Inducing gas flow and swirl in tubes using ionic wind from corona discharges

Air induction and rotation about the axis of a vertical tube is generated by an assembly of corona discharges between pinpoints and earthed electrodes, which induces a swirling ionic wind. The mechanism is elucidated and the geometrical configuration of the electric field lines of force is optimised by studying the deposition of charged particles on the earth electrodes, by numerical modelling of a simplified geometry and ultimately by maximising the measured tangential velocities. Upward convective flows of up to a litre per second are provided by an additional ionic wind pump at the base of the tube. With assemblies of up to three layers of six points each, tangential velocities of up to 3.3 m/s (≈900 rpm) are attained at the periphery, as recorded by small Pitot tubes. The concept, developed particularly for microgravity environments, appears suitable for adding a substantial centrifugal contribution to the operation of electrostatic precipitators and as a basis for further progress on electrical field-controlled burners.     

The Observer in the Quantum Experiment

A goal of most interpretations of quantum mechanics is to avoid the apparent intrusion of the observer into the measurement process. Such intrusion is usually seen to arise because observation somehow selects a single actuality from among the many possibilities represented by the wavefunction. The issue is typically treated in terms of the mathematical formulation of the quantum theory. We attempt to address a different manifestation of the quantum measurement problem in a theory-neutral manner. With a version of the two-slit experiment, we demonstrate that an enigma arises directly from the results of experiments. Assuming that no observable physical phenomena exist beyond those predicted by the theory, we argue that no interpretation of the quantum theory can avoid a measurement problem involving the observer.     

Solving the maximum edge weight clique problem via unconstrained quadratic programming

The unconstrained quadratic binary program (UQP) is proving to be a successful modeling and solution framework for a variety of combinatorial optimization problems. Experience reported in the literature with several problem classes has demonstrated that this approach works surprisingly well in terms of solution quality and computational times, often rivaling and sometimes surpassing more traditional methods. In this paper we report on the application of UQP to the maximum edge-weighted clique problem. Computational experience is reported illustrating the attractiveness of the approach.     

A network-related nuclear power plant model with an intelligent branch-and-bound solution approach

This paper presents a network model with discrete requirements for a nuclear power plant. The model determines the batch size and timing for nuclear unit refueling and how much energy should be produced by nuclear and non-nuclear units for each time period to satisfy forecasted demand with minimum total operating costs over the planning horizon. Efficient modeling and solution strategies are developed which constitute a merger of operations research and artificial intelligence. A branch-and-bound solution approach is combined with a pattern recognition component, involving non-parametric discrimination analyses, to select branching variables and directions. By coupling this approach with network optimization techniques to exploit the underlying network structure of the problem, substantial improvements are obtained both in solution quality and solution efficiency.This research was supported in part by the Center for Business Decision Analysis, the Hugh Roy Cullen Centennial Chair in Business Administration, and the Office of Naval Research under contract N00014-87-K-0190. Reproduction in whole or in part is permitted for any purpose of the U.S. Government. CENTER FOR BUSINESS DECISION ANALYSIS Darwin Klingman, Director The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.     

Cutting and Surrogate Constraint Analysis for Improved Multidimensional Knapsack Solutions

We use surrogate analysis and constraint pairing in multidimensional knapsack problems to fix some variables to zero and to separate the rest into two groups – those that tend to be zero and those that tend to be one, in an optimal integer solution. Using an initial feasible integer solution, we generate logic cuts based on our analysis before solving the problem with branch and bound. Computational testing, including the set of problems in the OR-library and our own set of difficult problems, shows our approach helps to solve difficult problems in a reasonable amount of time and, in most cases, with a fewer number of nodes in the search tree than leading commercial software.     

Die Analyse aller bei der Stahlbereitung in Anwendung kommenden Materialien

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

From the N‐Heterocyclic Carbene‐Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Alcohols to the Controlled Polymerization of (Meth)acrylates

Among various N‐heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) tested, only 1,3‐bis(tert‐butyl)imidazol‐2‐ylidene (NHC^tBu) proved to selectively promote the catalytic conjugate addition of alcohols onto (meth)acrylate substrates. This rather rare example of NHC‐catalyzed 1,4‐addition of alcohols was investigated as a simple means to trigger the polymerization of both methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate (MMA and MA, respectively). Well‐defined α‐alkoxy poly(methyl (meth)acrylate) (PM(M)A) chains, the molar masses of which could be controlled by the initial [(meth)acrylate]₀/[ROH]₀ molar ratio, were ultimately obtained in N,N‐dimethylformamide at 25 °C. A hydroxyl‐terminated poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO‐OH) macro‐initiator was also employed to directly access PEO‐b‐PMMA amphiphilic block copolymers. Investigations into the reaction mechanism by DFT calculations revealed the occurrence of two competitive concerted pathways, involving either the activation of the alcohol or that of the monomer by NHC^tBu.     

Nonparabolic Asymptotic Limits of Solutions of the Heat Equation on $${\mathbb{R}}^N$$

In this paper, we construct solutions u(t,x) of the heat equation on such that has nontrivial limit points in as t → ∞ for certain values of μ > 0 and β > 1/2. We also show the existence of solutions of this type for nonlinear heat equations.      

Synthesis and characterization of 2,8-diazaperylene-1,3,7,9-tetraone, a new anthracene diimide containing six-membered imide rings

A successful synthesis of novel diimides, namely anthracene diimide containing six-membered imide rings, with potential application in organic electronics is reported. The single crystal of 5a exhibits a close interplanar spacing of 3.45 ? between molecules in a stack.