Avalanche frontiers in dissipative abelian sandpile model as off-critical SLE(2)

Avalanche frontiers in Abelian Sandpile Model (ASM) are random simple curves whose continuum limit is known to be a Schramm-Loewner Evolution (SLE) with diffusivity parameter $\kappa = 2$. In this paper we consider the dissipative ASM and study the statistics of the avalanche and wave frontiers for various rates of dissipation. We examine the scaling behavior of a number of functions such as the correlation length, the exponent of distribution function of loop lengths and gyration radius defined for waves and avalanches. We find that they do scale with the rate of dissipation. Two significant length scales are observed. For length scales much smaller than the correlation length, these curves show properties close to the critical curves and the corresponding diffusivity parameter is nearly the same as the critical limit. We interpret this as the ultra violet (UV) limit where $\kappa = 2$ corresponding to $c=-2$. For length scales much larger than the correlation length we find that the avalanche frontiers tend to Self-Avoiding Walk, the corresponding driving function is proportional to the Brownian motion with the diffusion parameter $\kappa =8/3$ corresponding to a field theory with $c = 0$. This is the infra red (IR) limit. Correspondingly the central charge decreases from the IR to the UV point.Comment: 11 Pages, 6 Figure

Forecasting Time-Series with Correlated Seasonality

A new approach is proposed for forecasting a time series with multiple seasonal patterns. A state space model is developed for the series using the single source of error approach which enables us to develop explicit models for both additive and multiplicative seasonality. Parameter estimates may be obtained using methods adapted from general exponential smoothing, although the Kalman filter may also be used. The proposed model is used to examine hourly and daily patterns in hourly data for both utility loads and traffic flows. Our formulation provides a model for several existing seasonal methods and also provides new options, which result in superior forecasting performance over a range of prediction horizons. The approach is likely to be useful in a wide range of applications involving both high and low frequency data, and it handles missing values in a straightforward manner.Exponential smoothing; Holt-Winters; Seasonality; Structural time series model

Spatial Asymmetric Two dimensional Continuous Abelian Sandpile Model

We insert some asymmetries in the continuous Abelian sandpile models, such as directedness and ellipticity. We analyze probability distribution of different heights and also find the field theory corresponding to the models. Also we find the fields associated with some height variables.Comment: 14 Pages, 11 Figure

ON UKRAINIAN LABOR MARKET NEEDS IN MARKETERS

Asymmetric Incremental Sheet Forming (AISF) has been developed as a flexible process for low-volume production of sheet metal parts. In AISF, a part is obtained as the sum of localized plastic deformations produced by a simple forming tool that moves under CNC control. In spite of about 20 years of research and development, AISF has not had much industrial take-up yet. The main reason for this is that attempts to improve, among other limitations, the accuracy, speed and range of feasible geometries of the process by adapted process strategies has not brought about general solutions. This paper presents an overview of the current state of development of hybrid asymmetric incremental sheet forming processes at RWTH Aachen University. The goal of the development of hybrid ISF processes is to allow for a quantum leap of the capabilities of AISF in order to enable a broader industrial use of AISF. Two hybrid process variations of AISF are presented: stretch forming combined with ISF and laser-assisted AISF. It is shown that the combination of stretch forming and AISF can improve the time per part, sheet thickness distribution and accuracy of the final part. Laser-assisted AISF is shown to enable the flexible forming of non cold-workable materials such as magnesium and titanium alloys when the forming conditions are adapted to the temperature and strain rate dependent formability of the sheet metal. In addition, first results of the forming of hybrid aluminum-steel sheet metal are shown

Mars ISRU for Production of Mission Critical Consumables - Options, Recent Studies, and Current State of the Art

In 1978, a ground breaking paper titled, "Feasibility of Rocket Propellant Production on Mars" by Ash, Dowler, and Varsi discussed how ascent propellants could be manufactured on the Mars surface from carbon dioxide collected from the atmosphere to reduce launch mass. Since then, the concept of making mission critical consumables such as propellants, fuel cell reactants, and life support consumables from local resources, commonly known as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), for robotic and human missions to Mars has been studied many times. In the late 1990's, NASA initiated a series of Mars Human Design Reference Missions (DRMs), the first of which was released in 1997. These studies primarily focused on evaluating the impact of making propellants on Mars for crew ascent to Mars orbit, but creating large caches of life support consumables (water & oxygen) as a backup for regenerative life support systems for long-duration surface stays (>500 days) was also considered in Mars DRM 3.0. Until science data from the Mars Odyssey orbiter and subsequent robotic missions revealed that water may be widely accessable across the surface of Mars, prior Mars ISRU studies were limited to processing Mars atmospheric resources (carbon dioxide, nitrogen, argon, oxygen, and water vapor). In December 2007, NASA completed the Mars Human Design Reference Architecture (DRA) 5.0 study which considered water on Mars as a potential resource for the first time in a human mission architecture. While knowledge of both water resources on Mars and the hardware required to excavate and extract the water were very preliminary, the study concluded that a significant reduction in mass and significant enhancements to the mission architecture were possible if Mars water resources were utilized. Two subsequent Mars ISRU studies aimed at reexamining ISRU technologies, processing options, and advancements in the state-of-the-art since 2007 and to better understand the volume and packaging associated with Mars ISRU systems further substantiated the preliminary results from the Mars DRA 5.0 study. This paper will provide an overview of Mars ISRU consumable production options, the analyses, results, and conclusions from the Mars DRA 5.0 (2007), Mars Collaborative (2013), and Mars ISRU Payload for the Supersonic Retro Propulsion (2014) mission studies, and the current state-of-the-art of Mars ISRU technologies and systems. The paper will also briefly discuss the mission architectural implications associated with Mars resource and ISRU processing options

Mechanism investigation of friction-related effects in single point incremental forming using a developed oblique roller-ball tool

Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a highly versatile and flexible process for rapid manufacturing of complex sheet metal parts. In the SPIF process, a ball nose tool moves along a predefined tool path to form the sheet to desired shapes. Due to its unique ability in local deformation of sheet metal, the friction condition between the tool and sheet plays a significant role in material deformation. The effects of friction on surface finish, forming load, material deformation and formability are studied using a newly developed oblique roller ball (ORB) tool. Four grades of aluminum sheet including AA1100, AA2024, AA5052 and AA6111 are employed in the experiments. The material deformation under both the ORB tool and conventional rigid tool are studied by drilling a small hole in the sheet. The experimental results suggest that by reducing the friction resistance using the ORB tool, better surface quality, reduced forming load, smaller through-the-thickness-shear and higher formability can be achieved. To obtain a better understanding of the frictional effect, an analytical model is developed based on the analysis of the stress state in the SPIF deformation zone. Using the developed model, an explicit relationship between the stress state and forming parameters is established. The experimental observations are in good agreement with the developed model. The model can also be used to explain two contrary effects of friction and corresponding through-the-thickness-shear: increase of friction would potentially enhance the forming stability and suppress the necking; however, increase of friction would also increase the stress triaxiality and decrease the formability. The final role of the friction effect depends on the significance of each effect in SPIF process

Mars Atmosphere Resource Verification INsitu (MARVIN) - In Situ Resource Demonstration for the Mars 2020 Mission

The making of oxygen from resources in the Martian atmosphere, known as In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), has the potential to provide substantial benefits for future robotic and human exploration. In particular, the ability to produce oxygen on Mars for use in propulsion, life support, and power systems can provide significant mission benefits such as a reducing launch mass, lander size, and mission and crew risk. To advance ISRU for possible incorporation into future human missions to Mars, NASA proposed including an ISRU instrument on the Mars 2020 rover mission, through an announcement of opportunity (AO). The purpose of the the Mars Atmosphere Resource Verification INsitu or (MARVIN) instrument is to provide the first demonstration on Mars of oxygen production from acquired and stored Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide, as well as take measurements of atmospheric pressure and temperature, and of suspended dust particle sizes and amounts entrained in collected atmosphere gases at different times of the Mars day and year. The hardware performance and environmental data obtained will be critical for future ISRU systems that will reduce the mass of propellants and other consumables launched from Earth for robotic and human exploration, for better understanding of Mars dust and mitigation techniques to improve crew safety, and to help further define Mars global circulation models and better understand the regional atmospheric dynamics on Mars. The technologies selected for MARVIN are also scalable for future robotic sample return and human missions to Mars using ISRU

A study of incremental sheet forming by using water jet

In this work, a variant of the incremental sheet forming (ISF) process, namely the incremental sheet forming by using water jet (ISF-WJ), was studied. In the investigation, an ISF-WJ prototype machine was designed and developed. Different design concepts of the water jet nozzle were proposed and evaluated to achieve the maximum forming pressure by performing computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. Based on the forming pressure distribution modeled by CFD simulations, finite element (FE) models were developed to study the sheet deformation behavior under the ISF-WJ process condition. Based on the understanding gained from the numerical study, experiments were conducted to validate the ISF-WJ process and the developed prototype machine. The results suggest that ISF-WJ is a feasible process to achieve improved surface finish of thin sheet parts. In addition, this study has found that water jet pressure plays an important role in preventing sheet wrinkling and obtaining an accurate geometry of formed parts

Acceptability, usability and performance of lateral flow immunoassay tests for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies: REACT-2 study of self-testing in non-healthcare key workers

Background Seroprevalence studies are essential to understand the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. Various technologies, including laboratory assays and point-of-care self-tests, are available for antibody testing. The interpretation of seroprevalence studies requires comparative data on the performance of antibody tests. Methods In June 2020, current and former members of the UK Police forces and Fire service performed a self-test lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA), had a nurse-performed LFIA and provided a venous blood sample for ELISA . We present the prevalence of antibodies to SARS-CoV-2; the acceptability and usability of self-test LFIAs; and determine the sensitivity and specificity of LFIAs compared to laboratory ELISA. Results In this cohort of 5189 current and former members of the Police service and 263 members of the Fire service, 7.4% (396/5,348; 95% CI, 6.7-8.1) were antibody positive. Seroprevalence was 8.9% (6.9-11.4) in those under 40 years, 11.5% (8.8-15.0) in those of non-white ethnicity and 7.8% (7.1-8.7) in those currently working. Self-test LFIA had an acceptability of 97.7% and a usability of 90.0%. There was substantial agreement between within-participant LFIA results (kappa 0.80; 0.77-0.83). The LFIAs had a similar performance: compared to ELISA, sensitivity was 82.1% (77.7-86.0) self-test and 76.4% (71.9-80.5) nurse-performed with specificity of 97.8% (97.3-98.2) and 98.5% (98.1-98.8) respectively. Conclusion A greater proportion of this non-healthcare key worker cohort showed evidence of previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 than the general population at 6.0% (5.8-6.1) following the first wave in England. The high acceptability and usability reported by participants and similar performance of self-test and nurse-performed LFIAs indicate that the self-test LFIA is fit for purpose for home-testing in occupational and community prevalence studies

Overview of NASA Technology Development for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)

In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) encompasses a broad range of systems that enable the production and use of extraterrestrial resources in support of future exploration missions. It has the potential to greatly reduce the dependency on resources transported from Earth (e.g., propellants, life support consumables), thereby significantly improving the ability to conduct future missions. Recognizing the critical importance of ISRU for the future, NASA is currently conducting technology development projects in two of its four mission directorates. The Advanced Exploration Systems Division in the Agency's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate has initiated a new project for ISRU Technology focused on component, subsystem, and system maturation in the areas of water volatiles resource acquisition, and water volatiles and atmospheric processing into propellants and other consumable products. The Space Technology Mission Directorate is supporting development of ISRU component technologies in the areas of Mars atmosphere acquisition, including dust management, and oxygen production from Mars atmosphere for propellant and life support consumables. Together, these two coordinated projects are working towards a common goal of demonstrating ISRU technology and systems in preparation for future flight applications