Technology Today (ISSN 1528-431X) is published three times each year and distributed free of charge. The publication discusses some of the more than 1,000 research and development projects under way at Southwest Research Institute. The materials in Technology Today may be used for educational and informational purposes by the public and the media. Credit to Southwest Research Institute should be given. This authorization does not extend to property rights such as patents. Commercial and promotional use of the contents in Technology Today without the express written consent of Southwest Research Institute is prohibited. The information published in Technology Today does not necessarily reflect the position or policy of Southwest Research Institute or its clients, and no endorsements should be made or inferred. Address correspondence to the editor, Department of Communications, Southwest Research Institute, P.O. Drawer 28510, San Antonio, Texas 782280510, or e-mail jfohn@swri.org. To be placed on the mailing list or to make address changes, call (210) 522-2257 or fax (210) 522-3547.
Since its founding in 1947, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has contributed to the advancement of science and technology by working with clients in industry and government. Performing research for the benefit of humankind is a long-held tradition. As part of that tradition, and as a unique characteristic of the Institute, intellectual property rights arising from sponsored research at the Institute often are assigned to the client. SwRI generally retains the rights to Institute-funded advancements. The Institute comprises 11 divisions engaged in contract research spanning a wide range of technologies.
Southwest Research Institute on the Internet: www.swri.org
C OVER A RTICLES
About the cover:
To demonstrate the viability of performing seismology on asteroid 433 Eros, Southwest Research Institute scientists performed computations of impactor and explosive sources on local, high-resolution meshes (background) and transferred the resulting stress waves to a full model of the asteroid (foreground). The article on Page 2 describes the techniques used and presents computation results.
2 Cracking a Cosmic Mystery
Seismology offers clues to the interiors of asteroids.
8 On Track Toward Cleaner Large Engines
New emissions reduction strategies focus on locomotives and ferry boats.
12
Secure Locations, Secure Medications
Advanced information technology provides prescription for rising healthcare costs.
16 New Life for Aging Systems
Re-engineering helps keep the Atmospheric Early Warning System vital in a new century.
Cracking a Cosmic Mystery
Seismology offers clues to the interiors of asteroids
By
uppose your grandparents had a beautiful, shiny, black, rock sphere sitting on their mantle when you were a child. Every time you saw it, you wondered if it were hollow on the inside, but they never let you touch it. Years later, you are going through your parents’attic and find the orb. You hold it up to the light, tap and shake it, but still can’t tell what’s inside. Can you tell without cutting it open?
While you ask yourself this question, you might wonder how the scientific community would address this problem. There are two basic approaches, similar to your initial attempts: electromagnetic waves that reach inside the orb (“holding it up to the light”) or mechanical sound waves that pass through the orb (“tapping and shaking”). Both techniques would work to help you get some idea of what is inside.
Near-Earth objects are those that pass close to Earth’s orbit. Near-Earth asteroids are formally defined as asteroids whose closest approach to the Sun is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). An AU equals the distance of the Earth from the Sun. Of three groups of asteroids that fall within the NEO classification, two cross Earth’s orbit (Atens and Apollos) and a third is Earthapproaching (Amors).
Shown are the orbits of each asteroid group’s namesake asteroid, including two of interest to SwRI for particular missions: 433 Eros (an Amor) and 4015 WilsonHarrington (an Apollo).
Your predicament is similar to the one astronomers and planetary scientists face when they try to determine the internal structure of celestial bodies. Unfortunately, many bodies of interest are pretty big, so it is unlikely that electromagnetic waves would work because the waves are absorbed by large amounts of matter. Thus, sound waves are the technique of choice. Seismology — the study of sound waves in the Earth — has yielded all the information we have about the Earth’s internal structure.
The Threat of Impact
SwRI scientists are very interested in learning more about comets and asteroids and are evaluating the use of seismology as an investigative tool. Initial work to quantify a seismology mission to an asteroid was
performed through SwRI’s internal research program and is now being funded by NASA.
The internal structure of nearby asteroids and comets could have direct relevance to life on Earth. How? Many believe that an asteroid or comet could hit Earth, just as the pieces of comet ShoemakerLevy 9 hit Jupiter in 1994. The largest piece of the comet was estimated to be one to two kilometers across. It impacted at 60 km/s (135,000 mph). Soot impact marks in the clouds of Jupiter were the diameter of Earth.
One kilometer is not large as far as near-Earth objects (NEOs) go. Currently some 700 objects have been identified in near-Earth space that are one kilometer across or larger. Families of asteroids, such as the Atens and Apollos, cross Earth’s orbit
and have the potential, at some time, to pass very close to us. Because of this, there is considerable concern that such a body could hit Earth. Based on Jupiter’s experience with impacts, there is reason to be concerned. The U.S. Congress has mandated that 90 percent of NEOs with diameters of one kilometer or greater be found and catalogued by 2008.
Suppose an object is on a collision course for Earth. What can be done about it? The two general ideas are either to move it (change its orbit) or to break it into pieces and spread the pieces apart. To do either requires knowledge of the composition and structure of the object. It is straightforward to push a solid rock — just attach some rocket engines to it. But how do you push a massive piece of cotton candy? If an asteroid is a huge pile of rocks, the best bet may be to blow the rocks apart so that the pieces drift away from each other, some missing Earth and others spreading out enough to avoid causing great damage when they strike. But to accomplish this, the right tools and the right plan are needed.
Scientists at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) are focusing on characterizing the interior structure and composition of NEOs through seismology, addressing three key topics: how to create the mechanical seismic waves, how to measure the waves after they have traversed the body and how to interpret what is measured.
Internal Structure of Asteroids and Comets
Very little is known about the internal structure of comets and asteroids. Asteroids are thought to be mostly rock. Most meteorites are thought to come from asteroids, and the meteorites recovered on Earth are all rocky: carbonaceous, stony or nickeliron in composition. An asteroid’s density can range quite a lot, from that of water to that of iron.
What is an asteroid made of and what is its density? It is possible to estimate the mass of an asteroid by flying past it, and to get a very accurate value for the mass by going into orbit around it (some asteroids come in pairs, so we can estimate their mass by the time it takes for them to orbit each other).
So far, a spacecraft has orbited only one asteroid: the near-Earth asteroid 433 Eros. Eros is potato shaped, roughly 33 by 13 by 13 km (20.5 by 8 by 8 miles). Based
Dr. Walter F. Huebner, left, is an SwRI technical advisor and retired Institute scientist in the Space Science and Engineering Division. He is an internationally recognized scientist in the fields of opacity and comet physics and chemistry. He is originator and co-developer of the Astrophysical Opacity Library that has been used by astrophysicists worldwide. Asteroid (7921) Huebner is named in his honor. Dr. James D. Walker, right, a staff scientist in the Engineering Dynamics Department of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Division, focuses on impact physics. His interests include the mechanical response of systems and materials, and his work includes and combines large-scale numerical simulations, analytical techniques and experiments. He authored the chapter “Impact Modeling” in Volume 2 of the report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board.
on the orbital velocity, the mass of the asteroid is 6.7 x 1015 kg and its density is estimated to be 2.7 g/cm3; therefore, Eros is thought to be a stony asteroid.
However, there is still much that isn’t known about Eros or other asteroids. Is it a solid piece of rock? Is it a collection of a small number of large pieces? Is it a loose collection of boulders that hold together through a weak gravitational pull but are coated by a layer of dust so that it appears to be one body? These scenarios are all possible. Current thinking leans towards a collection of large pieces.
There is a strong argument that, except for very small asteroids (less than
200 meters across), all asteroids are made of pieces. Some small asteroids rotate fast, but no large asteroids do. The rotational velocities of objects greater than 200 meters across appear to be small enough that gravity, minute though it is for these bodies, is sufficient to hold the object together. If there were large asteroids that were one large solid piece of rock, one would think that at least a few of them would be rotating fast, but none has been observed. Comet nuclei are composed mostly of ice and dust. Their densities could be quite low (less than that of water) and their structure could range from that of a porous, fluffy snowball to a solid piece of ice.
To date, the internal structure of asteroids is only a matter of speculation, as no space missions have carried out seismology or radiotomography of an asteroid. Some possibilities are that the interiors could be solid, solid with major fractures, rubble piles covered with dust or a conglomeration of gravel.
Seismology in the Cosmos
Seismology has been successfully used in the past on two bodies beyond Earth: the moon and the Sun. (In 1976, the Viking landers carried seismometers to Mars, but there were equipment and interpretation difficulties.)
SolidSolid with Major Fracture Rubble Pile (Covered with Dust) Gravel Conglomeration
James D. Walker, Ph.D., and Walter F. Huebner, Ph.D.
Seismology studies from the Apollo missions were very successful. Passive seismometers were placed on the moon on four Apollo missions — 12, 14, 15 and 16 — and active seismographic experiments were conducted on Apollo 14, 16 and 17. There are two sources of human-made seismic signals: explosives and impactors. The Apollo missions used both. The impactors were the Saturn IVB upper-stage rocket body and the Lunar Module ascent stage. By the end of the Apollo program, nine spacecraft impacts had been recorded seismically. In addition to the impacts, three Apollo missions included direct active seismological experiments using explosives as a source. Apollo 14 and 16 carried an extremely successful handheld thumper the astronauts placed on the lunar
SwRI researchers are proposing that seismology be performed on asteroids to determine their internal structure. Seismometers would be transported to the asteroid and attached to the surface. A seismic disturbance could be produced by impacting the surface of the asteroid at high speed or by detonating a small explosive charge at the surface.
surface to produce small disturbances and obtain sound speeds through the lunar surface’s regolith (soil). Both missions carried mortar packages — each containing four grenades — that were placed on the moon, though they were not used on Apollo 14. Also extremely successful was Apollo 17’s active seismology experiment involving the placement of explosives by the astronauts. Helioseismology is performed through optical observation of the surface of the Sun rather than the mechanical seismometers that were used on the moon and would be used on a comet or asteroid. The Sun is constantly churning, producing enough noise that the globe continuously rings. Many frequencies at which it naturally oscillates (“normal modes”) have been determined.
Seismic Sources: Experiments and Computations
Nature produces seismic waves for studies of the Earth and moon through earthquakes and moonquakes. Humanmade seismic sources are explosives and impactors. To determine what to use, it is important to quantify impactors and explosives as a seismic source — that is, how much of a signal is produced by a given charge and how much is produced by an impact?
SwRI researchers developed a technique to directly compare the loads produced by impactors and explosives in different configurations. The technique uses what seismologists refer to as the seismic moment tensor to quantify the outward radial load generated in the plane of the surface, and the downward momentum into the body to quantify the downward load produced at the surface.
To simulate the seismological event, the initial loading of the surface by the impactor or explosive source is modeled in an Eulerian code that allows for large deformation. The results for the source loading are then transferred to a Lagrangian code that assumes small deformation to more efficiently and accurately study the seismic waves as they travel through the whole body and reflect off the outer surface and internal boundaries. The series, at zero, 100 and 200 microseconds, displays an Eulerian computation of the motion within an asteroid resulting from the impact of a 100-gram copper sphere on the surface at 1 kilometer per second. These motions are then transferred to the larger computation of the full asteroid.
In SwRI studies, direct comparisons were performed between impactors and explosives. In particular, the role of explosive placement was studied, such as how much is gained by placing the explosive source into the surface rather than just sitting on top. Impactor speed also was studied. In addition to this, researchers experimented with explosives to confirm the computational results, with the explosive placed at various depths into the surface.
Embedding the explosive increased the downward momentum by 40 percent, but more strikingly, it increased the radial moment term by a factor of 5. Thus, there are large gains made relative to the seismic load by placing the charge deeper within the target. Unfortunately, remotely placing a charge at depth requires additional equipment. Thus, for a space mission there are tradeoffs to be studied.
Also, it was shown that often it is possible to design an impactor that produces a seismic pulse indistinguishable from a given explosive configuration. Thus, impactors are a quantifiable seismic source. Again, it comes down to mission tradeoffs as to which will be used.
The cost for either explosives or impactors as seismic sources is the cost of the space mission to move material to the NEO site. The explosives must be softlanded. Because of the soft landing, the explosive location would be precisely known. Knowing the exact location of the source aids in solving the inverse problem of determining wave speeds and their domains within the asteroid or comet body. Impacting projectiles could be at
any obtainable velocity. However, at higher velocities there is more uncertainty as to the impact point, so guidance and navigation of the impactor become of prime importance.
From a mission point of view, it takes time to deploy the seismometers, and it is desirable to have a large amount of time between impacts or explosive events so that the asteroid or comet body can be allowed to stop vibrating, reducing background noise and making it much easier to identify the seismic motion caused by the source.
Seismic Waves, Ringing Spheres and Eros
Researchers will understand the interior structure of the asteroid through analyzing the arrival of seismic waves at the seismometers after they have passed through the asteroid body and perhaps reflected off the far side, an internal fracture surface or an internal surface where there is a change in material from one side to the other. Seismograms on Earth are studied and analyzed in just this fashion to determine properties and internal structure.
Another approach to the seismic analysis of a small body is to use a charge or impact to excite the normal modes and then examine the frequencies. On Earth it takes a huge earthquake to excite low frequency normal modes. On an asteroid it
To date, seismology has been successfully applied to two celestial objects: the moon and the Sun. Both active and passive seismic experiments were flown on the Apollo lunar missions. Apollo 14 (far left and top inset) and 16 used a handheld thumper to seismically study the surface regolith; Apollo 17 (bottom inset) left behind lunchboxsize explosive charges that were detonated after the astronauts departed for Earth. Seismology on the Sun is performed through telescope optical measurements of surface motions.
will be possible to do so with a human-made source. Though it has been demonstrated mathematically that one cannot “hear the shape of a drum,” the observed outer geometry combined with determining the vibrational frequencies of a cohesive body will provide considerable information about its interior structure and properties.
SwRI researchers have directly shown that the seismic analysis of the normal modes of an asteroid can reveal details about its internal structure. To verify the technique, researchers applied this approach to a computer simulation of an 11-km rock sphere and compared the vibrational frequencies to those produced by an analytic solution. For the low-frequency modes, the frequencies were within 1 percent of the expected values. With the technique verified, using NASAfunding, SwRI scientists carried out a conceptual seismic study of Eros, a nearEarth asteroid that was visited by the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) spacecraft in February 2001. SwRI researchers took surface data geometry from the NEAR mission and constructed a threedimensional solid model of the asteroid. Two versions of the model were then produced — one where the material was homogeneous throughout the interior and a second that contained a large crack. Eulerian computations were performed of an explosive seismic source on a surface
D014196
D014195
D014197
with hypothetical material properties for Eros. The load (tangential moment and downward momentum) was computed and transferred to the Lagrangian code that contained the full Eros model, the seismic computation was computed for Eros with the Lagrangian code and the data from the seismometers were then analyzed to determine the frequencies of the normal modes.
For the two different Eros interiors these frequencies were different, showing that seismology can differentiate between an Eros with and without a cracked interior. Thus, seismology can help us understand the internal structure of this asteroid in particular, and asteroids in general.
Most theories regarding comet origins imply that comets are very low-density
Knowing the frequencies at which a body naturally wants to vibrate (normal modes) is one approach to reconstructing the interior geometry and material properties of an asteroid. Large-scale numerical techniques must be used for complicated bodies, such as an asteroid. To verify the technique, seismological computations were performed for an 11-km rock sphere and compared with an analytical solution. The result chart (above) labels the peaks. Agreement between theory and simulation is within 1 percent for the low-frequency modes.
bodies composed mainly of ice and dust. It is reasonable to wonder whether a seismology approach might yield information for such bodies. SwRI scientists performed a low-density aluminum foam test. The foam was 6 percent the theoretical density, or 0.16 g/cm3. Computations again agreed very well with tests. The computations allowed scientists to determine the size of the signal had solid aluminum rather than foam been tested. Passage through the foam reduced the amplitude of the signal by a factor of 100. This result implies that there is considerable question as to how much signal could be sensed if the comet body was of very low density.
Seismometers
Two questions arise with regard to seismometers for an asteroid or comet. How sensitive must they be? And, how should they be attached to the surface? Essentially, seismometers exist — and are light enough for space missions — that can detect the small accelerations and ground motions relevant to the seismology problem on a small body with a small source. Readings on an asteroid or comet seismology mission would be of surface motions less than Earth’s background noise. Seismometers have been built for space applications with reasonably small masses (less than 0.5 kg or one pound) and volumes with the required sensitivities. Scientists at SwRI are currently looking into MEMs-related seismometers and accelerometers that have been developed for other applications and applying them to seismometry on asteroids and comets. Of great concern is how to attach the seismometer to the asteroid or comet surface so that the required mechanical measurements can be made. For all seismometers used to date, the attachment has always been with friction and gravity; however, for a small body, its
gravity is likely to be insufficient to maintain good enough frictional contact with the surface material to allow measurement of ground motion. Work is ongoing at the Institute to examine attachment methods, such as spikes embedded into the surface or fluids released onto the surface that harden to produce a footprint that is attached to the ground.
The Future
Currently, SwRI is participating in two mission proposals. The Deep Interior mission involves traveling to two nearby asteroids to perform a seismological experiment on each. The first asteroid visited will depend on the final flight schedule, but the second will be 4015 Wilson-Harrington, a NEO that is roughly 4 km across.
The second mission proposal is a return mission to Eros. SwRI’s contribution would be a seismological experiment including seismometers,
Placement and design of an explosive charge can greatly influence the seismic energy transferred to the asteroid body. In the two sequences shown at left, charges can be bare (left pair) or cased (right pair). If the asteroid surface is consolidated, a bare charge is the most efficient. However, if the surface is loose and porous, a cased charge can be used to launch metal fragments that penetrate the surface layer and seismically load deeper, more consolidated material.
seismic sources (probably explosives) and the subsequent analysis of the seismic signals. In particular, scientists hope to learn Eros’interior structure and composition using this experiment.
Understanding one near-Earth asteroid will provide a solid foundation for a better understanding of other asteroids and celestial bodies.
And who knows? If someday we see an asteroid or comet heading our way, as Shoemaker-Levy 9 did for Jupiter, then
understanding the internal composition and structure of these bodies may be vital to us here on Earth. ❖
Comments about this article? Contact Walker at (210) 522-2051, or james.walker@swri.org.
Acknowledgment
The authors greatly acknowledge Erick Sagebiel of SwRI who assisted with the computations and produced a number of the figures for this story.
scientists created this mesh model of 433 Eros, a large near-Earth asteroid, to explore possible seismic signals resulting from a seismology experiment on the asteroid. For the simulation, a charge is located at grid 23253, and a seismometer at 36981. Currently the interior structure of Eros is unknown; simulations were performed with and without a large interior fracture (dark line).
A Fourier transform of the motions from the seismometer was performed to determine the oscillation frequencies of the various modes. The results are shown for the Eros models with (lower) and without (upper) the large fracture. Differences in the frequency spectrum for the two Eros models illustrate that the internal structure of the asteroid can be determined by a seismological investigation.
SwRI
D014204
While railroads are one of the world’s most efficient modes of transportation, diesel locomotive engines are subject to federal exhaust emission regulations that apply not only to new units, but also retroactively to locomotives built as long as three decades ago.
On Track Toward Cleaner Large Engines
New emissions reduction strategies focus on locomotives and ferry boats
By Steven Fritz
Although they remain among the most efficient means of transporting large volumes of freight, diesel-powered trains and marine vessels are subject to ever-increasing demands for greater fuel efficiency and lower exhaust emissions, just as their 18-wheeled diesel cousins on the highways. Environmental Protection Agency locomotive exhaust emission regulations, which took effect in 2000, are unique in that they apply not only to new locomotives but also to the existing fleet of approximately 20,000 locomotives in operation today that were manufactured between 1973 and 2000. Because these existing locomotives must be upgraded to meet EPAregulations during their next overhaul cycle, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) provides support for the industry in new engine research and in development of cost-effective emission reductions for the in-use fleet.
The approach to solving efficiency and emission problems in large compression-ignition engines follows generally along the lines that have been applied earlier to diesel truck engines. However, their sheer size and specialized applications require unique solutions. The nation’s Class 1 railroads use approximately 4 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year. When fully phased-in, the new emission standards will reduce locomotive oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions by nearly two-thirds and hydrocarbon (HC) and particulate matter (PM) emissions by half. If emission controls were to cause even a 2 percent fuel economy penalty, it would cost the industry as much as $80 million per year.
Locomotives
Locomotive engines spend much of their operational lifetime running at idle,
difficult to accommodate because even modern locomotives’cross-sections must fit railroad tunnels built more than 100 years ago. One fuel-saving approach examined by the SwRI team was to reduce the amount of time a locomotive’s main engine is kept running when it is not actually pulling a train.
APU Applications
whether parked on a siding to make way for an oncoming train or waiting in a switchyard while railcars are being collected and coupled to make up a new train.
The large engines, some with as many as 20 cylinders, do not provide power directly to the wheels, but instead turn a generator that provides electricity for traction motors that drive the wheels. The engine also powers all critical accessories and environmental systems aboard the train, such as air brakes for the whole train and heating and air conditioning for the locomotive cab. For this reason, and for safety when operating in remote areas where a dead battery might result in a long delay, locomotives are frequently left idling in switchyards and on sidings.
In areas with cold climates, letting the engines idle prevents coolant water from freezing in the radiators. Locomotives typically use no antifreeze because undiluted water is a more efficient cooling agent. An antifreeze-based cooling system would require 20 percent more cooling capacity, which would be
The Texas Emission Reduction Plan (TERP), established by the Texas Legislature in 2001 and administered by the Texas Commission for Environmental Quality (TCEQ), provides grants and incentives for improving air quality in the state.
In a TERP-funded program in which a grant was provided to a manufacturer of auxiliary power units (APU), SwRI engi-
neers were asked to evaluate the performance of a typical locomotive with an APU installed. The four-cylinder, dieselpowered APU is designed to meet critical energy demands when the main engine, a 2,200-horsepower diesel-electric powerplant, is shut off. Funded by a TERPgrant, EcoTrans Technologies LLC, a joint venture of International Road and Rail and CSX Transportation, asked the SwRI team to gather baseline data from two switcher locomotives in normal configuration, then quantify any emissions reductions from the same two locomotives fitted with an APU.
Two switcher-service locomotives were supplied by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad for the test program.
SwRI engineers installed an automatic switch that would turn off the locomotive’s main engine after 30 minutes in “park.” Sensors would then monitor battery power, air pressure, and water and oil temperatures. If a sensor reached a critical level, the APU would be started automatically to charge the batteries and circulate and heat the main
Steven Fritz, shown in front of a 4,000-horsepower locomotive engine installed on SwRI’s locomotive engine test platform in San Antonio, is a principal engineer in the Engine and Emissions Research Department within the Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division. He leads SwRI’s activities in locomotive exhaust emissions characterization and established the SwRI Locomotive Technology Center in 1992. To date, more than 100 locomotives have been tested. Fritz has led numerous projects involving characterizing both regulated and unregulated exhaust emissions from locomotive diesel engines covering 1,000 to 6,000 horsepower.
locomotive engine water and oil, while also maintaining air pressure for the train’s airbrake system. The APU-equipped locomotives were placed into regular freight service in the Houston-Galveston area of Southeast Texas and monitored for one year. SwRI engineers and technicians also measured emissions from the APU itself at various load levels. In addition, they installed a global positioning system (GPS) recording device to monitor the engine’s movements and a data transmitter that used cell-phone technology to download data reports from the two locomotives to engineers in San Antonio on a weekly basis.
Positive Results
After a year of monitored operation, each of the APU-equipped locomotives saved some 22,000 gallons of diesel fuel compared to a normal engine. That fuel reduction translated into a net 4.8-ton annual reduction of NOx for each locomotive in the East Texas area.
In addition to its fuel-saving potential, the APU also proves an economical means of installing cab upgrades in aging locomotives. Most older locomotives were not built with cab air conditioning, and
A locomotive with a 2,200-horsepower diesel electric powerplant was involved in a program in which an auxiliary power unit was installed to meet critical energy demands when the main engine was shut off.
Institute staff members repeatedly disassemble engines to inspect components such as this piston from a diesel-electric locomotive engine. Modern locomotive engines may have 12, 16 or 20 cylinders.
because they operate on 74-volt DC electrical systems, modifying off-the-shelf cooling equipment for installation in the cab is difficult and expensive. With an APU providing 60 Hz, 120-volt AC power to the cab, any of a number of commercial air conditioning units could be installed at a fraction of the cost.
Follow-On Locomotive Engine Research
SwRI is working with EcoTrans on a follow-on program to evaluate the potential for further emissions reductions by installing custom-designed fuel injectors for the locomotive main engine.
For this TERP-funded project, the follow-on work is funded by the TCEQ New Technology Research and Development (NTRD) Program, and involves assessing the NOx emission reduction potential of fuel injectors specifically designed for NOx reductions from the EMD 645-E engines used in these switcher locomotives. SwRI performed the testing that led to the development of the specifications for these new fuel injectors, and, in this
new program, will test the final product as installed in the two BNSF locomotives that were equipped with the APUs. As a result, NOx reductions from these two locomotives will be reduced not only due to the automatic shut-down systems, but also when they are pulling trains. The existing SwRI data-loggers
installed on the locomotives will be modified to include monitoring of the main engine operation so that overall NOxemission reductions can be calculated. SwRI has acquired a test locomotive, WC6624, that can accommodate General Motors ElectroMotive Division (EMD) engines of 8, 12, 16 and 20 cylinders.
Recognizing the need to test bare engines, before they are installed in either a locomotive or a marine vessel, SwRI obtained an EMD SD45 locomotive which serves as a “test cell on wheels.”
The SD45 locomotives were equipped with 20-cylinder engines, which means that they will accommodate EMD 20-, 16-, 12- and 8-cylinder engines. The locomotive is equipped with all of the necessary components to support engine operation, such as the lubricating oil cooler, the jacket water radiators, the alternator and associated control circuitry, and an on-board load grid to dissipate the power generated by the engine. Since commissioning WC6624 in the fall of 2003, SwRI has performed project work using its 12-645-E3B test engine and external customer-supplied engines for both locomotive engine development work and for marine engine certifications. Most line-haul locomotives are equipped with the “dynamic brake” feature in which the electric motors used for traction are reverse-excited to become generators for slowing the train. The electrical power generated is dissipated in resistance grids. Locomotives with the self-load feature can dissipate the main alternator power into these “dynamic brake” resistance grids. WC 6624 is equipped with dynamic brake grids capable of dissipating the full engine power, and these grids are used to load the stationary locomotive.
Dynamic braking can generate prodigious amounts of energy, amounting to 4,000 to 5,000 horsepower. However, since no technology exists to capture or store such large bursts of energy efficiently, the excess electricity is diverted to resistance heaters, or “toaster grids” atop the locomotive, which dissipate the energy as waste heat.
Ferry Boat Engines
Aprogram for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), funded by the Houston-Galveston Area Council of Governments (H-GAC), involves investigating emissions reduction technologies on ferries operating between Galveston and Point Bolivar. Those diesel-powered ferries are equipped with 12-cylinder engines similar to those used in switcher locomotives. The program’s goal is to reduce NOx emissions by 70 percent, which would amount to a savings of 1,600 pounds of NOx per day based on fuel consumption of 1.8 million gallons of diesel per year.
One promising technology for achieving that goal involves the use of selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of exhaust gases. However, this technology requires that exhaust temperatures be maintained at sufficiently high levels to allow the catalyst to operate efficiently. The SwRI team believes that if exhaust temperatures are sufficient, SCR systems could be installed in the space currently occupied by the mufflers in the ferries’center sections without significant structural modification to the boats.
Two in-service ferries were fitted with instruments to record and log engine speeds, loads and exhaust temperatures over a three-day period of continuous operation. Once this baseline
Ferries such as this one, operating on the Gulf Coast near Galveston, Texas, are powered by large, 12-cylinder diesel engines similar to those that power railroad switcher locomotives. SwRI engineers are logging operating characteristics of these engines to assist the Texas Department of Transportationin reducing NOx emissions from its ferry fleet.
information is processed, it will be used by TxDOT in an upcoming request for proposals to reduce NOx emissions from the TxDOT ferry fleet at Galveston.
Conclusion
Medium-speed diesel engines are the workhorse of the locomotive industry in North America, and these same engines are also very popular in industrial marine applications, and also for primary and emergency electrical power generation. Although each sector faces somewhat different timetables on emission regulations from the EPA, the general approaches to developing and applying emission reduction technologies are very similar. SwRI’s
experience in emission measurements on these large engines, combined with broad expertise in automotive, truck and marine engine emission measurements and emission reduction technologies, have resulted in a unique facility that will continue to serve this industry.❖
Comments about this article? Contact Fritz at (210) 522-3645, or steven.fritz@swri.org.
Acknowledgments
The author greatly acknowledges the team effort of the Locomotive Technology Center, particularly the support and expertise of Eddie Grinstead, John Hedrick, Eugene Jimenez, James Height and Kathy Jack, all of the Department of Engine and Emissions Research.
Locomotive control systems limit engine operation to specific speed and load conditions, while the same engine in marine applications experiences a much broader range of speeds and loads. This difference in operating characteristics between these two applications of the same engine can influence the approach used to reduce NOx emissions.
Secure Locations, Secure Medications
Advanced information technology provides prescription for rising healthcare costs
BySean
Consumers notice the effects of rising healthcare expenses when the co-pay costs for medications go up and when only a limited set of medications are available on a health plan’s formulary. Healthcare organizations, in turn, try to keep costs down by optimizing medication options using a formulary of lower-cost medications based on best-accepted practices and by monitoring treatment outcomes and patient compliance to the doctor’s prescription instructions.
Many healthcare organizations have set up their own pharmacy operations or have contracted with large prescription processing companies to help consumers save money on medications. By processing large numbers of prescriptions, these pharmacy operations can reduce costs. However, they also are pressured to assume some of the
burden of rising medication costs by further increasing prescription processing efficiency as well as monitoring and managing drug regimens, laying much of the responsibility on pharmacists to rein in ever-increasing drug costs. These increased burdens on pharmacists have driven a demand for better pharmacy tools in the form of electronic information and packaging systems.
Prison Pharmacies
The state of Texas is responsible for providing medical services to its incarcerated population. In 2002, this population totaled 145,696 inmates, all of whom must be properly and promptly cared for while under the state’s custody. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) has
contracted the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB), Galveston, to provide health services for the majority of this population at a variety of incarceration facilities including traditional prisons, private prisons, and mental health, medical and substance abuse facilities. UTMB places healthcare professionals on site within prisons and other medical facilities throughout the state to provide clinical (both hospital and ambulatory visits), dental, mental, vision and pharmaceutical services. While UTMB provides these services to 80 percent of the incarcerated population, they provide 100 percent of the pharmaceuticals required for all TDCJ facilities through a centralized processing facility located in Huntsville, Texas. Clinical pharmacy services include pharmacist’s interventions to correct or clarify prescriber’s medication
C. Mitchem, left, is group leader of the Enterprise Application Technologies Group within the Medical Systems Department of the Automation and Data Systems Division at SwRI. He works as a project manager and software architect, specializing in distributed software systems. H. Dwaine Smith is a senior research scientist in the Medical Systems Concepts and Architecture Section within the Automation and Data Systems Division. He is an expert in clinical practices and the use of technology within the healthcare sector and is involved with private- and service-sponsored telemedicine initiatives.
orders, medication requests for items not on the TDCJ formulary, and formulary management.
Two systems were being used to record prescription actions for patients. One, maintained by TDCJ, is a legacy mainframe system that is hard-wired into each prison unit and the UTMB pharmacy. It is used to order prescriptions, process them and record compliance with prescription orders by patients. The other, maintained by UTMB Correctional Managed Care (CMC) utilizes a third-party electronic medical record system that contains extensive medical information about patients. The system includes a relational database and a client interface that allows providers to record patient demographic information, admissions and discharges, facility information, prescriptions, adverse
drug reactions and laboratory results. The TDCJ mainframe system has no ability to interface with the electronic medical record, resulting in duplicate input being required to record prescription actions. Desiring a fully integrated system with the ability to maintain a longitudinal medical record, UTMB contracted Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) to develop a Pharmacy Replacement System (PRS) to replace legacy mainframe pharmacy applications with functionality that utilizes current technology and is tightly integrated with the existing electronic medical record.
Integration of the new components with the electronic medical record was accomplished using web technology. Services were defined for various pharmaceutical transactions with the electronic
medical record, such as entering a prescription, retrieving a current medication profile, checking for possible drug reactions or duplicate therapies, entering medication administrations and other transactions related to ordering, approving and administering medications. The web services provided the “public” interface to the distributed PRS components, utilizing eXtensible Markup Language (XML) to represent the data within the transactions. The Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) is used as the messaging protocol between components. The use of web services pulls database transactions from system components, providing a set of reusable interfaces using a standardized protocol that enables code to be reused and integrated with other software components.
C. Mitchem and H. Dwaine Smith
Sean
Service connectivity within the Pharmacy Replacement System (PRS) is achieved through web technology. Providers at the prison units order prescriptions, which are placed into a centralized patient medical record. The prescriptions are then sent to the pharmacy for review and filling, then back to the units where dispensing of the medications commences. Units without broadband internet services gain access to the PRS through a dial-up connection.
The electronic medical record uses a client-server architecture, where the client application (the user interface) communicates directly with the database using a standard database connection. While this technology performs adequately for actions such as reviewing or updating information, it is not suited to handle large transaction loads or a large number of concurrent users in a timely manner. To integrate the new pharmacy functionality into the electronic medical record in a manner that provides the fastest access to data, researchers developed a transitory, “extension” database that acts as an interface between the electronic medical record and the PRS. Prescriptions are placed in the extension database using “push” technology, where data is moved as it is processed. This allows for the placement of prescription information at the proper destination as quickly as possible, providing local access to data without the overhead
expenses associated with searching large database tables.
The CMC pharmacy processes 10,000 to 15,000 prescriptions each day. Every prescription must be reviewed by a pharmacist, processed for filling and shipped to the destination unit in a day. To ensure the most efficient processing, SwRI developed data caches to hold new prescriptions awaiting review. These caches enable multiple pharmacists to gain local access to prescription data and allow processing to continue during short-duration outages of the Internet. In addition, this process ensures that processed prescription transactions are completed before they are removed from the pharmacy server. Quick, careful prescription handling is the key at the pharmacy, so the server components were designed to provide pharmacists with immediate access to data to ensure patient safety.
Pharmacy automation allows UTMB to fill and ship more than 15,000 prescriptions per day throughout Texas. Pills are shipped in blister packs and dispensed at pill windows within the prisons at designated times each day. Here, a sorting machine compares drug bar-coded labels with the patients’ prescription label, ensuring the correct drug is being dispensed to each patient. Blister packs keep unused pills clean so that they can be reclaimed and reissued, saving thousands of dollars annually in drug costs.
Pill Window Dispensing
Inmates receive medications, one dose at a time, at a designated pill window within their prison unit. Pill windows are only open for a limited time each day because of security concerns. Within that short time frame, pharmacy technicians must be able to quickly provide the prescribed medications to each patient, then move on to the next patient. On-site data caches provide local access to prescription information, significantly speeding up the medication administration process. Prescriptions are pre-cached before the pill window opens, allowing faster transactions. Administration events are cached until the update transaction at the electronic record database is confirmed. The caches are refreshed automatically every night at a configurable time. For those units not wired for broadband Internet access, SwRI developed a remote user access capability that allows technicians in those facilities to order prescriptions and to record medication administration events over the Internet, even if their connection is limited to a 26K phone line connection. These applications, hosted on a server at CMC headquarters, use encryption and digital certificates to ensure security and provide
the minimum services necessary for providers to manage their patients. Units that previously faxed prescription orders and used paper charts to manually record medication administration events can now perform prescription-related actions securely over the web. This allows CMC to provide the new system to all its units now, while the infrastructure is being put in place for full PRS service.
CMC is installing the hardware and infrastructure to replace the mainframe technology used at the central pharmacy. The current implementation plan is to first connect the Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities in Beaumont, then conduct a phased deployment of the PRS throughout Texas prison units, after which it plans to connect the Texas Youth Commission units. Recently CMC has also tested the capability of running the PRS application from a wireless Internet-capable hand-held device with much success. Utilizing hand-held wireless devices will allow CMC to provide pharmacy services to rural county jails and to prisoners in transit between facilities.
Conclusion
Development of the PRS has provided CMC with a set of application tools that are both functional and cost-effective. Using the PRS, CMC will be able to eliminate duplication of effort. Pharmacists will be able to view prescription orders and medical record information as a single record, reducing review times. Medical administration records now are stored with medical records, giving medical providers a single source of medical information. Inventory transactions can be tracked while the prescription is in transit and reconciled at delivery time, reducing losses. Medication-related reports will now be generated from a single data source, allowing a richer set of reports that are easier to generate and faster to reproduce. Control of access to medical data is now simpler because there is only one source of the data that needs to be managed. The ability to enter prescription orders over the
are now better equipped to perform their primary mission, providing quality medical services to the incarcerated population of the state of Texas. ❖
Comments about this article? Contact Sean Mitchem at (210) 522-2698 or sean.mitchem@swri.org, or H. Dwaine Smith at (210) 522-2009 or houston.smith@swri.org.
The map shows the number and geographic distribution of prison units served by
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to acknowledge the following people for their valuable contributions to the success of the Pharmacy Replacement System: Kelly Jackson, infrastructure lead and co-architect; Stephen Johns, graphical user interface lead; Augie Pedraza, Roel Almendarez, Lorraine Cantu, software developers; Victoria Zhou and Gail Beezley, database developers and Dr. Sandra Dykes, security services, all from the SwRI Automation and Data Systems Division. Additionally, the authors would like to thank Dr. Glenn Hammack, UTMB technical manager, for his energy and
UTMB’s Correctional Managed Care pharmacy.
New Life for Aging Systems
New Life for Aging Systems
Re-engineering helps keep the Atmospheric Early Warning System vital in a new century
By Hugh Spence, Ph.D., and Terry McDaniel
Computer technology has grown exponentially since the 1970s, and many generations of hardware, software and even manufacturing techniques have disappeared as processors have become more capable and compact. However, there are electronic systems dating to the 1970s that continue to provide valuable service adequate to their task. One such system, the U.S. Air Force Atmospheric Early Warning System (AEWS), remains a vital link in the electronic network that watches the skies for potential threats to homeland security.
Maintaining the AEWS computers is a two-edged sword. On the one hand, the consoles must be kept functional and upto-date as technological improvements permit. On the other hand, the improvements must fit into existing infrastructure, and operating procedures must remain familiar enough to avoid costs and outages associated with re-training AEWS operators and maintenance personnel.
Computer engineers at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) were asked to examine electronic circuitry from aging AEWS consoles and reverse-engineer replacement parts and procedures to improve reliability, increase capability and
add function to the system, while maintaining seamless operation. Once begun, the operation soon resembled re-engineering more than reverse engineering.
Atmospheric Early Warning
The AEWS, conceived after World War II as a defensive shield for the United States and Canada against bomber attacks, comprises a number of radar sites in the continental United States, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. As a component of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), the AEWS integrated surveillance system effectively tracks every aircraft over the U.S. and approaching its borders. The system does not track objects in space, nor does it duplicate the routine radar coverage provided by civilian and military air traffic control systems. AEWS exists to track any aircraft that might be perceived as a threat and determine its course and probable destination.
The AN/FYQ-93 system, which includes computers and peripheral equipment that receive and process tracking data from ground radar systems, is installed at AEWS Region/Sector Air Operations Centers. Although the AN/FYQ-93 computer system and display systems are near the end of their expected service life, they are being modified for improved reliability and maintainability. Because of SwRI’s long background in providing support for aging military systems and its diverse work experience, it is especially capable of performing the task.
Scope of Work
Terry W. McDaniel, left, and Hugh
Ph.D. oversee an SwRI program to maintain and update radar display consoles, like the one shown here, for the Atmospheric Early Warning System. Spence is a technical advisor and retired Institute Engineer with the Avionics and Support Systems Department of the Aerospace Electronics and Information Technology Division. He has design experience with special purpose analog and digital systems, signal processing, and testing and calibrating aircraft flight control components. He has extended the life of military electronics systems by providing design analysis and redesigns for vacuum tube, transistor, electromechanical and other older technology systems. McDaniel, a research engineer with the Avionics and Support Systems Department, is a hardware designer with experience in autopilots, unmanned aerial vehicles and various other aircraft avionics systems.
Fighter aircraft are prepared to respond to airborne threats detected over the United States and Canada by the U.S. Air Force Atmospheric Early Warning System (AEWS). Radar consoles used by the AEWS contain electronic components, such as the circuit board shown above, that are becoming increasingly hard to repair or replace.
SwRI engineers examined circuit boards from AEWS computers and attempted to determine their function through a documentation search. In many cases, neither the parts themselves nor the records or diagrams used to make them were available. In those cases, engineers were to identify the devices on a circuit card and determine their function, then determine how the various parts are connected together, and finally design new circuitry to replicate that function. Once engineers determined the function of the old card, they were to duplicate its design with equivalent components and diagram the replacement part.
a circuit board that fit into the original slot occupied by the original equipment part. In many cases, a circuit board that originally contained many chips was replaced with a card that held only one chip plus a number of interfaces. In other cases, engineers provided an interface between the outside world, the original equipment and the new replacement part. Problems frequently had to be overcome, such as inte-
grating modern logic operating at 1.7 volts with existing logic that uses 5 volts. Finally, SwRI provided the new cards to the people who maintain the AEWS system and also provided the documentation needed to make sure that more cards could be manufactured if they are needed in the future.
Conclusion
While the threat from enemy military bombers has receded since the earliest days of the Cold War, the hijacked airliners that launched terror attacks on September 11, 2001, provided the Air Force new impetus to keep AEWS functional and strong. The AEWS is divided into six sectors, three of which cover the continental United States.
Where possible, the replacement chips were to utilize programmable logic so that their function could be corrected or adjusted as necessary. However, some circuit cards, such as video cards, did not lend themselves to programmable logic and needed to be replaced with specially designed chips. During the replacement process, SwRI engineers added improvements such as enhanced signal and signal conditioning on the cards. Team members captured the old card’s original design in a hardware design language that described the complete function of that card. Thus, if that function needed to be duplicated, it could be done using the latest devices. Although new computer chips were used in a new design, they were placed on
Re-engineering electronic components for a robust, functional military system such as AEWS requires that engineers accommodate the design imperatives of military planners, who typically seek a system with a lifespan of at least 20 years, with the realities of an electronics industry in which the average turnover of component technology is about six months. That translates into the appearance of a new generation of equipment — faster, better, with lower power demand —twice each year. Maintaining such aging equipment calls for not just reverse engineering, but re-engineering the components, and not just duplicating the old equipment but duplicating its function in a newer, better, more robust platform.❖
Comments about this article? Contact McDaniel at (210) 522-6856 or terry.mcdaniel@swri.org.
An SwRI engineer compares the operation of a redesigned AEWS console circuit board, left, with an original circuit board that it is intended to replace. Note the reduced number of components needed for the replacement board.
F. Spence,
ECHNICS
Brief notes
about the
world of science and technology at Southwest Research Institute
SwRI to develop Florida Intelligent Traffic Systems
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) selected SwRI to develop and deploy a standard, statewide software system for intelligent transportation system (ITS) transportation management centers (TMCs).
Under an $8 million contract, SwRI will provide eight new TMCs with a statewide transportation management center software library system, and provide four existing TMCs that currently use separate, proprietary software systems with a migration plan so that one district’s TMC computers can communicate with others.
Initial deployment will be in the TMCs for FDOT District 4 at Ft. Lauderdale, District 6 at Miami and District 7 at Tampa, said Dr. Steven Dellenback, project manager and an Institute Scientist in the SwRI Automation and Data Systems Division. In time, other FDOT districts such as District 3 at Tallahassee, expressway authorities such as Miami Dade Expressway Authority and local governments such as Lee County will be added.
Contact Dellenback at (210) 522-3914, or steven.dellenback@swri.org.
Saturn-bound instrument detects interstellar ions
More than a year before the Cassini spacecraft arrives at Saturn, the Cassini Plasma Spectrometer (CAPS) has made the first in situ observations of interstellar pickup ions beyond Jupiter. This is the first major discovery using data gathered by CAPS, destined to reach Saturn in July 2004.
Pickup ions are neutral particles in the solar system that become ionized near the Sun and join the solar wind, the supersonic stream of charged particles flowing out from the Sun. By observing these pickup ions, researchers can better understand the interstellar medium, the low-density gas and dust that fills the space between stars.
Astronomers have observed interstellar pickup ions as early as 1985 from a distance of 1 astronomical unit (AU, the distance from the Earth to the Sun), but never before have they seen pickup ions beyond 5 AU — Jupiter’s orbit. The CAPS team uploaded software that allowed the instrument to collect and transmit detections of the relatively rare pickup ions it encounters on its journey to Saturn.
McFarland Award honors SwRI engineers
Two Southwest Research Institute engineers have been awarded the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Forest R. McFarland Award for their outstanding contributions in aiding the SAE fuels and lubricants activity to organize, develop and disseminate technical information.
Froelund has served as chairman of the Passenger Car Lubricants Sessions of the Fuels and Lubricants Meeting and Exposition Conferences since 2000 and also serves on the SAE Transaction Review committee. Aprincipal engineer at SwRI, he previously has won the SAE Arch T. Colwell Merit Award and the SAE Excellence in Oral Presentation Award.
Analyses revealed a strong depletion of hydrogen pickup ions compared to helium pickup ions in the region behind the Sun. The team determined that this newly observed depletion, or “interstellar hydrogen shadow,” is produced by radiation pressure and ionization of the neutrals. Most hydrogen atoms cannot penetrate into the downstream shadow region because they must pass near the Sun where they have a high probability of being ionized and swept out with the solar wind.
“These are very hard particles to measure because there are so few of them,” said Dr. David J. McComas, senior executive director of the SwRI Space Science and Engineering Division. “Previous models have included something like this interstellar hydrogen shadow, but these are the first direct measurements of it.”
Contact McComas at (210) 522-5983, or david.mccomas@swri.org.
Dr. Kent Froelund and Magdi K. Khair, both in SwRI’s Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division, exhibited unusual leadership in the organizing of SAE technical sessions and professional development seminars; made outstanding contributions to the overall planning of technical meetings and conferences; contributed greatly to SAE committee work in the form of innovation, operation, meeting structure and format development; and provided outstanding contributions as pre-publication reviewers of draft manuscripts.
The award was presented during the 2004 SAE World Congress. Froelund and Khair are among 20 recipients from more than 2,000 SAE Committee chairs eligible for the award.
Froelund received a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Aalborg (Denmark), a master’s from the Technical University of Braunschweig (Germany), and a doctorate from the Technical University of Denmark in Copenhagen.
Khair is chairman of the Advanced Diesel Aftertreatment Systems session and has served as speaker at the Catalysts and Emissions Control and the Diesel Exhaust
Aftertreatment SAE TOPTEC Series. A staff engineer at the Institute, Khair received the McFarland award in 1996 for his contributions to several dieselrelated technical and educational activities.
Contact Froelund at (210) 522-3664, or kent.froelund@swri.org; and Khair at (210) 522-5311, or magdi.khair@swri.org.
Athird generation, large-scale vertical furnace is now operational at SwRI for fire testing services. The new furnace can test specimens as large as a 12.5-foot square. The furnace is used to help determine the fire resistance of wall and bulkhead assemblies. Systems to protect openings in walls and bulkheads, such as doors, windows and fire stops, are also tested in the wall furnace.
Southwest Research Institute launched its fourth cooperative research program to reduce diesel engine emissions. The consortium, known as Clean Diesel IV, comprises more than 30 members, including light-, heavy-duty, and off-road engine manufacturers, component suppliers, and oil and fuel companies.
Interested companies may join Clean Diesel IV any time during the four-year program. The newest effort, which builds on 12 years of clean diesel programs at SwRI, seeks to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s stringent 2010 emissions goals. The program offers a yearly renewable contract.
Like its predecessors, the new consortium is designed to develop new diesel technologies. The primary objective is to reduce oxides of nitrogen ( NOx) to 0.2 gram per horsepower-hour (g/hp-hr) and particulates to 0.01 g/hp-hr. Asecondary objective is to achieve U.S. Tier 2/Bin 5
emission standards for light-duty trucks. The final U.S. Tier 2 standards are based on a system in which manufacturers have the option of certifying any particular vehicle to one of eight emission categories or “bins,” each having specified standards of differing stringency for a variety of air pollutants. These standards will be phased in throughout the United States during 2004.
Daniel Stewart, director of Combustion and Emissions in the SwRI Engine, Emissions and Vehicle Research Division, explained that participants select the consortium work from a number of Institute-suggested projects. Institute engineers and scientists recommend areas of interest based on SwRI’s extensive automotive-related experience and on work performed during the three earlier clean diesel consortia. Contact Stewart at (210) 522-3657, or daniel.stewart@swri.org.
SwRI opens Beijing office
SwRI has established an international office in Beijing. The liaison office, overseen by the SwRI Office of Automotive Engineering, will help facilitate automotive business opportunities in China including coordinating client and contract inquiries and offering program support.
SwRI has several ongoing projects and programs with clients in China. The new office allows clients more personal interaction and helps expand SwRI’s presence internationally.
Representing SwRI in the Beijing office is Nian Sun, an SwRI senior research engineer with more than 35 years of experience in design and management of engine performance and bench test laboratories. He also has developed new test procedures and equipment for lubricant evaluation and data acquisition, control systems and test data measurements for engine testing. Contact: Nian Sun • Southwest Research Institute • Unit 1204, Tower 1 Beijing Landmark Towers • 8 North Dongsanhuan Road
Contact Walter Groff at (210) 522-2823, or walter.groff@swri.org.
The furnace features enhanced controls and state-of-the-art instrumentation for evaluating the fire resistance of fire-rated doors, dampers, and wall assemblies for the construction and maritime industry, said Jim Griffith, a manager in the SwRI Fire Technology Department. Clients can use a thermally protected furnace camera, designed and fabricated by SwRI, to view a complete fire test as the specimen is exposed to temperatures in excess of 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit. The test video can be broadcast over the Internet via a secure web site, eliminating the necessity for the client to travel to SwRI to witness the test firsthand.
The new furnace, which is 14 ft. wide by 18 ft. tall and 4 ft. deep, replaces a smaller, older vertical furnace. Nine premixed air and natural gas flat flame burners are symmetrically spaced on the back wall of the furnace to provide heat.
Contact Griffith at (210) 522-3716, or james.griffith@swri.org.
Vertical furnace adds capabilities
SwRI launches Clean Diesel IVConsortium
Froelund
Khair
ECHNICAL STAFF ACTIVITIES
Publications
Allegrini, F., R.F. Wimmer-Schweingruber, P. Wurz and P. Bochsler. “Determination of LowEnergy Ion-Induced Electron Yields from Thin Carbon Foils.” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 211, No. 4 (December 2003): 487–494.
Barraclough, B.L., E.E. Dors, R.A. Abeyta, J.F. Alexander, F.P. Ameduri, J.R. Baldonado, S.J. Bame, P.J. Casey, G.J. Dirks, D.T. Everett, J.T. Goaling, K.M. Grace, D.R. Guerrero, J.D. Kolar, J. Kroesche, W. Lockhart, D.J. McComas D.E. Mietz, J. Roese, J. Sanders J.T. Steinberg, R.L. Tokar, C. Urdiales and R.C. Wiens. “The Plasma Ion and Electron Instruments for the Genesis Mission.” Space Science Review 105 (2003): 627–660.
Billings, G. and D.C. Terrell “Observations and Modeling of the Eclipsing Binary GSC 3515:0865.” Journal of the American Association of Variable Star Observers 31, no. 1 (2003): 70.
Elliott H.A., D.J. McComas and P. Riley. “Latitudinal Extent of Large-Scale Structures in the Solar Wind.” Annales Geophysicae 21, no. 6 (2003): 1,331–1,339.
Elliott H.A., D.J. McComas and P. Riley. “A Technique for Comparing Solar Wind Structures Observed by ACE and Ulysses.” Solar Wind Ten, Proceedings of the Tenth International Solar Wind Conference, American Institute of Physics CP679, Edited by M. Velli, R. Bruno and F. Malara. Melville, N.Y., 2003: 230–233.
Enright, M.P., S.J. Hudak R.C. McClung and H.R. Millwater. “Probabilistic-Based System for Prognosis of Fatigue in Aircraft Engine Components.” American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Paper No. 2003-8014. Proceedings of the 44th AIAA/American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)/American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)/American Helicopter Society (AHS)/American Society of Composites (ASC) Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Norfolk, Va., April 2003.
Enright, M.P., Y.-D. Lee, R.C. McClung, L.J. Huyse, G.R. Leverant, H.R. Millwater and S.K. Fitch. “Probabilistic Surface Damage Tolerance Assessment of Aircraft Turbine Rotors.” Proceedings of the ASME International Gas Turbine and Aeroengine Technical Congress, Atlanta, June 2003.
Fujiki, K., M. Kojima, M. Tokumaru, T. Ohmi, A. Yokobe, K. Hayashi, D.J. McComas and H.A. Elliott. “How Did the Solar Wind Structure Change Around the Solar Maximum? From Interplanetary Scintillation Observation.” Annales Geophysicae 21, no. 6 (2003): 1,257–1,261.
Fujiki, K., M. Kojima, M. Tokumaru, T. Ohmi, A. Yokobe, K. Hayashi, D.J. McComas and H.A. Elliott. “Solar Wind Velocity Structure around the Solar Maximum Observed by Interplanetary Scintillation.” Solar Wind Ten, Proceedings of the Tenth International Solar Wind Conference, (AIP) CP679, Edited by M. Velli, R. Bruno and F. Malara. Melville, N.Y., 2003: 226–229.
Gladstone, G.R., K.D. Retherford, S.A. Stern, R. Link and S.W. Bougher. “The Martian FUV Dayglow Observed by FUSE.” Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 35, 3.02. Paper presented at the AAS DPS Meeting, Monterey, Calif., September 2003.
Greely, R., R.O. Kuzmin, S.C.R. Rafkin, T.I. Michaels and R. Haberle. “Wind-Related Features in Gusev Crater, Mars.” Journal of Geophysical Research 108, no. E12 (October 2003): 8,077, doi: 10.1029/2002JE002006.
Hackert, C.L. and J.O. Parra. “Estimating Scattering Attenuation from Vugs or Karsts.” Geophysics 68, no. 4 (July–August 2003): 1,182–1,188.
Huebner, W.F. “AQuantitative Model for Comet Nucleus Topography.” Advances in Space Science Research 31, no. 12 (June 2003): 2,555–2,562.
Huyse, L.J. and M.P. Enright. “Efficient Statistical Analysis of Failure Risk in Engine Rotor Disks Using Importance Sampling Techniques.” AIAAPaper No. 2003–1838. Proceedings of the 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Norfolk, Va., April 2003.
Huyse, L.J. and B.H. Thacker. “Probabilistic Assessment on the Basis of Interval Data.” Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on the Applications of Statistics and Probability in Civil Engineering. Berkeley, Calif. (July 2003): 169–176.
Jones, G.H., A. Balogh, D.J. McComas and R.J. MacDowall. “Strong Interplanetary Field Enhancements at Ulysses — Evidence of Dust Trails’Interaction with the Solar Wind?” Icarus 166(2003):297–310.
Kass, D.M., J.T. Schofield, T.I. Michaels, S.C.R. Rafkin, M.I. Richardson and A.D. Toigo. “Analysis of Atmospheric Mesoscale Models for Entry, Descent and Landing.” Journal of Geophysical Research 108, no. E12 (November 2003): 8,090, doi: 10.1029/2003JE002065.
Lamm, R. “Designing a Multi-Source StandardsBased Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Communications Architecture: MPEG-2 Video Codec Interoperability Testing.” Proceedings of the 10th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services, Madrid, Spain, November 2003.
Lin, N., P.J. Kellogg, R.J. MacDowall, D.J. McComas, A. Balogh and R.J. Forsyth. “Comparison of VLF Wave Activity in the Solar Wind During Solar Maximum and Minimum: Ulysses Observations.” Solar Wind Ten Proceedings of the Tenth International Solar Wind Conference, AIPCP679, Edited by M. Velli, R. Bruno and F. Malara. Melville, N.Y., 2003: 534–537.
McComas, D.J. “The Three-Dimensional Structure of the Solar Wind over the Solar Cycle.” Solar Wind Ten, Proceedings of the Tenth International Solar Wind Conference, AIPCP679, Edited by M. Velli, R. Bruno and F. Malara. Melville, N.Y., 2003: 33–38.
McComas, D.J., P.A. Bochsler, L.A. Fisk, H.O. Funsten, J. Geiss, G. Gloeckler, M. Gruntman, D.L. Judge, S.M. Krimigis, R.P. Lin, S. Livi, D.G. Mitchell, E. Moebius, E.C. Roelof, N.A. Schwadron, et al. “AMission to the Inner Edge of the Interstellar Medium.” Solar Wind Ten, Proceedings of the Tenth International Solar Wind Conference, AIPCP679, Edited by M. Velli, R. Bruno and F. Malara. Melville, N.Y. 2003: 834–837.
McComas, D.J., G.P. Miller, J.N. Mitchell, S.E. Pope and P.W. Valek. “Space Applications of MEMS: The SwRI Vacuum Microprobe Facility and Initial Vacuum Test Results.” Review of Scientific Instruments 74, no. 8 (2003): 3,874–3,878.
Michaels, B., V. Gangar, H. Schattenberg, M. Blevins and T. Ayers. “Effectiveness of Cleaning Methodologies Used for Removal of Physical, Chemical and Microbiological Residues from Produce.” Food Service Technology 3 (2003): 9–15.
Millwater, H.R., S.K. Fitch, M.P. Enright and L.J. Huyse. “Application of an XML-Based Database for Probabilistic Analysis.” AIAAPaper No. 20031837. Proceedings of the 44th AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, Norfolk, Va., April 2003.
Ni Q., J.D. King and X. Wang. “Characterization of Human Bone Structure Changes by Low Field NMR.” Measurement Science and Technology 15, no. 1 (January 2004): 58–66.
Ni Q., D. Nicolella, X. Wang, D. Shin and Y. Qin. “Assessment of NMR Technology in Cortical Bone and Its Sensitivity.” Proceedings of the Summer Bioengineering Conference, Key Biscayne, Fla., June 2003.
Nordholt, J.E., R.C. Wiens, R.A. Abeyta, J.R. Baldonado, D.S. Burnett, P. Casey, D.T. Everett, J. Kroesche, W. Lockhart, P. MacNeal, D.J. McComas, D.E. Mietz, R.W. Moses Jr., M. Neugebauer, J. Poths, D.B. Reisenfeld, S.A. Storms and C. Urdiales. “The Genesis Solar Wind Concentrator.” Space Science Review 105 (2003): 561–599.
Pan, J.C., E.R. Fanick, M.K. Khair, C.C. Webb and K.B. Kohl “Developments in Emission Research Related to Oil and Oil Additives.” Proceedings of the China International Lubricant Seminar Shanghai, China, October 2003.
Parra J.O. and C.L. Hackert. “High Resolution PWave Surface Seismic Profiling to Delineate Flow Units in Carbonate Aquifers of South Florida: A Feasibility Study.” Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) 73rd Annual International Meeting Expanded Abstracts, Paper RCT P1.8 2003. Paper presented at the SEG 73rd Annual International Meeting, Dallas, October 2003.
Parra, J.O., C.L. Hackert, B. Bennett and H.A. Collier. “Permeability and Porosity Images Based on NMR, Sonic and Seismic Reflectivity: Application to a Carbonate Aquifer.” The Leading Edge 22, no. 12 (December 2003): 1,102–1,108.
Parra, J.O., C.L. Hackert, R. Green and S. Pride. “ADouble-Porosity Porelastic Model to Relate PWave Attenuation to Fluid Flow in Vuggy Carbonate Rock.” Proceedings of the GeoProc International Conference on Coupled T-H-M-C Process in Geo-Systems. Edited by The Royal Institute of Technology, O. Stephason, J. Hudson and L. Jing. Stockholm, Sweden, October 2003: 481–486.
Qin, Y., H. Lam, C. Rubin, F. Grine and Q. Ni “Correlation Between SEM Measured Microstructure and NMR Predicted Bone Porosity.” Proceedings of the Summer Bioengineering Conference, Key Biscayne, Fla., June 2003.
Rafkin, S.C.R. and T.I. Michaels “Meterological Predictions for 2003 Mars Exploration Rover High-Priority Landing Sites.” Journal of Geophysical Research 108, no. E12 (October 2003): 8,091, doi: 10.1029/2002JE002027.
Retherford, K.D. “Io’s Aurora: HST/STIS Observations.” Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 34, 130.04. Paper presented at the AAS Meeting, Seattle, January 2003.
Retherford, K.D. G.R. Gladstone, S.A. Stern, G.P. Miller, D.C. Slater, D.T. Young, J.H. Waite, S.W. Bougher and A.F. Nagy. “Initial Concepts for a Mars Upper Atmosphere Orbiter Mission to Study Atmospheric Escape.” Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society 35, No. 41.07. Paper presented at the AAS DPS Meeting, Monterey, Calif., September 2003.
Retherford, K.D. H.W. Moos and D.F. Strobel. “Io’s Auroral Limb Glow: Hubble Space Telescope FUV Observations.” Journal of Geophysical Research 108, no. A8 (2003): 1,333, doi: 10.1029/2002JA009710.
Smalley A.J. and P.J. Pantermuehl. “Realistically Assess Reciprocating Compressor Foundation and Mounting System Loads.” Hydrocarbon Processing 82, no. 8 (August 2003): 59–66.
Smith, E.J., R.G. Marsden, A. Balogh, G. Gloeckler, J. Geiss, D.J. McComas R.B. McKibben, R.J. MacDowall, L.J. Lanzerotti, N. Krupp, H. Krueger and M. Landgraf. “The Sun and Heliosphere at Solar Maximum.” Science 302(2003): 1,165–1,169.
Stern, S.A. “The Evolution of Comets in the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt.” Nature 424, no. 6,949 (August 2003): 623–625.
Stern, S.A. “Delayed Gratification Habitable Zones (DGHZs): When Deep Outer Solar System Regions Become Balmy During PostMain Sequence Stellar Evolution.” Astrobiology 3, no. 2 (2003): 317–323.
Stern, S.A. and S. Kenyon. “Collisions, Accretion, and Erosion in the Kuiper Belt.” Comptes Rendus de l’Academie de Sciences 4, no. 7 (2003): 803–808.
Szego, K., D.T. Young, B. Barraclough, J.-J. Berthelier, A.J. Coates, D.J. McComas, F.J. Crary, M.K. Dougherty, G. Erdos, D.A. Gurnett, W.S. Kurth and M.F. Thomsen. “Cassini Plasma Spectrometer Measurements of Jovian Bow Shock Structure.” Journal of Geophysical Research 108, no. A7 (2003): 1,287, doi: 10.1029/2002JA009517.
Terrell, D.C. D.H. Kaiser, A.A. Henden, R. Koff, D.W. West, S. Dvorak, A.C. Pullen, C.P. Stephan. “The Double Supergiant Binary OW Geminorum.” The Astronomical Journal 126, no. 2 (August 2003): 902–905.
Treuhaft, M.B., S.A. Timmons, D.C. Eberle and G.R. Wendel. “Wear Measurement of a Large Hydraulic Fluid Power Pump Using Radioactive Tracer Wear Technology.” Proceedings of the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and R&D Expo. Paper presented at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and R&D Expo, Washington, November 2003.
Walker, J.D. “Impact Modeling.” Report of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board 2, Appendix D.12 (October 2003): 361–390.
Wang, X. and Q. Ni. “Determination of Cortical Bone Porosity and Pore Size Distribution Using a Low Field NMR Approach.” Journal of Orthopaedic Research 21, no. 2 (2003): 312–319.
Wüest, M., R.A. Frahm and J.D. Winningham “ATophat Ring Current Sensor.” Advances in Space Research 32, no. 3 (August 2003): 395–400.
Presentations
Allegrini F., N.A. Schwadron, G. Gloeckler, H.A. Elliott, D.J. McComas and A. Posner “Pickup Ions Generated Near the Sun During Solar Maximum.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU), San Francisco, December 2003.
Anderson Jr., C.E. and D.L. Orphal. “Analysis of the Terminal Phase of Impact.” Paper presented at the Hypervelocity Impact Symposium, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, December 2003.
Bessee, G.B. “Fuel Filter Wear Index Test Method.” Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels. Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Brown, M.A. S.E. Novosad and S.W. Dellenback “Software Reuse in ITS Systems.” Paper presented at the 10th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems, Madrid, Spain, November 2003.
Canup, R.M. “Satellite Formation and the Origin of the Moon.” Urey Prize lecture presented at the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Division of Planetary Sciences (DPS) Meeting, Monterey, Calif., September 2003.
Canup, R.M. and E. Asphaug. “On an Impact Origin of Pluto-Charon.” Paper presented at the 34th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, League City, Texas, March 2003.
Cardinal, J. and H. Burnside. “Risk Assessment Workshop for the Analysis of Fatigue Critical Locations in USAFAircraft.” Paper presented at the Risk Assessment Workshop, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, August 2003.
Crowley G., M.A. Bullock, C.J. Freitas, I.S. Chocron, C.L. Hackert, D.C. Boice, L.A. Young, D.H. Grinspoon, G.R. Gladstone W.F. Huebner, G. Wene and M. Westerhoff. “Development of a Surface-to-Exosphere Mars Atmosphere Model.” Paper presented at the AAS DPS Meeting, Monterey, Calif., October 2003.
Dannemann K.A. and J.D. Walker “Investigation of a Conventional SHPB System for Testing Polymers at High Strain Rates.” Paper presented at the ASME International Mechanical Congress and RD&D Expo, Washington, November 2003.
Dellenback, S.W. “Lessons Learned from Standards Implementation — The Texas Experience.” Paper presented at the ITS Annual Meeting, Seattle, October 2003.
Dellenback, S.W. and R.L. Strain. “BrowserBased User Interface for Transportation Management Centers.” Paper presented at the10th World Congress and Exhibition on Intelligent Transport Systems and Services, Madrid, Spain, November 2003.
Elliott, H.A. and D.J. McComas. “Comparison of Solar Cycles: Mid- and Low-Latitude Solar Wind During the Declining Phase of the Solar Cycle.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Fanick, E.R. “Earth’s Atmosphere and Beyond.” Paper presented at the Witte Museum, San Antonio, October 2003.
Franke, E.M., M. Magee, J. Mitchell and M. Rigney. “3-D Precision Surface Measurement by Dynamic Structured Light.” Paper presented at the Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers Photonics East Conference, Providence, R.I., October 2003.
Froelund, K. and S.G. Fritz “Lubricating Oil Consumption Measurements on an EMD 16645E Locomotive Diesel Engine.” Paper presented at the Spring ASME Internal Combustion Engine Division Conference, Salzburg, Austria, May 2003.
Gladstone, G.R., A. Bhardwaj and K.D. Retherford. “Auroral Emissions of Jupiter and the Galilean Satellites.” SM12C-06. Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Gosling, J.T., R.M. Skoug, J.T. Steinberg and D.J. McComas. “Are Solar Electron Burst Acceleration Sites Highly Localized?” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Griffith Jr., J.R. “Fire Performance Evaluation of Composite Piping Systems for Offshore Platforms and Surface Vessels.” Paper presented at the Composites Fabricators Association Composites Convention and Trade Show, Anaheim, Calif., October 2003.
Grosch, D J. and J.H. Kerr. “Ballistic Performance of External Tank Insulating Foam on Space Shuttle Thermal Protection System Components.” Paper presented at the 54th Aeroballistic Range Association Conference, Santa Fe, N.M., October 2003.
Harris, R.E., G.D. Bourn and A.J. Smalley “Enhancing Operation of the Existing Natural Gas Compression Infrastructure.” Paper presented at the Gas Machinery Research Council (GMRC) Gas Machinery Conference, Salt Lake City, October 2003.
Hudak Jr., S.J. and K.S. Chan. “Mixed-Mode Fatigue Crack Growth in Single Crystal Blade Materials.” Paper presented at the 14th Advanced Aerospace Materials and Processes Conference and Exposition (AEROMAT), Dayton, Ohio, June 2003.
Hudak Jr., S.J. G.G. Chell and Y.-D. Lee “Methods for Predicting High Cycle Fatigue Notch Strength.” Paper presented at AEROMAT, Dayton, Ohio, June 2003.
Huebner, W.F. “Database for Geophysical and Geological Properties of NEOs.” Paper presented at the General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Sydney, Australia, July 2003.
Huebner, W.F. and S. Gulkis. “Line Shape Predications for the Microwave Instrument for the Rosetta Orbiter (MIRO) Investigation.” Paper presented at the Meeting of New Rosetta Targets, Capri, Italy, October 2003.
Huebner, W.F. and H.U. Keller. “Apparent Inconsistencies in the Formation of Cometary Matter.” Paper presented at the General Assembly of the IAU, Sydney, Australia, July 2003.
Huyse, L.J. and B.H. Thacker. “Treatment of Conflicting Expert Opinion in Probabilistic Analysis.” Paper presented at the 11th International Federation for Information
Processing Working Group 7.5 Conference on Reliability and Optimization of Structural Systems, Banff, Alberta, Canada, November 2003.
Keller, H.U. and W.F. Huebner “Summary: Apparent Inconsistencies in the Formation of Cometary Matter.” Paper presented at the General Assembly of the IAU, Sydney, Australia, July 2003.
Maksimovic, M., I. Zouganelis, J. Chaufray, K. Issautier, E. Scime, J. Littleton, C.S. Salem, E. Marsch, H. Elliot, D.J. McComas and R.P. Lin. “Radial Evolution of the Non-Thermal Character of Electron Distribution Functions in the Solar Wind.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Mason, R.L., J.C. Young and Y.M. Chou. “Multivariate Control Procedures and Process Variation.” Paper presented at the 163rd Annual Meeting of the American Statistical Association, San Francisco, August 2003.
McClung, R.C., B.M. Gardner and F.J. McMaster “Plasticity Effects on Fatigue Crack Growth at Holes.” Paper presented at the U.S. Air Force Aircraft Structural Integrity Program Conference, Savannah, Ga., December 2003.
McComas, D.J., N.A. Schwadron, F.J. Crary, H.A. Elliott, D.T. Young, J.T. Gosling, M. Thomsen, E.C. Sittler, J. Berthelier, K. Szego and A.J. Coates. “The Interstellar Hydrogen Shadow: Observations of Interstellar Pickup Ions Beyond Jupiter.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
McKee R.J., J.R. Hollingsworth and A.J. Smalley. “Methods for and Benefits of Centrifugal Compressor Design Audits.” Paper presented at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and RD&D Expo, Washington, November 2003.
McKee R.J., A.J. Smalley, G.D. Bourn and K.N. Young. “Detecting Deterioration of Compression Equipment by Normalizing Measured Performance Relative to Expected Performance.” Paper presented at the GMRC Gas Machinery Conference, Salt Lake City, October 2003.
Moses, C.A. and R.A. Kamin. “Effects of Copper Contamination on the Fouling Rates of Aircraft Fuel Nozzles.” Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Moses, C.A., G.R. Wilson III and H.S. Byrnes. “Effect of Red-Dye Contamination on the Fouling Rates of Aircraft Fuel Nozzles.” Paper
presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Moses, C.A., G.R. Wilson III and P. Roets. “Elastomer Compatibility of SASOLFully Synthetic Jet Fuels” and “Stability and Fuel/Additive Compatibility Considerations of SASOLFully Synthetic Jet Fuel.” Papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Ni, Q., Z. Stan, J.B. Summitt and D. Shin. “Characterization of Structural Damage in Human Tooth by NMR Technology.” Paper presented at the 32nd Annual Meeting and Exhibition of the American Association of Dental Research and 27th Annual Meeting of the Canada Association of Dental Research, San Antonio, March 2003.
Oviatt, H.W. and S.M. Thompson. “Morphology of Polyurethane-Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PU-PVP) Materials Prepared by Phase Inversion Methods.” Paper presented at the 226th American Chemical Society (ACS) National Meeting, New York, September 2003.
Posner, A., N.A. Schwadron, D.J. McComas, G. Gloeckler and H. Kunow. “Testing Shock Acceleration in Solar Particle Events: Composition of Suprathermal Onsets.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Rafkin, S.C.R. “Reflections on Mars Global Climate Modeling from a Mesoscale Meteorologist.” Paper presented at the Mars Atmosphere Modeling and Observations Conference, Granada, Spain, January 2003.
Retherford, K.D. and G.R. Gladstone “Prospects for FUV Remote Sensing of Io’s Atmosphere and Magnetospheric Interaction with JIMO.” Paper presented at the Forum for Initial Concepts for a Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Mission, Houston, June 2003.
Salah, J.E., L.P. Goncharenko, M. Vigil, S.P. Zhang and G. Crowley. “Observations of the April 2002 Storm Event by the Global Incoherent Scatter Radar Network.” Paper presented at the European Incoherent Scatter Facility Workshop, Menlo Park, Calif., August 2003.
Schwadron, N.A. and D.J. McComas “Solar Wind Scaling Law.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Skoug, R.M., J.T. Steinberg, J.T. Gosling, D.J. McComas, C.W. Smith, N.F. Ness, Q. Hu and
L.F. Burlaga. “Solar Wind Observations During the Oct.–Nov., 2003 Storms.” Paper presented at the Fall Meeting of the AGU, San Francisco, December 2003.
Stern, S.A. “The Alice-Rosetta Investigation at 67P/Churumnov-Gerasimenko.” Paper presented at the Rosetta Mission Meeting, Capri, Italy, October 2003.
Stern , S.A. “Comparison of the Heliocentric and Absolute Magnitude Distributions of KBOs with Satellites to Other KBOs.” Paper presented at the AAS DPS Meeting, Monterey, Calif., September 2003.
Stern, S.A. “New Horizons Mission Overview and PI Perspective on New Frontiers.” Paper presented to the Committee on Planetary and Lunar Exploration Space Studies Board, Irvine, Calif., November 2003.
Thomassy, F.A. and A.S. Elliot. “Co-Simulation of Fluid Slosh Using MSC.ADAMS.” Paper presented at the Virtual Product Development Conference, Dearborn, Mich., October 2003.
Walker J.D. “Analytical Modeling of Hypervelocity Penetration of Thick Ceramic Targets” and “Loading Sources for Seismological Investigations of Asteroids and Comets.” Papers presented at the Hypervelocity Impact Symposium, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, December 2003.
Walker, J.D., C.J. Freitas, M.B. Tapley and S. Chocron. “Rapid Impactor Sample Return (RISR) Mission Scenario.” Paper presented at the Hypervelocity Impact Symposium, Noordwijk, The Netherlands, December 2003.
Waynick, J.A. “Removal of Drag Reducer Additive from Petroleum Fuels, Part 1” and “Removal of Drag Reducer Additive from Petroleum Fuels, Part 2.” Papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Waynick, J.A. and M.E. Gande. “Effect of New Additive Toward Mitigating the Adverse Effect of Cetane Improver on Diesel Fuel Thermal Stability.” Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Waynick, J.A. and R. Giannini. “Effect of Refining Severity on the Lubricity of NATO F-76 Fuel.” Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Waynick, J.A., S.R. Westbrook, L. Hicks and P. Serino. “Apple Jelly Contamination in Aviation Jet Fuel Storage and Distribution Systems.” Paper presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Webb, C.C., G.J. Bartley and B.B. Bykowski “Catalyst Aging Evaluation with Exposure to 0.06 and 0.11 Percent Phosphorus Oils Using the FOCAS Burner Systems.” Japan Society of Automotive Engineers (JSAE) 2003-01-1999, 2003. Paper presented at the JSAE Spring Fuels and Lubricants Meeting, Yokohama, Japan, May 2003.
Webb, C.C. and B.B. Bykowski. “Development of a Methodology to Separate Thermal from Oil Aging of a Catalyst Using a Gasoline-Fueled Burner System.” Paper presented at the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) World Congress, Detroit, March 2003.
Westbrook, S.R. and L.L. Stavinoha. “Development of Stability Test Methods for Biodiesel and B20 Blends” and “Stability Characteristics of Selected Biodiesel Fuels and B20 Blends.” Papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
White, J.J. “Development of Low Emissions Sterndrive/Inboard Boats” and “Marine CO — Problem and Potential Solutions.” Papers presented at the International Boating Exposition, Miami Beach, Fla., October 2003.
White, J.J. “Investigation of LPG Fuel System Technologies and Fuel Composition Effects on Emissions.” Paper presented at the Industrial Truck Association Annual Meeting, West Palm Beach, Fla., October 2003.
Wilson III, G.R. “Jet Fuel Thermal Stability at the Refinery, in the Field and in Storage” and “Long-Term Survey of Thermal Stability of Jet Fuel from a Single Source.” Papers presented at the 8th International Conference on Stability and Handling of Liquid Fuels, Steamboat Springs, Colo., September 2003.
Funded October 1, 2003
Alvarez, J.L. “Feasibility Evaluation for Embedded Bluetooth Communication.”
Bessee, G.B., S.A. Hutzler and V. Hughes. “Determining the Failure Mechanisms in WaterAbsorbing Filter Monitor Elements.”
Chan K.S., Y.-M. Pan and J.K. Lee. “The Development of a First-Principles Computational Methodology for Predicting Long-Term Material Stability and Mechanical Performance.”
Dante, J.F., N. Sridhar and D.S. Dunn. “Effects of Radiation on the Oxide Film Behavior of Nickel-Based Alloys.”
DeForest, C.E. “Validation of a High-Speed Solar Magnetograph.”
Fisher, J.B. and M.J. Wurpts “Real-Time Water Simulation Using Fast Fourier Transforms Implemented on a Graphics Processing Unit.”
Gladstone G.R., K.D. Retherford, D.C. Slater, G.Crowley, D.M. Hassler, M.E. Epperly, K.D. Smith and C.L. Hackert. “ACoronal and Ionospheric Imager for the 2009 Mars Telecom Orbiter.”
Glass III, T.G. J.D. Micheletti and A.N. Rasmussen. “Analysis of Aggregate Behavior Using Large Compositions of Individual Targeted-Behavior Models.”
Grimm, R.E. “Geophysical Investigations of the Interior of Mars, Emphasizing the Detection, Characterization and History of Groundwater.”
Hassler D.M., D.H. Grinspoon, S.C. Rafkin and D.C. Slater. “An Engineering Prototype MicroOzonometer for a 2009 Mars Scout Lander Mission.”
Hipp, J.E. “Mitigating DF Errors Caused by a Fluctuating Ocean Surface.”
Hudak Jr., S.J. “Enhanced Life Prediction Methodologies for Engine Rotor Life Extension.”
Koets, M.A. “Development of Ultra-Wideband Precision Indoor Positioning.”
Lesher, M.R., S.L. Wiedmann, J.K. Zoss and D.S. Dunn. “Sensor Scoring Methodology for Subterranean Structure Confirmation.”
Magee M.J. and M.P. Rigney. “Automated Monitoring of Waterways and Evaluation of Imagery Anomaly Detection Technologies.”
Moses, C.A. “Laser-Induced Fluorescence for Real-Time Monitoring of Jet-Fuel Thermal Stability.”
Necsoiu, D.M., D.A. Ferrill and D.W. Sims “Pre-, Syn- and Post-Seismic Ground Deformation from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar.”
Pollock, C.J. and A. De Los Santos “Definition and Optimization of Minimum Resource Plasma Instrument for Magnetospheric Constellation Mission.”
Rigney, M.P. “Image Processing Acceleration on Advanced Graphics Processors.”
Rittimann R. and C.K. Baker. “Investigation of Conductive Composite Materials for Optimum Performance with Applications for MF/HF Antennas.”
Sablik, M.J. and S. Mohanty, “Heat Exchange and Temperature Distribution between Stored Nuclear Waste Canisters and the Surrounding Earth in a Nuclear Waste Repository.”
Van Dyke, M.E. “Development and Biocompatibility of Self-Assembled Nanostructured Hydrogels.”
Van Rheeden, D.R. “Enhanced Signal Copy in High Noise Environments.”
Walter, G.R., R.R. Benke and D.A. Pickett “Potential Exposures to Radionuclides Originating from Technologically Enhanced Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials Emitted by Landfill Gas Extraction and Control Systems.”
Wellinghoff, S.T., K.R. Willson and D.P. Nicolella. “Fire-Resistant Polymers Using Nanoplatelets.”
Young, D.T., G.P. Miller and F.S. Anderson. “Laser Desorption Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry with Applications to Martian Geology.”
Davidson, D.L., T.E. Owen and J.B. Campbell “Fretting Fixture for High-Cycle Fatigue Test Machines.” U.S. Patent No. 6,601,456. August 2003.
Fleming-Dahl, A. “Signal Amplitude Restoration Apparatus and Method.” U.S. Patent No. 6,611,794. August 2003.
Hanson, H.S. and J.N. Mitchell. “Bi-Directional, Single Material Thermal Actuator.” U.S. Patent No. 6,608,714. August 2003.
Khair M.K. C.C. Webb, G.J. Bartley and C.A. Sharp “Integrated System for Controlling Diesel Engine Emissions.” U.S. Patent No.6,615,580. September 2003.
Kwun H., S.-Y. Kim and A.E. Crouch “Method and Apparatus Generating and Detecting Torsional Waves for Long Range Inspection of Pipes and Tubes.” U.S. Patent No. 6,624,628. September 2003.
Morrow T.B. and K.A. Behring II. “System and Method to Determine Thermophysical Properties of a Multi-Component Gas.” U.S. Patent No. 6,604,051. August 2003.
Peel III, H.H., E. Inada, M. Shinoda, F.T. Dodge and X.Zhao. “Dynamic Cardiovascular Monitor.” U.S. Patent No. 6,647,287. November 2003.
Perry W.D., T.H. Jaeckle, A.B. Black and L.E. Epley. “High Altitude Airships.”U.S. Patent No.6,609,680. August 2003.
Perry W.D., T.H. Jaeckle, L.E. Epley and A.B. Black “Autonomous Stratospheric Airship.” U.S. Patent No. 6,607,163. August 2003.
Stanglmaier, R.H. and D.W. Stewart. “Oxygenated Fuel Plus Water Injection for Emissions Control in Compression Ignition Engines.” U.S. Patent No. 6,637,381. October 2003.
Stevens, D.J., K.A. Marchand and T.J. Warnagiris, “Reactive Personnel Protection System and Method.” U.S. Patent No. 6,595,102. July 2003.
Wellinghoff, S.T., J.J. Kampa, S.A. Barenberg, P.N. Gray and M.D. Lelah. “Silicate-Containing Powders Providing Controlled, Sustained Gas Release.” U.S. Patent No. 6,605,304. August 2003.
Zogbi, S.W., L.D. Canady, J.A. Helffrich S.A. Cerwin, K.S. Honeyager A. de los Santos and C.B. Catterson. “Passive and Wireless Displacement Measuring Device.” U.S. Patent No. 6,656,135. December 2003.
ECENT FEATURES R
On the Leading Edge (Fall 2003)
James D. Walker, Ph.D., and Donald J. Grosch
SwRIballistics tests help investigators determine the cause of Columbia loss.
The Three-Dimensional Solar Wind (Fall 2003)
David J. McComas, Ph.D., Nathan A. Schwadron, Ph.D., William S. Lewis, Ph.D.
Ulysses observations contribute to an evolving view of the three-dimensional solar wind from the Sun to the galactic frontier.
Waves of the Future (Fall 2003)
Hegeon Kwun, Ph.D.
Guided-wave technology that effectively inspects and monitors large structures is finding its way into numerous industries and applications.
SwRI Wins Two R&D 100 Awards for 2003 (Fall 2003)
Software code, transmission test cell honored in Chicago ceremony.
Simulating Failure For Success(Fall 2003)
R.Craig McClung, Ph.D., and Joseph W. Cardinal, P.E.
Jointly developed SwRI-NASAcomputer program accurately simulates cracking in mechanical components, allowing repair or replacement before costly failure occurs.
Center-to-Center (Summer 2003)
Steven W. Dellenback, Ph.D.
Connecting traffic management centers will help motorists move across Texas.
Testing New Designs In the Loop, Not On the Oval (Summer 2003)
Gary Stecklein
The Virtual Vehicle Transmission Test Cell can save valuable time for auto designers.
Safety in the (Very) Long Run (Summer 2003)
Sitakanta Mohanty, Ph.D.
The CNWRAis supporting the assessment of long-term performance of a proposed geologic nuclear waste disposal site.
Managing Metadata (Spring 2003)
Marius Necsoiu, Ph.D.
The Olympus DISS™ software helps researchers visualize data.
APotentially Deadly Spread (Spring 2003)
J.Andrew Waynick
When apple jelly appears, the fuel delivery system is toast.
Through the Looking Glass (Spring 2003)
André Barajas
An SwRI-developed device helps engineers get a closer look at hydrates.
More Power to You (Spring 2003)
Glenn Light, Ph.D.
The video sagometer helps utility companies tap unused capacity from power lines.
Fax requests for articles previously published in Technology Today to (210) 522-3547 or e-mail jfohn@swri.org. Recent Technology Today features, as well as a listing of older titles, are available online at technologytoday.swri.org.
COMING UP
Trade Shows
Look for Southwest Research Institute at the following:
•The Construction Specification Institute Show, Chicago, April 21–23, 2004
•ITS America, San Antonio, April 26–28, 2004
•Offshore Technology Conference, Houston, May 3–6, 2004
•TechNet International,Washington, May 11–13, 2004
•Society of American Military Engineers Conference, San Antonio, May 17–21, 2004
•International School of Hydrocarbon Measurement,Oklahoma City, May 18–20, 2004
•NFPAWorld Safety Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, May 23–25, 2004
•American Astronomical Society, Denver, May 30–June 3, 2004
•SUPERCOMM, Chicago, June 4–7, 2004
•American Society of Mechanical Engineers Turbo Expo, Vienna, Austria; June 14–17, 2004
•International Food Technologists Exposition, Las Vegas, July 12–16, 2004
•Electromagnetic Compatibility, Santa Clara, Calif., Aug. 15–20, 2004
•Air Force Information Conference, Montgomery, Ala., Aug. 22–26, 2004
•American School of Gas Measurement Technology, Houston, Sept. 13–16, 2004
Southwest Research Institute is an independent, nonprofit, applied research and development organization. The staff of 2,800 employees pursue activities in the areas of communication systems, modeling and simulation, software development, electronic design, vehicle and engine systems, automotive fuels and lubricants, avionics, geosciences, polymer and materials engineering, mechanical design, chemical analyses, environmental sciences, space sciences, training systems, industrial engineering and more.
SwRI is always looking for talented technical staff for its San Antonio facilities and for locations elsewhere in the United States. We welcome your referrals. An Equal Employment Opportunity Employer: Race, Color, Religion, Sex, National Origin, Disability, and Veteran Status. Check our employment opportunities at jobs.swri.org.
