Optimizing the process of product development by collaborating & thinking visually-co-creation within Howden

The paper explores the process of creating a bespoke New Product Development Procedure for the heavy engineering firm Howden through a collaborative Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the University of Strathclyde. The act of transferring knowledge was done by using a visual methodology and the paper explores the reasoning behind why using this methodology was so successful

Development of superconducting YBa2Cu3O(x) wires with low resistance electrical contacts

Materials exhibiting superconductivity above liquid nitrogen temperatures (77 K) will enable new applications of this phenomena. One of the first commercial applications of this technology will be superconducting magnets for medical imaging. However, a large number of aerospace applications of the high temperature superconducting materials have also been identified. These include magnetic suspension and balance of models in wind tunnels and resistanceless leads to anemometers. The development of superconducting wires fabricated from the ceramic materials is critical for these applications. The progress in application of a patented fiber process developed by Clemson University for the fabrication of superconducting wires is reviewed. The effect of particle size and heat treatment on the quality of materials is discussed. Recent advances made at Christopher Newport College in the development of micro-ohm resistance electrical contacts which are capable of carrying the highest reported direct current to this material is presented

Sequence Effects on DNA Entropic Elasticity

DNA stretching experiments are usually interpreted using the worm-like chain model; the persistence length A appearing in the model is then interpreted as the elastic stiffness of the double helix. In fact the persistence length obtained by this method is a combination of bend stiffness and intrinsic bend effects reflecting sequence information, just as at zero stretching force. This observation resolves the discrepancy between the value of A measured in these experiments and the larger ``dynamic persistence length'' measured by other means. On the other hand, the twist persistence length deduced from torsionally-constrained stretching experiments suffers no such correction. Our calculation is very simple and analytic; it applies to DNA and other polymers with weak intrinsic disorder.Comment: LaTeX; postscript available at http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/~nelson/index.shtm

Body-assisted van der Waals interaction between two atoms

Using fourth-order perturbation theory, a general formula for the van der Waals potential of two neutral, unpolarized, ground-state atoms in the presence of an arbitrary arrangement of dispersing and absorbing magnetodielectric bodies is derived. The theory is applied to two atoms in bulk material and in front of a planar multilayer system, with special emphasis on the cases of a perfectly reflecting plate and a semi-infinite half space. It is demonstrated that the enhancement and reduction of the two-atom interaction due to the presence of a perfectly reflecting plate can be understood, at least in the nonretarded limit, by using the method of image charges. For the semi-infinite half space, both analytical and numerical results are presented.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figure

Bending and Base-Stacking Interactions in Double-Stranded Semiflexible Polymer

Simple expressions for the bending and the base-stacking energy of double-stranded semiflexible biopolymers (such as DNA and actin) are derived. The distribution of the folding angle between the two strands is obtained by solving a Schr\"{o}dinger equation variationally. Theoretical results based on this model on the extension versus force and extension versus degree of supercoiling relations of DNA chain are in good agreement with the experimental observations of Cluzel {\it et al.} [Science {\bf 271}, 792 (1996)], Smith {\it et al.} [{\it ibid.} {\bf 271}, 795 (1996)], and Strick {\it et al.} [{\it ibid.} {\bf 271}, 1835 (1996)].Comment: 8 pages in Revtex format, with 4 EPS figure

Knotlike Cosmic Strings in The Early Universe

In this paper, the knotlike cosmic strings in the Riemann-Cartan space-time of the early universe are discussed. It has been revealed that the cosmic strings can just originate from the zero points of the complex scalar quintessence field. In these strings we mainly study the knotlike configurations. Based on the integral of Chern-Simons 3-form a topological invariant for knotlike cosmic strings is constructed, and it is shown that this invariant is just the total sum of all the self-linking and linking numbers of the knots family. Furthermore, it is also pointed out that this invariant is preserved in the branch processes during the evolution of cosmic strings

Casimir-Polder forces: A non-perturbative approach

Within the frame of macroscopic QED in linear, causal media, we study the radiation force of Casimir-Polder type acting on an atom which is positioned near dispersing and absorbing magnetodielectric bodies and initially prepared in an arbitrary electronic state. It is shown that minimal and multipolar coupling lead to essentially the same lowest-order perturbative result for the force acting on an atom in an energy eigenstate. To go beyond perturbation theory, the calculations are based on the exact center-of-mass equation of motion. For a nondriven atom in the weak-coupling regime, the force as a function of time is a superposition of force components that are related to the electronic density-matrix elements at a chosen time. Even the force component associated with the ground state is not derivable from a potential in the ususal way, because of the position dependence of the atomic polarizability. Further, when the atom is initially prepared in a coherent superposition of energy eigenstates, then temporally oscillating force components are observed, which are due to the interaction of the atom with both electric and magnetic fields.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures, additional misprints correcte

Gas separations using inorganic membranes

This report summarizes the results from a research and development program to develop, fabricate, and evaluate inorganic membranes for separating gases at high temperatures and pressures in hostile process environments encountered in fossil energy conversion processes such as coal gasification. The primary emphasis of the research was on the separation and recovery of hydrogen from synthesis gas. Major aspects of the program included assessment of the worldwide research and development activity related to gas separations using inorganic membranes, identification and selection of candidate membrane materials, fabrication and characterization of membranes using porous membrane technology developed at the Oak Ridge K-25 Site, and evaluation of the separations capability of the fabricated membranes in terms of permeabilities and fluxes of gases

The Geometry of Soft Materials: A Primer

We present an overview of the differential geometry of curves and surfaces using examples from soft matter as illustrations. The presentation requires a background only in vector calculus and is otherwise self-contained.Comment: 45 pages, RevTeX, 12 eps figure

Tops and Writhing DNA

The torsional elasticity of semiflexible polymers like DNA is of biological significance. A mathematical treatment of this problem was begun by Fuller using the relation between link, twist and writhe, but progress has been hindered by the non-local nature of the writhe. This stands in the way of an analytic statistical mechanical treatment, which takes into account thermal fluctuations, in computing the partition function. In this paper we use the well known analogy with the dynamics of tops to show that when subjected to stretch and twist, the polymer configurations which dominate the partition function admit a local writhe formulation in the spirit of Fuller and thus provide an underlying justification for the use of Fuller's "local writhe expression" which leads to considerable mathematical simplification in solving theoretical models of DNA and elucidating their predictions. Our result facilitates comparison of the theoretical models with single molecule micromanipulation experiments and computer simulations.Comment: 17 pages two figure