High intensity impulsive loading by explosively accelerated granular matter

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd The mechanism by which a spherical shell of granular matter is accelerated by an internal explosion together with its subsequent loading of a high ductility, edge clamped steel plate are investigated by a combination of instrumented experimentation and particle-based simulation. By using a large spherical explosive charge to drive the expansion of a water saturated synthetic sand shell, it has been possible to create sand front impact speeds with a test plate that exceeded 1200 m/s. Direct observations of the evolution of the sand front were made using a pair of high speed video cameras, and revealed rapid initial acceleration of the sand accompanied by the formation of locally faster sand spikes, followed by deceleration. The pressure evolution and specific impulse during particle impact were measured using the Kolsky bar. A discrete particle-based numerical simulation method implemented in the IMPETUS Afea code was then used to simulate the pressure and impulse applied to the Kolsky bar and to model dynamic deformation of the plate and its support structure. The simulation analyzed the interactions between the explosively accelerated high explosive, air, and sand particles and the shock fronts that propagated though each interface after detonation. The impulse applied to the test plate and its support structure were well reproduced by the simulation. The simulations also revealed significant dispersion of the sand, with some sand particles attaining radial velocities that were almost 50% higher than that of the main front. They also identified the presence of an experimentally unobservable instability at the energetic material-wet sand interface. The deceleration of the sand with distance of propagation was found to be the result of momentum transferring collisions with the background air, resulting in the formation of a strong air shock ahead of the sand front. This processes resulted in the eventual transfer of all the sand momentum to the air and significantly influenced the dynamically changing topology of the sand-air interface. While the differential acceleration of the sand particles to form a dispersed front, and their deceleration by air drag were well modeled, the topology of the sand instabilities at the sand front-air interface were not resolved by the simulations.This research was funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under grant number W91CRB-11-1-0005 (Program manager, Dr. J. Goldwasser)

Response of square honeycomb core sandwich panels to granular matter impact

The deformation of square honeycomb core, stainless steel sandwich panels by the impact of explosively accelerated granular matter has been investigated and compared to results from a previous study using equivalent (same material and mass per unit area) solid plates subjected to similar impulsive loadings. Spherical explosive charges surrounded by 25-150 kg mass annular shells of water-saturated granular media (either fused silica or zirconia particles) were suspended above the center of the edge clamped test panels. The radially expanding granular particle front velocities were measured from high-speed video images, and revealed that the granular matter had been accelerated to velocities of 500-1200 m/s after detonation. A Kolsky bar was used to measure the time-dependent pressure and impulse at a position equivalent to the panel center, while the permanent deflections of the sandwich panels were determined by profilometry after the experiments. Even though fracture of electron beam welds used to attach the back face sheet to the sandwich panel core occurred in all the tests, the permanent deflections of the sandwich panel back faces were significantly less than those of equivalent solid plates, and were accompanied by minimal core compression. Discrete particle simulations of the granular matter acceleration and impact loading of the sandwich panels indicated that their superior deflection benefit arose from their high bending resistance rather than particle-structure interactions. This benefit was offset when the rear face of the sandwich was kept the same distance from the impulsive source as that of the solid plate since the impact face of the sandwich panel was closer to the impulsive source, subjecting it to a higher impulse than the solid plate. However, a substantial deflection reduction was still achieved by use of a strong core sandwich design

Estimating process capability index Cpm using a bootstrap sequential sampling procedure

Construction of a confidence interval for process capability index CPM is often based on a normal approximation with fixed sample size. In this article, we describe a different approach in constructing a fixed-width confidence interval for process capability index CPM with a preassigned accuracy by using a combination of bootstrap and sequential sampling schemes. The optimal sample size required to achieve a preassigned confidence level is obtained using both two-stage and modified two-stage sequential procedures. The procedure developed is also validated using an extensive simulation study.<br /

Utilization of a deoxynucleoside diphosphate substrate by HIV reverse transcriptase

Background: Deoxynucleoside triphosphates (dNTPs) are the normal substrates for DNA sysnthesis is catalyzed by polymerases such as HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT). However, substantial amounts of deoxynucleoside diphosphates (dNDPs) are also present in the cell. Use of dNDPs in HIV-1 DNA sysnthesis could have significant implications for the efficacy of nucleoside RT inhibitors such as AZT which are first line therapeutics fro treatment of HIV infection. Our earlier work on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) suggested that the interaction between the γ phosphate of the incoming dNTP and RT residue K65 in the active site is not essential for dNTP insertion, implying that this polymerase may be able to insert dNPs in addition to dNTPs. Methodology/Principal Findings: We examined the ability of recombinant wild type (wt) and mutant RTs with substitutions at residue K65 to utilize a dNDP substrate in primer extension reactions. We found that wild type HIV-1 RT indeed catalyzes incorporation of dNDP substrates whereas RT with mutations of residue K645 were unable to catalyze this reaction. Wild type HIV-1 RT also catalyzed the reverse reaction, inorganic phosphate-dependent phosphorolysis. Nucleotide-mediated phosphorolytic removal of chain-terminating 3′-terminal nucleoside inhibitors such as AZT forms the basis of HIV-1 resistance to such drugs, and this removal is enhanced by thymidine analog mutations (TAMs). We found that both wt and TAM-containing RTs were able to catalyze Pi-mediated phosphorolysis of 3′-terminal AZT at physiological levels of Pi with an efficacy similar to that for ATP-dependent AZT-excision. Conclusion: We have identified two new catalytic function of HIV-1 RT, the use of dNDPs as substrates for DNA synthesis, and the use of Pi as substrate for phosphorolytic removal of primer 3′-terminal nucleotides. The ability to insert dNDPs has been documented for only one other DNA polymerase The RB69 DNA polymerase and the reverse reaction employing inorganic phosphate has not been documented for any DNA polymerase. Importantly, our results show that Pi-mediated phosphorolysis can contribute to AZT resistance and indicates that factors that influence HIV resistance to AZT are more complex than previously appreciated. © 2008 Garforth et al

A new direct detection electron scattering experiment to search for the X17 particle

A new electron scattering experiment (E12-21-003) to verify and understand the nature of hidden sector particles, with particular emphasis on the so-called X17 particle, has been approved at Jefferson Lab. The search for these particles is motivated by new hidden sector models introduced to account for a variety of experimental and observational puzzles: excess in $e^+e^-$ pairs observed in multiple nuclear transitions, the 4.2$\sigma$ disagreement between experiments and the standard model prediction for the muon anomalous magnetic moment, and the small-scale structure puzzle in cosmological simulations. The aforementioned X17 particle has been hypothesized to account for the excess in $e^+e^-$ pairs observed from the $^8$Be M1, $^4$He M0, and, most recently, $^{12}$C E1 nuclear transitions to their ground states observed by the ATOMKI group. This experiment will use a high resolution electromagnetic calorimeter to search for or set new limits on the production rate of the X17 and other hidden sector particles in the $3 - 60$ MeV mass range via their $e^+e^-$ decay (or $\gamma\gamma$ decay with limited tracking). In these models, the $1 - 100$ MeV mass range is particularly well-motivated and the lower part of this range still remains unexplored. Our proposed direct detection experiment will use a magnetic-spectrometer-free setup (the PRad apparatus) to detect all three final state particles in the visible decay of a hidden sector particle for an effective control of the background and will cover the proposed mass range in a single setting. The use of the well-demonstrated PRad setup allows for an essentially ready-to-run and uniquely cost-effective search for hidden sector particles in the $3 - 60$ MeV mass range with a sensitivity of 8.9$\times$10$^{-8}$ - 5.8$\times$10$^{-9}$ to $\epsilon^2$, the square of the kinetic mixing interaction constant between hidden and visible sectors.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:2108.1327

Cross-over data supporting long-term antibiotic treatment in patients with painful lower urinary tract symptoms, pyuria and negative urinalysis

PURPOSE: To measure the effects of an unplanned, sudden cessation of treatment in an unselected group of patients with chronic painful LUTS managed with protracted antimicrobial treatment and to report these observational data collected from a cross-over process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The imposition of a guideline resulted in the immediate cessation of antibiotic treatment in a cohort of patients with chronic painful LUTS and microscopic pyuria. Patients were assessed before treatment withdrawal, whilst off treatment, and following reinstatement. Outcome measures included a validated symptom score, microscopic enumeration of urinary white cells and uroepithelial cells, and routine urine culture. RESULTS: These patients had reported treatment-resistant, painful LUTS for a mean of 6.5 years before treatment at this centre. Treatment was stopped in 221 patients (female = 210; male = 11; mean age = 56 years; SD = 17.81). Sixty-six per cent of women were post-menopausal. After unplanned treatment cessation, 199 patients (90%; female = 188; male = 9) reported deterioration. Eleven patients required hospital care in association with disease recurrence, including acute urinary tract infection (UTI) and urosepsis. Symptom scores increased after cessation and recovered on reinitiating treatment (F = 33; df = 2; p < 0.001). Urinary leucocyte (F = 3.7; df = 2; p = 0.026) and urothelial cells counts mirrored symptomatic changes (F = 6.0; df = 2; p = 0.003). Routine urine culture results did not reflect changes in disease status. CONCLUSION: These data support the hypothesis that treating painful LUTS associated with pyuria with long-term antimicrobial courses, despite negative urine culture, is effective. The microscopy of fresh unspun, unstained urine to count white cells and epithelial cells offers a valid method of monitoring disease. An unplanned cessation of antibiotic therapy produced a resurgence of symptoms and lower urinary tract inflammation in patients with chronic LUTS, supporting an infective aetiology below the level of routine detection

The EDDY Current Sensing of Gallium Arsenide Crystal Growth: Calculated Response

Gallium arsenide grown by the high pressure liquid encapsulated Czochralski (HPLEC) process suffers from a low yield of electrically useful material and widely varying opto-electronic properties. These types of problems are typical of emerging materials/new processes, and in this case, can be traced back to inadequate process control during crystal growth. In particular, it is important to measure and control local solidifications during crystal growth in order to maintain an optimum liquid-solid interface shape that results in single crystal solidification and more uniform electro-optic properties [1].</p

Fabrication of CdS/CdTe-Based thin film solar cells using an electrochemical technique

Thin film solar cells based on cadmium telluride (CdTe) are complex devices which have great potential for achieving high conversion efficiencies. Lack of understanding in materials issues and device physics slows down the rapid progress of these devices. This paper combines relevant results from the literature with new results from a research programme based on electro-plated CdS and CdTe. A wide range of analytical techniques was used to investigate the materials and device structures. It has been experimentally found that n-, i- and p-type CdTe can be grown easily by electroplating. These material layers consist of nano- and micro-rod type or columnar type grains, growing normal to the substrate. Stoichiometric materials exhibit the highest crystallinity and resistivity, and layers grown closer to these conditions show n → p or p → n conversion upon heat treatment. The general trend of CdCl2 treatment is to gradually change the CdTe material’s n-type electrical property towards i-type or p-type conduction. This work also identifies a rapid structural transition of CdTe layer at 385 ± 5 °C and a slow structural transition at higher temperatures when annealed or grown at high temperature. The second transition occurs after 430 °C and requires more work to understand this gradual transition. This work also identifies the existence of two different solar cell configurations for CdS/CdTe which creates a complex situation. Finally, the paper presents the way forward with next generation CdTe-based solar cells utilising low-cost materials in their columnar nature in graded bandgap structures. These devices could absorb UV, visible and IR radiation from the solar spectrum and combine impact ionisation and impurity photovoltaic (PV) effect as well as making use of IR photons from the surroundings when fully optimised