Hydroelastic solitary waves in deep water

The problem of waves propagating on the surface of a two-dimensional ideal fluid of infinite depth bounded above by an elastic sheet is studied with asymptotic and numerical methods. We use a nonlinear elastic model that has been used to describe the dynamics of ice sheets. Particular attention is paid to forced and unforced dynamics of waves having near-minimum phase speed. For the unforced problem, we find that wavepacket solitary waves bifurcate from nonlinear periodic waves of minimum speed. When the problem is forced by a moving load, we find that, for small-amplitude forcing, steady responses are possible at all subcritical speeds, but for larger loads there is a transcritical range of forcing speeds for which there are no steady solutions. In unsteady computations, we find that if the problem is forced at a speed in this range, very large unsteady responses are obtained, and that when the forcing is released, a solitary wave is generated. These solitary waves appear stable, and can coexist within a sea of small-amplitude waves

Second Biennial Watershed Management Workshop for the James, Vermillion, and Big Sioux Rivers

Watershed management means managing the South Dakota landscape. Many stakeholders are responsible for the landscape; therefore, cooperation, communication, knowledge, and a good sprinkling of wisdom must bring the various issues together for comprehensive watershed management. This watershed management workshop was a continuation of the first workshop held in Huron, S.D. in February of 1995. As with the first, the goals were to bring people together to discuss principles related to earth processes, natural resources, agronomy, range science, fish and wildlife, and human uses. A third of the workshop was devoted to learning about the diverse programs, projects, people, and funding that are already available. A series of • case histories of watershed management from South Dakota and other states was followed by a panel discussion

Steady dark solitary flexural gravity waves

The nonlinear Schrödinger (NLS) equation describes the modulational limit of many surface water wave problems. Dark solitary waves of the NLS equation asymptote to a constant in the far field and have a localized decrease to zero amplitude at the origin, corresponding to water wave solutions that asymptote to a uniform periodic Stokes wave in the far field and decreasing oscillations near the origin. It is natural to ask whether these dark solitary waves can be found in the irrotational Euler equations. In this paper, we find such solutions in the context of flexural-gravity waves, which are often used as a model for waves in ice-covered water. This is a situation in which the NLS equation predicts steadily travelling dark solitons. The solution branches of dark solitons are continued, and one branch leads to fully localized solutions at large amplitudes

An Invariant Form of the Euler-Lagrange Operator

We define a class of almost S(M)-multilinear maps. The Euler-Lagrange operator is given by means of the trace of an almost S(M)-bilinear map

An Environmental History of Lower St. Regis: Lake Degradation and the Path to Ecological Redemption

This paper examines the environmental history of Lower St. Regis Lake (Franklin County, NY), the historic location of the Paul Smith’s Hotel and the present day site of Paul Smith’s College. Using water quality and fiisheries data collected by students, faculty, and environmental professionals, this article examines ecological changes that have taken place in the lake during the last 50 years. An analysis of lake-bottom sediments also reaches farther back in time to show what Lower St. Regis might have been like long before Paul Smith arrived. The story illustrates the effects of massive loading of phosphorus on water quality, places the lake within the context of the environmental awakening of the late 1960s and early 1970s, and chronicles steps that have been taken move Lower St. Regis Lake from a state of degradation toward “ecological redemption

Modeling and design of energy concentrating laser weld joints

The application of lasers for welding and joining has increased steadily over the past decade with the advent of high powered industrial laser systems. Attributes such as high energy density and precise focusing allow high speed processing of precision assemblies. Other characteristics of the process such as poor coupling of energy due to highly reflective materials and instabilities associated with deep penetration keyhole mode welding remain as process limitations and challenges to be overcome. Reflective loss of laser energy impinging on metal surfaces can in some cases exceed ninety five percent, thus making the process extremely inefficient. Enhanced coupling of the laser beam can occur when high energy densities approach the vaporization point of the materials and form a keyhole feature which can trap laser energy and enhance melting and process efficiency. The extreme temperature, pressure and fluid flow dynamics of the keyhole make control of the process difficult in this melting regime. The authors design and model weld joints which through reflective propagation and concentration of the laser beam energy significantly enhance the melting process and weld morphology. A three dimensional computer based geometric optical model is used to describe the key laser parameters and joint geometry. Ray tracing is used to compute the location and intensity of energy absorption within the weld joint. Comparison with experimentation shows good correlation of energy concentration within the model to actual weld profiles. The effect of energy concentration within various joint geometry is described. This method for extending the design of the laser system to include the weld joint allows the evaluation and selection of laser parameters such as lens and focal position for process optimization. The design of narrow gap joints which function as energy concentrators is described. The enhanced laser welding of aluminum without keyhole formation has been demonstrated

Tribological properties of diamond-like-carbon coating doped with tungsten

This paper presents the tribological properties of diamond-like-carbon coatings (DLC) doped with tungsten. The hardness of the DLC coating was determined using a micro-hardness tester. Friction tests were carried out on a tribometer in rotational motion in a 100Cr6 steel ball-disk association with a-C-H:W tungsten doped hydrogenated DLC coating. Tests were carried out with loads of 10 N, 25 N and 50 N under technically dry friction conditions. Using a scanning electron microscopy (SEM), the surface morphology was observed, and with a confocal microscope, the geometric structure of the surface was observed before and after the friction tests. The wetting angle of the samples was examined on an optical tensiometer for distilled water and diiodomethane. The results indicated that DLC coatings of the a-C:H:W type obtained by the PVD technique can be used in unlubricated high-load tribological systems