The simulation of dendrite growth and partial discharges in epoxy resin

A self-consistent model of the development of dendrites and partial discharges in a dielectric solid under a variable voltage is suggested. Dendrites originate at sites with the enhanced local field strength and also where the dielectric is broken down under the action of partial discharges. The numerical simulation is used to quantitatively describe the space-time dynamics of the dendrites and partial discharges in epoxy resin for the tip-plane electrode configuration. The simulated data are compared with electrical measurements of partial discharges and with optical images of dendrite growth under the same conditions.     

Study of the Surface Processes in Vapor-Phase Epitaxial GaAs: Asymmetric Trapping of Atoms at the Step

Experimental proofs of asymmetric trapping of atoms at the growth step in vapor-phase epitaxy of gallium arsenide in the GaAs–AsCl₃–H₂ system are given. The data obtained confirm the important role of the surface diffusion mass transfer in the growth of epitaxial GaAs layers on vicinals in the neighborhood of (111)A. The effective diffusion length is estimated.     

Development of high-speed video cameras for Dynamic PIV

The most promising next generation Image Velocimtry (IV) is the high-speed Dynamic PIV. It requires the development of innovative high-speed video camera sensors. We started by specifying the required performance of these new sensors, for measurements in air and water flows. These criteria founded on the most recent developments in PIV algorithms and incorporate results from a large questionnaire survey of users of high-speed video cameras in Japan. The results suggest that the followings are required: (1) frame rate of 1,000,000 fps, (2) pixel count of 1,000,000 pixels, (3) frame storage capacity of 100–200 frames for tracing a single event and 10,000 frames for turbulent measurements, (4) gray levels of 4–8 bits for PTV; 12 bits for observation. Finally, we reviewed the state of the art of high-speed video-image sensors. Currently the standard parallel-readout sensors can operate at 1 Kfps with a pixel count of approximately 1 Kpixels. The In-situ Storage Image Sensor (ISIS) developed by the authors has recently achieved frame rates of 1 Mfps.     

Switching kinetics of ferroelastic ferroelectrics

Switching kinetics of uniaxial ferroelastic ferroelectrics (FFs) in external electric and stress fields is studied using classical theory of nucleation and growth. The stage in which the polarization and deformation reversal involves the main body of the FF and the final stage (Ostwald ripening) of the FF switching are studied with allowance for the change in the repolarization and redeformation during the phase transition. The time dependences of the repolarization and redeformation are found, and equations are derived from which the polarization current and the deformation flux, as well as their time dependence, can be calculated. The calculated main characteristics of the FF switching are compared with the experimental data for switching of Rochelle salt single crystals.     

Thermal conductivity of GaS and GaSe layered semiconductors

This paper reports on the results of experimental investigations into the thermal conductivity of GaS and GaSe layered semiconductor crystals in directions parallel and perpendicular to the crystal layers in the temperature range 5–300 K. Specific features of the thermal conductivity of these crystals are analyzed.     

Luttinger liquid with asymmetric dispersion

We present an extension of the Tomonaga-Luttinger model in which left and right-moving particles have different Fermi velocities. We derive expressions for one-particle Green's functions, momentum-distributions, density of states, charge compressibility and conductivity as functions of both the velocity difference ε and the strength of the interaction β. This allows us to identify a novel restricted region in the parameter space in which the system keeps the main features of a Luttinger liquid but with an unusual behavior of the density of states and the static charge compressibility κ. In particular κ diverges on the boundary of the restricted region, indicating the occurrence of a phase transition. Received 20 May 2002 / Received in final form 23 August 2002 Published online 19 November 2002     

Radiative transfer in stochastically inhomogeneous media

New radiative transfer theory is developed for stochastically inhomogeneous scattering media. The three-dimensional shapes and large scale (compared to the mean free path) structures of the media are modeled by stochastic interfaces separating regions of different scattering properties. The small scale fluctuations are characterized by a pair-correlation function. The radiative transfer equation is extended to include individual scattering and propagation probabilities of a ray for each subregion as well as the probability for a ray to cross the interface between two subregions. The propagation probability is found to depend on the entire preceding path of the ray; the present formulation accounts for the two previous scatterings. A new adding/doubling algorithm is developed to solve this problem numerically. Transmission through a cloud layer and backward scattering seem to be particularly sensitive to inhomogeneities.     

The Efficiency Distribution Approach in Data Envelopment Analysis: An Application

A method is developed here for characterizing the empirical distribution of the efficient units in data envelopment analysis. Two empirical applications illustrate the various uses of the distribution approach. One involves the cost frontier which exhibits increasing returns to scale and the other involves a dynamic production frontier, where technological change causes a shift of the production frontier over time.     

Echolocation range of captive and free-ranging baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), and bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus).

The interclick intervals of captive dolphins are known to be longer than the two-way transit time between the dolphin and a target. In the present study, the interclick intervals of free-ranging baiji, finless porpoises, and bottlenose dolphins in the wild and in captivity were compared. The click intervals in open waters ranged up to 100-200 ms, whereas the click intervals in captivity were in the order of 4-28 ms. Echolocation of free-ranging dolphins appears to adapt to various distance in navigation or ranging, sometimes up to 140 m. Additionally, the difference of waveform characteristics of clicks between species was recognized in the frequency of maximum energy and the click duration.