Mathematical modelling of the oxidation of nickel titanium alloys

A one-dimensional bulk reaction model for the oxidation of nickeltitanium is formulated, with preferential oxidation of titaniumbeing included. The modelling is directed at the better understandingof the dominant mechanisms involved in the oxidation processand their significance for the biocompatibility of the alloy.Two different regimes for the relative diffusivities of oxygenand the metals are investigated. By assuming fast bulk reactions,different asymptotic structures emerge in different parameterregimes and the resulting models take the form of moving boundaryproblems. Different profiles of nickel concentration are obtained:in particular a nickel-rich layer (observed in practice) ispresent below the oxide/metal interface for the case when oxygenand the metals diffuse at comparable rates.     

Roles of rhenium diimine complexes as metal‐ion probes and photosensitizers in functional polyurethanes

Polyurethanes incorporated with rhenium diimine complexes were synthesized. The polymers exhibited interesting morphologies and solution properties. Results from gel permeation chromatography suggested the formation of polymer aggregates in solutions. The polymers could act as probes for metal ions. The addition of metal ions to polymer solutions led to significant changes in the electronic absorption properties of the polymer solutions. This was attributed to the interactions between the polyether moieties and metal ions. The metal complexes could also act as efficient photosensitizers. After doping with charge‐transport viologens, the photoconductivity of the polymers was greatly enhanced. The experimental quantum efficiency was simulated with Onsager's theory. The thermalization distances and the primary yields were typically 12–14 Å and 10^?3, respectively. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1708–1715, 2003     

Decay of neutron-rich Ga isotopes near N = 50 at PARRNe

The PARRNe facility has been used to produce neutron-rich isotopes ^83,84Gaby the ISOL method. Their decay has been studied, and β-γ coincidence and γ-γ coincidence data were collected as a function of time. The first two excited levels in ⁸³Ge and the first excited level in ⁸⁴Ge have been measured for the first time.     

A Faster Deterministic Maximum Flow Algorithm

Cheriyan and Hagerup developed a randomized algorithm to compute the maximum flow in a graph with n nodes and m edges in O(mn + n² log²n) expected time. The randomization is used to efficiently play a certain combinatorial game that arises during the computation. We give a version of their algorithm where a general version of their game arises. Then we give a strategy for the game that yields a deterministic algorithm for computing the maximum flow in a directed graph with n nodes and m edges that runs in time O(mn(log_{m/n log n}n)). Our algorithm gives an O(mn) deterministic algorithm for all m/n = Ω(n^ε) for any positive constant ε, and is currently the fastest deterministic algorithm for computing maximum flow as long as m/n = ω(log n).     

A boundary element method for the calculation of noise barrier insertion loss in the presence of atmospheric turbulence

Atmospheric turbulence is an important factor that limits the amount of attenuation a barrier can provide in the outdoor environment. It is therefore important to develop a reliable method to predict its effect on barrier performance. The boundary element method (BEM) has been shown to be a very effective technique for predicting barrier insertion loss in the absence of turbulence. This paper develops a simple and efficient modification of the BEM formulation to predict the insertion loss of a barrier in the presence of atmospheric turbulence. The modification is based on two alternative methods: (1) random realisations of log-amplitude and phase fluctuations of boundary sources and (2) de-correlation of source coherence using the mutual coherence function (MCF). An investigation into the behaviours of these two methods is carried out and simplified forms of the methods developed. Some systematic differences between the predictions from the methods are found. When incorporated into the BEM formulation, the method of random realisations and the method of MCF de-correlation provide predictions that agree well with predictions by the parabolic equation method and by the scattering cross-section method on a variety of thin barrier configurations.     

Impacts of structural-acoustic coupling on the performance of energy density-based active sound transmission control

This paper investigates numerically the performance of the active sound transmission control into a rectangular cavity through a flexible panel under the energy density-based error-sensing algorithm. Full coupling between the sound transmitting panel and the enclosed space is considered. A pure vibration actuator, a pure acoustic source and a combined control source system are used as the secondary control source in the active control and their performances are studied. Formulae for the coupled eigenfrequencies of the cavity and the flexible panel are also derived. The strength of the structural-acoustic coupling, the ratio between the first eigenfrequencies of the cavity and the panel and the difference between the excitation frequency and the coupled eigenfrequencies, especially the latter, are found to have crucial impacts on the performance of the active control regardless the type of control source used.     

Systematic Errors Associated with the CPMG Pulse Sequence and Their Effect on Motional Analysis of Biomolecules

A theoretical approach to calculate the time evolution of magnetization during a CPMG pulse sequence of arbitrary parameter settings is developed and verified by experiment. The analysis reveals that off-resonance effects can cause systematic reductions in measured peak amplitudes that commonly lie in the range 5–25%, reaching 50% in unfavorable circumstances. These errors, which are finely dependent upon frequency offset and CPMG parameter settings, are subsequently transferred into erroneousT₂values obtained by curve fitting, where they are reduced or amplified depending upon the magnitude of the relaxation time. Subsequent transfer to Lipari–Szabo model analysis can produce significant errors in derived motional parameters, with τ_einternal correlation times being affected somewhat more thanS²order parameters. A hazard of this off-resonance phenomenon is its oscillatory nature, so that strongly affected and unaffected signals can be found at various frequencies within a CPMG spectrum. Methods for the reduction of the systematic error are discussed. Relaxation studies on biomolecules, especially at high field strengths, should take account of potential off-resonance contributions.