48,873 research outputs found
Condensation Transition in Polydisperse Hard Rods
We study a mass transport model, where spherical particles diffusing on a
ring can stochastically exchange volume , with the constraint of a fixed
total volume , being the total number of particles. The
particles, referred to as -spheres, have a linear size that behaves as
and our model thus represents a gas of polydisperse hard rods with
variable diameters . We show that our model admits a factorized
steady state distribution which provides the size distribution that minimizes
the free energy of a polydisperse hard rod system, under the constraints of
fixed and . Complementary approaches (explicit construction of the
steady state distribution on the one hand ; density functional theory on the
other hand) completely and consistently specify the behaviour of the system. A
real space condensation transition is shown to take place for : beyond a
critical density a macroscopic aggregate is formed and coexists with a critical
fluid phase. Our work establishes the bridge between stochastic mass transport
approaches and the optimal polydispersity of hard sphere fluids studied in
previous articles
Kinetic pathways of multi-phase surfactant systems
The relaxation following a temperature quench of two-phase (lamellar and
sponge phase) and three-phase (lamellar, sponge and micellar phase) samples,
has been studied in an SDS/octanol/brine system. In the three-phase case we
have observed samples that are initially mainly sponge phase with lamellar and
micellar phase on the top and bottom respectively. Upon decreasing temperature
most of the volume of the sponge phase is replaced by lamellar phase. During
the equilibriation we have observed three regimes of behaviour within the
sponge phase: (i) disruption in the sponge texture, then (ii) after the sponge
phase homogenises there is a lamellar nucleation regime and finally (iii) a
bizarre plume connects the lamellar phase with the micellar phase. The
relaxation of the two-phase sample proceeds instead in two stages. First
lamellar drops nucleate in the sponge phase forming a onion `gel' structure.
Over time the lamellar structure compacts while equilibriating into a two phase
lamellar/sponge phase sample. We offer possible explanatioins for some of these
observations in the context of a general theory for phase kinetics in systems
with one fast and one slow variable.Comment: 1 textfile, 20 figures (jpg), to appear in PR
Improving subject knowledge and subject pedagogic knowledge in employment based secondary initial teacher training in England
Each year in England about 6,000 trainee teachers qualify by undertaking an employment-based initial teacher training route (EBITT), where training is mainly school based. Government inspectors have found that trainees on this route are weaker in subject knowledge and subject pedagogic knowledge compared to trainees following the more traditional one year training course (PGCE) of which about a third of course time is University based. EBITT providers are currently seeking to improve the subject knowledge aspect of training. To support this work the TDA have published a model for developing trainees' subject knowledge for teaching and suggest that providers review their provision against the model. In addition EBITT providers must also meet a new requirement that the total training time should be a minimum of 60 days. This new requirement presents a challenge to EBITT providers as most of the subject knowledge enhancement will have to be school-based. This paper seeks to find out:
- how trainee teachers acquire subject and subject pedagogic knowledge while based in a school and
- whether teaching staff in schools have the required subject and subject pedagogic knowledge and skills for this enhanced role.
Data have been collected from trainees, school-based mentors, school-based Initial Teacher Training Coordinators and University assessors over a one year period. Data about the way trainees acquire subject knowledge was interpreted against the TDA model. The study finds that:
- trainees acquire subject and subject pedagogic knowledge in a variety of highly individualistic ways that suggests that the TDA model only partially explains what is happening in practice and
- there is a significant training need to ensure schools are well equipped to deliver high quality subject focussed training.</p
Extracting predictive models from marked-p free-text documents at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London
In this paper we explore the combination of text-mining, un-supervised and supervised learning to extract predictive models from a corpus of digitised historical floras. These documents deal with the nomenclature, geographical distribution, ecology and comparative morphology of the species of a region. Here we exploit the fact that portions of text in the floras are marked up as different types of trait and habitat. We infer models from these different texts that can predict different habitat-types based upon the traits of plant species. We also integrate plant taxonomy data in order to assist in the validation of our models. We have shown that by clustering text describing the habitat of different floras we can identify a number of important and distinct habitats that are associated with particular families of species along with statistical significance scores. We have also shown that by using these discovered habitat-types as labels for supervised learning we can predict them based upon a subset of traits, identified using wrapper feature selection
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SLS Materials Development Method for Rapid Manufacturing
As soon as SFF technology development began to make Rapid Prototyping possible the
interest in Rapid Manufacturing (RM) began to grow. The advantages in terms of
functional integration, elimination of tooling and fixtures and mass customization make a
compelling case for RM, leading some in the field to call it the next industrial revolution.
Yet without the materials properties necessary to provide the function and variety
currently available from mass production methods, the application of RM will remain
limited. Developing new materials for the SLS process, one immediate step toward a
larger portfolio of RM materials, is very challenging. The formation of high quality SLS
parts relies on appropriate powder characteristics, thermal cycles and sintering behavior.
Based on a brief examination of the key factors in SLS processing and a research project
to develop a new binder material for Silicon Carbide composites, a systematic materials
development method is proposed in this paper. The method provides guidance for
introducing new SLS materials, support for educating new SLS users and researchers and
direction for several future research projects.Mechanical Engineerin
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Rapid Manufacturing of Silicon Carbide Composites
From the earliest days of SFF technology development, a viable technique for the direct
manufacture of fully-functional parts has been a major technology goal. While direct metal
methods have been demonstrated for a variety of metals including aluminum, steel and titanium,
they have not reached wide commercial application due to processing speed, final material
properties and surface finish. In this paper the development of an SLS-based rapid
manufacturing (RM) platform is reviewed. The core of this platform is a thermosetting binder
system for preform parts in contrast to the thermoplastic materials currently available for SLS.
The preforms may include metal and/or ceramic powders. A variety of fully functional parts
can be prepared from different combinations of materials and post processing steps including
binder pyrolysis, free-standing alloy infiltration, room temperature polymer infiltration and
machining. The main issues of these steps are reviewed followed by a discussion about the
support of RM. This paper is an intermediate report additional materials, applications, process
models and product design strategies will be incorporated into the project in the next year.Mechanical Engineerin
Zero range model of traffic flow
A multi--cluster model of traffic flow is studied, in which the motion of
cars is described by a stochastic master equation. Assuming that the escape
rate from a cluster depends only on the cluster size, the dynamics of the model
is directly mapped to the mathematically well-studied zero-range process.
Knowledge of the asymptotic behaviour of the transition rates for large
clusters allows us to apply an established criterion for phase separation in
one-dimensional driven systems. The distribution over cluster sizes in our
zero-range model is given by a one--step master equation in one dimension. It
provides an approximate mean--field dynamics, which, however, leads to the
exact stationary state. Based on this equation, we have calculated the critical
density at which phase separation takes place. We have shown that within a
certain range of densities above the critical value a metastable homogeneous
state exists before coarsening sets in. Within this approach we have estimated
the critical cluster size and the mean nucleation time for a condensate in a
large system. The metastablity in the zero-range process is reflected in a
metastable branch of the fundamental flux--density diagram of traffic flow. Our
work thus provides a possible analytical description of traffic jam formation
as well as important insight into condensation in the zero-range process.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, small changes are made according to finally
accepted version for publication in Phys. Rev.
Interactions between unidirectional quantized vortex rings
We have used the vortex filament method to numerically investigate the
interactions between pairs of quantized vortex rings that are initially
traveling in the same direction but with their axes offset by a variable impact
parameter. The interaction of two circular rings of comparable radii produce
outcomes that can be categorized into four regimes, dependent only on the
impact parameter; the two rings can either miss each other on the inside or
outside, or they can reconnect leading to final states consisting of either one
or two deformed rings. The fraction of of energy went into ring deformations
and the transverse component of velocity of the rings are analyzed for each
regime. We find that rings of very similar radius only reconnect for a very
narrow range of the impact parameter, much smaller than would be expected from
geometrical cross-section alone. In contrast, when the radii of the rings are
very different, the range of impact parameters producing a reconnection is
close to the geometrical value. A second type of interaction considered is the
collision of circular rings with a highly deformed ring. This type of
interaction appears to be a productive mechanism for creating small vortex
rings. The simulations are discussed in the context of experiments on colliding
vortex rings and quantum turbulence in superfluid helium in the zero
temperature limit
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