1,439 research outputs found
Spray Formation from Spark-Eroded and Laser-Drilled Injectors for DISI Engines with Gasoline and Alcohol Fuels
Copyright © 2014 SAE International.One of the latest advancements in injector technology is laser drilling of the nozzle holes. In this context, the spray formation and atomisation characteristics of gasoline, ethanol and 1-butanol were investigated for a 7-hole spark eroded (SE) injector and its âdirect replacementâ Laser-drilled (LD) injector using optical techniques. In the first step of the optical investigation, high-speed spray imaging was performed in a quiescent injection chamber with global illumination using diffused Laser light. The images were statistically analyzed to obtain spray penetration, spray tip velocity and spray âconeâ angles. Furthermore, droplet sizing was undertaken using Phase Doppler Anemometry (PDA). A single spray plume was isolated for this analysis and measurements were obtained across the plume at a fixed distance from the nozzle exit. The droplet measurements were grouped into bins and maps were created showing droplet sizes and velocities against time and position during and post injection. All tests were performed at 120 bar fuel pressure, two injection chamber âbackâ pressures (0.5 bar and 1 bar) and two injector temperatures (20 °C and 80 °C), to examine effects relevant to typical engine operating conditions with early intake stroke injection strategies, including fuel flash boiling
Weblogs in Higher Education - Why Do Students (Not) Blog?
Positive impacts on learning through blogging, such as active knowledge construction and reflective writing, have been reported. However, not many students use weblogs in informal contexts, even when appropriate facilities are offered by their universities. While motivations for blogging have been subject to empirical studies, little research has addressed the issue of why students choose not to blog. This paper presents an empirical study undertaken to gain insights into the decision making process of students when deciding whether to keep a blog or not. A better understanding of students' motivations for (not) blogging may help decision makers at universities in the process of selecting, introducing, and maintaining similar services. As informal learning gains increased recognition, results of this study can help to advance appropriate designs of informal learning contexts in Higher Education. The method of ethnographic decision tree modelling was applied in an empirical study conducted at the Vienna University of Technology, Austria. Since 2004, the university has been offering free weblog accounts for all students and staff members upon entering school, not bound to any course or exam. Qualitative, open interviews were held with 3 active bloggers, 3 former bloggers, and 3 nonâ bloggers to elicit their decision criteria. Decision tree models were developed out of the interviews. It turned out that the modelling worked best when splitting the decision process into two parts: one model representing decisions on whether to start a weblog at all, and a second model representing criteria on whether to continue with a weblog once it was set up. The models were tested for their validity through questionnaires developed out of the decision tree models. 30 questionnaires have been distributed to bloggers, former bloggers and nonâ bloggers. Results show that the main reasons for students not to keep a weblog include a preference for direct (online) communication, and concerns about the loss of privacy through blogging. Furthermore, the results indicate that intrinsic motivation factors keep students blogging, whereas stopping a weblog is mostly attributable to external factors
A system for synthetic vision and augmented reality in future flight decks
Rockwell Science Center is investigating novel human-computer interaction techniques for enhancing the situational awareness in future flight decks. One aspect is to provide intuitive displays that provide the vital information and the spatial awareness by augmenting the real world with an overlay of relevant information registered to the real world. Such Augmented Reality (AR) techniques can be employed during bad weather scenarios to permit flying in Visual Flight Rules (VFR) in conditions which would normally require Instrumental Flight Rules (IFR). These systems could easily be implemented on heads-up displays (HUD). The advantage of AR systems vs. purely synthetic vision (SV) systems is that the pilot can relate the information overlay to real objects in the world, whereas SV systems provide a constant virtual view, where inconsistencies can hardly be detected. The development of components for such a system led to a demonstrator implemented on a PC. A camera grabs video images which are overlaid with registered information. Orientation of the camera is obtained from an inclinometer and a magnetometer; position is acquired from GPS. In a possible implementation in an airplane, the on-board attitude information can be used for obtaining correct registration. If visibility is sufficient, computer vision modules can be used to fine-tune the registration by matching visual cues with database features. This technology would be especially useful for landing approaches. The current demonstrator provides a frame-rate of 15 fps, using a live video feed as background with an overlay of avionics symbology in the foreground. In addition, terrain rendering from a 1 arc sec. digital elevation model database can be overlaid to provide synthetic vision in case of limited visibility. For true outdoor testing (on ground level), the system has been implemented on a wearable computer
Statistical mechanics of non-hamiltonian systems: Traffic flow
Statistical mechanics of a small system of cars on a single-lane road is
developed. The system is not characterized by a Hamiltonian but by a
conditional probability of a velocity of a car for the given velocity and
distance of the car ahead. Distribution of car velocities for various densities
of a group of cars are derived as well as probabilities of density fluctuations
of the group for different velocities. For high braking abilities of cars
free-flow and congested phases are found. Platoons of cars are formed for
system of cars with inefficient brakes. A first order phase transition between
free-flow and congested phase is suggested.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, presented at TGF, Paris, 200
The Jamming Transition in Granular Systems
Recent simulations have predicted that near jamming for collections of
spherical particles, there will be a discontinuous increase in the mean contact
number, Z, at a critical volume fraction, phi_c. Above phi_c, Z and the
pressure, P are predicted to increase as power laws in phi-phi_c. In
experiments using photoelastic disks we corroborate a rapid increase in Z at
phi_c and power-law behavior above phi_c for Z and P. Specifically we find
power-law increase as a function of phi-phi_c for Z-Z_c with an exponent beta
around 0.5, and for P with an exponent psi around 1.1. These exponents are in
good agreement with simulations. We also find reasonable agreement with a
recent mean-field theory for frictionless particles.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 2 pages supplement; minor changes and
clarifications, 2 addtl. refs., accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let
Continuous phase transitions with a convex dip in the microcanonical entropy
The appearance of a convex dip in the microcanonical entropy of finite
systems usually signals a first order transition. However, a convex dip also
shows up in some systems with a continuous transition as for example in the
Baxter-Wu model and in the four-state Potts model in two dimensions. We
demonstrate that the appearance of a convex dip in those cases can be traced
back to a finite-size effect. The properties of the dip are markedly different
from those associated with a first order transition and can be understood
within a microcanonical finite-size scaling theory for continuous phase
transitions. Results obtained from numerical simulations corroborate the
predictions of the scaling theory.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Finite-size behaviour of the microcanonical specific heat
For models which exhibit a continuous phase transition in the thermodynamic
limit a numerical study of small systems reveals a non-monotonic behaviour of
the microcanonical specific heat as a function of the system size. This is in
contrast to a treatment in the canonical ensemble where the maximum of the
specific heat increases monotonically with the size of the system. A
phenomenological theory is developed which permits to describe this peculiar
behaviour of the microcanonical specific heat and allows in principle the
determination of microcanonical critical exponents.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, submitted to J. Phys.
Sokpecsétes oklevelek a 14-15. szåzadi Magyarorszågon
A magyarorszĂĄgi közĂ©pkori pecsĂ©tek közĂŒl a legnagyobb arĂĄnyban feltĂĄratlan Ă©s közöletlen nemesi pecsĂ©tek, gyƱrƱspecsĂ©tek összegyƱjtĂ©sĂ©nek elsĆ lĂ©pĂ©sekĂ©nt magĂĄtĂłl Ă©rtetĆdĆen adĂłdik az Ășn. sokpecsĂ©tes (legalĂĄbb tĂz pecsĂ©tlenyomatot hordozĂł) oklevelek feldolgozĂĄsa. Az aljukra fĂŒggesztett pecsĂ©tek sorĂĄval ezek az oklevelek igen lĂĄtvĂĄnyosak. Többnyire nemzetközi vonatkozĂĄsĂș örökösödĂ©si-, hĂĄzassĂĄgi-, bĂ©keszerzĆdĂ©seket foglalnak ĂrĂĄsba, vagy azoknak az orszĂĄgnagyok, a magyarorszĂĄgi rendek ĂĄltali megerĆsĂtĆ oklevelei. A magyarorszĂĄgi vonatkozĂĄsĂșaknak is tĂșlnyomĂł többsĂ©ge kĂŒlföldi levĂ©ltĂĄrakban talĂĄlhatĂł. A tanulmĂĄny az 1304 Ă©s 1511 között ĂrĂłdott, harmincnĂĄl több sokpecsĂ©tes oklevĂ©l mintegy 910-et kitevĆ pecsĂ©tanyagĂĄnak statisztikai jellemzĆit Ă©s vĂĄltozĂĄsait mutatja be az ĂĄbrĂĄzolĂĄsi tĂpus, a cĂmertan, az epigrĂĄfia szempontjĂĄbĂłl. A vizsgĂĄlt oklevelek többsĂ©ge a bĂ©csi, több oklevĂ©l a varsĂłi Ă©s a budapesti ĂĄllami levĂ©ltĂĄrakban, egy pedig Dubrovnikban talĂĄlhatĂł
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