Finite element simulation of powder compaction via shock consolidation using gas-gun system

Shock consolidation is a promising method for consolidation of nanocrystalline metallic powders since it can prevent grain growth of nanopowders during the process due to very short processing time. However, internal cracks often occurs in powder compacts during the shock consolidation process. In this paper, finite element simulations showed that reflected tensile wave causes spall phenomena resulting internal crack of powder compaction during shock compaction process. To reduce spall phenomena, FEM simulation with changing compaction die's geometry was performed to find out relationship between shape and tensile wave intensity. Based on FEM results, new compaction die was designed and bulk nanocrystalline Cu are obtained using new compaction die. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.open1111Ysciescopu

A monolithic and flexible fluoropolymer film microreactor for organic synthesis applications

A photocurable and viscous fluoropolymer with chemical stability is a highly desirable material for fabrication of microchemical devices. Lack of a reliable fabrication method, however, limits actual applications for organic reactions. Herein, we report fabrication of a monolithic and flexible fluoropolymer film microreactor and its use as a new microfluidic platform. The fabrication involves facile soft lithography techniques that enable partial curing of thin laminates, which can be readily bonded by conformal contact without any external forces. We demonstrate fabrication of various functional channels (similar to 300 mu m thick) such as those embedded with either a herringbone micromixer pattern or a droplet generator. Organic reactions under strongly acidic and basic conditions can be carried out in this film microreactor even at elevated temperature with excellent reproducibility. In particular, the transparent film microreactor with good deformability could be wrapped around a light-emitting lamp for close contact with the light source for efficient photochemical reactions with visible light, which demonstrates easy integration with optical components for functional miniaturized systems.open1112Ysciescopu

Full-scale collapse testing of a steel stiffened plate structure under axial-compressive loading at a temperature of −80°C

The aim of the paper was to develop a test database of the ultimate strength characteristics of full-scale steel stiffened plate structures under axial compressive loading at a temperature of −80°C. This paper is a sequel to the authors’ articles (Paik et al. 2020a, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2020.05.026 and Paik et al. 2020b, https://doi.org/10.1080/17445302.2020.1787930). In contrast to the earlier articles associated with room temperature or cryogenic condition, this paper investigated the effect of a low temperature at −80°C which is within the boundary range of temperature of the ductile-to-brittle fracture transition for carbon steels. A material model representing the test conditions was also proposed to capture the characteristics of carbon steels at low temperatures both in tension and in compression, and it was used in finite element method simulations of the full-scale experiment. A comparison between numerical analyses and experiments showed that the proposed model could successfully predict the failure modes and ultimate strength characteristics at low temperatures for stiffened plate structures under axial compressive loading conditions

Adsorption-induced conversion of the carbon nanotube field effect transistor from ambipolar to unipolar behavior

We investigate ambipolar to unipolar transition by the effect of ambient air on the carbon nanotube field-effect transistor. A unipolar transport property of the double-walled nanotube field-effect transistor and its conversion from ambipolar behavior are observed. We suggest that adsorptions of oxygen molecules, whose lowest-unoccupied-molecular-orbital state is around the midgap of the carbon nanotube, could suppress the electron channel formation and, consequently, result in the unipolar transport behavior.open343

A Mechanistic Understanding of a Binary Additive System to Synergistically Boost Efficiency in All-Polymer Solar Cells

All-polymer solar cells are herein presented utilizing the PBDTTT-CT donor and the P(NDI2OD-T2) acceptor with 1,8-diiodooctane (DIO) and 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) binary solvent additives. A systematic study of the polymer/polymer bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells processed from the binary additives revealed that the microstructures and photophysics were quite different from those of a pristine system. The combination of DIO and CN with a DIO/CN ratio of 3:1 (3 vol% DIO, 1 vol% CN and 96 vol% o-DCB) led to suitable penetrating polymer networks, efficient charge generation and balanced charge transport, which were all beneficial to improving the efficiency. This improvement is attributed to increase in power conversion efficiency from 2.81% for a device without additives to 4.39% for a device with the binary processing additives. A detailed investigation indicates that the changes in the polymer: polymer interactions resulted in the formation of a percolating nasnoscale morphology upon processing with the binary additives. Depth profile measurements with a two-dimensional grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering confirm this optimum phase feature. Furthermore impedance spectroscopy also finds evidence for synergistically boosting the device performance.112218Ysciescopu

Metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxial growth of vertically well-aligned ZnO nanorods

We report metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxial growth and structural and photoluminescent characteristics of ZnO nanorods. The nanorods were grown on Al2O3(00.1) substrates at 400 degreesC without employing any metal catalysts usually needed in other methods. Electron microscopy revealed that nanorods with uniform distributions in their diameters, lengths, and densities were grown vertically from the substrates. The mean diameter of the nanorods is as narrow as 25 nm. In addition, x-ray diffraction measurements clearly show that ZnO nanorods were grown epitaxially with homogeneous in-plane alignment as well as a c-axis orientation. More importantly, from photoluminescence spectra of the nanorods strong and narrow excitonic emission and extremely weak deep level emission were observed, indicating that the nanorods are of high optical quality. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.open1110681105sciescopu

A practical diagram to determine the residual longitudinal strength of grounded ship in Northern Sea Route

In this study, a useful solution is proposed for assessing the safety of the ship’s hull damaged by grounding in Northern Sea Route (NSR) or Arctic sea. In particular, the residual ultimate longitudinal strength of grounding damaged ship can be predicted by the grounding damage index (GDI) concept. Due to the global warming effects, the Arctic glaciers have been gradually melting, and it may bring us the new North Pole routes. However, there are uncertainties on many causes that can lead to grounding accident of the commercial vessels. In this regard, residual ultimate longitudinal strength of grounding damaged commercial ship in Arctic sea is investigated. Five (5) temperatures: room temperature (RT), −20°C, −40°C, −60°C and −80°C were adopted to consider the cold temperature effect in NSR. The Panamax class oil tanker was selected for the investigation of residual ultimate longitudinal strength of grounding damaged ship. Fifty (50) reliable damage scenarios were adopted for the evaluation of structural health by utilising Residual strength versus GDI (R-D) diagram method. From this study, a modified R-D diagram is proposed which can consider grounding damage with cold temperature effect. The obtained outcome will be useful for assessing the safety of the grounded ships in Arctic sea region by measuring the grounding damage amount and surrounding air temperature

Full-scale collapse testing of a steel stiffened plate structure under axial-compressive loading triggered by brittle fracture at cryogenic condition

This paper is a sequel to the authors’ earlier article Paik et al. [2020a. Full-scale collapse testing of a steel stiffened plate structure under cyclic axial-compressive loading, Structures, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.istruc.2020.05.026]. The aim of the paper was to present a test data on the ultimate compressive strength characteristics of a full-scale steel stiffened plate structure at cryogenic condition which may be due to unwanted release of liquefied gases. The test structure was fabricated in a shipyard using exactly the same welding technology as used in today’s shipbuilding industry. It is observed that the test structure reaches the ultimate limit states triggered by brittle fracture, which is totally different from typical collapse modes at room temperature. Details of the test database are documented as they can be used to validate computational models for the structural crashworthiness analysis involving brittle fracture at cryogenic condition

Understanding Solidification of Polythiophene Thin Films during Spin-Coating: Effects of Spin-Coating Time and Processing Additives

Spin-coating has been used extensively in the fabrication of electronic devices; however, the effects of the processing parameters have not been fully explored. Here, we systematically characterize the effects of the spin-coating time on the microstructure evolution during semiconducting polymer solidification in an effort to establish the relationship between this parameter and the performances of the resulting polymer field-effect transistors (FETs). We found that a short spin-coating time of a few seconds dramatically improve the morphology and molecular order in a conjugated polymer thin film because the p-p stacking structures formed by the polymer molecules grow slowly and with a greater degree of order due to the residual solvent present in the wet film. The improved ordering is correlated with improved charge carrier transport in the FETs prepared from these films. We also demonstrated the effects of various processing additives on the resulting FET characteristics as well as on the film drying behavior during spin-coating. The physical properties of the additives are found to affect the film drying process and the resulting device performance.113427Ysciescopu

Association analysis of polymorphism in KIAA1717, HUMMLC2B, DECR1 and FTO genes with meat quality traits of the Berkshire breed

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in KIAA1717, HUMMLC2B, DECR1, and FTO genes have been found to be associated with some pork meat quality traits. In this study, we discovered that, in addition to meat quality traits reported previously, SNPs in these genes also are significantly associated with other meat quality traits in the Berkshire breed. A total of 323 Berkshire pigs bred under the same conditions were used for meat quality evaluation and polymerase chain reaction-amplified genes with restriction endonucleases (PCR-RFLP) genotyping analyses. The association analysis of RFLP genotyping with meat quality traits revealed that the SNPs in these 4 genes have novel associations with multiple meat quality traits (p < 0.01 or p < 0.05); a SNP in KIAA1717 was associated with meat color (CIE L), backfat thickness, drip loss, water-holding capacity, and pH24hr; a SNP in HUMMLC2B was associated with chemical composition (collagen), drip loss, shear force, and pH24hr; a SNP in DECR1 was associated with meat color (CIE a and b) and backfat thickness; and a SNP in FTO was associated with meat color (CIE L, a and b), protein content, drip loss, and water-holding capacity. Taken collectively, our results suggest that these 4 SNPs may be used for marker-assisted selection as a genetic marker for meat quality traits in Berkshire pigs.Key words: Berkshire, genetic markers, meat quality, SN