Towards comprehensive characterisation and modelling of the forming and wrinkling mechanics of engineering fabrics

Through a combination of direct measurement and inverse modelling, a route to characterising the main mechanical forming properties of engineering fabric is demonstrated. The process involves just two experimental tests, a cantilever bending test and a modified version of the uniaxial bias extension test. The mechanical forming properties of a twill weave carbon fabric have been determined, including estimates of the in-plane bending stiffness and the torsional stiffness of a sheared fabric. As a result of measuring and incorporating all the main mechanical properties of the fabric in forming simulations (tensile, shear, out-of-plane bending, in-plane bending & torsion), the specimen size-dependent shear kinematics and wrinkling response measured in experiments, is faithfully reproduced in simulations of the uniaxial bias extension (UBE) test

Development of a multispectral sensor for crop canopy temperature measurement

The Multispectral System for Imaging of a Crop Canopy (MSICC) that combines a miniature long wavelength infrared (LWIR) camera with a visible camera was developed to capture a field of view and derive a plant specific temperature measurement. The overall project included the development of electronics and firmware used to integrate the two cameras into a deployable system, the calibration that converted LWIR images into thermal measurements, the post-processing techniques used on visible camera images, and the field operation of the instrument as a static and mobile device. The electronic system used a microprocessor to control the operations of the LWIR and visible cameras and to save and display images. The LWIR camera was calibrated for thermal measurement to an accuracy of 0.65 degrees C by relating pixel output to a temperature measurement. The visible camera, through processing to identify plants within an image, provided a binary mask to identify crop/non-crop components within its field of view. The mask was then used to obtain a region of interest (ROI) from the thermal image over which data were integrated to create a crop temperature measurement. The MSICC, paired with an infrared thermometer for comparison, collected data at high temporal resolution on three different soybean plots during September and October 2016. It was capable of removing shaded areas and soil from the ROI, based upon monochrome image intensity, from thermal images to produce temperature measurements more representative of the plant canopy. Hardware, software, and image processing improvements facilitated use of the MSICC as a mobile sensor to identify spatial variability. This instrument gathered high spatial resolution data on two different sets of corn plots during June 2017. The effectiveness of two color-based vegetative indices for defining the ROI was gauged on plots with different percent canopy cover. The MSICC was able to discern a significant difference in temperature between plants growing in shallow and deep topsoil plots on a day with high temperature and low soil moisture. Due to its ability to remove non-crop background, this instrument should be able to provide accurate crop temperature measurements earlier in the growing season than other methods

The Evolving Landscape of IP Rights for Plant Varieties in the United States, 1930-2008

The United States was the first country in the world to explicitly offer intellectual property protection for plant varieties. Beginning in 1930, asexually reproduced plants were afforded plant patent protection, in 1970 sexually propagated plants could be awarded plant variety protection certificates, and beginning in 1985, courts confirmed that varieties of all types of plants were eligible for utility patents. From 1930 to 2008, a total of 34,340 varietal rights applications were lodged. The number of rights being sought continues to grow, with 42 percent of all the varietal rights claimed since 2000. Contrary to popular perception, most of these rights are for horticultural crops (69 percent), with ornamentals accounting for the lion’s share of the horticulture-related rights (73 percent, or 50 percent of all plant rights). Food and feed crops constitute only 24 percent of the rights sought, although just two crops (corn and soybean) made up 84 percent of the 3,719 varietal rights claimed via utility patents. The structure of these rights has changed dramatically over the years. During the 1930s when the only rights on offer were plant patents, 72 percent of the rights sought were for ornamental crops and individual innovators played a substantial role (50 percent of the rights). By 2004-2008, the annual applications for plant patents had increased in number but fallen to a 60 percent share of the total rights claimed. During this recent period, utility patents were as popular as plant variety protection certificates, and ornamentals made up a large but much reduced share of the total (52 percent). Individual innovators accounted for only 12 percent of the rights, whereas the corporate sector sought the dominant share of varietal rights (82 percent in 2004-2008). These intellectual property markets are complex, with corporations, universities and other agencies seeking different types of rights for different crops.plant patents, plant variety protection, utility patents, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy, Q16, Q18, O32, O34,

Lower-rim ferrocenyl substituted calixarenes: new electrochemical sensors for anions

New ferrocene substituted calix[4 and 5]arenes have been prepared and the crystal structure of a lower-rim substituted bis ferrocene calix[4]arene (7) has been elucidated. The respective ferrocene/ferrocenium redox-couples of compounds 6 (a calix[4]arene tetra ferrocene amide) and 8 (a calix[5]arene pentaferrocene amide) are shown to be significantly cathodically perturbed in the presence of anions by up to 160 mV in the presence of dihydrogen phosphate

Using Route Forwarding State to Identify Routing Errors in Mission-Critical, Military Data Networks

This research verified route forwarding state information from an example, mission-critical, military data network against a network architecture definition in order to aid inexperienced network administrators in identifying routing errors. Aiding inexperienced administrators is important because network administrators in the military vary widely in experience and it is more likely that mission-critical, military data networks are administered by people who lack experience.As part of this research, an Architecture Definition Language (ADL) was developed to specify physical topology and data-link attributes of a network. That architecture definition was then used to define a model of the network using graph theory tools. Next, a web-based visualization of the architecture model was developed that included an interactive form to evaluate the shortest path between subnetworks. The shortest path between subnetworks was calculated on the architecture model, inspected on the live network, and overlaid on the web-based visualization to depict the inconsistencies for an inexperienced network administrator.With the tool developed in this research, an experienced network administrator can use the developed ADL to describe how the network should work to network administrators at any experience level. Using the architecture definition, inexperienced network administrators can identify routing errors by visualizing how a live network compares to the architected network. Quickly identifying and resolving routing errors in mission-critical, military data networks enhances the operational effectiveness of the military

Sensitivity of predicted bioaerosol exposure from open windrow composting facilities to ADMS dispersion model parameters

Bioaerosols are released in elevated quantities from composting facilities and are associated with negative health effects, although dose-response relationships are not well understood, and require improved exposure classification. Dispersion modelling has great potential to improve exposure classification, but has not yet been extensively used or validated in this context. We present a sensitivity analysis of the ADMS dispersion model specific to input parameter ranges relevant to bioaerosol emissions from open windrow composting. This analysis provides an aid for model calibration by prioritising parameter adjustment and targeting independent parameter estimation. Results showed that predicted exposure was most sensitive to the wet and dry deposition modules and the majority of parameters relating to emission source characteristics, including pollutant emission velocity, source geometry and source height. This research improves understanding of the accuracy of model input data required to provide more reliable exposure predictions

Measuring and Modelling the In-Plane Bending Stiffness and Wrinkling Behaviour of Engineering Fabrics

In this investigation two simple tests are conducted to characterise the shear, out-of-plane bending stiffness and in-plane bending stiffness of engineering fabrics and to investigate their wrinkling response during shear. A cantilever bending test [1] is first used to measure the out-of-plane bending stiffness while a modified version of the uniaxial bias extension (UBE) test is used to explore both the in-plane shear and the in-plane bending stiffness of the fabric (see Figure 1a). An estimate of the shear resistance of the fabric is obtained using normalisation theory [2]. In [3] it was shown that, for a given tensile stiffness in the two fibre directions, the in-plane deformation kinematics of the specimen are determined by the ratio between the fabric’s in-plane shear stiffness and in-plane bending stiffness. Thus, by measuring the fabric kinematics together with the shear stiffness of the fabric, the in-plane bending stiffness of the fabric is inferred using an inverse modelling approach. This is the first occasion that the in-plane bending stiffness of an engineering fabric has been estimated based on experimental data

First Arkansas Records for Bigscale Logperch Percina macrolepida Stevenson (Pisces: Percidae), with Comments on Habitat Preference and Distinctive Characters

Fish samples were collected with seines and rotenone from 21 localities representing five major habitat types along the Red River in Arkansas. The bigscale logperch, Percina macrolepida, was found at 11 of those sites, providing the first records ofthat species from the state. The primary preferred habitat parameters for bigscale logperch are no current, a sand and/or silt substrate, and a water depth of 1.0-2.0 m. Percina macrolepida is morphologically very similar to the widespread and common logperch, P. caprodes, but can be distinguished from all forms of that species in Arkansas by a combination of characters. Snout shape and the presence of scales on the breast, prepectoral area, and along the posterior edge of the preopercle in P. macrolepida are the most useful distinguishing features