SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES IN IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT AND DISTRIBUTION

Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Project Antares: A low cost modular launch vehicle for the future

The single stage to orbit launch vehicle Antares is based upon the revolutionary concept of modularity, enabling the Antares to efficiently launch communications satellites, as well as heavy payloads, into Earth's orbit and beyond. The basic unit of the modular system, a single Antares vehicle, is aimed at launching approximately 10,000 kg into low Earth orbit (LEO). When coupled with a Centaur upper stage it is capable of placing 3500 kg into geostationary orbit. The Antares incorporates a reusable engine, the Dual Mixture Ratio Engine (DMRE), as its propulsive device. This enables Antares to compete and excel in the satellite launch market by dramatically reducing launch costs. Antares' projected launch costs are $1340 per kg to LEO which offers a tremendous savings over launch vehicles available today. Inherent in the design is the capability to attach several of these vehicles together to provide heavy lift capability. Any number of these vehicles, up to seven, can be attached depending on the payload and mission requirements. With a seven vehicle configuration Antares's modular concept provides a heavy lift capability of approximately 70,000 kg to LEO. This expandability allows for a wider range of payload options such as large Earth satellites, Space Station Freedom support, and interplanetary spacecraft, and also offers a significant cost savings over a mixed fleet based on different launch vehicles

A new definition of mixing and segregation: Three dimensions of a key process variable

Although a number of definitions of mixing have been proposed in the literature, no single definition accurately and clearly describes the full range of problems in the field of industrial mixing. An alternate approach is proposed which defines segregation as being composed of three separate dimensions. The first dimension is the intensity of segregation quantified by the normalized concentration variance (CoV); the second dimension is the scale of segregation or clustering; and the last dimension is the exposure or the potential to reduce segregation. The first dimension focuses on the instantaneous concentration variance; the second on the instantaneous length scales in the mixing field; and the third on the driving force for change, i.e. the mixing time scale, or the instantaneous rate of reduction in segregation. With these three dimensions in hand, it is possible to speak more clearly about what is meant by the control of segregation in industrial mixing processes. In this paper, the three dimensions of segregation are presented and defined in the context of previous definitions of mixing, and then applied to a range of industrial mixing problems to test their accuracy and robustness

Index to 1981 NASA Tech Briefs, volume 6, numbers 1-4

Short announcements of new technology derived from the R&D activities of NASA are presented. These briefs emphasize information considered likely to be transferrable across industrial, regional, or disciplinary lines and are issued to encourage commercial application. This index for 1981 Tech Briefs contains abstracts and four indexes: subject, personal author, originating center, and Tech Brief Number. The following areas are covered: electronic components and circuits, electronic systems, physical sciences, materials, life sciences, mechanics, machinery, fabrication technology, and mathematics and information sciences