Matrix analysis of nonlinear trusses using Prandtl-2 Neural Networks

A new method, based on the concepts of matrix analysis as well as the learning capabilities of neural networks, for the analysis of nonlinear trusses under dynamic loading is presented. The method can be applied to static trusses too. While there have been attempts in the past to use neural networks to identify and model different structures based on data measured on structural response directly, the main feature and advantage of this new method is in its capability to model a nonlinear truss by assembling the data collected on the response of its members. The basics of the method are: (1) for each truss member, a neural network is trained to learn and simulate its load-response behavior, (2) the member neural networks are then assembled to build another neural network which can simulate the load-response behavior of the whole truss. Noticing test at member level is generally easier than at structure level, this can make the building of a neural network to simulate the response of the truss more affordable. Also this has potential application when it is hard to find a mathematical model from experimental data to describe the internal force vector for a truss, as well as identification and control of trusses where precise modeling of the structure is a key point to the success of the application. Prandtl Neural Network, developed recently by the authors for modeling of nonlinear hysteretic materials, has been improved and used in this study too. The improved version has been called Prandtl-2 Neural Network (PNN2) in this paper. The method has been applied to the static and dynamic analysis of a 3-bar and a 10-bar benchmark truss successfully, the results of which are reported in this paper.     

Spectral Investigations of Preferential Solvation and Solute–Solvent Interactions of Free Base and Protonated 5,10,15,20-Tetrakis(4-trimethyl-ammonio-phenyl)-porphine Tetratosylate in Aqueous Organic Mixed Solvents

The solvatochromic properties of the free base and the protonated 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(4-trimethyl-ammonio-phenyl)-porphine tetratosylate (TTMAPP) were studied in pure water, methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and their corresponding aqueous mixtures. The correlation of the empirical solvent polarity scale (E _T) values of TTMAPP with composition of the solvents were analyzed by the solvent exchange model of Bosch and Roses to clarify the preferential solvation of the probe dyes in the binary mixed solvents. The solvation shell composition effects in preferential solvation of the solute dyes were investigated in terms of both solvent–solvent and solute–solvent interactions and also the local mole fraction of each solvent composition was calculated in the cybotactic region of the probe. The effective mole fraction variation may provide significant physicochemical insights in the microscopic and molecular level of interactions between TTMAPP species and the solvent components and, therefore, can be used to interpret the solvent effect on kinetics and thermodynamics of TTMAPP.     

Spectral analysis of naringenin deprotonation in aqueous ethanol solutions

The deprotonation of 5,7-dihydroxy-2-(4-hydroxyphenyl)chroman-4-one (naringenin) was studied in aqueous solutions of ethanol and 0.1 mol L^?1 sodium perchlorate at 25°C. The chemical species that contributed to deprotonation were evaluated together with their pure spectral characteristics and concentration profiles by some chemometric methods. The deprotonation constants assigned by pK ₁, pK ₂, and pK ₃ were determined by multivariate curve analysis of spectral data at different pcH values. The pure spectral analysis concordant with the theoretical prediction of deprotonation constants indicates that the acidity of hydroxyl groups in naringenin decreases in the order: 7-OH, 4′-OH, 5-OH. The effects of the solvent on deprotonation were analysed in terms of the linear solvation energy relationships using the model of Kamlet, Abboud, and Taft (KAT). Multiple linear regressions were aimed towards correlating the deprotonation constants with the microscopic parameters containing hydrogen-bond acidity (α), dipolarity/polarisability (π*), and hydrogen-bond basicity (β). The most significant parameter was found to be the hydrogen-bond acidity of binary mixtures.     

Intractable problems in reversible cellular automata

The billiard ball model, a classical mechanical system in which all parameters are real variables, can perform all digital computations. An eight-state, 11-neighbor reversible cellular automaton (an entirely discrete system in which all parameters are integer variables) can simulate this model. One of the natural problems for this system is to determine the shape of a container so that the initial specific distribution of gas molecules eventually leads to a predetermined distribution. This problem is PSPACE-complete. Related intractable and decidable problems are discussed as well.     

On the models of Coulomb capture of negative particles

Various models of atomic capture of negative mesonic particles are tested against 321 experimental Coulomb-capture ratios, measured on binary systems: gas mixtures, alloys and simple compounds. The comparison has shown that the general agreement between theory and experiment is not satisfactory. We tried to improve on the models by introducing adjustable parameters to be estimated by fitting the experimental data. The predictions of the model proposed by Schneuwly, Pokrovsky and Ponomarev (SPP) are closest to the atomic capture ratios for alloys and compounds while the data measured in gas mixtures are better approximated by the empirical formula of Vasilyev et al. The theoretical formula of Daniel fails in describing the capture in the light elements.     

Pre- and post-breakdown electrical studies in ultrathin Al2O3 films by conductive atomic force microscopy

The loss of local dielectric integrity in ultrathin Al₂O₃ films grown by atomic layer deposition is investigated using conducting atomic force microscopy. I–V spectra acquired at different regions of the samples by constant and ramping voltage stress are analyzed for their pre- and post-breakdown signatures. Based on these observations, the thickness dependent dielectric reliability and failure mechanism are discussed. Our results show that remarkable enhancement in breakdown electric field as high as 130 MV/cm is observed for ultrathin films of thickness less than 1 nm.