Automated Material Handling Systems are practically ubiquitous across industry and many rely on the operation of timing belt drives, which require that the belt be tensioned properly in order to function correctly. A series of experiments was carried out in which the frequency spectrum of acoustic radiation caused by transverse vibrations of a timing belt was used to calculate the belt tension. A lumped-parameter model was developed that considers the geometric complexity of the timing belt's construction by calculating the stiffness of a single belt tooth using commercially-available finite element analysis software. This was used to modify the belt's effective stiffness suggested by the manufacturer. Based on the experimental data, a set of material properties was determined that, when used in the lumped-parameter model, resulted in tension predictions that agreed with the experiment within the 95% confidence intervals of the means. / text

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1985. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 103).

In Alabama, the Paleozoic Appalachian thrust belt plunges southwest beneath the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Gulf Coastal Plain. In Arkansas, the Paleozoic Ouachita thrust belt plunges southeast beneath the Coastal Plain. The strikes of the exposed thrust belts suggest an intersection beneath the Coastal Plain. Well data and seismic reflection profiles confirm the strike and intersection of the thrust belts, and provide information to determine the structure and general stratigraphy of each thrust belt. In east-central Mississippi, the Appalachian thrust belt curves from the regional northeast trace to westward at the intersection with the southeastern terminus of the Ouachita thrust belt, to northwest where Ouachita thrust sheets are in the Appalachian footwall, and farther west, to a west-southwest orientation. At the intersection, the frontal Appalachian fault truncates the Appalachian thrust sheets. The Appalachian thrust sheets are detached in Lower Cambrian strata and contain a distinctive Cambrian-Ordovician passive-margin carbonate succession. The Ouachita thrust sheets are detached above the carbonate succession and contain a thick Carboniferous clastic succession. The Appalachian thrust sheets east of the intersection rest on an autochthonous footwall with a thin Lower Cambrian sedimentary cover above Precambrian crystalline basement. To the west, the Appalachian thrust sheets rest on an allochthonous footwall of thick Ouachita thrust sheets. The top of Precambrian crystalline basement rocks dips southwestward beneath the Ouachita thrust belt; large-magnitude down-to-southwest basement faults enhance the deepening. Appalachian thrust sheets on the northeast are detached above relatively shallow basement, but to the west, are detached above thick Ouachita thrust sheets, which overlie deeper basement. The structure of the basement reflects the Iapetan rifted margin, where the northwest-striking Alabama-Oklahoma transform bounds the southwest side of the Alabama promontory. The trends of basement structures and subsidence toward the Ouachita thrust belt parallel the Alabama-Oklahoma transform. Shallower basement and synrift basement grabens underlie the northeast-striking Appalachian thrust belt. The curves in strike and along-strike change in footwall structure of the Appalachian thrust belt reflect controls by basement structure and by the structure of the Ouachita thrust belt.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

We report the discovery, tracking, and detection circumstances for 85 trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) from the first 42 deg(2) of the Outer Solar System Origins Survey. This ongoing r-band solar system survey uses the 0.9 deg(2) field of view MegaPrime camera on the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope. Our orbital elements for these TNOs are precise to a fractional semimajor axis uncertainty <0.1%. We achieve this precision in just two oppositions, as compared to the normal three to five oppositions, via a dense observing cadence and innovative astrometric technique. These discoveries are free of ephemeris bias, a first for large trans-Neptunian surveys. We also provide the necessary information to enable models of TNO orbital distributions to be tested against our TNO sample. We confirm the existence of a cold "kernel" of objects within the main cold classical Kuiper Belt and infer the existence of an extension of the "stirred" cold classical Kuiper Belt to at least several au beyond the 2:1 mean motion resonance with Neptune. We find that the population model of Petit et al. remains a plausible representation of the Kuiper Belt. The full survey, to be completed in 2017, will provide an exquisitely characterized sample of important resonant TNO populations, ideal for testing models of giant planet migration during the early history of the solar system.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Engineering (Mechanical Engineering), June 2017 / This research report describes the creation of a unique experimental facility for investigating localised stresses that can develop in conveyor belting during operation. High localised stresses can cause premature failure of conveyor belts, requiring expensive replacement. A key objective of carrying out research in this field is to gain a fundamental understanding of the stress that develops in various types of conveyor belting as it crosses over idler rollers. An experimental facility was developed that will be able to measure the stress and the deformation for different types of belting, such as solid woven/PVC and ply belting, with different belt classes. Particular attention was given to the various effects at the junction point caused by different idler configurations. Idler arrangements are configurable in the 24m–long test facility for inline, offset and belt-friendly types. Belt stresses at the idler junctions of these configurations are measured by applying strain gauges and load cells. The offset distance can be varied to determine the effect this has on the developing idler junction stress. This will allow comparison of the stresses as the class of belt increases, for each type of belt. The value of doing so is to determine the effect that the weft strength or stiffness has as the belt is forced into the idler junction. The test facility that was designed and built was shown to meet the requirements of the project. The instruments were calibrated to an acceptable uncertainty. The test facility can handle the full range of planned tests in terms of the design strength and is modular enough to handle a variety of other research initiatives. This establishment of a large, specialised experimental facility constitutes the first phase of an ongoing research programme into improving the design standards for belt conveyor systems / CK2018

No description available.

No description available.