Stresses around elliptic holes in circular cylindrical shells

The stress state around an elliptic hole in a circular cylindrical shell under axial loads is measured. The test cylinders which are made of aluminum are loaded both in tension and compression. Stress-concentration factors around the hole for different eccentricities of the ellipse and different curvature parameters are evaluated. Stress-concentration factors away from the edge of the hole are also determined. The results obtained are compared with theoretical results available in the literature. The effect of bending on the stress concentration as related to the eccentricity of the elliptic hole and to the curvature parameters of the shell is discussed. The results from tension test and those from compression test are also compared, and the sensitivity of the shell to any imperfection and possible local buckling at the hole in the case of compression test are demonstrated.     

Thickness reduction rate of plastically compressed metal plate by hardened rollers

The rate at which a solid deforms permanently depends on the load history, geometry and material properties. When a metal plate is compressed between two hardened rollers, its thickness reduces continuously if the material elements are deformed beyond their elastic limits. Those near the region of contact will experience more distortion as compared with those interior to the plate. This effect is analyzed incrementally in time by the theory of plasticity coupled with the strain energy density criterion. Failure is examined by assuming that the location of crack initiation coincides with the maximum of the minimum strain energy density function, (dW/dV)_min^max, when reaching its critical value. This is found to occur at the center of the plate depending on the rate of deformation. An increase in plate thickness reduction without failure can be achieved by taking smaller loading steps. Displayed graphically are numerical results for five different load histories that provide useful insights into the rate dependent process of metal forming.     

Suppression of Low-frequency Variations in Vortex Shedding by a Splitter Plate Behind a Bluff Body

Measurements of instantaneous pressure fluctuations on a trapezoidal cross-section cylinder indicate that the low-frequency variations embedded in the vortex-shedding process can be successfully suppressed by insertion of a splitter plate whose length is twice the maximum width of the trapezoidal cylinder. The experiments were performed at Reynolds numbers in a range of 5 × 10³ to 4·5 × 10⁴. Spanwise correlation of the pressure fluctuations measured on the cylinder further indicates that the suppression of low-frequency variations improves the degree of two-dimensionality of vortex shedding. These findings are attributed to the presence of the splitter plate having an effect on stabilizing the vortex formation length which is comparable to the length of the splitter plate, thus eliminating the low-frequency variations embedded in the base pressure.     

Swirling flows in circular-to-rectangular transition ducts

Miniature axisymmetric supersonic nozzles were produced with exit Mach numbers ranging from 1.0 to 2.8 by forming Pyrex^® capillary tubing of 0.6 and 1.2 mm inside diameter into converging-diverging channels. The nozzle contours were measured and were found to compare favorably to ideal solutions given by the axisymmetric method of characteristics. In addition, the surfaces of these nozzles were quite smooth, providing featureless flows at perfect expansion. Schlieren visualization and pitot pressure measurements of the resulting microjets were compared to the literature available for jets produced by larger-scale nozzles. A postponed transition to turbulence is noted in these microjets due to their low Reynolds number. The pitot pressure on centerline is nearly uniform at perfect expansion over core lengths up to 12 nozzle exit diameters. Supersonic microjet nozzles thus provide a more effective small-scale high-pressure gas delivery device than do sonic nozzles of comparable scale at equivalent mass flow rates. Supersonic microjets may therefore have several industrial applications.List of symbols ^* boundary layer displacement thickness, mm - d diameter of nozzle exit, mm - L length of nozzle diverging section, mm - L _c inviscid core length, mm - L _s supersonic region length, mm - M _c convective Mach number - M _e exit Mach number - P _b backpressure at nozzle exit, (equal to ambient pressure in this experiment) - P _e exit pressure of the supersonic jet - P _be exit pressure ratio (P _b /P _e ) - P _p impingement pressure (pitot pressure) - P ₀ stagnation pressure supplied to nozzle - P _n overall pressure ratio (P ₀/P _b ,) - r radial dimension (cylindrical coordinate system), mm - r ₀ radius of throat, mm - Re _d Reynolds number, based on nozzle exit diameter - V _e exit velocity, m/s - x axial dimension (cylindrical coordinate system), mm This research was sponsored by National Science Foundation Grant DMI 9400119, as part of a study of the assist-gas dynamics of laser cutting.     

Laser-sheet flow visualization of the confined wake behind a ring

The flow over a ring model situated axisymmetrically in a circular pipe has been studied by the laser-sheet flow visualization technique. Over 25 rings of different sizes are investigated. The flow characteristics are observed and summarized into six regimes, in terms of the two geometrical parameters G/W and . Here, W is the width of the ring, is the mean diameter of the ring, and G is the gap width between the pipe wall and the outer edge of the ring. It is interesting to point out that vortex-shedding structures produced by a ring model can persist over a considerable distance downstream in three of the six regimes which correspond to different physical processes of shedding.     

Two Rare α‐Pyrone (=2H‐Pyran‐2‐one) Derivatives from Gentiana rhodantha Franchet

Two new rare α‐pyrone (=2H‐pyran‐2‐one) derivatives, rhodanthpyrones A and B ( 1 and 2 , resp.), together with fourteen known compounds, 3 – 16 , were isolated from the whole plants of Gentiana rhodantha. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses. This is the first report on the occurrence of α‐pyrone derivatives in the genus Gentiana.     

Zethrene and Dibenzozethrene: Masked Biradical Molecules?

The syntheses, structures, and physical properties of dibenzozethrenes were explored. The results thus obtained were compared with those for zethrenes. Dibenzozethrenes were synthesized by the nickel‐catalyzed cyclodimerization of 9‐ethynyl‐1‐iodoanthracenes. The substituents in zethrene and dibenzozethrene twisted their backbones, and remarkably influenced their properties. Unlike closed‐shell disubstituted derivatives, the parent zethrene and dibenzozethrene are singlet open‐shell biradicals, which were studied by variable‐temperature ¹H NMR, ESR, SQUID and computational methods. Since substituents were observed to affect significantly the biradical properties, the relevant mechanisms were analyzed. The nonlinear optical performance of each of these compounds depends on its π‐conjugation and biradical properties. Dibenzozethrenes have larger two‐photon absorption cross‐sections than zethrenes, as most strongly evidenced by the parent dibenzothrene [σ_max=4323 GM at 530 nm].     

Directional fluorescence emission from a compact plasmonic‐diamond hybrid nanostructure

Ultracompact directional optical nanoantennas are rapidly gaining popularity yet still challenging tasks to construct at the nanoscale. Here, we experimentally demonstrate unidirectional emission from a fluorescent nanodiamond coupled with a single gold nanorod. Different configurations of the assembled hybrid nanostructures were realized via step‐by‐step atomic force microscope nanomanipulation. The emission patterns can be controlled by adjusting the configurations, i.e., the gold nanorod orientation and separation with respect to the nanodiamond. Numerical simulation results reveal that the unidirectional emission can be ascribed to the interference between the electromagnetic fields produced by the dipole‐like source and the out‐of‐phase dipole induced in the gold nanorod. The proposed hybrid nanostructures remarkably exhibit highly unidirectional emission even when the emitter is positioned up to 50 nm away from the nanorod antenna and present a broad working spectral bandwidth of ∼200 nm. The distinct features of this hybrid structure suggest potential applications for novel nanoscale light sources, sensing, and quantum information.

     

Dramatic enhancement of optical-field-ionization collisional-excitation x-ray lasing by an optically preformed plasma waveguide

Dramatic enhancement of optical-field-ionization collisional-excitation x-ray lasing is achieved by using an optically preformed plasma waveguide. With a 9-mm-long pure krypton plasma waveguide prepared by using the axicon-ignitor-heater scheme, lasing at 32.8 nm is enhanced by 400 folds relative to the case without the plasma waveguide. An output level of 8 x 10(10) photon/shot is reached at an energy conversion efficiency of 2 x 10(-6). The same method is used to achieve x-ray lasing in a gas jet for the high-threshold low-gain transition at 46.9 nm in neonlike argon.     

Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatographic method using fluorescence detection for the determination of vardenafil in small volumes of rat plasma and bile

A new, simple and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method with fluorescence detection was developed and validated for the determination of vardenafil in small volumes of rat plasma and bile. The absorbance and fluorescence characteristics of vardenafil were studied and factors that affect the HPLC resolution and fluorescence intensity were examined and optimized. Vardenafil and the internal standard cisapride were extracted using acetonitrile. The separation was achieved on a C18 column at 35 degrees C using acetonitrile-50 mM ammonium acetate aqueous solution (pH 6.8) (40:60) as mobile phase. At a flow rate of 1 ml/min, the total run time was 18 min. Fluorescence was measured with excitation and emission set at 280 and 470 nm, respectively. The calibration curves were linear from 10 to 1000 ng/ml and 0.2-100 microg/ml for plasma and bile samples, respectively. The intra- and inter-day imprecision did not exceed 10.8%, and the accuracy was within 9.6% deviation of the nominal concentration. The method was used successfully to investigate the disposition and biliary excretion of vardenafil in rats.