Seismic intensity map of South India for estimated future earthquakes

In this study, an attempt has been made to prepare the seismic intensity map for south India considering the probable earthquakes in the region. Anbazhagan et al. (Nat Hazards 60:1325-1345, 2012) have identified eight probable future earthquake zones in south India based on rupture-based seismic hazard analysis. Anbazhagan et al. (Eng Geol 171:81-95, 2014) has estimated the maximum future earthquake magnitude at these eight zones using regional rupture character. In this study, the whole south India is divided into several grids of size 1(o) x 1(o) and the intensity at each grid point is calculated using the regional intensity model for the maximum earthquake magnitude at each of the eight zones. The intensity due to earthquakes at these zones is mapped and thus eight seismic intensity maps are prepared. The final seismic intensity map of south India is obtained by considering the maximum intensity at each grid point due to the estimated earthquakes. By looking at the seismic intensity map, one can expect slight to heavy damage due to the probable earthquake magnitudes. Heavy damage may happen close to the probable earthquake zones.

Microprocessor-controlled automatic focusing of a lens

Maximum intensity contrast has been used as a measure of lens defocus. A photodiode array under the control of 8085 microprocessor is used to measure the maximum intensity contrast and to position the lens for best focus. The lens is moved by a stepper motor under processor control at a speed of 350 to 500 steps/s. At this speed, focusing time was found to be between 5 and 8 s. Under coherent illuminating conditions, an accuracy of ± 50 μm has been achieved.

Meridional propagation of large-scale monsoon convective zones

Observational studies indicate that the convective activity of the monsoon systems undergo intraseasonal variations with multi-week time scales. The zone of maximum monsoon convection exhibits substantial transient behavior with successive propagating from the North Indian Ocean to the heated continent. Over South Asia the zone achieves its maximum intensity. These propagations may extend over 3000 km in latitude and perhaps twice the distance in longitude and remain as coherent entities for periods greater than 2-3 weeks. Attempts to explain this phenomena using simple ocean-atmosphere models of the monsoon system had concluded that the interactive ground hydrology so modifies the total heating of the atmosphere that a steady state solution is not possible, thus promoting lateral propagation. That is, the ground hydrology forces the total heating of the atmosphere and the vertical velocity to be slightly out of phase, causing a migration of the convection towards the region of maximum heating. Whereas the lateral scale of the variations produced by the Webster (1983) model were essentially correct, they occurred at twice the frequency of the observed events and were formed near the coastal margin, rather than over the ocean. Webster's (1983) model used to pose the theories was deficient in a number of aspects. Particularly, both the ground moisture content and the thermal inertia of the model were severely underestimated. At the same time, the sea surface temperatures produced by the model between the equator and the model's land-sea boundary were far too cool. Both the atmosphere and the ocean model were modified to include a better hydrological cycle and ocean structure. The convective events produced by the modified model possessed the observed frequency and were generated well south of the coastline. The improved simulation of monsoon variability allowed the hydrological cycle feedback to be generalized. It was found that monsoon variability was constrained to lie within the bounds of a positive gradient of a convective intensity potential (I). The function depends primarily on the surface temperature, the availability of moisture and the stability of the lower atmosphere which varies very slowly on the time scale of months. The oscillations of the monsoon perturb the mean convective intensity potential causing local enhancements of the gradient. These perturbations are caused by the hydrological feedbacks, discussed above, or by the modification of the air-sea fluxes caused by variations of the low level wind during convective events. The final result is the slow northward propagation of convection within an even slower convective regime. The ECMWF analyses show very similar behavior of the convective intensity potential. Although it is considered premature to use the model to conduct simulations of the African monsoon system, the ECMWF analysis indicates similar behavior in the convective intensity potential suggesting, at least, that the same processes control the low frequency structure of the African monsoon. The implications of the hypotheses on numerical weather prediction of monsoon phenomenon are discussed.

Characteristics of Arabian Sea mini warm pool and Indian summer monsoon

Arabian Sea Mini Warm Pool (ASMWP) is a part of the Indian Ocean Warm Pool and formed in the eastern Arabian Sea prior to the onset of the summer monsoon season. This warm pool attained its maximum intensity during the pre-monsoon season and dissipated with the commencement of summer monsoon. The main focus of the present work was on the triggering of the dissipation of this warm pool and its relation to the onset of summer monsoon over Kerala. This phenomenon was studied utilizing NCEP/NCAR (National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric and Research) re-analysis data, TRMM Micro wave Imager (TMI) and observational data. To define the ASMWP, sea surface temperature exceeding 30.25A degrees C was taken as the criteria. The warm pool attained its maximum dimension and intensity nearly 2 weeks prior to the onset of summer monsoon over Kerala. Interestingly, the warm pool started its dissipation immediately after attaining its maximum core temperature. This information can be included in the present numerical models to enhance the prediction capability. It was also found that the extent and intensity of the ASMWP varied depending on the type of monsoon i.e., excess, normal, and deficient monsoon. Maximum core temperature and wide coverage of the warm pool observed during the excess monsoon years compared to normal and deficient monsoon years. The study also revealed a strong relationship between the salinity in the eastern Arabian Sea and the nature of the monsoon.

Effects of different modes of hot cross-rolling in 7010 aluminum alloy: part I. evolution of microstructure and texture

The current study describes the evolution of microstructure and texture in an Al-Zn-Mg-Cu-Zr-based 7010 aluminum alloy during different modes of hot cross-rolling. Processing of materials involves three different types of cross-rolling. The development of texture in the one-step cross-rolled specimen can be described by a typical beta-fiber having the maximum intensity near Copper (Cu) component. However, for the multi-step cross-rolled specimens, the as-rolled texture is mainly characterized by a strong rotated-Brass (Bs) component and a very weak rotated-cube component. Subsequent heat treatment leads to sharpening of the major texture component (i.e., rotated-Bs). Furthermore, the main texture components in all the specimens appear to be significantly rotated in a complex manner away from their ideal positions because of non-symmetric deformations in the two rolling directions. Detailed microstructural study indicates that dynamic recovery is the dominant restoration mechanism operating during the hot rolling. During subsequent heat treatment, static recovery dominates, while a combination of particle-stimulated nucleation (PSN) and strain-induced grain boundary migration (SIBM) causes partial recrystallization of the grain structure. The aforementioned restoration mechanisms play an important role in the development of texture components. The textural development in the current study could be attributed to the combined effects of (a) cross-rolling and inter-pass annealing that reduce the intensity of Cu component after each successive pass, (b) recrystallization resistance of Bs-oriented grains, (c) stability of Bs texture under cross-rolling, and (d) Zener pinning by Al3Zr dispersoids.

Spectroscopic studies of In2O3 nanostructures; photovoltaic demonstration of In2O3/p-Si heterojunction

The thermal oxidation process of the indium nitride (InN) nanorods (NRs) was studied. The SEM studies reveal that the cracked and burst mechanism for the formation of indium oxide (In2O3) nanostructures by oxidizing the InN NRs at higher temperatures. XRD results confirm the bcc crystal structure of the as prepared In2O3 nanostructures. Strong and broad photoluminescence spectrum located at the green to red region with maximum intensity at 566 nm along with a weak ultraviolet emission at 338 nm were observed due to oxygen vacancy levels and free excitonic transitions, respectively. The valence band onset energy of 2.1 eV was observed from the XPS valence band spectrum, clearly justifies the alignment of Fermi level to the donor level created due to the presence of oxygen vacancies which were observed in the PL spectrum. The elemental ratio In:O in as prepared In2O3 was found to be 42:58 which is in close agreement with the stoichiometric value of 40:60. A downward shift was observed in the Raman peak positions due to a possible phonon confinement effect in the nanoparticles formed in bursting mechanism. Such single junction devices exhibit promising photovoltaic performance with fill factor and conversion efficiency of 21% and 0.2%, respectively, under concentrated AM1.5 illumination.

Low-intensity differential photocapacitance of MOS structures

Some new observations on the phenomenon of photocapacitane on n-type silicon MOS structures under low intensities of illumination are reported. The difference between the illuminated and dark C---characteristics is automatically followed as a function of the applied bias thereby obtaining the differential photocapacitance and the resulting characteristics has been termed as the Low Intensity Differential Photocapacitance (LIDP). For an MOS capacitor, the LIDP characteristics is seen to go through a well defined maximum. The phenomenon has been investigated under different ambient conditions like light intensity, temperature, dependance of the frequency of the light etc. and it has been found that the phenomenon is due to a band excband excitation. In this connection, a novel sensitive technique for the measurement of the capacitance based upon following the frequency changes of a tank circuit is also described in some detail. It is also shown that the phenomenon can be understood by a simple theoretical model.

Photoelastic determination of stress intensity factors in patched cracked plates

n this paper, the influence of patch parameters on stress intensity factors in edge cracked plates is studied by employing transmission photoelasticity. Edge cracked plates made of photo-elastic material are patched on one side only by E glass-epoxy and carbon-epoxy unidirectional composites. The patch is located on the crack in such a way that the crack tip is not covered. Magnified isochromatic fringes are obtained by using a projection microscope of magnification 50, converted into a polariscope. Irwin's method is used to compute stress intensity factors from photoelastic data. The reduction in stress intensity factors is presented in graphical form as a function of patch parameters, namely stiffness, location and length. An empirical equation connecting reduction in stress intensity factor and these patch parameters is presented.

Maximum-entropy calculation of the electron density at 4 A resolution of Pf1 filamentous bacteriophage

A 4 A electron-density map of Pf1 filamentous bacterial virus has been calculated from x-ray fiber diffraction data by using the maximum-entropy method. This method produces a map that is free of features due to noise in the data and enables incomplete isomorphous-derivative phase information to be supplemented by information about the nature of the solution. The map shows gently curved (banana-shaped) rods of density about 70 A long, oriented roughly parallel to the virion axis but slewing by about 1/6th turn while running from a radius of 28 A to one of 13 A. Within these rods, there is a helical periodicity with a pitch of 5 to 6 A. We interpret these rods to be the helical subunits of the virion. The position of strongly diffracted intensity on the x-ray fiber pattern shows that the basic helix of the virion is right handed and that neighboring nearly parallel protein helices cross one another in an unusual negative sense.

Critical stress intensity factors for cracked hollow pipes under transient thermal loads

Finite element analyses of a long hollow cylinder having an axisymmetric circumferential internal edge crack, subjected to convective cooling on the inner surface are performed. The transient thermal stress intensity factor is estimated using a domain version of the J-integral method. The effect of the thickness of the cylinder, crack length, and heat transfer coefficient on the stress intensity factor history are studied. The variations of critical normalized stress intensity factor with crack length-to-thickness ratio for different parameters are presented. The results show that if a small inner surface crack begins to grow, its stress intensity factor will increase with increase in crack length, reach a maximum, and then begin to drop. Based on the results, a fracture-based design methodology for cracked hollow pipes under transient thermal loads is discussed.

Enhancement of photoluminescence intensity by photoinduced interdiffusion in nanolayered a-Se/As2S3 films

Optical parameters of chalcogenide glass multilayers with 12–15 nm modulation lengths prepared by thermal evaporation can be changed by laser irradiation. Photoluminescence (PL) studies were carried out on such nonirradiated and irradiated multilayered samples of a-Se/As2S3 (sublayer thickness of a-Se is 4–5 nm for one set of samples and 1–2 nm for the other set. However As2S3 sublayer thickness is 11–12 nm for both sets of samples.) PL intensity can be increased by several orders of magnitude by reducing the Se well layer (lower band gap) thickness and can be further increased by irradiating the samples with appropriate wavelengths in the range of the absorption edge. The broadening of luminescence bands takes place either with a decrease in Se layer thickness or with irradiation. The former is due to the change in interface roughness and defects because of the enhanced structural disorder while the latter is due to photoinduced interdiffusion. The photoinduced interdiffusion creates defects at the interface between Se and As2S3 by forming an As–Se–S solid solution. From the deconvoluted PL spectrum, it is shown that the peak PL intensity, full width half maximum, and the PL quantum efficiency of particular defects giving rise to PL, can be tuned by changing the sublayer thickness or by interdiffusion.

Minimization Problems Based on Relative alpha-Entropy I: Forward Projection

Minimization problems with respect to a one-parameter family of generalized relative entropies are studied. These relative entropies, which we term relative alpha-entropies (denoted I-alpha), arise as redundancies under mismatched compression when cumulants of compressed lengths are considered instead of expected compressed lengths. These parametric relative entropies are a generalization of the usual relative entropy (Kullback-Leibler divergence). Just like relative entropy, these relative alpha-entropies behave like squared Euclidean distance and satisfy the Pythagorean property. Minimizers of these relative alpha-entropies on closed and convex sets are shown to exist. Such minimizations generalize the maximum Renyi or Tsallis entropy principle. The minimizing probability distribution (termed forward I-alpha-projection) for a linear family is shown to obey a power-law. Other results in connection with statistical inference, namely subspace transitivity and iterated projections, are also established. In a companion paper, a related minimization problem of interest in robust statistics that leads to a reverse I-alpha-projection is studied.

Structural correlations in GexSe1-x glasses - a neutron diffraction study

Neutron diffraction measurement is carried out on GexSe1-x glasses, where 0.1 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.4, in a Q interval of 0.55-13.8 Angstrom(-1). The first sharp diffraction peak (FSDP) in the structure factor, S(Q), shows a systematic increase in the intensity and shifts to a lower Q with increasing Ge concentration. The coherence length of FSDP increases with x and becomes maximum for 0.33 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.4. The Monte-Carlo method, due to Soper, is used to generate S(Q) and also the pair correlation function, g(r). The generated S(Q) is in agreement with the experimental data for all x. Analysis of the first four peaks in the total correlation function, T(r), shows that the short range order in GeSe2 glass is due to Ge(Se-1/2)(4) tetrahedra, in agreement with earlier reports. Se-rich glasses contain Se-chains which are cross-linked with Ge(Se-1/2)(4) tetrahedra. Ge-2(Se-1/2)(6) molecular units are the basic structural units in Ge-rich, x = 0.4, glass. For x = 0.2, 0.33 and 0.4 there is evidence for some of the tetrahedra being in an edge-shared configuration. The number of edge-shared tetrahedra in these glasses increase with increasing Ge content.

Resonance raman intensity analysis of polyatomic molecules

A time-dependent quantum mechanical (TDQM) method of wavepacket propagation in computing resonance Raman intensities for polyatomic systems, has been developed and demonstrated by applying it tocis-stilbene andtrans-azobenzene. In the case of the former, Raman excitation profiles (REPs) for the various vibrational modes have also been computed. It is observed that the calculated absorption spectrum and the REPs compare very well with the experimental results. A comparison of these results with those of the often semiclassical approach reveals that the TDQM method can be used to study polyatomic systems with as much ease as the semiclassical wavepacket method.

Studies on low-intensity oxy-fuel burner

This paper presents experimental and computational results of oxy-fuel burner operating on classical flame and lameless mode for heat release rate of 26 kW/m3. The uniqueness of the burner arises from a slight asymmetric injection of oxygen at near sonic velocities. Measurements of emperature, species, total heat flux, radiative heat flux and NOx emission were carried out inside the furnace and the flow field was computationally analyzed. The flame studies were carried out for coaxial flow of oxygen and fuel jets with similar inlet velocities. This configuration results in slow mixing between fuel and oxygen and the flame is developed at distance away from the burner and the flame is bright/white in colour. In the flameless mode a slight asymmetric injection of the high velocity oxygen jet leads to a large asymmetric recirculation pattern with the recirculation ratio of 25 and the resulting flame is weak bluish in colour with little soot and acetylene formation. The classical flame in comparison is characterised by soot and acetylene formation, higher NOx and noise generation. The distribution of temperature and heat flux in the furnace is more uniform with flameless mode than with flame mode.