Abstract: A two-piece piston is formed by friction welding an upper member to a lower member, wherein the upper and lower members are precision cast to net final dimensions such that no post-casting machining is required prior to the friction-welding process. The upper member includes a substantially flat crown and combustion surface extending radially inward from the crown. The lower member includes a pair of opposing skirts, each having a bore formed therethrough for receiving a connecting rod pin. The upper member and lower member each include at least two corresponding connecting surfaces that form a welded joint therebetween when the upper and lower members are friction welded together. The finished piston includes an integral cooling oil reservoir adjacent to the combustion surface.

Abstract: Disclosed are non-magnetic metal alloy compositions and applications that relate to non-magnetic metal alloys with excellent wear properties for use in dynamic three-body tribological wear environments. In some embodiments, the disclosure can relate to a drilling component for use in directional drilling applications capable of withstanding service abrasion. In some embodiments, a hardbanding for protecting a drilling component for use in directional drilling can be provided. In some embodiments, thermodynamic, microstructure, and performance criteria can be determined for hardbanding alloys.

Abstract: An assembly for a condenser microphone capsule, the assembly comprising: a plate having opposing planar surfaces and one or more tabs extending laterally from a peripheral region, at least one tab being adapted to receive an electrical connector; and a mount affixed around at least a portion of the peripheral region.

Abstract: A tooth separator apparatus, according to one embodiment, includes a tong having two resilient arms that are biased in an open position and having a wedge at each end of each arm. A drive shaft moves a compression member to overcome the resiliency of the arms and move them and the wedges in a closing direction for separating the teeth. The drive shaft can also move the compression member in the opposite direction to release the closing force on the arms and thereby permit their resiliency to allow them and the wedges to move to an open position.

Abstract: The decking gauge allows the decking installer to achieve the same even gaps between decking planks/boards up to 6 decking boards at a time, cutting the time it takes to achieve the gaps between the boards by more than half the time. My abstraction of the V shaped teeth on this gauge had been designed to set the gap halfway down each tooth, enabling the gauge to smoothly slot in between each plank/board and will set the same even gap. The decking gauges can position up to 6 decking boards/planks prior to nailing/screwing the decking boards to the joists. This allows the installer to achieve a faster installation of the decking boards.

Abstract: In some embodiments, an apparatus includes an inner support member having an outer surface and an outer support member rotatably coupled to the inner support member and having an inner surface configured to matingly engage the outer surface of the inner support member. One of the outer surface of the inner support member and the inner surface of the outer support member defines a concave surface and the other defines a convex surface. The outer support member and the inner support member are collectively configured to be releasably coupled to an edge of an object having a substantially horizontal surface. A capture region is defined by at least one of the outer support member or the inner support member and is configured to receive a portion of an article such that the article can be suspended from the object when the inner and the outer support members are coupled thereto.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are embodiments of iron-based corrosion resistant hardfacing alloys. The alloys can be designed through the use of different compositional, thermodynamic, microstructural, and performance criteria. In some embodiments, chromium content in the alloy can be increased while avoiding the formation of different hard chromium carbides, thereby increasing the corrosion resistance of the alloy.

Abstract: There is provided a controller for a heat capture and storage system configured to capture and store energy from heat expelled in engine exhaust. The controller includes a plurality of inputs, a plurality of outputs, and at least one processor coupled to a memory for storing within the memory instructions executable by the at least one processor. The controller is configured by execution of the instructions stored in the memory to: receive signals at one or more of the plurality of inputs, the signals representing at least one operating parameter of the heat capture and storage system; and based on at least one operating parameter, generate signals at one or more of the plurality of outputs for controlling at least one component of the heat capture and storage system to capture and store the energy from the heat expelled in the engine exhaust.

Abstract: A method of firing projectiles without the use of cartridge cases by electronically controlling the dynamics of internal ballistics created by combustion of Nitrous Oxide and a fuel injected under high pressure at oxygen rich or stoichiometric ratios. The shape of injector nozzles and the combustion chamber as well as a timed sequence of Nitrous Oxide injection, fuel injection and their ignition are used to create correct ballistics. The Timing of the injection and ignition sequence is automatically altered dynamically by an electronic control unit that obtains information from sensors and from an operator to tune the combustion for each firing so that the internal ballistic pressure versus time curve is favorable.

Abstract: A collection of machine readable instructions stored in a storage medium and process for graphical modeling including defining a plurality of resources comprising a plurality of resource objects and associating attributes with said task objects; defining a plurality of tasks comprising a plurality of task objects, said task objects comprise elements, with a plurality of hierarchical elements and sub-elements, and associating attributes with said elements and sub-elements; selecting at least one cognitive model defining a human cognitive process or model; determining if at least one relationship between said plurality of task objects, resource objects, and at least one cognitive model exists; graphically associating said at least one relationship with said task object, resource, object, and at least one cognitive model element where said relationship is determined; defining attributes associated with each said graphical relationship; and generating a graphical dashboard or data output associated with said task

Abstract: In some embodiments, an apparatus includes an inner support member having an outer surface and an outer support member rotatably coupled to the inner support member and having an inner surface configured to matingly engage the outer surface of the inner support member. One of the outer surface of the inner support member and the inner surface of the outer support member defines a concave surface and the other defines a convex surface. The outer support member and the inner support member are collectively configured to be releasably coupled to an edge of an object having a substantially horizontal surface. A capture region is defined by at least one of the outer support member or the inner support member and is configured to receive a portion of an article such that the article can be suspended from the object when the inner and the outer support members are coupled thereto.

Abstract: A system is provided for capturing energy from heat expelled in an exhaust of an engine of a motor vehicle and storing the captured energy. The system comprises a generator, a condenser, an evaporator, and an absorber. The generator captures heat from the exhaust of the engine and may be configured for circulating a first solution having a solute that is vaporizable by heat captured by the generator. The condenser may be coupled to the generator for receiving vaporized solute and condensing the vaporized solute to a liquid. The evaporator may be coupled to the condenser and have an orifice between the condenser and the evaporator. The evaporator may have a first fluid passage for circulating the solute and a second fluid passage for circulating a second solution. The first and second fluid passages may be configured such that solute running through the first fluid passage is vaporizable by heat absorbed from the second solution running through the second fluid passage, thereby cooling the second solution.

Abstract: A railway rail pad (1), for use beneath a railway rail in a rail fastening assembly as cushioning and/or electrical insulation, has first and second major faces (2, 3), the first face (2) having a rail seat portion (20) on which a foot of a railway rail sits when the pad (1) is in use, and side members (4A, 4B) attached to and extending from two opposite edges of the first face (2) of the pad (1). The side members (4A, 4B) are arranged so as to be located on respective opposite sides of the railway rail when the pad (1) is in use such that the rail seat portion (20) of the pad (1) lies between respective inwardly-facing wall faces (41A, 41B) of the said side members (4A, 4B).

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a mechanically lined pipe (MLP) having an outer pipe and an inner liner comprising at least the steps of: (a) forming the outer pipe as a single length; (b) forming an inner liner former being wholly or substantially the same length as the outer pipe of step (a); (c) locating the inner liner former of step (b) within the outer pipe; and (d) expanding the inner liner former within the outer pipe to form the MLP.