Characterization Methods for Elastic Properties of Wood Fibers from Mats for Composite Materials

Wood fibers offer excellent specific properties at low cost and are of interest as reinforcement in composites. This work compares two alternative test methods to determine the stiffness of wood fibers from simple macroscopic tests on fiber mats. One method is compression of the fiber mat in the thickness direction, which uses a statistical micromechanical model based on first-order beam theory to describe the deformation. The other method is tensile testing of fiber mats and back calculation of the fiber stiffness with a laminate model. Experiments include compression tests and tensile stiffness index tests as well as determination of fiber content, orientation, and dimensional distribution. For mats with unbleached softwood kraft fibers, an effective value of the Young's modulus of 20.1 GPa determined by the compression method can be compared with values of 17.4-19.0 GPa obtained from tensile tests. These are in agreement with values for similar cellulosic fibers found in literature. The compression method is more appropriate for low-density fiber mats, while the tensile test works better for well-consolidated high-density fiber mats. The two methods have different ranges of applicability and are complementary to one another. Limitations of the methods are also discussed. The main advantage of the methods is that they are quantitative. The potential as stiffening reinforcement of various types of fibers can be systematically investigated, even if the fiber mat microstructures are different

Induced Parity-Breaking Term at Finite Chemical Potential and Temparature

We exactly calculated the parity-odd term of the effective action induced by the fermions in 2+1 dimensions at finite chemical potential and finite temperature. It shows that gauge invariance is still respected. A more gerneral class of background configurations is considered. The knowledge of the reduced 1+1 determinant is required in order to draw exact conclusions about the gauge invariance of the parity-odd term in this latter case.Comment: 8 pages, LATEX, no figure

New type of microengine using internal combustion of hydrogen and oxygen

Microsystems become part of everyday life but their application is restricted by lack of strong and fast motors (actuators) converting energy into motion. For example, widespread internal combustion engines cannot be scaled down because combustion reactions are quenched in a small space. Here we present an actuator with the dimensions 100x100x5 um^3 that is using internal combustion of hydrogen and oxygen as part of its working cycle. Water electrolysis driven by short voltage pulses creates an extra pressure of 0.5-4 bar for a time of 100-400 us in a chamber closed by a flexible membrane. When the pulses are switched off this pressure is released even faster allowing production of mechanical work in short cycles. We provide arguments that this unexpectedly fast pressure decrease is due to spontaneous combustion of the gases in the chamber. This actuator is the first step to truly microscopic combustion engines.Comment: Paper and Supplementary Information (to appear in Scientific Reports

Development of robust metal-supported SOFCs and stack components in EU METSAPP consortium

The potential of MS-SOFCs was demonstrated through the previous EU METSOFC project, which concluded that the development of oxidation resistant novel metal-supported solid oxide fule cell (MS-SOFC) design and stack is the requirement to advance this technology to the next level. The following EU METSAPP project has been executed with an overall aim of developing advanced metal-supported cells and stacks based on a robust, reliable and up-scalable technology. During the project, oxidation resistant nanostructured anodes based on modified SrTiO3 were developed and integrated into MS-SOFCs to enhance their robustness. In addition, the manufacturing of metal-supported cells with different geometries, scalability of the manufacturing process was demonstrated and more than 200 cells with an area of ∼150 cm2 were produced. The electrochemical performance of different cell generations was evaluated and best performance and stability combination was observed with doped SrTiO3 based anode designs. Furthermore, numerical models to understand the corrosion behavior of the MS-SOFCs were developed and validated. Finally, the cost effective concept of coated metal interconnects was developed, which resulted in 90% reduction in Cr evaporation, three times lower Cr2O3 scale thickness and increased lifetime. The possibility of assembling these cells into two radically different stack designs was demonstrated

Unstable states in dissociation of relativistic nuclei. Recent findings and prospects of researches

The invariant mass method is used to identify the $^8$Be and $^9$B nuclei and Hoyle state formed in dissociation of relativistic nuclei in a nuclear track emulsion. It is shown that to identify these extremely short-lived states in the case of the isotopes $^9$Be, $^{10}$B, $^{10}$C, $^{11}$C, $^{12}$C, and $^{16}$O, it is sufficient to determine the invariant mass as a function of the angles in pairs and triples of He and H fragments in the approximation of the conservation of momentum per nucleon of the parent nucleus. According to the criteria established in this way, the contribution of these three unstable states was evaluated in the relativistic fragmentation of the $^{28}$Si and $^{197}$Au nuclei.Comment: To be published in the European Physical Journal A. Topical issue "Light Clusters in Nuclei and Nuclear Matter: Nuclear Structure and Decay, Heavy Ion Collisions, and Astrophysics

ECFA Detector R&D Panel, Review Report

Two special calorimeters are foreseen for the instrumentation of the very forward region of an ILC or CLIC detector; a luminometer (LumiCal) designed to measure the rate of low angle Bhabha scattering events with a precision better than 10$^{-3}$ at the ILC and 10$^{-2}$ at CLIC, and a low polar-angle calorimeter (BeamCal). The latter will be hit by a large amount of beamstrahlung remnants. The intensity and the spatial shape of these depositions will provide a fast luminosity estimate, as well as determination of beam parameters. The sensors of this calorimeter must be radiation-hard. Both devices will improve the e.m. hermeticity of the detector in the search for new particles. Finely segmented and very compact electromagnetic calorimeters will match these requirements. Due to the high occupancy, fast front-end electronics will be needed. Monte Carlo studies were performed to investigate the impact of beam-beam interactions and physics background processes on the luminosity measurement, and of beamstrahlung on the performance of BeamCal, as well as to optimise the design of both calorimeters. Dedicated sensors, front-end and ADC ASICs have been designed for the ILC and prototypes are available. Prototypes of sensor planes fully assembled with readout electronics have been studied in electron beams.Comment: 61 pages, 51 figure

Nuclear Track Emulsion in Search for the Hoyle’s State in Dissociation of Relativistic 12C Nuclei

Study of production of ensembles of alpha-particle triples associated with the Hoyle state (the second excited state 0+ 2 of the 12 C nucleus) in peripheral dissociation of relativistic 12C nuclei is started. Stacks of pellicles of nuclear track emulsion exposed to 12C of energy from hundreds MeV to few GeV per nucleon serve as the material of the study. The Hoyle state decays are reconstructed via measurements of emission angles of α-particles with accuracy that allows one to identify the unstable 8Be nucleus. A role in the Hoyle state of alpha-particle bonds corresponding to 8Be is determined

A microfluidics-based method for measuring neuronal activity in Drosophila chemosensory neurons

Monitoring neuronal responses to defined sensory stimuli is a powerful and widely used approach for understanding sensory coding in the nervous system. However, providing precise, stereotypic and reproducible cues while concomitantly recording neuronal activity remains technically challenging. Here we describe the fabrication and use of a microfluidics system that allows precise temporally restricted stimulation of Drosophila chemosensory neurons with an array of different chemical cues. The system can easily be combined with genetically encoded calcium sensors, and it can measure neuronal activity at single-cell resolution in larval sense organs and in the proboscis or leg of the adult fly. We describe the design of the master mold, the production of the microfluidic chip and live imaging using the calcium sensor GCaMP, expressed in distinct types of Drosophila chemosensory neurons. Fabrication of the master mold and microfluidic chips requires basic skills in photolithography and takes ~2 weeks; the same devices can be used repeatedly over several months. Flies can be prepared for measurements in minutes and imaged for up to 1 h