Temperature modulated DSC study of the kinetics of free radical isothermal network polymerization

Temperature modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TMDSC) is used to study the kinetics of the free radical isothermal polymerization of triethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA). Azo-bis-isobutironitrile was used as initiator. The polymerization’s temperature is lower than the final glass transition temperature of the polymer network. The measurement of the average heat flow released and the heat capacity during the reaction allows identifying the different stages of the reaction. The presence of double peaks in the heat flow is ascribed to the autoacceleration. The influence of temperature, measuring conditions and oxygen are described. Vitrification is detected by the drop in heat capacity. It occurs at increasing conversion rates for increasing temperatures. After vitrification, the diffusion-controlled reaction continues.     

On Nash Equilibria for Noncooperative Games Governed by the Burgers Equation

Existence of a Nash equilibrium in a noncooperative game governed by the one-dimensional Burgers equation, proposed in the case of pointwise controls in Ref. 1, is proved under data qualifications that guarantee the diffusion term in the Burgers’ equation to be dominant enough with respect to the uniform convexity of the payoffs. This work was partly supported by Grants 201/03/0934 (GA čR) and MSM 0021620839 (MšMT čR). Inspiring discussions with Angel M. Ramos are acknowledged.     

Theoretical study on the structures and electronic spectra of TCNE2-.

Investigations into the charge-separated states and electron-transfer transitions in tetracyanoethylene (TCNE) complexes have recently generated much interest. In this work we present theoretical calculations showing that the most stable structure of the dianion TCNE2- has D2d symmetry in vacuum as well as in the solvents dichloromethane and acetonitrile. By means of the coupled cluster linear response, we compute the vertical electronic spectrum in both the gas phase and solution. The theoretical results are compared to the experimental data and good agreement is achieved.     

Mössbauer studies of the re-entrant spin-glass behaviour of Fe–Al alloys

Fe–Al alloys around the concentration of 30 at. % Al present re-entrant spin-glass behaviour at low temperatures. This behaviour is not completely understood and Mössbauer spectroscopy, combined with other experimental techniques, is useful to describe and explain this behaviour. Results show that the Mössbauer spectra coincide with the magnetic behaviour showed in literature and they can be explained as a magnetic cluster system whose magnetic clusters are getting smaller when the temperature is decreasing. When the temperature is reaching to the spin-glass transition at 92 K the spins in the paramagnetic matrix are moving slower and below this transition the spins are completely frozen.     

A real time method for surface cleanliness measurement

The measurement of surface cleanliness is a significant problem in many industrial and technological processes. Existing methods are based on laboratory procedures, that are not performed in real time, can not be automated, and usually are restricted to a small portion of the sample. In this study we describe a new method for real time measurement of the amount of surface dirt or contamination deposited on a surface. It relies on the ablation of the surface dirt film by means of a short laser pulse, and the subsequent measurement of the emitted sound. The intensity of the sound is proportional to the amount of surface dirt and provides a direct measurement of the cleanliness of the surface. We also developed a reference sample for calibration, based on a uniform distribution of dots printed on white paper. The density and the dot size can be easily modified providing a homogeneous, uniform and reproducible standard for the measurement. Based on this method, we designed, developed and patented the first industrial instrument for on-line determination of the degree of cleanliness of manufactured cold rolled steel plate bobbins. PACS 79.20.D; 81.70.C; 42.62.     

Advances in constant-velocity Mössbauer instrumentation

A prototype of a programmable constant-velocity scaler is presented. This instrument allows the acquisition of partial Mössbauer spectra in selected energy regions using standard drivers and transducers. It can be fully operated by a remote application, thus data acquisition can be automated. The instrument consists of a programmable counter and a constant-velocity reference. The reference waveform generator is amplitude modulated with 13-bit resolution, and is programmable in a wide range of frequencies and waveforms in order to optimize the performance of the transducer. The counter is compatible with most standard SCA, and is configured as a rate-meter that provides counts per selectable time slice at the programmed velocity. As a demonstration of the instrument applications, a partial Mössbauer spectrum of a natural iron foil was taken. Only positive energies were studied in 512 channels, accumulating 20 s per channel. A line width of 0.20 mm/s was achieved, performing with an efficiency of 80%.     

Representation of Cubic Lattices by Symmetric Implication Algebras

In this paper a cubic lattice L(S) is endowed with a symmetric implication structure and it is proved that L(S) \ {0} is a power of the three-element simple symmetric implication algebra. The Metropolis–Rota’s symmetries are obtained as partial terms in the language of symmetric implication algebras.     

Fractional Hamiltonian Monodromy

We introduce fractional monodromy in order to characterize certain non-isolated critical values of the energy–momentum map of integrable Hamiltonian dynamical systems represented by nonlinear resonant two-dimensional oscillators. We give the formal mathematical definition of fractional monodromy, which is a generalization of the definition of monodromy used by other authors before. We prove that the 1:( − 2) resonant oscillator system has monodromy matrix with half-integer coefficients and discuss manifestations of this monodromy in quantum systems. Communicated by Eduard Zehnder Submitted: February 25, 2005; Accepted: November 17, 2005     

Parking Capacity and Pricing in Park'n Ride Trips: A Continuous Equilibrium Network Design Problem

In this paper we consider the problem of designing parking facilities for park'n ride trips. We present a new continuous equilibrium network design problem to decide the capacity and fare of these parking lots at a tactical level. We assume that the parking facilities have already been located and other topological decisions have already been taken.The modeling approach proposed is mathematical programming with equilibrium constraints. In the outer optimization problem, a central Authority evaluates the performance of the transport network for each network design decision. In the inner problem a multimodal traffic assignment with combined modes, formulated as a variational inequality problem, generates the share demand for modes of transportation, and for parking facilities as a function of the design variables of the parking lots. The objective is to make optimal parking investment and pricing decisions in order to minimize the total travel cost in a subnetwork of the multimodal transportation system.We present a new development in model formulation based on the use of generalized parking link cost as a design variable.The bilevel model is solved by a simulated annealing algorithm applied to the continuous and non-negative design decision variables. Numerical tests are reported in order to illustrate the use of the model, and the ability of the approach to solve applications of moderate size.     

The structure of an Fe monolayer on the Ni (111) surface. A density-functional study using the generalized gradient approximation

Using a density-functional method that employs linear combinations of atomic orbitals as basis sets, nonlocal norm-conserving pseudopotentials and the generalized gradient approximation for exchange and correlation, we found that at 0 K the atoms of an Fe monolayer on the Ni (111) surface occupy hcp rather than fcc sites, in keeping with previous predictions made using the ab initio all-electron full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method with the local spin density approximation.