Surface and interfacial properties of PVDF/acrylic copolymer blends before and after UV exposure

Morphological and chemical properties of both the surface and interface of poly(vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate)-co-poly(ethyl acrylate) (PVDF/PMMA-co-PEA) blend films have been investigated before and after the samples were exposed to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation using a xenon arc lamp at 50 °C and 9% relative humidity (RH) for 7 months. Surface and interfacial morphologies were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Chemical composition information was obtained by confocal Raman microscopy, attenuated total reflection-FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and contact angle measurements. Results show an enrichment of the PVDF material at the air surface, while the acrylic copolymer enriches the interface. Blends having greater than 50% mass fraction of PVDF show little change in the surface morphology after UV exposure for 7 months. However, for a lower PVDF content, blends exhibit significant degradation of PMMA-co-PEA copolymer and a much rougher surface after UV exposure. Microstructural changes in the PVDF spherulites are also observed after UV degradation. It is found that the surface and interfacial morphologies are correlated with the chemical properties.     

New methods for determining the volumetric flow rate in the column and the retention time of the unretained substance in gas chromatography

New methods for calculating the mean volumetric flow rate of the carrier gas and the retention time of the unretained substance in the column under conditions of gas chromatography were proposed. The methods are based on preliminary isothermal calibrations of the flow rate and holdup time for a packed column. A theoretical substantiation of the methods was given. Procedures of plotting calibration dependences for determining the indicated quantities at a desired temperature were described. The calculation results were compared to experimental data obtained by traditional methods. It was demonstrated that the use of calculation methods substantially simplifies the determination of the specific retention volume over a wide temperature range.     

Generalized green operator for an impulsive boundary-value problem with switchings

We establish constructive existence conditions and construct a generalized Green operator for the construction of solutions of a Noetherian linear boundary-value problem for a system of ordinary differential equations with switchings and pulse action in critical and noncritical cases. __________ Translated from Neliniini Kolyvannya, Vol. 10, No. 1, pp. 51–65, January–March, 2007.     

Ergodic theory and the Strong Law of Large Numbers on Riesz spaces

In [W.-C. Kuo, C.C.A. Labuschagne, B.A. Watson, Discrete-time stochastic processes on Riesz spaces, Indag. Math. (N.S.) 15 (3) (2004) 435-451], we introduced the concepts of conditional expectations, martingales and stopping times on Riesz spaces. Here we formulate and prove order theoretic analogues of the Birkhoff, Hopf and Wiener ergodic theorems and the Strong Law of Large Numbers on Riesz spaces (vector lattices).     

Stored energy release behaviour of disordered carbon

The use of graphite as a moderator in a low temperature thermal nuclear reactor is restricted due to accumulation of energy caused by displacement of atoms by neutrons and high energetic particles. Thermal transients may lead to a release of stored energy that may raise the temperature of the fuel clad above the design limit. Disordered carbon is thought to be an alternative choice for this purpose. Two types of disordered carbon composites, namely, CB (made up of 15 wt. % carbon black dispersed in carbonized phenolic resin) and PAN (made up of 20 vol. % chopped polyacrylonitrile carbon fibre dispersed in carbonized phenolic resin matrix) have been irradiated with 145 MeV Ne⁶⁺ ions at three fluence levels of 1.0×10¹³, 5.0×10¹³ and 1.5×10¹⁴ Ne⁶⁺/cm², respectively. The XRD patterns revealed that both the samples remained disordered even after irradiation. The maximum release of stored energy for CB was 212 J/g and that of PAN was 906 J/g. For CB, the release of stored energy was a first order reaction with activation energy of 2.79 eV and a frequency factor of 3.72×10²⁸ per second. 13% of the defects got annealed by heating up to 700 °C. PAN showed a third-order release rate with activation energy of 1.69 eV and a frequency factor of 1.77×10¹⁴ per second. 56% of the total defects got annealed by heating it up to 700 °C. CB seems to be the better choice than PAN as it showed less energy release with a slower rate. PACS 61.80.Jh; 61.80.-x; 61.43Er; 61.43.-j; 68.43.Vx     

Giant shot-like voltage noise in high current density Nb–AlOx–Nb superconducting tunnel junctions

The flat voltage noise component of current biased, high-transparency Nb/AlO_x/Nb superconducting tunnel junctions has been investigated at frequencies up to 70 kHz. Several aspects of the analyzed phenomena suggest the presence of current noise effects induced by the discreteness of the charge carriers. At subgap voltages, where excess currents occur, a behavior coherent with a multiple Andreev reflection-assisted transport through the tunnel barrier has been found. However, the measured charge values exceed any theoretical prediction.     

Evaluation of Coulomb Energy Difference for Light Mirror Nuclei Using Slater—Type Orbitals

Behavior of the Coulomb energy difference for light nuclei is explained in terms of the different values of the average Coulomb interaction between two particles.Coulomb energy difference according to shell model of light mirror nuclei in the Coulomb and exchange integrals in the formula can be explained with exponential-type wavefunctions.In this study,using the one-center expansion of exponential-type wavefunctions in terms of Slater-type orbitals with the same center,we derived formula for Coulomb energy difference of light mirror nuclei.     

Mode beating in spot-size converter lasers

An anomalous modulation in the wavelength spectrum has been observed in lasers with spot-size converters. This intensity modulation is shown to be caused by beating between the fundamental lasing mode and radiation modes in the taper. This results in a periodic modulation in the net gain spectrum, which causes wavelength jumps between adjacent net gain maxima, and a drive current dependent spectral width that is expected to affect system performance. The amplitude of this spectral modulation is reduced significantly by either using an angled rear-facet which reflects the beating radiation modes away from the laser axis, or by using a nonlinear, adiabatic taper.