Critical earthquake input power spectral density function models for engineering structures

The problem of determining optimal power spectral density models for earthquake excitation which satisfy constraints on total average power, zero crossing rate and which produce the highest response variance in a given linear system is considered. The solution to this problem is obtained using linear programming methods. The resulting solutions are shown to display a highly deterministic structure and, therefore, fail to capture the stochastic nature of the input. A modification to the definition of critical excitation is proposed which takes into account the entropy rate as a measure of uncertainty in the earthquake loads. The resulting problem is solved using calculus of variations and also within linear programming framework. Illustrative examples on specifying seismic inputs for a nuclear power plant and a tall earth dam are considered and the resulting solutions are shown to be realistic.

Studies in crystal engineering: Effect of fluorine substitution in crystal packing and topological photodimerization of styryl coumarins in the solid state

Styryl coumarins generally yield centrosymmetric (alpha-mode, anti-HT) photodimers when subjected to irradiation in the solid state, However, the substitution of fluorine dramatically alters the packing mode and steers the molecules 4-(4-fluorostyryl)coumarin 1 and 4-(2-fluorostyryl)coumarin 2 to form a stereospecific photodimer, beta-mode, syn-HH across the styrenic double bond (yield 78-85%). The stereochemistry of the photodimer 2a has been established by X-ray crystallography. There is no evidence for the presence of C-H ... F interactions. The true nature of the weak atom-atom interactions called into play when fluorine is substituted is not clear, It is observed that the fluoro substituted compounds have greater crystal density than the corresponding unsubstituted ones.

Some Basic Aspects of Reaction Engineering of Precipitation Processes

Analysis of precipitation reactions is extremely important in the technology of production of fine particles from the liquid phase. The control of composition and particle size in precipitation processes requires careful analysis of the several reactions that comprise the precipitation system. Since precipitation systems involve several, rapid ionic dissociation reactions among other slower ones, the faster reactions may be assumed to be nearly at equilibrium. However, the elimination of species, and the consequent reduction of the system of equations, is an aspect of analysis fraught with the possibility of subtle errors related to the violation of conservation principles. This paper shows how such errors may be avoided systematically by relying on the methods of linear algebra. Applications are demonstrated by analyzing the reactions leading to the precipitation of calcium carbonate in a stirred tank reactor as well as in a single emulsion drop. Sample calculations show that supersaturation dynamics can assume forms that can lead to subsequent dissolution of particles that have once been precipitated.

Growth and development of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans for engineering applications

A bioprocessing approach for the extraction of base, nuclear and precious metals from refractory and lean grade ores has been reviewed in this paper. Characteristic morphological features of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans, the organism which has been extensively used for biooxidation of sulphide ores have been discussed. Mechanisms of chemoautotrophy and mineral oxidation have been illustrated. The current engineering applications of this microorganism have also been brought out. Various methods for accelerating the growth of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans for faster biooxidation and genetic manipulation for development of desired strains have been outlined.

Studies in crystal engineering: Crystal packing, topological photodimerization and structure-reactivity correlations in fluoro-substituted styrylcoumarins

In continuation of our studies on the influence of fluoro substitution on the solid state photobehaviour and packing pattern of styrylcoumarins, the results obtained for 4-(3-fluorostyryl)coumarin 1, 4-styryl-6-fluorocoumarin 2 and 4-styryl-7-fluorocoumarin 3 are presented. The configuration of the dimers was established on the basis of crystal packing of 1 and 2 (alpha-packed). A rationale for the significantly lower dimer yield in the crystal for 2 is proposed. In the observed centrosymmetric arrangement of the reactants the C=O ...pi (phenyl) contacts seem to provide additional attractive interactions. C-H ... O and C-H ... F hydrogen bonding seems to provide stability in these structures.

Studies in crystal engineering: Steering ability of fluorine in styrylcoumarins

In continuation of our studies on crystal engineering using fluorine as a steering group, the photobehaviour of di and tri fluoro 4-styrylcoumarins has been examined. It is found that out of the five derivatives, four crystallize into P-packing mode producing syn-HH photodimer upon irradiation whereas the parent hydrocarbon produces an anti K-T dimer. The packing features of the photolabile crystals of 4-(4-fluorostyryl)-6-fluorocoumarin (1), 4-(2,6-difluorostyryl) 6-fluorocoumarin (2) and the photodimer (3a) of 4-(2,6-fluorostyryl)-7-fluorocoumarin (3) have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The stereochemistry of the photodimer of 4-(2-fluorostyryl)-6-fluorocoumarin (4) is deduced based on preliminary X-ray crystallographic data. However, 4-(2,6-difluorostyryl) coumarin (5) is photoinert. The remarkable steering ability of fluorine is established with the molecular packing in the crystal lattice leading to the formation of syn H-H dimer in the above four examples. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid): Carbon nanofiber composites for myocardial tissue engineering applications

The objective of the present in vitro research was to investigate cardiac tissue cell functions (specifically cardiomyocytes and neurons) on poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) (50:50 wt.%)-carbon nanofiber (CNF) composites to ascertain their potential for myocardial tissue engineering applications. CNF were added to biodegradable PLGA to increase the conductivity and cytocompatibility of pure PLGA. For this reason, different PLGA:CNF ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50,25:75, and 0:100 wt.%) were used and the conductivity as well as cytocompatibility of cardiomyocytes and neurons were assessed. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy analysis characterized the microstructure, chemistry, and crystallinity of the materials of interest to this study. The results show that PLGA:CNF materials are conductive and that the conductivity increases as greater amounts of CNF are added to PLGA, from OS m(-1) for pure PLGA (100:0 wt.%) to 5.5 x 10(-3) S m(-1) for pure CNF (0:100 wt.%). The results also indicate that cardiomyocyte density increases with greater amounts of CNF in PLGA (up to 25:75 wt.% PLGA:CNF) for up to 5 days. For neurons a similar trend to cardiomyocytes was observed, indicating that these conductive materials promoted the adhesion and proliferation of two cell types important for myocardial tissue engineering applications. This study thus provides, for the first time, an alternative conductive scaffold using nanotechnology which should be further explored for cardiovascular applications. (C) 2011 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Special Issue: Engineering applications of representations of function, Part 1

In engineering design, the end goal is the creation of an artifact, product, system, or process that fulfills some functional requirements at some desired level of performance. As such, knowledge of functionality is essential in a wide variety of tasks in engineering activities, including modeling, generation, modification, visualization, explanation, evaluation, diagnosis, and repair of these artifacts and processes. A formal representation of functionality is essential for supporting any of these activities on computers. The goal of Parts 1 and 2 of this Special Issue is to bring together the state of knowledge of representing functionality in engineering applications from both the engineering and the artificial intelligence (AI) research communities.

Stereochemistry of the marine sesquiterpene 2-thiocyanatoneopupukeanane: Crystal structure of neopupukean-2-yl 4-nitrobenzoate

Single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of neopupukean-2-yl p-nitrobenzoate unambiguously established the stereochemistry of the thiocyanate group as endo in the marine sesquiterpene 2-thiocyanatoneopupukeanane.

Albedo enhancement of marine clouds to counteract global warming: impacts on the hydrological cycle

Recent studies have shown that changes in solar radiation affect the hydrological cycle more strongly than equivalent CO(2) changes for the same change in global mean surface temperature. Thus, solar radiation management ``geoengineering'' proposals to completely offset global mean temperature increases by reducing the amount of absorbed sunlight might be expected to slow the global water cycle and reduce runoff over land. However, proposed countering of global warming by increasing the albedo of marine clouds would reduce surface solar radiation only over the oceans. Here, for an idealized scenario, we analyze the response of temperature and the hydrological cycle to increased reflection by clouds over the ocean using an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to a mixed layer ocean model. When cloud droplets are reduced in size over all oceans uniformly to offset the temperature increase from a doubling of atmospheric CO(2), the global-mean precipitation and evaporation decreases by about 1.3% but runoff over land increases by 7.5% primarily due to increases over tropical land. In the model, more reflective marine clouds cool the atmospheric column over ocean. The result is a sinking motion over oceans and upward motion over land. We attribute the increased runoff over land to this increased upward motion over land when marine clouds are made more reflective. Our results suggest that, in contrast to other proposals to increase planetary albedo, offsetting mean global warming by reducing marine cloud droplet size does not necessarily lead to a drying, on average, of the continents. However, we note that the changes in precipitation, evaporation and P-E are dominated by small but significant areas, and given the highly idealized nature of this study, a more thorough and broader assessment would be required for proposals of altering marine cloud properties on a large scale.

Enantiospecific synthesis of the ABC and ABD ring systems of the marine diterpenes aberraranes

Enantiospecific synthesis of the ABC and ABD ring systems present in the marine diterpenes aberraranes, starting from the readily available (S)-campholenaldehyde, has been accomplished. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.