Mechanical and Thermal Properties of Polypropylene/Silica Aerogel Composites

Polypropylene (PP) composites including various amounts of silica aerogel (SA) microparticles were prepared by melt mixing in an internal mixer. The morphology and microstructure of the prepared composites were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Mechanical properties of the samples, including elastic modulus, tensile stress, elongation and stress at break, were measured by tensile tests. In addition, the other mechanical features, including Izod impact strength, hardness and wear resistance, were evaluated and then related to the structure of the PP/SA composites. Furthermore, the thermal characteristics of the composites, such as heat deflection temperature and thermal stability, were studied by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The SEM photographs indicated the satisfactory SA particles dispersion for the compositions of 1% and 3% but agglomeration of the aerogels at higher SA contents. Since the composites became stiffer, the impact and tensile strength decreased. The addition of the SA to the PP matrix yielded harder samples with lower weight loss and coefficients of friction in wear tests. The TGA evaluations confirmed that the presence of SA promoted and upgraded the thermal stability and heat deflection temperature of PP. The thermal results proved the superior potential of PP as an insulator when the SA particles were added.     

积雪-荒漠植被及其组合反射光谱特征观测实验及分析

光谱混合机制研究对混合像元解算具有一定指导意义。利用全波段光谱仪累积期和消融期对规则和非规则分布模式下积雪-荒漠植被混合像元及纯净积雪和荒漠植被像元控制式采集反射光谱。K-均值法计算采集影像积雪和荒漠植被面积比并分析其对应混合像元光谱变化特征以获取更加精细的光谱特征信息,准同步Tetracam ADC3(Agricultural Digital Camera 3)采集图像并计算典型指数,从微观尺度上证实了混合像元主要出现在地类边界处。结果发现,1 456～1 697 nm粗粒径冻结雪反射光谱高于新雪反射光谱,新雪反射光谱明显高于陈雪;因冻结覆冰,荒漠植被光谱为积雪、冰晶和植被枝干混合光谱信息,新降积雪覆盖植被光谱特征为积雪和植被枝干的混合光谱信息,不存在常规绿色植被“红边”效应;采集角度为5°和10°时光谱低于垂直角度采集光谱,角度大于10°随角度增加荒漠植被光谱逐渐增大。像元内各个组成物质的面积比及所处像元的位置、采集角度和方向都会影响混合像元的光谱组合信息。     

Phenomenology of Friedberg-Lee Texture in Left-Right Symmetric Model

We consider that the Higgs triplet Yukawa coupling takes the Friedberg-Lee texture, and the Higgs doublet Yukawa coupling simply identifies with the diagonal Yutawa coupling of charged lepton in the context of left-right symmetric model. In this scenario, the phenomenology, including effective neutrino masses, mixings, and thermal flavor-dependent leptogenesis and lepton flavor violation decays are studied. We investigate the combined constrain of the parameters in this scenario and test its consistency with present data.     

The dynamical mixing of light and pseudoscalar fields

We solve the general problem of mixing of electromagnetic and scalar or pseudoscalar fields coupled by axion-type interactions L _int = g _ϕ ϕε _μναβ F ^μν F ^αβ . The problem depends on several dimensionful scales, including the magnitude and direction of background magnetic field, the pseudoscalar mass, plasma frequency, propagation frequency, wave number, and finally the pseudoscalar coupling. We apply the results to the first consistent calculations of the mixing of light propagating in a background magnetic field of varying directions, which show a great variety of fascinating resonant and polarization effects.      

Probe of I(Pj) atoms using two-photon resonant four-wave mixing spectroscopy following the 266-nm photodissociations of various alkyl and perfluoroalkyl iodides

Two-photon resonant four-wave mixing spectroscopy has been utilized successfully for probing I and I^∗ nascent from the 266 nm photodissociations of various alkyl and perfluoroalkyl iodides. The relative quantum yields for I^∗, as well as the recoil anisotropy parameters, were extracted. Recoil anisotropy parameters close to the limit value for parallel transition indicates that the ground-state I(²P_3/2) originates from the curve crossing from the initially prepared ³Q₀ to ¹Q₁ state. The curve-crossing probabilities for alkyl and perfluoroalkyl iodides were obtained and tried to explain using the well-known Landau-Zener model. In the cases of perfluoroalkyl iodides, it is necessary to consider the fluorination effect to describe the detailed dynamics observed in this study and has been revealed that the electronic effect due to fluorine atom substitution is dominant, leading to decrease in the curve-crossing probability.     

Narrow band optical filter in fluorescein doped boric acid glass saturable absorber thin films

We demonstrate narrow band optical filter like frequency response with full width half maximum (FWHM) of nearly (1.75 ± 0.25) Hz in fluorescein doped boric acid glass films [10⁻⁴ M], using modulated optical phase conjugation and a nearly non-degenerate four wave mixing technique. Modulated optical phase conjugation signals are described in the limit of a weak probe and relatively strong pump beams. Both pump beams are of nearly equal intensity at a wavelength of 514.5 nm from a continuous-wave Ar⁺ laser. The probe beam frequency has been detuned with a ramp signal using a piezo electric mirror.     

Effects of the Reynolds number on a scale-similarity model of Lagrangian velocity correlations in isotropic turbulent flows

A scale-similarity model of a two-point two-time Lagrangian velocity correlation(LVC) was originally developed for the relative dispersion of tracer particles in isotropic turbulent flows(HE, G. W., JIN, G. D., and ZHAO, X. Scale-similarity model for Lagrangian velocity correlations in isotropic and stationary turbulence. Physical Review E, 80, 066313(2009)). The model can be expressed as a two-point Eulerian space correlation and the dispersion velocity V. The dispersion velocity denotes the rate at which one moving particle departs from another fixed particle. This paper numerically validates the robustness of the scale-similarity model at high Taylor micro-scale Reynolds numbers up to 373, which are much higher than the original values(R_λ = 66, 102). The effect of the Reynolds number on the dispersion velocity in the scale-similarity model is carefully investigated. The results show that the scale-similarity model is more accurate at higher Reynolds numbers because the two-point Lagrangian velocity correlations with different initial spatial separations collapse into a universal form compared with a combination of the initial separation and the temporal separation via the dispersion velocity.Moreover, the dispersion velocity V normalized by the Kolmogorov velocity V_η≡η/τ_η in which η and τ_η are the Kolmogorov space and time scales, respectively, scales with the Reynolds number R_λ as V/V_η∝ R_λ~(1.39) obtained from the numerical data.     

Particle mixing rates using the two-fluid model

In this work, a new methodology is introduced to calculate the solids mixing rate in dense gas-fluidized beds using the two-fluid model. The implementation of this methodology into an existing two-fluid model code was carefully verified. The solids phase continuity equation was satisfied using our method, and the sensitivity of the computational results to the time step, computational cell size, and discretization scheme was investigated to determine the optimal simulation settings. Using these simulation settings, the degree of solids mixing was observed to rapidly (exponentially) increase with increasing operating pressure and linearly decrease with increasing bed diameter. Our novel methodology can be applied to analyze mixing processes in large lab-scale beds as an alternative to existing time-consuming simulation techniques such as computational fluid dynamics combined with the discrete element model.     

Anthropogenic changes of nitrogen loads in a small river: external nutrient sources vs. internal turnover processes

Anthropogenic nutrient inputs increase the N-load in many aquatic systems, leading to eutrophication and potential changes of biological N-retention capacity. In this study, nitrate inputs in a small river were investigated along a gradient of anthropogenic influence. We aimed to determine changes in nitrate load and isotope signatures in the water column and to identify the anthropogenic influence on biological nitrogen assimilation and nitrification or denitrification in sediments. In seasonal sampling campaigns, we analysed dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations, and stable isotopes of nitrate. To differentiate rates of nitrate production and consumption in the pristine vs. agricultural river section, intact sediment cores were incubated with ¹⁵N-labelled nitrate. δ¹⁵N values of nitrate in the pristine river section were low, reflecting natural sources, but, as expected, increased with nitrate concentration in all seasons along the gradient. In general, nitrate retention and consumption were higher in the anthropogenically impacted than in the pristine river section, and nitrate consumption exceeded production. In addition to our measurements, modelled results also show that even in a small river, the anthropogenically enhanced consumption capacity is overwhelmed by surplus N-inputs, and nitrate consumption cannot increase in turn with external loads.     

An energy sum constraint of event mixing for Bose-Einstein correlations in reactions with ππX final states around 1 GeV

We present a new event mixing technique for measuring two-pion Bose-Einstein correlations(BEC)in reactions with only two identical bosons among three final state particles.This new mixing method contains a missing mass consistency(MMC)cut and an energy sum order(ESO)cut.Unlike the previous proposed pion energy cut,which abandons nearly half the original events,the ESO cut does not eliminate any original events and hence improves the statistics of both original events and mixed events.Numerical tests using theγp→π~0π~0p events around1 Ge V are carried out to verify the validity of the ESO cut.This cut is able to reproduce the relative momentum distribution of the original events in the absence of BEC effects.In addition,its ability to observe BEC effects is tested by an event sample in the presence of BEC effects.Simulation results show the BEC effects can be observed clearly as an enhancement in the correlation function,and the BEC parameters extracted by this event mixing cut are consistent with the input BEC parameters.