Dynamic response and stability of a gas-lubricated Rayleigh-step pad

The quasi-static, pressure characteristics of a gas-lubricated thrust bearing with shrouded, Rayleigh-step pads are determined for a time-varying film thickness. The axial response of the thrust bearing to an axial forcing function or an axial rotor disturbance is investigated by treating the gas film as a spring having nonlinear restoring and damping forces. These forces are related to the film thickness by a power relation. The nonlinear equation of motion in the axial mode is solved by the Ritz-Galerkin method as well as the direct, numerical integration. Results of the nonlinear response by both methods are compared with the response based on the linearized equation. Further, the gas-film instability of an infinitely wide Rayleigh step thrust pad is determined by solving the transient Reynolds equation coupled with the equation of the motion of the pad. Results show that the Rayleigh-step geometry is very stable for bearing number A up to 50. The stability threshold is shown to exist only for ultrahigh values of Lambda equal to or greater than 100, where the stability can be achieved by making the mass heavier than the critical mass

Copying equations to assess mathematical competence: An evaluation of pause measures using graphical protocol analysis

Can mathematical competence be measured by analyzing the patterns of pauses between written elements in the freehand copying of mathematical equations? Twenty participants of varying levels of mathematical competence copied sets of equations and sequences of numbers on a graphics tablet. The third quartile of pauses is an effective measure, because it re- flects the greater number of chunks and the longer time spent per chunk by novices as they processed the equations. To compensate for individual differences in speeds of elementary operations and skill in writing basic mathematical symbols, variants on the measure were devised and tested

Observed strategies in the freehand drawing of complex hierarchical diagrams

Chunk decomposition and assembly strategies have been found in the drawing of complex hierarchical diagrams (spe- cifically AVOW diagrams). Analysis of 40 diagrams pro- duced by five participants provided evidence for the strategies based on the duration of pauses between drawn elements. The strategies were initially discovered using a new visualiza- tion technique developed to allow the detailed examination of the sequential order of diagram drawing in conjunction with information about the durations of pauses associated with drawn elements

Solvability and regularity for an elliptic system prescribing the curl, divergence, and partial trace of a vector field on Sobolev-class domains

We provide a self-contained proof of the solvability and regularity of a Hodge-type elliptic system, wherein the divergence and curl of a vector field are prescribed in an open, bounded, Sobolev-class domain, and either the normal component or the tangential components of the vector field are prescribed on the boundary. The proof is based on a regularity theory for vector elliptic equations set on Sobolev-class domains and with Sobolev-class coefficients.Comment: 49 Pages, improved exposition and corrected typo

On the Motion of Vortex Sheets with Surface Tension in the 3D Euler Equations with Vorticity

We prove well-posedness of vortex sheets with surface tension in the 3D incompressible Euler equations with vorticity.Comment: 28 page

Navier-Stokes equations interacting with a nonlinear elastic fluid shell

We study a moving boundary value problem consisting of a viscous incompressible fluid moving and interacting with a nonlinear elastic fluid shell. The fluid motion is governed by the Navier-Stokes equations, while the fluid shell is modeled by a bending energy which extremizes the Willmore functional and a membrane energy that extremizes the surface area of the shell. The fluid flow and shell deformation are coupled together by continuity of displacements and tractions (stresses) along the moving material interface. We prove existence and uniqueness of solutions in Sobolev spaces.Comment: 56 pages, 1 figur

Global existence and decay for solutions of the Hele-Shaw flow with injection

We study the global existence and decay to spherical equilibrium of Hele-Shaw flows with surface tension. We prove that without injection of fluid, perturbations of the sphere decay to zero exponentially fast. On the other hand, with a time-dependent rate of fluid injection into the Hele-Shaw cell, the distance from the moving boundary to an expanding sphere (with time-dependent radius) also decays to zero but with an algebraic rate, which depends on the injection rate of the fluid.Comment: 25 Page