Anisotropic elastic properties and ideal uniaxial compressive strength of TiB_2 from first principles calculations

The structural, anisotropic elastic properties and the ideal compressive and tensile strengths of titanium diboride(TiB_2) were investigated using first-principles calculations based on density functional theory. The stress–strain relationships of TiB_2 under 1010, 1210, and 0001 compressive loads were calculated. Our results showed that the ideal uniaxial compressive strengths are |σ _(1210)| = 142.96 GPa, |σ_(0001)| = 188.75 GPa, and |σ_(1010)| = 245.33 GPa, at strains -0.16,-0.32, and-0.24, respectively. The variational trend is just the opposite to that of the ideal tensile strength withσ 1010 = 44.13 GPa, σ_(0001)= 47.03 GPa, and σ_(1210)= 56.09 GPa, at strains 0.14, 0.28, and 0.22, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that TiB_2 is much stronger under compression than in tension. The ratios of the ideal compressive to tensile strengths are 5.56, 2.55, and 4.01 for crystallographic directions 1010, 1210, and 0001, respectively. The present results are in excellent agreement with the most recent experimental data and should be helpful to the understanding of the compressive property of TiB_2.     

Relation between interfacial shear strength and compressive strength of carbon fiber/epoxy resin composite strands

The mechanism with which the fiber-matrix interfacial strength exerts its influence on the compressive strength of fiber reinforced composites has been studied by measuring the axial compressive strength of carbon fiber/epoxy resin unidirectional composite strands having different levels of interfacial shear strength. The composite strands are used for experiments in order to investigate the compressive strength which is not affected by the delamination taking place at a weak interlayer of the laminated composites. The interfacial strength is varied by applying various degrees of liquid-phase surface treatment to the fibers. The efficiency of the compressive strength of the fibers utilized in the strength of the composite strands is estimated by measuring the compressive strength of the single carbon filaments with a micro-compression test. The compressive strength of the composite strands does not increase monotonically with increasing interfacial shear strength but showes lower values at higher interfacial shear strengths. With increasing interfacial shear strength, the suppression of the interfacial failure in the misaligned fiber region increases the compressive strength, while at higher interfacial shear strengths, the enhancement of the crack sensitivity decreases the compressive strength.     

水泥水化物中钙矾石的X射线定量分析

本文用X射线衍射法定量分析了水泥水化产物中的钙矾石,得到了较为准确的结果,该方法对研究钙矾石的形成机理和膨胀机理提供了重要的参考依据,具有理论和实际意义。     

The Effect of Curing Temperature on Early Hydration of Gray Cement Via Fast Field Cycling-NMR Relaxometry

In the present work, we use fast field cycling (FFC) nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry to evaluate the influence introduced by the curing temperature on the hydration process of gray cement. The main advantage of FFC relaxometry as compared with other relaxation studies performed at a specific frequency is that it is sensitive to a wider range of molecular motions and better separates the surface and bulk contributions from the global measured relaxation rate. In the case of cement hydration, the relaxation process is dominated by the interaction of water protons with the paramagnetic centers located on the surface of cement grains. This allows us in the frame of a two-phase exchange model to monitor the temperature dependence of the transverse diffusional correlation time at the surface of cement grains. An increase of the surface diffusion coefficient of water molecules with the temperature was revealed. Another outcome is that the surface-to-volume ratio of capillary pores continuously increases during the early hydration and this process is strongly enhanced by rising the temperature.     

The Effects of Different Superplasticizers and Water-to-Cement Ratios on the Hydration of Gray Cement Using T2-NMR

In the present work, we compare the influence introduced by the variation of water-to-cement ratio and the presence of different superplasticizers on the hydration process of gray cement using the low-field nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry. The stages of hydration are identified and a relationship between the ettringite formation during hydration process and the transverse relaxation time is established. It is also demonstrated that the addition of small amounts of superplasticizer in the cement paste significantly expands the dormant period while the hardening period is reduced. On the other side, the increase in the water-to-cement ratio has little influence on the dormant period but can instead increase the porosity of the sample and consequently reduce its strength.     

低品位烟气余热回收换热器热力学分析

低品位烟气余热回收过程存在冷凝现象,烟气的放热过程分为显热、潜热两部分。冷凝时,局部热流率和熵产率明显增大;增加水蒸气质量分数、冷却水质量流量和降低烟气入口温度都会导致烟气提前冷凝;存在最优冷却水质量流量使得热回收过程熵产数最小。另外,提出热回收效率评价烟气热回收程度,该指标受冷凝的影响很大。随着烟气中蒸汽质量分数的增加,冷凝过程的影响明显增强,因此,在低品位烟气的全热回收中必须考虑潜热的影响。     

Factors Affecting Early-Age Hydration of Ordinary Portland Cement Studied by NMR: Fineness,Water-to-Cement Ratio and Curing Temperature

The aim of the present study was to apply nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) relaxation measurements for understanding the microstructure evolution of cement paste during hydration. Ordinary Portland cement powder was mixed with double-distilled water, and hydration process was analyzed via ¹H proton NMR spin–spin relaxation time. In order to induce strong modification of the rate of hydration, water-to-cement ratio, curing temperature and cement fineness were varied. The evolution of the NMR spin–spin relaxation time, T ₂, of hydrating water versus the hydration time was monitored from the very first few minutes after the mixing up to several hours. Authors' address: Marcella Alesiani, Department of Physics, University La Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy     

空气与高温烧结水泥颗粒球间气固换热规律研究

本文对空气与高温烧结水泥颗粒的气固换热规律进行了非稳态实验研究和数值模拟。通过实验分析了空气速度、颗粒初始温度、颗粒大小对对流换热系数的影响,水泥颗粒直径为8.88 cm和5.94 cm,水泥颗粒初始温度约为500℃和700℃,空气速度范围1～4 m/s,得到了实验范围内空气绕流烧结水泥颗粒的对流换热经验关联式。结果表明:高温烧结水泥颗粒冷却过程中辐射换热热流密度与对流换热热流密度相当,不可忽略;实验所得准则数Nu_f与Re_d的指数关系为0.5。对直径为8.88 cm的水泥颗粒对应的试验工况进行了数值模拟,数值模拟结果与实验结果符合较好,误差在20%以内。     

Effect of compressive and tensile stresses in GaMnAs layers on their magnetic properties

The effect of elastic stresses (compressive, tensile) on the magnetic properties of epitaxial GaMnAs layers prepared by laser deposition of solid-state targets in a gas atmosphere on different buffer sublayers (In _x Ga_{1 − x} As and In _x Ga_{1 − x} P) and substrates (GaAs, InP) has been investigated. It has been established from the investigations of magnetic-field dependences of the Hall resistance that all layers exhibit ferromagnetic properties with the Curie temperature ∼50 K. It has been shown that, in the case of tensile stresses in GaMnAs layers (In _x Ga_{1 − x} As and In _x Ga_{1 − x} P buffers and InP substrate), the anomalous Hall effect shape demonstrates a predominant orientation of the easy-magnetization axis in the growth direction, unlike the GaMnAs layers prepared on a GaAs substrate (with compressive stresses), which demonstrate the predominance of the component of the magnetization vector in the layer plane.     

Electronic Specific Heat of Vanadium Compounds at Low Temperatures

Russian Physics Journal - The paper presents the research results of the temperature dependence of molar heat capacity at a constant pressure within the temperature range from 5 to 300 K for...     

Influences of compressive stress and aging on dielectric properties of sodium bismuth titanate ceramics

The influences of compressive stress and aging on dielectric properties of undoped and Fe-doped sodium bismuth titanate (NBT) ceramics were investigated. The dielectric properties were decreased significantly with the compressive stress applied parallel to the electric field direction, while the changes were reversed with the stress applied perpendicularly. In addition, lower changes of the dielectric properties with stress were observed in Fe-NBT ceramics, likely caused by an enhanced relaxor characteristic with the acceptor doping, which also reduced the aging rate in the ceramics. Finally, the aging behavior of the NBT and Fe-NBT ceramics followed the slightly stretched exponential law, and the aging rate in both ceramics was found to decrease with frequency, a result of the pinning of the polarization components. These observations clearly confirmed the role of the acceptor dopant in enhancing the relaxor ferroelectric characteristics in the NBT-based ceramics.     

Low temperature properties of proton and deuteron glasses

2D deuteron exchange NMR and ⁸⁷Rb spin-lattice relaxation time measurements in proton and deuteron glasses show that the O-H..O dipoles are not completely frozen out at low temperatures but show dynamic features characteristic of incoherent tunneling. RADP and DRADP are thus quantum glasses.     

A probabilistic mechanical model for prediction of aggregates’ size distribution effect on concrete compressive strength

To predict aggregates’ size distribution effect on the concrete compressive strength, a probabilistic mechanical model is proposed. Within this model, a Voronoi tessellation of a set of non-overlapping and rigid spherical aggregates is used to describe the concrete microstructure. Moreover, aggregates’ diameters are defined as statistical variables and their size distribution function is identified to the experimental sieve curve. Then, an inter-aggregate failure criterion is proposed to describe the compressive-shear crushing of the hardened cement paste when concrete is subjected to uniaxial compression. Using a homogenization approach based on statistical homogenization and on geometrical simplifications, an analytical formula predicting the concrete compressive strength is obtained. This formula highlights the effects of cement paste strength and aggregates’ size distribution and volume fraction on the concrete compressive strength. According to the proposed model, increasing the concrete strength for the same cement paste and the same aggregates’ volume fraction is obtained by decreasing both aggregates’ maximum size and the percentage of coarse aggregates. Finally, the validity of the model has been discussed through a comparison with experimental results (15 concrete compressive strengths ranging between 46 and 106 MPa) taken from literature and showing a good agreement with the model predictions.     

Low field magnetic properties of us

The broad peak and jumps that occur in the isofield magnetization curves of US single crystals when these are heated after first being thermally demagnetized by cooling from above T_c to low temperatures, are investigated. The jumps (two for the [110] direction, one for the [111] direction and none for the [001] direction) are correlated with the same behaviour in the initial magnetization curves and interpreted as due to the nucleation and growth of 70, 109 and 180° domains. The crystals also exhibit a high coercivity (～ 1000 Oe) and remanent magnetization of up to 92% along the [001] direction at 4 K. This enabled us to study the peak and step behaviour also by premagnetization experiments.     

Hydration effect on the electronic transport properties of oligomeric phenylene ethynylene molecular junctions

A first-principles computational method based on the hybrid density functional theory is developed to simulate the electronic transport properties of oligomeric phenylene ethynylene molecular junctions with H₂O molecules accumulated in the vicinity as recently reported by Na {\it et al.} [\wx{Nanotechnology}{18} 424001 (2007)]. The numerical results show that the hydrogen bonds between the oxygen atoms of the oligomeric phenylene ethynylene molecule and H₂O molecules result in the localisation of the molecular orbitals and lead to the lower transition peaks. The H₂O molecular chains accumulated in the vicinity of the molecular junction can not only change the electronic structure of the molecular junctions, but also open additional electronic transport pathways. The obvious influence of H₂O molecules on the electronic structure of the molecular junction and its electronic transport properties is thus demonstrated.     

Heat pipe research and development in the Americas

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the recent heat pipe research and development efforts in the Americas. After discussing the research and development of high performance monogroove, tapered artery, trapezoidally grooved, dual-slot, double wall artery, ceramic and other specially designed heat pipes, the transient modeling and testing efforts are reviewed for a variety of heat pipes that also includes variable conductance heat pipes and thermosyphons. The application of heat pipes to terrestrial systems is discussed for the heat recovery systems, Rankine and solar systems, fusion reactor core cooling and the thermal control of electronic equipment. The application of heat pipes to space systems includes the thermal control of space station and satellites, and the radiator design of large space power systems. Although many advances have been made in the past few years in the development of high heat transfer performance heat pipes, the heat pipe modeling efforts are not in step with the technological requirements.     

低中功率氢电弧加热发动机内传热与流动比较

本文采用数值模拟方法对低、中功率氢电弧加热发动机内的传热与流动特性进行了比较研究。结果表明:低、中功率氢电弧加热发动机内的传热与流动规律基本相似;发动机内最高温度出现在阴极尖下游附近;发动机轴线上的轴向速度在约束段出口附近达到最大值。随着发动机功率的增加,发动机内的最高温度和轴线上的最大速度也随之增加。本文还将数值模拟获得的电弧加热发动机性能参数和文献中报道的实验测量值进行了比较,二者符合良好。     

Improved magnetic properties and fracture strength of NdFeB by dehydrogenation

Effects of the dehydrogenation of the hydrogen decrepitated (HD) powders on the magnetic properties and the fracture strength of sintered NdFeB magnets were studied. It was found that the lattice parameters and the crystal phase of NdFeB changed significantly with the various hydrogen contents of the resultant HD powders due to the different degrees of dehydrogenation. The magnetic properties and fracture strength increased with decreasing hydrogen content, reaching the maximum increases of 200% for both intrinsic coercivity and bending strength, which can be ascribed to the improved microstructure of the sintered NdFeB magnets. The hydrogen remaining in the HD powders diffused out and affected drastically the grain and grain boundaries by the hydrogen out-take channel during the subsequent sintering process.