Ordering effects in electric splay Freedericksz transitions

We analyze the interaction between a nematic liquid crystal and an electric field, in a cell in which splay Freedericksz geometry is enforced. Equilibrium configurations are explored both close to the Freedericksz threshold and in the limit of strong applied voltages. We frame within de Gennes’ order-tensor theory, which allows us to detect the effects of a variable degree of orientation on critical fields and bifurcation shapes. The applied voltage induces nontrivial effects on the degree of orientation as well. Up to the Freedericksz transition, the degree of orientation decreases, whereas ordering is recovered when the applied voltage drop increases. We also stress the role played by the dielectric anisotropy. In particular, the limit in which the dielectric anisotropy approaches the dielectric permittivities deserves attention, since the order-tensor theory regularizes some of the critical phenomena exhibited by classical Frank solutions.      

Transient response of a magnetoelectroelastic solid with two collinear dielectric cracks under impacts

Dynamic analysis of two collinear electro-magnetically dielectric cracks in a piezoelectromagnetic material is made under in-plane magneto-electro-mechanical impacts. Generalized semi-permeable crack-face boundary conditions are proposed to simulate realistic opening cracks with dielectric. Ideal boundary conditions of a combination of electrically permeable or impermeable and magnetically permeable or impermeable assumptions are several limiting cases of the semi-permeable dielectric crack. Utilizing the Laplace and Fourier transforms, the mixed initial-boundary-value problem is reduced to solving singular integral equations with Cauchy kernel. Dynamic intensity factors of stress, electric displacement, magnetic induction and crack opening displacement (COD) near the inner and outer crack tips are determined in the Laplace transform domain. Numerical results for a special magnetoelectroelastic solid are calculated to show the influences of the dielectric permittivity and magnetic permeability inside the cracks on the crack-face electric displacement and magnetic induction. By means of a numerical inversion of the Laplace transform, the variations of the normalized intensity factors of stress and COD are discussed against applied magnetoelectric impact loadings and the geometry of the cracks for fully impermeable, vacuum, fully permeable cracks and shown in graphics.     

3D phase field modeling of electrohydrodynamic multiphase flows

A 3D phase field model is developed to investigate the electrohydrodynamic (EHD) two phase flows. The explicit finite difference method, enhanced by parallel computing, is employed to solve the coupled nonlinear governing equations for the electric field, the fluid flow field and free surface deformation. Numerical tests indicate that an appropriate interpolation of densities within the interface is critical in ensuring numerical stability for highly stratified flows. The 3D phase field model compares well with the Taylor theory for the deformation of a single dielectric droplet in an electric field. Computed results show that the deformation of a leaky dielectric droplet in an electric field undergoes various stages before it reaches the final oblate shape. This is caused by the free charge relaxation near the fluid–fluid interface. The coalescence of four droplets in an electric field illustrates a truly 3D deformation behavior and a complex evolving fluid flow field associated with the participating droplets. The coalescence is a result of combined actions produced by the global electric force, the circulatory flows generated by the local electrohydrodynamic stress and the electrically-induced deformation. The 3D phase field model is also applied in modeling of an electrohydrodynamic patterning process for manufacturing nanoscaled structures, in which complex 3D flow structures develop as the electrically-induced deformation evolves.     

交变电场作用下骨表面温升的实验研究

骨具有力电性质,这一性质可促进骨组织生长。骨既是生理器官又是介电材料,在交变电场作用下,其表现行为可能有生理作用。为此,本文测量了骨悬臂梁试样在交变电场下的表面温升与顶端挠度。发现在电压70V,频率为10~70kHz的交流电场下,最大表面温升达到2~4℃,最大挠度变化为9.0~78.7μm;在频率10kHz,电压为70~175V的交流电场下,最大表面温升达到4~6℃,最大挠度变化为13.0~114.3μm。同时测量了两种经典介电材料有机玻璃和聚乙烯在交变电场下的温升与顶端挠度,最大温升低于0.5℃,但是挠度与骨试样相当,所以相对高温升是骨特有的性质。将交流电压有效值替换成相同幅值的直流电压时,最大温升也低于0.5℃,基本没有挠度变化,所以相对的高温升反映了骨的交流性质。分析后认为,骨在交变电场作用下的温升由胶原的介电损耗引起。实验数据显示,骨在交变电场下,表面温度变化与加载电压的平方成正比,且在实验加载的10~70kHz频段内,骨的介电常数随频率的变化明显。     

均匀电场中气泡上升特性的实验研究

电场中的气泡对于强化传热有显著的作用, 对于电场中气泡动力学特性的研究对增强换热器效率, 提高能源利用率有重要意义. 为了获得外加电场作用下气泡的动力学特性, 设计与搭建了可视化实验平台. 采用50 kV高压直流电源构建均匀电场, 高清摄像机拍摄实验图像. 引入电场强度、气泡体积与溶液介电常数作为变量, 探究其对于气泡动力学特性的影响. 观测了竖直与水平均匀电场中气泡的上升过程, 分析了不同变量下气泡变形状况与上升速度的变化. 引入气泡长宽比L/D用于表示气泡拉伸变形程度, 截取单个气泡上升过程分时段图像展示形态变化过程. 研究结果表明, 气泡沿电场方向伸长, 且电场强度越大, 变形越明显; 竖直电场中气泡伸长导致上升速度增大, 而水平电场中气泡上升速度减小. 气泡尺寸增大, 浮升力作用增强, 气泡上升速度增大. 溶液介电常数增加, 电场力作用明显增加, 气泡变形更加明显.      

Electrohydrodynamic method of determining the particle size of the dispersed phase in a magnetic fluid

A mathematical model of the process of passing an alternating electric current through a magnetic fluid is proposed. The process has been experimentally investigated at different frequencies for various concentrations of the dispersed phase. So far this effect has been investigated mainly experimentally (for example, in [1, 2]), and the experimental results have been qualitatively interpreted. An expression is obtained for the impedance of the part of the circuit containing the cell with the magnetic fluid in the case of high frequencies. This expression makes it possible to determine, from the ratio of the amplitudes and phases of the current and the voltage in the circuit, the conducbivity and dielectric constant of the magnetic fluid. It is shown that in the particular case of low volume concentration of the dispersed phase the conductivity of the magnetic fluid depends on two parameters: the volume concentration of the dispersed phase a and the dimensionless frequency of variation of the potential difference applied to the cell containing the magnetic fluid . The passage of an alternating electric current through a cell containing a magnetic fluid has been experimentally investigated at different frequencies for various volume concentrations of the dispersed phase. A new method of determining the particle size of the dispersed phase in a magnetic fluid is proposed on the basis of a comparison of the theoretical and experimental results.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 157–164, September–October, 1987.     

Three-dimensional electric potential induced by a point singularity in a multilayered dielectric medium

A simple and effective method is proposed to derive the three-dimensional electric potential induced by a point singularity of any type in an N-phase dielectric medium composed of N-2 intermediate dielectric layers of equal thickness encased in two semi-infinite dielectric media. The point singularity can include a point charge or a point electric dipole. The original boundary value problem for the N-phase medium is reduced to the determination of a single unknown three-dimensional harmonic function through satisfaction of the continuity conditions across all of the N-1 perfect planar interfaces. The single harmonic function can be completely determined after analytically solving the resulting linear recurrence relations, which are independent of the type and the specific location of the singularity. When the singularity is a point charge, we obtain the self-energy of the point charge expressed in terms of a single function and the Coulomb force on the point charge expressed in terms of the negative derivative of this function.     

Approximate calculation of channel flows under force and energy actions

Gasdynamic channel flows under force and energy actions are considered. An approximate method is proposed for solving the gasdynamic equations that describe these flows. Themethod includes the separation of an “active” flow volume in which the integral electric force and applied power, whose densities are assumed to be uniform, are concentrated and the numerical integration of the system of hydrodynamic equations over the entire channel (in laminar and turbulent variants) with the piecewise constant force and energy sources obtained. The results of experimental investigation are presented for the flow that arises after two accessories mounted on the opposite walls of the vertical rectangular channel of constant cross-section, which create a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD actuators). This flow is numerically simulated using the method developed. On the basis of the method proposed the flow characteristics are determined for a model subsonic diffuser on whose lower wall, immediately in front of the separation zone, the DBD actuator is mounted. The efficiency of this accessory in reducing the gasdynamic losses is demonstrated.     

A 3D multi-field element for simulating the electromechanical coupling behavior of dielectric elastomers

We propose a multi-field implicit finite element method for analyzing the electromechanical behavior of dielectric elastomers. This method is based on a four-field variational principle, which includes displacement and electric potential for the electromechanical coupling analysis, and additional independent fields to address the incompressible constraint of the hyperelastic material. Linearization of the variational form and finite element discretization are adopted for the numerical implementation. A general FEM program framework is developed using C ++ based on the open-source finite element library deal.II to implement this proposed algorithm. Numerical examples demonstrate the accuracy, convergence properties, mesh-independence properties, and scalability of this method. We also use the method for eigenvalue analysis of a dielectric elastomer actuator subject to electromechanical loadings. Our finite element implementation is available as an online supplementary material.     

Effects of electric field on crack growth for a penny-shaped dielectric crack in a piezoelectric layer

The assumptions of impermeable and permeable cracks give rise to significant errors in determining electro-elastic behavior of a cracked piezoelectric material. The former simply imposes that the permittivity or electric displacement of the crack interior vanishes, and the latter neglects also the effects of the dielectric of an opening crack interior. Considering the presence of the dielectric of an opening crack interior and the permeability of the crack surfaces for electric field, this paper analyzes electro-elastic behavior induced by a penny-shaped dielectric crack in a piezoelectric ceramic layer. In the cases of prescribed displacement or prescribed stress at the layer surfaces, the Hankel transform technique is employed to reduce the problem to Fredholm integral equations with a parameter dependent nonlinearly on the unknown functions. For an infinite piezoelectric space, a closed-form solution can be derived explicitly, while for a piezoelectric layer, an iterative technique is suggested to solve the resulting nonlinear equations. Field intensity factors are obtained in terms of the solution of the equations. Numerical results of the crack opening displacement intensity factors are presented for a cracked PZT-5H layer and the effect of applied electric field on crack growth are examined for both cases. The results indicate that the fracture toughness of a piezoelectric ceramic is affected by the direction of applied electric fields, dependent on the elastic boundary conditions.     

State dependent linear moduli in ferroelectrics

A novel experimental method is used to measure the evolution of the linear elastic, dielectric and piezoelectric moduli of a soft ferroelectric ceramic during loading. The applied loading states are combinations of uniaxial compressive stress and electric field. Short pulses of electric field and stress are used to increment the remanent strain and polarization state of the material, while the rates of change of electric displacement and strain during unloading are used to assess the moduli. The remanent quantities are treated as state variables, with a view to expressing the moduli as functions of the material state. The piezoelectric moduli are found to vary approximately linearly with polarization, regardless of the remanent strain state, whilst the dielectric moduli and elastic compliances show more complex behaviour. A simple model of the state dependence of the moduli, based on varying the volume fractions of six crystal variants in the tetragonal system, is used to interpret the results.     

Study of a propagating finite crack in functionally graded piezoelectric materials considering dielectric medium effect

This paper provides a study of the problem of a propagating finite crack under in-plane loading in functionally graded piezoelectric materials (FGPMs). The analytical formulations are developed by Fourier transforms and the resulting singular integral equations are solved by using Chebyshev polynomials. By using a dielectric crack model with deformation-dependent electric boundary condition, numerical simulations are made to show the effects of the dielectric medium, the gradient of material properties and the speed of crack propagation on the fracture parameters, such as the stress, electric displacement and crack opening displacement intensity factors. A critical state for the electromechanical loading applied to the FGPMs is observed, which determines whether the traditionally impermeable (or permeable) crack model serves as the upper or lower bound for the dielectric model. The validity of this dielectric crack model is also examined by comparing the results of different existing crack models.     

基于辛本征值方法的受约束介电弹性体中褶皱不稳定性的分析

辛弹性力学已广泛应用于弹性学中各种边值问题的精确解、计算表面波模式以及预测多层超弹性薄膜中的表面褶皱。本文展示了辛分析框架还可应用于受约束介电弹性体中的表面褶皱。机械和电位移向量是两个基本变量来描述介电弹性体中机械变形与电场紧密耦合。褶皱的临界电压可以通过引入基本变量的对偶变量来从辛本征值问题中解决。本文采用扩展的W-W（Wittrick-Williams）算法和精确的积分方法,准确而高效地解决制定的辛本征值问题的本征值。通过将褶皱电压和波数与有无表面能的褶皱基准结果进行比较,验证了辛分析的有效性。辛分析框架简洁且适用于其他不稳定问题,如分层电介质弹性体、磁弹性不稳定性以及层压复合结构的微观和宏观不稳定性。     

Propagation of instability in dielectric elastomers

When an electric voltage is applied across the thickness of a thin layer of an dielectric elastomer, the layer reduces its thickness and expands its area. This electrically induced deformation can be rapid and large, and is potentially useful as soft actuators in diverse technologies. Recent experimental and theoretical studies have shown that, when the voltage exceeds some critical value, the homogenous deformation of the layer becomes unstable, and the layer deforms into a mixture of thin and thick regions. Subsequently, as more electric charge is applied, the thin regions enlarge at the expense of the thick regions. On the basis of a recently formulated nonlinear field theory, this paper develops a meshfree method to simulate numerically this instability.     

Periodic set of limited electrically permeable interface cracks with contact zones

Plane problem for an infinite space composed of two different piezoelectric or piezoelectric/dielectric semi-infinite spaces with a periodic set of limited electrically permeable interface cracks is considered. Uniformly distributed electromechanical loading is applied at infinity. The frictionless contact zones at the crack tips are taken into account. The problem is reduced to the combined Dirichlet–Riemann boundary value problem by means of the electromechanical factors presentation via sectionally analytic functions, assuming that the electric flux is uniformly distributed inside the cracks. An exact solution of the problem is proposed. It permits to find in a closed form all necessary electromechanical characteristics at the interface and to formulate the equation for the determination of the electric flux value. Analysis of this equation confirms the correctness of the assumption concerning the uniform distribution of the electric flux in the crack region.Formulae for stresses, electric displacement vector, elastic displacements and electric potential jump at the interface as well as the intensity factors at the crack tips are given. Equation for the contact zone length determination is presented. Calculations for certain material combinations are carried out. The influence of electric permeability of cracks on electromechanical fields and the fracture mechanical parameters is analyzed.     

A dielectric crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric layer

Considering the dielectric effects inside a crack, the problem of an electrically dielectric crack in a functionally graded piezoelectric layer is addressed in this paper. The energetically consistent crack-face boundary conditions are utilized to analyze the effects of a dielectric of crack interior. Applying the Fourier transform technique, the boundary-value problem is reduced to solving three coupling singular equations. Then a system of non-linear algebraic equations is obtained and the field intensity factors along with the energy release rate are given. Numerical results show the differences of the electric displacement inside a crack, the stress and electric displacement intensity factors and the energy release rate using the permeable, impermeable, semi-permeable and energetically consistent boundary conditions respectively. The effects of the material non-homogeneity, the applied electric field and the discharge field of crack interior on the electrostatic traction acting on the crack faces and the energy release rate are further studied through the energetically consistent boundary conditions.     

RESISTANCE EFFECT OF ELECTRIC DOUBLE LAYER ON LIQUID FLOW IN MICROCHANNEL

Poisson-Boltzrnann equation for EDL (electric double layer) and Navier-Stokes equation for liquid flows were numerically solved to investigate resistance effect of electric double layer on liquid flow in microchannel. The dimension analysis indicates that the resistance effect of electric double layer can be estimated by an electric resistance number, which is proportional to the square of the liquid dielectric constant and the solid surface zeta potential, and inverse-proportional to the liquid dynamic viscosity, electric conductivity and the square of the channel width. An "electric current density balancing" (ECDB) condition was proposed to evaluate the flow-induced streaming potential, instead of conventional "electric current balancing" (ECB) condition which may induce spurious local backflow in neighborhood of the solid wall of the microchannel. The numerical results of the flow rate loss ratio and velocity profile are also given to demonstrate the resistance effect of electric double layer in microchannel.     

Non-linear electromechanical response of 1–3 type piezocomposites

Domain switching in piezoelectric materials is caused by external loads such as electric field and stress that leads to non-linear behaviour. A study is carried out to compare the non-linear behaviour of 1–3 piezocomposites with different volume fractions and bulk piezoceramics. Experiments are conducted to measure the electrical displacement and strain on piezocomposites and bulk ceramics under high cyclic electrical loading and constant compressive prestress. A thermodynamically consistent uni-axial framework is developed to predict the nonlinear behaviour by combining the phenomenological and micromechanical techniques. Volume fractions of three distinct uni-axial variants (instead of six variants) are used as internal variables to describe the microscopic state of the material. In this model, the grain boundary effects are taken into account by introducing the back fields (electric field and stress) as non-linear kinematic hardening functions. An analytical model based on equivalent layered approach is used to calculate effective properties such as elastic, piezoelectric, and dielectric constants for different volume fractions of piezocomposites. The predicted effective properties are incorporated in the proposed uni-axial model and the dielectric hysteresis (electrical displacement versus electric field) as well as butterfly curves (strain versus electric field) are simulated. Comparison between the experiments and simulations show that this model can reproduce the characteristics of non-linear response. It is observed that the variation in fiber volume fraction and compressive stress has a significant influence on the response of the 1–3 piezocomposites.     

Formation of Regions with High Energy and Pressure Gradients at the Free Surface of Liquid Dielectric in a Tangential Electric Field

The nonlinear dynamics of the free surface of an ideal incompressible non-conducting fluid with a high dielectric constant subjected to a strong horizontal electric field is simulated using the method of conformal transformations. It is shown that in the initial stage of interaction of counter-propagating periodic waves of significant amplitude, there is a direct energy cascade leading to energy transfer to small scales. This results in the formation of regions with a steep wave front at the fluid surface, in which the dynamic pressure and the pressure exerted by the electric field undergo a discontinuity. It has been demonstrated that the formation of regions with high gradients of the electric field and fluid velocity is accompanied by breaking of surface waves; the boundary inclination angle tends to 90?, and the surface curvature increases without bound.