Mine Resistant Boots

The task of demining is highly dangerous. Deminers and humanitarian workers are at risk to injury every time they step onto a minefield. Jiri Chladek and the Zeman Company have developed a special boot to reduce risks incurred when stepping on landmines

The development of a power spectral density processor for C and L band airborne radar scatterometer sensor systems

A real-time signal processor was developed for the NASA/JSC L-and C-band airborne radar scatterometer sensor systems. The purpose of the effort was to reduce ground data processing costs. Conversion of two quadrature channels of data (like and cross polarized) was made to obtain Power Spectral Density (PSD) values. A chirp-z transform (CZT) approach was used to filter the Doppler return signal and improved high frequency and angular resolution was realized. The processors have been tested with record signals and excellent results were obtained. CZT filtering can be readily applied to scatterometers operating at other wavelengths by altering the sample frequency. The design of the hardware and software and the results of the performance tests are described in detail

Morphological, Biochemical and Fluorescent Antibody Studies of Haemophilus Somnus

Haemophilus somnus was the tentative name given in 1969 to a fastidious gram negative pleomorphic coccobacillus which was consistently isolated from cattle affected with a clinical syndrome called thrombo embolic meningoencephalitis (TEME)(1). The organism was initially classidied as an Actinobacillus actinoides- like organism, but because of its demand for a blood base for primary isolationit was reclassified as Haemophilus-like. Bailie then designated the species name somnus, referring to the sleepiness commonly exhibited by TEME affected cattle(1). In this study, the biochemical reactions of 50 H. somnus isolants recovered from bovine specimens submitter to the South Dakota Animal Diseased Research and Diagnostics Laboratory over a period of 20 months were compared with two reference H. somnus strains plus 13 closely related organisms. A fluorescent antibody conjugate was prepared from the reference strain and used for rapid identification of H. somnus in pure culture as well as in tissues infected with the organism

The measurement of energy consumption during milling different cereals using the sieve analyses

ArticleThis paper deals with the measurement of energy consumption required for disintegration of different cereals depending on the desired fineness of obtained grist. The energy consumption necessary for milling was compared with the results of a sieve analysi s before and after the disintegration process. The obtained results were compared with energy expended during the disintegration of cereals and were analysed to determine the coefficients of the ratio of fineness of milling/energy consumption. They was fou nd to have good conformity. Special attention was paid to the RRSB distribution for determination of statistic average particle size and specific area of malt grist. Specific area of grist particles from different cereals was determined by calculation of t he limited area and x axis in diagrams, this effort is necessary for optimisation of the disintegration process with impact on the quality of final food

Space flight manipulator technologies and requirements for the NASA Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS)

NASA Headquarters' Office of Advanced Concepts and Technology (OACT) joined efforts with Johnson Space Center's (JSC) Automation and Robotics Division and Langley Research Center's (LaRC) Information Systems Division to capture the technologies developed during the cancelled NASA Flight Telerobotic Servicer (FTS) program planned for use on Space Station Freedom. The recent FTS technology capture effort completed the build and testing of one flight qualifiable FTS manipulator, deliverable to JSC's Automation & Robotics Division for environmental testing. The many robotic technologies developed to meet the 30 year space environment design requirements are discussed in this paper. The manipulator properties were to allow positioning control to one thousandths of an inch, with zero actuator backlash over a temperature range of -50 to +95 C, and were to include impedance control and inertial decoupling. Safety and reliability requirements are discussed that were developed to allow a thirty year life in space with minimum maintenance. The system had to meet the safety requirements for hazardous payloads for operation in the shuttle payload bay during demonstration test flights prior to station use. A brief description is contained on an orbiter based robotic experiment and operational application using the dexterous FTS manipulator operating on the end of the shuttle remote manipulator systems (SRMS) from ground control

Catalytic Separation of Pure Hydrogen from Synthesis Gas by an Ethanol Dehydrogenation / Acetaldehyde Hydrogenation Loop

A novel catalytic process for producing high-purity, elevated-pressure hydrogen from synthesis gas was proposed and investigated. The process combines the advantages of low investment and operating costs with the flexibility to adapt to a small-scale operation. The process consists of a loop containing two complementary reactions: ethanol dehydrogenation and acetaldehyde hydrogenation. In one part of the loop, hydrogen is produced by dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde. Since acetaldehyde is a liquid under standard conditions, it can be easily separated and pure hydrogen is obtained. In the other part of the loop, hydrogen contained in synthesis gas is reacted with acetaldehyde to produce ethanol and purified carbon monoxide. Ethanol, also a liquid under standard conditions, is easily removed and purified carbon monoxide is obtained, which can be further water-gas shifted to produce more hydrogen. Various dimensionless criteria were evaluated to confirm there was no significant effect of heat and mass transfer limitations and thus the experimental results represent true kinetics. Furthermore, a thermodynamic study was conducted using a Gibbs free energy minimization model to identify the effect of reaction conditions on ethanol/acetaldehyde conversion and determine the thermodynamically favourable operating conditions. Various catalysts were synthesized, characterized and screened for each reaction in a down-flow, fixed-bed quartz reactor. A novel gas chromatography analysis method allowing for an on-line detection of all products was also developed. Unsupported copper in the form of copper foam and copper supported on three different high surface supports were evaluated in ethanol dehydrogenation. Copper foam provided the lowest activity, because of its low surface area. Cu/SiO2 was the most active catalyst for ethanol dehydrogenation. The effects of temperature, pressure, residence time, and feed composition on ethanol conversion and product composition were determined. While increasing temperature or residence time resulted in increased ethanol conversion, elevated pressure and water content in the feed had no effect on ethanol conversion. On the other hand, acetaldehyde selectivity decreased with increasing temperature, pressure and residence time, as acetaldehyde participated in undesirable transformations to secondary products, out of which the most dominant was ethyl acetate. The maximum operating temperature was limited by the stability of the copper catalyst, which deactivated by sintering at temperatures higher than 300°C. The range of temperatures investigated was from 200°C to 350°C, while pressures ranged from atmospheric to 0.5 MPa. For ethanol:water ratios <1, the addition of water to the ethanol feed improved the catalyst stability and acetaldehyde selectivity, but a detrimental effect was observed at higher ratios. The introduction of acetaldehyde into the feed always lowered the conversion, thus indicating a need for stream purification within the loop. An empirical kinetic model was used to determine the activation energy, the order of reaction and the frequency factor. Unsupported and SiO2-supported copper catalysts were compared in acetaldehyde hydrogenation. Pure copper was identified as the best catalyst. Effects of temperature, pressure, residence time, feed composition and catalyst promoter on acetaldehyde conversion and product composition were evaluated. The acetaldehyde hydrogenation was enhanced by increased temperature, pressure and residence time and suppressed in presence of Fe or Zn promoters. Once again, at elevated temperature and residence time, ethanol combined with acetaldehyde to produce undesired ethyl acetate. CO acted as an inert when testing with the pure copper catalyst, but slightly decreased conversion with the supported catalyst. A decrease in conversion was also observed with the introduction of water and ethanol in the feed, once again indicating a requirement for feed purity within the loop. A temperature range of 150-300°C was investigated with catalysts deactivating at temperatures exceeding 250°C. A pressure range identical to ethanol dehydrogenation was used: 0.1-0.5 MPa. Again, an empirical kinetic model allowed determination of the activation energy, the order of reaction and the frequency factor

Improvement of power system frequency stability using alkaline electrolysis plants

Hydrogen could become an important energy carrier, in particular used as an input to fuel cell electric vehicles. Alkaline electrolysers are an attractive technology to produce carbon-free hydrogen from renewable generated electricity. Large-scale alkaline electrolysers used in future hydrogen-filling stations could also be utilised to improve the frequency stability of the electricity power system. The electrolyser load can be controlled to respond to power system frequency variations, and in the case of a sudden loss of generation, these electrolysers could rapidly decrease their load on the system to maintain the power balance. In this study, the potential of alkaline electrolysers to dynamically stabilise the frequency of the power system is assessed. A model of steam turbine generation unit has been developed in MATLAB SIMULINK environment, and a scenario in which there is a sudden loss of generation in the system is examined. It is demonstrated that alkaline electrolysers could prevent unacceptable frequency drop, i.e. below the statutory limit, following by an abrupt loss of generation, even with no spinning reserve on the system. In this article for the first time, the ramping rate of an alkaline electrolyser is shown through experimental data. <br/