The Atmosphere Explorer and the shuttle glow

Recent analyses of the Atmosphere Explorer data are discussed in which it is demonstrated that the satellite glows have two components, one at high altitudes which is consistent with excitation in single collisions of atmospheric oxygen atoms with the vehicle surface and the other at low altitudes which is consistent with double collisions of nitrogen molecules. Contrary to an earlier suggestion, the low-altitude data are not consistent with collisions of oxygen molecules. The separation of the two components strengthens the conclusion that the high-altitude glow arises from vibrationally excited OH molecules produced by a formation mechanism that is different from that leading to the normal atmospheric OH airglow. The spectrum is consistent with association of oxygen and hydrogen atoms at sites on the surface into the vibrational levels of OH. The low-altitude glow is consistent with the green mechanism but there are difficulties with it. The shuttle glows are different and have the spectral appearance of emission from NO2. The characteristics of the shuttle glows and the satellite glows will be contrasted and a tentative resolution of the differences in the Atmosphere Explorer and shuttle glows will be offered

Quay voices in Glasgow museums : an oral history of Glasgow dock workers

Notes on oral history project commissioned by Glasgow museums about Glasgow dock workers

Determination of local material properties of OSB sample by coupling advanced imaging techniques and morphology-based FEM simulation

This is the publisher’s final pdf. The published article is copyrighted by Walter de Gruyter & Co. and can be found at: http://www.degruyter.com/.The goal was to determine local mechanical properties inside of oriented strand board (OSB) based on a realistic morphology-based finite element (FE) model and data acquired from a physical test performed on the same material. The spatial information and local grayscale intensity from CT-scans obtained from small OSB sample was transformed into a 2D regular morphology-based FE mesh with corresponding material properties. The model was then used to simulate the actual compression test performed on the specimen using simplified boundary conditions. The simulated strain fields from the model were compared with the actual strain field measured on the specimen surface during the compression test by means of a full-field optical method, named digital image correlation (DIC). Finally, the original set of material properties was adjusted by an iterative procedure to minimize the difference between the simulated and the measured strain data. The results show that the developed procedure is useful to find local material properties as well as for morphological modeling without the need of segmentation of the image data. The achieved results serve as a prerequisite for full 3D analyses of the complex materials

Comparison between homogeneous and heterogeneous field information for plastic material identification

peer reviewedThe accuracy of a Finite Element Simulation for plastic deformation strongly depends on the chosen constitutive laws and the value of the material parameters within these laws. The identification of those mechanical parameters can be done based on homogeneous stress and strain fields such as those obtained in uniaxial tensile tests and simple shear tests performed in different plane material directions. Another way to identify plastic material parameters is by inverse modeling of an experiment exhibiting a heterogeneous stress and strain field. Experimental forces and strains are in this case compared to the simulated ones and it is tried to reduce the difference in a least-squares sense by optimizing the model parameters. The optimization technique used is this case is gradient based, which means that at every iteration a sensitivity calculation has to be performed in order to indicate the direction in which the parameters are to be identified. The basic principle of the inverse modeling procedure as it is used for parameter identification is the generation of a complex and heterogeneous deformation field that contains as much information as possible about the parameters to be identified. One way of obtaining such a non-homogeneous deformation is by altering the geometry of the specimen for a uniaxial test. Another possibility is to make the loading conditions more complex. In this paper both options are actually combined by using a biaxial tensile test on a perforated cruciform specimen. In the present paper, the work hardening of the material is assumed to be isotropic and it is described by a Swift law. The yield locus is modeled by the anisotropic Hill48 criterion. A comparison is made between the identification of the Hill48 parameters based on the one hand on the Lankford coefficients [1] and on the inverse modeling of a biaxial tensile test on the other han

Numerical modelling of the debonding between CFRP strips and concrete in shear tests under static loads using different approaches

The present paper deals with the finite element (FE) analysis of bond slip between concrete and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strips in a single pull-out test under static loads. The commercial software LS-DYNA is used to simulate the test set-up using a plastic damage material model and an elastic material model for the concrete prism and the unidirectional CFRP strip, respectively. The bond interface between the concrete and the CFRP strip is simulated following three different approaches using a perfect bond model, a cohesive bond model and contact algorithms based on recently developed proposed bond slip models. The numerical model is validated based on experimental test results available from literature. The debonding failure mode and the delamination loads of the CFRP strip are predicted. The numerical results show a good agreement with the experimental data using the cohesive bond model. The perfect bond model gives an overestimation of the delamination loads and of the damage distribution in the concrete prism

Identification of the plastic behavior of aluminum plates under free air explosions using inverse methods and full-field measurements

AbstractThis article describes an inverse method for the identification of the plastic behavior of aluminum plates subjected to sudden blast loads. The method uses full-field optical measurements taken during the first milliseconds of a free air explosion and the finite element method for the numerical prediction of the blast response. The identification is based on a damped least-squares solution according to the Levenberg–Marquardt formulation. Three different rate-dependent plasticity models are examined. First, a combined model based on linear strain hardening and the strain rate term of the Cowper–Symonds model, secondly, the Johnson–Cook model and finally, a combined model based on a bi-exponential relation for the strain hardening term and the strain rate term of the Cowper–Symonds model. A validation of the method and its sensitivity to measurement uncertainties is first provided according to virtual measurements generated with the finite element method. Next, the plastic behavior of aluminum is identified using measurements from real free air explosions obtained from a controlled detonation of C4. The results show that inverse methods can be successfully applied for the identification of the plastic behavior of metals subjected to blast waves. In addition, the material parameters identified with inverse methods enable the numerical prediction of the material’s response with increased accuracy

Sensitivity of Recalibrated Continuous Glucose Monitor Data

Continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) are increasingly used in research settings to examine glucose metabolism in newborn babies. Accuracy of these devices depends on calibration blood glucose (BG) measurements entered into the CGM device. The potential impact of variations in timing and accuracy of reference calibration measurements on CGM device output were assessed

Building a Model of Collaboration Between Historically Black and Historically White Universities

Despite increases over the last two decades in the number of degrees awarded to students from underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, enhancing diversity in these disciplines remains a challenge. This article describes a strategic approach to this challenge—the development of a collaborative partnership between two universities: the historically Black Elizabeth City State University and the historically White University of New Hampshire. The partnership, a type of learning organization built on three mutually agreed upon principles, strives to enhance opportunities for underrepresented students to pursue careers in the STEM disciplines. This article further describes six promising practices that framed the partnership, which resulted in the submission of nine proposals to federal agencies and the funding of four grants that led to the implementation, research, learning, and evaluation that followed

Ex vivo determination of bone tissue strains for an in vivo mouse tibial loading model

AbstractPrevious studies introduced the digital image correlation (DIC) as a viable technique for measuring bone strain during loading. In this study, we investigated the sensitivity of a DIC system in determining surface strains in a mouse tibia while loaded in compression through the knee joint. Specifically, we examined the effect of speckle distribution, facet size and overlap, initial vertical alignment of the bone into the loading cups, rotation with respect to cameras, and ex vivo loading configurations on the strain contour maps measured with a DIC system.We loaded tibiae of C57BL/6 mice (12 and 18 weeks old male) up to 12N at 8N/min. Images of speckles on the bone surface were recorded at 1N intervals and DIC was used to compute strains. Results showed that speckles must have the correct size and density with respect to the facet size of choice for the strain distribution to be computed and reproducible. Initial alignment of the bone within the loading cups does not influence the strain distribution measured during peak loading, but bones must be placed in front of the camera with the same orientation in order for strains to be comparable. Finally, the ex vivo loading configurations with the tibia attached to the entire mouse, or to the femur and foot, or only to the foot, showed different strain contour maps.This work provides a better understanding of parameters affecting full field strain measurements from DIC in ex vivo murine tibial loading tests