This study was to determine the concentration and chemical nature of lead (Pb) aerosols produced during the firing of artillery and to determine the exposures and biological responses of crew members exposed to lead aerosols during such firing. The concentrations of lead-containing aerosols at crew positions depended on wind conditions, with higher concentrations when firing into a head wind. Aerosol concentrations were highest in the muzzle blast zone. Concentrations of lead in the blood of crew members rose during the first 12 days of exposure to elevated airborne lead concentrations and then leveled off. There was no rapid decrease in blood lead concentrations after completion of firing. Small decreases in hematocrit and small increases in free erythrocyte porphyrin were correlated with increasing exposure to airborne lead. These changes were reversed by seven weeks after firing. Changes in nerve conduction velocity had borderline statistical significance to airborne lead exposure. In measuring nerve conduction velocity, differences in skin temperature must be taken into account.

Dynamic interactions between the vehicle and guideway in a high-speed ground transportation system based on magnetically levitated (maglev) vehicles were studied, with an emphasis on the effects of vehicle and guideway parameters. Two dynamic models for the vehicle are presented. In one model, the vehicle is considered to be a moving force traveling at various speeds on a simply supported single- or two-span beam. In the second model, the vehicle is considered to be one-dimensional and has two degrees of freedom; this model consists of the primary and secondary suspensions of the vehicle, with lumped masses, linear springs, and dampings. The Bernoulli-Euler beam equation is used to model the characteristics of a flexible guideway, and the guideway synthesis is based on modal analysis. Analyses were performed to gain an understanding of response characteristics under various loading conditions and to provide benchmark data for verification of existing comprehensive computer programs and some basic design guidelines for maglev systems. Finally, the German Transrapid maglev system was evaluated.