2,593 research outputs found
Power and Propulsion Element for Gateway: Configuration and Data Management of the NASA Power and Propulsion Element MBSE Model(s)
The following will be presented: CM/DM implementation environment for MBSE, traditional construct of CM/MBSE, goal for power and propulsion element team for CM/MBSE, steps to bridge the gap between CM and MBSE, how we implemented the standard tenets of CM, realized efficiencies, encountered challenges, lessons learned, and current state, and forward/future work
An experimental study of the effects of water repellant treatment on the acoustic properties of Kevlar
The treatment consisted of immersing samples of Kevlar in a solution of distilled water and Zepel. The samples were then drained, dried in a circulating over, and cured. Flow resistance tests showed approximately one percent decrease in flow resistance of the samples. Also there was a density increase of about three percent. It was found that the treatment caused a change in the texture of the samples. There were significant changes in the acoustic properties of the treated Kevlar over the frequency range 0.5 to 3.5 kHz. In general it was found that the propagation constant and characteristic impedance increased with increasing frequency. The real and imaginary components of the propagation constant for the treated Kevlar exhibited a decrease of 8 to 12 percent relative to that for the untreated Kevlar at the higher frequencies. The magnitude of the reactance component of the characteristic impedance decreased by about 40 percent at the higher frequencies
Random and systematic measurement errors in acoustic impedance as determined by the transmission line method
The effect of random and systematic errors associated with the measurement of normal incidence acoustic impedance in a zero-mean-flow environment was investigated by the transmission line method. The influence of random measurement errors in the reflection coefficients and pressure minima positions was investigated by computing fractional standard deviations of the normalized impedance. Both the standard techniques of random process theory and a simplified technique were used. Over a wavelength range of 68 to 10 cm random measurement errors in the reflection coefficients and pressure minima positions could be described adequately by normal probability distributions with standard deviations of 0.001 and 0.0098 cm, respectively. An error propagation technique based on the observed concentration of the probability density functions was found to give essentially the same results but with a computation time of about 1 percent of that required for the standard technique. The results suggest that careful experimental design reduces the effect of random measurement errors to insignificant levels for moderate ranges of test specimen impedance component magnitudes. Most of the observed random scatter can be attributed to lack of control by the mounting arrangement over mechanical boundary conditions of the test sample
Mixing Calculations in a Rotating Partitioned Pipe
We consider laminar mixing in a steady incompressible Newtonian fluid. Through the use of particle tracking methods and analogous techniques applicable to material element vectors on a given velocity field, residence time distributions, Poincare maps and material element deformations are computed; all of which are useful tools in determining the efficacy of a mixing system. We analyse the accuracy of using solenoidal flux-interpolating splines to represent the underlying velocity field as a basis for determining mixing efficiencies. As a test case we use a rotating partitioned pipe mixer for which an approximate Stokes velocity field is available. The Stokes representation provides us with a benchmark with which to assess the accuracy of the spline interpolants
Multiple knot B-spline representation of incompressible flow
An efficient B-spline method for the construction of a piecewise polynomial velocity representation from a given set of normal fluid fluxes is described for steady incompressible flow in three dimensional rectangular regions. The fluxes should be defined across the face-centres of a cartesian tensor product mesh. The proposed spline representation interpolates the given fluxes exactly and also enables the normal fluid velocity to be set identically to zero across or around the surfaces of an arbitrary number of rectangular regions lying in specified planes
Kynurenine 3-Monooxygenase: An Influential Mediator of Neuropathology
Mounting evidence demonstrates that kynurenine metabolism may play an important pathogenic role in the development of multiple neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders. The kynurenine pathway consists of two functionally distinct branches that generate both neuroactive and oxidatively reactive metabolites. In the brain, the rate-limiting enzyme for one of these branches, kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), is predominantly expressed in microglia and has emerged as a pivotal point of metabolic regulation. KMO substrate and expression levels are upregulated by pro-inflammatory cytokines and altered by functional genetic mutations. Increased KMO metabolism results in the formation of metabolites that activate glutamate receptors and elevate oxidative stress, while recent evidence has revealed neurodevelopmental consequences of reduced KMO activity. Together, the evidence suggests that KMO is positioned at a critical metabolic junction to influence the development or trajectory of a myriad of neurological diseases. Understanding the mechanism(s) by which alterations in KMO activity are able to impair neuronal function, and viability will enhance our knowledge of related disease pathology and provide insight into novel therapeutic opportunities. This review will discuss the influence of KMO on brain kynurenine metabolism and the current understanding of molecular mechanisms by which altered KMO activity may contribute to neurodevelopment, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric diseases
Revivals of quantum wave-packets in graphene
We investigate the propagation of wave-packets on graphene in a perpendicular
magnetic field and the appearance of collapses and revivals in the
time-evolution of an initially localised wave-packet. The wave-packet evolution
in graphene differs drastically from the one in an electron gas and shows a
rich revival structure similar to the dynamics of highly excited Rydberg
states.
We present a novel numerical wave-packet propagation scheme in order to solve
the effective single-particle Dirac-Hamiltonian of graphene and show how the
collapse and revival dynamics is affected by the presence of disorder. Our
effective numerical method is of general interest for the solution of the Dirac
equation in the presence of potentials and magnetic fields.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures, 3 movies, to appear in New Journal of Physic
Homeless population
The aim was to derive and analyze a model for numbers of homeless and non-homeless people in a borough, in particular to see how these figures might be affected by different policies regarding housing various categories of people. Most attention was focused on steady populations although the stability of these and possible timescales of dynamic problems were also discussed.
The main outcome of this brief study is the identification of the key role played by the constant k_1 - the constant which fixes the speed at which the homeless are rehoused in permanent council property. Reducing this constant, i.e. making the system "fairer" with less priority to accommodating homeless families, appears to have little effect on the sizes of other categories on the waiting list but there is a marked increase in the number of households in temporary accommodation.
The model, indicated by the size of its longest time-scale, should be modified to allow for births etc.
It could be varied by allowing people to remove themselves from the register or by allowing the rates at which registered and unregistered people become homeless to differ, but these modifications are unlikely to substantially change the main result.
The inclusion of movement from the homeless to the general population would have the effect of limiting the numbers in temporary accommodation. However, it is thought this effect is very small so a great reduction in k_1 would be needed for this flow to become significant
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