515 research outputs found
The behavior of statically-indeterminate structural members and frames with cracks present
Arts et Métiers ParisTech, invitation en tant que professeur invité de Paul C. Paris au LAMEFIPCrack stability is discussed as affected by their presence in statically-indeterminate beams, frames, rings, etc. loaded into the plastic range. The stability of a crack in a section, which has become plastic, is analyzed with the remainder of the structure elastic and with subsequent additional plastic hinges occurring. The reduction of energy absorption characteristics for large deformations is also discussed. The methods of elastic–plastic tearing instability are incorporated to show that in many cases the fully plastic collapse mechanism must occur for complete failure.The authors acknowledge Arts et Metiers Paris Tech and Foundation Arts et Metiers for the financial support of the Prof. P.C. Paris’ stay at LAMEFIP in 2008 and 2009. The encouragement of Prof. Ivan Iordanoff, Director of LAMEFIP, is also acknowledged with thanks
Diagnosis of Scrub Typhus
Scrub typhus is transmitted by trombiculid mites and is endemic to East and Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The clinical syndrome classically consists of a fever, rash, and eschar, but scrub typhus also commonly presents as an undifferentiated fever that requires laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis, usually by indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assay. We discuss the limitations of IFA, debate the value of other methods based on antigen detection and nucleic acid amplification, and outline recommendations for future study
Fatigue crack initiation detection by an infrared thermography method
In this paper, the study of the temperature variation during fatigue tests was carried out on different materials (steels and aluminium alloys). Tests were performed at ambient temperature using a piezoelectric fatigue system (20 kHz). The temperature field was measured on the surface of the specimen, by means of an infrared camera. Just at the beginning of the test, it was observed that the temperature increased, followed by a stabilization which corresponds to the balance between dissipated energy associated with microplasticity and the energy lost by convection and radiation at the specimen surface and by conduction inside the specimen. At the crack initiation, the surface temperature suddenly increases (whatever the localization of the initiation), which allows the determination of the number of cycles at the crack initiation and the number of cycles devoted to the fatigue crack propagation. In the gigacycle fatigue domain, more than 92% of the total life is devoted to the initiation of the crack. So, the study of the thermal dissipation during the test appears a promising method to improve the understanding of the damage and failure mechanism in fatigue and to determine the number of cycles at initiation
The Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey: Understanding the Optically Variable Sky with SEQUELS in SDSS-III
The Time-Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS) is an SDSS-IV eBOSS subproject
primarily aimed at obtaining identification spectra of ~220,000
optically-variable objects systematically selected from SDSS/Pan-STARRS1
multi-epoch imaging. We present a preview of the science enabled by TDSS, based
on TDSS spectra taken over ~320 deg^2 of sky as part of the SEQUELS survey in
SDSS-III, which is in part a pilot survey for eBOSS in SDSS-IV. Using the
15,746 TDSS-selected single-epoch spectra of photometrically variable objects
in SEQUELS, we determine the demographics of our variability-selected sample,
and investigate the unique spectral characteristics inherent in samples
selected by variability. We show that variability-based selection of quasars
complements color-based selection by selecting additional redder quasars, and
mitigates redshift biases to produce a smooth quasar redshift distribution over
a wide range of redshifts. The resulting quasar sample contains systematically
higher fractions of blazars and broad absorption line quasars than from
color-selected samples. Similarly, we show that M-dwarfs in the TDSS-selected
stellar sample have systematically higher chromospheric active fractions than
the underlying M-dwarf population, based on their H-alpha emission. TDSS also
contains a large number of RR Lyrae and eclipsing binary stars with
main-sequence colors, including a few composite-spectrum binaries. Finally, our
visual inspection of TDSS spectra uncovers a significant number of peculiar
spectra, and we highlight a few cases of these interesting objects. With a
factor of ~15 more spectra, the main TDSS survey in SDSS-IV will leverage the
lessons learned from these early results for a variety of time-domain science
applications.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Ap
Least-squares inversion for density-matrix reconstruction
We propose a method for reconstruction of the density matrix from measurable
time-dependent (probability) distributions of physical quantities. The
applicability of the method based on least-squares inversion is - compared with
other methods - very universal. It can be used to reconstruct quantum states of
various systems, such as harmonic and and anharmonic oscillators including
molecular vibrations in vibronic transitions and damped motion. It also enables
one to take into account various specific features of experiments, such as
limited sets of data and data smearing owing to limited resolution. To
illustrate the method, we consider a Morse oscillator and give a comparison
with other state-reconstruction methods suggested recently.Comment: 16 pages, REVTeX, 6 PS figures include
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The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: Baryon Acoustic Oscillations in the Data Release 9 Spectroscopic Galaxy Sample
We present measurements of galaxy clustering from the Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS), which is part of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III
(SDSS-III). These use the Data Release 9 (DR9) CMASS sample, which contains
264,283 massive galaxies covering 3275 square degrees with an effective
redshift z=0.57 and redshift range 0.43 < z < 0.7. Assuming a concordance
Lambda-CDM cosmological model, this sample covers an effective volume of 2.2
Gpc^3, and represents the largest sample of the Universe ever surveyed at this
density, n = 3 x 10^-4 h^-3 Mpc^3. We measure the angle-averaged galaxy
correlation function and power spectrum, including density-field reconstruction
of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature. The acoustic features are
detected at a significance of 5\sigma in both the correlation function and
power spectrum. Combining with the SDSS-II Luminous Red Galaxy Sample, the
detection significance increases to 6.7\sigma. Fitting for the position of the
acoustic features measures the distance to z=0.57 relative to the sound horizon
DV /rs = 13.67 +/- 0.22 at z=0.57. Assuming a fiducial sound horizon of 153.19
Mpc, which matches cosmic microwave background constraints, this corresponds to
a distance DV(z=0.57) = 2094 +/- 34 Mpc. At 1.7 per cent, this is the most
precise distance constraint ever obtained from a galaxy survey. We place this
result alongside previous BAO measurements in a cosmological distance ladder
and find excellent agreement with the current supernova measurements. We use
these distance measurements to constrain various cosmological models, finding
continuing support for a flat Universe with a cosmological constant.Comment: 33 page
Origin of the Spin-Orbital Liquid State in a Nearly J=0 Iridate Ba3ZnIr2O9
We show using detailed magnetic and thermodynamic studies and theoretical calculations that the ground state of Ba3ZnIr2O9 is a realization of a novel spin-orbital liquid state. Our results reveal that Ba3ZnIr2O9 with Ir5+ (5d(4)) ions and strong spin-orbit coupling (SOC) arrives very close to the elusive J = 0 state but each Ir ion still possesses a weak moment. Ab initio density functional calculations indicate that this moment is developed due to superexchange, mediated by a strong intradimer hopping mechanism. While the Ir spins within the structural Ir2O9 dimer are expected to form a spin-orbit singlet state (SOS) with no resultant moment, substantial frustration arising from interdimer exchange interactions induce quantum fluctuations in these possible SOS states favoring a spin-orbital liquid phase down to at least 100 mK
Patterns of Spiny Lobster (Panulirus argus) Postlarval Recruitment in the Carribbean: A CRTR Project
As part of the Coral Reef Targeted Research (CRTR) Program, a partnership between the Global Environment Facility and the World Bank, our research team examined the recruitment patterns of Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) postlarvae among regions in the Caribbean, with a particular focus on Mesoamerica. Our goal was to collect comparable information on postlarval supply among regions and to provide data to test predictions of connectivity generated from a coupled biophysical oceanographic model of lobster larval dispersal. Here we present the results of the postlarval recruitment monitoring program. We monitored the catch of postlarvae on Witham-style collectors at sites in the Caribbean from March 2006 to May 2009, although the duration and frequency of sampling varied among locations. Recruitment varied considerably among months and locations. It peaked in the Western Caribbean in the fall (Oct - Dec), whereas in Florida, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela peaks were in spring (Feb - April) with a smaller peak in the fall. Sites generally fell into two groups with respect to monthly variability in recruitment: low variability sites (e.g., Honduras, southern Mexico, Venezuela) and high variability sites (e.g., Florida, San Andres Islands, Puerto Rico, northern Mexico). Recruitment magnitude varied locally, but generally increased (lowest to highest) from Puerto Rico, San Andres Islands, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela, to Florida. Recruitment trends mirrored fishery catch in some locations, implying a recruit-to-stock linkage. Recruitment was significantly correlated among several sites, suggesting similarity in their larval sources and oceanographic regimes
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