Anisotropic Elastic-Viscoplastic Properties at Finite Strains of Injection-Moulded Low-Density Polyethylene

Injection-moulding is one of the most common manufacturing processes used for polymers. In many applications, the mechanical properties of the product is of great importance. Injection-moulding of thin-walled polymer products tends to leave the polymer structure in a state where the mechanical properties are anisotropic, due to alignment of polymer chains along the melt flow direction. The anisotropic elastic-viscoplastic properties of low-density polyethylene, that has undergone an injection-moulding process, are therefore examined in the present work. Test specimens were punched out from injection-moulded plates and tested in uniaxial tension. Three in-plane material directions were investigated. Because of the small thickness of the plates, only the in-plane properties could be determined. Tensile tests with both monotonic and cyclic loading were performed, and the local strains on the surface of the test specimens were measured using image analysis. True stress vs. true strain diagrams were constructed, and the material response was evaluated using an elastic-viscoplasticity law. The components of the anisotropic compliance matrix were determined together with the direction-specific plastic hardening parameters.     

Study of the peak effect phenomenon in single crystals of 2H-NbSe2

The weakly pinned single crystals of the hexagonal 2H-NbSe₂ compound have emerged as prototypes for determining and characterizing the phase boundaries of the possible order-disorder transformations in the vortex matter. We present here a status report based on the ac and dc magnetization measurements of the peak effect phenomenon in three crystals of 2H-NbSe₂, in which the critical current densities vary over two orders of magnitude. We sketch the generic vortex phase diagram of a weakly pinned superconductor, which also utilizes theoretical proposals. We also establish the connection between the metastability effects and pinning.     

The PDE-preserving operators on nuclearly entire functions of bounded type

The PDE-preserving operators O on the space of nuclearly entire functions of bounded type H_Nb(E) on a Banach space E are characterized. An operator is PDE-preserving when it preserves homogenous solutions to homogeneous convolution equations. We establish a one to one correspondence between O and a set Σ of sequences of entire functionals, i.e. exponential type functions. In this way, algebraic structures on Σ, such as ring structures, can be carried over to O and vice versa. In particular, it follows that O is a non-commutative ring (algebra) with unity with respect to composition and the convolution operators form a commutative subring (subalgebra). We discuss range and kernel properties, for the operators in O, and characterize the projectors (onto polynomial spaces) in O by determining the corresponding elements in Σ. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

An investigation of the 2D attractive Hubbard model

We present an investigation of the 2D attractive Hubbard model, considered as an effective model relevant to superconductivity in strongly interacting electron systems. We use both hybrid Monte-Carlo simulations and existing hopping parameter expansions to explore the low temperature domain. The increase of the static S-wave pair correlation with decreasing temperature, which depends weakly on the band filling in the explored temperature range, is analyzed in terms of an expected Kosterlitz-Thouless superconducting transition. Using both our data and previously published results, we show that the evidence for this transition is weak: If it exists, its temperature is very low. The number of unpaired electrons remains nearly constant with temperature at fixed attractive potential strength. In contrast, the static magnetic susceptibility decreases fast with temperature, and cannot be related only to pair formation. We introduce a method by which the Padé approximants of the existing series for the susceptibility give sensible results down to rather low temperature region, as shown by comparison with our numerical data. Received: 30 October 1996 / Revised: 23 October 1997 / Accepted: 29 January 1998     

Shaping Solid-State Supramolecular Cavities: Chemically Induced Accordionlike Movement of gamma-Zirconium Phosphate Containing Polyethylenoxide Pillars

The hydrophilic oxygen atoms of polyethylenoxide chains inserted as pillars in gamma-zirconium phosphate form hydrogen bonds with the acid groups of the host. As a result the pillars are almost perpendicular to the gamma layers. Upon changing the pH level of the supernatant solution the hydrogen bonds are broken and the pillars become almost perpendicular to the layers (shown schematically). Thus there is a reversible enlargement-shortening of the interlayer space.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid and voltammetric determination with a ferrocene-modified platinum electrode

Ferrocene attached to the surface of a platinum electrode catalyses the electrochemical oxidation of ascorbic acid in acidic buffer solutions. The overpotential for ascorbic acid oxidation is decreased by 150 mV at pH 2.2 compared with reaction at bare platinum; and an increase in anodic current and decrease in cathodic current for the redox reaction of ferrocene occurs on addition of ascorbic acid to the solution. The ferrocene-modified electrode is useful for the voltammetric determination of ascorbic acid in natural fruit juices. The advantages result from the electrocatalytic effect and from the prevention of adsorption of inhibitory substances from solution.     

87Rb NMR study of the temperature and electric field dependence of the soliton density near the lock-in transition of incommensurate Rb2ZnCl4

The frequency distribution of the⁸⁷Rb NMR 1/2–1/2 central transition is measured in a detailed manner as a function of the temperature and the crystal orientation in the normal (N), incommensurate (IC), and commensurate (C) phases of high quality single crystals of Rb₂ZnCl₄ (RZC). Special emphasis is laid upon the region around the lock-in transition atT _c . While in the N and C phases discrete lines are observed, in the IC phase a continuous distribution of frequencies is detected. In a temperature interval not exceeding 15 K aboveT _c some centers of intensity termed C lines can be observed in the frequency distribution. They reflect the fact that in the IC phase close toT _c several nuclei feel a local surrounding very similar to that of the low temperature C phase. For the first time in the region aroundT _c the influence could be studied which an electric field favouring the ferroelectric C phase has on the NMR spectra. The experimental results are related to the temperature and electric field dependence of the soliton density near the lock-in transition. A general definition of the soliton density is developed whose validity is not limited to the very narrow soliton limit. The meaning of this definition is also discussed in terms of well known phenomenological theories of the three phases of RZC. The experimental NMR data can be well described by this general definition.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. H.E. Müser on the occasion of his 60th birthday