Automated testing data reduction computer program

The capability of a computer program which can be part of a larger computer program for a fully automated multiaxial testing facility is described. The program was designed to process test data from tubular or flat specimens made from isotropic or anistropic materials, including high modulus fiber composites. Data from a large number of strain gages and combinations of applied loads can be used. Options are provided for single element, 90-degree, rectangular or Delta rosettes, or any combinations of these types of strain gages. Options are provided for strain gage transverse sensitivities. The program outputs include: structural axes strains and stresses, initial and strain-dependent elastic constants, shift of principal strain direction with load, and local curvatures from back-to-back strain gages, and either Calcomp or microfilm plots. The computer program is described with respect to its flow chart, input/output, embedding or linking with other programs

Small crater populations on Vesta

The NASA Dawn mission has extensively examined the surface of asteroid Vesta, the second most massive body in the main belt. The high quality of the gathered data provides us with an unique opportunity to determine the surface and internal properties of one of the most important and intriguing main belt asteroids (MBAs). In this paper, we focus on the size frequency distributions (SFDs) of sub-kilometer impact craters observed at high spatial resolution on several selected young terrains on Vesta. These small crater populations offer an excellent opportunity to determine the nature of their asteroidal precursors (namely MBAs) at sizes that are not directly observable from ground-based telescopes (i.e., below ~100 m diameter). Moreover, unlike many other MBA surfaces observed by spacecraft thus far, the young terrains examined had crater spatial densities that were far from empirical saturation. Overall, we find that the cumulative power-law index (slope) of small crater SFDs on Vesta is fairly consistent with predictions derived from current collisional and dynamical models down to a projectile size of ~10 m diameter (Bottke et al., 2005a,b). The shape of the impactor SFD for small projectile sizes does not appear to have changed over the last several billions of years, and an argument can be made that the absolute number of small MBAs has remained roughly constant (within a factor of 2) over the same time period. The apparent steady state nature of the main belt population potentially provides us with a set of intriguing constraints that can be used to glean insights into the physical evolution of individual MBAs as well as the main belt as an ensemble.Comment: Accepted by PSS, to appear on Vesta cratering special issu

Atmospheric Fragmentation of the Gold Basin Meteoroid as Constrained from Cosmogenic Nuclides

Since the discovery of the Gold Basin L4 chondrite shower almost ten years ago in the northwestern corner of Arizona, many thousands of L-chondrite specimens have been recovered from an area of approx.22 km long and approx.10 km wide. Concentrations of cosmogenic 14C and 10Be in a number of these samples indicated a terrestrial age of approx.15,000 years and a large pre-atmospheric size [1]. Additional measurements of cosmogenic Be-10, Al-26, Cl-36, and Ca-41 in the metal and stone fractions of fifteen Gold Basin samples constrained the pre-atmospheric radius to 3-5 m [2]. This implies that Gold Basin is by far the largest stone meteorite in the present meteorite collection, providing us with an opportunity to study the fragmentation process of a large chondritic object during atmospheric entry. Knowledge about the fragmentation process provides information about the mechanical strength of large meteoroids, which is important for the evaluation of future hazards of small asteroid impacts on Earth and possible defensive scenarios to avoid those impacts

Ar-Ar Analysis of Chelyabinsk: Evidence for a Recent Impact

The Chelyabinsk meteorite is an LL5 ordinary chondrite that fell as a spectacular fireball on February 15th, 2013, over the Ural region in Russia. The meteoroid exploded at an altitude of 25-30 km, producing shockwaves that broke windowpanes in Chelyabinsk and surrounding areas, injuring some 1500 people. Analyses of the samples show that the meteorite underwent moderate shock metamorphism (stage S4; 25-35 GPa) [1]. Most of the samples have a fusion crust ranging from ~0.1-1mm thick, and roughly a third of the samples were composed of a dark fine-grained impact melt with chondrule fragments which were targeted for chronometry. A Pb-Pb age obtained by [2] of a shock-darkened and potentially melted sample of Chelyabinsk is reported as 4538.3 +/- 2.1 Ma, while a U-Pb study [3] gave an upper concordia intercept of 4454 +/- 67 Ma and a lower intercept of 585 +/- 390. Galimov et al. 2013 [1] suggest the Sm-Nd system records a recent impact event [~290 Ma] that may represent separation from the parent body, while the Rb-Sr isotopic system is disturbed and does not give any definitive isochron. In order to better understand its history, we have performed 40Ar-39Ar analysis on multiple splits of two Chelyabinsk samples; clast- rich MB020f,2 and melt-rich MB020f,5. The term "clast-rich" lithology is meant to indicate a mechanical mixture of highly shock-darkened and less shocked components, both with some shock melt veining

Uranium-lead Isotope Evidence in the Shelyabinsk LL5 Chondrite Meteorite for Ancient and Recent Thermal Events

The impact histories on chondrite parent bodies can be deduced from thermochronologic analyses of materials and isotope systems with distinct apparent closure temperatures. It is especially critical to better understand the geological histories and physical properties of potenally hazardous near-Earth asteroids. Chelyabinsk is an LL5 chondrite meteorite that was dispersed over a wide area tens of kilometers south of the town of Chelyabinsk, Russia by an explosion at an altitude of 27 km at 3:22 UT on 15 Feb 2013 [1,2]. The explosion resulted in significant damage to surrounding areas and over 1500 injuries along with meteorite fragments being spread over a wide area [1]

Potential of Probing the Lunar Regolith using Rover-Mounted Ground Penetrating Radar: Moses Lake Dune Field Analog Study

Probing radars have been widely recognized by the science community to be an efficient tool to explore lunar subsurface providing a unique capability to address several scientific and operational issues. A wideband (200 to 1200 MHz) Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) mounted on a surface rover can provide high vertical resolution and probing depth from few tens of centimeters to few tens of meters depending on the sounding frequency and the ground conductivity. This in term can provide a better understand regolith thickness, elemental iron concentration (including ilmenite), volatile presence, structural anomalies and fracturing. All those objectives are of important significance for understanding the local geology and potential sustainable resources for future landing sites in particular exploring the thickness, structural heterogeneity and potential volatiles presence in the lunar regolith. While the operation and data collection of GPR is a straightforward case for most terrestrial surveys, it is a challenging task for remote planetary study especially on robotic platforms due to the complexity of remote operation in rough terrains and the data collection constrains imposed by the mechanical motion of the rover and limitation in data transfer. Nevertheless, Rover mounted GPR can be of great support to perform systematic subsurface surveys for a given landing site as it can provide scientific and operational support in exploring subsurface resources and sample collections which can increase the efficiency of the EVA activities for potential human crews as part of the NASA Constellation Program. In this study we attempt to explore the operational challenges and their impact on the EVA scientific return for operating a rover mounted GPR in support of potential human activity on the moon. In this first field study, we mainly focused on the ability of GPR to support subsurface sample collection and explore shallow subsurface volatiles

Gene Flow in the Exotic Colonizing LadybeetleHarmonia axyridisin North America

Gene flow was studied inHarmonia axyridis(Pallas) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), an exotic, arboreal ladybeetle predator that recently spread rapidly throughout North America. A survey of isozyme polymorphisms showed 30 of 52 resolved putative loci were polymorphic (58%), and the mean heterozygosity was 16.75 ± 2.98% among all loci and 26.31 ± 4.37% at only the polymorphic loci. The mean number of alleles at the 52 loci was 2.01 ± 1.97. Gene frequencies were estimated in populations from Georgia, Virginia, Delaware, Rhode Island, Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Oregon and differed significantly (P \u3c 0.02) at 11 of 16 loci. Three of 16 loci (Fbp, Est-1, Tre) were not in Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium in all populations and are not included in theFstatistics. Random mating was indicated within populations (FIS = −0.005 ± 0.014) but not among populations (FST = 0.025 ± 0.005). According to Wright\u27s island model,FSTestimates the average number of reproducing immigrants to be equivalent to ca. 10 beetles per population per generation. Thus there was a measure of genetic differentiation caused by drift, but this differentiation was small with respect to the large geographical distances among the sampled populations. The genetic data suggest that the founding North American population(s) was substant

Design of a multisystem remote maintenance control room

The Remote Systems Development Section of the Consolidated Fuel Reprocessing Program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Japan's Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) recently collaborated in the development of a control room concept for remote operations. This report describes design methods and the resulting control room concept. The design project included five stages. The first was compilation of a complete function list; functions are tasks performed by operators in the control room while operating equipment located in the remote area. The second step was organization of the function list into ''function groups;'' function groups are sets of functions that operate one piece of equipment. The third stage was determination of crew size and requirements for supervision. The fourth stage was development of conceptual designs of displays and controls. The fifth stage was development of plans for placement of crew stations within the control room. 5 figs., 1 tab

Visual ecology of aphids – a critical review on the role of colours in host finding

We review the rich literature on behavioural responses of aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to stimuli of different colours. Only in one species there are adequate physiological data on spectral sensitivity to explain behaviour crisply in mechanistic terms. Because of the great interest in aphid responses to coloured targets from an evolutionary, ecological and applied perspective, there is a substantial need to expand these studies to more species of aphids, and to quantify spectral properties of stimuli rigorously. We show that aphid responses to colours, at least for some species, are likely based on a specific colour opponency mechanism, with positive input from the green domain of the spectrum and negative input from the blue and/or UV region. We further demonstrate that the usual yellow preference of aphids encountered in field experiments is not a true colour preference but involves additional brightness effects. We discuss the implications for agriculture and sensory ecology, with special respect to the recent debate on autumn leaf colouration. We illustrate that recent evolutionary theories concerning aphid–tree interactions imply far-reaching assumptions on aphid responses to colours that are not likely to hold. Finally we also discuss the implications for developing and optimising strategies of aphid control and monitoring