University of Salford

About: University of Salford is a education organization based out in Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 13049 authors who have published 22957 publications receiving 537330 citations. The organization is also known as: University of Salford Manchester & The University of Salford Manchester.

Braided pneumatic actuator control of a multi-jointed manipulator

Abstract: Problems with control and compliance of pneumatic systems have prevented their widespread use in advanced robotics. However, their compactness, power/weight ration and safety are factors that could potentially be exploited in sophisticated dexterous manipulator designs. This paper reports on the design of a dexterous manipulation with three fingers and an opposal thumb powered by 18 new compact braided pneumatic muscle actuators (PMA). These muscles (which are variants on the McKibben Muscle design) have considerable power output potential, combined with controllable motion and inherent compliance to prevent damage to handled objects. When arranged as antagonistic pairs the joints of the gripper can be driven independently. Using experimental data a system model can be developed and control of these muscles can be explored showing that accurate regulated performance is feasible. >

Engineering Behavior and Structure of Compacted Clay

Abstract: The engineering properties of a compacted partly saturated clay have been determined in a comprehensive series of laboratory investigations. The results have been correlated with the previously published results of a large number of workers on other clays. Molding water content has been shown to have a dominant effect on a wide range of engine ring properties of a compacted clay soil. Microscopic examination of the soil structure has revealed that the major differences exist in the macrostructure, and these have been shown to account for the main variations in engineering behavior. The practical implications of the findings are summarized.

Psychological influences in psoriasis

Abstract: It has long been recognized that living with a chronic condition, such as psoriasis, can have considerable impact on the individual concerned. In turn there is increased understanding that the psychological distress encountered as a result of this experience can have implications for the course of the disease. This short review takes this as a starting point and reviews psychological influences in psoriasis. The nature of the link between psoriasis and stress is explored and its implications for the patient are discussed in psychological and clinical terms. There seems little doubt that stress, either environmental or psoriasis induced, impacts on our patients and has important implications for the management of psoriasis.

Electrical conduction in dielectrics at high fields

Abstract: A model for the conduction mechanism in polymer insulating materials based on a classical concept is described; the application may possibly be extended beyond polymers. By means of this model, a formula expressing the field dependence of conductivity is derived. The values given by this formula have been checked against published experimental data from several sources, and good agreement was obtained.

The role of spatial potential fluctuations in the shape of the PL bands of multinary semiconductor compounds

Abstract: Photoluminescence (PL) measurements of CuIn1-xGaxSe2 (x = 0.5) single crystals grown by the vertical Bridgmann technique were made at temperatures ranging from 11 K to 200 K and with various excitation powers. At low temperatures only one asymmetric PL band (BT-band) is present at 1.23 eV. It has a steeper decline on the high-energy side and nearly temperature independent low-energy side. At higher temperatures (T > 140 K) the BB-band becomes visible at 1.31 eV. We used an asymmetric double sigmoidal function to fit the experimental PL spectra. The results of this fitting can be interpreted to show the presence of spatial potential fluctuations in our samples. Observed dependencies would seem to reveal that the BT band is indeed connected with the recombination of a free electron with a localized hole. It is shown that these relatively deep localized states are probably formed due to potential fluctuations in highly compensated material and are not connected with any particular acceptor defect. We show that this model conforms to most of the discovered dependencies.