Hydrogen bonding interactions,crystallization, and surface hydrophobicity in nanostructured epoxy/block copolymer blends

Hydrogen bonding interactions, phase behavior, crystallization, and surface hydrophobicity in nanostructured blend of bisphenol A‐type epoxy resin (ER), for example, diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and poly(ε‐caprolactone)‐block‐poly(dimethyl siloxane)‐block‐poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL–PDMS–PCL) triblock copolymer were investigated by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, small‐angle X‐ray scattering, and contact angle measurements. The PCL–PDMS–PCL triblock copolymer consisted of two epoxy‐miscible PCL blocks and an epoxy‐immiscible PDMS block. The cured ER/PCL–PDMS–PCL blends showed composition‐dependent nanostructures from spherical and worm‐like microdomains to lamellar morphology. FTIR study revealed the existence of hydrogen bonding interactions between the PCL blocks and the cured epoxy, which was responsible for their miscibility. The overall crystallization rate of the PCL blocks in the blend decreased remarkably with increasing ER content, whereas the melting point was slightly depressed in the blends. The surface hydrophobicity of the cured ER increased upon addition of the block copolymer, whereas the surface free energy (γ_s) values decreased with increasing block copolymer concentration. The hydrophilicity of the epoxy could be reduced through blending with the PCL–PDMS–PCL block copolymer that contained a hydrophobic PDMS block. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 48: 790–800, 2010     

Photometric, colorimetric, and acid-base characteristics of nitroso-R-salt

Optical and colorimetric characteristics of 1-nitroso-2-naphthol-3,6-disulfonic acid (nitroso-R-salt) are studied in aqueous solutions at pH 4–10. Equations of calibration plots are obtained as the colorimetric functions of the concentration, and the molar coefficients of the colorimetric functions are calculated. The dissociation constants of nitroso-R-salt are determined by colorimetry at an ionic strength of 0.1–0.5, reduced to zero ionic strength, and compared with the literature data. Advantages of colorimetry over spectrophotometry in the determination of the dissociation constants of colored reagents are demonstrated.     

Field Patterns of the TE Modes in Ridge-Trough Waveguide

A single-ridge waveguide with a symmetrical longitudinal trough, designated as a ridge-trough waveguide has been used as a transition in a V-band (50-75 GHz) wafer probe recently. In this paper, the field patterns for the dominant TE mode and the first higher TE mode in ridge-trough waveguide with different configurations are presented by finite element method. The field patterns in this paper have important values for us to understand the transmission characteristics of ridge-trough waveguide, and will be of practical significance in designing ridge-trough waveguide components in microwave and millimeter wave engineering.     

A Cartesian‐grid collocation method based on radial‐basis‐function networks for solving PDEs in irregular domains

This paper reports a new Cartesian‐grid collocation method based on radial‐basis‐function networks (RBFNs) for numerically solving elliptic partial differential equations in irregular domains. The domain of interest is embedded in a Cartesian grid, and the governing equation is discretized by using a collocation approach. The new features here are (a) one‐dimensional integrated RBFNs are employed to represent the variable along each line of the grid, resulting in a significant improvement of computational efficiency, (b) the present method does not require complicated interpolation techniques for the treatment of Dirichlet boundary conditions in order to achieve a high level of accuracy, and (c) normal derivative boundary conditions are imposed by means of integration constants. The method is verified through the solution of second‐ and fourth‐order PDEs; accurate results and fast convergence rates are obtained. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2007     

A reference solution for phase change with convection

A reference solutions for phase change involving convection in the melt is currently missing. In the present study, we focus on the problem of melting of pure tin in a square cavity heated from the side, which is used as a benchmark test problem. The mathematical model used for the simulations is based on the enthalpy formulation. Extensive numerical computations are performed with grids as fine as 800 × 800. The convergence of the numerical solution is demonstrated and its level assessed. Data values and plots are provided for use as a reference solution. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Legnaro Francium Magneto-Optical Trap

Hyperfine Interactions - Laser cooling and trapping of radioactive atoms represent the new frontier in atomic physics and a new powerful tool in nuclear physics. We are setting up at the...     

Determination of k-factors by thermal neutron activation technique

The k_{o, Au}-factors of 10 elements have been determined by irradating the samples with thermal neutrons in the reactor thermal column. The proposed method has the advantage of eliminating the errors induced by the uncertainties of the neutron spectrum parameters and the nuclear data. The results obtained are in good agreement with the literature data.     

Numerical solution of Navier–Stokes equations using multiquadric radial basis function networks

A numerical method based on radial basis function networks (RBFNs) for solving steady incompressible viscous flow problems (including Boussinesq materials) is presented in this paper. The method uses a ‘universal approximator’ based on neural network methodology to represent the solutions. The method is easy to implement and does not require any kind of ‘finite element‐type’ discretization of the domain and its boundary. Instead, two sets of random points distributed throughout the domain and on the boundary are required. The first set defines the centres of the RBFNs and the second defines the collocation points. The two sets of points can be different; however, experience shows that if the two sets are the same better results are obtained. In this work the two sets are identical and hence commonly referred to as the set of centres. Planar Poiseuille, driven cavity and natural convection flows are simulated to verify the method. The numerical solutions obtained using only relatively low densities of centres are in good agreement with analytical and benchmark solutions available in the literature. With uniformly distributed centres, the method achieves Reynolds number Re = 100 000 for the Poiseuille flow (assuming that laminar flow can be maintained) using the density of , Re = 400 for the driven cavity flow with a density of and Rayleigh number Ra = 1 000 000 for the natural convection flow with a density of . Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.