Toward a second generation fuel efficient supersonic cruise aircraft performance characteristics and benefits

The need for greatly improved fuel efficiency and off-design subsonic characteristics is discussed. Engine-airframe matching studies are presented which show the benefits of a configuration designed for much lower supersonic drag levels (blended wing-fuselage) and how well this airframe matches with the new advanced variable-cycle engines. The benefits of advanced takeoff procedures and systems together with the co-annular noise effect in achieving low noise levels with a small cruise-sized engine are discussed. It is concluded that the technology advances when carefully integrated through detailed engine-airframe matching studies on a validated baseline airplane lead to a much improved supersonic cruise aircraft, i.e., more range, less fuel consumption, noise flexibility and satisfactory off-design characteristics

Northern Plains Grain Farm Truck Marketing Patterns

A survey of farm operators in the Northern Plains Region was conducted to gather information about on-farm storage and truck markets. The objective of the study is to provide information about farm truck grain marketing patterns in the Northern Plains. There is no other source for this information. It should be complementary to other farm-to-market information and national commodity flow publications. Farmers may use the results for their own investment and productivity assessments. Local and regional planners and policy makers can use the information in calibrating travel demand and freight flow models for investment and asset management choices

Differential Effects Rail Deregulation in the U.S. Grain Industry

The efficiency benefits of U.S. rail industry deregulation are well documented in previous studies of rail productivity and declining rail rates. This research provides new insight regarding the accrual of these benefits within the grain industry. A disaggregate study of corn, wheat, and soybean rates across nine producing regions, shows that in recent years the railroads ability to differentiate markets based on competitive environment has shifted relatively more of the benefit to regions with the most competitive market environments. Regions with less competitive pressure will continue to be relatively more disadvantaged in the rates that are an important determinant in grain market flows and producer profitability if these trends continue.Marketing, Public Economics,

Transportation quality indices for economic analysis of non-metropolitan cities

It is generally agreed that transportation plays a role in economic development, but it often is assumed away in empirical work due to data voids or under implicit assumptions that it is largely an inert factor. This paper seeks to add to the quantitative material by offering estimates of the relative quality of surface freight transportation service resources available to non-metropolitan cities across the US. Indicators suggest that cities located in the Midwest have relatively higher freight transport service quality, and that a cluster of north-eastern states are at a disadvantage, considering the quality of freight service for non-metropolitan areas. Transportation quality indicators developed in this research offer a new opportunity to consider transportation in analysis of economic development policies and strategies

Topological Non--connectivity Threshold in long-range spin systems

We demonstrate the existence of a topological disconnection threshold, recently found in Ref. \cite{JSP}, for generic $1-d$ anisotropic Heisenberg models interacting with an inter--particle potential $R^{-\alpha}$ when $0<\alpha < 1$ (here $R$ is the distance among spins). We also show that if $\alpha$ is greater than the embedding dimension $d$ then the ratio between the disconnected energy region and the total energy region goes to zero when the number of spins becomes very large. On the other hand, numerical simulations in $d=2,3$ for the long-range case $\alpha < d$ support the conclusion that such a ratio remains finite for large $N$ values. The disconnection threshold can thus be thought as a distinctive property of anisotropic long-range interacting systems.Comment: submitted to PR

North Dakota Strategic Freight Analysis: Item III. Shuttle Train

The purpose of this component of the Strategic Freight Analysis was to provide a market-based synopsis of the potential impact of shuttle train shipments on North Dakota's local grain industry

Central Plains Grain Farm Truck Fleet & Marketing Patterns

19-TMTSD-ND-005A survey of farm operators in the Central Plains Region, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska, was conducted to gather information about transportation of crops, the inventory and characteristics of farmer-owned truck fleets, and on-farm storage capacity. The objective of the study is to provide information about the farm truck inventory and marketing patterns in the Central Plains. There is no other source for this information, and it should be unique and complementary to other farm-to-market information and national commodity flow publications. Farmers may use the results for their own investment and productivity assessments. Local and regional planners and policy makers can use the information to calibrate travel demand and freight flow models for investment and asset management choices and to estimate pavement impacts. Survey results indicate that the 5-axle semi is the most common truck configuration within the study area and that single-axle and tandem-axle truck ownership will decline in the future in favor of 5-axle and 7-axle configurations. On-farm storage is concentrated on larger farms in terms of average capacity, but the storage per bushel harvested is inversely related to farm size. The average distance to the first-choice delivery point was 14.92 miles

North Dakota Strategic Freight Analysis Agricultural Sector: Summary Report

In an attempt to provide some of the information that will enable North Dakota firms and policymakers to make better decisions, this project addressed four transportation issues, which are critical to the future of the state's agricultural sector: (1) the impact of 110-car shuttle trains on the marketing of grains, (2) the impact of heavier cars on light-density rail lines, (3) the changing trend in the use of truck/rail container intermodal transportation for marketing North Dakota products; and (4) the role played by logistics factors in determining the optimal location of value-added facilities

Synthesis and Characterization of Privileged Monodentate Phosphoramidite Ligands and Chiral Brønsted Acids Derived from d-Mannitol

The synthesis of several novel chiral phosphoramidite ligands (L1–L8) with C2 symmetric, pseudo C2 symmetric secondary amines and chiral Brønsted acids 1a,b has been achieved. These chiral auxiliaries were obtained from commercially available d-mannitol, and secondary amines in moderate to excellent yields. Excellent diastereoselectivites of ten chiral auxiliaries were obtained. The chiral phosphoramidite ligands and chiral Brønsted acids were fully characterized by spectroscopic methods