Logic controlled solid state switchgear

Logic controlled solid state circuit breakers and power transfer switches have been designed and built to demonstrate their use for 270 V dc power systems. This switchgear provides remote operation, automatic current level, and operates several orders of magnitude faster with much greater accuracy of response than conventional switchgear

Operator related attenuation effects in radiometric surveys

Radiometric surveys using airborne, vehicular mounted or backpack detector systems are increasingly used to identify and evaluate complex distributions of radioactivity in the environment. The signals detected depend on the energy and spatial distribution of radioactive sources, the material properties of the environment and the specific properties of the detector systems employed. Materials in close vicinity to the detector such as housings, and intermediate materials may have a critical impact on detection efficiency, and must therefore be taken into account in calibration. This study evaluates the effect of shielding by the body of the operator in backpack surveys. Controlled experiments using point sources and absorbers, chosen to represent the form and composition of human tissue, were conducted, and coupled to an analytical radiation transport model to estimate attenuation factors for mapping of 137Cs. In this way generic factors to correct for this effect using portable spectrometers have been determined. The results compare well with observations at sampled calibration sites in Fukushima and the Solway area in Scotland. Reductions of the 137Cs full-energy peak intensity between 20% and 30% may be expected depending on operator stature and the offset position of backpack systems. Similar effects may be present for other radiometric systems carried by a human operator

Integrating Information Literacy into the Virtual University: A Course Model

published or submitted for publicatio

Pneumatic separator gives quick release to heavy loads

Pneumatic separator, using applied pressure, quickly releases restraining devices securing heavy loads. With minor modifications this separator can be used as a coupling device

Logic-controlled solid state switchgear for 270 volts dc

A feasibility study to design and demonstrate solid state switchgear in the form of circuit breakers and a power transfer switch is described. The switchgear operates on a nominal 270 V dc circuit and controls power to a load of up to 15 amperes. One circuit breaker may be interconnected to a second breaker to form a power transfer switch. On-off and transfer functions of the breakers or the transfer switch are remotely controlled. A number of reclosures with variable time delay between tripout and reclosure are programmed and controlled by integrated analog and COSMOS logic circuits. A unique commutation circuit, that generates only minimal transient disturbance to either source or load, was developed to interrupt current flow through the main SCR switching element. Laboratory tests demonstrated performance of the solid state circuit breakers over specified voltage and temperature ranges

Quantitative Analysis of Electrotonic Structure and Membrane Properties of NMDA-Activated Lamprey Spinal Neurons

Parameter optimization methods were used to quantitatively analyze frequency-domain-voltage-clamp data of NMDA-activated lamprey spinal neurons simultaneously over a wide range of membrane potentials. A neuronal cable model was used to explicitly take into account receptors located on the dendritic trees. The driving point membrane admittance was measured from the cell soma in response to a Fourier synthesized point voltage clamp stimulus. The data were fitted to an equivalent cable model consisting of a single lumped soma compartment coupled resistively to a series of equal dendritic compartments. The model contains voltage-dependent NMDA sensitive (INMDA), slow potassium (IK), and leakage (IL) currents. Both the passive cable properties and the voltage dependence of ion channel kinetics were estimated, including the electrotonic structure of the cell, the steady-state gating characteristics, and the time constants for particular voltage- and time-dependent ionic conductances. An alternate kinetic formulation was developed that consisted of steady-state values for the gating parameters and their time constants at half-activation values as well as slopes of these parameters at half-activation. This procedure allowed independent restrictions on the magnitude and slope of both the steady-state gating variable and its associated time constant. Quantitative estimates of the voltage-dependent membrane ion conductances and their kinetic parameters were used to solve the nonlinear equations describing dynamic responses. The model accurately predicts current clamp responses and is consistent with experimentally measured TTX-resistant NMDA-induced patterned activity. In summary, an analysis method is developed that provides a pragmatic approach to quantitatively describe a nonlinear neuronal system