A system that may be used as an initiation disruption system (IDS) according to one embodiment includes an explosive charge; a plurality of particles in a layer at least partially surrounding the explosive charge; and a fire suppressant adjacent the plurality of particles. A method for disabling an object according to one embodiment includes placing the system as recited above near an object; and causing the explosive charge to initiate, thereby applying mechanical loading to the object such that the object becomes disabled. Additional systems and methods are also presented. A device according to another embodiment includes a plurality of particles bound by a binder thereby defining a sidewall having an interior for receiving an explosive; and a fire suppressant adjacent the plurality of particles and binder. Additional systems and methods are also presented.

A water air-bubble fragment recovery test apparatus that facilitates accurate assessment of fragmentation characteristics and lethality that are normally detonated in air. An airtight, waterproof plastic container encloses a test warhead; the plastic container may then also be filled with a gas or just with air. The container is then embedded in a water-gas-bubble mixture found in a water tank, for the warhead to be detonated therein, and the fragments to then be later recovered.

A hand operated press for reloading metal rifle cartridges including indicating means for providing for an operator of the press discrete indications of the different forces that can be manually applied through the drive mechanism during use of the press to crimp the second end of a cartridge against a bullet in the cartridge to allow the operator to use one of those indications to manually apply the same force to form essentially the same degree of crimp of the second ends of identical cartridges against identical bullets in the cartridges.

The present invention is directed to a mobile platform for the delivery of bulk explosives to a blast hole. One embodiment of the platform provides the ability to obtain weight information relating to the contents of a tank that is associated with the platform and that, in operation, contains either the bulk explosive or a constituent of the explosive. The platform comprises a vehicle with a frame, a tank, a load cell structure for connecting the frame and the tank and providing weight data relating to the contents of the tank, and a suspension system that prevents relative movement of the frame and the tank that could compromise the load cell structure. Another embodiment of the platform provides a tank for holding an explosive composition and a rotary shaft that supports a mixing blade that mixes the explosive composition within the tank. The platform further comprises bearing structure for supporting the rotary shaft that is located to deter any of the explosive composition from entering the bearing. A further embodiment of the platform comprises a conduit structure for discharging a bulk explosive into a blast hole that includes a substantially rigid tube with an outlet port for discharging a bulk explosive into the blast hole. The tube is adapted to rotate about a vertical axis such that the outlet port can be moved towards and away from the vehicle along an arc of less than 180°. In one embodiment, the outlet port can be positioned substantially adjacent to an operator's station to allow an operator to readily view the loading of the explosive into the blast hole.

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for the delaboration of ammunition, in particular shells having a housing with a tubular housing portion made of steel and open at one end, a cone made of ductile metal and fitted into the tubular housing portion, the cone having a base with a tubular rim, and an explosive charge contained between the housing and the cone. The method comprises a) inserting an extraction tool through the open end into the tubular housing portion for extracting the cone, b) axially compressing the tubular rim of the cone between the extraction tool and the explosive charge, c) deforming a portion of the tubular rim into a form fit with the extraction tool, d) withdrawing the extraction tool from the housing portion, and e) at least partially withdrawing the cone from the housing portion together with the extraction tool.

A blast treatment method capable of more reliably treating an object to be treated which is accommodated in an outer container is provided. The blast treatment method includes: a step for spacing a plurality of blasting explosives (20) from one another at positions on the outer side surface of an outer container (60) in a direction surrounding a central axis (C2) of the outer container (60) and arranging the blasting explosives (20) in such a manner as to extend approximately parallel to the central axis (C2); a step for installing the outer container (60) within a chamber (90); and a step for detonating the blasting explosives (20) within the chamber to perform blast treatment of an object (10) to be treated with the detonation energy, wherein the blasting explosives (20) are detonated at the blast timing at which fragments of the outer container (60) or shock waves, which are generated in the vicinity of the blasting explosives (20) by the detonation energy of the blasting explosives (20), collide with or propagate to a bombshell (10) in less time difference than that in the case in which the plurality of blasting explosives (20) are detonated at the same time.

The heat exchanger having a heat exchanging channel (11, 21, 31) comprises an inlet (9) and an outlet (33) for a medium flowing through the heat exchanging channel. The heat exchanger has at least two stages (10, 20, 30) being arranged one after the other in view to the flowing direction of the medium, each stage having a heat exchanging channel (11, 21, 31). The first stage has at least one guiding channel (12) arranged parallel to the heat exchanging channel (11). The heat exchanging channel (11, 21, 31) has at the end of the respective stage (10, 20, 30) at least one outlet (13, 23, 33) and the guiding channel (12, 22) of the respective stage is connected with the heat exchanging channel (21, 31) of the next following stage (20, 30). By this unused heat transfer medium is fed to each stage, said heat transfer medium having a higher temperature difference with respect to the respective heat exchanging channel. By this a good heat transfer efficiency is realized even with relatively long flow pathes.

A heat transport fluid passage device for a heat transport circuit has a wall defining a passage through which a heat transport fluid flows. The heat transport fluid contains a solvent made of water or an organic substance and fine particles dispersed in the solvent. A hydrophobic membrane is formed on a surface of the wall.

A heat exchanger includes a core and a pair of end tanks attached to the end of the core. Each end tank extends over an outermost peripheral end of the core such that the core extends into a chamber defined by the end tank. The end tank is welded to the core at the outer surface of the core and a lower end surface of the tank.

An active/passive system for managing the temperature of fluid within an automatic transmission includes two heat exchangers, an active solenoid valve and a passive wax motor valve. A first heat exchanger provides transmission fluid heating and receives a flow of engine coolant. A second heat exchanger provides transmission fluid cooling and is exposed to ambient air. The solenoid valve which is preferably driven by a signal from a transmission control module (TCM) and the wax motor valve cooperate to provide three states of operation: transmission fluid heating, that is, heat added, cooling, that is, heat removed and pass-through or bypass (without heating or cooling).

A solar collector (26) includes: an outer tube (64) of circular cross-section, closed at one of its ends, an absorption layer (52) arranged inside the outer tube (64), for absorbing solar radiation (Rs), and a heat pipe (56) including a hot part (58) laid out inside the outer tube (64), a cold part (60) arranged outside the outer tube (64), and a reservoir (62) containing a heat pipe fluid (63) and extending over the hot part (58) and the cold part (60). The outer tube (64) is hermetically closed around the heat pipe (56) at the other of its ends, a vacuum being formed inside said outer tube (64). For the hot part (58) of the heat pipe (56), the reservoir (62) is applied at least locally against the absorption layer (52).

Nanoparticle-enhanced phase change materials (NEPCM) including nanoparticles dispersed with a base phase change material and that exhibit enhanced thermal conductivity in comparison to the base phase change material.

‘Underground Thermal Battery Storage System’ using a battery structure of one or more underground thermally insulated cells, where each cell comprised of a waterproof thermal insulation shell, one or more fluid storage tanks and earth matrix. The thermal storage cell's fluid storage tanks are interconnected using a thermal fluid transport system with control valves, circulating pumps, and managed by a programmable controller. The programmable controller uses the cell sensors to determine cell status, control cell interconnections, and to manage the thermal charging and discharging by exterior heating or cooling devices. A moisture injection system is provided to control the thermal conductivity within the cell's earth matrix.

A device for withdrawing heat energy from air. The device includes a layer of a substantially hydrophobic coating on a heat exchange surface. The coating has a lower surface tension than water, to repel water and prevent the formation of water condensation on the surface. For example, the coating can be a fluoropolymer such as 1,1,2,3,3,3 hexafluoropropene.

A radial-flow plate heat exchanger (5) embedded in the catalytic bed of an isothermal chemical reactor (1) has heat exchange plates (10) comprising fluid passages (13) between a first metal sheet (20) and a second metal sheet (21) joined by perimeter weld seams (23) on a first surface (A) of the plate, a feeding channel (14) and a collecting channel (15) for the heat exchange fluid are formed with suitable metal sheets which are seam welded (25) directly to the opposite surface (B) of the plate, this structure allows the manufacturing of the plate (10) with an automated seam welding process, such as laser beam welding.

Disclosed herein is a heat dissipation system for a power module, including: first cooling medium flow parts and second cooling medium flow parts allowing cooling media to flow in first and second directions, respectively.

An operation management apparatus includes an air conditioning thermal load prediction unit configured to calculate an air conditioning thermal load predicted value indicating a predicted amount of heat required to adjust temperature to a pre-set temperature on a day-of-prediction, a power generation output prediction processing unit configured to calculate power generation output prediction data indicating a generated power obtained by a generator within the day-of-prediction, and an operation planning unit configured to prepare an air conditioning heat source operation plan, and determines a purchased power and the generated power using the power generation output prediction data to thereby prepare a power facility operation plan indicating a schedule of a power output from the purchased power source and the generator, so that the purchased power per predetermined time supplied from a purchased power source of a commercial power system becomes a target value.

The disclosure relates to a heat exchanger including an evaporator with a pair of base plates, each base plate having a first surface with channels extending from a manifold at a first end of the evaporator to a manifold at a second end of the evaporator, some of the channels are embedded into the base plate and some of the channels are arranged outside of base plate, a condenser with channels extending from a manifold at a first end of the condenser to a manifold at a second end of the condenser, at least one riser pipe and at least one return pipe.

A plate heat exchanger (10) of the double plate type having a plurality of stacked plate elements, each comprising a first plate (1) and a second plate (9). At least the first plate (1) is provided with a surface pattern with a plurality of dimples (5) defining a first distance to a plate plane (8), and a plurality of canal parts (6) defining a second, smaller, distance to the plate plane (8). The first plate (1) and the second plate (9) are joined in such a manner that the protruding areas (5, 6) in combination form flow paths (11) being fluidly connected to rim portions (3) of the plates (1, 9). The heat exchanger (10) provides efficient leakage detection via the flow paths (11) while ensuring a good thermal contact between heat exchanging fluids through the plates (1, 9) via flat portions (7) between the protruding parts (5, 6).

A heat transfer device including a container in which a heat-transfer fluid circulates in a closed loop. The heat transfer fluid is capable of undergoing an increase in volume on solidifying. The container further contains particles suspended in the heat-transfer fluid. At least some of the particles are compressible under the pressure of the fluid, as the fluid is solidifying, so as to at least partially compensate for the increase in volume of the fluid upon solidifying.

A heat dissipation module includes a centrifugal fan and a heat pipe. The centrifugal fan includes an outer housing, a heat dissipation fin array, a retaining wall, an impeller and a rotation-driving device. The outer housing includes an axial air inlet, an axial air outlet and a radial air outlet. The heat dissipation fin array is located at an inner wall of the radial air outlet. The retaining wall is located on a flat wall of the outer housing on which the axial air outlet is located. The retaining wall is in contact with an inner wall of an electronic device to collectively form a circulation channel so as to guide airflows output from the axial air outlet through the flat wall with which the heat dissipation fin array is aligned, and into the axial air inlet. The heat pipe is in contact with the heat dissipation fin array.

A heat exchanger is provided. The heat exchanger may include a plurality of refrigerant tubes extending in a horizontal direction, at least one fin coupled to the plurality of refrigerant tubes, a vertically oriented header coupled to corresponding ends of the plurality of refrigerant tubes, the header distributing refrigerant into the plurality of refrigerant tubes, and a partition device that partitions an inner space of the header, the partition device including at least two through holes that guide refrigerant into the plurality of refrigerant tubes.

An apparatus and method for minimizing cold spots on plates of a plate-type fluid-to-fluid heat exchanger averages the plate temperature at a hot-fluid exit plane of the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger matrix is constructed to internally vary the flow patterns of opposing hot and cold fluid streams so that the heat transfer coefficient values of one or both fluid streams, designated as h, are optimized so the hot fluid value is a greater value than that of a cold fluid value. Plate variable flow structures are arranged in a manner that allows higher velocity hot fluid flow and possible lower velocity cold fluid flow in areas where the plate temperatures are coolest and the opposite configuration where plate temperatures are hottest.

A regenerative burner device for a furnace and a method of removing contaminants from such a device. The burner device includes a burner for introducing heat and waste gas into a furnace during ignition when supplied with fuel and a combustion gas, a media bed comprising refractory particles, and ducting for delivering combustion gas to said burner during ignition, and for drawing waste gas from said furnace on termination of ignition. The ducting causes the combustion gas and the waste gas to pass in succession through the media bed. Means are provided for periodically delivering a rapid flow of a decontaminating gas into said media bed. The rapid flow is of sufficient force to dislodge contaminants collected in the media bed from said waste gas.

An actively heated mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container is provided. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container can include a body that receives a liquid therein and a heating or cooling system at least partially disposed in the body. The heating or cooling system can include one or more heating or cooling elements that heat a surface of the receiving portion of the body and one or more energy storage devices. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container can include a wireless power receiver that wirelessly receives power from a power source and control circuitry configured to charge one or more power storage elements and to control the delivery of electricity from the one or more power storage elements to the one or more heating or cooling elements. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container also can have one or more sensors that sense a parameter of the liquid or sense a parameter of the heating or cooling system and communicates the sensed information to the control circuitry. The control circuitry can turn on, turn off, and/or operate the heating or cooling element to actively heat or cool at least a portion of the body to maintain the liquid in a heated or cooled state generally at a user selected temperature setting based at least in part on the sensed parameter information. The mug, travel mug, baby bottle, water bottle or liquid container can also be paired with a remote device or mobile electronic device to send or receive communications or commands.

Dehumidifying cooling apparatus and method are provided for an electronics rack. The apparatus includes an air-to-liquid heat exchanger disposed at an air inlet or outlet side of the rack and positioned for air passing through the electronics rack to pass across the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is in fluid communication with a coolant loop for passing coolant therethrough at a temperature below a dew point temperature of the air passing across the heat exchanger so that air passing across the heat exchanger is dehumidified and cooled. A condensate collector, disposed below the heat exchanger, collects liquid condensate from the dehumidifying of air passing through the electronics rack, wherein the heat exchanger includes a plurality of sloped surfaces configured to facilitate drainage of liquid condensate from the heat exchanger to the condensate collector.

The present disclosure provides an apparatus for treating air by using porous organic-inorganic hybrid materials as an absorbent, which comprises an inlet passage for receiving air from outside; a dehumidifying part comprising porous organic-inorganic hybrid materials as an adsorbent for removing moisture from the air receiving through the inlet passage; a regenerating unit for regenerating the adsorbent of the dehumidifying part; and an outlet passage for discharging the dehumidified air to outside. Said apparatus preferably comprises two dehumidifying parts of two-bed switching type and two switch valves, wherein said two dehumidifying parts are alternatively operated for dehumidification and for regeneration by switching said switch valves to convert direction of air flow.

The thermal energy storage material (TESM) system includes a container having a wall surface, and a TESM in at least partial contact with the wall surface. The TESM may include, consist essentially of, or consist of a metal containing compound comprising lithium, one or more different metal cations (i.e., different from lithium) and one or more polyatomic anions. The TESM may have a liquidus temperature, TL, from about 100° C. to about 250° C. The TESM may exhibits a heat storage density from 1 MJ/l to 1.84 MJ/l, as measured from 300° C. to 80° C. The TESM system may be free of water. If any water is present in the TESM system, the water concentration preferably is less than 10 wt. %. Preferably, the TESM system is generally resistant to corrosion at temperatures of about 300° C.

A finned tube includes channels defined between adjacent fins on the tube body outer surface. Wings extend from side walls of the adjacent fins between the fin top and the fin base such that the wings form a barrier which splits the channel into an upper channel and a lower channel. A plurality of holes penetrate the barrier where the wings meet, so liquids and gases can pass into and out of the enclosed area defined by the lower channel. The wings can include alternating upper wings and lower wings, and there can be depressions formed in the fin top.

A semiconductor substrate for use in an integrated circuit, the semiconductor substrate including a channel defined on a surface of the substrate. The channel includes a first wall, a second wall, and a third wall. The first wall is recessed from the surface. The second wall extends from the surface to the first wall. The third wall extends from the surface to the first wall and faces the second wall across the channel. At least one of the second wall and the third wall includes a plurality of structures projecting into the channel from the second wall or the third wall.

Disclosed herein are various systems and methods relating to communication devices that include modular transceivers, such as small form pluggable transceivers. According to one embodiment, a communication device may include a chassis defining an interior and an exterior of the communication device. The chassis includes a top, a bottom, and a plurality of sides that together with the top and the bottom form an enclosure. One of the sides may include a first segment disposed in a first plane and a second segment disposed in a second plane. The second segment includes an outwardly extending communication transceiver housing configured to receive a communication transceiver. The communication transceiver may extend through an aperture in the second segment and into interior of the communication device to contact an electrical connector, while a second portion of the communication transceiver in the communication transceiver housing remains on the exterior of the communication device.

A silicon-based thermal energy transfer apparatus that aids dissipation of thermal energy from a heat-generating device, such as an edge-emitting laser diode, is provided. In one aspect, the apparatus comprises a silicon-based base portion having a first primary surface and a silicon-based support structure. The silicon-based support structure includes a mounting end and a distal end opposite the mounting end with the mounting end received by the base portion such that the support structure extends from the first primary surface of the base portion. The support structure includes a recess defined therein to receive the edge-emitting laser diode. The support structure further includes a slit connecting the distal end and the recess to expose at least a portion of a light-emitting edge of the edge-emitting laser diode when the edge-emitting laser diode is received in the support structure.

New net shape strength retaining high temperature alloy parts are formed from fine metallurgical powders by mechanically blending the powders and placing them in die, placing a piston in the die, extending the piston into a driving chamber, filling the chamber with CH4 and air and compressing the powders with the filling pressure. Igniting gas in the chamber drives the piston into the cavity, producing pressures of about 85 to 150 tsi, compacting the powders into a near net shape alloy part, ready for sintering at 2300° C. without shrinking. The alloy parts are Re, Mo—Re, W—Re, Re—Hf—HfC, Re—Ta—Hf—HfC, Re—Mo—Hf—HfC, Mo—Re—Ta, Mo—Re-f-HfC, W—Re—Hf—HfC, W—Re—Ta—Hf—HfC or W—Re—Mo—Hf alloys.

Provided is bond coating powder and method of making. The method includes providing a powder including a plurality of parent particles. The method includes providing a plurality of dispersoids. The method includes mechanically alloying the powder and the plurality of dispersoids at ambient temperature. The mechanical alloying operable to provide a selective occupation of the plurality of dispersoids in a grain boundary area of the plurality of parent particles providing the bond coating powder. The plurality of dispersoids occupy about 18 percent to about 30 percent of the grain boundary area of the bond coating powder.

The present invention discloses a hierarchical composite material comprising a ferrous alloy reinforced with titanium carbides according to a defined geometry, in which said reinforced portion comprises an alternating macro-microstructure of millimetric areas concentrated with micrometric globular particles of titanium carbide separated by millimetric areas essentially free of micrometric globular particles of titanium carbide, said areas concentrated with micrometric globular particles of titanium carbide forming a microstructure in which the micrometric interstices between said globular particles are also filled by said ferrous alloy.

Core-shell particles encapsulated by a thin film of a catalytically active metal are described. The particles are preferably nanoparticles comprising a non-noble core with a noble metal shell which preferably do not include Pt. The non-noble metal-noble metal core-shell nanoparticles are encapsulated by a catalytically active metal which is preferably Pt. The core-shell nanoparticles are preferably formed by prolonged elevated-temperature annealing of nanoparticle alloys in an inert environment. This causes the noble metal component to surface segregate and form an atomically thin shell. The Pt overlayer is formed by a process involving the underpotential deposition of a monolayer of a non-noble metal followed by immersion in a solution comprising a Pt salt. A thin Pt layer forms via the galvanic displacement of non-noble surface atoms by more noble Pt atoms in the salt. The overall process is a robust and cost-efficient method for forming Pt-coated non-noble metal-noble metal core-shell nanoparticles.

This invention relates to power metallurgical material, production method and application thereof. A metallurgy powder material with pressure-proof & good compactness, satisfactory to the component content requirements for 316 stainless steel, wherein, 5˜9% (by weight) of Fe3P (or Fe3PO4). The powder metallurgical material has properties of pressure resistance and corrosion resistance, and excellent compactness.

A method of generating hydrogen gas from the reaction of stabilized aluminum nanoparticles with water is provided. The stabilized aluminum nanoparticles are synthesized from decomposition of an alane precursor in the presence of a catalyst and an organic passivation agent, and exhibit stability in air and solvents but are reactive with water. The reaction of the aluminum nanoparticles with water produces a hydrogen yield of at least 85%.

The present invention relates to a process for the recycling of steel industry iron bearing by-products into a shape suitable for feeding into a direct reduction furnace, comprising the steps of mixing and grinding 50 to 99 wt % of ore and pellet fines and 1 to 50 wt % of slurry, mill scale and/or bag house dust, pelletizing the mixture and indurating the pellets so obtained by heating for 5-60 minutes at a temperature in the range of 1100-1350° C.; and a pellet produced from Iron bearing waste material and having compression strength of at least 2.8 kN and/or a drop number of at least 3.

A method of making metal nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes is disclosed. A mixture of a transition metal compound and an aromatic polymer, a precursor of an aromatic polymer, or an aromatic monomer is heated to form a metal nanoparticle composition, optionally containing carbon nanotubes.

Methods of preparing nanowires having small diameters and large lengths are disclosed. Such nanowires are useful in electronics applications.

The invention relates to a composition for synthesizing bimetallic nanoparticles, wherein the composition contains a first organometallic precursor and a second organometallic precursor having different decomposition rates and contained within an ionic liquid solution. The invention also relates to a method for synthesizing bimetallic nanoparticles, in which the composition is transformed under a hydrogen gas pressure between 0.1 and 10 MPa at a temperature between 0 and 150° C. until a suspension of bimetallic nanoparticles is obtained. The resulting nanoparticles are useful in diverse fields including the fields of catalysis and microelectronics.

Nanomaterial preparation methods, compositions, and articles are disclosed and claimed. Such methods can provide nanomaterials with improved morphologies relative to previous methods. Such materials are useful in electronic applications.

Nanomaterial preparation methods, compositions, and articles are disclosed and claimed. Such methods can provide nanomaterials with improved morphologies relative to previous methods. Such materials are useful in electronic applications.

A cored wire for introducing additive into a bath of liquid steel, of the type comprising a metal sheath surrounding said additive, characterized in that said additive predominantly comprises calcium silicate. A process for manufacturing a resulfurized steel, characterized in that it comprises a step of introducing, into the bath of liquid steel, such a cored wire.

Methods of forming metal matrix nanocomposites are provided. The methods include the steps of introducing a master metal matrix nanocomposite into a molten metal at a temperature above the melting temperature of the master metal matrix nanocomposite, allowing at least a portion of the master metal matrix nanocomposite to mix with the molten metal and, then, solidifying the molten metal to provide a second metal matrix nanocomposite.

The invention is directed to a process and apparatus for recovering metals from bottom ash from incineration plants, such as municipal waste incineration plants. The process includes directing a feed containing ash into an oxidizing unit, wherein at least part of the metals is oxidized in the presence of one or more acids and at least one oxygen donor, thus producing a stream comprising metal ions. From this stream the metals of interest are selected and converted into metallic form.

The present invention aims at improving a recovery rate of a positive-pole active substance and preventing a recovery loss of valuable metals when a positive-pole active substance is separated from a lithium ion battery. In the present invention, a material resulting from battery dismantling obtained by dismantling a lithium ion battery is stirred using a surfactant solution, whereby a positive-pole active substance is separated from a positive-electrode substrate. Also, it is preferable that an alkaline solution is added to a positive-electrode material of a material resulting from battery dismantling, thereby dissolving a positive-electrode substrate to which a positive-pole active substance adheres to obtain a slurry containing the positive-pole active substance, and a surfactant solution is added to the slurry to disperse the positive-pole active substance in the slurry, whereby the positive-pole active substance is separated from the alkaline solution.

Seizure resistance and wear resistance of Cu—Bi—In copper-alloy sliding material are enhanced by forming a soft phase of as pure as possible Bi. Mixed powder of Cu—In cuprous alloy powder and Cu—Bi containing Cu-based alloy powder is used. A sintering condition is set such that Bi moves outside particles of said Cu—Bi containing Cu-based powder and forms a Bi grain-boundary phase free of In, and In diffuses from said Cu—In containing Cu-based powder to said Cu—Bi containing Cu-based powder.

The method for forming a 3-D metal object by 3-D printing or injection molding comprising providing as a feed material metal particles formed by establishing multiple metal components in a primary billet of a ductile material, working the primary billet through a series of reduction steps to form the components into elongated elements, leaching the ductile material from the elongated elements and reducing the length to short uniform lengths.