Insight into chain dimensions in PEO/water solutions

Small‐Angle Neutron Scattering has been performed from poly(ethylene oxide) in deuterated water at temperature ranging from 10 to 80 °C. A simple fitting model was used to obtain a correlation length and a Porod exponent. The correlation length L characterizes the average distance between entanglements in the semidilute region and is proportional to the individual coil sizes in the dilute region. L was found to increase with temperature in the semidilute region but it decreases with temperature in the dilute region. This decrease is the precursor to the single‐chain collapse which applies to very dilute polymer solutions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 2196–2200, 2007     

Two-dimensional phased arrays for surgical applications: Multiple focus generation and scanning

A numerical simulation and a comparative analysis of the acoustic fields produced by two-dimensional phased arrays intended for ultrasonic surgery are performed for the case of a multiple focus (in particular, 25 foci) generation. The calculations were conducted for arrays (with an operating frequency of 1.5 MHz) consisting of 256 elements 5 mm in diameter, which were positioned on the array surface both regularly and randomly. The array foci can be formed simultaneously, but, in this case, the intensity levels of the secondary peaks in the ultrasonic field can exceed the values that guarantee the safe application of this method in surgery. A much safer way is to synthesize many foci with the use of several configurations, each of which contains a smaller number of foci. The number of foci in individual configurations must be approximately the same. It is demonstrated that randomization of the element distribution over the array surface provides an opportunity to improve the array performance, to reduce the intensity levels of secondary peaks in the acoustic field, and to increase the array capability for multiple focus scanning off the array axis.     

Duality theorems for convex problems with time delay

In this paper, we examine a class of convex problems of Bolza type, involving a time delay in the state. It encompasses a variety of time-delay problems arising in the calculus of variations and optimal control. A duality analysis is carried out which, among other things, leads to a characterization of minimizers in terms of the Euler-Lagrange inclusion. The results obtained improve in significant respects on what is achievable by techniques previously employed, based on elimination of the time delay by introduction of an infinite-dimensional state space or on the method of steps.     

Banach-stone theorems and separating maps

LetC(X,E) andC(Y,F) denote the spaces of continuous functions on the Tihonov spacesX andY, taking values in the Banach spacesE andF, respectively. A linear mapH:C(X,E)→C(Y,F) isseparating iff(x)g(x)=0 for allx inX impliesHf(y)Hg(y)=0 for ally inY. Some automatic continuity properties and Banach-Stone type theorems (i.e., asserting that isometries must be of a certain form) for separating mapsH between spaces of real- and complex-valued functions have already been developed. The extension of such results to spaces of vector-valued functions is the general subject of this paper. We prove in Theorem 4.1, for example, for compactX andY, that a linear isometryH betweenC(X,E) andC(Y,F) is a “Banach-Stone” map if and only ifH is “biseparating (i.e,H andH ⁻¹ are separating). The Banach-Stone theorems of Jerison and Lau for vector-valued functions are then deduced in Corollaries 4.3 and 4.4 for the cases whenE andF or their topological duals, respectively, are strictly convex. Research supported by the Fundació Caixa Castelló, MI/25.043/92     

Stability of solutions to the Cauchy problem for a plane hyperbolic system with time-periodic coefficients

Considering a plane hyperbolic system with time-periodic coefficients, we construct a version of the direct Lyapunov method with the condition on the derivative of the Lyapunov functional along the trajectories of the system which is weakened by use of periodicity of the coefficients. We exhibit an illustrative example.     

Lagrangian Duality in Set-Valued Optimization

In this paper, we study optimization problems where the objective function and the binding constraints are set-valued maps and the solutions are defined by means of set-relations among all the images sets (Kuroiwa, D. in Takahashi, W., Tanaka, T. (eds.) Nonlinear analysis and convex analysis, pp. 221–228, 1999). We introduce a new dual problem, establish some duality theorems and obtain a Lagrangian multiplier rule of nonlinear type under convexity assumptions. A necessary condition and a sufficient condition for the existence of saddle points are given. The authors thank the two referees for valuable comments and suggestions on early versions of the paper. The research of the first author was partially supported by Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (Spain) Project MTM2006-02629 and by Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) Project VA027B06.     

Change in the magnetic state of a surface upon formation of hydrogen bonds during adsorption

It is established that reversible adsorption of water and methyl alcohol molecules, occurring via formation of hydrogen bonds, changes the dynamic properties of domain walls in the surface region of soft ferromagnets, as well as their initial static magnetic susceptibility. A mechanism is proposed for the effects revealed.     

A model for the interaction of near-infrared laser pulses with metal powders in selective laser sintering

A thermal model of the interaction of pulsed near-infrared laser radiation from a Nd:YAG laser was made, taking the measured powder properties such as reflectance, optical penetration depth and thermal conductivity into account. It allows an estimation of the evolution of two different temperatures: the average temperature of the powder (taken over the grains in a volume given by the laser beam diameter and the optical penetration depth) and the temperature distinction within a single grain. It showed that in pulsed mode consolidation can be achieved at much lower average power as the surface of the powder particles are molten but their cores remain at nearly room temperature. This leads to a much lower average temperature and therefore a dramatic decrease in residual thermal stresses in the finished piece. The results of the model were experimentally tested and confirmed. Received: 26 July 2001 / Accepted: 23 November 2001 / Published online: 23 January 2002     

On the Use of the Restitution Condition in Flexible Body Dynamics

The difference between the classical treatment offlexible body impact and the treatment of impact in flexiblemultibody dynamics is due to several fundamental reasons. Inthe classical impact theory, simple structures such as beamsand plates are used. Infinite dimensional models can bedeveloped for these simple structural elements to study theimpact dynamics and the wave propagation problem. Flexiblemultibody impact problems, on the other hand, involve bodieswith complex geometry that cannot be modeled using infinitenumber of degrees of freedom. Furthermore, the classicalimpact theory has been mainly concerned with the impactbetween a rigid mass that moves without constraints beforeit impacts a simple flexible structure. This is not amultibody simulation scenario in which the impact occursbetween kinematically constrained bodies that are subjectedto impulsive constraint forces in addition to the impactforces. These constraint forces can influence the motion ofthe two bodies immediately after impact, and as aconsequence, the simple classical theory scenario of impactdoes not apply. It is the objective of this paper to discussthe use of the restitution condition in flexible multibodyimpact problems and demonstrate that the use of thisapproach does not exclude the classical formulation.Nonetheless, the impulse momentum balance approach can serveas an effective and efficient procedure for solving theimpact problem in finite dimensional models that do not obeythe classical wave theory. Energy results of simplestructural elements are presented in order to demonstratethe consistency of using the impulse momentum balanceapproach in solving impact problems in finite dimensionalflexible body applications.