Temperature dependence of AC-photoconductivity of HgI2 crystal

An ac impedance method has been used to study the electrical properties of an illuminated HgI₂ crystal as a function of temperature [10–350 K] and frequency [1–10₄ Hz]. The complex impedance plane plots enabled us to determine the bulk resistance of the crystal as a function of temperature. Activation energies of [0.08±0.005 eV] and [0.25 ±0.01eV] are then found; they are attributed to acceptor and donor trapping levels, respectively. At temperatures lower than 230 K, a weak temperature dependence of the bulk resistance is observed. This weak dependence is supposed to be due to photoconductivity.     

Non-isothermal flow through a rotating straight duct with wide range of rotational and pressure driven parameters

Numerical study is performed to investigate the Non-isothermal flow in a rotating straight duct under various flow conditions. Spectral method is applied as a main tool for the numerical technique, where the Chebyshev polynomial, the Collocation methods, the Arc-length method and the Newton-Raphson method are also used as secondary tools. The characteristics of the flow mentioned above are described here. The incompressible viscous steady Non-isothermal flow through a straight duct of rectangular cross-section rotating at a constant angular velocity about the center of the duct cross-section is investigated numerically to examine the combined effects of Rotation parameter (Coriolis force), Grashof number (parameter which is used in heat, transfer studies involving free, forced or natural convection and is equql to \(\frac{{L^3 g\beta \Delta {\rm T}}}{{v^2 }}\), where L is the characteristic length, ρ the density, g the acceleration due to gravity, β the thermal expansion coefficient, ΔT the temperature difference, μ the viscosity and ν the kinematic viscosity of the fluid. The expansion coefficient β is a measure of the rate at which the volume V of the fluid changes with temperature at a given pressure P), Prandtl number, aspect ratio and Pressure-driven parameter (centrifugal force) on the flow. We examine the structures in case of rotation of the duct axis and the Pressure-driven parameter with large aspect ratio where other parameters are fixed. The calculations are carried out for 0 ≤ T _r ≤ 300, 2 ≤ γ ≤ 6, G _r = 100, P _r = 7.0 and 0 ≤ P _r ≤ 800 by applying the Spectral method. When Ω > 0 and the rotation is in the same direction as the Coriolis force enforces the centrifugal force, multiple solutions of Non-symmetric the secondary flow patterns with 10-vortex (maximum) are obtained in case of T _r = 100 and 150 with large aspect ratio. The intense of the temperature field is very strong near the heated wall in all cases. Finally, the overall solutions of the problems considered in conclusion.     

Structural stability and electronic properties of AgInS<Subscript>2</Subscript> under pressure

We employ state-of-the-art ab initio density functional theory techniques to investigatethe structural, dynamical, mechanical stability and electronic properties of the ternaryAgInS₂ compoundsunder pressure. Using cohesive energy and enthalpy, we found that from the six potentialphases explored, the chalcopyrite and the orthorhombic structures were very competitive aszero pressure phases. A pressure-induced phase transition occurs around 1.78 GPa from the low pressure chalcopyritephase to a rhombohedral RH-AgInS₂ phase. The pressure phase transition around 1.78 GPa isaccompanied by notable changes in the volume and bulk modulus. The calculations of thephonon dispersions and elastic constants at different pressures showed that thechalcopyrite and the orthorhombic structures remained stable at all the selected pressure(0, 1.78 and 2.5 GPa), where detailed calculations were performed, while the rhombohedralstructure is only stable from the transition pressure 1.78 GPa. Pressure effect on thebandgap is minimal due to the small range of pressure considered in this study. Themeta-GGA MBJ functional predicts bandgaps which are in good agreement with availableexperimental values.     

The effect of Er doping on the spin reorientation transition in Ho1−xErxAl2

The magnetothermal properties of pseudo binary Ho_1−xEr_xAl₂ alloys have been investigated by heat capacity measurements. Two anomalies are observed in the heat capacity of HoAl₂. A sharp peak at 20 K represents the first order spin reorientation transition, and a second order anomaly occurs in the vicinity of the ferromagnetic transition at 32 K. As Ho is partially replaced by Er in Ho_1−xEr_xAl₂ the sharpness of the first order heat capacity peak diminishes with increasing Er concentration, while the temperature of this transition remains practically unaffected. The second order ferromagnetic transition shifts to higher temperature region with increasing Er concentration. The observed behaviors are explained considering the geometry of 4f charge densities of Ho³⁺ and Er³⁺ and the easy magnetization directions of HoAl₂ and ErAl₂.     

A Surface Study of Ultrathin Ceria Nanoparticles Decorated with Transition‐Metal Ions

A wide range of nanoparticle properties can be tuned by changing their surface characteristics, especially when dealing with ultrathin nanomaterials. Surface modification with transition‐metal ions may affect a variety of the nanoparticles' properties including the surface charge, the electronic structure, and the electrical and optical characteristics. In this work, a surface study of ceria nanoparticles modified by attachment of various transition‐metal ions to their surface is conducted. Characterization of the decorated particles as well as of the modifying transition‐metal ion is carried out using zeta potential in organic solution, UV–Vis absorption, and electron paramagnetic resonance measurements, together with isothermal titration calorimetry, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. All measurements confirm the attachment of the cation to the surface of ceria, both in solid state and in colloidal suspension. It is suggested that the modifying ion‐complex attaches to ceria both via chemical or strong physical interactions and weak physical interactions, demonstrated by a case‐study modification of ceria using a copper‐oleylamine complex. The metalization has a significant effect on the surface charge of the nanoparticles by shifting the zeta potential to more positive values and on the optical properties of the modifying transition‐metal ions by red‐shifting their absorption peak.     

Radiation emission from the ＂Rhodotron-TT200＂ cavity

In this paper, the X-rays emitted from the Rhodotron-TT200 cavity have been studied in depth. We found that the Bremsstrahlung interaction is the only contribution of X-ray generation important to safety. The X-ray dose rate in the Rhodotron vault is calculated for normal conditions based on MCNP4C results. The presented calculation shows good agreement with the experimental measurements, which consequently confirms the reliability of the calculation for use in shielding design and other safety aspects.     

A bootstrap mechanism for non-colloidal suspension viscosity

The role of friction in non-colloidal suspensions is examined with a model which splits the viscosity into a frictionless component (τ*) plus a frictional component which depends on the ratio of the particle pressure (P) to the shear stress (τ). The model needs the input by computation of τ* and P and a suitable choice of particle friction coefficient (μ). It can be extended to elongational flows and cases where sphere roughness is important; volume fractions up to 0.5 are considered. It is shown that friction acts in a feedback or “bootstrap” manner to increase the suspension viscosity. The analysis is also useful for deducing the friction coefficient in suspensions from experimental data. It was applied to several sets of experimental data and reasonable correlations of the viscosities were demonstrated. An example of the correlation for spheres in a silicone oil is shown for volume fractions 0.1–0.5.

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Compressible pulsating convection through regular and random porous media: the thermoacoustic case

The effects of material, geometry, length and position of the porous channels on energy transfer in air-filled enclosures carrying a compressible pulsating wave are investigated. The pulsating fluid motion is created by an acoustic driver in a resonant chamber. Three different porous materials (Corning Celcor, Reticulated Vitreous Carbon (RVC), and Mylar plastic), three different geometries (square, open foam, and circular cross-section), six different lengths, “L” (varying between 1 and 6.5 cm, L = 0.01–0.068 λ, where λ is the wavelength of the fundamental acoustic mode), and eight different positions (hot end of the channel, varying between 0.5 and 8 cm) of the channels from the pressure anti-node is experimentally measured. The surface temperature distribution on the channel wall and temperature difference generated across the channel walls are measured while energy flow along the channel walls is calculated analytically. The experimental results are compared with a 1-D numerical code and found excellent agreement. The material, geometry, length, and position of the porous channel strongly affect the energy interactions between the porous channel and the working fluid. The temperature difference generated across the porous RVC channel increases as the porosity increases form 20 to 80 PPI; but decreases if the porosity increases further. Corning Celcor shows improved temperature difference generated across the channel as the length of the channel increases; but then decreases if the length is further increased. The results of this study are applicable to the design of thermoacoustic devices.     

Micro-scale behavior of granular materials during cyclic loading

This study presents the micro-scale behavior of granular materials under biaxial cyclic loading for differ- ent confining pressures using the two-dimensional （2D） discrete element method （DEM）. Initially, 8450 ovals were generated in a rectangular frame without any overlap. Four dense samples having confining pressures of 15, 25, 50, and 100 kPa were prepared from the initially generated sparse sample. Numeri- cal simulations were performed under biaxial cyclic loading using these isotropically compressed dense samples. The numerical results depict stress-strain-dilatancy behavior that was similar to that observed in experimental studies. The relationship between the stress ratio and dilatancy rate is almost indepen- dent of confining pressures during loading but significantly dependent on the confining pressures during unloading. The evolution of the coordination number, effective coordination number and slip coordina- tion number depends on both the confining pressures and cyclic loading. The cyclic loading significantly affects the microtopology of the granular assembly. The contact fabric and the fabric-related anisotropy are reported, as well. A strong correlation between the stress ratio and the fabric related to contact normals is observed during cyclic loading, irrespective of confining pressures.