16,941 research outputs found
Effect of blade geometry on the aerodynamic loads produced by vertical-axis wind turbines
Accurate aerodynamic modelling of vertical-axis wind turbines poses a significant challenge. The rotation of the turbine induces large variations in the angle of attack of its blades that can manifest as dynamic stall. In addition, interactions between the blades of the turbine and the wake that they produce can result in impulsive changes to the aerodynamic loading. The Vorticity Transport Model has been used to simulate the aerodynamic performance and wake dynamics of three different vertical-axis wind turbine configurations. It is known that vertical-axis turbines with either straight or curved blades deliver torque to their shaft that fluctuates at the blade passage frequency of the rotor. In contrast, a turbine with helically twisted blades delivers a relatively steady torque to the shaft. In this article, the interactions between helically twisted blades and the vortices within their wake are shown to result in localized perturbations to the aerodynamic loading on the rotor that can disrupt the otherwise relatively smooth power output that is predicted by simplistic aerodynamic tools that do not model the wake to sufficient fidelity. Furthermore, vertical-axis wind turbines with curved blades are shown to be somewhat more susceptible to local dynamic stall than turbines with straight blades
Geometric approach to Fletcher's ideal penalty function
Original article can be found at: www.springerlink.com Copyright Springer. [Originally produced as UH Technical Report 280, 1993]In this note, we derive a geometric formulation of an ideal penalty function for equality constrained problems. This differentiable penalty function requires no parameter estimation or adjustment, has numerical conditioning similar to that of the target function from which it is constructed, and also has the desirable property that the strict second-order constrained minima of the target function are precisely those strict second-order unconstrained minima of the penalty function which satisfy the constraints. Such a penalty function can be used to establish termination properties for algorithms which avoid ill-conditioned steps. Numerical values for the penalty function and its derivatives can be calculated efficiently using automatic differentiation techniques.Peer reviewe
Thermo-acoustic wave propagation and reflection near the liquid-gas critical point
We study the thermo-acoustic wave propagation and reflection near the
liquid-gas critical point. Specifically, we perform a numerical investigation
of the acoustic responses in a near-critical fluid to thermal perturbations
based on the same setup of a recent ultrasensitive interferometry measurement
in CO2 [Y. Miura et al. Phys. Rev. E 74, 010101(R) (2006)]. The numerical
results agree well with the experimental data. New features regarding the
reflection pattern of thermo-acoustic waves near the critical point under pulse
perturbations are revealed by the proper inclusion of the critically diverging
bulk viscosity.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Accepted by PRE (Rapid Communication
High-risk Sexual Behavior is Associated with Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Non-adherence among Men who have Sex with Men Enrolled in a Combination Prevention Intervention.
Methamphetamine use among men who have sex with men (MSM) is associated with increased HIV prevalence, due to increased engagement in high-risk sexual behavior. Fifty-three HIV-negative, methamphetamine-using MSM were enrolled in a biobehavioral combination prevention intervention in Los Angeles, CA, to assess the feasibility of administering postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) in combination with contingency management (CM) to prevent HIV seroconversion. The study combined a CM behavioral intervention targeting reductions in methamphetamine use with a PEP biomedical intervention for HIV prevention. Those who reported recent exposure to HIV were initiated on tenofovir/emtricitabine- (Truvada)-based PEP (n=35). This secondary analysis sought to determine whether recent and/or lifetime sexual risk taking was associated with PEP adherence. Regression analyses controlling for participant sociodemographics demonstrated that, at baseline, increased number of lifetime sexually transmitted diseases (STDs; Coef.=-0.07; 95% CI=(-0.12) - (-0.01)) and recent episodes of unprotected anal intercourse (UAI; Coef.=-0.01; 95% CI= (-.01) - (-0.002)) were each associated with reductions in medication adherence. Given these associations between baseline sexual risk and PEP adherence, providers working with high-risk MSM may look to target reductions in sexual risk taking; this will reduce direct risk of HIV infection and may work to optimize medication adherence in the case of PEP initiation. Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT00856323
Forces and atomic relaxations in the pSIC approach with ultrasoft pseudopotentials
We present the scheme that allows for efficient calculations of forces in the
framework of pseudopotential self-interaction corrected (pSIC) formulation of
the density functional theory. The scheme works with norm conserving and also
with ultrasoft pseudopotentials and has been implemented in the plane-wave
basis code {\sc quantum espresso}. We have performed tests of the internal
consistency of the derived expressions for forces considering ZnO and CeO
crystals. Further, we have performed calculations of equilibrium geometry for
LaTiO, YTiO, and LaMnO perovskites and also for Re and Mn pairs in
silicon. Comparison with standard DFT and DFT+U approaches shows that in the
cases where spurious self-interaction matters, the pSIC approach predicts
different geometry, very often closer to the experimental data.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figure
Same traits, different variance : Item-Level Variation Within Personality Measures
© 2014 the Author(s). This article has been published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. Without requesting permission from the Author or SAGE, you may further copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the article, with the condition that the Author and SAGE Open are in each case credited as the source of the article. The version of record, Jamie S. Churcyard, Karen J. Pine, Shivani Sharma, Ben (C) Fletcher, ' Same Traits, Difference Variance: Item-Level Variation Within Personality Measures', SAGE Open, 2014, is available online via doi: 10.1177/2158244014522634Personality trait questionnaires are regularly used in individual differences research to examine personality scores between participants, although trait researchers tend to place little value on intra-individual variation in item ratings within a measured trait. The few studies that examine variability indices have not considered how they are related to a selection of psychological outcomes, so we recruited 160 participants (age M = 24.16, SD = 9.54) who completed the IPIP-HEXACO personality questionnaire and several outcome measures. Heterogenous within-subject differences in item ratings were found for every trait/facet measured, with measurement error that remained stable across the questionnaire. Within-subject standard deviations, calculated as measures of individual variation in specific item ratings within a trait/facet, were related to outcomes including life satisfaction and depression. This suggests these indices represent valid constructs of variability, and that researchers administering behavior statement trait questionnaires with outcome measures should also apply item-level variability indices.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Boiling a Unitary Fermi Liquid
We study the thermal evolution of a highly spin-imbalanced, homogeneous Fermi
gas with unitarity limited interactions, from a Fermi liquid of polarons at low
temperatures to a classical Boltzmann gas at high temperatures. Radio-frequency
spectroscopy gives access to the energy, lifetime, and short-range correlations
of Fermi polarons at low temperatures . In this regime, we observe a
characteristic dependence of the spectral width, corresponding to the
quasiparticle decay rate expected for a Fermi liquid. At high , the spectral
width decreases again towards the scattering rate of the classical, unitary
Boltzmann gas, . In the transition region between the quantum
degenerate and classical regime, the spectral width attains its maximum, on the
scale of the Fermi energy, indicating the breakdown of a quasiparticle
description. Density measurements in a harmonic trap directly reveal the
majority dressing cloud surrounding the minority spins and yield the
compressibility along with the effective mass of Fermi polarons.Comment: Accepted version at PR
Determination and development of cost effective techniques to monitor recreational catch and effort in Western Australian demersal finfish fisheries: Final Report for FRDC Project 2005/034 and WAMSI Subproject 4.4.3
Objectives1.Complete a series of concurrent catch and effort surveys of the West Coast Demersal Recreational Fishery using a variety of survey techniques.2.Compare the precision and accuracy of estimates generated using these various techniques3.Usingcostbenefitanalysis,produceaseriesofoptionstomonitorannualcatchandeffortfora range of precision levels and indicator species4.Development of cost effective methods for monitoring the catch of the non-commercial sector
Quantized charge pumping through a quantum dot by surface acoustic waves
We present a realization of quantized charge pumping. A lateral quantum dot
is defined by metallic split gates in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructure. A surface
acoustic wave whose wavelength is twice the dot length is used to pump single
electrons through the dot at a frequency f=3GHz. The pumped current shows a
regular pattern of quantization at values I=nef over a range of gate voltage
and wave amplitude settings. The observed values of n, the number of electrons
transported per wave cycle, are determined by the number of electronic states
in the quantum dot brought into resonance with the fermi level of the electron
reservoirs during the pumping cycle.Comment: 8 page
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