Design and synthesis of organochalcogen (Se or Te) based multifunctional derivatives: structural determination and dynamic behavior of 2-chloro-4,6-bis(phenylselenoethylamino)-1,3,5-triazines

A novel class of multifunctional and multinucleate chalcogen (selenium and tellurium) containing derivatives (1-10) has been developed based on sequential chloride substitution of 2,4,6-trichloro-1,3,5-triazine with chalcogen-bearing amines. The structure of compound 1 has been determined in the solid state by X-ray crystallography.     

Design and characterization of GRC-1: A soil for lunar terramechanics testing in Earth-ambient conditions

Earth experiments must be carried out on terrain that deforms similarly to the lunar terrain to assess the tractive performances of lunar vehicles. Most notably, terrain compaction and shear response underneath the lunar vehicle wheels must represent that of the Moon. This paper discusses the development of a new lunar soil simulant, Glenn Research Center lunar soil simulant #1 (GRC-1), which meets this need. A semi-empirical design approach was followed in which the soil was created by mixing readily available manufactured sands to a particle size distribution similar to the coarse fraction of lunar soil. By varying terrain density, a broad range of in situ cone penetration measurements collected by the Apollo mission astronauts can be replicated. An extensive set of characterization data is provided in this article to facilitate the use of this material. For reference, the index and geotechnical properties of GRC-1 are compared to the lunar soil and existing lunar soil simulants.     

Vibration and damping analysis of multilayered rectangular plates with constrained viscoelastic layers

Governing equations of motion for vibrations of a general multilayered plate consisting of an arbitrary number of alternate stiff and soft layers of orthotropic materials are derived by using variational principles. Extension, bending and in-plane shear deformations in stiff layers and only transverse shear deformations in soft layers are considered as in conventional sandwich structural analysis. In addition to transverse inertia, longitudinal translatory and rotary inertias are included, as such analysis gives higher order modes of vibration and leads to accurate results for relatively thick plates. Vibration and damping analysis of rectangular simply supported plates consisting of alternate elastic and viscoelastic layers is carried out by taking a series solution and applying the correspondence principle of linear viscoelasticity. The damping effectiveness, in term of the system loss factor, for all families of modes for three-, five- and seven-layered plates is evaluated and its variations with geometrical and material property parameters are investigated.     

Effective mass theory of a two-dimensional quantum dot in the presence of magnetic field

The effective mass of electrons in low-dimensional semiconductors is position-dependent. The standard kinetic energy operator of quantum mechanics for this position-dependent mass is non-Hermitian and needs to be modified. This is achieved by imposing the BenDaniel-Duke (BDD) boundary condition. We have investigated the role of this boundary condition for semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) in one, two and three dimensions. In these systems the effective mass m _i inside the dot of size R is different from the mass m _o outside. Hence a crucial factor in determining the electronic spectrum is the mass discontinuity factor β = m _i/m _o. We have proposed a novel quantum scale, σ, which is a dimensionless parameter proportional to β ² R ² V ₀, where V ₀ represents the barrier height. We show both by numerical calculations and asymptotic analysis that the ground state energy and the surface charge density, (ρ(R)), can be large and dependent on σ. We also show that the dependence of the ground state energy on the size of the dot is infraquadratic. We also study the system in the presence of magnetic field B. The BDD condition introduces a magnetic length-dependent term (√ħ//eB) into σ and hence the ground state energy. We demonstrate that the significance of BDD condition is pronounced at large R and large magnetic fields. In many cases the results using the BDD condition is significantly different from the non-Hermitian treatment of the problem.     

The development of wheels for the Lunar Roving Vehicle

The Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV) was developed for NASA’s Apollo program so astronauts could cover a greater range on the lunar surface, carry more science instruments, and return more soil and rock samples than by foot. Because of the unique lunar environment, the creation of flexible wheels was the most challenging and time consuming aspect of the LRV development. Wheels developed for previous lunar systems were not sufficient for use with this manned vehicle; therefore, several new designs were created and tested. Based on criteria set by NASA, the choices were narrowed down to two: the wire mesh wheel developed by General Motors, and the hoop spring wheel developed by the Bendix Corporation. Each of these underwent intensive mechanical, material, and terramechanical analyses, and in the end, the wire mesh wheel was chosen for the LRV. Though the wire mesh wheel was determined to be the best choice for its particular application, it may be insufficient towards achieving the objectives of future lunar missions that could require higher tractive capability, increased weight capacity, or extended life. Therefore lessons learned from the original LRV wheel development and suggestions for future Moon wheel projects are offered.