Command and Control: US Army Staffs and the Operations Process

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-26

Architecture , 2nd ed. (New York: Elsevier, 2006). 2...Mainly technical experts in logistics and engineering, these proto-staff officers enabled both the Egyptian and Assyrian empires to conquer many of...Platform for Designing Business Architecture . New York: Elsevier, 2006, 2d edition. Gilbert, Felix. “Machiavelli: The Renaissance of the Art of War.” In

Integration of the virtual model of a Stewart platform with the avatar of a vehicle in a virtual reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herbuś, K.; Ociepka, P.

2016-08-01

The development of methods of computer aided design and engineering allows conducting virtual tests, among others concerning motion simulation of technical means. The paper presents a method of integrating an object in the form of a virtual model of a Stewart platform with an avatar of a vehicle moving in a virtual environment. The area of the problem includes issues related to the problem of fidelity of mapping the work of the analyzed technical mean. The main object of investigations is a 3D model of a Stewart platform, which is a subsystem of the simulator designated for driving learning for disabled persons. The analyzed model of the platform, prepared for motion simulation, was created in the “Motion Simulation” module of a CAD/CAE class system Siemens PLM NX. Whereas the virtual environment, in which the moves the avatar of the passenger car, was elaborated in a VR class system EON Studio. The element integrating both of the mentioned software environments is a developed application that reads information from the virtual reality (VR) concerning the current position of the car avatar. Then, basing on the accepted algorithm, it sends control signals to respective joints of the model of the Stewart platform (CAD).

Platform options for the Space Station program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mangano, M. J.; Rowley, R. W.

1986-01-01

Platforms for polar and 28.5 deg orbits were studied to determine the platform requirements and characteristics necessary to support the science objectives. Large platforms supporting the Earth-Observing System (EOS) were initially studied. Co-orbiting platforms were derived from these designs. Because cost estimates indicated that the large platform approach was likely to be too expensive, require several launches, and generally be excessively complex, studies of small platforms were undertaken. Results of these studies show the small platform approach to be technically feasible at lower overall cost. All designs maximized hardware inheritance from the Space Station program to reduce costs. Science objectives as defined at the time of these studies are largely achievable.

Identification and detoxification of glycolaldehyde, an unattended bioethanol fermentation inhibitor.

PubMed

Jayakody, Lahiru N; Ferdouse, Jannatul; Hayashi, Nobuyuki; Kitagaki, Hiroshi

2017-03-01

Although there have been approximately 60 chemical compounds identified as potent fermentation inhibitors in lignocellulose hydrolysate, our research group recently discovered glycolaldehyde as a key fermentation inhibitor during second generation biofuel production. Accordingly, we have developed a yeast S. cerevisiae strain exhibiting tolerance to glycolaldehyde. During this glycolaldehyde study, we established novel approaches for rational engineering of inhibitor-tolerant S. cerevisiae strains, including engineering redox cofactors and engineering the SUMOylation pathway. These new technical dimensions provide a novel platform for engineering S. cerevisiae strains to overcome one of the key barriers for industrialization of lignocellulosic ethanol production. As such, this review discusses novel biochemical insight of glycolaldehyde in the context of the biofuel industry.

[Urotechnology: a new interdisciplinary platform for promoting and managing of technical innovations in urology].

PubMed

Miernik, A; Becker, C; Wullich, B; Schoenthaler, M; Arnolds, B J; Wetterauer, U

2015-01-01

The innovative power in medical engineering and technology development requires a close cooperation between universities and non-university research institutions and a collaboration with industrial partners. German knowledge in the fields of video and micro-optics, microsystem technology and of informational technology and software applications seem to be highly competitive at international level. Germany's previous leadership in the development of technical equipment will be challenged by today's requirements and difficulties in medical engineering. Research and expenses demands for the development of novel medical instruments, products and applications will increase continuously. Transparency and coordinated collaboration between universities and industrial partners will contribute to a substantial improvement in surgical therapy. Medical technology of the future, including urotechnology, requires professional structures and coordination and will have to be based on evidence.

Real-time Simulation of Turboprop Engine Control System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheng, Hanlin; Zhang, Tianhong; Zhang, Yi

2017-05-01

On account of the complexity of turboprop engine control system, real-time simulation is the technology, under the prerequisite of maintaining real-time, to effectively reduce development cost, shorten development cycle and avert testing risks. The paper takes RT-LAB as a platform and studies the real-time digital simulation of turboprop engine control system. The architecture, work principles and external interfaces of RT-LAB real-time simulation platform are introduced firstly. Then based on a turboprop engine model, the control laws of propeller control loop and fuel control loop are studied. From that and on the basis of Matlab/Simulink, an integrated controller is designed which can realize the entire process control of the engine from start-up to maximum power till stop. At the end, on the basis of RT-LAB platform, the real-time digital simulation of the designed control system is studied, different regulating plans are tried and more ideal control effects have been obtained.

Shuttle Systems 3-D Applications: Application of 3-D Graphics in Engineering Training for Shuttle Ground Processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Godfrey, Gary S.

2003-01-01

This project illustrates an animation of the orbiter mate to the external tank, an animation of the OMS POD installation to the orbiter, and a simulation of the landing gear mechanism at the Kennedy Space Center. A detailed storyboard was created to reflect each animation or simulation. Solid models were collected and translated into Pro/Engineer's prt and asm formats. These solid models included computer files of the: orbiter, external tank, solid rocket booster, mobile launch platform, transporter, vehicle assembly building, OMS POD fixture, and landing gear. A depository of the above solid models was established. These solid models were translated into several formats. This depository contained the following files: stl for sterolithography, stp for neutral file work, shrinkwrap for compression, tiff for photoshop work, jpeg for Internet use, and prt and asm for Pro/Engineer use. Solid models were created of the material handling sling, bay 3 platforms, and orbiter contact points. Animations were developed using mechanisms to reflect each storyboard. Every effort was made to build all models technically correct for engineering use. The result was an animated routine that could be used by NASA for training material handlers and uncovering engineering safety issues.

JT90 thermal barrier coated vanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sheffler, K. D.; Graziani, R. A.; Sinko, G. C.

1982-01-01

The technology of plasma sprayed thermal barrier coatings applied to turbine vane platforms in modern high temperature commercial engines was advanced to the point of demonstrated feasibility for application to commercial aircraft engines. The three thermal barrier coatings refined under this program are zirconia stabilized with twenty-one percent magnesia (21% MSZ), six percent yttria (6% YSZ), and twenty percent yttria (20% YSZ). Improvement in thermal cyclic endurance by a factor of 40 times was demonstrated in rig tests. A cooling system evolved during the program which featured air impingement cooling for the vane platforms rather than film cooling. The impingement cooling system, in combination with the thermal barrier coatings, reduced platform cooling air requirements by 44% relative to the current film cooling system. Improved durability and reduced cooling air requirements were demonstrated in rig and engine endurance tests. Two engine tests were conducted, one of 1000 cycles and the other of 1500 cycles. All three coatings applied to vanes fabricated with the final cooling system configuration completed the final 1500 cycle engine endurance test. Results of this test clearly demonstrated the durability of the 6% YSZ coating which was in very good condition after the test. The 21% MSZ and 20% YSZ coatings had numerous occurrences of significant spalling in the test.

Application and Removal of Strippable Coatings via Remote Platform - 13133

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shoffner, P.; Lagos, L.; Maggio, S.

2013-07-01

Florida International University's (FIU's) Applied Research Center is currently supporting the Department of Energy (DOE) Environmental Management Office of D and D and Facility Engineering program. FIU is supporting DOE's initiative to improve safety, reduce technical risks, and limit uncertainty within D and D operations by identifying technologies suitable to meet specific facility D and D requirements, assessing the readiness of those technologies for field deployment, and conducting feasibility studies and technology demonstrations of selected technologies and working with technology vendors to optimize the design of their current technologies to accomplish dangerous and demanding tasks during D and D operations.more » To meet one identified technology gap challenge for a technology to remotely apply strippable coatings, fixatives and decontamination gels, FIU identified and performed an initial demonstration of an innovative remote fixative sprayer platform from International Climbing Machines (ICM). The selected technology was demonstrated spraying fixative products at the hot cell mockup facility at the Applied Research Center at FIU in November 2008 under cold (non-radioactive) conditions. The remotely controlled platform was remotely operated and entered the facility and sprayed a fixative onto horizontal and vertical surfaces. Based on the initial FIU demonstration and the specific technical requirements identified at the DOE facilities, a follow-up demonstration was expanded to include strippable coatings and a decontamination gel, which was demonstrated in June 2010 at the ICM facility in Ithaca, NY. This second technology evaluation documented the ability of the remote system to spray the selected products on vertical stainless steel and concrete surfaces to a height of 3 meters (10 feet) and to achieve sufficient coverage and product thickness to promote the ability to peel/remove the strippable coatings and decontamination gel. The next challenge was to determine if a remote platform could be used to remove the strippable coatings and decontamination gels. In 2012, FIU worked with the technology provider, ICM, to conduct feasibility and trade studies to identify the requirements for the remote removal of strippable coatings or decontamination gels using the existing remote controlled platform. (authors)« less

PEP Run Report for Integrated Test A, Caustic Leaching in UFP-VSL-T01A, Oxidative Leaching in UFP-VSL-T02A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Guzman-Leong, Consuelo E.; Bredt, Ofelia P.; Burns, Carolyn A.

2009-12-04

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) was tasked by Bechtel National Inc. (BNI) on the River Protection Project-Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (RPP-WTP) project to perform research and development activities to resolve technical issues identified for the Pretreatment Facility (PTF). The Pretreatment Engineering Platform (PEP) was designed and constructed and operated as part of a plan to respond to issue M12, “Undemonstrated Leaching Processes.”(a) The PEP, located in the Process Engineering Laboratory-West (PDLW) located in Richland, Washington, is a 1/4.5-scale test platform designed to simulate the WTP pretreatment caustic leaching, oxidative leaching, ultrafiltration solids concentration, and slurry washing processes.more » The PEP replicates the WTP leaching processes using prototypic equipment and control strategies. The PEP also includes non-prototypic ancillary equipment to support the core processing.« less

PICASSO VISION instrument design, engineering model test results, and flight model development status

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Näsilä, Antti; Holmlund, Christer; Mannila, Rami; Näkki, Ismo; Ojanen, Harri J.; Akujärvi, Altti; Saari, Heikki; Fussen, Didier; Pieroux, Didier; Demoulin, Philippe

2016-10-01

PICASSO - A PICo-satellite for Atmospheric and Space Science Observations is an ESA project led by the Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy, in collaboration with VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Clyde Space Ltd. (UK) and Centre Spatial de Liège (BE). The test campaign for the engineering model of the PICASSO VISION instrument, a miniaturized nanosatellite spectral imager, has been successfully completed. The test results look very promising. The proto-flight model of VISION has also been successfully integrated and it is waiting for the final integration to the satellite platform.

Knowledge-based environment for optical system design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, R. Barry

1991-01-01

Optical systems are extensively utilized by industry government and military organizations. The conceptual design engineering design fabrication and testing of these systems presently requires significant time typically on the order of 3-5 years. The Knowledge-Based Environment for Optical System Design (KB-OSD) Program has as its principal objectives the development of a methodology and tool(s) that will make a notable reduction in the development time of optical system projects reduce technical risk and overall cost. KB-OSD can be considered as a computer-based optical design associate for system engineers and design engineers. By utilizing artificial intelligence technology coupled with extensive design/evaluation computer application programs and knowledge bases the KB-OSD will provide the user with assistance and guidance to accomplish such activities as (i) develop system level and hardware level requirements from mission requirements (ii) formulate conceptual designs (iii) construct a statement of work for an RFP (iv) develop engineering level designs (v) evaluate an existing design and (vi) explore the sensitivity of a system to changing scenarios. The KB-OSD comprises a variety of computer platforms including a Stardent Titan supercomputer numerous design programs (lens design coating design thermal materials structural atmospherics etc. ) data bases and heuristic knowledge bases. An important element of the KB-OSD Program is the inclusion of the knowledge of individual experts in various areas of optics and optical system engineering. This knowledge is obtained by KB-OSD knowledge engineers performing

Concise Review: Organ Engineering: Design, Technology, and Integration.

PubMed

Kaushik, Gaurav; Leijten, Jeroen; Khademhosseini, Ali

2017-01-01

Engineering complex tissues and whole organs has the potential to dramatically impact translational medicine in several avenues. Organ engineering is a discipline that integrates biological knowledge of embryological development, anatomy, physiology, and cellular interactions with enabling technologies including biocompatible biomaterials and biofabrication platforms such as three-dimensional bioprinting. When engineering complex tissues and organs, core design principles must be taken into account, such as the structure-function relationship, biochemical signaling, mechanics, gradients, and spatial constraints. Technological advances in biomaterials, biofabrication, and biomedical imaging allow for in vitro control of these factors to recreate in vivo phenomena. Finally, organ engineering emerges as an integration of biological design and technical rigor. An overall workflow for organ engineering and guiding technology to advance biology as well as a perspective on necessary future iterations in the field is discussed. Stem Cells 2017;35:51-60. © 2016 AlphaMed Press.

Floor Plans Engine Removal Platform, Hold Down Arm Platform, ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Floor Plans - Engine Removal Platform, Hold Down Arm Platform, Hydraulic Equipment Platforms, Isometric Cutaway of Engine Removal Platform, Isometric Cutaway of Hold Down Arm Platform, Isometric Cutaway of Hydraulic Platforms and Engine Support System Access - Marshall Space Flight Center, Saturn V S-IC Static Test Facility, West Test Area, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

Encourage student learning of hydraulic matters by the use of Arduino platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodriguez Sinobas, Leonor; Granja García, Javier; Sánchez Calvo, Raúl

2014-05-01

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for several purposes to anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments. The hydraulic matters teach at the Agricultural Engineering School at the Technical University of Madrid deal with practical issues regarding the measurement of variables such as pressure, discharge, temperature and soil water content. Most of the data loggers available in the market for these variables at expensive and not always affordable. On the other hand, current students are eager to manage new technological devices thus, their skills could be oriented not only to the application of an electronic platform as Arduino to build low cost data loggers for different purposes, but to encourage their learning in the hydraulic matters improving their self esteem

Optoelectrofluidic platforms for chemistry and biology.

PubMed

Hwang, Hyundoo; Park, Je-Kyun

2011-01-07

Extraordinary advances in lab on a chip systems have been made on the basis of the development of micro/nanofluidics and its fusion with other technologies based on electrokinetics and optics. Optoelectrofluidic technology, which has been recently introduced as a new manipulation scheme, allows programmable manipulation of particles or fluids in microenvironments based on optically induced electrokinetics. Herein, the behaviour of particles or fluids can be controlled by inducing or perturbing electric fields on demand in an optical manner, which includes photochemical, photoconductive, and photothermal effects. This elegant scheme of the optoelectrofluidic platform has attracted attention in various fields of science and engineering. A lot of research on optoelectrofluidic manipulation technologies has been reported and the field has advanced rapidly, although some technical hurdles still remain. This review describes recent developments and future perspectives of optoelectrofluidic platforms for chemical and biological applications.

Cell-NPE (Numerical Performance Evaluation): Programming the IBM Cell Broadband Engine -- A General Parallelization Strategy

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-04-01

Space GmbH as follows: B. TECHNICAL PRPOPOSA/DESCRIPTION OF WORK Cell: A Revolutionary High Performance Computing Platform On 29 June 2005 [1...IBM has announced that is has partnered with Mercury Computer Systems, a maker of specialized computers . The Cell chip provides massive floating-point...the computing industry away from the traditional processor technology dominated by Intel. While in the past, the development of computing power has

DIVE: A Graph-based Visual Analytics Framework for Big Data

PubMed Central

Rysavy, Steven J.; Bromley, Dennis; Daggett, Valerie

2014-01-01

The need for data-centric scientific tools is growing; domains like biology, chemistry, and physics are increasingly adopting computational approaches. As a result, scientists must now deal with the challenges of big data. To address these challenges, we built a visual analytics platform named DIVE: Data Intensive Visualization Engine. DIVE is a data-agnostic, ontologically-expressive software framework capable of streaming large datasets at interactive speeds. Here we present the technical details of the DIVE platform, multiple usage examples, and a case study from the Dynameomics molecular dynamics project. We specifically highlight our novel contributions to structured data model manipulation and high-throughput streaming of large, structured datasets. PMID:24808197

Big Data Analytics in Chemical Engineering.

PubMed

Chiang, Leo; Lu, Bo; Castillo, Ivan

2017-06-07

Big data analytics is the journey to turn data into insights for more informed business and operational decisions. As the chemical engineering community is collecting more data (volume) from different sources (variety), this journey becomes more challenging in terms of using the right data and the right tools (analytics) to make the right decisions in real time (velocity). This article highlights recent big data advancements in five industries, including chemicals, energy, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and food, and then discusses technical, platform, and culture challenges. To reach the next milestone in multiplying successes to the enterprise level, government, academia, and industry need to collaboratively focus on workforce development and innovation.

Development of improved-durability plasma sprayed ceramic coatings for gas turbine engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sumner, I. E.; Ruckle, D. L.

1980-01-01

As part of a NASA program to reduce fuel consumption of current commercial aircraft engines, methods were investigated for improving the durability of plasma sprayed ceramic coatings for use on vane platforms in the JT9D turbofan engine. Increased durability concepts under evaluation include use of improved strain tolerant microstructures and control of the substrate temperature during coating application. Initial burner rig tests conducted at temperatures of 1010 C (1850 F) indicate that improvements in cyclic life greater than 20:1 over previous ceramic coating systems were achieved. Three plasma sprayed coating systems applied to first stage vane platforms in the high pressure turbine were subjected to a 100-cycle JT9D engine endurance test with only minor damage occurring to the coatings.

Technical issues in the conduct of large space platform experiments in plasma physics and geoplasma sciences

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Szuszczewicz, Edward P.

1986-01-01

Large, permanently-manned space platforms can provide exciting opportunities for discoveries in basic plasma and geoplasma sciences. The potential for these discoveries will depend very critically on the properties of the platform, its subsystems, and their abilities to fulfill a spectrum of scientific requirements. With this in mind, the planning of space station research initiatives and the development of attendant platform engineering should allow for the identification of critical science and technology issues that must be clarified far in advance of space station program implementation. An attempt is made to contribute to that process, with a perspective that looks to the development of the space station as a permanently-manned Spaceborne Ionospheric Weather Station. The development of this concept requires a synergism of science and technology which leads to several critical design issues. To explore the identification of these issues, the development of the concept of an Ionospheric Weather Station will necessarily touch upon a number of diverse areas. These areas are discussed.

Deep Space Network (DSN), Network Operations Control Center (NOCC) computer-human interfaces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ellman, Alvin; Carlton, Magdi

1993-01-01

The technical challenges, engineering solutions, and results of the NOCC computer-human interface design are presented. The use-centered design process was as follows: determine the design criteria for user concerns; assess the impact of design decisions on the users; and determine the technical aspects of the implementation (tools, platforms, etc.). The NOCC hardware architecture is illustrated. A graphical model of the DSN that represented the hierarchical structure of the data was constructed. The DSN spacecraft summary display is shown. Navigation from top to bottom is accomplished by clicking the appropriate button for the element about which the user desires more detail. The telemetry summary display and the antenna color decision table are also shown.

The ARGO Project: assessing NA-TECH risks on off-shore oil platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Capuano, Paolo; Basco, Anna; Di Ruocco, Angela; Esposito, Simona; Fusco, Giannetta; Garcia-Aristizabal, Alexander; Mercogliano, Paola; Salzano, Ernesto; Solaro, Giuseppe; Teofilo, Gianvito; Scandone, Paolo; Gasparini, Paolo

2017-04-01

ARGO (Analysis of natural and anthropogenic risks on off-shore oil platforms) is a 2 years project, funded by the DGS-UNMIG (Directorate General for Safety of Mining and Energy Activities - National Mining Office for Hydrocarbons and Georesources) of Italian Ministry of Economic Development. The project, coordinated by AMRA (Center for the Analysis and Monitoring of Environmental Risk), aims at providing technical support for the analysis of natural and anthropogenic risks on offshore oil platforms. In order to achieve this challenging objective, ARGO brings together climate experts, risk management experts, seismologists, geologists, chemical engineers, earth and coastal observation experts. ARGO has developed methodologies for the probabilistic analysis of industrial accidents triggered by natural events (NA-TECH) on offshore oil platforms in the Italian seas, including extreme events related to climate changes. Furthermore the environmental effect of offshore activities has been investigated, including: changes on seismicity and on the evolution of coastal areas close to offshore platforms. Then a probabilistic multi-risk framework has been developed for the analysis of NA-TECH events on offshore installations for hydrocarbon extraction.

Carbon Dioxide Observational Platform System (CO-OPS), feasibility study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bouquet, D. L.; Hall, D. W.; Mcelveen, R. P.

1987-01-01

The Carbon Dioxide Observational Platform System (CO-OPS) is a near-space, geostationary, multi-user, unmanned microwave powered monitoring platform system. This systems engineering feasibility study addressed identified existing requirements such as: carbon dioxide observational data requirements, communications requirements, and eye-in-the-sky requirements of other groups like the Defense Department, the Forestry Service, and the Coast Guard. In addition, potential applications in: earth system science, space system sciences, and test and verification (satellite sensors and data management techniques) were considered. The eleven month effort is summarized. Past work and methods of gathering the required observational data were assessed and rough-order-of magnitude cost estimates have shown the CO-OPS system to be most cost effective (less than $30 million within a 10 year lifetime). It was also concluded that there are no technical, schedule, or obstacles that would prevent achieving the objectives of the total 5-year CO-OPS program.

Airship platform for high-resolution space technology telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, John A.

1995-06-01

This paper sets out to describe the utilization of an unmanned lighter-than-air vehicle as a sub- orbital airborne mission platform for the deployment of space technology telescopes allowing innovative space quality astronomy to be conducted. The paper describes how a low cost airship of relatively simple design can be produced that will be capable of operating in an unmanned remotely piloted mode from a base, fly to a pressure altitude, shut down engines, and operate in a free balloon stage for the period of experimental research. It will be shown that ballooning will allow the platform to be completely free from vibration, and in conjunction with high altitude and polar weather conditions minimize perturbation caused by weather. This paper outlines the technical features of the airship, the projected mission interfaces and the modus operandi of Airship delivery, ground base and missions operations, and final recovery.

Automotive Stirling engine development program: A success

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tabata, W. K.

1987-01-01

The original 5-yr Automotive Stirling Engine Development Program has been extended to 10 years due to reduced annual funding levels. With an estimated completion date of April 1988, the technical achievements and the prospectives of meeting the original program objectives are reviewed. Various other applications of this developed Stirling engine technology are also discussed.

Automotive Stirling engine development program - A success

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tabata, William K.

1987-01-01

The original 5-year Automotive Stirling Engine Development Program has been extended to 10 years due to reduced annual funding levels. With an estimated completion date of April 1988, the technical achievements and the prospectives of meeting the original program objectives are reviewed. Various other applications of this developed Stirling engine technology are also discussed.

15 CFR 911.8 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... PROCEDURES CONCERNING USE OF THE NOAA SPACE-BASED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS § 911.8 Technical requirements. (a) All platform operators of the NOAA DCS must use a data collection platform radio set whose technical...

15 CFR 911.8 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... PROCEDURES CONCERNING USE OF THE NOAA SPACE-BASED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS § 911.8 Technical requirements. (a) All platform operators of the NOAA DCS must use a data collection platform radio set whose technical...

15 CFR 911.8 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... PROCEDURES CONCERNING USE OF THE NOAA SPACE-BASED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS § 911.8 Technical requirements. (a) All platform operators of the NOAA DCS must use a data collection platform radio set whose technical...

15 CFR 911.8 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... PROCEDURES CONCERNING USE OF THE NOAA SPACE-BASED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS § 911.8 Technical requirements. (a) All platform operators of the NOAA DCS must use a data collection platform radio set whose technical...

15 CFR 911.8 - Technical requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... PROCEDURES CONCERNING USE OF THE NOAA SPACE-BASED DATA COLLECTION SYSTEMS § 911.8 Technical requirements. (a) All platform operators of the NOAA DCS must use a data collection platform radio set whose technical...

Designing with Protocells: Applications of a Novel Technical Platform

PubMed Central

Armstrong, Rachel

2014-01-01

The paper offers a design perspective on protocell applications and presents original research that characterizes the life-like qualities of the Bütschli dynamic droplet system, as a particular “species” of protocell. Specific focus is given to the possibility of protocell species becoming a technical platform for designing and engineering life-like solutions to address design challenges. An alternative framing of the protocell, based on process philosophy, sheds light on its capabilities as a technology that can deal with probability and whose ontology is consistent with complexity, nonlinear dynamics and the flow of energy and matter. However, the proposed technical systems do not yet formally exist as products or mature technologies. Their potential applications are therefore experimentally examined within a design context as architectural “projects”—an established way of considering proposals that have not yet been realized, like an extended hypothesis. Exemplary design-led projects are introduced, such as The Hylozoic Ground and Future Venice, which aim to “discover”, rather than “solve”, challenges to examine a set of possibilities that have not yet been resolved. The value of such exploration in design practice is in opening up a set of potential directions for further assessment before complex challenges are procedurally implemented. PMID:25370381

Using Model-Based Systems Engineering To Provide Artifacts for NASA Project Life-Cycle and Technical Reviews

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrott, Edith L.; Weiland, Karen J.

2017-01-01

The ability of systems engineers to use model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to generate self-consistent, up-to-date systems engineering products for project life-cycle and technical reviews is an important aspect for the continued and accelerated acceptance of MBSE. Currently, many review products are generated using labor-intensive, error-prone approaches based on documents, spreadsheets, and chart sets; a promised benefit of MBSE is that users will experience reductions in inconsistencies and errors. This work examines features of SysML that can be used to generate systems engineering products. Model elements, relationships, tables, and diagrams are identified for a large number of the typical systems engineering artifacts. A SysML system model can contain and generate most systems engineering products to a significant extent and this paper provides a guide on how to use MBSE to generate products for project life-cycle and technical reviews. The use of MBSE can reduce the schedule impact usually experienced for review preparation, as in many cases the review products can be auto-generated directly from the system model. These approaches are useful to systems engineers, project managers, review board members, and other key project stakeholders.

Assessing the Potential of Stratospheric Balloons for Planetary Science

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kremic, Tibor; Hibbitts, Karl; Young, Eliot; Landis, Robert; Noll, Keith; Baines, Kevin

2013-01-01

Recent developments in high altitude balloon platform capabilities, specifically long duration flights in excess of 50 days at over 100,000 ft and precision pointing with performance at the arc sec level or better have raised the question whether this platform can be utilized for high-value planetary science observations. In January of 2012 a workshop was held at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio to explore what planetary science can be achieved utilizing such a platform. Over 40 science concepts were identified by the scientists and engineers attending the workshop. Those ideas were captured and then posted to a public website for all interested planetary scientists to review and give their comments. The results of the workshop, and subsequent community review, have demonstrated that this platform appears to have potential for high-value science at very competitive costs. Given these positive results, the assessment process was extended to include 1) examining, in more detail, the requirements for the gondola platform and the mission scenarios 2) identifying technical challenges and 3) developing one or more platform concepts in enough fidelity to enable accurate estimating of development and mission costs. This paper provides a review of the assessment, a summary of the achievable science and the challenges to make that science a reality with this platform.

Assessing the potential of stratospheric balloons for planetary science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kremic, T.; Hibbitts, K.; Young, E.; Landis, R.; Noll, K.; Baines, K.

Recent developments in high altitude balloon platform capabilities, specifically long duration flights in excess of 50 days at over 100,000 ft and precision pointing with performance at the arc sec level or better have raised the question whether this platform can be utilized for high-value planetary science observations. In January of 2012 a workshop was held at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio to explore what planetary science can be achieved utilizing such a platform. Over 40 science concepts were identified by the scientists and engineers attending the workshop. Those ideas were captured and then posted to a public website for all interested planetary scientists to review and give their comments. The results of the workshop, and subsequent community review, have demonstrated that this platform appears to have potential for high-value science at very competitive costs. Given these positive results, the assessment process was extended to include 1) examining, in more detail, the requirements for the gondola platform and the mission scenarios 2) identifying technical challenges and 3) developing one or more platform concepts in enough fidelity to enable accurate estimating of development and mission costs. This paper provides a review of the assessment, a summary of the achievable science and the challenges to make that science a reality with this platform.

Buried waste integrated demonstration human engineered control station. Final report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-09-01

This document describes the Human Engineered Control Station (HECS) project activities including the conceptual designs. The purpose of the HECS is to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of remote retrieval by providing an integrated remote control station. The HECS integrates human capabilities, limitations, and expectations into the design to reduce the potential for human error, provides an easy system to learn and operate, provides an increased productivity, and reduces the ultimate investment in training. The overall HECS consists of the technology interface stations, supporting engineering aids, platform (trailer), communications network (broadband system), and collision avoidance system.

Technology Transfer Challenges: A Case Study of User-Centered Design in NASA's Systems Engineering Culture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quick, Jason

2009-01-01

The Upper Stage (US) section of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Ares I rocket will require internal access platforms for maintenance tasks performed by humans inside the vehicle. Tasks will occur during expensive critical path operations at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) including vehicle stacking and launch preparation activities. Platforms must be translated through a small human access hatch, installed in an enclosed worksite environment, support the weight of ground operators and be removed before flight - and their design must minimize additional vehicle mass at attachment points. This paper describes the application of a user-centered conceptual design process and the unique challenges encountered within NASA's systems engineering culture focused on requirements and "heritage hardware". The NASA design team at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) initiated the user-centered design process by studying heritage internal access kits and proposing new design concepts during brainstorming sessions. Simultaneously, they partnered with the Technology Transfer/Innovative Partnerships Program to research inflatable structures and dynamic scaffolding solutions that could enable ground operator access. While this creative, technology-oriented exploration was encouraged by upper management, some design stakeholders consistently opposed ideas utilizing novel, untested equipment. Subsequent collaboration with an engineering consulting firm improved the technical credibility of several options, however, there was continued resistance from team members focused on meeting system requirements with pre-certified hardware. After a six-month idea-generating phase, an intensive six-week effort produced viable design concepts that justified additional vehicle mass while optimizing the human factors of platform installation and use. Although these selected final concepts closely resemble heritage internal access platforms, challenges from the application of the user-centered process provided valuable lessons for improving future collaborative conceptual design efforts.

DOVIS: an implementation for high-throughput virtual screening using AutoDock.

PubMed

Zhang, Shuxing; Kumar, Kamal; Jiang, Xiaohui; Wallqvist, Anders; Reifman, Jaques

2008-02-27

Molecular-docking-based virtual screening is an important tool in drug discovery that is used to significantly reduce the number of possible chemical compounds to be investigated. In addition to the selection of a sound docking strategy with appropriate scoring functions, another technical challenge is to in silico screen millions of compounds in a reasonable time. To meet this challenge, it is necessary to use high performance computing (HPC) platforms and techniques. However, the development of an integrated HPC system that makes efficient use of its elements is not trivial. We have developed an application termed DOVIS that uses AutoDock (version 3) as the docking engine and runs in parallel on a Linux cluster. DOVIS can efficiently dock large numbers (millions) of small molecules (ligands) to a receptor, screening 500 to 1,000 compounds per processor per day. Furthermore, in DOVIS, the docking session is fully integrated and automated in that the inputs are specified via a graphical user interface, the calculations are fully integrated with a Linux cluster queuing system for parallel processing, and the results can be visualized and queried. DOVIS removes most of the complexities and organizational problems associated with large-scale high-throughput virtual screening, and provides a convenient and efficient solution for AutoDock users to use this software in a Linux cluster platform.

A High Throughput Model of Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis using Engineered Cartilage Tissue Analogs

PubMed Central

Mohanraj, Bhavana; Meloni, Gregory R.; Mauck, Robert L.; Dodge, George R.

2014-01-01

(1) Objective A number of in vitro models of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) have been developed to study the effect of mechanical overload on the processes that regulate cartilage degeneration. While such frameworks are critical for the identification therapeutic targets, existing technologies are limited in their throughput capacity. Here, we validate a test platform for high-throughput mechanical injury incorporating engineered cartilage. (2) Method We utilized a high throughput mechanical testing platform to apply injurious compression to engineered cartilage and determined their strain and strain rate dependent responses to injury. Next, we validated this response by applying the same injury conditions to cartilage explants. Finally, we conducted a pilot screen of putative PTOA therapeutic compounds. (3) Results Engineered cartilage response to injury was strain dependent, with a 2-fold increase in GAG loss at 75% compared to 50% strain. Extensive cell death was observed adjacent to fissures, with membrane rupture corroborated by marked increases in LDH release. Testing of established PTOA therapeutics showed that pan-caspase inhibitor (ZVF) was effective at reducing cell death, while the amphiphilic polymer (P188) and the free-radical scavenger (NAC) reduced GAG loss as compared to injury alone. (4) Conclusions The injury response in this engineered cartilage model replicated key features of the response from cartilage explants, validating this system for application of physiologically relevant injurious compression. This study establishes a novel tool for the discovery of mechanisms governing cartilage injury, as well as a screening platform for the identification of new molecules for the treatment of PTOA. PMID:24999113

The iCRISPR platform for rapid genome editing in human pluripotent stem cells.

PubMed

Zhu, Zengrong; González, Federico; Huangfu, Danwei

2014-01-01

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have the potential to generate all adult cell types, including rare or inaccessible human cell populations, thus providing a unique platform for disease studies. To realize this promise, it is essential to develop methods for efficient genetic manipulations in hPSCs. Established using TALEN (transcription activator-like effector nuclease) and CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)/Cas (CRISPR-associated) systems, the iCRISPR platform supports a variety of genome-engineering approaches with high efficiencies. Here, we first describe the establishment of the iCRISPR platform through TALEN-mediated targeting of inducible Cas9 expression cassettes into the AAVS1 locus. Next, we provide a series of technical procedures for using iCRISPR to achieve one-step knockout of one or multiple gene(s), "scarless" introduction of precise nucleotide alterations, as well as inducible knockout during hPSC differentiation. We present an optimized workflow, as well as guidelines for the selection of CRISPR targeting sequences and the design of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) homology-directed DNA repair templates for the introduction of specific nucleotide alterations. We have successfully used these protocols in four different hPSC lines, including human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. Once the iCRISPR platform is established, clonal lines with desired genetic modifications can be established in as little as 1 month. The methods described here enable a wide range of genome-engineering applications in hPSCs, thus providing a valuable resource for the creation of diverse hPSC-based disease models with superior speed and ease.

DynaMiTES - A dynamic cell culture platform for in vitro drug testing PART 1 - Engineering of microfluidic system and technical simulations.

PubMed

Mattern, Kai; Beißner, Nicole; Reichl, Stephan; Dietzel, Andreas

2018-05-01

Conventional safety and efficacy test models, such as animal experiments or static in vitro cell culture models, can often not reliably predict the most promising drug candidates. Therefore, a novel microfluidic cell culture platform, called Dynamic Micro Tissue Engineering System (DynaMiTES), was designed to allow online analysis of drugs permeating through barrier forming tissues under dynamic conditions combined with monitoring of the transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) by electrodes optimized for homogeneous current distribution. A variety of pre-cultivated cell culture inserts can be integrated and exposed to well controlled dynamic micro flow conditions, resulting in a tightly regulated exposure of the cells to tested drugs, drug formulations and shear forces. With these qualities, the new system can provide more relevant information compared to static measurements. As a first in vitro model, a three-dimensional hemicornea construct consisting of human keratocytes (HCK-Ca) and epithelial cells (HCE-T) was successfully tested in the DynaMiTES. Thereby, we were able to demonstrate the functionality and cell compatibility of this new organ on chip test platform. The modular design of the DynaMiTES allows fast adaptation suitable for the investigation of drug permeation through other important cellular barriers. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

NCAR Earth Observing Laboratory - An End-to-End Observational Science Enterprise

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rockwell, A.; Baeuerle, B.; Grubišić, V.; Hock, T. F.; Lee, W. C.; Ranson, J.; Stith, J. L.; Stossmeister, G.

2017-12-01

Researchers who want to understand and describe the Earth System require high-quality observations of the atmosphere, ocean, and biosphere. Making these observations not only requires capable research platforms and state-of-the-art instrumentation but also benefits from comprehensive in-field project management and data services. NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory (EOL) is an end-to-end observational science enterprise that provides leadership in observational research to scientists from universities, U.S. government agencies, and NCAR. Deployment: EOL manages the majority of the NSF Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities, which includes research aircraft, radars, lidars, profilers, and surface and sounding systems. This suite is designed to address a wide range of Earth system science - from microscale to climate process studies and from the planet's surface into the Upper Troposphere/Lower Stratosphere. EOL offers scientific, technical, operational, and logistics support to small and large field campaigns across the globe. Development: By working closely with the scientific community, EOL's engineering and scientific staff actively develop the next generation of observing facilities, staying abreast of emerging trends, technologies, and applications in order to improve our measurement capabilities. Through our Design and Fabrication Services, we also offer high-level engineering and technical expertise, mechanical design, and fabrication to the atmospheric research community. Data Services: EOL's platforms and instruments collect unique datasets that must be validated, archived, and made available to the research community. EOL's Data Management and Services deliver high-quality datasets and metadata in ways that are transparent, secure, and easily accessible. We are committed to the highest standard of data stewardship from collection to validation to archival. Discovery: EOL promotes curiosity about Earth science, and fosters advanced understanding of the processes involved in observational research. Through EOL's Education and Outreach Program, we strive to inspire and develop the next generation of observational scientists and engineers by offering a range of educational, experiential, and outreach opportunities, including engineering internships.

Predicted Performance of a Thrust-Enhanced SR-71 Aircraft with an External Payload

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Conners, Timothy R.

1997-01-01

NASA Dryden Flight Research Center has completed a preliminary performance analysis of the SR-71 aircraft for use as a launch platform for high-speed research vehicles and for carrying captive experimental packages to high altitude and Mach number conditions. Externally mounted research platforms can significantly increase drag, limiting test time and, in extreme cases, prohibiting penetration through the high-drag, transonic flight regime. To provide supplemental SR-71 acceleration, methods have been developed that could increase the thrust of the J58 turbojet engines. These methods include temperature and speed increases and augmentor nitrous oxide injection. The thrust-enhanced engines would allow the SR-71 aircraft to carry higher drag research platforms than it could without enhancement. This paper presents predicted SR-71 performance with and without enhanced engines. A modified climb-dive technique is shown to reduce fuel consumption when flying through the transonic flight regime with a large external payload. Estimates are included of the maximum platform drag profiles with which the aircraft could still complete a high-speed research mission. In this case, enhancement was found to increase the SR-71 payload drag capability by 25 percent. The thrust enhancement techniques and performance prediction methodology are described.

Alternatives for jet engine control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sain, M. K.

1984-01-01

The technical progress of researches on alternatives for jet engine control is reported. Extensive numerical testing is included. It is indicated that optimal inputs contribute significantly to the process of calculating tensor approximations for nonlinear systems, and that the resulting approximations may be order-reduced in a systematic way.

[Design of visualized medical images network and web platform based on MeVisLab].

PubMed

Xiang, Jun; Ye, Qing; Yuan, Xun

2017-04-01

With the trend of the development of "Internet +", some further requirements for the mobility of medical images have been required in the medical field. In view of this demand, this paper presents a web-based visual medical imaging platform. First, the feasibility of medical imaging is analyzed and technical points. CT (Computed Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) images are reconstructed three-dimensionally by MeVisLab and packaged as X3D (Extensible 3D Graphics) files shown in the present paper. Then, the B/S (Browser/Server) system specially designed for 3D image is designed by using the HTML 5 and WebGL rendering engine library, and the X3D image file is parsed and rendered by the system. The results of this study showed that the platform was suitable for multiple operating systems to realize the platform-crossing and mobilization of medical image data. The development of medical imaging platform is also pointed out in this paper. It notes that web application technology will not only promote the sharing of medical image data, but also facilitate image-based medical remote consultations and distance learning.

Application and Mechanics Analysis of Multi-Function Construction Platforms in Prefabricated-Concrete Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Meihua; Li, Rongshuai; Zhang, Wenze

2017-11-01

Multi-function construction platforms (MCPs) as an “old construction technology, new application” of the building facade construction equipment, its efforts to reduce labour intensity, improve labour productivity, ensure construction safety, shorten the duration of construction and other aspects of the effect are significant. In this study, the functional analysis of the multi-function construction platforms is carried out in the construction of the assembly building. Based on the general finite element software ANSYS, the static calculation and dynamic characteristics analysis of the MCPs structure are analysed, the simplified finite element model is constructed, and the selection of the unit, the processing and solution of boundary are under discussion and research. The maximum deformation value, the maximum stress value and the structural dynamic characteristic model are obtained. The dangerous parts of the platform structure are analysed, too. Multiple types of MCPs under engineering construction conditions are calculated, so as to put forward the rationalization suggestions for engineering application of the MCPs.

Multi-service terminal adapter based on IP technology applications in rural area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Li; Li, Xiaobo; Yan, Juntao; Ren, Xupeng

Take advantage of ample modern existing telecom network resources to rural areas may achieve it's information society gradually. This includes the establishment of integrated rural information service platform, modern remote education center and electronic administration management platform for rural areas. The geographical and economic constraints must be overcome for structuring the rural service support system, in order to provide technical support, information products and information services to modern rural information service system. It is important that development an access platform based IP technology, which supports multi-service access in order to implement a variety of types of mobile terminal equipment adapter access and to reduce restrictions on mobile terminal equipment.

Metabolic engineering in chemolithoautotrophic hosts for the production of fuels and chemicals.

PubMed

Nybo, S Eric; Khan, Nymul E; Woolston, Benjamin M; Curtis, Wayne R

2015-07-01

The ability of autotrophic organisms to fix CO2 presents an opportunity to utilize this 'greenhouse gas' as an inexpensive substrate for biochemical production. Unlike conventional heterotrophic microorganisms that consume carbohydrates and amino acids, prokaryotic chemolithoautotrophs have evolved the capacity to utilize reduced chemical compounds to fix CO2 and drive metabolic processes. The use of chemolithoautotrophic hosts as production platforms has been renewed by the prospect of metabolically engineered commodity chemicals and fuels. Efforts such as the ARPA-E electrofuels program highlight both the potential and obstacles that chemolithoautotrophic biosynthetic platforms provide. This review surveys the numerous advances that have been made in chemolithoautotrophic metabolic engineering with a focus on hydrogen oxidizing bacteria such as the model chemolithoautotrophic organism (Ralstonia), the purple photosynthetic bacteria (Rhodobacter), and anaerobic acetogens. Two alternative strategies of microbial chassis development are considered: (1) introducing or enhancing autotrophic capabilities (carbon fixation, hydrogen utilization) in model heterotrophic organisms, or (2) improving tools for pathway engineering (transformation methods, promoters, vectors etc.) in native autotrophic organisms. Unique characteristics of autotrophic growth as they relate to bioreactor design and process development are also discussed in the context of challenges and opportunities for genetic manipulation of organisms as production platforms. Copyright © 2015 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Use of Orbital Shaken Disposable Bioreactors for Mammalian Cell Cultures from the Milliliter-Scale to the 1,000-Liter Scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Xiaowei; Stettler, Matthieu; de Sanctis, Dario; Perrone, Marco; Parolini, Nicola; Discacciati, Marco; de Jesus, Maria; Hacker, David; Quarteroni, Alfio; Wurm, Florian

Driven by the commercial success of recombinant biopharmaceuticals, there is an increasing demand for novel mammalian cell culture bioreactor systems for the rapid production of biologicals that require mammalian protein processing. Recently, orbitally shaken bioreactors at scales from 50 mL to 1,000 L have been explored for the cultivation of mammalian cells and are considered to be attractive alternatives to conventional stirred-tank bioreactors because of increased flexibility and reduced costs. Adequate oxygen transfer capacity was maintained during the scale-up, and strategies to increase further oxygen transfer rates (OTR) were explored, while maintaining favorable mixing parameters and low-stress conditions for sensitive lipid membrane-enclosed cells. Investigations from process development to the engineering properties of shaken bioreactors are underway, but the feasibility of establishing a robust, standardized, and transferable technical platform for mammalian cell culture based on orbital shaking and disposable materials has been established with further optimizations and studies ongoing.

Use of orbital shaken disposable bioreactors for mammalian cell cultures from the milliliter-scale to the 1,000-liter scale.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiaowei; Stettler, Matthieu; De Sanctis, Dario; Perrone, Marco; Parolini, Nicola; Discacciati, Marco; De Jesus, Maria; Hacker, David; Quarteroni, Alfio; Wurm, Florian

2009-01-01

Driven by the commercial success of recombinant biopharmaceuticals, there is an increasing demand for novel mammalian cell culture bioreactor systems for the rapid production of biologicals that require mammalian protein processing. Recently, orbitally shaken bioreactors at scales from 50 mL to 1,000 L have been explored for the cultivation of mammalian cells and are considered to be attractive alternatives to conventional stirred-tank bioreactors because of increased flexibility and reduced costs. Adequate oxygen transfer capacity was maintained during the scale-up, and strategies to increase further oxygen transfer rates (OTR) were explored, while maintaining favorable mixing parameters and low-stress conditions for sensitive lipid membrane-enclosed cells. Investigations from process development to the engineering properties of shaken bioreactors are underway, but the feasibility of establishing a robust, standardized, and transferable technical platform for mammalian cell culture based on orbital shaking and disposable materials has been established with further optimizations and studies ongoing.

Applied Space Systems Engineering. Chapter 17; Manage Technical Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kent, Peter

2008-01-01

Effective space systems engineering (SSE) is conducted in a fully electronic manner. Competitive hardware, software, and system designs are created in a totally digital environment that enables rapid product design and manufacturing cycles, as well as a multitude of techniques such as modeling, simulation, and lean manufacturing that significantly reduce the lifecycle cost of systems. Because the SSE lifecycle depends on the digital environment, managing the enormous volumes of technical data needed to describe, build, deploy, and operate systems is a critical factor in the success of a project. This chapter presents the key aspects of Technical Data Management (TDM) within the SSE process. It is written from the perspective of the System Engineer tasked with establishing the TDM process and infrastructure for a major project. Additional perspectives are reflected from the point of view of the engineers on the project who work within the digital engineering environment established by the TDM toolset and infrastructure, and from the point of view of the contactors who interface via the TDM infrastructure. Table 17.1 lists the TDM process as it relates to SSE.

Using Model-Based Systems Engineering to Provide Artifacts for NASA Project Life-cycle and Technical Reviews

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parrott, Edith L.; Weiland, Karen J.

2017-01-01

This paper is for the AIAA Space Conference. The ability of systems engineers to use model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to generate self-consistent, up-to-date systems engineering products for project life-cycle and technical reviews is an important aspect for the continued and accelerated acceptance of MBSE. Currently, many review products are generated using labor-intensive, error-prone approaches based on documents, spreadsheets, and chart sets; a promised benefit of MBSE is that users will experience reductions in inconsistencies and errors. This work examines features of SysML that can be used to generate systems engineering products. Model elements, relationships, tables, and diagrams are identified for a large number of the typical systems engineering artifacts. A SysML system model can contain and generate most systems engineering products to a significant extent and this paper provides a guide on how to use MBSE to generate products for project life-cycle and technical reviews. The use of MBSE can reduce the schedule impact usually experienced for review preparation, as in many cases the review products can be auto-generated directly from the system model. These approaches are useful to systems engineers, project managers, review board members, and other key project stakeholders.

Autonomous low-power magnetic data collection platform to enable remote high latitude array deployment.

PubMed

Musko, Stephen B; Clauer, C Robert; Ridley, Aaron J; Arnett, Kennneth L

2009-04-01

A major driver in the advancement of geophysical sciences is improvement in the quality and resolution of data for use in scientific analysis, discovery, and for assimilation into or validation of empirical and physical models. The need for more and better measurements together with improvements in technical capabilities is driving the ambition to deploy arrays of autonomous geophysical instrument platforms in remote regions. This is particularly true in the southern polar regions where measurements are presently sparse due to the remoteness, lack of infrastructure, and harshness of the environment. The need for the acquisition of continuous long-term data from remote polar locations exists across geophysical disciplines and is a generic infrastructure problem. The infrastructure, however, to support autonomous instrument platforms in polar environments is still in the early stages of development. We report here the development of an autonomous low-power magnetic variation data collection system. Following 2 years of field testing at the south pole station, the system is being reproduced to establish a dense chain of stations on the Antarctic plateau along the 40 degrees magnetic meridian. The system is designed to operate for at least 5 years unattended and to provide data access via satellite communication. The system will store 1 s measurements of the magnetic field variation (<0.2 nT resolution) in three vector components plus a variety of engineering status and environment parameters. We believe that the data collection platform can be utilized by a variety of low-power instruments designed for low-temperature operation. The design, technical characteristics, and operation results are presented here.

Supporting interoperability of collaborative networks through engineering of a service-based Mediation Information System (MISE 2.0)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benaben, Frederick; Mu, Wenxin; Boissel-Dallier, Nicolas; Barthe-Delanoe, Anne-Marie; Zribi, Sarah; Pingaud, Herve

2015-08-01

The Mediation Information System Engineering project is currently finishing its second iteration (MISE 2.0). The main objective of this scientific project is to provide any emerging collaborative situation with methods and tools to deploy a Mediation Information System (MIS). MISE 2.0 aims at defining and designing a service-based platform, dedicated to initiating and supporting the interoperability of collaborative situations among potential partners. This MISE 2.0 platform implements a model-driven engineering approach to the design of a service-oriented MIS dedicated to supporting the collaborative situation. This approach is structured in three layers, each providing their own key innovative points: (i) the gathering of individual and collaborative knowledge to provide appropriate collaborative business behaviour (key point: knowledge management, including semantics, exploitation and capitalisation), (ii) deployment of a mediation information system able to computerise the previously deduced collaborative processes (key point: the automatic generation of collaborative workflows, including connection with existing devices or services) (iii) the management of the agility of the obtained collaborative network of organisations (key point: supervision of collaborative situations and relevant exploitation of the gathered data). MISE covers business issues (through BPM), technical issues (through an SOA) and agility issues of collaborative situations (through EDA).

Systems Engineering of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kurtz, D. W.; Levin, R. R.

1986-01-01

Technical paper notes systems engineering principles applied to development of electric and hybrid vehicles such that system performance requirements support overall program goal of reduced petroleum consumption. Paper discusses iterative design approach dictated by systems analyses. In addition to obvious peformance parameters of range, acceleration rate, and energy consumption, systems engineering also considers such major factors as cost, safety, reliability, comfort, necessary supporting infrastructure, and availability of materials.

Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelick, Noel

2013-04-01

The Google Earth Engine platform is a system designed to enable petabyte-scale, scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets. Earth Engine provides a consolidated environment including a massive data catalog co-located with thousands of computers for analysis. The user-friendly front-end provides a workbench environment to allow interactive data and algorithm development and exploration and provides a convenient mechanism for scientists to share data, visualizations and analytic algorithms via URLs. The Earth Engine data catalog contains a wide variety of popular, curated datasets, including the world's largest online collection of Landsat scenes (> 2.0M), numerous MODIS collections, and many vector-based data sets. The platform provides a uniform access mechanism to a variety of data types, independent of their bands, projection, bit-depth, resolution, etc..., facilitating easy multi-sensor analysis. Additionally, a user is able to add and curate their own data and collections. Using a just-in-time, distributed computation model, Earth Engine can rapidly process enormous quantities of geo-spatial data. All computation is performed lazily; nothing is computed until it's required either for output or as input to another step. This model allows real-time feedback and preview during algorithm development, supporting a rapid algorithm development, test, and improvement cycle that scales seamlessly to large-scale production data processing. Through integration with a variety of other services, Earth Engine is able to bring to bear considerable analytic and technical firepower in a transparent fashion, including: AI-based classification via integration with Google's machine learning infrastructure, publishing and distribution at Google scale through integration with the Google Maps API, Maps Engine and Google Earth, and support for in-the-field activities such as validation, ground-truthing, crowd-sourcing and citizen science though the Android Open Data Kit.

Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gorelick, N.

2012-12-01

The Google Earth Engine platform is a system designed to enable petabyte-scale, scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets. Earth Engine provides a consolidated environment including a massive data catalog co-located with thousands of computers for analysis. The user-friendly front-end provides a workbench environment to allow interactive data and algorithm development and exploration and provides a convenient mechanism for scientists to share data, visualizations and analytic algorithms via URLs. The Earth Engine data catalog contains a wide variety of popular, curated datasets, including the world's largest online collection of Landsat scenes (> 2.0M), numerous MODIS collections, and many vector-based data sets. The platform provides a uniform access mechanism to a variety of data types, independent of their bands, projection, bit-depth, resolution, etc..., facilitating easy multi-sensor analysis. Additionally, a user is able to add and curate their own data and collections. Using a just-in-time, distributed computation model, Earth Engine can rapidly process enormous quantities of geo-spatial data. All computation is performed lazily; nothing is computed until it's required either for output or as input to another step. This model allows real-time feedback and preview during algorithm development, supporting a rapid algorithm development, test, and improvement cycle that scales seamlessly to large-scale production data processing. Through integration with a variety of other services, Earth Engine is able to bring to bear considerable analytic and technical firepower in a transparent fashion, including: AI-based classification via integration with Google's machine learning infrastructure, publishing and distribution at Google scale through integration with the Google Maps API, Maps Engine and Google Earth, and support for in-the-field activities such as validation, ground-truthing, crowd-sourcing and citizen science though the Android Open Data Kit.

Preliminary Investigation of Several Root Designs for Cermet Turbine Blades in Turbojet Engine III : Curved-root Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinkel, Benjamin; Deutsch, George C; Morgan, William C

1955-01-01

Stresses om tje root fastenings of turbine blades were appreciably reduced by redesign of the root. The redesign consisted in curving the root to approximately conform to the camber of the airfoil and elimination of the blade platform. Full-scale jet-engine tests at rated speed using cermet blades of the design confirmed the improvement.

A Study of the Impact of Peak Demand on Increasing Vulnerability of Cascading Failures to Extreme Contingency Events

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vyakaranam, Bharat GNVSR; Vallem, Mallikarjuna R.; Nguyen, Tony B.

The vulnerability of large power systems to cascading failures and major blackouts has become evident since the Northeast blackout in 1965. Based on analyses of the series of cascading blackouts in the past decade, the research community realized the urgent need to develop better methods, tools, and practices for performing cascading-outage analysis and for evaluating mitigations that are easily accessible by utility planning engineers. PNNL has developed the Dynamic Contingency Analysis Tool (DCAT) as an open-platform and publicly available methodology to help develop applications that aim to improve the capabilities of power planning engineers to assess the impact and likelihoodmore » of extreme contingencies and potential cascading events across their systems and interconnections. DCAT analysis will help identify potential vulnerabilities and allow study of mitigation solutions to reduce the risk of cascading outages in technically sound and effective ways. Using the DCAT capability, we examined the impacts of various load conditions to identify situations in which the power grid may encounter cascading outages that could lead to potential blackouts. This paper describes the usefulness of the DCAT tool and how it helps to understand potential impacts of load demand on cascading failures on the power system.« less

Simultaneous utilization of cellobiose, xylose, and acetic acid from lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production by an engineered yeast platform.

PubMed

Wei, Na; Oh, Eun Joong; Million, Gyver; Cate, Jamie H D; Jin, Yong-Su

2015-06-19

The inability of fermenting microorganisms to use mixed carbon components derived from lignocellulosic biomass is a major technical barrier that hinders the development of economically viable cellulosic biofuel production. In this study, we integrated the fermentation pathways of both hexose and pentose sugars and an acetic acid reduction pathway into one Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain for the first time using synthetic biology and metabolic engineering approaches. The engineered strain coutilized cellobiose, xylose, and acetic acid to produce ethanol with a substantially higher yield and productivity than the control strains, and the results showed the unique synergistic effects of pathway coexpression. The mixed substrate coutilization strategy is important for making complete and efficient use of cellulosic carbon and will contribute to the development of consolidated bioprocessing for cellulosic biofuel. The study also presents an innovative metabolic engineering approach whereby multiple substrate consumption pathways can be integrated in a synergistic way for enhanced bioconversion.

Lab Manual & Resources for Materials Science, Engineering and Technology on CD-Rom

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacobs, James A.; McKenney, Alfred E.

2001-01-01

The National Educators' Workshop (NEW:Update) series of workshops has been in existence since 1986. These annual workshops focus on technical updates and laboratory experiments for materials science, engineering and technology, involving new and traditional content in the field. Scores of educators and industrial and national laboratory personnel have contributed many useful experiments and demonstrations which were then published as NASA Conference Proceedings. This "out poring of riches" creates an ever-expanding shelf of valuable teaching tools for college, university, community college and advanced high school instruction. Now, more than 400 experiments and demonstrations, representing the first thirteen years of NEW:Updates have been selected and published on a CD-ROM, through the collaboration of this national network of materials educators, engineers, and scientists. The CD-ROM examined in this document utilizes the popular Adobe Acrobat Reader format and operates on most popular computer platforms. This presentation provides an overview of the second edition of Experiments in Materials Science, Engineering and Technology (EMSET2) CD-ROM, ISBN 0-13-030534-0.

Motor-Reducer Sizing through a MATLAB-Based Graphical Technique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Giberti, H.; Cinquemani, S.

2012-01-01

The design of the drive system for an automatic machine and its correct sizing is a very important competence for an electrical or mechatronic engineer. This requires knowledge that crosses the fields of electrical engineering, electronics and mechanics, as well as the skill to choose commercial components based upon their technical documentation.…

Future fuels and engines for railroad locomotives. Volume 2: Technical document

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liddle, S. G.

1981-01-01

The potential for reducing the dependence of railroads on petroleum fuel, particularly Diesel No. 2 was studied. The study takes two approaches: to determine the use of Diesel No. 2 can be reduced through increased efficiency and conservation, and to use fuels other than Diesel No. 2 both in Diesel and other types of engines. Synthetic hydrocarbon fuels, probably derived from oil shale, will be needed if present diesel-electric locomotives continue to be used.

NOAA/DOE CWP structural analysis package. [CWPFLY, CWPEXT, COTEC, and XOTEC codes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pompa, J.A.; Lunz, D.F.

1979-09-01

The theoretical development and computer code user's manual for analysis of the Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plant cold water pipe (CWP) are presented. The analysis of the CWP includes coupled platform/CWP loadngs and dynamic responses. This report with the exception of the Introduction and Appendix F was orginally published as Hydronautics, Inc., Technical Report No. 7825-2 (by Barr, Chang, and Thasanatorn) in November 1978. A detailed theoretical development of the equations describing the coupled platform/CWP system and preliminary validation efforts are described. The appendices encompass a complete user's manual, describing the inputs, outputs and operation of the four componentmore » programs, and detail changes and updates implemented since the original release of the code by Hydronautics. The code itself is available through NOAA's Office of Ocean Technology and Engineering Services.« less

Wave rotor-enhanced gas turbine engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Welch, Gerard E.; Scott, Jones M.; Paxson, Daniel E.

1995-01-01

The benefits of wave rotor-topping in small (400 to 600 hp-class) and intermediate (3000 to 4000 hp-class) turboshaft engines, and large (80,000 to 100,000 lb(sub f)-class) high bypass ratio turbofan engines are evaluated. Wave rotor performance levels are calculated using a one-dimensional design/analysis code. Baseline and wave rotor-enhanced engine performance levels are obtained from a cycle deck in which the wave rotor is represented as a burner with pressure gain. Wave rotor-toppings is shown to significantly enhance the specific fuel consumption and specific power of small and intermediate size turboshaft engines. The specific fuel consumption of the wave rotor-enhanced large turbofan engine can be reduced while operating at significantly reduced turbine inlet temperature. The wave rotor-enhanced engine is shown to behave off-design like a conventional engine. Discussion concerning the impact of the wave rotor/gas turbine engine integration identifies tenable technical challenges.

Structural Methods to Reduce Navigation Channel Shoaling

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-09-01

to reduce shoaling in navigation channels,” Technical Note, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory, U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center...deal of interest in reducing or minimizing the quantity of dredging. Considerable research and extensive field experience have offered several methods...project. • Less frequent dredging usually reduces overall dredging costs. • The trap can be intentionally located close to dredged material disposal

A user interface framework for the Square Kilometre Array: concepts and responsibilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marassi, Alessandro; Brajnik, Giorgio; Nicol, Mark; Alberti, Valentina; Le Roux, Gerhard

2016-07-01

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project is responsible for developing the SKA Observatory, the world's largest radio telescope, with eventually over a square kilometre of collecting area and including a general headquarters as well as two radio telescopes: SKA1-Mid in South Africa and SKA1-Low in Australia. The SKA project consists of a number of subsystems (elements) among which the Telescope Manager (TM) is the one involved in controlling and monitoring the SKA telescopes. The TM element has three primary responsibilities: management of astronomical observations, management of telescope hardware and software subsystems, management of data to support system operations and all stakeholders (operators, maintainers, engineers and science users) in achieving operational, maintenance and engineering goals. Operators, maintainers, engineers and science users will interact with TM via appropriate user interfaces (UI). The TM UI framework envisaged is a complete set of general technical solutions (components, technologies and design information) for implementing a generic computing system (UI platform). Such a system will enable UI components to be instantiated to allow for human interaction via screens, keyboards, mouse and to implement the necessary logic for acquiring or deriving the information needed for interaction. It will provide libraries and specific Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to implement operator and engineer interactive interfaces. This paper will provide a status update of the TM UI framework, UI platform and UI components design effort, including the technology choices, and discuss key challenges in the TM UI architecture, as well as our approaches to addressing them.

Systematic engineering of TCA cycle for optimal production of a four-carbon platform chemical 4-hydroxybutyric acid in Escherichia coli.

PubMed

Choi, Sol; Kim, Hyun Uk; Kim, Tae Yong; Lee, Sang Yup

2016-11-01

To address climate change and environmental problems, it is becoming increasingly important to establish biorefineries for the production of chemicals from renewable non-food biomass. Here we report the development of Escherichia coli strains capable of overproducing a four-carbon platform chemical 4-hybroxybutyric acid (4-HB). Because 4-HB production is significantly affected by aeration level, genome-scale metabolic model-based engineering strategies were designed under aerobic and microaerobic conditions with emphasis on oxidative/reductive TCA branches and glyoxylate shunt. Several different metabolic engineering strategies were employed to develop strains suitable for fermentation both under aerobic and microaerobic conditions. It was found that microaerobic condition was more efficient than aerobic condition in achieving higher titer and productivity of 4-HB. The final engineered strain produced 103.4g/L of 4-HB by microaerobic fed-batch fermentation using glycerol. The aeration-dependent optimization strategy of TCA cycle will be useful for developing microbial strains producing other reduced derivative chemicals of TCA cycle intermediates. Copyright © 2016 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Crowd Sourcing for Challenging Technical Problems and Business Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.; Richard, Elizabeth

2011-01-01

Crowd sourcing may be defined as the act of outsourcing tasks that are traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, generally large group of people or community (a crowd) in the form of an open call. The open call may be issued by an organization wishing to find a solution to a particular problem or complete a task, or by an open innovation service provider on behalf of that organization. In 2008, the Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD), with the support of Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering, established and implemented pilot projects in open innovation (crowd sourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical challenges. These unsolved technical problems were converted to problem statements, also called "Challenges" or "Technical Needs" by the various open innovation service providers, and were then posted externally to seek solutions. In addition, an open call was issued internally to NASA employees Agency wide (10 Field Centers and NASA HQ) using an open innovation service provider crowd sourcing platform to post NASA challenges from each Center for the others to propose solutions). From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external problems or challenges were posted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, Yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive crowd sourcing platform designed for internal use by an organization. This platform was customized for NASA use and promoted as NASA@Work. The results were significant. Of the seven InnoCentive external challenges, two full and five partial awards were made in complex technical areas such as predicting solar flares and long-duration food packaging. Similarly, the TopCoder challenge yielded an optimization algorithm for designing a lunar medical kit. The Yet2.com challenges yielded many new industry and academic contacts in bone imaging, microbial detection and even the use of pharmaceuticals for radiation protection. The internal challenges through NASA@Work drew over 6000 participants across all NASA centers. Challenges conducted by each NASA center elicited ideas and solutions from several other NASA centers and demonstrated rapid and efficient participation from employees at multiple centers to contribute to problem solving. Finally, on January 19, 2011, the SLSD conducted a workshop on open collaboration and innovation strategies and best practices through the newly established NASA Human Health and Performance Center (NHHPC). Initial projects will be described leading to a new business model for SLSD.

Reducing Uncertainty in Fatigue Life Limits of Turbine Engine Alloys (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

materials and components designs Conclusions This paper used electropolished specimens of the high-strength titanium alloy Ti-6Al- 2Sn-4Zr-6Mo to...From - To) August 2012 Technical Paper 1 July 2012 – 1 August 2012 4 . TITLE AND SUBTITLE REDUCING UNCERTAINTY IN FATIGUE LIFE LIMITS OF TURBINE...ENGINE ALLOYS (PREPRINT) 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER In-house 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 62102F 6 . AUTHOR(S) J.M. Larsen, C.J

CBRAIN: a web-based, distributed computing platform for collaborative neuroimaging research

PubMed Central

Sherif, Tarek; Rioux, Pierre; Rousseau, Marc-Etienne; Kassis, Nicolas; Beck, Natacha; Adalat, Reza; Das, Samir; Glatard, Tristan; Evans, Alan C.

2014-01-01

The Canadian Brain Imaging Research Platform (CBRAIN) is a web-based collaborative research platform developed in response to the challenges raised by data-heavy, compute-intensive neuroimaging research. CBRAIN offers transparent access to remote data sources, distributed computing sites, and an array of processing and visualization tools within a controlled, secure environment. Its web interface is accessible through any modern browser and uses graphical interface idioms to reduce the technical expertise required to perform large-scale computational analyses. CBRAIN's flexible meta-scheduling has allowed the incorporation of a wide range of heterogeneous computing sites, currently including nine national research High Performance Computing (HPC) centers in Canada, one in Korea, one in Germany, and several local research servers. CBRAIN leverages remote computing cycles and facilitates resource-interoperability in a transparent manner for the end-user. Compared with typical grid solutions available, our architecture was designed to be easily extendable and deployed on existing remote computing sites with no tool modification, administrative intervention, or special software/hardware configuration. As October 2013, CBRAIN serves over 200 users spread across 53 cities in 17 countries. The platform is built as a generic framework that can accept data and analysis tools from any discipline. However, its current focus is primarily on neuroimaging research and studies of neurological diseases such as Autism, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, Multiple Sclerosis as well as on normal brain structure and development. This technical report presents the CBRAIN Platform, its current deployment and usage and future direction. PMID:24904400

CBRAIN: a web-based, distributed computing platform for collaborative neuroimaging research.

PubMed

Sherif, Tarek; Rioux, Pierre; Rousseau, Marc-Etienne; Kassis, Nicolas; Beck, Natacha; Adalat, Reza; Das, Samir; Glatard, Tristan; Evans, Alan C

2014-01-01

The Canadian Brain Imaging Research Platform (CBRAIN) is a web-based collaborative research platform developed in response to the challenges raised by data-heavy, compute-intensive neuroimaging research. CBRAIN offers transparent access to remote data sources, distributed computing sites, and an array of processing and visualization tools within a controlled, secure environment. Its web interface is accessible through any modern browser and uses graphical interface idioms to reduce the technical expertise required to perform large-scale computational analyses. CBRAIN's flexible meta-scheduling has allowed the incorporation of a wide range of heterogeneous computing sites, currently including nine national research High Performance Computing (HPC) centers in Canada, one in Korea, one in Germany, and several local research servers. CBRAIN leverages remote computing cycles and facilitates resource-interoperability in a transparent manner for the end-user. Compared with typical grid solutions available, our architecture was designed to be easily extendable and deployed on existing remote computing sites with no tool modification, administrative intervention, or special software/hardware configuration. As October 2013, CBRAIN serves over 200 users spread across 53 cities in 17 countries. The platform is built as a generic framework that can accept data and analysis tools from any discipline. However, its current focus is primarily on neuroimaging research and studies of neurological diseases such as Autism, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, Multiple Sclerosis as well as on normal brain structure and development. This technical report presents the CBRAIN Platform, its current deployment and usage and future direction.

Open-Source 3-D Platform for Low-Cost Scientific Instrument Ecosystem.

PubMed

Zhang, C; Wijnen, B; Pearce, J M

2016-08-01

The combination of open-source software and hardware provides technically feasible methods to create low-cost, highly customized scientific research equipment. Open-source 3-D printers have proven useful for fabricating scientific tools. Here the capabilities of an open-source 3-D printer are expanded to become a highly flexible scientific platform. An automated low-cost 3-D motion control platform is presented that has the capacity to perform scientific applications, including (1) 3-D printing of scientific hardware; (2) laboratory auto-stirring, measuring, and probing; (3) automated fluid handling; and (4) shaking and mixing. The open-source 3-D platform not only facilities routine research while radically reducing the cost, but also inspires the creation of a diverse array of custom instruments that can be shared and replicated digitally throughout the world to drive down the cost of research and education further. © 2016 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening.

Development and design of photovoltaic power prediction system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Zhijia; Zhou, Hai; Cheng, Xu

2018-02-01

In order to reduce the impact of power grid safety caused by volatility and randomness of the energy produced in photovoltaic power plants, this paper puts forward a construction scheme on photovoltaic power generation prediction system, introducing the technical requirements, system configuration and function of each module, and discussing the main technical features of the platform software development. The scheme has been applied in many PV power plants in the northwest of China. It shows that the system can produce reasonable prediction results, providing a right guidance for dispatching and efficient running for PV power plant.

Australian defence requirements and initiatives in smart materials and structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, Alan R.; Galea, Stephen C.; Scala, Christine; Wong, Albert

2002-11-01

The Australian Defence Force is increasingly facing escalating costs on through-life support for major platforms (ships, aircraft and land vehicles). The application of smart materials and structures technologies in platform management systems is seen as a very promising approach to reduce these costs and to potentially achieve significant enhancement of platform capability. A new DSTO Key Initiative, 'Smart Materials and Structures', has been recently developed and funded to address these technologies. The Initiative will build on and grow the current activities within DSTO and promote collaboration with external Australian institutes and industry. This paper will present an overview of the Initiative and the generic sensor and system issues inherent in the 'whole-of-platform' and 'whole-of-life' monitoring and management of major defence platforms. Examples for some particular elements of this will be drawn from current work in DSTO. Other presentations in the conference will cover the technical and scientific aspects of these in more detail.

What scaling means in wind engineering: Complementary role of the reduced scale approach in a BLWT and the full scale testing in a large climatic wind tunnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flamand, Olivier

2017-12-01

Wind engineering problems are commonly studied by wind tunnel experiments at a reduced scale. This introduces several limitations and calls for a careful planning of the tests and the interpretation of the experimental results. The talk first revisits the similitude laws and discusses how they are actually applied in wind engineering. It will also remind readers why different scaling laws govern in different wind engineering problems. Secondly, the paper focuses on the ways to simplify a detailed structure (bridge, building, platform) when fabricating the downscaled models for the tests. This will be illustrated by several examples from recent engineering projects. Finally, under the most severe weather conditions, manmade structures and equipment should remain operational. What “recreating the climate” means and aims to achieve will be illustrated through common practice in climatic wind tunnel modelling.

Space science curriculum design and research at NC A&T state university

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kebede, Abebe; Nair, Jyoti; Smith, Galen

2007-12-01

Recently, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCAT) won one of the largest awards from NASA to develop curriculum and research capability in space science in partnership with NASA centres, National Institute of Aerospace, the North Carolina Space Grant, the American Astronomical Society and a number of institutions affiliated with NASA. The plan is to develop curricula and research platforms that prepare science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) students to be employed by NASA. The research programme initially focuses on the study of space and atmospheric physics, and the development of a general capability in atmospheric/space science.

Canary: An NLP Platform for Clinicians and Researchers.

PubMed

Malmasi, Shervin; Sandor, Nicolae L; Hosomura, Naoshi; Goldberg, Matt; Skentzos, Stephen; Turchin, Alexander

2017-05-03

Information Extraction methods can help discover critical knowledge buried in the vast repositories of unstructured clinical data. However, these methods are underutilized in clinical research, potentially due to the absence of free software geared towards clinicians with little technical expertise. The skills required for developing/using such software constitute a major barrier for medical researchers wishing to employ these methods. To address this, we have developed Canary, a free and open-source solution designed for users without natural language processing (NLP) or software engineering experience. It was designed to be fast and work out of the box via a user-friendly graphical interface.

Best management practices for soft engineering of shoreline

USGS Publications Warehouse

Caulk, Andrew D.; Gannon, John E.; Shaw, John R.; Hartig, John H.

2000-01-01

Historically, many river shorelines were stabilized and hardened with concrete and steel to protect developments from flooding and erosion, or to accommodate commercial navigation or industry. Typically shorelines were developed for a single purpose. Today, there is growing interest in developing shorelines for multiple purposes so that additional benefits can be accrued. Soft engineering is the use of ecological principles and practices to reduce erosion and achieve the stabilization and safety of shorelines, while enhancing habitat, improving aesthetics, and saving money. The purpose of this best management practices manual is to provide insights and technical advice to local governments, developers, planners, consultants, and industries on when, where, why, and how to incorporate soft engineering of shorelines into shoreline redevelopment projects and reap subsequent benefits. More specific technical advice and contact information can be found in the soft engineering case studies presented in this manual.

Panel Resource Management (PRM) Implementation and Effects within Safety Review Panel Settings and Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Robert W.; Nash, Sally K.

2007-01-01

While technical training and advanced degree's assure proficiency at specific tasks within engineering disciplines, they fail to address the potential for communication breakdown and decision making errors familiar to multicultural environments where language barriers, intimidating personalities and interdisciplinary misconceptions exist. In an effort to minimize these pitfalls to effective panel review, NASA's lead safety engineers to the ISS Safety Review Panel (SRP), and Payload Safety Review Panel (PSRP) initiated training with their engineers, in conjunction with the panel chairs, and began a Panel Resource Management (PRM) program. The intent of this program focuses on the ability to reduce the barriers inhibiting effective participation from all panel attendees by bolstering participants confidence levels through increased communication skills, situational awareness, debriefing, and a better technical understanding of requirements and systems.

A static organization in a dynamic context--A qualitative study of changes in working conditions for Swedish engine officers.

PubMed

Lundh, Monica; Rydstedt, Leif W

2016-07-01

During the last decades the shipping industry has undergone rapid technical developments and experienced hard economic conditions and increased striving for profitability. This has led to reduced staffing and changes in task performance, which has been reported to increase workload for the remaining seafarers. The working conditions on board have a number of distinct and in many ways unique characteristics, which makes the job demands and resources for seafarers unique in several ways. The purpose of this study was to assess how engine room staff perceives how these major technical and organizational changes in the shipping industry have affected job demands as well as resources. The study compiled individual interviews and focus groups interviews with engine crew members where they were asked to elaborate on the psychosocial work environment and the major changes in the working conditions on board. Engine crew describes a work situation where they feel a lack of resources. The content of the work has changed, staffing has been reduced, new tasks are being added but the organization of the crew and the design of the work place remains unaltered. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Digital electronic engine control history

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Putnam, T. W.

1984-01-01

Full authority digital electronic engine controls (DEECs) were studied, developed, and ground tested because of projected benefits in operability, improved performance, reduced maintenance, improved reliability, and lower life cycle costs. The issues of operability and improved performance, however, are assessed in a flight test program. The DEEC on a F100 engine in an F-15 aircraft was demonstrated and evaluated. The events leading to the flight test program are chronicled and important management and technical results are identified.

Can Diversity in the Undergraduate Engineering Population BE Enhanced Through Curricular Change?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Busch-Vishniac, Ilene J.; Jarosz, Jeffrey P.

The lack of diversity in the engineering workforce is a persistent problem, with no signs of pending improvement. The situation continues despite a serious technical workforce shortage in the United States. Efforts to promote diversity in the student body in U.S. engineering schools, such as industrial partnerships, academic services, and the establishment of social networks, have produced modest gains. The authors intend to pursue a distinctly different approach to the problem of encouraging a diverse engineering student population, one that focuses on the curriculum. This study reviews curricular innovations attempted to date as a basis for rebuilding the undergraduate engineering curriculum from the ground up. The goal is to produce a curriculum that retains the salient technical material but enhances the link between fundamentals and applications, reduces critical path lengths in the course sequence, introduces team experiences into all courses, and creates an atmosphere of inclusion rather than exclusion. The new curriculum will require trial, assessment, and revision before it is ready for adoption.

Experiences with Transitioning Science Data Production from a Symmetric Multiprocessor Platform to a Linux Cluster Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, R. J.; Protack, S. P.; Harris, C. J.; Caruthers, C.; Kusterer, J. M.

2008-12-01

NASA's Atmospheric Science Data Center at the NASA Langley Research Center performs all of the science data processing for the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument. MISR is one of the five remote sensing instruments flying aboard NASA's Terra spacecraft. From the time of Terra launch in December 1999 until February 2008, all MISR science data processing was performed on a Silicon Graphics, Inc. (SGI) platform. However, dramatic improvements in commodity computing technology coupled with steadily declining project budgets during that period eventually made transitioning MISR processing to a commodity computing environment both feasible and necessary. The Atmospheric Science Data Center has successfully ported the MISR science data processing environment from the SGI platform to a Linux cluster environment. There were a multitude of technical challenges associated with this transition. Even though the core architecture of the production system did not change, the manner in which it interacted with underlying hardware was fundamentally different. In addition, there are more potential throughput bottlenecks in a cluster environment than there are in a symmetric multiprocessor environment like the SGI platform and each of these had to be addressed. Once all the technical issues associated with the transition were resolved, the Atmospheric Science Data Center had a MISR science data processing system with significantly higher throughput than the SGI platform at a fraction of the cost. In addition to the commodity hardware, free and open source software such as S4PM, Sun Grid Engine, PostgreSQL and Ganglia play a significant role in the new system. Details of the technical challenges and resolutions, software systems, performance improvements, and cost savings associated with the transition will be discussed. The Atmospheric Science Data Center in Langley's Science Directorate leads NASA's program for the processing, archival and distribution of Earth science data in the areas of radiation budget, clouds, aerosols, and tropospheric chemistry. The Data Center was established in 1991 to support NASA's Earth Observing System and the U.S. Global Change Research Program. It is unique among NASA data centers in the size of its archive, cutting edge computing technology, and full range of data services. For more information regarding ASDC data holdings, documentation, tools and services, visit http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov

Project Interface Requirements Process Including Shuttle Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauch, Garland T.

2010-01-01

Most failures occur at interfaces between organizations and hardware. Processing interface requirements at the start of a project life cycle will reduce the likelihood of costly interface changes/failures later. This can be done by adding Interface Control Documents (ICDs) to the Project top level drawing tree, providing technical direction to the Projects for interface requirements, and by funding the interface requirements function directly from the Project Manager's office. The interface requirements function within the Project Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) Office would work in-line with the project element design engineers early in the life cycle to enhance communications and negotiate technical issues between the elements. This function would work as the technical arm of the Project Manager to help ensure that the Project cost, schedule, and risk objectives can be met during the Life Cycle. Some ICD Lessons Learned during the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) Life Cycle will include the use of hardware interface photos in the ICD, progressive life cycle design certification by analysis, test, & operations experience, assigning interface design engineers to Element Interface (EI) and Project technical panels, and linking interface design drawings with project build drawings

cFE/CFS (Core Flight Executive/Core Flight System)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wildermann, Charles P.

2008-01-01

This viewgraph presentation describes in detail the requirements and goals of the Core Flight Executive (cFE) and the Core Flight System (CFS). The Core Flight Software System is a mission independent, platform-independent, Flight Software (FSW) environment integrating a reusable core flight executive (cFE). The CFS goals include: 1) Reduce time to deploy high quality flight software; 2) Reduce project schedule and cost uncertainty; 3) Directly facilitate formalized software reuse; 4) Enable collaboration across organizations; 5) Simplify sustaining engineering (AKA. FSW maintenance); 6) Scale from small instruments to System of Systems; 7) Platform for advanced concepts and prototyping; and 7) Common standards and tools across the branch and NASA wide.

Engineering Technical Review Planning Briefing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, Terrie

2012-01-01

The general topics covered in the engineering technical planning briefing are 1) overviews of NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Engineering, 2) the NASA Systems Engineering(SE) Engine and its implementation , 3) the NASA Project Life Cycle, 4) MSFC Technical Management Branch Services in relation to the SE Engine and the Project Life Cycle , 5) Technical Reviews, 6) NASA Human Factor Design Guidance , and 7) the MSFC Human Factors Team. The engineering technical review portion of the presentation is the primary focus of the overall presentation and will address the definition of a design review, execution guidance, the essential stages of a technical review, and the overall review planning life cycle. Examples of a technical review plan content, review approaches, review schedules, and the review process will be provided and discussed. The human factors portion of the presentation will focus on the NASA guidance for human factors. Human factors definition, categories, design guidance, and human factor specialist roles will be addressed. In addition, the NASA Systems Engineering Engine description, definition, and application will be reviewed as background leading into the NASA Project Life Cycle Overview and technical review planning discussion.

Core-Noise

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hultgren, Lennart S.

2010-01-01

This presentation is a technical progress report and near-term outlook for NASA-internal and NASA-sponsored external work on core (combustor and turbine) noise funded by the Fundamental Aeronautics Program Subsonic Fixed Wing (SFW) Project. Sections of the presentation cover: the SFW system level noise metrics for the 2015, 2020, and 2025 timeframes; the emerging importance of core noise and its relevance to the SFW Reduced-Noise-Aircraft Technical Challenge; the current research activities in the core-noise area, with some additional details given about the development of a high-fidelity combustion-noise prediction capability; the need for a core-noise diagnostic capability to generate benchmark data for validation of both high-fidelity work and improved models, as well as testing of future noise-reduction technologies; relevant existing core-noise tests using real engines and auxiliary power units; and examples of possible scenarios for a future diagnostic facility. The NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program has the principal objective of overcoming today's national challenges in air transportation. The SFW Reduced-Noise-Aircraft Technical Challenge aims to enable concepts and technologies to dramatically reduce the perceived aircraft noise outside of airport boundaries. This reduction of aircraft noise is critical for enabling the anticipated large increase in future air traffic. Noise generated in the jet engine core, by sources such as the compressor, combustor, and turbine, can be a significant contribution to the overall noise signature at low-power conditions, typical of approach flight. At high engine power during takeoff, jet and fan noise have traditionally dominated over core noise. However, current design trends and expected technological advances in engine-cycle design as well as noise-reduction methods are likely to reduce non-core noise even at engine-power points higher than approach. In addition, future low-emission combustor designs could increase the combustion-noise component. The trend towards high-power-density cores also means that the noise generated in the low-pressure turbine will likely increase. Consequently, the combined result from these emerging changes will be to elevate the overall importance of turbomachinery core noise, which will need to be addressed in order to meet future noise goals.

A technical platform for environments for ageing--lessons learned from three field studies.

PubMed

Eichelberg, Marco; Büsching, Felix; Steen, Enno-Edzard; Helmer, Axel; Thiel, Andreas; Hein, Andreas; Wolf, Lars

2014-01-01

The Lower Saxony Research Network "Design of Environments for Ageing" (GAL) studied possible applications of assistive technology for enabling older adults to live longer and independent in their own home. As part of this work, a technical platform was developed as a common technical basis for all assistive systems in the project. This article presents an overview of the architecture and core functionality of the technical platform, which in the first generation was developed for use in a laboratory setting, and in a second generation was extended for use in the project's field studies, i.e. prototype installations in end-users homes. The field studies' primary objective was the evaluation of the assistive technologies, that were developed within the overall project. However, these studies also confirmed that the fundamental concept of the technical platform is valid, and the prototypes continuously worked 24 h a day for several months. However, there were some problems related to lack of infrastructure in the older adults' homes and human factors such as inadvertent placement of objects across sensors' field of view, acceptance problems due to aesthetical reasons or simply communication problems, which show that making complex technologies work for users with little technical experience is well possible, but requires a careful consideration of the complete service chain and related "soft factors".

Platform for High-Assurance Cloud Computing

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-01

to create today’s standard cloud computing applications and services. Additionally , our SuperCloud (a related but distinct project under the same... Additionally , our SuperCloud (a related but distinct project under the same MRC funding) reduces vendor lock-in and permits application to migrate, to follow...managing key- value storage with strong assurance properties. This first accomplishment allows us to climb the cloud technical stack, by offering

Quantification of helicopter rotor downwash effects on electro-optical defensive aids suites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seiffer, Dirk P.; Eisele, Christian; Henriksson, Markus; Sjöqvist, Lars; Möller, Sebastian; Togna, Fabio; Velluet, Marie-Thérèse

2015-10-01

The performance of electro-optical platform protection systems can be degraded significantly by the propagation environment around the platform. This includes aero-optical effects and zones of severe turbulence generated by engine exhausts. For helicopters rotor tip vortices and engine exhaust gases that are pressed down by the rotor airflow form the so called downwash phenomena. The downwash is a source for perturbations. A wide range of spatial and temporal fluctuations in the refractive index of air can occur. The perturbations from the turbulent flow cause detrimental effects on energy delivery, angle of arrival fluctuations, jam-code transmission, tracking accuracy and imaging performance in general. Therefore the effects may especially have a severe impact on the performance of laser-based protection systems like directed infrared countermeasures (DIRCM). The chain from passive missile detection and warning to obtaining an optical break-lock by the use of an active laser system will be influenced. To anticipate the installed performance of an electro-optical defensive aids suite (DAS) for helicopter platforms it is necessary to develop models for the prediction of the perturbations. Modelled results have to be validated against experimental findings. However, the data available in open literature on the effects of rotor downwash from helicopters on optical propagation is very limited. To collect necessary data and to obtain a first impression about the magnitude of occurring effects the European defence agency group (EDA) on "airborne platform effects on lasers and warning sensors (ALWS)" decided to design and perform a field trial on the premises of the Italian Air Force Flight Test Center in Pratica di Mare, Italy. ALWS is a technical arrangement under the Europa MoU among France, Germany, Italy, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

48 CFR 9.505-1 - Providing systems engineering and technical direction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... engineering and technical direction. 9.505-1 Section 9.505-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... of Interest 9.505-1 Providing systems engineering and technical direction. (a) A contractor that provides systems engineering and technical direction for a system but does not have overall contractual...

48 CFR 9.505-1 - Providing systems engineering and technical direction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... engineering and technical direction. 9.505-1 Section 9.505-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... of Interest 9.505-1 Providing systems engineering and technical direction. (a) A contractor that provides systems engineering and technical direction for a system but does not have overall contractual...

48 CFR 9.505-1 - Providing systems engineering and technical direction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... engineering and technical direction. 9.505-1 Section 9.505-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... of Interest 9.505-1 Providing systems engineering and technical direction. (a) A contractor that provides systems engineering and technical direction for a system but does not have overall contractual...

48 CFR 9.505-1 - Providing systems engineering and technical direction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... engineering and technical direction. 9.505-1 Section 9.505-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... of Interest 9.505-1 Providing systems engineering and technical direction. (a) A contractor that provides systems engineering and technical direction for a system but does not have overall contractual...

48 CFR 9.505-1 - Providing systems engineering and technical direction.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... engineering and technical direction. 9.505-1 Section 9.505-1 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL... of Interest 9.505-1 Providing systems engineering and technical direction. (a) A contractor that provides systems engineering and technical direction for a system but does not have overall contractual...

A Technical Overview and Description of SOFIA (Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kunz, Nans

2003-01-01

This paper provides a technical overview of SOFIA, a unique airborne observatory, from an engineering perspective. It will do this by describing several of the systems of this observatory that are common with mountain top ground based observatories but mostly emphasize those more unique features and systems that are required to facilitate world class astronomy from a highly modified Boeing 747-SP flying at Mach 0.84 in the Stratosphere. This paper provides a technical overview of SOFIA by reviewing each of the performance specifications (the level one requirements for development) and describing some of the technical advancements for the telescope as well as the platform required to achieve these performance specifications. The technical advancements involved include mirror technologies, control system features, the telescope suspension system, and the aircraft open port cavity with associated cavity door that opens in flight and tracks the telescope elevation angle. For background this paper will provide a brief programmatic overview of the SOFIA project including the joint project arrangement between the US and Germany (NASA and DLR). Additionally, this paper will describe the up to date status of the development of SOFIA as the Observatory nears the date of the first test flight in the summer of 2004.

Safety I-II, resilience and antifragility engineering: a debate explained through an accident occurring on a mobile elevating work platform.

PubMed

Martinetti, Alberto; Chatzimichailidou, Maria Mikela; Maida, Luisa; van Dongen, Leo

2018-04-24

Occupational health and safety (OHS) represents an important field of exploration for the research community: in spite of the growth of technological innovations, the increasing complexity of systems involves critical issues in terms of degradation of the safety levels. In such a situation, new safety management approaches are now mandatory in order to face the safety implications of the current technological evolutions. Along these lines, performing risk-based analysis alone seems not to be enough anymore. The evaluation of robustness, antifragility and resilience of a socio-technical system is now indispensable in order to face unforeseen events. This article will briefly introduce the topics of Safety I and Safety II, resilience engineering and antifragility engineering, explaining correlations, overlapping aspects and synergies. Secondly, the article will discuss the applications of those paradigms to a real accident, highlighting how they can challenge, stimulate and inspire research for improving OHS conditions.

Crowdsourcing for Challenging Technical Problems - It Works!

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davis, Jeffrey R.

2011-01-01

The NASA Johnson Space Center Space Life Sciences Directorate (SLSD) and Wyle Integrated Science and Engineering (Wyle) will conduct a one-day business cluster at the 62nd IAC so that IAC attendees will understand the benefits of open innovation (crowdsourcing), review successful results of conducting technical challenges in various open innovation projects, and learn how an organization can effectively deploy these new problem solving tools to innovate more efficiently and effectively. Results from both the SLSD open innovation pilot program and the open innovation workshop conducted by the NASA Human Health and Performance Center will be discussed. NHHPC members will be recruited to participate in the business cluster (see membership http://nhhpc.nasa.gov) and as IAF members. Crowdsourcing may be defined as the act of outsourcing tasks that are traditionally performed by an employee or contractor to an undefined, generally large group of people or community (a crowd) in the form of an open call. The open call may be issued by the organization wishing to find a solution to a particular problem or complete a task, or by an open innovation service provider on behalf of that organization. In 2008, the SLSD, with the support of Wyle, established and implemented pilot projects in open innovation (crowdsourcing) to determine if these new internet-based platforms could indeed find solutions to difficult technical challenges. These unsolved technical problems were converted to problem statements, called Challenges by some open innovation service providers, and were then posted externally to seek solutions to these problems. In addition, an open call was issued internally to NASA employees Agency wide (11 Field Centers and NASA HQ) using an open innovation service provider crowdsourcing platform to post NASA challenges from each Center for the others to propose solutions). From 2008 to 2010, the SLSD issued 34 challenges, 14 externally and 20 internally. The 14 external problems or challenges were posted through three different vendors: InnoCentive, yet2.com and TopCoder. The 20 internal challenges were conducted using the InnoCentive crowdsourcing platform designed for use internal to an organization and customized for NASA use, and promoted as NASA@Work. The results were significant. Of the seven InnoCentive external challenges, two full and five partial awards were made in complex technical areas such as predicting solar flares and long-duration food packaging.

Full-Scale Turbofan-Engine Turbine-Transfer Function Determination Using Three Internal Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hultgren, Lennart S.

2012-01-01

Noise-source separation techniques, using three engine-internal sensors, are applied to existing static-engine test data to determine the turbine transfer function for the currently subdominant combustion noise. The results are used to assess the combustion-noise prediction capability of the Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP) and an improvement to the combustion-noise module GECOR is suggested. The work was carried out in response to the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Subsonic Fixed Wing Program s Reduced-Perceived-Noise Technical Challenge.

Long-term real-time structural health monitoring using wireless smart sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jang, Shinae; Mensah-Bonsu, Priscilla O.; Li, Jingcheng; Dahal, Sushil

2013-04-01

Improving the safety and security of civil infrastructure has become a critical issue for decades since it plays a central role in the economics and politics of a modern society. Structural health monitoring of civil infrastructure using wireless smart sensor network has emerged as a promising solution recently to increase structural reliability, enhance inspection quality, and reduce maintenance costs. Though hardware and software framework are well prepared for wireless smart sensors, the long-term real-time health monitoring strategy are still not available due to the lack of systematic interface. In this paper, the Imote2 smart sensor platform is employed, and a graphical user interface for the long-term real-time structural health monitoring has been developed based on Matlab for the Imote2 platform. This computer-aided engineering platform enables the control, visualization of measured data as well as safety alarm feature based on modal property fluctuation. A new decision making strategy to check the safety is also developed and integrated in this software. Laboratory validation of the computer aided engineering platform for the Imote2 on a truss bridge and a building structure has shown the potential of the interface for long-term real-time structural health monitoring.

Development and Validation of a Portable Platform for Deploying Decision-Support Algorithms in Prehospital Settings

PubMed Central

Reisner, A. T.; Khitrov, M. Y.; Chen, L.; Blood, A.; Wilkins, K.; Doyle, W.; Wilcox, S.; Denison, T.; Reifman, J.

2013-01-01

Summary Background Advanced decision-support capabilities for prehospital trauma care may prove effective at improving patient care. Such functionality would be possible if an analysis platform were connected to a transport vital-signs monitor. In practice, there are technical challenges to implementing such a system. Not only must each individual component be reliable, but, in addition, the connectivity between components must be reliable. Objective We describe the development, validation, and deployment of the Automated Processing of Physiologic Registry for Assessment of Injury Severity (APPRAISE) platform, intended to serve as a test bed to help evaluate the performance of decision-support algorithms in a prehospital environment. Methods We describe the hardware selected and the software implemented, and the procedures used for laboratory and field testing. Results The APPRAISE platform met performance goals in both laboratory testing (using a vital-sign data simulator) and initial field testing. After its field testing, the platform has been in use on Boston MedFlight air ambulances since February of 2010. Conclusion These experiences may prove informative to other technology developers and to healthcare stakeholders seeking to invest in connected electronic systems for prehospital as well as in-hospital use. Our experiences illustrate two sets of important questions: are the individual components reliable (e.g., physical integrity, power, core functionality, and end-user interaction) and is the connectivity between components reliable (e.g., communication protocols and the metadata necessary for data interpretation)? While all potential operational issues cannot be fully anticipated and eliminated during development, thoughtful design and phased testing steps can reduce, if not eliminate, technical surprises. PMID:24155791

Reducing The Nuclear Danger

DTIC Science & Technology

1995-10-01

off convention • Eliminate the civil use of HEU (includes RERTR ) • Reduce stockpiles of civil HEU and plutonium • Promote alternatives to the...these countries. ANL supports the Department’s Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor ( RERTR ) Program by providing the technical means to...scientists and engineers at 60 institutes in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The United States and Russia have agreed to pursue a joint RERTR

Experimental investigation on NOx and green house gas emissions from a marine auxiliary diesel engine using ultralow sulfur light fuel.

PubMed

Geng, Peng; Tan, Qinming; Zhang, Chunhui; Wei, Lijiang; He, Xianzhong; Cao, Erming; Jiang, Kai

2016-12-01

In recent years, marine auxiliary diesel engine has been widely used to produce electricity in the large ocean-going ship. One of the main technical challenges for ocean-going ship is to reduce pollutant emissions from marine auxiliary diesel engine and to meet the criteria of disposal on ships pollutants of IMO (International Maritime Organization). Different technical changes have been introduced in marine auxiliary diesel engine to apply clean fuels to reduce pollutant emissions. The ultralow sulfur light fuel will be applied in diesel engine for emission reductions in China. This study is aimed to investigate the impact of fuel (ultralow sulfur light fuel) on the combustion characteristic, NOx and green house gas emissions in a marine auxiliary diesel engine, under the 50%-90% engine speeds and the 25%-100% engine torques. The experimental results show that, in the marine auxiliary diesel engine, the cylinder pressure and peak heat release rate increase slightly with the increase of engine torques, while the ignition advances and combustion duration become longer. With the increases of the engine speed and torque, the fuel consumption decreases significantly, while the temperature of the exhaust manifold increases. The NOx emissions increase significantly with the increases of the engine speed and torque. The NO emission increases with the increases of the engine speed and torque, while the NO 2 emission decreases. Meanwhile, the ratio of NO 2 and NO is about 1:1 when the diesel engine operated in the low speed and load, while the ratio increases significantly with the increases of engine speed and torque, due to the increase of the cylinder temperature in the diffusive combustion mode. Moreover, the CO 2 emission increases with the increases of engine speed and torque by the use of ultralow sulfur light fuel. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Core Noise - Increasing Importance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hultgren, Lennart S.

2011-01-01

This presentation is a technical summary of and outlook for NASA-internal and NASA-sponsored external research on core (combustor and turbine) noise funded by the Fundamental Aeronautics Program Subsonic Fixed Wing (SFW) Project. Sections of the presentation cover: the SFW system-level noise metrics for the 2015, 2020, and 2025 timeframes; turbofan design trends and their aeroacoustic implications; the emerging importance of core noise and its relevance to the SFW Reduced-Perceived-Noise Technical Challenge; and the current research activities in the core-noise area, with additional details given about the development of a high-fidelity combustor-noise prediction capability as well as activities supporting the development of improved reduced-order, physics-based models for combustor-noise prediction. The need for benchmark data for validation of high-fidelity and modeling work and the value of a potential future diagnostic facility for testing of core-noise-reduction concepts are indicated. The NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program has the principal objective of overcoming today's national challenges in air transportation. The SFW Reduced-Perceived-Noise Technical Challenge aims to develop concepts and technologies to dramatically reduce the perceived aircraft noise outside of airport boundaries. This reduction of aircraft noise is critical to enabling the anticipated large increase in future air traffic. Noise generated in the jet engine core, by sources such as the compressor, combustor, and turbine, can be a significant contribution to the overall noise signature at low-power conditions, typical of approach flight. At high engine power during takeoff, jet and fan noise have traditionally dominated over core noise. However, current design trends and expected technological advances in engine-cycle design as well as noise-reduction methods are likely to reduce non-core noise even at engine-power points higher than approach. In addition, future low-emission combustor designs could increase the combustion-noise component. The trend towards high-power-density cores also means that the noise generated in the low-pressure turbine will likely increase. Consequently, the combined result from these emerging changes will be to elevate the overall importance of turbomachinery core noise, which will need to be addressed in order to meet future noise goals.

Viper. [Design modification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilbert, L. E. Paul; Berry, Cassie; Lamborn, Dana; Murphy, Jack; Okelly, Chris

1993-01-01

A Viper aircraft was redesigned with a new airfoil and engine to verify if improvements can be made to the baseline configuration. The two major redesigning processes were: replacing the baseline aircraft's NACA 652-415 airfoil with an NLF 0414 Natural Laminar Flow airfoil, and the baseline aircraft's Lycoming 0-235 engine with a Teledyne Continental GR-36 rotary combustion engine. As a result of these changes: (1) the Viper aircraft becomes smaller in most respects (gross weight, wing platform area, and horizontal tail area); (2) overall drag of the aircraft decreased (due to reduction in area and the reduced drug of the new airfoil); (3) cruise velocity, the maximum rate of climb at sea level, and takeoff distance (but not landing distance) decreased; and (4) cost increased. Although the overall drag decreased, the performance remained about the same due to the reduced horsepower available from the Teledyne Continental engine.

Technical Report: Unmanned Helicopter Solution for Survey-Grade Lidar and Hyperspectral Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaňuk, Ján; Gallay, Michal; Eck, Christoph; Zgraggen, Carlo; Dvorný, Eduard

2018-05-01

Recent development of light-weight unmanned airborne vehicles (UAV) and miniaturization of sensors provide new possibilities for remote sensing and high-resolution mapping. Mini-UAV platforms are emerging, but powerful UAV platforms of higher payload capacity are required to carry the sensors for survey-grade mapping. In this paper, we demonstrate a technological solution and application of two different payloads for highly accurate and detailed mapping. The unmanned airborne system (UAS) comprises a Scout B1-100 autonomously operating UAV helicopter powered by a gasoline two-stroke engine with maximum take-off weight of 75 kg. The UAV allows for integrating of up to 18 kg of a customized payload. Our technological solution comprises two types of payload completely independent of the platform. The first payload contains a VUX-1 laser scanner (Riegl, Austria) and a Sony A6000 E-Mount photo camera. The second payload integrates a hyperspectral push-broom scanner AISA Kestrel 10 (Specim, Finland). The two payloads need to be alternated if mapping with both is required. Both payloads include an inertial navigation system xNAV550 (Oxford Technical Solutions Ltd., United Kingdom), a separate data link, and a power supply unit. Such a constellation allowed for achieving high accuracy of the flight line post-processing in two test missions. The standard deviation was 0.02 m (XY) and 0.025 m (Z), respectively. The intended application of the UAS was for high-resolution mapping and monitoring of landscape dynamics (landslides, erosion, flooding, or crops growth). The legal regulations for such UAV applications in Switzerland and Slovakia are also discussed.

77 FR 39623 - Airworthiness Standards: Aircraft Engines; Technical Amendment

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-05

...] Airworthiness Standards: Aircraft Engines; Technical Amendment AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT. ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment. SUMMARY: This amendment clarifies aircraft engine... from applicants requesting FAA engine type certifications and aftermarket certifications, such as...

How Engineers Perceive the Importance of Ethics in Finland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Taajamaa, Ville; Majanoja, Anne-Maarit; Bairaktarova, Diana; Airola, Antti; Pahikkala, Tapio; Sutinen, Erkki

2018-01-01

Success in complex and holistic engineering practices requires more than problem-solving abilities and technical competencies. Engineering education must offer proficient technical competences and also train engineers to think and act ethically. A technical "engineering-like" focus and demand have made educators and students overlook the…

WATER TREATMENT AND EDUCATION IN VILLAHERMOSA, MEXICO

EPA Science Inventory

The interdisciplinary P3 team included mechanical, civil and environmental, and electrical engineers. This was critical to overcome the technical challenges presented by this project. A successful full-scale system was developed that greatly reduces the probability of contract...

40 CFR 89.102 - Effective dates, optional inclusion, flexibility for equipment manufacturers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... exemptions for technical or engineering hardship. You may request additional engine allowances under... technical or engineering problems that prevent you from meeting the requirements of this part. You must show... your engine supplier to design products. (iii) Describe the engineering or technical problems causing...

40 CFR 89.102 - Effective dates, optional inclusion, flexibility for equipment manufacturers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... exemptions for technical or engineering hardship. You may request additional engine allowances under... technical or engineering problems that prevent you from meeting the requirements of this part. You must show... your engine supplier to design products. (iii) Describe the engineering or technical problems causing...

40 CFR 89.102 - Effective dates, optional inclusion, flexibility for equipment manufacturers.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... exemptions for technical or engineering hardship. You may request additional engine allowances under... technical or engineering problems that prevent you from meeting the requirements of this part. You must show... your engine supplier to design products. (iii) Describe the engineering or technical problems causing...

Alpharetroviral self-inactivating vectors produced by a superinfection-resistant stable packaging cell line allow genetic modification of primary human T lymphocytes.

PubMed

Labenski, Verena; Suerth, Julia D; Barczak, Elke; Heckl, Dirk; Levy, Camille; Bernadin, Ornellie; Charpentier, Emmanuelle; Williams, David A; Fehse, Boris; Verhoeyen, Els; Schambach, Axel

2016-08-01

Primary human T lymphocytes represent an important cell population for adoptive immunotherapies, including chimeric-antigen and T-cell receptor applications, as they have the capability to eliminate non-self, virus-infected and tumor cells. Given the increasing numbers of clinical immunotherapy applications, the development of an optimal vector platform for genetic T lymphocyte engineering, which allows cost-effective high-quality vector productions, remains a critical goal. Alpharetroviral self-inactivating vectors (ARV) have several advantages compared to other vector platforms, including a more random genomic integration pattern and reduced likelihood for inducing aberrant splicing of integrated proviruses. We developed an ARV platform for the transduction of primary human T lymphocytes. We demonstrated functional transgene transfer using the clinically relevant herpes-simplex-virus thymidine kinase variant TK.007. Proof-of-concept of alpharetroviral-mediated T-lymphocyte engineering was shown in vitro and in a humanized transplantation model in vivo. Furthermore, we established a stable, human alpharetroviral packaging cell line in which we deleted the entry receptor (SLC1A5) for RD114/TR-pseudotyped ARVs to prevent superinfection and enhance genomic integrity of the packaging cell line and viral particles. We showed that superinfection can be entirely prevented, while maintaining high recombinant virus titers. Taken together, this resulted in an improved production platform representing an economic strategy for translating the promising features of ARVs for therapeutic T-lymphocyte engineering. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Minilaparoscopic hysterectomy made easy: first report on alternative instrumentation and new integrated energy platform.

PubMed

Ng, Ying Woo; Lim, Li Min; Fong, Yoke Fai

2014-05-01

Minilaparoscopy is an attractive approach for hysterectomy due to advantages such as reduced morbidities and enhanced cosmesis. However, it has not been popularized due to the lack of suitable instruments and high technical demand. We aim to highlight the first case of minilaparoscopic hysterectomy reported in Asia and the use of a new integrated energy platform, Thunderbeat. We would like to propose an alternative method of instrumentation, so as to improve the feasibility and safety of minilaparoscopic hysterectomy. The first minilaparoscopic hysterectomy in Singapore was successfully completed using the alternative instrumentation and new energy platform. There was no conversion or complication during the surgery. The patient recovered uneventfully. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of such alternative instrumentation. This approach in instrumentation and the new energy platform will improve the feasibility and speed of the surgery and ensure safety in our patients. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research © 2014 Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

RFID-Based Multidisciplinary Educational Platform to Improve the Engineering and Technology Curriculums

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yelamarthi, Kumar

2012-01-01

Multidisciplinary projects involving electrical engineering (EE), mechanical engineering (ME), and computer engineering (CE) students are both exciting and difficult to conceptualize. Answering this challenge, this paper presents a multidisciplinary educational platform on radio frequency identification-based assistive devices. The combination of…

Technology assessment for an integrated PC-based platform for three telemedicine applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tohme, Walid G.; Hayes, Wendelin S.; Dai, Hailei L.; Komo, Darmadi; Pahira, John J.; Abernethy, Darrell R.; Rennert, Wolfgang; Kuehl, Karen S.; Hauser, Gabriel J.; Mun, Seong K.

1996-05-01

This paper investigates the design and technical efficacy of an integrated PC based platform for three different medical applications. The technical efficacy of such a telemedicine platform has not been evaluated in the literature and optimal technical requirements have not been developed. The first application, with the Department of Surgery, Division of Urology, tests the utility of a telemedicine platform including radiology images for a surgical stone disease consultation service from an off site location in West Virginia. The second application, with the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, investigates the usefulness of telemedicine when used for a clinical pharmacology consultation service from an off-site location. The third application, with the Department of Pediatrics, will test telemedicine for trauma care triage service first within an off-site location in Virginia and then from there to Georgetown University Medical Center.

Selling Technical Sales to Engineering Learners

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bumblauskas, Daniel P.; Carberry, Adam R.; Sly, David P.

2017-01-01

Sales engineering or technical sales programs bridge engineering and business to educate engineering students in sales specific to their discipline. Students develop business awareness through such programs, providing the sales workforce with technically knowledgeable salespeople. The following study analyzed cohorts of students enrolled in a…

Prospects for energy efficiency improvement and reduction of emissions and life cycle costs for natural gas vehicles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kozlov, A. V.; Terenchenko, A. S.; Luksho, V. A.; Karpukhin, K. E.

2017-01-01

This work is devoted to the experimental investigation of the possibilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to increase energy efficiency of engines that use natural gas as the main fuel and the analysis of economic efficiency of use of dual fuel engines in vehicles compared to conventional diesel. The results of experimental investigation of a 190 kW dual-fuel engine are presented; it is shown that quantitative and qualitative working process control may ensure thermal efficiency at the same level as that of the diesel engine and in certain conditions 5...8% higher. The prospects for reduction of greenhouse gas emissions have been assessed. The technical and economic evaluation of use of dual fuel engines in heavy-duty vehicles has been performed, taking into account the total life cycle. It is shown that it is possible to reduce life cycle costs by two times.

Engineering and algorithm design for an image processing Api: a technical report on ITK--the Insight Toolkit.

PubMed

Yoo, Terry S; Ackerman, Michael J; Lorensen, William E; Schroeder, Will; Chalana, Vikram; Aylward, Stephen; Metaxas, Dimitris; Whitaker, Ross

2002-01-01

We present the detailed planning and execution of the Insight Toolkit (ITK), an application programmers interface (API) for the segmentation and registration of medical image data. This public resource has been developed through the NLM Visible Human Project, and is in beta test as an open-source software offering under cost-free licensing. The toolkit concentrates on 3D medical data segmentation and registration algorithms, multimodal and multiresolution capabilities, and portable platform independent support for Windows, Linux/Unix systems. This toolkit was built using current practices in software engineering. Specifically, we embraced the concept of generic programming during the development of these tools, working extensively with C++ templates and the freedom and flexibility they allow. Software development tools for distributed consortium-based code development have been created and are also publicly available. We discuss our assumptions, design decisions, and some lessons learned.

Metabolic engineering of biomass for high energy density: oilseed-like triacylglycerol yields from plant leaves

PubMed Central

Vanhercke, Thomas; El Tahchy, Anna; Liu, Qing; Zhou, Xue-Rong; Shrestha, Pushkar; Divi, Uday K; Ral, Jean-Philippe; Mansour, Maged P; Nichols, Peter D; James, Christopher N; Horn, Patrick J; Chapman, Kent D; Beaudoin, Frederic; Ruiz-López, Noemi; Larkin, Philip J; de Feyter, Robert C; Singh, Surinder P; Petrie, James R

2014-01-01

High biomass crops have recently attracted significant attention as an alternative platform for the renewable production of high energy storage lipids such as triacylglycerol (TAG). While TAG typically accumulates in seeds as storage compounds fuelling subsequent germination, levels in vegetative tissues are generally low. Here, we report the accumulation of more than 15% TAG (17.7% total lipids) by dry weight in Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) leaves by the co-expression of three genes involved in different aspects of TAG production without severely impacting plant development. These yields far exceed the levels found in wild-type leaf tissue as well as previously reported engineered TAG yields in vegetative tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana and N. tabacum. When translated to a high biomass crop, the current levels would translate to an oil yield per hectare that exceeds those of most cultivated oilseed crops. Confocal fluorescence microscopy and mass spectrometry imaging confirmed the accumulation of TAG within leaf mesophyll cells. In addition, we explored the applicability of several existing oil-processing methods using fresh leaf tissue. Our results demonstrate the technical feasibility of a vegetative plant oil production platform and provide for a step change in the bioenergy landscape, opening new prospects for sustainable food, high energy forage, biofuel and biomaterial applications. PMID:24151938

From the desktop to the grid: scalable bioinformatics via workflow conversion.

PubMed

de la Garza, Luis; Veit, Johannes; Szolek, Andras; Röttig, Marc; Aiche, Stephan; Gesing, Sandra; Reinert, Knut; Kohlbacher, Oliver

2016-03-12

Reproducibility is one of the tenets of the scientific method. Scientific experiments often comprise complex data flows, selection of adequate parameters, and analysis and visualization of intermediate and end results. Breaking down the complexity of such experiments into the joint collaboration of small, repeatable, well defined tasks, each with well defined inputs, parameters, and outputs, offers the immediate benefit of identifying bottlenecks, pinpoint sections which could benefit from parallelization, among others. Workflows rest upon the notion of splitting complex work into the joint effort of several manageable tasks. There are several engines that give users the ability to design and execute workflows. Each engine was created to address certain problems of a specific community, therefore each one has its advantages and shortcomings. Furthermore, not all features of all workflow engines are royalty-free -an aspect that could potentially drive away members of the scientific community. We have developed a set of tools that enables the scientific community to benefit from workflow interoperability. We developed a platform-free structured representation of parameters, inputs, outputs of command-line tools in so-called Common Tool Descriptor documents. We have also overcome the shortcomings and combined the features of two royalty-free workflow engines with a substantial user community: the Konstanz Information Miner, an engine which we see as a formidable workflow editor, and the Grid and User Support Environment, a web-based framework able to interact with several high-performance computing resources. We have thus created a free and highly accessible way to design workflows on a desktop computer and execute them on high-performance computing resources. Our work will not only reduce time spent on designing scientific workflows, but also make executing workflows on remote high-performance computing resources more accessible to technically inexperienced users. We strongly believe that our efforts not only decrease the turnaround time to obtain scientific results but also have a positive impact on reproducibility, thus elevating the quality of obtained scientific results.

Mathematical analysis of the impact mechanism of information platform on agro-product supply chain and agro-product competitiveness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Qi-Jie; Jin, Mao-Zhu; Ren, Pei-Yu

2017-04-01

How to optimize agro-product supply chain to promote its operating efficiency so as to enhance the competitiveness of regional agricultural products has posed a problem to academic circles, business circles and governments of various levels. One way to solve this problem is to introduce an information platform into the supply chain, which this essay focuses on. Firstly, a review of existing research findings concerning the agro-product competitiveness, agro-product supply chain (ASC) and information platform was given. Secondly, we constructed a mathematical model to analyze the impact of information platform on the bullwhip effect in ASC. Thirdly, another mathematical model was constructed to help compare and analyze the impact of information platform on information acquisition of members in ASC. The research results show that the implantation of information platform can mitigate the bullwhip effect in ASC, and members can determine order amount or production more close to the actual market demand. And also the information platform can reduce the time for members in ASC to get information from other members. Besides, information platform can help ASC to alleviate information asymmetry among upstream and downstream members. Furthermore, researches about the operating mechanism and pattern, technical feature and running structure of the information platform, along with their impacts on agro-product supply chain and the competitiveness of agricultural products need to be advanced.

Introducing WISDEM:An Integrated System Modeling for Wind Turbines and Plant (Presentation)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dykes, K.; Graf, P.; Scott, G.

2015-01-01

The National Wind Technology Center wind energy systems engineering initiative has developed an analysis platform to leverage its research capabilities toward integrating wind energy engineering and cost models across wind plants. This Wind-Plant Integrated System Design & Engineering Model (WISDEM) platform captures the important interactions between various subsystems to achieve a better National Wind Technology Center wind energy systems engineering initiative has developed an analysis platform to leverage its research capabilities toward integrating wind energy engineering and cost models across wind plants. This Wind-Plant Integrated System Design & Engineering Model (WISDEM) platform captures the important interactions between various subsystems tomore » achieve a better understanding of how to improve system-level performance and achieve system-level cost reductions. This work illustrates a few case studies with WISDEM that focus on the design and analysis of wind turbines and plants at different system levels.« less

Summary of Expansions, Updates, and Results in GREET 2017 Suite of Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Michael; Elgowainy, Amgad; Han, Jeongwoo

This report provides a technical summary of the expansions and updates to the 2017 release of Argonne National Laboratory’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET®) model, including references and links to key technical documents related to these expansions and updates. The GREET 2017 release includes an updated version of the GREET1 (the fuel-cycle GREET model) and GREET2 (the vehicle-cycle GREET model), both in the Microsoft Excel platform and in the GREET.net modeling platform. Figure 1 shows the structure of the GREET Excel modeling platform. The .net platform integrates all GREET modules together seamlessly.

Perspectives Of Employment Of Pultruded FRP Structural Elements In Seismic Engineering Field

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Russo, Salvatore; Silvestri, Mirko

2008-07-08

Today the employment of FRP material in structural engineering is in common use, with excellent results in term of applications especially as reinforcement of existing structures. This success is related to the very reduced weight of FRP material, to its performance in term of strength and durability and thanks to the easy use in technical application. There is a modern way to use this material disguised as structural pultruded element (with weight equal to 1600-1800 kg/m{sup 3}) in new constructions, local reinforcements and in other seismic applications. Actually the international technical and scientific literature in form of draft, recommendations andmore » researches on this topic is very rich also taking into account Italian contribution. Some interesting applications of all FRP structures in seismic engineering field are showed in this research in real terms and in form of capability.« less

Application of fiber-reinforced bismaleimide materials to aircraft nacelle structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peros, Vasilios; Ruth, John; Trawinski, David

1992-01-01

Existing aircraft engine nacelle structures employ advanced composite materials to reduce weight and thereby increase overall performance. Use of advanced composite materials on existing aircraft nacelle structures includes fiber-reinforced epoxy structures and has typically been limited to regions furthest away from the hot engine core. Portions of the nacelle structure that are closer to the engine require materials with a higher temperature capability. In these portions, existing nacelle structures employ aluminum sandwich construction and skin/stringer construction. The aluminum structure is composed of many detail parts and assemblies and is usually protected by some form of ablative, insulator, or metallic thermal shield. A one-piece composite inner cowl for a new-generation engine nacelle structure has been designed using fiber-reinforced bismaleimide (BMI) materials and honeycomb core in a sandwich construction. The new composite design has many advantages over the existing aluminum structure. Multiple details were integrated into the one-piece composite design, thereby significantly reducing the number of detail parts and fasteners. The use of lightweight materials and the reduction of the number of joints result in a significant weight reduction over the aluminum design; manufacturing labor and the overall number of tools required have also been reduced. Several significant technical issues were addressed in the development of a BMI composite design. Technical evaluation of the available BMI systems led to the selection of a toughened BMI material which was resistant to microcracking under thermal cyclic loading and enhanced the damage tolerance of the structure. Technical evaluation of the degradation of BMI materials in contact with aluminum and other metals validated methods for isolation of the various materials. Graphite-reinforced BMI in contact with aluminum and some steels was found to degrade in salt spray testing. Isolation techniques such as those used for graphite-reinforced epoxy structures were shown to provide adequate protection. The springback and producibility of large BMI structures were evaluated by manufacturing prototype hardware which had the full-scale cross section of the one-piece composite structure.

NASA Engineering Excellence: A Case Study on Strengthening an Engineering Organization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shivers, C. Herbert; Wessel, Vernon W.

2006-01-01

NASA implemented a system of technical authority following the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAE) report calling for independent technical authority to be exercised on the Space Shuttle Program activities via a virtual organization of personnel exercising specific technical authority responsibilities. After the current NASA Administrator reported for duty, and following the first of two planned "Shuttle Return to Flight" missions, the NASA Chief Engineer and the Administrator redirected the Independent Technical Authority to a program of Technical Excellence and Technical Authority exercised within the existing engineering organizations. This paper discusses the original implementation of technical authority and the transition to the new implementation of technical excellence, including specific measures aimed at improving safety of future Shuttle and space exploration flights.

Overcoming the Adoption Barrier to Electric Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borer, Nicholas K.; Nickol, Craig L.; Jones, Frank P.; Yasky, Richard J.; Woodham, Kurt; Fell, Jared S.; Litherland, Brandon L.; Loyselle, Patricia L.; Provenza, Andrew J.; Kohlman, Lee W.;

Reducing aeration energy consumption in a large-scale membrane bioreactor: Process simulation and engineering application.

PubMed

Sun, Jianyu; Liang, Peng; Yan, Xiaoxu; Zuo, Kuichang; Xiao, Kang; Xia, Junlin; Qiu, Yong; Wu, Qing; Wu, Shijia; Huang, Xia; Qi, Meng; Wen, Xianghua

2016-04-15

Reducing the energy consumption of membrane bioreactors (MBRs) is highly important for their wider application in wastewater treatment engineering. Of particular significance is reducing aeration in aerobic tanks to reduce the overall energy consumption. This study proposed an in situ ammonia-N-based feedback control strategy for aeration in aerobic tanks; this was tested via model simulation and through a large-scale (50,000 m(3)/d) engineering application. A full-scale MBR model was developed based on the activated sludge model (ASM) and was calibrated to the actual MBR. The aeration control strategy took the form of a two-step cascaded proportion-integration (PI) feedback algorithm. Algorithmic parameters were optimized via model simulation. The strategy achieved real-time adjustment of aeration amounts based on feedback from effluent quality (i.e., ammonia-N). The effectiveness of the strategy was evaluated through both the model platform and the full-scale engineering application. In the former, the aeration flow rate was reduced by 15-20%. In the engineering application, the aeration flow rate was reduced by 20%, and overall specific energy consumption correspondingly reduced by 4% to 0.45 kWh/m(3)-effluent, using the present practice of regulating the angle of guide vanes of fixed-frequency blowers. Potential energy savings are expected to be higher for MBRs with variable-frequency blowers. This study indicated that the ammonia-N-based aeration control strategy holds promise for application in full-scale MBRs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

High Temperature Coating Study to Reduce Contact Stress Damage of Ceramics

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-03-01

Vincent L. Magnotta Senior Principal Development Engineer Technical Diversification R&D Dept. Air Products and Chemicals , Inc . PO Box 538...Technology Marketing Contract Research Dept. Air Products and Chemicals , Inc . PO Box 538 307. Allentown, PA 18105 Dennis Readey Department

Engineering directorate technical facilities catalog

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Maloy, Joseph E.

1993-01-01

The Engineering Directorate Technical Facilities Catalog is designed to provide an overview of the technical facilities available within the Engineering Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. The combined capabilities of these engineering facilities are essential elements of overall JSC capabilities required to manage and perform major NASA engineering programs. The facilities are grouped in the text by chapter according to the JSC division responsible for operation of the facility. This catalog updates the facility descriptions for the JSC Engineering Directorate Technical Facilities Catalog, JSC 19295 (August 1989), and supersedes the Engineering Directorate, Principle test and Development Facilities, JSC, 19962 (November 1984).

Evaluation of quartz melt rate furnace with the nitric-glycolic flowsheet

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, M. S.; Miller, D. H.

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was tasked to support validation of the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) melter offgas flammability model for the Nitric-Glycolic (NG) flowsheet. The work is supplemental to the Cold Cap Evaluation Furnace (CEF) testing conducted in 20141 and the Slurry-fed Melt Rate Furnace (SMRF) testing conducted in 20162 that supported Deliverable 4 of the DWPF & Saltstone Facility Engineering Technical Task Request (TTR).3 The Quartz Melt Rate Furnace (QMRF) was evaluated as a bench-scale scoping tool to potentially be used in lieu of or simply prior to the use of the larger-scale SMRF or CEF.more » The QMRF platform has been used previously to evaluate melt rate behavior and offgas compositions of DWPF glasses prepared from the Nitric-Formic (NF) flowsheet but not for the NG flowsheet and not with continuous feeding.4 The overall objective of the 2016-2017 testing was to evaluate the efficacy of the QMRF as a lab-scale platform for steady state, continuously fed melter testing with the NG flowsheet as an alternative to more expensive and complex testing with the SMRF or CEF platforms.« less

Using Distributed Data over HBase in Big Data Analytics Platform for Clinical Services

PubMed Central

Zamani, Hamid

2017-01-01

Big data analytics (BDA) is important to reduce healthcare costs. However, there are many challenges of data aggregation, maintenance, integration, translation, analysis, and security/privacy. The study objective to establish an interactive BDA platform with simulated patient data using open-source software technologies was achieved by construction of a platform framework with Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) using HBase (key-value NoSQL database). Distributed data structures were generated from benchmarked hospital-specific metadata of nine billion patient records. At optimized iteration, HDFS ingestion of HFiles to HBase store files revealed sustained availability over hundreds of iterations; however, to complete MapReduce to HBase required a week (for 10 TB) and a month for three billion (30 TB) indexed patient records, respectively. Found inconsistencies of MapReduce limited the capacity to generate and replicate data efficiently. Apache Spark and Drill showed high performance with high usability for technical support but poor usability for clinical services. Hospital system based on patient-centric data was challenging in using HBase, whereby not all data profiles were fully integrated with the complex patient-to-hospital relationships. However, we recommend using HBase to achieve secured patient data while querying entire hospital volumes in a simplified clinical event model across clinical services. PMID:29375652

Using Distributed Data over HBase in Big Data Analytics Platform for Clinical Services.

PubMed

Chrimes, Dillon; Zamani, Hamid

2017-01-01

Big data analytics (BDA) is important to reduce healthcare costs. However, there are many challenges of data aggregation, maintenance, integration, translation, analysis, and security/privacy. The study objective to establish an interactive BDA platform with simulated patient data using open-source software technologies was achieved by construction of a platform framework with Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) using HBase (key-value NoSQL database). Distributed data structures were generated from benchmarked hospital-specific metadata of nine billion patient records. At optimized iteration, HDFS ingestion of HFiles to HBase store files revealed sustained availability over hundreds of iterations; however, to complete MapReduce to HBase required a week (for 10 TB) and a month for three billion (30 TB) indexed patient records, respectively. Found inconsistencies of MapReduce limited the capacity to generate and replicate data efficiently. Apache Spark and Drill showed high performance with high usability for technical support but poor usability for clinical services. Hospital system based on patient-centric data was challenging in using HBase, whereby not all data profiles were fully integrated with the complex patient-to-hospital relationships. However, we recommend using HBase to achieve secured patient data while querying entire hospital volumes in a simplified clinical event model across clinical services.

Bridging the engineering gap: integrated systems thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weintré, J. R.; Delfi, M.

2017-09-01

On visits to rural Indonesia it is apparent that the advances made possible by technical engineered solutions, are rarely at the same pace as the human captivation of technical development. This uneven pace has limited the application of labour-saving equipment and efficiency. It is suggested to be of primary importance to advance technical application skills among communities as part of the continuous advancement cycle in our human environment. A creative approach to inclusive technology and internal transfer of equipment knowledge in society, reduces barriers and could diminish structural or societal undesired situations. Earlier theoretical concepts provide us a lens for describing the practices of habitus, conceptualization of social capital and integrated systems thinking. The interrelationship and complexities in technical and social systems requires to be investigated. This paper aims to describe those, combined with technological applications in an empirical ethnographic approach. The study analyses the negotiations of community members with the available technology. It intends to foster a better understanding of the various cultural-economic values by exploring the systems thinking theory, with a focus on rice cultivation in Indonesia, Japan and Australia. This research suggests that cultural, economic and technical advances vary considerably and human expectations are strongly influenced by local culture.

The Capabilities of Space Stations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1995-01-01

Over the past two years the U.S. space station program has evolved to a three-phased international program, with the first phase consisting of the use of the U.S. Space Shuttle and the upgrading and use of the Russian Mir Space Station, and the second and third phases consisting of the assembly and use of the new International Space Station. Projected capabilities for research, and plans for utilization, have also evolved and it has been difficult for those not directly involved in the design and engineering of these space stations to learn and understand their technical details. The Committee on the Space Station of the National Research Council, with the concurrence of NASA, undertook to write this short report in order to provide concise and objective information on space stations and platforms -- with emphasis on the Mir Space Station and International Space Station -- and to supply a summary of the capabilities of previous, existing, and planned space stations. In keeping with the committee charter and with the task statement for this report, the committee has summarized the research capabilities of five major space platforms: the International Space Station, the Mir Space Station, the Space Shuttle (with a Spacelab or Spacehab module in its cargo bay), the Space Station Freedom (which was redesigned to become the International Space Station in 1993 and 1994), and Skylab. By providing the summary, together with brief descriptions of the platforms, the committee hopes to assist interested readers, including scientists and engineers, government officials, and the general public, in evaluating the utility of each system to meet perceived user needs.

Particulate emissions from diesel engines: correlation between engine technology and emissions.

PubMed

Fiebig, Michael; Wiartalla, Andreas; Holderbaum, Bastian; Kiesow, Sebastian

2014-03-07

In the last 30 years, diesel engines have made rapid progress to increased efficiency, environmental protection and comfort for both light- and heavy-duty applications. The technical developments include all issues from fuel to combustion process to exhaust gas aftertreatment. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of the available literature regarding technical developments and their impact on the reduction of pollutant emission. This includes emission legislation, fuel quality, diesel engine- and exhaust gas aftertreatment technologies, as well as particulate composition, with a focus on the mass-related particulate emission of on-road vehicle applications. Diesel engine technologies representative of real-world on-road applications will be highlighted.Internal engine modifications now make it possible to minimize particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions with nearly no reduction in power. Among these modifications are cooled exhaust gas recirculation, optimized injections systems, adapted charging systems and optimized combustion processes with high turbulence. With introduction and optimization of exhaust gas aftertreatment systems, such as the diesel oxidation catalyst and the diesel particulate trap, as well as NOx-reduction systems, pollutant emissions have been significantly decreased. Today, sulfur poisoning of diesel oxidation catalysts is no longer considered a problem due to the low-sulfur fuel used in Europe. In the future, there will be an increased use of bio-fuels, which generally have a positive impact on the particulate emissions and do not increase the particle number emissions.Since the introduction of the EU emissions legislation, all emission limits have been reduced by over 90%. Further steps can be expected in the future. Retrospectively, the particulate emissions of modern diesel engines with respect to quality and quantity cannot be compared with those of older engines. Internal engine modifications lead to a clear reduction of the particulate emissions without a negative impact on the particulate-size distribution towards smaller particles. The residual particles can be trapped in a diesel particulate trap independent of their size or the engine operating mode. The usage of a wall-flow diesel particulate filter leads to an extreme reduction of the emitted particulate mass and number, approaching 100%. A reduced particulate mass emission is always connected to a reduced particle number emission.

Particulate emissions from diesel engines: correlation between engine technology and emissions

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

In the last 30 years, diesel engines have made rapid progress to increased efficiency, environmental protection and comfort for both light- and heavy-duty applications. The technical developments include all issues from fuel to combustion process to exhaust gas aftertreatment. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of the available literature regarding technical developments and their impact on the reduction of pollutant emission. This includes emission legislation, fuel quality, diesel engine- and exhaust gas aftertreatment technologies, as well as particulate composition, with a focus on the mass-related particulate emission of on-road vehicle applications. Diesel engine technologies representative of real-world on-road applications will be highlighted. Internal engine modifications now make it possible to minimize particulate and nitrogen oxide emissions with nearly no reduction in power. Among these modifications are cooled exhaust gas recirculation, optimized injections systems, adapted charging systems and optimized combustion processes with high turbulence. With introduction and optimization of exhaust gas aftertreatment systems, such as the diesel oxidation catalyst and the diesel particulate trap, as well as NOx-reduction systems, pollutant emissions have been significantly decreased. Today, sulfur poisoning of diesel oxidation catalysts is no longer considered a problem due to the low-sulfur fuel used in Europe. In the future, there will be an increased use of bio-fuels, which generally have a positive impact on the particulate emissions and do not increase the particle number emissions. Since the introduction of the EU emissions legislation, all emission limits have been reduced by over 90%. Further steps can be expected in the future. Retrospectively, the particulate emissions of modern diesel engines with respect to quality and quantity cannot be compared with those of older engines. Internal engine modifications lead to a clear reduction of the particulate emissions without a negative impact on the particulate-size distribution towards smaller particles. The residual particles can be trapped in a diesel particulate trap independent of their size or the engine operating mode. The usage of a wall-flow diesel particulate filter leads to an extreme reduction of the emitted particulate mass and number, approaching 100%. A reduced particulate mass emission is always connected to a reduced particle number emission. PMID:24606725

psiTurk: An open-source framework for conducting replicable behavioral experiments online.

PubMed

Gureckis, Todd M; Martin, Jay; McDonnell, John; Rich, Alexander S; Markant, Doug; Coenen, Anna; Halpern, David; Hamrick, Jessica B; Chan, Patricia

2016-09-01

Online data collection has begun to revolutionize the behavioral sciences. However, conducting carefully controlled behavioral experiments online introduces a number of new of technical and scientific challenges. The project described in this paper, psiTurk, is an open-source platform which helps researchers develop experiment designs which can be conducted over the Internet. The tool primarily interfaces with Amazon's Mechanical Turk, a popular crowd-sourcing labor market. This paper describes the basic architecture of the system and introduces new users to the overall goals. psiTurk aims to reduce the technical hurdles for researchers developing online experiments while improving the transparency and collaborative nature of the behavioral sciences.

Developing a Customized Perfusion Bioreactor Prototype with Controlled Positional Variability in Oxygen Partial Pressure for Bone and Cartilage Tissue Engineering.

PubMed

Lee, Poh Soo; Eckert, Hagen; Hess, Ricarda; Gelinsky, Michael; Rancourt, Derrick; Krawetz, Roman; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio; Scharnweber, Dieter

2017-05-01

Skeletal development is a multistep process that involves the complex interplay of multiple cell types at different stages of development. Besides biochemical and physical cues, oxygen tension also plays a pivotal role in influencing cell fate during skeletal development. At physiological conditions, bone cells generally reside in a relatively oxygenated environment whereas chondrocytes reside in a hypoxic environment. However, it is technically challenging to achieve such defined, yet diverse oxygen distribution on traditional in vitro cultivation platforms. Instead, engineered osteochondral constructs are commonly cultivated in a homogeneous, stable environment. In this study, we describe a customized perfusion bioreactor having stable positional variability in oxygen tension at defined regions. Further, engineered collagen constructs were coaxed into adopting the shape and dimensions of defined cultivation platforms that were precasted in 1.5% agarose bedding. After cultivating murine embryonic stem cells that were embedded in collagen constructs for 50 days, mineralized constructs of specific dimensions and a stable structural integrity were achieved. The end-products, specifically constructs cultivated without chondroitin sulfate A (CSA), showed a significant increase in mechanical stiffness compared with their initial gel-like constructs. More importantly, the localization of osteochondral cell types was specific and corresponded to the oxygen tension gradient generated in the bioreactor. In addition, CSA in complementary with low oxygen tension was also found to be a potent inducer of chondrogenesis in this system. In summary, we have demonstrated a customized perfusion bioreactor prototype that is capable of generating a more dynamic, yet specific cultivation environment that could support propagation of multiple osteochondral lineages within a single engineered construct in vitro. Our system opens up new possibilities for in vitro research on human skeletal development.

DC-9/JT8D refan, Phase 1. [technical and economic feasibility of retrofitting DC-9 aircraft with refan engine to achieve desired acoustic levels

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1973-01-01

Analyses and design studies were conducted on the technical and economic feasibility of installing the JT8D-109 refan engine on the DC-9 aircraft. Design criteria included minimum change to the airframe to achieve desired acoustic levels. Several acoustic configurations were studied with two selected for detailed investigations. The minimum selected acoustic treatment configuration results in an estimated aircraft weight increase of 608 kg (1,342 lb) and the maximum selected acoustic treatment configuration results in an estimated aircraft weight increase of 809 kg (1,784 lb). The range loss for the minimum and maximum selected acoustic treatment configurations based on long range cruise at 10 668 m (35,000 ft) altitude with a typical payload of 6 804 kg (15,000 lb) amounts to 54 km (86 n. mi.) respectively. Estimated reduction in EPNL's for minimum selected treatment show 8 EPNdB at approach, 12 EPNdB for takeoff with power cutback, 15 EPNdB for takeoff without power cutback and 12 EPNdB for sideline using FAR Part 36. Little difference was estimated in EPNL between minimum and maximum treatments due to reduced performance of maximum treatment. No major technical problems were encountered in the study. The refan concept for the DC-9 appears technically feasible and economically viable at approximately $1,000,000 per airplane. An additional study of the installation of JT3D-9 refan engine on the DC-8-50/61 and DC-8-62/63 aircraft is included. Three levels of acoustic treatment were suggested for DC-8-50/61 and two levels for DC-8-62/63. Results indicate the DC-8 technically can be retrofitted with refan engines for approximately $2,500,000 per airplane.

Conceptual design study Science and Applications Space Platform SASP. Volume 2: Technical report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Runge, F. C.

1980-01-01

The platform payload accommodations, configuration drivers, and power system are described in detail. The platform design was analyzed and is presented. Demonstration tests are described and the results are reported.

A Service Learning Structural Engineering Capstone Course and the Assessment of Technical and Non-Technical Objectives

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dinehart, David W.; Gross, Shawn P.

2010-01-01

The primary role of a civil engineer is to serve the community; thus, it is essential that students understand the impact of engineering projects on, and the context of engineering projects within, society. One goal of an engineering capstone design course should be to mesh the technical knowledge of the discipline with an encompassing engineering…

Strategic deployment of CHO expression platforms to deliver Pfizer's Monoclonal Antibody Portfolio.

PubMed

Scarcelli, John J; Shang, Tanya Q; Iskra, Tim; Allen, Martin J; Zhang, Lin

2017-11-01

Development of stable cell lines for expression of large-molecule therapeutics represents a significant portion of the time and effort required to advance a molecule to enabling regulatory toxicology studies and clinical evaluation. Our development strategy employs two different approaches for cell line development based on the needs of a particular project: a random integration approach for projects where high-level expression is critical, and a site-specific integration approach for projects in which speed and reduced employee time spend is a necessity. Here we describe both our random integration and site-specific integration platforms and their applications in support of monoclonal antibody development and production. We also compare product quality attributes of monoclonal antibodies produced with a nonclonal cell pool or clonal cell lines derived from the two platforms. Our data suggests that material source (pools vs. clones) does not significantly alter the examined product quality attributes. Our current practice is to leverage this observation with our site-specific integration platform, where material generated from cell pools is used for an early molecular assessment of a given candidate to make informed decisions around development strategy. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 33:1463-1467, 2017. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

A surety engineering framework to reduce cognitive systems risks.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Caudell, Thomas P.; Peercy, David Eugene; Caldera, Eva O.

Cognitive science research investigates the advancement of human cognition and neuroscience capabilities. Addressing risks associated with these advancements can counter potential program failures, legal and ethical issues, constraints to scientific research, and product vulnerabilities. Survey results, focus group discussions, cognitive science experts, and surety researchers concur technical risks exist that could impact cognitive science research in areas such as medicine, privacy, human enhancement, law and policy, military applications, and national security (SAND2006-6895). This SAND report documents a surety engineering framework and a process for identifying cognitive system technical, ethical, legal and societal risks and applying appropriate surety methods to reducemore » such risks. The framework consists of several models: Specification, Design, Evaluation, Risk, and Maturity. Two detailed case studies are included to illustrate the use of the process and framework. Several Appendices provide detailed information on existing cognitive system architectures; ethical, legal, and societal risk research; surety methods and technologies; and educing information research with a case study vignette. The process and framework provide a model for how cognitive systems research and full-scale product development can apply surety engineering to reduce perceived and actual risks.« less

Challenges of constructing salt cavern gas storage in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xia, Yan; Yuan, Guangjie; Ban, Fansheng; Zhuang, Xiaoqian; Li, Jingcui

2017-11-01

After more than ten years of research and engineering practice in salt cavern gas storage, the engineering technology of geology, drilling, leaching, completion, operation and monitoring system has been established. With the rapid growth of domestic consumption of natural gas, the requirement of underground gas storage is increasing. Because high-quality rock salt resources about 1000m depth are relatively scarce, the salt cavern gas storages will be built in deep rock salt. According to the current domestic conventional construction technical scheme, construction in deep salt formations will face many problems such as circulating pressure increasing, tubing blockage, deformation failure, higher completion risk and so on, caused by depth and the complex geological conditions. Considering these difficulties, the differences between current technical scheme and the construction scheme of twin well and big hole are analyzed, and the results show that the technical scheme of twin well and big hole have obvious advantages in reducing the circulating pressure loss, tubing blockage and failure risk, and they can be the alternative schemes to solve the technical difficulties of constructing salt cavern gas storages in the deep rock salt.

Lateral instability of high temperature pipelines, the 20-in. Sleipner Vest pipeline

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saevik, S.; Levold, E.; Johnsen, O.K.

1996-12-01

The present paper addresses methods to control snaking behavior of high temperature pipelines resting on a flat sea bed. A case study is presented based on the detail engineering of the 12.5 km long 20 inch gas pipeline connecting the Sleipner Vest wellhead platform to the Sleipner T processing platform in the North Sea. The study includes screening and evaluation of alternative expansion control methods, ending up with a recommended method. The methodology and philosophy, used as basis to ensure sufficient structural strength throughout the lifetime of the pipeline, are thereafter presented. The results show that in order to findmore » the optimum technical solution to control snaking behavior, many aspects need to be considered such as process requirements, allowable strain, hydrodynamic stability, vertical profile, pipelay installation and trawlboard loading. It is concluded that by proper consideration of all the above aspects, the high temperature pipeline can be designed to obtain sufficient safety level.« less

An ultra-tunable platform for molecular engineering of high-performance crystalline porous materials

DOE PAGES

Zhai, Quan -Guo; Bu, Xianhui; Mao, Chengyu; ...

2016-12-07

Metal-organic frameworks are a class of crystalline porous materials with potential applications in catalysis, gas separation and storage, and so on. Of great importance is the development of innovative synthetic strategies to optimize porosity, composition and functionality to target specific applications. Here we show a platform for the development of metal-organic materials and control of their gas sorption properties. This platform can accommodate a large variety of organic ligands and homo- or hetero-metallic clusters, which allows for extraordinary tunability in gas sorption properties. Even without any strong binding sites, most members of this platform exhibit high gas uptake capacity. Asmore » a result, the high capacity is accomplished with an isosteric heat of adsorption as low as 20 kJ mol –1 for carbon dioxide, which could bring a distinct economic advantage because of the significantly reduced energy consumption for activation and regeneration of adsorbents.« less

Design of a stateless low-latency router architecture for green software-defined networking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saldaña Cercós, Silvia; Ramos, Ramon M.; Ewald Eller, Ana C.; Martinello, Magnos; Ribeiro, Moisés. R. N.; Manolova Fagertun, Anna; Tafur Monroy, Idelfonso

2015-01-01

Expanding software defined networking (SDN) to transport networks requires new strategies to deal with the large number of flows that future core networks will have to face. New south-bound protocols within SDN have been proposed to benefit from having control plane detached from the data plane offering a cost- and energy-efficient forwarding engine. This paper presents an overview of a new approach named KeyFlow to simultaneously reduce latency, jitter, and power consumption in core network nodes. Results on an emulation platform indicate that round trip time (RTT) can be reduced above 50% compared to the reference protocol OpenFlow, specially when flow tables are densely populated. Jitter reduction has been demonstrated experimentally on a NetFPGA-based platform, and 57.3% power consumption reduction has been achieved.

Advanced Turbine Technology Applications Project (ATTAP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

ATTAP activities during the past year included test-bed engine design and development, ceramic component design, materials and component characterization, ceramic component process development and fabrication, ceramic component rig testing, and test-bed engine fabrication and testing. Significant technical challenges remain, but all areas exhibited progress. Test-bed engine design and development included engine mechanical design, combustion system design, alternate aerodynamic designs of gasifier scrolls, and engine system integration aimed at upgrading the AGT-5 from a 1038 C (1900 F) metal engine to a durable 1372 C (2500 F) structural ceramic component test-bed engine. ATTAP-defined ceramic and associated ceramic/metal component design activities completed include the ceramic gasifier turbine static structure, the ceramic gasifier turbine rotor, ceramic combustors, the ceramic regenerator disk, the ceramic power turbine rotors, and the ceramic/metal power turbine static structure. The material and component characterization efforts included the testing and evaluation of seven candidate materials and three development components. Ceramic component process development and fabrication proceeded for the gasifier turbine rotor, gasifier turbine scroll, gasifier turbine vanes and vane platform, extruded regenerator disks, and thermal insulation. Component rig activities included the development of both rigs and the necessary test procedures, and conduct of rig testing of the ceramic components and assemblies. Test-bed engine fabrication, testing, and development supported improvements in ceramic component technology that permit the achievement of both program performance and durability goals. Total test time in 1991 amounted to 847 hours, of which 128 hours were engine testing, and 719 were hot rig testing.

Exploration Platform in the Earth-Moon Libration System Based on ISS

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raftery, Michael; Derechin, Alexander

2012-01-01

International Space Station (ISS) industry partners have been working for the past two years on concepts using ISS development methods and residual assets to support a broad range of exploration missions. These concepts have matured along with planning details for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) to allow serious consideration for a platform located in the Earth-Moon Libration (EML) system. This platform would provide a flexible basis for future exploration missions and would significantly reduce costs because it will enable re-use of expensive spacecraft and reduce the total number of launches needed to accomplish these missions. ISS provides a robust set of methods which can be used to test systems and capabilities needed for missions to the Moon, Mars, asteroids and other potential destinations. We will show how ISS can be used to reduce risk and improve operational flexibility for missions beyond low earth orbit through the development of a new Exploration Platform based in the EML system. The benefits of using the EML system as a gateway will be presented along with additional details of a lunar exploration mission concept. International cooperation is a critical enabler and ISS has already demonstrated successful management of a large multi-national technical endeavor. We will show how technology developed for ISS can be evolved and adapted to the new exploration challenge. New technology, such as electric propulsion and advanced life support systems can be tested and proven at ISS as part of an incremental development program. Finally, we will describe how the EML Platform could be built and deployed and how International access for crew and cargo could be provided.

Technological Innovation and Technical Communications: Their Place in Aerospace Engineering Curricula. A Survey of European, Japanese and US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; And Others

1991-01-01

Reports on results from 260 aerospace engineers and scientists in United States, Europe, and Japan regarding their opinions about professional importance of technical communications; generation and utilization of technical communications; and relevant content of an undergraduate course in technical communications. The fields of cryogenics,…

Novel predictive models for metabolic syndrome risk: a "big data" analytic approach.

PubMed

Steinberg, Gregory B; Church, Bruce W; McCall, Carol J; Scott, Adam B; Kalis, Brian P

2014-06-01

We applied a proprietary "big data" analytic platform--Reverse Engineering and Forward Simulation (REFS)--to dimensions of metabolic syndrome extracted from a large data set compiled from Aetna's databases for 1 large national customer. Our goals were to accurately predict subsequent risk of metabolic syndrome and its various factors on both a population and individual level. The study data set included demographic, medical claim, pharmacy claim, laboratory test, and biometric screening results for 36,944 individuals. The platform reverse-engineered functional models of systems from diverse and large data sources and provided a simulation framework for insight generation. The platform interrogated data sets from the results of 2 Comprehensive Metabolic Syndrome Screenings (CMSSs) as well as complete coverage records; complete data from medical claims, pharmacy claims, and lab results for 2010 and 2011; and responses to health risk assessment questions. The platform predicted subsequent risk of metabolic syndrome, both overall and by risk factor, on population and individual levels, with ROC/AUC varying from 0.80 to 0.88. We demonstrated that improving waist circumference and blood glucose yielded the largest benefits on subsequent risk and medical costs. We also showed that adherence to prescribed medications and, particularly, adherence to routine scheduled outpatient doctor visits, reduced subsequent risk. The platform generated individualized insights using available heterogeneous data within 3 months. The accuracy and short speed to insight with this type of analytic platform allowed Aetna to develop targeted cost-effective care management programs for individuals with or at risk for metabolic syndrome.

Benchmarking of dynamic simulation predictions in two software platforms using an upper limb musculoskeletal model

PubMed Central

Saul, Katherine R.; Hu, Xiao; Goehler, Craig M.; Vidt, Meghan E.; Daly, Melissa; Velisar, Anca; Murray, Wendy M.

2014-01-01

Several opensource or commercially available software platforms are widely used to develop dynamic simulations of movement. While computational approaches are conceptually similar across platforms, technical differences in implementation may influence output. We present a new upper limb dynamic model as a tool to evaluate potential differences in predictive behavior between platforms. We evaluated to what extent differences in technical implementations in popular simulation software environments result in differences in kinematic predictions for single and multijoint movements using EMG- and optimization-based approaches for deriving control signals. We illustrate the benchmarking comparison using SIMM-Dynamics Pipeline-SD/Fast and OpenSim platforms. The most substantial divergence results from differences in muscle model and actuator paths. This model is a valuable resource and is available for download by other researchers. The model, data, and simulation results presented here can be used by future researchers to benchmark other software platforms and software upgrades for these two platforms. PMID:24995410

Benchmarking of dynamic simulation predictions in two software platforms using an upper limb musculoskeletal model.

PubMed

Saul, Katherine R; Hu, Xiao; Goehler, Craig M; Vidt, Meghan E; Daly, Melissa; Velisar, Anca; Murray, Wendy M

2015-01-01

Several opensource or commercially available software platforms are widely used to develop dynamic simulations of movement. While computational approaches are conceptually similar across platforms, technical differences in implementation may influence output. We present a new upper limb dynamic model as a tool to evaluate potential differences in predictive behavior between platforms. We evaluated to what extent differences in technical implementations in popular simulation software environments result in differences in kinematic predictions for single and multijoint movements using EMG- and optimization-based approaches for deriving control signals. We illustrate the benchmarking comparison using SIMM-Dynamics Pipeline-SD/Fast and OpenSim platforms. The most substantial divergence results from differences in muscle model and actuator paths. This model is a valuable resource and is available for download by other researchers. The model, data, and simulation results presented here can be used by future researchers to benchmark other software platforms and software upgrades for these two platforms.

Methods/Labor Standards Application Program - Phase IV

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-01-01

Engine Platform a. Pressure switch b. Compressor motor c. Voltage regulator d. Open and clean generator exciter and main windings S3 . Main Collector...clean motors b. Slip rings Gantry #3 Annual: S2. Engine Platform a. Pressure switch b. Compressor motor Voltage regulator d. Open and clean generator...Travel Motors Open and clean motorsa. b. Slip rings Gantry #4 S2 . S3. S4 . S5 . Engine Platform a. Pressure switch b. Compressor motor Voltage regulator

Engineering Lessons Learned and Systems Engineering Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Paul S.; Garcia, Danny; Vaughan, William W.

2005-01-01

Systems Engineering is fundamental to good engineering, which in turn depends on the integration and application of engineering lessons learned. Thus, good Systems Engineering also depends on systems engineering lessons learned from within the aerospace industry being documented and applied. About ten percent of the engineering lessons learned documented in the NASA Lessons Learned Information System are directly related to Systems Engineering. A key issue associated with lessons learned datasets is the communication and incorporation of this information into engineering processes. As part of the NASA Technical Standards Program activities, engineering lessons learned datasets have been identified from a number of sources. These are being searched and screened for those having a relation to Technical Standards. This paper will address some of these Systems Engineering Lessons Learned and how they are being related to Technical Standards within the NASA Technical Standards Program, including linking to the Agency's Interactive Engineering Discipline Training Courses and the life cycle for a flight vehicle development program.

Materials for Microfluidic Immunoassays: A Review.

PubMed

Mou, Lei; Jiang, Xingyu

2017-08-01

Conventional immunoassays suffer from at least one of these following limitations: long processing time, high costs, poor user-friendliness, technical complexity, poor sensitivity and specificity. Microfluidics, a technology characterized by the engineered manipulation of fluids in channels with characteristic lengthscale of tens of micrometers, has shown considerable promise for improving immunoassays that could overcome these limitations in medical diagnostics and biology research. The combination of microfluidics and immunoassay can detect biomarkers with faster assay time, reduced volumes of reagents, lower power requirements, and higher levels of integration and automation compared to traditional approaches. This review focuses on the materials-related aspects of the recent advances in microfluidics-based immunoassays for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics of biomarkers. We compare the materials for microfluidic chips fabrication in five aspects: fabrication, integration, function, modification and cost, and describe their advantages and drawbacks. In addition, we review materials for modifying antibodies to improve the performance of the reaction of immunoassay. We also review the state of the art in microfluidic immunoassays POC platforms, from the laboratory to routine clinical practice, and also commercial products in the market. Finally, we discuss the current challenges and future developments in microfluidic immunoassays. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mapping and vessel-based capabilities

USGS Publications Warehouse

Raabe, Ellen A.; Robbins, Lisa L.

2007-01-01

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists from the Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) conduct scientific investigations of submerged coastal and marine resources using new and existing technologies. Each contributing technique, method, or product adds to our understanding of coastal and marine resources and provides information for resource-management decisionmaking. In support of this mission, the USGS St. Petersburg office maintains a fleet of research vessels used for inland, coastal, and open-water marine surveys and investigations. Each vessel has advantages and limitations related to water depth, carrying capacity, speed, operation in open water, and other functions. These research platforms are staffed by experienced technical and scientific professionals with expertise in marine navigation, geology, geophysics, engineering, biology, and oceanography.

The first Latin American workshop on professional skills for young female scientists

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ávila, A.; Meza-Montes, Lilia; Ponce-Dawson, Silvina

2015-12-01

To effectively build capacity for research and training in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) across Latin America and the Caribbean, a gender perspective must be factored in. Working from an awareness of the gender situation as well as of the multiple personal challenges experienced due to gender disparity, a group of Latin American female scientists organized a workshop with the goal of empowering young female scientists and assessing the challenges they face. In this paper we summarize the outcomes of the workshop, highlighting the barriers that are common in the region. Among other aspects, the workshop stressed the need for resource platforms for finding technical and professional networks, jobs, and scholarships.

Study of power-to-weight ratio of the electrothermal propulsion system of nanosatellite maneuvering satellite platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blinov, V. N.; Vavilov, I. S.; Kositsin, V. V.; Lukyanchik, A. I.; Ruban, V. I.; Shalay, V. V.

2018-01-01

The direction of the solution of the actual task of maneuvering satellite platforms (MSP) design for nanosatellite weighing up to 10 kg, power-to-weight ratio of PS up to 8 W (electrothermal micro engine (ETME) 5 W, vaporizer 2 W, electrovalve up to 1 W) and with characteristic velocity up to 60 m/s were considered on the basis of studies of the propulsion system(PS) with ETME. The aim of study is the confirmation of technical possibility of nanosatellites design with mass up to 10 kg, power-to-weight ratio up to 8 W and with characteristic velocity up to 60 m/s on the basis of PS prototype experimental studies. In the course of the research tasks were solved to determine the design of PS and ETME of nanosatellit’s MSP, determine the electric parameters of PS depending on power consumption that determining specific impulse of ETME, and estimate the implemented characteristic velocity of the nanosatellite. The PS constructive scheme of nanosatellite mass of 10 kg was design, PS experimental prototype was produced and PS experimental research on ammonia were conducted. The 200°C was reached per 900 s at 5 W ETME power consumption with nitrogen, that equivalent to specific impulse of ammonia ETME 124/136 s when entering the stationary mode. 2 W energy consumption of a two-thread liquid ammonia vaporizer is experimentally substantiated. The using of electrovelve stepped control cyclogram allowed to reduce the average power consumption to 1 W.

Economic analysis of transmission line engineering based on industrial engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Yixuan

2017-05-01

The modern industrial engineering is applied to the technical analysis and cost analysis of power transmission and transformation engineering. It can effectively reduce the cost of investment. First, the power transmission project is economically analyzed. Based on the feasibility study of power transmission and transformation project investment, the proposal on the company system cost management is put forward through the economic analysis of the effect of the system. The cost management system is optimized. Then, through the cost analysis of power transmission and transformation project, the new situation caused by the cost of construction is found. It is of guiding significance to further improve the cost management of power transmission and transformation project. Finally, according to the present situation of current power transmission project cost management, concrete measures to reduce the cost of power transmission project are given from the two aspects of system optimization and technology optimization.

Nanocomposites in Multifuntional Structures for Spacecraft Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marcos, J.; Mendizabal, M.; Elizetxea, C.; Florez, S.; Atxaga, G.; Del Olmo, E.

2012-07-01

The integration of functionalities as electrical, thermal, power or radiation shielding inside carrier electronic boxes, solar panels or platform structures allows reducing weight, volume, and harness for spacecraft. The multifunctional structures represent an advanced design approach for space components and subsystems. The development of such multifunctional structures aims the re-engineering traditional metallic structures by composites in space, which request to provide specific solutions for thermal conductivity, EMI-EMC, radiation shielding and integration. The use of nanomaterials as CNF and nano-adds to reinforce composite structures allows obtaining local solutions for improving electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity and radiation shielding. The paper summarises the results obtained in of three investigations conducted by Tecnalia based on carbon nanofillers for improving electro-thermal characteristics of spacecraft platform, electronic substrates and electronics boxes respectively.

Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project Final Technical Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collar, Craig

This document represents the final report for the Admiralty Inlet Pilot Tidal Project, located in Puget Sound, Washington, United States. The Project purpose was to license, permit, and install a grid-connected deep-water tidal turbine array (two turbines) to be used as a platform to gather operational and environmental data on tidal energy generation. The data could then be used to better inform the viability of commercial tidal energy generation from technical, economic, social, and environmental standpoints. This data would serve as a critical step towards the responsible advancement of commercial scale tidal energy in the United States and around themore » world. In late 2014, Project activities were discontinued due to escalating costs, and the DOE award was terminated in early 2015. Permitting, licensing, and engineering design activities were completed under this award. Final design, deployment, operation, and monitoring were not completed. This report discusses the results and accomplishments achieved under the subject award.« less

A case study for integrated STEM outreach in an urban setting using a do-it-yourself vertical jump measurement platform.

PubMed

Drazan, John F; Danielsen, Heather; Vercelletto, Matthew; Loya, Amy; Davis, James; Eglash, Ron

2016-08-01

The purpose of this study was to develop and deploy a low cost vertical jump platform using readily available materials for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and outreach in the inner city. The platform was used to measure the jumping ability of participants to introduce students to the collection and analysis of scientific data in an engaging, accessible manner. This system was designed and fabricated by a student team of engineers as part of a socially informed engineering and design class. The vertical jump platform has been utilized in 10 classroom lectures in physics and biology. The system was also used in an after school program in which high school volunteers prepared a basketball based STEM outreach program, and at a community outreach events with over 100 participants. At present, the same group of high school students are now building their own set of vertical jump platform under the mentorship of engineering undergraduates. The construction and usage of the vertical jump platform provides an accessible introduction to the STEM fields within the urban community.

Ethernet direct display: a new dimension for in-vehicle video connectivity solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rowley, Vincent

2009-05-01

To improve the local situational awareness (LSA) of personnel in light or heavily armored vehicles, most military organizations recognize the need to equip their fleets with high-resolution digital video systems. Several related upgrade programs are already in progress and, almost invariably, COTS IP/Ethernet is specified as the underlying transport mechanism. The high bandwidths, long reach, networking flexibility, scalability, and affordability of IP/Ethernet make it an attractive choice. There are significant technical challenges, however, in achieving high-performance, real-time video connectivity over the IP/Ethernet platform. As an early pioneer in performance-oriented video systems based on IP/Ethernet, Pleora Technologies has developed core expertise in meeting these challenges and applied a singular focus to innovating within the required framework. The company's field-proven iPORTTM Video Connectivity Solution is deployed successfully in thousands of real-world applications for medical, military, and manufacturing operations. Pleora's latest innovation is eDisplayTM, a smallfootprint, low-power, highly efficient IP engine that acquires video from an Ethernet connection and sends it directly to a standard HDMI/DVI monitor for real-time viewing. More costly PCs are not required. This paper describes Pleora's eDisplay IP Engine in more detail. It demonstrates how - in concert with other elements of the end-to-end iPORT Video Connectivity Solution - the engine can be used to build standards-based, in-vehicle video systems that increase the safety and effectiveness of military personnel while fully leveraging the advantages of the lowcost COTS IP/Ethernet platform.

Development of requirements on safety cases of machine industry products for power engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aronson, K. E.; Brezgin, V. I.; Brodov, Yu. M.; Gorodnova, N. V.; Kultyshev, A. Yu.; Tolmachev, V. V.; Shablova, E. G.

2016-12-01

This article considers security assurance for power engineering machinery in the design and production phases. The Federal Law "On Technical Regulation" and the Customs Union Technical Regulations "On Safety of Machinery and Equipment" are analyzed in the legal, technical, and economic aspect with regard to power engineering machine industry products. From the legal standpoint, it is noted that the practical enforcement of most norms of the Law "On Technical Regulation" makes it necessary to adopt subordinate statutory instruments currently unavailable; moreover, the current level of adoption of technical regulations leaves much to be desired. The intensive integration processes observed in the Eurasian Region in recent years have made it a more pressing task to harmonize the laws of the region's countries, including their technical regulation framework. The technical aspect of analyzing the technical regulation of the Customs Union has been appraised by the IDEF0 functional modeling method. The object of research is a steam turbine plant produced at the turbine works. When developing the described model, we considered the elaboration of safety case (SC) requirements from the standpoint of the chief designer of the turbine works as the person generally responsible for the elaboration of the SC document. The economic context relies on risk analysis and appraisal methods. In their respect, these are determined by the purposes and objectives of analysis, complexity of considered objects, availability of required data, and expertise of specialists hired to conduct the analysis. The article proposes the description of all sources of hazard and scenarios of their actualization in all production phases of machinery life cycle for safety assurance purposes. The detection of risks and hazards allows forming the list of unwanted events. It describes the sources of hazard, various risk factors, conditions for their rise and development, tentative risk appraisals, and elaboration of tentative guidelines for reducing hazard and risk levels.

2014 SRNL LDRD Annual Report, Rev. 0

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mcwhorter, S.

2015-03-15

Laboratory Directed Research and Development is a congressionally authorized program that provides the ‘innovation inspiration’ from which many of the Laboratory’s multi-discipline advancements are made in both science and engineering technology. The program is the backbone for insuring that scientific, technical and engineering capabilities can meet current and future needs. It is an important tool in reducing the probability of technological surprise by allowing laboratory technical staff room to innovate and keep abreast of scientific breakthroughs. Drawing from the synergism among the EM and NNSA missions, and work from other federal agencies ensures that LDRD is the key element inmore » maintaining the vitality of SRNL’s technical programs. The LDRD program aims to position the Laboratory for new business in clean energy, national security, nuclear materials management and environmental stewardship by leveraging the unique capabilities of the Laboratory to yield foundational scientific research in core business areas, while aligning with SRS strategic initiatives and maintaining a vision for ultimate DOE applications.« less

Technical preventive measures in Japan.

PubMed

Yonekawa, Y

1994-05-01

Technical preventive measures against vibration syndrome in the field of industrial health are reviewed in the present paper. The first technical prevention measure is to reduce vibration transmission from the tools to the operators. This measure employs vibration isolators between the handles and vibration sources of machine tools. Handles of tools using Neidhalt dampers, shear type rubber mounts and springs have reduced frequency-weighted acceleration levels (Lh,w) from 2 dB to 10 dB (Lh,w (dB) = 20 log a/ao; a: frequency-weighted acceleration (rms), ao = 10(-5) m/s2) in Z direction, while no reduction was found in X, Y directions. The second measure is to reduce vibration at the source; New chain saws have been developed to reduce vibration with twin cylinder instead of a single cylinder engines. This cancels unbalanced movements inside the internal combustion engine. Such chain saws reduced Lh,w values more than 10 dB in both front and rear handles except in Z direction of the front handle. A new type of impact wrench has been devised with an oil pulse device to avoid direct metal contact inside the power source. This new impact wrench lowered Lh,w values more than 10 dB in three directions. The third measure is to use a remote control system or to substitute another machine generating less vibration. Vibration reduction at the handle lever of the remote control chain saw was more than 20 dB. A more effective means is to substitute other machines for conventional tools: a hydraulic wheel jumbo instead of a leg-type rock drill; a hydraulic breaker instead of a hand-held breaker. However, these heavy machines produce whole-body vibration which might give rise to other problems such as back pain.

MHD program plan, FY 1991

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1990-10-01

The current magnetohydrodynamic MHD program being implemented is a result of a consensus established in public meetings held by the Department of Energy in 1984. The public meetings were followed by the formulation of a June 1984 Coal-Fired MHD Preliminary Transition and Program Plan. This plan focused on demonstrating the proof-of-concept (POC) of coal-fired MHD electric power plants by the early 1990s. MHD test data indicate that while there are no fundamental technical barriers impeding the development of MHD power plants, technical risk remains. To reduce the technical risk three key subsystems (topping cycle, bottoming cycle, and seed regeneration) are being assembled and tested separately. The program does not require fabrication of a complete superconducting magnet, but rather the development and testing of superconductor cables. The topping cycle system test objectives can be achieved using a conventional iron core magnet system already in place at a DOE facility. Systems engineering-derived requirements and analytical modeling to support scale-up and component design guide the program. In response to environmental, economic, engineering, and utility acceptance requirements, design choices and operating modes are tested and refined to provide technical specifications for meeting commercial criteria. These engineering activities are supported by comprehensive and continuing systems analyses to establish realistic technical requirements and cost data. Essential elements of the current program are to: develop technical and environmental data for the integrated MHD topping cycle and bottoming cycle systems through POC testing (1000 and 4000 hours, respectively); design, construct, and operate a POC seed regeneration system capable of processing spent seed materials from the MHD bottoming cycle; prepare conceptual designs for a site specific MHD retrofit plant; and continue supporting research necessary for system testing.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 14: An analysis of the technical communications practices reported by Israeli and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Elazar, David; Kennedy, John M.

1991-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two pilot studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Israeli and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their view about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to randomly selected U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists who are working in cryogenics, adaptive walls, and magnetic suspension. A slightly modified version was sent to Israeli aerospace engineers and scientists working at Israel Aircraft Industries, LTD. Responses of the Israeli and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists to selected questions are presented in this paper.

Engineer Company Force Structure Force Modularization in Support of Decisive Action. Does the Corps of Engineers Need to Re-Structure Engineer Construction Companies Again in order to Support Decisive Actions?

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-16

Regional Command RCP Route Clearance Platoon RSOI Reception, Staging, Onward Movement, Integration SBCT Stryker Brigade Combat Team TOE Table of...Point (ASPs), and field hospital platforms; prepare river crossing sites; and support port repair due to Hydraulic Excavator (HYEX), provides force...platforms, FARPS, supply routes, roads, control points, fire bases, tank ditches, ASPs, and field hospital platforms; prepare river crossing sites; and

UPC BarcelonaTech Platform. Innovative aerobatic parabolic flights for life sciences experiments.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez-Poch, Antoni; Gonzalez, Daniel

We present an innovative method of performing parabolic flights with aerobatic single-engine planes. A parabolic platform has been established in Sabadell Airport (Barcelona, Spain) to provide an infraestructure ready to allow Life Sciences reduced gravity experiments to be conducted in parabolic flights. Test flights have demonstrated that up to 8 seconds of reduced gravity can be achieved by using a two-seat CAP10B aircraft, with a gravity range between 0.1 and 0.01g in the three axis. A parabolic flight campaign may be implemented with a significant reduction in budget compared to conventional parabolic flight campaigns, and with a very short time-to-access to the platform. Operational skills and proficiency of the pilot controling the aircraft during the maneuvre, sensitivity to wind gusts, and aircraft balance are the key issues that make a parabola successful. Efforts are focused on improving the total “zero-g” time and the quality of reduced gravity achieved, as well as providing more space for experiments. We report results of test flights that have been conducted in order to optimize the quality and total microgravity time. A computer sofware has been developed and implemented to help the pilot optimize his or her performance. Finally, we summarize the life science experiments that have been conducted in this platform. Specific focus is given to the very successful 'Barcelona ZeroG Challenge', this year in its third edition. This educational contest gives undergraduate and graduate students worldwide the opportunity to design their research within our platform and test it on flight, thus becoming real researchers. We conclude that aerobatic parabolic flights have proven to be a safe, unexpensive and reliable way to conduct life sciences reduced gravity experiments.

On-line Naval Engineering Skills Supplemental Training Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-01-01

Defense Technical University ( DTU ), the technical content for courses would have to be provided by the Naval technical authorities...of technological knowledge related to design engineering such as the DTU , or expanded within the mission scope of an existing organization such as...management program as a training tool for naval design engineers such as the DTU or a technical extension of the DAU program for acquisition training

Advanced Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine(s)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kwok, Doris; Boucher, Cheryl

Energy independence and fuel savings are hallmarks of the nation’s energy strategy. The advancement of natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology is critical to the nation’s future. A new engine platform that meets the efficiency, emissions, fuel flexibility, cost and reliability/maintainability targets will enable American manufacturers to have highly competitive products that provide substantial environmental and economic benefits in the US and in international markets. Along with Cummins and Waukesha, Caterpillar participated in a multiyear cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy to create a 50% efficiency natural gas powered reciprocating engine system with a 95% reduction in NOxmore » emissions by the year 2013. This platform developed under this agreement will be a significant contributor to the US energy strategy and will enable gas engine technology to remain a highly competitive choice, meeting customer cost of electricity targets, and regulatory environmental standard. Engine development under the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program was divided into phases, with the ultimate goal being approached in a series of incremental steps. This incremental approach would promote the commercialization of ARES technologies as soon as they emerged from development and would provide a technical and commercial foundation of later-developing technologies. Demonstrations of the Phase I and Phase II technology were completed in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Program tasks in Phase III included component and system development and testing from 2009-2012. Two advanced ignition technology evaluations were investigated under the ARES program: laser ignition and distributed ignition (DIGN). In collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU), a laser ignition system was developed to provide ignition at lean burn and high boost conditions. Much work has been performed in Caterpillar’s DIGN program under the ARES program. This work has consisted of both modeling and single cylinder engine experiments to quantify DIGN performance. The air handling systems of natural gas engines dissipate a percentage of available energy as a result of both flow losses and turbomachinery inefficiencies. An analytical study was initiated to increase compressor efficiency by employing a 2-stage inter-cooled compressor. Caterpillar also studied a turbo-compound system that employs a power turbine to recover energy from the exhaust gases for improved engine efficiency. Several other component and system investigations were undertaken during the final phase of the program to reach the ultimate ARES goals. An intake valve actuation system was developed and tested to improve engine efficiency, durability and load acceptance. Analytical modeling and materials testing were performed to evaluate the performance of steel pistons and compacted graphite iron cylinder head. Effort was made to improve the detonation sensing system by studying and comparing the performance of different pressure sensors. To reduce unburned hydrocarbon emissions, different camshafts were designed and built to investigate the effect of exhaust valve opening timing and value overlap. 1-D & 3-D coupled simulation was used to study intake and exhaust manifold dynamics with the goal of reducing load in-balance between cylinders. Selective catalytic reduction with on-board reductant generation to reduce NOx emissions was also engine tested. An effective mean to successfully deploy ARES technologies into the energy markets is to deploy demonstration projects in the field. In 2010, NETL and Caterpillar agreed to include a new “opportunity fuel” deliverable and two field demonstrations in the ARES program. An Organic Rankine Cycle system was designed with production intent incorporating lessons learned from the Phase II demonstration. Unfortunately, business conditions caused Caterpillar to cancel this demonstration in 2011. Nonetheless, Caterpillar partnered with a local dealer to deploy an ARES class engine using syngas from a biomass gasifier as the DE-FC26-01CH11079 primary combustion fuel in Gleason, TN. Upon the successful start-up and commissioning of the demonstration unit, ownership of the system was transferred to the dealer. In order to further our understanding of syngas combustion, a fundamental combustion study on syngas combustion at high pressure and lean condition was conducted through the collaboration with University of Southern California. A Methane program was also developed to rate engine performance for various compositions of syngas using empirical data obtained at CSU. While much work remains in terms of extending and integrating these developments into commercial products, it is evident that engine manufacturers on our own or through private consortium efforts could not have overcome the financial hurdles to drive these improvements into reciprocating engine and system capabilities, helping maintain the natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology as a strong option for electric power markets, both in the United States and worldwide.« less

The TRIPOD e-learning Platform for the Training of Earthquake Safety Assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Coppari, S.; Di Pasquale, G.; Goretti, A.

2008-07-08

The paper summarizes the results of the in progress EU Project titled TRIPOD (Training Civil Engineers on Post-Earthquake Safety Assessment of Damaged Buildings), funded under the Leonardo Da Vinci program. The main theme of the project is the development of a methodology and a learning platform for the training of technicians involved in post-earthquake building safety inspections. In the event of a catastrophic earthquake, emergency building inspections constitute a major undertaking with severe social impact. Given the inevitable chaotic conditions and the urgent need of a great number of specialized individuals to carry out inspections, past experience indicates that inspectionmore » teams are often formed in an adhoc manner, under stressful conditions, at a varying levels of technical expertise and experience, sometime impairing the reliability and consistency of the inspection results. Furthermore each Country has its own building damage and safety assessment methodology, developed according to its experience, laws, building technology and seismicity. This holds also for the partners participating to the project (Greece, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus), that all come from seismically sensitive Mediterranean countries. The project aims at alleviating the above shortcomings by designing and developing a training methodology and e-platform, forming a complete training program targeted at inspection engineers, specialized personnel and civil protection agencies. The e-learning platform will provide flexible and friendly authoring mechanisms, self-teaching and assessment capabilities, course and trainee management, etc. Courses will be also made available as stand-alone multimedia applications on CD and in the form of a complete pocket handbook. Moreover the project will offer the possibility of upgrading different experiences and practices: a first step towards the harmonization of methodologies and tools of different Countries sharing similar problems. Finally, through wide dissemination activities, the final aim of the project is to ensure the deployment and the integration into existing earthquake mitigation policies and vocational training schemes.« less

The TRIPOD e-learning Platform for the Training of Earthquake Safety Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppari, S.; Di Pasquale, G.; Goretti, A.; Papa, F.; Papa, S.; Paoli, G.; Pizza, A. G.; Severino, M.

2008-07-01

The paper summarizes the results of the in progress EU Project titled TRIPOD (Training Civil Engineers on Post-Earthquake Safety Assessment of Damaged Buildings), funded under the Leonardo Da Vinci program. The main theme of the project is the development of a methodology and a learning platform for the training of technicians involved in post-earthquake building safety inspections. In the event of a catastrophic earthquake, emergency building inspections constitute a major undertaking with severe social impact. Given the inevitable chaotic conditions and the urgent need of a great number of specialized individuals to carry out inspections, past experience indicates that inspection teams are often formed in an adhoc manner, under stressful conditions, at a varying levels of technical expertise and experience, sometime impairing the reliability and consistency of the inspection results. Furthermore each Country has its own building damage and safety assessment methodology, developed according to its experience, laws, building technology and seismicity. This holds also for the partners participating to the project (Greece, Italy, Turkey, Cyprus), that all come from seismically sensitive Mediterranean countries. The project aims at alleviating the above shortcomings by designing and developing a training methodology and e-platform, forming a complete training program targeted at inspection engineers, specialized personnel and civil protection agencies. The e-learning platform will provide flexible and friendly authoring mechanisms, self-teaching and assessment capabilities, course and trainee management, etc. Courses will be also made available as stand-alone multimedia applications on CD and in the form of a complete pocket handbook. Moreover the project will offer the possibility of upgrading different experiences and practices: a first step towards the harmonization of methodologies and tools of different Countries sharing similar problems. Finally, through wide dissemination activities, the final aim of the project is to ensure the deployment and the integration into existing earthquake mitigation policies and vocational training schemes.

Overview of NASA's Propulsion 21 Effort

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long-Davis, Mary Jo

2006-01-01

Propulsion 21 technologies contribute to reducing CO2 and NO(x) emissions and noise. Integrated Government/Industry/University research efforts have produced promising initial technical results. Graduate students from 5 partnering universities will benefit from this collaborative research--> educating the future engineering workforce. Phase 2 Efforts scheduled to be completed 3QFY06.

Implementation of Distance Support (DS) to Reduce Total Ownership Cost (R-TOC)

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-01

ATIS ) for technical documentation,  PMS Scheduling (SKED)  Food Service Management (FSM3). For morale and welfare support, local web content...Development ( TD ) phase and use a systems engineering (SE) approach (similar to Figure 6 above) to help understand ramifications for deleting DS. For

Sparsely-sampled hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy: a theoretical investigation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Haonan; Liao, Chien-Sheng; Wang, Pu; Huang, Kai-Chih; Bouman, Charles A.; Kong, Nan; Cheng, Ji-Xin

2017-02-01

A hyperspectral image corresponds to a data cube with two spatial dimensions and one spectral dimension. Through linear un-mixing, hyperspectral images can be decomposed into spectral signatures of pure components as well as their concentration maps. Due to this distinct advantage on component identification, hyperspectral imaging becomes a rapidly emerging platform for engineering better medicine and expediting scientific discovery. Among various hyperspectral imaging techniques, hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering (HSRS) microscopy acquires data in a pixel-by-pixel scanning manner. Nevertheless, current image acquisition speed for HSRS is insufficient to capture the dynamics of freely moving subjects. Instead of reducing the pixel dwell time to achieve speed-up, which would inevitably decrease signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), we propose to reduce the total number of sampled pixels. Location of sampled pixels are carefully engineered with triangular wave Lissajous trajectory. Followed by a model-based image in-painting algorithm, the complete data is recovered for linear unmixing. Simulation results show that by careful selection of trajectory, a fill rate as low as 10% is sufficient to generate accurate linear unmixing results. The proposed framework applies to any hyperspectral beam-scanning imaging platform which demands high acquisition speed.

Model-based variance-stabilizing transformation for Illumina microarray data.

PubMed

Lin, Simon M; Du, Pan; Huber, Wolfgang; Kibbe, Warren A

2008-02-01

Variance stabilization is a step in the preprocessing of microarray data that can greatly benefit the performance of subsequent statistical modeling and inference. Due to the often limited number of technical replicates for Affymetrix and cDNA arrays, achieving variance stabilization can be difficult. Although the Illumina microarray platform provides a larger number of technical replicates on each array (usually over 30 randomly distributed beads per probe), these replicates have not been leveraged in the current log2 data transformation process. We devised a variance-stabilizing transformation (VST) method that takes advantage of the technical replicates available on an Illumina microarray. We have compared VST with log2 and Variance-stabilizing normalization (VSN) by using the Kruglyak bead-level data (2006) and Barnes titration data (2005). The results of the Kruglyak data suggest that VST stabilizes variances of bead-replicates within an array. The results of the Barnes data show that VST can improve the detection of differentially expressed genes and reduce false-positive identifications. We conclude that although both VST and VSN are built upon the same model of measurement noise, VST stabilizes the variance better and more efficiently for the Illumina platform by leveraging the availability of a larger number of within-array replicates. The algorithms and Supplementary Data are included in the lumi package of Bioconductor, available at: www.bioconductor.org.

Evaluation of high throughput gene expression platforms using a genomic biomarker signature for prediction of skin sensitization.

PubMed

Forreryd, Andy; Johansson, Henrik; Albrekt, Ann-Sofie; Lindstedt, Malin

2014-05-16

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) develops upon exposure to certain chemical compounds termed skin sensitizers. To reduce the occurrence of skin sensitizers, chemicals are regularly screened for their capacity to induce sensitization. The recently developed Genomic Allergen Rapid Detection (GARD) assay is an in vitro alternative to animal testing for identification of skin sensitizers, classifying chemicals by evaluating transcriptional levels of a genomic biomarker signature. During assay development and biomarker identification, genome-wide expression analysis was applied using microarrays covering approximately 30,000 transcripts. However, the microarray platform suffers from drawbacks in terms of low sample throughput, high cost per sample and time consuming protocols and is a limiting factor for adaption of GARD into a routine assay for screening of potential sensitizers. With the purpose to simplify assay procedures, improve technical parameters and increase sample throughput, we assessed the performance of three high throughput gene expression platforms--nCounter®, BioMark HD™ and OpenArray®--and correlated their performance metrics against our previously generated microarray data. We measured the levels of 30 transcripts from the GARD biomarker signature across 48 samples. Detection sensitivity, reproducibility, correlations and overall structure of gene expression measurements were compared across platforms. Gene expression data from all of the evaluated platforms could be used to classify most of the sensitizers from non-sensitizers in the GARD assay. Results also showed high data quality and acceptable reproducibility for all platforms but only medium to poor correlations of expression measurements across platforms. In addition, evaluated platforms were superior to the microarray platform in terms of cost efficiency, simplicity of protocols and sample throughput. We evaluated the performance of three non-array based platforms using a limited set of transcripts from the GARD biomarker signature. We demonstrated that it was possible to achieve acceptable discriminatory power in terms of separation between sensitizers and non-sensitizers in the GARD assay while reducing assay costs, simplify assay procedures and increase sample throughput by using an alternative platform, providing a first step towards the goal to prepare GARD for formal validation and adaption of the assay for industrial screening of potential sensitizers.

Development of NASA Technical Standards Program Relative to Enhancing Engineering Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Paul S.; Vaughan, William W.

2003-01-01

The enhancement of engineering capabilities is an important aspect of any organization; especially those engaged in aerospace development activities. Technical Standards are one of the key elements of this endeavor. The NASA Technical Standards Program was formed in 1997 in response to the NASA Administrator s directive to develop an Agencywide Technical Standards Program. The Program s principal objective involved the converting Center-unique technical standards into Agency wide standards and the adoption/endorsement of non-Government technical standards in lieu of government standards. In the process of these actions, the potential for further enhancement of the Agency s engineering capabilities was noted relative to value of being able to access Agencywide the necessary full-text technical standards, standards update notifications, and integration of lessons learned with technical standards, all available to the user from one Website. This was accomplished and is now being enhanced based on feedbacks from the Agency's engineering staff and supporting contractors. This paper addresses the development experiences with the NASA Technical Standards Program and the enhancement of the Agency's engineering capabilities provided by the Program s products. Metrics are provided on significant aspects of the Program.

Floor Plans Rolling Platform, Tech Systems Platform, and Load ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Floor Plans - Rolling Platform, Tech Systems Platform, and Load Platform Plans - Marshall Space Flight Center, F-1 Engine Static Test Stand, On Route 565 between Huntsville and Decatur, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

Integral Engine Inlet Particle Separator. Volume 2. Design Guide

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-08-01

herein will be used in the design of integral inlet particle separators for future Army aircraft gas turbine engines . Apprupriate technical personnel...OF INTEGRAL GAS TURBINE ENGINE SOLID PARTICLE INLET SEPARATORS, PHASE I, FEASIBILITY STUDY AND DESIGN, Pratt and Whitney Aircraft ; USAAVLABS Technical...USAAVLABS Technical Report 70-36, U.S. Army Aviation Materiel Laboratories, Fort Eustis, Virginia, August 1970 AD 876 584. 13. ENGINES , AIRCRAFT

[Assessment of acoustic environment and its effect on hearing in jet engine technical personnel].

PubMed

Konopka, Wiesław; Pawlaczyk-Luszczyńska, Małgorzata; Straszyński, Piotr; Sliwińska-Kowalska, Mariola

2004-01-01

Noise produced by jet engines may be harmful to aircraft servicing personnel because of high levels of acoustic pressure. The aim of the study was to assess the acoustic environment of persons exposed to jet engine noise and its effect on hearing. Noise measurements were performed on three jet engines. During the target practice, the following parameters were measured: equivalent noise, pressure level A, maximum sound pressure level A, and peak sound pressure level C. The spectro-analysis covering the range from 0.1 to 20 kHz was conducted. Hearing was assessed in 50 noise-exposed men, aged 24-51 years (mean age, 35.5 years), using PTA, tympanometry and DPOAE. The control group consisted of 40 non-exposed persons with good hearing condition. Maximum levels of acoustic pressure exceeded Polish standards. Comparison between two groups showed that PTA was higher in the exposed persons by 6.3-6.8 dB on average and DPOAE was reduced in the group exposed to jet engine noise more than it could have been expected. Even during a single test, aircraft technical personnel was exposed to (audible) noise that significantly exceeded admissible values. The reduction in DPOAE values in persons exposed to noise of jet engines was incommensurably higher than changes in PTA.

Metabolic engineering of biomass for high energy density: oilseed-like triacylglycerol yields from plant leaves.

PubMed

Vanhercke, Thomas; El Tahchy, Anna; Liu, Qing; Zhou, Xue-Rong; Shrestha, Pushkar; Divi, Uday K; Ral, Jean-Philippe; Mansour, Maged P; Nichols, Peter D; James, Christopher N; Horn, Patrick J; Chapman, Kent D; Beaudoin, Frederic; Ruiz-López, Noemi; Larkin, Philip J; de Feyter, Robert C; Singh, Surinder P; Petrie, James R

2014-02-01

High biomass crops have recently attracted significant attention as an alternative platform for the renewable production of high energy storage lipids such as triacylglycerol (TAG). While TAG typically accumulates in seeds as storage compounds fuelling subsequent germination, levels in vegetative tissues are generally low. Here, we report the accumulation of more than 15% TAG (17.7% total lipids) by dry weight in Nicotiana tabacum (tobacco) leaves by the co-expression of three genes involved in different aspects of TAG production without severely impacting plant development. These yields far exceed the levels found in wild-type leaf tissue as well as previously reported engineered TAG yields in vegetative tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana and N. tabacum. When translated to a high biomass crop, the current levels would translate to an oil yield per hectare that exceeds those of most cultivated oilseed crops. Confocal fluorescence microscopy and mass spectrometry imaging confirmed the accumulation of TAG within leaf mesophyll cells. In addition, we explored the applicability of several existing oil-processing methods using fresh leaf tissue. Our results demonstrate the technical feasibility of a vegetative plant oil production platform and provide for a step change in the bioenergy landscape, opening new prospects for sustainable food, high energy forage, biofuel and biomaterial applications. © 2013 CSIRO. Plant Biotechnology Journal published by Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

A tutorial platform suitable for surgical simulator training (SimMentor).

PubMed

Røtnes, Jan Sigurd; Kaasa, Johannes; Westgaard, Geir; Eriksen, Eivind Myrold; Hvidsten, Per Oyvind; Strøm, Kyrre; Sørhus, Vidar; Halbwachs, Yvon; Haug, Einar; Grimnes, Morten; Fontenelle, Hugues; Ekeberg, Tom; Thomassen, Jan B; Elle, Ole Jakob; Fosse, Erik

2002-01-01

The introduction of simulators in surgical training entails the need to develop pedagogic platforms adapted to the potentials and limitations provided by the information technology. As a solution to the technical challenges in treating all possible interaction events and to obtain a suitable pedagogic approach, we have developed a pedagogic platform for surgical training, SimMentor. In SimMentor the procedure to be practiced is divided into a number of natural phases. The trainee will practice on one phase at a time, however he can select the sequence of phases arbitrarily. A phase is taught by letting the trainee alternate freely between 2 modes: 1: A 3-dimensional animated guidance designed for learning the objectives and challenges in a procedure. 2: An interactive training session through the instrument manipulator device designed for training motoric responses based on visual and tactile responses produced by the simulator. The two modes are interfaced with the same virtual reality platform, thus SimMentor allows a seamless transition between the modes. We have developed a prototype simulator for robotic assisted endoscopic CABG (Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting) procedure by first focusing on the anastomosis part of the operation. Tissue, suture and instrument models have been developed and integrated with a simulated model of a beating heart comprises the elements in the simulator engine that is used in construction a training platform for learning different methods for performing a coronary anastomosis procedure. The platform is designed for integrating the following features: 1) practical approach to handle interactivity events with flexible-objects 3D simulators, 2) methods for quantitative evaluations of performance, 3) didactic presentations, 4) effective ways of producing diversity of clinical and pathological training scenarios.

Performance Limiting Flow Processes in High-State Loading High-Mach Number Compressors

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-13

the Doctoral Thesis Committee of the doctoral student. 3 3.0 Technical Background A strong incentive exists to reduce airfoil count in aircraft engine ...Advanced Turbine Engine ). A basic constraint on blade reduction is seen from the Euler turbine equation, which shows that, although a design can be carried...on the vane to rotor blade ratio of 8:11). Within the MSU Turbo code, specifying a small number of time steps requires more iteration at each time

Cultivating engineering innovation ability based on optoelectronic experimental platform

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Dangjuan; Wu, Shenjiang

2017-08-01

As the supporting experimental platform of the Xi'an Technological University education reform experimental class, "optical technological innovation experimental platform" integrated the design and comprehensive experiments of the optical multi-class courses. On the basis of summing up the past two years teaching experience, platform pilot projects were improve. It has played a good role by making the use of an open teaching model in the cultivating engineering innovation spirit and scientific thinking of the students.

Rapid Development: A Content Analysis Comparison of Literature and Purposive Sampling of AFRL Rapid Reaction Projects

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-12-01

systems engineering technical and technical management processes. Technical Planning, Stakeholders Requirements Development, and Architecture Design were...Stakeholder Requirements Definition, Architecture Design and Technical Planning. A purposive sampling of AFRL rapid development program managers and engineers...emphasize one process over another however Architecture Design , Implementation scored higher among Technical Processes. Decision Analysis, Technical

Engineering and Industrial Fields. Revised Summary Report: Technical Employment in Northeast Florida.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, William E.; And Others

The document is one of five summary reports, all part of a Pre-Technical Curriculum Planning Project for secondary students who aspire to technical employment or post secondary technical education. This report represents the results of an assessment of the northeast Florida area's technical occupations in engineering and industrial fields. A…

Fair Oaks Dairy Farms Cellulosic Ethanol Technology Review Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andrew Wold; Robert Divers

2011-06-23

At Fair Oaks Dairy, dried manure solids (''DMS'') are currently used as a low value compost. United Power was engaged to evaluate the feasibility of processing these DMS into ethanol utilizing commercially available cellulosic biofuels conversion platforms. The Fair Oaks Dairy group is transitioning their traditional ''manure to methane'' mesophilic anaerobic digester platform to an integrated bio-refinery centered upon thermophilic digestion. Presently, the Digested Manure Solids (DMS) are used as a low value soil amendment (compost). United Power evaluated the feasibility of processing DMS into higher value ethanol utilizing commercially available cellulosic biofuels conversion platforms. DMS was analyzed and overmore » 100 potential technology providers were reviewed and evaluated. DMS contains enough carbon to be suitable as a biomass feedstock for conversion into ethanol by gasification technology, or as part of a conversion process that would include combined heat and power. In the first process, 100% of the feedstock is converted into ethanol. In the second process, the feedstock is combusted to provide heat to generate electrical power supporting other processes. Of the 100 technology vendors evaluated, a short list of nine technology providers was developed. From this, two vendors were selected as finalists (one was an enzymatic platform and one was a gasification platform). Their selection was based upon the technical feasibility of their systems, engineering expertise, experience in commercial or pilot scale operations, the ability or willingness to integrate the system into the Fair Oaks Biorefinery, the know-how or experience in producing bio-ethanol, and a clear path to commercial development.« less

Hydrogels for precision meniscus tissue engineering: a comprehensive review.

PubMed

Rey-Rico, Ana; Cucchiarini, Magali; Madry, Henning

The meniscus plays a pivotal role to preserve the knee joint homeostasis. Lesions to the meniscus are frequent, have a reduced ability to heal, and may induce tibiofemoral osteoarthritis. Current reconstructive therapeutic options mainly focus on the treatment of lesions in the peripheral vascularized region. In contrast, few approaches are capable of stimulating repair of damaged meniscal tissue in the central, avascular portion. Tissue engineering approaches are of high interest to repair or replace damaged meniscus tissue in this area. Hydrogel-based biomaterials are of special interest for meniscus repair as its inner part contains relatively high proportions of proteoglycans which are responsible for the viscoelastic compressive properties and hydration grade. Hydrogels exhibiting high water content and providing a specific three-dimensional (3D) microenvironment may be engineered to precisely resemble this topographical composition of the meniscal tissue. Different polymers of both natural and synthetic origins have been manipulated to produce hydrogels hosting relevant cell populations for meniscus regeneration and provide platforms for meniscus tissue replacement. So far, these compounds have been employed to design controlled delivery systems of bioactive molecules involved in meniscal reparative processes or to host genetically modified cells as a means to enhance meniscus repair. This review describes the most recent advances on the use of hydrogels as platforms for precision meniscus tissue engineering.

Engineering Technical Support Center Annual Report Fiscal Year 2015

EPA Science Inventory

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Office of Research and Development (ORD) created the Engineering Technical Support Center (ETSC) in 1987, one of several technical support centers created as part of the Technical Support Project (TSP). ETSC provid...

Expanded Guidance for NASA Systems Engineering. Volume 2: Crosscutting Topics, Special Topics, and Appendices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hirshorn, Steven R.

2017-01-01

Historically, most successful NASA projects have depended on effectively blending project management, systems engineering, and technical expertise among NASA, contractors, and third parties. Underlying these successes are a variety of agreements (e.g., contract, memorandum of understanding, grant, cooperative agreement) between NASA organizations or between NASA and other Government agencies, Government organizations, companies, universities, research laboratories, and so on. To simplify the discussions, the term "contract" is used to encompass these agreements. This section focuses on the NASA systems engineering activities pertinent to awarding a contract, managing contract performance, and completing a contract. In particular, NASA systems engineering interfaces to the procurement process are covered, since the NASA engineering technical team plays a key role in the development and evaluation of contract documentation. Contractors and third parties perform activities that supplement (or substitute for) the NASA project technical team accomplishment of the NASA common systems engineering technical process activities and requirements outlined in this guide. Since contractors might be involved in any part of the systems engineering life cycle, the NASA project technical team needs to know how to prepare for, allocate or perform, and implement surveillance of technical activities that are allocated to contractors.

Analysis Influence of Managerial Competence, Technical Competence, and Strategic Competence on Firm Performance in Electrical Engineering Company in Bandung

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijaya, E. R.; Irianto, D.

2018-03-01

The industry sectors that have an important role in the era of globalization is the electro engineering sector. The era of globalization led to intense competition. One of the negative effects of the intense competition is declining profits. Drop in profits caused many firms reduces their employees without seeking the root cause of declining profits in detail. Whereas, employee is the important resources to maintain competitive advantage. Competitive advantage can be measured by the performance of which is owned by the firm. The firm's performance can be formed of competencies that is unique, rare, irreplaceable, and difficult to imitate within the firm, one of them is the competence of the individual. According to a competency-based approach and the resource- based approach, individual competence that affect the performance of the firm is managerial competence, technical competence, and strategic competence. Questionnaire is built based on the dimensions of the firm's performance, managerial competence, technical competence, and strategic competence, are processed using partial least squares application. The results indicate that managerial competence negatively impact firm’s performance with weak ties. The technical competence and strategic competence positively affect firm’s performance with moderate ties.

Collaborating for Success: Team Teaching the Engineering Technical Thesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keating, Terrence; Long, Mike

2012-01-01

This paper will examine the collaborative teaching process undertaken at College of the North Atlantic-Qatar (CNA-Q) by Engineering and the Communication faculties to improve the overall quality of engineering students' capstone projects known as the Technical Thesis. The Technical Thesis is divided into two separate components: a proposal stage…

Evaluation of Game Engines for Cross-Platform Development of Mobile Serious Games for Health.

PubMed

Kleinschmidt, Carina; Haag, Martin

2016-01-01

Studies have shown that serious games for health can improve patient compliance and help to increase the quality of medical education. Due to a growing availability of mobile devices, especially the development of cross-platform mobile apps is helpful for improving healthcare. As the development can be highly time-consuming and expensive, an alternative development process is needed. Game engines are expected to simplify this process. Therefore, this article examines the question whether using game engines for cross-platform serious games for health can simplify the development compared to the development of a plain HTML5 app. At first, a systematic review of the literature was conducted in different databases (MEDLINE, ACM and IEEE). Afterwards three different game engines were chosen, evaluated in different categories and compared to the development of a HTML5 app. This was realized by implementing a prototypical application in the different engines and conducting a utility analysis. The evaluation shows that the Marmalade engine is the best choice for development in this scenario. Furthermore, it is obvious that the game engines have great benefits against plain HTML5 development as they provide components for graphics, physics, sounds, etc. The authors recommend to use the Marmalade Engine for a cross-platform mobile Serious Game for Health.

Research and Application of Autodesk Fusion360 in Industrial Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, P. P.; Qi, Y. M.; Cai, D. C.

2018-05-01

In 2016, Fusion 360, a productintroduced byAutodesk and integrating industrial design, structural design, mechanical simulation, and CAM, turns out a design platform supportingcollaboration and sharing both cross-platform and via the cloud. In previous products, design and manufacturing use to be isolated. In the course of design, research and development, the communication between designers and engineers used to go on through different software products, tool commands, and even industry terms. Moreover, difficulty also lies with the communication between design thoughts and machining strategies. Naturally, a difficult product design and R & D process would trigger a noticeable gap between the design model and the actual product. A complete product development process tends to cover several major areas, such as industrial design, mechanical design, rendering and animation, computer aided emulation (CAE), and computer aided manufacturing (CAM). Fusion 360, a perfect design solving the technical problems of cross-platform data exchange, realizes the effective control of cross-regional collaboration and presents an overview of collaboration and breaks the barriers between art and manufacturing, andblocks between design and processing. The “Eco-development of Fusion360 Industrial Chain” is both a significant means to and an inevitable trend forthe manufacturers and industrial designers to carry out innovation in China.

Technical Excellence: A Requirement for Good Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gill, Paul S.; Vaughan, William W.

2008-01-01

Technical excellence is a requirement for good engineering. Technical excellence has many different ways of expressing itself within engineering. NASA has initiatives that address the enhancement of the Agency's technical excellence and thrust to maintain the associated high level of performance by the Agency on current programs/projects and as it moves into the Constellation Program and the return to the Moon with plans to visit Mars. This paper addresses some of the key initiatives associated with NASA's technical excellence thrust. Examples are provided to illustrate some results being achieved and plans to enhance these initiatives.

In-Space Internet-Based Communications for Space Science Platforms Using Commercial Satellite Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kerczewski, Robert J.; Bhasin, Kul B.; Fabian, Theodore P.; Griner, James H.; Kachmar, Brian A.; Richard, Alan M.

1999-01-01

The continuing technological advances in satellite communications and global networking have resulted in commercial systems that now can potentially provide capabilities for communications with space-based science platforms. This reduces the need for expensive government owned communications infrastructures to support space science missions while simultaneously making available better service to the end users. An interactive, high data rate Internet type connection through commercial space communications networks would enable authorized researchers anywhere to control space-based experiments in near real time and obtain experimental results immediately. A space based communications network architecture consisting of satellite constellations connecting orbiting space science platforms to ground users can be developed to provide this service. The unresolved technical issues presented by this scenario are the subject of research at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Assessment of network architectures, identification of required new or improved technologies, and investigation of data communications protocols are being performed through testbed and satellite experiments and laboratory simulations.

77 FR 27490 - Plant-Specific Adoption, Revision 4 of the Improved Standard Technical Specifications

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-05-10

...,'' NUREG-1432, ``Standard Technical Specifications, Combustion Engineering Plants,'' NUREG-1433, ``Standard..., ``Standard Technical Specifications, Combustion Engineering Plants'' Revision 4, ADAMS Accession No..., Westinghouse Plants''.. NUREG-1432, ``Standard Technical ML12102A165 ML12102A169 Specifications, Combustion...

Advancing Commercialization of Algal Biofuel through Increased Biomass Productivity and Technical Integration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anton, David

The proposed project built on the foundation of over several years years of intensive and ground-breaking R&D work at Cellana's Kona Demonstration Facility (KDF). Phycological and engineering solutions were provided to tackle key cultivation issues and technical barriers limiting algal biomass productivity identified through work conducted outdoors at industrial (1 acre) scale. The objectives of this project were to significantly improve algal biomass productivity and reduce operational cost in a seawater-based system, using results obtained from two top-performing algal strains as the baseline while technically advancing and more importantly, integrating the various unit operations involved in algal biomass production, processing,more » and refining.« less

Development of a novel engineered E. coli host cell line platform with improved column capacity performance for ion-exchange chromatography.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Rudra Palash; Fruchtl, McKinzie S; Beitle, Robert R; Brune, Ellen M

2018-02-01

This article reports on the analysis of an engineered Escherichia coli designed to reduce the host cell protein (HCP) burden on recombinant protein purification by column chromatography. Since downstream purification accounts for a major portion of production costs when using a recombinant platform, minimization of HCPs that are initially captured or otherwise interfere during chromatography will positively impact the entire purification process. Such a strategy, of course, would also require the cell line to grow, and express recombinant proteins, at levels comparable to, or better than, its parent strain. An E. coli strain with a small number of strategic deletions (LTSF06) was transformed to produce three different recombinant biologics to examine growth and expression, and with another model protein to assess growth and the effect of selectively reduced HCPs on target product capture on DEAE ion exchange medium. Cell growth levels were maintained or increased for all constructs, and a significant reduction in HCP adsorption was realized. Indeed, a breakthrough analysis indicated that as a result of reducing adsorption of particular HCPs, a 37% increase in target protein capture was observed. This increase in product capture efficiency was achieved by focusing not on HCPs that co-elute with the recombinant target, but rather on those possessing particular column adsorption and elution characteristics. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expert Opinion Editorial Tissue Engineered Blood Vessels as Promising Tools for Testing Drug Toxicity

PubMed Central

Truskey, George A.; Fernandez, Cristina E.

2015-01-01

Drug-induced vascular injury (DIVI) is a serious problem in preclinical studies of vasoactive molecules and for survivors of pediatric cancers. DIVI is often observed in rodents and some larger animals, primarily with drugs affecting vascular tone, but not in humans; however, DIVI observed in animal studies often precludes a drug candidate from continuing along the development pipeline. Thus, there is great interest by the pharmaceutical industry to identify quantifiable human biomarkers of DIVI. Small scale endothelialized tissue-engineered blood vessels using human cells represent a promising approach to screen drug candidates and developed alternatives to cancer therapeutics in vitro. We identify several technical challenges that remain to be addressed, including high throughput systems to screen large numbers of candidates, identification of suitable cell sources, and establishing and maintaining a differentiated state of the vessel wall cells. Adequately addressing these challenges should yield novel platforms to screen drugs and develop new therapeutics to treat cardiovascular disease. PMID:26028128

A Multimodal Search Engine for Medical Imaging Studies.

PubMed

Pinho, Eduardo; Godinho, Tiago; Valente, Frederico; Costa, Carlos

2017-02-01

The use of digital medical imaging systems in healthcare institutions has increased significantly, and the large amounts of data in these systems have led to the conception of powerful support tools: recent studies on content-based image retrieval (CBIR) and multimodal information retrieval in the field hold great potential in decision support, as well as for addressing multiple challenges in healthcare systems, such as computer-aided diagnosis (CAD). However, the subject is still under heavy research, and very few solutions have become part of Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) in hospitals and clinics. This paper proposes an extensible platform for multimodal medical image retrieval, integrated in an open-source PACS software with profile-based CBIR capabilities. In this article, we detail a technical approach to the problem by describing its main architecture and each sub-component, as well as the available web interfaces and the multimodal query techniques applied. Finally, we assess our implementation of the engine with computational performance benchmarks.

Communication Platform Payload Definition (CPPD) study. Volume 2: Technical report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hunter, E. M.; Driggers, T.; Jorasch, R.

1986-01-01

This is Volume 2 (Technical Report) of the Ford Aerospace & Communications Corporation Final Report for the Communication Platform Payload Definition (CPPD) Study program conducted for NASA Lewis Research Center under contract No. NAS3-24235. This report presents the results of the study effort leading to five potential platform payloads to service CONUS and WARC Region 2 traffic demand as projected to the year 2008. The report addresses establishing the data bases, developing service aggregation scenarios, selecting and developing 5 payload concepts, performing detailed definition of the 5 payloads, costing them, identifying critical technology, and finally comparing the payloads with each other and also with non-aggregated equivalent services.

Efficiency Assessment of a Blended-Learning Educational Methodology in Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogado, Ana Belén González; Conde, Ma José Rodríguez; Migueláñez, Susana Olmos; Riaza, Blanca García; Peñalvo, Francisco José García

The content of this presentation highlights the importance of an active learning methodology in engineering university degrees in Spain. We present of some of the outcomes from an experimental study carried out during the academic years 2007/08 and 2008/09 with engineering students (Technical Industrial Engineering: Mechanics, Civical Design Engineering: Civical building, Technical Architecture and Technical Engineering on Computer Management.) at the University of Salamanca. In this research we select a subject which is common for the four degrees: Computer Science. This study has the aim of contributing to the improvement of education and teaching methods for a better performance of students in Engineering.

Tinkering and Technical Self-Efficacy of Engineering Students at the Community College

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baker, Dale R.; Wood, Lorelei; Corkins, James; Krause, Stephen

2015-01-01

Self-efficacy in engineering is important because individuals with low self-efficacy have lower levels of achievement and persistence in engineering majors. To examine self-efficacy among community college engineering students, an instrument to specifically measure two important aspects of engineering, tinkering and technical self-efficacy, was…

A silk-based scaffold platform with tunable architecture for engineering critically-sized tissue constructs.

PubMed

Wray, Lindsay S; Rnjak-Kovacina, Jelena; Mandal, Biman B; Schmidt, Daniel F; Gil, Eun Seok; Kaplan, David L

2012-12-01

In the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine there is significant unmet need for critically-sized, fully degradable biomaterial scaffold systems with tunable properties for optimizing tissue formation in vitro and tissue regeneration in vivo. To address this need, we have developed a silk-based scaffold platform that has tunable material properties, including localized and bioactive functionalization, degradation rate, and mechanical properties and that provides arrays of linear hollow channels for delivery of oxygen and nutrients throughout the scaffold bulk. The scaffolds can be assembled with dimensions that range from millimeters to centimeters, addressing the need for a critically-sized platform for tissue formation. We demonstrate that the hollow channel arrays support localized and confluent endothelialization. This new platform offers a unique and versatile tool for engineering 'tailored' scaffolds for a range of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine needs. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[The Engineering and Technical Services Directorate at the Glenn Research Center

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moon, James

2004-01-01

My name is James Moon and I am a senior at Tennessee State University where my major is Aeronautical and Industrial Technology with a concentration in industrial electronics. I am currently serving my internship in the Engineering and Technical Services Directorate at the Glenn Research Center (GRC). The Engineering and Technical Service Directorate provides the services and infrastructure for the Glenn Research Center to take research concepts to reality. They provide a full range of integrated services including engineering, advanced prototyping and testing, facility management, and information technology for NASA, industry, and academia. Engineering and Technical Services contains the core knowledge in Information Technology (IT). This includes data systems and analysis, inter and intranet based systems design and data security. Including the design and development of embedded real-time s o h a r e applications for flight and supporting ground systems, Engineering and Technical Services provide a wide range of IT services and products specific to the Glenn Research Center research and engineering community. In the 7000 Directorate I work directly in the 7611 organization. This organization is known as the Aviation Environments Technical Branch. My mentor is Vincent Satterwhite who is also the Branch Chief of the Aviation Environments Technical Branch. In this branch, I serve as the Assistant program manager of the Engineering Technology Program. The Engineering Technology Program (ETP) is one of three components of the High School L.E.R.C.I.P. This is an Agency-sponsored, eight-week research-based apprenticeship program designed to attract traditionally underrepresented high school students that demonstrate an aptitude for and interest in mathematics, science, engineering, and technology.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 21: Technological innovation and technical communications: Their place in aerospace engineering curricula. A survey of European, Japanese, and US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Holland, Maurita Peterson; Keene, Michael L.; Kennedy, John M.

1991-01-01

Aerospace engineers and scientists from Western Europe, Japan, and the United States were surveyed as part of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Questionnaires were used to solicit their opinions regarding the following: (1) the importance of technical communications to their profession; (2) the use and production of technical communications; and (3) their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications. The ability to communicate technical information effectively was very important to the aerospace engineers and scientists who participated in the study. A considerable portion of their working week is devoted to using and producing technical information. The types of technical communications used and produced varied within and among the three groups. The type of technical communication product used and produced appears to be related to respondents' professional duties. Respondents from the three groups made similar recommendations regarding the principles, mechanics, and on-the-job communications to be included in an undergraduate technical communications course for aerospace majors.

Designer BHAs reduce costs on Andrew/Cyrus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Klein, R.; Todd, S.; Clark, G.

1997-10-01

A key mechanism to development of Andrew/Cyrus has been the development of alliances between BP Exploration, its field partners and various contractors. One such joint venture was the well engineering alliance between BP, Schlumberger, Baker Hughes INTEQ and Transocean, created to deliver five predrilled horizontal wells in the two fields prior to Andrew platform installation. This alliance provided the opportunity to radically change usual ways of doing business in the well engineering arena. One specific aspect involved a rigorous learning process within the team. Rapid learning before and during the operation led to several substantial improvements, one of which wasmore » the development of designer bottomhole assembly (BHA) configurations. Continual development of these assemblies has optimized well placement, bringing enhanced value while reducing costs and increasing potential alliance gainshare.« less

Improving linear accelerator service response with a real- time electronic event reporting system.

PubMed

Hoisak, Jeremy D P; Pawlicki, Todd; Kim, Gwe-Ya; Fletcher, Richard; Moore, Kevin L

2014-09-08

To track linear accelerator performance issues, an online event recording system was developed in-house for use by therapists and physicists to log the details of technical problems arising on our institution's four linear accelerators. In use since October 2010, the system was designed so that all clinical physicists would receive email notification when an event was logged. Starting in October 2012, we initiated a pilot project in collaboration with our linear accelerator vendor to explore a new model of service and support, in which event notifications were also sent electronically directly to dedicated engineers at the vendor's technical help desk, who then initiated a response to technical issues. Previously, technical issues were reported by telephone to the vendor's call center, which then disseminated information and coordinated a response with the Technical Support help desk and local service engineers. The purpose of this work was to investigate the improvements to clinical operations resulting from this new service model. The new and old service models were quantitatively compared by reviewing event logs and the oncology information system database in the nine months prior to and after initiation of the project. Here, we focus on events that resulted in an inoperative linear accelerator ("down" machine). Machine downtime, vendor response time, treatment cancellations, and event resolution were evaluated and compared over two equivalent time periods. In 389 clinical days, there were 119 machine-down events: 59 events before and 60 after introduction of the new model. In the new model, median time to service response decreased from 45 to 8 min, service engineer dispatch time decreased 44%, downtime per event decreased from 45 to 20 min, and treatment cancellations decreased 68%. The decreased vendor response time and reduced number of on-site visits by a service engineer resulted in decreased downtime and decreased patient treatment cancellations.

Time Talk: On Small Changes That Enact Infrastructural Mentoring for Undergraduate Women in Technical Fields

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan, Patricia; Moore, Kristen

2013-01-01

This article brings together the communication needs and positioning of women in technical areas, and asks "how can technical communication classes contribute to the mentoring of young women engineers at a time when many of those women want to be identified as engineers instead of being spotlighted as women in engineering?" Incorporating…

What Is "Good" Technical Communication? A Comparison of the Standards of Writing and Engineering Instructors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Summer

2003-01-01

Presents the results of an empirical study comparing writing and engineering instructors' responses to students' technical writing. Indicates that the gap between engineering and writing teachers' standards for evaluating technical writing is not as wide as is generally assumed. Concludes that the differences that do emerge suggest ways that the…

Engineering of Surface Chemistry for Enhanced Sensitivity in Nanoporous Interferometric Sensing Platforms.

PubMed

Law, Cheryl Suwen; Sylvia, Georgina M; Nemati, Madieh; Yu, Jingxian; Losic, Dusan; Abell, Andrew D; Santos, Abel

2017-03-15

We explore new approaches to engineering the surface chemistry of interferometric sensing platforms based on nanoporous anodic alumina (NAA) and reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RIfS). Two surface engineering strategies are presented, namely (i) selective chemical functionalization of the inner surface of NAA pores with amine-terminated thiol molecules and (ii) selective chemical functionalization of the top surface of NAA with dithiol molecules. The strong molecular interaction of Au 3+ ions with thiol-containing functional molecules of alkane chain or peptide character provides a model sensing system with which to assess the sensitivity of these NAA platforms by both molecular feature and surface engineering. Changes in the effective optical thickness of the functionalized NAA photonic films (i.e., sensing principle), in response to gold ions, are monitored in real-time by RIfS. 6-Amino-1-hexanethiol (inner surface) and 1,6-hexanedithiol (top surface), the most sensitive functional molecules from approaches i and ii, respectively, were combined into a third sensing strategy whereby the NAA platforms are functionalized on both the top and inner surfaces concurrently. Engineering of the surface according to this approach resulted in an additive enhancement in sensitivity of up to 5-fold compared to previously reported systems. This study advances the rational engineering of surface chemistry for interferometric sensing on nanoporous platforms with potential applications for real-time monitoring of multiple analytes in dynamic environments.

Potential of best practice to reduce impacts from oil and gas projects in the Amazon.

PubMed

Finer, Matt; Jenkins, Clinton N; Powers, Bill

2013-01-01

The western Amazon continues to be an active and controversial zone of hydrocarbon exploration and production. We argue for the urgent need to implement best practices to reduce the negative environmental and social impacts associated with the sector. Here, we present a three-part study aimed at resolving the major obstacles impeding the advancement of best practice in the region. Our focus is on Loreto, Peru, one of the largest and most dynamic hydrocarbon zones in the Amazon. First, we develop a set of specific best practice guidelines to address the lack of clarity surrounding the issue. These guidelines incorporate both engineering-based criteria and key ecological and social factors. Second, we provide a detailed analysis of existing and planned hydrocarbon activities and infrastructure, overcoming the lack of information that typically hampers large-scale impact analysis. Third, we evaluate the planned activities and infrastructure with respect to the best practice guidelines. We show that Loreto is an extremely active hydrocarbon front, highlighted by a number of recent oil and gas discoveries and a sustained government push for increased exploration. Our analyses reveal that the use of technical best practice could minimize future impacts by greatly reducing the amount of required infrastructure such as drilling platforms and access roads. We also document a critical need to consider more fully the ecological and social factors, as the vast majority of planned infrastructure overlaps sensitive areas such as protected areas, indigenous territories, and key ecosystems and watersheds. Lastly, our cost analysis indicates that following best practice does not impose substantially greater costs than conventional practice, and may in fact reduce overall costs. Barriers to the widespread implementation of best practice in the Amazon clearly exist, but our findings show that there can be great benefits to its implementation.

Hydrogen-enriched fuels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roser, R.

1998-08-01

NRG Technologies, Inc. is attempting to develop hardware and infrastructure that will allow mixtures of hydrogen and conventional fuels to become viable alternatives to conventional fuels alone. This commercialization can be successful if the authors are able to achieve exhaust emission levels of less than 0.03 g/kw-hr NOx and CO; and 0.15 g/kw-hr NMHC at full engine power without the use of exhaust catalysts. The major barriers to achieving these goals are that the lean burn regimes required to meet exhaust emissions goals reduce engine output substantially and tend to exhibit higher-than-normal total hydrocarbon emissions. Also, hydrogen addition to conventionalmore » fuels increases fuel cost, and reduces both vehicle range and engine output power. Maintaining low emissions during transient driving cycles has not been demonstrated. A three year test plan has been developed to perform the investigations into the issues described above. During this initial year of funding research has progressed in the following areas: (a) a cost effective single-cylinder research platform was constructed; (b) exhaust gas speciation was performed to characterize the nature of hydrocarbon emissions from hydrogen-enriched natural gas fuels; (c) three H{sub 2}/CH{sub 4} fuel compositions were analyzed using spark timing and equivalence ratio sweeping procedures and finally; (d) a full size pick-up truck platform was converted to run on HCNG fuels. The testing performed in year one of the three year plan represents a baseline from which to assess options for overcoming the stated barriers to success.« less

ORD Scientific and Engineering Technical Support for RPMs – Ground Water Technical Support Center

EPA Science Inventory

ORD Scientific and Engineering Technical Support for RPMs (and Others) is a hybrid informational and panel session that focuses on the technical support available from EPA’s Office of Research and Development (ORD) to RPMs and other EPA cleanup program staff. Examples of technica...

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 18: A comparison of the technical communication practices of aerospace engineers and scientists in India and the United States

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of India and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same seven objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them; sixth, to determine their use of electronic networks; and seventh, to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the Indian Institute of Science and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the India and U.S. surveys were 48 and 53 percent, respectively. Responses of the India and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this report.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 17: A comparison of the technical communication practices of Dutch and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same seven objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them; sixth, to determine their use of electronic networks; and seventh, to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR), and NASA Ames Research Center, and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Dutch and U.S. surveys were 55 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 29: A comparison of the technical communications practices of Japanese and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Japanese and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same seven objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third; to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them; sixth, to determine their use of electronic networks; and seventh, to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists in Japan and at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Japanese and U.S. surveys were 85 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Japanese and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this report.

26 CFR 1.971-1 - Definitions with respect to export trade corporations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

..., industrial, financial, technical, scientific, managerial, engineering, architectural, skilled, or other..., industrial, financial, technical, scientific, managerial, engineering, architectural, skilled, or other... performance for any person of commercial, industrial, financial, technical, scientific, managerial...

26 CFR 1.971-1 - Definitions with respect to export trade corporations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

..., industrial, financial, technical, scientific, managerial, engineering, architectural, skilled, or other..., industrial, financial, technical, scientific, managerial, engineering, architectural, skilled, or other... performance for any person of commercial, industrial, financial, technical, scientific, managerial...

X-ray polarization capabilities of a small explorer mission

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jahoda, Keith M.; Black, J. Kevin; Hill, Joanne E.; Kallman, Timothy R.; Kaaret, Philip E.; Markwardt, Craig B.; Okajima, Takashi; Petre, Robert; Soong, Yang; Strohmayer, Tod E.; Tamagawa, Toru; Tawara, Yuzuru

2014-07-01

X-ray polarization measurements hold great promise for studying the geometry and emission mechanisms in the strong gravitational and magnetic fields that surround black holes and neutron stars. In spite of this, the observational situation remains very limited; the last instrument dedicated to X-ray polarimetry flew decades ago on OSO-8, and the few recent measurements have been made by instruments optimized for other purposes. However, the technical capabilities to greatly advance the observational situation are in hand. Recent developments in micro-pattern gas detectors allow use of the polarization sensitivity of the photo-electric effect, which is the dominant interaction in the band above 2 keV. We present the scientific and technical requirements for an X-ray polarization observatory consistent with the scope of a NASA Small Explorer (SMEX) mission, along with a representative catalog of what the observational capabilities and expected sensitivities for the first year of operation could be. The mission is based on the technically robust design of the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX (GEMS) which completed a Phase B study and Preliminary Design Review in 2012. The GEMS mission is enabled by time projection detectors sensitive to the photo-electric effect. Prototype detectors have been designed, and provide engineering and performance data which support the mission design. The detectors are further characterized by low background, modest spectral resolution, and sub-millisecond timing resolution. The mission also incorporates high efficiency grazing incidence X-ray mirrors, design features that reduce systematic errors (identical telescopes at different azimuthal angles with respect to the look axis, and mounted on a rotating spacecraft platform), and a moderate capability to perform Target of Opportunity observations. The mission operates autonomously in a low earth, low inclination orbit with one to ten downlinks per day and one or more uplinks per week. Data and calibration products will be made available through the High Energy Astrophysics Science and Archival Research Center (HEASARC).

IMP: Using microsat technology to support engineering research inside of the International Space Station

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, Kieran A.

2000-01-01

This paper describes an International Space Station (ISS) experiment-support facility being developed by Dynacon for the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), based on microsatellite technology. The facility is called the ``Intravehicular Maneuverable Platform,'' or IMP. The core of IMP is a small, free-floating platform (or ``bus'') deployed inside one of the pressurized crew modules of ISS. Exchangeable experimental payloads can then be mounted to the IMP bus, in order to carry out engineering development or demonstration tests, or microgravity science experiments: the bus provides these payloads with services typical of a standard satellite bus (power, attitude control, etc.). The IMP facility takes advantage of unique features of the ISS, such as the Shuttle-based logistics system and the continuous availability of crew members, to greatly reduce the expense of carrying out space engineering experiments. Further cost reduction has been made possible by incorporating technology that Dynacon has developed for use in a current microsatellite mission. Numerous potential payloads for IMP have been identified, and the first of these (a flexible satellite control experiment) is under development by Dynacon and the University of Toronto's Institute for Aerospace Studies, for the CSA. .

Engineering Programs of Tomorrow: The Role of Agricultural Engineering.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Donald M.

Due to rapid growth of societal and technological endeavors, engineers of the future will require greater technical competence. At the same time, engineering will become more people oriented with greater emphasis placed on people input into decision making. As a result, engineering education must not only provide improved technical education but…

New Design Concept for a Lifting Platform Made of Composite Material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solazzi, L.; Scalmana, R.

2013-08-01

Elevating work platforms are hoists equipment that are increasingly used in many applications, like in the construction industry and in the maintenance field. The maintenance of the hub of the wind turbines, for example, can be done through the use of a working platform; these structures have to reach great heights and obviously they have to satisfy the constraints induced by the highway standards, like the maximum axle load and the maximum overall dimensions. To satisfy these requests the material of the structures changed from the classic structural steel (S235 JR, S275 JR or S355JR) to high strength steel (S700 to S1100 or more), characterized by a significantly higher specific resistance. The idea of this paper is to use a composite material for the construction of the arms of an elevating platform in order to reduce the global weight of the machine. The analyses on the new kind of platform show the technical possibility to change the material of the arms with composite materials and this produces a significant reduction of the weight of the machine components, about 50 %. Being a feasibility study, still remain open some problems such as the mechanical behavior of the used composite materials (fatigue, environment effects, etc.).

3D Miniaturization of Human Organs for Drug Discovery.

PubMed

Park, Joseph; Wetzel, Isaac; Dréau, Didier; Cho, Hansang

2018-01-01

"Engineered human organs" hold promises for predicting the effectiveness and accuracy of drug responses while reducing cost, time, and failure rates in clinical trials. Multiorgan human models utilize many aspects of currently available technologies including self-organized spherical 3D human organoids, microfabricated 3D human organ chips, and 3D bioprinted human organ constructs to mimic key structural and functional properties of human organs. They enable precise control of multicellular activities, extracellular matrix (ECM) compositions, spatial distributions of cells, architectural organizations of ECM, and environmental cues. Thus, engineered human organs can provide the microstructures and biological functions of target organs and advantageously substitute multiscaled drug-testing platforms including the current in vitro molecular assays, cell platforms, and in vivo models. This review provides an overview of advanced innovative designs based on the three main technologies used for organ construction leading to single and multiorgan systems useable for drug development. Current technological challenges and future perspectives are also discussed. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Rapid cross platform healthcare gaming design and implementation: The cost effective methodology.

PubMed

Zhang, Melvyn W B; Ho, Roger C M

2016-11-14

There have been massive advances in E-Health and M-Health technology, with recent interest in the utility of games for healthcare and the promotion of well-being and recovery as well as patient empowerment. There has been various review demonstrating the clinical effectiveness and efficacy of games for healthcare. It is the aim of this technical note to illustrate how appropriate gaming engines could be used by non-expert clinicians to program games that could run across various platforms, as well as games that could integrate well with existing mechanical sensors. This would address the limitations with regards to the evidence base of games, as well as the limitations in the deployment of games to various participants. More importantly, games designed are also more likely to be cost-effective and lower in cost. The ability of integration with existing mechanical sensors would value-add existing games and enable recovery and remediation in various domains of health. This would further expand the potential of games as an adjunctive treatment for patients, or at least, to maintain the gains that they have made in their recovery process.

WarpEngine, a Flexible Platform for Distributed Computing Implemented in the VEGA Program and Specially Targeted for Virtual Screening Studies.

PubMed

Pedretti, Alessandro; Mazzolari, Angelica; Vistoli, Giulio

2018-05-21

The manuscript describes WarpEngine, a novel platform implemented within the VEGA ZZ suite of software for performing distributed simulations both in local and wide area networks. Despite being tailored for structure-based virtual screening campaigns, WarpEngine possesses the required flexibility to carry out distributed calculations utilizing various pieces of software, which can be easily encapsulated within this platform without changing their source codes. WarpEngine takes advantages of all cheminformatics features implemented in the VEGA ZZ program as well as of its largely customizable scripting architecture thus allowing an efficient distribution of various time-demanding simulations. To offer an example of the WarpEngine potentials, the manuscript includes a set of virtual screening campaigns based on the ACE data set of the DUD-E collections using PLANTS as the docking application. Benchmarking analyses revealed a satisfactory linearity of the WarpEngine performances, the speed-up values being roughly equal to the number of utilized cores. Again, the computed scalability values emphasized that a vast majority (i.e., >90%) of the performed simulations benefit from the distributed platform presented here. WarpEngine can be freely downloaded along with the VEGA ZZ program at www.vegazz.net .

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines nears the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be delivered to the VAB, where they will be stored and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivered to VAB

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-17

A new service platform for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines is being prepared for the move into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform was transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. It will be stored in the VAB, and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines backs up inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be stored in the VAB, where they will be used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines backs in to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be stored in the VAB, where they will be used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines arrives inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be stored in the VAB, where they will be used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be stored in the VAB, where they will be used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

New service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines, secured on two flatbed trucks, are on their way to the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They are being transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. The platforms will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where they will be stored and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

One of two new work platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines is secured on dunnage inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be stored in the VAB, where they will be used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

High School Graphics Experience Influencing the Self-Efficacy of First-Year Engineering Students in an Introductory Engineering Graphics Course

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Metraglia, Riccardo; Villa, Valerio; Baronio, Gabriele; Adamini, Riccardo

2015-01-01

Today's students enter engineering colleges with different technical backgrounds and prior graphics experience. This may due to their high school of provenience, which can be technical or non-technical. The prior experience affects students' ability in learning and hence their motivation and self-efficacy beliefs. This study intended to evaluate…

EPA's control technology approach to assisting states and regions with air toxics problems: Five case studies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nolen, S.L.; Dimmick, W.F.

1990-10-01

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in June 1985 a new strategy to reduce public exposure to toxic air pollutants in the ambient air. Over the next 5-8 years, the strategy called for State and Local authorities to take on more of the lead regulatory role, with the Agency providing technical and financial assistance to their efforts. The shift in emphasis and responsibility from the Federal level to State and Local air toxics programs and the need to transfer expertise from the Federal level to the appropriate State or Local level prompted EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD) andmore » EPA's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) to develop and implement an innovative technical assistance program. This program is called the Control Technology Center (CTC). It has since been expanded to include technical assistance in the area of control of air toxics, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs); emission measurements; and other areas where expertise is available to ORD and OAQPS. During the CTC's first year of operation, operating guidelines were developed and three categories of technical assistance were established. These categories are telephone HOTLINE calls, direct engineering assistance, and technical guidance projects. The CTC HOTLINE is a special telephone number which State and Local Agencies can call for easy access to EPA personnel who can provide prompt assistance in a variety of ways including discussions, references to pertinent literature, and referrals to other EPA personnel. In some cases, a HOTLINE call will require more in-depth engineering analysis indicating a need for direct engineering assistance.« less

The technical communication practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Keene, Michael L.; Flammia, Madelyn; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communication practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions; second, to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of the undergraduate course in technical communication; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self administered questionnaire was distributed to Russian aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) and to their U.S. counterparts at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Russian and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this paper.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 16: A comparison of the technical communications practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies have the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; second, to determine the use and production of technical communications by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), NASA ARC, and NASA LaRC. The completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and 61 percent, respectively. The responses of the Russian and U.S. participants, to selected questions, are presented in this report.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 28: The technical communication practices of Russian and US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Keene, Michael L.; Flammia, Madelyn; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communication practices of Russian and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: first, to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions; second, to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists; third, to seek their views about the appropriate content of the undergraduate course in technical communication; fourth, to determine aerospace engineers' and scientists' use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line databases; and fifth, to determine the use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self administered questionnaire was distributed to Russian aerospace engineers and scientists at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI) and to their U.S. counterparts at the NASA Ames Research Center and the NASA Langley Research Center. The completion rates for the Russian and U.S. surveys were 64 and 61 percent, respectively. Responses of the Russian and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this paper.

Computerized engineering logic for procurement and dedication processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tulay, M.P.

1996-12-31

This paper summarizes the work performed for designing the system and especially for calculating on-line expected performance and gives some significant results. In an attempt to better meet the needs of operations and maintenance organizations, many nuclear utility procurement engineering groups have simplified their procedures, developed on-line tools for performing the specification of replacement items, and developed relational databases containing part-level information necessary to automate the procurement process. Although these improvements have helped to reduce the engineering necessary to properly specify and accept/dedicate items for nuclear safety-related applications, a number of utilities have recognized that additional long-term savings can bemore » realized by integrating a computerized logic to assist technical procurement engineering personnel.« less

ISTAR: Project Status and Ground Test Engine Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quinn, Jason Eugene

2003-01-01

Review of the current technical and programmatic status of the Integrated System Test of an Airbreathing Rocket (ISTAR) project. November 2002 completed Phase 1 of this project: which worked the conceptual design of the X-43B demonstrator vehicle and Flight Test Engine (FTE) order to develop realistic requirements for the Ground Test Engine (GTE). The latest conceptual FTE and X-43B configuration is briefly reviewed. The project plan is to reduce risk to the GTE and FTE concepts through several tests: thruster, fuel endothermic characterization, engine structure/heat exchanger, injection characterization rig, and full scale direct connect combustion rig. Each of these will be discussed along with the project schedule. This discussion is limited due to ITAR restrictions on open literature papers.

Modular open RF architecture: extending VICTORY to RF systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Melber, Adam; Dirner, Jason; Johnson, Michael

2015-05-01

Radio frequency products spanning multiple functions have become increasingly critical to the warfighter. Military use of the electromagnetic spectrum now includes communications, electronic warfare (EW), intelligence, and mission command systems. Due to the urgent needs of counterinsurgency operations, various quick reaction capabilities (QRCs) have been fielded to enhance warfighter capability. Although these QRCs were highly successfully in their respective missions, they were designed independently resulting in significant challenges when integrated on a common platform. This paper discusses how the Modular Open RF Architecture (MORA) addresses these challenges by defining an open architecture for multifunction missions that decomposes monolithic radio systems into high-level components with welldefined functions and interfaces. The functional decomposition maximizes hardware sharing while minimizing added complexity and cost due to modularization. MORA achieves significant size, weight and power (SWaP) savings by allowing hardware such as power amplifiers and antennas to be shared across systems. By separating signal conditioning from the processing that implements the actual radio application, MORA exposes previously inaccessible architecture points, providing system integrators with the flexibility to insert third-party capabilities to address technical challenges and emerging requirements. MORA leverages the Vehicular Integration for Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR)/EW Interoperability (VICTORY) framework. This paper concludes by discussing how MORA, VICTORY and other standards such as OpenVPX are being leveraged by the U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command (RDECOM) Communications Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center (CERDEC) to define a converged architecture enabling rapid technology insertion, interoperability and reduced SWaP.

3D Bioprinting for Engineering Complex Tissues

PubMed Central

Mandrycky, Christian; Wang, Zongjie; Kim, Keekyoung; Kim, Deok-Ho

2016-01-01

Bioprinting is a 3D fabrication technology used to precisely dispense cell-laden biomaterials for the construction of complex 3D functional living tissues or artificial organs. While still in its early stages, bioprinting strategies have demonstrated their potential use in regenerative medicine to generate a variety of transplantable tissues, including skin, cartilage, and bone. However, current bioprinting approaches still have technical challenges in terms of high-resolution cell deposition, controlled cell distributions, vascularization, and innervation within complex 3D tissues. While no one-size-fits-all approach to bioprinting has emerged, it remains an on-demand, versatile fabrication technique that may address the growing organ shortage as well as provide a high-throughput method for cell patterning at the micrometer scale for broad biomedical engineering applications. In this review, we introduce the basic principles, materials, integration strategies and applications of bioprinting. We also discuss the recent developments, current challenges and future prospects of 3D bioprinting for engineering complex tissues. Combined with recent advances in human pluripotent stem cell technologies, 3D-bioprinted tissue models could serve as an enabling platform for high-throughput predictive drug screening and more effective regenerative therapies. PMID:26724184

3D bioprinting for engineering complex tissues.

PubMed

Mandrycky, Christian; Wang, Zongjie; Kim, Keekyoung; Kim, Deok-Ho

2016-01-01

Bioprinting is a 3D fabrication technology used to precisely dispense cell-laden biomaterials for the construction of complex 3D functional living tissues or artificial organs. While still in its early stages, bioprinting strategies have demonstrated their potential use in regenerative medicine to generate a variety of transplantable tissues, including skin, cartilage, and bone. However, current bioprinting approaches still have technical challenges in terms of high-resolution cell deposition, controlled cell distributions, vascularization, and innervation within complex 3D tissues. While no one-size-fits-all approach to bioprinting has emerged, it remains an on-demand, versatile fabrication technique that may address the growing organ shortage as well as provide a high-throughput method for cell patterning at the micrometer scale for broad biomedical engineering applications. In this review, we introduce the basic principles, materials, integration strategies and applications of bioprinting. We also discuss the recent developments, current challenges and future prospects of 3D bioprinting for engineering complex tissues. Combined with recent advances in human pluripotent stem cell technologies, 3D-bioprinted tissue models could serve as an enabling platform for high-throughput predictive drug screening and more effective regenerative therapies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing IVHM Requirements for Aerospace Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rajamani, Ravi; Saxena, Abhinav; Kramer, Frank; Augustin, Mike; Schroeder, John B.; Goebel, Kai; Shao, Ginger; Roychoudhury, Indranil; Lin, Wei

2013-01-01

The term Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) describes a set of capabilities that enable sustainable and safe operation of components and subsystems within aerospace platforms. However, very little guidance exists for the systems engineering aspects of design with IVHM in mind. It is probably because of this that designers have to use knowledge picked up exclusively by experience rather than by established process. This motivated a group of leading IVHM practitioners within the aerospace industry under the aegis of SAE's HM-1 technical committee to author a document that hopes to give working engineers and program managers clear guidance on all the elements of IVHM that they need to consider before designing a system. This proposed recommended practice (ARP6883 [1]) will describe all the steps of requirements generation and management as it applies to IVHM systems, and demonstrate these with a "real-world" example related to designing a landing gear system. The team hopes that this paper and presentation will help start a dialog with the larger aerospace community and that the feedback can be used to improve the ARP and subsequently the practice of IVHM from a systems engineering point-of-view.

Computerized engineering logic for nuclear procurement and dedication processes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tulay, M.P.

1996-12-31

In an attempt to better meet the needs of operations and maintenance organizations, many nuclear utility procurement engineering groups have simplified their procedures, developed on-line tools for performing the specification of replacement items, and developed relational databases containing part-level information necessary to automate the procurement process. Although these improvements have helped to reduce the engineering necessary to properly specify and accept/dedicate items for nuclear safety-related applications, a number of utilities have recognized that additional long-term savings can be realized by integrating a computerized logic to assist technical procurement engineering personnel. The most commonly used logic follows the generic processes containedmore » in Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) published guidelines. The processes are typically customized to some extent to accommodate each utility`s organizational structure, operating procedures, and strategic goals. This paper will discuss a typical logic that integrates the technical evaluation, acceptance, and receipt inspection and testing processes. The logic this paper will describe has been successfully integrated at a growing number of nuclear utilities and has produced numerous positive results. The application of the logic ensures that utility-wide standards or procedures, common among multi-site utilities, are followed.« less

Towards Identifying and Reducing the Bias of Disease Information Extracted from Search Engine Data

PubMed Central

Huang, Da-Cang; Wang, Jin-Feng; Huang, Ji-Xia; Sui, Daniel Z.; Zhang, Hong-Yan; Hu, Mao-Gui; Xu, Cheng-Dong

2016-01-01

The estimation of disease prevalence in online search engine data (e.g., Google Flu Trends (GFT)) has received a considerable amount of scholarly and public attention in recent years. While the utility of search engine data for disease surveillance has been demonstrated, the scientific community still seeks ways to identify and reduce biases that are embedded in search engine data. The primary goal of this study is to explore new ways of improving the accuracy of disease prevalence estimations by combining traditional disease data with search engine data. A novel method, Biased Sentinel Hospital-based Area Disease Estimation (B-SHADE), is introduced to reduce search engine data bias from a geographical perspective. To monitor search trends on Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in Guangdong Province, China, we tested our approach by selecting 11 keywords from the Baidu index platform, a Chinese big data analyst similar to GFT. The correlation between the number of real cases and the composite index was 0.8. After decomposing the composite index at the city level, we found that only 10 cities presented a correlation of close to 0.8 or higher. These cities were found to be more stable with respect to search volume, and they were selected as sample cities in order to estimate the search volume of the entire province. After the estimation, the correlation improved from 0.8 to 0.864. After fitting the revised search volume with historical cases, the mean absolute error was 11.19% lower than it was when the original search volume and historical cases were combined. To our knowledge, this is the first study to reduce search engine data bias levels through the use of rigorous spatial sampling strategies. PMID:27271698

Towards Identifying and Reducing the Bias of Disease Information Extracted from Search Engine Data.

PubMed

Huang, Da-Cang; Wang, Jin-Feng; Huang, Ji-Xia; Sui, Daniel Z; Zhang, Hong-Yan; Hu, Mao-Gui; Xu, Cheng-Dong

2016-06-01

The estimation of disease prevalence in online search engine data (e.g., Google Flu Trends (GFT)) has received a considerable amount of scholarly and public attention in recent years. While the utility of search engine data for disease surveillance has been demonstrated, the scientific community still seeks ways to identify and reduce biases that are embedded in search engine data. The primary goal of this study is to explore new ways of improving the accuracy of disease prevalence estimations by combining traditional disease data with search engine data. A novel method, Biased Sentinel Hospital-based Area Disease Estimation (B-SHADE), is introduced to reduce search engine data bias from a geographical perspective. To monitor search trends on Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) in Guangdong Province, China, we tested our approach by selecting 11 keywords from the Baidu index platform, a Chinese big data analyst similar to GFT. The correlation between the number of real cases and the composite index was 0.8. After decomposing the composite index at the city level, we found that only 10 cities presented a correlation of close to 0.8 or higher. These cities were found to be more stable with respect to search volume, and they were selected as sample cities in order to estimate the search volume of the entire province. After the estimation, the correlation improved from 0.8 to 0.864. After fitting the revised search volume with historical cases, the mean absolute error was 11.19% lower than it was when the original search volume and historical cases were combined. To our knowledge, this is the first study to reduce search engine data bias levels through the use of rigorous spatial sampling strategies.

Competences in Demand within the Spanish Agricultural Engineering Sector

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Perdigones, Alicia; Valera, Diego Luis; Moreda, Guillermo Pedro; García, Jose Luis

2014-01-01

The Rural Engineering Department (Technical University of Madrid) ran three competence surveys during the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 academic years and evaluated: (1) the competences gained by agricultural engineer's degree and agricultural technical engineer's degree students (360 respondents); (2) the competences demanded by agricultural employers…

48 CFR 209.571-7 - Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Systems engineering and... Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest 209.571-7 Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts. (a) Agencies shall obtain advice on systems architecture and systems engineering matters with...

48 CFR 209.571-7 - Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Systems engineering and... Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest 209.571-7 Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts. (a) Agencies shall obtain advice on systems architecture and systems engineering matters with...

48 CFR 209.571-7 - Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Systems engineering and... Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest 209.571-7 Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts. (a) Agencies shall obtain advice on systems architecture and systems engineering matters with...

48 CFR 209.571-7 - Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Systems engineering and... Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest 209.571-7 Systems engineering and technical assistance contracts. (a) Agencies shall obtain advice on systems architecture and systems engineering matters with...

Technical Communications in Aeronautics: Results of an Exploratory Study. NASA Technical Memorandum 101534, Parts 1 and 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; And Others

An exploratory study investigated technical communications in aeronautics by surveying aeronautical engineers and scientists. The study had five specific objectives: to solicit the opinions of aeronautical engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communications to their profession; to determine their use and production of…

Integrating ethics into technical courses: micro-insertion.

PubMed

Davis, Michael

2006-10-01

Perhaps the most common reason science and engineering faculty give for not including 'ethics' (that is, research ethics, engineering ethics, or some discussion of professional responsibility) in their technical classes is that 'there is no room'. This article 1) describes a technique ('micro-insertion') that introduces ethics (and related topics) into technical courses in small enough units not to push out technical material, 2) explains where this technique might fit into the larger undertaking of integrating ethics into the technical (scientific or engineering) curriculum, and 3) concludes with some quantified evidence (collected over more than a decade) suggesting success. Integrating ethics into science and engineering courses is largely a matter of providing context for what is already being taught, context that also makes the material already being taught seem 'more relevant'.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fischer, F.J.

As the petroleum industry has moved into deeper and deeper water for the recovery of oil and gas, weight-sensitive floating platforms have replaced stationary, bottom-founded structures. The cost penalty for weight or vertical tension supported by floaters such as tension leg platforms (TLPs) is in the range of $10--20/kg. Hence, there is considerable incentive to reduce the weight of equipment or structural members on these platforms and downward forces exerted on these platforms by production and export risers, and mooring lines. Thus, there are numerous opportunities for utilizing light-weight, high-strength composites. The offshore petroleum industry has acknowledged the desirable performancemore » characteristics of composites for some time but only recently has there been some optimism that composites could be cost-effective. For most, if not all perceived applications, advanced composites are not considered to be technically enabling for current water depths of interest, i.e., 600--1,200m. However, in a very real sense, they may be economically enabling. In particular, they may allow marginal prospects to be developed or may expedite field development subject to capital constraints. The paper discusses composite production risers, break-even costs and savings, and riser tensioners.« less

The Impact of Engineering Integrated Science (EIS) Curricula on First-Year Technical High School Students' Attitudes toward Science and Perceptions of Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nam, Younkyeong; Lee, Sun-Ju; Paik, Seoung-Hey

2016-01-01

This study investigated how engineering integrated science (EIS) curricula affect first-year technical high school students' attitudes toward science and perceptions of engineering. The effect of the EIS participation period on students' attitudes toward science was also investigated via experimental study design. Two engineering integrated…

A web-based online collaboration platform for formulating engineering design projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varikuti, Sainath

Effective communication and collaboration among students, faculty and industrial sponsors play a vital role while formulating and solving engineering design projects. With the advent in the web technology, online platforms and systems have been proposed to facilitate interactions and collaboration among different stakeholders in the context of senior design projects. However, there are noticeable gaps in the literature with respect to understanding the effects of online collaboration platforms for formulating engineering design projects. Most of the existing literature is focused on exploring the utility of online platforms on activities after the problem is defined and teams are formed. Also, there is a lack of mechanisms and tools to guide the project formation phase in senior design projects, which makes it challenging for students and faculty to collaboratively develop and refine project ideas and to establish appropriate teams. In this thesis a web-based online collaboration platform is designed and implemented to share, discuss and obtain feedback on project ideas and to facilitate collaboration among students and faculty prior to the start of the semester. The goal of this thesis is to understand the impact of an online collaboration platform for formulating engineering design projects, and how a web-based online collaboration platform affects the amount of interactions among stakeholders during the early phases of design process. A survey measuring the amount of interactions among students and faculty is administered. Initial findings show a marked improvement in the students' ability to share project ideas and form teams with other students and faculty. Students found the online platform simple to use. The suggestions for improving the tool generally included features that were not necessarily design specific, indicating that the underlying concept of this collaborative platform provides a strong basis and can be extended for future online platforms. Although the platform was designed to promote collaboration, adoption of the collaborative platform by students and faculty has been slow. While the platform appears to be very useful for collaboration, more time is required for it to be widely used by all the stakeholders and to fully convert from email communication to the use of the online collaboration platform.

2007 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop. Volume 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinetz, Bruce M.; Hendricks, Robert C.; Delgado, Irebert

2008-01-01

The 2007 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System workshop covered the following topics: (i) Overview of NASA's new Orion project aimed at developing a new spacecraft that will fare astronauts to the International Space Station, the Moon, Mars, and beyond; (ii) Overview of NASA's fundamental aeronautics technology project; (iii) Overview of NASA Glenn s seal project aimed at developing advanced seals for NASA's turbomachinery, space, and reentry vehicle needs; (iv) Reviews of NASA prime contractor, vendor, and university advanced sealing concepts, test results, experimental facilities, and numerical predictions; and (v) Reviews of material development programs relevant to advanced seals development. Turbine engine studies have shown that reducing seal leakage as well as high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade tip clearances will reduce fuel burn, lower emissions, retain exhaust gas temperature margin, and increase range. Turbine seal development topics covered include a method for fast-acting HPT blade tip clearance control, noncontacting low-leakage seals, intershaft seals, and a review of engine seal performance requirements for current and future Army engine platforms.

2008 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steinetz, Bruce M. (Editor); Hendricks, Robert C. (Editor); Delgado, Irebert R. (Editor)

2009-01-01

The 2008 NASA Seal/Secondary Air System Workshop covered the following topics: (i) Overview of NASA s new Orion project aimed at developing a new spacecraft that will fare astronauts to the International Space Station, the Moon, Mars, and beyond; (ii) Overview of NASA s fundamental aeronautics technology project; (iii) Overview of NASA Glenn s seal project aimed at developing advanced seals for NASA s turbomachinery, space, and reentry vehicle needs; (iv) Reviews of NASA prime contractor, vendor, and university advanced sealing concepts, test results, experimental facilities, and numerical predictions; and (v) Reviews of material development programs relevant to advanced seals development. Turbine engine studies have shown that reducing seal leakage as well as high-pressure turbine (HPT) blade tip clearances will reduce fuel burn, lower emissions, retain exhaust gas temperature margin, and increase range. Turbine seal development topics covered include a method for fast-acting HPT blade tip clearance control, noncontacting low-leakage seals, intershaft seals, and a review of engine seal performance requirements for current and future Army engine platforms.

WindWaveFloat (WWF): Final Scientific Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alla Weinstein; Roddier, Dominique; Banister, Kevin

2012-03-30

Principle Power Inc. and National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) have completed a contract to assess the technical and economic feasibility of integrating wave energy converters into the WindFloat, resulting in a new concept called the WindWaveFloat (WWF). The concentration of several devices on one platform could offer a potential for both economic and operational advantages. Wind and wave energy converters can share the electrical cable and power transfer equipment to transport the electricity to shore. Access to multiple generation devices could be simplified, resulting in cost saving at the operational level. Overall capital costs may also be reduced, provided thatmore » the design of the foundation can be adapted to multiple devices with minimum modifications. Finally, the WindWaveFloat confers the ability to increase energy production from individual floating support structures, potentially leading to a reduction in levelized energy costs, an increase in the overall capacity factor, and greater stability of the electrical power delivered to the grid. The research conducted under this grant investigated the integration of several wave energy device types into the WindFloat platform. Several of the resulting system designs demonstrated technical feasibility, but the size and design constraints of the wave energy converters (technical and economic) make the WindWaveFloat concept economically unfeasible at this time. Not enough additional generation could be produced to make the additional expense associated with wave energy conversion integration into the WindFloat worthwhile.« less

How engineers perceive the importance of ethics in Finland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taajamaa, Ville; Majanoja, Anne-Maarit; Bairaktarova, Diana; Airola, Antti; Pahikkala, Tapio; Sutinen, Erkki

2018-01-01

Success in complex and holistic engineering practices requires more than problem-solving abilities and technical competencies. Engineering education must offer proficient technical competences and also train engineers to think and act ethically. A technical 'engineering-like' focus and demand have made educators and students overlook the importance of ethical awareness and transversal competences. Using two Finnish surveys, conducted in 2014 and 2016, we examine how engineers perceive working life needs regarding ethics. The data consider different age groups. We research whether an engineer's age affects their perception of the importance of ethics in their work and if there are differences between young experts and young managers in their use of ethics within work. The results indicate that practising engineers do not consider ethical issues important in their work. This especially applies to younger engineers; the older an engineer, the more important they consider ethics. No statistically significant difference was found between young engineering experts and managers.

Reducing Vehicle Weight and Improving U.S. Energy Efficiency Using Integrated Computational Materials Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joost, William J.

2012-09-01

Transportation accounts for approximately 28% of U.S. energy consumption with the majority of transportation energy derived from petroleum sources. Many technologies such as vehicle electrification, advanced combustion, and advanced fuels can reduce transportation energy consumption by improving the efficiency of cars and trucks. Lightweight materials are another important technology that can improve passenger vehicle fuel efficiency by 6-8% for each 10% reduction in weight while also making electric and alternative vehicles more competitive. Despite the opportunities for improved efficiency, widespread deployment of lightweight materials for automotive structures is hampered by technology gaps most often associated with performance, manufacturability, and cost. In this report, the impact of reduced vehicle weight on energy efficiency is discussed with a particular emphasis on quantitative relationships determined by several researchers. The most promising lightweight materials systems are described along with a brief review of the most significant technical barriers to their implementation. For each material system, the development of accurate material models is critical to support simulation-intensive processing and structural design for vehicles; improved models also contribute to an integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach for addressing technical barriers and accelerating deployment. The value of computational techniques is described by considering recent ICME and computational materials science success stories with an emphasis on applying problem-specific methods.

Teaching smartphone and microcontroller systems using "Android Java"

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tigrek, Seyitriza

Mobile devices are becoming indispensable tools for many students and educators. Mobile technology is starting a new era in the computing methodologies in many engineering disciplines and laboratories. Microcontroller extension that communicates with mobile devices will take the data acquisition and control process into a new level in the sensing technology and communication. The purpose of this thesis is to develop a framework to incorporate the new mobile platform with robust embedded systems into the engineering curriculum. For this purpose a course material is developed "Introduction to Programming Java on a Mobile Platform" to teach novice programmers how to create applications, specifically on Android. Combining an introductory level programming class with the Android platform can appeal to non-programming individuals in multiple disciplines. The proposed course curriculum reduces the learning time, and allows senior engineering students to use the new framework for their specific needs in the labs such as mobile data acquisition and control projects. This work provides techniques for instructors with modest programming background to teach cutting edge technology, which is smartphone programming. Techniques developed in this work minimize unnecessary information carried into current teaching approaches with hands-on practice. It also helps the students with minimal background requirements overcome the barriers that have evolved around computer programming. The motivation of this thesis is to create a tailored programming introductory course to teach Java programming on Android by incorporating selected efficient methods from extant literature. The mechanism proposed in this thesis is to keep students motivated by an active approach based on student-centered learning with collaborative work. Teamwork through pair programming is adapted in this teaching process. Bloom's taxonomy, along with a knowledge survey, is used as a guide to classify the information and exercise problems. A prototype curriculum is a deliverable of this research that is suitable for novice programmers-such as engineering freshmen students. It also contains advanced material that allows senior students to use mobile phone and a microcontroller system to enhance engineering laboratories.

Integrated Tools for Future Distributed Engine Control Technologies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Culley, Dennis; Thomas, Randy; Saus, Joseph

2013-01-01

Turbine engines are highly complex mechanical systems that are becoming increasingly dependent on control technologies to achieve system performance and safety metrics. However, the contribution of controls to these measurable system objectives is difficult to quantify due to a lack of tools capable of informing the decision makers. This shortcoming hinders technology insertion in the engine design process. NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a Hardware-inthe- Loop (HIL) platform and analysis tool set that will serve as a focal point for new control technologies, especially those related to the hardware development and integration of distributed engine control. The HIL platform is intended to enable rapid and detailed evaluation of new engine control applications, from conceptual design through hardware development, in order to quantify their impact on engine systems. This paper discusses the complex interactions of the control system, within the context of the larger engine system, and how new control technologies are changing that paradigm. The conceptual design of the new HIL platform is then described as a primary tool to address those interactions and how it will help feed the insertion of new technologies into future engine systems.

Design mentoring tool : [technical summary].

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-01-01

In 2004 a design engineer on-line mentoring tool was developed and implemented The purpose of the tool was to assist senior engineers mentoring new engineers to the INDOT design process and improve their technical competency. This approach saves seni...

Partial Withdrawal and Final Rule for Nonroad Technical Amendments

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Amendments to the technical hardship provisions under the Transition Program for Equipment Manufacturers related to the Tier 4 standards for nonroad diesel engines, and to the replacement engine exemption generally applicable to new nonroad engines.

AMP: A platform for managing and mining data in the treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Linstead, Erik; Burns, Ryan; Duy Nguyen; Tyler, David

2016-08-01

We introduce AMP (Autism Management Platform), an integrated health care information system for capturing, analyzing, and managing data associated with the diagnosis and treatment of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children. AMP's mobile application simplifies the means by which parents, guardians, and clinicians can collect and share multimedia data with one another, facilitating communication and reducing data redundancy, while simplifying retrieval. Additionally, AMP provides an intelligent web interface and analytics platform which allow physicians and specialists to aggregate and mine patient data in real-time, as well as give relevant feedback to automatically learn data filtering preferences over time. Together AMP's mobile app, web client, and analytics engine implement a rich set of features that streamline the data collection and analysis process in the context of a secure and easy-to-use system so that data may be more effectively leveraged to guide treatment.

Geostationary Platforms Mission and Payload Requirements study. Volume 2: Technical

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

The possibility of using geostationary platforms to provide communications and other services was examined. Detailed data on the payload and housekeeping requirements of selected communications missions and one typical noncommunications mission are presented.

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 1:] The value of Scientific and Technical Information (STI), its relationship to Research and Development (R&D), and its use by US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Glassman, Myron; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Oliu, Walter E.

1990-01-01

The relationship between scientific and technical information (STI), its use by aerospace engineers and scientists, and the aerospace R&D process is examined. Data are presented from studies of the role of STI in the performance and management of R&D activities and the behavior of engineers when using and seeking information. Consideration is given to the information sources used to solve technical problems, the production and use of technical communications, and the use of libraries, technical information centers, and on-line data bases.

Engineering and Technical Education in Russia, in Numbers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aref'ev, A. L.; Aref'ev, M. A.

2013-01-01

An analysis of the main tendencies in the development of engineering and technical education in Russia during the last 100 years shows that earlier strengths have been lost, and that currently technical education in Russia is far behind modern world standards.

PepArML: A Meta-Search Peptide Identification Platform

PubMed Central

Edwards, Nathan J.

2014-01-01

The PepArML meta-search peptide identification platform provides a unified search interface to seven search engines; a robust cluster, grid, and cloud computing scheduler for large-scale searches; and an unsupervised, model-free, machine-learning-based result combiner, which selects the best peptide identification for each spectrum, estimates false-discovery rates, and outputs pepXML format identifications. The meta-search platform supports Mascot; Tandem with native, k-score, and s-score scoring; OMSSA; MyriMatch; and InsPecT with MS-GF spectral probability scores — reformatting spectral data and constructing search configurations for each search engine on the fly. The combiner selects the best peptide identification for each spectrum based on search engine results and features that model enzymatic digestion, retention time, precursor isotope clusters, mass accuracy, and proteotypic peptide properties, requiring no prior knowledge of feature utility or weighting. The PepArML meta-search peptide identification platform often identifies 2–3 times more spectra than individual search engines at 10% FDR. PMID:25663956

The Spherical Tokamak MEDUSA for Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, C.; Salvador, M.; Gonzalez, J.; Munoz, O.; Tapia, A.; Arredondo, V.; Chavez, R.; Nieto, A.; Gonzalez, J.; Garza, A.; Estrada, I.; Jasso, E.; Acosta, C.; Briones, C.; Cavazos, G.; Martinez, J.; Morones, J.; Almaguer, J.; Fonck, R.

2011-10-01

The former spherical tokamak MEDUSA (Madison EDUcation Small Aspect.ratio tokamak, R < 0.14m, a < 0.10m, BT < 0.5T, Ip < 40kA, 3ms pulse) is currently being recomissioned at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, Mexico, as part of an agreement between the Faculties of Mech.-Elect. Eng. and Phy. Sci.-Maths. The main objective for having MEDUSA is to train students in plasma physics & technical related issues, aiming a full design of a medium size device (e.g. Tokamak-T). Details of technical modifications and a preliminary scientific programme will be presented. MEDUSA-MX will also benefit any developments in the existing Mexican Fusion Network. Strong liaison within national and international plasma physics communities is expected. New activities on plasma & engineering modeling are expected to be developed in parallel by using the existing facilities such as a multi-platform computer (Silicon Graphics Altix XE250, 128G RAM, 3.7TB HD, 2.7GHz, quad-core processor), ancillary graph system (NVIDIA Quadro FE 2000/1GB GDDR-5 PCI X16 128, 3.2GHz), and COMSOL Multiphysics-Solid Works programs.

System engineering techniques for establishing balanced design and performance guidelines for the advanced telerobotic testbed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zimmerman, W. F.; Matijevic, J. R.

1987-01-01

Novel system engineering techniques have been developed and applied to establishing structured design and performance objectives for the Telerobotics Testbed that reduce technical risk while still allowing the testbed to demonstrate an advancement in state-of-the-art robotic technologies. To estblish the appropriate tradeoff structure and balance of technology performance against technical risk, an analytical data base was developed which drew on: (1) automation/robot-technology availability projections, (2) typical or potential application mission task sets, (3) performance simulations, (4) project schedule constraints, and (5) project funding constraints. Design tradeoffs and configuration/performance iterations were conducted by comparing feasible technology/task set configurations against schedule/budget constraints as well as original program target technology objectives. The final system configuration, task set, and technology set reflected a balanced advancement in state-of-the-art robotic technologies, while meeting programmatic objectives and schedule/cost constraints.

A Study to Determine the Basic Science and Mathematics Topics Most Needed by Engineering Technology Graduates of Wake Technical Institute in Performing Job Duties.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Timothy I.; Roberson, Clarence E., Jr.

A survey of 470 graduates of the six engineering technology programs at Wake Technical Institute--Architectural, Chemical, Civil Engineering, Computer, Electronic Engineering, and Industrial Engineering Technologies--and 227 of their employers was conducted in October, 1979, to determine the science and mathematics topics most needed by…

Advanced Turbine Technology Applications Project (ATTAP)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

This report is the fourth in a series of Annual Technical Summary Reports for the Advanced Turbine Technology Applications Project (ATTAP). This report covers plans and progress on ceramics development for commercial automotive applications over the period 1 Jan. - 31 Dec. 1991. Project effort conducted under this contract is part of the DOE Gas Turbine Highway Vehicle System program. This program is directed to provide the U.S. automotive industry the high-risk, long-range technology necessary to produce gas turbine engines for automobiles with reduced fuel consumption, reduced environmental impact, and a decreased reliance on scarce materials and resources. The program is oriented toward developing the high-risk technology of ceramic structural component design and fabrication, such that industry can carry this technology forward to production in the 1990s. The ATTAP test bed engine, carried over from the previous AGT101 project, is being used for verification testing of the durability of next-generation ceramic components, and their suitability for service at Reference Powertrain Design conditions. This document reports the technical effort conducted by GAPD and the ATTAP subcontractors during the fourth year of the project. Topics covered include ceramic processing definition and refinement, design improvements to the ATTAP test bed engine and test rigs and the methodology development of ceramic impact and fracture mechanisms. Appendices include reports by ATTAP subcontractors in the development of silicon nitride and silicon carbide families of materials and processes.

The Navy's high-energy laser weapon system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cook, Joung R.; Albertine, John R.

1997-05-01

Over the past 25 years, in an attempt to develop a speed-of- light hard-kill weapon system, the U.S. Navy has successfully reduced megawatt-class chemical laser and high power beam control technologies to engineering practice. This Navy program was established during the cold war era when defending naval battle group was the primary concern of the U.S. Navy. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, an urgent and challenging issue facing the U.S. Navy is the self-defense against cruise missile in a littoral battlefield environment against threats originating from shore and/or scattered low- value platforms. This fundamental shift in the battlefield environment and engagement configuration profoundly affected the basic performance requirements placed on potential shipboard high energy laser weapon systems (HELWS). In a littoral maritime environment, thermal blooming limits atmospheric propagation of an HEL beam, and thus limits the weapon's effectiveness. This paper identifies and discusses the technical issues associated with HELWS requirements in this new environment. It also discuses the collateral capabilities that enhance and complement the performance of other weapon and sensor systems onboard ship. This paper concludes that the HELWS using a free electron laser (FEL) offers a unique weapon option for our warships in facing the new defense challenges of the future.

Computational statistics using the Bayesian Inference Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weinberg, Martin D.

2013-09-01

This paper introduces the Bayesian Inference Engine (BIE), a general parallel, optimized software package for parameter inference and model selection. This package is motivated by the analysis needs of modern astronomical surveys and the need to organize and reuse expensive derived data. The BIE is the first platform for computational statistics designed explicitly to enable Bayesian update and model comparison for astronomical problems. Bayesian update is based on the representation of high-dimensional posterior distributions using metric-ball-tree based kernel density estimation. Among its algorithmic offerings, the BIE emphasizes hybrid tempered Markov chain Monte Carlo schemes that robustly sample multimodal posterior distributions in high-dimensional parameter spaces. Moreover, the BIE implements a full persistence or serialization system that stores the full byte-level image of the running inference and previously characterized posterior distributions for later use. Two new algorithms to compute the marginal likelihood from the posterior distribution, developed for and implemented in the BIE, enable model comparison for complex models and data sets. Finally, the BIE was designed to be a collaborative platform for applying Bayesian methodology to astronomy. It includes an extensible object-oriented and easily extended framework that implements every aspect of the Bayesian inference. By providing a variety of statistical algorithms for all phases of the inference problem, a scientist may explore a variety of approaches with a single model and data implementation. Additional technical details and download details are available from http://www.astro.umass.edu/bie. The BIE is distributed under the GNU General Public License.

Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivered to VAB

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-17

A new service platform for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines, secured on a flatbed truck, has arrived at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. The platform will be stored in the VAB and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). During EM-1, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch on the SLS to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and return to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivered to VAB

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-17

A new service platform for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines has been offloaded from a flatbed truck and is being prepared for the move into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform was transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. It will be stored in the VAB, and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivered to VAB

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-17

A new service platform for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines, secured on a flatbed truck, is on its way to the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. The platform will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be stored and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). During EM-1, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch on the SLS to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and return to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

SLS Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivery

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-31

A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines makes its way along the NASA Causeway to the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where they will be stored and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Benefits of Using a Mars Forward Strategy for Lunar Surface Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mulqueen, Jack; Griffin, Brand; Smitherman, David; Maples, Dauphne

2009-01-01

This paper identifies potential risk reduction, cost savings and programmatic procurement benefits of a Mars Forward Lunar Surface System architecture that provides commonality or evolutionary development paths for lunar surface system elements applicable to Mars surface systems. The objective of this paper is to identify the potential benefits for incorporating a Mars Forward development strategy into the planned Project Constellation Lunar Surface System Architecture. The benefits include cost savings, technology readiness, and design validation of systems that would be applicable to lunar and Mars surface systems. The paper presents a survey of previous lunar and Mars surface systems design concepts and provides an assessment of previous conclusions concerning those systems in light of the current Project Constellation Exploration Architectures. The operational requirements for current Project Constellation lunar and Mars surface system elements are compared and evaluated to identify the potential risk reduction strategies that build on lunar surface systems to reduce the technical and programmatic risks for Mars exploration. Risk reduction for rapidly evolving technologies is achieved through systematic evolution of technologies and components based on Moore's Law superimposed on the typical NASA systems engineering project development "V-cycle" described in NASA NPR 7120.5. Risk reduction for established or slowly evolving technologies is achieved through a process called the Mars-Ready Platform strategy in which incremental improvements lead from the initial lunar surface system components to Mars-Ready technologies. The potential programmatic benefits of the Mars Forward strategy are provided in terms of the transition from the lunar exploration campaign to the Mars exploration campaign. By utilizing a sequential combined procurement strategy for lunar and Mars exploration surface systems, the overall budget wedges for exploration systems are reduced and the costly technological development gap between the lunar and Mars programs can be eliminated. This provides a sustained level of technological competitiveness as well as maintaining a stable engineering and manufacturing capability throughout the entire duration of Project Constellation.

Roadway Traffic Data Collection from Mobile Platforms, Technical Summary

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2017-07-28

This project empirically investigates the traffic flow estimations from different types of data collected from two types of mobile platforms transit buses in service operations and a van driven to emulate bus coverage that repeatedly traverse...

FRINGE EFFECTS OF VALUE ENGINEERING. A SURVEY PREPARED BY THE TECHNICAL SUBCOMMITTEE, AOA SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON VALUE ENGINEERING FOR THE OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE (INSTALLATIONS AND LOGISTICS).

DTIC Science & Technology

Fringe effects of value engineering. A survey prepared by the technical subcommittee, AOA special committee on value engineering for the office of the assistant secretary of defense (installations and logistics).

77 FR 40026 - 36(b)(1) Arms Sales Notification

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-07-06

... and contractor logistics, Quality Assurance Team support services, engineering and technical support..., engineering and technical support, and other related elements of program support. The estimated cost is $49..., maintenance, or training is Confidential. Reverse engineering could reveal Confidential information...

The National Technical Association: A Hallmark for Access and Success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jearld, A., Jr.

2017-12-01

Minority Technical Organizations (MTO) are under-utilized as a valuable resource that can help develop the next generation of scientists and engineers. For over 90 years, the National Technical Association (NTA) (www.ntaonline.org) has been the premiere technical association for scientists, engineers, architects, technologist, educators, and technical business entrepreneurs for people of color, offering professional development, mentoring and awards recognition to technical professionals. NTA and its partners are developing a diverse workforce by emphasizing enhanced access opportunities to skills development for youth among underrepresented STEM populations. Established in 1925 by Charles Summer Duke, the first African American to receive an engineering degree from Harvard University, NTA served as the model organization for more than 40 other minority technical organizations that began forming in the 1970's. NTA has served as consultants to the US government on the status of African Americans in science and engineering. The first technical organization to establish community based technical mentoring programs targeting minorities, NTA shares information and assists institutions in identifying minority talent. Members developed the first science and engineering curriculum at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU's), and are working to produce more students with geoscience degrees to ensure greater career placement with increased minority participation in the geosciences. NTA addresses the lack of access, support, and the need for networking through the longest running annual conference for technical practitioners of color. A hallmark of NTA has been access and success through inter-organizational collaborations with communities of scholars, highly experienced professionals and students to discuss the definition of what is successful geoscience education, research, and employment.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 46: Technical communications in aerospace: A comparison across four countries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kennedy, John M.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Hecht, Laura Frye; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1995-01-01

In this paper we describe the preliminary analysis of four groups of aerospace engineering and science students -- student members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and students from universities in Japan, Russia, and Great Britain. We compare: (1) the demographic characteristics of the students; (2) factors that affected their career decision; (3) their career goals and aspirations; (4) their training in technical communication; and (5) their training in techniques for finding and using aerospace scientific and technical information (STI). Many employers in the US aerospace industry think there is a need for increased training of engineering students in technical communication. Engineers in the US and other countries believe that technical communication skills are critical for engineers' professional success. All students in our study agree about the importance of technical communication training for professional success, yet relatively few are happy with the instruction they receive. Overall, we conclude that additional instruction in technical communication and accessing STI would make it easier for students to achieve their career goals.

Pedestrian and bicycle facilities in California : a technical reference and technology transfer synthesis for Caltrans planners and engineers.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2005-07-01

The primary purpose of Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities in CaliforniaA : Technical Reference and Technology Transfer Synthesis for Caltrans Planners : and Engineers (Technical Reference) is to provide Caltrans staff : with a synthesis of in...

75 FR 12740 - Wyoming Interstate Company, Inc.; Notice of Technical Conference

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-03-17

... additional technical, engineering, and operational support for its proposed gas quality allocation procedures... should be prepared to support its position with adequate technical, engineering, and operational information. FERC conferences are accessible under section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For...

SSME HPFTP/AT Turbine Blade Platform Featherseal Damper Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Montgomery, S. K.

1999-01-01

During the Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSM) HPFtP/AT development program, engine hot fire testing resulted in turbine blade fatigue cracks. The cracks were noted after only a few tests and a several hundred seconds versus the design goal of 60 tests and >30,000 seconds. Subsequent investigation attributed the distress to excessive steady and dynamic loads. To address these excessive turbine blade loads, Pratt & Whitney Liquid Space Propulsion engineers designed and developed retrofitable turbine blade to blade platform featherseal dampers. Since incorporation of these dampers, along with other turbine blade system improvements, there has been no observed SSME HPFTP/AT turbine blade fatigue cracking. The high time HPFTP/AT blade now has accumulated 32 starts and 19,200 seconds hot fire test time. Figure #1 illustrates the HPFTP/AT turbine blade platform featherseal dampers. The approached selected was to improve the turbine blade structural capability while simultaneously reducing loads. To achieve this goal, the featherseal dampers were designed to seal the blade to blade platform gap and damp the dynamic motions. Sealing improves the steady stress margins by increasing turbine efficiency and improving turbine blade attachment thermal conditioning. Load reduction was achieved through damping. Thin Haynes 188 sheet metal was selected based on its material properties (hydrogen resistance, elongation, tensile strengths, etc.). The 36,000 rpm wheel speed of the rotor result in a normal load of 120#/blade. The featherseals then act as micro-slip dampers during actual SSME operation. After initial design and analysis (prior to full engine testing), the featherseal dampers were tested in P&W's spin rig facility in West Palm Beach, Florida. Both dynamic strain gages and turbine blade tip displacement measurements were utilized to quantify the featherseal damper effectiveness. Full speed (36,000 rpm), room temperature rig testing verified the elimination of fundamental mode (i.e, modes 1 & 2) resonant response. The reduction in turbine blade dynamic response is shown for a typical turbine blade. This paper discusses the design and verification of these dampers. The numerous benefits associated with this design concept warrants consideration in existing and future turbomachinery applications.

A Standardized Rat Model of Volumetric Muscle Loss Injury for the Development of Tissue Engineering Therapies

PubMed Central

Wu, Xiaowu; Corona, Benjamin T.; Chen, Xiaoyu

2012-01-01

Abstract Soft tissue injuries involving volumetric muscle loss (VML) are defined as the traumatic or surgical loss of skeletal muscle with resultant functional impairment and represent a challenging clinical problem for both military and civilian medicine. In response, a variety of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine treatments are under preclinical development. A wide variety of animal models are being used, all with critical limitations. The objective of this study was to develop a model of VML that was reproducible and technically uncomplicated to provide a standardized platform for the development of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine solutions to VML repair. A rat model of VML involving excision of ∼20% of the muscle's mass from the superficial portion of the middle third of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle was developed and was functionally characterized. The contralateral TA muscle served as the uninjured control. Additionally, uninjured age-matched control rats were also tested to determine the effect of VML on the contralateral limb. TA muscles were assessed at 2 and 4 months postinjury. VML muscles weighed 22.7% and 19.5% less than contralateral muscles at 2 and 4 months postinjury, respectively. These differences were accompanied by a reduction in peak isometric tetanic force (Po) of 28.4% and 32.5% at 2 and 4 months. Importantly, Po corrected for differences in body weight and muscle wet weights were similar between contralateral and age-matched control muscles, indicating that VML did not have a significant impact on the contralateral limb. Lastly, repair of the injury with a biological scaffold resulted in rapid vascularization and integration with the wound. The technical simplicity, reliability, and clinical relevance of the VML model developed in this study make it ideal as a standard model for the development of tissue engineering solutions for VML. PMID:23515319

Blurring the Lines: Leveraging Internet Technology for Successful Blending of Secondary/Post-Secondary Technical Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ryan, Kenneth; Kopischke, Kevin

2008-01-01

The Remote Automation Management Platform (RAMP) is a real-time, interactive teaching tool which leverages common off-the-shelf internet technologies to provide high school learners extraordinary access to advanced technical education opportunities. This outreach paradigm is applicable to a broad range of advanced technical skills from automation…

Zeppelin NT - Measurement Platform for the Exploration of Atmospheric Chemistry and Dynamics in the Planetary Boundary Layer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofzumahaus, Andreas; Holland, Frank; Oebel, Andreas; Rohrer, Franz; Mentel, Thomas; Kiendler-Scharr, Astrid; Wahner, Andreas; Brauchle, Artur; Steinlein, Klaus; Gritzbach, Robert

2014-05-01

The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the chemically most active and complex part of the atmosphere where freshly emitted reactive trace gases, tropospheric radicals, atmospheric oxidation products and aerosols exhibit a large variability and spatial gradients. In order to investigate the chemical degradation of trace gases and the formation of secondary pollutants in the PBL, a commercial Zeppelin NT was modified to be used as an airborne measurement platform for chemical and physical observations with high spatial resolution. The Zeppelin NT was developed by Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik (ZLT) and is operated by Deutsche Zeppelin Reederei (DZR) in Friedrichshafen, Germany. The modification was performed in cooperation between Forschungszentrum Jülich and ZLT. The airship has a length of 75 m, can lift about 1 ton of scientific payload and can be manoeuvered with high precision by propeller engines. The modified Zeppelin can carry measurement instruments mounted on a platform on top of the Zeppelin, or inside the gondola beneath the airship. Three different instrument packages were developed to investigate a. gas-phase oxidation processes involving free radicals (OH, HO2) b. formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) c. new particle formation (nucleation) The presentation will describe the modified airship and provide an overview of its technical performance. Examples of its application during the recent PEGASOS flight campaigns in Europe will be given.

Systems Engineering Awareness

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lucero, John

2016-01-01

The presentation will provide an overview of the fundamentals and principles of Systems Engineering (SE). This includes understanding the processes that are used to assist the engineer in a successful design, build and implementation of solutions. The context of this presentation will be to describe the involvement of SE throughout the life-cycle of a project from cradle to grave. Due to the ever growing number of complex technical problems facing our world, a Systems Engineering approach is desirable for many reasons. The interdisciplinary technical structure of current systems, technical processes representing System Design, Technical Management and Product Realization are instrumental in the development and integration of new technologies into mainstream applications. This tutorial will demonstrate the application of SE tools to these types of problems..

The Reforming of Vocational Teacher Training Colleges in Turkey

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Çavuşoğlu, Abdullah; Günay, Durmuş

In Turkey, for many decades college level technical education has been in the form of two main tracks: namely the "Faculty of Engineering" and the "Faculty of Technical Education". The Faculties of Engineering are very similar to engineering schools and colleges around the world; they train engineering students. The "Faculties of Technical Education" are similar to the "Schools of Applied Sciences" that many European countries have. The graduates of these schools are either employed at high schools as teachers at technical or vocational high schools, self employed or employed at other governmental organizations as technical staff. Due to the employability problems that the graduates of these schools have faced in recent years and the suggestions made by the The Council of the Higher Education of Turkey (CoHE), Turkish parliament has recently took a decision to close down these colleges and open new colleges called "Faculty of Technology" in November of 2009. According to the CoHE, these new faculties will train engineering students. The graduates of these faculties can also become teachers at the technical or vocational high schools if they get teaching certificate. This paper discusses the content, outlook, and prospects of this recent reform.

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 41: Technical communication practices of Dutch and US aerospace engineers and scientists: International perspective on aerospace

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Kennedy, John M.

1994-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. The studies had the following objectives: (1) to solicit the opinions of aerospace engineers and scientists regarding the importance of technical communication to their professions, (2) to determine the use and production of technical communication by aerospace engineers and scientists, (3) to investigate their use of libraries and technical information centers, (4) to investigate their use of and the importance to them of computer and information technology, (5) to examine their use of electronic networks, and (6) to determine their use of foreign and domestically produced technical reports. Self-administered (mail) questionnaires were distributed to Dutch aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) in the Netherlands, the NASA Ames Research Center in the U.S., and the NASA Langley Research Center in the U.S. Responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions are presented in this paper.

Site systems engineering fiscal year 1999 multi-year work plan (MYWP) update for WBS 1.8.2.2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

GRYGIEL, M.L.

1998-10-08

Manage the Site Systems Engineering process to provide a traceable integrated requirements-driven, and technically defensible baseline. Through the Site Integration Group(SIG), Systems Engineering ensures integration of technical activities across all site projects. Systems Engineering's primary interfaces are with the RL Project Managers, the Project Direction Office and with the Project Major Subcontractors, as well as with the Site Planning organization. Systems Implementation: (1) Develops, maintains, and controls the site integrated technical baseline, ensures the Systems Engineering interfaces between projects are documented, and maintain the Site Environmental Management Specification. (2) Develops and uses dynamic simulation models for verification of the baselinemore » and analysis of alternatives. (3) Performs and documents fictional and requirements analyses. (4) Works with projects, technology management, and the SIG to identify and resolve technical issues. (5) Supports technical baseline information for the planning and budgeting of the Accelerated Cleanup Plan, Multi-Year Work Plans, Project Baseline Summaries as well as performance measure reporting. (6) Works with projects to ensure the quality of data in the technical baseline. (7) Develops, maintains and implements the site configuration management system.« less

At-Risk Learner Preference in Engineering/Technical Graphics: An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ernst, Jeremy V.

2011-01-01

This exploratory study investigated learner preferences of secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Engineering/Technical Graphics students using the VARK Questionnaire. The VARK Questionnaire is an instrument that assists in determining students' dominant preferred learning styles, whether visual, aural, reading, or kinesthetic. This study…

Learning from the Parallel Pathways of Makers to Broaden Pathways to Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster, Christina; Wigner, Aubrey; Lande, Micah; Jordan, Shawn S.

2018-01-01

Background: Makers are a growing community of STEM-minded people who bridge technical and non-technical backgrounds to imagine, build and fabricate engineering systems. Some have engineering training, some do not. This paper presents a study to explore the educational pathways of adult Makers and how they intersect with engineering. This research…

ATOM - Accelerating therapeutics through opportunities in medicine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mcmahon, Benjamin Hamilton; Dotson, Paul Jeffrey

Create a new paradigm of drug discovery that would reduce the time from an identified drug target to clinical candidate from the current ~6 years to just 12 months. ATOM will develop, test, and validate a multidisciplinary approach to drug discovery in which modern science, technology and engineering, supercomputing, simulations, data science, and artificial intelligence are highly integrated into a single drug-discovery platform that can ultimately be shared with the drug development community at-large.

Lightning Protection Guidelines for Aerospace Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Goodloe, C. C.

1999-01-01

This technical memorandum provides lightning protection engineering guidelines and technical procedures used by the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electromagnetics and Aerospace Environments Branch for aerospace vehicles. The overviews illustrate the technical support available to project managers, chief engineers, and design engineers to ensure that aerospace vehicles managed by MSFC are adequately protected from direct and indirect effects of lightning. Generic descriptions of the lightning environment and vehicle protection technical processes are presented. More specific aerospace vehicle requirements for lightning protection design, performance, and interface characteristics are available upon request to the MSFC Electromagnetics and Aerospace Environments Branch, mail code EL23.

Ares I-X Roll Control System Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Unger, Ronald J.; Massey, Edmund C.

2009-01-01

Project Managers often face challenging technical, schedule and budget issues. This presentation will explore how the Ares I-X Roll Control System Integrated Product Team (IPT) mitigated challenges such as concurrent engineering requirements and environments and evolving program processes, while successfully managing an aggressive project schedule and tight budget. IPT challenges also included communications and negotiations among inter- and intra-government agencies, including the US Air Force, NASA/MSFC Propulsion Engineering, LaRC, GRC, KSC, WSTF, and the Constellation Program. In order to successfully meet these challenges it was essential that the IPT define those items that most affected the schedule critical path, define early mitigation strategies to reduce technical, schedule, and budget risks, and maintain the end-product focus of an "unmanned test flight" context for the flight hardware. The makeup of the IPT and how it would function were also important considerations. The IPT consisted of NASA/MSFC (project management, engineering, and safety/quality) and contractors (Teledyne Brown Engineering and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, who supplied heritage hardware experience). The early decision to have a small focused IPT working "badgelessly" across functional lines to eliminate functional stove-piping allowed for many more tasks to be done by fewer people. It also enhanced a sense of ownership of the products, while still being able to revert back to traditional roles in order to provide the required technical independence in design reviews and verification closures. This presentation will highlight several prominent issues and discuss how they were mitigated and the resulting Lessons Learned that might benefit other projects.

Robotic right colectomy using the Da Vinci Single-Site® platform: case report.

PubMed

Morelli, Luca; Guadagni, Simone; Caprili, Giovanni; Di Candio, Giulio; Boggi, Ugo; Mosca, Franco

2013-09-01

While single-port laparoscopy for abdominal surgery is technically challenging, the Da Vinci Single-Site® robotic surgery platform may help to overcome some of the difficulties of this rapidly evolving technique. The authors of this article present a case of single-incision, robotic right colectomy using this device. A 74-year-old female with malignant polyp of caecum was operated on with a single-site approach using the Da Vinci Single-Site® robotic surgery device. Resection and anastomosis were performed extra-corporeally after undocking the robot. The procedure was successfully completed in 200 min. No surgical complications occurred during the intervention and the post-operative stay and no conversion to laparotomy or additional trocars were required. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of right colectomy using the Da Vinci Single-Site® robotic surgery platform to be reported. The procedure is feasible and safe and its main advantages are restoration of triangulation and reduced instrument clashes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Education, Technology, and Media: A Peak into My Summer Internship at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moon, James

2004-01-01

My name is James Moon and I am a senor at Tennessee State University where my major is Aeronautical and Industrial Technology with a concentration in industrial electronics. I am currently serving my internship in the Engineering and Technical Services Directorate at the Glenn Research Center (GRC). The Engineering and Technical Service Directorate provides the services and infrastructure for the Glenn Research Center to take research concepts to reality. They provide a full range of integrated services including engineering, advanced prototyping and testing, facility management, and information technology for NASA, industry, and academia. Engineering and Technical Services contains the core knowledge in Information Technology (IT). This includes data systems and analysis, inter and intranet based systems design and data security. Including the design and development of embedded real-time sohare applications for flight and supporting ground systems, Engineering and Technical Services provide a wide range of IT services and products specific to the Glenn Research Center research and engineering community.

The Evaluation of the Effectiveness of ESP Courses in Enhancing Technical Translation Proficiency: A Case Study of ESP Course for Mechanical Engineering Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hatam, Amir Hussein; Shafiei, Shilan

2012-01-01

The purpose of the present study was twofold. Firstly, it tried to investigate the relationship between the technical English proficiency of the students of Mechanical Engineering in the universities of Iran and their technical translation proficiency in translating technical texts of Mechanics. Secondly, it attempted to evaluate the effectiveness…

The Common Data Acquisition Platform in the Helmholtz Association

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaever, P.; Balzer, M.; Kopmann, A.; Zimmer, M.; Rongen, H.

2017-04-01

Various centres of the German Helmholtz Association (HGF) started in 2012 to develop a modular data acquisition (DAQ) platform, covering the entire range from detector readout to data transfer into parallel computing environments. This platform integrates generic hardware components like the multi-purpose HGF-Advanced Mezzanine Card or a smart scientific camera framework, adding user value with Linux drivers and board support packages. Technically the scope comprises the DAQ-chain from FPGA-modules to computing servers, notably frontend-electronics-interfaces, microcontrollers and GPUs with their software plus high-performance data transmission links. The core idea is a generic and component-based approach, enabling the implementation of specific experiment requirements with low effort. This so called DTS-platform will support standards like MTCA.4 in hard- and software to ensure compatibility with commercial components. Its capability to deploy on other crate standards or FPGA-boards with PCI express or Ethernet interfaces remains an essential feature. Competences of the participating centres are coordinated in order to provide a solid technological basis for both research topics in the Helmholtz Programme ``Matter and Technology'': ``Detector Technology and Systems'' and ``Accelerator Research and Development''. The DTS-platform aims at reducing costs and development time and will ensure access to latest technologies for the collaboration. Due to its flexible approach, it has the potential to be applied in other scientific programs.

An Advanced Platform for Biomolecular Detection and Analysis Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-02-01

AFRL-IF-RS-TR-2005-54 Final Technical Report February 2005 AN ADVANCED PLATFORM FOR BIOMOLECULAR DETECTION AND ANALYSIS SYSTEMS...SUBTITLE AN ADVANCED PLATFORM FOR BIOMOLECULAR DETECTION AND ANALYSIS SYSTEMS 6. AUTHOR(S) David J. Beebe 5. FUNDING NUMBERS G...detection, analysis and response as well as many non BC warfare applications such as environmental toxicology, clinical detection and diagnosis

A Microprocessor-Based Real-Time Simulator of a Turbofan Engine

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-01-01

NASA AVSCOM Technical Memorandum 100889 Technical Report 88-C-011 Lfl A Microprocessor-Based Real-Time Simulator of a Turbofan Engine CD I Jonathan S...Accession For NTIS GRA&I A MICROPROCESSOR-BASED REAL-TIME SIMULATOR DTIC TABUnannounced OF A TURBOFAN ENGINE Justifiaation, Jonathan S. Litt Propulsion...the F100 engine without augmentation (without afterburning). HYTESS is a simplified simulation written in FORTRAN of a generalized turbofan engine . To

78 FR 70580 - Amphenol Backplane Systems, Including On-Site Leased Workers From Technical Needs and National...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-26

... Systems, Including On-Site Leased Workers From Technical Needs and National Engineering, Nashua, New... to the production of electrical connectors and backplane assemblies. The subject worker group includes on-site leased workers from Technical Needs and National Engineering. Workers of the subject firm...

Floor Plans Fuel Tank Support, Fuel Platform, and LOX ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Floor Plans - Fuel Tank Support, Fuel Platform, and LOX Platform Plans - Marshall Space Flight Center, F-1 Engine Static Test Stand, On Route 565 between Huntsville and Decatur, Huntsville, Madison County, AL

[Platforms are needed for innovative basic research in ophthalmology].

PubMed

Wang, Yi-qiang

2012-07-01

Basic research poses the cornerstone of technical innovation in all lines including medical sciences. Currently, there are shortages of professional scientists as well as technical supporting teams and facilities in the field of basic research of ophthalmology and visual science in China. Evaluation system and personnel policies are not supportive for innovative but high-risk-of-failure research projects. Discussion of reasons and possible solutions are given here to address these problems, aiming at promoting buildup of platforms hosting novel and important basic research in eye science in this country.

Booster Engine Service Platforms Delivered to VAB

NASA Image and Video Library

2018-04-17

A new service platform for NASA's Space Launch System booster engines, secured on a flatbed truck, is on its way to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), in view in the distance, at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was transported from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. The platform will be delivered to the VAB, where it will be stored and used for processing and checkout of the engines for the rocket's twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). During EM-1, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch on the SLS to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and return to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Automatic and integrated micro-enzyme assay (AIμEA) platform for highly sensitive thrombin analysis via an engineered fluorescence protein-functionalized monolithic capillary column.

PubMed

Lin, Lihua; Liu, Shengquan; Nie, Zhou; Chen, Yingzhuang; Lei, Chunyang; Wang, Zhen; Yin, Chao; Hu, Huiping; Huang, Yan; Yao, Shouzhuo

2015-04-21

Nowadays, large-scale screening for enzyme discovery, engineering, and drug discovery processes require simple, fast, and sensitive enzyme activity assay platforms with high integration and potential for high-throughput detection. Herein, a novel automatic and integrated micro-enzyme assay (AIμEA) platform was proposed based on a unique microreaction system fabricated by a engineered green fluorescence protein (GFP)-functionalized monolithic capillary column, with thrombin as an example. The recombinant GFP probe was rationally engineered to possess a His-tag and a substrate sequence of thrombin, which enable it to be immobilized on the monolith via metal affinity binding, and to be released after thrombin digestion. Combined with capillary electrophoresis-laser-induced fluorescence (CE-LIF), all the procedures, including thrombin injection, online enzymatic digestion in the microreaction system, and label-free detection of the released GFP, were integrated in a single electrophoretic process. By taking advantage of the ultrahigh loading capacity of the AIμEA platform and the CE automatic programming setup, one microreaction column was sufficient for many times digestion without replacement. The novel microreaction system showed significantly enhanced catalytic efficiency, about 30 fold higher than that of the equivalent bulk reaction. Accordingly, the AIμEA platform was highly sensitive with a limit of detection down to 1 pM of thrombin. Moreover, the AIμEA platform was robust and reliable to detect thrombin in human serum samples and its inhibition by hirudin. Hence, this AIμEA platform exhibits great potential for high-throughput analysis in future biological application, disease diagnostics, and drug screening.

Cooperative Multi-Agent Mobile Sensor Platforms for Jet Engine Inspection: Concept and Implementation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Litt, Jonathan S.; Wong, Edmond; Krasowski, Michael J.; Greer, Lawrence C.

2003-01-01

Cooperative behavior algorithms utilizing swarm intelligence are being developed for mobile sensor platforms to inspect jet engines on-wing. Experiments are planned in which several relatively simple autonomous platforms will work together in a coordinated fashion to carry out complex maintenance-type tasks within the constrained working environment modeled on the interior of a turbofan engine. The algorithms will emphasize distribution of the tasks among multiple units; they will be scalable and flexible so that units may be added in the future; and will be designed to operate on an individual unit level to produce the desired global effect. This proof of concept demonstration will validate the algorithms and provide justification for further miniaturization and specialization of the hardware toward the true application of on-wing in situ turbine engine maintenance.

Geostationary platform systems concepts definition follow-on study. Volume 2A: Technical Task 2 LSST special emphasis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The results of the Large Space Systems Technology special emphasis task are presented. The task was an analysis of structural requirements deriving from the initial Phase A Operational Geostationary Platform study.

Geostationary platform systems concepts definition study. Volume 2: Technical, book 3

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The supporting research and technology, and space demonstrations required to support the 1990s operational geostationary platforms are identified. Also the requirements on and interfaces with the Space Transportation System hardware elements supporting the geostationary platform program, including the shuttle, orbital transfer vehicles, teleoperator, etc., are investigated to provide integrated support requirements. Finally, a preliminary evaluation of the practicability and capabilities of an experimental platform from the standpoint of technology, schedule, and cost is given.

A graphene-based biosensing platform based on the release of DNA probes and rolling circle amplification.

PubMed

Liu, Meng; Song, Jinping; Shuang, Shaomin; Dong, Chuan; Brennan, John D; Li, Yingfu

2014-06-24

We report a versatile biosensing platform capable of achieving ultrasensitive detection of both small-molecule and macromolecular targets. The system features three components: reduced graphene oxide for its ability to adsorb single-stranded DNA molecules nonspecifically, DNA aptamers for their ability to bind reduced graphene oxide but undergo target-induced conformational changes that facilitate their release from the reduced graphene oxide surface, and rolling circle amplification (RCA) for its ability to amplify a primer-template recognition event into repetitive sequence units that can be easily detected. The key to the design is the tagging of a short primer to an aptamer sequence, which results in a small DNA probe that allows for both effective probe adsorption onto the reduced graphene oxide surface to mask the primer domain in the absence of the target, as well as efficient probe release in the presence of the target to make the primer available for template binding and RCA. We also made an observation that the circular template, which on its own does not cause a detectable level of probe release from the reduced graphene oxide, augments target-induced probe release. The synergistic release of DNA probes is interpreted to be a contributing factor for the high detection sensitivity. The broad utility of the platform is illustrated though engineering three different sensors that are capable of achieving ultrasensitive detection of a protein target, a DNA sequence and a small-molecule analyte. We envision that the approach described herein will find useful applications in the biological, medical, and environmental fields.

FY04 Engineering Technology Reports Technology Base

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharpe, R M

2005-01-27

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Engineering Directorate has two primary discretionary avenues for its investment in technologies: the Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program and the ''Tech Base'' program. This volume summarizes progress on the projects funded for technology-base efforts in FY2004. The Engineering Technical Reports exemplify Engineering's more than 50-year history of researching and developing (LDRD), and reducing to practice (technology-base) the engineering technologies needed to support the Laboratory's missions. Engineering has been a partner in every major program and project at the Laboratory throughout its existence, and has prepared for this role with a skilled workforce and technicalmore » resources. This accomplishment is well summarized by Engineering's mission: ''Enable program success today and ensure the Laboratory's vitality tomorrow''. LDRD is the vehicle for creating those technologies and competencies that are cutting edge. These require a significant level of research or contain some unknown that needs to be fully understood. Tech Base is used to apply those technologies, or adapt them to a Laboratory need. The term commonly used for Tech Base projects is ''reduction to practice''. Tech Base projects effect the natural transition to reduction-to-practice of scientific or engineering methods that are well understood and established. They represent discipline-oriented, core competency activities that are multi-programmatic in application, nature, and scope. The objectives of technology-base funding include: (1) the development and enhancement of tools and processes to provide Engineering support capability, such as code maintenance and improved fabrication methods; (2) support of Engineering science and technology infrastructure, such as the installation or integration of a new capability; (3) support for technical and administrative leadership through our technology Centers; and (4) the initial scoping and exploration of selected technology areas with high strategic potential, such as assessment of university, laboratory, and industrial partnerships. Engineering's five Centers, in partnership with the Division Leaders and Department Heads, focus and guide longer-term investments within Engineering. The Centers attract and retain top staff, develop and maintain critical core technologies, and enable programs. Through their technology-base projects, they oversee the application of known engineering approaches and techniques to scientific and technical problems. The Centers and their Directors are as follows: (1) Center for Computational Engineering: Robert M. Sharpe; (2) Center for Microtechnology and Nanotechnology: Raymond P. Mariella, Jr. (3) Center for Nondestructive Characterization: Harry E. Martz, Jr.; (4) Center for Precision Engineering: Keith Carlisle; and (5) Center for Complex Distributed Systems: Gregory J. Suski, Acting Director.« less

PREDIRCAM eHealth platform for individualized telemedical assistance for lifestyle modification in the treatment of obesity, diabetes, and cardiometabolic risk prevention: a pilot study (PREDIRCAM 1).

PubMed

González, Cintia; Herrero, Pau; Cubero, José M; Iniesta, José M; Hernando, M Elena; García-Sáez, Gema; Serrano, Alvaro J; Martinez-Sarriegui, Iñaki; Perez-Gandia, Carmen; Gómez, Enrique J; Rubinat, Esther; Alcantara, Valeria; Brugués, Eulalia; Chico, Ana; Mato, Eugenia; Bell, Olga; Corcoy, Rosa; de Leiva, Alberto

2013-07-01

Healthy diet and regular physical activity are powerful tools in reducing diabetes and cardiometabolic risk. Various international scientific and health organizations have advocated the use of new technologies to solve these problems. The PREDIRCAM project explores the contribution that a technological system could offer for the continuous monitoring of lifestyle habits and individualized treatment of obesity as well as cardiometabolic risk prevention. PREDIRCAM is a technological platform for patients and professionals designed to improve the effectiveness of lifestyle behavior modifications through the intensive use of the latest information and communication technologies. The platform consists of a web-based application providing communication interface with monitoring devices of physiological variables, application for monitoring dietary intake, ad hoc electronic medical records, different communication channels, and an intelligent notification system. A 2-week feasibility study was conducted in 15 volunteers to assess the viability of the platform. The website received 244 visits (average time/session: 17 min 45 s). A total of 435 dietary intakes were recorded (average time for each intake registration, 4 min 42 s ± 2 min 30 s), 59 exercises were recorded in 20 heart rate monitor downloads, 43 topics were discussed through a forum, and 11 of the 15 volunteers expressed a favorable opinion toward the platform. Food intake recording was reported as the most laborious task. Ten of the volunteers considered long-term use of the platform to be feasible. The PREDIRCAM platform is technically ready for clinical evaluation. Training is required to use the platform and, in particular, for registration of dietary food intake. © 2013 Diabetes Technology Society.

Airborne Laser Remote Sensor for Oil Detection and Classification : Engineering Requirements and Technical Considerations Relevant to a Performance Specification

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1975-08-01

This report outlines the engineering requirements for an Airborne Laser Remote Sensor for Oil Detection and Classification System. Detailed engineering requirements are given for the major units of the system. Technical considerations pertinent to a ...

Design of e-Science platform for biomedical imaging research cross multiple academic institutions and hospitals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Jianguo; Zhang, Kai; Yang, Yuanyuan; Ling, Tonghui; Wang, Tusheng; Wang, Mingqing; Hu, Haibo; Xu, Xuemin

2012-02-01

More and more image informatics researchers and engineers are considering to re-construct imaging and informatics infrastructure or to build new framework to enable multiple disciplines of medical researchers, clinical physicians and biomedical engineers working together in a secured, efficient, and transparent cooperative environment. In this presentation, we show an outline and our preliminary design work of building an e-Science platform for biomedical imaging and informatics research and application in Shanghai. We will present our consideration and strategy on designing this platform, and preliminary results. We also will discuss some challenges and solutions in building this platform.

Thermal barrier coatings application in diesel engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fairbanks, J. W.

1995-01-01

Commercial use of thermal barrier coatings in diesel engines began in the mid 70's by Dr. Ingard Kvernes at the Central Institute for Industrial Research in Oslo, Norway. Dr. Kvernes attributed attack on diesel engine valves and piston crowns encountered in marine diesel engines in Norwegian ships as hot-corrosion attributed to a reduced quality of residual fuel. His solution was to coat these components to reduce metal temperature below the threshold of aggressive hot-corrosion and also provide protection. Roy Kamo introduced thermal barrier coatings in his 'Adiabatic Diesel Engine' in the late 70's. Kamo's concept was to eliminate the engine block water cooling system and reduce heat losses. Roy reported significant performance improvements in his thermally insulated engine at the SAE Congress in 1982. Kamo's work stimulates major programs with insulated engines, particularly in Europe. Most of the major diesel engine manufacturers conducted some level of test with insulated combustion chamber components. They initially ran into increased fuel consumption. The German engine consortium had Prof. Woschni of the Technical Institute in Munich. Woschni conducted testing with pistons with air gaps to provide the insulation effects. Woschni indicated the hot walls of the insulated engine created a major increase in heat transfer he refers to as 'convection vive.' Woschni's work was a major factor in the abrupt curtailment of insulated diesel engine work in continental Europe. Ricardo in the UK suggested that combustion should be reoptimized for the hot-wall effects of the insulated combustion chamber and showed under a narrow range of conditions fuel economy could be improved. The Department of Energy has supported thermal barrier coating development for diesel engine applications. In the Clean Diesel - 50 Percent Efficient (CD-50) engine for the year 2000, thermal barrier coatings will be used on piston crowns and possibly other components. The primary purpose of the thermal barrier coatings will be to reduce thermal fatigue as the engine peak cylinder pressure will nearly be doubled. As the coatings result in higher available energy in the exhaust gas, efficiency gains are achieved through use of this energy by turbochargers, turbocompounding or thermoelectric generators.

NASA/LaRC jet plume research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seiner, John M.; Ponton, Michael K.; Manning, James C.

1992-01-01

The following provides a summary for research being conducted by NASA/LaRC and its contractors and grantees to develop jet engine noise suppression technology under the NASA High Speed Research (HSR) program for the High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT). The objective of this effort is to explore new innovative concepts for reducing noise to Federally mandated guidelines with minimum compromise on engine performance both in take-off and cruise. The research program is divided into four major technical areas: (1) jet noise research on advanced nozzles; (2) plume prediction and validation; (3) passive and active control; and (4) methodology for noise prediction.

The Nexus between Science Literacy & Technical Literacy: A State by State Analysis of Engineering Content in State Science Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koehler, Catherine M.; Faraclas, Elias; Giblin, David; Moss, David M.; Kazerounian, Kazem

2013-01-01

This study explores how engineering concepts are represented in secondary science standards across the nation by examining how engineering and technical concepts are infused into these frameworks. Secondary science standards from 49 states plus the District of Columbia were analyzed and ranked based on how many engineering concepts were found.…

Information Technologies in Higher Education: Lessons Learned in Industrial Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delgado-Almonte, Milagros; Andreu, Hernando Bustos; Pedraja-Rejas, Liliana

2010-01-01

This article describes a teaching experience in which information and communication technologies were applied in five industrial engineering courses at the Universidad de Tarapaca in Chile. The paper compares the performance and course pass rates of the e-learning platform and portable pocket PC platform with those of the same courses teaching in…

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 17: The relationship between seven variables and the use of US government technical reports by US aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.; Glassman, Nanci; Demerath, Loren

1991-01-01

A study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the use of U.S. government technical reports by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists and seven selected sociometric variables. Data were collected by means of a self-administered mail survey which was distributed to a randomly drawn sample of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) members. Two research questions concerning the use of conference meeting papers, journal articles, in-house technical reports, and U.S. government technical reports were investigated. Relevance, technical quality, and accessibility were found to be more important determinants of the overall extent to which U.S. government technical reports and three other information products were used by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

Views on the impact of HOST

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Esgar, J. B.; Sokolowski, Daniel E.

1989-01-01

The Hot Section Technology (HOST) Project, which was initiated by NASA Lewis Research Center in 1980 and concluded in 1987, was aimed at improving advanced aircraft engine hot section durability through better technical understanding and more accurate design analysis capability. The project was a multidisciplinary, multiorganizational, focused research effort that involved 21 organizations and 70 research and technology activities and generated approximately 250 research reports. No major hardware was developed. To evaluate whether HOST had a significant impact on the overall aircraft engine industry in the development of new engines, interviews were conducted with 41 participants in the project to obtain their views. The summarized results of these interviews are presented. Emphasis is placed on results relative to three-dimensional inelastic structural analysis, thermomechanical fatigue testing, constitutive modeling, combustor aerothermal modeling, turbine heat transfer, protective coatings, computer codes, improved engine design capability, reduced engine development costs, and the impacts on technology transfer and the industry-government partnership.

The construction of life prediction models for the design of Stirling engine heater components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Petrovich, A.; Bright, A.; Cronin, M.; Arnold, S.

1983-01-01

The service life of Stirling-engine heater structures of Fe-based high-temperature alloys is predicted using a numerical model based on a linear-damage approach and published test data (engine test data for a Co-based alloy and tensile-test results for both the Co-based and the Fe-based alloys). The operating principle of the automotive Stirling engine is reviewed; the economic and technical factors affecting the choice of heater material are surveyed; the test results are summarized in tables and graphs; the engine environment and automotive duty cycle are characterized; and the modeling procedure is explained. It is found that the statistical scatter of the fatigue properties of the heater components needs to be reduced (by decreasing the porosity of the cast material or employing wrought material in fatigue-prone locations) before the accuracy of life predictions can be improved.

Application Analysis of BIM Technology in Metro Rail Transit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Bei; Sun, Xianbin

2018-03-01

With the rapid development of urban roads, especially the construction of subway rail transit, it is an effective way to alleviate urban traffic congestion. There are limited site space, complex resource allocation, tight schedule, underground pipeline complex engineering problems. BIM technology, three-dimensional visualization, parameterization, virtual simulation and many other advantages can effectively solve these technical problems. Based on the project of Shenzhen Metro Line 9, BIM technology is innovatively researched throughout the lifecycle of BIM technology in the context of the metro rail transit project rarely used at this stage. The model information file is imported into Navisworks for four-dimensional animation simulation to determine the optimum construction scheme of the shield machine. Subway construction management application platform based on BIM and private cloud technology, the use of cameras and sensors to achieve electronic integration, dynamic monitoring of the operation and maintenance of underground facilities. Make full use of the many advantages of BIM technology to improve the engineering quality and construction efficiency of the subway rail transit project and to complete the operation and maintenance.

PREFACE: 1st International School and Conference "Saint Petersburg OPEN 2014" on Optoelectronics, Photonics, Engineering and Nanostructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2014-09-01

Dear Colleagues, 1st International School and Conference "Saint Petersburg OPEN 2014" on Optoelectronics, Photonics, Engineering and Nanostructures was held on March 25 - 27, 2014 at St. Petersburg Academic University - Nanotechnology Research and Education Centre of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The School and Conference included a series of invited talks given by leading professors with the aim to introduce young scientists with actual problems and major advances in physics and technology. The keynote speakers were: Mikhail Glazov (Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute RAS, Russia) Vladimir Dubrovskii (Saint Petersburg Academic University RAS, Russia) Alexey Kavokin (University of Southampton, United Kingdom and St. Petersburg State University, Russia) Vladimir Korenev (Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute RAS, Russia) Sergey Kukushkin (Institute of Problems of Mechanical Engineering RAS, Russia) Nikita Pikhtin (Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute RAS, Russia and "Elfolum" Ltd., Russia) Dmitry Firsov (Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University, Russia) During the poster session all undergraduate and graduate students attending the conference presented their works. Sufficiently large number of participants with more than 160 student attendees from all over the world allowed the Conference to provide a fertile ground for the fruitful discussions between the young scientists as well as to become a perfect platform for the valuable discussions between student authors and highly experienced scientists. The best student papers, which were selected by the Program Committee and by the invited speakers basing on the theses and their poster presentation, were awarded with diplomas of the conference - see the photos. This year's School and Conference is supported by SPIE (The International Society for Optics and Photonics), OSA (The Optical Society), St. Petersburg State Polytechnical University and by Skolkovo Foundation. It is a continuation of the annual schools and seminars for youth on topical problems of physics and technology that is organized by the Academic University since 2009. We invite all the students and young scientists to attend "Saint Petersburg OPEN" in 2015! Please, find details at http://spbopen2015.spbau.com/ With best wishes, Editorial Board, Program and Organizing Committees

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 33: Technical communications practices and the use of information technologies as reported by Dutch and US aerospace engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Tan, Axel S. T.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (The Netherlands), and NASA ARC (U.S.), and NASA LaRC (U.S.). This paper presents responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions concerning four of the seven project objectives: determining the importance of technical communications to aerospace engineering professionals, investigating the production of technical communications, examining the use and importance of computer and information technology, and exploring the use of electronic networks.

Developing English Communication Expertise for Engineers in the Global Age

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ono, Yoshimasa A.; Morimura, Kumiko

This paper discusses contents and results of a new graduate course “English for Engineers and Scientists” given at School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo. This course is a new attempt to develop English communication expertise for engineering graduate students: how to write technical papers and how to make technical presentations in English. For these purposes, differences in the writing styles and in the sentence structures of English and Japanese are stressed: conclusions come first in English versus conclusions come last in Japanese; the three-step style of introduction, body, and conclusion in English versus the four-step style of ki-sho-ten-ketsu in Japanese. In addition, proper styles of technical papers (rhetoric) and related grammatical points are discussed. Technical presentation course consists of four-week lecture and seven-week practice session. In the lecture, essential points of technical presentations in English are discussed in detail, and in the practice session students‧ presentation skills are improved through guidance and instructions given by native-speaker moderators. The class evaluation results show that most students have obtained necessary skills of technical presentation, indicating that the combined course of lecture and practice session is essential for training students to make better technical presentations in English.

Hardware-in-the-Loop Power Extraction Using Different Real-Time Platforms (PREPRINT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-07-01

engine controller ( FADEC ). Incorporating various transient subsystem level models into a complex modeling tool can be a challenging process when each...used can also be modified or replaced as appropriate. In its current configuration, the generic turbine engine model’s FADEC runs primarily on a...simulation in real-time, two platforms were tested: dSPACE and National Instruments’ (NI) LabVIEW Real-Time. For both dSPACE and NI, the engine and FADEC

The challenges of sequencing by synthesis.

PubMed

Fuller, Carl W; Middendorf, Lyle R; Benner, Steven A; Church, George M; Harris, Timothy; Huang, Xiaohua; Jovanovich, Stevan B; Nelson, John R; Schloss, Jeffery A; Schwartz, David C; Vezenov, Dmitri V

2009-11-01

DNA sequencing-by-synthesis (SBS) technology, using a polymerase or ligase enzyme as its core biochemistry, has already been incorporated in several second-generation DNA sequencing systems with significant performance. Notwithstanding the substantial success of these SBS platforms, challenges continue to limit the ability to reduce the cost of sequencing a human genome to $100,000 or less. Achieving dramatically reduced cost with enhanced throughput and quality will require the seamless integration of scientific and technological effort across disciplines within biochemistry, chemistry, physics and engineering. The challenges include sample preparation, surface chemistry, fluorescent labels, optimizing the enzyme-substrate system, optics, instrumentation, understanding tradeoffs of throughput versus accuracy, and read-length/phasing limitations. By framing these challenges in a manner accessible to a broad community of scientists and engineers, we hope to solicit input from the broader research community on means of accelerating the advancement of genome sequencing technology.

Droplet microfluidics for synthetic biology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gach, Philip Charles; Iwai, Kosuke; Kim, Peter Wonhee

Here, synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that aims to engineer biological systems for useful purposes. Organism engineering often requires the optimization of individual genes and/or entire biological pathways (consisting of multiple genes). Advances in DNA sequencing and synthesis have recently begun to enable the possibility of evaluating thousands of gene variants and hundreds of thousands of gene combinations. However, such large-scale optimization experiments remain cost-prohibitive to researchers following traditional molecular biology practices, which are frequently labor-intensive and suffer from poor reproducibility. Liquid handling robotics may reduce labor and improve reproducibility, but are themselves expensive and thus inaccessible to mostmore » researchers. Microfluidic platforms offer a lower entry price point alternative to robotics, and maintain high throughput and reproducibility while further reducing operating costs through diminished reagent volume requirements. Droplet microfluidics have shown exceptional promise for synthetic biology experiments, including DNA assembly, transformation/transfection, culturing, cell sorting, phenotypic assays, artificial cells and genetic circuits.« less

Droplet microfluidics for synthetic biology

DOE PAGES

Gach, Philip Charles; Iwai, Kosuke; Kim, Peter Wonhee; ...

2017-08-10

Here, synthetic biology is an interdisciplinary field that aims to engineer biological systems for useful purposes. Organism engineering often requires the optimization of individual genes and/or entire biological pathways (consisting of multiple genes). Advances in DNA sequencing and synthesis have recently begun to enable the possibility of evaluating thousands of gene variants and hundreds of thousands of gene combinations. However, such large-scale optimization experiments remain cost-prohibitive to researchers following traditional molecular biology practices, which are frequently labor-intensive and suffer from poor reproducibility. Liquid handling robotics may reduce labor and improve reproducibility, but are themselves expensive and thus inaccessible to mostmore » researchers. Microfluidic platforms offer a lower entry price point alternative to robotics, and maintain high throughput and reproducibility while further reducing operating costs through diminished reagent volume requirements. Droplet microfluidics have shown exceptional promise for synthetic biology experiments, including DNA assembly, transformation/transfection, culturing, cell sorting, phenotypic assays, artificial cells and genetic circuits.« less

Engineering of Methane Metabolism in Pichia Pastoris Through Methane Monooxygenase Expression

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleury, Samantha T.; Neff, Lily S.; Galazka, Jonathan M.

2017-01-01

Exploration of the solar system is constrained by the cost of moving mass off Earth. Producing materials in situ will reduce the mass that must be delivered from earth. CO2 is abundant on Mars and manned spacecraft. On the ISS, NASA reacts excess CO2 with H2 to generate CH4 and H2O using the Sabatier System. The resulting water is recovered into the ISS, but the methane is vented to space. Thus, there is a capability need for systems that convert methane into valuable materials. Methanotrophic bacteria consume methane but these are poor synthetic biology platforms. Thus, there is a knowledge gap in utilizing methane in a robust and flexible synthetic biology platform. The yeast Pichia pastoris is a refined microbial factory that is used widely by industry because it efficiently secretes products. Pichia could produce a variety of useful products in space. Pichia does not consume methane but robustly consumes methanol, which is one enzymatic step removed from methane. Our goal is to engineer Pichia to consume methane thereby creating a powerful methane-consuming microbial factory.

40 CFR 1039.625 - What requirements apply under the program for equipment-manufacturer flexibility?

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... is manufactured. (4) An e-mail address and phone number to contact for further information, or a Web... secondary engine manufacturers. (l) [Reserved] (m) Additional exemptions for technical or engineering... avoided with reasonable discretion have resulted in technical or engineering problems that prevent you...

Developing Professional Skills in Undergraduate Engineering Students through Cocurricular Involvement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, Dara R.; Bagiati, Aikaterini; Sarma, Sanjay

2017-01-01

As nations have sought to keep pace with rapid technological innovation, governments have renewed their focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, with emphasis on developing both technical and non-technical skills in STEM students. This article examines which engineering-relevant skills may be developed by…

Outsiders Looking In: Tutor Expertise in Engineering Writing

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bengesai, Annah

2015-01-01

Drawing on an academic literacies approach, this article explores the representations of technical communication by non-content expert tutors teaching the Technical Communication for Engineering course at a South African university. The course is offered to all first year engineering students as a developmental academic literacy course. It is…

77 FR 58301 - Technical Amendment; Airworthiness Standards: Aircraft Engines; Correction

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-20

... technical amendment, the FAA clarified aircraft engine vibration test requirements in the airworthiness... amendment, the FAA intended to clarify vibration test requirements in Sec. 33.83 of 14 Code of Federal... read as follows: Sec. 33.83 Vibration test. (a) Each engine must undergo vibration surveys to establish...

Automated electrotransformation of Escherichia coli on a digital microfluidic platform using bioactivated magnetic beads.

PubMed

Moore, J A; Nemat-Gorgani, M; Madison, A C; Sandahl, M A; Punnamaraju, S; Eckhardt, A E; Pollack, M G; Vigneault, F; Church, G M; Fair, R B; Horowitz, M A; Griffin, P B

2017-01-01

This paper reports on the use of a digital microfluidic platform to perform multiplex automated genetic engineering (MAGE) cycles on droplets containing Escherichia coli cells. Bioactivated magnetic beads were employed for cell binding, washing, and media exchange in the preparation of electrocompetent cells in the electrowetting-on-dieletric (EWoD) platform. On-cartridge electroporation was used to deliver oligonucleotides into the cells. In addition to the optimization of a magnetic bead-based benchtop protocol for generating and transforming electrocompetent E. coli cells, we report on the implementation of this protocol in a fully automated digital microfluidic platform. Bead-based media exchange and electroporation pulse conditions were optimized on benchtop for transformation frequency to provide initial parameters for microfluidic device trials. Benchtop experiments comparing electrotransformation of free and bead-bound cells are presented. Our results suggest that dielectric shielding intrinsic to bead-bound cells significantly reduces electroporation field exposure efficiency. However, high transformation frequency can be maintained in the presence of magnetic beads through the application of more intense electroporation pulses. As a proof of concept, MAGE cycles were successfully performed on a commercial EWoD cartridge using variations of the optimal magnetic bead-based preparation procedure and pulse conditions determined by the benchtop results. Transformation frequencies up to 22% were achieved on benchtop; this frequency was matched within 1% (21%) by MAGE cycles on the microfluidic device. However, typical frequencies on the device remain lower, averaging 9% with a standard deviation of 9%. The presented results demonstrate the potential of digital microfluidics to perform complex and automated genetic engineering protocols.

Automated electrotransformation of Escherichia coli on a digital microfluidic platform using bioactivated magnetic beads

PubMed Central

Moore, J. A.; Nemat-Gorgani, M.; Madison, A. C.; Punnamaraju, S.; Eckhardt, A. E.; Pollack, M. G.; Church, G. M.; Fair, R. B.; Horowitz, M. A.; Griffin, P. B.

2017-01-01

This paper reports on the use of a digital microfluidic platform to perform multiplex automated genetic engineering (MAGE) cycles on droplets containing Escherichia coli cells. Bioactivated magnetic beads were employed for cell binding, washing, and media exchange in the preparation of electrocompetent cells in the electrowetting-on-dieletric (EWoD) platform. On-cartridge electroporation was used to deliver oligonucleotides into the cells. In addition to the optimization of a magnetic bead-based benchtop protocol for generating and transforming electrocompetent E. coli cells, we report on the implementation of this protocol in a fully automated digital microfluidic platform. Bead-based media exchange and electroporation pulse conditions were optimized on benchtop for transformation frequency to provide initial parameters for microfluidic device trials. Benchtop experiments comparing electrotransformation of free and bead-bound cells are presented. Our results suggest that dielectric shielding intrinsic to bead-bound cells significantly reduces electroporation field exposure efficiency. However, high transformation frequency can be maintained in the presence of magnetic beads through the application of more intense electroporation pulses. As a proof of concept, MAGE cycles were successfully performed on a commercial EWoD cartridge using variations of the optimal magnetic bead-based preparation procedure and pulse conditions determined by the benchtop results. Transformation frequencies up to 22% were achieved on benchtop; this frequency was matched within 1% (21%) by MAGE cycles on the microfluidic device. However, typical frequencies on the device remain lower, averaging 9% with a standard deviation of 9%. The presented results demonstrate the potential of digital microfluidics to perform complex and automated genetic engineering protocols. PMID:28191268

Engineering Technical Support Center (ETSC)

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

ETSC is EPA’s technical support and resource centers responsible for providing specialized scientific and engineering support to decision-makers in the Agency’s ten regional offices, states, communities, and local businesses.

Practical and Efficient Searching in Proteomics: A Cross Engine Comparison

PubMed Central

Paulo, Joao A.

2014-01-01

Background Analysis of large datasets produced by mass spectrometry-based proteomics relies on database search algorithms to sequence peptides and identify proteins. Several such scoring methods are available, each based on different statistical foundations and thereby not producing identical results. Here, the aim is to compare peptide and protein identifications using multiple search engines and examine the additional proteins gained by increasing the number of technical replicate analyses. Methods A HeLa whole cell lysate was analyzed on an Orbitrap mass spectrometer for 10 technical replicates. The data were combined and searched using Mascot, SEQUEST, and Andromeda. Comparisons were made of peptide and protein identifications among the search engines. In addition, searches using each engine were performed with incrementing number of technical replicates. Results The number and identity of peptides and proteins differed across search engines. For all three search engines, the differences in proteins identifications were greater than the differences in peptide identifications indicating that the major source of the disparity may be at the protein inference grouping level. The data also revealed that analysis of 2 technical replicates can increase protein identifications by up to 10-15%, while a third replicate results in an additional 4-5%. Conclusions The data emphasize two practical methods of increasing the robustness of mass spectrometry data analysis. The data show that 1) using multiple search engines can expand the number of identified proteins (union) and validate protein identifications (intersection), and 2) analysis of 2 or 3 technical replicates can substantially expand protein identifications. Moreover, information can be extracted from a dataset by performing database searching with different engines and performing technical repeats, which requires no additional sample preparation and effectively utilizes research time and effort. PMID:25346847

Practical and Efficient Searching in Proteomics: A Cross Engine Comparison.

PubMed

Paulo, Joao A

2013-10-01

Analysis of large datasets produced by mass spectrometry-based proteomics relies on database search algorithms to sequence peptides and identify proteins. Several such scoring methods are available, each based on different statistical foundations and thereby not producing identical results. Here, the aim is to compare peptide and protein identifications using multiple search engines and examine the additional proteins gained by increasing the number of technical replicate analyses. A HeLa whole cell lysate was analyzed on an Orbitrap mass spectrometer for 10 technical replicates. The data were combined and searched using Mascot, SEQUEST, and Andromeda. Comparisons were made of peptide and protein identifications among the search engines. In addition, searches using each engine were performed with incrementing number of technical replicates. The number and identity of peptides and proteins differed across search engines. For all three search engines, the differences in proteins identifications were greater than the differences in peptide identifications indicating that the major source of the disparity may be at the protein inference grouping level. The data also revealed that analysis of 2 technical replicates can increase protein identifications by up to 10-15%, while a third replicate results in an additional 4-5%. The data emphasize two practical methods of increasing the robustness of mass spectrometry data analysis. The data show that 1) using multiple search engines can expand the number of identified proteins (union) and validate protein identifications (intersection), and 2) analysis of 2 or 3 technical replicates can substantially expand protein identifications. Moreover, information can be extracted from a dataset by performing database searching with different engines and performing technical repeats, which requires no additional sample preparation and effectively utilizes research time and effort.

76 FR 38383 - Albany Engineering Corporation, Town of Stuyvesant, NY; Notice of Site Visit and Technical Meeting

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-06-30

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [ Project No. 2696-033] Albany Engineering Corporation, Town of Stuyvesant, NY; Notice of Site Visit and Technical Meeting On July 12, 2011, Office of Energy Projects staff will participate in a site visit and technical meeting for the Stuyvesant...

Enhancing Non-Technical Skills by a Multidisciplinary Engineering Summer School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larsen, Peter Gorm; Kristiansen, Erik Lasse; Bennedsen, Jens; Bjerge, Kim

2017-01-01

In general engineering studies focus on the technical skills in their own discipline. However, in their subsequent industrial careers, a significant portion of their time needs to be devoted to non-technical skills. In addition, in an increasingly globalised world collaboration in teams across cultures and disciplines is paramount to the creation…

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 36: Technical uncertainty as a correlate of information use by US industry-affiliated aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Glassman, Nanci A.; Affelder, Linda O.; Hecht, Laura M.; Kennedy, John M.; Barclay, Rebecca O.

1994-01-01

This paper reports the results of an exploratory study that investigated the influence of technical uncertainty on the use of information and information sources by U.S. industry-affiliated aerospace engineers and scientists in completing or solving a project, task, or problem. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. Survey participants were U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists whose names appeared on the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) mailing list. The results support the findings of previous research and the following study assumptions. Information and information-source use differ for projects, problems, and tasks with high and low technical uncertainty. As technical uncertainty increases, information-source use changes from internal to external and from informal to formal sources. As technical uncertainty increases, so too does the use of federally funded aerospace research and development (R&D). The use of formal information sources to learn about federally funded aerospace R&D differs for projects, problems, and tasks with high and low technical uncertainty.

Developing and Validating the Socio-Technical Model in Ontology Engineering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silalahi, Mesnan; Indra Sensuse, Dana; Giri Sucahyo, Yudho; Fadhilah Akmaliah, Izzah; Rahayu, Puji; Cahyaningsih, Elin

2018-03-01

This paper describes results from an attempt to develop a model in ontology engineering methodology and a way to validate the model. The approach to methodology in ontology engineering is from the point view of socio-technical system theory. Qualitative research synthesis is used to build the model using meta-ethnography. In order to ensure the objectivity of the measurement, inter-rater reliability method was applied using a multi-rater Fleiss Kappa. The results show the accordance of the research output with the diamond model in the socio-technical system theory by evidence of the interdependency of the four socio-technical variables namely people, technology, structure and task.

15 CFR 1150.3 - Approved markings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Federal Standard 595a may be obtained from the Office of Engineering and Technical Management, Chemical... Standard 595a may be obtained from the Office of Engineering and Technical Management, Chemical Technology...

15 CFR 1150.3 - Approved markings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Federal Standard 595a may be obtained from the Office of Engineering and Technical Management, Chemical... Standard 595a may be obtained from the Office of Engineering and Technical Management, Chemical Technology...

15 CFR 1150.3 - Approved markings.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... Federal Standard 595a may be obtained from the Office of Engineering and Technical Management, Chemical... Standard 595a may be obtained from the Office of Engineering and Technical Management, Chemical Technology...

Strength analysis of an aircraft turbo-compressor engine turbine disc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klimko, Marek

2017-09-01

This article deals with a strength analysis of a gas turbine rotor disc of the concrete type of an aircraft turbo-compressor engine (ATCE). The introductory part is dedicated to a basic description of the given engine, including the main technical parameters entering the calculation. The calculation is carried out by the finite difference method. This method allows to determine the tension of a generally shaped disc, which is affected by centrifugal forces of its weight, external load and heat stress caused by the difference of thermal gradients along the disc radius. The result of calculations are dependencies of the most important parameters, such as the reduced stress, radial stress, or the safety coefficient along the disc radius.

Protein glycosylation in diverse cell systems: implications for modification and analysis of recombinant proteins.

PubMed

Brooks, Susan A

2006-06-01

A major challenge for the biotechnology industry is to engineer the glycosylation pathways of expression systems to synthesize recombinant proteins with human glycosylation. Inappropriate glycosylation can result in reduced activity, limited half-life in circulation and unwanted immunogenicity. In this review, the complexities of glycosylation in human cells are explained and compared with glycosylation in bacteria, yeasts, fungi, insects, plants and nonhuman mammalian species. Key advances in the engineering of the glycosylation of expression systems are highlighted. Advances in the challenging and technically complex field of glycan analysis are also described. The emergence of a new generation of expression systems with sophisticated engineering for humanized glycosylation of glycoproteins appears to be on the horizon.

System engineering of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhatia, Ravinder; Marti, Javier; Sugimoto, Masahiro; Sramek, Richard; Miccolis, Maurizio; Morita, Koh-Ichiro; Arancibia, Demián.; Araya, Andrea; Asayama, Shin'ichiro; Barkats, Denis; Brito, Rodrigo; Brundage, William; Grammer, Wes; Haupt, Christoph; Kurlandczyk, Herve; Mizuno, Norikazu; Napier, Peter; Pizarro, Eduardo; Saini, Kamaljeet; Stahlman, Gretchen; Verzichelli, Gianluca; Whyborn, Nick; Yagoubov, Pavel

2012-09-01

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) will be composed of 66 high precision antennae located at 5000 meters altitude in northern Chile. This paper will present the methodology, tools and processes adopted to system engineer a project of high technical complexity, by system engineering teams that are remotely located and from different cultures, and in accordance with a demanding schedule and within tight financial constraints. The technical and organizational complexity of ALMA requires a disciplined approach to the definition, implementation and verification of the ALMA requirements. During the development phase, System Engineering chairs all technical reviews and facilitates the resolution of technical conflicts. We have developed analysis tools to analyze the system performance, incorporating key parameters that contribute to the ultimate performance, and are modeled using best estimates and/or measured values obtained during test campaigns. Strict tracking and control of the technical budgets ensures that the different parts of the system can operate together as a whole within ALMA boundary conditions. System Engineering is responsible for acceptances of the thousands of hardware items delivered to Chile, and also supports the software acceptance process. In addition, System Engineering leads the troubleshooting efforts during testing phases of the construction project. Finally, the team is conducting System level verification and diagnostics activities to assess the overall performance of the observatory. This paper will also share lessons learned from these system engineering and verification approaches.

Data-acquisition system for environmental monitoring aboard a twin-engined aircraft

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tichler, J.; Bernstein, H.; Brown, R.M.

A number of experimental platforms have been used in support of the Multistate Atmospheric Power Production Study (MAP3S) and the Coastal Meteorology programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory. These platforms include a twin-engine Britten Norman Islander aircraft, a motorized van, a variety of boats and temporary enclosures set up in the field. Each platform carried a data logger consisting of a multiplexer, an analog to digital (A/D) converter and a four track endless loop magnetic tape for data storage. In recent years it has become increasingly evident that the data loggers in use were no longer adequate. Since the aircraft providedmore » the most constraints on the data acquisition system as well as being the most important research platform, a data system was designed for that platform with the secondary goal that the system would serve as a prototype for systems to be used on other platforms.« less

The Design, Development and Testing of a Multi-process Real-time Software System

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

programming large systems stems from the complexity of dealing with many different details at one time. A sound engineering approach is to break...controls and 3) is portable to other OS platforms such as Microsoft Windows. Next, to reduce the complexity of the programming tasks, the system...processes depending on how often the process has to check to see if common data was modified. A good method for one process to quickly notify another

Engineered Nano-bio Hybrid Electronic Platform for Solar Energy Harvesting

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-06-01

purity material as shown by the sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) gels. Strains other than the S9P are available...the R1 strain was cultured using hydrolyzed casein as the nutrition source in place of bacteriological peptone, which is 5-times more expensive...possibly indicating that the casein nutrient will not suffice for this bacteria or R1 strain. In an effort to reduce the growth time of the original

Principles and Best Practices Emerging from Data Basin: A Data Platform Supporting Scientific Research and Landscape Conservation Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Comendant, T.; Strittholt, J. R.; Ward, B. C.; Bachelet, D. M.; Grossman, D.; Stevenson-Molnar, N.; Henifin, K.; Lundin, M.; Marvin, T. S.; Peterman, W. L.; Corrigan, G. N.; O'Connor, K.

2013-12-01

A multi-disciplinary team of scientists, software engineers, and outreach staff at the Conservation Biology Institute launched an open-access, web-based spatial data platform called Data Basin (www.databasin.org) in 2010. Primarily built to support research and environmental resource planning, Data Basin provides the capability for individuals and organizations to explore, create, interpret, and collaborate around their priority topics and geographies. We used a stakeholder analysis to assess the needs of data consumers/produces and help prioritize primary and secondary audiences. Data Basin's simple and user-friendly interface makes mapping and geo-processing tools more accessible to less technical audiences. Input from users is considered in system planning, testing, and implementation. The team continually develops using an agile software development approach, which allows new features, improvements, and bug fixes to be deployed to the live system on a frequent basis. The data import process is handled through administrative approval and Data Basin requires spatial data (biological, physical, and socio-economic) to be well-documented. Outreach and training is used to convey the scope and appropriate use of the scientific information and available resources.

Design and implementation of a 3D ocean virtual reality and visualization engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ge; Li, Bo; Tian, Fenglin; Ji, Pengbo; Li, Wenqing

2012-12-01

In this study, a 3D virtual reality and visualization engine for rendering the ocean, named VV-Ocean, is designed for marine applications. The design goals of VV-Ocean aim at high fidelity simulation of ocean environment, visualization of massive and multidimensional marine data, and imitation of marine lives. VV-Ocean is composed of five modules, i.e. memory management module, resources management module, scene management module, rendering process management module and interaction management module. There are three core functions in VV-Ocean: reconstructing vivid virtual ocean scenes, visualizing real data dynamically in real time, imitating and simulating marine lives intuitively. Based on VV-Ocean, we establish a sea-land integration platform which can reproduce drifting and diffusion processes of oil spilling from sea bottom to surface. Environment factors such as ocean current and wind field have been considered in this simulation. On this platform oil spilling process can be abstracted as movements of abundant oil particles. The result shows that oil particles blend with water well and the platform meets the requirement for real-time and interactive rendering. VV-Ocean can be widely used in ocean applications such as demonstrating marine operations, facilitating maritime communications, developing ocean games, reducing marine hazards, forecasting the weather over oceans, serving marine tourism, and so on. Finally, further technological improvements of VV-Ocean are discussed.

Analyzing the future of army aeromedical evacuation units and equipment: a mixed methods, requirements-based approach.

PubMed

Bastian, Nathaniel D; Brown, David; Fulton, Lawrence V; Mitchell, Robert; Pollard, Wayne; Robinson, Mark; Wilson, Ronald

2013-03-01

We utilize a mixed methods approach to provide three new, separate analyses as part of the development of the next aeromedical evacuation (MEDEVAC) platform of the Future of Vertical Lift (FVL) program. The research questions follow: RQ1) What are the optimal capabilities of a FVL MEDEVAC platform given an Afghanistan-like scenario and parameters associated with the treatment/ground evacuation capabilities in that theater?; RQ2) What are the MEDEVAC trade-off considerations associated with different aircraft engines operating under variable conditions?; RQ3) How does the additional weight of weaponizing the current MEDEVAC fleet affect range, coverage radius, and response time? We address RQ1 using discrete-event simulation based partially on qualitative assessments from the field, while RQ2 and RQ3 are based on deterministic analysis. Our results confirm previous findings that travel speeds in excess of 250 knots and ranges in excess of 300 nautical miles are advisable for the FVL platform design, thereby reducing the medical footprint in stability operations. We recommend a specific course of action regarding a potential engine bridging strategy based on deterministic analysis of endurance and altitude, and we suggest that the weaponization of the FVL MEDEVAC aircraft will have an adverse effect on coverage capability. Reprint & Copyright © 2013 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

Employing Escherichia coli-derived outer membrane vesicles as an antigen delivery platform elicits protective immunity against Acinetobacter baumannii infection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Weiwei; Wang, Shijie; Yao, Yufeng; Xia, Ye; Yang, Xu; Li, Kui; Sun, Pengyan; Liu, Cunbao; Sun, Wenjia; Bai, Hongmei; Chu, Xiaojie; Li, Yang; Ma, Yanbing

2016-11-01

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) have proven to be highly immunogenic and induced an immune response against bacterial infection in human clinics and animal models. We sought to investigate whether engineered OMVs can be a feasible antigen-delivery platform for efficiently inducing specific antibody responses. In this study, Omp22 (an outer membrane protein of A. baumannii) was displayed on E. coli DH5α-derived OMVs (Omp22-OMVs) using recombinant gene technology. The morphological features of Omp22-OMVs were similar to those of wild-type OMVs (wtOMVs). Immunization with Omp22-OMVs induced high titers of Omp22-specific antibodies. In a murine sepsis model, Omp22-OMV immunization significantly protected mice from lethal challenge with a clinically isolated A. baumannii strain, which was evidenced by the increased survival rate of the mice, the reduced bacterial burdens in the lung, spleen, liver, kidney, and blood, and the suppressed serum levels of inflammatory cytokines. In vitro opsonophagocytosis assays showed that antiserum collected from Omp22-OMV-immunized mice had bactericidal activity against clinical isolates, which was partly specific antibody-dependent. These results strongly indicated that engineered OMVs could display a whole heterologous protein (~22 kDa) on the surface and effectively induce specific antibody responses, and thus OMVs have the potential to be a feasible vaccine platform.

Climate Engine - Monitoring Drought with Google Earth Engine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hegewisch, K.; Daudert, B.; Morton, C.; McEvoy, D.; Huntington, J. L.; Abatzoglou, J. T.

2016-12-01

Drought has adverse effects on society through reduced water availability and agricultural production and increased wildfire risk. An abundance of remotely sensed imagery and climate data are being collected in near-real time that can provide place-based monitoring and early warning of drought and related hazards. However, in an era of increasing wealth of earth observations, tools that quickly access, compute, and visualize archives, and provide answers at relevant scales to better inform decision-making are lacking. We have developed ClimateEngine.org, a web application that uses Google's Earth Engine platform to enable users to quickly compute and visualize real-time observations. A suite of drought indices allow us to monitor and track drought from local (30-meters) to regional scales and contextualize current droughts within the historical record. Climate Engine is currently being used by U.S. federal agencies and researchers to develop baseline conditions and impact assessments related to agricultural, ecological, and hydrological drought. Climate Engine is also working with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) to expedite monitoring agricultural drought over broad areas at risk of food insecurity globally.

A Fuel-Sensitive Reduced-Order Model (ROM) for Piston Engine Scaling Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-29

gram; all others are in SI units except where specified. Ambient enthalpies— NASA formula (McBride et al. 1993): ℎ( − 298.15 ) = ...Aeronautics and Space Administration (US); 1993 Oct. NASA Technical Memorandum No.: 4513. Naber JD, Siebers DL. Effects of gas density and vaporization...valid Fuel’) end ****************************************************** *************** SetHaVals % From NASA data (McBride et al 1993, Table 2

Device for installing rocket engines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

George, T. R., Jr. (Inventor)

1976-01-01

A device for installing rocket engines is reported that is supported at a cant relative to vertical by an axially extensible, tiltable pedestal. A lifting platform supports the rocket engine at its thrust chamber exit, including a mount having a concentric base characterized by a concave bearing surface, a plurality of uniformly spaced legs extended radially from the base, and an annular receiver coaxially aligned with the base and affixed to the distal ends of said legs for receiving the thrust chamber exit. The lifting platform rests on a seat concentrically related to the pedestal and affixed to an extended end portion thereof having a convex bearing surface mated in sliding engagement with the concave bearing surface of the annular base for accommodating a rocking motion of the platform.

Evaluation and demonstration of commercialization potential of CCSI tools within gPROMS advanced simulation platform

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lawal, Adekola; Schmal, Pieter; Ramos, Alfredo

PSE, in the first phase of the CCSI commercialization project, set out to identify market opportunities for the CCSI tools combined with existing gPROMS platform capabilities and develop a clear technical plan for the proposed commercialization activities.

[NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 4:] Technical communications in aerospace: An analysis of the practices reported by US and European aerospace engineers and scientists

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.; Glassman, Myron

1990-01-01

Two pilot studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of U.S. and European aerospace engineers and scientists. Both studies had the same five objectives: (1) solicit opinions regarding the importance of technical communications; (2) determine the use and production of technical communications; (3) seek views about the appropriate content of an undergraduate course in technical communications; (4) determine use of libraries, information centers, and online database; (5) determine use and importance of computer and information technology to them. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to randomly selected aerospace engineers and scientists, with a slightly modified version sent to European colleagues. Their responses to selected questions are presented in this paper.

Science and Engineering Technical Assessments (SETA) Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Huy, Frank

2000-01-01

This document provides a project plan for the D.N. American response to Modification #1 to Contract Task Order #13 - Program Maintenance and Logistics for the Science and Engineering Technical Assessments (SETA) contract.

29 CFR 93.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

24 CFR 87.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

13 CFR 146.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

41 CFR 105-69.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

29 CFR 93.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

32 CFR 28.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

44 CFR 18.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

24 CFR 87.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

45 CFR 93.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

13 CFR 146.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

41 CFR 105-69.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

45 CFR 1230.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

44 CFR 18.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

32 CFR 28.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

24 CFR 87.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

45 CFR 93.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

44 CFR 18.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

38 CFR 45.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

24 CFR 87.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

45 CFR 93.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

41 CFR 105-69.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

45 CFR 1230.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

41 CFR 105-69.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

38 CFR 45.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

45 CFR 1230.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

41 CFR 105-69.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

38 CFR 45.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

32 CFR 28.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

13 CFR 146.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

29 CFR 93.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

41 CFR 105-69.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

44 CFR 18.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... any professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid..., communications with the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the...

45 CFR 93.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

38 CFR 45.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

13 CFR 146.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... services shall be limited to advice and analysis directly applying any professional or technical discipline... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

29 CFR 93.205 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... professional or technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal... the intent to influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation...

Technical Communications in Engineering and Science: The Practices within a Government Defense Laboratory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Von Seggern, Marilyn; Jourdain, Janet M.

1996-01-01

A survey of the different technical communications and information-related activities of 305 engineers and scientists from 3 sites of the Philips Laboratory, an Air Force research and development laboratory, found that scientists have a closer affinity for libraries and traditional information sources than do engineers. Eight tables depict survey…

Construction Mechanic, Engine Tune-Up II (Diesel), 8-8. Military Curriculum Materials for Vocational and Technical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

This course, adapted from military curriculum materials for vocational and technical education, teaches students to restore diesel engine performance to the manufacturer's specifications through troubleshooting and analyzing diesel engine fuel systems and to make minor and major adjustments to those components that directly affect engine…

An Australian Study of Generic Competencies Required by Engineers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Male, S. A.; Bush, M. B.; Chapman, E. S.

2011-01-01

Engineering curricula have expanded in recent decades. In addition to science and technical engineering, they now include several non-technical competencies. This is a trend reinforced by programme accreditation. The authors take the viewpoint that it is important to ensure that graduates have the competencies they will require for their work. The…

Private-Public Partnerships--A Winning Solution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ruhland, Sheila; Killian, Anne

2012-01-01

Alex Prunty, a student in Moraine Park Technical College's Engine Research and Development (ERD), says that "dedication" is the first word that comes to mind when he thinks of rebuilding an engine. He quickly added the more technical terms like crank shaft, pistons and valves to the discussion. Just like an engine is taken apart and…

32 CFR 518.21 - Collection of fees and fee rates for technical data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... AID OF CIVIL AUTHORITIES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT PROGRAM Fee Schedule..., blueprints, and other technical engineering documents 2.50 Engineering data (microfilm) a. Aperture cards... mm roll film, per frame .45 d. Paper prints (engineering drawings), each 1.50 e. Paper reprints of...

Influence of End Customer Exposure on Product Design within an Epistemic Game Environment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Markovetz, Matthew R.; Clark, Renee M.; Swiecki, Zachari; Irgens, Golnaz Arastoopour; Chesler, Naomi C.; Shaffer, David W.; Bodnar, Cheryl A.

2017-01-01

Engineering product design requires both technical aptitude and an understanding of the nontechnical requirements in the marketplace, economic or otherwise. Engineering education has long focused on the technical side of product design, but there is increasing demand for market-aware engineers in industry. Market-awareness and customer-focus are…

Theory of Technical Systems--Educational Tool for Engineering

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eder, Wolfgang Ernst

2016-01-01

Hubka's theory of technical systems (TTS) is briefly outlined. It describes commonalities in all engineering devices, whatever their physical principles of action. This theory is based on a general transformation system (TrfS), which can be used to show engineering in the contexts of society, economics and historic developments. The life cycle of…

Engineer's Needs for Scientific and Technical Information.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

David, A., Ed.; And Others

This study has as its main object the formulation of an approach, as global and comprehensive as possible, to the multiple aspects of the engineer's needs for scientific and technical information. The basis of the study is an analysis of the engineer's role, its characteristics, different specialties, levels of training, and categories of…

Systems Engineering Approach to Technology Integration for NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Dale; Smith, Charles; Thomas, Leann; Kittredge, Sheryl

2002-01-01

The overall goal of the 2nd Generation RLV Program is to substantially reduce technical and business risks associated with developing a new class of reusable launch vehicles. NASA's specific goals are to improve the safety of a 2nd-generation system by 2 orders of magnitude - equivalent to a crew risk of 1-in-10,000 missions - and decrease the cost tenfold, to approximately $1,000 per pound of payload launched. Architecture definition is being conducted in parallel with the maturating of key technologies specifically identified to improve safety and reliability, while reducing operational costs. An architecture broadly includes an Earth-to-orbit reusable launch vehicle, on-orbit transfer vehicles and upper stages, mission planning, ground and flight operations, and support infrastructure, both on the ground and in orbit. The systems engineering approach ensures that the technologies developed - such as lightweight structures, long-life rocket engines, reliable crew escape, and robust thermal protection systems - will synergistically integrate into the optimum vehicle. To best direct technology development decisions, analytical models are employed to accurately predict the benefits of each technology toward potential space transportation architectures as well as the risks associated with each technology. Rigorous systems analysis provides the foundation for assessing progress toward safety and cost goals. The systems engineering review process factors in comprehensive budget estimates, detailed project schedules, and business and performance plans, against the goals of safety, reliability, and cost, in addition to overall technical feasibility. This approach forms the basis for investment decisions in the 2nd Generation RLV Program's risk-reduction activities. Through this process, NASA will continually refine its specialized needs and identify where Defense and commercial requirements overlap those of civil missions.

Systems Engineering Approach to Technology Integration for NASA's 2nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, Dale; Smith, Charles; Thomas, Leann; Kittredge, Sheryl

2002-01-01

The overall goal of the 2nd Generation RLV Program is to substantially reduce technical and business risks associated with developing a new class of reusable launch vehicles. NASA's specific goals are to improve the safety of a 2nd generation system by 2 orders of magnitude - equivalent to a crew risk of 1-in-10,000 missions - and decrease the cost tenfold, to approximately $1,000 per pound of payload launched. Architecture definition is being conducted in parallel with the maturating of key technologies specifically identified to improve safety and reliability, while reducing operational costs. An architecture broadly includes an Earth-to-orbit reusable launch vehicle, on-orbit transfer vehicles and upper stages, mission planning, ground and flight operations, and support infrastructure, both on the ground and in orbit. The systems engineering approach ensures that the technologies developed - such as lightweight structures, long-life rocket engines, reliable crew escape, and robust thermal protection systems - will synergistically integrate into the optimum vehicle. To best direct technology development decisions, analytical models are employed to accurately predict the benefits of each technology toward potential space transportation architectures as well as the risks associated with each technology. Rigorous systems analysis provides the foundation for assessing progress toward safety and cost goals. The systems engineering review process factors in comprehensive budget estimates, detailed project schedules, and business and performance plans, against the goals of safety, reliability, and cost, in addition to overall technical feasibility. This approach forms the basis for investment decisions in the 2nd Generation RLV Program's risk-reduction activities. Through this process, NASA will continually refine its specialized needs and identify where Defense and commercial requirements overlap those of civil missions.

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. XXXIII - Technical communications practices and the use of information technologies as reported by Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barclay, Rebecca O.; Pinelli, Thomas E.; Tan, Axel S. T.; Kennedy, John M.

1993-01-01

As part of Phase 4 of the NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project, two studies were conducted that investigated the technical communications practices of Dutch and U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to aerospace engineers and scientists at the National Aerospace Laboratory (The Netherlands), and NASA Ames Research Center (U.S.), and the NASA Langley Research Center (U.S.). This paper presents responses of the Dutch and U.S. participants to selected questions about four of the seven project objectives: determining the importance of technical communications to aerospace engineering professionals, investigating the production of technical communications, examining the use and importance of computer and information technology, and exploring the use of electronic networks.

Facilitating 3D Virtual World Learning Environments Creation by Non-Technical End Users through Template-Based Virtual World Instantiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Chang; Zhong, Ying; Ozercan, Sertac; Zhu, Qing

2013-01-01

This paper presents a template-based solution to overcome technical barriers non-technical computer end users face when developing functional learning environments in three-dimensional virtual worlds (3DVW). "iVirtualWorld," a prototype of a platform-independent 3DVW creation tool that implements the proposed solution, facilitates 3DVW…

An integrated biotechnology platform for developing sustainable chemical processes.

PubMed

Barton, Nelson R; Burgard, Anthony P; Burk, Mark J; Crater, Jason S; Osterhout, Robin E; Pharkya, Priti; Steer, Brian A; Sun, Jun; Trawick, John D; Van Dien, Stephen J; Yang, Tae Hoon; Yim, Harry

2015-03-01

Genomatica has established an integrated computational/experimental metabolic engineering platform to design, create, and optimize novel high performance organisms and bioprocesses. Here we present our platform and its use to develop E. coli strains for production of the industrial chemical 1,4-butanediol (BDO) from sugars. A series of examples are given to demonstrate how a rational approach to strain engineering, including carefully designed diagnostic experiments, provided critical insights about pathway bottlenecks, byproducts, expression balancing, and commercial robustness, leading to a superior BDO production strain and process.

Culture and Workplace Communications: A Comparison of the Technical Communications Practices of Japanese and U.S. Aerospace Engineers and Scientists.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pinelli, Thomas E.; Sato, Yuko; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

1997-01-01

Japanese (n=94) and U.S. (n=340) aerospace scientists/engineers described time spent communicating information, collaborative writing, importance of technical communication courses, and the use of libraries, computer networks, and technical reports. Japanese respondents had greater language fluency; U.S. respondents spent more time with…

Technical Writing: Library Resources for Engineers. A Self-Paced Workbook for the University of Arkansas Libraries. Revised.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dew, Stephen H.

This self-paced library workbook is a course requirement of all "technical writing" freshman English classes at the University of Arkansas. The technical writing course is required of all engineering students, and its major focus is on writing a term paper containing a bibliography produced through library research. The workbook…

The Relationship of Aptitudes to the Performance of Skilled Technical Jobs in Engine Manufacturing. Technical Report 1982-5 [and Supplement].

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Daniel, Mark; And Others

A study examined the relationship of aptitudes to the performance of skilled technical jobs in engine manufacturing. During the study, several approaches were utilized, including criterion-referenced validation, taxonomic validation, construct validation, and detailed anlaysis of the behaviors involved in performing the jobs. The study sample…

Overlapping topics in advisory reports issued by five well-established European National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups from 2011 to 2014.

PubMed

Nijsten, Daniëlle; Houweling, Hans; Durupt, Antoine; Adjagba, Alex

2016-12-07

National Immunization Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs) are facing increasingly complex vaccination issues together with a lack of human resources for evidence assessment and data analysis. One way to reduce these burdens could be to share some of the preparatory work across NITAGs. We conducted an inventory of all the advisory reports issued by five well-established European NITAGs from 2011 to 2014 to assess overlaps in issues and activities. A total of 104 advisory reports were retrieved. Advisory reports on the same issues were compared to identify overlapping activities and processes. Advisory reports issued by the five NITAGs showed little overlap in issues and processes. A first step towards efficient collaboration would be to establish an independent platform to provide insight into each NITAG's work and to facilitate the exchange of agendas, assessment frameworks and evidence. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

New technique of transanal proctectomy with completely robotic total mesorrectal excision for rectal cancer.

PubMed

Gómez Ruiz, Marcos; Palazuelos, Carlos Manuel; Martín Parra, José Ignacio; Alonso Martín, Joaquín; Cagigas Fernández, Carmen; del Castillo Diego, Julio; Gómez Fleitas, Manuel

2014-05-01

Anterior resection with total mesorectal excision is the standard method of rectal cancer resection. However, this procedure remains technically difficult in mid and low rectal cancer. A robotic transanal proctectomy with total mesorectal excision and laparoscopic assistance is reported in a 57 year old male with BMI 32 kg/m2 and rectal adenocarcinoma T2N1M0 at 5 cm from the dentate line. Operating time was 420 min. Postoperative hospital stay was 6 days and no complications were observed. Pathological report showed a 33 cm specimen with ypT2N0 adenocarcinoma at 2 cm from the distal margin, complete TME and non affected circumferential resection margin. Robotic technology might reduce some technical difficulties associated with TEM/TEO or SILS platforms in transanal total mesorectal excision. Further clinical trials will be necessary to assess this technique. Copyright © 2013 AEC. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

Systems Maintenance Automated Repair Tasks (SMART)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuh, Joseph; Mitchell, Brent; Locklear, Louis; Belson, Martin A.; Al-Shihabi, Mary Jo Y.; King, Nadean; Norena, Elkin; Hardin, Derek

2010-01-01

SMART is a uniform automated discrepancy analysis and repair-authoring platform that improves technical accuracy and timely delivery of repair procedures for a given discrepancy (see figure a). SMART will minimize data errors, create uniform repair processes, and enhance the existing knowledge base of engineering repair processes. This innovation is the first tool developed that links the hardware specification requirements with the actual repair methods, sequences, and required equipment. SMART is flexibly designed to be useable by multiple engineering groups requiring decision analysis, and by any work authorization and disposition platform (see figure b). The organizational logic creates the link between specification requirements of the hardware, and specific procedures required to repair discrepancies. The first segment in the SMART process uses a decision analysis tree to define all the permutations between component/ subcomponent/discrepancy/repair on the hardware. The second segment uses a repair matrix to define what the steps and sequences are for any repair defined in the decision tree. This segment also allows for the selection of specific steps from multivariable steps. SMART will also be able to interface with outside databases and to store information from them to be inserted into the repair-procedure document. Some of the steps will be identified as optional, and would only be used based on the location and the current configuration of the hardware. The output from this analysis would be sent to a work authoring system in the form of a predefined sequence of steps containing required actions, tools, parts, materials, certifications, and specific requirements controlling quality, functional requirements, and limitations.

PC based PLCs and ethernet based fieldbus: the new standard platform for future VLT instrument control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiekebusch, Mario J.; Lucuix, Christian; Erm, Toomas M.; Chiozzi, Gianluca; Zamparelli, Michele; Kern, Lothar; Brast, Roland; Pirani, Werther; Reiss, Roland; Popovic, Dan; Knudstrup, Jens; Duchateau, Michel; Sandrock, Stefan; Di Lieto, Nicola

2014-07-01

ESO is currently in the final phase of the standardization process for PC-based Programmable Logical Controllers (PLCs) as the new platform for the development of control systems for future VLT/VLTI instruments. The standard solution used until now consists of a Local Control Unit (LCU), a VME-based system having a CPU and commercial and proprietary boards. This system includes several layers of software and many thousands of lines of code developed and maintained in house. LCUs have been used for several years as the interface to control instrument functions but now are being replaced by commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) systems based on BECKHOFF Embedded PCs and the EtherCAT fieldbus. ESO is working on the completion of the software framework that enables a seamless integration into the VLT control system in order to be ready to support upcoming instruments like ESPRESSO and ERIS, that will be the first fully VLT compliant instruments using the new standard. The technology evaluation and standardization process has been a long and combined effort of various engineering disciplines like electronics, control and software, working together to define a solution that meets the requirements and minimizes the impact on the observatory operations and maintenance. This paper presents the challenges of the standardization process and the steps involved in such a change. It provides a technical overview of how industrial standards like EtherCAT, OPC-UA, PLCOpen MC and TwinCAT can be used to replace LCU features in various areas like software engineering and programming languages, motion control, time synchronization and astronomical tracking.

A Second-Generation Device for Automated Training and Quantitative Behavior Analyses of Molecularly-Tractable Model Organisms

PubMed Central

Blackiston, Douglas; Shomrat, Tal; Nicolas, Cindy L.; Granata, Christopher; Levin, Michael

2010-01-01

A deep understanding of cognitive processes requires functional, quantitative analyses of the steps leading from genetics and the development of nervous system structure to behavior. Molecularly-tractable model systems such as Xenopus laevis and planaria offer an unprecedented opportunity to dissect the mechanisms determining the complex structure of the brain and CNS. A standardized platform that facilitated quantitative analysis of behavior would make a significant impact on evolutionary ethology, neuropharmacology, and cognitive science. While some animal tracking systems exist, the available systems do not allow automated training (feedback to individual subjects in real time, which is necessary for operant conditioning assays). The lack of standardization in the field, and the numerous technical challenges that face the development of a versatile system with the necessary capabilities, comprise a significant barrier keeping molecular developmental biology labs from integrating behavior analysis endpoints into their pharmacological and genetic perturbations. Here we report the development of a second-generation system that is a highly flexible, powerful machine vision and environmental control platform. In order to enable multidisciplinary studies aimed at understanding the roles of genes in brain function and behavior, and aid other laboratories that do not have the facilities to undergo complex engineering development, we describe the device and the problems that it overcomes. We also present sample data using frog tadpoles and flatworms to illustrate its use. Having solved significant engineering challenges in its construction, the resulting design is a relatively inexpensive instrument of wide relevance for several fields, and will accelerate interdisciplinary discovery in pharmacology, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, and cognitive science. PMID:21179424

Study of the various factors influencing deposit formation and operation of gasoline engine injection systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stepien, Z.

2016-09-01

Generally, ethanol fuel emits less pollutants than gasoline, it is completely renewable product and has the potential to reduce greenhouse gases emission but, at the same time can present a multitude of technical challenges to engine operation conditions including creation of very adverse engine deposits. These deposits increasing fuel consumption and cause higher exhaust emissions as well as poor performance in drivability. This paper describes results of research and determination the various factors influencing injector deposits build-up of ethanol-gasoline blends operated engine. The relationship between ethanol-gasoline fuel blends composition, their treatment, engine construction as well as its operation conditions and fuel injectors deposit formation has been investigated. Simulation studies of the deposit formation endanger proper functioning of fuel injection system were carried out at dynamometer engine testing. As a result various, important factors influencing the deposit creation process and speed formation were determined. The ability to control of injector deposits by multifunctional detergent-dispersant additives package fit for ethanol-gasoline blends requirements was also investigated.

Open Source in Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lakhan, Shaheen E.; Jhunjhunwala, Kavita

2008-01-01

Educational institutions have rushed to put their academic resources and services online, beginning the global community onto a common platform and awakening the interest of investors. Despite continuing technical challenges, online education shows great promise. Open source software offers one approach to addressing the technical problems in…

The GridEcon Platform: A Business Scenario Testbed for Commercial Cloud Services

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Risch, Marcel; Altmann, Jörn; Guo, Li; Fleming, Alan; Courcoubetis, Costas

Within this paper, we present the GridEcon Platform, a testbed for designing and evaluating economics-aware services in a commercial Cloud computing setting. The Platform is based on the idea that the exact working of such services is difficult to predict in the context of a market and, therefore, an environment for evaluating its behavior in an emulated market is needed. To identify the components of the GridEcon Platform, a number of economics-aware services and their interactions have been envisioned. The two most important components of the platform are the Marketplace and the Workflow Engine. The Workflow Engine allows the simple composition of a market environment by describing the service interactions between economics-aware services. The Marketplace allows trading goods using different market mechanisms. The capabilities of these components of the GridEcon Platform in conjunction with the economics-aware services are described in this paper in detail. The validation of an implemented market mechanism and a capacity planning service using the GridEcon Platform also demonstrated the usefulness of the GridEcon Platform.

Performance and technical feasibility comparison of reusable launch systems: A synthesis of the ESA winged launcher studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, W.; Grallert, H.

1996-02-01

The paper presents a synthesis of the performance and technical feasibility assessment of 7 reusable launcher types, comprising 13 different vehicles, studied by European Industry for ESA in the ESA Winged Launcher Study in the period January 1988 to May 1994. The vehicles comprised single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) and two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) vehicles, propelled by either air-breathing/rocket propulsion or entirely by rocket propulsion. The results showed that an SSTO vehicle of the HOTOL-type, propelled by subsonic combustion air-breathing/rocket engines could barely deliver the specified payload mass and was aerodynamically unstable; that a TSTO vehicle of the Saenger type, employing subsonic combustion airbreathing propulsion in its first stage and rocket propulsion in its second stage, could readily deliver the specified payload mass and was found to be technically feasible and versatile; that an SSTO vehicle of the NASP type, propelled by supersonic combustion airbreathing/rocket propulsion was able to deliver a reduced payload mass, was very complex and required very advanced technologies; that an air-launched rocket propelled vehicle of the Interim HOTOL type, although technically feasible, could deliver only a reduced payload mass, being constrained by the lifting capability of the carrier airplane; that three different, entirely rocket-propelled vehicles could deliver the specified payload mass, were technically feasible but required relatively advanced technologies.

Chromatography process development in the quality by design paradigm I: Establishing a high-throughput process development platform as a tool for estimating "characterization space" for an ion exchange chromatography step.

PubMed

Bhambure, R; Rathore, A S

2013-01-01

This article describes the development of a high-throughput process development (HTPD) platform for developing chromatography steps. An assessment of the platform as a tool for establishing the "characterization space" for an ion exchange chromatography step has been performed by using design of experiments. Case studies involving use of a biotech therapeutic, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor have been used to demonstrate the performance of the platform. We discuss the various challenges that arise when working at such small volumes along with the solutions that we propose to alleviate these challenges to make the HTPD data suitable for empirical modeling. Further, we have also validated the scalability of this platform by comparing the results from the HTPD platform (2 and 6 μL resin volumes) against those obtained at the traditional laboratory scale (resin volume, 0.5 mL). We find that after integration of the proposed correction factors, the HTPD platform is capable of performing the process optimization studies at 170-fold higher productivity. The platform is capable of providing semi-quantitative assessment of the effects of the various input parameters under consideration. We think that platform such as the one presented is an excellent tool for examining the "characterization space" and reducing the extensive experimentation at the traditional lab scale that is otherwise required for establishing the "design space." Thus, this platform will specifically aid in successful implementation of quality by design in biotech process development. This is especially significant in view of the constraints with respect to time and resources that the biopharma industry faces today. Copyright © 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Elucidating central metabolic redox obstacles hindering ethanol production in Clostridium thermocellum.

PubMed

Thompson, R Adam; Layton, Donovan S; Guss, Adam M; Olson, Daniel G; Lynd, Lee R; Trinh, Cong T

2015-11-01

Clostridium thermocellum is an anaerobic, Gram-positive, thermophilic bacterium that has generated great interest due to its ability to ferment lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol. However, ethanol production is low due to the complex and poorly understood branched metabolism of C. thermocellum, and in some cases overflow metabolism as well. In this work, we developed a predictive stoichiometric metabolic model for C. thermocellum which incorporates the current state of understanding, with particular attention to cofactor specificity in the atypical glycolytic enzymes and the complex energy, redox, and fermentative pathways with the goal of aiding metabolic engineering efforts. We validated the model's capability to encompass experimentally observed phenotypes for the parent strain and derived mutants designed for significant perturbation of redox and energy pathways. Metabolic flux distributions revealed significant alterations in key metabolic branch points (e.g., phosphoenol pyruvate, pyruvate, acetyl-CoA, and cofactor nodes) in engineered strains for channeling electron and carbon fluxes for enhanced ethanol synthesis, with the best performing strain doubling ethanol yield and titer compared to the parent strain. In silico predictions of a redox-imbalanced genotype incapable of growth were confirmed in vivo, and a mutant strain was used as a platform to probe redox bottlenecks in the central metabolism that hinder efficient ethanol production. The results highlight the robustness of the redox metabolism of C. thermocellum and the necessity of streamlined electron flux from reduced ferredoxin to NAD(P)H for high ethanol production. The model was further used to design a metabolic engineering strategy to phenotypically constrain C. thermocellum to achieve high ethanol yields while requiring minimal genetic manipulations. The model can be applied to design C. thermocellum as a platform microbe for consolidated bioprocessing to produce ethanol and other reduced metabolites. Copyright © 2015 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Handheld Microneedle-Based Electrolyte Sensing Platform.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, Philip R.; Rivas, Rhiana; Johnson, David

2015-11-01

Sandia National Laboratories will provide technical assistance, within time and budget, to Requester on testing and analyzing a microneedle-based electrolyte sensing platform. Hollow microneedles will be fabricated at Sandia and integrated with a fluidic chip using plastic laminate prototyping technology available at Sandia. In connection with commercial ion selective electrodes the sensing platform will be tested for detection of electrolytes (sodium and/or potassium) within physiological relevant concent ration ranges.

Application for certification 1988 model year light-duty vehicles - US Technical Research Company (Peugeot)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

Every year, each manufacturer of passenger cars, light-duty trucks, motorcycles, or heavy-duty engines submits to EPA an application for certification. In the application, the manufacturer gives a detailed technical description of the vehicles or engines he intends to market during the upcoming model year. These engineering data include explanations and/or drawings that describe engine/vehicle parameters such as basic engine design, fuel systems, ignition systems, and exhaust and evaporative emission control systems.

Human Systems Integration in Practice: Constellation Lessons Learned

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zumbado, Jennifer Rochlis

2012-01-01

NASA's Constellation program provided a unique testbed for Human Systems Integration (HSI) as a fundamental element of the Systems Engineering process. Constellation was the first major program to have HSI mandated by NASA's Human Rating document. Proper HSI is critical to the success of any project that relies on humans to function as operators, maintainers, or controllers of a system. HSI improves mission, system and human performance, significantly reduces lifecycle costs, lowers risk and minimizes re-design. Successful HSI begins with sufficient project schedule dedicated to the generation of human systems requirements, but is by no means solely a requirements management process. A top-down systems engineering process that recognizes throughout the organization, human factors as a technical discipline equal to traditional engineering disciplines with authority for the overall system. This partners with a bottoms-up mechanism for human-centered design and technical issue resolution. The Constellation Human Systems Integration Group (HSIG) was a part of the Systems Engineering and Integration (SE&I) organization within the program office, and existed alongside similar groups such as Flight Performance, Environments & Constraints, and Integrated Loads, Structures and Mechanisms. While the HSIG successfully managed, via influence leadership, a down-and-in Community of Practice to facilitate technical integration and issue resolution, it lacked parallel top-down authority to drive integrated design. This presentation will discuss how HSI was applied to Constellation, the lessons learned and best practices it revealed, and recommendations to future NASA program and project managers. This presentation will discuss how Human Systems Integration (HSI) was applied to NASA's Constellation program, the lessons learned and best practices it revealed, and recommendations to future NASA program and project managers on how to accomplish this critical function.

44 CFR 18.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

32 CFR 28.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

38 CFR 45.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

44 CFR 18.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

38 CFR 45.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

45 CFR 1230.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

32 CFR 28.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

38 CFR 45.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

44 CFR 18.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

32 CFR 28.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting of a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

45 CFR 1230.300 - Professional and technical services.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... technical discipline. For example, drafting or a legal document accompanying a bid or proposal by a lawyer... influence made by an engineer providing an engineering analysis prior to the preparation or submission of a...

Imaging informatics-based multimedia ePR system for data management and decision support in rehabilitation research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Ximing; Verma, Sneha; Qin, Yi; Sterling, Josh; Zhou, Alyssa; Zhang, Jeffrey; Martinez, Clarisa; Casebeer, Narissa; Koh, Hyunwook; Winstein, Carolee; Liu, Brent

2013-03-01

With the rapid development of science and technology, large-scale rehabilitation centers and clinical rehabilitation trials usually involve significant volumes of multimedia data. Due to the global aging crisis, millions of new patients with age-related chronic diseases will produce huge amounts of data and contribute to soaring costs of medical care. Hence, a solution for effective data management and decision support will significantly reduce the expenditure and finally improve the patient life quality. Inspired from the concept of the electronic patient record (ePR), we developed a prototype system for the field of rehabilitation engineering. The system is subject or patient-oriented and customized for specific projects. The system components include data entry modules, multimedia data presentation and data retrieval. To process the multimedia data, the system includes a DICOM viewer with annotation tools and video/audio player. The system also serves as a platform for integrating decision-support tools and data mining tools. Based on the prototype system design, we developed two specific applications: 1) DOSE (a phase 1 randomized clinical trial to determine the optimal dose of therapy for rehabilitation of the arm and hand after stroke.); and 2) NEXUS project from the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center(RERC, a NIDRR funded Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center). Currently, the system is being evaluated in the context of the DOSE trial with a projected enrollment of 60 participants over 5 years, and will be evaluated by the NEXUS project with 30 subjects. By applying the ePR concept, we developed a system in order to improve the current research workflow, reduce the cost of managing data, and provide a platform for the rapid development of future decision-support tools.

Elucidating central metabolic redox obstacles hindering ethanol production in Clostridium thermocellum

DOE PAGES

Thompson, R. Adam; Layton, Donovan S.; Guss, Adam M.; ...

2015-10-21

Clostridium thermocellum is an anaerobic, Gram-positive, thermophilic bacterium that has generated great interest due to its ability to ferment lignocellulosic biomass to ethanol. However, ethanol production is low due to the complex and poorly understood branched metabolism of C. thermocellum, and in some cases overflow metabolism as well. In this work, we developed a predictive stoichiometric metabolic model for C. thermocellum which incorporates the current state of understanding, with particular attention to cofactor specificity in the atypical glycolytic enzymes and the complex energy, redox, and fermentative pathways with the goal of aiding metabolic engineering efforts. We validated the model smore » capability to encompass experimentally observed phenotypes for the parent strain and derived mutants designed for significant perturbation of redox and energy pathways. Metabolic flux distributions revealed significant alterations in key metabolic branch points (e.g., phosphoenol pyruvate, pyruvate, acetyl-CoA, and cofactor nodes) in engineered strains for channeling electron and carbon fluxes for enhanced ethanol synthesis, with the best performing strain doubling ethanol yield and titer compared to the parent strain. In silico predictions of a redox-imbalanced genotype incapable of growth were confirmed in vivo, and a mutant strain was used as a platform to probe redox bottlenecks in the central metabolism that hinder efficient ethanol production. The results highlight the robustness of the redox metabolism of C. thermocellum and the necessity of streamlined electron flux from reduced ferredoxin to NAD(P)H for high ethanol production. The model was further used to design a metabolic engineering strategy to phenotypically constrain C. thermocellum to achieve high ethanol yields while requiring minimal genetic manipulations. Furthermore, the model can be applied to design C. thermocellum as a platform microbe for consolidated bioprocessing to produce ethanol and other reduced metabolites.« less

Study on analysis from sources of error for Airborne LIDAR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, H. C.; Yan, Q.; Liu, Z. J.; Zuo, Z. Q.; Xu, Q. Q.; Li, F. F.; Song, C.

2016-11-01

With the advancement of Aerial Photogrammetry, it appears that to obtain geo-spatial information of high spatial and temporal resolution provides a new technical means for Airborne LIDAR measurement techniques, with unique advantages and broad application prospects. Airborne LIDAR is increasingly becoming a new kind of space for earth observation technology, which is mounted by launching platform for aviation, accepting laser pulses to get high-precision, high-density three-dimensional coordinate point cloud data and intensity information. In this paper, we briefly demonstrates Airborne laser radar systems, and that some errors about Airborne LIDAR data sources are analyzed in detail, so the corresponding methods is put forwarded to avoid or eliminate it. Taking into account the practical application of engineering, some recommendations were developed for these designs, which has crucial theoretical and practical significance in Airborne LIDAR data processing fields.

CERNBox + EOS: end-user storage for science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mascetti, L.; Gonzalez Labrador, H.; Lamanna, M.; Mościcki, JT; Peters, AJ

2015-12-01

CERNBox is a cloud synchronisation service for end-users: it allows syncing and sharing files on all major mobile and desktop platforms (Linux, Windows, MacOSX, Android, iOS) aiming to provide offline availability to any data stored in the CERN EOS infrastructure. The successful beta phase of the service confirmed the high demand in the community for an easily accessible cloud storage solution such as CERNBox. Integration of the CERNBox service with the EOS storage back-end is the next step towards providing “sync and share” capabilities for scientific and engineering use-cases. In this report we will present lessons learnt in offering the CERNBox service, key technical aspects of CERNBox/EOS integration and new, emerging usage possibilities. The latter includes the ongoing integration of “sync and share” capabilities with the LHC data analysis tools and transfer services.

Control of cell growth on 3D-printed cell culture platforms for tissue engineering.

PubMed

Tan, Zhikai; Liu, Tong; Zhong, Juchang; Yang, Yikun; Tan, Weihong

2017-12-01

Biocompatible tissue growth has excellent prospects for tissue engineering. These tissues are built over scaffolds, which can influence aspects such as cell adhesion, proliferation rate, morphology, and differentiation. However, the ideal 3D biological structure has not been developed yet. Here, we applied the electro-hydrodynamic jet (E-jet) 3D printing technology using poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid, PLGA) solution to print varied culture platforms for engineered tissue structures. The effects of different parameters (electrical voltage, plotting speed, and needle sizes) on the outcome were investigated. We compared the biological compatibility of the 3D printed culture platforms with that of random fibers. Finally, we used the 3D-printed PLGA platforms to culture fibroblasts, the main cellular components of loose connective tissue. The results show that the E-jet printed platforms could guide and improve cell growth. These highly aligned fibers were able to support cellular alignment and proliferation. Cell angle was consistent with the direction of the fibers, and cells cultured on these fibers showed a much faster migration, potentially enhancing wound healing performance. Thus, the potential of this technology for 3D biological printing is large. This process can be used to grow biological scaffolds for the engineering of tissues. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 105A: 3281-3292, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Next-Generation RS-25 Engines for the NASA Space Launch System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ballard, Richard O.

2017-01-01

The utilization of heritage RS-25 engines, also known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), has enabled rapid progress in the development and certification of the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) toward operational flight status. The RS-25 brings design maturity and extensive experience gained through 135 missions, 3000+ ground tests, and over 1 million seconds total accumulated hot-fire time. In addition, there were also 16 flight engines and 2 development engines remaining from the Space Shuttle program that could be leveraged to support the first four flights. Beyond these initial SLS flights, NASA must have a renewed supply of RS-25 engines that must reflect program affordability imperatives as well as technical requirements imposed by the SLS Block-1B vehicle (i.e., 111% RPL power level, reduced service life). Recognizing the long lead times needed for the fabrication, assembly and acceptance testing of flight engines, design activities are underway to improve system affordability and eliminate obsolescence concerns. These key objectives are enabled largely by utilizing modern materials and fabrication technologies, but also by innovations in systems engineering and integration (SE&I) practices.

Identification of non-technical skills from the resilience engineering perspective: a case study of an electricity distributor.

PubMed

Wachs, Priscila; Righi, Angela Weber; Saurin, Tarcisio Abreu

2012-01-01

Training in non-technical skills (NTS) does not usually question the design of the work system, and thus focuses narrowly on workers as the unit of analysis. This study discusses how the identification of NTS, a major step for developing an NTS training program, might be re-interpreted from the perspective of resilience engineering (RE). This discussion is based on a case study of identifying NTS for electricians who perform emergency maintenance activities in an electricity distribution power line. The results of the case study point out that four data analysis procedures might operationalize the RE perspective: (a) identifying factors that make the work difficult and which could be integrated into NTS training scenarios; (b) identifying recommendations for re-designing the system, in order either to reduce or eliminate the need for NTS; (c) classifying the NTS into pragmatic categories, which are meaningful for workers; and (d) regarding the identification of NTS as an opportunity to give visibility to adaptations carried out by workers.

Experience with The Use of Warm Mix Asphalt Additives in Bitumen Binders

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cápayová, Silvia; Unčík, Stanislav; Cihlářová, Denisa

2018-03-01

In most European countries, Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) technology is still being used as the standard for the production and processing of bituminous mixtures. However, from the perspective of environmental acceptability, global warming and greenhouse gas production, Slovakia is making an effort to put into practice modern technology, which is characterized by lower energy consumption and reducing negative impacts on the environment. Warm mix asphalt technologies (WMA), which have been verified at the Department of Transportation Engineering laboratory, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Slovak University of Technology (FCE, SUT) can provide the required mixture properties and can be used not only for the construction of new roads, but also for their renovation and reconstruction. The paper was created in cooperation with the Technical University of Ostrava, Czech Republic, which also deals with the addition of additives to asphalt mixtures and binders. It describes a comparison of the impact of some organic and chemical additives on the properties of commonly used bitumen binders in accordance with valid standards and technical regulations.

The Electronic Encyclopedia of Earthquakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benthien, M.; Marquis, J.; Jordan, T.

2003-12-01

The Electronic Encyclopedia of Earthquakes is a collaborative project of the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC), the Consortia of Universities for Research in Earthquake Engineering (CUREE) and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS). This digital library organizes earthquake information online as a partner with the NSF-funded National Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Digital Library (NSDL) and the Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE). When complete, information and resources for over 500 Earth science and engineering topics will be included, with connections to curricular materials useful for teaching Earth Science, engineering, physics and mathematics. Although conceived primarily as an educational resource, the Encyclopedia is also a valuable portal to anyone seeking up-to-date earthquake information and authoritative technical sources. "E3" is a unique collaboration among earthquake scientists and engineers to articulate and document a common knowledge base with a shared terminology and conceptual framework. It is a platform for cross-training scientists and engineers in these complementary fields and will provide a basis for sustained communication and resource-building between major education and outreach activities. For example, the E3 collaborating organizations have leadership roles in the two largest earthquake engineering and earth science projects ever sponsored by NSF: the George E. Brown Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation (CUREE) and the EarthScope Project (IRIS and SCEC). The E3 vocabulary and definitions are also being connected to a formal ontology under development by the SCEC/ITR project for knowledge management within the SCEC Collaboratory. The E3 development system is now fully operational, 165 entries are in the pipeline, and the development teams are capable of producing 20 new, fully reviewed encyclopedia entries each month. Over the next two years teams will complete 450 entries, which will populate the E3 collection to a level that fully spans earthquake science and engineering. Scientists, engineers, and educators who have suggestions for content to be included in the Encyclopedia can visit www.earthquake.info now to complete the "Suggest a Web Page" form.

A Curriculum to Enhance Decision-Making Skills of Technical Personnel Working in Teams

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Raju, P. K.; Sankar, Chetan S.; Xue, Yajiong

2004-01-01

Rapidly changing engineering designs and business scenarios make it essential for engineers and technical personnel to be trained to be effective team players and project managers. This paper reports the experiences gained in developing and implementing a workshop to train engineers at a steel manufacturing plant. The objective of the workshop was…

Construction Mechanic, Engine Tune-Up I, 8-7. Military Curriculum Materials for Vocational and Technical Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ohio State Univ., Columbus. National Center for Research in Vocational Education.

This course, adapted from military curriculum materials for use in vocational and technical education, teaches students to perform a complete engine tune-up using appropriate hand tools, special tools, and testing equipment. Students completing the course will be able to diagnose gasoline-engine performance and perform corrective measures to…

Cells for tissue engineering of cardiac valves.

PubMed

Jana, Soumen; Tranquillo, Robert T; Lerman, Amir

2016-10-01

Heart valve tissue engineering is a promising alternative to prostheses for the replacement of diseased or damaged heart valves, because tissue-engineered valves have the ability to remodel, regenerate and grow. To engineer heart valves, cells are harvested, seeded onto or into a three-dimensional (3D) matrix platform to generate a tissue-engineered construct in vitro, and then implanted into a patient's body. Successful engineering of heart valves requires a thorough understanding of the different types of cells that can be used to obtain the essential phenotypes that are expressed in native heart valves. This article reviews different cell types that have been used in heart valve engineering, cell sources for harvesting, phenotypic expression in constructs and suitability in heart valve tissue engineering. Natural and synthetic biomaterials that have been applied as scaffold systems or cell-delivery platforms are discussed with each cell type. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Development of a Project-Based Collaborative Technical Writing Model Founded on Learner Feedback in a Tertiary Aeronautical Engineering Program

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tatzl, Dietmar; Hassler, Wolfgang; Messnarz, Bernd; Fluhr, Holger

2012-01-01

The present article describes and evaluates collaborative interdisciplinary group projects initiated by content lecturers and an English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) instructor for the purpose of teaching technical writing skills in an aeronautical engineering degree program. The proposed technical writing model is assessed against the results of a…

Engineering Technical Support Center Annual Report Fiscal ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Office of Research and Development (ORD) created the Engineering Technical Support Center (ETSC) in 1987, one of several technical support centers created as part of the Technical Support Project (TSP). ETSC provides engineering expertise to Agency program and regional offices and remediation teams working at contaminated sites across the country. The ETSC is operated within ORD’s Land Remediation and Pollution Control Division (LRPCD) of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory (NRMRL) in Cincinnati, Ohio. The ETSC’s mission is to provide site-specific scientific and engineering technical support to Remedial Project Managers, On-Scene Coordinators, and other remediation personnel at contaminated sites. This allows local, regional, or national authorities to work more quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively, while also increasing the technical experience of the remediation team. Since its inception, the ETSC has supported countless projects across all EPA Regions in almost all states and territories. This report highlights significant projects the ETSC supported in fiscal year 2015 (FY15). These projects addressed an array of environmental scenarios, such as remote mining contamination, expansive landfill waste, cumulative impacts from multiple contamination sources, and persistent threats from abandoned industrial sites. Constructing and testing new and innovative treatment technol

Interventional radiology virtual simulator for liver biopsy.

PubMed

Villard, P F; Vidal, F P; ap Cenydd, L; Holbrey, R; Pisharody, S; Johnson, S; Bulpitt, A; John, N W; Bello, F; Gould, D

2014-03-01

Training in Interventional Radiology currently uses the apprenticeship model, where clinical and technical skills of invasive procedures are learnt during practice in patients. This apprenticeship training method is increasingly limited by regulatory restrictions on working hours, concerns over patient risk through trainees' inexperience and the variable exposure to case mix and emergencies during training. To address this, we have developed a computer-based simulation of visceral needle puncture procedures. A real-time framework has been built that includes: segmentation, physically based modelling, haptics rendering, pseudo-ultrasound generation and the concept of a physical mannequin. It is the result of a close collaboration between different universities, involving computer scientists, clinicians, clinical engineers and occupational psychologists. The technical implementation of the framework is a robust and real-time simulation environment combining a physical platform and an immersive computerized virtual environment. The face, content and construct validation have been previously assessed, showing the reliability and effectiveness of this framework, as well as its potential for teaching visceral needle puncture. A simulator for ultrasound-guided liver biopsy has been developed. It includes functionalities and metrics extracted from cognitive task analysis. This framework can be useful during training, particularly given the known difficulties in gaining significant practice of core skills in patients.

Cable tunnel fire experiment study based on linear optical fiber fire detectors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Dian; Ding, Hongjun

2013-09-01

Aiming at exiting linear temperature fire detection technology including temperature sensing cable, fiber Raman scattering, fiber Bragg grating, this paper establish an experimental platform in cable tunnel, set two different experimental scenes of the fire and record temperature variation and fire detector response time in the processing of fire simulation. Since a small amount of thermal radiation and no flame for the beginning of the small-scale fire, only directly contacting heat detectors can make alarm response and the rest of other non- contact detectors are unable to respond. In large-scale fire, the alarm response time of the fiber Raman temperature sensing fire detector and fiber Bragg grating temperature sensing fire detector is about 30 seconds, and depending on the thermocouples' record the temperature over the fire is less than 35° in first 60 seconds of large-scale fire, while the temperature rising is more than 5°/min within the range of +/- 3m. According to the technical characteristics of the three detectors, the engineering suitability of the typical linear heat detectors in cable tunnels early fire detection is analyzed, which provide technical support for the preparation of norms.

Modular AUV System with Integrated Real-Time Water Quality Analysis.

PubMed

Eichhorn, Mike; Ament, Christoph; Jacobi, Marco; Pfuetzenreuter, Torsten; Karimanzira, Divas; Bley, Kornelia; Boer, Michael; Wehde, Henning

2018-06-05

This paper describes the concept, the technical implementation and the practical application of a miniaturized sensor system integrated into an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for real-time acquisition of water quality parameters. The main application field of the presented system is the analysis of the discharge of nitrates into Norwegian fjords near aqua farms. The presented system was developed within the research project SALMON (Sea Water Quality Monitoring and Management) over a three-year period. The development of the sensor system for water quality parameters represented a significant challenge for the research group, as it was to be integrated in the payload unit of the autonomous underwater vehicle in compliance with the underwater environmental conditions. The German company -4H- JENA engineering GmbH (4HJE), with experience in optical in situ-detection of nutrients, designed and built the measurement system. As a carrier platform, the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) "CWolf" from Fraunhofer-Institut für Optronik, Systemtechnik und Bildauswertung - Institutsteil Angewandte Systemtechnik (IOSB-AST) modified to an AUV was deployed. The concept presented illustrates how the measurement system can be integrated easily into the vehicle with a minimum of hard- and software technical interfaces.

78 FR 3921 - Proposed Models for Plant-Specific Adoption of Technical Specifications Task Force Traveler TSTF...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-01-17

... Specifications Combustion Engineering Plants.'' Specifically, the proposed change revises various TSs to add a... Technical Details TSTF-426, Revision 5, is applicable to all Combustion Engineering- designed nuclear power...

Improving Space Project Cost Estimating with Engineering Management Variables

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamaker, Joseph W.; Roth, Axel (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Current space project cost models attempt to predict space flight project cost via regression equations, which relate the cost of projects to technical performance metrics (e.g. weight, thrust, power, pointing accuracy, etc.). This paper examines the introduction of engineering management parameters to the set of explanatory variables. A number of specific engineering management variables are considered and exploratory regression analysis is performed to determine if there is statistical evidence for cost effects apart from technical aspects of the projects. It is concluded that there are other non-technical effects at work and that further research is warranted to determine if it can be shown that these cost effects are definitely related to engineering management.

A technical writing programme implemented in a first-year engineering course at KU Leuven

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heylen, Christel; Vander Sloten, Jos

2013-12-01

Technical communication and technical writing are important skills for the daily work-life of every engineer. In the first-year engineering programme at KU Leuven, a technical writing programme is implemented within the project-based course 'Problem Solving and Engineering Design'. This paper describes a case study for implementing a writing programme based on active learning methods and situated learning in large classes. The programme consists of subsequent cycles of instructions, learning by doing and reflection on received feedback. In addition, a peer-review assignment, together with an interactive lecture using clicking devices, is incorporated within the assignments of the second semester. A checklist of desired writing abilities makes it easier to grade the large number of papers. Furthermore, this ensures that all staff involved in the evaluation process uses the same criteria to grade and for providing feedback.

Surface engineering on mesoporous silica chips for enriching low molecular weight phosphorylated proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Ye; Peng, Yang; Lin, Kevin; Shen, Haifa; Brousseau, Louis C., III; Sakamoto, Jason; Sun, Tong; Ferrari, Mauro

2011-02-01

Phosphorylated peptides and proteins play an important role in normal cellular activities, e.g., gene expression, mitosis, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis, as well as tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. However, technical hurdles hinder the use of common fractionation methods to capture phosphopeptides from complex biological fluids such as human sera. Herein, we present the development of a dual strategy material that offers enhanced capture of low molecular weight phosphoproteins: mesoporous silica thin films with precisely engineered pore sizes that sterically select for molecular size combined with chemically selective surface modifications (i.e. Ga3+, Ti4+ and Zr4+) that target phosphoroproteins. These materials provide high reproducibility (CV = 18%) and increase the stability of the captured proteins by excluding degrading enzymes, such as trypsin. The chemical and physical properties of the composite mesoporous thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and ellipsometry. Using mass spectroscopy and biostatistics analysis, the enrichment efficiency of different metal ions immobilized on mesoporous silica chips was investigated. The novel technology reported provides a platform capable of efficiently profiling the serum proteome for biomarker discovery, forensic sampling, and routine diagnostic applications.Phosphorylated peptides and proteins play an important role in normal cellular activities, e.g., gene expression, mitosis, differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis, as well as tumor initiation, progression and metastasis. However, technical hurdles hinder the use of common fractionation methods to capture phosphopeptides from complex biological fluids such as human sera. Herein, we present the development of a dual strategy material that offers enhanced capture of low molecular weight phosphoproteins: mesoporous silica thin films with precisely engineered pore sizes that sterically select for molecular size combined with chemically selective surface modifications (i.e. Ga3+, Ti4+ and Zr4+) that target phosphoroproteins. These materials provide high reproducibility (CV = 18%) and increase the stability of the captured proteins by excluding degrading enzymes, such as trypsin. The chemical and physical properties of the composite mesoporous thin films were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and ellipsometry. Using mass spectroscopy and biostatistics analysis, the enrichment efficiency of different metal ions immobilized on mesoporous silica chips was investigated. The novel technology reported provides a platform capable of efficiently profiling the serum proteome for biomarker discovery, forensic sampling, and routine diagnostic applications. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c0nr00720j

An engineered microbial platform for direct biofuel production from brown macroalgae.

PubMed

Wargacki, Adam J; Leonard, Effendi; Win, Maung Nyan; Regitsky, Drew D; Santos, Christine Nicole S; Kim, Peter B; Cooper, Susan R; Raisner, Ryan M; Herman, Asael; Sivitz, Alicia B; Lakshmanaswamy, Arun; Kashiyama, Yuki; Baker, David; Yoshikuni, Yasuo

2012-01-20

Prospecting macroalgae (seaweeds) as feedstocks for bioconversion into biofuels and commodity chemical compounds is limited primarily by the availability of tractable microorganisms that can metabolize alginate polysaccharides. Here, we present the discovery of a 36-kilo-base pair DNA fragment from Vibrio splendidus encoding enzymes for alginate transport and metabolism. The genomic integration of this ensemble, together with an engineered system for extracellular alginate depolymerization, generated a microbial platform that can simultaneously degrade, uptake, and metabolize alginate. When further engineered for ethanol synthesis, this platform enables bioethanol production directly from macroalgae via a consolidated process, achieving a titer of 4.7% volume/volume and a yield of 0.281 weight ethanol/weight dry macroalgae (equivalent to ~80% of the maximum theoretical yield from the sugar composition in macroalgae).

Are CD-ROM LANs a Thing of the Past?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mehta, Apurva

1996-01-01

Remote access to full-text and CD-ROM databases using the Internet has advantages over a CD-ROM local area network. Topics include speed, document delivery, multiple platforms, technical support, licensing, copyright, and access to graphics. Considerations of duplication of information, platform compatibility, print versus digital media, back…

Creation of an Integrated Environment to Supply e-Learning Platforms with Office Automation Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palumbo, Emilio; Verga, Francesca

2015-01-01

Over the last years great efforts have been made within the University environment to implement e-learning technologies in the standard educational practice. These learning technologies distribute online educational multimedia contents through technological platforms. Even though specific e-learning tools for technical disciplines were already…