Rapid Plateau border size variations expected in three simple experiments on 2D liquid foams<Superscript>⋆</Superscript>

Up to a global scaling, the geometry of foams squeezed between two solid plates (2D GG foams) essentially depends on two independent parameters: the liquid volume fraction and the degree of squeezing (bubble thickness to diameter ratio). We describe it in two main asymptotic regimes: fully dry floor tiles, where the Plateau border radius is smaller than the distance between the solid plates, and dry pancakes, where it is larger. We predict a rapid variation of the Plateau border radius in one part of the pancake regime, namely when the Plateau border radius is larger than the inter-plate distance but smaller than the geometric mean of that distance and the bubble perimeter. This rapid variation is not related to any topological change in the foam: in all the regimes we consider, the bubbles remain in mutual lateral contact through films located at mid-height between both plates. We provide asymptotic predictions in different types of experiments on such 2D GG foams: when foam is being progressively dried or wetted, when it is being squeezed further or stretched, when it coarsens through film breakage or through inter-bubble gas diffusion. Our analysis is restricted to configurations close to equilibrium, as we do not include stresses resulting from bulk viscous flow or from non-homogeneous surfactant concentrations. We also assume that the inter-plate distance is sufficiently small for gravity to be negligible. The present work does not provide a method for measuring small Plateau border radii experimentally, but it indicates that large (and easily observable) Plateau borders should appear or disappear rather suddenly in some types of experiments with small inter-plate gaps. It also gives expected orders of magnitude that should be helpful for designing experiments on 2D GG foams.     

Influence of AlN buffer layer thickness on structural properties of GaN epilayer grown on Si (111) substrate with AlGaN interlayer

We present the growth of GaN epilayer on Si (111) substrate with a single AlGaN interlayer sandwiched between the GaN epilayer and AlN buffer layer by using the metalorganic chemical vapour deposition. The influence of the AlN buffer layer thickness on structural properties of the GaN epilayer has been investigated by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, optical microscopy and high-resolution x-ray diffraction. It is found that an AlN buffer layer with the appropriate thickness plays an important role in increasing compressive strain and improving crystal quality during the growth of AlGaN interlayer, which can introduce a more compressive strain into the subsequent grown GaN layer, and reduce the crack density and threading dislocation density in GaN film.     

Uniaxial deformation of nanotwinned nanotubes in body-centered cubic tungsten

We perform large-scale molecular dynamics simulations to delve into tensile and compressive loading of nanotubes containing {112} nanoscale twins in body-centered cubic tungsten, as a function of wall thickness, twin boundary spacing, and strain rate. Solid nanopillars without the interior hollow and/or nanotubes without the nanoscale twins are also investigated as references. Our findings demonstrate that both stress-strain response and deformation behavior of nanotwinned nanotubes and nanopillars exhibit a strong tension-compression asymmetry. The yielding of the nanotwinned nanotubes with thick walls is governed by dislocation nucleation from the twin boundary/surface intersections. With a small wall thickness, however, the failure of the nanotwinned nanotubes is dominated by crack formation and buckling under tensile and compressive loading, respectively. In addition, the strain rate effect, which is more pronounced in compressive loading than in tensile loading, increases with a decreasing twin boundary spacing.     

Transmission spectroscopy in a thin vapour layer and its derivative properties

A novel method of high-resolution spectroscopy of gases is proposed. The method is based on observing the optical behaviour of the vapour layer when the particles cross the light beam or collide with the cell walls. The atomic motion and electronic quenching on gas-solid interfaces are explored by numerical analysis. The periodicity of peak values of transmission spectra and its derivative spectra demonstrates a sub-Doppler structure corresponding to the resonant transitions.     

Strain rate effects on compressive behavior of covalently bonded CNT networks

In this study, strain rate effects on the compressive mechanical properties of randomly structured carbon nanotube (CNT) networks were examined. For this purpose, three-dimensional atomistic models of CNT networks with covalently-bonded junctions were generated. After that, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of compressive loading were performed at five different strain rates to investigate the basic deformation characteristic mechanisms of CNT networks and determine the effect of strain rate on stress–strain curves. The simulation results showed that the strain rate of compressive loading increases, so that a higher resistance of specimens to deformation is observed. Furthermore, the local deformation characteristics of CNT segments, which are mainly driven by bending and buckling modes, and their prevalence are strongly affected by the deformation rate. It was also observed that CNT networks have superior features to metal foams such as metal matrix syntactic foams (MMSFs) and porous sintered fiber metals (PSFMs) in terms of energy absorbing capabilities.     

A Monte Carlo ray tracing study of polarized light propagation in liquid foams

A Monte Carlo ray tracing scheme is used to investigate the propagation of an incident collimated beam of polarized light in liquid foams. Cellular structures like foam are expected to change the polarization characteristics due to multiple scattering events, where such changes can be used to monitor foam dynamics. A statistical model utilizing some of the recent developments in foam physics is coupled with a vector Monte Carlo scheme to compute the depolarization ratios via Stokes-Mueller formalism. For the simulations, the incident Stokes vector corresponding to horizontal linear polarization and right circular polarization are considered. It is observed that bubble size and the polydispersity parameter have a significant effect on the depolarization ratios. This is partially owing to the number of total internal reflection events in the Plateau borders. The results are discussed in terms of applicability of polarized light as a diagnostic tool for monitoring foams.     

MORPHOLOGY OF SEMICRYSTALLINE FOAMS BASED ON POLYETHYLENE

The matrix polymer morphology of a collection of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) foams manufactured from a high-pressure nitrogen solution process is analyzed at different length scales. This morphology is compared with that of the extruded LDPE, which was used to produce the foams. The main sources for the differences between the morphologies of both kinds of material seem to be related to the geometrical arrangement of the polymer in thin cell walls and to the complicated mechanical and thermal history of the polymer that comprises the cell walls of the foams.     

Assessment of 3D inhomogeneous microstructure of highly alloyed aluminium foam via dual energy K-edge subtraction imaging

X-ray microtomography was used to evaluate the inhomogeneous characteristics of newly-developed Al–Zn–Mg foam. Using the synchrotron K-edge subtraction technique, a highly heterogeneous distribution of Zn was quantified three-dimensionally (3D) in the cell wall of as-cast foam. Time-resolved analysis of the concentration evolution revealed a tendency to a homogeneous Zn distribution as solution time prolonged. This was accompanied by a declined variation in hardness measurement. Other microstructural features after solution treatment, such as number and size distribution of micropores, were also characterised. By utilising various quenching rates, the inhomogeneities in microstructure and compression properties inside the foam were also clarified. Thus, element-sensitive tomography provides a novel solution for the 3D/4D analysis in the study of foams.     

低密度聚氨酯泡沫压缩行为实验研究

 在室温下,对一种低密度硬质聚氨酯泡沫进行了准静态压缩及应变率在1×10³～5×10³ s^-1范围内的冲击压缩实验。结果表明,所测试的聚氨酯泡沫材料在准静态实验与动态实验之间存在明显的应变率效应,但在纯动态实验中应变率效应不明显。最后,给出了以屈服应力、密度、应变等为参量的动态压缩本构关系,且能较好地与材料的动态压缩曲线吻合。     

Dislocations in two-dimensional liquid foams

In this analysis we make the analogy between the dislocations in metals and the behaviour of 2D liquid foams in the presence of external forces. It is shown that the edge defect which appears in metals can also be introduced in a similar manner in 2D liquid foams and that the motion of this defect through the foam can occur by the process of T1 transformations. The analogy leads to the motion of local cells as opposed to the motion of a row of cells. That is, the T1 process occurs ‘locally’ and the ‘defect’, primarily introduced here as an edge dislocation, can move through the whole 2D liquid foam through the local motion of these edge dislocations. These defects as in the theory of metals lead to the reduction of the critical stress required for the ‘slipping’ of the 2D liquid foam. Furthermore, since it is these defects which are responsible for the behaviour of the 2D liquid foam to external forces and since it will be the motion of these defects which is related to the motion of the cells, it is possible, again through the analogy with ‘slipping’ in metals to determine the strain rate. The result is given as strain rate = ϱ b 〈V〉.     

Direct single-layered fabrication of 3D concavo–convex patterns in nano-stereolithography

A nano-surfacing process (NSP) is proposed to directly fabricate three-dimensional (3D) concavo–convex-shaped microstructures such as micro-lens arrays using two-photon polymerization (TPP), a promising technique for fabricating arbitrary 3D highly functional micro-devices. In TPP, commonly utilized methods for fabricating complex 3D microstructures to date are based on a layer-by-layer accumulating technique employing two-dimensional sliced data derived from 3D computer-aided design data. As such, this approach requires much time and effort for precise fabrication. In this work, a novel single-layer exposure method is proposed in order to improve the fabricating efficiency for 3D concavo–convex-shaped microstructures. In the NSP, 3D microstructures are divided into 13 sub-regions horizontally with consideration of the heights. Those sub-regions are then expressed as 13 characteristic colors, after which a multi-voxel matrix (MVM) is composed with the characteristic colors. Voxels with various heights and diameters are generated to construct 3D structures using a MVM scanning method. Some 3D concavo–convex-shaped microstructures were fabricated to estimate the usefulness of the NSP, and the results show that it readily enables the fabrication of single-layered 3D microstructures. PACS 85.40.Hp; 81.16.Nd; 42.82.Cr     

Numerical study of the temperature and porosity effects on the fracture propagation in a 2D network of elastic bonds

This article reports results concerning the fracture of a 2d triangular lattice of atoms linked by springs. The lattice is submitted to controlled strain tests and the influence of both porosity and temperature on failure is investigated. The porosity is found on one hand to decrease the stiffness of the specimen but on the other hand it increases the deformation sustained prior to failure. Temperature is shown to control the ductility due to the presence of cavities that grow and merge. The rough surfaces resulting from the propagation of the crack exhibit self-affine properties with a roughness exponent = 0.59 ± 0.07 over a range of length scales which increases with temperature. Large cavities also have rough walls which are found to be fractal with a dimension, D, which evolves with the distance from the crack tip. For large distances, D is found to be close to 1.5, and close to 1.0 for cavities just before their coalescence with the main crack.     

不同应变率下两种岩石的压缩破碎特征试验研究

为了研究不同岩石在不同应变率下压缩时裂纹的产生规律及破坏模式,将石灰岩和红砂岩制成试件,研究其在不同应变率和受力模式下裂纹的形成模式。开展了两种岩石的准静态压缩和动态压缩试验,采用高速摄影机记录了裂纹的产生和破坏模式。对两种岩石试件的裂纹形态进行对比,基于岩石的物理性质、受力状态、能量演化分析,得到了在不同应变率下压缩时产生差异性的原因。结果表明:准静态压缩下岩石试件受压的破坏模式也会因应变率的不同而存在差异,并且破坏模式的差异对岩石试件的抗压强度将产生显著的影响;从能量演化的角度分析,入射能量的大小将会决定岩石试样动态抗压强度曲线是否出现起伏;动态压缩时,裂纹的周向扩展速度与岩石抗压强度呈正相关。     

Atomistic Failure Mechanism of Single Wall Carbon Nanotubes with Small Diameters

Single wall carbon nanotubes with small diameters （〈 5.0 A） subjected to bending deformation are simulated by orthogonal tight-binding molecular dynamics approach. Based on the calculations of C-C bond stretching and breaking in the bending nanotubes, we elucidate the atomistic failure mechanisms of nanotube with small diameters. In the folding zone of bending nanotube, a large elongation of C-C bonds occurs, accounting for the superelastic behaviour. The C-C bonds parallel to the axis direction of nanotube are broken firstly due to the sustained longitudinal stretching strain, giving rising to forming one-notch or two-notch bond-breaking mode depending on nanotube chirMities. The direct bond-breaking mechanism is responsible for the brittle fracture behaviour of nanotubes with small diameters.     

基于微球透镜的任选区高分辨光学显微成像新方法研究

提出和发展了基于毛细管-微球组合探针的任选区、 高分辨显微成像新方法. 建立了微球显微成像的物理模型, 利用成像理论,推导出微球成像的放大倍率; 采用3.0, 4.4, 5.6, 7.5, 10.0 μm等不同直径的SiO₂微球, 对未经刻录的DVD光盘进行了微球显微成像实验, 可以观察到DVD光盘的微纳米结构被明显放大且对比度显著提高, 与理论计算结果相符合; 采用毛细管微探针操纵微球的方法, 实现了基于微球透镜阵列的样品微纳米结构的高分辨显微成像; 在此基础上, 进一步将毛细管微探针与微球组合, 制备出毛细管-微球组合型探针, 首次实现了基于微球透镜的样品任意区域高分辨显微成像.     

Versatile GaInO_3-sheet with strain-tunable electronic structure,excellent mechanical flexibility,and an ideal gap for photovoltaics

Due to many remarkable physical and chemical properties, two-dimensional(2D) nanomaterials have become a hot spot in the field of condensed matter physics. In this paper, we have studied the structural, mechanical, and electronic properties of the 2D GaInO_3 system by first-principles method. We find that 2D Ga InO_3 can exist stably at ambient condition. Molecular dynamic simulations show that GaInO_3-sheet has excellent thermal stability and is stable up to1100 K. Electronic structural calculations show that GaInO_3-sheet has a band gap of 1.56 eV, which is close to the ideal band gap of solar cell materials, demonstrating great potential in future photovoltaic application. In addition, strain effect studies show that the GaInO_3-sheet structure always exhibits a direct band gap under biaxial compressive strain, and as the biaxial compressive strain increases, the band gap gradually decreases until it is converted into metal. While biaxial tensile strain can cause the 2D material to transform from a direct band gap semiconductor into an indirect band gap semiconductor,and even to metal. Our research expands the application of the Ga InO_3 system, which may have potential application value in electronic devices and solar energy.     

一维液态泡沫渗流实验研究及表面能和粘性耗散分析

液态泡沫由大量气泡密集堆积在微量表面活性剂溶液中形成，是远离平衡态的软物质. 泡沫强制渗流在微观上是指以恒定流率输入的液体在气泡间隙内的微流动过程，是影响泡沫稳定的主要因素之一. 采用在表面活性剂溶液中添加微量色素以显示泡沫中液体流动的方法，确定了透射率与液体分率的对应关系，测量得到了一维液态泡沫强制渗流中渗流波传播规律以及液体分率的演变规律；理论推导了泡沫基本单元，即开尔文单元结构(Kelvin cell)的粘性耗散能表达式，并依据Surface Evolver软件计算得到了不同液体分率时开尔文单元结构对应的的表面能，并计算出了与实验系统对应的开尔文单元结构的表面能和粘性耗散. 基于开尔文单元结构内液体分率演变的准静态假设，分析了表面能和粘性耗散的演变规律.     

Three-dimensional textile structural composites under high strain rate compression: Z-transform and discrete frequency-domain analysis

Z-transform theory was applied to several three-dimensional (3D) textile structural composites, including an angle-interlock woven composite, a multilayer multi-axial warp knitted composite and a 4-step braided composite, to characterize their system dynamic behaviour in the frequency domain. More specifically, the analysis focused on the relationship between the compressive load and the system response under static (strain rate 0.001?s^?1) and impulsive (strain rate up to 2700?s^?1) strain along both the in-plane and out-of-plane directions, respectively. The high strain rate compressions were tested using a split Hopkinson pressure bar apparatus, and the input and output (the stress–strain curve) of the test specimen was obtained by recording the signals using a computer for further analysis. Z-transform was then used to analyze the dynamic response and stability of the composites of different preform structures and at various loading conditions. This is the first such attempt to study the compression behaviour of 3D textile structural composites at various strain rates in the frequency domain in order to reveal their mechanical behaviour and features of the materials from a new perspective.     

Mechanical properties of spruce wood cell walls by nanoindentation

In order to study the effects of structural variability, nanoindentation experiments were performed in Norway spruce cell walls with highly variable cellulose microfibril angle and lignin content. Contrary to hardness, which showed no statistically significant relationship with changing microfibril angle and lignin content, the elastic modulus of the secondary cell wall decreased significantly with increasing microfibril angle. While the elastic moduli of cell walls with large microfibril angle agreed well with published values, the elastic moduli of cell walls with small microfibril angle were clearly underestimated in nanoindentation measurements. Hardness measurements in the cell corner middle lamella allowed us to estimate the yield stress of the cell-wall matrix to be 0.34±0.16 GPa. Since the hardness of the secondary cell wall was statistically not different from the hardness of the cell corner middle lamella, irrespective of high variability in cellulose microfibril angle, it is proposed that compressive yielding of wood-cell walls is a matrix-dominated process. PACS 83.80.Mc