Effects of 3-d and 4-d-transition metal substitutional impurities on the electronic properties of CrO2

We present first-principles based density functional theory calculations of the electronic and magnetic structure of CrO2 with 3d (Ti through Cu) and 4d (Zr through Ag) substitutional impurities. We find that the half-metallicity of CrO2 remains intact for all of the calculated substitutions. We also observe two periodic trends as a function of the number of valence electrons: if the substituted atom has six or fewer valence electrons (Ti-Cr or Zr-Mo), the number of down spin electrons associated with the impurity ion is zero, resulting in ferromagnetic (FM) alignment of the impurity magnetic moment with the magnetization of the CrO2 host. For substituent atoms with eight to ten (Fe-Ni or Ru-Pd with the exception of Ni), the number of down spin electrons contributed by the impurity ion remains fixed at three as the number contributed to the majority increases from one to three resulting in antiferromagnetic (AFM) alignment between impurity moment and host magnetization. The origin of this variation is the grouping of the impurity states into 3 states with approximate "t2g" symmetry and 2 states with approximate "eg" symmetry. Ni is an exception to the rule because a Jahn-Teller-like distortion causes a splitting of the Ni eg states. For Mn and Tc, which have 8 valence electrons, the zero down spin and 3 down spin configurations are very close in energy. For Cu and Ag atoms, which have 11 valence electrons, the energy is minimized when the substituent ion contributes 5 Abstract down-spin electrons. We find that the interatomic exchange interactions are reduced for all substitutions except for the case of Fe for which a modest enhancement is calculated for interactions along certain crystallographic directions.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, 2 table

Biaxial fatigue loading of notched composites

Thin walled, 2.54-cm (1-in.) diameter tubular specimens of T300/934 graphite/epoxy were fabricated and fatigue cycled in combinations of axial, torsional, and internal pressure loading. Two different four-ply layup configurations were tested: (0/90)S and (+ or - 45)S; all tubes contained a 0.48-cm (3/16-in.) diameter circular hole penetrating one wall midway along the tube length. S-N curves were developed to characterize fatigue behavior under pure axial, torsional, or internal pressure loading, as well as combined loading fatigue. A theory was developed based on the Hill plane stress model which enabled the S-N curve for combined stress states to be predicted from the S-N data for the uniaxial loading modes. Correlation of the theory with the experimental data proved to be remarkably good

Mars rover sample return: An exobiology science scenario

A mission designed to collect and return samples from Mars will provide information regarding its composition, history, and evolution. At the same time, a sample return mission generates a technical challenge. Sophisticated, semi-autonomous, robotic spacecraft systems must be developed in order to carry out complex operations at the surface of a very distant planet. An interdisciplinary effort was conducted to consider how much a Mars mission can be realistically structured to maximize the planetary science return. The focus was to concentrate on a particular set of scientific objectives (exobiology), to determine the instrumentation and analyses required to search for biological signatures, and to evaluate what analyses and decision making can be effectively performed by the rover in order to minimize the overhead of constant communication between Mars and the Earth. Investigations were also begun in the area of machine vision to determine whether layered sedimentary structures can be recognized autonomously, and preliminary results are encouraging

Mars Rover Sample Return: A sample collection and analysis strategy for exobiology

For reasons defined elsewhere it is reasonable to search for biological signatures, both chemical and morphological, of extinct life on Mars. Life on Earth requries the presence of liquid water, therefore, it is important to explore sites on Mars where standing bodies of water may have once existed. Outcrops of layered deposits within the Valles Marineris appear to be ancient lake beds. Because the outcrops are well exposed, relatively shallow core samples would be very informative. The most important biological signature to detect would be organics, microfossils, or larger stromato-like structures, although the presence of cherts, carbonates, clays, and shales would be significant. In spite of the limitations of current robotics and pattern recognition, and the limitations of rover power, computation, Earth communication bandwidth, and time delays, a partial scenario was developed to implement such a scientific investigation. The rover instrumentation and the procedures and decisions and IR spectrometer are described in detail. Preliminary results from a collaborative effort are described, which indicate the rover will be able to autonomously detect stratification, and hence will ease the interpretation burden and lead to greater scientific productivity during the rover's lifetime

New development: Directly elected mayors in Italy: creating a strong leader doesn’t mean creating strong leadership

More than 20 years after their introduction, directly elected mayors are key players in Italian urban governance. This article explains the main effects of this reform on local government systems and provides lessons for other countries considering directly elected mayors

Reduction of Dendrite Formations to Improve the Appearance of the Powder Cured Films for Automotive Industry

The appearance of powder-coated films is dependent upon powder chemistry and spraying parameters. One of the most important physical factors controlling the powder film appearance is the microdeposition of the powder particles on the grounded substrate. During the electrostatic deposition of powder, the formation of dendrites and agglomerates was observed; these formations have an adverse effect on the final film appearance and their elimination may result in smoother and glossier films. Dendrites are generated due to bipolar charging and inter-particulate electrostatic attractive forces. The corona charging technique is mostly used in industrial powder coating applications. At low corona voltages (- 40 to - 60 kV) a greater degree of bipolar charging was observed compared to that at higher voltages (- 80 to - 100 kV). At the higher voltages, the increase n number of ions produces a more unipolar charging and higher charge-to-mass ratios. As the film builds up, the powder transfer efficiency decreases as the repulsion forces between oncoming charged particles and the already deposited powder layer increase. By controlling the deposition patterns, the final film appearance can be improved. The smoothest films were obtained when the voltage was ramped from - 60 to - 100 kV. Another method to reduce dendrite formations was to deposit powder particles charged unipolarly by first separating them from the oppositely charged ones by using a charge separator

Cartan subalgebras in C*-algebras of Hausdorff etale groupoids

The reduced $C^*$-algebra of the interior of the isotropy in any Hausdorff \'etale groupoid $G$ embeds as a $C^*$-subalgebra $M$ of the reduced $C^*$-algebra of $G$. We prove that the set of pure states of $M$ with unique extension is dense, and deduce that any representation of the reduced $C^*$-algebra of $G$ that is injective on $M$ is faithful. We prove that there is a conditional expectation from the reduced $C^*$-algebra of $G$ onto $M$ if and only if the interior of the isotropy in $G$ is closed. Using this, we prove that when the interior of the isotropy is abelian and closed, $M$ is a Cartan subalgebra. We prove that for a large class of groupoids $G$ with abelian isotropy---including all Deaconu--Renault groupoids associated to discrete abelian groups---$M$ is a maximal abelian subalgebra. In the specific case of $k$-graph groupoids, we deduce that $M$ is always maximal abelian, but show by example that it is not always Cartan.Comment: 14 pages. v2: Theorem 3.1 in v1 incorrect (thanks to A. Kumjain for pointing out the error); v2 shows there is a conditional expectation onto $M$ iff the interior of the isotropy is closed. v3: Material (including some theorem statements) rearranged and shortened. Lemma~3.5 of v2 removed. This version published in Integral Equations and Operator Theor

Pipeline network features and leak detection by cross-correlation analysis of reflected waves

This paper describes progress on a new technique to detect pipeline features and leaks using signal processing of a pressure wave measurement. Previous work (by the present authors) has shown that the analysis of pressure wave reflections in fluid pipe networks can be used to identify specific pipeline features such as open ends, closed ends, valves, junctions, and certain types of bends. It was demonstrated that by using an extension of cross-correlation analysis, the identification of features can be achieved using fewer sensors than are traditionally employed. The key to the effectiveness of the technique lies in the artificial generation of pressure waves using a solenoid valve, rather than relying upon natural sources of fluid excitation. This paper uses an enhanced signal processing technique to improve the detection of leaks. It is shown experimentally that features and leaks can be detected around a sharp bend and up to seven reflections from features/ leaks can be detected, by which time the wave has traveled over 95 m. The testing determined the position of a leak to within an accuracy of 5%, even when the location of the reflection from a leak is itself dispersed over a certain distance and, therefore, does not cause an exact reflection of the wave