Pneumatic boot for helicopter rotor deicing

Pneumatic deicer boots for helicopter rotor blades were tested. The tests were conducted in the 6 by 9 ft icing research tunnel on a stationary section of a UH-IH helicopter main rotor blade. The boots were effective in removing ice and in reducing aerodynamic drag due to ice

Analysis of dynamic inlet distortion applied to a parallel compressor model

An investigation of surge was conducted by using a parallel compressor model of the J85-13 compressor implement on an analog computer. Surges were initiated by various types of dynamic disturbances in inlet pressure. The compressor model was less sensitive to disturbances of short duration, high frequency, and long duration where the compressor discharge pressure could react. Adding steady distortion to dynamic disturbances reduced the amount of dynamic disturbance required to effect surge. Steady and unsteady distortions combined linearly to reduce surge margin

Dependence of electronic polarization on octahedral rotations in TbMnO3 from first principles

The electronic contribution to the magnetically induced polarization in orthorhombic TbMnO3 is studied from first principles. We compare the cases in which the spin cycloid, which induces the electric polarization via the spin-orbit interaction, is in either the b-c or a-b plane. We find that the electronic contribution is negligible in the first case, but much larger, and comparable to the lattice-mediated contribution, in the second case. However, we how that this behavior is an artifact of the particular pattern of octahedral rotations characterizing the structurally relaxed Pbnm crystal structure. To do so, we explore how the electronic contribution varies for a structural model of rigidly rotated MnO6 octahedra, and demonstrate that it can vary over a wide range, comparable with the lattice-mediated contribution, for both b-c and a-b spirals. We introduce a phenomenological model that is capable of describing this behavior in terms of sums of symmetry-constrained contributions arising from the displacements of oxygen atoms from the centers of the Mn-Mn bonds.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

Accounting for spin fluctuations beyond LSDA in the density functional theory

We present a method to correct the magnetic properties of itinerant systems in local spin density approximation (LSDA) and we apply it to the ferromagnetic-paramagnetic transition under pressure in a typical itinerant system, Ni$_{3}$Al. We obtain a scaling of the critical fluctuations as a function of pressure equivalent to the one obtained within Moryia's theory. Moreover we show that in this material the role of the bandstructure is crucial in driving the transition. Finally we calculate the magnetic moment as a function of pressure, and find that it gives a scaling of the Curie temperature that is in good agreement with the experiment. The method can be easily extended to the antiferromagnetic case and applied, for instance, to the Fe-pnictides in order to correct the LSDA magnetic moment.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

On the calculation of the bandgap of periodic solids with MGGA functionals using the total energy

During the last few years, it has become more and more clear that functionals of the meta generalized gradient approximation (MGGA) are more accurate than GGA functionals for the geometry and energetics of electronic systems. However, MGGA functionals are also potentially more interesting for the electronic structure, in particular, when the potential is nonmultiplicative (i.e., when MGGAs are implemented in the generalized Kohn-Sham framework), which may help to get more accurate bandgaps. Here, we show that the calculation of bandgap of solids with MGGA functionals can also be done very accurately in a non-self-consistent manner. This scheme uses only the total energy and can, therefore, be very useful when the self-consistent implementation of a particular MGGA functional is not available. Since self-consistent MGGA calculations may be difficult to converge, the non-self-consistent scheme may also help to speed up the calculations. Furthermore, it can be applied to any other types of functionals, for which the implementation of the corresponding potential is not trivial

Boundary layer thickness effect on boattail drag

A combined experimental and analytical program was conducted to investigate the effects of boundary layer changes on the flow over high angle boattail nozzles. The tests were run on an isolated axisymmetric sting mounted model. Various boattail geometries were investigated at high subsonic speeds over a range of boundary layer thicknesses. In general, boundary layer effects were small at speeds up to Mach 0.8. However, at higher speeds significant regions of separated flow were present on the boattail. When separation was present large reductions in boattail drag resulted with increasing boundary layer thickness. The analysis predicts both of these trends

Is LaO1−x_{1-x}Fx_xFeAs an electron-phonon superconductor ?

In this paper we calculate the electron-phonon coupling of the newly-discovered superconductor LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs from first-principles, using Density Functional Perturbation Theory. For pure LaOFeAs, the calculated electron-phonon coupling constant $\lambda=0.21$ and logarithmic-averaged frequency $\omega_{ln}=206 K$, give a maximum $T_c$ of 0.8 K, using the standard Migdal-Eliashberg theory. For the $F-$doped compounds, we predict even smaller coupling constants, due to the strong suppression of the electronic Density of States at the Fermi level. To reproduce the experimental $T_c=26 K$, a 5-6 times larger coupling constant would be needed. Our results indicate that electron-phonon coupling is not sufficient to explain superconductivity in the newly-discovered LaO$_{1-x}$F$_x$FeAs superconductor, probably due to the importance of strong correlation effects

Dynamic analysis of a photovoltaic power system with battery storage capability

A photovolataic power system with a battery storage capability is analyzed. A dual battery current control concept is proposed, which enables the battery to either supply or accept power depending upon system environment and load conditions. A simulation of the power system, including the battery current control, is developed and evaluated. The evaulation demonstrate the visbility of the battery control concept of switch the battery from a charge to discharge mode and back as required by load and environmental conditions. An acceptable system operation is demonstrated over the entire insolation range. Additionally, system sensitivity, bandwidth, and damping characteristics of the battery control are shown to be acceptable for a projected hardware implementation

All-electron theory of the coupling between laser-induced coherent phonons in bismuth

Using first principles, all-electron calculations and dynamical simulations we study the behavior of the A_1g and E_g coherent phonons induced in Bi by intense laser pulses. We determine the potential landscapes in the laser heated material and show that they exhibit phonon-softening, phonon-phonon coupling, and anharmonicities. As a consequence the E_g mode modulates the A_1g oscillations and higher harmonics of both modes appear, which explains recent isotropic reflectivity measurements. Our results offer a unified description of the different experimental observations performed so far on bismuth.Comment: 3 figure

Single-Dirac-Cone topological surface states in TlBiSe2 class of Topological Insulators

We have investigated several strong spin-orbit coupling ternary chalcogenides related to the (Pb,Sn)Te series of compounds. Our first-principles calculations predict the low temperature rhombohedral ordered phase in TlBiTe2, TlBiSe2, and TlSbX2 (X=Te, Se, S) to be topologically Kane-Mele Z2 = -1 nontrivial. We identify the specific surface termination that realizes the single Dirac cone through first-principles surface state computations. This termination minimizes effects of dangling bonds making it favorable for photoemission (ARPES) experiments. Our analysis predicts that thin films of these materials would harbor novel 2D quantum spin Hall states, and support odd-parity topological superconductivity. For a related work also see arXiv:1003.2615v1. Experimental ARPES results will be published elsewhere.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. (2010). Submitted March 201