22,716 research outputs found
Effects of state recovery on creep buckling under variable loading
Structural alloys embody internal mechanisms that allow recovery of state with varying stress and elevated temperature, i.e., they can return to a softer state following periods of hardening. Such material behavior is known to strongly influence structural response under some important thermomechanical loadings, for example, that involving thermal ratchetting. The influence of dynamic and thermal recovery on the creep buckling of a column under variable loading is investigated. The column is taken as the idealized (Shanley) sandwich column. The constitutive model, unlike the commonly employed Norton creep model, incorporates a representation of both dynamic and thermal (state) recovery. The material parameters of the constitutive model are chosen to characterize Narloy Z, a representative copper alloy used in thrust nozzle liners of reusable rocket engines. Variable loading histories include rapid cyclic unloading/reloading sequences and intermittent reductions of load for extended periods of time; these are superimposed on a constant load. The calculated results show that state recovery significantly affects creep buckling under variable loading. Structural alloys embody internal mechanisms that allow recovery of state with varying stress and time
Mixed finite element methods for linear elasticity with weakly imposed symmetry
In this paper, we construct new finite element methods for the approximation
of the equations of linear elasticity in three space dimensions that produce
direct approximations to both stresses and displacements. The methods are based
on a modified form of the Hellinger--Reissner variational principle that only
weakly imposes the symmetry condition on the stresses. Although this approach
has been previously used by a number of authors, a key new ingredient here is a
constructive derivation of the elasticity complex starting from the de Rham
complex. By mimicking this construction in the discrete case, we derive new
mixed finite elements for elasticity in a systematic manner from known
discretizations of the de Rham complex. These elements appear to be simpler
than the ones previously derived. For example, we construct stable
discretizations which use only piecewise linear elements to approximate the
stress field and piecewise constant functions to approximate the displacement
field.Comment: to appear in Mathematics of Computatio
Tight focal spots using azimuthally polarised light from a Fresnel cone
When focusing a light beam at high numerical aperture, the resulting electric
field profile in the focal plane depends on the transverse polarisation
profile, as interference between different parts of the beam needs to be taken
into account. It is well known that radial polarised light produces a
longitudinal polarisation component and can be focused below the conventional
diffraction limit for homogeneously polarised light, and azimuthally polarised
light that carries one unit of angular momentum can achieve even tighter focal
spots. This is of interest for example for enhancing resolution in scanning
microscopy. There are numerous ways to generate such polarisation structures,
however, setups can be expensive and usually rely on birefringent components,
hence prohibiting broadband operation. We have recently demonstrated a passive,
low-cost technique using a simple glass cone (Fresnel cone) to generate beams
with structured polarisation. We show here that the polarisation structure
generated by Fresnel cones focuses better than radial polarised light at all
numerical apertures. Furthermore, we investigate in detail the application of
polarised light structures for two-photon microscopy. Specifically we
demonstrate a method that allows us to generate the desired polarisation
structure at the back aperture of the microscope by pre-compensating any
detrimental phase shifts using a combination of waveplates
Degree of randomness: numerical experiments for astrophysical signals
Astrophysical and cosmological signals such as the cosmic microwave
background radiation, as observed, typically contain contributions of different
components, and their statistical properties can be used to distinguish one
from the other. A method developed originally by Kolmogorov is involved for the
study of astrophysical signals of randomness of various degrees. Numerical
performed experiments based on the universality of Kolmogorov distribution and
using a single scaling of the ratio of stochastic to regular components, reveal
basic features in the behavior of generated signals also in terms of a critical
value for that ratio, thus enable the application of this technique for various
observational datasetsComment: 6 pages, 9 figures; Europhys.Letters; to match the published versio
Unified Viscoplastic Behavior of Metal Matrix Composites
The need for unified constitutive models was recognized more than a decade ago in the results of phenomenological tests on monolithic metals that exhibited strong creep-plasticity interaction. Recently, metallic alloys have been combined to form high-temperature ductile/ductile composite materials, raising the natural question of whether these metallic composites exhibit the same phenomenological features as their monolithic constituents. This question is addressed in the context of a limited, yet definite (to illustrate creep/plasticity interaction) set of experimental data on the model metal matrix composite (MMC) system W/Kanthal. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that a unified viscoplastic representation, extended for unidirectional composites and correlated to W/Kanthal, can accurately predict the observed longitudinal composite creep/plasticity interaction response and strain rate dependency. Finally, the predicted influence of fiber orientation on the creep response of W/Kanthal is illustrated
Investigation of double beta decay with the NEMO-3 detector
The double beta decay experiment NEMO~3 has been taking data since February
2003. The aim of this experiment is to search for neutrinoless
() decay and investigate two neutrino double beta decay in
seven different isotopically enriched samples (Mo, Se,
Ca, Zr, Cd, Te and Nd). After analysis of
the data corresponding to 3.75 y, no evidence for decay in the
Mo and Se samples was found. The half-life limits at the 90%
C.L. are y and y, respectively.
Additionally for decay the following limits at the 90% C.L.
were obtained, y for Ca, y
for Zr and y for Nd. The
decay half-life values were precisely measured for all investigated isotopes.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 5 tables; talk at conference on "Fundamental
Interactions Physics" (ITEP, Moscow, November 23-27, 2009
Optical solitons in -symmetric nonlinear couplers with gain and loss
We study spatial and temporal solitons in the symmetric
coupler with gain in one waveguide and loss in the other. Stability properties
of the high- and low-frequency solitons are found to be completely determined
by a single combination of the soliton's amplitude and the gain/loss
coefficient of the waveguides. The unstable perturbations of the high-frequency
soliton break the symmetry between its active and lossy components which
results in a blowup of the soliton or a formation of a long-lived breather
state. The unstable perturbations of the low-frequency soliton separate its two
components in space blocking the power drainage of the active component and
cutting the power supply to the lossy one. Eventually this also leads to the
blowup or breathing.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figure
Adaptable-radius, time-orbiting magnetic ring trap for Bose-Einstein condensates
We theoretically investigate an adjustable-radius magnetic storage ring for
laser-cooled and Bose-condensed atoms. Additionally, we discuss a novel
time-dependent variant of this and other ring traps. Time-orbiting ring traps
provide a high optical access method for spin-flip loss prevention near a
storage ring's circular magnetic field zero. Our scalable storage ring will
allow one to probe the fundamental limits of condensate Sagnac interferometry.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. accepted in J Phys
Demonstration of an inductively coupled ring trap for cold atoms
We report the first demonstration of an inductively coupled magnetic ring trap for cold atoms. A uniform, ac magnetic field is used to induce current in a copper ring, which creates an opposing magnetic field that is time-averaged to produce a smooth cylindrically symmetric ring trap of radius 5 mm. We use a laser-cooled atomic sample to characterize the loading efficiency and adiabaticity of the magnetic potential, achieving a vacuum-limited lifetime in the trap. This technique is suitable for creating scalable toroidal waveguides for applications in matter-wave interferometry, offering long interaction times and large enclosed areas
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