15,693 research outputs found
Reliability analysis of an ultra-reliable fault tolerant control system
This report analyzes the reliability of NASA's Ultra-reliable Fault Tolerant Control System (UFTCS) architecture as it is currently envisioned for helicopter control. The analysis is extended to air transport and spacecraft control using the same computational and voter modules applied within the UFTCS architecture. The system reliability is calculated for several points in the helicopter, air transport, and space flight missions when there are initially 4, 5, and 6 operating channels. Sensitivity analyses are used to explore the effects of sensor failure rates and different system configurations at the 10 hour point of the helicopter mission. These analyses show that the primary limitation to system reliability is the number of flux windings on each flux summer (4 are assumed for the baseline case). Tables of system reliability at the 10 hour point are provided to allow designers to choose a configuration to meet specified reliability goals
Satellite-aided mobile communications limited operational test in the trucking industry
An experiment with NASA's ATS-6 satellite, that demonstrates the practicality of satellite-aided land mobile communications is described. Satellite communications equipment for the experiment was designed so that it would be no more expensive, when mass produced, than conventional two-way mobile radio equipment. It embodied the operational features and convenience of present day mobile radios. Vehicle antennas 75 cm tall and 2 cm in diameter provided good commercial quality signals to and from trucks and jeeps. Operational applicability and usage data were gathered by installing the radio equipment in five long-haul tractor-trailer trucks and two Air Force search and rescue jeeps. Channel occupancy rates are reported. Air Force personnel found the satellite radio system extremely valuable in their search and rescue mission during maneuvers and actual rescue operations. Propagation data is subjectively analyzed and over 4 hours of random data is categorized and graded as to signal quality on a second by second basis. Trends in different topographic regions are reported. An overall communications reliability of 93% was observed despite low satellite elevation angles ranging from 9 to 24 degrees
Position surveillance using one active ranging satellite and time-of-arrival of a signal from an independent satellite
Position surveillance using one active ranging/communication satellite and the time-of-arrival of signals from an independent satellite was shown to be feasible and practical. A towboat on the Mississippi River was equipped with a tone-code ranging transponder and a receiver tuned to the timing signals of the GOES satellite. A similar transponder was located at the office of the towing company. Tone-code ranging interrogations were transmitted from the General Electric Earth Station Laboratory through ATS-6 to the towboat and to the ground truth transponder office. Their automatic responses included digital transmissions of time-of-arrival measurements derived from the GOES signals. The Earth Station Laboratory determined ranges from the satellites to the towboat and computed position fixes. The ATS-6 lines-of-position were more precise than 0.1 NMi, 1 sigma, and the GOES lines-of-position were more precise than 1.6 NMi, 1 sigma. High quality voice communications were accomplished with the transponders using a nondirectional antenna on the towboat. The simple and effective surveillance technique merits further evaluation using operational maritime satellites
Dynamic Light Scattering from Semidilute Actin Solutions: A Study of Hydrodynamic Screening, Filament Bending Stiffness and the Effect of Tropomyosin/Troponin-Binding
Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) is applied to investigate the effect of
the tropomyosin/troponin complex (Tm/Tn) on the stiffness of actin filaments.
The importance of hydrodynamic screening in semidilute solutions is
demonstrated. A new concentration dependent expression for the dynamic
structure factor of semiflexible polymers in semidilute solutions
is used to analyze the experimental QELS data. A concentration independent
value for the bending modulus is thus obtained. It increases by 50\%
as a consequence of Tm/Tn binding in a 7:1:1 molar ratio of actin/Tm/Tn. In
addition a new expression for the initial slope of the dynamic structure factor
of a semiflexible polymer is used to determine the effective hydrodynamic
diameter of the actin filament. Our results confirm the general relevance of
the concept of (intrinsic) semiflexibility to polymer dynamics.Comment: 9 pages, RevTeX, 9 figures, all uuencoded gzipe
Nonabelian dark matter: models and constraints
Numerous experimental anomalies hint at the existence of a dark matter (DM)
multiplet chi_i with small mass splittings. We survey the simplest such models
which arise from DM in the low representations of a new SU(2) gauge symmetry,
whose gauge bosons have a small mass mu < 1 GeV. We identify preferred
parameters M_chi ~ 1 TeV, mu ~ 100 MeV, alpha_g ~ 0.04 and the chi chi -> 4e
annihilation channel, for explaining PAMELA, Fermi, and INTEGRAL/SPI lepton
excesses, while remaining consistent with constraints from relic density,
diffuse gamma rays and the CMB. This consistency is strengthened if DM
annihilations occur mainly in subhalos, while excitations (relevant to the
excited DM proposal to explain the 511 keV excess) occur in the galactic center
(GC), due to higher velocity dispersions in the GC, induced by baryons. We
derive new constraints and predictions which are generic to these models.
Notably, decays of excited DM states chi' -> chi gamma arise at one loop and
could provide a new signal for INTEGRAL/SPI; big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN)
constraints on the density of dark SU(2) gauge bosons imply a lower bound on
the mixing parameter epsilon between the SU(2) gauge bosons and photon. These
considerations rule out the possibility of the gauge bosons that decay into
e^+e^- being long-lived. We study in detail models of doublet, triplet and
quintuplet DM, showing that both normal and inverted mass hierarchies can
occur, with mass splittings that can be parametrically smaller, e.g., O(100)
keV, than the generic MeV scale of splittings. A systematic treatment of Z_2
symmetry which insures the stability of the intermediate DM state is given for
cases with inverted mass hierarchy, of interest for boosting the 511 keV signal
from the excited dark matter mechanism.Comment: 28 pages, 17 figures; v2. added brief comment, reference
Evaluation of solar cell welds by scanning acoustic microscopy
Scanning laser acoustic microscopy was used to nondestructively evaluate solar cell interconnect bonds made by resistance welding. Both copper-silver and silver-silver welds were analyzed. The bonds were produced either by a conventional parallel-gap welding technique using rectangular electrodes or new annular gap design with a circular electrode cross section. With the scanning laser acoustic microscope, it was possible to produce a real time television image which reveales the weld configuration as it relates to electrode geometry. The effect of electrode misalinement with the surface of the cell was also determined. A preliminary metallographic analysis was performed on selected welds to establish the relationship between actual size and shape of the weld area and the information available from acoustic micrographs
Ultrafast control of inelastic tunneling in a double semiconductor quantum
In a semiconductor-based double quantum well (QW) coupled to a degree of
freedom with an internal dynamics, we demonstrate that the electronic motion is
controllable within femtoseconds by applying appropriately shaped
electromagnetic pulses. In particular, we consider a pulse-driven AlxGa1-xAs
based symmetric double QW coupled to uniformly distributed or localized
vibrational modes and present analytical results for the lowest two levels.
These predictions are assessed and generalized by full-fledged numerical
simulations showing that localization and time-stabilization of the driven
electron dynamics is indeed possible under the conditions identified here, even
with a simultaneous excitations of vibrational modes.Comment: to be published in Appl.Phys.Let
Mechanics of bundled semiflexible polymer networks
While actin bundles are used by living cells for structural fortification,
the microscopic origin of the elasticity of bundled networks is not understood.
Here, we show that above a critical concentration of the actin binding protein
fascin, a solution of actin filaments organizes into a pure network of bundles.
While the elasticity of weakly crosslinked networks is dominated by the affine
deformation of tubes, the network of bundles can be fully understood in terms
of non-affine bending undulations.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, final version as publishe
Plant community structure mediates potential methane production and potential iron reduction in wetland mesocosms.
Abstract
Wetlands are the largest natural source of methane to the atmosphere, but factors controlling methane emissions from wetlands are a major source of uncertainty in greenhouse gas budgets and projections of future climate change. We conducted a controlled outdoor mesocosm experiment to assess the effects of plant community structure (functional group richness and composition) on potential methane production and potential iron reduction in freshwater emergent marshes. Four plant functional groups (facultative annuals, obligate annuals, reeds, and tussocks) were arranged in a full-factorial design and additional mesocosms were assigned as no-plant controls. Soil samples from the top 10 cm were collected three times during the growing season to determine potential methane production and potential iron reduction (in unamended soils and in soils amended with 200 mM formate). These data were compared to soil organic matter, soil pH, and previously published data on above and belowground plant biomass. We found that functional group richness was less important than the presence of specific functional groups (reeds or tussocks) in mediating potential iron reduction. In our mesocosms, where oxidized iron was abundant and electron donors were limiting, iron reducing bacteria outcompeted methanogens, keeping methane production barely detectable in unamended lab incubations. When the possibility of re-oxidizing iron was eliminated via anaerobic incubations and the electron donor limitation was removed by adding formate, potential methane production increased and followed the same patterns as potential iron reduction. Our findings suggest that in the absence of abundant oxidized iron and/or the presence of abundant electron donors, wetlands dominated by either reeds or tussocks may have increased methane production compared to wetlands dominated by annuals. Depending on functional traits such as plant transport and rhizospheric oxygenation capacities, this could potentially lead to increased methane emissions in some wetlands. Additional research examining the role these plant functional groups play in other aspects of methane dynamics will be useful given the importance of methane as a greenhouse gas
Elasticity of Stiff Polymer Networks
We study the elasticity of a two-dimensional random network of rigid rods
(``Mikado model''). The essential features incorporated into the model are the
anisotropic elasticity of the rods and the random geometry of the network. We
show that there are three distinct scaling regimes, characterized by two
distinct length scales on the elastic backbone. In addition to a critical
rigidiy percolation region and a homogeneously elastic regime we find a novel
intermediate scaling regime, where elasticity is dominated by bending
deformations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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