Analysis and computer programs to calculate acoustic wave properties of baffled chambers

Analytical methods and four computer programs have been developed for calculating wave motion in closed, baffled chambers with rigid and non-rigid boundaries. Application of these methods to design of injector-face baffles in liquid propellant engines will provide significant insight into effects of baffles on combustion stability

High-temperature earth-storable propellant acoustic cavity technology

Design criteria, methods and data, were developed to permit effective design of acoustic cavities for use in regeneratively cooled OME-type engines. This information was developed experimentally from two series of motor firings with high-temperature fuel during which the engine stability was evaluated under various conditions and with various cavity configurations. Supplementary analyses and acoustic model testing were used to aid cavity design and interpretation of results. Results from this program clearly indicate that dynamic stability in regeneratively cooled OME-type engines can be ensured through the use of acoustic cavities. Moreover, multiple modes of instability were successfully suppressed with the cavity

Analysis of the effects of baffles on combustion instability

An analytical model has been developed for predicting the effects of baffles on combustion instability. This model has been developed by coupling an acoustic analysis of the wave motion within baffled chambers with a model for the oscillatory combustion response of a propellant droplet developed by Heidmann. A computer program was developed for numerical solution of the resultant coupled equations. Diagnostic calculations were made to determine the reasons for the improper prediction. These calculations showed that the chosen method of representing the combustion response was a very poor approximation. At the end of the program, attempts were made to minimize this effect but the model still improperly predicts the stability trends. Therefore, it is recommended that additional analysis be done with an improved approximation

Volatiles in protoplanetary disks

Volatiles are compounds with low sublimation temperatures, and they make up most of the condensible mass in typical planet-forming environments. They consist of relatively small, often hydrogenated, molecules based on the abundant elements carbon, nitrogen and oxygen. Volatiles are central to the process of planet formation, forming the backbone of a rich chemistry that sets the initial conditions for the formation of planetary atmospheres, and act as a solid mass reservoir catalyzing the formation of planets and planetesimals. This growth has been driven by rapid advances in observations and models of protoplanetary disks, and by a deepening understanding of the cosmochemistry of the solar system. Indeed, it is only in the past few years that representative samples of molecules have been discovered in great abundance throughout protoplanetary disks - enough to begin building a complete budget for the most abundant elements after hydrogen and helium. The spatial distributions of key volatiles are being mapped, snow lines are directly seen and quantified, and distinct chemical regions within protoplanetary disks are being identified, characterized and modeled. Theoretical processes invoked to explain the solar system record are now being observationally constrained in protoplanetary disks, including transport of icy bodies and concentration of bulk condensibles. The balance between chemical reset - processing of inner disk material strong enough to destroy its memory of past chemistry, and inheritance - the chemically gentle accretion of pristine material from the interstellar medium in the outer disk, ultimately determines the final composition of pre-planetary matter. This chapter focuses on making the first steps toward understanding whether the planet formation processes that led to our solar system are universal.Comment: Accepted for publication as a chapter in Protostars and Planets VI, University of Arizona Press (2014), eds. H. Beuther, R. Klessen, C. Dullemond, Th. Hennin

Complex network changes during a virtual reality rehabilitation protocol following stroke: a case study

FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORStroke is one of the main causes of disabilities caused by injuries to the human central nervous system, yielding a wide range of mild to severe impairments that can compromise sensorimotor and cognitive functions. Although rehabilitation protocols may improve function of stroke survivors, patients often reach plateaus while undergoing therapy. Recently, virtual reality (VR) technologies have been paired with traditional rehabilitation aiming to improve function recovery after stroke. Aiming to better understand structural brain changes due to VR rehabilitation protocols, we modeled the brain as a graph and extracted three measures representing the network's topology: degree, clustering coefficient and betweenness centrality (BC). In this single case study, our results indicate that all metrics increased on the ipsilesional hemisphere, while remaining about the same at the contralesional site. Particularly, the number of functional connections increased in the lesion area overtime. In addition, the BC displayed the highest variations, and in brain regions related to the patient's cognitive and motor impairments; hence, we argue that this measure could be regarded as an indicative for brain plasticity mechanisms.891894FAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIORFAPESP - FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULOCAPES - COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DE PESSOAL E NÍVEL SUPERIOR2013/07559-3Sem informação9. IEEE/EMBS International Conference on Neural Engineering (NER)20 a 23 de Março de 2019San Francisco, CA, Estados UnidosIEEE; EMB