Shock compression of liquid hydrazine

Liquid hydrazine (N{sub 2}H{sub 4}) is a propellant used by the Air Force and NASA for aerospace propulsion and power systems. Because the propellant modules that contain the hydrazine can be subject to debris impacts during their use, the shock states that can occur in the hydrazine need to be characterized to safely predict its response. Several shock compression experiments have been conducted in an attempt to investigate the detonability of liquid hydrazine; however, the experiments results disagree. Therefore, in this study, we reproduced each experiment numerically to evaluate in detail the shock wave profiles generated in the liquid hydrazine. This paper presents the results of each numerical simulation and compares the results to those obtained in experiment. We also present the methodology of our approach, which includes chemical kinetic experiments, chemical equilibrium calculations, and characterization of the equation of state of liquid hydrazine

Bioinspired snapping-claw apparatus to study hydrodynamic cavitation effects on the corrosion of metallic samples

A creative low-cost and compact mechanical device that mimics the rapid closure of the pistol shrimp claw was used to conduct electrochemical experiments, in order to study the effects of hydrodynamic cavitation on the corrosion of aluminum and steel samples. Current-time curves show significant changes associated with local variations in dissolved O2 concentration, cavitation-induced erosion and changes in the nature of the surface corrosion products

A Semimicroscopic Algebraic Cluster Model for Heavy Nuclei

An extension of the Semimicroscopic Algebraic Cluster Model (SACM) is proposed, based on the pseudo-SU(3) model. The Hamiltonian and the spectroscopic factor operator of the model are presented and a procedure of constructing the model space. Because a huge number of SU(3) irreducible representations (irrep) appear, one has to be careful in designing a practical, consistent path to reduce the Hilbert space. The concept of forbiddenness, taking into account excitations of the clusters, is introduced and applied. The applications are to two systems with a low forbiddenness, namely to 236U -> 210Pb + 26Ne and 224Ra -> 210Pb + 14C, and to 236U -> 146Xe + 90Sr, which appears in the fission of 236U, which requires a large forbiddenness. Energies, electromagnetic transitions and spectroscopic factors are calculated.Comment: 16 pages, 2 times 2 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1706.0006

What Do They Dream About?: The Long-lasting Effects of War and Trauma on Child Soldiers

A child soldier’s life is ghastly and heartbreaking. Not only are these young boys and girls exposed to high levels of trauma due to the inherent atrocities of war, they are also subjected to devastating levels of abuse amounting to human enslavement. The purpose of our research was to explore this modern form of slavery and its manifestation in our world today. We focused on the adverse effects of trauma on child soldiers and how different organizations around the globe are trying to heal and improve the conditions of these children as they attempt to reintegrate back into society. Our preliminary findings prompted further research regarding the long-lasting effects the lifestyle of a child soldier has on its victims. We found a positive correlation between the number of traumatic events experienced and the severity of PTSD, psychological problems (such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation), physical complaints, and functional impairments. Our results also corroborate the effectiveness of proper reintegration programs. Most of our research was based on case studies done in the early 21st century in several African countries that use child soldiers

On the behavior of site effects in central Mexico (the Mexican volcanic belt – MVB), based on records of shallow earthquakes that occurred in the zone between 1998 and 2011

The Mexican volcanic belt (MVB) is a seismogenic zone that transects the central part of Mexico with an east–west orientation. The seismic risk and hazard of this seismogenic zone has not been studied in detail due to the scarcity of instrumental data as well as because seismicity in the continental regime of central Mexico is not too frequent. However, it is known that there are precedents of large earthquakes (<i>M</i>_w > 6.0) that have taken place in this zone. The valley of Mexico City (VM) is the sole zone, within the MVB, that has been studied in detail. Studies have mainly focused on the ground amplification during large events such as the 1985 subduction earthquake that occurred off coast of Michoacán. The purpose of this article is to analyze the behavior of site effects in the MVB zone based on records of shallow earthquakes (data not reported before) that occurred in the zone between 1998 and 2011. We present a general overview of site effects in the MVB, a classification of the stations in order to reduce the uncertainty in the data when obtaining attenuation parameters in future works, as well as some comparisons between the information presented here and that presented in previous studies. <br><br> A regional evaluation of site effects and Fourier acceleration spectrum (FAS) shape was estimated based on 80 records of 22 shallow earthquakes within the MVB zone. Data of 25 stations were analyzed. Site effects were estimated by using the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) methodology. The results show that seismic waves are less amplified in the northeast sites of the MVB with respect to the rest of the zone and that it is possible to classify two groups of stations: (1) stations with negligible site amplification (NSA) and (2) stations with significant site amplification (SSA). Most of the sites in the first group showed small (<3) amplifications while the second group showed amplifications ranging from 4 to 6.5 at frequencies of about 0.35, 0.75, 15 and 23 Hz. With these groups of stations, average levels of amplification were contrasted for the first time with those caused by the subduction zone earthquakes. With respect to the FAS shapes, most of them showed similarities at similar epicentral distances. Finally, some variations of site effects were found when compared to those obtained in previous studies on different seismicity regions. These variations were attributed to the location of the source. <br><br> These aspects help to advance the understanding about the amplification behavior and of the expected seismic risk on central Mexico due to large earthquakes within the MVB seismogenic zone

Analysis of Heart Rate Variability in Male and Female Rats

poster abstractHeart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Quantitative measures of cardiovascular function are often essential to effective clinical interventions. The QRS complex is one such measure widely used by cardiologists. These analyses can involve subtle changes in the magnitude and time course of the QRS complex, to differences in the timing between successive heart beats. Electrocardiograms (ECG) are continuous recordings of the QRS complex at various locations across the body surface and provide a comprehensive measurement of the electrical activity of the heart. Knowledge obtained from investigating ECG signal characteristics can help the cardiologist diagnose possible health or cardiac abnormalities such as arrhythmias and can provide objective measures of heart health following injury such as myocardial infarction. Heart rate variability (HRV) can also serve as a reliable indicator of heart health and has been shown to be a strong indicator of mortality and morbidity following myocardial infarction. Unfortunately, very little is known concerning the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying HRV beyond the broader impact of the autonomic nervous system and associated neurocirculatory reflexes. In this research project, we first implemented several established methods for quantifying HRV in male and female rats such as calculating the power spectral density of a long time series of HRV measures, and calculating the standard deviation of the averages of all beat-to-beat intervals in the recording. These measures compared well to those in the literature supporting the accuracy and reliability of the Matlab scripts created to process these data. Simultaneous recordings of the QRS complex and femoral arterial pressure (BP) provided the opportunity to determine how well BP recordings could be used to quantify HRV. In addition, HRV measurements were compared across populations of male and normal, cycling (OVI) and ovariectomized (OVX) female rats in order to determine if HRV is sexually dimorphic. Mentors: John H. Schild, Grace Santa Cruz Chavez, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI, Indianapolis, I