Experimental verification of torsional response control of asymmetric buildings using MR dampers

This paper proposes a semiactive control system to reduce the coupled lateral and torsional motions in asymmetric buildings subjected to horizontal seismic excitations. Magnetorheological (MR) dampers are applied as semiactive control devices and the control input determination is based on a clipped‐optimal control algorithm which uses absolute acceleration feedback. The performance of this method is studied experimentally using a 2‐story building model with an asymmetric stiffness distribution. An automated system identification methodology is implemented to develop a control‐oriented model which has the natural frequencies observed in the experimental system. The parameters for the MR damper model are identified using experimental data to develop an integrated model of the structure and MR dampers. To demonstrate the performance of this control system on the experimental structure, a shake table is used to reproduce an El Centro 1940 N–S earthquake as well as a random white noise excitation. The responses for the proposed control system are compared to those of passive control cases in which a constant voltage is applied to the MR damper. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High resolution submillimeter observations of massive protostars

We describe results from recent Submillimeter Array observations of massive protostellar objects (CepheusA-East, NGC7538 IRS1, and G5.89-0.39) with resolutions ranging from 0.8″ to 2″. A wide range of spectral and continuum properties are observed, with one unifying theme: at these resolutions all of the studied sources reveal multiple submillimeter cores. Some are observed to have cm-wavelength counterparts, and others not, suggesting a range of evolutionary stages coexisting in close proximity. In the presence of such complexity and multiplicity of sources, these data suggest that the interpretation of diagnostics such as kinematic velocity gradients and temperatures that are strongly dependent on spatial resolution should be approached cautiously.     

Hydroxyl and Peroxy Radical Chemistry in a Rural Area of Central Pennsylvania: Observations and Model Comparisons

Atmospheric hydroxyl (OH), hydroperoxy (HO₂), total peroxy (HO₂ and organic peroxy radicals, RO₂) mixing ratios and OH reactivity (first order OH loss rate) were measured at a rural site in central Pennsylvania during May and June 2002. OH and HO₂ mixing ratios were measured with laser induced fluorescence (LIF); HO₂ + RO₂ mixing ratios were measured with chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS). The daytime maximum mixing ratios were up to 0.6 parts per trillion by volume (pptv) for OH, 30 pptv for HO₂, and 45 pptv for HO₂ + RO₂. A parameterized RACM (Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Mechanism) box model was used to predict steady state OH, HO₂ and HO₂ + RO₂ concentrations by constraining the model to the measured OH reactivity and previously measured volatile organic compound (VOC) distributions. The averaged model calculations are generally in good agreement with the observations. For OH, the model matched the observations for day and night, with an average observed-to-modeled ratio of 0.80. In previous studies such as PROPHET98, nighttime NO was near 0 pptv and observed nighttime OH was significantly larger than modeled OH. In this study, nighttime observed and modeled OH agree to within measurement and model uncertainties because the main source of the nighttime OH was the reaction HO₂ + NO → OH + NO₂, with the NO being continually emitted from the surrounding fertilized corn field. The observed-to-modeled ratio for HO₂ is 1.0 on average, although daytime HO₂ is underpredicted by a factor of 1.2 and nighttime HO₂ is over-predicted by a factor of ∼2. The average measured and modeled HO₂ + RO₂ agree well during daytime, but the modeled value is about twice the measured value during nighttime. While measured HO₂ + RO₂ values agree with modeled values for NO mixing ratios less than a few parts per billion by volume (ppbv), it increases substantially above the expected value for NO greater than a few ppbv. This observation of the higher-than-expected HO₂ + RO₂ with the CIMS technique confirms the observed increase of HO₂ above expected values at higher NO mixing ratios in HO₂ measurements with the LIF technique. The maximum instantaneous O₃ production rate calculated from HO₂ and RO₂ reactions with NO was as high as 10–15 ppb h⁻¹ at midday; the total daily O₃ production varied from 13 to 113 ppbv d⁻¹ and was 48 ppbv d⁻¹ on average during this campaign.     

Mauna loa coronagraph observations around the 7 March 1970 eclipse

The locations of seven principal coronal features observed in projection at the 7 March 1970 eclipse are established from synoptic coronagraphic measurements.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.     

The determination of cassiterite tin in soils and sediments by an atomic absorption-volatile hydride method

Cassiterite tin is determined after sample decomposition with ammonium iodide. The sublimate, collected in a separate condenser, is dissolved in tartaric acid solution and the tin is reduced to tin hydride in a continuous flow system by means of sodium tetrahydroborate. Atomisation is effected in a shielded hydrogen-argon diffusion flame to provide a high sensitivity determination. Interferences are negligible and the precision (12% R.S.D.) and detection limit (0.2 μ/g^-1) obtained, as well as the throughput (60 samples per hour), are suitable for geochemical exploration.     

Estimation of the non-seasonal production of Spartina maritima (Curtis) Fernald in a South African Estuary

Net aerial production of Spartina maritima (Curtis) Fernald, in a warm temperature estuary in Algoa Bay, South Africa, occurring possibly as an exotic, was estimated as 523–680 g dry weight m^?2 year^?1. The method of production measurement designed here used community structure data and accounted for the species' extremely slow shoot production (3.1–6.7 dry g m^?2 year^?1) and continuous leaf turnover (516–676 dry g m^?2 year^?1). Standard methods of production measurement for other Spartina species failed by not accounting for the non-seasonal growth of S. maritima. N, C, organic and energy content of live and dead shoots remained constant through the seasons. The P : B ratio is 1.1, which is lower than for other Spartina species, but agrees with the low vigour shown by negligible regrowth a year after clipping. Decomposition rates were 90 mg g^?1 month^?1 in winter and 305 mg g^?1 month^?1 in summer. Monthly decomposition values showed significant correlation with air temperature (r = 0.86; P < 0.01), and water temperature (r = 0.80; P < 0.01), suggesting that monthly litterbag losses are a valid means of determining decomposition rate.     

Reorientation of global coronal magnetic fields due to differential rotation

Because of the progressive decrease in rotation rate of the solar plasma at increasing latitudes, the photospheric foot-points of large-scale closed magnetic structures in the corona, which are originally widely separated in longitude, may ultimately be brought into proximity. Magnetic mergers and reconnections between magnetic fields of opposite polarity are presumed to occur, producing major structural changes in the corona and in the locations of underlying filaments. Thus we believe that the differential rotation phenomenon is essential to understanding both gradual (evolutionary) and sudden (transient) changes in the corona, and that they can occur without any observable change in the photospheric magnetic flux. A process is suggested for the splitting or bifurcation of a high-latitude magnetic structure, producing two separate components at the same latitude, whose rotation rates are influenced by their respective magnetic linkages to other regions on the Sun.The National Center for Atmospheric Research is sponsored by the National Science Foundation.