10,743 research outputs found
Fault detection and accommodation testing on an F100 engine in an F-15 airplane
The fault detection and accommodation (FDA) methodology for digital engine-control systems may range from simple comparisons of redundant parameters to the more complex and sophisticated observer models of the entire engine system. Evaluations of the various FDA schemes are done using analytical methods, simulation, and limited-altitude-facility testing. Flight testing of the FDA logic has been minimal because of the difficulty of inducing realistic faults in flight. A flight program was conducted to evaluate the fault detection and accommodation capability of a digital electronic engine control in an F-15 aircraft. The objective of the flight program was to induce selected faults and evaluate the resulting actions of the digital engine controller. Comparisons were made between the flight results and predictions. Several anomalies were found in flight and during the ground test. Simulation results showed that the inducement of dual pressure failures was not feasible since the FDA logic was not designed to accommodate these types of failures
Transport and Helfand moments in the Lennard-Jones fluid. I. Shear viscosity
We propose a new method, the Helfand-moment method, to compute the shear
viscosity by equilibrium molecular dynamics in periodic systems. In this
method, the shear viscosity is written as an Einstein-like relation in terms of
the variance of the so-called Helfand moment. This quantity, is modified in
order to satisfy systems with periodic boundary conditions usually considered
in molecular dynamics. We calculate the shear viscosity in the Lennard-Jones
fluid near the triple point thanks to this new technique. We show that the
results of the Helfand-moment method are in excellent agreement with the
results of the standard Green-Kubo method.Comment: Submitted to the Journal of Chemical Physic
Micro-crystalline inclusions analysis by PIXE and RBS
A characteristic feature of the nuclear microprobe using a 3 MeV proton beam
is the long range of particles (around 70 \mu m in light matrices). The PIXE
method, with EDS analysis and using the multilayer approach for treating the
X-ray spectrum allows the chemistry of an intra-crystalline inclusion to be
measured, provided the inclusion roof and thickness at the impact point of the
beam (Z and e, respectively) are known (the depth of the inclusion floor is Z +
e). The parameter Z of an inclusion in a mineral can be measured with a
precision of around 1 \mu m using a motorized microscope. However, this value
may significantly depart from Z if the analyzed inclusion has a complex shape.
The parameter e can hardly be measured optically. By using combined RBS and
PIXE measurements, it is possible to obtain the geometrical information needed
for quantitative elemental analysis. This paper will present measurements on
synthetic samples to investigate the advantages of the technique, and also on
natural solid and fluid inclusions in quartz. The influence of the geometrical
parameters will be discussed with regard to the concentration determination by
PIXE. In particular, accuracy of monazite micro-inclusion dating by coupled
PIXE-RBS will be presented
Metastability in Markov processes
We present a formalism to describe slowly decaying systems in the context of
finite Markov chains obeying detailed balance. We show that phase space can be
partitioned into approximately decoupled regions, in which one may introduce
restricted Markov chains which are close to the original process but do not
leave these regions. Within this context, we identify the conditions under
which the decaying system can be considered to be in a metastable state.
Furthermore, we show that such metastable states can be described in
thermodynamic terms and define their free energy. This is accomplished showing
that the probability distribution describing the metastable state is indeed
proportional to the equilibrium distribution, as is commonly assumed. We test
the formalism numerically in the case of the two-dimensional kinetic Ising
model, using the Wang--Landau algorithm to show this proportionality
explicitly, and confirm that the proportionality constant is as derived in the
theory. Finally, we extend the formalism to situations in which a system can
have several metastable states.Comment: 30 pages, 5 figures; version with one higher quality figure available
at http://www.fis.unam.mx/~dsanders
Hard Discs on the Hyperbolic Plane
We examine a simple hard disc fluid with no long range interactions on the
two dimensional space of constant negative Gaussian curvature, the hyperbolic
plane. This geometry provides a natural mechanism by which global crystalline
order is frustrated, allowing us to construct a tractable model of disordered
monodisperse hard discs. We extend free area theory and the virial expansion to
this regime, deriving the equation of state for the system, and compare its
predictions with simulation near an isostatic packing in the curved space.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, included, final versio
Wegener's granulomatosis and autoantibodies to neutrophil antigens
We report five cases of Wegener's granulomatosis all of whom had clinical and histological evidence of disease activity at presentation and in whom autoantibodies to neutrophil antigens were detected. This test may prove useful for the diagnosis of this serious condition and help to monitor disease activity during treatment
OAO1657-415 : A `Missing Link' in High Mass X-ray Binaries?
OAO1657-415 is only the seventh eclipsing X-ray pulsar known and therefore
has the potential to yield only the seventh mass of a neutron star in an X-ray
binary. Here we report photometric and spectroscopic observations of candidates
for the optical counterpart to the system and identify a B6V or B5III star as a
possible companion to the neutron star. We measure the observational parameters
of the star and suggest reasons why OAO1657-415 may be unlike other high mass
X-ray binaries.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, to be published in 'Evolution of binary and
multiple star systems', proceedings of conference, Bormi
Understanding amorphous phase-change materials from the viewpoint of Maxwell rigidity
Phase-change materials (PCMs) are the subject of considerable interest
because they have been recognized as potential active layers for
next-generation non-volatile memory devices, known as Phase Change Random
Access Memories (PRAMs). By analyzing First Principles Molecular Dynamics
simulations we develop a new method for the enumeration of mechanical
constraints in the amorphous phase and show that the phase diagram of the most
popular system (Ge-Sb-Te) can be split into two compositional regions having a
well-defined mechanical character: a Tellurium rich flexible phase, and a
stressed rigid phase that encompasses the known PCMs. This sound atomic scale
insight should open new avenues for the understanding of PCMs and other complex
amorphous materials from the viewpoint of rigidity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures in EP
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