Quantum dissipative Higgs model

By using a continuum of oscillators as a reservoir, we present a classical and a quantum-mechanical treatment for the Higgs model in the presence of dissipation. In this base, a fully canonical approach is used to quantize the damped particle on a spherical surface under the action of a conservative central force, the conjugate momentum is defined and the Hamiltonian is derived. The equations of motion for the canonical variables and in turn the Langevin equation are obtained. It is shown that the dynamics of the dissipative Higgs model is not only determined by a projected susceptibility tensor that obeys the Kramers–Kronig relations and a noise operator but also the curvature of the spherical space. Due to the gnomonic projection from the spherical space to the tangent plane, the projected susceptibility displays anisotropic character in the tangent plane. To illuminate the effect of dissipation on the Higgs model, the transition rate between energy levels of the particle on the sphere is calculated. It is seen that appreciable probabilities for transition are possible only if the transition and reservoir’s oscillators frequencies to be nearly on resonance.     

Determination of Methadone in Biological Samples Using Liquid Phase Microextraction with Back Extraction Combined with LC

Liquid phase microextraction with back extraction (LPME-BE) combined with liquid chromatography-ultra violet (LC-UV) was applied for the extraction and determination of methadone in biological fluids. At the optimized conditions, an enrichment factor of 386 and detection limit (LOD) of 0.2 μg L^?1 were obtained. The calibration curve was linear (r ² = 0.989) in the concentration range of 0.6–1,000 μg L^?1. Within-day relative standard deviation RSD (S/N = 3) and between-day RSD were 2.7 and 5.9%, respectively. The feasibility of the proposed method was evaluated by extraction and determination of methadone in plasma and urine samples and satisfactory results were obtained.     

Improvements of physical and mechanical properties of electron beam irradiation—crosslinked EVA foams

In this work, ethylene–vinyl acetate (EVA) copolymer foams were prepared and crosslinked by using high‐energy electron beam (e‐beam) radiation (10 MeV). The effect of parameters such as irradiation dose, the contents of foaming agent, radiation activator, and radiation sensitizer on improvement of physical and mechanical properties of the EVA foamed samples were investigated. The foams were obtained through a four‐step process of melt mixing, forming, crosslinking, and foaming. During the melt mixing process EVA was compounded with different amounts of azodicarbonamide (ADCA) as a blowing agent, zinc oxide (ZnO) as a radiation activator, and trimethylol propane‐trimethacrylate (TMPTMA) as a radiation sensitizer. The samples were compression molded into flat sheets at low temperature (110°C) and were then radiation‐crosslinked by 20–80 kGy e‐beam. Finally, the crosslinked samples were converted to foams by a high temperature (210°C) compression molding process. The foamed samples were analyzed in terms of gel content, density, compression molding set, tensile properties, and micro‐structural features. It was found that an increase in absorbed radiation dosage increases crosslink density, elasticity, percentage recovery, tensile strength, and compression properties of the EVA foams. Due to the increased recovery the percentage of compression set was reduced. Similarly increasing the TMPTMA content in the formulation increased the crosslink density and the resulting mechanical properties. Contrary to these findings, addition of ADCA led to the formation of extra gases which in turn reduced the crosslink density, and resulted in the deterioration of the mechanical properties and hence an increase in the compression set. However, addition of ZnO and TMPTMA led to the formation of smaller and more uniform cell size with improved mechanical properties. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of gum tragacanth size reduction on DTA and TG behaviour and its relationship to solution viscosity

The effect of particle size reduction on the hydrocolloid solution viscosity of standardized grades of Persian gum tragacanth have been investigated. The DTA and TG techniques used to identify the behaviour of gum on size reduction shows that the structure of the gum changes by fine grinding and the reduction of its solution viscosity could be attributed to the loss of the combined water which binds individual gum molecules by hydrogen bonding. The thermal methods with the relating features are discussed.     

A simplified solution for piled-raft foundation analysis by using the two-phase approach

In common practice, the pile–soil–raft interaction still remains a challenging problem in the analysis of piled-raft foundations. In the present study, a simplified analytical approach is introduced to analyze a vertically-loaded piled-raft foundation by using a developed homogenization technique called the two-phase approach. In spite of classical and simplified methods in the literature, the proposed method considers the pile–soil interaction. The other major advantage is the ability to predict the axial pile load along the pile length. The problem is solved in the domain of elasticity and simple closed-form solutions are presented for the prediction of the settlement and the pile load sharing of a piled raft as well as the pile's axial force distribution along its length. The applicability of the proposed method is validated by considering case studies and field measurements. A comparison of the results indicates that the method can be utilized safely in a proper, quick, and effective manner with the least computational effort in comparison with sophisticated numerical approaches. The raft settlement can be accurately predicted while the pile load sharing might be over/under estimated. A parametric study is also carried out to investigate the response of piled-raft foundations including the influence of the parameters of the soil and the geometric characteristics of the piles.     

Synthesis of 7-hydroxy-6H-benzo[c]chromen-6-ones based on a ‘[3+3] cyclization/domino retro-Michael-aldol-lactonization’ strategy

The TiCl₄-mediated [3+3] cyclization of 2,4-bis(trimethylsilyloxy)penta-1,3-diene with 3-silyloxyalk-2-en-1-ones afforded 2-acetylphenols, which were transformed into functionalized chromones. The Me₃SiOTf-mediated condensation of the latter with 1,3-bis(silyl enol ethers) and subsequent domino ‘retro-Michael-aldol-lactonization’ reaction afforded 7-hydroxy-6H-benzo[c]chromen-6-ones.     

On the delamination and crack formation in a thin wall fabricated using laser solid freeform fabrication process: An experimental–numerical investigation

Parts fabricated using laser solid freeform fabrication (LSFF) are subject to thermal stresses due to the layer-by-layer material deposition and the temperature distribution characteristic throughout the process domain. The thermal stress patterns and intensity contribute significantly to potential delamination and crack formation. In this paper, the temperature distribution and stress field induced during the multilayer LSFF process, and their correlation with delamination and crack formation are studied. This is performed by a numerical and experimental investigation in the fabrication of a thin wall of 304L stainless steel. For time-dependent predictions on the locations of maximum temperatures and thermal stresses and their patterns, a three-dimensional (3D) transient finite element model is employed to simulate the process, including the geometry of the deposited materials as well as coupled temperature and stress distributions across the process domain. The experimental results are used to verify the numerical results as well as to investigate the correlation between the numerical results and micro-crack formations across the fabricated parts. The experiments are conducted with the same process parameters used in the numerical analyses using a 1 kW Nd:YAG pulsed laser. The trend of numerical and experimental results reveals that by preheating the substrate prior to the fabrication process, it is possible to substantially reduce the micro-cracks formed across the part. To demonstrate the feasibility of preheating on the reduction of micro-cracks, several simulations and experiments are performed in which a crack-free result is obtained when the substrate is preheated to 800 K. For this case, 22% reduction in thermal stresses is obtained throughout the process domain.     

Free-volume changes at nanoscale in doped polyacrylic acid studied by positron annihilation spectroscopy

Polyacrylic acid (PAA) doped with carbon black (CB), chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) and cupferron with different wt% (0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, and 1%) was studied using positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) technique and Doppler broadening of annihilation radiation (DBAR). Ortho-positronium lifetime components (τ₃ and I₃) were used to estimate the nanoscale free-volume hole sizes (V_f) and its fractions (f). It was found that the hole size V_f and its fractions f as well as S-parameters decreased at high value of doping concentration due to dopants-polymer formation. These results are supported by a significant narrowing in the nanoscale free-volume hole size distributions.

The correlation between positron annihilation parameters and electric conductivity are discussed.