Carbon Nanomaterials—Promising Solid Lubricants to Tailor Friction and Wear

It is our pleasure to launch this Special Issue related to the application of carbon nanomaterials as solid lubricants to tailor friction and wear [...

Deep Denoising for Hearing Aid Applications

Reduction of unwanted environmental noises is an important feature of today's hearing aids (HA), which is why noise reduction is nowadays included in almost every commercially available device. The majority of these algorithms, however, is restricted to the reduction of stationary noises. In this work, we propose a denoising approach based on a three hidden layer fully connected deep learning network that aims to predict a Wiener filtering gain with an asymmetric input context, enabling real-time applications with high constraints on signal delay. The approach is employing a hearing instrument-grade filter bank and complies with typical hearing aid demands, such as low latency and on-line processing. It can further be well integrated with other algorithms in an existing HA signal processing chain. We can show on a database of real world noise signals that our algorithm is able to outperform a state of the art baseline approach, both using objective metrics and subject tests.Comment: submitted to IWAENC 201

THE USAGE OF INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY SETTINGS ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES - DRAWING DESIRED DIGITAL IMAGES OF ONESELF

Social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook have created a new way for individuals to share personal data and interact with each other on the Internet. The disclosure of this personal data is directly tied to the existing relationships of individuals within an SNS. Individual privacy settings allow a selective disclosure of personal data to specific connected individuals. In this paper, we present first empirical insights of a grounded theory study, based on 37 qualitative interviews with Facebook users, which reveal factors that drive, or generally influence, the use of these individual privacy settings on SNS. By investigating this privacy protection behaviour towards connected individuals, so-called friends in Facebook\u27s terminology, we add new perspectives to existing theories of information privacy protection \u27individuals\u27 privacy protection behaviour in non-anonymous online environments. We have developed a conceptual model showing that the motivation to use individual privacy settings depends on a complex interplay between different factors. As important drivers, motives for using SNS, existing relationships and context of personal data disclosure have been identified. Building on those insights further allows development or improvement of general privacy controls for individuals interacting with each other on the Internet

Low Friction and High Solid-Solid Contact Ratio—A Contradiction for Laser-Patterned Surfaces?

Recording of Stribeck-like curves is a common way to study the effect of laser-patterned surfaces on the frictional efficiency. However, solely relying on the coefficient of friction when identifying the lubrication regime and the underlying working principles can be misleading. Consequently, a ball-on-disc tribometer was combined with an electrical resistivity circuit to simultaneously measure Stribeck-like curves and solid-solid contact ratios for polished and laser-patterned samples. Line-like surface patterns with different periodicities were produced by direct laser interference patterning on steel substrates (AISI304). The reference shows a Stribeck-like behavior well correlating with the contact ratios. The behavior deviates for high sliding velocities (high contact ratios) due to a loss of lubricant induced by centrifugal forces pulling the lubricant out of the contact zone. In contrast, the solid–solid contact ratio of the laser-patterned samples is around 80% for all sliding velocities. Those values can be explained by higher contact pressures and the structural depth induced by the surface topography which make a full separation of the surfaces unlikely. Despite those high values for the contact ratio, laser-patterning significantly reduces friction, which can be traced back to a reduced real contact area and the ability to store oil in the contact zone

Laser Surface Texturing of TiAl Multilayer Films—Effects of Microstructure and Topography on Friction and Wear

Laser surface texturing is an efficient way to control the friction and wear properties of materials. Although described in many papers, most previous work relates to a pure topographic view of laser-textured surfaces. As lasers are heat sources, their thermal impact during treatment can be high enough to modify the material’s microstructure or surface chemistry and affect tribological properties as well. This research took a closer look at the microstructure of laser-textured TiAl multilayers, besides topographic aspects. Direct laser interference patterning was used to create well-defined line-like surface textures in TiAl multilayers with differing lateral feature sizes in the micron range. High-resolution techniques such as TEM and XRD highlighted the effect of this method on microstructure, and in particular, the phase situation of the TiAl multilayer. Thermal simulations demonstrated that the maximum achievable temperatures were around 2000 K, thus being high enough to melt Ti and Al. Cooling rates on the order of 109 K/s depended on the lateral feature size, potentially leading to metastable microstructures. Finally, ball-on-disk tests on as-textured TiAl specimens showed a reduction in wear under dry conditions depending on the periodicity of the line-like textures used

Tribo-Mechanisms of Carbon Nanotubes: Friction and Wear Behavior of CNT-Reinforced Nickel Matrix Composites and CNT-Coated Bulk Nickel

In this study, nickel matrix composites reinforced by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are compared to unreinforced CNT-coated (by drop-casting) bulk nickel samples in terms of their friction and wear behavior, thus gaining significant knowledge regarding the tribological influence of CNTs and the underlying tribo-mechanism. It has been shown that the frictional behavior is mainly influenced by the CNTs present in the contact zone, as just minor differences in the coefficient of friction between the examined samples can be observed during run-in. Consequently, the known effect of a refined microstructure, thus leading to an increased hardness of the CNT reinforced samples, seems to play a minor role in friction reduction compared to the solid lubrication effect induced by the CNTs. Additionally, a continuous supply of CNTs to the tribo-contact can be considered isolated for the reinforced composites, which provides a long-term friction reduction compared to the CNT-coated sample. Finally, it can be stated that CNTs can withstand the accumulated stress retaining to some extent their structural state for the given strain. A comprehensive study performed by complementary analytical methods is employed, including Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy to understand the involved friction and wear mechanisms

Microstructural and Chemical Characterization of the Tribolayer Formation in Highly Loaded Cylindrical Roller Thrust Bearings

Zinc dithiophosphates (ZDDP) have been widely applied in automobile industry for over 70 years as a lubricant additive for wear protection. Tribolayers have been described as blue- and brown-colored layers on surfaces observed by microscopical observation or even bare eye presumably as a consequence of layer thickness or chemical composition. However, the reaction pathways of ZDDP tribolayers are still not yet fully understood. In the present study, the difference between the blue- and brown-colored tribolayers has been revealed by high resolution methods in cylindrical roller thrust bearings at relatively high contact pressures of around 1.92 GPa. After running a FE8 standard bearing test with a normal load of 80 kN and a temperature of 60 °C, said tribolayers could be identified on the bearing surfaces. By using Raman spectroscopy, it could be shown that the blue-colored layers are enriched by FeS and ZnS whereas the brown-colored layers show a significant amount of Fe3O4. This is an interesting finding as it clearly shows a correlation between the color appearance of the films and the chemical composition besides potential film thickness variations. Finally, transmission electron microscopy verified the amorphous nature of the formed tribolayer which is in a good agreement with literature

Hybridization of mouse lemurs: different patterns under different ecological conditions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several mechanistic models aim to explain the diversification of the multitude of endemic species on Madagascar. The island's biogeographic history probably offered numerous opportunities for secondary contact and subsequent hybridization. Existing diversification models do not consider a possible role of these processes. One key question for a better understanding of their potential importance is how they are influenced by different environmental settings. Here, we characterized a contact zone between two species of mouse lemurs, <it>Microcebus griseorufus </it>and <it>M. murinus</it>, in dry spiny bush and mesic gallery forest that border each other sharply without intermediate habitats between them. We performed population genetic analyses based on mtDNA sequences and nine nuclear microsatellites and compared the results to a known hybrid zone of the same species in a nearby wide gradient from dry spiny bush over transitional forest to humid littoral forest.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the spiny-gallery system, <it>Microcebus griseorufus </it>is restricted to the spiny bush; <it>Microcebus murinus </it>occurs in gallery forest and locally invades the dryer habitat of its congener. We found evidence for bidirectional introgressive hybridization, which is closely linked to increased spatial overlap within the spiny bush. Within 159 individuals, we observed 18 hybrids with mitochondrial haplotypes of both species. Analyses of simulated microsatellite data indicate that we identified hybrids with great accuracy and that we probably underestimated their true number. We discuss short-term climatic fluctuations as potential trigger for the dynamic of invasion and subsequent hybridization. In the gradient hybrid zone in turn, long-term aridification could have favored unidirectional nuclear introgression from <it>Microcebus griseorufus </it>into <it>M. murinus </it>in transitional forest.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Madagascar's southeastern transitional zone harbors two very different hybrid zones of mouse lemurs in different environmental settings. This sheds light on the multitude of opportunities for the formation of hybrid zones and indicates an important influence of environmental factors on secondary contact and hybridization. Our findings suggest that hybridization could enhance the adaptability of mouse lemurs without necessarily leading to a loss of distinctiveness. They point to a potential role of hybridization in Madagascar's diversification history that requires further investigation.</p