Experimental investigation on silica dust lofting due to charging within micro-cavities and surface electric field in the vacuum chamber

The charged dust particles can be mobilized electrostatically by the repulsion between the adjacent grains and the surface electric field due to the incoming electron current and the charge accumulation within the micro-cavities. In this study, the experimental results of the initial vertical launching velocities and the maximum dust heights are compared with the estimated values for the lofted spherical dust grains by the patch surface charging equations. Silica particles with the sizes between <6 and 45?µm in radius are loaded on a graphite plate, and they are exposed to the electron beam with 450?eV energy under 4?×?10^?3?Pa vacuum chamber pressure. During the first set of the experiments, the dust samples are tested without an initial compression process and an additional horizontal electric field. Second, the dust samples are compressed by two different weights in order to increase the packing density under approximately 780.7?Pa and 3780?Pa. Finally, the dust grains are placed between the two parallel aluminum plates to apply approximately 2000?V/m and 4800?V/m horizontal electric field. A high-speed camera is used to record the transportation of the dust grains together with a microscopic telescope, and the results point out that the patch surface dust-charging model estimations are in agreement with the first experiments. On the other hand, the dust particles from the compressed samples are lofted with higher velocities than the estimations, and the number of the dust lofting observations decreases significantly, which demonstrates the importance of the micro-cavities and the increased charging requirement to overcome the contact forces. When the horizontal electric field is present, the initial vertical launching velocities are measured to be lower than the other experiments, which can be attributed to the decreased charging requirement for the dust lofting as a result of inter-particle collisions and rolling motion. According to the experimental results, the electrostatic dust transportation can be controlled not only by the ambient plasma and the solar irradiation on the airless planetary bodies, but also by the surface properties such as the contact surfaces between the dust grains, the number of the micro-cavities related to the packing density, and the presence of the horizontal electric field contributing to the external forces by other particle motions.     

翅片位置对复合式减涡器减阻性能影响数值模拟

为了探索翅片-管复合式减涡器的翅片安装位置对共转盘腔径向内流压力损失的影响规律,对不同转速、翅片周向位置及安装角度下的去旋系统开展了数值研究,得到了不同工况下共转盘腔径向内流的流场结构及压力损失分布曲线。研究结果表明:减涡管能引导流体径向流入,并降低流体的旋流比;相比于管式减涡器,翅片-管复合式减涡器能明显降低盘腔内的总压损失;在不同旋转雷诺数下,翅片的周向安装位置α及安装角β均存在最佳值;在中、高旋转雷诺数下,最佳值分别为α=9°,β=30°,最佳结构下总压损失较基础模型低40%左右;改变翅片周向位置及安装角度可以明显改变气流进入减涡管的角度,在较优情况下,可以减小流体流入减涡管的阻力及在减涡管内的流动阻力,整体上减小了盘腔内总压损失。     

Improved predictions of equatorial TEC for real time applications

It is important to use models developed specifically for the equatorial ionospheric estimation for real-time applications, particularly in Satellite Navigation. This work demonstrates a methodology for improved predictions of VTEC in real time using the model developed for the equatorial ionosphere by the authors. This work has been done using TEC data of the low solar activity period of 2005 obtained using dual frequency GPS receivers installed under the GAGAN project of ISRO. For the purpose, the model is first used in conjunction with Kriging technique. Improvement in accuracy is observed when compared with the estimations from the model alone using the measurements as true reference. Further improvement is obtained by Bayesian combination of these estimates with independent Neural Network based predictions. Statistical performance of improvement is provided. An improvement of ∼1 m in confidence level of estimation of VTEC is obtained.     

复杂结构试验中的应变应力转换

通过建立一种新的应力应变表述函数 ,在弹塑性范围内 ,应用双剪应力强度理论 ,对结构试验中检测到的应变进行转换 ,以求得结构测点的检测应力 ,进而为结构强度提供较为准确的数据 ,并通过实验数据验证了其正确性     

Space science education in Egypt and the 2006 solar eclipse

The space science research has been started in Egypt since 1910 by measuring the solar constant as indication of solar radiation at Helwan Observatory. The solar sunspot studies and its influence on the Nile flooding was erected and operated at Helwan as a first solar station in Egypt during 1957. Zeiss-Coude’ refractor was installed in 1964. Astronomy and space science educations started in Egypt at the university level since 1936 at Department of Astronomy and Meteorology of Cairo University. Undergraduate and graduate education in Egypt will be discussed in this work.     

电离层顶部电子含量对GNSS电离层层析的影响分析

卫星信号射线上的总电子含量(slant total electron content, STEC)是像素基全球卫星导航系统电离层层析(computerized ionospheric tomography, CIT)建模的必要数据来源，但电离层层析通常忽略1 000 km以上的顶部电子含量，为弄清这部分电子含量对层析结果的影响，利用NeQuick2模型计算站星视线上的STEC与其在电离层区域内的STEC比值来改正原始数据，并分别利用改正前后的STEC进行电离层层析。结果显示，电离层顶部电子含量占比约为10%，白天占比略大于黑夜，与测高仪站的数据相比，改正后的均方根值比改正前提高了20%以上；与Swarm卫星提供的电子剖面数据对比，改正后的层析结果精度较改正前提升了19.6%左右，且该方法受地磁扰动影响较为明显。总的来说，利用CIT进行小尺度电离层探测，可较直观地看出，顶部电子含量对层析结果的影响较大，需要采取相应手段予以剔除。     

A nonlinear background removal method for seismo-ionospheric anomaly analysis under a complex solar activity scenario: A case study of the M9.0 Tohoku earthquake

A precise determination of ionospheric total electron content (TEC) anomaly variations that are likely associated with large earthquakes as observed by global positioning system (GPS) requires the elimination of the ionospheric effect from irregular solar electromagnetic radiation. In particular, revealing the seismo-ionospheric anomalies when earthquakes occurred during periods of high solar activity is of utmost importance. To overcome this constraint, a multiresolution time series processing technique based on wavelet transform applicable to global ionosphere map (GIM) TEC data was used to remove the nonlinear effect from solar radiation for the earthquake that struck Tohoku, Japan, on 11 March, 2011. As a result, it was found that the extracted TEC have a good correlation with the measured solar extreme ultraviolet flux in 26–34 nm (EUV_26–34) and the 10.7 cm solar radio flux (F_10.7). After removing the influence of solar radiation origin in GIM TEC, the analysis results show that the TEC around the forthcoming epicenter and its conjugate were significantly enhanced in the afternoon period of 8 March 2011, 3 days before the earthquake. The spatial distributions of the TEC anomalous and extreme enhancements indicate that the earthquake preparation process had brought with a TEC anomaly area of size approximately 1650 and 5700 km in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions, respectively.     

Solar activity dependence of total electron content derived from GPS observations over Mbarara

Vertical total electron content (VTEC) observed at Mbarara (geographic co-ordinates: 0.60°S, 30.74°E; geomagnetic coordinates: 10.22°S, 102.36°E), Uganda, for the period 2001–2009 have been used to study the diurnal, seasonal and solar activity variations. The daily values of the 10.7 cm radio flux (F_10.7) and sunspot number (R) were used to represent Solar Extreme Ultraviolet Variability (EUV). VTEC is generally higher during high solar activity period for all the seasons and increases from 0600 h LT and reaches its maximum value within 1400 h–1500 h LT. All analysed linear and quadratic fits demonstrate positive VTEC-F_10.7 and positive VTEC-R correlation, with all fits at 0000 h and 1400 h LT being significant with a confidence level of 95% when both linear and quadratic models are used. All the fits at 0600 h LT are insignificant with a confidence level of 95%. Generally, over Mbarara, quadratic fit shows that VTEC saturates during all seasons for F_10.7 more than 200 units and R more than 150 units. The result of this study can be used to improve the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) prediction of TEC around the equatorial region of the African sector.     

Response of the EIA ionosphere to the 7-8 May 2005 geomagnetic storm

In this paper, response of low latitude ionosphere to a moderate geomagnetic storm of 7–8 May 2005 (SSC: 1920 UT on 7 May with Sym-H minimum, ∼−112 nT around 1600 UT on 8 May) has been investigated using the GPS measurements from a near EIA crest region, Rajkot (Geog. 22.29°N, 70.74°E, Geomag.14°), India. We found a decrease in total electron content (TEC) in 12 h after the onset of the storm, an increase during and after 6 h of Sym-H deep minimum with a decrease below its usual-day level on the second day during the recovery phase of the storm. On 8 May, an increase of TEC is observed after sunset and during post-midnight hours (maximum up to 170%) with the formation of ionospheric plasma bubbles followed by a nearly simultaneous onset of scintillations at L-band frequencies following the time of rapid decrease in Sym-H index (−30 nT/h around 1300 UT).     

Near-real time monitoring of the TEC fluctuations over the northern hemisphere using GNSS permanent networks

Since the early 1990s, global positioning system measurements have been used to study of the state and rapid changes of the Total Electron Content in the ionosphere. Currently, the increasing number of permanent stations makes it possible to generate maps of the irregularities in the ionosphere for specified regions with sub-daily resolution. The main goal of this work was to apply global navigation satellite system observations to obtain information about ionospheric variability around the North Geomagnetic Pole. In order to detect the ionospheric disturbances, 30-s observation data was used. The Rate of Total Electron Content Index was applied as a measure of the variability in the ionosphere. The first analyses were executed using more than 100 permanent stations. The results show two kinds of products: 2-hour maps in spherical geomagnetic coordinates and daily maps presenting the occurrence of the strong Total Electron Content fluctuations as a magnetic local time function, for the most disturbed days of April 2010. Apart from the main product of the algorithm, the Rate of Total Electron Content time series for individual satellite tracks was presented. The results demonstrated very good sensitivity of the obtained maps, which can detect even quite weak disturbances. The presented algorithm developed at the Geodynamic Research Laboratory of the University of Warmia and Mazury, in cooperation with Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowave Propagation, will be applied in the near future to create near-real time service of the conditions in the ionosphere based on the Global Navigation Satellite Systems observations.