Creep damage modeling of a polycrystalline material

A polycrystalline material is investigated under creep conditions within the framework of continuum micromechanics. Geometrical 3D model of a polycrystalline microstructure is represented as a unit cell with grains of random crystallographical orientation and shape. Thickness of the plains, separating neighboring grains in the unit cell, can have non-zero value. Obtained geometry assigns a special zone in the vicinity of grain boundaries, possessing unordered crystalline structure. A mechanical behavior of this zone should allow sliding of the adjacent grains. Within the grain interior crystalline structure is ordered, what prescribes cubic symmetry of a material. The anisotropic material model with the orthotropic symmetry is implemented in ABAQUS and used to assign elastic and creep behavior of both the grain interior and grain boundary material. Appropriate parameters set allows transition from the orthotropy to the cubic symmetry for the grain interior. Material parameters for the grain interior are identified from creep tests for single crystal copper. Model parameters for the grain boundary are set from the physical considerations and numerical model validation according to the experimental data of the grain boundary sliding in a polycrystalline copper [2]. As the result of analysis representative number of grains and grain boundary thickness in the unit cell are recommended. (© 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Defect-engineered surfaces to investigate the formation of self-assembled molecular networks

Herein we report the impact of covalent modification (grafting), inducing lateral nanoconfinement conditions, on the self-assembly of a quinonoid zwitterion derivative into self-assembled molecular networks at the liquid/solid interface. At low concentrations where the compound does not show self-assembly behaviour on bare highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), close-packed self-assembled structures are visualized by scanning tunneling microscopy on covalently modified HOPG. The size of the self-assembled domains decreases with increasing the density of grafted molecules, i.e. the molecules covalently bound to the surface. The dynamics of domains are captured with molecular resolution, revealing not only time-dependent growth and shrinkage processes but also the orientation conversion of assembled domains. Grafted pins play a key role in initiating the formation of on-surface molecular self-assembly and their stabilization, providing an elegant route to study various aspects of nucleation and growth processes of self-assembled molecular networks.

We showcase the use of covalently modified HOPG for the investigation of domain size controlled 2D self-assembly, nucleation and growth kinetics, molecular adsorption/desorption thermodynamics, and tip-induced selective recrystallization.     

Regioselective and Scalable Total Synthesis of Licochalcone C and Related Licoagrochalcones

A novel efficient method for the synthesis of licochalcone C in good yield on up to 30 g scale was developed. The reaction sequence included relied on the directed ortho-metalation (DOM) of bis-O-MOM-protected resorcinol for the regioselective C-prenylation, followed by metalation-formylation, selective O-deprotection of a hydroxyl group located between the formyl and prenyl groups, its methylation, and aldol reaction with p-hydroxyacetophenone. Synthesis of structurally related retrochalcones, i.e., licoagrochalcones B, C, and D, was also proposed.     

Interior continuity,continuity up to the boundary,and Harnack's inequality for double-phase elliptic equations with nonlogarithmic conditions

We prove continuity and Harnack's inequality for bounded solutions to elliptic equations of the type under the precise choice of μ.