Preventing suicide with a new risk assessment tool

This article was originally published as 'Testing time for risk tool' in Occupational Health magazine, August 2013, pp. 20-22. Copyright @ 2013 Reed Business Information Ltd.Sussex Community NHS Trust has been trialling a suicide risk assessment tool. Andrea Richardson and Nessie Shia describe the system and look at the findings

Effective Carrier Mean-Free Path in Confined Geometries

The concept of exchange length is used to determine the effects of boundary scattering on transport in samples of circular and rectangular cross section. Analytical expressions are presented for an effective mean-free path for transport in the axial direction. The relationship to the phonon thermal conductivity is discussed. (This letter outlines the results presented in detail in the longer version, available as cond-mat/9402081)Comment: 12 pages, Late

The effect of friction in the hold down post spherical bearings on hold down post loads

The effect of friction at the connection of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) aft skirt and the mobile launch platform (MLP) hold down posts was analyzed. A simplified model of the shuttle response during the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) buildup was constructed. The model included the effect of stick-slip friction for the rotation of the skirt about the spherical bearing. Current finite element models assume the joint is completely frictionless in rotation and therefore no moment is transferred between the skirt and the hold down posts. The model was partially verified against test data and preliminary parameter studies were performed. The parameter studies indicated that the coefficient of friction strongly influenced the moment on the hold down posts. The coefficient of friction had little effect on hold down post vertical loads, however. Further calibration of the model is necessary before the effect of friction on the hold down post horizontal loads can be analyzed

The equivalence of three techniques for estimating ground reflectance from LANDSAT digital count data

The equivalence of three separate investigations that related LANDSAT digital count (DC) to ground measured reflectance (R) was demonstrated. One investigator related DC data to the cosZ, where Z is the solar zenith angle, for surfaces of constant R. The second investigator corrected the DC data to the solar zenith angle of 39 degrees before relating to surface R. Both of these investigators used LANDSAT 1 and 2 data from overpass dates 1972 through 1977. A third investigator calculated the relation between DC and R based on atmospheric radiative transfer theory. The equation coefficients obtained from these three investigators for all four LANDSAT MSS bands were shown to be equivalent although differences in ground reflectance measurement procedures have created coefficient variations among the three investigations. These relations should be useful for testing atmospheric radiative transfer theory

Using probabilistic analysis to assess the reliability of predicted SRB aft-skirt stresses

Probabilistic failure analysis is a tool to predict the reliability of a part or system. Probabalistic techniques were used to predict critical stresses which occur in the solid rocket booster aft-skirt during main engine buildup, immediately prior to lift-off. More than any other hold down post (HDP) load component, the Z loads are sensitive to variations in strains and calibration constants. Also, predicted aft-skirt stresses are strongly affected by HDP load variations. Therefore, the instrumented HDP are not effective load transducers for Z loads, and, when used with aft skirt stress indicator equations, yield estimates with large uncertainty. Monte Carlo simulation proved to be a straight forward way of studying the overlapping effects of multiple parameters on predicted equipment performance. An advantage of probabilistic analysis is the degree of uncertainty of each parameter as stated explicitly by its probability distribution. It was noted, however, that the choice of parameter distribution had a large effect on the simulation results. Many times these distributions must be assumed. The engineer who is designing the part should be responsible for the choice of parameter distribution

Sensorless Battery Internal Temperature Estimation using a Kalman Filter with Impedance Measurement

This study presents a method of estimating battery cell core and surface temperature using a thermal model coupled with electrical impedance measurement, rather than using direct surface temperature measurements. This is advantageous over previous methods of estimating temperature from impedance, which only estimate the average internal temperature. The performance of the method is demonstrated experimentally on a 2.3 Ah lithium-ion iron phosphate cell fitted with surface and core thermocouples for validation. An extended Kalman filter, consisting of a reduced order thermal model coupled with current, voltage and impedance measurements, is shown to accurately predict core and surface temperatures for a current excitation profile based on a vehicle drive cycle. A dual extended Kalman filter (DEKF) based on the same thermal model and impedance measurement input is capable of estimating the convection coefficient at the cell surface when the latter is unknown. The performance of the DEKF using impedance as the measurement input is comparable to an equivalent dual Kalman filter using a conventional surface temperature sensor as measurement input.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Sustainable Energy, 201

Comparative thermal performance test for GGBS and OPC concrete mixes

The research investigates the effect of heating two concrete types and profiles to evaluate the most effective material during diurnal heating and cooling cycles. Plain and finned concrete slabs were manufactured from concrete with a 100% - PC binder (CEM 1) and a binder using 50% - PC and 50% GGBS (CEM 111). The slabs were subject to mainly radiative heat for a 7.5 hour daytime period and left to cool for 16.5 hours. Comparative readings were taken to measure the temperature difference between the two types of concrete during heating and cooling. The findings showed concrete manufactured with GGBS had a lower heat build up and release when compared to concrete manufactured with 100% CEM 1 binder. The research was limited to one comparative test at a single concrete strength with a single water cement ratio, and 50% GGBS cement replacement. Various GGBS cement replacement percentages could be tried to evaluate heat build up and release. Further research on U and Y values are also worthy of further investigation. Thermal mass could be improved thus reducing the need to use energy intensive air conditioning systems