Preliminary flight evaluation of an engine performance optimization algorithm

A performance seeking control (PSC) algorithm has undergone initial flight test evaluation in subsonic operation of a PW 1128 engined F-15. This algorithm is designed to optimize the quasi-steady performance of an engine for three primary modes: (1) minimum fuel consumption; (2) minimum fan turbine inlet temperature (FTIT); and (3) maximum thrust. The flight test results have verified a thrust specific fuel consumption reduction of 1 pct., up to 100 R decreases in FTIT, and increases of as much as 12 pct. in maximum thrust. PSC technology promises to be of value in next generation tactical and transport aircraft

The critical current of YBa2Cu3O7-d Low Angle Grain Boundaries

Transport critical current measurements have been performed on 5 degree [001]-tilt thin film YBa2Cu3O7-delta single grain boundaries with magnetic field rotated in the plane of the film, phi. The variation of the critical current has been determined as a function of the angle between the magnetic field and the grain boundary plane. In applied fields above 1 T the critical current, j_c, is found to be strongly suppressed only when the magnetic field is within an angle phi_k of the grain boundary. Outside this angular range the behavior of the artificial grain boundary is dominated by the critical current of the grains. We show that the phi dependence of j_c in the suppressed region is well described by a flux cutting model.Comment: To be published in PRL, new version with minor changes following referees report

Toward a Verifiable Approach to the Design of Concurrent Computations

Distributed programs are dependent on explicit message passing between disjoint components of the computation. This paper is concerned with investigating an approach for proving correctness of distributed programs under an assumed data-exchange capability. Stated informally, the data exchange assumption is that every message is passed correctly, i.e., neither lost nor corrupted. One approach for constructing a proof under this assumption would be to embed an abstract model of the data communications mechanism into the program specification. The Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard provides a basis for such a modal. In support of our investigations, we have developed a high-level specification using the ASLAN specification language. Our specification is based on a generalized communications model from which the MPI modelmay be derived. We describe the specification of this model and an approach to the specification of distributed programs with explicit message passing based on a verifiable data exchange model

Is attending a mental process?

The nature of attention has been the topic of a lively research programme in psychology for over a century. But there is widespread agreement that none of the theories on offer manage to fully capture the nature of attention. Recently, philosophers have become interested in the debate again after a prolonged period of neglect. This paper contributes to the project of explaining the nature of attention. It starts off by critically examining Christopher Mole’s prominent “adverbial” account of attention, which traces the failure of extant psychological theories to their assumption that attending is a kind of process. It then defends an alternative, process-based view of the metaphysics of attention, on which attention is understood as an activity and not, as psychologists seem to implicitly assume, an accomplishment. The entrenched distinction between accomplishments and activities is shown to shed new light on the metaphysics of attention. It also provides a novel diagnosis of the empirical state of play

Assigning functional meaning to digital circuits

During computer-aided design, the problem of how to determine the logical function of a digital circuit arises in many contexts. For example, assigning functional meaning to a circuit is a fundamental operation in both reverse engineering and implementation validation. This report describes such a determination by discussing how a higher-level functional representation is constructed from a detailed circuit description (i.e., a gate-level netlist, which is a list of logic gates and their interconnections). The approach used involves transforming parts of the netlist into a functional representation and then manipulating this representation. Two types of functional representations are described: (1) a mathematical representation based on the logical operators ``exor`` and ``and`` and (2) a directed acyclic graph representation based on binary decision trees. Each representation provides a canonical form of the logical function being implemented (i.e., a form that is independent of implementation details). Such forms, however, have a well-known problem associated with the ordering of inputs: for each order, a unique form exists. A solution to this problem is given for both representations. Experimental results that demonstrate the use of these representations in the process of assigning functional meaning to a circuit are provided. The report also identifies and discusses issues critical to the performance required of this fundamental operation

The correction-to-scaling exponent in dilute systems

The leading correction-to-scaling exponent $\omega$ for the three-dimensional dilute Ising model is calculated in the framework of the field theoretic renormalization group approach. Both in the minimal subtraction scheme as well as in the massive field theory (resummed four loop expansion) excellent agreement with recent Monte Carlo calculations [Ballesteros H G, et al Phys. Rev. B 58, 2740 (1998)] is achieved. The expression of $\omega$ as series in a $\sqrt{\epsilon}$-expansion up to ${\cal O}(\epsilon^2)$ does not allow a reliable estimate for $d=3$.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 1 eps-figure include

The Epistemology of Intentionality: Notional Constituents vs. Direct Grasp

Franz Brentano is well known for highlighting the importance of intentionality, but he said curiously little about the nature of intentionality. According to Mark Textor, there is a deep reason for this: Brentano took intentionality to be a conceptual primitive the nature of which is revealed only in direct grasp. Although there is certainly textual support for this interpretation, it appears in tension with Brentano’s repeated attempts to analyze intentionality in terms of ‘notional constituents’ – aspects of intentionality which cannot come apart in reality but which can be conceptually distinguished. After bringing out this tension, I explore some options for resolving it, ultimately offering my own favored interpretation

Influence of vortex-vortex interaction on critical currents across low-angle grain boundaries in YBa2Cu3O7-delta thin films

Low-angle grain boundaries with misorientation angles theta < 5 degrees in optimally doped thin films of YBCO are investigated by magnetooptical imaging. By using a numerical inversion scheme of Biot-Savart's law the critical current density across the grain boundary can be determined with a spatial resolution of about 5 micrometers. Detailed investigation of the spatially resolved flux density and current density data shows that the current density across the boundary varies with varying local flux density. Combining the corresponding flux and current pattern it is found that there exists a universal dependency of the grain boundary current on the local flux density. A change in the local flux density means a variation in the flux line-flux line distance. With this knowledge a model is developped that explains the flux-current relation by means of magnetic vortex-vortex interaction.Comment: 7 pages, 14 figure