Reconstruction of the fine structure of an acoustic scatterer against the distorting influence of its large-scale inhomogeneities

In the ultrasonic diagnostics of small-size neoplasms of biological tissues at the earliest stage of their development, an efficient way to eliminate the distorting influence of high-contrast or large inhomogeneities of the biological medium is to apply the iterative technique. A simple approach is proposed, which makes it possible with only two iteration steps to achieve an efficient focusing of the tomograph array. At the first step, the unknown distribution of the large-scale inhomogeneities of sound velocity and absorption over the scatterer is reconstructed, where the large-scale inhomogeneities are those whose size exceeds several wavelengths. At the second step, the fine structure of the scatterer is reconstructed against the large-scale background, which can be performed with a high accuracy owing to the evaluation of the background at the first step. The possibility of simultaneous reconstruction of the large-scale and fine structures by the noniterative Grinevich-Novikov algorithm is considered as an alternative. This algorithm reconstructs in an explicit form two-dimensional refractive-absorbing acoustic scatterers of almost arbitrary shape and strength. Taking into account the effects of multiple scattering, this algorithm provides resolution of the fine structure almost as good as that achieved in reconstructing the same structure against an undistorting homogeneous background. The results of numerical simulations of both algorithms are presented.     

Mechanical Properties of Blends of Low-Density Polyethylene with Chlorinated Polyethylene

The results of experimental investigation into the mechanical properties of blends of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) with chlorinated polyethylene (CPE) in tension are presented. The specimens of pure LDPE, CPE, and nine types of LDPE/CPE blends, with different content of components at 10 wt.% intervals, were examined. Data on the influence of blend composition on the tensile stress-strain diagram, elastic modulus, yield stress, breaking stress, and ultimate elongation are obtained. The results of investigations of creep are also reported. It is found that the creep compliance (the total current compliance minus the elastic compliance) obeys the power law of creep.__________Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 3, pp. 391–404, May–June, 2005.     

The chemistry of caryophyllene and related compounds

A review is given of the literature over the period from the middle of the 1950s to the beginning of the 1980s on the distribution in nature, the biological activity, the conformation, and the chemical transformations of sesquiterpenes of the caryophyllene type.     

Thin film synthesis and the influence of irradiation-induced defects on the superconductivity of La1.8Sr0.2CuO4

Thin superconducting films of La_1.8Sr_0.2CuO₄ have been prepared by magnetron sputter deposition and subsequent temperature treatment. The composition of the films has been determined by Rutherford backscattering and the structure by thin film X-ray diffraction. The onset of superconductivity was about 32 K and the midpoint near 28 K. Defect production in the films by He ion bombardment revealed a drasticT _c reduction with a sensitivity similar to that observed in the Chevrel phases. Oxygen implantation and subsequent annealing led to an enhancement of theT _c onset.     

A grid‐free upwind relaxation scheme for inviscid compressible flows

A new grid‐free upwind relaxation scheme for simulating inviscid compressible flows is presented in this paper. The non‐linear conservation equations are converted to linear convection equations with non‐linear source terms by using a relaxation system and its interpretation as a discrete Boltzmann equation. A splitting method is used to separate the convection and relaxation parts. Least squares upwinding is used for discretizing the convection equations, thus developing a grid‐free scheme which can operate on any arbitrary distribution of points. The scheme is grid free in the sense that it works on any arbitrary distribution of points and it does not require any topological information like elements, faces, edges, etc. This method is tested on some standard test cases. To explore the power of the grid‐free scheme, solution‐based adaptation of points is done and the results are presented, which demonstrate the efficiency of the new grid‐free scheme. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Convergence and Stability of Splitting Finite-Difference Schemes for Nonlinear Evolutionary Equations

We consider a splitting finite-difference scheme for an initial-boundary value problem for a two-dimensional nonlinear evolutionary equation. The problem is split into nonlinear and linear parts. The linear part is also split into locally one-dimensional equations. We prove the convergence and stability of the scheme in L ₂ and C norms. Printed in Lietuvos Matematikos Rinkinys, Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 413–434, July–September, 2005.