Electrochemical study of the Nd1.95NiO4 + δ/oxide electrolyte interface

Nickelate-based oxides are potential cathodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells operating at intermediate temperatures. The chemical compatibility between apatite electrolyte, i.e., La₉Sr₁Si₆O_26.5, and Nd-deficient nickelate, i.e., Nd_1.95NiO_4 + δ, has been characterized. The equilibrium between the nickelate material and the gas phase has been studied as functions of temperature and oxygen partial pressure, using potentiometric measurements with microelectrodes, i.e., metallic or ceramic point electrodes. Two solid electrolytes were used, i.e., apatite and yttria-stabilized zirconia. The response of the nickelate is discussed in terms of oxygen stoichiometry.     

Stability of asymmetric tetraquarks in the minimal-path linear potential

The linear potential binding a quark and an antiquark in mesons is generalized to baryons and multiquark configurations as the minimal length of flux tubes neutralizing the color, in units of the string tension. For tetraquark systems, i.e., two quarks and two antiquarks, this involves the two possible quark–antiquark pairings, and the Steiner tree linking the quarks to the antiquarks. A novel inequality for this potential demonstrates rigorously that within this model the tetraquark is stable in the limit of large quark-to-antiquark mass ratio.     

Topological lower bounds on the distance between area preserving diffeomorphisms

Area preserving diffeomorphisms of the 2-disk which are Identity near the boundary form a group which can be equipped, using theL ²-norm on its Lie algebra, with a right invariant metric. In this paper we give a lower bound on the distance between diffeomorphisms which is invariant under area preserving changes of coordinates and which improves the lower bound induced by the Calabi invariant. In the case of renormalizable and infinitely renormalizable maps, our estimate can be improved and computed.     

A non-linear corotational 4-node plane element

A non-linear corotational 4-node plane element is presented. The main interested of the approach is that accurate and efficient linear elements can be transformed to non-linear elements with little work and without considering the assumptions used to derive these linear elements. Two numerical examples are presented.     

Co(II)-Co(II) paddlewheel complex with a redox-active ligand derived from TTF

A new trimethyltetrathiafulvalene (Me3TTF) derivative Me3TTF-CH=CH-py bearing a pyridyl was synthesized and coordinated to a cobalt(II) benzoate dimer, having paddlewheel core structure, leading to a complex formulated as Co2(PhCOO)4(Me3TTF-CH=CH-py)2. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies of the complex performed at 293 and 100 K evidenced the existence of a weak metal-metal interaction. Magnetic studies revealed an antiferromagnetic behavior, which is explained as the result of the direct exchange between metal centers.     

Finite-Size Conformational Transitions：A Unifying Concept Underlying Chromosome Dynamics

Investigating average thermodynamic quantities is not sufficient to understand conformational transitions of a finite-size polymer. We propose that such transitions are better described in terms of the probability distribution of some finite-size order parameter, and the evolution of this distribution as a control parameter varies. We demonstrate this claim for the coil-globule transition of a linear polymer and its mapping onto a two-state model. In a biological context, polymer models delineate the physical constraints experienced by the genome at different levels of organization, from DNA to chromatin to chromosome. We apply our finite-size approach to the formation of plectonemes in a DNA segment submitted to an applied torque and the ensuing helix-coil transition that can be numerically observed, with a coexistence of the helix and coil states in a range of parameters. Polymer models are also essential to analyze recent in vivo experiments providing the frequency of pairwise contacts between genomic loci. The probability distribution of these contacts yields quantitative information on the conformational fluctuations of chromosome regions. The changes observed in the shape of the distribution when the cell type or the physiological conditions vary may reveal an epigenetic modulation of the conformational constraints experienced by the chromosomes.     

A multiaxial constitutive model for concrete in the fire situation: Theoretical formulation

This paper aims to develop a multiaxial concrete model for implementation in finite element software dedicated to the analysis of structures in fire. The need for proper concrete model remains a challenging task in structural fire engineering because of the complexity of the concrete mechanical behavior characterization and the severe requirements for the material models raised by the development of performance-based design. A fully three-dimensional model is developed based on the combination of elastoplasticity and damage theories. The state of damage in concrete, assumed isotropic, is modeled by means of a fourth order damage tensor to capture the unilateral effect. The concrete model comprises a limited number of parameters that can be identified by three simple tests at ambient temperature. At high temperatures, a generic transient creep model is included to take into account explicitly the effect of transient creep strain. The numerical implementation of the concrete model in a finite element software is presented and a series of numerical simulations are conducted for validation. The concrete behavior is accurately captured in a large range of temperature and stress states. A limitation appears when modeling the concrete post-peak behavior in highly confined stress states, due to the coupling assumption between damage and plasticity, but the considered levels of triaxial confinement are unusual stress states in structural concrete.     

Elasto-visco-plastic modeling of mild steels for sheet forming applications over a large range of strain rates

A physically based elasto-visco-plastic constitutive model is presented and compared to experimental results for three different mild steels. The experiments consist of tensile tests ranging from quasi-static conditions up to strain rates of 10³ s^?1 as well as quasi-static simple and reverse shear tests at different amounts of pre-strain. Additional two-step sequential mechanical tests (Bauschinger and orthogonal effects) have been performed to further evaluate the ability of the model to describe strain-path changes at moderate/large strains. The model requires significantly fewer material parameters compared to other visco-plasticity models from the literature, while being able to describe some of the main features of the strain-rate sensitivity of mild steels. Accordingly, the parameter identification is simple and intuitive, requiring a relatively small set of experiments. The strain-rate sensitivity modeling is not restricted to a particular hardening law and thus provides a general framework in which advanced hardening equations can be adopted.     

The Diffuse Light of the Universe

In 1965, the discovery of a new type of uniform radiation, located between radiowaves and infrared light, was accidental. Known today as Cosmic Microwave background (CMB), this diffuse radiation is commonly interpreted as a fossil light released in an early hot and dense universe and constitutes today the main ’pilar’ of the big bang cosmology. Considerable efforts have been devoted to derive fundamental cosmological parameters from the characteristics of this radiation that led to a surprising universe that is shaped by at least three major unknown components: inflation, dark matter and dark energy. This is an important weakness of the present consensus cosmological model that justifies raising several questions on the CMB interpretation. Can we consider its cosmological nature as undisputable? Do other possible interpretations exist in the context of other cosmological theories or simply as a result of other physical mechanisms that could account for it? In an effort to questioning the validity of scientific hypotheses and the under-determination of theories compared to observations, we examine here the difficulties that still exist on the interpretation of this diffuse radiation and explore other proposed tracks to explain its origin. We discuss previous historical concepts of diffuse radiation before and after the CMB discovery and underline the limit of our present understanding.