Methodology of Testing Shot Blasting Machines in Industrial Conditions

Shot blasting machines are widely used for automated surface treatment and finishing of castings. In shot blasting processes the stream of shots is generated and shaped by blasting turbines, making up a kinetic and dynamic system comprising a separating rotor, an adapting sleeve and a propelling rotor provided with blades. The shot blasting performance- i.e. the quality of shot treated surfaces depends on the actual design and operational parameters of the unit whilst the values of relevant parameters are associated with the geometry of turbine components and the level of its integration with the separator system. The circulation of the blasting medium becomes the integrating factor of the process line, starting from the hopper, through the propeller turbine, casting treatment, separation of contaminated abrasive mixture, to its recycling and reuse.Inferior quality of the abrasive agent (shot) and insufficient purity of the abrasive mixture are responsible for low effectiveness of shot blasting. However, most practitioners fail to fully recognise the importance of proper diagnostics of the shot blasting process in industrial conditions. The wearing of major machine components and of the blasting agent and quality of shot treated surfaces are often misinterpreted, hence the need to take into account all factors involved in the process within the frame of a comprehensive methodology.This paper is an attempt to formulate and apply the available testing methods to the engineering practice in industrial conditions

Mapping the Northern Galactic Disk Warp with Classical Cepheids

We present an updated three dimensional map of the Milky Way based on a sample of 2431 classical Cepheid variable stars, supplemented with about 200 newly detected classical Cepheids from the OGLE survey. The new objects were discovered as a result of a dedicated observing campaign of the ≈280 square degree extension of the OGLE footprint of the Galactic disk during 2018-2019 observing seasons. These regions cover the main part of the northern Galactic warp that has been deficient in Cepheids so far. We use direct distances to the sample of over 2390 classical Cepheids to model the distribution of the young stellar population in the Milky Way and recalculate the parameters of the Galactic disk warp. Our data show that its northern part is very prominent and its amplitude is ≈10% larger than that of the southern part. By combining Gaia astrometric data with the Galactic rotation curve and distances to Cepheids from our sample, we construct a map of the vertical component of the velocity vector for all Cepheids in the Milky Way disk. We find large-scale vertical motions with amplitudes of 10-20 km/s, such that Cepheids located in the northern warp exhibit large positive vertical velocity (toward the north Galactic pole), whereas those in the southern warp - negative vertical velocity (toward the south Galactic pole)