Identification of micro-scale calorimetric devices II

The miniaturized calorimetric devices furnish a reduced working flat surface and permits measurements with extremely low-mass quantities. The experimental sensitivity shows relevant position dependence with x-y surface coordinates and with z-distance. The device identification is realized via a 2-D model based in Fourier general equation. Using the Marquardt method the experimental flat surface device can be identified and the fitted parameters used to simulate the behavior of the experimental system. From the model, the effects of several dissipation configurations can be evaluated. Also, via the RC-analogy, a way to 3-D experimental devices is roughly described. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

无穷区间上二阶微分方程的边值问题

利用Schauder不动点定理讨论了一类非线性二阶微分方程在无穷区间上的边值问题无界解的存在性，部分改进了郭大钧教授最近得到的结果。     

Time-marching numerical schemes for the electric field integral equation on a straight thin wire

We derive and analyse four algorithms for computing the current induced on a thin straight wire by a transient electric field. They all involve solving the thin wire electric field integral equations (EFIEs) and consist of a very accurate differential equations solver together with various schemes to approximate the vector potential integral equation. We carry out a rigorous numerical stability analysis of each of these methods. This has not previously been done for solution schemes for the thin wire EFIEs. Each scheme is shown to be stable and convergent provided the radius of the wire is small enough for the thin wire equations to be a valid model.     

室温下压致铁钴镍合金的bcc→hcp相变

 本文采用高压X光衍射方法在金刚石对顶压砧中在位地（in situ）研究了Fe₆₈Co₂₄Ni₈（wt%）合金在室温下的压致bcc→hcp结构相变和直到40.5 GPa的等温压缩行为。实验结果表明该合金在常压下为bcc结构，晶格常数a₀=(0.287 0±0.000 1) nm，体积V₀=(7.119±0.007) cm³/mol，密度ρ₀=(7.981±0.008) g/cm³；在20.9 GPa附近出现bcc→hcp结构相变，两相共存压力区约10 GPa，在此区域内有晶面间距d(002)_hcp=d(110)_bcc，且原子平面(002)_hcp//(110)_bcc，hcp相比bcc相体积减小(0.33±0.02) cm³/mol；高压相hcp结构的晶格参数比值c/a=1.608±0.004；相变后原子配位数的增加使得hcp相(002)平面内及(002)平面间的最近邻原子间距比bcc相最近邻原子间距分别增大约1.6%和0.5%；用Murnaghan状态方程对实验数据进行最小二乘法拟合，得到bcc相B₀=(130±13) GPa，B₀'=12.6±0.5；hcp相V₀=(6.62±0.04) cm³/mol，B₀=(243±21) GPa，B₀'=6.8±0.3；对于该合金的bcc→fcp相变时的结构转变机制做了详细的讨论。     

高压下液态Ag-20 at%Ge合金的凝固及密排六方亚稳相的形成

 利用高压淬火方法，在液态Ag-20at%Ge合金的凝固过程中，对比液态急冷低四个数量级的冷却速率得到了单相密排六方结构亚稳相，其点阵参数为a=0.289 8 nm，c=0.470 8 nm，c/a=1.625。     

Maslov-type index and brake orbits in nonlinear Hamiltonian systems

In this paper, we study the Maslov-type index theory for linear Hamiltonian systems with brake orbits boundary value conditions and its applications to the existence of multiple brake orbits of nonlinear Hamiltonian systems.     

Implementation of some higher-order convection schemes on non-uniform grids

A generalized formulation is applied to implement the quadratic upstream interpolation (QUICK) scheme, the second-order upwind (SOU) scheme and the second-order hybrid scheme (SHYBRID) on non-uniform grids. The implementation method is simple. The accuracy and efficiency of these higher-order schemes on non-uniform grids are assessed. Three well-known bench mark convection-diffusion problems and a fluid flow problem are revisited using non-uniform grids. These are: (1) transport of a scalar tracer by a uniform velocity field; (2) heat transport in a recirculating flow; (3) two-dimensional non-linear Burgers equations; and (4) a two-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes flow which is similar to the classical lid-driven cavity flow. The known exact solutions of the last three problems make it possible to thoroughly evaluate accuracies of various uniform and non-uniform grids. Higher accuracy is obtained for fewer grid points on non-uniform grids. The order of accuracy of the examined schemes is maintained for some tested problems if the distribution of non-uniform grid points is properly chosen.     

Gas solubility of carbon dioxide in poly(lactic acid) at high pressures: Thermal treatment effect

The sorption of carbon dioxide in glassy Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) films was studied by quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) at high pressures. Two thermal treatments, melted and quenched, were performed in PLA with two different L:D contents, 80:20 and 98:2, films and compared with a third thermal protocol, annealed, and used in a previous work. The results obtained show that for pressures higher than 2 MPa, the carbon dioxide solubility is larger in PLA 80:20 than in PLA 98:2, indicating that the L:D plays a dominant role on this property. The thermal treatments only affect the gas solubility in PLA 98:2. Sorption isotherms at temperatures 303, 313, and 323 K, below the glass transition temperature of the polymer, and pressures up to 5 MPa were measured and analyzed with three different models, the dual‐mode sorption model, the Flory–Huggins equation, and a modified dual‐mode sorption model where the Henry's law term was substituted by the Flory–Huggins equation. This last model performs especially well for CO₂ in PLA 80:20, due to the convex upward curvature of the solubility isotherms for that system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 45: 616–625, 2007     

碳化硅压腔和高压下的中子衍射

使用宝石级碳化硅晶体作为压砧材料，成功研制出了碳化硅压腔（MAC），并应用全景式MAC进行了高压下物质的中子衍射实验研究。结果表明，MAC是一种既能产生高的压力又具有大的高压样品室的装置，特别适合于高压下的中子衍射研究。     

Estimating tail probabilities of heavy tailed distributions with asymptotically zero relative error

Efficient estimation of tail probabilities involving heavy tailed random variables is amongst the most challenging problems in Monte-Carlo simulation. In the last few years, applied probabilists have achieved considerable success in developing efficient algorithms for some such simple but fundamental tail probabilities. Usually, unbiased importance sampling estimators of such tail probabilities are developed and it is proved that these estimators are asymptotically efficient or even possess the desirable bounded relative error property. In this paper, as an illustration, we consider a simple tail probability involving geometric sums of heavy tailed random variables. This is useful in estimating the probability of large delays in M/G/1 queues. In this setting we develop an unbiased estimator whose relative error decreases to zero asymptotically. The key idea is to decompose the probability of interest into a known dominant component and an unknown small component. Simulation then focuses on estimating the latter ‘residual’ probability. Here we show that the existing conditioning methods or importance sampling methods are not effective in estimating the residual probability while an appropriate combination of the two estimates it with bounded relative error. As a further illustration of the proposed ideas, we apply them to develop an estimator for the probability of large delays in stochastic activity networks that has an asymptotically zero relative error.