Radar Performance with Multipath Using the Complex Angle

The complex angle (CA) method for resolving a low angle target from its multipath signal is evaluated in the presence of system noise. It is shown that standard deviation improvements of around 3-to-1 can be achieved at a 20-dB signal-to-noise power ratio relative to a normal monopulse system without the CA. It is also shown that the CA method is unbiased, giving bias improvements of as much as 100 times relative to normal monopulse. Evaluation of the assumptions in the technique shows very little sensitivity to knowledge of the reflecting surface's conductivity or dielectric constant. However, the method is somewhat sensitive to knowledge of surface roughness.     

Analysis and prediction of regulation in a multiple-outputcurrent-mode controlled DC-to-DC converter

A technique is developed for predicting the closed-loop steady state output voltage regulation of a multiple-output current-mode controlled converter. The proposed model accounts for the current loop, the voltage loop, and the integrator in the compensation scheme. This method allows tradeoffs with respect to regulation between different components or feedback configurations to be evaluated during the design of a converter. Experimental verification on a three-output current-mode controlled push-pull converter with single output voltage feedback is provided     

The influence of pressure on combustion intensity

The influence of pressure in the range of 3–15 kgf/cm² on combustion intensity is studied experimentally in a medium-sized rig. The apparatus is described and temperature measurements by different thermocouple techniques are discussed; gas composition was monitored by gas chromatography. The experiments were performed at different cross sections allowing to map temperatures and gas concentrations. The results show that temperature and carbon dioxide concentration increase more rapidly as the pressure is raised. Carbon monoxide appears as an intermediate and is concentrated near the combustion axis. The combustion zone becomes shorter with increasing pressure and the combustion intensity increases correspondingly.     

Microphysics in Astrophysical Plasmas

Although macroscale features dominate astrophysical images and energetics, the physics is controlled through microscale transport processes (conduction, diffusion) that mediate the flow of mass, momentum, energy, and charge. These microphysical processes manifest themselves in key (all) boundary layers and also operate within the body of the plasma. Crucially, most plasmas of interest are rarefied to the extent that classical particle collision length- and time-scales are long. Collective plasma kinetic phenomena then serve to scatter or otherwise modify the particle distribution functions and in so-doing govern the transport at the microscale level. Thus collisionless plasmas are capable of supporting thin shocks, current sheets which may be prone to magnetic reconnection, and the dissipation of turbulence cascades at kinetic scales. This paper lays the foundation for the accompanying collection that explores the current state of knowledge in this subject. The richness of plasma kinetic phenomena brings with it a rich diversity of microphysics that does not always, if ever, simply mimic classical collision-dominated transport. This can couple the macro- and microscale physics in profound ways, and in ways which thus depend on the astrophysical context.