Velocimetry microsensors driven by linearly polarized optical tweezers

We report on a new type of single-point velocimetry microsensor that can be positioned in microfluidic devices by use of optical tweezers. The flag-shaped microsensor is readily made by a low-cost two-photon polymerization technique. At rest the linearly polarized optical tweezer traps the microsensor at the focal point, and the flag-plate gets aligned in the polarization direction. Under a fluid flow, the plate rotates to an equilibrium angle that is used to measure the fluid velocity with a micrometer-size spatial resolution. Experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical calculations of optical and hydrodynamic torques on such a flag-shaped microsensor.     

Multiple-sample probe for solid-state NMR studies of pharmaceuticals

Solid-state NMR spectroscopy (SSNMR) is an extremely powerful technique for the analysis of pharmaceutical dosage forms. A major limitation of SSNMR is the number of samples that can be analyzed in a given period of time. A solid-state magic-angle spinning (MAS) probe that can simultaneously acquire up to seven SSNMR spectra is being developed to increase throughput/signal-to-noise ratios. A prototype probe incorporating two MAS modules has been developed and spectra of ibuprofen and aspirin have been acquired simultaneously. This version is limited to being a two-module probe due to large amounts of space required for the tuning elements located next to the MAS modules. A new probe design incorporating coaxial transmission lines and smaller MAS modules has been constructed. This probe allows for close proximity of the MAS modules (within 3 cm), adequate proton decoupling power (>50 kHz), and the capability of remote tuning and sample changing. Spectra of hexamethylbenzene (HMB) have been acquired and show signal-to-noise ratios comparable to existing SSNMR probes. Adamantane line widths are also comparable to conventional probe technology. Decoupling powers of 70 kHz have been achieved using a MAS module suitable for 3 cm spacing between modules. Remote tuning has also been achieved with this new coaxial transmission line design. This probe design can be easily scaled to incorporate multiple MAS modules, which is a limitation of the previous design. The number of modules that can be incorporated is only limited by the number of transmission lines that will fit in a cross-sectional diameter of the bore and the axial field length of the magnet.     

Simultaneous Surface and Bulk Imaging of Polymer Blends with X‐ray Spectromicroscopy

We demonstrate the utility of soft X‐ray spectromicroscopy to simultaneously image the surface and bulk composition of polymer blend thin films. In addition to conventional scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy that employs a scintillator and photomultiplier tube to measure the transmitted X‐ray flux, channeltron detection of near‐surface photoelectrons is employed to provide information of the composition of the first few nanometers of the film. Laterally phase‐separated blends of two polyfluorene co‐polymers are studied, with the structure of both wetting and capping layers clearly imaged. This new information provides insight into the connectivity of bulk and surface structures that is of particular relevance to the operation of such blends in optoelectronic devices.

     

Superelastic shape memory alloy cables: Part II – Subcomponent isothermal responses

This paper constitutes the second part of our experimental study of the thermo-mechanical behavior of superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy cables. Part I introduced the fundamental, room temperature, tensile responses of two cable designs (7 × 7 right regular lay, and 1 × 27 alternating lay). In Part II, each cable behavior is studied further by breaking down the response into the contributions of its hierarchical subcomponents. Selected wire strands were extracted from the two cable constructions, and their quasi-static tension responses were measured using the same experimental setup of Part I. Consistent with the shallow wire helix angles in the 7 × 7 construction, the force–elongation responses of the core wire, 1 × 7 core strand and full 7 × 7 cable were similar on a normalized basis, with only a slight decrease in transformation force plateaus and slight increase in plateau strains in this specimen sequence. By contrast, each successive 1 × 27 component (1 × 6 core strand, 1 × 15 strand, and full cable) included an additional outer layer of wires with a larger number of wires, greater helix radius, and deeper helix angle, so the normalized axial load responses became significantly more compliant. Each specimen in the sequence also exhibited progressively larger strains at failure, reaching 40% strain in the full 1 × 27 cable.Stress-induced phase transformations involved localized strain/temperature and front propagation in all of the tested 7 × 7 components but none of the 1 × 27 components aside from the 1 × 27 core wire. Stereo digital image correlation measurements revealed finer features within a global transformation front of the 1 × 7 core strand than the 7 × 7 cable, consisting of an staggered pattern of individual wire fronts that moved in lock-step during elongation. Although the 1 × 27 multi-layer strands exhibited temperature/strain localizations in a distributed pattern during transformations, the localizations did not propagate and their cause was traced back to contact indentations (stress concentrations) arising from the cable’s fabrication. The normalized axial torque responses of the multi-layer 1 × 27 components during transformation were distinctly non-monotonic and complex, due to the alternating handedness of the layers. Force and torque contributions of individual wire layers were deduced by subtracting 1 × 27 component responses, which helped to clarify the transformation kinetics within each layer and explain the unusual force and torque undulations seen in the 1 × 27 cable response of Part I.     

Fracture Analysis for a Frictional Fastener Hole with Edge Cracks in an Anisotropic Plate∗

Abstract

Stress intensity factors are evaluated for a singly or doubly cracked fastener hole with frictional traction in an anisotropic plate, using a special kernel boundary integral equation (BIE) approach. The integration kernel (Green's function) used in this BIE approach has already taken the presence of the crack (or cracks) into account, thus.avoiding the need for element discretization to model the stress singularity at the crack tip. The Green's function employed is that of an infinite anisotropic plate containing an elliptical hole or crack, and subjected to an arbitrarily positioned point force. Several types of normal and shear traction conditions at the pinhole interface are considered. Numerical results are obtained for various geometrical and loading conditions and are compared with known solutions, where available, for their isotropic counterparts.     

Nonlocalized modulation of periodic reaction diffusion waves: The Whitham equation

In a companion paper, we established nonlinear stability with detailed diffusive rates of decay of spectrally stable periodic traveling-wave solutions of reaction diffusion systems under small perturbations consisting of a nonlocalized modulation plus a localized (L ¹) perturbation. Here, we determine time-asymptotic behavior under such perturbations, showing that solutions consist of a leading order of a modulation whose parameter evolution is governed by an associated Whitham averaged equation.     

On the Evolution of the Flow Field in a Spark Ignition Engine

The development of the turbulent flow field inside a spark ignition engine is examined by large-eddy simulation (LES), from the intake flow to the tumble break-down. Ten consecutive cold flow engine cycles on a coarse and twenty cycles on a fine grid are simulated and compared to experiments of the same engine. The turbulent subgrid scales are modeled by the standard Smagorinsky and by the recently developed Sigma model. A comparison of the intake flow is made against Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) measurements along horizontal and vertical lines and to an LES simulation performed by the Darmstadt group. Furthermore, we show the first LES comparison to Magnetic Resonance Velocimetry (MRV conducted by Freudenhammer et al.) measurements, which provided the 3D flow field inside a full scale dummy of the entire upper cylinder head including the valve seat region, at a time which mimics inflow conditions of the corresponding engine. Our LES is in good qualitative and quantitative agreement with the simulation and the experiments, with the notable exception of the measured in-cylinder pressure, which is discussed in detail and compared to 0D simulations and simulations from other groups. A criterion is proposed for estimating the number of cycles needed in a simulation, if experimental data is available. We put emphasis on the flow in the valve seat region, where turbulence is generated, and discuss the formation of the large scale tumble motion, including a comparison of the radial velocity fields on rolled-up planes around the valve seat. Here, spots of high velocities were found in the under flow region, which cannot been seen by the ensemble averaged MRV measurement. Within the compression stroke, a 2D vortex center identification algorithm is applied on slices inside the combustion chamber, yielding a 3D visualization of the tumble vortex, which is found to have a “croissant-like” shape. The tumble vortex trajectory is plotted on the symmetry plane and compared to measurements. Finally, we consider a modified definition of the (turbulent) integral length scale that provided further insight to the tumble break-down process.     

VLES Modeling of Flow Over Walls with Variably-shaped Roughness by Reference to Complementary DNS

Turbulent flow over variably-shaped rough walls, characterized by either a regular or a random arrangement of axisymmetric roughness elements in an open channel flow configuration, is investigated computationally within a VLES (Very Large Eddy Simulation) framework by utilizing a volumetric forcing-based roughness model. The prime objective of the present work is to assess the roughness model’s capability to predict mean velocities and turbulent intensities in conjunction with this recently formulated hybrid LES/RANS (Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes) model. The friction velocity-based Reynolds number is in the range Re_τ =?460 ? 500. A non-dimensional drag function accounting for the shape of the roughness elements is introduced and evaluated based on the results of complementary direct numerical simulations (DNS). The dynamics of the residual motion of the presently adopted VLES methodology is described by an appropriately modified elliptic-relaxation-based ζ ? f (\(\zeta =\overline {v^{2}}/k\)) RANS model.     

Scale-dependent three-dimensional charged black holes in linear and non-linear electrodynamics

In the present work we study the scale dependence at the level of the effective action of charged black holes in Einstein–Maxwell as well as in Einstein–power-Maxwell theories in \((2+1)\)-dimensional spacetimes without a cosmological constant. We allow for scale dependence of the gravitational and electromagnetic couplings, and we solve the corresponding generalized field equations imposing the null energy condition. Certain properties, such as horizon structure and thermodynamics, are discussed in detail.     

Power Spectrum of a Noisy System Close to a Heteroclinic Orbit

We consider a two-dimensional dynamical system that possesses a heteroclinic orbit connecting four saddle points. This system is not able to show self-sustained oscillations on its own. If endowed with white Gaussian noise it displays stochastic oscillations, the frequency and quality factor of which are controlled by the noise intensity. This stochastic oscillation of a nonlinear system with noise is conveniently characterized by the power spectrum of suitable observables. In this paper we explore different analytical and semianalytical ways to compute such power spectra. Besides a number of explicit expressions for the power spectrum, we find scaling relations for the frequency, spectral width, and quality factor of the stochastic heteroclinic oscillator in the limit of weak noise. In particular, the quality factor shows a slow logarithmic increase with decreasing noise of the form \(Q\sim [\ln (1/D)]^2\). Our results are compared to numerical simulations of the respective Langevin equations.