9,273 research outputs found
Educational psychologists’ responses to a post-16 service user film on their practice: a participatory research project
A film was made by a group of young people (YP) which aimed to inform educational psychologists (EPs) about how they would like EPs to work with them. A participatory research project was established with the YP which aimed to find out EPs’ views on the film through two focus groups. EPs responded positively to the film; they valued hearing from YP and expressed feelings including pride and guilt . Interest was shown in plans for the distribution of the film and critical reflections on the representativeness of the film were made. Findings are discussed in relation to the current context for EP work in which there is a focus on gaining the voice of children and YP and on improving services through service-user feedback. The authors reflect on the strengths and limitations of using a participatory approach, considering challenges regarding methodological rigour and the opportunity research poses for widening participation
A High Stability Optical Shadow Sensor with Applications for Precision Accelerometers
Gravimeters are devices which measure changes in the value of the
gravitational acceleration, \textit{g}. This information is used to infer
changes in density under the ground allowing the detection of subsurface voids;
mineral, oil and gas reserves; and even the detection of the precursors of
volcanic eruptions. A micro-electro mechanical system (MEMS) gravimeter has
been fabricated completely in silicon allowing the possibility of cost
e-effective, lightweight and small gravimeters. To obtain a measurement of
gravity, a highly stable displacement measurement of the MEMS is required. This
requires the development of a portable electronics system that has a
displacement sensitivity of nm over a period of a day or more. The
portable electronics system presented here has a displacement sensitivity nm ( nm at s). The battery power
system used a modulated LED for measurements and required temperature control
of the system to 2 mK, monitoring of the tilt to 2 radians,
the storage of measured data and the transmission of the data to an external
server.Comment: 8 Pages, 12 figures, 5 equations, currently submitted and under
review at IEEE Sensors SIE
Turbulent transition in a truncated one-dimensional model for shear flow
We present a reduced model for the transition to turbulence in shear flow
that is simple enough to admit a thorough numerical investigation while
allowing spatio-temporal dynamics that are substantially more complex than
those allowed in previous modal truncations. Our model allows a comparison of
the dynamics resulting from initial perturbations that are localised in the
spanwise direction with those resulting from sinusoidal perturbations. For
spanwise-localised initial conditions the subcritical transition to a
`turbulent' state (i) takes place more abruptly, with a boundary between
laminar and `turbulent' flow that is appears to be much less `structured' and
(ii) results in a spatiotemporally chaotic regime within which the lifetimes of
spatiotemporally complicated transients are longer, and are even more sensitive
to initial conditions. The minimum initial energy required for a
spanwise-localised initial perturbation to excite a chaotic transient has a
power-law scaling with Reynolds number with .
The exponent depends only weakly on the width of the localised perturbation
and is lower than that commonly observed in previous low-dimensional models
where typically . The distributions of lifetimes of chaotic
transients at fixed Reynolds number are found to be consistent with exponential
distributions.Comment: 22 pages. 11 figures. To appear in Proc. Roy. Soc.
Field tests of a portable MEMS gravimeter
Gravimeters are used to measure density anomalies under the ground. They are applied in
many different fields from volcanology to oil and gas exploration, but present commercial systems
are costly and massive. A new type of gravity sensor has been developed that utilises the same
fabrication methods as those used to make mobile phone accelerometers. In this study, we describe
the first results of a field-portable microelectromechanical system (MEMS) gravimeter. The stability
of the gravimeter is demonstrated through undertaking a multi-day measurement with a standard
deviation of 5.58 × 10−6 ms−2
. It is then demonstrated that a change in gravitational acceleration of
4.5 × 10−5 ms−2
can be measured as the device is moved between the top and the bottom of a 20.7 m
lift shaft with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 14.25. Finally, the device is demonstrated to be stable in
a more harsh environment: a 4.5 × 10−4 ms−2 gravity variation is measured between the top and
bottom of a 275-m hill with an SNR of 15.88. These initial field-tests are an important step towards
a chip-sized gravity senso
Applicability of the Peclet number approach to blow-off and flashback limits of common steelworks process gases
The ever-increasing importance of energy efficiency has given rise to numerous areas of concern for operators and developers of combustion plants; as the need to utilise fuel gases of increasingly poor quality and variability is essential for sustainability, while emission standards continuing to become more stringent. Swirl combustors are ubiquitous in industry owing to their great stability range which occurs due to the formation of a CRZ, which through the recycling of heat and active chemical species to the root of the flame enhances stability over a wide range of operating conditions. Alternative fuels containing hydrogen offer the possibility of reduced greenhouse gas emissions; however flashback is of special concern with hydrogen enriched fuels, owing to the very high flame speed of hydrogen. Many by-products of process and waste industries can include a high proportion of hydrogen, for example Coke Oven Gas. Alternatively, many by-product process gases can contain a high proportion of non-combustible species such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide which can substantially reduce their flame speed and as a consequence increase the possibility of the flame extinguishing through blow-off. This paper examines the blow-off and flashback potential of common steelworks process gases (including one which contains hydrogen) in a compact, premixed swirl burner in swirl number regimes representative of those found in practical systems. Methane is used as a base fuel for comparison. All results are obtained at atmospheric pressure without air preheat. The Peclet number modelling approach incorporating a flame quenching parameter was applied to the results obtained for each of the fuel gases. Using this model, the quench factor value was seen to be dependent on burner configuration as well as fuel composition. It was found that the stable burner operating conditions significantly change from fuel to fuel; with the operating points at which flashback occurs with Coke Oven Gas producing blow-off with weaker process gases such as Blast Furnace Gas and Basic Oxygen Steelmaking gas
Asymptotic solution of a model for bilayer organic diodes and solar cells
Organic diodes and solar cells are constructed by placing together two organic semiconducting materials with dissimilar electron affinities and ionization potentials. The electrical behavior of such devices has been successfully modeled numerically using conventional drift diffusion together with recombination (which is usually assumed to be bimolecular) and thermal generation. Here a particular model is considered and the dark current-voltage curve and the spatial structure of the solution across the device is extracted analytically using asymptotic methods. We concentrate on the case of Shockley-Read-Hall recombination but note the extension to other recombination mechanisms. We find that there are three regimes of behavior, dependent on the total current. For small currents-i.e., at reverse bias or moderate forward bias-the structure of the solution is independent of the total current. For large currents-i.e., at strong forward bias-the current varies linearly with the voltage and is primarily controlled by drift of charges in the organic layers. There is then a narrow range of currents where the behavior undergoes a transition between the two regimes. The magnitude of the parameter that quantifies the interfacial recombination rate is critical in determining where the transition occurs. The extension of the theory to organic solar cells generating current under illumination is discussed as is the analogous current-voltage curves derived where the photo current is small. Finally, by comparing the analytic results to real experimental data, we show how the model parameters can be extracted from the shape of current-voltage curves measured in the dark. © 2012 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics
Vacancy clustering and diffusion in silicon: Kinetic lattice Monte Carlo simulations
Diffusion and clustering of lattice vacancies in silicon as a function of
temperature, concentration, and interaction range are investigated by Kinetic
Lattice Monte Carlo simulations. It is found that higher temperatures lead to
larger clusters with shorter lifetimes on average, which grow by attracting
free vacancies, while clusters at lower temperatures grow by aggregation of
smaller clusters. Long interaction ranges produce enhanced diffusivity and
fewer clusters. Greater vacancy concentrations lead to more clusters, with
fewer free vacancies, but the size of the clusters is largely independent of
concentration. Vacancy diffusivity is shown to obey power law behavior over
time, and the exponent of this law is shown to increase with concentration, at
fixed temperature, and decrease with temperature, at fixed concentration.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures. To appear in Physical Review
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