Flexural free vibrations of rectangular plates with complex support conditions

The spline finite strip method of analysis is introduced and applied to the study of flexural free vibration response of thin rectangular plates with complex support conditions. Examples are given to demonstrate the versatility, accuracy and efficiency of the method.     

Propagation of long waves of finite amplitude at the interface of two viscous fluids

The propagation of long waves of finite amplitude at the interface of two viscous fluids has been studied theoretically. For plane Couette-Poiseuille flow of two superposed layers of fluids of different viscosity, an equation is derived to determine the development in time of the shape of these finite amplitude waves. The influence of the viscosity ratio, the density difference of the fluids and an imposed pressure gradient have been investigated.     

Invariant distribution on strange attractors in highly dissipative systems

We obtain analytically by an iterative procedure the equilibrium invariant distribution for a class of strange attractors in highly dissipative systems. The zeroth order distribution is found by solving the phase-averaged Markov equation. Repeated iterations over the map yield the higher order distributions that reveal successively finer structures. The analytical results have been compared quantitatively to numerical results for the Zaslavskii map.     

Formation of dielectric and semiconductor thin films by laser-assisted evaporation

Laser-assisted evaporation is an emerging novel thin film deposition technique. It has been successfully applied to a variety of dielectric and semiconductor materials. Characteristics of the evaporation process and of the evaporants, resulting from the interaction of high power radiation with matter, often result in better structural and chemical properties of the films than can be obtained by conventional evaporative techniques. Congruent evaporation, the presence of energetic vapor species, and precise rate control are important advantageous features of this technique. The physics of laser-induced evaporation and plasma formation, some engineering aspects, and properties of dielectric and semiconductor thin films deposited by this technique are discussed in this review.     

A finite element method for a three-dimensional second-order closure model of turbulent diffusion in a convective boundary layer

A three-dimensional second-order closure dispersion model is used to simulate the plume behaviour of a passive contaminant in a convective boundary layer. A time-splitting finite element method together with a non-linear filtering scheme is used to solve the three-dimensional second-order closure transport equations. The model results show good agreement with laboratory data for a ground level source.     

Hermitian metrics of negative holomorphic sectional curvature on some hyperbolic manifolds

Research partially supported by National Science Foundation     

Moment-conserving decoupling scheme in the Anderson model

The moment-conserving decoupling scheme is applied to the infinite-U Anderson model for dilute magnetic alloys. It is shown that the correct first moment of the spectral density is essential in the occurrence of magnetic solutions.     

Thermal stability of cyclohexane and 1-hexene

The mechanism and initial rates of decomposition of cyclohexane and 1-hexene have been determined from single-pulse shock-tube experiments. The main initial processes involve isomerization of cyclohexane to 1-hexene, followed by decomposition of 1-hexene. From comparative rate experiments the following rate expressions have been derived: The 1-hexene bond-braking reaction leads to an allylic resonance energy of 42.7 kJ and a heat of formation of allyl radicals of 176.6 kJ (300°K). There appear to be general relations relating the rate expressions for the decomposition of alkynes, alkanes, and alkenes. Studies on the induced decomposition of cyclohexane have also been carried out.