Performance evaluation of a second-generation elastic loop mobility system

Tests were conducted to evaluate the mobility performance of a second-generation Elastic Loop Mobility System (ELMS II). Performance on level test lanes and slopes of lunar soil simulant (LSS) and obstacle-surmounting and crevasse-crossing capabilities were investigated. In addition, internal losses and contact pressure distributions were evaluated. To evaluate the soft-soil performance, two basic soil conditions were tested: loose (LSS1) and dense (LSS5). These conditions embrace the spectrum of soil strengths tested during recent studies for NASA related to the mobility performance of the LRV. Data indicated that for the tested range of the various performance parameters, performance was independent of unit load (contact pressure) and ELMS II drum angular velocity, but was influenced by soil strength and ELMS pitch mode. Power requirements were smaller at a given system output for dense soil than for loose soil. The total system output in terms of pull developed or slope-climbing capability was larger for the ELMS II operating in restrained-pitch mode than in free-pitch mode

The role of vortex shedding in the trailing edge loss of transonic turbine blades

The loss of square, round, and elliptical turbine trailing edge geometries, and the mechanisms responsible, is assessed using a two-part experimental program. In the first part, a single blade experiment, in a channel with contoured walls, allowed rapid testing of a range of trailing edge sizes and shapes. In the second part, turbine blade cascades with a subset of sizes of the trailing edge geometries tested in part one were evaluated in a closed-loop variable density facility, at exit Mach numbers from 0.40 to 0.97, and exit Reynolds numbers from 1.5 × 105 to 2.5 × 106. Throughout the test campaign, detailed instantaneous Schlieren images of the trailing edge flows have been obtained to identify the underlying unsteady mechanisms in the base region. The experiments reveal the importance of suppressing transonic vortex shedding, and quantify the influence of this mechanism on loss. The state and thickness of the blade boundary layers immediately upstream of the trailing edge are of critical importance in determining the onset of transonic vortex shedding. Elliptical trailing edge geometries have also been found to be effective at suppressing transonic vortex shedding. For trailing edges that exhibit transonic vortex shedding, a mechanism is identified whereby reflected shed shockwaves encourage or discourage vortex shedding depending on the phase with which the shocks return to the trailing edge, capable of modifying the loss generated.Innovate UK Rolls-Royce pl

Low Cost Solar Array Project: Composition Measurements by Analytical Photon Catalysis

The applicability of the photon catalysis technique for effecting composition analysis of silicon samples was assessed. Third quarter activities were devoted to the study of impurities in silicon matrices. The evaporation process was shown to be congruent; thus, the spectral analysis of the vapor yields the composition of the bulk sample. Qualitative analysis of metal impurities in silicon was demonstrated e part per million level. Only one atomic spectral interference was noted; however, it is imperative to maintain a leak tight system due to chemical and spectral interferences caused by the presence of even minute amounts of oxygen in the active nitrogen afterglow

Vertical pairing of identical particles suspended in the plasma sheath

It is shown experimentally that vertical pairing of two identical microspheres suspended in the sheath of a radio-frequency (rf) discharge at low gas pressures (a few Pa), appears at a well defined instability threshold of the rf power. The transition is reversible, but with significant hysteresis on the second stage. A simple model, which uses measured microsphere resonance frequencies and takes into account besides Coulomb interaction between negatively charged microspheres also their interaction with positive ion wake charges, seems to explain the instability threshold quite well.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures. to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, May 14th (2001

The Many Faces of a Character

We prove an identity between three infinite families of polynomials which are defined in terms of `bosonic', `fermionic', and `one-dimensional configuration' sums. In the limit where the polynomials become infinite series, they give different-looking expressions for the characters of the two integrable representations of the affine $su(2)$ algebra at level one. We conjecture yet another fermionic sum representation for the polynomials which is constructed directly from the Bethe-Ansatz solution of the Heisenberg spin chain.Comment: 14/9 pages in harvmac, Tel-Aviv preprint TAUP 2125-9

Interaction between dust grains near a conducting wall

The effect of the conducting electrode on the interaction of dust grains in a an ion flow is discussed. It is shown that two grains levitating above the electrode at the same height may attract one another. This results in the instability of a dust layer in a plasma sheath.Comment: 9 pages. 3 figures. Submitted to Plasma Physics Report

Shapeable magnetoelectronics

Inorganic nanomembranes are shapeable (flexible, printable, and even stretchable) and transferrable to virtually any substrate. These properties build the core concept for new technologies, which transform otherwise rigid high-speed devices into their shapeable counterparts. This research is motivated by the eagerness of consumer electronics towards being thin, lightweight, flexible, and even wearable. The realization of this concept requires all building blocks as we know them from rigid electronics (e.g., active elements, optoelectronics, magnetoelectronics, and energy storage) to be replicated in the form of (multi)functional nanomembranes, which can be reshaped on demand after fabrication. There are already a variety of shapeable devices commercially available, i.e., electronic displays, energy storage elements, and integrated circuitry, to name a few. From the beginning, the main focus was on the fabrication of shapeable high-speed electronics and optoelectronics. Only very recently, a new member featuring magnetic functionalities was added to the family of shapeable electronics. With their unique mechanical properties, the shapeable magnetic field sensor elements readily conform to ubiquitous objects of arbitrary shapes including the human skin. This feature leads electronic skin systems beyond imitating the characteristics of its natural archetype and extends their cognition to static and dynamic magnetic fields that by no means can be perceived by human beings naturally. Various application fields of shapeable magnetoelectronics are proposed. The developed sensor platform can equip soft electronic systems with navigation, orientation, motion tracking, and touchless control capabilities. A variety of novel technologies, such as smart textiles, soft robotics and actuators, active medical implants, and soft consumer electronics, will benefit from these new magnetic functionalities. This review reflects the establishment of shapeable magnetic sensorics, describing the entire development from the first attempts to verify the functional concept to the realization of ready-to-use highly compliant and strain invariant sensor devices with remarkable robustness

Stationary Velocity and Charge Distributions of Grains in Dusty Plasmas

Within the kinetic approach velocity and charge distributions of grains in stationary dusty plasmas are calculated and the relations between the effective temperatures of such distributions and plasma parameters are established. It is found that the effective temperature which determines the velocity grain distribution could be anomalously large due to the action of accelerating ionic bombarding force. The possibility to apply the results obtained to the explanation of the increasing grain temperature in the course of the Coulomb-crystal melting by reduction of the gas pressure is discussed. This paper was received by Phys.Rev.Lett. on 11 August 1999. As potential referees the authors offered to Editor the following persons: V.N.Tsytovich, Russia; R.Bingham, UK; D.Resendes, Portugal; G.Morfill, P.Shukla, Y.M.Yu., Germany.Comment: 8 pages, no figure

Driven transverse shear waves in a strongly coupled dusty plasma

The linear dispersion properties of transverse shear waves in a strongly coupled dusty plasma are experimentally studied by exciting them in a controlled manner with a variable frequency external source. The dusty plasma is maintained in the strongly coupled fluid regime with (1 < Gamma << Gamma_c) where Gamma is the Coulomb coupling parameter and Gamma_c is the crystallization limit. A dispersion relation for the transverse waves is experimentally obtained over a frequency range of 0.1 Hz to 2 Hz and found to show good agreement with viscoelastic theoretical results.Comment: The manuscripts contains five pages and 6 figure