A coupled VOF–IBM–enthalpy approach for modeling motion and growth of equiaxed dendrites in a solidifying melt

A coupled methodology for simulating the simultaneous growth and motion of equiaxed dendrites in solidifying melts is presented. The model uses the volume-averaging principles and combines the features of the enthalpy method for modeling growth, immersed boundary method for handling the rigid solid–liquid interfaces, and the volume of fluid method for tracking the advection of the dendrite. The algorithm also performs explicit–implicit coupling between the techniques used. A two-dimensional framework with incompressible and Newtonian fluid is considered. Validation with available literature is performed and dendrite growth in the presence of rotational and buoyancy driven flow fields is studied. It is seen that the flow fields significantly alter the position and morphology of the dendrites.     

Dispersion of Bulk Waves in a Graphene–Dielectric–Graphene Structure

Optics and Spectroscopy - We investigate the dispersion properties of the first waveguide modes in a dielectric film that is coated with graphene layers having different chemical potential values....     

Surface Plasmon Polaritons in a Graphene–Semiconductor–Graphene Thin Film

Physics of the Solid State - Dispersion properties of surface plasmon polaritons in a semiconductor film with graphene plates in the far-IR range and the possibility of controlling propagation...     

The Rubik’s cube problem revisited: a statistical thermodynamic approach

Inspired by the protein folding problem, we propose a Rubik’s cube model and study its thermodynamic and kinetic behavior. We find that the energy landscape contains a tiny funnel-like region, as the dynamics towards the native state is mostly diffusive. In particular, from Monte Carlo simulations we observe exponential kinetics in the first-passage-time distribution towards the native state at all temperatures considered, while the complexity of the energy landscape is exhibited through a stretched-exponential relaxation of the energy autocorrelation function. The rollover feature in the mean first passage time, as observed in many protein-folding dynamics studies, is captured again in our model and discussed under the statistical energy landscape approach.     

Molecular ordering of Fluoro-Nematogen in a dielectric medium at phase-transition temperature: a statistical–mechanical approach based on computer simulation

A molecular-ordering study of p-phenylene-4-methoxy benzoyl 4-trifluoromethylbenzoate (FLUORO) in a dielectric medium (benzene) has been carried out on the basis of statistical mechanics and computer simulation. The atomic net charge and atomic dipole moment at each atomic centre has been evaluated using the CNDO/2 method. The modified Rayleigh–Schrodinger perturbation theory with multicentered–multipole expansion method has been employed to evaluate the long-range intermolecular interactions, while ‘6-exp’ potential function has been assumed for the short-range interactions. The total interaction energy values obtained through these computations were used to calculate the probability of each configuration in a dielectric medium at the phase-transition temperature (506?K), using the MB-formula. The flexibility of various interacting configurations was studied in terms of variation of probability due to departure from the most probable configuration. It has been observed that in dielectric medium the energies/probabilities are redistributed, and there is considerable rise in the probability of interaction, although the order of preference remains the same. The results are discussed in the light of experimental observations.     

A hybrid finite element – statistical energy analysis approach to robust sound transmission modeling

When considering the sound transmission through a wall in between two rooms, in an important part of the audio frequency range, the local response of the rooms is highly sensitive to uncertainty in spatial variations in geometry, material properties and boundary conditions, which have a wave scattering effect, while the local response of the wall is rather insensitive to such uncertainty. For this mid-frequency range, a computationally efficient modeling strategy is adopted that accounts for this uncertainty. The partitioning wall is modeled deterministically, e.g. with finite elements. The rooms are modeled in a very efficient, nonparametric stochastic way, as in statistical energy analysis. All components are coupled by means of a rigorous power balance. This hybrid strategy is extended so that the mean and variance of the sound transmission loss can be computed as well as the transition frequency that loosely marks the boundary between low- and high-frequency behavior of a vibro-acoustic component. The method is first validated in a simulation study, and then applied for predicting the airborne sound insulation of a series of partition walls of increasing complexity: a thin plastic plate, a wall consisting of gypsum blocks, a thicker masonry wall and a double glazing. It is found that the uncertainty caused by random scattering is important except at very high frequencies, where the modal overlap of the rooms is very high. The results are compared with laboratory measurements, and both are found to agree within the prediction uncertainty in the considered frequency range.     

Exergy of nuclear radiation — a quantum statistical thermodynamics approach

The exergy of nuclear radiation is evaluated by using a simple quantum statistical thermodynamic approach. Only radiation particles with non-zero rest mass are considered (i.e. protons, neutrons, alpha and beta particles). The exergy and the exergy flux involve efficiency-like factors affecting the internal energy and the energy flux, respectively. These factors are generally different from both the usual Carnot factor and the Petela-Landsberg-Press factor that appears in the exergy of blackbody radiation. The efficiency-like factors are higher in the case of charged rather than neutral particles and in the case of enclosed rather than free radiation. The results are compared with those obtained previously by using a classical thermodynamic theory.      

A Langevin approach to the Log–Gauss–Pareto composite statistical structure

The distribution of wealth in human populations displays a Log–Gauss–Pareto composite statistical structure: its density is Log–Gauss in its central body, and follows power-law decay in its tails. This composite statistical structure is further observed in other complex systems, and on a logarithmic scale it displays a Gauss-Exponential structure: its density is Gauss in its central body, and follows exponential decay in its tails. In this paper we establish an equilibrium Langevin explanation for this statistical phenomenon, and show that: (i) the stationary distributions of Langevin dynamics with sigmoidal force functions display a Gauss-Exponential composite statistical structure; (ii) the stationary distributions of geometric Langevin dynamics with sigmoidal force functions display a Log–Gauss–Pareto composite statistical structure. This equilibrium Langevin explanation is universal — as it is invariant with respect to the specific details of the sigmoidal force functions applied, and as it is invariant with respect to the specific statistics of the underlying noise.     

Cohomogeneity-one Einstein–Weyl structures: a local approach

We analyse in a systematic way the (non-) compact n-dimensional Einstein–Weyl spaces equipped with a cohomogeneity-one metric. In that context, with no compactness hypothesis for the manifold on which lives the Einstein–Weyl structure, we prove that, as soon as the (n−1)-dimensional space is a homogeneous reductive Riemannian space with a unimodular group of left-acting isometries G:

• •there exists a Gauduchon gauge such that the Weyl-form is co-closed and its dual is a Killing vector for the metric;
• •in that gauge, a simple constraint on the conformal scalar curvature holds;
• •a non-exact Einstein–Weyl structure may exist only if the (n−1)-dimensional homogeneous space G/H contains a non-trivial subgroup H′ that commutes with the isotropy subgroup H;
• •the extra isometry due to this Killing vector corresponds to the right-action of one of the generators of the algebra of the subgroup H′.

The first two results are well known when the Einstein–Weyl structure lives on a compact manifold, but our analysis gives the first hints on the enlargement of the symmetry due to the Einstein–Weyl constraint.We also prove that the subclass with G compact, a one-dimensional subgroup H′ and the (n−2)-dimensional space G/(H×H′) being an arbitrary compact symmetric Kähler coset space, corresponds to n-dimensional Riemannian locally conformally Kähler metrics. The explicit family of structures of cohomogeneity-one under SU(n/2) being, thanks to our results, invariant under U(1)×SU(n/2), it coincides with the one first studied by Madsen; our analysis allows us to prove most of his conjectures.     

Bilayer Graphene–Stone–Wales Graphene: Structure,Stability, and Interlayer Thermal Conductivity

JETP Letters - The interlayer thermal conductivity of two asymmetric bilayer carbon structures has been studied within the nonorthogonal tight binding model. One layer of the first structure...     

Waveguide Modes in a Planar Graphene–Dielectric Thin-Layer Structure

Particular features of waveguide propagation of modes in a planar structure that consists of alternating layers of a dielectric and graphene are investigated. Within the effective-medium approximation, dispersion relations are obtained for symmetric and antisymmetric waveguide modes. Based on their numerical analysis, the frequency dependences of the propagation and decay constants, of the group and phase velocities, and of the energy flux carried by waveguide modes are constructed. The influence of the fraction of graphene in the structure on the behavior of waveguide modes is analyzed.     

Plastic deformation modeling of backward extrusion process for Nd–Fe–B ring magnets

3D finite element-based software (3D DEFORM) was used to simulate the thermal extrusion process of nanocrystalline magnetic ring. The effective stresses and effective strains for a ring magnet at different stages of the extrusion process were determined by simulation. The effective strains at different stages are displayed. The effective stresses on the cross section are determined by simulation. The test results of magnetic properties were of good validation of the three-dimensional finite element analysis for nanocrystalline backward extruded ring. 3D finite element-based plastic deformation simulation is proved to be an effective way to analyze the hot extrusion process of nanocrystalline magnetic ring, and to provide guiding for the mold design of thermal extrusion.     

Study and optimization of the ultrasound-enhanced cleaning of an ultrafiltration ceramic membrane through a combined experimental–statistical approach

Membrane fouling is one of the main drawbacks of ultrafiltration technology during the treatment of dye-containing effluents. Therefore, the optimization of the membrane cleaning procedure is essential to improve the overall efficiency. In this work, a study of the factors affecting the ultrasound-assisted cleaning of an ultrafiltration ceramic membrane fouled by dye particles was carried out. The effect of transmembrane pressure (0.5, 1.5, 2.5 bar), cross-flow velocity (1, 2, 3 m s⁻¹), ultrasound power level (40%, 70%, 100%) and ultrasound frequency mode (37, 80 kHz and mixed wave) on the cleaning efficiency was evaluated. The lowest frequency showed better results, although the best cleaning performance was obtained using the mixed wave mode.A Box–Behnken Design was used to find the optimal conditions for the cleaning procedure through a response surface study. The optimal operating conditions leading to the maximum cleaning efficiency predicted (32.19%) were found to be 1.1 bar, 3 m s⁻¹ and 100% of power level.Finally, the optimized response was compared to the efficiency of a chemical cleaning with NaOH solution, with and without the use of ultrasound. By using NaOH, cleaning efficiency nearly triples, and it improves up to 25% by adding ultrasound.     

Reversible A↔B reaction–diffusion process with initially mixed reactants: Boundary layer function approach

The reversible A?B reaction–diffusion process, when species A and B are initially mixed and diffuse with different diffusion coefficients, is usually considered as a diffusion-limited process. In this work the reaction rate in such a process is investigated using the boundary layer function method. It was shown that the reaction–diffusion process can be considered as a quasi-equilibrium process. Despite this fact the contribution of the changes in the species concentration of the reaction is comparable to that of the diffusion. Moreover, the ratios of the reaction and diffusion contributions are independent of time and coordinate. The dependence of the reaction rate on the initial species distribution is analyzed. It was demonstrated, for the first time, that the number of the reaction zones is determined by the initial conditions and changes with time. Also the asymptotic long-time behavior of the reaction rate depends on the initial species distribution.     

Multi-soliton solutions of a two-component Camassa–Holm system:Darboux transformation approach

We propose and develop another approach to constructing multi-soliton solutions of an integrable two-component Camassa–Holm(CH2)system.With the help of a reciprocal transformation and a gauge transformation,we relate the CH2 system to a negative flow of the Broer–Kaup or twoboson hierarchy.The solutions of this negative flow are given in terms of Wronskians via Darboux transformation.Then the multi-soliton solutions of the CH2 system are recovered in parametric form by inverting the reciprocal transformation and the gauge transformation.     

Riemann–Hilbert approach to a generalized sine kernel

Letters in Mathematical Physics - We derive the large-distance asymptotics of the Fredholm determinant of the so-called generalized sine kernel at the critical point. This kernel corresponds to a...     

Exchange bias in a generalized Meiklejohn–Bean approach

A generalized Meiklejohn–Bean model is considered in order to derive an analytic expression for the dependence of the exchange bias field on the layer thickness involved in ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic heterosystems, on the orientation of the applied magnetic field with respect to the magnetic easy axes and on the quenched magnetization M_AF of the antiferromagnetic pinning layer. While M_AF is a well-known feature of field-cooled dilute antiferromagnets, it seems to occur quite generally also in pure AF pinning substrates. The new analytic expressions are successfully compared with recent experimental results and Monte Carlo investigations.     

Tetraquark bound states in a Bethe–Salpeter approach

We determine the mass of tetraquark bound states from a coupled system of covariant Bethe–Salpeter equations. Similar in spirit to the quark–diquark model of the nucleon, we approximate the full four-body equation for the tetraquark by a coupled set of two-body equations with meson and diquark constituents. These are calculated from their quark and gluon substructure using a phenomenologically well-established quark–gluon interaction. For the lightest scalar tetraquark we find a mass of the order of 400 MeV and a wave function dominated by the pion–pion constituents. Both results are in agreement with a meson molecule picture for the _f0(600)$f_0(600)$. Our results furthermore suggest the presence of a potentially narrow all-charm tetraquark in the mass region 5–6 GeV.