Fundamentals of the direct measurement of sound intensity and practical applications

Sound intensity is a measure of the magnitude and direction of the flow of sound energy. Developments in sound intensity measurement capabilities in the last quarter century have occurred because of several reasons. The main ones include the derivation of the cross-spectral formulation for sound intensity and developments in digital signal processing. This paper begins with a brief historical introduction of sound intensity measurements. Then elementary theory for sound intensity is presented. A section on sound intensity measurements is then included. The next section of the paper discusses sources of measurement error; the major sources of error are described in some detail. The paper continues with a discussion of the main applications of sound intensity measurements: sound power determination, noise source identification, and transmission loss measurements. The paper concludes with a discussion of ISO and ANSI intensity related standards and relevant references.     

Modelling and design of a travelling-wave electro-optic modulator on InP

Based on a rigorous vectorial analysis, a fast travelling-wave Mach–Zehnder modulator is modelled and designed. The cross-section of the semiconductor layer stack and the lossy electrodes are carefully modelled using the method of lines in order to investigate propagation characteristics, velocity and losses. This yields an accurate microwave and optical field distribution to explain the behaviour of the component. In order to enhance the modulation efficiency, design curves are derived and the cross-sectional dimensions for minimum microwave loss are determined. The loss of the optimized modulator agrees very well with small-signal measurements up to 40 GHz and HFSS simulations. The layerstack of the fabricated device is suitable for integration with InP multi-wavelength lasers.     

A remark on divisibility of definable groups

We show that if G is a definably compact, definably connected definable group defined in an arbitrary o‐minimal structure, then G is divisible. Furthermore, if G is defined in an o‐minimal expansion of a field, k ∈ ? and p_k : G → G is the definable map given by p_k (x ) = x^k for all x ∈ G , then we have |(p_k )^–1(x )| ≥ k^r for all x ∈ G , where r > 0 is the maximal dimension of abelian definable subgroups of G . (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Numerical study of the effects of the rupture process of a secondary diaphragm in expansion tubes

The results of a numerical study are described in which the interactions of a primary shock wave with a secondary diaphragm in expansion tubes are taken into account. The developing wave pattern in the interacting process of the shock with a secondary diaphragm are visualized by many kinds of figures (e.g., the time-distance diagrams of the wave phenomena on the axis, the acoustic impedance contours, and the time histories of the pitot pressure on the axis), and the influences of the shape and rupture process of the diaphragm on the quality of the test gas are explored.     

A fast method to measure the thickness of removed layer from etching of SSNTD based on EDXRF

Solid state nuclear track detectors are commonly used for measurements of concentrations of radon gas and/or radon progeny. All these measurements depend critically on the thickness of the removed layer during etching. However, the thickness of removed layer calculated using the etching period does not necessarily provide a sufficiently accurate measure of the thickness. For example, the bulk etch rate depends on the strength of stirring during etching for the LR 115 detector. We propose here to measure the thickness of the removed layer by using energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. In the present work, a reference silver nitrate pellet is placed beneath the LR 115 detector, and the fluorescence X-ray intensity for silver is then measured. We have found a linear relationship between the X-ray intensity and the thickness of the removed layer for LR 115 detector. This provides a fast method to measure the thickness of removed layer from etching of LR 115 detector. However, this method was found to be inapplicable for the CR-39 detector. Therefore, alternative methods have yet to be explored for the CR-39 detector.     

Effect of short glass fiber on structure and viscoelastic behavior of olefinic polymers synthesized with metallocene catalyst

Several composites were prepared on the basis of an ethylene homopolymer and different copolymers of ethylene and 1‐hexene, synthesized with a metallocene catalyst, as matrices and a content of a 5 wt % of short glass fiber. The effect of the fiber incorporation on the structure and mechanical and viscoelastic behaviors was analyzed for the different samples. The glass fibers induced a slightly higher crystallinity, and the crystallite morphology significantly changed (long spacings and crystal orientation). The incorporation of fibers did not reinforce the different matrices under study at this low content; consequently, the mechanical parameters, such as Young's modulus, yielding stress, and microhardness, were lower in the composites as compared with those values found in the neat polyolefins. The location and apparent activation energies of distinct relaxation processes are also discussed. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1244–1255, 2003     

Ultrasonic spectroscopic evaluation of the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of dicyclopentadiene

An in situ ultrasonic spectroscopy technique was used to study the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of dicyclopentadiene catalyzed by bis(tricyclohexylphosphine)benzylidene ruthenium dichloride. A reaction cell employing a flexible poly(ethylene terephthalate) window for pulse echo ultrasonic spectroscopy was used to monitor the polymerization. The changes in the density, wave speed, acoustic modulus, and attenuation were all simultaneously monitored. In comparison with Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy data, the changes in the density, velocity, and modulus only accurately measured the rate constant for the metathesis of the cyclopentyl unsaturation. The ultrasonic values were within 6% of the values determined by FTIR. The activation energy for metathesis of the cyclopentyl unsaturation was 84 kJ mol^?1, following first‐order kinetics. Rate constants for the polymerization of the norbornyl unsaturation could not be determined by ultrasound. The gel point, vitrification, and qualitative information about the reaction rate could be determined from the change in the attenuation. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 1323–1333, 2003     

An algorithm to locate perinatal facilities in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro

In order to reduce infant mortality in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro it is desired to encourage all mothers-to-be to attend the appropriate health care facilities. A 3-level hierarchical prenatal–neonatal health care system is described together with a basic model for optimising accessibility to facilities. A genetic algorithm to solve the basic model is developed and some numerical experience reported. Extensions to the basic model and planned future research are briefly indicated.     

Inversion of adjunction for non-degenerate hypersurfaces

 We prove a precise inversion of adjunction formula for the log variety (ℂ ^{d +1},X), where X is a non-degenerate hypersurface. As a corollary, the minimal log discrepancies of non-degenerate normal hypersurface singularities are bounded by dimension. Received: 17 September 2002 / Revised version: 22 November 2002 Published online: 14 February 2003 Current address: DPMMS, CMS, University of Cambridge, Wilberforce Road, Cambridge CB3 0WB, England. e-mail: f.ambro@dpmms.cam.ac.uk Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary 14B05; Secondary 14M25, 52B20     

Application of a generalized residual model to frequency domain modal parameter estimation

Residuals have long been used in frequency domain parameter estimation methods to model the influence of out-of-band modes but, typically, as a fixed set of no more than two or three terms. Recently, a systematic approach to the use of residual polynomials has led to the development of a generalized residual model. The use of a generalized residual model with rational fraction polynomial frequency domain parameter estimation methods allows the contribution of out-of-band modes to be included without increasing the model order and creating additional computational poles. Of particular interest is the use of the generalized residual for single-degree-of-freedom (s.d.o.f.) techniques, which generally do not consider the residual effects and suffer accordingly. With the use of generalized residuals, it becomes possible to properly account for nearby modes and also extract accurate residues with an s.d.o.f. algorithm. The development of the generalized residual polynomial model is outlined and a new s.d.o.f. frequency domain algorithm with generalized residuals is developed.