Assessment of casting filling by modeling surface entrainment events using CFD

The reliability of cast components is dependent on the quality of the casting process. During this highly transient filling phase the prevention of free surface turbulence and consequential oxide entrainment is critical to ensure the mechanical integrity of the component. Past research has highlighted a number of events that lead to entrainment of surface oxides. Using FLOW-3D, flow structures that result in surface entrainment events have been simulated and an algorithm developed that allows entrainment and defect motion to be tracked. This enables prediction of the quantity and motion of oxide film generated from each event. The algorithm was tested experimentally and compared to experimental data from previously published work. A quantitative criterion is proposed to assess the damage of each type of event. Complete running systems have also been studied to understand how they could be assessed for quality of filling based on the flows within them

The modelling of oxide film entrainment in casting systems using computational modelling

As Campbell stated in 2006, “the use of entrainment models to optimise filling systems designs for castings has huge commercial potential that has so far being neglected by modellers”. In this paper a methodology using computational modelling to define entraining events and track the entrained oxide films is presented. Research has shown that these oxide films present within the casting volume are highly detrimental to casting integrity, thus their entrainment during mould filling is especially undesirable. The method developed for the modelling of oxide entrainment has been validated against previously published data by Green and Campbell (1994) [31]. The validation shows good quantitative correlation with experimental data. However there is scope for further development which has the potential to both improve the accuracy and further validate the technique

The Starburst Nature of Lyman-Break Galaxies: Testing UV Extinction with X-rays

We derive the bolometric to X-ray correlation for a local sample of normal and starburst galaxies and use it, in combination with several UV reddening schemes, to predict the 2--8 keV X-ray luminosity for a sample of 24 Lyman-break galaxies in the HDF/CDF-N. We find that the mean X-ray luminosity, as predicted from the Meurer UV reddening relation for starburst galaxies, agrees extremely well with the Brandt stacking analysis. This provides additional evidence that Lyman-break galaxies can be considered as scaled-up local starbursts and that the locally derived starburst UV reddening relation may be a reasonable tool for estimating the UV extinction at high redshift. Our analysis shows that the Lyman-break sample can not have far-IR to far-UV flux ratios similar to nearby ULIGs, as this would predict a mean X-ray luminosity 100 times larger than observed, as well as far-IR luminosities large enough to be detected in the sub-mm. We calculate the UV reddening expected from the Calzetti effective starburst attenuation curve and the radiative transfer models of Witt & Gordon for low metallicity dust in a shell geometry with homogeneous or clumpy dust distributions and find that all are consistent with the observed X-ray emission. Finally, we show that the mean X-ray luminosity of the sample would be under predicted by a factor of 6 if the the far-UV is unattenuated by dust.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in A

Investigating surface entrainment events using CFD for the assessment of casting filling methods

The reliability of cast components is dependent on thequality of the casting process. This can be characterised by the robustness (repeatability) and specific fluid flow characteristics within the running system and mould cavity. During this highly transient filling phase the prevention of free surface turbulence and consequential oxide entrainment is critical to assure the mechanical integrity of the component. Past research has highlighted a number of events that lead to entrainment of surface oxides, including plungingjets, waterfalls and returning backwaves. Using FLOW-3D, flow structures that result in surface entrainment events have been simulated and an algorithm developed that allows entrainment and defect motion to be tracked. This enables prediction of the quantity and motion of oxide film generated from each event. The algorithm was tested experimentally using real-time X-ray radiography to directly image transient liquid metal flows. A quantitative criterion is proposed in order to be able to assess the damage of each type of event. Complete running systems have also been studied in order to understand how they could be assessed for quality of filling based on the geometric features of the flows within them

Occupation, Occupational Change and Movement within the Income Distribution

The authors find considerable earnings mobility in panel data of a sample of white males and associate occupational mobility with these changes in real labor earnings, both in absolute terms and relative to an income distribution. Results of an error-components estimation reveal that occupation and movement among occupations exert strong influences on earnings changes even after controlling for a number of other factors. Effects of the interdependence of earnings and occupational mobility, the state of the pairings, and a variety of personal characteristics are also studied.

Cluster, Classify, Regress: A General Method For Learning Discountinous Functions

This paper presents a method for solving the supervised learning problem in which the output is highly nonlinear and discontinuous. It is proposed to solve this problem in three stages: (i) cluster the pairs of input-output data points, resulting in a label for each point; (ii) classify the data, where the corresponding label is the output; and finally (iii) perform one separate regression for each class, where the training data corresponds to the subset of the original input-output pairs which have that label according to the classifier. It has not yet been proposed to combine these 3 fundamental building blocks of machine learning in this simple and powerful fashion. This can be viewed as a form of deep learning, where any of the intermediate layers can itself be deep. The utility and robustness of the methodology is illustrated on some toy problems, including one example problem arising from simulation of plasma fusion in a tokamak.Comment: 12 files,6 figure

Covariant Closed String Coherent States

We give the first construction of covariant coherent closed string states, which may be identified with fundamental cosmic strings. We outline the requirements for a string state to describe a cosmic string, and using DDF operators provide an explicit and simple map that relates three different descriptions: classical strings, lightcone gauge quantum states and covariant vertex operators. The naive construction leads to covariant vertex operators whose existence requires a lightlike compactification of spacetime. When the lightlike compactified states in the underlying Hilbert space are projected out the resulting coherent states have a classical interpretation and are in one-to-one correspondence with arbitrary classical closed string loops.Comment: 4 page

Electronic properties of disclinated flexible membrane beyond the inextensional limit: Application to graphene

Gauge-theory approach to describe Dirac fermions on a disclinated flexible membrane beyond the inextensional limit is formulated. The elastic membrane is considered as an embedding of 2D surface into R^3. The disclination is incorporated through an SO(2) gauge vortex located at the origin, which results in a metric with a conical singularity. A smoothing of the conical singularity is accounted for by replacing a disclinated rigid plane membrane with a hyperboloid of near-zero curvature pierced at the tip by the SO(2) vortex. The embedding parameters are chosen to match the solution to the von Karman equations. A homogeneous part of that solution is shown to stabilize the theory. The modification of the Landau states and density of electronic states of the graphene membrane due to elasticity is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, Journal of Physics:Condensed Matter in pres