GLITTER: new lidar technique for cloud-base altimetry. Description and initial aircraft measurements

Knowledge of cloud-base heights is important for climate studies, weather, and military operations. Conventional lidar methods monitor cloud depths by direct transmission of the beam through the cloud and sensing the backscattered returns. These techniques are limited by severe optical scattering by cloud particles to thickness <0.5 km. We have conceived of a novel lidar method measurement for thick-cloud-base altimetry from above that is not restricted by cloud scattering. The new method, known as GLITTER (an acronym for glimpses of the lidar images through the empty regions), relies on cloud porosity and diffuse reflection from land features to sense cloud bottoms. An aircraft GLITTER lidar measured cloud bases at 3.7- and 4.5-km altitudes. These initial results represent a proof-of-principle demonstration of the new lidar method.     

Characterization and bioactive properties of zirconia based polymeric hybrid for orthopedic applications

Zirconia is a transition metal oxide with current applications to orthopedic implants. It has been shown to up-regulate specific genes involved in bio-integration and injury repair. This study examines the effects of zirconia and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) hybrids on the proliferation and viability of human primary osteoblast and fibroblast cells. In this study, zirconia–PDMS hybrid coatings were synthesized using a modified sol gel process. The hybrid material was characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and contact angle analysis. This study demonstrates that Zr–PMDS surface materials display hydrophobic surface properties coupled with a preferential deposition of polymer near the surface. Primary osteoblast and fibroblast proliferation and viability on hybrid coated surfaces were evaluated via a rapid screening methodology using WST-1 and calcein AM assays. The cells were seed at 5,000 cells per well in 96-well plates coated with various composition of Zr–PDMS hybrids. The results showed increasing cell proliferation with increasing zirconia concentration, which peaked at 90 % v/v zirconia. Proliferation of osteoblasts and fibroblasts displayed similar trends on the hybrid material, although osteoblasts displayed a bi-phasic dose response by the calcein AM assay. The results of this current study show that Zr–PDMS may be used to influence tissue–implant integration, supporting the use of the hybrid as a promising coating for orthopedic trauma implants.     

Time-averaged characteristics of a reacting fuel jet in vitiated cross-flow

This paper describes an experimental study of reacting jets in a high-temperature (1775 K) vitiated crossflow at 6 atm. We present an extensive data set based on high speed chemiluminescence imaging and exhaust gas sampling showing the characteristics of the time-averaged trajectory, width of the flame, flame standoff (or ignition) location, and NO_x emissions over a momentum flux ratio range of 0.75 < J < 240. Key observations are: (1) Depending upon ignition times, reaction can initiate uniformly around the jet, initiate on the leeward side of the jet and spread around to the windward side farther downstream, or initiate further downstream. (2) The time-averaged trajectory generally follows nonreacting trajectories, but penetrates further in the far-field than for what would be expected of a nonreacting jet. (3) The width of heat release zone increases monotonically with downstream location, J, and flame flapping amplitude, but seems to be dominated by the size of the counter-rotating vortex pair. (4) The measured ignition locations were of the same order of magnitude as values based on calculated ignition time scales and mean jet exit velocities, but with some additional variability. (5) The incremental NO_x emissions were controlled primarily by the global temperature rise associated with burning the jet fuel (for the fixed crossflow conditions studied here), and the NO_x emissions increased roughly linearly with the temperature rise.     

美国既有建筑物小坡度屋面节能改造效益与环境分析

本文介绍了为解决美国小坡度屋面既有建筑节能问题，拜耳材料科技在美国所进行的一项研究及其方法与结果分析。这项研究主要内容包括：使用聚异氰脲酸酯板材为保温隔热材料，每隔20～30年定期更换一次既有建筑物的小坡度屋面，并选取美国能源署（DOE）提供的不同气候带的10种建筑物模型，运用EnergyPlus软件进行小坡度屋面节能改造后的节能效益与环境影响分析。最终得出了这种屋面节能改造将产生巨大的经济效益及大幅减少与建筑采暖与制冷相关的温室气体排放的结论。     

粉末冶金高性能含Mn钢的应用

在锻钢与粉末冶金钢中,用锰进行合金化可提供了良好的淬透性与成本可行性.最近介绍的ANCORBOND(R)FLM合金将Mn的好处和适度Mo的含量相结合,以生产可取代含Ni/Cu混合型合金钢的替代品.这些含Mn钢的良好淬透性,使其成为可用于制造链轮的待选材料.因为使零件具有良好的耐磨性,是形成马氏体所必须的.本文评估了这些...     

Current Information: Literature Surveys

Abstract

In eighteenth-century France, François Cointeraux was as an advocate of pisé, a provincial technique that rammed pure earth into artificial stones. Economical and sturdy, pisé could be used for a variety of rural constructions, ranging from sheds to silos. To share this knowledge, Cointeraux founded the “School of Agritecture,” which combined agriculture (“agri-”) with architecture (“-tecture”), and taught students how to work the land for food and shelter. Despite its practical benefits, the hybrid curriculum was not adopted elsewhere, for its agrarian values ultimately proved incompatible with the interests of industrial capitalism.     

The effect of high hydrostatic pressure,sodium nitrite and salt concentration on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes on RTE ham and turkey

Growth of Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated for up to 182 days after inoculation on ready-to-eat (RTE) sliced ham and turkey breast formulated with sodium nitrite (0 or 200 ppm), sodium chloride (1.8% or 2.4%), and treated (no treatment or 600 MPa) with high hydrostatic pressure (HHP). HHP at 600 MPa for 3 min resulted in a 3.85–4.35 log CFU/g reduction in L. monocytogenes. With formulations at similar proximate analyses, one of the evaluation days (day 21) without HHP showed significantly greater growth of L. monocytogenes in ham than in turkey breast, but there were no significant differences on other evaluation days or with HHP. There were no differences in growth of L. monocytogenes due to sodium chloride level. Sodium nitrite provided a small, but significant inhibition of L. monocytogenes without HHP, but addition of sodium nitrite did not significantly affect growth of L. monocytogenes with use of HHP.     

Effects of high hydrostatic pressure and varying concentrations of sodium nitrite from traditional and vegetable-based sources on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat (RTE) sliced ham

The objective of this study was to determine the effect the source of added nitrite and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) had on the growth of Listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat (RTE) sliced ham. Use of 600 MPa HHP for 3 min resulted in an immediate 3.9–4.3 log CFU/g reduction in L. monocytogenes numbers, while use of 400 MPa HHP (3 min) provided less than 1 log CFU/g reduction. With the 600 MPa HHP treatment, sliced ham with a conventional concentration of sodium nitrite (200 ppm) was not different in L. monocytogenes growth from use with 50 or 100 ppm of sodium nitrite in pre-converted celery powder. Instrumental color values as well as residual nitrite and residual nitrate concentrations for cured (sodium nitrite and nitrite from celery powder) and uncured ham formulations are discussed.     

Experiments and modeling of propane combustion with vitiation

The chemical species composition of a vitiated oxidizer stream can significantly affect the combustion processes that occur in many propulsion and power generation systems. Experiments were performed to investigate the chemical kinetic effects of vitiation on ignition and flame propagation of hydrocarbon fuels using propane. Atmospheric-pressure flow reactor experiments were performed to investigate the effect of NO_x on propane ignition delay time at varying O₂ levels (14–21 mol%) and varying equivalence ratios (0.5–1.5) with reactor temperatures of 875 K and 917 K. Laminar flame speed measurements were obtained using a Bunsen burner facility to investigate the effect of CO₂ dilution on flame propagation at an inlet temperature of 650 K. Experimental and modeling results show that small amounts of NO can significantly reduce the ignition delay time of propane in the low- and intermediate-temperature regimes. For example, 755 ppmv NOx in the vitiated stream reduced the ignition delay time of a stoichiometric propane/air mixture by 75% at 875 K. Chemical kinetic modeling shows that H-atom abstraction reaction of the fuel molecule by NO₂ plays a critical role in promoting ignition in conjunction with reactions between NO and less reactive radicals such as HO₂ and CH₃O₂ at low and intermediate temperatures. Experimental results show that the presence of 10 mol% CO₂ in the vitiated air reduces the peak laminar flame speed by up to a factor of two. Chemical kinetic effects of CO₂ contribute to the reduction in flame speed by suppressing the formation of OH radicals in addition to the lower flame temperature caused by dilution. Overall, the detailed chemical kinetic mechanism developed in the current work predicts the chemical kinetic effects of vitiated species, namely NO_x and CO₂, on propane combustion reasonably well. Moreover, the reaction kinetic scheme also predicts the negative temperature coefficient (NTC) behavior of propane during low-temperature oxidation.     

Group characterization of impact-induced,in vivo human brain kinematics

Brain movement during an impact can elicit a traumatic brain injury, but tissue kinematics vary from person to person and knowledge regarding this variability is limited. This study examines spatio-temporal brain–skull displacement and brain tissue deformation across groups of subjects during a mild impact in vivo. The heads of two groups of participants were imaged while subjected to a mild (less than 350 rad s⁻²) impact during neck extension (NE, n = 10) and neck rotation (NR, n = 9). A kinematic atlas of displacement and strain fields averaged across all participants was constructed and compared against individual participant data. The atlas-derived mean displacement magnitude was 0.26 ± 0.13 mm for NE and 0.40 ± 0.26 mm for NR, which is comparable to the displacement magnitudes from individual participants. The strain tensor from the atlas displacement field exhibited maximum shear strain (MSS) of 0.011 ± 0.006 for NE and 0.017 ± 0.009 for NR and was lower than the individual MSS averaged across participants. The atlas illustrates common patterns, containing some blurring but visible relationships between anatomy and kinematics. Conversely, the direction of the impact, brain size, and fluid motion appear to underlie kinematic variability. These findings demonstrate the biomechanical roles of key anatomical features and illustrate common features of brain response for model evaluation.