Stabilities in field electron emissions from noble‐metal covered W nano‐tips: apex structure dependence

We observed field emission microscopy (FEM) patterns of noble‐metal (NM) covered W nano‐tips with three different apex structures fabricated by field evaporation. Each of the three tips was terminated with a single atom, three atoms or ten atoms. We investigated the temporal changes in the FEM of these tips to discuss the stabilities in the spatial distributions of the field emission (FE) beams. The single‐atom tip showed two characteristics that were superior to the others. First, the beams emitted from the single‐atom tip were the most collimated among the three tips (the semi‐cone angle of 1.0° , FWHM). Second, adsorption of residual gas had little influence on FE from the single‐atom tip, while the other tips were easily contaminated even at ultra high vacuum, resulting in the emission fluctuation. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fabrication of robust superhydrophobic coatings using PTFE‐MWCNT nanocomposite: Supercritical fluid processing

Fabrication of polymer‐carbon composite nanostructure with good dispersion of each other is critical for the desired application due to the nanostructure flaws, agglomeration, and poor absorption between the 2 materials. Fabrication of superhydrophobic surface coating composites of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) through supercritical fluid processing was explored in this study. Homogeneity of the composite was characterized by X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies, which reveal that the PTFE and MWCNT are uniform in the composite. Microstructural surface evaluation of field‐emission scanning electron microscope and high‐resolution transmission electron microscope studies display that the coating composite possesses roughness structures and fibrillation of the superhydrophobic surface coating. Superhydrophobic character was evaluated on fiber‐reinforced plastic (FRP) sheets, which showed that the prepared coating composite surface showed self‐cleaning properties with a high water contact angle of 162.7°. The surface wettability was studied by increasing different temperatures (30°C to 300°C) in PTFE‐MWCNT composite, which reveals that the FRP sheets were thermally stable up to 200°C and afterward; they transformed from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic state at 250°C. The superhydrophobic surfaces are thermally stable in extreme environmental conditions, and this technique may be used and extendable for large‐scale applications.     

Finite deformation swelling of a temperature-sensitive hydrogel cylinder under combined extension-torsion

The swelling behavior of a temperature-sensitive poly-N-isopropylacrylamide(PNIPAM) hydrogel circular cylinder is studied subjected to combined extension-torsion and varied temperature. In this regard, a semi-analytical solution is proposed for general combined loading. A finite element(FE) analysis is conducted, subjecting a hydrogel cylinder to the combined extension-torsion and the varied temperature to evaluate the validity and accuracy of the solution. A user-defined UHYPER subroutine is developed and verified under free and constrained swelling conditions. The FE results illustrate excellent agreement with the semi-analytical solution. Due to the complexity of the problem, some compositions and applied loading factors are analyzed. It is revealed that for larger cross-linked density and larger ending temperature, the cylinder yields higher stresses and smaller radial swelling deformation. Besides, the radial and hoop stresses increase by applying larger twist and axial stretch. The hoop stresses intersect at approximately R/Rout = 0.58, where the hoop stress vanishes. Besides, the axial force has direct and inverse relationships with the axial stretch and the twist, respectively. However, the resultant torsional moment behavior is complex, and the position of the maximum point varies significantly by altering the axial stretch and the twist.     

Numerical analysis of stress distribution in the upper arm tissues under an inflatable cuff: Implications for noninvasive blood pressure measurement

An inflatable cuff wrapped around the upper arm is widely used in noninvasive blood pressure measurement. However, the mechanical interaction between cuff and arm tissues, a factor that potentially affects the accuracy of noninvasive blood pressure measurement, remains rarely addressed. In the present study, finite element (FE) mod-els were constructed to quantify intra-arm stresses generated by cuff compression, aiming to provide some theoretical evi-dence for identifying factors of importance for blood pressure measurement or explaining clinical observations. Obtained results showed that the simulated tissue stresses were highly sensitive to the distribution of cuff pressure on the arm sur-face and the contact condition between muscle and bone. In contrast, the magnitude of cuff pressure and small variations in elastic properties of arm soft tissues had little influence on the efficiency of pressure transmission in arm tissues. In par-ticular, it was found that a thickened subcutaneous fat layer in obese subjects significantly reduced the effective pres-sure transmitted to the brachial artery, which may explain why blood pressure overestimation occurs more frequently in obese subjects in noninvasive blood pressure measurement.     

Development of GC–MS/MS method with programmable temperature vaporization large volume injection for monitoring of 17β-estradiol and 2-methoxyestradiol in plasma

Monitoring of estradiol and its metabolites in biological samples is essential for the accurate diagnosis of a number of endocrine diseases. In this study, a sensitive, precise and specific GC–MS/MS method for the quantification of 17β-estradiol (17-BE) and its main metabolite, 2-methoxyestradiol (2-MEOE), in plasma was developed and validated. Plasma concentrations of these steroids are currently investigated as diagnostic markers for pre-eclampsia, a systematic disorder of pregnancy and a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality worldwide.     

Rates of convergence of random walk on distance regular graphs

When run on any non-bipartite q-distance regular graph from a family containing graphs of arbitrarily large diameter d, we show that d steps are necessary and sufficient to drive simple random walk to the uniform distribution in total variation distance, and that a sharp cutoff phenomenon occurs. For most examples, we determine the set on which the variation distance is achieved, and the precise rate at which it decays. The upper bound argument uses spectral methods – combining the usual Cauchy-Schwarz bound on variation distance with a bound on the tail probability of a first-hitting time, derived from its generating function. Received: 2 April 1997 / Revised version: 10 May 1998     

Work function of metals: Relation between theory and experiment

Theoretical approaches to calculation of work function within jellium model and the problem of extension of this model to include the lattice corrections to the work function are briefly discussed. Lattice corrections to the work function obtained from the experiment are estimated and compared with those calculated theoretically.

It is found that the mean value of the experimental lattice correction <δψ_hkl>_hkl compared to the mean work function is negligible. It is stated that the mean work function can be treated as a material constant characterizing a given metal, such as, e.g., binding energy.An expression for the dependence of jellium work function on r_s, valid in a metallic range of r_s, is given. A comparison between then theoretical and experimental results is presented and the role of correlation energy is examined. It is shown that more accurate approximations of the correlation energy than that given by Wigner's formula lead to a better agreement with experiment. A simple model is presented for explanation of work function changes on single crystal planes. Some recent results concerning the thermal dependence of work function are given. The dependence of the work function on the degree of coverage is discussed both for alkali and non-alkali atoms adsorption. Theoretical models are briefly reviewed and comparison between theory and experiment is made. A simple model is presented for explanation of the work function variation on rough planes in metallic non-alkali atoms chemisorption.     

The impulsive response of sandwich beams: Analytical and numerical investigation of regimes of behaviour

An analytical model is developed to classify the impulsive response of sandwich beams based on the relative time-scales of core compression and the bending/stretching response of the sandwich beam. It is shown that an overlap in time scales leads to a coupled response and to the possibility of an enhanced shock resistance. Four regimes of behaviour are defined: decoupled responses with the sandwich core densifying partially or completely, and coupled responses with partial or full core densification. These regimes are marked on maps with axes chosen from the sandwich beam transverse core strength, the sandwich beam aspect ratio and the level of blast impulse. In addition to predicting the time-scales involved in the response of the sandwich beam, the analytical model is used to estimate the back face deflection, the degree of core compression and the magnitude of the support reactions. The predictions of the analytical model are compared with finite element (FE) simulations of impulsively loaded sandwich beams comprising an anisotropic foam core and elastic, ideally plastic face-sheets. The analytical and numerical predictions are in good agreement up to the end of core compression. However, the analytical model under-predicts the peak back face deflection and over-predicts the support reactions, especially for sandwich beams with high strength cores. The FE calculations are employed to construct design charts to select the optimum transverse core strength that either minimises the back face deflections or support reactions for a given sandwich beam aspect ratio or blast impulse. Typically, the value of the transverse core strength that minimises the back face deflection also minimises the support reactions. However, the optimal core strength depends on the level of blast impulse, with higher strength cores required for greater blasts.     

Dynamical systems which realize given random bi-sequences of points on their orbits

A dynamical system consists of a phase space of possible states, together with an evolution rule that determines all future states and all past states given a state at any particular moment. In this paper, we show that for any countable random infinite bi-sequences of states of some phase space, there exists an evolution rule in C⁰-topology which realizes precisely the given sequences of states on their orbits and satisfies some regular conditions on the times to realize the states.     

Impulsive loading of clamped monolithic and sandwich beams over a central patch

An analytical model is developed for the response of clamped monolithic and sandwich beams subjected to impulse loading over a central loading patch. A number of topologies of sandwich core are investigated, including the honeycomb core, pyramidal core, prismatic diamond core and metal foam. The various cores are characterised by their dependencies of through-thickness compressive strength and longitudinal tensile strength upon relative density. Closed-form expressions are derived for the deflection of the beam when the ratio r of length of loading patch to the beam span exceeds 0.5. In contrast, an ordinary differential equation needs to be solved numerically for the choice r<0.5. Explicit finite element calculations show that most practical shock loadings can be treated as impulsive and the accuracy of the impulsive analytical predictions is confirmed. The analytical formulae are employed to determine optimal geometries of the sandwich beams that maximise the shock resistance of the beams for a given mass. The optimisation reveals that sandwich beams have a superior shock resistance relative to monolithic beams of the same mass, with the prismatic diamond core sandwich beam providing the best performance. Further, the optimal sandwich beam designs are only mildly sensitive to the length of the loading patch.