omniomni/omni-engineering huggingface dataset:
Helium analyzer. A Helium analyzer is an instrument used to identify the presence and concentration of helium in a mixture of gases. In Technical diving where breathing gas mixtures known as Trimix comprising oxygen, helium and nitrogen are used, it is necessary to know the fraction of helium in the mixture to reliably calculate decompression schedules for dives using that mixture.

Thermal conductivity principle

Portable instruments for the analysis of helium content of breathing gas mixtures may be based on a thermal conductivity sensor (katharometer). These sensors  can be very stable and maintenance free and also highly reliable and accurate.

A typical thermal helium analyser comprises two chambers, each with an identical thermal conductivity sensor. One chamber is sealed and is filled with pure helium as the reference gas, and the other receives the sample gas. The difference in thermal conductivity of the reference and sample gases is measured and converted into a concentration value by the electronic circuitry in the instrument. The system is inherently stable and when precise temperature compensation is made, the system is more than adequately accurate for breathing gas analysis. Accuracy and display precision is typically within 0.1%, and accuracy within 1% is considered sufficient for most decompression algorithms.

The thermal conductivity of nitrogen and oxygen are very similar, and that of helium very different so that the ratio of oxygen and nitrogen in the mix is relatively unimportant, and need not be compensated. This allows a direct reading of helium fraction from these instruments. However, for greater accuracy and compensation to oxygen cross-sensitivity, some instruments include an oxygen cell, and in these cases can generally give a full helium and oxygen analysis of the mixture simultaneously.

Speed of sound principle
Helium content may also be determined on the basis of measuring the speed of sound in the analyzed gas mixture. The speed of sound depends on the mixture of gases and the temperature of the mix; in the analysis of trimix the speed of sound can be described by a non-linear function of temperature,
oxygen content and helium content, and thus the content of helium can be determined by measuring the speed of sound through the mix, the temperature of the mix and its oxygen content.

See also

References

External links

Breathing gases
Underwater diving safety
Measurement
Diving support equipment
Union G.I. The Union G.I was a bomber aircraft designed and built in Germany from 1914.

Union-Flugzeugwerke 
Founded in 1912, the Union-Flugzeugwerke G.m.b.H. was founded at Teltow near Berlin by Karl Bomhard, who had previously participated in the design of the Lohner arrow-biplanes (Pfeilflieger) in Austria. Joined by Dr. Josef Sablatnig and Georg Konig, the Union Flugzeugbau constructed the Union arrow-biplanes based on Bomhard's designs form his time at Lohner. One of these aircraft won three world-altitude records with passengers for Germany in 1913.

Union G.I development
Union engineers Baurat Rittberger and Karl Schopper began the design of a large four-engined bomber in 1914, classified in the Grossflugzeug category because the engines could not be serviced in flight. Constructed of wood with fabric covering, (some parts may have been plywood covered) and wire bracing. The tail unit comprised a single tailplane with elevator with a single fin carrying a rudder and two auxiliary rudders at approx half tailplane span.

At the successful Idflieg inspection on 13 April 1915, the airframe construction was described as good but the low cruising and maximum speeds were criticised as well as the disappointing useful load. Flight trials began in May 1915 but the first G.I was damaged and there is no evidence of further flying.

The second G.I named  "Marga-Emmy"  was ordered by Daimler to allow them to rapidly enter the aircraft market. The strengthened second G.I, stationed at Schneidemuhl, flew soon after but was destroyed just before landing on 1 September 1915 after experiencing extreme vibrations from the engines during flight. Development continued as the Daimler R.I but on 1 August 1916 the Union-Flugzeugwerke went into liquidation and its assets were taken over by the Norddeutsche Flugzeugwerke, which spent the remainder of the war years repairing aircraft.

Specifications (Union G.I)

See also

References

Further reading

1910s German bomber aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1915
Space Launching System. The Space Launching System, or Space Launcher System, (SLS), was a 1960s-era design program of the US Air Force for a family of launch vehicles based around a set of common components. After a series of studies in the late 1950s, the Air Force had concluded that the maximum efficiency would be gained by using only liquid hydrogen fuel for upper stages, which demanded the use of boosters based on segmented solid fuel rockets. By combining one of three upper stages with three different diameters of solids built to any length needed, the SLS provided wide flexibility in launch capability.

The SLS was one of two programs being designed at different divisions within the Air Force, with the ultimate aim of providing the launch services for the X-20 Dyna Soar crewed spaceplane. Its competition was an upgraded version of the Titan I with a new upper stage that produced the Titan C concept. In the end, neither SLS or Titan C would be developed, in its place the new Titan III was selected, combining the new missile of the Titan C with the solid boosters of the SLS.

The SLS was also needed for the Lunex Project, a proposed human lunar landing in 1967.

The replacing Titan III was more formally known as Program 624A (SSLS), Standard Space Launch System, Standardized Space Launch System, Standardized Space Launching System or Standard Space Launching System.

See also
List of space launch system designs
Aerojet M-1
Lunex Project

References

External links
SLS on Astronautix

Cancelled space launch vehicles
Space launch vehicles of the United States
Equipment of the United States Air Force
Contour trenching. Contour trenching (a.k.a., Continuous Contour Trench or CCT) is an agricultural technique that can be easily applied in arid sub-Sahara areas to allow for water, and soil conservation, and to increase agricultural production.

Between two trenches crops can benefit during the growing season (when there is less rain) from the subsoil water reserve gathered during the rainy season.

Advantages
Immediate advantages are the following:
The rain water does not immediately run off the hill,
Water does not evaporate uselessly
The water balance is enhanced
Crops do not suffer later on from water shortage,
Fertile soil particles are not lost by water and wind erosion.
When the sun shines on the water, light and heat are reflected onto plants on the northern shore of the trench, this effect and the increased humidity create micro climates in the area. These micro climates can support plants from different hardiness zones.

Techniques
Trenches can be artificially dug along the contour lines, across the slope so that water flowing down the hill is retained by the trench, and is infiltrating the soil below.

Implementation
Depending on the slope of the hill, the parallel trenches can be closer or further from one another.

Manually dug trenches are smaller. Machine dug trenches can be deeper. The dimensions, and the format of the trench should correspond to the local climate and soil conditions. The trench should be big enough to keep all the water; no water should spoil over the downhill border. The upside of the trench should be protected against erosion, by means of e.g. grass, shrubs, or fabric.

See also
Swale (landform)
Keyline design
Terrace (agriculture)
Groundwater recharge
Hydrology (agriculture)
Infiltration (hydrology)

References

Water conservation
Desert greening
Physical geography
Irrigation
Soil
US Aviation Cloud Dancer. The US Aviation Cloud Dancer is an American ultralight motorglider that was designed by Erwin Rodger and Roger Delura and produced by US Aviation. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

Design and development
The Cloud Dancer was designed to be a motorglider that would also comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a cantilever mid-wing, a single-seat, open cockpit, conventional landing gear, a V-tail and a single engine in pusher configuration.

The aircraft is made from aluminum and fiberglass. Its  span wing with a 12:1 aspect ratio is built around an aluminum D-cell leading edge, with the aft part of the wing fabric is supported by removable fiberglass battens. The wing fabric provides an 80% double surface airfoil. The controls are three-axis, using spoilerons for roll control. Air brakes are also fitted. The landing gear features fiberglass suspension and the tailwheel is steerable. The wings are quickly removable and the whole aircraft was designed to be transported on the roof of a 1980s-era station wagon, taking 20 minutes to assemble or disassemble. The standard engine supplied was the  Rotax 277 single cylinder, two-stroke aircraft engine.

Production ended in 1994 and the conventional-tailed, but otherwise similar US Aviation Cumulus commenced production in 1995.

Specifications (Cloud Dancer)

References

1980s United States ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1983
Mid-wing aircraft
Motor gliders
W. T. I. Alagaratnam. Winslow Thambiah Ivers Alagaratnam, OBE, MICE, MIWE  (12 March 1895 – 1977) was a leading Ceylon Tamil civil engineer and Director of Irrigation in Ceylon.

Early life
Alagaratnam was born on 12 March 1895. He was educated in British Ceylon before going to Madras from where he obtained a degree in civil engineering.

Alagaratnam married Daisy Anketell. They had three daughters - Chandra, Pathmini and Kamalini.

Career
After graduating Alagaratnam returned to Ceylon and joined the Irrigation Department in 1921 as an Assistant Irrigation Engineer. He was the first qualified Ceylonese engineer to join the department. In 1934 he became the first Ceylonese to be appointed Irrigation Engineer. He was promoted to Divisional Engineer in 1943. In 1952 he became the first Ceylonese to be appointed Director of Irrigation. He held the post until his retirement in 1955. Alagaratnam later served as Director of the Water Resources Board.

In the 1954 New Year Honours Alagaratnam was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

Alagaratnam died in 1977.

References

1895 births
1973 deaths
Ceylonese Officers of the Order of the British Empire
People from British Ceylon
Sri Lankan Tamil people
Sri Lankan civil engineers
Towle Marine Aircraft Engineering. Towle Marine Aircraft Engineering Company  was an American aircraft manufacturer of light amphibious aircraft.

The short lived Towle Marine Aircraft Engineering Company, and its successor Towle Aircraft Company were founded by former Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company engineer Thomas Towle initially to build a custom round-the world amphibious aircraft, and follow-on aircraft based on the design.

In a 1930 patent, Towle listed the Towle Aircraft Company as part of the Michigan Amphibian Airplane Corporation.

At the height of the depression, financing was difficult. Towle's TA-3 used diesel engines on loan from Packard, and was funded by Dr. Adams, a "painless dentist" of the Detroit region.

Aircraft

References

Defunct aircraft manufacturers of the United States
Towle WC. The Towle WC, or Towle TA-1, was a custom built aircraft for a 1929 round-the world flight.

Design and development
Thomas Towle was an engineer who had been involved with many early aircraft designs. Having just co-designed the Eastman-E2 Sea Rover, Towle was commissioned by Henry McCarroll to promote Detroit's aviation production capabilities.

The WC was a flying boat with an aluminum hull. The strut braced parasol wing was fabric covered.

Operational history
The prototype WC flew as far as Brazil before engine reliability issues forced the cancellation of the round-the-world flight attempt.

Variants
 Towle TA-2 Was built as a successor to the WC model

Specifications (Towle WC)

References

Amphibious aircraft
Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear
Twin piston-engined tractor aircraft
Towle TA-2. The Towle TA-2 was an amphibious aircraft based on the T owle WC built for a 1929 round-the world flight.

Development
Thomas Towle was an engineer that had been involved with many early aircraft designs. Having just co-designed the Eastman E-2 Sea Rover and the Towle WC, Towle found funding to create a new entity, the Towle Aircraft Company to produce the TA-2.

Design
The TA-2 featured a corrugated aluminum hull. The wings were all metal with internal stiffeners, rather than ribs, based loosely on the Ford Trimotor, which Towle worked on previously. The twin Wright R-540 engines sat on small pylons on top of the shoulder mounted wing. Two floats were mounted directly below the engine pylons which incorporated the hydraulically actuated landing gear. The prototype was originally designed for 165 hp Wright 540 engines.

Operational history
The TA-2 was tested in Lake St. Clair on 7 November 1929 by test pilot George Pond and James Bradley. It broke up on takeoff and sank to the bottom of the lake. The aircraft appears to have been rebuilt as a Towle TA-2 and was reported to have visited Lympne Airport, Kent, United Kingdom in February 1930. The wing from the prototype was salvaged and used on the next iteration, the Towle TA-3.

Variants
 Towle WC The basis for the TA-2

Specifications

See also

References

Amphibious aircraft
Towle TA-3. The Towle TA-3 was an amphibious aircraft based on the Towle TA-2.

Development
Thomas Towle was an engineer that had been involved with many early aircraft designs. Having just co-designed the Eastman E-2 Sea Rover. The TA-3 was a six-seat follow-on to the Towle TA-2 which crashed on its first flight. The wing from the TA-2 prototype was salvaged and reused on the TA-3.

Design
The TA-3 featured two diesel radial engines on tall struts above the wings. Diesel engines were relatively new and were touted as being safer because they used a less volatile fuel than gasoline. The engines were provided on loan from the Packard Motor Car Company. The salvaged all-metal wing featured internal bracing based on the Ford Trimotor design that Towle had worked on previously. The tail used two rudders placed in the slipstream of the engines.

Operational history
The prototype was built at Grosse Ile Municipal Airport and first flew in May 1930 piloted by George Pond. The prototype was leased to Kohler Airlines for two years before being flipped in a gear-down water landing in 1932. The aircraft was later sold and used in running liquor from the Bahamas to Florida during prohibition until it was destroyed in a storm at Bimini Island.

Specifications (Towle TA-3)

References

External links
Images of the Towle TA-3:-

Amphibious aircraft
Albatros G.I. The Albatros G.I (post-war company designation L.4) was a four-engined German biplane bomber of World War I.

Development
Founded on 27 April 1914 the Ostdeutsche Albatroswerke G.m.b.H. at Schneidemühl by
Otto Wiener and Dr. Walter Huth, the OAW maintained close ties with Albatros, remaining an independent
company until October 1917. The majority of  OAWs work involved licence manufacture of products from the parent Albatros company.

Given the company designation L4, one of the few homegrown designs was the Albatros G.I a four-engined heavy bomber inspired by the Sikorsky Ilya Muromets. The G.I was of typical construction for 1915, with wooden structure, wire-braced and covered with fabric and four engines mounted in nacelles on the lower wing upper surface.

First flown on 31 January 1916 by Alexander Hipleh, flight trials revealed not only poor flying qualities, but also poor performance, which resulted in further development being abandoned. The later G.II and G.III were not directly related to the G.I, being twin-engined, a lot lighter and having completely different wing designs.

Specifications (G.I)

See also

References

Bibliography

G.I
1910s German bomber aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1916
Pedro Gamboni. Pedro Gamboni (September 26, 1825 - December 27, 1895) was a Chilean chemical engineer who did important studies related to saltpeter and iodine in the regions of Tarapaca and Antofagasta.Gamboni invented a new method to extract nitrate from caliche leading to the phasing out of the older firewood and labour intensive paradas method in the 1850s.

References

1825 births
1895 deaths
Chilean chemical engineers
Saltpeter works in Chile
Chilean inventors
19th-century engineers
Intermat. INTERMAT (formerly EXPOMAT) is an international exhibition of equipment, machinery and techniques for the construction and materials industries, held every three years in Paris. The exhibition is organised by CISMA and Seimat, French professional trade unions for the equipment industry, together with Comexposium, a French trade show organiser.

History 
The exhibition was initially held at the Paris – Le Bourget Airport, and known as EXPOMAT. In 1988, it moved to the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte and was renamed INTERMAT.

Several manufacturers display their construction machinery and equipment in an outdoor demonstration area called INTERMAT Demo, where they can demonstrate machinery and equipment performance in simulated working conditions. The programme includes demonstrations of site machinery: backhoe loaders, mechanical diggers, mini-excavators, loaders and graders.

Construction equipment manufacturers who showcase their products at the exhibition include Caterpillar, Komatsu, Hitachi, Volvo, Liebherr, JCB, Bobcat Company, Haulotte Group, Case New Holland, John Deere, and Michelin.

References 

 Bilan d'Intermat 2012 Forum Chantiers (Publié le 18/07/2012)
 Bilan d'Intermat : un baromètre de la croissance rassurant pour 2012 BFM Business  (Publié le 02/05/2012)
 BILAN D’INTERMAT 2012 Les Routiers
 15,8% de visiteurs en plus lors d’Intermat 2012 Le Moniteur.fr (Publié le 23/04/2012)

Exhibitions
Trade fairs in France
Vale Railway. The Vale Railway (reporting mark VAEX), formerly the INCO Railway (reporting mark INCX), is an industrial railway operating in the City of Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.  It is owned and operated by Vale Limited.

An internal, private railway, the line connects Vale's mines and processing plants that dominates the city's skyline.  The line serves Copper Cliff North Mine, Copper Cliff South Mine, Creighton Mine, Frood Mine, Stobie Mine, Clarabelle Mill, Copper Cliff Smelter, and Copper Cliff Nickel Refinery.  The isolated Levack mine spur in the north end of the city serves Coleman Mine and is operated by the Canadian Pacific Railway.

The line was once entirely electrified along its route. Electrification began in 1926, but ended in 2000 in favour of diesel locomotives.

The following junctions exist with the line:
 Canadian Pacific Cartier Subdivision at Sprecher (MP 81.7) where loaded ore cars from Coleman Mine are delivered
 Canadian Pacific Cartier Subdivision at Levack (MP 102.5) where empty ore cars from Clarabelle Mill are delivered
 Canadian Pacific Nickel Subdivision at Clarabelle (MP 3.3) where freight is exchanged with both the Canadian Pacific Railway and the Canadian National Railway
 Canadian Pacific Webbwood Subdivision (leased to Huron Central) at Copper Cliff (MP 4.8)

Locomotive roster
VAEX rosters 8 re-manufactured EMD GP38-4M locomotives for use on ore trains from the mines, slag trains from the smelter, or for local plant switching of various chemicals and products. These locomotives have upgraded electrical systems and are set up for remote operation.

References

Further reading

External links

 Inco Rail History
 Railways of Sudbury 

Ontario railways
Industrial railways in Canada
Rail transport in Greater Sudbury
Seahawk Condor. The Seahawk Condor is an American ultralight aircraft that was designed by Buddy Head, Bob Carswell and Dave French and produced by Seahawk Industries and later by Condor Aircraft. The aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.

Design and development
The aircraft was designed to comply with the US FAR 103 Ultralight Vehicles rules, including the category's maximum empty weight of . The aircraft has a standard empty weight of . It features a cable-braced high-wing, open cockpit, tricycle landing gear and a single engine in pusher configuration. The aircraft closely resembles the contemporary Quicksilver MX.

The aircraft is made from bolted-together aluminum tubing, with the wings and tail surfaces covered in Dacron sailcloth. Its  span wing is cable-braced from a single tube kingpost. The landing gear does not incorporate suspension. The standard powerplant supplied was the Kawasaki 440 which produces . The aircraft has a power-off glide ratio of 7:1.

The reported assembly time from the factory-supplied kit is 75 hours.

The aircraft was produced in two versions, the Condor II and III.

Variants
Condor II
Basic single seat model
Condor III
Two seats in side-by-side configuration model with structurally strengthening. The Condor III employs a benchseat and a single shared set of controls and so can be used by heavier pilots as well as for training.

Specifications (Condor III)

References

1980s United States ultralight aircraft
Homebuilt aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Eastman E-2 Sea Rover. The Eastman E-2 Sea Rover, also called the Beasley-Eastman E-2 Sea Rover, was a light seaplane built in the late 1920s for business and shuttle use.

Development

The E-2 was designed by former Ford engineer Thomas Towle for industrialist Jim Eastman of Eastman Laboratories. Towle was in the process of starting his own company, the Towle Marine Aircraft Engineering to produce his twin-engine amphibian design, the Towle WC. Eastman founded the Eastman Aircraft Corporation of Detroit to build the E-2 

The prototype E-2 was flown with a single  Anzani 6 engine. The production model was outfitted with a  Warner Scarab. The E-2 received type certificate #338 on 17 July 1930  By the end of 1929 Eastman Aircraft had been merged into the Detroit Aircraft Corporation.

Design
The E-2 used a wooden hull with aluminium cladding. The aircraft used a parasol wing supported by large V-struts with secondary lower shoulder wings with tip floats at the ends. The single engine was mounted in the center of the wing root of the upper wing with a rear teardrop fairing.

Variants
E-2 Sea Rover
Flying boat powered variously by,  Anzani 6,  Warner Scarab and other engines of similar power. Eighteen aircraft were built
E-2A Sea Pirate
Two E-2 flying boats converted to amphibians, powered by  Curtiss Challenger engines.
E-2D Sea Pirate
A single E-2 flying boat, converted to amphibian, powered by a  Packard DR-980 diesel radial engine.

Operators
Gorst Air Transport operated one E-2 from 1929-1930.

Aircraft on display
An E-2 is on display at the British Columbia Aviation Museum. It is a composite made up of the wreckages three E-2s recovered throughout British Columbia.

Specifications (Eastman E-2 Sea Rover)

References

Bibliography

External links

No. 9096. Eastman E-2 Sea Rover (NC466M c/n 11)

Flying boats
1920s United States civil aircraft
E-2
Sesquiplanes
Single-engined tractor aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 1928
Ceresin. Ceresin (also cerin, cerasin, cerosin, ceresin wax or ceresine) is a wax derived from ozokerite by a purifying process.

The purifying process of the ozokerite commonly comprises a treatment with heat and sulfuric acid, but other processes are also in use.

Uses include:

 An alternative to beeswax in ointments
 (Historic) laboratory-supply bottles for small amounts of hydrofluoric acid, which were made of ceresin wax; this was before polyethylene became commonplace.

External links
 AKROCHEM® CERESIN WAX, Akrochem product information

Waxes