Spatial macroscopic structure of a pulsed microsecond discharge in barrier-metal gaps with a nonuniform electric field distribution

Electric and spatial characteristics of a pulse-periodic microsecond barrier discharge are investigated in different geometries—triangular prism, plate, and corrugated electrode—that are in contact with a dielectric plate and form a dihedral angle with it. It is established that, in the space of the dihedral angle, the regions of discharge represent alternating cylindrical layers with the axes lying on the contact line. The first conducting layer is formed at some distance from the contact edge of the electrode. The number of layers and their localization are determined by the angle formed between an electrode and the dielectric plate. A physical model explaining the main features of the structure formation is proposed.     

Structure and reflective properties of Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystalline thin film prepared by laser induced arc method

Al-Cu-Fe thin films were prepared by laser induced arc (laser-arc) method from a single source—Al₆₃Cu₂₅Fe₁₂ alloy, which was proved to consist of quasicrystalline phase together with approximant phase. The composition of the deposited films meets the requirement for formation of icosahedral symmetry phase. Quasicrystalline phase was obtained after annealing the amorphous as-deposit film samples. The optical properties of the samples were investigated. Thin film samples of Al, Cu and Fe deposited under the same condition were employed for comparison. The results showed specific reflective properties of Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystal thin film in some wavelength range. The optical conductivity of the films exhibited a negative peak, centered about 440 nm in range of 190 to 800 nm. The Al-Cu-Fe quasicrystal thin films could absorb almost all the ray in the wavelength range from 420nm to 450 nm. The ratio of absorption was greater than 99%.     

Correlation between Al2O3 particles and interface of Al-Al2O3 coatings by cold spray

Al-Al₂O₃ composite coatings with different Al₂O₃ particle shapes were prepared on Si and Al substrate by cold spray. The powder compositions of metal (Al) and ceramic (Al₂O₃) having different sizes and agglomerations were varied into ratios of 10:1 wt% and 1:1 wt%. Al₂O₃ particles were successfully incorporated into the soft metal matrix of Al. It was found that crater formation between the coatings and substrate, which is typical characteristic signature of cold spray could be affected by initial starting Al₂O₃ particles. In addition, when the large hard particles of fused Al₂O₃ were employed, the deep and big craters were generated at the interface between coatings and hard substrates. In the case of pure soft metal coating such as Al on hard substrate, it is very hard to get proper adhesion due to lack of crater formation. Therefore, the composite coating would have certain advantages.     

Parametric Centers for Trigonometric Abel Equations

This article is devoted to one-dimensional perturbative theory on R × S ¹. There is a recursive formula for the successive obstructions to parametric center at any order of the perturbation parameter. The first obstruction is studied by means of complex analysis techniques. This extends to the trigonometric case what was done previously for the polynomial case (Israel J. Math. 142, 273–283, 2004). This article is dedicated to Professor Zhang Zhi-Fen on the occasion of her 80th Birthday     

Bioengineering functional copolymers. III. Synthesis of biocompatible poly[(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐maleic anhydride)‐g‐poly(ethylene oxide)]/poly(ethylene imine) macrocomplexes and their thermostabilization effect on the activity of the enzyme penicillin G acylase

Stimuli‐responsive poly[(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐maleic anhydride)‐g‐poly(ethylene oxide)]/poly(ethylene imine) macrobranched macrocomplexes were synthesized by (1) the radical copolymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide and maleic anhydride with α,α′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator in 1,4‐dioxane at 65 °C under a nitrogen atmosphere, (2) the polyesterification (grafting) of prepared poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide‐co‐maleic anhydride) containing less than 20 mol % anhydride units with α‐hydroxy‐ω‐methoxy‐poly(ethylene oxide)s having different number‐average molecular weights (M_n = 4000, 10,000, or 20,000), and (3) the incorporation of macrobranched copolymers with poly(ethylene imine) (M_n = 60,000). The composition and structure of the synthesized copolymer systems were determined by Fourier transform infrared, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy, and chemical and elemental analyses. The important properties of the copolymer systems (e.g., the viscosity, thermal and pH sensitivities, and lower critical solution temperature behavior) changed with increases in the molecular weight, composition, and length of the macrobranched hydrophobic domains. These copolymers with reactive anhydride and carboxylic groups were used for the stabilization of penicillin G acylase (PGA). The conjugation of the enzyme with the copolymers significantly increased the thermal stability of PGA (three times at 45 °C and two times at 65 °C). © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1580–1593, 2003     

The calculation of neutron self-shielding factors of a group of isolated resonances

The resonance neutron self-shielding factor, G _res, is required in neutron metrology and activation data analysis. In a previous paper, the authors have shown that a dimensionless variable can be introduced which converts the dependence of G _res on the physical and nuclear properties of the material samples into an universal curve, valid for the isolated resonances of any nuclide. This work presents a methodology based on the universal curve, which enables to calculate G _res for a group of isolated resonances by weighting its individual contributions. A good agreement was reached with results calculated by the MCNP code and with experimental values for Mo foils and wires. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Sound scattering by a body in a planar layered waveguide

In the framework of the theory of integral equations, the problem of sound diffraction by pressure-release and acoustically stiff inhomogeneities of an oceanic waveguide is considered. The iteration method is used to obtain recurrent relations for the surface currents. The relations describe the diffraction process as a sequence of interactions between the body and the waveguide boundaries (multiple reflections). The validity condition for the zero-order approximation, which ignores multiple reflections, is formulated and physically justified.     

Fixed mesh approximation of ordinary differential equations with impulses

When trains of impulse controls are present on the right-hand side of a system of ordinary differential equations, the solution is no longer smooth and contains jumps which can accumulate at several points in the time interval. In technological and physical systems the sum of the absolute value of all the impulses is finite and hence the total variation of the solution is finite. So the solution at best belongs to the space BV of vector functions with bounded variation. Unless variable node methods are used, the loss of smoothness of the solution would a priori make higher-order methods over a fixed mesh inactractive. Indeed in general the order of -convergence is and the nodal rate is . However in the linear case -convergence rate remains but the nodal rate can go up to by using one-step or multistep scheme with a nodal rate up to when the solution belongs to . Proofs are given of error estimates and several numerical experiments confirm the optimality of the estimates. Received March 15, 1996 / Revised version received January 3, 1997     

Excitons in ZnP2 crystals in the electric field of a Schottky barrier

A study is made of the effect of electric fields on the exciton states of β-ZnP₂ crystals (T=77 K) in structures with Schottky barriers formed by depositing semitransparent electrically-conducting InSnO₂ films on the crystal surface. The observed changes in the exciton optical reflection spectra when an electrical potential is applied to a barrier are explained by the shift and broadening of the exciton level caused by the Stark effect. The experimental data are compared with calculations based on a theory of exciton optical reflection from planar spatially nonuniform structures. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 884–886 (May 1998)     

Infrared and Raman spectroscopic investigation of Eu3+-doped mono and Di-urethanesil hybrid siliceous materials

The general features of two series of sol-gel derived materials, designatedurethanesils (Ut), have been investigated by infrared and Raman spectroscopies with the goal of elucidating the chemical environment of the Eu³⁺ cations. The host frameworks of the two families of ormolytes studied have been represented by m-Ut(350) and d-Ut(300), where m stands for mono, d stands for di, 350 and 300 are the average molecular weights of the organic precursors (poly(ethylene glycol) methyl ether, PEGME, and poly(ethylene glycol), PEG, respectively). The hybrid matrix of the mono-xerogels is composed by a siliceous backbone bonded by means of urethane linkages (-NHC (=O)O-) to pendant methyl end capped oligopolymer chains with approximately 7 oxyethylene units, whereas that of the di-xerogels is based on a siliceous network grafted through urethane groups to both ends of poly(oxyethylene) segments containing about 6 (OCH₂CH₂) repeat units. Both classes of materials have been doped with europium triflate (Eu(CF₃SO₃)₃). The doped samples have been identified by m-Ut(350)_nEu(CF₃SO₃)₃ and d-Ut(300)_nEu(CF₃SO₃), where n is the molar ratio of (OCH₂CH₂) repeat units per Eu³⁺ ion. Materials with n ranging from ∞ to 5 have been analyzed. The spectral data obtained provide evidence that the cations begin to coordinate to the ether oxygen atoms of the oligopolymer chains at n=40 in the mono-urethanesils and at n=10 in the di-urethanesils. In mono-urethanesils samples with n>40 and in di-urethanesils materials with n>10, the Eu³⁺ coordinate exclusively to the carbonyl oxygen atoms of the urethane linkages. Paper presented at the 8th EuroConference on Ionics, Carvoeiro, Algarve, Portugal, Sept. 16–22, 2001.