The aging of atmospheric plasma-treated ultrahigh-modulus polyethylene fibers

The aging effects of atmospheric plasma treatments on UHMPE fibers are studied. UHMPE fibers are treated for 0.5 and 1 min with He/O₂/air gas and for 2 and 4 min with He/air gas by atmospheric pressure plasma on a capacitively coupled device at a frequency of 5 kHz. The samples are tested for fiber/epoxy interfacial shear strength at time intervals of 0, 3, 15 and 30 days after initial plasma treatment. Scanning electron microscopy shows micro-cracks on each set of treated fibers, which is not affected by aging over the 30 day study. Interfacial shear strengths (IFSS) for plasma-treated fibers are 2–3 times as high as that of the control. The IFSS for the plasma treated fibers remains constant up to 15 days and then decreases afterwards. XPS Analysis shows a slight increase in atomic concentration of oxygen and nitrogen for each plasma-treated sample. For the He/O₂/air plasma-treated samples, XPS analysis shows an observable increase in C–OH bonds, C=O bonds and COOH bonds, while for the He/air plasma-treated samples, there is a slight increase in C–OH and O=C–O bonds. After 30 days, a decrease in oxygen content for all plasma-treated samples is manifested.     

Nanoscratch-induced deformation behaviour in B4C particle reinforced ultrafine grained Al alloy composites: a novel diagnostic approach

We report on the novel application of nanoscratch characterization to provide insight into the plasticity mechanisms responsible for the behaviour of composites. Accordingly, we conduct deformation characterization with nanoscratch testing (DCNT) to study the deformation behaviour of two B₄C reinforced ultrafine grained Al alloy tri-modal composites with average B₄C particle sizes of ~1–6?μm and ~500?nm, respectively. To highlight the type of mechanistic information revealed in a DCNT study of composites, we concentrate on the influence of B₄C particle size on deformation mechanisms.     

Respiratory function in singers: Medical assessment, diagnoses, and treatments

A healthy voice depends upon healthy respiration. An understanding of respiratory function is essential in evaluating disorders that affect the voice. This review addresses the assessment of respiratory complaints by history, physical examination, laboratory testing, and endoscopic procedures. Allergy testing and pulmonary function testing are covered in detail. Special problems that confront the professional voice user, such as the need to optimize respiratory function even in mild disease states, exposure to environmental irritants, and the athletic demands of performance, are related specifically to respiratory function. The discussion of diagnosis and treatment of common ailments such as allergic rhinitis and bronchitis is directed toward treatment of the active singer.     

Transition from decelerated to accelerated cosmic expansion in braneworld universes

Braneworld theory provides a natural setting to treat, at a classical level, the cosmological effects of vacuum energy. Non-static extra dimensions can generally lead to a variable vacuum energy, which in turn may explain the present accelerated cosmic expansion. We concentrate our attention in models where the vacuum energy decreases as an inverse power law of the scale factor. These models agree with the observed accelerating universe, while fitting simultaneously the observational data for the density and deceleration parameter. The redshift at which the vacuum energy can start to dominate depends on the mass density of ordinary matter. For _m = 0.3, the transition from decelerated to accelerated cosmic expansion occurs at z _T ≈ 0.48 ± 0.20, which is compatible with SNe data. We set a lower bound on the deceleration parameter today, namely > − 1 + 3 _m /2, i.e., > − 0.55 for _m = 0.3. The future evolution of the universe crucially depends on the time when vacuum starts to dominate over ordinary matter. If it dominates only recently, at an epoch z < 0.64, then the universe is accelerating today and will continue that way forever. If vacuum dominates earlier, at z > 0.64, then the deceleration comes back and the universe recollapses at some point in the distant future. In the first case, quintessence and Cardassian expansion can be formally interpreted as the low energy limit of our model, although they are entirely different in philosophy. In the second case there is no correspondence between these models and ours.     

Twin Paradox and the Logical Foundation of Relativity Theory

We study the foundation of space-time theory in the framework of first-order logic (FOL). Since the foundation of mathematics has been successfully carried through (via set theory) in FOL, it is not entirely impossible to do the same for space-time theory (or relativity). First we recall a simple and streamlined FOL-axiomatization Specrel of special relativity from the literature. Specrel is complete with respect to questions about inertial motion. Then we ask ourselves whether we can prove the usual relativistic properties of accelerated motion (e.g., clocks in acceleration) in Specrel. As it turns out, this is practically equivalent to asking whether Specrel is strong enough to “handle” (or treat) accelerated observers. We show that there is a mathematical principle called induction (IND) coming from real analysis which needs to be added to Specrel in order to handle situations involving relativistic acceleration. We present an extended version AccRel of Specrel which is strong enough to handle accelerated motion, in particular, accelerated observers. Among others, we show that~the Twin Paradox becomes provable in AccRel, but it is not provable without IND.     

光学自由曲面面形检测技术

光学自由曲面因其表面自由度较大,可以针对性地提供或矫正不同的轴上或轴外像差,同时满足现代光学系统高性能、轻量化和微型化的要求,逐渐成为现代光学工程领域的热点。自由曲面的检测技术已经成为制约其应用的最重要因素,而目前精密光学自由曲面的检测手段仍然沿用非球面检测方法。本文回顾了近年来的自由曲面检测发展历程,对目前主流的非接触式检测方法(微透镜阵列法,结构光三维检测法,相干层析术,干涉检测法)进行了重点介绍;总结了非球面检测方法运用到自由曲面检测中的技术难点,同时结合这些技术难点,展望了自由曲面检测的未来发展新趋势,主要集中在非旋转对称像差的动态补偿、分区域像差的回程误差校准及子孔径拼接技术。     

超声探头的响应特性及暂态回波模型

建立检测系统的数学模型,可以更好地理解超声检测的物理本质。分析了超声波从产生、介质中传播、缺陷耦合以及接收的全过程,将缺陷回波表示为探头响应函数与缺陷响应的时域卷积。利用空间脉冲响应和基尔霍夫近似建立了超声波与平面型缺陷的耦合模型,用大平面试块底面回波和大平面响应进行反卷积求得了探头的响应函数,并详细分析了探头在不同偏置位置时不同大小缺陷响应的特点,发现缺陷回波由直达回波和边缘回波组成,直达回波和边缘回波极性相反,且直达回波的幅值远远大于边缘回波。     

“海纹石”的矿物学及谱学特征研究

“海纹石”是具有蓝色条带的针钠钙石,是一种稀有的宝石材料,具有较好的市场前景。为查明其矿物学特征及成因,采用常规宝石学测试并结合X射线衍射(XRD)、傅里叶红外吸收光谱(FTIR)、拉曼光谱(Raman)、扫描电镜(SEM)及紫外-可见分光光度计(UV-Vis)等现代测试方法,对“海纹石”不同颜色部分的矿物成分及特征进行了深入分析。XRD,FTIR,Raman分析结果表明,“海纹石”的主要组成矿物为针钠钙石,并含有少量的方解石,与SEM分析结果较为一致。FTIR分析显示,“海纹石”白色部分在1 500 cm-1处出现一个明显的宽吸收带并伴有883和710 cm-1的吸收峰,表明含有少量方解石,而蓝色部分在该处没有此吸收。紫外可见吸收光谱分析显示蓝色部分在可见光区有640 nm宽吸收峰,表明可能含有微量元素Cu。“海纹石”白色和蓝色部分矿物组分的差异,表明两者可能形成于不同的地质环境。     

基于多元高斯声束模型的圆柱体超声检测声场仿真

为了提高圆柱体缺陷检测的准确性,需了解其超声声场分布。针对圆柱体实际检测的要求,本文采用超声水浸检测法。通过多元高斯声束模型分别模拟了实心圆柱体及空心圆柱体中的辐射声场,计算仿真了垂直入射与倾斜入射至圆柱体时的声场,实现了检测声场的可视化。通过计算得出仿真结构与实际理论相符,表明本论文的方法能够应用在圆柱体结构超声声场仿真中。