Thermodynamic stability of austenitic Ni-Mn-Cu cast iron

The performed research was aimed at determining thermodynamic stability of structures of Ni-Mn-Cu cast iron castings. Examined were 35 alloys. The castings were tempered at 900 °C for 2 hours. Two cooling speeds were used: furnace-cooling and water-cooling. In the alloys with the nickel equivalent value less than 20,0 %, partial transition of austenite to martensite took place. The austenite decomposition ratio and the related growth of hardness was higher for smaller nickel equivalent value and was clearly larger in annealed castings than in hardened ones. Obtaining thermodynamically stable structure of castings requires larger than 20,0 % value of the nickel equivalent

JT8D-15/17 High Pressure Turbine Root Discharged Blade Performance Improvement

The JT8D high pressure turbine blade and seal were modified, using a more efficient blade cooling system, improved airfoil aerodynamics, more effective control of secondary flows, and improved blade tip sealing. Engine testing was conducted to determine the effect of these improvements on performance. The modified turbine package demonstrated significant thrust specific fuel consumption and exhaust gas temperature improvements in sea level and altitude engine tests. Inspection of the improved blade and seal hardware after testing revealed no unusual wear or degradation

The portrayal and frequency of religion in secular rap music

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on September 10, 2012).The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Thesis advisor: Dr. Cynthia FrisbyIncludes bibliographical references.M.A. University of Missouri--Columbia 2012."May 2012"Secular rap has arguably become one of the most influential and popular genres in music, and its effects on aspects of American culture, like sexuality (Ward, Hansbrough, & Walker, 2005) and violence (Jones, 1997), have been measured. The way rap music may have potentially influenced the religiosity of its listeners has yet to be explored. This study starts that line of research by measuring the amount of religious references in secular rap songs and examining any possible relationships between the amounts of religious references and how religion is portrayed in those songs. The researcher conducted a content analysis of lyrics from twenty influential rappers. The researcher then compared the portrayal of religion in rap songs released before the death of rapper Tupac Shakur to the songs released after that date. The results indicated a significant relationship between the amount of religious references and the framing of religion, while the researcher found significant negative relationships in how religion was framed after the death of Shakur. The results indicate a need for media effects research on the lyrics of Tupac Shakur to further examine the influence the lyrics have on listeners

Measurement of the azimuthal angle dependence of inclusive jet yields in Pb+Pb collisions at √sNN=2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Measurements of the variation of inclusive jet suppression as a function of relative azimuthal angle, Δϕ, with respect to the elliptic event plane provide insight into the path-length dependence of jet quenching. ATLAS has measured the Δϕ dependence of jet yields in 0.14  nb-1 of √sNN=2.76  TeV Pb+Pb collisions at the LHC for jet transverse momenta pT>45  GeV in different collision centrality bins using an underlying event subtraction procedure that accounts for elliptic flow. The variation of the jet yield with Δϕ was characterized by the parameter, v2jet, and the ratio of out-of-plane (Δϕ∼π/2) to in-plane (Δϕ∼0) yields. Nonzero v2jet values were measured in all centrality bins for pT<160  GeV. The jet yields are observed to vary by as much as 20% between in-plane and out-of-plane directions

Measurement of the production cross section of prompt J/ψ mesons in association with a W± boson in pp collisions at p s = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The process pp → W±J/ψ provides a powerful probe of the production mechanism of charmonium in hadronic collisions, and is also sensitive to multiple parton interactions in the colliding protons. Using the 2011 ATLAS dataset of 4.5 fb-1 of p s = 7TeV pp collisions at the LHC, the first observation is made of the production of W± + prompt J/ events in hadronic collisions, using W± → μ and J/ψ → μ+μ-. A yield of 27.4±7.5 -6.5 W± + prompt J/ψ events is observed, with a statistical significance of 5.1. The production rate as a ratio to the inclusive W± boson production rate is measured, and the double parton scattering contribution to the cross section is estimated