Epoxy based coatings on glass: strengthening mechanisms

Glass may be strengthened by epoxy coatings although the strengthening mechanisms remain unclear. Possible strengthening mechanisms are reviewed and are used to analyse strength data for both a solvent based and a water based coating system. The coatings either fill (solvent based coatings), or partially fill (water based coatings) surface cracks and it is shown that closure stresses arising from the thermal expansion mismatch of the coating within these cracks can account for the observed degrees of strengthening. It is also demonstrated that other suggested mechanisms such as flaw healing cannot fully account for the observed degree of strengthening.     

Influence of support properties on the sound radiated from the vibrations of rectangular plates

The control of the forced vibration response of structures through the optimal tuning of its supports is desirable in many applications. Tuning may enhance the dissipation of vibration energy within the supports, thereby reducing fatigue and structure-borne noise. Two different models were developed to calculate the optimal support stiffness that minimizes the velocity response of homogeneous plates. The first model, based on the wave propagation at the edge, yields a good first cut approximation of the optimal properties. The optimal viscous and viscoelastic support stiffness for minimal reflection at the edge was calculated. Maximum absorption of the incident waves occurs when the viscous support stiffness matches the characteristic mechanical impedances of the plate. The second model, based on the Rayleigh-Ritz method, yields more accurate estimates of the optimal support stiffness required to minimize the forced velocity response of the finite rectangular plate. The optimal support properties calculated from the two different methods were in good agreement. This suggested that the modal response of the plate is strongly influenced by the wave reflections at the edges. Finally, the effects of support properties on the sound radiated from the plate were investigated. The optimal support stiffness that minimizes the radiated sound power was found to be smaller than the value that minimizes the velocity response. The results show that both the velocity response and sound radiation are strongly influenced by dissipation of vibration energy at the edges, and demonstrate that support tuning can yield significant noise and vibration reduction.     

Large deviation for the empirical eigenvalue density of truncated Haar unitary matrices

Let U_m be an m×m Haar unitary matrix and U_[m,n] be its n×n truncation. In this paper the large deviation is proven for the empirical eigenvalue density of U_[m,n] as m/n→λ and n→∞. The rate function and the limit distribution are given explicitly. U_[m,n] is the random matrix model of quq, where u is a Haar unitary in a finite von Neumann algebra, q is a certain projection and they are free. The limit distribution coincides with the Brown measure of the operator quq.     

A Note on Caterpillar-Embeddings with No Two Parallel Edges

Let G be a set of n points in general position (i.e., no three points are on a line) in the plane, and let C be a caterpillar on n vertices. We show that one can always find a rectilinear embedding of C in the plane such that the vertices of C are the points of G and no two edges of C go to parallel segments. This proves a conjecture of Robert E. Jamison.     

A discontinuous Galerkin method for the Cahn-Hilliard equation

The Cahn-Hilliard equation is modeled to describe the dynamics of phase separation in glass and polymer systems. A priori error estimates for the Cahn-Hilliard equation have been studied by the authors. In order to control accuracy of approximate solutions, a posteriori error estimation of the Cahn-Hilliard equation is obtained by discontinuous Galerkin method.     

The effect of Mn substitution on thermoelectric properties of Ca3MnxCo4−xO9 at low temperatures

The effects of partial substitution of Mn for Co on the thermoelectric properties of Ca₃Mn_xCo_4−xO₉ (x=0, 0.03, 0.9), prepared by sol-gel process, were investigated at the temperatures from 380 K down to 5 K. The results indicate that the substitution of Mn for Co results in increase in thermopower at temperatures >∼80 K, and substantial (23-31% at 300 K) decrease in lattice thermal conductivity in the whole temperature range investigated. The temperature behavior of ZT suggests that Ca₃Mn_xCo_4−xO₉ with light Mn substitution would be a promising candidate for high-temperature thermoelectric applications.     

Repetition rate multipliers for efficient implementation of multiphoton and pump-probe fluorescence microscopy

With the advances in pulsed laser systems, microscopic imaging techniques such as multiphoton and pump-probe fluorescence microscopy have developed into effective tools for investigating intensity and time-resolved phenomena inside biological systems. However, pulsed lasers used in these techniques usually are commercial systems with repetition frequencies of around 80 MHz. While these systems have proven to be adequate for multiphoton and pump-probe microscopic imaging applications, the temporal separation of the laser pulse train (around 12.5 ns) is long compared to the fluorescence lifetimes of many common fluorescence species. In this work, we present the designs of repetition rate multipliers based on passive optical components that can be used to increase the efficiency in multiphoton and pump-probe fluorescence microscopy. Depending on the lifetime of fluorescence molecules under investigation, the passive repetition rate multiplier can increase the duty cycle of multiphoton or pump-probe microscopy up to fourfold.     

Catalytic Hydrosilylation of Furan, Thiophene, and Pyridine Aldimines

The addition of hydrosilanes (HSiEt₃, HSiMe₂Ph, H₂SiPh₂) to the CH=N bond of heterocyclic azomethines has been studied in the presence of monovalent complexes of rhodium and palladium. The effect on the reaction of the CF₃ group of the aldimines, which were obtained from O-, S-, and N-heteroaromatic aldehydes and 2-trifluoromethylaniline, has been clarified, as were other regularities of the processes being studied. A series of corresponding furans, thiophenes, and pyridine amines has been synthesized.     

Trace cocharacters and the Kronecker products of Schur functions

It follows from the theory of trace identities developed by Procesi and Razmyslov that the trace cocharacters arising from the trace identities of the algebra M_r(F) of r×r matrices over a field F of characteristic zero are given by TC_r,n=∑_λΛr(n)χ^λχ^λ where χ^λχ^λ denotes the Kronecker product of the irreducible characters of the symmetric group associated with the partition λ with itself and Λ_r(n) denotes the set of partitions of n with r or fewer parts, i.e. the set of partitions λ=(λ₁λ_k) with kr. We study the behavior of the sequence of trace cocharacters TC_r,n. In particular, we study the behavior of the coefficient of χ^(ν,n−m) in TC_r,n as a function of n where ν=(ν₁ν_k) is some fixed partition of m and n−mν_k. Our main result shows that such coefficients always grow as a polynomial in n of degree r−1.