bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Interior Crashworthiness Observed in Passenger Train Accidents and 8G Dynamic Seat Sled Tests
Authors: Severson Kristine , Tyrell David 
Published: July 2013

The Office of Research and Development of the Federal Railroad Administration conducts engineering research to address protection of passengers and crew during train accidents. This research includes accident investigations and dynamic seat testing to assess occupant injury during simulated accident conditions.
Observations from selected accident investigations are compared with dynamic seat test results, based on the requirements in the Standard for Passenger Seats in Passenger Rail Cars, APTA-SS-C&S-99-016 [1], referred to simply as the Seat Standard. The Seat Standard requires sled testing of rail passenger seats to demonstrate that seats provide a minimum level of crashworthiness in the event of an accident.
The interior crashworthiness comparisons between accidents and seat tests are based on the deceleration time history (crash pulse), damage to seats and/or tables, injury type and severity, and occupant kinematics. These comparisons have been made to assess the degree to which current test practice produces injury measurements and interior fixture damage that are consistent with the injuries and equipment damage observed in accidents. When test results and accident observations do not compare well, revisions to the prescribed test conditions may be warranted.
The following three accidents have been selected for comparison in this paper. They were selected from accident investigations in which the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center participated, the amount of relevant data collected during the investigation, and the dynamic seat test data that was available for comparison of the specific type of seats or tables involved in the accidents. The accidents represent a range of accident speeds, type of equipment, and collision severity:
- passenger train to freight train collision with a closing speed of 80 mph in Chatsworth, California, on September 12, 2008 [2];
- passenger train to freight train collision with a closing speed of 33 mph in Chicago, Illinois, on November 30, 2007 [3, 4];
- passenger train to freight car collision with a closing speed of 23 mph in Canton, Massachusetts, on March 25, 2008.
A companion paper provides detail on the structural crashworthiness of the cars in the same three accidents, and describes the computer models that were developed to estimate the crash pulse, or acceleration-time history, for each rail car in the accidents [5].
Formal Methods Verification and Validation (V&V) for Legacy Systems
Authors: Georgiadis Sofia K. 
Published: July 2013

For over a decade, the benefits of Formal Methods software system development techniques have been realized in safety critical applications in a variety of industries, such as aerospace, aviation, and of course rail-transit. Many of these Formal Methods techniques have focused on the development of new systems. In new system development, Formal Methods provide assurance of error-free specification, design, and software code implementation, often via automated code generators. Legacy systems have been largely excluded from the Formal Methods field, due to a perception that their use would entail costly re-engineering, require specialized knowledge, and would necessitate a large learning curve.
However, Formal Methods may be used for Verification and Validation (V&V) of legacy systems without the costly risk factors enumerated above. A description of the methodologies used is provided, including a description of how the process is tailored to new acquisitions and deployments of legacy systems. The modeling was fully integrated in the rail property and contractor development processes. As each design phase progressed, the formal methods process provided an increased level of confidence with regard to safety assurance and the correctness of the system design. This was achieved by generating formal proofs for each safety critical function, and by refining these formal proofs into progressively lower-level elements. These proofs then provided criteria for design reviews, code reviews, and test scenarios. The benefits of obtaining formal, that is, mathematical, formula-based, proofs of system design and consistency is indisputable. The criteria for evaluation are objective and thorough. One need not rely on the adequacy of peer reviews and manually generated test cases. Formal Methods V&V is therefore a cost-effective process that provides proof of correctness early in the system development life-cycle.
Feasibility Assessment of the Integration of Microfluidics and NEPCM for Cooling Microelectronics Systems
Authors: Tigner Julaunica , Floyd-Smith Tamara 
Published: July 2013

The growing demand for microelectronic systems to be smaller and faster has increased the energy released by these devices in the form of heat. Microelectronic systems such as laptop computers and hand held devices are not exempted from these demands. The primary traditional technologies currently used to remove heat generated in these devices are fins and fans. In this study, traditional methods were compared to more novel methods like cooling using forced convection in microfluidic channels and stagnant nanoparticle enhanced phase change materials (NEPCM). For this study, the difference between the surface temperature of a simulated microelectronic system without any cooling and with a particular cooling method was compared for several cooling scenarios. Higher ΔT values indicate more effective cooling. The average ΔT values for fans, fins, NEPCM and microchannels with water were 2°C, 5°C, 3°C and 4°C respectively. These results suggest that, separately, microchannel cooling and NEPCM are promising methods for managing heat in microelectronic systems.
Even more interesting than NEPCM or microchannel cooling alone is the potential cooling that can be achieved by combining the two methods to achieve multimode cooling first by the phase change of the NEPCM and then by circulating the nanofluid (melted NEPCM) through microchannels. A feasibility assessment, however, reveals that the combination of the two methods is not equal to the sum of the parts due to the viscosity and associated pumping power requirements for the melted phase change material. Nonetheless, the combination of the method still holds promise as a competitive alternative to existing thermal management solutions.
Non-Equilibrium Molecular Dynamics Simulation on Thick Dependence Thermal Conductivities of Semiconductors
Authors: Li Calvin H. 
Published: July 2013

With the rapidly increasing demand for efficient, small, light, low cost, and reliable electronic devices, the nano-scale thermal transport properties of semiconductors has become a prominent focus of research. Molecular dynamic simulation has emerged as a powerful compliment to experiment and is beginning to play a crucial role in tailored material properties for improved thermal management of electronic devices.
The thermal conductivity of semiconductor has been investigated using the Stillinger-Weber (SW) and the Modified Embedded Atom Method (MEAM) potential model, the dependence of temperature, system size, and simulation time has been investigated.
We find this MEAM model to quantitatively reproduce bulk thermal conductivity predictions using the linear extrapolation method comparable to previous literature using the well studied Stillenger-Weber (SW) potential.
Effect of Interlayer Between Semiconductors on Interfacial Thermal Transport
Authors: Liang Zhi , Tsai Hai-Lung 
Published: July 2013

Due to the high surface–to–volume ratio in nanostructured components and devices, thermal transport across the solid–solid interface strongly affects the overall thermal behavior. Materials such as Si, Ge, SiO2 and GaAs are widely used in advanced semiconductor devices. These materials may have differences in both crystal structure and Debye temperature. We have shown that the thermal transport across such interfaces can be improved by inserting an interlayer between the two confining solids.
If the two confining solids are similar in crystal structure and lattice constant but different in Debye temperature, it is predicted from the molecular dynamics modeling that an over 50% reduction of the thermal boundary resistance can be achieved by inserting a 1– to 2–nm–thick interlayer which has similar crystal structure and lattice constant as the two solids. In this case, the Debye temperature of the optimized interlayer is approximately the square root of the product of the Debye temperatures of the two solids. However, if the interlayer has large lattice mismatches with the two confining solids, a thin disordered layer is formed in the solid and in the interlayer adjacent to their interface. Such a disordered layer can distort the phonon density of states at the interface and strongly affects the interfacial phonon transport. In this case, it is found that a 70% reduction of the thermal boundary resistance can be achieved if the lattice constant of the interlayer is smaller than that of the two solids and the Debye temperature of the interlayer is approximately the average of the Debye temperatures of the two solids.
On the other hand, if the two solids have a large difference in both lattice constant and Debye temperature, the optimized interlayer should have a lattice constant near the average of the lattice constants of the two solids. For this case, an over 60% reduction of the thermal boundary resistance can be achieved if the Debye temperature of the interlayer is equal to or slightly higher than the square root of the product of the Debye temperatures of the two solids. The calculated phonon density of states shows that the distorted phonon spectra induced by large lattice mismatches are generally broader than the phonon spectra of the corresponding undistorted case. The broader interfacial phonon spectra increase the overlap between the phonon spectra of the two solids at the interface which leads to improved thermal boundary transport.
Evanescent-Wave Particle Velocimetry Studies of Electrokinetically Driven Flows: Divalent Counterion Effects
Authors: Cevheri Necmettin , Yoda Minami 
Published: July 2013

Characterizing the mainly incompressible and laminar flows of aqueous electrolyte solutions through channels with an overall dimension of O(1–100 μm) is of interest in a variety of microfluidics applications. Solid surfaces such as the channel wall become (usually negatively) charged due to direct ionization or dissociation of surface groups, where the charge is typically characterized by the wall zeta-potential ζw. The surface in turn attracts mobile counterions from the fluid to form a (usually positively) charged screening, or electric double, layer (EDL).
An external electric field can therefore be used to “pump” fluids through microfluidic Labs-on-a-Chip (LOC) by driving the charged fluid in the EDL. The resulting electroosmotic flow (EOF) is uniform outside the EDL, which has a thickness less than 50 nm in most cases. This uniform flow results in a more favorable scaling of the volume flowrate with channel diameter for microchannels, and also has less convective dispersion than shear flows. Electroosmotic flow is, however, very sensitive to changes in ζw. Various studies have shown, for example, that adding multivalent counterions to a monovalent electrolyte solution can greatly change ζw through both electrostatic and chemical interactions, even leading to “charge inversion” where the zeta-potential changes its sign.
Evanescent-wave particle velocimetry, which tracks the motion of colloidal fluorescent tracer particles illuminated by evanescent waves within ∼400 nm of the wall, was therefore used to study the flow of various aqueous monovalent electrolyte solutions with small amounts of divalent cations such as Mg++ driven by an electric field through channels with a minimum dimension of ∼30 μm. The technique measures both the velocity components parallel to the wall and the steady-state distribution of these near-wall tracers. In these experiments, the tracers are convected parallel to the wall by both the EOF and directly by the applied electric field via electrophoresis because the surfaces of the particles also become negatively charged when suspended in the electrolyte solution. The electrophoretic contribution to the measured particle velocity was determined by measuring the particle zeta-potential with light scattering, and subtracted from the particle velocity to determine the actual EOF velocity.
Cleaning Up Gasification Producer Gas for Use in an IC Engine
Authors: Ginger Bradley 
Published: July 2013

A great deal of recent commercial interest in gasification technology has been centered on the idea of conditioning the producer or syn-gas generated to a level suitable for inclusion in an internal combustion (IC) engine power generation in the 3–15 MW range. Ideally the feed stocks for the gasification system should be able to encompass a variety of opportunity fuels to reduce the energy input costs to the engine. However, these opportunity fuels can cover a wide variety of potential energy sources such as refuse derived fuels, recovered plastics, and various grades of woody biomass, which can present operational challenges to the successful operation of an IC engine. Most major IC engine manufacturers have published guideline specifications for acceptable levels of particulate matter, sulfur, halogens, trace metals, and tar dew points to be maintained in handling a gasification producer gas. The requirements can be very rigorous especially in the context of variable feed mixtures and operational variations encountered in gasification of opportunity fuels. This presentation will address commercial research efforts to adapt an emerging air pollution control technology, the EISENMANN WESP-2F, as the desired technical solution for appropriately conditioning gasification producer gas to a point where inclusion in an IC engine is feasible.
Research and testing on the aforementioned system took place using a pilot sized unit operating a slipstream off a commercial sized gasifier testing a number of opportunity fuels. Technical challenges encountered and lessons learned are recounted.
Pittsfield, Massachusetts Resource Recovery Facility: Part III
Authors: Rousseau Kevin G. , Clark Llewellyn E. 
Published: July 2013

This paper reviews the thirty year operating history of the Pittsfield Resource Recovery Facility with emphasis on the fifteen year period between 1996 and 2011. It is a sequel to previous papers published by the co-author in the 1982 and 1996 Proceedings of the ASME National Waste Processing Conferences. The first of these reported on the development of the project, waste disposal and steam sales contacts (Pittsfield, Vicon and Crane & Co.), the facility and equipment design, start-up and shakedown. The latter reported on the fifteen year history of operation from 1981–1996 which included a new air pollution control system and a new owner/operator (Energy Answers Corporation, EAC).
The author was Project Manager during the latter stages of Energy Answers ownership and is now the Facility Manager of Covanta Pittsfield, which was purchased by Covanta Energy in 2007. The Pittsfield facility is the oldest Covanta Waste to Energy plant operating with the Enercon modular furnace design with separate waste heat recovery boilers.
The following topics are discussed:
• Ownership of the Pittsfield Resource Recovery Facility and revised contracts.
• Process flow, temperature profile, and control system.
• Experience and modifications of Processing Equipment.
• Materials processed, steam generated, and availability of equipment.
• Residue management.
• Installation and utilization of atmospheric discharge turbine with 860 KW generator.
• Summary of Massachusetts DEP regulations and facility emissions.
The reader’s understanding will be enhanced by reviewing the two papers identified above published in the 1982 and 1996 ASME Proceedings.
The Effect of SO2/HCl Ratio on Superheater High Temperature Corrosion
Authors: Sharobem Timothy , Castaldi Marco J. 
Published: July 2013

High temperature superheater corrosion is a major operating problem in waste-to-energy plants since it is responsible for plant shutdowns and low energy recovery. This has been largely attributed to the chloride content in municipal solid wastes and the subsequent reactions that occur with generated chlorine gas. While several methods have been developed to reduce corrosion, one which has received more interest is increasing the concentration of sulfur dioxide, SO2, in the boiler. The addition of SO2 to WTE post combustion gas streams has been shown at times to have a favorable impact on corrosion and is said to be an effective method of suppressing dioxin formation by reacting with molecular chlorine, Cl2.
The following paper is part of an ongoing work to understand the effect of the SO2/HCl ratio on the corrosion of alloys exposed to superheater temperatures and flue gas compositions. A commercial low carbon steel alloy, SA178A, was exposed under various flue gas compositions at 500°C, while varying the SO2/HCl ratio as well as the water concentration. For tests operated at 5% H2O, corrosion was reduced by more than 40% as the SO2/HCl ratio was increased from 1/8 to 5/8. These results were obtained in the absence of chloride salts, suggesting that SO2 can decrease chlorine corrosion by interacting with HCl. Tests conducted at 15% H2O however demonstrated a constant corrosion rate, with magnitudes comparable to 5% H2O at 1/8 SO2/HCl. Further work is needed to relate the SO2/HCl relationship to water and to elucidate the mechanism associated with mitigating corrosion.
Current Status of Global WTE
Authors: Themelis Nickolas J. 
Published: July 2013

This paper is based on data compiled in the course of developing, for InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB), a WTE Guidebook for managers and policymakers in the Latin America and Caribbean region. As part of this work, a list was compiled of nearly all plants in the world that thermally treat nearly 200 million tons of municipal solid wastes (MSW) and produce electricity and heat. An estimated 200 WTE facilities were built, during the first decade of the 21st century, mostly in Europe and Asia. The great majority of these plants use the grate combustion of as-received MSW and produce electricity. The dominance of the grate combustion technology is apparently due to simplicity of operation, high plant availability (>90%), and facility for training personnel at existing plants. Novel gasification processes have been implemented mostly in Japan but a compilation of all Japanese WTE facilities showed that 84% of Japan’s MSW is treated in grate combustion plants. Several small-scale WTE plants (<5 tons/hour) are operating in Europe and Japan and are based both on grate combustion and in implementing WTE projects. This paper is based on the sections of the WTE Guidebook that discuss the current use of WTE technology around the world.
Since the beginning of history, humans have generated solid wastes and disposed them in makeshift waste dumps or set them on fire. After the industrial revolution, near the end of the 18th century, the amount of goods used and then discarded by people increased so much that it was necessary for cities to provide landfills and incinerators for disposing wastes. The management of urban, or municipal, solid wastes (MSW) became problematic since the middle of the 20th century when the consumption of goods, and the corresponding generation of MSW, increased by an order of magnitude. In response, the most advanced countries developed various means and technologies for dealing with solid wastes. These range from reducing wastes by designing products and packaging, to gasification technologies. Lists of several European plants are presented that co-combust medical wastes (average of 1.8% of the total feedstock) and wastewater plant residue (average of 2% of the feedstock).
Limitations of the BP26 Protein-Based Indirect Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Diagnosis of Brucellosis
Authors: Xin Ting , Yang Hongjun , Wang Nan , Wang Fang , Zhao Peng , Wang Haiguang , Mao Kairong , Zhu Hongfei , Ding Jiabo 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT

Brucellosis is a serious zoonosis that occurs worldwide, and its diagnosis is typically based on the detection of antibodies against
Brucella
lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, the specificity of the LPS-based test is compromised by cross-reactivity with
Escherichia coli
O157:H7 and
Yersinia enterocolitica
O:9. Also, diagnosis based on the LPS test cannot differentiate between vaccinated and infected individuals. The detection of the 26-kDa cytosoluble protein (BP26) antibody is considered an alternative that circumvents these drawbacks because it is exclusively expressed by infectious
Brucella
. A BP26-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been tried for the diagnosis of
Brucella
-infected animals and humans, but a few results showed that BP26 couldn't react with all
Brucella
-positive sera. In order to explore whether different animals could produce antibodies against BP26 after being infected with various
Brucella
species, we infected sheep, goats, and beef cattle with common virulent reference
Brucella
species. All sera were collected from the experimental animals and tested using both LPS-based ELISAs and BP26-based ELISAs. The results showed that all
Brucella
-infected individuals could produce high levels of antibodies against LPS, but only
B. melitensis
16M- and
B. melitensis
M28-infected sheep and
B. melitensis
16M- and
B. abortus
2308-infected goats could produce antibodies against BP26. Therefore, we concluded that the BP26-based indirect ELISA (i-ELISA) showed both
Brucella
species and host specificity, which obviously limits its reliability as a substitute for the traditional LPS-based ELISA for the detection of brucellosis.
Comparison of the Xpert MTB/RIF and Cobas TaqMan MTB Assays for Detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Respiratory Specimens
Authors: Park Kyung Sun , Kim Ji-Youn , Lee Jung Wha , Hwang Yu-Yean , Jeon Kyeongman , Koh Won-Jung , Ki Chang-Seok , Lee Nam Yong 
Published: July 2013

ABSTRACT

The Xpert MTB/RIF assay (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA) is a fully automated, cartridge-based real-time PCR assay designed to detect
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
and rifampin resistance within 2 h. The performance of the Xpert assay has been evaluated in various clinical settings. However, there are few data comparing the Xpert assay to the Cobas TaqMan MTB test (Roche Diagnostics, Basel, Switzerland), one of the most widely utilized molecular assays for
M. tuberculosis
detection. In this prospective study, 320 consecutive respiratory specimens were processed simultaneously using acid-fast bacillus (AFB) staining, mycobacterial cultures with both solid and liquid media, and the Cobas and Xpert assays. The Xpert assay was performed with direct respiratory specimens, while the Cobas assay was done with decontaminated concentrated specimens. Based on the culture as a reference method, the overall sensitivities of the Cobas and Xpert assays were 71.4% and 67.9%, respectively. When AFB smear results were taken into consideration, the sensitivities of the Cobas assay for smear-positive and -negative specimens were 87% and 54%, while those of the Xpert assay were 67% and 69%, respectively. The Cobas assay showed 100% specificity and 100% positive predictive value (PPV) regardless of smear results, while the Xpert assay showed 100% specificity and 100% PPV for smear-positive specimens but 98% specificity and 60% PPV for smear-negative specimens. In conclusion, the Xpert assay showed performance that was slightly inferior to that of the Cobas assay but seems useful for the rapid detection of
M. tuberculosis
, considering that it was performed without laborious and time-consuming decontamination and concentration procedures.