A Monte Carlo investigation of thrust imbalance of solid rocket motor pairs

A technique is described for theoretical, statistical evaluation of the thrust imbalance of pairs of solid-propellant rocket motors (SRMs) firing in parallel. Sets of the significant variables, determined as a part of the research, are selected using a random sampling technique and the imbalance calculated for a large number of motor pairs. The performance model is upgraded to include the effects of statistical variations in the ovality and alignment of the motor case and mandrel. Effects of cross-correlations of variables are minimized by selecting for the most part completely independent input variables, over forty in number. The imbalance is evaluated in terms of six time - varying parameters as well as eleven single valued ones which themselves are subject to statistical analysis. A sample study of the thrust imbalance of 50 pairs of 146 in. dia. SRMs of the type to be used on the space shuttle is presented. The FORTRAN IV computer program of the analysis and complete instructions for its use are included. Performance computation time for one pair of SRMs is approximately 35 seconds on the IBM 370/155 using the FORTRAN H compiler

SeaSat-A Satellite Scatterometer Mission Summary and Engineering Assessment Report

The SeaSat-A satellite was launched on June 26, 1978 and operated in orbit through October 9, 1978. The SeaSat-A satellite scatterometer ocean surface wind field sensor began taking data on July 10, 1978 with virtually continuous operation for 95-1/2 days. A review of mission events significant to the scatterometer and a report on the hardware and software engineering assessment are presented

A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas

Discusses key demographic trends, economic factors, and public policy issues associated with immigrants in Arkansas, which has the fourth-fastest-growing immigrant population in the nation

Fall-related injury in the hospital

Background: 2 — 9% of adult patients who fall in the hospital suffer serious injury. There is little evidence-based literature to guide physicians when assessing hospitalized patients for fall-related injury. This study was designed to (1) identify demographic and/or clinical factors which predict serious fall-related injury among hospitalized adults, and (2) judge the adequacy of physician documentation related to adult patients who fell in the hospital. Methods: Nursing staff are required to report all hospital falls through our hospitals computerized Patient Safety Network (PSN). We performed a retrospective chart review of all PSN reported falls that occurred during 2010 in our 431-bed university acute care hospital. Patients less than18 years old, pregnant women, and prisoners were excluded. Results: Medical records were available for 286/293 (98%) of PSN-reported falls in 251 eligible patients. Falls occurred in 152 males (61%), and 99 females (39%). 48% of falls occurred while toileting. 25% (63/286) of falls were associated with injury, and 4% (11/286) with serious injury (laceration requiring closure or fracture). Compared to all fallers, patients with injury did not differ by gender (males 38/152 vs. females 25/99, p=0.96). Patients older than 64 years who fell were no more likely to suffer injury that younger adults (13/64 vs. 50/187, p = 0.31). In univariate analysis, patients who reported hitting their head, patients with pre-fall confusion, and patients who received narcotics on the day of fall were more likely to suffer injury (estimated odds ratios 6.04, 2.00 and 5.1, respectfully). In multivariate analysis, receiving a narcotic on the day of fall was the strongest predictor of injury (Table). 33% (21/63) of falls with injury had no physician documentation in the hospital record, and in only 21% (13/63) of cases, were falls with injury mentioned in the discharge summary. Conclusions: In this single-institution study, injury occurred in 25% of patients who fell, and serious injury in 4%. Compared to all falls, falls with injury did not vary by gender or age. Receiving a narcotic of the day of fall was the strongest predictor of injury. Physicians inconsistently provided medical record documentation of hospitalized patients who fell with injury.\u2

Narcotic administration and fall-related injury in the hospital: Implications for patient safety programs and providers

Objective: Identify factors that predict fall-related injury in hospitalized adults. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: 435-bed university hospital. Participants: Inpatients with reported falls in 2010. Results: Medical records were available for 286/293 (98%) of reported falls in 251 patients. 25% (63/286) of falls were associated with injury, 4% (11/286) with serious injury. Compared to all fallers, patients with injury did not differ by gender or age. In univariate analysis, patients who reported hitting their head, had pre-fall confusion, or who received narcotics within 24 hours before falling were more likely to suffer injury (estimated odds ratios 6.04, 2.00 and 5.1, respectfully). In multivariate analysis, receiving a narcotic prior to falling was the strongest predictor of injury (estimated odds ratio 5.59; 95% confidence intervals 2.14 — 14.65, p \u3c0.001). Conclusions: In this single-institution study, 25% of patients who fell suffered injury and 4% serious injury. Neither age nor gender predicted fall-related injury. Recent narcotic administration was the strongest predictor of injury. Strategies to prevent fall-related injury in the hospital should target patients receiving narcotics. When evaluating inpatients who have fallen, providers should be especially vigilant about injury in patients who have pre-fall confusion, hit their head, or have received recent narcotics

Monitoring damage growth in titanium matrix composites using acoustic emission

The application of the acoustic emission (AE) technique to locate and monitor damage growth in titanium matrix composites (TMC) was investigated. Damage growth was studied using several optical techniques including a long focal length, high magnification microscope system with image acquisition capabilities. Fracture surface examinations were conducted using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The AE technique was used to locate damage based on the arrival times of AE events between two sensors. Using model specimens exhibiting a dominant failure mechanism, correlations were established between the observed damage growth mechanisms and the AE results in terms of the events amplitude. These correlations were used to monitor the damage growth process in laminates exhibiting multiple modes of damage. Results revealed that the AE technique is a viable and effective tool to monitor damage growth in TMC

HD 145263: Spectral Observations of Silica Debris Disk Formation via Extreme Space Weathering?

We report here time domain infrared spectroscopy and optical photometry of the HD145263 silica-rich circumstellar disk system taken from 2003 through 2014. We find an F4V host star surrounded by a stable, massive 1e22 - 1e23 kg (M_Moon to M_Mars) dust disk. No disk gas was detected, and the primary star was seen rotating with a rapid ~1.75 day period. After resolving a problem with previously reported observations, we find the silica, Mg-olivine, and Fe-pyroxene mineralogy of the dust disk to be stable throughout, and very unusual compared to the ferromagnesian silicates typically found in primordial and debris disks. By comparison with mid-infrared spectral features of primitive solar system dust, we explore the possibility that HD 145263's circumstellar dust mineralogy occurred with preferential destruction of Fe-bearing olivines, metal sulfides, and water ice in an initially comet-like mineral mix and their replacement by Fe-bearing pyroxenes, amorphous pyroxene, and silica. We reject models based on vaporizing optical stellar megaflares, aqueous alteration, or giant hypervelocity impacts as unable to produce the observed mineralogy. Scenarios involving unusually high Si abundances are at odds with the normal stellar absorption near-infrared feature strengths for Mg, Fe, and Si. Models involving intense space weathering of a thin surface patina via moderate (T < 1300 K) heating and energetic ion sputtering due to a stellar superflare from the F4V primary are consistent with the observations. The space weathered patina should be reddened, contain copious amounts of nanophase Fe, and should be transient on timescales of decades unless replenished.Comment: 41 Pages, 5 Figures, 5 Tables, Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Hyperfine Structure

Contains research objectives and reports on six research objectives

Spectral, mineralogical, and geochemical variations across Home Plate, Gusev Crater, Mars indicate high and low temperature alteration

Over the last ~ 3 years in Gusev Crater, Mars, the Spirit rover observed coherent variations in color, mineralogy, and geochemistry across Home Plate, an ~ 80 m-diameter outcrop of basaltic tephra. Observations of Home Plate from orbit and from the summit of Husband Hill reveal clear differences in visible/near-infrared (VNIR) colors between its eastern and western regions that are consistent with mineralogical compositions indicated by Mössbauer spectrometer (MB) and by Miniature Thermal Emission Spectrometer (Mini-TES). Pyroxene and magnetite dominate the east side, while olivine, nanophase Fe oxide (npOx) and glass are more abundant on the western side. Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer (APXS) observations reveal that eastern Home Plate has higher Si/Mg, Al, Zn, Ni, and K, while Cl and Br are higher in the west. We propose that these variations are the result of two distinct alteration regimes that may or may not be temporally related: a localized, higher temperature recrystallization and alteration of the east side of Home Plate and lower temperature alteration of the western side that produced npOx