Cerium effect on the phase structure, phase stability and redox properties of Ce-doped strontium ferrates

Nanostructured perovskite-type Sr_1−aCe_aFeO_3−x, (0?a<0.15) powders have been prepared by citrate-nitrate smoldering auto-combustion. Their phase structure and stability, surface and morphological properties, reduction behavior and interaction with oxygen have been investigated by X-ray Powder Diffraction combined with Rietveld Analysis, ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopies, N₂-adsorption method, Temperature Programmed Reduction and Oxidation experiments. Our results reveal that citrate-nitrate auto-combustion method is effective in obtaining single phase Sr_1−aCe_aFeO_3−x. The Sr_1−aCe_aFeO_3−x structure is cubic only for a?0.06, while for a<0.06 remains tetragonal. Moreover, for a?0.06 after semi-reductive treatment under inert gas, an expanded cubic phase is obtained instead of the brownmillerite-type structure, which is known to have ordered vacancies. Stabilization of octahedral Fe³⁺ by cerium doping appears to be the main factor in determining the structural properties of Sr_1−aCe_aFeO_3−x. The highest oxygen consumption for Ce-doped SrFeO₃ occurs for a=0.06. Preliminary impedance measurements show that Sr_0.94Ce_0.06FeO_3−x has the lowest area-specific resistance.     

Influence of vapor transport equilibration on Raman spectra of Er:LiNbO3 crystals

Raman spectra of as-grown and vapor transport equilibration (VTE) treated Er:LiNbO₃ crystals, which have different cut orientations (X-cut and Z-cut), different Er-doping levels (Er:(0.2, 0.4 and 2.0 mol%)LiNbO₃) and different VTE durations (80, 120, 150 and 180 h), were recorded at room temperature in the wavenumber range 50-1000 cm⁻¹ by using backward scattering geometry. The spectra were attributed on the basis of their spectral features and the previous experimental work and the most recent theoretical progress in lattice dynamics on pure LiNbO₃. In comparison with the pure crystal the most remarkable effect of Er-doping on the Raman spectrum is observed for the E(TO₉) mode. It does not appear at 610 cm⁻¹ as the pure crystal, but locates at 633 cm⁻¹. In addition, the doping also results in the lowering of the Raman phonon frequency, the broadening of the Raman linewidth and the changes of the relative Raman intensity of some peaks. The VTE treatment results in the narrowing of the linewidth, the recovery of the lowered phonon frequency and the further changes of relative Raman intensity. The narrowing of Raman linewidth indicates that the VTE processing has brought these crystals closer to stoichiometric composition. The VTE treatment has induced the formation of a precipitate ErNbO₄ in the high-doped Er(2.0%):LiNbO₃ crystals whether X- or Z-cut. For these precipitated crystals, besides above linewidth and phonon frequency features, they also display more significant Raman intensity changes compared with those not precipitated crystals. In addition, a slight mixing between A₁(TO) and E(TO) spectra is also observed for these precipitated crystals. Above doping and VTE effects on Raman spectra were quantitatively or qualitatively correlated with the characteristics of the crystal structure and phonon vibrational system.     

切向气流对激光加热材料的影响

 在重复频率YAG激光加载下，研究了30CrMnSiA钢片分别处于空气自然对流和切向强迫气流环境中不同的温度响应。实验用红外热像仪对靶前表面的温度进行了实时诊断，结果表明，在激光作用下，靶材的温升与靶前表面的对流换热状况有较大的关系，当靶面存在马赫数为0.1左右的切向气流时，材料的温升曲线明显低于靶处于空气自然对流环境下的温升曲线，气流与靶面的对流换热使得材料的激光加工所需能量或功率增加。这与应用热边界层换热动力学理论得到的结论一致。     

Multiobjective routing problems

Summary Many network routing problems, particularly where the transportation of hazardous materials is involved, are multiobjective in nature; that is, it is desired to optimise not only physical path length but other features as well. Several such problems are defined here and a general framework for multiobjective routing problems is proposed. The notion of “efficient solution” is defined and it is demonstrated, by means of an example, that a problem may have very many solutions which are efficient. Next, potentially useful solution methods for multiobjective routing problems are discussed with emphasis being placed on the use of shortest/k-shortest path techniques. Finally, some directions for possible further research are indicated. Invited by B. Pelegrin     

Evidence for pinning by (Sr,Ca)2CuOy particles in partial-melting processed bulk Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ ceramics

Flux distributions of partial-melting processed Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ ceramics are obtained using magneto-optic imaging. In remanent states (μ₀H_a=0 T), large amounts of trapped flux are observed along (Sr,Ca)₂CuO_y particles embedded in the Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ matrix. Despite the relatively large size of these particles (up to 30 μm), the pinning effect is similar to that of Y₂BaCuO₅ particles in melt-processed YBa₂Cu₃O_7−δ. Furthermore, we discuss how the pinning capability of non-superconducting particles of different sizes and densities will show up in magneto-optic images.     

Viscoelastic characterization of compacted pharmaceutical excipient materials by analysis of frequency-dependent mechanical relaxation processes

A newly developed method for determining the frequency-dependent complex Young's modulus was employed to analyze the mechanical response of compacted microcrystalline cellulose, sorbitol, ethyl cellulose and starch for frequencies up to 20 kHz. A Debye-like relaxation was observed in all the studied pharmaceutical excipient materials and a comparison with corresponding dielectric spectroscopy data was made. The location in frequency of the relaxation peak was shown to correlate to the measured tensile strength of the tablets, and the relaxation was interpreted as the vibrational response of the interparticle hydrogen and van der Waals bindings in the tablets. Further, the measured relaxation strength, holding information about the energy loss involved in the relaxation processes, showed that the weakest material in terms of tensile strength, starch, is the material among the four tested ones that is able to absorb the most energy within its structure when exposed to external perturbations inducing vibrations in the studied frequency range. The results indicate that mechanical relaxation analysis performed over relatively broad frequency ranges should be useful for predicting material properties of importance for the functionality of a material in applications such as, e.g., drug delivery, drug storage and handling, and also for clarifying the origin of hitherto unexplained molecular processes.     

Pearling instabilities in water-dispersed copolymer cylinders with charged brushes

We investigate the structural behavior of a poly(styrene)-block-poly(acrylic acid) diblock copolymer which forms hexagonally-packed PS cylinders (C-phase) in the melt state. The water dispersion of this structure provides hairy cylinders which comprise a PAA swollen cylindrical brush with a height h tunable via its degree of ionization and the ionic strength in the solution, and a water-free, PS cylindrical core of constant radius R_C. Such system constitutes an out-of-equilibrium frustrated model system: the selective swelling of the PAA brush results in a frustration of the interface curvature, which the ratio h/R_C allows to quantify. Upon heating at a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the PS core, the glassiness of the core is relieved and the mechanical constraints arising from the selective swelling of the structure can be relaxed: the cylinders undergo a cylinder-to-sphere transition upon annealing at high temperature, when above a frustration threshold h/R_C 1.8. Thanks to a careful mapping of the transition diagram, an undulating cylindrical morphology (UC) is identified between unchanged cylinders ( h/R_C 1.8) and spheres ( h/R_C 2.0), which appears to result from a Rayleigh-like pearling instability of the copolymer cylinders.     

Microstructural prototyping of ceramics by kinetic engineering: applications of spark plasma sintering

The significance of kinetics on the development of microstructures in connection with sintering of ceramics is well recognized. In practice, however, it still remains a challenge to prepare designed microstructures via engineering the sintering kinetics because of an insufficient understanding of the different operative mechanisms that are in many cases overlapping. In this article the kinetic issues involved in sintering are described and discussed with respect to their potential for prototyping microstructures that yield desired properties. By exploiting and mastering the differences present in the kinetics of grain sliding, densification, chemical reactions, and grain growth, respectively, we have established processing principles for producing bulk ceramics with microstructures consisting of nano-sized grains, aligned grains, and/or non-equilibrium-phase constitutions, and for achieving radically improved superplasticity in brittle ceramics. Although the studies quoted in this article were mainly carried out by spark plasma sintering, more general implications of them are expected, including efficient particle sliding, deformation-induced dynamic ripening, superplastic deformation-induced dynamic ripening, and non-equilibrium integration.     

Investigation of scattering of elastic waves by cylinders in 1-3 piezocomposites

The scattering behavior of P-waves in piezoelectric composites with 1–3 connectivity is studied. The method of wave function expansion is adopted for the theoretical derivations. Analytical expressions are obtained for the distributions of mechanical displacement in z-direction along the circumferences of piezoelectric cylinders. These solutions are used to study the influence of each element of the stiffness matrix and the piezoelectric matrix on the various resonant modes of vibration. Numerical results obtained indicate that perturbations of the elements c₄₄ and e₁₅ significantly affect resonant frequencies and amplitudes, perturbations of c₁₁ and c₁₂ have pronounced effects on resonant modes of high frequencies also. However, the resonant modes are not so sensitive to the perturbations of c₁₃, e₃₁ and e₃₃. The dynamic characteristics of 1–3 connectivity piezoelectric composites exposed here are meaningful for the design and manufacture of sensor/actuator elements by this kind of composites as well as the on-line health monitoring of the mechanical properties variations of the composites itself.