This diploma project works out and is focused on the continual mixing process of the particular matters. The project is divided into following chapters. Chapter 1 includes mixing theory and information of the experimental work of the particular matters for blade using. In chapter 2 there is Evaluation and calculation of the technical parameters for the mixer. Chapter 3 deals with the engine proposal and chapter 4 includes calculation and design work of the gear transmission. Chapter 5 includes the stress analysis of the shaft and blade with the I-deas software. In attachment there are also the mixer arrangement drawing and detailed drawings of the key parts and groups for the mixer.

MSc (Zoology) / Department of Zoology / Mopane worm (Gonimbrasia belina Westwood) is an indigenous edible insect that periodically has population eruptions in Mopane tree (Colosphermum mopane) dominated vegetation. This insect is a valuable source of food and has become an economic commodity for commercial harvesters. Despite its importance, little is known of the population dynamics of mopane worm. Considerable attention has been paid to the nutritional and social dimensions of mopane worm consumption. However, anecdotal evidence suggests there is a decline in the spatial extent of their distribution due to unsustainable utilization, land transformation, and commercialization. This is paralleled with a decrease of harvest yield, thereby affecting local communities, commercial harvesting operations, and market product availability. Partial domestication of this species may be a way of ensuring sustainable and reliable utilization of this edible insect because it improves natural survival rates. Here I explore mopane worm ecology by mainly focusing on understanding spatial structuring and the role of domestication in the development of sustainable harvest techniques of Mopane worms (G. belina). Spatial structuring of mopane worms was investigated at both a fine (10m x 10m) and medium-scale (1 km2) at sites with and without commercial harvesting. Mopane worm populations were experimentally treated through transplant experiments and manipulating access of predators to 1st – 3rd instar larvae. The role of tree characteristics (height, canopy volume and number of stems) on both spatial and experimental treatments were explored using generalized linear mixed models. Moran’s Eigenvector Maps (MEM’s) were used to represent spatial structures at various scales and the role of soil. Relative to control, seeding of worms was successful in establishing new populations in unoccupied areas while transplant and application of sleeve nets had no significant effect on larval survival. Populations at sites where no harvesting takes place were spatially structured, while this was not true where commercial harvesting takes place. Canopy volume also accounted for egg packets distribution although the relationship was ambiguous. The density of larvae increased with an increase in sodium concentration in soil. Seeding of the population provides a viable option for the sustainable utilization of mopane worms and educating people on how to domesticate mopane worms. This study also highlights that populations of mopane worms are not only clumped in time but also in space and at various spatial scales. / NRF

Bundles and networks of semiflexible biopolymers are key elements in cells, lending them mechanical integrity while also enabling dynamic functions. Networks have been the subject of many studies, revealing a variety of fundamental characteristics often determined via bulk measurements. Although bundles are equally important in biological systems, they have garnered much less scientific attention since they have to be probed on the mesoscopic scale. Here, we review theoretical as well as experimental approaches, which mainly employ the naturally occurring biopolymer actin, to highlight the principles behind these structures on the single bundle level.

Even in times of renewable energy revolution fossil fuels will play a major role in energy supply, transportation, and chemical industry. Therefore, increasing demand for crude oil will still have to be met in the next decades by developing new oil re-serves. To cope with this challenge, companies and researchers are constantly seeking for new methods to increase the recovery factor of oil fields. For that reason, many enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods have been developed and applied in the field. EOR methods alter the physico-chemical conditions inside the reservoir. One possibility to achieve this is to inject an aqueous solution containing special chemicals into the oil-bearing zone. Polymers, for example, increase the viscosity of the injected water and hence improve the displacement of the oil to the production well. The injection of surfactant solutions results in reduced capillary forces, which retain the oil in the pores of the reservoir. Some surfactants form viscoelastic solutions under certain conditions. The possibil-ity to apply those solutions for enhanced oil recovery has been investigated by some authors in the last years in low salinity brines. Reservoir brines, however, often contain high salt concentrations, which have detrimental effects on the properties of many chemical solutions applied for EOR operations. The Triphenoxymethane derivatives, which were the subject of study in this thesis, form viscoelastic solutions even in highly saline brines. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the efficiency and the mode-of-action of this new class of chemical EOR molecules with respect to oil mobilization in porous media.

Auf der Suche nach immer kompakteren koaxialen Getrieben für kleine Antriebe steht eine neue Bauweise bereit. Der Foliensatz stellt kurz die Baugruppen eines solchen Getriebes vor und klärt über einige der Herausforderungen auf, die die Entwicklung beeinflussen. Weiterhin wird auf die Berechnung der verbauten Hypoidzahnradstufe eingegangen. Die Berechnung der Zahngeometrie ausgehend von den Wälz-Gleit-Körpern wird losgelöst von den Einschränkungen betrachtet, die herkömmliche Serienfertigungsverfahren mit sich bringen. Ausblickend werden die Entwicklungsschritte umrissen, die zunächst zum Prototyp und darüber hinaus zur Serienreife führen.

Bioporen werden von Regenwürmern und Pfahlwurzeln geformt und gelten als präferentieller Weg für das Wurzelwachstum in tiefere Bodenbereiche. Jedoch ist bislang unklar, ob dem bioporennahen Unterboden eine besondere Funktion für das Wurzelwachstum, die Nährstoffakquise und den Zugang in den bulk-Boden zukommt. In diesem Bereich fehlt es an einer Quantifizierung von Wurzelwachstum und die Messung von Wurzelaktivität. Mit speziell angefertigtem Beprobungswerkzeug wurde der bioporennahe Unterboden großlumiger, nahezu vertikal verlaufender Bioporen (Durchmesser >5 mm) in kleinteiligen Abständen in 0-2, 2-4 und 4-8 mm auf die Wurzellänge [cm], den Wurzeldurchmesser [mm], die Gesamt-C- und -N-Gehalte [%] (Ct, Nt) sowie den pH-Wert untersucht. Neben der Untersuchung von Bioporen im Feld wurde in Gefäßversuchen der Einfluss des Regenwurms und der Pfahlwurzel auf das Wurzelwachstum separat betrachtet. Für die Untersuchungen wurden Sommergerste, Sommerraps und Ackerbohne eingesetzt zur Abbildung verschiedener Wurzelsysteme. Die Ergebnisse zeigten einen deutlich ausgeprägten lateral abnehmenden Gradienten der Ct- und Nt-Gehalte im Feldversuch. In den Gefäßversuchen gab es keine Unterschiede zwischen den Bioporentypen in den Ct- und Nt-Gehalten. Die Wurzeln wuchsen hauptsächlich im Bioporenlumen und in 0-2 mm, geringer in 2-4 und 4-8 mm des bioporennahen Unterbodens. Der pH-Wert war in der Wurmpore höher als im bulk-Boden. Sommerraps und Ackerbohne zeigten anhand Wurzel-induzierter pH-Wertänderung eine deutliche Stoffwechselaktivität in der Wurzelprägung, während in der Wurmprägung keine signifikante pH-Wertveränderung für die drei Kulturarten sichtbar wurde. Die verminderte laterale Wurzelausdehnung im bioporennahen Unterboden deutet auf ein begrenztes Potenzial der Bioporen als Zugangsweg zum Explorieren des bulk-Bodens hin. Ein erhöhtes Wurzelwachstum in den ersten 2 mm des bioporennahen Unterbodens weist auf eine Verankerung der Wurzeln und eine Nährstoffaufnahme hin. / Biopores are formed by earthworms and taproots and are considered a preferential pathway for root growth into deeper soil layers. However, it is unclear to date whether the biopore sheath has a specific function for root growth, nutrient acquisition and access into the bulk soil. There is a lack of literature on the quantitative measurement of root growth and the measurement of actual root activity in the biopore sheath. Using sampling tools specially made for this type of investigation, the biopore sheath of large-sized, nearly-vertical biopores (diameter >5 mm) were sampled at small-scale intervals in 0-2, 2-4 and 4-8 mm and analyzed for root length [cm], root diameter [mm], total C- and N-contents [%] (Ct, Nt), and pH. In addition to the study of biopores in the field, the influence of earthworm or taproot on root growth was considered separately in pot experiments. Spring barley, spring oilseed rape and faba bean were used for the investigations in order to be able to map different root systems. The results showed a clearly pronounced laterally decreasing gradient of Ct- and Nt-contents in the field experiment. There were no differences between the biopore types in Ct- and Nt-contents in the pot experiments. Roots grew mainly in the biopore and in 0-2 mm, less in 2-4 and 4-8 mm of the biopore sheath. The pH value was higher in the worm type biopore than in the bulk soil. Based on root-induced pH change, spring oilseed rape and faba bean showed significant metabolic activity in root type biopore, while no significant pH change was found in worm type for the three crop species. The laterally decreasing root elongation from biopore surface towards bulk soil is pointing towards a limited potential of biopores as an access path to explore the bulk soil. Increased root growth in the first 2 mm of the biopore sheath indicates root anchorage and nutrient uptake.

Zeitreisen und Reisen mit Überlichtgeschwindigkeit sind zwei Menschheitsträume; sie beflügeln die Fantasie und bieten Stoff für skurrile Geschichten. Eine Arbeit zum Thema „Zeitreisen und Reisen mit Überlichtgeschwindigkeit“ zwingt zu einer Auseinandersetzung mit dem Begriff der „Zeit“. Die Vielschichtigkeit und der antinomische Charakter dieses Begriffes machen es schwer, „Zeit“ genauer zu fassen. Zeit tritt uns entgegen als Form der Wahrnehmung in ihrer zutiefst subjektiven Seite, als biologischer Rhythmus, als soziales Phänomen im Sinne einer kollektiven Zeitbestimmung, aber eben auch als physikalischer Parameter. Einsteins Relativitätstheorie revolutioniert unsere Vorstellungen von Raum und Zeit, indem sie sich vom newton-mechanischen Konzept des absoluten Raumes und der absoluten Zeit löst. Sie macht aber das, was bei Wells zehn Jahre vorher noch reine Fiktion war, zu einem für die Physik diskussionswürdigen Thema, nämlich das „Problem der Zeitreisen“. Einsteins Spezielle Relativitätstheorie (1905) erlaubt durch den von ihr vorhergesagten Effekt der Zeitdilatation „Reisen in die Zukunft“, und die Einstein’sche Gravitationstheorie lässt geschlossene zeitartige Linien als Lösungen ihrer Gleichungen zu (z. B. Gödel-Kosmos, Anti-de-Sitter-Kosmos). Allerdings würde eine Reise auf einer Zeitschleife sofort ein ganzes Bündel von Paradoxien (z. B. Großvater-Paradoxon, Informationsparadoxon) und semantischen Inkonsistenzen nach sich ziehen. Obwohl erstaunlicherweise die fundamentalen Gesetze der Physik (abgesehen von extrem seltenen und makroskopisch nicht in Erscheinung tretenden quantenmechanischen Effekten) bei einer Zeitumkehr nicht verletzt würden, scheint es in der Natur doch ein grundsätzliches Verbot von Vergangenheitsreisen zu geben. Der Physiker Dieter Zeh, dessen Position im Schlusskapitel der Arbeit näher beleuchtet wird, vertritt die Auffassung, dass die Science-Fiction-Literatur zum Thema „Zeitreisen“ überwiegend auf einfachen begrifflichen Fehlern beruhe. Die in Anlehnung an die Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie konstruierten Vorgänge seien bestenfalls genauso „theoretisch möglich“ wie ein Gas, das sich von selbst in einer Ecke des Gefäßes versammelt. Die vorliegende Arbeit erörtert Ansätze für „Zeitmaschinen“ und superluminale Prozesse, die in Einklang mit der modernen Physik stehen. Besprochen werden u. a. die Tachyonen-Hypothese, Tiplers rotierender Zylinder, der Gödel-Kosmos, der Anti-de-Sitter-Kosmos, die sogenannten „Wurmlöcher“ und die Alcubierre-Metrik. Zugleich sollen Ansätze vorgestellt werden (z. B. Eternalismus, Viele-Welten-Modell, Prinzip der konsistenten Geschichte), die Lösungsversuche für die Paradoxien von Vergangenheitsreisen bieten. Um die Reisen in die Vergangenheit und Reisen mit Überlichtgeschwindigkeit scheint es zu stehen wie mit einer Anfrage an Radio Jerewan; die Antwort lautet stets: „Im Prinzip ja, aber …“ Doch die Faszination dieser Idee wird weiterhin Stoff für die „Fiction“ liefern. / Time travel and superluminal travel are two of mankind's dreams. They inspire our imagination and provide material for bizarre stories. A work on the subject of time travel and superluminal travel forces us to re-examine our concept of "time". The complexity and the contradictory nature this subject makes it difficult to be more precise about "time". On its deepest subjective side, time is a means of perception, a biological rhythm, a social phenomenon in terms of our collective understanding of time. But it is also a physical parameter. Einstein's Theory of Relativity revolutionised our idea of space and time by freeing us from the Newtonian concept of absolute space and absolute time. The "problem of time travel", a subject that Wells wrote about just ten years before as mere fiction, was now a discussion worthy of physics. Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity (1905), by predicting the effects of time dilation, allowed for "travels into the future" and Einstein's Theory of Gravity used closed time-like lines for solutions to calculations about time travel (for example, the Gödel Universe and the Anti-de Sitter Universe). However, a trip to a time warp would immediately involve a whole set of paradoxes (for example, the grandfather paradox and the information paradox) and semantic inconsistencies. Surprisingly, the fundamental laws of physics (apart from extremely rare and non-emergent macroscopic quantum mechanical effects) are not violated by the concept of time reversal. Yet, in nature, there still seems to be a fundamental prohibition against time travel to the past. Physicist Dieter Zeh, whose position is more closely presented in the final chapter of this work, supports the view that science fiction literature on the subject of "time travel" is overwhelmingly based on simple conceptual errors. The processes used in this literature, which are based on the General Theory of Relativity, at best, are just as "theoretically possible" as a gas which gathers itself into the corner of a container. This work discusses approaches for "time machines" and superluminal travel which are consistent with modern physics. Some of the discussions that will be presented are the tachyon hypothesis, Tipler's rotating cylinder, the Gödel Universe, the Anti-de Sitter Universe, so-called "wormholes" and the Alcubierre-metric. At the same time, approaches will be presented (for example, Eternalism, the Many-Worlds Interpretation and the Consistent Histories Approach) that will provide attempts to find a solution for paradoxes regarding time travel to the past. Questions about time travel to the past and superluminal travel are like the questions asked on Radio Yerevan. The answer is always, "In principle yes, but…" But the fascination about time travel will continue to provide material for "fiction".

No description available.

Les engrenages roues et vis sans fin sont une solution avantageuse pour transmettre le couple entre des axes perpendiculaires non concourants. Ces engrenages offrent une solution simple et efficace en terme de coût dans les applications de transmission de puissance, où un grand rapport de réduction est nécessaire, en comparaison avec les engrenages classiques à axes parallèles qui nécessitent normalement deux ou trois étapes pour obtenir les mêmes réductions avec une augmentation conséquente de complexité et du nombre de pièces. L’usure de surface est un des modes de défaillance observés dans la vie des engrenages roues et vis sans fin qui influe sur la portée de contact, les caractéristiques de transmission et le bruit résultant. La première étape de ces travaux est la mise au point d’un modèle numérique pour étudier le comportement quasi statique des engrenages roues et vis sans fin avec une roue en bronze et une vis en acier. Le modèle est basé sur la résolution des équations de compatibilité des déplacements ainsi que sur la méthode des coefficients d’influence. Les effets globaux de flexion et les effets locaux de contact ont été séparés. Les effets de contact ont été obtenus par la théorie de Boussinesq. Les coefficients de flexion sont estimés par la combinaison d’un calcul Éléments Finis et des fonctions d’interpolation, permettant d’une part de prendre en compte l’environnement de l'engrenage (la géométrie des arbres, des jantes et des voiles, l’emplacement des roulements,...) et d’autre part de réduire significativement les temps de calculs. Dans une seconde étape, une méthodologie est proposée pour modéliser l’usure de la surface de dent de la roue. Le modèle de contact quasi-statique de la répartition des charges est combiné avec un modèle d’usure d’Archard. Ce modèle suppose que la profondeur d’usure est directement proportionnelle à la pression de contact et à la distance de glissement et inversement proportionnelle à la dureté du matériau. Cette loi d’usure est modifiée pour prendre en compte l’influence des conditions de lubrification en utilisant un coefficient d’usure local, dépendant de l’épaisseur du film lubrifiant, rapportée à l’amplitude des rugosités des surfaces. L’enlèvement de matière par l’usure du flanc de la roue influe sur la répartition des pressions et donc les modifications de la géométrie des dents doivent être incluses dans la prédiction de l’usure. Le calcul des pressions de contact est ainsi mis à jour pour tenir compte des changements de géométrie. Enfin, pour valider le modèle développé des comparaisons du modèle avec des résultats expérimentaux issus de la bibliographie ont été effectuées. / Worm gears are one of the technical devices for transmitting torque between spatial crossed axes. They provide a simple and cost effective solution in power transmission applications, where a high reduction ratio is required. Comparable conventional parallel axis gearing would normally require two or three stages to achieve the same reduction, with a consequent increase in complexity and number of parts. Surface wear is one of the failure modes observed in life worm gear sets which affects the contact patterns, the other transmission characteristics and the resultant noise. The first step of this work is the development of a numerical model to study provide the quasi-static behavior of worm gears with bronze wheel and steel worm. The model is based on solving of the equation of displacement compatibility and the influence coefficient method. The global effects of bending and local effects of contact are separated. The contact effects are obtained with the theory of Boussinesq. Bending effects are estimated by the combination of one standard FEM computation and interpolation functions. These methods allow, on the one hand, to take into account the environment of the gear (shaft shape, rim, web, bearing location ...) and on the other to reduce significantly the computation time. In a second step, a methodology is proposed for predicting the wear of the wheel tooth surface. In this process, a quasi-static contact model of the load distribution is combined with Archard's wear model. This model assumes that the wear depth is directly proportional to the contact pressure and sliding distance and inversely proportional to the hardness of the material. The wear law is modified to take into account the influence of the lubrication conditions using a local wear coefficient, depending on the lubricant film thickness, relative to the amplitude of surface roughness. Removal of material by wear on the wheel flank affects the pressure distribution, therefore the changes in teeth must be included in the prediction of wear. The calculation of contact pressures must also be updated to take into account the modification of the gear flank geometry. The last step concerns the validation of the numerical. Comparisons have been carried out between the model results and experimental ones issued from the bibliography.

his Disertation thesis involves the creating of the simulation model of the C axis drive over mentioned machine and them verification on the prototype of this machine. C axis is controlled with position feedback. Simulation model was created before the realisation of the machine prototype for the preliminary identification of the dynamic behaviours in the working cycles and them opportunity of the realisation this conception. C axis is constructed with worm gear and is controlled with help of Master-Slave drive. This torque drive eliminates the production backlash in the worm gear. The multifunction turning center, where is used this C axis, is determinate for heavy duty roughing cutting of the forged peaces, where is problem with dynamic stability of the cutting process. Simulation model includes the problems with multi-body mass system, friction on the worm gear, self locking, damping on the worm gear and the optimization of the parametrs for many regulators. Simulation model was verified on the prototype of the machine. Achieved results bring the new knowledge, which are used for simulation complicated machine nodes and this knowledge is used for research and developing of the similar mechatronics system.