Prestrained biaxial DMA investigation of viscoelastic nonlinearities in highly filled elastomers

Highly filled elastomers present strong nonlinear mechanical behavior. This study proposes a biaxial dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) experiment to study the prestrain induced nonlinearity. This phenomenon has already been observed for uniaxial tests, revealing an increase of the amplitude of the dynamic modulus with prestrain. The novelty proposed here is to investigate the problem under biaxial conditions. For this purpose, a specific apparatus and an appropriate specimen have been designed. Strains and stresses have been measured using localization formulae and compared with measurements from digital image correlation and finite element computations. Biaxial DMA tests were performed on a propellant specimen, for different values of biaxial prestrain. The material is a highly filled elastomer with an important influence of the prestrain on the global viscoelastic behavior. The results exhibit increasing amplitude of the complex modulus with increasing prestrain, as in uniaxial experiments. Moreover, the dependence can be characterized using the second invariant of the prestrain, and the viscoelastic behavior is modeled using a closed-form spectrum of relaxation times.     

Cure monitoring of CFRP composites by dynamic mechanical analyser

The cure characteristics of carbon/MTM44-1 epoxy composite prepreg and neat MTM44-1 epoxy resin are monitored using a dynamic mechanical analyser (DMA). This study also assesses whether the simple containment device recommended by the DMA manufacturer for powder and gel is suitable for prepregs. The device is a disposable 0.1-mm thick stainless steel pocket. The cure behaviour of the packaged materials is compared with that of the unpackaged prepreg. All the samples are cured following the manufacturer's 180°C-isothermal schedule with heating rates of 2 °C/min and 5 °C/min. The tests highlight that: (i) the cure of composite prepregs and resin can be monitored using a DMA; (ii) the stainless steel pocket does not influence the cure of the prepreg and resin; and (iii) the softening and melting of the uncured resin, the resin low viscosity state and the subsequent gelation-vitrification-solidification of the resin are detected with this method.     

Simultaneous determination of naphazoline and pyridoxine in eye drops using excitation–emission matrix fluorescence coupled with second-order calibration method based on alternating trilinear decomposition algorithm

A novel method is developed for the direct determination of naphazoline hydrochloride(NAP) and pyridoxine hydrochloride(VB6) in commercial eye drops. By using excitation–emission matrix(EEM)fluorescence coupled with second-order calibration method based on the alternating trilinear decomposition(ATLD) algorithm, the proposed approach can achieve quantitative analysis successfully even in the presence of unknown and uncalibrated interferences. The method shows good linearity for NAP and VB6 with correlation coefficients greater than 0.99. The results were in good agreement with the labeled contents. To further confirm the feasibility and reliability of the proposed method, the same batch samples were analyzed by multiple reaction monitoring(MRM) based on LC–MS/MS method.T-test demonstrated that there are no significant differences between the prediction results of the two methods. The satisfactory results obtained in this work indicate that the use of the second-order calibration method coupled with the EEM is a promising tool for industrial quality control and pharmaceutical analysis due to its advantages of high sensitivity, low-cost and simple implementation.     

Quadratic cone cutting surfaces for quadratic programs with on–off constraints

We study the convex hull of a set arising as a relaxation of difficult convex mixed integer quadratic programs (MIQP). We characterize the extreme points of the convex hull of the set and the extreme points of its continuous relaxation. We derive four quadratic cutting surfaces that improve the strength of the continuous relaxation. Each of the cutting surfaces is second-order-cone representable. Via a shooting experiment, we provide empirical evidence as to the importance of each inequality type in improving the relaxation. Computational results that employ the new cutting surfaces to strengthen the relaxation for MIQPs arising from portfolio optimization applications are promising.     

Perspectives on double-excitations in TDDFT

The adiabatic approximation in time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) yields reliable excitation spectra with great efficiency in many cases, but fundamentally fails for states of double-excitation character. We discuss how double-excitations are at the root of some of the most challenging problems for TDDFT today. We then present new results for (i) the calculation of autoionizing resonances in the helium atom, (ii) understanding the nature of the double excitations appearing in the quadratic response function, and (iii) retrieving double-excitations through a real-time semiclassical approach to correlation in a model quantum dot.     

Glass transition of hydrated wheat gliadin powders

Modulated-temperature differential scanning calorimetric and dynamic mechanical analyses and dielectric spectroscopy were used to investigate the glass transition of hydrated wheat gliadin powders with moisture absorption ranged from 2.30 db%to 18.21 db%.Glass transition temperature(I_g)of dry wheat gliadin was estimated according to the Gordon Taylor equation.Structural heterogeneity at high degrees of hydration was revealed in dielectric temperature and frequency spectra.The activation energies(E_a)of the two relaxations were calculated from Arrhenius equation.     

三维荧光二阶校正法用于复杂基体样中川芎嗪和替米沙坦的快速定量分析

采用三维荧光光谱法,结合化学计量学中基于交替归一加权残差(ANWE)算法的二阶校正方法,实现了人血浆样品中川芎嗪和替米沙坦的同时快速定量分析.当组分数N取4时,ANWE算法解析获得的川芎嗪和替米沙坦的平均回收率分别为99.3士3.5%和96.8±2.0%.本文同时给出了此方法的检测限(LOD)与定量下限(LOQ),获得...     

On existence of positive solutions of Sturm-Liouville boundary value problems for a nonlinear singular differential system

By employing the fixed point theorem of cone expansion and compression of norm type, we investigate the existence of positive solutions of Sturm-Liouville boundary value problems for a nonlinear singular differential system. Some well-known results in the literature are generalized and improved. An example is presented to illustrate the application of our main result.     

Second-order functional differential equations with past, present and future dependence

In this paper we obtain a result on existence of extremal quasisolutions and solutions for second-order functional differential equations with functional boundary conditions and past, present and future dependence. In order to do that, we develop a generalized monotone method in presence of lower and upper solutions. Some examples of application are provided too.