3,671 research outputs found
Lime stabilisation for earthworks: a UK perspective
Lime stabilisation is a versatile technique applied during earthworks operations. Modern soil recycling units are much more efficient at pulverising fill material and intermixing the added binder/water than machinery available 20 years ago. While supplier innovation adds flexibility to the site working method, specifications have not been sufficiently updated to permit optimal application. This review paper details the physico-chemical changes instigated through the lime-clay soil reaction, updating previous reviews. It aims to assist scientific debate, current practitioners and future specification changes. For example, the application of the minimum 24 h mellowing periods (mandatory to UK specifications) with high reactivity, quicklime powders is concluded to cause increased air voids in the compacted fill. Increased air voids are associated with reduced long-term strength and potential volume change from water ingress, which is of particular concern for sulfate swelling. Shorter mellowing periods and/or use of hydrated lime may lesson this issue; however, a 'one size fits all' approach is discouraged in preference to site-specific methodologies refined to suit the fill material and project requirements. The discussion also summarises working methods which may lower the risk of sulfate swell and defines areas requiring further practical research
Foot Bone in Vivo: Its Center of Mass and Centroid of Shape
This paper studies foot bone geometrical shape and its mass distribution and
establishes an assessment method of bone strength. Using spiral CT scanning,
with an accuracy of sub-millimeter, we analyze the data of 384 pieces of foot
bones in vivo and investigate the relationship between the bone's external
shape and internal structure. This analysis is explored on the bases of the
bone's center of mass and its centroid of shape. We observe the phenomenon of
superposition of center of mass and centroid of shape fairly precisely,
indicating a possible appearance of biomechanical organism. We investigate two
aspects of the geometrical shape, (i) distance between compact bone's centroid
of shape and that of the bone and (ii) the mean radius of the same density bone
issue relative to the bone's centroid of shape. These quantities are used to
interpret the influence of different physical exercises imposed on bone
strength, thereby contributing to an alternate assessment technique to bone
strength.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Modeling the climate impact of Southern Hemisphere ozone depletion:the importance of the ozone dataset
The ozone hole is an important driver of recent Southern Hemisphere (SH) climate change, and capturing these changes is a goal of climate modeling. Most climate models are driven by off-line ozone data sets. Previous studies have shown that there is a substantial range in estimates of SH ozone depletion, but the implications of this range have not been examined systematically. We use a climate model to evaluate the difference between using the ozone forcing (Stratospheric Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC)) used by many Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) models and one at the upper end of the observed depletion estimates (Binary Database of Profiles (BDBP)). In the stratosphere, we find that austral spring/summer polar cap cooling, geopotential height decreases, and zonal wind increases in the BDBP simulations are all doubled compared to the SPARC simulations, while tropospheric responses are 20–100% larger. These results are important for studies attempting to diagnose the climate fingerprints of ozone depletion
Tests of model of color reconnection and a search for glueballs using gluon jets with a rapidity gap
Gluon jets with a mean energy of 22 GeV and purity of 95% are selected from
hadronic Z0 decay events produced in e+e- annihilations. A subsample of these
jets is identified which exhibits a large gap in the rapidity distribution of
particles within the jet. After imposing the requirement of a rapidity gap, the
gluon jet purity is 86%. These jets are observed to demonstrate a high degree
of sensitivity to the presence of color reconnection, i.e. higher order QCD
processes affecting the underlying color structure. We use our data to test
three QCD models which include a simulation of color reconnection: one in the
Ariadne Monte Carlo, one in the Herwig Monte Carlo, and the other by Rathsman
in the Pythia Monte Carlo. We find the Rathsman and Ariadne color reconnection
models can describe our gluon jet measurements only if very large values are
used for the cutoff parameters which serve to terminate the parton showers, and
that the description of inclusive Z0 data is significantly degraded in this
case. We conclude that color reconnection as implemented by these two models is
disfavored. The signal from the Herwig color reconnection model is less clear
and we do not obtain a definite conclusion concerning this model. In a separate
study, we follow recent theoretical suggestions and search for glueball-like
objects in the leading part of the gluon jets. No clear evidence is observed
for these objects.Comment: 42 pages, 18 figure
A study of charm production in beauty decays with the OPAL detector at LEP
Using an inclusive method, BR(b -> D\bar{D}X) has been measured in hadronic
Z^0 decays with the OPAL detector at LEP. The impact parameter significance of
tracks opposite tagged b-jets is used to differentiate b -> D\bar{D}X decays
from other decays. Using this result, the average number of charm and
anti-charm quarks produced per beauty quark decay, n_c, is determined.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of triple gauge boson couplings from WW production at LEP energies up to 189 GeV
A measurement of triple gauge boson couplings is presented, based on W-pair
data recorded by the OPAL detector at LEP during 1998 at a centre-of-mass
energy of 189 GeV with an integrated luminosity of 183 pb^-1. After combining
with our previous measurements at centre-of-mass energies of 161-183 GeV we
obtain k_g=0.97 +0.20 -0.16, g_1^z=0.991 +0.060 -0.057 and lambda_g=-0.110
+0.058 -0.055, where the errors include both statistical and systematic
uncertainties and each coupling is determined by setting the other two
couplings to their SM values. These results are consistent with the Standard
Model expectations.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Search for the Standard Model Higgs Boson with the OPAL Detector at LEP
This paper summarises the search for the Standard Model Higgs boson in e+e-
collisions at centre-of-mass energies up to 209 GeV performed by the OPAL
Collaboration at LEP. The consistency of the data with the background
hypothesis and various Higgs boson mass hypotheses is examined. No indication
of a signal is found in the data and a lower bound of 112.7GeV/C^2 is obtained
on the mass of the Standard Model Higgs boson at the 95% CL.Comment: 51 pages, 21 figure
Search for Yukawa Production of a Light Neutral Higgs Boson at LEP
Within a Two-Higgs-Doublet Model (2HDM) a search for a light Higgs boson in
the mass range of 4-12 GeV has been performed in the Yukawa process e+e- -> b
bbar A/h -> b bbar tau+tau-, using the data collected by the OPAL detector at
LEP between 1992 and 1995 in e+e- collisions at about 91 GeV centre-of-mass
energy. A likelihood selection is applied to separate background and signal.
The number of observed events is in good agreement with the expected
background. Within a CP-conserving 2HDM type II model the cross-section for
Yukawa production depends on xiAd = |tan beta| and xihd = |sin alpha/cos beta|
for the production of the CP-odd A and the CP-even h, respectively, where tan
beta is the ratio of the vacuum expectation values of the Higgs doublets and
alpha is the mixing angle between the neutral CP-even Higgs bosons. From our
data 95% C.L. upper limits are derived for xiAd within the range of 8.5 to 13.6
and for xihd between 8.2 to 13.7, depending on the mass of the Higgs boson,
assuming a branching fraction into tau+tau- of 100%. An interpretation of the
limits within a 2HDM type II model with Standard Model particle content is
given. These results impose constraints on several models that have been
proposed to explain the recent BNL measurement of the muon anomalous magnetic
moment.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, Submitted to Euro. Phys. J.
Search for R-Parity Violating Decays of Scalar Fermions at LEP
A search for pair-produced scalar fermions under the assumption that R-parity
is not conserved has been performed using data collected with the OPAL detector
at LEP. The data samples analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of
about 610 pb-1 collected at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) 189-209 GeV. An
important consequence of R-parity violation is that the lightest supersymmetric
particle is expected to be unstable. Searches of R-parity violating decays of
charged sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks have been performed under the
assumptions that the lightest supersymmetric particle decays promptly and that
only one of the R-parity violating couplings is dominant for each of the decay
modes considered. Such processes would yield final states consisting of
leptons, jets, or both with or without missing energy. No significant
single-like excess of events has been observed with respect to the Standard
Model expectations. Limits on the production cross- section of scalar fermions
in R-parity violating scenarios are obtained. Constraints on the supersymmetric
particle masses are also presented in an R-parity violating framework analogous
to the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model.Comment: 51 pages, 24 figures, Submitted to Eur. Phys. J.
Measurement of the Hadronic Cross-Section for the Scattering of Two Virtual Photons at LEP
The interaction of virtual photons is investigated using the reaction e+e- ->
e+e- hadrons based on data taken by the OPAL experiment at e+e- centre-of-mass
energies sqrt(s_ee)=189-209 GeV, for W>5 GeV and at an average Q^2 of 17.9
GeV^2. The measured cross-sections are compared to predictions of the Quark
Parton Model (QPM), to the Leading Order QCD Monte Carlo model PHOJET to the
NLO prediction for the reaction e+e- -> e+e-qqbar, and to BFKL calculations.
PHOJET, NLO e+e- -> e+e-qqbar, and QPM describe the data reasonably well,
whereas the cross-section predicted by a Leading Order BFKL calculation is too
large.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, Submitted to Eur.Phys.J.
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