Mechanical properties of neat polymer matrix materials and their unidirectional carbon fiber-reinforced composites

The mechanical properties of two neat resin systems for use in carbon fiber epoxy composites were characterized. This included tensile and shear stiffness and strengths, coefficients of thermal and moisture expansion, and fracture toughness. Tests were conducted on specimens in the dry and moisture-saturated states, at temperatures of 23, 82 and 121 C. The neat resins tested were American Cyanamid 1806 and Union Carbide ERX-4901B(MPDA). Results were compared to previously tested neat resins. Four unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced composites were mechanically characterized. Axial and transverse tension and in-plane shear strengths and stiffness were measured, as well as transverse coefficients of thermal and moisture expansion. Tests were conducted on dry specimens only at 23 and 100 C. The materials tested were AS4/3502, AS6/5245-C, T300/BP907, and C6000/1806 unidirectional composites. Scanning electron microscopic examination of fracture surfaces was performed to permit the correlation of observed failure modes with the environmental test conditions

Static tensile and tensile creep testing of five ceramic fibers at elevated temperatures

Static tensile and tensile creep testing of five ceramic fibers at elevated temperature was performed. J.P. Stevens, Co., Astroquartz 9288 glass fiber, Nippon Carbon, Ltd., (Dow Corning) Nicalon NLM-102 silicon carbide fiber, and 3M Company Nextel 312, 380, and 480 alumina/silica/boria fibers were supplied in unsized tows. Single fibers were separated from the tows and tested in static tension and tensile creep. Elevated test temperatures ranged from 400 to 1300 C and varied for each fiber. Room temperature static tension was also performed. Computer software was written to reduce all single fiber test data into engineering constants using ASTM Standard Test Method D3379-75 as a reference. A high temperature furnace was designed and built to perform the single fiber elevated temperature testing up to 1300 C. A computerized single fiber creep apparatus was designed and constructed to perform four fiber creep tests simultaneously at temperatures up to 1300 C. Computer software was written to acquire and reduce all creep data

Computer program conducts facilities utilization and occupancy survey

Computer program identifies the uses of all facilities and provides information on the net area in each room as well as the number and classification of people occupying them. The system also provides a means to indicate unsatisfactory work areas and may be able to be updated each month

Neither “Post-War” Nor Post-Pregnancy Paranoia: How America’s War on Drugs Continues to Perpetuate Disparate Incarceration Outcomes For Pregnant, Substance-Involved Offenders

This thesis investigates the unique interactions between pregnancy, substance involvement, and race as they relate to the War on Drugs and the hyper-incarceration of women. Using ordinary least square regression analyses and data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2016 Survey of Prison Inmates, I examine if (and how) pregnancy status, drug use, race, and their interactions influence two length of incarceration outcomes: sentence length and amount of time spent in jail between arrest and imprisonment. The results collectively indicate that pregnancy decreases length of incarceration outcomes for those offenders who are not substance-involved but not evenhandedly -- benefitting white pregnant offenders more than their Black counterparts. Similarly, any incarceration length leniency resulting from pregnancy does not apply uniformly once substance involvement is factored in: while pregnant, white, substance-involved offenders spend less time incarcerated than their nonpregnant, non-substance-involved white counterparts, they often received longer incarceration outcomes than those who were pregnant, white, and not substance-involved. The analyses reveal similar patterns among Black offenders, but the sentencing disparities associated with pregnancy and substance involvement are magnified: the results indicate that not only does substance involvement increase incarceration length among pregnant Black offenders, but several model specifications demonstrated that Black offenders who are both pregnant and substance-involved receive harsher sentencing outcomes and more jail time than their nonpregnant, non-substance-involved Black counterparts. These findings indicate that, despite a public departure from its most attention-grabbing components, the War on Drugs has contributed to a carceral system that disproportionately harms women -- especially Black women -- who are substance-involved and pregnant. The concluding analysis of my results underscores the unique intersections between the criminal justice and public health crises created by this “war” and implications for the populations most affected

Funding Irrationality

This Article challenges the conventional wisdom that claimants in class action settlement funds and other settlement funds make independent and rational settlement decisions. Cognitive psychologists and behavioral economists have long examined the way people make judgments and choices. Such studies show that decisionmakers routinely change their minds based on their view of the status quo, the timing of the decision, and the presence of seemingly irrelevant choices. Because of these cognitive biases, people will buy things they do not want, save too little for retirement, and make risky choices about their health and well-being based on the timing, context, and framing of the decision. Applying findings from cognitive psychology, I argue that people will make the same kinds of irrational decisions about their settlement options in a large settlement fund. As a result, cognitive biases threaten to undermine many of the stated purposes of large settlement funds-to provide claimants with access, efficiency, and equity superior to what they could obtain in traditional litigation. Accordingly, fund designers -judges, lawmakers, and special masters-should adjust settlement procedures to account for cognitive bias. I call this process funding irrationality -identifying and, in some cases, capitalizing on people\u27s cognitive biases in large settlement funds by altering the context, timing, and sequence of their settlement options. Fund designers, however, should avoid reforms that unduly eliminate settlement options, or that impose excessive administrative costs. Rather, the benefits of any reform-preventing avoidable harm to irrational claimants-must outweigh the potential costs, including the value of client autonomy, the chance of error, and the burden on the courts and public administrators

Wind energy: A renewable energy option

Wind turbine generator research programs administered by the Energy Research and Development Administration are examined. The design and operation of turbine demonstration models are described. Wind assessments were made to determine the feasibility of using wind generated power for various parts of the country

The addition of singlet oxygen to n, n-diethyl-1-propynylamine

The addition of singlet oxygen to N, N-diethyl-1-pro-pynylamine produced 60-75% yields of N, N-diethyl pyruvamide and various carbon dioxide contamination products under several conditions. Products under several conditions. Product formation was independent of solvent and photosensitizer and was shown to proceed via a singlet oxygen addition mechanism with no free radical involvement. The water addition product was also demonstrated to be N, N-diethyl propanamide. A dioxetene intermediate is suggested as the precursor of N, N-diethyl pyruvamide

Developing Confidence in STEAM: Exploring the Challenges that Novice Elementary Teachers Face

This essay explores the challenges that novice elementary teachers may face as they attempt to enact the practices of STEAM education. Specifically, I will explore research that suggests that novice elementary teachers lack confidence in their ability to lead lessons rooted in either scientific inquiry or arts-integration. This has, I argue, clear implications for the development of STEAM education. Advocates of STEAM education must ensure that novice elementary teachers are provided with the necessary scaffolds and supports that will empower them to engage in authentic and ambitious STEAM practices