The Structure of Neutral Monotonic Social Functions

In [6], Guha gave a complete characterization of path independent social decision functions which satisfy the independence of irrelevant alternatives condition, the strong Pareto principle, and UII, i.e., unanimous indifference implies social indifference. These conditions necessarily imply that a path independent social decision function is neutral and monotonic. In this paper, we extend Guha’s characterization to the class of neutral monotonic social functions. We show that neutral monotonic social functions and their specializations to social decision functions, path independent social decision functions, and social welfare functions can be uniquely represented as a collection of overlapping simple games, each of which is defined on a nonempty set of concerned individuals. Moreover, each simple game satisfies intersection conditions depending on the number of social alternatives; the number of individuals belonging to the concerned set under consideration; and the collective rationality assumption. We also provide a characterization of neutral, monotonic and anonymous social decision functions, where the number of individuals in society exceeds the (finite) number of social alternatives, that generalizes both the representation theorem of May [10] and the representation theorems of Ferejohn and Grether [5]

Use of Textured Surfaces to Mitigate Sliding Friction and Wear of Lubricated and Non-Lubricated Contacts

If properly employed, the placement of three-dimensional feature patterns, also referred to as textures, on relatively-moving, load-bearing surfaces can be beneficial to their friction and wear characteristics. For example, geometric patterns can function as lubricant supply channels or depressions in which to trap debris. They can also alter lubricant flow in a manner that produces thicker load-bearing films locally. Considering the area occupied by solid areas and spaces, textures also change the load distribution on surfaces. At least ten different attributes of textures can be specified, and their combinations offer wide latitude in surface engineering. By employing directional machining and grinding procedures, texturing has been used on bearings and seals for well over a half century, and the size scales of texturing vary widely. This report summarizes past work on the texturing of load-bearing surfaces, including past research on laser surface dimpling of ceramics done at ORNL. Textured surfaces generally show most pronounced effects when they are used in conformal or nearly conformal contacts, like that in face seals. Combining textures with other forms of surface modification and lubrication methods can offer additional benefits in surface engineering for tribology. As the literature and past work at ORNL shows, texturing does not always provide benefits. Rather, the selected pattern and arrangement of features must be matched to characteristics of the proposed application, bearing materials, and lubricants

A WEAR MODEL FOR DIESEL ENGINE EXHAUST VALVES

The work summarized here comprises the concluding effort of a multi-year project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Vehicle Technologies. It supports the development of a better understanding of advanced diesel engine designs in which enhanced power density, energy efficiency, and emissions control place increasing demands upon the durability of engine materials. Many kinds of metallic alloys are used in engines depending on the operating stresses, temperatures, and chemical environments. Exhaust valves, for example, are subjected to high temperatures and repetitive surface contacts that place demands on durability and frictional characteristics of the materials. Valves must continue to seal the combustion chamber properly for thousands of hours of cyclic engine operation and under varying operating conditions. It was the focus of this effort to understand the wear processes in the valve-seat area and to develop a model for the surface deformation and wear of that important interface. An annotated bibliography is provided to illustrate efforts to understand valve wear and to investigate the factors of engine operation that affect its severity and physical manifestation. The project for which this modeling effort was the final task, involved construction of a high-temperature repetitive impact test system as well as basic tribology studies of the combined processes of mechanical wear plus oxidation at elevated temperatures. Several publications resulted from this work, and are cited in this report. The materials selected for the experimental work were high-performance alloys based on nickel and cobalt. In some cases, engine-tested exhaust valves were made available for wear analysis and to ensure that the modes of surface damage produced in experiments were simulative of service. New, production-grade exhaust valves were also used to prepare test specimens for experimental work along with the other alloy samples. Wear analysis of valves and seats run for hundreds of hours in heavy-duty diesels provided insights into the kinds of complexity that the contact conditions in engines can produce, and suggested the physical basis for the current approach to modeling. The model presented here involves four terms, two representing the valve response and two for its mating seat material. The model's structure assumes that wear that takes place under a complex combination of plastic deformation, tangential shear, and oxidation. Tribolayers form, are removed, and may reform. Layer formation affects the friction forces in the interface, and in turn, the energy available to do work on the materials to cause wear. To provide friction data for the model at various temperatures, sliding contact experiments were conducted from 22 to 850 C in a pin-on-disk apparatus at ORNL. In order to account for the behavior of different materials and engine designs, parameters in all four terms of the model can be adjusted to account for wear-in and incubation periods before the dominant wear processes evolve to their steady-state rates. For example, the deformation rate is assumed to be maximum during the early stages of operation, and then, due to material work-hardening and the increase in nominal contact area (which reduces the load per unit area), decreases to a lower rate at long times. Conversely, the rate of abrasion increases with time or number of cycles due to the build-up of oxides and tribo-layers between contact surfaces. The competition between deformation and abrasion results in complex, non-linear behavior of material loss per cycle of operation. Furthermore, these factors are affected by valve design features, such as the angle of incline of the valve seat. Several modeling scenarios are presented to demonstrate how the wear profile versus number of cycles changes in response to: (a) different relative abrasion rates of the seat and valve materials, (b) the friction coefficient as a function of temperature, (c) the relative deformation contribution of valve and seat materials, and (d) an interruption in the dominant wear process

Comparison of Frictional Heating Models

The purpose of this work was to compare the predicted temperature rises using four well-known models for frictional heating under a few selected conditions in which similar variable inputs are provided to each model. Classic papers by Archard, Kuhlmann-Wilsdorf, Lim and Ashby, and Rabinowicz have been examined, and a spreadsheet (Excel ) was developed to facilitate the calculations. This report may be used in conjunction with that spreadsheet. It explains the background, assumptions, and rationale used for the calculations. Calculated flash temperatures for selected material combinations, under a range of applied loads and sliding speeds, are tabulated. The materials include AISI 52100 bearing steel, CDA 932 bronze, NBD 200 silicon nitride, Ti-6Al-4V alloy, and carbon-graphite material. Due to the assumptions made by the different models, and the direct way in which certain assumed quantities, like heat sink distances or asperity dimensions, enter into the calculations, frictional hearing results may differ significantly; however, they can be similar in certain cases in light of certain assumptions that are shared between the models

ULTRACOATINGS: Enabling Energy and Power Solutions in High Contact Stress Environments through Next-Generation Nanocoatings

This work was a portion of a larger DOE/ITP Grand Challenge project led by Eaton Corporation and which included Ames Lab, Borg Warner Morse, and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. The current report summarizes work done under a CRADA between ORNL and Eaton. Tests of two types were performed at ORNL during the course of this work: (1) simulations of timing chain wear and friction under reciprocating conditions, and (2) pin-on-disk screening tests for bearings undergoing unidirectional sliding. The four materials supplied for evaluation in a timing chain link simulation were hardened type 440B stainless steel, nitrided type 440B stainless steel, VC-coated type 52100 bearing steel, and (ZrTi)B-coated type 52100 bearing steel. Reciprocating wear tests revealed that the VC coating was by far the most wear resistant. In friction, the nitrided stainless steel did slightly better than the other materials. The results will also be included in the overall project report by Eaton Corp

The Structure of Neutral Monotonic Social Functions

In [6], Guha gave a complete characterization of path independent social decision functions which satisfy the independence of irrelevant alternatives condition, the strong Pareto principle, and UII, i.e., unanimous indifference implies social indifference. These conditions necessarily imply that a path independent social decision function is neutral and monotonic. In this paper, we extend Guha's characterization to the class of neutral monotonic social functions. We show that neutral monotonic social functions and their specializations to social decision functions, path independent social decision functions, and social welfare functions can be uniquely represented as a collection of overlapping simple games, each of which is defined on a nonempty set of concerned individuals. Moreover, each simple game satisfies intersection conditions depending on the number of social alternatives; the number of individuals belonging to the concerned set under consideration; and the collective rationality assumption. We also provide a characterization of neutral, monotonic and anonymous social decision functions, where the number of individuals in society exceeds the (finite) number of social alternatives, that generalizes both the representation theorem of May [10] and the representation theorems of Ferejohn and Grether [5].

Application of Wear-Resistant, NanoComposite Coatings Produced from Iron-Based Glassy Powders

This report talks about Application of Wear-Resistant, NanoComposite Coatings Produced from Iron-Based Glassy Powders

Essential data variables for a minimum dataset for head and neck cancer trials and clinical research:HNCIG consensus recommendations and database

The Head and Neck Cancer International Group (HNCIG) has undertaken an international modified Delphi process to reach consensus on the essential data variables to be included in a minimum database for HNC research. Endorsed by 19 research organisations representing 34 countries, these recommendations provide the framework to facilitate and harmonise data collection and sharing for HNC research. These variables have also been incorporated into a ready to use downloadable HNCIG minimum database, available from the HNCIG website

The Human Phenotype Ontology in 2024: phenotypes around the world.

The Human Phenotype Ontology (HPO) is a widely used resource that comprehensively organizes and defines the phenotypic features of human disease, enabling computational inference and supporting genomic and phenotypic analyses through semantic similarity and machine learning algorithms. The HPO has widespread applications in clinical diagnostics and translational research, including genomic diagnostics, gene-disease discovery, and cohort analytics. In recent years, groups around the world have developed translations of the HPO from English to other languages, and the HPO browser has been internationalized, allowing users to view HPO term labels and in many cases synonyms and definitions in ten languages in addition to English. Since our last report, a total of 2239 new HPO terms and 49235 new HPO annotations were developed, many in collaboration with external groups in the fields of psychiatry, arthrogryposis, immunology and cardiology. The Medical Action Ontology (MAxO) is a new effort to model treatments and other measures taken for clinical management. Finally, the HPO consortium is contributing to efforts to integrate the HPO and the GA4GH Phenopacket Schema into electronic health records (EHRs) with the goal of more standardized and computable integration of rare disease data in EHRs