An Audible Demonstration Of The Speed Of Sound In Bubbly Liquids

The speed of sound in a bubbly liquid is strongly dependent upon the volume fraction of the gas phase, the bubble size distribution, and the frequency of the acoustic excitation. At sufficiently low frequencies, the speed of sound depends primarily on the gas volume fraction. This effect can be audibly demonstrated using a one-dimensional acoustic waveguide, in which the flow rate of air bubbles injected into a water-filled tube is varied by the user. The normal modes of the waveguide are excited by the sound of the bubbles being injected into the tube. As the flow rate is varied, the speed of sound varies as well, and hence, the resonance frequencies shift. This can be clearly heard through the use of an amplified hydrophone and the user can create aesthetically pleasing and even musical sounds. In addition, the apparatus can be used to verify a simple mathematical model known as Wood's equation that relates the speed of sound of a bubbly liquid to its void fraction. (c) 2008 American Association of Physics Teachers.Mechanical Engineerin

Development of a Data-Based Method for Performance Monitoring of Heat Exchangers

A multivariate analysis method is developed for processing measurements, and for detecting and isolating faults and monitoring performance degradation in heat exchanger control loops. A heat exchanger inside a typical temperature to flow cascade loop is considered. This system includes a constant speed pump with flow control valves, pressure and temperature measurement. A proportional-integral-differential (PID) controller is used to maintain a temperature set point for the exit flow on one side of the exchanger. A thermal-fluid model for the components in the system is developed. A Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) rule-base is formulated from results of simulations performed using these models. Measurements from an installed laboratory heat exchanger control loop are also used. Faults simulated and induced on the physical heat exchanger loop include tube fouling, sensor drift, fluid leakage, unresponsive valves, plugged process lines, and controller errors. The rule base allows the identification of faults in a heat exchanger control loop given suitable process measurements

Comparison of Dislocation Characterization by Electron Channeling Contrast Imaging and Cross-Correlation Electron Backscattered Diffraction

In this work, the relative capabilities and limitations of electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) and cross-correlation electron backscattered diffraction (CC-EBSD) have been assessed by studying the dislocation distributions resulting from nanoindentation in body centered cubic Ta. Qualitative comparison reveals very similar dislocation distributions between the CC-EBSD mapped GNDs and the ECC imaged dislocations. Approximate dislocation densities determined from ECC images compare well to those determined by CC-EBSD. Nevertheless, close examination reveals subtle differences in the details of the distributions mapped by these two approaches. The details of the dislocation Burgers vectors and line directions determined by ECCI have been compared to those determined using CC-EBSD and reveal good agreement

An introductory view on archaeoastronomy

Archaeoastronomy is still a marginalised topic in academia and is described by the Sophia Centre, the only UK institution offering a broader MA containing this field, as ‘the study of the incorporation of celestial orientation, alignments or symbolism in human monuments and architecture’. By many it is associated with investigating prehistoric monuments such as Stonehenge and combining astronomy and archaeology. The following will show that archaeoastronomy is far more than just an interdisciplinary field linking archaeology and astronomy. It merges aspects of anthropology, ethno-astronomy and even educational research, and is possibly better described as cultural astronomy. In the past decades it has stepped away from its quite speculative beginnings that have led to its complete rejection by the archaeology community. Overcoming these challenges it embraced full heartedly solid scientific and statistical methodology and achieved more credibility. However, in recent times the humanistic influences of a cultural context motivate a new generation of archaeoastronomers that are modernising this subject; and humanists might find it better described as post-modern archaeoastronomy embracing the pluralism of today’s academic approach to landscape and ancient people

Thomson parabola ion analyzer

A Thomson parabola ion analyzer is calibrated for ion energy and ionic charge to mass ratio determination. Characteristics of this device which influence its operation are discussed

Ambient particulate pollution and the world-wide prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema in children: Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC)

Objectives: To investigate the effect of ambient particulate matter on variation in childhood prevalence of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Methods: Prevalences of asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema obtained in Phase One of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) were matched with city-level estimates of residential PM10 obtained from a World Bank model. Associations were investigated using binomial regression adjusting for GNP per capita and for clustering within country. For countries with more than one centre, a two stage meta-analysis was carried out. The results were compared with a meta-analysis of published multi-centre studies. Results: Annual concentrations of PM₁₀ at city level were obtained for 105 ISAAC centres in 51 countries. After controlling for GNP per capita, there was a weak negative association between PM₁₀ and various outcomes. For severe wheeze in 13-14-year-olds, the OR for a 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ was 0.92 (95 CI 0.84 to 1.00). In 24 countries with more than one centre, most summary estimates for within-country associations were weakly positive. For severe wheeze in 13-14-year-olds, the summary OR for a 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ was 1.01 (0.92 to 1.10). This result was close to a summary OR of 0.99 (0.91 to 1.06) obtained from published multi-centre studies. Conclusions: Modelled estimates of particulate matter at city level are imprecise and incomplete estimates of personal exposure to ambient air pollutants. Nevertheless, our results together with those of previous multi-centre studies, suggest that urban background PM₁₀ has little or no association with the prevalence of childhood asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis or eczema either within or between countries