A peculiar Maxwell’s Demon observed in a time-dependent stadium-like billiard

The dynamics of a driven stadium-like billiard is considered using the formalism of discrete mappings. The model presents a resonant velocity that depends on the rotation number around fixed points and external boundary perturbation which plays an important separation rule in the model. We show that particles exhibiting Fermi acceleration (initial velocity is above the resonant one) are scaling invariant with respect to the initial velocity and external perturbation. However, initial velocities below the resonant one lead the particles to decelerate therefore unlimited energy growth is not observed. This phenomenon may be interpreted as a specific Maxwell’s Demon which may separate fast and slow billiard particles.     

激光驱动飞片加速特征分析

在激光驱动飞片研究中,飞片的加速特征是需要认识的关键问题之一。设计了强激光作用金属膜驱动飞片实验,采用聚偏氟乙烯（PVDF）压电薄膜测量了飞片到达不同距离的时间,计算得到飞片速度和加速度,分析激光能量对飞片加速性能的影响。基于Gurney能理论,建立了激光驱动飞片速度的计算模型,根据实验结果获得了激光能量损失系数和有效吸收系数,分析了激光能量和膜体厚度对飞片速度的影响。实验结果表明:不同激光能量下飞片的加速特征基本相似,激光能量变化对飞片的加速时间影响较小; 激光能量较大的情况下,膜体厚度对飞片最大速度、能量耦合系数的影响更显著; 当膜体超过一定厚度时,能量耦合系数不再增加。     

Understanding the accuracy of Nanbu’s numerical Coulomb collision operator

We investigate the accuracy of and assumptions underlying the numerical binary Monte Carlo collision operator due to Nanbu [K. Nanbu, Phys. Rev. E 55 (1997) 4642]. The numerical experiments that resulted in the parameterization of the collision kernel used in Nanbu’s operator are argued to be an approximate realization of the Coulomb–Lorentz pitch-angle scattering process, for which an analytical solution for the collision kernel is available. It is demonstrated empirically that Nanbu’s collision operator quite accurately recovers the effects of Coulomb–Lorentz pitch-angle collisions, or processes that approximate these (such interspecies Coulomb collisions with very small mass ratio) even for very large values of the collisional time step. An investigation of the analytical solution shows that Nanbu’s parameterized kernel is highly accurate for small values of the normalized collision time step, but loses some of its accuracy for larger values of the time step. Careful numerical and analytical investigations are presented, which show that the time dependence of the relaxation of a temperature anisotropy by Coulomb–Lorentz collisions has a richer structure than previously thought, and is not accurately represented by an exponential decay with a single decay rate. Finally, a practical collision algorithm is proposed that for small-mass-ratio interspecies Coulomb collisions improves on the accuracy of Nanbu’s algorithm.     

Relaxation time distributions for an anomalously diffusing particle

As well known, the generalized Langevin equation with a memory kernel decreasing at large times as an inverse power law of time describes the motion of an anomalously diffusing particle. Here, we focus attention on some new aspects of the dynamics, successively considering the memory kernel, the particle’s mean velocity, and the scattering function. All these quantities are studied from a unique angle, namely, the discussion of the possible existence of a distribution of relaxation times characterizing their time decay. Although a very popular concept, a relaxation time distribution cannot be associated with any time-decreasing quantity (from a mathematical point of view, the decay has to be described by a completely monotonic function).Technically, we use a memory kernel decaying as a Mittag-Leffler function (the Mittag-Leffler functions interpolate between stretched or compressed exponential behaviour at short times and inverse power law behaviour at large times). We show that, in the case of a subdiffusive motion, relaxation time distributions can be defined for the memory kernel and for the scattering function, but not for the particle’s mean velocity. The situation is opposite in the superdiffusive case.     

Particle-Induced Limits of Accuracy in Laser Doppler Anemometry

Laser Doppler anemometry (LDA) is one of the most advanced optical measuring techniques for flow velocities and is widely used in industrial and academic laboratories. Based on numerous applications in the past, there is no doubt that LDA is one of the most accurate flow measuring techniques. However, recent investigations have shown that the period lengths of LDA signal bursts are not as constant as one might expect within the individual burst. This can induce an additional scatter in the signal frequency and in the determination of flow velocity from individual bursts. This paper describes experimental investigations which show qualitatively and quantitatively that the particle passage through the laser beams shortly before the point of intersection, i. e. the LDA measuring volume, yields a distorted LDA fringe pattern. The latter results in a scatter of the measured velocity data for those particles passing the center of the measuring volume at the same time.     

短脉冲激光诱导薄膜损伤的等离子体爆炸过程分析

短脉冲激光诱导薄膜材料损伤过程的研究通常止于薄膜材料发生喷溅.超热喷溅物质吸收剩余激光脉冲能量将形成剧烈的等离子体爆炸过程.采用两步数值计算方法处理等离子体微滴的爆炸过程,即在每一个数值计算时间步长内,将爆炸过程分为两步,第一步处理微滴的绝热膨胀及裂解过程;第二步处理微滴对激光脉冲能量的吸收过程.有效地将微滴吸收激光能量的物理学过程与爆炸动力学过程耦合到一起.分析了喷溅物质微滴在剩余激光脉冲作用下,其半径、膨胀（加）速度、裂解（加）速度、电子及离子的密度与温度等参量随时间变化的演化情况.结果表明：材料喷溅 关键词： 光学薄膜 激光损伤 等离子体 爆炸     

Brownian motion of massive skyrmions in magnetic thin films

We report on the thermal effects on the motion of current-driven massive magnetic skyrmions. The reduced equation for the motion of skyrmion has the form of a stochastic generalized Thiele’s equation. We propose an ansatz for the magnetization texture of a non-rigid single skyrmion that depends linearly with the velocity. By using this ansatz it is found that the skyrmion mass tensor is closely related to intrinsic skyrmion parameters, such as Gilbert damping, skyrmion-charge and dissipative force. We have found an exact expression for the average drift velocity as well as the mean-square velocity of the skyrmion. The longitudinal and transverse mobility of skyrmions for small spin-velocity of electrons is also determined and found to be independent of the skyrmion mass.     

Relationship between sliding acceleration of water droplets and dynamic contact angles on hydrophobic surfaces

This study measured sliding acceleration of water droplets on hydrophobic solid surfaces and used expanding and contracting method to compare that value with dynamic contact angles. Sliding action of the droplet was classified into three motion categories: constant accelerated motion, constant velocity and stasis. Differences exist in the dependencies of contact radius and the injection-suction rate in dynamic contact angle hysteresis according to these categories. This method is an effective indicator of water droplets’ sliding acceleration.     

激光熔覆中同轴送粉气体-粉末流数值模拟

应用FLUENT软件的离散相模块建立了激光熔覆中气体 粉末流的二维模型,研究了保护气和输送气流量及送粉量对粉末流浓度场和速度场的分布规律的影响以及对粉末流发散角和焦点的影响。计算结果表明:随着输送气流量的增大,粉末流速度增加,粉末流发散角逐渐减小;送粉量增加,焦点略微下移,焦点处粉末流浓度值增大。在相同的工艺参数下,使用单反相机拍摄粉末流分布,结果表明试验与计算结果基本吻合。     

Effects of pressure on flame propagation in a premixture containing fine fuel droplets

Combustion experiments on fuel droplet–vapor–air mixtures have been performed with a rapid expansion apparatus which generates monodispersed droplet clouds with narrow diameter distribution using the condensation method. The effects of fine fuel droplets on flame propagation were investigated for ethanol droplet–vapor–air mixtures at various pressures from 0.2 to 1.0 MPa. A stagnant fuel droplet–vapor–air mixture, generated in a rapid expansion chamber, was ignited at the center of the chamber using an ignition wire. Spherical flame propagation under constant-pressure conditions was observed with a high-speed video camera and flame speed was measured. Total equivalence ratio, and the ratio of liquid fuel mass to total fuel mass, was varied from 0.6 to 1.4 and from zero to 56%, respectively. The mean droplet diameter of fuel droplet–vapor–air mixtures was set at 8.5 and 11 μm. It was found that the flame speed of droplet–vapor–air mixtures less than 0.9 in the total equivalence ratio exceeds that of premixed gases of the same total equivalence ratio at all pressures. The flame speed of fuel droplet–vapor–air mixtures decreases as the pressure increases in all total equivalence ratios. At large ratios of liquid fuel mass to total fuel mass, the normalized flame speed (the flame speed of droplet–vapor–air mixtures divided by the flame speed of the premixed gas with the same total equivalence ratio), increases with the increase in pressure for fuel-lean mixtures, and it decreases for fuel-rich mixtures. The outcome is reversed at small ratios of liquid fuel mass to total fuel mass; the normalized flame speed decreases with the increase in pressure for fuel-lean mixtures, and increases for fuel-rich mixtures. The results suggest that the increase in pressure promotes droplet evaporation in the preheat zone.     

Simulations of multiphase flows with multiple length scales using moving mesh interface tracking with adaptive meshing

In multiphase flows, the length scales of thin regions, such as thin films between nearly touching drops and thin threads formed during the interface pinch-off, are usually several orders of magnitude smaller than the size of the drops. In this paper, a number of extra length criteria for adaptive meshes are developed and implemented in the moving mesh interface tracking method to solve these multiple-length-scale problems with high fidelity. A nominal length scale based on the solutions of Laplace’s equations with the unit normal vectors of surfaces as the boundary conditions is proposed for the adaptive mesh refinement in the thin regions. For almost flat interfaces/boundaries which are near to the thin regions, the averaged length of the interior edges sharing the two nodes with the boundary edge is introduced for the mesh adaptation. The averaged length of the interfacial edges is used for the interior elements near the interfaces but outside of the thin regions. For the interior mesh away from the interfaces/boundaries, different averaged length scales based on the initial mesh are employed for the adaptive mesh refining and coarsening. Numerous cases are simulated to demonstrate the capability of the proposed schemes in handling multiple length scales, which include the relaxation and necking of an elongated droplet, droplet–droplet head-on approaching, droplet-wall interactions, and a droplet pair in a shear flow. The smallest length resolved for the thin regions is three orders of magnitude smaller than the largest characteristic length of the problem.     

Numerical simulation of two droplets impacting upon a dynamic liquid film

The impact of droplets on the liquid film is widely involved in industrial and agricultural fields. In recent years, plenty of works are limited to dry walls or stationary liquid films, and the research of multi-droplet impact dynamic films is not sufficient. Based on this, this paper employs a coupled level set and volume of fluid (CLSVOF) method to numerically simulate two-droplet impingement on a dynamic liquid film. In our work, the dynamic film thickness, horizontal central distance between the droplets, droplets' initial impact speed, and simultaneously the flow velocity of the moving film are analyzed. The evolution phenomenon and mechanism caused by the collision are analyzed in detail. We find that within a certain period of time, the droplet spacing does not affect the peripheral crown height; when the droplet spacing decreases or the initial impact velocity increases, the height of the peripheral crown increases at the beginning, and then, because the crown splashed under Rayleigh-Plateau instability, this results in the reduction of the crown height. At the same time, it is found that when the initial impact velocity increases, the angle between the upstream peripheral jet and the dynamic film becomes larger. The more obvious the horizontal movement characteristics, the more restrained the crown height; the spread length increases with the increase of the dynamic film speed, droplet spacing and the initial impact velocity. When the liquid film is thicker, more fluid enters the crown, due to the crown being unstable, the surface tension is not enough to overcome the weight of the rim at the end of the crown, resulting in droplets falling off.     

Nonlinear dynamics of higher-dimensional system for an axially accelerating viscoelastic beam with in-plane and out-of-plane vibrations

In this paper, the bifurcations and chaotic motions of higher-dimensional nonlinear systems are investigated for the nonplanar nonlinear vibrations of an axially accelerating moving viscoelastic beam. The Kelvin viscoelastic model is chosen to describe the viscoelastic property of the beam material. Firstly, the nonlinear governing equations of nonplanar motion for an axially accelerating moving viscoelastic beam are established by using the generalized Hamilton’s principle for the first time. Then, based on the Galerkin’s discretization, the governing equations of nonplanar motion are simplified to a six-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system and a three-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system with parametric excitation, respectively. At last, numerical simulations, including the Poincare map, phase portrait and Lyapunov exponents are used to analyze the complex nonlinear dynamic behaviors of the axially accelerating moving viscoelastic beam. The bifurcation diagrams for the in-plane and out-of-plane displacements via the mean axial velocity, the amplitude of velocity fluctuation and the frequency of velocity fluctuation are respectively presented when other parameters are fixed. The Lyapunov exponents are calculated to identify the existence of the chaotic motions. From the numerical results, it is indicated that the periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic motions occur for the nonplanar nonlinear vibrations of the axially accelerating moving viscoelastic beam. Observing the in-plane nonlinear vibrations of the axially accelerating moving viscoelastic beam from the numerical results, it is found that the nonlinear responses of the six-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system are much different from that of the three-degree-of-freedom nonlinear system when all parameters are same.     

Statistical analysis of floating-car data: an empirical study

We present the results of statistical analysis of the empirical floating-car data. Our investigations are based on analyzing the time series of four basic quantities namely velocity, velocity difference, spatial gap and the acceleration associated to some instrumented cars. We obtain the statistical characteristics, including the mean, variance and relative variance of these time series by taking direct time averages. We also try to identify the moving phases of the instrumented vehicle according to the statistical properties of its velocity time series. Moreover, by exploring the two-point joint probabilities, we propose a new approach for modelling vehicular dynamics based on the floating car data.     

Voice Perceptions and Quality of Life of Transgender People

Despite the plethora of research documenting that the voice and quality of life (QoL) are related, the exact nature of this relationship is vague. Studies have not addressed people who consider their voice to influence their life and identity, but would not be considered to have a voice “disorder” (e.g., transgender individuals). Individuals seeking vocal feminization may or may not have vocal pathology and often have concerns not addressed on the standard psychosocial measures of voice impact. Recent development of a voice-related QoL measure specific to the needs of transgender care (Transgender Self-Evaluation Questionnaire [TSEQ]) affords opportunity to explore relationships between self-perceived QoL and perceptions of femininity and likability associated with transgender voice. Twenty male-to-female transgender individuals living as a female 100% of the time completed the TSEQ and contributed a speech sample describing Norman Rockwell’s “The Waiting Room” picture. Twenty-five undergraduate listeners rated voice femininity and voice likability after audio-only presentation of each speech sample. Speakers also self-rated their voices on these parameters. For male-to-female transgender clients, QoL is moderately correlated with how others perceive their voice. QoL ratings correlate more strongly with speaker’s self-rated perception of voice compared with others’ perceptions, more so for likability than femininity. This study complements previous research reports that subjective measures from clients and listeners may be valuable for evaluating the effectiveness of treatment in terms of how treatment influences voice-related QoL issues for transgender people.     

A study on radial directional natural frequency and damping ratio in a vehicle tire

The measurement of radial directional natural frequency and damping ratio in a vehicle tire has been studied. Natural frequencies and damping ratios in the radial direction of various tires, from passenger car tires to truck bus tires, are reported. The radial direction modal parameters of tires subjected to different levels of inflation pressure, have been determined by using a frequency response function method. To obtain the theoretical natural frequency and mode shape, the plane vibration of a tire has been modeled as though it were that of a circular beam. By using the Tielking method that is based on Hamilton’s principle, theoretical results have been determined by considering the rotational velocity, tangential and radial stiffness, radial directional velocity and tension force which is due to tire inflation pressure. The results show that experimental conditions can be considered as the parameters that shift the natural frequency and damping ratio.     

Optimum vibration absorber (tuned mass damper) design for linear damped systems subjected to random loads

Optimum design of dynamic vibration absorbers (DVAs) installed on linear damped systems that are subjected to random loads is studied and closed-form design formulas are provided. Three cases are considered in the optimization process: Minimizing the variance of the displacement, velocity and acceleration of the main mass. Exact optimum design parameters for the velocity case, which to the best knowledge of the author do not exist in the literature, are derived for the first time. Exact solutions are found to be directly applicable for practical use with no simplification needed. For displacement and acceleration cases, a solution for the optimum absorber frequency ratio is obtained as a function of optimum absorber damping ratio. Numerical simulations indicate that optimum absorber damping ratio is not significantly related to the structural damping, especially when the displacement variance is minimized. Therefore, optimum damping ratio derived for undamped systems is proposed for damped systems for the displacement case. When acceleration variance is minimized, however, the optimum damping ratio derived for undamped systems is found not as accurate for damped systems. Therefore, a more accurate approximate expression is derived. Numerical comparisons with published approximate expressions at the same level of complexity indicated that proposed design formula yield more accurate estimates. Another important finding of the paper is that for specific applications where all of the response parameters are desired to be minimized simultaneously, DVAs designed per velocity criteria provide the best overall performance with the least complexity in the design equations.     

Optimum tuning of series and parallel LR circuits for passive vibration suppression using piezoelectric elements

Bending vibration of flexible structures can be suppressed passively using piezoelectric electromechanical transducers and optimally tuned LR circuits. Since these systems include both mechanical and electrical elements, the governing equations consist of electrically coupled equations of motion. This paper describes a new method for deriving the governing equations that describe a system’s vibration suppression based on the equilibrium of force principle and using an equivalent mechanical model of a piezoelectric element. Both series and parallel LR circuits are considered in the modeling approach. The optimum values for a mechanical vibration absorber can be formulated by using the two fixed points method. However, exact optimal values for the resistances of the LR circuits have not been formulated in the research literature thus far, and approximate values have been used. Analytical formulations are derived in this paper, and optimum values of the LR circuits are presented, not only in displacement, but also in terms of velocity and acceleration. The effects of the stiffness of the adhesive bond between the host structure and piezoelectric element, the dielectric loss in a piezoelectric element, and the internal resistance of an inductor are considered in the theoretical analysis. The effectiveness of the described analytical method is validated through simulations and experiments.     

Dynamic hydrophobicity of water droplets on the line-patterned hydrophobic surfaces

Static and dynamic hydrophobicities of water droplet on a patterned surface prepared using fluoroalkylsilanes with different molecular chain lengths were investigated. Contact angles on the patterned surfaces well agreed with values predicted using Cassie’s theory. On the same line width ratio, total retention force was governed by the fluoroalkylsilane with slow-sliding acceleration. The total retention force decreased with the decreasing width ratio of silane with slow-sliding acceleration on the surface. These results imply that the sliding acceleration of water droplets on a hydrophobic surface depends both on chemical composition and patterning structure.     

Sliding acceleration of water droplets on a surface coated with fluoroalkylsilane and octadecyltrimethoxysilane

Both fluoroalkylsilane (FAS) and octadecyltrimethoxysilane (ODS) were coated on oxidized silicon wafers using soaking and CVD method. Smooth coatings with Ra values of less than 1 nm were attained. The slope of the sliding acceleration against the inverse of the droplet mass showed an inflection point. That point shifted to the direction of smaller droplets with decreasing FAS ratio to ODS. The water droplets’ length was increased when the sliding velocity was increased. Fluoroalkylsilane addition to ODS increases the interaction between water and the hydrophobic surface. Results showed that the sliding acceleration of a water droplet depends strongly on the surface ratio of these silanes.