Analytical study of electrical disconnect system for use on manned and unmanned missions

The objective of this contract is to establish an optimum electrical disconnect system design(s) for use on manned and unmanned missions. The purpose of the disconnect system is to electrically mate and demate the spacecraft to subsystem module interfaces to accomplish orbital operations. The results of Task 1 and Task 2 of the effort are presented. Task 1 involves the definition of the functional, operational, and environmental requirements for the connector system to support the leading prototype candidate concepts. Task 2 involves the documentation review and survey of available existing connector designs

Assessing the impact of small amounts of water and iron oxides on adhesion in the wheel/rail interface using High Pressure Torsion testing

A new High Pressure Torsion (HPT) set-up has been developed for assessing the effect of third body materials in the wheel/rail interface in a representative and controlled manner. In this study the technique has been used to investigate the effect of small amounts of water and iron oxides mixtures when subjected to different contact pressures. HPT tests showed reduction in adhesion relative to a dry contact when testing with small amounts of water and/or oxides, however sustained low adhesion (μ<0.05) was not produced. To aid interpretation of the results a model has been developed to explore the behavior encountered when testing with water and iron oxide mixtures. The model relates the shear properties of water and oxide mixtures (with increasing solid content) to a predicted adhesion. The model shows a narrow window of water to oxide fraction is required for reduced adhesion, particularly on rough surfaces, and this correlates with the behavior observed

Polyethylene imine-based receptor immobilization for label free bioassays

Polyethylene imine (PEI) based immobilization of antibodies is described and the concept is proved on the label free assay of C-Reactive Protein (CRP). This novel immobilization method is composed of a hyperbranched PEI layer which was deposited at a high pH (9.5) on the sensor surface. The free amino groups of PEI were derivatized with neutravidin by Biotin N-hydroxysuccinimide ester and the biotinylated anti-CRP antibody immobilized on this layer. Direct binding assay of recombinant CRP was successfully performed in the low μg/ml concentrations using a label free optical waveguide biosensor

A new approach for modelling mild and severe wear in wheel-rail contacts

This paper presents a new approach for modelling the wear in wheel-rail contacts for a wide range of test and contact conditions (material pairing, load, creep, lubrication etc.) in the mild and severe wear regimes with one set of model coefficients. The approach is based on a detailed analysis of 56 Twin-Disc experiments in combination with existing knowledge from the literature. The model considers the thickness of the damaged layer caused by severe plastic shear deformations in the near-surface layer of wheel or rail and the maximum shear stress in the contact as the main influencing factors responsible for the observed wear behaviour. In this way, a much better prediction quality can be reached for varying test and contact conditions compared to the state of the art energy dissipation or sliding based approaches. The model includes a low number of model coefficients which are independent of test and contact conditions

Segmentation-based regularization of dynamic SPECT reconstructions

Abstract-Dynamic SPECT reconstruction using a single slow camera rotation is a highly underdetermined problem, which requires the use of regularization techniques to obtain useful results. The dSPECT algorithm We test this approach with a digital phantom simulating the kinetics of Tc99m-DTPA in the renal system, including healthy and unhealthy behaviour. Summed TACs for each kidney and the bladder were calculated for the spatially regularized and nonregularized reconstructions, and compared to the true values. The TACs for the two kidneys were noticeably improved in every case, while TACs for the smaller bladder region were unchanged. Furthermore, in two cases where the segmentation was intentionally done incorrectly, the spatially regularized reconstructions were still as good as the non-regularized ones. In general, the segmentation-based regularization improves TAC quality within ROIs, as well as image contrast

Wheel-rail creep force model for predicting water induced low adhesion phenomena

A computationally efficient engineering model to predict adhesion in rolling contact in the presence of water is presented which may be implemented in multibody dynamics software or in braking models to study train performance and braking strategies. This model has been developed in a project funded by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and Network Rail. It is referred to as the water-induced low adhesion creep force (WILAC) model. The model covers a wide range of conditions from dry over damp to wet. Special emphasis is put on little amounts of water which can cause low adhesion without any oil or grease. Such conditions may be encountered in humid weather or at the onset of rain. The model is parameterised based on experimental results from a tram wheel test rig. Adhesion values as low as 0.06 are observed at high creep with only wear debris and little water present in the contact. The model results also agree with experimental data from locomotive tests in dry and wet conditions

Nan-O-Style – experiments and arts

In this project, high school students (aged 16-17) tested various protocols of experiments in nanotechnology and evaluated them whether such experiments could also be performed by middle school students (aged 11-15) or even elementary school students (aged 6-10). Protocols pre-selected and provided by the instructing team consisting of Sciencetainment and the Department of Biosciences, University of Salzburg were applied. Laboratory techniques such as thin-layer chromatography, measuring the contact angle by high-resolution 3D microscopy and analyzing and constructing surface layers represented some of the experiments performed. Moreover, students produced short video clips and images and designed photo-collages out of microscopic and electron microscopic pictures. Hence, the school students acquired a number of soft skills during this special science day

CASKS (Computer Analysis of Storage casKS): A microcomputer based analysis system for storage cask design review. User`s manual to Version 1b (including program reference)

CASKS (Computer Analysis of Storage casKS) is a microcomputer-based system of computer programs and databases developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for evaluating safety analysis reports on spent-fuel storage casks. The bulk of the complete program and this user`s manual are based upon the SCANS (Shipping Cask ANalysis System) program previously developed at LLNL. A number of enhancements and improvements were added to the original SCANS program to meet requirements unique to storage casks. CASKS is an easy-to-use system that calculates global response of storage casks to impact loads, pressure loads and thermal conditions. This provides reviewers with a tool for an independent check on analyses submitted by licensees. CASKS is based on microcomputers compatible with the IBM-PC family of computers. The system is composed of a series of menus, input programs, cask analysis programs, and output display programs. All data is entered through fill-in-the-blank input screens that contain descriptive data requests