Superconvergence analysis of the finite element method for nonlinear hyperbolic equations with nonlinear boundary condition

This paper discusses the semidiscrete finite element method for nonlinear hyperbolic equations with nonlinear boundary condition. The superclose property is derived through interpolation instead of the nonlinear H^1 projection and integral identity technique. Meanwhile, the global superconvergence is obtained based on the interpolated postprocessing techniques.     

Degradation process in organic thin film devices fabricated using P3HT

The stability of regioregular poly(3-hexylthiophene 2,5-diyl) (P3HT) thin films sandwiched between indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminium (Al) electrodes have been investigated under normal environmental conditions (25°C and RH∼45–50%). Electrical and optical properties of ITO/P3HT/Al devices have been studied over a period of 30 days. Mobility μ of the order of 10⁻⁴ cm²/V-s has been obtained from the V ² law in the as-deposited P3HT films. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) investigations show blistering of Al contacts in devices with a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) interlayer on application of voltage whereas no blistering is seen in devices without PEDOT. The results have been explained in terms of trap generation and propagation and the moisture-absorbing nature of PEDOT.      

Controlled synthesis of CeO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles using novel amphiphilic cerium complex precursors

Maleic anhydride was grafted by long-chain alcohols (1-hexadecanol, 1-octadecanol) to amphiphilic mono-L cis-butene dicarboxylates (L = hexadecyl, octadecyl), i.e., MAH, MAO, respectively. Subsequently, corresponding amphiphilic cerium complexes with these two mono-L cis-butene dicarboxylate ligands (Ce(L')₃, L'= MAH, MAO) were synthesized and behaved as the precursors to prepare CeO₂ nanoparticles for both of which can form nanosized micelle-like aggregates by special self-assembly in the wet chemical process. The nanoparticles were further characterized by Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Diffuse reflectance ultraviolet-visible spectra (DRUVS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and x-ray diffraction (XRD). Both the CeO₂ nanoparticles are in a cubic fluorite structure and present regular and well-dispersion club-like morphology with average particle size in the range of 40–70 nm. Besides, the strong ultraviolet–visible absorption for these CeO₂ nanoparticles can be found at the long-wavelength ultraviolet to visible region of 200–500 nm.     

A molecular dynamics study on melting point and specific heat of Ni<Subscript>3</Subscript>Al alloy

Using the Embedding Atom Method (EAM) for highly undercooled Ni₃Al alloy, the melting point and the specific heat were studied by a molecular dynamics simulation. The simulation of melting point was carried out by means of the sandwich method and the NVE ensemble method, and the results show a good agreement, whereas are larger than the experimental value of 1663 K. This difference is attributed to the influence of surface melting on experimental results, which causes the smaller measurements compared with the thermodynamic melting point. The simulated specific heat of Ni₃Al alloy weakly and linearly increases with the increase of undercooling in the temperature range from 800 K to 2000 K. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50395101)     

Actively mode-locked dual-wavelength fiber laser with close wavelength spacing using a fiber Bragg grating

A simple actively mode-locked fiber ring laser is proposed and successfully demonstrated to generate dual-wavelength picosecond pulses with close wavelength spacing using one Bragg grating in standard single-mode fiber. The proposed laser can be made to operate in stable dual-wavelength at room temperature, due to the birefringence characteristic of the FBG induced by transverse strain. Transverse strain loading on the FBG allows the wavelength spacing to be controlled. Generation of stable dual-wavelength pulses with a pulsewidth of 212–234 ps and a tunable wavelength separation from 0.2 to 0.44 nm at a pulse rate of 1.05 GHz was demonstrated.     

Effect of annealing temperature on the electrical properties of Au/Ta2O5/n-GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structure

We report on the effect of an annealing temperature on the electrical properties of Au/Ta₂O₅/n-GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) structure by current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) measurements. The measured Schottky barrier height (Φ _bo) and ideality factor n values of the as-deposited Au/Ta₂O₅/n-GaN MIS structure are 0.93 eV (I–V) and 1.19. The barrier height (BH) increases to 1.03 eV and ideality factor decreases to 1.13 upon annealing at 500 ^°C for 1 min under nitrogen ambient. When the contact is annealed at 600 ^°C, the barrier height decreases and the ideality factor increases to 0.99 eV and 1.15. The barrier heights obtained from the C–V measurements are higher than those obtained from I–V measurements, and this indicates the existence of spatial inhomogeneity at the interface. Cheung’s functions are also used to calculate the barrier height (Φ _bo), ideality factor (n), and series resistance (R _s ) of the Au/Ta₂O₅/n-GaN MIS structure. Investigations reveal that the Schottky emission is the dominant mechanism and the Poole–Frenkel emission occurs only in the high voltage region. The energy distribution of interface states is determined from the forward bias I–V characteristics by taking into account the bias dependence of the effective barrier height. It is observed that the density value of interface states for the annealed samples with interfacial layer is lower than that of the density value of interface states of the as-deposited sample.     

Polarization of plane wave propagating inside elastic hexagonal system solids

Based on the reported physical parameters for hexagonal system solids,we have calculated the effects of anisotropy on polarization of plane P-wave propagation.Herein we report the results of calculations and the newly observed physical phenomena.It is found that,for a given propagation,if the polarization is parallel to the wave vector,so also to the Poynting vector.In such a case,the phase velocity is identical to the energy velocity;the quasi P-wave degenerates to a pure P-wave along the propagation.It is also noted that if the polarization is parallel to the Poynting vector but not to the wave vector,the propagating wave cannot be a pure P-wave.Furthermore,the polarization in a quasi P-wave may deviate from the wave vector for more than 45°,but the deviation from the Poynting vector is always less than 45°.The energy velocity of a quasi SV-wave can be larger than that of the quasi P-wave in some propagation directions,even though the phase velocity of a quasi SV-wave may never be larger than either the phase velocity or energy velocity of the quasi P-wave.Finally,in case of parameters ε=0 and δ*≠0,the polarization of a quasi P-wave has an observed symmetry at a 45°phase angle.The anisotropy of a hexagonal system solid determines if a pure P-wave can be created and what the propagation direction is for a plane wave propagating inside such a hexagonal system solid.     

Comparative study of different Schlieren diffracting elements

This paper presents an analysis of diffraction effects taking place at different Schlieren diffracting elements. Two types of diffraction effects are prominent in the Schlieren schemes. One is diffraction of direct light (source image) at the Schlieren element, which limits the sensitivity and resolution of Schlieren systems. The second type is the diffraction of light deflected from the test object at the Schlieren-diffracting element. This second type of diffraction degrades the quality of Schlieren results. Experimental results showing the effect of diffraction of light deflected from the test object at a phase knife-edge, corner of a square phase aperture and an optical fiber tip as Schlieren diffracting elements have been presented and discussed.      

Phenomenon of labyrinth seal with low static pressure difference and large clearance

This paper discusses the straight-through type labyrinth seal. This labyrinth seal is used for axial flow fans, which h ave an outer ring at the blade tip to seal the clearance between the ring tip and the fan shroud, in order to prevent the reverse flow or leakage. These fans are used for the cooling of automobile radiators . In these cases, the labyrinth seal is used in an extremely low static pressure difference and a large clearance . A significant decrease of the leakage rate was reported even when the labyrinth seal rotated in comparatively low speed in this unique condition according to the authors’ former report. However, this phenomen on is differ ent from past research. Further more the cause of th is phenomenon has not been determined. Therefore, the internal flow was depicted with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in or der to clarify the ca use of this phenomenon. The results of CFD show that the leakage rate decreases significantly because the carry -over flow is intercepted in the expansion groove. This is the newly discovered phenomenon which occurs under the unique condition of an extremely low differential pressure. It has not been pointed out before as the reason why the rotation decreases the leakage rate.     

Preparation of nano-hydroxyapatite/poly(<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">l</Emphasis>-lactide) biocomposite microspheres

Nano-hydroxyapatite (HA)/poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) composite microspheres with relatively uniform size distribution were prepared by a solid-in-oil-in-water (s/o/w) emusion solvent evaporation method. The encapsulation of the HA nanopaticles in microshperes was significantly improved by grafting PLLA on the surface of the HA nanoparticles (p-HA) during emulsion process. This procedure gave a possibility to obtain p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres with uniform morphology and the encapsulated p-HA nanoparticle loading reached up to 40 wt% (33 wt% of pure HA) in the p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres. The microstructure of composite microspheres from core-shell to single phase changed with the variation of p-HA to PLLA ratios. p-HA/PLLA composite microspheres with the diameter range of 2–3 μm were obtained. The entrapment efficiency of p-HA in microspheres could high up to 90 wt% and that of HA was only 13 wt%. Surface and bulk characterizations of the composite microspheres were performed by measurements such as wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).