A relaxed model and its homogenization for nematic liquid crystals in composite materials

We analyse a model for equilibrium configurations of composite systems of nematic liquid crystal with polymer inclusions, in the presence of an external magnetic field. We assume that the system has a periodic structure, and consider the relaxed problem on the unit length constraint of the nematic director field. The relaxation of the Oseen–Frank energy functional is carried out by including bulk as well as surface energy penalty terms, rendering the problem fully non‐linear. We employ two‐scale convergence methods to obtain effective configurations of the system, as the size of the polymeric inclusions tends to zero. We discuss the minimizers of the effective energies for, both, the constrained as well as the unconstrained models. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stable nonequilibrium probability densities and phase transitions for meanfield models in the thermodynamic limit

A nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation is derived to describe the cooperative behavior of general stochastic systems interacting via mean-field couplings, in the limit of an infinite number of such systems. Disordered systems are also considered. In the weak-noise limit; a general result yields the possibility of having bifurcations from stationary solutions of the nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation into stable time-dependent solutions. The latter are interpreted as non-equilibrium probability distributions (states), and the bifurcations to them as nonequilibrium phase transitions. In the thermodynamic limit, results for three models are given for illustrative purposes. A model of self-synchronization of nonlinear oscillators presents a Hopf bifurcation to a time-periodic probability density, which can be analyzed for any value of the noise. The effects of disorder are illustrated by a simplified version of the Sompolinsky-Zippelius model of spin-glasses. Finally, results for the Fukuyama-Lee-Fisher model of charge-density waves are given. A singular perturbation analysis shows that the depinning transition is a bifurcation problem modified by the disorder noise due to impurities. Far from the bifurcation point, the CDW is either pinned or free, obeying (to leading order) the Grüner-Zawadowki-Chaikin equation. Near the bifurcation, the disorder noise drastically modifies the pattern, giving a quenched average of the CDW current which is constant. Critical exponents are found to depend on the noise, and they are larger than Fisher's values for the two probability distributions considered.     

Stress State of Multilayer Thin-Walled Elements with Interfacial Defects of Structure

Based on the discrete-structural theory of thin plates and shells, a calculation model for thin-walled elements consisting of a number of rigid anisotropic layers is put forward. It is assumed that the transverse shear and compression stresses are equal on the interfaces. Elastic slippage is allowed over the interfaces between adjacent layers. The solution to the problem is obtained in a geometrically nonlinear statement with account of the influence of transverse shear and compression strains. The stress-strain state of circular two-layer transversely isotropic plates, both without defects and with a local area of adhesion failure at their center, is investigated numerically and experimentally. It is found that the kinematic and static contact conditions on the interfaces of layered thin-walled structural members greatly affect the magnitude of stresses and strains. With the use of three variants of calculation models, in the cases of perfect and weakened contact conditions between layers, the calculation results for circular plates are compared. It is revealed that the variant suggested in this paper adequately reflects the behavior of layered thin-walled structural elements under large deformations. __________ Translated from Mekhanika Kompozitnykh Materialov, Vol. 41, No. 6, pp. 761–772, November–December, 2005.     

随机化交通灯的二维元胞自动机交通模型

元胞自动机交通模型以简单的规则反映交通系统中的多种因素，可以分析各种交通现象，且可在计算机上方便、高效地运作·Ｂｉｈａｍ－Ｍｉｄｄｌｅｔｏｎ－Ｌｅｖｉｎｅ模型（ＢＭＬ模型）实现了二维交通问题的元胞自动机模型的模拟研究·本文对ＢＭＬ模型作了改进，解除了该模型中关于交通灯同步变化的限制·在新模型中，每个路口的交通灯可以自由选定起始工作时间和变化节奏，于是可以更全面、准确地反映交通灯对交通系统性能的影响·本文还对新模型中出现的若干新效应作了解释·     

Combination of mixed finite element and Dirichlet-to-Neumann methods in nonlinear plane elasticity

We study the solvability and Galerkin approximation of an exterior hyperelastic interface problem arising in plane elasticity. The weak formulation is obtained from an appropriate combination of a mixed finite element approach with a Dirichlet-to-Neumann method. The derivation of our results is based on some tools from nonlinear functional analysis and the Babuska-Brezzi theory for variational problems with constraints.     

Measure change techniques in optimal control

Fully and partially observed stochastic control of systems with nonlinear dynamics and terminal and running costs are considered. Measure changes are introduced which allow both state and observation dynamics to be thought of as linear. In the case when the terms of the cost have a special form the measure change transformation “cancels out” the nonlinearities and changes the original nonlinear problem into a classical LQG one and standard results can be applied. We also consider unnormalized conditional densities of the whole path as state variables and obtain dynamic programming and verification results. R. J. Elliott wishes to acknowledge support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Grant A7964.     

A highly selective solid phase extraction sorbent for pre-concentration of sameridine made by molecular imprinting

Summary A novel approach to solid phase extraction, based on the use of a highly selective molecularly imprinted polymer, is presented. The versatility of this type of sorbent for solid phase extraction was demonstrated in a model batch-wise pre-concentration of sameridine prior to gas chromatography. Problems associated with leakage of remaining imprint molecules during the desorption phase could be eliminated by the use of a close structural analogue of sameridine as the imprint species. It was found that a major benefit of the imprinted polymer was its specificity, which lead to distinctly cleaner chromatographic traces and ability to improve sensitivity by extracting sameridine from larger sample volumes.     

Solid phase synthesis of azapeptides using an automatic synthesizer

Peptides containing azaglycine located terminally or within the backbone have been prepared in the solid phase by means of an automatic synthesizer.     

高压下聚苯胺的结构和电性能研究

 以金刚石压腔高压装置为工具，用Ⅱ型金刚石作压砧兼红外窗口，对本征态聚苯胺进行了高压（0~8.4 GPa）就位红外光谱测试。结果表明：在4.8~5.2 GPa压力区间，代表醌环振动的吸收峰相对代表苯环振动的吸收峰变小，表明聚苯胺在此压力区间结构上发生了显著变化，且这种变化是不可逆的。聚苯胺的高压（0~14.5 GPa）电阻测量结果表明：当压力小于7.5 GPa时，电阻随压力升高而显著降低，据此认为聚苯胺为电子性导电物质；在7.5 GPa处电阻出现极小值，然后又缓慢升高，至10 GPa后基本不变。推测聚苯胺电阻极小值是由结构变化引起的。至于红外光谱与电阻测量结果反映聚苯胺结构变化的压力值不一致，可能是由于测试条件不同所致。     

Time-resolved synchrotron X-ray study of crystalline phase transition in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone) containing alternated terephthalic/isophthalic moieties

Unique crystallization and melting behavior in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone) containing alternated terephthalic and isophthalic moieties were studied by time-resolved synchrotron x-ray methods. Recently, this material has been shown to exhibit three polymorphs (forms I, II, and III). In this work, we further investigated their distinctive thermal properties and found that form I is the dominating and the most thermally stable phase while form II is favored by fast nucleation conditions and is the least stable phase. On the other hand, form III represents a minor intermediate phase that usually coexists with form I and can be transferred from form II and to form I. Structural and morphological changes in form I have been followed by simultaneous wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD)/small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements during cold- or melt-crystallization and subsequent melting. In all cases, a larger dimensional change was found in the crystallographic a-axis than the b-axis during heating and cooling. This may be due to the greater lateral stress variation with respect to temperature along the a direction of the primary lamellae which is induced by either the formation of secondary lamellae or the preferential chain-folding direction in poly(aryl ether ketone ketone)s. During the phase transitions of form II ← III in the cold-crystallized specimen and form III ← I in the melt-crystallized samples, lamellar variables (long period, lamellar thickness, and invariant) obtained from SAXS remain almost constant. This indicates that the density distribution in the long spacing is independent of the melting in form II or III. For melt-crystallization, the corresponding changes in unit-cell dimensions and lamellar morphology during the annealing-induced low endotherm are most consistent with the argument that these changes are due to the melting of thin lamellar population. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.