Un-black boxing mitigation infrastructures : proposing alternative imaginaries for mono-functional and under-utilized urban backstages

Cities are full of risk-mitigation infrastructure to protect ourselves from floods, erosion and threatening natural disasters. These infrastructures include underground retention tanks, dams and channelized river. They are purposefully hidden away because they are under highways or underground. Most of risk-mitigation infrastructures are under-utilized ninety- five percent of the time. They only serve one function for two weeks every year. They are empty most of the year. Is there an alternative project to consider these risk-mitigation infrastructures while they are completely mono-functional and under-utilized? Along with my inquiry to utilize risk-mitigation infrastructures, I am critiquing the “blackboxing” and “under-utilization” of processes that happen in infrastructures. “blackbox” is a term used to describe processes or progressions which are not accessible to public, or presented without transparency. Therefore, “blackboxed” processes reject systemic alteration. How the risk-mitigation infrastructures run, when it runs and related processes are blackboxed. These processes include as sweat labor, commodification cost of raw materials and embedded energy. I aim to open blackboxes which are inherent in risk-mitigation infrastructures. This directed resarch project aims to not only reveal the number of processes that are blackboxed today, but also to propose alternative imaginaries for under-utilized infrastructures to be visible, hybrid and functional all around the year

Dynamics of Vesicles in shear and rotational flows: Modal Dynamics and Phase Diagram

Despite the recent upsurge of theoretical reduced models for vesicle shape dynamics, comparisons with experiments have not been accomplished. We review the implications of some of the recently proposed models for vesicle dynamics, especially the Tumbling-Trembling domain regions of the phase plane and show that they all fail to capture the essential behavior of real vesicles for excess areas, \Delta, greater than 0.4. We emphasize new observations of shape harmonics and the role of thermal fluctuations.Comment: (removed forgotten leftover figure files

Free-Spinning-Tunnel Investigation of a 1/20-Scale Model of the McDonnell XF2H-1 Airplane

A spin-recovery investigation has been conducted in the Langley 20-foot free-spinning tunnel on a 20-scale model modified to represent the McDonnell XF2H-1 airplane. The project included tests both with tip tanks installed and with the tanks removed. The results indicated that the recovery characteristics of the airplane would be satisfactory for all loadings by normal recovery technique (full reversal of the rudder, followed 1/2 turn later by movement of the elevator down). The rudder pedal and the elevator stick forces likely to be encountered in a spin should be within the capabilities of the pilot

An assessment of road-verge grass as a feedstock for farm-fed anaerobic digestion plants

Cuttings from road-verge grass could provide biomass for energy generation, but currently this potential is not exploited. This research assessed the technical, practical and financial feasibility of using grass harvested from road verges as a feedstock in farm-fed anaerobic digestion (AD) plants. The methane potential (191 mL CH4 gDM−1) and digestion characteristics of verge grass were similar to those of current farm feedstocks; indicating suitability for AD. Ensiling had no significant impact on the biomethane generated. Testing co-digestions of verge grass with current farm feedstocks showed enhanced methane yields, suggesting that verge grass could be a valuable addition to AD feedstock mixes. In a case study of the UK county of Lincolnshire, potential volumes and locations of verge grass biomass were estimated, with capacities and locations of existing AD plants, to assess the potential to supply practical grass volumes. Grass harvesting costs were modelled and compared with other feedstock costs. Finally, the attitudes of AD operators to using verge grass were investigated to understand whether a market for verge grass exists. In a small survey all operators were willing to use it as a feedstock and most were prepared to pay over the estimated harvesting cost. If verge grass was legally recognised as a waste product it could be attractive to AD operators especially where financial incentives to use waste feedstocks are in place. In rural areas, verge grass could be harvested and co-digested by existing farm-fed AD plants, potentially reducing the cost of road verge maintenance and increasing biodiversity

Soliton complexity in the damped-driven nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation: stationary, periodic, quasiperiodic complexes

Stationary and oscillatory bound states, or complexes, of the damped-driven solitons are numerically path-followed in the parameter space. We compile a chart of the two-soliton attractors, complementing the one-soliton attractor chart.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

DDASaccident494

The machine was preparing the ground for manual parties in one of the routes that the teeth of bucket hit top of an anti tank YM-11 Iranian mine and caused it to explode

DDASaccident494

The machine was preparing the ground for manual parties in one of the routes that the teeth of bucket hit top of an anti tank YM-11 Iranian mine and caused it to explode

DDASaccident494

The machine was preparing the ground for manual parties in one of the routes that the teeth of bucket hit top of an anti tank YM-11 Iranian mine and caused it to explode