Influence of pressure on polyamide 66 shear viscosity: a case study towards polar polymers behavior

In the present work, we consider the dependence of the viscosity of polyamide 66 (PA66) as a function of both temperature and pressure. Measurements were carried out using a standard capillary rheometer to evaluate the effect of temperature and the corresponding shift factor of viscosity data. The pressure influence was accounted for by employing an at-line rheometer equipped with a counter-pressure cell, the so-called enhanced exit pressure method. Time-temperature-pressure superposition was applied to obtain the viscosity master curve. Interestingly, PA66 displays an unusual increase of the pressure coefficient as a function of temperature. On the contrary, previous studies on nonpolar liquids or polymers for which polar interactions are relatively weak indicated that the sensitivity to pressure, measured by the so-called Barus parameter, is a decreasing function of the temperature. Thus, we attribute the peculiar behavior of PA66 to the strong polar interactions which are present and which may dominate the viscosity at relatively low temperatures and would be less dominant at higher temperatures.     

A maximum entropy approach to the newsvendor problem with partial information

In this paper, we consider the newsvendor model under partial information, i.e., where the demand distribution D is partly unknown. We focus on the classical case where the retailer only knows the expectation and variance of D. The standard approach is then to determine the order quantity using conservative rules such as minimax regret or Scarf’s rule. We compute instead the most likely demand distribution in the sense of maximum entropy. We then compare the performance of the maximum entropy approach with minimax regret and Scarf’s rule on large samples of randomly drawn demand distributions. We show that the average performance of the maximum entropy approach is considerably better than either alternative, and more surprisingly, that it is in most cases a better hedge against bad results.     

Behavior of captive herring exposed to naval sonar transmissions (1.0-1.6 kHz) throughout a yearly cycle

Atlantic herring, Clupea harengus, is a hearing specialist, and several studies have demonstrated strong responses to man-made noise, for example, from an approaching vessel. To avoid negative impacts from naval sonar operations, a set of studies of reaction patters of herring to low-frequency (1.0-1.5 kHz) naval sonar signals has been undertaken. This paper presents herring reactions to sonar signals and other stimuli when kept in captivity under detailed acoustic and video monitoring. Throughout the experiment, spanning three seasons of a year, the fish did not react significantly to sonar signals from a passing frigate, at received root-mean-square sound-pressure level (SPL) up to 168 dB re 1 μPa. In contrast, the fish did exhibit a significant diving reaction when exposed to other sounds, with a much lower SPL, e.g., from a two-stroke engine. This shows that the experimental setup is sensitive to herring reactions when occurring. The lack of herring reaction to sonar signals is consistent with earlier in situ behavioral studies. The complexity of the behavioral reactions in captivity underline the need for better understanding of the causal relationship between stimuli and reaction patterns of fish.     

Finding and identifying optimal inventory levels for systems with common components

In this article, we consider the problem of finding the optimal inventory level for components in an assembly system where multiple products share common components in the presence of random demand. Previously, solution procedures that identify the optimal inventory levels for components in a component commonality problem have been considered for two product or one common component systems. We will here extend this to a three products system considering any number of common components. The inventory problem considered is modeled as a two stage stochastic recourse problem where the first stage is to set the inventory levels to maximize expected profit while the second stage is to allocate components to products after observing demand. Our main contribution, and the main focus of this paper, is the outline of a procedure that finds the gradient for the stochastic problem, such that an optimal solution can be identified and a gradient based search method can be used to find the optimal solution.     

Submillimeter wave photoconductivity observation of shallow donors in In0.53Ga0.47As

The hydrogen like 1s 2p (m=–1,0,+1) transitions of two donors have been observed in high intensity magnetic fields up to 8.5T. The m=–1 transitions ocurred between 2 cm^–1 and 25 cm^–1. The signature curves for donors in ternary semiconductor In_0.53Ga_0.47As have now been established.Work supported by the U.s. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Contract # AFOSR-78-3708-DSupported by the National Science Foundation     

Poles of the topological zeta function for plane curves and Newton polyhedra

The local topological zeta function is a rational function associated to a germ of a complex holomorphic function. This function can be computed from an embedded resolution of singularities of the germ. For functions that are nondegenerate with respect to their Newton polyhedron it is also possible to compute it from the Newton polyhedron. Both ways give rise to a set of candidate poles of the topological zeta function, containing all poles. For plane curves, W. Veys showed how to filter the actual poles out of the candidate poles induced by the resolution graph. In this Note we show how to determine from the Newton polyhedron of a nondegenerate plane curve which candidate poles are actual poles. To cite this article: A. Lemahieu, L. Van Proeyen, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 347 (2009).     

An improved decision support model for scheduling production in an engineer-to-order manufacturer

4OR - This paper outlines a mathematical model to solve a scheduling problem for a company engineering and producing propellers to order. Nonås and Olsen (Comput Oper Res...     

Temperature dependence of the localized magnon mode in MnF2 : Co

The localized magnon mode in MnF₂ : Co was studied by far infrared resonance techniques. The halfwidth at 8 K is 1 cm^-1, about three times smaller than that obtained by other experimental methods. Therefore, accurate measurements of the temperature dependence are possible between 8 and 40 K. The temperature dependence of the effective g-factor is attributed to spin wave renormalization. The half width is magnetic field dependent at higher temperatures and can be approximated by a T² law.     

Ultimate method for unambiguous identification of all donors in epitaxial GaAs and related compounds

When epitaxial GaAs is grown by the method of molecular beam epitaxy (mbe) it would be p-type unless it is intentionally doped lightly during growth by using a particular substitutional donor atom. We have chosen the tin donor in this case to render the specimen n-type. Then the conventional far infrared photoconductivity technique is used to observe the 1s to 2p transition of the electron of the tin donor. The identity of the donor, the energy of the quantum transition as a function of applied magnetic field intensity, and the line shape characteristics of that particular donor then become unquestionable.Work supported by the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Contract #AFOSR-78-3708-D.Supported by the National Science Foundation