Stochastic Particle Method for Nonlinear Hyperbolic Problems

In this paper, we present a new method based on stochastic particles, which allows us to compute solutions of a system of nonlinear transport equations arising in the modeling of immiscible displacement in porous pedia. In this approach, we use different particles for different phases and move them according to the stochastic rules for which the probability density function depends on the spatial distribution of the particles. Our motivation for such a method is a Lagrangian modeling framework in which one can describe certain physical phenomena more naturally than in an Eulerian framework. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Performance comparison of supersonic ejectors with different motive gas injection schemes applicable for flowing medium gas laser

A class of flowing medium gas lasers with low generator pressures employ supersonic flows with low cavity pressure and are primarily categorized as high throughput systems capable of being scaled up to MW class. These include; Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL) and Hydrogen (Deuterium) Fluoride (HF/DF). The practicability of such laser systems for various applications is enhanced by exhausting the effluents directly to ambient atmosphere. Consequently, ejector based pressure recovery forms a potent configuration for open cycle operation. Conventionally these gas laser systems require at least two ejector stages with low pressure stage being more critical, since it directly entrains the laser media, and the ensuing perturbation of cavity flow, if any, may affect laser operation. Hence, the choice of plausible motive gas injection schemes viz., peripheral or central is a fluid dynamic issue of interest, and a parametric experimental performance comparison would be beneficial. Thus, the focus is to experimentally characterize the effect of variation in motive gas supply pressure, entrainment ratio, back pressure conditions, nozzle injection position operated together with a COIL device and discern the reasons for the behavior.     

Real Time Gas Flow Control and Analysis for High Power Infrared Gas Lasers

The composition of various gas effluents and their flow parameters viz. flow rate, pressure and Mach number are very crucial in determining the output of high power infrared gas lasers. PC based real time gas Flow Control and Analysis (FCA) System which is the heart of the high power infrared gas lasers such as CO₂ Gas Dynamic Laser (10.6m), Hydrogen Fluoride-Deuterium Fluoride (2.7–3.4m) and Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (1.315m) has been developed and successfully tested for its applications in Chemical Oxygen Iodine Laser (COIL). The system has been realized using the state of the art PCI bus based high-speed data processing electronics, a personal computer and electro-pneumatic components. The system has demonstrated its capability of controlling the flow rates in the range of 1-6500 lpm (in case of nitrogen) with a response time of 50 msec which is mainly limited by the response of the electro-pneumatic valves and pressure reducers used in the present system. The developed system also has the potential to monitor, estimate and display various flow parameters at critical locations of the laser system. More than 600 successful power runs of the COIL have been given using the developed FCA system.     

A simple and readily integratable approach to toxicity prediction

A simple, highly extensible computational strategy to assess compound toxicity has been developed with the premise that a compound's toxicity can be gauged from the toxicities of structurally similar compounds. Using a reference set of 13645 compounds with reported acute toxicity endpoint dose data (oral, rat-LD(50) data normalized in mg/kg), a generic utility which assigns a compound the average toxicity of structurally similar compounds is shown to correlate well with reported values. In a leave-one-out simulation using the requirement that at least one structurally similar member in a "voting consortium" is present within a reference set, the strategy demonstrates a predictive correlation (q wedge 2) of 0.82 with 57.3% of the compounds being predicted. Similar leave-one-out simulations on a set of 1781 drugs demonstrate a q wedge 2 of 0.74 with 51.8% of the compounds being predicted. Simulations to optimize similarity cutoff definitions, consortium member size, and reference set size illustrate that a significant improvement in the quality and quantity of predictions can be obtained by increasing the reference set size. Similar application of the strategy to subchronic and chronic toxicity data should be possible given reasonably sized reference sets.     

Interatomic and intra-atomic electron correlation in narrow band solids

Effect of interatomic electron correlation has been studied in narrow band solids using one-particle Green function method. We follow Hubbard in drawing an analogy with an alloy and find a self-consistent solution which predicts a finite lifetime for pseudoparticles. A specific case of a (non-magnetic) model system with half-filled parabolic band has been considered to calculate the pseudoparticle density of states function. Unlike the result in the presence of intra-atomic correlations alone, we find that this particular system is never an insulator, however large intra-atomic correlations may be.     

Polarographic studies on the quantitative treatments of substituent effects of some aromatic isothiocyanates

The polarographic reduction of aromatic isothiocyanates takes place in a single 4e reduction wave in the B.R. buffers of pH 4·6-10·0. Thelimiting current is diffusion controlled and the waves are irreversible in nature. The half wave potential and limiting current are independent of pH. The reduction in these compounds occurs at -N = C = S group and the effect of substituents has been interpreted in the terms of Hammett equation. The value of specific reaction constant (ρ) is found to be 0·12 V and the positive sign of ρ indicates the nucleophilic nature of the reduction.     

Silicidation in Ni/Si thin film system investigated by X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy

Silicide formation induced by thermal annealing in Ni/Si thin film system has been investigated using glancing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). Silicide formation takes place at 870 K with Ni₂Si, NiSi and NiSi₂ phases co-existing with Ni. Complete conversion of intermediate silicide phases to the final NiSi₂ phase takes place at 1170 K. Atomic force microscopy measurements have revealed the coalescence of pillar-like structures to ridge-like structures upon silicidation. A comparison of the experimental results in terms of the evolution of various silicide phases is presented.