Analytic model for surface-induced molecular weight segregation in thermoplastic composites

An analytic model based on a random-walk formulation for absorbing barriers is presented. The range of applicability of the model is established from results derived from Monte Carlo simulations. The model takes into account the influences of neutral, repulsive, and attractive polymer-surface interactions on the spatial variation of species concentrations in the vicinity of a surface. The model predicts that the lower molecular weight species of a polydisperse mixture will accumulate in the vicinity of a surface to create an interphase region. The extent of this surface-perturbed interphase region is on the order of three times the radius of gyration of the longest species of the mixture. The degree of molecular weight segregation is dependent upon the breadth of the molecular weight distribution. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.     

Tunable laser measurements of water vapor transitions in the vicinity of 5 μm

The present results confirm earlier tunable laser observations that the atmospheric widths of high rotational energy transitions are considerably narrower than previously predicted. Intensities, self-broadening coefficients, nitrogen and air shifts, and relative positions have also been measured.     

Photon-burst correlation techniques for atmospheric crosswind measurements

With a cw visible laser, the method of photon-burst correlation is used measure atmospheric crosswinds. A scaling law, including the effects of atmospheric turbulence, for performance evaluation of both laser Doppler (LDV) and laser time-of-flight (LTV) velocimeters, is introduced theoretically and established experimentally with field experiments. Crosswind measurements in the night at a range of 500 m with a low-power argon-ion laser are reported. The measured signal particle arrival rate is consistent with the predicted arrival rate based on the scaling law. In addition to the use of higher laser power, it is suggested that with proper inclusion of signal photon bursts resulting from the simultaneous arrival of several particles, routine operation of this type of laser velocimeter for long ranges, up to 1000m, should be feasible.     

Optimum maneuvers of a skip vehicle with bounded lift constraints

This paper presents the analytical solutions of the problem of optimum maneuvering of a glide vehicle flying in the hypervelocity regime. The investigation is based on the approximation of Allen and Eggers; namely, that along the fundamental part of a reentry or ascent trajectory, the aerodynamic forces greatly exceed the components of the gravitational force in the directions tangent and normal to the flight path.The problem consists of finding an optimal control law for the lift such that the final velocity or the final altitude is maximized. This problem can be viewed as bringing the vehicle to the best condition for interception, penetration, or making an evasive maneuver.If the range is free, the optimal lift control is obtained in closed form. If the lift control is bounded, then bounded control is optimal whenever it is reached. The switching sequences for different cases are discussed, and it is shown that there are at most two switchings. Bounded lift control is always at the ends of the optimal trajectory; for the case of two switchings, the optimal trajectory has an inflection point.The authors wish to thank the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the Grant No. NGR-06-003-033 under which this work was carried out.     

Syneresis and crystallinity in plasticized rubbery networks and composites

We prepared polycaprolactone networks plasticized (60 wt%) with triacetin, with and without filler particles to model high-energy solid rocket propellants. Under strain and at lower temperatures these materials partially crystallize but also undesirably exude plasticizer (syneresis). We measured both properties isothermally (30°C) on the basis of molecular mobility: crystallinity with rapid-passage cw proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and syneresis with pulsed-gradient spin-echo NMR diffusion techniques, as a function of strain and time. In the gumstocks crystallinity and syneresis increase monotonically with strain and asymptotically with time. In a given specimen syneresis lags behind crystallinity but they approach the same value, suggesting that syneresis originates in expulsion of plasticizer from crystallizing regions. In the composites, crystallinity results resemble those in gum, but our diffusion data suggest that most syneresis is internal, with plasticizer accumulating in strain-debonded void regions near filler particles. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.