716 research outputs found

    Large liquid rocket engine transient performance simulation system

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    A simulation system, ROCETS, was designed and developed to allow cost-effective computer predictions of liquid rocket engine transient performance. The system allows a user to generate a simulation of any rocket engine configuration using component modules stored in a library through high-level input commands. The system library currently contains 24 component modules, 57 sub-modules and maps, and 33 system routines and utilities. FORTRAN models from other sources can be operated in the system upon inclusion of interface information on comment cards. Operation of the simulation is simplified for the user by run, execution, and output processors. The simulation system makes available steady-state trim balance, transient operation, and linear partial generation. The system utilizes a modern equation solver for efficient operation of the simulations. Transient integration methods include integral and differential forms for the trapezoidal, first order Gear, and second order Gear corrector equations. A detailed technology test bed engine (TTBE) model was generated to be used as the acceptance test of the simulation system. The general level of model detail was that reflected in the Space Shuttle Main Engine DTM. The model successfully obtained steady-state balance in main stage operation and simulated throttle transients, including engine starts and shutdown. A NASA FORTRAN control model was obtained, ROCETS interface installed in comment cards, and operated with the TTBE model in closed-loop transient mode

    Large liquid rocket engine transient performance simulation system

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    Phase 1 of the Rocket Engine Transient Simulation (ROCETS) program consists of seven technical tasks: architecture; system requirements; component and submodel requirements; submodel implementation; component implementation; submodel testing and verification; and subsystem testing and verification. These tasks were completed. Phase 2 of ROCETS consists of two technical tasks: Technology Test Bed Engine (TTBE) model data generation; and system testing verification. During this period specific coding of the system processors was begun and the engineering representations of Phase 1 were expanded to produce a simple model of the TTBE. As the code was completed, some minor modifications to the system architecture centering on the global variable common, GLOBVAR, were necessary to increase processor efficiency. The engineering modules completed during Phase 2 are listed: INJTOO - main injector; MCHBOO - main chamber; NOZLOO - nozzle thrust calculations; PBRNOO - preburner; PIPE02 - compressible flow without inertia; PUMPOO - polytropic pump; ROTROO - rotor torque balance/speed derivative; and TURBOO - turbine. Detailed documentation of these modules is in the Appendix. In addition to the engineering modules, several submodules were also completed. These submodules include combustion properties, component performance characteristics (maps), and specific utilities. Specific coding was begun on the system configuration processor. All functions necessary for multiple module operation were completed but the SOLVER implementation is still under development. This system, the Verification Checkout Facility (VCF) allows interactive comparison of module results to store data as well as provides an intermediate checkout of the processor code. After validation using the VCF, the engineering modules and submodules were used to build a simple TTBE

    Correlations and contrasts in structural history and style between an Archaean greenstone belt and adjacent gneiss belt, NE Minnesota

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    An analysis of the deformation along the boundary between the Vermilion Granitic Complex (VGC) and the Vermilion district indicates that the two terranes have seen a similar deformation history since the earliest stages of folding in the area. Despite this common history, variations in structural style occur between the two terranes, such as the relative development of D sub 1 fabrics and D sub 2 shear zones, and these can be attributed to differences in the crustal levels of the two terranes during the deformation. Similarly, the local development of F sub 3 folds in the VGC, but not in the Vermilion district, is interpreted to be a result of later-D sub 2 pluton emplacement which was not significant at the level of exposure of ther Vermilion district

    Essay: Making the most of recent advances in freshwater mussel propagation and restoration

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    Propagating and releasing freshwater mussels (Unionida) into the wild can contribute substantially to conservation and perhaps ecosystem restoration, but poorly conceived projects can waste money and public good will, and harm mussel populations and ecosystems. Moving from vague, emotional reactions about mussel restoration to more rigorous discussions and analyses can help focus efforts to where they do the most good. We suggest that: (i) projects to restore mussels for conservation goals to sites where known environmental problems have been eliminated or mitigated have good prospects for success; (ii) projects to restore mussels for conservation goals to sites where known environmental problems have not been eliminated or mitigated have poor prospects for success; (iii) projects to restore mussels for conservation goals to sites in the common situation in which the status of environmental problems is unknown have unknown prospects for success, but may be valuable as scientific experiments, if project performance is monitored properly; (iv) the value of population augmentation as a conservation tool is uncertain, and needs better theoretical and empirical analysis; (v) assisted migration of mussels as a conservation tool is controversial, and should be discussed thoroughly before we reach crises in which it is rejected or carried out carelessly; (vi) projects to restore ecosystem services face more stringent criteria for success than conservation projects, and some such projects being discussed seem unlikely to succeed. Monitoring data on how restoration projects perform typically are inadequately collected, reported, disseminated, and used to improve practice. This could be improved by setting up a clearinghouse to collect, hold, and disseminate data; providing training to restorationists; and opening conversations between restorationists and data managers and statisticians.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149722/1/csp253.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/149722/2/csp253_am.pd

    Neural computations of threat in the aftermath of combat trauma

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    © 2019, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc. By combining computational, morphological, and functional analyses, this study relates latent markers of associative threat learning to overt post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in combat veterans. Using reversal learning, we found that symptomatic veterans showed greater physiological adjustment to cues that did not predict what they had expected, indicating greater sensitivity to prediction errors for negative outcomes. This exaggerated weighting of prediction errors shapes the dynamic learning rate (associability) and value of threat predictive cues. The degree to which the striatum tracked the associability partially mediated the positive correlation between prediction-error weights and PTSD symptoms, suggesting that both increased prediction-error weights and decreased striatal tracking of associability independently contribute to PTSD symptoms. Furthermore, decreased neural tracking of value in the amygdala, in addition to smaller amygdala volume, independently corresponded to higher PTSD symptom severity. These results provide evidence for distinct neurocomputational contributions to PTSD symptoms

    Temporal Dynamics of Preferential Flow to a Subsurface Drain

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    We conducted a sequential tracer leaching study on a 24.4 by 42.7 m field plot to investigate the temporal behavior of chemical movement to a 1.2-m deep field drain during irrigation and subsequent rainfall events over a 14-d period. The herbicides atrazine [6-chloroN-ethyl-N′-(1-methylethyl)-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diamine], and alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide] along with the conservative tracer Br were applied to a 1-m wide strip, offset 1.5 m laterally from a subsurface drain pipe, immediately before an 11.3-h long, 4.2-mm h−1 irrigation. Three additional conservative tracers, pentafluorobenzoate (PF), o-trifluoromethylbenzoate (TF), and difluorobenzoate (DF) were applied to the strip during the irrigation at 2-h intervals. Breakthrough of Br and the two herbicides occurred within the first 2-h of irrigation, indicating that a fraction of the solute transport was along preferential flow paths. Retardation and attenuation of the herbicides indicated that there was interaction between the chemicals and the soil lining the preferential pathways. The conservative tracers applied during the later stages of irrigation arrived at the subsurface drain much faster than tracers applied earlier. The final tracer, applied 6 h after the start of irrigation (DF), took only 15 min and 1 mm of irrigation water to travel to the subsurface drain. Model simulations using a two-dimensional, convective, and dispersive numerical model without an explicit preferential flow component failed to reproduce Br tracer concentrations in the drain effluent, confirming the importance of preferential flow. This study showed that preferential flow in this soil is not a uniform process during a leaching event

    Floral temperature and optimal foraging: is heat a feasible floral reward for pollinators?

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    As well as nutritional rewards, some plants also reward ectothermic pollinators with warmth. Bumble bees have some control over their temperature, but have been shown to forage at warmer flowers when given a choice, suggesting that there is some advantage to them of foraging at warm flowers (such as reducing the energy required to raise their body to flight temperature before leaving the flower). We describe a model that considers how a heat reward affects the foraging behaviour in a thermogenic central-place forager (such as a bumble bee). We show that although the pollinator should spend a longer time on individual flowers if they are warm, the increase in total visit time is likely to be small. The pollinator's net rate of energy gain will be increased by landing on warmer flowers. Therefore, if a plant provides a heat reward, it could reduce the amount of nectar it produces, whilst still providing its pollinator with the same net rate of gain. We suggest how heat rewards may link with plant life history strategies
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