Experimental investigation of small diameter two-phase closed thermosyphons charged with water, FC-84, FC-77 and FC-3283

Copyright © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.An experimental investigation of the performance of thermosyphons charged with water as well as the dielectric heat transfer liquids FC-84, FC-77 and FC-3283 has been carried out. The copper thermosyphon was 200 mm long with an inner diameter of 6 mm, which can be considered quite small compared with the vast majority of thermosyphons reported in the open literature. The evaporator length was 40 mm and the condenser length was 60 mm which corresponds with what might be expected in compact heat exchangers. With water as the working fluid two fluid loadings were investigated, that being 0.6 ml and 1.8 ml, corresponding to approximately half filled and overfilled evaporator section in order to ensure combined pool boiling and thin film evaporation/boiling and pool boiling only conditions, respectively. For the Fluorinert™ liquids, only the higher fill volume was tested as the aim was to investigate pool boiling opposed to thin film evaporation. Generally, the water-charged thermosyphon evaporator and condenser heat transfer characteristics compared well with available predictive correlations and theories. The thermal performance of the water-charged thermosyphon also outperformed the other three working fluids in both the effective thermal resistance as well as maximum heat transport capabilities. Even so, FC-84, the lowest saturation temperature fluid tested, shows marginal improvement in the heat transfer at low operating temperatures. All of the tested Fluorinert™ liquids offer the advantage of being dielectric fluids, which may be better suited for sensitive electronics cooling applications and were all found to provide adequate thermal performance up to approximately 30–50 W after which liquid entrainment compromised their performance

Fifty Years of Farm Policy: What have we Learned?

Agricultural and Food Policy,

Methods to recover the narrow Dicke sub-Doppler feature in evacuated wall-coated cells without restrictions on cell size

The hyperfine resonance observed in evacuated wall-coated cells with dimensions lambda/2 (lambda is the hyperfine resonance wavelength) consists of a narrow Dicke sub-Doppler linewidth feature, the spike, superimposed on a broad pedestal. The hydrogen maser provides a classic example of this lineshape. As cell size is increased, an effect unique to evacuated wall-coated cells occurs. Certain combinations of microwave field distribution and cell size result in a lineshape having a pedestal with a small spike feature or only the broad pedestal with no spike. Such conditions are not appropriate for atomic frequency standard applications. The cause of the evacuated wall-coated cell lineshape is reviewed and methods to recover the narrow spike feature without restrictions on cell size is discussed. One example is a cell with dimensions having equal volumes of exposure to opposite phases of the microwave magnetic field

Intrinsic Variability and Field Statistics for the Vela Pulsar: 2. Systematics and Single-Component Fits

Individual pulses from pulsars have intensity-phase profiles that differ widely from pulse to pulse, from the average profile, and from phase to phase within a pulse. Widely accepted explanations do not exist for this variability or for the mechanism producing the radiation. The variability corresponds to the field statistics, particularly the distribution of wave field amplitudes, which are predicted by theories for wave growth in inhomogeneous media. This paper shows that the field statistics of the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45) are well-defined and vary as a function of pulse phase, evolving from Gaussian intensity statistics off-pulse to approximately power-law and then lognormal distributions near the pulse peak to approximately power-law and eventually Gaussian statistics off-pulse again. Detailed single-component fits confirm that the variability corresponds to lognormal statistics near the peak of the pulse profile and Gaussian intensity statistics off-pulse. The lognormal field statistics observed are consistent with the prediction of stochastic growth theory (SGT) for a purely linear system close to marginal stability. The simplest interpretations are that the pulsar's variability is a direct manifestation of an SGT state and the emission mechanism is linear (either direct or indirect), with no evidence for nonlinear mechanisms like modulational instability and wave collapse which produce power-law field statistics. Stringent constraints are placed on nonlinear mechanisms: they must produce lognormal statistics when suitably ensemble-averaged. Field statistics are thus a powerful, potentially widely applicable tool for understanding variability and constraining mechanisms and source characteristics of coherent astrophysical and space emissions.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures. Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronmical Society in April 200

Intrinsic Variability and Field Statistics for the Vela Pulsar: 3. Two-Component Fits and Detailed Assessment of Stochastic Growth Theory

The variability of the Vela pulsar (PSR B0833-45) corresponds to well-defined field statistics that vary with pulsar phase, ranging from Gaussian intensity statistics off-pulse to approximately power-law statistics in a transition region and then lognormal statistics on-pulse, excluding giant micropulses. These data are analyzed here in terms of two superposed wave populations, using a new calculation for the amplitude statistics of two vectorially-combined transverse fields. Detailed analyses show that the approximately power-law and lognormal distributions observed are fitted well at essentially all on-pulse phases by Gaussian-lognormal and double-lognormal combinations, respectively. These good fits, plus the smooth but significant variations in fit parameters across the source, provide strong evidence that the approximately power-law statistics observed in the transition region are not intrinsic. Instead, the data are consistent with normal pulsar emission having lognormal statistics at all phases. This is consistent with generation in an inhomogeneous source obeying stochastic growth theory (SGT) and with the emission mechanism being purely linear (either direct or indirect). A nonlinear mechanism is viable only if it produces lognormal statistics when suitably ensemble-averaged. Variations in the SGT fit parameters with phase imply that the radiation is relatively more variable near the pulse edges than near the center, as found in earlier work. In contrast, Vela's giant micropulses come from a very restricted phase range and have power-law statistics with indices ($6.7 \pm 0.6$) not inconsistent with nonlinear wave collapse. These results imply that normal pulses have a different source and generation mechanism than giant micropulses, as suggested previously on other grounds.Comment: 10 pages and 14 figures. Accepted by Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society in April 200

Fuselage structure using advanced technology fiber reinforced composites

A fuselage structure is described in which the skin is comprised of layers of a matrix fiber reinforced composite, with the stringers reinforced with the same composite material. The high strength to weight ratio of the composite, particularly at elevated temperatures, and its high modulus of elasticity, makes it desirable for use in airplane structures