Influence of Competition Between Binary Pairwise Interactions on the Phase Behavior in Ternary Blends

There are three binary pairs in a ternary blend and competition exists among these pairwise interactions owing to the asymmetry of the interaction energies between these binary pairs, which will determine the overall phase behavior of the blend. The influence of molecular weight of the components on the asymmetry of the interactions was discussed based on a ternary copolymer blend poly(styrene-co-acrylonitile)/poly(styrene-comethylmethacrylate/poly(methyl methacrylate-co-acrylonitile) (SAN/SMMA/MAN). It has been demonstrated that the asymmetry of the interactions between different binary polymer pairs is driven not only by the difference of interaction parameters, i.e. the so-called Δξ effect, but also by the difference of chain length between different components in the mixture. If the two effects are coincident with each other, the asymmetry of the interactions will be intensified, promoting phase separation. On the other hand, the compatibility of the system may be improved remarkably as the two factors are in opposite directions. It implies that a miscible ternary blend may be available simply by exchanging the order of the molecular weight between the different components against the asymmetry direction caused by their corresponding interaction parameters, which is easier to do in many experimental conditions. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A flow control mechanism in wing flapping with stroke asymmetry during insect forward flight

A theoretical modeling approach as well as an unsteady analytical method is used to study aerodynamic characteristics of wing flapping with asymmetric stroke-cycles in connection with an oblique stroke plane during insect forward flight. It is revealed that the aerodynamic asymmetry between the downstroke and the upstroke due to stroke-asymmetrical flapping is a key to understand the flow physics of generation and modulation of the lift and the thrust. Predicted results for examples of given kinematics validate more specifically some viewpoints that the wing lift is more easily produced when the forward speed is higher and the thrust is harder, and the lift and the thrust are generated mainly during downstroke and upstroke, respectively. The effects of three controlling parameters, i.e. the angles of tilted stroke plane, the different downstroke duration ratios, and the different angles of attack in both down- and up-stroke, are further discussed. It is found that larger oblique angles of stroke planes generate larger thrust but smaller lift; larger downstroke duration ratios lead to larger thrust, while making little change in lift and input aerodynamic power; and again, a small increase of the angle of attack in downstroke or upstroke may cause remarkable changes in aerodynamic performance in the relevant stroke.The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10072066, 90305009) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX-SW-L04, KJCX2-SW-L2)The English text was polished by Ron Marshall.     

Exclusive Semileptonic Rare Decays B→K(*)ℓ+ℓ- in a Top Quark Two-Higgs-Doublet Model

Employing improved calculations of the decay form factors from light-cone sum rules, we evaluate the invariant mass spectrum, forward-backward asymmetry, and lepton polarizations of the exclusive processes B→K^(*)ℓ⁺ℓ^- in the SM and T2HDM. From the recent measurements of their branching ratios, we find that these processes do provide additional bounds on the new parameters in the model considered here. After the inclusion of the new physics contributions, the large enhancement of FBA, which is unobservably small within the SM and of the lepton polarization at large tanβ, may precisely test the SM or reveal new physics in forthcoming accurate experiments.     

Synthesis of miktoarm star (μ-star) polymers

The synthetic strategies available for the synthesis of miktoarm star (μ-star) polymers with molecular weight, chemical, or topological asymmetry are reviewed. All strategies are based on functional living polymer chains and linking agents. Although each strategy has its weak and strong points, it seems that anionic polymerization combined with chlorosilane methodology yields the widest variety of model single and double μ-stars. These novel architectures open new horizons in polymer science and technology. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 857–871, 1999     

Effect of cellulose nanofiber on the dynamically asymmetric phase separation in epoxy/polysulfone blends

Significant effect of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) on cure‐induced phase separation in dynamically asymmetric system is reported. An epoxy/polysulfone blends with typical layered structure formation was chosen as the polymer matrix, and morphology evolution and rheological behavior of systems with different nano‐size fiber loadings upon curing reaction were investigated using optical microscopy and rheological measurement. CNF distributed uniformly in the polymer matrix and had good interaction with polymer chains. Curing reaction of epoxy was promoted by CNF, making the system gel and phase separate earlier. Meanwhile, system viscosity was increased with CNF addition, and the movement of polymer chains and component diffusion were constrained, as a result, the structure evolution process was slowed down. The CNF altered the final morphologies, resulting in refined structures with smaller characteristic length scales or even completely change the morphologies from the layered structures to a bicontinuous structure when the CNF concentration reached to a relatively high level. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1357–1366     

Azimuthal asymmetry of coherent Cherenkov radiation from a tilted bunch

Modern accelerator technologies may provide electron beams consisting of ultrashort bunches with transverse sizes, which are much larger than longitudinal sizes. The spectral-angular characteristics of coherent Cherenkov radiation (CChR) produced by such bunches have thus been considered. We simulated the characteristics of CChR and those from a single charge on the basis of the polarization current model, which allowed us to consider finite sizes for the Cherenkov radiator. We calculated the angular distribution of the CChR from a bunch tilted by angle ψ, with respect to the velocity direction, with the assumption of a 3-D Gaussian charge distribution in the bunch. Contrary to the azimuthally symmetrical distribution of conventional ChR, a strong azimuthal asymmetry was observed in the CChR from the tilted bunch. The maximal yield of the CChR may be achieved if the tilt angle ψ coincides with the Cherenkov angle ${\mathrm{\Theta }}_{\text{ch}}=\arccos ?(1/n\beta )$, βc is the charge velocity and n is the refraction index.     

Pricing in a supply chain for auction bidding under information asymmetry

We examine a supply chain in which a manufacturer participates in a sealed-bid lowest price procurement auction through a distributor. This form of supply chain is common when a manufacturer is active in an overseas market without establishing a local subsidiary. To gain a strategic advantage in the division of profit, the manufacturer and distributor may intentionally conceal information about the underlying cost distribution of the competition. In this environment of information asymmetry, we determine the equilibrium mark-up, the ex-ante expected mark-up and expected profit of the manufacturer and the equilibrium bid of the distributor. In unilateral communication, we demonstrate the informed agent’s advantage resulting to higher mark-up. Under information sharing, we show that profit is equally shared among the supply chain partners and we explicitly derive the mark-up when the underlying cost distribution is uniform in [0, 1]. The model and findings are illustrated by a numerical example.     

Higher-order rogue waves with controllable fission and asymmetry localized in a (3 + 1)-dimensional generalized Boussinesq equation

The purpose of this paper is to report the feasibility of constructing high-order rogue waves with controllable fission and asymmetry for high-dimensional nonlinear evolution equations.Such a nonlinear model considered in this paper as the concrete example is the(3+1)-dimensional generalized Boussinesq(gB) equation,and the corresponding method is Zhaqilao’s symbolic computation approach containing two embedded parameters.It is indicated by the(3+1)-dimensional gB equation that the embedded param...     

Mechanical behavior of high density polyethylene and its carbon nanocomposites under quasi-static and dynamic compressive and tensile loadings

The main objective was to characterize and compare the tensile and compressive mechanical behavior of polymer nanocomposites under both quasi-static and dynamic compressive and tensile loadings. The materials studied included HDPE (high density polyethylene), HDPE/CNF (carbon nanofiber) and HDPE/CNF-GNP (graphite nanoplatelet). Microstructure analyses were also conducted to gain insight into the possible deformation and fracture mechanisms for the observed macroscopic mechanical behavior. The tensile strengths were observed to be lower than the corresponding compression strengths under dynamic loadings, but higher under static loadings. Regarding the strengthening effects due to nanofillers, it was observed that addition of GNP appeared to have somewhat reduced the compressive strength, but improved the tensile strength. Possible mechanisms for the observed tension-compression asymmetry exhibited by both the macroscopic behavior and the reinforcement effects are discussed.     

Calculation of photoionization differential cross sections using complex Gauss‐type orbitals

Accurate theoretical calculation of photoelectron angular distributions for general molecules is becoming an important tool to image various chemical reactions in real time. We show in this article that not only photoionization total cross sections but also photoelectron angular distributions can be accurately calculated using complex Gauss‐type orbital (cGTO) basis functions. Our method can be easily combined with existing quantum chemistry techniques including electron correlation effects, and applied to various molecules. The so‐called two‐potential formula is applied to represent the transition dipole moment from an initial bound state to a final continuum state in the molecular coordinate frame. The two required continuum functions, the zeroth‐order final continuum state and the first‐order wave function induced by the photon field, have been variationally obtained using the complex basis function method with a mixture of appropriate cGTOs and conventional real Gauss‐type orbitals (GTOs) to represent the continuum orbitals as well as the remaining bound orbitals. The complex orbital exponents of the cGTOs are optimized by fitting to the outgoing Coulomb functions. The efficiency of the current method is demonstrated through the calculations of the asymmetry parameters and molecular‐frame photoelectron angular distributions of and . In the calculations of , the static exchange and random phase approximations are employed, and the dependence of the results on the basis functions is discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.