Anodization behaviour and basic property mapping in the aluminium-erbium system

A co-evaporation technique was used for depositing an Al-Er thin film combinatorial library on borosilicate glass substrates with Er concentrations between 3 and 21 at.% and a total compositional resolution of 0.25 at.% mm⁻¹. Scanning droplet cell microscopy was employed for compositional mapping of several fundamental properties of mixed oxides grown on Al-Er thin film alloys. Microstructural and crystallographic particularities of Al-Er alloys were identified along the library, and a relevant compositional threshold at around Al-5 at.% Er was identified. Further, small surface grains in the nanometre range were found at Al grain boundaries, and an initial amorphization and/or hexagonal phase nucleation was identified for Er amounts around 5 at.%. Electrochemical studies revealed the importance of this compositional threshold, as distinct maximizations of oxide formation factors and oxide electrical permittivities were observed.

     

Charge‐transfer transitions and optic spectra of chromites: A model computation

In the cluster approach, we consider the peculiarities of charge‐transfer (CT) states and CT O 2p → Cr 3d transitions in the octahedral (CrO₆)^9? complex. We have computed the reduced matrix elements of electric‐dipole transition operator on many‐electron wave functions — the initial and final states of CT transitions. We have parameterized the obtained results and computed the relative intensities of various allowed CT transitions in the absence of the mixing of CT configurations having the same symmetry. Using the Tanabe‐Sugano technique, we have taken into account this mixing and obtained the energies of many‐electron CT transitions and their actual intensities as well. We have also allowed for the Coulomb interaction between the 2p‐electrons of the O^2? ligands and the 3d‐electrons of the central Cr³⁺ ion in the (CrO₆)^9? cluster. This interaction proved insignificant for the optic spectra. Modeling the optic spectrum of chromium‐based oxides has yielded a complicated CT band consisting of 33 lines with the main maximum at about 7 eV and satellites in the range of 4–5 and 8–9 eV. The total extent of the CT band is about 8 eV. The model spectrum is in satisfactory agreement with experimental data, which shows the limited validity of the generally accepted notion of a simple structure of CT spectra. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2011     

Local sensitivity of spatiotemporal structures

We present an index for the local sensitivity of spatiotemporal structures in coupled oscillatory systems based on the properties of local-in-space, finite-time Lyapunov exponents. For a system of nonlocally coupled Rössler oscillators, we show that variations of this index for different oscillators reflect the sensitivity to noise and the onset of spatial chaos for the patterns where coherence and incoherence regions coexist.     

The ?NH?(C)?Br functionality of heteroaromatic compounds as a synthon for fused dihydrooxazoles

Fused dihydrooxazoles are produced by the reaction of 8‐bromoteophylline (1), 6‐bromo‐2‐pyridone (7), or 2‐bromobenzimidazole (11) with an N‐substituted N‐(2,3‐epoxypropyl)amine. The product derived from 1 undergoes rearrangement to a fused dihydrooxazine while the fused dihydrooxazoles derived from 7 and 11 are stable. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2011).     

Algebraic multigrid preconditioning of the Hessian in optimization constrained by a partial differential equation

We construct an algebraic multigrid (AMG) based preconditioner for the reduced Hessian of a linear‐quadratic optimization problem constrained by an elliptic partial differential equation. While the preconditioner generalizes a geometric multigrid preconditioner introduced in earlier works, its construction relies entirely on a standard AMG infrastructure built for solving the forward elliptic equation, thus allowing for it to be implemented using a variety of AMG methods and standard packages. Our analysis establishes a clear connection between the quality of the preconditioner and the AMG method used. The proposed strategy has a broad and robust applicability to problems with unstructured grids, complex geometry, and varying coefficients. The method is implemented using the Hypre package and several numerical examples are presented.     

Experimental test and modeling of hollow-core composite insulators

Hollow-core composite post insulators, used in high voltage electrical equipment, are important parts of the power substation systems. In many applications the composite insulators are considered as slender cantilever columns, fixed at one end and connecting to a conductor at the other end. During earthquakes the post insulators are damaged and sometimes fail near their base connection. When the post is pulled laterally, the tube dislocates from the walls in the end flange, and slips in and out the flange. Subsequently the composite tube sticks in the flange and slips again if the load is reversed, as it is occurring during earthquakes. In this study, an analytical model is developed using a combination of linear and nonlinear springs, viscous and frictional dampers and inertial masses. The developed macroscopic model is governed by a third-order differential equation which is derived in a state-space and solved by using Runge?CKutta integration in MATLAB. Several prototype insulators have been tested at the University at Buffalo??s Structural Engineering and Earthquake Simulation Laboratory (SEESL). Through a methodical identification of the stiffness, mass, friction, and damping properties, the analytical model is verified to produce reliable estimates of strength, damping and global behavior.