5,300 research outputs found
Porous squeeze-film flow
The squeeze-film flow of a thin layer of Newtonian fluid filling the gap between a flat impermeable surface moving under a prescribed constant load and a flat thin porous bed coating a stationary flat impermeable surface is considered. Unlike in the classical case of an impermeable bed, in which an infinite time is required for the two surfaces to touch, for a porous bed contact occurs in a finite contact time. Using a lubrication approximation an implicit expression for the fluid layer thickness and an explicit expression for the contact time are obtained and analysed. In addition, the fluid particle paths are calculated, and the penetration depths of fluid particles into the porous bed are determined. In particular, the behaviour in the asymptotic limit of small permeability, in which the contact time is large but finite, is investigated. Finally, the results are interpreted in the context of lubrication in the human knee joint, and some conclusions are drawn about the contact time of the cartilage-coated femoral condyles and tibial plateau and the penetration of nutrients into the cartilage
Squeeze-Film Flow in the Presence of a Thin Porous Bed, with Application to the Human Knee Joint
Motivated by the desire for a better understanding of the lubrication of the human knee joint, the squeeze-film flow of a thin layer of Newtonian fluid (representing the synovial fluid) filling the gap between a flat impermeable surface (representing the femoral condyles) and a flat thin porous bed (representing the articular cartilage) coating a stationary flat impermeable surface (representing the tibial plateau) is considered. As the impermeable surface approaches the porous bed under a prescribed constant load all of the fluid is squeezed out of the gap in a finite contact time. In the context of the knee, the size of this contact time suggests that when a person stands still for a short period of time their knees may be fluid lubricated, but that when they stand still for a longer period of time contact between the cartilage-coated surfaces may occur. The fluid particle paths are calculated, and the penetration depths of fluid particles into the porous bed are determined. In the context of the knee, these penetration depths provide a measure of how far into the cartilage nutrients are carried by the synovial fluid, and suggest that when a person stands still nutrients initially in the fluid layer penetrate only a relatively small distance into the cartilage. However, the model also suggests that the cumulative effect of repeated loading and unloading of the knees during physical activity such as walking or running may be sufficient to carry nutrients deep into the cartilage
Property rights, collective action and technologies for natural resource management: a conceptual framework
Environmental management, Gender, Capacity,
Slave-boson field fluctuation approach to the extended Falicov-Kimball model: charge, orbital, and excitonic susceptibilities
Based on the SO(2)-invariant slave-boson scheme, the static charge, orbital,
and excitonic susceptibilities in the extended Falicov-Kimball model are
calculated. Analyzing the phase without long-range order we find instabilities
towards charge order, orbital order, and the excitonic insulator (EI) phase.
The instability towards the EI is in agreement with the saddle-point phase
diagram. We also evaluate the dynamic excitonic susceptibility, which allows
the investigation of uncondensed excitons. We find qualitatively different
features of the exciton dispersion at the semimetal-EI and at the
semiconductor-EI transition supporting a crossover scenario between a BCS-type
electron-hole condensation and a Bose-Einstein condensation of preformed bound
electron-hole pairs.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures, final versio
Variational discrete variable representation for excitons on a lattice
We construct numerical basis function sets on a lattice, whose spatial
extension is scalable from single lattice sites to the continuum limit. They
allow us to compute small and large bound states with comparable, moderate
effort. Adopting concepts of discrete variable representations, a diagonal form
of the potential term is achieved through a unitary transformation to Gaussian
quadrature points. Thereby the computational effort in three dimensions scales
as the fourth instead of the sixth power of the number of basis functions along
each axis, such that it is reduced by two orders of magnitude in realistic
examples. As an improvement over standard discrete variable representations,
our construction preserves the variational principle. It allows for the
calculation of binding energies, wave functions, and excitation spectra. We use
this technique to study central-cell corrections for excitons beyond the
continuum approximation. A discussion of the mass and spectrum of the yellow
exciton series in the cuprous oxide, which does not follow the hydrogenic
Rydberg series of Mott-Wannier excitons, is given on the basis of a simple
lattice model.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures. Final version as publishe
Diameter and Chirality Dependence of Exciton Properties in Carbon Nanotubes
We calculate the diameter and chirality dependences of the binding energies,
sizes, and bright-dark splittings of excitons in semiconducting single-wall
carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). Using results and insights from {\it ab initio}
calculations, we employ a symmetry-based, variational method based on the
effective-mass and envelope-function approximations using tight-binding
wavefunctions. Binding energies and spatial extents show a leading dependence
with diameter as and , respectively, with chirality corrections
providing a spread of roughly 20% with a strong family behavior. Bright-dark
exciton splittings show a leading dependence. We provide analytical
expressions for the binding energies, sizes, and splittings that should be
useful to guide future experiments
Interplay between excitation kinetics and reaction-center dynamics in purple bacteria
Photosynthesis is arguably the fundamental process of Life, since it enables
energy from the Sun to enter the food-chain on Earth. It is a remarkable
non-equilibrium process in which photons are converted to many-body excitations
which traverse a complex biomolecular membrane, getting captured and fueling
chemical reactions within a reaction-center in order to produce nutrients. The
precise nature of these dynamical processes -- which lie at the interface
between quantum and classical behaviour, and involve both noise and
coordination -- are still being explored. Here we focus on a striking recent
empirical finding concerning an illumination-driven transition in the
biomolecular membrane architecture of {\it Rsp. Photometricum} purple bacteria.
Using stochastic realisations to describe a hopping rate model for excitation
transfer, we show numerically and analytically that this surprising shift in
preferred architectures can be traced to the interplay between the excitation
kinetics and the reaction center dynamics. The net effect is that the bacteria
profit from efficient metabolism at low illumination intensities while using
dissipation to avoid an oversupply of energy at high illumination intensities.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in New Journal of
Physic
On superconducting and magnetic properties of iron-oxypnictides
Pairing symmetry in oxypnictides, a new family of multiband high-Tc
superconductors, is partially imposed by the positions of multiple Fermi
pockets, which itself can give rise to new order parameters, such as s+,-
states or the state of dx^2-y^2 symmetry. Other pairing states may appear on
small pockets for long range interactions, but they are expected to be
sensitive to defects. We identify the competing antiferromagnetic order with
the triplet exciton transition in the semi- metallic background and discuss
whether its coexistence with superconductivity explains the doping dependence
of Tc.Comment: Fig1b replace
Squeeze-film flow between a curved impermeable bearing and a flat porous bed
Axisymmetric squeeze-film flow in the thin gap between a stationary flat thin porous bed and a curved impermeable bearing moving under a prescribed constant load is analysed. The unsteady Reynolds equation is formulated and solved for the fluid pressure. This solution is used to obtain the time for the minimum fluid layer thickness to reduce to a given value, and, in particular, the finite time for the bearing and the bed to come into contact. The effect of varying the shape of the bearing and the permeability of the layer is investigated, and, in particular, it is found that both the contact time and the fluid pressure behave qualitatively differently for beds with small and large permeabilities. In addition, the paths of fluid particles initially situated in both the fluid layer and the porous bed are calculated. In particular, it is shown that, unlike in the case of a flat bearing, for a curved bearing there are fluid particles, initially situated in the fluid layer, that flow from the fluid layer into the porous bed and then re-emerge into the fluid layer, and the region in which these fluid particles are initially situated is determined
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