4,415 research outputs found
Design and fabrication of a radiative actively cooled honeycomb sandwich structural panel for a hypersonic aircraft
The panel assembly consisted of an external thermal protection system (metallic heat shields and insulation blankets) and an aluminum honeycomb structure. The structure was cooled to temperature 442K (300 F) by circulating a 60/40 mass solution of ethylene glycol and water through dee shaped coolant tubes nested in the honeycomb and adhesively bonded to the outer skin. Rene'41 heat shields were designed to sustain 5000 cycles of a uniform pressure of + or - 6.89kPa (+ or - 1.0 psi) and aerodynamic heating conditions equivalent to 136 kW sq m (12 Btu sq ft sec) to a 422K (300 F) surface temperature. High temperature flexible insulation blankets were encased in stainless steel foil to protect them from moisture and other potential contaminates. The aluminum actively cooled honeycomb sandwich structural panel was designed to sustain 5000 cycles of cyclic in-plane loading of + or - 210 kN/m (+ or - 1200 lbf/in.) combined with a uniform panel pressure of + or - 6.89 kPa (?1.0 psi)
Scaling in Gravitational Clustering, 2D and 3D Dynamics
Perturbation Theory (PT) applied to a cosmological density field with
Gaussian initial fluctuations suggests a specific hierarchy for the correlation
functions when the variance is small. In particular quantitative predictions
have been made for the moments and the shape of the one-point probability
distribution function (PDF) of the top-hat smoothed density. In this paper we
perform a series of systematic checks of these predictions against N-body
computations both in 2D and 3D with a wide range of featureless power spectra.
In agreement with previous studies, we found that the reconstructed PDF-s work
remarkably well down to very low probabilities, even when the variance
approaches unity. Our results for 2D reproduce the features for the 3D
dynamics. In particular we found that the PT predictions are more accurate for
spectra with less power on small scales. The nonlinear regime has been explored
with various tools, PDF-s, moments and Void Probability Function (VPF). These
studies have been done with unprecedented dynamical range, especially for the
2D case, allowing in particular more robust determinations of the asymptotic
behaviour of the VPF. We have also introduced a new method to determine the
moments based on the factorial moments. Results using this method and taking
into account the finite volume effects are presented.Comment: 13 pages, Latex file, 9 Postscript Figure
Critical collapse of collisionless matter - a numerical investigation
In recent years the threshold of black hole formation in spherically
symmetric gravitational collapse has been studied for a variety of matter
models. In this paper the corresponding issue is investigated for a matter
model significantly different from those considered so far in this context. We
study the transition from dispersion to black hole formation in the collapse of
collisionless matter when the initial data is scaled. This is done by means of
a numerical code similar to those commonly used in plasma physics. The result
is that for the initial data for which the solutions were computed, most of the
matter falls into the black hole whenever a black hole is formed. This results
in a discontinuity in the mass of the black hole at the onset of black hole
formation.Comment: 22 pages, LaTeX, 7 figures (ps-files, automatically included using
psfig
Triggering social interactions:chimpanzees respond to imitation by a humanoid robot and request responses from it
Even the most rudimentary social cues may evoke affiliative responses in humans and promote socialcommunication and cohesion. The present work tested whether such cues of an agent may also promotecommunicative interactions in a nonhuman primate species, by examining interaction-promoting behavioursin chimpanzees. Here, chimpanzees were tested during interactions with an interactive humanoid robot, whichshowed simple bodily movements and sent out calls. The results revealed that chimpanzees exhibited twotypes of interaction-promoting behaviours during relaxed or playful contexts. First, the chimpanzees showedprolonged active interest when they were imitated by the robot. Second, the subjects requested ‘social’responses from the robot, i.e. by showing play invitations and offering toys or other objects. This study thusprovides evidence that even rudimentary cues of a robotic agent may promote social interactions inchimpanzees, like in humans. Such simple and frequent social interactions most likely provided a foundationfor sophisticated forms of affiliative communication to emerge
Apes communicate about absent and displaced objects: methodology matters
Displaced reference is the ability to refer to an item that has been moved (displaced) in space and/or time, and has been called one of the true hallmarks of referential communication. Several studies suggest that nonhuman primates have this capability, but a recent experiment concluded that in a specific situation (absent entities) human infants display displaced reference but chimpanzees do not. Here we show that chimpanzees and bonobos of diverse rearing histories are capable of displaced reference to absent and displaced objects. It is likely that some of the conflicting findings from animal cognition studies are due to relatively minor methodological differences, but are compounded by interpretation errors. Comparative studies are of great importance in elucidating the evolution of human cognition, however, greater care must be taken with methodology and interpretation for these studies to accurately reflect species differences
Multicritical continuous random trees
We introduce generalizations of Aldous' Brownian Continuous Random Tree as
scaling limits for multicritical models of discrete trees. These discrete
models involve trees with fine-tuned vertex-dependent weights ensuring a k-th
root singularity in their generating function. The scaling limit involves
continuous trees with branching points of order up to k+1. We derive explicit
integral representations for the average profile of this k-th order
multicritical continuous random tree, as well as for its history distributions
measuring multi-point correlations. The latter distributions involve
non-positive universal weights at the branching points together with fractional
derivative couplings. We prove universality by rederiving the same results
within a purely continuous axiomatic approach based on the resolution of a set
of consistency relations for the multi-point correlations. The average profile
is shown to obey a fractional differential equation whose solution involves
hypergeometric functions and matches the integral formula of the discrete
approach.Comment: 34 pages, 12 figures, uses lanlmac, hyperbasics, eps
Rate-dependent propagation of cardiac action potentials in a one-dimensional fiber
Action potential duration (APD) restitution, which relates APD to the
preceding diastolic interval (DI), is a useful tool for predicting the onset of
abnormal cardiac rhythms. However, it is known that different pacing protocols
lead to different APD restitution curves (RCs). This phenomenon, known as APD
rate-dependence, is a consequence of memory in the tissue. In addition to APD
restitution, conduction velocity restitution also plays an important role in
the spatiotemporal dynamics of cardiac tissue. We present new results
concerning rate-dependent restitution in the velocity of propagating action
potentials in a one-dimensional fiber. Our numerical simulations show that,
independent of the amount of memory in the tissue, waveback velocity exhibits
pronounced rate-dependence and the wavefront velocity does not. Moreover, the
discrepancy between waveback velocity RCs is most significant for small DI. We
provide an analytical explanation of these results, using a system of coupled
maps to relate the wavefront and waveback velocities. Our calculations show
that waveback velocity rate-dependence is due to APD restitution, not memory.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Waves attractors in rotating fluids: a paradigm for ill-posed Cauchy problems
In the limit of low viscosity, we show that the amplitude of the modes of
oscillation of a rotating fluid, namely inertial modes, concentrate along an
attractor formed by a periodic orbit of characteristics of the underlying
hyperbolic Poincar\'e equation. The dynamics of characteristics is used to
elaborate a scenario for the asymptotic behaviour of the eigenmodes and
eigenspectrum in the physically relevant r\'egime of very low viscosities which
are out of reach numerically. This problem offers a canonical ill-posed Cauchy
problem which has applications in other fields.Comment: 4 pages, 5 fi
Multipole radiation in a collisonless gas coupled to electromagnetism or scalar gravitation
We consider the relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell and Vlasov-Nordstr\"om systems
which describe large particle ensembles interacting by either electromagnetic
fields or a relativistic scalar gravity model. For both systems we derive a
radiation formula analogous to the Einstein quadrupole formula in general
relativity.Comment: 21 page
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