7,777 research outputs found
A statistical comparison of two carbon fiber/epoxy fabrication techniques
A statistical comparison of the compression strengths of specimens that were fabricated by either a platen press or an autoclave were performed on IM6/3501-6 carbon/epoxy composites of 16-ply (0,+45,90,-45)(sub S2) lay-up configuration. The samples were cured with the same parameters and processing materials. It was found that the autoclaved panels were thicker than the platen press cured samples. Two hundred samples of each type of cure process were compression tested. The autoclaved samples had an average strength of 450 MPa (65.5 ksi), while the press cured samples had an average strength of 370 MPa (54.0 ksi). A Weibull analysis of the data showed that there is only a 30 pct. probability that the two types of cure systems yield specimens that can be considered from the same family
HI Density Distribution Driven by Supernovae: A Simulation Study
We model the complex distribution of atomic hydrogen (HI) in the interstellar
medium (ISM) assuming that it is driven entirely by supernovae (SN). We develop
and assess two different models. In the first approach, the simulated volume is
randomly populated with non-overlapping voids of a range of sizes. This may
relate to a snapshot distribution of supernova-remnant voids, although somewhat
artificially constrained by the non-overlap criterion. In the second approach,
a simplified time evolution (considering momentum conservation as the only
governing constraint during interactions) is followed as SN populate the space
with the associated input mass and energy.
We describe these simulations and present our results in the form of images
of the mass and velocity distributions and the associated power spectra. The
latter are compared with trends indicated by available observations. In both
approaches, we find remarkable correspondence with the observed statistical
description of well-studied components of the ISM, wherein the spatial spectra
have been found to show significant deviations from the Kolmogorov spectrum.
One of the key indications from this study, regardless of whether or not the
SN-induced turbulence is the dominant process in the ISM, is that the apparent
non-Kolmogorov spectral characteristics (of HI and/or electron column density
across thick or thin screens) needed to explain related observations may not at
all be in conflict with the underlying turbulence (i.e. the velocity structure)
being of Kolmogorov nature. We briefly discuss the limitations of our
simulations and the various implications of our results.Comment: To appear in Astrophysical Journal. 21 pages, 6 figure
Star-Formation in Low Radio Luminosity AGN from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
We investigate faint radio emission from low- to high-luminosity Active
Galactic Nuclei (AGN) selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Their
radio properties are inferred by co-adding large ensembles of radio image
cut-outs from the FIRST survey, as almost all of the sources are individually
undetected. We correlate the median radio flux densities against a range of
other sample properties, including median values for redshift, [OIII]
luminosity, emission line ratios, and the strength of the 4000A break. We
detect a strong trend for sources that are actively undergoing star-formation
to have excess radio emission beyond the ~10^28 ergs/s/Hz level found for
sources without any discernible star-formation. Furthermore, this additional
radio emission correlates well with the strength of the 4000A break in the
optical spectrum, and may be used to assess the age of the star-forming
component. We examine two subsamples, one containing the systems with emission
line ratios most like star-forming systems, and one with the sources that have
characteristic AGN ratios. This division also separates the mechanism
responsible for the radio emission (star-formation vs. AGN). For both cases we
find a strong, almost identical, correlation between [OIII] and radio
luminosity, with the AGN sample extending toward lower, and the star-formation
sample toward higher luminosities. A clearer separation between the two
subsamples is seen as function of the central velocity dispersion of the host
galaxy. For systems with similar redshifts and velocity dispersions, the
star-formation subsample is brighter than the AGN in the radio by an order of
magnitude. This underlines the notion that the radio emission in star-forming
systems can dominate the emission associated with the AGN.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomical Journal; 15 pages, 8 color
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The Impact Response of Carbon/Epoxy Laminates (Center Director's Discretionary Fund, Project No. 94-13)
Low velocity dropweight impact tests were conducted on carbon/epoxy laminates under various boundary conditions. The composite plates were 8-ply (+45,0,-45,90)s laminates supported in a clamped-clamped/free-free configuration with varying amounts of in-plane load, N(sub x), applied. Specimens were impacted at energies of 3.4, 4.5, and 6 Joules (2.5, 3.3, and 4.4 ft-lb). The amount of damage induced into the specimen was evaluated using instrumented impact techniques, x-ray inspection, and cross-sectional photomicroscopy. Some static identation tests were performed to examine if the impact events utilized in this study were of a quasi-static nature and also to gain insight into the shape of the deflected surface at various impact load combinations. Load-displacement curves from these tests were compared to those of the impact tests, as was damage determined from x-ray inspection. The finite element technique was used to model the impact event and determine the stress field within the laminae. Results showed that for a given impact energy level, more damage was induced into the specimen as the external in-plane load, N(sub x), was increased. The majority of damage observed consisted of back face splitting of the matrix parallel to the fibers in that ply, associated with delaminations emanating from these splits. The analysis showed qualitatively the results of impact conditions on maximum load of impact, maximum transverse deflection, and first failure mode and location
The Glass Transition Temperature of Water: A Simulation Study
We report a computer simulation study of the glass transition for water. To
mimic the difference between standard and hyperquenched glass, we generate
glassy configurations with different cooling rates and calculate the
dependence of the specific heat on heating. The absence of crystallization
phenomena allows us, for properly annealed samples, to detect in the specific
heat the simultaneous presence of a weak pre-peak (``shadow transition''), and
an intense glass transition peak at higher temperature.
We discuss the implications for the currently debated value of the glass
transition temperature of water. We also compare our simulation results with
the Tool-Narayanaswamy-Moynihan phenomenological model.Comment: submitted to Phys. Re
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