Residual feed intake (RFI) is one method to identify feed efficient animals; however, this method is costly and time consuming therefore, identifying an indirect measure of RFI is important. Evaluating the glucoregulatory mechanisms in cattle selected for divergent RFI may provide insight into metabolic processes involved in feed efficiency. This study evaluated the effect of a glucose (GLUC) challenge on efficient (LRFI) and inefficient (HRFI) tropically adapted bulls and heifers. Insulin (INS) secretion was determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA) and GLUC was determined by colorimetry. Insulinogenic index (IIND) was calculated as the ratio of INS to GLUC (I/G). Bonsmara heifers were evaluated in two experiments. Similar results were observed in both experiments. RFI affected (P < 0.05) INS response; with LRFI heifers having a greater INS response than HRFI heifers. Similarly, RFI affected (P < 0.05) IIND; with LRFI heifers having a greater IIND than HRFI heifers. In Santa Gertrudis bulls, RFI did not affect (P > 0.05) GLUC conc. or Ins. response; however, numerically HRFI bulls had a greater INS response than LRFI bulls. RFI affected (P < 0.05) IIND; with LRFI bulls having a lower IIND than HRFI bulls. In Brahman heifers (Exp 1), RFI did not affect (P > 0.05) GLUC concentration or INS. response; however, numerically HRFI heifers had a greater INS response than LRFI heifers. RFI affected (P < 0.05) IIND; with LRFI heifers having a lower IIND than HRFI heifers. In Brahman bulls (Exp 2), RFI affected (P > 0.05) INS response; with HRFI bulls having a greater INS response than LRFI bulls. RFI affected (P < 0.05) IIND; with LRFI bulls having a lower IIND than HRFI bulls. Bonsmara cattle evaluated for RFI had a response to an influx of exongenous glucose that was opposite to that observed in the Brahman and Santa Gertrudis cattle evaluated for RFI. Insulinogenic index was significantly different between RFI groups in each experiment. The lower amount of INS required for clearance of the GLUC from the circulation of the Brahman and Santa Gertrudis cattle fits with our hypothesis that more efficient cattle would require less INS than the less efficient cattle. Further research and studies need to establish glucoregulatory differences between breeds and sexes of cattle evaluated for RFI.

Objectives of this study were to characterize residual feed intake (RFI) in growing calves and to examine relationships with growth, carcass composition, physiological indicators, energy metabolism and reproduction. To accomplish these objectives, multiple experiments were conducted. In all experiments, RFI was calculated as the difference between actual DMI and expected DMI from linear regression of DMI on mid-test metabolic BW and ADG. To examine the relationships between RFI and rate and composition of growth, and reproduction an experiment was conducted with postweaning Brangus heifers (N = 348). Measures of carcass composition (longissimus muscle area, LMA; and 12th rib fat thickness, BF) were obtained by ultrasound at the start and end of each experiment. To determine if serum IGF-I concentration is associated with RFI, two experiments were conducted with Angus bulls and heifers (N = 95) divergently selected for serum IGF-I concentration. To evaluate relationships with energy metabolism, calves with low and high RFI were selected for determination of heart rate as an indicator trait for energy expenditure (4 experiments) and liver mitochondrial function (3 experiments). Residual feed intake was not correlated with ADG, but was positively correlated with gain in BF such that the more efficient calves were leaner. Calves from the low IGF-I selection line had lower RFI suggesting that RFI and IGF-I are related and that IGF-I could be used as an indicator trait to aid in selection for improved RFI in Angus cattle. Calves with low RFI had lower energy expenditure and greater mitochondrial acceptor control ratios than calves with high RFI suggesting improved regulation of energy metabolism. A similar percentage of heifers with low RFI attained puberty as those with high RFI by the end of the experiment. Results from this study indicate that producers can utilize RFI to select for improved feed efficiency with minimal impact on growth, carcass composition and reproduction.

The research focuses on the various methods that could be used in the laboratory to determine the values of production from a model cutter suction dredge. The values of production obtained from different methods are compared to estimate the best value. The tests were conducted in an attempt to pave the way to find spillage from the cutter suction dredge. The development of these methods is useful for evaluating the sediment spillage and residuals during dredging. The more accurate the values of production the more accurate would be the values of spillage. For this purpose, the laboratory dredge carriage and dredge/tow tank located at the Haynes Coastal Engineering Laboratory at Texas A&M University is used. During the summer of 2007 and 2008, the laboratory dredge carriage was used to dredge sand (d50 = 0.27 mm) in the sediment pit that is 7.6 m (25 feet) long, 3.7 m (12 feet) wide and 1.5 m (5 feet) deep. A laser profiler, a model hopper barge attached with pressure gauges, a flowmeter and density gauge aid in determining the production from the laboratory model of the cutter suction dredge were used. The before and after bathymetry measurements using a laser profiling system are used to determine the amount of sediment remaining after dredging. The hopper is instrumented with pressure gauges to measure the amount of sediment contained in the hopper. The laboratory dredge system has a magnetic flowmeter and nuclear density gauge that provide data to calculate the amount of sand delivered to the hopper. The difference between the sand volume from the before and after bathymetry is the amount of sand that is resuspended and subsequently resettles in the dredging area (residual) and the sand that is not picked up by the dredge (spillage). Many issues in laboratory testing were found during the course of testing and solutions were found. The production values are compared with reasoning as to why the differences occur. The results demonstrate the ability and difficulty of measuring the amount of material that is dredged and the amount of spillage and residuals that occurs during dredging.

The roles of residual stresses distribution and creep deformation in the post-weld-shifts (PWS) of a laser model packaging are investigated in this dissertation. The temperature dependent material properties are employed to calculate the distribution of the residual stresses introduced in the solidification of soldering joints and lasering joints respectively. A power law proposed by Norton is applied to the creep deformation calculation. The post-weld-shifts of fiber-solder-ferrule (FSF) introduced in the aging and temperature cycling tests are simulation. A finite element package ¡V MARC is used to module the fiber-solder-ferrule joint and laser joint respectively. Experimental results of the PWS of a FSF joint are compared with the calculated shifts. Results indicate that the redistribution of residual stresses in joint and the creep deformation under high temperature load may affect the PWS significantly. A good agreement between the simulated and the measured results indicate the proposed model is feasible in the laser module packaging analysis.

The thermal stresses, residual stresses distributions in a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) are investigated in this thesis. The post-weld shifts of the laser light sources in the VCSEL under the re-flow, temperature cycling test and high temperature aging test have also been simulated and studied. The creeping effects of the 63Sn/37Pb solder on the stresses distributions and post-weld shifts are compared and discussed. The finite element package MARC is used for the stresses and deformation simulations of a VCSEL under different load cases. The heat transfer, the non-linear couple elastic-plastic increment and the creep models are employed in the numerical simulations. The temperature dependent material properties of the 63Sn/37Pb and 96.5Sn/3.5Ag solder are used for the temperature cycling and aging test. The effect of the circle and square solder pad designs on the stresses distributions in a VCSEL is also studied in this thesis. Numerical results indicate that the residual stresses introduced in the solidification is significant in stress and post-weld analyses of a VCSEL.

This paper briefly describes the theory and methods of x-ray residual stress measurements. Residual stresses can be defined as the stresses which remain in a material in the absence of any external forces. There are many stress determination methods. Some of those methods are destructive and some are nondestructive. X-ray residual stress measurement is considered as a nondestructive method. X-ray diffraction together with the other diffraction techniques of residual stress measurement uses the distance between crystallographic planes as a strain gage. The deformations cause changes in the spacing of the lattice planes from their stress free value to a new value that corresponds to the magnitude of the residual stress. Because of Poisson’s ratio effect, if a tensile stress is applied, the lattice spacing will increase for planes perpendicular to the stress direction, and decrease for planes parallel to the stress direction. This new spacing will be the same in any similarly oriented planes, with respect to the applied stress. Therefore the method can only be applied to crystalline, polycrystalline and semi-crystalline materials. The diffraction angle, 2&#952;, is measured experimentally and then the lattice spacing is calculated from the diffraction angle, and the known x-ray wavelength using Bragg's Law. Once the d-spacing values are known, they can be plotted versus 2 sin &#968;, ( &#968; is the tilt angle). In this paper, stress measurement of the samples that exhibit a linear behavior as in the case of a homogenous isotropic sample in a biaxial stress state is included. The plot of d vs. 2 sin &#968; is a straight line which slope is proportional to stress. On the other hand, the second set of samples showed oscillatory d vs. 2 sin &#968; behavior. The oscillatory behavior indicates the presence of inhomogeneous stress distribution. In this case the xray elastic constants must be used instead of E and &#957; values. These constants can be obtained from the literature for a given material and reflection combination. It is also possible to obtain these values experimentally. Calculation of the residual stresses for these samples is beyond the scope of this paper and will not be discussed here.

No description available.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a influência das tensões sobre o processo de nitretação a plasma/ difusão do nitrogênio. Amostras do aço AISI M2 e DIN CK45 foram nitretadas apresentando diferentes condições superficiais prévias. Amostras foram nitretadas a plasma a 5000C, com a composição gasosa de 5% de nitrogênio com o balanço em hidrogênio, variando-se o tempo do processo entre 30 e 60, e ainda, 120 minutos para as amostras do aço AISI M2. Estas condições foram produzidas por jateamento controlado e polimento mecânico. Adicionalmente, buscando comparar diferenças entre as tensões mecânicas e residuais, foi utilizado um dispositivo de flexão para promover tensões de carregamento na superfície de uma parte das amostras. As técnicas de análise envolveram medidas de tensões residuais e análise de fases por difração de raios X, caracterização microestrutural por microscopia ótica, perfis de microdurezas e perfis de composição química via espectroscopia ótica de descarga incandescente. Para as amostras do aço AISI M2 não foi detectada a formação da camada de compostos em nenhuma das condições utilizadas. Para amostras do aço DIN CK45, a formação da camada de compostos não pôde ser evitada. Tensões residuais da ordem de 1000 MPa foram medidas nas amostras do aço AISI M2, sendo mais altas para amostras jateadas e polidas que para amostras apenas polidas Os ensaios realizados demonstraram que o nível de tensões do material influencia significantemente a difusão do nitrogênio na matriz. Amostras nitretadas com tensões compressivas apresentaram profundidade de camada da ordem de 45µm, enquanto amostras com tensões zero ou tensões de tração apresentaram camadas da ordem de 50µm. Amostras polidas apresentaram em geral zonas de difusão mais profundas que as amostras jateadas e polidas previamente, obtendo-se uma diferença em profundidade de camada nitretada de até 100%, como se observou nas amostras do aço AISI M2 tratadas por 120 minutos.

Os conceitos teóricos e práticos sobre as características da distribuição de tensões residuais vêm sendo estudados a partir do inicio da década de 1930. Desde então, o desenvolvimento de novos equipamentos e a necessidade de valores quantitativos mais representativos, tornaram necessários o estudo e o aprimoramento teórico prático dos métodos disponíveis de caracterização das tensões residuais, visando, principalmente, o maior entendimento dos efeitos que essas tensões exercem no desempenho dos componentes mecânicos em geral. Sendo parte adicional do projeto SFB 570, neste trabalho foi realizada uma análise comparativa entre os métodos do Furo Cego e Micromagnético de análise das tensões residuais, a fim de verificar a aplicabilidade de cada método na caracterização dos campos de tensões residuais presentes em anéis para rolamentos do aço ABNT 52100. Foram analisadas cinco amostras, provenientes de diferentes etapas do processo de manufatura de anéis para rolamentos do aço ABNT 52100, contendo diferentes distribuições de tensões residuais. Alguns conceitos a respeito das características das tensões residuais e da aplicação de cada método foram revistos, assim como da natureza da distribuição de tensões residuais em anéis para rolamentos. Fatores como a distribuição de tensões residuais com a profundidade, características do componente, tempo de resposta e tipo de intervenção da técnica, foram revistos e considerados como limitantes para a aplicação de cada método. Alguns resultados obtidos foram comparados com resultados provenientes da análise de tensões residuais através do Método de Difração de raios X, a fim de verificar a representatividade de cada método. Os resultados encontrados estão dentro da escala compreensível para cada amostra, considerando–se as origens da variação das tensões residuais durante um processo de manufatura de anéis para rolamentos, e apontam para o uso complementar das técnicas utilizadas, onde cada método apresenta vantagens e limitações, atuando em escalas singulares de distribuição das tensões residuais. / The experimental and theoretical concepts about the residual stress distribution have been studyng since 1930. The development of new equipment and the necessity of better representative quantitative values, made the study and the improvement of these concepts necessary at this time. In this work, which is an additional part of SFB 570 project, a comparative analysis between the Blind Hole Drilling and the Micromagnetic Methods was carried through, in order to verify the applicability of each method in the characterization of residual stress fields in an ABNT 52100 ball bearing steel rings. Five samples, from different manufacturing steps for the ABNT 52100 ball bearing steel rings, having different residual stress distributions, varing with depth and angular position in the sample, have been analyzed. Some concepts regarding the characteristics of residual stresses and the application of each method have been reviewed, as well as the nature of the residual stress distribution in a ball bearing steel ring. The residual stress depth distribution, the physical properties and geometry of the material, the time consumed and type of intervention are some factors used to compare and find the best range for the application of each method. Some results obtained in this work, have been compared with results proceeding from the analysis of residual stresses by the X– ray Diffraction Method, to verify the reliablility of the Blind Hole Drilling and the Micromagnetic Methods. The results full fill the expectation in the residual stress range for each sample and are an indicative for the necessity of the complementary use of these techniques, where each one, besides presenting advantages and disadvantages, works in a specific range of depth and local surface resolution.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar a influência das tensões sobre o processo de nitretação a plasma/ difusão do nitrogênio. Amostras do aço AISI M2 e DIN CK45 foram nitretadas apresentando diferentes condições superficiais prévias. Amostras foram nitretadas a plasma a 5000C, com a composição gasosa de 5% de nitrogênio com o balanço em hidrogênio, variando-se o tempo do processo entre 30 e 60, e ainda, 120 minutos para as amostras do aço AISI M2. Estas condições foram produzidas por jateamento controlado e polimento mecânico. Adicionalmente, buscando comparar diferenças entre as tensões mecânicas e residuais, foi utilizado um dispositivo de flexão para promover tensões de carregamento na superfície de uma parte das amostras. As técnicas de análise envolveram medidas de tensões residuais e análise de fases por difração de raios X, caracterização microestrutural por microscopia ótica, perfis de microdurezas e perfis de composição química via espectroscopia ótica de descarga incandescente. Para as amostras do aço AISI M2 não foi detectada a formação da camada de compostos em nenhuma das condições utilizadas. Para amostras do aço DIN CK45, a formação da camada de compostos não pôde ser evitada. Tensões residuais da ordem de 1000 MPa foram medidas nas amostras do aço AISI M2, sendo mais altas para amostras jateadas e polidas que para amostras apenas polidas Os ensaios realizados demonstraram que o nível de tensões do material influencia significantemente a difusão do nitrogênio na matriz. Amostras nitretadas com tensões compressivas apresentaram profundidade de camada da ordem de 45µm, enquanto amostras com tensões zero ou tensões de tração apresentaram camadas da ordem de 50µm. Amostras polidas apresentaram em geral zonas de difusão mais profundas que as amostras jateadas e polidas previamente, obtendo-se uma diferença em profundidade de camada nitretada de até 100%, como se observou nas amostras do aço AISI M2 tratadas por 120 minutos.