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Topic Review
Wooden Boats of World War 2
Splinter fleet or Splinter navy was a nickname given to the wooden boats used in World War II. The boats served in many different roles during the war. These boats were built in small boatyards on the West coast and East coast, Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico. They could be built quickly, in just 60 to 120 days. Most of the boats were built by boatyards that already had the tools and knowledge from building yachts, sailboats and motor boats. Many were built by craftsmen in family-owned small businesses. Under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program and War Shipping Administration contracts went out to over fifty boatyards across the country. The boats were built for the US Navy, the, United States Army Air Forces , United States Coast Guard, and US Army. Some of the wooden boats went to Allied nations on the Lend-Lease program. In addition to new boat construction, some wooden boats built between 1910 and 1941 were acquired for the war effort, some used as-is and others converted for war use. Wooden boats have lighter weight and are easier to repair than steel hull boats. These wooden boats ranged from 19 to 200 feet in length. Some worked near shore and others working in the open ocean, called the Blue-water navy. The Splinter fleet is in contrast to the more common steel hull war ships and Merchant Marine ships. After the war, many of these boats were deemed not needed. Many were abandoned or destroyed, a few served in the Korean war and a few in the Vietnam War, some sold to private and some donated. During World War I there was a debate as to if wooden boats and ships should be used in war time. William Denman, President of the Emergency Fleet Corporation supported the building of wooden ships for the war and General Goethals disapproved. In the end, both men turned in their resignation over the heated debate. During World War II the situation was different. There was a shortage of steel and steel shipyards, so there was no debate about the need for a vast wooden fleet of boats and ships.
  • 3.7K
  • 14 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Dhunge Dhara
A dhunge dhara (Nepali:ढुङ्गे धारा Listen (help·info)) or hiti (Newari) is a traditional stone drinking fountain found in Nepal. It is an intricately carved stone waterway through which water flows uninterrupted from underground sources. Dhunge dharas are part of a comprehensive drinking water supply system, commissioned by various rulers of Ancient and Medieval Nepal. The system is supported by numerous ponds and canals that form an elaborate network of water bodies, created as a water resource during the dry season and to help alleviate the water pressure caused by the monsoon rains. After the introduction of modern, piped water systems, starting in the late 19th century, this old system has fallen into disrepair and some parts of it are lost forever. Nevertheless, many people of Nepal still rely on the old hitis on a daily basis.
  • 3.7K
  • 21 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Space Shuttle Main Engine
The Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25, otherwise known as the Space Shuttle main engine (SSME), is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine that was used on NASA's Space Shuttle and is planned to be used on its successor, the Space Launch System. Designed and manufactured in the United States by Rocketdyne (later known as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Aerojet Rocketdyne), the RS-25 burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine producing 1,859 kN (418,000 lbf) of thrust at liftoff. Although the RS-25 can trace its heritage back to the 1960s, concerted development of the engine began in the 1970s, with the first flight, STS-1, occurring on April 12, 1981. The RS-25 has undergone several upgrades over its operational history to improve the engine's reliability, safety, and maintenance load. Subsequently, the RS-25D is the most efficient liquid fuel rocket engine currently in use. The engine produces a specific impulse (Isp) of 452 seconds (4.43 km/s) in a vacuum, or 366 seconds (3.59 km/s) at sea level, has a mass of approximately 3.5 tonnes (7,700 pounds), and is capable of throttling between 67% and 109% of its rated power level in one-percent increments. The RS-25 operates at temperatures ranging from −253 °C (−423 °F) to 3300 °C (6000 °F). The Space Shuttle used a cluster of three RS-25 engines mounted in the stern structure of the orbiter, with fuel being drawn from the external tank. The engines were used for propulsion during the entirety of the spacecraft's ascent, with additional thrust being provided by two solid rocket boosters and the orbiter's two AJ-10 orbital maneuvering system engines. Following each flight, the RS-25 engines were removed from the orbiter, inspected, and refurbished before being reused on another mission.
  • 3.7K
  • 24 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Catalyst Design via Colloidal Synthesis
Supported nanoparticles are commonly applied in heterogeneous catalysis. The catalytic performance of these solid catalysts is, for a given support, dependent on the nanoparticle size, shape, and composition, thus necessitating synthesis techniques that allow for preparing these materials with fine control over those properties. Such control can be exploited to deconvolute their effects on the catalyst’s performance, which is the basis for knowledge-driven catalyst design. In this regard, bottom-up synthesis procedures based on colloidal chemistry have proven successful in achieving the desired level of control for a variety of fundamental studies. This article aims to give an overview of recent progress made in this synthesis technique for the application of controlled catalytic materials in gas-phase catalysis. The focus goes to mono- and bimetallic materials, as well as to recent efforts in enhancing their performance by embedding colloidal templates in porous oxide phases.
  • 3.7K
  • 12 May 2021
Topic Review
Distributed Generation Integration into Grid
According to [25], DGs could also be defined as a small source of power production for storage (usually within the range of less than a kW and tens of MW), which is not a portion of the huge, centralized power network and is located close to the load. Another school of thought defines DGs as power pockets usually located near consumers, which have a relatively small capacity of 30 MW or less, with the ability to economically support the distribution grid. This description involves DG technologies such as photovoltaic systems, concentrating solar power, micro turbines, reciprocating engines and fuel cells.
  • 3.7K
  • 16 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Preconsolidation Pressure
Preconsolidation pressure is the maximum effective vertical overburden stress that a particular soil sample has sustained in the past. This quantity is important in geotechnical engineering, particularly for finding the expected settlement of foundations and embankments. Alternative names for the preconsolidation pressure are preconsolidation stress, pre-compression stress, pre-compaction stress, and preload stress. A soil is called overconsolidated if the current effective stress acting on the soil is less than the historical maximum. The preconsolidation pressure can help determine the largest overburden pressure that can be exerted on a soil without irrecoverable volume change. This type of volume change is important for understanding shrinkage behavior, crack and structure formation and resistance to shearing stresses. Previous stresses and other changes in a soil's history are preserved within the soil's structure. If a soil is loaded beyond this point the soil is unable to sustain the increased load and the structure will break down. This breakdown can cause a number of different things depending on the type of soil and its geologic history. Preconsolidation pressure cannot be measured directly, but can be estimated using a number of different strategies. Samples taken from the field are subjected to a variety of tests, like the constant rate of strain test (CRS) or the incremental loading test (IL). These tests can be costly due to expensive equipment and the long period of time they require. Each sample must be undisturbed and can only undergo one test with satisfactory results. It is important to execute these tests precisely to ensure an accurate resulting plot. There are various methods for determining the preconsolidation pressure from lab data. The data is usually arranged on a semilog plot of the effective stress (frequently represented as σ'vc) versus the void ratio. This graph is commonly called the e log p curve or the consolidation curve.
  • 3.7K
  • 17 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Fault-Tolerant Control
Fault-tolerant controllers (FTCs) can be defined as controllers that are able to tolerate faults and keep the control performance in the ideal range in the presence of faults. FTC approaches can be categorized into two main categories: Passive FTCs and Active FTC. Passive FTCs are not dependent on fault detection and isolation (FDI) modules and can keep the desired controller performance without considering the type and size of fault. Active FTCs are equipped with the FDI module and behave differently to different kinds of fault.
  • 3.6K
  • 27 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Mahindra & Mahindra
Mahindra & Mahindra Limited is an India multinational vehicle Automotive industry corporation headquartered in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. It was established in 1945 as Muhammad & Mahindra and later renamed as Mahindra and Mahindra. It is one of the largest vehicle manufacturers by production in India and the largest manufacturer of tractors in the world. It is a part of the Mahindra Group, an Indian conglomerate. It was ranked 17th on a list of top companies in India by Fortune India 500 in 2018. Its major competitors in the Indian market include Maruti Suzuki and Tata Motors.
  • 3.6K
  • 23 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Medium-Voltage Switchgear Condition Monitoring
Switchgear are a key component of the electrical grid. They serve both protective and control roles in distribution electric power with in the grid. It is therefore important to monitor and predict the condition of these assets. Thereby, condition monitoring is divided into three main tasks: breaker drive monitoring, thermal monitoring and partial discharge monitoring. This encyclopedia article provides an overview of the potential failure modes and monitoring techniques. More details can be found in an exhaustive review article, cited below.
  • 3.6K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) is the most used metal additive manufacturing technique, and it is based on the efficient interaction between a high-energy laser and a metal powder feedstock. The reuse of the powder feedstock is crucial to make the process cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. However, since studies of the mechanical and microstructural properties of parts produced with reused powders show scattered results, a closer look to the powder, heat source and shielding gas properties and to how they interact during the LPBF process is presented.  
  • 3.6K
  • 29 Oct 2020
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