Comparison of fractal analyses methods and fractal dimension for pre-treated stainless steel surfaces and the correlation to adhesive joint strength

The fractal dimensions of six differently mechanically pre-treated stainless steel samples were investigated using five fractal algorithms. The surfaces were analyzed using a profiler, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy (LM), and thereafter adhesively bonded and tested in single-overlap joints to test their tensile strength. All samples showed different fractal behavior, depending on the microscopic methods and fractal algorithms. However, the overall relation between fractal dimension and tensile strength is qualitatively the same, except for the SEM images. This verifies that tensile strength is correlated to fractal dimension, although only within the length-scale of the profiler and the light microscope (≈0.5–100 μm). The AFM method was excluded in this comparison, since the limitation in the z-direction for the AFM scanner made it difficult to scan the rougher parts of the blasted samples. The magnitude of the surfaces is a parameter not often considered in fractal analysis. It is shown that the magnitude, for the Fourier method, is correlated to the arithmetic average difference, R_a, but only weakly to the fractal dimension. Hence, traditional parameters, such as R_a, tell us very little about the spatial distribution of the elevation data. Received: 22 December 1999 / Accepted: 9 October 2000 / Published online: 9 February 2001     

Inverse method for determining the depth of nonhomogeneous surface layers in elastic solids from the measurements of the dispersion curves of group velocity of surface SH Waves

In this paper, the variational inverse method for determining the depth of nonhomogeneous surface layers in elastic materials, from the measurements of the group velocity of surface shear horizontal (SH) waves, is developed. The direct problem for a given a priori type of profile of the coefficientc44in(x) (e.g. linear, Gaussian, etc.) is solved. The dispersion curves of phase and group velocity of surface SH waves in nonhomogeneous solids are calculated. Experimental verification of the inverse method has been performed for step profiles (structure of Cu on steel). It is stated that the inverse method based on the measurements of group velocity (for step profile) gives a smaller error in the unknown depth of the surface layer than that resulting from the inverse method based on the measurements of phase velocity of surface SH waves.     

Laser fluence dependence of the elastic properties of diamond-like carbon films prepared by pulsed-laser deposition

We studied the temperature dependence of internal friction of variety of amorphous diamond-like carbon films prepared by pulsed-laser deposition. Like the most of amorphous solids, the internal friction below 10 K exhibits a temperature independent plateau, which is caused by the atomic tunnelling states—a measure of structure disorder. In this work, we have varied the concentration of sp³ versus sp² carbon atoms by increasing laser fluence from 1.5 to 30 J/cm². Our results show that the internal friction has a nonmonotonic dependence on sp³/sp² ratio with the values of the internal friction plateaus varying between 6×10⁻⁵ and 1.1×10⁻⁴. We explain our findings as a result of a possible competition between the increase of atomic bonding and the increase of internal strain in the films, both of which are important in determining the tunneling states in amorphous solids. The importance of the internal strain in diamond-like carbon films is consistent with our previous study on laser fluence, doping, and annealing, which we will review as well. In contrast, no significant dependence of laser fluence is found in shear moduli of the films, which vary between 220 and 250 GPa.     

Confinement-induced instability and adhesive failure between dissimilar thin elastic films

When two thin soft elastomeric films are separated from each other, an elastic instability develops at the interface. Although similar instability develops for the case of a soft film separating from a rigid adherent, there are important differences in the two cases. For the single-film case, the wavelength of instability is independent of any material properties of the system, and it scales only with thickness of the film. For the two-film case, a co-operative instability mode develops, which is a non-linear function of the thicknesses and the elastic moduli of both films. We investigate the development of such instability by energy minimization procedures. Understanding the nature of this instability is important, as it affects the adhesive compliance of the system and thus the energy release rate in the debonding of soft interfaces.     

Electrostatic theory of viral self-assembly

Viruses self-assemble from identical capsid proteins and their genome consisting, for example, of a long single stranded (ss) RNA. For a big class of T=3 viruses, capsid proteins have long positive N-terminal tails. We explore the role played by the Coulomb interaction between the brush of positive N-terminal tails rooted at the inner surface of the capsid and the negative ss RNA molecule. We show that viruses are most stable when the total contour length of ss RNA is close to the total length of the tails. For such a structure the absolute value of the total RNA charge is approximately twice as large as the charge of the capsid. This conclusion agrees with structural data.     

Correlation between Vickers microhardness, porous layer thickness and porosity in p-type nanostructured silicon

Mechanical characteristics via Vickers microindentation technique of nanostructured silicon films have been studied. The samples were grown by the usual electrochemical etching process in presence of hydrofluoric acid in two distinct proportions and for several exposure times. The current density was kept constant for all runs. Porosity and porous layer thickness were measured by gravimetric and optical means, respectively. A linear relation between layer thickness and exposure time shows up, in accordance with previous studies. Correspondingly, a slight decrement in the Vickers hardness is observed. On the contrary, the porosity remains independent of exposure time. A possible explanation is therefore proposed and discussed.     

The morphologies of fractured surfaces and fracture toughness in some As-Se-Sb-S-I glasses

As part of a general physical characterization of amorphous materials in the pseudobinary system (As₂Se₃)_100−x(SbSI)_x type, their indentation fracture toughness was determined. It is a system with the variable ratio of classical amorphous compound As₂Se₃ and the molecule of antimony sulfoiodide, SbSI, which in the monocrystal form is characterized as ferroelectrics. Because of chalcogenides are generally very brittle and under load they crack very easily, these glasses have been studied with the aim of examining the possibility of obtaining some new structures on the basis of the materials with amorphous internal network, the structures that will have a higher quality in respect of mechanical properties. The morphologies of fractured surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscope.     

The biomechanical behavior on the interface of tumor arthrosis/allograft prosthetic composite by finite element analysis

The biomechanical behavior of the uniting interface between the allograft bone and the autogenetic bone plays an important role in the treatment of the proximal femur massive defects with artificial tumor arthrosis/allograft prosthetic composite (TAAPC). According to the CT data of a patient, a 3D medical treatment model of TAAPC was established. Under the loads of 1.5 and 2.5 times standard body weight (70 kg), the mechanical behavior of the treatment model was analyzed by finite element analysis (FEA) for three typical healing periods. The results show that there are significant differences in the stress values and distribution in different healing periods. With healing of osteotomy, the hardness of the tissue of the uniting interface increases, the stress in uniting area was increased greatly and the stress concentration decreased. After cured the stress almost reached the level of normal bone. In the initial stage of healing, the healing training is not encouraged because there is an obvious risk of fracture of prosthesis and bone cement. In addition, porous hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramic used as bone tissue scaffold for this case, not only facilitates the generation of new bone, but also can avoid this risk caused by the non-uniting interface.     

The study of mechanical behavior on the interface between calcar-defect femur and restorations by means of finite element analysis

The mechanical behaviors of calcar-defected femur and restorations under physiological load are the key factors that will greatly influence the success of femur calcar defect repairing, especially the stress distribution on the bone-restoration interface. 3D finite elements analysis (FEA) was used to analyze the mechanical characters on the interfaces between femoral calcar defects and bone cement or HA restorations. Under the load of two times of a human weight (1436.03 N) and with the increase of the defect dimension from 6 mm to 12 mm, the maximal stresses on the surface of restorations are from 7.06 MPa to 11.89 MPa for bone cement and 2.97-9 MPa for HA separately. In this condition, HA restoration will probably be broken on the bone-restoration interface when the defect diameter is beyond 8 mm. Furthermore, under the load of 1.5 times of a human weight, HA restoration would not be safe unless the defect dimension is smaller than 10 mm, because the maximal stress (4.62 MPa) on the restoration is only a little lower than compressive strength of HA, otherwise the bone fixation device should be applied to ensure the safety. It is relatively safe for all restorations under all the tested defect sizes when the load is just the weight of a human body.     

The effects of hydroxyapatite coatings on stress distribution near the dental implant-bone interface

The effects of different thickness of hydroxyapatite (HA) coatings on bone stress distribution near the dental implant-bone interface are very important factors for the HA-coated dental implant design and clinical application. By means of finite element analysis (FEA), the bone stress distributions near the dental implant coated with different thicknesses from 0 to 200 μm were calculated and analyzed under the 200 N chewing load. In all cases, the maximal von Mises stresses in the bone are at the positions near the neck of dental implant on the lingual side, and decrease with the increase of the HA coatings thickness. The HA coatings weaken the stress concentration and improve the biomechanical property in the bone, however, in HA coatings thickness range of 60-120 μm, the distinctions of that benefit are not obvious. In addition, considering the technical reason of HA coatings, we conclude that thickness of HA coatings range from 60 to 120 μm would be the better choice for clinical application.     

Thermal undulations of quasi-spherical vesicles stabilized by gravity

The classical treatment of quasi-spherical vesicle undulations has, in the present work, been reviewed and extended to systems, which are affected by a gravitational field caused by a density difference across the membrane. The effects have been studied by the use of perturbation theory leading to corrections to the mean shape and the fluctuation correlation matrix. These corrections have been included in an analytical expression for the flicker spectrum to probe how the experimentally accessible spectrum changes with gravity. The results are represented in terms of the gravitational parameter, g ₀ = ΔρgR ⁴/κ. The contributions from gravity are in most experimental situations small and thus negligible, but for values of g₀ above a certain limit, the perturbational corrections must be included. Expressions for the relative error on the flicker spectrum have been worked out, so that it is possible to define the regime where gravity is negligible. An upper limit of g₀ has also been identified, where the error in all modes of the flicker spectrum is significant due to distortion of the mean shape. Received 9 July 2002 and Received in final form 15 November 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: jonas@kemi.dtu.dk RID="b" ID="b"e-mail: ipsen@memphys.sdu.dk     

Imaging of surface acoustic waves

A new experimental method has been devised that directly determines the group velocities of surface acoustic waves. A point source and a point detector are employed to measure the ultrasonic transmission across a solid surface as a continuous function of the propagation direction. Results for single pulses give the times-of-flight for both Rayleigh surface waves (RSW's) and pseudo-surface-waves (PSW's). Calculations and measurements of the group velocities of the surface waves on silicon show some unanticipated behavior: fluid loading qualitiatively changes the group velocity curves for both RSW and PSW. In particular, the RSW branch gains an additional component which we denote here as an induced Rayleigh wave (IRW). If a wave train is employed in the experiment, the analog of phonon focusing is observed for the ultrasonic waves, modified by internal-diffraction effects. Systematic measurements of the wave intensities on silicon as a function of propagation distance are consistent with expected acoustic losses into the surrounding water: the attenuation length of a wave depends on the mode and frequency. A survey of surface-wave images on other crystals is included in this study.     

Vesicle self-reproduction: The involvement of membrane hydraulic and solute permeabilities

Conditions for self-reproduction are sought for a growing vesicle with its growth defined by an exponential increase of vesicle membrane area and by adequate flow of the solution across the membrane. In the first step of the presumed vesicle self-reproduction process, the initially spherical vesicle must double its volume in the doubling time of the membrane area and, through the appropriate shape transformations, attain the shape of two equal spheres connected by an infinitesimally thin neck. The second step involves separation of the two spheres and relies on conditions that cause the neck to be broken. In this paper we consider the first step of this self-reproduction process for a vesicle suspended in a solution whose solute can permeate the vesicle membrane. It is shown that vesicle self-reproduction occurs only for certain combinations of the values of membrane hydraulic and solute permeabilities and the external solute concentration, these quantities being related to the mechanical properties of the membrane and the membrane area doubling time. The analysis includes also the relaxation of a perturbed system towards stationary self-reproduction behavior and the case where the final shape consists of two connected spheres of different radii.     

Phase structure of a spherical surface model on fixed connectivity meshes

An elastic surface model is investigated by using the canonical Monte Carlo simulation technique on triangulated spherical meshes. The model undergoes a first-order collapsing transition and a continuous surface fluctuation transition. The shape of surfaces is maintained by a one-dimensional bending energy, which is defined on the mesh, and no two-dimensional bending energy is included in the Hamiltonian.     

Wetting of phospholipid membranes on hydrophilic surfaces - Concepts towards self-healing membranes

We report on the wetting behavior of phospholipid membranes on solid surfaces immersed in aqueous solution. Using fluorescence microscopy, the spreading velocity of fluid bilayers advancing from a lipid source is investigated. The kinetic spreading coefficient was measured as a function of temperature for pure DMPC membranes and as a function of charge density and cholesterol content for binary membranes. A theoretical model for the membrane flow is presented, which takes into account the liquid crystalline bilayer architecture of the lipid membrane. The spreading power results from the membrane-solid VdW interaction and is dissipated in hydrodynamic shear flow as well as by inter-monolayer friction within the bilayer. The frictional drag causes a dynamic tension gradient in the spreading membrane, which is manifested by a single exponential decay of the fluorescence intensity profile along the spreading direction. Obstacles are shown to act as pinning centers deforming the advancing line interface. However, no depinning was observed, since the centers are circumflown without abrupt relaxation. Received 6 November 1998     

Unbinding transitions of membranes and strings from single and double-well potential

We present a theory of unbinding transitions for membranes that interact via short and long receptor/ligand bonds. The detail of unbinding behaviour of the membranes is governed by the binding energies and concentrations of receptors and ligands. We investigate the unbinding behaviour of these membranes with Monte Carlo simulations and via a comparison with strings. We derive the scaling laws for strings analytically. The exact analytical results provide scaling estimate for membranes in the vicinity of the critical point.     

Phonons on surfaces: The importance of structure and adsorbates

Recent progress in detecting thermal energy vibrations at solid surfaces will be reviewed. Phonons on clean, well-ordered metals will be discussed as well as vibrations within ordered and disordered adlayers of adsorbed atoms and molecules. Simple lattice dynamical models will be used to demonstrate the interconnection between vibrations, structure, and force fields at a surface.     

Elasticity and shape equation of a liquid membrane

The density of the elastic energy of a deformed membrane in a liquid state is calculated. The thermodynamic equilibrium of its different parts is taken into account. The shape equation of a closed membrane is deduced. The quantity which keeps its value, when the variations of the energy of the system are calculated, is not the area of the deformed membrane, but its area in the flat tension free state. Because of this, additional terms appear in the second variation around the stable state. The case of a lipid bilayer and its fluctuations is examined for both free and blocked exchange of molecules between the monolayers, comprising the bilayer. Received 4 February 2002 / Received in final form 15 April 2002 Published online 2 October 2002 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: bivas@issp.bas.bg     

Free energies of steps on (111) fcc surfaces

For a hexagonal two-dimensional lattice we derive, using a surprisingly simple route, exact expressions for the step free energies along the high symmetry directions, 〈1-10〉 and 〈11-2〉. If we consider only nearest-neighbor interactions, ε, and ignore step overhangs the step free energy vanishes at a temperature . In a more sophisticated model that incorporates step overhangs we find a reduction of T_R to about 0.87ε/k_b. The obtained step free energy expressions are also valid for the free energy of walls between two regions of opposite spins of the triangular 2D Ising system.