Characterization of Diamond Nanoparticles by High-Speed Micro-Thermal Field-Flow Fractionation

Micro-thermal field-flow fractionation was used to characterize the particle size distribution of nanometer-sized diamond nanoparticles. Although the experimental conditions were chosen to perform high-speed separation, and, consequently, the resolution achieved experimentally was not very high, the application of the original correction method for the zone spreading allowed for obtaining of very good calculated particle size distribution or, explicitly, a true polydispersity index of the diamond nanoparticle sample. The future use of several samples of diamond nanoparticles of different average sizes and different surface chemistries should allow deeper insight into the effect of these particulate characteristics on the retention in micro-thermal field-flow fractionation.     

Formation of molten metal films during metal-on-metal slip under extreme interfacial conditions

The present paper describes results of plate-impact pressure-shear friction experiments conducted to study time-resolved growth of molten metal films during dry metal-on-metal slip under extreme interfacial conditions. By employing tribo-pairs comprising hard tool-steel against relatively low melt-point metals such as 7075-T6 aluminum alloys, interfacial friction stress ranging from 100 to and slip speeds of approximately have been generated. These relatively high levels of friction stress combined with high slip-speeds generate conditions conducive for interfacial temperatures to approach the melting point of the lower melt point metal (Al alloy) comprising the tribo-pair.A Lagrangian finite element code is developed to understand the evolution of the thermo-mechanical fields and their relationship to the observed slip response. The code accounts for dynamic effects, heat conduction, contact with friction, and full thermo-mechanical coupling. At temperatures below the melting point the material is described as an isotropic thermally softening elastic-viscoplastic solid. For material elements with temperatures in excess of the melt point a purely Newtonian fluid constitutive model is employed.The results of the hybrid experimental-computational study provides new insights into the thermoelastic-plastic interactions during high speed metal-on-metal slip under extreme interfacial conditions. During the early part of frictional slip the coefficient of kinetic friction is observed to decrease with increasing slip velocity. During the later part transition in interfacial slip occurs from dry metal-on-metal sliding to the formation of molten Al films at the tribo-pair interface. Under these conditions the interfacial resistance approaches the shear strength of the molten aluminum alloy under normal pressures of approximately 1- and shear strain rates of . The results of the study indicate that under these extreme conditions molten aluminum films maintain a shearing resistance as high as .Scanning electron microscopy of the slip surfaces reveal molten aluminum to be smeared on the tribo-pair interface. Knoop hardness measurements in 7075-T6 Al alloy at various depths from the slip interface indicate that the hardness increases approximately linearly with depth and reaches a plateau at approximately from the surface.     

A high-speed photographic study of the transition from deflagration to detonation wave

Experiments were conducted to investigate the DDT process of the oxyhydrogen gas in the rectangular detonation tube of 3 m long. The repeated obstacle was installed near the ignition plug and the effects of the obstacle on the DDT process were investigated. The behaviour of the combustion and detonation wave were visualized utilizing Imacon high-speed camera with the aid of Schlieren optics. As a result, DDT process was visualized, i.e. (i) multiple shock waves were induced by the expanding combustion wave, because the combustion flame played a role as a piston and compressed the unburned gases. (ii) The acceleration of the combustion wave was occurred and the distance between the shock wave and the combustion flame became shorter. (iii) Eventually, the local explosion was occurred and cause overdriven detonation wave to propagate at the velocity of about 3 kms⁻¹. An abridged version of this paper was presented at the 15th Int. Colloquium on the Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems at Boulder, Colorado, from July 30 to August 4, 1995     

硅衬底氮化镓基LED薄膜转移至柔性黏结层基板后其应力及发光性能变化的研究

本文将硅(Si)衬底上外延生长的氮化镓(GaN)基发光二极管(LED)薄膜转移至含有柔性黏结层的基板上, 获得了不受衬底和支撑基板束缚的LED薄膜. 利用高分辨率X射线衍射仪(HRXRD)研究了薄膜转移前后的应力变化, 同时对其光致发光(PL)光谱的特性进行了研究. 结果表明: 硅衬底GaN基LED薄膜转移至柔性基板后, GaN受到的应力会由转移前巨大的张应力变为转移后微小的压应力, InGaN/GaN量子阱受到的压应力则增大; 尽管LED薄膜室温无损转移至柔性基板其InGaN阱层的In组分不会改变, 然而按照HRXRD倒易空间图谱通用计算方法会得出平均铟组发生了变化; GaN基LED薄膜从外延片转移至柔性基板时其PL谱会发生明显红移.     

A comparison of the surface nanostructure from two different types of gram-negative cells: Escherichia coli and Rhodobacter sphaeroides

Bacteria have been studied using different microscopy methods for many years. Recently, the developments of high-speed atomic force microscopy have opened the doors to study bacteria in new ways due to the fact that it uses much less force on the sample while imaging. This makes the high-speed atomic force microscope an indispensable technique for imaging the surface of living bacterial cells because it allows for the high-resolution visualization of surface proteins in their natural condition without disrupting the cell or the activity of the proteins. Previous work examining living cells of Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 demonstrated that the surface of these bacteria was covered with a net-like structure that is mainly composed of porin molecules. However, it was unclear whether or not this feature was unique to other living bacteria. In this study we used the high-speed atomic force microscope to examine the surface of living cells of Escherichia coli and Rhodobacter sphaeroides to compare their structure with that of M. magneticum. Our research clearly demonstrated that both of these types of cells have an outer surface that is covered in a network of nanometer-sized holes similar to M. magneticum. The diameter of the holes was 8.0 ± 1.5 nm for E. coli and 6.6 ± 1.1 nm for R. sphaeroides. The results in this paper confirm that this type of outer surface structure exists in other types of bacteria and it is not unique to Magnetospirillum.     

Variation of fiber orientation in turbulent flow inside a planar contraction with different shapes

In this study, we have investigated the influence of shape of planar contractions on the orientation distribution of stiff fibers suspended in turbulent flow. To do this, we have employed a model for the orientational diffusion coefficient based on the data obtained by high-speed imaging of suspension flow at the centerline of a contraction with flat walls. This orientational diffusion coefficient depends only on the contraction ratio and turbulence intensity. Our measurements show that the turbulence intensity decays exponentially independent of the contraction angle. This implies that the turbulence variation in the contraction is independent of the shape, consistent with the results by the rapid distortion theory and the experimental results of axisymmetric contractions. In order to determine the orientation anisotropy, we have solved a Fokker–Planck type equation governing the orientation distribution of fibers in turbulent flow. Although the turbulence variation and the orientational diffusion are independent of the contraction shape, the results show that the variation of the orientation anisotropy is dependent on shape. This can be explained by the variation of the rotational Péclet number, Pe_r, inside the contractions. This quantity is a measure of the importance of the mean rate of the strain relative to the orientational diffusion. We have shown that when Pe_r < 10 turbulence can significantly influence the evolution of the orientation anisotropy. Since in contractions with identical inlet conditions the streamwise position where Pe_r = 10 depends on the shape, the orientation anisotropy is dependent on the variation of rate of strain in a given contraction. We demonstrate the shape effect by considering contraction with flat walls as well as three contractions with different mean rate of strain variation.     

Reflection and transmission of a compression wave at a tunnel portal

Analyses are made of the interaction of the nonlinearly steepened, compression wavefront generated by a high-speed train in a tunnel with the tunnel portal ahead of the train. The ‘micro-pressure’ pulse emitted from the portal can rattle structures in nearby buildings, and the expansion wave reflected back towards the train can cause discomfort to passengers. It is concluded that the usual simplified approximation of one-dimensional propagation within the tunnel provides an adequate representation of interactions of the wave with the portal, and also with ‘windows’ in the tunnel wall near the portal. It is shown how a discrete distribution of windows can be used to produce a reflected expansion wave that varies linearly across the wavefront, and how the thickness of that wavefront can be made many times larger than the thickness of the incident compression wave profile. A detailed analysis of the wave radiated from the portal reveals that cumulative nonlinear effects of propagation over long distances make little or no contribution to the free-space radiation of the micro-pressure wave.