Damage and Failure of Metal/Fibre-Reinforced Polymer Tensile Specimens with Inelastic Interface

Hybrid specimens of metal and fibre-reinforced polymer are applied in automotive and aerospace industry. The simulation and analysis of damage of such engineering structures is the focus of this research. The investigation includes a computation of the extension of single lap tensile specimen, produced by ultrasonic metal welding. The specimen is manufactured from CF-PA66 - fibre-reinforced polymer and AlMg3 (AA5754), which is used as a metallic joining partner. The aluminium substrate is treated as an elastoplastic material. The polymer composite generally shows an orthotropic elastic behaviour. The interface material has been numerically modeled as an elastoplastic material with linear hardening, coupled with Lemaitre-type damage. The finite element method is used for the investigation of so-called interface elements. The geometry of the interface is a consequence of the welding sonotrode geometry. The behaviour of specimens with square and ring interface geometry are analysed. The influence of the interface geometry on the mechanical properties of the joint is shown. The increase of the damage parameter and the development of failure are described for both cases. (© 2010 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Ultrathin oxide films and interfaces for electronics and spintronics

Oxides have become a key ingredient for new concepts of electronic devices. To a large extent, this is due to the profusion of new physics and novel functionalities arising from ultrathin oxide films and at oxide interfaces. We present here a perspective on selected topics within this vast field and focus on two main issues. The first part of this review is dedicated to the use of ultrathin films of insulating oxides as barriers for tunnel junctions. In addition to dielectric non-magnetic epitaxial barriers, which can produce tunneling magnetoresistances in excess of a few hundred percent, we pay special attention to the possibility of exploiting the multifunctional character of some oxides in order to realize ‘active’ tunnel barriers. In these, the conductance across the barrier is not only controlled by the bias voltage and/or the electrodes magnetic state, but also depends on the barrier ferroic state. Some examples include spin-filtering effects using ferro- and ferrimagnetic oxides, and the possibility of realizing hysteretic, multi-state junctions using ferroelectric barriers. The second part of this review is devoted to novel states appearing at oxide interfaces. Often completely different from those of the corresponding bulk materials, they bring about novel functionalities to be exploited in spintronics and electronics architectures. We review the main mechanisms responsible for these new properties (such as magnetic coupling, charge transfer and proximity effects) and summarize some of the most paradigmatic phenomena. These include the formation of high-mobility two-dimensional electron gases at the interface between insulators, the emergence of superconductivity (or ferromagnetism) at the interface between non-superconducting (or non-ferromagnetic) materials, the observation of magnetoelectric effects at magnetic/ferroelectric interfaces or the effects of the interplay and competing interactions at all-oxide ferromagnetic/superconducting interfaces. Finally, we link up the two reviewed research fields and emphasize that the tunneling geometry is particularly suited to probe novel interface effects at oxide barrier/electrode interfaces. We close by giving some directions toward tunneling devices exploiting novel oxide interfacial phenomena.     

Modeling urban street patterns

Urban street patterns form planar networks whose empirical properties cannot be accounted for by simple models such as regular grids or Voronoi tesselations. Striking statistical regularities across different cities have been recently empirically found, suggesting that a general and detail-independent mechanism may be in action. We propose a simple model based on a local optimization process combined with ideas previously proposed in studies of leaf pattern formation. The statistical properties of this model are in good agreement with the observed empirical patterns. Our results thus suggest that in the absence of a global design strategy, the evolution of many different transportation networks indeed follows a simple universal mechanism.     

Imaging Suzuki precipitates on NaCl : Mg2+ (001) by scanning force microscopy

We present a dynamic scanning force and Kelvin microscopy study of Suzuki precipitates on clean (001) surfaces of UHV cleaved NaCl : Mg2+. Nanometer sized precipitates with a rectangular shape on flat terraces and also at steps were found. Images with atomic resolution confirm that the precipitates are embedded in the NaCl matrix and permit the identification of each type of ion in the unit cell of the Suzuki structure. Kelvin microscopy images show always a strong bright contrast at the precipitates, which is probably due to the negative cation vacancies in the Suzuki structure.     

Wasseranalyse

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Conformational adaptation and selective adatom capturing of tetrapyridyl-porphyrin molecules on a copper (111) surface

We present a combined low-temperature scanning tunneling microscopy and near-edge X-ray adsorption fine structure study on the interaction of tetrapyridyl-porphyrin (TPyP) molecules with a Cu(111) surface. A novel approach using data from complementary experimental techniques and charge density calculations allows us to determine the adsorption geometry of TPyP on Cu(111). The molecules are centered on "bridge" sites of the substrate lattice and exhibit a strong deformation involving a saddle-shaped macrocycle distortion as well as considerable rotation and tilting of the meso-substituents. We propose a bonding mechanism based on the pyridyl-surface interaction, which mediates the molecular deformation upon adsorption. Accordingly, a functionalization by pyridyl groups opens up pathways to control the anchoring of large organic molecules on metal surfaces and tune their conformational state. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the affinity of the terminal groups for metal centers permits the selective capture of individual iron atoms at low temperature.     

Characterization of a series of phenyl‐capped vinyl‐terminated oligomers of styrene

Low molecular weight (MW) polystyrenes were synthesized by radical polymerization in the presence of catalytic chain‐transfer agents. Synthetic conditions are controlled to produce molecules containing one methyl group at one end as well as a double bond at the other end, capped with a phenyl group. Individual oligomers were separated by liquid chromatography, and the properties were analyzed using NMR, ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, and size exclusion chromatography with light scattering. The UV–vis spectra, proton NMR spectra, and differential refractive‐index increments exhibit an MW dependence of up to six–eight monomer units. The obtained dependencies can be used for precise characterization of the molecular weight distribution of polystyrene obtained by catalytic chain transfer. The double‐bonded end groups were found to be exclusively in the transconfiguration for all oligomers. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 39: 1099–1105, 2001     

Preferential evaporation of precipitants from polymer solutions in mixed solvents

Partial vapor pressures were measured for the volatiles of solutions of polysulfone or polyethersulfone in mixtures of N,N‐dimethylformamide (DMF, solvent) and water or acetone (precipitants) by means of headspace gas chromatography. The results demonstrate that the enrichment of water in the gas phase increases exponentially with rising polymer concentration, in contrast to that of acetone which remains constant. The reinforced expulsion of water resulting from the presence of polymers is theoretically conceivable and should be useful in the field of separation techniques.     

Magnetic circular dichroism studies—XLVI: Structure and the magnetic circular dichroism of trans-2-decalones and bicyclo[2.2.2]octan-2-ones

The magnetic CD spectra of a number of Me substituted trans-2-decalones and bicyelo[2.2.2]octan-2-ones were measured. The results showed a large, and sometimes dominant, contribution to the MCD intensity which could be correlated with the presence of α-substituents lying outside of the plane of the carbonyl chromophore.