An overview of fatigue failures at the Rocky Flats Wind System Test Center

Potential small wind energy conversion (SWECS) design problems were identified to improve product quality and reliability. Mass produced components such as gearboxes, generators, bearings, etc., are generally reliable due to their widespread uniform use in other industries. The likelihood of failure increases, though, in the interfacing of these components and in SWECS components designed for a specific system use. Problems relating to the structural integrity of such components are discussed and analyzed with techniques currently used in quality assurance programs in other manufacturing industries

Low power image based triggering for extended operation surveillance

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2004.Includes bibliographical references (p. 69-70).It is desirable for many surveillance applications to have a portable high quality imaging system capable of continuous monitoring in remote locations, often for extended periods of time. Extended operation can be achieved with low power by taking advantage of the fact that no interesting action is occurring in the area of interest most of the time, allowing the camera to be turned off. This type of operation requires some type of trigger to detect when events occur and turn on the camera to collect imagery. A novel technique for this type of detection is the use of signal processing on low spatial and temporal resolution imagery with a low-power processor to detect action events. The low-resolution imager operation and low-power processor allow the system to consume minimal power, while still taking advantage of the information available from the imager. Triggering is done by performing background subtraction on the low resolution imagery to detect scene changes. Although there is extensive research on this subject, no known research has attempted to implement this type of algorithm in a low power system, which puts a significant constraint on the computation that can be performed. This paper describes research conducted at MIT Lincoln Laboratory to develop a power constrained background subtraction technique, and design a low power hardware system that utilizes this form of detection for image based triggering.by Matthew C. Waldon.M.Eng

U.S. SPACE FORCE (USSF) ACQUISITION OCCUPATIONAL COMPETENCY INTEGRATION INTO A TALENT OPERATIONS PLATFORM

The idea of using competencies as a vehicle for effective talent management has been an idea explored by many organizations. Recently all service components across the Department of Defense (DOD) have begun a revolution within talent management, particularly with job placement. The DOD’s newest component, the United States Space Force (USSF), actively seeks to implement a competency-based process as dictated by the Guardian Ideal. This capstone report provides USSF with recommendations on effectively integrating a scalable competency-driven system into a talent operations platform that manages Guardian talent during assignment placement. The team evaluated civilian and governmental talent operations systems and processes through interviews with relevant talent management personnel within the DOD and industry. This qualitative analysis fueled the team’s development of a simulation model to identify the effects of competency integration on the system and its interaction with external variables. Throughout the research, the team confirmed that all services desire the effective integration of competencies but lack the implementation of accountable competencies by a validation method. The team recommends Space Force develop a way to validate and input competency assessments by implementing the competency framework within a software system in terms of a scoring algorithm to provide a clear picture for Guardians and Commanders to determine the best fit for vacant billets.Space Force Talent Management Office (ETMO)Major, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyCaptain, United States ArmyApproved for public release. Distribution is unlimited

Validation of Measured Damping Trends for Flight-Like Vehicle Panel/Equipment including a Range of Cable Harness Assemblies

This validation study examines the effect on vibroacoustic response resulting from the installation of cable bundles on a curved orthogrid panel. Of interest is the level of damping provided by the installation of the cable bundles and whether this damping could be potentially leveraged in launch vehicle design. The results of this test are compared with baseline acoustic response tests without cables. Damping estimates from the measured response data are made using a new software tool that leverages a finite element model of the panel in conjunction with advanced optimization techniques. While the full test series is not yet complete, the first configuration of cable bundles that was assessed effectively increased the viscous critical damping fraction of the system by as much as 0.02 in certain frequency ranges

Correlating Attenuation of Vibroacoustic Response to a System Damping Schedule using Ground Test Measurements, the Finite Element Method and the DampID Optimization Tool

No abstract availabl

Towards a fusion power plant : Integration of physics and technology

A fusion power plant can only exist with physics and technology acting in synchrony, over space (angstroms to tens of metres) and time (femtoseconds to decades). Recent experience with the European DEMO programme has shown how important it is to start integration early, yet go deep enough to uncover the integration impact, favourable and unfavourable, of the detailed physical and technological characteristics. There are some initially surprising interactions, for example, the fusion power density links the properties of materials in the components to the approaches to waste and remote maintenance in the context of a rigorous safety and environment regime. In this brief tour of a power plant based on a tokamak we outline the major interfaces between plasma physics and technology and engineering considering examples from the European DEMO (exhaust power handling, tritium management and plasma scenarios) with an eye on other concepts. We see how attempting integrated solutions can lead to discoveries and ways to ease interfaces despite the deep coupling of the many aspects of a tokamak plant. A power plant's plasma, materials and components will be in new parameter spaces with new mechanisms and combinations; the design will therefore be based to a significant extent on sophisticated physics and engineering models making substantial extrapolations. There are however gaps in understanding as well as data - together these are termed 'uncertainties'. Early integration in depth therefore represents a conceptual, intellectual and practical challenge, a challenge sharpened by the time pressure imposed by the global need for low carbon energy supplies such as fusion. There is an opportunity (and need) to use emerging transformational advances in computational algorithms and hardware to integrate and advance, despite the 'uncertainties' and limited experimental data. We use examples to explore how an integrated approach has the potential to lead to consistent designs that could also be resilient to the residual uncertainties. The paper may stimulate some new thinking as fusion moves to the design of complete power plants alongside an evolving and maturing research programme

Targeted Development of Registries of Biological Parts

BACKGROUND: The design and construction of novel biological systems by combining basic building blocks represents a dominant paradigm in synthetic biology. Creating and maintaining a database of these building blocks is a way to streamline the fabrication of complex constructs. The Registry of Standard Biological Parts (Registry) is the most advanced implementation of this idea. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By analyzing inclusion relationships between the sequences of the Registry entries, we build a network that can be related to the Registry abstraction hierarchy. The distribution of entry reuse and complexity was extracted from this network. The collection of clones associated with the database entries was also analyzed. The plasmid inserts were amplified and sequenced. The sequences of 162 inserts could be confirmed experimentally but unexpected discrepancies have also been identified. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Organizational guidelines are proposed to help design and manage this new type of scientific resources. In particular, it appears necessary to compare the cost of ensuring the integrity of database entries and associated biological samples with their value to the users. The initial strategy that permits including any combination of parts irrespective of its potential value leads to an exponential and economically unsustainable growth that may be detrimental to the quality and long-term value of the resource to its users

Home-based music therapy - a systematic overview of settings and conditions for an innovative service in healthcare

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Almost every Western healthcare system is changing to make their services more centered around out-patient care. In particular, long-term or geriatric patients who have been discharged from the hospital often require home-based care and therapy. Therefore, several programs have been developed to continue the therapeutic process and manage the special needs of patients after discharge from hospital. Music therapy has also moved into this field of healthcare service by providing home-based music therapy (HBMT) programs. This article reviews and summarizes the settings and conditions of HBMT for the first time.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The following databases were used to find articles on home-based music therapy: AMED, CAIRSS, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychINFO, and PSYNDEX. The search terms were "home-based music therapy" and "mobile music therapy". Included articles were analyzed with respect to participants as well as conditions and settings of HBMT. Furthermore, the date of publication, main outcomes, and the design and quality of the studies were investigated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 20 international publications, 11 clinical studies and nine reports from practice, mainly from the United States (n = 8), were finally included in the qualitative synthesis. Six studies had a randomized controlled design and included a total of 507 patients. The vast majority of clients of HBMT are elderly patients living at home and people who need hospice and palliative care. Although settings were heterogeneous, music listening programs played a predominant role with the aim to reduce symptoms like depression and pain, or to improve quality of life and the relationship between patients and caregivers as primary endpoints.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We were able to show that HBMT is an innovative service for future healthcare delivery. It fits with the changing healthcare system and its conditions but also meets the therapeutic needs of the increasing number of elderly and severely impaired people. Apart from music therapists, patients and their families HBMT is also interesting as a blueprint for home based care for other groups of caregivers.</p

Modelling of the effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W divertor of JET

Effect of ELMs on fuel retention at the bulk W target of JET ITER-Like Wall was studied with multi-scale calculations. Plasma input parameters were taken from ELMy H-mode plasma experiment. The energetic intra-ELM fuel particles get implanted and create near-surface defects up to depths of few tens of nm, which act as the main fuel trapping sites during ELMs. Clustering of implantation-induced vacancies were found to take place. The incoming flux of inter-ELM plasma particles increases the different filling levels of trapped fuel in defects. The temperature increase of the W target during the pulse increases the fuel detrapping rate. The inter-ELM fuel particle flux refills the partially emptied trapping sites and fills new sites. This leads to a competing effect on the retention and release rates of the implanted particles. At high temperatures the main retention appeared in larger vacancy clusters due to increased clustering rate