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Probability of failure of the waste hoist brake system at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)
In its most recent report on the annual probability of failure of the waste hoist brake system at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), the annual failure rate is calculated to be 1.3E({minus}7)(1/yr), rounded off from 1.32E({minus}7). A calculation by the Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) produces a result that is about 4% higher, namely 1.37E({minus}7)(1/yr). The difference is due to a minor error in the US Department of Energy (DOE) calculations in the Westinghouse 1996 report. WIPP`s hoist safety relies on a braking system consisting of a number of components including two crucial valves. The failure rate of the system needs to be recalculated periodically to accommodate new information on component failure, changes in maintenance and inspection schedules, occasional incidents such as a hoist traveling out-of-control, either up or down, and changes in the design of the brake system. This report examines DOE`s last two reports on the redesigned waste hoist system. In its calculations, the DOE has accepted one EEG recommendation and is using more current information about the component failures rates, the Nonelectronic Parts Reliability Data (NPRD). However, the DOE calculations fail to include the data uncertainties which are described in detail in the NPRD reports. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommended that a system evaluation include mean estimates of component failure rates and take into account the potential uncertainties that exist so that an estimate can be made on the confidence level to be ascribed to the quantitative results. EEG has made this suggestion previously and the DOE has indicated why it does not accept the NRC recommendation. Hence, this EEG report illustrates the importance of including data uncertainty using a simple statistical example
Quantum Langevin theory of excess noise
In an earlier work [P. J. Bardroff and S. Stenholm], we have derived a fully
quantum mechanical description of excess noise in strongly damped lasers. This
theory is used here to derive the corresponding quantum Langevin equations.
Taking the semi-classical limit of these we are able to regain the starting
point of Siegman's treatment of excess noise [Phys. Rev. A 39, 1253 (1989)].
Our results essentially constitute a quantum derivation of his theory and allow
some generalizations.Comment: 9 pages, 0 figures, revte
Comparison of Theoretical and Experimental Bending and Torsional Moments of Endodontic Files and Reamers
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67347/2/10.1177_00220345670460051101.pd
The governance of co-operatives and mutual associations: a paradox perspective
This paper presents a new theoretical framework for understanding the governance of co-operative and mutual organisations. The theoretical literature on the governance of co-operatives is relatively undeveloped in comparison with that on corporate governance. The paper briefly reviews some of the main theoretical perspectives on corporate governance and discusses how they can be usefully extended to throw light on the governance of co-operatives and mutuals. However, taken individually these different theories are rather one dimensional, only illuminating a particular aspect of the board's role. This has lead to calls for a new conceptual framework that can help integrate the insights of these different theories. The paper argues that a paradox perspective offers a promising way forward. Contrasting the different theoretical perspectives highlights some of the important paradoxes, ambiguities and tensions that boards face
Influence of highly unsaturated fatty acids in live food on larviculture of mud crab Scylla paramamosain (Estampador 1949)
Tracing aquatic food webs using fatty acids: from qualitative indicators to quantitative determination
Observations of the High Redshift Universe
(Abridged) In these lectures aimed for non-specialists, I review progress in
understanding how galaxies form and evolve. Both the star formation history and
assembly of stellar mass can be empirically traced from redshifts z~6 to the
present, but how the various distant populations inter-relate and how stellar
assembly is regulated by feedback and environmental processes remains unclear.
I also discuss how these studies are being extended to locate and characterize
the earlier sources beyond z~6. Did early star-forming galaxies contribute
significantly to the reionization process and over what period did this occur?
Neither theory nor observations are well-developed in this frontier topic but
the first results presented here provide important guidance on how we will use
more powerful future facilities.Comment: To appear in `First Light in Universe', Saas-Fee Advanced Course 36,
Swiss Soc. Astrophys. Astron. in press. 115 pages, 64 figures (see
http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~rse/saas-fee.pdf for hi-res figs.) For lecture
ppt files see
http://obswww.unige.ch/saas-fee/preannouncement/course_pres/overview_f.htm
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