Dimensional scaling of flame propagation in discrete particulate clouds

The critical dimension necessary for a flame to propagate in suspensions of fuel particles in oxidiser is studied analytically and numerically. Two types of models are considered: First, a continuum model, wherein the individual particulate sources are not resolved and the heat release is assumed spatially uniform, is solved via conventional finite difference techniques. Second, a discrete source model, wherein the heat diffusion from individual sources is modelled via superposition of the Green's function of each source, is employed to examine the influence of the random, discrete nature of the media. Heat transfer to cold, isothermal walls and to a layer of inert gas surrounding the reactive medium are considered as the loss mechanisms. Both cylindrical and rectangular (slab) geometries of the reactive medium are considered, and the flame speed is measured as a function of the diameter and thickness of the domains, respectively. In the continuum model with inert gas confinement, a universal scaling of critical diameter to critical thickness near 2:1 is found. In the discrete source model, as the time scale of heat release of the sources is made small compared to the interparticle diffusion time, the geometric scaling between cylinders and slabs exhibits values greater than 2:1. The ability of the flame in the discrete regime to propagate in thinner slabs than predicted by continuum scaling is attributed to the flame being able to exploit local fluctuations in concentration across the slab to sustain propagation. As the heat release time of the sources is increased, the discrete source model reverts back to results consistent with the continuum model. Implications of these results for experiments are discussed.     

Strong Pauli paramagnetic effect in the upper critical field of KCa2Fe4As4F2

Recently, 12442 system of Fe-based superconductors has attracted considerable attention owing to its unique double-Fe As-layer structure. A steep increase in the in-plane upper critical field with cooling has been observed near the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, in KCa2Fe4As4F2 single crystals. Herein, we report a high-field investigation on upper critical field of this material over a wide temperature range, and both out-of-plane(H∥c, Hc2c) and in-plane(H∥ab, Hc2ab ) directions have been measured.A sublinear temperature-dependent behavior is observed for the out-of-plane Hc2c , whereas strong convex curvature with cooling is observed for the in-plane Hc2ab . Such behaviors could not be described by the conventional Werthamer-Helfand-Hohenberg(WHH) model. The data analysis based on the WHH model by considering the spin aspects reveals a large Maki parameter α=9,indicating that the in-plane upper critical field is affected by a very strong Pauli paramagnetic effect.     

In原子在GaAs(001)表面的成核与扩散研究

近年来,半导体量子点特别是InAs量子点的基本物理性质和潜在应用得到了广泛研究。许多研究者利用InAs量子点结构的改变以调制其光电特性。本文采用液滴外延法在GaAs(001)表面沉积了不同沉积量的In(3 ML、4 ML、5 ML),以研究In的成核机制和表面扩散。实验发现,随着In沉积量的增加,液滴尺寸(包括直径、高度)明显增大。不仅如此,在相同的衬底温度下,沉积量越大,液滴密度越大。利用经典成核理论,计算了GaAs(001)表面In液滴形成的临界厚度为0.57 ML,计算的结果与已报道的实验一致。从In原子在表面的迁移和扩散,以及衬底中Ga和液滴中的In之间的原子互混原理解释了In液滴形成和形貌演化的机理。实验中得到的In液滴临界厚度以及In液滴在GaAs(001)上成核机理,可以为制备InAs量子点提供实验指导。     

The electronic properties and electron transport of sawtooth penta-graphene nanoribbon under uniaxial strain: ab-initio study

ABSTRACT

The electronic properties and electron transport of a sawtooth penta-graphene nanoribbon (SSPGNR) under uniaxial strains are theoretically studied by density-functional theory (DFT) in combination with the non-equilibrium Green's function formalism. We investigated the electronic structures and the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of the SSPGNRs under a sequence of uniaxial strains in range from 10% compression to 10% stretch. In this strained range, carbon atoms still keep a pentagon network, but with the changing bond lengths. The C–C bond lengths change almost linearly with the tolerable strain. The value of the band gap of SSPGNRs can be depicted as a parabola under uniaxial strain. Our calculations show that the current is monotonous increase with compressive strain at the same applied bias voltage. In case of tensile strain, the variable rule of the current is different that it increases at first and decrease later. The fundamental physical properties (band structure, I–V characteristic) of SSPGNRs seem to be more sensitive to compressive strain than the stretch strain. The current intensity of the compressive-SSPGNR is by 2 orders of magnitude compared to that of the tensile-SSPGNR at the same strain in range from 6% to 10%. The results obtained from our calculations are beneficial to practical applications of these strained structures in SSPGNRs-based electromechanical devices.     

近壁面柱体涡激振动的迟滞效应

柱体涡激振动是典型的流固耦合问题,其响应规律标识码在升速流动和远离壁面条件下获得的. 而自然环境流动通常不断经历升速和降速过程,近壁面柱体的涡激振动可呈现与远离标识码体不同的响应特征. 本研究结合大型波流水槽,设计了具有微结构阻尼的柱体涡激振动装置. 基于量纲分析,开展系列水槽标识码验,通过同步测量柱体涡激振动位移时程和绕流流场变化,研究了升降流速作用下柱体涡激振动触发和停振的临界速度(即上临标识码临界速度)变化规律,探究了近壁面柱体涡激振动迟滞效应. 采用自下向上激光扫射的 PIV 流场测量系统,对比分析了固定柱体标识码振动柱体的绕流特征. 实验观测表明,近壁面柱体涡激振动触发的临界速度呈现随壁面间距比减小而逐渐减小的变化趋势;但标识码速条件下的涡激振动停振所对应的下临界速度却明显小于升速时的涡激振动触发所对应的上临界速度. 采用上临界与下临界约标识码差值可定量表征涡激振动迟滞程度,研究发现该值随着柱体间距比减小呈线性增大趋势. 涡激振动迟滞现象通常伴随振幅阶跃标识码阶跃值则随着间距比减小而非线性减小.      

Observation of field induced anomalous quantum criticality in Ce0.6Y0.4NiGe2 compound

We report the results of our investigation of magnetization and heat capacity on a series of compounds Ce${}_{1?x}$Y_xNiGe₂ ($x=0.1,0.2\text{ and }0.4$) under the influence of external magnetic field. Our studies of the thermodynamic quantity $?\mathrm{d}M/\mathrm{d}T$ on these compounds indicate that magnetic frustration persists in Ce_0.9Y_0.1NiGe₂, as also reported for the parent compound CeNiGe₂. The weak signature of this frustration is also noted in Ce_0.8Y_0.2NiGe₂, whereas, it is suppressed in Ce_0.6Y_0.4NiGe₂. Heat capacity studies on Ce_0.9Y_0.1NiGe₂ and Ce_0.8Y_0.2NiGe₂ indicate the presence of a new magnetic anomaly at high field which indicates that quantum criticality is absent in these compounds. However, for Ce_0.6Y_0.4NiGe₂ such an anomaly is not noted. For this later compound, the magnetic field (H) and temperature (T) dependence of heat capacity and magnetization obey $H/T$ scaling above critical fields. However, the obtained scaling critical parameter (δ) is 1.6, which is away from mean field value of 3. This deviation suggests the presence of unusual fluctuations and anomalous quantum criticality in these compounds. This unusual fluctuation may arise from disorderness induced by Y-substitution.     

The double deflating technique for irreducible singular M-matrix algebraic Riccati equations in the critical case

As is known, Alternating-Directional Doubling Algorithm (ADDA) is quadratically convergent for computing the minimal nonnegative solution of an irreducible singular M-matrix algebraic Riccati equation (MARE) in the noncritical case or a nonsingular MARE, but ADDA is only linearly convergent in the critical case. The drawback can be overcome by deflating techniques for an irreducible singular MARE so that the speed of quadratic convergence is still preserved in the critical case and accelerated in the noncritical case. In this paper, we proposed an improved deflating technique to accelerate further the convergence speed – the double deflating technique for an irreducible singular MARE in the critical case. We proved that ADDA is quadratically convergent instead of linearly when it is applied to the deflated algebraic Riccati equation (ARE) obtained by a double deflating technique. We also showed that the double deflating technique is better than the deflating technique from the perspective of dimension of the deflated ARE. Numerical experiments are provided to illustrate that our double deflating technique is effective.     

Lower critical solution temperature sensitivity to structural changes in poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) homopolymers

The effect of the molecular weight on the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) has been discussed extensively, where LCST increased with molar mass, decreased or kept constant, which leads to confusion. This work is focused on the preparation of poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) homopolymers, obtained in a wide molecular weights range. The LCST behavior is analyzed by calorimetry and rheology, and a deep study of molecular features is carried out for a better knowledge of the influence of various parameters involved on LCST. Finally, the molecular weight trend is observed, and its influence on LCST is compared with the effect of other parameters as polymer concentration in water, end‐group effect, and tacticity. It is observed that other parameters such tacticity and end‐group effect will affect the LCST behavior over molecular weight, if this one is not high enough. Furthermore, the study of the LCST ranges will be a useful tool for analyzing the molecular weight trends. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2019 , 57, 1386–1393