Dependability checking with StoCharts: Is train radio reliable enough for trains?

Performance, dependability and quality of service (QoS) are prime aspects of the UML modelling domain. To capture these aspects effectively in the design phase, we have recently proposed STOCHARTS, a conservative extension of UML statechart diagrams. In this paper, we apply the STOCHART formalism to a safety critical design problem. We model a part of the European Train Control System specification, focusing on the risks of wireless communication failures in future high-speed cross-European trains. Stochastic model checking with the model checker PROVER enables us to derive constraints under which the central quality requirements are satisfied by the STOCHART model. The paper illustrates the flexibility and maturity of STOCHARTS to model real problems in safety critical system design

A comparative reliability analysis of ETCS train radio communications

StoCharts have been proposed as a UML statechart extension for performance and dependability evaluation, and were applied in the context of train radio reliability assessment to show the principal tractability of realistic cases with this approach. In this paper, we extend on this bare feasibility result in two important directions. First, we sketch the cornerstones of a mechanizable translation of StoCharts to MoDeST. The latter is a process algebra-based formalism supported by the Motor/Möbius tool tandem. Second, we exploit this translation for a detailed analysis of the train radio case study

Hadron masses from dynamical, non-perturbatively O(a) improved Wilson fermions

We present results on light hadron masses from simulations of full QCD and report on experiences in running such simulations on a Hitachi SR8000-F1 supercomputer.Comment: Lattice 2000 (Spectrum), 4 pages, 6 eps figure

Finite volume corrections to the binding energy of the X(3872)

The quark mass dependence of hadrons is an important input for lattice calculations. We investigate the light quark mass dependence of the binding energy of the X(3872) in a finite box to next-to-leading order in an effective field theory for the X(3872) with perturbative pions (XEFT). At this order, the quark mass dependence is determined by a quark mass-dependent contact interaction in addition to the one-pion exchange. While there is only a moderate sensitivity to the light quark masses in the region up to twice their physical value, the finite volume effects are significant already at box length as large as 20 fm.Comment: 23 pages, 9 figures, REVTe

Ten-dimensional wave packet simulations of methane scattering

We present results of wavepacket simulations of scattering of an oriented methane molecule from a flat surface including all nine internal vibrations. At a translational energy up to 96 kJ/mol we find that the scattering is almost completely elastic. Vibrational excitations when the molecule hits the surface and the corresponding deformation depend on generic features of the potential energy surface. In particular, our simulation indicate that for methane to dissociate the interaction of the molecule with the surface should lead to an elongated equilibrium C--H bond length close to the surface.Comment: RevTeX 15 pages, 3 eps figures: This article may be found at http://link.aip.org/link/?jcp/109/1966

Fluid thrust control system

A pure fluid thrust control system is described for a pump-fed, regeneratively cooled liquid propellant rocket engine. A proportional fluid amplifier and a bistable fluid amplifier control overshoot in the starting of the engine and take it to a predetermined thrust. An ejector type pump is provided in the line between the liquid hydrogen rocket nozzle heat exchanger and the turbine driving the fuel pump to aid in bringing the fluid at this point back into the regular system when it is not bypassed. The thrust control system is intended to function in environments too severe for mechanical controls

Comparison of trace metal bioavailabilities in European coastal waters using mussels from Mytilus edulis

Mussels from Mytilus edulis complex were used as biomonitors of the trace metals Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, and Cu at 17 sampling sites to assess the relative bioavailability of metals in coastal waters around the European continent. Because accumulated metal concentrations in a given area can differ temporally, data were corrected for the effect of season before large-scale spatial comparisons were made. The highest concentration of Fe was noted in the North Sea and of Mn in the Baltic. Increased tissue concentrations of Pb were recorded in the mussels from the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic Sea. Low concentrations of metals were determined in the mussels from the Mediterranean Sea and the Northern Baltic. Relatively low geographic variations of Cu and Zn indicate that mussels are able to partially regulate accumulated body concentrations, which means Cu and Zn are, to some extent, independent of environmental concentrations