Minimum Disparity Estimation in Linear Regression Models: Distribution and Efficiency

This paper deals with the minimum disparity estimation in linear regression models. The estimators are defined as statistical quantities which minimize the blended weight Hellinger distance between a weighted kernel density estimator of errors and a smoothed model density of errors. It is shown that the estimators of the regression parameters are asymptotic normally distributed and efficient at the model if the weights of the density estimators are appropriately chosen.     

Change point estimation in non-monotonic aging models

The problem of estimating change points in various non-monotonic aging models is considered. A general methodology for consistent estimation of the change point is developed and applied to non-monotonic aging models based on the hazard rate function as well as on the mean residual life function.     

Working group report: Neutrino and astroparticle physics

This is the report of neutrino and astroparticle physics working group at WHEPP-7. Discussions and work on CP violation in long baseline neutrino experiments, ultra high energy neutrinos, supernova neutrinos and water Cerenkov detectors are discussed.     

In-Situ Intrinsic Interface Strength Measurement at Elevated Temperatures and its Relationship to Interfacial Structure

A previously developed laser spallation technique has been modified to measure the tensile strength of thin film interfaces in-situ at temperatures up to 1100°C. Tensile strengths of Nb/A-plane sapphire, FeCrAl/A-plane sapphire and FeCrAlY/A-plane sapphire were measured up to 950°C. The measured strengths at high temperatures were substantially lower compared with their corresponding strengths at ambient temperature. For example, at 850°C, the interface tensile strength for the Nb/sapphire (151 ± 17 MPa), FeCrAl/sapphire (62 ± 8 MPa) and FeCrAlY/sapphire (82 ± 11 MPa) interface systems were lower by factors of approximately, 3, 5, and 8, respectively, over their corresponding ambient values. These results underscore the importance of using such in-situ measured values under operating conditions as the failure criterion in any life prediction or reliability models of such coated systems where local interface temperature excursions are expected. The results on alloy film interfaces also demonstrate that the presence of Y increases the strength of FeCrAl/Al₂O₃ interfaces.     

Mitigation of edgewise vibrations in wind turbine blades by means of roller dampers

Edgewise vibrations in wind turbine blades are lightly damped, and large amplitude vibrations induced by the turbulence may significantly shorten the fatigue life of the blade. This paper investigates the performance of roller dampers for mitigation of edgewise vibrations in rotating wind turbine blades. Normally, the centrifugal acceleration of the rotating blade can reach to a magnitude of 7–8g, which makes it possible to use this kind of damper with a relatively small mass ratio for suppressing edgewise vibrations effectively. The parameters of the damper to be optimized are the mass ratio, the frequency ratio, the coefficient of rolling friction and the position of the damper in the blade. The optimization of these parameters has been carried out on a reduced 2-DOF nonlinear model of the rotating wind turbine blade equipped with a roller damper in terms of a ball or a cylinder, ignoring the coupling with other degrees of freedom of the wind turbine. The edgewise modal loading on the blade has been calculated from a more sophisticated 13-DOF aeroelastic wind turbine model with due consideration to the indicated couplings, the turbulence and the aerodynamic damping. Various turbulence intensities and mean wind speeds have been considered to evaluate the effectiveness of the roller damper in reducing edgewise vibrations when the working conditions of the wind turbine are changed. Further, the optimized roller damper is incorporated into the 13-DOF wind turbine model to verify the application of the decoupled optimization. The results indicate that the proposed damper can effectively improve the structural response of wind turbine blades.     

Working group report: Quantum chromodynamics sub-group

This is the report of the QCD working sub-group at the Tenth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP-X).      

Zipf’s law and distribution of population in Indian cities

The Zipf’s law is studied here in the context of size distribution of Indian cities and the power law exponent is estimated. We have used the data from the Indian censuses of 1981,1991 and 2001. The analysis shows that the population distribution in Indian cities do follow a power law similar to the ones found in other countries. The scaling exponent are found to be 2.15 ± 0.01 for 1981, 2.11 ± 0.01 for 1991 and 2.05 ± 0.02 for 2001 from the linear fit. We have also estimated the scaling exponent from the maximum likelihood estimator technique which is found to be 2.04 ±.07 for the year 2001.     

Effects of circuit loss and space charge in gyro-travelling-wave tubes

A modified dispersion relation of a gyro-TWT using a cylindrical waveguide excited in aT E _mn -mode is derived incorporating the effect of the transverse space charge forces. The relation is subsequently studied considering the circuit losses and interpreted for the conventional TWT-type gain equation. The second harmonic operation using theT E ₀₂ cylindrical waveguide mode resonated with the second beam-harmonic mode is found to be more sensitive to the Pierce's loss and space-charge parameters for a gyro-TWT than the fundamental operation using theT E ₀₁ cylindrical waveguide mode resonated with the first beam-harmonic mode. It is established that these parameters substantially influence the device gain and must be considered for the prediction of its accurate value. Furthermore, these parameters when properly controlled can also improve the device bandwidth.