Production and properties of metal-carbon composite coatings with a nanocrystalline structure

It is suggested to produce metal-carbon composite coatings by magnetron sputtering of mosaic cathodes, which are Group IV, V, and VI metals. The mosaic structure of the cathode elements are computer-optimized for each of the metals. Reflection electron diffraction studies show that the coatings have the amorphous or nanocrystalline structures, which are thermally stable. The coatings offer specific physical properties, in particular, low friction factor and high hardness.     

A mathematical analysis of a fish school model

A model proposed in the literature for fish schools of relatively large size is studied for mathematical and qualitative properties. Existence, uniqueness and positivity of solutions are established and bifurcation properties relative to diffusion and alignment parameters are studied.     

CAS based approach for discussing subset construction

This paper continues the discussion of teaching nondeterminism (see [6]) where we presented a didactic approach introducing the notion of nondeterministic automata. Although in this paper we use the same methodology we have to face up to new didactic challenges. Namely, teaching the subset construction requires answers to the question how can CAS be used in teaching the different phases of mathematical problem solving so that we can reach higher cognitive efficiency.     

Growth and study of single crystals of (Na,K)NbO<Subscript>3</Subscript> solid solutions

(Na, K)NbO₃ crystals with a perovskite structure and a KNbO₃ content up to 40 mol % were grown from flux with the use of the solvent NaBO₂. The dielectric measurements of the crystals grown revealed phase transitions that had never been observed before in ceramic samples.     

Sufficient optimality conditions and duality in vector optimization with invex-convexlike functions

We prove the Kuhn-Tucker sufficient optimality condition, the Wolfe duality, and a modified Mond-Weir duality for vector optimization problems involving various types of invex-convexlike functions. The class of such functins contains many known generalized convex functions. As applications, we demonstrate that, under invex-convexlikeness assumptions, the Pontryagin maximum principle is a sufficient optimality condition for cooperative differential games. The Wolfe duality is established for these games.The author is indebted to the referees and Professor W. Stadler for valuable remarks and comments, which have been used to revise considerably the paper.     

Thermographic inspection of TBC coated gas turbine blades: Discrimination between coating over-thicknesses and adhesion defects

When performing in-field tests on thermal barrier coatings (TBCs) deposited on gas turbine blades, the main problem encountered is the difficulty to correctly interpret the experimental data. The coating thickness changes, which are not regarded as anomalies, are one of the most common sources of false alarms. They are very challenging to recognize because, unlike stains, eroded areas and optical property variations, they are not detectable in the visible band. Furthermore, their thermal signal is similar to the one produced by an adhesion defect. In this paper, a procedure to reliably discriminate thickness changes and real defects is proposed. The approach is based on the analysis of the apparent effusivity profile. Preliminary results are presented and discussed.     

Discovery of a new long-lived isomeric state in 125Ce

A new long-lived isomeric state in the near proton dripline nucleus ¹²⁵Ce has been identified with Schottky mass spectrometry at GSI. The excitation energy E ^* = 103(12)keV and the decay time of 193(1)s have been obtained from a single stored fully ionized ^125m Ce⁵⁸⁺ ion. The data implies an E3 transition and a 1/2⁺ assignment for the spin of the isomer.