Linear quadratic regulator for laser beam shaping

The performance of an adaptive optics system depends on multiple factors, including the quality of the laser beam before being projected to the mesosphere. In general, cumbersome procedures are required to optimize the laser beam in terms of amplitude and phase. However, aberrations produced by the optics of the laser beam system are still detected during the operations due to, for example, uncertainty in the utilized models. In this paper we propose the use of feedback to overcome the presence of model uncertainty and disturbances. In particular we use a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) for closed loop laser beam shaping using a setup of two deformable mirrors. The proposed method is studied and simulated to provide an automatic optimization of the Amplitude of the laser beam. The performance of the LQR control algorithm is evaluated via numerical simulations using the root mean square error (RMSE). The results show an effective amplitude correction of the laser system aberrations after 20 iterations of the algorithm, a RMSE less than 0.7 was obtained, with about 140 actuators per mirror and a separation of z=3 [m] among the mirrors.     

Focused ion beam preparation of samples for X‐ray nanotomography

The preparation of hard material samples with the necessary size and shape is critical to successful material analysis. X‐ray nanotomography requires that samples are sufficiently thin for X‐rays to pass through the sample during rotation for tomography. One method for producing samples that fit the criteria for X‐ray nanotomography is focused ion beam/scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM) which uses a focused beam of ions to selectively mill around a region of interest and then utilizes a micromanipulator to remove the milled‐out sample from the bulk material and mount it on a sample holder. In this article the process for preparing X‐ray nanotomography samples in multiple shapes and sizes is discussed. Additionally, solid‐oxide fuel cell anode samples prepared through the FIB/SEM technique underwent volume‐independence studies for multiple properties such as volume fraction, average particle size, tortuosity and contiguity to observe the characteristics of FIB/SEM samples in X‐ray nanotomography.     

Relation between Airy beams and triple-cusp beams

Airy beams and triple-cusp beams are two kinds of accelerating beams. The propagation characteristics and internal topological structures of accelerating Airy beams are well understood because of the developed mathematical theory about Airy function. However, limited information is available about the optical characteristics of accelerating triple-cusp beams. In this work, the relationship between Airy beams and triple-cusp beams is examined theoretically and experimentally. Results reveal some important optical characteristics of triple-cusp beams based on the optical characteristics of Airy beams. These findings are expected to provide a foundation for future applications of triple-cusp beams.     

RAFM钢TIG焊和电子束焊疲劳性能实验和分析模拟

利用ANSYS 对低活化铁素体马氏体(RAFM)钢进行非熔化极气体保护焊(TIG 焊)与电子束焊的抗疲劳模拟分析，再利用SDS200 电液伺服疲劳试验机对TIG 焊和电子束焊的两种RAFM 钢试件进行实验。通过施加相同梯度负荷对TIG 焊和电子束焊试件进行焊缝的疲劳性能实验。与实验结果对比分析，结果显示电子束焊优于 TIG 焊，但在一定负载下可以用TIG 焊代替电子束焊。     

A Wall Effect in the Photothermal Beam Deflection Response of Infrared-Absorbing Gases

FTIR photothermal beam deflection (PBD) spectroscopy was used to record PBD spectra of IR-absorbing gases in presence of IR-absorbing and non-absorbing solids. The presence of the solid, IR-absorbing or not, causes asymmetry at the juncture of the IR and probe laser     

Infrared Observation of the Effects of Aqueous Oxidizing Agents on the Functional Groups on Carbon Surfaces

FTIR photothermal beam deflection spectroscopy (PBDS) was used to record infrared spectra of medium-temperature carbons before and after they had been subjected to treatments with aqueous HNO₃ or H₂O₂ solution. Changes in the functional groups present on the carbon surfaces can be clearly observed.     

Kinematics of layered reinforced-concrete planar beam finite elements with embedded transversal cracking

In this work crack formation and development is addressed and implemented in a planar layered reinforced-concrete beam element. The crack initiation and growth is described using the strength criterion in conjunction with exact kinematics of the interlayer connection. In this way a novel embedded-discontinuity beam finite element is derived in which the tensile stresses in concrete at the crack position reaching the tensile strength will trigger a crack to open. Since the element is multi-layered, in this way the crack is allowed to propagate through the depth of the beam. The cracked layer(s) will involve discontinuity in the cross-sectional rotation equal to the crack-profile angle, as well as a discontinuity in the position vector of the layer’s reference line. A bond–slip relationship is superimposed onto this model in a kinematically consistent manner with reinforcement being treated as an additional layer of zero thickness with its own material parameters and a constitutive law implemented in the multi-layered beam element.     

Generation and Propagation of Optical Superoscillatory Vortex Arrays

Superoscillation is an intriguing wave phenomenon which enables subwavelength features propagating into far field and hence has potential applications in super‐resolution microscopy as well as particle trapping and manipulation. While previous demonstrations mostly concentrate on designing complicated nanostructures for generating uncontrollable superoscillatory functions, here a new technique which allows for creating polynomially shaped superoscillatory functions that contain phase singularity arrays is demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. Such a technique is implemented in optical experiments for the first time and controllable superoscillatory lobes with feature much below the diffraction limit is achieved. More importantly, a general theoretical framework, which, to our knowledge, has not been reported before, is developed to show how the created superoscillations propagate to a distance of many Rayleigh ranges and eventually disappear when the distance is sufficiently larger. The validity of the model is confirmed by the experiments. The results may trigger further studies in light field shaping and manipulations in subwavelength scale.     

On the use of edge cracked short bend beam specimen for PMMA fracture toughness testing under mixed-mode I/II

In this paper an inclined edge cracked short beam specimen subjected to symmetric three-point bend loading was designed and examined for conducting mixed-mode I/II fracture toughness experiments. The aspect ratio (i.e. length to width ratio) and the loading span distance are considered much lower than the other conventional cracked bend beam samples. Crack tip parameters such as stress intensity factors and T-stress were computed numerically for this specimen by several finite element analyses and it was demonstrated that the specimen is able to produce full combinations of mode I and II including pure mode II. The practical capability of the short bend beam specimen was studied experimentally by conducting a set of mixed-mode fracture tests on PolymethylMethacrylate (PMMA) as a well-known model brittle material. The critical stress intensity factors, the direction of fracture kinking and the path of fracture trajectory were investigated both experimentally and theoretically using two stress and strain-based fracture criteria. The fracture toughness of tested PMMA was decreased by moving towards mode II case due to the effect of T-stress on the fracture mechanism of the short bend beam specimen.