The—S/N—Fatigue-life gage: A direct means of measuring cumulative fatigue damage

This paper describes the present state of development of a new type of sensor, a fatigue-life gage which generates an irreversible resistance change that is a continuous function of the fatigue experience of the structure to which it is attached. The gage accumulates fatigue-damage information whether or not it is connected to excitation or readout devices. Measurements of cumulative fatigue damage can therefore be made intermittently with simple instruments which are connected to the gage only long enough to measure its resistance. Results to date give promise of a powerful method of predicting many forms of structure failure.     

Application of Boundary-Fitted Coordinate Transformations to groundwater flow modeling

The Boundary-Fitted Coordinate (BFC) Transformation method is a very powerful, efficient and accurate method of modeling heat or fluid flow in two- or three-dimensional domains with complex boundary shapes and abrupt changes in internal properties. Since the late 1970's it has become the modeling method of choice among many aerodynamicists and heat-flow modelers. It is being presented here for the first time as a new approach to modeling groundwater flow, based on successful research results in two dimensions. The BFC transformation method was employed to simulate two hypothetical well-flow scenarios in isotropic and anisotropic domains, and actual groundwater flows in the area of West Lafayette, Indiana. The numerical solutions in those cases were at least as accurate as and/or consistent with those obtained by purely finite difference and finite element methods, but with the added advantage of more accurate representation and implementation of the boundary condition in the region of great sensitivity. The BFC method successfully applied to two-dimensional simulations should be easily extended to simulations of three-dimensional flow and transport and thus, this research is continuing in that direction.     

Novel Chiral,Sulfur-Containing Heteroarotinoids with Liquid Crystal Properties

Synthetic methods were developed to prepare ethyl (E)-4-[2-(3,4-dihydro-2-n-octyl-1-oxy-2H-1-benzothio-pyran-6-yl)-1-propenyl]benzoate ( 1 ) and ethyl (E)-4-[2-(3,4-dihydro-2-n-octyl-2H-1-benzothiopyran-6-yl)-1-propenyl]benzoate ( 10 ). These are the first examples of heteroarotinoids which possess properties of liquid crystals. The properties were evaluated using differential scanning calorimetry and by use of polarizing micrography. Both displayed textures which are typical of a smectic or cholesteric phase.     

On chains in division algebras of degree 3

Let D be a division algebra of degree 3 over a field containing a primitive cube root of unity. We give two proofs of a theorem of Rost asserting that any two Kummer elements in D can be connected by a chain of length 4. To cite this article: D. Haile et al., C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 347 (2009).     

Asymptotic stability of a mechanical robotics model with damping and delay

In this paper we study the asymptotic stability of a mechanical robotics model with damping and delay. This model yields a certain linear third order delay differential equation. In proving our results we make use of Pontryagin's theory for quasi-polynomials.     

The synthesis of some 4-nitroisothiazoles as potential antifungal agents

5-Chloro-3-methyl-4-nitroisothiazole (III) was prepared by nitration of 5-chloro-3-methyliso-thiazole. Compound III was found to exhibit significant antifungal activity in vitro against a wide spectrum of fungi. The synthesis of 3-methyl-4-nitro-5-nitroamino, 5-carboxamido, 5-N,N-dimethylamino and 5-β-hydroxyethylaminoisothiazole are here reported. The synthesis of 3-methyl-4-nitroso-5-ethylthioisothiazole (IX) is reported via an unusual reaction of 5-bromo-3-methyl-4-nitroisothiazole (I) and sodium ethyl mercaptide. 5-Bromo-4-nitroisothiazole was prepared by nitration of 5-bromoisothiazole. The nitro group was shown to be essential for antifungal activity.