2,171 research outputs found
Modeling and development of a microwave heated pilot plant for the production of SiC-based ceramic matrix composites
This paper outlines the development of a microwave heated apparatus for the production of silicon carbide (SiC) based ceramic matrix composites via chemical vapor infiltration. An innovative pilot scale reactor was designed and built. A coupled thermal and electromagnetic model was developed in order to predict the temperature profile inside the reactor. The results obtained from the model demonstrated that the electric field inside the sample was constant. This fact is particularly important in order to prevent the thermal instabilities (run-aways) that are typical in the case of microwave heating. Therefore the heating was uniform with the aid of a mode stirrer that achieved a better distribution of the microwave power and then improved the process efficiency. The infiltration cycles were carried out on SiC fiber preforms and resulted in an excellent average weight increase with respect to the initial sample. By using microwave heating, the treatment times were considerably reduced with respect to the conventional process times reported in the literature. The microstructure of the SiC composites were observed by scanning the electron microscopy in order to evaluate the quality and the degree of densification which was achieved within the fiber tows. The SiC deposition inside of the sample was sufficiently homogeneous and compact, even if a certain degree of inter-tow porosity was still evident
Electron Transport and Hot Phonons in Carbon Nanotubes
We demonstrate the key role of phonon occupation in limiting the high-field
ballistic transport in metallic carbon nanotubes. In particular, we provide a
simple analytic formula for the electron transport scattering length, that we
validate by accurate first principles calculations on (6,6) and (11,11)
nanotubes. The comparison of our results with the scattering lengths fitted
from experimental I-V curves indicates the presence of a non-equilibrium
optical phonon heating induced by electron transport. We predict an effective
temperature for optical phonons of thousands Kelvin.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
An adaptive stigmergy-based system for evaluating technological indicator dynamics in the context of smart specialization
Regional innovation is more and more considered an important enabler of
welfare. It is no coincidence that the European Commission has started looking
at regional peculiarities and dynamics, in order to focus Research and
Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialization towards effective investment
policies. In this context, this work aims to support policy makers in the
analysis of innovation-relevant trends. We exploit a European database of the
regional patent application to determine the dynamics of a set of technological
innovation indicators. For this purpose, we design and develop a software
system for assessing unfolding trends in such indicators. In contrast with
conventional knowledge-based design, our approach is biologically-inspired and
based on self-organization of information. This means that a functional
structure, called track, appears and stays spontaneous at runtime when local
dynamism in data occurs. A further prototyping of tracks allows a better
distinction of the critical phenomena during unfolding events, with a better
assessment of the progressing levels. The proposed mechanism works if
structural parameters are correctly tuned for the given historical context.
Determining such correct parameters is not a simple task since different
indicators may have different dynamics. For this purpose, we adopt an
adaptation mechanism based on differential evolution. The study includes the
problem statement and its characterization in the literature, as well as the
proposed solving approach, experimental setting and results.Comment: mail: [email protected]
Kohn Anomalies and Electron-Phonon Interaction in Graphite
We demonstrate that graphite phonon dispersions have two Kohn anomalies at
the Gamma-E_2g and K-A'1 modes. The anomalies are revealed by two sharp kinks.
By an exact analytic derivation, we show that the slope of these kinks is
proportional to the square of the electron-phonon coupling (EPC). Thus, we can
directly measure the EPC from the experimental dispersions. The Gamma-E_2g and
K-A'1 EPCs are particularly large, whilst they are negligible for all the other
modes at Gamma and K.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Phonon Linewidths and Electron Phonon Coupling in Nanotubes
We prove that Electron-phonon coupling (EPC) is the major source of
broadening for the Raman G and G- peaks in graphite and metallic nanotubes.
This allows us to directly measure the optical-phonon EPCs from the G and G-
linewidths. The experimental EPCs compare extremely well with those from
density functional theory. We show that the EPC explains the difference in the
Raman spectra of metallic and semiconducting nanotubes and their dependence on
tube diameter. We dismiss the common assignment of the G- peak in metallic
nanotubes to a Fano resonance between phonons and plasmons. We assign the G+
and G- peaks to TO (tangential) and LO (axial) modes.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures (correction in label of fig 3
Phonon surface mapping of graphite: disentangling quasi--degenerate phonon dispersions
The two-dimensional mapping of the phonon dispersions around the point of
graphite by inelastic x-ray scattering is provided. The present work resolves
the longstanding issue related to the correct assignment of transverse and
longitudinal phonon branches at . We observe an almost degeneracy of the
three TO, LA and LO derived phonon branches and a strong phonon trigonal
warping. Correlation effects renormalize the Kohn anomaly of the TO mode, which
exhibits a trigonal warping effect opposite to that of the electronic band
structure. We determined the electron--phonon coupling constant to be
166 in excellent agreement to calculations. These results
are fundamental for understanding angle-resolved photoemission,
double--resonance Raman and transport measurements of graphene based systems
Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA): Review of synthesis, characteristics, processing and potential applications in packaging
Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are gaining increasing attention in the biodegradable polymer market due to their promising properties such as high biodegradability in different environments, not just in composting plants, and processing versatility. Indeed among biopolymers, these biogenic polyesters represent a potential sustainable replacement for fossil fuel-based thermoplastics. Most commercially available PHAs are obtained with pure microbial cultures grown on renewable feedstocks (i.e. glucose) under sterile conditions but recent research studies focus on the use of wastes as growth media. PHA can be extracted from the bacteria cell and then formulated and processed by extrusion for production of rigid and flexible plastic suitable not just for the most assessed medical applications but also considered for applications including packaging, moulded goods, paper coatings, non-woven fabrics, adhesives, films and performance additives. The present paper reviews the different classes of PHAs, their main properties, processing aspects, commercially available ones, as well as limitations and related improvements being researched, with specific focus on potential applications of PHAs in packaging
Role of the microbiota in the modulation of vaccine immune responses
The human immune system and the microbiota co-evolve, and their balanced relationship is based on crosstalk between the two systems through the course of life. This tight association and the overall composition and richness of the microbiota play an important role in the modulation of host immunity and may impact the immune response to vaccination. The availability of innovative technologies, such as next-generation sequencing (NGS) and correlated bioinformatics tools, allows a deeper investigation of the crosstalk between the microbiota and human immune responses. This review discusses the current knowledge on the influence of the microbiota on the immune response to vaccination and novel tools to deeply analyze the impact of the microbiome on vaccine responses
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