text: This provides us with a method for calculating the expected values of many microscopic quantities. We add the quantity artificially to the microstate energies (or, in the language of quantum mechanics, to the Hamiltonian), calculate the new partition function and expected value, and then set "λ" to zero in the final expression. This is analogous to the source field method used in the path integral formulation of quantum field theory.


title: Partition function (statistical mechanics)

text: In this section, we will state the relationships between the partition function and the various thermodynamic parameters of the system. These results can be derived using the method of the previous section and the various thermodynamic relations.


text: In general, consider the extensive variable X and intensive variable Y where X and Y form a pair of conjugate variables. In ensembles where Y is fixed (and X is allowed to fluctuate), then the average value of X will be:


text: The sign will depend on the specific definitions of the variables X and Y. An example would be X = volume and Y = pressure. Additionally, the variance in X will be


text: where "A" is the Helmholtz free energy defined as , where is the total energy and "S" is the entropy, so that


text: Suppose a system is subdivided into "N" sub-systems with negligible interaction energy, that is, we can assume the particles are essentially non-interacting. If the partition functions of the sub-systems are "ζ", "ζ", ..., "ζ", then the partition function of the entire system is the "product" of the individual partition functions:


text: If the sub-systems have the same physical properties, then their partition functions are equal, ζ = ζ = ... = ζ, in which case formula_91


text: However, there is a well-known exception to this rule. If the sub-systems are actually identical particles, in the quantum mechanical sense that they are impossible to distinguish even in principle, the total partition function must be divided by a "N"! ("N" factorial):


text: This is to ensure that we do not "over-count" the number of microstates. While this may seem like a strange requirement, it is actually necessary to preserve the existence of a thermodynamic limit for such systems. This is known as the Gibbs paradox.


text: It may not be obvious why the partition function, as we have defined it above, is an important quantity. First, consider what goes into it. The partition function is a function of the temperature "T" and the microstate energies "E", "E", "E", etc. The microstate energies are determined by other thermodynamic variables, such as the number of particles and the volume, as well as microscopic quantities like the mass of the constituent particles. This dependence on microscopic variables is the central point of statistical mechanics. With a model of the microscopic constituents of a system, one can calculate the microstate energies, and thus the partition function, which will then allow us to calculate all the other thermodynamic properties of the system.


text: The partition function can be related to thermodynamic properties because it has a very important statistical meaning. The probability "P" that the system occupies microstate "s" is


text: Thus, as shown above, the partition function plays the role of a normalizing constant (note that it does "not" depend on "s"), ensuring that the probabilities sum up to one:


text: This is the reason for calling "Z" the "partition function": it encodes how the probabilities are partitioned among the different microstates, based on their individual energies. The letter "Z" stands for the German word "Zustandssumme", "sum over states". The usefulness of the partition function stems from the fact that it can be used to relate macroscopic thermodynamic quantities to the microscopic details of a system through the derivatives of its partition function. Finding the partition function is also equivalent to performing a Laplace transform of the density of states function from the energy domain to the β domain, and the inverse Laplace transform of the partition function reclaims the state density function of energies.


text: We can define a grand canonical partition function for a grand canonical ensemble, which describes the statistics of a constant-volume system that can exchange both heat and particles with a reservoir. The reservoir has a constant temperature "T", and a chemical potential "μ".


text: Here, each microstate is labelled by formula_97, and has total particle number formula_98 and total energy formula_99. This partition function is closely related to the grand potential, formula_100, by the relation


text: This can be contrasted to the canonical partition function above, which is related instead to the Helmholtz free energy.


text: It is important to note that the number of microstates in the grand canonical ensemble may be much larger than in the canonical ensemble, since here we consider not only variations in energy but also in particle number. Again, the utility of the grand canonical partition function is that it is related to the probability that the system is in state formula_97:


text: An important application of the grand canonical ensemble is in deriving exactly the statistics of a non-interacting many-body quantum gas (Fermi–Dirac statistics for fermions, Bose–Einstein statistics for bosons), however it is much more generally applicable than that. The grand canonical ensemble may also be used to describe classical systems, or even interacting quantum gases.


text: where formula_105 is known as the absolute activity (or fugacity) and formula_106 is the canonical partition function.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW), also known as tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding, is an arc welding process that uses a non-consumable tungsten electrode to produce the weld. The weld area and electrode are protected from oxidation or other atmospheric contamination by an inert shielding gas (argon or helium). A filler metal is normally used, though some welds, known as "autogenous welds", or "fusion welds" do not require it. When helium is used, this is known as heliarc welding. A constant-current welding power supply produces electrical energy, which is conducted across the arc through a column of highly ionized gas and metal vapors known as a plasma. GTAW is most commonly used to weld thin sections of stainless steel and non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, magnesium, and copper alloys. The process grants the operator greater control over the weld than competing processes such as shielded metal arc welding and gas metal arc welding, allowing for stronger, higher quality welds. However, GTAW is comparatively more complex and difficult to master, and furthermore, it is significantly slower than most other welding techniques. A related process, plasma arc welding, uses a slightly different welding torch to create a more focused welding arc and as a result is often automated.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: After the discovery of the short pulsed electric arc in 1801 by Humphry Davy and of the continuous electric arc in 1802 by Vasily Petrov, arc welding developed slowly. C. L. Coffin had the idea of welding in an inert gas atmosphere in 1890, but even in the early 20th century, welding non-ferrous materials such as aluminum and magnesium remained difficult because these metals react rapidly with the air, resulting in porous, dross-filled welds. Processes using flux-covered electrodes did not satisfactorily protect the weld area from contamination. To solve the problem, bottled inert gases were used in the beginning of the 1930s. A few years later, a direct current, gas-shielded welding process emerged in the aircraft industry for welding magnesium.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Russell Meredith of Northrop Aircraft perfected the process in 1941. Meredith named the process Heliarc because it used a tungsten electrode arc and helium as a shielding gas, but it is often referred to as tungsten inert gas welding (TIG). The American Welding Society's official term is gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Linde Air Products developed a wide range of air-cooled and water-cooled torches, gas lenses to improve shielding, and other accessories that increased the use of the process. Initially, the electrode overheated quickly and, despite tungsten's high melting temperature, particles of tungsten were transferred to the weld. To address this problem, the polarity of the electrode was changed from positive to negative, but the change made it unsuitable for welding many non-ferrous materials. Finally, the development of alternating current units made it possible to stabilize the arc and produce high quality aluminum and magnesium welds.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Developments continued during the following decades. Linde developed water-cooled torches that helped prevent overheating when welding with high currents. During the 1950s, as the process continued to gain popularity, some users turned to carbon dioxide as an alternative to the more expensive welding atmospheres consisting of argon and helium, but this proved unacceptable for welding aluminum and magnesium because it reduced weld quality, so it is rarely used with GTAW today. The use of any shielding gas containing an oxygen compound, such as carbon dioxide, quickly contaminates the tungsten electrode, making it unsuitable for the TIG process.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: In 1953, a new process based on GTAW was developed, called plasma arc welding. It affords greater control and improves weld quality by using a nozzle to focus the electric arc, but is largely limited to automated systems, whereas GTAW remains primarily a manual, hand-held method. Development within the GTAW process has continued as well, and today a number of variations exist. Among the most popular are the pulsed-current, manual programmed, hot-wire, dabber, and increased penetration GTAW methods.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Manual gas tungsten arc welding is a relatively difficult welding method, due to the coordination required by the welder. Similar to torch welding, GTAW normally requires two hands, since most applications require that the welder manually feed a filler metal into the weld area with one hand while manipulating the welding torch in the other. Maintaining a short arc length, while preventing contact between the electrode and the workpiece, is also important.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: To strike the welding arc, a high-frequency generator (similar to a Tesla coil) provides an electric spark. This spark is a conductive path for the welding current through the shielding gas and allows the arc to be initiated while the electrode and the workpiece are separated, typically about apart.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Once the arc is struck, the welder moves the torch in a small circle to create a welding pool, the size of which depends on the size of the electrode and the amount of current. While maintaining a constant separation between the electrode and the workpiece, the operator then moves the torch back slightly and tilts it backward about 10–15 degrees from vertical. Filler metal is added manually to the front end of the weld pool as it is needed.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Welders often develop a technique of rapidly alternating between moving the torch forward (to advance the weld pool) and adding filler metal. The filler rod is withdrawn from the weld pool each time the electrode advances, but it is always kept inside the gas shield to prevent oxidation of its surface and contamination of the weld. Filler rods composed of metals with a low melting temperature, such as aluminum, require that the operator maintain some distance from the arc while staying inside the gas shield. If held too close to the arc, the filler rod can melt before it makes contact with the weld puddle. As the weld nears completion, the arc current is often gradually reduced to allow the weld crater to solidify and prevent the formation of crater cracks at the end of the weld.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Welders wear protective clothing, including light and thin leather gloves and protective long sleeve shirts with high collars, to avoid exposure to strong ultraviolet light. Due to the absence of smoke in GTAW, the electric arc light is not covered by fumes and particulate matter as in stick welding or shielded metal arc welding, and thus is a great deal brighter, subjecting operators to strong ultraviolet light. The welding arc has a different range and strength of UV light wavelengths from sunlight, but the welder is very close to the source and the light intensity is very strong. Potential arc light damage includes accidental flashes to the eye or arc eye and skin damage similar to strong sunburn. Operators wear opaque helmets with dark eye lenses and full head and neck coverage to prevent this exposure to UV light. Modern helmets often feature a liquid crystal-type face plate that self-darkens upon exposure to the bright light of the struck arc. Transparent welding curtains, made of a strongly colored polyvinyl chloride plastic film, are often used to shield nearby workers and bystanders from exposure to the UV light from the electric arc.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Welders are also often exposed to dangerous gases and particulate matter. While the process doesn't produce smoke, the brightness of the arc in GTAW can break down surrounding air to form ozone and nitric oxides. The ozone and nitric oxides react with lung tissue and moisture to create nitric acid and ozone burn. Ozone and nitric oxide levels are moderate, but exposure duration, repeated exposure, and the quality and quantity of fume extraction, and air change in the room must be monitored. Welders who do not work safely can contract emphysema and oedema of the lungs, which can lead to early death. Similarly, the heat from the arc can cause poisonous fumes to form from cleaning and degreasing materials. Cleaning operations using these agents should not be performed near the site of welding, and proper ventilation is necessary to protect the welder.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: While the aerospace industry is one of the primary users of gas tungsten arc welding, the process is used in a number of other areas. Many industries use GTAW for welding thin workpieces, especially nonferrous metals. It is used extensively in the manufacture of space vehicles and is also frequently employed to weld small-diameter, thin-wall tubing such as that used in the bicycle industry. In addition, GTAW is often used to make root or first-pass welds for piping of various sizes. In maintenance and repair work, the process is commonly used to repair tools and dies, especially components made of aluminum and magnesium. Because the weld metal is not transferred directly across the electric arc like most open arc welding processes, a vast assortment of welding filler metal is available to the welding engineer. In fact, no other welding process permits the welding of so many alloys in so many product configurations. Filler metal alloys, such as elemental aluminum and chromium, can be lost through the electric arc from volatilization. This loss does not occur with the GTAW process. Because the resulting welds have the same chemical integrity as the original base metal or match the base metals more closely, GTAW welds are highly resistant to corrosion and cracking over long time periods, making GTAW the welding procedure of choice for critical operations like sealing spent nuclear fuel canisters before burial.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Gas tungsten arc welding, because it affords greater control over the weld area than other welding processes, can produce high-quality welds when performed by skilled operators. Maximum weld quality is assured by maintaining cleanliness—all equipment and materials used must be free from oil, moisture, dirt and other impurities, as these cause weld porosity and consequently a decrease in weld strength and quality. To remove oil and grease, alcohol or similar commercial solvents may be used, while a stainless steel wire brush or chemical process can remove oxides from the surfaces of metals like aluminum. Rust on steels can be removed by first grit blasting the surface and then using a wire brush to remove any embedded grit. These steps are especially important when negative polarity direct current is used, because such a power supply provides no cleaning during the welding process, unlike positive polarity direct current or alternating current. To maintain a clean weld pool during welding, the shielding gas flow should be sufficient and consistent so that the gas covers the weld and blocks impurities in the atmosphere. GTAW in windy or drafty environments increases the amount of shielding gas necessary to protect the weld, increasing the cost and making the process unpopular outdoors.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The level of heat input also affects weld quality. Low heat input, caused by low welding current or high welding speed, can limit penetration and cause the weld bead to lift away from the surface being welded. If there is too much heat input, however, the weld bead grows in width while the likelihood of excessive penetration and spatter (emission of small, unwanted droplets of molten metal) increases. Additionally, if the welding torch is too far from the workpiece the shielding gas becomes ineffective, causing porosity within the weld. This results in a weld with pinholes, which is weaker than a typical weld.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: If the amount of current used exceeds the capability of the electrode, tungsten inclusions in the weld may result. Known as tungsten spitting, this can be identified with radiography and can be prevented by changing the type of electrode or increasing the electrode diameter. In addition, if the electrode is not well protected by the gas shield or the operator accidentally allows it to contact the molten metal, it can become dirty or contaminated. This often causes the welding arc to become unstable, requiring that the electrode be ground with a diamond abrasive to remove the impurity.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The equipment required for the gas tungsten arc welding operation includes a welding torch utilizing a non-consumable tungsten electrode, a constant-current welding power supply, and a shielding gas source.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: GTAW welding torches are designed for either automatic or manual operation and are equipped with cooling systems using air or water. The automatic and manual torches are similar in construction, but the manual torch has a handle while the automatic torch normally comes with a mounting rack. The angle between the centerline of the handle and the centerline of the tungsten electrode, known as the head angle, can be varied on some manual torches according to the preference of the operator. Air cooling systems are most often used for low-current operations (up to about 200 A), while water cooling is required for high-current welding (up to about 600 A). The torches are connected with cables to the power supply and with hoses to the shielding gas source and where used, the water supply.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The internal metal parts of a torch are made of hard alloys of copper or brass so it can transmit current and heat effectively. The tungsten electrode must be held firmly in the center of the torch with an appropriately sized collet, and ports around the electrode provide a constant flow of shielding gas. Collets are sized according to the diameter of the tungsten electrode they hold. The body of the torch is made of heat-resistant, insulating plastics covering the metal components, providing insulation from heat and electricity to protect the welder.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The size of the welding torch nozzle depends on the amount of shielded area desired. The size of the gas nozzle depends upon the diameter of the electrode, the joint configuration, and the availability of access to the joint by the welder. The inside diameter of the nozzle is preferably at least three times the diameter of the electrode, but there are no hard rules. The welder judges the effectiveness of the shielding and increases the nozzle size to increase the area protected by the external gas shield as needed. The nozzle must be heat resistant and thus is normally made of alumina or a ceramic material, but fused quartz, a high purity glass, offers greater visibility. Devices can be inserted into the nozzle for special applications, such as gas lenses or valves to improve the control shielding gas flow to reduce turbulence and the introduction of contaminated atmosphere into the shielded area. Hand switches to control welding current can be added to the manual GTAW torches.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Gas tungsten arc welding uses a constant current power source, meaning that the current (and thus the heat flux) remains relatively constant, even if the arc distance and voltage change. This is important because most applications of GTAW are manual or semiautomatic, requiring that an operator hold the torch. Maintaining a suitably steady arc distance is difficult if a constant voltage power source is used instead since it can cause dramatic heat variations and make welding more difficult.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The preferred polarity of the GTAW system depends largely on the type of metal being welded. Direct current with a negatively charged electrode (DCEN) is often employed when welding steels, nickel, titanium, and other metals. It can also be used in automatic GTAW of aluminum or magnesium when helium is used as a shielding gas. The negatively charged electrode generates heat by emitting electrons, which travel across the arc, causing thermal ionization of the shielding gas and increasing the temperature of the base material. The ionized shielding gas flows toward the electrode, not the base material, and this can allow oxides to build on the surface of the weld. Direct current with a positively charged electrode (DCEP) is less common, and is used primarily for shallow welds since less heat is generated in the base material. Instead of flowing from the electrode to the base material, as in DCEN, electrons go the other direction, causing the electrode to reach very high temperatures. To help it maintain its shape and prevent softening, a larger electrode is often used. As the electrons flow toward the electrode, ionized shielding gas flows back toward the base material, cleaning the weld by removing oxides and other impurities and thereby improving its quality and appearance.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Alternating current, commonly used when welding aluminum and magnesium manually or semi-automatically, combines the two direct currents by making the electrode and base material alternate between positive and negative charge. This causes the electron flow to switch directions constantly, preventing the tungsten electrode from overheating while maintaining the heat in the base material. Surface oxides are still removed during the electrode-positive portion of the cycle and the base metal is heated more deeply during the electrode-negative portion of the cycle. Some power supplies enable operators to use an unbalanced alternating current wave by modifying the exact percentage of time that the current spends in each state of polarity, giving them more control over the amount of heat and cleaning action supplied by the power source. In addition, operators must be wary of rectification, in which the arc fails to reignite as it passes from straight polarity (negative electrode) to reverse polarity (positive electrode). To remedy the problem, a square wave power supply can be used, as can high-frequency to encourage arc stability.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The electrode used in GTAW is made of tungsten or a tungsten alloy, because tungsten has the highest melting temperature among pure metals, at . As a result, the electrode is not consumed during welding, though some erosion (called burn-off) can occur. Electrodes can have either a clean finish or a ground finish—clean finish electrodes have been chemically cleaned, while ground finish electrodes have been ground to a uniform size and have a polished surface, making them optimal for heat conduction. The diameter of the electrode can vary between , and their length can range from .


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: A number of tungsten alloys have been standardized by the International Organization for Standardization and the American Welding Society in ISO 6848 and AWS A5.12, respectively, for use in GTAW electrodes, and are summarized in the adjacent table.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Filler metals are also used in nearly all applications of GTAW, the major exception being the welding of thin materials. Filler metals are available with different diameters and are made of a variety of materials. In most cases, the filler metal in the form of a rod is added to the weld pool manually, but some applications call for an automatically fed filler metal, which often is stored on spools or coils.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: As with other welding processes such as gas metal arc welding, shielding gases are necessary in GTAW to protect the welding area from atmospheric gases such as nitrogen and oxygen, which can cause fusion defects, porosity, and weld metal embrittlement if they come in contact with the electrode, the arc, or the welding metal. The gas also transfers heat from the tungsten electrode to the metal, and it helps start and maintain a stable arc.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The selection of a shielding gas depends on several factors, including the type of material being welded, joint design, and desired final weld appearance. Argon is the most commonly used shielding gas for GTAW, since it helps prevent defects due to a varying arc length. When used with alternating current, argon shielding results in high weld quality and good appearance. Another common shielding gas, helium, is most often used to increase the weld penetration in a joint, to increase the welding speed, and to weld metals with high heat conductivity, such as copper and aluminum. A significant disadvantage is the difficulty of striking an arc with helium gas, and the decreased weld quality associated with a varying arc length.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Argon-helium mixtures are also frequently utilized in GTAW, since they can increase control of the heat input while maintaining the benefits of using argon. Normally, the mixtures are made with primarily helium (often about 75% or higher) and a balance of argon. These mixtures increase the speed and quality of the AC welding of aluminum, and also make it easier to strike an arc. Another shielding gas mixture, argon-hydrogen, is used in the mechanized welding of light gauge stainless steel, but because hydrogen can cause porosity, its uses are limited. Similarly, nitrogen can sometimes be added to argon to help stabilize the austenite in austenitic stainless steels and increase penetration when welding copper. Due to porosity problems in ferritic steels and limited benefits, however, it is not a popular shielding gas additive.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Gas Tungsten Arc Welding is most commonly used to weld stainless steel and nonferrous materials, such as aluminum and magnesium, but it can be applied to nearly all metals, with a notable exception being zinc and its alloys. Its applications involving carbon steels are limited not because of process restrictions, but because of the existence of more economical steel welding techniques, such as gas metal arc welding and shielded metal arc welding. Furthermore, GTAW can be performed in a variety of other-than-flat positions, depending on the skill of the welder and the materials being welded.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Aluminum and magnesium are most often welded using alternating current, but the use of direct current is also possible, depending on the properties desired. Before welding, the work area should be cleaned and may be preheated to for aluminum or to a maximum of for thick magnesium workpieces to improve penetration and increase travel speed. Alternating current can provide a self-cleaning effect, removing the thin, refractory aluminum oxide layer that forms on aluminum metal within minutes of exposure to air. This oxide layer must be removed for welding to occur. When alternating current is used, pure tungsten electrodes or zirconiated tungsten electrodes are preferred over thoriated electrodes, as the latter are more likely to "spit" electrode particles across the welding arc into the weld. Blunt electrode tips are preferred, and pure argon shielding gas should be employed for thin workpieces. Introducing helium allows for greater penetration in thicker workpieces, but can make arc starting difficult.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Direct current of either polarity, positive or negative, can be used to weld aluminum and magnesium as well. Direct current with a negatively charged electrode (DCEN) allows for high penetration. Argon is commonly used as a shielding gas for DCEN welding of aluminum. Shielding gases with high helium contents are often used for higher penetration in thicker materials. Thoriated electrodes are suitable for use in DCEN welding of aluminum. Direct current with a positively charged electrode (DCEP) is used primarily for shallow welds, especially those with a joint thickness of less than . A thoriated tungsten electrode is commonly used, along with pure argon shielding gas.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: For GTAW of carbon and stainless steels, the selection of filler material is important to prevent excessive porosity. Oxides on the filler material and workpieces must be removed before welding to prevent contamination, and immediately prior to welding, alcohol or acetone should be used to clean the surface. Preheating is generally not necessary for mild steels less than one inch thick, but low alloy steels may require preheating to slow the cooling process and prevent the formation of martensite in the heat-affected zone. Tool steels should also be preheated to prevent cracking in the heat-affected zone. Austenitic stainless steels do not require preheating, but martensitic and ferritic chromium stainless steels do. A DCEN power source is normally used, and thoriated electrodes, tapered to a sharp point, are recommended. Pure argon is used for thin workpieces, but helium can be introduced as thickness increases.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: Welding dissimilar metals often introduce new difficulties to GTAW welding, because most materials do not easily fuse to form a strong bond. However, welds of dissimilar materials have numerous applications in manufacturing, repair work, and the prevention of corrosion and oxidation. In some joints, a compatible filler metal is chosen to help form the bond, and this filler metal can be the same as one of the base materials (for example, using a stainless steel filler metal with stainless steel and carbon steel as base materials), or a different metal (such as the use of a nickel filler metal for joining steel and cast iron). Very different materials may be coated or "buttered" with a material compatible with particular filler metal, and then welded. In addition, GTAW can be used in cladding or overlaying dissimilar materials.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: When welding dissimilar metals, the joint must have an accurate fit, with proper gap dimensions and bevel angles. Care should be taken to avoid melting excessive base material. Pulsed current is particularly useful for these applications, as it helps limit the heat input. The filler metal should be added quickly, and a large weld pool should be avoided to prevent dilution of the base materials.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: In the pulsed-current mode, the welding current rapidly alternates between two levels. The higher current state is known as the pulse current, while the lower current level is called the background current. During the period of pulse current, the weld area is heated and fusion occurs. Upon dropping to the background current, the weld area is allowed to cool and solidify. Pulsed-current GTAW has a number of advantages, including lower heat input and consequently a reduction in distortion and warpage in thin workpieces. In addition, it allows for greater control of the weld pool, and can increase weld penetration, welding speed, and quality. A similar method, manual programmed GTAW, allows the operator to program a specific rate and magnitude of current variations, making it useful for specialized applications.


title: Gas tungsten arc welding

text: The dabber variation is used to precisely place weld metal on thin edges. The automatic process replicates the motions of manual welding by feeding a cold or hot filler wire into the weld area and dabbing (or oscillating) it into the welding arc. It can be used in conjunction with pulsed current, and is used to weld a variety of alloys, including titanium, nickel, and tool steels. Common applications include rebuilding seals in jet engines and building up saw blades, milling cutters, drill bits, and mower blades.


title: Dream High

text: Dream High () is a 2011 South Korean television series starring Bae Suzy, Kim Soo-hyun, Ok Taec-yeon, Hahm Eun-jung, Jang Wooyoung and Lee Ji-eun. It aired on KBS2 from January 3 to February 28, 2011, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 22:00 (KST) for 16 episodes.


title: Dream High

text: The drama was popular among teenagers, and brought in average viewership ratings of 15.7% during its two-month run. A special episode, where the cast of the show performed the "Dream High Special Concert" on a stage near Seoul, was aired on March 1, 2011, the day after the series ended.


title: Dream High

text: Six students at Kirin High School share dreams of becoming K-pop idols, among others. During their school years, they learn how to develop their singing, songwriting and dancing skills while undergoing personal growth. They also start to develop feelings for one another. Each of them has their own strengths and weaknesses, but they strive to debut with the support and guidance of one another.


title: Dream High

text: In January 2009, media outlets reported that Bae Yong-joon, hallyu actor and chairman of KeyEast, would co-produce a television drama with Park Jin-young's entertainment company JYP. A television drama production company, Holym, was established as a joint venture between KeyEast and JYP Entertainment. In April 2010, CJ Media signed a MoU with Holym becoming the part of production team. Bae being the creative producer of the drama, he provided overall concept, goals and ideas while Park composed the music and choreographed the dance for the series. The screenplay was written by Park Hye-ryun and the series was directed by Lee Eung-bok.


title: Dream High

text: Bae Yong-joon was also part of the cast for four episodes making his first small screen appearance in three years. While Park Jin-young marked his acting debut with the series. Ok Taec-yeon and Jang Wooyoung from 2PM, Bae Suzy from Miss A, Hahm Eun-jung from T-ara, singer IU and Kim Soo-hyun were selected for the main cast. Kim was the only non-idol among the cast; but had studied music and dance at JYP Entertainment for 3 months in order to portray his role.


title: Dream High

text: While "Someday" fared well commercially and reached number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, it was embroiled in controversy after the song's writer and composer, Park Jin-young, was accused of plagiarizing the song, "To My Man". Songwriter Kim Shin-il won his plagiarism lawsuit against Park Jin-young in 2013, however, an appeal to the Supreme Court of Korea led to an eventual High Court retrial in 2015.


title: Dream High

text: On October 5, 2011, Japan's daily paper Sankei Sports reported that "Dream High" was handed the Grand Prize and 'Hallyu award at the SKY PerfecTV! awards which took place in Tokyo.


title: Dream High

text: On October 24, 2011, "Dream High" was given the Special Award for Foreign Drama at the 5th International Drama Festival held in Tokyo.


title: Dream High

text: On December 31, 2011, "Dream High" won the following at the KBS Drama Awards: Best Supporting Actress for Lee Yoon-ji; Best New Actor and Popularity Award for Kim Soo-hyun; Best New Actress for Bae Suzy; and Best Couple Award for Kim Soo-hyun and Bae Suzy.


title: Dream High

text: On May 10, 2012, "Dream High" was honored at the Rose d'Or, the global entertainment television festival ceremony which took place at Lucerne, Switzerland. It won the Golden Rose under the Youth category, the first ever Korean production to do so.


title: Dream High

text: The sequel "Dream High 2" aired a year later with a different cast, starring Kang So-ra, GOT7's JB and Jinyoung, 2AM's Jinwoon, T-ara's Jiyeon, SISTAR's Hyolyn, Ailee, and Park Seo-joon.


title: Dream High

text: In episode 17 of My Love from the Star, Bae Suzy makes a special guest appearance as Go Hye-mi, the main protagonist (and the same character she plays in) of "Dream High".


title: Rex Brown

text: Rex Robert Brown (born July 27, 1964) is an American musician. He is best known as the longtime bassist for heavy metal band Pantera, from 1982 to their disbandment in 2003, and as of their reunion in 2022, he is the band's only constant member. Brown is also a former member of the supergroup Down (2001–2011) and the former bassist for Kill Devil Hill. He released his debut solo album "Smoke on This…" in 2017. For the first time in Brown's career, the work features him not only as a bassist but also as lead vocalist and guitarist.


title: Rex Brown

text: Brown authored a book called "Official Truth 101 Proof", which was released in April 2013. The book documents Pantera's formation, career, and disbandment.


title: Rex Brown

text: Rex Robert Brown was born in Graham, Texas, on July 27, 1964. His father was 40 when Brown was born, and died in 1971. He was raised by his mother and sister. Brown was first introduced to music through his grandmother, who taught him to play the piano when he was a child, and turned him onto ragtime music and Scott Joplin. Brown was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Brown became a fan of ZZ Top and Def Leppard as a youth, and started playing bass when he was twelve years old. He remains a fan of Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and hardcore punk.


title: Rex Brown

text: Pantera was formed in 1981. Brown joined Pantera on bass in 1982 replacing Tommy D. Bradford and adopting the alias "Rex Rocker". Brown was a classmate of, and played in the high school jazz band with, drummer Vinnie Paul, and guitarist Dimebag Darrell (then known as Diamond Darrell). Brown was credited as "Rex Rocker" on Pantera's first four albums: "Metal Magic" (1983), "Projects in the Jungle" (1984), "I Am the Night" (1985), and "Power Metal" (1988), he would be credited by his birth name starting with the band's fifth album Cowboys from Hell and onwards.


title: Rex Brown

text: Pantera recruited vocalist Phil Anselmo to replace Terry Glaze in 1986. With Anselmo taking over as the new frontman, the band's fourth album, "Power Metal", was released in 1988. In 1989, the band was signed with Atco Records, and released their fifth album, "Cowboys from Hell" in the following year, which proved to be the band's turning point to commercial success. Over the course of the band's walkthrough in the 1990s decade, Pantera released four more studio albums, "Vulgar Display of Power" (1992), "Far Beyond Driven" (1994), "The Great Southern Trendkill" (1996), and "Reinventing the Steel" (2000). After releases of a and a , Pantera was nominated for four best metal performance Grammys, for "I'm Broken", "Suicide Note Pt. I", "Cemetery Gates", and "Revolution Is My Name".


title: Rex Brown

text: In 2001, Pantera went on what at the time was believed to be a temporary hiatus, mainly due to Anselmo's focus on side projects. Pantera would officially disband in 2003.


title: Rex Brown

text: In July 2022, it was announced that Brown would be joining Anselmo, along with Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante (as the respective fill-ins of Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul), for Pantera's first world tour in 22 years in 2023.


title: Rex Brown

text: In 1998, during his stay in Louisiana, he was invited by Phil Anselmo for a jam session that included all the members of Down except their bass player Todd Strange, who left the band. That night they ended up writing several demos for what later became their recorded in the fall of 2001 at Anselmo's barn that had been transformed into a professional studio. The album was released on March 26, 2002, and became the first Down release featuring Brown on bass. The band, however, went on hiatus again at the very end of 2002.


title: Rex Brown

text: In 2006, the band reunited and started writing the material for their third studio album. "" was released in 2007. The band toured as the opening act for Metallica. During that time, he became good friends with James Hetfield, who—similarly to Brown—completed an alcohol rehabilitation course back in 2002.


title: Rex Brown

text: In 1999, Brown, Dimebag Darrell, and Vinnie Paul teamed up with country artist David Allan Coe in a project called Rebel Meets Rebel. This group released an album on May 2, 2006 on Vinnie Paul's Big Vin Records label.


title: Rex Brown

text: Brown has worked previously with Jerry Cantrell on five tracks included on the album called "Boggy Depot" as well as eleven tracks with Crowbar on the album "Lifesblood for the Downtrodden". He has also provided bass work for Crowbar in 2004 and 2005 and to Cavalera Conspiracy in 2008. Rex revealed his new project Arms of the Sun, a project also featuring John Luke Hebert (of King Diamond) on drums, Lance Harvill on vocals and guitar, and Ben Bunker (of Gryn) on guitar. The group has completed work on thirteen tracks at Willie Nelson's Pedernales Recording Studio in Austin, produced and mixed by Terry Date. In February 2011 it was announced that Brown had amicably left Arms of the Sun. A replacement bassist has not yet been announced.


title: Rex Brown

text: In March 2011, it was announced that Brown had formed a new band, Kill Devil Hill with Vinny Appice (Heaven & Hell, Black Sabbath, Dio) on drums, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 Cycle Hum) on guitar and Dewey Bragg (Pissing Razors) on vocals. The group has demoed around 10 songs, which, according to Appice, sound "like a cross between Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains and a little bit of Led Zeppelin thrown in. It's heavy, but with a lot of cool hooks and melodic overtones, too." Kill Devil Hill released their debut album in May 2012 to critical acclaim, and continue to tour in support of their music.


title: Rex Brown

text: In 2013, Brown released an autobiography, titled "Official Truth: 101 Proof", which chronicles his personal life and journey through Pantera, including the events leading to the band's disbandment.


title: Rex Brown

text: In 2015, Brown penned the foreword to the book "Survival of the Fittest: Heavy Metal in the 1990s", by author Greg Prato. Rex was also interviewed for the book (as well as his former bandmate in Pantera, Anselmo, among many others).


title: Rex Brown

text: Brown does not "subscribe to any particular organized religion", though he says he believes in God and the Ten Commandments.


title: Rex Brown

text: In August 2009, Brown was excluded from the Down tour due to acute pancreatitis. He then had his gallbladder and polyps on his pancreas removed. "Rex has been through hell, man", said bandmate Pepper Keenan. "He was cut from rib to rib and they cleaned him out, but he's in top shape again. After twenty-five years on the road – drinking every day and whatnot… well, the old days are over, my friend."


title: Rex Brown

text: Brown was a jazz bassist and was offered a scholarship by the University of North Texas, but declined. He often plays with a pick.


title: Rex Brown

text: Brown was notable for often contributing walking basslines underneath Dimebag Darrell's guitar solos. Standout tracks include "Floods", "Walk", "5 Minutes Alone", "Throes of Rejection", "Cowboys from Hell", "Living Through Me (Hells' Wrath)", "I Can't Hide", "Use My Third Arm", "Where You Come From", "This Love", "I'm Broken", among others.


title: Rex Brown

text: In Pantera's earliest days, Brown was witnessed playing an Ibanez Roadstar bass. In the late 1980s, he switched to Charvel basses and played a white 5 string and a black 4 string model. He used these basses exclusively through the "Cowboys from Hell" and "Vulgar Display of Power" albums, before he briefly used a 4 and 5 string model Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay bass during the "Vulgar Display of Power" tour as well as a Fernandes Telecaster shaped bass for the "Walk" music video.


title: Rex Brown

text: In 1993, Brown began endorsing Spector bass guitars. He continued to use Spectors until 2015, with his own signature model. Shaped somewhat similar to a Gibson Thunderbird, the Spector Rex Brown Signature bass comes in several different finishes and is available in 4 and 5 string models. In 2011, Spector released a new signature bass by Brown named the Spector RXT. The bass has the same electronics as his first signature bass but instead of a Thunderbird, it is shaped like a Telecaster. Although this was released to the market by Spector, it was originally intended to be released by ESP Guitars under the LTD banner. Several prototypes and pre-production models exist, some of which are owned by Brown and can be seen used while playing with Down in 2009.


title: Rex Brown

text: After over 20 years of using Spector basses, Brown announced in 2015 that he had left Spector and is now a Warwick artist, by showing a photo of his new Warwick bass.


title: Once Again (South Korean TV series)

text: Once Again () is a 2020 South Korean family drama television series starring Lee Sang-yeob and Lee Min-jung. The drama aired on KBS2 from March 28 to September 13, 2020, every Saturday and Sunday from 19:55 to 21:15 (KST).


title: Once Again (South Korean TV series)

text: Song Young-dal (Cheon Ho-jin) and Jang Ok-boon (Cha Hwa-yeon) have been married for many years and they have four children (a son and three daughters): Joon-sun (Oh Dae-hwan), Ga-hee (Oh Yoon-ah), Na-hee (Lee Min-jung) and Da-hee (Lee Cho-hee).


title: Once Again (South Korean TV series)

text: Third child Na-Hee is a doctor and she works with her husband Doctor Yoon Gyu-jin (Lee Sang-yeob) at the same hospital. They fell in love during their medical school days and got married, but their marriage life is not doing very well. Meanwhile, the first child Joon-sun (Oh Dae-hwan) and the second child Ga-hee (Oh Yoon-ah) are both divorcees and live with their parents. The youngest child Da-Hee struggles as an intern at a company.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: Porfirio Rubirosa Ariza (January 22, 1909 – July 5, 1965) was a Dominican diplomat, race car driver, soldier and polo player. He was a supporter of dictator Rafael Trujillo, and was also a political assassin under his regime. Rubirosa made his mark as an international playboy for his jetsetting lifestyle and his legendary sexual prowess with women. His five spouses included two of the richest women in the world.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: Porfirio Rubirosa Ariza was born in 1909 in San Francisco de Macorís, Dominican Republic, the third and youngest child of an upper-middle-class Criollo family. His parents were Pedro María Rubirosa and Ana Ariza Almánzar. The eldest child was named Ana and the elder son was named César. His paternal grandparents were, Pedro Rovirosa, a Catalan immigrant, and María de la Paz Rossi, the daughter of an Italian inmigrant. His maternal grandparents were Buenaventura Ariza y Castillo, who was from the provincial elite, and María Dolores Almánzar.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: His father, also a womanizer, was at one time a "general" of a militia of heavily armed men working with the government in the mountainous Cibao region. Don Pedro advanced to become a diplomat, and after a stint at St. Thomas was made Chief of the Dominican Embassy to Paris in 1915. Rubirosa thus grew up in Paris, France, and returned to the Dominican Republic at the age of 17 to study law. But he soon changed course and enlisted in the military.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: In 1931, Rubirosa met Rafael Trujillo at a country club. Trujillo asked to see him the next morning, and made him a lieutenant of his Presidential Guard. Their relationship lasted throughout their lives, went up and down, mostly close, but not without episodes of danger for Rubirosa, and defined his professional career when he became a diplomat of the Dominican Republic in 1936.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: In this role, he was sent to embassies, first at Berlin (during the 1936 Olympic Games) and soon to Paris, where he spent most of his time; he also served at the embassies at Vichy, Buenos Aires, Rome, Havana (witnessing the Cuban Revolution), and Brussels. He was a frequent visitor to New York, Washington, Florida, and California. Rubirosa, who defined himself a "Trujillista", moved freely among the rich and famous, made the connections, and kept the secrets. His 1938 divorce of Trujillo's daughter seemed, at least on the surface, to have little influence over his erstwhile father-in-law's affection for, or trust in, him. However, at times, when his escapades stirred up too much notoriety, Trujillo would dismiss him – as from his post in Paris in 1953 – or move him to another place. Trujillo recognized what an asset Rubirosa was for his regime, remarking: "He is good at his job, because women like him and he is a wonderful liar."


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: After Trujillo's assassination on May 30, 1961, Rubirosa supported his son as successor and attempted to persuade John F. Kennedy to help his government. When Ramfis Trujillo and his family fled the Dominican Republic, Rubirosa's career came to an end. On January 2, 1962, the Council of State removed him from his unique appointment as "Inspector of Embassies". After he lost his diplomatic immunity, he was questioned by the New York District Attorney concerning the disappearance of Trujillo opponents Sergio Bencosme in 1935 and Jesus Galíndez in 1956, but was never charged.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: Rubirosa was linked romantically to Dolores del Río, Eartha Kitt, Marilyn Monroe, Ava Gardner, Maria Montez, Rita Hayworth, Dorothy Dandridge, Lupe Vélez, Soraya Esfandiary, Peggy Hopkins Joyce, Joan Crawford, Veronica Lake, Kim Novak, Judy Garland, Eva Peron and even Amália Rodrigues. He dallied with his ex-wife Flor de Oro Trujillo Ledesma during his marriage to Doris Duke. He and Zsa Zsa Gabor were seen together during her marriage to George Sanders. When she would not marry him, despite the fact George was divorcing her, Rubirosa married Barbara Hutton. He was named a co-respondent in George Sanders' divorce suit from Gabor.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: His playboy lifestyle was matched by stories of his sexual prowess. His reputedly larger than average penis size inspired Parisian waiters at Maxim's to name gigantic pepper mills "Rubirosas". The name stuck and has been in use all over the world.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: After World War II, Rubirosa became engaged in two major passions, polo and car racing, both expensive sports that would be supported in years to come by his wives. He organized and led his own polo team "Cibao-La Pampa" that was an often successful contender for the "Coupe de France". Rubirosa played polo until the end of his life. In the same period, he started to acquire fast cars and form friendships with racing car drivers. He would own a number of Ferraris. His first race at 24 Hours of Le Mans took place in June 1950 with his partner Pierre Leygonie, and his second race, this time with Innocente Baggio, was four years later; in both races his car did not finish. Rubirosa participated in a number of races at Sebring, all but once as a private entry.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: Rubirosa entered one Formula One race, in 1955, the Grand Prix de Bordeaux on April 25. He planned to drive his own Ferrari 500, identical to the one which brought Alberto Ascari the and Drivers' World Championship. However, he fell ill before the race and did not drive.


title: Porfirio Rubirosa

text: Rubirosa died in the early morning of July 5, 1965, at the age of 56, when he crashed his silver Ferrari 250 GT cabriolet into a horse chestnut tree in the Bois de Boulogne after an all-night celebration at the Paris nightclub "Jimmy's" in honor of winning the polo Coupe de France. He is buried in Cimetière de Marnes la Coquette, in Paris.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: DeVon Franklin (born April 13, 1978) is an American producer, author, and motivational speaker. He is best known for the films "Miracles from Heaven", "Heaven Is for Real", and the New York Times best-seller book "The Wait", which he co-wrote with his then-wife Meagan Good.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin was raised in Oakland, California, the son of Donald Ray Franklin and Paulette Franklin. Franklin has two brothers, Donald Ray and David Brandon. The couple would ultimately separate, and Paulette and her three young boys moved into her parents' home. A few years later, Franklin's father died at the age of 36 after suffering a heart attack. His mother, grandmother and her seven sisters formed what Franklin has called a “coalition” of strong women that guided him and his brothers in the absence of their father.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: In a 2016 Mother's Day essay, Franklin wrote of his upbringing: “While she did make sure we had strong males in our life, like my grandfather and my pastor (who was also my uncle), my mother wanted to give us something more than that. My mother’s answer was to bring together a coalition of women, the same women who she was raised with…. They were always an integral part of her life and naturally became an integral part of our life too, even more so after my father died. These nine women (my mother, Grandmother, Aunt Nuna, Aunt Jayne, Aunt Ida, Aunt Enis, Aunt Chrystal, Aunt Donna and Aunt Sondra) were not only the village that would raise us, but also formed the foundation of who we would become as men.”


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Following his father's death, Franklin threw himself into academics and activities as means of coping with the loss. This would ultimately lead to his interest in theater and his passion for movies and television. As a teenager, he would study different movies and television shows to figure out how stories and scenes were put together in the hope of understanding how to move and inspire people through entertainment, the way "The Cosby Show" and "The Color Purple" had inspired him. During this time, he also began helping out at his uncle's church and preached his first sermon at the age of 15.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin graduated from the University of Southern California in 2000 with a major in Business Administration and a minor in Cinema-Television.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin began his career during his time as a student at University of Southern California as an intern at Overbrook Entertainment, working for Will Smith and James Lassiter. Upon graduation from USC, Franklin accepted a full-time position at Overbrook. Following this, he worked in Tracey Edmonds’ company Edmonds Entertainment as a junior executive.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin made the transition into Hollywood’s studio system in 2003 when he took up a creative executive position at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. In his book, "Produced by Faith," Franklin describes his time at MGM as critical in reaffirming his passion for filmmaking thanks to the creative input his new role afforded him in helping contribute to projects like John Travolta's 2005 crime-comedy "Be Cool". "Following my policy of trying to add value and contribute wherever possible, I managed to make an impact despite being the lowest man on the corporate ladder."


title: DeVon Franklin

text: His time at MGM, however, would be short-lived. In 2005, following months of rumors, Sony Pictures Entertainment bought out MGM. Following the sale, Franklin was offered a position and brought on as a Director of Development at Sony's Columbia Pictures.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: In his new role at Columbia, Franklin would oversee a number of the studio's hit films, like "The Pursuit of Happyness", "Hancock" and "Seven Pounds". Not only would his work on these projects lead to his eventual promotion to VP at Columbia, but they would also be a full circle moment of sorts for Franklin, who would collaborate with his former boss and mentor from Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith, in making these movies.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: In an interview with Millennial Magazine, Franklin discussed how "The Pursuit of Happyness" showed him what was possible for his work within Hollywood and so drove him to make films that trigger audiences to go after something. He explained: “I want people’s hearts to be touched, their lives to be touched, and I want the evidence of that to show up at the box office.”


title: DeVon Franklin

text: During his time as VP at Columbia Pictures, Franklin supervised a variety of films. He helped produce "The Pink Panther 2", the faith-based film "Not Easily Broken", "The Ugly Truth", and Whitney Houston's "Sparkle" (released in 2012). Not only did he champion box-office hits like "The Karate Kid" and "Jumping the Broom", he was also recognized as one of the youngest and most influential executives under 35 years of age by The Hollywood Reporter. And he was given the title of a Top 10 Industry Impact Player by the NAACP.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: In 2012, following these sweeping successes, Franklin continued to rise in the ranks at Columbia, becoming Senior Vice President of Production, which made him one of the youngest people in the industry to hold such a position. In this position, Franklin developed and supervised production of new commercial material, and honed his focus for urban and faith-based markets with films like the diversified remake of "Annie" and the sleeper hit "Heaven Is For Real".


title: DeVon Franklin

text: One of Franklin's first projects as Senior VP was adapting the New York Times bestseller "Heaven is for Real" into a feature-length film. Reading the book in one sitting, Franklin was immediately engrossed by the material and the message; he helped develop the script and oversaw the entire project. "[I wanted the movie to be] a message of peace to those who have lost loved ones and who may be wondering what happens next,” he stated. Having lost his own father at a very young age, DeVon wanted audience members who could relate to the Burpo family to walk away with a sense of hope, peace and inspiration. Produced on a modest $12 million budget, "Heaven is for Real" outpaced all industry estimates and grossed more than $100 million at the box office, making it one of the highest-grossing faith-based films of all time.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: One of Franklin's final projects during his time as a studio executive was the reimagining of the classic story “Annie.” Franklin served as an executive on the project alongside Sony's Ange Giannetti, who Franklin has since called a mentor in his time at the studio. In his role as an executive on the film, he developed the script, put the movie together, oversaw production, and even helped promote the film when it was being released.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: In promoting the film, Franklin noted that what made the film unique is that “for the first time, we’re doing 'Annie' with a diverse cast, and capturing modern day New York with a different flavor. When you see the story, the whole idea of Annie believing that one day she will find her parents, and ultimately finding her family in a way that she never anticipated. I think that story is very resonant for today, as it has been for previous generations. Because 'Annie' is one of those classic stories that throughout generations has always been a phenomenal story about faith, about the power of connection and community, and about family. This reimagining of the classic tale is going to be as relevant for this generation as it has been for previous generations.”


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin started Franklin Entertainment in July 2014, with a first-look production deal at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Franklin Entertainment is a multimedia entertainment company in which Franklin currently serves as president and CEO. In 2016, the company signed a new multi-year, first-look, production deal with 20th Century Fox, where it is now based.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: In 2016, Franklin produced the hit film "Miracles from Heaven", based on the book Miracles from Heaven by Christy Beam. This American Christian drama stars Jennifer Garner, Queen Latifah, Kylie Rogers, Martin Henderson, John Carroll Lynch, and Eugenio Derbez. The movie recounts the true story of Beam's daughter who had a rare, incurable disease, but after a freak accident is miraculously cured. The movie was made for $13 million, and, although getting mixed reviews from critics, it grossed $73 million at the box office worldwide. It was nominated for Favorite Dramatic Movie in the People's Choice Awards, Best Actress in the Teen Choice Awards, and won the award for Best Movie for Drama in the Teen Choice Awards Choice .


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin executive-produced the animated film "The Star", for Sony Pictures Animation. "The Star" was directed by Oscar nominee Timothy Reckart. This faith-based film inspired by the Nativity Story focuses on a donkey and his friends on an adventure as they follow The Star and become accidental heroes. "The Star" was released in 2017 and featured the voice of Kelly Clarkson as Leah the Horse, Oprah Winfrey as Deborah, Tyler Perry as Cyrus, Steven Yeun as Bo the donkey, Aidy Bryant as Ruth the sheep, Keegan-Michael Key, Kristin Chenoweth, Anthony Anderson, Gabriel Iglesias, Ving Rhames, Deliah Rene, Kris Kristofferson, Gina Rodriguez, Zachary Levi, Christopher Plummer, and Tracy Morgan.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin also has several film projects in the works, including "Breakthrough", for 20th Century Studios, which tells the true story of John Smith who at 14 drowned in Lake St. Louis and was unresponsive for nearly an hour. Smith's mother entered the room praying loudly and suddenly Smith had a pulse. He is also producing the film adaptation of the recently released memoir from Cathy Byrd 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much.' Franklin is also at work on the reboot of He-Man and the Masters Of The Universe franchise with Columbia Pictures, as well as the remake of the film "Cooley High" with Common at MGM. On the TV side, Franklin is producing a re-imagining of "Foxy Brown" at Hulu starring his wife Good.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: According to Franklin, he began preaching at the age of 15. He is a regular on The Dr. Oz Show, offering his guidance on a range of topics including faith, relationships and spiritual wellness. He has made appearances on Dr. Phil, CBS This Morning, Entertainment Tonight, Oprah's Super Soul Sunday, and was named to Oprah's "SuperSoul100" list of visionaries and influential leaders.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin is the author of two best-selling books, "Produced By Faith" and New York Times best-seller "The Wait". His book "The Hollywood Commandments: A Spiritual Guide to Secular Success" was released in 2017.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: "Produced By Faith" was released in June 2012 and emphasizes how faith, life and work all interact and are parallel. The book is a dynamic business model for building a thriving career without compromising your faith. In an interview with Deadline Hollywood, Franklin says, “The idea of the book is, you don’t have to compromise your faith to pursue your career dreams.” Franklin shows how to discover The Big Idea for your life, take your career to the next level, recognize the signs God sends you that indicate when it's time to move in a new direction, stand firm on your Christian principles without compromise, and choose a profession, industry, or company that is in tune with your purpose.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin co-wrote his second book, "The Wait", with his then-wife Meagan Good. The book was released in February 2016 and quickly became a New York Times bestseller in several categories. In the book, the couple share their personal love story, and the message that waiting until marriage can help you find the person you are meant to be with. The book describes the most important moments from their relationship and advice on how waiting can transform relationships.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Fox LA says "The Wait"“…talks about finding true love through celibacy, as well as the benefits of delayed gratification in all walks of life (professional, personal, spiritual etc). They use their own personal story of waiting as an example.”


title: DeVon Franklin

text: "The Hollywood Commandments: A Spiritual Guide to Secular Success" was released on September 26, 2017. The book, published by HarperOne, is described as one that will encourage readers to pursue their passion in every area of life, including career, relationships, and faith.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Franklin is a Seventh-day Adventist. He currently lives in Los Angeles. In 2011, he began dating actress Meagan Good, whom he married on June 16, 2012, in Malibu, California. The couple stated they remained chaste prior to their marriage. In December 2021, it was announced that Franklin had filed to divorce Good, after nine years of marriage. Their divorce was finalized in June 2022.


title: DeVon Franklin

text: Beliefnet called him one of the "Most Influential Christians Under 40," Variety Magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Producers to Watch," and Ebony Magazine has named him one of the "Top 100 Influential African-Americans in America."


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were created by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The technical requirements for an LMP include bodywork covering all mechanical elements of the car. Currently, there are three classes within Le Mans Prototypes, designated LMP1, LMP2, and LMP3.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: While not as fast as open-wheel Formula One cars around a track, LMP1s were the fastest closed-wheel racing cars used in circuit racing. Le Mans Prototypes are considered a class above production-based grand tourer cars, which compete alongside them in sports car racing. Later LMP1 designs included hybrid cars that use electric motors to assist acceleration.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: The Le Mans Prototype LMP1 class has been replaced by Le Mans Hypercars in the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans from the 2021 season. Non-hybrid LMP1 cars were eligible to be "grandfathered" for two more seasons and compete alongside the new class for the 2021 to 2022 seasons.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Starting from the 2023 season of FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship, Le Mans Hypercars will be joined by Le Mans Daytona h (LMDh) cars. These two kinds of prototypes will form the top class of endurance racing: .


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Le Mans Prototypes have used various names depending on the series in which they compete. The FIA's equivalent cars were referred to as "Sports Racers" (SR) or "Sports Racing Prototypes" (SRP). The American IMSA GT Championship termed their cars "World Sports Cars" (WSC), while the short-lived United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC) used the classic "Can-Am" (CA) name for their prototypes. Since 2004, most series have switched to referring to these cars as "Le Mans Prototypes". The American Le Mans Series, the successor to the IMSA GT Championship and the predecessor of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, officially referred to the cars simply as "Prototypes" (P1, P2, or PC). An LMP is commonly referred to as a "Le Mans car" in the media.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: The first use of what would become Le Mans Prototypes was at the 1992 24 Hours of Le Mans. In an attempt to increase the number of entrants beyond the small field of Group C competitors that the World Sportscar Championship had to offer, older Porsche 962s were allowed entry in Category 3. To further increase the size of the field, small open-cockpit race cars using production road car engines which were raced in small national championships were allowed in Category 4.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Later, ACO announced its intentions to completely replace the Group C cars with "Le Mans Prototypes". Two classes were created, with LMP1s running large displacement custom-built engines that were usually turbocharged, and LMP2s using the smaller displacement production-based engines. Both classes were required to have open cockpits. However, LMP1 cars that year were just former Group C cars, some still with closed cockpits (Toyota 94C-V, Courage C32, Kremer K8 Spyder, Porsche 962C GTI, ALD C289 and Alpa LM). At the same time, the IMSA GT Championship announced the end of their closed cockpit GTP and Lights classes, deciding as well to replace them with a single open-cockpit class of "World Sports Cars" equivalent to LMP1.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: This formula continued up to 1996, with many manufacturers embracing the LMP and WSC classes, including Ferrari, Porsche, and Mazda. In 1997, the first European series based around Le Mans Prototypes was launched, known as the "International Sports Racing Series". Using classes similar to LMP1/WSC and LMP2, these cars were known as "SR1" and "SR2" by the FIA. 1998 saw the creation of another series of Le Mans Prototypes, with the new United States Road Racing Championship attempting to break away from the IMSA GT Championship. To differ from IMSA'S WSC class, the USRRC named their open-cockpit prototypes "Can-Am" in an attempt to resurrect the sportscar championship of the 1970s. However, the USRRC collapsed before the end of 1999, with the series becoming the Rolex Sports Car Series chose to use the FIA's SR1 and SR2 formula instead.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: 1998 saw a great expansion for the ACO's LMP classes. Following the cancellation of the IMSA GT Championship at the end of 1998, the ACO allowed for the creation of the American Le Mans Series. This series used the same class structure as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, meaning it was the first championship to use the LMP name. At the same time, the ACO greatly altered their LMP classes. The smaller LMP2 class were briefly eliminated, while a new class of closed-cockpit prototypes was allowed in, known as "LMGTP" (Le Mans grand touring prototype). These cars were evolutions of production-based road cars that the ACO considered too advanced and too fast to fall under the GT class regulations, forcing the ACO to promote them as prototypes.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: In 2000, changes were made to the LMP regulations, as the ACO once again split the open-cockpit LMP class. The two new classes became known as "LMP900" and "LMP675", with the numbers denoting the minimum weight requirements (in kilograms) for each class. The LMP900s were to be more powerful and faster in top speed, but also heavier and more cumbersome. The LMP675s were to be smaller and more nimble, yet lack the top speed of the larger class. Both classes were intended to be able to compete for overall wins. Audi, Chrysler, Cadillac, and Panoz opted to use the LMP900 formula, while MG were the only major manufacturer to attempt the LMP675 class. The LMGTP class also continued, with Bentley being the only manufacturer to build a closed-cockpit prototype after the regulation changes in 2000.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: In 2017, in order to limit the costs, FIA introduced a new set of LMP2 regulations, which will be locked in through 2020, aiming for a significant power increase, to the range of 150 horsepower (which is expected to lead to a four-second decrease in lap time at Le Mans). Gibson Technology is the exclusive engine supplier for LMP2, producing a four-litre normally-aspirated V8.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Biofuels, specifically petrol with 10% ethanol and biodiesel (BTL), are allowed in both LMP1 and LMP2 categories.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: The fuel tank size and minimum weight for non-hybrid cars was subject to adjustment to reduce the difference in performance between hybrid and non-hybrid cars.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Bodywork was required to cover all mechanical elements of the car, so that they couldn't be visible when the car is viewed directly from the front, side, or top.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: The LMP1 category has been retired with the end of the 2020 season (with an exception of the grandfathered Rebellion R13, renamed as Alpine A480), replaced by a new top class of the endurance racing: .


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: From 2017, in order to limit the costs, FIA introduced a new set of regulations, which will be locked in through 2025, aiming a significant power increase, to the range of 150 horsepower (which is expected to lead to a four-second decrease in lap time at Le Mans). Gibson Technology is the exclusive engine supplier, producing a 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8. In seasons 2017 through 2020, the engine produced about 600 bhp.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Dallara, Onroak Automotive (Ligier), Oreca and the joint-venture Riley Tech/Multimatic were selected by FIA as the four exclusive chassis constructors, which must be closed-cockpit designs.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: Before the start of the 2021 season LMP2 cars have been slowed down to ensure the necessary lap time difference between the LMP2 and a new class—Hypercar. In the original version of the new ruleset, revealed in November 2020, only the power of the Gibson engine has been reduced—to 560 bhp. Right before the start of the season, the cars were further weakened, by trimming an additional 20 bhp to a total of 540 bhp. The minimum weight of the cars has also been increased by 20 kg and has been set at 950 kg. Furthermore, mirroring the Hypercar category, a single aero kit has been made mandatory across the whole season and is limited to the Le Mans specification in the WEC; the ELMS teams have retained the right to switch between the aero kits.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: LMP3 is an entry-level prototype class intended for introducing young drivers and new teams to endurance racing before they progress to the higher classes of prototype racing, LMP2 and ultimately Hypercar. LMP3 uses closed-cockpit chassis, which can be built by any licensed constructor, powered by a 5.6-litre normally-aspirated Nissan V8 engine, producing 455 bhp.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: The cars eligible for use in the class were: Ginetta-Juno P3, Ligier JS P3, Norma M30, ADESS-03, and the Ave-Riley AR-02. The cars were eligible in a number of series, such as the Asian Le Mans Series, the European Le Mans Series, as well as the V de V Endurance Series and the IMSA Prototype Challenge. A number of championships for the class have also been created, such as the FRD LMP3 series and the British LMP3 Cup.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: A 2nd Generation ruleset was introduced for 2020, with new cars introduced, namely the Ginetta G61-LT-P3, Ligier JS P320, Duqueine D-08, and the ADESS-03 Evo. These cars can be built from its predecessors using an upgrade kit. The new LMP3 prototypes are used in Asian Le Mans Series, Michelin Le Mans Cup, European Le Mans Series, IMSA Prototype Challenge, IMSA SportsCar Championship and Prototype Cup Germany.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: An informal version of LMP3 existed prior to 2015, dating back into the early 2000s. Engine capacity was 1600 cc, later 2000 cc. A 3000 cc version of this class became Group CN.


title: Le Mans Prototype

text: LMPC (Le Mans Prototype Challenge) was an earlier entry level class, introduced in 2009, consisting of competitors running identical Oreca FLM09 cars. The class was dropped in European Le Mans Series in 2014. As the cost of running an LMPC team was found to be comparable to that for an LMP2 team, the class was dropped after the 2017 season in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.


title: Homeowner association

text: A homeowner association (or homeowners' association, abbreviated HOA, sometimes referred to as a property owners' association or POA), or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either "ipso jure" in a building with multiple owner-occupancies, or by a real estate developer for the purpose of marketing, managing, and selling homes and lots in a residential subdivision. In the United States, the developer will typically transfer control of the association to the homeowners after selling a predetermined number of lots.


title: Homeowner association

text: Generally any person who wants to buy a residence within the area of a homeowners association must become a member, and therefore must obey the governing documents including Articles of Incorporation, CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions) and By-Laws, which may limit the owner's choices in exterior design modifications (e.g., paint colors). Homeowner associations are especially active in urban planning, zoning and land use, decisions that affect the pace of growth, the quality of life, the level of taxation and the value of land in the community.


title: Homeowner association

text: Most homeowner associations are incorporated, and are subject to state statutes that govern non-profit corporations and homeowner associations. State oversight of homeowner associations is minimal, and it varies from state to state. Some states, such as Florida and California, have a large body of HOA law. Other states, such as Massachusetts, have virtually no HOA law. Homeowners associations are commonly found in residential developments since the passage of the Davis–Stirling Common Interest Development Act in 1985.


title: Homeowner association

text: The fastest-growing form of housing in the United States today are common-interest developments (CIDs), a category that includes planned unit developments of single-family homes, condominiums, and cooperative apartments. Since 1964, HOAs have become increasingly common in the United States. The Community Associations Institute trade association estimated that in 2010, HOAs governed 24.8 million American homes and 62 million residents. Throughout the rest of the world, homeowner associations—though they do exist in some neighborhoods—are uncommon.


title: Homeowner association

text: Some of the first HOAs were formed early in the 20th century in Los Angeles County, beginning with the Arroyo Seco Improvement Association in Pasadena founded around 1905 and the Los Feliz Improvement Association in Los Angeles founded in 1916. These were the children of deed restrictions in a new kind of planned subdivision, and they established the national legal precedent for zoning districts exclusively for upscale, single-family residences. Private restrictions normally included provisions such as minimum required costs for home construction and the exclusion of all non-Caucasians, and sometimes non-Christians as well, from occupancy, except domestic servants.


title: Homeowner association

text: Early covenants and deed restrictions were established to control the people who could buy in a development. In the early postwar period after World War II, many were defined to exclude African Americans and, in some cases, Jews, with Asians also excluded on the West Coast. For example, a racial covenant in a Seattle, Washington, neighborhood stated, "No part of said property hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by any Hebrew or by any person of the Ethiopian, Malay or any Asiatic race." In 1948, the United States Supreme Court ruled such covenants unenforceable in "Shelley v. Kraemer". However, private contracts effectively kept them alive until the Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibited such discrimination.


title: Homeowner association

text: By requiring approval of tenants and new owners, HOAs still have the potential to permit less formalised discrimination.


title: Homeowner association

text: According to Donald R. Stabile, the explosion in the number of CIDs (many of which were based on homeowners' associations) was strongly influenced by a 1964 publication (TB 50) by the Urban Land Institute. This technical bulletin was funded by the National Association of Home Builders and by certain federal agencies: the FHA, the United States Public Health Service, the Office of Civil Defense, the Veterans Administration, and the Urban Renewal Administration.


title: Homeowner association

text: In 1963 the FHA had approved federal home mortgage insurance exclusively for condominiums or for homes in subdivisions that had a qualifying homeowner association. The rationale was that developers wanted to get around density laws. The effect, however, was to divert investment from multi-family housing and home construction or renovation in the inner cities. This accelerated the middle-class exodus to the suburbs and into common-interest housing. The rapid expansion of federally subsidized highways under federal programs made access to new areas easy.


title: Homeowner association

text: In the 1970s, a growing scarcity of land for suburban development resulted in escalating land costs, prompting developers to increase the density of homes on the land. In order to do this while still retaining a suburban look, they clustered homes around green open areas maintained by associations. These associations provided services that formerly had been provided by municipal agencies funded by property taxes. Residents of such development also had to pay their local taxes. Accordingly, local governments began promoting subdivision development as a means of improving their cash flow.


title: Homeowner association

text: In an effort to control water pollution, the U.S. Clean Water Act of 1977 required that all new real estate developments had to detain storm water so that flow to adjoining properties was not greater than the pre-development runoff. As a result, nearly all residential developments had to construct detention or retention areas to hold excess storm water until it could be released at the pre-development flow level. Since these detention areas serve multiple residences, they are almost always designated as "common" areas. This requirement was a reason for developers to establish a homeowner association. Although these areas can be placed on an individual homeowner's lot, eliminating the need for an association, nearly all U.S. municipalities now require these areas to be part of a common area to ensure an entity, rather than an individual or the municipality itself, has maintenance responsibility. Real estate developers have frequently established homeowner associations to maintain such common areas. Having established the HOA, the developers have expanded their scope, giving them authority to regulate changes to residences, landscaping and maintenance requirements, color of houses, etc., a variety of other requirements and amenities that the developers believe will make their project more desirable to the market.


title: Homeowner association

text: The Community Associations Institute (CAI) is a trade association of individuals and businesses that sell supplies or services to HOAs, and is dominated by lawyers and homeowner association managers. The CAI does not represent homeowners associations. It lobbies the legislatures of states that have HOAs in order to promote legislation beneficial to its members. It opposes laws that would harm its members.


title: Homeowner association

text: Although in some cases membership in an HOA may be voluntary for a property owner, in the majority of cases membership in an HOA is mandatory. Once an owner purchases property within the subdivision, that owner becomes a mandatory member of the HOA, and must pay assessments to, and abide by the rules of, the HOA.


title: Homeowner association

text: In return, the owner/member is permitted to participate in the HOA's governance and use the amenities offered by the HOA, provided that they are current on assessments (or on a payment plan to become current). Once an owner sells or otherwise transfers interest in all the property owned within the HOA, the owner ceases to be a member of the HOA and loses all rights previously held.


title: Homeowner association

text: Usually HOAs are structured as private corporations or private unincorporated associations (commonly as non-profit ones). HOAs are governed by federal and state statutes applicable to corporations (or unincorporated associations if so structured), as well as the HOA's own "governing documents".


title: Homeowner association

text: The HOA's governing documents generally "run with the land", which means that all current and future owners of property within the HOA will be bound by them as a condition of property ownership. They usually include:


title: Homeowner association

text: Generally CC&Rs are enforceable as legal documents. However, there are instances where a CC&R is rendered illegal by later enacted state or federal law and therefore is no longer enforceable. For example, a developer-drafted covenant giving the developer sole rights to amend the CC&Rs was declared unenforceable as a matter of public policy in at least one state, where the developer attempted to amend years after he had sold all the property. That state's legislature later codified that public policy. Other examples include CC&Rs which prohibited sales of property to certain racial groups; the Fair Housing Act rendered all of these also to be unconstitutional and unenforceable.


title: Homeowner association

text: Initially, the board is composed of developer-appointed members, in order to maintain the character of the community that the developer has for it. As the percentage of ownership shifts from the developer toward owners, the corresponding percentage changes from developer-appointed members to homeowners elected at an annual meeting, and ultimately the board will consist solely of homeowner-elected members.


title: Homeowner association

text: Usually, the board (or parts of it) will be elected at an annual meeting of the homeowners, as specified in the Bylaws. In order to avoid an owner of multiple lots (who likely own the lots for resale or rental property) controlling the HOA's operation (to the detriment of those owners who only own a single lot or two contiguous lots as a current or future residence or vacation home), the Bylaws may limit all owners (regardless of the number of lots owned) to one or two votes per owner.


title: Homeowner association

text: Depending on the state, board meetings may be required to be open to the public, except in instances where a board may enter into an "executive session" for discussion on confidential matters (e.g. discussions with its attorney on an upcoming lawsuit).


title: Homeowner association

text: The board of directors makes decisions regarding the HOA, including management of the HOA's finances, protecting the HOA's real and intangible assets (generally the amenities provided which were the basis for inducing people to purchase lots), and enforcing the governing documents. Boards of directors have a fiduciary duty to the property owners; violation of that duty may result in liability for individual directors, and as such the HOA will often adopt an ethics code for the board members to ensure they act ethically and in accordance with their responsibilities. To gain a clear understanding of the responsibilities of the HOA board, community members need to read their association's CC&Rs, Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and other rules.


title: Homeowner association

text: Many HOAs (especially larger ones with more upscale amenities) hire management companies to handle the governing duties of the association.


title: Homeowner association

text: Management services are typically divided into three categories: financial only, full management, and on-site management. Financial services typically cover administration of bank accounts, bookkeeping, assessment collection, and the HOAs budget. Full management typically includes the financial services plus help with board meetings (keeping minutes, agendas, etc.), board elections, and maintenance duties (obtaining contractor bids, etc.). On-site management typically includes all of the full management services plus direct assistance to homeowners with an assigned manager to the HOA.


title: Homeowner association

text: Education requirements for managers varies from state to state, with some requiring certification under all circumstances and others having a more lenient approach. For instance, while California does not require HOA managers to be certified, it does require that managers meet certain educational requirements to claim certification.


title: Homeowner association

text: Through its board an HOA will provide some level of amenities (though differing greatly between HOAs), regulate activities within a development, levy assessments, and may (if authorized by CC&Rs or a state legislature) impose fines for noncompliance.


title: Homeowner association

text: Depending on the governing documents, HOA boards may create committees, such as an "architectural control committee" (this is a very common one, and frequently this committee has the ultimate authority to approve or deny a building request), a pool committee, a neighborhood watch committee, etc.


title: Homeowner association

text: Depending on the governing documents or state law, the HOA may have the authority to place liens on a property (for non-payment of assessments and/or noncompliance with CC&Rs, an example would be the costs to remove a noncompliant structure such as a mobile home on a lot restricted to "site built" housing) and to, ultimately, foreclose on it.


title: Homeowner association

text: Homeowners have the ability to defend against such actions, and are usually entitled to sue HOAs for contractual or statutory violations, or for a legal determination as to the enforceability of a provision in the governing documents. However, because HOAs are private associations, they are not considered "state actors" subject to constitutional constraints, and therefore homeowners cannot sue for civil rights violations under 42 U.S.C. 1983.


title: Homeowner association

text: The major power of the HOA is the ability to compel property owners to pay a share of common expenses for the overall maintenance of the HOA and the amenities, usually proportionate to the ownership interests (either by unit or based on square footage). These expenses generally arise from the operation and maintenance of common property, which vary dramatically depending on the type of association. An HOA may have, in addition to a regular assessment, a "special" assessment for unexpected expenses (such as for road maintenance).


title: Homeowner association

text: The assessment may be paid monthly, quarterly, or annually; generally the more amenities provided the more frequent the assessment must be paid. Some associations operate little or no common property, and the expenses relate solely to enforcement of use restrictions or assumed services. Others are effectively private towns, with elaborate amenities including private roads, street lights, services, utilities, commonly owned buildings, pools, and even schools. Assessments paid to homeowner associations in the United States amount to billions of dollars a year, but are not classed as property taxes.


title: Homeowner association

text: When determining what the assessment should be, it is important to consider what funds are required. There should always be a minimum of two funds: an operating fund and a reserve fund. The operating fund is used to pay for the operating expenses of the association. A reserve fund is used to pay for the infrequent and expensive common area assets maintenance, repair and replacement costs. The reserve fund is crucial for reducing the chances of a special assessment (mentioned in the risks below). Obtaining a reserve study is recommended to help determine and set the reserve contribution rate which is included in the regular monthly assessment.


title: Homeowner association

text: According to a 2019 study in the "Journal of Labor Economics", "houses in HOAs have prices that are on average at least 4%, or $13,500, greater than observably similar houses outside of HOAs. The HOA premium correlates with the stringency of local land use regulation, local government spending on public goods, and measures of social attitudes toward race." The study also found that people in HOA neighborhoods "are on average more affluent and racially segregated than those living in other nearby neighborhoods."


title: Homeowner association

text: The benefits that a homeowner association (HOA) provides to homeowners vary depending on the specific regulations and practices of the HOA. Individuals may also benefit more or less depending on their political standing in the association and the degree to which the community's decisions match their preferences. In the 1994 court case "Nahrstedt v. Lakeside Village Condominium Assn.", the California Supreme Court noted:


title: Homeowner association

text: "...Owners associations 'can be a powerful force for good or for ill' in their members' lives. Therefore, anyone who buys a unit in a common interest development with knowledge of its owners association's discretionary power accepts 'the risk that the power may be used in a way that benefits the commonality but harms the individual.'"


title: Homeowner association

text: Benefits to homeowners may include maintenance and management services, provision of recreational amenities such as pools and parks, insurance coverage, enforcement of community appearance standards which may lead to higher property values, and the opportunity for members to plan development in accordance with community values.


title: Homeowner association

text: Disadvantages to homeowners may include the financial burden of association fees, punitive fines, and costs of maintaining appearance standards; restrictions on property use and personal autonomy; and the potential for mismanagement by the board, including the possibility of arbitrary or heavy-handed enforcement of rules.


title: Homeowner association

text: Many municipalities have welcomed HOAs in the belief that they may reduce operational costs for the local government. Since the homeowners sometimes pay for roads, parks, and other services within the development, the local government may believe it can gain revenue from property taxes from owners in a development that costs the municipality little or nothing.


title: Homeowner association

text: A 2009 study of California HOAs suggested that this assumption was partially true, but that the overall effect of HOAs on municipalities was mixed. While HOAs did offset the costs of city governments to a small degree, they also reduced overall tax revenues because their members, insulated from the larger community, tended to vote down taxes that the city required to fund services. This led to an overall decrease in government expenditures that disproportionately affected those citizens who did not reside in an HOA.


title: Homeowner association

text: "...critics of private governments claim that HOAs erode support for public institutions. Those who join can bypass the public system: homeowners who fear crime do not have to vote for tax dollars to attack the root of the problem; they can build a gate to keep the criminals out. Opponents maintain that the erosion of public support, reflected at the ballot box, leads to further deterioration of municipal services and reductions in local revenues. Nonmembers experience a reduction in public service levels and may be worse off. At the extreme, homeowners associations may contribute to sentiments of secession and withdrawal from the public sector."


title: Homeowner association

text: Real estate developers establish HOAs in the belief that they can contribute to the developer's ability to build and sell units profitably. Providing common amenities may enable developers to build at a higher density, if the local government has encouraged such results. In addition, by relieving municipalities of the costs of road and utility maintenance, developers may obtain more favorable terms. Ordinarily, the developer retains some control over the HOA until a specified number of units are sold, and the covenants, conditions, and restrictions of the HOA are put in place to further this goal.


title: Homeowner association

text: The potential disadvantage to a developer is that they may be exposed to liability to the HOA for poor construction, misleading marketing, or other problems. In these cases, the HOA may sue the developer.


title: Homeowner association

text: Homeowner associations have been criticized for having excessively restrictive rules and regulations on how homeowners may conduct themselves and use their property. Some maintain that homeowner association leaders have limited financial incentive to avoid indulging in rigid or arbitrary behavior, and unless people begin to leave in droves, it will have little effect on the value of a board member's home.


title: Homeowner association

text: In "The Voluntary City", published by the libertarian Independent Institute, Donald J. Boudreaux and Randall G. Holcombe argue that homeowners associations do not necessarily have advantages over traditional governments. They note that the association's creator, e.g. a developer, has an incentive to set up a government structured in such a way as to maximize profits and thus increase the selling price of the property. If a certain decision would increase the selling price of certain parcels and decrease the selling price of others, the developer will choose the option that yields his project the highest net income. This may result in suboptimal outcomes for the homeowners.