Isospin violation in the vector form factors of the nucleon

A quantitative understanding of isospin violation is an increasingly important ingredient for the extraction of the nucleon's strange vector form factors from experimental data. We calculate the isospin violating electric and magnetic form factors in chiral perturbation theory to leading and next-to-leading order respectively, and we extract the low-energy constants from resonance saturation. Uncertainties are dominated largely by limitations in the current knowledge of some vector meson couplings. The resulting bounds on isospin violation are sufficiently precise to be of value to on-going experimental studies of the strange form factors.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, uses RevTe

The influence of laser hardening on wear in the valve and valve seat contact

In internal combustion engines it is important to manage the wear in the valve and valve seat contact in order to minimise emissions and maximise economy. Traditionally wear in this contact has been controlled by the use of a valve seat insert and the careful selection of materials for both the valve and the insert. More recently, due to the increasing demands for both performance and cost, alternative methods of controlling the wear, and the resulting valve recession, have been sought. Using the heating effect of a laser to induce localised phase transformations, to increase hardness and wear resistance, in materials has been used since the 1970s, however it is only in recent years that it has been able to compete with more established surface treatment techniques, particularly in terms of cost, as new laser hardware has been developed. In this work, a laser has been used to treat the valve seat area of a cast iron cylinder head. In order to optimise the laser parameters for use on the head, preliminary tests were carried out to investigate the fundamental wear characteristics of untreated cast iron and also cast iron with a range of laser treatments. Previous work has identified the predominant wear mechanism in the valve and valve seat contact as impact on valve closure. Two bespoke test machines, one for testing basic specimens and one for testing components, were used to identify the laser parameters most likely to yield acceptable results when applied to a cylinder head to be used in a fired dynamometer test. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Acoustical transducer calibrating system and apparatus

An acoustical transducer calibrating system includes a differential pressure actuating device having an inner chamber for applying differential pressures to the transducer, and an outer chamber for vacuum sealing. Mounted within the inner chamber is an electrostatic actuator for exciting the transducer at selected frequencies so that its sensitivity can be determined for different operating ambient pressures

Properties of non-stoichiometric metallic carbides final report

Nonstoichiometric transition metal carbide propertie

Mission F, LM descent/phasing summary document

Lunar module descent/phasing summary for mission

The effect of wall cooling on a compressible turbulent boundary layer

Experimental results are presented for two turbulent boundary-layer experiments conducted at a free-stream Mach number of 4 with wall cooling. The first experiment examines a constant-temperature cold-wall boundary layer subjected to adverse and favourable pressure gradients. It is shown that the boundary-layer data display good agreement with Coles’ general composite boundary-layer profile using Van Driest's transformation. Further, the pressure-gradient parameter β_K found in previous studies to correlate adiabatic high-speed data with low-speed data also correlates the present cooled-wall high-speed data. The second experiment treats the response of a constant-pressure high-speed boundary layer to a near step change in wall temperature. It is found that the growth rate of the thermal boundary layer within the existing turbulent boundary layer varies considerably depending upon the direction of the wall temperature change. For the case of an initially cooled boundary layer flowing onto a wall near the recovery temperature, it is found that δ_T ~ x whereas the case of an adiabatic boundary layer flowing onto a cooled wall gives δ_T ~ x^½. The apparent origin of the thermal boundary layer also changes considerably, which is accounted for by the variation in sublayer thicknesses and growth rates within the sublayer

An experiment on the adiabatic compressible turbulent boundary layer in adverse and favourable pressure gradients

A wind-tunnel model was developed to study the two-dimensional turbulent boundary layer in adverse and favourable pressure gradients with out the effects of streamwise surface curvature. Experiments were performed at Mach 4 with an adiabatic wall, and mean flow measurements within the boundary layer were obtained. The data, when viewed in the velocity transformation suggested by Van Driest, show good general agreement with the composite boundary-layer profile developed for the low-speed turbulent boundary layer. Moreover, the pressure gradient parameter suggested by Alber & Coats was found to correlate the data with low-speed results

Smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamic simulations of protostellar outflows with misaligned magnetic field and rotation axes

We have developed a modified form of the equations of smoothed particle magnetohydrodynamics which are stable in the presence of very steep density gradients. Using this formalism, we have performed simulations of the collapse of magnetised molecular cloud cores to form protostars and drive outflows. Our stable formalism allows for smaller sink particles (< 5 AU) than used previously and the investigation of the effect of varying the angle, {\theta}, between the initial field axis and the rotation axis. The nature of the outflows depends strongly on this angle: jet-like outflows are not produced at all when {\theta} > 30{\deg}, and a collimated outflow is not sustained when {\theta} > 10{\deg}. No substantial outflows of any kind are produced when {\theta} > 60{\deg}. This may place constraints on the geometry of the magnetic field in molecular clouds where bipolar outflows are seen.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 13 pages, 14 figures. Animations can be found at http://www.astro.ex.ac.uk/people/blewis/research/outflows_misaligned_fields.htm

Valve recession: From experiment to predictive model

Increasing demands on engine performance and cost reductions have meant that advances made in materials and production technology are often outpaced This frequently results in wear problems occurring with engine components. Few models exist for predicting wear, and consequently each wear problem has to be investigated, the cause isolated and remedial action taken. The objective of this work was to carry out experimental studies to investigate valve and seat insert wear mechanisms and use the test results to develop a recession prediction tool to assess the potential for valve recession and solve problems that occur more quickly. Experimental apparatus has been developed that is capable of providing a valid simulation of the wear of diesel automotive inlet valves and seats. Test methodologies developed have isolated the effects of impact and sliding. A semi-empirical wear model for predicting valve recession has been developed based on data gathered during the bench testing. A software program, RECESS, was developed to run the model. Model predictions are compared with engine dynamometer tests and bench tests. The model can be used to give a quantitative prediction of the valve recession to be expected with a particular material pair or a qualitative assessment of how parameters need to be altered in order to reduce recession. The valve recession model can be integrated into an industrial environment in order to help reduce costs and timescales involved in solving valve/seat wear problems