Maneuvering Aspects and 3D Effects of Active Airfoil Flow Control

An active flow control experiment was conducted on a cropped NACA 0018 airfoil to study 3D effects and maneuverability aspects made possible by a segmented actuation system installed in the airfoil. The 14 piezo-fluidic actuators were installed at the corner of the cropped region, inclined at 30° to the local surface, facing downstream. Operating all actuators at unison significantly increased lift and generated a pitch-down moment. Operating all actuators at the same magnitude but varying the phase along the span generated larger lift-increment, with respect to the uniform phase excitation. Significant rolling moment can be generated when only half-span of the wing is actuated. The latter effect, as indicated by the 3D pressure distribution, persists to the leading edge even though the excitation was introduced close to the trailing edge. When a pair, out of the possible fourteen actuators is not operating, very little of the control authority is lost. This is an important finding when issues like fault tolerance and robustness of fluidic-piezo actuators are considered.     

Special issue on conveying and handling of particulate solids–Challenges of discrete element simulation,application and calibration

<正>A series of international Conveying and Handling of Particulate Solids(CHoPS)conferences was initiated in Herzliya,Israel in 1995and has since proceeded with six successive conferences held in Jerusalem(1997),the Dead Sea(2000),Budapest(2003),Sorrento(2006),Brisbane(2009)and Friedrichshafen(2012).The conference series covers processes involving particulate solids,for example     

Role of quantum statistics in multi-particle decay dynamics

The role of quantum statistics in the decay dynamics of a multi-particle state, which is suddenly released from a confining potential, is investigated. For an initially confined double particle state, the exact dynamics is presented for both bosons and fermions. The time-evolution of the probability to measure two-particle is evaluated and some counterintuitive features are discussed. For instance, it is shown that although there is a higher chance of finding the two bosons (as oppose to fermions, and even distinguishable particles) at the initial trap region, there is a higher chance (higher than fermions) of finding them on two opposite sides of the trap as if the repulsion between bosons is higher than the repulsion between fermions. The results are demonstrated by numerical simulations and are calculated analytically in the short-time approximation. Furthermore, experimental validation is suggested.     

Highly sensitive electrochemical detection of trace liquid peroxide explosives at a Prussian-blue 'artificial-peroxidase' modified electrode

A highly sensitive electrochemical assay of the peroxide-based explosives triacetone triperoxide (TATP) and hexamethylene triperoxide diamine (HMTD) at a Prussian-blue (PB) modified electrode is reported. The method involves photochemical degradation of the peroxide explosives and a low potential (0.0 V) electrocatalytic amperometric sensing of the generated hydrogen peroxide at the PB transducer and offers nanomolar detection limits following a short (15 s) irradiation times. The electrochemical sensing protocol should facilitate rapid field screening of peroxide explosives.     

Constructing permutation arrays from groups

Let M(n, d) be the maximum size of a permutation array on n symbols with pairwise Hamming distance at least d. We use various combinatorial, algebraic, and computational methods to improve lower bounds for M(n, d). We compute the Hamming distances of affine semilinear groups and projective semilinear groups, and unions of cosets of AGL(1, q) and PGL(2, q) with Frobenius maps to obtain new, improved lower bounds for M(n, d). We give new randomized algorithms. We give better lower bounds for M(n, d) also using new theorems concerning the contraction operation. For example, we prove a quadratic lower bound for \(M(n,n-2)\) for all \(n\equiv 2 \pmod 3\) such that \(n+1\) is a prime power.     

A supply chain under limited-time promotion: The effect of customer sensitivity

We consider a two-echelon supply chain with a supplier and a retailer facing stochastic customer demands. The supplier is a leader who determines a wholesale price. In response, the retailer orders products and sets a price which affects customer demands. The goal of both players is to maximize their profits. We find the Stackelberg equilibrium and show that it is unique, not only when the supply chain is in a steady-state but also when it is in a transient state induced by a supplier’s promotion. There is a maximum length to the promotion, however, beyond which the equilibrium ceases to exist. Moreover, if customer sensitivity increases, then the wholesale equilibrium price decreases, product orders increase and product prices drop. This effect, well-observed in real life, does not, however, necessarily imply that the promotion is always beneficial. Conditions for the profitability of a limited-time promotion are shown and analyzed numerically. We discuss both open-loop and feedback policies and derive the conditions necessary for them to remain optimal under stochastic demand fluctuations.     

Family of Pearson discrete distributions generated by the univariate hypergeometric function 3F2(α1, α2, α3; γ1, γ2; λ)

In this work we present a study of the Pearson discrete distributions generated by the hypergeometric function ₃F₂(α₁, α₂, α₃;γ₁, γ₂; λ), a univariate extension of the Gaussian hypergeometric function, through a constructive methodology. We start from the polynomial coefficients of the difference equation that lead to such a function as a solution. Immediately after, we obtain the generating probability function and the differential equation that it satisfies, valid for any admissible values of the parameters. We also obtain the differential equations that satisfy the cumulants generating function, moments generating function and characteristic function, From this point on, we obtain a relation in recurrences between the moments about the origin, allowing us to create an equation system for estimating the parameters by the moment method. We also establish a classification of all possible distributions of such type and conclude with a summation theorem that allows us study some distributions belonging to this family. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Liquid crystalline polymers at interfaces

Main chain liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs) at solid-nematic interfaces exhibit a variety of phase transition between distorted and undistorted states. In one case the transition results from the confinement of grafted chains immersed in a nematic solvent and subject to homeotropic anchoring. The general features of the transition are similar for long and for short chains. The detailed physics is different since long chains exhibit Gaussian, entropic elasticity while the elasticity of the short chain is due to their rigidity. As a result it is possible to weakly confine long chains without triggering a distortion while for short chains the nematic distortion occurs simultaneously with the buckling of the rod like LCPs. Related effects are found for uniformly adsorbed LCPs and for free, confined chains. Different scenarios are expected when homogeneous anchoring is imposed.     

A clinical study of failure in microchannel cooled diodes used in large laser systems

In this paper we investigate the source of failure in commercial, microchannel cooled CW diode bars placed in 12 bar horizontal arrays. The arrays were used to pump Nd:YAG rods in our 10 kW developmental laser. The laser was operated at low duty factor over a period of over 2 years. Experimental evidence indicated that the sudden, catastrophic failure was because of degraded cooling. We used optical microscopes, an X-ray microfocus imager, and a thermal neutron scattering camera to look inside the microcoolers. Our investigations revealed only one possible failure mechanism: cooling flow reduction because of delamination of the Au coating the walls of the microcoolers and the entrapment of Au flakes within the microchannel structures. We observed blisters in the microcoolers under working bars, and flake-like structures in the microcoolers under burnt-out bars (all taken from the laser). We observed no evidence of either massive blockages because of electrochemical deposits, or of corrosion/erosion in the microchannel walls. Integral operation times of the high flow-rate cooling system and of the diodes themselves were too short by one and two orders of magnitude, respectively, to explain the observed failures. Microchannel immersion times in the deionized water were, however, long enough to allow for corrosion of metals that may have been exposed through defects in the Au coatings. Three-dimensional heat flow simulations showed that blockage of multiple microchannels towards the edge of a bar can easily lead to catastrophic temperature increases.