Low-cost, portable fire hose tester

Availability of pumping unit permits scheduling and performing required periodic hose tests in proper manner while retaining full fire equipment readiness. Use of pumping unit preserves operating life and capability of pumper truck

Thermodynamics and kinetics of the sulfation of porous calcium silicate

The sulfation of plasma sprayed calcium silicate in flowing SO2/air mixtures at 900 and 1000 C was investigated thermogravimetrically. Reaction products were analyzed using electron microprobe and X-ray diffraction analysis techniques, and results were compared with thermodynamic predictions. The percentage, by volume, of SO2 in air was varied between 0.036 and 10 percent. At 10 percent SO2 the weight gain curve displays a concave downward shoulder early in the sulfation process. An analytical model was developed which treats the initial process as one which decays exponentially with increasing time and the subsequent process as one which decays exponentially with increasing weight gain. At lower SO2 levels the initial rate is controlled by the reactant flow rate. At 1100 C and 0.036 percent SO2 there is no reaction, in agreement with thermodynamic predictions

Further analysis of field effects on liquids and solidification

Numerical calculations of the magnitude of external field effects on liquids are presented to describe how external fields can influence the substructure of the field. Quantitative estimates of magnetic and gravitational effects are reported on melts of metals and semiconductors. The results are condensed in tables which contain the input data for calculation of the field effects on diffusion coefficient, solidification rate and for calculation of field forces on individual molecules in the melt

Study on joint thermal conductance in vacuum Final report

Bright leveling copper plating for improvement of thermal conductance in mechanical joints in vacuu

Direct simulation of electron transfer using ring polymer molecular dynamics: Comparison with semiclassical instanton theory and exact quantum methods

The use of ring polymer molecular dynamics (RPMD) for the direct simulation of electron transfer (ET) reaction dynamics is analyzed in the context of Marcus theory, semiclassical instanton theory, and exact quantum dynamics approaches. For both fully atomistic and system-bath representations of condensed-phase ET, we demonstrate that RPMD accurately predicts both ET reaction rates and mechanisms throughout the normal and activationless regimes of the thermodynamic driving force. Analysis of the ensemble of reactive RPMD trajectories reveals the solvent reorganization mechanism for ET that is anticipated in the Marcus rate theory, and the accuracy of the RPMD rate calculation is understood in terms of its exact description of statistical fluctuations and its formal connection to semiclassical instanton theory for deep-tunneling processes. In the inverted regime of the thermodynamic driving force, neither RPMD nor a related formulation of semiclassical instanton theory capture the characteristic turnover in the reaction rate; comparison with exact quantum dynamics simulations reveals that these methods provide inadequate quantization of the real-time electronic-state dynamics in the inverted regime

Landau Ginzburg Theory and Nuclear Matter at Finite Temperature

Based on recent studies of the temperature dependence of the energy and specific heat of liquid nuclear matter, a phase transition is suggested at a temperature $\sim .8$ MeV. We apply Landau Ginzburg theory to this transition and determine the behaviour of the energy and specific heat close to the critical temperature in the condensed phase.Comment: 10 pages, Revte

Identification of nonlinear vibrating structures: Part I -- Formulation

A self-starting multistage, time-domain procedure is presented for the identification of nonlinear, multi-degree-of-freedom systems undergoing free oscillations or subjected to arbitrary direct force excitations and/or nonuniform support motions. Recursive least-squares parameter estimation methods combined with nonparametric identification techniques are used to represent, with sufficient accuracy, the identified system in a form that allows the convenient prediction of its transient response under excitations that differ from the test signals. The utility of this procedure is demonstrated in a companion paper

Identification of nonlinear vibrating structures: Part II -- Applications

A time-domain procedure for the identification of nonlinear vibrating structures, presented in a companion paper, is applied to a "calibration" problem which incorporates realistic test situations and nonlinear structural characteristics widely encountered in the applied mechanics field. The "data" set is analyzed to develop suitable, approximate nonlinear system representations. Subsequently, a "validation" test is conducted to demonstrate the range of validity of the method under discussion. It is shown that the procedure furnishes a convenient means for constructing reduced-order nonlinear nonparametric mathematical models of reasonably high fidelity in regard to reproducing the response of the test article under dynamic loads that differ from the identification test loads

A generalized correlation of experimental flat-plate collector performance

A generalized collector performance correlation was derived and shown by experimental verification to be of the proper form to account for the majority of the variable conditions encountered both in outdoor and in indoor collector tests. This correlation permits a determination of collector parameters which are essentially nonvarying under conditions which do vary randomly (outdoors) or conditions which vary in a controlled manner (indoors - simulator). It was shown that correlation of the experimental performance of collectors allows the following: (1) comparisons of different collector designs; (2) collector performance prediction under conditions that differ from the conditions of the test program; and (3) monitoring performance degradation effects