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At least 1,189 records · Page 66

Mechanical-contact-induced transformation from the amorphous to the partially crystalline state in metallic glass

Friction and wear tests were conducted with 3.2- and 6.4-millimeter-diameter aluminum oxide spheres sliding, in reciprocating motion, on a Fe67Co18B14Si1 metallic foil. Crystallites with a size range of 10 to 150 nanometers were produced on the wear surface of the amorphous alloy. A strong interaction between transition metals and metalloids such as silicon and boron results in strong segregation during repeated sliding, provides preferential transition metal-metalloid clustering in the amorphous alloy, and subsequently produces the diffused honeycomb structure formed by dark grey bands and primary crystals, that is, alpha-Fe in the matrix. Large plastic flow occurs on an amorphous alloy surface with sliding and the flow film of the alloy transfers to the aluminum oxide pin surface. Multiple slip bands due to shear deformation are observed on the side of the wear track. Two distinct types of wear debris were observed as a result of sliding: an alloy wear debris, and/or powdery-whiskery oxide debris.

Miyoshi, K.↗

The use of decompression to simulate the effect of extravehicular activity on human lymphocyte transformation

Lymphocytes from 35 subjects participating in a chamber study simulating extravehicular activity (EVA) conditions were studied. No significant differences in H3 thymidine uptake between pre chamber and post chamber response to any mitogens autologous plasma, or among circulating mononuclear cells by flow cytometry are observed. The studies could not identify the subjects who developed venous bubbles. Data from eight subjects suggests that acute stress associated with participating in the study augments in vitro lymphocyte proliferation. Results indicate EVA exposure does not greatly influence space-flight induced alterations in immune effector cell function.

Meehan, R. T.↗

Transformation of two and three-dimensional regions by elliptic systems

Efforts in transferring computational work from the LRC computer to the IRIS Graphics Workstation at MSU are reported and the computation of a conservative solution of a simple hyperbolic equation on an overlapping grid is discussed. Several conclusions concerning computations on overlapping grids are apparent. Problems only occur when there is a major difference in grid spacing on the individual component grids. In the case of hyperbolic equations, it is necessary that both interpolation and extrapolation be applied at the grid boundaries. When interpolated values are used at outflow boundary points, excessive oscillations in the numerical solution may be the result. The same conclusions would be valid for more complicated systems of hyperbolic equations such as the Euler equations for inviscid flow. Some of the solution values would be extrapolated at the overlap boundary, the exact number depending on the number of characteristics pointing out of the overlap region. It is also possible that similar boundary conditions may be needed for some parabolic equations such as high Reynolds number viscous flow equations. Efforts were also expended on the development of three-dimensional conservative interpolation procedures. Finally, the investigation of grid smoothing procedures were initiated during this reporting period. It was decided that the first grid smoothing algorithms will be based on the concepts of variational grid generation.

Mastin, C. W.↗

Utilization of satellite cloud information to diagnose the energy state and transformations in extratropical cyclones

An important component of the research was a continuing investigation of the impact of latent release on extratropical cyclone development. Previous efforts to accomplish this task have focused on the energy balance and the vertical motion field of an intense winter extratropical cyclone over the United States. During this fiscal year researchers turned their attention to a more fundamental diagnostic variable, the height tendency. Central to this effort is the use of a modified form of the quasi-geostrophic height tendency equation, in which geostrophic wind components have been replaced by observed winds and a latent heat release term has been added. This methodology was adopted to produce a simple diagnostic model which retains the essential mechanisms of quasi-geostrophic theory but more faithfully describes observed wave development when the Rossby Number approaches and exceeds 0.5. Results to date indicate that the new model yields height tendencies that are superior to those obtained from the quasi-geostrophic formulation and are sufficiently close to the observed tendencies to be a useful tool for diagnosing the principle large-scale forcing mechanisms in th e700-300 mb layer. Of the three forcing terms included in the new model, vortity advection is in general dominant. The most persistent challenge to this dominance is made by the thermal advection. On the whole, latent heat release plays a secondary role. Finally, during the rapid intensification observed for this cyclone, all three processes complement each other in forcing height falls.

Smith, P. J.↗

Transformation of two and three-dimensional regions by elliptic systems

Grid smoothing and orthogonalization procedures were developed and implemented in the construction of two and three dimensional grids. The procedures are based on the variational methods of grid generation. The two-dimensional examples were computed using the MSU IRIS Graphics Workstation. It was demonstrated that the elliptic grid generation equations, with arbitrary forcing functions, can be solved, in their variational formulation, using a gradient method. Since gradient methods have a global convergence property, the divergence problems often encountered when using SOR iterative methods can be avoided. It is not to be concluded, however, that SOR methods should be abandoned, since gradient methods tend to converge very slowly. In fact, slow convergence was the major problem encountered in the three-dimensional grids. Further progress was made on the continuing effort to develop conservative interpolation formulas for overlapping grids.

Mastin, C. Wayne↗

SIR-B ocean-wave enhancement with fast Fourier transform techniques

Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR-B) imagery is Fourier filtered to remove the estimated system-transfer function, reduce speckle noise, and produce ocean scenes with a gray scale that is proportional to wave height. The SIR-B system response to speckled scenes of uniform surfaces yields an estimate of the stationary wavenumber response of the imaging radar, modeled by the 15 even terms of an eighth-order two-dimensional polynomial. Speckle can also be used to estimate the dynamic wavenumber response of the system due to surface motion during the aperture synthesis period, modeled with a single adaptive parameter describing an exponential correlation along track. A Fourier filter can then be devised to correct for the wavenumber response of the remote sensor and scene correlation, with subsequent subtraction of an estimate of the speckle noise component. A linearized velocity bunching model, combined with a surface tilt and hydrodynamic model, is incorporated in the Fourier filter to derive estimates of wave height from the radar intensities corresponding to individual picture elements.

Tilley, David G.↗

Sinusoidal transform coding

It has been shown that an analysis/synthesis system based on a sinusoidal representation of speech leads to synthetic speech that is essentially perceptually indistinguishable from the original. Strategies for coding the amplitudes, frequencies and phases of the sine waves have been developed that have led to a multirate coder operating at rates from 2400 to 9600 bps. The encoded speech is highly intelligible at all rates with a uniformly improving quality as the data rate is increased. A real-time fixed-point implementation has been developed using two ADSP2100 DSP chips. The methods used for coding and quantizing the sine-wave parameters for operation at the various frame rates are described.

Mcaulay, Robert J.↗

Fourier transform spectrum of nu-5 and nu-8 bands of propyne

The nu-5 and nu-8 bands of propyne have been reinvestigated using a FTS spectrum between 900 and 1000/cm with a resolution of 0.005/cm. About 1500 lines have been assigned. Some perturbations are clearly evident. Molecular parameters of nu-5 = 1 and nu-8 = 1 levels were determined.

Al Adlouni, T.↗

Earthquake source mechanisms and transform fault tectonics in the Gulf of California

The source parameters of 19 earthquakes in the Gulf of California were determined from an inversion of long-period P and SH waveforms. The inversion procedure is described and the estimated precision of the derived source parameters is examined, with particular attention given to source complexity, the resolution of slip vector azimuth, and the resolution of centroid depth. The implications of these earthquake source characteristics for the tectonic evolution of the gulf are discussed.

Goff, John A.↗

Nitrous oxide flux and nitrogen transformations across a landscape gradient in Amazonia

Nitrous oxide flux and nitrogen turnover were measured in three types of Amazonian forest ecosystems within Reserva Florestal Ducke near Manaus, Brazil. Nitrogen mineralization and nitrate production measured during 10-day laboratory incubations were 3-4 times higher in clay soils associated with 'terra firme' forests on ridge-top and slope positions than in 'campinarana' forests on bottomland sand soils. In contrast, nitrous oxide fluxes did not differ significantly among sites, but were highly variable in space and time. The observed frequency distribution of flux was positively skewed, with a mean overall sites and all sampling times of 1.3 ng N2O-N/sq cm per hr. Overall, the flux estimates were comparable to or greater than those of temperature forests, but less than others reported for Amazoonia. Results from a field fertilization experiment suggest that most nitrous oxide flux was associated with denitrification of soil nitrate.

Livingston, Gerald P.↗

Low temperature phase transformations in the metallic phases of iron and stony-iron meteorites

The nickel content and the structure of kamacite and decomposed taenite (clear taenite 1, CT-1; the cloudy zone, CZ; and clear taenite 2, CT-2) in the metallic phases of meteorites were determined using X-ray microanalysis techniques in the AEM. The kamacite near the CT-1 interface was found to contain about 4 wt pct Ni. The CT-1 structure contains 51.4-45.6 wt pct Ni; it is ordered FeNi with the L1(0) superstructure. The CZ structure consists of two phases: a globular phase (ordered FeNi containing 50.9 wt pct Ni) and a surrounding honeycomb martensitic phase containing 11.7 wt pct Ni. The CT-2 was found in all of the iron meteorite groups studied and in the pallasites, but not in the mesosiderites. Based on the preliminary evidence, this region is believed to be ordered Fe3Ni. Possible mechanisms for the decomposition of taenite are discussed.

Reuter, K. B.↗

Strain energy release rate, interlaminar stresses, and 3-D transformation of stiffnesses

In this analysis, a delamination between the belt and core sections is assumed to grow parallel to the belt direction in the tapered and uniform sections. These delaminations in each section are denoted by a and b respectively. The core section in the taper portion is modeled by two equivalent sublaminates. The stiffness properties are smeared to obtain effective cracked and uncracked stiffnesses which are designated A (u) and A (c). These stiffnesses change from one ply drop group to another with crack growth a by experiencing a sudden change at discrete locations. Therefore, A (u) and A (c) can be represented in three consecutive regions.

Source record↗

Transformation techniques for minimax optimal control problems and their application to optimal flight trajectories in a windshear - Optimal abort landing trajectories

The optimal-control problem of abort-landing trajectories in the presence of low-altitude wind shear is investigated analytically. The vertical-plane Newtonian motion of a point-mass aircraft in a steady wind field is modeled, and a sequential gradient-restoration algorithm is applied. Numerical results showing the effects of wind-shear intensity, initial altitude, and power-setting rate are presented in extensive graphs and discussed in detail. Optimal trajectories for strong or severe wind shears are found to begin with a descent, followed by level flight and then an ascent after leaving the shear region.

Miele, A.↗

Absolute infrared band strength measurement of the ClO radical by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

High-resolution (0.005/cm) FTIR spectra of the X2Pi(i)-X2Pi(i) (1-0) rovibrational bands of (C-35)(O-16) and (Cl-37)(O-16) were obtained in 1 torr of helium carrier gas. After measuring the strengths of approximately 830 individual IR lines from several spectra, a total band strength of 13.1 + or - 1.1/sq cm atm and a first Herman-Wallis coefficient of (4.12 + or - 0.62) x 10 to the -3rd were determined.

Lang, Valerie I.↗