Scalable silicon nanowire photodetectors

This paper presents photodetectors having vertically stacked electrodes with sub-micron (300 nm) separation based on silicon nanowire (SiNW) nanocomposites. The thin-film-like devices are made using standard photolithography instead of electron beam lithography and thus are amenable to scalable low-cost manufacturing. The processing technique is not limited to SiNWs and can be extended to different nanowires (NWs) (e.g., ZnO, CdSe) and substrates. The current–voltage characteristics show Schottky behaviour that is dependent on the properties of the contact metal and that of the pristine SiNWs. This makes these devices suitable for examination of electronic transport in SiNWs. Preliminary results for light sensitivity show promising photoresponse that is a function of effective NW density.     

Modeling of terrain impact caused by tracked vehicles

Analytical models that can predict the terrain impact caused by tracked vehicles on a horizontal plane were developed and tested. The models included a disturbed width model and an impact severity model. Inputs of the terrain impact models included vehicle static properties, vehicle dynamic properties, and terrain properties. The tested vehicles included an M1A1 tank, an M577 Armored Personal Carrier (APC), and an M548 cargo carrier. The models were verified with field tests conducted in Yakima Training Center in Yakima, WA, Fort Riley, KS, and Camp Atterbury, Indiana. The average percentage errors of the disturbed width model for the M1A1, M577, and the M548 were 10.0%, 27.3%, and 8.5%, respectively. The average percentage errors of the impact severity model of the M1A1 and M577 were 25.0% and 21.4%, respectively.     

Study on Deformation of Polycrystalline Aluminum Alloy Using Moiré Interferometry

Polycrystalline aluminum alloy is manufactured by annealing, compared to the width of the specimen, the size of the grains can not be omitted, which makes the specimen anisotropic. Under uniaxial tension, the deformation field is inhomogeneous. In this study, moiré interferometry is successfully applied to measure the deformation of the polycrystalline specimen. The experimental results presented the stress versus strain responses of the marked grains in different orientations and different shapes. By using fringe centering method, the strain distributions under certain load in the centers and on the boundaries of the grains are analyzed.     

Jacobi's multiplier for Poincaré's equations

In this paper we use Poincaré's equations in group variables to describe the motion of a holonomic mechanical system and to determine Jacobi's multiplier for the equations of motion.     

Strain energy density of a circular cavity buried in semi-infinite functionally graded materials subjected to shear waves

In this paper, based on the theory of multiple scattering of elastic waves, employing wave functions expansion method, multiple scattering and strain energy density in semi-infinite functional graded materials with a circular cavity are investigated, the analytical solution of the problem is derived, and the numerical solution of the strain energy density factors around the cavity is also presented. The effects of the distance between the cavity and the edge of the materials, the wave number and the non-homogeneous parameter of materials on strain energy density factors are analyzed. From analysis, it can be seen that when the non-homogeneous parameter of materials is less than zero, it has less influence on the maximum strain energy density factor around the cavity; however, it has greater influence on the distribution of strain energy density factors around the cavity. When the non-homogeneous parameter of materials is greater than zero, it has greater influence on both the maximum strain energy density factor and the distribution of strain energy density factor around the cavity, especially in the case that the distance between the cavity and the edge is comparatively little.     

Image-processing system for circular-grid analysis in sheet-metal forming

In this paper, an automated digital-image-processing system is developed for the measurement of deformed grids with respect to sheet-metal forming (circular grids imprinted). The proposed system can be used in industry or laboratory to evaluate process design and die design. It can also be used to determine the forming limit and to verify the accuracy of numerical modeling. The application of the system will improve productivity and product quality for the sheet-metal-forming industry.     

Experimental investigation of flow and heat transfer for the ethanol-water solution and FC-72 in rectangular microchannels

Rapid development of super scale integration circuit (IC) provides unprecedented challenge to thermal control for aviation electronic equipments. To solve the problem of cooling electronic chips and devices for aircraft avionics, this paper experimentally investigated the characteristics of single-phase forced convection heat transfer and flow resistance in rectangular microchannels with two liquid coolants. One was 30% of ethanol–water solution, the most commonly used coolant in aviation. The other was FC-72, the latest coolant for electronic equipments. Based on the experimental data collected and those available in the open literature, comparisons and analyses were carried out to evaluate the influences of liquid velocity, supercooling temperature, microchannel structures and wall temperature etc. on the heat transfer behaviors. And the correlations of flow resistance and heat transfer characteristics were provided for the ethanol–water solution and FC-72 respectively. The results indicate transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurs at the Reynolds number of 750–1,250 for FC-72, and the behaviors of flow and heat transfer in rectangular microchannels strongly depend on the kind of coolant and geometric configuration of microchannels.     

Stress and strain field near tip of mode III growing crack in materials with creep behavior

Using a proposed constitutive relation for materials with creep behavior, the stress and strain distribution near the tip of a Mode III growing crack is examined. Asymptotic equations of the crack tip field are derived and solved numerically. The stresses remain finite at the crack tip. Obtained qualitatively is the crack tip velocity and the local autonomy of the near tip field solution is discussed.     

Influence of damage on properties of strain localization in geomaterials at plane stress and plane strain

Summary By regarding geomaterials under loading as a mixture of intact and damaged parts, we investigate the influence of damage on the properties of strain localization in elastoplastic geomaterials at plane stress and plane strain. Conditions for the onset of strain localization including the effects of damage are derived for the cases of plane strain and plane stress. Discussed are the inclination of the localized band and the hardening modulus corresponding to the onset of strain localization. It is shown that the properties of the strain localization are dependent on the damage and the capacity of bearing hydrostatic pressure by the damaged part, and that damage may induce an earlier onset of strain localization and lead to instability of a geomaterial.accepted for publication 11 March 2004     

Statistical Analysis of the Effect of Intensity Pattern Noise on the Displacement Measurement Precision of Digital Image Correlation Using Self-correlated Images

This paper discusses the effect of intensity pattern noise on the displacement measurement precision of digital image correlation (DIC). Through mathematical deduction, a formula is presented to estimate the displacement measurement error caused by intensity pattern noise. The resulting formula synthetically reflects the effects of the variance of noise, the intensity variance and the subset size on the displacement measurement precision. To verify the correctness of the resulting formula, two experiments are done. The first one is a real self-correlation experiment, and aims to analyze the effect of the subset size, while the second is a numerical self-correlation experiment, and is to analyze to the effect of the different noise levels. The experimental results are in good agreement with the theoretical predictions. The project is supported by the National Science Foundation of China (10572103).