10,886 research outputs found
Fatigue delamination behaviour of unidirectional carbon fibre/epoxy laminates reinforced by Z-Fiber® pinnin
-Pin reinforced carbon-fibre epoxy laminates were tested under Mode I and Mode
II conditions, both quasi-statically and in fatigue. Test procedures were
adapted from existing standard or pre-standard tests. Samples containing 2% and
4% areal densities of carbon-fibre Z-pins (0.28mm diameter) were compared with
unpinned laminates. Quasi-static tests under displacement control yielded a
dramatic increase of the apparent delamination resistance. Specimens with 2% pin
density failed in Mode I at loads 170N, equivalent to an apparent GIC of 2kJ/m2.
Fatigue testing under load control showed that the presence of the through-
thickness reinforcement slowed down fatigue delamination propagation
Exploration of Parameter Spaces in a Virtual Observatory
Like every other field of intellectual endeavor, astronomy is being
revolutionised by the advances in information technology. There is an ongoing
exponential growth in the volume, quality, and complexity of astronomical data
sets, mainly through large digital sky surveys and archives. The Virtual
Observatory (VO) concept represents a scientific and technological framework
needed to cope with this data flood. Systematic exploration of the observable
parameter spaces, covered by large digital sky surveys spanning a range of
wavelengths, will be one of the primary modes of research with a VO. This is
where the truly new discoveries will be made, and new insights be gained about
the already known astronomical objects and phenomena. We review some of the
methodological challenges posed by the analysis of large and complex data sets
expected in the VO-based research. The challenges are driven both by the size
and the complexity of the data sets (billions of data vectors in parameter
spaces of tens or hundreds of dimensions), by the heterogeneity of the data and
measurement errors, including differences in basic survey parameters for the
federated data sets (e.g., in the positional accuracy and resolution,
wavelength coverage, time baseline, etc.), various selection effects, as well
as the intrinsic clustering properties (functional form, topology) of the data
distributions in the parameter spaces of observed attributes. Answering these
challenges will require substantial collaborative efforts and partnerships
between astronomers, computer scientists, and statisticians.Comment: Invited review, 10 pages, Latex file with 4 eps figures, style files
included. To appear in Proc. SPIE, v. 4477 (2001
Comparison between mirror Langmuir probe and gas puff imaging measurements of intermittent fluctuations in the Alcator C-Mod scrape-off layer
Statistical properties of the scrape-off layer (SOL) plasma fluctuations are
studied in ohmically heated plasmas in the Alcator C-Mod tokamak. For the first
time, plasma fluctuations as well as parameters that describe the fluctuations
are compared across measurements from a mirror Langmuir probe (MLP) and from
gas-puff imaging (GPI) that sample the same plasma discharge. This comparison
is complemented by an analysis of line emission time-series data, synthesized
from the MLP electron density and temperature measurements. The fluctuations
observed by the MLP and GPI typically display relative fluctuation amplitudes
of order unity together with positively skewed and flattened probability
density functions. Such data time series are well described by an established
stochastic framework which model the data as a superposition of uncorrelated,
two-sided exponential pulses. The most important parameter of the process is
the intermittency parameter, {\gamma} = {\tau}d / {\tau}w where {\tau}d denotes
the duration time of a single pulse and {\tau}w gives the average waiting time
between consecutive pulses. Here we show, using a new deconvolution method,
that these parameters can be consistently estimated from different statistics
of the data. We also show that the statistical properties of the data sampled
by the MLP and GPI diagnostic are very similar. Finally, a comparison of the
GPI signal to the synthetic line-emission time series suggests that the
measured emission intensity can not be explained solely by a simplified model
which neglects neutral particle dynamics
Fast light, slow light, and phase singularities: a connection to generalized weak values
We demonstrate that Aharonov-Albert-Vaidman (AAV) weak values have a direct
relationship with the response function of a system, and have a much wider
range of applicability in both the classical and quantum domains than
previously thought. Using this idea, we have built an optical system, based on
a birefringent photonic crystal, with an infinite number of weak values. In
this system, the propagation speed of a polarized light pulse displays both
superluminal and slow light behavior with a sharp transition between the two
regimes. We show that this system's response possesses two-dimensional,
vortex-antivortex phase singularities. Important consequences for optical
signal processing are discussed.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Physical Review Letters (2003
On Susy Standard-like models from orbifolds of D=6 Gepner orientifolds
As a further elaboration of the proposal of Ref. [1] we address the
construction of Standard-like models from configurations of stacks of
orientifold planes and D-branes on an internal space with the structure
. As a first step, the construction of
D=6 Type II B orientifolds on Gepner points, in the diagonal invariant case and
for both, odd and even, affine levels is discussed. We build up the explicit
expressions for B-type boundary states and crosscaps and obtain the amplitudes
among them. From such amplitudes we read the corresponding spectra and the
tadpole cancellation equations. Further compactification on a T^2 torus, by
simultaneously orbifolding the Gepner and the torus internal sectors, is
performed. The embedding of the orbifold action in the brane sector breaks the
original gauge groups and leads to N=1 supersymmetric chiral spectra. Whenever
even orbifold action on the torus is considered, new branes, with worldvolume
transverse to torus coordinates, must be included. The detailed rules for
obtaining the D=4 model spectra and tadpole equations are shown. As an
illustration we present a 3 generations Left-Right symmetric model that can be
further broken to a MSSM model.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures, added references, table 3 correcte
Developing a Pilot Case and Modelling the Development of a Large European CO<sub>2</sub> Transport Infrastructure -The GATEWAY H2020 Project
The H2020 GATEWAY project aims to develop a comprehensive model Pilot Case which, intentionally, will pave the ground for CCS deployment in Europe. It will result from the assessment of, technical, commercial, judicial and societal issues related to a future CO2 transport infrastructure. The Pilot Case derived on this basis, will emphasize a gateway for CO2 transport in the North Sea Basin. Four potential pilot cases have been evaluated through a combination of techno-economic modelling of the individual cases and evaluation against more qualitative criteria. The chosen Pilot Case, Rotterdam Nucleus, will be refined and developed during the remaining period of the GATEWAY project. To maximise impact, the GATEWAY project adapts its work to lay the foundation for a future application to a European ‘Project of Common Interest’ (PCI). Continuous dialogue with the most relevant stakeholders is an important part of GATEWAY, as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) H2020 project
Matrix factorisations and D-branes on K3
D-branes on K3 are analysed from three different points of view. For
deformations of hypersurfaces in weighted projected space we use geometrical
methods as well as matrix factorisation techniques. Furthermore, we study the
D-branes on the T^4/\Z_4 orbifold line in conformal field theory. The behaviour
of the D-branes under deformations of the bulk theory are studied in detail,
and good agreement between the different descriptions is found.Comment: 35 pages, no figure
Finite self-similar p-groups with abelian first level stabilizers
We determine all finite p-groups that admit a faithful, self-similar action
on the p-ary rooted tree such that the first level stabilizer is abelian. A
group is in this class if and only if it is a split extension of an elementary
abelian p-group by a cyclic group of order p.
The proof is based on use of virtual endomorphisms. In this context the
result says that if G is a finite p-group with abelian subgroup H of index p,
then there exists a virtual endomorphism of G with trivial core and domain H if
and only if G is a split extension of H and H is an elementary abelian p-group.Comment: one direction of theorem 2 extended to regular p-group
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