A new type of symmetrical banana-shaped material based on N-methyldiphenylamine as a core moiety exhibiting an Ad→A2 transition

The synthesis and characterization of a homologous series of Schiff bases consisting of an N-methyldiphenylamine moiety as the central core is reported, which exhibits smectic A phase and transitions from the partial bilayer SmA_d phase to the bilayer SmA₂ phase as the temperature is lowered.     

Integral formula of Minkowski type and new characterization of the Wulff shape

Given a positive function F on S^n which satisfies a convexity condition, we introduce the r-th anisotropic mean curvature Mr for hypersurfaces in R^n＋1 which is a generalization of the usual r-th mean curvature Hr. We get integral formulas of Minkowski type for compact hypersurfaces in R^n＋1. We give some new characterizations of the Wulff shape by the use of our integral formulas of Minkowski type, in case F=1 which reduces to some well-known results.     

Phase and shape controlling of MnS nanocrystals in the solvothermal process

MnS nanocrystals with different phases and shapes were prepared through solvothermal synthesis. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), UV–vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. The solvent and reaction time played an important role in controlling the phase and shape of MnS nanocrystals. The possible mechanism of the shape evolution was investigated, which revealed that the crystal growth along the unique c axis of γ-MnS resulted in the rod-like MnS at the primary period, and the tetrahedral crystal seed of β-MnS with zincblende structure resulted in the interlinking of MnS rods, so the zigzag and three-branched and palm-like MnS appeared; with increasing reactive time the thermodynamically stable spherical α-MnS was favored through the Ostwald ripening process. The PL results showed that the intensity of γ-MnS was much weaker than that of α-MnS, and the trap state emissions of γ-MnS at 470 and 482 nm, respectively, disappeared, which might be ascribed to the difference of the shapes between the sphere and the rod or branch.     

The time-local view of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. II. Generalized Langevin equations

On a semiphenomenological level, generalized Langevin equations are usually obtained by adding a random force (RF) term to macroscopic deterministic equations assumed to be known. Here this procedure is made rigorous by conveniently redefining the RF, which is shown to be colored noise weakly correlated with the observables at earlier times due to the finite lifetime of microscopic events. Corresponding fluctuation-dissipation theorems are derived. Explicit expressions for the spectral density of the fluctuations are obtained in a particularly simple form, with the deviation of the line shape from the Lorentzian being related most explicitly to the spectral density of the RF. Well-known low-frequency expressions and the Einstein relation of (generalized) Brownian motion theory are modified so as to include lifetime effects. New sum rules are obtained relating dissipative quantities to contour integrals (in the complex frequency domain) over spectral densities or corresponding response functions. The Heisenberg dynamics of a complete set of macroobservables is shown to be equivalent to a generalized Orstein-Uhlenbeck stochastic process which is a non-Markovian process due to the lifetime effects.     

Elastic electron scattering with formamide-(H2O)n complexes (n=1, 2): Influence of microsolvation on the π* and σ* resonances

We report elastic cross sections for low-energy electron scattering with formamide-(H₂O)_n complexes (n=1, 2) in the energy region of 0.01-8 eV. The scattering calculations are performed using the R-matrix method in the static-exchange (SE) approximation. We consider three structures of formamide-H₂O and six structures of formamide-(H₂O)₂ in the present work. Our purpose is to investigate effects of water molecules hydrogen-bonding to formamide. We focus on the influence of microsolvation on the π^* and σ^* resonances of formamide. The scattering result for complexes shows that the position of π^* resonance appears at lower or higher energies in the cluster than in the isolated formamide depending on the complex structure and the water role in the hydrogen bonding. We explain this behavior according to the net charge of the solute. It is found that the microsolvation environment has a substantial effect on the width of π^* resonance. Our results indicate that surrounding water molecules may affect the lifetime of the resonances, and hence the process is driven by the anion state, such as the dissociative electron attachment.     

Understanding the effect of filler shape induced immobilized rubber on the interfacial and mechanical strength of rubber composites

Styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) composites with silica, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and montmorillonite (MMT) were prepared and the interfacial and mechanical properties were compared to understand the reinforcing behaviours of these fillers based on the results of SEM, DSC, DMA, etc. Due to the formation of interparticle domain, HNTs immobilized more rubber approaching their surface than silica and MMT. Interestingly, only tightly immobilized rubber chains made contribution to the enhancement of interfacial and mechanical strength of SBR composites. This was because the tightly immobilized rubber acted as a bridge in the filler-rubber interface and induced the formation of stretched rubber chains linked filler network when the composites were loaded in tension, while loosely immobilized rubber were easy to slip off from filler surface, causing the separation between filler and bulk rubber. Therefore, silica with more tightly immobilized rubber approaching its surface showed better reinforcing effect on rubber than HNTs and MMT.     

pyMolDyn: Identification,structure, and properties of cavities/vacancies in condensed matter and molecules

pyMolDyn is an interactive viewer of atomic systems defined in a unit cell and is particularly useful for crystalline and amorphous materials. It identifies and visualizes cavities (vacancies, voids) in simulation cells corresponding to all seven 3D Bravais lattices, makes no assumptions about cavity shapes, allows for atoms of different size, and locates the cavity centers (the centers of the largest spheres not including an atom center). We define three types of cavity and develop a method based on the split and merge algorithm to calculate all three. The visualization of the cavities uses the marching cubes algorithm. The program allows one to calculate and export pair distribution functions (between atoms and/or cavities), as well as bonding and dihedral angles, cavity volumes and surface areas, and measures of cavity shapes, including asphericity, acylindricity, and relative shape anisotropy. The open source Python program is based on GR framework and GR3 routines and can be used to generate high resolution graphics and videos. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

大跨度脊谷式膜屋盖风载分布的实验研究

基于台州某风雨操场脊谷式张拉膜屋盖缩尺模型风洞试验的数据结果,选取典型测点,研究了屋面迎风前缘、过渡区及中轴区的平均风压和脉动风压系数的分布特性。同时,鉴于屋盖的不规则曲面造型,表面风压梯度变化较大,采用单一体型系数反映屋面风载已不能满足要求。文中在结合屋盖自身复杂体型和风压分布特征基础上,按各榀各边片将屋面划分为不同区域,对5个不利风向角下的区域体型系数进行统计分析,并给出各区域体型系数建议取值。最后,针对这类体型屋盖特点和风压分布特性,得出一些结论和建议,为进一步研究该类屋盖的风荷载特性和结构抗风设计提供了依据。     

SMA纤维复合材料梁振动半主动控制

分析了一类形状记忆合金(SMA)纤维混杂层合粱用于振动控制的动力学模型和作用机理．采用多胞模型、形状记忆合金一维本构关系分析方法，同时考虑横向剪切的影响，建立了层合梁的数学模型．半主动控制是通过改变受控结构的参数来减小结构振动的响应．根据开关控制原理确定可变刚度系统的控制律，进行SMA纤维混杂层合粱的半主动控制的数值仿真．结果表明，将半主动控制应用于梁的振动控制是一种有效的方法．