The Toda lattice as a forced integrable system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hansen, P. J.; Kaup, D. J.

1985-01-01

The analytic properties of the Jost functions for the inverse scattering transform associated with the forced Toda lattice are shown to determine the time evolution of this particular boundary value problem. It is suggested that inverse scattering methods may be used generally to analyze forced integrable systems. Thus an extension of the applicability of the inverse scattering transform is indicated.

On the extraction of pressure fields from PIV velocity measurements in turbines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Villegas, Arturo; Diez, Fancisco J.

2012-11-01

In this study, the pressure field for a water turbine is derived from particle image velocimetry (PIV) measurements. Measurements are performed in a recirculating water channel facility. The PIV measurements include calculating the tangential and axial forces applied to the turbine by solving the integral momentum equation around the airfoil. The results are compared with the forces obtained from the Blade Element Momentum theory (BEMT). Forces are calculated by using three different methods. In the first method, the pressure fields are obtained from PIV velocity fields by solving the Poisson equation. The boundary conditions are obtained from the Navier-Stokes momentum equations. In the second method, the pressure at the boundaries is determined by spatial integration of the pressure gradients along the boundaries. In the third method, applicable only to incompressible, inviscid, irrotational, and steady flow, the pressure is calculated using the Bernoulli equation. This approximated pressure is known to be accurate far from the airfoil and outside of the wake for steady flows. Additionally, the pressure is used to solve for the force from the integral momentum equation on the blade. From the three methods proposed to solve for pressure and forces from PIV measurements, the first one, which is solved by using the Poisson equation, provides the best match to the BEM theory calculations.

Outcome of the First wwPDB Hybrid/Integrative Methods Task Force Workshop

PubMed Central

Sali, Andrej; Berman, Helen M.; Schwede, Torsten; Trewhella, Jill; Kleywegt, Gerard; Burley, Stephen K.; Markley, John; Nakamura, Haruki; Adams, Paul; Bonvin, Alexandre M.J.J.; Chiu, Wah; Dal Peraro, Matteo; Di Maio, Frank; Ferrin, Thomas E.; Grünewald, Kay; Gutmanas, Aleksandras; Henderson, Richard; Hummer, Gerhard; Iwasaki, Kenji; Johnson, Graham; Lawson, Catherine L.; Meiler, Jens; Marti-Renom, Marc A.; Montelione, Gaetano T.; Nilges, Michael; Nussinov, Ruth; Patwardhan, Ardan; Rappsilber, Juri; Read, Randy J.; Saibil, Helen; Schröder, Gunnar F.; Schwieters, Charles D.; Seidel, Claus A. M.; Svergun, Dmitri; Topf, Maya; Ulrich, Eldon L.; Velankar, Sameer; Westbrook, John D.

2016-01-01

Summary Structures of biomolecular systems are increasingly computed by integrative modeling that relies on varied types of experimental data and theoretical information. We describe here the proceedings and conclusions from the first wwPDB Hybrid/Integrative Methods Task Force Workshop held at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Hinxton, UK, October 6 and 7, 2014. At the workshop, experts in various experimental fields of structural biology, experts in integrative modeling and visualization, and experts in data archiving addressed a series of questions central to the future of structural biology. How should integrative models be represented? How should the data and integrative models be validated? What data should be archived? How should the data and models be archived? What information should accompany the publication of integrative models? PMID:26095030

The fast multipole method and point dipole moment polarizable force fields.

PubMed

Coles, Jonathan P; Masella, Michel

2015-01-14

We present an implementation of the fast multipole method for computing Coulombic electrostatic and polarization forces from polarizable force-fields based on induced point dipole moments. We demonstrate the expected O(N) scaling of that approach by performing single energy point calculations on hexamer protein subunits of the mature HIV-1 capsid. We also show the long time energy conservation in molecular dynamics at the nanosecond scale by performing simulations of a protein complex embedded in a coarse-grained solvent using a standard integrator and a multiple time step integrator. Our tests show the applicability of fast multipole method combined with state-of-the-art chemical models in molecular dynamical systems.

Optimal integral force feedback for active vibration control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teo, Yik R.; Fleming, Andrew J.

2015-11-01

This paper proposes an improvement to Integral Force Feedback (IFF), which is a popular method for active vibration control of structures and mechanical systems. Benefits of IFF include robustness, guaranteed stability and simplicity. However, the maximum damping performance is dependent on the stiffness of the system; hence, some systems cannot be adequately controlled. In this paper, an improvement to the classical force feedback control scheme is proposed. The improved method achieves arbitrary damping for any mechanical system by introducing a feed-through term. The proposed improvement is experimentally demonstrated by actively damping an objective lens assembly for a high-speed confocal microscope.

Full nonlinear treatment of the global thermospheric wind system. Part 1: Mathematical method and analysis of forces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blum, P. W.; Harris, I.

1973-01-01

The equations of horizontal motion of the neutral atmosphere between 120 and 500 km are integrated with the inclusion of all the nonlinear terms of the convective derivative and the viscous forces due to vertical and horizontal velocity gradients. Empirical models of the distribution of neutral and charged particles are assumed to be known. The model of velocities developed is a steady state model. In part 1 the mathematical method used in the integration of the Navier-Stokes equations is described and the various forces are analysed.

A novel integrated multifunction micro-sensor for three-dimensional micro-force measurements.

PubMed

Wang, Weizhong; Zhao, Yulong; Qin, Yafei

2012-01-01

An integrated multifunction micro-sensor for three-dimensional micro-force precision measurement under different pressure and temperature conditions is introduced in this paper. The integrated sensor consists of three kinds of sensors: a three-dimensional micro-force sensor, an absolute pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. The integrated multifunction micro-sensor is fabricated on silicon wafers by micromachining technology. Different doping doses of boron ion, placement and structure of resistors are tested for the force sensor, pressure sensor and temperature sensor to minimize the cross interference and optimize the properties. A glass optical fiber, with a ladder structure and sharp tip etched by buffer oxide etch solution, is glued on the micro-force sensor chip as the tactile probe. Experimental results show that the minimum force that can be detected by the force sensor is 300 nN; the lateral sensitivity of the force sensor is 0.4582 mV/μN; the probe length is linearly proportional to sensitivity of the micro-force sensor in lateral; the sensitivity of the pressure sensor is 0.11 mv/KPa; the sensitivity of the temperature sensor is 5.836 × 10(-3) KΩ/°C. Thus it is a cost-effective method to fabricate integrated multifunction micro-sensors with different measurement ranges that could be used in many fields.

Outcome of the First wwPDB Hybrid/Integrative Methods Task Force Workshop.

PubMed

Sali, Andrej; Berman, Helen M; Schwede, Torsten; Trewhella, Jill; Kleywegt, Gerard; Burley, Stephen K; Markley, John; Nakamura, Haruki; Adams, Paul; Bonvin, Alexandre M J J; Chiu, Wah; Peraro, Matteo Dal; Di Maio, Frank; Ferrin, Thomas E; Grünewald, Kay; Gutmanas, Aleksandras; Henderson, Richard; Hummer, Gerhard; Iwasaki, Kenji; Johnson, Graham; Lawson, Catherine L; Meiler, Jens; Marti-Renom, Marc A; Montelione, Gaetano T; Nilges, Michael; Nussinov, Ruth; Patwardhan, Ardan; Rappsilber, Juri; Read, Randy J; Saibil, Helen; Schröder, Gunnar F; Schwieters, Charles D; Seidel, Claus A M; Svergun, Dmitri; Topf, Maya; Ulrich, Eldon L; Velankar, Sameer; Westbrook, John D

2015-07-07

Structures of biomolecular systems are increasingly computed by integrative modeling that relies on varied types of experimental data and theoretical information. We describe here the proceedings and conclusions from the first wwPDB Hybrid/Integrative Methods Task Force Workshop held at the European Bioinformatics Institute in Hinxton, UK, on October 6 and 7, 2014. At the workshop, experts in various experimental fields of structural biology, experts in integrative modeling and visualization, and experts in data archiving addressed a series of questions central to the future of structural biology. How should integrative models be represented? How should the data and integrative models be validated? What data should be archived? How should the data and models be archived? What information should accompany the publication of integrative models? Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Analysis of mixed-mode crack propagation using the boundary integral method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mendelson, A.; Ghosn, L. J.

1986-01-01

Crack propagation in a rotating inner raceway of a high speed roller bearing is analyzed using the boundary integral equation method. The method consists of an edge crack in a plate under tension, upon which varying Hertzian stress fields are superimposed. A computer program for the boundary integral equation method was written using quadratic elements to determine the stress and displacement fields for discrete roller positions. Mode I and Mode II stress intensity factors and crack extension forces G sub 00 (energy release rate due to tensile opening mode) and G sub r0 (energy release rate due to shear displacement mode) were computed. These calculations permit determination of that crack growth angle for which the change in the crack extension forces is maximum. The crack driving force was found to be the alternating mixed-mode loading that occurs with each passage of the most heavily loaded roller. The crack is predicted to propagate in a step-like fashion alternating between radial and inclined segments, and this pattern was observed experimentally. The maximum changes DeltaG sub 00 and DeltaG sub r0 of the crack extension forces are found to be good measures of the crack propagation rate and direction.

Magnetic force microscopy method and apparatus to detect and image currents in integrated circuits

DOEpatents

Campbell, Ann. N.; Anderson, Richard E.; Cole, Jr., Edward I.

1995-01-01

A magnetic force microscopy method and improved magnetic tip for detecting and quantifying internal magnetic fields resulting from current of integrated circuits. Detection of the current is used for failure analysis, design verification, and model validation. The interaction of the current on the integrated chip with a magnetic field can be detected using a cantilevered magnetic tip. Enhanced sensitivity for both ac and dc current and voltage detection is achieved with voltage by an ac coupling or a heterodyne technique. The techniques can be used to extract information from analog circuits.

Magnetic force microscopy method and apparatus to detect and image currents in integrated circuits

DOEpatents

Campbell, A.N.; Anderson, R.E.; Cole, E.I. Jr.

1995-11-07

A magnetic force microscopy method and improved magnetic tip for detecting and quantifying internal magnetic fields resulting from current of integrated circuits are disclosed. Detection of the current is used for failure analysis, design verification, and model validation. The interaction of the current on the integrated chip with a magnetic field can be detected using a cantilevered magnetic tip. Enhanced sensitivity for both ac and dc current and voltage detection is achieved with voltage by an ac coupling or a heterodyne technique. The techniques can be used to extract information from analog circuits. 17 figs.

Integrated magnetic tweezers and single-molecule FRET for investigating the mechanical properties of nucleic acid.

PubMed

Long, Xi; Parks, Joseph W; Stone, Michael D

2016-08-01

Many enzymes promote structural changes in their nucleic acid substrates via application of piconewton forces over nanometer length scales. Magnetic tweezers (MT) is a single molecule force spectroscopy method widely used for studying the energetics of such mechanical processes. MT permits stable application of a wide range of forces and torques over long time scales with nanometer spatial resolution. However, in any force spectroscopy experiment, the ability to monitor structural changes in nucleic acids with nanometer sensitivity requires the system of interest to be held under high degrees of tension to improve signal to noise. This limitation prohibits measurement of structural changes within nucleic acids under physiologically relevant conditions of low stretching forces. To overcome this challenge, researchers have integrated a spatially sensitive fluorescence spectroscopy method, single molecule-FRET, with MT to allow simultaneous observation and manipulation of nanoscale structural transitions over a wide range of forces. Here, we describe a method for using this hybrid instrument to analyze the mechanical properties of nucleic acids. We expect that this method for analysis of nucleic acid structure will be easily adapted for experiments aiming to interrogate the mechanical responses of other biological macromolecules. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrated magnetic tweezers and single-molecule FRET for investigating the mechanical properties of nucleic acid

PubMed Central

Long, Xi; Parks, Joseph W.; Stone, Michael D.

2017-01-01

Many enzymes promote structural changes in their nucleic acid substrates via application of piconewton forces over nanometer length scales. Magnetic tweezers (MT) is a single molecule force spectroscopy method widely used for studying the energetics of such mechanical processes. MT permits stable application of a wide range of forces and torques over long time scales with nanometer spatial resolution. However, in any force spectroscopy experiment, the ability to monitor structural changes in nucleic acids with nanometer sensitivity requires the system of interest to be held under high degrees of tension to improve signal to noise. This limitation prohibits measurement of structural changes within nucleic acids under physiologically relevant conditions of low stretching forces. To overcome this challenge, researchers have integrated a spatially sensitive fluorescence spectroscopy method, single molecule-FRET, with MT to allow simultaneous observation and manipulation of nanoscale structural transitions over a wide range of forces. Here, we describe a method for using this hybrid instrument to analyze the mechanical properties of nucleic acids. We expect that this method for analysis of nucleic acid structure will be easily adapted for experiments aiming to interrogate the mechanical responses of other biological macromolecules. PMID:27320203

Stabilization of computational procedures for constrained dynamical systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Park, K. C.; Chiou, J. C.

1988-01-01

A new stabilization method of treating constraints in multibody dynamical systems is presented. By tailoring a penalty form of the constraint equations, the method achieves stabilization without artificial damping and yields a companion matrix differential equation for the constraint forces; hence, the constraint forces are obtained by integrating the companion differential equation for the constraint forces in time. A principal feature of the method is that the errors committed in each constraint condition decay with its corresponding characteristic time scale associated with its constraint force. Numerical experiments indicate that the method yields a marked improvement over existing techniques.

Evaluation of POE and instructor-led problem-solving approaches integrated into force and motion lecture classes using a model analysis technique

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakkapao, S.; Pengpan, T.; Srikeaw, S.; Prasitpong, S.

2014-01-01

This study aims to investigate the use of the predict-observe-explain (POE) approach integrated into large lecture classes on forces and motion. It is compared to the instructor-led problem-solving method using model analysis. The samples are science (SC, N = 420) and engineering (EN, N = 434) freshmen, from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand. Research findings from the force and motion conceptual evaluation indicate that the multimedia-supported POE method promotes students’ learning better than the problem-solving method, in particular for the velocity and acceleration concepts. There is a small shift of the students’ model states after the problem-solving instruction. Moreover, by using model analysis instructors are able to investigate students’ misconceptions and evaluate teaching methods. It benefits instructors in organizing subsequent instructional materials.

A splitting integration scheme for the SPH simulation of concentrated particle suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bian, Xin; Ellero, Marco

2014-01-01

Simulating nearly contacting solid particles in suspension is a challenging task due to the diverging behavior of short-range lubrication forces, which pose a serious time-step limitation for explicit integration schemes. This general difficulty limits severely the total duration of simulations of concentrated suspensions. Inspired by the ideas developed in [S. Litvinov, M. Ellero, X.Y. Hu, N.A. Adams, J. Comput. Phys. 229 (2010) 5457-5464] for the simulation of highly dissipative fluids, we propose in this work a splitting integration scheme for the direct simulation of solid particles suspended in a Newtonian liquid. The scheme separates the contributions of different forces acting on the solid particles. In particular, intermediate- and long-range multi-body hydrodynamic forces, which are computed from the discretization of the Navier-Stokes equations using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method, are taken into account using an explicit integration; for short-range lubrication forces, velocities of pairwise interacting solid particles are updated implicitly by sweeping over all the neighboring pairs iteratively, until convergence in the solution is obtained. By using the splitting integration, simulations can be run stably and efficiently up to very large solid particle concentrations. Moreover, the proposed scheme is not limited to the SPH method presented here, but can be easily applied to other simulation techniques employed for particulate suspensions.

Integrating viscoelastic mass spring dampers into position-based dynamics to simulate soft tissue deformation in real time

PubMed Central

Lu, Yuhua; Liu, Qian

2018-01-01

We propose a novel method to simulate soft tissue deformation for virtual surgery applications. The method considers the mechanical properties of soft tissue, such as its viscoelasticity, nonlinearity and incompressibility; its speed, stability and accuracy also meet the requirements for a surgery simulator. Modifying the traditional equation for mass spring dampers (MSD) introduces nonlinearity and viscoelasticity into the calculation of elastic force. Then, the elastic force is used in the constraint projection step for naturally reducing constraint potential. The node position is enforced by the combined spring force and constraint conservative force through Newton's second law. We conduct a comparison study of conventional MSD and position-based dynamics for our new integrating method. Our approach enables stable, fast and large step simulation by freely controlling visual effects based on nonlinearity, viscoelasticity and incompressibility. We implement a laparoscopic cholecystectomy simulator to demonstrate the practicality of our method, in which liver and gallbladder deformation can be simulated in real time. Our method is an appropriate choice for the development of real-time virtual surgery applications. PMID:29515870

Integrating viscoelastic mass spring dampers into position-based dynamics to simulate soft tissue deformation in real time.

PubMed

Xu, Lang; Lu, Yuhua; Liu, Qian

2018-02-01

We propose a novel method to simulate soft tissue deformation for virtual surgery applications. The method considers the mechanical properties of soft tissue, such as its viscoelasticity, nonlinearity and incompressibility; its speed, stability and accuracy also meet the requirements for a surgery simulator. Modifying the traditional equation for mass spring dampers (MSD) introduces nonlinearity and viscoelasticity into the calculation of elastic force. Then, the elastic force is used in the constraint projection step for naturally reducing constraint potential. The node position is enforced by the combined spring force and constraint conservative force through Newton's second law. We conduct a comparison study of conventional MSD and position-based dynamics for our new integrating method. Our approach enables stable, fast and large step simulation by freely controlling visual effects based on nonlinearity, viscoelasticity and incompressibility. We implement a laparoscopic cholecystectomy simulator to demonstrate the practicality of our method, in which liver and gallbladder deformation can be simulated in real time. Our method is an appropriate choice for the development of real-time virtual surgery applications.

Periodic Forced Response of Structures Having Three-Dimensional Frictional Constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

CHEN, J. J.; YANG, B. D.; MENQ, C. H.

2000-01-01

Many mechanical systems have moving components that are mutually constrained through frictional contacts. When subjected to cyclic excitations, a contact interface may undergo constant changes among sticks, slips and separations, which leads to very complex contact kinematics. In this paper, a 3-D friction contact model is employed to predict the periodic forced response of structures having 3-D frictional constraints. Analytical criteria based on this friction contact model are used to determine the transitions among sticks, slips and separations of the friction contact, and subsequently the constrained force which consists of the induced stick-slip friction force on the contact plane and the contact normal load. The resulting constrained force is often a periodic function and can be considered as a feedback force that influences the response of the constrained structures. By using the Multi-Harmonic Balance Method along with Fast Fourier Transform, the constrained force can be integrated with the receptance of the structures so as to calculate the forced response of the constrained structures. It results in a set of non-linear algebraic equations that can be solved iteratively to yield the relative motion as well as the constrained force at the friction contact. This method is used to predict the periodic response of a frictionally constrained 3-d.o.f. oscillator. The predicted results are compared with those of the direct time integration method so as to validate the proposed method. In addition, the effect of super-harmonic components on the resonant response and jump phenomenon is examined.

Optical trapping forces of a focused azimuthally polarized Bessel-Gaussian beam on a double-layered sphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, F. P.; Zhang, B.; Liu, Z. L.; Tang, Y.; Zhang, N.

2017-12-01

We calculate the trapping forces exerted by a highly focused Bessel-Gaussian beam on a double-layered sphere by means of vector diffraction integral, T-matrix method and Maxwell stress tensor integral. The Bessel-Gaussian beam is azimuthally polarized. Numerical results predicate that the double-layered sphere with air core can be stably trapped in three-dimensions. The trapping forces and efficiencies are dependent on the refraction index and size of the inner core. The trapping efficiency can be optimized by choosing the refraction indices of the inner core and outer layer. Our computational method can be easily modified for other laser beams and particles with arbitrary geometries and multilayers.

Calculation of the Maxwell stress tensor and the Poisson-Boltzmann force on a solvated molecular surface using hypersingular boundary integrals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Benzhuo; Cheng, Xiaolin; Hou, Tingjun; McCammon, J. Andrew

2005-08-01

The electrostatic interaction among molecules solvated in ionic solution is governed by the Poisson-Boltzmann equation (PBE). Here the hypersingular integral technique is used in a boundary element method (BEM) for the three-dimensional (3D) linear PBE to calculate the Maxwell stress tensor on the solvated molecular surface, and then the PB forces and torques can be obtained from the stress tensor. Compared with the variational method (also in a BEM frame) that we proposed recently, this method provides an even more efficient way to calculate the full intermolecular electrostatic interaction force, especially for macromolecular systems. Thus, it may be more suitable for the application of Brownian dynamics methods to study the dynamics of protein/protein docking as well as the assembly of large 3D architectures involving many diffusing subunits. The method has been tested on two simple cases to demonstrate its reliability and efficiency, and also compared with our previous variational method used in BEM.

Flight Dynamics of Flexible Aircraft with Aeroelastic and Inertial Force Interactions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Nhan T.; Tuzcu, Ilhan

2009-01-01

This paper presents an integrated flight dynamic modeling method for flexible aircraft that captures coupled physics effects due to inertial forces, aeroelasticity, and propulsive forces that are normally present in flight. The present approach formulates the coupled flight dynamics using a structural dynamic modeling method that describes the elasticity of a flexible, twisted, swept wing using an equivalent beam-rod model. The structural dynamic model allows for three types of wing elastic motion: flapwise bending, chordwise bending, and torsion. Inertial force coupling with the wing elasticity is formulated to account for aircraft acceleration. The structural deflections create an effective aeroelastic angle of attack that affects the rigid-body motion of flexible aircraft. The aeroelastic effect contributes to aerodynamic damping forces that can influence aerodynamic stability. For wing-mounted engines, wing flexibility can cause the propulsive forces and moments to couple with the wing elastic motion. The integrated flight dynamics for a flexible aircraft are formulated by including generalized coordinate variables associated with the aeroelastic-propulsive forces and moments in the standard state-space form for six degree-of-freedom flight dynamics. A computational structural model for a generic transport aircraft has been created. The eigenvalue analysis is performed to compute aeroelastic frequencies and aerodynamic damping. The results will be used to construct an integrated flight dynamic model of a flexible generic transport aircraft.

Tire Force Estimation using a Proportional Integral Observer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farhat, Ahmad; Koenig, Damien; Hernandez-Alcantara, Diana; Morales-Menendez, Ruben

2017-01-01

This paper addresses a method for detecting critical stability situations in the lateral vehicle dynamics by estimating the non-linear part of the tire forces. These forces indicate the road holding performance of the vehicle. The estimation method is based on a robust fault detection and estimation approach which minimize the disturbance and uncertainties to residual sensitivity. It consists in the design of a Proportional Integral Observer (PIO), while minimizing the well known H ∞ norm for the worst case uncertainties and disturbance attenuation, and combining a transient response specification. This multi-objective problem is formulated as a Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI) feasibility problem where a cost function subject to LMI constraints is minimized. This approach is employed to generate a set of switched robust observers for uncertain switched systems, where the convergence of the observer is ensured using a Multiple Lyapunov Function (MLF). Whilst the forces to be estimated can not be physically measured, a simulation scenario with CarSimTM is presented to illustrate the developed method.

A moving control volume approach to computing hydrodynamic forces and torques on immersed bodies

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

Nangia, Nishant; Johansen, Hans; Patankar, Neelesh A.

Here, we present a moving control volume (CV) approach to computing hydrodynamic forces and torques on complex geometries. The method requires surface and volumetric integrals over a simple and regular Cartesian box that moves with an arbitrary velocity to enclose the body at all times. The moving box is aligned with Cartesian grid faces, which makes the integral evaluation straightforward in an immersed boundary (IB) framework. Discontinuous and noisy derivatives of velocity and pressure at the fluid–structure interface are avoided and far-field (smooth) velo city and pressure information is used. We re-visit the approach to compute hydrodynamic forces and torquesmore » through force/torque balance equations in a Lagrangian frame that some of us took in a prior work (Bhalla et al., 2013 [13]). We prove the equivalence of the two approaches for IB methods, thanks to the use of Peskin's delta functions. Both approaches are able to suppress spurious force oscillations and are in excellent agreement, as expected theoretically. Test cases ranging from Stokes to high Reynolds number regimes are considered. We discuss regridding issues for the moving CV method in an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) context. The proposed moving CV method is not limited to a specific IB method and can also be used, for example, with embedded boundary methods.« less

A moving control volume approach to computing hydrodynamic forces and torques on immersed bodies

DOE PAGES

Nangia, Nishant; Johansen, Hans; Patankar, Neelesh A.; ...

2017-10-01

Here, we present a moving control volume (CV) approach to computing hydrodynamic forces and torques on complex geometries. The method requires surface and volumetric integrals over a simple and regular Cartesian box that moves with an arbitrary velocity to enclose the body at all times. The moving box is aligned with Cartesian grid faces, which makes the integral evaluation straightforward in an immersed boundary (IB) framework. Discontinuous and noisy derivatives of velocity and pressure at the fluid–structure interface are avoided and far-field (smooth) velo city and pressure information is used. We re-visit the approach to compute hydrodynamic forces and torquesmore » through force/torque balance equations in a Lagrangian frame that some of us took in a prior work (Bhalla et al., 2013 [13]). We prove the equivalence of the two approaches for IB methods, thanks to the use of Peskin's delta functions. Both approaches are able to suppress spurious force oscillations and are in excellent agreement, as expected theoretically. Test cases ranging from Stokes to high Reynolds number regimes are considered. We discuss regridding issues for the moving CV method in an adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) context. The proposed moving CV method is not limited to a specific IB method and can also be used, for example, with embedded boundary methods.« less

Full non-linear treatment of the global thermospheric wind system. I - Mathematical method and analysis of forces. II - Results and comparison with observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blum, P. W.; Harris, I.

1975-01-01

The equations of horizontal motion of the neutral atmosphere between 120 and 500 km are integrated with the inclusion of all nonlinear terms of the convective derivative and the viscous forces due to vertical and horizontal velocity gradients. Empirical models of the distribution of neutral and charged particles are assumed to be known. The model of velocities developed is a steady state model. In Part I the mathematical method used in the integration of the Navier-Stokes equations is described and the various forces are analyzed. Results of the method given in Part I are presented with comparison with previous calculations and observations of upper atmospheric winds. Conclusions are that nonlinear effects are only significant in the equatorial region, especially at solstice conditions and that nonlinear effects do not produce any superrotation.

Single-strain-gage force/stiffness buckling prediction techniques on a hat-stiffened panel

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hudson, Larry D.; Thompson, Randolph C.

1991-01-01

Predicting the buckling characteristics of a test panel is necessary to ensure panel integrity during a test program. A single-strain-gage buckling prediction method was developed on a hat-stiffened, monolithic titanium buckling panel. The method is an adaptation of the original force/stiffness method which requires back-to-back gages. The single-gage method was developed because the test panel did not have back-to-back gages. The method was used to predict buckling loads and temperatures under various heating and loading conditions. The results correlated well with a finite element buckling analysis. The single-gage force/stiffness method was a valid real-time and post-test buckling prediction technique.

External force/velocity control for an autonomous rehabilitation robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saekow, Peerayuth; Neranon, Paramin; Smithmaitrie, Pruittikorn

2018-01-01

Stroke is a primary cause of death and the leading cause of permanent disability in adults. There are many stroke survivors, who live with a variety of levels of disability and always need rehabilitation activities on daily basis. Several studies have reported that usage of rehabilitation robotic devices shows the better improvement outcomes in upper-limb stroke patients than the conventional therapy-nurses or therapists actively help patients with exercise-based rehabilitation. This research focuses on the development of an autonomous robotic trainer designed to guide a stroke patient through an upper-limb rehabilitation task. The robotic device was designed and developed to automate the reaching exercise as mentioned. The designed robotic system is made up of a four-wheel omni-directional mobile robot, an ATI Gamma multi-axis force/torque sensor used to measure contact force and a microcontroller real-time operating system. Proportional plus Integral control was adapted to control the overall performance and stability of the autonomous assistive robot. External force control was successfully implemented to establish the behavioral control strategy for the robot force and velocity control scheme. In summary, the experimental results indicated satisfactorily stable performance of the robot force and velocity control can be considered acceptable. The gain tuning for proportional integral (PI) velocity control algorithms was suitably estimated using the Ziegler-Nichols method in which the optimized proportional and integral gains are 0.45 and 0.11, respectively. Additionally, the PI external force control gains were experimentally tuned using the trial and error method based on a set of experiments which allow a human participant moves the robot along the constrained circular path whilst attempting to minimize the radial force. The performance was analyzed based on the root mean square error (E_RMS) of the radial forces, in which the lower the variation in radial forces, the better the performance of the system. The outstanding performance of the tests as specified by the E_RMS of the radial force was observed with proportional and integral gains of Kp = 0.7 and Ki = 0.75, respectively.

A general method for computing the total solar radiation force on complex spacecraft structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, F. K.

1981-01-01

The method circumvents many of the existing difficulties in computational logic presently encountered in the direct analytical or numerical evaluation of the appropriate surface integral. It may be applied to complex spacecraft structures for computing the total force arising from either specular or diffuse reflection or even from non-Lambertian reflection and re-radiation.

Application of the integral manifold method to the analysis of the spatial motion of a rigid body fixed to a cable

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zabolotnov, Yu. M.

2016-07-01

We analyze the spatial motion of a rigid body fixed to a cable about its center of mass when the orbital cable system is unrolling. The analysis is based on the integral manifold method, which permits separating the rigid body motion into the slow and fast components. The motion of the rigid body is studied in the case of slow variations in the cable tension force and under the action of various disturbances.We estimate the influence of the static and dynamic asymmetry of the rigid body on its spatial motion about the cable fixation point. An example of the analysis of the rigid body motion when the orbital cable system is unrolling is given for a special program of variations in the cable tension force. The conditions of applicability of the integral manifold method are analyzed.

FORCinel Version 3.0: An Integrated Environment for Processing, Analysis and Simulation of First-Order Reversal Curve Diagrams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lascu, I.; Harrison, R. J.

2016-12-01

First-order reversal curve (FORC) diagrams are a powerful method to characterise the hysteresis properties of magnetic grain ensembles. Methods of processing, analysis and simulation of FORC diagrams have developed rapidly over the past few years, dramatically expanding their utility within rock magnetic research. Here we announce the latest release of FORCinel (Version 3.0), which integrates many of these developments into a unified, user-friendly package running within Igor Pro (www.wavemetrics.com). FORCinel v. 3.0 can be downloaded from https://wserv4.esc.cam.ac.uk/nanopaleomag/. The release will be accompanied by a series of video tutorials outlining each of the new features, including: i) improved work flow, with unified smoothing approach; ii) increased processing speed using multiple processors; iii) control of output resolution, enabling large datasets (> 500 FORCs) to be smoothed in a matter of seconds; iv) load, process, analyse and average multiple FORC diagrams; v) load and process non-gridded data and data acquired on non-PMC systems; vi) improved method for exploring optimal smoothing parameters; vii) interactive and un-doable data-pretreatments; viii) automated detection and removal of measurement outliers; ix) improved interactive method for the generation and optimisation of colour scales; x) full integration with FORCem1 - supervised quantitative unmixing of FORC diagrams using principle component analysis (PCA); xi) full integration with FORCulator2 - micromagnetic simulation of FORC diagrams; xiii) simulate TRM acquisition using the kinetic Monte Carlo simulation algorithm of Shcherbakov3. 1. Lascu, I., Harrison, R.J., Li, Y., Muraszko, J.R., Channell, J.E.T., Piotrowski, A.M., Hodell, D.A., 2015. Magnetic unmixing of first-order reversal curve diagrams using principal component analysis. Geochemistry, Geophys. Geosystems 16, 2900-2915. 2. Harrison, R.J., Lascu, I., 2014. FORCulator: A micromagnetic tool for simulating first-order reversal curve diagrams. Geochemistry Geophys. Geosystems 15, 4671-4691. 3. Shcherbakov, V.P., Lamash, B.E., Sycheva, N.K., 1995. Monte-Carlo modelling of thermoremanence acquisition in interacting single-domain grains. Phys. Earth Planet. Inter. 87, 197-211.

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

Kalligiannaki, Evangelia, E-mail: ekalligian@tem.uoc.gr; Harmandaris, Vagelis, E-mail: harman@uoc.gr; Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics

Using the probabilistic language of conditional expectations, we reformulate the force matching method for coarse-graining of molecular systems as a projection onto spaces of coarse observables. A practical outcome of this probabilistic description is the link of the force matching method with thermodynamic integration. This connection provides a way to systematically construct a local mean force and to optimally approximate the potential of mean force through force matching. We introduce a generalized force matching condition for the local mean force in the sense that allows the approximation of the potential of mean force under both linear and non-linear coarse grainingmore » mappings (e.g., reaction coordinates, end-to-end length of chains). Furthermore, we study the equivalence of force matching with relative entropy minimization which we derive for general non-linear coarse graining maps. We present in detail the generalized force matching condition through applications to specific examples in molecular systems.« less

PIV-based estimation of unsteady loads on a flat plate at high angle of attack using momentum equation approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guissart, Amandine; Bernal, Luis; Dimitriadis, Gregorios; Terrapon, Vincent

2015-11-01

The direct measurement of loads with force balance can become challenging when the forces are small or when the body is moving. An alternative is the use of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) velocity fields to indirectly obtain the aerodynamic coefficients. This can be done by the use of control volume approaches which lead to the integration of velocities, and other fields deriving from them, on a contour surrounding the studied body and its supporting surface. This work exposes and discusses results obtained with two different methods: the direct use of the integral formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations and the so-called Noca's method. The latter is a reformulation of the integral Navier-Stokes equations in order to get rid of the pressure. Results obtained using the two methods are compared and the influence of different parameters is discussed. The methods are applied to PIV data obtained from water channel testing for the flow around a 16:1 plate. Two cases are considered: a static plate at high angle of attack and a large amplitude imposed pitching motion. Two-dimensional PIV velocity fields are used to compute the aerodynamic forces. Direct measurements of dynamic loads are also carried out in order to assess the quality of the indirectly calculated coefficients.

Optimizing Cubature for Efficient Integration of Subspace Deformations

PubMed Central

An, Steven S.; Kim, Theodore; James, Doug L.

2009-01-01

We propose an efficient scheme for evaluating nonlinear subspace forces (and Jacobians) associated with subspace deformations. The core problem we address is efficient integration of the subspace force density over the 3D spatial domain. Similar to Gaussian quadrature schemes that efficiently integrate functions that lie in particular polynomial subspaces, we propose cubature schemes (multi-dimensional quadrature) optimized for efficient integration of force densities associated with particular subspace deformations, particular materials, and particular geometric domains. We support generic subspace deformation kinematics, and nonlinear hyperelastic materials. For an r-dimensional deformation subspace with O(r) cubature points, our method is able to evaluate subspace forces at O(r2) cost. We also describe composite cubature rules for runtime error estimation. Results are provided for various subspace deformation models, several hyperelastic materials (St.Venant-Kirchhoff, Mooney-Rivlin, Arruda-Boyce), and multimodal (graphics, haptics, sound) applications. We show dramatically better efficiency than traditional Monte Carlo integration. CR Categories: I.6.8 [Simulation and Modeling]: Types of Simulation—Animation, I.3.5 [Computer Graphics]: Computational Geometry and Object Modeling—Physically based modeling G.1.4 [Mathematics of Computing]: Numerical Analysis—Quadrature and Numerical Differentiation PMID:19956777

The 'Arm Force Field' method to predict manual arm strength based on only hand location and force direction.

PubMed

La Delfa, Nicholas J; Potvin, Jim R

2017-03-01

This paper describes the development of a novel method (termed the 'Arm Force Field' or 'AFF') to predict manual arm strength (MAS) for a wide range of body orientations, hand locations and any force direction. This method used an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict the effects of hand location and force direction on MAS, and included a method to estimate the contribution of the arm's weight to the predicted strength. The AFF method predicted the MAS values very well (r 2  = 0.97, RMSD = 5.2 N, n = 456) and maintained good generalizability with external test data (r 2  = 0.842, RMSD = 13.1 N, n = 80). The AFF can be readily integrated within any DHM ergonomics software, and appears to be a more robust, reliable and valid method of estimating the strength capabilities of the arm, when compared to current approaches. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PDB-Dev: a Prototype System for Depositing Integrative/Hybrid Structural Models.

PubMed

Burley, Stephen K; Kurisu, Genji; Markley, John L; Nakamura, Haruki; Velankar, Sameer; Berman, Helen M; Sali, Andrej; Schwede, Torsten; Trewhella, Jill

2017-09-05

Burley et al. (leadership of the Worldwide PDB [wwPDB] Partnership [wwpdb.org] and the wwPDB Integrative/Hybrid Methods Task Force) announce public release of a prototype system for depositing integrative/hybrid structural models, PDB-Development (PDB-Dev; https://pdb-dev.wwpdb.org). Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

The general 2-D moments via integral transform method for acoustic radiation and scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, Jerry R.; Mirotznik, Mark S.

2004-05-01

The moments via integral transform method (MITM) is a technique to analytically reduce the 2-D method of moments (MoM) impedance double integrals into single integrals. By using a special integral representation of the Green's function, the impedance integral can be analytically simplified to a single integral in terms of transformed shape and weight functions. The reduced expression requires fewer computations and reduces the fill times of the MoM impedance matrix. Furthermore, the resulting integral is analytic for nearly arbitrary shape and weight function sets. The MITM technique is developed for mixed boundary conditions and predictions with basic shape and weight function sets are presented. Comparisons of accuracy and speed between MITM and brute force are presented. [Work sponsored by ONR and NSWCCD ILIR Board.

Better Than Counting: Density Profiles from Force Sampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de las Heras, Daniel; Schmidt, Matthias

2018-05-01

Calculating one-body density profiles in equilibrium via particle-based simulation methods involves counting of events of particle occurrences at (histogram-resolved) space points. Here, we investigate an alternative method based on a histogram of the local force density. Via an exact sum rule, the density profile is obtained with a simple spatial integration. The method circumvents the inherent ideal gas fluctuations. We have tested the method in Monte Carlo, Brownian dynamics, and molecular dynamics simulations. The results carry a statistical uncertainty smaller than that of the standard counting method, reducing therefore the computation time.

In-Situ-measurement of restraining forces during forming of rectangular cups

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singer, M.; Liewald, M.

2016-11-01

This contribution introduces a new method for evaluating the restraining forces during forming of rectangular cups with the goal of eliminating the disadvantages of the currently used scientifically established measurement procedures. With this method forming forces are measured indirectly by the elastic deformation of die structure caused by locally varying tribological system. Therefore, two sensors were integrated into the punch, which measure the restraining forces during the forming process. Furthermore, it was possible to evaluate the effects of different lubricants showing the time dependent trend as a function of stroke during the forming of the materials DP600 and DC04. A main advantage of this testing method is to get real friction corresponding data out of the physical deep drawing process as well as the measurement of real acting restraining forces at different areas of the deep drawing part by one single test. Measurement results gained by both sensors have been integrated into LS-Dyna simulation in which the coefficient of friction was regarded as a function of time. The simulated and deep drawn parts afterwards are analysed and compared to specific areas with regard to locally measured thickness of part. Results show an improvement of simulation quality when using locally varying, time dependent coefficients of friction compared to commonly used constant values.

Indirect boundary force measurements in beam-like structures using a derivative estimator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chesne, Simon

2014-12-01

This paper proposes a new method for the identification of boundary forces (shear force or bending moment) in a beam, based on displacement measurements. The problem is considered in terms of the determination of the boundary spatial derivatives of transverse displacements. By assuming the displacement fields to be approximated by Taylor expansions in a domain close to the boundaries, the spatial derivatives can be estimated using specific point-wise derivative estimators. This approach makes it possible to extract the derivatives using a weighted spatial integration of the displacement field. Following the theoretical description, numerical simulations made with exact and noisy data are used to determine the relationship between the size of the integration domain and the wavelength of the vibrations. The simulations also highlight the self-regularization of the technique. Experimental measurements demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method.

Detached Eddy Simulation Results for a Space Launch System Configuration at Liftoff Conditions and Comparison with Experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krist, Steven E.; Ghaffari, Farhad

2015-01-01

Computational simulations for a Space Launch System configuration at liftoff conditions for incidence angles from 0 to 90 degrees were conducted in order to generate integrated force and moment data and longitudinal lineloads. While the integrated force and moment coefficients can be obtained from wind tunnel testing, computational analyses are indispensable in obtaining the extensive amount of surface information required to generate proper lineloads. However, beyond an incidence angle of about 15 degrees, the effects of massive flow separation on the leeward pressure field is not well captured with state of the art Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes methods, necessitating the employment of a Detached Eddy Simulation method. Results from these simulations are compared to the liftoff force and moment database and surface pressure data derived from a test in the NASA Langley 14- by 22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel.

An integrated CFD/experimental analysis of aerodynamic forces and moments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Melton, John E.; Robertson, David D.; Moyer, Seth A.

1989-01-01

Aerodynamic analysis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is most fruitful when it is combined with a thorough program of wind tunnel testing. The understanding of aerodynamic phenomena is enhanced by the synergistic use of both analysis methods. A technique is described for an integrated approach to determining the forces and moments acting on a wind tunnel model by using a combination of experimentally measured pressures and CFD predictions. The CFD code used was FLO57 (an Euler solver) and the wind tunnel model was a heavily instrumented delta wing with 62.5 deg of leading-edge sweep. A thorough comparison of the CFD results and the experimental data is presented for surface pressure distributions and longitudinal forces and moments. The experimental pressures were also integrated over the surface of the model and the resulting forces and moments are compared to the CFD and wind tunnel results. The accurate determination of various drag increments via the combined use of the CFD and experimental pressures is presented in detail.

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization for Aeropropulsion Engines and Solid Modeling/Animation via the Integrated Forced Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

The grant closure report is organized in the following four chapters: Chapter describes the two research areas Design optimization and Solid mechanics. Ten journal publications are listed in the second chapter. Five highlights is the subject matter of chapter three. CHAPTER 1. The Design Optimization Test Bed CometBoards. CHAPTER 2. Solid Mechanics: Integrated Force Method of Analysis. CHAPTER 3. Five Highlights: Neural Network and Regression Methods Demonstrated in the Design Optimization of a Subsonic Aircraft. Neural Network and Regression Soft Model Extended for PX-300 Aircraft Engine. Engine with Regression and Neural Network Approximators Designed. Cascade Optimization Strategy with Neural network and Regression Approximations Demonstrated on a Preliminary Aircraft Engine Design. Neural Network and Regression Approximations Used in Aircraft Design.

Development and Testing of an Integrated Rotating Dynamometer Based on Fiber Bragg Grating for Four-Component Cutting Force Measurement

PubMed Central

Liu, Mingyao; Bing, Junjun; Xiao, Li; Yun, Kang; Wan, Liang

2018-01-01

Cutting force measurement is of great importance in machining processes. Hence, various methods of measuring the cutting force have been proposed by many researchers. In this work, a novel integrated rotating dynamometer based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was designed, constructed, and tested to measure four-component cutting force. The dynamometer consists of FBGs that are pasted on the newly designed elastic structure which is then mounted on the rotating spindle. The elastic structure is designed as two mutual-perpendicular semi-octagonal rings. The signals of the FBGs are transmitted to FBG interrogator via fiber optic rotary joints and optical fiber, and the wavelength values are displayed on a computer. In order to determine the static and dynamic characteristics, many tests have been done. The results show that it is suitable for measuring cutting force. PMID:29670062

Development and Testing of an Integrated Rotating Dynamometer Based on Fiber Bragg Grating for Four-Component Cutting Force Measurement.

PubMed

Liu, Mingyao; Bing, Junjun; Xiao, Li; Yun, Kang; Wan, Liang

2018-04-18

Cutting force measurement is of great importance in machining processes. Hence, various methods of measuring the cutting force have been proposed by many researchers. In this work, a novel integrated rotating dynamometer based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) was designed, constructed, and tested to measure four-component cutting force. The dynamometer consists of FBGs that are pasted on the newly designed elastic structure which is then mounted on the rotating spindle. The elastic structure is designed as two mutual-perpendicular semi-octagonal rings. The signals of the FBGs are transmitted to FBG interrogator via fiber optic rotary joints and optical fiber, and the wavelength values are displayed on a computer. In order to determine the static and dynamic characteristics, many tests have been done. The results show that it is suitable for measuring cutting force.

Force Evaluation in the Lattice Boltzmann Method Involving Curved Geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mei, Renwei; Yu, Dazhi; Shyy, Wei; Luo, Li-Shi; Bushnell, Dennis M. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

The present work investigates two approaches for force evaluation in the lattice Boltzmann equation: the momentum- exchange method and the stress-integration method on the surface of a body. The boundary condition for the particle distribution functions on curved geometries is handled with second order accuracy based on our recent works. The stress-integration method is computationally laborious for two-dimensional flows and in general difficult to implement for three-dimensional flows, while the momentum-exchange method is reliable, accurate, and easy to implement for both two-dimensional and three-dimensional flows. Several test cases are selected to evaluate the present methods, including: (i) two-dimensional pressure-driven channel flow; (ii) two-dimensional uniform flow past a column of cylinders; (iii) two-dimensional flow past a cylinder asymmetrically placed in a channel (with vortex shedding); (iv) three-dimensional pressure-driven flow in a circular pipe; and (v) three-dimensional flow past a sphere. The drag evaluated by using the momentum-exchange method agrees well with the exact or other published results.

Analysis of the status of pre-release cracks in prestressed concrete structures using long-gauge sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel-Jaber, H.; Glisic, B.

2015-02-01

Prestressed structures experience limited tensile stresses in concrete, which limits or completely eliminates the occurrence of cracks. However, in some cases, large tensile stresses can develop during the early age of the concrete due to thermal gradients and shrinkage effects. Such stresses can cause early-age cracks, termed ‘pre-release cracks’, which occur prior to the transfer of the prestressing force. When the prestressing force is applied to the cross-section, it is assumed that partial or full closure of the cracks occurs by virtue of the force transfer through the cracked cross-section. Verification of the closure of the cracks after the application of the prestressing force is important as it can either confirm continued structural integrity or indicate and approximate reduced structural capacity. Structural health monitoring (SHM) can be used for this purpose. This paper researches an SHM method that can be applied to prestressed beam structures to assess the condition of pre-release cracks. The sensor network used in this method consists of parallel long-gauge fiber optic strain sensors embedded in the concrete cross-sections at various locations. The same network is used for damage detection, i.e. detection and characterization of the pre-release cracks, and for monitoring the prestress force transfer. The method is validated on a real structure, a curved continuous girder. Results from the analysis confirm the safety and integrity of the structure. The method and its application are presented in this paper.

Fully printed flexible fingerprint-like three-axis tactile and slip force and temperature sensors for artificial skin.

PubMed

Harada, Shingo; Kanao, Kenichiro; Yamamoto, Yuki; Arie, Takayuki; Akita, Seiji; Takei, Kuniharu

2014-12-23

A three-axis tactile force sensor that determines the touch and slip/friction force may advance artificial skin and robotic applications by fully imitating human skin. The ability to detect slip/friction and tactile forces simultaneously allows unknown objects to be held in robotic applications. However, the functionalities of flexible devices have been limited to a tactile force in one direction due to difficulties fabricating devices on flexible substrates. Here we demonstrate a fully printed fingerprint-like three-axis tactile force and temperature sensor for artificial skin applications. To achieve economic macroscale devices, these sensors are fabricated and integrated using only printing methods. Strain engineering enables the strain distribution to be detected upon applying a slip/friction force. By reading the strain difference at four integrated force sensors for a pixel, both the tactile and slip/friction forces can be analyzed simultaneously. As a proof of concept, the high sensitivity and selectivity for both force and temperature are demonstrated using a 3×3 array artificial skin that senses tactile, slip/friction, and temperature. Multifunctional sensing components for a flexible device are important advances for both practical applications and basic research in flexible electronics.

A Computational and Experimental Study of Nonlinear Aspects of Induced Drag

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Stephen C.

1996-01-01

Despite the 80-year history of classical wing theory, considerable research has recently been directed toward planform and wake effects on induced drag. Nonlinear interactions between the trailing wake and the wing offer the possibility of reducing drag. The nonlinear effect of compressibility on induced drag characteristics may also influence wing design. This thesis deals with the prediction of these nonlinear aspects of induced drag and ways to exploit them. A potential benefit of only a few percent of the drag represents a large fuel savings for the world's commercial transport fleet. Computational methods must be applied carefully to obtain accurate induced drag predictions. Trefftz-plane drag integration is far more reliable than surface pressure integration, but is very sensitive to the accuracy of the force-free wake model. The practical use of Trefftz plane drag integration was extended to transonic flow with the Tranair full-potential code. The induced drag characteristics of a typical transport wing were studied with Tranair, a full-potential method, and A502, a high-order linear panel method to investigate changes in lift distribution and span efficiency due to compressibility. Modeling the force-free wake is a nonlinear problem, even when the flow governing equation is linear. A novel method was developed for computing the force-free wake shape. This hybrid wake-relaxation scheme couples the well-behaved nature of the discrete vortex wake with viscous-core modeling and the high-accuracy velocity prediction of the high-order panel method. The hybrid scheme produced converged wake shapes that allowed accurate Trefftz-plane integration. An unusual split-tip wing concept was studied for exploiting nonlinear wake interaction to reduced induced drag. This design exhibits significant nonlinear interactions between the wing and wake that produced a 12% reduction in induced drag compared to an equivalent elliptical wing at a lift coefficient of 0.7. The performance of the split-tip wing was also investigated by wing tunnel experiments. Induced drag was determined from force measurements by subtracting the estimated viscous drag, and from an analytical drag-decomposition method using a wake survey. The experimental results confirm the computational prediction.

Internal force corrections with machine learning for quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulations.

PubMed

Wu, Jingheng; Shen, Lin; Yang, Weitao

2017-10-28

Ab initio quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) molecular dynamics simulation is a useful tool to calculate thermodynamic properties such as potential of mean force for chemical reactions but intensely time consuming. In this paper, we developed a new method using the internal force correction for low-level semiempirical QM/MM molecular dynamics samplings with a predefined reaction coordinate. As a correction term, the internal force was predicted with a machine learning scheme, which provides a sophisticated force field, and added to the atomic forces on the reaction coordinate related atoms at each integration step. We applied this method to two reactions in aqueous solution and reproduced potentials of mean force at the ab initio QM/MM level. The saving in computational cost is about 2 orders of magnitude. The present work reveals great potentials for machine learning in QM/MM simulations to study complex chemical processes.

Error analysis regarding the calculation of nonlinear force-free field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, S.; Zhang, H. Q.; Su, J. T.

2012-02-01

Magnetic field extrapolation is an alternative method to study chromospheric and coronal magnetic fields. In this paper, two semi-analytical solutions of force-free fields (Low and Lou in Astrophys. J. 352:343, 1990) have been used to study the errors of nonlinear force-free (NLFF) fields based on force-free factor α. Three NLFF fields are extrapolated by approximate vertical integration (AVI) Song et al. (Astrophys. J. 649:1084, 2006), boundary integral equation (BIE) Yan and Sakurai (Sol. Phys. 195:89, 2000) and optimization (Opt.) Wiegelmann (Sol. Phys. 219:87, 2004) methods. Compared with the first semi-analytical field, it is found that the mean values of absolute relative standard deviations (RSD) of α along field lines are about 0.96-1.19, 0.63-1.07 and 0.43-0.72 for AVI, BIE and Opt. fields, respectively. While for the second semi-analytical field, they are about 0.80-1.02, 0.67-1.34 and 0.33-0.55 for AVI, BIE and Opt. fields, respectively. As for the analytical field, the calculation error of <| RSD|> is about 0.1˜0.2. It is also found that RSD does not apparently depend on the length of field line. These provide the basic estimation on the deviation of extrapolated field obtained by proposed methods from the real force-free field.

SELF-GRAVITATIONAL FORCE CALCULATION OF SECOND-ORDER ACCURACY FOR INFINITESIMALLY THIN GASEOUS DISKS IN POLAR COORDINATES

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

Wang, Hsiang-Hsu; Taam, Ronald E.; Yen, David C. C., E-mail: yen@math.fju.edu.tw

Investigating the evolution of disk galaxies and the dynamics of proto-stellar disks can involve the use of both a hydrodynamical and a Poisson solver. These systems are usually approximated as infinitesimally thin disks using two-dimensional Cartesian or polar coordinates. In Cartesian coordinates, the calculations of the hydrodynamics and self-gravitational forces are relatively straightforward for attaining second-order accuracy. However, in polar coordinates, a second-order calculation of self-gravitational forces is required for matching the second-order accuracy of hydrodynamical schemes. We present a direct algorithm for calculating self-gravitational forces with second-order accuracy without artificial boundary conditions. The Poisson integral in polar coordinates ismore » expressed in a convolution form and the corresponding numerical complexity is nearly linear using a fast Fourier transform. Examples with analytic solutions are used to verify that the truncated error of this algorithm is of second order. The kernel integral around the singularity is applied to modify the particle method. The use of a softening length is avoided and the accuracy of the particle method is significantly improved.« less

Compatibility Condition in Theory of Solid Mechanics (Elasticity, Structures, and Design Optimization)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Pai, Shantaram S.; Hopkins, Dale A.

2007-01-01

The strain formulation in elasticity and the compatibility condition in structural mechanics have neither been understood nor have they been utilized. This shortcoming prevented the formulation of a direct method to calculate stress. We have researched and understood the compatibility condition for linear problems in elasticity and in finite element analysis. This has lead to the completion of the method of force with stress (or stress resultant) as the primary unknown. The method in elasticity is referred to as the completed Beltrami-Michell formulation (CBMF), and it is the integrated force method (IFM) in structures. The dual integrated force method (IFMD) with displacement as the primary unknown has been formulated. IFM and IFMD produce identical responses. The variational derivation of the CBMF yielded the new boundary compatibility conditions. The CBMF can be used to solve stress, displacement, and mixed boundary value problems. The IFM in structures produced high-fidelity response even with a modest finite element model. The IFM has influenced structural design considerably. A fully utilized design method for strength and stiffness limitation has been developed. The singularity condition in optimization has been identified. The CBMF and IFM tensorial approaches are robust formulations because of simultaneous emphasis on the equilibrium equation and the compatibility condition.

Numerical study of radiometric forces via the direct solution of the Boltzmann kinetic equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anikin, Yu. A.

2011-07-01

The two-dimensional rarefied gas motion in a Crookes radiometer and the resulting radiometric forces are studied by numerically solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The collision integral is directly evaluated using a projection method, and second-order accurate TVD schemes are used to solve the advection equation. The radiometric forces are found as functions of the Knudsen number and the temperatures, and their spatial distribution is analyzed.

MANPRINT Methods Monograph: Aiding the Development of Manned System Performance Criteria

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-01

the need for the new system. It may be necessary co derive these requirements from combat models. By modeling the capabilities of the current force ...FORMAT The O&O Plan describes how a system will be integrated into the force structure, deployed, operated, and supported in peacetime and wartime...for evaluation during OT I. 9. MANPOWER/ FORCE STRUCTURE ASSESSMENT. Estimate manpower require- ments per system, using unit, and total Army by

Time-domain hybrid method for simulating large amplitude motions of ships advancing in waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Shukui; Papanikolaou, Apostolos D.

2011-03-01

Typical results obtained by a newly developed, nonlinear time domain hybrid method for simulating large amplitude motions of ships advancing with constant forward speed in waves are presented. The method is hybrid in the way of combining a time-domain transient Green function method and a Rankine source method. The present approach employs a simple double integration algorithm with respect to time to simulate the free-surface boundary condition. During the simulation, the diffraction and radiation forces are computed by pressure integration over the mean wetted surface, whereas the incident wave and hydrostatic restoring forces/moments are calculated on the instantaneously wetted surface of the hull. Typical numerical results of application of the method to the seakeeping performance of a standard containership, namely the ITTC S175, are herein presented. Comparisons have been made between the results from the present method, the frequency domain 3D panel method (NEWDRIFT) of NTUA-SDL and available experimental data and good agreement has been observed for all studied cases between the results of the present method and comparable other data.

Measurement of the torque on a single stretched and twisted DNA using magnetic tweezers.

PubMed

Mosconi, Francesco; Allemand, Jean François; Bensimon, David; Croquette, Vincent

2009-02-20

We deduced the torque applied on a single stretched and twisted DNA by integrating the change in the molecule's extension with respect to force as it is coiled. While consistent with previous direct measurements of the torque at high forces (F>1 pN), this method, which is simple and does not require a sophisticated setup, allows for lower force estimates. We used this approach to deduce the effective torsional modulus of DNA, which decreases with force, and to estimate the buckling torque of DNA as a function of force in various salt conditions.

A Comparison of Vertical Stiffness Values Calculated from Different Measures of Center of Mass Displacement in Single-Leg Hopping.

PubMed

Mudie, Kurt L; Gupta, Amitabh; Green, Simon; Hobara, Hiroaki; Clothier, Peter J

2017-02-01

This study assessed the agreement between K vert calculated from 4 different methods of estimating vertical displacement of the center of mass (COM) during single-leg hopping. Healthy participants (N = 38) completed a 10-s single-leg hopping effort on a force plate, with 3D motion of the lower limb, pelvis, and trunk captured. Derived variables were calculated for a total of 753 hop cycles using 4 methods, including: double integration of the vertical ground reaction force, law of falling bodies, a marker cluster on the sacrum, and a segmental analysis method. Bland-Altman plots demonstrated that K vert calculated using segmental analysis and double integration methods have a relatively small bias (0.93 kN⋅m -1 ) and 95% limits of agreement (-1.89 to 3.75 kN⋅m -1 ). In contrast, a greater bias was revealed between sacral marker cluster and segmental analysis (-2.32 kN⋅m -1 ), sacral marker cluster and double integration (-3.25 kN⋅m -1 ), and the law of falling bodies compared with all methods (17.26-20.52 kN⋅m -1 ). These findings suggest the segmental analysis and double integration methods can be used interchangeably for the calculation of K vert during single-leg hopping. The authors propose the segmental analysis method to be considered the gold standard for the calculation of K vert during single-leg, on-the-spot hopping.

Accuracy Test of the OPLS-AA Force Field for Calculating Free Energies of Mixing and Comparison with PAC-MAC

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

We have calculated the excess free energy of mixing of 1053 binary mixtures with the OPLS-AA force field using two different methods: thermodynamic integration (TI) of molecular dynamics simulations and the Pair Configuration to Molecular Activity Coefficient (PAC-MAC) method. PAC-MAC is a force field based quasi-chemical method for predicting miscibility properties of various binary mixtures. The TI calculations yield a root mean squared error (RMSE) compared to experimental data of 0.132 kBT (0.37 kJ/mol). PAC-MAC shows a RMSE of 0.151 kBT with a calculation speed being potentially 1.0 × 104 times greater than TI. OPLS-AA force field parameters are optimized using PAC-MAC based on vapor–liquid equilibrium data, instead of enthalpies of vaporization or densities. The RMSE of PAC-MAC is reduced to 0.099 kBT by optimizing 50 force field parameters. The resulting OPLS-PM force field has a comparable accuracy as the OPLS-AA force field in the calculation of mixing free energies using TI. PMID:28418655

Completed Beltrami-Michell formulation for analyzing mixed boundary value problems in elasticity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Kaljevic, Igor; Hopkins, Dale A.; Saigal, Sunil

1995-01-01

In elasticity, the method of forces, wherein stress parameters are considered as the primary unknowns, is known as the Beltrami-Michell formulation (BMF). The existing BMF can only solve stress boundary value problems; it cannot handle the more prevalent displacement of mixed boundary value problems of elasticity. Therefore, this formulation, which has restricted application, could not become a true alternative to the Navier's displacement method, which can solve all three types of boundary value problems. The restrictions in the BMF have been alleviated by augmenting the classical formulation with a novel set of conditions identified as the boundary compatibility conditions. This new method, which completes the classical force formulation, has been termed the completed Beltrami-Michell formulation (CBMF). The CBMF can solve general elasticity problems with stress, displacement, and mixed boundary conditions in terms of stresses as the primary unknowns. The CBMF is derived from the stationary condition of the variational functional of the integrated force method. In the CBMF, stresses for kinematically stable structures can be obtained without any reference to the displacements either in the field or on the boundary. This paper presents the CBMF and its derivation from the variational functional of the integrated force method. Several examples are presented to demonstrate the applicability of the completed formulation for analyzing mixed boundary value problems under thermomechanical loads. Selected example problems include a cylindrical shell wherein membrane and bending responses are coupled, and a composite circular plate.

Discovering the Future of the Case Study Method in Evaluation Research.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yin, Robert K.

1994-01-01

It is assumed that evaluators of the future will still be interested in case study methodology. Scenarios that ignore a case study method, that look back to a distinctive case study method, and that see the case study method as an integrating force in the qualitative-quantitative debate are explored. (SLD)

Recommendations for diagnosing effective radiative forcing from climate models for CMIP6

DOE PAGES

Forster, Piers M.; Richardson, Thomas; Maycock, Amanda C.; ...

2016-10-27

The usefulness of previous Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) exercises has been hampered by a lack of radiative forcing information. This has made it difficult to understand reasons for differences between model responses. Effective radiative forcing (ERF) is easier to diagnose than traditional radiative forcing in global climate models (GCMs) and is more representative of the eventual temperature response. Here we examine the different methods of computing ERF in two GCMs. We find that ERF computed from a fixed sea surface temperature (SST) method (ERF_fSST) has much more certainty than regression based methods. Thirty year integrations are sufficient to reducemore » the 5–95% confidence interval in global ERF_fSST to 0.1Wm ~2. For 2xCO2 ERF, 30 year integrations are needed to ensure that the signal is larger than the local confidence interval over more than 90% of the globe. Within the ERF_fSST method there are various options for prescribing SSTs and sea ice. We explore these and find that ERF is only weakly dependent on the methodological choices. Prescribing the monthly averaged seasonally varying model’s preindustrial climatology is recommended for its smaller random error and easier implementation. As part of CMIP6, the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP) asks models to conduct 30 year ERF_fSST experiments using the model’s own preindustrial climatology of SST and sea ice. The Aerosol and Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP) will also mainly use this approach. Lastly, we propose this as a standard method for diagnosing ERF and recommend that it be used across the climate modeling community to aid future comparisons.« less

Recommendations for diagnosing effective radiative forcing from climate models for CMIP6

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

Forster, Piers M.; Richardson, Thomas; Maycock, Amanda C.

The usefulness of previous Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) exercises has been hampered by a lack of radiative forcing information. This has made it difficult to understand reasons for differences between model responses. Effective radiative forcing (ERF) is easier to diagnose than traditional radiative forcing in global climate models (GCMs) and is more representative of the eventual temperature response. Here we examine the different methods of computing ERF in two GCMs. We find that ERF computed from a fixed sea surface temperature (SST) method (ERF_fSST) has much more certainty than regression based methods. Thirty year integrations are sufficient to reducemore » the 5–95% confidence interval in global ERF_fSST to 0.1Wm ~2. For 2xCO2 ERF, 30 year integrations are needed to ensure that the signal is larger than the local confidence interval over more than 90% of the globe. Within the ERF_fSST method there are various options for prescribing SSTs and sea ice. We explore these and find that ERF is only weakly dependent on the methodological choices. Prescribing the monthly averaged seasonally varying model’s preindustrial climatology is recommended for its smaller random error and easier implementation. As part of CMIP6, the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP) asks models to conduct 30 year ERF_fSST experiments using the model’s own preindustrial climatology of SST and sea ice. The Aerosol and Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP) will also mainly use this approach. Lastly, we propose this as a standard method for diagnosing ERF and recommend that it be used across the climate modeling community to aid future comparisons.« less

Recommendations for diagnosing effective radiative forcing from climate models for CMIP6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, C. J.; Forster, P.; Richardson, T.; Myhre, G.; Pincus, R.

2016-12-01

The usefulness of previous Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) exercises has been hampered by a lack of radiative forcing information. This has made it difficult to understand reasons for differences between model responses. Effective radiative forcing (ERF) is easier to diagnose than traditional radiative forcing in global climate models (GCMs) and is more representative of the ultimate climate response. Here we examine the different methods of computing ERF in two GCMs. We find that ERF computed from a fixed sea-surface temperature (SST) method (ERF_fSST) has much more certainty than regression-based methods. Thirty-year integrations are sufficient to reduce the standard error in global ERF to 0.05 Wm-2. For 2xCO2 ERF, 30 year integrations are needed to ensure that the signal is larger than the standard error over more than 90% of the globe. Within the ERF_fSST method there are various options for prescribing SSTs and sea-ice. We explore these and find that ERF is only weakly dependent on the methodological choices. Prescribing the monthly-averaged seasonally varying model's preindustrial climatology is recommended for its smaller random error and easier implementation. As part of CMIP6, the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP) asks models to conduct 30-year ERF_fSST experiments using the model's own preindustrial climatology of SST and sea-ice. The Aerosol and Chemistry Model intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP) will also mainly use this approach. We propose this as a standard method for diagnosing ERF in models and recommend that it be used across the climate modeling community to aid future comparisons.

Recommendations for diagnosing effective radiative forcing from climate models for CMIP6

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forster, Piers M.; Richardson, Thomas; Maycock, Amanda C.; Smith, Christopher J.; Samset, Bjorn H.; Myhre, Gunnar; Andrews, Timothy; Pincus, Robert; Schulz, Michael

2016-10-01

The usefulness of previous Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) exercises has been hampered by a lack of radiative forcing information. This has made it difficult to understand reasons for differences between model responses. Effective radiative forcing (ERF) is easier to diagnose than traditional radiative forcing in global climate models (GCMs) and is more representative of the eventual temperature response. Here we examine the different methods of computing ERF in two GCMs. We find that ERF computed from a fixed sea surface temperature (SST) method (ERF_fSST) has much more certainty than regression based methods. Thirty year integrations are sufficient to reduce the 5-95% confidence interval in global ERF_fSST to 0.1 W m-2. For 2xCO2 ERF, 30 year integrations are needed to ensure that the signal is larger than the local confidence interval over more than 90% of the globe. Within the ERF_fSST method there are various options for prescribing SSTs and sea ice. We explore these and find that ERF is only weakly dependent on the methodological choices. Prescribing the monthly averaged seasonally varying model's preindustrial climatology is recommended for its smaller random error and easier implementation. As part of CMIP6, the Radiative Forcing Model Intercomparison Project (RFMIP) asks models to conduct 30 year ERF_fSST experiments using the model's own preindustrial climatology of SST and sea ice. The Aerosol and Chemistry Model Intercomparison Project (AerChemMIP) will also mainly use this approach. We propose this as a standard method for diagnosing ERF and recommend that it be used across the climate modeling community to aid future comparisons.

An Efficient Algorithm for Perturbed Orbit Integration Combining Analytical Continuation and Modified Chebyshev Picard Iteration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elgohary, T.; Kim, D.; Turner, J.; Junkins, J.

2014-09-01

Several methods exist for integrating the motion in high order gravity fields. Some recent methods use an approximate starting orbit, and an efficient method is needed for generating warm starts that account for specific low order gravity approximations. By introducing two scalar Lagrange-like invariants and employing Leibniz product rule, the perturbed motion is integrated by a novel recursive formulation. The Lagrange-like invariants allow exact arbitrary order time derivatives. Restricting attention to the perturbations due to the zonal harmonics J2 through J6, we illustrate an idea. The recursively generated vector-valued time derivatives for the trajectory are used to develop a continuation series-based solution for propagating position and velocity. Numerical comparisons indicate performance improvements of ~ 70X over existing explicit Runge-Kutta methods while maintaining mm accuracy for the orbit predictions. The Modified Chebyshev Picard Iteration (MCPI) is an iterative path approximation method to solve nonlinear ordinary differential equations. The MCPI utilizes Picard iteration with orthogonal Chebyshev polynomial basis functions to recursively update the states. The key advantages of the MCPI are as follows: 1) Large segments of a trajectory can be approximated by evaluating the forcing function at multiple nodes along the current approximation during each iteration. 2) It can readily handle general gravity perturbations as well as non-conservative forces. 3) Parallel applications are possible. The Picard sequence converges to the solution over large time intervals when the forces are continuous and differentiable. According to the accuracy of the starting solutions, however, the MCPI may require significant number of iterations and function evaluations compared to other integrators. In this work, we provide an efficient methodology to establish good starting solutions from the continuation series method; this warm start improves the performance of the MCPI significantly and will likely be useful for other applications where efficiently computed approximate orbit solutions are needed.

Mixed Methods Approach to Identify Factors and the Extent to Which They Influence Medical/Surgical Prime Vendor Use

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-27

2009). Choosing the Right Type of Rotation in PCA and EFA. JALT Testing & Evaluation Newsletter , 13 (3), 20-25. 102 Bryman , A . (2006). Integrating...FORCE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A . APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE...official policy or position of the United States Air Force, Department of Defense, or the United States government. This material is declared a work of

Robust H∞ cost guaranteed integral sliding mode control for the synchronization problem of nonlinear tele-operation system with variable time-delay.

PubMed

Al-Wais, Saba; Khoo, Suiyang; Lee, Tae Hee; Shanmugam, Lakshmanan; Nahavandi, Saeid

2018-01-01

This paper is devoted to the synchronization problem of tele-operation systems with time-varying delay, disturbances, and uncertainty. Delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the existence of integral sliding surfaces are given in the form of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). This guarantees the global stability of the tele-operation system with known upper bounds of the time-varying delays. Unlike previous work, in this paper, the controller gains are designed but not chosen, which increases the degree of freedom of the design. Moreover, Wirtinger based integral inequality and reciprocally convex combination techniques used in the constructed Lypunove-Krasoviskii Functional (LKF) are deemed to give less conservative stability condition for the system. Furthermore, to relax the analysis from any assumptions regarding the dynamics of the environment and human operator forces, H ∞ design method is used to involve the dynamics of these forces and ensure the stability of the system against these admissible forces in the H ∞ sense. This design scheme combines the strong robustness of the sliding mode control with the H ∞ design method for tele-operation systems which is coupled using state feedback controllers and inherit variable time-delays in their communication channels. Simulation examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method. Copyright © 2017 ISA. All rights reserved.

Dynamic, mechanical integration between nucleus and cell- where physics meets biology.

PubMed

Dickinson, Richard B; Neelam, Srujana; Lele, Tanmay P

2015-01-01

Nuclear motions like rotation, translation and deformation suggest that the nucleus is acted upon by mechanical forces. Molecular linkages with the cytoskeleton are thought to transfer forces to the nuclear surface. We developed an approach to apply reproducible, known mechanical forces to the nucleus in spread adherent cells and quantified the elastic response of the mechanically integrated nucleus-cell. The method is sensitive to molecular perturbations and revealed new insight into the function of the LINC complex. While these experiments revealed elastic behaviors, turnover of the cytoskeleton by assembly/disassembly and binding/unbinding of linkages are expected to dissipate any stored mechanical energy in the nucleus or the cytoskeleton. Experiments investigating nuclear forces over longer time scales demonstrated the mechanical principle that expansive/compressive stresses on the nuclear surface arise from the movement of the cell boundaries to shape and position the nucleus. Such forces can shape the nucleus to conform to cell shapes during cell movements with or without myosin activity.

Dynamic, mechanical integration between nucleus and cell- where physics meets biology

PubMed Central

Dickinson, Richard B; Neelam, Srujana; Lele, Tanmay P

2015-01-01

Nuclear motions like rotation, translation and deformation suggest that the nucleus is acted upon by mechanical forces. Molecular linkages with the cytoskeleton are thought to transfer forces to the nuclear surface. We developed an approach to apply reproducible, known mechanical forces to the nucleus in spread adherent cells and quantified the elastic response of the mechanically integrated nucleus-cell. The method is sensitive to molecular perturbations and revealed new insight into the function of the LINC complex. While these experiments revealed elastic behaviors, turnover of the cytoskeleton by assembly/disassembly and binding/unbinding of linkages are expected to dissipate any stored mechanical energy in the nucleus or the cytoskeleton. Experiments investigating nuclear forces over longer time scales demonstrated the mechanical principle that expansive/compressive stresses on the nuclear surface arise from the movement of the cell boundaries to shape and position the nucleus. Such forces can shape the nucleus to conform to cell shapes during cell movements with or without myosin activity. PMID:26338356

Method and apparatus for adaptive force and position control of manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Seraji, Homayoun (Inventor)

1989-01-01

The present invention discloses systematic methods and apparatus for the design of real time controllers. Real-time control employs adaptive force/position by use of feedforward and feedback controllers, with the feedforward controller being the inverse of the linearized model of robot dynamics and containing only proportional-double-derivative terms is disclosed. The feedback controller, of the proportional-integral-derivative type, ensures that manipulator joints follow reference trajectories and the feedback controller achieves robust tracking of step-plus-exponential trajectories, all in real time. The adaptive controller includes adaptive force and position control within a hybrid control architecture. The adaptive controller, for force control, achieves tracking of desired force setpoints, and the adaptive position controller accomplishes tracking of desired position trajectories. Circuits in the adaptive feedback and feedforward controllers are varied by adaptation laws.

BFPTool: a software tool for analysis of Biomembrane Force Probe experiments.

PubMed

Šmít, Daniel; Fouquet, Coralie; Doulazmi, Mohamed; Pincet, Frédéric; Trembleau, Alain; Zapotocky, Martin

2017-01-01

The Biomembrane Force Probe is an approachable experimental technique commonly used for single-molecule force spectroscopy and experiments on biological interfaces. The technique operates in the range of forces from 0.1 pN to 1000 pN. Experiments are typically repeated many times, conditions are often not optimal, the captured video can be unstable and lose focus; this makes efficient analysis challenging, while out-of-the-box non-proprietary solutions are not freely available. This dedicated tool was developed to integrate and simplify the image processing and analysis of videomicroscopy recordings from BFP experiments. A novel processing feature, allowing the tracking of the pipette, was incorporated to address a limitation of preceding methods. Emphasis was placed on versatility and comprehensible user interface implemented in a graphical form. An integrated analytical tool was implemented to provide a faster, simpler and more convenient way to process and analyse BFP experiments.

Environmental Assessment for Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Integrated Experiments Division Office Space at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-01

AIR FORCE RESEARCH LABORATORY SPACE VEHICLES INTEGRATED EXPERMENTS DIVISION OFFICE SPACE AT KIRTLAND AIR FORCE ... Kirtland Air Force Base (KAFB). The office building would house the Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Integrated Experiments Division...ADDRESS(ES) Air Force Research Laboratory ,Space Vehicles Directorate,3550 Aberdeen Ave. SE, Kirtland

A method for the on-site determination of prestressing forces using long-gauge fiber optic strain sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abdel-Jaber, H.; Glisic, B.

2014-07-01

Structural health monitoring (SHM) consists of the continuous or periodic measurement of structural parameters and their analysis with the aim of deducing information about the performance and health condition of a structure. The significant increase in the construction of prestressed concrete bridges motivated this research on an SHM method for the on-site determination of the distribution of prestressing forces along prestressed concrete beam structures. The estimation of the distribution of forces is important as it can give information regarding the overall performance and structural integrity of the bridge. An inadequate transfer of the designed prestressing forces to the concrete cross-section can lead to a reduced capacity of the bridge and consequently malfunction or failure at lower loads than predicted by design. This paper researches a universal method for the determination of the distribution of prestressing forces along concrete beam structures at the time of transfer of the prestressing force (e.g., at the time of prestressing or post-tensioning). The method is based on the use of long-gauge fiber optic sensors, and the sensor network is similar (practically identical) to the one used for damage identification. The method encompasses the determination of prestressing forces at both healthy and cracked cross-sections, and for the latter it can yield information about the condition of the cracks. The method is validated on-site by comparison to design forces through the application to two structures: (1) a deck-stiffened arch and (2) a curved continuous girder. The uncertainty in the determination of prestressing forces was calculated and the comparison with the design forces has shown very good agreement in most of the structures’ cross-sections, but also helped identify some unusual behaviors. The method and its validation are presented in this paper.

Thermodynamic properties of liquid Au–Cu–Sn alloys determined from electromotive force measurements

PubMed Central

Guo, Zhongnan; Hindler, Michael; Yuan, Wenxia; Mikula, Adolf

2011-01-01

The thermodynamic properties of the ternary Au–Cu–Sn system were determined with the electromotive force (EMF) method using a liquid electrolyte. Three different cross-sections with constant Au:Cu ratios of 3:1, 1:1, and 1:3 were applied to measure the thermodynamic properties of the ternary system in the temperature range between the liquidus temperature of the alloys and 1023 K. The partial free energies of Sn in liquid Au–Cu–Sn alloys were obtained from EMF data. The integral Gibbs free energy and the integral enthalpy at 900 K were calculated by Gibbs–Duhem integration. The ternary interaction parameters were evaluated using the Redlich–Kister–Muggianu polynomial. PMID:22039311

Level set method for image segmentation based on moment competition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Min, Hai; Wang, Xiao-Feng; Huang, De-Shuang; Jin, Jing; Wang, Hong-Zhi; Li, Hai

2015-05-01

We propose a level set method for image segmentation which introduces the moment competition and weakly supervised information into the energy functional construction. Different from the region-based level set methods which use force competition, the moment competition is adopted to drive the contour evolution. Here, a so-called three-point labeling scheme is proposed to manually label three independent points (weakly supervised information) on the image. Then the intensity differences between the three points and the unlabeled pixels are used to construct the force arms for each image pixel. The corresponding force is generated from the global statistical information of a region-based method and weighted by the force arm. As a result, the moment can be constructed and incorporated into the energy functional to drive the evolving contour to approach the object boundary. In our method, the force arm can take full advantage of the three-point labeling scheme to constrain the moment competition. Additionally, the global statistical information and weakly supervised information are successfully integrated, which makes the proposed method more robust than traditional methods for initial contour placement and parameter setting. Experimental results with performance analysis also show the superiority of the proposed method on segmenting different types of complicated images, such as noisy images, three-phase images, images with intensity inhomogeneity, and texture images.

Study of the stretching force of the needle‧s thread in the work with woollen textiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andonova, Snezhina; Rahnev, Ivelin

2017-10-01

The presented paper deals with examining the thread tension force while working with woolen textile materials. The thread’s tension force is a main characteristic of a quality stitch. Its analysis and definition is characterized by the creation of a computer-integrated measuring system to determine the thread’s tension force. A statistical method (double-factor disperse analysis) is used to analyze and evaluate the fact how the factors: • F1 - surface mass of processed woolen textile materials, • F2 -the number of layers on the thread‧s influence the deviation from the maximal value of the thread’s tension force.

Unorthodox theoretical methods

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

Nedd, Sean

2012-01-01

The use of the ReaxFF force field to correlate with NMR mobilities of amine catalytic substituents on a mesoporous silica nanosphere surface is considered. The interfacing of the ReaxFF force field within the Surface Integrated Molecular Orbital/Molecular Mechanics (SIMOMM) method, in order to replicate earlier SIMOMM published data and to compare with the ReaxFF data, is discussed. The development of a new correlation consistent Composite Approach (ccCA) is presented, which incorporates the completely renormalized coupled cluster method with singles, doubles and non-iterative triples corrections towards the determination of heats of formations and reaction pathways which contain biradical species.

An accurate real-time model of maglev planar motor based on compound Simpson numerical integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kou, Baoquan; Xing, Feng; Zhang, Lu; Zhou, Yiheng; Liu, Jiaqi

2017-05-01

To realize the high-speed and precise control of the maglev planar motor, a more accurate real-time electromagnetic model, which considers the influence of the coil corners, is proposed in this paper. Three coordinate systems for the stator, mover and corner coil are established. The coil is divided into two segments, the straight coil segment and the corner coil segment, in order to obtain a complete electromagnetic model. When only take the first harmonic of the flux density distribution of a Halbach magnet array into account, the integration method can be carried out towards the two segments according to Lorenz force law. The force and torque analysis formula of the straight coil segment can be derived directly from Newton-Leibniz formula, however, this is not applicable to the corner coil segment. Therefore, Compound Simpson numerical integration method is proposed in this paper to solve the corner segment. With the validation of simulation and experiment, the proposed model has high accuracy and can realize practical application easily.

Force estimation from OCT volumes using 3D CNNs.

PubMed

Gessert, Nils; Beringhoff, Jens; Otte, Christoph; Schlaefer, Alexander

2018-07-01

Estimating the interaction forces of instruments and tissue is of interest, particularly to provide haptic feedback during robot-assisted minimally invasive interventions. Different approaches based on external and integrated force sensors have been proposed. These are hampered by friction, sensor size, and sterilizability. We investigate a novel approach to estimate the force vector directly from optical coherence tomography image volumes. We introduce a novel Siamese 3D CNN architecture. The network takes an undeformed reference volume and a deformed sample volume as an input and outputs the three components of the force vector. We employ a deep residual architecture with bottlenecks for increased efficiency. We compare the Siamese approach to methods using difference volumes and two-dimensional projections. Data were generated using a robotic setup to obtain ground-truth force vectors for silicon tissue phantoms as well as porcine tissue. Our method achieves a mean average error of [Formula: see text] when estimating the force vector. Our novel Siamese 3D CNN architecture outperforms single-path methods that achieve a mean average error of [Formula: see text]. Moreover, the use of volume data leads to significantly higher performance compared to processing only surface information which achieves a mean average error of [Formula: see text]. Based on the tissue dataset, our methods shows good generalization in between different subjects. We propose a novel image-based force estimation method using optical coherence tomography. We illustrate that capturing the deformation of subsurface structures substantially improves force estimation. Our approach can provide accurate force estimates in surgical setups when using intraoperative optical coherence tomography.

Localization and force analysis at the single virus particle level using atomic force microscopy

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

Liu, Chih-Hao; Horng, Jim-Tong; Chang, Jeng-Shian

2012-01-06

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Localization of single virus particle. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Force measurements. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Force mapping. -- Abstract: Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is a vital instrument in nanobiotechnology. In this study, we developed a method that enables AFM to simultaneously measure specific unbinding force and map the viral glycoprotein at the single virus particle level. The average diameter of virus particles from AFM images and the specificity between the viral surface antigen and antibody probe were integrated to design a three-stage method that sets the measuring area to a single virus particle before obtaining the force measurements, where the influenza virus was usedmore » as the object of measurements. Based on the purposed method and performed analysis, several findings can be derived from the results. The mean unbinding force of a single virus particle can be quantified, and no significant difference exists in this value among virus particles. Furthermore, the repeatability of the proposed method is demonstrated. The force mapping images reveal that the distributions of surface viral antigens recognized by antibody probe were dispersed on the whole surface of individual virus particles under the proposed method and experimental criteria; meanwhile, the binding probabilities are similar among particles. This approach can be easily applied to most AFM systems without specific components or configurations. These results help understand the force-based analysis at the single virus particle level, and therefore, can reinforce the capability of AFM to investigate a specific type of viral surface protein and its distributions.« less

Measurement of Giardia lamblia adhesion force using an integrated microfluidic assay.

PubMed

Lu, Ling; Zheng, Guo-Xia; Yang, Yu-Suo; Feng, Cheng-Yu; Liu, Fang-Fang; Wang, Yun-Hua

2017-02-01

The mechanisms how Giardias attach to the intestinal epithelium remain unclear. None of the methods currently being used to measure the attachment force could provide a continuous nutrition supply and a micro-aerobic atmosphere to the Giardia. Besides, they are all labor-intensive. In the present research, a microfluidic method based on electric circuit analogy was developed. The input fluid flowed through the inlet channel with different lengths and was distributed in four assay chambers. Shear force gradients were generated in chambers, too. This allowed an easy control of fluids and the shear forces. Most importantly, the shear stress large enough to detach Giardia could be generated in laminar flow regime. Moreover, analysis could be accomplished in one single test. By applying inlet flow rates of 30, 60, and 120 μL ml -1 , shear force gradients ranging from 19.47 to 60.50 Pa were generated. The adhesion forces of trophozoites were analyzed and the EC 50 of the force that caused 50% trophozoites detachment was calculated as 36.60 Pa. This paper presents a novel method for measurement of Giardia adhesion force. Graphical Abstract Measurement of Giardia adhesion force. Various of flow rates were applied to generate different shear forces and Giardia trophozoites remaining attached were counted (a-c). The percentages of attachment vs shear stress were plotted and the EC 50 of adhesion force was calculated (d).

Scattering of SH wave by a semi-cylindrical salient near vertical interface in the bi-material half space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Hui; Zhang, Xi-meng

2017-10-01

With the aid of the Green function method and image method, the problem of scattering of SH-wave by a semi-cylindrical salient near vertical interface in bi-material half-space is considered to obtain its steady state response. Firstly, by the means of the image method, Green function which is the essential solution of displacement field is constructed to satisfy the stress-free condition on the horizontal boundary in a right-angle space including a semi-cylindrical salient and bearing a harmonic out-of-plane line source force at any point on the vertical boundary. Secondly, the bi-material is separated into two parts along the vertical interface, then unknown anti-plane forces are applied on the vertical interface, and according to the continuity condition, the first kind of Fredholm integral equations is established to determine unknown anti-plane forces by "the conjunction method", then the integral equations are reduced to the linear algebraic equations by effective truncation. Finally, the dynamic stress concentration factor (DSCF) around the edge of semi-cylindrical salient is calculated, and the influences of incident wave number, incident angle, effect of interface and different combination of material parameters, etc. on DSCF are discussed.

Curriculum Advancement for Work Force Colleges: The Nicolet College Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bass, Howard G. Sam

The rapid growth since the 1980s of the use of total quality workforce methods in U.S. companies has contributed to the movement for integrating academic and vocational/technical education. This integration seeks to improve the intellectual capabilities of students through applied and contextual learning and thus make them more capable of adapting…

Force Limiting Vibration Tests Evaluated from both Ground Acoustic Tests and FEM Simulations of a Flight Like Vehicle System Assembly

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Andrew; LaVerde, Bruce; Waldon, James; Hunt, Ron

2014-01-01

Marshall Space Flight Center has conducted a series of ground acoustic tests with the dual goals of informing analytical judgment, and validating analytical methods when estimating vibroacoustic responses of launch vehicle subsystems. The process of repeatedly correlating finite element-simulated responses with test-measured responses has assisted in the development of best practices for modeling and post-processing. In recent work, force transducers were integrated to measure interface forces at the base of avionics box equipment. Other force data was indirectly measured using strain gauges. The combination of these direct and indirect force measurements has been used to support and illustrate the advantages of implementing the Force Limiting approach for equipment qualification tests. The comparison of force response from integrated system level tests to measurements at the same locations during component level vibration tests provides an excellent illustration. A second comparison of the measured response cases from the system level acoustic tests to finite element simulations has also produced some principles for assessing the suitability of Finite Element Models (FEMs) for making vibroacoustics estimates. The results indicate that when FEM models are employed to guide force limiting choices, they should include sufficient detail to represent the apparent mass of the system in the frequency range of interest.

Integrated Force Method for Indeterminate Structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hopkins, Dale A.; Halford, Gary R.; Patnaik, Surya N.

2008-01-01

Two methods of solving indeterminate structural-mechanics problems have been developed as products of research on the theory of strain compatibility. In these methods, stresses are considered to be the primary unknowns (in contrast to strains and displacements being considered as the primary unknowns in some prior methods). One of these methods, denoted the integrated force method (IFM), makes it possible to compute stresses, strains, and displacements with high fidelity by use of modest finite-element models that entail relatively small amounts of computation. The other method, denoted the completed Beltrami Mitchell formulation (CBMF), enables direct determination of stresses in an elastic continuum with general boundary conditions, without the need to first calculate displacements as in traditional methods. The equilibrium equation, the compatibility condition, and the material law are the three fundamental concepts of the theory of structures. For almost 150 years, it has been commonly supposed that the theory is complete. However, until now, the understanding of the compatibility condition remained incomplete, and the compatibility condition was confused with the continuity condition. Furthermore, the compatibility condition as applied to structures in its previous incomplete form was inconsistent with the strain formulation in elasticity.

Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System (AFIPPS)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-03-01

2016 Major Automated Information System Annual Report Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System (AFIPPS) Defense Acquisition Management...DSN Fax: 665-1207 Date Assigned: February 1, 2016 Program Information Program Name Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System (AFIPPS) DoD...therefore, no Original Estimate has been established. AFIPPS 2016 MAR UNCLASSIFIED 4 Program Description Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay

Low temperature ablation models made by pressure/vacuum application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, M. C.; Heier, W. C.

1970-01-01

Method developed employs high pressure combined with strong vacuum force to compact ablation models into desired conical shape. Technique eliminates vapor hazard and results in high material density providing excellent structural integrity.

Hybrid quantum and classical methods for computing kinetic isotope effects of chemical reactions in solutions and in enzymes.

PubMed

Gao, Jiali; Major, Dan T; Fan, Yao; Lin, Yen-Lin; Ma, Shuhua; Wong, Kin-Yiu

2008-01-01

A method for incorporating quantum mechanics into enzyme kinetics modeling is presented. Three aspects are emphasized: 1) combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical methods are used to represent the potential energy surface for modeling bond forming and breaking processes, 2) instantaneous normal mode analyses are used to incorporate quantum vibrational free energies to the classical potential of mean force, and 3) multidimensional tunneling methods are used to estimate quantum effects on the reaction coordinate motion. Centroid path integral simulations are described to make quantum corrections to the classical potential of mean force. In this method, the nuclear quantum vibrational and tunneling contributions are not separable. An integrated centroid path integral-free energy perturbation and umbrella sampling (PI-FEP/UM) method along with a bisection sampling procedure was summarized, which provides an accurate, easily convergent method for computing kinetic isotope effects for chemical reactions in solution and in enzymes. In the ensemble-averaged variational transition state theory with multidimensional tunneling (EA-VTST/MT), these three aspects of quantum mechanical effects can be individually treated, providing useful insights into the mechanism of enzymatic reactions. These methods are illustrated by applications to a model process in the gas phase, the decarboxylation reaction of N-methyl picolinate in water, and the proton abstraction and reprotonation process catalyzed by alanine racemase. These examples show that the incorporation of quantum mechanical effects is essential for enzyme kinetics simulations.

Visualization and analysis of vortex-turbine intersections in wind farms.

PubMed

Shafii, Sohail; Obermaier, Herald; Linn, Rodman; Koo, Eunmo; Hlawitschka, Mario; Garth, Christoph; Hamann, Bernd; Joy, Kenneth I

2013-09-01

Characterizing the interplay between the vortices and forces acting on a wind turbine's blades in a qualitative and quantitative way holds the potential for significantly improving large wind turbine design. This paper introduces an integrated pipeline for highly effective wind and force field analysis and visualization. We extract vortices induced by a turbine's rotation in a wind field, and characterize vortices in conjunction with numerically simulated forces on the blade surfaces as these vortices strike another turbine's blades downstream. The scientifically relevant issue to be studied is the relationship between the extracted, approximate locations on the blades where vortices strike the blades and the forces that exist in those locations. This integrated approach is used to detect and analyze turbulent flow that causes local impact on the wind turbine blade structure. The results that we present are based on analyzing the wind and force field data sets generated by numerical simulations, and allow domain scientists to relate vortex-blade interactions with power output loss in turbines and turbine life expectancy. Our methods have the potential to improve turbine design to save costs related to turbine operation and maintenance.

Low-rank canonical-tensor decomposition of potential energy surfaces: application to grid-based diagrammatic vibrational Green's function theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Prashant; Sargsyan, Khachik; Najm, Habib; Hermes, Matthew R.; Hirata, So

2017-09-01

A new method is proposed for a fast evaluation of high-dimensional integrals of potential energy surfaces (PES) that arise in many areas of quantum dynamics. It decomposes a PES into a canonical low-rank tensor format, reducing its integral into a relatively short sum of products of low-dimensional integrals. The decomposition is achieved by the alternating least squares (ALS) algorithm, requiring only a small number of single-point energy evaluations. Therefore, it eradicates a force-constant evaluation as the hotspot of many quantum dynamics simulations and also possibly lifts the curse of dimensionality. This general method is applied to the anharmonic vibrational zero-point and transition energy calculations of molecules using the second-order diagrammatic vibrational many-body Green's function (XVH2) theory with a harmonic-approximation reference. In this application, high dimensional PES and Green's functions are both subjected to a low-rank decomposition. Evaluating the molecular integrals over a low-rank PES and Green's functions as sums of low-dimensional integrals using the Gauss-Hermite quadrature, this canonical-tensor-decomposition-based XVH2 (CT-XVH2) achieves an accuracy of 0.1 cm-1 or higher and nearly an order of magnitude speedup as compared with the original algorithm using force constants for water and formaldehyde.

Transient Intervals of Hyper-Gravity Enhance Endothelial Barrier Integrity: Impact of Mechanical and Gravitational Forces Measured Electrically

PubMed Central

Szulcek, Robert; van Bezu, Jan; Boonstra, Johannes; van Loon, Jack J. W. A.; van Nieuw Amerongen, Geerten P.

2015-01-01

Background Endothelial cells (EC) guard vascular functions by forming a dynamic barrier throughout the vascular system that sensitively adapts to ‘classical’ biomechanical forces, such as fluid shear stress and hydrostatic pressure. Alterations in gravitational forces might similarly affect EC integrity, but remain insufficiently studied. Methods In an unique approach, we utilized Electric Cell-substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) in the gravity-simulators at the European Space Agency (ESA) to study dynamic responses of human EC to simulated micro- and hyper-gravity as well as to classical forces. Results Short intervals of micro- or hyper-gravity evoked distinct endothelial responses. Stimulated micro-gravity led to decreased endothelial barrier integrity, whereas hyper-gravity caused sustained barrier enhancement by rapid improvement of cell-cell integrity, evidenced by a significant junctional accumulation of VE-cadherin (p = 0.011), significant enforcement of peripheral F-actin (p = 0.008) and accompanied by a slower enhancement of cell-matrix interactions. The hyper-gravity triggered EC responses were force dependent and nitric-oxide (NO) mediated showing a maximal resistance increase of 29.2±4.8 ohms at 2g and 60.9±6.2 ohms at 4g vs. baseline values that was significantly suppressed by NO blockage (p = 0.011). Conclusion In conclusion, short-term application of hyper-gravity caused a sustained improvement of endothelial barrier integrity, whereas simulated micro-gravity weakened the endothelium. In clear contrast, classical forces of shear stress and hydrostatic pressure induced either short-lived or no changes to the EC barrier. Here, ECIS has proven a powerful tool to characterize subtle and distinct EC gravity-responses due to its high temporal resolution, wherefore ECIS has a great potential for the study of gravity-responses such as in real space flights providing quantitative assessment of a variety of cell biological characteristics of any adherent growing cell type in an automated and continuous fashion. PMID:26637177

An adhesive contact mechanics formulation based on atomistically induced surface traction

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

Fan, Houfu; Ren, Bo; Li, Shaofan, E-mail: shaofan@berkeley.edu

2015-12-01

In this work, we have developed a novel multiscale computational contact formulation based on the generalized Derjuguin approximation for continua that are characterized by atomistically enriched constitutive relations in order to study macroscopic interaction between arbitrarily shaped deformable continua. The proposed adhesive contact formulation makes use of the microscopic interaction forces between individual particles in the interacting bodies. In particular, the double-layer volume integral describing the contact interaction (energy, force vector, matrix) is converted into a double-layer surface integral through a mathematically consistent approach that employs the divergence theorem and a special partitioning technique. The proposed contact model is formulatedmore » in the nonlinear continuum mechanics framework and implemented using the standard finite element method. With no large penalty constant, the stiffness matrix of the system will in general be well-conditioned, which is of great significance for quasi-static analysis. Three numerical examples are presented to illustrate the capability of the proposed method. Results indicate that with the same mesh configuration, the finite element computation based on the surface integral approach is faster and more accurate than the volume integral based approach. In addition, the proposed approach is energy preserving even in a very long dynamic simulation.« less

A Simplified Model for the Optical Force exerted on a Vertically Oriented Cilium by an Optical Trap and the Resulting Deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lofgren, Ian; Resnick, Andrew

2014-03-01

Eukaryotic cilia are essentially whiplike structures extending from the cell body. Although their existence has been long known, their mechanical and functional properties are poorly understood. Optical traps are a non-contact method of applying a localized force to microscopic objects and an ideal tool for the study of ciliary mechanics. Starting with the discrete dipole approximation, a common means of calculating the optical force on an object that is not spherical, we tackle the problem of the optical force on a cilium. Treating the cilium as a homogeneous nonmagnetic cylinder and the electric field of the laser beam as linearly polarized results in a force applied in the direction of polarization. The force density in the polarization direction is derived from the force on an individual dipole within the cilium, which can be integrated over the volume of the cilium in order to find the total force. Utilizing Euler-Bernoulli beam theory, we integrate the force density over a cross section of the cilium and numerically solve a fourth order differential equation to obtain the final deformation of the cilium. This prediction will later be compared with experimental results to infer the mechanical stiffness of the cilium. Support from the National Institutes of Health, 1R15DK092716 is gratefully acknowledged.

Force feedback in a piezoelectric linear actuator for neurosurgery.

PubMed

De Lorenzo, Danilo; De Momi, Elena; Dyagilev, Ilya; Manganelli, Rudy; Formaglio, Alessandro; Prattichizzo, Domenico; Shoham, Moshe; Ferrigno, Giancarlo

2011-09-01

Force feedback in robotic minimally invasive surgery allows the human operator to manipulate tissues as if his/her hands were in contact with the patient organs. A force sensor mounted on the probe raises problems with sterilization of the overall surgical tool. Also, the use of off-axis gauges introduces a moment that increases the friction force on the bearing, which can easily mask off the signal, given the small force to be measured. This work aims at designing and testing two methods for estimating the resistance to the advancement (force) experienced by a standard probe for brain biopsies within a brain-like material. The further goal is to provide a neurosurgeon using a master-slave tele-operated driver with direct feedback on the tissue mechanical characteristics. Two possible sensing methods, in-axis strain gauge force sensor and position-position error (control-based method), were implemented and tested, both aimed at device miniaturization. The analysis carried out was aimed at fulfilment of the psychophysics requirements for force detection and delay tolerance, also taking into account safety, which is directly related to the last two issues. Controller parameters definition is addressed and consideration is given to development of the device with integration of a haptic interface. Results show better performance of the control-based method (RMSE < 0.1 N), which is also best for reliability, sterilizability, and material dimensions for the application addressed. The control-based method developed for force estimation is compatible with the neurosurgical application and is also capable of measuring tissue resistance without any additional sensors. Force feedback in minimally invasive surgery allows the human operator to manipulate tissues as if his/her hands were in contact with the patient organs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fusion of intraoperative force sensoring, surface reconstruction and biomechanical modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Röhl, S.; Bodenstedt, S.; Küderle, C.; Suwelack, S.; Kenngott, H.; Müller-Stich, B. P.; Dillmann, R.; Speidel, S.

2012-02-01

Minimally invasive surgery is medically complex and can heavily benefit from computer assistance. One way to help the surgeon is to integrate preoperative planning data into the surgical workflow. This information can be represented as a customized preoperative model of the surgical site. To use it intraoperatively, it has to be updated during the intervention due to the constantly changing environment. Hence, intraoperative sensor data has to be acquired and registered with the preoperative model. Haptic information which could complement the visual sensor data is still not established. In addition, biomechanical modeling of the surgical site can help in reflecting the changes which cannot be captured by intraoperative sensors. We present a setting where a force sensor is integrated into a laparoscopic instrument. In a test scenario using a silicone liver phantom, we register the measured forces with a reconstructed surface model from stereo endoscopic images and a finite element model. The endoscope, the instrument and the liver phantom are tracked with a Polaris optical tracking system. By fusing this information, we can transfer the deformation onto the finite element model. The purpose of this setting is to demonstrate the principles needed and the methods developed for intraoperative sensor data fusion. One emphasis lies on the calibration of the force sensor with the instrument and first experiments with soft tissue. We also present our solution and first results concerning the integration of the force sensor as well as accuracy to the fusion of force measurements, surface reconstruction and biomechanical modeling.

Large-Scale Fabrication of Carbon Nanotube Probe Tips For Atomic Force Microscopy Critical Dimension Imaging Applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ye, Qi Laura; Cassell, Alan M.; Stevens, Ramsey M.; Meyyappan, Meyya; Li, Jun; Han, Jie; Liu, Hongbing; Chao, Gordon

2004-01-01

Carbon nanotube (CNT) probe tips for atomic force microscopy (AFM) offer several advantages over Si/Si3N4 probe tips, including improved resolution, shape, and mechanical properties. This viewgraph presentation discusses these advantages, and the drawbacks of existing methods for fabricating CNT probe tips for AFM. The presentation introduces a bottom up wafer scale fabrication method for CNT probe tips which integrates catalyst nanopatterning and nanomaterials synthesis with traditional silicon cantilever microfabrication technology. This method makes mass production of CNT AFM probe tips feasible, and can be applied to the fabrication of other nanodevices with CNT elements.

In vivo recording of aerodynamic force with an aerodynamic force platform: from drones to birds.

PubMed

Lentink, David; Haselsteiner, Andreas F; Ingersoll, Rivers

2015-03-06

Flapping wings enable flying animals and biomimetic robots to generate elevated aerodynamic forces. Measurements that demonstrate this capability are based on experiments with tethered robots and animals, and indirect force calculations based on measured kinematics or airflow during free flight. Remarkably, there exists no method to measure these forces directly during free flight. Such in vivo recordings in freely behaving animals are essential to better understand the precise aerodynamic function of their flapping wings, in particular during the downstroke versus upstroke. Here, we demonstrate a new aerodynamic force platform (AFP) for non-intrusive aerodynamic force measurement in freely flying animals and robots. The platform encloses the animal or object that generates fluid force with a physical control surface, which mechanically integrates the net aerodynamic force that is transferred to the earth. Using a straightforward analytical solution of the Navier-Stokes equation, we verified that the method is accurate. We subsequently validated the method with a quadcopter that is suspended in the AFP and generates unsteady thrust profiles. These independent measurements confirm that the AFP is indeed accurate. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the AFP by studying aerodynamic weight support of a freely flying bird in vivo. These measurements confirm earlier findings based on kinematics and flow measurements, which suggest that the avian downstroke, not the upstroke, is primarily responsible for body weight support during take-off and landing.

Deriving the Work Done by an Inverse Square Force in Non-Calculus-Based Introductory Physics Courses

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hu, Ben Yu-Kuang

2012-01-01

I describe a method of evaluating the integral of 1/r[superscript 2] with respect to r that uses only algebra and the concept of area underneath a curve, and which does not formally employ any calculus. This is useful for algebra-based introductory physics classes (where the use of calculus is forbidden) to derive the work done by the force of one…

Quantum theory of multiscale coarse-graining.

PubMed

Han, Yining; Jin, Jaehyeok; Wagner, Jacob W; Voth, Gregory A

2018-03-14

Coarse-grained (CG) models serve as a powerful tool to simulate molecular systems at much longer temporal and spatial scales. Previously, CG models and methods have been built upon classical statistical mechanics. The present paper develops a theory and numerical methodology for coarse-graining in quantum statistical mechanics, by generalizing the multiscale coarse-graining (MS-CG) method to quantum Boltzmann statistics. A rigorous derivation of the sufficient thermodynamic consistency condition is first presented via imaginary time Feynman path integrals. It identifies the optimal choice of CG action functional and effective quantum CG (qCG) force field to generate a quantum MS-CG (qMS-CG) description of the equilibrium system that is consistent with the quantum fine-grained model projected onto the CG variables. A variational principle then provides a class of algorithms for optimally approximating the qMS-CG force fields. Specifically, a variational method based on force matching, which was also adopted in the classical MS-CG theory, is generalized to quantum Boltzmann statistics. The qMS-CG numerical algorithms and practical issues in implementing this variational minimization procedure are also discussed. Then, two numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the method. Finally, as an alternative strategy, a quasi-classical approximation for the thermal density matrix expressed in the CG variables is derived. This approach provides an interesting physical picture for coarse-graining in quantum Boltzmann statistical mechanics in which the consistency with the quantum particle delocalization is obviously manifest, and it opens up an avenue for using path integral centroid-based effective classical force fields in a coarse-graining methodology.

Assessing implicit models for nonpolar mean solvation forces: The importance of dispersion and volume terms

PubMed Central

Wagoner, Jason A.; Baker, Nathan A.

2006-01-01

Continuum solvation models provide appealing alternatives to explicit solvent methods because of their ability to reproduce solvation effects while alleviating the need for expensive sampling. Our previous work has demonstrated that Poisson-Boltzmann methods are capable of faithfully reproducing polar explicit solvent forces for dilute protein systems; however, the popular solvent-accessible surface area model was shown to be incapable of accurately describing nonpolar solvation forces at atomic-length scales. Therefore, alternate continuum methods are needed to reproduce nonpolar interactions at the atomic scale. In the present work, we address this issue by supplementing the solvent-accessible surface area model with additional volume and dispersion integral terms suggested by scaled particle models and Weeks–Chandler–Andersen theory, respectively. This more complete nonpolar implicit solvent model shows very good agreement with explicit solvent results and suggests that, although often overlooked, the inclusion of appropriate dispersion and volume terms are essential for an accurate implicit solvent description of atomic-scale nonpolar forces. PMID:16709675

Identification of impact force acting on composite laminated plates using the radiated sound measured with microphones

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Atobe, Satoshi; Nonami, Shunsuke; Hu, Ning; Fukunaga, Hisao

2017-09-01

Foreign object impact events are serious threats to composite laminates because impact damage leads to significant degradation of the mechanical properties of the structure. Identification of the location and force history of the impact that was applied to the structure can provide useful information for assessing the structural integrity. This study proposes a method for identifying impact forces acting on CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastic) laminated plates on the basis of the sound radiated from the impacted structure. Identification of the impact location and force history is performed using the sound pressure measured with microphones. To devise a method for identifying the impact location from the difference in the arrival times of the sound wave detected with the microphones, the propagation path of the sound wave from the impacted point to the sensor is examined. For the identification of the force history, an experimentally constructed transfer matrix is employed to relate the force history to the corresponding sound pressure. To verify the validity of the proposed method, impact tests are conducted by using a CFRP cross-ply laminate as the specimen, and an impulse hammer as the impactor. The experimental results confirm the validity of the present method for identifying the impact location from the arrival time of the sound wave detected with the microphones. Moreover, the results of force history identification show the feasibility of identifying the force history accurately from the measured sound pressure using the experimental transfer matrix.

Compatibility Conditions of Structural Mechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Coroneos, Rula M.; Hopkins, Dale A.

1999-01-01

The theory of elasticity has camouflaged a deficiency in the compatibility formulation since 1860. In structures the ad hoc compatibility conditions through virtual "cuts" and closing "gaps" are not parallel to the strain formulation in elasticity. This deficiency in the compatibility conditions has prevented the development of a direct stress determination method in structures and in elasticity. We have addressed this deficiency and attempted to unify the theory of compatibility. This work has led to the development of the integrated force method for structures and the completed Beltrami-Michell formulation for elasticity. The improved accuracy observed in the solution of numerical examples by the integrated force method can be attributed to the compliance of the compatibility conditions. Using the compatibility conditions allows mapping of variables and facile movement among different structural analysis formulations. This paper reviews and illustrates the requirement of compatibility in structures and in elasticity. It also describes the generation of the conditions and quantifies the benefits of their use. The traditional analysis methods and available solutions (which have been obtained bypassing the missed conditions) should be verified for compliance of the compatibility conditions.

On deriving the Maxwell stress tensor method for calculating the optical force and torque on an object in harmonic electromagnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Qian; Lin, Haoze

2017-07-01

Though extensively used in calculating optical force and torque acting on a material object illuminated by laser, the Maxwell stress tensor (MST) method follows the electromagnetic linear and angular momentum balance that is usually derived in most textbooks for a continuous volume charge distribution in free space, if not resorting to the application of Noether’s theorem in electrodynamics. To cast the conservation laws into a physically appealing form involving the current densities of linear and angular momentum, on which the MST method is based, the divergence theorem is employed to transform a volume integral into a surface integral. When a material object of finite volume is put into the field, it brings about a discontinuity of field across its surface, due to the presence of induced surface charge and surface current. Ambiguity arises among students in whether the divergence theorem can still be directly used without any justification. By taking into account the effect of the induced surface charge and current, we present a simple pedagogical derivation for the MST method for calculating the optical force and torque on an object immersed in monochromatic optical field, without resorting to Noether’s theorem. Although the results turn out to be identical to those given in the standard textbooks, our derivation avoids the direct use of the divergence theorem on a discontinuous function.

Implicit integration methods for dislocation dynamics

DOE PAGES

Gardner, D. J.; Woodward, C. S.; Reynolds, D. R.; ...

2015-01-20

In dislocation dynamics simulations, strain hardening simulations require integrating stiff systems of ordinary differential equations in time with expensive force calculations, discontinuous topological events, and rapidly changing problem size. Current solvers in use often result in small time steps and long simulation times. Faster solvers may help dislocation dynamics simulations accumulate plastic strains at strain rates comparable to experimental observations. Here, this paper investigates the viability of high order implicit time integrators and robust nonlinear solvers to reduce simulation run times while maintaining the accuracy of the computed solution. In particular, implicit Runge-Kutta time integrators are explored as a waymore » of providing greater accuracy over a larger time step than is typically done with the standard second-order trapezoidal method. In addition, both accelerated fixed point and Newton's method are investigated to provide fast and effective solves for the nonlinear systems that must be resolved within each time step. Results show that integrators of third order are the most effective, while accelerated fixed point and Newton's method both improve solver performance over the standard fixed point method used for the solution of the nonlinear systems.« less

Novel Door-opening Method for Six-legged Robots Based on Only Force Sensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhi-Jun; Gao, Feng; Pan, Yang

2017-09-01

Current door-opening methods are mainly developed on tracked, wheeled and biped robots by applying multi-DOF manipulators and vision systems. However, door-opening methods for six-legged robots are seldom studied, especially using 0-DOF tools to operate and only force sensing to detect. A novel door-opening method for six-legged robots is developed and implemented to the six-parallel-legged robot. The kinematic model of the six-parallel-legged robot is established and the model of measuring the positional relationship between the robot and the door is proposed. The measurement model is completely based on only force sensing. The real-time trajectory planning method and the control strategy are designed. The trajectory planning method allows the maximum angle between the sagittal axis of the robot body and the normal line of the door plane to be 45º. A 0-DOF tool mounted to the robot body is applied to operate. By integrating with the body, the tool has 6 DOFs and enough workspace to operate. The loose grasp achieved by the tool helps release the inner force in the tool. Experiments are carried out to validate the method. The results show that the method is effective and robust in opening doors wider than 1 m. This paper proposes a novel door-opening method for six-legged robots, which notably uses a 0-DOF tool and only force sensing to detect and open the door.

Precise computer controlled positioning of robot end effectors using force sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shieh, L. S.; Mcinnis, B. C.; Wang, J. C.

1988-01-01

A thorough study of combined position/force control using sensory feedback for a one-dimensional manipulator model, which may count for the spacecraft docking problem or be extended to the multi-joint robot manipulator problem, was performed. The additional degree of freedom introduced by the compliant force sensor is included in the system dynamics in the design of precise position control. State feedback based on the pole placement method and with integral control is used to design the position controller. A simple constant gain force controller is used as an example to illustrate the dependence of the stability and steady-state accuracy of the overall position/force control upon the design of the inner position controller. Supportive simulation results are also provided.

Clutter elimination for deep clinical optoacoustic imaging using localised vibration tagging (LOVIT)☆

PubMed Central

Jaeger, Michael; Bamber, Jeffrey C.; Frenz, Martin

2013-01-01

This paper investigates a novel method which allows clutter elimination in deep optoacoustic imaging. Clutter significantly limits imaging depth in clinical optoacoustic imaging, when irradiation optics and ultrasound detector are integrated in a handheld probe for flexible imaging of the human body. Strong optoacoustic transients generated at the irradiation site obscure weak signals from deep inside the tissue, either directly by propagating towards the probe, or via acoustic scattering. In this study we demonstrate that signals of interest can be distinguished from clutter by tagging them at the place of origin with localised tissue vibration induced by the acoustic radiation force in a focused ultrasonic beam. We show phantom results where this technique allowed almost full clutter elimination and thus strongly improved contrast for deep imaging. Localised vibration tagging by means of acoustic radiation force is especially promising for integration into ultrasound systems that already have implemented radiation force elastography. PMID:25302147

Flow and Force Equations for a Body Revolving in a Fluid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zahm, A. F.

1979-01-01

A general method for finding the steady flow velocity relative to a body in plane curvilinear motion, whence the pressure is found by Bernoulli's energy principle is described. Integration of the pressure supplies basic formulas for the zonal forces and moments on the revolving body. The application of the steady flow method for calculating the velocity and pressure at all points of the flow inside and outside an ellipsoid and some of its limiting forms is presented and graphs those quantities for the latter forms. In some useful cases experimental pressures are plotted for comparison with theoretical. The pressure, and thence the zonal force and moment, on hulls in plane curvilinear flight are calculated. General equations for the resultant fluid forces and moments on trisymmetrical bodies moving through a perfect fluid are derived. Formulas for potential coefficients and inertia coefficients for an ellipsoid and its limiting forms are presented.

Ephemeral penalty functions for contact-impact dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De La Fuente, Horacio M.; Felippa, Carlos A.

1991-01-01

The use of penalty functions to treat a class of structural contact-impact problems is investigated, with emphasis on ones in which the impact phenomena are primarily nondestructive in nature and in which only the gross characterization of the response is required. The dynamic equations of motion are integrated by the difference method. The penalty is represented as an ephemeral fictitious nonlinear spring that is inserted on anticipation of contact. The magnitude and variation of the penalty force is determined through energy balancing considerations. The 'bell shape' of the penalty force function for positive gap was found to be satisfactory, as it depends on only two parameters that can be directly assigned the physical meaning of force and distance. The determination of force law parameters by energy balance worked well. The incorporation of restitution coefficients by the area balancing method yielded excellent results, and no substantial modifications are anticipated. Extensional penalty springs are obviously sufficient for the simple examples treated.

Determination of the dynamical behaviour of biological materials during impact using a pendulum device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Zeebroeck, M.; Tijskens, E.; Van Liedekerke, P.; Deli, V.; De Baerdemaeker, J.; Ramon, H.

2003-09-01

A pendulum device has been developed to measure contact force, displacement and displacement rate of an impactor during its impact on the sample. Displacement, classically measured by double integration of an accelerometer, was determined in an alternative way using a more accurate incremental optical encoder. The parameters of the Kuwabara-Kono contact force model for impact of spheres have been estimated using an optimization method, taking the experimentally measured displacement, displacement rate and contact force into account. The accuracy of the method was verified using a rubber ball. Contact force parameters for the Kuwabara-Kono model have been estimated with success for three biological materials, i.e., apples, tomatoes and potatoes. The variability in the parameter estimations for the biological materials was quite high and can be explained by geometric differences (radius of curvature) and by biological variation of mechanical tissue properties.

Recent and Future Enhancements in NDI for Aircraft Structures (Postprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-11-01

driven life management to a damage tolerance approach similar to the current USAF method to ensure the integrity of metallic structure . Much of this...Service Inspection Flaw Assumptions for Metallic Structures , Air Force Structures Bulletin, 23 May 2013. [9] Forsyth, D.S., et.al., “The Air Force...AFRL-RX-WP-JA-2016-0028 RECENT AND FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS IN NDI FOR AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES (POSTPRINT) Eric A. Lindgren, John Brausch, and

Dynamic analysis of nonlinear rotor-housing systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noah, Sherif T.

1988-01-01

Nonlinear analysis methods are developed which will enable the reliable prediction of the dynamic behavior of the space shuttle main engine (SSME) turbopumps in the presence of bearing clearances and other local nonlinearities. A computationally efficient convolution method, based on discretized Duhamel and transition matrix integral formulations, is developed for the transient analysis. In the formulation, the coupling forces due to the nonlinearities are treated as external forces acting on the coupled subsystems. Iteration is utilized to determine their magnitudes at each time increment. The method is applied to a nonlinear generic model of the high pressure oxygen turbopump (HPOTP). As compared to the fourth order Runge-Kutta numerical integration methods, the convolution approach proved to be more accurate and more highly efficient. For determining the nonlinear, steady-state periodic responses, an incremental harmonic balance method was also developed. The method was successfully used to determine dominantly harmonic and subharmonic responses fo the HPOTP generic model with bearing clearances. A reduction method similar to the impedance formulation utilized with linear systems is used to reduce the housing-rotor models to their coordinates at the bearing clearances. Recommendations are included for further development of the method, for extending the analysis to aperiodic and chaotic regimes and for conducting critical parameteric studies of the nonlinear response of the current SSME turbopumps.

Recent NASA Research on Aerodynamic Modeling of Post-Stall and Spin Dynamics of Large Transport Airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Murch, Austin M.; Foster, John V.

2007-01-01

A simulation study was conducted to investigate aerodynamic modeling methods for prediction of post-stall flight dynamics of large transport airplanes. The research approach involved integrating dynamic wind tunnel data from rotary balance and forced oscillation testing with static wind tunnel data to predict aerodynamic forces and moments during highly dynamic departure and spin motions. Several state-of-the-art aerodynamic modeling methods were evaluated and predicted flight dynamics using these various approaches were compared. Results showed the different modeling methods had varying effects on the predicted flight dynamics and the differences were most significant during uncoordinated maneuvers. Preliminary wind tunnel validation data indicated the potential of the various methods for predicting steady spin motions.

The Top Ten Trends.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bassi, Laurie J.; And Others

1996-01-01

Trends shaping the workplace are increased skill requirements; more educated, diverse work force; continued corporate restructuring; change in size and composition of training departments; instructional technology advances; new training delivery methods; focus on performance improvement; integrated high-performance work systems; companies becoming…

Integration of a sensor based multiple robot environment for space applications: The Johnson Space Center Teleoperator Branch Robotics Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hwang, James; Campbell, Perry; Ross, Mike; Price, Charles R.; Barron, Don

1989-01-01

An integrated operating environment was designed to incorporate three general purpose robots, sensors, and end effectors, including Force/Torque Sensors, Tactile Array sensors, Tactile force sensors, and Force-sensing grippers. The design and implementation of: (1) the teleoperation of a general purpose PUMA robot; (2) an integrated sensor hardware/software system; (3) the force-sensing gripper control; (4) the host computer system for dual Robotic Research arms; and (5) the Ethernet integration are described.

Toward structure prediction of cyclic peptides.

PubMed

Yu, Hongtao; Lin, Yu-Shan

2015-02-14

Cyclic peptides are a promising class of molecules that can be used to target specific protein-protein interactions. A computational method to accurately predict their structures would substantially advance the development of cyclic peptides as modulators of protein-protein interactions. Here, we develop a computational method that integrates bias-exchange metadynamics simulations, a Boltzmann reweighting scheme, dihedral principal component analysis and a modified density peak-based cluster analysis to provide a converged structural description for cyclic peptides. Using this method, we evaluate the performance of a number of popular protein force fields on a model cyclic peptide. All the tested force fields seem to over-stabilize the α-helix and PPII/β regions in the Ramachandran plot, commonly populated by linear peptides and proteins. Our findings suggest that re-parameterization of a force field that well describes the full Ramachandran plot is necessary to accurately model cyclic peptides.

A solution to the problem of elastic half-plane with a cohesive edge crack

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thanh, Le Thi; Belaya, L. A.; Lavit, I. M.

2018-03-01

This paper considers the problem of extension of an elastic half-plane slackened by a rectilinear edge crack. The opposite edges of the crack are attracted to each other. The intensity of attracting forces – the forces of cohesion – depends on displacements of the edges; this dependence is nonlinear in the general case. External load and cohesive forces are related to each other by the condition of finite stresses at the crack tip. The authors apply Picard’s method of successive approximation. In each iteration, Irwin’s method is used to solve the problem of a half-plane with a crack, the edges of which are subjected to irregularly distributed load. The solution of the resulting integral equation is found by Galerkin’s method. The paper includes examples of calculations and their results. Some of them are compared with the data of previous studies.

Low-rank canonical-tensor decomposition of potential energy surfaces: application to grid-based diagrammatic vibrational Green's function theory

DOE PAGES

Rai, Prashant; Sargsyan, Khachik; Najm, Habib; ...

2017-03-07

Here, a new method is proposed for a fast evaluation of high-dimensional integrals of potential energy surfaces (PES) that arise in many areas of quantum dynamics. It decomposes a PES into a canonical low-rank tensor format, reducing its integral into a relatively short sum of products of low-dimensional integrals. The decomposition is achieved by the alternating least squares (ALS) algorithm, requiring only a small number of single-point energy evaluations. Therefore, it eradicates a force-constant evaluation as the hotspot of many quantum dynamics simulations and also possibly lifts the curse of dimensionality. This general method is applied to the anharmonic vibrationalmore » zero-point and transition energy calculations of molecules using the second-order diagrammatic vibrational many-body Green's function (XVH2) theory with a harmonic-approximation reference. In this application, high dimensional PES and Green's functions are both subjected to a low-rank decomposition. Evaluating the molecular integrals over a low-rank PES and Green's functions as sums of low-dimensional integrals using the Gauss–Hermite quadrature, this canonical-tensor-decomposition-based XVH2 (CT-XVH2) achieves an accuracy of 0.1 cm -1 or higher and nearly an order of magnitude speedup as compared with the original algorithm using force constants for water and formaldehyde.« less

Low-rank canonical-tensor decomposition of potential energy surfaces: application to grid-based diagrammatic vibrational Green's function theory

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

Rai, Prashant; Sargsyan, Khachik; Najm, Habib

Here, a new method is proposed for a fast evaluation of high-dimensional integrals of potential energy surfaces (PES) that arise in many areas of quantum dynamics. It decomposes a PES into a canonical low-rank tensor format, reducing its integral into a relatively short sum of products of low-dimensional integrals. The decomposition is achieved by the alternating least squares (ALS) algorithm, requiring only a small number of single-point energy evaluations. Therefore, it eradicates a force-constant evaluation as the hotspot of many quantum dynamics simulations and also possibly lifts the curse of dimensionality. This general method is applied to the anharmonic vibrationalmore » zero-point and transition energy calculations of molecules using the second-order diagrammatic vibrational many-body Green's function (XVH2) theory with a harmonic-approximation reference. In this application, high dimensional PES and Green's functions are both subjected to a low-rank decomposition. Evaluating the molecular integrals over a low-rank PES and Green's functions as sums of low-dimensional integrals using the Gauss–Hermite quadrature, this canonical-tensor-decomposition-based XVH2 (CT-XVH2) achieves an accuracy of 0.1 cm -1 or higher and nearly an order of magnitude speedup as compared with the original algorithm using force constants for water and formaldehyde.« less

Layering of inertial confinement fusion targets in microgravity environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parks, P. B.; Fagaly, R. L.

1995-02-01

A critical concern in the fabrication of targets for inertial confinement fusion is ensuring that the hydrogenic (D2 or DT) fuel layer maintains spherical symmetry. Because of gravitationally induced sagging of the liquid prior to freezing, only relatively thin (less than 10 micrometers) layers of solid fuel can be produced by fast refreeze methods. One method to reduce the effective gravitational field environment is free-fall insertion into the target chamber. Another method to counterbalance the gravitational force is to use an applied magnetic field combined with a gradient field to induce a magnetic dipole force (F(sub m)) on the liquid fuel layer. For liquid deuterium, the required B dot product del(vector differential operator) B product to counterbalance the gravitational force (F(sub g)) is approximately 10 T(exp 2)/cm. In this paper, we examine the time-dependent dynamics of the liquid fuel layer in a reduced gravitational field environment. We employ an energy method which takes into account the sum of the free energy associated with the surface tension forces, net vertical force (F = F(sub m) - F(sub g) (in the case of magnetic field-assisted microgravity) or F(sub D) (the drag force in the case of free fall)), London-van der Waals forces, the kinetic energy of motion and viscous dissipation. By assuming that the motions are incompressible and irrotational, the volume integrals of the free energies over the deformed liquid fuel layer may be converted to surface integrals. With the surface expressed as the sum of Legendre polynomials, r(sub surface) = a + Sigma a(sub l)(t)P(sub l)(mu), the perturbed amplitude of the individual modes, a(sub l)(t) can be obtained. We show that the l = 1 vertical shift mode takes the longest to damp out, and may be problematic for free-fall insertion even for thin approximately 1 micrometer overfilled foam targets. For a given liquid fuel layer thickness delta, the equilibrium value of a(sub 1)/a (the concentricity of the inner fuel layer) is shown to be dependent on the net vertical force F and layer thickness, i.e., a(sub 1) approximately F delta(exp 5), but independent of the surface tension.

Visualization and Analysis of Vortex-Turbine Intersections in Wind Farms.

PubMed

Shafii, Sohail; Obermaier, Harald; Linn, Rodman; Koo, Eunmo; Hlawitschka, Mario; Garth, Christoph; Hamann, Bernd; Joy, Kenneth

2013-02-13

Characterizing the interplay between the vortices and forces acting on a wind turbine's blades in a qualitative and quantitative way holds the potential for significantly improving large wind turbine design. The paper introduces an integrated pipeline for highly effective wind and force field analysis and visualization. We extract vortices induced by a turbine's rotation in a wind field, and characterize vortices in conjunction with numerically simulated forces on the blade surfaces as these vortices strike another turbine's blades downstream. The scientifically relevant issue to be studied is the relationship between the extracted, approximate locations on the blades where vortices strike the blades and the forces that exist in those locations. This integrated approach is used to detect and analyze turbulent flow that causes local impact on the wind turbine blade structure. The results that we present are based on analyzing the wind and force field data sets generated by numerical simulations, and allow domain scientists to relate vortex-blade interactions with power output loss in turbines and turbine life-expectancy. Our methods have the potential to improve turbine design in order to save costs related to turbine operation and maintenance.

Integration of sensory force feedback is disturbed in CRPS-related dystonia.

PubMed

Mugge, Winfred; van der Helm, Frans C T; Schouten, Alfred C

2013-01-01

Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is characterized by pain and disturbed blood flow, temperature regulation and motor control. Approximately 25% of cases develop fixed dystonia. The origin of this movement disorder is poorly understood, although recent insights suggest involvement of disturbed force feedback. Assessment of sensorimotor integration may provide insight into the pathophysiology of fixed dystonia. Sensory weighting is the process of integrating and weighting sensory feedback channels in the central nervous system to improve the state estimate. It was hypothesized that patients with CRPS-related dystonia bias sensory weighting of force and position toward position due to the unreliability of force feedback. The current study provides experimental evidence for dysfunctional sensory integration in fixed dystonia, showing that CRPS-patients with fixed dystonia weight force and position feedback differently than controls do. The study shows reduced force feedback weights in CRPS-patients with fixed dystonia, making it the first to demonstrate disturbed integration of force feedback in fixed dystonia, an important step towards understanding the pathophysiology of fixed dystonia.

Extracting the potential-well of a near-field optical trap using the Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaman, Mohammad Asif; Padhy, Punnag; Hansen, Paul C.; Hesselink, Lambertus

2018-02-01

The non-conservative nature of the force field generated by a near-field optical trap is analyzed. A plasmonic C-shaped engraving on a gold film is considered as the trap. The force field is calculated using the Maxwell stress tensor method. The Helmholtz-Hodge decomposition is used to extract the conservative and the non-conservative component of the force. Due to the non-negligible non-conservative component, it is found that the conventional approach of extracting the potential by direct integration of the force is not accurate. Despite the non-conservative nature of the force field, it is found that the statistical properties of a trapped nanoparticle can be estimated from the conservative component of the force field alone. Experimental and numerical results are presented to support the claims.

Numerical solution of boundary-integral equations for molecular electrostatics.

PubMed

Bardhan, Jaydeep P

2009-03-07

Numerous molecular processes, such as ion permeation through channel proteins, are governed by relatively small changes in energetics. As a result, theoretical investigations of these processes require accurate numerical methods. In the present paper, we evaluate the accuracy of two approaches to simulating boundary-integral equations for continuum models of the electrostatics of solvation. The analysis emphasizes boundary-element method simulations of the integral-equation formulation known as the apparent-surface-charge (ASC) method or polarizable-continuum model (PCM). In many numerical implementations of the ASC/PCM model, one forces the integral equation to be satisfied exactly at a set of discrete points on the boundary. We demonstrate in this paper that this approach to discretization, known as point collocation, is significantly less accurate than an alternative approach known as qualocation. Furthermore, the qualocation method offers this improvement in accuracy without increasing simulation time. Numerical examples demonstrate that electrostatic part of the solvation free energy, when calculated using the collocation and qualocation methods, can differ significantly; for a polypeptide, the answers can differ by as much as 10 kcal/mol (approximately 4% of the total electrostatic contribution to solvation). The applicability of the qualocation discretization to other integral-equation formulations is also discussed, and two equivalences between integral-equation methods are derived.

Determination of the protonation state of the Asp dyad: conventional molecular dynamics versus thermodynamic integration.

PubMed

Huang, Jinfeng; Zhu, Yali; Sun, Bin; Yao, Yuan; Liu, Junjun

2016-03-01

The protonation state of the Asp dyad is important as it can reveal enzymatic mechanisms, and the information this provides can be used in the development of drugs for proteins such as memapsin 2 (BACE-1), HIV-1 protease, and rennin. Conventional molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been successfully used to determine the preferred protonation state of the Asp dyad. In the present work, we demonstrate that the results obtained from conventional MD simulations can be greatly influenced by the particular force field applied or the values used for control parameters. In principle, free-energy changes between possible protonation states can be used to determine the protonation state. We show that protonation state prediction by the thermodynamic integration (TI) method is insensitive to force field version or to the cutoff for calculating nonbonded interactions (a control parameter). In the present study, the protonation state of the Asp dyad predicted by TI calculations was the same regardless of the force field and cutoff value applied. Contrary to the intuition that conventional MD is more efficient, our results clearly show that the TI method is actually more efficient and more reliable for determining the protonation state of the Asp dyad.

Investigation for Molecular Attraction Impact Between Contacting Surfaces in Micro-Gears

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ping; Li, Xialong; Zhao, Yanfang; Yang, Haiying; Wang, Shuting; Yang, Jianming

2013-10-01

The aim of this research work is to provide a systematic method to perform molecular attraction impact between contacting surfaces in micro-gear train. This method is established by integrating involute profile analysis and molecular dynamics simulation. A mathematical computation of micro-gear involute is presented based on geometrical properties, Taylor expression and Hamaker assumption. In the meantime, Morse potential function and the cut-off radius are introduced with a molecular dynamics simulation. So a hybrid computational method for the Van Der Waals force between the contacting faces in micro-gear train is developed. An example is illustrated to show the performance of this method. The results show that the change of Van Der Waals force in micro-gear train has a nonlinear characteristic with parameters change such as the modulus of the gear and the tooth number of gear etc. The procedure implies a potential feasibility that we can control the Van Der Waals force by adjusting the manufacturing parameters for gear train design.

Quantitative analysis of mechanical force required for cell extrusion in zebrafish embryonic epithelia.

PubMed

Yamada, Sohei; Iino, Takanori; Bessho, Yasumasa; Hosokawa, Yoichiroh; Matsui, Takaaki

2017-10-15

When cells in epithelial sheets are damaged by intrinsic or extrinsic causes, they are eliminated by extrusion from the sheet. Cell extrusion, which is required for maintenance of tissue integrity, is the consequence of contraction of actomyosin rings, as demonstrated by both molecular/cellular biological experimentation and numerical simulation. However, quantitative evaluation of actomyosin contraction has not been performed because of the lack of a suitable direct measurement system. In this study, we developed a new method using a femtosecond laser to quantify the contraction force of the actomyosin ring during cell extrusion in zebrafish embryonic epithelia. In this system, an epithelial cell in zebrafish embryo is first damaged by direct femtosecond laser irradiation. Next, a femtosecond laser-induced impulsive force is loaded onto the actomyosin ring, and the contraction force is quantified to be on the order of kPa as a unit of pressure. We found that cell extrusion was delayed when the contraction force was slightly attenuated, suggesting that a relatively small force is sufficient to drive cell extrusion. Thus, our method is suitable for the relative quantitative evaluation of mechanical dynamics in the process of cell extrusion, and in principle the method is applicable to similar phenomena in different tissues and organs of various species. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) in the L2 Classroom: The Impact of the UN's Off-the-Shelf Videogame, Food Force, on Learner Affect and Vocabulary Retention

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hitosugi, Claire Ikumi; Schmidt, Matthew; Hayashi, Kentaro

2014-01-01

This mixed-method study explored the impact of "Food Force (FF)", a UN-sponsored off-the-shelf videogame, on learner affect and vocabulary learning and retention in a Japanese as a second/foreign language classroom. The videogame was integrated into an existing curriculum and two studies were performed. In Study 1 (n = 9), new vocabulary…

Integrating optical fiber force sensors into microforceps for ORL microsurgery.

PubMed

Bell, Brett; Stankowski, Stefan; Moser, Benjamin; Oliva, Vidina; Stieger, Christof; Nolte, Lutz-Peter; Caversaccio, Marco; Weber, Stefan

2010-01-01

The delicate anatomy of the ear require surgeons to use great care when operating on its internal structures. One example for such an intervention is the stapedectomy, where a small crook shaped piston is placed in the oval window of the cochlea and connected to the incus through crimping thus bypassing the diseased stapes. Performing the crimp process with the correct force is necessary since loose crimps poorly transmit sound whereas tight crimps will eventually result in necrosis of the incus. Clinically, demand is high to reproducibly conduct the crimp process through a precise force measurement. For this reason, we have developed a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) integrated microforceps for use in such interventions. This device was calibrated, and tested in cadaver preparations. With this instrument we were able to measure for the first time forces involved in crimping a stapes prosthesis to the incus. We also discuss a method of attaching and actuating such forceps in conjunction with a robot currently under development in our group. Each component of this system can be used separately or combined to improve surgical accuracy, confidence and outcome.

User's Manual for FOMOCO Utilities-Force and Moment Computation Tools for Overset Grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chan, William M.; Buning, Pieter G.

1996-01-01

In the numerical computations of flows around complex configurations, accurate calculations of force and moment coefficients for aerodynamic surfaces are required. When overset grid methods are used, the surfaces on which force and moment coefficients are sought typically consist of a collection of overlapping surface grids. Direct integration of flow quantities on the overlapping grids would result in the overlapped regions being counted more than once. The FOMOCO Utilities is a software package for computing flow coefficients (force, moment, and mass flow rate) on a collection of overset surfaces with accurate accounting of the overlapped zones. FOMOCO Utilities can be used in stand-alone mode or in conjunction with the Chimera overset grid compressible Navier-Stokes flow solver OVERFLOW. The software package consists of two modules corresponding to a two-step procedure: (1) hybrid surface grid generation (MIXSUR module), and (2) flow quantities integration (OVERINT module). Instructions on how to use this software package are described in this user's manual. Equations used in the flow coefficients calculation are given in Appendix A.

Recording forces exerted on the bowel wall during colonoscopy: in vitro evaluation.

PubMed

Dogramadzi, S; Virk, G S; Bell, G D; Rowland, R S; Hancock, J

2005-12-01

A novel system for distributed force measurement between the bowel wall and the shaft of a colonoscope is presented. The system, based on the piezoresistive method, involves the integration of soft miniature transducers to a colonoscope to enable a wide range of forces to be sensed. The attached sensing sheath does not restrict the propulsion of the colonoscope nor notably alter its flexibility. The addition of the sensor sheath increases the colonoscope diameter by 15-20% depending on the type of the colonoscope (adult or paediatric). The transducer's accuracy is +/-20 grammes if it is not subjected to extensive static forces. Under large static force conditions the errors may increase to +/-50 grammes. The tactile force measuring sensors have provided preliminary results from experiments on a model of the large bowel. The force measurements confirm the predictions on the location and magnitude of the forces and that most of the forces are exerted whilst the instrument is looping. Copyright 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Concurrent prediction of ground reaction forces and moments and tibiofemoral contact forces during walking using musculoskeletal modelling.

PubMed

Peng, Yinghu; Zhang, Zhifeng; Gao, Yongchang; Chen, Zhenxian; Xin, Hua; Zhang, Qida; Fan, Xunjian; Jin, Zhongmin

2018-02-01

Ground reaction forces and moments (GRFs and GRMs) measured from force plates in a gait laboratory are usually used as the input conditions to predict the knee joint forces and moments via musculoskeletal (MSK) multibody dynamics (MBD) model. However, the measurements of the GRFs and GRMs data rely on force plates and sometimes are limited by the difficulty in some patient's gait patterns (e.g. treadmill gait). In addition, the force plate calibration error may influence the prediction accuracy of the MSK model. In this study, a prediction method of the GRFs and GRMs based on elastic contact element was integrated into a subject-specific MSK MBD modelling framework of total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and the GRFs and GRMs and knee contact forces (KCFs) during walking were predicted simultaneously with reasonable accuracy. The ground reaction forces and moments were predicted with an average root mean square errors (RMSEs) of 0.021 body weight (BW), 0.014 BW and 0.089 BW in the antero-posterior, medio-lateral and vertical directions and 0.005 BW•body height (BH), 0.011 BW•BH, 0.004 BW•BH in the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes, respectively. Meanwhile, the medial, lateral and total tibiofemoral (TF) contact forces were predicted by the developed MSK model with RMSEs of 0.025-0.032 BW, 0.018-0.022 BW, and 0.089-0.132 BW, respectively. The accuracy of the predicted medial TF contact force was improved by 12% using the present method. The proposed method can extend the application of the MSK model of TKA and is valuable for understanding the in vivo knee biomechanics and tribological conditions without the force plate data. Copyright © 2017 IPEM. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Force-moment line element method for flexible slender bodies in Stokes flow.

PubMed

Jiang, H; Yang, B

2013-09-01

The hydrodynamics of flexible slender bodies in Stokes flow is studied by taking into account the fluid-structure interaction through both forces and coupled moments. The fluid subjected to line sources of forces and moments is described by using integral equations. Meanwhile, the flexible slender body is modeled using finite beam elements. The two sides are linked through interfacial continuity conditions. Upon discretization, it results in a higher-order line element method for efficient and accurate solution of slender-body hydrodynamics. Four examples are presented to demonstrate the validity and efficiency of the present method: (a) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod subjected to a torque at one end, (b) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod subjected to a bending moment at one end, (c) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod subjected to a cyclic force, and (d) hydrodynamics of a flexible slender rod with a magnetized head within a rotating magnetic field. Examples (a) and (b) may serve as benchmark solutions and examples (c) and (d) show how planar and spiral waves can be excited in a slender body.

Magnetoelectric versus thermal actuation characteristics of shear force AFM probes with piezoresistive detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sierakowski, Andrzej; Kopiec, Daniel; Majstrzyk, Wojciech; Kunicki, Piotr; Janus, Paweł; Dobrowolski, Rafał; Grabiec, Piotr; Rangelow, Ivo W.; Gotszalk, Teodor

2017-03-01

In this paper the authors compare methods used for piezoresistive microcantilevers actuation for the atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging in the dynamic shear force mode. The piezoresistive detection is an attractive technique comparing the optical beam detection of deflection. The principal advantage is that no external alignment of optical source and detector are needed. When the microcantilever is deflected, the stress is transferred into a change of resistivity of piezoresistors. The integration of piezoresistive read-out provides a promising solution in realizing a compact non-contact AFM. Resolution of piezoresistive read-out is limited by three main noise sources: Johnson, 1/f and thermomechanical noise. In the dynamic shear force mode measurement the method used for cantilever actuation will also affect the recorded noise in the piezoresistive detection circuit. This is the result of a crosstalk between an aluminium path (current loop used for actuation) and piezoresistors located near the base of the beam. In this paper authors described an elaborated in ITE (Institute of Electron Technology) technology of fabrication cantilevers with piezoresistive detection of deflection and compared efficiency of two methods used for cantilever actuation.

Note: Force- and torque-detection of high frequency electron spin resonance using a membrane-type surface-stress sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takahashi, Hideyuki; Ishimura, Kento; Okamoto, Tsubasa; Ohmichi, Eiji; Ohta, Hitoshi

2018-03-01

We developed a practical useful method for force- and torque-detected electron spin resonance (FDESR/TDESR) spectroscopy in the millimeter wave frequency region. This method uses a commercially available membrane-type surface-stress (MSS) sensor. The MSS is composed of a silicon membrane supported by four beams in which piezoresistive paths are integrated for detecting the deformation of the membrane. Although this device has a lower spin sensitivity than a microcantilever, it offers several distinct advantages, including mechanical strength, ease of use, and versatility. These advantages make this device suitable for practical applications that require FDESR/TDESR.

Nondestructive structural evaluation of wood floor systems with a vibration technique.

Treesearch

Xiping Wang; Robert J. Ross; Lawrence Andrew Soltis

2002-01-01

The objective of this study was to determine if transverse vibration methods could be used to effectively assess the structural integrity of wood floors as component systems. A total of 10 wood floor systems, including 3 laboratory-built floor sections and 7 in-place floors in historic buildings, were tested. A forced vibration method was applied to the floor systems...

Integrating Multiple Criteria in Selection Procedures for Improving Student Quality and Reducing Cost Per Graduate. AIR Forum 1979 Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Gerald L.; Westen, Risdon J.

The multivariate approach of canonical correlation was used to assess selection procedures of the Air Force Academy. It was felt that improved student selection methods might reduce the number of dropouts while maintaining or improving the quality of graduates. The method of canonical correlation was designed to maximize prediction of academic…

Large Angle Satellite Attitude Maneuvers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cochran, J. E.; Junkins, J. L.

1975-01-01

Two methods are proposed for performing large angle reorientation maneuvers. The first method is based upon Euler's rotation theorem; an arbitrary reorientation is ideally accomplished by rotating the spacecraft about a line which is fixed in both the body and in space. This scheme has been found to be best suited for the case in which the initial and desired attitude states have small angular velocities. The second scheme is more general in that a general class of transition trajectories is introduced which, in principle, allows transfer between arbitrary orientation and angular velocity states. The method generates transition maneuvers in which the uncontrolled (free) initial and final states are matched in orientation and angular velocity. The forced transition trajectory is obtained by using a weighted average of the unforced forward integration of the initial state and the unforced backward integration of the desired state. The current effort is centered around practical validation of this second class of maneuvers. Of particular concern is enforcement of given control system constraints and methods for suboptimization by proper selection of maneuver initiation and termination times. Analogous reorientation strategies which force smooth transition in angular momentum and/or rotational energy are under consideration.

Significance of Strain in Formulation in Theory of Solid Mechanics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Coroneos, Rula M.; Hopkins, Dale A.

2003-01-01

The basic theory of solid mechanics was deemed complete circa 1860 when St. Venant provided the strain formulation or the field compatibility condition. The strain formulation was incomplete. The missing portion has been formulated and identified as the boundary compatibility condition (BCC). The BCC, derived through a variational formulation, has been verified through integral theorem and solution of problems. The BCC, unlike the field counterpart, do not trivialize when expressed in displacements. Navier s method and the stiffness formulation have to account for the extra conditions especially at the inter-element boundaries in a finite element model. Completion of the strain formulation has led to the revival of the direct force calculation methods: the Integrated Force Method (IFM) and its dual (IFMD) for finite element analysis, and the completed Beltrami-Michell formulation (CBMF) in elasticity. The benefits from the new methods in elasticity, in finite element analysis, and in design optimization are discussed. Existing solutions and computer codes may have to be adjusted for the compliance of the new conditions. Complacency because the discipline is over a century old and computer codes have been developed for half a century can lead to stagnation of the discipline.

Considerations for Integrating Women into Closed Occupations in the U.S. Special Operations Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-01

effectiveness of integration. Ideally, studies adopting an experimental design (using both test and control groups ) would be preferred, but sample sizes may...data -- a survey of SOF personnel and a series of focus group discussions -- collected by the research team regarding the potential challenges to... controlled positions. This report summarizes our research , analysis, and conclusions. We used a mixed-methods approach. We reviewed the current state of

Resolution of Forces and Strain Measurements from an Acoustic Ground Test

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Andrew M.; LaVerde, Bruce T.; Hunt, Ronald; Waldon, James M.

2013-01-01

The Conservatism in Typical Vibration Tests was Demonstrated: Vibration test at component level produced conservative force reactions by approximately a factor of 4 (approx.12 dB) as compared to the integrated acoustic test in 2 out of 3 axes. Reaction Forces Estimated at the Base of Equipment Using a Finite Element Based Method were Validated: FEM based estimate of interface forces may be adequate to guide development of vibration test criteria with less conservatism. Element Forces Estimated in Secondary Structure Struts were Validated: Finite element approach provided best estimate of axial strut forces in frequency range below 200 Hz where a rigid lumped mass assumption for the entire electronics box was valid. Models with enough fidelity to represent diminishing apparent mass of equipment are better suited for estimating force reactions across the frequency range. Forward Work: Demonstrate the reduction in conservatism provided by; Current force limited approach and an FEM guided approach. Validate proposed CMS approach to estimate coupled response from uncoupled system characteristics for vibroacoustics.

PAN AIR: A Computer Program for Predicting Subsonic or Supersonic Linear Potential Flows About Arbitrary Configurations Using a Higher Order Panel Method. Volume 1; Theory Document (Version 1.1)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Magnus, Alfred E.; Epton, Michael A.

1981-01-01

An outline of the derivation of the differential equation governing linear subsonic and supersonic potential flow is given. The use of Green's Theorem to obtain an integral equation over the boundary surface is discussed. The engineering techniques incorporated in the PAN AIR (Panel Aerodynamics) program (a discretization method which solves the integral equation for arbitrary first order boundary conditions) are then discussed in detail. Items discussed include the construction of the compressibility transformations, splining techniques, imposition of the boundary conditions, influence coefficient computation (including the concept of the finite part of an integral), computation of pressure coefficients, and computation of forces and moments.

Probe Scanning Support System by a Parallel Mechanism for Robotic Echography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aoki, Yusuke; Kaneko, Kenta; Oyamada, Masami; Takachi, Yuuki; Masuda, Kohji

We propose a probe scanning support system based on force/visual servoing control for robotic echography. First, we have designed and formulated its inverse kinematics the construction of mechanism. Next, we have developed a scanning method of the ultrasound probe on body surface to construct visual servo system based on acquired echogram by the standalone medical robot to move the ultrasound probe on patient abdomen in three-dimension. The visual servo system detects local change of brightness in time series echogram, which is stabilized the position of the probe by conventional force servo system in the robot, to compensate not only periodical respiration motion but also body motion. Then we integrated control method of the visual servo with the force servo as a hybrid control in both of position and force. To confirm the ability to apply for actual abdomen, we experimented the total system to follow the gallbladder as a moving target to keep its position in the echogram by minimizing variation of reaction force on abdomen. As the result, the system has a potential to be applied to automatic detection of human internal organ.

The polarized Debye sheath effect on Kadomtsev-Petviashvili electrostatic structures in strongly coupled dusty plasma

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

Shahmansouri, M.; Alinejad, H.

2015-04-15

We give a theoretical investigation on the dynamics of nonlinear electrostatic waves in a strongly coupled dusty plasma with strong electrostatic interaction between dust grains in the presence of the polarization force (i.e., the force due to the polarized Debye sheath). Adopting a reductive perturbation method, we derived a three-dimensional Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation that describes the evolution of weakly nonlinear electrostatic localized waves. The energy integral equation is used to study the existence domains of the localized structures. The analysis provides the localized structure existence region, in terms of the effects of strong interaction between the dust particles and polarization force.

Measurement of Solution Viscosity via Diffusion-Ordered NMR Spectroscopy (DOSY)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Li, Weibin; Kagan, Gerald; Hopson, Russell; Williard, Paul G.

2011-01-01

Increasingly, the undergraduate chemistry curriculum includes nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Advanced NMR techniques are often taught including two-dimensional gradient-based experiments. An investigation of intermolecular forces including viscosity, by a variety of methods, is often integrated in the undergraduate physical and…

An Immersed Boundary method with divergence-free velocity interpolation and force spreading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bao, Yuanxun; Donev, Aleksandar; Griffith, Boyce E.; McQueen, David M.; Peskin, Charles S.

2017-10-01

The Immersed Boundary (IB) method is a mathematical framework for constructing robust numerical methods to study fluid-structure interaction in problems involving an elastic structure immersed in a viscous fluid. The IB formulation uses an Eulerian representation of the fluid and a Lagrangian representation of the structure. The Lagrangian and Eulerian frames are coupled by integral transforms with delta function kernels. The discretized IB equations use approximations to these transforms with regularized delta function kernels to interpolate the fluid velocity to the structure, and to spread structural forces to the fluid. It is well-known that the conventional IB method can suffer from poor volume conservation since the interpolated Lagrangian velocity field is not generally divergence-free, and so this can cause spurious volume changes. In practice, the lack of volume conservation is especially pronounced for cases where there are large pressure differences across thin structural boundaries. The aim of this paper is to greatly reduce the volume error of the IB method by introducing velocity-interpolation and force-spreading schemes with the properties that the interpolated velocity field in which the structure moves is at least C1 and satisfies a continuous divergence-free condition, and that the force-spreading operator is the adjoint of the velocity-interpolation operator. We confirm through numerical experiments in two and three spatial dimensions that this new IB method is able to achieve substantial improvement in volume conservation compared to other existing IB methods, at the expense of a modest increase in the computational cost. Further, the new method provides smoother Lagrangian forces (tractions) than traditional IB methods. The method presented here is restricted to periodic computational domains. Its generalization to non-periodic domains is important future work.

Computational aspects of real-time simulation of rotary-wing aircraft. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houck, J. A.

1976-01-01

A study was conducted to determine the effects of degrading a rotating blade element rotor mathematical model suitable for real-time simulation of rotorcraft. Three methods of degradation were studied, reduction of number of blades, reduction of number of blade segments, and increasing the integration interval, which has the corresponding effect of increasing blade azimuthal advance angle. The three degradation methods were studied through static trim comparisons, total rotor force and moment comparisons, single blade force and moment comparisons over one complete revolution, and total vehicle dynamic response comparisons. Recommendations are made concerning model degradation which should serve as a guide for future users of this mathematical model, and in general, they are in order of minimum impact on model validity: (1) reduction of number of blade segments; (2) reduction of number of blades; and (3) increase of integration interval and azimuthal advance angle. Extreme limits are specified beyond which a different rotor mathematical model should be used.

Effects of rotor model degradation on the accuracy of rotorcraft real time simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Houck, J. A.; Bowles, R. L.

1976-01-01

The effects are studied of degrading a rotating blade element rotor mathematical model to meet various real-time simulation requirements of rotorcraft. Three methods of degradation were studied: reduction of number of blades, reduction of number of blade segments, and increasing the integration interval, which has the corresponding effect of increasing blade azimuthal advance angle. The three degradation methods were studied through static trim comparisons, total rotor force and moment comparisons, single blade force and moment comparisons over one complete revolution, and total vehicle dynamic response comparisons. Recommendations are made concerning model degradation which should serve as a guide for future users of this mathematical model, and in general, they are in order of minimum impact on model validity: (1) reduction of number of blade segments, (2) reduction of number of blades, and (3) increase of integration interval and azimuthal advance angle. Extreme limits are specified beyond which the rotating blade element rotor mathematical model should not be used.

What can Numerical Computation do for the History of Science? (Study of an Orbit Drawn by Newton on a Letter to Hooke)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stuchi, Teresa; Cardozo Dias, P.

2013-05-01

Abstract (2,250 Maximum Characters): On a letter to Robert Hooke, Isaac Newton drew the orbit of a mass moving under a constant attracting central force. How he drew the orbit may indicate how and when he developed dynamic categories. Some historians claim that Newton used a method contrived by Hooke; others that he used some method of curvature. We prove geometrically: Hooke’s method is a second order symplectic area preserving algorithm, and the method of curvature is a first order algorithm without special features; then we integrate the hamiltonian equations. Integration by the method of curvature can also be done exploring geometric properties of curves. We compare three methods: Hooke’s method, the method of curvature and a first order method. A fourth order algorithm sets a standard of comparison. We analyze which of these methods best explains Newton’s drawing.

What can numerical computation do for the history of science? (a study of an orbit drawn by Newton in a letter to Hooke)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cardozo Dias, Penha Maria; Stuchi, T. J.

2013-11-01

In a letter to Robert Hooke, Isaac Newton drew the orbit of a mass moving under a constant attracting central force. The drawing of the orbit may indicate how and when Newton developed dynamic categories. Some historians claim that Newton used a method contrived by Hooke; others that he used some method of curvature. We prove that Hooke’s method is a second-order symplectic area-preserving algorithm, and the method of curvature is a first-order algorithm without special features; then we integrate the Hamiltonian equations. Integration by the method of curvature can also be done, exploring the geometric properties of curves. We compare three methods: Hooke’s method, the method of curvature and a first-order method. A fourth-order algorithm sets a standard of comparison. We analyze which of these methods best explains Newton’s drawing.

Interpretation of frequency modulation atomic force microscopy in terms of fractional calculus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sader, John E.; Jarvis, Suzanne P.

2004-07-01

It is widely recognized that small amplitude frequency modulation atomic force microscopy probes the derivative of the interaction force between tip and sample. For large amplitudes, however, such a physical connection is currently lacking, although it has been observed that the frequency shift presents a quantity intermediate to the interaction force and energy for certain force laws. Here we prove that these observations are a universal property of large amplitude frequency modulation atomic force microscopy, by establishing that the frequency shift is proportional to the half-fractional integral of the force, regardless of the force law. This finding indicates that frequency modulation atomic force microscopy can be interpreted as a fractional differential operator, where the order of the derivative/integral is dictated by the oscillation amplitude. We also establish that the measured frequency shift varies systematically from a probe of the force gradient for small oscillation amplitudes, through to the measurement of a quantity intermediate to the force and energy (the half-fractional integral of the force) for large oscillation amplitudes. This has significant implications to measurement sensitivity, since integrating the force will smooth its behavior, while differentiating it will enhance variations. This highlights the importance in choice of oscillation amplitude when wishing to optimize the sensitivity of force spectroscopy measurements to short-range interactions and consequently imaging with the highest possible resolution.

Nonlinear analysis of a closed-loop tractor-semitrailer vehicle system with time delay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Zhaoheng; Hu, Kun; Chung, Kwok-wai

2016-08-01

In this paper, a nonlinear analysis is performed on a closed-loop system of articulated heavy vehicles with driver steering control. The nonlinearity arises from the nonlinear cubic tire force model. An integration method is employed to derive an analytical periodic solution of the system in the neighbourhood of the critical speed. The results show that excellent accuracy can be achieved for the calculation of periodic solutions arising from Hopf bifurcation of the vehicle motion. A criterion is obtained for detecting the Bautin bifurcation which separates branches of supercritical and subcritical Hopf bifurcations. The integration method is compared to the incremental harmonic balance method in both supercritical and subcritical scenarios.

Flow and Force Equations for a Body Revolving in a Fluid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zahm, A F

1930-01-01

Part I gives a general method for finding the steady-flow velocity relative to a body in plane curvilinear motion, whence the pressure is found by Bernoulli's energy principle. Integration of the pressure supplies basic formulas for the zonal forces and moments on the revolving body. Part II, applying this steady-flow method, finds the velocity and pressure at all points of the flow inside and outside an ellipsoid and some of its limiting forms, and graphs those quantities for the latter forms. Part III finds the pressure, and thence the zonal force and moment, on hulls in plane curvilinear flight. Part IV derives general equations for the resultant fluid forces and moments on trisymmetrical bodies moving through a perfect fluid, and in some cases compares the moment values with those found for bodies moving in air. Part V furnishes ready formulas for potential coefficients and inertia coefficients for an ellipsoid and its limiting forms. Thence are derived tables giving numerical values of those coefficients for a comprehensive range of shapes.

Onset of detachment in adhesive contact of an elastic half-space and flat-ended punches with non-circular shape: analytic estimates and comparison with numeric analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qiang; Argatov, Ivan; Popov, Valentin L.

2018-04-01

A recent paper by Popov, Pohrt and Li (PPL) in Friction investigated adhesive contacts of flat indenters in unusual shapes using numerical, analytical and experimental methods. Based on that paper, we analyze some special cases for which analytical solutions are known. As in the PPL paper, we consider adhesive contact in the Johnson-Kendall-Roberts approximation. Depending on the energy balance, different upper and lower estimates are obtained in terms of certain integral characteristics of the contact area. The special cases of an elliptical punch as well as a system of two circular punches are considered. Theoretical estimations for the first critical force (force at which the detachment process begins) are confirmed by numerical simulations using the adhesive boundary element method. It is shown that simpler approximations for the pull-off force, based both on the Holm radius of contact and the contact area, substantially overestimate the maximum adhesive force.

Integrated Data Collection and Analysis Project: Friction Correlation Study

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-08-01

methods authorized in AOP-7 include Pendulum Friction, Rotary Friction, Sliding Friction (ABL), BAM Friction and Steel/Fiber Shoe Methods. The...sensitivity can be obtained by Pendulum Friction, Rotary Friction, Sliding Friction (such as the ABL), BAM Friction and Steel/Fiber Shoe Methods.3, 4 Within...Figure 4.16 A variable compressive force is applied downward through the wheel hydraulically (50-1995 psi). The 5 kg pendulum impacts (8 ft/sec is the

Does temperature nudging overwhelm aerosol radiative ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

For over two decades, data assimilation (popularly known as nudging) methods have been used for improving regional weather and climate simulations by reducing model biases in meteorological parameters and processes. Similar practice is also popular in many regional integrated meteorology-air quality models that include aerosol direct and indirect effects. However in such multi-modeling systems, temperature changes due to nudging can compete with temperature changes induced by radiatively active & hygroscopic short-lived tracers leading to interesting dilemmas: From weather and climate prediction’s (retrospective or future) point of view when nudging is continuously applied, is there any real added benefit of using such complex and computationally expensive regional integrated modeling systems? What are the relative sizes of these two competing forces? To address these intriguing questions, we convert temperature changes due to nudging into radiative fluxes (referred to as the pseudo radiative forcing, PRF) at the surface and troposphere, and compare the net PRF with the reported aerosol radiative forcing. Results indicate that the PRF at surface dominates PRF at top of the atmosphere (i.e., the net). Also, the net PRF is about 2-4 times larger than estimated aerosol radiative forcing at regional scales while it is significantly larger at local scales. These results also show large surface forcing errors at many polluted urban sites. Thus, operational c

Quadrature imposition of compatibility conditions in Chebyshev methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gottlieb, D.; Streett, C. L.

1990-01-01

Often, in solving an elliptic equation with Neumann boundary conditions, a compatibility condition has to be imposed for well-posedness. This condition involves integrals of the forcing function. When pseudospectral Chebyshev methods are used to discretize the partial differential equation, these integrals have to be approximated by an appropriate quadrature formula. The Gauss-Chebyshev (or any variant of it, like the Gauss-Lobatto) formula can not be used here since the integrals under consideration do not include the weight function. A natural candidate to be used in approximating the integrals is the Clenshaw-Curtis formula, however it is shown that this is the wrong choice and it may lead to divergence if time dependent methods are used to march the solution to steady state. The correct quadrature formula is developed for these problems. This formula takes into account the degree of the polynomials involved. It is shown that this formula leads to a well conditioned Chebyshev approximation to the differential equations and that the compatibility condition is automatically satisfied.

Problems associated with reaction mass actuators used in conjunction with LQG control on the Mini-Mast

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghosh, D.; Montgomery, R. C.

1987-01-01

The work being done at NASA LaRC on developing control laws for the Mini-Mast experimental facility is reviewed with particular attention given to the problems associated with the stroke limit of the reaction mass actuators used in conjunction with the LQG control. An algorithm for converting the force commands of the LQG algorithm into position command for the reaction mass devices is described. It is shown that the position command can be used as an input to a local controller so that the relative position of the reaction mass would track the commanded relative position. The stabilization of the integration scheme makes it possible to avoid the position drift arising in the direct double integration method of converting force commands to position commands.

Design optimization of piezoresistive cantilevers for force sensing in air and water

PubMed Central

Doll, Joseph C.; Park, Sung-Jin; Pruitt, Beth L.

2009-01-01

Piezoresistive cantilevers fabricated from doped silicon or metal films are commonly used for force, topography, and chemical sensing at the micro- and macroscales. Proper design is required to optimize the achievable resolution by maximizing sensitivity while simultaneously minimizing the integrated noise over the bandwidth of interest. Existing analytical design methods are insufficient for modeling complex dopant profiles, design constraints, and nonlinear phenomena such as damping in fluid. Here we present an optimization method based on an analytical piezoresistive cantilever model. We use an existing iterative optimizer to minimimize a performance goal, such as minimum detectable force. The design tool is available as open source software. Optimal cantilever design and performance are found to strongly depend on the measurement bandwidth and the constraints applied. We discuss results for silicon piezoresistors fabricated by epitaxy and diffusion, but the method can be applied to any dopant profile or material which can be modeled in a similar fashion or extended to other microelectromechanical systems. PMID:19865512

Developing Literacy for the Workplace.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Keeley, Meg

This paper presents a case and some ideas for integrating basic skills development with occupational training. Explaining why traditional instructional methods do not work in the workplace, the paper summarizes learning theories that support work force literacy programs. It explains how to identify the skills needed in the workplace, provides…

Application of Neural Networks to Wind tunnel Data Response Surface Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, Ching F.; Zhao, J. L.; DeLoach, Richard

2000-01-01

The integration of nonlinear neural network methods with conventional linear regression techniques is demonstrated for representative wind tunnel force balance data modeling. This work was motivated by a desire to formulate precision intervals for response surfaces produced by neural networks. Applications are demonstrated for representative wind tunnel data acquired at NASA Langley Research Center and the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, TN.

Design of fluidic self-assembly bonds for precise component positioning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramadoss, Vivek; Crane, Nathan B.

2008-02-01

Self Assembly is a promising alternative to conventional pick and place robotic assembly of micro components. Its benefits include parallel integration of parts with low equipment costs. Various approaches to self assembly have been demonstrated, yet demanding applications like assembly of micro-optical devices require increased positioning accuracy. This paper proposes a new method for design of self assembly bonds that addresses this need. Current methods have zero force at the desired assembly position and low stiffness. This allows small disturbance forces to create significant positioning errors. The proposed method uses a substrate assembly feature to provide a high accuracy alignment guide to the part. The capillary bond region of the part and substrate are then modified to create a non-zero positioning force to maintain the part in the desired assembly position. Capillary force models show that this force aligns the part to the substrate assembly feature and reduces sensitivity of part position to process variation. Thus, the new configuration can substantially improve positioning accuracy of capillary self-assembly. This will result in a dramatic decrease in positioning errors in the micro parts. Various binding site designs are analyzed and guidelines are proposed for the design of an effective assembly bond using this new approach.

Developing and implementing core competencies for integrative medicine fellowships.

PubMed

Ring, Melinda; Brodsky, Marc; Low Dog, Tieraona; Sierpina, Victor; Bailey, Michelle; Locke, Amy; Kogan, Mikhail; Rindfleisch, James A; Saper, Robert

2014-03-01

The Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine defines integrative medicine as "the practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, health care professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing." Over the past three decades, the U.S. public increasingly has sought integrative medicine approaches. In an effort to train medical professionals to adequately counsel patients on the safe and appropriate use of these approaches, medical schools and residencies have developed curricula on integrative medicine for their trainees. In addition, integrative medicine clinical fellowships for postresidency physicians have emerged to provide training for practitioners interested in gaining greater expertise in this emerging field. Currently, 13 clinical fellowships in integrative medicine exist in the United States, and they are predominantly connected to academic medical centers or teaching affiliate hospitals. In 2010, the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, represented by 56 member academic health care institutions with a shared commitment to advance the principles and practices of integrative medicine, convened a two-year task force to draft integrative medicine fellowship core competencies. These competencies would guide fellowship curriculum development and ensure that graduates possessed a common body of knowledge, skills, and attitudes. In this article, the authors discuss the competencies and the task force's process to develop them, as well as associated teaching and assessment methods, faculty development, potential barriers, and future directions.

Objective Integrated Assessment of Functional Outcomes in Reduction Mammaplasty

PubMed Central

Passaro, Ilaria; Malovini, Alberto; Faga, Angela; Toffola, Elena Dalla

2013-01-01

Background: The aim of our study was an objective integrated assessment of the functional outcomes of reduction mammaplasty. Methods: The study involved 17 women undergoing reduction mammaplasty from March 2009 to June 2011. Each patient was assessed before surgery and 2 months postoperatively with the original association of 4 subjective and objective assessment methods: a physiatric clinical examination, the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire, the Berg Balance Scale, and a static force platform analysis. Results: All of the tests proved multiple statistically significant associated outcomes demonstrating a significant improvement in the functional status following reduction mammaplasty. Surgical correction of breast hypertrophy could achieve both spinal pain relief and recovery of performance status in everyday life tasks, owing to a muscular postural functional rearrangement with a consistent antigravity muscle activity sparing. Pain reduction in turn could reduce the antalgic stiffness and improved the spinal range of motion. In our sample, the improvement of the spinal range of motion in flexion matched a similar improvement in extension. Recovery of a more favorable postural pattern with reduction of the anterior imbalance was demonstrated by the static force stabilometry. Therefore, postoperatively, all of our patients narrowed the gap between the actual body barycenter and the ideal one. The static force platform assessment also consistently confirmed the effectiveness of an accurate clinical examination of functional impairment from breast hypertrophy. Conclusions: The static force platform assessment might help the clinician to support the diagnosis of functional impairment from a breast hypertrophy with objectively based data. PMID:25289256

Simultaneous Measurement of Multiple Mechanical Properties of Single Cells Using AFM by Indentation and Vibration.

PubMed

Zhang, Chuang; Shi, Jialin; Wang, Wenxue; Xi, Ning; Wang, Yuechao; Liu, Lianqing

2017-12-01

The mechanical properties of cells, which are the main characteristics determining their physical performance and physiological functions, have been actively studied in the fields of cytobiology and biomedical engineering and for the development of medicines. In this study, an indentation-vibration-based method is proposed to simultaneously measure the mechanical properties of cells in situ, including cellular mass (m), elasticity (k), and viscosity (c). The proposed measurement method is implemented based on the principle of forced vibration stimulated by simple harmonic force using an atomic force microscope (AFM) system integrated with a piezoelectric transducer as the substrate vibrator. The corresponding theoretical model containing the three mechanical properties is derived and used to perform simulations and calculations. Living and fixed human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells were subjected to indentation and vibration to measure and compare their mechanical parameters and verify the proposed approach. The results that the fixed sample cells are more viscous and elastic than the living sample cells and the measured mechanical properties of cell are consistent within, but not outside of the central region of the cell, are in accordance with the previous studies. This work provides an approach to simultaneous measurement of the multiple mechanical properties of single cells using an integrated AFM system based on the principle force vibration and thickness-corrected Hertz model. This study should contribute to progress in biomedical engineering, cytobiology, medicine, early diagnosis, specific therapy and cell-powered robots.

Simulations of Dissipative Circular Restricted Three-body Problems Using the Velocity-scaling Correction Method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shoucheng; Huang, Guoqing; Wu, Xin

2018-02-01

In this paper, we survey the effect of dissipative forces including radiation pressure, Poynting–Robertson drag, and solar wind drag on the motion of dust grains with negligible mass, which are subjected to the gravities of the Sun and Jupiter moving in circular orbits. The effect of the dissipative parameter on the locations of five Lagrangian equilibrium points is estimated analytically. The instability of the triangular equilibrium point L4 caused by the drag forces is also shown analytically. In this case, the Jacobi constant varies with time, whereas its integral invariant relation still provides a probability for the applicability of the conventional fourth-order Runge–Kutta algorithm combined with the velocity scaling manifold correction scheme. Consequently, the velocity-only correction method significantly suppresses the effects of artificial dissipation and a rapid increase in trajectory errors caused by the uncorrected one. The stability time of an orbit, regardless of whether it is chaotic or not in the conservative problem, is apparently longer in the corrected case than in the uncorrected case when the dissipative forces are included. Although the artificial dissipation is ruled out, the drag dissipation leads to an escape of grains. Numerical evidence also demonstrates that more orbits near the triangular equilibrium point L4 escape as the integration time increases.

Free Energy Reconstruction from Logarithmic Mean-Force Dynamics Using Multiple Nonequilibrium Trajectories.

PubMed

Morishita, Tetsuya; Yonezawa, Yasushige; Ito, Atsushi M

2017-07-11

Efficient and reliable estimation of the mean force (MF), the derivatives of the free energy with respect to a set of collective variables (CVs), has been a challenging problem because free energy differences are often computed by integrating the MF. Among various methods for computing free energy differences, logarithmic mean-force dynamics (LogMFD) [ Morishita et al., Phys. Rev. E 2012 , 85 , 066702 ] invokes the conservation law in classical mechanics to integrate the MF, which allows us to estimate the free energy profile along the CVs on-the-fly. Here, we present a method called parallel dynamics, which improves the estimation of the MF by employing multiple replicas of the system and is straightforwardly incorporated in LogMFD or a related method. In the parallel dynamics, the MF is evaluated by a nonequilibrium path-ensemble using the multiple replicas based on the Crooks-Jarzynski nonequilibrium work relation. Thanks to the Crooks relation, realizing full-equilibrium states is no longer mandatory for estimating the MF. Additionally, sampling in the hidden subspace orthogonal to the CV space is highly improved with appropriate weights for each metastable state (if any), which is hardly achievable by typical free energy computational methods. We illustrate how to implement parallel dynamics by combining it with LogMFD, which we call logarithmic parallel dynamics (LogPD). Biosystems of alanine dipeptide and adenylate kinase in explicit water are employed as benchmark systems to which LogPD is applied to demonstrate the effect of multiple replicas on the accuracy and efficiency in estimating the free energy profiles using parallel dynamics.

Structure simulation with calculated NMR parameters - integrating COSMOS into the CCPN framework.

PubMed

Schneider, Olaf; Fogh, Rasmus H; Sternberg, Ulrich; Klenin, Konstantin; Kondov, Ivan

2012-01-01

The Collaborative Computing Project for NMR (CCPN) has build a software framework consisting of the CCPN data model (with APIs) for NMR related data, the CcpNmr Analysis program and additional tools like CcpNmr FormatConverter. The open architecture allows for the integration of external software to extend the abilities of the CCPN framework with additional calculation methods. Recently, we have carried out the first steps for integrating our software Computer Simulation of Molecular Structures (COSMOS) into the CCPN framework. The COSMOS-NMR force field unites quantum chemical routines for the calculation of molecular properties with a molecular mechanics force field yielding the relative molecular energies. COSMOS-NMR allows introducing NMR parameters as constraints into molecular mechanics calculations. The resulting infrastructure will be made available for the NMR community. As a first application we have tested the evaluation of calculated protein structures using COSMOS-derived 13C Cα and Cβ chemical shifts. In this paper we give an overview of the methodology and a roadmap for future developments and applications.

Method for testing the strength and structural integrity of nuclear fuel particles

DOEpatents

Lessing, P.A.

1995-10-17

An accurate method for testing the strength of nuclear fuel particles is disclosed. Each particle includes an upper and lower portion, and is placed within a testing apparatus having upper and lower compression members. The upper compression member includes a depression therein which is circular and sized to receive only part of the upper portion of the particle. The lower compression member also includes a similar depression. The compression members are parallel to each other with the depressions therein being axially aligned. The fuel particle is then placed between the compression members and engaged within the depressions. The particle is then compressed between the compression members until it fractures. The amount of force needed to fracture the particle is thereafter recorded. This technique allows a broader distribution of forces and provides more accurate results compared with systems which distribute forces at singular points on the particle. 13 figs.

Method for testing the strength and structural integrity of nuclear fuel particles

DOEpatents

Lessing, Paul A.

1995-01-01

An accurate method for testing the strength of nuclear fuel particles. Each particle includes an upper and lower portion, and is placed within a testing apparatus having upper and lower compression members. The upper compression member includes a depression therein which is circular and sized to receive only part of the upper portion of the particle. The lower compression member also includes a similar depression. The compression members are parallel to each other with the depressions therein being axially aligned. The fuel particle is then placed between the compression members and engaged within the depressions. The particle is then compressed between the compression members until it fractures. The amount of force needed to fracture the particle is thereafter recorded. This technique allows a broader distribution of forces and provides more accurate results compared with systems which distribute forces at singular points on the particle.

Integrating electronic healthcare records of armed forces personnel: Developing a framework for evaluating health outcomes in England, Scotland and Wales.

PubMed

Leightley, Daniel; Chui, Zoe; Jones, Margaret; Landau, Sabine; McCrone, Paul; Hayes, Richard D; Wessely, Simon; Fear, Nicola T; Goodwin, Laura

2018-05-01

Electronic Healthcare Records (EHRs) are created to capture summaries of care and contact made to healthcare services. EHRs offer a means to analyse admissions to hospitals for epidemiological research. In the United Kingdom (UK), England, Scotland and Wales maintain separate data stores, which are administered and managed exclusively by devolved Government. This independence results in harmonisation challenges, not least lack of uniformity, making it difficult to evaluate care, diagnoses and treatment across the UK. To overcome this lack of uniformity, it is important to develop methods to integrate EHRs to provide a multi-nation dataset of health. To develop and describe a method which integrates the EHRs of Armed Forces personnel in England, Scotland and Wales based on variable commonality to produce a multi-nation dataset of secondary health care. An Armed Forces cohort was used to extract and integrate three EHR datasets, using commonality as the linkage point. This was achieved by evaluating and combining variables which shared the same characteristics. EHRs representing Accident and Emergency (A&E), Admitted Patient Care (APC) and Outpatient care were combined to create a patient-level history spanning three nations. Patient-level EHRs were examined to ascertain admission differences, common diagnoses and record completeness. A total of 6,336 Armed Forces personnel were matched, of which 5,460 personnel had 7,510 A&E visits, 9,316 APC episodes and 45,005 Outpatient appointments. We observed full completeness for diagnoses in APC, whereas Outpatient admissions were sparsely coded; with 88% of diagnoses coded as "Unknown/unspecified cause of morbidity". In addition, A&E records were sporadically coded; we found five coding systems for identifying reason for admission. At present, EHRs are designed to monitor the cost of treatment, enable administrative oversight, and are not currently suited to epidemiological research. However, only small changes may be needed to take advantage of what should be a highly cost-effective means of delivering important research for the benefit of the NHS. Copyright © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Embryo mechanics: balancing force production with elastic resistance during morphogenesis.

PubMed

Davidson, Lance A

2011-01-01

Morphogenesis requires the spatial and temporal control of embryo mechanics, including force production and mechanical resistance to those forces, to coordinate tissue deformation and large-scale movements. Thus, biomechanical processes play a key role in directly shaping the embryo. Additional roles for embryo mechanics during development may include the patterning of positional information and to provide feedback to ensure the success of morphogenetic movements in shaping the larval body and organs. To understand the multiple roles of mechanics during development requires familiarity with engineering principles of the mechanics of structures, the viscoelastic properties of biomaterials, and the integration of force and stress within embryonic structures as morphogenesis progresses. In this chapter, we review the basic engineering principles of biomechanics as they relate to morphogenesis, introduce methods for quantifying embryo mechanics and the limitations of these methods, and outline a formalism for investigating the role of embryo mechanics in birth defects. We encourage the nascent field of embryo mechanics to adopt standard engineering terms and test methods so that studies of diverse organisms can be compared and universal biomechanical principles can be revealed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Effect of surface tension on the behavior of adhesive contact based on Lennard-Jones potential law

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Xinyao; Xu, Wei

2018-02-01

The present study explores the effect of surface tension on adhesive contact behavior where the adhesion is interpreted by long-range intermolecular forces. The adhesive contact is analyzed using the equivalent system of a rigid sphere and an elastic half space covered by a membrane with surface tension. The long-range intermolecular forces are modeled with the Lennard‒Jones (L‒J) potential law. The current adhesive contact issue can be represented by a nonlinear integral equation, which can be solved by Newton‒Raphson method. In contrast to previous studies which consider intermolecular forces as short-range, the present study reveals more details of the features of adhesive contact with surface tension, in terms of jump instabilities, pull-off forces, pressure distribution within the contact area, etc. The transition of the pull-off force is not only consistent with previous studies, but also presents some new interesting characteristics in the current situation.

A numerical method for simulations of rigid fiber suspensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tornberg, Anna-Karin; Gustavsson, Katarina

2006-06-01

In this paper, we present a numerical method designed to simulate the challenging problem of the dynamics of slender fibers immersed in an incompressible fluid. Specifically, we consider microscopic, rigid fibers, that sediment due to gravity. Such fibers make up the micro-structure of many suspensions for which the macroscopic dynamics are not well understood. Our numerical algorithm is based on a non-local slender body approximation that yields a system of coupled integral equations, relating the forces exerted on the fibers to their velocities, which takes into account the hydrodynamic interactions of the fluid and the fibers. The system is closed by imposing the constraints of rigid body motions. The fact that the fibers are straight have been further exploited in the design of the numerical method, expanding the force on Legendre polynomials to take advantage of the specific mathematical structure of a finite-part integral operator, as well as introducing analytical quadrature in a manner possible only for straight fibers. We have carefully treated issues of accuracy, and present convergence results for all numerical parameters before we finally discuss the results from simulations including a larger number of fibers.

Numerical study of the radiometric phenomenon exhibited by a rotating Crookes radiometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anikin, Yu. A.

2011-11-01

The two-dimensional rarefied gas flow around a rotating Crookes radiometer and the arising radiometric forces are studied by numerically solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The computations are performed in a noninertial frame of reference rotating together with the radiometer. The collision integral is directly evaluated using a projection method, while second- and third-order accurate TVD schemes are used to solve the advection equation and the equation for inertia-induced transport in the velocity space, respectively. The radiometric forces are found as functions of the rotation frequency.

System For Research On Multiple-Arm Robots

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Backes, Paul G.; Hayati, Samad; Tso, Kam S.; Hayward, Vincent

1991-01-01

Kali system of computer programs and equipment provides environment for research on distributed programming and distributed control of coordinated-multiple-arm robots. Suitable for telerobotics research involving sensing and execution of low level tasks. Software and configuration of hardware designed flexible so system modified easily to test various concepts in control and programming of robots, including multiple-arm control, redundant-arm control, shared control, traded control, force control, force/position hybrid control, design and integration of sensors, teleoperation, task-space description and control, methods of adaptive control, control of flexible arms, and human factors.

Stabilization of time domain acoustic boundary element method for the exterior problem avoiding the nonuniqueness.

PubMed

Jang, Hae-Won; Ih, Jeong-Guon

2013-03-01

The time domain boundary element method (TBEM) to calculate the exterior sound field using the Kirchhoff integral has difficulties in non-uniqueness and exponential divergence. In this work, a method to stabilize TBEM calculation for the exterior problem is suggested. The time domain CHIEF (Combined Helmholtz Integral Equation Formulation) method is newly formulated to suppress low order fictitious internal modes. This method constrains the surface Kirchhoff integral by forcing the pressures at the additional interior points to be zero when the shortest retarded time between boundary nodes and an interior point elapses. However, even after using the CHIEF method, the TBEM calculation suffers the exponential divergence due to the remaining unstable high order fictitious modes at frequencies higher than the frequency limit of the boundary element model. For complete stabilization, such troublesome modes are selectively adjusted by projecting the time response onto the eigenspace. In a test example for a transiently pulsating sphere, the final average error norm of the stabilized response compared to the analytic solution is 2.5%.

Environmental Assessment for Implementation of the Schriever Air Force Base Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-03-01

Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 32-70, Environmental Quality ( July 20, 1994); and Air Force Instruction (AFI) 32-7064, Integrated Natural Resources...Environmental Conservation Program; Air Force Policy Directive (AFPD) 32-70, Environmental Quality ( July 20, 1994); and Air Force Instruction (AFI...thunderstorms occur in the late spring to summer months along the Front Range and can result in flash flood conditions (greatest potential in July and August

General methods for determining the linear stability of coronal magnetic fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Craig, I. J. D.; Sneyd, A. D.; Mcclymont, A. N.

1988-01-01

A time integration of a linearized plasma equation of motion has been performed to calculate the ideal linear stability of arbitrary three-dimensional magnetic fields. The convergence rates of the explicit and implicit power methods employed are speeded up by using sequences of cyclic shifts. Growth rates are obtained for Gold-Hoyle force-free equilibria, and the corkscrew-kink instability is found to be very weak.

General methods for determining the linear stability of coronal magnetic fields

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

Craig, I.J.D.; Sneyd, A.D.; McClymont, A.N.

1988-12-01

A time integration of a linearized plasma equation of motion has been performed to calculate the ideal linear stability of arbitrary three-dimensional magnetic fields. The convergence rates of the explicit and implicit power methods employed are speeded up by using sequences of cyclic shifts. Growth rates are obtained for Gold-Hoyle force-free equilibria, and the corkscrew-kink instability is found to be very weak. 19 references.

A DFFD simulation method combined with the spectral element method for solid-fluid-interaction problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Li-Chieh; Huang, Mei-Jiau

2017-02-01

A 2D simulation method for a rigid body moving in an incompressible viscous fluid is proposed. It combines one of the immersed-boundary methods, the DFFD (direct forcing fictitious domain) method with the spectral element method; the former is employed for efficiently capturing the two-way FSI (fluid-structure interaction) and the geometric flexibility of the latter is utilized for any possibly co-existing stationary and complicated solid or flow boundary. A pseudo body force is imposed within the solid domain to enforce the rigid body motion and a Lagrangian mesh composed of triangular elements is employed for tracing the rigid body. In particular, a so called sub-cell scheme is proposed to smooth the discontinuity at the fluid-solid interface and to execute integrations involving Eulerian variables over the moving-solid domain. The accuracy of the proposed method is verified through an observed agreement of the simulation results of some typical flows with analytical solutions or existing literatures.

Integrated hydrologic modeling: Effects of spatial scale, discretization and initialization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seck, A.; Welty, C.; Maxwell, R. M.

2011-12-01

Groundwater discharge contributes significantly to the annual flows of Chesapeake Bay tributaries and is presumed to contribute to the observed lag time between the implementation of management actions and the environmental response in the Chesapeake Bay. To investigate groundwater fluxes and flow paths and interaction with surface flow, we have developed a fully distributed integrated hydrologic model of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed using ParFlow. Here we present a comparison of model spatial resolution and initialization methods. We have studied the effect of horizontal discretization on overland flow processes at a range of scales. Three nested model domains have been considered: the Monocacy watershed (5600 sq. km), the Potomac watershed (92000 sq. km) and the Chesapeake Bay watershed (400,000 sq. km). Models with homogeneous subsurface and topographically-derived slopes were evaluated at 500-m, 1000-m, 2000-m, and 4000-m grid resolutions. Land surface slopes were derived from resampled DEMs and corrected using stream networks. Simulation results show that the overland flow processes are reasonably well represented with a resolution up to 2000 m. We observe that the effects of horizontal resolution dissipate with larger scale models. Using a homogeneous model that includes subsurface and surface terrain characteristics, we have evaluated various initialization methods for the integrated Monocacy watershed model. This model used several options for water table depths and two rainfall forcing methods including (1) a synthetic rainfall-recession cycle corresponding to the region's average annual rainfall rate, and (2) an initial shut-off of rainfall forcing followed by a rainfall-recession cycling. Results show the dominance of groundwater generated runoff during a first phase of the simulation followed by a convergence towards more balanced runoff generation mechanisms. We observe that the influence of groundwater runoff increases in dissected relief areas characterized by high slope magnitudes. This is due to the increase in initial water table gradients in these regions. As a result, in the domain conditions for this study, an initial shut-off of rainfall forcing proved to be the more efficient initialization method. The initialized model is then coupled with a Land Surface Model (CLM). Ongoing work includes coupling a heterogeneous subsurface field with spatially variable meteorological forcing using the National Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) data products. Seasonal trends of groundwater levels for current and pre-development conditions of the basin will be compared.

The need and approach for characterization - U.S. air force perspectives on materials state awareness

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aldrin, John C.; Lindgren, Eric A.

2018-04-01

This paper expands on the objective and motivation for NDE-based characterization and includes a discussion of the current approach using model-assisted inversion being pursued within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). This includes a discussion of the multiple model-based methods that can be used, including physics-based models, deep machine learning, and heuristic approaches. The benefits and drawbacks of each method is reviewed and the potential to integrate multiple methods is discussed. Initial successes are included to highlight the ability to obtain quantitative values of damage. Additional steps remaining to realize this capability with statistical metrics of accuracy are discussed, and how these results can be used to enable probabilistic life management are addressed. The outcome of this initiative will realize the long-term desired capability of NDE methods to provide quantitative characterization to accelerate certification of new materials and enhance life management of engineered systems.

Explicit methods in extended phase space for inseparable Hamiltonian problems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pihajoki, Pauli

2015-03-01

We present a method for explicit leapfrog integration of inseparable Hamiltonian systems by means of an extended phase space. A suitably defined new Hamiltonian on the extended phase space leads to equations of motion that can be numerically integrated by standard symplectic leapfrog (splitting) methods. When the leapfrog is combined with coordinate mixing transformations, the resulting algorithm shows good long term stability and error behaviour. We extend the method to non-Hamiltonian problems as well, and investigate optimal methods of projecting the extended phase space back to original dimension. Finally, we apply the methods to a Hamiltonian problem of geodesics in a curved space, and a non-Hamiltonian problem of a forced non-linear oscillator. We compare the performance of the methods to a general purpose differential equation solver LSODE, and the implicit midpoint method, a symplectic one-step method. We find the extended phase space methods to compare favorably to both for the Hamiltonian problem, and to the implicit midpoint method in the case of the non-linear oscillator.

Unmanned ground vehicles for integrated force protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carroll, Daniel M.; Mikell, Kenneth; Denewiler, Thomas

2004-09-01

The combination of Command and Control (C2) systems with Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) provides Integrated Force Protection from the Robotic Operation Command Center. Autonomous UGVs are directed as Force Projection units. UGV payloads and fixed sensors provide situational awareness while unattended munitions provide a less-than-lethal response capability. Remote resources serve as automated interfaces to legacy physical devices such as manned response vehicles, barrier gates, fence openings, garage doors, and remote power on/off capability for unmanned systems. The Robotic Operations Command Center executes the Multiple Resource Host Architecture (MRHA) to simultaneously control heterogeneous unmanned systems. The MRHA graphically displays video, map, and status for each resource using wireless digital communications for integrated data, video, and audio. Events are prioritized and the user is prompted with audio alerts and text instructions for alarms and warnings. A control hierarchy of missions and duty rosters support autonomous operations. This paper provides an overview of the key technology enablers for Integrated Force Protection with details on a force-on-force scenario to test and demonstrate concept of operations using Unmanned Ground Vehicles. Special attention is given to development and applications for the Remote Detection Challenge and Response (REDCAR) initiative for Integrated Base Defense.

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

Smith, R.; Harrison, D. E. Jr.

A variable time step integration algorithm for carrying out molecular dynamics simulations of atomic collision cascades is proposed which evaluates the interaction forces only once per time step. The algorithm is tested on some model problems which have exact solutions and is compared against other common methods. These comparisons show that the method has good stability and accuracy. Applications to Ar/sup +/ bombardment of Cu and Si show good accuracy and improved speed to the original method (D. E. Harrison, W. L. Gay, and H. M. Effron, J. Math. Phys. /bold 10/, 1179 (1969)).

Acoustic backscattering and radiation force on a rigid elliptical cylinder in plane progressive waves.

PubMed

Mitri, F G

2016-03-01

This work proposes a formal analytical theory using the partial-wave series expansion (PWSE) method in cylindrical coordinates, to calculate the acoustic backscattering form function as well as the radiation force-per-length on an infinitely long elliptical (non-circular) cylinder in plane progressive waves. The major (or minor) semi-axis of the ellipse coincides with the direction of the incident waves. The scattering coefficients for the rigid elliptical cylinder are determined by imposing the Neumann boundary condition for an immovable surface and solving a resulting system of linear equations by matrix inversion. The present method, which utilizes standard cylindrical (Bessel and Hankel) wave functions, presents an advantage over the solution for the scattering that is ordinarily expressed in a basis of elliptical Mathieu functions (which are generally non-orthogonal). Furthermore, an integral equation showing the direct connection of the radiation force function with the square of the scattering form function in the far-field from the scatterer (applicable for plane waves only), is noted and discussed. An important application of this integral equation is the adequate evaluation of the radiation force function from a bistatic measurement (i.e., in the polar plane) of the far-field scattering from any 2D object of arbitrary shape. Numerical predictions are evaluated for the acoustic backscattering form function and the radiation force function, which is the radiation force per unit length, per characteristic energy density, and per unit cross-sectional surface of the ellipse, with particular emphasis on the aspect ratio a/b, where a and b are the semi-axes, as well as the dimensionless size parameter kb, without the restriction to a particular range of frequencies. The results are particularly relevant in acoustic levitation, acousto-fluidics and particle dynamics applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

6Li in a three-body model with realistic Forces: Separable versus nonseparable approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hlophe, L.; Lei, Jin; Elster, Ch.; Nogga, A.; Nunes, F. M.

2017-12-01

Background: Deuteron induced reactions are widely used to probe nuclear structure and astrophysical information. Those (d ,p ) reactions may be viewed as three-body reactions and described with Faddeev techniques. Purpose: Faddeev equations in momentum space have a long tradition of utilizing separable interactions in order to arrive at sets of coupled integral equations in one variable. However, it needs to be demonstrated that their solution based on separable interactions agrees exactly with solutions based on nonseparable forces. Methods: Momentum space Faddeev equations are solved with nonseparable and separable forces as coupled integral equations. Results: The ground state of 6Li is calculated via momentum space Faddeev equations using the CD-Bonn neutron-proton force and a Woods-Saxon type neutron(proton)-4He force. For the latter the Pauli-forbidden S -wave bound state is projected out. This result is compared to a calculation in which the interactions in the two-body subsystems are represented by separable interactions derived in the Ernst-Shakin-Thaler (EST) framework. Conclusions: We find that calculations based on the separable representation of the interactions and the original interactions give results that agree to four significant figures for the binding energy, provided that energy and momentum support points of the EST expansion are chosen independently. The momentum distributions computed in both approaches also fully agree with each other.

Fourier-based integration of quasi-periodic gait accelerations for drift-free displacement estimation using inertial sensors.

PubMed

Sabatini, Angelo Maria; Ligorio, Gabriele; Mannini, Andrea

2015-11-23

In biomechanical studies Optical Motion Capture Systems (OMCS) are considered the gold standard for determining the orientation and the position (pose) of an object in a global reference frame. However, the use of OMCS can be difficult, which has prompted research on alternative sensing technologies, such as body-worn inertial sensors. We developed a drift-free method to estimate the three-dimensional (3D) displacement of a body part during cyclical motions using body-worn inertial sensors. We performed the Fourier analysis of the stride-by-stride estimates of the linear acceleration, which were obtained by transposing the specific forces measured by the tri-axial accelerometer into the global frame using a quaternion-based orientation estimation algorithm and detecting when each stride began using a gait-segmentation algorithm. The time integration was performed analytically using the Fourier series coefficients; the inverse Fourier series was then taken for reconstructing the displacement over each single stride. The displacement traces were concatenated and spline-interpolated to obtain the entire trace. The method was applied to estimate the motion of the lower trunk of healthy subjects that walked on a treadmill and it was validated using OMCS reference 3D displacement data; different approaches were tested for transposing the measured specific force into the global frame, segmenting the gait and performing time integration (numerically and analytically). The width of the limits of agreements were computed between each tested method and the OMCS reference method for each anatomical direction: Medio-Lateral (ML), VerTical (VT) and Antero-Posterior (AP); using the proposed method, it was observed that the vertical component of displacement (VT) was within ±4 mm (±1.96 standard deviation) of OMCS data and each component of horizontal displacement (ML and AP) was within ±9 mm of OMCS data. Fourier harmonic analysis was applied to model stride-by-stride linear accelerations during walking and to perform their analytical integration. Our results showed that analytical integration based on Fourier series coefficients was a useful approach to accurately estimate 3D displacement from noisy acceleration data.

Determining polarizable force fields with electrostatic potentials from quantum mechanical linear response theory

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

Wang, Hao; Yang, Weitao, E-mail: weitao.yang@duke.edu; Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708

We developed a new method to calculate the atomic polarizabilities by fitting to the electrostatic potentials (ESPs) obtained from quantum mechanical (QM) calculations within the linear response theory. This parallels the conventional approach of fitting atomic charges based on electrostatic potentials from the electron density. Our ESP fitting is combined with the induced dipole model under the perturbation of uniform external electric fields of all orientations. QM calculations for the linear response to the external electric fields are used as input, fully consistent with the induced dipole model, which itself is a linear response model. The orientation of the uniformmore » external electric fields is integrated in all directions. The integration of orientation and QM linear response calculations together makes the fitting results independent of the orientations and magnitudes of the uniform external electric fields applied. Another advantage of our method is that QM calculation is only needed once, in contrast to the conventional approach, where many QM calculations are needed for many different applied electric fields. The molecular polarizabilities obtained from our method show comparable accuracy with those from fitting directly to the experimental or theoretical molecular polarizabilities. Since ESP is directly fitted, atomic polarizabilities obtained from our method are expected to reproduce the electrostatic interactions better. Our method was used to calculate both transferable atomic polarizabilities for polarizable molecular mechanics’ force fields and nontransferable molecule-specific atomic polarizabilities.« less

Stabilization Operations Through Military Capacity Building-Integration Between Danish Conventional Forces and Special Operations Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-12-01

Svendsen 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5000 8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION REPORT...operations forces should be fully integrated across doctrine, organization , and technology, and predominantly advise, mentor, and train local forces. With...stability operations. This capstone makes additional recommendations related to doctrine, organization , and technology, as well as education and

The Death of Psychology: Integral & Fifth Force Psychologies. Technical Paper No. 36

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fisher, R. Michael

2010-01-01

The purpose here is to translate the Fifth Force Psychologies movement through an integral (Wilberian) lens. One of the most significant impacts of doing this comes from the integral initiative, which has led to Ken Wilber arguing "Psychology is dead." Concomitantly, his view is that the "integral approach" is its replacement. This move…

Verification of the windings axial clamping forces for high voltage power transformers by using passively mode-locked fiber lasers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Şchiopu, IonuÅ£ Romeo; ǎgulinescu, Andrei, Dr; Iordǎnescu, Raluca; Marinescu, Andrei

2015-02-01

The current paper describes an optoelectronic method for direct monitoring of the axial clamping forces both in static and in dynamic duty. As advantages of this method we can state that it can be applied both to new and refurbished transformers without performing constructive changes or affecting in any way the transformer safety in operation. For monitoring the axial clamping forces for high-voltage (HV) power transformers, we use an optical fiber that we integrate into the laser cavity of a passively mode-locked fiber laser (PMFL). To each axial clamp corresponds a solitonic optical spectrum that is changed at the periodical passing of the fundamental soliton pulse through the sensitive fiber inside the transformer. Moreover, as a specific characteristic, the laser stability is unique for each set of axial clamping forces. Other important advantages of using an optical fiber as compared to the classical approach in which electronic sensors are used consist in the good reliability and insulator properties of the optical fiber, avoiding any risk of fire or damage of the transformer.

Virtual photons in imaginary time: Computing exact Casimir forces via standard numerical electromagnetism techniques

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

Rodriguez, Alejandro; Ibanescu, Mihai; Joannopoulos, J. D.

2007-09-15

We describe a numerical method to compute Casimir forces in arbitrary geometries, for arbitrary dielectric and metallic materials, with arbitrary accuracy (given sufficient computational resources). Our approach, based on well-established integration of the mean stress tensor evaluated via the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, is designed to directly exploit fast methods developed for classical computational electromagnetism, since it only involves repeated evaluation of the Green's function for imaginary frequencies (equivalently, real frequencies in imaginary time). We develop the approach by systematically examining various formulations of Casimir forces from the previous decades and evaluating them according to their suitability for numerical computation. We illustratemore » our approach with a simple finite-difference frequency-domain implementation, test it for known geometries such as a cylinder and a plate, and apply it to new geometries. In particular, we show that a pistonlike geometry of two squares sliding between metal walls, in both two and three dimensions with both perfect and realistic metallic materials, exhibits a surprising nonmonotonic ''lateral'' force from the walls.« less

The Metadata Education and Research Information Commons (MERIC): A Collaborative Teaching and Research Initiative

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vellucci, Sherry L.; Hsieh-Yee, Ingrid; Moen, William E.

2007-01-01

The networked environment forced a sea change in Library and Information Science (LIS) education. Most LIS programs offer a mixed-mode of instruction that integrates online learning materials with more traditional classroom pedagogical methods and faculty are now responsible for developing content and digital learning objects. The teaching commons…

Tune in to What the New Generation of Teachers Can Do

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Richardson, Joan

2011-01-01

More young people are entering the teaching profession. These Millennials, meaning those born in 1978 or later, have different expectations than the older teachers they are replacing. This article explores some of these differences and suggests methods to help integrate Millennials smoothly into the teaching force. Reprinted with permission from…

Best Practices in the Navy’s Energy Programs Strategic Communication Factors Operating in the Tactical Forces

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-12-01

Management Pilot Project.” NRSW E -Notes, No. 132, January 30, 2008. http://secnavportal.donhq.navy.mil/ portal /server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_0_2426...CONSERVATION.........................................................................................52 E . MATERIAL AND SOCIAL INCENTIVES IMPACT BEHAVIOR...73 E . SUPPORT AN INTEGRATED COMMUNICATION PROCESS...........75 VI. METHODS

Using a Phototransduction System to Monitor the Isolated Frog Heart

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephens, Philip J.

2015-01-01

A simple and inexpensive method of monitoring the movement of an isolated frog heart provides comparable results to those obtained with a force transducer. A commercially available photoresistor is integrated into a Wheatstone bridge circuit, and the output signal is interfaced directly with a recording device. An excised, beating frog heart is…

Interoperability, Integration, and Interdependence Between the United States and Canadian Forces: Recreating the Devil’s Brigade

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-26

www.arcic.army.mil/Articles/cdd-Force-Design-in-a-Constrained­ Environment.aspx. 45 Tzu , Sun . The Art of War... Bibliography Army Capabilities Integration Center. “Force 2025 and Beyond.” US Army. February 18, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2016. http

Dynamics of anchor last deployment of submersible buoy system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Zhongqiang; Xu, Jianpeng; Huang, Peng; Wang, Lei; Yang, Xiaoguang; Chang, Zongyu

2016-02-01

Submersible buoy systems are widely used for oceanographic research, ocean engineering and coastal defense. Severe sea environment has obvious effects on the dynamics of submersible buoy systems. Huge tension can occur and may cause the snap of cables, especially during the deployment period. This paper studies the deployment dynamics of submersible buoy systems with numerical and experimental methods. By applying the lumped mass approach, a three-dimensional multi-body model of submersible buoy system is developed considering the hydrodynamic force, tension force and impact force between components of submersible buoy system and seabed. Numerical integration method is used to solve the differential equations. The simulation output includes tension force, trajectory, profile and dropping location and impact force of submersible buoys. In addition, the deployment experiment of a simplified submersible buoy model was carried out. The profile and different nodes' velocities of the submersible buoy are obtained. By comparing the results of the two methods, it is found that the numerical model well simulates the actual process and conditions of the experiment. The simulation results agree well with the results of the experiment such as gravity anchor's location and velocities of different nodes of the submersible buoy. The study results will help to understand the conditions of submersible buoy's deployment, operation and recovery, and can be used to guide the design and optimization of the system.

Characterization of perovskite film prepared by pulsed laser deposition on ferritic stainless steel using microscopic and optical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durda, E.; Jaglarz, J.; Kąc, S.; Przybylski, K.; El Kouari, Y.

2016-06-01

The perovskite La0.6Sr0.4Co0.2Fe0.8O3-δ (LSCF48) film was deposited on Crofer 22 APU ferritic stainless steel by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Morphological studies of the sample were performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Information about film thickness and surface topography of the film and the steel substrate were obtained using following optical methods: spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), bidirectional reflection distribution function (BRDF) and total integrated reflectometry (TIS). In particular, the BRDF study, being complementary to atomic force microscopy, yielded information about surface topography. Using the previously mentioned methods, the following statistic surface parameters were determined: root-mean square (rms) roughness and autocorrelation length by determining the power spectral density (PSD) function of surface irregularities.

A highly accurate boundary integral equation method for surfactant-laden drops in 3D

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorgentone, Chiara; Tornberg, Anna-Karin

2018-05-01

The presence of surfactants alters the dynamics of viscous drops immersed in an ambient viscous fluid. This is specifically true at small scales, such as in applications of droplet based microfluidics, where the interface dynamics become of increased importance. At such small scales, viscous forces dominate and inertial effects are often negligible. Considering Stokes flow, a numerical method based on a boundary integral formulation is presented for simulating 3D drops covered by an insoluble surfactant. The method is able to simulate drops with different viscosities and close interactions, automatically controlling the time step size and maintaining high accuracy also when substantial drop deformation appears. To achieve this, the drop surfaces as well as the surfactant concentration on each surface are represented by spherical harmonics expansions. A novel reparameterization method is introduced to ensure a high-quality representation of the drops also under deformation, specialized quadrature methods for singular and nearly singular integrals that appear in the formulation are evoked and the adaptive time stepping scheme for the coupled drop and surfactant evolution is designed with a preconditioned implicit treatment of the surfactant diffusion.

Module-based construction of plasmids for chromosomal integration of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe

PubMed Central

Kakui, Yasutaka; Sunaga, Tomonari; Arai, Kunio; Dodgson, James; Ji, Liang; Csikász-Nagy, Attila; Carazo-Salas, Rafael; Sato, Masamitsu

2015-01-01

Integration of an external gene into a fission yeast chromosome is useful to investigate the effect of the gene product. An easy way to knock-in a gene construct is use of an integration plasmid, which can be targeted and inserted to a chromosome through homologous recombination. Despite the advantage of integration, construction of integration plasmids is energy- and time-consuming, because there is no systematic library of integration plasmids with various promoters, fluorescent protein tags, terminators and selection markers; therefore, researchers are often forced to make appropriate ones through multiple rounds of cloning procedures. Here, we establish materials and methods to easily construct integration plasmids. We introduce a convenient cloning system based on Golden Gate DNA shuffling, which enables the connection of multiple DNA fragments at once: any kind of promoters and terminators, the gene of interest, in combination with any fluorescent protein tag genes and any selection markers. Each of those DNA fragments, called a ‘module’, can be tandemly ligated in the order we desire in a single reaction, which yields a circular plasmid in a one-step manner. The resulting plasmids can be integrated through standard methods for transformation. Thus, these materials and methods help easy construction of knock-in strains, and this will further increase the value of fission yeast as a model organism. PMID:26108218

Air Force is Developing Risk-Mitigation Strategies to Manage Potential Loss of the RD-180 Engine (REDACTED)

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-05

launched on its rocket- estimated completion date of May 2015. Air Force will require verification that SpaceX can meet payload integration...design and accelerate integration capability at Space Exploration Technologies Corporation ( SpaceX )1 launch sites. o The Air Force does not intend to...accelerate integration capabilities at SpaceX launch sites because of the studies it directed, but will require verification that SpaceX can meet

An Integrated Theory of Everything (TOE)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colella, Antonio

2014-03-01

An Integrated TOE unifies all known physical phenomena from the Planck cube to the Super Universe (multiverse). Each matter/force particle is represented by a Planck cube string. Any Super Universe object is a volume of contiguous Planck cubes. Super force Planck cube string singularities existed at the start of all universes. An Integrated TOE foundations are twenty independent existing theories and without sacrificing their integrities, are replaced by twenty interrelated amplified theories. Amplifications of Higgs force theory are key to an Integrated TOE and include: 64 supersymmetric Higgs particles; super force condensations to 17 matter particles/associated Higgs forces; spontaneous symmetry breaking is bidirectional; and the sum of 8 permanent Higgs force energies is dark energy. Stellar black hole theory was amplified to include a quark star (matter) with mass, volume, near zero temperature, and maximum entropy. A black hole (energy) has energy, minimal volume (singularity), near infinite temperature, and minimum entropy. Our precursor universe's super supermassive quark star (matter) evaporated to a super supermassive black hole (energy). This transferred total conserved energy/mass and transformed entropy from maximum to minimum. Integrated Theory of Everything Book Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4a1c9IvdoGY Research Article Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD-QoLeVbSY Research Article: http://toncolella.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/m080112.pdf.

Aerodynamic design and analysis system for supersonic aircraft. Part 1: General description and theoretical development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Middleton, W. D.; Lundry, J. L.

1975-01-01

An integrated system of computer programs has been developed for the design and analysis of supersonic configurations. The system uses linearized theory methods for the calculation of surface pressures and supersonic area rule concepts in combination with linearized theory for calculation of aerodynamic force coefficients. Interactive graphics are optional at the user's request. This part presents a general description of the system and describes the theoretical methods used.

Dynamical Chaos in the Wisdom-Holman Integrator: Origins and Solutions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rauch, Kevin P.; Holman, Matthew

1999-01-01

We examine the nonlinear stability of the Wisdom-Holman (WH) symplectic mapping applied to the integration of perturbed, highly eccentric (e-0.9) two-body orbits. We find that the method is unstable and introduces artificial chaos into the computed trajectories for this class of problems, unless the step size chosen 1s small enough that PeriaPse is always resolved, in which case the method is generically stable. This 'radial orbit instability' persists even for weakly perturbed systems. Using the Stark problem as a fiducial test case, we investigate the dynamical origin of this instability and argue that the numerical chaos results from the overlap of step-size resonances; interestingly, for the Stark-problem many of these resonances appear to be absolutely stable. We similarly examine the robustness of several alternative integration methods: a time-regularized version of the WH mapping suggested by Mikkola; the potential-splitting (PS) method of Duncan, Levison, Lee; and two original methods incorporating approximations based on Stark motion instead of Keplerian motion. The two fixed point problem and a related, more general problem are used to conduct a comparative test of the various methods for several types of motion. Among the algorithms tested, the time-transformed WH mapping is clearly the most efficient and stable method of integrating eccentric, nearly Keplerian orbits in the absence of close encounters. For test particles subject to both high eccentricities and very close encounters, we find an enhanced version of the PS method-incorporating time regularization, force-center switching, and an improved kernel function-to be both economical and highly versatile. We conclude that Stark-based methods are of marginal utility in N-body type integrations. Additional implications for the symplectic integration of N-body systems are discussed.

Creep and shrinkage effects on integral abutment bridges

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Munuswamy, Sivakumar

Integral abutment bridges provide bridge engineers an economical design alternative to traditional bridges with expansion joints owing to the benefits, arising from elimination of expensive joints installation and reduced maintenance cost. The superstructure for integral abutment bridges is cast integrally with abutments. Time-dependent effects of creep, shrinkage of concrete, relaxation of prestressing steel, temperature gradient, restraints provided by abutment foundation and backfill and statical indeterminacy of the structure introduce time-dependent variations in the redundant forces. An analytical model and numerical procedure to predict instantaneous linear behavior and non-linear time dependent long-term behavior of continuous composite superstructure are developed in which the redundant forces in the integral abutment bridges are derived considering the time-dependent effects. The redistributions of moments due to time-dependent effects have been considered in the analysis. The analysis includes nonlinearity due to cracking of the concrete, as well as the time-dependent deformations. American Concrete Institute (ACI) and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) models for creep and shrinkage are considered in modeling the time dependent material behavior. The variations in the material property of the cross-section corresponding to the constituent materials are incorporated and age-adjusted effective modulus method with relaxation procedure is followed to include the creep behavior of concrete. The partial restraint provided by the abutment-pile-soil system is modeled using discrete spring stiffness as translational and rotational degrees of freedom. Numerical simulation of the behavior is carried out on continuous composite integral abutment bridges and the deformations and stresses due to time-dependent effects due to typical sustained loads are computed. The results from the analytical model are compared with the published laboratory experimental and field data. The behavior of the laterally loaded piles supporting the integral abutments is evaluated and presented in terms of the lateral deflection, bending moment, shear force and stress along the pile depth.

High-Speed Solution of Spacecraft Trajectory Problems Using Taylor Series Integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scott, James R.; Martini, Michael C.

2010-01-01

It has been known for some time that Taylor series (TS) integration is among the most efficient and accurate numerical methods in solving differential equations. However, the full benefit of the method has yet to be realized in calculating spacecraft trajectories, for two main reasons. First, most applications of Taylor series to trajectory propagation have focused on relatively simple problems of orbital motion or on specific problems and have not provided general applicability. Second, applications that have been more general have required use of a preprocessor, which inevitably imposes constraints on computational efficiency. The latter approach includes the work of Berryman et al., who solved the planetary n-body problem with relativistic effects. Their work specifically noted the computational inefficiencies arising from use of a preprocessor and pointed out the potential benefit of manually coding derivative routines. In this Engineering Note, we report on a systematic effort to directly implement Taylor series integration in an operational trajectory propagation code: the Spacecraft N-Body Analysis Program (SNAP). The present Taylor series implementation is unique in that it applies to spacecraft virtually anywhere in the solar system and can be used interchangeably with another integration method. SNAP is a high-fidelity trajectory propagator that includes force models for central body gravitation with N X N harmonics, other body gravitation with N X N harmonics, solar radiation pressure, atmospheric drag (for Earth orbits), and spacecraft thrusting (including shadowing). The governing equations are solved using an eighth-order Runge-Kutta Fehlberg (RKF) single-step method with variable step size control. In the present effort, TS is implemented by way of highly integrated subroutines that can be used interchangeably with RKF. This makes it possible to turn TS on or off during various phases of a mission. Current TS force models include central body gravitation with the J2 spherical harmonic, other body gravitation, thrust, constant atmospheric drag from Earth's atmosphere, and solar radiation pressure for a sphere under constant illumination. The purpose of this Engineering Note is to demonstrate the performance of TS integration in an operational trajectory analysis code and to compare it with a standard method, eighth-order RKF. Results show that TS is 16.6 times faster on average and is more accurate in 87.5% of the cases presented.

[Research of joint-robotics-based design of biomechanics testing device on human spine].

PubMed

Deng, Guoyong; Tian, Lianfang; Mao, Zongyuan

2009-12-01

This paper introduces the hardware and software of a biomechanical robot-based testing device. The bottom control orders, posture and torque data transmission, and the control algorithms are integrated in a unified visual control platform by Visual C+ +, with easy control and management. By using hybrid force-displacement control method to load the human spine, we can test the organizational structure and the force state of the FSU (Functional spinal unit) well, which overcomes the shortcomings due to the separation of the force and displacement measurement, thus greatly improves the measurement accuracy. Also it is esay to identify the spinal degeneration and the load-bearing impact on the organizational structure of the FSU after various types of surgery.

The Use of Rapid Review Methods for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

PubMed

Patnode, Carrie D; Eder, Michelle L; Walsh, Emily S; Viswanathan, Meera; Lin, Jennifer S

2018-01-01

Rapid review products are intended to synthesize available evidence in a timely fashion while still meeting the needs of healthcare decision makers. Various methods and products have been applied for rapid evidence syntheses, but no single approach has been uniformly adopted. Methods to gain efficiency and compress the review time period include focusing on a narrow clinical topic and key questions; limiting the literature search; performing single (versus dual) screening of abstracts and full-text articles for relevance; and limiting the analysis and synthesis. In order to maintain the scientific integrity, including transparency, of rapid evidence syntheses, it is imperative that procedures used to streamline standard systematic review methods are prespecified, based on sound review principles and empiric evidence when possible, and provide the end user with an accurate and comprehensive synthesis. The collection of clinical preventive service recommendations maintained by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, along with its commitment to rigorous methods development, provide a unique opportunity to refine, implement, and evaluate rapid evidence synthesis methods and add to an emerging evidence base on rapid review methods. This paper summarizes the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's use of rapid review methodology, its criteria for selecting topics for rapid evidence syntheses, and proposed methods to streamline the review process. Copyright © 2018 American Journal of Preventive Medicine. All rights reserved.

Integrating System Dynamics and Bayesian Networks with Application to Counter-IED Scenarios

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

Jarman, Kenneth D.; Brothers, Alan J.; Whitney, Paul D.

2010-06-06

The practice of choosing a single modeling paradigm for predictive analysis can limit the scope and relevance of predictions and their utility to decision-making processes. Considering multiple modeling methods simultaneously may improve this situation, but a better solution provides a framework for directly integrating different, potentially complementary modeling paradigms to enable more comprehensive modeling and predictions, and thus better-informed decisions. The primary challenges of this kind of model integration are to bridge language and conceptual gaps between modeling paradigms, and to determine whether natural and useful linkages can be made in a formal mathematical manner. To address these challenges inmore » the context of two specific modeling paradigms, we explore mathematical and computational options for linking System Dynamics (SD) and Bayesian network (BN) models and incorporating data into the integrated models. We demonstrate that integrated SD/BN models can naturally be described as either state space equations or Dynamic Bayes Nets, which enables the use of many existing computational methods for simulation and data integration. To demonstrate, we apply our model integration approach to techno-social models of insurgent-led attacks and security force counter-measures centered on improvised explosive devices.« less

Ideas, properties, and standards of fracture repositioning with osteopathy in traditional Mongolian medicine in China.

PubMed

Wang, Mei; Wang, Hongxia; Zhao, Namula

2015-02-01

To explore the unique ideas, properties, and standards of fracture repositioning with osteopathy in traditional Mongolian medicine in China. Based on the natural life concept of "integration of universe and man", osteopathy in traditional Mongolian medicine in China uses the modern principles and methods of physiology, psychology, and biomechanics. Against this background, we explored the unique ideas, properties, and stan- dards of fracture repositioning in traditional Mongolian medicine. Fracture treatment with osteopathy in traditional Mongolian medicine in China is based on (a) the ideas of natural, sealed, self and dynamic repositioning of fractures; (b) the properties of structural continuity and functional completeness; (c) the standards of "integration of movement and stillness" and "force to force". The unique ideas, properties, and standards of fracture repositioning with osteopathy in traditional Mongolian medicine in China have resulted in the widespread use of such techniques and represents the future direction of the development of fracture repositioning.

Vector form Intrinsic Finite Element Method for the Two-Dimensional Analysis of Marine Risers with Large Deformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Xiaomin; Guo, Xueli; Guo, Haiyan

2018-06-01

Robust numerical models that describe the complex behaviors of risers are needed because these constitute dynamically sensitive systems. This paper presents a simple and efficient algorithm for the nonlinear static and dynamic analyses of marine risers. The proposed approach uses the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) method, which is based on vector mechanics theory and numerical calculation. In this method, the risers are described by a set of particles directly governed by Newton's second law and are connected by weightless elements that can only resist internal forces. The method does not require the integration of the stiffness matrix, nor does it need iterations to solve the governing equations. Due to these advantages, the method can easily increase or decrease the element and change the boundary conditions, thus representing an innovative concept of solving nonlinear behaviors, such as large deformation and large displacement. To prove the feasibility of the VFIFE method in the analysis of the risers, rigid and flexible risers belonging to two different categories of marine risers, which usually have differences in modeling and solving methods, are employed in the present study. In the analysis, the plane beam element is adopted in the simulation of interaction forces between the particles and the axial force, shear force, and bending moment are also considered. The results are compared with the conventional finite element method (FEM) and those reported in the related literature. The findings revealed that both the rigid and flexible risers could be modeled in a similar unified analysis model and that the VFIFE method is feasible for solving problems related to the complex behaviors of marine risers.

Preparation of W-Ta thin-film thermocouple on diamond anvil cell for in-situ temperature measurement under high pressure

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

Yang Jie; Fundamental Department, Aviation University, Changchun 130022; Li Ming

2011-04-15

In this paper, a W-Ta thin-film thermocouple has been integrated on a diamond anvil cell by thin-film deposition and photolithography methods. The thermocouple was calibrated and its thermal electromotive force was studied under high pressure. The results indicate that the thermal electromotive force of the thermocouple exhibits a linear relationship with temperature and is not associated with pressure. The resistivity measurement of ZnS powders under high pressure at different temperatures shows that the phase transition pressure decreases as the temperature increases.

Preparation of W-Ta thin-film thermocouple on diamond anvil cell for in-situ temperature measurement under high pressure.

PubMed

Yang, Jie; Li, Ming; Zhang, Honglin; Gao, Chunxiao

2011-04-01

In this paper, a W-Ta thin-film thermocouple has been integrated on a diamond anvil cell by thin-film deposition and photolithography methods. The thermocouple was calibrated and its thermal electromotive force was studied under high pressure. The results indicate that the thermal electromotive force of the thermocouple exhibits a linear relationship with temperature and is not associated with pressure. The resistivity measurement of ZnS powders under high pressure at different temperatures shows that the phase transition pressure decreases as the temperature increases. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Identification of nonlinear normal modes of engineering structures under broadband forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noël, Jean-Philippe; Renson, L.; Grappasonni, C.; Kerschen, G.

2016-06-01

The objective of the present paper is to develop a two-step methodology integrating system identification and numerical continuation for the experimental extraction of nonlinear normal modes (NNMs) under broadband forcing. The first step processes acquired input and output data to derive an experimental state-space model of the structure. The second step converts this state-space model into a model in modal space from which NNMs are computed using shooting and pseudo-arclength continuation. The method is demonstrated using noisy synthetic data simulated on a cantilever beam with a hardening-softening nonlinearity at its free end.

A method for calculation of free-space sound pressures near a propeller in flight including considerations of the chordwise blade loading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watkins, Charles E; Durling, Barbara J

1956-01-01

This report presents tabulated values of certain definite integral that are involved in the calculation of near-field propeller noise when the chordwise forces are assumed to be either uniform or of a Dirac delta type. The tabulations are over a wide range of operating conditions and are useful for estimating propeller noise when either the concept of an effective radius or radial distributions of forces are considered. Use of the tabulations is illustrated by several examples of calculated results for some specific propellers.

Numerical and experimental study on the steady cone-jet mode of electro-centrifugal spinning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashemi, Ali Reza; Pishevar, Ahmad Reza; Valipouri, Afsaneh; Pǎrǎu, Emilian I.

2018-01-01

This study focuses on a numerical investigation of an initial stable jet through the air-sealed electro-centrifugal spinning process, which is known as a viable method for the mass production of nanofibers. A liquid jet undergoing electric and centrifugal forces, as well as other forces, first travels in a stable trajectory and then goes through an unstable curled path to the collector. In numerical modeling, hydrodynamic equations have been solved using the perturbation method—and the boundary integral method has been implemented to efficiently solve the electric potential equation. Hydrodynamic equations have been coupled with the electric field using stress boundary conditions at the fluid-fluid interface. Perturbation equations were discretized by a second order finite difference method, and the Newton method was implemented to solve the discretized non-linear system. Also, the boundary element method was utilized to solve electrostatic equations. In the theoretical study, the fluid was described as a leaky dielectric with charges only on the surface of the jet traveling in dielectric air. The effect of the electric field induced around the nozzle tip on the jet instability and trajectory deviation was also experimentally studied through plate-plate geometry as well as point-plate geometry. It was numerically found that the centrifugal force prevails on electric force by increasing the rotational speed. Therefore, the alteration of the applied voltage does not significantly affect the jet thinning profile or the jet trajectory.

Single-Vector Calibration of Wind-Tunnel Force Balances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, P. A.; DeLoach, R.

2003-01-01

An improved method of calibrating a wind-tunnel force balance involves the use of a unique load application system integrated with formal experimental design methodology. The Single-Vector Force Balance Calibration System (SVS) overcomes the productivity and accuracy limitations of prior calibration methods. A force balance is a complex structural spring element instrumented with strain gauges for measuring three orthogonal components of aerodynamic force (normal, axial, and side force) and three orthogonal components of aerodynamic torque (rolling, pitching, and yawing moments). Force balances remain as the state-of-the-art instrument that provide these measurements on a scale model of an aircraft during wind tunnel testing. Ideally, each electrical channel of the balance would respond only to its respective component of load, and it would have no response to other components of load. This is not entirely possible even though balance designs are optimized to minimize these undesirable interaction effects. Ultimately, a calibration experiment is performed to obtain the necessary data to generate a mathematical model and determine the force measurement accuracy. In order to set the independent variables of applied load for the calibration 24 NASA Tech Briefs, October 2003 experiment, a high-precision mechanical system is required. Manual deadweight systems have been in use at Langley Research Center (LaRC) since the 1940s. These simple methodologies produce high confidence results, but the process is mechanically complex and labor-intensive, requiring three to four weeks to complete. Over the past decade, automated balance calibration systems have been developed. In general, these systems were designed to automate the tedious manual calibration process resulting in an even more complex system which deteriorates load application quality. The current calibration approach relies on a one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) methodology, where each independent variable is incremented individually throughout its full-scale range, while all other variables are held at a constant magnitude. This OFAT approach has been widely accepted because of its inherent simplicity and intuitive appeal to the balance engineer. LaRC has been conducting research in a "modern design of experiments" (MDOE) approach to force balance calibration. Formal experimental design techniques provide an integrated view to the entire calibration process covering all three major aspects of an experiment; the design of the experiment, the execution of the experiment, and the statistical analyses of the data. In order to overcome the weaknesses in the available mechanical systems and to apply formal experimental techniques, a new mechanical system was required. The SVS enables the complete calibration of a six-component force balance with a series of single force vectors.

Piezoresistive in-line integrated force sensors for on-chip measurement and control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teichert, Kendall; Waterfall, Tyler; Jensen, Brian; Howell, Larry; McLain, Tim

2007-04-01

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a force sensor for integrated use with thermomechanical in-plane microactuators. The force sensor is designed to be integrated with the actuator and fabricated in the same batch fabrication process. This sensor uses the piezoresistive property of silicon as a sensing signal by directing the actuation force through two thin legs, producing a tensile stress. This tensile load produces a resistance change in the thin legs by the piezoresistive effect. The resistance change is linearly correlated with the applied force. The device presented was designed by considering both its piezoresistive sensitivity and out-of- plane torsional stability. A design trade-off exists between these two objectives in that longer legs are more sensitive yet less stable. Fabrication of the sensor design was done using the MUMPs process. This paper presents experimental results from this device and a basic model for comparison with previously attained piezoresistive data. The results validate the concept of integral sensing using the piezoresistive property of silicon.

Dynamic Patterns of Forces and Loading Rate in Runners with Unilateral Plantar Fasciitis: A Cross-Sectional Study

PubMed Central

Ribeiro, Ana Paula; João, Silvia Maria Amado; Dinato, Roberto Casanova; Tessutti, Vitor Daniel; Sacco, Isabel Camargo Neves

2015-01-01

Aim/Hypothesis The etiology of plantar fasciitis (PF) has been related to several risk factors, but the magnitude of the plantar load is the most commonly described factor. Although PF is the third most-common injury in runners, only two studies have investigated this factor in runners, and their results are still inconclusive regarding the injury stage. Objective Analyze and compare the plantar loads and vertical loading rate during running of runners in the acute stage of PF to those in the chronic stage of the injury in relation to healthy runners. Methods Forty-five runners with unilateral PF (30 acute and 15 chronic) and 30 healthy control runners were evaluated while running at 12 km/h for 40 meters wearing standardized running shoes and Pedar-X insoles. The contact area and time, maximum force, and force-time integral over the rearfoot, midfoot, and forefoot were recorded and the loading rate (20–80% of the first vertical peak) was calculated. Groups were compared by ANOVAs (p<0.05). Results Maximum force and force-time integral over the rearfoot and the loading rate was higher in runners with PF (acute and chronic) compared with controls (p<0.01). Runners with PF in the acute stage showed lower loading rate and maximum force over the rearfoot compared to runners in the chronic stage (p<0.01). Conclusion Runners with PF showed different dynamic patterns of plantar loads during running over the rearfoot area depending on the injury stage (acute or chronic). In the acute stage of PF, runners presented lower loading rate and forces over the rearfoot, possibly due to dynamic mechanisms related to pain protection of the calcaneal area. PMID:26375815

Design of an exhaust mixer nozzle for the Avco-Lycoming Quiet Clean General Aviation Turbofan (QCGAT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hurley, J. F.; Anson, L.; Wilson, C.

1978-01-01

This report describes the design configuration and method used to design the forced engine exhaust to bypass air mixing system for Lycoming's QCGAT engine. This mixer is an integral part of the total engine and nacelle system and was configured to reduce the propulsion system noise and fuel consumption levels.

Fifty years of the integrated control concept: moving the model and implementation forward in Arizona††

PubMed Central

Naranjo, Steven E; Ellsworth, Peter C

2009-01-01

Fifty years ago, Stern, Smith, van den Bosch and Hagen outlined a simple but sophisticated idea of pest control predicated on the complementary action of chemical and biological control. This integrated control concept has since been a driving force and conceptual foundation for all integrated pest management (IPM) programs. The four basic elements include thresholds for determining the need for control, sampling to determine critical densities, understanding and conserving the biological control capacity in the system and the use of selective insecticides or selective application methods, when needed, to augment biological control. Here we detail the development, evolution, validation and implementation of an integrated control (IC) program for whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.), in the Arizona cotton system that provides a rare example of the vision of Stern and his colleagues. Economic thresholds derived from research-based economic injury levels were developed and integrated with rapid and accurate sampling plans into validated decision tools widely adopted by consultants and growers. Extensive research that measured the interplay among pest population dynamics, biological control by indigenous natural enemies and selective insecticides using community ordination methods, predator:prey ratios, predator exclusion and demography validated the critical complementary roles played by chemical and biological control. The term ‘bioresidual’ was coined to describe the extended environmental resistance from biological control and other forces possible when selective insecticides are deployed. The tangible benefits have been a 70% reduction in foliar insecticides, a >$200 million saving in control costs and yield, along with enhanced utilization of ecosystem services over the last 14 years. Published in 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. PMID:19834884

Finite difference computation of Casimir forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pinto, Fabrizio

2016-09-01

In this Invited paper, we begin by a historical introduction to provide a motivation for the classical problems of interatomic force computation and associated challenges. This analysis will lead us from early theoretical and experimental accomplishments to the integration of these fascinating interactions into the operation of realistic, next-generation micro- and nanodevices both for the advanced metrology of fundamental physical processes and in breakthrough industrial applications. Among several powerful strategies enabling vastly enhanced performance and entirely novel technological capabilities, we shall specifically consider Casimir force time-modulation and the adoption of non-trivial geometries. As to the former, the ability to alter the magnitude and sign of the Casimir force will be recognized as a crucial principle to implement thermodynamical nano-engines. As to the latter, we shall first briefly review various reported computational approaches. We shall then discuss the game-changing discovery, in the last decade, that standard methods of numerical classical electromagnetism can be retooled to formulate the problem of Casimir force computation in arbitrary geometries. This remarkable development will be practically illustrated by showing that such an apparently elementary method as standard finite-differencing can be successfully employed to numerically recover results known from the Lifshitz theory of dispersion forces in the case of interacting parallel-plane slabs. Other geometries will be also be explored and consideration given to the potential of non-standard finite-difference methods. Finally, we shall introduce problems at the computational frontier, such as those including membranes deformed by Casimir forces and the effects of anisotropic materials. Conclusions will highlight the dramatic transition from the enduring perception of this field as an exotic application of quantum electrodynamics to the recent demonstration of a human climbing vertically on smooth glass.

Detection of Cutting Tool Wear using Statistical Analysis and Regression Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghani, Jaharah A.; Rizal, Muhammad; Nuawi, Mohd Zaki; Haron, Che Hassan Che; Ramli, Rizauddin

2010-10-01

This study presents a new method for detecting the cutting tool wear based on the measured cutting force signals. A statistical-based method called Integrated Kurtosis-based Algorithm for Z-Filter technique, called I-kaz was used for developing a regression model and 3D graphic presentation of I-kaz 3D coefficient during machining process. The machining tests were carried out using a CNC turning machine Colchester Master Tornado T4 in dry cutting condition. A Kistler 9255B dynamometer was used to measure the cutting force signals, which were transmitted, analyzed, and displayed in the DasyLab software. Various force signals from machining operation were analyzed, and each has its own I-kaz 3D coefficient. This coefficient was examined and its relationship with flank wear lands (VB) was determined. A regression model was developed due to this relationship, and results of the regression model shows that the I-kaz 3D coefficient value decreases as tool wear increases. The result then is used for real time tool wear monitoring.

Active Manual Movement Improves Directional Perception of Illusory Force.

PubMed

Amemiya, Tomohiro; Gomi, Hiroaki

2016-01-01

Active touch sensing is known to facilitate the discrimination or recognition of the spatial properties of an object from the movement of tactile sensors on the skin and by integrating proprioceptive feedback about hand positions or motor commands related to ongoing hand movements. On the other hand, several studies have reported that tactile processing is suppressed by hand movement. Thus, it is unclear whether or not the active exploration of force direction by using hand or arm movement improves the perception of the force direction. Here, we show that active manual movement in both the rotational and translational directions enhances the precise perception of the force direction. To make it possible to move a hand in space without any physical constraints, we have adopted a method of inducing the sensation of illusory force by asymmetric vibration. We found that the precision of the perceived force direction was significantly better when the shoulder is rotated medially and laterally. We also found that directional errors supplied by the motor response of the perceived force were smaller than those resulting from perceptual judgments between visual and haptic directional stimuli. These results demonstrate that active manual movement boosts the precision of the perceived direction of an illusory force.

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

Pustovitov, V. D., E-mail: pustovitov-vd@nrcki.ru

The radial force balance in a tokamak during fast transient events with a duration much shorter than the resistive time of the vacuum vessel wall is analyzed. The aim of the work is to analytically estimate the resulting integral radial force on the wall. In contrast to the preceding study [Plasma Phys. Rep. 41, 952 (2015)], where a similar problem was considered for thermal quench, simultaneous changes in the profiles and values of the pressure and plasma current are allowed here. Thereby, the current quench and various methods of disruption mitigation used in the existing tokamaks and considered for futuremore » applications are also covered. General formulas for the force at an arbitrary sequence or combination of events are derived, and estimates for the standard tokamak model are made. The earlier results and conclusions are confirmed, and it is shown that, in the disruption mitigation scenarios accepted for ITER, the radial forces can be as high as in uncontrolled disruptions.« less

Singularity in structural optimization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, S. N.; Guptill, J. D.; Berke, L.

1993-01-01

The conditions under which global and local singularities may arise in structural optimization are examined. Examples of these singularities are presented, and a framework is given within which the singularities can be recognized. It is shown, in particular, that singularities can be identified through the analysis of stress-displacement relations together with compatibility conditions or the displacement-stress relations derived by the integrated force method of structural analysis. Methods of eliminating the effects of singularities are suggested and illustrated numerically.

Force Management Methods Task II. Volume III. Attack/Fighter/Trainer Aircraft Evaluation of Potential Improved Methods

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-11-01

structural manager. The designation "ASIMISH is used in the subsequent discussions to avoid the impression that a new organization must be created to...mission changes on the structural integrity of the airframe. New maintenance action schedules are created to conform with the operational realities of... created to further divide this information. In fact, the ASIP maintenance action parameters and data for the A-7D ( and other airplanes) is being

Physics-based scoring of protein-ligand interactions: explicit polarizability, quantum mechanics and free energies.

PubMed

Bryce, Richard A

2011-04-01

The ability to accurately predict the interaction of a ligand with its receptor is a key limitation in computer-aided drug design approaches such as virtual screening and de novo design. In this article, we examine current strategies for a physics-based approach to scoring of protein-ligand affinity, as well as outlining recent developments in force fields and quantum chemical techniques. We also consider advances in the development and application of simulation-based free energy methods to study protein-ligand interactions. Fuelled by recent advances in computational algorithms and hardware, there is the opportunity for increased integration of physics-based scoring approaches at earlier stages in computationally guided drug discovery. Specifically, we envisage increased use of implicit solvent models and simulation-based scoring methods as tools for computing the affinities of large virtual ligand libraries. Approaches based on end point simulations and reference potentials allow the application of more advanced potential energy functions to prediction of protein-ligand binding affinities. Comprehensive evaluation of polarizable force fields and quantum mechanical (QM)/molecular mechanical and QM methods in scoring of protein-ligand interactions is required, particularly in their ability to address challenging targets such as metalloproteins and other proteins that make highly polar interactions. Finally, we anticipate increasingly quantitative free energy perturbation and thermodynamic integration methods that are practical for optimization of hits obtained from screened ligand libraries.

Zero Power Non-Contact Suspension System with Permanent Magnet Motion Feedback

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Feng; Oka, Koichi

This paper proposes a zero power control method for a permanent magnetic suspension system consisting mainly of a permanent magnet, an actuator, sensors, a suspended iron ball and a spring. A system using this zero power control method will consume quasi-zero power when the levitated object is suspended in an equilibrium state. To realize zero power control, a spring is installed in the magnetic suspension device to counterbalance the gravitational force on the actuator in the equilibrium position. In addition, an integral feedback loop in the controller affords zero actuator current when the device is in a balanced state. In this study, a model was set up for feasibility analysis, a prototype was manufactured for experimental confirmation, numerical simulations of zero power control with nonlinear attractive force were carried out based on the model, and experiments were completed to confirm the practicality of the prototype. The simulations and experiments were performed under varied conditions, such as without springs and without zero power control, with springs and without zero power control, with springs and with zero power control, using different springs and integral feedback gains. Some results are shown and analyzed in this paper. All results indicate that this zero power control method is feasible and effective for use in this suspension system with a permanent magnet motion feedback loop.

On the Analysis of Multistep-Out-of-Grid Method for Celestial Mechanics Tasks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olifer, L.; Choliy, V.

2016-09-01

Occasionally, there is a necessity in high-accurate prediction of celestial body trajectory. The most common way to do that is to solve Kepler's equation analytically or to use Runge-Kutta or Adams integrators to solve equation of motion numerically. For low-orbit satellites, there is a critical need in accounting geopotential and another forces which influence motion. As the result, the right side of equation of motion becomes much bigger, and classical integrators will not be quite effective. On the other hand, there is a multistep-out-of-grid (MOG) method which combines Runge-Kutta and Adams methods. The MOG method is based on using m on-grid values of the solution and n × m off-grid derivative estimations. Such method could provide stable integrators of maximum possible order, O (hm+mn+n-1). The main subject of this research was to implement and analyze the MOG method for solving satellite equation of motion with taking into account Earth geopotential model (ex. EGM2008 (Pavlis at al., 2008)) and with possibility to add other perturbations such as atmospheric drag or solar radiation pressure. Simulations were made for satellites on low orbit and with various eccentricities (from 0.1 to 0.9). Results of the MOG integrator were compared with results of Runge-Kutta and Adams integrators. It was shown that the MOG method has better accuracy than classical ones of the same order and less right-hand value estimations when is working on high orders. That gives it some advantage over "classical" methods.

Transformation of body force localized near the surface of a half-space into equivalent surface stresses.

PubMed

Rouge, Clémence; Lhémery, Alain; Ségur, Damien

2013-10-01

An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) or a laser used to generate elastic waves in a component is often described as a source of body force confined in a layer close to the surface. On the other hand, models for elastic wave radiation more efficiently handle sources described as distributions of surface stresses. Equivalent surface stresses can be obtained by integrating the body force with respect to depth. They are assumed to generate the same field as the one that would be generated by the body force. Such an integration scheme can be applied to Lorentz force for conventional EMAT configuration. When applied to magnetostrictive force generated by an EMAT in a ferromagnetic material, the same scheme fails, predicting a null stress. Transforming body force into equivalent surface stresses therefore, requires taking into account higher order terms of the force moments, the zeroth order being the simple force integration over the depth. In this paper, such a transformation is derived up to the second order, assuming that body forces are localized at depths shorter than the ultrasonic wavelength. Two formulations are obtained, each having some advantages depending on the application sought. They apply regardless of the nature of the force considered.

An Integrated Higgs Force Theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Colella, Antonio

2016-03-01

An Integrated Higgs force theory (IHFT) was based on 2 key requirement amplifications: a matter particle/Higgs force was one and inseparable; a matter particle/Higgs force bidirectionally condensed/evaporated from/to super force. These were basis of 5 theories: particle creation, baryogenesis, superpartner/quark decays, spontaneous symmetry breaking, and stellar black holes. Our universe's 129 matter/force particles contained 64 supersymmetric Higgs particles; 9 transient matter particles/Higgs forces decayed to 8 permanent matter particles/Higgs forces; mass was given to a matter particle by its Higgs force and gravitons; and sum of 8 Higgs force energies of 8 permanent matter particles was dark energy. An IHFT's essence is the intimate physical relationships between 8 theories. These theories are independent because physicists in one theory worked independently of physicists in the other seven. An IHFT's premise is without sacrificing their integrities, 8 independent existing theories are replaced by 8 interrelated amplified theories. Requirement amplifications provide interfaces between the 8 theories. Intimate relationships between 8 theories including the above 5 and string, Higgs forces, and Super Universe are described. The sorting category selected was F. PARTICLES AND FIELDS (e.g., F1 Higgs Physics, F10 Alternative Beyond the Standard Model Physics, F11 Dark Sector Theories and Searches, and F12 Particle Cosmology).

An Advanced Actuator Line Method for Wind Energy Applications and Beyond

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

Churchfield, Matthew J.; Schreck, Scott; Martinez-Tossas, Luis A.

The actuator line method to represent rotor aerodynamics within computational fluid dynamics has been in use for over a decade. This method applies a body force to the flow field along rotating lines corresponding to the individual rotor blades and employs tabular airfoil data to compute the force distribution. The actuator line method is attractive because compared to blade-resolved simulations, the required mesh is much simpler and the computational cost is lower. This work proposes a higher fidelity variant of the actuator line method meant to fill the space between current actuator line and blade-resolved simulations. It contains modifications inmore » two key areas. The first is that of freestream velocity vector estimation along the line, which is necessary to compute the lift and drag along the line using tabular airfoil data. Most current methods rely on point sampling in which the location of sampling is ambiguous. Here we test a velocity sampling method that uses a properly weighted integral over space, removing this ambiguity. The second area of improvement is the function used to project the one-dimensional actuator line force onto the three-dimensional fluid mesh as a body force. We propose and test a projection function that spreads the force over a region that looks something like a real blade with the hope that it will produce the blade local and near wake flow features with more accuracy and higher fidelity. Our goal is that between these two improvements, not only will the flow field predictions be enhanced, but also the spanwise loading will be made more accurate. We refer to this combination of improvements as the advanced actuator line method. We apply these improvements to two different wind turbine cases. Although there is a strong wind energy motivation in our work, there is no reason these advanced actuator line ideas cannot be used in other applications, such as helicopter rotors.« less

An Advanced Actuator Line Method for Wind Energy Applications and Beyond: Preprint

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

Churchfield, Matthew; Schreck, Scott; Martinez-Tossas, Luis A.

The actuator line method to represent rotor aerodynamics within computational fluid dynamics has been in use for over a decade. This method applies a body force to the flow field along rotating lines corresponding to the individual rotor blades and employs tabular airfoil data to compute the force distribution. The actuator line method is attractive because compared to blade-resolved simulations, the required mesh is much simpler and the computational cost is lower. This work proposes a higher fidelity variant of the actuator line method meant to fill the space between current actuator line and blade-resolved simulations. It contains modifications inmore » two key areas. The first is that of freestream velocity vector estimation along the line, which is necessary to compute the lift and drag along the line using tabular airfoil data. Most current methods rely on point sampling in which the location of sampling is ambiguous. Here we test a velocity sampling method that uses a properly weighted integral over space, removing this ambiguity. The second area of improvement is the function used to project the one-dimensional actuator line force onto the three-dimensional fluid mesh as a body force. We propose and test a projection function that spreads the force over a region that looks something like a real blade with the hope that it will produce the blade local and near wake flow features with more accuracy and higher fidelity. Our goal is that between these two improvements, not only will the flow field predictions be enhanced, but also the spanwise loading will be made more accurate. We refer to this combination of improvements as the advanced actuator line method. We apply these improvements to two different wind turbine cases. Although there is a strong wind energy motivation in our work, there is no reason these advanced actuator line ideas cannot be used in other applications, such as helicopter rotors.« less

Simulation of two-dimensional turbulent flows in a rotating annulus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Storey, Brian D.

2004-05-01

Rotating water tank experiments have been used to study fundamental processes of atmospheric and geophysical turbulence in a controlled laboratory setting. When these tanks are undergoing strong rotation the forced turbulent flow becomes highly two dimensional along the axis of rotation. An efficient numerical method has been developed for simulating the forced quasi-geostrophic equations in an annular geometry to model current laboratory experiments. The algorithm employs a spectral method with Fourier series and Chebyshev polynomials as basis functions. The algorithm has been implemented on a parallel architecture to allow modelling of a wide range of spatial scales over long integration times. This paper describes the derivation of the model equations, numerical method, testing and performance of the algorithm. Results provide reasonable agreement with the experimental data, indicating that such computations can be used as a predictive tool to design future experiments.

True Concurrent Thermal Engineering Integrating CAD Model Building with Finite Element and Finite Difference Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Panczak, Tim; Ring, Steve; Welch, Mark

1999-01-01

Thermal engineering has long been left out of the concurrent engineering environment dominated by CAD (computer aided design) and FEM (finite element method) software. Current tools attempt to force the thermal design process into an environment primarily created to support structural analysis, which results in inappropriate thermal models. As a result, many thermal engineers either build models "by hand" or use geometric user interfaces that are separate from and have little useful connection, if any, to CAD and FEM systems. This paper describes the development of a new thermal design environment called the Thermal Desktop. This system, while fully integrated into a neutral, low cost CAD system, and which utilizes both FEM and FD methods, does not compromise the needs of the thermal engineer. Rather, the features needed for concurrent thermal analysis are specifically addressed by combining traditional parametric surface based radiation and FD based conduction modeling with CAD and FEM methods. The use of flexible and familiar temperature solvers such as SINDA/FLUINT (Systems Improved Numerical Differencing Analyzer/Fluid Integrator) is retained.

Simultaneous Force Regression and Movement Classification of Fingers via Surface EMG within a Unified Bayesian Framework.

PubMed

Baldacchino, Tara; Jacobs, William R; Anderson, Sean R; Worden, Keith; Rowson, Jennifer

2018-01-01

This contribution presents a novel methodology for myolectric-based control using surface electromyographic (sEMG) signals recorded during finger movements. A multivariate Bayesian mixture of experts (MoE) model is introduced which provides a powerful method for modeling force regression at the fingertips, while also performing finger movement classification as a by-product of the modeling algorithm. Bayesian inference of the model allows uncertainties to be naturally incorporated into the model structure. This method is tested using data from the publicly released NinaPro database which consists of sEMG recordings for 6 degree-of-freedom force activations for 40 intact subjects. The results demonstrate that the MoE model achieves similar performance compared to the benchmark set by the authors of NinaPro for finger force regression. Additionally, inherent to the Bayesian framework is the inclusion of uncertainty in the model parameters, naturally providing confidence bounds on the force regression predictions. Furthermore, the integrated clustering step allows a detailed investigation into classification of the finger movements, without incurring any extra computational effort. Subsequently, a systematic approach to assessing the importance of the number of electrodes needed for accurate control is performed via sensitivity analysis techniques. A slight degradation in regression performance is observed for a reduced number of electrodes, while classification performance is unaffected.

Studying the Global Bifurcation Involving Wada Boundary Metamorphosis by a Method of Generalized Cell Mapping with Sampling-Adaptive Interpolation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xiao-Ming; Jiang, Jun; Hong, Ling; Tang, Dafeng

In this paper, a new method of Generalized Cell Mapping with Sampling-Adaptive Interpolation (GCMSAI) is presented in order to enhance the efficiency of the computation of one-step probability transition matrix of the Generalized Cell Mapping method (GCM). Integrations with one mapping step are replaced by sampling-adaptive interpolations of third order. An explicit formula of interpolation error is derived for a sampling-adaptive control to switch on integrations for the accuracy of computations with GCMSAI. By applying the proposed method to a two-dimensional forced damped pendulum system, global bifurcations are investigated with observations of boundary metamorphoses including full to partial and partial to partial as well as the birth of fully Wada boundary. Moreover GCMSAI requires a computational time of one thirtieth up to one fiftieth compared to that of the previous GCM.

Steady and Oscillatory, Subsonic and Supersonic, Aerodynamic Pressure and Generalized Forces for Complex Aircraft Configurations and Applications to Flutter. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, L. T.

1975-01-01

A general method for analyzing aerodynamic flows around complex configurations is presented. By applying the Green function method, a linear integral equation relating the unknown, small perturbation potential on the surface of the body, to the known downwash is obtained. The surfaces of the aircraft, wake and diaphragm (if necessary) are divided into small quadrilateral elements which are approximated with hyperboloidal surfaces. The potential and its normal derivative are assumed to be constant within each element. This yields a set of linear algebraic equations and the coefficients are evaluated analytically. By using Gaussian elimination method, equations are solved for the potentials at the centroids of elements. The pressure coefficient is evaluated by the finite different method; the lift and moment coefficients are evaluated by numerical integration. Numerical results are presented, and applications to flutter are also included.

A revised version of the transfer matrix method to analyze one-dimensional structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nitzsche, F.

1983-01-01

A new and general method to analyze both free and forced vibration characteristics of one-dimensional structures is discussed in this paper. This scheme links for the first time the classical transfer matrix method with the recently developed integrating matrix technique to integrate systems of differential equations. Two alternative approaches to the problem are presented. The first is based upon the lumped parameter model to account for the inertia properties of the structure. The second releases that constraint allowing a more precise description of the physical system. The free vibration of a straight uniform beam under different support conditions is analyzed to test the accuracy of the two models. Finally some results for the free vibration of a 12th order system representing a curved, rotating beam prove that the present method is conveniently extended to more complicated structural dynamics problems.

Laboratory Sequence in Computational Methods for Introductory Chemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cody, Jason A.; Wiser, Dawn C.

2003-07-01

A four-exercise laboratory sequence for introductory chemistry integrating hands-on, student-centered experience with computer modeling has been designed and implemented. The progression builds from exploration of molecular shapes to intermolecular forces and the impact of those forces on chemical separations made with gas chromatography and distillation. The sequence ends with an exploration of molecular orbitals. The students use the computers as a tool; they build the molecules, submit the calculations, and interpret the results. Because of the construction of the sequence and its placement spanning the semester break, good laboratory notebook practices are reinforced and the continuity of course content and methods between semesters is emphasized. The inclusion of these techniques in the first year of chemistry has had a positive impact on student perceptions and student learning.

Adaptive backstepping control of train systems with traction/braking dynamics and uncertain resistive forces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Qi; Song, Y. D.; Cai, Wenchuan

2011-09-01

Although backstepping control design approach has been widely utilised in many practical systems, little effort has been made in applying this useful method to train systems. The main purpose of this paper is to apply this popular control design technique to speed and position tracking control of high-speed trains. By integrating adaptive control with backstepping control, we develop a control scheme that is able to address not only the traction and braking dynamics ignored in most existing methods, but also the uncertain friction and aerodynamic drag forces arisen from uncertain resistance coefficients. As such, the resultant control algorithms are able to achieve high precision train position and speed tracking under varying operation railway conditions, as validated by theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.

Molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations on the enzyme 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase.

PubMed

De Beer, Stephanie B A; Glättli, Alice; Hutzler, Johannes; Vermeulen, Nico P E; Oostenbrink, Chris

2011-07-30

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase is a relevant target in both pharmaceutical and agricultural research. We report on molecular dynamics simulations and free energy calculations on this enzyme, in complex with 12 inhibitors for which experimental affinities were determined. We applied the thermodynamic integration approach and the more efficient one-step perturbation. Even though simulations seem well converged and both methods show excellent agreement between them, the correlation with the experimental values remains poor. We investigate the effect of slight modifications on the charge distribution of these highly conjugated systems and find that accurate models can be obtained when using improved force field parameters. This study gives insight into the applicability of free energy methods and current limitations in force field parameterization. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Obliquity dependence of the tangential YORP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ševeček, P.; Golubov, O.; Scheeres, D. J.; Krugly, Yu. N.

2016-08-01

Context. The tangential Yarkovsky-O'Keefe-Radzievskii-Paddack (YORP) effect is a thermophysical effect that can alter the rotation rate of asteroids and is distinct from the so-called normal YORP effect, but to date has only been studied for asteroids with zero obliquity. Aims: We aim to study the tangential YORP force produced by spherical boulders on the surface of an asteroid with an arbitrary obliquity. Methods: A finite element method is used to simulate heat conductivity inside a boulder, to find the recoil force experienced by it. Then an ellipsoidal asteroid uniformly covered by these types of boulders is considered and the torque is numerically integrated over its surface. Results: Tangential YORP is found to operate on non-zero obliquities and decreases by a factor of two for increasing obliquity.

Intelligent tuning method of PID parameters based on iterative learning control for atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Liu, Hui; Li, Yingzi; Zhang, Yingxu; Chen, Yifu; Song, Zihang; Wang, Zhenyu; Zhang, Suoxin; Qian, Jianqiang

2018-01-01

Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) parameters play a vital role in the imaging process of an atomic force microscope (AFM). Traditional parameter tuning methods require a lot of manpower and it is difficult to set PID parameters in unattended working environments. In this manuscript, an intelligent tuning method of PID parameters based on iterative learning control is proposed to self-adjust PID parameters of the AFM according to the sample topography. This method gets enough information about the output signals of PID controller and tracking error, which will be used to calculate the proper PID parameters, by repeated line scanning until convergence before normal scanning to learn the topography. Subsequently, the appropriate PID parameters are obtained by fitting method and then applied to the normal scanning process. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated by the convergence analysis. Simulations and experimental results indicate that the proposed method can intelligently tune PID parameters of the AFM for imaging different topographies and thus achieve good tracking performance. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An integral equation formulation for rigid bodies in Stokes flow in three dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corona, Eduardo; Greengard, Leslie; Rachh, Manas; Veerapaneni, Shravan

2017-03-01

We present a new derivation of a boundary integral equation (BIE) for simulating the three-dimensional dynamics of arbitrarily-shaped rigid particles of genus zero immersed in a Stokes fluid, on which are prescribed forces and torques. Our method is based on a single-layer representation and leads to a simple second-kind integral equation. It avoids the use of auxiliary sources within each particle that play a role in some classical formulations. We use a spectrally accurate quadrature scheme to evaluate the corresponding layer potentials, so that only a small number of spatial discretization points per particle are required. The resulting discrete sums are computed in O (n) time, where n denotes the number of particles, using the fast multipole method (FMM). The particle positions and orientations are updated by a high-order time-stepping scheme. We illustrate the accuracy, conditioning and scaling of our solvers with several numerical examples.

Space station operations task force. Panel 4 report: Management integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The Management Integration Panel of the Space Station Operations Task Force was chartered to provide a structure and ground rules for integrating the efforts of the other three panels and to address a number of cross cutting issues that affect all areas of space station operations. Issues addressed include operations concept implementation, alternatives development and integration process, strategic policy issues and options, and program management emphasis areas.

Transient Characteristics of Free Piston Vuilleurnier Cycle Heat Pumps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsue, Junji; Fujimoto, Norioki; Shirai, Hiroyuki

A dynamic analysis of a free piston Vuilleumier cycle heat pump was performed using a time-stepping integration method to investigate transient characteristics under power controlling. The nonlinear relationship between displacement and force for pistons was taken into account for the motion of reciprocating components. The force for pistons is mainly caused by the pressure change of working gas varying with piston displacements; moreover nonlinear viscous dissipative force due to the oscillating flow of working gas in heat exchangers and discontinuous damping force caused by solid friction at piston seals and rod seals are included. The displacements of pistons and pressure changes in the Vuilleumier cycle heat pump were integrated by an ideal isothermal thermodynamic relationship. It was assumed that the flow friction was proportional to the kinematic pressure of working gas, and that the solid friction at the seals was due to the functions of the working gas pressure and the tension of seal springs. In order to investigate the transient characteristics of a proposed free piston Vuilleumier cycle heat pump machine when hot-side working gas temperatures and alternate force were changed, some calculations were performed and discussed. These calculation results make clear transient characteristics at starting and power controlling. It was further found that only a small amount of starter power is required in particular conditions. During controlling, the machine becomes unstable when there is ar elatively large reduction in cooling or heating power. Therefore, an auxiliary device is additionally needed to obtain stable operation, such as al inear motor.

Flexural Fillet Geometry Optimization for Design of Force Transducers Used in Aeronautics Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lynn, Keith C.; Dixon, Genevieve

2014-01-01

Force transducer designs used in the ground testing aeronautics community have seen minimal change over the last few decades. With increased focus on data quality and long- term performance capabilities over the life of these instruments, it is critical to investigate new methods that improve these designs. One area of focus in the past few years at NASA has been on the design of the exural elements of traditional force balance transducers. Many of the heritage balances that have been heavily used over the last few decades have started to develop fatigue cracks. The recent focus on the exural design of traditional single-piece force balances revolves around the design of these elements such that stress concentrations are minimized, with the overall goal of increasing the fatigue life of the balance. Recent research in the area of using conic shaped llets in the highly stressed regions of traditional force balances will be discussed, with preliminary numerical and experimental data results. A case study will be presented which discusses integration of this knowledge into a new high-capacity semi-span force balance

Flexural Fillet Geometry Optimization for Design of Force Transducers Used in Aeronautics Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lynn, Keith C.; Dixon, Genevieve

2015-01-01

Force transducer designs used in the ground testing aeronautics community have seen minimal change over the last few decades. With increased focus on data quality and long-term performance capabilities over the life of these instruments, it is critical to investigate new methods that improve these designs. One area of focus in the past few years at NASA has been on the design of the flexural elements of traditional force balance transducers. Many of the heritage balances that have been heavily used over the last few decades have started to develop fatigue cracks. The recent focus on the flexural design of traditional single-piece force balances revolves around the design of these elements such that stress concentrations are minimized, with the overall goal of increasing the fatigue life of the balance. Recent research in the area of using conic shaped fillets in the highly stressed regions of traditional force balances will be discussed, with preliminary numerical and experimental data results. A case study will be presented which discusses integration of this knowledge into a new high-capacity semi-span force balance.

Negative radiation forces on spheres illuminated by acoustic Bessel beams.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marston, Philip L.; Thiessen, David B.

2007-11-01

An analytical solution for the scattering of an acoustic Bessel beam by a sphere centered on the beam has made it possible to explore the way the acoustic radiation force on elastic and fluid spheres depends on beam and material parameters. Situations have been previously noted where, even in the absence of absorption, the radiation force of the beam on the sphere is opposite the direction of beam propagation [1]. In extensions of that work, conditions have been identified for such a force reversal on solid spheres and elastic shells. Negative radiation forces may be useful for manipulation of objects in reduced gravity and of biological cells (with single beam acoustic tweezers). The finite element method (FEM) has been used to evaluate the total acoustic field in the region near the sphere. This makes it possible to evaluate the radiation force from numerical integration of an appropriate projection of the Brillouin radiation stress tensor. FEM and analytical results agree for plane wave and Bessel beam illumination. 1. P. L. Marston, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 120, 3518-3524 (2006).

Approximate analytic method for high-apogee twelve-hour orbits of artificial Earth's satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vashkovyaka, M. A.; Zaslavskii, G. S.

2016-09-01

We propose an approach to the study of the evolution of high-apogee twelve-hour orbits of artificial Earth's satellites. We describe parameters of the motion model used for the artificial Earth's satellite such that the principal gravitational perturbations of the Moon and Sun, nonsphericity of the Earth, and perturbations from the light pressure force are approximately taken into account. To solve the system of averaged equations describing the evolution of the orbit parameters of an artificial satellite, we use both numeric and analytic methods. To select initial parameters of the twelve-hour orbit, we assume that the path of the satellite along the surface of the Earth is stable. Results obtained by the analytic method and by the numerical integration of the evolving system are compared. For intervals of several years, we obtain estimates of oscillation periods and amplitudes for orbital elements. To verify the results and estimate the precision of the method, we use the numerical integration of rigorous (not averaged) equations of motion of the artificial satellite: they take into account forces acting on the satellite substantially more completely and precisely. The described method can be applied not only to the investigation of orbit evolutions of artificial satellites of the Earth; it can be applied to the investigation of the orbit evolution for other planets of the Solar system provided that the corresponding research problem will arise in the future and the considered special class of resonance orbits of satellites will be used for that purpose.

Voluntary EMG-to-force estimation with a multi-scale physiological muscle model

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background EMG-to-force estimation based on muscle models, for voluntary contraction has many applications in human motion analysis. The so-called Hill model is recognized as a standard model for this practical use. However, it is a phenomenological model whereby muscle activation, force-length and force-velocity properties are considered independently. Perreault reported Hill modeling errors were large for different firing frequencies, level of activation and speed of contraction. It may be due to the lack of coupling between activation and force-velocity properties. In this paper, we discuss EMG-force estimation with a multi-scale physiology based model, which has a link to underlying crossbridge dynamics. Differently from the Hill model, the proposed method provides dual dynamics of recruitment and calcium activation. Methods The ankle torque was measured for the plantar flexion along with EMG measurements of the medial gastrocnemius (GAS) and soleus (SOL). In addition to Hill representation of the passive elements, three models of the contractile parts have been compared. Using common EMG signals during isometric contraction in four able-bodied subjects, torque was estimated by the linear Hill model, the nonlinear Hill model and the multi-scale physiological model that refers to Huxley theory. The comparison was made in normalized scale versus the case in maximum voluntary contraction. Results The estimation results obtained with the multi-scale model showed the best performances both in fast-short and slow-long term contraction in randomized tests for all the four subjects. The RMS errors were improved with the nonlinear Hill model compared to linear Hill, however it showed limitations to account for the different speed of contractions. Average error was 16.9% with the linear Hill model, 9.3% with the modified Hill model. In contrast, the error in the multi-scale model was 6.1% while maintaining a uniform estimation performance in both fast and slow contractions schemes. Conclusions We introduced a novel approach that allows EMG-force estimation based on a multi-scale physiology model integrating Hill approach for the passive elements and microscopic cross-bridge representations for the contractile element. The experimental evaluation highlights estimation improvements especially a larger range of contraction conditions with integration of the neural activation frequency property and force-velocity relationship through cross-bridge dynamics consideration. PMID:24007560

Effect of Built-Up Edge Formation during Stable State of Wear in AISI 304 Stainless Steel on Machining Performance and Surface Integrity of the Machined Part.

PubMed

Ahmed, Yassmin Seid; Fox-Rabinovich, German; Paiva, Jose Mario; Wagg, Terry; Veldhuis, Stephen Clarence

2017-10-25

During machining of stainless steels at low cutting -speeds, workpiece material tends to adhere to the cutting tool at the tool-chip interface, forming built-up edge (BUE). BUE has a great importance in machining processes; it can significantly modify the phenomenon in the cutting zone, directly affecting the workpiece surface integrity, cutting tool forces, and chip formation. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 304 stainless steel has a high tendency to form an unstable BUE, leading to deterioration of the surface quality. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the nature of the surface integrity induced during machining operations. Although many reports have been published on the effect of tool wear during machining of AISI 304 stainless steel on surface integrity, studies on the influence of the BUE phenomenon in the stable state of wear have not been investigated so far. The main goal of the present work is to investigate the close link between the BUE formation, surface integrity and cutting forces in the stable sate of wear for uncoated cutting tool during the cutting tests of AISI 304 stainless steel. The cutting parameters were chosen to induce BUE formation during machining. X-ray diffraction (XRD) method was used for measuring superficial residual stresses of the machined surface through the stable state of wear in the cutting and feed directions. In addition, surface roughness of the machined surface was investigated using the Alicona microscope and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to reveal the surface distortions created during the cutting process, combined with chip undersurface analyses. The investigated BUE formation during the stable state of wear showed that the BUE can cause a significant improvement in the surface integrity and cutting forces. Moreover, it can be used to compensate for tool wear through changing the tool geometry, leading to the protection of the cutting tool from wear.

Effect of Built-Up Edge Formation during Stable State of Wear in AISI 304 Stainless Steel on Machining Performance and Surface Integrity of the Machined Part

PubMed Central

Fox-Rabinovich, German; Wagg, Terry

2017-01-01

During machining of stainless steels at low cutting -speeds, workpiece material tends to adhere to the cutting tool at the tool–chip interface, forming built-up edge (BUE). BUE has a great importance in machining processes; it can significantly modify the phenomenon in the cutting zone, directly affecting the workpiece surface integrity, cutting tool forces, and chip formation. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) 304 stainless steel has a high tendency to form an unstable BUE, leading to deterioration of the surface quality. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the nature of the surface integrity induced during machining operations. Although many reports have been published on the effect of tool wear during machining of AISI 304 stainless steel on surface integrity, studies on the influence of the BUE phenomenon in the stable state of wear have not been investigated so far. The main goal of the present work is to investigate the close link between the BUE formation, surface integrity and cutting forces in the stable sate of wear for uncoated cutting tool during the cutting tests of AISI 304 stainless steel. The cutting parameters were chosen to induce BUE formation during machining. X-ray diffraction (XRD) method was used for measuring superficial residual stresses of the machined surface through the stable state of wear in the cutting and feed directions. In addition, surface roughness of the machined surface was investigated using the Alicona microscope and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to reveal the surface distortions created during the cutting process, combined with chip undersurface analyses. The investigated BUE formation during the stable state of wear showed that the BUE can cause a significant improvement in the surface integrity and cutting forces. Moreover, it can be used to compensate for tool wear through changing the tool geometry, leading to the protection of the cutting tool from wear. PMID:29068405

GRAVIDY, a GPU modular, parallel direct-summation N-body integrator: dynamics with softening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maureira-Fredes, Cristián; Amaro-Seoane, Pau

2018-01-01

A wide variety of outstanding problems in astrophysics involve the motion of a large number of particles under the force of gravity. These include the global evolution of globular clusters, tidal disruptions of stars by a massive black hole, the formation of protoplanets and sources of gravitational radiation. The direct-summation of N gravitational forces is a complex problem with no analytical solution and can only be tackled with approximations and numerical methods. To this end, the Hermite scheme is a widely used integration method. With different numerical techniques and special-purpose hardware, it can be used to speed up the calculations. But these methods tend to be computationally slow and cumbersome to work with. We present a new graphics processing unit (GPU), direct-summation N-body integrator written from scratch and based on this scheme, which includes relativistic corrections for sources of gravitational radiation. GRAVIDY has high modularity, allowing users to readily introduce new physics, it exploits available computational resources and will be maintained by regular updates. GRAVIDY can be used in parallel on multiple CPUs and GPUs, with a considerable speed-up benefit. The single-GPU version is between one and two orders of magnitude faster than the single-CPU version. A test run using four GPUs in parallel shows a speed-up factor of about 3 as compared to the single-GPU version. The conception and design of this first release is aimed at users with access to traditional parallel CPU clusters or computational nodes with one or a few GPU cards.

Identification of aerodynamic models for maneuvering aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lan, C. Edward; Hu, C. C.

1992-01-01

A Fourier analysis method was developed to analyze harmonic forced-oscillation data at high angles of attack as functions of the angle of attack and its time rate of change. The resulting aerodynamic responses at different frequencies are used to build up the aerodynamic models involving time integrals of the indicial type. An efficient numerical method was also developed to evaluate these time integrals for arbitrary motions based on a concept of equivalent harmonic motion. The method was verified by first using results from two-dimensional and three-dimensional linear theories. The developed models for C sub L, C sub D, and C sub M based on high-alpha data for a 70 deg delta wing in harmonic motions showed accurate results in reproducing hysteresis. The aerodynamic models are further verified by comparing with test data using ramp-type motions.

Integral equation methods for vesicle electrohydrodynamics in three dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veerapaneni, Shravan

2016-12-01

In this paper, we develop a new boundary integral equation formulation that describes the coupled electro- and hydro-dynamics of a vesicle suspended in a viscous fluid and subjected to external flow and electric fields. The dynamics of the vesicle are characterized by a competition between the elastic, electric and viscous forces on its membrane. The classical Taylor-Melcher leaky-dielectric model is employed for the electric response of the vesicle and the Helfrich energy model combined with local inextensibility is employed for its elastic response. The coupled governing equations for the vesicle position and its transmembrane electric potential are solved using a numerical method that is spectrally accurate in space and first-order in time. The method uses a semi-implicit time-stepping scheme to overcome the numerical stiffness associated with the governing equations.

Elucidating the DEP phenomena using a volumetric polarization approach with consideration of the electric double layer

PubMed Central

Brcka, Jozef; Faguet, Jacques; Zhang, Guigen

2017-01-01

Dielectrophoretic (DEP) phenomena have been explored to great success for various applications like particle sorting and separation. To elucidate the underlying mechanism and quantify the DEP force experienced by particles, the point-dipole and Maxwell Stress Tensor (MST) methods are commonly used. However, both methods exhibit their own limitations. For example, the point-dipole method is unable to fully capture the essence of particle-particle interactions and the MST method is not suitable for particles of non-homogeneous property. Moreover, both methods fare poorly when it comes to explaining DEP phenomena such as the dependence of crossover frequency on medium conductivity. To address these limitations, the authors have developed a new method, termed volumetric-integration method, with the aid of computational implementation, to reexamine the DEP phenomena, elucidate the governing mechanism, and quantify the DEP force. The effect of an electric double layer (EDL) on particles' crossover behavior is dealt with through consideration of the EDL structure along with surface ionic/molecular adsorption, unlike in other methods, where the EDL is accounted for through simply assigning a surface conductance value to the particles. For validation, by comparing with literature experimental data, the authors show that the new method can quantify the DEP force on not only homogeneous particles but also non-homogeneous ones, and predict particle-particle interactions fairly accurately. Moreover, the authors also show that the predicted dependence of crossover frequency on medium conductivity and particle size agrees very well with experimental measurements. PMID:28396710

A Single-Vector Force Calibration Method Featuring the Modern Design of Experiments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, P. A.; Morton, M.; Draper, N.; Line, W.

2001-01-01

This paper proposes a new concept in force balance calibration. An overview of the state-of-the-art in force balance calibration is provided with emphasis on both the load application system and the experimental design philosophy. Limitations of current systems are detailed in the areas of data quality and productivity. A unique calibration loading system integrated with formal experimental design techniques has been developed and designated as the Single-Vector Balance Calibration System (SVS). This new concept addresses the limitations of current systems. The development of a quadratic and cubic calibration design is presented. Results from experimental testing are compared and contrasted with conventional calibration systems. Analyses of data are provided that demonstrate the feasibility of this concept and provide new insights into balance calibration.

Pretreatment of high solid microbial sludges

DOEpatents

Rivard, Christopher J.; Nagle, Nicholas J.

1998-01-01

A process and apparatus for pretreating microbial sludges in order to enhance secondary anaerobic digestion. The pretreatment process involves disrupting the cellular integrity of municipal sewage sludge through a combination of thermal, explosive decompression and shear forces. The sludge is pressurized and pumped to a pretreatment reactor where it is mixed with steam to heat and soften the sludge. The pressure of the sludge is suddenly reduced and explosive decompression forces are imparted which partially disrupt the cellular integrity of the sludge. Shear forces are then applied to the sludge to further disrupt the cellular integrity of the sludge. Disrupting cellular integrity releases both soluble and insoluble organic constituents and thereby renders municipal sewage sludge more amenable to secondary anaerobic digestion.

Development of standardized specifications for screening space level integrated circuits and semiconductors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

Standardized methods are established for screening of JAN B microcircuits and JANTXV semiconductor components for space mission or other critical applications when JAN S devices are not available. General specifications are provided which outline the DPA (destructive physical analysis), environmental, electrical, and data requirements for screening of various component technologies. This standard was developed for Air Force Space Division, and is available for use by other DOD agencies, NASA, and space systems contractors for establishing common screening methods for electronic components.

Probing surface charge potentials of clay basal planes and edges by direct force measurements.

PubMed

Zhao, Hongying; Bhattacharjee, Subir; Chow, Ross; Wallace, Dean; Masliyah, Jacob H; Xu, Zhenghe

2008-11-18

The dispersion and gelation of clay suspensions have major impact on a number of industries, such as ceramic and composite materials processing, paper making, cement production, and consumer product formulation. To fundamentally understand controlling mechanisms of clay dispersion and gelation, it is necessary to study anisotropic surface charge properties and colloidal interactions of clay particles. In this study, a colloidal probe technique was employed to study the interaction forces between a silica probe and clay basal plane/edge surfaces. A muscovite mica was used as a representative of 2:1 phyllosilicate clay minerals. The muscovite basal plane was prepared by cleavage, while the edge surface was obtained by a microtome cutting technique. Direct force measurements demonstrated the anisotropic surface charge properties of the basal plane and edge surface. For the basal plane, the long-range forces were monotonically repulsive within pH 6-10 and the measured forces were pH-independent, thereby confirming that clay basal planes have permanent surface charge from isomorphic substitution of lattice elements. The measured interaction forces were fitted well with the classical DLVO theory. The surface potentials of muscovite basal plane derived from the measured force profiles were in good agreement with those reported in the literature. In the case of edge surfaces, the measured forces were monotonically repulsive at pH 10, decreasing with pH, and changed to be attractive at pH 5.6, strongly suggesting that the charge on the clay edge surfaces is pH-dependent. The measured force profiles could not be reasonably fitted with the classical DLVO theory, even with very small surface potential values, unless the surface roughness was considered. The surface element integration (SEI) method was used to calculate the DLVO forces to account for the surface roughness. The surface potentials of the muscovite edges were derived by fitting the measured force profiles with the surface element integrated DLVO model. The point of zero charge of the muscovite edge surface was estimated to be pH 7-8.

U.S. Air Force Energy Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

prepared to acquire 50% of domestic aviation fuel requirements via an alternative fuel blend by 2016 Installation Energy  Reduce energy intensity by...FY10  On track to certify fleet on synthetic fuel blend by early 2011 Installation Energy  Reduced installation energy intensity nearly 15% since... Winglets Manufacturing Methods Propulsion Integration Alt Fuels Analysis New Efficient Engines Legacy Aircraft Energy Harvesting Weight-optimized

Integrated Multidisciplinary Design of High Pressure Multistage Compressor Systems (la Conception integree des compresseurs multi-etage a haute performance)

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-09-01

development ONERA and SNECMA and is described in [Nicoud, 91]. This methodology [ Karadimas , 1997]. The aim of all efforts method solves the Quasi-3D...computer power, 1994 2-11 BERTHILLIER, M., DUPONT, C., MONDAL, R., KARADIMAS , G. : New Ways for the Design the BARRAU, J.J. : Blade Forced Response

Muscle Moment Arms and Sensitivity Analysis of a Mouse Hindlimb Musculoskeletal Model (Open Access Publisher’s Version)

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-12

guinea pigs with con- trast-enhanced microCT. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 294, 915–928. Deisseroth K (2011) Optogenetics. Nat Methods 8, 26–29. Delaurier A, Burton...Nerve 43, 878–886. Medler S (2002) Comparative trends in shortening velocity and force production in skeletal muscles. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp

High-order accurate finite-volume formulations for the pressure gradient force in layered ocean models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Engwirda, Darren; Kelley, Maxwell; Marshall, John

2017-08-01

Discretisation of the horizontal pressure gradient force in layered ocean models is a challenging task, with non-trivial interactions between the thermodynamics of the fluid and the geometry of the layers often leading to numerical difficulties. We present two new finite-volume schemes for the pressure gradient operator designed to address these issues. In each case, the horizontal acceleration is computed as an integration of the contact pressure force that acts along the perimeter of an associated momentum control-volume. A pair of new schemes are developed by exploring different control-volume geometries. Non-linearities in the underlying equation-of-state definitions and thermodynamic profiles are treated using a high-order accurate numerical integration framework, designed to preserve hydrostatic balance in a non-linear manner. Numerical experiments show that the new methods achieve high levels of consistency, maintaining hydrostatic and thermobaric equilibrium in the presence of strongly-sloping layer geometries, non-linear equations-of-state and non-uniform vertical stratification profiles. These results suggest that the new pressure gradient formulations may be appropriate for general circulation models that employ hybrid vertical coordinates and/or terrain-following representations.

A self-sensing magnetorheological damper with power generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Chao; Liao, Wei-Hsin

2012-02-01

Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are promising for semi-active vibration control of various dynamic systems. In the current MR damper systems, a separate power supply and dynamic sensor are required. To enable the MR damper to be self-powered and self-sensing in the future, in this paper we propose and investigate a self-sensing MR damper with power generation, which integrates energy harvesting, dynamic sensing and MR damping technologies into one device. This MR damper has self-contained power generation and velocity sensing capabilities, and is applicable to various dynamic systems. It combines the advantages of energy harvesting—reusing wasted energy, MR damping—controllable damping force, and sensing—providing dynamic information for controlling system dynamics. This multifunctional integration would bring great benefits such as energy saving, size and weight reduction, lower cost, high reliability, and less maintenance for the MR damper systems. In this paper, a prototype of the self-sensing MR damper with power generation was designed, fabricated, and tested. Theoretical analyses and experimental studies on power generation were performed. A velocity-sensing method was proposed and experimentally validated. The magnetic-field interference among three functions was prevented by a combined magnetic-field isolation method. Modeling, analysis, and experimental results on damping forces are also presented.

Real-time tracking control of electro-hydraulic force servo systems using offline feedback control and adaptive control.

PubMed

Shen, Gang; Zhu, Zhencai; Zhao, Jinsong; Zhu, Weidong; Tang, Yu; Li, Xiang

2017-03-01

This paper focuses on an application of an electro-hydraulic force tracking controller combined with an offline designed feedback controller (ODFC) and an online adaptive compensator in order to improve force tracking performance of an electro-hydraulic force servo system (EHFS). A proportional-integral controller has been employed and a parameter-based force closed-loop transfer function of the EHFS is identified by a continuous system identification algorithm. By taking the identified system model as a nominal plant model, an H ∞ offline design method is employed to establish an optimized feedback controller with consideration of the performance, control efforts, and robustness of the EHFS. In order to overcome the disadvantage of the offline designed controller and cope with the varying dynamics of the EHFS, an online adaptive compensator with a normalized least-mean-square algorithm is cascaded to the force closed-loop system of the EHFS compensated by the ODFC. Some comparative experiments are carried out on a real-time EHFS using an xPC rapid prototype technology, and the proposed controller yields a better force tracking performance improvement. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Integrated Training System for Air Force On-the-Job Training: Specification Development. Final Technical Paper.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Carson, Stuart B.; And Others.

The Air Force conducted this study for two purposes: (1) to define the system of Air Force On-the-Job Training (OJT); and (2) to prepare a set of functional specifications for an integrated, base-level OJT evaluation and management system with linkages to the Major Commands and Air Staff. The study was conducted in four phases. During the first…

GLOBAL INTEGRATED ISR: A BETTER ORGANIZATIONAL CONSTRUCT FOR AIR FORCE LD/HD ISR

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-06

Mr. Kevin S. Williams, LeMay Center Intelligence Directorate, United States Air Force 6 April 2017 DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for public...E-8 intelligence , surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft it refers to as Low Density/High Demand (LD/HD). Current worldwide demand for LD...management GFMAP Global Force Management Allocation Plan GIISR global integrated intelligence , surveillance, and reconnaissance ISIS Islamic

Task Force On Contractor Logistics in Support of Contingency Operations

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-06-01

existing industrial base providing support services to deployed military forces should be integrated into all contingency war games and exercises...implementation of OCS in active operations has been a constant game of catch up for more than a decade. Poor contract administration, inconsistent...military forces should be integrated into all contingency war games and exercises. Equally important is including representatives from the agencies

Bayes factors for the linear ballistic accumulator model of decision-making.

PubMed

Evans, Nathan J; Brown, Scott D

2018-04-01

Evidence accumulation models of decision-making have led to advances in several different areas of psychology. These models provide a way to integrate response time and accuracy data, and to describe performance in terms of latent cognitive processes. Testing important psychological hypotheses using cognitive models requires a method to make inferences about different versions of the models which assume different parameters to cause observed effects. The task of model-based inference using noisy data is difficult, and has proven especially problematic with current model selection methods based on parameter estimation. We provide a method for computing Bayes factors through Monte-Carlo integration for the linear ballistic accumulator (LBA; Brown and Heathcote, 2008), a widely used evidence accumulation model. Bayes factors are used frequently for inference with simpler statistical models, and they do not require parameter estimation. In order to overcome the computational burden of estimating Bayes factors via brute force integration, we exploit general purpose graphical processing units; we provide free code for this. This approach allows estimation of Bayes factors via Monte-Carlo integration within a practical time frame. We demonstrate the method using both simulated and real data. We investigate the stability of the Monte-Carlo approximation, and the LBA's inferential properties, in simulation studies.

Accurate fluid force measurement based on control surface integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lentink, David

2018-01-01

Nonintrusive 3D fluid force measurements are still challenging to conduct accurately for freely moving animals, vehicles, and deforming objects. Two techniques, 3D particle image velocimetry (PIV) and a new technique, the aerodynamic force platform (AFP), address this. Both rely on the control volume integral for momentum; whereas PIV requires numerical integration of flow fields, the AFP performs the integration mechanically based on rigid walls that form the control surface. The accuracy of both PIV and AFP measurements based on the control surface integration is thought to hinge on determining the unsteady body force associated with the acceleration of the volume of displaced fluid. Here, I introduce a set of non-dimensional error ratios to show which fluid and body parameters make the error negligible. The unsteady body force is insignificant in all conditions where the average density of the body is much greater than the density of the fluid, e.g., in gas. Whenever a strongly deforming body experiences significant buoyancy and acceleration, the error is significant. Remarkably, this error can be entirely corrected for with an exact factor provided that the body has a sufficiently homogenous density or acceleration distribution, which is common in liquids. The correction factor for omitting the unsteady body force, {{{ {ρ f}} {1 - {ρ f} ( {{ρ b}+{ρ f}} )}.{( {{{{ρ }}b}+{ρ f}} )}}} , depends only on the fluid, {ρ f}, and body, {{ρ }}b, density. Whereas these straightforward solutions work even at the liquid-gas interface in a significant number of cases, they do not work for generalized bodies undergoing buoyancy in combination with appreciable body density inhomogeneity, volume change (PIV), or volume rate-of-change (PIV and AFP). In these less common cases, the 3D body shape needs to be measured and resolved in time and space to estimate the unsteady body force. The analysis shows that accounting for the unsteady body force is straightforward to non-intrusively and accurately determine fluid force in most applications.

The AB Initio Mia Method: Theoretical Development and Practical Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peeters, Anik

The bottleneck in conventional ab initio Hartree -Fock calculations is the storage of the electron repulsion integrals because their number increases with the fourth power of the number of basis functions. This problem can be solved by a combination of the multiplicative integral approximation (MIA) and the direct SCF method. The MIA approach was successfully applied in the geometry optimisation of some biologically interesting compounds like the neurolepticum Haloperidol and two TIBO derivatives, inactivators of HIV1. In this thesis the potency of the MIA-method is shown by the application of this method in the calculation of the forces on the nuclei. In addition, the MIA method enabled the development of a new model for performing crystal field studies: the supermolecule model. The results for this model are in better agreement with experimental data than the results for the point charge model. This is illustrated by the study of some small molecules in the solid state: 2,3-diketopiperazine, formamide oxime and two polymorphic forms of glycine, alpha-glycine and beta-glycine.

On estimating intraventricular hemodynamic forces from endocardial dynamics: A comparative study with 4D flow MRI.

PubMed

Pedrizzetti, Gianni; Arvidsson, Per M; Töger, Johannes; Borgquist, Rasmus; Domenichini, Federico; Arheden, Håkan; Heiberg, Einar

2017-07-26

Intraventricular pressure gradients or hemodynamic forces, which are their global measure integrated over the left ventricular volume, have a fundamental importance in ventricular function. They may help revealing a sub-optimal cardiac function that is not evident in terms of tissue motion, which is naturally heterogeneous and variable, and can influence cardiac adaptation. However, hemodynamic forces are not utilized in clinical cardiology due to the unavailability of simple non-invasive measurement tools. Hemodynamic forces depend on the intraventricular flow; nevertheless, most of them are imputable to the dynamics of the endocardial flow boundary and to the exchange of momentum across the mitral and aortic orifices. In this study, we introduce a simplified model based on first principles of fluid dynamics that allows estimating hemodynamic forces without knowing the velocity field inside the LV. The model is validated with 3D phase-contrast MRI (known as 4D flow MRI) in 15 subjects, (5 healthy and 10 patients) using the endocardial surface reconstructed from the three standard long-axis projections. Results demonstrate that the model provides consistent estimates for the base-apex component (mean correlation coefficient r=0.77 for instantaneous values and r=0.88 for root mean square) and good estimates of the inferolateral-anteroseptal component (r=0.50 and 0.84, respectively). The present method represents a potential integration to the existing ones quantifying endocardial deformation in MRI and echocardiography to add a physics-based estimation of the corresponding hemodynamic forces. These could help the clinician to early detect sub-clinical diseases and differentiate between different cardiac dysfunctional states. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An ergonomic handheld ultrasound probe providing contact forces and pose information.

PubMed

Yohan Noh; Housden, R James; Gomez, Alberto; Knight, Caroline; Garcia, Francesca; Hongbin Liu; Razavi, Reza; Rhode, Kawal; Althoefer, Kaspar

2015-08-01

This paper presents a handheld ultrasound probe which is integrated with sensors to measure force and pose (position/orientation) information. Using an integrated probe like this, one can relate ultrasound images to spatial location and create 3D ultrasound maps. The handheld device can be used by sonographers and also easily be integrated with robot arms for automated sonography. The handheld device is ergonomically designed; rapid attachment and removal of the ultrasound transducer itself is possible using easy-to-operate clip mechanisms. A cable locking mechanism reduces the impact that gravitational and other external forces have (originating from data and power supply cables connected to the probe) on our measurements. Gravitational errors introduced by the housing of the probe are compensated for using knowledge of the housing geometry and the integrated pose sensor that provides us with accurate orientation information. In this paper, we describe the handheld probe with its integrated force/pose sensors and our approach to gravity compensation. We carried out a set of experiments to verify the feasibility of our approach to obtain accurate spatial information of the handheld probe.

Pretreatment of high solid microbial sludges

DOEpatents

Rivard, C.J.; Nagle, N.J.

1998-07-28

A process and apparatus are disclosed for pretreating microbial sludges in order to enhance secondary anaerobic digestion. The pretreatment process involves disrupting the cellular integrity of municipal sewage sludge through a combination of thermal, explosive decompression and shear forces. The sludge is pressurized and pumped to a pretreatment reactor where it is mixed with steam to heat and soften the sludge. The pressure of the sludge is suddenly reduced and explosive decompression forces are imparted which partially disrupt the cellular integrity of the sludge. Shear forces are then applied to the sludge to further disrupt the cellular integrity of the sludge. Disrupting cellular integrity releases both soluble and insoluble organic constituents and thereby renders municipal sewage sludge more amenable to secondary anaerobic digestion. 1 fig.

Uniform hydrogen fuel layers for inertial fusion targets by microgravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parks, P. B.; Fagaly, Robert L.

1994-01-01

A critical concern in the fabrication of targets for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is ensuring that the hydrogenic (D(sub 2) or DT) fuel layer maintains spherical symmetry. Solid layered targets have structural integrity, but lack the needed surface smoothness. Liquid targets are inherently smooth, but suffer from gravitationally induced sagging. One method to reduce the effective gravitational field environment is freefall insertion into the target chamber. Another method to counterbalance field gravitational force is to use an applied magnetic field combined with a gradient field to induce a magnetic dipole force on the liquid fuel layer. Based on time dependent calculations of the dynamics of the liquid fuel layer in microgravity environments, we show that it may be possible to produce a liquid layered ICF target that satisfies both smoothness and symmetry requirements.

Implicit Incompressible SPH.

PubMed

Ihmsen, Markus; Cornelis, Jens; Solenthaler, Barbara; Horvath, Christopher; Teschner, Matthias

2013-07-25

We propose a novel formulation of the projection method for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). We combine a symmetric SPH pressure force and an SPH discretization of the continuity equation to obtain a discretized form of the pressure Poisson equation (PPE). In contrast to previous projection schemes, our system does consider the actual computation of the pressure force. This incorporation improves the convergence rate of the solver. Furthermore, we propose to compute the density deviation based on velocities instead of positions as this formulation improves the robustness of the time-integration scheme. We show that our novel formulation outperforms previous projection schemes and state-of-the-art SPH methods. Large time steps and small density deviations of down to 0.01% can be handled in typical scenarios. The practical relevance of the approach is illustrated by scenarios with up to 40 million SPH particles.

Implicit incompressible SPH.

PubMed

Ihmsen, Markus; Cornelis, Jens; Solenthaler, Barbara; Horvath, Christopher; Teschner, Matthias

2014-03-01

We propose a novel formulation of the projection method for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). We combine a symmetric SPH pressure force and an SPH discretization of the continuity equation to obtain a discretized form of the pressure Poisson equation (PPE). In contrast to previous projection schemes, our system does consider the actual computation of the pressure force. This incorporation improves the convergence rate of the solver. Furthermore, we propose to compute the density deviation based on velocities instead of positions as this formulation improves the robustness of the time-integration scheme. We show that our novel formulation outperforms previous projection schemes and state-of-the-art SPH methods. Large time steps and small density deviations of down to 0.01 percent can be handled in typical scenarios. The practical relevance of the approach is illustrated by scenarios with up to 40 million SPH particles.

Design of a National Skills Market Model for Air Force Enlisted Personnel

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-09-01

specific occupations, rather than merely by industrial sector, labor market behavior could be more clearly related to specific Air Force specialties. The ...distinguishable but related purposes. First, it is desired as an adjunct to the Integrated Simulation Evaluation Model (ISEM) currently being...corn- puter simulation model of the Air Force Manpower and Personnel System (AFM&PS) that integrates the behavioral relationships deter- mining the

Effects of 4 Weeks of β-Alanine Supplementation on Swim-Performance Parameters in Water Polo Players.

PubMed

Brisola, Gabriel Motta Pinheiro; Milioni, Fabio; Papoti, Marcelo; Zagatto, Alessandro Moura

2017-08-01

In water polo, several high-intensity efforts are performed, leading to the fatigue process due to accumulation of hydrogen ions, and thus β-alanine supplementation could be an efficient strategy to increase the intramuscular acid buffer. Purpose To investigate whether 4 wk of β-alanine supplementation enhances parameters related to water polo performance. Methods Twenty-two highly trained male water polo players of national level were randomly assigned to receive 28 d of either β-alanine or a placebo (4.8 g/d of the supplement in the first 10 d and 6.4 g/d in the final 18 d). The participants performed 30-s maximal tethered swimming (30TS), 200-m swimming (P200m), and 30-s crossbar jumps (30CJ) before and after the supplementation period. Results The β-alanine group presented significant increases in 30TS for mean force (P = .04; Δ = 30.5% ± 40.4%) and integral of force (P = .05; Δ = 28.0% ± 38.0%), as well as P200m (P = .05; Δ = -2.2% ± 2.6%), while the placebo group did not significantly differ for mean force (P = .13; Δ = 24.1% ± 33.7%), integral of force (P = .12; Δ = 24.3% ± 35.1%), or P200m (P = .10; Δ = -1.6% ± 3.8%). However, there was no significant group effect for any variable, and the magnitude-based-inference analysis showed unclear outcomes between groups (Cohen d ± 95%CL mean force = 0.16 ± 0.83, integral of force = 0.12 ± 0.84, and P200m = 0.05 ± 0.30). For 30CJ the results were similar, with improvements in both groups (placebo, Δ = 14.9% ± 14.1%; β-alanine, Δ = 16.9% ± 18.5%) but with no significant interaction effect between groups and an unclear effect (0.14 ± 0.75). Conclusion Four weeks of β-alanine supplementation does not substantially improve performance of 30TS, P200m, or 30CJ in highly trained water polo athletes compared with a control group.

Determination of electrostatic force and its characteristics based on phase difference by amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Kesheng; Cheng, Jia; Yao, Shiji; Lu, Yijia; Ji, Linhong; Xu, Dengfeng

2016-12-01

Electrostatic force measurement at the micro/nano scale is of great significance in science and engineering. In this paper, a reasonable way of applying voltage is put forward by taking an electrostatic chuck in a real integrated circuit manufacturing process as a sample, applying voltage in the probe and the sample electrode, respectively, and comparing the measurement effect of the probe oscillation phase difference by amplitude modulation atomic force microscopy. Based on the phase difference obtained from the experiment, the quantitative dependence of the absolute magnitude of the electrostatic force on the tip-sample distance and applied voltage is established by means of theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The results show that the varying characteristics of the electrostatic force with the distance and voltage at the micro/nano scale are similar to those at the macroscopic scale. Electrostatic force gradually decays with increasing distance. Electrostatic force is basically proportional to the square of applied voltage. Meanwhile, the applicable conditions of the above laws are discussed. In addition, a comparison of the results in this paper with the results of the energy dissipation method shows the two are consistent in general. The error decreases with increasing distance, and the effect of voltage on the error is small.

Blue guardian: an open architecture for rapid ISR demonstration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barrett, Donald A.; Borntrager, Luke A.; Green, David M.

2016-05-01

Throughout the Department of Defense (DoD), acquisition, platform integration, and life cycle costs for weapons systems have continued to rise. Although Open Architecture (OA) interface standards are one of the primary methods being used to reduce these costs, the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office (AFRCO) has extended the OA concept and chartered the Open Mission System (OMS) initiative with industry to develop and demonstrate a consensus-based, non-proprietary, OA standard for integrating subsystems and services into airborne platforms. The new OMS standard provides the capability to decouple vendor-specific sensors, payloads, and service implementations from platform-specific architectures and is still in the early stages of maturation and demonstration. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) - Sensors Directorate has developed the Blue Guardian program to demonstrate advanced sensing technology utilizing open architectures in operationally relevant environments. Over the past year, Blue Guardian has developed a platform architecture using the Air Force's OMS reference architecture and conducted a ground and flight test program of multiple payload combinations. Systems tested included a vendor-unique variety of Full Motion Video (FMV) systems, a Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) system, a multi-mode radar system, processing and database functions, multiple decompression algorithms, multiple communications systems, and a suite of software tools. Initial results of the Blue Guardian program show the promise of OA to DoD acquisitions, especially for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) payload applications. Specifically, the OMS reference architecture was extremely useful in reducing the cost and time required for integrating new systems.

Stochastic many-body perturbation theory for anharmonic molecular vibrations

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

Hermes, Matthew R.; Hirata, So, E-mail: sohirata@illinois.edu; CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012

2014-08-28

A new quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) method for anharmonic vibrational zero-point energies and transition frequencies is developed, which combines the diagrammatic vibrational many-body perturbation theory based on the Dyson equation with Monte Carlo integration. The infinite sums of the diagrammatic and thus size-consistent first- and second-order anharmonic corrections to the energy and self-energy are expressed as sums of a few m- or 2m-dimensional integrals of wave functions and a potential energy surface (PES) (m is the vibrational degrees of freedom). Each of these integrals is computed as the integrand (including the value of the PES) divided by the value ofmore » a judiciously chosen weight function evaluated on demand at geometries distributed randomly but according to the weight function via the Metropolis algorithm. In this way, the method completely avoids cumbersome evaluation and storage of high-order force constants necessary in the original formulation of the vibrational perturbation theory; it furthermore allows even higher-order force constants essentially up to an infinite order to be taken into account in a scalable, memory-efficient algorithm. The diagrammatic contributions to the frequency-dependent self-energies that are stochastically evaluated at discrete frequencies can be reliably interpolated, allowing the self-consistent solutions to the Dyson equation to be obtained. This method, therefore, can compute directly and stochastically the transition frequencies of fundamentals and overtones as well as their relative intensities as pole strengths, without fixed-node errors that plague some QMC. It is shown that, for an identical PES, the new method reproduces the correct deterministic values of the energies and frequencies within a few cm{sup −1} and pole strengths within a few thousandths. With the values of a PES evaluated on the fly at random geometries, the new method captures a noticeably greater proportion of anharmonic effects.« less

Numerical simulation of the wave-induced non-linear bending moment of ships

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

Xia, J.; Wang, Z.; Gu, X.

1995-12-31

Ships traveling in moderate or rough seas may experience non-linear bending moments due to flare effect and slamming loads. The numerical simulation of the total wave-induced bending moment contributed from both the wave frequency component induced by wave forces and the high frequency whipping component induced by slamming actions is very important in predicting the responses and ensuring the safety of the ship in rough seas. The time simulation is also useful for the reliability analysis of ship girder strength. The present paper discusses four different methods of the numerical simulation of wave-induced non-linear vertical bending moment of ships recentlymore » developed in CSSRC, including the hydroelastic integral-differential method (HID), the hydroelastic differential analysis method (HDA), the combined seakeeping and structural forced vibration method (CSFV), and the modified CSFV method (MCSFV). Numerical predictions are compared with the experimental results obtained from the elastic ship model test of S-175 container ship in regular and irregular waves presented by Watanabe Ueno and Sawada (1989).« less

The Quantified Characterization Method of the Micro-Macro Contacts of Three-Dimensional Granular Materials on the Basis of Graph Theory.

PubMed

Guan, Yanpeng; Wang, Enzhi; Liu, Xiaoli; Wang, Sijing; Luan, Hebing

2017-08-03

We have attempted a multiscale and quantified characterization method of the contact in three-dimensional granular material made of spherical particles, particularly in cemented granular material. Particle contact is defined as a type of surface contact with voids in its surroundings, rather than a point contact. Macro contact is a particle contact set satisfying the restrictive condition of a two-dimensional manifold with a boundary. On the basis of graph theory, two dual geometrical systems are abstracted from the granular pack. The face and the face set, which satisfies the two-dimensional manifold with a boundary in the solid cell system, are extracted to characterize the particle contact and the macro contact, respectively. This characterization method is utilized to improve the post-processing in DEM (Discrete Element Method) from a micro perspective to describe the macro effect of the cemented granular material made of spherical particles. Since the crack has the same shape as its corresponding contact, this method is adopted to characterize the crack and realize its visualization. The integral failure route of the sample can be determined by a graph theory algorithm. The contact force is assigned to the weight value of the face characterizing the particle contact. Since the force vectors can be added, the macro contact force can be solved by adding the weight of its corresponding faces.

Nozzle Initiative Industry Advisory Committee on Standardization of Carbon-Phenolic Test Methods and Specifications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bull, William B. (Compiler); Pinoli, Pat C. (Compiler); Upton, Cindy G. (Compiler); Day, Tony (Compiler); Hill, Keith (Compiler); Stone, Frank (Compiler); Hall, William B.

1994-01-01

This report is a compendium of the presentations of the 12th biannual meeting of the Industry Advisory Committee under the Solid Propulsion Integrity Program. A complete transcript of the welcoming talks is provided. Presentation outlines and overheads are included for the other sessions: SPIP Overview, Past, Current and Future Activity; Test Methods Manual and Video Tape Library; Air Force Developed Computer Aided Cure Program and SPC/TQM Experience; Magneto-Optical mapper (MOM), Joint Army/NASA program to assess composite integrity; Permeability Testing; Moisture Effusion Testing by Karl Fischer Analysis; Statistical Analysis of Acceptance Test Data; NMR Phenolic Resin Advancement; Constituent Testing Highlights on the LDC Optimization Program; Carbon Sulfur Study, Performance Related Testing; Current Rayon Specifications and Future Availability; RSRM/SPC Implementation; SRM Test Methods, Delta/Titan/FBM/RSRM; and Open Forum on Performance Based Acceptance Testing -- Industry Experience.

Variational Algorithms for Test Particle Trajectories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ellison, C. Leland; Finn, John M.; Qin, Hong; Tang, William M.

2015-11-01

The theory of variational integration provides a novel framework for constructing conservative numerical methods for magnetized test particle dynamics. The retention of conservation laws in the numerical time advance captures the correct qualitative behavior of the long time dynamics. For modeling the Lorentz force system, new variational integrators have been developed that are both symplectic and electromagnetically gauge invariant. For guiding center test particle dynamics, discretization of the phase-space action principle yields multistep variational algorithms, in general. Obtaining the desired long-term numerical fidelity requires mitigation of the multistep method's parasitic modes or applying a discretization scheme that possesses a discrete degeneracy to yield a one-step method. Dissipative effects may be modeled using Lagrange-D'Alembert variational principles. Numerical results will be presented using a new numerical platform that interfaces with popular equilibrium codes and utilizes parallel hardware to achieve reduced times to solution. This work was supported by DOE Contract DE-AC02-09CH11466.

Anatomical masking of pressure footprints based on the Oxford Foot Model: validation and clinical relevance.

PubMed

Giacomozzi, Claudia; Stebbins, Julie A

2017-03-01

Plantar pressure analysis is widely used in the assessment of foot function. In order to assess regional loading, a mask is applied to the footprint to sub-divide it into regions of interest (ROIs). The most common masking method is based on geometric features of the footprint (GM). Footprint masking based on anatomical landmarks of the foot has been implemented more recently, and involves the integration of a 3D motion capture system, plantar pressure measurement device, and a multi-segment foot model. However, thorough validation of anatomical masking (AM) using pathological footprints has not yet been presented. In the present study, an AM method based on the Oxford Foot Model (OFM) was compared to an equivalent GM. Pressure footprints from 20 young healthy subjects (HG) and 20 patients with clubfoot (CF) were anatomically divided into 5 ROIs using a subset of the OFM markers. The same foot regions were also identified by using a standard GM method. Comparisons of intra-subject coefficient of variation (CV) showed that the OFM-based AM was at least as reliable as the GM for all investigated pressure parameters in all foot regions. Clinical relevance of AM was investigated by comparing footprints from HG and CF groups. Contact time, maximum force, force-time integral and contact area proved to be sensitive parameters that were able to distinguish HG and CF groups, using both AM and GM methods However, the AM method revealed statistically significant differences between groups in 75% of measured variables, compared to 62% using a standard GM method, indicating that the AM method is more sensitive for revealing differences between groups. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Phase-locked cluster oscillations in periodically forced integrate-and-fire-or-burst neuronal populations.

PubMed

Langdon, Angela J; Breakspear, Michael; Coombes, Stephen

2012-12-01

The minimal integrate-and-fire-or-burst neuron model succinctly describes both tonic firing and postinhibitory rebound bursting of thalamocortical cells in the sensory relay. Networks of integrate-and-fire-or-burst (IFB) neurons with slow inhibitory synaptic interactions have been shown to support stable rhythmic states, including globally synchronous and cluster oscillations, in which network-mediated inhibition cyclically generates bursting in coherent subgroups of neurons. In this paper, we introduce a reduced IFB neuronal population model to study synchronization of inhibition-mediated oscillatory bursting states to periodic excitatory input. Using numeric methods, we demonstrate the existence and stability of 1:1 phase-locked bursting oscillations in the sinusoidally forced IFB neuronal population model. Phase locking is shown to arise when periodic excitation is sufficient to pace the onset of bursting in an IFB cluster without counteracting the inhibitory interactions necessary for burst generation. Phase-locked bursting states are thus found to destabilize when periodic excitation increases in strength or frequency. Further study of the IFB neuronal population model with pulse-like periodic excitatory input illustrates that this synchronization mechanism generalizes to a broad range of n:m phase-locked bursting states across both globally synchronous and clustered oscillatory regimes.

Accounting for radiative forcing from albedo change in future global land-use scenarios

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

Jones, Andrew D.; Calvin, Katherine V.; Collins, William D.

2015-08-01

We demonstrate the effectiveness of a new method for quantifying radiative forcing from land use and land cover change (LULCC) within an integrated assessment model, the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM). The method relies on geographically differentiated estimates of radiative forcing from albedo change associated with major land cover transitions derived from the Community Earth System Model. We find that conversion of 1 km² of woody vegetation (forest and shrublands) to non-woody vegetation (crops and grassland) yields between 0 and –0.71 nW/m² of globally averaged radiative forcing determined by the vegetation characteristics, snow dynamics, and atmospheric radiation environment characteristic withinmore » each of 151 regions we consider globally. Across a set of scenarios designed to span a range of potential future LULCC, we find LULCC forcing ranging from –0.06 to –0.29 W/m² by 2070 depending on assumptions regarding future crop yield growth and whether climate policy favors afforestation or bioenergy crops. Inclusion of this previously uncounted forcing in the policy targets driving future climate mitigation efforts leads to changes in fossil fuel emissions on the order of 1.5 PgC/yr by 2070 for a climate forcing limit of 4.5 Wm –2, corresponding to a 12–67 % change in fossil fuel emissions depending on the scenario. Scenarios with significant afforestation must compensate for albedo-induced warming through additional emissions reductions, and scenarios with significant deforestation need not mitigate as aggressively due to albedo-induced cooling. In all scenarios considered, inclusion of albedo forcing in policy targets increases forest and shrub cover globally.« less

Dynamic behavior and deformation analysis of the fish cage system using mass-spring model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Chun Woo; Lee, Jihoon; Park, Subong

2015-06-01

Fish cage systems are influenced by various oceanic conditions, and the movements and deformation of the system by the external forces can affect the safety of the system itself, as well as the species of fish being cultivated. Structural durability of the system against environmental factors has been major concern for the marine aquaculture system. In this research, a mathematical model and a simulation method were presented for analyzing the performance of the large-scale fish cage system influenced by current and waves. The cage system consisted of netting, mooring ropes, floats, sinkers and floating collar. All the elements were modeled by use of the mass-spring model. The structures were divided into finite elements and mass points were placed at the mid-point of each element, and mass points were connected by springs without mass. Each mass point was applied to external and internal forces, and total force was calculated in every integration step. The computation method was applied to the dynamic simulation of the actual fish cage systems rigged with synthetic fiber and copper wire simultaneously influenced by current and waves. Here, we also tried to find a relevant ratio between buoyancy and sinking force of the fish cages. The simulation results provide improved understanding of the behavior of the structure and valuable information concerning optimum ratio of the buoyancy to sinking force according to current speeds.

Integration of acoustic radiation force and optical imaging for blood plasma clot stiffness measurement.

PubMed

Wang, Caroline W; Perez, Matthew J; Helmke, Brian P; Viola, Francesco; Lawrence, Michael B

2015-01-01

Despite the life-preserving function blood clotting serves in the body, inadequate or excessive blood clot stiffness has been associated with life-threatening diseases such as stroke, hemorrhage, and heart attack. The relationship between blood clot stiffness and vascular diseases underscores the importance of quantifying the magnitude and kinetics of blood's transformation from a fluid to a viscoelastic solid. To measure blood plasma clot stiffness, we have developed a method that uses ultrasound acoustic radiation force (ARF) to induce micron-scaled displacements (1-500 μm) on microbeads suspended in blood plasma. The displacements were detected by optical microscopy and took place within a micro-liter sized clot region formed within a larger volume (2 mL sample) to minimize container surface effects. Modulation of the ultrasound generated acoustic radiation force allowed stiffness measurements to be made in blood plasma from before its gel point to the stage where it was a fully developed viscoelastic solid. A 0.5 wt % agarose hydrogel was 9.8-fold stiffer than the plasma (platelet-rich) clot at 1 h post-kaolin stimulus. The acoustic radiation force microbead method was sensitive to the presence of platelets and strength of coagulation stimulus. Platelet depletion reduced clot stiffness 6.9 fold relative to platelet rich plasma. The sensitivity of acoustic radiation force based stiffness assessment may allow for studying platelet regulation of both incipient and mature clot mechanical properties.

An intelligent control scheme for precise tip-motion control in atomic force microscopy.

PubMed

Wang, Yanyan; Hu, Xiaodong; Xu, Linyan

2016-01-01

The paper proposes a new intelligent control method to precisely control the tip motion of the atomic force microscopy (AFM). The tip moves up and down at a high rate along the z direction during scanning, requiring the utilization of a rapid feedback controller. The standard proportional-integral (PI) feedback controller is commonly used in commercial AFMs to enable topography measurements. The controller's response performance is determined by the set of the proportional (P) parameter and the integral (I) parameter. However, the two parameters cannot be automatically altered simultaneously according to the scanning speed and the surface topography during continuors scanning, leading to an inaccurate measurement. Thus a new intelligent controller combining the fuzzy controller and the PI controller is put forward in the paper. The new controller automatically selects the most appropriate PI parameters to achieve a fast response rate on basis of the tracking errors. In the experimental setup, the new controller is realized with a digital signal process (DSP) system, implemented in a conventional AFM system. Experiments are carried out by comparing the new method with the standard PI controller. The results demonstrate that the new method is more robust and effective for the precise tip motion control, corresponding to the achievement of a highly qualified image by shortening the response time of the controller. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Analysis of 3D poroelastodynamics using BEM based on modified time-step scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Igumnov, L. A.; Petrov, A. N.; Vorobtsov, I. V.

2017-10-01

The development of 3d boundary elements modeling of dynamic partially saturated poroelastic media using a stepping scheme is presented in this paper. Boundary Element Method (BEM) in Laplace domain and the time-stepping scheme for numerical inversion of the Laplace transform are used to solve the boundary value problem. The modified stepping scheme with a varied integration step for quadrature coefficients calculation using the symmetry of the integrand function and integral formulas of Strongly Oscillating Functions was applied. The problem with force acting on a poroelastic prismatic console end was solved using the developed method. A comparison of the results obtained by the traditional stepping scheme with the solutions obtained by this modified scheme shows that the computational efficiency is better with usage of combined formulas.

Characterizing left-right gait balance using footstep-induced structural vibrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fagert, Jonathon; Mirshekari, Mostafa; Pan, Shijia; Zhang, Pei; Noh, Hae Young

2017-04-01

In this paper, we introduce a method for estimating human left/right walking gait balance using footstep-induced structural vibrations. Understanding human gait balance is an integral component of assessing gait, neurological and musculoskeletal conditions, overall health status, and risk of falls. Existing techniques utilize pressure- sensing mats, wearable devices, and human observation-based assessment by healthcare providers. These existing methods are collectively limited in their operation and deployment; often requiring dense sensor deployment or direct user interaction. To address these limitations, we utilize footstep-induced structural vibration responses. Based on the physical insight that the vibration energy is a function of the force exerted by a footstep, we calculate the vibration signal energy due to a footstep and use it to estimate the footstep force. By comparing the footstep forces while walking, we determine balance. This approach enables non-intrusive gait balance assessment using sparsely deployed sensors. The primary research challenge is that the floor vibration signal energy is also significantly affected by the distance between the footstep location and the vibration sensor; this function is unclear in real-world scenarios and is a mixed function of wave propagation and structure-dependent properties. We overcome this challenge through footstep localization and incorporating structural factors into an analytical force-energy-distance function. This function is estimated through a nonlinear least squares regression analysis. We evaluate the performance of our method with a real-world deployment in a campus building. Our approach estimates footstep forces with a RMSE of 61.0N (8% of participant's body weight), representing a 1.54X improvement over the baseline.

Thermal expansion method for lining tantalum alloy tubing with tungsten

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Watson, G. K.; Whittenberger, J. D.; Mattson, W. F.

1973-01-01

A differential-thermal expansion method was developed to line T-111 (tantalum - 8 percent tungsten - 2 percent hafnium) tubing with a tungsten diffusion barrier as part of a fuel element fabrication study for a space power nuclear reactor concept. This method uses a steel mandrel, which has a larger thermal expansion than T-111, to force the tungsten against the inside of the T-111 tube. Variables investigated include lining temperature, initial assembly gas size, and tube length. Linear integrity increased with increasing lining temperature and decreasing gap size. The method should have more general applicability where cylinders must be lined with a thin layer of a second material.

A system for aerodynamic design and analysis of supersonic aircraft. Part 4: Test cases

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Middleton, W. D.; Lundry, J. L.

1980-01-01

An integrated system of computer programs was developed for the design and analysis of supersonic configurations. The system uses linearized theory methods for the calculation of surface pressures and supersonic area rule concepts in combination with linearized theory for calculation of aerodynamic force coefficients. Interactive graphics are optional at the user's request. Representative test cases and associated program output are presented.

On the Minimal Accuracy Required for Simulating Self-gravitating Systems by Means of Direct N-body Methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Portegies Zwart, Simon; Boekholt, Tjarda

2014-04-01

The conservation of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum are important drivers of our physical understanding of the evolution of the universe. These quantities are also conserved in Newton's laws of motion under gravity. Numerical integration of the associated equations of motion is extremely challenging, in particular due to the steady growth of numerical errors (by round-off and discrete time-stepping and the exponential divergence between two nearby solutions. As a result, numerical solutions to the general N-body problem are intrinsically questionable. Using brute force integrations to arbitrary numerical precision we demonstrate empirically that ensembles of different realizations of resonant three-body interactions produce statistically indistinguishable results. Although individual solutions using common integration methods are notoriously unreliable, we conjecture that an ensemble of approximate three-body solutions accurately represents an ensemble of true solutions, so long as the energy during integration is conserved to better than 1/10. We therefore provide an independent confirmation that previous work on self-gravitating systems can actually be trusted, irrespective of the intrinsically chaotic nature of the N-body problem.

A Comprehensive Comparison of Relativistic Particle Integrators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ripperda, B.; Bacchini, F.; Teunissen, J.; Xia, C.; Porth, O.; Sironi, L.; Lapenta, G.; Keppens, R.

2018-03-01

We compare relativistic particle integrators commonly used in plasma physics, showing several test cases relevant for astrophysics. Three explicit particle pushers are considered, namely, the Boris, Vay, and Higuera–Cary schemes. We also present a new relativistic fully implicit particle integrator that is energy conserving. Furthermore, a method based on the relativistic guiding center approximation is included. The algorithms are described such that they can be readily implemented in magnetohydrodynamics codes or Particle-in-Cell codes. Our comparison focuses on the strengths and key features of the particle integrators. We test the conservation of invariants of motion and the accuracy of particle drift dynamics in highly relativistic, mildly relativistic, and non-relativistic settings. The methods are compared in idealized test cases, i.e., without considering feedback onto the electrodynamic fields, collisions, pair creation, or radiation. The test cases include uniform electric and magnetic fields, {\\boldsymbol{E}}× {\\boldsymbol{B}} fields, force-free fields, and setups relevant for high-energy astrophysics, e.g., a magnetic mirror, a magnetic dipole, and a magnetic null. These tests have direct relevance for particle acceleration in shocks and in magnetic reconnection.

Impaired force control in writer's cramp showing a bilateral deficit in sensorimotor integration.

PubMed

Bleton, Jean-Pierre; Teremetz, Maxime; Vidailhet, Marie; Mesure, Serge; Maier, Marc A; Lindberg, Påvel G

2014-01-01

Abnormal cortical processing of sensory inputs has been found bilaterally in writer's cramp (WC). This study tested the hypothesis that patients with WC have an impaired ability to adjust grip forces according to visual and somatosensory cues in both hands. A unimanual visuomotor force-tracking task and a bimanual sense of effort force-matching task were performed by WC patients and healthy controls. In visuomotor tracking, WC patients showed increased error, greater variability, and longer release duration than controls. In the force-matching task, patients underestimated, whereas controls overestimated, the force applied in the other hand. Visuomotor tracking and force matching were equally impaired in both the symptomatic and nonsymptomatic hand in WC patients. This study provides evidence of bilaterally impaired grip-force control in WC, when using visual or sense of effort cues. This suggests a generalized subclinical deficit in sensorimotor integration in WC. Copyright © 2013 Movement Disorder Society.

Integration of a Self-Coherence Algorithm into DISAT for Forced Oscillation Detection

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

Follum, James D.; Tuffner, Francis K.; Amidan, Brett G.

2015-03-03

With the increasing number of phasor measurement units on the power system, behaviors typically not observable on the power system are becoming more apparent. Oscillatory behavior on the power system, notably forced oscillations, are one such behavior. However, the large amounts of data coming from the PMUs makes manually detecting and locating these oscillations difficult. To automate portions of the process, an oscillation detection routine was coded into the Data Integrity and Situational Awareness Tool (DISAT) framework. Integration into the DISAT framework allows forced oscillations to be detected and information about the event provided to operational engineers. The oscillation detectionmore » algorithm integrates with the data handling and atypical data detecting capabilities of DISAT, building off of a standard library of functions. This report details that integration with information on the algorithm, some implementation issues, and some sample results from the western United States’ power grid.« less

Kinetic energy definition in velocity Verlet integration for accurate pressure evaluation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Jaewoon; Kobayashi, Chigusa; Sugita, Yuji

2018-04-01

In molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, a proper definition of kinetic energy is essential for controlling pressure as well as temperature in the isothermal-isobaric condition. The virial theorem provides an equation that connects the average kinetic energy with the product of particle coordinate and force. In this paper, we show that the theorem is satisfied in MD simulations with a larger time step and holonomic constraints of bonds, only when a proper definition of kinetic energy is used. We provide a novel definition of kinetic energy, which is calculated from velocities at the half-time steps (t - Δt/2 and t + Δt/2) in the velocity Verlet integration method. MD simulations of a 1,2-dispalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid bilayer and a water box using the kinetic energy definition could reproduce the physical properties in the isothermal-isobaric condition properly. We also develop a multiple time step (MTS) integration scheme with the kinetic energy definition. MD simulations with the MTS integration for the DPPC and water box systems provided the same quantities as the velocity Verlet integration method, even when the thermostat and barostat are updated less frequently.

Kinetic energy definition in velocity Verlet integration for accurate pressure evaluation.

PubMed

Jung, Jaewoon; Kobayashi, Chigusa; Sugita, Yuji

2018-04-28

In molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, a proper definition of kinetic energy is essential for controlling pressure as well as temperature in the isothermal-isobaric condition. The virial theorem provides an equation that connects the average kinetic energy with the product of particle coordinate and force. In this paper, we show that the theorem is satisfied in MD simulations with a larger time step and holonomic constraints of bonds, only when a proper definition of kinetic energy is used. We provide a novel definition of kinetic energy, which is calculated from velocities at the half-time steps (t - Δt/2 and t + Δt/2) in the velocity Verlet integration method. MD simulations of a 1,2-dispalmitoyl-sn-phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) lipid bilayer and a water box using the kinetic energy definition could reproduce the physical properties in the isothermal-isobaric condition properly. We also develop a multiple time step (MTS) integration scheme with the kinetic energy definition. MD simulations with the MTS integration for the DPPC and water box systems provided the same quantities as the velocity Verlet integration method, even when the thermostat and barostat are updated less frequently.

NASA Tech Briefs, March 2008

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2008-01-01

Topics covered include: WRATS Integrated Data Acquisition System; Breadboard Signal Processor for Arraying DSN Antennas; Digital Receiver Phase Meter; Split-Block Waveguide Polarization Twist for 220 to 325 GHz; Nano-Multiplication-Region Avalanche Photodiodes and Arrays; Tailored Asymmetry for Enhanced Coupling to WGM Resonators; Disabling CNT Electronic Devices by Use of Electron Beams; Conical Bearingless Motor/Generators; Integrated Force Method for Indeterminate Structures; Carbon-Nanotube-Based Electrodes for Biomedical Applications; Compact Directional Microwave Antenna for Localized Heating; Using Hyperspectral Imagery to Identify Turfgrass Stresses; Shaping Diffraction-Grating Grooves to Optimize Efficiency; Low-Light-Shift Cesium Fountain without Mechanical Shutters; Magnetic Compensation for Second-Order Doppler Shift in LITS; Nanostructures Exploit Hybrid-Polariton Resonances; Microfluidics, Chromatography, and Atomic-Force Microscopy; Model of Image Artifacts from Dust Particles; Pattern-Recognition System for Approaching a Known Target; Orchestrator Telemetry Processing Pipeline; Scheme for Quantum Computing Immune to Decoherence; Spin-Stabilized Microsatellites with Solar Concentrators; Phase Calibration of Antenna Arrays Aimed at Spacecraft; Ring Bus Architecture for a Solid-State Recorder; and Image Compression Algorithm Altered to Improve Stereo Ranging.

An Improved Computing Method for 3D Mechanical Connectivity Rates Based on a Polyhedral Simulation Model of Discrete Fracture Network in Rock Masses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Mingchao; Han, Shuai; Zhou, Sibao; Zhang, Ye

2018-06-01

Based on a 3D model of a discrete fracture network (DFN) in a rock mass, an improved projective method for computing the 3D mechanical connectivity rate was proposed. The Monte Carlo simulation method, 2D Poisson process and 3D geological modeling technique were integrated into a polyhedral DFN modeling approach, and the simulation results were verified by numerical tests and graphical inspection. Next, the traditional projective approach for calculating the rock mass connectivity rate was improved using the 3D DFN models by (1) using the polyhedral model to replace the Baecher disk model; (2) taking the real cross section of the rock mass, rather than a part of the cross section, as the test plane; and (3) dynamically searching the joint connectivity rates using different dip directions and dip angles at different elevations to calculate the maximum, minimum and average values of the joint connectivity at each elevation. In a case study, the improved method and traditional method were used to compute the mechanical connectivity rate of the slope of a dam abutment. The results of the two methods were further used to compute the cohesive force of the rock masses. Finally, a comparison showed that the cohesive force derived from the traditional method had a higher error, whereas the cohesive force derived from the improved method was consistent with the suggested values. According to the comparison, the effectivity and validity of the improved method were verified indirectly.

Spiritual Development for Strategic Leadership in the Air Force

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-03-01

millionaire civilian pilot who had grown close to senior Air Force officials and the Thunderbirds.”8 The Thunderbirds are the Air Force’s high...integrated with the other well- known streams of development: cognitive, social , emotional, and moral. The name commonly given is spiritual...and socialize the Air Force core values of “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do,” adopted in 1997. This document states

Design of a Tool Integrating Force Sensing With Automated Insertion in Cochlear Implantation

PubMed Central

Schurzig, Daniel; Labadie, Robert F.; Hussong, Andreas; Rau, Thomas S.; Webster, Robert J.

2012-01-01

The quality of hearing restored to a deaf patient by a cochlear implant in hearing preservation cochlear implant surgery (and possibly also in routine cochlear implant surgery) is believed to depend on preserving delicate cochlear membranes while accurately inserting an electrode array deep into the spiral cochlea. Membrane rupture forces, and possibly, other indicators of suboptimal placement, are below the threshold detectable by human hands, motivating a force sensing insertion tool. Furthermore, recent studies have shown significant variability in manual insertion forces and velocities that may explain some instances of imperfect placement. Toward addressing this, an automated insertion tool was recently developed by Hussong et al. By following the same insertion tool concept, in this paper, we present mechanical enhancements that improve the surgeon’s interface with the device and make it smaller and lighter. We also present electomechanical design of new components enabling integrated force sensing. The tool is designed to be sufficiently compact and light that it can be mounted to a microstereotactic frame for accurate image-guided preinsertion positioning. The new integrated force sensing system is capable of resolving forces as small as 0.005 N, and we provide experimental illustration of using forces to detect errors in electrode insertion. PMID:23482414

Using surface integrals for checking Archimedes' law of buoyancy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lima, F. M. S.

2012-01-01

A mathematical derivation of the force exerted by an inhomogeneous (i.e. compressible) fluid on the surface of an arbitrarily shaped body immersed in it is not found in the literature, which may be attributed to our trust in Archimedes' law of buoyancy. However, this law, also known as Archimedes' principle (AP), does not yield the force observed when the body is in contact with the container walls, as is more evident in the case of a block immersed in a liquid and in contact with the bottom, in which a downward force that increases with depth is observed. In this work, by taking into account the surface integral of the pressure force exerted by a fluid over the surface of a body, the general validity of AP is checked. For a body fully surrounded by a fluid, homogeneous or not, a gradient version of the divergence theorem applies, yielding a volume integral that simplifies to an upward force which agrees with the force predicted by AP, as long as the fluid density is a continuous function of depth. For the bottom case, this approach yields a downward force that increases with depth, which contrasts to AP but is in agreement with experiments. It also yields a formula for this force which shows that it increases with the area of contact.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF A FORCE-REFLECTING TELEOPERATION SYSTEM

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

M.A. Ebadian, Ph.D.

1999-01-01

For certain applications, such as space servicing, undersea operations, and hazardous material handling tasks in nuclear reactors, the environments can be uncertain, complex, and hazardous. Lives may be in danger if humans were to work under these conditions. As a result, a man-machine system--a teleoperator system--has been developed to work in these types of environments. In a typical teleoperator system, the actual system operates at a remote site; the operator located away from this system usually receives visual information from a video image and/or graphical animation on the computer screen. Additional feedback, such as aural and force information, can significantlymore » enhance performance of the system. Force reflection is a type of feedback in which forces experienced by the remote manipulator are fed back to the manual controller. Various control methods have been proposed for implementation on a teleoperator system. In order to examine different control schemes, a one Degree-Of-Freedom (DOF) Force-Reflecting Manual Controller (FRMC) is constructed and integrated into a PC. The system parameters are identified and constructed as a mathematical model. The Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) and fuzzy logic controllers are developed and tested experimentally. Numerical simulation results obtained from the mathematical model are compared with those of experimental data for both types of controllers. In addition, the concept of a telesensation system is introduced. A telesensation system is an advanced teleoperator system that attempts to provide the operator with sensory feedback. In this context, a telesensation system integrates the use of a Virtual Reality (VR) unit, FRMC, and Graphical User Interface (GUI). The VR unit is used to provide the operator with a 3-D visual effect. Various commercial VR units are reviewed and features compared for use in a telesensation system. As for the FRMC, the conceptual design of a 3-DOF FRMC is developed in an effort to make the system portable, compact, and lightweight. A variety of design alternatives are presented and evaluated. Finally, a GUI software package is developed to interface with several teleoperation unit components. These components include an industrial robot, electric motor, encoder, force/torque sensor, and CCD camera. The software includes features such as position scaling, force scaling, and rereferencing and is intended to provide a sound basis for the development of a multi-DOF FRMC system in the future.« less

Multiple Revolution Solutions for the Perturbed Lambert Problem using the Method of Particular Solutions and Picard Iteration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woollands, Robyn M.; Read, Julie L.; Probe, Austin B.; Junkins, John L.

2017-12-01

We present a new method for solving the multiple revolution perturbed Lambert problem using the method of particular solutions and modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration. The method of particular solutions differs from the well-known Newton-shooting method in that integration of the state transition matrix (36 additional differential equations) is not required, and instead it makes use of a reference trajectory and a set of n particular solutions. Any numerical integrator can be used for solving two-point boundary problems with the method of particular solutions, however we show that using modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration affords an avenue for increased efficiency that is not available with other step-by-step integrators. We take advantage of the path approximation nature of modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration (nodes iteratively converge to fixed points in space) and utilize a variable fidelity force model for propagating the reference trajectory. Remarkably, we demonstrate that computing the particular solutions with only low fidelity function evaluations greatly increases the efficiency of the algorithm while maintaining machine precision accuracy. Our study reveals that solving the perturbed Lambert's problem using the method of particular solutions with modified Chebyshev-Picard iteration is about an order of magnitude faster compared with the classical shooting method and a tenth-twelfth order Runge-Kutta integrator. It is well known that the solution to Lambert's problem over multiple revolutions is not unique and to ensure that all possible solutions are considered we make use of a reliable preexisting Keplerian Lambert solver to warm start our perturbed algorithm.

State-Dependence of the Climate Sensitivity in Earth System Models of Intermediate Complexity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pfister, Patrik L.; Stocker, Thomas F.

2017-10-01

Growing evidence from general circulation models (GCMs) indicates that the equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) depends on the magnitude of forcing, which is commonly referred to as state-dependence. We present a comprehensive assessment of ECS state-dependence in Earth system models of intermediate complexity (EMICs) by analyzing millennial simulations with sustained 2×CO2 and 4×CO2 forcings. We compare different extrapolation methods and show that ECS is smaller in the higher-forcing scenario in 12 out of 15 EMICs, in contrast to the opposite behavior reported from GCMs. In one such EMIC, the Bern3D-LPX model, this state-dependence is mainly due to the weakening sea ice-albedo feedback in the Southern Ocean, which depends on model configuration. Due to ocean-mixing adjustments, state-dependence is only detected hundreds of years after the abrupt forcing, highlighting the need for long model integrations. Adjustments to feedback parametrizations of EMICs may be necessary if GCM intercomparisons confirm an opposite state-dependence.

Manipulating motions of targeted single cells in solution by an integrated double-ring magnetic tweezers imaging microscope.

PubMed

Wu, Meiling; Yadav, Rajeev; Pal, Nibedita; Lu, H Peter

2017-07-01

Controlling and manipulating living cell motions in solution hold a high promise in developing new biotechnology and biological science. Here, we developed a magnetic tweezers device that employs a combination of two permanent magnets in up-down double-ring configuration axially fitting with a microscopic objective, allowing a picoNewton (pN) bidirectional force and motion control on the sample beyond a single upward pulling direction. The experimental force calibration and magnetic field simulation using finite element method magnetics demonstrate that the designed magnetic tweezers covers a linear-combined pN force with positive-negative polarization changes in a tenability of sub-pN scale, which can be utilized to further achieve motion manipulation by shifting the force balance. We demonstrate an application of the up-down double-ring magnetic tweezers for single cell manipulation, showing that the cells with internalized paramagnetic beads can be selectively picked up and guided in a controlled fine motion.

Overcoming free energy barriers using unconstrained molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hénin, Jérôme; Chipot, Christophe

2004-08-01

Association of unconstrained molecular dynamics (MD) and the formalisms of thermodynamic integration and average force [Darve and Pohorille, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 9169 (2001)] have been employed to determine potentials of mean force. When implemented in a general MD code, the additional computational effort, compared to other standard, unconstrained simulations, is marginal. The force acting along a chosen reaction coordinate ξ is estimated from the individual forces exerted on the chemical system and accumulated as the simulation progresses. The estimated free energy derivative computed for small intervals of ξ is canceled by an adaptive bias to overcome the barriers of the free energy landscape. Evolution of the system along the reaction coordinate is, thus, limited by its sole self-diffusion properties. The illustrative examples of the reversible unfolding of deca-L-alanine, the association of acetate and guanidinium ions in water, the dimerization of methane in water, and its transfer across the water liquid-vapor interface are examined to probe the efficiency of the method.

Overcoming free energy barriers using unconstrained molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Hénin, Jérôme; Chipot, Christophe

2004-08-15

Association of unconstrained molecular dynamics (MD) and the formalisms of thermodynamic integration and average force [Darve and Pohorille, J. Chem. Phys. 115, 9169 (2001)] have been employed to determine potentials of mean force. When implemented in a general MD code, the additional computational effort, compared to other standard, unconstrained simulations, is marginal. The force acting along a chosen reaction coordinate xi is estimated from the individual forces exerted on the chemical system and accumulated as the simulation progresses. The estimated free energy derivative computed for small intervals of xi is canceled by an adaptive bias to overcome the barriers of the free energy landscape. Evolution of the system along the reaction coordinate is, thus, limited by its sole self-diffusion properties. The illustrative examples of the reversible unfolding of deca-L-alanine, the association of acetate and guanidinium ions in water, the dimerization of methane in water, and its transfer across the water liquid-vapor interface are examined to probe the efficiency of the method. (c) 2004 American Institute of Physics.

Manipulating motions of targeted single cells in solution by an integrated double-ring magnetic tweezers imaging microscope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Meiling; Yadav, Rajeev; Pal, Nibedita; Lu, H. Peter

2017-07-01

Controlling and manipulating living cell motions in solution hold a high promise in developing new biotechnology and biological science. Here, we developed a magnetic tweezers device that employs a combination of two permanent magnets in up-down double-ring configuration axially fitting with a microscopic objective, allowing a picoNewton (pN) bidirectional force and motion control on the sample beyond a single upward pulling direction. The experimental force calibration and magnetic field simulation using finite element method magnetics demonstrate that the designed magnetic tweezers covers a linear-combined pN force with positive-negative polarization changes in a tenability of sub-pN scale, which can be utilized to further achieve motion manipulation by shifting the force balance. We demonstrate an application of the up-down double-ring magnetic tweezers for single cell manipulation, showing that the cells with internalized paramagnetic beads can be selectively picked up and guided in a controlled fine motion.

Situation awareness system for Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Andrew

1999-07-01

Situation awareness encompasses a knowledge of orders, plans and current knowledge of friendly force actions. Knowing where you are and being able to transmit that information in near real-time to other friendly forces provides the ability to exercise precise command and control over those forces. With respect to current command and control using voice methods, between 40 percent and 60 percent of Combat Net Radio traffic relates to location reporting of some sort. Commanders at Battle Group and below spend, on average, 40 percent of their total time performing position and navigation related functions. The need to rapidly transfer own force location information throughout a force and to process the received information quickly, accurately and reliably provides the rationale for the requirement for an automated situation awareness system. This paper describes the Situation Awareness System (SAS) being developed by Computing Devices Canada for the Canadian Department of National Defence as a component of the Position Determination and Navigation for Land Forces program. The SAS is being integrated with the Iris Tactical Command, Control, Communications System, which is also being developed by Computing Devices. The SAS software provides a core operating environment onto which command and control functionality can be easily added to produce general and specialist battlefield management systems.

The Role of the Armed Forces in the Mexican Economy in the 1980’s.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-06-01

integrating role, especially in 17 " . - _ .. .. .~- ... . .. . . . . . .. . ....._ • ,,.- .. . 1 .. .. •, , ," remote geographic regions, and have...integration of the Armed Forces insures their integration with the population in every town. This is especially important in the small villages. The...Jefe Edo Mayor de la Armada Revillagigedo No. 11 Primer Piso Mexico 1, D.F. 99 141. Vicealmirante Doroteo Silva Lopez Director de Educacion Naval Dr

Marine Corps Vision & Strategy 2025

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

integral part of our history as a Corps. In the South Pacific after Pearl Harbor, in Korea after the communist invasion in 1950, in the jungle outposts...we have experience integrating many organizations with different levels of capability into an effective team. In the future, Marine Corps forces may...and foremost a disciplined warrior. Expeditionary Naval Force. Marines are “soldiers of the sea,” an integral part of the naval Services — lean

Competitive forces in the medical group industry: a stakeholder perspective.

PubMed

Blair, J D; Buesseler, J A

1998-01-01

Applying Porter's model of competitive forces to health care, stakeholder concepts are integrated to analyze the future of medical groups. Using both quantitative survey and qualitative observational data, competitors, physician suppliers, integrated systems new entrants, patient and managed care buyers, and hospitals substitutes are examined.

Estradiol or fluoxetine alters depressive behavior and tryptophan hydroxylase in rat raphe.

PubMed

Yang, Fu-Zhong; Wu, Yan; Zhang, Wei-Guo; Cai, Yi-Yun; Shi, Shen-Xun

2010-03-10

The effects of 17beta-estradiol and fluoxetine on behavior of ovariectomized rats subjected to the forced swimming test and the expression of tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) in dorsal and median raphe were investigated, respectively through time sampling technique of behavior scoring and immunohistochemistry. Both estradiol and fluoxetine increased swimming and decreased immobility in the forced swimming test. The forced swimming stress decreased integrated optical density of TPH-positive regions in dorsal and median raphe. Both estradiol and fluoxetine administration prevented integrated optical density of TPH-positive regions from being decreased by forced swimming stress. These observations suggest that both estradiol and fluoxetine have protective bearing on ovariectomized rats enduring forced swimming stress.

A precise integration method for solving coupled vehicle-track dynamics with nonlinear wheel-rail contact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Gao, Q.; Tan, S. J.; Zhong, W. X.

2012-10-01

A new method is proposed as a solution for the large-scale coupled vehicle-track dynamic model with nonlinear wheel-rail contact. The vehicle is simplified as a multi-rigid-body model, and the track is treated as a three-layer beam model. In the track model, the rail is assumed to be an Euler-Bernoulli beam supported by discrete sleepers. The vehicle model and the track model are coupled using Hertzian nonlinear contact theory, and the contact forces of the vehicle subsystem and the track subsystem are approximated by the Lagrange interpolation polynomial. The response of the large-scale coupled vehicle-track model is calculated using the precise integration method. A more efficient algorithm based on the periodic property of the track is applied to calculate the exponential matrix and certain matrices related to the solution of the track subsystem. Numerical examples demonstrate the computational accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method.

Accurate interatomic force fields via machine learning with covariant kernels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glielmo, Aldo; Sollich, Peter; De Vita, Alessandro

2017-06-01

We present a novel scheme to accurately predict atomic forces as vector quantities, rather than sets of scalar components, by Gaussian process (GP) regression. This is based on matrix-valued kernel functions, on which we impose the requirements that the predicted force rotates with the target configuration and is independent of any rotations applied to the configuration database entries. We show that such covariant GP kernels can be obtained by integration over the elements of the rotation group SO (d ) for the relevant dimensionality d . Remarkably, in specific cases the integration can be carried out analytically and yields a conservative force field that can be recast into a pair interaction form. Finally, we show that restricting the integration to a summation over the elements of a finite point group relevant to the target system is sufficient to recover an accurate GP. The accuracy of our kernels in predicting quantum-mechanical forces in real materials is investigated by tests on pure and defective Ni, Fe, and Si crystalline systems.

3D Numerical Simulation of the Wave and Current Loads on a Truss Foundation of the Offshore Wind Turbine During the Extreme Typhoon Event

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, C. W.; Wu, T. R.; Chuang, M. H.; Tsai, Y. L.

2015-12-01

The wind in Taiwan Strait is strong and stable which offers an opportunity to build offshore wind farms. However, frequently visited typhoons and strong ocean current require more attentions on the wave force and local scour around the foundation of the turbine piles. In this paper, we introduce an in-house, multi-phase CFD model, Splash3D, for solving the flow field with breaking wave, strong turbulent, and scour phenomena. Splash3D solves Navier-Stokes Equation with Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) for the fluid domain, and uses volume of fluid (VOF) with piecewise linear interface reconstruction (PLIC) method to describe the break free-surface. The waves were generated inside the computational domain by internal wave maker with a mass-source function. This function is designed to adequately simulate the wave condition under observed extreme events based on JONSWAP spectrum and dispersion relationship. Dirichlet velocity boundary condition is assigned at the upper stream boundary to induce the ocean current. At the downstream face, the sponge-layer method combined with pressure Dirichlet boundary condition is specified for dissipating waves and conducting current out of the domain. Numerical pressure gauges are uniformly set on the structure surface to obtain the force distribution on the structure. As for the local scour around the foundation, we developed Discontinuous Bi-viscous Model (DBM) for the development of the scour hole. Model validations were presented as well. The force distribution under observed irregular wave condition was extracted by the irregular-surface force extraction (ISFE) method, which provides a fast and elegant way to integrate the force acting on the surface of irregular structure. From the Simulation results, we found that the total force is mainly induced by the impinging waves, and the force from the ocean current is about 2 order of magnitude smaller than the wave force. We also found the dynamic pressure, wave height, and the projection area of the structure are the main factors to the total force. Detailed results and discussion are presented as well.

Relationships between static foot alignment and dynamic plantar loads in runners with acute and chronic stages of plantar fasciitis: a cross-sectional study

PubMed Central

Ribeiro, Ana P.; Sacco, Isabel C. N.; Dinato, Roberto C.; João, Silvia M. A.

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The risk factors for the development of plantar fasciitis (PF) have been associated with the medial longitudinal arch (MLA), rearfoot alignment and calcaneal overload. However, the relationships between the biomechanical variables have yet to be determined. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to investigate the relationships between the MLA, rearfoot alignment, and dynamic plantar loads in runners with unilateral PF in acute and chronic phases. METHOD: Cross-sectional study which thirty-five runners with unilateral PF were evaluated: 20 in the acute phase (with pain) and 15 with previous chronic PF (without pain). The MLA index and rearfoot alignment were calculated using digital images. The contact area, maximum force, peak pressure, and force-time integral over three plantar areas were acquired with Pedar X insoles while running at 12 km/h, and the loading rates were calculated from the vertical forces. RESULTS: The multiple regression analyses indicated that both the force-time integral (R 2=0.15 for acute phase PF; R 2=0.17 for chronic PF) and maximum force (R 2=0.35 for chronic PF) over the forefoot were predicted by an elevated MLA index. The rearfoot valgus alignment predicted the maximum force over the rearfoot in both PF groups: acute (R 2=0.18) and chronic (R 2=0.45). The rearfoot valgus alignment also predicted higher loading rates in the PF groups: acute (R 2=0.19) and chronic (R 2=0.40). CONCLUSION: The MLA index and the rearfoot alignment were good predictors of plantar loads over the forefoot and rearfoot areas in runners with PF. However, rearfoot valgus was demonstrated to be an important clinical measure, since it was able to predict the maximum force and both loading rates over the rearfoot. PMID:26786073

User's Guide for ECAP2D: an Euler Unsteady Aerodynamic and Aeroelastic Analysis Program for Two Dimensional Oscillating Cascades, Version 1.0

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reddy, T. S. R.

1995-01-01

This guide describes the input data required for using ECAP2D (Euler Cascade Aeroelastic Program-Two Dimensional). ECAP2D can be used for steady or unsteady aerodynamic and aeroelastic analysis of two dimensional cascades. Euler equations are used to obtain aerodynamic forces. The structural dynamic equations are written for a rigid typical section undergoing pitching (torsion) and plunging (bending) motion. The solution methods include harmonic oscillation method, influence coefficient method, pulse response method, and time integration method. For harmonic oscillation method, example inputs and outputs are provided for pitching motion and plunging motion. For the rest of the methods, input and output for pitching motion only are given.

Diagnostic layer integration in FPGA-based pipeline measurement systems for HEP experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pozniak, Krzysztof T.

2007-08-01

Integrated triggering and data acquisition systems for high energy physics experiments may be considered as fast, multichannel, synchronous, distributed, pipeline measurement systems. A considerable extension of functional, technological and monitoring demands, which has recently been imposed on them, forced a common usage of large field-programmable gate array (FPGA), digital signal processing-enhanced matrices and fast optical transmission for their realization. This paper discusses modelling, design, realization and testing of pipeline measurement systems. A distribution of synchronous data stream flows is considered in the network. A general functional structure of a single network node is presented. A suggested, novel block structure of the node model facilitates full implementation in the FPGA chip, circuit standardization and parametrization, as well as integration of functional and diagnostic layers. A general method for pipeline system design was derived. This method is based on a unified model of the synchronous data network node. A few examples of practically realized, FPGA-based, pipeline measurement systems were presented. The described systems were applied in ZEUS and CMS.

Numerical study of a permanent magnet linear generator for ship motion energy conversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahmuddin, Faisal; Gunadin, Indar Chaerah; Akhir, Anshar Yaumil

2017-02-01

In order to harvest kinetic energy of a ship moving in waves, a permanent magnet linear generator is designed and simulated in the present study. For the sake of simplicity, only heave motion which will be considered in this preliminary study. The dimension of the generator is designed based on the dimension of the ship. Moreover, in order to designed an optimal design of rotor and stator, the average vertical displacement of heave motion is needed. For this purpose, a numerical method called New Strip Method (NSM) is employed to compute the motions of the ship. With NSM, the ship hull is divided into several strips and the hydrodynamics forces are computed on each strip. Moreover, because the ship is assumed to be slender, the total forces are obtained by integrating the force on each strip. After the motions can be determined, the optimal design of the generator is designed and simulated. The performance of the generator in terms of force, magnetic flux, losses, current and induced voltage which are the primary parameters of the linear generator performance, are evaluated using a finite element analysis software named Maxwell. From the study, a linear generator for converting heave motions is designed so that the produced power from the designed generator can be determined.

AC/RC Force Integration

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-05-01

ib qeocie. Thki document may not be rdeaed for open publicado. untit hu been deared by die appropriate military seavice or a veunent agency. AC /RC...A N/A N/A 11. TITLE (Include Security Classification) AC /RC Force Structure Integraticn 12. PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) Russell A. Eggers 13a. TYPE OF REPORT... AC ) and Reserve Components (RC) Force Integration is critical in today’s Total Army. The Army of soldiers, Active and Reserve, exists to play a key

A Simulation Study of the Overdetermined Geodetic Boundary Value Problem Using Collocation

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-03-01

9 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED GEOPHYSICS LABORATORY AIR FORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND UNITED STATES AIR FORCE HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE...linearized integral equation is obtained through an infinite system of integral equations which is solved step by step by means of Stokes’ function. The...computed. Since 9 and W = W(9) 4 are known on the boundary, then the boundary is known in the new coordinate system . The serious disadvantage of this

Stresslets Induced by Active Swimmers.

PubMed

Lauga, Eric; Michelin, Sébastien

2016-09-30

Active particles disturb the fluid around them as force dipoles, or stresslets, which govern their collective dynamics. Unlike swimming speeds, the stresslets of active particles are rarely determined due to the lack of a suitable theoretical framework for arbitrary geometry. We propose a general method, based on the reciprocal theorem of Stokes flows, to compute stresslets as integrals of the velocities on the particle's surface, which we illustrate for spheroidal chemically active particles. Our method will allow tuning the stresslet of artificial swimmers and tailoring their collective motion in complex environments.

Assessment of liver fibrosis with 2-D shear wave elastography in comparison to transient elastography and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in patients with chronic liver disease.

PubMed

Gerber, Ludmila; Kasper, Daniela; Fitting, Daniel; Knop, Viola; Vermehren, Annika; Sprinzl, Kathrin; Hansmann, Martin L; Herrmann, Eva; Bojunga, Joerg; Albert, Joerg; Sarrazin, Christoph; Zeuzem, Stefan; Friedrich-Rust, Mireen

2015-09-01

Two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2-D SWE) is an ultrasound-based elastography method integrated into a conventional ultrasound machine. It can evaluate larger regions of interest and, therefore, might be better at determining the overall fibrosis distribution. The aim of this prospective study was to compare 2-D SWE with the two best evaluated liver elastography methods, transient elastography and acoustic radiation force impulse (point SWE using acoustic radiation force impulse) imaging, in the same population group. The study included 132 patients with chronic hepatopathies, in which liver stiffness was evaluated using transient elastography, acoustic radiation force impulse imaging and 2-D SWE. The reference methods were liver biopsy for the assessment of liver fibrosis (n = 101) and magnetic resonance imaging/computed tomography for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis (n = 31). No significant difference in diagnostic accuracy, assessed as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), was found between the three elastography methods (2-D SWE, transient elastography, acoustic radiation force impulse imaging) for the diagnosis of significant and advanced fibrosis and liver cirrhosis in the "per protocol" (AUROCs for fibrosis stages ≥2: 0.90, 0.95 and 0.91; for fibrosis stage [F] ≥3: 0.93, 0.95 and 0.94; for F = 4: 0.92, 0.96 and 0.92) and "intention to diagnose" cohort (AUROCs for F ≥2: 0.87, 0.92 and 0.91; for F ≥3: 0.91, 0.93 and 0.94; for F = 4: 0.88, 0.90 and 0.89). Therefore, 2-D SWE, ARFI imaging and transient elastography seem to be comparably good methods for non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis. Copyright © 2015 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Radiation force on absorbing targets and power measurements of a high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian, Zuwen; Zhu, Zhemin; Ye, Shigong; Jiang, Wenhua; Zhu, Houqing; Yu, Jinshen

2010-10-01

Based on the analytic expressions for the radiated field of a circular concave piston given by Hasegawa et al., an integral for calculation of the radiation force on a plane absorbing target in a spherically focused field is derived. A general relation between acoustic power P and normal radiation force F n is obtained under the condition of kr ≫ 1. Numerical computation is carried out by using the symbolic computation program for practically focused sources and absorbing circular targets. The results show that, for a given source, there is a range of target positions where the radiation force is independent of the target’s position under the assumption that the contribution of the acoustic field behind the target to the radiation force can be neglected. The experiments are carried out and confirm that there is a range of target positions where the measured radiation force is basically independent of the target’s position even at high acoustic power (up to 700 W). It is believed that when the radiation force method is used to measure the acoustic power radiated from a focused source, the size of the target must be selected in such a way that no observable sound can be found in the region behind the target.

Control and prediction components of movement planning in stuttering vs. nonstuttering adults

PubMed Central

Daliri, Ayoub; Prokopenko, Roman A.; Flanagan, J. Randall; Max, Ludo

2014-01-01

Purpose Stuttering individuals show speech and nonspeech sensorimotor deficiencies. To perform accurate movements, the sensorimotor system needs to generate appropriate control signals and correctly predict their sensory consequences. Using a reaching task, we examined the integrity of these control and prediction components, separately, for movements unrelated to the speech motor system. Method Nine stuttering and nine nonstuttering adults made fast reaching movements to visual targets while sliding an object under the index finger. To quantify control, we determined initial direction error and end-point error. To quantify prediction, we calculated the correlation between vertical and horizontal forces applied to the object—an index of how well vertical force (preventing slip) anticipated direction-dependent variations in horizontal force (moving the object). Results Directional and end-point error were significantly larger for the stuttering group. Both groups performed similarly in scaling vertical force with horizontal force. Conclusions The stuttering group's reduced reaching accuracy suggests limitations in generating control signals for voluntary movements, even for non-orofacial effectors. Typical scaling of vertical force with horizontal force suggests an intact ability to predict the consequences of planned control signals. Stuttering may be associated with generalized deficiencies in planning control signals rather than predicting the consequences of those signals. PMID:25203459

Matrix method for acoustic levitation simulation.

PubMed

Andrade, Marco A B; Perez, Nicolas; Buiochi, Flavio; Adamowski, Julio C

2011-08-01

A matrix method is presented for simulating acoustic levitators. A typical acoustic levitator consists of an ultrasonic transducer and a reflector. The matrix method is used to determine the potential for acoustic radiation force that acts on a small sphere in the standing wave field produced by the levitator. The method is based on the Rayleigh integral and it takes into account the multiple reflections that occur between the transducer and the reflector. The potential for acoustic radiation force obtained by the matrix method is validated by comparing the matrix method results with those obtained by the finite element method when using an axisymmetric model of a single-axis acoustic levitator. After validation, the method is applied in the simulation of a noncontact manipulation system consisting of two 37.9-kHz Langevin-type transducers and a plane reflector. The manipulation system allows control of the horizontal position of a small levitated sphere from -6 mm to 6 mm, which is done by changing the phase difference between the two transducers. The horizontal position of the sphere predicted by the matrix method agrees with the horizontal positions measured experimentally with a charge-coupled device camera. The main advantage of the matrix method is that it allows simulation of non-symmetric acoustic levitators without requiring much computational effort.

Dynamic response characteristics of dual flow-path integrally bladed rotors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beck, Joseph A.; Brown, Jeffrey M.; Scott-Emuakpor, Onome E.; Cross, Charles J.; Slater, Joseph C.

2015-02-01

New turbine engine designs requiring secondary flow compression often look to dual flow-path integrally bladed rotors (DFIBRs) since these stages have the ability to perform work on the secondary, or bypassed, flow-field. While analogous to traditional integrally bladed rotor stages, DFIBR designs have many differences that result in unique dynamic response characteristics that must be understood to avoid fatigue. This work investigates these characteristics using reduced-order models (ROMs) that incorporate mistuning through perturbations to blade frequencies. This work provides an alternative to computationally intensive geometric-mistuning approaches for DFIBRs by utilizing tuned blade mode reductions and substructure coupling in cyclic coordinates. Free and forced response results are compared to full finite element model (FEM) solutions to determine if any errors are related to the reduced-order model formulation reduction methods. It is shown that DFIBRs have many more frequency veering regions than their single flow-path integrally blade rotor (IBR) counterparts. Modal families are shown to transition between system, inner-blade, and outer-blade motion. Furthermore, findings illustrate that while mode localization of traditional IBRs is limited to a single or small subset of blades, DFIBRs can have modal energy localized to either an inner- or outer-blade set resulting in many blades responding above tuned levels. Lastly, ROM forced response predictions compare well to full FEM predictions for the two test cases shown.

Enhancing the Performance of Passive Teleoperation Systems via Cutaneous Feedback.

PubMed

Pacchierotti, Claudio; Tirmizi, Asad; Bianchini, Gianni; Prattichizzo, Domenico

2015-01-01

We introduce a novel method to improve the performance of passive teleoperation systems with force reflection. It consists of integrating kinesthetic haptic feedback provided by common grounded haptic interfaces with cutaneous haptic feedback. The proposed approach can be used on top of any time-domain control technique that ensures a stable interaction by scaling down kinesthetic feedback when this is required to satisfy stability conditions (e.g., passivity) at the expense of transparency. Performance is recovered by providing a suitable amount of cutaneous force through custom wearable cutaneous devices. The viability of the proposed approach is demonstrated through an experiment of perceived stiffness and an experiment of teleoperated needle insertion in soft tissue.

Accelerating ab initio path integral molecular dynamics with multilevel sampling of potential surface

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

Geng, Hua Y., E-mail: huay.geng@gmail.com; Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Cornell University, Baker Laboratory, Ithaca, NY 14853

A multilevel approach to sample the potential energy surface in a path integral formalism is proposed. The purpose is to reduce the required number of ab initio evaluations of energy and forces in ab initio path integral molecular dynamics (AI-PIMD) simulation, without compromising the overall accuracy. To validate the method, the internal energy and free energy of an Einstein crystal are calculated and compared with the analytical solutions. As a preliminary application, we assess the performance of the method in a realistic model—the FCC phase of dense atomic hydrogen, in which the calculated result shows that the acceleration rate ismore » about 3 to 4-fold for a two-level implementation, and can be increased up to 10 times if extrapolation is used. With only 16 beads used for the ab initio potential sampling, this method gives a well converged internal energy. The residual error in pressure is just about 3 GPa, whereas it is about 20 GPa for a plain AI-PIMD calculation with the same number of beads. The vibrational free energy of the FCC phase of dense hydrogen at 300 K is also calculated with an AI-PIMD thermodynamic integration method, which gives a result of about 0.51 eV/proton at a density of r{sub s}=0.912.« less

Estimating Foreign-Object-Debris Density from Photogrammetry Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Long, Jason; Metzger, Philip; Lane, John

2013-01-01

Within the first few seconds after launch of STS-124, debris traveling vertically near the vehicle was captured on two 16-mm film cameras surrounding the launch pad. One particular piece of debris caught the attention of engineers investigating the release of the flame trench fire bricks. The question to be answered was if the debris was a fire brick, and if it represented the first bricks that were ejected from the flame trench wall, or was the object one of the pieces of debris normally ejected from the vehicle during launch. If it was typical launch debris, such as SRB throat plug foam, why was it traveling vertically and parallel to the vehicle during launch, instead of following its normal trajectory, flying horizontally toward the north perimeter fence? By utilizing the Runge-Kutta integration method for velocity and the Verlet integration method for position, a method that suppresses trajectory computational instabilities due to noisy position data was obtained. This combination of integration methods provides a means to extract the best estimate of drag force and drag coefficient under the non-ideal conditions of limited position data. This integration strategy leads immediately to the best possible estimate of object density, within the constraints of unknown particle shape. These types of calculations do not exist in readily available off-the-shelf simulation software, especially where photogrammetry data is needed as an input.

Optimization of Easy Atomic Force Microscope (ezAFM) Controls for Semiconductor Nanostructure Profiling

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-01

in the vertical (z) directions. There are several instruments controls like proportional, integral , and derivative (PID) gain as well as tip force...the PID control, where P stands for proportional gain, I stands for integral gain, and D stands for derivative gain. An additional parameter that...contributes to the scanned image quality is set point. Proportional gain is multiplied by the error to adjust controller output and integral gain sums

Vibration control by limiting the maximum axial forces in space trusses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chawla, Vikas; Utku, Senol; Wada, Ben K.

1993-01-01

Proposed here is a method of vibration control based on limiting the maximum axial forces in the active members of an adaptive truss. The actuators simulate elastic rigid-plastic behavior and consume the vibrational energy as work. The method is applicable to both statically determinate as well as indeterminate truss structures. However, for energy efficient control of statistically indeterminate trusses extra actuators may be provided on the redundant bars. An energy formulation relating the various control parameters is derived to get an estimate of the control time. Since the simulation of elastic rigid-plastic behavior requires a piecewise linear control law, a general analytical solution is not possible. Numerical simulation by step-by-step integration is performed to simulate the control of an example truss structure. The problems of application to statically indeterminate trusses and optimal actuator placement are identified for future work.

A theoretical model for investigating the effect of vacuum fluctuations on the electromechanical stability of nanotweezers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farrokhabadi, A.; Mokhtari, J.; Koochi, A.; Abadyan, M.

2015-06-01

In this paper, the impact of the Casimir attraction on the electromechanical stability of nanowire-fabricated nanotweezers is investigated using a theoretical continuum mechanics model. The Dirichlet mode is considered and an asymptotic solution, based on path integral approach, is applied to consider the effect of vacuum fluctuations in the model. The Euler-Bernoulli beam theory is employed to derive the nonlinear governing equation of the nanotweezers. The governing equations are solved by three different approaches, i.e. the modified variation iteration method, generalized differential quadrature method and using a lumped parameter model. Various perspectives of the problem, including the comparison with the van der Waals force regime, the variation of instability parameters and effects of geometry are addressed in present paper. The proposed approach is beneficial for the precise determination of the electrostatic response of the nanotweezers in the presence of Casimir force.

An effective non-rigid registration approach for ultrasound image based on "demons" algorithm.

PubMed

Liu, Yan; Cheng, H D; Huang, Jianhua; Zhang, Yingtao; Tang, Xianglong; Tian, Jiawei

2013-06-01

Medical image registration is an important component of computer-aided diagnosis system in diagnostics, therapy planning, and guidance of surgery. Because of its low signal/noise ratio (SNR), ultrasound (US) image registration is a difficult task. In this paper, a fully automatic non-rigid image registration algorithm based on demons algorithm is proposed for registration of ultrasound images. In the proposed method, an "inertia force" derived from the local motion trend of pixels in a Moore neighborhood system is produced and integrated into optical flow equation to estimate the demons force, which is helpful to handle the speckle noise and preserve the geometric continuity of US images. In the experiment, a series of US images and several similarity measure metrics are utilized for evaluating the performance. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can register ultrasound images efficiently, robust to noise, quickly and automatically.

An Improved Computational Technique for Calculating Electromagnetic Forces and Power Absorptions Generated in Spherical and Deformed Body in Levitation Melting Devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zong, Jin-Ho; Szekely, Julian; Schwartz, Elliot

1992-01-01

An improved computational technique for calculating the electromagnetic force field, the power absorption and the deformation of an electromagnetically levitated metal sample is described. The technique is based on the volume integral method, but represents a substantial refinement; the coordinate transformation employed allows the efficient treatment of a broad class of rotationally symmetrical bodies. Computed results are presented to represent the behavior of levitation melted metal samples in a multi-coil, multi-frequency levitation unit to be used in microgravity experiments. The theoretical predictions are compared with both analytical solutions and with the results or previous computational efforts for the spherical samples and the agreement has been very good. The treatment of problems involving deformed surfaces and actually predicting the deformed shape of the specimens breaks new ground and should be the major usefulness of the proposed method.

Elastic Green’s Function in Anisotropic Bimaterials Considering Interfacial Elasticity

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

Juan, Pierre -Alexandre; Dingreville, Remi

Here, the two-dimensional elastic Green’s function is calculated for a general anisotropic elastic bimaterial containing a line dislocation and a concentrated force while accounting for the interfacial structure by means of a generalized interfacial elasticity paradigm. The introduction of the interface elasticity model gives rise to boundary conditions that are effectively equivalent to those of a weakly bounded interface. The equations of elastic equilibrium are solved by complex variable techniques and the method of analytical continuation. The solution is decomposed into the sum of the Green’s function corresponding to the perfectly bonded interface and a perturbation term corresponding to themore » complex coupling nature between the interface structure and a line dislocation/concentrated force. Such construct can be implemented into the boundary integral equations and the boundary element method for analysis of nano-layered structures and epitaxial systems where the interface structure plays an important role.« less

Elastic Green’s Function in Anisotropic Bimaterials Considering Interfacial Elasticity

DOE PAGES

Juan, Pierre -Alexandre; Dingreville, Remi

2017-09-13

Here, the two-dimensional elastic Green’s function is calculated for a general anisotropic elastic bimaterial containing a line dislocation and a concentrated force while accounting for the interfacial structure by means of a generalized interfacial elasticity paradigm. The introduction of the interface elasticity model gives rise to boundary conditions that are effectively equivalent to those of a weakly bounded interface. The equations of elastic equilibrium are solved by complex variable techniques and the method of analytical continuation. The solution is decomposed into the sum of the Green’s function corresponding to the perfectly bonded interface and a perturbation term corresponding to themore » complex coupling nature between the interface structure and a line dislocation/concentrated force. Such construct can be implemented into the boundary integral equations and the boundary element method for analysis of nano-layered structures and epitaxial systems where the interface structure plays an important role.« less

Analytic theory of orbit contraction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vinh, N. X.; Longuski, J. M.; Busemann, A.; Culp, R. D.

1977-01-01

The motion of a satellite in orbit, subject to atmospheric force and the motion of a reentry vehicle are governed by gravitational and aerodynamic forces. This suggests the derivation of a uniform set of equations applicable to both cases. For the case of satellite motion, by a proper transformation and by the method of averaging, a technique appropriate for long duration flight, the classical nonlinear differential equation describing the contraction of the major axis is derived. A rigorous analytic solution is used to integrate this equation with a high degree of accuracy, using Poincare's method of small parameters and Lagrange's expansion to explicitly express the major axis as a function of the eccentricity. The solution is uniformly valid for moderate and small eccentricities. For highly eccentric orbits, the asymptotic equation is derived directly from the general equation. Numerical solutions were generated to display the accuracy of the analytic theory.

The analysis of tensegrity structures for the design of a morphing wing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moored, Keith W., III; Bart-Smith, Hilary

2005-05-01

Tensegrity structures have become of engineering interest in recent years, but very few have found practical use. This lack of integration is attributed to the lack of a well formulated design procedure. In this paper, a preliminary procedure is presented for developing morphing tensegrity structures that include actuating elements. To do this, the virtual work method has been modified to allow for individual actuation of struts and cables. A generalized connectivity matrix for a cantilever beam constructed from either a single 4-strut cell or multiple 4-strut cells has been developed. Global deflections resulting from actuation of specific elements have been calculated. Furthermore, the force density method is expanded to include a necessary upper bound condition such that a physically feasible structure can be designed. Finally, the importance of relative force density values on the overall shape of a structure comprising of multiple unit cells is discussed.

Integrating soft sensor systems using conductive thread

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teng, Lijun; Jeronimo, Karina; Wei, Tianqi; Nemitz, Markus P.; Lyu, Geng; Stokes, Adam A.

2018-05-01

We are part of a growing community of researchers who are developing a new class of soft machines. By using mechanically soft materials (MPa modulus) we can design systems which overcome the bulk-mechanical mismatches between soft biological systems and hard engineered components. To develop fully integrated soft machines—which include power, communications, and control sub-systems—the research community requires methods for interconnecting between soft and hard electronics. Sensors based upon eutectic gallium alloys in microfluidic channels can be used to measure normal and strain forces, but integrating these sensors into systems of heterogeneous Young’s modulus is difficult due the complexity of finding a material which is electrically conductive, mechanically flexible, and stable over prolonged periods of time. Many existing gallium-based liquid alloy sensors are not mechanically or electrically robust, and have poor stability over time. We present the design and fabrication of a high-resolution pressure-sensor soft system that can transduce normal force into a digital output. In this soft system, which is built on a monolithic silicone substrate, a galinstan-based microfluidic pressure sensor is integrated with a flexible printed circuit board. We used conductive thread as the interconnect and found that this method alleviates problems arising due to the mechanical mismatch between conventional metal wires and soft or liquid materials. Conductive thread is low-cost, it is readily wetted by the liquid metal, it produces little bending moment into the microfluidic channel, and it can be connected directly onto the copper bond-pads of the flexible printed circuit board. We built a bridge-system to provide stable readings from the galinstan pressure sensor. This system gives linear measurement results between 500-3500 Pa of applied pressure. We anticipate that integrated systems of this type will find utility in soft-robotic systems as used for wearable technologies like virtual reality, or in soft-medical devices such as exoskeletal rehabilitation robots.

Effects of grip force on skin conductance measured from a handheld device.

PubMed

Tartz, Robert; Vartak, Aniket; King, Jay; Fowles, Don

2015-01-01

Skin conductance (SC) reflects stimulus significance and can be measured by integrating electrodes directly onto a smartphone housing such that they are naturally contacted when gripped. However, grip artifacts naturally arise during operation since grip forces can vary. We explored the effects of grip force on SC to determine feasibility and to draw guidelines on artifact mitigation. For this purpose, a prototype was built with integrated SC electrodes with colocated force sensors, and data was collected from 24 participants gripping the prototype across different grip force conditions. Our analysis showed that static forces greater than 2.0 N were associated with significant SC distortion, and artifacts induced from dynamic grip forces were buffered if the SC level was at least 1.1 microsiemens. Our findings are relevant for future applications of SC sensing on smartphones, which may enable interesting and highly contextual user experiences. Copyright © 2014 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Functional integral for non-Lagrangian systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochan, Denis

2010-02-01

A functional integral formulation of quantum mechanics for non-Lagrangian systems is presented. The approach, which we call “stringy quantization,” is based solely on classical equations of motion and is free of any ambiguity arising from Lagrangian and/or Hamiltonian formulation of the theory. The functionality of the proposed method is demonstrated on several examples. Special attention is paid to the stringy quantization of systems with a general A-power friction force -κq˙A. Results for A=1 are compared with those obtained in the approaches by Caldirola-Kanai, Bateman, and Kostin. Relations to the Caldeira-Leggett model and to the Feynman-Vernon approach are discussed as well.

Inner and outer coronary vessel wall segmentation from CCTA using an active contour model with machine learning-based 3D voxel context-aware image force

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sivalingam, Udhayaraj; Wels, Michael; Rempfler, Markus; Grosskopf, Stefan; Suehling, Michael; Menze, Bjoern H.

2016-03-01

In this paper, we present a fully automated approach to coronary vessel segmentation, which involves calcification or soft plaque delineation in addition to accurate lumen delineation, from 3D Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography data. Adequately virtualizing the coronary lumen plays a crucial role for simulating blood ow by means of fluid dynamics while additionally identifying the outer vessel wall in the case of arteriosclerosis is a prerequisite for further plaque compartment analysis. Our method is a hybrid approach complementing Active Contour Model-based segmentation with an external image force that relies on a Random Forest Regression model generated off-line. The regression model provides a strong estimate of the distance to the true vessel surface for every surface candidate point taking into account 3D wavelet-encoded contextual image features, which are aligned with the current surface hypothesis. The associated external image force is integrated in the objective function of the active contour model, such that the overall segmentation approach benefits from the advantages associated with snakes and from the ones associated with machine learning-based regression alike. This yields an integrated approach achieving competitive results on a publicly available benchmark data collection (Rotterdam segmentation challenge).

Free energy from molecular dynamics with multiple constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

den Otter, W. K.; Briels, W. J.

In molecular dynamics simulations of reacting systems, the key step to determining the equilibrium constant and the reaction rate is the calculation of the free energy as a function of the reaction coordinate. Intuitively the derivative of the free energy is equal to the average force needed to constrain the reaction coordinate to a constant value, but the metric tensor effect of the constraint on the sampled phase space distribution complicates this relation. The appropriately corrected expression for the potential of mean constraint force method (PMCF) for systems in which only the reaction coordinate is constrained was published recently. Here we will consider the general case of a system with multiple constraints. This situation arises when both the reaction coordinate and the 'hard' coordinates are constrained, and also in systems with several reaction coordinates. The obvious advantage of this method over the established thermodynamic integration and free energy perturbation methods is that it avoids the cumbersome introduction of a full set of generalized coordinates complementing the constrained coordinates. Simulations of n -butane and n -pentane in vacuum illustrate the method.

Dynamic analysis of suspension cable based on vector form intrinsic finite element method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qin, Jian; Qiao, Liang; Wan, Jiancheng; Jiang, Ming; Xia, Yongjun

2017-10-01

A vector finite element method is presented for the dynamic analysis of cable structures based on the vector form intrinsic finite element (VFIFE) and mechanical properties of suspension cable. Firstly, the suspension cable is discretized into different elements by space points, the mass and external forces of suspension cable are transformed into space points. The structural form of cable is described by the space points at different time. The equations of motion for the space points are established according to the Newton’s second law. Then, the element internal forces between the space points are derived from the flexible truss structure. Finally, the motion equations of space points are solved by the central difference method with reasonable time integration step. The tangential tension of the bearing rope in a test ropeway with the moving concentrated loads is calculated and compared with the experimental data. The results show that the tangential tension of suspension cable with moving loads is consistent with the experimental data. This method has high calculated precision and meets the requirements of engineering application.

An air brake model for longitudinal train dynamics studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Wei; Hu, Yang; Wu, Qing; Zhao, Xubao; Zhang, Jun; Zhang, Yuan

2017-04-01

Experience of heavy haul train operation shows that heavy haul train fatigue fracture of coupler and its related components, even the accidents are caused by excessive coupler force. The most economical and effective method to study on train longitudinal impulse by reducing the coupler force is simulation method. The characteristics of train air brake system is an important excitation source for the study of longitudinal impulse. It is very difficult to obtain the braking characteristic by the test method, a better way to get the input parameters of the excitation source in the train longitudinal dynamics is modelling the train air brake system. In this paper, the air brake system model of integrated system of air brake and longitudinal dynamics is introduced. This introduce is focus on the locomotive automatic brake valve and vehicle distribution valve model, and the comparative analysis of the simulation and test results of the braking system is given. It is proved that the model can predict the characteristics of train braking system. This method provides a good solution for the excitation source of longitudinal dynamic analysis system.

Measuring the local mobility of graphene on semiconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Haijian; Liu, Zhenghui; Wang, Jianfeng; Pan, Anlian; Xu, Gengzhao; Xu, Ke

2018-04-01

Mobility is an important parameter to gauge the performance of graphene devices, which is usually measured by FET or Hall methods relying on the use of insulating substrates. However, these methods are not applicable for the case of graphene on semiconductors, because some current will inevitably cross their junctions and flow through the semiconductors except directly traversing the graphene surface. Here we demonstrate a method for measuring the local mobility of graphene on gallium nitrides combining Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) and conductive atomic force microscopy (C-AFM). The carrier density related to Fermi level shifts in graphene can be acquired from KPFM. The local mobility of graphene is calculated from the carrier mean free path available from the effective contact area, which can be fitted from the local I-V curves in graphene/GaN junctions by C-AFM. Our method can be used to investigate an arbitrary region in graphene and also be applied to other semiconductor substrates and do not introduce damages. These results will benefit recent topical application researches for graphene integration in various semiconductor devices.

Integrating Pavement Crack Detection and Analysis Using Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Imagery

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-03-27

Air Force Institute of Technology Air University Air Education and Training Command In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of...Master of Science in Engineering and Environmental Management Patrick J. Grandsaert, BS Captain, USAF March 2015 DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A...reliable data is necessary to make informed decisions on how to best manage aging road assets. This research explores a new method to automate the

Multibody Parachute Flight Simulations for Planetary Entry Trajectories Using "Equilibrium Points"

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Raiszadeh, Ben

2003-01-01

A method has been developed to reduce numerical stiffness and computer CPU requirements of high fidelity multibody flight simulations involving parachutes for planetary entry trajectories. Typical parachute entry configurations consist of entry bodies suspended from a parachute, connected by flexible lines. To accurately calculate line forces and moments, the simulations need to keep track of the point where the flexible lines meet (confluence point). In previous multibody parachute flight simulations, the confluence point has been modeled as a point mass. Using a point mass for the confluence point tends to make the simulation numerically stiff, because its mass is typically much less that than the main rigid body masses. One solution for stiff differential equations is to use a very small integration time step. However, this results in large computer CPU requirements. In the method described in the paper, the need for using a mass as the confluence point has been eliminated. Instead, the confluence point is modeled using an "equilibrium point". This point is calculated at every integration step as the point at which sum of all line forces is zero (static equilibrium). The use of this "equilibrium point" has the advantage of both reducing the numerical stiffness of the simulations, and eliminating the dynamical equations associated with vibration of a lumped mass on a high-tension string.

A time-domain finite element boundary integral approach for elastic wave scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, F.; Lowe, M. J. S.; Skelton, E. A.; Craster, R. V.

2018-04-01

The response of complex scatterers, such as rough or branched cracks, to incident elastic waves is required in many areas of industrial importance such as those in non-destructive evaluation and related fields; we develop an approach to generate accurate and rapid simulations. To achieve this we develop, in the time domain, an implementation to efficiently couple the finite element (FE) method within a small local region, and the boundary integral (BI) globally. The FE explicit scheme is run in a local box to compute the surface displacement of the scatterer, by giving forcing signals to excitation nodes, which can lie on the scatterer itself. The required input forces on the excitation nodes are obtained with a reformulated FE equation, according to the incident displacement field. The surface displacements computed by the local FE are then projected, through time-domain BI formulae, to calculate the scattering signals with different modes. This new method yields huge improvements in the efficiency of FE simulations for scattering from complex scatterers. We present results using different shapes and boundary conditions, all simulated using this approach in both 2D and 3D, and then compare with full FE models and theoretical solutions to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of this numerical approach.

Evaluating the integrity of the reinforced concrete structure repaired by epoxy injection using simulated transfer function of impact-echo response

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

Cheng, Chia-Chi; Yu, Chih-peng; Wu, Jiunn-Hong

2014-02-18

Cracks and honeycombs are often found inside reinforced concrete (RC) structure caused by excessive external force, or improper casting of concrete. The repairing method usually involves epoxy injection. The impact-echo method, which is a sensitive for detecting of the interior voids, may not be applicable to assess the integrity of the repaired member as both air and epoxy are less in acoustic impedances. In this study, the repaired RC structure was evaluated by the simulated transfer function of the IE displacement waveform where the R-wave displacement waveform is used as a base of a simulated force-time function. The effect ofmore » different thickness of the epoxy layer to the amplitude corresponding to the interface is studied by testing on specimen containing repaired naturally delaminated cracks with crack widths about 1 mm, 3 mm and 5 mm. The impact-echo responses were compared with the drilling cores at the test positions. The results showed the cracks were not fully filled with epoxy when the peak amplitude corresponding to the interface dropped less than 20%. The peak corresponding to the thicker epoxy layer tends to be larger in amplitude. A field study was also performed on a column damaged by earthquake before and after repairing.« less

Nanoscale chemical imaging by photoinduced force microscopy

PubMed Central

Nowak, Derek; Morrison, William; Wickramasinghe, H. Kumar; Jahng, Junghoon; Potma, Eric; Wan, Lei; Ruiz, Ricardo; Albrecht, Thomas R.; Schmidt, Kristin; Frommer, Jane; Sanders, Daniel P.; Park, Sung

2016-01-01

Correlating spatial chemical information with the morphology of closely packed nanostructures remains a challenge for the scientific community. For example, supramolecular self-assembly, which provides a powerful and low-cost way to create nanoscale patterns and engineered nanostructures, is not easily interrogated in real space via existing nondestructive techniques based on optics or electrons. A novel scanning probe technique called infrared photoinduced force microscopy (IR PiFM) directly measures the photoinduced polarizability of the sample in the near field by detecting the time-integrated force between the tip and the sample. By imaging at multiple IR wavelengths corresponding to absorption peaks of different chemical species, PiFM has demonstrated the ability to spatially map nm-scale patterns of the individual chemical components of two different types of self-assembled block copolymer films. With chemical-specific nanometer-scale imaging, PiFM provides a powerful new analytical method for deepening our understanding of nanomaterials. PMID:27051870

Pitching motion control of a butterfly-like 3D flapping wing-body model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suzuki, Kosuke; Minami, Keisuke; Inamuro, Takaji

2014-11-01

Free flights and a pitching motion control of a butterfly-like flapping wing-body model are numerically investigated by using an immersed boundary-lattice Boltzmann method. The model flaps downward for generating the lift force and backward for generating the thrust force. Although the model can go upward against the gravity by the generated lift force, the model generates the nose-up torque, consequently gets off-balance. In this study, we discuss a way to control the pitching motion by flexing the body of the wing-body model like an actual butterfly. The body of the model is composed of two straight rigid rod connected by a rotary actuator. It is found that the pitching angle is suppressed in the range of +/-5° by using the proportional-plus-integral-plus-derivative (PID) control for the input torque of the rotary actuator.

A numerical study of transient heat and mass transfer in crystal growth

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Han, Samuel Bang-Moo

1987-01-01

A numerical analysis of transient heat and solute transport across a rectangular cavity is performed. Five nonlinear partial differential equations which govern the conservation of mass, momentum, energy and solute concentration related to crystal growth in solution, are simultaneously integrated by a numerical method based on the SIMPLE algorithm. Numerical results showed that the flow, temperature and solute fields are dependent on thermal and solutal Grashoff number, Prandtl number, Schmidt number and aspect ratio. The average Nusselt and Sherwood numbers evaluated at the center of the cavity decrease markedly when the solutal buoyancy force acts in the opposite direction to the thermal buoyancy force. When the solutal and thermal buoyancy forces act in the same direction, however, Sherwood number increases significantly and yet Nusselt number decreases. Overall effects of convection on the crystal growth are seen to be an enhancement of growth rate as expected but with highly nonuniform spatial growth variations.

Comparative advantages of mechanical biosensors.

PubMed

Arlett, J L; Myers, E B; Roukes, M L

2011-04-01

Mechanical interactions are fundamental to biology. Mechanical forces of chemical origin determine motility and adhesion on the cellular scale, and govern transport and affinity on the molecular scale. Biological sensing in the mechanical domain provides unique opportunities to measure forces, displacements and mass changes from cellular and subcellular processes. Nanomechanical systems are particularly well matched in size with molecular interactions, and provide a basis for biological probes with single-molecule sensitivity. Here we review micro- and nanoscale biosensors, with a particular focus on fast mechanical biosensing in fluid by mass- and force-based methods, and the challenges presented by non-specific interactions. We explain the general issues that will be critical to the success of any type of next-generation mechanical biosensor, such as the need to improve intrinsic device performance, fabrication reproducibility and system integration. We also discuss the need for a greater understanding of analyte-sensor interactions on the nanoscale and of stochastic processes in the sensing environment.

Integration of Plant Metabolomics Data with Metabolic Networks: Progresses and Challenges.

PubMed

Töpfer, Nadine; Seaver, Samuel M D; Aharoni, Asaph

2018-01-01

In the last decade, plant genome-scale modeling has developed rapidly and modeling efforts have advanced from representing metabolic behavior of plant heterotrophic cell suspensions to studying the complex interplay of cell types, tissues, and organs. A crucial driving force for such developments is the availability and integration of "omics" data (e.g., transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics) which enable the reconstruction, extraction, and application of context-specific metabolic networks. In this chapter, we demonstrate a workflow to integrate gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics data of tomato fruit pericarp (flesh) tissue, at five developmental stages, with a genome-scale reconstruction of tomato metabolism. This method allows for the extraction of context-specific networks reflecting changing activities of metabolic pathways throughout fruit development and maturation.

Efficiency optimization of a fast Poisson solver in beam dynamics simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Dawei; Pöplau, Gisela; van Rienen, Ursula

2016-01-01

Calculating the solution of Poisson's equation relating to space charge force is still the major time consumption in beam dynamics simulations and calls for further improvement. In this paper, we summarize a classical fast Poisson solver in beam dynamics simulations: the integrated Green's function method. We introduce three optimization steps of the classical Poisson solver routine: using the reduced integrated Green's function instead of the integrated Green's function; using the discrete cosine transform instead of discrete Fourier transform for the Green's function; using a novel fast convolution routine instead of an explicitly zero-padded convolution. The new Poisson solver routine preserves the advantages of fast computation and high accuracy. This provides a fast routine for high performance calculation of the space charge effect in accelerators.

Successfully Demonstrating an Integrated Roofing and BIPV Solution for an Historic Building Renovation at the United States Air Force Academy

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-05-01

Solution for an Historic Building Renovation at the United States Air Force Academy • Abstract Number: 12623 Vandenberg Hall • Thin Film Solar Array • Direct...Phase 1 • Total installed production capacity: 212.320 KW DC • Panels type and quantity: • Unisolar Thin Film Amorphous Silicon Panels • 1210 – Power...Successfully Demonstrating an Integrated Roofing and BIPV Solution for an Historic Building Renovation at the United States Air Force Academy

Insertion Process of Ceramic Nanoporous Microneedles by Means of a Novel Mechanical Applicator Design.

PubMed

Hartmann, Xavier H M; van der Linde, Peter; Homburg, Erik F G A; van Breemen, Lambert C A; de Jong, Arthur M; Luttge, Regina

2015-11-18

Arrays of microneedles (MNAs) are integrated in an out-of-plane fashion with a base plate and can serve as patches for the release of drugs and vaccines. We used soft-lithography and micromolding to manufacture ceramic nanoporous (np)MNAs. Failure modes of ceramic npMNAs are as yet poorly understood and the question remained: is our npMNA platform technology ready for microneedle (MN) assembly into patches? We investigated npMNAs by microindentation, yielding average crack fracture forces above the required insertion force for a single MN to penetrate human skin. We further developed a thumb pressure-actuated applicator-assisted npMNA insertion method, which enables anchoring of MNs in the skin by an adhesive in one handling step. Using a set of simple artificial skin models, we found a puncture efficiency of this insertion method a factor three times higher than by applying thumb pressure on the npMNA base plate directly. In addition, this new method facilitated zero MN-breakage due to a well-defined force distribution exerted onto the MNs and the closely surrounding area prior to bringing the adhesive into contact with the skin. Owing to the fact that such parameter space exists, we can conclude that npMNAs by soft lithography are a platform technology for MN assembly into a patch.

Heart rate detection from an electronic weighing scale.

PubMed

González-Landaeta, R; Casas, O; Pallàs-Areny, R

2007-01-01

We propose a novel technique for heart rate detection on a subject that stands on a common electronic weighing scale. The detection relies on sensing force variations related to the blood acceleration in the aorta, works even if wearing footwear, and does not require any sensors attached to the body. We have applied our method to three different weighing scales, and estimated whether their sensitivity and frequency response suited heart rate detection. Scale sensitivities were from 490 nV/V/N to 1670 nV/V/N, all had an underdamped transient response and their dynamic gain error was below 19% at 10 Hz, which are acceptable values for heart rate estimation. We also designed a pulse detection system based on off-the-shelf integrated circuits, whose gain was about 70x10(3) and able to sense force variations about 240 mN. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the main peaks of the pulse signal detected was higher than 48 dB, which is large enough to estimate the heart rate by simple signal processing methods. To validate the method, the ECG and the force signal were simultaneously recorded on 12 volunteers. The maximal error obtained from heart rates determined from these two signals was +/-0.6 beats/minute.

Computing the Free Energy along a Reaction Coordinate Using Rigid Body Dynamics.

PubMed

Tao, Peng; Sodt, Alexander J; Shao, Yihan; König, Gerhard; Brooks, Bernard R

2014-10-14

The calculations of potential of mean force along complex chemical reactions or rare events pathways are of great interest because of their importance for many areas in chemistry, molecular biology, and material science. The major difficulty for free energy calculations comes from the great computational cost for adequate sampling of the system in high-energy regions, especially close to the reaction transition state. Here, we present a method, called FEG-RBD, in which the free energy gradients were obtained from rigid body dynamics simulations. Then the free energy gradients were integrated along a reference reaction pathway to calculate free energy profiles. In a given system, the reaction coordinates defining a subset of atoms (e.g., a solute, or the quantum mechanics (QM) region of a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulation) are selected to form a rigid body during the simulation. The first-order derivatives (gradients) of the free energy with respect to the reaction coordinates are obtained through the integration of constraint forces within the rigid body. Each structure along the reference reaction path is separately subjected to such a rigid body simulation. The individual free energy gradients are integrated along the reference pathway to obtain the free energy profile. Test cases provided demonstrate both the strengths and weaknesses of the FEG-RBD method. The most significant benefit of this method comes from the fast convergence rate of the free energy gradient using rigid-body constraints instead of restraints. A correction to the free energy due to approximate relaxation of the rigid-body constraint is estimated and discussed. A comparison with umbrella sampling using a simple test case revealed the improved sampling efficiency of FEG-RBD by a factor of 4 on average. The enhanced efficiency makes this method effective for calculating the free energy of complex chemical reactions when the reaction coordinate can be unambiguously defined by a small subset of atoms within the system.

Computing the Free Energy along a Reaction Coordinate Using Rigid Body Dynamics

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

The calculations of potential of mean force along complex chemical reactions or rare events pathways are of great interest because of their importance for many areas in chemistry, molecular biology, and material science. The major difficulty for free energy calculations comes from the great computational cost for adequate sampling of the system in high-energy regions, especially close to the reaction transition state. Here, we present a method, called FEG-RBD, in which the free energy gradients were obtained from rigid body dynamics simulations. Then the free energy gradients were integrated along a reference reaction pathway to calculate free energy profiles. In a given system, the reaction coordinates defining a subset of atoms (e.g., a solute, or the quantum mechanics (QM) region of a quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics simulation) are selected to form a rigid body during the simulation. The first-order derivatives (gradients) of the free energy with respect to the reaction coordinates are obtained through the integration of constraint forces within the rigid body. Each structure along the reference reaction path is separately subjected to such a rigid body simulation. The individual free energy gradients are integrated along the reference pathway to obtain the free energy profile. Test cases provided demonstrate both the strengths and weaknesses of the FEG-RBD method. The most significant benefit of this method comes from the fast convergence rate of the free energy gradient using rigid-body constraints instead of restraints. A correction to the free energy due to approximate relaxation of the rigid-body constraint is estimated and discussed. A comparison with umbrella sampling using a simple test case revealed the improved sampling efficiency of FEG-RBD by a factor of 4 on average. The enhanced efficiency makes this method effective for calculating the free energy of complex chemical reactions when the reaction coordinate can be unambiguously defined by a small subset of atoms within the system. PMID:25328492

A universal strategy for the creation of machine learning-based atomistic force fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huan, Tran Doan; Batra, Rohit; Chapman, James; Krishnan, Sridevi; Chen, Lihua; Ramprasad, Rampi

2017-09-01

Emerging machine learning (ML)-based approaches provide powerful and novel tools to study a variety of physical and chemical problems. In this contribution, we outline a universal strategy to create ML-based atomistic force fields, which can be used to perform high-fidelity molecular dynamics simulations. This scheme involves (1) preparing a big reference dataset of atomic environments and forces with sufficiently low noise, e.g., using density functional theory or higher-level methods, (2) utilizing a generalizable class of structural fingerprints for representing atomic environments, (3) optimally selecting diverse and non-redundant training datasets from the reference data, and (4) proposing various learning approaches to predict atomic forces directly (and rapidly) from atomic configurations. From the atomistic forces, accurate potential energies can then be obtained by appropriate integration along a reaction coordinate or along a molecular dynamics trajectory. Based on this strategy, we have created model ML force fields for six elemental bulk solids, including Al, Cu, Ti, W, Si, and C, and show that all of them can reach chemical accuracy. The proposed procedure is general and universal, in that it can potentially be used to generate ML force fields for any material using the same unified workflow with little human intervention. Moreover, the force fields can be systematically improved by adding new training data progressively to represent atomic environments not encountered previously.

Generating The Force: The Roundout Brigade

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-20

The Total Force Policy means the integration of planning, programming and budgeting for the manning, equipping, maintaining and training of a mix of...methodology for making force mix decisions: cost, force capability, training requirements, and personnel availability. The GAO did not 3 include political...considerations as part of its criteria for force mix determination. However, any examination of Active and Reserve Component force structure must

Integrating Education and Patient Care. Observations from the GME Task Force.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, DC.

The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) appointed a task force in November 1999 to examine how AAMC member institutions and others were developing, and could develop, new ways to integrate education and patient care. Mechanisms were identified that would aid in reorienting residency programs to education, rather than services. These…

Sitting with the Enemy: How to Integrate a Former Violent Group into Government

DTIC Science & Technology

It has been 17 years since the deployment of the United States armed forces to Afghanistan on 7 October 2001, and American military forces continue...end the violence. Therefore, this thesis analyzes how to integrate a former violent group into government, and how those processes can apply to...attempt to stabilize the government of Afghanistan. This is problematic but other states have integrated former violent groups into government as a means to

Space station operations task force. Panel 3 report: User development and integration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The User Development and Integration Panel of the Space Station Operations Task Force was chartered to develop concepts relating to the operations of the Space Station manned base and the platforms, user accommodation and integration activities. The needs of the user community are addressed in the context with the mature operations phase of the Space Station. Issues addressed include space station pricing options, marketing strategies, payload selection and resource allocation options, and manifesting techniques.

Vorticity dipoles and a theoretical model of a finite force at the moving contact line singularity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Peter; Devoria, Adam; Mohseni, Kamran

2017-11-01

In the well known works of Moffatt (1964) and Huh & Scriven (1971), an infinite force was reported at the moving contact line (MCL) and attributed to a non-integrable stress along the fluid-solid boundary. In our recent investigation of the boundary driven wedge, a model of the MCL, we find that the classical solution theoretically predicts a finite force at the contact line if the forces applied by the two boundaries that make up the corner are taken into consideration. Mathematically, this force can be obtained by the complex contour integral of the holomorphic vorticity-pressure function given by G = μω + ip . Alternatively, this force can also be found using a carefully defined real integral that incorporates the two boundaries. Motivated by this discovery, we have found that the rate of change in circulation, viscous energy dissipation, and viscous energy flux is also finite per unit contact line length. The analysis presented demonstrates that despite a singular stress and a relatively simple geometry, the no-slip semi-infinite wedge is capable of capturing some physical quantities of interest. Furthermore, this result provides a foundation for other challenging topics such as dynamic contact angle.

A new method to include the gravitational forces in a finite element model of the scoliotic spine.

PubMed

Clin, Julien; Aubin, Carl-Éric; Lalonde, Nadine; Parent, Stefan; Labelle, Hubert

2011-08-01

The distribution of stresses in the scoliotic spine is still not well known despite its biomechanical importance in the pathomechanisms and treatment of scoliosis. Gravitational forces are one of the sources of these stresses. Existing finite element models (FEMs), when considering gravity, applied these forces on a geometry acquired from radiographs while the patient was already subjected to gravity, which resulted in a deformed spine different from the actual one. A new method to include gravitational forces on a scoliotic trunk FEM and compute the stresses in the spine was consequently developed. The 3D geometry of three scoliotic patients was acquired using a multi-view X-ray 3D reconstruction technique and surface topography. The FEM of the patients' trunk was created using this geometry. A simulation process was developed to apply the gravitational forces at the centers of gravity of each vertebra level. First the "zero-gravity" geometry was determined by applying adequate upwards forces on the initial geometry. The stresses were reset to zero and then the gravity forces were applied to compute the geometry of the spine subjected to gravity. An optimization process was necessary to find the appropriate zero-gravity and gravity geometries. The design variables were the forces applied on the model to find the zero-gravity geometry. After optimization the difference between the vertebral positions acquired from radiographs and the vertebral positions simulated with the model was inferior to 3 mm. The forces and compressive stresses in the scoliotic spine were then computed. There was an asymmetrical load in the coronal plane, particularly, at the apices of the scoliotic curves. Difference of mean compressive stresses between concavity and convexity of the scoliotic curves ranged between 0.1 and 0.2 MPa. In conclusion, a realistic way of integrating gravity in a scoliotic trunk FEM was developed and stresses due to gravity were explicitly computed. This is a valuable improvement for further biomechanical modeling studies of scoliosis.

Alternative methods to model frictional contact surfaces using NASTRAN

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hoang, Joseph

1992-01-01

Elongated (slotted) holes have been used extensively for the integration of equipment into Spacelab racks. In the past, this type of interface has been modeled assuming that there is not slippage between contact surfaces, or that there is no load transfer in the direction of the slot. Since the contact surfaces are bolted together, the contact friction provides a load path determined by the normal applied force (bolt preload) and the coefficient of friction. Three alternate methods that utilize spring elements, externally applied couples, and stress dependent elements are examined to model the contacted surfaces. Results of these methods are compared with results obtained from methods that use GAP elements and rigid elements.

Investigation of base pairs containing oxidized guanine using ab initio method and ABEEMσπ polarizable force field.

PubMed

Liu, Cui; Wang, Yang; Zhao, Dongxia; Gong, Lidong; Yang, Zhongzhi

2014-02-01

The integrity of the genetic information is constantly threatened by oxidizing agents. Oxidized guanines have all been linked to different types of cancers. Theoretical approaches supplement the assorted experimental techniques, and bring new sight and opportunities to investigate the underlying microscopic mechanics. Unfortunately, there is no specific force field to DNA system including oxidized guanines. Taking high level ab initio calculations as benchmark, we developed the ABEEMσπ fluctuating charge force field, which uses multiple fluctuating charges per atom. And it was applied to study the energies, structures and mutations of base pairs containing oxidized guanines. The geometries were obtained in reference to other studies or using B3LYP/6-31+G* level optimization, which is more rational and timesaving among 24 quantum mechanical methods selected and tested by this work. The energies were determined at MP2/aug-cc-pVDZ level with BSSE corrections. Results show that the constructed potential function can accurately simulate the change of H-bond and the buckled angle formed by two base planes induced by oxidized guanine, and it provides reliable information of hydrogen bonding, stacking interaction and the mutation processes. The performance of ABEEMσπ polarizable force field in predicting the bond lengths, bond angles, dipole moments etc. is generally better than those of the common force fields. And the accuracy of ABEEMσπ PFF is close to that of the MP2 method. This shows that ABEEMσπ model is a reliable choice for further research of dynamics behavior of DNA fragment including oxidized guanine. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integration of Acoustic Radiation Force and Optical Imaging for Blood Plasma Clot Stiffness Measurement

PubMed Central

Wang, Caroline W.; Perez, Matthew J.; Helmke, Brian P.; Viola, Francesco; Lawrence, Michael B.

2015-01-01

Despite the life-preserving function blood clotting serves in the body, inadequate or excessive blood clot stiffness has been associated with life-threatening diseases such as stroke, hemorrhage, and heart attack. The relationship between blood clot stiffness and vascular diseases underscores the importance of quantifying the magnitude and kinetics of blood’s transformation from a fluid to a viscoelastic solid. To measure blood plasma clot stiffness, we have developed a method that uses ultrasound acoustic radiation force (ARF) to induce micron-scaled displacements (1-500 μm) on microbeads suspended in blood plasma. The displacements were detected by optical microscopy and took place within a micro-liter sized clot region formed within a larger volume (2 mL sample) to minimize container surface effects. Modulation of the ultrasound generated acoustic radiation force allowed stiffness measurements to be made in blood plasma from before its gel point to the stage where it was a fully developed viscoelastic solid. A 0.5 wt % agarose hydrogel was 9.8-fold stiffer than the plasma (platelet-rich) clot at 1 h post-kaolin stimulus. The acoustic radiation force microbead method was sensitive to the presence of platelets and strength of coagulation stimulus. Platelet depletion reduced clot stiffness 6.9 fold relative to platelet rich plasma. The sensitivity of acoustic radiation force based stiffness assessment may allow for studying platelet regulation of both incipient and mature clot mechanical properties. PMID:26042775

49 CFR 193.2067 - Wind forces.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Wind forces. 193.2067 Section 193.2067...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Siting Requirements § 193.2067 Wind forces. (a) LNG facilities must be designed to withstand without loss of structural or functional integrity: (1) The direct effect of wind forces...

49 CFR 193.2067 - Wind forces.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Wind forces. 193.2067 Section 193.2067...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Siting Requirements § 193.2067 Wind forces. (a) LNG facilities must be designed to withstand without loss of structural or functional integrity: (1) The direct effect of wind forces...

49 CFR 193.2067 - Wind forces.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Wind forces. 193.2067 Section 193.2067...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Siting Requirements § 193.2067 Wind forces. (a) LNG facilities must be designed to withstand without loss of structural or functional integrity: (1) The direct effect of wind forces...

49 CFR 193.2067 - Wind forces.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Wind forces. 193.2067 Section 193.2067...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Siting Requirements § 193.2067 Wind forces. (a) LNG facilities must be designed to withstand without loss of structural or functional integrity: (1) The direct effect of wind forces...

49 CFR 193.2067 - Wind forces.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 3 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Wind forces. 193.2067 Section 193.2067...: FEDERAL SAFETY STANDARDS Siting Requirements § 193.2067 Wind forces. (a) LNG facilities must be designed to withstand without loss of structural or functional integrity: (1) The direct effect of wind forces...

[Evaluation of three dimensional orthodontic force produced by magnet of fix appliance].

PubMed

Dai, Xin; Hou, Zhi-ming; Yao, Ge; Wen, Jing-long

2008-12-01

To analyze the feature and magnitude of three dimensional orthodontic force produced by the magnet of fix appliance. Forces detected by universal fatigue test system included the attractive and repulsive,the inclined and rotated orthodontic forces of two magnets in different air gaps, and the integrated inclined and rotated orthodontic forces of two magnets and NiTi wire. The attractive and repulsive forces of two magnets were 4.68 to 0.45 N and 3.00 to 0.40 N respectively in the air gaps of 0 to 5 mm. The inclined orthodontic forces were 1.54 to 1.67 N, 0.63 to 0.69 N, 0.47 to 0.54 N when the magnets were vertically inclined 10 degrees to 40 degrees in the air gaps of 0, 1, 2mm. The rotated orthodontic forces were 0.97 to 1.32 N, 0.53 to 0.59 N, 0.39 to 0.48 N when the magnets were horizontally rotated 10 degrees to 40 degrees in the air gaps of 0, 1, 2mm. The integrated orthodontic force of two magnets and 0.014-inch NiTi wire was 0.32 to 0.5 N when the magnets was vertically inclined 10 degrees to 40 degrees in the air gap of 4 mm. The integrated orthodontic force of two magnets and 0.012-inch NiTi wire was 0.32 to 0.39 N when the magnets were horizontally rotated 10 degrees to 40 degrees in the air gap of 3 mm. Magnets made into orthodontic brackets to some extent could replace the mechanical orthodontic force produced by orthodontic wires and elastics.

A Biomechanical Assessment of Hand/Arm Force with Pneumatic Nail Gun Actuation Systems.

PubMed

Lowe, Brian D; Albers, James; Hudock, Stephen D

2014-09-01

A biomechanical model is presented, and combined with measurements of tip press force, to estimate total user hand force associated with two pneumatic nail gun trigger systems. The contact actuation trigger (CAT) can fire a nail when the user holds the trigger depressed first and then "bumps" the nail gun tip against the workpiece. With a full sequential actuation trigger (SAT) the user must press the tip against the workpiece prior to activating the trigger. The SAT is demonstrably safer in reducing traumatic injury risk, but increases the duration (and magnitude) of tip force exertion. Time integrated (cumulative) hand force was calculated for a single user from measurements of the tip contact force with the workpiece and transfer time between nails as inputs to a static model of the nail gun and workpiece in two nailing task orientations. The model shows the hand force dependence upon the orientation of the workpiece in addition to the trigger system. Based on standard time allowances from work measurement systems (i.e. Methods-Time Measurement - 1) it is proposed that efficient application of hand force with the SAT in maintaining tip contact can reduce force exertion attributable to the sequential actuation trigger to 2-8% (horizontal nailing) and 9-20% (vertical nailing) of the total hand/arm force. The present model is useful for considering differences in cumulative hand/arm force exposure between the SAT and CAT systems and may explain the appeal of the CAT trigger in reducing the user's perception of muscular effort.

A Biomechanical Assessment of Hand/Arm Force with Pneumatic Nail Gun Actuation Systems

PubMed Central

Lowe, Brian D.; Albers, James; Hudock, Stephen D.

2015-01-01

A biomechanical model is presented, and combined with measurements of tip press force, to estimate total user hand force associated with two pneumatic nail gun trigger systems. The contact actuation trigger (CAT) can fire a nail when the user holds the trigger depressed first and then “bumps” the nail gun tip against the workpiece. With a full sequential actuation trigger (SAT) the user must press the tip against the workpiece prior to activating the trigger. The SAT is demonstrably safer in reducing traumatic injury risk, but increases the duration (and magnitude) of tip force exertion. Time integrated (cumulative) hand force was calculated for a single user from measurements of the tip contact force with the workpiece and transfer time between nails as inputs to a static model of the nail gun and workpiece in two nailing task orientations. The model shows the hand force dependence upon the orientation of the workpiece in addition to the trigger system. Based on standard time allowances from work measurement systems (i.e. Methods-Time Measurement - 1) it is proposed that efficient application of hand force with the SAT in maintaining tip contact can reduce force exertion attributable to the sequential actuation trigger to 2–8% (horizontal nailing) and 9–20% (vertical nailing) of the total hand/arm force. The present model is useful for considering differences in cumulative hand/arm force exposure between the SAT and CAT systems and may explain the appeal of the CAT trigger in reducing the user’s perception of muscular effort. PMID:26321780

An accurate and efficient method for piezoelectric coated functional devices based on the two-dimensional Green’s function for a normal line force and line charge

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Peng-Fei; Zhang, Yang

2017-09-01

Because most piezoelectric functional devices, including sensors, actuators and energy harvesters, are in the form of a piezoelectric coated structure, it is valuable to present an accurate and efficient method for obtaining the electro-mechanical coupling fields of this coated structure under mechanical and electrical loads. With this aim, the two-dimensional Green’s function for a normal line force and line charge on the surface of coated structure, which is a combination of an orthotropic piezoelectric coating and orthotropic elastic substrate, is presented in the form of elementary functions based on the general solution method. The corresponding electro-mechanical coupling fields of this coated structure under arbitrary mechanical and electrical loads can then be obtained by the superposition principle and Gauss integration. Numerical results show that the presented method has high computational precision, efficiency and stability. It can be used to design the best coating thickness in functional devices, improve the sensitivity of sensors, and improve the efficiency of actuators and energy harvesters. This method could be an efficient tool for engineers in engineering applications.

Gravity wave forcing in the middle atmosphere due to reduced ozone heating during a solar eclipse

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fritts, David C.; Luo, Zhangai

1993-01-01

We present an analysis of the gravity wave structure and the associated forcing of the middle atmosphere induced by the screening of the ozone layer from solar heating during a solar eclipse. Fourier integral techniques and numerical evaluation of the integral solutions were used to assess the wave field structure and to compute the gravity wave forcing of the atmosphere at greater heights. Our solutions reveal dominant periods of a few hours, characteristic horizontal and vertical scales of about 5000 to 10,000 km and 200 km, respectively, and an integrated momentum flux in the direction of eclipse motion of about 5.6 x 10 exp 8 N at each height above the forcing level. These results suggest that responses to solar eclipses may be difficult to detect above background gravity wave and tidal fluctuations until well into the thermosphere. Conversely, the induced body forces may penetrate to considerable heights because of the large wave scales and will have significant effects at levels where the wave field is dissipated.

Evaluation of integration methods for hybrid simulation of complex structural systems through collapse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Del Carpio R., Maikol; Hashemi, M. Javad; Mosqueda, Gilberto

2017-10-01

This study examines the performance of integration methods for hybrid simulation of large and complex structural systems in the context of structural collapse due to seismic excitations. The target application is not necessarily for real-time testing, but rather for models that involve large-scale physical sub-structures and highly nonlinear numerical models. Four case studies are presented and discussed. In the first case study, the accuracy of integration schemes including two widely used methods, namely, modified version of the implicit Newmark with fixed-number of iteration (iterative) and the operator-splitting (non-iterative) is examined through pure numerical simulations. The second case study presents the results of 10 hybrid simulations repeated with the two aforementioned integration methods considering various time steps and fixed-number of iterations for the iterative integration method. The physical sub-structure in these tests consists of a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) cantilever column with replaceable steel coupons that provides repeatable highlynonlinear behavior including fracture-type strength and stiffness degradations. In case study three, the implicit Newmark with fixed-number of iterations is applied for hybrid simulations of a 1:2 scale steel moment frame that includes a relatively complex nonlinear numerical substructure. Lastly, a more complex numerical substructure is considered by constructing a nonlinear computational model of a moment frame coupled to a hybrid model of a 1:2 scale steel gravity frame. The last two case studies are conducted on the same porotype structure and the selection of time steps and fixed number of iterations are closely examined in pre-test simulations. The generated unbalance forces is used as an index to track the equilibrium error and predict the accuracy and stability of the simulations.

An Integrated Approach of Fuzzy Linguistic Preference Based AHP and Fuzzy COPRAS for Machine Tool Evaluation.

PubMed

Nguyen, Huu-Tho; Md Dawal, Siti Zawiah; Nukman, Yusoff; Aoyama, Hideki; Case, Keith

2015-01-01

Globalization of business and competitiveness in manufacturing has forced companies to improve their manufacturing facilities to respond to market requirements. Machine tool evaluation involves an essential decision using imprecise and vague information, and plays a major role to improve the productivity and flexibility in manufacturing. The aim of this study is to present an integrated approach for decision-making in machine tool selection. This paper is focused on the integration of a consistent fuzzy AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and a fuzzy COmplex PRoportional ASsessment (COPRAS) for multi-attribute decision-making in selecting the most suitable machine tool. In this method, the fuzzy linguistic reference relation is integrated into AHP to handle the imprecise and vague information, and to simplify the data collection for the pair-wise comparison matrix of the AHP which determines the weights of attributes. The output of the fuzzy AHP is imported into the fuzzy COPRAS method for ranking alternatives through the closeness coefficient. Presentation of the proposed model application is provided by a numerical example based on the collection of data by questionnaire and from the literature. The results highlight the integration of the improved fuzzy AHP and the fuzzy COPRAS as a precise tool and provide effective multi-attribute decision-making for evaluating the machine tool in the uncertain environment.

Children with Heavy Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Experience Reduced Control of Isotonic Force

PubMed Central

Nguyen, Tanya T.; Levy, Susan S.; Riley, Edward P.; Thomas, Jennifer D.; Simmons, Roger W.

2013-01-01

Background Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure can result in diverse and extensive damage to the central nervous system, including the cerebellum, basal ganglia, and cerebral cortex. Given that these brain regions are involved in the generation and maintenance of motor force, we predicted that prenatal alcohol exposure would adversely affect this parameter of motor control. We previously reported that children with gestational alcohol exposure experience significant deficits in regulating isometric (i.e., constant) force. The purpose of the present study was to determine if these children exhibit similar deficits when producing isotonic (i.e., graded) force. Methods Children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure and typically developing children completed a series of isotonic force contractions by exerting force on a load cell to match a criterion target force displayed on a computer monitor. Two levels of target force (5% or 20% of maximum voluntary force) were investigated in combination with varying levels of visual feedback. Results Compared to controls, children with heavy prenatal alcohol exposure generated isotonic force signals that were less accurate, more variable, and less complex in the time domain compared to control children. Specifically, interactions were found between group and visual feedback for response accuracy and signal complexity, suggesting that these children have greater difficulty altering their motor output when visual feedback is low. Conclusions These data suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure produces deficits in regulating isotonic force, which presumably result from alcohol-related damage to developing brain regions involved in motor control. These children will most likely experience difficulty performing basic motor skills and daily functional skills that require coordination of finely graded force. Therapeutic strategies designed to increase feedback and, consequently, facilitate visual-motor integration could improve isotonic force production in these children. PMID:22834891

Engaging Education: Integrating Work, Technology and Learning for Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington, DC.

This guide is for Neighborhood Networks center staff and volunteers who want to learn how centers across the country are helping adults meet work force demands. It provides resources to work force development programs so examples can be tailored to meet the needs of other communities. It focuses on challenges that integrating academics and job…

Measuring the multi-scale integration of mechanical forces during morphogenesis.

PubMed

Blanchard, Guy B; Adams, Richard J

2011-10-01

The elaborate changes in morphology of an organism during development are the result of mechanical contributions that are a mixture of those generated locally and those that influence from a distance. We would like to know how chemical and mechanical information is transmitted and transduced, how work is done to achieve robust morphogenesis and why it sometimes fails. We introduce a scheme for separating the influence of two classes of forces. Active intrinsic forces integrate up levels of scale to shape tissues. Counter-currently, extrinsic forces exert influence from higher levels downwards and feed back directly and indirectly upon the intrinsic behaviours. We identify the measurable signatures of different kinds of forces and identify the frontiers where work is most needed. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Phase-resolved fluid dynamic forces of a flapping foil energy harvester based on PIV measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liburdy, James

2017-11-01

Two-dimensional particle image velocimetry measurements are performed in a wind tunnel to evaluate the spatial and temporal fluid dynamic forces acting on a flapping foil operating in the energy harvesting regime. Experiments are conducted at reduced frequencies (k = fc/U) of 0.05 - 0.2, pitching angle of, and heaving amplitude of A / c = 0.6. The phase-averaged pressure field is obtained by integrating the pressure Poisson equation. Fluid dynamic forces are then obtained through the integral momentum equation. Results are compared with a simple force model based on the concept of flow impulse. These results help to show the detailed force distributions, their transient nature and aide in understanding the impact of the fluid flow structures that contribute to the power production.

Identifying traction-separation behavior of self-adhesive polymeric films from in situ digital images under T-peeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nase, Michael; Rennert, Mirko; Naumenko, Konstantin; Eremeyev, Victor A.

2016-06-01

In this paper procedures are developed to identify traction-separation curves from digital images of the deformed flexible films during peeling. T-peel tests were performed for self-adhesive polymeric films. High quality photographs of the deformed shape within and outside the zone of adhesive interaction were made in situ by the digital light microscope. The deformed line is approximated by a power series with coefficients computed by minimizing a least squares functional. Two approaches to identify the traction-separation curve for the given deformation line are proposed. The first one is based on the energy integral of the non-linear theory of rods and allows the direct evaluation of the adhesion force potential. The second one utilizes the complementary energy type variational equation and the Ritz method to compute the adhesion force. The accuracy of both approaches is analyzed with respect to different approximations for the deformed line and the force of interaction. The obtained traction vs. axial coordinate and the traction-separation curves provide several properties of the adhesive system including the maximum adhesion force, the length of the adhesive zone and the equilibrium position, where the adhesive force is zero while the separation is positive.

Integrating Cultural Factors in Military Modeling and Simulation: Anecdotal Literature Review and Framework for Application

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-06-01

Remarkably, the Iraqis have used religion and language to define the rhythms of war, including new methods of deception. The Coalition Forces, led by the...to explain socio-cultural factors based on organizational theories . Organizational culture is a concept often used to describe shared corporate...is governed by battle space informational footprints. In this regard, Vygotsky (1978) notes that human cognition and decision- making develops in

A Framework for Integrating Cultural Factors in Military Modeling and Simulation

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-01-01

how individuals and groups view their surroundings. Here, Beach’s (1990) image theory is used to elucidate the major cultural image questions relevant...10 Figure 3: Beach’s Image Theory for Cultural Knowledge Capture ............................. 13 Figure 4: Cultural Cognition of Peace Symbol...and language to define the rhythms of war, including new methods of deception. The Coalition Forces, led by the USA, are challenged with the daily

A program to compute three-dimensional subsonic unsteady aerodynamic characteristics using the doublet lattic method, L216 (DUBFLX). Volume 1: Engineering and usage

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richard, M.; Harrison, B. A.

1979-01-01

The program input presented consists of configuration geometry, aerodynamic parameters, and modal data; output includes element geometry, pressure difference distributions, integrated aerodynamic coefficients, stability derivatives, generalized aerodynamic forces, and aerodynamic influence coefficient matrices. Optionally, modal data may be input on magnetic file (tape or disk), and certain geometric and aerodynamic output may be saved for subsequent use.

A computational system for aerodynamic design and analysis of supersonic aircraft. Part 1: General description and theoretical development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Middleton, W. D.; Lundry, J. L.

1976-01-01

An integrated system of computer programs was developed for the design and analysis of supersonic configurations. The system uses linearized theory methods for the calculation of surface pressures and supersonic area rule concepts in combination with linearized theory for calculation of aerodynamic force coefficients. Interactive graphics are optional at the user's request. Schematics of the program structure and the individual overlays and subroutines are described.

Use of Special Operations Forces in United Nations Missions: a Method to Resolve Complexity

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-21

physical stamina and psychological stability, followed by a rigorous training program are the imperatives to create SOF soldiers.42 Mark Bowden in...recommendation is that the United Nations should establish a Special Operations planning cell within the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations. As of...now, the cell is nonexistent. This cell should be able to facilitate the integration of SOF into the overall peace operations concept. Finally, the

Design, Integration and Flight Test of a Pair of Autonomous Spacecraft Flying in Formation

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

representatives from the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, as...categories: elliptical , hyperbolic and parabolic (known as “Keplerian orbits”), each with their own characteristics and applications. These equations...of M-SAT’s operation is that of an elliptical nature, or more precisely a near-circular orbit. The primary method of determining the orbital elements

A three-axis force sensor for dual finger haptic interfaces.

PubMed

Fontana, Marco; Marcheschi, Simone; Salsedo, Fabio; Bergamasco, Massimo

2012-10-10

In this work we present the design process, the characterization and testing of a novel three-axis mechanical force sensor. This sensor is optimized for use in closed-loop force control of haptic devices with three degrees of freedom. In particular the sensor has been conceived for integration with a dual finger haptic interface that aims at simulating forces that occur during grasping and surface exploration. The sensing spring structure has been purposely designed in order to match force and layout specifications for the application. In this paper the design of the sensor is presented, starting from an analytic model that describes the characteristic matrix of the sensor. A procedure for designing an optimal overload protection mechanism is proposed. In the last part of the paper the authors describe the experimental characterization and the integrated test on a haptic hand exoskeleton showing the improvements in the controller performances provided by the inclusion of the force sensor.

On the non-proportionality between wheel/rail contact forces and speed during wheelset passage over specific welds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correa, Nekane; Vadillo, Ernesto G.; Santamaria, Javier; Blanco-Lorenzo, Julio

2018-01-01

This study investigates the influence on the wheel-rail contact forces of the running speed and the shape and position of weld defects along the track. For this purpose, a vertical dynamic model in the space domain is used. The model is obtained from the transformation between the domains of frequency and space using a Rational Fraction Polynomials (RFP) method, which is modified with multiobjective genetic algorithms in order to improve the fitting of track receptance and to assist integration during simulations. This produces a precise model with short calculation times, which is essential to this study. The wheel-rail contact is modelled using a non-linear Hertz spring. The contact forces are studied for several types of characteristic welds. The way in which forces vary as a function of weld position and running speed is studied for each type of weld. This paper studies some of the factors that affect the maximum forces when the vehicle moves over a rail weld, such as weld geometry, parametric excitation and contact stiffness. It is found that the maximum force in the wheel-rail contact when the vehicle moves over a weld is not always proportional to the running speed. The paper explains why it is not proportional in specific welds.

Improvement attributes in healthcare: implications for integrated care.

PubMed

Harnett, Patrick John

2018-04-16

Purpose Healthcare quality improvement is a key concern for policy makers, regulators, carers and service users. Despite a contemporary consensus among policy makers that integrated care represents a means to substantially improve service outcomes, progress has been slow. Difficulties achieving sustained improvement at scale imply that methods employed are not sufficient and that healthcare improvement attributes may be different when compared to prior reference domains. The purpose of this paper is to examine and synthesise key improvement attributes relevant to a complex healthcare change process, specifically integrated care. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on an integrative literature review on systemic improvement in healthcare. Findings A central theme emerging from the literature review indicates that implementing systemic change needs to address the relationship between vision, methods and participant social dynamics. Practical implications Accommodating personal and professional network dynamics is required for systemic improvement, especially among high autonomy individuals. This reinforces the need to recognise the change process as taking place in a complex adaptive system where personal/professional purpose/meaning is central to the process. Originality/value Shared personal/professional narratives are insufficiently recognised as a powerful change force, under-represented in linear and rational empirical improvement approaches.

ON THE MINIMAL ACCURACY REQUIRED FOR SIMULATING SELF-GRAVITATING SYSTEMS BY MEANS OF DIRECT N-BODY METHODS

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

Portegies Zwart, Simon; Boekholt, Tjarda

2014-04-10

The conservation of energy, linear momentum, and angular momentum are important drivers of our physical understanding of the evolution of the universe. These quantities are also conserved in Newton's laws of motion under gravity. Numerical integration of the associated equations of motion is extremely challenging, in particular due to the steady growth of numerical errors (by round-off and discrete time-stepping and the exponential divergence between two nearby solutions. As a result, numerical solutions to the general N-body problem are intrinsically questionable. Using brute force integrations to arbitrary numerical precision we demonstrate empirically that ensembles of different realizations of resonant three-bodymore » interactions produce statistically indistinguishable results. Although individual solutions using common integration methods are notoriously unreliable, we conjecture that an ensemble of approximate three-body solutions accurately represents an ensemble of true solutions, so long as the energy during integration is conserved to better than 1/10. We therefore provide an independent confirmation that previous work on self-gravitating systems can actually be trusted, irrespective of the intrinsically chaotic nature of the N-body problem.« less

i-PI: A Python interface for ab initio path integral molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceriotti, Michele; More, Joshua; Manolopoulos, David E.

2014-03-01

Recent developments in path integral methodology have significantly reduced the computational expense of including quantum mechanical effects in the nuclear motion in ab initio molecular dynamics simulations. However, the implementation of these developments requires a considerable programming effort, which has hindered their adoption. Here we describe i-PI, an interface written in Python that has been designed to minimise the effort required to bring state-of-the-art path integral techniques to an electronic structure program. While it is best suited to first principles calculations and path integral molecular dynamics, i-PI can also be used to perform classical molecular dynamics simulations, and can just as easily be interfaced with an empirical forcefield code. To give just one example of the many potential applications of the interface, we use it in conjunction with the CP2K electronic structure package to showcase the importance of nuclear quantum effects in high-pressure water. Catalogue identifier: AERN_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AERN_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License, version 3 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 138626 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 3128618 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Python. Computer: Multiple architectures. Operating system: Linux, Mac OSX, Windows. RAM: Less than 256 Mb Classification: 7.7. External routines: NumPy Nature of problem: Bringing the latest developments in the modelling of nuclear quantum effects with path integral molecular dynamics to ab initio electronic structure programs with minimal implementational effort. Solution method: State-of-the-art path integral molecular dynamics techniques are implemented in a Python interface. Any electronic structure code can be patched to receive the atomic coordinates from the Python interface, and to return the forces and energy that are used to integrate the equations of motion. Restrictions: This code only deals with distinguishable particles. It does not include fermonic or bosonic exchanges between equivalent nuclei, which can become important at very low temperatures. Running time: Depends dramatically on the nature of the simulation being performed. A few minutes for short tests with empirical force fields, up to several weeks for production calculations with ab initio forces. The examples provided with the code run in less than an hour.

Military personnel recognition system using texture, colour, and SURF features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irhebhude, Martins E.; Edirisinghe, Eran A.

2014-06-01

This paper presents an automatic, machine vision based, military personnel identification and classification system. Classification is done using a Support Vector Machine (SVM) on sets of Army, Air Force and Navy camouflage uniform personnel datasets. In the proposed system, the arm of service of personnel is recognised by the camouflage of a persons uniform, type of cap and the type of badge/logo. The detailed analysis done include; camouflage cap and plain cap differentiation using gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) texture feature; classification on Army, Air Force and Navy camouflaged uniforms using GLCM texture and colour histogram bin features; plain cap badge classification into Army, Air Force and Navy using Speed Up Robust Feature (SURF). The proposed method recognised camouflage personnel arm of service on sets of data retrieved from google images and selected military websites. Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) was used to improve recognition and reduce dimensionality, thereby speeding the classification process. With this method success rates recorded during the analysis include 93.8% for camouflage appearance category, 100%, 90% and 100% rates of plain cap and camouflage cap categories for Army, Air Force and Navy categories, respectively. Accurate recognition was recorded using SURF for the plain cap badge category. Substantial analysis has been carried out and results prove that the proposed method can correctly classify military personnel into various arms of service. We show that the proposed method can be integrated into a face recognition system, which will recognise personnel in addition to determining the arm of service which the personnel belong. Such a system can be used to enhance the security of a military base or facility.

Size effects on insect hovering aerodynamics: an integrated computational study.

PubMed

Liu, H; Aono, H

2009-03-01

Hovering is a miracle of insects that is observed for all sizes of flying insects. Sizing effect in insect hovering on flapping-wing aerodynamics is of interest to both the micro-air-vehicle (MAV) community and also of importance to comparative morphologists. In this study, we present an integrated computational study of such size effects on insect hovering aerodynamics, which is performed using a biology-inspired dynamic flight simulator that integrates the modelling of realistic wing-body morphology, the modelling of flapping-wing and body kinematics and an in-house Navier-Stokes solver. Results of four typical insect hovering flights including a hawkmoth, a honeybee, a fruit fly and a thrips, over a wide range of Reynolds numbers from O(10(4)) to O(10(1)) are presented, which demonstrate the feasibility of the present integrated computational methods in quantitatively modelling and evaluating the unsteady aerodynamics in insect flapping flight. Our results based on realistically modelling of insect hovering therefore offer an integrated understanding of the near-field vortex dynamics, the far-field wake and downwash structures, and their correlation with the force production in terms of sizing and Reynolds number as well as wing kinematics. Our results not only give an integrated interpretation on the similarity and discrepancy of the near- and far-field vortex structures in insect hovering but also demonstrate that our methods can be an effective tool in the MAVs design.

Variation of plantar pressure in Chinese diabetes mellitus.

PubMed

Yang, Chuan; Xiao, Huisheng; Wang, Chuan; Mai, LiFang; Liu, Dan; Qi, Yiqing; Ren, Meng; Yan, Li

2015-01-01

To investigate dynamic changes in plantar pressure in Chinese diabetes mellitus patients and to provide a basis for further preventing diabetic foot. This is a cross-sectional investigation including 649 Chinese diabetes mellitus patients (diabetes group) and 808 "normal" Chinese persons (nondiabetes group) with normal blood glucose levels. All the subjects provided a complete medical history and underwent a physical examination and a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. All subjects walked barefoot with their usual gait, and their dynamic plantar forces were measured using the one-step method with a plantar pressure measurement instrument; 5 measurements were performed for each foot. No significant differences were found in age, height, body weight, or body mass index between the two groups. The fasting blood glucose levels, plantar contact time, maximum force, pressure-time integrals and force-time integrals in the diabetes group were significantly higher than those in the nondiabetes group (p < 0.05). However, the maximum pressure was significantly higher in the nondiabetes group than in the diabetes group (p < 0.05). No difference was found in the contact areas between the two groups (p > 0.05). The maximum plantar force distributions were essentially the same, with the highest force found for the medial heel, followed by the medial forefoot and the first toe. The peak plantar pressure was located at the medial forefoot for the nondiabetes group and at the hallucis for the diabetes group. In the diabetes group, the momentum in each plantar region was higher than that in the nondiabetes group; this difference was especially apparent in the heel, the lateral forefoot and the hallucis. The dynamic plantar pressures in diabetic patients differ from those in nondiabetic people with increased maximum force and pressure, a different distribution pattern and significantly increased momentum, which may lead to the formation of foot ulcers. © 2015 by the Wound Healing Society.

Summer Study Program in Geophysical Fluid Dynamics - The Influence of Convection on Large-Scale Circulations - 1988

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-01

the vector of the body force." lo., ,P /’P l> 16 __ __ _ __ ___P . 19 U In the first lecture we define the buoyancy force, develop a simplified...force and l’is a unit vector along the motion vector . Integrating Bernoulli’s law over a closed loop one gets: I also [ C by integrating along the...convection. It is conveiient to write these equations as evolution equations for a atate vector U(x, z, t) where x is the horizontal coordinate vector

Efficient techniques for forced response involving linear modal components interconnected by discrete nonlinear connection elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Avitabile, Peter; O'Callahan, John

2009-01-01

Generally, response analysis of systems containing discrete nonlinear connection elements such as typical mounting connections require the physical finite element system matrices to be used in a direct integration algorithm to compute the nonlinear response analysis solution. Due to the large size of these physical matrices, forced nonlinear response analysis requires significant computational resources. Usually, the individual components of the system are analyzed and tested as separate components and their individual behavior may essentially be linear when compared to the total assembled system. However, the joining of these linear subsystems using highly nonlinear connection elements causes the entire system to become nonlinear. It would be advantageous if these linear modal subsystems could be utilized in the forced nonlinear response analysis since much effort has usually been expended in fine tuning and adjusting the analytical models to reflect the tested subsystem configuration. Several more efficient techniques have been developed to address this class of problem. Three of these techniques given as: equivalent reduced model technique (ERMT);modal modification response technique (MMRT); andcomponent element method (CEM); are presented in this paper and are compared to traditional methods.

Dynamic response and stability of a gas-lubricated Rayleigh-step pad

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cheng, C.; Cheng, H. S.

1973-01-01

The quasi-static, pressure characteristics of a gas-lubricated thrust bearing with shrouded, Rayleigh-step pads are determined for a time-varying film thickness. The axial response of the thrust bearing to an axial forcing function or an axial rotor disturbance is investigated by treating the gas film as a spring having nonlinear restoring and damping forces. These forces are related to the film thickness by a power relation. The nonlinear equation of motion in the axial mode is solved by the Ritz-Galerkin method as well as the direct, numerical integration. Results of the nonlinear response by both methods are compared with the response based on the linearized equation. Further, the gas-film instability of an infinitely wide Rayleigh step thrust pad is determined by solving the transient Reynolds equation coupled with the equation of the motion of the pad. Results show that the Rayleigh-step geometry is very stable for bearing number A up to 50. The stability threshold is shown to exist only for ultrahigh values of Lambda equal to or greater than 100, where the stability can be achieved by making the mass heavier than the critical mass.

Characterization of an induced pressure pumping force for microfluidics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Hai; Fan, Na; Peng, Bei; Weng, Xuan

2017-05-01

The electro-osmotic pumping and pressure-driven manipulation of fluids are considered as the most common strategies in microfluidic devices. However, both of them exhibit major disadvantages such as hard integration and high reagent consumption, and they are destructive methods for detection and photo bleaching. In this paper, an electric field-effect flow control approach, combining the electro-osmotic pumping force and the pressure-driven pumping force, was developed to generate the induced pressure-driven flow in a T-shaped microfluidic chip. Electro-osmotic flow between the T-intersection and two reservoirs was demonstrated, and it provided a stable, continuous, and electric field-free flow in the section of the microchannel without the electrodes. The velocity of the induced pressure-driven flow was linearly proportional to the applied voltages. Both numerical and experimental investigations were conducted to prove the concept, and the experimental results showed good agreement with the numerical simulations. In comparison to other induced pressure pumping methods, this approach can induce a high and controllable pressure drop in the electric field-free segment, subsequently causing an induced pressure-driven flow for transporting particles or biological cells. In addition, the generation of bubbles and the blocking of the microchannel are avoided.

Nonlinear vibration of a traveling belt with non-homogeneous boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Hu; Lim, C. W.; Chen, Li-Qun

2018-06-01

Free and forced nonlinear vibrations of a traveling belt with non-homogeneous boundary conditions are studied. The axially moving materials in operation are always externally excited and produce strong vibrations. The moving materials with the homogeneous boundary condition are usually considered. In this paper, the non-homogeneous boundaries are introduced by the support wheels. Equilibrium deformation of the belt is produced by the non-homogeneous boundaries. In order to solve the equilibrium deformation, the differential and integral quadrature methods (DIQMs) are utilized to develop an iterative scheme. The influence of the equilibrium deformation on free and forced nonlinear vibrations of the belt is explored. The DIQMs are applied to solve the natural frequencies and forced resonance responses of transverse vibration around the equilibrium deformation. The Galerkin truncation method (GTM) is utilized to confirm the DIQMs' results. The numerical results demonstrate that the non-homogeneous boundary conditions cause the transverse vibration to deviate from the straight equilibrium, increase the natural frequencies, and lead to coexistence of square nonlinear terms and cubic nonlinear terms. Moreover, the influence of non-homogeneous boundaries can be exacerbated by the axial speed. Therefore, non-homogeneous boundary conditions of axially moving materials especially should be taken into account.

Investigation of electrodynamic stabilization and control of long orbiting tethers. [space shuttle payloads

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arnold, D. A.; Dobrowolny, M.

1981-01-01

An algorithm for using electric currents to control pendular oscillations induced by various perturbing forces on the Skyhook wire is considered. Transverse and vertical forces on the tether; tether instability modes and causes during retrieval by space shuttle; simple and spherical pendulum motion and vector damping; and current generation and control are discussed. A computer program for numerical integration of the in-plane and out-of-plane displacements of the tether vs time was developed for heuristic study. Some techniques for controlling instabilities during payload retrieval and methods for employing the tether for launching satellites from the space shuttle are considered. Derivations and analyses of a general nature used in all of the areas studied are included.

E-cadherin-mediated force transduction signals regulate global cell mechanics

PubMed Central

Muhamed, Ismaeel; Wu, Jun; Sehgal, Poonam; Kong, Xinyu; Tajik, Arash; Wang, Ning

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT This report elucidates an E-cadherin-based force-transduction pathway that triggers changes in cell mechanics through a mechanism requiring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), and the downstream formation of new integrin adhesions. This mechanism operates in addition to local cytoskeletal remodeling triggered by conformational changes in the E-cadherin-associated protein α-catenin, at sites of mechanical perturbation. Studies using magnetic twisting cytometry (MTC), together with traction force microscopy (TFM) and confocal imaging identified force-activated E-cadherin-specific signals that integrate cadherin force transduction, integrin activation and cell contractility. EGFR is required for the downstream activation of PI3K and myosin-II-dependent cell stiffening. Our findings also demonstrated that α-catenin-dependent cytoskeletal remodeling at perturbed E-cadherin adhesions does not require cell stiffening. These results broaden the repertoire of E-cadherin-based force transduction mechanisms, and define the force-sensitive signaling network underlying the mechano-chemical integration of spatially segregated adhesion receptors. PMID:26966187

Air Force loadmasters oversee unloading of the full-scale Orion abort test crew module mockup from a C-17 cargo aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base March 28.

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-03-28

A full-scale flight-test mockup of the Constellation program's Orion crew vehicle arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in late March 2008 to undergo preparations for the first short-range flight test of the spacecraft's astronaut escape system later that year. Engineers and technicians at NASA's Langley Research Center fabricated the structure, which precisely represents the size, outer shape and mass characteristics of the Orion space capsule. The Orion crew module mockup was ferried to NASA Dryden on an Air Force C-17. After painting in the Edwards Air Force Base paint hangar, the conical capsule was taken to Dryden for installation of flight computers, instrumentation and other electronics prior to being sent to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for integration with the escape system and the first abort flight test in late 2008. The tests were designed to ensure a safe, reliable method of escape for astronauts in case of an emergency.

Stability enhancement and fuel economy of the 4-wheel-drive hybrid electric vehicles by optimal tyre force distribution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goodarzi, Avesta; Mohammadi, Masoud

2014-04-01

In this paper, vehicle stability control and fuel economy for a 4-wheel-drive hybrid vehicle are investigated. The integrated controller is designed within three layers. The first layer determines the total yaw moment and total lateral force made by using an optimal controller method to follow the desired dynamic behaviour of a vehicle. The second layer determines optimum tyre force distribution in order to optimise tyre usage and find out how the tyres should share longitudinal and lateral forces to achieve a target vehicle response under the assumption that all four wheels can be independently steered, driven, and braked. In the third layer, the active steering, wheel slip, and electrical motor torque controllers are designed. In the front axle, internal combustion engine (ICE) is coupled to an electric motor (EM). The control strategy has to determine the power distribution between ICE and EM to minimise fuel consumption and allowing the vehicle to be charge sustaining. Finally, simulations performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment show that the proposed structure could enhance the vehicle stability and fuel economy in different manoeuvres.

4. Exterior view of Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T28), looking ...

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

4. Exterior view of Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T-28), looking northwest. - Air Force Plant PJKS, Systems Integration Laboratory, Systems Integration Laboratory Building, Waterton Canyon Road & Colorado Highway 121, Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO

3. Exterior view of Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T28), looking ...

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

3. Exterior view of Systems Integration Laboratory Building (T-28), looking southeast. - Air Force Plant PJKS, Systems Integration Laboratory, Systems Integration Laboratory Building, Waterton Canyon Road & Colorado Highway 121, Lakewood, Jefferson County, CO

Precise calculation of the local pressure tensor in Cartesian and spherical coordinates in LAMMPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakamura, Takenobu; Kawamoto, Shuhei; Shinoda, Wataru

2015-05-01

An accurate and efficient algorithm for calculating the 3D pressure field has been developed and implemented in the open-source molecular dynamics package, LAMMPS. Additionally, an algorithm to compute the pressure profile along the radial direction in spherical coordinates has also been implemented. The latter is particularly useful for systems showing a spherical symmetry such as micelles and vesicles. These methods yield precise pressure fields based on the Irving-Kirkwood contour integration and are particularly useful for biomolecular force fields. The present methods are applied to several systems including a buckled membrane and a vesicle.

Philosophy of ATHEANA

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

Bley, D.C.; Cooper, S.E.; Forester, J.A.

ATHEANA, a second-generation Human Reliability Analysis (HRA) method integrates advances in psychology with engineering, human factors, and Probabilistic Risk Analysis (PRA) disciplines to provide an HRA quantification process and PRA modeling interface that can accommodate and represent human performance in real nuclear power plant events. The method uses the characteristics of serious accidents identified through retrospective analysis of serious operational events to set priorities in a search process for significant human failure events, unsafe acts, and error-forcing context (unfavorable plant conditions combined with negative performance-shaping factors). ATHEANA has been tested in a demonstration project at an operating pressurized water reactor.

GPS Satellite Orbit Prediction at User End for Real-Time PPP System.

PubMed

Yang, Hongzhou; Gao, Yang

2017-08-30

This paper proposed the high-precision satellite orbit prediction process at the user end for the real-time precise point positioning (PPP) system. Firstly, the structure of a new real-time PPP system will be briefly introduced in the paper. Then, the generation of satellite initial parameters (IP) at the sever end will be discussed, which includes the satellite position, velocity, and the solar radiation pressure (SRP) parameters for each satellite. After that, the method for orbit prediction at the user end, with dynamic models including the Earth's gravitational force, lunar gravitational force, solar gravitational force, and the SRP, are presented. For numerical integration, both the single-step Runge-Kutta and multi-step Adams-Bashforth-Moulton integrator methods are implemented. Then, the comparison between the predicted orbit and the international global navigation satellite system (GNSS) service (IGS) final products are carried out. The results show that the prediction accuracy can be maintained for several hours, and the average prediction error of the 31 satellites are 0.031, 0.032, and 0.033 m for the radial, along-track and cross-track directions over 12 h, respectively. Finally, the PPP in both static and kinematic modes are carried out to verify the accuracy of the predicted satellite orbit. The average root mean square error (RMSE) for the static PPP of the 32 globally distributed IGS stations are 0.012, 0.015, and 0.021 m for the north, east, and vertical directions, respectively; while the RMSE of the kinematic PPP with the predicted orbit are 0.031, 0.069, and 0.167 m in the north, east and vertical directions, respectively.

GPS Satellite Orbit Prediction at User End for Real-Time PPP System

PubMed Central

Yang, Hongzhou; Gao, Yang

2017-01-01

This paper proposed the high-precision satellite orbit prediction process at the user end for the real-time precise point positioning (PPP) system. Firstly, the structure of a new real-time PPP system will be briefly introduced in the paper. Then, the generation of satellite initial parameters (IP) at the sever end will be discussed, which includes the satellite position, velocity, and the solar radiation pressure (SRP) parameters for each satellite. After that, the method for orbit prediction at the user end, with dynamic models including the Earth’s gravitational force, lunar gravitational force, solar gravitational force, and the SRP, are presented. For numerical integration, both the single-step Runge–Kutta and multi-step Adams–Bashforth–Moulton integrator methods are implemented. Then, the comparison between the predicted orbit and the international global navigation satellite system (GNSS) service (IGS) final products are carried out. The results show that the prediction accuracy can be maintained for several hours, and the average prediction error of the 31 satellites are 0.031, 0.032, and 0.033 m for the radial, along-track and cross-track directions over 12 h, respectively. Finally, the PPP in both static and kinematic modes are carried out to verify the accuracy of the predicted satellite orbit. The average root mean square error (RMSE) for the static PPP of the 32 globally distributed IGS stations are 0.012, 0.015, and 0.021 m for the north, east, and vertical directions, respectively; while the RMSE of the kinematic PPP with the predicted orbit are 0.031, 0.069, and 0.167 m in the north, east and vertical directions, respectively. PMID:28867771

Interaction of wave with a body submerged below an ice sheet with multiple arbitrarily spaced cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Z. F.; Wu, G. X.; Ji, C. Y.

2018-05-01

The problem of wave interaction with a body submerged below an ice sheet with multiple arbitrarily spaced cracks is considered, based on the linearized velocity potential theory together with the boundary element method. The ice sheet is modeled as a thin elastic plate with uniform properties, and zero bending moment and shear force conditions are enforced at the cracks. The Green function satisfying all the boundary conditions including those at cracks, apart from that on the body surface, is derived and is expressed in an explicit integral form. The boundary integral equation for the velocity potential is constructed with an unknown source distribution over the body surface only. The wave/crack interaction problem without the body is first solved directly without the need for source. The convergence and comparison studies are undertaken to show the accuracy and reliability of the solution procedure. Detailed numerical results through the hydrodynamic coefficients and wave exciting forces are provided for a body submerged below double cracks and an array of cracks. Some unique features are observed, and their mechanisms are analyzed.

Nonlinear bending models for beams and plates

PubMed Central

Antipov, Y. A.

2014-01-01

A new nonlinear model for large deflections of a beam is proposed. It comprises the Euler–Bernoulli boundary value problem for the deflection and a nonlinear integral condition. When bending does not alter the beam length, this condition guarantees that the deflected beam has the original length and fixes the horizontal displacement of the free end. The numerical results are in good agreement with the ones provided by the elastica model. Dynamic and two-dimensional generalizations of this nonlinear one-dimensional static model are also discussed. The model problem for an inextensible rectangular Kirchhoff plate, when one side is clamped, the opposite one is subjected to a shear force, and the others are free of moments and forces, is reduced to a singular integral equation with two fixed singularities. The singularities of the unknown function are examined, and a series-form solution is derived by the collocation method in terms of the associated Jacobi polynomials. The procedure requires solving an infinite system of linear algebraic equations for the expansion coefficients subject to the inextensibility condition. PMID:25294960

NASA's first Orion full-scale abort flight test crew module was placed in NASA Dryden's Abort Flight Test integration area for equipment installation.

NASA Image and Video Library

2008-04-01

A full-scale flight-test mockup of the Constellation program's Orion crew vehicle arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in late March 2008 to undergo preparations for the first short-range flight test of the spacecraft's astronaut escape system later that year. Engineers and technicians at NASA's Langley Research Center fabricated the structure, which precisely represents the size, outer shape and mass characteristics of the Orion space capsule. The Orion crew module mockup was ferried to NASA Dryden on an Air Force C-17. After painting in the Edwards Air Force Base paint hangar, the conical capsule was taken to Dryden for installation of flight computers, instrumentation and other electronics prior to being sent to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for integration with the escape system and the first abort flight test in late 2008. The tests were designed to ensure a safe, reliable method of escape for astronauts in case of an emergency.

A global approach for using kinematic redundancy to minimize base reactions of manipulators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chung, C. L.; Desa, S.

1989-01-01

An important consideration in the use of manipulators in microgravity environments is the minimization of the base reactions, i.e. the magnitude of the force and the moment exerted by the manipulator on its base as it performs its tasks. One approach which was proposed and implemented is to use the redundant degree of freedom in a kinematically redundant manipulator to plan manipulator trajectories to minimize base reactions. A global approach was developed for minimizing the magnitude of the base reactions for kinematically redundant manipulators which integrates the Partitioned Jacobian method of redundancy resolution, a 4-3-4 joint-trajectory representation and the minimization of a cost function which is the time-integral of the magnitude of the base reactions. The global approach was also compared with a local approach developed earlier for the case of point-to-point motion of a three degree-of-freedom planar manipulator with one redundant degree-of-freedom. The results show that the global approach is more effective in reducing and smoothing the base force while the local approach is superior in reducing the base moment.

Cell force mapping using a double-sided micropillar array based on the moiré fringe method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, F.; Anderson, S.; Zheng, X.; Roberts, E.; Qiu, Y.; Liao, R.; Zhang, X.

2014-07-01

The mapping of traction forces is crucial to understanding the means by which cells regulate their behavior and physiological function to adapt to and communicate with their local microenvironment. To this end, polymeric micropillar arrays have been used for measuring cell traction force. However, the small scale of the micropillar deflections induced by cell traction forces results in highly inefficient force analyses using conventional optical approaches; in many cases, cell forces may be below the limits of detection achieved using conventional microscopy. To address these limitations, the moiré phenomenon has been leveraged as a visualization tool for cell force mapping due to its inherent magnification effect and capacity for whole-field force measurements. This Letter reports an optomechanical cell force sensor, namely, a double-sided micropillar array (DMPA) made of poly(dimethylsiloxane), on which one side is employed to support cultured living cells while the opposing side serves as a reference pattern for generating moiré patterns. The distance between the two sides, which is a crucial parameter influencing moiré pattern contrast, is predetermined during fabrication using theoretical calculations based on the Talbot effect that aim to optimize contrast. Herein, double-sided micropillar arrays were validated by mapping mouse embryo fibroblast contraction forces and the resulting force maps compared to conventional microscopy image analyses as the reference standard. The DMPA-based approach precludes the requirement for aligning two independent periodic substrates, improves moiré contrast, and enables efficient moiré pattern generation. Furthermore, the double-sided structure readily allows for the integration of moiré-based cell force mapping into microfabricated cell culture environments or lab-on-a-chip devices.

Joint mobilization forces and therapist reliability in subjects with knee osteoarthritis

PubMed Central

Tragord, Bradley S; Gill, Norman W; Silvernail, Jason L; Teyhen, Deydre S; Allison, Stephen C

2013-01-01

Objectives: This study determined biomechanical force parameters and reliability among clinicians performing knee joint mobilizations. Methods: Sixteen subjects with knee osteoarthritis and six therapists participated in the study. Forces were recorded using a capacitive-based pressure mat for three techniques at two grades of mobilization, each with two trials of 15 seconds. Dosage (force–time integral), amplitude, and frequency were also calculated. Analysis of variance was used to analyze grade differences, intraclass correlation coefficients determined reliability, and correlations assessed force associations with subject and rater variables. Results: Grade IV mobilizations produced higher mean forces (P<0.001) and higher dosage (P<0.001), while grade III produced higher maximum forces (P = 0.001). Grade III forces (Newtons) by technique (mean, maximum) were: extension 48, 81; flexion 41, 68; and medial glide 21, 34. Grade IV forces (Newtons) by technique (mean, maximum) were: extension 58, 78; flexion 44, 60; and medial glide 22, 30. Frequency (Hertz) ranged between 0.9–1.1 (grade III) and 1.4–1.6 (grade IV). Intra-clinician reliability was excellent (>0.90). Inter-clinician reliability was moderate for force and dosage, and poor for amplitude and frequency. Discussion: Force measurements were consistent with previously reported ranges and clinical constructs. Grade III and grade IV mobilizations can be distinguished from each other with differences for force and frequency being small, and dosage and amplitude being large. Intra-clinician reliability was excellent for all biomechanical parameters and inter-clinician reliability for dosage, the main variable of clinical interest, was moderate. This study quantified the applied forces among multiple clinicians, which may help determine optimal dosage and standardize care. PMID:24421632

Response statistics of rotating shaft with non-linear elastic restoring forces by path integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gaidai, Oleg; Naess, Arvid; Dimentberg, Michael

2017-07-01

Extreme statistics of random vibrations is studied for a Jeffcott rotor under uniaxial white noise excitation. Restoring force is modelled as elastic non-linear; comparison is done with linearized restoring force to see the force non-linearity effect on the response statistics. While for the linear model analytical solutions and stability conditions are available, it is not generally the case for non-linear system except for some special cases. The statistics of non-linear case is studied by applying path integration (PI) method, which is based on the Markov property of the coupled dynamic system. The Jeffcott rotor response statistics can be obtained by solving the Fokker-Planck (FP) equation of the 4D dynamic system. An efficient implementation of PI algorithm is applied, namely fast Fourier transform (FFT) is used to simulate dynamic system additive noise. The latter allows significantly reduce computational time, compared to the classical PI. Excitation is modelled as Gaussian white noise, however any kind distributed white noise can be implemented with the same PI technique. Also multidirectional Markov noise can be modelled with PI in the same way as unidirectional. PI is accelerated by using Monte Carlo (MC) estimated joint probability density function (PDF) as initial input. Symmetry of dynamic system was utilized to afford higher mesh resolution. Both internal (rotating) and external damping are included in mechanical model of the rotor. The main advantage of using PI rather than MC is that PI offers high accuracy in the probability distribution tail. The latter is of critical importance for e.g. extreme value statistics, system reliability, and first passage probability.

Integrating Information Systems in a Major Decentralized International Organization. Volume 7.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-01

deployment of information technology. Three key conflicting organizational forces were found to significantly impact the technical strategies : 1... strategy was modulated by three key conflicting organizational forces - autonomy, integration and evolution. A conceptual system architecture has been... organizational needs. The second part, "Gaining Strategic Advantage Through Composite Tnformation Systems," identifies critical success factors for the

Teleoperation System with Hybrid Pneumatic-Piezoelectric Actuation for MRI-Guided Needle Insertion with Haptic Feedback

PubMed Central

Shang, Weijian; Su, Hao; Li, Gang; Fischer, Gregory S.

2014-01-01

This paper presents a surgical master-slave tele-operation system for percutaneous interventional procedures under continuous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance. This system consists of a piezoelectrically actuated slave robot for needle placement with integrated fiber optic force sensor utilizing Fabry-Perot interferometry (FPI) sensing principle. The sensor flexure is optimized and embedded to the slave robot for measuring needle insertion force. A novel, compact opto-mechanical FPI sensor interface is integrated into an MRI robot control system. By leveraging the complementary features of pneumatic and piezoelectric actuation, a pneumatically actuated haptic master robot is also developed to render force associated with needle placement interventions to the clinician. An aluminum load cell is implemented and calibrated to close the impedance control loop of the master robot. A force-position control algorithm is developed to control the hybrid actuated system. Teleoperated needle insertion is demonstrated under live MR imaging, where the slave robot resides in the scanner bore and the user manipulates the master beside the patient outside the bore. Force and position tracking results of the master-slave robot are demonstrated to validate the tracking performance of the integrated system. It has a position tracking error of 0.318mm and sine wave force tracking error of 2.227N. PMID:25126446

Teleoperation System with Hybrid Pneumatic-Piezoelectric Actuation for MRI-Guided Needle Insertion with Haptic Feedback.

PubMed

Shang, Weijian; Su, Hao; Li, Gang; Fischer, Gregory S

2013-01-01

This paper presents a surgical master-slave tele-operation system for percutaneous interventional procedures under continuous magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance. This system consists of a piezoelectrically actuated slave robot for needle placement with integrated fiber optic force sensor utilizing Fabry-Perot interferometry (FPI) sensing principle. The sensor flexure is optimized and embedded to the slave robot for measuring needle insertion force. A novel, compact opto-mechanical FPI sensor interface is integrated into an MRI robot control system. By leveraging the complementary features of pneumatic and piezoelectric actuation, a pneumatically actuated haptic master robot is also developed to render force associated with needle placement interventions to the clinician. An aluminum load cell is implemented and calibrated to close the impedance control loop of the master robot. A force-position control algorithm is developed to control the hybrid actuated system. Teleoperated needle insertion is demonstrated under live MR imaging, where the slave robot resides in the scanner bore and the user manipulates the master beside the patient outside the bore. Force and position tracking results of the master-slave robot are demonstrated to validate the tracking performance of the integrated system. It has a position tracking error of 0.318mm and sine wave force tracking error of 2.227N.

Direct Solve of Electrically Large Integral Equations for Problem Sizes to 1M Unknowns

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaeffer, John

2008-01-01

Matrix methods for solving integral equations via direct solve LU factorization are presently limited to weeks to months of very expensive supercomputer time for problems sizes of several hundred thousand unknowns. This report presents matrix LU factor solutions for electromagnetic scattering problems for problem sizes to one million unknowns with thousands of right hand sides that run in mere days on PC level hardware. This EM solution is accomplished by utilizing the numerical low rank nature of spatially blocked unknowns using the Adaptive Cross Approximation for compressing the rank deficient blocks of the system Z matrix, the L and U factors, the right hand side forcing function and the final current solution. This compressed matrix solution is applied to a frequency domain EM solution of Maxwell's equations using standard Method of Moments approach. Compressed matrix storage and operations count leads to orders of magnitude reduction in memory and run time.

A simple approach to adjust tidal forcing in fjord models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hjelmervik, Karina; Kristensen, Nils Melsom; Staalstrøm, André; Røed, Lars Petter

2017-07-01

To model currents in a fjord accurate tidal forcing is of extreme importance. Due to complex topography with narrow and shallow straits, the tides in the innermost parts of a fjord are both shifted in phase and altered in amplitude compared to the tides in the open water outside the fjord. Commonly, coastal tide information extracted from global or regional models is used on the boundary of the fjord model. Since tides vary over short distances in shallower waters close to the coast, the global and regional tidal forcings are usually too coarse to achieve sufficiently accurate tides in fjords. We present a straightforward method to remedy this problem by simply adjusting the tides to fit the observed tides at the entrance of the fjord. To evaluate the method, we present results from the Oslofjord, Norway. A model for the fjord is first run using raw tidal forcing on its open boundary. By comparing modelled and observed time series of water level at a tidal gauge station close to the open boundary of the model, a factor for the amplitude and a shift in phase are computed. The amplitude factor and the phase shift are then applied to produce adjusted tidal forcing at the open boundary. Next, we rerun the fjord model using the adjusted tidal forcing. The results from the two runs are then compared to independent observations inside the fjord in terms of amplitude and phases of the various tidal components, the total tidal water level, and the depth integrated tidal currents. The results show improvements in the modelled tides in both the outer, and more importantly, the inner parts of the fjord.

The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) Task Force Report on Antidepressant Use in Bipolar Disorders

PubMed Central

Pacchiarotti, Isabella; Bond, David J.; Baldessarini, Ross J.; Nolen, Willem A.; Grunze, Heinz; Licht, Rasmus W.; Post, Robert M.; Berk, Michael; Goodwin, Guy M.; Sachs, Gary S.; Tondo, Leonardo; Findling, Robert L.; Youngstrom, Eric A.; Tohen, Mauricio; Undurraga, Juan; González-Pinto, Ana; Goldberg, Joseph F.; Yildiz, Ayşegül; Altshuler, Lori L.; Calabrese, Joseph R.; Mitchell, Philip B.; Thase, Michael E.; Koukopoulos, Athanasios; Colom, Francesc; Frye, Mark A.; Malhi, Gin S.; Fountoulakis, Konstantinos N.; Vázquez, Gustavo; Perlis, Roy H.; Ketter, Terence A.; Cassidy, Frederick; Akiskal, Hagop; Azorin, Jean-Michel; Valentí, Marc; Mazzei, Diego Hidalgo; Lafer, Beny; Kato, Tadafumi; Mazzarini, Lorenzo; Martínez-Aran, Anabel; Parker, Gordon; Souery, Daniel; Özerdem, Ayşegül; McElroy, Susan L.; Girardi, Paolo; Bauer, Michael; Yatham, Lakshmi N.; Zarate, Carlos A.; Nierenberg, Andrew A.; Birmaher, Boris; Kanba, Shigenobu; El-Mallakh, Rif S.; Serretti, Alessandro; Rihmer, Zoltan; Young, Allan H.; Kotzalidis, Georgios D.; MacQueen, Glenda M.; Bowden, Charles L.; Ghaemi, S. Nassir; Lopez-Jaramillo, Carlos; Rybakowski, Janusz; Ha, Kyooseob; Perugi, Giulio; Kasper, Siegfried; Amsterdam, Jay D.; Hirschfeld, Robert M.; Kapczinski, Flávio; Vieta, Eduard

2014-01-01

Objective The risk-benefit profile of antidepressant medications in bipolar disorder is controversial. When conclusive evidence is lacking, expert consensus can guide treatment decisions. The International Society for Bipolar Disorders (ISBD) convened a task force to seek consensus recommendations on the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorders. Method An expert task force iteratively developed consensus through serial consensus-based revisions using the Delphi method. Initial survey items were based on systematic review of the literature. Subsequent surveys included new or reworded items and items that needed to be rerated. This process resulted in the final ISBD Task Force clinical recommendations on antidepressant use in bipolar disorder. Results There is striking incongruity between the wide use of and the weak evidence base for the efficacy and safety of antidepressant drugs in bipolar disorder. Few well-designed, long-term trials of prophylactic benefits have been conducted, and there is insufficient evidence for treatment benefits with antidepressants combined with mood stabilizers. A major concern is the risk for mood switch to hypomania, mania, and mixed states. Integrating the evidence and the experience of the task force members, a consensus was reached on 12 statements on the use of antidepressants in bipolar disorder. Conclusions Because of limited data, the task force could not make broad statements endorsing antidepressant use but acknowledged that individual bipolar patients may benefit from antidepressants. Regarding safety, serotonin reuptake inhibitors and bupropion may have lower rates of manic switch than tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants and norepinephrine-serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The frequency and severity of antidepressant-associated mood elevations appear to be greater in bipolar I than bipolar II disorder. Hence, in bipolar I patients antidepressants should be prescribed only as an adjunct to mood-stabilizing medications. PMID:24030475

Evaluation of Container Closure System Integrity for Storage of Frozen Drug Products: Impact of Capping Force and Transportation.

PubMed

Nieto, Alejandra; Roehl, Holger; Adler, Michael; Mohl, Silke

2018-05-31

Frozen-state storage and cold-chain transport are key operations in the development and commercialization of biopharmaceuticals. Nowadays, a few marketed drug products are stored (and/or) shipped under frozen conditions to ensure sufficient stability, particularly for live viral vaccines. When these products are stored in glass vials with stoppers, the elastomer of the stopper needs to be flexible enough to seal the vial at the target's lowest temperature to ensure container closure integrity and hence both sterility and safety of the drug product. The container closure integrity assessment in the frozen state (e.g., -20°C, -80°C) should include: Container Closure Integrity (CCI) of the Container Closure System (CCS) itself, impact of processing, e.g. capping process on CCI and impact of shipment and movement on CCI in the frozen state. The objective of this work was an evaluation of the impact of processing and shipment on CCI of a CCS in the frozen state. The impact on other quality attributes was not investigated. In this light, the ThermCCI method was applied to evaluate the impact of shipping stress and variable capping force on CCI of frozen vials and to evaluate the temperature limits of rubber stoppers. In conclusion, retaining CCI during cold storage is mostly a function of vial-stopper combination and temperatures below -40°C may pose a risk to the CCI of a frozen drug product. Variable capping force may have an influence on the CCI of a frozen drug product if not appropriately assessed. Regarding the impact of shipment on the CCI of glass vials, no indication was given either at room temperature, -20°C or -75°C when compared to static storage at such temperatures. Copyright © 2018, Parenteral Drug Association.

Air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction integrated with QuEChERS for determining endocrine-disrupting compounds in fish by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Luo, Zhoufei; Lu, Jing; Li, Haipu; Tu, Yi; Wan, Yuehao; Yang, Zhaoguang

2018-09-15

A new, sensitive, and rapid method based on the Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe (QuEChERS) approach and air-assisted liquid-liquid microextraction (AALLME) technology was developed for the determination of 20 endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) in fish by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The method first integrates AALLME into QuEChERS to achieve clean-up and enrichment of the EDCs in one step. A self-made glass tube was enfolded with plasticine to withstand the high centrifugal force. The established method was developed by optimization of the parameters. High linearities (R 2  > 0.9924) and recoveries (78.2-118.6%) at three spiked levels (5, 10, and 20 ng g -1 ), and low relative standard deviation values (1.1-14.5%) and limits of detection (0.03-0.80 ng g -1 ) were obtained. The method comparison shows that the proposed method is superior as it involves less organic solvent usage, simple operation and high efficiency. This method was successfully applied to different fishes for analyzing EDCs. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-force calculations with matched expansions and quasinormal mode sums

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

Casals, Marc; Dolan, Sam; Ottewill, Adrian C.

2009-06-15

Accurate modeling of gravitational wave emission by extreme-mass ratio inspirals is essential for their detection by the LISA mission. A leading perturbative approach involves the calculation of the self-force acting upon the smaller orbital body. In this work, we present the first application of the Poisson-Wiseman-Anderson method of 'matched expansions' to compute the self-force acting on a point particle moving in a curved spacetime. The method employs two expansions for the Green function, which are, respectively, valid in the 'quasilocal' and 'distant past' regimes, and which may be matched together within the normal neighborhood. We perform our calculation in amore » static region of the spherically symmetric Nariai spacetime (dS{sub 2}xS{sup 2}), in which scalar-field perturbations are governed by a radial equation with a Poeschl-Teller potential (frequently used as an approximation to the Schwarzschild radial potential) whose solutions are known in closed form. The key new ingredients in our study are (i) very high order quasilocal expansions and (ii) expansion of the distant past Green function in quasinormal modes. In combination, these tools enable a detailed study of the properties of the scalar-field Green function. We demonstrate that the Green function is singular whenever x and x{sup '} are connected by a null geodesic, and apply asymptotic methods to determine the structure of the Green function near the null wave front. We show that the singular part of the Green function undergoes a transition each time the null wave front passes through a caustic point, following a repeating fourfold sequence {delta}({sigma}), 1/{pi}{sigma}, -{delta}({sigma}), -1/{pi}{sigma}, etc., where {sigma} is Synge's world function. The matched-expansion method provides insight into the nonlocal properties of the self-force. We show that the self-force generated by the segment of the worldline lying outside the normal neighborhood is not negligible. We apply the matched-expansion method to compute the scalar self-force acting on a static particle on the Nariai spacetime, and validate against an alternative method, obtaining agreement to six decimal places. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for wave propagation and self-force calculations. On black hole spacetimes, any expansion of the Green function in quasinormal modes must be augmented by a branch-cut integral. Nevertheless, we expect the Green function in Schwarzschild spacetime to inherit certain key features, such as a fourfold singular structure manifesting itself through the asymptotic behavior of quasinormal modes. In this way, the Nariai spacetime provides a fertile testing ground for developing insight into the nonlocal part of the self-force on black hole spacetimes.« less

Changes in plantar loading based on shoe type and sex during a jump-landing task.

PubMed

Debiasio, Justin C; Russell, Mary E; Butler, Robert J; Nunley, James A; Queen, Robin M

2013-01-01

Metatarsal stress fractures are common in cleated-sport athletes. Previous authors have shown that plantar loading varies with footwear, sex, and the athletic task. To examine the effects of shoe type and sex on plantar loading in the medial midfoot (MMF), lateral midfoot (LMF), medial forefoot (MFF), middle forefoot (MidFF), and lateral forefoot (LFF) during a jump-landing task. Crossover study. Laboratory. Twenty-seven recreational athletes (14 men, 13 women) with no history of lower extremity injury in the last 6 months and no history of foot or ankle surgery. The athletes completed 7 jumping trials while wearing bladed-cleat, turf-cleat, and running shoes. Maximum force, contact area, contact time, and the force-time integral were analyzed in each foot region. We calculated 2 × 3 analyses of variance (α = .05) to identify shoe-condition and sex differences. We found no shoe × sex interactions, but the MMF, LMF, MFF, and LFF force-time integrals were greater in men (P < .03). The MMF maximum force was less with the bladed-cleat shoes (P = .02). Total foot and MidFF maximum force was less with the running shoes (P < .01). The MFF and LFF maximum forces were different among all shoe conditions (P < .01). Total foot contact area was less in the bladed-cleat shoes (P = .01). The MMF contact area was greatest in the running shoes (P < .01). The LFF contact area was less in the running shoes (P = .03). The MFF and LFF force-time integrals were greater with the bladed-cleat shoes (P < .01). The MidFF force-time integral was less in the running shoes (P < .01). Independent of shoe, men and women loaded the foot differently during a jump landing. The bladed cleat increased forefoot loading, which may increase the risk for forefoot injury. The type of shoe should be considered when choosing footwear for athletes returning to activity after metatarsal stress fractures.

Increasing security through public health: a practical model.

PubMed

Parker, R David

2011-01-01

As political and social changes sweep the globe, there are opportunities to increase national security through innovative approaches. While traditional security methods such as defense forces and homeland security provide both pre-emptive and defensive protection, new methods could meet emerging challenges by responding to the political, financial, and social trends. One method is the integration of defense, medicine and public health. By assisting a nation by providing basic services, such as healthcare, collaborative efforts can increase stabilization in areas of unrest. Improved health outcomes leads to increased domestic security, which can create a ripple effect across a region. Assessment, uptake and sustainability by the host nation are critical for program success. The proposed methodology focuses on the use of primarily extant resources, such as programs used by Special Operations Forces and other health and defense programs. Additional components include evaluation, set objectives and mission collaborations. As the nexus between foreign affairs, security, and public health is increasingly validated through research and practice, standardized interventions should be developed to minimize overlapping expenditures, promote security and strengthen international relations. 2011.

A new method of testing pile using dynamic P-S-curve made by amplitude of wave train

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Yi-Li; Xu, Jun; Duan, Yong-Kong; Xu, Zhao-Yong; Yang, Run-Hai; Zhao, Jin-Ming

2004-11-01

A new method of detecting the vertical bearing capacity for single-pile with high strain is discussed in this paper. A heavy hammer or a small type of rocket is used to strike the pile top and the detectors are used to record vibration graphs. An expression of higher degree of strain (deformation force) is introduced. It is testified theoretically that the displacement, velocity and acceleration cannot be obtained by simple integral acceleration and differential velocity when long displacement and high strain exist, namely when the pile phase generates a whole slip relative to the soil body. That is to say that there are non-linear relations between them. It is educed accordingly that the force P and displacement S are calculated from the amplitude of wave train and (dynamic) P-S curve is drew so as to determine the yield points. Further, a method of determining the vertical bearing capacity for single-pile is discussed. A static load test is utilized to check the result of dynamic test and determine the correlative constants of dynamic-static P( Q)- S curve.

Assessment of the Derivative-Moment Transformation method for unsteady-load estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohebbian, Ali; Rival, David

2011-11-01

It is often difficult, if not impossible, to measure the aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces on a moving body. For this reason, a classical control-volume technique is typically applied to extract the unsteady forces instead. However, measuring the acceleration term within the volume of interest using PIV can be limited by optical access, reflections as well as shadows. Therefore in this study an alternative approach, termed the Derivative-Moment Transformation (DMT) method, is introduced and tested on a synthetic data set produced using numerical simulations. The test case involves the unsteady loading of a flat plate in a two-dimensional, laminar periodic gust. The results suggest that the DMT method can accurately predict the acceleration term so long as appropriate spatial and temporal resolutions are maintained. The major deficiency was found to be the determination of pressure in the wake. The effect of control-volume size was investigated suggesting that smaller domains work best by minimizing the associated error with the pressure field. When increasing the control-volume size, the number of calculations necessary for the pressure-gradient integration increases, in turn substantially increasing the error propagation.

Double closed-loop cascade control for lower limb exoskeleton with elastic actuation.

PubMed

Zhu, Yanhe; Zheng, Tianjiao; Jin, Hongzhe; Yang, Jixing; Zhao, Jie

2015-01-01

Unlike traditional rigid actuators, the significant features of Series Elastic Actuator (SEA) are stable torque control, lower output impedance, impact resistance and energy storage. Recently, SEA has been applied in many exoskeletons. In such applications, a key issue is how to realize the human-exoskeleton movement coordination. In this paper, double closed-loop cascade control for lower limb exoskeleton with SEA is proposed. This control method consists of inner SEA torque loop and outer contact force loop. Utilizing the SEA torque control with a motor velocity loop, actuation performances of SEA are analyzed. An integrated exoskeleton control system is designed, in which joint angles are calculated by internal encoders and resolvers and contact forces are gathered by external pressure sensors. The double closed-loop cascade control model is established based on the feedback signals of internal and external sensor. Movement experiments are accomplished in our prototype of lower limb exoskeleton. Preliminary results indicate the exoskeleton movements with pilot can be realized stably by utilizing this double closed-loop cascade control method. Feasibility of the SEA in our exoskeleton robot and effectiveness of the control method are verified.

Origin and structures of solar eruptions II: Magnetic modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Yang; Cheng, Xin; Ding, MingDe

2017-07-01

The topology and dynamics of the three-dimensional magnetic field in the solar atmosphere govern various solar eruptive phenomena and activities, such as flares, coronal mass ejections, and filaments/prominences. We have to observe and model the vector magnetic field to understand the structures and physical mechanisms of these solar activities. Vector magnetic fields on the photosphere are routinely observed via the polarized light, and inferred with the inversion of Stokes profiles. To analyze these vector magnetic fields, we need first to remove the 180° ambiguity of the transverse components and correct the projection effect. Then, the vector magnetic field can be served as the boundary conditions for a force-free field modeling after a proper preprocessing. The photospheric velocity field can also be derived from a time sequence of vector magnetic fields. Three-dimensional magnetic field could be derived and studied with theoretical force-free field models, numerical nonlinear force-free field models, magnetohydrostatic models, and magnetohydrodynamic models. Magnetic energy can be computed with three-dimensional magnetic field models or a time series of vector magnetic field. The magnetic topology is analyzed by pinpointing the positions of magnetic null points, bald patches, and quasi-separatrix layers. As a well conserved physical quantity, magnetic helicity can be computed with various methods, such as the finite volume method, discrete flux tube method, and helicity flux integration method. This quantity serves as a promising parameter characterizing the activity level of solar active regions.

Investigation of Unsteady Pressure-Sensitive Paint (uPSP) and a Dynamic Loads Balance to Predict Launch Vehicle Buffet Environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schuster, David M.; Panda, Jayanta; Ross, James C.; Roozeboom, Nettie H.; Burnside, Nathan J.; Ngo, Christina L.; Kumagai, Hiro; Sellers, Marvin; Powell, Jessica M.; Sekula, Martin K.;

The design and development of a high-throughput magneto-mechanostimulation device for cartilage tissue engineering.

PubMed

Brady, Mariea A; Vaze, Reva; Amin, Harsh D; Overby, Darryl R; Ethier, C Ross

2014-02-01

To recapitulate the in vivo environment and create neo-organoids that replace lost or damaged tissue requires the engineering of devices, which provide appropriate biophysical cues. To date, bioreactors for cartilage tissue engineering have focused primarily on biomechanical stimulation. There is a significant need for improved devices for articular cartilage tissue engineering capable of simultaneously applying multiple biophysical (electrokinetic and mechanical) stimuli. We have developed a novel high-throughput magneto-mechanostimulation bioreactor, capable of applying static and time-varying magnetic fields, as well as multiple and independently adjustable mechanical loading regimens. The device consists of an array of 18 individual stations, each of which uses contactless magnetic actuation and has an integrated Hall Effect sensing system, enabling the real-time measurements of applied field, force, and construct thickness, and hence, the indirect measurement of construct mechanical properties. Validation tests showed precise measurements of thickness, within 14 μm of gold standard calliper measurements; further, applied force was measured to be within 0.04 N of desired force over a half hour dynamic loading, which was repeatable over a 3-week test period. Finally, construct material properties measured using the bioreactor were not significantly different (p=0.97) from those measured using a standard materials testing machine. We present a new method for articular cartilage-specific bioreactor design, integrating combinatorial magneto-mechanostimulation, which is very attractive from functional and cost viewpoints.

Adhesive contact between a rigid spherical indenter and an elastic multi-layer coated substrate

PubMed Central

Stan, Gheorghe; Adams, George G.

2016-01-01

In this work the frictionless, adhesive contact between a rigid spherical indenter and an elastic multi-layer coated half-space was investigated by means of an integral transform formulation. The indented multi-layer coats were considered as made of isotropic layers that are perfectly bonded to each other and to an isotropic substrate. The adhesive interaction between indenter and contacting surface was treated as Maugis-type adhesion to provide general applicability within the entire range of adhesive interactions. By using a transfer matrix method, the stress-strain equations of the system were reduced to two coupled integral equations for the stress distribution under the indenter and the ratio between the adhesion radius and the contact radius, respectively. These resulting integral equations were solved through a numerical collocation technique, with solutions for the load dependencies of the contact radius and indentation depth for various values of the adhesion parameter and layer composition. The method developed here can be used to calculate the force-distance response of adhesive contacts on various inhomogeneous half-spaces that can be modeled as multi-layer coated half-spaces. PMID:27574338

Computation of solar perturbations with Poisson series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Broucke, R.

1974-01-01

Description of a project for computing first-order perturbations of natural or artificial satellites by integrating the equations of motion on a computer with automatic Poisson series expansions. A basic feature of the method of solution is that the classical variation-of-parameters formulation is used rather than rectangular coordinates. However, the variation-of-parameters formulation uses the three rectangular components of the disturbing force rather than the classical disturbing function, so that there is no problem in expanding the disturbing function in series. Another characteristic of the variation-of-parameters formulation employed is that six rather unusual variables are used in order to avoid singularities at the zero eccentricity and zero (or 90 deg) inclination. The integration process starts by assuming that all the orbit elements present on the right-hand sides of the equations of motion are constants. These right-hand sides are then simple Poisson series which can be obtained with the use of the Bessel expansions of the two-body problem in conjunction with certain interation methods. These Poisson series can then be integrated term by term, and a first-order solution is obtained.

Integrated dynamic analysis simulation of space stations with controllable solar array

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heinrichs, J. A.; Fee, J. J.

1972-01-01

A methodology is formulated and presented for the integrated structural dynamic analysis of space stations with controllable solar arrays and non-controllable appendages. The structural system flexibility characteristics are considered in the dynamic analysis by a synthesis technique whereby free-free space station modal coordinates and cantilever appendage coordinates are inertially coupled. A digital simulation of this analysis method is described and verified by comparison of interaction load solutions with other methods of solution. Motion equations are simulated for both the zero gravity and artificial gravity (spinning) orbital conditions. Closed loop controlling dynamics for both orientation control of the arrays and attitude control of the space station are provided in the simulation by various generic types of controlling systems. The capability of the simulation as a design tool is demonstrated by utilizing typical space station and solar array structural representations and a specific structural perturbing force. Response and interaction load solutions are presented for this structural configuration and indicate the importance of using an integrated type analysis for the predictions of structural interactions.

General Electric Unattended Power System Study. Addendum

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-05-01

AND NAVIGATION SYSTEMS ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS DIVISION AIR FORCE SYSTEMS COMMAND UNITED STATES AIR FORCE Hascom Air Force Base, Massachusetts DTIC C-3 B I...MITRE Corporation under Project No. 633A. The contract is sponsored by the Electronic Systems *Division, Air Force Systems Command, Hanscom Air Force...is delivered fully integrated, tested, and certified. The system consists of a combustion system, vapor generator, turbo- alternator, air -cooled

Modeling and experiments of the adhesion force distribution between particles and a surface.

PubMed

You, Siming; Wan, Man Pun

2014-06-17

Due to the existence of surface roughness in real surfaces, the adhesion force between particles and the surface where the particles are deposited exhibits certain statistical distributions. Despite the importance of adhesion force distribution in a variety of applications, the current understanding of modeling adhesion force distribution is still limited. In this work, an adhesion force distribution model based on integrating the root-mean-square (RMS) roughness distribution (i.e., the variation of RMS roughness on the surface in terms of location) into recently proposed mean adhesion force models was proposed. The integration was accomplished by statistical analysis and Monte Carlo simulation. A series of centrifuge experiments were conducted to measure the adhesion force distributions between polystyrene particles (146.1 ± 1.99 μm) and various substrates (stainless steel, aluminum and plastic, respectively). The proposed model was validated against the measured adhesion force distributions from this work and another previous study. Based on the proposed model, the effect of RMS roughness distribution on the adhesion force distribution of particles on a rough surface was explored, showing that both the median and standard deviation of adhesion force distribution could be affected by the RMS roughness distribution. The proposed model could predict both van der Waals force and capillary force distributions and consider the multiscale roughness feature, greatly extending the current capability of adhesion force distribution prediction.

IDEF3 formalization report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menzel, Christopher; Mayer, Richard J.; Edwards, Douglas D.

1991-01-01

The Process Description Capture Method (IDEF3) is one of several Integrated Computer-Aided Manufacturing (ICAM) DEFinition methods developed by the Air Force to support systems engineering activities, and in particular, to support information systems development. These methods have evolved as a distillation of 'good practice' experience by information system developers and are designed to raise the performance level of the novice practitioner to one comparable with that of an expert. IDEF3 is meant to serve as a knowledge acquisition and requirements definition tool that structures the user's understanding of how a given process, event, or system works around process descriptions. A special purpose graphical language accompanying the method serves to highlight temporal precedence and causality relationships relative to the process or event being described.

Methods for determining the internal thrust of scramjet engine modules from experimental data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Voland, Randall T.

1990-01-01

Methods for calculating zero-fuel internal drag of scramjet engine modules from experimental measurements are presented. These methods include two control-volume approaches, and a pressure and skin-friction integration. The three calculation techniques are applied to experimental data taken during tests of a version of the NASA parametric scramjet. The methods agree to within seven percent of the mean value of zero-fuel internal drag even though several simplifying assumptions are made in the analysis. The mean zero-fuel internal drag coefficient for this particular engine is calculated to be 0.150. The zero-fuel internal drag coefficient when combined with the change in engine axial force with and without fuel defines the internal thrust of an engine.

An Integrated Fuselage-Sting Balance for a Sonic-Boom Wind-Tunnel Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mack, Robert J.

2004-01-01

Measured and predicted pressure signatures from a lifting wind-tunnel model can be compared when the lift on the model is accurately known. The model's lift can be set by bending the support sting to a desired angle of attack. This method is simple in practice, but difficult to accurately apply. A second method is to build a normal force/pitching moment balance into the aft end of the sting, and use an angle-of-attack mechanism to set model attitude. In this report, a method for designing a sting/balance into the aft fuselage/sting of a sonic-boom model is described. A computer code is given, and a sample sting design is outlined to demonstrate the method.

Trajectory-Based Loads for the Ares I-X Test Flight Vehicle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vause, Roland F.; Starr, Brett R.

2011-01-01

In trajectory-based loads, the structural engineer treats each point on the trajectory as a load case. Distributed aero, inertial, and propulsion forces are developed for the structural model which are equivalent to the integrated values of the trajectory model. Free-body diagrams are then used to solve for the internal forces, or loads, that keep the applied aero, inertial, and propulsion forces in dynamic equilibrium. There are several advantages to using trajectory-based loads. First, consistency is maintained between the integrated equilibrium equations of the trajectory analysis and the distributed equilibrium equations of the structural analysis. Second, the structural loads equations are tied to the uncertainty model for the trajectory systems analysis model. Atmosphere, aero, propulsion, mass property, and controls uncertainty models all feed into the dispersions that are generated for the trajectory systems analysis model. Changes in any of these input models will affect structural loads response. The trajectory systems model manages these inputs as well as the output from the structural model over thousands of dispersed cases. Large structural models with hundreds of thousands of degrees of freedom would execute too slowly to be an efficient part of several thousand system analyses. Trajectory-based loads provide a means for the structures discipline to be included in the integrated systems analysis. Successful applications of trajectory-based loads methods for the Ares I-X vehicle are covered in this paper. Preliminary design loads were based on 2000 trajectories using Monte Carlo dispersions. Range safety loads were tied to 8423 malfunction turn trajectories. In addition, active control system loads were based on 2000 preflight trajectories using Monte Carlo dispersions.

Multiagent Task Coordination Using a Distributed Optimization Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-09-01

positive- definite symmetric inertia matrix, C(q, q̇) ∈ <n×n is the centripetal and coriolis matrix, G(q) ∈ <n is the gravitation force vector, B(q) ∈ <n...artificial intelligence re- search are effectively integrated with the rigorous control systems analysis tools, and produced novel approximate dynamic...results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed designs. Section 7.0 concludes the report. 3.0 METHODS, ASSUMPTIONS, AND PROCEDURES

A computational system for aerodynamic design and analysis of supersonic aircraft. Part 2: User's manual

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Middleton, W. D.; Lundry, J. L.; Coleman, R. G.

1976-01-01

An integrated system of computer programs was developed for the design and analysis of supersonic configurations. The system uses linearized theory methods for the calculation of surface pressures and supersonic area rule concepts in combination with linearized theory for calculation of aerodynamic force coefficients. Interactive graphics are optional at the user's request. This user's manual contains a description of the system, an explanation of its usage, the input definition, and example output.

Measurement Uncertainty Within the Uniform Engine Test Programme

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-05-01

Design to Cost and l.ifc (.cle Cost to Aircraft Engines AGARD LS 107 (May 1980) Microcomputer Applications in Power and Propulsion Systems AGARD LS...Flows in Propulsion Systems AGARD LS 140 (June 1985) Engine Airframe Integration for Rotorcraft AGARD LS 148 (June 1986) Design Methods Used in Solid...modest nero-thermodynamic design was of no consequence. Two engines were loaned to the proeram by the U.S. Air Force. Due to higher priority test workload

Rate of rotation measurement using back-EMFS associated with windings of a brushless DC motor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, David E. (Inventor)

2000-01-01

A system and method are provided for measuring rate of rotation. A brushless DC motor is rotated and produces a back electromagnetic force (emf) on each winding thereof. Each winding's back-emf is integrated and multiplied by the back-emf associated with an adjacent winding. The multiplied outputs associated with each winding are combined to produce a directionally sensitive DC output proportional only to the rate of rotation of the motor's shaft.

Air Force Personnel Can Improve Compliance With the Berry Amendment and Buy American Act

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-02-24

accountability , integrity, and efficiency; advises the Secretary of Defense and Congress; and informs the public. Vision Our vision is to be a model...of personnel from the DoD OIG’s Quantitative Methods Division. Prior Coverage During the last 5 years, the Government Accountability Office (GAO... disclosures . The designated ombudsman is the DoD Hotline Director. For more information on your rights and remedies against retaliation, visit www.dodig.mil

Impact of coalition interoperability on PKI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krall, Edward J.

2003-07-01

This paper examines methods for providing PKI interoperability among units of a coalition of armed forces drawn from different nations. The area in question is tactical identity management, for the purposes of confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation in such a dynamic coalition. The interoperating applications under consideration range from email and other forms of store-and-forward messaging to TLS and IPSEC-protected real-time communications. Six interoperability architectures are examined with advantages and disadvantages of each described in the paper.

Fourier functional analysis for unsteady aerodynamic modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lan, C. Edward; Chin, Suei

1991-01-01

A method based on Fourier analysis is developed to analyze the force and moment data obtained in large amplitude forced oscillation tests at high angles of attack. The aerodynamic models for normal force, lift, drag, and pitching moment coefficients are built up from a set of aerodynamic responses to harmonic motions at different frequencies. Based on the aerodynamic models of harmonic data, the indicial responses are formed. The final expressions for the models involve time integrals of the indicial type advocated by Tobak and Schiff. Results from linear two- and three-dimensional unsteady aerodynamic theories as well as test data for a 70-degree delta wing are used to verify the models. It is shown that the present modeling method is accurate in producing the aerodynamic responses to harmonic motions and the ramp type motions. The model also produces correct trend for a 70-degree delta wing in harmonic motion with different mean angles-of-attack. However, the current model cannot be used to extrapolate data to higher angles-of-attack than that of the harmonic motions which form the aerodynamic model. For linear ramp motions, a special method is used to calculate the corresponding frequency and phase angle at a given time. The calculated results from modeling show a higher lift peak for linear ramp motion than for harmonic ramp motion. The current model also shows reasonably good results for the lift responses at different angles of attack.

Tools and methods for experimental in-vivo measurement and biomechanical characterization of an Octopus vulgaris arm.

PubMed

Margheri, Laura; Mazzolai, Barbara; Cianchetti, Matteo; Dario, Paolo; Laschi, Cecilia

2009-01-01

This work illustrates new tools and methods for an in vivo and direct, but non-invasive, measurement of an octopus arm mechanical properties. The active elongation (longitudinal stretch) and the pulling force capability are measured on a specimen of Octopus vulgaris in order to quantitatively characterize the parameters describing the arm mechanics, for biomimetic design purposes. The novel approach consists of observing and measuring a living octopus with minimally invasive methods, which allow the animal to move with its complete ability. All tools are conceived in order to create a collaborative interaction with the animal for the acquisition of active measures. The data analysis is executed taking into account the presence of an intrinsic error due to the mobility of the subject and the aquatic environment. Using a system of two synchronized high-speed high-resolution cameras and purpose-made instruments, the maximum elongation of an arm and its rest length (when all muscles fibres are relaxed during propulsion movement) are measured and compared to define the longitudinal stretch, with the impressive average result of 194%. With a similar setup integrated with a force sensor, the pulling force capability is measured as a function of grasp point position along the arm. The measured parameters are used as real specifications for the design of an octopus-like arm with a biomimetic approach.

Proposal of a framework for evaluating military surveillance systems for early detection of outbreaks on duty areas

PubMed Central

Meynard, Jean-Baptiste; Chaudet, Herve; Green, Andrew D; Jefferson, Henry L; Texier, Gaetan; Webber, Daniel; Dupuy, Bruce; Boutin, Jean-Paul

2008-01-01

Background In recent years a wide variety of epidemiological surveillance systems have been developed to provide early identification of outbreaks of infectious disease. Each system has had its own strengths and weaknesses. In 2002 a Working Group of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) produced a framework for evaluation, which proved suitable for many public health surveillance systems. However this did not easily adapt to the military setting, where by necessity a variety of different parameters are assessed, different constraints placed on the systems, and different objectives required. This paper describes a proposed framework for evaluation of military syndromic surveillance systems designed to detect outbreaks of disease on operational deployments. Methods The new framework described in this paper was developed from the cumulative experience of British and French military syndromic surveillance systems. The methods included a general assessment framework (CDC), followed by more specific methods of conducting evaluation. These included Knowledge/Attitude/Practice surveys (KAP surveys), technical audits, ergonomic studies, simulations and multi-national exercises. A variety of military constraints required integration into the evaluation. Examples of these include the variability of geographical conditions in the field, deployment to areas without prior knowledge of naturally-occurring disease patterns, the differences in field sanitation between locations and over the length of deployment, the mobility of military forces, turnover of personnel, continuity of surveillance across different locations, integration with surveillance systems from other nations working alongside each other, compatibility with non-medical information systems, and security. Results A framework for evaluation has been developed that can be used for military surveillance systems in a staged manner consisting of initial, intermediate and final evaluations. For each stage of the process parameters for assessment have been defined and methods identified. Conclusion The combined experiences of French and British syndromic surveillance systems developed for use in deployed military forces has allowed the development of a specific evaluation framework. The tool is suitable for use by all nations who wish to evaluate syndromic surveillance in their own military forces. It could also be useful for civilian mobile systems or for national security surveillance systems. PMID:18447944

Traction force dynamics predict gap formation in activated endothelium

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

Valent, Erik T.; Nieuw Amerongen, Geerten P. van; Hinsbergh, Victor W.M. van

In many pathological conditions the endothelium becomes activated and dysfunctional, resulting in hyperpermeability and plasma leakage. No specific therapies are available yet to control endothelial barrier function, which is regulated by inter-endothelial junctions and the generation of acto-myosin-based contractile forces in the context of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. However, the spatiotemporal distribution and stimulus-induced reorganization of these integral forces remain largely unknown. Traction force microscopy of human endothelial monolayers was used to visualize contractile forces in resting cells and during thrombin-induced hyperpermeability. Simultaneously, information about endothelial monolayer integrity, adherens junctions and cytoskeletal proteins (F-actin) were captured. This revealed a heterogeneousmore » distribution of traction forces, with nuclear areas showing lower and cell-cell junctions higher traction forces than the whole-monolayer average. Moreover, junctional forces were asymmetrically distributed among neighboring cells. Force vector orientation analysis showed a good correlation with the alignment of F-actin and revealed contractile forces in newly formed filopodia and lamellipodia-like protrusions within the monolayer. Finally, unstable areas, showing high force fluctuations within the monolayer were prone to form inter-endothelial gaps upon stimulation with thrombin. To conclude, contractile traction forces are heterogeneously distributed within endothelial monolayers and force instability, rather than force magnitude, predicts the stimulus-induced formation of intercellular gaps. - Highlights: • Endothelial monolayers exert dynamic- and heterogeneous traction forces. • High traction forces correlate with junctional areas and the F-actin cytoskeleton. • Newly formed inter-endothelial gaps are characterized by opposing traction forces. • Force stability is a key feature controlling endothelial permeability.« less

Noetherian symmetries of noncentral forces with drag term

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghose-Choudhury, A.; Guha, Partha; Paliathanasis, Andronikos; Leach, P. G. L.

We consider the Noetherian symmetries of second-order ODEs subjected to forces with nonzero curl. Both position and velocity dependent forces are considered. In the former case, the first integrals are shown to follow from the symmetries of the celebrated Emden-Fowler equation.

ILSI Europe's Food Allergy Task Force: From Defining the Hazard to Assessing the Risk from Food Allergens.

PubMed

Crevel, René R W; Ronsmans, Stefan; Marsaux, Cyril F M; Bánáti, Diána

2018-01-01

The International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) Europe Food Allergy Task Force was founded in response to early public concerns about the growing impact of food allergies almost coincidentally with the publication of the 1995 Food and Agriculture Organization-World Health Organization Technical Consultation on Food Allergies. In line with ILSI principles aimed to foster collaboration between stakeholders to promote consensus on science-based approaches to food safety and nutrition, the task force has played a central role since then in the development of risk assessment for food allergens. This ranged from consideration of the criteria to be applied to identifying allergens of public health concern through methodologies to determine the relationship between dose and the proportion of allergic individuals reacting, as well as the nature of the observed responses. The task force also promoted the application of novel, probabilistic risk assessment methods to better delineate the impact of benchmarks, such as reference doses, and actively participated in major European food allergy projects, such as EUROPREVALL, the European Union (EU)-funded project "The prevalence, cost and basis of food allergy across Europe;" and iFAAM, "Integrated approaches to food allergen and allergy risk management," also an EU-funded project. Over the years, the task force's work has evolved as answers to initial questions raised further issues: Its current work program includes a review of analytical methods and how different ones can best be deployed given their strengths and limitations. Another activity, which has just commenced, aims to develop a framework for stakeholders to achieve consensus on acceptable risk.

Evaluation of Interfacial Forces and Bubble-Induced Turbulence Using Direct Numerical Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Jinyong

High fidelity prediction of multiphase flows is important in a wide range of engineering applications. While some multiphase flow scenarios can be successfully modeled, many questions remain unanswered regarding the interaction between the bubbles and the turbulence, and present significant challenges in the development of closure laws for the multiphase computational fluid dynamics (M-CFD) models. To address these challenges, we propose to evaluate the interfacial forces and bubble-induced turbulence in both laminar and turbulent flow field with direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach. Advanced finite-element based flow solver (PHASTA) with level-set interface tracking method is utilized for these studies. The proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller is adopted to ensure the statistically steady state bubble position and perform the detailed study of the turbulent field around the bubble. Selected numerical capabilities and post-processing codes are developed to achieve the research goals. The interface tracking approach is verified and validated by comparing the interfacial forces with the experiment-based data and correlations. The sign change of transverse lift force is observed as the bubble becomes more deformable. A new correlation is proposed to predict the behavior of the drag coefficient over the wide range of conditions. The wall effect on the interfacial forces are also investigated. In homogeneous turbulent flow, the effect of bubble deformability, turbulent intensity and relative velocity on the bubble-induced turbulence are analyzed. The presented method and novel results will complement the experimental database, provide insight to the bubbleinduced turbulence mechanism and help the development of M-CFD closure models.

Computer analysis of multicircuit shells of revolution by the field method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cohen, G. A.

1975-01-01

The field method, presented previously for the solution of even-order linear boundary value problems defined on one-dimensional open branch domains, is extended to boundary value problems defined on one-dimensional domains containing circuits. This method converts the boundary value problem into two successive numerically stable initial value problems, which may be solved by standard forward integration techniques. In addition, a new method for the treatment of singular boundary conditions is presented. This method, which amounts to a partial interchange of the roles of force and displacement variables, is problem independent with respect to both accuracy and speed of execution. This method was implemented in a computer program to calculate the static response of ring stiffened orthotropic multicircuit shells of revolution to asymmetric loads. Solutions are presented for sample problems which illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the method.