3 What is That??

So I was flying an aircraft in X-plane. This is a few minutes after my plane took off. When I switched to an side view from outside to get a look, I noticed something wierd.

What on earth is that thing?

1 Guide Pin & Turbine Blade

1. A guide pin from beginning to end.


Remove material from front. Mirror on the other side. Add a pair of holes to one side and mirror on the other.




2. Revolved pattern on blades on a turbine shaft.



Done in Pro/E.

0 Simple Part

A part made in Pro/E through a sequency of steps :

1. Make the block as shown below.


2. Remove material by sketching a profile on the front face of the above part, extruding it through the entire material and telling pro/e to remove that much material.


3. Place a hole on the side and extrude it through the entire material. Tell pro/e to remove that much material. You'll end up with the following part.


4. Add rounded edges to the part above.

0 At Instrumentation Lab

I'm working on an old double pipe heat exchanger, trying to establish proper parallel flow. Next year, the Engineering department will have most of these old setups replaced.

9 What Muscles Are You Using to Pedal?

Source

I also read the book Biomechanics of Sport, by Christopher L. Vaughan and obtained the following neat little table on page 312. EMG analysis of muscles were done in 5 different cycling scenarios and the results show which muscles are used predominantly when.

*  *  *

1 School closed for another day!

Our area is still in a state of emergency. Some parts have driving bans imposed due to last Thursday's record snow. I'm partly pissed off with the fact that what where the weather guys doing? It seems like no one predicted a record blizzard coming our way. This is the most powerful country in the world, but hey, how can we gage it? Last week, some Yankees pitcher accidently crashed his plane into a NYC multi-storey building and killed himself. No one saw that coming. What if he wasn't a Yankees guy. What if he was another fundamentalist martyr? My best friend was 2 blocks away from the crash site. What if that was a huge aircraft? How can we gage Anti-Terror? Because a 100 Taliban people were imprisoned in some remote facility? Or something else...?

No one saw a blizzard coming on Thursday in Buffalo,NY.

These events aren't large scale. Maybe they haven't caught the attention of a lot of people around. But here, the damage done by snow is huge. I went for a small bike ride in the area today and I could see the extent of damage due to broken trees, flooding etc. People's lives have been shut down literally. The town of Amherst is struggling to get power back to thousands of people.

Respecting the driving ban, the University will remain closed for another day.

6 My beginnings with Pro-E

Created a simple block using PTC's Pro/Engineer Wildfire 2.0. This was done following the notes from Roger Toogood's Tutorial Book. Its not a very highly rated book as you can see, but sometimes, our University has this knack for sticking with sub-standards.

0 A Holiday Tip

3 Snow Buries Buffalo!

Snowiest October Day in Pictures :





You'd think that a little bit of snow is beautiful and harmless.

Not when its here in Buffalo. Welcome to the snowiest October day in Buffalo's 137 year history!

Just when I imagined I'd have nothing to blog on this week, here comes 60 cms of snow from the sky, falling on Buffalo for over 6 hours. The day was looking good yesterday, when suddenly, flurries broke out. In no time, the area was having a snow storm and piles of 'those ugly things from the sky' were falling all over the place. Over the course of the evening and night, hundreds of people lost power and scores of trees and tree limbs were downed. The Detroit Free Press claims we have had 60 cms of snow, and its 2 feet thick. The international section of the Hindu says more than 220,000 people lost power at their homes. I can't imagine what most would do in a situation like that, when heating is a must.

Students were least prepared for this. The South Campus of the university has lost power, and some of north campus had too, but now things seem alright and back to normal at north. However, due to all the disruption the snow has done on campus, school was officially closed today till 5pm.

After a small brunch,I went out into the cold to get back some pictures. Literally, the clock of the university stopped running this morning. The wind and the squelch of my boots were the only things I could hear for a while. More pictures of today's turmoil at my Flickr Album here.

I hope I can go running or biking on Sunday, when the temperature is forecasted to shoot up slightly.

2 UB in Winter

Winter slowly slithers towards us. The chill hits you like a mountain, and the ugly things start falling from the sky. Pictures like these will send students away from here. But hey that's life. I've been through it for 3 years now.


This picture was from my dorm window during late November.

2 Letchworth State Park Ride

Me and another friend, Larry Mordue (also a patrol officer for WNYMBA) drove up today to Letchworth State Park. It was a nice day off from school, sightseeing the sheer wonder of what many claim is the "Grand Canyon of the East". I rightly think that should be the case. We also did some road biking on the hills and had a chance to see the Annual Crafts Fair that usually runs in October. Plenty to see, and a great day out. Catch all the pictures we took today (some breathtaking) here. Thanks for reading!

1 References for Articles Below

VII. References

“Top Thrill Dragster” Wikipedia

Higgins, Amy. “The Coaster with the Moster” Machine Design. 5/8/2003

Hitchcox, Alan. “Want Thrills? Go with Hydraulics” Hydraulics and Pneumatics.

Ray, Erika. “Cedar Point Shuts Down Coaster After Riders Hurt” ToledoBlade.com 7/14/2004

Althoff, Dave. “Top Thrill Dragster, A Technical Introduction” Point Buzz. 2/17/03

Popular Science

Note : As of today, only one of the authors, Matt Prussein has been on the the Top Thrill Dragster. I have yet to go.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept - Part 6 (contd..)

These factors all have a hand in the way the human body will react to the force.But beyond all the research that the committee collected and analyzed to develop this standard, one of the most convincing pieces of evidence that roller coasters are safe is a study published in October 2002 in the Journal of Neurotrauma by University of Pennsylvania researchers Dr. Douglas H. Smith and Dr. David F. Meaney. The study attempts to produce “any sound evidence or analysis directly linking roller coasters with brain injury,” by using a mathematical model to determine the effects of three popular coasters in the U.S.—Rock ’n’ Roller Coaster at Disney MGM Studios in Florida; Speed, The Ride at the Nascar Café in Las Vegas and Face Off at King’s Island in Ohio. Smith and Meaney, a neuroscientist and a bioengineer, concluded that roller coasters do not cause brain injury.

On the ride into the future, roller coaster design will undoubtedly branch off into

unmarked territory, unforeseen by the designers and riders of today. But for now, launch

systems, namely hydraulic and pneumatic are the state of the art standard.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept - Part 6

VI.RESEARCH

Research today on roller coaster launch methods is primarily focused on improving the systems already in use. The two systems that show the most promise are hydraulic and pneumatic systems. This is apparent by the record boasting speeds and heights of hydraulic roller coasters, and the mind blowing acceleration achieved by pneumatic systems. A chart located at the end of this document shows the statistics on the tallest and fastest of each kind of roller coaster. The numbers show the superiority of these systems over the others, as well as traditional lift hill coasters, where gravity is the limiting factor for acceleration.

Research on Hydraulic systems is aimed at making them more reliable, trying to avoid the problems with faulty cables that have plagued the Top Thrill Dragster. Additionally increased speed and acceleration are being sought. Improvements in both performance and reliability have taken place, as proven by the success of the Kinga Ka.

Research on human reactions to these extreme rides has become an issue, since they are continually pushing the limits on what humans can endure. Politicians and critics alike have taken shots at the bodily harm that roller coasters using these new launch systems are capable of imposing on people.

It has long been known that speed is not the issue. It’s the change of direction that actually limits the body’s tolerance to force and causes stress to the cardiac system. According to Harold Hudson, chairman of the subtask group that developed new standards for measuring and limiting G force (ASTM F-24), a misunderstanding about the relationship between G force and speed was the major cause of the criticism from the media and various politicians. This onslaught suggested that rider injuries and even death were the direct result of the industry’s reckless need to produce higher and faster rides that bring people to the park.

One major aspect of G forces that’s often misunderstood is that G force is not just

one measurement. Acceleration in three axes is considered in design: vertical (up and

down), lateral (side to side), and fore and aft (ahead and behind). One has to be very

specific about what axis is talked about because requirements for lateral are very different

from vertical requirements for G forces. It’s important that one is focusing on the

magnitude of the G force and also duration as well as the onset—how quickly the G force

is applied to a human and how quickly it’s taken away.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept - Part 5 (Contd..)

In June 2005, the Dragster, in the midst of normal operation, stopped dead in its track at the very peak of ascent. It remained there for almost 20 minutes until maintenance could get to it via an elevator, needless to say that such a situation in its initial moments of taking place would have caused sufficient fear and anxiety for the passengers as well as their families and friends watching below. This problem could happen in the future, unless a contingency plan is developed instead of choosing to elevate a crew member up to 420 feet in the air to resolve the issue. We feel that :

The kinetic energy imparted could have an extra margin of safety just to ensure that it clears the top. Some kind of chain or pusher mechanism can be included in the track design for the peak portion of the ride which could kick in at times such as the one mentioned above.

Through proper communication with the public regarding comfort and ergonomic issues , and subsequent analysis and redesign, the ride can be greatly improved and people will be greatly satisfied with the thrill and the added comfort and safety.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept - Part 5

IV. REDESIGN

CABLES :

First and foremost, if the diameter of the cables was increased in size they would experience less stress since the tensile load would be distributed to a larger area. In order to apply this idea, a new drum would have to be used as well since the grooves cut into the drum are specific to the size of the cables. This could get costly and would have been easiest if incorporated into the original design where only the added cost of the thicker cable would be a factor.

Another way to make the cable more durable would be to use a different material. The material used for the cables is presently a form of steel, and may or may not have been changed since the original cable broke (refer to FAILURE). Using an alternate material could be done without having to replace other components, but once again the cost would increase. The cost to repeatedly replace failing cables coupled with the lost revenue from potential customers who wouldn't be too interested in hopping on a ride that is down with failures suggests that it may be cheaper in the long run to use a stronger and more expensive material.

LUBRICATION :

Frictional wear and tear could be reduced if some kind of lubricant were put in place. This would minimize contact forces among the cables and the drum, but might also present adverse effects. Corrosion from this lubricant could decrease the strength of the cables. Analysis of different kinds of lubrication would need to be performed to see if the reduction in friction would out-weigh the reduced strength of the cables. If so, this would be a relatively cheap and simple way to improve the life and reliability of the part.

Noise Reduction :

A potential problem in hydraulic systems is noise generation. Although they are quieter than pneumatic systems that have air compressors and air filtration units, hydraulic pumps can create noise through small variations in the fluid moving through the pump.

In a roller coaster such as the Dragster, where speeds can reach up to 120mph, any small effort made to improve comfort level will be greatly appreciated by the public, especially in the area of noise generation. Customers ride the Dragster simply for the fun and thrill and are largely unconcerned about the abstract mechanisms of the coaster. Any unwanted noise could potentially raise alarms among them (if not to say that it will bring about a nauseating factor), considering the fact that there have been malfunctions in the past with the system.

3 ways we feel this could be potentially achieved are by :

1. Researching and developing quieter piston systems for the cylinder.

2. Looking at new ways of mounting and housing the system.

3. Designing the hydraulic system to run at low motor speeds without compromise in overall performance of the coaster.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept - Part 4

III. FAILURE

Since there are more interacting parts utilized with a hydraulic launch system as opposed to a magnetic one, parts are more likely to fail.

The part that seems like it would be the most likely to fail are the cables (28, 29) that pull the pusher, shown above. These cables are responsible for transferring all of the energy produced by the 32 hydraulic motors to the train. A great deal of tension is placed on these cables as it accelerates the coaster weighing, 15,000 lbs with passengers, from zero to 120 mph in 4 seconds. The stresses on these cables will fluctuate from minimum value, while the ride is idle, to some maximum value as they pull the pusher. Hence, fatigue will eventually occur.

This has in fact been the case several times during the early operating life of the ride. The expected life of this part is unknown but it seems reasonable that the designers only planned to replace the cable once or twice a season, in order to prevent failure.

So far the cables have not been lasting that long, the first one breaking after just 22 days of operation. Because of the relatively cheap cost of the cable, as well as the strength requirements, repair of the cable is not practical, in the event of failure the part is replaced. During this first failure, the part was replaced that day and operation resumed the next day. Repair would not have been much quicker if quicker at all, and would almost certainly leave the part weaker than before it had broken anyway.

The drum (24) is a shaft supported on two ends with bearings. And is subjected to fluctuating loadings due to the tension in the ropes. Hence, it can be considered as subjected to a distributed load of different magnitude in different parts of the shaft.

The free body diagram of the drum(24) can be approximated as shown below ( ignoring the angles of the cables). A torque not shown would also be acting on the drum shaft in either direction depending on if it is launching the coaster or retrieving the pusher.

The direction of the wind for cable (45) is reversed from the wind of cables (28) and (29). This means as the tension of cables 28 and 29 is maximum the tension of cable 45 is zero. The direction of rotation of the drum also reverses, This means the drum is subjected to a fatigue load. The torque also reverses direction and fluctuates from zero to maximum likewise.

Going back to the launch cables, it is pretty obvious from their function that the main force acting on them will be tensile. The loads that they will carry will be large in order to achieve such high accelerations on such a massive object (the 15,000 lb train).

In addition to tensile forces, there are undoubtedly frictional forces. The cables that are wound around the drum experience friction with both the drum and themselves. This friction can become significant as the cables are wound tightly and move rapidly as the drum spins, possibly contributing to the repeated failure of the cables.

Two of the launch cables act while launching, while the other one acts to pull back the pusher. Since each set of cables serves only one function, and acceleration during both of these operations is uniform, there is a minimal range of loads.

The environment most certainly plays a role in the fatigue failure process. The cables that pull the pusher are located directly under the track and are exposed to the environment. Because the ride is located in Sandusky, Ohio, and operates from spring to fall, it experiences a wide range of weather conditions. Rain, humidity, and changes in temperature all add together to shorten the ideally expected life of the part. The extent to these affects, as well as the aforementioned frictional affects may have been underestimated by the designers, causing for the many unexpected failures.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept -Part 3 (Contd..)

Contd...

Pusher Assembly :

The Pusher assembly is described in further detail with the aid of the diagram shown below:

The Diagram shows the simple nature of the pusher assembly. Three cables (28, 45, and 29) are attached to the winding drum (24) and rest inside two sets of grooves (46, 48) . The two outer cables (28, 29) pull the pusher as the drum spins during the launch sequence, in turn propelling the train. The middle cable (45) is wound in an opposite direction, and rests in its own groove (48) which is also oriented in an opposite direction. The reason for this is because the middle cable must be drawn in while the motor is spinning in reverse after the launch has completed in order to reel in the pusher.

More of this project work will be uploaded soon. Please keep reading!

Note : This work was the final design project of the author and Matt Prussein, both who are currently senior Mechanical and Aerospace students at the University at Buffalo.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept -Part 3 (Contd..)

Continued..

As previously mentioned, the launching system for the Top Thrill Dragster is based on hydraulics. The system is actually made up of two identical hydraulic systems. Each system iscomprised of 16 hydraulic motors, each fed by its own pump. The above schematic shows thebasic operation of the system by targeting a single motor and pump configuration. The picturebelow shows one of the actual systems connected to the drum. The other is located on the opposite side of the drum.

The key components are as follows:

14 - Pusher
22 - Reversible Hydraulic Motor
24 - Cable Winding Drum
32 - Cylinder
34 - Nitrogen filled chamber
35 - Collection of gas filled bottles
36 - Piston
38 - Fluid reservoir
39 - Electric Fluid pump

The rapid acceleration of the Top Thrill Dragster is achieved by storing large amounts of energy and quickly releasing it, much like slowly pressing down on a spring and letting go to release its potential energy. Energy in this system is stored by compressing nitrogen gas (34) in a cylinder (32). The electric fluid pump (39) supplies hydraulic fluid (oil) from a reservoir (38), to the top portion of the cylinder (32). The fluid being pumped into the cylinder (32) pushes down on the piston (36), forcing the nitrogen gas under the piston into a group of bottles already filled with compressed nitrogen (35). (The bottles in the diagram are not drawn in proportion to the cylinder, in actuality, the cylinder will be much larger in relation to the bottles.) Eventually all of the nitrogen from the cylinder makes its way into the bottles. It is now compressed to a much higher pressure, since the same nitrogen gas that filled both the cylinder and bottles is now confined to a much smaller volume in that of the bottles. At this point the system is charged and the rollercoaster is ready to be launched. The launch sequence is initiated when the valve (41) is quickly opened, rapidly releasing the highly compressed nitrogen gas causing a powerful flow of hydraulic fluid from the cylinder (32). It is here that the force is magnified, described in the above briefing, as the area of the fluid flow is greater than that of the nitrogen. The fluid travels via a hose through the right side of the hydraulic motor (22) and out the left, acting as a turbine to spin the cable winding drum (24) located under the track in front of the train. The spinning drum acts like a large fishing reel spinning at 500 rpm, pulling a series of launch cables (28, 29) attached to a "pusher" (14). The pusher is located directly behind the train and rides inside a slot located between the tracks. As it accelerates, it pushes the train (2) along the launch track.

After the launch is completed, the valve (41) closes, cutting off flow from the cylinder, and the other pump (40a) is switched to the position represented in the diagram. In this position, fluid is supplied to the left side of the hydraulic motor, thereby reversing the direction of the drum. This is necessary in order to bring the pusher (14) back to its original position for the next launch. The pusher assembly comes next.

To be contd...

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept -Part 3

II. SYSTEM DESCRIPTION

Hydraulic machines work on the basis of the following principles :

1. Liquids are incompressible.

2. Pascal's Law : "A change in applied pressure on a fluid is transmitted undiminished to every

point of the fluid and the walls of the container."

3. Pascal's Law implies 'Force Multiplication Capability."

If one has two cylinders connected together, a small one and a large one, and apply a small Force to the small cylinder, this would result in a given pressure. By Pascal's Principle, this pressure would be the same in the larger cylinder, but since the larger cylinder has more area, the force emitted by the second cylinder would be greater. This is represented by rearranging the pressure formula P = F/A, to F = PA. The pressure stayed the same in the second cylinder, but Area was increased, resulting in a larger Force. The greater the differences in the areas of the cylinders, the greater the potential force output of the big cylinder.

This is mainly how a hydraulic system, such as a vehicle lifting mechanism, works.

Tp be continued in part 4..

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept -Part 2

It was these LIM and LSM launched coasters that marked the beginning of the evolution of launch systems from space saving looping coasters to extreme thrill rides that aim for high speeds, acceleration, and heights in simple designs that usually consist of nothing more than one large hill. Superman the Escape, at Six Flags Magic Mountain embraced this concept in 1997, reaching a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour in just 6 seconds, and climbing to a height of over 400 feet, making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster of its day, the next tallest being the Desperado at the Buffalo Bill Casino in Nevada, at a mere 225 feet. The ride was magnetically launched, and consisted of one hill in which the riders would ride to the top and then ride down backwards after climaxing.

Launch systems currently lead the way in the fierce competition for the most extreme roller coasters. The current tallest roller coasters in the world use launch systems and are about 100 feet taller and 30 miles per hour faster than the tallest traditional lift hill coasters. As a result, new launch systems are being explored in order to output the greatest speeds and accelerations, to deliver the maximum thrill that coaster enthusiasts demand.

In 2002, the first hydraulic launch system was developed by Intamin AG, and was used on Knott’s Berry Farm’s Xcelerator. A year later, the world was introduced to the Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point in Ohio. Its hydraulic launch system launched it past Superman the Escape as the tallest, and fastest roller coaster at the time. It reached a speed of 120 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds, climbing to a height of 420 feet. It has only been surpassed by the Kinga Ka, of Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, which features a nearly identical hydraulic launch system also designed by Intamin AG. The Kinga Ka hits 128mph - considerably faster than the 50mph that was around only 25 years ago!

It seems for now, that hydraulic launch systems are the way to go.

0 Top Thrill Dragster Redesign Concept -Part 1

The history of modern roller coasters can be traced back to 15th century Russia. Russia has always suffered extremely cold winters due to its northern latitude. At some point during the 15th century, people had the idea that they could use the copious amounts of ice and snow as a form of amusement. They built sleds and used an iced-up wooden slope to serve as the track. This was the first major step in ride development; the deliberate construction of a slope for the specific purpose of carrying passengers for pleasure. They were eventually known as the Russian Mountains.

From sleds and ice roller coasters began to take shape when mine carts were used to provide amusement. These “rides’ popped up on hills after old railway tracks were no longer in use. They were essentially run away mine carts with no mechanical components and few safety considerations.

It wasn’t until 1826 in France, that mechanical components were incorporated into “roller coasters”. The cars on these rides were anchored to the track by an extension of the wheel axles projecting into grooves in the sides of the track, later, cables would be added. These new features allowed for speeds of about 30 miles per hour. Just like the Russian Mountains, these carts were powered by gravity, and in order for the ride to begin, the carts had to manually be pushed to the top of a hill.

The first modern roller coaster is considered to be the Switchback Railway, built by La Marcus Adna Thompson, in 1884, operating in Coney Island, New York. This ride was much like a Russian Mountain with mine carts in place of sleds, and a track in place of ice. A year later the first closed circuit coaster was implemented, and shortly after a lift hill was introduced to take over the chore of lifting the cart to the top of the hill.

The 20^th century saw the large scale development of the modern day roller coaster. Initially, these attractions were made of wood, closed circuited, and all possessed the same basic features. Just like their predecessors, these roller coasters were all powered by the potential energy that they acquired at the beginning of the ride. This energy was now obtained by mechanically pulling the train up a lift hill, as opposed to being manually pushed.

For years to come advances in technology would change many of the major features of roller coasters. Steel tubular tracks were introduced in 1959, allowing for new design features. These included suspended, stand up, and looping roller coasters, developed during the 70’s and 80’s. It was around this time that launching systems were also conceived.

Launching systems were first developed so that looping roller coasters could be built in parks that didn’t have enough room for traditional closed circuit tracks. These rides would launch, go though a series of twists, turns and loops, and make their way up a ramp until they briefly came to rest . They would then make their way down this ramp backwards and run the course in reverse.

The first of these was built in 1977 and was dubbed the Schwarkzkopf Shuttle Loop. It was propelled by dropping a 40 ton weight from a nearby tower. The weight was connected to a pusher, by a clutch and cables. As the weight fell the cables would pull the pusher, which rode in a slot in between the track’s rails. The pusher, located behind the train, would then push the train down the track.

At about the same time flywheel systems and electric motors were aslo designed. A motor, would spin a flywheel to high speeds and when ready to launch it would grab a cable and accelerated the train using a similar pusher system. Although they could achieve sufficient amounts of power, they were plagued by mechanical problems.

In order to overcome these problems, magnetic launch systems were devised in the mid 1990’s dubbed LSM (Linear Synchronous Motor) and LIM (Linear Induction Motor). The principle behind these systems was to use electrically charged magnets to propel a train down a track. Physical contact was not needed between parts, and the system as a whole was much more reliable and low maintenance. This system was first used on the Outer Limits Flight of Fear, located in Paramount’s Kings Dominion in Virginia, in 1996. Although this ride was a traditional closed circuit coaster, the majority of launched coasters are not.

2 Cycling is Plunging in the U.S (Despite Bicycle Production)

This morning, there was an article in the Wall Street Journal about how U.S Bicycle Companies are catering especially to the needs of commuters. Today, there are a variety of bikes aimed for people who want to pleasantly ride to work instead of driving their car for 2-3 miles. I’ve also managed to get hold of articles that make other countries simply sound like heaven for cyclists. Anyway, here’s a clipping from WSJ.

Last month, New York City's Department of Transportation announced it will add 200 miles of new on-street bicycle paths, lanes and routes over the next three years. Florida just implemented a new state law that requires motorists to maintain a minimum three-foot distance when passing bicyclists -- following similar legislation in Arizona, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Utah and Wisconsin.

Whether many Americans will trade their cars for bikes remains to be seen. Sales of commuter bikes rose 15% over the past two years, according to Boston-based Bicycle Market Research Institute. However, at an estimated $900,000 in annual sales, it is still a small niche. Less than 0.5% of Americans commute by bike, according to the 2000 U.S. Census report. "There's no way it will happen here," says Bicycle Market Research Institute President Ash Jaising, who projects the segment's rise in sales will slow to 5% to 10% over the next two years. "The roads are just too dangerous.

More Cycling in Canada

Cycling is more popular in Canada, than in the U.S, according to this report. Statistics indicate that more people bike, walk or take the transit to work than Americans. Cycling is especially low in Southeastern USA. Though temperatures are lower in Canada than in the United States, there is high level of cycling in the former. The article than goes onto outline the basic factors for this difference, and compares trends in both countries. The report is compiled by the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies at University of Sydney and Rutgers University in New Jersey. Canadian policies can be a lesson for the U.S.

However, John Forrester, http://www.johnforester.com/ a transportation engineer in the U.S, has criticized various conclusions of the author from the paper. Read it here.

Europe Dominates in Cycling

A clipping from an article compiled by Elizabeth Mygatt, Earth Policy Institute, December 2005.

Europe is the world leader in bicycle use. In Amsterdam, 33 percent of all trips are made by bicycle. In Copenhagen, one third of all commuters bike to work. Europe’s many bicycle-friendly cities have developed expansive networks of support services, often including bike lanes and separate bikeways, secure bicycle parking, and end-of-trip facilities such as showers and locker rooms. Safety initiatives implemented over the past 25 years in Germany—such as better cycling routes, “traffic calming,” more education, and stronger enforcement of traffic laws—have improved cycling safety while doubling the number of bike trips taken.

By contrast to U.S, in Germany nearly every vehicle will cross the centerline to give bikers a wide berth according to this article.

The author says,

I cannot count the times cars and trucks have slowed to my speed and followed me for a block or more when passing me would have crowded me to the side of a street or road. This is because the streets are narrow and drivers are used to sharing the road with bikers, parked cars, pedestrians, or people on in-line skates. Yes, you will have to ride on some streets in Germany - but it is much safer than riding on streets in the States.

China?

I thought China was a leader in bicycling. Though bicycle production continues to be dominated by China, where output jumped from 34 million bicycles in 1998 to a record 73 million in 2003 according to the article, many of my Chinese friends say that more people are buying and switching to cars. Today, lesser Chinese commute to work. Yet, even though the percentage of bike commuters has taken a plunge, I must expect a huge level of traffic in the world’s most populated country.

Here's a list of bicycle data from the world over.

0 Muscles And Soreness

Its a wonderful data abstraction of the human body - the muscles. To type this I use muscles. To get you facially annoyed, I not only have to use my writing but you have to use your muscles too . Muscle takes the beating for every little movement. I mean, this is what the low twitch and fast twitch fibres are designed for. Its interesting how one can realize their importance when the muscles are sore. I destroyed my legs yesterday at the gym when we did 40 rep leg presses and calve raises. Now I can't walk well. The integration of the muscles to our everyday life seems so much more important and clearer to me now.

Man, I need a massage!

0 Dying

My dad forwarded this to me...

0 Creativity in Engineering Design

There are numerous problems on earth for which we engineers have to come up with solutions. Success in this endeavor relates to group/individual creativity. It is a characteristic that is both inherited (intelligence) and learned (thinking). There are numerous designs out there, but what determines whether our solution will have a customer base and a good market will depend upon the way our solution approaches the problem. This again is related to creativity.

According to me, 4 products that were ground breaking inventions were :

1)Bicycle: The bicycle is an amazing and simple machine. The fact that someone was able to come out with a design that endured for many years testifies to the person’s creativity, BBC’s Radio 4 chose it as the Top Invention to change the world since 1800’s. John Starley was credited with the invention of the safety bicycle, or the modern bicycle. Bicycles before his time were high wheeled and probably very dangerous to ride. In 1885, Starley came up with a diamond truss design for the frame, a pair of equally sized wheels, a rear wheeled drive and a chain drive. It was simple and fabulous, and it stuck on for ages. Starley’s ideas led him to open his own bike shop and his bicycles were called Rover Bikes.
Starley’s motivation to be different from other designers led to an invention that is the
basis for all bicycle designs today, be it for racing or commuting.

2) Transistor : Another single most important invention that shaped the modern computer age that we’re living in today is the transistor. Prior to that, computers employed vacuum tubes for computational purposes. They were noisy, cumbersome and occupied large rooms. The transistor was invented in 1947 by three American physicists at the Bell Telephone Laboratories William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain. The three men received the 1956 Physics Nobel Prize for their joint invention. The three men worked very hard to produce the first transistor. However, there were many challenges along the way. The device never worked and the materials they used only made slower transistors. Shortly before Christmas, Bardeen had an historic insight. Everyone thought they knew how electrons behaved in crystals, but Bardeen discovered they were wrong. The electrons formed a barrier on the surface. His breakthrough was what they needed. Without telling Shockley about the changes they were making to the
investigation, Bardeen and Brattain worked on. On December 16, 1947, they built the
point contact transistor, made from strips of gold foil on a plastic triangle, pushed down into contact with a slab of germanium. Due to Brattain’s thinking outside the box, today, are able to fit thousands of transistors onto a patch of silicon to make chips and it clearly has revolutionized our own work.

3) Paper : You are reading this mainly because the words have been nicely typed on an easy to use, light and safe medium of communication – Paper. The early Sumerians wrote on heavy tablets of stone and clay that were difficult to move from place to place. The Egyptians created sheets of Papyrus that were used for thousands of years. No major changes in writing materials were to come for about 3,000 years. The person credited with inventing paper is a Chinese man named Ts'ai Lun. He took the inner bark of a mulberry tree and bamboo fibers, mixed them with water, and pounded them with a wooden tool. He then poured this mixture onto a flat piece
of coarsely woven cloth and let the water drain through, leaving only the fibers on the cloth. Once dry, Ts'ai Lun discovered that he had created a quality writing surface that was relatively easy to make and lightweight. This knowledge of papermaking was used in China before word was passed along to Korea, Samarkand, Baghdad, and Damascus. Here we see again, how a man used his experience, creativity and skills to come up with lightweight medium of communication.

This also serves to prove a good point about notable inventions that end up improving our lives : They have come from all over the world and they have been the result of careful planning, experimentation and insights from people of different races, cultural backgrounds and experiences. The fact that we use them is because of those individuals and thus, the concept
of supreme race has no valid reasoning (Like Adolf Hitler's Aryan delusion).

4) Lightbulb : Thomas Alva Edition painstakingly conducted hundreds of experiments with different materials and ultimately, he brought out a design that could burn for over 1500 hours. Due to his invention, New York was among the first cities to receive electric lighted streets. It was a luxury at a time when gas lamps were used.

2 Enhancing Homeland Security by Using Self-Sensing Concrete

Dr.Deborah D.L. Chung (My material science professor)
Niagara Mohawk Endowed Chair Professor
Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
University at Buffalo

Self-sensing concrete refers to concrete that can sense its own strain, stress and damage, due to the effects of strain and damage on its electrical resistivity. It is concrete containing discontinuous carbon fiber and is a patented invention of the speaker. Compared to the use of embedded or attached sensors, self-sensing is lower in cost, higher in durability, larger in sensing volume and attractive in the absence of mechanical property loss. The self-sensing of strain or stress in a building allows real-time determination of the occupancy of each room, thereby enabling intruder detection and evacuation monitoring. The self-sensing of strain or stress in roads at the national border allows real-time analysis of the weight of each vehicle as it moves normally, thereby enhancing border security. The self-sensing of underground stress allows earthquake prediction. The self-sensing of damage enhances the safety of dams, bridges and other structures. The applications of self-sensing concrete pertain to homeland security, hazard mitigation, building facility management, energy conservation, traffic monitoring, weighing, and structural vibration control. The science and applications of self-sensing concrete will be covered.

Dr. Chung received her Ph.D. degree in Materials Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her M.S and B.S. degrees from California Institute of Technology, of which she is one of the first four woman graduates. She is Fellow of American Carbon Society and ASM International. She is the first woman in North America to receive the Pettinos Award, an international award given to one person once every three years to recognize outstanding research accomplishments in carbon science and technology. She also received the Teacher of the Year Award from Tau Beta Pi. Her publications include over 400 journal papers and 6 books, which include Composite Materials (Springer) and Multifunctional Cement-Based Materials (Marcel Dekker). She is the editor of the book series The Road to Scientific Success: Inspiring Life Stories of Prominent Researchers (World Scientific).

The presentation will be given on Oct 10 and I hope I can go, learn and document Professor Deborah's findings.

0 Who's UN's Next Top Man?

Behind the scenes, a crucial voting is going on at the United Nations to replace current Secretary General Kofi Annan for the Top Job. India's nominee, Shashi Tharoor was second in the race but after receiving a veto from one of the permanent members of the Security Council, he has pulled out. South Korea's 62 year old Ban Ki-Moon received 14 votes in favour against Tharoor's 10, but only received one no opinion vote and zero veto's, unlike Tharoor's 3 and 1. Which member vetoed Tharoor's vote is classified information, although there have been hints to which country would not favor an Indian Secretary General in the long run.

Final voting is due for October 9.

Is it going to be Ban Ki-Moon or someone else?

0 School Shootings Galore

This morning, my roommate alerted me to a school shooting in Amish County, Pennsylvania where apparently a truck driver entered a school house and shot six girl kids, execution style, in the head. Interestingly, male students were allowed to leave, and he only killed the girls. Due to something that happened in his childhood years ago, he sough to take out revenge on helpless schoolgirls. Thats pathetic.

Besides, whats with all the school shootings going on in the past one-two weeks?

Bailey, Colorado - Platte Canyon High School.

Las Vegas - Elementary Schools : http://www.kxnt.com/pages/87241.php?contentType=4&contentId=210333
http://www.kxnt.com/pages/87056.php?contentType=4&contentId=210103

Montreal,CA - Dawson College: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/dawson-college/

Cazenovia,Wisconsin (30sept)


Its crazy.

0 I Think of Africa Today..

Today is Yom Kippur.

Today is also Gandhi Jayanthi, the birthday of the great non-violent freedom father of India, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Throughout my schooling life, we have been taught a great deal about this man, but never could we focus on the essence of his philosphy - the driving force of this man, his mind. In our country of over 1 billion today, where talk of bollywood films and songs are on everyone's lips, clash between mryaid political parties are numerous, elections are mundane, and communal violence is the talk of the day, it is easy to forget our roots and miss the memory of a man behind our very freedom from imperialistic rule.

I'm very proud of the fact that my country is part of the Non-Aligned Movement. We are living in an era of great Power conflicts where countries team up to war each other on the global battleground. A nuclear war is imminent. It is a question of when, not how. In such times, India is not talked about in conflicts in today's news. It is a big country, with great numbers of people, and with lots of responsibility. Due to the nature of her own freedom struggles, she recognizes the struggles of people fighting for independance all over the world. So, we do not side with team A or Team B in a global conflict. We are independant, non-violent. We carve a different path in World politics today.

In the online book 'The Mind of Mahatma Gandhi', there is a particular quote of Gandhi's that I really like :

On India rests the burden of pointing the way to all the exploited races of the earth. She won’t be able to bear that burden today if non-violence does not permeate her more than [it does] today. I have been trying to fit ourselves for that mission by giving a wider bend to our struggle. India will become a torch-bearer to the oppressed and exploited races only if she can vindicate the principle of non-violence in her own case, not jettison it as soon as independence of foreign control is achieved.

A truly independent Free India is bound to run to the help of its neighbours in distress, for instance, Afghanistan, Ceylon and Burma. The rule also applies to the neighbours of these three and thus by implication they become India’s neighbours too. And thus, if individual sacrifice is a living sacrifice, it embraces the whole of humanity.

If India fails, Asia dies. It has been aptly called the nursery of many blended cultures and civilizations. Let India be and remain the hope of all the exploited race of the world.

Gandhi having said that years ago, I hope we as a nation, whose freedom was carved out by the great ideas of a great man, transcends selfish struggles on its own soils and looks forward to the struggles of its own people, and others internationally,say in Africa, particularly Sudan (visit the Darfur genocide page and you'll be shocked), Rwanda, Congo etc, where thousands of people are murdered horribly,economies are in shambles and people die of malnutrition everyday.

Africa is the face of flora, fauna, landscapes, species and sheer beauty of nature unlike anywhere else, but it is sadly, also the face of misery. People equivalent to the populations of Ireland are losing their lives every year. These are among the poorest of the poor.

The future of Africa can be a nightmare if the world doesn't shoulder its struggles and help them unconditionally. Its easy for me to sit here and rant about such things, but I guess you're not human enough if you aren't disturbed by the images on T.V or articles from top correspondents in magazines, where pictures of poverty,destruction and death litter pages.

Let's all wake up.

6 How Will a Mechanical Engineer Write a Love Letter?

I got this in a forwarded mail. Its pretty hilarious.

How will a Mechanical Engg write a love letter?

My Dear Love

From the day you entered in the control volume of my mind my heart has become a closed system and its entropy is increasing according to the 3rd
law of loveodynamics.......

The events and activities are so complex that i cannot find the optimum path after n number of iterations......

My heart is unable to sustain the cyclic load of your frequent smiles and is near to endurance limit failure.....

I am quenched in your thoughts and no heat treatment can save my heart from decrystalisation now........

Please do not test the bearing capacity of my heart valves and lower your yield strength.........

Please do not increase the compression ratio of my heart so much because it is not designed to bear so much thermal stress.....

Please lower the octane number of your temper as my little heart is not accustomed to so much undesired Knocking.......

I'm sure that you would also be experiencing some residual stress, and will someday show a proportionate straining of your heart according to hooks law..........

..........and as a Mechi I firmly belive in this theory.....so i will
wait

........ till my little heart crosess its ultimate tensile stress and
fractures.

Your Hardened lover,

Mechanical Engineer...

6 My First Bike Race

This morning, there was a road race organised by Buffalo Bicycling Club at Langford, Boston. Me and Dave were the only two from our club to go. He's been riding and racing for 4 years now, and he's a very good cyclist. Meanwhile, I started last year, and after I got my blue Specialized Allez about 5 months back, I put a 1000 base miles on it. So I decided to give it a shot and see how it feels like.

The countryside was fantastic. Roads had rolling hills and its a good sight while to drive on them, but it is a pretty challenging course for a bike ride. 9 miles a loop, 3 laps so that made 28 miles total. It was cold and windy and we thought it would rain, but it didn't. I guess the rain is destined for later today. Anyway, so race starts and I got a slightly late start. I held on to the wheel of this big guy in a red jersey, but soon enough, everyone was getting away from me, and I found myself alone for the rest of the ride, biting the wind and the roads. Dave flatted out maybe 4 to 5 miles into the race and while he was fixing his tire, his value stem broke. I passed him along the way and I guess that meant he had to quit. I kept going and the hills could have killed me if I didn't take it easy and choose my gearing wisely. I made a few mistakes on the first lap. I was breathing hard and my heart rate was between 198-203 beat per minute. My body was telling me to stop because this was the first time I was riding fast on hills and this is coming from a guy who hasn't doesn't live in an area with a lot of hills. I would say they had moderate grade but it just came, one after the other, and after a point, my speed shot down to an average of 16mph (I was going 27mph and above on downhills).

Somehow I finished the second loop, and about 2 miles into the last lap, I flatted out. Shamelessly, I discovered I forgot my pump back in the car. A support car with our coach (Frank Grillo, officer of BBC and a bike racer himself) came and picked me up and though I was disappointed I couldn't finish that last lap just for my satisfaction, I will cherish the fact that I didn't destroy myself. I had a good workout, on the saddle, off the saddle, on and off as the hills came and went. It felt good. This is my first tiny step. Over the winter, our coach will test me for my lactate threshhold and prescribe a series of drills to do so as to train myself for the season in Spring, when there will be a lot of Collegiate Races.

If you're a beginner cyclist, put a good number of base miles and then try out a race. Its a challenging sport, but whats more better than knowing that you're getting better at it, through leaps and bounds?