A desire to increase automation or to eliminate the use of mercury has prompted several ASTM committees to consider alternatives to ASTM Liquid-in-Glass (LiG) thermometers. In this paper, we address the technical issues of choosing an alternative. We first discuss the basic properties and relative merits of platinum resistance thermometers, thermistors, and thermocouples in the context of replacements for LiG thermometers; then list uncertainty components for measurements with alternative thermometers; and finally discuss other factors in temperature measurement and control that are important in the development and execution of ASTM standards.

Acoustically driven mixing of small fluid volumes is reported. Using surface acoustic waves on a mixer chip, conversion of those into bulk waves, and employing wave guiding effects enables us to distribute a set of "virtual sources" for acoustic streaming over large areas. we demonstrate the applicability of our mixing technique to micro array applications, for mixing of individual wells in a micro titer plate, and other state-of-the-art hybridization assays.Mixing of smallest amounts of fluids is usually a delicate task. For liquids being confined to small volumes, the low Reynold's number [1] is equivalent to an increase of the apparent viscosity. As for mixing applications turbulent streaming which only occurs at high Reynold's numbers (>2000) is advantageous [1], this in turn leads to insufficient mixing in microfluidic systems, as only laminar flow processes are allowed. Hence, the only way for small fluid volumes to effectively mix is driven by diffusion. Here, the smallness of the system is in favour of the diffusion limited time scales, as the respective length scales are equally small. However, for many applications, especially micro array based assays [2], [3], a deliberate and controlled agitation of the fluid under investigation would be of great importance. This is due to the fact that diffusion driven mixing is effective only on a short range. Micro array hybridization, however, demands for transport molecules in the fluid over large distances. Here, agitation is necessary. In micro array applications, usually hundreds or thousands of ‚spots' containing a specific DNA sequence or more generally a specific oligonucleotide are deposited in a matrix like manner, usually on a microscope slide or similar carrier.

This paper presents procedures developed for the calculation of the coefficient of friction of bolt/nut assemblies and for the calculation of torque specifications, which include the case where the fasteners have prevailing torque KEYWORDS: fastener torque, prevailing torque, torque calculation, head finish, thread finish β th Half flank angle of the bolt thread (π/6 for ISO thread) µ G

Passing ability is one of the most important workability properties of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) and self-consolidating fiber reinforced concrete (SCFRC). The popular J-ring apparatus which measures the passing ability indirectly in terms of the difference in drop levels or the unrestricted and restricted slump flow of SCC/SCFRC, could not determine the passing ability in a consistent manner. A simple, accurate, and practical passing ability tester (PAT) is proposed as a substitute to the conventionally used methods (J-ring, L-box, and U-box). PAT measures the passing ability directly and consistently by weighing the concrete that has passed through the reinforcing bar screen and expressing it as the percentage of the total concrete sampled. This paper presents the test results of various SCC/SCFRC mixes to verify the performance of PAT, including the correlation between the test results of PAT and J-ring.

The Monte Carlo simulation method is applied to quantify the probability of exceeding the maximum desired bolt exploitation for fasteners tightened to a torque specification. The simulation results are utilized to develop a method for the calculation of torque specifications such that the probability that a bolt will exceed the maximum desired bolt exploitation is thirty-two parts per million (ppm).