A compact shock-assisted free-piston driver for impulse facilities

A free-piston driver that employs entropy-raising shock processes with diaphragm rupture has been constructed, which promises significant theoretical advantages over isentropic compression. Results from a range of conditions with helium and argon driver gases are reported. Significant performance gains were achieved in some test cases. Heat losses are shown to have a strong effect on driver processes. Measurements compare well with predictions from a quasi-one-dimensional numerical code. Received 7 September 1996 / Accepted 5 October 1996     

Transfer theorems and the algebra of modal operators

A set theory ZFI′ which does not employ the Law of the Excluded Middle φ ∀ ⊥ φ, for all φ, retians the stock of expressive capacities of the classical set theory ZF, on the one hand, and has many of the features of an effective theory on the other. In the article, a broad class of formulas σ is constructed for which ZF ⊥ σ implies ZFI′ ⊥ σ. This result provides a generalization of Friedman's theorem on AE-arithmetic formulas. Besides, we prove transfer theorems of classical logic for the case of rings; in particular, Hilbert's theorem on zeros and Artin's theorem on ordered fields are extended to the case of regular f-rings, and we bring in appropriate upper bounds for them. Supported by RFFR grant No. 93-012-1027. Translated fromAlgebra i Logika, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 282–303, May–June, 1997.     

Thermal diffusivity measurements in porous ceramics by photothermal methods

Received: 16 September 1996/Accepted: 6 January 1997     

On the spectra of finite-dimensional quadratic Bose operators

A complete study of the spectrum of a finite-dimensional Bose operator is carried out in the paper. The cases in which the spectrum is discrete or continuous are studied. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 61, No. 6, pp. 835–854, June, 1997. Translated by A. M. Chebotarev     

Forced-air precooling of spherical foods in bulk: A parametric study

In this paper, a mathematical model for forced-air precooling of spherical food products in bulk is developed. The foods are arranged in horizontal layers stacked one above the other to form a rectangular parallelepiped with a vertical gap in between the product layers. The foods are cooled by chilled air blown along the height of the package. The governing equations for the conduction heat transfer in the foods, simultaneous heat and mass transfer at the food-air interface and in the air stream are solved numerically using finite-difference methods. A comprehensive numerical study is performed by varying the process parameters over a wide range. Typical results showing the variation of moist air properties along the height of the package and the effect of each parameter on the process time are presented. The ranges of parameters for advantageous operation of the precooling system are identified. Correlations are obtained for the process time based on the product center and mass-averaged temperatures in terms of process parameters.     

Positron annihilation in polycrystalline metals

The empirical relation θ _p ⁶ /I _p=aK (where θ _p is the limiting angle of the parabolic component in the angular distributions of annihilation photons in metals, I _p is the integrated contribution of this component, K=1, 2, 3, ... is an integer, and a is a constant independent of the type of metal) observed earlier has been tested on magnesium, aluminum, copper, zinc, lead, and bismuth samples. The validity of this relation has been substantiated. The value of the dimensionless constant a has been determined and was found to coincide within experimental error with the result obtained in previous measurements. It is shown that the value of K for the same metal but for different samples may be different. It is conjectured that this may be due to different defect concentrations in samples. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 600–602 (April 1998)