Conduction mechanism of metal-TiO2–Si structures

The conduction model has been proposed for the metal-TiO₂–Si (MIS) structures. Rutile films have been prepared on Si substrates by magnetron sputtering of TiO₂ target and annealing in the air at temperatures T?=?800 and 1050 K. The current-voltage (CVC) and capacitance-voltage characteristics of the structures have been measured over the range of T?=?283–363 K. At positive potentials on the gate, the conductivity of the MIS structures is determined by the space charge-limited current in the dielectric layer.     

Dynamic modeling of the morphology of latex particles with in situ formation of graft copolymer

Modification of the polymer–polymer interfacial tension is a way to tailor‐make particle morphology of waterborne polymer–polymer hybrids. This allows achieving a broader spectrum of application properties and maximizing the synergy of the positive properties of both polymers, avoiding their drawbacks. In situ formation of graft copolymer during polymerization is an efficient way to modify the polymer–polymer interfacial tension. Currently, no dynamic model is available for polymer–polymer hybrids in which a graft copolymer is generated during polymerization. In this article, a novel model based on stochastic dynamics is developed for predicting the dynamics of the development of particle morphology for composite waterborne systems in which a graft copolymer is produced in situ during the process. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012     

Monte carlo simulations of polydisperse polymers grafted on spherical surfaces

This article presents effects of polydispersity in polymers grafted on spherical surfaces on grafted polymer chain conformations, grafted layer thickness, and free‐end monomer distribution within the grafted layer. At brush‐like grafting densities, as polydispersity index (PDI) increases, the scaling exponent of radius of gyration of grafted chains approaches that of a single chain grafted on the same nanoparticle, because polydispersity alleviates monomer crowding within the brush. At high PDI, the chains shorter than the number average chain length, N_n, have more compressed conformations, and the chains longer than N_n overall stretch less than in the monodisperse case. As seen in polydisperse flat brushes at high grafting densities, the grafted layer thickness on spherical nanoparticle increases with PDI. Polydispersity eliminates the region near the surface devoid of free‐end monomers seen in monodisperse cases, and it reduces the width of free‐end monomer distribution and shifts the free‐end monomer distribution close to the surface. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys, 2012     

Nonlinearity of muscle stiffness

In this letter, a comparison between three types (two linear and one nonlinear) of models of skeletal muscle stiffness is shown. Results are compared with experimental data for biceps brachii in the case of muscle stretching and with the Hill equation for a biological muscle. It is shown that results for nonlinear stiffness model in case of length-force relationship fits to the experimental data.     

A multivariate evolutionary credibility model for mortality improvement rates

The present paper proposes an evolutionary credibility model that describes the joint dynamics of mortality through time in several populations. Instead of modeling the mortality rate levels, the time series of population-specific mortality rate changes, or mortality improvement rates are considered and expressed in terms of correlated time factors, up to an error term. Dynamic random effects ensure the necessary smoothing across time, as well as the learning effect. They also serve to stabilize successive mortality projection outputs, avoiding dramatic changes from one year to the next. Statistical inference is based on maximum likelihood, properly recognizing the random, hidden nature of underlying time factors. Empirical illustrations demonstrate the practical interest of the approach proposed in the present paper.     

Review of wavelet methods for the solution of reaction–diffusion problems in science and engineering

Wavelet method is a recently developed tool in applied mathematics. Investigation of various wavelet methods, for its capability of analyzing various dynamic phenomena through waves gained more and more attention in engineering research. Starting from ‘offering good solution to differential equations’ to capturing the nonlinearity in the data distribution, wavelets are used as appropriate tools at various places to provide good mathematical model for scientific phenomena, which are usually modeled through linear or nonlinear differential equations. Review shows that the wavelet method is efficient and powerful in solving wide class of linear and nonlinear reaction–diffusion equations. This review intends to provide the great utility of wavelets to science and engineering problems which owes its origin to 1919. Also, future scope and directions involved in developing wavelet algorithm for solving reaction–diffusion equations are addressed.     

Viscoplastic response of electrode particles in Li-ion batteries driven by insertion of lithium

Constitutive equations are derived for the viscoplastic behavior of a host medium driven by diffusion of guest atoms. With reference to the trapping concept, two states of a guest atom are distinguished: mobile and immobilized (due to alloying with the host matrix). This allows propagation of a sharp interphase to be described between regions rich and poor in guest atoms. The model is applied to study the mechanical response of a spherical electrode particle in a Li-ion battery. Ability of the constitutive equations to capture basic phenomena observed in anode particles under lithiation is demonstrated by numerical simulation.     

Closure modeling in bridging regions of variable-resolution (VR) turbulence computations

Optimal utilization of computational resources mandates spatio-temporal variation in resolution for computing complex engineering flows. Closure modeling in regions bridging between different resolutions is rendered difficult due to changing interactions between resolved and unresolved fields. We develop a closure model for the bridging region based on energy conservation principles. Then we proceed to provide a proof of concept in decaying isotropic turbulence with temporally varying resolution. The simplicity of the flow permits a thorough examination of various aspects of the proposed closure not feasible in more complex flows. The results demonstrate the potential promise of the approach, but more validation studies need to be performed.While the present development is in the context of partially averaged Navier–Stokes (PANS) method, the closure principle should apply for other variable-resolution (VR) approaches.     

On safe tractable approximations of chance constraints

A natural way to handle optimization problem with data affected by stochastic uncertainty is to pass to a chance constrained version of the problem, where candidate solutions should satisfy the randomly perturbed constraints with probability at least 1 − ?. While being attractive from modeling viewpoint, chance constrained problems “as they are” are, in general, computationally intractable. In this survey paper, we overview several simulation-based and simulation-free computationally tractable approximations of chance constrained convex programs, primarily, those of chance constrained linear, conic quadratic and semidefinite programming.