A-site size effect in a family of unfilled ferroelectric tetragonal tungsten bronzes : Ba4R0.67Nb10O30 (R = La, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy and Y)

JG acknowledges the EPSRC and EaStCHEM for provision of a studentship via the doctoral training grant.The effect of A-cation size on the structural and electrical properties in a family of ferroelectric tetragonal tungsten bronzes (TTBs) Ba4R0.67□1.33Nb10O30 (R = La, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy and Y; □ = vacancy) was investigated. In each case, the crystal structure, as determined from lab-based ambient powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), is metrically tetragonal and can be refined in the P4bm space group. XRD data show an increased splitting of hk0 00l reflections with decreasing R cation size indicating an increasing tetragonal distortion (measured by tetragonality c/a). Dielectric data and ferroelectric measurements indicate that the ferroelectric Curie temperature, TC, increases with decreasing R size and so a direct correlation between TC and tetragonality/ionic radius of R is demonstrated. Rietveld refinements show that the large A2-site is fully occupied by Ba2+ and, in addition to the R cation size, the presence of vacancies at the A1-site (perovskite-like site) is also shown to strongly affect the stability of ferroelectricity in this structure type.Peer reviewe

Behaviour of concrete filled stainless steel elliptical hollow sections

This paper presents the behaviour and design of axially loaded concrete filled stainless steel elliptical hollow sections. The experimental investigation was conducted using normal and high strength concrete of 30 and 100 MPa. The current study is based on stub column tests and is therefore limited to cross-section capacity. Based on the existing design guidance in Eurocode 4 for composite columns, the proposed design equations use the continuous strength method to determine the strength of the stainless steel material. It is found to provide the most accurate and consistent prediction of the axial capacity of the composite concrete filled stainless steel elliptical hollow sections due largely to the more precise assessment of the contribution of the stainless steel tube to the composite resistance

Wire grid forming apparatus Patent

Apparatus for forming wire grids for electric strain gage

Forming blocks speed production of strain gage grids

A tool is designed which facilitates the forming of wire grids used in manufacturing strain gage grids. Flattening the grid wire by a cold working process produces a stabilized grid which can be readily handled for storage or shipment

Mathematical model predictions and optimization study of the gamma ray atmospheric density sensor

Mathematical model predictions and optimization study of gamma ray atmospheric density senso

Experimental verification of gamma ray atmospheric density sensor mathematical model predictions

Experimental verification of mathematical model performance predictions for gamma ray atmospheric density sensor

Service quality measurements for IPv6 inter-networks

Measurement-based performance evaluation of network traffic is becoming very important, especially for networks trying to provide differentiated levels of service quality to the different application flows. The non-identical response of flows to the different types of network-imposed performance degradation raises the need for ubiquitous measurement mechanisms, able to measure numerous performance properties, and being equally applicable to different applications and transports. This paper presents a new measurement mechanism, facilitated by the steady introduction of IPv6 in network nodes and hosts, which exploits native features of the protocol to provide support for performance measurements at the network (IP) layer. IPv6 Extension Headers have been used to carry the triggers involving the measurement activity and the measurement data in-line with the payload data itself, providing a high level of probability that the behaviour of the real user traffic flows is observed. End-to-end one-way delay, jitter, loss, and throughput have been measured for applications operating on top of both reliable and unreliable transports, over different-capacity IPv6 network configurations. We conclude that this technique could form the basis for future Internet measurements that can be dynamically deployed where and when required in a multi-service IP environment

Theoretical and lidar studies of the density response of the mesospheric sodium layer to gravity wave perturbations

The density response of atmospheric layers to gravity waves is developed in two forms, an exact solution and a perturbation series solution. The degree of nonlinearity in the layer density response is described by the series solution whereas the exact solution gives insight into the nature of the responses. Density perturbation in an atmospheric layer are shown to be substantially greater than the atmospheric density perturbation associated with the propagation of a gravity wave. Because of the density gradients present in atmospheric layers, interesting effects were observed such as a phase reversal in the linear layer response which occurs near the layer peak. Once the layer response is understood, the sodium layer can be used as a tracer of atmospheric wave motions. A two dimensional digital signal processing technique was developed. Both spatial and temporal filtering are utilized to enhance the resolution by decreasing shot noise by more han 10 dB. Many of the features associated with a layer density response to gravity waves were observed in high resolution density profiles of the mesospheric sodium layer. These include nonlinearities as well as the phase reversal in the linear layer response

Timing performance of phased-locked loops in optical pulse position modulation communication systems

An optical digital communication system requires that an accurate clock signal be available at the receiver for proper synchronization with the transmitted signal. Phase synchronization is especially critical in M-ary pulse position modulation (PPM) systems where the optimum decision scheme is an energy detector which compares the energy in each of M time slots to decide which of M possible words was sent. Timing errors cause energy spillover into adjacent time slots (a form of intersymbol interference) so that only a portion of the signal energy may be attributed to the correct time slot. This effect decreases the effective signal, increases the effective noise, and increases the probability of error. A timing subsystem for a satellite-to-satellite optical PPM communication link is simulated. The receiver employs direct photodetection, preprocessing of the detected signal, and a phase-locked loop for timing synchronization. The variance of the relative phase error is examined under varying signal strength conditions as an indication of loop performance, and simulation results are compared to theoretical calculations