矩形毛细微槽横截面上气液分界面形状理论分析

对背面有热流输入的矩形毛细微槽群横截面上的气液分界面形状进行了理论分析,在一定条件下对Wayner蒸发模型进行简化,根据等壁温条件推出蒸发薄液膜区域热流密度近似为定值,通过流体动力学理论推导出了微槽横截面薄液膜区域液膜厚度变化的关系式,并与Wayner蒸发模型的计算结果进行了比较。进一步提出了全新的交界线区域长度的判定方法,根据蒸发薄液膜区域总换热量计算得到蒸发薄液膜区域的长度,交界处接触角,以及固有弯月面区域的曲率半径,从而最终得出了微槽横截面整个气液分界面的形状曲线,理论分析表明:槽宽、热流密度、过热度等因素对蒸发薄液膜区域长度、接触角以及固有弯月面曲率半径等参数有较大的影响。     

Synthesis and characterization of Ni-Zn ferrite nanoparticles

Nickel zinc ferrite nanoparticles Ni_xZn_1−xFe₂O₄ (x=0.1, 0.3, 0.5) have been synthesized by a chemical co-precipitation method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, dc magnetization and ac susceptibility measurements. The X-ray diffraction patterns confirm the synthesis of single crystalline Ni_xZn_1−xFe₂O₄ nanoparticles. The lattice parameter decreases with increase in Ni content resulting in a reduction in lattice strain. Similarly crystallite size increases with the concentration of Ni. The magnetic measurements show the superparamagnetic nature of the samples for x=0.1 and 0.3 whereas for x=0.5 the material is ferromagnetic. The saturation magnetization is 23.95 emu/g and increases with increase in Ni content. The superparamagnetic nature of the samples is supported by the EPR and ac susceptibility measurement studies. The blocking temperature increases with Ni concentration. The increase in blocking temperature is explained by the redistribution of the cations on tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) sites.     

3D graphical representation of protein sequences and their statistical characterization

Based on three physicochemical properties of amino acid side chains, we proposed a novel unique 3D graphical representation of protein sequences. Then, we constructed two vectors of three components as mathematical objects to characterize protein sequences numerically. The similarity/dissimilarity analysis among nine ND5 protein sequences proved the utility of our approach. A correlation and significance analysis have been provided to compare our results and the sequence homology.     

Coherence and wavefront characterization of Si‐111 monochromators using double‐grating interferometry

A study of the coherence and wavefront properties of a pseudo‐channel‐cut monochromator in comparison with a double‐crystal monochromator is presented. Using a double‐grating interferometer designed for the hard X‐ray regime, the complex coherence factor was measured and the wavefront distortions at the sample position were analyzed. A transverse coherence length was found in the vertical direction that was a factor of two larger for the channel‐cut monochromator owing to its higher mechanical stability. The wavefront distortions after different optical elements in the beam, such as monochromators and mirrors, were also quantified. This work is particularly relevant for coherent diffraction imaging experiments with synchrotron sources.     

Numerical method for solving matrix coefficient elliptic equation with sharp-edged interfaces

Solving elliptic equations with sharp-edged interfaces is a challenging problem for most existing methods, especially when the solution is highly oscillatory. Nonetheless, it has wide applications in engineering and science. An accurate and efficient method is desired. We propose an efficient non-traditional finite element method with non-body-fitting grids to solve the matrix coefficient elliptic equations with sharp-edged interfaces. Extensive numerical experiments show that this method is second order accurate in the L^∞ norm and that it can handle both sharp-edged interface and oscillatory solutions.     

Ytterbium-doped Y2O3 nanoparticle silica optical fibers for high power fiber lasers with suppressed photodarkening

We report efficient laser demonstration and spectroscopic characteristics of a Yb-doped Y₂O₃ (or Y₃Al₅O₁₂) nanoparticle silica fiber developed by conventional fiber fabrication technique. The spectroscopy study evidences modification in the environment of Yb ions by the Y₂O₃ nanoparticles. As a result, photodarkening induced loss is reduced by 20 times relative to Yb-doped aluminosilicate fibers. The fiber is suitable for power scaling with good laser slope efficiency of 79%.     

Ageing of plasma-mediated coatings with embedded silver nanoparticles on stainless steel: An XPS and ToF-SIMS investigation

Nanocomposite thin films (∼170 nm), composed of silver nanoparticles enclosed in an organosilicon matrix, were deposited onto stainless steel, with the aim of preventing biofilm formation. The film deposition was carried out under cold plasma conditions, combining radiofrequency (RF) glow discharge fed with argon and hexamethyldisiloxane and simultaneous silver sputtering. XPS and ToF-SIMS were used to characterize Ag-organosilicon films in native form and after ageing in saline solution (NaCl 0.15 M), in order to further correlate their lifetime with their anti-fouling properties. Two coatings with significantly different silver contents (7.5% and 20.3%) were tested. Surface analysis confirmed the presence of metallic silver in the pristine coating and revealed significant modifications after immersion in the saline solution. Two different ageing mechanisms were observed, depending on the initial silver concentration in the film. For the sample exhibiting the low silver content (7.5%), the metal amount decreased at the surface in contact with the solution, due to the release of silver from the coating. As a result, after a 2-day exposure, silver nanoparticles located at the extreme surface were entirely released, whereas silver is still present in the inner part of the film. The coating thickness was not modified during ageing. In contrast, for the high silver content film (20.3%), the thickness decreased with immersion time, due to significant silver release and matrix erosion, assigned to a percolation-like effect. However, after 18 days of immersion, the delamination process stopped and a thin strongly bounded layer remained on the stainless steel surface.     

Direct observation of surface and internal phase-separated structure of the active layer buried in organic photovoltaic cells

A phase-separated structure of the active layer, of variable thickness, buried in organic thin film solar cells (OTSC) was directly observed by scanning force microscopy (SFM) with the aid of a surface and interface cutting analysis system (SAICAS). This deals with SFM observation to both the surface and the internal regions of the OTSCs, leading to discussion about the formation of the overlayer in the active layer.     

On signal reconstruction from FROG measurements

Phase retrieval refers to recovering a signal from its Fourier magnitude. This problem arises naturally in many scientific applications, such as ultra-short laser pulse characterization and diffraction imaging. Unfortunately, phase retrieval is ill-posed for almost all one-dimensional signals. In order to characterize a laser pulse and overcome the ill-posedness, it is common to use a technique called Frequency-Resolved Optical Gating (FROG). In FROG, the measured data, referred to as FROG trace, is the Fourier magnitude of the product of the underlying signal with several translated versions of itself. The FROG trace results in a system of phaseless quartic Fourier measurements. In this paper, we prove that it suffices to consider only three translations of the signal to determine almost all bandlimited signals, up to trivial ambiguities. In practice, one usually also has access to the signal's Fourier magnitude. We show that in this case only two translations suffice. Our results significantly improve upon earlier work.