The interaction between crack and electric dipole of piezoelectricity

Discrete dipoles located near the crack tip play an important role in nonlinear electric field induced fracture of piezoelectric ceramics. A physico-mathematical model of dipole is constructed of two generalized concentrated piezoelectric forces with equal density and opposite sign. The interaction between crack and electric dipole in piezoelectricity is analyzed. The closed form solutions, including those for stress and electric displacement, crack opening displacement and electric potential, are obtained. The function of piezoelectric anisotropic direction,p _a (θ)=cosθ+p _a sinθ, can be used to express the influence of a dipole's direction. In the case that a dipole locates near crack tip, the piezoelectric stress intensity factor is a power function with −3/2 index of the distance between dipole and crack tip. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(No. 10072033)     

Stable high-dimensional solitons in nonlocal competing cubic-quintic nonlinear media

We find and stabilize high-dimensional dipole and quadrupole solitons in nonlocal competing cubic-quintic nonlinear media. By adjusting the propagation constant, cubic, and quintic nonlinear coefficients, the stable intervals for dipole and quadrupole solitons that are parallel to the x-axis and those after rotating 45° counterclockwise around the origin of coordinate are found. For the dipole solitons and those after rotation, their stability is controlled by the propagation constant, the coefficients of cubic and quintic nonlinearity. The stability of quadrupole solitons is controlled by the propagation constant and the coefficient of cubic nonlinearity, rather than the coefficient of quintic nonlinearity, though there is a small effect of the quintic nonlinear coefficient on the stability. Our proposal may provide a way to generate and stabilize some novel high-dimensional nonlinear modes in a nonlocal system.     

薄膜型声学超材料的结构设计与隔声特性*

为探讨薄膜型声学超材料用于汽车前围声学包、提高其中低频隔声能力的可行性,设计一种米字摆臂多质量块薄膜型声学超材料,构建其隔声分析有限元模型 ,分析其隔声特性及影响因素,开展结构优化及其在汽车前围声学包上的应用探索。研究表明,所设计的薄膜型声学超材料单胞在中低频区域具有较宽的隔声频带;增加薄膜上质量块半径或厚度会使传声损失曲线整体向低频区域移动,且质量块半径的增加还会拓宽高频区域的隔声频带;增加薄膜厚度或预应力会使传声损失曲线整体向高频区域移动;优化后的薄膜型声学超材料与钢板组合应用于汽车前围板,可明显提高其中低频隔声能力。     

压电管堆式宽带换能器*

研究了一种具有管状叠堆结构的圆管换能器,其敏感元件是由纵向极化压电陶瓷单元组成的薄壁管状压电叠堆,探讨利用管状叠堆纵向和径向振动耦合实现宽带发射。利用压电柱壳振动理论推导了管堆的频率方程,分析了换能器的纵向和径向模态的振动耦合特性。在理论分析的基础上利用有限元方法对换能器的带宽和发射电压响应进行优化并研制换能器样机。测试结果表明,纵向极化的管状压电叠堆结构具有良好的发射电压响应和宽带特性,与理论及仿真结果相符。     

Multi-time scale characterization of acoustic droplet vaporization and payload release of phase-shift emulsions using high-speed microscopy

Acoustic droplet vaporization (ADV) is the phase-transitioning of perfluorocarbon emulsions, termed phase-shift emulsions, into bubbles using focused ultrasound. ADV has been utilized in many biomedical applications. For localized drug release, phase-shift emulsions with a bioactive payload can be incorporated within a hydrogel to yield an acoustically-responsive scaffold (ARS). The dynamics of ADV and associated drug release within hydrogels are not well understood. Additionally, emulsions used in ARSs often contain high molecular weight perfluorocarbons, which is unique relative to other ADV applications. In this study, we used ultra-high-speed brightfield and fluorescence microscopy, at frame rates up to 30 million and 0.5 million frames per second, respectively, to elucidate ADV dynamics and payload release kinetics in fibrin-based ARSs containing phase-shift emulsions with three different perfluorocarbons: perfluoropentane (PFP), perfluorohexane (PFH), and perfluorooctane (PFO). At an ultrasound excitation frequency of 2.5 MHz, the maximum expansion ratio, defined as the maximum bubble diameter during ADV normalized by the initial emulsion diameter, was 4.3 ± 0.8, 4.1 ± 0.6, and 3.6 ± 0.4, for PFP, PFH, PFO emulsions, respectively. ADV yielded stable bubble formation in PFP and PFH emulsions, though the bubble growth rate post-ADV was three orders of magnitudes slower in the latter emulsion. Comparatively, ADV generated bubbles in PFO emulsions underwent repeated vaporization/recondensation or fragmentation. Different ADV-generated bubble dynamics resulted in distinct release kinetics in phase-shift emulsions carrying fluorescently-labeled payloads. The results provide physical insight enabling the modulation of bubble dynamics with ADV and hence release kinetics, which can be used for both diagnostic and therapeutic applications of ultrasound.     

Influence on SERS enhancement factor of the components of an artificial opal loaded with metal NPs: A systematic study

We have inquired about the influence of composite artificial opal components on its SERS enhancement factor (EF). Particularly, we considered metal (100 nm) and dielectric spheres (290 nm), and an excitation wavelength of 632 nm. We show that the electric field of a SiO₂ sphere is weaker and more uniform as its porosity increases. Additionally, a porous sphere promotes a lower EF compared to that of a non-porous sphere. The optical response of the composite opal is insensitive to the polarization state of the incident field. A SERS EF of 10⁴ is reachable with an opal loaded with Au or Ag NPs. In general, the dielectric spheres affect the SERS EF intensity of the metal NPs. From the optical spectra, we observed that with a 632 nm wavelength, the composite opal is out of resonance.     

Characterization of cavitation under ultrasonic horn tip – Proposition of an acoustic cavitation parameter

Acoustic cavitation, generated by a piezo-driven transducer, is a commonly used technique in a variety of processes, from homogenization, emulsification, and intensification of chemical reactions to surface cleaning and wastewater treatment. An ultrasonic horn, the most commonly used acoustic cavitation device, creates unique cavitation conditions under the horn tip that depend on various parameters such as the tip diameter, the driving frequency of the horn, its amplitude, and fluid properties. Unlike for hydrodynamic cavitation, the scaling laws for acoustic cavitation are poorly understood. Empirical relationships between cavitation dynamics, ultrasonic horn operating conditions, and fluid properties were found through systematic characterization of cavitation under the tip. Experiments were conducted in distilled water with various sodium chloride salt concentrations under different horn amplitudes, tip geometries, and ambient pressures. Cavitation characteristics were monitored by high-speed (200,000 fps) imaging, and numerous relations were found between operating conditions and cavitation dynamics. The compared results are discussed along with a proposal of a novel acoustic cavitation parameter and its relationship to the size of the cavitation cloud under the horn tip. Similar to the classical hydrodynamic cavitation number, the authors propose for the first time an acoustic cavitation parameter based on experimental results.     

M1 transition energy and rate in the ground configuration of Ag-like ions with 62 ≤ Z ≤ 94

Systematic calculations and assessments are performed for the magnetic dipole(M1)transition energies and rates between the ²F^o_5/2,7/2 levels in the ground configuration 4d104f along the Ag-like isoelectronic sequence with 62≤Z≤94 based on the second-order many-body perturbation theory implemented in the Flexible Atomic Code.The electron correlations,Breit interaction and quantum electrodynamics effects are taken into account in the present calculations.The accuracy and reliability of our results are evaluated through comprehensive comparisons with available measurements and other theoretical results.For transition energies,our results are in good agreement with the recent experimental data obtained from the electron beam ion traps within 0.18%.The maximum discrepancy between our results and those obtained with the large-scale multiconfiguration Dirac–Hartee–Fock calculations by Grumer et al.[Phys.Rev.A 89062501(2014)]is less than 0.13%along the isoelectronic sequence.Furthermore,the corresponding M1 transition rates are also reported.The present results can be used as the benchmark and useful for spectra simulation and diagnostics of astrophysical and fusion plasmas.     

Quantifying cell adhesion through forces generated by acoustic streaming

The strength of cell adhesion is important in understanding the cell’s health and in culturing them. Quantitative measurement of cell adhesion strength is a significant challenge in bioengineering research. For this, the present study describes a system that can measure cell adhesion strength using acoustic streaming induced by Lamb waves. Cells are cultured on an ultrasound transducer using a range of preculture and incubation times with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) just before the measurement. Acoustic streaming is then induced using several Lamb wave intensities, exposing the cells to shear flows and eventually detaching them. By relying upon a median detachment rate of 50 %, the corresponding detachment force, or force of cell adhesion, was determined to be on the order of several nN, consistent with previous reports. The stronger the induced shear flow, the more cells were detached. Further, we employed a preculture time of 8 to 24 h and a PBS incubation time of 0 to 60 min, producing cell adhesion forces that varied from 1.2 to 13 nN. Hence, the developed system can quantify cell adhesion strength over a wide range, possibly offering a fundamental tool for cell-based bioengineering.     

Strong near-field couplings of anapole modes and formation of higher-order electromagnetic modes in stacked all-dielectric nanodisks

We theoretically study the near-field couplings of two stacked all-dielectric nanodisks, where each disk has an electric anapole mode consisting of an electric dipole mode and an electric toroidal dipole (ETD) mode. Strong bonding and anti-bonding hybridizations of the ETD modes of the two disks occur. The bonding hybridized ETD can interfere with the dimer's electric dipole mode and induce a new electric anapole mode. The anti-bonding hybridization of the ETD modes can induce a magnetic toroidal dipole (MTD) response in the disk dimer. The MTD and magnetic dipole resonances of the dimer form a magnetic anapole mode. Thus, two dips associated with the hybridized modes appear on the scattering spectrum of the dimer. Furthermore, the MTD mode is also accompanied by an electric toroidal quadrupole mode. The hybridizations of the ETD and the induced higher-order modes can be adjusted by varying the geometries of the disks. The strong anapole mode couplings and the corresponding rich higher-order mode responses in simple all-dielectric nanostructures can provide new opportunities for nanoscale optical manipulations.