Basic longitudinal texture and fracturing process in thermoset polymers

The “basic longitudinal texture”, which is present everywhere on the fracture surfaces of glassy thermosets and is the finest texture observed on such surfaces, consists of low ridges and shallow grooves that are aligned parallel with the direction of crack propagation. The periodicity of the basic longitudinal texture, i.e., the average lateral separation between the ridges (or grooves), has been found to be characteristic of materials. This and other properties were measured for a series of rigid epoxy specimens made from diglycidyl ether of bisphenol-A and methylhexahydrophthalic anhydride. For the series of epoxies studied, the glass transition temperatures varied from 76 to 143 °C, the room temperature Young's modulus varied from 2.29 to 2.97 G Pa, the room temperature yield stress in compression varied from 99 to 128 M Pa, the room temperature Knoop hardness numbers varied from 133.5 to 163.5, the rubbery modulus at 200'C varied from 12.8 to 21.6 MPa, and the periodicity of the basic longitudinal texture varied from 205 to 368 nm. Only properties of the liquid state, namely glass transition temperature and the rubbery modulus, correlated well with periodicity of the basic longitudinal texture. This suggests that the basic longitudinal texture is the remnant left on the fracture surfaces of a liquid state that must have developed during fracture. This suggests in turn that liquefaction is an intrinsic part of the brittle fracture of polymer network glasses.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/44718/1/10853_2005_Article_BF01197652.pd

Policy-Based Sanitizable Signatures

Sanitizable signatures are a variant of signatures which allow a single, and signer-defined, sanitizer to modify signed messages in a controlled way without invalidating the respective signature. They turned out to be a versatile primitive, proven by different variants and extensions, e.g., allowing multiple sanitizers or adding new sanitizers one-by-one. However, existing constructions are very restricted regarding their flexibility in specifying potential sanitizers. We propose a different and more powerful approach: Instead of using sanitizers\u27 public keys directly, we assign attributes to them. Sanitizing is then based on policies, i.e., access structures defined over attributes. A sanitizer can sanitize, if, and only if, it holds a secret key to attributes satisfying the policy associated to a signature, while offering full-scale accountability

Structure-Preserving Signatures on Equivalence Classes From Standard Assumptions

Structure-preserving signatures on equivalence classes (SPS-EQ) introduced at ASIACRYPT 2014 are a variant of SPS where a message is considered as a projective equivalence class, and a new representative of the same class can be obtained by multiplying a vector by a scalar. Given a message and corresponding signature, anyone can produce an updated and randomized signature on an arbitrary representative from the same equivalence class. SPS-EQ have proven to be a very versatile building block for many cryptographic applications. In this paper, we present the first EUF-CMA secure SPS-EQ scheme under standard assumptions. So far only constructions in the generic group model are known. One recent candidate under standard assumptions are the weakly secure equivalence class signatures by Fuchsbauer and Gay (PKC\u2718), a variant of SPS-EQ satisfying only a weaker unforgeability and adaption notion. Fuchsbauer and Gay show that this weaker unforgeability notion is sufficient for many known applications of SPS-EQ. Unfortunately, the weaker adaption notion is only proper for a semi-honest (passive) model and as we show in this paper, makes their scheme unusable in the current models for almost all of their advertised applications of SPS-EQ from the literature. We then present a new EUF-CMA secure SPS-EQ scheme with a tight security reduction under the SXDH assumption providing the notion of perfect adaption (under malicious keys). To achieve the strongest notion of perfect adaption under malicious keys, we require a common reference string (CRS), which seems inherent for constructions under standard assumptions. However, for most known applications of SPS-EQ we do not require a trusted CRS (as the CRS can be generated by the signer during key generation). Technically, our construction is inspired by a recent work of Gay et al. (EUROCRYPT\u2718), who construct a tightly secure message authentication code and translate it to an SPS scheme adapting techniques due to Bellare and Goldwasser (CRYPTO\u2789)

The high-resolution map of Oxia Planum, Mars; the landing site of the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission

This 1:30,000 scale geological map describes Oxia Planum, Mars, the landing site for the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover mission. The map represents our current understanding of bedrock units and their relationships prior to Rosalind Franklin’s exploration of this location. The map details 15 bedrock units organised into 6 groups and 7 textural and surficial units. The bedrock units were identified using visible and near-infrared remote sensing datasets. The objectives of this map are (i) to identify where the most astrobiologically relevant rocks are likely to be found, (ii) to show where hypotheses about their geological context (within Oxia Planum and in the wider geological history of Mars) can be tested, (iii) to inform both the long-term (hundreds of metres to ∼1 km) and the short-term (tens of metres) activity planning for rover exploration, and (iv) to allow the samples analysed by the rover to be interpreted within their regional geological context

QDB: A new database of plasma chemistries and reactions

One of the most challenging and recurring problems when modeling plasmas is the lack of data on the key atomic and molecular reactions that drive plasma processes. Even when there are data for some reactions, complete and validated datasets of chemistries are rarely available. This hinders research on plasma processes and curbs development of industrial applications. The QDB project aims to address this problem by providing a platform for provision, exchange, and validation of chemistry datasets. A new data model developed for QDB is presented. QDB collates published data on both electron scattering and heavy-particle reactions. These data are formed into reaction sets, which are then validated against experimental data where possible. This process produces both complete chemistry sets and identifies key reactions that are currently unreported in the literature. Gaps in the datasets can be filled using established theoretical methods. Initial validated chemistry sets for SF 6 /CF 4 /O 2 and SF 6 /CF 4 /N 2 /H 2 are presented as examples

Temporal description of aluminum laser-induced plasmas by means of a collisional-radiative model

WOS:000337223400062International audienceA OD numerical approach including a Collisional-Radiative model is elaborated in the purpose of describing the behavior of the nascent plasma resulting from the interaction between a laser pulse (lambda = 532 nm, tau = 4 ns and F = 6.5 J cm(-2)) with an aluminum sample. The species considered are Al, Al+, Al2+ and Al3+ on their different excited states and free electrons. Both groups of particles are characterized by their translation temperature in thermal non-equilibrium state. Besides, each population density is assumed to be in chemical non-equilibrium and behaves freely through the seven involved elementary processes (electron impact induced excitation and ionization, elastic collisions, multi-photon ionization, inverse laser Bremsstrahlung, direct electron Bremsstrahlung and spontaneous emission). Atoms passing from sample to gas phase are described by considering classical vaporization phenomena so that the surface temperature is limited to values less than the critical point. The relative role of the elementary processes is discussed and the time-evolution of the excitation of the species is analyzed

Laser creation of aluminium plasma from a solid target: A model

International audienceSeveral phenomena are evolving at the same time in laser-induced plasmas. Modelling the creation phase of this kind of plasma implies to understand these phenomena and their interactions. A 1D model was elaborated with the purpose of providing a complete description of the ablation of an aluminium alloy target. Phenomena as solid heating, vaporisation step vapour excitation and ionisation processes, among others, were taken into account. The plasma was assumed to have stored energy in more than one hundred level of Al, Al + , Al ++ , Al +++ and free electrons interacting through five processes. In this paper we propose to describe influences of the multiphoton ionisation and target surface temperature from ambient to critical temperature

Investigation of mass transport in gas backing layer at the air cathode of a PEMFC

International audienceIn a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), slow diffusion in the gas diffusion electrode may induce oxygen depletion when using air at the cathode. This work focuses on the behavior of a single PEMFC built with a Nafion® based MEA and an E-TEK gas diffusion layer and fed at the cathode with nitrogen containing 5, 10 and 20% of oxygen and working at different cell temperatures and relative humidities. The purpose is to apply the experimental impedance technique to cells wherein transport limitations at the cathode are significant. In parallel, a model is proposed to interpret the polarization curves and the impedance diagrams of a single PEMFC. The model accounts for mass transport through the gas diffusion electrode. It allows us to qualitatively analyze the experimental polarization curves and the corresponding impedance spectra and highlights the intra-electrode processes and the influence of the gas diffusion layer