Effect of rogue particles on the sub-surface damage of fused silica during grinding/polishing

The distribution and characteristics of surface cracks (i.e., sub-surface damage or scratching) on fused silica formed during grinding/polishing resulting from the addition of rogue particles in the base slurry has been investigated. Fused silica samples (10 cm diameter × 1 cm thick) were: (1) ground by loose abrasive grinding (alumina particles 9-30 μm) on a glass lap with the addition of larger alumina particles at various concentrations with mean sizes ranging from 15 to 30 μm, or (2) polished (using 0.5 μm cerium oxide slurry) on various laps (polyurethane pads or pitch) with the addition of larger rogue particles (diamond (4-45 μm), pitch, dust, or dried Ceria slurry agglomerates) at various concentrations. For the resulting ground samples, the crack distributions of the as-prepared surfaces were determined using a polished taper technique. The crack depth was observed to: (1) increase at small concentrations (>10⁻⁴ fraction) of rogue particles; and (2) increase with rogue particle concentration to crack depths consistent with that observed when grinding with particles the size of the rogue particles alone. For the polished samples, which were subsequently etched in HF:NH₄F to expose the surface damage, the resulting scratch properties (type, number density, width, and length) were characterized. The number density of scratches increased exponentially with the size of the rogue diamond at a fixed rogue diamond concentration suggesting that larger particles are more likely to lead to scratching. The length of the scratch was found to increase with rogue particle size, increase with lap viscosity, and decrease with applied load. At high diamond concentrations, the type of scratch transitioned from brittle to ductile and the length of the scratches dramatically increased and extended to the edge of the optic. The observed trends can be explained semi-quantitatively in terms of the time needed for a rogue particle to penetrate into a viscoelastic lap. The results of this study provide useful insights and ‘rules-of-thumb’ relating scratch characteristics observed on surfaces during optical glass fabrication to the characteristics of the rogue particles causing them and their possible source.     

The crystal structure of vyuntspakhite: A redetermination

The crystal structure of the mineral vyuntspakhite (Y, TR)₆{Al₂(OH)₃[H_1.48Si_1.88O₇][SiO₄][SiO₃(OH)]}₂(a = 5.7551(11) Å, b = 14.752(3) Å, c = 15.906(4) Å, β = 96.046(4)°, sp. gr. P2₁/n, Z = 2), which had been established earlier in the pseudo-unit cell, is redetermined by X-ray diffraction (R = 0.040, T = 100 K). The redetermination of the structure shows that pronounced pseudotranslation along the axis c′ = c/3 is associated with the fact that Y(TR) atoms are related by a 1/3 translation along the [001] direction. Most of the hydrogen atoms are located. The crystal-chemical function of hydrogen bonds is analyzed. In the unit cell of vyuntspakhite, the cationic layers consisting of edge-sharing (Y,TR) eight-vertex polyhedra alternate along the b axis with mixed anionic layers composed of isolated Si tetrahedra (orthotetrahedra), Si₂O₇ double-tetrahedra (diortho) groups, Al five-vertex polyhedra, and Al₂O₈ double-tetrahedra groups linked by shared vertices and through hydrogen bonding.     

Nonperturbative contribution to the fermion propagator and dynamical electroweak symmetry breaking

We examine the field-theoretical contribution of fermion-antifermion condensates arising from a weak-SU(2) doublet of condensing fermions to electroweak vacuum polarization functions. For the custodial-SU(2) case of equal condensates and masses, we find that the condensate contributions to vacuum polarization functions uphold the electroweak signature relationm _w=m _zcosθ_w, and that these contributions are decoupled entirely from oblique radiative corrections. If only the upper member of the doublet forms a fermion-antifermion condensate, the relationm _w=m _zcosθ_w is again upheld in the limit that the mass of the lower member of the doublet is small compared to that of the upper member. For this case, the upper-member's fermion-antifermion condensate is shown to enter oblique radiative corrections. In the absense of an explicit Higgs mechanism, identification of this doublet with (t, b) is shown to be excluded by present empirical bounds onS, T, andU parameters. Further phenomenological consequences of fermion-antifermion condensate contributions to theW-Z mass matrix are discussed, both in the absense and in the presence of an explicit Higgs mechanism.     

Study of oxygen ion transport in acceptor doped samarium cobalt oxide

Dense samples of the perovskite Sm_1−xSr_xCoO₃ (where x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) have been prepared. The samples were¹⁸O/¹⁶O isotopically exchanged at a variety of temperatures between 500°C and 900°C. Subsequent analysis of the diffusion profile using Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) allowed the oxygen self-diffusion coefficient, D*, and surface exchange co-efficient, k, to be determined. From the temperature dependence of these parameters the activation energies for both processes were evaluated. The surface coverage of samarium, cobalt and oxygen in SmCoO₃ was determined from calibration samples using Low Energy Ion Scattering (LEIS). LEIS was used to determine the effect of strontium doping on the surface composition and the¹⁸O-concentration at the surface of a number of the¹⁸O-exchanged samples. Paper presented at the 1st Euroconference on Solid State Ionics, Zakynthos, Greece, 11 – 18 Sept. 1994.     

Geometry of singularities for the steady Boussinesq equations

Analysis and computations are presented for singularities in the solution of the steady Boussinesq equations for two-dimensional, stratified flow. The results show that for codimension 1 singularities, there are two generic singularity types for general solutions, and only one generic singularity type if there is a certain symmetry present. The analysis depends on a special choice of coordinates, which greatly simplifies the equations, showing that the type is exactly that of one dimensional Legendrian singularities, generalized so that the velocity can be infinite at the singularity. The solution is viewed as a surface in an appropriate compactified jet space. Smoothness of the solution surface is proved using the Cauchy-Kowalewski Theorem, which also shows that these singularity types are realizable. Numerical results from a special, highly accurate numerical method demonstrate the validity of this geometric analysis. A new analysis of general Legendrian singularities with blowup, i.e., at which the derivative may be infinite, is also presented, using projective coordinates.Research supported in part by the ARPA under URI grant number #N00014092-J-1890.Research supported in part by the NSF under grant number #DMS93-02013.Research supported in part by the NSF under grant #DMS-9306488.     

Effect of germ and fiber removal on production of ethanol from corn

Ethanol fermentations were conducted using both whole corn, and corn with 100% of the germ, and a portion (∼74%) of the fiber removed. Ethanol production increased 11% in the germ and fiber-removed corn vs the whole corn. The protein content of distiller's dried grains and solubles increased from 30 to 36%, and phosphate levels were 60% lower in corn with germ and fiber removed vs whole corn. Removal of germ and fiber prior to fermentation allows higher starch loading and results in increased ethanol production. The integration of germ and fiber removal in the dry-grind ethanol industry could increase capacity and add valuable coproducts, resulting in increased productivity and profits.     

The vibrational spectra and dihedral angles of biphenyl and the 4,4'-dihalogenobiphenyls

The vibrational frequencies of biphenyl and its 4,4'-dihalogen derivatives have been computed for various values of the dihedral angle between the two rings. It is shown that certain modes with frequencies below 700 cm⁻¹ are sensitive to this angle. Agreement between experimental and calculated frequencies is good. The spectra of biphenyl and 4,4'-difluorobiphenyl are in complete accord with a planar D_2h structure in the crystal phase. In solution, melt and gas the dihedral angle of these systems is 45 ± 15°. The observed frequency shifts of certain A modes are shown to be due to considerable force constant changes for the central C-C bond and its neighbouring internal angle deformations. No significant frequency shifts with phase changes were observed for 4,4'-dichloro- or 4,4'-dibromobiphenyl. In these cases the structures are D₂.