4,660 research outputs found
Preparatory studies of zero-g cloud drop coalescence experiment
Experiments to be performed in a weightless environment in order to study collision and coalescence processes of cloud droplets are described. Rain formation in warm clouds, formation of larger cloud drops, ice and water collision processes, and precipitation in supercooled clouds are among the topics covered
Evaluation of data obtained from atmospheric laser Doppler velocimeter
The Doppler lidar velocimeter produces a variety of kinds of data. Besides the line of sight velocity components, there are the reflected amplitudes and the Doppler widths. Computer graphics software for displaying these data was produced. Different methods of presentation are needed for the various items. A picture was produced as pictures are often the best way to gain understanding. The individual lidar scans form a crosshatch pattern. Thus one-dimensional measurements fit together to form a two-dimensional whole. A pair of velocity measurements at a point combine to form a wind measurement with direction and magnitude. This gives a forest of wind vectors. The goal is to find a recognizable pattern to these trees. Often it is necessary to show only part of the information. That is, show only the wind direction not its magnitude or reduce the wind to streamlines of air flow. In other cases data are reduced to contour plots. Just enough contour lines are included to show the picture described
Thermodynamic analysis of turbulent combustion in a spark ignition engine. Experimental evidence
A method independent of physical modeling assumptions is presented to analyze high speed flame photography and cylinder pressure measurements from a transparent piston spark ignition research engine. The method involves defining characteristic quantities of the phenomena of flame propagation and combustion, and estimating their values from the experimental information. Using only the pressure information, the mass fraction curves are examined. An empirical burning law is presented which simulates such curves. Statistical data for the characteristics delay and burning angles which show that cycle to cycle fractional variations are of the same order of magnitude for both angles are discussed. The enflamed and burnt mass fractions are compared as are the rates of entrainment and burning
The Interactive Effects of Water Salinity and Management on Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in Alfalfa
A greenhouse study was conducted to assess the interactive effects of three irrigation water salinity levels (1.0, 3.0, and 9.0 mmho/cm) and three quantities of water app lied per irrigation (120, 240, 360 ml) on plant growth and nitrogen fixation by alfalfa (Medicago sativa L. cv. Resistador). Harvest dates corresponded to 10, 30, and 50 days after the initiation of salt and water treatments which were started after nodulation had been established in young plants.
Alfalfa top growth was limited by both salt and water stresses. Irrigation water salinity had a greater effect on top growth than root growth while root distribution was unaffected by either the quantity of water applied or by water salinity. The effects of salinity on plant growth were reduced in the presence of limiting moisture. The specific nodule activity (mmol c2H4/hr/g) of water stressed alfalfa plants was enhanced by increasing the quantity of water applied at each irrigation and was adversely effected by increased irrigation water salinity. In contrast, both nodulation and nodule growth were insensitive to salt stress and sensitive only to severe moisture stress. Alfalfa plants continued to exhibit acetylene reducing capacity at the third harvest even under severe moisture and salt stress. The species apparently continues to fix nitrogen even though environmental stress is quite substantial
Quantitative imaging of the 3-D distribution of cation adsorption sites in undisturbed soil
Several studies have shown that the distribution of cation
adsorption sites (CASs) is patchy at a millimetre to centimetre scale. Often,
larger concentrations of CASs in biopores or aggregate coatings have been
reported in the literature. This heterogeneity has implications on the
accessibility of CASs and may influence the performance of soil system models
that assume a spatially homogeneous distribution of CASs. In this study, we
present a new method to quantify the abundance and 3-D distribution of CASs in
undisturbed soil that allows for investigating CAS densities with distance to
the soil macropores. We used X-ray imaging with Ba<sup>2+</sup> as a contrast
agent. Ba<sup>2+</sup> has a high adsorption affinity to CASs and is widely used as
an index cation to measure the cation exchange capacity (CEC). Eight soil
cores (approx. 10 cm<sup>3</sup>) were sampled from three locations with
contrasting texture and organic matter contents. The CASs of our samples were
saturated with Ba<sup>2+</sup> in the laboratory using BaCl<sub>2</sub> (0.3 mol L<sup>−1</sup>). Afterwards, KCl (0.1 mol L<sup>−1</sup>) was used to rinse out Ba<sup>2+</sup>
ions that were not bound to CASs. Before and after this process the samples
were scanned using an industrial X-ray scanner. Ba<sup>2+</sup> bound to CASs was
then visualized in 3-D by the difference image technique. The resulting
difference images were interpreted as depicting the Ba<sup>2+</sup> bound to CASs
only. The X-ray image-derived CEC correlated significantly with results of
the commonly used ammonium acetate method to determine CEC in well-mixed
samples. The CEC of organic-matter-rich samples seemed to be systematically
overestimated and in the case of the clay-rich samples with less organic
matter the CEC seemed to be systematically underestimated. The results showed
that the distribution of the CASs varied spatially within most of our samples
down to a millimetre scale. There was no systematic relation between the
location of CASs and the soil macropore structure. We are convinced that the approach proposed here will strongly aid the development of more realistic
soil system models
Combustion and operating characteristics of spark-ignition engines
The spark-ignition engine turbulent flame propagation process was investigated. Then, using a spark-ignition engine cycle simulation and combustion model, the impact of turbocharging and heat transfer variations or engine power, efficiency, and NO sub x emissions was examined
The Transition State in a Noisy Environment
Transition State Theory overestimates reaction rates in solution because
conventional dividing surfaces between reagents and products are crossed many
times by the same reactive trajectory. We describe a recipe for constructing a
time-dependent dividing surface free of such recrossings in the presence of
noise. The no-recrossing limit of Transition State Theory thus becomes
generally available for the description of reactions in a fluctuating
environment
Cloning and controlled overexpression of the gene encoding the 35 kDa soluble lytic transglycosylase from Escherichia coli
AbstractThe lytic transglycosylases of Escherichia coli are involved in peptidoglycan metabolism and resemble the lysozymes not only in activity, but in the case of the 70 kDa soluble lytic transglycosylase (Slt70), also structurally. Here we report the cloning of the gene that encodes the 35 kDa soluble lytic transglycosylase (Slt35) of E. coli. Based on the sequence of the full-length gene, Slt35 is very likely to be a proteolytically truncated form of a slightly large protein. The homology between Slt35 and Slt70, albelt poor, indicates that the active site architecture of both proteins may be alike. Using the T-7 promoter system, Slt35 was overproduced in large quantities and purified to homogeneity for crystallographic purposes
A Suzaku, NuSTAR, and XMM-Newton view on variable absorption and relativistic reflection in NGC 4151
We disentangle X-ray disk reflection from complex line-of-sight absorption in
the nearby Seyfert NGC 4151, using a suite of Suzaku, NuSTAR, and XMM-Newton
observations. Extending upon earlier published work, we pursue a physically
motivated model using the latest angle-resolved version of the lamp-post
geometry reflection model relxillCp_lp together with a Comptonization
continuum. We use the long-look simultaneous Suzaku/NuSTAR observation to
develop a baseline model wherein we model reflected emission as a combination
of lamp-post components at the heights of 1.2 and 15.0 gravitational radii. We
argue for a vertically extended corona as opposed to two compact and distinct
primary sources. We find two neutral absorbers (one full-covering and one
partial-covering), an ionized absorber (), and a highly-ionized
ultra-fast outflow, which have all been reported previously. All analyzed
spectra are well described by this baseline model. The bulk of the spectral
variability between 1 keV and 6 keV can be accounted for by changes in the
column density of both neutral absorbers, which appear to be degenerate and
inversely correlated with the variable hard continuum component flux. We track
variability in absorption on both short (2 d) and long (1 yr) timescales;
the observed evolution is either consistent with changes in the absorber
structure (clumpy absorber at distances ranging from the broad line region
(BLR) to the inner torus or a dusty radiatively driven wind) or a geometrically
stable neutral absorber that becomes increasingly ionized at a rising flux
level. The soft X-rays below 1 keV are dominated by photoionized emission from
extended gas that may act as a warm mirror for the nuclear radiation.Comment: 21 pages, 19 figures, 8 tables, accepted for publication by A&
Turbulent flame propagation and combustion in spark ignition engines
Pressure measurements synchronized with high-speed motion picture records of flame propagation have been made in a transparent piston engine. The data show that the initial expansion speed of the flame front is close to that of a laminar flame. As the flame expands, its speed rapidly accelerates to a quasi-steady value comparable with that of the turbulent velocity fluctuations in the unburned gas. During the quasi-steady propagation phase, a significant fraction of the gas behind the visible front is unburned. Final burnout of the charge may be approximated by an exponential decay in time. The data have been analyzed in a model independent way to obtain a set of empirical equations for calculating mass burning rates in spark ignition engines. The burning equations contain three parameters: the laminar burning speed s l, a characteristic speed u T, and a characteristic length l T. The laminar burning speed is known from laboratory measurements. Tentative correlations relating u T and l T to engine geometry and operating variables have been derived from the engine data. © 1983
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