Cleaved end-face quality of microstructured polymer optical fibres

The cutting of a microstructured polymer optical fibre to form an optical end-face is studied. The effect of the temperature and speed of the cutting blade on the end-face is qualitatively assessed and it is found that for fibres at temperatures in the range 70-90 °C, a blade at a similar temperature moving at a speed of less than 0.5 mm/s produces a good quality end-face. The nature of the damage caused by the cutting process was examined and found to vary with fibre temperature, blade quality and cut depth. Thermo-mechanical analysis showed that the drawn material was significantly more visco-elastic than the annealed raw material in the 70-90 °C temperature range. The behaviour of the surface damage with cut depth was found to be consistent with the behaviour of a visco-elastic material.     

Application of Uniform Asymptotics to the Second Painlevé Transcendent

In this work we propose a new method for investigating connection problems for the class of nonlinear second‐order differential equations known as the Painlevé equations. Such problems can be characterized by the question as to how the asymptotic behaviours of solutions are related as the independent variable is allowed to pass towards infinity along different directions in the complex plane. Connection problems have been previously tackled by a variety of methods. Frequently these are based on the ideas of isomonodromic deformation and the matching of WKB solutions. However, the implementation of these methods often tends to be heuristic in nature and so the task of rigorising the process is complicated. The method we propose here develops uniform approximations to solutions. This removes the need to match solutions, is rigorous, and can lead to the solution of connection problems with minimal computational effort. Our method relies on finding uniform approximations of differ ential equations of the generic form as the complex‐valued parameter . The details of the treatment rely heavily on the locations of the zeros of the function F in this limit. If they are isolated, then a uniform approximation to solutions can be derived in terms of Airy functions of suitable argument. On the other hand, if two of the zeros of F coalesce as , then an approximation can be derived in terms of parabolic cylinder functions. In this paper we discuss both cases, but illustrate our technique in action by applying the parabolic cylinder case to the “classical” connection problem associated with the second Painlevé transcendent. Future papers will show how the technique can be applied with very little change to the other Painlevé equations, and to the wider problem of the asymptotic behavio ur of the general solution to any of these equations. (Accepted May 15, 1997)     

Nachweis von Arsen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Verbesserungen und Neuconstructionen von Wagen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

An Approach for Microprobe Measurement and Modeling for Millimeter-Wave Application

This paper describes a simple method to check the performance of microprobe. The two-port S-parameters of the microprobe are determined by one-port S-parameters measurement using HP 8510XF Network Analyzer. Based on the measurement, an equivalent circuit model for the microprobe is presented and good agreement between the measurement results and modeling results is obtained.     

Cellular instabilities of expanding hydrogen/propane spherical flames at elevated pressures: theory and experiment

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the onset of cellular instabilities on spherically expanding flames in mixtures of hydrogen and propane in air at elevated pressures was conducted. Critical conditions for the onset of instability were measured and mapped out over a range of pressures and mixture compositions. An asymptotic theory of hydrodynamic and diffusional-thermal cell development on flames in mixtures comprised of two scarce fuels burning in air was also formulated. Predicted values of Peclet number, defined as the flame radius at the onset of instability normalized by the flame thickness, were shown to compare favorably with the experimentally measured values.     

Application of gel-permeation chromatography to studies of the functionality distribution of carboxy- and hydroxy-polybutadienes

Separations of carboxy-polybutadienes and hydroxy-polybutadienes according to functionality have been effected using stepwise elution from silica gel. Recoveries in the 95–100% range have been achieved. Subjection of the fractions obtained from the silica gel separation to analysis via gel-permeation chromatography and infrared or near-infrared spectroscopy yields not only functionality distribution data, but also provides the relationship between molecular weight distribution and functional type. Analytical techniques and interpretation of data are discussed.     

The effect of polyoxyethylene glycol monoethers ofn-hexadecanol on the stability of a polystyrene latex dispersion

The influence of nonionic surface active agents, a series of polyoxyethylene glycol monoethers ofn-hexadecanol, on the stability of dispersions of 2m diameter polystyrene latices has been investigated.Adsorption and microelectrophoretic studies showed the presence of looped monolayers of surface active agent at plateau adsorption.Examination of sedimentation volumes and redispersibility, correlated with potential energy calculations, showed that the stability of the dispersions depended on the characteristics of the adsorbed layer and on added electrolyte.