Effects of porosity on the measured fracture energy of brittle materials

Although it is known that growing cracks will interact with pores, it is unclear whether the magnitude of this effect is sufficient to influence the fracture energy. To study this, experiments have been carried out where cracks have been grown through simple distributions of pores in poly(methyl methacrylate). These show that the applied force required to grow the crack between two pores can be greater than that required to grow the crack in the pore-free material. Direct observation during crack growth shows that this increase in applied force is associated with the crack front becoming curved. Based on these observations, the effect of equiaxed pores on the fracture energy of brittle materials has been quantitatively described. The analysis predicts how the relative fracture energy should be influenced by the pore volume fraction, and that it should be independent of the size of the pores or the fracture energy of the matrix. These predictions give good agreement with experimental measurements in different ceramic materials, in which the microstructure of the matrix surrounding the pores does not change with pore volume fraction.     

Statistical approach to multiple-q modulated structures: average Patterson analysis

Using a statistical approach, the average unit cells have been constructed for modulated structures with different types of modulation, from simple sinusoidal to square-wave functions. The obtained unit cells fully describe diffraction intensities of the main reflections and their satellites. A universal distribution, valid for different lengths of the modulation vector, has been found. Average Patterson functions have been constructed and used to distinguish between different types of modulation.     

Photoinduced Birefringence in Poly(Methyl Methacrylate) Polymeric Thin Films Doped with Di-Azo Sudan G

Photoinduced birefringence in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), polymeric thin films doped with di-azo Sudan G was investigated. A pump-probe method was used to study the dynamic behavior of the birefringence. The mechanism for the inducement of birefringence is discussed in terms of the photoisomerization of the di-azo Sudan G molecules. The results showed that the dynamic evolution of the photoinduced birefringence was such that the average birefringence increased, saturated, and then decreased with respect to the laser pump intensity. Also, an exponential-like relationship was observed between both the saturation and the isotropic states of the averaged transmitted probe beam (expressing the residual anisotropy) and the birefringence on one hand, and the intensity amplitudes of the pumping powers on the other hand.     

Ring inversion, structural stability and vibrational assignments of sulfolane c-C4H8SO2 and 3-sulfolene c-C4H6SO2

The structural stability of sulfolane (tetrahydrothiophene1,1-dioxide) and 3-sulfolene (dihydrothiophene1,1-dioxide) was investigated by DFT-B3LYP and ab initio MP2 calculations with 6-311+G**) basis set. The calculated symmetric ring-puckering potential of 3-sulfolene at the B3LYP level is consistent with a flat minimum that corresponds to a planar ring but at the MP2 level with a double minimum with a low barrier of about 193calmol(-1) to ring planarity in reasonable agreement with experimental results. From the calculations at the two levels of theory sulfolane was predicted to exist predominantly in the twist conformation. The vibrational wavenumbers were calculated at the MP2/6-31G** level of theory and the potential energy distributions PED among the symmetry coordinates of the normal modes were computed for the low-energy structure of the molecules. Complete vibrational assignments were provided on the basis of the calculated PED values. The experimental infrared and Raman spectra of the two molecules were compared to the calculated ones.     

Synthetic Impedance Circuits in Semi-Passive Vibration Control with Piezo-Ceramics - Efficiency and Limitations

Electrical circuits that represent complex impedance connected to the plates of piezo element affect the frequency response function of compound electromechanical systems. The external network consisting of inductance results in absorbing a certain frequency of vibrations. The performance can significantly be increased using negative capacitance. All the negative impedance elements are achievable via semi-passive way with the use of an electronic gyrator realized by operational amplifiers that require power supply. Its performance is limited due to the maximum voltage operational amplifiers can produce. The higher excitation forces require higher output voltages of amplifiers. The aim of the paper is to present the relation between the required voltage on synthetic impedance and force excitation in 1DOF vibrating system regarding parameters of piezo element and mechanical system for absorbing case. (© 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Synthesis of bislactones catalysed by a Pd–dppb system

Palladium acetate [Pd(OAc)₂] and 1,4‐bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (dppb) catalyse regioselective cyclocarbonylation of bisallyl derivatives of bisphenols affording seven‐membered ring bislactones in good yields. Double cyclocarbonylation reactions carried out using different conditions afforded bislactones with two different ring sizes (7–6 and 7–5‐­membered). Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Affine restriction for radial surfaces

Suppose dμ is affine surface measure on a convex radial surface Γ(x) = (x, γ(|x|)), a ≤ |x| < b, in . Under appropriate smoothness and growth conditions on γ, we prove and Fourier restriction estimates for Γ.     

A numerical investigation into the effects of Reynolds number on the flow mechanism induced by a tubercled leading edge

Leading-edge modifications based on designs inspired by the protrusions on the pectoral flippers of the humpback whale (tubercles) have been the subject of research for the past decade primarily due to their flow control potential in ameliorating stall characteristics. Previous studies have demonstrated that, in the transitional flow regime, full-span wings with tubercled leading edges outperform unmodified wings at high attack angles. The flow mechanism associated with such enhanced loading traits is, however, still being investigated. Also, the performance of full-span tubercled wings in the turbulent regime is largely unexplored. The present study aims to investigate Reynolds number effects on the flow mechanism induced by a full-span tubercled wing with the NACA-0021 cross-sectional profile in the transitional and near-turbulent regimes using computational fluid dynamics. The analysis of the flow field suggests that, with the exception of a few different flow features, the same underlying flow mechanism, involving the presence of transverse and streamwise vorticity, is at play in both cases. With regard to lift-generation characteristics, the numerical simulation results indicate that in contrast to the transitional flow regime, where the unmodified NACA-0021 undergoes a sudden loss of lift, in the turbulent regime, the baseline foil experiences gradual stall and produces more lift than the tubercled foil. This observation highlights the importance of considerations regarding the Reynolds number effects and the stall characteristics of the baseline foil, in the industrial applications of tubercled lifting bodies.