Acoustic beam splitting in a sonic crystal around a directional band gap

Beam splitting upon refraction in a triangular sonic crystal composed of aluminum cylinders in air is experimentally and numerically demonstrated to occur due to finite source size,which facilitates circumvention of a directional band gap.Experiments reveal that two distinct beams emerge at crystal output,in agreement with the numerical results obtained through the finite-element method.Beam splitting occurs at sufficiently-small source sizes comparable to lattice periodicity determined by the spatial gap width in reciprocal space.Split beams propagate in equal amplitude,whereas beam splitting is destructed for oblique incidence above a critical incidence angle.     

Numerical study of turbulent flow and heat transfer of Al2O3–water mixture in a square duct with uniform heat flux

Turbulent flow and convective heat transfer of a nanofluid made of Al₂O₃ (1–4 vol.%) and water through a square duct is numerically studied. Single-phase model, volumetric concentration, temperature-dependent physical properties, uniform wall heat flux boundary condition and Renormalization Group Theory k-ε turbulent model are used in the computational analysis. A comparison of the results with the previous experimental and numerical data revealed 8.3 and 10.2 % mean deviations, respectively. Numerical results illustrated that Nu number is directly proportional with Re number and volumetric concentration. For a given Re number, increasing the volumetric concentration of nanoparticles does not have significant effect on the dimensionless velocity contours. At a constant dimensionless temperature, increasing the particle volume concentration increases the size of the temperature profile. Maximum value of dimensionless temperature increases with increasing x/D_h value for a given Re number and volumetric concentration.     

An alternative approach on the calculation of cohesive energy density and isothermal compressibility of alkali metal halides

In the present paper, new and useful theoretical methods for the estimation of cohesive energy density (Ced) and isothermal compressibility (k_T) of alkali metal halides are described. The mentioned theoretical methods include the use of Kaya molecular hardness equation published by us in recent years. Cohesive energy density and isothermal compressibility of alkali metal halides were calculated in the framework of mentioned theoretical methods and the results obtained were compared with both experimental data and the results of previous theoretical methods proposed to calculate the aforementioned quantities, namely cohesive energy density and isothermal compressibility. It is important to note that the results obtained in the study are in good agreement with the available experimental data and with the results of previous theoretical methods. Additionally, we also investigated the correlation with lattice energy of cohesive energy density and isothermal compressibility for alkali halides.     

Investigation of directional solidified Al–Ti alloy

Al–1 wt% Ti alloy was directionally solidified upwards under argon atmosphere under the two conditions; with different temperature gradients (G = 2.20–5.82 K/mm) at a constant growth rate (V = 8.30 μm/s) and with different growth rates (V = 8.30–498.60 μm/s) at a constant temperature gradient (G = 5.82 K/mm) in a Bridgman furnace. The dependence of characteristic microstructure parameters such as primary dendrite arm spacing (λ₁), secondary dendrite arm spacing (λ₂), dendrite tip radius (R) and mushy zone depth (d) on the velocity of crystal growth and the temperature gradient were determined by using a linear regression analysis. A detailed analysis of microstructure development with models of dendritic solidification and with previous similar experimental works on dendritic growth for binary alloys were also made.     

Electrical and dielectric properties of Al/p-Si and Al/perylene/p-Si type diodes in a wide frequency range

The perylene(C20H12) layer effect on the electrical and dielectric properties of Al/p-Si(MS) and Al/perylene/p-Si(MPS) diodes have been investigated and compared in the frequency range of 0.7 kHz–2 MHz. Experimental results show that C–V characteristics give an anomalous peak for two structures at low frequencies due to interface states(Nss) and series resistance(Rs). The increases in C and G/ω at low frequencies confirm that the charges at interface can easily follow an ac signal and yield excess capacitance and conductance. The frequency-dependent dielectric constant(ε) and dielectric loss(ε) are subtracted using C and G/ω data at 1.5 V. The ε and ε values are found to be strongly dependent on frequency and voltage, and their large values at low frequencies can be attributed to the excess polarization coming from charges at traps. Plots of ln(σac)–ln(ω) for two structures have two linear regions, with slopes of 0.369 and 1.166 for MS, and of 0.077 and 1.061 for MPS, respectively. From the C 2–V characteristics, the doping acceptor atom concentration(NA) and barrier height(ΦB) for Schottky barrier diodes(SBDs) of MS and MPS types are also obtained to be 1.484 × 1015 and 1.303 × 1015cm 3, and 1.10 and 1.13 eV, respectively.     

Spectroscopic Investigation of the Adsorption of Nitrophenol Isomers on Ammonium Zeolite of Type “Y”

In this study, nitrophenol isomers were adsorbed on synthetic ammonium Y zeolite and the samples acquired were examined with infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The aim of the work is to investigate whether isomeric effects can be monitored after adsorption process. Theoretical calculations of isomers had been performed and the data acquired show that adsorption occurred via bonding from the sites of zeolite.     

Occupational prolonged organic solvent exposure in shoemakers: brain MR spectroscopy findings

Our purpose was to investigate, by magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy, the metabolite changes in the brains of subjects in the shoemaking industry who had been chronically exposed to organic solvents. A total of 49 male subjects and 30 age-matched healthy volunteers underwent detailed neurological and psychiatric examinations. All subjects had long-echo [repetition time (TR) 2000 ms, echo time (TE) 136 ms] single-voxel MR spectroscopy. Voxels (15 x 15 x 15 mm(3)) were placed in the parietal white matter, thalamus, and basal ganglia. N-acetylaspartate (NAA)/creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho)/Cr ratios were calculated. There was no significant difference between the study subjects and the control group in NAA/Cr ratios obtained from thalamus, basal ganglia, and parietal white matter. Cho/Cr ratios in thalamus, basal ganglia, and parietal white matter were found to be significantly increased compared to controls. There was a positive correlation between basal ganglia Cho/Cr ratio and duration of exposure (r = 0.63). MR spectroscopy should be performed to reveal metabolite changes and determine the degree of brain involvement in solvent-related industry workers.     

Tuning the metal-adsorbate chemical bond through the ligand effect on platinum subsurface alloys

Scratching beneath the surface: Pt-M(3d)-Pt(111) (M(3d) = Co, Ni) bimetallic subsurface alloys have been designed to show the ligand effect tunes reactivity in oxygen and hydrogen adsorption systems. The platinum-oxygen bond order was investigated by oxygen atom projection in the occupied and unoccupied space using X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES) and X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS).     

Intermolecular interactions in nitrogen-containing aromatic systems

π–π and CH···N interactions are vital in biological systems. In this study, stacking and hydrogen-bonded interactions in pyrazine and triazine dimers were investigated by density functional theory combined with symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (DFT-SAPT) and counterpoise (CP)-corrected supermolecular MP2, SCS-MP2, B3LYP-D and CCSD(T) calculations. All interaction energies were computed using the optimized structures at the CP-corrected SCS/aug-cc-pVDZ level, which gave 1–2 kJ/mol lower interaction energies than the ones computed at the MP2 level. For both dimers, doubly hydrogen-bonded and cross-(displaced) stacked orientations were found to be the lowest energy ones. The reference CCSD(T) calculations favored the former structure in both dimer systems, whereas MP2 and SCS-MP2 located the latter as the lowest energy isomer. In particular, the former was found to be lower in energy than the latter by 2.28 and 1.01 kJ/mol at the CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pVDZ level for pyrazine and triazine, respectively. B3LYP-D produced interaction energies in agreement with the CCSD(T) at the equilibrium geometries, but it overestimates them at the short range and underestimates at the long intermonomer separations. Furthermore, it tends to give smaller equilibrium distances compared to the CCSD(T). DFT-SAPT method was in a good agreement with the reference CCSD(T) calculations. This suggests that DFT-SAPT can be employed to compute the full potential energy surface of these dimers. Moreover, DFT-SAPT calculations showed that the electrostatic and dispersion contributions are the most important energy components stabilizing these dimers. The present study aims to show which theoretical method is the most promising one for the investigation of intermolecular interactions dominated by π–π and CH···N. Therefore, the findings obtained in this study can be used to unravel the structures of nucleic acid bases and other systems stabilized by π–π and CH···N interactions.