13,579 research outputs found
A scale-model room as a practical teaching experiment
A practical experiment is described which was used to help university students increase their understanding of the effect of construction methods and window design on passive solar heating and electrical heating. A number of one tenth scale model rooms were constructed by students and sited out-of-doors in the late autumn. The models were fabricated to mimic available commercial construction techniques with careful consideration being given to window size and placement for solar access. Each model had a thermostatically controlled electric heating element. The temperatures and electricity use of the models were recorded using data-loggers over a two week period. The performances of the models based on energy consumption and internal temperature were compared with each other and with predictions based upon thermal mass and R-values. Examples of questions used by students to facilitate this process are included. The effect of scaling on thermal properties was analysed using Buckingham’s p-theorem.<br /
Erosion/corrosion of turbine airfoil materials in the high-velocity effluent of a pressurized fluidized coal combustor
Four candidate turbine airfoil superalloys were exposed to the effluent of a pressurized fluidized bed with a solids loading of 2 to 4 g/scm for up to 100 hours at two gas velocities, 150 and 270 m/sec, and two temperatures, 730 deg and 795 C. Under these conditions, both erosion and corrosion occurred. The damaged specimens were examined by cross-section measurements, scanning electron and light microscopy, and X-ray analysis to evaluate the effects of temperature, velocity, particle loading, and alloy material. Results indicate that for a given solids loading the extent of erosion is primarily dependent on gas velocity. Corrosion occurred only at the higher temperature. There was little difference in the erosion/corrosion damage to the four alloys tested under these severe conditions
An exactly solvable model of a superconducting to rotational phase transition
We consider a many-fermion model which exhibits a transition from a
superconducting to a rotational phase with variation of a parameter in its
Hamiltonian. The model has analytical solutions in its two limits due to the
presence of dynamical symmetries. However, the symmetries are basically
incompatible with one another; no simple solution exists in intermediate
situations. Exact (numerical) solutions are possible and enable one to study
the behavior of competing but incompatible symmetries and the phase transitions
that result in a semirealistic situation. The results are remarkably simple and
shed light on the nature of phase transitions.Comment: 11 pages including 1 figur
Vector coherent state representations, induced representations, and geometric quantization: II. Vector coherent state representations
It is shown here and in the preceeding paper (quant-ph/0201129) that vector
coherent state theory, the theory of induced representations, and geometric
quantization provide alternative but equivalent quantizations of an algebraic
model. The relationships are useful because some constructions are simpler and
more natural from one perspective than another. More importantly, each approach
suggests ways of generalizing its counterparts. In this paper, we focus on the
construction of quantum models for algebraic systems with intrinsic degrees of
freedom. Semi-classical partial quantizations, for which only the intrinsic
degrees of freedom are quantized, arise naturally out of this construction. The
quantization of the SU(3) and rigid rotor models are considered as examples.Comment: 31 pages, part 2 of two papers, published versio
Collective states of the odd-mass nuclei within the framework of the Interacting Vector Boson Model
A supersymmetric extension of the dynamical symmetry group of
the Interacting Vector Boson Model (IVBM), to the orthosymplectic group
is developed in order to incorporate fermion degrees of
freedom into the nuclear dynamics and to encompass the treatment of odd mass
nuclei. The bosonic sector of the supergroup is used to describe the complex
collective spectra of the neighboring even-even nuclei and is considered as a
core structure of the odd nucleus. The fermionic sector is represented by the
fermion spin group .
The so obtained, new exactly solvable limiting case is applied for the
description of the nuclear collective spectra of odd mass nuclei. The
theoretical predictions for different collective bands in three odd mass
nuclei, namely , and from rare earth region are
compared with the experiment. The transition probabilities for the
and between the states of the ground band are also
studied. The important role of the symplectic structure of the model for the
proper reproduction of the behavior is revealed. The obtained results
reveal the applicability of the models extension.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure
Weak Gravitational Flexion
Flexion is the significant third-order weak gravitational lensing effect
responsible for the weakly skewed and arc-like appearance of lensed galaxies.
Here we demonstrate how flexion measurements can be used to measure galaxy halo
density profiles and large-scale structure on non-linear scales, via
galaxy-galaxy lensing, dark matter mapping and cosmic flexion correlation
functions. We describe the origin of gravitational flexion, and discuss its
four components, two of which are first described here. We also introduce an
efficient complex formalism for all orders of lensing distortion. We proceed to
examine the flexion predictions for galaxy-galaxy lensing, examining isothermal
sphere and Navarro, Frenk & White (NFW) profiles and both circularly symmetric
and elliptical cases. We show that in combination with shear we can precisely
measure galaxy masses and NFW halo concentrations. We also show how flexion
measurements can be used to reconstruct mass maps in 2-D projection on the sky,
and in 3-D in combination with redshift data. Finally, we examine the
predictions for cosmic flexion, including convergence-flexion
cross-correlations, and find that the signal is an effective probe of structure
on non-linear scales.Comment: 17 pages, including 12 figures, submitted to MNRA
Effect of the Pauli principle on photoelectron spin transport in GaAs
In p+ GaAs thin films, the effect of photoelectron degeneracy on spin
transport is investigated theoretically and experimentally by imaging the spin
polarization profile as a function of distance from a tightly-focussed light
excitation spot. Under degeneracy of the electron gas (high concentration, low
temperature), a dip at the center of the polarization profile appears with a
polarization maximum at a distance of about from the center. This
counterintuitive result reveals that photoelectron diffusion depends on spin,
as a direct consequence of the Pauli principle. This causes a concentration
dependence of the spin stiffness while the spin dependence of the mobility is
found to be weak in doped material. The various effects which can modify spin
transport in a degenerate electron gas under local laser excitation are
considered. A comparison of the data with a numerical solution of the coupled
diffusion equations reveals that ambipolar coupling with holes increases the
steady-state photo-electron density at the excitation spot and therefore the
amplitude of the degeneracy-induced polarization dip. Thermoelectric currrents
are predicted to depend on spin under degeneracy (spin Soret currents), but
these currents are negligible except at very high excitation power where they
play a relatively small role. Coulomb spin drag and bandgap renormalization are
negligible due to electrostatic screening by the hole gas
Classical mappings of the symplectic model and their application to the theory of large-amplitude collective motion
We study the algebra Sp(n,R) of the symplectic model, in particular for the
cases n=1,2,3, in a new way. Starting from the Poisson-bracket realization we
derive a set of partial differential equations for the generators as functions
of classical canonical variables. We obtain a solution to these equations that
represents the classical limit of a boson mapping of the algebra. The
relationship to the collective dynamics is formulated as a theorem that
associates the mapping with an exact solution of the time-dependent Hartree
approximation. This solution determines a decoupled classical symplectic
manifold, thus satisfying the criteria that define an exactly solvable model in
the theory of large amplitude collective motion. The models thus obtained also
provide a test of methods for constructing an approximately decoupled manifold
in fully realistic cases. We show that an algorithm developed in one of our
earlier works reproduces the main results of the theorem.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX using REVTeX 3.
The erosion/corrosion of small superalloy turbine rotors operating in the effluent of a PFB coal combustor
Superalloy turbine rotors in a single stage turbine with 6 percent partial admittance were operated in the effluent of a pressurized fluidized bed coal combustor for up to 164 hours. Total mass flow was 300 kg/hr and average particulate loadings ranged from 600 to 2800 ppm for several coal/sorbent combinations. A 5.5 atm turbine inlet gas pressure and inlet gas temperatures from 700 to 800 C yielded absolute gas velocities at the stator exit of about 500 m/s. The angular rotation speed (40,000 rpm) of the six inch diameter rotors was equivalent to a tip speed of about 300 m/s, and average gas velocities relative to the rotating surface ranged from 260 to 330 m/s at mean radius. The rotor erosion pattern reflects heavy particle separation with severe (5 to 500 cm/yr) erosion at the leading edge, pressure side center, and suction side trailing edge at the tip. The erosion distribution pattern provides a spectrum of erosion/oxidation/deposition as a function of blade position. This spectrum includes enhanced oxidation (10 to 100 x air), mixed oxides in exposed depletion zones, sulfur rich oxides in deposition zones, and rugged areas of erosive oxide removal
- …