected by direct semi-structured interview. Energy expenditures in physical activities were measured using the Thai version of the short format international physical activity questionnaire. Data between participants with and without prosthetic looseness were compared to determine prosthetic loosening associated factors. Among 101 participants enrolled, 33 (32.7%) had prosthetic looseness with average onset of 1.76 ± 1.67 years. Diabetes mellitus was the only significant factor associated with prosthetic looseness from both univariate and multivariate analyses (HR = 7.05, p = 0.002 and HR = 5.93, p = 0.007 respectively). Among the lower limb amputees in Sisaket province, diabetes mellitus was the only factor associated with prosthetic looseness. Therefore, diabetic screening should be supplemented in lower limb amputee assessment protocol. In addition, we recommend that amputees with diabetes mellitus should receive prosthesis check out at approximately

Performance and regeneration of a pellet-packed-bed diesel-particulate trap; Ryutai jutenso diesel biryushi trap no seino oyobi saisei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shioji, M; Nakai, S; Ikegami, M [Kyoto University, Kyoto (Japan); Hori, Y [Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd., Shizuoka (Japan)

1997-10-01

This paper demonstrates with the feasibility of a pellet-packed bed for trapping diesel particulates. After making pellets loose from the packed condition, regeneration is established by a circulation of pellets in the trap and collected particulates are efficiently dropped out through the wire mesh on the bottom of the trap. An experimental trap with the pellet-circulation system using a spiral feeder is tested on a single-cylinder test engine to show the trap and regeneration efficiencies. In addition, the condition of pellet circulation is observed using the transparent cylinder, based on which the design of pellet and trap sizes are discussed. 6 refs., 10 figs.

Goddard rattler-jamming mechanism for quantifying pressure dependence of elastic moduli of grain packs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pride, Steven R.; Berryman, James G.

2009-01-05

An analysis is presented to show how it is possible for unconsolidated granular packings to obey overall non-Hertzian pressure dependence due to the imperfect and random spatial arrangements of the grains in these packs. With imperfect arrangement, some gaps that remain between grains can be closed by strains applied to the grain packing. As these gaps are closed, former rattler grains become jammed and new stress-bearing contacts are created that increase the elastic stiffness of the packing. By allowing for such a mechanism, detailed analytical expressions are obtained for increases in bulk modulus of a random packing of grains with increasing stress and strain. Only isotropic stress and strain are considered in this analysis. The model is shown to give a favorable fit to laboratory data on variations in bulk modulus due to variations in applied pressure for bead packs.

Effect of Fentanyl Nasal Packing Treatment on Patients With Acute Postoperative Pain After Nasal Operation: A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kwan-Sub; Yeo, Nam-Kyung; Kim, Seong-Su; Park, Woong-Sub; Kwak, Su-Hyun; Cho, Sang-Hyeon; Sung, Gyu-Wan; Kim, Hae-Sook; Yi, Sang-Wook; Cho, Hae Jun

2018-05-01

Nasal packing is an option for bleeding control after endoscopic sinus surgery and septoplasty. Although new packing materials have been developed, patients still suffer from pain and require additional analgesics treatments. In this study, a prospective, randomized, and double-blind controlled trial was designed to evaluate the effect of fentanyl-soaked packing on pain after endoscopic sinus surgery and septoplasty. One hundred fifty-two patients who underwent nasal surgeries due to chronic rhinosinusitis or nasal septal deviation were enrolled in this study. At the end of operation, 50 mcg fentanyl-soaked biodegradable synthetic polyurethane foams packing Nasopore or Merocel were applied to a group of 79 patients, and saline-soaked ones were applied to another group of 73 patients. To evaluate the influence of fentanyl on postoperative nasal pain, patients' conditions were assessed via means of Numeric Rating Scale, patient satisfaction, and Ramsay Sedation Scale. In addition, symptoms of headache or sore throat and any signs of cardiopulmonary-relevant indicators were monitored. The fentanyl group had significantly decreased Numeric Rating Scale and increased patient satisfaction in every operation type for the majority of postoperative time periods ( P fentanyl group showed a higher score on Ramsay Sedation Scale than the control group ( P .05). Fentanyl group showed significantly reduced postoperative pain without serious adverse effects. We suggest that topical fentanyl application to nasal packs can be a useful method to reduce pain during the early postoperative period after endoscopic sinus surgery and septoplasty.

Method for immobilizing particulate materials in a packed bed

Science.gov (United States)

Even, Jr., William R.; Guthrie, Stephen E.; Raber, Thomas N.; Wally, Karl; Whinnery, LeRoy L.; Zifer, Thomas

1999-01-01

The present invention pertains generally to immobilizing particulate matter contained in a "packed" bed reactor so as to prevent powder migration, compaction, coalescence, or the like. More specifically, this invention relates to a technique for immobilizing particulate materials using a microporous foam-like polymer such that a) the particulate retains its essential chemical nature, b) the local movement of the particulate particles is not unduly restricted, c) bulk powder migration and is prevented, d) physical and chemical access to the particulate is unchanged over time, and e) very high particulate densities are achieved. The immobilized bed of the present invention comprises a vessel for holding particulate matter, inlet and an outlet ports or fittings, a loosely packed bed of particulate material contained within the vessel, and a three dimensional porous matrix for surrounding and confining the particles thereby fixing the movement of individual particle to a limited local position. The established matrix is composed of a series of cells or chambers comprising walls surrounding void space, each wall forming the wall of an adjacent cell; each wall containing many holes penetrating through the wall yielding an overall porous structure and allowing useful levels of gas transport.

Random sequential adsorption of cubes

Science.gov (United States)

Cieśla, Michał; Kubala, Piotr

2018-01-01

Random packings built of cubes are studied numerically using a random sequential adsorption algorithm. To compare the obtained results with previous reports, three different models of cube orientation sampling were used. Also, three different cube-cube intersection algorithms were tested to find the most efficient one. The study focuses on the mean saturated packing fraction as well as kinetics of packing growth. Microstructural properties of packings were analyzed using density autocorrelation function.

Loose Cigarette Purchasing and Nondaily Smoking Among Young Adult Bar Patrons in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Guillory, Jamie; Johns, Michael; Farley, Shannon M; Ling, Pamela M

2015-08-01

We examined loose cigarette (loosie) purchasing behavior among young adult (aged 18-26 years) smokers at bars in New York City and factors associated with purchase and use. Between June and December 2013, we conducted cross-sectional surveys (n = 1916) in randomly selected bars and nightclubs. Using multivariable logistic regression models, we examined associations of loose cigarette purchasing and use with smoking frequency, price, social norms, cessation behaviors, and demographics. Forty-five percent (n = 621) of nondaily smokers and 57% (n = 133) of daily smokers had ever purchased a loosie; 15% of nondaily smokers and 4% of daily smokers reported that their last cigarette was a loosie. Nondaily smokers who never smoked daily were more likely than were daily smokers to have last smoked a loosie (odds ratio = 7.27; 95% confidence interval = 2.35, 22.48). Quitting behaviors and perceived approval of smoking were associated with ever purchasing and recently smoking loosies. Loosie purchase and use is common among young adults, especially nondaily smokers. Smoking patterns and attitudes should be considered to reduce loose cigarette purchasing among young adults in New York City.

Giant peritoneal loose bodies

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-03-27

Mar 27, 2015 ... not be familiar with the entity, can potentially be confused with malignant or parasitic lesions. Familiarity with their characteristic computed tomographic ... preventing unnecessary surgical intervention in an asymptomatic patient.3,4 It is important to differentiate giant peritoneal loose bodies from lesions such ...

Sensitivity analysis of Immersed Boundary Method simulations of fluid flow in dense polydisperse random grain packings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Knight Chris

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Polydisperse granular materials are ubiquitous in nature and industry. Despite this, knowledge of the momentum coupling between the fluid and solid phases in dense saturated grain packings comes almost exclusively from empirical correlations [2–4, 8] with monosized media. The Immersed Boundary Method (IBM is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD modelling technique capable of resolving pore scale fluid flow and fluid-particle interaction forces in polydisperse media at the grain scale. Validation of the IBM in the low Reynolds number, high concentration limit was performed by comparing simulations of flow through ordered arrays of spheres with the boundary integral results of Zick and Homsy [10]. Random grain packings were studied with linearly graded particle size distributions with a range of coefficient of uniformity values (Cu = 1.01, 1.50, and 2.00 at a range of concentrations (ϕ ∈ [0.396; 0.681] in order to investigate the influence of polydispersity on drag and permeability. The sensitivity of the IBM results to the choice of radius retraction parameter [1] was investigated and a comparison was made between the predicted forces and the widely used Ergun correlation [3].

Creep of granulated loose-fill insulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

This report presents a proposal for a standardised method for creep tests and the necessary theoretical framework that can be used to describe creep of a granulated loose-fill material. Furthermore results from a round robin test are shown. The round robin test was carried out in collaboration...... with SP-Building Physics in Sweden and VTT Building Technology in Finland. For the round robin test a cellulosic fibre insulation material was used. The proposed standardised method for creep tests and theories are limited to cases when the granulated loose-fill material is exposed to a constant...

[Effect of Transcutaneous Acupoint Electrical Stimulation on Hemodynamic Fluctuation Caused by Loosing Tourniquet in Elderly Patients Undergoing Knee Joint Replacement].

Science.gov (United States)

Liang, Han-Sheng; Feng, Yi

2017-12-25

To observe the effect of transcutaneous acupoint electrical stimulation (TAES) on hemodynamic fluctuation caused by loosing tourniquet in the elderly patients undergoing knee joint replacement. A total of 60 ASA (America Society Anesthesiologist) I or II elderly patients for elective knee joint replacement surgery were randomly divided into control group (30 cases) and TAES group (30 cases). Patients of both groups were treated by intravenous anesthesia, and monitored with bispectral index (BIS, between 45－60) for anesthesia depth, stroke volume variation (SVV) for fluid management, mean arterial pressure (MAP) and cardiac index (CI) for hemodynamic fluctuation evaluation, and with analgesia nociception index (ANI, between 50－70) for remifentanil dosage adjustment. TAES (2 Hz/100 Hz, 8－20 mA) was applied to bilateral Xinshu (BL 15), Feishu (BL 13), Neiguan (PC 6) and Hegu (LI 4) acupoints for 30 min first (followed by anesthesia induction and operation), and given continuously until 15 min after tourniquet loosing. Patients of the control group were only given with electrodes attachment without electrical stimulation. The levels of MAP, CI, and arterial blood pH, PaCO 2 , PaO 2 , base excess (BE) and lactic acid (Lac) 1 min before, and 5 and 15 min after tourniquet loosing, and the dosages of remifentanil and ephedrine after tourniquet loosing were recorded. The changed levels of MAP, CI and blood Lac at 5 min after tourniquet loosing (relevant to the baseline levels), and blood Lac content at 15 min after tourniquet loosing (relevant to 5 min after tourniquet loosing) were significantly lower in the TAES group than in the control group ( P 0.05). TAES has a positive effect on hemodynamics fluctuation caused by loosing tourniquet in the aged patients undergoing knee joint replacement.

The influence of bamboo-packed configuration to mixing characteristics in a fixed-bed reactor

Science.gov (United States)

Detalina, M.; Pradanawati, S. A.; Widyarani; Mamat; Nilawati, D.; Sintawardani, N.

2018-03-01

Fixed-bed reactors are commonly used as bioreactors for various applications, including chemicals production and organic wastewater treatment. Bioreactors are fixed with packing materials for attaching microorganisms. Packing materials should have high surface area and enable sufficient fluid flow in the reactor. Natural materials e.g. rocks and fibres are often used as packing materials. Commercially, packing materials are also produced from polymer with the advantage of customizable shapes. The objective of this research was to study the mixing pattern in a packed-bed reactor using bamboo as packing material. Bamboo was selected for its pipe-like and porous form, as well as its abundant availability in Indonesia. The cut bamboo sticks were installed in a reactor in different configurations namely vertical, horizontal, and random. Textile dye was used as a tracer. Our results show that the vertical configuration gave the least liquid resistant flow. Yet, the random configuration was the best configuration during mixing process.

Software support for irregular and loosely synchronous problems

Science.gov (United States)

Choudhary, A.; Fox, G.; Hiranandani, S.; Kennedy, K.; Koelbel, C.; Ranka, S.; Saltz, J.

1992-01-01

A large class of scientific and engineering applications may be classified as irregular and loosely synchronous from the perspective of parallel processing. We present a partial classification of such problems. This classification has motivated us to enhance FORTRAN D to provide language support for irregular, loosely synchronous problems. We present techniques for parallelization of such problems in the context of FORTRAN D.

Infrared thermography of loose hangingwalls

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kononov, VA

2002-09-01

Full Text Available This project is the continuation of GAP706 “Pre-feasibility investigation of infrared thermography for the identification of loose hangingwall and impending falls of ground”. The main concept behind the infrared thermography method...

The benefits of hypopharyngeal packing in nasal surgery: a pilot study.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Fennessy, B G

2012-02-01

BACKGROUND: Hypopharyngeal packs are used in nasal surgery to reduce the risk of aspiration and postoperative nausea and vomiting. Side effects associated with their use range from throat pain to retained packs postoperatively. AIM: To evaluate, as a pilot study, postoperative nausea\\/vomiting and throat pain scores for patients undergoing nasal surgery in whom a wet or dry hypopharyngeal pack was placed compared with patients who received no packing. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind prospective trial in a general ENT unit. RESULTS: The study failed to show a statistically significant difference between the three groups in terms of their postoperative nausea\\/vomiting and throat pain scores at 2 and 6 h postoperatively. This is the first study in which dry packs have been compared with wet and absent packs. CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, the authors recommend against placing hypopharyngeal packs for the purpose of preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting.

Does addition of `mud-pack and hot pool treatment' to patient education make a difference in fibromyalgia patients? A randomized controlled single blind study

Science.gov (United States)

Bağdatlı, Ali Osman; Donmez, Arif; Eröksüz, Rıza; Bahadır, Güler; Turan, Mustafa; Erdoğan, Nergis

2015-12-01

The aim of this randomized controlled single-blind study is to explore whether addition of mud-pack and hot pool treatments to patient education make a significant difference in short and mild term outcomes of the patients with fibromyalgia. Seventy women with fibromyalgia syndrome were randomly assigned to either balneotherapy with mud-pack and hot pool treatments (35) or control (35) groups. After randomization, five patients from balneotherapy group and five patients from control group were dropped out from the study with different excuses. All patients had 6-h patient education programme about fibromyalgia syndrome and were given a home exercise programme. The patients in balneotherapy group had heated pool treatment at 38 °C for 20 min a day, and mud-pack treatment afterwards on back region at 45 °C. Balneotherapy was applied on weekdays for 2 weeks. All patients continued to take their medical treatment. An investigator who was blinded to the intervention assessed all the patients before and after the treatment, at the first and the third months of follow-up. Outcome measures were FIQ, BDI and both patient's and physician's global assessments. Balneotherapy group was significantly better than control group at after the treatment and at the end of the first month follow-up assessments in terms of patient's and physician's global assessment, total FIQ score, and pain intensity, fatigue, non-refreshed awaking, stiffness, anxiety and depression subscales of FIQ. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of BDI scores. It is concluded that patient education combined with 2 weeks balneotherapy application has more beneficial effects in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome as compared to patient education alone.

Does addition of 'mud-pack and hot pool treatment' to patient education make a difference in fibromyalgia patients? A randomized controlled single blind study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bağdatlı, Ali Osman; Donmez, Arif; Eröksüz, Rıza; Bahadır, Güler; Turan, Mustafa; Erdoğan, Nergis

2015-12-01

The aim of this randomized controlled single-blind study is to explore whether addition of mud-pack and hot pool treatments to patient education make a significant difference in short and mild term outcomes of the patients with fibromyalgia. Seventy women with fibromyalgia syndrome were randomly assigned to either balneotherapy with mud-pack and hot pool treatments (35) or control (35) groups. After randomization, five patients from balneotherapy group and five patients from control group were dropped out from the study with different excuses. All patients had 6-h patient education programme about fibromyalgia syndrome and were given a home exercise programme. The patients in balneotherapy group had heated pool treatment at 38 °C for 20 min a day, and mud-pack treatment afterwards on back region at 45 °C. Balneotherapy was applied on weekdays for 2 weeks. All patients continued to take their medical treatment. An investigator who was blinded to the intervention assessed all the patients before and after the treatment, at the first and the third months of follow-up. Outcome measures were FIQ, BDI and both patient's and physician's global assessments. Balneotherapy group was significantly better than control group at after the treatment and at the end of the first month follow-up assessments in terms of patient's and physician's global assessment, total FIQ score, and pain intensity, fatigue, non-refreshed awaking, stiffness, anxiety and depression subscales of FIQ. No significant difference was found between the groups in terms of BDI scores. It is concluded that patient education combined with 2 weeks balneotherapy application has more beneficial effects in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome as compared to patient education alone.

Loose parts monitoring in light water reactor cooling systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, A.; Alma, B.J.

1982-01-01

The work related to loose monitoring system for light water reactor, developed at GRS - Munique, are described. The basic problems due to the exact localization and detection of the loose part as well the research activities and development necessary aiming to obtain the best techniques in this field. (E.G.) [pt

Computational study of fluid flow and heat transfer in composite packed beds of spheres with low tube to particle diameter ratio

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, Jian; Wu, Jiangquan; Zhou, Lang; Wang, Qiuwang

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Flow and heat transfer in composite packed beds with low d_t/d_p_e are investigated. • The wall effect would be restrained with radially layered composite packing (RLM). • Heat flux and overall heat transfer efficiency can be improved with RLM packing. - Abstract: The effect of the tube wall on the fluid flow and heat transfer would be important in the packed bed with low tube to particle diameter ratio, which may lead to flow and temperature maldistributions inside, and the heat transfer performance may be lowered. In the present paper, the flow and heat transfer performances in both the composite and uniform packed beds of spheres with low tube to particle diameter were numerically investigated, where the composite packing means randomly packing with non-uniform spheres and the uniform packing means randomly packing with uniform spheres, including radially layered composite packing (RLM), axially layered composite packing (ALM), randomly composite packing (RCM) and randomly uniform packing (RPM). Both the composite and uniform packings were generated with discrete element method (DEM), and the influence of the wall effect on the flow and heat transfer in the packed beds were carefully studied and compared with each other. Firstly, it is found that, the wall effect on the velocity and temperature distributions in the randomly packed bed of uniform spheres (RPM) with low tube to particle diameter ratio were obvious. The average velocity of the near-tube-wall region is higher than that of the inner-tube region in the bed. When the tube wall is adiabatic, the average temperature of the near-tube-wall region is lower. With radially layered composite packing method (RLM), smaller pores would be formed close to the tube wall and big flow channels would be formed in the inner-tube region of the bed, which would be benefit to restrain the wall effect and improve heat transfer in the bed with low tube to particle diameter ratio. Furthermore, it is also

Computational study of fluid flow and heat transfer in composite packed beds of spheres with low tube to particle diameter ratio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Jian, E-mail: yangjian81@mail.xjtu.edu.cn [Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049 (China); Wu, Jiangquan [CSR Research of Electrical Technology and Material Engineering, Zhuzhou, Hunan 412001 (China); Zhou, Lang; Wang, Qiuwang [Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049 (China)

2016-04-15

Highlights: • Flow and heat transfer in composite packed beds with low d{sub t}/d{sub pe} are investigated. • The wall effect would be restrained with radially layered composite packing (RLM). • Heat flux and overall heat transfer efficiency can be improved with RLM packing. - Abstract: The effect of the tube wall on the fluid flow and heat transfer would be important in the packed bed with low tube to particle diameter ratio, which may lead to flow and temperature maldistributions inside, and the heat transfer performance may be lowered. In the present paper, the flow and heat transfer performances in both the composite and uniform packed beds of spheres with low tube to particle diameter were numerically investigated, where the composite packing means randomly packing with non-uniform spheres and the uniform packing means randomly packing with uniform spheres, including radially layered composite packing (RLM), axially layered composite packing (ALM), randomly composite packing (RCM) and randomly uniform packing (RPM). Both the composite and uniform packings were generated with discrete element method (DEM), and the influence of the wall effect on the flow and heat transfer in the packed beds were carefully studied and compared with each other. Firstly, it is found that, the wall effect on the velocity and temperature distributions in the randomly packed bed of uniform spheres (RPM) with low tube to particle diameter ratio were obvious. The average velocity of the near-tube-wall region is higher than that of the inner-tube region in the bed. When the tube wall is adiabatic, the average temperature of the near-tube-wall region is lower. With radially layered composite packing method (RLM), smaller pores would be formed close to the tube wall and big flow channels would be formed in the inner-tube region of the bed, which would be benefit to restrain the wall effect and improve heat transfer in the bed with low tube to particle diameter ratio. Furthermore, it

Packing simulation code to calculate distribution function of hard spheres by Monte Carlo method : MCRDF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murata, Isao; Mori, Takamasa; Nakagawa, Masayuki; Shirai, Hiroshi.

1996-03-01

High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) employ spherical fuels named coated fuel particles (CFPs) consisting of a microsphere of low enriched UO 2 with coating layers in order to prevent FP release. There exist many spherical fuels distributed randomly in the cores. Therefore, the nuclear design of HTGRs is generally performed on the basis of the multigroup approximation using a diffusion code, S N transport code or group-wise Monte Carlo code. This report summarizes a Monte Carlo hard sphere packing simulation code to simulate the packing of equal hard spheres and evaluate the necessary probability distribution of them, which is used for the application of the new Monte Carlo calculation method developed to treat randomly distributed spherical fuels with the continuous energy Monte Carlo method. By using this code, obtained are the various statistical values, namely Radial Distribution Function (RDF), Nearest Neighbor Distribution (NND), 2-dimensional RDF and so on, for random packing as well as ordered close packing of FCC and BCC. (author)

Evidence for close side-chain packing in an early protein folding intermediate previously assumed to be a molten globule.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosen, Laura E; Connell, Katelyn B; Marqusee, Susan

2014-10-14

The molten globule, a conformational ensemble with significant secondary structure but only loosely packed tertiary structure, has been suggested to be a ubiquitous intermediate in protein folding. However, it is difficult to assess the tertiary packing of transiently populated species to evaluate this hypothesis. Escherichia coli RNase H is known to populate an intermediate before the rate-limiting barrier to folding that has long been thought to be a molten globule. We investigated this hypothesis by making mimics of the intermediate that are the ground-state conformation at equilibrium, using two approaches: a truncation to generate a fragment mimic of the intermediate, and selective destabilization of the native state using point mutations. Spectroscopic characterization and the response of the mimics to further mutation are consistent with studies on the transient kinetic intermediate, indicating that they model the early intermediate. Both mimics fold cooperatively and exhibit NMR spectra indicative of a closely packed conformation, in contrast to the hypothesis of molten tertiary packing. This result is important for understanding the nature of the subsequent rate-limiting barrier to folding and has implications for the assumption that many other proteins populate molten globule folding intermediates.

HTR-proteus pebble bed experimental program core 4: random packing with a 1:1 moderator-to-fuel pebble ratio

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bess, John D. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Montierth, Leland M. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Sterbentz, James W. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Briggs, J. Blair [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Gougar, Hans D. [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Snoj, Luka [Jozef Stefan Inst. (IJS), Ljubljana (Slovenia); Lengar, Igor [Jozef Stefan Inst. (IJS), Ljubljana (Slovenia); Koberl, Oliver [Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)

2014-03-01

In its deployment as a pebble bed reactor (PBR) critical facility from 1992 to 1996, the PROTEUS facility was designated as HTR-PROTEUS. This experimental program was performed as part of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the Validation of Safety Related Physics Calculations for Low Enriched HTGRs. Within this project, critical experiments were conducted for graphite moderated LEU systems to determine core reactivity, flux and power profiles, reaction-rate ratios, the worth of control rods, both in-core and reflector based, the worth of burnable poisons, kinetic parameters, and the effects of moisture ingress on these parameters. One benchmark experiment was evaluated in this report: Core 4. Core 4 represents the only configuration with random pebble packing in the HTR-PROTEUS series of experiments, and has a moderator-to-fuel pebble ratio of 1:1. Three random configurations were performed. The initial configuration, Core 4.1, was rejected because the method for pebble loading, separate delivery tubes for the moderator and fuel pebbles, may not have been completely random; this core loading was rejected by the experimenters. Cores 4.2 and 4.3 were loaded using a single delivery tube, eliminating the possibility for systematic ordering effects. The second and third cores differed slightly in the quantity of pebbles loaded (40 each of moderator and fuel pebbles), stacked height of the pebbles in the core cavity (0.02 m), withdrawn distance of the stainless steel control rods (20 mm), and withdrawn distance of the autorod (30 mm). The 34 coolant channels in the upper axial reflector and the 33 coolant channels in the lower axial reflector were open. Additionally, the axial graphite fillers used in all other HTR-PROTEUS configurations to create a 12-sided core cavity were not used in the randomly packed cores. Instead, graphite fillers were placed on the cavity floor, creating a funnel-like base, to discourage ordering

HTR-PROTEUS PEBBLE BED EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAM CORE 4: RANDOM PACKING WITH A 1:1 MODERATOR-TO-FUEL PEBBLE RATIO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

John D. Bess; Leland M. Montierth

2013-03-01

In its deployment as a pebble bed reactor (PBR) critical facility from 1992 to 1996, the PROTEUS facility was designated as HTR-PROTEUS. This experimental program was performed as part of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Coordinated Research Project (CRP) on the Validation of Safety Related Physics Calculations for Low Enriched HTGRs. Within this project, critical experiments were conducted for graphite moderated LEU systems to determine core reactivity, flux and power profiles, reaction-rate ratios, the worth of control rods, both in-core and reflector based, the worth of burnable poisons, kinetic parameters, and the effects of moisture ingress on these parameters. One benchmark experiment was evaluated in this report: Core 4. Core 4 represents the only configuration with random pebble packing in the HTR-PROTEUS series of experiments, and has a moderator-to-fuel pebble ratio of 1:1. Three random configurations were performed. The initial configuration, Core 4.1, was rejected because the method for pebble loading, separate delivery tubes for the moderator and fuel pebbles, may not have been completely random; this core loading was rejected by the experimenters. Cores 4.2 and 4.3 were loaded using a single delivery tube, eliminating the possibility for systematic ordering effects. The second and third cores differed slightly in the quantity of pebbles loaded (40 each of moderator and fuel pebbles), stacked height of the pebbles in the core cavity (0.02 m), withdrawn distance of the stainless steel control rods (20 mm), and withdrawn distance of the autorod (30 mm). The 34 coolant channels in the upper axial reflector and the 33 coolant channels in the lower axial reflector were open. Additionally, the axial graphite fillers used in all other HTR-PROTEUS configurations to create a 12-sided core cavity were not used in the randomly packed cores. Instead, graphite fillers were placed on the cavity floor, creating a funnel-like base, to discourage ordering

Boundary conditions in random sequential adsorption

Science.gov (United States)

Cieśla, Michał; Ziff, Robert M.

2018-04-01

The influence of different boundary conditions on the density of random packings of disks is studied. Packings are generated using the random sequential adsorption algorithm with three different types of boundary conditions: periodic, open, and wall. It is found that the finite size effects are smallest for periodic boundary conditions, as expected. On the other hand, in the case of open and wall boundaries it is possible to introduce an effective packing size and a constant correction term to significantly improve the packing densities.

Young Nearby Loose Associations

Science.gov (United States)

Torres, C. A. O.; Quast, G. R.; Melo, C. H. F.; Sterzik, M. F.

2008-12-01

A significant population of stars with ages younger than the Pleiades exists in the solar neighborhood. They are grouped in loose young associations, sharing similar kinematical and physical properties, but, due to their vicinity to the Sun, they are dispersed in the sky, and hard to identify. Their strong stellar coronal activity, causing enhanced X-ray emission, allows them to be identified as counterparts of X-ray sources. The analysis presented here is based mainly on the SACY project, aimed to survey in a systematic way counterparts of ROSAT all-sky X-ray sources in the Southern Hemisphere for which proper motions are known. We give the definition, main properties, and lists of high-probability members of nine confirmed loose young associations that do not belong directly to the well-known Oph-Sco-Cen complex. The youth and vicinity of many members of these new associations make them ideal targets for follow-up studies, specifically geared towards the understanding of planetary system formation. Searches for very low-mass and brown dwarf companions are ongoing, and it will be promising to search for planetary companions with next generation instruments.

Incoherent and coherent backscattering of light by a layer of densely packed random medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tishkovets, Victor P. [Institute of Radio Astronomy of NASU, 4 Chervonopraporna Street, Kharkiv 61002 (Ukraine)], E-mail: tishkovets@ira.kharkov.ua

2007-12-15

The problem of light scattering by a layer of densely packed discrete random medium is considered. The theory of light scattering by systems of nonspherical particles is applied to derive equations corresponding to incoherent (diffuse) and interference parts of radiation reflected from the medium. A solution of the system of linear equations describing light scattering by a system of particles is represented by iteration. It is shown that the symmetry properties of the T-matrices and of the translation coefficients for the vector Helmholtz harmonics lead to the reciprocity relation for an arbitrary iteration. This relation is applied to consider the backscattering enhancement phenomenon. Equations expressing the incoherent and interference parts of reflected light from statistically homogeneous and isotropic plane-parallel layer of medium are given. In the exact backscattering direction the relation between incoherent and interference parts is identical to that of sparse media.

Development of an enhanced loose parts monitoring system (LPMS)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Y. C.; Park, J. H.; Yoon, D. B.; Choi, K. S.; Sohn, C. H.

2006-01-01

LPMS (loose parts monitoring system) is one of the most important structural integrity monitoring systems. It is operated for a early detection of the impacts by loosened or detached metallic, objects on the primary pressure boundary in a nuclear power plant. The impacted parts might cause flow blockage in the fuel channel, prevent the control rod from moving properly, damage the pump impeller, and give rise to cracks on the steam generator tube sheet, etc. In Korea, The LPMS is currently operating in all of the nuclear power plants as a subsystem in the NIMS (NSSS Integrity Monitoring System), However the performances are being deteriorated in both the hardware and software since it was designed in 1980's. In particular the system is not capable of promptly responding to the continuously triggered impacts in a short period failing to monitor the real loose parts. Also the diagnostic tools to estimate the location and the mass or energy of the impact source have not been reflected. Therefore, a new loose parts monitoring system has been developed to improve the capabilities of the current one and ultimately to replace it. An enhanced Loose Parts Monitoring System(LPMS) has been developed by KAERI(Korea Atomic Energy Research Inst.), not only to improve the performance of an on-line signal processing for a monitoring system but also to enhance the evaluation technique of the true impact signals by loose parts. This new system has taken into account the state-of-the-art technology to cover the problems with the conventional system. (authors)

Matching and Compression of Strings with Automata and Word Packing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skjoldjensen, Frederik Rye; Gørtz, Inge Li; Thomassen, Carsten

pattern queries. In the deterministic variant the goal is to solve the string indexing problem without any randomization (at preprocessing time or query time). In the packed variant the strings are stored with several character in a single word, giving us the opportunity to read multiple characters...... in (deterministic) time O (m= + logm + log log ) ; where = w= log is the number of characters packed in a word of size w = (log n). Our query time is always at least as good as the previous best known bounds and whenever several characters are packed in a word, i.e., log w, the query times are faster. Dynamic...

Impact of Australia's introduction of tobacco plain packs on adult smokers’ pack-related perceptions and responses: results from a continuous tracking survey

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlop, Sally M; Dobbins, Timothy; Young, Jane M; Perez, Donna; Currow, David C

2014-01-01

Objectives To investigate the impact of Australia's plain tobacco packaging policy on two stated purposes of the legislation—increasing the impact of health warnings and decreasing the promotional appeal of packaging—among adult smokers. Design Serial cross-sectional study with weekly telephone surveys (April 2006–May 2013). Interrupted time-series analyses using ARIMA modelling and linear regression models were used to investigate intervention effects. Participants 15 745 adult smokers (aged 18 years and above) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Random selection of participants involved recruiting households using random digit dialling and selecting the nth oldest smoker for interview. Intervention The introduction of the legislation on 1 October 2012. Outcomes Salience of tobacco pack health warnings, cognitive and emotional responses to warnings, avoidance of warnings, perceptions regarding one's cigarette pack. Results Adjusting for background trends, seasonality, antismoking advertising activity and cigarette costliness, results from ARIMA modelling showed that, 2–3 months after the introduction of the new packs, there was a significant increase in the absolute proportion of smokers having strong cognitive (9.8% increase, p=0.005), emotional (8.6% increase, p=0.01) and avoidant (9.8% increase, p=0.0005) responses to on-pack health warnings. Similarly, there was a significant increase in the proportion of smokers strongly disagreeing that the look of their cigarette pack is attractive (57.5% increase, pbrand they buy (40.6% increase, p<0.0001), makes their pack stand out (55.6% increase, p<0.0001), is fashionable (44.7% increase, p<0.0001) and matches their style (48.1% increase, p<0.0001). Changes in these outcomes were maintained 6 months postintervention. Conclusions The introductory effects of the plain packaging legislation among adult smokers are consistent with the specific objectives of the legislation in regard to reducing promotional

Investigation of CT picture in so-called loose shoulder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuroda, Shigehito; Sakamaki, Hiroshi; Matsuoka, Akira; Moriishi, Takeji; Takada, Keiichi.

1985-01-01

CT picture of the shoulder joint was analyzed in 124 shoulders (114 patients). A line perpendicular to a given line between the precornu of acetabular tegmen (A) and the postcornu of acetabular tegmen (B) was drawn and the intersection where the line and the caput humeri meet (C) was obtained. The angle of CAB was defined as the backward angular aperture of the acetabular tegmen. The angular aperture was 26.2 0 +-1.9 in 16 so-called loose shoulders, 17.3 0 +-1.0 in 28 loose shoulders restricted to the inward rotation, and 12.2 0 +-0.4 in 80 normal shoulders, showing a distinct correlation between the angular aperture and the degree of loose shoulder. An increased backward angular aperture of the acetabular tegmen was considered greatly attributable to the forward glenohumeral movement resulting from malformation of the acetabular tegmen and flaccidity of the joint. Glenoid osteotomy was thus performed in 9 patients, 6 of whom underwent CT scanning before and after osteotomy. Coronal and transverse CT images of the shoulder joint disclosed a noticeable improvement of the glenohumeral alignment. The angular aperture shown on CT seems to be of major importance not only in the diagnosis of so-called loose shoulder but also in surgical choice. (Namekawa, K.)

Safety and effectiveness evaluation of a domestic peritoneal dialysis fluid packed in non-PVC bags: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Jianhui; Cao, Xueying; Lin, Hongli; Ni, Zhaohui; He, Yani; Chen, Menghua; Zheng, Hongguang; Chen, Xiangmei

2015-12-29

Peritoneal dialysis is an important type of renal replacement therapy for uremic patients. In peritoneal dialysis, fluids fill in and flow out of the abdominal cavity three to five times per day. Usually, the fluid is packed in a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) bag. Safety concerns have arisen over di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, which is essential in the formation of PVC materials. In 2011, the National Development and Reform Commission of China released a catalog of industrial structural adjustments, mandating the elimination of PVC bags for intravenous infusion and food containers. Although bags for peritoneal dialysis fluid were not included in the elimination list, several manufacturers began to develop new materials for fluid bags. HUAREN peritoneal dialysis fluid consists of the same electrolytes and buffer agent as in Baxter fluid, but is packed in bags that do not contain PVC. This multicenter randomized controlled trial was designed to compare peritoneal dialysis fluid packed in non-PVC-containing and PVC-containing bags. Further, the study sought to determine the proper dose of peritoneal dialysis fluid and the actual survival rates of Chinese patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis. The study participants are adults undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis for 30 days to 6 months. All eligible patients are randomized (1:1) to peritoneal dialysis with Baxter and HUAREN dialysis fluids (initial dose, 6 l/day), with dosages adjusted according to a unified protocol. The primary outcomes are the 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year overall survival rates. Secondary outcome measures include technique survival rates, reductions in estimated glomerular filtration rate, nutritional status, quality of life, cardiovascular events, medical costs and drop-out rates. Safety outcome measures include adverse events, changes in vital signs and laboratory parameters, peritonitis, allergies, and quality of products. This study is the first to evaluate the long-term safety and

The Influence on Modal Parameters of Thin Cylindrical Shell under Bolt Looseness Boundary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Li

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The influence on modal parameters of thin cylindrical shell (TCS under bolt looseness boundary is investigated. Firstly, bolt looseness boundary of the shell is divided into two types, that is, different bolt looseness numbers and different bolt looseness levels, and natural frequencies and mode shapes are calculated by finite element method to roughly master vibration characteristics of TCS under these conditions. Then, the following measurements and identification techniques are used to get precise frequency, damping, and shape results; for example, noncontact laser Doppler vibrometer and vibration shaker with excitation level being precisely controlled are used in the test system; “preexperiment” is adopted to determine the required tightening torque and verify fixed constraint boundary; the small-segment FFT processing technique is employed to accurately measure nature frequency and laser rotating scanning technique is used to get shape results with high efficiency. Finally, based on the measured results obtained by the above techniques, the influence on modal parameters of TCS under two types of bolt looseness boundaries is analyzed and discussed. It can be found that bolt looseness boundary can significantly affect frequency and damping results which might be caused by changes of nonlinear stiffness and damping and in bolt looseness positions.

Random three-dimensional jammed packings of elastic shells acting as force sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Jose, Jissy; van Blaaderen, Alfons; Imhof, Arnout

2016-06-01

In a jammed solid of granular particles, the applied stress is in-homogeneously distributed within the packing. A full experimental characterization requires measurement of all the interparticle forces, but so far such measurements are limited to a few systems in two and even fewer in three dimensions. Particles with the topology of (elastic) shells are good local force sensors as relatively large deformations of the shells result from relatively small forces. We recently introduced such fluorescent shells as a model granular system in which force distributions can be determined in three dimensions using confocal microscopy and quantitative image analysis. An interesting aspect about these shells that differentiates them from other soft deformable particles is their buckling behavior at higher compression. This leads to deformations that do not conserve the inner volume of the particle. Here we use this system to accurately measure the contact forces in a three-dimensional packing of shells subjected to a static anisotropic compression and to shear. At small deformations forces are linear, however, for a buckled contact, the restoring force is related to the amount of deformation by a square root law, as follows from the theory of elasticity of shells. Near the unjamming-jamming transition (point J ), we found the probability distribution of the interparticle forces P (f ) to decay nearly exponentially at large forces, with little evidence of long-range force chains in the packings. As the packing density is increased, the tail of the distribution was found to crossover to a Gaussian, in line with other experimental and simulation studies. Under a small shear strain, up to 0.216, applied at an extremely low shear rate, we observed a shear-induced anisotropy in both the pair correlation function and contact force network; however, no appreciable change was seen in the number of contacts per particle.

Density of loose-fill insulation material exposed to cyclic humidity conditions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Torben Valdbjørn

the granulated loose-fill material is exposed to a climate that is characterised as cyclic humidity conditions (a constant temperature and a relative humidity alternating between two predetermined constant relative humidity levels). A better understanding of the behaviour of granulated loose-fill material...

Effects of kinesio taping and hot packs on premenstrual syndrome in females.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jung-Hyun

2017-09-01

[Purpose] This study aimed to evaluate the effects of taping and hot packs on premenstrual syndrome, in an attempt to generate basic data for physical therapy intervention for premenstrual syndrome. [Subjects and Methods] Thirty-two females in their 20s with premenstrual syndrome were randomly assigned to a taping group (n=10), hot pack group (n=11), and taping with hot pack group (n=11). Premenstrual syndrome was assessed using the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire in each participant prior to intervention and was re-assessed after applying kinesio taping and/or hot pack from 10 days before the estimated date of menstruation until the first day of menstruation. [Results] Data revealed that the taping and taping with hot pack groups showed significantly reduced premenstrual syndrome following intervention. In terms of the differences in the Menstrual Distress Questionnaire total score among the groups, the taping with hot pack and hot pack groups showed a significant difference. [Conclusion] These findings indicate that kinesio taping is an easy, non-drug intervention for female college students with premenstrual syndrome.

Assessment of risks of loose landslide deposits formed by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, S.; Zhang, L. M.; Peng, M.; Zhang, L. L.; Zhao, H. F.; Chen, H. X.

2012-05-01

A Geographic Information System (GIS)-based quantitative risk assessment methodology was adopted to evaluate the risks of loose deposits formed by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake along a highway near the epicenter. A total of 305 loose deposits with a total volume of 4.0 × 107 m3 has been identified. A physical model was used to determine the failure probability of these loose deposits under six rainfall scenarios, assuming the loose deposits as infinite slopes. The calculated probability of rain-induced slope failures is verified by the recorded landslides at the same site during a storm in 2010. Seventy-nine out of the 112 rain-induced loose deposit failures are predicted by the reliability analysis, with an accuracy of 71%. The results of reliability analysis and information on the consequence of these rain-induced landslides enable the estimation of the annual societal and individual risks of the loose deposits. Under the rainfall scenarios of 30 mm/12 h and 70 mm/12 h, the estimated annual societal risks reach 8.8 and 7.5, respectively, and the individual risks reach 0.05 and 0.04, respectively, which are very high compared with present risk acceptance criteria. The preliminary assessment provides a benchmark for studying the long-term risks of these loose deposits and engineering decision.

Noise analysis and mimic experiments for loose part accident in the primary coolant loop of PWR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xiuzhou; Cheng Tingxiang; Zhang Bin

1994-01-01

The basic principle of loose part monitoring is to detect and measure the structure transfer sound generated by impacting of metal loose part with accelerators and to identify and diagnose by the micro-processor. This paper introduces the theoretical base of loose part monitoring, the location and mass estimation of loose part, and three mimic experiment applying noise analysis techniques. It provides some useful preparations for the development of loose part monitoring system

Development of a mathematical model of a packed column for benzene removal from salt solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Georgeton, G.K.

1989-01-01

A mathematical model of a packed column was developed to describe the removal of benzene from radioactive salt solutions at the Savannah River Site. The model was developed from existing, generalized mass transfer correlations for randomly dumped packing, and the correlations were adapted for structured packing. Thermophysical data specific to the solutions of interest were incorporated into the model. Verification of the code was completed using operating data from stripping columns at other locations

Impact of Australia's introduction of tobacco plain packs on adult smokers' pack-related perceptions and responses: results from a continuous tracking survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Dunlop, Sally M; Dobbins, Timothy; Young, Jane M; Perez, Donna; Currow, David C

2014-12-18

To investigate the impact of Australia's plain tobacco packaging policy on two stated purposes of the legislation--increasing the impact of health warnings and decreasing the promotional appeal of packaging--among adult smokers. Serial cross-sectional study with weekly telephone surveys (April 2006-May 2013). Interrupted time-series analyses using ARIMA modelling and linear regression models were used to investigate intervention effects. 15,745 adult smokers (aged 18 years and above) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Random selection of participants involved recruiting households using random digit dialling and selecting the nth oldest smoker for interview. The introduction of the legislation on 1 October 2012. Salience of tobacco pack health warnings, cognitive and emotional responses to warnings, avoidance of warnings, perceptions regarding one's cigarette pack. Adjusting for background trends, seasonality, antismoking advertising activity and cigarette costliness, results from ARIMA modelling showed that, 2-3 months after the introduction of the new packs, there was a significant increase in the absolute proportion of smokers having strong cognitive (9.8% increase, p=0.005), emotional (8.6% increase, p=0.01) and avoidant (9.8% increase, p=0.0005) responses to on-pack health warnings. Similarly, there was a significant increase in the proportion of smokers strongly disagreeing that the look of their cigarette pack is attractive (57.5% increase, p<0.0001), says something good about them (54.5% increase, p<0.0001), influences the brand they buy (40.6% increase, p<0.0001), makes their pack stand out (55.6% increase, p<0.0001), is fashionable (44.7% increase, p<0.0001) and matches their style (48.1% increase, p<0.0001). Changes in these outcomes were maintained 6 months postintervention. The introductory effects of the plain packaging legislation among adult smokers are consistent with the specific objectives of the legislation in regard to reducing

Certain Type Turbofan Engine Whole Vibration Model with Support Looseness Fault and Casing Response Characteristics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. F. Wang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Support looseness fault is a type of common fault in aeroengine. Serious looseness fault would emerge under larger unbalanced force, which would cause excessive vibration and even lead to rubbing fault, so it is important to analyze and recognize looseness fault effectively. In this paper, based on certain type turbofan engine structural features, a rotor-support-casing whole model for certain type turbofan aeroengine is established. The rotor and casing systems are modeled by means of the finite element beam method; the support systems are modeled by lumped-mass model; the support looseness fault model is also introduced. The coupled system response is obtained by numerical integral method. In this paper, based on the casing acceleration signals, the impact characteristics of symmetrical stiffness and asymmetric stiffness models are analyzed, finding that the looseness fault would lead to the longitudinal asymmetrical characteristics of acceleration time domain wave and the multiple frequency characteristics, which is consistent with the real trial running vibration signals. Asymmetric stiffness looseness model is verified to be fit for aeroengine looseness fault model.

An experimental comparison of some heuristics for cardinality constrained bin packing problem

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Maja Remic

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Bin packing is an NPhard optimization problem of packing items of given sizes into minimum number of capacitylimited bins. Besides the basic problem, numerous other variants of bin packing exist. The cardinality constrained bin packing adds an additional constraint that the number of items in a bin must not exceed a given limit Nmax. Objectives: Goal of the paper is to present a preliminary experimental study which demostrates adaptations of the new algorithms to the general cardinality constrained bin packing problem. Methods/Approach: Straightforward modifications of First Fit Decreasing (FFD, Refined First Fit (RFF and the algorithm by Zhang et al. for the bin packing problem are compared to four cardinality constrained bin packing problem specific algorithms on random lists of items with 0%, 10%, 30% and 50% of large items. The behaviour of all algorithms when cardinality constraint Nmax increases is also studied. Results: Results show that all specific algorithms outperform the general algorithms on lists with low percentage of big items. Conclusions: One of the specific algorithms performs better or equally well even on lists with high percentage of big items and is therefore of significant interest. The behaviour when Nmax increases shows that specific algorithms can be used for solving the general bin packing problem as well.

Application of a model to investigate the effective thermal conductivity of randomly packed fusion pebble beds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Xiaoliang; Zheng, Jie; Chen, Hongli, E-mail: hlchen1@ustc.edu.cn

2016-05-15

In our precious study, a prediction model, which calculates the effective thermal conductivity k{sub eff} of mono-sized pebble beds, has been developed and validated. Based on this model, here the effects of these influencing factors such as pebble size, thermal radiation, contact area, filling gas, gas flow, gas pressure, etc. on the k{sub eff} of randomly packed fusion pebble beds are studied and analyzed. The pebble beds investigated include Li{sub 4}SiO{sub 4}, Li{sub 2}ZrO{sub 3}, Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3}, Li{sub 2}O, Be and BeO pebble beds. In the current study, many important and meaningful conclusions are derived and some of them are similar to the existing research results. Particularly, some critters that under which conditions the effect of some influencing factors can be neglected or should be considered are also presented.

Mass estimation of loose parts in nuclear power plant based on multiple regression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Yuanfeng; Cao, Yanlong; Yang, Jiangxin; Gan, Chunbiao

2012-01-01

According to the application of the Hilbert–Huang transform to the non-stationary signal and the relation between the mass of loose parts in nuclear power plant and corresponding frequency content, a new method for loose part mass estimation based on the marginal Hilbert–Huang spectrum (MHS) and multiple regression is proposed in this paper. The frequency spectrum of a loose part in a nuclear power plant can be expressed by the MHS. The multiple regression model that is constructed by the MHS feature of the impact signals for mass estimation is used to predict the unknown masses of a loose part. A simulated experiment verified that the method is feasible and the errors of the results are acceptable. (paper)

Development of loose part signal location estimating technique in high pressured structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rhee, Ill Keun; Choi, Jae Won; Kim, Yong Up; Kim, Taek Hwan; Song, Young Joong [Hannam University, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

1997-07-01

The main purpose of this project is to develop the metallic loose parts monitoring and diagnosis technology. This will contribute to the development of the domestic technology, and, at the some time, to the development of related domestic industries. This study has been performed as 3-year-project,= to provide to basic requirements in developing the integrated and intelligent loose part monitoring and diagnosis system for Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV). The results from this project is expected to be applied to the development of the integrated and intelligent loose part monitoring and diagnosis system which can be used to analyze the main cause of the malfunctioning of the system under the worst circumstance - high temperature, high pressure and high speed of the flow of reactor coolant, with the efficient software package that could classify the characteristics of the metallic loose parts occurred inside the RPV of the nuclear steam supply system. (Author) 39 refs., 7 tabs., 74 figs.

Particles size distribution effect on 3D packing of nanoparticles in to a bounded region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farzalipour Tabriz, M.; Salehpoor, P.; Esmaielzadeh Kandjani, A.; Vaezi, M. R.; Sadrnezhaad, S. K.

2007-01-01

In this paper, the effects of two different Particle Size Distributions on packing behavior of ideal rigid spherical nanoparticles using a novel packing model based on parallel algorithms have been reported. A mersenne twister algorithm was used to generate pseudo random numbers for the particles initial coordinates. Also, for this purpose a nano sized tetragonal confined container with a square floor (300 * 300 nm) were used in this work. The Andreasen and the Lognormal Particle Size Distributions were chosen to investigate the packing behavior in a 3D bounded region. The effects of particle numbers on packing behavior of these two Particle Size Distributions have been investigated. Also the reproducibility and the distribution of packing factor of these Particle Size Distributions were compared

Temperature of loose coated particles in irradiation tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conlin, J.A.

1975-04-01

An analysis is presented of the temperature of a monolayer bed of loose High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR) type fissioning fuel particles in an annular cavity. Both conduction and radiant heat transfer are taken into account, and the effect of particle contact with the annular cavity surfaces is evaluated. Charts are included for the determination of the maximum surface temperature of the particle coating for any size particle or power generation rate in a fuel bed of this type. The charts are intended for the design and evaluation of irradiation experiments on loose beds of coated fuel particles of the type used in HTGRs. Included in an Appendix is a method for estimating the temperature of a particle in circular hole. (U.S.)

ALPS, Advanced Loose Parts System for Paks NPP

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Por, G.; Szappanos, G.

2001-01-01

Advanced Loose Parts System has two unique features to improve the missed alarm and false alarm rates, which are the major drawbacks of all existing loose parts system. Event selection is based on sequential probability ratio test of whitened signal by auto-regressive modelling, and the classification (as well as localisation) of the events is based on a selflearning artificial intelligence method. Examples of rather good sensitivity of events detection are presented in case of very weak signals, for bursts half-buried in background. Burst found in recorded signals were partly identified having origin in motor operated valve (MOV) vibration. The new feature of the system, namely, automatic recording during start up of main coolant pumps had been successfully tested in this year.(author)

Modern diagnostic systems for loose parts, vibration and leakage monitoring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunze, U.

1997-01-01

The modern diagnostic systems for loose parts, vibration and leakage monitoring of Siemens marked improvements in signal detection, ease of operation, and the display of information. The paper gives an overview on: Loose parts monitoring system KUeS '95 - a computer-based system. The knowledge and experience about loose parts detection incorporated into this system can be characterized as ''intelligence''. Vibration monitoring system SUeS '95 - a fully automated system for early detection of changes in the vibration patterns of the reactor coolant system components and reactor pressure vessel internals. Leak detection system FLUeS - a system that detects even small leaks in steam-carrying components and very accurately determines their location. Leaks are detected on the moisture distribution in a sample air column into which the escaping steam locally diffuses. All systems described represent the latest state of technology. Nevertheless a considerable amount of operational experience can be reported. (author). 5 refs, 10 figs

Simulation of turbulent flow in a packed bed

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guo, B.; Yu, A. [Centre for Simulation and Modelling of Particulate Systems and School of Material Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052 (Australia); Wright, B.; Zulli, P. [BlueScope Steel Research Laboratories, P.O. Box 202, Port Kembla, NSW 2505 (Australia)

2006-05-15

Numerous models for simulating the flow and transport in packed beds have been proposed in the literature with few reported applications. In this paper, several turbulence models for porous media are applied to the gas flow through a randomly packed bed and are examined by means of a parametric study against some published experimental data. These models predict widely different turbulent eddy viscosity. The analysis also indicates that deficiencies exist in the formulation of some model equations and selection of a suitable turbulence model is important. With this realization, residence time distribution and velocity distribution are then simulated by considering a radial profile of porosity and turbulence induced dispersion, and the results are in good agreement with the available experimental data. (Abstract Copyright [2006], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Qualitative Observations Concerning Packing Densities for Liquids, Solutions, and Random Assemblies of Spheres

Science.gov (United States)

Duer, W. C.; And Others

1977-01-01

Discusses comparisons of packing densities derived from known molar volume data of liquids and solutions. Suggests further studies for using assemblies of spheres as models for simple liquids and solutions. (MLH)

Multiple and dependent scattering by densely packed discrete spheres: Comparison of radiative transfer and Maxwell theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, L.X.; Tan, J.Y.; Zhao, J.M.; Wang, F.Q.; Wang, C.A.

2017-01-01

The radiative transfer equation (RTE) has been widely used to deal with multiple scattering of light by sparsely and randomly distributed discrete particles. However, for densely packed particles, the RTE becomes questionable due to strong dependent scattering effects. This paper examines the accuracy of RTE by comparing with the exact electromagnetic theory. For an imaginary spherical volume filled with randomly distributed, densely packed spheres, the RTE is solved by the Monte Carlo method combined with the Percus–Yevick hard model to consider the dependent scattering effect, while the electromagnetic calculation is based on the multi-sphere superposition T-matrix method. The Mueller matrix elements of the system with different size parameters and volume fractions of spheres are obtained using both methods. The results verify that the RTE fails to deal with the systems with a high-volume fraction due to the dependent scattering effects. Apart from the effects of forward interference scattering and coherent backscattering, the Percus–Yevick hard sphere model shows good accuracy in accounting for the far-field interference effects for medium or smaller size parameters (up to 6.964 in this study). For densely packed discrete spheres with large size parameters (equals 13.928 in this study), the improvement of dependent scattering correction tends to deteriorate. The observations indicate that caution must be taken when using RTE in dealing with the radiative transfer in dense discrete random media even though the dependent scattering correction is applied. - Highlights: • The Muller matrix of randomly distributed, densely packed spheres are investigated. • The effects of multiple scattering and dependent scattering are analyzed. • The accuracy of radiative transfer theory for densely packed spheres is discussed. • Dependent scattering correction takes effect at medium size parameter or smaller. • Performance of dependent scattering correction

Modeling and Simulation of the Hydrogenation of α-Methylstyrene on Catalytically Active Metal Foams as Tubular Reactor Packing

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Farzad Lali

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This work presents a one-dimensional reactor model for a tubular reactor packed with a catalytically active foam packing with a pore density of 30 PPI in cocurrent upward flow in the example of hydrogenation reaction of α-methylstyrene to cumene. This model includes material, enthalpy, and momentum balances as well as continuity equations. The model was solved within the parameter space applied for experimental studies under assumption of a bubbly flow. The method of orthogonal collocation on finite elements was applied. For isothermal and polytropic processes and steady state conditions, axial profiles for concentration, temperature, fluid velocities, pressure, and liquid holdup were computed and the conversions for various gas and liquid flow rates were validated with experimental results. The obtained results were also compared in terms of space time yield and catalytic activity with experimental results and stirred tank and also with random packed bed reactor. The comparison shows that the application of solid foams as reactor packing is advantageous compared to the monolithic honeycombs and random packed beds.

Ethanol emission from loose corn silage and exposed silage particles

Science.gov (United States)

Hafner, Sasha D.; Montes, Felipe; Rotz, C. Alan; Mitloehner, Frank

2010-11-01

Silage on dairy farms has been identified as a major source of volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. However, rates of VOC emission from silage are not accurately known. In this work, we measured ethanol (a dominant silage VOC) emission from loose corn silage and exposed corn silage particles using wind tunnel systems. Flux of ethanol was highest immediately after exposing loose silage samples to moving air (as high as 220 g m -2 h -1) and declined by as much as 76-fold over 12 h as ethanol was depleted from samples. Emission rate and cumulative 12 h emission increased with temperature, silage permeability, exposed surface area, and air velocity over silage samples. These responses suggest that VOC emission from silage on farms is sensitive to climate and management practices. Ethanol emission rates from loose silage were generally higher than previous estimates of total VOC emission rates from silage and mixed feed. For 15 cm deep loose samples, mean cumulative emission was as high as 170 g m -2 (80% of initial ethanol mass) after 12 h of exposure to an air velocity of 5 m s -1. Emission rates measured with an emission isolation flux chamber were lower than rates measured in a wind tunnel and in an open setting. Results show that the US EPA emission isolation flux chamber method is not appropriate for estimating VOC emission rates from silage in the field.

Experimental analysis and simulation calculation of the inductances of loosely coupled transformer

Science.gov (United States)

Kerui, Chen; Yang, Han; Yan, Zhang; Nannan, Gao; Ying, Pei; Hongbo, Li; Pei, Li; Liangfeng, Guo

2017-11-01

The experimental design of iron-core wireless power transmission system is designed, and an experimental model of loosely coupled transformer is built. Measuring the air gap on both sides of the transformer 15mm inductor under the parameters. The feasibility and feasibility of using the finite element method to calculate the coil inductance parameters of the loosely coupled transformer are analyzed. The system was modeled by ANSYS, and the magnetic field was calculated by finite element method, and the inductance parameters were calculated. The finite element method is used to calculate the inductive parameters of the loosely coupled transformer, and the basis for the accurate compensation of the capacitance of the wireless power transmission system is established.

Development of estimation algorithm of loose parts and analysis of impact test data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jung Soo; Ham, Chang Sik; Jung, Chul Hwan; Hwang, In Koo; Kim, Tak Hwane; Kim, Tae Hwane; Park, Jin Ho

1999-11-01

Loose parts are produced by being parted from the structure of the reactor coolant system or by coming into RCS from the outside during test operation, refueling, and overhaul time. These loose parts are mixed with reactor coolant fluid and collide with RCS components. When loose parts are occurred within RCS, it is necessary to estimate the impact point and the mass of loose parts. In this report an analysis algorithm for the estimation of the impact point and mass of loose part is developed. The developed algorithm was tested with the impact test data of Yonggwang-3. The estimated impact point using the proposed algorithm in this report had 5 percent error to the real test data. The estimated mass was analyzed within 28 percent error bound using the same unit's data. We analyzed the characteristic frequency of each sensor because this frequency effected the estimation of impact point and mass. The characteristic frequency of the background noise during normal operation was compared with that of the impact test data. The result of the comparison illustrated that the characteristic frequency bandwidth of the impact test data was lower than that of the background noise during normal operation. by the comparison, the integrity of sensor and monitoring system could be checked, too. (author)

Disordered strictly jammed binary sphere packings attain an anomalously large range of densities

Science.gov (United States)

Hopkins, Adam B.; Stillinger, Frank H.; Torquato, Salvatore

2013-08-01

Previous attempts to simulate disordered binary sphere packings have been limited in producing mechanically stable, isostatic packings across a broad spectrum of packing fractions. Here we report that disordered strictly jammed binary packings (packings that remain mechanically stable under general shear deformations and compressions) can be produced with an anomalously large range of average packing fractions 0.634≤ϕ≤0.829 for small to large sphere radius ratios α restricted to α≥0.100. Surprisingly, this range of average packing fractions is obtained for packings containing a subset of spheres (called the backbone) that are exactly strictly jammed, exactly isostatic, and also generated from random initial conditions. Additionally, the average packing fractions of these packings at certain α and small sphere relative number concentrations x approach those of the corresponding densest known ordered packings. These findings suggest for entropic reasons that these high-density disordered packings should be good glass formers and that they may be easy to prepare experimentally. We also identify an unusual feature of the packing fraction of jammed backbones (packings with rattlers excluded). The backbone packing fraction is about 0.624 over the majority of the α-x plane, even when large numbers of small spheres are present in the backbone. Over the (relatively small) area of the α-x plane where the backbone is not roughly constant, we find that backbone packing fractions range from about 0.606 to 0.829, with the volume of rattler spheres comprising between 1.6% and 26.9% of total sphere volume. To generate isostatic strictly jammed packings, we use an implementation of the Torquato-Jiao sequential linear programming algorithm [Phys. Rev. EPLEEE81539-375510.1103/PhysRevE.82.061302 82, 061302 (2010)], which is an efficient producer of inherent structures (mechanically stable configurations at the local maxima in the density landscape). The identification and

Research on using oil herding surfactants to thicken oil slicks in pack ice for in situ burning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buist, I.; Morrison, J.

2005-01-01

The severe limitations of conventional containment and recovery systems for oil spills in pack ice have been demonstrated during skimmer tests conducted in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea. In-situ burning may be one of the few viable alternatives to quickly remove oil spilled in pack ice, but the slicks are often too thin, preventing effective ignition or burning. This study examined ways to thicken the slicks to the 2- to 5-mm range so that effective burns could be carried out. Specific chemical surface-active agents known as oil herders or oil collecting agents can be used to clear and contain oil slicks on water surfaces. Since these agents can spread quickly on water, only a small quantity is needed to clear thin films of oil from large areas of water. Applying a chemical herder around the periphery of spilled oil can contract the oil into a thicker slick. Two chemical products were developed and tested in the 1970s and 1980s: Shell Herder and Exxon OC-5 Oil Collector. However, they are no longer used because they were effective only in very calm conditions. Corexit EC9580 which exhibits similar slick herding abilities and which has a spreading pressure of 39.5 mN/m is still commercially available. This study tested formulations of herding agents for use in pack ice. Concerns regarding the potential toxicity risk of using these agents in pack ice were also addressed. The agents should not harm the environment because they have low toxicity and only very small quantities are used. Two series of tests conducted to assess the potential for herding agents to help ignite and effectively burn thin oil slicks in loose pack ice conditions. The agents proved to be effective on cold water and on thick slicks. The composition of the oil played an important role in determining potential efficiency. It was concluded that applying herders to thin oil slicks in pack ice shows considerable promise for thickening them for in-situ burning. 12 refs., 4 tabs., 17 figs

THE PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF A PACKED COLUMN : CALIBRATION OF AN ORIFICE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aynur ŞENOL

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Investigations to develop data for this study were made using a pilot scale glass column of 9 cm inside diameter randomly filled to a depth of 1.90 cm with a Raschig type ring at a slightly modified geometry. The geometrical characteristics of packing are: the total area of a single particle ad = 2.3 cm2; specific area ap = 10.37 cm2/cm3; voidage ? = 0.545 m3/m3. The efficiency tests were run using trichloroethylene/n-heptane system under total reflux conditions. Using the modified versions of the Eckert flooding model and the Bravo effective area (ae approach, as well as the Onda wetted area (aw and individual mass transfer coefficient models, it has been attempted to estimate the packing efficiency theoretically. This article also deals with the design strategies attributed to a randomly packed column. Emphasis is mainly placed on the way to formulate an algorithm of designing a pilot scale column through the models being attributed to the film theory. Using the column dry pressure drop properties based on the air flowing it has been achieved a generalized flow rate approach for calibrating of an orifice through which the air passes.

The media of sociology: tight or loose translations?

Science.gov (United States)

Guggenheim, Michael

2015-06-01

Sociologists have increasingly come to recognize that the discipline has unduly privileged textual representations, but efforts to incorporate visual and other media are still only in their beginning. This paper develops an analysis of the ways objects of knowledge are translated into other media, in order to understand the visual practices of sociology and to point out unused possibilities. I argue that the discourse on visual sociology, by assuming that photographs are less objective than text, is based on an asymmetric media-determinism and on a misleading notion of objectivity. Instead, I suggest to analyse media with the concept of translations. I introduce several kinds of translations, most centrally the distinction between tight and loose ones. I show that many sciences, such as biology, focus on tight translations, using a variety of media and manipulating both research objects and representations. Sociology, in contrast, uses both tight and loose translations, but uses the latter only for texts. For visuals, sociology restricts itself to what I call 'the documentary': focusing on mechanical recording technologies without manipulating either the object of research or the representation. I conclude by discussing three rare examples of what is largely excluded in sociology: visual loose translations, visual tight translations based on non-mechanical recording technologies, and visual tight translations based on mechanical recording technologies that include the manipulation of both object and representation. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2015.

Generalized Skyrme model with the loosely bound potential

Science.gov (United States)

Gudnason, Sven Bjarke; Zhang, Baiyang; Ma, Nana

2016-12-01

We study a generalization of the loosely bound Skyrme model which consists of the Skyrme model with a sixth-order derivative term—motivated by its fluidlike properties—and the second-order loosely bound potential—motivated by lowering the classical binding energies of higher-charged Skyrmions. We use the rational map approximation for the Skyrmion of topological charge B =4 , calculate the binding energy of the latter, and estimate the systematic error in using this approximation. In the parameter space that we can explore within the rational map approximation, we find classical binding energies as low as 1.8%, and once taking into account the contribution from spin-isospin quantization, we obtain binding energies as low as 5.3%. We also calculate the contribution from the sixth-order derivative term to the electric charge density and axial coupling.

Molecular Dynamics Simulations Reveal the Conformational Flexibility of Lipid II and Its Loose Association with the Defensin Plectasin in the Staphylococcus aureus Membrane

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Witzke, Sarah; Petersen, Michael; Carpenter, Timothy S.

2016-01-01

dynamics simulation study of the conformational dynamics of Lipid II within a detailed model of the Staphylococcus aureus cell membrane. We show that Lipid II is able to adopt a range of conformations, even within the packed lipidic environment of the membrane. Our simulations also reveal dimerization...... the biosynthesis of the cell wall. Given the urgent need for development of novel antibiotics to counter the growing threat of bacterial infection resistance, it is imperative that a thorough molecular-level characterization of the molecules targeted by antibiotics be achieved. To this end, we present a molecular...... of Lipid II mediated by cations. In the presence of the defensin peptide plectasin, the conformational lability of Lipid II allows it to form loose complexes with the protein, via a number of different binding modes....

Subsidence estimation of breakwater built on loosely deposited sandy seabed foundation: Elastic model or elasto-plastic model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianhua Shen

2017-07-01

Full Text Available In offshore area, newly deposited Quaternary loose seabed soils are widely distributed. There are a great number of offshore structures has been built on them in the past, or will be built on them in the future due to the fact that there would be no very dense seabed soil foundation could be chosen at planed sites sometimes. However, loosely deposited seabed foundation would bring great risk to the service ability of offshore structures after construction. Currently, the understanding on wave-induced liquefaction mechanism in loose seabed foundation has been greatly improved; however, the recognition on the consolidation characteristics and settlement estimation of loose seabed foundation under offshore structures is still limited. In this study, taking a semi-coupled numerical model FSSI-CAS 2D as the tool, the consolidation and settlement of loosely deposited sandy seabed foundation under an offshore breakwater is investigated. The advanced soil constitutive model Pastor-Zienkiewics Mark III (PZIII is used to describe the quasi-static behavior of loose sandy seabed soil. The computational results show that PZIII model is capable of being used for settlement estimation problem of loosely deposited sandy seabed foundation. For loose sandy seabed foundation, elastic deformation is the dominant component in consolidation process. It is suggested that general elastic model is acceptable for subsidence estimation of offshore structures on loose seabed foundation; however, Young's modulus E must be dependent on the confining effective stress, rather than a constant in computation.

Automatic characterization of loose parts impact damage risk parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glass, S.W.; Phillips, J.M.

1985-01-01

Loose parts caught in the high-velocity flows of the reactor coolant fluid strike against nuclear steam supply system (NSSS) components and can cause significant damage. Loose parts monitor systems (LPMS) have been available for years to detect metal-to-metal impacts. Once detected, however, an assessment of the damage risk potential for leaving the part in the system versus shutting it down and removing the part must be made. The principal parameters used in the damage risk assessment are time delays between the first and subsequent sensor indications (used to assess the impact location) and a correlation between the waveform and the impact energy of the part (how hard the part impacted). These parameters are not well suited to simple automatic techniques. The task has historically been performed by loose parts diagnostic experts who base much of their evaluation on experience and subjective interpretation of impact data waveforms. Three of the principal goals in developing the Babcock and Wilcox (B and W) LPMS-III were (a) to develop an accurate automatic assessment for the time delays, (b) to develop an automatic estimate of the impact energy, and (c) to present the data in a meaningful manner to the operator

Moyamoya syndrome in a patient with Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jin-Ho; Oh, Moon-Yeon; Yum, Mi-Sun; Lee, Beom Hee; Kim, Gu-Hwan; Yoo, Han-Wook

2015-03-01

Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair is one of the RASopathies characterized by Noonan syndrome-like features with unique ectodermal abnormalities. This syndrome is caused by mutations in the SHOC2 gene. We encountered a patient with moyamoya syndrome associated with Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair presenting with transient ischemic attacks. A 6-year-old girl was diagnosed with Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair because of profound short stature and ectodermal anomalies such as sparse and easily pluckable hair. A heterozygous mutation of c.4A>G (p.S2G) in the SHOC2 gene was identified, and recombinant human growth hormone therapy was initiated at 8 years of age. At age 10, she manifested recurrent left hemiplegia. Moreover, cerebrovascular imaging revealed occlusion or narrowing of both internal carotid arteries and both middle cerebral arteries with distal moyamoya-like vessels. She is treated with aspirin and calcium channel blocker. We describe the first case of Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair associated with moyamoya syndrome, although it has been reported to be associated with a few cases of other RASopathies, including Noonan, cardiofaciocutaneous, and Costello syndromes. This report emphasizes the associations between cerebrovascular anomalies and Noonan-like syndrome with loose anagen hair. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

More loosely bound hadron molecules at CDF?

CERN Document Server

Bignamini, C; Piccinini, F; Polosa, A D; Riquer, V; Sabelli, C

2010-01-01

In a recent paper we have proposed a method to estimate the prompt production cross section of X(3872) at the Tevatron assuming that this particle is a loosely bound molecule of a D and a D*bar meson. Under this hypothesis we find that it is impossible to explain the high prompt production cross section found by CDF at sigma(X(3872)) \\sim 30-70 nb as our theoretical prediction is about 300 times smaller than the measured one. Following our work, Artoisenet and Braaten, have suggested that final state interactions in the DD*bar system might be so strong to push the result we obtained for the cross section up to the experimental value. Relying on their conclusions we show that the production of another very narrow loosely bound molecule, the X_s=D_s D_s*bar, could be similarly enhanced. X_s should then be detectable at CDF with a mass of 4080 MeV and a prompt production cross section of sigma(X_s) \\sim 1-3 nb.

The Knot Spectrum of Confined Random Equilateral Polygons

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diao Y.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available It is well known that genomic materials (long DNA chains of living organisms are often packed compactly under extreme confining conditions using macromolecular self-assembly processes but the general DNA packing mechanism remains an unsolved problem. It has been proposed that the topology of the packed DNA may be used to study the DNA packing mechanism. For example, in the case of (mutant bacteriophage P4, DNA molecules packed inside the bacteriophage head are considered to be circular since the two sticky ends of the DNA are close to each other. The DNAs extracted from the capsid without separating the two ends can thus preserve the topology of the (circular DNAs. It turns out that the circular DNAs extracted from bacteriophage P4 are non-trivially knotted with very high probability and with a bias toward chiral knots. In order to study this problem using a systematic approach based on mathematical modeling, one needs to introduce a DNA packing model under extreme volume confinement condition and test whether such a model can produce the kind of knot spectrum observed in the experiments. In this paper we introduce and study a model of equilateral random polygons con_ned in a sphere. This model is not meant to generate polygons that model DNA packed in a virus head directly. Instead, the average topological characteristics of this model may serve as benchmark data for totally randomly packed circular DNAs. The difference between the biologically observed topological characteristics and our benchmark data might reveal the bias of DNA packed in the viral capsids and possibly lead to a better understanding of the DNA packing mechanism, at least for the bacteriophage DNA. The purpose of this paper is to provide information about the knot spectrum of equilateral random polygons under such a spherical confinement with length and confinement ratios in a range comparable to circular DNAs packed inside bacteriophage heads.

Distributed Interior-point Method for Loosely Coupled Problems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pakazad, Sina Khoshfetrat; Hansson, Anders; Andersen, Martin Skovgaard

2014-01-01

In this paper, we put forth distributed algorithms for solving loosely coupled unconstrained and constrained optimization problems. Such problems are usually solved using algorithms that are based on a combination of decomposition and first order methods. These algorithms are commonly very slow a...

Fuzzy logic utilization for the diagnosis of metallic loose part impact in nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, Y.-G.; Hong, H.-P.; Han, S.-J.; Chun, C.S.; Kim, B.-K.

1996-01-01

In consideration of the fuzzy nature of impact signals detected from the complex mechanical structures in a nuclear power plant under operation. Loose Part Monitoring System with a signal processing technique utilizing fuzzy logic is proposed. In the proposed Fuzzy Loose Part Monitoring System design, comprehensive relations among the impact signal features are taken into account in the fuzzy rule bases for the alarm discrimination and impact event diagnosis. Through the performance test with a mock-up facility, the proposed approach for the loose parts monitoring and diagnosis has been revealed to be effective not only in suppressing the false alarm generation but also in characterizing the metallic loose-part impact event, from the points of Possible Impacted-Area and Degree of Impact Magnitude

Argo packing friction research update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

VanTassell, D.M.

1994-01-01

This paper focuses on the issue of valve packing friction and its affect on the operability of motor- and air-operated valves (MOVs and AOVs). At this time, most nuclear power plants are required to perform postmaintenance testing following a packing adjustment or replacement. In many cases, the friction generated by the packing does not impact the operability window of a valve. However, to date there has not been a concerted effort to substantiate this claim. To quantify the effects of packing friction, it has become necessary to develop a formula to predict the friction effects accurately. This formula provides a much more accurate method of predicting packing friction than previously used factors based strictly on stem diameter. Over the past 5 years, Argo Packing Company has been developing and testing improved graphite packing systems at research facilities, such as AECL Chalk River and Wyle Laboratories. Much of this testing has centered around reducing and predicting friction that is related to packing. In addition, diagnostic testing for Generic Letter 89-10 MOVs and AOVs has created a significant data base. In July 1992 Argo asked several utilities to provide running load data that could be used to quantify packing friction repeatability and predictability. This technical paper provides the basis to predict packing friction, which will improve calculations for thrust requirements for Generic Leter 89-10 and future AOV programs. In addition, having an accurate packing friction formula will improve packing performance when low running loads are identified that would indicate insufficient sealing force

Chicken Meat Submitted to Gamma Radiation and Packed with or without Oxygen

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Pelicia

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects on gamma radiation levels on the physical and microbiological characteristics of chicken breast meat. A completely randomized experimental design in a 4x2x3 factorial arrangement was adopted. Treatments consisted of four radiation concentrations (0, 2, 4, or 8kGy, two package sealing methods (with or without vacuum, and three storage times (01, 07, or 14 days, with ten replicates each, totaling 240 chicken breast fillets. Packaging and radiation had no influence (p>0.05 on chicken breast meat pH, water retention capacity, or presence of Salmonella spp. Breast fillets not submitted to radiation and vacuum packed presented higher water retention capacity (p<0.05 than those radiated at 4kGy and vacuum packed. Drip loss in fillets radiated at 8kGy and not vacuum packed was higher (p<0.05 than in non-radiated and non-vacuum packed fillets; however, both were not different from the other treatments. Coliform presence increased with storage time in non-radiated samples; however, when these were vacuum-packed, their development was slower. The results of the present experiment suggest that the use of a low radiation dose (2kGy, combined with vacuum packing, may minimize the harmful effects of storage on chicken breast fillets.

Topical thermal therapy with hot packs suppresses physical inactivity-induced mechanical hyperalgesia and up-regulation of NGF.

Science.gov (United States)

Nakagawa, Tatsuki; Hiraga, Shin-Ichiro; Mizumura, Kazue; Hori, Kiyomi; Ozaki, Noriyuki; Koeda, Tomoko

2017-10-12

We focused on the analgesic effect of hot packs for mechanical hyperalgesia in physically inactive rats. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, physical inactivity (PI), PI + sham treatment (PI + sham), and PI + hot pack treatment (PI + hot pack) groups. Physical inactivity rats wore casts on both hind limbs in full plantar flexed position for 4 weeks. Hot pack treatment was performed for 20 min a day, 5 days a week. Although mechanical hyperalgesia and the up-regulation of NGF in the plantar skin and gastrocnemius muscle were observed in the PI and the PI + sham groups, these changes were significantly suppressed in the PI + hot pack group. The present results clearly demonstrated that hot pack treatment was effective in reducing physical inactivity-induced mechanical hyperalgesia and up-regulation of NGF in plantar skin and gastrocnemius muscle.

Hydraulic mechanism and time-dependent characteristics of loose gully deposits failure induced by rainfall

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yong Wu

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Failure of loose gully deposits under the effect of rainfall contributes to the potential risk of debris flow. In the past decades, researches on hydraulic mechanism and time-dependent characteristics of loose deposits failure are frequently reported, however adequate measures for reducing debris flow are not available practically. In this context, a time-dependent model was established to determine the changes of water table of loose deposits using hydraulic and topographic theories. In addition, the variation in water table with elapsed time was analyzed. The formulas for calculating hydrodynamic and hydrostatic pressures on each strip and block unit of deposit were proposed, and the slope stability and failure risk of the loose deposits were assessed based on the time-dependent hydraulic characteristics of established model. Finally, the failure mechanism of deposits based on infinite slope theory was illustrated, with an example, to calculate sliding force, anti-sliding force and residual sliding force applied to each slice. The results indicate that failure of gully deposits under the effect of rainfall is the result of continuously increasing hydraulic pressure and water table. The time-dependent characteristics of loose deposit failure are determined by the factors of hydraulic properties, drainage area of interest, rainfall pattern, rainfall duration and intensity.

Determination of the thermophysical properties of loose rocks; Bestimmung der thermophysikalischen Kennwerte von Lockergesteinen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stegner, Johannes; Seehaus, Rainer; Sass, Ingo [Technische Univ. Darmstadt (Germany). Fachgebiet Angewandte Geothermie

2012-10-16

The heat conductivity as well as the temperature conductivity of loose rocks are the most important properties for the quantification of the yields of near-surface geothermal power plants. The more details on the heat conductivity are available, the more economical and sustainable is the dimensioning of a plant. The heat conductivity of loose rocks depends on the heat conductivity of the individual grain size fractions, water content, air pore volume, dry density, pressure conditions and temperature. Actually, a standardized procedure for the determination of geothermal parameters is missing. Thus, a measurement device for the investigation of the heat conductivity and thermal conductivity is developed. This measurement device enables a reproducible investigation of loose rocks optionally at a pressure consistency of up to 7.6 MPa, or at a volume consistency in the temperature range from -10 to +80 Celsius. The functionality of this measurement device can be validated by means of a comparison of measurements and finite element method simulations using loose rock standards. Additionally, the results of the field tests were correlated with in-situ values. In addition to validation of measurement devices, the measurement results are used to create calculation models for the geothermal parameters of loose rocks based on soil mechanical properties.

Column-to-column packing variation of disposable pre-packed columns for protein chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Schweiger, Susanne; Hinterberger, Stephan; Jungbauer, Alois

2017-12-08

In the biopharmaceutical industry, pre-packed columns are the standard for process development, but they must be qualified before use in experimental studies to confirm the required performance of the packed bed. Column qualification is commonly done by pulse response experiments and depends highly on the experimental testing conditions. Additionally, the peak analysis method, the variation in the 3D packing structure of the bed, and the measurement precision of the workstation influence the outcome of qualification runs. While a full body of literature on these factors is available for HPLC columns, no comparable studies exist for preparative columns for protein chromatography. We quantified the influence of these parameters for commercially available pre-packed and self-packed columns of disposable and non-disposable design. Pulse response experiments were performed on 105 preparative chromatography columns with volumes of 0.2-20ml. The analyte acetone was studied at six different superficial velocities (30, 60, 100, 150, 250 and 500cm/h). The column-to-column packing variation between disposable pre-packed columns of different diameter-length combinations varied by 10-15%, which was acceptable for the intended use. The column-to-column variation cannot be explained by the packing density, but is interpreted as a difference in particle arrangement in the column. Since it was possible to determine differences in the column-to-column performance, we concluded that the columns were well-packed. The measurement precision of the chromatography workstation was independent of the column volume and was in a range of±0.01ml for the first peak moment and±0.007 ml 2 for the second moment. The measurement precision must be considered for small columns in the range of 2ml or less. The efficiency of disposable pre-packed columns was equal or better than that of self-packed columns. Copyright © 2017 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of loose spring skirt mounting position on vibration damping in a multi segment hanging cantilever

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazeer, M.M.; Khan, A.F.; Shah, R.H; Afzal, M.; Ahmed, N.

2001-01-01

The loose spring skirt clearance is the major factor effecting the damping and amplitude control of randomly excited vibrations in a vertically hanging cantilever. However, the spring's mounting position also has an important role to play. In this work, the results of computational model as well as that of experimental set-up for various spring mounting positions having optimum annular clearance between skirted member and the skirt are presented and their vibration damping response is analyzed. It is observed that lower is the mounting position, the better is the damping and its maximum value is attained when the bottom end of spring skirt and the hanging cantilever are mutually flushed. (author)

Effect of particle size distribution on permeability in the randomly packed porous media

Science.gov (United States)

Markicevic, Bojan

2017-11-01

An answer of how porous medium heterogeneity influences the medium permeability is still inconclusive, where both increase and decrease in the permeability value are reported. A numerical procedure is used to generate a randomly packed porous material consisting of spherical particles. Six different particle size distributions are used including mono-, bi- and three-disperse particles, as well as uniform, normal and log-normal particle size distribution with the maximum to minimum particle size ratio ranging from three to eight for different distributions. In all six cases, the average particle size is kept the same. For all media generated, the stochastic homogeneity is checked from distribution of three coordinates of particle centers, where uniform distribution of x-, y- and z- positions is found. The medium surface area remains essentially constant except for bi-modal distribution in which medium area decreases, while no changes in the porosity are observed (around 0.36). The fluid flow is solved in such domain, and after checking for the pressure axial linearity, the permeability is calculated from the Darcy law. The permeability comparison reveals that the permeability of the mono-disperse medium is smallest, and the permeability of all poly-disperse samples is less than ten percent higher. For bi-modal particles, the permeability is for a quarter higher compared to the other media which can be explained by volumetric contribution of larger particles and larger passages for fluid flow to take place.

Packing force data correlations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heiman, S.M.

1994-01-01

One of the issues facing valve maintenance personnel today deals with an appropriate methodology for installing and setting valve packing that will minimize leak rates, yet ensure functionality of the the valve under all anticipated operating conditions. Several variables can affect a valve packing's ability to seal, such as packing bolt torque, stem finish, and lubrication. Stem frictional force can be an excellent overall indicator of some of the underlying conditions that affect the sealing characteristics of the packing and the best parameter to use when adjusting the packing. This paper addresses stem friction forces, analytically derives the equations related to these forces, presents a methodology for measuring these forces on valve stems, and attempts to correlate the data directly to the underlying variables

Simulating the pervasive fracture and fragmentation of materials and structures using randomly close-packed Voronoi tessellations.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bishop, Joseph E.

2008-09-01

Under extreme loading conditions most often the extent of material and structural fracture is pervasive in the sense that a multitude of cracks are nucleating, propagating in arbitrary directions, coalescing, and branching. Pervasive fracture is a highly nonlinear process involving complex material constitutive behavior, material softening, localization, surface generation, and ubiquitous contact. Two primary applications in which pervasive fracture is encountered are (1) weapons effects on structures and (2) geomechanics of highly jointed and faulted reservoirs. A pure Lagrangian computational method based on randomly close-packed Voronoi tessellations is proposed as a rational approach for simulating the pervasive fracture of materials and structures. Each Voronoi cell is formulated as a finite element using the reproducing kernel method. Fracture surfaces are allowed to nucleate only at the intercell faces. The randomly seeded Voronoi cells provide an unbiased network for representing cracks. In this initial study two approaches for allowing the new surfaces to initiate are studied: (1) dynamic mesh connectivity and the instantaneous insertion of a cohesive traction when localization is detected, and (2) a discontinuous Galerkin approach in which the interelement tractions are an integral part of the variational formulation, but only become active once localization is detected. Pervasive fracture problems are extremely sensitive to initial conditions and system parameters. Dynamic problems exhibit a form of transient chaos. The primary numerical challenge for this class of problems is the demonstration of model objectivity and, in particular, the identification and demonstration of a measure of convergence for engineering quantities of interest.

Loose Coupling of Wearable-Based INSs with Automatic Heading Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dina Bousdar Ahmed

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Position tracking of pedestrians by means of inertial sensors is a highly explored field of research. In fact, there are already many approaches to implement inertial navigation systems (INSs. However, most of them use a single inertial measurement unit (IMU attached to the pedestrian’s body. Since wearable-devices will be given items in the future, this work explores the implementation of an INS using two wearable-based IMUs. A loosely coupled approach is proposed to combine the outputs of wearable-based INSs. The latter are based on a pocket-mounted IMU and a foot-mounted IMU. The loosely coupled fusion combines the output of the two INSs not only when these outputs are least erroneous, but also automatically favoring the best output. This approach is named smart update. The main challenge is determining the quality of the heading estimation of each INS, which changes every time. In order to address this, a novel concept to determine the quality of the heading estimation is presented. This concept is subject to a patent application. The results show that the position error rate of the loosely coupled fusion is 10 cm/s better than either the foot INS’s or pocket INS’s error rate in 95% of the cases.

Loose Coupling of Wearable-Based INSs with Automatic Heading Evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bousdar Ahmed, Dina; Munoz Diaz, Estefania

2017-11-03

Position tracking of pedestrians by means of inertial sensors is a highly explored field of research. In fact, there are already many approaches to implement inertial navigation systems (INSs). However, most of them use a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to the pedestrian's body. Since wearable-devices will be given items in the future, this work explores the implementation of an INS using two wearable-based IMUs. A loosely coupled approach is proposed to combine the outputs of wearable-based INSs. The latter are based on a pocket-mounted IMU and a foot-mounted IMU. The loosely coupled fusion combines the output of the two INSs not only when these outputs are least erroneous, but also automatically favoring the best output. This approach is named smart update. The main challenge is determining the quality of the heading estimation of each INS, which changes every time. In order to address this, a novel concept to determine the quality of the heading estimation is presented. This concept is subject to a patent application. The results show that the position error rate of the loosely coupled fusion is 10 cm/s better than either the foot INS's or pocket INS's error rate in 95% of the cases.

Structural looseness investigation in slow rotating permanent magnet generators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skrimpas, Georgios Alexandros; Mijatovic, Nenad; Sweeney, Christian Walsted

2016-01-01

Structural looseness in electric machines is a condition influencing the alignment of the machine and thus the overall bearing health. In this work, assessment of the above mentioned failure mode is tested on a slow rotating (running speed equal to 0.7Hz) permanent magnet generator (PMG), while...... collecting vibration and current data in order to cross-reference the indications from the two monitoring techniques. It is found that electric signature analysis shows no response even when two hold down bolts are untightened, whereas the analysis results from the vibration data exhibit superior performance....... The vibration-based condition indicators with the best response are the stator slot pass frequency, which can be directly related to the cogging torque in PMGs, and the 4th electric frequency harmonic, whose amplitudes increase due to the overall lower structure damping coefficient under looseness...

Field research on using oil herding surfactants to thicken oil slicks in pack ice for in-situ burning. Volume 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buist, I.; Potter, S.; Nedwed, T.; Mullin, J.

2007-01-01

Laboratory and field studies have been performed in recent years to determine the capability of herding agents to thicken oil slicks among loose pack ice for the purpose of in situ burning. In loose pack ice conditions where booms are not practical, effective in situ burns may be possible if thin slicks could be thickened to the 2 to 5 mm range. However, specific chemical surface-active agents known as herders are need to clear and contain oil slicks on an open water surface. The agents spread quickly over a water surface into a monomolecular layer due to their high spreading coefficients. The best agents have spreading pressures in the mid 40 mN/m range. As such, only small quantities of these surfactants are needed to clear thin films of oil from large areas of water surface, and to contract it into thicker slicks. This paper summarized the previous studies that evaluated shoreline-cleaning agents with oil herding properties. However, the main focus of this paper was on the final phase of testing conducted at the Prudhoe Bay Fire Training Grounds in November 2006 in which a series of outdoor burns were conducted at the scale of 30 m 2 with herders and crude oil in a test pool containing pieces of ice. The tests revealed that when a herder was used on crude oil slicks that were otherwise unignitable, the slicks could be ignited and burned in situ in brash and slush ice conditions at temperatures as low as -17 degrees C. Both the removal rate and efficiencies for the herded slicks were comparable to the theoretical maximum achievable for mechanically contained slicks on open water. 13 refs., 1 tab., 18 figs

American Spirit Pack Descriptors and Perceptions of Harm: A Crowdsourced Comparison of Modified Packs.

Science.gov (United States)

Pearson, Jennifer L; Richardson, Amanda; Feirman, Shari P; Villanti, Andrea C; Cantrell, Jennifer; Cohn, Amy; Tacelosky, Michael; Kirchner, Thomas R

2016-08-01

In 2015, the Food and Drug Administration issued warnings to three tobacco manufacturers who label their cigarettes as "additive-free" and/or "natural" on the grounds that they make unauthorized reduced risk claims. The goal of this study was to examine US adults' perceptions of three American Spirit (AS) pack descriptors ("Made with Organic Tobacco," "100% Additive-Free," and "100% US Grown Tobacco") to assess if they communicate reduced risk. In September 2012, three cross-sectional surveys were posted on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Adult participants evaluated the relative harm of a Marlboro Red pack versus three different AS packs with the descriptors "Made with Organic Tobacco," "100% Additive-Free," or "100% US Grown Tobacco" (Survey 1; n = 461); a Marlboro Red pack versus these AS packs modified to exclude descriptors (Survey 2; n = 857); and unmodified versus modified AS pack images (Survey 3; n = 1001). The majority of Survey 1 participants rated the unmodified AS packs as less harmful than the Marlboro Red pack; 35.4%-58.8% of Survey 2 participants also rated the modified (no claims) packs as less harmful than Marlboro Red. In these surveys, prior use of AS cigarettes was associated with reduced perceptions of risk (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.59-2.40). "Made with Organic Tobacco" and "100% Additive-Free" were associated with reduced perceptions of risk when comparing the modified versus the unmodified AS packs (Survey 3). Data suggest that these AS pack descriptors communicate reduced harm messages to consumers. Findings have implications for regulatory actions related to product labeling and packaging. These findings provide additional evidence that the "Made with Organic Tobacco," "100% Additive-Free," and "100% US Grown" descriptors, as well as other aspects of the AS pack design, communicate reduced harm to non-, current, and former smokers. Additionally, they provide support for the importance of FDA's 2015 warning to Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company on

Importance of Ion Packing on the Dynamics of Ionic Liquids during Micropore Charging.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Yadong; Qiao, Rui; Vatamanu, Jenel; Borodin, Oleg; Bedrov, Dmitry; Huang, Jingsong; Sumpter, Bobby G

2016-01-07

Molecular simulations of the diffusion of EMIM(+) and TFSI(-) ions in slit-shaped micropores under conditions similar to those during charging show that in pores that accommodate only a single layer of ions, ions diffuse increasingly faster as the pore becomes charged (with diffusion coefficients even reaching ∼5 × 10(-9) m(2)/s), unless the pore becomes very highly charged. In pores wide enough to fit more than one layer of ions, ion diffusion is slower than in the bulk and changes modestly as the pore becomes charged. Analysis of these results revealed that the fast (or slow) diffusion of ions inside a micropore during charging is correlated most strongly with the dense (or loose) ion packing inside the pore. The molecular details of the ions and the precise width of the pores modify these trends weakly, except when the pore is so narrow that the ion conformation relaxation is strongly constrained by the pore walls.

High-resolution of particle contacts via fluorophore exclusion in deep-imaging of jammed colloidal packings

Science.gov (United States)

Kyeyune-Nyombi, Eru; Morone, Flaviano; Liu, Wenwei; Li, Shuiqing; Gilchrist, M. Lane; Makse, Hernán A.

2018-01-01

Understanding the structural properties of random packings of jammed colloids requires an unprecedented high-resolution determination of the contact network providing mechanical stability to the packing. Here, we address the determination of the contact network by a novel strategy based on fluorophore signal exclusion of quantum dot nanoparticles from the contact points. We use fluorescence labeling schemes on particles inspired by biology and biointerface science in conjunction with fluorophore exclusion at the contact region. The method provides high-resolution contact network data that allows us to measure structural properties of the colloidal packing near marginal stability. We determine scaling laws of force distributions, soft modes, correlation functions, coordination number and free volume that define the universality class of jammed colloidal packings and can be compared with theoretical predictions. The contact detection method opens up further experimental testing at the interface of jamming and glass physics.

Hardness of approximation for strip packing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Adamaszek, Anna Maria; Kociumaka, Tomasz; Pilipczuk, Marcin

2017-01-01

Strip packing is a classical packing problem, where the goal is to pack a set of rectangular objects into a strip of a given width, while minimizing the total height of the packing. The problem has multiple applications, for example, in scheduling and stock-cutting, and has been studied extensively......)-approximation by two independent research groups [FSTTCS 2016,WALCOM 2017]. This raises a questionwhether strip packing with polynomially bounded input data admits a quasi-polynomial time approximation scheme, as is the case for related twodimensional packing problems like maximum independent set of rectangles or two...

Modified strip packing heuristics for the rectangular variable-sized bin packing problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FG Ortmann

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Two packing problems are considered in this paper, namely the well-known strip packing problem (SPP and the variable-sized bin packing problem (VSBPP. A total of 252 strip packing heuristics (and variations thereof from the literature, as well as novel heuristics proposed by the authors, are compared statistically by means of 1170 SPP benchmark instances in order to identify the best heuristics in various classes. A combination of new heuristics with a new sorting method yields the best results. These heuristics are combined with a previous heuristic for the VSBPP by the authors to find good feasible solutions to 1357 VSBPP benchmark instances. This is the largest statistical comparison of algorithms for the SPP and the VSBPP to the best knowledge of the authors.

Tapping and listening: a new approach to bolt looseness monitoring

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Qingzhao; Zhu, Junxiao; Ho, Siu Chun Michael; Song, Gangbing

2018-07-01

Bolted joints are among the most common building blocks used across different types of structures, and are often the key components that sew all other structural parts together. Monitoring and assessment of looseness in bolted structures is one of the most attractive topics in mechanical, aerospace, and civil engineering. This paper presents a new percussion-based non-destructive approach to determine the health condition of bolted joints with the help of machine learning. The proposed method is very similar to the percussive diagnostic techniques used in clinical examinations to diagnose the health of patients. Due to the different interfacial properties among the bolts, nuts and the host structure, bolted joints can generate unique sounds when it is excited by impacts, such as from tapping. Power spectrum density, as a signal feature, was used to recognize and classify recorded tapping data. A machine learning model using the decision tree method was employed to identify the bolt looseness level. Experiments demonstrated that the newly proposed method for bolt looseness detection is very easy to implement by ‘listening to tapping’ and the monitoring accuracy is very high. With the rapid in robotics, the proposed approach has great potential to be implemented with intimately weaving robotics and machine learning to produce a cyber-physical system that can automatically inspect and determine the health of a structure.

The milk quality and feasebility analysis of loose housing dairy cows - a case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marjan Janžekovič

2006-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study was technological and economical analysis of free range cow breeding. The case study analyzed two different systems of holstein-friesian dairy cows breeding. The model total costs enterprise budget was developed for evaluation of economic feasibility of loose housing dairy cows in comparison with tied cow breeding system. Computer supported calculation enabled estimation of the most important economical parameters (net return, total cost, and coefficient of economics. Results obtained show that (at observed input parameters loose housing system is economically feasible, if there is a minimum of 41 dairy cows with an average milk production of 8610 kg per cow. It was also established that cows need approximately 6 months to fully adapt to the loose housing system.

Flooding characteristics of Goodloe packing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Begovich, J.M.; Watson, J.S.

1976-08-01

Experimental flooding data for the countercurrent flow of air and water in a 7.62-cm-diam glass column filled with Goodloe packing were compared with a correlation reported by the packing manufacturer. Flooding rates observed in this study were as low as one-half those predicted by the correlation. Rearranging the packing by inverting the column and removing some packing segments yielded results similar to the correlation for liquid-to-gas (L/G) mass flow rate ratios greater than 10, but the experimental flooding curve fell significantly below the correlation at lower L/G ratios. When the column was repacked with new packing, the results were essentially the same as those obtained in the inverted column. Thus, it is believed that a carefully packed column is more likely to yield flooding rates similar to those obtained in the new or inverted columns rather than rates predicted by the original correlation

The advantages of hydraulic packing extraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baker, R.S.

1991-01-01

Today's competitive environment, coupled with industry's desire to improve the efficiency of plant maintenance and operations, has management continually seeking ways to save time, money, and, at nuclear plants, radiation exposure. One area where a tremendous improvement in efficiency can be realized is valve packing removal. For example, industry experience indicates that up to 70% of the time it takes to repack a valve can be spent just removing the old packing. In some case, the bonnets of small valves are removed to facilitate packing removal and prevent stem and stuffing box damage that can occur when using packing removal picks. In other cases, small valves are simply removed and discarded because it costs less to replace the valves than to remove the packing using conventional methods. Hydraulic packing extraction greatly reduces packing removal time and will not damage the stem nor stuffing box, thus eliminating the need for bonnet removal or valve replacement. This paper will review some of the more common problems associated with manual packing extraction techniques. It will explain how hydraulic packing extraction eliminates or greatly reduces the impact of each of the problem areas. A discussion will be provided of some actual industry operating experiences related to success stories using hydraulic packing extraction. The paper will also briefly describe the operating parameters associated with hydraulic packing extraction tools. Throughout the paper, actual operating experiences from the nuclear power, fossil power, petrochemical, and refinery industries will be used to support the conclusion that hydraulic packing extraction is an alternative that can save time, money, and exposure

The Maximum Resource Bin Packing Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boyar, J.; Epstein, L.; Favrholdt, L.M.

2006-01-01

Usually, for bin packing problems, we try to minimize the number of bins used or in the case of the dual bin packing problem, maximize the number or total size of accepted items. This paper presents results for the opposite problems, where we would like to maximize the number of bins used...... algorithms, First-Fit-Increasing and First-Fit-Decreasing for the maximum resource variant of classical bin packing. For the on-line variant, we define maximum resource variants of classical and dual bin packing. For dual bin packing, no on-line algorithm is competitive. For classical bin packing, we find...

Experimental investigation into a packed bed thermal storage solution for solar gas turbine systems

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Klein, P

2013-09-01

Full Text Available High temperature thermal storage in randomly packed beds of ceramic particles is proposed as an effective storage solution for Solar Gas Turbine (SGT) cycles in the near term. Numerical modelling of these systems allows for optimised thermal storage...

Plantar pressure distribution of ostrich during locomotion on loose sand and solid ground

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rui Zhang

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Background The ostrich is a cursorial bird with extraordinary speed and endurance, especially in the desert, and thus is an ideal large-scale animal model for mechanic study of locomotion on granular substrate. Methods The plantar pressure distributions of ostriches walking/running on loose sand/solid ground were recorded using a dynamic pressure plate. Results The center of pressure (COP on loose sand mostly originated from the middle of the 3rd toe, which differed from the J-shaped COP trajectory on solid ground. At mid-stance, a high-pressure region was observed in the middle of the 3rd toe on loose sand, but three high-pressure regions were found on solid ground. The gait mode significantly affected the peak pressures of the 3rd and 4th toes (p = 1.5 × 10−6 and 2.39 × 10−8, respectively, but not that of the claw (p = 0.041. The effects of substrate were similar to those of the gait mode. Discussion Ground reaction force trials of each functional part showed the 3rd toe bore more body loads and the 4th toe undertook less loads. The pressure distributions suggest balance maintenance on loose sand was provided by the 3rd and 4th toes and the angle between their length axes. On loose sand, the middle of the 3rd toe was the first to touch the sand with a smaller attack angle to maximize the ground reaction force, but on solid ground, the lateral part was the first to touch the ground to minimize the transient loading. At push-off, the ostrich used solidification properties of granular sand under the compression of the 3rd toe to generate sufficient traction.

WIMS calculations for a model CAGR skip containing clusters and loose pins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Halsall, M.J.

1982-12-01

Calculations using WIMSD4 and MONK5.3 assess the reactivity consequences of distributing loose fuel pins around a CAGR skip already loaded with 20 fuel clusters, indicated uncertainties in the accuracy of the WIMSD4 multicell option for establishing the worst distribution of loose pins. The present study was undertaken in an attempt to resolve this uncertainty by comparing WIMSD4 single cell and multicell calculations for a representative model problem with results derived from LWRWIMS using discrete ordinates transport theory TWOTRAN to give a more reliable estimate of inter-cell couplings. The study concludes that WIMSD4 is systematic in its treatment of single cells with loose pins added but that somewhat unpredictable discrepancies of the order of 1 per cent in k can arise in calculations of different arrangements of cell types in a multicell situation. This is, nevertheless, of comparable accuracy to the Monte Carlo calculations normally made for studies of this type and hence the relatively rapid WIMSD4 calculations should serve a useful function in deciding which situations to analyse in more detail. (U.K.)

Valve packing manual. A maintenance application guide

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aikin, J.A.; McCutcheon, R.G.; Cumming, D.

1997-01-01

Since 1970, AECL Chalk River Mechanical Equipment Development (MED) branch has invested over 175 person years in testing related to improving valve packing performance. Successful developments, including, 'live-loading', reduced packing heights, and performance-based packing qualification testing have been implemented. Since 1986, MED and the Integrated Valve Actuator Program Task Force - Valve Packing Steering Committee (IVAP-VPSC) have been involved in the development of combination die-formed graphite packing for use in CANDU plants. Many reports, articles, and specifications have been issued. Due to the large amount of test data and reports, a more user-friendly document has been prepared for everyday use. The Valve Packing Manual is based on many years of MED research and testing, as well as operating experience from CANDU nuclear generating stations (NGS). Since 1986, packing research and testing has been funded by the CANDU Owners Group (COG), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), and participating valve packing manufacturers. The Valve Packing Manual (VPM) provides topical summaries of all work related to valve packing done since 1985. It includes advances in configuration design, stem packing friction, materials specifications, and installation procedures. This paper provides an overview on the application of the VPM with a focus on qualification testing, packing configuration, and stem packing friction. (author)

Assessment of heavy metals in loose deposits in drinking water distribution system.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Quanli; Han, Weiqiang; Han, Bingjun; Shu, Min; Shi, Baoyou

2018-06-09

Heavy metal accumulation and potential releases from loose deposits in drinking water distribution system (DWDS) can have critical impacts on drinking water safety, but the associated risks have not been sufficiently evaluated. In this work, the potential biological toxicity of heavy metals in loose deposits was calculated based on consensus-based sediment quality guidelines, and the effects of some of the main water quality parameters, such as the pH and bicarbonate and phosphate content, on the release behaviors of pre-accumulated heavy metals were investigated. The results showed that heavy metals (Cu, As, Cr, Pb, and Cd) significantly accumulated in all the samples, but the contents of the heavy metals were multiple magnitudes lower than the Fe and Mn contents. The potential biotoxicity of As and Cu was relatively high, but the biotoxicity of Cd was negligible. The water quality can significantly influence the release of heavy metals from loose deposits. As the pH increased from 7.0 to 9.0, the release of As and Cr obviously increased. The release of As, Cu, Pb, and Cr also accelerated with the addition of phosphate (from 1 to 5 mg/L). In contrast to the trends for the pH and phosphate, variations in the bicarbonate content did not have a significant influence on the release of As and Cr. The release ratios of heavy metals in the samples were very low, and there was not a correlation between the release rate of the heavy metals in the loose deposits and their potential biotoxicity.

On-line acoustic monitoring of EDF nuclear plants in operation and loose-part diagnosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morel, J.L.; Puyal, C.

1991-05-01

In order to detect incipient failures in nuclear power plant components, EDF has now put into operation more than 50 loose-part monitoring systems, on its 900 MW and 1 300 MW units. This paper first reviews the experience gained on the 900 MW reactors in recent years. It then focuses on the 1 300 MW loose part monitoring system (IDEAL) and to the tools developed for the diagnosis off site within a specific Expertise Laboratory at the Research and Development Division. New studies have been undertaken within the Monitoring and Aid to Diagnosis Station (PSAD) in order to extend the capabilities of loose part diagnosis on site. The new tools here presented integrate the recent progress in acquisition technology (SMART system) and in artificial intelligence (MIGRE expert system)

PENCITRAAN AMERICAN NIGHTMARE MELALUI PENGGUNAAN ARCHETYPEDAN LOOSE SENTENCE STRUCTUREDALAM “THE GREAT GATSBY” KARYA F. SCOTT. FIZGERALD

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tintin Susilowati

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Penelitian ini adalah penelitian stilistika yang mengkaji tentang penggunaan archetype dan loose sentence structure dalam membangun kesan mental pembaca tentang American Nightmare. Melalui penelitian ini, peneliti peneliti menggali pola-pola penggunaan archetype, loose sentence structure, serta konsep mental pembaca dalam memahami bacaan.Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui efektifitas gaya penulisan Fizgerald dengan menggunakan ornamen berupa archetype, loose sentence structure guna membangun kesan mental pembaca tentang America Nightmare. Pendekatan penelitian ini adalah deskriptive kualitatif sedangkan desainnya adalah library research. Data yang digunakan adalah data primer berupa kutipankutipan yang dicari dari novel, selain itu juga data sekunder berupa referensireferensi pendukung. Peneliti juga menggunakan coding dalam proses koleksi data. Teknik ini digunakan untuk membantu peneliti dalam mengklasifikasikan data. Lebih lanjut, penelitian ini merupakan penelitian dokumentasi maka dalam analisis peneliti menggunakan pendekatan content analysis selain itu interactive analysis juga digunakan peneliti dalam tahap analisis data. Dalam penelitian ini diperoleh data sebagai berikut, 1.ditemukan data tentang penggunaan archetype sejumlah 851 data/ 70.79%; 2. ditemukan data tentang penggunaan loose sentence structure sejumlah 351 data/ 29.20 %; 3. ditemukan data tentang penggunaan archetype dan loose sentence structure secara bersamaan sejumlah 1202 data/ 100%. Sedangkan kesimpulan dari penelitian ini adalah:penggunaan kedua ornamen khususnya berupa archetype didukung juga oleh penggunaan loose sentence structure membuat kontek dari sebuah teks mudah dipahami, Kedua ornamen tersebut meminimalis kesulitan pembaca dalam berinteraksi dengan teks.

Efficacy of fresh packed red blood transfusion in organophosphate poisoning.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Hang-Xing; Tong, Pei-Jian; Li, Cai-Xia; Du, Jing; Chen, Bing-Yu; Huang, Zhi-Hui; Wang, Ying

2017-03-01

The mortality rate caused by organophosphate (OP) poisoning is still high, even the standard treatment such as atropine and oxime improves a lot. To search for alternative therapies, this study was aimed to investigate the effects of packed red blood cell (RBC) transfusion in acute OP poisoning, and compare the therapeutic effects of RBCs at different storage times.Patients diagnosed with OP poisoning were included in this prospective study. Fresh RBCs (packed RBCs stored less than 10 days) and longer-storage RBCs (stored more than 10 days but less than 35 days) were randomly transfused or not into OP poisoning patients. Cholinesterase (ChE) levels in blood, atropine usage and durations, pralidoxime durations were measured.We found that both fresh and longer-storage RBCs (200-400 mL) significantly increased blood ChE levels 6 hours after transfusion, shortened the duration for ChE recovery and length of hospital stay, and reduced the usage of atropine and pralidoxime. In addition, fresh RBCs demonstrated stronger therapeutic effects than longer-storage RBCs.Packed RBCs might be an alternative approach in patients with OP poisoning, especially during early stages.

Spontaneous resolution of posterior ankle joint loose bodies after total ankle replacement: A case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Raymond P; Cheng, Sally H S

2017-06-01

Late stage ankle osteoarthritis often presents with debilitating pain. It is common to find osteophytes and loose body formation around the joint. Total ankle arthroplasty can preserve joint mobility and pain relieve for such patient. However, when trying to remove the osteophytes and loose bodies at the posterior ankle joint, there is risk of damaging posterior structures such as the neurovascular bundle during the procedure. We are presenting a case where the posterior loose bodies remained untouched during the operation, and patient showed spontaneous resolution of the lesions with time. Patient enjoyed good function outcome after the surgery. Copyright © 2016 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental studies on the coolability of packed beds. Flooding of hot dry packed beds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leininger, S.; Kulenovic, R.; Laurien, E.

2013-01-01

In case of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant meltdown of the reactor core can occur and form a packed bed in the lower plenum of the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) after solidification due to contact with water. The removal of after-heat and the long-term coolability is of essential interest. The efficient injection of cooling water into the packed bed has to be assured without endangering the structural integrity of the reactor pressure vessel. The experiments performed aimed to study the dry-out and the quenching (flooding) of hot dry packed beds. Two different inflow variants, bottom- and top-flooding including the variation of the starting temperature of the packed bed and the injection rate were studied. In case of bottom flooding the quenching time increases with increasing packed bed temperature and decreasing injection rate. In case of top flooding the flow pattern is more complex, in a first phase the water flows preferentially toward the RPV wall, the flow paths conduct the water downwards. The flow resistance of the packed bed increases with increasing bed temperatures. The quenching temperatures increase significantly above average.

Investigation of bioequivalence of a new fixed-dose combination of nifedipine and candesartan with the corresponding loose combination as well as the drug-drug interaction potential between both drugs under fasting conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Brendel, Erich; Weimann, Boris; Dietrich, Hartmut; Froede, Christoph; Thomas, Dirk

2013-09-01

To determine the bioequivalence of a nifedipine and candesartan fixed-dose combination (FDC) with the corresponding loose combination, and to investigate the pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction potential between both drugs. 49 healthy, white, male subjects received: 60 mg nifedipine and 32 mg candesartan FDC, the loose combination of 60 mg nifedipine GITS and 32 mg candesartan, 60 mg nifedipine GITS alone, or 32 mg candesartan alone in a randomized, non-blinded, 4-period, 4-way crossover design with each dosing following overnight fasting. Treatment periods were separated by washout periods of ≥ 5 days. Plasma samples were collected for 48 hours after dosing and assayed using a validated LC-MS/MS method. Bioequivalence between the FDC and the loose combination as well as the impact of combined treatment with both drugs on candesartan pharmacokinetics was evaluated in 47 subjects, while the corresponding impact of treatment with both drugs on nifedipine pharmacokinetics was assessed in 46 patients. For AUC(0-tlast) and Cmax the 90% confidence intervals (CIs) for the ratios of the FDC vs. the corresponding loose combination were within the acceptance range for bioequivalence of 80 - 125%. When comparing AUC(0-tlast) and Cmax of nifedipine and candesartan after dosing with the loose combination vs. each drug alone, the 90% CIs remained within the range of 80 - 125% indicating the absence of a clinically relevant pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction. Nifedipine and candesartan as well as the combinations were well tolerated. The FDC containing 60 mg nifedipine and 32 mg candesartan was bioequivalent to the corresponding loose combination following single oral doses under fasting conditions. No clinically relevant pharmacokinetic drug-drug interaction between nifedipine and candesartan was observed.

Pictorial cigarette pack warnings: a meta-analysis of experimental studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Noar, Seth M; Hall, Marissa G; Francis, Diane B; Ribisl, Kurt M; Pepper, Jessica K; Brewer, Noel T

2016-05-01

To inform international research and policy, we conducted a meta-analysis of the experimental literature on pictorial cigarette pack warnings. We systematically searched 7 computerised databases in April 2013 using several search terms. We also searched reference lists of relevant articles. We included studies that used an experimental protocol to test cigarette pack warnings and reported data on both pictorial and text-only conditions. 37 studies with data on 48 independent samples (N=33,613) met criteria. Two independent coders coded all study characteristics. Effect sizes were computed from data extracted from study reports and were combined using random effects meta-analytic procedures. Pictorial warnings were more effective than text-only warnings for 12 of 17 effectiveness outcomes (all pnegative pack attitudes and negative smoking attitudes and (4) more effectively increased intentions to not start smoking and to quit smoking. Participants also perceived pictorial warnings as being more effective than text-only warnings across all 8 perceived effectiveness outcomes. The evidence from this international body of literature supports pictorial cigarette pack warnings as more effective than text-only warnings. Gaps in the literature include a lack of assessment of smoking behaviour and a dearth of theory-based research on how warnings exert their effects. 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/

Markov chain-based mass estimation method for loose part monitoring system and its performance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung-Hwan Shin

2017-10-01

Full Text Available A loose part monitoring system is used to identify unexpected loose parts in a nuclear reactor vessel or steam generator. It is still necessary for the mass estimation of loose parts, one function of a loose part monitoring system, to develop a new method due to the high estimation error of conventional methods such as Hertz's impact theory and the frequency ratio method. The purpose of this study is to propose a mass estimation method using a Markov decision process and compare its performance with a method using an artificial neural network model proposed in a previous study. First, how to extract feature vectors using discrete cosine transform was explained. Second, Markov chains were designed with codebooks obtained from the feature vector. A 1/8-scaled mockup of the reactor vessel for OPR1000 was employed, and all used signals were obtained by impacting its surface with several solid spherical masses. Next, the performance of mass estimation by the proposed Markov model was compared with that of the artificial neural network model. Finally, it was investigated that the proposed Markov model had matching error below 20% in mass estimation. That was a similar performance to the method using an artificial neural network model and considerably improved in comparison with the conventional methods.

Optimized packings with applications

CERN Document Server

Pintér, János

2015-01-01

This volume presents a selection of case studies that address a substantial range of optimized object packings (OOP) and their applications. The contributing authors are well-recognized researchers and practitioners. The mathematical modelling and numerical solution aspects of each application case study are presented in sufficient detail. A broad range of OOP problems are discussed: these include various specific and non-standard container loading and object packing problems, as well as the stowing of hazardous and other materials on container ships, data centre resource management, automotive engineering design, space station logistic support, cutting and packing problems with placement constraints, the optimal design of LED street lighting, robust sensor deployment strategies, spatial scheduling problems, and graph coloring models and metaheuristics for packing applications. Novel points of view related to model development and to computational nonlinear, global, mixed integer optimization and heuristic st...

An on-line estimation of battery pack parameters and state-of-charge using dual filters based on pack model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xu; Wang, Yujie; Yang, Duo; Chen, Zonghai

2016-01-01

Accurate estimation of battery pack state-of-charge plays a very important role for electric vehicles, which directly reflects the behavior of battery pack usage. However, the inconsistency of battery makes the estimation of battery pack state-of-charge different from single cell. In this paper, to estimate the battery pack state-of-charge on-line, the definition of battery pack is proposed, and the relationship between the total available capacity of battery pack and single cell is put forward to analyze the energy efficiency influenced by battery inconsistency, then a lumped parameter battery model is built up to describe the dynamic behavior of battery pack. Furthermore, the extend Kalman filter-unscented Kalman filter algorithm is developed to identify the parameters of battery pack and forecast state-of-charge concurrently. The extend Kalman filter is applied to update the battery pack parameters by real-time measured data, while the unscented Kalman filter is employed to estimate the battery pack state-of-charge. Finally, the proposed approach is verified by experiments operated on the lithium-ion battery under constant current condition and the dynamic stress test profiles. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method can estimate the battery pack state-of-charge with high accuracy. - Highlights: • A novel space state equation is built to describe the pack dynamic behavior. • The dual filters method is used to estimate the pack state-of-charge. • Battery inconsistency is considered to analyze the pack usage efficiency. • The accuracy of the proposed method is verified under different conditions.

Loose-fit polypseudorotaxanes constructed from γ-CDs and PHEMA-PPG-PEG-PPG-PHEMA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tao Kong

2014-10-01

Full Text Available A pentablock copolymer was prepared via the atom transfer radical polymerization of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA initiated by 2-bromoisobutyryl end-capped PPO-PEO-PPO as a macroinitiator in DMF. Attaching PHEMA blocks altered the self-assembly process of the pentablock copolymer with γ-CDs in aqueous solution. Before attaching the PHEMA, the macroinitiator was preferentially bent to pass through the inner cavity of γ-CDs to give rise to tight-fit double-chain stranded polypseudorotaxanes (PPRs. After attaching the PHEMA, the resulting pentablock copolymer was single-chain stranded into the interior of γ-CDs to form more stable, loose-fit PPRs. The results of 1H NMR, WXRD, DSC, TGA, 13C CP/MAS NMR and FTIR analyses indicated that γ-CDs can accommodate and slip over PHEMA blocks to randomly distribute along the entire pentablock copolymer chain. This results in unique, single-chain stranded PPRs showing no characteristic channel-type crystal structure.

Packing Degenerate Graphs Greedily

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Allen, P.; Böttcher, J.; Hladký, J.; Piguet, Diana

2017-01-01

Roč. 61, August (2017), s. 45-51 ISSN 1571-0653 R&D Projects: GA ČR GJ16-07822Y Institutional support: RVO:67985807 Keywords : tree packing conjecture * graph packing * graph processes Subject RIV: BA - General Mathematics OBOR OECD: Pure mathematics

Udder health in a Danish compost bedded pack barn

OpenAIRE

Svennesen, Line; Enevoldsen, Carsten; Bjerg, Bjarne Schmidt; Klaas, Ilka Christine

2014-01-01

Besides welfare advantages of the compost bedded pack system (CBP) there could be a negative effect of the organic bedding on udder health. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of a CBP on udder health compared to a free stall system (FS) with sand bedded cubicles. Within the same Danish organic farm, 330 multiparous cows were randomly allocated to CBP or FS. During the experimental period (EP), December 2012 to May 2013, proportions of cows with blinded teats were registered monthly a...

Solution Coating of Superior Large-Area Flexible Perovskite Thin Films with Controlled Crystal Packing

KAUST Repository

Li, Jianbo

2017-05-08

Solution coating of organohalide lead perovskites offers great potential for achieving low-cost manufacturing of large-area flexible optoelectronics. However, the rapid coating speed needed for industrial-scale production poses challenges to the control of crystal packing. Herein, this study reports using solution shearing to confine crystal nucleation and growth in large-area printed MAPbI3 thin films. Near single-crystalline perovskite microarrays are demonstrated with a high degree of controlled macroscopic alignment and crystal orientation, which exhibit significant improvements in optical and optoelectronic properties comparing with their random counterparts, spherulitic, and nanograined films. In particular, photodetectors based on the confined films showing intense anisotropy in charge transport are fabricated, and the device exhibits significantly improved performance in all aspects by one more orders of magnitude relative to their random counterparts. It is anticipated that perovskite films with controlled crystal packing may find applications in high-performance, large-area printed optoelectronics, and solar cells.

Solution Coating of Superior Large-Area Flexible Perovskite Thin Films with Controlled Crystal Packing

KAUST Repository

Li, Jianbo; Liu, Yucheng; Ren, Xiaodong; Yang, Zhou; Li, Ruipeng; Su, Hang; Yang, Xiaoming; Xu, Junzhuo; Xu, Hua; Hu, Jian-Yong; Amassian, Aram; Zhao, Kui; Liu, Shengzhong Frank

2017-01-01

Solution coating of organohalide lead perovskites offers great potential for achieving low-cost manufacturing of large-area flexible optoelectronics. However, the rapid coating speed needed for industrial-scale production poses challenges to the control of crystal packing. Herein, this study reports using solution shearing to confine crystal nucleation and growth in large-area printed MAPbI3 thin films. Near single-crystalline perovskite microarrays are demonstrated with a high degree of controlled macroscopic alignment and crystal orientation, which exhibit significant improvements in optical and optoelectronic properties comparing with their random counterparts, spherulitic, and nanograined films. In particular, photodetectors based on the confined films showing intense anisotropy in charge transport are fabricated, and the device exhibits significantly improved performance in all aspects by one more orders of magnitude relative to their random counterparts. It is anticipated that perovskite films with controlled crystal packing may find applications in high-performance, large-area printed optoelectronics, and solar cells.

Valve-stem-packing improvement study. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adey, C.W.; Klein, J.J.

1982-08-01

By employing questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with valve and valve packing manufacturers, as well as nuclear plant personnel, an understanding of valve stem packing leakage problems from each of the three viewpoints was developed. This information, in-house experience, and available technical literature were used to develop specific recommendations for valve manufacturers, valve packing manufacturers, and nuclear plant valve users. It was generally recommended that each these groups make better use of graphite packing. The questionnaires and interviews indicated that increased usage of graphite packing over the last few years has reduced the incidence of valve packing problems. To confirm this, a survey of Licensee Event Reports (LERs) from 1972 to 1980 was undertaken using the keywords Valve and Packing. A statistical analysis of the LER data confirms that the adoption of graphite packing has significantly reduced valve stem leakage

Numerical modelling for the effective thermal conductivity of lithium meta titanate pebble bed with different packing structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panchal, Maulik, E-mail: maulikpanchal@ipr.res.in [Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar-382428 (India); Chaudhuri, Paritosh [Institute for Plasma Research, Bhat, Gandhinagar-382428 (India); Van Lew, Jon T; Ying, Alice [UCLA, MAE Department, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1597 (United States)

2016-11-15

Highlights: • The effective thermal conductivity (k{sub eff}) of lithium meta-titanate (Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3}) pebble beds is an important parameter for the design and analysis of TBM in ITER. • The k{sub eff} of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble beds under stagnant helium gas have been determined numerically using different uniform packing structures and random close packing (RCP) structures. • k{sub eff} of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble beds with different packing fractions have been reported as function of temperature; k{sub eff} of the RCP Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble bed is compared with reported experimental results. • The numerically-determined k{sub eff} of the RCP Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble bed agrees reasonably well with the experimental data and Zehner-Schlunder correlation. - Abstract: The effective thermal conductivity (k{sub eff}) of lithium meta-titanate (Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3}) pebble beds is an important parameter for the design and analysis of IN LLCB TBM (Indian Lead Lithium Ceramic Breeder Test Blanket Module). The k{sub eff} of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble beds under stagnant helium gas have been determined numerically using different uniform packing structures and random close packing (RCP) structures. The uniform packing structures of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble bed are modelled by using the simple cubic, body centered cubic and face centered cubic arrangement. The packing structure of the RCP bed of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebbles is generated with the discrete element method (DEM) code. k{sub eff} of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble beds with different packing fractions have been reported as function of temperature; k{sub eff} of the RCP Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble bed is compared with reported experimental results from literature. The numerically determined k{sub eff} of the Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} pebble bed agrees reasonably well with the experimental data.

Realizing Loose Communication with Tangible Avatar to Facilitate Recipient’s Imagination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shinichi Endo

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Social network services (SNSs allow users to share their daily experiences and significant life events with family, friends, and colleagues. However, excessive use of SNSs or dependence upon them can cause a problem known as “SNS fatigue” that is associated with feelings of anxiety and loneliness. In other words, the tighter and stronger the social bonds are through SNSs, the more users feel anxiety and loneliness. We propose a method for providing users with a sense of security and connectedness with others by facilitating loose communication. Loose communication is defined by the presentation of abstract information and passive (one-way communication. By focusing on the physicality and anthropomorphic characteristics of tangible avatars, we investigated a communication support system, Palco, that displays three types of contextual information with respect to the communication partner—emotional state, activity, and location—in a loose manner. Our approach contrasts with typical SNS interaction methods characterized by tight communication with interactivity and concrete information. This paper describes the design and implementation of Palco, as well as its usefulness as a communication tool. The emotional effects on the users are evaluated through a user study with 10 participants over four days. The results imply that Palco can effectively communicate the context of the communication partner, and provide a sense of security.

Giant Peritoneal Loose Bodies | van Zyl | SA Journal of Radiology

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Giant peritoneal loose bodies are rare lesions, originating from auto-amputated appendices epiploicae. They may cause urinary or gastrointestinal obstruction and, should the radiologist not be familiar with the entity, can potentially be confused with malignant or parasitic lesions. Familiarity with their characteristic computed ...

Setting of loose-fill insulation materials in walls; Saetningsfri indblaesning af loesfyldsisolering i vaegge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rasmussen, T.V.

2001-07-01

The report describes material behaviour, which significantly influences the settling of loose-fill insulation materials. The specific application presented here is loose-fill insulation material injected in walls as thermal insulation. The physical formulation of the issue to be discussed is that the mass is kept in position in the cavity by frictional forces, which counteracts the settling but complicates injection. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether there is a possibility that decreased friction will be able to release settling. Cellulose loose-fill material injected in a 0.1 m thick and 1 m wide gypsum wall with a minimum density of 48 kg/m3 was found not to settle if kept at a constant relative humidity, RH 50 %. A minimum density of 53 kg/m3 is necessary if the thickness of the wall is increased from 0.1 m to 0.3 m. If changing the constant environment from RH 50 % to RH 80 % a minimum density of 63 kg/m3 is necessary. Furthermore, results so far show that cellulose loose-fill material spread on the attic floor will have a density after settling of 48 kg /M3 for a constant RH 50 %, corresponding to 43 kg/m3 dry material. The results were found by using a model and tests. (au)

Composite bulk Heat Insulation Made of loose Mineral and Organic Aggregate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Namsone Eva

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The task of building energy-efficiency is getting more important. Every house owner wishes to save up exploitation costs of heating, cooling, hot water production, ventilation, etc. and find cost-effective investments. One of the ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE is to minimize the heat transfer through the building by insulating it. Loose heat insulation is a good alternative to traditional board insulation, it is simple in use and cost-effective. Main drawback of this insulation is tendency to compact during exploitation. In the frame of this research composite loose heat insulation is elaborated, consisting on porous mineral foamed glass aggregate and local organic fiber materials (hemp and flaxen shives. Composite bulk insulation is an alternative solution which combines heat insulating properties and mechanical stability.

Complications of balloon packing in epistaxis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vermeeren, Lenka; Derks, Wynia; Fokkens, Wytske; Menger, Dirk Jan

2015-01-01

Although balloon packing appears to be efficient to control epistaxis, severe local complications can occur. We describe four patients with local lesions after balloon packing. Prolonged balloon packing can cause damage to nasal mucosa, septum and alar skin (nasal mucosa, the cartilaginous skeleton

Hypostatic jammed packings of frictionless nonspherical particles

Science.gov (United States)

VanderWerf, Kyle; Jin, Weiwei; Shattuck, Mark D.; O'Hern, Corey S.

2018-01-01

We perform computational studies of static packings of a variety of nonspherical particles including circulo-lines, circulo-polygons, ellipses, asymmetric dimers, dumbbells, and others to determine which shapes form packings with fewer contacts than degrees of freedom (hypostatic packings) and which have equal numbers of contacts and degrees of freedom (isostatic packings), and to understand why hypostatic packings of nonspherical particles can be mechanically stable despite having fewer contacts than that predicted from naive constraint counting. To generate highly accurate force- and torque-balanced packings of circulo-lines and cir-polygons, we developed an interparticle potential that gives continuous forces and torques as a function of the particle coordinates. We show that the packing fraction and coordination number at jamming onset obey a masterlike form for all of the nonspherical particle packings we studied when plotted versus the particle asphericity A , which is proportional to the ratio of the squared perimeter to the area of the particle. Further, the eigenvalue spectra of the dynamical matrix for packings of different particle shapes collapse when plotted at the same A . For hypostatic packings of nonspherical particles, we verify that the number of "quartic" modes along which the potential energy increases as the fourth power of the perturbation amplitude matches the number of missing contacts relative to the isostatic value. We show that the fourth derivatives of the total potential energy in the directions of the quartic modes remain nonzero as the pressure of the packings is decreased to zero. In addition, we calculate the principal curvatures of the inequality constraints for each contact in circulo-line packings and identify specific types of contacts with inequality constraints that possess convex curvature. These contacts can constrain multiple degrees of freedom and allow hypostatic packings of nonspherical particles to be mechanically

Loose anagen hair syndrome associated with colobomas and dysmorphic features

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lars Kjaersgård; Brandrup, Flemming; Clemmensen, Ole

2004-01-01

Loose anagen hair syndrome is an uncommon congenital disorder. It may occur in association with other syndromes and dysmorphic features. We report a girl who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for this syndrome as proposed by Tosti (Arch Dermatol 2002, 138: 521-522). She also had several other...

A VAX-FPS Loosely-Coupled Array of Processors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grosdidier, G.

1987-03-01

The main features of a VAX-FPS Loosely-Coupled Array of Processors (LCAP) set-up and the implementation of a High Energy Physics tracking program for off-line purposes will be described. This LCAP consists of a VAX 11/750 host and two FPS 64 bit attached processors. Before analyzing the performances of this LCAP, its characteristics will be outlined, especially from a user's point of vue, and will be briefly compared to those of the IBM-FPS LCAP

Results from Tight and Loose Coupled Multiphysics in Nuclear Fuels Performance Simulations using BISON

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

S. R. Novascone; B. W. Spencer; D. Andrs; R. L. Williamson; J. D. Hales; D. M. Perez

2013-05-01

The behavior of nuclear fuel in the reactor environment is affected by multiple physics, most notably heat conduction and solid mechanics, which can have a strong influence on each other. To provide credible solutions, a fuel performance simulation code must have the ability to obtain solutions for each of the physics, including coupling between them. Solution strategies for solving systems of coupled equations can be categorized as loosely-coupled, where the individual physics are solved separately, keeping the solutions for the other physics fixed at each iteration, or tightly coupled, where the nonlinear solver simultaneously drives down the residual for each physics, taking into account the coupling between the physics in each nonlinear iteration. In this paper, we compare the performance of loosely and tightly coupled solution algorithms for thermomechanical problems involving coupled thermal and mechanical contact, which is a primary source of interdependence between thermal and mechanical solutions in fuel performance models. The results indicate that loosely-coupled simulations require significantly more nonlinear iterations, and may lead to convergence trouble when the thermal conductivity of the gap is too small. We also apply the tightly coupled solution strategy to a nuclear fuel simulation of an experiment in a test reactor. Studying the results from these simulations indicates that perhaps convergence for either approach may be problem dependent, i.e., there may be problems for which a loose coupled approach converges, where tightly coupled won’t converge and vice versa.

Results from tight and loose coupled multiphysics in nuclear fuels performance simulations using BISON

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novascone, S. R.; Spencer, B. W.; Andrs, D.; Williamson, R. L.; Hales, J. D.; Perez, D. M.

2013-01-01

The behavior of nuclear fuel in the reactor environment is affected by multiple physics, most notably heat conduction and solid mechanics, which can have a strong influence on each other. To provide credible solutions, a fuel performance simulation code must have the ability to obtain solutions for each of the physics, including coupling between them. Solution strategies for solving systems of coupled equations can be categorized as loosely-coupled, where the individual physics are solved separately, keeping the solutions for the other physics fixed at each iteration, or tightly coupled, where the nonlinear solver simultaneously drives down the residual for each physics, taking into account the coupling between the physics in each nonlinear iteration. In this paper, we compare the performance of loosely and tightly coupled solution algorithms for thermomechanical problems involving coupled thermal and mechanical contact, which is a primary source of interdependence between thermal and mechanical solutions in fuel performance models. The results indicate that loosely-coupled simulations require significantly more nonlinear iterations, and may lead to convergence trouble when the thermal conductivity of the gap is too small. We also apply the tightly coupled solution strategy to a nuclear fuel simulation of an experiment in a test reactor. Studying the results from these simulations indicates that perhaps convergence for either approach may be problem dependent, i.e., there may be problems for which a loose coupled approach converges, where tightly coupled won't converge and vice versa. (authors)

The structural origin of the hard-sphere glass transition in granular packing.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Chengjie; Li, Jindong; Cao, Yixin; Kou, Binquan; Xiao, Xianghui; Fezzaa, Kamel; Xiao, Tiqiao; Wang, Yujie

2015-09-28

Glass transition is accompanied by a rapid growth of the structural relaxation time and a concomitant decrease of configurational entropy. It remains unclear whether the transition has a thermodynamic origin, and whether the dynamic arrest is associated with the growth of a certain static order. Using granular packing as a model hard-sphere glass, we show the glass transition as a thermodynamic phase transition with a 'hidden' polytetrahedral order. This polytetrahedral order is spatially correlated with the slow dynamics. It is geometrically frustrated and has a peculiar fractal dimension. Additionally, as the packing fraction increases, its growth follows an entropy-driven nucleation process, similar to that of the random first-order transition theory. Our study essentially identifies a long-sought-after structural glass order in hard-sphere glasses.

Minoxidil 5% solution for topical treatment of loose anagen hair syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandran, Nisha S; Oranje, Arnold P

2014-01-01

A 2-year-old girl with a diagnosis of loose anagen hair syndrome was treated with a tapering regime of minoxidil 5% solution over 28 months, resulting in quick, significant clinical improvement with no adverse effects. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of a leadership resource pack

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-07-01

The pack contains notes and presentation material for OSD inspectors to help them prepare for health and safety discussions with senior managers. The successful application of the leadership resource pack depends on an inspector gaining familiarity with the contents of the pack. Flexibility and adaptability were considered crucial factors in developing the contents. The pack is not considered a substitute for an inspector's own experience, knowledge or substitute for prior research. The leadership resource pack is intended as a source of knowledge and good practice that demonstrates how positive leadership can drive a health and safety agenda alongside business considerations. The benefits of the leadership resource pack include: the creation of a flexible tool that inspectors can use to highlight key leadership messages in health and safety; the development of a seven-stage model for characterising senior management commitment; practical examples of how leadership in health and safety management was felt throughout nine organisations; ideas for devising an aide memoire for specific discussions with senior managers. (author)

The Influence of Slowly Varying Mass on Severity of Dynamics Nonlinearity of Bearing-Rotor Systems with Pedestal Looseness

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mian Jiang

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nonlinearity measure is proposed to investigate the influence of slowly varying mass on severity of dynamics nonlinearity of bearing-rotor systems with pedestal looseness. A nonlinear mathematical model including the effect of slowly varying disk mass is developed for a bearing-rotor system with pedestal looseness. The varying of equivalent disk mass is described by a cosine function, and the amplitude coefficient is used as a control parameter. Then, nonlinearity measure is employed to quantify the severity of dynamics nonlinearity of bearing-rotor systems. With the increasing of looseness clearances, the curves that denote the trend of nonlinearity degree are plotted for each amplitude coefficient of mass varying. It can be concluded that larger amplitude coefficients of the disk mass varying will have more influence on the severity of dynamics nonlinearity and generation of chaotic behaviors in rotor systems with pedestal looseness.

Molecular Identification of Bacteria from Aseptically Loose Implants

Science.gov (United States)

Kobayashi, Naomi; Procop, Gary W.; Krebs, Viktor; Kobayashi, Hideo

2008-01-01

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays have been used to detect bacteria adherent to failed orthopaedic implants, but some PCR assays have had problems with probable false-positive results. We used a combination of a Staphylococcus species-specific PCR and a universal PCR followed by DNA sequencing to identify bacteria on implants retrieved from 52 patients (92 implants) at revision arthroplasty. We addressed two questions in this study: (1) Is this method able to show the existence of bacterial DNA on presumed aseptic loosed implants?; and (2) What proportion of presumed aseptic or culture-negative implants was positive for bacterial DNA by PCR? Fourteen implants (15%) were believed infected, whereas 74 implants (85%) were believed aseptic. Each implant was sonicated and the resulting solution was submitted for dual real-time PCR assay and culture. All implants believed aseptically loose were culture-negative, but nine of the 74 (12%) had bacterial DNA by PCR; two (2.7%) were PCR-positive and also showed histologic findings suggestive of infection. Uniquely developed PCR and bacterial sequencing assays showed bacterial DNA on 12% of implants removed for presumed aseptic loosening. Additional studies are needed to determine the clinical importance of bacterial DNA detected by PCR but not by conventional culture. Level of Evidence: Level III, diagnostic study. See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. PMID:18438724

Residual Defect Density in Random Disks Deposits.

Science.gov (United States)

Topic, Nikola; Pöschel, Thorsten; Gallas, Jason A C

2015-08-03

We investigate the residual distribution of structural defects in very tall packings of disks deposited randomly in large channels. By performing simulations involving the sedimentation of up to 50 × 10(9) particles we find all deposits to consistently show a non-zero residual density of defects obeying a characteristic power-law as a function of the channel width. This remarkable finding corrects the widespread belief that the density of defects should vanish algebraically with growing height. A non-zero residual density of defects implies a type of long-range spatial order in the packing, as opposed to only local ordering. In addition, we find deposits of particles to involve considerably less randomness than generally presumed.

Force-chain evolution in a two-dimensional granular packing compacted by vertical tappings

Science.gov (United States)

Iikawa, Naoki; Bandi, M. M.; Katsuragi, Hiroaki

2018-03-01

We experimentally study the statistics of force-chain evolution in a vertically-tapped two-dimensional granular packing by using photoelastic disks. In this experiment, the tapped granular packing is gradually compacted. During the compaction, the isotropy of grain configurations is quantified by measuring the deviator anisotropy derived from fabric tensor, and then the evolution of force-chain structure is quantified by measuring the interparticle forces and force-chain orientational order parameter. As packing fraction increases, the interparticle force increases and finally saturates to an asymptotic value. Moreover, the grain configurations and force-chain structures become isotropically random as the tapping-induced compaction proceeds. In contrast, the total length of force chains remains unchanged. From the correlations of those parameters, we find two relations: (i) a positive correlation between the isotropy of grain configurations and the disordering of force-chain orientations, and (ii) a negative correlation between the increasing of interparticle forces and the disordering of force-chain orientations. These relations are universally held regardless of the mode of particle motions with or without convection.

Applications of the monitor of loose parts in the cycle 6 of the Laguna Verde Unit 2 power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Calleros, G.; Mendez, A.; Gomez, R.A.; Castillo, R.; Bravo, J.M.

2004-01-01

The monitor of loose parts (Loose Parts Monitoring System) installed in the Unit 2 of the Laguna Verde Central is a tool to detect strange objects or parts loose in the system of refrigeration of the reactor that could be impacted in the walls of the recirculation knots or in the internal of the reactor. In this work two applications are shown carried out with the Monitor of Loose Parts, determining the characteristics of the stable nominal conditions, those which when changing, they are used to diagnose during the Cycle 6 of the Unit 2, failures in the components of the the recirculation circuits or to identify mechanical vibrations of the recirculation knots induced by a flow of recirculation bistable associated to operative conditions of the reactor. (Author)

Pre-feasibility investigation of infrared thermography for the identification of loose hanging wall and impending falls of ground.

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Kononov, VA

2000-09-01

Full Text Available on the temperature difference (gradient) between solid rock and the tip of loose rock due to the heat exchange between loose rock and ventilation air. Early attempts to introduce this method of loose rock detection took place in the 1970’s in North America. A... 24 References 26 5 List of Figures Page Figure 2.1 Spectral radiant emittance of a blackbody 8 Figure 4.2.1 A 1-D fin model using theoretical correlations 13 Figure 4.2.2 Temperature profile in the slab (1-D fin model) 15 Figure 4...

Distributed Solutions for Loosely Coupled Feasibility Problems Using Proximal Splitting Methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pakazad, Sina Khoshfetrat; Andersen, Martin Skovgaard; Hansson, Anders

2014-01-01

In this paper,we consider convex feasibility problems (CFPs) where the underlying sets are loosely coupled, and we propose several algorithms to solve such problems in a distributed manner. These algorithms are obtained by applying proximal splitting methods to convex minimization reformulations ...

Mechanised packing for longwall coal faces. Monolithic packing and powered supports for the packhole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carr, F; Kitching, F

1978-11-01

If full advantage is to be taken of the great advances that have taken place in power loading and powered support at the coalface, other operations in that vicinity must be similarly mechanised and automated. The gateside packing is one of the most important of these ancillary operations on the longwall face, and in previous articles F. Carr and F. Kitching, National Coal Board Headquarters, Coalface Operations Mining Engineers have given a very comprehensive resume of the present situation. Subjects covered include the requirements of mechanised packing, the parameters involved, the various working arrangements, the different systems of gate-ends, the types of equipment that are being used, their characteristics, the spread of their application, and the results obtained from them. In this article the authors conclude their survey by dealing with dirt/cement and anhydrite packing, by taking a hard look at powered supports for the packhole, and by expressing their views on the way mechanised packing may be expected to develop in the future.

Hypostatic jammed packings of frictionless nonspherical particles

OpenAIRE

VanderWerf, Kyle; Jin, Weiwei; Shattuck, Mark D.; O'Hern, Corey S.

2017-01-01

We perform computational studies of static packings of a variety of nonspherical particles including circulo-lines, circulo-polygons, ellipses, asymmetric dimers, and dumbbells to determine which shapes form hypostatic versus isostatic packings and to understand why hypostatic packings of nonspherical particles can be mechanically stable despite having fewer contacts than that predicted from na\\"ive constraint counting. To generate highly accurate force- and torque-balanced packings of circul...

The influence of salinity of fly ash mixtures on energy looses during flow in pipelines

OpenAIRE

И. Собота

2017-01-01

In Polish mining for backfilling the fly ash mixtures are used. Last time for fly ash mixtures preparation the saline water from mine have been used, to thanks to that the saline water missing the surface waters. Usage of saline water for fly ash mixture preparation causes the changes in energy looses during the flow in pipelines. The paper presents the results of energy looses measurement іn laboratory pipeline installation with diameter D =50 mm. The measurements have been performed for dif...

Loose glenoid components in revision shoulder arthroplasty: is there an association with positive cultures?

Science.gov (United States)

Lucas, Robert M; Hsu, Jason E; Whitney, Ian J; Wasserburger, Jory; Matsen, Frederick A

2016-08-01

Glenoid loosening is one of the most common causes of total shoulder failure. High rates of positive cultures of Propionibacterium and coagulase-negative staphylococcus have been found among shoulders having surgical revision for glenoid loosening. This study reviewed the culture results in a series of surgical revisions for failed total shoulder arthroplasty to determine the relationship between glenoid loosening and positive cultures. The medical records of 221 patients without obvious evidence of infection who underwent revision total shoulder arthroplasty were reviewed to examine the association between the security of fixation of the glenoid component and the results of cultures obtained at revision surgery. Of the revised shoulders, 53% had positive cultures; 153 of the shoulders (69%) had a loose glenoid component, whereas 68 (31%) had secure glenoid component fixation. Of the 153 loose glenoid components, 82 (54%) had at least 1 positive culture and 44 (29%) had 2 or more positive cultures of the same microorganism. Similarly, of the 68 secure glenoid components, 35 (51%) had at least 1 positive culture (P = .77) and 14 (21%) had 2 or more positive cultures of the same microorganism (P = .25). Explanted glenoid components that were loose had a higher rate of culture positivity (56% [24/43]) in comparison to explanted glenoid components that were well fixed (13% [1/8]) (P = .05). Propionibacterium and coagulase-negative staphylococcus are commonly recovered in revision shoulder arthroplasty, whether or not the glenoid components are loose. Copyright © 2016 Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery Board of Trustees. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of an effective valve packing program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hart, K.A.

1996-12-01

Current data now shows that graphite valve packing installed within the guidance of a controlled program produces not only reliable stem sealing but predictable running loads. By utilizing recent technological developments in valve performance monitoring for both MOV`s and AOV`s, valve packing performance can be enhanced while reducing maintenance costs. Once known, values are established for acceptable valve packing loads, the measurement of actual valve running loads via the current MOV/AOV diagnostic techniques can provide indication of future valve stem sealing problems, improper valve packing installation or identify the opportunity for valve packing program improvements. At times the full benefit of these advances in material and predictive technology remain under utilized due to simple past misconceptions associated with valve packing. This paper will explore the basis for these misconceptions, provide general insight into the current understanding of valve packing and demonstrate how with this new understanding and current valve diagnostic equipment the key aspects required to develop an effective, quality valve packing program fit together. The cost and operational benefits provided by this approach can be significant impact by the: elimination of periodic valve repacking, reduction of maintenance costs, benefits of leak-free valve operation, justification for reduced Post Maintenance Test Requirements, reduced radiation exposure, improved plant appearance.

BNGS B valve packing program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cumming, D.

1995-01-01

The Bruce B Valve Packing Program began in 1987. The early history and development were presented at the 1992 International CANDU Maintenance conference. This presentation covers the evolution of the Bruce B Valve Packing Program over the period 1992 to 1995. (author)

The pursuit of perfect packing

CERN Document Server

Weaire, Denis

2008-01-01

Coauthored by one of the creators of the most efficient space packing solution, the Weaire-Phelan structure, The Pursuit of Perfect Packing, Second Edition explores a problem of importance in physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering: the packing of structures. Maintaining its mathematical core, this edition continues and revises some of the stories from its predecessor while adding several new examples and applications. The book focuses on both scientific and everyday problems ranging from atoms to honeycombs. It describes packing models, such as the Kepler conjecture, Voronoï decomposition, and Delaunay decomposition, as well as actual structure models, such as the Kelvin cell and the Weaire-Phelan structure. The authors discuss numerous historical aspects and provide biographical details on influential contributors to the field, including emails from Thomas Hales and Ken Brakke. With examples from physics, crystallography, engineering, and biology, this accessible and whimsical bo...

Pyrosequencing reveals bacterial communities in unchlorinated drinking water distribution system: an integral study of bulk water, suspended solids, loose deposits, and pipe wall biofilm.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, G; Bakker, G L; Li, S; Vreeburg, J H G; Verberk, J Q J C; Medema, G J; Liu, W T; Van Dijk, J C

2014-05-20

The current understanding of drinking water distribution system (DWDS) microbiology is limited to pipe wall biofilm and bulk water; the contributions of particle-associated bacteria (from suspended solids and loose deposits) have long been neglected. Analyzing the composition and correlation of bacterial communities from different phases helped us to locate where most of the bacteria are and understand the interactions among these phases. In the present study, the bacteria from four critical phases of an unchlorinated DWDS, including bulk water, pipe wall biofilm, suspended solids, and loose deposits, were quantified and identified by adenosine triphosphate analysis and pyrosequencing, respectively. The results showed that the bulk water bacteria (including the contribution of suspended solids) contributed less than 2% of the total bacteria. The bacteria associated with loose deposits and pipe wall biofilm that accumulated in the DWDS accounted for over 98% of the total bacteria, and the contributions of bacteria in loose deposits and pipe wall biofilm were comparable. Depending on the amount of loose deposits, its contribution can be 7-fold higher than the pipe wall biofilm. Pyrosequencing revealed relatively stable bacterial communities in bulk water, pipe wall biofilm, and suspended solids throughout the distribution system; however, the communities present in loose deposits were dependent on the amount of loose deposits locally. Bacteria within the phases of suspended solids, loose deposits, and pipe wall biofilm were similar in phylogenetic composition. The bulk water bacteria (dominated by Polaromonas spp.) were clearly different from the bacteria from the other three phases (dominated by Sphingomonas spp.). This study highlighted that the integral DWDS ecology should include contributions from all of the four phases, especially the bacteria harbored by loose deposits. The accumulation of loose deposits and the aging process create variable microenvironments

Pyrosequencing Reveals Bacterial Communities in Unchlorinated Drinking Water Distribution System: An Integral Study of Bulk Water, Suspended Solids, Loose Deposits, and Pipe Wall Biofilm

KAUST Repository

Liu, G.

2014-05-20

The current understanding of drinking water distribution system (DWDS) microbiology is limited to pipe wall biofilm and bulk water; the contributions of particle-associated bacteria (from suspended solids and loose deposits) have long been neglected. Analyzing the composition and correlation of bacterial communities from different phases helped us to locate where most of the bacteria are and understand the interactions among these phases. In the present study, the bacteria from four critical phases of an unchlorinated DWDS, including bulk water, pipe wall biofilm, suspended solids, and loose deposits, were quantified and identified by adenosine triphosphate analysis and pyrosequencing, respectively. The results showed that the bulk water bacteria (including the contribution of suspended solids) contributed less than 2% of the total bacteria. The bacteria associated with loose deposits and pipe wall biofilm that accumulated in the DWDS accounted for over 98% of the total bacteria, and the contributions of bacteria in loose deposits and pipe wall biofilm were comparable. Depending on the amount of loose deposits, its contribution can be 7-fold higher than the pipe wall biofilm. Pyrosequencing revealed relatively stable bacterial communities in bulk water, pipe wall biofilm, and suspended solids throughout the distribution system; however, the communities present in loose deposits were dependent on the amount of loose deposits locally. Bacteria within the phases of suspended solids, loose deposits, and pipe wall biofilm were similar in phylogenetic composition. The bulk water bacteria (dominated by Polaromonas spp.) were clearly different from the bacteria from the other three phases (dominated by Sphingomonas spp.). This study highlighted that the integral DWDS ecology should include contributions from all of the four phases, especially the bacteria harbored by loose deposits. The accumulation of loose deposits and the aging process create variable microenvironments

Battery Pack Thermal Design

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pesaran, Ahmad

2016-06-14

This presentation describes the thermal design of battery packs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. A battery thermal management system essential for xEVs for both normal operation during daily driving (achieving life and performance) and off-normal operation during abuse conditions (achieving safety). The battery thermal management system needs to be optimized with the right tools for the lowest cost. Experimental tools such as NREL's isothermal battery calorimeter, thermal imaging, and heat transfer setups are needed. Thermal models and computer-aided engineering tools are useful for robust designs. During abuse conditions, designs should prevent cell-to-cell propagation in a module/pack (i.e., keep the fire small and manageable). NREL's battery ISC device can be used for evaluating the robustness of a module/pack to cell-to-cell propagation.

High-density genetic mapping of a major QTL for resistance to multiple races of loose smut in a tetraploid wheat cross

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Sachin; Knox, Ron E.; Singh, Asheesh K.; DePauw, Ron M.; Campbell, Heather L.; Isidro-Sanchez, Julio; Clarke, Fran R.; Pozniak, Curtis J.; N’Daye, Amidou; Meyer, Brad; Sharpe, Andrew; Ruan, Yuefeng; Cuthbert, Richard D.; Somers, Daryl; Fedak, George

2018-01-01

Loose smut, caused by Ustilago tritici (Pers.) Rostr., is a systemic disease of tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.). Loose smut can be economically controlled by growing resistant varieties, making it important to find and deploy new sources of resistance. Blackbird, a variety of T. turgidum L. subsp. carthlicum (Nevski) A. Love & D. Love, carries a high level of resistance to loose smut. Blackbird was crossed with the loose smut susceptible durum cultivar Strongfield to produce a doubled haploid (DH) mapping population. The parents and progenies were inoculated with U. tritici races T26, T32 and T33 individually and as a mixture at Swift Current, Canada in 2011 and 2012 and loose smut incidence (LSI) was assessed. Genotyping of the DH population and parents using an Infinium iSelect 90K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) array identified 12,952 polymorphic SNPs. The SNPs and 426 SSRs (previously genotyped in the same population) were mapped to 16 linkage groups spanning 3008.4 cM at an average inter-marker space of 0.2 cM in a high-density genetic map. Composite interval mapping analysis revealed three significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) for loose smut resistance on chromosomes 3A, 6B and 7A. The loose smut resistance QTL on 6B (QUt.spa-6B.2) and 7A (QUt.spa-7A.2) were derived from Blackbird. Strongfield contributed the minor QTL on 3A (QUt.spa-3A.2). The resistance on 6B was a stable major QTL effective against all individual races and the mixture of the three races; it explained up to 74% of the phenotypic variation. This study is the first attempt in durum wheat to identify and map loose smut resistance QTL using a high-density genetic map. The QTL QUt.spa-6B.2 would be an effective source for breeding resistance to multiple races of the loose smut pathogen because it provides near-complete broad resistance to the predominant virulence on the Canadian prairies. PMID:29485999

High-density genetic mapping of a major QTL for resistance to multiple races of loose smut in a tetraploid wheat cross.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sachin Kumar

Full Text Available Loose smut, caused by Ustilago tritici (Pers. Rostr., is a systemic disease of tetraploid durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.. Loose smut can be economically controlled by growing resistant varieties, making it important to find and deploy new sources of resistance. Blackbird, a variety of T. turgidum L. subsp. carthlicum (Nevski A. Love & D. Love, carries a high level of resistance to loose smut. Blackbird was crossed with the loose smut susceptible durum cultivar Strongfield to produce a doubled haploid (DH mapping population. The parents and progenies were inoculated with U. tritici races T26, T32 and T33 individually and as a mixture at Swift Current, Canada in 2011 and 2012 and loose smut incidence (LSI was assessed. Genotyping of the DH population and parents using an Infinium iSelect 90K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP array identified 12,952 polymorphic SNPs. The SNPs and 426 SSRs (previously genotyped in the same population were mapped to 16 linkage groups spanning 3008.4 cM at an average inter-marker space of 0.2 cM in a high-density genetic map. Composite interval mapping analysis revealed three significant quantitative trait loci (QTL for loose smut resistance on chromosomes 3A, 6B and 7A. The loose smut resistance QTL on 6B (QUt.spa-6B.2 and 7A (QUt.spa-7A.2 were derived from Blackbird. Strongfield contributed the minor QTL on 3A (QUt.spa-3A.2. The resistance on 6B was a stable major QTL effective against all individual races and the mixture of the three races; it explained up to 74% of the phenotypic variation. This study is the first attempt in durum wheat to identify and map loose smut resistance QTL using a high-density genetic map. The QTL QUt.spa-6B.2 would be an effective source for breeding resistance to multiple races of the loose smut pathogen because it provides near-complete broad resistance to the predominant virulence on the Canadian prairies.

7 CFR 982.11 - Pack.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... according to size, internal quality, and external appearance and condition of hazelnuts packed in accordance... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Pack. 982.11 Section 982.11 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (Marketing Agreements and...

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander; Hö binger, Mathias; Wallner, Johannes; Pottmann, Helmut

2009-01-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry. © 2009 ACM.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander

2009-12-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces\\' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander

2009-01-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces\\' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry. © 2009 ACM.

Packing circles and spheres on surfaces

KAUST Repository

Schiftner, Alexander; Hö binger, Mathias; Wallner, Johannes; Pottmann, Helmut

2009-01-01

Inspired by freeform designs in architecture which involve circles and spheres, we introduce a new kind of triangle mesh whose faces' incircles form a packing. As it turns out, such meshes have a rich geometry and allow us to cover surfaces with circle patterns, sphere packings, approximate circle packings, hexagonal meshes which carry a torsion-free support structure, hybrid tri-hex meshes, and others. We show how triangle meshes can be optimized so as to have the incircle packing property. We explain their relation to conformal geometry and implications on solvability of optimization. The examples we give confirm that this kind of meshes is a rich source of geometric structures relevant to architectural geometry.

Packing configuration performance for small stem diameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aikin, J.A.; Spence, C.G.; Cumming, D.

1997-01-01

The extensive use of graphite packing and its excellent track record for large isolating valves in CANDU, Primary Heat Transfer (PHT) systems has resulted in an increased application of graphite packing on the conventional side. Many of these applications are in air operated valves (AOVs) where the packing sets are used on small stem diameters (<1 inch) with frequent short-cycling strokes (± 10% of full stroke). The direct application of the proven packing configurations for large isolated valves to control valve application has generated problems such as stiction, packing wear and, in isolated cases, stem stall. To address this issue, a test program was conducted at AECL, CRL by MED branch. The testing showed that by reconfiguring the packing sets and using PTFE wafers reductions in stem friction of 50% at ambient conditions, a 3 fold at hot conditions are achievable. The test program also demonstrated benefits gained in packing wear with different stem roughness finishes and the potential need to exercise small stems valves that see less than full stroke cycling. The paper describes the tests results and provides field support experience. (author)

Bidispersed Sphere Packing on Spherical Surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Atherton, Timothy; Mascioli, Andrew; Burke, Christopher

Packing problems on spherical surfaces have a long history, originating in the classic Thompson problem of finding the ground state configuration of charges on a sphere. Such packings contain a minimal number of defects needed to accommodate the curvature; this is predictable using the Gauss-Bonnet theorem from knowledge of the topology of the surface and the local symmetry of the ordering. Famously, the packing of spherical particles on a sphere contains a 'scar' transition, where additional defects over those required by topology appear above a certain critical number of particles and self-organize into chains or scars. In this work, we study the packing of bidispersed packings on a sphere, and hence determine the interaction of bidispersity and curvature. The resultant configurations are nearly crystalline for low values of bidispersity and retain scar-like structures; these rapidly become disordered for intermediate values and approach a so-called Appollonian limit at the point where smaller particles can be entirely accommodated within the voids left by the larger particles. We connect our results with studies of bidispersed packings in the bulk and on flat surfaces from the literature on glassy systems and jamming. Supported by a Cottrell Award from the Research Corporation for Science Advancement.

Backpack Strategies for Parents and Students

Science.gov (United States)

... pack slung over one shoulder can cause a child to lean to one side, curving the spine and causing pain or discomfort. • Select a pack with well-padded shoulder straps. Shoulders and necks have many blood vessels ... the pack fits snugly on the child’s back. A pack that hangs loosely from the ...

Influence of γ-ray radiation on mechanical character of packing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tashiro, Hisao; Sakuma, Toshio

1989-01-01

This paper describes the results of investigation on coefficient of friction, normal to axial pressure-ratio and compressed strain of packings influenced by γ-ray irradiation, which are necessary to evaluate the mechanical characteristics of packing, using packings made of seven kinds of new materials and conventional asbestos packing A. It resulted that graphite packing was less influenced by the γ-ray exposure, whereas carbon-fiber (pitch) packing, tefron-fiber packing and alamid-fiber packing were much influenced as compared with the graphite packing. (author)

Design of a Loose Part Monitoring System Test-bed using CompactRIO

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Min-seok; Lee, Kwang-Dae; Lee, Eui-Jong [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

A loose part monitoring system (LPMS) is included in the NSSS integrity monitoring system (NIMS), which serves to detect loose parts in reactor coolant systems (RCS). LPMSs at Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) in Korea follow the ASME OM standard and acquire data from 18 sensors simultaneously. Data acquisition requires a sampling rate of more than 50KHz along with a 12bit A/D converter. Existing LPMS equipment is composed of several different platforms, such as a digital signal processor (DSP), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a micro control unit (MCU), and electric circuit cards. These systems have vulnerabilities, such as discontinuance due to aging and incompatibility issues between different pieces of equipment. This paper suggests CompactRIO as a new platform. We devised a Test-bed using CompactRIO and demonstrate that the proposed method meets the criteria required by the standard. The LPMS provides an alert when an impact event occurs and provides information with which to analyze the location, energy, and mass of the loose parts. LPMSs in NPPs in Korea operate on a variety of platforms. Thus, these systems are vulnerable to discontinuances due to aging and incompatibilities arising from the use of different type of equipment. In order to solve these problems, this paper suggests CompactRIO as a new platform. It is a rugged, reconfigurable, high-performance industrial embedded system. The results of performance tests meet the criteria set by the current standard.

Experiments in MARIUS on HTR tubular fuel with loose particles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bosser, R; Langlet, G

1972-06-15

The work described on HTR tubular fuel with loose particles is the first part of a program in three points. The cell is the same in the three experiments, only particles in the fuel container are changed. The aim of the experiment is to achieve the buckling in a critical facility. A description of the techniques of measurements, calculations, and results are presented.

Thermal protection system gap analysis using a loosely coupled fluid-structural thermal numerical method

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jie; Li, Piao; Yao, Weixing

2018-05-01

A loosely coupled fluid-structural thermal numerical method is introduced for the thermal protection system (TPS) gap thermal control analysis in this paper. The aerodynamic heating and structural thermal are analyzed by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and numerical heat transfer (NHT) methods respectively. An interpolation algorithm based on the control surface is adopted for the data exchanges on the coupled surface. In order to verify the analysis precision of the loosely coupled method, a circular tube example was analyzed, and the wall temperature agrees well with the test result. TPS gap thermal control performance was studied by the loosely coupled method successfully. The gap heat flux is mainly distributed in the small region at the top of the gap which is the high temperature region. Besides, TPS gap temperature and the power of the active cooling system (CCS) calculated by the traditional uncoupled method are higher than that calculated by the coupled method obviously. The reason is that the uncoupled method doesn't consider the coupled effect between the aerodynamic heating and structural thermal, however the coupled method considers it, so TPS gap thermal control performance can be analyzed more accurately by the coupled method.

48 CFR 552.211-87 - Export packing.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Export packing. 552.211-87... FORMS SOLICITATION PROVISIONS AND CONTRACT CLAUSES Text of Provisions and Clauses 552.211-87 Export packing. As prescribed in 511.204(b)(7), insert the following clause: Export Packing (JAN 2010) (a...

Loose and Tight Coupling in Educational Organizations--An Integrative Literature Review

Science.gov (United States)

Hautala, Tanja; Helander, Jaakko; Korhonen, Vesa

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review and synthesize the attributes of loose and tight coupling in educational organizations. In addition, it is aimed to determine whether this phenomenon has value and strategies to offer for the current educational administration and research. Design/methodology/approach: Integrative literature review…

Shelving 6 pack crisps

OpenAIRE

Garriga Torrecillas, Núria; Otrubova, Natalie; Worm, Robert; Larroque, Thibaut

2017-01-01

6-Pack crisps are one of the main products sold by PepsiCo using the standard shelf storage options offered by Tesco PLC. While presenting specific packaging involves a multitude of variables. This report focusses on cognitive recognition, brand confusion and product attractiveness. PepsiCo asked the research team to investigate innovative ways of presenting the crisp 6-pack variant on instore displays. research shows that attraction is crucial in the form of expected rewards. The combination...

Loose part trapping device in the secondary circuit of a steam generator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poussin, C.; Ayme, H.

1993-01-01

The trap is principally formed from mesh filter placed across the annular section of the secondary circuit. The maximum mesh size is less than the distance separating the tubes so that the loose parts cannot caught between the tubular bundle tubes. 6 figs

Does Post Septoplasty Nasal Packing Reduce Complications?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bijan Naghibzadeh

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The main issues in nasal surgery are to stabilize the nose in the good position after surgery and preserve the cartilages and bones in the favorable situation and reduce the risk of deviation recurrence. Also it is necessary to avoid the synechia formation, nasal valve narrowing, hematoma and bleeding. Due to the above mentioned problems and in order to solve and minimize them nasal packing, nasal splint and nasal mold have been advised. Patients for whom the nasal packing used may faced to some problems like naso-pulmonary reflex, intractable pain, sleep disorder, post operation infection and very dangerous complication like toxic shock syndrome. We have two groups of patients and three surgeons (one of the surgeons used post operative nasal packing in his patients and the two others surgeons did not.Complications and morbidities were compared in these two groups. Comparing the two groups showed that the rate of complication and morbidities between these two groups were same and the differences were not valuable, except the pain and discomfort post operatively and at the time of its removal. Nasal packing has several risks for the patients while its effects are not studied. Septoplasty can be safely performed without postoperative nasal packing. Nasal packing had no main findings that compensated its usage. Septal suture is one of the procedures that can be used as alternative method to nasal packing. Therefore the nasal packing after septoplasty should be reserved for the patients with increased risk of bleeding.

Tuneabilities of localized electromagnetic modes in random nanostructures for random lasing

Science.gov (United States)

Takeda, S.; Obara, M.

2010-02-01

The modal characteristics of localized electromagnetic waves inside random nanostructures are theoretically presented. It is crucial to know the tuneabilities of the localized modes systematically for demonstrating a specific random lasing application. By use of FDTD (Finite-Difference Time-Domain) method, we investigated the impulse response of two-dimensional random nanostructures consisting of closely packed cylindrical dielectric columns, and precisely analyzed the localized modes. We revealed the tuneability of the frequency of the localized modes by controlling the medium configurations: diameter, spatial density, and refractive index of the cylinders. Furthermore, it is found to be able to tune the Q (quality) factors of the localized modes dramatically by controlling simply the system size of the entire medium. The observed Q factors of approximately 1.6×104 were exhibited in our random disordered structures.

A Quantitative Study on Packing Density and Pozzolanic Activity of Cementitious Materials Based on the Compaction Packing Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gong, Jianqing; Chou, Kai; Huang, Zheng Yu; Zhao, Minghua

2014-01-01

A brief introduction to the theoretical basis of compaction packing model (CPM) and an over-view of the principle of the specific strength method provided the starting point of this study. Then, research on quantitative relations was carried out to find the correlation between the contribution rate of the pozzolanic activity and the contribution value of packing density when CPM was applied to fine powder mixture systems. The concept of the contribution value of the packing density being in direct correspondence with the contribution rate was proved by the compressive strength results and SEM images. The results indicated that the variation rule of the contribution rate of the pozzolanic activity is similar to that of the contribution value of packing density as calculated by CPM. This means the contribution value of the packing density could approximately simulate the change tendency of the contribution rate of the pozzolanic activity, which is of significant value for the future of mix designs for high and ultra-high performance concrete

Power Packing

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2011-08-16

In this podcast for kids, the Kidtastics talk about how to pack a lunch safely, to help keep you from getting sick.  Created: 8/16/2011 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 8/16/2011.

Decontamination of pesticide packing using ionizing radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Duarte, C.L.; Mori, M.N.; Kodama, Yasko; Oikawa, H.; Sampa, M.H.O.

2007-01-01

The Brazilian agriculture activities have consumed about 288,000 tons of pesticides per year conditioned in about 107,000,000 packing with weight of approximately 23,000 tons. The discharge of empty plastic packing of pesticides can be an environmental concern causing problems to human health, animals, and plants if done without inspection and monitoring. The objective of this work is to study the ionizing radiation effect in the main pesticides used in Brazil for plastic packing decontamination. Among the commercial pesticides, chlorpyrifos has significant importance because of its wide distribution and extensive use and persistence. The radiation-induced degradation of chlorpyrifos in liquid samples and in polyethylene pack was studied by gamma radiolysis. Packing of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) three layer coextruded, named COEX, contaminated with chlorpyrifos, were irradiated using both a multipurpose Co-60 gamma irradiator and a gamma source with 5000 Ci total activity Gamma cell type. The chemical analysis of the chlorpyrifos was made using a gas chromatography associated to the Mass Spectrometry-GCMS from Shimadzu Model QP 5000. Gamma radiation was efficient for removing chlorpyrifos from the plastic packing, in all studied cases

Decontamination of pesticide packing using ionizing radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Duarte, C.L. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares-IPEN-CNEN/SP Av. Lineu Prestes 2.242, 05508-900, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: clduarte@ipen.br; Mori, M.N.; Kodama, Yasko; Oikawa, H.; Sampa, M.H.O. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares-IPEN-CNEN/SP Av. Lineu Prestes 2.242, 05508-900, Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

2007-11-15

The Brazilian agriculture activities have consumed about 288,000 tons of pesticides per year conditioned in about 107,000,000 packing with weight of approximately 23,000 tons. The discharge of empty plastic packing of pesticides can be an environmental concern causing problems to human health, animals, and plants if done without inspection and monitoring. The objective of this work is to study the ionizing radiation effect in the main pesticides used in Brazil for plastic packing decontamination. Among the commercial pesticides, chlorpyrifos has significant importance because of its wide distribution and extensive use and persistence. The radiation-induced degradation of chlorpyrifos in liquid samples and in polyethylene pack was studied by gamma radiolysis. Packing of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) three layer coextruded, named COEX, contaminated with chlorpyrifos, were irradiated using both a multipurpose Co-60 gamma irradiator and a gamma source with 5000 Ci total activity Gamma cell type. The chemical analysis of the chlorpyrifos was made using a gas chromatography associated to the Mass Spectrometry-GCMS from Shimadzu Model QP 5000. Gamma radiation was efficient for removing chlorpyrifos from the plastic packing, in all studied cases.

Structured packing: an opportunity for energy savings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chavez T, R.H.; Guadarrama G, J.J.

1996-01-01

This work emphasizes the advantages about the use of structured packing. This type of packings allows by its geometry to reduce the processing time giving energy savings and throw down the production costs in several industries such as heavy water production plants, petrochemical industry and all industries involved with separation processes. There is a comparative results of energy consumption utilizing the structured vs. Raschig packings. (Author)

Bodems voor vrijloopstallen = Bedding materials in loose housing systems for dairy cattle

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dooren, van H.J.C.; Galama, P.J.; Smits, M.C.J.

2012-01-01

Sand, Compost and 'toemaak' (a mixture of reed, dredge and manure) had been used as bedding material for loose housing systems on three dairy research farms of Wageningen UR Livestock Research. Gaseous emissions, animal behavior and health and food safety aspects were measured and reported together

27 CFR 24.308 - Bottled or packed wine record.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bottled or packed wine... BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS WINE Records and Reports § 24.308 Bottled or packed wine record. A proprietor who bottles, packs, or receives bottled or packed beverage wine in bond shall...

Agglomeration techniques for the production of spheres for packed beds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sullivan, J.D.

1988-03-01

One attractive fusion-breeder-blanket design features a lithium bearing ceramic in the form of spheres packed into a random array. The spheres have diameters of 3 mm and 0.3 mm. This report surveys techniques used to produce ceramic spheres on an industrial scale. The methods examined include tumbling and mixing granulation, extrusion, briquetting and pelletizing. It is concluded that the required quantities of 0.3 mm diameter spheres can be produced by the tumbling agglomeration of a feed powder. The 3 mm diameter spheres will be made using a process of extrusion, chopping and rolling

Researching Lean: Methodological Implications of Loose Definitions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikael Brännmark

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Recently, Lean Production (Lean has become a prevailing management concept in Sweden. However, previous research seems to show that the Lean concept and the impact of Lean vary considerably between organizations. This paper illustrates some key methodological issues that need to be considered when researching loosely defined management concepts such as Lean. The paper is based on a review of the literature and five comparative Swedish cases studies. Our study indicates that Lean has changed over time and that operationalization and interpretations of the concept vary considerably. This study concludes that future Lean studies should include a thorough assessment of the Lean interventions, study settings, and in particular non-Lean factors mediating the outcomes of Lean-inspired change programs.

An Experimental Study of Portland Cement and Superfine Cement Slurry Grouting in Loose Sand and Sandy Soil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weijing Yao

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Grouting technology is widely applied in the fields of geotechnical engineering in infrastructure. Loose sand and sandy soil are common poor soils in tunnel and foundation treatments. It is necessary to use superfine cement slurry grouting in the micro-cracks of soil. The different effectiveness of Portland cement slurry and superfine cement slurry in sandy soil by the laboratory grouting experiment method were presented in this paper. The grouting situations of superfine cement slurry injected into sand and sandy soil were explored. The investigated parameters were the dry density, wet density, moisture content, internal friction angle, and cohesion force. The results show that the consolidation effect of superfine cement is better than that of Portland cement due to the small size of superfine cement particles. The superfine cement can diffuse into the sand by infiltration, extrusion, and splitting. When the water–cement ratio of superfine cement slurry is less than 2:1 grouting into loose sand, the dry and wet density decrease with the increase in the water–cement ratio, while the moisture content and cohesive force gradually increase. When the water–cement ratio of superfine cement slurry is 1:1 grouting into loose sand and sandy soil, the dry density, wet density, and cohesive force of loose sand are larger than those of sandy soil. The results of the experiment may be relevant for engineering applications.

Hashish Body Packing: A Case Report

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuel Jesus Soriano-Perez

2009-01-01

Full Text Available A 42-year-old African male was brought by the police to the emergency department under suspicion of drug smuggling by body-packing. Plain abdominal radiograph showed multiple foreign bodies within the gastrointestinal tract. Contrast-enhanced abdominal CT confirmed the findings, and the patient admitted to have swallowed “balls” of hashish. Body-packing is a recognized method of smuggling drugs across international borders. Body packers may present to the emergency department because of drug toxicity, intestinal obstruction, or more commonly, requested by law-enforcement officers for medical confirmation or exclusion of suspected body packing.

36 CFR 34.10 - Saddle and pack animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Saddle and pack animals. 34... INTERIOR EL PORTAL ADMINISTRATIVE SITE REGULATIONS § 34.10 Saddle and pack animals. The use of saddle and pack animals is prohibited without a permit from the Superintendent. ...

CoolPack – Simulation tools for refrigeration systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jakobsen, Arne; Rasmussen, Bjarne D.; Andersen, Simon Engedal

1999-01-01

CoolPack is a collection of programs used for energy analysis and optimisation of refrigeration systems. CoolPack is developed at the Department of Energy Engineering at the Technical University of Denmark. The Danish Energy Agency finances the project. CoolPack is freeware and can be downloaded...

Simulation of abuse tolerance of lithium-ion battery packs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spotnitz, Robert M.; Weaver, James; Yeduvaka, Gowri [Battery Design LLC, 2277 DeLucchi Drive, Pleasanton, CA 94588 (United States); Doughty, D.H.; Roth, E.P. [Lithium Battery Department, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 87185 (United States)

2007-01-01

A simple approach for using accelerating rate calorimetry data to simulate the thermal abuse resistance of battery packs is described. The thermal abuse tolerance of battery packs is estimated based on the exothermic behavior of a single cell and an energy balance than accounts for radiative, conductive, and convective heat transfer modes of the pack. For the specific example of a notebook computer pack containing eight 18650-size cells, the effects of cell position, heat of reaction, and heat-transfer coefficient are explored. Thermal runaway of the pack is more likely to be induced by thermal runaway of a single cell when that cell is in good contact with other cells and is close to the pack wall. (author)

Hardfacing and packings for improved valve performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aikin, J.A.; Patrick, J.N.F.; Inglis, I.

2003-01-01

The CANDU Owners Group (COG), Chemistry, Materials and Components (CMC) Program has supported an ongoing program on valve maintenance and performance for several years. An overview is presented of recent work on iron-based hardfacing, packing qualification, friction testing of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) packings, and an investigation of re-torquing valve packing. Based on this program, two new valve-packing materials have been qualified for use in CANDU stations. By doing this, CANDU maintenance can avoid having only one packing qualified for station use, as well as assess the potential impact of the industry trend towards using lower gland loads. The results from corrosion tests by AECL and the coefficient of friction studies at Battelle' s tribology testing facilities on Delcrome 910, an iron-based hardfacing alloy, indicate it is an acceptable replacement for Stellite 6 under certain conditions. This information can be used to update in-line valve purchasing specifications. The renewed interest in friction characteristics, and environmental qualification (EQ) of packing containing PTFE has resulted in a new test program in these areas. The COG-funded valve programs have resulted in modifications to design specifications for nuclear station in-line valves and have led to better maintenance practices and valve reliability. In the end, this means lower costs and cheaper electricity. (author)

Surveillance systems (PWR) - loose parts monitoring - vibration monitoring - leakage detection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuette, A.; Blaesig, H.

1982-01-01

The contribution is engaged in the task and the results of the loose parts monitoring and the vibration monitoring following from the practice at the PWR of Biblis. First a description of both systems - location and type of the sensors used, the treatment of the measurements and the indications - is given. The results of the analysis of some events picked up by the surveillance systems are presented showing applicabilty and benefit of such systems. (orig.)

Max–min Bin Packing Algorithm and its application in nano-particles filling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, Dingju

2016-01-01

With regard to existing bin packing algorithms, higher packing efficiency often leads to lower packing speed while higher packing speed leads to lower packing efficiency. Packing speed and packing efficiency of existing bin packing algorithms including NFD, NF, FF, FFD, BF and BFD correlates negatively with each other, thus resulting in the failure of existing bin packing algorithms to satisfy the demand of nano-particles filling for both high speed and high efficiency. The paper provides a new bin packing algorithm, Max–min Bin Packing Algorithm (MM), which realizes both high packing speed and high packing efficiency. MM has the same packing speed as NFD (whose packing speed ranks no. 1 among existing bin packing algorithms); in case that the size repetition rate of objects to be packed is over 5, MM can realize almost the same packing efficiency as BFD (whose packing efficiency ranks No. 1 among existing bin packing algorithms), and in case that the size repetition rate of objects to be packed is over 500, MM can achieve exactly the same packing efficiency as BFD. With respect to application of nano-particles filling, the size repetition rate of nano particles to be packed is usually in thousands or ten thousands, far higher than 5 or 500. Consequently, in application of nano-particles filling, the packing efficiency of MM is exactly equal to that of BFD. Thus the irreconcilable conflict between packing speed and packing efficiency is successfully removed by MM, which leads to MM having better packing effect than any existing bin packing algorithm. In practice, there are few cases when the size repetition of objects to be packed is lower than 5. Therefore the MM is not necessarily limited to nano-particles filling, and can also be widely used in other applications besides nano-particles filling. Especially, MM has significant value in application of nano-particles filling such as nano printing and nano tooth filling.

Looseness and Independence Number of Triangulations on Closed Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nakamoto Atsuhiro

2016-08-01

Full Text Available The looseness of a triangulation G on a closed surface F2, denoted by ξ (G, is defined as the minimum number k such that for any surjection c : V (G → {1, 2, . . . , k + 3}, there is a face uvw of G with c(u, c(v and c(w all distinct. We shall bound ξ (G for triangulations G on closed surfaces by the independence number of G denoted by α(G. In particular, for a triangulation G on the sphere, we have

Prolonged storage of packed red blood cells for blood transfusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Martí-Carvajal, Arturo J; Simancas-Racines, Daniel; Peña-González, Barbra S

2015-07-14

A blood transfusion is an acute intervention, used to address life- and health-threatening conditions on a short-term basis. Packed red blood cells are most often used for blood transfusion. Sometimes blood is transfused after prolonged storage but there is continuing debate as to whether transfusion of 'older' blood is as beneficial as transfusion of 'fresher' blood. To assess the clinical benefits and harms of prolonged storage of packed red blood cells, in comparison with fresh, on recipients of blood transfusion. We ran the search on 1st May 2014. We searched the Cochrane Injuries Group Specialized Register, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library), MEDLINE (OvidSP), Embase (OvidSP), CINAHL (EBSCO Host) and two other databases. We also searched clinical trials registers and screened reference lists of the retrieved publications and reviews. We updated this search in June 2015 but these results have not yet been incorporated. Randomised clinical trials including participants assessed as requiring red blood cell transfusion were eligible for inclusion. Prolonged storage was defined as red blood cells stored for ≥ 21 days in a blood bank. We did not apply limits regarding the duration of follow-up, or country where the study took place. We excluded trials where patients received a combination of short- and long-stored blood products, and also trials without a clear definition of prolonged storage. We independently performed study selection, risk of bias assessment and data extraction by at least two review authors. The major outcomes were death from any cause, transfusion-related acute lung injury, and adverse events. We estimated relative risk for dichotomous outcomes. We measured statistical heterogeneity using I(2). We used a random-effects model to synthesise the findings. We identified three randomised clinical trials, involving a total of 120 participants, comparing packed red blood cells with ≥ 21 days storage

Prevention and suppression of metal packing fires.

Science.gov (United States)

Roberts, Mark; Rogers, William J; Sam Mannan, M; Ostrowski, Scott W

2003-11-14

Structured packing has been widely used because of large surface area that makes possible columns with high capacity and efficiency. The large surface area also contributes to fire hazards because of hydrocarbon deposits that can easily combust and promote combustion of the thin metal packing materials. Materials of high surface area that can fuel fires include reactive metals, such as titanium, and materials that are not considered combustible, such as stainless steel. Column design and material selection for packing construction is discussed together with employee training and practices for safe column maintenance and operations. Presented also are methods and agents for suppression of metal fires. Guidance for prevention and suppression of metal fires is related to incidents involving packing fires in columns.

On the conductive properties of MgO films grown on ultrathin hexagonal close-packed Co(0001) layer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gladczuk, L.; Aleszkiewicz, M.

2013-01-01

Here we present a scanning tunneling microscopy study of electrical conductivity of (110)-oriented MgO ultrathin films grown on hexagonal close-packed Co(0001) surface by molecular beam epitaxy, being a good candidate for tunneling barrier for future-generation spintronic devices. Three-dimensional growth of the tunneling barrier, expected for compressive strains emerging at the Co/MgO interface, is demonstrated by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and atomic force microscopy. The 5 eV height of the full barrier of MgO is reached at a layer thickness of 4 nm. Thinner MgO layers exhibit randomly distributed spots of the high conductance on the tunneling current map. The current–voltage curves indicate the existence of vacancies in MgO crystal lattice, lowering the resistivity of the tunneling barrier. - Highlights: • Conductivity of MgO barrier in MgO/hexagonal close-packed-Co bilayer • Conductivity strongly varies with MgO thickness • MgO barrier exhibits randomly distributed spots of particularly high conductance • Tunneling current–voltage curves indicate the existence of vacancies in MgO lattice

Domain Discretization and Circle Packings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dias, Kealey

A circle packing is a configuration of circles which are tangent with one another in a prescribed pattern determined by a combinatorial triangulation, where the configuration fills a planar domain or a two-dimensional surface. The vertices in the triangulation correspond to centers of circles...... to domain discretization problems such as triangulation and unstructured mesh generation techniques. We wish to ask ourselves the question: given a cloud of points in the plane (we restrict ourselves to planar domains), is it possible to construct a circle packing preserving the positions of the vertices...... and constrained meshes having predefined vertices as constraints. A standard method of two-dimensional mesh generation involves conformal mapping of the surface or domain to standardized shapes, such as a disk. Since circle packing is a new technique for constructing discrete conformal mappings, it is possible...

The pursuit of perfect packing

CERN Document Server

Weaire, Denis

2000-01-01

In 1998 Thomas Hales dramatically announced the solution of a problem that has long teased eminent mathematicians: what is the densest possible arrangement of identical spheres? The Pursuit of Perfect Packing recounts the story of this problem and many others that have to do with packing things together. The examples are taken from mathematics, physics, biology, and engineering, including the arrangement of soap bubbles in foam, atoms in a crystal, the architecture of the bee''s honeycomb, and the structure of the Giant''s Causeway. Using an informal style and with key references, the book also includes brief accounts of the lives of many of the scientists who devoted themselves to problems of packing over many centuries, together with wry comments on their efforts. It is an entertaining introduction to the field for both specialists and the more general public.

Acceleration Signal Characteristics for Intuitional Mass Analysis of Metallic Loose Parts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Kwang-Hyun; Jung, Chang-Gyu

2016-01-01

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) have operated LPMS (Loose Parts Monitoring System) for early detection of the possible presence of metallic parts in the reactor coolant system (RCS); however, analysis of the metallic impact wave characteristics in the LPMS is an important issue because information, such as the mass of the metallic part and the impact location, is not provided. Most studies have concentrated on fieldwork using the frequency characteristics for the analysis of the metallic part mass. Thus, the field engineers cannot analyze signals without special software and access to the system. This paper is intended to introduce a process of intuitional mass analysis using the attenuation rate of the acceleration signal and the intervals between peak signals. Most studies related to mass analysis of a metallic part impact signal in LPMS have used the frequency spectrum. This paper presents a method of using the acceleration signal characteristics for intuitional mass analysis of loose metallic parts. With the method proposed in this paper, because the mass of a metallic part can be understood intuitionally without any special analysis program, intuitional analysis used in parallel with frequency spectrum analysis will be in effect

Acceleration Signal Characteristics for Intuitional Mass Analysis of Metallic Loose Parts

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Kwang-Hyun; Jung, Chang-Gyu [KHNP CRI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-10-15

Nuclear power plants (NPPs) have operated LPMS (Loose Parts Monitoring System) for early detection of the possible presence of metallic parts in the reactor coolant system (RCS); however, analysis of the metallic impact wave characteristics in the LPMS is an important issue because information, such as the mass of the metallic part and the impact location, is not provided. Most studies have concentrated on fieldwork using the frequency characteristics for the analysis of the metallic part mass. Thus, the field engineers cannot analyze signals without special software and access to the system. This paper is intended to introduce a process of intuitional mass analysis using the attenuation rate of the acceleration signal and the intervals between peak signals. Most studies related to mass analysis of a metallic part impact signal in LPMS have used the frequency spectrum. This paper presents a method of using the acceleration signal characteristics for intuitional mass analysis of loose metallic parts. With the method proposed in this paper, because the mass of a metallic part can be understood intuitionally without any special analysis program, intuitional analysis used in parallel with frequency spectrum analysis will be in effect.

Enabling Microliquid Chromatography by Microbead Packing of Microchannels

Science.gov (United States)

Balvin, Manuel; Zheng, Yun

2014-01-01

The microbead packing is the critical element required in the success of on-chip microfabrication of critical microfluidic components for in-situ analysis and detection of chiral amino acids. In order for microliquid chromatography to occur, there must be a stationary phase medium within the microchannel that interacts with the analytes present within flowing fluid. The stationary phase media are the microbeads packed by the process discussed in this work. The purpose of the microliquid chromatography is to provide a lightweight, low-volume, and low-power element to separate amino acids and their chiral partners efficiently to understand better the origin of life. In order to densely pack microbeads into the microchannels, a liquid slurry of microbeads was created. Microbeads were extracted from a commercially available high-performance liquid chromatography column. The silica beads extracted were 5 microns in diameter, and had surface coating of phenyl-hexyl. These microbeads were mixed with a 200- proof ethanol solution to create a microbead slurry with the right viscosity for packing. A microfilter is placed at the outlet via of the microchannel and the slurry is injected, then withdrawn across a filter using modified syringes. After each injection, the channel is flushed with ethanol to enhance packing. This cycle is repeated numerous times to allow for a tightly packed channel of microbeads. Typical microbead packing occurs in the macroscale into tubes or channels by using highly pressurized systems. Moreover, these channels are typically long and straight without any turns or curves. On the other hand, this method of microbead packing is completed within a microchannel 75 micrometers in diameter. Moreover, the microbead packing is completed into a serpentine type microchannel, such that it maximizes microchannel length within a microchip. Doing so enhances the interactions of the analytes with the microbeads to separate efficiently amino acids and amino acid

New iodine filter pack design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackbee, B.A.

1977-10-01

To enable Naval Emergency Monitoring Teams to fulfil their role in the field it was necessary to locate or design a replacement filter pack for the collection of radioactive iodine air samples. Collaboration with the Berkeley Laboratories of the Central Electricity Generating Board provided the necessary starting point for a suitable type of package. Further development by NGTE (West Drayton) yielded the improved filter pack which is the subject of this memorandum. (author)

36 CFR 1002.16 - Horses and pack animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Horses and pack animals. 1002... AND RECREATION § 1002.16 Horses and pack animals. The following are prohibited: (a) The use of animals other than those designated as “pack animals” for purposes of transporting equipment. (b) The use of...

36 CFR 2.16 - Horses and pack animals.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 36 Parks, Forests, and Public Property 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Horses and pack animals. 2.16... RESOURCE PROTECTION, PUBLIC USE AND RECREATION § 2.16 Horses and pack animals. The following are prohibited: (a) The use of animals other than those designated as “pack animals” for purposes of transporting...

Characterisation of the loose sediments used for the 152Eu migration experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klotz, D.

2001-01-01

The Eu migration experiments were carried out in nonbinding loose sediments of different grain sizes. The five sediments used are characterised on the basis of their grain size distribution, storage and microstructure sizes, hydraulic characteristics as well as some chemical parameters that are required for understanding and modelling the migration experiments [de

Model testing on rainfall-induced landslide of loose soil in Wenchuan earthquake region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Fang

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the formation process of rainfall-induced landslide for slopes composed of loose soil in the Wenchuan earthquake region. Experimental investigations have been performed on the landslide's formation and the variation of the controlling soil parameters under various artificial rainfall conditions. The landslide triggering mechanisms can be described in the following way. Firstly, the large porosity of the loose soil facilitated the infiltration of water, which increased the pore water pressure and reduced the shear strength of the soil significantly. In addition, the rainfalls probably caused the concentration of finer particles at a certain depth of the valley slopes. This concentration within the soil increased the pore water pressure significantly, and consequently reduced both the porosity ratio and permeability. Therefore, when the pore water pressure reached a critical state, the effective shear strength of the soil diminished, inducing the landslide's formation.

CALCULATION REGARDING THERMAL TRANSFER THROUGH CLOSING ELEMENTS FOR A CATTLE SHELTER KEPT IN LOOSE HOUSING

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ancuţa JURCO

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the calculation regarding thermal transmission due to closing elements for cattle shelter kept loose housing. The shelter is compound from 2 compartments, splitted in the middle by a cross alley. The compartments are divided in feeding area and resting area. The shelter has the opening of 16.35 m, total hall lenght is 40.95 m, with surface about 669.53 sqm and the maximum hight about 6.40 m. After analyzing the calculation of heat transfer through closing elements for a cattle shelter kept in loose housing show that the amount of heat lost through external walls with heterogeneous structure is minimal compared to the classical exterior wall with homogeneous structure.

6-PACK programme to decrease fall injuries in acute hospitals: cluster randomised controlled trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Barker, Anna L; Morello, Renata T; Wolfe, Rory; Brand, Caroline A; Haines, Terry P; Hill, Keith D; Brauer, Sandra G; Botti, Mari; Cumming, Robert G; Livingston, Patricia M; Sherrington, Catherine; Zavarsek, Silva; Lindley, Richard I; Kamar, Jeannette

2016-01-26

To evaluate the effect of the 6-PACK programme on falls and fall injuries in acute wards. Cluster randomised controlled trial. Six Australian hospitals. All patients admitted to 24 acute wards during the trial period. Participating wards were randomly assigned to receive either the nurse led 6-PACK programme or usual care over 12 months. The 6-PACK programme included a fall risk tool and individualised use of one or more of six interventions: "falls alert" sign, supervision of patients in the bathroom, ensuring patients' walking aids are within reach, a toileting regimen, use of a low-low bed, and use of a bed/chair alarm. The co-primary outcomes were falls and fall injuries per 1000 occupied bed days. During the trial, 46 245 admissions to 16 medical and eight surgical wards occurred. As many people were admitted more than once, this represented 31 411 individual patients. Patients' characteristics and length of stay were similar for intervention and control wards. Use of 6-PACK programme components was higher on intervention wards than on control wards (incidence rate ratio 3.05, 95% confidence interval 2.14 to 4.34; Pcontrol wards. Positive changes in falls prevention practice occurred following the introduction of the 6-PACK programme. However, no difference was seen in falls or fall injuries between groups. High quality evidence showing the effectiveness of falls prevention interventions in acute wards remains absent. Novel solutions to the problem of in-hospital falls are urgently needed. Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12611000332921. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Spoilage-related activity of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum strains in air-stored and vacuum-packed meat.

Science.gov (United States)

Casaburi, Annalisa; Nasi, Antonella; Ferrocino, Ilario; Di Monaco, Rossella; Mauriello, Gianluigi; Villani, Francesco; Ercolini, Danilo

2011-10-01

One hundred three isolates of Carnobacterium spp. from raw meat were analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and PCR and were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Forty-five strains of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum were characterized for their growth capabilities at different temperatures, NaCl concentrations, and pH values and for in vitro lipolytic and proteolytic activities. Moreover, their spoilage potential in meat was investigated by analyzing the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in meat stored in air or vacuum packs. Almost all the strains were able to grow at 4, 10, and 20°C, at pH values of 6 to 9, and in the presence of 2.5% NaCl. The release of VOCs by each strain in beef stored at 4°C in air and vacuum packs was evaluated by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. All the meat samples inoculated and stored in air showed higher numbers of VOCs than the vacuum-packed meat samples. Acetoin, 1-octen-3-ol, and butanoic acid were the compounds most frequently found under both storage conditions. The contaminated meat samples were evaluated by a sensory panel; the results indicated that for all sensory odors, no effect of strain was significant (P > 0.05). The storage conditions significantly affected (P meat, and mozzarella cheese odors, which were more intense in meat stored in air than in vacuum packs but were never very intense. In conclusion, different strains of C. maltaromaticum can grow efficiently in meat stored at low temperatures both in air and in vacuum packs, producing volatile molecules with low sensory impacts, with a negligible contribution to meat spoilage overall.

Packing Smart

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Podcasts

2011-08-22

In this podcast for kids, the Kidtastics talk about packing a lunch that's not boring and is full of the power and energy kids need to make it through the day.  Created: 8/22/2011 by National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID).   Date Released: 8/22/2011.

21 CFR 133.124 - Cold-pack cheese food.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 2 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Cold-pack cheese food. 133.124 Section 133.124 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) FOOD... Cheese and Related Products § 133.124 Cold-pack cheese food. (a)(1) Cold-pack cheese food is the food...

Export Control Guide: Loose Parts Monitoring Systems for Nuclear Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langenberg, Donald W. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

2012-12-01

This report describes a typical LPMS, emphasizing its application to the RCS of a modern NPP. The report also examines the versatility of AE monitoring technology by describing several nuclear applications other than loose parts monitoring, as well as some non-nuclear applications. In addition, LPMS implementation requirements are outlined, and LPMS suppliers are identified. Finally, U.S. export controls applicable to LPMSs are discussed.

Silica/Perfluoropolymer nanocomposites fabricated by direct melt-compounding: a novel method without surface modification on nano-silica.

Science.gov (United States)

Tanahashi, Mitsuru; Hirose, Masaki; Watanabe, Yusuke; Lee, Jeong-Chang; Takeda, Kunihiko

2007-07-01

A novel method for the fabrication of silica/perfluoropolymer nanocomposites was investigated, whereby nano-sized silica particles without surface modification were dispersed uniformly through mechanical breakdown of loosely packed agglomerates of silica nanoparticles with low fracture strength in a polymer melt during direct melt-compounding. The method consists of two stages. The first stage involves preparation of the loose silica agglomerate, and the second stage involves melt-compounding of a completely hydrophobic perfluoropolymer, poly(tetrafluoroethyleneco-perfluoropropylvinylether), with the loose silica agglomerates prepared in the first stage. In the first stage, the packing structure and the fracture strength of the silica agglomerate were controlled by destabilizing an aqueous colloidal silica solution with a mean primary diameter of 190 nm via pH control and salt addition. In the next stage, the silica/perfluoropolymer nanocomposite was fabricated by breaking down the prepared loose silica agglomerates with low fracture strength by means of a shear force inside the polymer melt during melt-compounding.

PENGARUH POROSITAS PACKING STEEL WOOL TERHADAP PRESSURE DROP DIDALAM PACKED BED COLUMN PADA DISTILASI CAMPURAN ETANOL-AMIL-ALKOHOL-AIR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trisna Kumala Dhaniswara

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Inventories of petroleum fuels are increasingly depleted and will someday run out. These shortcomings can be overcome by using alternative fuels, such as ethanol. Based on this, it is necessary to research and development of ethanol as a fuel. One way is with a separation in a packed distillation column. This study aims to assess the mass transfer phenomena that occur in the process of distilling a mixture of ethanol-water-amyl alcohol packed in column. In addition, this study aims to optimize temperature and reflux to obtain the highest levels of ethanol. This research method uses packed bed distillation system with the batch process. Feed used is synthetic ethanol, water, and solvent. Solvent used were amyl alcohol. Doing distillation with heating temperature is maintained. Distillation is done in the packing of stainless steel wool. Research carried out in a batch process with a variable temperature of  79°C; 84°C; 91°C; and porosity packing 20%; 30%; 40%; 50%; 60%; 70%; 80%.

Aerobic desulfurization of biogas by acidic biotrickling filtration in a randomly packed reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montebello, Andrea M.; Mora, Mabel; López, Luis R.; Bezerra, Tercia; Gamisans, Xavier; Lafuente, Javier; Baeza, Mireia; Gabriel, David

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Desulfurization of high loads of H 2 S is feasible by acidic biotrickling filtration. • Robustness of the process is demonstrated in the long-term (550 d). • Biosulfur to sulfate oxidation under H 2 S starvation was successfully performed. • Lower sulfate production found at acidic pH compared to that at neutral pH. • Plastic material is recommended for long-term acidic biotrickling filtration. - Abstract: Biotrickling filters for biogas desulfurization still must prove their stability and robustness in the long run under extreme conditions. Long-term desulfurization of high loads of H 2 S under acidic pH was studied in a lab-scale aerobic biotrickling filter packed with metallic Pall rings. Reference operating conditions at steady-state corresponded to an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 130 s, H 2 S loading rate of 52 g S–H 2 S m −3 h −1 and pH 2.50–2.75. The EBRT reduction showed that the critical EBRT was 75 s and the maximum EC 100 g S–H 2 S m −3 h −1 . Stepwise increases of the inlet H 2 S concentration up to 10,000 ppm v lead to a maximum EC of 220 g S–H 2 S m −3 h −1 . The H 2 S removal profile along the filter bed indicated that the first third of the filter bed was responsible for 70–80% of the total H 2 S removal. The oxidation rate of solid sulfur accumulated inside the bioreactor during periodical H 2 S starvation episodes was verified under acidic operating conditions. The performance under acidic pH was comparable to that under neutral pH in terms of H 2 S removal capacity. However, bioleaching of the metallic packing used as support and chemical precipitation of sulfide/sulfur salts occurred

Aerobic desulfurization of biogas by acidic biotrickling filtration in a randomly packed reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montebello, Andrea M.; Mora, Mabel; López, Luis R.; Bezerra, Tercia [Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Gamisans, Xavier [Department of Mining Engineering and Natural Resources, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Bases de Manresa 61-73, 08240 Manresa (Spain); Lafuente, Javier [Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Baeza, Mireia [Department of Chemistry, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain); Gabriel, David, E-mail: david.gabriel@uab.cat [Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Engineering, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Barcelona (Spain)

2014-09-15

Highlights: • Desulfurization of high loads of H{sub 2}S is feasible by acidic biotrickling filtration. • Robustness of the process is demonstrated in the long-term (550 d). • Biosulfur to sulfate oxidation under H{sub 2}S starvation was successfully performed. • Lower sulfate production found at acidic pH compared to that at neutral pH. • Plastic material is recommended for long-term acidic biotrickling filtration. - Abstract: Biotrickling filters for biogas desulfurization still must prove their stability and robustness in the long run under extreme conditions. Long-term desulfurization of high loads of H{sub 2}S under acidic pH was studied in a lab-scale aerobic biotrickling filter packed with metallic Pall rings. Reference operating conditions at steady-state corresponded to an empty bed residence time (EBRT) of 130 s, H{sub 2}S loading rate of 52 g S–H{sub 2}S m{sup −3} h{sup −1} and pH 2.50–2.75. The EBRT reduction showed that the critical EBRT was 75 s and the maximum EC 100 g S–H{sub 2}S m{sup −3} h{sup −1}. Stepwise increases of the inlet H{sub 2}S concentration up to 10,000 ppm{sub v} lead to a maximum EC of 220 g S–H{sub 2}S m{sup −3} h{sup −1}. The H{sub 2}S removal profile along the filter bed indicated that the first third of the filter bed was responsible for 70–80% of the total H{sub 2}S removal. The oxidation rate of solid sulfur accumulated inside the bioreactor during periodical H{sub 2}S starvation episodes was verified under acidic operating conditions. The performance under acidic pH was comparable to that under neutral pH in terms of H{sub 2}S removal capacity. However, bioleaching of the metallic packing used as support and chemical precipitation of sulfide/sulfur salts occurred.

Cell packing structures

KAUST Repository

Pottmann, Helmut; Jiang, Caigui; Hö binger, Mathias; Wang, Jun; Bompas, Philippe; Wallner, Johannes

2015-01-01

optimization schemes for the computation of quad-based support structures. Hex-dominant structures may be designed via Voronoi tessellations, power diagrams, sphere packings and various extensions of these concepts. Apart from the obvious application as load

Method for evaluating the system instrumentation for loose part detection in the primary cooling circuit of French PWRs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gerardin, J.P.; Donnette, J.E.

1995-05-01

The purpose of the loose part detection system is to trigger an alarm whenever it is warranted, to localize, and to provide information on the type of loose part involved and the damages it may provoke. It is therefore indispensable to have efficient instrumentation, beginning with the sensors which must provide us with a response to all mechanical impacts in natural trapping areas (reactor vessel and steam generator water box). A series of mass- and energy-calibrated impacts have been generated on 45 points in the primary cooling system of a nuclear plant unit in the startup phase. This test provided insights into the relationship between sensor signals and various impact parameters such as velocity of impact or loose part mass. Once these parameters were known, it was possible to define a method for evaluating the detection threshold of sensors depending on the way they are mounted. (author)

Lung Cancer Risk and Demographic Characteristics of Current 20-29 Pack-year Smokers: Implications for Screening.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinsky, Paul F; Kramer, Barnett S

2015-11-01

Based on current recommendations, 30+ pack-years of smoking are required for eligibility for low-dose CT (LDCT) lung cancer screening; former smokers must have quit within 15 years. We investigated whether current smokers with 20 to 29 pack-years have similar lung cancer risks as eligible former smokers and also whether they have a different demographic profile. The Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial (PLCO) was a randomly assigned screening trial of subjects age 55 to 74 years with chest radiographs (CXR) used for lung cancer. Subjects completed a baseline questionnaire containing smoking history questions. Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age and sex, were utilized to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for various smoking history groups. Next, we utilized the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), which inquired about smoking history and race/ethnicity, to analyze the demographic profiles of various high-risk smoking history categories. All statistical tests were two-sided. The PLCO cohort included 18 114 former and 12 243 current LDCT-eligible smokers, plus 2283 20- to 29-pack-year current smokers. The hazard ratio for 20- to 29-pack-year current smokers compared with eligible (30+ pack-year) former smokers was 1.07 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.75 to 1.5). Based on the NHIS, 10 million persons in the United States are currently LDCT eligible; an additional 1.6 million (16%, 95% CI = 13.6% to 19.0%) are 20- to 29-pack-year current smokers. The percentage increase in eligibles if 20- to 29-pack-year current smokers were included was substantially greater for women than men (22.2%, 95% CI = 17.9% to 26.7%; vs 12.2%, 95% CI = 9.3% to 15.3%, P non-Hispanic whites (30.0%, 95% CI = 24.2% to 36.0%; vs 14.1%, 95% CI = 11.1% to 17.0%, P smokers should be assessed. Published by Oxford University Press 2015. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

SEPTOPLASTY WITH AND WITHOUT NASAL PACKING: A COMPARATIVE STUDY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mitta

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Septoplasty is one of the most commonly performed surgeries in rhinology to relieve nasal obstruction of patients with distortion in the midline cartilage or septum of the nose to relieve nasal obstruction of patient and findings consistent with nasal endoscopy. The anterior nasal packing routinely done following septoplasty is usually conventional and not evidence based. The purpose of nasal packing is to obtain haemostasis, enhance opposition of septal flaps, avoid septal haematoma formation, close the dead space, avoid synechiae formation, provide support to septal cartilage and prevent its displacement. OBJECTIVE This study intends to evaluate the effects of nasal packing on surgical success and related complications in septoplasty. MATERIALS AND METHODS The present clinical prospective and randomised study was carried out on patients attending Otorhinolaryngology Department of Santhiram Medical College & General Hospital between March 2012 and March 2015. Patients undergoing septoplasty were randomised either to receive anterior nasal packing or to not receive nasal packing postoperatively. RESULTS Levels of pain experienced by patients with nasal packing postoperatively during the initial 24 hours postoperatively and during the removal of the pack were significantly more. Post-operative headache, epiphora, swallowing discomfort and sleep disturbance were more in patients with nasal packing and statistically (p.05. Septal haematoma, adhesions and local infections in both groups were statistically insignificant (p>.05. CONCLUSION Septoplasty enhances the standard of living of patients with septal deviation and nasal obstruction. Our study results suggest that nasal packing after septoplasty is not obligatory. Nasal packing causes considerably more pain and complications, and it should be reserved only for those who have bleeding predisposition.

Characterization of metallic surfaces in phosphorous-bronze ordered packings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandru, Claudia; Titescu, Gh.

1997-01-01

Copper and its alloys, particularly the phosphorous bronze, are characterized by a high water wettability as compared with other materials. This feature led to utilization of phosphorous bronze in fabrication of contact elements, a packing type equipping the distillation columns. For heavy water separation by isotopic distillation under vacuum, ordered packings of phosphorous bronze networks were fabricated. The superior performances of these packings are determined by the material and also by the geometrical form and the state of the metallic surface. Thus, a procedure of evaluating the wettability has been developed, based on tests of the network material. The results of the tests constitute a criterion of rating the functional performances of packings, particularly of their efficiencies. Also, investigation techniques of the chemical composition and of the thickness of superficial layer on the packing were developed. It was found that the packing surface presents a layer of about 5-20 μm formed mainly by oxides of copper, tin, and, depending on the packing treatment, of oxides of other elements coming from the treatment agent. The paper presents characterization of phosphorous bronze treated with potassium permanganate, a specific treatment for improving the functional performances of the packings used in the heavy water concentration and re-concentration installations

Application of GPR Method for Detection of Loose Zones in Flood Levee

Science.gov (United States)

Gołębiowski, Tomisław; Małysa, Tomasz

2018-02-01

In the paper the results of non-invasive georadar (GPR) surveys carried out for detection of loose zones located in the flood levee was presented. Terrain measurements were performed on the Vistula river flood levee in the village of Wawrzeńczyce near Cracow. In the investigation site, during the flood in 2010, leakages of levee were observed, so detection of inner water filtration paths was an important matter taking into account the stability of the levee during the next flood. GPR surveys had reconnaissance character, so they were carried out with the use of short-offset reflection profiling (SORP) technique and radargrams were subjected to standard signal processing. The results of surveys allowed to outline main loose zone in the levee which were the reason of leakages in 2010. Additionally gravel interbeddings in sand were detected which had an important influence, due to higher porosity of such zones, to water filtration inside of the levee. In the paper three solutions which allow to increase quality and resolution of radargrams were presented, i.e. changeable-polarisation surveys, advanced signal processing and DHA procedure.

Experiments on vibro-impact dynamics of loosely supported tubes under harmonic excitation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Axisa, F.; Izquierdo, P.

1992-01-01

Computational methods have been recently developed by the authors and others to predict the working life or the acceptable vibration limit of tubular structures experiencing fretting-wear caused by impact-sliding interaction with loose supports or adjacent structures. This problem is of practical interest in various nuclear and other industrial components. This paper reports an experimental work intended to validate the numerical techniques used to compute the tube non-linear vibration in presence of impact-sliding interaction. Attention is especially focused on the local and time averaged dynamical parameters governing the rate of fretting-wear. The experiments were carried out on a straight tube excited harmonically by a pair of electromagnetic shakers. The tube motion was limited by a loose support situated at about midspan. On the other hand, numerical simulations of the tests were also performed. Comparison between test and computational data resulted in rather satisfactory agreement, based on the averaged impact forces and the wear work rate. Results are also discussed in terms of detailed time histories of tube displacement and impact forces

Fast charge implications: Pack and cell analysis and comparison

Science.gov (United States)

Tanim, Tanvir R.; Shirk, Matthew G.; Bewley, Randy L.; Dufek, Eric J.; Liaw, Bor Yann

2018-03-01

This study investigates the effect of 50-kW (about 2C) direct current fast charging on a full-size battery electric vehicle's battery pack in comparison to a pack exclusively charged at 3.3 kW, which is the common alternating current Level 2 charging power level. Comparable scaled charging protocols are also independently applied to individual cells at three different temperatures, 20 °C, 30 °C, and 40 °C, to perform a comparative analysis with the packs. Dominant cell-level aging modes were identified through incremental capacity analysis and compared with full packs to gain a clear understanding of additional key factors that affect pack aging. While the cell-level study showed a minor impact on performance due to direct current fast charging, the packs showed a significantly higher rate of capacity fade under similar charging protocols. This indicates that pack-level aging cannot be directly extrapolated from cell evaluation. Delayed fast charging, completing shortly before discharge, was found to have less of an impact on battery degradation than conventional alternating current Level 2 charging.

Loose Coupling of Wearable-Based INSs with Automatic Heading Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Bousdar Ahmed, Dina; Munoz Diaz, Estefania

2017-01-01

Position tracking of pedestrians by means of inertial sensors is a highly explored field of research. In fact, there are already many approaches to implement inertial navigation systems (INSs). However, most of them use a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) attached to the pedestrian’s body. Since wearable-devices will be given items in the future, this work explores the implementation of an INS using two wearable-based IMUs. A loosely coupled approach is proposed to combine the outputs of...

SPH Modelling of Sea-ice Pack Dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Staroszczyk, Ryszard

2017-12-01

The paper is concerned with the problem of sea-ice pack motion and deformation under the action of wind and water currents. Differential equations describing the dynamics of ice, with its very distinct mateFfigrial responses in converging and diverging flows, express the mass and linear momentum balances on the horizontal plane (the free surface of the ocean). These equations are solved by the fully Lagrangian method of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH). Assuming that the ice behaviour can be approximated by a non-linearly viscous rheology, the proposed SPH model has been used to simulate the evolution of a sea-ice pack driven by wind drag stresses. The results of numerical simulations illustrate the evolution of an ice pack, including variations in ice thickness and ice area fraction in space and time. The effects of different initial ice pack configurations and of different conditions assumed at the coast-ice interface are examined. In particular, the SPH model is applied to a pack flow driven by a vortex wind to demonstrate how well the Lagrangian formulation can capture large deformations and displacements of sea ice.

Direct contact condensation in packed beds

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Yi; Klausner, James F.; Mei, Renwei; Knight, Jessica [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States)

2006-12-15

A diffusion driven desalination process was recently described where a very effective direct contact condenser with a packed bed is used to condense water vapor out of an air/vapor mixture. A laboratory scale direct contact condenser has been fabricated as a twin tower structure with two stages, co-current and countercurrent. Experiments have been operated in each stage with respective saturated air inlet temperatures of 36, 40 and 43{sup o}C. The temperature and humidity data have been collected at the inlet and exit of the packed bed for different water to air mass flow ratios that vary between 0 and 2.5. A one-dimensional model based on conservation principles has been developed, which predicts the variation of temperature, humidity, and condensation rate through the condenser stages. Agreement between the model and experiments is very good. It is observed that the countercurrent flow stage condensation effectiveness is significantly higher than that for the co-current stage. The condensation heat and mass transfer rates were found to decrease when water blockages occur within the packed bed. Using high-speed digital cinematography, it was observed that this problem can occur at any operating condition, and is dependent on the packing surface wetting characteristics. This observation is used to explain the requirement for two different empirical constants, depending on packing diameter, suggested by Onda for the air side mass transfer coefficient correlation. (author)

Modi ed strip packing heuristics for the rectangular variable-sized ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Two packing problems are considered in this paper, namely the well-known strip packing problem (SPP) and the variable-sized bin packing problem (VSBPP). A total of 252 strip packing heuristics (and variations thereof) from the literature, as well as novel heuristics proposed by the authors, are compared statistically by ...

Pre-capacity building in loosely-coupled collaborations: Setting the stage for future initiatives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheryl A. Hyde

2012-08-01

Full Text Available This article examines the benefits and limitations of ‘loosely-coupled’ research collaborations between university faculty and 12 grassroots community-based organisations (CBOs. The authors assert that community-based research projects that develop the knowledge base within CBOs, and can be described as ‘pre-capacity building’ work, can be an important stepping stone to the subsequent development of more formal and strategic capacity-building partnership ventures. However, such projects must be approached carefully with a clear understanding of the ‘threshold dimensions’ that must be met before proceeding with any collaboration. Written as a cautionary tale, the authors identify some of the problems that arise when the threshold stage is poorly executed, and more generally speak to the dangers of initiating even loosely-coupled collaborations in the absence of an explicit and well-established campus commitment to and support for community engagement and partnerships. Keywords: Community capacity-building, community-university partnerships, community research, collaboration

Energy intake and growth of weanling horses in a cold loose housing system

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. AUTIO

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The demand for information relating to the nutrition of horses in a cold environment is increasing with the popularity of loose housing of horses. This study examined the energy intake and growth of 10 weanling horses from November to March (22 weeks in a loose housing system (paddock and insulated sleeping hall with deep-litter bed. The horses were measured weekly for body condition and body weight, and the feeding was adjusted according to a horse’s body condition. Metabolizable energy (ME intake was compared to Finnish (MTT 2006 and Swedish (SLU 2004 nutrient requirements for 6–12-month-old horses. ME intake (75.5 ± 11.8 MJ d-1, mean ± SD was on average 24.6% above the requirements. The intake varied in a non-linear fashion in the course of the winter: y = 0.086x2 – 0.902x + 71.5, where x is weeks from November to March (p

Advanced software tools for digital loose part monitoring systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding, Y.

1996-01-01

The paper describes two software modules as analysis tools for digital loose part monitoring systems. The first module is called acoustic module which utilizes the multi-media features of modern personal computers to replay the digital stored short-time bursts with sufficient length and in good quality. This is possible due to the so-called puzzle technique developed at ISTec. The second module is called classification module which calculates advanced burst parameters and classifies the acoustic events in pre-defined classes with the help of an artificial multi-layer perception neural network trained with the back propagation algorithm. (author). 7 refs, 7 figs

Advanced software tools for digital loose part monitoring systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ding, Y [Institute for Safety Technology (ISTec) GmbH, Garching (Germany)

1997-12-31

The paper describes two software modules as analysis tools for digital loose part monitoring systems. The first module is called acoustic module which utilizes the multi-media features of modern personal computers to replay the digital stored short-time bursts with sufficient length and in good quality. This is possible due to the so-called puzzle technique developed at ISTec. The second module is called classification module which calculates advanced burst parameters and classifies the acoustic events in pre-defined classes with the help of an artificial multi-layer perception neural network trained with the back propagation algorithm. (author). 7 refs, 7 figs.

Reference book for design of valve packings, sealing high temperature water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Doubt, G.L.

1976-01-01

Mockups of stuffing boxes for valves in the 1/4 to 1 in. (0.6-2.54cm) pipe size range and ASA 900 and up pressure class were tested to determine how temperature, stuffing box dimensions, packing compressive stress and stem surface finish affect water leak rate, packing friction torque and packing volume loss (creep). One brand of wire-reinforced asbestos braid on graphite-and-asbestos core packing was used in all tests. The theory of leakage through porous media was reviewed with emphasis on application to packed stuffing boxes, and a mathematical framework for relating leakage and packing friction to stuffing box dimensions and compressive stress was developed. The tests gave empirical relationships (1) for leak rate vs temperature, packing compressive stress, stem diameter and packing size, (2) for packing friction torque vs the above variables and (3) for packing creep vs temperature and stress. Packing stress affected leakage far more than any other variable, the leak rate being inversely proportional to stress to the 7.3 power at a packing temperature of 350 deg F (175 deg C). Factors which increase packing compression (density) have a strong reducing effect on leakage and a moderate to zero effect on packing friction torque. Surface finish had no visible effect on leakage, torque or creep. Empirical results and theory have been combined to show how stuffing boxes can be designed for a given leakage rate. Suggestions for decreasing leakage from existing high temperature stuffing boxes are included. (author)

Pack stability in dip faces fitted with scraper conveyors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwartzmann, R

1978-01-01

This paper presents an account of an investigation conducted by CERCHAR, at the request of HBNPC, into the problems of goafside pack stability. Winning method and support and stowing techniques are described. Sets out the study methods used: systematic measurement (by direct or remote means) using an instrument developed by CERCHAR to investigate all aspects of in situ pack behaviour: settling, stresses, pressure on supports, etc. Gives the results of the investigation (tables and graphs) load-bearing capacity of the supports, deformation of the surrounding rock, convergence and stresses in the pack (figures, graphs), resistance of support-timber screen, model of in situ pack behaviour. Detailed conclusions (potential techniques, detailed study, practical improvements in packing techniques) are presented.

Optimal Extraction and Evaluation on the Oil Content of Citronella Oil Extracted From Cymbopogon Nardus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weng, D.C.J.; Jalifah Latip; Siti Aishah Hasbullah; Sastrohamidjojo, H.

2015-01-01

An investigation on the extraction of citronella oil from Cymbopogon nardus (C. nardus) using a custom made medium scale steam distillation apparatus has been conducted. The Clevenger apparatus was used to generate a continuous flow of the hydrosol, creating an efficient distillation system. In the case for C. nardus leave samples orientation; the sleeping/ standing and close/ loose packing in steam distillator was found to have significant effects on the yield of extraction. The 3.5 hours distillation process produced an extraction yield of 0.64 % in sleeping position of the leaves as compared to the standing position (0.43 %), while the loose packing (0.70 %) has almost two fold of yield percentage as compared to the close-packing (0.40 %) of the leaves. Therefore, the steam distillation of C. nardus leaves using a custom made medium scale steam distillation apparatus was found to be most effective in the combination of sleeping position with a loose packing. Furthermore, the age of C. nardus leaves also affect the physical and chemical quality of the citronella oil extracted. The younger leaves produced citronella oil that consists mainly of citronellal, citronellol and geraniol while the older leaves contained a high composition of citral. (author)

Mirror energy difference and the structure of loosely bound proton-rich nuclei around A =20

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Cenxi; Qi, Chong; Xu, Furong; Suzuki, Toshio; Otsuka, Takaharu

2014-04-01

The properties of loosely bound proton-rich nuclei around A =20 are investigated within the framework of the nuclear shell model. In these nuclei, the strength of the effective interactions involving the loosely bound proton s1/2 orbit is significantly reduced in comparison with that of those in their mirror nuclei. We evaluate the reduction of the effective interaction by calculating the monopole-based-universal interaction (VMU) in the Woods-Saxon basis. The shell-model Hamiltonian in the sd shell, such as USD, can thus be modified to reproduce the binding energies and energy levels of the weakly bound proton-rich nuclei around A =20. The effect of the reduction of the effective interaction on the structure and decay properties of these nuclei is also discussed.

Scandinavian consumer preference for beef steaks packed with or without oxygen.

Science.gov (United States)

Aaslyng, M D; Tørngren, M A; Madsen, N T

2010-07-01

Beef steaks retail-packed with (80% O(2), 20% CO(2)) or without oxygen (either skin-packed or gas-packed (69.6% N(2), 30% CO(2), 0.04% CO or 70% N(2), 30% CO(2))) were compared by consumers in Denmark (n=382), Norway (n=316) and Sweden (n=374). Two pairs of two steaks - one steak packed in a high oxygen atmosphere and one packed without oxygen - were given to the consumers. They were instructed to prepare the steaks at home on two consecutive days, and two persons had to taste each steak. In Denmark, the oxygen-free packing was either gas packing with CO (69.6% N(2), 30% CO(2), 0.04% CO) or without CO (70% N(2), 30% CO(2)), in Norway it was either gas packing with CO (69.6% N(2), 30% CO(2), 0.04% CO) or skin packing, and in Sweden it was either skin packing or gas packing without CO (70% N(2), 30% CO(2)). The meat represented animals that were between 17 and 80 months old (Denmark) and young bulls (Norway and Sweden). Consumers in all three countries clearly preferred steaks packed without oxygen, in terms of overall liking, willingness to pay and their preferred choice of one steak. Furthermore, they preferred the oxygen-free steaks in terms of both overall liking and liking of tenderness, juiciness and flavour. In Sweden, many consumers would pay more than usual for the skin-packed steak, and it was more often chosen as the preferred steak out of the four compared with gas-packed without oxygen. No difference was seen between the two oxygen-free packing methods in Denmark and Norway. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Packing of ganglioside-phospholipid monolayers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Majewski, J.; Kuhl, T.L.; Kjær, K.

2001-01-01

Using synchrotron grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction (GIXD) and reflectivity, the in-plane and out-of-plane structure of mixed ganglioside-phospholipid monolayers was investigated at the air-water interface. Mixed monolayers of 0, 5, 10, 20, and 100 mol% ganglioside GM, and the phospholipid...... monolayers did not affect hydrocarbon tail packing (fluidization or condensation of the hydrocarbon region). This is in contrast to previous investigations of lipopolymer-lipid mixtures, where the packing structure of phospholipid monolayers was greatly altered by the inclusion of lipids bearing hydrophilic...

Flow in Random Microstructures: a Multilevel Monte Carlo Approach

KAUST Repository

Icardi, Matteo

2016-01-06

In this work we are interested in the fast estimation of effective parameters of random heterogeneous materials using Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC). MLMC is an efficient and flexible solution for the propagation of uncertainties in complex models, where an explicit parametrisation of the input randomness is not available or too expensive. We propose a general-purpose algorithm and computational code for the solution of Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) on random heterogeneous materials. We make use of the key idea of MLMC, based on different discretization levels, extending it in a more general context, making use of a hierarchy of physical resolution scales, solvers, models and other numerical/geometrical discretisation parameters. Modifications of the classical MLMC estimators are proposed to further reduce variance in cases where analytical convergence rates and asymptotic regimes are not available. Spheres, ellipsoids and general convex-shaped grains are placed randomly in the domain with different placing/packing algorithms and the effective properties of the heterogeneous medium are computed. These are, for example, effective diffusivities, conductivities, and reaction rates. The implementation of the Monte-Carlo estimators, the statistical samples and each single solver is done efficiently in parallel. The method is tested and applied for pore-scale simulations of random sphere packings.

The Effect of Pharyngeal Packing during Nasal Surgery on the Incidence of Post Operative Nausea, Vomiting, and Sore Throat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali Karbasfrushan

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Nausea and vomiting after ear, nose and throat (ENT surgery is one of the most common and notable problems facing anesthesiologists in this area. This study was conducted to determine the effect of a pharyngeal pack on the severity of nausea, vomiting, and sore throat among patients after ear, pharynx, and throat surgeries.   Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical study was performed in 140 patients (61 men and 79 women; age range, 20–40 years who had undergone nasal surgery in 2010. Patients were divided into two groups: the first group were treated using a pharyngeal pack (case group and the second group were managed without a pharyngeal pack (control group. Statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney U test. SPSS software was used for data analysis.   Results: The mean severity of nausea and vomiting in the two groups was 2.057, 1.371 and 1.100, respectively, with no significant differences between groups. However, the mean severity of sore throat was 1.714 in the group with the pharyngeal pack and 1.385 in the group without pharyngeal pack (P=0.010.   Conclusion:  Not only does a pharyngeal pack in ENT surgery not reduce the extent and severity of nausea and vomiting, but it also increases the severity of sore throat in patients when leaving the recovery room and discharging hospital.

Statics of loose triangular embankment under Nadai’s sand hill analogy

Science.gov (United States)

Pipatpongsa, Thirapong; Heng, Sokbil; Iizuka, Atsushi; Ohta, Hideki

2010-10-01

In structural mechanics, Nadai's sand hill analogy is the interpretation of an ultimate torque applied to a given structural member with a magnitude that is analogously twice the volume of stable sand heap which can be accommodated on a transverse cross-section basis. Nadai's analogy is accompanied by his observation of a loose triangular embankment, based on the fact that gravitating loose earth is stable if inclined just under the angle of repose. However, Nadai's analysis of stress distribution in a planar sand heap was found to be inaccurate because the total pressure obtained from Nadai's solution is greater than the self-weight calculated from the heap geometry. This raises a question about the validity of his observation in relation to the analogy. To confirm his criterion, this article presents and corrects the error found in Nadai's solution by analyzing a radially symmetric stress field for a wedge-shaped sand heap with the purpose of satisfying both force balance and Nadai's closure. The fundamental equation was obtained by letting the friction state vary as a function of angular position and deduce it under the constraint that the principal stress orientation obeys Nadai's closure. The theoretical solution sufficiently agreed with the past experimental measurements.

Multilayer DNA Origami Packed on Hexagonal and Hybrid Lattices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ke, Yonggang; Voigt, Niels Vinther; Shih, William M.

2012-01-01

“Scaffolded DNA origami” has been proven to be a powerful and efficient approach to construct two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects with great complexity. Multilayer DNA origami has been demonstrated with helices packing along either honeycomb-lattice geometry or square-lattice geometry....... Here we report successful folding of multilayer DNA origami with helices arranged on a close-packed hexagonal lattice. This arrangement yields a higher density of helical packing and therefore higher resolution of spatial addressing than has been shown previously. We also demonstrate hybrid multilayer...... DNA origami with honeycomb-lattice, square-lattice, and hexagonal-lattice packing of helices all in one design. The availability of hexagonal close-packing of helices extends our ability to build complex structures using DNA nanotechnology....

Multilayer DNA origami packed on hexagonal and hybrid lattices.

Science.gov (United States)

Ke, Yonggang; Voigt, Niels V; Gothelf, Kurt V; Shih, William M

2012-01-25

"Scaffolded DNA origami" has been proven to be a powerful and efficient approach to construct two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects with great complexity. Multilayer DNA origami has been demonstrated with helices packing along either honeycomb-lattice geometry or square-lattice geometry. Here we report successful folding of multilayer DNA origami with helices arranged on a close-packed hexagonal lattice. This arrangement yields a higher density of helical packing and therefore higher resolution of spatial addressing than has been shown previously. We also demonstrate hybrid multilayer DNA origami with honeycomb-lattice, square-lattice, and hexagonal-lattice packing of helices all in one design. The availability of hexagonal close-packing of helices extends our ability to build complex structures using DNA nanotechnology. © 2011 American Chemical Society

The cultural dimension of tightness-looseness: An analysis of situational constraint in Estonia and Greece.

Science.gov (United States)

Realo, Anu; Linnamägi, Karmen; Gelfand, Michele J

2015-06-01

The importance of tightness-looseness as a dimension that explains a considerable amount of variance between cultures was demonstrated by Gelfand et al. (2011). Tight nations have many strong norms and a low tolerance of deviant behaviour, whereas loose nations have weak social norms and a high tolerance of deviant behaviour. The main aim of the current studies was to examine situational constraint in Estonia and Greece: that is, how the cultural dimension of tightness-looseness is manifested in everyday situations in those two countries. The findings of a questionnaire study (Study 1) suggested that, in general, there is higher constraint across everyday situations in Greece than in Estonia, but situational constraint in Greece is especially strong in school and organisational settings where people have hierarchically structured roles. The results of an observational study (Study 2) revealed a relatively high agreement between appropriateness of certain behaviours as judged by the respondents in Study 1 and the frequencies of observed behaviours in the two countries. Our findings suggest that the strength of situations may substantially vary both within and across cultures, and that the attitudes of the members about situational strength in their respective cultures are in concordance with observations of situations by neutral observers in how people in general behave in their culture. © 2014 International Union of Psychological Science.

Coalescence preference in dense packing of bubbles

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yeseul; Gim, Bopil; Gim, Bopil; Weon, Byung Mook

2015-11-01

Coalescence preference is the tendency that a merged bubble from the contact of two original bubbles (parent) tends to be near to the bigger parent. Here, we show that the coalescence preference can be blocked by densely packing of neighbor bubbles. We use high-speed high-resolution X-ray microscopy to clearly visualize individual coalescence phenomenon which occurs in micro scale seconds and inside dense packing of microbubbles with a local packing fraction of ~40%. Previous theory and experimental evidence predict a power of -5 between the relative coalescence position and the parent size. However, our new observation for coalescence preference in densely packed microbubbles shows a different power of -2. We believe that this result may be important to understand coalescence dynamics in dense packing of soft matter. This work (NRF-2013R1A22A04008115) was supported by Mid-career Researcher Program through NRF grant funded by the MEST and also was supported by Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (2009-0082580) and by Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry and Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2012R1A6A3A04039257).

Generating equilateral random polygons in confinement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diao, Y; Ernst, C; Montemayor, A; Ziegler, U

2011-01-01

One challenging problem in biology is to understand the mechanism of DNA packing in a confined volume such as a cell. It is known that confined circular DNA is often knotted and hence the topology of the extracted (and relaxed) circular DNA can be used as a probe of the DNA packing mechanism. However, in order to properly estimate the topological properties of the confined circular DNA structures using mathematical models, it is necessary to generate large ensembles of simulated closed chains (i.e. polygons) of equal edge lengths that are confined in a volume such as a sphere of certain fixed radius. Finding efficient algorithms that properly sample the space of such confined equilateral random polygons is a difficult problem. In this paper, we propose a method that generates confined equilateral random polygons based on their probability distribution. This method requires the creation of a large database initially. However, once the database has been created, a confined equilateral random polygon of length n can be generated in linear time in terms of n. The errors introduced by the method can be controlled and reduced by the refinement of the database. Furthermore, our numerical simulations indicate that these errors are unbiased and tend to cancel each other in a long polygon. (paper)

A Harmonic Algorithm for the 3D Strip Packing Problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

N. Bansal (Nikhil); X. Han; K. Iwama; M. Sviridenko; G. Zhang (Guochuan)

2013-01-01

htmlabstractIn the three-dimensional (3D) strip packing problem, we are given a set of 3D rectangular items and a 3D box $B$. The goal is to pack all the items in $B$ such that the height of the packing is minimized. We consider the most basic version of the problem, where the items must be packed

Evaluation of Packed Distillation Columns I - Atmospheric Pressure

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Reynolds, Thaine

1951-01-01

.... Four column-packing combinations of the glass columns and four column-packing combinations of the steel columns were investigated at atmospheric pressure using a test mixture of methylcyclohexane...

Implementation fidelity of a nurse-led falls prevention program in acute hospitals during the 6-PACK trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Morello, Renata T; Barker, Anna L; Ayton, Darshini R; Landgren, Fiona; Kamar, Jeannette; Hill, Keith D; Brand, Caroline A; Sherrington, Catherine; Wolfe, Rory; Rifat, Sheral; Stoelwinder, Johannes

2017-06-02

When tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of 31,411 patients, the nurse-led 6-PACK falls prevention program did not reduce falls. Poor implementation fidelity (i.e., program not implemented as intended) may explain this result. Despite repeated calls for the examination of implementation fidelity as an essential component of evaluating interventions designed to improve the delivery of care, it has been neglected in prior falls prevention studies. This study examined implementation fidelity of the 6-PACK program during a large multi-site RCT. Based on the 6-PACK implementation framework and intervention description, implementation fidelity was examined by quantifying adherence to program components and organizational support. Adherence indicators were: 1) falls-risk tool completion; and for patients classified as high-risk, provision of 2) a 'Falls alert' sign; and 3) at least one additional 6-PACK intervention. Organizational support indicators were: 1) provision of resources (executive sponsorship, site clinical leaders and equipment); 2) implementation activities (modification of patient care plans; training; implementation tailoring; audits, reminders and feedback; and provision of data); and 3) program acceptability. Data were collected from daily bedside observation, medical records, resource utilization diaries and nurse surveys. All seven intervention components were delivered on the 12 intervention wards. Program adherence data were collected from 103,398 observations and medical record audits. The falls-risk tool was completed each day for 75% of patients. Of the 38% of patients classified as high-risk, 79% had a 'Falls alert' sign and 63% were provided with at least one additional 6-PACK intervention, as recommended. All hospitals provided the recommended resources and undertook the nine outlined program implementation activities. Most of the nurses surveyed considered program components important for falls prevention. While implementation

Duration of Nasal Packs in the Management of Epistaxis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kundi, N. A.; Raza, M.

2015-01-01

Objective:To compare the efficacy of nasal packs for 12 and 24 hours in the management of epistaxis. Study Design: Quasi experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: Combined Military Hospital, Nowshera and Heavy Industries Taxilla Hospital, from October 2012 to April 2013. Methodology: A total of 60 patients presenting with epistaxis were selected and were divided into two groups of 30 patients each. Patients in both the groups were managed by nasal packs. In group-A packs were removed after 12 hours while in group-B after 24 hours. Symptoms of headache, lacrimation and recurrence of bleeding were recorded. SPSS 20 was used for data analysis and p-value less than 0.01 was considered significant. Results: There was significant difference for headache between removal of nasal packs after 12 hours and 24 hours (p < 0.001). There was significant difference for excessive lacrimation at 12 and 24 hours (p = 0.001). No significant difference was observed for recurrence of bleed when nasal packs were removed at 12 and 24 hours (p = 0.317). Conclusion: Duration in removal of nasal packs after 12 or 24 hours made a difference in the management of epistaxis. Symptoms of headache and excessive lacrimation were significantly higher when nasal packs were removed after 24 hours. It is recommended that patient could be managed with lesser duration of packs after episode of epistaxis to avoid inconvenience. (author)

Cylinder valve packing nut studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blue, S.C. [Martin Marietta Energy Systems, Inc., Paducah, KY (United States)

1991-12-31

The design, manufacture, and use of cylinder valve packing nuts have been studied to improve their resistance to failure from stress corrosion cracking. Stress frozen photoelastic models have been analyzed to measure the stress concentrations at observed points of failure. The load effects induced by assembly torque and thermal expansion of stem packing were observed by strain gaging nuts. The effects of finishing operations and heat treatment were studied by the strain gage hole boring and X-ray methods. Modifications of manufacturing and operation practices are reducing the frequency of stress corrosion failures.

The general packed column : an analytical solution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gielen, J.L.W.

2000-01-01

The transient behaviour of a packed column is considered. The column, uniformly packed on a macroscopic scale, is multi-structured on the microscopic level: the solid phase consists of particles, which may differ in incidence, shape or size, and other relevant physical properties. Transport in the

Characteristics of illegal and legal cigarette packs sold in Guatemala.

Science.gov (United States)

Arevalo, Rodrigo; Corral, Juan E; Monzon, Diego; Yoon, Mira; Barnoya, Joaquin

2016-11-25

Guatemala, as a party to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), is required to regulate cigarette packaging and labeling and eliminate illicit tobacco trade. Current packaging and labeling characteristics (of legal and illegal cigarettes) and their compliance with the FCTC is unknown. We sought to analyze package and label characteristics of illegal and legal cigarettes sold in Guatemala. We visited the 22 largest traditional markets in the country to purchase illegal cigarettes. All brands registered on tobacco industry websites were purchased as legal cigarettes. Analysis compared labeling characteristics of illegal and legal packs. Most (95%) markets and street vendors sold illegal cigarettes; 104 packs were purchased (79 illegal and 25 legal). Ten percent of illegal and none of the legal packs had misleading terms. Half of the illegal packs had a warning label covering 26 to 50% of the pack surface. All legal packs had a label covering 25% of the surface. Illegal packs were more likely to have information on constituents and emissions (85% vs. 45%, p Guatemala, neither illegal nor legal cigarette packs comply with FCTC labeling mandates. Urgent implementation and enforcement of the FCTC is necessary to halt the tobacco epidemic.

Generalized network improvement and packing problems

CERN Document Server

Holzhauser, Michael

2016-01-01

Michael Holzhauser discusses generalizations of well-known network flow and packing problems by additional or modified side constraints. By exploiting the inherent connection between the two problem classes, the author investigates the complexity and approximability of several novel network flow and packing problems and presents combinatorial solution and approximation algorithms. Contents Fractional Packing and Parametric Search Frameworks Budget-Constrained Minimum Cost Flows: The Continuous Case Budget-Constrained Minimum Cost Flows: The Discrete Case Generalized Processing Networks Convex Generalized Flows Target Groups Researchers and students in the fields of mathematics, computer science, and economics Practitioners in operations research and logistics The Author Dr. Michael Holzhauser studied computer science at the University of Kaiserslautern and is now a research fellow in the Optimization Research Group at the Department of Mathematics of the University of Kaiserslautern.

Loose fusion based on SLAM and IMU for indoor environment

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Haijiang; Wang, Zhicheng; Zhou, Jinglin; Wang, Xuejing

2018-04-01

The simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) method based on the RGB-D sensor is widely researched in recent years. However, the accuracy of the RGB-D SLAM relies heavily on correspondence feature points, and the position would be lost in case of scenes with sparse textures. Therefore, plenty of fusion methods using the RGB-D information and inertial measurement unit (IMU) data have investigated to improve the accuracy of SLAM system. However, these fusion methods usually do not take into account the size of matched feature points. The pose estimation calculated by RGB-D information may not be accurate while the number of correct matches is too few. Thus, considering the impact of matches in SLAM system and the problem of missing position in scenes with few textures, a loose fusion method combining RGB-D with IMU is proposed in this paper. In the proposed method, we design a loose fusion strategy based on the RGB-D camera information and IMU data, which is to utilize the IMU data for position estimation when the corresponding point matches are quite few. While there are a lot of matches, the RGB-D information is still used to estimate position. The final pose would be optimized by General Graph Optimization (g2o) framework to reduce error. The experimental results show that the proposed method is better than the RGB-D camera's method. And this method can continue working stably for indoor environment with sparse textures in the SLAM system.

Multi-Node Thermal System Model for Lithium-Ion Battery Packs: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shi, Ying; Smith, Kandler; Wood, Eric; Pesaran, Ahmad

2015-09-14

Temperature is one of the main factors that controls the degradation in lithium ion batteries. Accurate knowledge and control of cell temperatures in a pack helps the battery management system (BMS) to maximize cell utilization and ensure pack safety and service life. In a pack with arrays of cells, a cells temperature is not only affected by its own thermal characteristics but also by its neighbors, the cooling system and pack configuration, which increase the noise level and the complexity of cell temperatures prediction. This work proposes to model lithium ion packs thermal behavior using a multi-node thermal network model, which predicts the cell temperatures by zones. The model was parametrized and validated using commercial lithium-ion battery packs. neighbors, the cooling system and pack configuration, which increase the noise level and the complexity of cell temperatures prediction. This work proposes to model lithium ion packs thermal behavior using a multi-node thermal network model, which predicts the cell temperatures by zones. The model was parametrized and validated using commercial lithium-ion battery packs.

Glottotecnologie didattiche per i migranti L’italiano fra le altre lingue nel progetto L-Pack (Citizenship Language Pack for Migrants in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pierangela Diadori

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Teaching languages to migrants through ICT L-Pack Project for Italian and other languages (Citizenship Language Pack for Migrants in EuropeThe most recent trends in technology and the internet, commonly called Web 2.0., have determined new concepts in teaching and learning that involve autonomy, multimodality and flexibility. New approaches to ‘knowledge by technology’ are changing both teachers’ and learners’ roles, responding to their different aims and needs. At the same time, nearly 4 million people are presently involved in massive migration processes all over Europe, coming either from outside Europe or from another EU member state. The EU policies on migrants state the importance of a basic knowledge of the host country’s language, history and institutions for an effective integration process, and EU governments are expected to contribute to this aim. This paper describes the European Project ‘L-PACK: Citizenship Language Pack For Migrants in Europe’ (2011-2016, whose main aim consisted in developing a series of internet video texts, accompanied with materials and resources to lead adult migrants to A2 level (according to QCER levels scale in different EU languages. The project has been developed in two main stages. In the first part of the programme, called L-Pack 1, from 2011 to 2013, the languages were Italian, Spanish, German, Lithuanian, Greek and Czech. In the second part, called L-Pack 2 extended, from 2014 to 2016, the project added English and French and was integrated with new resources and tools. The L-PACK course, which consists of 60 short video dialogues from everyday life, supported by comprehension activities and linguistic explanation and rules, is totally free and available through Youtube, Wikibooks and Soundcloud. The dedicated website http://www.l-pack.eu was visited by 120.000 users from 146 countries in the period 2011-2016. L-Pack teaching materials have also been used by teachers in classroom

Performance Analysis of Constrained Loosely Coupled GPS/INS Integration Solutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fabio Dovis

2012-11-01

Full Text Available The paper investigates approaches for loosely coupled GPS/INS integration. Error performance is calculated using a reference trajectory. A performance improvement can be obtained by exploiting additional map information (for example, a road boundary. A constrained solution has been developed and its performance compared with an unconstrained one. The case of GPS outages is also investigated showing how a Kalman filter that operates on the last received GPS position and velocity measurements provides a performance benefit. Results are obtained by means of simulation studies and real data.

Acceptability of the 6-PACK falls prevention program: A pre-implementation study in hospitals participating in a cluster randomized controlled trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna L Barker

Full Text Available There is limited evidence to support the effectiveness of falls prevention interventions in the acute hospital setting. The 6-PACK falls prevention program includes a fall-risk tool; 'falls alert' signs; supervision of patients in the bathroom; ensuring patients' walking aids are within reach; toileting regimes; low-low beds; and bed/chair alarms. This study explored the acceptability of the 6-PACK program from the perspective of nurses and senior staff prior to its implementation in a randomised controlled trial. A mixed-methods approach was applied involving 24 acute wards from six Australian hospitals. Participants were nurses working on participating wards and senior hospital staff including: Nurse Unit Managers; senior physicians; Directors of Nursing; and senior personnel involved in quality and safety or falls prevention. Information on program acceptability (suitability, practicality and benefits was obtained by surveys, focus groups and interviews. Survey data were analysed descriptively, and focus group and interview data thematically. The survey response rate was 60%. Twelve focus groups (n = 96 nurses and 24 interviews with senior staff were conducted. Falls were identified as a priority patient safety issue and nurses as key players in falls prevention. The 6-PACK program was perceived to offer practical benefits compared to current practice. Nurses agreed fall-risk tools, low-low beds and alert signs were useful for preventing falls (>70%. Views were mixed regarding positioning patients' walking aid within reach. Practical issues raised included access to equipment; and risk of staff injury with low-low bed use. Bathroom supervision was seen to be beneficial, however not always practical. Views on the program appropriateness and benefits were consistent across nurses and senior staff. Staff perceived the 6-PACK program as suitable, practical and beneficial, and were open to adopting the program. Some practical concerns were raised

Microbiological Quality of Blister Pack Tablets in Community ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Keywords: Blister pack, Community pharmacy, Good Manufacturing Practice, Microbial contamination,. Quality control ... High levels of microbial contamination in blister-packed tablets ... and their drugs approved by the Jordan Food and Drug ...

Improved Taxation Rate for Bin Packing Games

Science.gov (United States)

Kern, Walter; Qiu, Xian

A cooperative bin packing game is a N-person game, where the player set N consists of k bins of capacity 1 each and n items of sizes a 1, ⋯ ,a n . The value of a coalition of players is defined to be the maximum total size of items in the coalition that can be packed into the bins of the coalition. We present an alternative proof for the non-emptiness of the 1/3-core for all bin packing games and show how to improve this bound ɛ= 1/3 (slightly). We conjecture that the true best possible value is ɛ= 1/7.

Does a balanced transfusion ratio of plasma to packed red blood cells improve outcomes in both trauma and surgical patients? A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahouma, Mohamed; Kamel, Mohamed; Jodeh, Diana; Kelley, Thomas; Ohmes, Lucas B; de Biasi, Andreas R; Abouarab, Ahmed A; Benedetto, Umberto; Guy, T Sloane; Lau, Christopher; Lee, Paul C; Girardi, Leonard N; Gaudino, Mario

2017-09-23

The effect of high transfusion ratios of fresh frozen plasma (FFP): packed red blood cell (RBC) on mortality is still controversial. Observational evidence contradicts a recent randomized controlled trial regarding mortality benefit. This is an updated meta-analysis, including a non-trauma cohort. Patients were grouped into high vs. low based on FFP:RBC ratio. Primary outcomes were 24-h and 30-day/in-hospital mortality. Secondary outcomes were acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute lung injury rates. Random model and leave-one-out-analyses were used. In 36 studies, lower ratio showed poorer 24-h and 30-day survival (p ratio was associated with worse 24-h and 30-day mortality (P ratio of 1:1.5 provided the largest 24-h and 30-day survival benefit (p ratio was not associated with ARDS or ALI. High FFP:RBC ratio confers survival benefits in trauma and non-trauma settings, with the highest survival benefit at 1:1.5. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New series of paper pack vending machines; Paper pack jido hanbaiki no shin series

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohashi, M. [Fuji Denki Reiki Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan); Umino, S. [Fuji Electric Co. Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1996-07-10

This paper presents series of paper pack vending machines. These machines may be broadly classified into those of cold drinks and of hot and cold drinks depending on the storage temperature of products. The former is the machine for cooling dairy products at 10{degree}C with a combined stacking by direct-stacked racks and chain-multiracks. The latter is provided with divided storing chambers with each chamber selectively cooled or heated. Products in the hot chamber are canned coffee and the like set at 55{degree}C. The temperature control is performed by a microcomputer. The chain-multiracks are provided with advantages such as capability of handling various kinds of container shapes, storing drinks and foods vertically, replacing products by the change of a shelf attachment with one operation, and storing one liter packs by setting pair columns. The direct-stacked racks are provided with advantages such as versatility of handling various kinds of containers and miniaturization of the mechanism other than the storage part. The installation space was reduced by devising the opening and closing of the door. The control part is capable of setting temperatures differently for cans and paper packs. 7 figs., 1 tab.

Mechanical behavior of embankments overlying on loose subgrade stabilized by deep mixed columns

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morteza Esmaeili

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Deep mixed column (DMC is known as one of the effective methods for stabilizing the natural earth beneath road or railway embankments to control stability and settlements under traffic loads. The load distribution mechanism of embankment overlying on loose subgrades stabilized with DMCs considerably depends on the columns' mechanical and geometrical specifications. The present study uses the laboratory investigation to understand the behavior of embankments lying on loose sandy subgrade in three different conditions: (1 subgrade without reinforcement, (2 subgrade reinforced with DMCs in a triangular pattern and horizontal plan, and (3 subgrade reinforced with DMCs in a square pattern and horizontal plan. For this purpose, by adopting the scale factor of 1:10, a reference embankment with 20 cm height, 250 cm length, and 93% maximum dry density achieved in standard Proctor compaction test was constructed over a 70 cm thick loose sandy bed with the relative density of 50% in a loading chamber, and its load-displacement behavior was evaluated until the failure occurred. In the next two tests, DMCs (with 10 cm diameter, 40 cm length, and 25 cm center-to-center spacing were placed in groups in two different patterns (square and triangular in the same sandy bed beneath the embankment and, consequently, the embankments were constructed over the reinforced subgrades and gradually loaded until the failure happened. In all the three tests, the load-displacement behaviors of the embankment and the selected DMCs were instrumented for monitoring purpose. The obtained results implied 64% increase in failure load and 40% decrease in embankment crest settlement when using the square pattern of DMCs compared with those of the reference embankment, while these values were 63% and 12%, respectively, for DMCs in triangular pattern. This confirmed generally better performance of DMCs with a triangular pattern.

Minimal packing duration in close reduction for nasal bone fracture treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Dong Sik; Lee, Jeong Woo; Yang, Jung Dug; Chung, Ho Yun; Cho, Byung Chae; Choi, Kang Young

2015-04-15

Nasal bone fracture is the most common type of facial bone fracture. The optimal duration of the packing after closed reduction has been a controversial issue. The packing has several disadvantages such as blocking the nasal airway, causing infection and a headache, which is the most common immediate complication. The present study investigated the minimal and optimal duration of the nasal packing following reduction surgery of nasal bone fracture. A prospective study was performed for the patients undergoing reduction surgery following nasal bone fracture between July 2010 and June 2012. The patients were categorised into three groups according to the duration of nasal packing. For the patients treated between July 2010 and June 2011, nasal packing was maintained for 5 days. For those between July 2011 and December 2011, packing was maintained for 3 days. For those between January 2012 and June 2012, the packing was removed after 1 day. The computed tomography scan and the cephalolateral X-ray were checked at immediate postoperative period after packing removal and 6 months postoperatively. The alteration of heights, deviations, and nasal bone contours with time passage were compared among three groups. The patient satisfaction survey was also performed and compared. A total of 530 patients including 322 of the 5-days packing group, 102 of the 3-days group, and 106 of the 1-day group were enrolled. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of heights, deviations, and nasal bone contours (p-value ≥ 0.05). In the patient satisfaction survey, the 1-day packing group complained of discomfort related to nasal packing and headache symptoms much less, compared to the other two groups. The present study demonstrated that 1-day packing had comparable postoperative outcome with reducing the patients' discomfort. As such, a longer packing duration was not needed to achieve stable results one day is a reasonable packing time for most

Economics Action Pack.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald's Corp., Oak Brook, IL.

One of five McDonald's Action Packs, this learning package introduces intermediate grade students to basic economic concepts. The fourteen activities include the topics of consumption (4 activities), production (5), the market system (3), a pretest, and a posttest. Specific titles under consumption include The Wonderful Treasure Tree (introduction…

Bioequivalence of fixed-dose combination RIN®-150 to each reference drug in loose combination.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, H F; Wang, R; O'Gorman, M; Crownover, P; Damle, B

2015-03-01

RIN(®)-150 is a fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablet containing rifampicin (RMP, 150 mg) and isoniazid (INH, 75 mg) developed for the treatment of tuberculosis. This study was conducted at a single center: the Pfizer Clinical Research Unit in Singapore. To demonstrate bioequivalence of each drug component between RIN-150 and individual products in a loose combination. This was a randomized, open-label, single-dose, two-way crossover study. Subjects received single doses of RIN-150 or two individual reference products under fasting conditions in a crossover fashion, with at least 7 days washout between doses. The primary measures for comparison were peak plasma concentration (Cmax) and the area under plasma concentration-time curve (AUC). Of 28 subjects enrolled, 26 completed the study. The adjusted geometric mean ratios of Cmax and AUClast between the FDC and single-drug references and 90% confidence intervals were respectively 91.63% (90%CI 83.13-101.01) and 95.45% (90%CI 92.07-98.94) for RMP, and 107.58% (90%CI 96.07-120.47) and 103.45% (90%CI 99.33-107.75) for INH. Both formulations were generally well tolerated in this study. The RIN-150 FDC tablet formulation is bioequivalent to the two single-drug references for RMP and INH at equivalent doses.

Structure and Randomness of Continuous-Time, Discrete-Event Processes

Science.gov (United States)

Marzen, Sarah E.; Crutchfield, James P.

2017-10-01

Loosely speaking, the Shannon entropy rate is used to gauge a stochastic process' intrinsic randomness; the statistical complexity gives the cost of predicting the process. We calculate, for the first time, the entropy rate and statistical complexity of stochastic processes generated by finite unifilar hidden semi-Markov models—memoryful, state-dependent versions of renewal processes. Calculating these quantities requires introducing novel mathematical objects (ɛ -machines of hidden semi-Markov processes) and new information-theoretic methods to stochastic processes.

An approach for heterogeneous and loosely coupled geospatial data distributed computing

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Bin; Huang, Fengru; Fang, Yu; Huang, Zhou; Lin, Hui

2010-07-01

Most GIS (Geographic Information System) applications tend to have heterogeneous and autonomous geospatial information resources, and the availability of these local resources is unpredictable and dynamic under a distributed computing environment. In order to make use of these local resources together to solve larger geospatial information processing problems that are related to an overall situation, in this paper, with the support of peer-to-peer computing technologies, we propose a geospatial data distributed computing mechanism that involves loosely coupled geospatial resource directories and a term named as Equivalent Distributed Program of global geospatial queries to solve geospatial distributed computing problems under heterogeneous GIS environments. First, a geospatial query process schema for distributed computing as well as a method for equivalent transformation from a global geospatial query to distributed local queries at SQL (Structured Query Language) level to solve the coordinating problem among heterogeneous resources are presented. Second, peer-to-peer technologies are used to maintain a loosely coupled network environment that consists of autonomous geospatial information resources, thus to achieve decentralized and consistent synchronization among global geospatial resource directories, and to carry out distributed transaction management of local queries. Finally, based on the developed prototype system, example applications of simple and complex geospatial data distributed queries are presented to illustrate the procedure of global geospatial information processing.

Sandboxes, Loose Parts, and Playground Equipment: A Descriptive Exploration of Outdoor Play Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Olsen, Heather; Smith, Brandy

2017-01-01

The purpose of the study was to examine outdoor environments to understand whether or not young children had access to play materials and loose parts to enhance their playful experiences. This study sought to gather the availability of SAFE and quality play opportunities in early childhood outdoor environments. The study took place in one state of…

Synthesis and characterization of α-MoO3 microspheres packed with nanoflakes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Rabindar K; Reddy, G B

2014-01-01

In this paper, we report the fabrication of three-dimensional molybdenum oxide (α-MoO 3 ) microspheres (MSs) packed with nanoflakes by facile and eco-friendly physical vapour deposition processes. Synthesis processes include sequences of plasma-assisted sublimation and thermal evaporation routes on a nickel-coated glass substrate in three individual stages. It is observed that nanostructured films deposited in the first and second stages function as seed layers for the growth of MoO 3 MSs. The structural study divulged that the MoO 3 MSs are polycrystalline in nature with pure orthorhombic phase. The morphological study endorses the uniform growth of MSs on a large area scale having diameters in the range of 0.7–2 µm with the finely packed single crystalline nanoflakes with mean thicknesses of nearly 60 nm. These single crystalline flakes are not individual but in the form of randomly distributed bunches embedded on the surface of MSs. Vibrational study of molybdenum and oxygen atoms in the MSs is carried out by Raman and Fourier transform infrared analysis, which further assured the existence of a pure orthorhombic crystal phase of MoO 3 MSs and also justified the x-ray diffractogram findings. The MoO 3 MSs show intense photoluminescence emission at room temperature with the five prominent peaks located at 424, 457, 486, 521 and 536 nm in accordance with the improvement in the degree of crystallinity. The possible growth strategy of α-MoO 3 MSs packed with nanoflakes is proposed in this paper briefly. (paper)

Packing parameters effect on injection molding of polypropylene nanostructured surfaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Calaon, Matteo; Tosello, Guido; Hansen, Hans Nørgaard

2012-01-01

having a diameter of 500 nm was employed. The tool insert surface was produced using chemical-based-batch techniques such aluminum anodization and nickel electroplating. During the injection molding process, polypropylene (PP) was employed as material and packing phase parameters (packing time, packing...

Performance of high-rate gravel-packed oil wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unneland, Trond

2001-05-01

Improved methods for the prediction, evaluation, and monitoring of performance in high-rate cased-hole gravel-packed oil wells are presented in this thesis. The ability to predict well performance prior to the gravel-pack operations, evaluate the results after the operation, and monitor well performance over time has been improved. This lifetime approach to performance analysis of gravel-packed oil wells contributes to increase oil production and field profitability. First, analytical models available for prediction of performance in gravel-packed oil wells are reviewed, with particular emphasis on high-velocity flow effects. From the analysis of field data from three North Sea oil fields, improved and calibrated cased-hole gravel-pack performance prediction models are presented. The recommended model is based on serial flow through formation sand and gravel in the perforation tunnels. In addition, new correlations for high-velocity flow in high-rate gravel-packed oil wells are introduced. Combined, this improves the performance prediction for gravel-packed oil wells, and specific areas can be targeted for optimized well design. Next, limitations in the current methods and alternative methods for evaluation and comparison of well performance are presented. The most widely used parameter, the skin factor, remains a convenient and important parameter. However, using the skin concept in direct comparisons between wells with different reservoir properties may result in misleading or even invalid conclusions. A discussion of the parameters affecting the skin value, with a clarification of limitations, is included. A methodology for evaluation and comparison of gravel-packed well performance is presented, and this includes the use of results from production logs and the use of effective perforation tunnel permeability as a parameter. This contributes to optimized operational procedures from well to well and from field to field. Finally, the data sources available for

Spoilage-Related Activity of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum Strains in Air-Stored and Vacuum-Packed Meat ▿ †

Science.gov (United States)

Casaburi, Annalisa; Nasi, Antonella; Ferrocino, Ilario; Di Monaco, Rossella; Mauriello, Gianluigi; Villani, Francesco; Ercolini, Danilo

2011-01-01

One hundred three isolates of Carnobacterium spp. from raw meat were analyzed by random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and PCR and were identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Forty-five strains of Carnobacterium maltaromaticum were characterized for their growth capabilities at different temperatures, NaCl concentrations, and pH values and for in vitro lipolytic and proteolytic activities. Moreover, their spoilage potential in meat was investigated by analyzing the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in meat stored in air or vacuum packs. Almost all the strains were able to grow at 4, 10, and 20°C, at pH values of 6 to 9, and in the presence of 2.5% NaCl. The release of VOCs by each strain in beef stored at 4°C in air and vacuum packs was evaluated by headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME)-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. All the meat samples inoculated and stored in air showed higher numbers of VOCs than the vacuum-packed meat samples. Acetoin, 1-octen-3-ol, and butanoic acid were the compounds most frequently found under both storage conditions. The contaminated meat samples were evaluated by a sensory panel; the results indicated that for all sensory odors, no effect of strain was significant (P > 0.05). The storage conditions significantly affected (P meat, and mozzarella cheese odors, which were more intense in meat stored in air than in vacuum packs but were never very intense. In conclusion, different strains of C. maltaromaticum can grow efficiently in meat stored at low temperatures both in air and in vacuum packs, producing volatile molecules with low sensory impacts, with a negligible contribution to meat spoilage overall. PMID:21784913

Packing Density Approach for Sustainable Development of Concrete

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sudarshan Dattatraya KORE

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This paper deals with the details of optimized mix design for normal strength concrete using particle packing density method. Also the concrete mixes were designed as per BIS: 10262-2009. Different water-cement ratios were used and kept same in both design methods. An attempt has been made to obtain sustainable and cost effective concrete product by use of particle packing density method. The parameters such as workability, compressive strength, cost analysis and carbon di oxide emission were discussed. The results of the study showed that, the compressive strength of the concrete produced by packing density method are closer to that of design compressive strength of BIS code method. By adopting the packing density method for design of concrete mixes, resulted in 11% cost saving with 12% reduction in carbon di oxide emission.

Systematic Onset of Periodic Patterns in Random Disk Packings

Science.gov (United States)

Topic, Nikola; Pöschel, Thorsten; Gallas, Jason A. C.

2018-04-01

We report evidence of a surprising systematic onset of periodic patterns in very tall piles of disks deposited randomly between rigid walls. Independently of the pile width, periodic structures are always observed in monodisperse deposits containing up to 1 07 disks. The probability density function of the lengths of disordered transient phases that precede the onset of periodicity displays an approximately exponential tail. These disordered transients may become very large when the channel width grows without bound. For narrow channels, the probability density of finding periodic patterns of a given period displays a series of discrete peaks, which, however, are washed out completely when the channel width grows.

Study of Robust H∞ Filtering Application in Loosely Coupled INS/GPS System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lin Zhao

2014-01-01

model, unstable model case is considered. We give an explanation for Kalman filter divergence under uncertain dynamic system and simultaneously investigate the relationship between H∞ filter and Kalman filter. A loosely coupled INS/GPS simulation system is given here to verify this application. Result shows that the robust H∞ filter has a better performance when system suffers uncertainty; also it is more robust compared to the conventional Kalman filter.

Shell closures, loosely bound structures, and halos in exotic nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saxena, G.; Singh, D.

2013-01-01

Inspired by the recent experiments indicating doubly magic nuclei that lie near the drip-line and encouraged by the success of our relativistic mean-field (RMF) plus state-dependent BCS approach to the description of the ground-state properties of drip-line nuclei, we develop this approach further, across the entire periodic table, to explore magic nuclei, loosely bound structures, and halo formation in exotic nuclei. In our RMF+BCS approach, the single-particle continuum corresponding to the RMF is replaced by a set of discrete positive-energy states for the calculations of pairing energy. Detailed analysis of the single-particle spectrum, pairing energies, and densities of the nuclei predict the unusual proton shell closures at proton numbers Z = 6, 14, 16, 34, and unusual neutron shell closures at neutron numbers N = 6, 14, 16, 34, 40, 70, 112. Further, in several nuclei like the neutron-rich isotopes of Ca, Zr, Mo, etc., the gradual filling of lowlying single-particle resonant state together with weakly bound single-particle states lying close to the continuum threshold helps accommodate more neutrons but with an extremely small increase in the binding energy. This gives rise to the occurrence of loosely bound systems of neutron-rich nuclei with a large neutron-to-proton ratio. In general, the halo-like formation, irrespective of the existence of any resonant state, is seen to be due to the large spatial extension of the wave functions for the weakly bound single-particle states with low orbital angular momentum having very small or no centrifugal barriers.

Shell closures, loosely bound structures, and halos in exotic nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saxena, G., E-mail: gauravphy@gmail.com [Govt. Women Engineering College, Department of Physics (India); Singh, D. [University of Rajasthan, Department of Physics (India)

2013-04-15

Inspired by the recent experiments indicating doubly magic nuclei that lie near the drip-line and encouraged by the success of our relativistic mean-field (RMF) plus state-dependent BCS approach to the description of the ground-state properties of drip-line nuclei, we develop this approach further, across the entire periodic table, to explore magic nuclei, loosely bound structures, and halo formation in exotic nuclei. In our RMF+BCS approach, the single-particle continuum corresponding to the RMF is replaced by a set of discrete positive-energy states for the calculations of pairing energy. Detailed analysis of the single-particle spectrum, pairing energies, and densities of the nuclei predict the unusual proton shell closures at proton numbers Z = 6, 14, 16, 34, and unusual neutron shell closures at neutron numbers N = 6, 14, 16, 34, 40, 70, 112. Further, in several nuclei like the neutron-rich isotopes of Ca, Zr, Mo, etc., the gradual filling of lowlying single-particle resonant state together with weakly bound single-particle states lying close to the continuum threshold helps accommodate more neutrons but with an extremely small increase in the binding energy. This gives rise to the occurrence of loosely bound systems of neutron-rich nuclei with a large neutron-to-proton ratio. In general, the halo-like formation, irrespective of the existence of any resonant state, is seen to be due to the large spatial extension of the wave functions for the weakly bound single-particle states with low orbital angular momentum having very small or no centrifugal barriers.

Modelling approach to LILW-SL repository safety evaluation for different waste packing options

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perko, Janez; Mallants, Dirk; Volckaert, Geert; Towler, George; Egan, Mike; Virsek, Sandi; Hertl, Bojan

2007-01-01

The key objective of the work described here was to support the identification of a preferred disposal concept and packaging option for low and short-lived intermediate level waste (LILW-SL). The emphasis of the assessment, conducted on behalf of the Slovenian radioactive waste management agency (ARAO), was the consideration of several waste treatment and packaging options in an attempt to identify optimised containment characteristics that would result in safe disposal, taking into account the cost-benefit of alternative safety measures. Waste streams for which alternative treatment and packaging solutions were developed and evaluated include decommissioning waste and NPP operational wastes, including drums with unconditioned ion exchange resins in over-packed tube type containers (TTCs). For decommissioning wastes, the disposal options under consideration were either direct disposal of loose pieces grouted into a vault or use of high integrity containers (HIC). In relation to operational wastes, three main options were foreseen. The first is over-packing of resin containing TTCs grouted into high integrity containers, the second option is complete treatment with hydration, neutralization, and cementation of the dry resins into drums grouted into high integrity containers and the third is direct disposal of TTCs into high integrity containers without additional treatment. The long-term safety of radioactive waste repositories is usually demonstrated with the support of a safety assessment. This normally includes modelling of radionuclide release from a multi-barrier near-surface or deep repository to the geosphere and biosphere. For the current work, performance assessment models were developed for each combination of siting option, repository design and waste packaging option. Modelling of releases from the engineered containment system (the 'near-field') was undertaken using the AMBER code. Detailed unsaturated water flow modelling was undertaken using the

Aggressiveness of loose kernel smut isolate from Johnson grass on sorghum line BTx643

Science.gov (United States)

An isolate of loose kernel smut obtained from Johnson grass was inoculated unto six BTx643 sorghum plants in the greenhouse to determine its aggressiveness. All the BTx643 sorghum plants inoculated with the Johnson grass isolate were infected. Mean size of the teliospores from the Johnson grass, i...

The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates. VIII. Microgravity Collisions between Porous SiO2 Aggregates and Loosely Bound Agglomerates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whizin, Akbar D.; Colwell, Joshua E.; Blum, Jürgen

2017-01-01

We performed laboratory experiments colliding 0.8–1.0 mm and 1.0–1.6 mm SiO 2 dust aggregates with loosely bound centimeter-sized agglomerates of those aggregates in microgravity. This work builds on previous microgravity laboratory experiments examining the collisional properties of porous loosely bound dust aggregates. In centimeter-sized aggregates, surface forces dominate self-gravity and may play a large role in aggregate growth beyond this size range. We characterize the properties of protoplanetary aggregate analogs to help place constraints on initial formation mechanisms and environments. We determined several important physical characteristics of these aggregates in a large number of low-velocity collisions. We observed low coefficients of restitution and fragmentation thresholds near 1 m s −1 for 1–2 cm agglomerates, which are in good agreement with previous findings in the literature. We find the accretion efficiency for agglomerates of loosely bound aggregates to be higher than that for just aggregates themselves. We find sticking thresholds of 6.6 ± 2 cm s −1 , somewhat higher than those in similar studies, which have observed few aggregates stick at speeds of under 3 cm s −1 . Even with highly dissipative collisions, loosely bound agglomerates have difficulty accreting beyond centimeter-sized bodies at typical collision speeds in the disk. Our results indicate agglomerates of porous aggregates have slightly higher sticking thresholds than previously thought, allowing possible growth to decimeter-sized bodies if velocities are low enough.

Packing Nonspherical Particles: All Shapes Are Not Created Equal

Science.gov (United States)

Torquato, Salvatore

2012-02-01

Over the past decade there has been increasing interest in the effects of particle shape on the characteristics of dense particle packings, since deviations from sphericity can lead to more realistic models of granular media, nanostructured materials, and tissue architecture. It is clear the that the broken rotational symmetry of a nonspherical particle is a crucial aspect in determining its resulting packing characteristics, but given the infinite variety of possible shapes (ellipsoids, superballs, regular and irregular polyhedra, etc.) it is desirable to formulate packing organizing principles based the particle shape. Such principles are beginning to be elucidated; see Refs. 1 and 2 and references therein. Depending upon whether the particle has central symmetry, inequivalent principle axes, and smooth or flat surfaces, we can describe the nature of its densest packing (which is typically periodic) as well as its disordered jammed states (which may or may not be isostatic). Changing the shape of a particle can dramatically alter its packing attributes. This tunability capability via particle shape could be used to tailor many-particle systems (e.g., colloids and granular media) to have designed crystal, liquid and glassy states. [4pt] [1] S. Torquato and F. H. Stillinger, ``Jammed Hard-Particle Packings: From Kepler to Bernal and Beyond," Rev. Modern Phys. 82, 2633 (2010). [0pt] [2] Y. Jiao and S. Torquato, Communication: ``A Packing of Truncated Tetrahedra That Nearly Fills All of Space and its Melting Properties," J. Chem. Phys. 135, 151101 (2011).

Granular packings with moving side walls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Landry, James W.; Grest, Gary Stephen

2004-01-01

The effects of movement of the side walls of a confined granular packing are studied by discrete element, molecular dynamics simulations. The dynamical evolution of the stress is studied as a function of wall movement both in the direction of gravity as well as opposite to it. For all wall velocities explored, the stress in the final state of the system after wall movement is fundamentally different from the original state obtained by pouring particles into the container and letting them settle under the influence of gravity. The original packing possesses a hydrostaticlike region at the top of the container which crosses over to a depth-independent stress. As the walls are moved in the direction opposite to gravity, the saturation stress first reaches a minimum value independent of the wall velocity, then increases to a steady-state value dependent on the wall velocity. After wall movement ceases and the packing reaches equilibrium, the stress profile fits the classic Janssen form for high wall velocities, while some deviations remain for low wall velocities. The wall movement greatly increases the number of particle-wall and particle-particle forces at the Coulomb criterion. Varying the wall velocity has only small effects on the particle structure of the final packing so long as the walls travel a similar distance.

Loose excitation-secretion coupling in astrocytes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vardjan, Nina; Parpura, Vladimir; Zorec, Robert

2016-05-01

Astrocytes play an important housekeeping role in the central nervous system. Additionally, as secretory cells, they actively participate in cell-to-cell communication, which can be mediated by membrane-bound vesicles. The gliosignaling molecules stored in these vesicles are discharged into the extracellular space after the vesicle membrane fuses with the plasma membrane. This process is termed exocytosis, regulated by SNARE proteins, and triggered by elevations in cytosolic calcium levels, which are necessary and sufficient for exocytosis in astrocytes. For astrocytic exocytosis, calcium is sourced from the intracellular endoplasmic reticulum store, although its entry from the extracellular space contributes to cytosolic calcium dynamics in astrocytes. Here, we discuss calcium management in astrocytic exocytosis and the properties of the membrane-bound vesicles that store gliosignaling molecules, including the vesicle fusion machinery and kinetics of vesicle content discharge. In astrocytes, the delay between the increase in cytosolic calcium activity and the discharge of secretions from the vesicular lumen is orders of magnitude longer than that in neurons. This relatively loose excitation-secretion coupling is likely tailored to the participation of astrocytes in modulating neural network processing. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

7 CFR 906.340 - Container, pack, and container marking regulations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 8 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Container, pack, and container marking regulations... AGRICULTURE ORANGES AND GRAPEFRUIT GROWN IN LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY IN TEXAS Container and Pack Requirements § 906.340 Container, pack, and container marking regulations. (a) No handler shall handle any variety of...

cellPACK: a virtual mesoscope to model and visualize structural systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Graham T; Autin, Ludovic; Al-Alusi, Mostafa; Goodsell, David S; Sanner, Michel F; Olson, Arthur J

2015-01-01

cellPACK assembles computational models of the biological mesoscale, an intermediate scale (10-100 nm) between molecular and cellular biology scales. cellPACK's modular architecture unites existing and novel packing algorithms to generate, visualize and analyze comprehensive three-dimensional models of complex biological environments that integrate data from multiple experimental systems biology and structural biology sources. cellPACK is available as open-source code, with tools for validation of models and with 'recipes' and models for five biological systems: blood plasma, cytoplasm, synaptic vesicles, HIV and a mycoplasma cell. We have applied cellPACK to model distributions of HIV envelope protein to test several hypotheses for consistency with experimental observations. Biologists, educators and outreach specialists can interact with cellPACK models, develop new recipes and perform packing experiments through scripting and graphical user interfaces at http://cellPACK.org/.

Homometrism in close-packed structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mardix, S.

1990-01-01

Homometric structures are non-congruent structures having identical X-ray intensity distributions. It has so far been assumed that such structures, while theoretically interesting, would not be realized in practice. Homometrism in close-packed structures is shown to be a realistic possibility. Some general rules applicable to homometric pairs are presented; it is shown that an infinite number of them can be derived from one-dimensional homometric pairs. An exhaustive search of close-packed structures with periods of up to 26 reveals that the smallest period of a homometric pair is 15 and that their number increases rapidly with the period. Homometrism in polytypic structures is further discussed. (orig.)

Avoidance of cigarette pack health warnings among regular cigarette smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Maynard, Olivia M; Attwood, Angela; O'Brien, Laura; Brooks, Sabrina; Hedge, Craig; Leonards, Ute; Munafò, Marcus R

2014-03-01

Previous research with adults and adolescents indicates that plain cigarette packs increase visual attention to health warnings among non-smokers and non-regular smokers, but not among regular smokers. This may be because regular smokers: (1) are familiar with the health warnings, (2) preferentially attend to branding, or (3) actively avoid health warnings. We sought to distinguish between these explanations using eye-tracking technology. A convenience sample of 30 adult dependent smokers participated in an eye-tracking study. Participants viewed branded, plain and blank packs of cigarettes with familiar and unfamiliar health warnings. The number of fixations to health warnings and branding on the different pack types were recorded. Analysis of variance indicated that regular smokers were biased towards fixating the branding rather than the health warning on all three pack types. This bias was smaller, but still evident, for blank packs, where smokers preferentially attended the blank region over the health warnings. Time-course analysis showed that for branded and plain packs, attention was preferentially directed to the branding location for the entire 10s of the stimulus presentation, while for blank packs this occurred for the last 8s of the stimulus presentation. Familiarity with health warnings had no effect on eye gaze location. Smokers actively avoid cigarette pack health warnings, and this remains the case even in the absence of salient branding information. Smokers may have learned to divert their attention away from cigarette pack health warnings. These findings have implications for cigarette packaging and health warning policy. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The investigation of cooling tower packing in various arrangements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golshayshi, H.R.; Missenden, J.F.

1998-01-01

The effect of form with corrugated packing on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in atmospheric cooling towers has been studied experimentally. The results showed that the heat transfer coefficient decreased with increase in packing pitch and increase in the ratio of rib pitch to rib height. Friction factors were expressed by a dimensional equation which included pitch and distance between the packings, for both smooth and rough surface. From these results, the relationship between packing heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop was deduced. The correlations were verified with additional experimental data taken with 1.1,P/D p /e 5 . This provides a useful semi experimental relation, in the area generally lacking in design and performance data. (author)

From Loose Groups to Effective Teams: The Nine Key Factors of the Team Landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

Sheard, A. G.; Kakabadse, A. P.

2002-01-01

A loose group of individuals working on a task differs from an effective team on nine factors: clearly defined goals, priorities, roles and responsibilities, self-awareness, leadership, group dynamics, communications, content, and infrastructure. Ways to eliminate barriers and speed formation of effective teams could be based on those factors.…

Integrality gap analysis for bin packing games

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kern, Walter; Qui, X.

A cooperative bin packing game is an $N$-person game, where the player set $N$ consists of $k$ bins of capacity 1 each and $n$ items of sizes $a_1,\\dots,a_n$. The value $v(S)$ of a coalition $S$ of players is defined to be the maximum total size of items in $S$ that can be packed into the bins of

School lunches v. packed lunches: a comparison of secondary schools in England following the introduction of compulsory school food standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Stevens, Lesley; Nicholas, Jo; Wood, Lesley; Nelson, Michael

2013-06-01

To compare food choices and nutrient intakes of pupils taking a school lunch or a packed lunch in eighty secondary schools in England, following the introduction of the food-based and nutrient-based standards for school food. Cross-sectional data collected between October 2010 and April 2011. Pupils' lunchtime food choices were recorded over five consecutive days. Secondary schools, England. A random selection of 5925 pupils having school lunches and 1805 pupils having a packed lunch in a nationally representative sample of eighty secondary schools in England. The differences in the specific types of food and drink consumed by the two groups of pupils are typical of differences between a hot and cold meal. On average, school lunches as eaten contained significantly more energy, carbohydrate, protein, fibre, vitamin A, folate, Fe and Zn than packed lunches, and 8 % less Na. Although neither school lunches nor packed lunches provided the balance of nutrients required to meet the nutrient-based standards (based on about one-third of daily energy and nutrient requirements), school lunches generally had a healthier nutrient profile, with lower Na and percentage of energy from fat, and higher fibre and micronutrient content. These differences were greater than those reported prior to the introduction of compulsory standards for school lunches. In order to ensure more pupils have a healthy lunch, schools could introduce and enforce a packed lunch policy or make school meals the only option at lunchtime.

Gravel packing dual zones in one trip reduces offshore completion time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brannon, D.H.; Harrison, D.T.; van Sickle, E.W.

1991-01-01

A single trip, dual-zone gravel pack system was used to successfully gravel pack two wells on Green Canyon platform 52 A in the Gulf of Mexico. An average 56 hours was saved on each well, representing reductions of about 25% in completion time and 26% in completion cost per well. Time-sensitive costs had the largest impact on Green Canyon 52 A final well completion cost; therefore, new technology or more efficient operations were required to minimize completion time. One way to enhance project economics was to gravel pack two separate zones in one trip. In this paper, four objectives are addressed during development of a single trip tool to gravel pack the stacked zones of the Marquette project. These were time and cost reduction, removal of loss circulation material (LCM) prior to gravel packing, zone isolation during gravel packing and use of conventional gravel placement techniques. The design requirement that all LCM (salt and/or viscous polymer pills), perforation debris and formation sand be removed from the wellbore prior to gravel packing was accomplished by incorporating a washdown feature that allows circulation at the bottom of the gravel pack assembly prior to landing in the sump packer

Random covering of the circle: the configuration-space of the free deposition process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huillet, Thierry [Laboratoire de Physique Theorique et Modelisation, CNRS-UMR 8089 et Universite de Cergy-Pontoise, 5 mail Gay-Lussac, 95031, Neuville sur Oise (France)

2003-12-12

Consider a circle of circumference 1. Throw at random n points, sequentially, on this circle and append clockwise an arc (or rod) of length s to each such point. The resulting random set (the free gas of rods) is a collection of a random number of clusters with random sizes. It models a free deposition process on a 1D substrate. For such processes, we shall consider the occurrence times (number of rods) and probabilities, as n grows, of the following configurations: those avoiding rod overlap (the hard-rod gas), those for which the largest gap is smaller than rod length s (the packing gas), those (parking configurations) for which hard rod and packing constraints are both fulfilled and covering configurations. Special attention is paid to the statistical properties of each such (rare) configuration in the asymptotic density domain when ns = {rho}, for some finite density {rho} of points. Using results from spacings in the random division of the circle, explicit large deviation rate functions can be computed in each case from state equations. Lastly, a process consisting in selecting at random one of these specific equilibrium configurations (called the observable) can be modelled. When particularized to the parking model, this system produces parking configurations differently from Renyi's random sequential adsorption model.

SimPackJ/S: a web-oriented toolkit for discrete event simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Minho; Fishwick, Paul A.

2002-07-01

SimPackJ/S is the JavaScript and Java version of SimPack, which means SimPackJ/S is a collection of JavaScript and Java libraries and executable programs for computer simulations. The main purpose of creating SimPackJ/S is that we allow existing SimPack users to expand simulation areas and provide future users with a freeware simulation toolkit to simulate and model a system in web environments. One of the goals for this paper is to introduce SimPackJ/S. The other goal is to propose translation rules for converting C to JavaScript and Java. Most parts demonstrate the translation rules with examples. In addition, we discuss a 3D dynamic system model and overview an approach to 3D dynamic systems using SimPackJ/S. We explain an interface between SimPackJ/S and the 3D language--Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML). This paper documents how to translate C to JavaScript and Java and how to utilize SimPackJ/S within a 3D web environment.

Multilayer DNA Origami Packed on Hexagonal and Hybrid Lattices

OpenAIRE

Ke, Yonggang; Voigt, Niels V.; Gothelf, Kurt V.; Shih, William M.

2012-01-01

“Scaffolded DNA origami” has been proven to be a powerful and efficient approach to construct two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects with great complexity. Multilayer DNA origami has been demonstrated with helices packing along either honeycomb-lattice geometry or square-lattice geometry. Here we report successful folding of multilayer DNA origami with helices arranged on a close-packed hexagonal lattice. This arrangement yields a higher density of helical packing and therefore higher r...

Improved Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility and Packed Cell Volume ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improved Erythrocyte Osmotic Fragility and Packed Cell Volume following administration of Aloe barbadensis Juice Extract in Rats. ... Abstract. Aloe barbadensis is a popular house plant that has a long history of a multipurpose folk remedy. ... Keywords: osmotic fragility, packed cell volume, haemoglobin, Aloe vera ...

Modular and architectural innovation in loosely coupled networks : matching customer requirements, product architecture, and supplier networks

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hofman, Erwin

2010-01-01

Collaborative innovation projects that involve suppliers, customers, and sometimes even competitors can be a challenging undertaking. Nonetheless, specialization and organizational loose coupling makes companies increasingly dependent upon resources that are only externally available. This study

Loose anagen hair syndrome with diffuse woolly hair phenotype: A rare association

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arshdeep

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Loose anagen hair syndrome (LAHS is an underestimated cause of noncicatricial alopecia among children, manifesting as thin, sparse or fine hair. We report a case of LAHS clinically presenting as diffuse woolly hair, an association rarely described in the literature. In addition, we review the clinical as well as genetic link between these two enigmatic hair disorders and hypothesize that both may be associated in a yet unknown manner.

Loose parts, vibration and leakage monitoring methods and systems to increase availability, transparency and lifetime of power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Streicher, V.; Jax, P.; Ruthrof, K.

1987-01-01

This paper deals with three stand-alone-systems as an aid to check the mechanical integrity of the primary circuit of nuclear power plants. The main goals of these systems are early detection of faults and malfunctions, the facilitation of fault clearance, the avoidance of sequential damage and reduction of inspection time and cost. Obviously the proper application of the systems as well as the measures they induce and make possible increase the availability of the plant and contribute to lifetime extension. In order to detect, identify and pinpoint the changes in component structure such as loosened connections, broken parts or components, loose or loosened particles, fatigued materials, cracks and leaks, specialized monitoring systems were developed by KWU (Kraftwerk Union AG) during the last ten years. Requirements concerning vibration, loose parts and leakage monitoring are part of German guidelines and safety standards. Therefore systems for these applications are implemented in most of the nuclear power plants in Western Germany. This paper presents newly developed, microprocessor-based systems for loose parts monitoring, vibration monitoring and leakage monitoring and also includes specific case histories for the different topics

The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System: A Protocol for Assessing Health Warning Compliance, Design Features, and Appeals of Tobacco Packs Sold in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Katherine; Washington, Carmen; Brown, Jennifer; Vadnais, Alison; Kroart, Laura; Ferguson, Jacqueline; Cohen, Joanna

2015-01-01

Tobacco remains the world's leading preventable cause of death, with the majority of tobacco-caused deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries. The first global health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), outlines a set of policy initiatives that have been demonstrated as effective in reducing tobacco use. Article 11 of the FCTC focuses on using the tobacco package to communicate tobacco-caused harms; it also seeks to restrict the delivery of misleading information about the product on the pack. The objective of this study was to establish a surveillance system for tobacco packs in the 14 low- and middle-income countries with the greatest number of smokers. The Tobacco Pack Surveillance System (TPackSS) monitors whether required health warnings on tobacco packages are being implemented as intended, and identifies pack designs and appeals that might violate or detract from the communication of harm-related information and undermine the impact of a country's tobacco packaging laws. The protocol outlined is intended to be applicable or adaptable for surveillance efforts in other countries. Tobacco packs were collected in 14 countries during 2013. The intention was, to the extent possible, to construct a census of "unique" pack presentations available for purchase in each country. The TPackSS team partnered with in-country field staff to implement a standardized protocol for acquiring packs from 36 diverse neighborhoods across three cities in each country. At the time of purchase, data on price and place of acquisition of each pack was recorded. The field staff, according to a standardized protocol, then photographed packs before they were shipped to the United States for coding and archiving. Each pack was coded for compliance with the country-specific health warning label laws, as well as for key design features of the pack and appeals of the branding elements. The coding protocols were developed based upon prior research, expert

Scottish young people's perceptions of standardised packs - a qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andy Macgregor

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background Standardised cigarette packs were introduced into the UK in May 2016. Retailers could sell old stock until May 2017 after which only the sale of cigarettes and tobacco in standardised packs was allowed. As in Australia, pack shape, colour, opening mechanism and font are regulated, together with the size and position of health warnings and number of cigarettes in a pack. This paper explores Scottish young people's awareness of and views about standardised packs in Spring 2017. Methods The DISPLAY study is a five year study established to evaluate the national tobacco point-of sale (POS promotions ban in four communities in Scotland. This paper is based on the qualitative component, annual focus groups carried out with Secondary 2 (13 year olds and Secondary 4 (15 year olds students in four secondary schools. 16 groups (82 students convened in February - March 2017 explored students' perceptions of standardised packaging. Results There was a high level of awareness of standardised packs prior to their full implementation. Smokers had bought them, and they and other participants had seen them in possession of friends and family members, and in litter. Participants' views of the new packaging were generally negative, described as unappealing and depressing, particularly the pictorial health warnings. Packs were compared unfavourably with previous non-standardised versions. However, there was no consensus on their likely impact. Some participants argued that their impact would be widespread, while others thought that any impact would be confined to young non/occasional smokers and that established smokers would be unaffected. Conclusions In early 2017 young people in Scotland had high awareness and knowledge of standardised tobacco packs before their full implementation. Despite differing views about their likely impact on youth smoking, participants irrespective of smoking status overwhelmingly regarded them as unattractive and less

Metallic witness packs for behind-armour debris characterization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verolme, J.L.; Szymczak, M.; Broos, J.P.F.

1999-01-01

For the experimental characterization of behind-armour debris so-called metallic witness packs can be used. A metallic witness pack consists of an array of metallic plates interspaced by polystyrene foam sheets. To quantify the fragment mass and velocity from the corresponding hole area and position

Consistency Check for the Bin Packing Constraint Revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Dupuis, Julien; Schaus, Pierre; Deville, Yves

The bin packing problem (BP) consists in finding the minimum number of bins necessary to pack a set of items so that the total size of the items in each bin does not exceed the bin capacity C. The bin capacity is common for all the bins.

Close correlation between the reaction mechanism and inner structure of loosely halo-nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jianye; Tianshui Normal Univ., Tianshui; National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator of Lanzhou, Lanzhou; Guo Wenjun; Ren Zhongzhou; National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator of Lanzhou, Lanzhou; Xing Yongzhong; National Laboratory of Heavy Ion Accelerator of Lanzhou, Lanzhou

2006-01-01

It was based on the comparisons of the variance properties of fragment multiplicities FM's and nuclear stoppings R's for the neutron-halo colliding system with those of FZ's and R's for the proton-halo colliding system with the increases of beam energy in more detail, the closely correlations between the reaction mechanism and the inner structures of halo-nuclei is found. From above comparisons it is found that the variance properties of fragment multiplicities and nuclear stopping with the increases of beam energy are quite different for the neutron-halo and proton halo colliding systems, such as the effects of loosely bound neutron-halo structure on the fragment multiplicities and nuclear stopping are obviously larger than those for the proton-halo colliding system. This is due to that the structures of halo-neutron nucleus 11 Li is more loosely than that of the proton-halo nucleus 23 Al. In this case, the fragment multiplicity and nuclear stopping of halo nuclei may be used as a possible probe for studying the reaction mechanism and the correlation between the reaction mechanism and the inner structure of halo-nuclei. (authors)

Degradation of nitrobenzene in simulated wastewater by iron-carbon micro-electrolysis packing.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meng; Zou, Donglei; Zou, Haochen; Fan, Dongyan

2011-12-01

The reductive degradation of nitrobenzene (NB) by iron-carbon micro-electrolysis packing was investigated. The influence of initial NB concentration, pH value and packing amount on the removal rate of NB were studied. The results showed that the reaction with packing followed the pseudo-first-order reaction. The optimum pH was 3.0 for the degradation of NB in the tested pH ranges of 3-9 and the optimum packing amount was 40 g/200 ml. The flow-through column packed with packing was designed to remove NB from simulated wastewater for approximately 68 days. The removal rate was over 90% within initial periods. It could be seen that after running for 68 days, the packing still had good performance after the long-term column experiment. In addition, the changes of the packing surfaces morphologies and matters before, during and after the column experiment were analysed by scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with energy-dispersion spectroscopy (EDS).

Packing frustration in dense confined fluids.

Science.gov (United States)

Nygård, Kim; Sarman, Sten; Kjellander, Roland

2014-09-07

Packing frustration for confined fluids, i.e., the incompatibility between the preferred packing of the fluid particles and the packing constraints imposed by the confining surfaces, is studied for a dense hard-sphere fluid confined between planar hard surfaces at short separations. The detailed mechanism for the frustration is investigated via an analysis of the anisotropic pair distributions of the confined fluid, as obtained from integral equation theory for inhomogeneous fluids at pair correlation level within the anisotropic Percus-Yevick approximation. By examining the mean forces that arise from interparticle collisions around the periphery of each particle in the slit, we calculate the principal components of the mean force for the density profile--each component being the sum of collisional forces on a particle's hemisphere facing either surface. The variations of these components with the slit width give rise to rather intricate changes in the layer structure between the surfaces, but, as shown in this paper, the basis of these variations can be easily understood qualitatively and often also semi-quantitatively. It is found that the ordering of the fluid is in essence governed locally by the packing constraints at each single solid-fluid interface. A simple superposition of forces due to the presence of each surface gives surprisingly good estimates of the density profiles, but there remain nontrivial confinement effects that cannot be explained by superposition, most notably the magnitude of the excess adsorption of particles in the slit relative to bulk.

Evaluation of Type II Fast Packs for Electrostatic Discharge Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

1983-08-01

34 x 8" x 1 3/4") consisting of a reclosable cushioned carrier which mates into an outer fiberboard sleeve. A cushioning insert is used consisting of a... RECLOSABLE CUSHIONED CARRIER TEST LOAD FIGURE 1: Cancel Caddy Pack * CONVOLUTED 4* CUSHIONED I FIGURE 2: Type II Fast Pack (PPP-B-1672) TYPE II FAST PACK

Important notice for Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 computers

CERN Multimedia

The NICE Team

2005-01-01

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, which was introduced in 2002. As a consequence, computers running Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (or older versions1)) must be updated. It is recommended that Windows 2000 computers be re-installed with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (see http://cern.ch/Win/Services/Installation/Diane). If this is not possible for compatibility reasons, Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 must be installed to ensure the computers continue to receive security patches (see http://cern.ch/Win/Docs/2000SP4). In the next few days, NICE 2000 computers requiring an update will receive a pop-up window with instructions. Users requiring help with the update can contact Helpdesk@cern.ch or call 78888. If your computer needs to be updated you are recommended to read the additional information available at http://cern.ch/Win/Docs/2000SP3. The NICE Team 1) To determine your Windows service pack version, use the ‘Start' button and select ‘Run'. In the new window that open...

Important notice for Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 computers

CERN Multimedia

The NICE Team

2005-01-01

Microsoft is ending support for Windows 2000 Service Pack 3, which was introduced in 2002. As a consequence, computers running Windows 2000 Service Pack 3 (or older versions1) ) must be updated. It is recommended that Windows 2000 computers be re-installed with Windows XP Service Pack 2 (see http://cern.ch/Win/Services/Installation/Diane). If this is not possible for compatibility reasons, Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 must be installed to ensure the computers continue to receive security patches (see http://cern.ch/Win/Docs/2000SP4). In the next few days, NICE 2000 computers requiring an update will receive a pop-up window with instructions. Users requiring help with the update can contact Helpdesk@cern.ch or call 78888. If your computer needs to be updated you are recommended to read the additional information available at http://cern.ch/Win/Docs/2000SP3. The NICE Team 1) To determine your Windows service pack version, use the ‘Start' button and select ‘Run'. In the new window that opens, type ‘wi...

Quasi-Dual-Packed-Kerneled Au49 (2,4-DMBT)27 Nanoclusters and the Influence of Kernel Packing on the Electrochemical Gap.

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Lingwen; Zhuang, Shengli; Wang, Pu; Xu, Yanan; Yan, Nan; Dong, Hongwei; Wang, Chengming; Zhao, Yan; Xia, Nan; Li, Jin; Deng, Haiteng; Pei, Yong; Tian, Shi-Kai; Wu, Zhikun

2017-10-02

Although face-centered cubic (fcc), body-centered cubic (bcc), hexagonal close-packed (hcp), and other structured gold nanoclusters have been reported, it was unclear whether gold nanoclusters with mix-packed (fcc and non-fcc) kernels exist, and the correlation between kernel packing and the properties of gold nanoclusters is unknown. A Au 49 (2,4-DMBT) 27 nanocluster with a shell electron count of 22 has now been been synthesized and structurally resolved by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, which revealed that Au 49 (2,4-DMBT) 27 contains a unique Au 34 kernel consisting of one quasi-fcc-structured Au 21 and one non-fcc-structured Au 13 unit (where 2,4-DMBTH=2,4-dimethylbenzenethiol). Further experiments revealed that the kernel packing greatly influences the electrochemical gap (EG) and the fcc structure has a larger EG than the investigated non-fcc structure. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Bioequivalence of fixed-dose combination Myrin®-P Forte and reference drugs in loose combination.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, H F; Wang, R; O'Gorman, M; Crownover, P; Naqvi, A; Jafri, I

2013-12-01

Myrin®-P Forte is a fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablet containing rifampicin (RMP, 150 mg), isoniazid (INH, 75 mg), ethambutol (EMB) hydrochloride (275 mg) and pyrazinamide (PZA, 400 mg) developed for the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). This study was conducted at a single centre--the Pfizer Clinical Research Unit in Singapore. To demonstrate the bioequivalence of each drug component of the Myrin-P Forte FDC and the individual product in loose combination. In a randomized, open-label, single-dose, two-way, crossover study, subjects received single doses of Myrin-P Forte or four individual products under fasting conditions in a crossover fashion with at least 7 days washout between doses. The primary measures for comparison were peak plasma concentration (C(max)) and the area under plasma concentration-time curve (AUC). Of 36 subjects enrolled, 35 completed the study. The adjusted geometric mean ratios and 90% confidence intervals for C(max) and AUC values were completely contained within bioequivalence limits (80%, 125%) for all four drugs in both formulations. Both treatments were generally well tolerated in the study. The Myrin-P Forte FDC tablet formulation is bioequivalent to the four single-drug references for RMP, INH, EMB hydrochloride and PZA at equivalent doses.

Packing of equal discs on a parabolic spiral lattice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xudong, F.; Bursill, L.A.; Julin, P.

1989-01-01

A contact disc model is investigated to determine the most closely-packed parabolic spiral lattice. The most space-efficient packings have divergence angles in agreement with the priority ranking of natural spiral structures

Hydrodynamics of multi-phase packed bed micro-reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Márquez Luzardo, N.M.

2010-01-01

Why to use packed bed micro-reactors for catalyst testing? Miniaturized packed bed reactors have a large surface-to-volume ratio at the reactor and particle level that favors the heat- and mass-transfer processes at all scales (intra-particle, inter-phase and inter-particle or reactor level). If the

27 CFR 24.255 - Bottling or packing wine.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... in the same tax class when that wine is removed from bond, without benefit of tolerance, when the... 27 Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Bottling or packing wine..., DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY LIQUORS WINE Storage, Treatment and Finishing of Wine Bottling, Packing, and...

A Capillary Electrochromatographic Microchip Packed with Self-Assembly Colloidal Carboxylic Silica Beads

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jeon, In Sun; Kim, Shin Seon; Park, Jong Man [Konkuk University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2012-04-15

An electrochromatographic microchip with carboxyl-group-derivatized mono-disperse silica packing was prepared from the corresponding colloidal silica solution by utilizing capillary action and self-assembly behavior. The silica beads in water were primed by the capillary action toward the ends of cross-patterned microchannel on a cyclic olefinic copolymer (COC) substrate. Slow evaporation of water at the front of packing promoted the self-assembled packing of the beads. After thermally binding a cover plate on the chip substrate, reservoirs for sample solutions were fabricated at the ends of the microchannel. The packing at the entrances of the microchannel was silver coated to fix utilizing an electroless silver-plating technique to prevent the erosion of the packed structure caused by the sudden switching of a high voltage DC power source. The electrochromatographic behavior of the microchip was explored and compared to that of the microchip with bare silica packing in basic borate buffer. Electrophoretic migration of Rhodamine B was dominant in the microchip with the carboxyl-derivatized silica packing that resulted in a migration approximated twice as fast, while the reversible adsorption was dominant in the bare silica-packed microchip. Not only the faster migration rates of the negatively charged FITC-derivatives of amino acids but also the different migration due to the charge interaction at the packing surface were observed. The electrochromatographic characteristics were studied in detail and compared with those of the bare silica packed microchip in terms of the packing material, the separation potential, pH of the running buffer, and also the separation channel length

49 CFR 173.121 - Class 3-Assignment of packing group.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... packing group shall be determined by applying the following criteria: Packing group Flash point (closed-cup) Initial boiling point I ≤35°C (95 °F) II 35 °C (95 °F) III ≥23 °C, ≤60 °C (≥73 °F, ≤140 °F) >35...-GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SHIPMENTS AND PACKAGINGS Definitions Classification, Packing Group Assignments...

Effects of Cultural Tightness-Looseness and Social Network Density on Expression of Positive and Negative Emotions: A Large-Scale Study of Impression Management by Facebook Users.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Pan; Chan, David; Qiu, Lin; Tov, William; Tong, Victor Joo Chuan

2018-05-01

Using data from 13,789 Facebook users across U.S. states, this study examined the main effects of societal-level cultural tightness-looseness and its interaction effects with individuals' social network density on impression management (IM) in terms of online emotional expression. Results showed that individuals from culturally tight (vs. loose) states were more likely to express positive emotions and less likely to express negative emotions. Meanwhile, for positive emotional expression, there was a tightness-looseness by social network density interaction effect. In culturally tight states, individuals with dense (vs. sparse) networks were more likely to express positive emotions, while in culturally loose states this pattern was reversed. For negative emotional expression, however, no such interaction was observed. Our findings highlight the influence of cultural norms and social network structure on emotional expressions as IM strategies.

Precise algorithm to generate random sequential adsorption of hard polygons at saturation

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, G.

2018-04-01

Random sequential adsorption (RSA) is a time-dependent packing process, in which particles of certain shapes are randomly and sequentially placed into an empty space without overlap. In the infinite-time limit, the density approaches a "saturation" limit. Although this limit has attracted particular research interest, the majority of past studies could only probe this limit by extrapolation. We have previously found an algorithm to reach this limit using finite computational time for spherical particles and could thus determine the saturation density of spheres with high accuracy. In this paper, we generalize this algorithm to generate saturated RSA packings of two-dimensional polygons. We also calculate the saturation density for regular polygons of three to ten sides and obtain results that are consistent with previous, extrapolation-based studies.

The pack size effect: Influence on consumer perceptions of portion sizes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hieke, Sophie; Palascha, Aikaterini; Jola, Corinne; Wills, Josephine; Raats, Monique M.

2016-01-01

Larger portions as well as larger packs can lead to larger prospective consumption estimates, larger servings and increased consumption, described as 'portion-size effects' and 'pack size effects'. Although related, the effects of pack sizes on portion estimates have received less attention. While

Propagation of waves at the loosely bonded interface of two porous elastic half-spaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tajuddin, M.

1993-10-01

Employing Biot's theory for wave propagation in porous solids, the propagation of waves at the loosely bonded interface between two poroelastic half-spaces is examined theoretically. The analogous study of Stoneley waves for smooth interface and bonded interface form a limiting case. The results due to classical theory are shown as a special case. (author). 13 refs

The art and science of forming packed analytical high-performance liquid chromatography columns.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkland, J J; Destefano, J J

2006-09-08

Columns of packed particles still are the most popular devices for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separations because of their great utility, excellent performance and wide variety. However, the forming of packed beds for efficient, stable columns traditionally has been an art where the basics of how to form optimum beds generally was not well understood. The recent development of monolith rods was introduced in part to overcome the difficulty of producing stable beds of packing particles. However, these materials are less versatile than packed particle columns. Technology developments in recent years have produced a better understanding among those skilled in the practice of how to form optimized packed beds, and this has led to widely available, high-quality commercial columns. This presentation discusses the developments that led to the present state of column packing technology. Important steps in the packing of efficient, stable beds are described. The key step of selecting the best solvent for the slurry packing method is emphasized. Factors affecting the mechanical stability of packed columns also are discussed. The early art of packing columns now has evolved into a more scientific approach that allows the packing of good columns with a minimum of effort and time.

ExactPack Documentation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Singleton, Robert Jr. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Israel, Daniel M. [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Doebling, Scott William [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Woods, Charles Nathan [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Kaul, Ann [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Walter, John William Jr [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Rogers, Michael Lloyd [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2016-05-09

For code verification, one compares the code output against known exact solutions. There are many standard test problems used in this capacity, such as the Noh and Sedov problems. ExactPack is a utility that integrates many of these exact solution codes into a common API (application program interface), and can be used as a stand-alone code or as a python package. ExactPack consists of python driver scripts that access a library of exact solutions written in Fortran or Python. The spatial profiles of the relevant physical quantities, such as the density, fluid velocity, sound speed, or internal energy, are returned at a time specified by the user. The solution profiles can be viewed and examined by a command line interface or a graphical user interface, and a number of analysis tools and unit tests are also provided. We have documented the physics of each problem in the solution library, and provided complete documentation on how to extend the library to include additional exact solutions. ExactPack’s code architecture makes it easy to extend the solution-code library to include additional exact solutions in a robust, reliable, and maintainable manner.

Cell packing structures

KAUST Repository

Pottmann, Helmut

2015-03-03

This paper is an overview of architectural structures which are either composed of polyhedral cells or closely related to them. We introduce the concept of a support structure of such a polyhedral cell packing. It is formed by planar quads and obtained by connecting corresponding vertices in two combinatorially equivalent meshes whose corresponding edges are coplanar and thus determine planar quads. Since corresponding triangle meshes only yield trivial structures, we focus on support structures associated with quad meshes or hex-dominant meshes. For the quadrilateral case, we provide a short survey of recent research which reveals beautiful relations to discrete differential geometry. Those are essential for successfully initializing numerical optimization schemes for the computation of quad-based support structures. Hex-dominant structures may be designed via Voronoi tessellations, power diagrams, sphere packings and various extensions of these concepts. Apart from the obvious application as load-bearing structures, we illustrate here a new application to shading and indirect lighting. On a higher level, our work emphasizes the interplay between geometry, optimization, statics, and manufacturing, with the overall aim of combining form, function and fabrication into novel integrated design tools.

Schedulability-Driven Frame Packing for Multi-Cluster Distributed Embedded Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru; Peng, Zebo

2003-01-01

We present an approach to frame packing for multi-cluster distributed embedded systems consisting of time-triggered and event-triggered clusters, interconnected via gateways. In our approach, the application messages are packed into frames such that the application is schedulable. Thus, we have...... also proposed a schedulability analysis for applications consisting of mixed event-triggered and time-triggered processes and messages, and a worst case queuing delay analysis for the gateways, responsible for routing inter-cluster traffic. Optimization heuristics for frame packing aiming at producing...... a schedulable system have been proposed. Extensive experiments and a real-life example show the efficiency of our frame-packing approach....

PIM Pedagogy: Toward a Loosely Unified Model for Teaching and Studying Comics and Graphic Novels

Science.gov (United States)

Carter, James B.

2015-01-01

The article debuts and explains "PIM" pedagogy, a construct for teaching comics at the secondary- and post-secondary levels and for deep reading/studying comics. The PIM model for considering comics is actually based in major precepts of education studies, namely constructivist foundations of learning, and loosely unifies constructs…

PARENTERAL IRON SUCROSE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO PACKED CELLS/BLOOD TRANSFUSION IN MODERATE-TO-SEVERE ANAEMIA IN PREGNANCY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rama Sarala

2016-03-01

Full Text Available AIM This case study focuses on the efficacy of iron sucrose in moderate-to-severe anaemia in pregnancy and to compare the efficacy of iron sucrose with packed cell transfusion and based on the study to establish whether iron sucrose could be an alternative to packed cells transfusion for the management of moderate-to-severe anaemia complicating pregnancy remote from the term gestation. MATERIALS AND METHODS It is a case control study for a period of 2 years. Women were randomly selected where for the study group 50 patients intravenous iron sucrose was given and for control group 50 patients packed cells transfusion was given. RESULTS The study group and the control group had 50 subjects each. On an average 80% were in the age group of 15-24 yrs. in both groups. In both groups, on an average 85% were with moderate anaemia (6-8 g/dL and 15% were with severe anaemia (<6 g/dL. Mean requirement of iron sucrose for moderate anaemia was 1100 mg and for severe anaemia it was 1300 mg. Mean requirement of packed cells for moderate anaemia was 3 units and for severe anaemia 4-5 units. In iron sucrose group, mean haemoglobin% at baseline 7.1±0.8 g/dL, after 1 week 7.9±0.6, after 4 weeks 11±0.5 g/dL and at delivery 11.7±0.6 g/dL. In packed cells group, mean haemoglobin% at baseline 7.0±0.7 g/dL, after 1 week 10.2±0.5 g/dL, after 4 weeks 10.3±0.5 g/dL and at delivery 10.4±0.4 g/dL. The mean haematocrit values in iron sucrose group at baseline 20.9±2.5%, after 1 week 25.3±2.2% and after 4 weeks 33.6±2.0%. The mean haematocrit values in packed cells group at baseline 20.8±2.3%, after 1 week 30.0±1.9% and after 4 weeks 30.2±2.0%. Mean rise of haematocrit from baseline to 1 week in iron sucrose and packed cells group were 4.4±1.3% and 9.1±2.0% respectively. Mean rise of haematocrit from baseline to 4 weeks in iron sucrose and packed cell group were 12.7±2.1% and 9.3±2.3 respectively. The mean ferritin values in iron sucrose group at baseline

Thermodynamic studies of a series of homologous HIV-1 TAR RNA ligands reveal that loose binders are stronger Tat competitors than tight ones.

Science.gov (United States)

Pascale, Lise; Azoulay, Stéphane; Di Giorgio, Audrey; Zenacker, Laura; Gaysinski, Marc; Clayette, Pascal; Patino, Nadia

2013-06-01

RNA is a major drug target, but the design of small molecules that modulate RNA function remains a great challenge. In this context, a series of structurally homologous 'polyamide amino acids' (PAA) was studied as HIV-1 trans-activating response (TAR) RNA ligands. An extensive thermodynamic study revealed the occurence of an enthalpy-entropy compensation phenomenon resulting in very close TAR affinities for all PAA. However, their binding modes and their ability to compete with the Tat fragment strongly differ according to their structure. Surprisingly, PAA that form loose complexes with TAR were shown to be stronger Tat competitors than those forming tight ones, and thermal denaturation studies demonstrated that loose complexes are more stable than tight ones. This could be correlated to the fact that loose and tight ligands induce distinct RNA conformational changes as revealed by circular dichroism experiments, although nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments showed that the TAR binding site is the same in all cases. Finally, some loose PAA also display promising inhibitory activities on HIV-infected cells. Altogether, these results lead to a better understanding of RNA interaction modes that could be very useful for devising new ligands of relevant RNA targets.

Optimization analysis of thermal management system for electric vehicle battery pack

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Huiqi; Zheng, Minxin; Jin, Peng; Feng, Dong

2018-04-01

Electric vehicle battery pack can increase the temperature to affect the power battery system cycle life, charge-ability, power, energy, security and reliability. The Computational Fluid Dynamics simulation and experiment of the charging and discharging process of the battery pack were carried out for the thermal management system of the battery pack under the continuous charging of the battery. The simulation result and the experimental data were used to verify the rationality of the Computational Fluid Dynamics calculation model. In view of the large temperature difference of the battery module in high temperature environment, three optimization methods of the existing thermal management system of the battery pack were put forward: adjusting the installation position of the fan, optimizing the arrangement of the battery pack and reducing the fan opening temperature threshold. The feasibility of the optimization method is proved by simulation and experiment of the thermal management system of the optimized battery pack.

Two-stage energy storage equalization system for lithium-ion battery pack

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, W.; Yang, Z. X.; Dong, G. Q.; Li, Y. B.; He, Q. Y.

2017-11-01

How to raise the efficiency of energy storage and maximize storage capacity is a core problem in current energy storage management. For that, two-stage energy storage equalization system which contains two-stage equalization topology and control strategy based on a symmetric multi-winding transformer and DC-DC (direct current-direct current) converter is proposed with bidirectional active equalization theory, in order to realize the objectives of consistent lithium-ion battery packs voltages and cells voltages inside packs by using a method of the Range. Modeling analysis demonstrates that the voltage dispersion of lithium-ion battery packs and cells inside packs can be kept within 2 percent during charging and discharging. Equalization time was 0.5 ms, which shortened equalization time of 33.3 percent compared with DC-DC converter. Therefore, the proposed two-stage lithium-ion battery equalization system can achieve maximum storage capacity between lithium-ion battery packs and cells inside packs, meanwhile efficiency of energy storage is significantly improved.

Molecular packing and area compressibility of lipid bilayers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, S.H.; King, G.I.

1985-01-01

Knowledge of the molecular packing of lipids and water in lipid bilayers is important for understanding bilayer mechanics and thermodynamics. Information on packing is most often obtained from x-ray or neutron diffraction measurements. Given the d spacing, composition, and partial specific volumes of the lipid and water, it is a simple matter to calculate the area per lipid molecule, bilayer thickness, and bilayer mass density. The partial specific volumes are commonly assumed to be those of bulk water and of lipid in excess water regardless of the degree of bilayer hydration. The authors present evidence here that these assumptions should be seriously questioned. At low hydrations, they find the head groups of egg and dioleoyl lecithin to be much less tightly packed than previously thought and the partial specific volume of water to be considerably smaller than 1 ml/g. Because the molecular packing affects the mechanical properties of bilayers, they use the results to reevaluate published experiments concerning the elastic area compressibility modulus of egg lecithin bilayers and the repulsive hydration force between bilayers

Dead Sea mud packs for chronic low back pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Shakra, Mahmoud; Mayer, Amit; Friger, Michael; Harari, Marco

2014-09-01

Low back pain (LBP) is chronic disease without a curative therapy. Alternative and complementary therapies are widely used in the management of this condition. To evaluate the efficacy of home application of Dead Sea mud compresses to the back of patients with chronic LBP. Forty-six consecutive patients suffering from chronic LBP were recruited. All patients were followed at the Soroka University Rheumatic Diseases Unit. The patients were randomized into two groups: one group was treated with mineral-rich mud compresses, and the other with mineral-depleted compresses. Mud compresses were applied five times a week for 3 consecutive weeks. The primary outcome was the patient's assessment of the overall back pain severity. The score of the Ronald & Morris questionnaire served as a secondary outcome. Forty-four patients completed the therapy and the follow-up assessments: 32 were treated with real mud packs and 12 used the mineral-depleted packs. A significant decrease in intensity of pain, as described by the patients, was observed only in the treatment group. In this group, clinical improvement was clearly seen at completion of therapy and was sustained a month later. Significant improvement in the scores of the Roland & Morris questionnaire was observed in both groups. The data suggest that pain severity was reduced in patients treated with mineral-rich mud compresses compared with those treated with mineral-depleted compresses. Whether this modest effect is the result of a "true" mud effect or other causes can not be determined in this study.

Multi-dimensional Bin Packing Problems with Guillotine Constraints

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Amossen, Rasmus Resen; Pisinger, David

2010-01-01

The problem addressed in this paper is the decision problem of determining if a set of multi-dimensional rectangular boxes can be orthogonally packed into a rectangular bin while satisfying the requirement that the packing should be guillotine cuttable. That is, there should exist a series of face...... parallel straight cuts that can recursively cut the bin into pieces so that each piece contains a box and no box has been intersected by a cut. The unrestricted problem is known to be NP-hard. In this paper we present a generalization of a constructive algorithm for the multi-dimensional bin packing...... problem, with and without the guillotine constraint, based on constraint programming....

Heavy metals in the snow pack of Semey town

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panin, M.S.; Esenzholova, A.Zh.; Toropov, A.S.

2008-01-01

The data about the maintenance of heavy metals in the snow pack in various zones of Semey and biogeochemical operation factors of snow pack in Semey are presented in this work. Also the correlation connection between elements is calculated.

The “Theoreticals” Pack

CERN Multimedia

CERN Bulletin

2011-01-01

The Particle Zoo is a colourful set of hand-made soft toys representing the particles in the Standard Model and beyond. It includes a “theoreticals” pack where you can find yet undiscovered particles: the best-selling Higgs boson, the graviton, the tachyon, and dark matter. Supersymmetric particle soft toys are also available on demand. But what would happen to the zoo if Nature had prepared some unexpected surprises? Julie Peasley, the zookeeper, is ready to sew new smiling faces…   The "Theoreticals" pack in the Particle Zoo. There is only one place in the world where you can buy a smiling Higgs boson and it’s not at CERN, although this is where scientists hope to observe it. The blue star-shaped particle is the best seller of Julie Peasley’s Particle Zoo – a collection of tens of soft toys representing all sorts of particles, including composite and decaying particles.  Over the years Julie’s zoo ...

A summary of the Chalk River valve packing evaluation program 1985 - 1990

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aikin, J.A.; Doubt, G.L.; Lade, C.R.

1990-12-01

The move away from asbestos-based valve packing products has generated concern among valve manufacturers, packing manufacturers and user groups about the reliability and safety of non-asbestos based products for long-term use. AECL Research, Chalk River, has been actively evaluating these new valve packing products since 1985. This report describes the work done at Chalk River from 1985 to 1990. The report includes both Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and CANDU Owners Group (COG) funded studies. A description of the test programs and a brief summary of the functional performance of the more successful materials (die-formed graphite, braided asbestos and braided non-asbestos) on friction, stem leakage and consolidation are provided. At this time, Chalk River and Ontario Hydro have approved the following packing arrangements: for non-live-loaded valves, the recommended replacements packing for braided asbestos is combination flexible graphite packing sets; and, for heavy water valves originally designed with JC187I, the recommended replacement packing is approved braided-asbestos products

Time-Resolved Magnetic Field Effects Distinguish Loose Ion Pairs from Exciplexes

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

We describe the experimental investigation of time-resolved magnetic field effects in exciplex-forming organic donor–acceptor systems. In these systems, the photoexcited acceptor state is predominantly deactivated by bimolecular electron transfer reactions (yielding radical ion pairs) or by direct exciplex formation. The delayed fluorescence emitted by the exciplex is magnetosensitive if the reaction pathway involves loose radical ion pair states. This magnetic field effect results from the coherent interconversion between the electronic singlet and triplet radical ion pair states as described by the radical pair mechanism. By monitoring the changes in the exciplex luminescence intensity when applying external magnetic fields, details of the reaction mechanism can be elucidated. In this work we present results obtained with the fluorophore-quencher pair 9,10-dimethylanthracene/N,N-dimethylaniline (DMA) in solvents of systematically varied permittivity. A simple theoretical model is introduced that allows discriminating the initial state of quenching, viz., the loose ion pair and the exciplex, based on the time-resolved magnetic field effect. The approach is validated by applying it to the isotopologous fluorophore-quencher pairs pyrene/DMA and pyrene-d10/DMA. We detect that both the exciplex and the radical ion pair are formed during the initial quenching stage. Upon increasing the solvent polarity, the relative importance of the distant electron transfer quenching increases. However, even in comparably polar media, the exciplex pathway remains remarkably significant. We discuss our results in relation to recent findings on the involvement of exciplexes in photoinduced electron transfer reactions. PMID:24041160

On-line vibration and loose parts monitoring of nuclear power stations as a preventive maintenance tool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An equipment for on-line monitoring of vibrations and loose parts of nuclear power plants is described. The unit consists of piezoelectric transducers, preamplifiers, a data processor, and peripherals. It secures on-line measurement without interfering with the operation of the power plant. A diagram is given showing the monitor of vibrations and loose parts for pressurized water reactors and the Spectra-Scan equipment for the automatic recording and computer processing of noise signals is described. A survey is given of diagnostic methods for internal vibrations, noise and oscillations and procedures for the analysis of recordings are described. The experiences of Atomica International with the observation of vibrations in nuclear power plants are described and an economic assessment is presented of the efficiency of on-line monitoring of these vibrations. A cost-benefit analysis is made of such equipment which justifies their introduction. (B.S.)

The sintering behavior of close-packed spheres

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjørk, Rasmus; Tikare, V.; Frandsen, Henrik Lund

2012-01-01

The sintering behavior of close-packed spheres is investigated using a numerical model. The investigated systems are the body-centered cubic (bcc), face-centered cubic (fcc) and hexagonal close-packed spheres (hcp). The sintering behavior is found to be ideal, with no grain growth until full dens...... density is reached for all systems. During sintering, the grains change shape from spherical to tetrakaidecahedron, similar to the geometry analyzed by Coble [R.L. Coble, J. Appl. Phys. 32 (1961) 787]....

The Physics of Protoplanetesimal Dust Agglomerates. VIII. Microgravity Collisions between Porous SiO{sub 2} Aggregates and Loosely Bound Agglomerates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whizin, Akbar D.; Colwell, Joshua E. [Dept. of Physics, Center for Microgravity Research, University of Central Florida, 4111 Libra Drive, Orlando, FL 32816 (United States); Blum, Jürgen, E-mail: Akbar.Whizin@ucf.edu [Institut für Geophysik und extraterrestrische Physik, University of Braunschweig, Mendelssohnstr. 3, D-38106 Braunschweig (Germany)

2017-02-10

We performed laboratory experiments colliding 0.8–1.0 mm and 1.0–1.6 mm SiO{sub 2} dust aggregates with loosely bound centimeter-sized agglomerates of those aggregates in microgravity. This work builds on previous microgravity laboratory experiments examining the collisional properties of porous loosely bound dust aggregates. In centimeter-sized aggregates, surface forces dominate self-gravity and may play a large role in aggregate growth beyond this size range. We characterize the properties of protoplanetary aggregate analogs to help place constraints on initial formation mechanisms and environments. We determined several important physical characteristics of these aggregates in a large number of low-velocity collisions. We observed low coefficients of restitution and fragmentation thresholds near 1 m s{sup −1} for 1–2 cm agglomerates, which are in good agreement with previous findings in the literature. We find the accretion efficiency for agglomerates of loosely bound aggregates to be higher than that for just aggregates themselves. We find sticking thresholds of 6.6 ± 2 cm s{sup −1}, somewhat higher than those in similar studies, which have observed few aggregates stick at speeds of under 3 cm s{sup −1}. Even with highly dissipative collisions, loosely bound agglomerates have difficulty accreting beyond centimeter-sized bodies at typical collision speeds in the disk. Our results indicate agglomerates of porous aggregates have slightly higher sticking thresholds than previously thought, allowing possible growth to decimeter-sized bodies if velocities are low enough.

The Performance of Structured Packings in Trickle-Bed Reactors

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Frank, M.J.W.; Kuipers, J.A.M.; Versteeg, G.F.; Swaaij, W.P.M. van

1999-01-01

An experimental study was carried out to investigate whether the use of structured packings might improve the mass transfer characteristics and the catalyst effectiveness of a trickle-bed reactor. Therefore, the performances of a structured packing, consisting of KATAPAK elements, and a dumped

Effective therapy to reduce edema after total knee arthroplasty Multi-layer compression therapy or standard therapy with cool pack - a randomized controlled pilot trial

Science.gov (United States)

Stocker, Brigitta; Babendererde, Christine; Rohner-Spengler, Manuela; Müller, Urs W; Meichtry, André; Luomajoki, Hannu

2018-02-01

Background: After total knee arthroplasty (TKA) efficient control and reduction of postoperative edema is of great importance. Aim: The aim of this pilot study (EKNZ 2014 – 225 DRKS00006271) was to investigate the effectiveness of multi-layer compression therapy (MLCT) to reduce edema in the early period after surgery compared to the standard treatment with Cool Pack. Methods: In this randomized controlled pilot trial, sixteen patients after TKA were randomized into an intervention group (IG) or a control group (CG). Circumferential measurements were used to assess edema. Secondary outcomes were range of motion (ROM), pain (numeric rating scale, NRS) and function as measured with the fast Self Paced Walking Test (fSPWT). Results: Clinically relevant differences in edema reduction between the two groups were found in the early postoperative period and at the six weeks follow up. Six days postoperatively the group time interaction (IE) in favor of the IG were −3.8 cm (95 % CI: −5.1; −2.4) when measured 10 cm proximal to the joint space and −2.7 cm (CI: −4.1; −1.3) when measured 5 cm proximally. We further observed differences in secondary outcomes in favor of the CG. Six days postoperatively the IE for knee flexion was –8.3 ° (CI: −22.0; 5.4) and for the fSPWT it was 12.8 seconds (CI: −16.4; 41.3). Six weeks postoperatively these differences diminished. Conclusions: The findings suggest that MLCT could be an alternative treatment to reduce postoperative edema in patients after total knee arthroplasty. Eventually possible negative effects on early knee flexion and function must be considered.

Radiation sterilization of plastic packing materials and aseptic packaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tokuoka, Keiko

1986-01-01

In the present day of 'satiation', quality, not quantity, is emphasized for foods, the consumers being oriented toward raw and healthy foodstuff. Aseptic Packaging is excellent means of conservation. While conventionally chemicals have been used for sterilization of packing materials for aseptic packaging, the sterilization by radiation is used in part recently. The following are described : history of aseptic packaging and its features, sterilization by radiation, γ-ray sterilization of large-sized containers, the development of an aseptic packaging system using electron rays, the occurrence of offensive odors from packing materials (comparison of odors from various materials, volatile substances occurring in irradiated polyethylene, influence of film grade upon the formation of carboxylic acid, influence of the irradiation conditions upon the occurrences of volatile substances, volatile substances occurring in the irradiation of bag-in-box packing materials), changes in properties of the packing materials. (Mori, K.)

Ultratight crystal packing of a 10 kDa protein

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Trillo-Muyo, Sergio [Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Spanish Research Council CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, c/Baldiri Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona (Spain); Jasilionis, Andrius [Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio 21/27, 03101 Vilnius (Lithuania); Domagalski, Marcin J. [University of Virginia, 1340 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0736 (United States); Chruszcz, Maksymilian [University of South Carolina, 631 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29208 (United States); Minor, Wladek [University of Virginia, 1340 Jefferson Park Avenue, Charlottesville, VA 22908-0736 (United States); Kuisiene, Nomeda [Vilnius University, M. K. Čiurlionio 21/27, 03101 Vilnius (Lithuania); Arolas, Joan L.; Solà, Maria; Gomis-Rüth, F. Xavier, E-mail: xgrcri@ibmb.csic.es [Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona, Spanish Research Council CSIC, Barcelona Science Park, c/Baldiri Reixac 15-21, 08028 Barcelona (Spain)

2013-03-01

The crystal structure of the C-terminal domain of a putative U32 peptidase from G. thermoleovorans is reported; it is one of the most tightly packed protein structures reported to date. While small organic molecules generally crystallize forming tightly packed lattices with little solvent content, proteins form air-sensitive high-solvent-content crystals. Here, the crystallization and full structure analysis of a novel recombinant 10 kDa protein corresponding to the C-terminal domain of a putative U32 peptidase are reported. The orthorhombic crystal contained only 24.5% solvent and is therefore among the most tightly packed protein lattices ever reported.

The effects of floor heating on body temperature, water consumption, stress response and immune competence around parturition in loose-housed sows

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Damgaard, B M; Malmkvist, J; Pedersen, L J

2009-01-01

The aim of the present study was to study whether floor heating from 12 h after onset of nest building until 48 h after birth of the first piglet had any effect on measures related to body temperature, water consumption, stress response and immune competence in loose-housed sows (n = 23......). In conclusion, the present results indicate that floor heating for a limited period around parturition did not compromise physiological and immunological parameters, water intake and body temperature in loose-housed sows. The water intake peaked the day before parturition and the body temperature peaked...

Mass transfer models analysis for the structured packings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suastegui R, A.O.

1997-01-01

The models that have been developing, to understand the mechanism of the mass transfer through the structured packings, present limitations for their application, existing then uncertainty in order to use them in the chemical industrial processes. In this study the main parameters used in the mass transfer are: the hydrodynamic of the bed of the column, the geometry of the bed, physical-chemical properties of the mixture and the flow regime of the operation between the flows liquid-gas. The sensibility of each one of these parameters generate an arduous work to develop right proposals and good interpretation of the phenomenon. With the purpose of showing the importance of these parameters mentioned in the mass transfer, this work is analyzed the process of absorption for the system water-air, using the models to the structured packings in packed columns. The models selected were developed by Bravo and collaborators in 1985 and 1992, in order to determine the parameters previous mentioned for the system water-air, using a structured packing built in the National Institute of Nuclear Research. In this work is showed the results of the models application and their discussion. (Author)

Packing and Cohesive Properties of Some Locally Extracted Starches

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... properties of the particles affect the packing and cohesive properties of the starches, and are important in predicting the behaviour of the starches during handling and use in pharmaceutical preparations. These properties need to be closely controlled in pre-formulation studies. Keywords: Packing and cohesive properties, ...

Optimal Packed String Matching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ben-Kiki, Oren; Bille, Philip; Breslauer, Dany

2011-01-01

In the packed string matching problem, each machine word accommodates – characters, thus an n-character text occupies n/– memory words. We extend the Crochemore-Perrin constantspace O(n)-time string matching algorithm to run in optimal O(n/–) time and even in real-time, achieving a factor – speed...

Granular flow through an aperture: Influence of the packing fraction

Science.gov (United States)

Aguirre, M. A.; De Schant, R.; Géminard, J.-C.

2014-07-01

For the last 50 years, the flow of a granular material through an aperture has been intensely studied in gravity-driven vertical systems (e.g., silos and hoppers). Nevertheless, in many industrial applications, grains are horizontally transported at constant velocity, lying on conveyor belts or floating on the surface of flowing liquids. Unlike fluid flows, that are controlled by the pressure, granular flow is not sensitive to the local pressure but rather to the local velocity of the grains at the outlet. We can also expect the flow rate to depend on the local density of the grains. Indeed, vertical systems are packed in dense configurations by gravity, but, in contrast, in horizontal systems the density can take a large range of values, potentially very small, which may significantly alter the flow rate. In the present article, we study, for different initial packing fractions, the discharge through an orifice of monodisperse grains driven at constant velocity by a horizontal conveyor belt. We report how, during the discharge, the packing fraction is modified by the presence of the outlet, and we analyze how changes in the packing fraction induce variations in the flow rate. We observe that variations of packing fraction do not affect the velocity of the grains at the outlet, and, therefore, we establish that flow-rate variations are directly related to changes in the packing fraction.

EFFECT OF SHOULDER SIDE PACK ON DYNAMIC POSTURAL STABILITY IN YOUNG HEALTHY FEMALE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enas ELsayed Mohamed Abutaleb

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Background: Control of balance is a complex motor skill that involves integration of sensory inputs and the planning and execution of flexible movement patterns. Carrying side packs is famous in our society especially shoulder side packs. Most students carry shoulder side packs and they don't care about the way to carry them to be more balanced. The purpose of the study is to investigate the effect of carrying shoulder side pack on dynamic postural stability and to determine the best way of carrying a shoulder side pack either on the dominant side or non-dominant side that doesn’t affect dynamic postural stability in young healthy female. Methods: Sixty female volunteers aged from 18 to 25 years old participated in the study. Biodex balance system was used to measure the dynamic postural stability in three different occasions (without carrying a shoulder side pack, with carrying a shoulder side pack on the dominant side, and on the non-dominant side with a rest period in between. Results: Repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA followed by Bonferroni post hoc test were used to compare dynamic posture balance without carrying and during carrying a shoulder side pack on dominant and non-dominant sides. Analysis revealed that overall, anteroposterior and mediolateral stability indexes reduced significantly (P<0.0001 when carrying shoulder side pack on dominant side in comparison with when carrying shoulder side pack on non-dominant side and without carrying bag. Conclusion: It was concluded that carrying a shoulder side pack on the non-dominant side didn't disturb the postural stability when compared to carrying on the dominant side so, we recommend the students to carry shoulder side packs on the non-dominant side.

Resistance of Hordeum chilense against loose smuts of wheat and barley (Ustilago tritici and U. nuda) and its expression in amphiploids with wheat

OpenAIRE

Rubiales, Diego; Moral, Ana

2011-01-01

Hordeum chilense is wild barley with high potential for cereal breeding purposes given its high crossability with other members of the Triticeae tribe. It is resistant to loose smuts of wheat (Ustilago tritici). The resistance is expressed in xTritordeum amphipoids, offering perspectives for its utilization both in tritordeum breeding and for its transfer to wheat. H. chilense and tritordeums are also resistant to barley loose smut (U. nuda). © 2010 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

demonstrating close-packing of atoms using spherical bubble gums

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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chemistry and junior inorganic chemistry courses. However, the subject of three dimen- sional close-packing of atoms has always been difficult for students to understand. In particular, students find it difficult to visualize the packing of atoms in different layers. They cannot clearly identify tetrahedral and octahedral holes, and.

Discrete modelling of the electrochemical performance of SOFC electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, L.C.R.; Martin, C.L.; Bultel, Y.; Bouvard, D.; Siebert, E.

2006-01-01

The composite anode and cathode of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) are modelled as sintered mixtures of electrolyte and electrocatalyst particles. A particle packing is first created numerically by the discrete element method (DEM) from a loose packing of 40 000 spherical, monosized, homogeneously mixed, and randomly positioned particles. Once the microstructure is sintered numerically, the effective electrode conductivity is determined by discretization of the particle packing into a resistance network. Each particle contact is characteristic of a bond resistance that depends on contact geometry and particle properties. The network, which typically consists of 120 000 bond resistances in total, is solved using Kirchhoff's current law. Distributions of local current densities and particle potentials are then performed. We investigate how electrode performance depends on parameters such as electrode composition, thickness, density and intrinsic material conductivities that are temperature dependent. The simulations show that the best electrode performance is obtained for compositions close to the percolation threshold of the electronic conductor. Depending on particle conductivities, the electrode performance is a function of its thickness. Additionally, DEM simulations generate useful microstructural information such as: coordination numbers, triple phase boundary length and percolation thresholds

Effect of Promoter Concentration on CO2 Separation Using K2CO3 With Reactive Absorption Method in Reactor Packed Column

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Monde Junety

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The presence of carbon dioxide (CO2 in the gas is not expected because CO2 can reduce heating value and CO2 is the major emission contributor into the atmosphere. Various separation technologies can be used to reduce CO2 content and improve quality of gas. Chemical or reactive absorption is most widely used because it provides higher removal rate. This paper will study the effect of the addition di ethanolamine (DEA concentration into aqueous 30wt.% potassium carbonate(K2CO3 with reactive absorption method in a reactor packed column at temperature from 40°C to 80°C, DEA concentration range of (1% - 3% and absorbent flow rate (0.5, 0.75 and 1 L. min1. Contacting the gas and absorbent are countercurrent flow in packed column with 1.5 m high and 50 mm in diameter. The absorption column was randomly packed with a packing material raschig rings 5 mm in diameter. The CO2 loading in the liquid samples was determined by titration. It is found that the best result of CO2 loading is 0.065594 mole/mole K2CO3 and CO2 removal 28%. The result show that the loading capacity (mole CO2/mole K2CO3 and CO2 removal increased with the increase of DEA concentration.

Improvising a Posterior Nasal Pack with Equipment in a Basic First Aid Kit.

Science.gov (United States)

Royer, Allison K; Royer, Mark C

2016-09-01

Posterior epistaxis is a serious condition that can be difficult to treat in a wilderness setting. The initial standard of care involves packing the affected nostril with a 7 to 9 cm nasal pack to tamponade the bleed. These packs are often unavailable outside of the emergency or operating room. This study set out to determine whether a posterior nasal pack could be constructed from the supplies present in a basic first aid kit in order to control massive nasal hemorrhage in a wilderness setting. A basic first aid kit was utilized to construct a posterior nasal pack that was inserted into an anatomical model and visibly compared with the Rapid Rhino (Posterior, 7.5 cm; Smith & Nephew, Austin, TX) nasal packing. The shape, size, and anatomical areas of compression (ie, into nasopharynx and posterior aspect of inferior turbinate) of this pack was similar to the commercially available posterior nasal pack. Placement in an anatomical model appears to provide similar compression as the commercially available posterior pack. This technique may provide short-term hemorrhage control in cases of serious posterior nasal hemorrhage where standard treatment options are not available. Copyright © 2016 Wilderness Medical Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fast Searching in Packed Strings

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bille, Philip

2009-01-01

Given strings P and Q the (exact) string matching problem is to find all positions of substrings in Q matching P. The classical Knuth-Morris-Pratt algorithm [SIAM J. Comput., 1977] solves the string matching problem in linear time which is optimal if we can only read one character at the time....... However, most strings are stored in a computer in a packed representation with several characters in a single word, giving us the opportunity to read multiple characters simultaneously. In this paper we study the worst-case complexity of string matching on strings given in packed representation. Let m...... word-RAM with logarithmic word size we present an algorithm using time O(n/log(sigma) n + m + occ) Here occ is the number of occurrences of P in Q. For m = o(n) this improves the O(n) bound...

Loose-parts monitoring: present status of the technology, its implementation in U.S. reactors, and some recommendations for achieving improved performance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kryter, R.C.; Ricker, C.W.; Jones, J.E.

1977-01-01

An assessment of the technical development status of loose-parts monitoring systems (LPMS) and their performance record to data in commercial light-water-cooled nuclear reactor plants was made during the spring of 1977, using an on-site personal interview and equipment demonstration approach. The study revealed that while presently demonstrated LPMS technology does indeed provide a capability for detecting the presence of those relatively massive loose parts that would likely constitute a serious operational or safety hazard to the plant, it unfortunately affords little information useful to the determination of the parts' safety significance and has not yet attained the levels of sophistication and reliability ordinarily associated with safety systems. A definite need was found for specification of the functional requirements for LPMS, in the form of a clear and comprehensive statement of NRC policy regarding the formulation and implementation of safety-oriented, yet operationally practicable, loose-parts monitoring programs for both existing and future nuclear generating stations so that overall objectives of both the utilities and the regulatory agency might be satisfied simultaneously

Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage with packed bed thermal energy storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barbour, Edward; Mignard, Dimitri; Ding, Yulong; Li, Yongliang

2015-01-01

Highlights: • The paper presents a thermodynamic analysis of A-CAES using packed bed regenerators. • The packed beds are used to store the compression heat. • A numerical model is developed, validated and used to simulate system operation. • The simulated efficiencies are between 70.5% and 71.1% for continuous operation. • Heat build-up in the beds reduces continuous cycle efficiency slightly. - Abstract: The majority of articles on Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) so far have focussed on the use of indirect-contact heat exchangers and a thermal fluid in which to store the compression heat. While packed beds have been suggested, a detailed analysis of A-CAES with packed beds is lacking in the available literature. This paper presents such an analysis. We develop a numerical model of an A-CAES system with packed beds and validate it against analytical solutions. Our results suggest that an efficiency in excess of 70% should be achievable, which is higher than many of the previous estimates for A-CAES systems using indirect-contact heat exchangers. We carry out an exergy analysis for a single charge–storage–discharge cycle to see where the main losses are likely to transpire and we find that the main losses occur in the compressors and expanders (accounting for nearly 20% of the work input) rather than in the packed beds. The system is then simulated for continuous cycling and it is found that the build-up of leftover heat from previous cycles in the packed beds results in higher steady state temperature profiles of the packed beds. This leads to a small reduction (<0.5%) in efficiency for continuous operation

Rectangular Full Packed Format for Cholesky's Algorithm: Factorization, Solution, and Inversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gustavson, Fred G.; Wasniewski, Jerzy; Dongarra, Jack J

2010-01-01

of the storage space but provide high performance via the use of Level 3 BLAS. Standard packed format arrays fully utilize storage (array space) but provide low performance as there is no Level 3 packed BLAS. We combine the good features of packed and full storage using RFPF to obtain high performance via using...... Level 3 BLAS as RFPF is a standard full-format representation. Also, RFPF requires exactly the same minimal storage as packed the format. Each LAPACK full and/or packed triangular, symmetric, and Hermitian routine becomes a single new RFPF routine based on eight possible data layouts of RFPF. This new...... RFPF routine usually consists of two calls to the corresponding LAPACK full-format routine and two calls to Level 3 BLAS routines. This means no new software is required. As examples, we present LAPACK routines for Cholesky factorization, Cholesky solution, and Cholesky inverse computation in RFPF...

Decontamination of Chlorpyrifos packing using ionizing radiation: processing optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Manoel Nunes; Sampa, Maria Helena de Oliveira; Duarte, Celina Lopes

2007-01-01

The discharge of empty plastic packing of pesticide can be an environmental concern causing problems to human health, animals and plants if done without inspection and monitoring. Among the commercial pesticides, chlorpyrifos, o, o- Diethyl - o- (3,5,6 - trichloro - 2 - pyridyl) phosphorothioate, has significant importance because of its wide distribution, extensive use and persistence. The most commonly used formulations include the emulsified concentrate, granule, wet powder and dispersible granule has significant importance because of its wide distribution and extensive use and persistence. The hydroxyl .OH attack is the most efficient process of chemical oxidation. The degradation-induced of chlorpyrifos by gamma radiolysis was studied in packaging of high-density polyethylene tree layer coextruded, named COEX, irradiated intact and fragments. The intact packing was irradiated with water and the fragmented packing was irradiated with water and with a solution of 50% of water and 50% of acetonitrile. An AECL 'Gammacell 2201 60 Co source and a multipurpose gamma irradiator were used in the processing. The chemical analysis of the chlorpyrifos and by-products were made using a gas chromatography associated to the mass spectrometry (MSGC-Shimadzu QP5000. Radiation processing of packing in pieces showed higher efficiency in removing chlorpyrifos than whole packing. The presence of water showed fundamental to promote the formation of frees radicals and acetonitrile facilitate the dissolution of chlorpyrifos and consequently its removal. (author)

Decontamination of Chlorpyrifos packing using ionizing radiation: processing optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mori, Manoel Nunes; Sampa, Maria Helena de Oliveira; Duarte, Celina Lopes [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)]. E-mails: mnmori@ipen.br; mhosampa@ipen.br; clduarte@ipen.br

2007-07-01

The discharge of empty plastic packing of pesticide can be an environmental concern causing problems to human health, animals and plants if done without inspection and monitoring. Among the commercial pesticides, chlorpyrifos, o, o- Diethyl - o- (3,5,6 - trichloro - 2 - pyridyl) phosphorothioate, has significant importance because of its wide distribution, extensive use and persistence. The most commonly used formulations include the emulsified concentrate, granule, wet powder and dispersible granule has significant importance because of its wide distribution and extensive use and persistence. The hydroxyl .OH attack is the most efficient process of chemical oxidation. The degradation-induced of chlorpyrifos by gamma radiolysis was studied in packaging of high-density polyethylene tree layer coextruded, named COEX, irradiated intact and fragments. The intact packing was irradiated with water and the fragmented packing was irradiated with water and with a solution of 50% of water and 50% of acetonitrile. An AECL 'Gammacell 2201 {sup 60}Co source and a multipurpose gamma irradiator were used in the processing. The chemical analysis of the chlorpyrifos and by-products were made using a gas chromatography associated to the mass spectrometry (MSGC-Shimadzu QP5000. Radiation processing of packing in pieces showed higher efficiency in removing chlorpyrifos than whole packing. The presence of water showed fundamental to promote the formation of frees radicals and acetonitrile facilitate the dissolution of chlorpyrifos and consequently its removal. (author)

Territoriality and inter-pack aggression in gray wolves: shaping a social carnivore's life history

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Kira A.; Smith, Douglas W.; Mech, L. David; MacNulty, Daniel R.; Stahler, Daniel R.; Metz, Matthew C.

2016-01-01

When Rudyard Kipling wrote The Jungle Book in 1894 and included the famous line "For the strength of the Wolf is the Pack, and the strength of the Pack is the Wolf," he would have had no idea that over a century later, scientific research would back up his poetic phrase. Recent studies in Yellowstone have found that both the individual wolf and the collective pack rely on each other and play important roles in territoriality. At a time when most fairy tales and fables were portraying wolves as demonic killers or, at best, slapstick gluttons, Kipling seemed to have a respect or even reverence for the wolf. Wolves in The Jungle Book raise and mentor the main character Mowgli, with the pack's leader eventually dying to save the "man-cub" from a pack of wolves. Kipling may have extended intra- pack benevolence to a human boy for literary sake, but he was clearly enthralled with how pack members treat each other. As wolf packs are almost always family units, most commonly comprised of a breeding pair and their offspring from several years, amiable behavior within the pack is unsurprising. By contrast, wolf packs are fiercely intolerant of their neighbors, their rivals. And this competition is proving to be an important facet in the life of a wolf and its pack.

Cigarette pack labelling in 12 countries at different levels of economic development.

Science.gov (United States)

Mir, Hassan; Buchanan, Daniel; Gilmore, Anna; McKee, Martin; Yusuf, Salim; Chow, Clara K

2011-05-01

With increasing restrictions on cigarette marketing, the cigarette pack itself has become a main means of marketing. We describe a method to examine cigarette labelling and use it to evaluate packs collected from 12 countries at different stages of economic development. Health warnings were present on all 115 packs of cigarettes examined, but were on the front and back panels of only 68 per cent. Promotional labels were widespread, found on packs from all countries and more numerous (although not necessarily larger) than health warning labels in 10 of the 12 countries. Deceptive terms such as 'light' and 'mild' were observed on 42 per cent of all packs examined. The simple method described here can be used to compare cigarette labelling and potentially evaluate and track the implementation of cigarette labelling policy. We found health warning legislation poorly enforced and cigarette packs widely used to promote smoking and deceive smokers about health risks. The findings underline the need for generic (plain) packaging.

Internal friction and absence of dilatancy of packings of frictionless polygons.

Science.gov (United States)

Azéma, Émilien; Radjaï, Farhang; Roux, Jean-Noël

2015-01-01

By means of numerical simulations, we show that assemblies of frictionless rigid pentagons in slow shear flow possess an internal friction coefficient (equal to 0.183±0.008 with our choice of moderately polydisperse grains) but no macroscopic dilatancy. In other words, despite side-side contacts tending to hinder relative particle rotations, the solid fraction under quasistatic shear coincides with that of isotropic random close packings of pentagonal particles. Properties of polygonal grains are thus similar to those of disks in that respect. We argue that continuous reshuffling of the force-bearing network leads to frequent collapsing events at the microscale, thereby causing the macroscopic dilatancy to vanish. Despite such rearrangements, the shear flow favors an anisotropic structure that is at the origin of the ability of the system to sustain shear stress.

Do gray wolves (Canis lupus) support pack mates during aggressive inter-pack interactions?

Science.gov (United States)

Cassidy, Kira A; McIntyre, Richard T

2016-09-01

For group-living mammals, social coordination increases success in everything from hunting and foraging (Crofoot and Wrangham in Mind the Gap, Springer, Berlin, 2010; Bailey et al. in Behav Ecol Sociobiol 67:1-17, 2013) to agonism (Mosser and Packer in Anim Behav 78:359-370, 2009; Wilson et al. in Anim Behav 83:277-291, 2012; Cassidy et al. in Behav Ecol 26:1352-1360, 2015). Cooperation is found in many species and, due to its low costs, likely is a determining factor in the evolution of living in social groups (Smith in Anim Behav 92:291-304, 2014). Beyond cooperation, many mammals perform costly behaviors for the benefit of group mates (e.g., parental care, food sharing, grooming). Altruism is considered the most extreme case of cooperation where the altruist increases the fitness of the recipient while decreasing its own fitness (Bell in Selection: the mechanism of evolution. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008). Gray wolf life history requires intra-pack familiarity, communication, and cooperation in order to succeed in hunting (MacNulty et al. in Behav Ecol doi: 10.1093/beheco/arr159 2011) and protecting group resources (Stahler et al. in J Anim Ecol 82: 222-234, 2013; Cassidy et al. in Behav Ecol 26:1352-1360, 2015). Here, we report 121 territorial aggressive inter-pack interactions in Yellowstone National Park between 1 April 1995 and 1 April 2011 (>5300 days of observation) and examine each interaction where one wolf interferes when its pack mate is being attacked by a rival group. This behavior was recorded six times (17.6 % of interactions involving an attack) and often occurred between dyads of closely related individuals. We discuss this behavior as it relates to the evolution of cooperation, sociality, and altruism.

45 CFR 671.3 - Definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

..., polystyrene beads, plastic chips or similar loose polystyrene packing material, pesticides (other than those... burning means combustion of any material by means other than incineration. Permit means a permit issued...

Cigarette pack design and perceptions of risk among UK adults and youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Hammond, David; Dockrell, Martin; Arnott, Deborah; Lee, Alex; McNeill, Ann

2009-12-01

It is illegal in the EU for tobacco packaging to suggest that some cigarettes are safer than others. This study examined consumer perceptions of cigarette packs in the UK, including perceptions of 'plain packaging', in which colour and other design elements are removed, whilst retaining the brand name. 516 adult smokers and 806 youth aged 11-17 participated in an online survey. Participants were asked to compare pairs of cigarette packs on five measures: taste, tar delivery, health risk, attractiveness and either ease of quitting (adult smokers) or brand they would choose if trying smoking (youth). Adults and youth were significantly more likely to rate packs with the terms 'smooth', 'silver' and 'gold' as lower tar, lower health risk and either easier to quit smoking (adults) or their choice of pack if trying smoking (youth). For example, more than half of adults and youth reported that brands labelled as 'smooth' were less harmful compared with the 'regular' variety. The colour of packs was also associated with perceptions of risk and brand appeal: compared with Marlboro packs with a red logo, Marlboro packs with a gold logo were rated as lower health risk by 53% and easier to quit by 31% of adult smokers. Plain packs significantly reduced false beliefs about health risk and ease of quitting, and were rated as significantly less attractive and appealing to youth for trying smoking. Current regulations have failed to remove potentially misleading information from tobacco packaging. Removing colours from packs (plain packaging), as well as terms such as 'smooth' 'gold' and 'silver' would significantly reduce false beliefs and increase compliance with existing legislation.

Cardiac arrest due to hyperkalemia following irradiated packed red cells transfusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyazawa, Kazuharu [Yamamoto-kumiai General Hospital, Noshiro, Akita (Japan); Ohta, Sukejuurou; Kojima, Yukiko; Mizunuma, Takahide; Nishikawa, Toshiaki

1998-11-01

We describe two cases of cardiac arrest due to hyperkalemia following transfusion of irradiated packed red cells. Case 1: Because sudden, rapid and massive hemorrage occurred in a 69-year-old male patient undergoing the left lobectomy of the liver, 8 units of irradiated packed red cells were rapidly transfused, the patient developed cardiac arrest. Serum kalium concentration after transfusion was 7.6 mEq/l. Case 2: A 7-month-old girl scheduled for closure of a ventricular septal defect, developed cardiac arrest due to hyperkalemia at the start of cardiopulmonary bypass. The extracorporeal circuit was primed with 6 units of irradiated packed red blood cells. Serum kalium concentration immediately after the start of cardiopulmonary bypass was 10.6 mEq/l. Analysis of kalium concentration in the pilot tubes of the same packs revealed 56-61 mEq/l. These case reports suggest that fresh irradiated packed red cells should be transfused during massive bleeding and for pediatric patients to prevent severe hyperkalemia. (author)

Investigation of hydrodynamic behaviour of a pilot-scale trickle bed reactor packed with hydrophobic and hydrophilic packings using radiotracer technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajesh Kumar; Sadhana Mohan; Pant, H.J.; Sharma, V.K.; Mahajani, S.M.

2012-01-01

A radiotracer study was carried out in a trickle bed reactor (TBR) independently filled with two different types of packing i.e., hydrophobic and hydrophilic. The study was aimed at to estimate liquid holdup and investigate the dispersion characteristics of liquid phase with both types of packing at different operating conditions. Water and H2 gas were used as aqueous and gas phase, respectively. The liquid and gas flow rates used ranged from 0.83 x 10 -7 -16.67 x 10 -7 m 3 /s and 0-3.33 x 10 -4 m 3 (std)/s, respectively. Residence time distribution (RTD) of liquid phase was measured using 82 Br as radiotracer and about 10 MBq activity was used in each run. Mean residence time (MRT) and holdup of liquid phase were estimated from the measured RTD data. An axial dispersion with exchange model was used to simulate the measured RTD curves and model parameters (Peclet number and MRT) were obtained. At higher liquid flow rates, the TBR behaves as a plug flow reactor, whereas at lower liquid flow rates, the flow was found to be highly dispersed. The results of investigation indicated that the dispersion of liquid phase is higher in case of hydrophobic packing, whereas holdup is higher in case of hydrophilic packing. (author)

Measured Black Carbon Deposition on the Sierra Nevada Snow Pack and Implication for Snow Pack Retreat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadley, O.L.; Corrigan, C.E.; Kirchstetter, T.W.; Cliff, S.S.; Ramanathan, V.

2010-01-12

Modeling studies show that the darkening of snow and ice by black carbon deposition is a major factor for the rapid disappearance of arctic sea ice, mountain glaciers and snow packs. This study provides one of the first direct measurements for the efficient removal of black carbon from the atmosphere by snow and its subsequent deposition to the snow packs of California. The early melting of the snow packs in the Sierras is one of the contributing factors to the severe water problems in California. BC concentrations in falling snow were measured at two mountain locations and in rain at a coastal site. All three stations reveal large BC concentrations in precipitation, ranging from 1.7 ng/g to 12.9 ng/g. The BC concentrations in the air after the snow fall were negligible suggesting an extremely efficient removal of BC by snow. The data suggest that below cloud scavenging, rather than ice nuclei, was the dominant source of BC in the snow. A five-year comparison of BC, dust, and total fine aerosol mass concentrations at multiple sites reveals that the measurements made at the sampling sites were representative of large scale deposition in the Sierra Nevada. The relative concentration of iron and calcium in the mountain aerosol indicates that one-quarter to one-third of the BC may have been transported from Asia.

Spherical shock-wave propagation in three-dimensional granular packings.

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Kun; Bai, Chun-Hua

2011-02-01

We investigate numerically the spherical shock-wave propagation in an open dense granular packing perturbed by the sudden expansion of a spherical intruder in the interior of the pack, focusing on the correlation between geometrical fabrics and propagating properties. The measurements of the temporal and spatial variations in a variety of propagating properties define a consistent serrated wave substructure with characteristic length on the orders of particle diameters. Further inspection of particle packing reveals a well-defined particle layering that persists several particle diameters away from the intruder, although its dominant effects are only within one to two diameters. This interface-induced layering not only exactly coincides with the serrated wave profile, but also highlights the competition between two energy transmission mechanisms involving distinct transport speeds. The alternating dominances between these two mechanisms contribute to the nonlinear wave propagation on the particle scale. Moreover, the proliferation of intricate three-dimensional contact force networks suggests the anisotropic stress transmission, which is found to also arise from the localized packing structure in the vicinity of the intruder.

Hemato-biochemical responses to packing in donkeys administered ascorbic acid during the harmattan season.

Science.gov (United States)

Olaifa, Folashade; Ayo, Joseph Olusegun; Ambali, Suleiman Folorunsho; Rekwot, Peter Ibrahim

2015-02-01

Experiments were performed to investigate the effect of ascorbic acid (AA) in reducing hemato-biochemical changes in pack donkeys during the cold-dry (harmattan) season. Six experimental donkeys administered orally AA (200 mg/kg) and six control donkeys not administered ascorbic acid were subjected to packing. Blood samples were collected from all donkeys for hematological and biochemical analyses. In the control donkeys, packed cell volume (PCV), erythrocyte count and hemoglobin concentration (Hb) decreased significantly (Pdonkeys, there was no significant difference between the pre- and post-packing values of PCV, erythrocyte count and Hb. In the control donkeys, the neutrophil and neutrophil:lymphocyte ratio increased significantly (Pdonkeys, the pre- and post-packing values were not significantly different. The eosinophil count increased significantly (Pdonkeys post packing. In conclusion, packing exerted significant adverse effects on the hematological parameters ameliorated by AA administration. AA may modulate neutrophilia and induce a considerable alteration of erythroid markers in donkeys subjected to packing during the harmattan season.

Towards optimal packed string matching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ben-Kiki, Oren; Bille, Philip; Breslauer, Dany

2014-01-01

-size string-matching instruction wssm is available in contemporary commodity processors. The other word-size maximum-suffix instruction wslm is only required during the pattern pre-processing. Benchmarks show that our solution can be efficiently implemented, unlike some prior theoretical packed string...

The generic geometry of helices and their close-packed structures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Kasper; Bohr, Jakob

2010-01-01

The formation of helices is an ubiquitous phenomenon for molecular structures whether they are biological, organic, or inorganic, in nature. Helical structures have geometrical constraints analogous to close packing of three-dimensional crystal structures. For helical packing the geometrical cons...

Safer v. Estate of Pack.

Science.gov (United States)

1996-07-11

The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, recognized "a physician's duty to warn those known to be at risk of avoidable harm from a genetically transmissible condition." During the 1950s, Dr. George Pack treated Donna Shafer's father for a cancerous blockage of the colon and multiple polyposis. In 1990, Safer was diagnosed with the same condition, which she claims is inherited, and, if not diagnosed and treated, invariably will lead to metastic colorectal cancer. Safer alleged that Dr. Pack knew the hereditary nature of the disease, yet failed to warn the immediate family, thus breaching his professional duty to warn. The court did not follow the analysis of the trial court, that a physician has no legal duty to warn the child of a patient of the genetic risk of disease because no physician and patient relationship exists between the doctor and the child.

Interaction between Proppant Packing, Reservoir Depletion, and Fluid Flow in Pore Space

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, M.; McClure, J. E.; Han, Y.; Chen, C.

2016-12-01

In the oil and gas industry, the performance of proppant pack in hydraulically created fractures has a significant influence on fracture conductivity. A better understanding of proppant transport and deposition pattern in a hydraulic fracture is vital for effective and economical production within oil and gas reservoirs. In this research, a numerical modeling approach, combining Particle Flow Code (PFC) and GPU-enhanced lattice Boltzmann simulator (GELBS), is adopted to advance the understanding of the interaction between proppant particle packing, depletion of reservoir formation, and transport of reservoir flow through the pore space. In this numerical work flow, PFC is used to simulate effective stress increase and proppant particle movement and rearrangement under increasing mechanical loading. The pore structure of the proppant pack evolves subsequently and the geometrical data are output for lattice Boltzmann (LB) simulation of proppant pack permeability. Three different proppant packs with fixed particle concentration and 12/18, 16/30, and 20/40 mesh sizes are generated. These proppant packs are compressed with specified loading stress and their subsequent geometries are used for fluid flow simulations. The simulation results are in good agreement with experimental observations, e.g., the conductivity of proppant packs decreases with increasing effective stress. Three proppant packs with the same average diameter were generated using different coefficients of variation (COVs) for the proppant diameter (namely cov5%, cov20%, and cov30%). By using the coupled PFC-LBM work flow, the proppant pack permeability as functions of effective stress and porosity is investigated. The results show that the proppant pack with a higher proppant diameter COV has lower permeability and porosity under the same effective stress, because smaller particles fill in the pore space between bigger particles. The relationship between porosity and permeability is also consistent with

3D Numerical Study of Multiphase Counter-Current Flow within a Packed Bed for Post Combustion Carbon Dioxide Capture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Li Yang

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The hydrodynamics within counter-current flow packed beds is of vital importance to provide insight into the design and operational parameters that may impact reactor and reaction efficiencies in processes used for post combustion CO2 capture. However, the multiphase counter-current flows in random packing used in these processes are complicated to visualize. Hence, this work aimed at developing a computational fluid dynamics (CFD model to study more precisely the complex details of flow inside a packed bed. The simulation results clearly demonstrated the development of, and changes in, liquid distributions, wetted areas, and film thickness under various gas and liquid flow rates. An increase in values of the We number led to a more uniform liquid distribution, and the flow patterns changed from droplet flow to film flow and trickle flow as the We number was increased. In contrast, an increase in gas flow rate had no significant effect on the wetted areas and liquid holdup. It was also determined that the number of liquid inlets affected flow behavior, and the liquid surface tension had an insignificant influence on pressure drop or liquid holdup; however, lower surface tension provided a larger wetted area and a thinner film. An experimental study, performed to enable comparisons between experimentally measured pressure drops and simulation-determined pressure drops, showed close correspondence and similar trends between the experimental data and the simulation data; hence, it was concluded that the simulation model was validated and could reasonably predict flow dynamics within a counter-current flow packed bed.

Refractive effects in the scattering of loosely bound nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carstoiu, F.; Trache, L.; Tribble, R.E.; Gagliardi, C.A.; Carstoiu, F.

2004-07-01

A study of the interaction of the loosely bound nuclei 6,7 Li at 9 and 19 MeV/nucleon with light targets has been undertaken. With the determination of unambiguous optical potentials in mind, elastic data for four projectile-target combinations and one neutron transfer reaction 13 C( 7 Li, 8 Li) 12 C have been measured over a large angular range. The kinematical regime encompasses a region where the mean field (optical potential) has a marked variation with mass and energy, but turns out to be sufficiently surface transparent to allow strong refractive effects to be manifested in elastic scattering data at intermediate angles. The identified exotic feature, a 'plateau' in the angular distributions at intermediate angles, is fully confirmed in four reaction channels and is interpreted as a pre-rainbow oscillation resulting from the interference of the barrier and internal barrier far-side scattering sub-amplitudes. (authors)

Damping-controlled fluidelastic instability forces in multi-span tubes with loose supports

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassan, Marwan A.; Rogers, Robert J.; Gerber, Andrew G.

2011-01-01

This paper presents simulations of a loosely supported multi-span tube subjected to turbulence and fluidelastic instability forces in order to compare several time-domain fluid force models simulating the damping-controlled fluidelastic instability mechanism in tube arrays. These models include the negative damping model based on the Connors equation, fluid force coefficient-based models (Chen; Tanaka and Takahara), and two semi-analytical models (Price and Paidoussis; and Lever and Weaver). Time domain modelling challenges for each of these theories are discussed. The implemented models are validated against available experimental data. The linear simulations (without tube/support clearance) show that the Connors-equation based model exhibits the most conservative prediction of the critical flow velocity when the recommended design values for the Connors equation are used. The models are then utilized to simulate the nonlinear response of a three-span cantilever tube in a lattice bar support subjected to air crossflow. The tube is subjected to a single-phase flow passing over the spans where the flow velocity and the support clearance are varied. Special attention is paid to the tube/support interaction parameters that affect wear, such as impact forces, contact ratio, and normal work rate. As was seen for the linear cases, the reduced flow velocity at the instability threshold differs for the fluid force models considered. The investigated models do, however, exhibit similar response characteristics for the impact force, tip lift response, and work rate, except for the Connors-based model that overestimates the response and the tube/support interaction parameters for the loose support case, especially at large clearances.

Loose nanofiltration membrane for dye/salt separation through interfacial polymerization with in-situ generated TiO_2 nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Qi; Fan, Lin; Yang, Zhen; Zhang, Runnan; Liu, Ya-nan; He, Mingrui; Su, Yanlei; Jiang, Zhongyi

2017-01-01

Highlights: • A in-situ generated TiO_2 approach was used to fabricate loose nanofiltration membrane. • The membrane contained small channels owing to the interaction between TiO_2 and the polyamide. • The membranes exhibited high water fluxes and separation performance for dye/salt solutions. - Abstract: In this study, a high flux nanofiltration (NF) membrane with hybrid polymer-nanoparticle active layer was fabricated by chemical crosslinking of piperazine (PIP) and 1, 3, 5-benzene tricarbonyl trichloride (TMC). An in-situ generated method was applied to deposit titanium dioxide (TiO_2) nanoparticles uniformly on the membrane surface, leading to the enhancement of the surface hydrophilicity, roughness and relative surface area of the polyamide (PA) layer. The morphology of the modified membrane was investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Atomic force microscopy (AFM), also energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDX) was used to analyze the distribution of Ti element. Chemical structure was observed by Fourier transmission infrared attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) spectroscopy. Remarkably, the optimal water flux of the loose NF membrane was 65.0 Lm"−"2 h"−"1 bar"−"1 nearly 5 times as much as the pure PA membrane flux. The rejections of the loose NF membranes for dyes were almost all greater than 95.0%, while the rejection for sodium sulfate (Na_2SO_4) was only about 17.0%, which indicated that the modified membrane had an impressive potential application for dye desalination and purification.

Random-walk enzymes

Science.gov (United States)

Mak, Chi H.; Pham, Phuong; Afif, Samir A.; Goodman, Myron F.

2015-09-01

Enzymes that rely on random walk to search for substrate targets in a heterogeneously dispersed medium can leave behind complex spatial profiles of their catalyzed conversions. The catalytic signatures of these random-walk enzymes are the result of two coupled stochastic processes: scanning and catalysis. Here we develop analytical models to understand the conversion profiles produced by these enzymes, comparing an intrusive model, in which scanning and catalysis are tightly coupled, against a loosely coupled passive model. Diagrammatic theory and path-integral solutions of these models revealed clearly distinct predictions. Comparison to experimental data from catalyzed deaminations deposited on single-stranded DNA by the enzyme activation-induced deoxycytidine deaminase (AID) demonstrates that catalysis and diffusion are strongly intertwined, where the chemical conversions give rise to new stochastic trajectories that were absent if the substrate DNA was homogeneous. The C →U deamination profiles in both analytical predictions and experiments exhibit a strong contextual dependence, where the conversion rate of each target site is strongly contingent on the identities of other surrounding targets, with the intrusive model showing an excellent fit to the data. These methods can be applied to deduce sequence-dependent catalytic signatures of other DNA modification enzymes, with potential applications to cancer, gene regulation, and epigenetics.

A Heuristic Algorithm for Solving Triangle Packing Problem

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ruimin Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The research on the triangle packing problem has important theoretic significance, which has broad application prospects in material processing, network resource optimization, and so forth. Generally speaking, the orientation of the triangle should be limited in advance, since the triangle packing problem is NP-hard and has continuous properties. For example, the polygon is not allowed to rotate; then, the approximate solution can be obtained by optimization method. This paper studies the triangle packing problem by a new kind of method. Such concepts as angle region, corner-occupying action, corner-occupying strategy, and edge-conjoining strategy are presented in this paper. In addition, an edge-conjoining and corner-occupying algorithm is designed, which is to obtain an approximate solution. It is demonstrated that the proposed algorithm is highly efficient, and by the time complexity analysis and the analogue experiment result is found.

Airflow Resistance of Loose-Fill Mineral Fiber Insulations in Retrofit Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, C. J. [Building Science Laboratories, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Fox, M. J. [Building Science Laboratories, Waterloo, ON (Canada); Lstiburek, J. [Building Science Corporation, Westford, MA (United States)

2015-02-01

This report expands on Building America Report 1109 by applying the experimental apparatus and test method to dense-pack retrofit applications using mineral fiber insulation materials. Three fiber glass insulation materials and one stone wool insulation material were tested, and the results compared to the cellulose results from the previous study.

How changes in top water bother big turning packs of up-going wet air

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, K.

2017-12-01

Big turning packs of up-going wet air form near areas of warm water at the top of big bodies of water. After these turning packs form, they usually get stronger if the top water stays warm. If the top water becomes less warm, the turning packs usually get less strong. Other things can change how strong a turning pack gets, like how wet the air around it is and if that air moves faster higher up than lower down. When these turning packs hit land, their rain and winds can hurt people and the stuff they own, especially if the turning pack is really strong. But it's hard to know how much stronger or less strong it will become before it hits land. Warm top water gives a turning pack of up-going wet air a lot of power, but cool top water doesn't, so we need to know how warm the top water is. Because I can't go into every turning pack myself, flying computers in outer space tell me what the top water is doing. I look at the top water near turning packs that get strong and see how it's different from the top water near those that get less strong. Top water that changes from warm to cool in a small area bothers a turning pack of up-going wet air, which then gets less strong. If we see these top water changes ahead of time, that might help us know what a turning pack will do before it gets close to land.

Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling.

Science.gov (United States)

van Kleef, Ellen; van Trijp, Hans; Paeps, Frederic; Fernández-Celemín, Laura

2008-02-01

In light of the emerging obesity pandemic, front-of-pack calories labels may be an important tool to assist consumers in making informed healthier food choices. However, there is little prior research to guide key decisions on whether caloric content should be expressed in absolute terms or relative to recommended daily intake, whether it should be expressed in per serving or per 100 g and whether the information should be further brought alive for consumers in terms of what the extra calorie intake implies in relation to activity levels. The present study aimed at providing more insight into consumers' appreciation of front-of-pack labelling of caloric content of food products and their specific preferences for alternative execution formats for such information in Europe. For this purpose, eight executions of front-of-pack calorie flags were designed and their appeal and information value were extensively discussed with consumers through qualitative research in four different countries (Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK). The results show that calories are well-understood and that participants were generally positive about front-of-pack flags, particularly when flags are uniform across products. The most liked flags are the simpler flags depicting only the number of calories per serving or per 100 g, while more complex flags including references to daily needs or exercise and the flag including a phrase referring to balanced lifestyle were least preferred. Some relevant differences between countries were observed. Although participants seem to be familiar with the notion of calories, they do not seem to fully understand how to apply them. From the results, managerial implications for the design and implementation of front-of-pack calorie labelling as well as important directions for future research are discussed.

Consumer preferences for front-of-pack calories labelling

Science.gov (United States)

van Kleef, Ellen; van Trijp, Hans; Paeps, Frederic; Fernández-Celemín, Laura

2008-01-01

Objective In light of the emerging obesity pandemic, front-of-pack calories labels may be an important tool to assist consumers in making informed healthier food choices. However, there is little prior research to guide key decisions on whether caloric content should be expressed in absolute terms or relative to recommended daily intake, whether it should be expressed in per serving or per 100 g and whether the information should be further brought alive for consumers in terms of what the extra calorie intake implies in relation to activity levels. The present study aimed at providing more insight into consumers’ appreciation of front-of-pack labelling of caloric content of food products and their specific preferences for alternative execution formats for such information in Europe. Design For this purpose, eight executions of front-of-pack calorie flags were designed and their appeal and information value were extensively discussed with consumers through qualitative research in four different countries (Germany, The Netherlands, France and the UK). Results The results show that calories are well-understood and that participants were generally positive about front-of-pack flags, particularly when flags are uniform across products. The most liked flags are the simpler flags depicting only the number of calories per serving or per 100 g, while more complex flags including references to daily needs or exercise and the flag including a phrase referring to balanced lifestyle were least preferred. Some relevant differences between countries were observed. Although participants seem to be familiar with the notion of calories, they do not seem to fully understand how to apply them. Conclusion From the results, managerial implications for the design and implementation of front-of-pack calorie labelling as well as important directions for future research are discussed. PMID:17601362

Centrifugal sedimentation for selectively packing channels with silica microbeads in three-dimensional micro/nanofluidic devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Maojun; Bohn, Paul W; Sweedler, Jonathan V

2009-03-01

Incorporation of nanofluidic elements into microfluidic channels is one approach for adding filtration and partition functionality to planar microfluidic devices, as well as providing enhanced biomolecular separations. Here we introduce a strategy to pack microfluidic channels with silica nanoparticles and microbeads, thereby indirectly producing functional nanostructures; the method allows selected channels to be packed, here demonstrated so that a separation channel is packed while keeping an injection channel unpacked. A nanocapillary array membrane is integrated between two patterned microfluidic channels that cross each other in vertically separated layers. The membrane serves both as a frit for bead packing and as a fluid communication conduit between microfluidic channels. Centrifugal force-assisted sedimentation is then used to selectively pack the microfluidic channels using an aqueous silica bead suspension loaded into the appropriate inlet reservoirs. This packing approach may be used to simultaneously pack multiple channels with silica microbeads having different sizes and surface properties. The chip design and packing method introduced here are suitable for packing silica particles in sizes ranging from nanometers to micrometers and allow rapid (approximately 10 min) packing with high quality. The liquid/analyte transport characteristics of these packed micro/nanofluidic devices have potential utility in a wide range of applications, including electroosmotic pumping, liquid chromatographic separations, and electrochromatography.

The influence of salinity of fly ash mixtures on energy looses during flow in pipelines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

И. Собота

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In Polish mining for backfilling the fly ash mixtures are used. Last time for fly ash mixtures preparation the saline water from mine have been used, to thanks to that the saline water missing the surface waters. Usage of saline water for fly ash mixture preparation causes the changes in energy looses during the flow in pipelines. The paper presents the results of energy looses measurement іn laboratory pipeline installation with diameter D =50 mm. The measurements have been performed for different fly ash – saline water proportions. Tested fly-ash from Siersza power plant has typical properties (grain size distribution curve, density for ashes used for backfilling mixtures preparation. Increase of fluid (water salinity modifies fluid viscosity. Brine in comparison with pure water retains as liquid with increased viscosity. Increased viscosity can influence on the mixture ash-brine properties for example causing flocculation effect. Also changeable salinity has an influence on proper determination of resistance (frictional coefficient λ during mixtures flow in pipelines because it depends on Reynolds number which depends on liquid viscosity. Increase of fly-ash concentrations in fly-ash – brine mixtures cause increase of energy losses.

Heterogeneous packing and hydraulic stability of cube and cubipod armor units

OpenAIRE

GÓMEZ-MARTÍN, M. ESTHER; Medina, Josep R.

2014-01-01

This paper describes the heterogeneous packing (HEP) failure mode of breakwater armor. HEP reduces packing density in the armor layer near and above the mean water level and increases packing density below it. With HEP, armor units may move in the armor layer, although they are not actually extracted from it. Thus, when HEP occurs, armor-layer porosity is not constant, and measurements obtained with conventional methods may underestimate armor damage. In this paper, the Virtual Net method ...

Material selection and assembly method of battery pack for compact electric vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Lewchalermwong, N.; Masomtob, M.; Lailuck, V.; Charoenphonphanich, C.

2018-01-01

Battery packs become the key component in electric vehicles (EVs). The main costs of which are battery cells and assembling processes. The battery cell is indeed priced from battery manufacturers while the assembling cost is dependent on battery pack designs. Battery pack designers need overall cost as cheap as possible, but it still requires high performance and more safety. Material selection and assembly method as well as component design are very important to determine the cost-effectiveness of battery modules and battery packs. Therefore, this work presents Decision Matrix, which can aid in the decision-making process of component materials and assembly methods for a battery module design and a battery pack design. The aim of this study is to take the advantage of incorporating Architecture Analysis method into decision matrix methods by capturing best practices for conducting design architecture analysis in full account of key design components critical to ensure efficient and effective development of the designs. The methodology also considers the impacts of choice-alternatives along multiple dimensions. Various alternatives for materials and assembly techniques of battery pack are evaluated, and some sample costs are presented. Due to many components in the battery pack, only seven components which are positive busbar and Z busbar are represented in this paper for using decision matrix methods.

Airflow Resistance of Loose-Fill Mineral Fiber Insulations in Retrofit Applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schumacher, C. J. [Building Science Labs., Waterloo, ON (Canada); Fox, M. J. [Building Science Labs., Waterloo, ON (Canada); Lstiburek, J. [Building Science Corporation, Westford, MA (United States)

2015-02-01

This report expands on Building America Report 1109 by applying the experimental apparatus and test method to dense-pack retrofit applications using mineral fiber insulation materials. Three (3) fiber glass insulation materials and one (1) stone wool insulation material were tested, and the results compared to the cellulose results from the previous study.

The Use of Sports Imagery and Terminology on Cigarette Packs from Fourteen Countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kleb, Cerise; Welding, Kevin; Cohen, Joanna E; Smith, Katherine C

2018-04-16

Tobacco companies have historically associated their products with sports through event sponsorship and sports-themed advertising campaigns. Such linkages serve to enhance brand image by connecting cigarette brands to ideals associated with sports such as strength, individual accomplishment, and a healthy body. Public health policy progress has created restrictions for tobacco sponsorship and restricted traditional advertising avenues for tobacco products. Nonetheless, the pack itself remains as a mechanism by which to link cigarettes to sports and sporting prowess. Thus, we analyze depictions of sport and references to sports terminology on cigarette packs. To describe the sports-related marketing appeals on cigarette packages purchased in 14 low and middle income countries. In 2013, we collected and coded cigarette packs from 14 low and middle income countries and we returned to four of these countries for further data collection in 2015. Packs from both years were assessed for sports-related appeals (text and imagery) and sports-related brand names to identify sports appeals on cigarette packs. The analysis yielded 36 brands with distinct depictions of sport or sporting terminology on the pack. Text-based appeals were found on 24 of the 36 distinct "sports appeal" packs (e.g., "Polo," "Olympic," "Win," "iScore"). Sporting imagery was present on 22 packs (e.g., soccer ball, race car, wrestling match, trophy). The pack is a powerful medium through which tobacco companies continue to associate their products with idealized concepts associated with sports. These are potentially problematic associations that could be restricted through plain and standardized packaging policy initiatives.

Effectiveness of a nursing intervention during transfusion of packed red cells on the patient´s anxiety state receiver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jesús Fernando Martín Díaz

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The transfusion provokes anxiety and this one compromises the improvement of the patient. Objetive: The study aims to evaluate whether a nursing intervention protocol-through oral and written submissions previous to the transfusion of packed red blood cells decreases anxiety levels in pretransfusion and postransfusion recipient patients through a randomized clinical trial. Methodology: Be conducted in patients over 18 years admitted in the Hospitable complex of Toledo, prescription transfusion of packed red blood cells. For an alpha error 0.05, beta error of 0.90, with an expected effect of 10%, need 70 subjects in each group. The allocation to the intervention group and the control group was randomly made simple. The performance in the normal control group will be done in the hospital, patients receiving transfusion. As dependent variables evaluated:- The anxiety level pretransfusion and postransfusion. Using the questionnaire was validated by Spielberger (STAI. - The level of satisfaction perceived by the user on the information received prior to transfusion. By design developed for this study. Also recorded other control variables: sex, age, socio-cultural level, marital status, reason for transfusion, or no knowledge of the prescription of transfusion, incidents during transfusion.Scientific and sociosanitary relevancy of the study: The results will allow to know if the transfusion increases the anxiety and if an educational intervention nurse can diminish it; and to do the intervention before every transfusion.

Radiative-Transfer Modeling of Spectra of Densely Packed Particulate Media

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, G.; Mishchenko, M. I.; Glotch, T. D.

2017-12-01

Remote sensing measurements over a wide range of wavelengths from both ground- and space-based platforms have provided a wealth of data regarding the surfaces and atmospheres of various solar system bodies. With proper interpretations, important properties, such as composition and particle size, can be inferred. However, proper interpretation of such datasets can often be difficult, especially for densely packed particulate media with particle sizes on the order of wavelength of light being used for remote sensing. Radiative transfer theory has often been applied to the study of densely packed particulate media like planetary regoliths and snow, but with difficulty, and here we continue to investigate radiative transfer modeling of spectra of densely packed media. We use the superposition T-matrix method to compute scattering properties of clusters of particles and capture the near-field effects important for dense packing. Then, the scattering parameters from the T-matrix computations are modified with the static structure factor correction, accounting for the dense packing of the clusters themselves. Using these corrected scattering parameters, reflectance (or emissivity via Kirchhoff's Law) is computed with the method of invariance imbedding solution to the radiative transfer equation. For this work we modeled the emissivity spectrum of the 3.3 µm particle size fraction of enstatite, representing some common mineralogical and particle size components of regoliths, in the mid-infrared wavelengths (5 - 50 µm). The modeled spectrum from the T-matrix method with static structure factor correction using moderate packing densities (filling factors of 0.1 - 0.2) produced better fits to the laboratory measurement of corresponding spectrum than the spectrum modeled by the equivalent method without static structure factor correction. Future work will test the method of the superposition T-matrix and static structure factor correction combination for larger particles

Shelf life of loose flowers of rose cv. Gruss an Teplitz as influenced by 60Co-gamma irradiation followed by dry cool storage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vinod Kumar; Bhattacharjee, S.K.; Sainudhin, Sumy; Chatterjee, S.R.

2003-01-01

The two different experiments were carried out firstly on effect of different doses of gamma irradiation on rose loose flowers and secondly on effect of two selected doses of gamma irradiation and dry cool storage for different durations. Different doses of gamma irradiation viz.. 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 krad were employed to freshly harvested half opened flower buds of rose cv. Gruss an Teplitz. It has been recorded that gamma irradiation doses. viz., 2.5 and 5 krad were found suitable in enhancing shelf life of rose loose flowers. Among these two doses, 2.5 krad was found better where 100, 75 and 15 per cent flowers remained fresh after 24, 48 and 72 hours respectively. In rose cv. Gruss an Teplitz loose flowers after treatment with 2.5 krad and storing the same for 1 day at 4 deg C it resulted in 100, 95, 75, 40 and 10 per cent in flowers in fresh state after 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours, respectively, by keeping the flowers at ambient conditions. In control (fresh flowers) all flowers were found wilted up to 96 hours when kept at ambient conditions. It is concluded that rose cv. Gruss an Teplitz loose flowers after treatment with gamma irradiation of 2.5 krad can be further dry cool stored up to 120 hours at 4 deg C without affecting their longevity. (author)

New raw materials improve packing sealing efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Igel, B.; McKeague, L.

2012-01-01

End-users and OEM's using or manufacturing on/off and control valves expect a permanent and effective increase in service life together with an increased sealing capability while at the same time minimizing maintenance concerns. Developing materials which provide consistency and repeatability are essential characteristics to optimizing valve performance. “New Generation” materials and yarn allow us to meet this growing demand while complying with the requirements related to chemical purity and an increased level of safety to both plant workers and equipment in the nuclear environment. Through R&D initiatives and developments in new and improved raw materials; a new mechanical packing generation which optimizes friction coefficients and extended life cycle has been introduced to the industry. Lower friction values drastically optimize actuator effort and size improving efficiency for stem operation with significant improvements in flow control of fluids. Combined with new and improved procedures (installation, torque levels and consolidation recommendations), this new packing generation has provided significant improvement in the mechanical behavior of packing materials (independent tests carried out in collaboration with AECL and CETIM) this has provided the opportunity to develop successful Valve Enhancement Programs which offer improved efficiency, valve operation and repeatability. These NEW generation yarns are available with or without wire reinforcement depending on specific operating parameters and conditions. The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate that new generation material(s). Which are available to the industry for AOV, MOV and Manual valves? - To highlight the steps taken in R&D and manufacturing contributing to the much improved yarns and finished packing products. - Comply and are designed to meet the stringent requirements in the nuclear industry - Simplify valve maintenance without risk to safety or performance - Increase service

On the perfect hexagonal packing of rods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Starostin, E L

2006-01-01

In most cases the hexagonal packing of fibrous structures or rods extremizes the energy of interaction between strands. If the strands are not straight, then it is still possible to form a perfect hexatic bundle. Conditions under which the perfect hexagonal packing of curved tubular structures may exist are formulated. Particular attention is given to closed or cycled arrangements of the rods like in the DNA toroids and spools. The closure or return constraints of the bundle result in an allowable group of automorphisms of the cross-sectional hexagonal lattice. The structure of this group is explored. Examples of open helical-like and closed toroidal-like bundles are presented. An expression for the elastic energy of a perfectly packed bundle of thin elastic rods is derived. The energy accounts for both the bending and torsional stiffnesses of the rods. It is shown that equilibria of the bundle correspond to solutions of a variational problem formulated for the curve representing the axis of the bundle. The functional involves a function of the squared curvature under the constraints on the total torsion and the length. The Euler-Lagrange equations are obtained in terms of curvature and torsion and due to the existence of the first integrals the problem is reduced to the quadrature. The three-dimensional shape of the bundle may be readily reconstructed by integration of the Ilyukhin-type equations in special cylindrical coordinates. The results are of universal nature and are applicable to various fibrous structures, in particular, to intramolecular liquid crystals formed by DNA condensed in toroids or packed inside the viral capsids

Interactions between two beta-sheets. Energetics of beta/beta packing in proteins.

Science.gov (United States)

Chou, K C; Némethy, G; Rumsey, S; Tuttle, R W; Scheraga, H A

1986-04-20

The analysis of the interactions between regularly folded segments of the polypeptide chain contributes to an understanding of the energetics of protein folding. Conformational energy-minimization calculations have been carried out to determine the favorable ways of packing two right-twisted beta-sheets. The packing of two five-stranded beta-sheets was investigated, with the strands having the composition CH3CO-(L-Ile)6-NHCH3 in one beta-sheet and CH3CO-(L-Val)6-NHCH3 in the other. Two distinct classes of low-energy packing arrangements were found. In the class with lowest energies, the strands of the two beta-sheets are aligned nearly parallel (or antiparallel) with each other, with a preference for a negative orientation angle, because this arrangement corresponds to the best complementary packing of the two twisted saddle-shaped beta-sheets. In the second class, with higher interaction energies, the strands of the two beta-sheets are oriented nearly perpendicular to each other. While the surfaces of the two beta-sheets are not complementary in this arrangement, there is good packing between the corner of one beta-sheet and the interior part of the surface of the other, resulting in a favorable energy of packing. Both classes correspond to frequently observed orientations of beta-sheets in proteins. In proteins, the second class of packing is usually observed when the two beta-sheets are covalently linked, i.e. when a polypeptide strand passes from one beta-sheet to the other, but we have shown here that a large contribution to the stabilization of this packing arrangement arises from noncovalent interactions.

Refractive effects in the scattering of loosely bound nuclei

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carstoiu, F.; Trache, L.; Tribble, R.E.; Gagliardi, C.A. [Texas A and M Univ., College Station, TX (United States). Cyclotron Inst; Carstoiu, F. [Laboratoire de Physique Corpusculaire, IN2P3-CNRS, ISMRA, Universite de Caen, 14 - Caen (France); Carstoiu, F. [National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Horia Hulubei, Bucharest-Magurele (Romania)

2004-07-01

A study of the interaction of the loosely bound nuclei {sup 6,7}Li at 9 and 19 MeV/nucleon with light targets has been undertaken. With the determination of unambiguous optical potentials in mind, elastic data for four projectile-target combinations and one neutron transfer reaction {sup 13}C({sup 7}Li,{sup 8}Li){sup 12}C have been measured over a large angular range. The kinematical regime encompasses a region where the mean field (optical potential) has a marked variation with mass and energy, but turns out to be sufficiently surface transparent to allow strong refractive effects to be manifested in elastic scattering data at intermediate angles. The identified exotic feature, a 'plateau' in the angular distributions at intermediate angles, is fully confirmed in four reaction channels and is interpreted as a pre-rainbow oscillation resulting from the interference of the barrier and internal barrier far-side scattering sub-amplitudes. (authors)

Experimental Study of a Pack of Supercapacitors Used in Electric Vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Mohamed Hedi, Chabchoub

2017-01-01

Electric vehicles have recently attracted research interest. An electric vehicle is composed of two energy sources, such as fuel cells and ultracapacitors, which are employed to provide, respectively, the steady-state and transient power demanded by the vehicle. A bidirectional DC-DC converter is needed to interface the ultracapacitor to a DC bus. The pack of ultracapacitor consists of many cells in series and possibly also in parallel. In this regard, this paper introduces a comparative study between two packs of supercapacitors. The first supercapacitor pack is composed of ten cells in series but the second supercapacitor pack is composed of five cells in series and two parallel circuits. Each cell is characterized by 2.5 V and 100 F. A number of practical tests are presented. PMID:28894785

Experimental Study of a Pack of Supercapacitors Used in Electric Vehicles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amari Mansour

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Electric vehicles have recently attracted research interest. An electric vehicle is composed of two energy sources, such as fuel cells and ultracapacitors, which are employed to provide, respectively, the steady-state and transient power demanded by the vehicle. A bidirectional DC-DC converter is needed to interface the ultracapacitor to a DC bus. The pack of ultracapacitor consists of many cells in series and possibly also in parallel. In this regard, this paper introduces a comparative study between two packs of supercapacitors. The first supercapacitor pack is composed of ten cells in series but the second supercapacitor pack is composed of five cells in series and two parallel circuits. Each cell is characterized by 2.5 V and 100 F. A number of practical tests are presented.

Experimental Study of a Pack of Supercapacitors Used in Electric Vehicles.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansour, Amari; Mohamed Hedi, Chabchoub; Faouzi, Bacha

2017-01-01

Electric vehicles have recently attracted research interest. An electric vehicle is composed of two energy sources, such as fuel cells and ultracapacitors, which are employed to provide, respectively, the steady-state and transient power demanded by the vehicle. A bidirectional DC-DC converter is needed to interface the ultracapacitor to a DC bus. The pack of ultracapacitor consists of many cells in series and possibly also in parallel. In this regard, this paper introduces a comparative study between two packs of supercapacitors. The first supercapacitor pack is composed of ten cells in series but the second supercapacitor pack is composed of five cells in series and two parallel circuits. Each cell is characterized by 2.5 V and 100 F. A number of practical tests are presented.

Viscoelastic gravel-pack carrier fluid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nehmer, W.L.

1988-01-01

The ability of a fluid to flow adequately into the formation during gravel-pack treatments is critical to achieving a good pack. Recent studies have indicated ''fish-eyes'' and/or ''microgels'' present in many polymer gelled carrier fluids will plug pore throats, leading to impaired leakoff and causing formation damage. Intensive manipulation of the polymer gelled fluid using shear and filter devices will help remove the particles, but it adds to the cost of the treatment in terms of equipment and manpower. Excessive shear will degrade the polymer leading to poor gravel suspension, while too little shear will cause filtration problems. A gelled carried fluid using a viscoelastic surfactant system has been found to leak off very efficiently to the formation, and cause no formation damage, without the use of shear/filter devices. Viscoelastic surfactant-base gelled fluids develop viscosity because of the association of surfactant moloecules into large rod-shaped aggregates. There is no hydration of polymer involved, so fish-eyes and microgels will not be formed in the viscoelastic fluid. A surfactant-base system having a yield point allows the gravel carrying properties to be much better than fluids gelled with conventional polymer systems (hydroxyethylcellulose [HEC]). For example, a gravel carried fluid gelled with 80 lb HEC/1,000 gal has a viscosity of about 400 cp at 170 sec/sup -1/; a viscoelastic surfactant-base system having only one-half the viscosity still flows into cores about four times more efficiently than the HEC-base fluid. The rheology, leakoff, formation damage and mixing properties of a viscoelastic, surfactant-base, gravel-pack carrier fluid are discussed

The mechanical behaviour of packed particulates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutton, R.

1998-01-01

Within the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management program, the central concept is to package used fuel in containers that would be deposited in an underground vault in a plutonic rock formation. To provide internal mechanical support for the container, the reference design specifies it to be filled with a matrix of compacted particulate material (called 'packed particulate'), such as quartz sand granules. The focus of this report is on the mechanical properties of the packed-particulate material, based on information drawn from the extant literature. We first consider the packing density of particulate matrices to minimize the remnant porosity and maximize mechanical stability under conditions of external pressure. Practical methods, involving vibratory packing, are reviewed and recommendations made to select techniques to achieve optimum packing density. The behaviour of particulates under compressive loading has been of interest to the powder metallurgy industry (i.e., the manufacture of products from pressed/sintered metal and ceramic powders) since the early decades of this century. We review the evidence showing that in short timescales, stress induced compaction occurs by particle shuffling and rearrangement, elastic distortion, plastic yielding and microfracturing. Analytical expressions are available to describe these processes in a semiquantitative fashion. Time-dependent compaction, mainly via creep mechanisms, is more complex. Much of the theoretical and experimental information is confined to higher temperatures (> 500 degrees C), where deformation rates are more rapid. Thus, for the relatively low ambient temperatures of the waste container (∼100 degrees C), we require analytical techniques to extrapolate the collective particulate creep behaviour. This is largely accomplished by employing current theories of creep deformation, particularly in the form of Deformation Mechanism Maps, which allow estimation of creep rates over a wide range of stress

The mechanical behaviour of packed particulates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutton, R

1998-01-01

Within the Canadian Nuclear Fuel Waste Management program, the central concept is to package used fuel in containers that would be deposited in an underground vault in a plutonic rock formation. To provide internal mechanical support for the container, the reference design specifies it to be filled with a matrix of compacted particulate material (called 'packed particulate'), such as quartz sand granules. The focus of this report is on the mechanical properties of the packed-particulate material, based on information drawn from the extant literature. We first consider the packing density of particulate matrices to minimize the remnant porosity and maximize mechanical stability under conditions of external pressure. Practical methods, involving vibratory packing, are reviewed and recommendations made to select techniques to achieve optimum packing density. The behaviour of particulates under compressive loading has been of interest to the powder metallurgy industry (i.e., the manufacture of products from pressed/sintered metal and ceramic powders) since the early decades of this century. We review the evidence showing that in short timescales, stress induced compaction occurs by particle shuffling and rearrangement, elastic distortion, plastic yielding and microfracturing. Analytical expressions are available to describe these processes in a semiquantitative fashion. Time-dependent compaction, mainly via creep mechanisms, is more complex. Much of the theoretical and experimental information is confined to higher temperatures (> 500 degrees C), where deformation rates are more rapid. Thus, for the relatively low ambient temperatures of the waste container ({approx}100 degrees C), we require analytical techniques to extrapolate the collective particulate creep behaviour. This is largely accomplished by employing current theories of creep deformation, particularly in the form of Deformation Mechanism Maps, which allow estimation of creep rates over a wide

An improved theoretical electrochemical-thermal modelling of lithium-ion battery packs in electric vehicles

Science.gov (United States)

Amiribavandpour, Parisa; Shen, Weixiang; Mu, Daobin; Kapoor, Ajay

2015-06-01

A theoretical electrochemical thermal model combined with a thermal resistive network is proposed to investigate thermal behaviours of a battery pack. The combined model is used to study heat generation and heat dissipation as well as their influences on the temperatures of the battery pack with and without a fan under constant current discharge and variable current discharge based on electric vehicle (EV) driving cycles. The comparison results indicate that the proposed model improves the accuracy in the temperature predication of the battery pack by 2.6 times. Furthermore, a large battery pack with four of the investigated battery packs in series is simulated in the presence of different ambient temperatures. The simulation results show that the temperature of the large battery pack at the end of EV driving cycles can reach to 50 °C or 60 °C in high ambient temperatures. Therefore, thermal management system in EVs is required to maintain the battery pack within the safe temperature range.

Smaller Cigarette Pack as a Commitment to Smoke Less? Insights from Behavioral Economics

Science.gov (United States)

Marti, Joachim; Sindelar, Jody

2015-01-01

Cigarettes are commonly sold in packs of 20 units and therefore little is known about the potential impact of pack size on consumption. Using insights from behavioral economics, we suggest that cigarette packs smaller than the standard size may help some smokers cut back and/or quit, consistent with their long-term goals. Results from an online hypothetical purchase experiment conducted in a sample of US smokers reveal that over a third of smokers are willing to pay a price premium to purchase in smaller quantities. Further, a desire to quit smoking and high self-control is associated with preference for a smaller pack. While we provide some preliminary evidence that smaller packs may be beneficial to certain types of smokers, further research should be conducted to assess whether the smaller pack size should be considered in the arsenal of tobacco control policies to help current smokers quit (JEL: I18; I12; D12) PMID:26356844

A novel BEV concept based on fixed and swappable li-ion battery packs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barreras, Jorge Varela; Pinto, C.; de Castro, R.

2015-01-01

-based ownership models to distribute the cost of the large battery pack over the vehicle lifetime. A methodology is proposed for the analysis and evaluation of the proposed concept in comparison with a direct owned non swappable single pack BEV, proving that significant improvements on city fuel economy (up to 20......In this paper a novel battery electric vehicle (BEV) concept based on a small fixed and a big swappable li-ion battery pack is proposed in order to achieve: longer range, lower initial purchase price and lower energy consumption at short ranges. For short ranges the BEV is only powered...... by the relatively small fixed battery pack, without the large swappable battery pack. In this way the mass of the vehicle is reduced and therefore the energy consumed per unit distance is improved. For higher ranges the BEV is powered by both battery packs. This concept allows the introduction of subscription...

Smaller Cigarette Pack as a Commitment to Smoke Less? Insights from Behavioral Economics.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joachim Marti

Full Text Available Cigarettes are commonly sold in packs of 20 units and therefore little is known about the potential impact of pack size on consumption. Using insights from behavioral economics, we suggest that cigarette packs smaller than the standard size may help some smokers cut back and/or quit, consistent with their long-term goals. Results from an online hypothetical purchase experiment conducted in a sample of US smokers reveal that over a third of smokers are willing to pay a price premium to purchase in smaller quantities. Further, a desire to quit smoking and high self-control is associated with preference for a smaller pack. While we provide some preliminary evidence that smaller packs may be beneficial to certain types of smokers, further research should be conducted to assess whether the smaller pack size should be considered in the arsenal of tobacco control policies to help current smokers quit (JEL: I18; I12; D12.

Used fuel packing plant for CANDU fuel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Menzies, I.; Thayer, B.; Bains, N., E-mail: imenzies@atsautomation.com [ATS Automation, Cambridge, ON (Canada); Murchison, A., E-mail: amurchison@nwmo.ca [NWMO, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2015-07-01

Large forgings have been selected to containerize Light Water Reactor used nuclear fuel. CANDU fuel, which is significantly smaller in size, allows novel approaches for containerization. For example, by utilizing commercially available extruded ASME pipe a conceptual design of a Used Fuel Packing Plant for containerization of used CANDU fuel in a long lived metallic container has been developed. The design adopts a modular approach with multiple independent work cells to transfer and containerize the used fuel. Based on current technologies and concepts from proven industrial systems, the Used Fuel Packing Plant can assemble twelve used fuel containers per day considering conservative levels of process availability. (author)

Visual nesting system for irregular cutting-stock problem based on rubber band packing algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaoping Liao

2016-05-01

Full Text Available This article deals with the packing problem of irregular items allocated into a rectangular sheet to minimize the waste. Conventional solution is not visual during the packing process. It obtains a reasonable and relatively satisfactory solution between the nesting time and nesting solution. This article adopts a physical method that uses rubber band packing algorithm to simulate a rubber band wrapping those packing irregular items. The simulation shows a visual and fast packing process. The resultant rubber band force is applied in the packing items to translate, rotate, and slide them to make the area decrease and obtain a high packing density. An improved analogy QuickHull algorithm is presented to obtain extreme points of rubber band convex hull. An adaptive module could set a variable rubber band force and a variable time step to make a proper convergence and no intersection. A quick convex decomposition method is used to solve the problem of concave polygon. A plural vector expression approach is adopted to calculate the resultant vector of the rubber band force. Several cases are compared with the benchmark problems to prove rubber band packing algorithm performance.

Packing and deploying Soft Origami to and from cylindrical volumes with application to automotive airbags.

Science.gov (United States)

Bruton, Jared T; Nelson, Todd G; Zimmerman, Trent K; Fernelius, Janette D; Magleby, Spencer P; Howell, Larry L

2016-09-01

Packing soft-sheet materials of approximately zero bending stiffness using Soft Origami (origami patterns applied to soft-sheet materials) into cylindrical volumes and their deployment via mechanisms or internal pressure (inflation) is of interest in fields including automobile airbags, deployable heart stents, inflatable space habitats, and dirigible and parachute packing. This paper explores twofold patterns, the 'flasher' and the 'inverted-cone fold', for packing soft-sheet materials into cylindrical volumes. Two initial packing methods and mechanisms are examined for each of the flasher and inverted-cone fold patterns. An application to driver's side automobile airbags is performed, and deployment tests are completed to compare the influence of packing method and origami pattern on deployment performance. Following deployment tests, two additional packing methods for the inverted-cone fold pattern are explored and applied to automobile airbags. It is shown that modifying the packing method (using different methods to impose the same base pattern on the soft-sheet material) can lead to different deployment performance. In total, two origami patterns and six packing methods are examined, and the benefits of using Soft Origami patterns and packing methods are discussed. Soft Origami is presented as a viable method for efficiently packing soft-sheet materials into cylindrical volumes.

Valve stem packing seal test results for primary heat transport system conditions in Canadian nuclear generating stations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dixon, D.F.; Farrell, J.M.; Coutinho, R.F.

1978-06-01

Valve stem packing tests were done to obtain performance data on packing already in CANDU-PHW reactor service and on alternative packings. Most of the tests were replicated. Results are presented for ten packings tested under two stem cycle modes; leakage, packing consolidation and packing friction were the main responses. Packing tests were performed with water at close to CANDU-PHW reactor primary heat transport (PHT) system conditions (288 deg C and 10 MPa), but without ionizing radiation. The test rigs had rising, rotating stems. Stuffing box dimensions were typical of a standard Velan valve; packings were spring loaded to control applied packing stress

FY-87 packing fabrication techniques (commercial waste form) results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Werry, E.V.; Gates, T.E.; Cabbage, K.S.; Eklund, J.D.

1988-04-01

This report covers the investigation of fabrication techniques associated with the development of suitable materials and methods to provide a prefabricated packing for waste packages for the Basalt Waste Isolation Project (BWIP). The principal functions of the packing are to minimize container corrosion during the 300 to 1000 years following repository closure and provide long-term control of the release of radionuclides from the waste package. The investigative work, discussed in this report, was specifically conceived to develop the design criteria for production of full-scale prototypical packing rings. The investigative work included the preparation of procedures, the preparation of fabrication materials, physical properties, and the determination of the engineering properties. The principal activities were the preparation of the materials and the determination of the physical properties. 21 refs., 20 figs., 14 tabs

Experimental performance evaluation of sintered Gd spheres packed beds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tura, A.; Nielsen, Klaus K.; Van Nong, Ngo

2016-01-01

Research in magnetic refrigeration heavily relies on the use of packed spheres in regenerators, however little investigation to verify that such non-monolithic arrangements guarantee a sufficiently constrained structure has yet been performed. This work presents a preliminary comparison of the pe......Research in magnetic refrigeration heavily relies on the use of packed spheres in regenerators, however little investigation to verify that such non-monolithic arrangements guarantee a sufficiently constrained structure has yet been performed. This work presents a preliminary comparison...... of the performance of AMRs consisting of Gd spheres with diameters ranging from 450-550 microns partially sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) to similar spheres, sorted in the same size range and from the same batch, but merely packed. Pressure drop is compared at uniform temperature and at a range of heat...

Potential environmental effects of pack stock on meadow ecosystems of the Sierra Nevada, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Ostoja, Steven M.; Brooks, Matthew L.; Moore, Peggy E.; Berlow, Eric L.; Robert Blank,; Roche, Jim; Chase, Jennifer T.; Sylvia Haultain,

2014-01-01

Pack and saddle stock, including, but not limited to domesticated horses, mules, and burros, are used to support commercial, private and administrative activities in the Sierra Nevada. The use of pack stock has become a contentious and litigious issue for land management agencies in the region inter alia due to concerns over effects on the environment. The potential environmental effects of pack stock on Sierra Nevada meadow ecosystems are reviewed and it is concluded that the use of pack stock has the potential to influence the following: (1) water nutrient dynamics, sedimentation, temperature, and microbial pathogen content; (2) soil chemistry, nutrient cycling, soil compaction and hydrology; (3) plant individuals, populations and community dynamics, non-native invasive species, and encroachment of woody species; and (4) wildlife individuals, populations and communities. It is considered from currently available information that management objectives of pack stock should include the following: minimise bare ground, maximise plant cover, maintain species composition of native plants, minimise trampling, especially on wet soils and stream banks, and minimise direct urination and defecation by pack stock into water. However, incomplete documentation of patterns of pack stock use and limited past research limits current understanding of the effects of pack stock, especially their effects on water, soils and wildlife. To improve management of pack stock in this region, research is needed on linking measurable monitoring variables (e.g. plant cover) with environmental relevancy (e.g. soil erosion processes, wildlife habitat use), and identifying specific environmental thresholds of degradation along gradients of pack stock use in Sierra Nevada meadows.

Coupled electrochemical thermal modelling of a novel Li-ion battery pack thermal management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basu, Suman; Hariharan, Krishnan S.; Kolake, Subramanya Mayya; Song, Taewon; Sohn, Dong Kee; Yeo, Taejung