A Program for the Collection, Storage, and Analysis of Baseline Environmental Data for Cook Inlet, Alaska

The scope of this report is to provide a general, yet comprehensive, description of the Cook Inlet System which will serve as a basis for understanding the interrelated natural and man-made factors governing its future; to present a program of field research studies for the estuarine environment that will describe the existing state of the Inlet with respect to the water quality and biota; to provide a framework whereby the program of studies can be evaluated and redirected in light of the preliminary results; and, to provide a method of storing and analyzing the data from the investigations so that it can be made available to interested parties in the most efficient manner possible.This report was prepared by the Institute of Water Resources of the University of Alaska for the Alaska Water Laboratory, Federal Water Pollution Control Administration under Contract No. 14-12-449

Physical Multi-Layer Phantoms for Intra-Body Communications

This paper presents approaches to creating tissue mimicking materials that can be used as phantoms for evaluating the performance of Body Area Networks (BAN). The main goal of the paper is to describe a methodology to create a repeatable experimental BAN platform that can be customized depending on the BAN scenario under test. Comparisons between different material compositions and percentages are shown, along with the resulting electrical properties of each mixture over the frequency range of interest for intra-body communications; 100 KHz to 100 MHz. Test results on a composite multi-layer sample are presented confirming the efficacy of the proposed methodology. To date, this is the first paper that provides guidance on how to decide on concentration levels of ingredients, depending on the exact frequency range of operation, and the desired matched electrical characteristics (conductivity vs. permittivity), to create multi-layer phantoms for intra-body communication applications

Importance and applications of robotic and autonomous systems (RAS) in railway maintenance sector: a review

Maintenance, which is critical for safe, reliable, quality, and cost-effective service, plays a dominant role in the railway industry. Therefore, this paper examines the importance and applications of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) in railway maintenance. More than 70 research publications, which are either in practice or under investigation describing RAS developments in the railway maintenance, are analysed. It has been found that the majority of RAS developed are for rolling-stock maintenance, followed by railway track maintenance. Further, it has been found that there is growing interest and demand for robotics and autonomous systems in the railway maintenance sector, which is largely due to the increased competition, rapid expansion and ever-increasing expense

Rotorcraft digital advanced avionics system (RODAAS) functional description

A functional design of a rotorcraft digital advanced avionics system (RODAAS) to transfer the technology developed for general aviation in the Demonstration Advanced Avionics System (DAAS) program to rotorcraft operation was undertaken. The objective was to develop an integrated avionics system design that enhances rotorcraft single pilot IFR operations without increasing the required pilot training/experience by exploiting advanced technology in computers, busing, displays and integrated systems design. A key element of the avionics system is the functionally distributed architecture that has the potential for high reliability with low weight, power and cost. A functional description of the RODAAS hardware and software functions is presented

North Campus Open Space Restoration Project Annual Monitoring Report: Year 2 (2019)

Born out of a vision shared by the local community, students, faculty, researchers and state and federal agencies, the North Campus Open Space (NCOS) restoration project is recreating more than 40 acres of estuarine and palustrine wetlands that historically comprised the upper portion of Devereux Slough that was filled in the mid-1960s to create the Ocean Meadows golf course. Led by the UC Santa Barbara Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) in collaboration with other UCSB departments, faculty, student and local community groups, contractors and government agencies, the project is also restoring more than 60 acres of upland habitats that include native grassland, coastal sage scrub, riparian, oak chaparral woodland, vernal pools and patches of annual wildflowers in clay and sandy soils. In addition to wetland and upland habitat restoration, the goals of the NCOS project include flood reduction, support for threatened and endangered species, public access and the provision of educational opportunities. Ancillary benefits of the project include carbon sequestration, preservation of local genotypes, and protection of adjacent ecological values and infrastructure through a design that integrates sea level rise considerations.Currently in its third year of implementation, the main planting phase of the project is approximately 90% complete, and the focus is now turning towards maintenance, continued monitoring, new research projects, and supplemental planting to add diversity, including special status species such as the Ventura marsh milk-vetch (Astragalus pycnostachys var. lanosissimus). This report describes the methods and results of monitoring for the first two years of the project, from vegetation and wildlife to wetland geomorphology, hydrology and water quality, carbon sequestration studies, community use and a detailed record of restoration efforts by type of worker, task and site location. This work documents the progress of the project and supports longer-term research and monitoring programs. Results from the second year of monitoring show substantial progress towards the project’s restoration goals, with many being met or exceeded

A comparison of processing techniques for producing prototype injection moulding inserts.

This project involves the investigation of processing techniques for producing low-cost moulding inserts used in the particulate injection moulding (PIM) process. Prototype moulds were made from both additive and subtractive processes as well as a combination of the two. The general motivation for this was to reduce the entry cost of users when considering PIM. PIM cavity inserts were first made by conventional machining from a polymer block using the pocket NC desktop mill. PIM cavity inserts were also made by fused filament deposition modelling using the Tiertime UP plus 3D printer. The injection moulding trials manifested in surface finish and part removal defects. The feedstock was a titanium metal blend which is brittle in comparison to commodity polymers. That in combination with the mesoscale features, small cross-sections and complex geometries were considered the main problems. For both processing methods, fixes were identified and made to test the theory. These consisted of a blended approach that saw a combination of both the additive and subtractive processes being used. The parts produced from the three processing methods are investigated and their respective merits and issues are discussed

Automation of the longwall mining system

Cost effective, safe, and technologically sound applications of automation technology to underground coal mining were identified. The longwall analysis commenced with a general search for government and industry experience of mining automation technology. A brief industry survey was conducted to identify longwall operational, safety, and design problems. The prime automation candidates resulting from the industry experience and survey were: (1) the shearer operation, (2) shield and conveyor pan line advance, (3) a management information system to allow improved mine logistics support, and (4) component fault isolation and diagnostics to reduce untimely maintenance delays. A system network analysis indicated that a 40% improvement in productivity was feasible if system delays associated with all of the above four areas were removed. A technology assessment and conceptual system design of each of the four automation candidate areas showed that state of the art digital computer, servomechanism, and actuator technologies could be applied to automate the longwall system

Reducing risk in pre-production investigations through undergraduate engineering projects.

This poster is the culmination of final year Bachelor of Engineering Technology (B.Eng.Tech) student projects in 2017 and 2018. The B.Eng.Tech is a level seven qualification that aligns with the Sydney accord for a three-year engineering degree and hence is internationally benchmarked. The enabling mechanism of these projects is the industry connectivity that creates real-world projects and highlights the benefits of the investigation of process at the technologist level. The methodologies we use are basic and transparent, with enough depth of technical knowledge to ensure the industry partners gain from the collaboration process. The process we use minimizes the disconnect between the student and the industry supervisor while maintaining the academic freedom of the student and the commercial sensitivities of the supervisor. The general motivation for this approach is the reduction of the entry cost of the industry to enable consideration of new technologies and thereby reducing risk to core business and shareholder profits. The poster presents several images and interpretive dialogue to explain the positive and negative aspects of the student process

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 183

This bibliography lists 273 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in July 1978

NASA space station automation: AI-based technology review

Research and Development projects in automation for the Space Station are discussed. Artificial Intelligence (AI) based automation technologies are planned to enhance crew safety through reduced need for EVA, increase crew productivity through the reduction of routine operations, increase space station autonomy, and augment space station capability through the use of teleoperation and robotics. AI technology will also be developed for the servicing of satellites at the Space Station, system monitoring and diagnosis, space manufacturing, and the assembly of large space structures