Isospin effects on the energy of vanishing flow in heavy-ion collisions

Using the isospin-dependent quantum molecular dynamics model we study the isospin effects on the disappearance of flow for the reactions of $^{58}Ni$ + $^{58}Ni$ and $^{58}Fe$ +$^{58}Fe$ as a function of impact parameter. We found good agreement between our calculations and experimentally measured energy of vanishing flow at all colliding geometries. Our calculations reproduce the experimental data within 5%(10%) at central (peripheral) geometries

Subsidence Movements and Structural Damage Related to an Abandoned Coal Mine

An area in southwestern Illinois has been experiencing surface and subsurface movements with associated damage to surface structures. The area is underlain by an abandoned, partially extracted room-and-pillar underground coal mine. Instrumentation included TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry), Inclinometers, Sondex, Tiltplates, and precision land surveys. This paper presents the results of a 16-month cooperative study between the Department of Mining Engineering at SIUC and a local coal company

Design and control of model based steering feel reference in an electric power assisted steering system

Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) system is a current state of the art technology for providing the steering torque support. The interaction of the steering system with the driver is principally governed by the EPAS control method. This paper proposes a control concept for designing the steering feel with a model based approach. The reference steering feel is defined in virtual dynamics for tracking. The layout of the reference model and the control architecture is discussed at first and then the decoupling of EPAS motor dynamics using a feedback control is shown. An example of how a change in steering feel reference (as desired by the driver) creates a change in steering feedback is further exhibited. The ultimate goal is to provide the driver with a tunable steering feel. For this, the verification is performed in simulation environment

Chordoma: The Nonsarcoma Primary Bone Tumor

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/139965/1/onco1344.pd

Characterizing RNA Dynamics at Atomic Resolution Using Solution-state NMR Spectroscopy

Many recently discovered non-coding RNAs do not fold into a single native conformation, but rather, sample many different conformations along their free energy landscape to carry out their biological function. Unprecedented insights into the RNA dynamic structure landscape are provided by solution-state NMR techniques that measure the structural, kinetic, and thermodynamic characteristics of motions spanning picosecond to second timescales at atomic resolution. From these studies a basic description of the RNA dynamic structure landscape is emerging, bringing new insights into how RNA structures change to carry out their function as well as applications in RNA-targeted drug discovery and RNA bioengineering

Optimal management of mixed hydraulic barriers in coastal aquifers using multi-objective Bayesian optimization

This is the final version. Available on open access from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordMixed hydraulic barriers is an effective method to control seawater intrusion (SWI), particularly in regions that suffer from water shortages. However, determining the optimal well locations and rates for injection and abstraction is challenging due to the computational burden resulting from the huge number of calls for the high-fidelity hydrogeological simulation model. To alleviate this issue, we utilized a constrained multi-objective Bayesian optimization (BO) approach to optimize rates and locations of the hydraulic barriers to minimize total cost, aquifer salinity, and salt-wedge intrusion length, while satisfying regional abstractions with acceptable salinity levels. BO is useful for optimizing computationally expensive problems in few iterations by using a surrogate model and an acquisition function. Despite being an efficient optimization tool, the use of BO in the field of coastal aquifer management has not been explored. The proposed framework was evaluated on an unconfined aquifer subjected to three management scenarios considering different physical and technical constraints and was benchmarked against the widely used robust NSGA-II (Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II) method. The results proved the effectiveness of BO in achieving an optimum mixed hydraulic barriers design in much fewer runs of the variable density aquifer model. BO with 350 evaluations yielded comparable results to 4150 evaluations using NSGA-II. BO solutions were spatially well-distributed along the approximated Pareto front. For the same number of evaluations, the hypervolume obtained by BO was larger by 30%. Based on different scenarios, the average amount of water required for abstraction ranged from 1.5% to 25% of that for injection. The injection has a significant impact on SWI management, but the abstracted water provides an alternative source of water. A sensitivity analysis was conducted on the optimization problem to illustrate its efficiency by omitting the barriers one at a time and assessing impacts on objective and constraint functions.Ministry of Higher Education of the Arab Republic of Egyp

Fingerprints Indicating Superior Properties of Internal Interfaces in Cu(In,Ga)Se2 Thin-Film Solar Cells

Growth of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) absorbers under Cu-poor conditions gives rise to incorporation of numerous defects into the bulk, whereas the same absorber grown under Cu-rich conditions leads to a stoichiometric bulk with minimum defects. This suggests that CIGS absorbers grown under Cu-rich conditions are more suitable for solar cell applications. However, the CIGS solar cell devices with record efficiencies have all been fabricated under Cu-poor conditions, despite the expectations. Therefore, in the present work, both Cu-poor and Cu-rich CIGS cells are investigated, and the superior properties of the internal interfaces of the Cu-poor CIGS cells, such as the p-n junction and grain boundaries, which always makes them the record-efficiency devices, are shown. More precisely, by employing a correlative microscopy approach, the typical fingerprints for superior properties of internal interfaces necessary for maintaining a lower recombination activity in the cell is discovered. These are a Cu-depleted and Cd-enriched CIGS absorber surface, near the p-n junction, as well as a negative Cu factor (∆β) and high Na content (>1.5 at%) at the grain boundaries. Thus, this work provides key factors governing the device performance (efficiency), which can be considered in the design of next-generation solar cells