Prediction of horizontal gas–solid flows under different gravitational fields

In this paper the performance of horizontal pneumatic conveying under different gravity environments is evaluated. An Euler–Lagrange approach validated versus ground experiments is employed to predict the relevant particle variables such as particle mass flux, mean conveying and fluctuating velocities in terrestrial, lunar and micro-gravity conditions. Gravity reduced computations predict a reduction in the global particle–wall collision frequency. Also, in the case of low wall roughness and small particle mass loading, reduction of gravity acceleration implies an increase of particle–wall collision frequency with the upper wall of the channel affecting greatly the particle mass flux profile. In the case of high wall roughness and/or high particle-to-fluid mass loading (i.e., around 1.0) particle conveying characteristics are similar in the three gravity conditions evaluated. This is due to the fact that both, wall roughness and inter-particle collisions reduce gravitational settling. However, the influence of gravity on the additional pressure loss along the channel due to the conveying of the particles is much reduced.     

Navigation in outdoor environments as an embodied,social, cultural,and situated experience: An empirical study of orienteering

This study investigated novices' “lived experiences” of navigation within the sport of orienteering from an enactive and phenomenological approach. The objective was to qualitatively characterize elements of task-related situations that were meaningful for orienteers. The results showed that the participants continuously made judgments about the reliability of their estimations about whether they were on “the right route” on the course. When the participants judged that they were only approximately on the right route or were unable to locate themselves, elements of the situation other than map and terrain features became meaningful for them. These results demonstrate that, for novice orienteers, navigation activity must extend beyond navigation as a logical, computational way-finding problem to include embodied, social, cultural and situated dimensions.     

The ground-based large-area wide-angle γ-ray and cosmic-ray experiment HiSCORE

The question of the origin of cosmic rays and other questions of astroparticle and particle physics can be addressed with indirect air-shower observations above 10 TeV primary energy. We propose to explore the cosmic ray and γ-ray sky (accelerator sky) in the energy range from 10 TeV to 1 EeV with the new ground-based large-area wide angle (ΔΩ ∼ 0.85 sterad) air-shower detector HiSCORE (Hundred^∗i Square-km Cosmic ORigin Explorer). The HiSCORE detector is based on non-imaging air-shower Cherenkov light-front sampling using an array of light-collecting stations. A full detector simulation and basic reconstruction algorithms have been used to assess the performance of HiSCORE. First prototype studies for different hardware components of the detector array have been carried out. The resulting sensitivity of HiSCORE to γ-rays will be comparable to CTA at 50 TeV and will extend the sensitive energy range for γ-rays up to the PeV regime. HiSCORE will also be sensitive to charged cosmic rays between 100 TeV and 1 EeV.     

Deuterium Observations in the Galaxy

An accurate measurement of the primordial value of D/H would provide one of the best tests of nucleosynthesis models for the early Universe and the baryon density. Such evaluations have been traditionally made using present estimations of the deuterium abundance in the interstellar medium, extrapolated backwards in time with the use of galactic evolution models. Direct estimations of the primordial deuterium abundance have been carried out only recently in QSOs absorbers at high redshift.We will summarize galactic observations of deuterium and suggest that, perhaps, a single D/H value for the interstellar medium is not representative. These evaluations mainly came from observations completed in the far UV with first the Copernicus satellite over the Lyman lines series followed then by H and D Lyman-alpha lines observations with both the IUE and the GHRS on the Hubble Space Telescope. We discuss different known systematics and show that the situation is not yet clear. It is not possible today to claim that we know "the" D/H value in the interstellar medium, if any.Overall and in the context of additional D observations made in the solar system, we conclude that the actual evolution of deuterium from Big-Bang nucleosynthesis to now is not yet understood. More observations, recently made with IMAPS (the Interstellar Medium Absorption Profile Spectrograph) and hopefully to be made with FUSE (the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer to be launched in the fall of 1998), at higher spectral resolution or in many different galactic sites are certainly needed to help us reach a better global view of the evolution of that key element, and thus better constrain any evaluation of its primordial abundance.     

WHISPER, A RESONANCE SOUNDER AND WAVE ANALYSER: PERFORMANCES AND PERSPECTIVES FOR THE CLUSTER MISSION

The WHISPER sounder on the Cluster spacecraft is primarily designed to provide an absolute measurement of the total plasma density within the range 0.2–80 cm^-3. This is achieved by means of a resonance sounding technique which has already proved successful in the regions to be explored. The wave analysis function of the instrument is provided by FFT calculation. Compared with the swept frequency wave analysis of previous sounders, this technique has several new capabilities. In particular, when used for natural wave measurements (which cover here the 2–80 kHz range), it offers a flexible trade-off between time and frequency resolutions. In the basic nominal operational mode, the density is measured every 28 s, the frequency and time resolution for the wave measurements are about 600 Hz and 2.2 s, respectively. Better resolutions can be obtained, especially when the spacecraft telemetry is in burst mode. Special attention has been paid to the coordination of WHISPER operations with the wave instruments, as well as with the low-energy particle counters. When operated from the multi-spacecraft Cluster, the WHISPER instrument is expected to contribute in particular to the study of plasma waves in the electron foreshock and solar wind, to investigations about small-scale structures via density and high-frequency emission signatures, and to the analysis of the non-thermal continuum in the magnetosphere.     

Studies of anomalous potential drops due to ion density inhomogeneities

The dynamic response of a 1-dimensional plasma diode to an applied step voltage is studied during a few electron transit times by numerical simulations when the initial state has an ion density minimum (an ion density cavity). Depending on the cavity depth and the applied voltage the potential drop distributes over the cavity or concentrates in a cathode sheath. The transistion between the two states as well as the cavity potential profiles are predicted by an analytical model. Simulations with periodic cavities as initial state show that the applied voltage can be shared between the cavities. A double layer, steady on the ion time scale, is created by introducing a steady cavity by ion losses.     

A Coarse Search Correlation Tracker for Image Registration

A high-speed compact digital correlation tracker which determines the frame-to-frame translational motion between two images is presented. By combining a similarity detection approach with the correlation coefficient in a parallel pipelined architecture, effective tracking rates comparable to conventional fast Fourier transform (FFT) techniques can be achieved. Examples of the tracker's performance using simulated data and image data acquired by an active infrared radar are given.     

Image compression systems on board satellites

On-board image compression systems aim to increase the amount of data stored in the on-board mass memory and transmitted to the ground station. This paper presents an overview and analysis of the state-of-the-art in on-board image compression systems. Compression methods and systems implementations are reviewed. Statistical analysis and developing trends are given. A new architecture of an on-board image compression system for future disaster monitoring multi-satellite missions in LEO is described.