Supply Chain Finance and Financing Constraints on SMEs—An Empirical Analysis of Software Company

With the perspective of small and medium-sized enterprises in China, it has trouble getting financing. Based on cash - cash flow sensitivity model, this paper figures out the existence of financial constraints on SMEs in software industry and supply chain finance’s effect on it. The cash flow sensitivity of cash and supply chain finance’s effectiveness are evaluated using a large sample of listed companies on the SME boardfrom2008 to 2018. Through empirical analysis and robustness checks, it is concluded that SMEs in software industry have financing difficulties and supply chain finance can alleviate this financial dilemma to some extent. Furthermore, the essay analyzes risk points of three different forms of supply chain finance and puts forward some suggestions about risk management for small and medium-sized enterprises, bank and third-party logistics

Modeling of Thermodynamic Properties and Phase Equilibria for the Cu-Mg Binary System

The phase equilibria associated with the binary Cu-Mg system are analyzed by applying results from first-principles calculations to a general solution thermodynamics treatment. Differing from previously reported models, we employ a four-species association model for the liquid, while the terminal and intermediate solid phases are modeled as substitutional solutions with one or two sublattices, respectively. The zero-Kelvin enthalpies of formation for the intermediate compounds, Cu2Mg-C15 (cF24) and CuMg2-Cb (oF48) are computed using the Vienna Ab-initio Simulation Package (VASP). The Gibbs free energy functions for the individual phases are evaluated, and the resulting binary phase diagram is presented over the full composition range. While the phase diagram we propose exhibits only modest deviation from previously reported models of phase equilibria, our treatment provides better agreement with experimental reports of heat capacity and enthalpy of mixing, indicating a more self-consistent thermodynamic description of this binary system

The Stability of Al11Sm3 (Al4Sm) Phases in the Al-Sm Binary System

The relative stability of Al11Sm3 (Al4Sm) intermetallic phases was experimentally investigated through a series of heat treatments followed by microstructural, microchemical, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The principal findings are that the high-temperature tetragonal phase is stable from 1655 to 1333 K and that the low-temperature orthorhombic phases, α and γ, have no range of full stability but are metastable with respect to the crystalline Al and Sm reference states down to 0 K. Thermodynamic modeling is used to describe the relative energetics of stable and metastable phases along with the associated two-phase mixtures. Issues regarding transition energetics and kinetics are discussed.This article is from Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 38 (2007): 1145, doi:10.1007/s11661-007-9148-z. Posted with permission.</p

Thermodynamic Treatment of Undercooled Cu-Mg Liquid and the Limits for Partitionless Crystallization

The thermodynamic properties of the binary Cu-Mg system are examined with a focus on equilibria involving the liquid phase, which is described with a four-species association model, incorporating a two-state treatment for the pure component liquids below their respective melting temperatures. The terminal and intermediate crystalline phases are described as substitutional solid solutions, employing two sublattices for the latter. Model parameters are fitted using available experimental data, and the resulting phase diagram is reported over the full range of compositions in the binary system. We also report the associated T 0 curves, indicating the limits of partitionless crystallization and compare these with reports of amorphous solid formation during rapid solidification processing.This article is from Journal of Phase Equilibria and Diffusion 28 (2007): 328, doi:10.1007/s11669-007-9083-0. Posted with permission.</p

Modeling of Thermodynamic Properties and Phase Equilibria for the Al-Sm Binary System

The thermodynamic properties and associated phase equilibria for the Al-Sm binary system are examined, and experimental results regarding the stability of the Al3Sm, Al11Sm3, and Al4Sm intermetallics are incorporated. In the analysis presented, the liquid phase is described using a three-species association model, the intermediate phases are treated as stoichiometric compounds, and the terminal phases are treated as solid solutions with a single sublattice model. In addition to the stable phases, thermodynamic descriptions of the metastable Al11Sm3-α and Al4Sm-γ phases are employed, and both stable and metastable phase equilibria are presented over the full composition range, providing a general model, which is consistent with available experimental data. Metastable liquidus curves are examined with respect to the observed crystallization behavior of amorphous Al-Sm alloys.This article is from Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A 39 (2008): 502, doi:10.1007/s11661-007-9445-6. Posted with permission.</p

Enthalpy of Mixing in Al–Tb Liquid

The liquid-phase enthalpy of mixing for Al–Tb alloys is measured for 3, 5, 8, 10, and 20 at% Tb at selected temperatures in the range from 1364 to 1439 K. Methods include isothermal solution calorimetry and isoperibolic electromagnetic levitation drop calorimetry. Mixing enthalpy is determined relative to the unmixed pure (Al and Tb) components. The required formation enthalpy for the Al3Tb phase is computed from first-principles calculations. Based on our measurements, three different semi-empirical solution models are offered for the excess free energy of the liquid, including regular, subregular, and associate model formulations. These models are also compared with the Miedema model prediction of mixing enthalpy

Energetics of nonequilibrium solidification in Al-Sm

Solution-based thermodynamic modeling, aided by first-principles calculations, is employed here to examine phase transformations in the Al-Sm binary system which may give rise to product phases that are metastable or have a composition that deviates substantially from equilibrium. In addition to describing the pure undercooled Al liquid with a two-state model that accounts for structural ordering, thermodynamic descriptions of the fcc phase, and intermediate compounds (Al4Sm-β, Al11Sm3-α, Al3Sm-δ, and Al2Sm-σ) are reanalyzed using special quasirandom structure and first-principles calculations. The possible phase compositions are presented over a range of temperatures using a “Baker-Cahn” analysis of the energetics of solidification and compared with reports of rapid solidification. The energetics associated with varying degrees of chemical partitioning are quantified and compared with experimental observations of the metastable Al11Sm3-α primary phase and reports of amorphous solids.This article is from Physical Review B 78 (2008): 184111, doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.78.184111.</p