Abstract: A method and apparatus is provided for testing dissipative mechanical phenomena, including fretting wear. An actuator (54) effects frictional oscillatory slip motion between a stylus (32) and a workpiece (30) in contact. A displacement transducer (62) detects the amplitude of the slip motion, and a control loop (60) responds to the displacement transducer controls the actuator to provide constant amplitude slip motion under changing frictional fretting wear conditions of the workpiece as the workpiece wears during the oscillatory slip motion. The oscillator is driven at its resonant frequency, and the power required to maintain constant amplitude slip motion at resonant frequency is monitored (64).

Abstract: A method of calculating a scale factor of an on-board gyro, comprises the steps of turning said vehicle through a predetermined angle, deriving the output data of the gyro at regular intervals during the turning step, integrating all of the output data of said gyro derived in the data deriving step, and calculating the scale factor of said gyro by dividing the integrated data by the predetermined angle.

Abstract: A shaker table (10) for testing and quality control of devices attached to the table is shown. The mounting table has pneumatic exciters (50) attached thereto. The mounting table (20) provides uniform distribution of forces applied by the pneumatic exciters (50). The forces are evenly distributed in all directions from the impact of the exciters on the mounting table. The mounting table (20) is supported on a foundation (2) by adjustable supports (4). The exciters are supplied with pressurized air from a source (12) through an airline (14).

Abstract: An instrument for the detection or measurement of attributes of a material comprises at least one vane which is mounted on a support that allows the vane to vibrate, a drive transducer which is disposed relative to the vane to stimulate vibration therein and at least one sensing transducer disposed to sense the vibrations.

Abstract: A misfire detection apparatus and method is provided for detecting misfire in cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a motor vehicle. The method includes sensing rotation of a crankshaft and calculating a crankshaft velocity based on the sensed rotation of the crankshaft. The method also includes compensating the calculated crankshaft velocity based on a predetermined cylinder. The method further includes comparing either the calculated or compensated crankshaft velocity to a predetermined crankshaft velocity range to determine if therein, and counting a misfire if either the calculated or compensated crankshaft velocity is within the predetermined crankshaft range.

Abstract: A scanning micro-sclerometer measures changes in contact stiffness and correlates these changes to characteristics of a scratch. A known force is applied to a contact junction between two bodies and a technique employing an oscillating force is used to generate the contact stiffness between the two bodies. As the two bodies slide relative to each other, the contact stiffness changes. The change is measured to characterize the scratch.

Abstract: A process and an apparatus for the ultrasonic testing of welds between plastic packaging like food trays and cover foils. The welded joint between the tray and cover foil is periodically exposed to pulses of ultrasonic radiation. The pulses pass through the weld and are picked up or received by a receiver. The amplitude of the received pulses is evaluated. The cross-section of the beam of ultrasonic radiation is so small that the radiation only passes through the weld itself. The packages and the ultrasonic tester are moved relative to each other in order to examine the whole circuit of the weld. The pulse rate is such that the weld areas covered by successive pulses overlap.

Abstract: A method of using a technique of fuzzy inference for partioning a particle size distribution diagram indicative of a relationship between particle size and its frequency of a mixture of several kinds of granular substances, such as white blood corpuscles including lymph corpuscles, monocytes and granulocytes, to define particle size regions for the respective substances. More particularly, some estimation points are selected on the abscissa of the particle size distribution diagram and some characteristic parameters are calculated at each estimation point with the corresponding frequency. A fuzzy production rule for each characteristic parameter is applied to seek an estimated value of the estimation point and the estimated values for all characteristic parameters at each estimation point are combined to obtain a composite estimated value. The estimation point corresponding to the greatest one of all resultant composite estimated values is appointed to an objective partition point.

Abstract: A production functional test for hydraulic brake control and traction control units which utilizes compressed air as a test medium. Compressed air is applied to an external port of a hydraulic brake or traction control unit which includes valves, accumulators and a positive displacement pump driven by an electric motor connected by internal passageways. The air pressure at another external port is monitored while the various components are exercised according to a test sequence. The monitored pressure must be within predetermined limits at various points of the test to demonstrate that the brake control unit is functioning properly. Air flow rates and pump motor current are also measured at specific points in the test. The test method can identify incorrectly sized and installed components.

Abstract: A positive-displacement pipette is provided comprising a longitudinally extending body portion having a bore passing therethrough, a hand grip portion disposed at one end of the body, and a tip portion coupled to and coaxially extending from the hand-grip portion. A cylinder is employed connected to and extending coaxially from the tip portion of the pipette, wherein the cylinder has a jet at its bottom end and a piston rod extending through the cylinder to the jet. A gripping arm in the form of a slidable sleeve is movably supported within the bore of the body and is adapted for gripping the piston rod by force applied to the slidable sleeve to thereby cause the sleeve to attach itself to the piston rod by friction. A device located on the hand grip portion of the body is provided for applying force to the slidable sleeve and hence to the piston rod extending through the cylinder to the jet.

Abstract: A drain separator in a gas analyzer is provided to rapidly remove drain or condensate from a gas flow by creating a rotary motion in the gas flow prior to introducing it into a separating chamber. In an exemplary embodiment, separating chamber 2, formed as a downwardly divergent conical space, connects with gas-inlet passage 6 at its upper end and an exhaust gas-outlet passage 3 at the periphery of its base. A sample gas-outlet passage 8 is disposed within separating chamber 2 in a coaxially aligned, vertically spaced opposing relationship to gas-inlet passage 6. Rotation of the gas flow may be accomplished by a vane 7, disposed within gas-inlet passage 6. Upon introduction of the rotating gas flow into separating chamber 2, the pressure on the flow is reduced causing the drain to condense and become distributed about the circumference of the low pressure gas flow.

Abstract: A device for testing a wrench including a base fixed in a housing, a cylinder disposed in the base and having a piston rod extended upward, a support fixed on top of the piston rod for supporting the handle portion of the wrench, the socket of the wrench is retained in place and the handle portion of the wrench is pushed upward in a repeated action by the cylinder so as to test the working life of the wrench.

Abstract: A system for monitoring abnormalities in a heat exchanger having heat-exchange tubes for heating feed water with extraction steam, an inlet and an outlet for the feed water, and a drain cooling zone, includes a process input, an apparatus for calculating the differential pressure between the feed water pressures at the inlet and outlet, an apparatus for computing the heat exchanging performance of the heat exchanger, and judgement apparatus for monitoring the differential pressure and the heat exchanging performance, thereby judging the presence or absence of scale accretion within the heat exchanger end, whenever scale accretion is present, judging the specific locations of the scale accretion in the inner and outer surfaces of the heat-exchange tubes, fluid flow distribution passageways and devices other than the heat-exchange tubes.

Abstract: An apparatus for measuring the thickness of a clad material having an outer mother metal and an inner clad metal. The apparatus includes a transmitter crystal and a receiver crystal of a double crystal angle-type probe which contact the outer surface of the mother metal, for receiving a first echo from the boundary surface of the mother metal and clad metal, and for receiving a second echo from the inner, bottom surface of the clad metal. The apparatus further includes an amplifier for amplifying the echo signals, a detector for detecting the zero-crossing points of the echoes, a zero point determining circuit, a calculator for calculating the periods from a zero point in time to the zero-crossing points, and a calculator for calculating the thickness of the clad material and clad metal based on the calculated periods.

Abstract: A system for controlling the flow of fluid through a line (3). The system may include first and second valves (A, B; and 6, 7) in the line (3). Between the first and second valves is located a chamber (52, 82), part of which may be filled with fluid having a variable volume (52), and another part of which is filled with a measurement gas (82, V.sub.1), such as air. The chamber may be isolated from the pressure effects in the rest of the line by closing both valves. The valves may also permit fluid to flow into or out of the chamber. The second portion of the chamber has a common boundary with the first part in such a way that the combined volume of the first and second parts is constant. A loudspeaker (22, 33, 571) creates sound waves in the gas in the second part of the chamber, in order to measure the volume of the fluid in the first part.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for obtaining a sample from a on stream plant operation is set forth. In a process plant, with a small pressure differential, fluid flow is provided through an inlet line and surplus is returned through an outlet line connected with the process plant. The inlet and outlet lines connect with a six port, position valve which is switched on rotation. There is a filling position for the valve wherein the filling position enables fluid from the process plant to flow through the inlet line and to fill a buffer tank. Sufficient flow is provided to enable purging of the inlet and outlet lines. Separately, there is a purge gas flow provided for a sample receiving container which is initially purged. On operation of the valve, the intermediate container is forced to flow into the sample receiving container through the valve at the urging the purge gas. A suitable housing is provided with a blanket of nitrogen for safety, and fugitive emissions to atmosphere are prevented.

Abstract: A microminiature cantilever structure is provided having a cantilever arm with a piezoresistive resistor embedded in at least the fixed end of the cantilever arm. Deflection of the free end of the cantilever arm produces stress in the base of the cantilever. That stress changes the piezoresistive resistor's resistance at the base of the cantilever in proportion to the cantilever arm's deflection. Resistance measuring apparatus is coupled to the piezoresistive resistor to measure its resistance and to generate a signal corresponding to the cantilever arm's deflection. The microminiature cantilever is formed on a semiconductor substrate. A portion of the free end of the cantilever arm is doped to form an electrically separate U-shaped piezoresistive resistor. The U-shaped resistor has two legs oriented parallel to an axis of the semiconductor substrate having a non-zero piezoresistive coefficient.

Abstract: A procedure for filling and emptying a pipette with quantative accuracy, wherein the distance travelled by a plunger (3) is measured as the plunger is being moved and the plunger is arrested when the travel corresponding to the desired quantity of liquid to be transferred has been reached, and a pipette comprising a elements (14, 23, 24) for measuring the travel of the plunger (3) and a elements (13) for controlling the movements of the plunger.

Abstract: A sampling needle and a ventilation pretreatment needle for sparging out a gas containing no carbon component are mounted on the same arm mechanism to be simultaneously driven. The sampling needle is adapted to introduce samples as well as to distributively inject acid into sample containers. The ventilation pretreatment needle is adapted to stir samples during sampling as well as to pretreat next samples during analysis.

Abstract: An abrasion evaluation test method is applicable to a case where a rotating disk and a friction member to be brought into sliding contact with the disk contact and abrade each other even while a brake is not applied due to vibrations and mounting errors. The disk is an actual disk, and the friction member is a test piece which is smaller than the actual friction member. The test piece is pressed against a frictional surface of the disk at a predetermined position, thereof. The abrasion of the disk is measured with respect to a portion of the frictional surface that is out of contact with the test piece, while the abrasion of the friction member is obtained from the difference in thickness of the test piece before and after testing.