31,057 research outputs found
Internal coating of air-cooled gas turbine blades
Four modified aluminide coatings were developed for IN-792 + Hf alloy using a powder pack method applicable to internal surfaces of air-cooled blades. The coating compositions are Ni-19Al-1Cb, Ni-19Al-3Cb, Ni-17Al-20Cr, and Ni-12Al-20Cr. Cyclic burner rig hot corrosion (900 C) and oxidation (1050 C) tests indicated that Ni-Al-Cb coatings provided better overall resistance than Ni-Al-Cr coatings. Tensile properties of Ni-19Al-1Cb and Ni-12Al-20Cr coated test bars were fully retained at room temperature and 649 C. Stress rupture results exhibited wide scatter around uncoated IN-792 baseline, especially at high stress levels. High cycle fatigue lives of Ni-19Al-1Cb and Ni-12Al-20Cr coated bars (as well as RT-22B coated IN-792) suffered approximately 30 percent decrease at 649 C. Since all test bars were fully heat treated after coating, the effects of coating/processing on IN-792 alloy were not recoverable. Internally coated Ni-19Al-1Cb, Ni-19Al-3Cb, and Ni-12Al-20Cr blades were included in 500-hour endurance engine test and the results were similar to those obtained in burner rig oxidation testing
Internally coated air-cooled gas turbine blading
Ten candidate modified nickel-aluminide coatings were developed using the slip pack process. These coatings contain additives such as silicon, chromium and columbium in a nickel-aluminum coating matrix with directionally solidified MAR-M200 + Hf as the substrate alloy. Following a series of screening tests which included strain tolerance, dynamic oxidation and hot corrosion testing, the Ni-19A1-1Cb (nominal composition) coating was selected for application to the internal passages of four first-stage turbine blades. Process development results indicate that a dry pack process is suitable for internal coating application resulting in 18 percent or less reduction in air flow. Coating uniformity, based on coated air-cooled blades, was within + or - 20 percent. Test results show that the presence of additives (silicon, chromium or columbium) appeared to improve significantly the ductility of the NiA1 matrix. However, the environmental resistance of these modified nickel-aluminides were generally inferior to the simple aluminides
Approximating random quantum optimization problems
We report a cluster of results regarding the difficulty of finding
approximate ground states to typical instances of the quantum satisfiability
problem -QSAT on large random graphs. As an approximation strategy, we
optimize the solution space over `classical' product states, which in turn
introduces a novel autonomous classical optimization problem, PSAT, over a
space of continuous degrees of freedom rather than discrete bits. Our central
results are: (i) The derivation of a set of bounds and approximations in
various limits of the problem, several of which we believe may be amenable to a
rigorous treatment. (ii) A demonstration that an approximation based on a
greedy algorithm borrowed from the study of frustrated magnetism performs well
over a wide range in parameter space, and its performance reflects structure of
the solution space of random -QSAT. Simulated annealing exhibits
metastability in similar `hard' regions of parameter space. (iii) A
generalization of belief propagation algorithms introduced for classical
problems to the case of continuous spins. This yields both approximate
solutions, as well as insights into the free energy `landscape' of the
approximation problem, including a so-called dynamical transition near the
satisfiability threshold. Taken together, these results allow us to elucidate
the phase diagram of random -QSAT in a two-dimensional
energy-density--clause-density space.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figure
Quantum Yang-Mills gravity in flat space-time and effective curved space-time for motions of classical objects
Yang-Mills gravity with translational gauge group T(4) in flat space-time
implies a simple self-coupling of gravitons and a truly conserved
energy-momentum tensor. Its consistency with experiments crucially depends on
an interesting property that an `effective Riemannian metric tensor' emerges in
and only in the geometric-optics limit of the photon and particle wave
equations. We obtain Feynman rules for a coupled graviton-fermion system,
including a general graviton propagator with two gauge parameters and the
interaction of ghost particles. The equation of motion of macroscopic objects,
as an N-body system, is demonstrated as the geometric-optics limit of the
fermion wave equation. We discuss a relativistic Hamilton-Jacobi equation with
an `effective Riemann metric tensor' for the classical particles.Comment: 20 pages, to be published in "The European Physical Journal -
Plus"(2011). The final publication is available at http://www.epj.or
Clustering in Hilbert space of a quantum optimization problem
The solution space of many classical optimization problems breaks up into
clusters which are extensively distant from one another in the Hamming metric.
Here, we show that an analogous quantum clustering phenomenon takes place in
the ground state subspace of a certain quantum optimization problem. This
involves extending the notion of clustering to Hilbert space, where the
classical Hamming distance is not immediately useful. Quantum clusters
correspond to macroscopically distinct subspaces of the full quantum ground
state space which grow with the system size. We explicitly demonstrate that
such clusters arise in the solution space of random quantum satisfiability
(3-QSAT) at its satisfiability transition. We estimate both the number of these
clusters and their internal entropy. The former are given by the number of
hardcore dimer coverings of the core of the interaction graph, while the latter
is related to the underconstrained degrees of freedom not touched by the
dimers. We additionally provide new numerical evidence suggesting that the
3-QSAT satisfiability transition may coincide with the product satisfiability
transition, which would imply the absence of an intermediate entangled
satisfiable phase.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Unitarity and the Hilbert space of quantum gravity
Under the premises that physics is unitary and black hole evaporation is
complete (no remnants, no topology change), there must exist a one-to-one
correspondence between states on future null and timelike infinity and on any
earlier spacelike Cauchy surface (e.g., slices preceding the formation of the
hole). We show that these requirements exclude a large set of semiclassical
spacetime configurations from the Hilbert space of quantum gravity. In
particular, the highest entropy configurations, which account for almost all of
the volume of semiclassical phase space, would not have quantum counterparts,
i.e. would not correspond to allowed states in a quantum theory of gravity.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, revtex; minor changes in v2 (version published in
Class. Quant. Grav.
Instructor Strategies to Alleviate Stress and Anxiety among College and University STEM Students
While student stress and anxiety are frequently cited as having negative effects on students’ academic performance, the role that instructors can play in mitigating these challenges is often underappreciated. We provide summaries of different evidence-based strategies, ranging from changes in instructional strategies to specific classroom interventions, that instructors may employ to address and ameliorate student stress and anxiety. While we focus on students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the strategies we delineate may be more broadly applicable. We begin by highlighting ways in which instructors can learn about and prepare to act to alleviate stress and anxiety. We then discuss how to better connect with students and build an inclusive, equitable, and empowering classroom environment. When coupled with strategies to change student evaluation and assessment, these approaches may collectively reduce student stress and anxiety, as well as improve student performance. We then discuss the roles that instructors may play in empowering students with skills that improve their time management, studying, and approach toward learning, with an eye toward ensuring their success across all their academic endeavors. We conclude by noting areas in which further research is needed to determine best practices for alleviating student stress and anxiety
Closed trajectories of a particle model on null curves in anti-de Sitter 3-space
We study the existence of closed trajectories of a particle model on null
curves in anti-de Sitter 3-space defined by a functional which is linear in the
curvature of the particle path. Explicit expressions for the trajectories are
found and the existence of infinitely many closed trajectories is proved.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figur
Use of an Ilizarov apparatus to perform closed reduction of a chronic proximal dislocation following total hip arthroplasty: A case report
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