Abstract: A thermal spray powder is formed of granules of a silicon aluminum alloy each having bonded thereto discrete particles of a neoalkoxy zirconate type of organo-zirconate. A modified polyester powder may be blended with the mineral granules, in which case the polymeric granules also should have the zirconate bonded thereto. The powder is made by forming a slurry of alloy and zirconate starting powders with an organic binder, and drying the slurry to form the powder.

Abstract: Two constituent powders of a powder blend for thermal spraying are in the form of composite particles containing subparticles of nickel alloy and benoite for clearance control coatings. The composite particles are formed by spray drying. In one embodiment the volume percentage of metal in one constituent powder is at least 25% greater than in the other powder. In another embodiment the difference is about 10% by volume, and the alloy rich constituent has alloy subparticles sufficiently large to act as core particles to which the finer subparticles of bentonite are bonded.

Abstract: Target area on a specimen surface is located in an electron microanalyzer system that includes an electron energy analyzer and an analyzer detector. An electron gun impinges a rastering beam of incident electrons across the surface, a secondary electron detector provides corresponding signals for producing a scanning electron microscope image of the surface. Backscattered electrons effected from the incident electrons are passed through the analyzer for producing a further image that is superimposed on the SEM image to locate the target area to be subject to a separate microanalysis. Particularly for an electrically insulating specimen surface, the images are produced in a single frame of rastering, and surface area and beam current are sufficient to produce the images without substantial charge buildup.

Abstract: An apparatus comprising a circular ruling engine having a supporting means oscillatable in a controlled manner with a substrate section on said supporting means and means for lifting and lowering a ruling means to rule said substrate section to generate a grating pattern from a number of grating patterns to produce an off-axis grating section. Also disclosed is a method for forming off-axis grating sections.

Abstract: A process is described for the formation of high temperature superconducting materials from perovskites by inductively coupled plasma assisted oxidation. An inductively coupled plasma reactor is used to oxidize oxygen deficient perovskites in less time and at lower temperatures than previously possible. High power densities are created within the plasma reactor. This is thought to contribute to the rapid and low temperature phase change during oxidation from tetragonal to orthorhombic crystal structure apparently required for superconductivity at temperatures greater than approximately 77.degree. K. The low temperature and rapid processing time permits the application of conventional lithographic semiconductor manufacturing techniques to be applied to the potentially high temperature superconducting perovskite materials.

Abstract: In optical device for measuring displacement an optical grating is formed of alternating transparent and opaque stripes having equal widths. The grating is in an aperture plane with the stripes parallel to a central plane that is perpendicular to the aperture plane. Respective subpluralities of the stripes are located in an aperture area in the aperture plane, so that incident light rays on the aperture area are at least partially passed as beams by the transparent strips in the aperture area. A concave mirror has it center of curvature at the aperture area so as to return the beams back to the aperture area. The return beams are further passed by the transparent strips in the aperture area as return light. The grating is displaceable laterally to the cental plane, such that a corresponding responsiveness of the return light intensity to the lateral position provides a measure of displacement of the grating relative to the central plane. Alternative device with reflecting strips function similarly.

Abstract: A circuit for differential calorimetry includes a pair of resistance elements in a bridge circuit. Separate DC heating currents are effected in each element by high impedance current sources. An AC voltage is applied to the bridge. In measuring AC differental voltage between the elements, the DC is filtered out. The filtered AC differential voltage is fed back to effect a current differential between the heating currents to null the differential temperature causing the differential voltage. A similarly filtered average AC voltage on the elements is compared with a reference voltage, and the resulting error voltage is fed back to control the average of the heating currents. A very high impedance current source includes a voltage-current transducer with an output of a heating current passed through a monitor resistor, with matched resistances from both sides of the monitor connected back to positive and negative inputs to the transducer, and a control voltage applied across the inputs.

Abstract: In a method to spray a coating of uniform thickness onto a spinning disk, a point is located spacially on the spinning disk at a distance from the center equal to about half of a spray stripe width plus half of the disk radius. The spray stream is moved in a ring-shaped pattern centered at the point and having a perimeter defined at the stripe mid-line. The perimeter diameter is equal to the disk radius. The spray stream is moved around the pattern with successive speeds, namely a base speed for a semicircular outer zone at the periphery of the disk and a smaller inner zone at the center, and lesser speeds for intermediate zones. For a concentrically contoured disk, between the above cycles the spray stream is affixed perpendicularly to a slanted surface of the spinning disk for a time period sufficient to compensate for a thickness deficiency.

Abstract: An optical probe is for measurement of light transmission of liquid. A tubular housing three equally configured legs defining three arcuately spaced openings in the housing wall. A solid cylindrical member formed of glass or fused silica has a flat transparent end surface and an opposing curved surface silvered to form an internally concave reflector. The cylindrical member is retained in the housing with the transparent end surface adjacent to the openings. A transparent rod member has a flat first end surface and a flat second end surface parallel to the first end surface. The rod member is retained in the housing with the second end surface adjacent to the openings and spaced from the transparent end surface parallel thereto so as to define a cavity therebetween such that, upon immersion of the probe, liquid passes through the openings into the cavity. The first end surface is spaced from the concave reflector so that conjugate focal spots of the concave reflector are located at the first end surface.

Abstract: The invention relates to a wire pistol comprising a wire feed mechanism including a wire feed pulley rotated by a DC motor and a counterpulley for biasing the wire into engagement with the feed pulley. It is an object of the invention to provide a wire pistol of this type in which, in contrast to prior-art wire pistols, no transmission shift operation or no transmission replacement is required over the entire adjustment range of wire feed rates. This object is attained according to the invention by the provision that the DC motor is adapted to have successive operating voltage pulses of variable pulse width and/or variable pulse frequency applied thereto for thus controlling the wire feed rate. This provision ensures that a sufficiently high torque for the wire feed operation is also available at very low wire feed rates, i.e. at low rotational speeds of the motor.

Abstract: A light absorption detector includes a light source substantially adjacent a window of a chromatogrpahic flow cell. The flow cell is defined by a housing member which also includes a photo-sensitive detector.

Abstract: A laminated structure includes a wafer member with a membrane attached thereto, the membrane being formed of substantially hydrogen-free boron nitride having a nominal composition B.sub.3 N. The structure may be a component in a mechanical device for effecting a mechanical function, or the membrane may form a masking layer on the wafer. The structure includes a body formed of at least two wafer members laminated together with a cavity formed therebetween, with the boron nitride membrane extending into the cavity so as to provide the structural component such as a support for a heating element or a membrane in a gas valve. In another aspect borom is selectively diffused from the boron nitride into a <100> surface of a silicon wafer. The surface is then exposed to EDP etchant to which the diffusion layer is resistant, thereby forming a channel the wafer member with smooth walls for fluid flow.

Abstract: A rotor blade is for a gas turbine engine having a plurality of rotor blades and a substantially coaxial shroud encompassing the tips of the blades. A ceramic layer is bonded to the blade tip, the ceramic layer consisting of a combination of aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide or at least partially stabilized zirconium oxide. The ceramic layer is formed as a plasma sprayed coating or a high velocity oxy-fuel sprayed coating.

Abstract: An optical switching device includes a first optical fiber terminating in a first window, and a plurality of second optical fibers each terminating in a corresponding second window. A concave mirror is selectively positionable with conjugate foci located respectively at the first window and selectively at any one of the second windows so as to reciprocally image the first window and a selected second window on each other. The imaging mirror is rotated about an axis spaced from and parallel to the optical axis of the mirror, so as to rotate the mirror among a plurality of arcuately spaced selected positions. In each selected position the imaging means closes a light circuit between the first optical fiber and a selected second optical fiber.

Abstract: A composite thermal spray powder for abradable coatings is formed as homogeneously agglomerated particles. Each agglomerated particle consists of pluralities of subparticles of boron nitride and subparticles of aluminum or aluminum alloy bonded with an organic binder.

Abstract: This invention relates to apparatus for quantitatively analyzing a gaseous mixture for its components. A predetermined volume of a gaseous mixture of combustion products component is collected in a gas mixer up to a preselected pressure. A portion of the mixture is discharged successively through the tubular column and a sample chamber for a predetermined time period with the mixture being initially at the preselected pressure in the volume means. Detection of delayed output of gas constitutents from the column provides an analysis of constituents. The apparatus further comprises a furnace, a magazine for holding the plurality of test samples, a transfer device connected to the furnace for sequentially transferring a successive sample from the magazine to the furnace, and a furnace seal integral with the transfer device for temporal sealing of the furnace from ambient atmosphere after the sample is transferred to the furnace until subsequent transferral.

Abstract: A charged-particle energy analyzer includes a hollow axisymmetrical body with an annular opening therein receptive of input electrons from a cylindrical mirror analyzer, the electrons having a distribution of electron energies and a range of electron trajectories. The trajectories each have a radially inward directional component and an axial directional component in a forward direction parallel to the axis. Annular deflectors with negative potentials are disposed coaxially in the body so as to reverse the axial directional components of the electron trajectories. A ring-shaped channel detector detects the electrons relative to radial distance and thereby to energy.

Abstract: A fluid conduit including a tube having a two-dimensional serpentine opening therethrough and exhibiting low peak dispersion is applicable as an extra-column connection.

Abstract: In a method and a system for analyzing spectral data including a spectrophotometer and a spectral detector, a data station receives first transmittance spectrum data points and has a file register containing second transmittance spectrum data points. The first and second transmittance data points are transformed respectively to set of first and second absorbance spectrum data points. The first and second absorbance points are band pass filtered at a characteristic frequency nominally associated with spectral bandwidth so as to produce respective sets of first and second filtered data points. A set of weighting factors are established, each corresponding to the square of the sum of a first transmittance point and a second transmittance point for a selected frequency.

Abstract: A laser system includes a multimode laser diode positioned at a range from a target. Backscatter from the target returns into the diode and to modify the emission. An induced modulation frequency in the emission effects oscillatory mode transitions to create an amplitude modulation in mode power for a selected mode, the mode being selected by an optical spectrum analyser or an interference filter. The diode is positioned initially for a minimum in the amplitude modulation, and readjusted by a selected increment in response to an incremental change in target position so as to reestablish the amplitude modulation to the minimum. The incremental change thereby equals the selected increment.