Direct Writing of Three-Dimensional Macroporous Photonic Crystals on Pressure-Responsive Shape Memory Polymers.

PubMed

Fang, Yin; Ni, Yongliang; Leo, Sin-Yen; Wang, Bingchen; Basile, Vito; Taylor, Curtis; Jiang, Peng

2015-10-28

Here we report a single-step direct writing technology for making three-dimensional (3D) macroporous photonic crystal patterns on a new type of pressure-responsive shape memory polymer (SMP). This approach integrates two disparate fields that do not typically intersect: the well-established templating nanofabrication and shape memory materials. Periodic arrays of polymer macropores templated from self-assembled colloidal crystals are squeezed into disordered arrays in an unusual shape memory "cold" programming process. The recovery of the original macroporous photonic crystal lattices can be triggered by direct writing at ambient conditions using both macroscopic and nanoscopic tools, like a pencil or a nanoindenter. Interestingly, this shape memory disorder-order transition is reversible and the photonic crystal patterns can be erased and regenerated hundreds of times, promising the making of reconfigurable/rewritable nanooptical devices. Quantitative insights into the shape memory recovery of collapsed macropores induced by the lateral shear stresses in direct writing are gained through fundamental investigations on important process parameters, including the tip material, the critical pressure and writing speed for triggering the recovery of the deformed macropores, and the minimal feature size that can be directly written on the SMP membranes. Besides straightforward applications in photonic crystal devices, these smart mechanochromic SMPs that are sensitive to various mechanical stresses could render important technological applications ranging from chromogenic stress and impact sensors to rewritable high-density optical data storage media.

Method for the detection of a magnetic field utilizing a magnetic vortex

DOEpatents

Novosad, Valentyn [Chicago, IL; Buchanan, Kristen [Batavia, IL

2010-04-13

The determination of the strength of an in-plane magnetic field utilizing one or more magnetically-soft, ferromagnetic member, having a shape, size and material whereas a single magnetic vortex is formed at remanence in each ferromagnetic member. The preferred shape is a thin circle, or dot. Multiple ferromagnetic members can also be stacked on-top of each other and separated by a non-magnetic spacer. The resulting sensor is hysteresis free. The sensor's sensitivity, and magnetic saturation characteristics may be easily tuned by simply altering the material, size, shape, or a combination thereof to match the desired sensitivity and saturation characteristics. The sensor is self-resetting at remanence and therefore does not require any pinning techniques.

Representations of disability and normality in rehabilitation technology promotional materials.

PubMed

Phelan, Shanon K; Wright, Virginia; Gibson, Barbara E

2014-01-01

To explore the ways in which promotional materials for two rehabilitation technologies reproduce commonly held perspectives about disability and rehabilitation. Our analysis was informed by critical disability studies using techniques from discourse analysis to examine texts (words and images) and their relation to social practices and power. Using this approach, promotional materials for (a) hearing aid and (b) robotic gait training technologies were interrogated using three central questions: (1) Who are represented? (2) What is promised? and (3) Who has authority? Messages of normalization pervaded representations of disabled children and their families, and the promises offered by the technologies. The latter included efficiency and effectiveness, progress and improvement, success and inclusion, and opportunities for a normal life. Normalization discourses construct childhood disability through texts and images. These discourses reinforce pervasive negative messages about disability that are taken up by children and families and have ethical implications for clinical practice. Rehabilitation has largely focused on "fixing" the individual, whereas broadening the clinical gaze to the social dimensions of disablement may lead to a more sensitive and informed approach within family-clinician discussions surrounding these advanced technologies and the use they make of promotional materials. Implications for Rehabilitation Awareness of the potential effects of implicit and explicit messages about disability in promotional materials may lead to a more sensitive and informed approach within family-clinician discussions surrounding rehabilitation technologies. In practice, it is important for rehabilitation professionals to remember that parents' and children's values and beliefs are shaped over time, and parents' and professionals' perspectives on disability strongly influence how disabled children internalize what disability means to them.

Controlling Particle Morphologies at Fluid Interfaces: Macro- and Micro- approaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beesabathuni, Shilpa Naidu

The controlled generation of varying shaped particles is important for many applications: consumer goods, biomedical diagnostics, food processing, adsorbents and pharmaceuticals which can benefit from the availability of geometrically complex and chemically inhomogeneous particles. This thesis presents two approaches to spherical and non-spherical particle synthesis using macro and microfluidics. In the first approach, a droplet microfluidic technique is explored to fabricate spherical conducting polymer, polyaniline, particles with precise control over morphology and functionality. Microfluidics has recently emerged as an important alternate to the synthesis of complex particles. The conducting polymer, polyaniline, is widely used and known for its stability, high conductivity, and favorable redox properties. In this approach, monodisperse micron-sized polyaniline spherical particles were synthesized using two-phase droplet microfluidics from Aniline and Ammonium persulfate oxidative polymerization in an oil-based continuous phase. The morphology of the polymerized particles is porous in nature which can be used for encapsulation as well as controlled release applications. Encapsulation of an enzyme, glucose oxidase, was also performed using the technique to synthesize microspheres for glucose sensing. The polymer microspheres were characterized using SEM, UV-Vis and EDX to understand the relationship between their microstructure and stability. In the second approach, molten drop impact in a cooling aqueous medium to generate non-spherical particles was explored. Viscoelastic wax based materials are widely used in many applications and their performance and application depends on the particle morphology and size. The deformation of millimeter size molten wax drops as they impacted an immiscible liquid interface was investigated. Spherical molten wax drops impinged on a cooling water bath, then deformed and as a result of solidification were arrested into various shapes such as ellipsoids, mushrooms, spherulites and discs. The final morphology of the wax particles is governed by the interfacial, inertial, viscous and thermal effects, which can be studied over a range of Weber, Capillary, Reynolds and Stefan numbers. A simplified Stefan problem for a spherical drop was solved. The time required to initiate a phase transition at the interface of the molten wax and water after impact was estimated and correlated with the drop deformation history and final wax particle shape to develop a capability to predict the shape. While the microfluidic synthesis approach offers precise control over morphology and functionality, large particle throughput is a limitation. The drop impact in a liquid medium emulsion approach is limited to crosslinking or heat sensitive materials but can be extended to large scale production for industrial applications. Both approaches are simple, robust and cost effective making them viable and attractive solutions for complex particle synthesis. The choice of the approach is dependent on considerations such as particle material, size, shape, throughput and end application.

Modal Response of Trapezoidal Wing Structures Using Second Order Shape Sensitivities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Youhua; Kapania, Rakesh K.

2000-01-01

The modal response of wing structures is very important for assessing their dynamic response including dynamic aeroelastic instabilities. Moreover, in a recent study an efficient structural optimization approach was developed using structural modes to represent the static aeroelastic wing response (both displacement and stress). In this paper, the modal response of general trapezoidal wing structures is approximated using shape sensitivities up to the 2nd order. Also different approaches of computing the derivatives are investigated.

Efficient Simulation of Wing Modal Response: Application of 2nd Order Shape Sensitivities and Neural Networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kapania, Rakesh K.; Liu, Youhua

2000-01-01

At the preliminary design stage of a wing structure, an efficient simulation, one needing little computation but yielding adequately accurate results for various response quantities, is essential in the search of optimal design in a vast design space. In the present paper, methods of using sensitivities up to 2nd order, and direct application of neural networks are explored. The example problem is how to decide the natural frequencies of a wing given the shape variables of the structure. It is shown that when sensitivities cannot be obtained analytically, the finite difference approach is usually more reliable than a semi-analytical approach provided an appropriate step size is used. The use of second order sensitivities is proved of being able to yield much better results than the case where only the first order sensitivities are used. When neural networks are trained to relate the wing natural frequencies to the shape variables, a negligible computation effort is needed to accurately determine the natural frequencies of a new design.

Optimal Elastomeric Scaffold Leaflet Shape for Pulmonary Heart Valve Leaflet Replacement

PubMed Central

Fan, Rong; Bayoumi, Ahmed S.; Chen, Peter; Hobson, Christopher M.; Wagner, William R.; Mayer, John E.; Sacks, Michael S.

2012-01-01

Surgical replacement of the pulmonary valve (PV) is a common treatment option for congenital pulmonary valve defects. Engineered tissue approaches to develop novel PV replacements are intrinsically complex, and will require methodical approaches for their development. Single leaflet replacement utilizing an ovine model is an attractive approach in that candidate materials can be evaluated under valve level stresses in blood contact without the confounding effects of a particular valve design. In the present study an approach for optimal leaflet shape design based on finite element (FE) simulation of a mechanically anisotropic, elastomeric scaffold for PV replacement is presented. The scaffold was modeled as an orthotropic hyperelastic material using a generalized Fung-type constitutive model. The optimal shape of the fully loaded PV replacement leaflet was systematically determined by minimizing the difference between the deformed shape obtained from FE simulation and an ex-vivo microCT scan of a native ovine PV leaflet. Effects of material anisotropy, dimensional changes of PV root, and fiber orientation on the resulting leaflet deformation were investigated. In-situ validation demonstrated that the approach could guide the design of the leaflet shape for PV replacement surgery. PMID:23294966

Design Considerations and Performance of MEMS Acoustoelectric Ultrasound Detectors

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhaohui; Ingram, Pier; Greenlee, Charles L.; Olafsson, Ragnar; Norwood, Robert A.; Witte, Russell S.

2014-01-01

Most single-element hydrophones depend on a piezoelectric material that converts pressure changes to electricity. These devices, however, can be expensive, susceptible to damage at high pressure, and/or have limited bandwidth and sensitivity. We have previously described the acoustoelectric (AE) hydrophone as an inexpensive alternative for mapping an ultrasound beam and monitoring acoustic exposure. The device exploits the AE effect, an interaction between electrical current flowing through a material and a propagating pressure wave. Previous designs required imprecise fabrication methods using common laboratory supplies, making it difficult to control basic features such as shape and size. This study describes a different approach based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) processing that allows for much finer control of several design features. In an effort to improve the performance of the AE hydrophone, we combine simulations with bench-top testing to evaluate key design features, such as thickness, shape, and conductivity of the active and passive elements. The devices were evaluated in terms of sensitivity, frequency response, and accuracy for reproducing the beam pattern. Our simulations and experimental results both indicated that designs using a combination of indium tin oxide (ITO) for the active element and gold for the passive electrodes (conductivity ratio = ~20) produced the best result for mapping the beam of a 2.25-MHz ultrasound transducer. Also, the AE hydrophone with a rectangular dumbbell configuration achieved a better beam pattern than other shape configurations. Lateral and axial resolutions were consistent with images generated from a commercial capsule hydrophone. Sensitivity of the best-performing device was 1.52 nV/Pa at 500 kPa using a bias voltage of 20 V. We expect a thicker AE hydrophone closer to half the acoustic wavelength to produce even better sensitivity, while maintaining high spectral bandwidth for characterizing medical ultrasound transducers. AE ultrasound detectors may also be useful for monitoring acoustic exposure during therapy or as receivers for photoacoustic imaging. PMID:24658721

Noise Modeling From Conductive Shields Using Kirchhoff Equations.

PubMed

Sandin, Henrik J; Volegov, Petr L; Espy, Michelle A; Matlashov, Andrei N; Savukov, Igor M; Schultz, Larry J

2010-10-09

Progress in the development of high-sensitivity magnetic-field measurements has stimulated interest in understanding the magnetic noise of conductive materials, especially of magnetic shields based on high-permeability materials and/or high-conductivity materials. For example, SQUIDs and atomic magnetometers have been used in many experiments with mu-metal shields, and additionally SQUID systems frequently have radio frequency shielding based on thin conductive materials. Typical existing approaches to modeling noise only work with simple shield and sensor geometries while common experimental setups today consist of multiple sensor systems with complex shield geometries. With complex sensor arrays used in, for example, MEG and Ultra Low Field MRI studies, knowledge of the noise correlation between sensors is as important as knowledge of the noise itself. This is crucial for incorporating efficient noise cancelation schemes for the system. We developed an approach that allows us to calculate the Johnson noise for arbitrary shaped shields and multiple sensor systems. The approach is efficient enough to be able to run on a single PC system and return results on a minute scale. With a multiple sensor system our approach calculates not only the noise for each sensor but also the noise correlation matrix between sensors. Here we will show how the algorithm can be implemented.

Meshless methods in shape optimization of linear elastic and thermoelastic solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bobaru, Florin

This dissertation proposes a meshless approach to problems in shape optimization of elastic and thermoelastic solids. The Element-free Galerkin (EFG) method is used for this purpose. The ability of the EFG to avoid remeshing, that is normally done in a Finite Element approach to correct highly distorted meshes, is clearly demonstrated by several examples. The shape optimization example of a thermal cooling fin shows a dramatic improvement in the objective compared to a previous FEM analysis. More importantly, the new solution, displaying large shape changes contrasted to the initial design, was completely missed by the FEM analysis. The EFG formulation given here for shape optimization "uncovers" new solutions that are, apparently, unobtainable via a FEM approach. This is one of the main achievements of our work. The variational formulations for the analysis problem and for the sensitivity problems are obtained with a penalty method for imposing the displacement boundary conditions. The continuum formulation is general and this facilitates 2D and 3D with minor differences from one another. Also, transient thermoelastic problems can use the present development at each time step to solve shape optimization problems for time-dependent thermal problems. For the elasticity framework, displacement sensitivity is obtained in the EFG context. Excellent agreements with analytical solutions for some test problems are obtained. The shape optimization of a fillet is carried out in great detail, and results show significant improvement of the EFG solution over the FEM or the Boundary Element Method solutions. In our approach we avoid differentiating the complicated EFG shape functions, with respect to the shape design parameters, by using a particular discretization for sensitivity calculations. Displacement and temperature sensitivities are formulated for the shape optimization of a linear thermoelastic solid. Two important examples considered in this work, the optimization of a thermal fin and of a uniformly loaded thermoelastic beam, reveal new characteristics of the EFG method in shape optimization applications. Among other advantages of the EFG method over traditional FEM treatments of shape optimization problems, some of the most important ones are shown to be: elimination of post-processing for stress and strain recovery that directly gives more accurate results in critical positions (near the boundaries, for example) for shape optimization problems; nodes movement flexibility that permits new, better shapes (previously missed by an FEM analysis) to be discovered. Several new research directions that need further consideration are exposed.

Material properties and their influence on the behaviour of tungsten as plasma facing material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wirtz, M.; Uytdenhouwen, I.; Barabash, V.; Escourbiac, F.; Hirai, T.; Linke, J.; Loewenhoff, Th.; Panayotis, S.; Pintsuk, G.

2017-06-01

With the aim of a possible improvement of the material specification for tungsten, five different tungsten products by different companies and by different production technologies (forging and rolling) are subject to a materials characterization program. Tungsten produced by forging results in an uniaxial elongated grain shape while rolled products have a plate like grain shape which has an influence on the mechanical properties of the material. The materials were investigated with respect to the following parameters: hardness measurements, microstructural investigations, tensile tests and recrystallisation sensitivity tests at 3 different temperatures. The obtained results show that different production processes have an influence on the resulting anisotropic microstructure and the related material properties of tungsten in the as-received state. Additionally, the recrystallization sensitivity varies between the different products, what could be a result of the different production processes. Additionally, two tungsten products were exposed to thermal shocks. The obtained results show that the improved recrystallisation behaviour has no major impact on the thermal shock performance.

Aerodynamic Shape Sensitivity Analysis and Design Optimization of Complex Configurations Using Unstructured Grids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Taylor, Arthur C., III; Newman, James C., III; Barnwell, Richard W.

1997-01-01

A three-dimensional unstructured grid approach to aerodynamic shape sensitivity analysis and design optimization has been developed and is extended to model geometrically complex configurations. The advantage of unstructured grids (when compared with a structured-grid approach) is their inherent ability to discretize irregularly shaped domains with greater efficiency and less effort. Hence, this approach is ideally suited for geometrically complex configurations of practical interest. In this work the nonlinear Euler equations are solved using an upwind, cell-centered, finite-volume scheme. The discrete, linearized systems which result from this scheme are solved iteratively by a preconditioned conjugate-gradient-like algorithm known as GMRES for the two-dimensional geometry and a Gauss-Seidel algorithm for the three-dimensional; similar procedures are used to solve the accompanying linear aerodynamic sensitivity equations in incremental iterative form. As shown, this particular form of the sensitivity equation makes large-scale gradient-based aerodynamic optimization possible by taking advantage of memory efficient methods to construct exact Jacobian matrix-vector products. Simple parameterization techniques are utilized for demonstrative purposes. Once the surface has been deformed, the unstructured grid is adapted by considering the mesh as a system of interconnected springs. Grid sensitivities are obtained by differentiating the surface parameterization and the grid adaptation algorithms with ADIFOR (which is an advanced automatic-differentiation software tool). To demonstrate the ability of this procedure to analyze and design complex configurations of practical interest, the sensitivity analysis and shape optimization has been performed for a two-dimensional high-lift multielement airfoil and for a three-dimensional Boeing 747-200 aircraft.

Gradient-Based Aerodynamic Shape Optimization Using ADI Method for Large-Scale Problems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pandya, Mohagna J.; Baysal, Oktay

1997-01-01

A gradient-based shape optimization methodology, that is intended for practical three-dimensional aerodynamic applications, has been developed. It is based on the quasi-analytical sensitivities. The flow analysis is rendered by a fully implicit, finite volume formulation of the Euler equations.The aerodynamic sensitivity equation is solved using the alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) algorithm for memory efficiency. A flexible wing geometry model, that is based on surface parameterization and platform schedules, is utilized. The present methodology and its components have been tested via several comparisons. Initially, the flow analysis for for a wing is compared with those obtained using an unfactored, preconditioned conjugate gradient approach (PCG), and an extensively validated CFD code. Then, the sensitivities computed with the present method have been compared with those obtained using the finite-difference and the PCG approaches. Effects of grid refinement and convergence tolerance on the analysis and shape optimization have been explored. Finally the new procedure has been demonstrated in the design of a cranked arrow wing at Mach 2.4. Despite the expected increase in the computational time, the results indicate that shape optimization, which require large numbers of grid points can be resolved with a gradient-based approach.

Applied optimal shape design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammadi, B.; Pironneau, O.

2002-12-01

This paper is a short survey of optimal shape design (OSD) for fluids. OSD is an interesting field both mathematically and for industrial applications. Existence, sensitivity, correct discretization are important theoretical issues. Practical implementation issues for airplane designs are critical too. The paper is also a summary of the material covered in our recent book, Applied Optimal Shape Design, Oxford University Press, 2001.

3D Printed Reversible Shape Changing Components with Stimuli Responsive Materials

PubMed Central

Mao, Yiqi; Ding, Zhen; Yuan, Chao; Ai, Shigang; Isakov, Michael; Wu, Jiangtao; Wang, Tiejun; Dunn, Martin L.; Qi, H. Jerry

2016-01-01

The creation of reversibly-actuating components that alter their shapes in a controllable manner in response to environmental stimuli is a grand challenge in active materials, structures, and robotics. Here we demonstrate a new reversible shape-changing component design concept enabled by 3D printing two stimuli responsive polymers—shape memory polymers and hydrogels—in prescribed 3D architectures. This approach uses the swelling of a hydrogel as the driving force for the shape change, and the temperature-dependent modulus of a shape memory polymer to regulate the time of such shape change. Controlling the temperature and aqueous environment allows switching between two stable configurations – the structures are relatively stiff and can carry load in each – without any mechanical loading and unloading. Specific shape changing scenarios, e.g., based on bending, or twisting in prescribed directions, are enabled via the controlled interplay between the active materials and the 3D printed architectures. The physical phenomena are complex and nonintuitive, and so to help understand the interplay of geometric, material, and environmental stimuli parameters we develop 3D nonlinear finite element models. Finally, we create several 2D and 3D shape changing components that demonstrate the role of key parameters and illustrate the broad application potential of the proposed approach. PMID:27109063

3D Printed Reversible Shape Changing Components with Stimuli Responsive Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mao, Yiqi; Ding, Zhen; Yuan, Chao; Ai, Shigang; Isakov, Michael; Wu, Jiangtao; Wang, Tiejun; Dunn, Martin L.; Qi, H. Jerry

2016-04-01

The creation of reversibly-actuating components that alter their shapes in a controllable manner in response to environmental stimuli is a grand challenge in active materials, structures, and robotics. Here we demonstrate a new reversible shape-changing component design concept enabled by 3D printing two stimuli responsive polymers—shape memory polymers and hydrogels—in prescribed 3D architectures. This approach uses the swelling of a hydrogel as the driving force for the shape change, and the temperature-dependent modulus of a shape memory polymer to regulate the time of such shape change. Controlling the temperature and aqueous environment allows switching between two stable configurations - the structures are relatively stiff and can carry load in each - without any mechanical loading and unloading. Specific shape changing scenarios, e.g., based on bending, or twisting in prescribed directions, are enabled via the controlled interplay between the active materials and the 3D printed architectures. The physical phenomena are complex and nonintuitive, and so to help understand the interplay of geometric, material, and environmental stimuli parameters we develop 3D nonlinear finite element models. Finally, we create several 2D and 3D shape changing components that demonstrate the role of key parameters and illustrate the broad application potential of the proposed approach.

Giant Thermal Expansion in 2D and 3D Cellular Materials.

PubMed

Zhu, Hanxing; Fan, Tongxiang; Peng, Qing; Zhang, Di

2018-05-01

When temperature increases, the volume of an object changes. This property was quantified as the coefficient of thermal expansion only a few hundred years ago. Part of the reason is that the change of volume due to the variation of temperature is in general extremely small and imperceptible. Here, abnormal giant linear thermal expansions in different types of two-ingredient microstructured hierarchical and self-similar cellular materials are reported. The cellular materials can be 2D or 3D, and isotropic or anisotropic, with a positive or negative thermal expansion due to the convex or/and concave shape in their representative volume elements respectively. The magnitude of the thermal expansion coefficient can be several times larger than the highest value reported in the literature. This study suggests an innovative approach to develop temperature-sensitive functional materials and devices. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Mechanism study of biopolymer hair as a coupled thermo-water responsive smart material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Xueliang; Zhou, Hongtao; Qian, Kun

2017-03-01

Animal hairs existing broadly in nature are found to be effectively responsive to stimuli of heat and water in sequence for shape deformation and recovery, namely, coupled shape memory function (CSMF). In the paper, the ability of thermo-water sensitive CSMF was first time investigated for animal hairs, the structural and molecular networks for net-points and switches were therefrom identified. Experimentally, animal hair manifested a high ability of shape fixation in thermal processing and good shape recovery by water stimulus. Characterizations of two stimuli (heating and hydration) were performed systematically on hair’s deformation, recovery, viscoelasticity and chemical components (crystalline phase, key bonds inamorphous area). The variations of related chemical components in molecular networks were also explored. A hybrid structural network model was thereafter proposed to interpret the thermo-water sensitive CSMF of hair. This study of two-sequential-stimuli CSMF is original and inspired to explore more complex functions of other smart natural materials and expected to make much smarter synthetic polymers.

Shape optimization using a NURBS-based interface-enriched generalized FEM

DOE PAGES

Najafi, Ahmad R.; Safdari, Masoud; Tortorelli, Daniel A.; ...

2016-11-26

This study presents a gradient-based shape optimization over a fixed mesh using a non-uniform rational B-splines-based interface-enriched generalized finite element method, applicable to multi-material structures. In the proposed method, non-uniform rational B-splines are used to parameterize the design geometry precisely and compactly by a small number of design variables. An analytical shape sensitivity analysis is developed to compute derivatives of the objective and constraint functions with respect to the design variables. Subtle but important new terms involve the sensitivity of shape functions and their spatial derivatives. As a result, verification and illustrative problems are solved to demonstrate the precision andmore » capability of the method.« less

Boundary formulations for sensitivity analysis without matrix derivatives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, J. H.; Guru Prasad, K.

1993-01-01

A new hybrid approach to continuum structural shape sensitivity analysis employing boundary element analysis (BEA) is presented. The approach uses iterative reanalysis to obviate the need to factor perturbed matrices in the determination of surface displacement and traction sensitivities via a univariate perturbation/finite difference (UPFD) step. The UPFD approach makes it possible to immediately reuse existing subroutines for computation of BEA matrix coefficients in the design sensitivity analysis process. The reanalysis technique computes economical response of univariately perturbed models without factoring perturbed matrices. The approach provides substantial computational economy without the burden of a large-scale reprogramming effort.

Chemically attached gold nanoparticle-carbon nanotube hybrids for highly sensitive SERS substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beqa, Lule; Singh, Anant Kumar; Fan, Zheng; Senapati, Dulal; Ray, Paresh Chandra

2011-08-01

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been shown as one of the most powerful analytical tool with high sensitivity. In this manuscript, we report the chemical design of SERS substrate, based on gold nanoparticles of different shapes-decorated with carbon nanotube with an enhancement factor of 7.5 × 1010. Shape dependent result shows that popcorn shape gold nanoparticle decorated SWCNT is the best choice for SERS substrate due to the existence of 'lightning rod effect' through several sharp edges or corners. Our results provide a good approach to develop highly sensitive SERS substrates and can help to improve the fundamental understanding of SERS phenomena.

Optimization techniques applied to passive measures for in-orbit spacecraft survivability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mog, Robert A.; Helba, Michael J.; Hill, Janeil B.

1992-01-01

The purpose of this research is to provide Space Station Freedom protective structures design insight through the coupling of design/material requirements, hypervelocity impact phenomenology, meteoroid and space debris environment sensitivities, optimization techniques and operations research strategies, and mission scenarios. The goals of the research are: (1) to develop a Monte Carlo simulation tool which will provide top level insight for Space Station protective structures designers; (2) to develop advanced shielding concepts relevant to Space Station Freedom using unique multiple bumper approaches; and (3) to investigate projectile shape effects on protective structures design.

Topological data analysis as a morphometric method: using persistent homology to demarcate a leaf morphospace

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Current morphometric methods that comprehensively measure shape cannot compare the disparate leaf shapes found in flowering plants and are sensitive to processing artifacts. Here we describe a persistent homology approach to measuring shape. Persistent homology is a topological method (concerned wit...

Ternary Polymeric Composites Exhibiting Bulk and Surface Quadruple-Shape Memory Properties.

PubMed

Buffington, Shelby Lois; Posnick, Benjamin M; Paul, Justine Elizabeth; Mather, Patrick T

2018-06-19

We report the design and characterization of a multiphase quadruple shape memory composite capable of switching between 4 programmed shapes, three temporary and one permanent. Our approach combined two previously reported fabrication methods by embedding an electrospun mat of PCL in a miscible blend of epoxy monomers and PMMA as a composite matrix. As epoxy polymerization occurred the matrix underwent phase separation between the epoxy and PMMA materials. This created a multiphase composite with PCL fibers and a two-phase matrix composed of phase-separated epoxy and PMMA. The resulting composite demonstrated three separate thermal transitions and amenability to mechanical programming of three separate temporary shapes in addition to one final, equilibrium shape. In addition, quadruple surface shape memory abilities are successfully demonstrated. The versatility of this approach offers a large degree of design flexibility for multi-shape memory materials. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Sensitivity analysis for axis rotation diagrid structural systems according to brace angle changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Jae-Kwang; Li, Long-Yang; Park, Sung-Soo

2017-10-01

General regular shaped diagrid structures can express diverse shapes because braces are installed along the exterior faces of the structures and the structures have no columns. However, since irregular shaped structures have diverse variables, studies to assess behaviors resulting from various variables are continuously required to supplement the imperfections related to such variables. In the present study, materials elastic modulus and yield strength were selected as variables for strength that would be applied to diagrid structural systems in the form of Twisters among the irregular shaped buildings classified by Vollers and that affect the structural design of these structural systems. The purpose of this study is to conduct sensitivity analysis for axial rotation diagrid structural systems according to changes in brace angles in order to identify the design variables that have relatively larger effects and the tendencies of the sensitivity of the structures according to changes in brace angles and axial rotation angles.

Investigating shape representation using sensitivity to part- and axis-based transformations.

PubMed

Denisova, Kristina; Feldman, Jacob; Su, Xiaotao; Singh, Manish

2016-09-01

Part- and axis-based approaches organize shape representations in terms of simple parts and their spatial relationships. Shape transformations that alter qualitative part structure have been shown to be more detectable than those that preserve it. We compared sensitivity to various transformations that change quantitative properties of parts and their spatial relationships, while preserving qualitative part structure. Shape transformations involving changes in length, width, curvature, orientation and location were applied to a small part attached to a larger base of a two-part shape. Increment thresholds were estimated for each transformation using a 2IFC procedure. Thresholds were converted into common units of shape difference to enable comparisons across transformations. Higher sensitivity was consistently found for transformations involving a parameter of a single part (length, width, curvature) than those involving spatial relations between two parts (relative orientation and location), suggesting a single-part superiority effect. Moreover, sensitivity to shifts in part location - a biomechanically implausible shape transformation - was consistently poorest. The influence of region-based geometry was investigated via stereoscopic manipulation of figure and ground. Sensitivity was compared across positive parts (protrusions) and negative parts (indentations) for transformations involving a change in orientation or location. For changes in part orientation (biomechanically plausible), sensitivity was better for positive than negative parts; whereas for changes in part location (biomechanically implausible), no systematic difference was observed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INVESTIGATING SHAPE REPRESENTATION USING SENSITIVITY TO PART- AND AXIS-BASED TRANSFORMATIONS

PubMed Central

Denisova, Kristina; Feldman, Jacob; Su, Xiaotao; Singh, Manish

2015-01-01

Part -and axis-based approaches organize shape representations in terms of simple parts and their spatial relationships. Shape transformations that alter qualitative part structure have been shown to be more detectable than those that preserve it. We compared sensitivity to various transformations that change quantitative properties of parts and their spatial relationships, while preserving qualitative part structure. Shape transformations involving changes in length, width, curvature, orientation and location were applied to a small part attached to a larger base of a two-part shape. Increment thresholds were estimated for each transformation using a 2IFC procedure. Thresholds were converted into common units of shape difference to enable comparisons across transformations. Higher sensitivity was consistently found for transformations involving a parameter of a single part (length, width, curvature) than those involving spatial relations between two parts (relative orientation and location), suggesting a single-part superiority effect. Moreover, sensitivity to shifts in part location—a biomechanically implausible shape transformation—was consistently poorest. The influence of region-based geometry was investigated via stereoscopic manipulation of figure and ground. Sensitivity was compared across positive parts (protrusions) and negative parts (indentations) for transformations involving a change in orientation or location. For changes in part orientation (biomechanically plausible), sensitivity was better for positive than negative parts; whereas for changes in part location (biomechanically implausible), no systematic difference was observed. PMID:26325393

A Structural Approach to Establishing a Platform Chemistry for the Tunable, Bulk Electron Beam Cross-Linking of Shape Memory Polymer Systems

PubMed Central

Hearon, Keith; Besset, Celine J.; Lonnecker, Alexander T.; Ware, Taylor; Voit, Walter E.; Wilson, Thomas S.; Wooley, Karen L.; Maitland, Duncan J.

2014-01-01

The synthetic design and thermomechanical characterization of shape memory polymers (SMPs) built from a new polyurethane chemistry that enables facile, bulk and tunable cross-linking of low-molecular weight thermoplastics by electron beam irradiation is reported in this study. SMPs exhibit stimuli-induced geometry changes and are being proposed for applications in numerous fields. We have previously reported a polyurethane SMP system that exhibits the complex processing capabilities of thermoplastic polymers and the mechanical robustness and tunability of thermomechanical properties that are often characteristic of thermoset materials. These previously reported polyurethanes suffer practically because the thermoplastic molecular weights needed to achieve target cross-link densities severely limit high-throughput thermoplastic processing and because thermally unstable radiation-sensitizing additives must be used to achieve high enough cross-link densities to enable desired tunable shape memory behavior. In this study, we demonstrate the ability to manipulate cross-link density in low-molecular weight aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane SMPs (Mw as low as ~1.5 kDa) without radiation-sensitizing additives by incorporating specific structural motifs into the thermoplastic polymer side chains that we hypothesized would significantly enhance susceptibility to e-beam cross-linking. A custom diol monomer was first synthesized and then implemented in the synthesis of neat thermoplastic polyurethane SMPs that were irradiated at doses ranging from 1 to 500 kGy. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated rubbery moduli to be tailorable between 0.1 and 55 MPa, and both DMA and sol/gel analysis results provided fundamental insight into our hypothesized mechanism of electron beam cross-linking, which enables controllable bulk cross-linking to be achieved in highly processable, low-molecular weight thermoplastic shape memory polymers without sensitizing additives. PMID:25411511

Shape reanalysis and sensitivities utilizing preconditioned iterative boundary solvers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Guru Prasad, K.; Kane, J. H.

1992-01-01

The computational advantages associated with the utilization of preconditined iterative equation solvers are quantified for the reanalysis of perturbed shapes using continuum structural boundary element analysis (BEA). Both single- and multi-zone three-dimensional problems are examined. Significant reductions in computer time are obtained by making use of previously computed solution vectors and preconditioners in subsequent analyses. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated for the computation of shape response sensitivities required in shape optimization. Computer times and accuracies achieved using the preconditioned iterative solvers are compared with those obtained via direct solvers and implicit differentiation of the boundary integral equations. It is concluded that this approach employing preconditioned iterative equation solvers in reanalysis and sensitivity analysis can be competitive with if not superior to those involving direct solvers.

Low Complexity Models to improve Incomplete Sensitivities for Shape Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stanciu, Mugurel; Mohammadi, Bijan; Moreau, Stéphane

2003-01-01

The present global platform for simulation and design of multi-model configurations treat shape optimization problems in aerodynamics. Flow solvers are coupled with optimization algorithms based on CAD-free and CAD-connected frameworks. Newton methods together with incomplete expressions of gradients are used. Such incomplete sensitivities are improved using reduced models based on physical assumptions. The validity and the application of this approach in real-life problems are presented. The numerical examples concern shape optimization for an airfoil, a business jet and a car engine cooling axial fan.

Dynamic in-situ sensing of fluid-dispersed 2D materials integrated on microfluidic Si chip.

PubMed

Hogan, Benjamin T; Dyakov, Sergey A; Brennan, Lorcan J; Younesy, Salma; Perova, Tatiana S; Gun'ko, Yurii K; Craciun, Monica F; Baldycheva, Anna

2017-02-10

In this work, we propose a novel approach for wafer-scale integration of 2D materials on CMOS photonic chip utilising methods of synthetic chemistry and microfluidics technology. We have successfully demonstrated that this approach can be used for integration of any fluid-dispersed 2D nano-objects on silicon-on-insulator photonics platform. We demonstrate for the first time that the design of an optofluidic waveguide system can be optimised to enable simultaneous in-situ Raman spectroscopy monitoring of 2D dispersed flakes during the device operation. Moreover, for the first time, we have successfully demonstrated the possibility of label-free 2D flake detection via selective enhancement of the Stokes Raman signal at specific wavelengths. We discovered an ultra-high signal sensitivity to the xyz alignment of 2D flakes within the optofluidic waveguide. This in turn enables precise in-situ alignment detection, for the first practicable realisation of 3D photonic microstructure shaping based on 2D-fluid composites and CMOS photonics platform, while also representing a useful technological tool for the control of liquid phase deposition of 2D materials.

Constitutive error based parameter estimation technique for plate structures using free vibration signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guchhait, Shyamal; Banerjee, Biswanath

2018-04-01

In this paper, a variant of constitutive equation error based material parameter estimation procedure for linear elastic plates is developed from partially measured free vibration sig-natures. It has been reported in many research articles that the mode shape curvatures are much more sensitive compared to mode shape themselves to localize inhomogeneity. Complying with this idea, an identification procedure is framed as an optimization problem where the proposed cost function measures the error in constitutive relation due to incompatible curvature/strain and moment/stress fields. Unlike standard constitutive equation error based procedure wherein a solution of a couple system is unavoidable in each iteration, we generate these incompatible fields via two linear solves. A simple, yet effective, penalty based approach is followed to incorporate measured data. The penalization parameter not only helps in incorporating corrupted measurement data weakly but also acts as a regularizer against the ill-posedness of the inverse problem. Explicit linear update formulas are then developed for anisotropic linear elastic material. Numerical examples are provided to show the applicability of the proposed technique. Finally, an experimental validation is also provided.

Dynamics of cell wall elasticity pattern shapes the cell during yeast mating morphogenesis

PubMed Central

Goldenbogen, Björn; Giese, Wolfgang; Hemmen, Marie; Uhlendorf, Jannis; Herrmann, Andreas

2016-01-01

The cell wall defines cell shape and maintains integrity of fungi and plants. When exposed to mating pheromone, Saccharomyces cerevisiae grows a mating projection and alters in morphology from spherical to shmoo form. Although structural and compositional alterations of the cell wall accompany shape transitions, their impact on cell wall elasticity is unknown. In a combined theoretical and experimental approach using finite-element modelling and atomic force microscopy (AFM), we investigated the influence of spatially and temporally varying material properties on mating morphogenesis. Time-resolved elasticity maps of shmooing yeast acquired with AFM in vivo revealed distinct patterns, with soft material at the emerging mating projection and stiff material at the tip. The observed cell wall softening in the protrusion region is necessary for the formation of the characteristic shmoo shape, and results in wider and longer mating projections. The approach is generally applicable to tip-growing fungi and plants cells. PMID:27605377

Efficient bifacial dye-sensitized solar cells through disorder by design† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c5ta10091g Click here for additional data file.

PubMed Central

Miranda-Muñoz, José M.; Carretero-Palacios, Sol; Jiménez-Solano, Alberto; Li, Yuelong; Lozano, Gabriel

2016-01-01

Herein we realize an optical design that optimizes the performance of bifacial solar cells without modifying any of the usually employed components. In order to do so, dielectric scatterers of controlled size and shape have been successfully integrated in the working electrodes of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), resulting in bifacial devices of outstanding performance. Power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) as high as 6.7% and 5.4% have been attained under front and rear illumination, respectively, which represent a 25% and a 33% PCE enhancement with respect to an 8 μm-thick standard solar cell electrode using platinum as the catalytic material. The remarkable bifacial character of our approach is demonstrated by the high rear/front efficiency ratio attained, around 80%, which is among the largest reported for this sort of device. The proposed optimized design is based on a Monte Carlo approach in which the multiple scattering of light within the cell is fully accounted for. We identified that the spherical shape of the scatterers is the key parameter controlling the angular distribution of the scattering, the most efficient devices being those in which the inclusions provide a narrow forward-oriented angular distribution of the scattered light. PMID:27019714

Safer energetic materials by a nanotechnological approach.

PubMed

Siegert, Benny; Comet, Marc; Spitzer, Denis

2011-09-01

Energetic materials - explosives, thermites, populsive powders - are used in a variety of military and civilian applications. Their mechanical and electrostatic sensitivity is high in many cases, which can lead to accidents during handling and transport. These considerations limit the practical use of some energetic materials despite their good performance. For industrial applications, safety is one of the main criteria for selecting energetic materials. The sensitivity has been regarded as an intrinsic property of a substance for a long time. However, in recent years, several approaches to lower the sensitivity of a given substance, using nanotechnology and materials engineering, have been described. This feature article gives an overview over ways to prepare energetic (nano-)materials with a lower sensitivity.

Biosmart Materials: Breaking New Ground in Dentistry

PubMed Central

Badami, Vijetha; Ahuja, Bharat

2014-01-01

By definition and general agreement, smart materials are materials that have properties which may be altered in a controlled fashion by stimuli, such as stress, temperature, moisture, pH, and electric or magnetic fields. There are numerous types of smart materials, some of which are already common. Examples include piezoelectric materials, which produce a voltage when stress is applied or vice versa, shape memory alloys or shape memory polymers which are thermoresponsive, and pH sensitive polymers which swell or shrink as a response to change in pH. Thus, smart materials respond to stimuli by altering one or more of their properties. Smart behaviour occurs when a material can sense some stimulus from its environment and react to it in a useful, reliable, reproducible, and usually reversible manner. These properties have a beneficial application in various fields including dentistry. Shape memory alloys, zirconia, and smartseal are examples of materials exhibiting a smart behavior in dentistry. There is a strong trend in material science to develop and apply these intelligent materials. These materials would potentially allow new and groundbreaking dental therapies with a significantly enhanced clinical outcome of treatments. PMID:24672407

Standoff detection of trace amounts of solids by nonlinear Raman spectroscopy using shaped femtosecond pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Katz, O.; Natan, A.; Silberberg, Y.; Rosenwaks, S.

2008-04-01

We demonstrate a single-beam, standoff (>10m) detection and identification of various materials including minute amounts of explosives under ambient light conditions. This is obtained by multiplex coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectroscopy (CARS) using a single femtosecond phase-shaped laser pulse. We exploit the strong nonresonant background for amplification of the backscattered resonant CARS signals by employing a homodyne detection scheme. The simple and highly sensitive spectroscopic technique has a potential for hazardous materials standoff detection applications.

Design sensitivity analysis of nonlinear structural response

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cardoso, J. B.; Arora, J. S.

1987-01-01

A unified theory is described of design sensitivity analysis of linear and nonlinear structures for shape, nonshape and material selection problems. The concepts of reference volume and adjoint structure are used to develop the unified viewpoint. A general formula for design sensitivity analysis is derived. Simple analytical linear and nonlinear examples are used to interpret various terms of the formula and demonstrate its use.

Efficient Gradient-Based Shape Optimization Methodology Using Inviscid/Viscous CFD

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baysal, Oktay

1997-01-01

The formerly developed preconditioned-biconjugate-gradient (PBCG) solvers for the analysis and the sensitivity equations had resulted in very large error reductions per iteration; quadratic convergence was achieved whenever the solution entered the domain of attraction to the root. Its memory requirement was also lower as compared to a direct inversion solver. However, this memory requirement was high enough to preclude the realistic, high grid-density design of a practical 3D geometry. This limitation served as the impetus to the first-year activity (March 9, 1995 to March 8, 1996). Therefore, the major activity for this period was the development of the low-memory methodology for the discrete-sensitivity-based shape optimization. This was accomplished by solving all the resulting sets of equations using an alternating-direction-implicit (ADI) approach. The results indicated that shape optimization problems which required large numbers of grid points could be resolved with a gradient-based approach. Therefore, to better utilize the computational resources, it was recommended that a number of coarse grid cases, using the PBCG method, should initially be conducted to better define the optimization problem and the design space, and obtain an improved initial shape. Subsequently, a fine grid shape optimization, which necessitates using the ADI method, should be conducted to accurately obtain the final optimized shape. The other activity during this period was the interaction with the members of the Aerodynamic and Aeroacoustic Methods Branch of Langley Research Center during one stage of their investigation to develop an adjoint-variable sensitivity method using the viscous flow equations. This method had algorithmic similarities to the variational sensitivity methods and the control-theory approach. However, unlike the prior studies, it was considered for the three-dimensional, viscous flow equations. The major accomplishment in the second period of this project (March 9, 1996 to March 8, 1997) was the extension of the shape optimization methodology for the Thin-Layer Navier-Stokes equations. Both the Euler-based and the TLNS-based analyses compared with the analyses obtained using the CFL3D code. The sensitivities, again from both levels of the flow equations, also compared very well with the finite-differenced sensitivities. A fairly large set of shape optimization cases were conducted to study a number of issues previously not well understood. The testbed for these cases was the shaping of an arrow wing in Mach 2.4 flow. All the final shapes, obtained either from a coarse-grid-based or a fine-grid-based optimization, using either a Euler-based or a TLNS-based analysis, were all re-analyzed using a fine-grid, TLNS solution for their function evaluations. This allowed for a more fair comparison of their relative merits. From the aerodynamic performance standpoint, the fine-grid TLNS-based optimization produced the best shape, and the fine-grid Euler-based optimization produced the lowest cruise efficiency.

Universal aspects of adhesion and atomic force microscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Banerjea, Amitava; Smith, John R.; Ferrante, John

1990-01-01

Adhesive energies are computed for flat and atomically sharp tips as a function of the normal distance to the substrate. The dependence of binding energies on tip shape is investigated. The magnitudes of the binding energies for the atomic force microscope are found to depend sensitively on tip material, tip shape and the sample site being probed. The form of the energy-distance curve, however, is universal and independent of these variables, including tip shape.

Highly efficient SERS substrate for direct detection of explosive TNT using popcorn-shaped gold nanoparticle-functionalized SWCNT hybrid.

PubMed

Demeritte, Teresa; Kanchanapally, Rajashekhar; Fan, Zhen; Singh, Anant Kumar; Senapati, Dulal; Dubey, Madan; Zakar, Eugene; Ray, Paresh Chandra

2012-11-07

This paper reports for the first time the development of a large-scale SERS substrate from a popcorn-shaped gold nanoparticle-functionalized single walled carbon nanotubes hybrid thin film for the selective and highly sensitive detection of explosive TNT material at a 100 femtomolar (fM) level.

Three-dimensional simulations of void collapse in energetic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rai, Nirmal Kumar; Udaykumar, H. S.

2018-03-01

The collapse of voids in porous energetic materials leads to hot-spot formation and reaction initiation. This work advances the current knowledge of the dynamics of void collapse and hot-spot formation using 3D reactive void collapse simulations in HMX. Four different void shapes, i.e., sphere, cylinder, plate, and ellipsoid, are studied. For all four shapes, collapse generates complex three-dimensional (3D) baroclinic vortical structures. The hot spots are collocated with regions of intense vorticity. The differences in the vortical structures for the different void shapes are shown to significantly impact the relative sensitivity of the voids. Voids of high surface area generate hot spots of greater intensity; intricate, highly contorted vortical structures lead to hot spots of corresponding tortuosity and therefore enhanced growth rates of reaction fronts. In addition, all 3D voids are shown to be more sensitive than their two-dimensional (2D) counterparts. The results provide physical insights into hot-spot formation and growth and point to the limitations of 2D analyses of hot-spot formation.

Impact initiation of explosives and propellants via statistical crack mechanics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dienes, J. K.; Zuo, Q. H.; Kershner, J. D.

2006-06-01

A statistical approach has been developed for modeling the dynamic response of brittle materials by superimposing the effects of a myriad of microcracks, including opening, shear, growth and coalescence, taking as a starting point the well-established theory of penny-shaped cracks. This paper discusses the general approach, but in particular an application to the sensitivity of explosives and propellants, which often contain brittle constituents. We examine the hypothesis that the intense heating by frictional sliding between the faces of a closed crack during unstable growth can form a hot spot, causing localized melting, ignition, and fast burn of the reactive material adjacent to the crack. Opening and growth of a closed crack due to the pressure of burned gases inside the crack and interactions of adjacent cracks can lead to violent reaction, with detonation as a possible consequence. This approach was used to model a multiple-shock experiment by Mulford et al. [1993. Initiation of preshocked high explosives PBX-9404, PBX-9502, PBX-9501, monitored with in-material magnetic gauging. In: Proceedings of the 10th International Detonation Symposium, pp. 459-467] involving initiation and subsequent quenching of chemical reactions in a slab of PBX 9501 impacted by a two-material flyer plate. We examine the effects of crack orientation and temperature dependence of viscosity of the melt on the response. Numerical results confirm our theoretical finding [Zuo, Q.H., Dienes, J.K., 2005. On the stability of penny-shaped cracks with friction: the five types of brittle behavior. Int. J. Solids Struct. 42, 1309-1326] that crack orientation has a significant effect on brittle behavior, especially under compressive loading where interfacial friction plays an important role. With a reasonable choice of crack orientation and a temperature-dependent viscosity obtained from molecular dynamics calculations, the calculated particle velocities compare well with those measured using embedded velocity gauges.

Safer energetic materials by a nanotechnological approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siegert, Benny; Comet, Marc; Spitzer, Denis

2011-09-01

Energetic materials - explosives, thermites, populsive powders - are used in a variety of military and civilian applications. Their mechanical and electrostatic sensitivity is high in many cases, which can lead to accidents during handling and transport. These considerations limit the practical use of some energetic materials despite their good performance. For industrial applications, safety is one of the main criteria for selecting energetic materials. The sensitivity has been regarded as an intrinsic property of a substance for a long time. However, in recent years, several approaches to lower the sensitivity of a given substance, using nanotechnology and materials engineering, have been described. This feature article gives an overview over ways to prepare energetic (nano-)materials with a lower sensitivity.Energetic materials - explosives, thermites, populsive powders - are used in a variety of military and civilian applications. Their mechanical and electrostatic sensitivity is high in many cases, which can lead to accidents during handling and transport. These considerations limit the practical use of some energetic materials despite their good performance. For industrial applications, safety is one of the main criteria for selecting energetic materials. The sensitivity has been regarded as an intrinsic property of a substance for a long time. However, in recent years, several approaches to lower the sensitivity of a given substance, using nanotechnology and materials engineering, have been described. This feature article gives an overview over ways to prepare energetic (nano-)materials with a lower sensitivity. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental details for the preparation of the V2O5@CNF/Al nanothermite; X-ray diffractogram of the V2O5@CNF/Al combustion residue; installation instructions and source code for the nt-timeline program. See DOI: 10.1039/c1nr10292c

Self-shaping composites with programmable bioinspired microstructures.

PubMed

Erb, Randall M; Sander, Jonathan S; Grisch, Roman; Studart, André R

2013-01-01

Shape change is a prevalent function apparent in a diverse set of natural structures, including seed dispersal units, climbing plants and carnivorous plants. Many of these natural materials change shape by using cellulose microfibrils at specific orientations to anisotropically restrict the swelling/shrinkage of their organic matrices upon external stimuli. This is in contrast to the material-specific mechanisms found in synthetic shape-memory systems. Here we propose a robust and universal method to replicate this unusual shape-changing mechanism of natural systems in artificial bioinspired composites. The technique is based upon the remote control of the orientation of reinforcing inorganic particles within the composite using a weak external magnetic field. Combining this reinforcement orientational control with swellable/shrinkable polymer matrices enables the creation of composites whose shape change can be programmed into the material's microstructure rather than externally imposed. Such bioinspired approach can generate composites with unusual reversibility, twisting effects and site-specific programmable shape changes.

Fabricating Composite-Material Structures Containing SMA Ribbons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Turner, Travis L.; Cano, Roberto J.; Lach, Cynthia L.

2003-01-01

An improved method of designing and fabricating laminated composite-material (matrix/fiber) structures containing embedded shape-memory-alloy (SMA) actuators has been devised. Structures made by this method have repeatable, predictable properties, and fabrication processes can readily be automated. Such structures, denoted as shape-memory-alloy hybrid composite (SMAHC) structures, have been investigated for their potential to satisfy requirements to control the shapes or thermoelastic responses of themselves or of other structures into which they might be incorporated, or to control noise and vibrations. Much of the prior work on SMAHC structures has involved the use SMA wires embedded within matrices or within sleeves through parent structures. The disadvantages of using SMA wires as the embedded actuators include (1) complexity of fabrication procedures because of the relatively large numbers of actuators usually needed; (2) sensitivity to actuator/ matrix interface flaws because voids can be of significant size, relative to wires; (3) relatively high rates of breakage of actuators during curing of matrix materials because of sensitivity to stress concentrations at mechanical restraints; and (4) difficulty of achieving desirable overall volume fractions of SMA wires when trying to optimize the integration of the wires by placing them in selected layers only.

An approach to achieve progress in spacecraft shielding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thoma, K.; Schäfer, F.; Hiermaier, S.; Schneider, E.

2004-01-01

Progress in shield design against space debris can be achieved only when a combined approach based on several tools is used. This approach depends on the combined application of advanced numerical methods, specific material models and experimental determination of input parameters for these models. Examples of experimental methods for material characterization are given, covering the range from quasi static to very high strain rates for materials like Nextel and carbon fiber-reinforced materials. Mesh free numerical methods have extraordinary capabilities in the simulation of extreme material behaviour including complete failure with phase changes, combined with shock wave phenomena and the interaction with structural components. In this paper the benefits from combining numerical methods, material modelling and detailed experimental studies for shield design are demonstrated. The following examples are given: (1) Development of a material model for Nextel and Kevlar-Epoxy to enable numerical simulation of hypervelocity impacts on complex heavy protection shields for the International Space Station. (2) The influence of projectile shape on protection performance of Whipple Shields and how experimental problems in accelerating such shapes can be overcome by systematic numerical simulation. (3) The benefits of using metallic foams in "sandwich bumper shields" for spacecraft and how to approach systematic characterization of such materials.

Dynamics of cell wall elasticity pattern shapes the cell during yeast mating morphogenesis.

PubMed

Goldenbogen, Björn; Giese, Wolfgang; Hemmen, Marie; Uhlendorf, Jannis; Herrmann, Andreas; Klipp, Edda

2016-09-01

The cell wall defines cell shape and maintains integrity of fungi and plants. When exposed to mating pheromone, Saccharomyces cerevisiae grows a mating projection and alters in morphology from spherical to shmoo form. Although structural and compositional alterations of the cell wall accompany shape transitions, their impact on cell wall elasticity is unknown. In a combined theoretical and experimental approach using finite-element modelling and atomic force microscopy (AFM), we investigated the influence of spatially and temporally varying material properties on mating morphogenesis. Time-resolved elasticity maps of shmooing yeast acquired with AFM in vivo revealed distinct patterns, with soft material at the emerging mating projection and stiff material at the tip. The observed cell wall softening in the protrusion region is necessary for the formation of the characteristic shmoo shape, and results in wider and longer mating projections. The approach is generally applicable to tip-growing fungi and plants cells. © 2016 The Authors.

Effect of fibril shape on adhesive properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soto, Daniel; Hill, Ginel; Parness, Aaron; Esparza, Noé; Cutkosky, Mark; Kenny, Tom

2010-08-01

Research into the gecko's adhesive system revealed a unique architecture for adhesives using tiny hairs. By using a stiff material (β-keratin) to create a highly structured adhesive, the gecko's system demonstrates properties not seen in traditional pressure-sensitive adhesives which use a soft, unstructured planar layer. In contrast to pressure sensitive adhesives, the gecko adhesive displays frictional adhesion, in which increased shear force allows it to withstand higher normal loads. Synthetic fibrillar adhesives have been fabricated but not all demonstrate this frictional adhesion property. Here we report the dual-axis force testing of single silicone rubber pillars from synthetic adhesive arrays. We find that the shape of the adhesive pillar dictates whether frictional adhesion or pressure-sensitive behavior is observed. This work suggests that both types of behavior can be achieved with structures much larger than gecko terminal structures. It also indicates that subtle differences in the shape of these pillars can significantly influence their properties.

Shape-memory alloy micro-actuator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Busch, John D. (Inventor); Johnson, Alfred D. (Inventor)

1991-01-01

A method of producing an integral piece of thermo-sensitive material, which is responsive to a shift in temperature from below to above a phase transformation temperature range to alter the material's condition to a shape-memory condition and move from one position to another. The method is characterized by depositing a thin film of shape-memory material, such as Nickel titanium (Ni-Ti) onto a substrate by vacuum deposition process such that the alloy exhibits an amorphous non-crystalline structure. The coated substrate is then annealed in a vacuum or in the presence of an inert atmosphere at a selected temperature, time and cool down rate to produce an ordered, partially disordered or fully disordered BCC structure such that the alloy undergoes thermoelastic, martinsetic phase transformation in response to alteration in temperature to pass from a martinsetic phase when at a temperature below a phase transformation range and capable of a high level of recoverable strain to a parent austenitic phase in a memory shape when at a temperature above the phase transformation range. Also disclosed are actuator devices employing shape-memory material actuators that deform from a set shape toward an original shape when subjected to a critical temperature level after having been initially deformed from the original shape into the set shape while at a lower temperature. The actuators are mechanically coupled to one or more movable elements such that the temperature-induce deformation of the actuators exerts a force or generates a motion of the mechanical element(s).

Impact of annealing on features of BCP coating on NiTi shape memory alloy: Preparation and physicochemical characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dulski, Mateusz; Dudek, Karolina; Grelowski, Michał; Kubacki, Jerzy; Hertlein, Justyna; Wojtyniak, Marcin; Goryczka, Tomasz

2018-04-01

A multifunctional composite structure consisting of resorbable tricalcium phosphate with non-resorbable hydroxyapatite and NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA) has been manufactured to develop a biocompatible system for long-term implant applications. The hybrid system has been vacuum sintered to consolidate and form chemical binding between phosphate biomaterials and NiTi SMA. In this context, the impact of sintering on biomaterial's features in relation to initial material has been analyzed using a combination of structural and surface sensitive approaches. Moreover, a partial decomposition of the NiTi parent phase to the equilibrium Ti2Ni with cubic structure, and non-equilibrium Ti3Ni4 with hexagonal structure has been detected. Moreover, a sintering has provided a reconstruction of the orthophosphate surface through the disintegration of calcium phosphate material and increase of hydroxyapatite with smaller particles in volume. The biomaterial surface has become more enriched in calcium in relation to the initial composition, with a simultaneous decline of the roughness parameters due to the gradual consolidation of orthophosphates. Finally, surface modification accompanied with heat treatment has led to an increase of surface Young's modulus as an effect of partial recrystallization of calcium phosphates.

Adjoint Sensitivity Computations for an Embedded-Boundary Cartesian Mesh Method and CAD Geometry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nemec, Marian; Aftosmis,Michael J.

2006-01-01

Cartesian-mesh methods are perhaps the most promising approach for addressing the issues of flow solution automation for aerodynamic design problems. In these methods, the discretization of the wetted surface is decoupled from that of the volume mesh. This not only enables fast and robust mesh generation for geometry of arbitrary complexity, but also facilitates access to geometry modeling and manipulation using parametric Computer-Aided Design (CAD) tools. Our goal is to combine the automation capabilities of Cartesian methods with an eficient computation of design sensitivities. We address this issue using the adjoint method, where the computational cost of the design sensitivities, or objective function gradients, is esseutially indepeudent of the number of design variables. In previous work, we presented an accurate and efficient algorithm for the solution of the adjoint Euler equations discretized on Cartesian meshes with embedded, cut-cell boundaries. Novel aspects of the algorithm included the computation of surface shape sensitivities for triangulations based on parametric-CAD models and the linearization of the coupling between the surface triangulation and the cut-cells. The objective of the present work is to extend our adjoint formulation to problems involving general shape changes. Central to this development is the computation of volume-mesh sensitivities to obtain a reliable approximation of the objective finction gradient. Motivated by the success of mesh-perturbation schemes commonly used in body-fitted unstructured formulations, we propose an approach based on a local linearization of a mesh-perturbation scheme similar to the spring analogy. This approach circumvents most of the difficulties that arise due to non-smooth changes in the cut-cell layer as the boundary shape evolves and provides a consistent approximation tot he exact gradient of the discretized abjective function. A detailed gradient accurace study is presented to verify our approach. Thereafter, we focus on a shape optimization problem for an Apollo-like reentry capsule. The optimization seeks to enhance the lift-to-drag ratio of the capsule by modifyjing the shape of its heat-shield in conjunction with a center-of-gravity (c.g.) offset. This multipoint and multi-objective optimization problem is used to demonstrate the overall effectiveness of the Cartesian adjoint method for addressing the issues of complex aerodynamic design. This abstract presents only a brief outline of the numerical method and results; full details will be given in the final paper.

Portal radiation monitor

DOEpatents

Kruse, Lyle W.

1985-01-01

A portal radiation monitor combines 0.1% FAR with high sensitivity to special nuclear material. The monitor utilizes pulse shape discrimination, dynamic compression of the photomultiplier output and scintillators sized to maintain efficiency over the entire portal area.

Portal radiation monitor

DOEpatents

Kruse, L.W.

1982-03-23

A portal radiation monitor combines .1% FAR with high sensitivity to special nuclear material. The monitor utilizes pulse shape discrimination, dynamic compression of the photomultiplier output and scintillators sized to maintain efficiency over the entire portal area.

Development of non-conventional instrument transformers (NCIT) using smart materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikolić, Bojan; Khan, Sanowar; Gabdullin, Nikita

2016-11-01

In this paper is presented a novel approach for current measurement using smart materials, magnetic shape memory (MSM) alloys. Their shape change can be controlled by the application of magnetic field or mechanical stress. This gives the possibility to measure currents by correlating the magnetic field produced by the current, shape change in an MSM- based sensor and the voltage output of a Linear Variable Differential Transducer (LVDT) actuated by this shape change. In the first part of the paper is presented a review of existing current measurement sensors by comparing their properties and highlighting their advantages and disadvantages.

Computational Modeling and Experimental Characterization of Martensitic Transformations in Nicoal for Self-Sensing Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, T. A.; Yamakov, V. I.; Hochhalter, J. D.; Leser, W. P.; Warner, J. E.; Newman, J. A.; Purja Pun, G. P.; Mishin, Y.

2015-01-01

Fundamental changes to aero-vehicle management require the utilization of automated health monitoring of vehicle structural components. A novel method is the use of self-sensing materials, which contain embedded sensory particles (SP). SPs are micron-sized pieces of shape-memory alloy that undergo transformation when the local strain reaches a prescribed threshold. The transformation is a result of a spontaneous rearrangement of the atoms in the crystal lattice under intensified stress near damaged locations, generating acoustic waves of a specific spectrum that can be detected by a suitably placed sensor. The sensitivity of the method depends on the strength of the emitted signal and its propagation through the material. To study the transition behavior of the sensory particle inside a metal matrix under load, a simulation approach based on a coupled atomistic-continuum model is used. The simulation results indicate a strong dependence of the particle's pseudoelastic response on its crystallographic orientation with respect to the loading direction and suggest possible ways of optimizing particle sensitivity. The technology of embedded sensory particles will serve as the key element in an autonomous structural health monitoring system that will constantly monitor for damage initiation in service, which will enable quick detection of unforeseen damage initiation in real-time and during onground inspections.

Modeling the behaviour of shape memory materials under large deformations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogovoy, A. A.; Stolbova, O. S.

2017-06-01

In this study, the models describing the behavior of shape memory alloys, ferromagnetic materials and polymers have been constructed, using a formalized approach to develop the constitutive equations for complex media under large deformations. The kinematic and constitutive equations, satisfying the principles of thermodynamics and objectivity, have been derived. The application of the Galerkin procedure to the systems of equations of solid mechanics allowed us to obtain the Lagrange variational equation and variational formulation of the magnetostatics problems. These relations have been tested in the context of the problems of finite deformation in shape memory alloys and ferromagnetic materials during forward and reverse martensitic transformations and in shape memory polymers during forward and reverse relaxation transitions from a highly elastic to a glassy state.

Using ROC Curves to Choose Minimally Important Change Thresholds when Sensitivity and Specificity Are Valued Equally: The Forgotten Lesson of Pythagoras. Theoretical Considerations and an Example Application of Change in Health Status

PubMed Central

Froud, Robert; Abel, Gary

2014-01-01

Background Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) curves are being used to identify Minimally Important Change (MIC) thresholds on scales that measure a change in health status. In quasi-continuous patient reported outcome measures, such as those that measure changes in chronic diseases with variable clinical trajectories, sensitivity and specificity are often valued equally. Notwithstanding methodologists agreeing that these should be valued equally, different approaches have been taken to estimating MIC thresholds using ROC curves. Aims and objectives We aimed to compare the different approaches used with a new approach, exploring the extent to which the methods choose different thresholds, and considering the effect of differences on conclusions in responder analyses. Methods Using graphical methods, hypothetical data, and data from a large randomised controlled trial of manual therapy for low back pain, we compared two existing approaches with a new approach that is based on the addition of the sums of squares of 1-sensitivity and 1-specificity. Results There can be divergence in the thresholds chosen by different estimators. The cut-point selected by different estimators is dependent on the relationship between the cut-points in ROC space and the different contours described by the estimators. In particular, asymmetry and the number of possible cut-points affects threshold selection. Conclusion Choice of MIC estimator is important. Different methods for choosing cut-points can lead to materially different MIC thresholds and thus affect results of responder analyses and trial conclusions. An estimator based on the smallest sum of squares of 1-sensitivity and 1-specificity is preferable when sensitivity and specificity are valued equally. Unlike other methods currently in use, the cut-point chosen by the sum of squares method always and efficiently chooses the cut-point closest to the top-left corner of ROC space, regardless of the shape of the ROC curve. PMID:25474472

High-temperature material characterization for multispectral window

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, James; Arida, Marvin-Ray; Ku, Zahyun; Jang, Woo-Yong; Urbas, Augustine M.

2017-05-01

A microwave cylindrical cavity combined with a laser has been investigated to characterize the temperature dependence of widow materials in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). This paper discusses the requirements of high temperature RF material characterizations for transparent ceramic materials, such as ALON, that can potentially be used for multispectral windows. The RF cylindrical resonator was designed and the numerical model was studied to characterize the dielectric constant of materials. The dielectric constant can be extracted from the resonant frequency shift based on the cavity perturbation method (CPM), which is sensitive to the sample size and shape. Laser heating was applied to the material under test (MUT), which could easily be heated above 1000°C by the laser irradiation, in order to conduct CPM at high temperature. The temperature distribution in a material was also analyzed to investigate the impact of the thermal properties and the sample shape.

Fracture of a Brittle-Particle Ductile Matrix Composite with Applications to a Coating System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bianculli, Steven J.

In material systems consisting of hard second phase particles in a ductile matrix, failure initiating from cracking of the second phase particles is an important failure mechanism. This dissertation applies the principles of fracture mechanics to consider this problem, first from the standpoint of fracture of the particles, and then the onset of crack propagation from fractured particles. This research was inspired by the observation of the failure mechanism of a commercial zinc-based anti-corrosion coating and the analysis was initially approached as coatings problem. As the work progressed it became evident that failure mechanism was relevant to a broad range of composite material systems and research approach was generalized to consider failure of a system consisting of ellipsoidal second phase particles in a ductile matrix. The starting point for the analysis is the classical Eshelby Problem, which considered stress transfer from the matrix to an ellipsoidal inclusion. The particle fracture problem is approached by considering cracks within particles and how they are affected by the particle/matrix interface, the difference in properties between the particle and matrix, and by particle shape. These effects are mapped out for a wide range of material combinations. The trends developed show that, although the particle fracture problem is very complex, the potential for fracture among a range of particle shapes can, for certain ranges in particle shape, be considered easily on the basis of the Eshelby Stress alone. Additionally, the evaluation of cracks near the curved particle/matrix interface adds to the existing body of work of cracks approaching bi-material interfaces in layered material systems. The onset of crack propagation from fractured particles is then considered as a function of particle shape and mismatch in material properties between the particle and matrix. This behavior is mapped out for a wide range of material combinations. The final section of this dissertation qualitatively considers an approach to determine critical particle sizes, below which crack propagation will not occur for a coating system that exhibited stable cracks in an interfacial layer between the coating and substrate.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Simonen, E.P.; Johnson, K.I.; Simonen, F.A.

The Vessel Integrity Simulation Analysis (VISA-II) code was developed to allow calculations of the failure probability of a reactor pressure vessel subject to defined pressure/temperature transients. A version of the code, revised by Pacific Northwest Laboratory for the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was used to evaluate the sensitivities of calculated through-wall flaw probability to material, flaw and calculational assumptions. Probabilities were more sensitive to flaw assumptions than to material or calculational assumptions. Alternative flaw assumptions changed the probabilities by one to two orders of magnitude, whereas alternative material assumptions typically changed the probabilities by a factor of two or less.more » Flaw shape, flaw through-wall position and flaw inspection were sensitivities examined. Material property sensitivities included the assumed distributions in copper content and fracture toughness. Methods of modeling flaw propagation that were evaluated included arrest/reinitiation toughness correlations, multiple toughness values along the length of a flaw, flaw jump distance for each computer simulation and added error in estimating irradiated properties caused by the trend curve correlation error.« less

Body weight of hypersonic aircraft, part 1

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ardema, Mark D.

1988-01-01

The load bearing body weight of wing-body and all-body hypersonic aircraft is estimated for a wide variety of structural materials and geometries. Variations of weight with key design and configuration parameters are presented and discussed. Both hot and cool structure approaches are considered in isotropic, organic composite, and metal matrix composite materials; structural shells are sandwich or skin-stringer. Conformal and pillow-tank designs are investigated for the all-body shape. The results identify the most promising hypersonic aircraft body structure design approaches and their weight trends. Geometric definition of vehicle shapes and structural analysis methods are presented in appendices.

A Novel Shape Parameterization Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid A.

1999-01-01

This paper presents a novel parameterization approach for complex shapes suitable for a multidisciplinary design optimization application. The approach consists of two basic concepts: (1) parameterizing the shape perturbations rather than the geometry itself and (2) performing the shape deformation by means of the soft objects animation algorithms used in computer graphics. Because the formulation presented in this paper is independent of grid topology, we can treat computational fluid dynamics and finite element grids in a similar manner. The proposed approach is simple, compact, and efficient. Also, the analytical sensitivity derivatives are easily computed for use in a gradient-based optimization. This algorithm is suitable for low-fidelity (e.g., linear aerodynamics and equivalent laminated plate structures) and high-fidelity analysis tools (e.g., nonlinear computational fluid dynamics and detailed finite element modeling). This paper contains the implementation details of parameterizing for planform, twist, dihedral, thickness, and camber. The results are presented for a multidisciplinary design optimization application consisting of nonlinear computational fluid dynamics, detailed computational structural mechanics, performance, and a simple propulsion module.

Highly efficient and completely flexible fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cell based on TiO2 nanotube array.

PubMed

Lv, Zhibin; Yu, Jiefeng; Wu, Hongwei; Shang, Jian; Wang, Dan; Hou, Shaocong; Fu, Yongping; Wu, Kai; Zou, Dechun

2012-02-21

A type of highly efficient completely flexible fiber-shaped solar cell based on TiO(2) nanotube array is successfully prepared. Under air mass 1.5G (100 mW cm(-2)) illumination conditions, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell approaches 7%, the highest among all fiber-shaped cells based on TiO(2) nanotube arrays and the first completely flexible fiber-shaped DSSC. The fiber-shaped solar cell demonstrates good flexibility, which makes it suitable for modularization using weaving technologies. This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

Grid sensitivity capability for large scale structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nagendra, Gopal K.; Wallerstein, David V.

1989-01-01

The considerations and the resultant approach used to implement design sensitivity capability for grids into a large scale, general purpose finite element system (MSC/NASTRAN) are presented. The design variables are grid perturbations with a rather general linking capability. Moreover, shape and sizing variables may be linked together. The design is general enough to facilitate geometric modeling techniques for generating design variable linking schemes in an easy and straightforward manner. Test cases have been run and validated by comparison with the overall finite difference method. The linking of a design sensitivity capability for shape variables in MSC/NASTRAN with an optimizer would give designers a powerful, automated tool to carry out practical optimization design of real life, complicated structures.

A Geometric Model for Specularity Prediction on Planar Surfaces with Multiple Light Sources.

PubMed

Morgand, Alexandre; Tamaazousti, Mohamed; Bartoli, Adrien

2018-05-01

Specularities are often problematic in computer vision since they impact the dynamic range of the image intensity. A natural approach would be to predict and discard them using computer graphics models. However, these models depend on parameters which are difficult to estimate (light sources, objects' material properties and camera). We present a geometric model called JOLIMAS: JOint LIght-MAterial Specularity, which predicts the shape of specularities. JOLIMAS is reconstructed from images of specularities observed on a planar surface. It implicitly includes light and material properties, which are intrinsic to specularities. This model was motivated by the observation that specularities have a conic shape on planar surfaces. The conic shape is obtained by projecting a fixed quadric on the planar surface. JOLIMAS thus predicts the specularity using a simple geometric approach with static parameters (object material and light source shape). It is adapted to indoor light sources such as light bulbs and fluorescent lamps. The prediction has been tested on synthetic and real sequences. It works in a multi-light context by reconstructing a quadric for each light source with special cases such as lights being switched on or off. We also used specularity prediction for dynamic retexturing and obtained convincing rendering results. Further results are presented as supplementary video material, which can be found on the Computer Society Digital Library at http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/TVCG.2017.2677445.

Dispersion and shape engineered plasmonic nanosensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, Hyeon-Ho; Mark, Andrew G.; Alarcón-Correa, Mariana; Kim, Insook; Oswald, Peter; Lee, Tung-Chun; Fischer, Peer

2016-04-01

Biosensors based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of individual metallic nanoparticles promise to deliver modular, low-cost sensing with high-detection thresholds. However, they continue to suffer from relatively low sensitivity and figures of merit (FOMs). Herein we introduce the idea of sensitivity enhancement of LSPR sensors through engineering of the material dispersion function. Employing dispersion and shape engineering of chiral nanoparticles leads to remarkable refractive index sensitivities (1,091 nm RIU-1 at λ=921 nm) and FOMs (>2,800 RIU-1). A key feature is that the polarization-dependent extinction of the nanoparticles is now characterized by rich spectral features, including bipolar peaks and nulls, suitable for tracking refractive index changes. This sensing modality offers strong optical contrast even in the presence of highly absorbing media, an important consideration for use in complex biological media with limited transmission. The technique is sensitive to surface-specific binding events which we demonstrate through biotin-avidin surface coupling.

Life cycle assessment and sustainable engineering in the context of near net shape grown components: striving towards a sustainable way of future production.

PubMed

Kämpfer, Christoph; Seiler, Thomas-Benjamin; Beger, Anna-Lena; Jacobs, Georg; Löwer, Manuel; Moser, Franziska; Reimer, Julia; Trautz, Martin; Usadel, Björn; Wormit, Alexandra; Hollert, Henner

2017-01-01

Technical product harvesting (TEPHA) is a newly developing interdisciplinary approach in which bio-based production is investigated from a technical and ecological perspective. Society's demand for ecologically produced and sustainably operable goods is a key driver for the substitution of conventional materials like metals or plastics through bio-based alternatives. Technical product harvesting of near net shape grown components describes the use of suitable biomass for the production of technical products through influencing the natural shape of plants during their growth period. The use of natural materials may show positive effects on the amount of non-renewable resource consumption. This also increases the product recyclability at the end of its life cycle. Furthermore, through the near net shape growth of biomass, production steps can be reduced. As a consequence such approaches may save energy and the needed resources like crude oil, coal or gas. The derived near net shape grown components are not only considered beneficial from an environmental point of view. They can also have mechanical advantages through an intrinsic topology optimization in contrast to common natural materials, which are influenced in their shape after harvesting. In order to prove these benefits a comprehensive, interdisciplinary scientific strategy is needed. Here, both mechanical investigations and life cycle assessment as a method of environmental evaluation are used.

Fiber shape effects on metal matrix composite behavior

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, H. C.; Lee, H.-J.; Chamis, C. C.

1992-01-01

The effects of different fiber shapes on the behavior of a SiC/Ti-15 metal matrix composite is computationally simulated. A three-dimensional finite element model consisting of a group of nine unidirectional fibers is used in the analysis. The model is employed to represent five different fiber shapes: a circle, an ellipse, a kidney, and two different cross shapes. The distribution of microstresses and the composite material properties, such as moduli, coefficients of thermal expansion, and Poisson's ratios, are obtained from the finite element analysis for the various fiber shapes. Comparisons of these results are used to determine the sensitivity of the composite behavior to the different fiber shapes and assess their potential benefits. No clear benefits result from different fiber shapes though there are some increases/decreases in isolated properties.

Multifunctional shape-memory polymers.

PubMed

Behl, Marc; Razzaq, Muhammad Yasar; Lendlein, Andreas

2010-08-17

The thermally-induced shape-memory effect (SME) is the capability of a material to change its shape in a predefined way in response to heat. In shape-memory polymers (SMP) this shape change is the entropy-driven recovery of a mechanical deformation, which was obtained before by application of external stress and was temporarily fixed by formation of physical crosslinks. The high technological significance of SMP becomes apparent in many established products (e.g., packaging materials, assembling devices, textiles, and membranes) and the broad SMP development activities in the field of biomedical as well as aerospace applications (e.g., medical devices or morphing structures for aerospace vehicles). Inspired by the complex and diverse requirements of these applications fundamental research is aiming at multifunctional SMP, in which SME is combined with additional functions and is proceeding rapidly. In this review different concepts for the creation of multifunctionality are derived from the various polymer network architectures of thermally-induced SMP. Multimaterial systems, such as nanocomposites, are described as well as one-component polymer systems, in which independent functions are integrated. Future challenges will be to transfer the concept of multifunctionality to other emerging shape-memory technologies like light-sensitive SMP, reversible shape changing effects or triple-shape polymers.

Tensile Fracture of Ductile Materials. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pai, D. M.

1984-01-01

For brittle materials, circular voids play an important role relative to fracture, intensifing both tensile and compressive stresses. A maximum intensified tensile stress failure criterion applies quite well to brittle materials. An attempt was made to explore the possibility of extending the approach to the tensile fracture of ductile materials. The three dimensional voids that exist in reality are modelled by circular holes in sheet metal. Mathematical relationships are sought between the shape and size of the hole, after the material is plastically deformed, and the amount of deformation induced. Then, the effect of hole shape, size and orientation on the mechanical properties is considered experimentally. The presence of the voids does not affect the ultimate tensile strength of the ductile materials because plastic flow wipes out the stress intensification caused by them. However, the shape and orientation of the defect is found to play an important role in affecting the strain at fracture.

Progress Toward an Integration of Process-Structure-Property-Performance Models for "Three-Dimensional (3-D) Printing" of Titanium Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, P. C.; Haden, C. V.; Ghamarian, I.; Hayes, B. J.; Ales, T.; Penso, G.; Dixit, V.; Harlow, G.

2014-07-01

Electron beam direct manufacturing, synonymously known as electron beam additive manufacturing, along with other additive "3-D printing" manufacturing processes, are receiving widespread attention as a means of producing net-shape (or near-net-shape) components, owing to potential manufacturing benefits. Yet, materials scientists know that differences in manufacturing processes often significantly influence the microstructure of even widely accepted materials and, thus, impact the properties and performance of a material in service. It is important to accelerate the understanding of the processing-structure-property relationship of materials being produced via these novel approaches in a framework that considers the performance in a statistically rigorous way. This article describes the development of a process model, the assessment of key microstructural features to be incorporated into a microstructure simulation model, a novel approach to extract a constitutive equation to predict tensile properties in Ti-6Al-4V (Ti-64), and a probabilistic approach to measure the fidelity of the property model against real data. This integrated approach will provide designers a tool to vary process parameters and understand the influence on performance, enabling design and optimization for these highly visible manufacturing approaches.

An Investigation of Young Children's Timbral Sensitivity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lowther, Dawn

2004-01-01

This paper reports the development of a discrimination task to investigate the sensitivity of children aged 3-8 years to a range of timbral stimuli. The paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of other research exploring timbral perception and explains how the findings from these studies shaped the methodological approach of this study.…

Design of electro-active polymer gels as actuator materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popovic, Suzana

Smart materials, alternatively called active or adaptive, differ from passive materials in their sensing and activation capability. These materials can sense changes in environment such as: electric field, magnetic field, UV light, pH, temperature. They are capable of responding in numerous ways. Some change their stiffness properties (electro-rheological fluids), other deform (piezos, shape memory alloys, electrostrictive materials) or change optic properties (electrochromic polymers). Polymer gels are one of such materials which can change the shape, volume and even optical properties upon different applied stimuli. Due to their low stiffness property they are capable of having up to 100% of strain in a short time, order of seconds. Their motion resembles the one of biosystems, and they are often seen as possible artificial muscle materials. Despite their delicate nature, appropriate design can make them being used as actuator materials which can form controllable surfaces and mechanical switches. In this study several different groups of polymer gel material were investigated: (a) acrylamide based gels are sensitive to pH and electric field and respond in volume change, (b) polyacrylonitrile (PAN) gel is sensitive to pH and electric field and responds in axial strain and bending, (c) polyvinylalcohol (PVA) gel is sensitive to electric field and responds in axial strain and bending and (d) perfluorinated sulfonic acid membrane, Nafion RTM, is sensitive to electric field and responds in bending. Electro-mechanical and chemo-mechanical behavior of these materials is a function of a variety of phenomena: polymer structure, affinity of polymer to the solvent, charge distribution within material, type of solvent, elasticity of polymer matrix, etc. Modeling of this behavior is a task aimed to identify what is driving mechanism for activation and express it in a quantitative way in terms of deformation of material. In this work behavior of the most promising material as an actuator material, Nafion 117, was simulated. It was suggested that dominant phenomenon causing the material deformation is non-uniform water distribution within a material, that causes it to expand on one side and shrink on the other, macroscopically inducing bending of membrane. Uneven distribution of water is believed to be under the influence of two processes, electroosmosis and self-diffusion of free water.

The angular dependence of pulse shape discrimination and detection sensitivity in cylindrical and cubic EJ-309 organic liquid scintillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jones, A. R.; Joyce, M. J.

2017-01-01

Liquid scintillators are used widely for neutron detection and for the assay of nuclear materials. However, due to the constituents of the detector and the nitrogen void within the detector cell, usually incorporated to accommodate any expansion that might occur to avoid leakage, fluctuations in detector response have been observed associated with the orientation of the detector when in use. In this work the angular dependence of the pulse-shape discrimination performance in an EJ309 liquid scintillator has been investigated with 252Cf in terms of the separation of γ -ray and neutron events, described quantitatively by the figure-of-merit. A subtle dependence in terms of pulse-shape discrimination is observed. In contrast, a more significant dependence of detection sensitivity with the angle of orientation is evident.

Highly efficient and completely flexible fiber-shaped dye-sensitized solar cell based on TiO2 nanotube array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lv, Zhibin; Yu, Jiefeng; Wu, Hongwei; Shang, Jian; Wang, Dan; Hou, Shaocong; Fu, Yongping; Wu, Kai; Zou, Dechun

2012-02-01

A type of highly efficient completely flexible fiber-shaped solar cell based on TiO2 nanotube array is successfully prepared. Under air mass 1.5G (100 mW cm-2) illumination conditions, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell approaches 7%, the highest among all fiber-shaped cells based on TiO2 nanotube arrays and the first completely flexible fiber-shaped DSSC. The fiber-shaped solar cell demonstrates good flexibility, which makes it suitable for modularization using weaving technologies.A type of highly efficient completely flexible fiber-shaped solar cell based on TiO2 nanotube array is successfully prepared. Under air mass 1.5G (100 mW cm-2) illumination conditions, the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar cell approaches 7%, the highest among all fiber-shaped cells based on TiO2 nanotube arrays and the first completely flexible fiber-shaped DSSC. The fiber-shaped solar cell demonstrates good flexibility, which makes it suitable for modularization using weaving technologies. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c2nr11532h

A method for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of compressively loaded prismatic composite structures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoll, Frederick; Gurdal, Zafer; Starnes, James H., Jr.

1991-01-01

A method was developed for the geometrically nonlinear analysis of the static response of thin-walled stiffened composite structures loaded in uniaxial or biaxial compression. The method is applicable to arbitrary prismatic configurations composed of linked plate strips, such as stiffened panels and thin-walled columns. The longitudinal ends of the structure are assumed to be simply supported, and geometric shape imperfections can be modeled. The method can predict the nonlinear phenomena of postbuckling strength and imperfection sensitivity which are exhibited by some buckling-dominated structures. The method is computer-based and is semi-analytic in nature, making it computationally economical in comparison to finite element methods. The method uses a perturbation approach based on the use of a series of buckling mode shapes to represent displacement contributions associated with nonlinear response. Displacement contributions which are of second order in the model amplitudes are incorported in addition to the buckling mode shapes. The principle of virtual work is applied using a finite basis of buckling modes, and terms through the third order in the model amplitudes are retained. A set of cubic nonlinear algebraic equations are obtained, from which approximate equilibrium solutions are determined. Buckling mode shapes for the general class of structure are obtained using the VIPASA analysis code within the PASCO stiffened-panel design code. Thus, subject to some additional restrictions in loading and plate anisotropy, structures which can be modeled with respect to buckling behavior by VIPASA can be analyzed with respect to nonlinear response using the new method. Results obtained using the method are compared with both experimental and analytical results in the literature. The configurations investigated include several different unstiffened and blade-stiffening panel configurations, featuring both homogeneous, isotropic materials, and laminated composite material.

Programmable snapping composites with bio-inspired architecture.

PubMed

Schmied, Jascha U; Le Ferrand, Hortense; Ermanni, Paolo; Studart, André R; Arrieta, Andres F

2017-03-13

The development of programmable self-shaping materials enables the onset of new and innovative functionalities in many application fields. Commonly, shape adaptation is achieved by exploiting diffusion-driven swelling or nano-scale phase transition, limiting the change of shape to slow motion predominantly determined by the environmental conditions and/or the materials specificity. To address these shortcomings, we report shape adaptable programmable shells that undergo morphing via a snap-through mechanism inspired by the Dionaea muscipula leaf, known as the Venus fly trap. The presented shells are composite materials made of epoxy reinforced by stiff anisotropic alumina micro-platelets oriented in specific directions. By tailoring the microstructure via magnetically-driven alignment of the platelets, we locally tune the pre-strain and stiffness anisotropy of the composite. This novel approach enables the fabrication of complex shapes showing non-orthotropic curvatures and stiffness gradients, radically extending the design space when compared to conventional long-fibre reinforced multi-stable composites. The rare combination of large stresses, short actuation times and complex shapes, results in hinge-free artificial shape adaptable systems with large design freedom for a variety of morphing applications.

Self-shaping composites with programmable bioinspired microstructures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Erb, Randall M.; Sander, Jonathan S.; Grisch, Roman; Studart, André R.

2013-04-01

Shape change is a prevalent function apparent in a diverse set of natural structures, including seed dispersal units, climbing plants and carnivorous plants. Many of these natural materials change shape by using cellulose microfibrils at specific orientations to anisotropically restrict the swelling/shrinkage of their organic matrices upon external stimuli. This is in contrast to the material-specific mechanisms found in synthetic shape-memory systems. Here we propose a robust and universal method to replicate this unusual shape-changing mechanism of natural systems in artificial bioinspired composites. The technique is based upon the remote control of the orientation of reinforcing inorganic particles within the composite using a weak external magnetic field. Combining this reinforcement orientational control with swellable/shrinkable polymer matrices enables the creation of composites whose shape change can be programmed into the material’s microstructure rather than externally imposed. Such bioinspired approach can generate composites with unusual reversibility, twisting effects and site-specific programmable shape changes.

Programming 2D/3D shape-shifting with hobbyist 3D printers† †Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c7mh00269f

PubMed Central

van Manen, Teunis; Janbaz, Shahram

2017-01-01

Materials and devices with advanced functionalities often need to combine complex 3D shapes with functionality-inducing surface features. Precisely controlled bio-nanopatterns, printed electronic components, and sensors/actuators are all examples of such surface features. However, the vast majority of the refined technologies that are currently available for creating functional surface features work only on flat surfaces. Here we present initially flat constructs that upon triggering by high temperatures change their shape to a pre-programmed 3D shape, thereby enabling the combination of surface-related functionalities with complex 3D shapes. A number of shape-shifting materials have been proposed during the last few years based on various types of advanced technologies. The proposed techniques often require multiple fabrication steps and special materials, while being limited in terms of the 3D shapes they could achieve. The approach presented here is a single-step printing process that requires only a hobbyist 3D printer and inexpensive off-the-shelf materials. It also lends itself to a host of design strategies based on self-folding origami, instability-driven pop-up, and ‘sequential’ shape-shifting to unprecedentedly expand the space of achievable 3D shapes. This combination of simplicity and versatility is a key to widespread applications. PMID:29308207

Approaches for springback reduction when forming ultra high-strength sheet metals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Radonjic, R.; Liewald, M.

2016-11-01

Nowadays, the automotive industry is challenged constantly by increasing environmental regulations and the continuous enhancement of standards with regard to passenger's safety (NCAP, Part 1). In order to fulfil the aforementioned requirements, the use of ultra high-strength steels in research and industrial applications is of high interest. When forming such materials, the main problem results from the large amount of springback which occurs after the release of the part. This paper shows the applicability of several approaches for the reduction of springback amount by forming of one hat channel shaped component. A novel approach for springack reduction which is based on forming with an alternating blank draw-in is presented as well. In this investigation an ultra high-strength steel of the grade DP 980 was used. The part's measurements were taken at significant cross-sections in order to provide a qualitative comparison between the reference geometry and the part's released shape. The obtained results were analysed and used in order to quantify the success of particular approaches for springback reduction. When taking a curved hat channel shaped component as an example, the results achieved in the investigations showed that it is possible to reduce part shape deviations significantly when using DP 980 as workpiece material.

Approach to a manufacture-oriented modeling of bent tubes depending on the curvature distribution during three-roll-push-bending

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Groth, Sebastian; Engel, Bernd; Frohn, Peter

2018-05-01

Kinematic bending processes such as three-roll-push-bending are used to manufacture freeform bent part systems. Due to the kinematic shaping, the bent parts have a characteristic infeed and outfeed area in the transition zone from the straight section into the curved area. These transition zones are currently not considered in the design process, which results in a geometric shape deviation between the CAD model and the bent part. Within this publication, a sensitivity analysis examines the influence of different parameters on the transition zone and the shape deviation. In addition, an approach is presented, which allows a manufacture-oriented modeling of the bending geometry.

Fiber Optic Wing Shape Sensing on NASA's Ikhana UAV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Richards, Lance; Parker, Allen R.; Ko, William L.; Piazza, Anthony

2008-01-01

This document discusses the development of fiber optic wing shape sensing on NASA's Ikhana vehicle. The Dryden Flight Research Center's Aerostructures Branch initiated fiber-optic instrumentation development efforts in the mid-1990s. Motivated by a failure to control wing dihedral resulting in a mishap with the Helios aircraft, new wing displacement techniques were developed. Research objectives for Ikhana included validating fiber optic sensor measurements and real-time wing shape sensing predictions; the validation of fiber optic mathematical models and design tools; assessing technical viability and, if applicable, developing methodology and approaches to incorporate wing shape measurements within the vehicle flight control system; and, developing and flight validating approaches to perform active wing shape control using conventional control surfaces and active material concepts.

Characterization of a compliant multi-layer system for tactile sensing with enhanced sensitivity and range

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ying; Yu, Miao; Bruck, Hugh A.; Smela, Elisabeth

2018-06-01

To allow robots to interact with humans via touch, new sensing concepts are needed that can detect a wide range of potential interactions and cover the body of a robot. In this paper, a skin-inspired multi-layer tactile sensing architecture is presented and characterized. The structure consists of stretchable piezoresistive strain-sensing layers over foam layers of different stiffness, allowing for both sufficient sensitivity and pressure range for human contacts. Strip-shaped sensors were used in this architecture to produce a deformation response proportional to pressure. The roles of the foam layers were elucidated by changing their stiffness and thickness, allowing the development of a geometric model to account for indenter interactions with the structure. The advantage of this architecture over other approaches is the ability to easily tune performance by adjusting the stiffness or thickness of the foams to tailor the response for different applications. Since viscoelastic materials were used, the temporal effects were also investigated.

Shape and Reinforcement Optimization of Underground Tunnels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghabraie, Kazem; Xie, Yi Min; Huang, Xiaodong; Ren, Gang

Design of support system and selecting an optimum shape for the opening are two important steps in designing excavations in rock masses. Currently selecting the shape and support design are mainly based on designer's judgment and experience. Both of these problems can be viewed as material distribution problems where one needs to find the optimum distribution of a material in a domain. Topology optimization techniques have proved to be useful in solving these kinds of problems in structural design. Recently the application of topology optimization techniques in reinforcement design around underground excavations has been studied by some researchers. In this paper a three-phase material model will be introduced changing between normal rock, reinforced rock, and void. Using such a material model both problems of shape and reinforcement design can be solved together. A well-known topology optimization technique used in structural design is bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization (BESO). In this paper the BESO technique has been extended to simultaneously optimize the shape of the opening and the distribution of reinforcements. Validity and capability of the proposed approach have been investigated through some examples.

Nanorice Particles: Hybrid Plasmonic Nanostructures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Le, Fei (Inventor); Halas, Nancy J. (Inventor); Nordlander, Peter (Inventor); Brandl, Daniel (Inventor); Wang, Hui (Inventor)

2010-01-01

A new hybrid nanoparticle, i.e., a nanorice particle, which combines the intense local fields of nanorods with the highly tunable plasmon resonances of nanoshells, is described herein. This geometry possesses far greater structural tunability than previous nanoparticle geometries, along with much larger local field enhancements and far greater sensitivity as a surface plasmon resonance (SPR) nanosensor than presently known dielectric-conductive material nanostructures. In an embodiment, a nanoparticle comprises a prolate spheroid-shaped core having a first aspect ratio. The nanoparticle also comprises at least one conductive shell surrounding said prolate spheroid-shaped core. The nanoparticle has a surface plasmon resonance sensitivity of at least 600 nm RIU(sup.-1). Methods of making the disclosed nanorice particles are also described herein.

3D printing of concentrated emulsions into multiphase biocompatible soft materials.

PubMed

Sommer, Marianne R; Alison, Lauriane; Minas, Clara; Tervoort, Elena; Rühs, Patrick A; Studart, André R

2017-03-01

3D printing via direct ink writing (DIW) is a versatile additive manufacturing approach applicable to a variety of materials ranging from ceramics over composites to hydrogels. Due to the mild processing conditions compared to other additive manufacturing methods, DIW enables the incorporation of sensitive compounds such as proteins or drugs into the printed structure. Although emulsified oil-in-water systems are commonly used vehicles for such compounds in biomedical, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic applications, printing of such emulsions into architectured soft materials has not been fully exploited and would open new possibilities for the controlled delivery of sensitive compounds. Here, we 3D print concentrated emulsions into soft materials, whose multiphase architecture allows for site-specific incorporation of both hydrophobic and hydrophilic compounds into the same structure. As a model ink, concentrated emulsions stabilized by chitosan-modified silica nanoparticles are studied, because they are sufficiently stable against coalescence during the centrifugation step needed to create a bridging network of droplets. The resulting ink is ideal for 3D printing as it displays high yield stress, storage modulus and elastic recovery, through the formation of networks of droplets as well as of gelled silica nanoparticles in the presence of chitosan. To demonstrate possible architectures, we print biocompatible soft materials with tunable hierarchical porosity containing an encapsulated hydrophobic compound positioned in specific locations of the structure. The proposed emulsion-based ink system offers great flexibility in terms of 3D shaping and local compositional control, and can potentially help address current challenges involving the delivery of incompatible compounds in biomedical applications.

Nanocontainers made of Various Materials with Tunable Shape and Size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xianglong; Meng, Guowen; Han, Fangming; Li, Xiangdong; Chen, Bensong; Xu, Qiaoling; Zhu, Xiaoguang; Chu, Zhaoqin; Kong, Mingguang; Huang, Qing

2013-07-01

Nanocontainers have great potentials in targeted drug delivery and nanospace-confined reactions. However, the previous synthetic approaches exhibited limited control over the morphology, size and materials of the nanocontainers, which are crucial in practical applications. Here, we present a synthetic approach to multi-segment linear-shaped nanopores with pre-designed morphologies inside anodic aluminium oxide (AAO), by tailoring the anodizing duration after a rational increase of the applied anodizing voltage and the number of voltage increase during Al foil anodization. Then, we achieve nanocontainers with designed morphologies, such as nanofunnels, nanobottles, nano-separating-funnels and nanodroppers, with tunable sizes and diverse materials of carbon, silicon, germanium, hafnium oxide, silica and nickel/carbon magnetic composite, by depositing a thin layer of materials on the inner walls of the pre-designed AAO nanopores. The strategy has far-reaching implications in the designing and large-scale fabrication of nanocontainers, opening up new opportunities in nanotechnology applications.

Nanocontainers made of Various Materials with Tunable Shape and Size

PubMed Central

Zhao, Xianglong; Meng, Guowen; Han, Fangming; Li, Xiangdong; Chen, Bensong; Xu, Qiaoling; Zhu, Xiaoguang; Chu, Zhaoqin; Kong, Mingguang; Huang, Qing

2013-01-01

Nanocontainers have great potentials in targeted drug delivery and nanospace-confined reactions. However, the previous synthetic approaches exhibited limited control over the morphology, size and materials of the nanocontainers, which are crucial in practical applications. Here, we present a synthetic approach to multi-segment linear-shaped nanopores with pre-designed morphologies inside anodic aluminium oxide (AAO), by tailoring the anodizing duration after a rational increase of the applied anodizing voltage and the number of voltage increase during Al foil anodization. Then, we achieve nanocontainers with designed morphologies, such as nanofunnels, nanobottles, nano-separating-funnels and nanodroppers, with tunable sizes and diverse materials of carbon, silicon, germanium, hafnium oxide, silica and nickel/carbon magnetic composite, by depositing a thin layer of materials on the inner walls of the pre-designed AAO nanopores. The strategy has far-reaching implications in the designing and large-scale fabrication of nanocontainers, opening up new opportunities in nanotechnology applications. PMID:23867836

Authentication via wavefront-shaped optical responses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eilers, Hergen; Anderson, Benjamin R.; Gunawidjaja, Ray

2018-02-01

Authentication/tamper-indication is required in a wide range of applications, including nuclear materials management and product counterfeit detection. State-of-the-art techniques include reflective particle tags, laser speckle authentication, and birefringent seals. Each of these passive techniques has its own advantages and disadvantages, including the need for complex image comparisons, limited flexibility, sensitivity to environmental conditions, limited functionality, etc. We have developed a new active approach to address some of these short-comings. The use of an active characterization technique adds more flexibility and additional layers of security over current techniques. Our approach uses randomly-distributed nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix (tag/seal) which is attached to the item to be secured. A spatial light modulator is used to adjust the wavefront of a laser which interacts with the tag/seal, and a detector is used to monitor this interaction. The interaction can occur in various ways, including transmittance, reflectance, fluorescence, random lasing, etc. For example, at the time of origination, the wavefront-shaped reflectance from a tag/seal can be adjusted to result in a specific pattern (symbol, words, etc.) Any tampering with the tag/seal would results in a disturbance of the random orientation of the nanoparticles and thus distort the reflectance pattern. A holographic waveplate could be inserted into the laser beam for verification. The absence/distortion of the original pattern would then indicate that tampering has occurred. We have tested the tag/seal's and authentication method's tamper-indicating ability using various attack methods, including mechanical, thermal, and chemical attacks, and have verified our material/method's robust tamper-indicating ability.

Optical Calibration Process Developed for Neural-Network-Based Optical Nondestructive Evaluation Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Decker, Arthur J.

2004-01-01

A completely optical calibration process has been developed at Glenn for calibrating a neural-network-based nondestructive evaluation (NDE) method. The NDE method itself detects very small changes in the characteristic patterns or vibration mode shapes of vibrating structures as discussed in many references. The mode shapes or characteristic patterns are recorded using television or electronic holography and change when a structure experiences, for example, cracking, debonds, or variations in fastener properties. An artificial neural network can be trained to be very sensitive to changes in the mode shapes, but quantifying or calibrating that sensitivity in a consistent, meaningful, and deliverable manner has been challenging. The standard calibration approach has been difficult to implement, where the response to damage of the trained neural network is compared with the responses of vibration-measurement sensors. In particular, the vibration-measurement sensors are intrusive, insufficiently sensitive, and not numerous enough. In response to these difficulties, a completely optical alternative to the standard calibration approach was proposed and tested successfully. Specifically, the vibration mode to be monitored for structural damage was intentionally contaminated with known amounts of another mode, and the response of the trained neural network was measured as a function of the peak-to-peak amplitude of the contaminating mode. The neural network calibration technique essentially uses the vibration mode shapes of the undamaged structure as standards against which the changed mode shapes are compared. The published response of the network can be made nearly independent of the contaminating mode, if enough vibration modes are used to train the net. The sensitivity of the neural network can be adjusted for the environment in which the test is to be conducted. The response of a neural network trained with measured vibration patterns for use on a vibration isolation table in the presence of various sources of laboratory noise is shown. The output of the neural network is called the degradable classification index. The curve was generated by a simultaneous comparison of means, and it shows a peak-to-peak sensitivity of about 100 nm. The following graph uses model generated data from a compressor blade to show that much higher sensitivities are possible when the environment can be controlled better. The peak-to-peak sensitivity here is about 20 nm. The training procedure was modified for the second graph, and the data were subjected to an intensity-dependent transformation called folding. All the measurements for this approach to calibration were optical. The peak-to-peak amplitudes of the vibration modes were measured using heterodyne interferometry, and the modes themselves were recorded using television (electronic) holography.

Insights into Inverse Materials Design from Phase Transitions in Shape Space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cersonsky, Rose; van Anders, Greg; Dodd, Paul M.; Glotzer, Sharon C.

In designing new materials for synthesis, the inverse materials design approach posits that, given a structure, we can predict a building block optimized for self- assembly. How does that building block change as pressure is varied to maintain the same crystal structure? We address this question for entropically stabilized colloidal crystals by working in a generalized statistical thermodynamic ensemble where an alchemical potential variable is fixed and its conjugate variable, particle shape, is allowed to fluctuate. We show that there are multiple regions of shape behavior and phase transitions in shape space between these regions. Furthermore, while past literature has looked towards packing arguments for proposing shape-filling candidate building blocks for structure formation, we show that even at very high pressures, a structure will attain lowest free energy by modifying these space-filling shapes. U.S. Army Research Office under Grant Award No. W911NF-10-1-0518, Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation Award EFRI-1240264, National Science Foundation Grant Number ACI- 1053575, XSEDE award DMR 140129, Rackham Merit Fellowship Program.

Multidisciplinary Aerodynamic-Structural Shape Optimization Using Deformation (MASSOUD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid A.

2000-01-01

This paper presents a multidisciplinary shape parameterization approach. The approach consists of two basic concepts: (1) parameterizing the shape perturbations rather than the geometry itself and (2) performing the shape deformation by means of the soft object animation algorithms used in computer graphics. Because the formulation presented in this paper is independent of grid topology, we can treat computational fluid dynamics and finite element grids in the same manner. The proposed approach is simple, compact, and efficient. Also, the analytical sensitivity derivatives are easily computed for use in a gradient-based optimization. This algorithm is suitable for low-fidelity (e.g., linear aerodynamics and equivalent laminate plate structures) and high-fidelity (e.g., nonlinear computational fluid dynamics and detailed finite element modeling) analysis tools. This paper contains the implementation details of parameterizing for planform, twist, dihedral, thickness, camber, and free-form surface. Results are presented for a multidisciplinary application consisting of nonlinear computational fluid dynamics, detailed computational structural mechanics, and a simple performance module.

Multidisciplinary Aerodynamic-Structural Shape Optimization Using Deformation (MASSOUD)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Samareh, Jamshid A.

2000-01-01

This paper presents a multidisciplinary shape parameterization approach. The approach consists of two basic concepts: (1) parameterizing the shape perturbations rather than the geometry itself and (2) performing the shape deformation by means of the soft object animation algorithms used in computer graphics. Because the formulation presented in this paper is independent of grid topology, we can treat computational fluid dynamics and finite element grids in a similar manner. The proposed approach is simple, compact, and efficient. Also, the analytical sensitivity derivatives are easily computed for use in a gradient-based optimization. This algorithm is suitable for low-fidelity (e.g., linear aerodynamics and equivalent laminated plate structures) and high-fidelity (e.g., nonlinear computational fluid dynamics and detailed finite element modeling analysis tools. This paper contains the implementation details of parameterizing for planform, twist, dihedral, thickness, camber, and free-form surface. Results are presented for a multidisciplinary design optimization application consisting of nonlinear computational fluid dynamics, detailed computational structural mechanics, and a simple performance module.

Hierarchically Self-Assembled Star-Shaped ZnO Microparticles for Electrochemical Sensing of Amines.

PubMed

Du, Jianping; Huang, Xiaoxi; Zhao, Ruihua; Li, Jinping; Asefa, Tewodros

2016-06-06

Novel, hierarchically nanostructured, star-shaped ZnO (SSZ) microparticles are synthesized by a hydrothermal synthetic route. The SSZ microparticles serve as effective platforms for electrochemical detection of amines in solution. The morphology and structure of the materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The as-synthesized SSZ microparticles comprise self-assembled hexagonal prisms that possess nanometer and micrometer pores in their structure and on their surfaces-structural features that are conducive to sensing applications. An electrode fabricated by using the hierarchically nanostructured SSZ materials serve as a sensitive electrochemical sensor for detection of low concentrations of ethylenediamine, with a sensitivity of 2.98×10(-2)  mA cm(-2)  mm(-1) , a detection limit of 2.36×10(-2)  mm, and a short response time of 8 s. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Language Education and ELT Materials in Turkey from the Path Dependence Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Isik, Ali

2011-01-01

This paper examines the role of traditional language teaching methodology on the current language teaching methodology in Turkey from the Path Dependence Theory perspective. Path Dependence claims that the past continues shaping the present. Similarly, traditional approaches still shape foreign/second language education. Turkey has inherited a…

Ultrathin Shape Change Smart Materials.

PubMed

Xu, Weinan; Kwok, Kam Sang; Gracias, David H

2018-02-20

With the discovery of graphene, significant research has focused on the synthesis, characterization, and applications of ultrathin materials. Graphene has also brought into focus other ultrathin materials composed of organics, polymers, inorganics, and their hybrids. Together, these ultrathin materials have unique properties of broad significance. For example, ultrathin materials have a large surface area and high flexibility which can enhance conformal contact in wearables and sensors leading to improved sensitivity. When porous, the short transverse diffusion length in these materials allows rapid mass transport. Alternatively, when impermeable, these materials behave as an ultrathin barrier. Such controlled permeability is critical in the design of encapsulation and drug delivery systems. Finally, ultrathin materials often feature defect-free and single-crystal-like two-dimensional atomic structures resulting in superior mechanical, optical, and electrical properties. A unique property of ultrathin materials is their low bending rigidity, which suggests that they could easily be bent, curved, or folded into 3D shapes. In this Account, we review the emerging field of 2D to 3D shape transformations of ultrathin materials. We broadly define ultrathin to include materials with a thickness below 100 nm and composed of a range of organic, inorganic, and hybrid compositions. This topic is important for both fundamental and applied reasons. Fundamentally, bending and curving of ultrathin films can cause atomistic and molecular strain which can alter their physical and chemical properties and lead to new 3D forms of matter which behave very differently from their planar precursors. Shape change can also lead to new 3D architectures with significantly smaller form factors. For example, 3D ultrathin materials would occupy a smaller space in on-chip devices or could permeate through tortuous media which is important for miniaturized robots and smart dust applications. Our Account highlights several differences between ultrathin and traditional shape change materials. The latter is typically associated with hydrogels, liquid crystals, or shape memory elastomers. As compared to bulk materials, ultrathin materials can much more easily bend and fold due to the significantly reduced bending modulus. Consequently, it takes much less energy to alter the shape of ultrathin materials, and even small environmental stimuli can trigger a large response. Further, the energy barriers between different configurations are small which allow a variety of conformations and enhances programmability. Finally, due to their ultrathin nature, the shape changes are typically not slowed down by sluggish mass or thermal transport, and thus, responses can be much faster than those of bulk materials. The latter point is important in the design of high-speed actuators. Consequently, ultrathin materials could enable low-power, rapid, programmable, and complex shape transformations in response to a broad range of stimuli such as pH, temperature, electromagnetic fields, or chemical environments. The Account also includes a discussion of applications, important challenges, and future directions.

A theoretical approach to study the melting temperature of metallic nanowires

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arora, Neha; Joshi, Deepika P.

2016-05-23

The physical properties of any material change with the change of its size from bulk range to nano range. A theoretical study to account for the size and shape effect on melting temperature of metallic nanowires has been done. We have studied zinc (Zn), indium (In), lead (Pb) and tin (Sn) nanowires with three different cross sectional shapes like regular triangular, square and regular hexagonal. Variation of melting temperature with the size and shape is graphically represented with the available experimental data. It was found that melting temperature of the nanowires decreases with decrement in the size of nanowire, duemore » to surface effect and at very small size the most probable shape also varies with material.« less

New technologies for advanced three-dimensional optimum shape design in aeronautics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dervieux, Alain; Lanteri, Stéphane; Malé, Jean-Michel; Marco, Nathalie; Rostaing-Schmidt, Nicole; Stoufflet, Bruno

1999-05-01

The analysis of complex flows around realistic aircraft geometries is becoming more and more predictive. In order to obtain this result, the complexity of flow analysis codes has been constantly increasing, involving more refined fluid models and sophisticated numerical methods. These codes can only run on top computers, exhausting their memory and CPU capabilities. It is, therefore, difficult to introduce best analysis codes in a shape optimization loop: most previous works in the optimum shape design field used only simplified analysis codes. Moreover, as the most popular optimization methods are the gradient-based ones, the more complex the flow solver, the more difficult it is to compute the sensitivity code. However, emerging technologies are contributing to make such an ambitious project, of including a state-of-the-art flow analysis code into an optimisation loop, feasible. Among those technologies, there are three important issues that this paper wishes to address: shape parametrization, automated differentiation and parallel computing. Shape parametrization allows faster optimization by reducing the number of design variable; in this work, it relies on a hierarchical multilevel approach. The sensitivity code can be obtained using automated differentiation. The automated approach is based on software manipulation tools, which allow the differentiation to be quick and the resulting differentiated code to be rather fast and reliable. In addition, the parallel algorithms implemented in this work allow the resulting optimization software to run on increasingly larger geometries. Copyright

Shape-memory surfaces for cell mechanobiology

PubMed Central

Ebara, Mitsuhiro

2015-01-01

Shape-memory polymers (SMPs) are a new class of smart materials, which have the capability to change from a temporary shape ‘A’ to a memorized permanent shape ‘B’ upon application of an external stimulus. In recent years, SMPs have attracted much attention from basic and fundamental research to industrial and practical applications due to the cheap and efficient alternative to well-known metallic shape-memory alloys. Since the shape-memory effect in SMPs is not related to a specific material property of single polymers, the control of nanoarchitecture of polymer networks is particularly important for the smart functions of SMPs. Such nanoarchitectonic approaches have enabled us to further create shape-memory surfaces (SMSs) with tunable surface topography at nano scale. The present review aims to bring together the exciting design of SMSs and the ever-expanding range of their uses as tools to control cell functions. The goal for these endeavors is to mimic the surrounding mechanical cues of extracellular environments which have been considered as critical parameters in cell fate determination. The untapped potential of SMSs makes them one of the most exciting interfaces of materials science and cell mechanobiology. PMID:27877747

Metal nanostructures for non-enzymatic glucose sensing.

PubMed

Tee, Si Yin; Teng, Choon Peng; Ye, Enyi

2017-01-01

This review covers the recent development of metal nanostructures in electrochemical non-enzymatic glucose sensing. It highlights a variety of nanostructured materials including noble metals, other transition metals, bimetallic systems, and their hybrid with carbon-based nanomaterials. Particularly, attention is devoted to numerous approaches that have been implemented for improving the sensors performance by tailoring size, shape, composition, effective surface area, adsorption capability and electron-transfer properties. The correlation of the metal nanostructures to the glucose sensing performance is addressed with respect to the linear concentration range, sensitivity and detection limit. In overall, this review provides important clues from the recent scientific achievements of glucose sensor nanomaterials which will be essentially useful in designing better and more effective electrocatalysts for future electrochemical sensing industry. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Residual pesticide detection on food with particle-enhanced Raman scattering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ranjan, Bikas; Huang, LiChuan; Masui, Kyoko; Saito, Yuika; Verma, Prabhat

2014-08-01

Modern farming relies highly on pesticides to protect agricultural food items from insects for high yield and better quality. Increasing use of pesticide has raised concern about its harmful effects on human health and hence it has become very important to detect even small amount of pesticide residues. Raman spectroscopy is a suitable nondestructive method for pesticide detection, however, it is not very effective for low concentration of pesticide molecules. Here, we report an approach based on plasmonic enhancement, namely, particle enhanced Raman spectroscopy (PERS), which is rapid, nondestructive and sensitive. In this technique, Raman signals are enhanced via the resonance excitation of localized plasmons in metallic nanoparticles. Gold nanostructures are promising materials that have ability to tune surface plasmon resonance frequency in visible to near-IR, which depends on shape and size of nanostructures. We synthesized gold nanorods (GNRs) with desired shape and size by seed mediated growth method, and successfully detected very tiny amount of pesticide present on food items. We also conformed that the detection of pesticide was not possible by usual Raman spectroscopy.

Sensitivity of PBX-9502 after ratchet growth

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mulford, Roberta N.; Swift, Damian

2012-03-01

Ratchet growth, or irreversible thermal expansion of the TATB-based plastic-bonded explosive PBX-9502, leads to increased sensitivity, as a result of increased porosity. The observed increase of between 3.1 and 3.5 volume percent should increase sensitivity according to the published Pop-plots for PBX-9502 [1]. Because of the variable size, shape, and location of the increased porosity, the observed sensitivity of the ratchet-grown sample is less than the sensitivity of a sample pressed to the same density. Modeling of the composite, using a quasi-harmonic EOS for unreacted components [2] and a robust porosity model for variations in density [3], allowed comparison of the initiation observed in experiment with behavior modeled as a function of density. An Arrhenius model was used to describe reaction, and the EOS for products was generated using the CHEETAH code [4]. A 1-D Lagrangian hydrocode was used to model in-material gauge records and the measured turnover to detonation, predicting greater sensitivity to density than observed for ratchet-grown material. This observation is consistent with gauge records indicating intermittent growth of the reactive wave, possibly due to inhomogeneities in density, as observed in SEM images of the material [5].

3-D Characterization of Detrital Zircon Grains and its Implications for Fluvial Transport, Mixing, and Preservation Bias

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markwitz, V.; Kirkland, C. L.; Mehnert, A.; Gessner, K.; Shaw, J.

2017-12-01

Detrital zircon studies can suffer from selective loss of provenance information due to U-Pb age discordance, metamictization, metamorphic overprinting and fluviatile transport processes. The relationship between isotopic composition and zircon grain shape, and how grain shape is modified during transport, is largely unknown. We combine X-ray tomography with U-Pb geochronology to quantify how fluvial transport affects 3-D zircon shape, detrital age signature, and grain density along the Murchison River, whose catchment comprises Eoarchean to Early Paleozoic source rocks in Western Australia. We acquired tomographic volumes and isotopic data from 373 detrital zircons to document changes in size, shape and density in transport direction, and explore how grain shape, age spectra and the proportion of discordant material vary along the channel. Results show that shape characteristics are sensitive to transport distance, stream gradient, proximity to source material, and whether the source consists of primary or recycled zircons. With increasing transport distance, grain lengths decrease more than their widths. Furthermore, the loss of metamict grains occurs at a near constant rate, resulting in a linear increase of mean calculated zircon density by ca. 0.03 g/cm3 per 100 km transport distance. 3-D grain shape is therefore strongly linked to detrital age signature, and mean grain density is a function of the absolute transport distance. 3-D shape characteristics provide valuable information on detrital zircon populations, including the interaction between source materials with fluvial transport processes, which significantly affects preservation bias and, by inference, the representativeness of the sampled data.

Shape optimization of self-avoiding curves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walker, Shawn W.

2016-04-01

This paper presents a softened notion of proximity (or self-avoidance) for curves. We then derive a sensitivity result, based on shape differential calculus, for the proximity. This is combined with a gradient-based optimization approach to compute three-dimensional, parameterized curves that minimize the sum of an elastic (bending) energy and a proximity energy that maintains self-avoidance by a penalization technique. Minimizers are computed by a sequential-quadratic-programming (SQP) method where the bending energy and proximity energy are approximated by a finite element method. We then apply this method to two problems. First, we simulate adsorbed polymer strands that are constrained to be bound to a surface and be (locally) inextensible. This is a basic model of semi-flexible polymers adsorbed onto a surface (a current topic in material science). Several examples of minimizing curve shapes on a variety of surfaces are shown. An advantage of the method is that it can be much faster than using molecular dynamics for simulating polymer strands on surfaces. Second, we apply our proximity penalization to the computation of ideal knots. We present a heuristic scheme, utilizing the SQP method above, for minimizing rope-length and apply it in the case of the trefoil knot. Applications of this method could be for generating good initial guesses to a more accurate (but expensive) knot-tightening algorithm.

Shape-shifting colloids via stimulated dewetting

PubMed Central

Youssef, Mena; Hueckel, Theodore; Yi, Gi-Ra; Sacanna, Stefano

2016-01-01

The ability to reconfigure elementary building blocks from one structure to another is key to many biological systems. Bringing the intrinsic adaptability of biological systems to traditional synthetic materials is currently one of the biggest scientific challenges in material engineering. Here we introduce a new design concept for the experimental realization of self-assembling systems with built-in shape-shifting elements. We demonstrate that dewetting forces between an oil phase and solid colloidal substrates can be exploited to engineer shape-shifting particles whose geometry can be changed on demand by a chemical or optical signal. We find this approach to be quite general and applicable to a broad spectrum of materials, including polymers, semiconductors and magnetic materials. This synthetic methodology can be further adopted as a new experimental platform for designing and rapidly prototyping functional colloids, such as reconfigurable micro swimmers, colloidal surfactants and switchable building blocks for self-assembly. PMID:27426418

Shape-shifting colloids via stimulated dewetting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Youssef, Mena; Hueckel, Theodore; Yi, Gi-Ra; Sacanna, Stefano

2016-07-01

The ability to reconfigure elementary building blocks from one structure to another is key to many biological systems. Bringing the intrinsic adaptability of biological systems to traditional synthetic materials is currently one of the biggest scientific challenges in material engineering. Here we introduce a new design concept for the experimental realization of self-assembling systems with built-in shape-shifting elements. We demonstrate that dewetting forces between an oil phase and solid colloidal substrates can be exploited to engineer shape-shifting particles whose geometry can be changed on demand by a chemical or optical signal. We find this approach to be quite general and applicable to a broad spectrum of materials, including polymers, semiconductors and magnetic materials. This synthetic methodology can be further adopted as a new experimental platform for designing and rapidly prototyping functional colloids, such as reconfigurable micro swimmers, colloidal surfactants and switchable building blocks for self-assembly.

A Facile and General Approach to Recoverable High-Strain Multishape Shape Memory Polymers.

PubMed

Li, Xingjian; Pan, Yi; Zheng, Zhaohui; Ding, Xiaobin

2018-03-01

Fabricating a single polymer network with no need to design complex structures to achieve an ideal combination of tunable high-strain multiple-shape memory effects and highly recoverable shape memory property is a great challenge for the real applications of advanced shape memory devices. Here, a facile and general approach to recoverable high-strain multishape shape memory polymers is presented via a random copolymerization of acrylate monomers and a chain-extended multiblock copolymer crosslinker. As-prepared shape memory networks show a large width at the half-peak height of the glass transition, far wider than current classical multishape shape memory polymers. A combination of tunable high-strain multishape memory effect and as high as 1000% recoverable strain in a single chemical-crosslinking network can be obtained. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first thermosetting material with a combination of highly recoverable strain and tunable high-strain multiple-shape memory effects. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Pendant Allyl Crosslinking as a Tunable Shape Memory Actuator for Vascular Applications

PubMed Central

Zachman, Angela L.; Lee, Sue Hyun; Balikov, Daniel A.; Kim, Kwangho; Bellan, Leon M.; Sung, Hak-Joon

2015-01-01

Thermo-responsive shape memory polymers (SMPs) can be fit into small-bore incisions and recover their functional shape upon deployment in the body. This property is of significant interest for developing the next generation of minimally-invasive medical devices. To be used in such applications, SMPs should exhibit adequate mechanical strengths that minimize adverse compliance mismatch-induced host responses (e.g. thrombosis, hyperplasia), be biodegradable, and demonstrate switch-like shape recovery near body temperature with favorable biocompatibility. Combinatorial approaches are essential in optimizing SMP material properties for a particular application. In this study, a new class of thermo-responsive SMPs with pendant, photocrosslinkable allyl groups, x%poly( -caprolactone)-co-y%( -allyl carboxylate -caprolactone) (x%PCL-y%ACPCL), are created in a robust, facile manner with readily tunable material properties. Thermomechanical and shape memory properties can be drastically altered through subtle changes in allyl composition. Molecular weight and gel content can also be altered in this combinatorial format to fine-tune material properties. Materials exhibit high elastic, switch-like shape recovery near 37 °C. Endothelial compatibility is comparable to tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) and 100%PCL in vitro and vascular compatibility is demonstrated in vivo in a murine model of hindlimb ischemia, indicating promising suitability for vascular applications. PMID:26072363

Electromagnetic and nuclear radiation detector using micromechanical sensors

DOEpatents

Thundat, Thomas G.; Warmack, Robert J.; Wachter, Eric A.

2000-01-01

Electromagnetic and nuclear radiation is detected by micromechanical sensors that can be coated with various interactive materials. As the micromechanical sensors absorb radiation, the sensors bend and/or undergo a shift in resonance characteristics. The bending and resonance changes are detected with high sensitivity by any of several detection methods including optical, capacitive, and piezoresistive methods. Wide bands of the electromagnetic spectrum can be imaged with picoJoule sensitivity, and specific absorptive coatings can be used for selective sensitivity in specific wavelength bands. Microcantilevers coated with optical cross-linking polymers are useful as integrating optical radiation dosimeters. Nuclear radiation dosimetry is possible by fabricating cantilevers from materials that are sensitive to various nuclear particles or radiation. Upon exposure to radiation, the cantilever bends due to stress and its resonance frequency shifts due to changes in elastic properties, based on cantilever shape and properties of the coating.

Approach to solution of coupled heat transfer problem on the surface of hypersonic vehicle of arbitrary shape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bocharov, A. N.; Bityurin, V. A.; Golovin, N. N.; Evstigneev, N. M.; Petrovskiy, V. P.; Ryabkov, O. I.; Teplyakov, I. O.; Shustov, A. A.; Solomonov, Yu S.; Fortov, V. E.

2016-11-01

In this paper, an approach to solve conjugate heat- and mass-transfer problems is considered to be applied to hypersonic vehicle surface of arbitrary shape. The approach under developing should satisfy the following demands. (i) The surface of the body of interest may have arbitrary geometrical shape. (ii) The shape of the body can change during calculation. (iii) The flight characteristics may vary in a wide range, specifically flight altitude, free-stream Mach number, angle-of-attack, etc. (iv) The approach should be realized with using the high-performance-computing (HPC) technologies. The approach is based on coupled solution of 3D unsteady hypersonic flow equations and 3D unsteady heat conductance problem for the thick wall. Iterative process is applied to account for ablation of wall material and, consequently, mass injection from the surface and changes in the surface shape. While iterations, unstructured computational grids both in the flow region and within the wall interior are adapted to the current geometry and flow conditions. The flow computations are done on HPC platform and are most time-consuming part of the whole problem, while heat conductance problem can be solved on many kinds of computers.

Folklorists of Educational Spaces: Material Lore in Classrooms With and Without Walls.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Merkel, Cecilia

1999-01-01

Discusses the relationship between people and the spaces that they inhabit on a college campus. A folklorist approach to the study of space examines the way people shape space through their practices and the way space shapes people's practices, particularly concerning the movement toward classrooms without walls. Contains 65 references.…

Confined disclinations: exterior versus material constraints in developable thin elastic sheets.

PubMed

Efrati, Efi; Pocivavsek, Luka; Meza, Ruben; Lee, Ka Yee C; Witten, Thomas A

2015-02-01

We examine the shape change of a thin disk with an inserted wedge of material when it is pushed against a plane, using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods. Such sheets occur in packaging, surgery, and nanotechnology. We approximate the sheet as having vanishing strain, so that it takes a conical form in which straight generators converge to a disclination singularity. Then, its shape is that which minimizes elastic bending energy alone. Real sheets are expected to approach this limiting shape as their thickness approaches zero. The planar constraint forces a sector of the sheet to buckle into the third dimension. We find that the unbuckled sector is precisely semicircular, independent of the angle δ of the inserted wedge. We generalize the analysis to include conical as well as planar constraints and thereby establish a law of corresponding states for shallow cones of slope ε and thin wedges. In this regime, the single parameter δ/ε^{2} determines the shape. We discuss the singular limit in which the cone becomes a plane, and the unexpected slow convergence to the semicircular buckling observed in real sheets.

Confined disclinations: Exterior versus material constraints in developable thin elastic sheets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efrati, Efi; Pocivavsek, Luka; Meza, Ruben; Lee, Ka Yee C.; Witten, Thomas A.

2015-02-01

We examine the shape change of a thin disk with an inserted wedge of material when it is pushed against a plane, using analytical, numerical, and experimental methods. Such sheets occur in packaging, surgery, and nanotechnology. We approximate the sheet as having vanishing strain, so that it takes a conical form in which straight generators converge to a disclination singularity. Then, its shape is that which minimizes elastic bending energy alone. Real sheets are expected to approach this limiting shape as their thickness approaches zero. The planar constraint forces a sector of the sheet to buckle into the third dimension. We find that the unbuckled sector is precisely semicircular, independent of the angle δ of the inserted wedge. We generalize the analysis to include conical as well as planar constraints and thereby establish a law of corresponding states for shallow cones of slope ɛ and thin wedges. In this regime, the single parameter δ /ɛ2 determines the shape. We discuss the singular limit in which the cone becomes a plane, and the unexpected slow convergence to the semicircular buckling observed in real sheets.

Programmable matter by folding

PubMed Central

Hawkes, E.; An, B.; Benbernou, N. M.; Tanaka, H.; Kim, S.; Demaine, E. D.; Rus, D.; Wood, R. J.

2010-01-01

Programmable matter is a material whose properties can be programmed to achieve specific shapes or stiffnesses upon command. This concept requires constituent elements to interact and rearrange intelligently in order to meet the goal. This paper considers achieving programmable sheets that can form themselves in different shapes autonomously by folding. Past approaches to creating transforming machines have been limited by the small feature sizes, the large number of components, and the associated complexity of communication among the units. We seek to mitigate these difficulties through the unique concept of self-folding origami with universal crease patterns. This approach exploits a single sheet composed of interconnected triangular sections. The sheet is able to fold into a set of predetermined shapes using embedded actuation. To implement this self-folding origami concept, we have developed a scalable end-to-end planning and fabrication process. Given a set of desired objects, the system computes an optimized design for a single sheet and multiple controllers to achieve each of the desired objects. The material, called programmable matter by folding, is an example of a system capable of achieving multiple shapes for multiple functions. PMID:20616049

Programmable matter by folding.

PubMed

Hawkes, E; An, B; Benbernou, N M; Tanaka, H; Kim, S; Demaine, E D; Rus, D; Wood, R J

2010-07-13

Programmable matter is a material whose properties can be programmed to achieve specific shapes or stiffnesses upon command. This concept requires constituent elements to interact and rearrange intelligently in order to meet the goal. This paper considers achieving programmable sheets that can form themselves in different shapes autonomously by folding. Past approaches to creating transforming machines have been limited by the small feature sizes, the large number of components, and the associated complexity of communication among the units. We seek to mitigate these difficulties through the unique concept of self-folding origami with universal crease patterns. This approach exploits a single sheet composed of interconnected triangular sections. The sheet is able to fold into a set of predetermined shapes using embedded actuation. To implement this self-folding origami concept, we have developed a scalable end-to-end planning and fabrication process. Given a set of desired objects, the system computes an optimized design for a single sheet and multiple controllers to achieve each of the desired objects. The material, called programmable matter by folding, is an example of a system capable of achieving multiple shapes for multiple functions.

Inviscid/Boundary-Layer Aeroheating Approach for Integrated Vehicle Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Esther; Wurster, Kathryn E.

2017-01-01

A typical entry vehicle design depends on the synthesis of many essential subsystems, including thermal protection system (TPS), structures, payload, avionics, and propulsion, among others. The ability to incorporate aerothermodynamic considerations and TPS design into the early design phase is crucial, as both are closely coupled to the vehicle's aerodynamics, shape and mass. In the preliminary design stage, reasonably accurate results with rapid turn-representative entry envelope was explored. Initial results suggest that for Mach numbers ranging from 9-20, a few inviscid solutions could reasonably sup- port surface heating predictions at Mach numbers variation of +/-2, altitudes variation of +/-10 to 20 kft, and angle-of-attack variation of +/- 5. Agreement with Navier-Stokes solutions was generally found to be within 10-15% for Mach number and altitude, and 20% for angle of attack. A smaller angle-of-attack increment than the 5 deg around times for parametric studies and quickly evolving configurations are necessary to steer design decisions. This investigation considers the use of an unstructured 3D inviscid code in conjunction with an integral boundary-layer method; the former providing the flow field solution and the latter the surface heating. Sensitivity studies for Mach number, angle of attack, and altitude, examine the feasibility of using this approach to populate a representative entry flight envelope based on a limited set of inviscid solutions. Each inviscid solution is used to generate surface heating over the nearby trajectory space. A subset of a considered in this study is recommended. Results of the angle-of-attack sensitivity studies show that smaller increments may be needed for better heating predictions. The approach is well suited for application to conceptual multidisciplinary design and analysis studies where transient aeroheating environments are critical for vehicle TPS and thermal design. Concurrent prediction of aeroheating environments, coupled with the use of unstructured methods, is considered enabling for TPS material selection and design in conceptual studies where vehicle mission, shape, and entry strategies evolve rapidly.

Data fusion of multi-scale representations for structural damage detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Tian; Xu, Zili

2018-01-01

Despite extensive researches into structural health monitoring (SHM) in the past decades, there are few methods that can detect multiple slight damage in noisy environments. Here, we introduce a new hybrid method that utilizes multi-scale space theory and data fusion approach for multiple damage detection in beams and plates. A cascade filtering approach provides multi-scale space for noisy mode shapes and filters the fluctuations caused by measurement noise. In multi-scale space, a series of amplification and data fusion algorithms are utilized to search the damage features across all possible scales. We verify the effectiveness of the method by numerical simulation using damaged beams and plates with various types of boundary conditions. Monte Carlo simulations are conducted to illustrate the effectiveness and noise immunity of the proposed method. The applicability is further validated via laboratory cases studies focusing on different damage scenarios. Both results demonstrate that the proposed method has a superior noise tolerant ability, as well as damage sensitivity, without knowing material properties or boundary conditions.

Engineering the shape and structure of materials by fractal cut.

PubMed

Cho, Yigil; Shin, Joong-Ho; Costa, Avelino; Kim, Tae Ann; Kunin, Valentin; Li, Ju; Lee, Su Yeon; Yang, Shu; Han, Heung Nam; Choi, In-Suk; Srolovitz, David J

2014-12-09

In this paper we discuss the transformation of a sheet of material into a wide range of desired shapes and patterns by introducing a set of simple cuts in a multilevel hierarchy with different motifs. Each choice of hierarchical cut motif and cut level allows the material to expand into a unique structure with a unique set of properties. We can reverse-engineer the desired expanded geometries to find the requisite cut pattern to produce it without changing the physical properties of the initial material. The concept was experimentally realized and applied to create an electrode that expands to >800% the original area with only very minor stretching of the underlying material. The generality of our approach greatly expands the design space for materials so that they can be tuned for diverse applications.

Shape-Memory Hydrogels: Evolution of Structural Principles To Enable Shape Switching of Hydrophilic Polymer Networks.

PubMed

Löwenberg, Candy; Balk, Maria; Wischke, Christian; Behl, Marc; Lendlein, Andreas

2017-04-18

The ability of hydrophilic chain segments in polymer networks to strongly interact with water allows the volumetric expansion of the material and formation of a hydrogel. When polymer chain segments undergo reversible hydration depending on environmental conditions, smart hydrogels can be realized, which are able to shrink/swell and thus alter their volume on demand. In contrast, implementing the capacity of hydrogels to switch their shape rather than volume demands more sophisticated chemical approaches and structural concepts. In this Account, the principles of hydrogel network design, incorporation of molecular switches, and hydrogel microstructures are summarized that enable a spatially directed actuation of hydrogels by a shape-memory effect (SME) without major volume alteration. The SME involves an elastic deformation (programming) of samples, which are temporarily fixed by reversible covalent or physical cross-links resulting in a temporary shape. The material can reverse to the original shape when these molecular switches are affected by application of a suitable stimulus. Hydrophobic shape-memory polymers (SMPs), which are established with complex functions including multiple or reversible shape-switching, may provide inspiration for the molecular architecture of shape-memory hydrogels (SMHs), but cannot be identically copied in the world of hydrophilic soft materials. For instance, fixation of the temporary shape requires cross-links to be formed also in an aqueous environment, which may not be realized, for example, by crystalline domains from the hydrophilic main chains as these may dissolve in presence of water. Accordingly, dual-shape hydrogels have evolved, where, for example, hydrophobic crystallizable side chains have been linked into hydrophilic polymer networks to act as temperature-sensitive temporary cross-links. By incorporating a second type of such side chains, triple-shape hydrogels can be realized. Considering the typically given light permeability of hydrogels and the fully hydrated state with easy permeation by small molecules, other types of stimuli like light, pH, or ions can be employed that may not be easily used in hydrophobic SMPs. In some cases, those molecular switches can respond to more than one stimulus, thus increasing the number of opportunities to induce actuation of these synthetic hydrogels. Beyond this, biopolymer-based hydrogels can be equipped with a shape switching function when facilitating, for example, triple helix formation in proteins or ionic interactions in polysaccharides. Eventually, microstructured SMHs such as hybrid or porous structures can combine the shape-switching function with an improved performance by helping to overcome frequent shortcomings of hydrogels such as low mechanical strength or volume change upon temporary cross-link cleavage. Specifically, shape switching without major volume alteration is possible in porous SMHs by decoupling small volume changes of pore walls on the microscale and the macroscopic sample size. Furthermore, oligomeric rather than short aliphatic side chains as molecular switches allow stabilization of the sample volumes. Based on those structural principles and switching functionalities, SMHs have already entered into applications as soft actuators and are considered, for example, for cell manipulation in biomedicine. In the context of those applications, switching kinetics, switching forces, and reversibility of switching are aspects to be further explored.

Three-dimensional boron particle loaded thermal neutron detector

DOEpatents

Nikolic, Rebecca J.; Conway, Adam M.; Graff, Robert T.; Kuntz, Joshua D.; Reinhardt, Catherine; Voss, Lars F.; Cheung, Chin Li; Heineck, Daniel

2014-09-09

Three-dimensional boron particle loaded thermal neutron detectors utilize neutron sensitive conversion materials in the form of nano-powders and micro-sized particles, as opposed to thin films, suspensions, paraffin, etc. More specifically, methods to infiltrate, intersperse and embed the neutron nano-powders to form two-dimensional and/or three-dimensional charge sensitive platforms are specified. The use of nano-powders enables conformal contact with the entire charge-collecting structure regardless of its shape or configuration.

Ultrasonic assessment of additive manufactured Ti-6Al-4V

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schehl, Norman; Kramb, Vicki; Dierken, Josiah; Aldrin, John; Schwalbach, Edwin; John, Reji

2018-04-01

Additive Manufacturing (AM) processes offer the potential for manufacturing cost savings and rapid insertion into service through production of near net shape components for complicated structures. Use of these parts in high reliability applications such as those in the aerospace industry will require nondestructive characterization methods to ensure post-process material quality in as-built condition. Ultrasonic methods can be used for this quality verification. Depending on the application, the service life of AM components can be sensitive to the part surface condition. The surface roughness and layered structure inherent to the electron-beam powder-bed fusion process necessitates new approaches to evaluate subsurface material integrity in its presence. Experimental methods and data analytics may improve the evaluation of as-built additively manufactured materials. This paper discusses the assessment of additively manufactured EBM Ti-6Al-4V panels using ultrasonic methods and the data analytics applied to evaluate material integrity. The assessment was done as an exploratory study as the discontinuities of interest in these test samples were not known when the measurements were performed. Water immersion ultrasonic techniques, including pulse-echo and through transmission with 10 MHz focused transducers, were used to explore the material integrity of as-built plates. Subsequent destructive mechanical tests of specimens extracted from the plates provided fracture locations indicating critical flaws. To further understand the effect of surface-roughness, an evaluation of ultrasonic response in the presence of as-built surfaces and with the surface removed was performed. The assessment of additive manufactured EBM Ti-6Al-4V panels with ultrasonic techniques indicated that ultrasonic energy was attenuated by the as-built surface roughness. In addition, feature detection was shown to be sensitive to experimental ultrasonic parameters and flaw morphology.

Unraveling the solvent induced welding of silver nanowires for high performance flexible transparent electrodes.

PubMed

Zhang, Kui; Li, Jia; Fang, Yunsheng; Luo, Beibei; Zhang, Yanli; Li, Yanqiu; Zhou, Jun; Hu, Bin

2018-04-25

A solution processed metal nanowire network is a promising flexible transparent electrode to replace brittle metal oxides for printable optoelectronics applications, but suffers from the issue of pseudo contact between nanowires. Herein, using volatile solvent mists as a powerful "zipper", we demonstrate a simple and rapid method to effectively weld silver nanowires, which dramatically improves the conductivity and robustness of the silver nanowire network based flexible transparent electrodes. We reveal that for a stacked network structure, the unique wedge-shaped nanogaps between the long nanowires and substrate provide a strong capillary force during solvent evaporation, which is much larger than that between zero-dimensional nanoparticles and gives a decisive contribution for nanowire junction welding, and this nanowire-substrate interplay force is positively related to the wettability of the substrate. At the same time, the dissolution-reprecipitation of the capping agent on the silver nanowire surface as the natural adhesive can fix the network on the substrate tightly, which enhances the robustness of the network. Our approach solves two key issues in solution-processed transparent electrodes in one simple step, and is compatible with various mild solution-processed optoelectronic devices, especially those containing heat-sensitive or chemical-sensitive materials. Moreover, a new type of invisible infrared encryption display is demonstrated based on this approach.

Design of a 4D Printing System Using Thermal Sensitive Smart Materials and Photoactivated Shape Changing Polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leist, Steven Kyle

4D printing is an emerging additive manufacturing technology that combines 3D printing with smart materials. Current 3D printing technology can print objects with a multitude of materials; however, these objects are usually static, geometrically permanent, and not suitable for multi-functional use. The 4D printed objects can change their shape over time when exposed to different external stimuli such as heat, pressure, magnetic fields, or moisture. In this research, heat and light reactive smart materials are explored as a 4D printing materials. Synthetization of a material that actuates when exposed to stimulus can be a very difficult process, and merging that same material with the ability to be 3D printed can be further difficult. A common 3D printing thermoplastic, poly(lactic) acid (PLA), is used as a shape memory material that is 3D printed using a fused deposition machine (FDM) and combined with nylon fabric for the exploration of smart textiles. The research shows that post printed PLA possesses shape memory properties depending on the thickness of the 3D printed material and the activation temperature. PLA can be thermomechanically trained into temporary shapes and return to its original shape when exposed to high temperatures. PLA can be 3D printed onto nylon fabrics for the creation of the smart textiles. Additionally, a photoisomerable shape changing material is explored because light activation is wireless, controllable, focusable, abundant, causes rapid shape change of the smart material, and induces reversible shape change in the material. This study supports the fundamental research to generate knowledge needed for synthesis of a novel azobenzene shape changing polymer (SCP) and integrating this smart material into objects printed with a 4D printing process using syringe printing. Multiple versions of azobenzene SCP are synthesized that actuate when exposed to 365 nm and 455 nm light. Two SCPs, MeOABHx and DR1Hx, are selected for the 4D printing research because of their ability to photoisomerize at room temperature and 3D printability. The physical properties of these polymers are characterized, photomechanical bending tests are performed, and the photo-generated stress is measured using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). The SCPs are deposited onto a passive layer to create bilayer films in order to actuate. The photomechanical efficiency of bilayer films is evaluated depending on the thickness of the passive layer film, type of azobenzene SCP, wavelength of the light source, intensity of the light source, and distance between the light and films. 4D printing can be used to streamline the design and manufacturing process of actuating parts. Complex heavy parts can be removed from actuation systems such as onboard power storage, motors, sensors, and processors by embedding these capabilities into the material themselves. This reduces the amount of required parts, the amount of materials, and reduces the cost of producing these parts. 4D printed products possess the properties of programmability, reaction and adaption to their environment, and automation. Therefore, they can find wider applications including foldable unmanned aerial vehicles, artificial muscles, grippers, biomedical drug delivery systems, stents, and minimally invasive surgeries.

Nanostructured Tip-Shaped Biosensors: Application of Six Sigma Approach for Enhanced Manufacturing.

PubMed

Kahng, Seong-Joong; Kim, Jong-Hoon; Chung, Jae-Hyun

2016-12-23

Nanostructured tip-shaped biosensors have drawn attention for biomolecule detection as they are promising for highly sensitive and specific detection of a target analyte. Using a nanostructured tip, the sensitivity is increased to identify individual molecules because of the high aspect ratio structure. Various detection methods, such as electrochemistry, fluorescence microcopy, and Raman spectroscopy, have been attempted to enhance the sensitivity and the specificity. Due to the confined path of electrons, electrochemical measurement using a nanotip enables the detection of single molecules. When an electric field is combined with capillary action and fluid flow, target molecules can be effectively concentrated onto a nanotip surface for detection. To enhance the concentration efficacy, a dendritic nanotip rather than a single tip could be used to detect target analytes, such as nanoparticles, cells, and DNA. However, reproducible fabrication with relation to specific detection remains a challenge due to the instability of a manufacturing method, resulting in inconsistent shape. In this paper, nanostructured biosensors are reviewed with our experimental results using dendritic nanotips for sequence specific detection of DNA. By the aid of the Six Sigma approach, the fabrication yield of dendritic nanotips increases from 20.0% to 86.6%. Using the nanotips, DNA is concentrated and detected in a sequence specific way with the detection limit equivalent to 1000 CFU/mL. The pros and cons of a nanotip biosensor are evaluated in conjunction with future prospects.

Advanced energy materials (Preface)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Titus, Elby; Ventura, João; Araújo, João Pedro; Campos Gil, João

2017-12-01

Advances in material science make it possible to fabricate the building blocks of an entirely new generation of hierarchical energy materials. Recent developments were focused on functionality and areas connecting macroscopic to atomic and nanoscale properties, where surfaces, defects, interfaces and metastable state of the materials played crucial roles. The idea is to combine both, the top-down and bottom-up approach as well as shape future materials with a blend of both the paradigms.

Novel parametric reduced order model for aeroengine blade dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Jie; Allegri, Giuliano; Scarpa, Fabrizio; Rajasekaran, Ramesh; Patsias, Sophoclis

2015-10-01

The work introduces a novel reduced order model (ROM) technique to describe the dynamic behavior of turbofan aeroengine blades. We introduce an equivalent 3D frame model to describe the coupled flexural/torsional mode shapes, with their relevant natural frequencies and associated modal masses. The frame configurations are identified through a structural identification approach based on a simulated annealing algorithm with stochastic tunneling. The cost functions are constituted by linear combinations of relative errors associated to the resonance frequencies, the individual modal assurance criteria (MAC), and on either overall static or modal masses. When static masses are considered the optimized 3D frame can represent the blade dynamic behavior with an 8% error on the MAC, a 1% error on the associated modal frequencies and a 1% error on the overall static mass. When using modal masses in the cost function the performance of the ROM is similar, but the overall error increases to 7%. The approach proposed in this paper is considerably more accurate than state-of-the-art blade ROMs based on traditional Timoshenko beams, and provides excellent accuracy at reduced computational time when compared against high fidelity FE models. A sensitivity analysis shows that the proposed model can adequately predict the global trends of the variations of the natural frequencies when lumped masses are used for mistuning analysis. The proposed ROM also follows extremely closely the sensitivity of the high fidelity finite element models when the material parameters are used in the sensitivity.

Shock Sensitivity of energetic materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, K.

1980-01-01

Viscoplastic deformation is examined as the principal source of hot energy. Some shock sensitivity data on a proposed model is explained. A hollow sphere model is used to approximate complex porous matrix of energetic materials. Two pieces of shock sensitivity data are qualitatively compared with results of the proposed model. The first is the p2 tau law. The second is the desensitization of energetic materials by a ramp wave applied stress. An approach to improve the model based on experimental observations is outlined.

An inverse approach to constraining strain and vorticity using rigid clast shape preferred orientation data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Joshua R.; Giorgis, Scott

2014-11-01

We describe a three-part approach for modeling shape preferred orientation (SPO) data of spheroidal clasts. The first part consists of criteria to determine whether a given SPO and clast shape are compatible. The second part is an algorithm for randomly generating spheroid populations that match a prescribed SPO and clast shape. In the third part, numerical optimization software is used to infer deformation from spheroid populations, by finding the deformation that returns a set of post-deformation spheroids to a minimally anisotropic initial configuration. Two numerical experiments explore the strengths and weaknesses of this approach, while giving information about the sensitivity of the model to noise in data. In monoclinic transpression of oblate rigid spheroids, the model is found to constrain the shortening component but not the simple shear component. This modeling approach is applied to previously published SPO data from the western Idaho shear zone, a monoclinic transpressional zone that deformed a feldspar megacrystic gneiss. Results suggest at most 5 km of shortening, as well as pre-deformation SPO fabric. The shortening estimate is corroborated by a second model that assumes no pre-deformation fabric.

High-performance shape-engineerable thermoelectric painting

PubMed Central

Park, Sung Hoon; Jo, Seungki; Kwon, Beomjin; Kim, Fredrick; Ban, Hyeong Woo; Lee, Ji Eun; Gu, Da Hwi; Lee, Se Hwa; Hwang, Younghun; Kim, Jin-Sang; Hyun, Dow-Bin; Lee, Sukbin; Choi, Kyoung Jin; Jo, Wook; Son, Jae Sung

2016-01-01

Output power of thermoelectric generators depends on device engineering minimizing heat loss as well as inherent material properties. However, the device engineering has been largely neglected due to the limited flat or angular shape of devices. Considering that the surface of most heat sources where these planar devices are attached is curved, a considerable amount of heat loss is inevitable. To address this issue, here, we present the shape-engineerable thermoelectric painting, geometrically compatible to surfaces of any shape. We prepared Bi2Te3-based inorganic paints using the molecular Sb2Te3 chalcogenidometalate as a sintering aid for thermoelectric particles, with ZT values of 0.67 for n-type and 1.21 for p-type painted materials that compete the bulk values. Devices directly brush-painted onto curved surfaces produced the high output power of 4.0 mW cm−2. This approach paves the way to designing materials and devices that can be easily transferred to other applications. PMID:27834369

Tunable Fano resonance and high-sensitivity sensor with high figure of merit in plasmonic coupled cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Yan; Cao, Guangtao; Yang, Hui

2018-02-01

Actively tunable sharp asymmetric line shape and high-sensitivity sensor with high figure of merit (FOM) are analytically and numerically demonstrated in plasmonic coupled cavities. The Fano resonance, originating from the interference between different light pathways, is realized and effectively tuned in on-chip nanostructure composed of metal-dielectric-metal (MDM) waveguide and a pair of cavities. To investigate in detail the Fano line shape, the coupled cavities are taken as a composite cavity, and a dynamic theory is proposed, which agrees well with the numerical simulations. Subsequently, the sensing performances of the plasmonic structure is discussed and its detection sensitivity reaches 1.103 × 108. Moreover, the FOM of the plasmonic sensor can approach 2.33 × 104. These discoveries hold potential applications for on-chip nano-sensors in highly integrated photonic devices.

Numerical investigation of shape domain effect to its elasticity and surface energy using adaptive finite element method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfat, Sayahdin; Kimura, Masato; Firihu, Muhammad Zamrun; Rahmat

2018-05-01

In engineering area, investigation of shape effect in elastic materials was very important. It can lead changing elasticity and surface energy, and also increase of crack propagation in the material. A two-dimensional mathematical model was developed to investigation of elasticity and surface energy in elastic material by Adaptive Finite Element Method. Besides that, behavior of crack propagation has observed for every those materials. The government equations were based on a phase field approach in crack propagation model that developed by Takaishi-Kimura. This research has varied four shape domains where physical properties of materials were same (Young's modulus E = 70 GPa and Poisson's ratio ν = 0.334). Investigation assumptions were; (1) homogeneous and isotropic material, (2) there was not initial cracking at t = 0, (3) initial displacement was zero [u1, u2] = 0) at initial condition (t = 0), and (4) length of time simulation t = 5 with interval Δt = 0.005. Mode I/II or mixed mode crack propagation has been used for the numerical investigation. Results of this studies were very good and accurate to show changing energy and behavior of crack propagation. In the future time, this research can be developed to complex phenomena and domain. Furthermore, shape optimization can be investigation by the model.

Dielectric elastomer for stretchable sensors: influence of the design and material properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jean-Mistral, C.; Iglesias, S.; Pruvost, S.; Duchet-Rumeau, J.; Chesné, S.

2016-04-01

Dielectric elastomers exhibit extended capabilities as flexible sensors for the detection of load distributions, pressure or huge deformations. Tracking the human movements of the fingers or the arms could be useful for the reconstruction of sporting gesture, or to control a human-like robot. Proposing new measurements methods are addressed in a number of publications leading to improving the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensing method. Generally, the associated modelling remains simple (RC or RC transmission line). The material parameters are considered constant or having a negligible effect which can lead to serious reduction of accuracy. Comparisons between measurements and modelling require care and skill, and could be tricky. Thus, we propose here a comprehensive modelling, taking into account the influence of the material properties on the performances of the dielectric elastomer sensor (DES). Various parameters influencing the characteristics of the sensors have been identified: dielectric constant, hyper-elasticity. The variations of these parameters as a function of the strain impact the linearity and sensitivity of the sensor of few percent. The sensitivity of the DES is also evaluated changing geometrical parameters (initial thickness) and its design (rectangular and dog-bone shapes). We discuss the impact of the shape regarding stress. Finally, DES including a silicone elastomer sandwiched between two high conductive stretchable electrodes, were manufactured and investigated. Classic and reliable LCR measurements are detailed. Experimental results validate our numerical model of large strain sensor (>50%).

Building Integrated Active Flow Control: Improving the Aerodynamic Performance of Tall Buildings Using Fluid-Based Aerodynamic Modification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menicovich, David

By 2050 an estimated 9 billion people will inhabit planet earth and almost all the growth in the next 40 years will be in urban areas putting tremendous pressure on creating sustainable cities. The rapid increase in population, rise in land value and decrease in plot sizes in cities around the world positions tall or more importantly slender buildings as the best suited building typology to address the increasingly critical demand for space in this pressing urbanization trend. However, the majority of new tall building urban developments have not followed principles of environmental and/or sustainable design and incentives to innovate, both technological and economic, are urgently required. The biggest climatic challenge to the design, construction and performance of tall buildings is wind sensitivity. This challenge is further emphasized seeing two market driven trends: on one hand as urban population grows, land value rises while plot sizes decrease; on the other, more cost effective modular construction techniques are introducing much lighter tall building structures. The combination of the two suggests a potential increase in the slenderness ratio of tall buildings (typically less than 6:1 but stretching to 20:1 in the near future) where not-so-tall but much lighter buildings will be the bulk of new construction in densely populated cities, providing affordable housing in the face of fast urbanization but also introducing wind sensitivity which was previously the problem of a very limited number of super tall buildings to a much larger number of buildings and communities. The proposed research aims to investigate a novel approach to the interaction between tall buildings and their environment. Through this approach the research proposes a new relationship between buildings and the flows around, through and inside them, where buildings could adapt to better control and manage the air flow around them, and consequently produce significant opportunities to reduce material and energy consumption profiles of tall building. To date, the increasing use of light-weight and high-strength materials in tall buildings, with greater flexibility and reduced damping, has increased susceptibility to dynamic wind load effects that limit the gains afforded by incorporating these new materials. Wind, particularly fluctuating wind and its interaction with buildings induces two main responses; alongwind - in the direction of the flow and crosswind - perpendicular to the flow. The main risk associated with this vulnerability is resonant oscillations induced by von-Karman-like vortex shedding at or near the natural frequency of the structure caused by flow separation. Dynamic wind loading effects often increase with a power of wind speed greater than 3, thus increasingly, tall buildings pay a significant price in material to increase the natural frequency and/or the damping to overcome this response. In particular, crosswind response often governs serviceability (human habitability) design criteria of slender buildings. Currently, reducing crosswind response relies on a Solid-based Aerodynamic Modification (SAM), either by changing structural or geometric characteristics such as the tower shape or through the addition of damping systems. While this approach has merit it has two major drawbacks: firstly, the loss of valuable rentable areas and high construction costs due to increased structural requirements for mass and stiffness, further contributing towards the high consumption of non-renewable resources by the commercial building sector. For example, in order to insure human comfort within an acceptable range of crosswind response induced accelerations at the top of a building, an aerodynamically efficient plan shape comes at the expense of floor area. To compensate for the loss of valuable area compensatory stories are required, resulting in an increase in wind loads and construction costs. Secondly, a limited, if at all, ability to adaptively respond to fluctuating environmental conditions such as changes in wind direction or velocity over the height of building which could be of consequence if the conditions for which the building was designed for change due to, for example, changes in the built environment surrounding it. Fluidic-based Aerodynamic Modification (FAM) is a fundamentally different approach; instead of adjusting the solid material to improve the aerodynamic 'shape' of the structure, fluid-based flow control is used to manipulate the boundary layer characteristics. The local flow field is modified to 'view' the solid as a different shape, and thus, that solid will experience reduced loads.

A PDE Sensitivity Equation Method for Optimal Aerodynamic Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Borggaard, Jeff; Burns, John

1996-01-01

The use of gradient based optimization algorithms in inverse design is well established as a practical approach to aerodynamic design. A typical procedure uses a simulation scheme to evaluate the objective function (from the approximate states) and its gradient, then passes this information to an optimization algorithm. Once the simulation scheme (CFD flow solver) has been selected and used to provide approximate function evaluations, there are several possible approaches to the problem of computing gradients. One popular method is to differentiate the simulation scheme and compute design sensitivities that are then used to obtain gradients. Although this black-box approach has many advantages in shape optimization problems, one must compute mesh sensitivities in order to compute the design sensitivity. In this paper, we present an alternative approach using the PDE sensitivity equation to develop algorithms for computing gradients. This approach has the advantage that mesh sensitivities need not be computed. Moreover, when it is possible to use the CFD scheme for both the forward problem and the sensitivity equation, then there are computational advantages. An apparent disadvantage of this approach is that it does not always produce consistent derivatives. However, for a proper combination of discretization schemes, one can show asymptotic consistency under mesh refinement, which is often sufficient to guarantee convergence of the optimal design algorithm. In particular, we show that when asymptotically consistent schemes are combined with a trust-region optimization algorithm, the resulting optimal design method converges. We denote this approach as the sensitivity equation method. The sensitivity equation method is presented, convergence results are given and the approach is illustrated on two optimal design problems involving shocks.

Rapid assessment of nonlinear optical propagation effects in dielectrics

PubMed Central

Hoyo, J. del; de la Cruz, A. Ruiz; Grace, E.; Ferrer, A.; Siegel, J.; Pasquazi, A.; Assanto, G.; Solis, J.

2015-01-01

Ultrafast laser processing applications need fast approaches to assess the nonlinear propagation of the laser beam in order to predict the optimal range of processing parameters in a wide variety of cases. We develop here a method based on the simple monitoring of the nonlinear beam shaping against numerical prediction. The numerical code solves the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear absorption under simplified conditions by employing a state-of-the art computationally efficient approach. By comparing with experimental results we can rapidly estimate the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the material. The validity of this approach has been tested in a variety of experiments where nonlinearities play a key role, like spatial soliton shaping or fs-laser waveguide writing. The approach provides excellent results for propagated power densities for which free carrier generation effects can be neglected. Above such a threshold, the peculiarities of the nonlinear propagation of elliptical beams enable acquiring an instantaneous picture of the deposition of energy inside the material realistic enough to estimate the effective nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients that can be used for predicting the spatial distribution of energy deposition inside the material and controlling the beam in the writing process. PMID:25564243

Rapid assessment of nonlinear optical propagation effects in dielectrics.

PubMed

del Hoyo, J; de la Cruz, A Ruiz; Grace, E; Ferrer, A; Siegel, J; Pasquazi, A; Assanto, G; Solis, J

2015-01-07

Ultrafast laser processing applications need fast approaches to assess the nonlinear propagation of the laser beam in order to predict the optimal range of processing parameters in a wide variety of cases. We develop here a method based on the simple monitoring of the nonlinear beam shaping against numerical prediction. The numerical code solves the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear absorption under simplified conditions by employing a state-of-the art computationally efficient approach. By comparing with experimental results we can rapidly estimate the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the material. The validity of this approach has been tested in a variety of experiments where nonlinearities play a key role, like spatial soliton shaping or fs-laser waveguide writing. The approach provides excellent results for propagated power densities for which free carrier generation effects can be neglected. Above such a threshold, the peculiarities of the nonlinear propagation of elliptical beams enable acquiring an instantaneous picture of the deposition of energy inside the material realistic enough to estimate the effective nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients that can be used for predicting the spatial distribution of energy deposition inside the material and controlling the beam in the writing process.

Rapid assessment of nonlinear optical propagation effects in dielectrics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoyo, J. Del; de La Cruz, A. Ruiz; Grace, E.; Ferrer, A.; Siegel, J.; Pasquazi, A.; Assanto, G.; Solis, J.

2015-01-01

Ultrafast laser processing applications need fast approaches to assess the nonlinear propagation of the laser beam in order to predict the optimal range of processing parameters in a wide variety of cases. We develop here a method based on the simple monitoring of the nonlinear beam shaping against numerical prediction. The numerical code solves the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with nonlinear absorption under simplified conditions by employing a state-of-the art computationally efficient approach. By comparing with experimental results we can rapidly estimate the nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients of the material. The validity of this approach has been tested in a variety of experiments where nonlinearities play a key role, like spatial soliton shaping or fs-laser waveguide writing. The approach provides excellent results for propagated power densities for which free carrier generation effects can be neglected. Above such a threshold, the peculiarities of the nonlinear propagation of elliptical beams enable acquiring an instantaneous picture of the deposition of energy inside the material realistic enough to estimate the effective nonlinear refractive index and nonlinear absorption coefficients that can be used for predicting the spatial distribution of energy deposition inside the material and controlling the beam in the writing process.

Automated divertor target design by adjoint shape sensitivity analysis and a one-shot method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dekeyser, W., E-mail: Wouter.Dekeyser@kuleuven.be; Reiter, D.; Baelmans, M.

As magnetic confinement fusion progresses towards the development of first reactor-scale devices, computational tokamak divertor design is a topic of high priority. Presently, edge plasma codes are used in a forward approach, where magnetic field and divertor geometry are manually adjusted to meet design requirements. Due to the complex edge plasma flows and large number of design variables, this method is computationally very demanding. On the other hand, efficient optimization-based design strategies have been developed in computational aerodynamics and fluid mechanics. Such an optimization approach to divertor target shape design is elaborated in the present paper. A general formulation ofmore » the design problems is given, and conditions characterizing the optimal designs are formulated. Using a continuous adjoint framework, design sensitivities can be computed at a cost of only two edge plasma simulations, independent of the number of design variables. Furthermore, by using a one-shot method the entire optimization problem can be solved at an equivalent cost of only a few forward simulations. The methodology is applied to target shape design for uniform power load, in simplified edge plasma geometry.« less

Abdomen and spinal cord segmentation with augmented active shape models.

PubMed

Xu, Zhoubing; Conrad, Benjamin N; Baucom, Rebeccah B; Smith, Seth A; Poulose, Benjamin K; Landman, Bennett A

2016-07-01

Active shape models (ASMs) have been widely used for extracting human anatomies in medical images given their capability for shape regularization of topology preservation. However, sensitivity to model initialization and local correspondence search often undermines their performances, especially around highly variable contexts in computed-tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) images. In this study, we propose an augmented ASM (AASM) by integrating the multiatlas label fusion (MALF) and level set (LS) techniques into the traditional ASM framework. Using AASM, landmark updates are optimized globally via a region-based LS evolution applied on the probability map generated from MALF. This augmentation effectively extends the searching range of correspondent landmarks while reducing sensitivity to the image contexts and improves the segmentation robustness. We propose the AASM framework as a two-dimensional segmentation technique targeting structures with one axis of regularity. We apply AASM approach to abdomen CT and spinal cord (SC) MR segmentation challenges. On 20 CT scans, the AASM segmentation of the whole abdominal wall enables the subcutaneous/visceral fat measurement, with high correlation to the measurement derived from manual segmentation. On 28 3T MR scans, AASM yields better performances than other state-of-the-art approaches in segmenting white/gray matter in SC.

Influence of size and shape of sub-micrometer light scattering centers in ZnO-assisted TiO2 photoanode for dye-sensitized solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pham, Trang T. T.; Mathews, Nripan; Lam, Yeng-Ming; Mhaisalkar, Subodh

2018-03-01

Sub-micrometer cavities have been incorporated in the TiO2 photoanode of dye-sensitized solar cell to enhance its optical property with light scattering effect. These are large pores of several hundred nanometers in size and scatter incident light due to the difference refraction index between the scattering center and the surrounding materials, according to Mie theory. The pores are created using polystyrene (PS) or zinc oxide (ZnO) templates reported previously which resulted in ellipsoidal and spherical shapes, respectively. The effect of size and shape of scattering center was modeled using a numerical analysis finite-difference time-domain (FDTD). The scattering cross-section was not affected significantly with different shapes if the total displacement volume of the scattering center is comparable. Experiments were carried out to evaluate the optical property with varying size of ZnO templates. Photovoltaic effect of dye-sensitized solar cells made from these ZnO-assisted films were investigated with incident-photon-to-current efficiency to understand the effect of scattering center size on the enhancement of absorption. With 380 nm macropores incorporated, the power conversion efficiency has increased by 11% mostly thanks to the improved current density, while 170 nm and 500 nm macropores samples did not have increment in sufficiently wide range of absorbing wavelengths.

Thermoelastic analysis of non-uniform pressurized functionally graded cylinder with variable thickness using first order shear deformation theory(FSDT) and perturbation method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khoshgoftar, M. J.; Mirzaali, M. J.; Rahimi, G. H.

2015-11-01

Recently application of functionally graded materials(FGMs) have attracted a great deal of interest. These materials are composed of various materials with different micro-structures which can vary spatially in FGMs. Such composites with varying thickness and non-uniform pressure can be used in the aerospace engineering. Therefore, analysis of such composite is of high importance in engineering problems. Thermoelastic analysis of functionally graded cylinder with variable thickness under non-uniform pressure is considered. First order shear deformation theory and total potential energy approach is applied to obtain the governing equations of non-homogeneous cylinder. Considering the inner and outer solutions, perturbation series are applied to solve the governing equations. Outer solution for out of boundaries and more sensitive variable in inner solution at the boundaries are considered. Combining of inner and outer solution for near and far points from boundaries leads to high accurate displacement field distribution. The main aim of this paper is to show the capability of matched asymptotic solution for different non-homogeneous cylinders with different shapes and different non-uniform pressures. The results can be used to design the optimum thickness of the cylinder and also some properties such as high temperature residence by applying non-homogeneous material.

Plant-Based, Shape-Memory Material Could Replace Today’s Conductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

A novel approach that creates a renewable, leathery material—programmed to remember its shape—may offer a low-cost alternative to conventional conductors for applications in sensors and robotics. To make the bio-based, shape-memory material, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists streamlined a solvent-free process that mixes rubber with lignin—the by-product of woody plants used to make biofuels. They fashioned the leathery material into small strips and brushed on a thin layer of silver nanoparticles to activate electrical conductivity. The strips were stretched or curled and then frozen as part of the process to program the material to return to its intended shape, whichmore » occurs after the application of low heat. “The performance of this polymer can be tuned further,” said ORNL’s Amit Naskar. “Variant lignins can be used at different ratios, which determines the material’s pliability.” This research was sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office.« less

Nuclear delivery of a therapeutic peptide by long circulating pH-sensitive liposomes: benefits over classical vesicles.

PubMed

Ducat, E; Deprez, J; Gillet, A; Noël, A; Evrard, B; Peulen, O; Piel, G

2011-11-28

The purpose of this study is to propose a suitable vector combining increased circulation lifetime and intracellular delivery capacities for a therapeutic peptide. Long circulating classical liposomes [SPC:CHOL:PEG-750-DSPE (47:47:6 molar% ratio)] or pH-sensitive stealth liposomes [DOPE:CHEMS:CHOL:PEG(750)-DSPE (43:21:30:6 molar% ratio)] were used to deliver a therapeutic peptide to its nuclear site of action. The benefit of using stealth pH-sensitive liposomes was investigated and formulations were compared to classical liposomes in terms of size, shape, charge, encapsulation efficiency, stability and, most importantly, in terms of cellular uptake. Confocal microscopy and flow cytometry were used to evaluate the intracellular fate of liposomes themselves and of their hydrophilic encapsulated material. Cellular uptake of peptide-loaded liposomes was also investigated in three cell lines: Hs578t human epithelial cells from breast carcinoma, MDA-MB-231 human breast carcinoma cells and WI-26 human diploid lung fibroblast cells. The difference between formulations in terms of peptide delivery from the endosome to the cytoplasm and even to the nucleus was investigated as a function of time. Characterization studies showed that both formulations possess acceptable size, shape and encapsulation efficiency but cellular uptake studies showed the important benefit of the pH-sensitive formulation over the classical one, in spite of liposome PEGylation. Indeed, stealth pH-sensitive liposomes were able to deliver hydrophilic materials strongly to the cytoplasm. Most importantly, when encapsulated in pH-sensitive stealth liposomes, the peptide was able to reach the nucleus of tumorigenic and non tumorigenic breast cancer cells. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Model for Determining Strength for Embedded Elliptical Crack in Ultra-high-temperature Ceramics

PubMed Central

Wang, Ruzhuan; Li, Weiguo

2015-01-01

A fracture strength model applied at room temperature for embedded elliptical crack in brittle solid was obtained. With further research on the effects of various physical mechanisms on material strength, a thermo-damage strength model for ultra-high-temperature ceramics was applied to each temperature phase. Fracture strength of TiC and the changing trends with elliptical crack shape variations under different temperatures were studied. The study showed that under low temperature, the strength is sensitive to the crack shape variation; as the temperature increases, the sensitivities become smaller. The size of ellipse’s minor axes has great effect on the material strength when the ratio of ellipse’s minor and major axes is lower than 0.5, even under relatively high temperatures. The effect of the minor axes of added particle on material properties thus should be considered under this condition. As the crack area is set, the fracture strength decreases firstly and then increases with the increase of ratio of ellipse’s minor and major axes, and the turning point is 0.5. It suggests that for the added particles the ratio of ellipse’s minor and major axes should not be 0.5. All conclusions significantly coincided with the results obtained by using the finite element software ABAQUS. PMID:28793488

A Model for Determining Strength for Embedded Elliptical Crack in Ultra-high-temperature Ceramics.

PubMed

Wang, Ruzhuan; Li, Weiguo

2015-08-05

A fracture strength model applied at room temperature for embedded elliptical crack in brittle solid was obtained. With further research on the effects of various physical mechanisms on material strength, a thermo-damage strength model for ultra-high-temperature ceramics was applied to each temperature phase. Fracture strength of TiC and the changing trends with elliptical crack shape variations under different temperatures were studied. The study showed that under low temperature, the strength is sensitive to the crack shape variation; as the temperature increases, the sensitivities become smaller. The size of ellipse's minor axes has great effect on the material strength when the ratio of ellipse's minor and major axes is lower than 0.5, even under relatively high temperatures. The effect of the minor axes of added particle on material properties thus should be considered under this condition. As the crack area is set, the fracture strength decreases firstly and then increases with the increase of ratio of ellipse's minor and major axes, and the turning point is 0.5. It suggests that for the added particles the ratio of ellipse's minor and major axes should not be 0.5. All conclusions significantly coincided with the results obtained by using the finite element software ABAQUS.

Quantifying floral shape variation in 3D using microcomputed tomography: a case study of a hybrid line between actinomorphic and zygomorphic flowers.

PubMed

Wang, Chun-Neng; Hsu, Hao-Chun; Wang, Cheng-Chun; Lee, Tzu-Kuei; Kuo, Yan-Fu

2015-01-01

The quantification of floral shape variations is difficult because flower structures are both diverse and complex. Traditionally, floral shape variations are quantified using the qualitative and linear measurements of two-dimensional (2D) images. The 2D images cannot adequately describe flower structures, and thus lead to unsatisfactory discrimination of the flower shape. This study aimed to acquire three-dimensional (3D) images by using microcomputed tomography (μCT) and to examine the floral shape variations by using geometric morphometrics (GM). To demonstrate the advantages of the 3D-μCT-GM approach, we applied the approach to a second-generation population of florist's gloxinia (Sinningia speciosa) crossed from parents of zygomorphic and actinomorphic flowers. The flowers in the population considerably vary in size and shape, thereby served as good materials to test the applicability of the proposed phenotyping approach. Procedures were developed to acquire 3D volumetric flower images using a μCT scanner, to segment the flower regions from the background, and to select homologous characteristic points (i.e., landmarks) from the flower images for the subsequent GM analysis. The procedures identified 95 landmarks for each flower and thus improved the capability of describing and illustrating the flower shapes, compared with typically lower number of landmarks in 2D analyses. The GM analysis demonstrated that flower opening and dorsoventral symmetry were the principal shape variations of the flowers. The degrees of flower opening and corolla asymmetry were then subsequently quantified directly from the 3D flower images. The 3D-μCT-GM approach revealed shape variations that could not be identified using typical 2D approaches and accurately quantified the flower traits that presented a challenge in 2D images. The approach opens new avenues to investigate floral shape variations.

Plastic deformation history in infeed rotary swaging process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Herrmann, Marius; Schenck, Christian; Kuhfuss, Bernd

2017-10-01

In bulk forming processes, the net shape of a final product is achieved by plastic deformation as the material flows from the initial shape to the final shape of the workpiece. The material flow during the process is an important issue for its relationship with forging force, heat generation, microstructure transformation and energy consumption. Hence, the final properties of the product are directly influenced. Former researches showed that the material flow in the rotary swaging process is affected by different processing parameters like die angle, feeding velocity and friction condition. Thus, a profound knowledge of detailed material flow during the process is essential for a better understanding of the process. By using FEM, the material flow was investigated by the history of the plastic strain (PEEQ) development. In this study a 2D-axisymmetric model was built by using ABAQUS explicit. Both aluminum alloy (3.3206) and steel (1.0308) are studied with different feeding velocities and coefficients of friction. To achieve the development of PEEQ in different areas, the workpiece was divided into radial layers. The PEEQ history of each layer was tracked during the quasi-static forming process. Based on that, the plastic strain rate (PSR) was calculated and examined in a single stroke of the process. In that way, the material flow in different layers is presented and the material flow on the surface differs from that in the center, just the first 1/4 radial area from the surface is sensitive to different friction conditions.

Homogenization and texture development in rapidly solidified AZ91E consolidated by Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Overman, N. R.; Whalen, S. A.; Bowden, M. E.

Shear Assisted Processing and Extrusion (ShAPE) -a novel processing route that combines high shear and extrusion conditions- was evaluated as a processing method to densify melt spun magnesium alloy (AZ91E) flake materials. This study illustrates the microstructural regimes and transitions in crystallographic texture that occur as a result of applying simultaneous linear and rotational shear during extrusion. Characterization of the flake precursor and extruded tube was performed using scanning and transmission electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction and microindentation techniques. Results show a unique transition in the orientation of basal texture development. Despite the high temperatures involved during processing, uniform grain refinementmore » and material homogenization are observed. These results forecast the ability to implement the ShAPE processing approach for a broader range of materials with novel microstructures and high performance.« less

Multimaterial 4D Printing with Tailorable Shape Memory Polymers

PubMed Central

Ge, Qi; Sakhaei, Amir Hosein; Lee, Howon; Dunn, Conner K.; Fang, Nicholas X.; Dunn, Martin L.

2016-01-01

We present a new 4D printing approach that can create high resolution (up to a few microns), multimaterial shape memory polymer (SMP) architectures. The approach is based on high resolution projection microstereolithography (PμSL) and uses a family of photo-curable methacrylate based copolymer networks. We designed the constituents and compositions to exhibit desired thermomechanical behavior (including rubbery modulus, glass transition temperature and failure strain which is more than 300% and larger than any existing printable materials) to enable controlled shape memory behavior. We used a high resolution, high contrast digital micro display to ensure high resolution of photo-curing methacrylate based SMPs that requires higher exposure energy than more common acrylate based polymers. An automated material exchange process enables the manufacture of 3D composite architectures from multiple photo-curable SMPs. In order to understand the behavior of the 3D composite microarchitectures, we carry out high fidelity computational simulations of their complex nonlinear, time-dependent behavior and study important design considerations including local deformation, shape fixity and free recovery rate. Simulations are in good agreement with experiments for a series of single and multimaterial components and can be used to facilitate the design of SMP 3D structures. PMID:27499417

Fabrication development for ODS-superalloy, air-cooled turbine blades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moracz, D. J.

1984-01-01

MA-600 is a gamma prime and oxide dispersion strengthened superalloy made by mechanical alloying. At the initiation of this program, MA-6000 was available as an experimental alloy only and did not go into production until late in the program. The objective of this program was to develop a thermal-mechanical-processing approach which would yield the necessary elongated grain structure and desirable mechanical properties after conventional press forging. Forging evaluations were performed to select optimum thermal-mechanical-processing conditions. These forging evaluations indicated that MA-6000 was extremely sensitive to die chilling. In order to conventionally hot forge the alloy, an adherent cladding, either the original extrusion can or a thick plating, was required to prevent cracking of the workpiece. Die design must reflect the requirement of cladding. MA-6000 was found to be sensitive to the forging temperature. The correct temperature required to obtain the proper grain structure after recrystallization was found to be between 1010-1065 C (1850-1950 F). The deformation level did not affect subsequent crystallization; however, sharp transition areas in tooling designs should be avoided in forming a blade shape because of the potential for grain structure discontinuities. Starting material to be used for forging should be processed so that it is capable of being zone annealed to a coarse elongated grain structure as bar stock. This conclusion means that standard processed bar materials can be used.

Comparison of Traditional Design Nonlinear Programming Optimization and Stochastic Methods for Structural Design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patnaik, Surya N.; Pai, Shantaram S.; Coroneos, Rula M.

2010-01-01

Structural design generated by traditional method, optimization method and the stochastic design concept are compared. In the traditional method, the constraints are manipulated to obtain the design and weight is back calculated. In design optimization, the weight of a structure becomes the merit function with constraints imposed on failure modes and an optimization algorithm is used to generate the solution. Stochastic design concept accounts for uncertainties in loads, material properties, and other parameters and solution is obtained by solving a design optimization problem for a specified reliability. Acceptable solutions were produced by all the three methods. The variation in the weight calculated by the methods was modest. Some variation was noticed in designs calculated by the methods. The variation may be attributed to structural indeterminacy. It is prudent to develop design by all three methods prior to its fabrication. The traditional design method can be improved when the simplified sensitivities of the behavior constraint is used. Such sensitivity can reduce design calculations and may have a potential to unify the traditional and optimization methods. Weight versus reliabilitytraced out an inverted-S-shaped graph. The center of the graph corresponded to mean valued design. A heavy design with weight approaching infinity could be produced for a near-zero rate of failure. Weight can be reduced to a small value for a most failure-prone design. Probabilistic modeling of load and material properties remained a challenge.

Design sensitivity analysis of boundary element substructures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kane, James H.; Saigal, Sunil; Gallagher, Richard H.

1989-01-01

The ability to reduce or condense a three-dimensional model exactly, and then iterate on this reduced size model representing the parts of the design that are allowed to change in an optimization loop is discussed. The discussion presents the results obtained from an ongoing research effort to exploit the concept of substructuring within the structural shape optimization context using a Boundary Element Analysis (BEA) formulation. The first part contains a formulation for the exact condensation of portions of the overall boundary element model designated as substructures. The use of reduced boundary element models in shape optimization requires that structural sensitivity analysis can be performed. A reduced sensitivity analysis formulation is then presented that allows for the calculation of structural response sensitivities of both the substructured (reduced) and unsubstructured parts of the model. It is shown that this approach produces significant computational economy in the design sensitivity analysis and reanalysis process by facilitating the block triangular factorization and forward reduction and backward substitution of smaller matrices. The implementatior of this formulation is discussed and timings and accuracies of representative test cases presented.

Within-wafer CD variation induced by wafer shape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Chi-hao; Yang, Mars; Yang, Elvis; Yang, T. H.; Chen, K. C.

2016-03-01

In order to meet the increasing storage capacity demand and reduce bit cost of NAND flash memories, 3D stacked vertical flash cell array has been proposed. In constructing 3D NAND flash memories, the bit number per unit area is increased as increasing the number of stacked layers. However, the increased number of stacked layers has made the film stress control extremely important for maintaining good process quality. The residual film stress alters the wafer shape accordingly several process impacts have been readily observed across wafer, such as film deposition non-uniformity, etch rate non-uniformity, wafer chucking error on scanner, materials coating/baking defects, overlay degradation and critical dimension (CD) non-uniformity. The residual tensile and compressive stresses on wafers will result in concave and convex wafer shapes, respectively. This study investigates within-wafer CD uniformity (CDU) associated with wafer shape change induced by the 3D NAND flash memory processes. Within-wafer CDU was correlated with several critical parameters including different wafer bow heights of concave and convex wafer shapes, photo resists with different post exposure baking (PEB) temperature sensitivities, and DoseMapper compensation. The results indicated the trend of within-wafer CDU maintains flat for convex wafer shapes with bow height up to +230um and concave wafer shapes with bow height ranging from 0 ~ -70um, while the within-wafer CDU trends up from -70um to -246um wafer bow heights. To minimize the within-wafer CD distribution induced by wafer warpage, carefully tailoring the film stack and thermal budget in the process flow for maintaining the wafer shape at CDU friendly range is indispensable and using photo-resist materials with lower PEB temperature sensitivity is also suggested. In addition, DoseMapper compensation is also an alternative to greatly suppress the within-wafer CD non-uniformity but the photo-resist profile variation induced by across-wafer PEB temperature non-uniformity attributed to wafer warpage is uncorrectable, and the photo-resist profile variation is believed to affect across-wafer etch bias uniformity to some degree.

Earth materials research: Report of a Workshop on Physics and Chemistry of Earth Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1987-01-01

The report concludes that an enhanced effort of earth materials research is necessary to advance the understanding of the processes that shape the planet. In support of such an effort, there are new classes of experiments, new levels of analytical sensitivity and precision, and new levels of theory that are now applicable in understanding the physical and chemical properties of geological materials. The application of these capabilities involves the need to upgrade and make greater use of existing facilities as well as the development of new techniques. A concomitant need is for a sample program involving their collection, synthesis, distribution, and analysis.

Experimental model of the device for detection of nuclear cycle materials by photoneutron technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bakalyarov, A. M.; Karetnikov, M. D.; Kozlov, K. N.; Lebedev, V. I.; Meleshko, E. A.; Obinyakov, B. A.; Ostashev, I. E.; Tupikin, N. A.; Yakovlev, G. V.

2007-08-01

The inherent complexity of sea container control makes them potentially dangerous for smuggling nuclear materials. The experts believe that only active technologies based on recording the products of induced radiation from sensitive materials might solve the problem. The paper reports on the experimental model of the device on the basis of the electron LINAC U-28 for detection of nuclear materials by photonuclear technology. The preliminary numerical optimization of output units (converter, filter, collimator) for shaping the bremsstrahlung was carried out. The setup of experimental device and initial results of recording the prompt and delayed fission products are discussed.

Colloidal aluminum nanoparticles with tunable localized surface plasmon resonances for energy applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Yan; Smith, Kenneth; Arinze, Ebuka; Nyirjesy, Gabrielle; Bragg, Arthur; Thon, Susanna

Localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) of noble metal nanoparticles are of interest for energy applications due to their visible and near infrared wavelength sensitivity. However, application of these materials in optoelectronic devices is limited by their rarity and high cost. Earth-abundant, inexpensive and non-toxic aluminum is a promising alternative material with a plasmon resonance that can also be tuned via size-, shape- and surface-oxide-control. Here, we employ solution-processed methods to synthesize stable colloidal aluminum nanoparticles. We systematically investigate parameters in the synthesis that control size, shape and oxidation of the aluminum nanoparticles and tune their LSPRs over the ultraviolet and visible spectral regions. We optically characterize the nanoparticle solutions and evaluate their potential for future integration into photovoltaic, photocatalytic and photosensing systems.

Force Sensitive Handles and Capacitive Touch Sensor for Driving a Flexible Haptic-Based Immersive System

PubMed Central

Covarrubias, Mario; Bordegoni, Monica; Cugini, Umberto

2013-01-01

In this article, we present an approach that uses both two force sensitive handles (FSH) and a flexible capacitive touch sensor (FCTS) to drive a haptic-based immersive system. The immersive system has been developed as part of a multimodal interface for product design. The haptic interface consists of a strip that can be used by product designers to evaluate the quality of a 3D virtual shape by using touch, vision and hearing and, also, to interactively change the shape of the virtual object. Specifically, the user interacts with the FSH to move the virtual object and to appropriately position the haptic interface for retrieving the six degrees of freedom required for both manipulation and modification modalities. The FCTS allows the system to track the movement and position of the user's fingers on the strip, which is used for rendering visual and sound feedback. Two evaluation experiments are described, which involve both the evaluation and the modification of a 3D shape. Results show that the use of the haptic strip for the evaluation of aesthetic shapes is effective and supports product designers in the appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of the shape. PMID:24113680

Design of a dynamic sensor inspired by bat ears

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Rolf; Pannala, Mittu; Reddy, O. Praveen K.; Meymand, Sajjad Z.

2012-09-01

In bats, the outer ear shapes act as beamforming baffles that create a spatial sensitivity pattern for the reception of the biosonar signals. Whereas technical receivers for wave-based signals usually have rigid geometries, the outer ears of some bat species, such as horseshoe bats, can undergo non-rigid deformations as a result of muscular actuation. It is hypothesized that these deformations provide the animals with a mechanism to adapt their spatial hearing sensitivity on short, sub-second time scales. This biological approach could be of interest to engineering as an inspiration for the design of beamforming devices that combine flexibility with parsimonious implementation. To explore this possibility, a biomimetic dynamic baffle was designed based on a simple shape overall geometry based on an average bat ear. This shape was augmented with three different biomimetic local shape features, a ridge on its exposed surface as well as a flap and an incision along its rim. Dynamic non-rigid deformations of the shape were accomplished through a simple actuation mechanism based on linear actuation inserted at a single point. Despite its simplicity, the prototype device was able to reproduce the dynamic functional characteristics that have been predicted for its biological paragon in a qualitative fashion.

Force sensitive handles and capacitive touch sensor for driving a flexible haptic-based immersive system.

PubMed

Covarrubias, Mario; Bordegoni, Monica; Cugini, Umberto

2013-10-09

In this article, we present an approach that uses both two force sensitive handles (FSH) and a flexible capacitive touch sensor (FCTS) to drive a haptic-based immersive system. The immersive system has been developed as part of a multimodal interface for product design. The haptic interface consists of a strip that can be used by product designers to evaluate the quality of a 3D virtual shape by using touch, vision and hearing and, also, to interactively change the shape of the virtual object. Specifically, the user interacts with the FSH to move the virtual object and to appropriately position the haptic interface for retrieving the six degrees of freedom required for both manipulation and modification modalities. The FCTS allows the system to track the movement and position of the user's fingers on the strip, which is used for rendering visual and sound feedback. Two evaluation experiments are described, which involve both the evaluation and the modification of a 3D shape. Results show that the use of the haptic strip for the evaluation of aesthetic shapes is effective and supports product designers in the appreciation of the aesthetic qualities of the shape.

Hierarchically-driven Approach for Quantifying Materials Uncertainty in Creep Deformation and Failure of Aerospace Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-07-01

characteristics and to examine the sensitivity of using such techniques for evaluating microstructure. In addition to the GUI tool, a manual describing its use has... Evaluating Local Primary Dendrite Arm Spacing Characterization Techniques Using Synthetic Directionally Solidified Dendritic Microstructures, Metallurgical and...driven approach for quanti - fying materials uncertainty in creep deformation and failure of aerspace materials, Multi-scale Structural Mechanics and

Calibration and Finite Element Implementation of an Energy-Based Material Model for Shape Memory Alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junker, Philipp; Hackl, Klaus

2016-09-01

Numerical simulations are a powerful tool to analyze the complex thermo-mechanically coupled material behavior of shape memory alloys during product engineering. The benefit of the simulations strongly depends on the quality of the underlying material model. In this contribution, we discuss a variational approach which is based solely on energetic considerations and demonstrate that unique calibration of such a model is sufficient to predict the material behavior at varying ambient temperature. In the beginning, we recall the necessary equations of the material model and explain the fundamental idea. Afterwards, we focus on the numerical implementation and provide all information that is needed for programing. Then, we show two different ways to calibrate the model and discuss the results. Furthermore, we show how this model is used during real-life industrial product engineering.

Relationship between footwear comfort of shoe inserts and anthropometric and sensory factors.

PubMed

Mündermann, A; Stefanyshyn, D J; Nigg, B M

2001-11-01

The purposes of this study were (a) to determine lower extremity anthropometric and sensory factors that are related to differences in comfort perception of shoe inserts with varying shape and material and (b) to investigate whether shoe inserts that improve comfort decrease injury frequency in a military population. 206 military personnel volunteered for this study. The shoe inserts varied in arch and heel cup shape, hardness, and elasticity in the heel and forefoot regions. A no insert condition was included as the control condition. Measured subject characteristics included foot shape, foot and leg alignment, and tactile and vibration sensitivity of the plantar surface of the foot. Footwear comfort was assessed using a visual analog scale. Injury frequency was evaluated with a questionnaire. The statistical analyses included Student's t-tests for repeated measures, ANOVA (within subjects), MANOVA (within insert combinations), and chi-square tests. The average comfort ratings for all shoe inserts were significantly higher than the average comfort rating for the control condition. The incidence of stress fractures and pain at different locations was reduced by 1.5-13.4% for the insert compared with the control group. Foot arch height, foot and leg alignment, and foot sensitivity were significantly related to differences in comfort ratings for the hard/soft, the viscous/elastic, and the high arch/low arch insert combinations. Shoe inserts of different shape and material that are comfortable are able to decrease injury frequency. The results of this study showed that subject specific characteristics influence comfort perception of shoe inserts.

Nanostructured Tip-Shaped Biosensors: Application of Six Sigma Approach for Enhanced Manufacturing

PubMed Central

Kahng, Seong-Joong; Kim, Jong-Hoon; Chung, Jae-Hyun

2016-01-01

Nanostructured tip-shaped biosensors have drawn attention for biomolecule detection as they are promising for highly sensitive and specific detection of a target analyte. Using a nanostructured tip, the sensitivity is increased to identify individual molecules because of the high aspect ratio structure. Various detection methods, such as electrochemistry, fluorescence microcopy, and Raman spectroscopy, have been attempted to enhance the sensitivity and the specificity. Due to the confined path of electrons, electrochemical measurement using a nanotip enables the detection of single molecules. When an electric field is combined with capillary action and fluid flow, target molecules can be effectively concentrated onto a nanotip surface for detection. To enhance the concentration efficacy, a dendritic nanotip rather than a single tip could be used to detect target analytes, such as nanoparticles, cells, and DNA. However, reproducible fabrication with relation to specific detection remains a challenge due to the instability of a manufacturing method, resulting in inconsistent shape. In this paper, nanostructured biosensors are reviewed with our experimental results using dendritic nanotips for sequence specific detection of DNA. By the aid of the Six Sigma approach, the fabrication yield of dendritic nanotips increases from 20.0% to 86.6%. Using the nanotips, DNA is concentrated and detected in a sequence specific way with the detection limit equivalent to 1000 CFU/mL. The pros and cons of a nanotip biosensor are evaluated in conjunction with future prospects. PMID:28025540

Flexible wire-shaped strain sensor from cotton thread for human health and motion detection.

PubMed

Li, Yuan-Qing; Huang, Pei; Zhu, Wei-Bin; Fu, Shao-Yun; Hu, Ning; Liao, Kin

2017-03-21

In this work, a wire-shaped flexible strain sensor was fabricated by encapsulating conductive carbon thread (CT) with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer. The key strain sensitive material, CT, was prepared by pyrolysing cotton thread in N 2 atmosphere. The CT/PDMS composite wire shows a typical piezo-resistive behavior with high strain sensitivity. The gauge factors (GF) calculated at low strain of 0-4% and high strain of 8-10% are 8.7 and 18.5, respectively, which are much higher than that of the traditional metallic strain sensor (GF around 2). The wire-shaped CT/PDMS composite sensor shows excellent response to cyclic tensile loading within the strain range of 0-10%, the frequency range of 0.01-10 Hz, to up to 2000 cycles. The potential of the wire senor as wearable strain sensor is demonstrated by the finger motion and blood pulse monitoring. Featured by the low costs of cotton wire and PDMS resin, the simple structure and fabrication technique, as well as high performance with miniaturized size, the wire-shaped sensor based on CT/PDMS composite is believed to have a great potential for application in wearable electronics for human health and motion monitoring.

Submillimeter and Far-Infrared Dielectric Properties of Thin Films

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cataldo, Giuseppe; Wollack, Edward J.

2016-01-01

The complex dielectric function enables the study of a material's refractive and absorptive properties and provides information on a material's potential for practical application. Commonly employed line shape profile functions from the literature are briefly surveyed and their suitability for representation of dielectric material properties are discussed. An analysis approach to derive a material's complex dielectric function from observed transmittance spectra in the far-infrared and submillimeter regimes is presented. The underlying model employed satisfies the requirements set by the Kramers-Kronig relations. The dielectric function parameters derived from this approach typically reproduce the observed transmittance spectra with an accuracy of less than 4%.

Under-Track CFD-Based Shape Optimization for a Low-Boom Demonstrator Concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wintzer, Mathias; Ordaz, Irian; Fenbert, James W.

2015-01-01

The detailed outer mold line shaping of a Mach 1.6, demonstrator-sized low-boom concept is presented. Cruise trim is incorporated a priori as part of the shaping objective, using an equivalent-area-based approach. Design work is performed using a gradient-driven optimization framework that incorporates a three-dimensional, nonlinear flow solver, a parametric geometry modeler, and sensitivities derived using the adjoint method. The shaping effort is focused on reducing the under-track sonic boom level using an inverse design approach, while simultaneously satisfying the trim requirement. Conceptual-level geometric constraints are incorporated in the optimization process, including the internal layout of fuel tanks, landing gear, engine, and crew station. Details of the model parameterization and design process are documented for both flow-through and powered states, and the performance of these optimized vehicles presented in terms of inviscid L/D, trim state, pressures in the near-field and at the ground, and predicted sonic boom loudness.

Preparation and characterization of triple shape memory composite foams.

PubMed

Nejad, Hossein Birjandi; Baker, Richard M; Mather, Patrick T

2014-10-28

Foams prepared from shape memory polymers (SMPs) offer the potential for low density materials that can be triggered to deploy with a large volume change, unlike their solid counterparts that do so at near-constant volume. While examples of shape memory foams have been reported in the past, they have been limited to dual SMPs: those polymers featuring one switching transition between an arbitrarily programmed shape and a single permanent shape established by constituent crosslinks. Meanwhile, advances by SMP researchers have led to several approaches toward triple- or multi-shape polymers that feature more than one switching phase and thus a multitude of temporary shapes allowing for a complex sequence of shape deployments. Here, we report the design, preparation, and characterization of a triple shape memory polymeric foam that is open cell in nature and features a two phase, crosslinked SMP with a glass transition temperature of one phase at a temperature lower than a melting transition of the second phase. The soft materials were observed to feature high fidelity, repeatable triple shape behavior, characterized in compression and demonstrated for complex deployment by fixing a combination of foam compression and bending. We further explored the wettability of the foams, revealing composition-dependent behavior favorable for future work in biomedical investigations.

Mechanical and Infrared Thermography Analysis of Shape Memory Polyurethane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pieczyska, Elzbieta Alicja; Maj, Michal; Kowalczyk-Gajewska, Katarzyna; Staszczak, Maria; Urbanski, Leszek; Tobushi, Hisaaki; Hayashi, Shunichi; Cristea, Mariana

2014-07-01

Multifunctional new material—polyurethane shape memory polymer (PU-SMP)—was subjected to tension carried out at room temperature at various strain rates. The influence of effects of thermomechanical couplings on the SMP mechanical properties was studied, based on the sample temperature changes, measured by a fast and sensitive infrared camera. It was found that the polymer deformation process strongly depends on the strain rate applied. The initial reversible strain is accompanied by a small drop in temperature, called thermoelastic effect. Its maximal value is related to the SMP yield point and increases upon increase of the strain rate. At higher strains, the stress and temperature significantly increase, caused by reorientation of the polymer molecular chains, followed by the stress drop and its subsequent increase accompanying the sample rupture. The higher strain rate, the higher stress, and temperature changes were obtained, since the deformation process was more dynamic and has occurred in almost adiabatic conditions. The constitutive model of SMP valid in finite strain regime was developed. In the proposed approach, SMP is described as a two-phase material composed of hyperelastic rubbery phase and elastic-viscoplastic glassy phase, while the volume content of phases is specified by the current temperature.

Computational evidence for stable inorganic fullerene-like structures of ceramic and semiconductor materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Ch; Patzer, A. B. C.; Sedlmayr, E.; Steinke, T.; Sülzle, D.

2001-12-01

Theoretical electronic structure techniques have become an indispensible and powerful means for predicting molecular properties and designing new materials. Based on a density functional approach and guided by geometric considerations we provide evidence for some specific inorganic fullerene-like cage molecules of ceramic and semiconductor materials which exhibit high energetic stability and point group symmetry as well as nearly perfect spherical shape.

Data-driven design optimization for composite material characterization

Treesearch

John G. Michopoulos; John C. Hermanson; Athanasios Iliopoulos; Samuel G. Lambrakos; Tomonari Furukawa

2011-06-01

The main goal of the present paper is to demonstrate the value of design optimization beyond its use for structural shape determination in the realm of the constitutive characterization of anisotropic material systems such as polymer matrix composites with or without damage. The approaches discussed are based on the availability of massive experimental data...

A scintillator-based approach to monitor secondary neutron production during proton therapy.

PubMed

Clarke, S D; Pryser, E; Wieger, B M; Pozzi, S A; Haelg, R A; Bashkirov, V A; Schulte, R W

2016-11-01

The primary objective of this work is to measure the secondary neutron field produced by an uncollimated proton pencil beam impinging on different tissue-equivalent phantom materials using organic scintillation detectors. Additionally, the Monte Carlo code mcnpx-PoliMi was used to simulate the detector response for comparison to the measured data. Comparison of the measured and simulated data will validate this approach for monitoring secondary neutron dose during proton therapy. Proton beams of 155- and 200-MeV were used to irradiate a variety of phantom materials and secondary particles were detected using organic liquid scintillators. These detectors are sensitive to fast neutrons and gamma rays: pulse shape discrimination was used to classify each detected pulse as either a neutron or a gamma ray. The mcnpx-PoliMi code was used to simulate the secondary neutron field produced during proton irradiation of the same tissue-equivalent phantom materials. An experiment was performed at the Loma Linda University Medical Center proton therapy research beam line and corresponding models were created using the mcnpx-PoliMi code. The authors' analysis showed agreement between the simulations and the measurements. The simulated detector response can be used to validate the simulations of neutron and gamma doses on a particular beam line with or without a phantom. The authors have demonstrated a method of monitoring the neutron component of the secondary radiation field produced by therapeutic protons. The method relies on direct detection of secondary neutrons and gamma rays using organic scintillation detectors. These detectors are sensitive over the full range of biologically relevant neutron energies above 0.5 MeV and allow effective discrimination between neutron and photon dose. Because the detector system is portable, the described system could be used in the future to evaluate secondary neutron and gamma doses on various clinical beam lines for commissioning and prospective data collection in pediatric patients treated with proton therapy.

Enhancing photocurrent transient spectroscopy by electromagnetic modeling.

PubMed

Diesinger, H; Panahandeh-Fard, M; Wang, Z; Baillargeat, D; Soci, C

2012-05-01

The shape and duration of photocurrent transients generated by a photoconductive switch depend on both the intrinsic response of the active material and the geometry of the transmission line structure. The present electromagnetic model decouples both shape forming contributions. In contrast to previously published work, it accounts for the particular operating mode of transient spectroscopy. The objective is to increase the time resolution by two approaches, by optimizing structural response and by deconvolving it from experimental data. The switch structure is represented by an effective transimpedance onto which the active material acts as current generator. As proof of concept, the response of a standard microstrip switch is modeled and deconvolved from experimental data acquired in GaAs, yielding a single exponential material response and hence supporting the validity of the approach. Beyond compensating for the response deterioration by the structure, switch architectures can be a priori optimized with respect to frequency response. As an example, it is shown that a microstrip gap that can be deposited on materials incompatible with standard lithography reduces pulse broadening by an order of magnitude if it is provided with transitions to coplanar access lines.

Programmable and coherent crystallization of semiconductors

PubMed Central

Yu, Liyang; Niazi, Muhammad R.; Ngongang Ndjawa, Guy O.; Li, Ruipeng; Kirmani, Ahmad R.; Munir, Rahim; Balawi, Ahmed H.; Laquai, Frédéric; Amassian, Aram

2017-01-01

The functional properties and technological utility of polycrystalline materials are largely determined by the structure, geometry, and spatial distribution of their multitude of crystals. However, crystallization is seeded through stochastic and incoherent nucleation events, limiting the ability to control or pattern the microstructure, texture, and functional properties of polycrystalline materials. We present a universal approach that can program the microstructure of materials through the coherent seeding of otherwise stochastic homogeneous nucleation events. The method relies on creating topographic variations to seed nucleation and growth at designated locations while delaying nucleation elsewhere. Each seed can thus produce a coherent growth front of crystallization with a geometry designated by the shape and arrangement of seeds. Periodic and aperiodic crystalline arrays of functional materials, such as semiconductors, can thus be created on demand and with unprecedented sophistication and ease by patterning the location and shape of the seeds. This approach is used to demonstrate printed arrays of organic thin-film transistors with remarkable performance and reproducibility owing to their demonstrated spatial control over the microstructure of organic and inorganic polycrystalline semiconductors. PMID:28275737

Shape morphing and motion of responsive hydrogel composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayward, Ryan

Composites of stimuli-responsive hydrogels paired with stiff structural elements or functional inorganic materials offer myriad opportunities to control the shape, properties, and motion of materials. In one example, our group has studied the geometry and mechanics of swelling-induced buckling of polymer trilayer films consisting of patterning rigid layers sandwiching a swellable hydrogel layer. Of particular recent interest has been the formation of helical structures from seedpod-type architectures with perpendicular orientation of stripes on opposite faces. We have studied the concatenation of two or more helical segments, yielding simple geometric design rules for the fabrication of 3D constructs. In a second example, we have considered the light-driven reshaping and motion of hydrogels containing plasmonic nanoparticles as photothermal heating elements. In contrast to systems pre-programmed to take on a single, or perhaps a few, different 3D shapes, this approach enables continuous shape reconfiguration, and correspondingly, directed motion of composite hydrogel sheets.

Beam shaping for laser initiated optical primers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lizotte, Todd E.

2008-08-01

Remington was one of the first firearm manufacturing companies to file a patent for laser initiated firearms, in 1969. Nearly 40 years later, the development of laser initiated firearms has not become a mainstream technology in the civilian market. Requiring a battery is definitely a short coming, so it is easy to see how such a concept would be problematic. Having a firearm operate reliably and the delivery of laser energy in an efficient manner to ignite the shock-sensitive explosive primer mixtures is a tall task indeed. There has been considerable research on optical element based methods of transferring or compressing laser energy to ignite primer charges, including windows, laser chip primers and various lens shaped windows to focus the laser energy. The focusing of laser light needs to achieve igniting temperatures upwards of >400°C. Many of the patent filings covering this type of technology discuss simple approaches where a single point of light might be sufficient to perform this task. Alternatively a multi-point method might provide better performance, especially for mission critical applications, such as precision military firearms. This paper covers initial design and performance test of the laser beam shaping optics to create simultaneous multiple point ignition locations and a circumferential intense ring for igniting primer charge compounds. A simple initial test of the ring beam shaping technique was evaluated on a standard large caliber primer to determine its effectiveness on igniting the primer material. Several tests were conducted to gauge the feasibility of laser beam shaping, including optic fabrication and mounting on a cartridge, optic durability and functional ignition performance. Initial data will be presented, including testing of optically elements and empirical primer ignition / burn analysis.

Stress reduction for pillar filled structures

DOEpatents

Nikolic, Rebecca J.; Conway, Adam; Shao, Qinghui; Voss, Lars; Cheung, Chin Li; Dar, Mushtaq A.

2015-09-01

According to one embodiment, an apparatus for detecting neutrons includes an array of pillars, wherein each of the pillars comprises a rounded cross sectional shape where the cross section is taken perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the respective pillar, a cavity region between each of the pillars, and a neutron sensitive material located in each cavity region.

Toroidal sensor arrays for real-time photoacoustic imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bychkov, Anton S.; Cherepetskaya, Elena B.; Karabutov, Alexander A.; Makarov, Vladimir A.

2017-07-01

This article addresses theoretical and numerical investigation of image formation in photoacoustic (PA) imaging with complex-shaped concave sensor arrays. The spatial resolution and the size of sensitivity region of PA and laser ultrasonic (LU) imaging systems are assessed using sensitivity maps and spatial resolution maps in the image plane. This paper also discusses the relationship between the size of high-sensitivity regions and the spatial resolution of real-time imaging systems utilizing toroidal arrays. It is shown that the use of arrays with toroidal geometry significantly improves the diagnostic capabilities of PA and LU imaging to investigate biological objects, rocks, and composite materials.

Integrated multidisciplinary design optimization using discrete sensitivity analysis for geometrically complex aeroelastic configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, James Charles, III

1997-10-01

The first two steps in the development of an integrated multidisciplinary design optimization procedure capable of analyzing the nonlinear fluid flow about geometrically complex aeroelastic configurations have been accomplished in the present work. For the first step, a three-dimensional unstructured grid approach to aerodynamic shape sensitivity analysis and design optimization has been developed. The advantage of unstructured grids, when compared with a structured-grid approach, is their inherent ability to discretize irregularly shaped domains with greater efficiency and less effort. Hence, this approach is ideally suited for geometrically complex configurations of practical interest. In this work the time-dependent, nonlinear Euler equations are solved using an upwind, cell-centered, finite-volume scheme. The discrete, linearized systems which result from this scheme are solved iteratively by a preconditioned conjugate-gradient-like algorithm known as GMRES for the two-dimensional cases and a Gauss-Seidel algorithm for the three-dimensional; at steady-state, similar procedures are used to solve the accompanying linear aerodynamic sensitivity equations in incremental iterative form. As shown, this particular form of the sensitivity equation makes large-scale gradient-based aerodynamic optimization possible by taking advantage of memory efficient methods to construct exact Jacobian matrix-vector products. Various surface parameterization techniques have been employed in the current study to control the shape of the design surface. Once this surface has been deformed, the interior volume of the unstructured grid is adapted by considering the mesh as a system of interconnected tension springs. Grid sensitivities are obtained by differentiating the surface parameterization and the grid adaptation algorithms with ADIFOR, an advanced automatic-differentiation software tool. To demonstrate the ability of this procedure to analyze and design complex configurations of practical interest, the sensitivity analysis and shape optimization has been performed for several two- and three-dimensional cases. In twodimensions, an initially symmetric NACA-0012 airfoil and a high-lift multielement airfoil were examined. For the three-dimensional configurations, an initially rectangular wing with uniform NACA-0012 cross-sections was optimized; in addition, a complete Boeing 747-200 aircraft was studied. Furthermore, the current study also examines the effect of inconsistency in the order of spatial accuracy between the nonlinear fluid and linear shape sensitivity equations. The second step was to develop a computationally efficient, high-fidelity, integrated static aeroelastic analysis procedure. To accomplish this, a structural analysis code was coupled with the aforementioned unstructured grid aerodynamic analysis solver. The use of an unstructured grid scheme for the aerodynamic analysis enhances the interaction compatibility with the wing structure. The structural analysis utilizes finite elements to model the wing so that accurate structural deflections may be obtained. In the current work, parameters have been introduced to control the interaction of the computational fluid dynamics and structural analyses; these control parameters permit extremely efficient static aeroelastic computations. To demonstrate and evaluate this procedure, static aeroelastic analysis results for a flexible wing in low subsonic, high subsonic (subcritical), transonic (supercritical), and supersonic flow conditions are presented.

Mechanisms of change of shape in deforming and heating titanium alloys with the shape memory effect

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Il'in, A. A.; Kollerov, M. Yu.; Golovin, I. S.; Shinaev, A. A.

1998-04-01

Alloys with the shape memory effect based on titanium nickelide are well known and used quite widely in medicine, aircraft and spacecraft engineering, and other fields of mschine building. These alloys are used in creating thermomechanical parts of structures, temperature-sensitive gauges, and thermoregulators. Titanium alloys with the shape memory effect that posses high damping properties are used when vibrations and noise have to be limited in order to provide effective operation of machine parts and engineering systems as a whole. Commercial titanium-base alloys have lower characteristics of shape regeneration than alloys based on titanium nickelide. However, commercial alloys are much less expensive and are used to produce a wide range of semifinished products. In these materials the characteristics of shape regeneration and damping are often determined by the mechanism of change of shape in deformation, which has not yet been studied appropriately. The present work is devoted to the mechanisms of inelasticity in titanium alloys in various stages of the action of the shape memory effect.

Effect of cantilever geometry on the optical lever sensitivities and thermal noise method of the atomic force microscope.

PubMed

Sader, John E; Lu, Jianing; Mulvaney, Paul

2014-11-01

Calibration of the optical lever sensitivities of atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilevers is especially important for determining the force in AFM measurements. These sensitivities depend critically on the cantilever mode used and are known to differ for static and dynamic measurements. Here, we calculate the ratio of the dynamic and static sensitivities for several common AFM cantilevers, whose shapes vary considerably, and experimentally verify these results. The dynamic-to-static optical lever sensitivity ratio is found to range from 1.09 to 1.41 for the cantilevers studied - in stark contrast to the constant value of 1.09 used widely in current calibration studies. This analysis shows that accuracy of the thermal noise method for the static spring constant is strongly dependent on cantilever geometry - neglect of these dynamic-to-static factors can induce errors exceeding 100%. We also discuss a simple experimental approach to non-invasively and simultaneously determine the dynamic and static spring constants and optical lever sensitivities of cantilevers of arbitrary shape, which is applicable to all AFM platforms that have the thermal noise method for spring constant calibration.

Programmable light-controlled shape changes in layered polymer nanocomposites.

PubMed

Zhu, Zhichen; Senses, Erkan; Akcora, Pinar; Sukhishvili, Svetlana A

2012-04-24

We present soft, layered nanocomposites that exhibit controlled swelling anisotropy and spatially specific shape reconfigurations in response to light irradiation. The use of gold nanoparticles grafted with a temperature-responsive polymer (poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), PNIPAM) with layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly allowed placement of plasmonic structures within specific regions in the film, while exposure to light caused localized material deswelling by a photothermal mechanism. By layering PNIPAM-grafted gold nanoparticles in between nonresponsive polymer stacks, we have achieved zero Poisson's ratio materials that exhibit reversible, light-induced unidirectional shape changes. In addition, we report rheological properties of these LbL assemblies in their equilibrium swollen states. Moreover, incorporation of dissimilar plasmonic nanostructures (solid gold nanoparticles and nanoshells) within different material strata enabled controlled shrinkage of specific regions of hydrogels at specific excitation wavelengths. The approach is applicable to a wide range of metal nanoparticles and temperature-responsive polymers and affords many advanced build-in options useful in optically manipulated functional devices, including precise control of plasmonic layer thickness, tunability of shape variations to the excitation wavelength, and programmable spatial control of optical response.

Tailored laser beam shaping for efficient and accurate microstructuring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Häfner, T.; Strauß, J.; Roider, C.; Heberle, J.; Schmidt, M.

2018-02-01

Large-area processing with high material removal rates by ultrashort pulsed (USP) lasers is coming into focus by the development of high-power USP laser systems. However, currently the bottleneck for high-rate production is given by slow and inefficient beam manipulation. On the one hand, slow beam deflection with regard to high pulse repetition rates leads to heat accumulation and shielding effects, on the other hand, a conventional focus cannot provide the optimum fluence due to the Gaussian intensity profile. In this paper, we emphasize on two approaches of dynamic laser beam shaping with liquid crystal on silicon spatial light modulation and acousto-optic beam shaping. Advantages and limitations of dynamic laser beam shaping with regard to USP laser material processing and methods for reducing the influence of speckle are discussed. Additionally, the influence of optics induced aberrations on speckle characteristics is evaluated. Laser material processing results are presented correlating the achieved structure quality with the simulated and measured beam quality. Experimental and analytical investigations show a certain fluence dependence of the necessary number of alternative holograms to realize homogeneous microstructures.

A local quasicontinuum method for 3D multilattice crystalline materials: Application to shape-memory alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sorkin, V.; Elliott, R. S.; Tadmor, E. B.

2014-07-01

The quasicontinuum (QC) method, in its local (continuum) limit, is applied to materials with a multilattice crystal structure. Cauchy-Born (CB) kinematics, which accounts for the shifts of the crystal motif, is used to relate atomic motions to continuum deformation gradients. To avoid failures of CB kinematics, QC is augmented with a phonon stability analysis that detects lattice period extensions and identifies the minimum required periodic cell size. This approach is referred to as Cascading Cauchy-Born kinematics (CCB). In this paper, the method is described and developed. It is then used, along with an effective interaction potential (EIP) model for shape-memory alloys, to simulate the shape-memory effect and pseudoelasticity in a finite specimen. The results of these simulations show that (i) the CCB methodology is an essential tool that is required in order for QC-type simulations to correctly capture the first-order phase transitions responsible for these material behaviors, and (ii) that the EIP model adopted in this work coupled with the QC/CCB methodology is capable of predicting the characteristic behavior found in shape-memory alloys.

Material scientific approach to predict nano materials risk of adverse health effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matsui, Yasuto; Miyaoi, Kenichi; Hayashi, Takeshi; Yamaguchi, Yukio

2009-05-01

To estimate the potential risk of nano materials, correlations were investigated between material properties and various biomarkers indicating adverse effects on humans. Nano materials have a variety of properties such as solubility, iso-electric point, crystal shape, BET specific surface area and so on. The purpose of our work was to predict relationships between material properties and hazard data by undertaking statistical survey of eleven papers arguing cell viability assays. The reviewed papers associate cytotoxicity (i) mainly with particle volume and (ii) a certain degree with particle solubility, with relatively large variability of toxicological responses. At present nanomaterials are often very broadly named, defined and categorized based upon only their chief chemical composition or product shape - e.g., "titanium," "carbon black," "nano tubes," etc. Such rough, imprecise categorization serves little or no useful purpose when attempting risk assessments for every nano material produced differently, since even materials with the same name can possess different properties and consequently different degrees of hazards.

Present State of the Art of Composite Fabric Forming: Geometrical and Mechanical Approaches

PubMed Central

Cherouat, Abel; Borouchaki, Houman

2009-01-01

Continuous fibre reinforced composites are now firmly established engineering materials for the manufacture of components in the automotive and aerospace industries. In this respect, composite fabrics provide flexibility in the design manufacture. The ability to define the ply shapes and material orientation has allowed engineers to optimize the composite properties of the parts. The formulation of new numerical models for the simulation of the composite forming processes must allow for reduction in the delay in manufacturing and an optimization of costs in an integrated design approach. We propose two approaches to simulate the deformation of woven fabrics: geometrical and mechanical approaches.

Predicting shrinkage and warpage in injection molding: Towards automatized mold design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zwicke, Florian; Behr, Marek; Elgeti, Stefanie

2017-10-01

It is an inevitable part of any plastics molding process that the material undergoes some shrinkage during solidification. Mainly due to unavoidable inhomogeneities in the cooling process, the overall shrinkage cannot be assumed as homogeneous in all volumetric directions. The direct consequence is warpage. The accurate prediction of such shrinkage and warpage effects has been the subject of a considerable amount of research, but it is important to note that this behavior depends greatly on the type of material that is used as well as the process details. Without limiting ourselves to any specific properties of certain materials or process designs, we aim to develop a method for the automatized design of a mold cavity that will produce correctly shaped moldings after solidification. Essentially, this can be stated as a shape optimization problem, where the cavity shape is optimized to fulfill some objective function that measures defects in the molding shape. In order to be able to develop and evaluate such a method, we first require simulation methods for the diffierent steps involved in the injection molding process that can represent the phenomena responsible for shrinkage and warpage ina sufficiently accurate manner. As a starting point, we consider the solidification of purely amorphous materials. In this case, the material slowly transitions from fluid-like to solid-like behavior as it cools down. This behavior is modeled using adjusted viscoelastic material models. Once the material has passed a certain temperature threshold during cooling, any viscous effects are neglected and the behavior is assumed to be fully elastic. Non-linear elastic laws are used to predict shrinkage and warpage that occur after this point. We will present the current state of these simulation methods and show some first approaches towards optimizing the mold cavity shape based on these methods.

Culture-sensitive neural substrates of human cognition: a transcultural neuroimaging approach.

PubMed

Han, Shihui; Northoff, Georg

2008-08-01

Our brains and minds are shaped by our experiences, which mainly occur in the context of the culture in which we develop and live. Although psychologists have provided abundant evidence for diversity of human cognition and behaviour across cultures, the question of whether the neural correlates of human cognition are also culture-dependent is often not considered by neuroscientists. However, recent transcultural neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that one's cultural background can influence the neural activity that underlies both high- and low-level cognitive functions. The findings provide a novel approach by which to distinguish culture-sensitive from culture-invariant neural mechanisms of human cognition.

Shape memory system with integrated actuation using embedded particles

DOEpatents

Buckley, Patrick R [New York, NY; Maitland, Duncan J [Pleasant Hill, CA

2009-09-22

A shape memory material with integrated actuation using embedded particles. One embodiment provides a shape memory material apparatus comprising a shape memory material body and magnetic pieces in the shape memory material body. Another embodiment provides a method of actuating a device to perform an activity on a subject comprising the steps of positioning a shape memory material body in a desired position with regard to the subject, the shape memory material body capable of being formed in a specific primary shape, reformed into a secondary stable shape, and controllably actuated to recover the specific primary shape; including pieces in the shape memory material body; and actuating the shape memory material body using the pieces causing the shape memory material body to be controllably actuated to recover the specific primary shape and perform the activity on the subject.

Shape memory system with integrated actuation using embedded particles

DOEpatents

Buckley, Patrick R [New York, NY; Maitland, Duncan J [Pleasant Hill, CA

2012-05-29

A shape memory material with integrated actuation using embedded particles. One embodiment provides a shape memory material apparatus comprising a shape memory material body and magnetic pieces in the shape memory material body. Another embodiment provides a method of actuating a device to perform an activity on a subject comprising the steps of positioning a shape memory material body in a desired position with regard to the subject, the shape memory material body capable of being formed in a specific primary shape, reformed into a secondary stable shape, and controllably actuated to recover the specific primary shape; including pieces in the shape memory material body; and actuating the shape memory material body using the pieces causing the shape memory material body to be controllably actuated to recover the specific primary shape and perform the activity on the subject.

Shape memory system with integrated actuation using embedded particles

DOEpatents

Buckley, Patrick R.; Maitland, Duncan J.

2014-04-01

A shape memory material with integrated actuation using embedded particles. One embodiment provides a shape memory material apparatus comprising a shape memory material body and magnetic pieces in the shape memory material body. Another embodiment provides a method of actuating a device to perform an activity on a subject comprising the steps of positioning a shape memory material body in a desired position with regard to the subject, the shape memory material body capable of being formed in a specific primary shape, reformed into a secondary stable shape, and controllably actuated to recover the specific primary shape; including pieces in the shape memory material body; and actuating the shape memory material body using the pieces causing the shape memory material body to be controllably actuated to recover the specific primary shape and perform the activity on the subject.

Hollow porous bowl-shaped lithium-rich cathode material for lithium-ion batteries with exceptional rate capability and stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yao; Zhang, Wansen; Shen, Shuiyun; Yan, Xiaohui; Wu, Aiming; Yin, Jiewei; Zhang, Junliang

2018-03-01

Although lithium-rich layered composite cathode materials can meet the requirements of high discharge capacities and energy densities of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the drawbacks of encountering structural reconstruction, sharp voltage decay during cycling as well as low packing density still exist, which retard their further commercial development. This paper presents a novel approach to construct hollow porous bowl-shaped Li1.2Mn0.54Ni0.13Co0.13O2 (denoted as HPB-LMNCO) particles, which involves bowl-shaped carbonaceous particles as the predominant template and polyvinylpyrrolidone as an assistant soft template. One crucial step during the synthetic process is the controlled growth of metal ions with specific molar ratios in the bowl-shaped carbonaceous particles, and the key control parameter is the heating rate to ensure the prepared particles own the desired hollow porous bowl-shaped morphology. Of particular note is the desirable architecture which not only inherits the merits of hollow structures but also facilitates the tight particles packing. Owing to these advantages, utilizing this HPB-LMNCO as a cathode material manifests impressive rate capability and exceptional cycling stability at high rates with capacity retention of above 82% over 100 cycles. These results reveal that structural design of cathode materials play a pivotal role in developing high-performance LIBs.

Phased Array Imaging of Complex-Geometry Composite Components.

PubMed

Brath, Alex J; Simonetti, Francesco

2017-10-01

Progress in computational fluid dynamics and the availability of new composite materials are driving major advances in the design of aerospace engine components which now have highly complex geometries optimized to maximize system performance. However, shape complexity poses significant challenges to traditional nondestructive evaluation methods whose sensitivity and selectivity rapidly decrease as surface curvature increases. In addition, new aerospace materials typically exhibit an intricate microstructure that further complicates the inspection. In this context, an attractive solution is offered by combining ultrasonic phased array (PA) technology with immersion testing. Here, the water column formed between the complex surface of the component and the flat face of a linear or matrix array probe ensures ideal acoustic coupling between the array and the component as the probe is continuously scanned to form a volumetric rendering of the part. While the immersion configuration is desirable for practical testing, the interpretation of the measured ultrasonic signals for image formation is complicated by reflection and refraction effects that occur at the water-component interface. To account for refraction, the geometry of the interface must first be reconstructed from the reflected signals and subsequently used to compute suitable delay laws to focus inside the component. These calculations are based on ray theory and can be computationally intensive. Moreover, strong reflections from the interface can lead to a thick dead zone beneath the surface of the component which limits sensitivity to shallow subsurface defects. This paper presents a general approach that combines advanced computing for rapid ray tracing in anisotropic media with a 256-channel parallel array architecture. The full-volume inspection of complex-shape components is enabled through the combination of both reflected and transmitted signals through the part using a pair of arrays held in a yoke configuration. Experimental results are provided for specimens of increasing complexity relevant to aerospace applications such as fan blades. It is shown that PA technology can provide a robust solution to detect a variety of defects including porosity and waviness in composite parts.

Optical fiber pressure sensor based on fiber Bragg grating

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, Dongcao

In oil field, it is important to measure the high pressure and temperature for down-hole oil exploration and well-logging, the available traditional electronic sensor is challenged due to the harsh, flammable environment. Recently, applications based on fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor in the oil industry have become a popular research because of its distinguishing advantages such as electrically passive operation, immunity to electromagnetic interference, high resolution, insensitivity to optical power fluctuation etc. This thesis is divided into two main sections. In the first section, the design of high pressure sensor based on FBG is described. Several sensing elements based on FBG for high pressure measurements have been proposed, for example bulk-modulus or free elastic modulus. But the structure of bulk-modulus and free elastic modulus is relatively complex and not easy to fabricate. In addition, the pressure sensitivity is not high and the repeatability of the structure has not been investigated. In this thesis, a novel host material of carbon fiber laminated composite (CFLC) for high pressure sensing is proposed. The mechanical characteristics including principal moduli in three directions and the shape repeatability are investigated. Because of it's Young's modulus in one direction and anisotropic characteristics, the pressure sensor made by CFLC has excellent sensitivity. This said structure can be used in very high pressure measurement due to carbon fiber composite's excellent shape repetition even under high pressure. The experimental results show high pressure sensitivity of 0.101nm/MPa and high pressure measurement up to 70MPa. A pressure sensor based on CFLC and FBG with temperature compensation has been designed. In the second section, the design of low pressure sensor based on FBG is demonstrated. Due to the trade off between measurement range and sensitivity, a sensor for lower pressure range needs more sensitivity. A novel material of carbon fiber ribbon-wound composite cylindrical shell is proposed. The mechanical characteristics are analyzed. Due to the smaller longitudinal Young's modulus of this novel material, the sensitivity is improved to 0.452nm/MPa and the measurement range can reach 8MPa. The experimental results indicated excellent repeatability of the material and a good linearity between Bragg wavelength shift and the applied pressure. The sensor has the potential to find many industrial low pressure applications.

A modular approach to adaptive structures.

PubMed

Pagitz, Markus; Pagitz, Manuel; Hühne, Christian

2014-10-07

A remarkable property of nastic, shape changing plants is their complete fusion between actuators and structure. This is achieved by combining a large number of cells whose geometry, internal pressures and material properties are optimized for a given set of target shapes and stiffness requirements. An advantage of such a fusion is that cell walls are prestressed by cell pressures which increases, decreases the overall structural stiffness, weight. Inspired by the nastic movement of plants, Pagitz et al (2012 Bioinspir. Biomim. 7) published a novel concept for pressure actuated cellular structures. This article extends previous work by introducing a modular approach to adaptive structures. An algorithm that breaks down any continuous target shapes into a small number of standardized modules is presented. Furthermore it is shown how cytoskeletons within each cell enhance the properties of adaptive modules. An adaptive passenger seat and an aircrafts leading, trailing edge is used to demonstrate the potential of a modular approach.

3D calcite heterostructures for dynamic and deformable mineralized matrices

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yi, Jaeseok; Wang, Yucai; Jiang, Yuanwen

Scales are rooted in soft tissues, and are regenerated by specialized cells. The realization of dynamic synthetic analogues with inorganic materials has been a significant challenge, because the abiological regeneration sites that could yield deterministic growth behavior are hard to form. Here we overcome this fundamental hurdle by constructing a mutable and deformable array of three-dimensional calcite heterostructures that are partially locked in silicone. Individual calcite crystals exhibit asymmetrical dumbbell shapes and are prepared by a parallel tectonic approach under ambient conditions. Furthermore, the silicone matrix immobilizes the epitaxial nucleation sites through self-templated cavities, which enables symmetry breaking in reactionmore » dynamics and scalable manipulation of the mineral ensembles. With this platform, we devise several mineral-enabled dynamic surfaces and interfaces. For example, we show that the induced growth of minerals yields localized inorganic adhesion for biological tissue and reversible focal encapsulation for sensitive components in flexible electronics.« less

Diffraction phase microscopy realized with an automatic digital pinhole

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Cheng; Zhou, Renjie; Kuang, Cuifang; Zhao, Guangyuan; Zhang, Zhimin; Liu, Xu

2017-12-01

We report a novel approach to diffraction phase microscopy (DPM) with automatic pinhole alignment. The pinhole, which serves as a spatial low-pass filter to generate a uniform reference beam, is made out of a liquid crystal display (LCD) device that allows for electrical control. We have made DPM more accessible to users, while maintaining high phase measurement sensitivity and accuracy, through exploring low cost optical components and replacing the tedious pinhole alignment process with an automatic pinhole optical alignment procedure. Due to its flexibility in modifying the size and shape, this LCD device serves as a universal filter, requiring no future replacement. Moreover, a graphic user interface for real-time phase imaging has been also developed by using a USB CMOS camera. Experimental results of height maps of beads sample and live red blood cells (RBCs) dynamics are also presented, making this system ready for broad adaption to biological imaging and material metrology.

3D calcite heterostructures for dynamic and deformable mineralized matrices

DOE PAGES

Yi, Jaeseok; Wang, Yucai; Jiang, Yuanwen; ...

2017-09-11

Scales are rooted in soft tissues, and are regenerated by specialized cells. The realization of dynamic synthetic analogues with inorganic materials has been a significant challenge, because the abiological regeneration sites that could yield deterministic growth behavior are hard to form. Here we overcome this fundamental hurdle by constructing a mutable and deformable array of three-dimensional calcite heterostructures that are partially locked in silicone. Individual calcite crystals exhibit asymmetrical dumbbell shapes and are prepared by a parallel tectonic approach under ambient conditions. Furthermore, the silicone matrix immobilizes the epitaxial nucleation sites through self-templated cavities, which enables symmetry breaking in reactionmore » dynamics and scalable manipulation of the mineral ensembles. With this platform, we devise several mineral-enabled dynamic surfaces and interfaces. For example, we show that the induced growth of minerals yields localized inorganic adhesion for biological tissue and reversible focal encapsulation for sensitive components in flexible electronics.« less

Predicting Failure Progression and Failure Loads in Composite Open-Hole Tension Coupons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arunkumar, Satyanarayana; Przekop, Adam

2010-01-01

Failure types and failure loads in carbon-epoxy [45n/90n/-45n/0n]ms laminate coupons with central circular holes subjected to tensile load are simulated using progressive failure analysis (PFA) methodology. The progressive failure methodology is implemented using VUMAT subroutine within the ABAQUS(TradeMark)/Explicit nonlinear finite element code. The degradation model adopted in the present PFA methodology uses an instantaneous complete stress reduction (COSTR) approach to simulate damage at a material point when failure occurs. In-plane modeling parameters such as element size and shape are held constant in the finite element models, irrespective of laminate thickness and hole size, to predict failure loads and failure progression. Comparison to published test data indicates that this methodology accurately simulates brittle, pull-out and delamination failure types. The sensitivity of the failure progression and the failure load to analytical loading rates and solvers precision is demonstrated.

Learning a Dictionary of Shape Epitomes with Applications to Image Labeling

PubMed Central

Chen, Liang-Chieh; Papandreou, George; Yuille, Alan L.

2015-01-01

The first main contribution of this paper is a novel method for representing images based on a dictionary of shape epitomes. These shape epitomes represent the local edge structure of the image and include hidden variables to encode shift and rotations. They are learnt in an unsupervised manner from groundtruth edges. This dictionary is compact but is also able to capture the typical shapes of edges in natural images. In this paper, we illustrate the shape epitomes by applying them to the image labeling task. In other work, described in the supplementary material, we apply them to edge detection and image modeling. We apply shape epitomes to image labeling by using Conditional Random Field (CRF) Models. They are alternatives to the superpixel or pixel representations used in most CRFs. In our approach, the shape of an image patch is encoded by a shape epitome from the dictionary. Unlike the superpixel representation, our method avoids making early decisions which cannot be reversed. Our resulting hierarchical CRFs efficiently capture both local and global class co-occurrence properties. We demonstrate its quantitative and qualitative properties of our approach with image labeling experiments on two standard datasets: MSRC-21 and Stanford Background. PMID:26321886

Three-Dimensional Cellular Structures Enhanced By Shape Memory Alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nathal, Michael V.; Krause, David L.; Wilmoth, Nathan G.; Bednarcyk, Brett A.; Baker, Eric H.

2014-01-01

This research effort explored lightweight structural concepts married with advanced smart materials to achieve a wide variety of benefits in airframe and engine components. Lattice block structures were cast from an aerospace structural titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V and a NiTi shape memory alloy (SMA), and preliminary properties have been measured. A finite element-based modeling approach that can rapidly and accurately capture the deformation response of lattice architectures was developed. The Ti-6-4 and SMA material behavior was calibrated via experimental tests of ligaments machined from the lattice. Benchmark testing of complete lattice structures verified the main aspects of the model as well as demonstrated the advantages of the lattice structure. Shape memory behavior of a sample machined from a lattice block was also demonstrated.

Near-Net Shape Fabrication Using Low-Cost Titanium Alloy Powders

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dr. David M. Bowden; Dr. William H. Peter

2012-03-31

The use of titanium in commercial aircraft production has risen steadily over the last half century. The aerospace industry currently accounts for 58% of the domestic titanium market. The Kroll process, which has been used for over 50 years to produce titanium metal from its mineral form, consumes large quantities of energy. And, methods used to convert the titanium sponge output of the Kroll process into useful mill products also require significant energy resources. These traditional approaches result in product forms that are very expensive, have long lead times of up to a year or more, and require costly operationsmore » to fabricate finished parts. Given the increasing role of titanium in commercial aircraft, new titanium technologies are needed to create a more sustainable manufacturing strategy that consumes less energy, requires less material, and significantly reduces material and fabrication costs. A number of emerging processes are under development which could lead to a breakthrough in extraction technology. Several of these processes produce titanium alloy powder as a product. The availability of low-cost titanium powders may in turn enable a more efficient approach to the manufacture of titanium components using powder metallurgical processing. The objective of this project was to define energy-efficient strategies for manufacturing large-scale titanium structures using these low-cost powders as the starting material. Strategies include approaches to powder consolidation to achieve fully dense mill products, and joining technologies such as friction and laser welding to combine those mill products into near net shape (NNS) preforms for machining. The near net shape approach reduces material and machining requirements providing for improved affordability of titanium structures. Energy and cost modeling was used to define those approaches that offer the largest energy savings together with the economic benefits needed to drive implementation. Technical feasibility studies were performed to identify the most viable approaches to NNS preform fabrication using basic powder metallurgy mill product forms as the building blocks and advanced joining techniques including fusion and solid state joining to assemble these building blocks into efficient machining performs.« less

Acoustic micro-tapping for non-contact 4D imaging of tissue elasticity.

PubMed

Ambroziński, Łukasz; Song, Shaozhen; Yoon, Soon Joon; Pelivanov, Ivan; Li, David; Gao, Liang; Shen, Tueng T; Wang, Ruikang K; O'Donnell, Matthew

2016-12-23

Elastography plays a key role in characterizing soft media such as biological tissue. Although this technology has found widespread use in both clinical diagnostics and basic science research, nearly all methods require direct physical contact with the object of interest and can even be invasive. For a number of applications, such as diagnostic measurements on the anterior segment of the eye, physical contact is not desired and may even be prohibited. Here we present a fundamentally new approach to dynamic elastography using non-contact mechanical stimulation of soft media with precise spatial and temporal shaping. We call it acoustic micro-tapping (AμT) because it employs focused, air-coupled ultrasound to induce significant mechanical displacement at the boundary of a soft material using reflection-based radiation force. Combining it with high-speed, four-dimensional (three space dimensions plus time) phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography creates a non-contact tool for high-resolution and quantitative dynamic elastography of soft tissue at near real-time imaging rates. The overall approach is demonstrated in ex-vivo porcine cornea.

Acoustic micro-tapping for non-contact 4D imaging of tissue elasticity

PubMed Central

Ambroziński, Łukasz; Song, Shaozhen; Yoon, Soon Joon; Pelivanov, Ivan; Li, David; Gao, Liang; Shen, Tueng T.; Wang, Ruikang K.; O’Donnell, Matthew

2016-01-01

Elastography plays a key role in characterizing soft media such as biological tissue. Although this technology has found widespread use in both clinical diagnostics and basic science research, nearly all methods require direct physical contact with the object of interest and can even be invasive. For a number of applications, such as diagnostic measurements on the anterior segment of the eye, physical contact is not desired and may even be prohibited. Here we present a fundamentally new approach to dynamic elastography using non-contact mechanical stimulation of soft media with precise spatial and temporal shaping. We call it acoustic micro-tapping (AμT) because it employs focused, air-coupled ultrasound to induce significant mechanical displacement at the boundary of a soft material using reflection-based radiation force. Combining it with high-speed, four-dimensional (three space dimensions plus time) phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography creates a non-contact tool for high-resolution and quantitative dynamic elastography of soft tissue at near real-time imaging rates. The overall approach is demonstrated in ex-vivo porcine cornea. PMID:28008920

Acoustic micro-tapping for non-contact 4D imaging of tissue elasticity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambroziński, Łukasz; Song, Shaozhen; Yoon, Soon Joon; Pelivanov, Ivan; Li, David; Gao, Liang; Shen, Tueng T.; Wang, Ruikang K.; O'Donnell, Matthew

2016-12-01

Elastography plays a key role in characterizing soft media such as biological tissue. Although this technology has found widespread use in both clinical diagnostics and basic science research, nearly all methods require direct physical contact with the object of interest and can even be invasive. For a number of applications, such as diagnostic measurements on the anterior segment of the eye, physical contact is not desired and may even be prohibited. Here we present a fundamentally new approach to dynamic elastography using non-contact mechanical stimulation of soft media with precise spatial and temporal shaping. We call it acoustic micro-tapping (AμT) because it employs focused, air-coupled ultrasound to induce significant mechanical displacement at the boundary of a soft material using reflection-based radiation force. Combining it with high-speed, four-dimensional (three space dimensions plus time) phase-sensitive optical coherence tomography creates a non-contact tool for high-resolution and quantitative dynamic elastography of soft tissue at near real-time imaging rates. The overall approach is demonstrated in ex-vivo porcine cornea.

Acoustical levitation for space processing. [weightless molten material manipulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, T. G.; Saffren, M. M.; Elleman, D. D.

1974-01-01

It is pointed out that many space-manufacturing processes will require the manipulation of weightless molten material within a container in such a way that the material does not touch the container wall. A description is given of an acoustical method which can be used for the positioning and shaping of any molten material including nonconductors such as glasses. The new approach makes use of an acoustical standing wave which is excited within an enclosure or resonator.

Abdomen and spinal cord segmentation with augmented active shape models

PubMed Central

Xu, Zhoubing; Conrad, Benjamin N.; Baucom, Rebeccah B.; Smith, Seth A.; Poulose, Benjamin K.; Landman, Bennett A.

2016-01-01

Abstract. Active shape models (ASMs) have been widely used for extracting human anatomies in medical images given their capability for shape regularization of topology preservation. However, sensitivity to model initialization and local correspondence search often undermines their performances, especially around highly variable contexts in computed-tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) images. In this study, we propose an augmented ASM (AASM) by integrating the multiatlas label fusion (MALF) and level set (LS) techniques into the traditional ASM framework. Using AASM, landmark updates are optimized globally via a region-based LS evolution applied on the probability map generated from MALF. This augmentation effectively extends the searching range of correspondent landmarks while reducing sensitivity to the image contexts and improves the segmentation robustness. We propose the AASM framework as a two-dimensional segmentation technique targeting structures with one axis of regularity. We apply AASM approach to abdomen CT and spinal cord (SC) MR segmentation challenges. On 20 CT scans, the AASM segmentation of the whole abdominal wall enables the subcutaneous/visceral fat measurement, with high correlation to the measurement derived from manual segmentation. On 28 3T MR scans, AASM yields better performances than other state-of-the-art approaches in segmenting white/gray matter in SC. PMID:27610400

Multi-resolutional shape features via non-Euclidean wavelets: Applications to statistical analysis of cortical thickness

PubMed Central

Kim, Won Hwa; Singh, Vikas; Chung, Moo K.; Hinrichs, Chris; Pachauri, Deepti; Okonkwo, Ozioma C.; Johnson, Sterling C.

2014-01-01

Statistical analysis on arbitrary surface meshes such as the cortical surface is an important approach to understanding brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Surface analysis may be able to identify specific cortical patterns that relate to certain disease characteristics or exhibit differences between groups. Our goal in this paper is to make group analysis of signals on surfaces more sensitive. To do this, we derive multi-scale shape descriptors that characterize the signal around each mesh vertex, i.e., its local context, at varying levels of resolution. In order to define such a shape descriptor, we make use of recent results from harmonic analysis that extend traditional continuous wavelet theory from the Euclidean to a non-Euclidean setting (i.e., a graph, mesh or network). Using this descriptor, we conduct experiments on two different datasets, the Alzheimer’s Disease NeuroImaging Initiative (ADNI) data and images acquired at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (W-ADRC), focusing on individuals labeled as having Alzheimer’s disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy controls. In particular, we contrast traditional univariate methods with our multi-resolution approach which show increased sensitivity and improved statistical power to detect a group-level effects. We also provide an open source implementation. PMID:24614060

Beware the black box: investigating the sensitivity of FEA simulations to modelling factors in comparative biomechanics.

PubMed

Walmsley, Christopher W; McCurry, Matthew R; Clausen, Phillip D; McHenry, Colin R

2013-01-01

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computational technique of growing popularity in the field of comparative biomechanics, and is an easily accessible platform for form-function analyses of biological structures. However, its rapid evolution in recent years from a novel approach to common practice demands some scrutiny in regards to the validity of results and the appropriateness of assumptions inherent in setting up simulations. Both validation and sensitivity analyses remain unexplored in many comparative analyses, and assumptions considered to be 'reasonable' are often assumed to have little influence on the results and their interpretation. HERE WE REPORT AN EXTENSIVE SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS WHERE HIGH RESOLUTION FINITE ELEMENT (FE) MODELS OF MANDIBLES FROM SEVEN SPECIES OF CROCODILE WERE ANALYSED UNDER LOADS TYPICAL FOR COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS: biting, shaking, and twisting. Simulations explored the effect on both the absolute response and the interspecies pattern of results to variations in commonly used input parameters. Our sensitivity analysis focuses on assumptions relating to the selection of material properties (heterogeneous or homogeneous), scaling (standardising volume, surface area, or length), tooth position (front, mid, or back tooth engagement), and linear load case (type of loading for each feeding type). Our findings show that in a comparative context, FE models are far less sensitive to the selection of material property values and scaling to either volume or surface area than they are to those assumptions relating to the functional aspects of the simulation, such as tooth position and linear load case. Results show a complex interaction between simulation assumptions, depending on the combination of assumptions and the overall shape of each specimen. Keeping assumptions consistent between models in an analysis does not ensure that results can be generalised beyond the specific set of assumptions used. Logically, different comparative datasets would also be sensitive to identical simulation assumptions; hence, modelling assumptions should undergo rigorous selection. The accuracy of input data is paramount, and simulations should focus on taking biological context into account. Ideally, validation of simulations should be addressed; however, where validation is impossible or unfeasible, sensitivity analyses should be performed to identify which assumptions have the greatest influence upon the results.

Beware the black box: investigating the sensitivity of FEA simulations to modelling factors in comparative biomechanics

PubMed Central

McCurry, Matthew R.; Clausen, Phillip D.; McHenry, Colin R.

2013-01-01

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a computational technique of growing popularity in the field of comparative biomechanics, and is an easily accessible platform for form-function analyses of biological structures. However, its rapid evolution in recent years from a novel approach to common practice demands some scrutiny in regards to the validity of results and the appropriateness of assumptions inherent in setting up simulations. Both validation and sensitivity analyses remain unexplored in many comparative analyses, and assumptions considered to be ‘reasonable’ are often assumed to have little influence on the results and their interpretation. Here we report an extensive sensitivity analysis where high resolution finite element (FE) models of mandibles from seven species of crocodile were analysed under loads typical for comparative analysis: biting, shaking, and twisting. Simulations explored the effect on both the absolute response and the interspecies pattern of results to variations in commonly used input parameters. Our sensitivity analysis focuses on assumptions relating to the selection of material properties (heterogeneous or homogeneous), scaling (standardising volume, surface area, or length), tooth position (front, mid, or back tooth engagement), and linear load case (type of loading for each feeding type). Our findings show that in a comparative context, FE models are far less sensitive to the selection of material property values and scaling to either volume or surface area than they are to those assumptions relating to the functional aspects of the simulation, such as tooth position and linear load case. Results show a complex interaction between simulation assumptions, depending on the combination of assumptions and the overall shape of each specimen. Keeping assumptions consistent between models in an analysis does not ensure that results can be generalised beyond the specific set of assumptions used. Logically, different comparative datasets would also be sensitive to identical simulation assumptions; hence, modelling assumptions should undergo rigorous selection. The accuracy of input data is paramount, and simulations should focus on taking biological context into account. Ideally, validation of simulations should be addressed; however, where validation is impossible or unfeasible, sensitivity analyses should be performed to identify which assumptions have the greatest influence upon the results. PMID:24255817

Femtosecond pulse shaping using the geometric phase.

PubMed

Gökce, Bilal; Li, Yanming; Escuti, Michael J; Gundogdu, Kenan

2014-03-15

We demonstrate a femtosecond pulse shaper that utilizes polarization gratings to manipulate the geometric phase of an optical pulse. This unique approach enables circular polarization-dependent shaping of femtosecond pulses. As a result, it is possible to create coherent pulse pairs with orthogonal polarizations in a 4f pulse shaper setup, something until now that, to our knowledge, was only achieved via much more complex configurations. This approach could be used to greatly simplify and enhance the functionality of multidimensional spectroscopy and coherent control experiments, in which multiple coherent pulses are used to manipulate quantum states in materials of interest.

Modeling Non-Linear Material Properties in Composite Materials

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-06-28

2 Figure 2: Implementation of multiscale enrichment into FEA ...corresponding to the mth degree of freedom, and is the associated degree of freedom. For FEA , the standard shape function, NI, which can be...varies depending on the governing method. In this presentation we will focus in the FEA approach. Reference [4] gives complete details on the

Institutional, Material and Economic Constraints in Languages Education: Unequal Provision of Linguistic Resources in Early Childhood and Primary Settings in Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones Díaz, Criss

2014-01-01

In Australia, languages education in early childhood and primary education includes three main approaches: transitional, enrichment and full bilingual programmes. This article proposes that transitional and enrichment programmes in Australia are constituted and shaped by competing and contested institutional, material, discursive and economic…

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aalseth, Craig E.; Day, Anthony R.; Fuller, Erin S.

Abstract A new ultra-low-background proportional counter (ULBPC) design was recently developed at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). This design, along with an ultra-low-background counting system (ULBCS) which provides passive and active shielding with radon exclusion, has been developed to complement a new shallow underground laboratory (~30 meters water-equivalent) constructed at PNNL. After these steps to mitigate dominant backgrounds (cosmic rays, external gamma-rays, radioactivity in materials), remaining background events do not exclusively arise from ionization of the proportional counter gas. Digital pulse-shape discrimination (PSD) is thus employed to further improve measurement sensitivity. In this work, a template shape is generated formore » each individual sample measurement of interest, a "self-calibrating" template. Differences in event topology can also cause differences in pulse shape. In this work, the temporal region analyzed for each event is refined to maximize background discrimination while avoiding unwanted sensitivity to event topology. This digital PSD method is applied to sample and background data, and initial measurement results from a biofuel methane sample are presented in the context of low-background measurements currently being developed.« less

Shape sensing methods: Review and experimental comparison on a wing-shaped plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gherlone, Marco; Cerracchio, Priscilla; Mattone, Massimiliano

2018-05-01

Shape sensing, i.e., the reconstruction of the displacement field of a structure from some discrete surface strain measurements, is a fundamental capability for the structural health management of critical components. In this paper, a review of the shape sensing methodologies available in the open literature and of the different applications is provided. Then, for the first time, an experimental comparative study is presented among the main approaches in order to highlight their relative merits in presence of uncertainties affecting real applications. These approaches are, namely, the inverse Finite Element Method, the Modal Method and Ko's Displacement Theory. A brief description of these methods is followed by the presentation of the experimental test results. A cantilevered, wing-shaped aluminum plate is let deform under its own weight, leading to bending and twisting. Using the experimental strain measurements as input data, the deflection field of the plate is reconstructed using the three aforementioned approaches and compared with the actual measured deflection. The inverse Finite Element Method is proven to be slightly more accurate and particularly attractive because it is versatile with respect to the boundary conditions and it does not require any information about material properties and loading conditions.

In-line open-cavity Fabry-Pérot interferometer formed by C-shaped fiber fortemperature-insensitive refractive index sensing.

PubMed

Wu, Chuang; Liu, Zhengyong; Zhang, A Ping; Guan, Bai-Ou; Tam, Hwa-Yaw

2014-09-08

We report an open-cavity optical fiber Fabry-Pérot interferometer (FPI) capable of measuring refractive index with very low temperature cross-sensitivity. The FPI was constructed by splicing a thin piece of C-shaped fiber between two standard single-mode fibers. The refractive index (RI) response of the FPI was characterized using water-ethanol mixtures with RI in the range of 1.33 to 1.36. The RI sensitivity was measured to be 1368 nm/RIU at the wavelength of 1600 nm with good linearity. Thanks to its all-glass structure, the FPI exhibits very low temperature cross-sensitivity of 3.04 × 10⁻⁷ RIU/°C. The effects of cavity length on the performance of the sensor were also studied. A shorter cavity gives rise to broader measurement range while offering larger detection limit, and vice versa. What's more, the effect of material dispersion of analyte on the sensitivity of open-cavity FPIs was identified for the first time. The sensor is compact in size and easy to fabricate. It is potentially useful for label-free optical sensing of chemical and biological samples.

Flower-shaped ZnO nanocrystallite aggregates synthesized through a template-free aqueous solution method for dye-sensitized solar cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Wei-Chen, E-mail: changpeter@iner.gov.tw; Institute of Nuclear Energy Research, Atomic Energy Council, Executive Yuan, 1000 Wenhua Rd., Chiaan Village, Lungtan, Taoyuan 325, Taiwan; Chen, Hung-Shuo

Hierarchically structured flower-shaped aggregates composed of ZnO nanocrystals were synthesized through a template-free aqueous solution method. The synthesized nanocrystallite aggregates were demonstrated to be promising photoanode materials for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Compared with commercially available ZnO nanoparticles (ZnONPs), the flower-like aggregates (ZnONFs), each having an overall dimension of 400–600 nm, exhibited similar dye loading but higher light-scattering ability, which led to a substantial increase in the light-harvesting efficiency of resulting cells. The unique morphology of ZnONFs also boosted the absorbed photon-to-electric current generation efficiency. Consequently, DSSCs constructed from ZnONFs showed significantly improved photocurrent and achieved an overall conversion efficiency ofmore » 4.42%, which was 47% higher than that attained by ZnONP-based cells.« less

Responsive nanoporous metals: recoverable modulations on strength and shape by watering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Xing-Long; Liu, Ling-Zhi; Jin, Hai-Jun

2016-08-01

Many biological materials can readily modulate their mechanical properties and shape by interacting with water in the surrounding environment, which is essential to their high performance in application. In contrast, typical inorganic materials (such as the metals) cannot change their strength and shape without involving thermal/mechanical treatments. By introducing nano-scale porous structure and exploiting a simple physical concept—the water-capillarity in nanopores, here we report that a ‘dead’ metal can be transformed into a ‘smart’ material with water-responsive properties. We demonstrate that the apparent strength, volume and shape of nanoporous Au and Au(Pt) can be modulated in situ, dramatically and recoverably, in response to water-dipping and partial-drying. The amplitude of strength-modulation reaches 20 MPa, which is nearly 50% of the yield strength at initial state. This approach also leads to reversible length change up to 1.3% in nanoporous Au and a large reversible bending motion of a bi-layer strip with tip displacement of ˜20 mm, which may be used for actuation. This method is simple and effective, occurring in situ under ambient conditions and requiring no external power, analogous to biological materials. The findings may open up novel applications in many areas such as micro-robotics and bio-medical devices.

DEBRISK, a Tool for Re-Entry Risk Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Omaly, P.; Spel, M.

2012-01-01

An act of French parliament, adopted in 2008, imposes satellite constructors to evaluate the end-of-life operations in order to assure the risk mitigation of their satellites. One important element in this evaluation is the estimation of the mass and impact energy of the satellite debris after atmospheric re-entry. For this purpose, CNES has developed the tool DEBRISK which allows the operator to simulate the re-entry phase and to study the demise altitudes or impact energy of the individual fragments of the original satellite. DEBRISK is based on the so called object based approach. Using this approach, a breakup altitude is assumed where the satellite disintegrates due to the pressure loads. This altitude is typically around 78 km. After breakup, the satellite structure is modelled by a parent-child approach, where each child has its birth criterion. In the simplest approach the child is born after demise of the parent object. This could be the case of an object A containing an object B which is in the interior of object A and thus not exposed to the atmosphere. Each object is defined by: - its shape, attitude and dimensions, - the material along with their physical properties - the state and velocity vectors. The shape, attitude and dimensions define the aerodynamic drag of the object which is input to the 3DOF trajectory modelling. The aerodynamic mass used in the equation of motion is defined as the sum of the object's own mass and the mass of the object's offspring. A new born object inherits the state vector of the parent object. The shape, attitude and dimensions also define the heating rates experienced by the object. The heating rate is integrated in time up to the point where the melting temperature is reached. The mass of melted material is computed from the excess heat and the material properties. After each step the amount of ablated material is determined using the lumped mass approach and is peeled off from the object, updating mass and shape of the ablated object. The mass in the lumped mass equation is termed 'thermal mass' and consists of the part of the object that is exposed to the flow (so excluding the mass of the contained children). A fair amount of predefined materials is implemented, along with their thermal properties. In order to allow the users to modify the properties or to add new materials, user defined materials can be used. In that case the properties such as specific heat, emissivity and conductivity can either be entered as a constant or as being temperature dependent by entering a table. Materials can be derived from existing objects, which is useful in case only one or few of the material properties change. The code has been developed in the Java language, benefitting from the object oriented approach. Most methods that are used in DEBRISK to compute drag coefficients and heating rates are based on engineering methods developed in the 1950 to 1960's, which are used as well in similar tools (ORSAT, SESAME, ORSAT-J, ...). The paper presents a set of comparisons with literature cases of similar tools in order to verify the implementation of those methods in the developed software.

A new wave front shape-based approach for acoustic source localization in an anisotropic plate without knowing its material properties.

PubMed

Sen, Novonil; Kundu, Tribikram

2018-07-01

Estimating the location of an acoustic source in a structure is an important step towards passive structural health monitoring. Techniques for localizing an acoustic source in isotropic structures are well developed in the literature. Development of similar techniques for anisotropic structures, however, has gained attention only in the recent years and has a scope of further improvement. Most of the existing techniques for anisotropic structures either assume a straight line wave propagation path between the source and an ultrasonic sensor or require the material properties to be known. This study considers different shapes of the wave front generated during an acoustic event and develops a methodology to localize the acoustic source in an anisotropic plate from those wave front shapes. An elliptical wave front shape-based technique was developed first, followed by the development of a parametric curve-based technique for non-elliptical wave front shapes. The source coordinates are obtained by minimizing an objective function. The proposed methodology does not assume a straight line wave propagation path and can predict the source location without any knowledge of the elastic properties of the material. A numerical study presented here illustrates how the proposed methodology can accurately estimate the source coordinates. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Temperature-sensitive optrode

DOEpatents

Hirschfeld, T.B.

1985-09-24

Method and apparatus are provided for measuring temperature and for generating optical signals related to temperature. Light from a fiber optic is directed to a material whose fluorescent response varies with ambient temperature. The same fiber optic delivering the excitation beam also collects a portion of the fluorescent emission for analysis. Signal collection efficiency of the fiber optic is enhanced by requiring that the fluorescent probe material be in the shape of an oblong parabolically tapered solid. Reproducibility is enhanced by using Raman backscatter to monitor excitation beam fluctuations, and by using measurements of fluorescence lifetime. 10 figs.

Characterization of bending EAP beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bao, Xiaoqi; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Chang, Zensheu; Sherrit, Stewart

2004-01-01

Electroactive polymers are attractive actuation materials because of their large deformation, flexibility, and lightweight. A CCD camera system was constructed to record the curved shapes of bending during the activation of EAP films and image-processing software was developed to digitize the bending curves. A computer program was developed to solve the invese problem of cantilever EAP beams with tip position limiter. using the developed program and acquired curves without tip position limiter as well as the corresponding tip force, the EAP material properties of voltage-strain sensitivity and Young's modulus were determined.

Temperature-sensitive optrode

DOEpatents

Hirschfeld, Tomas B.

1985-01-01

Method and apparatus are provided for measuring temperature and for generating optical signals related to temperature. Light from a fiber optic is directed to a material whose fluorescent response varies with ambient temperature. The same fiber optic delivering the excitation beam also collects a portion of the fluorescent emission for analysis. Signal collection efficiency of the fiber optic is enhanced by requiring that the fluorescent probe material be in the shape of an oblong parabolically tapered solid. Reproducibility is enhanced by using Raman backscatter to monitor excitation beam fluctuations, and by using measurements of fluorescence lifetime.

Leaf-shape effects in electromagnetic wave scattering from vegetation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Karam, Mostafa A.; Fung, Adrian K.

1989-01-01

A vegetation medium is modeled as a half-space of randomly distributed and oriented leaves of arbitrary shape. In accordance with the first-order radiative transfer theory, the backscattering coefficient for such a half-space is expressed in terms of the scattering amplitudes. For disc- or needle-shaped leaves, the generalized Rayleigh-Gans approximation is used to calculate the scattering amplitudes. This approach is valid for leaf dimensions up to the size of the incident wavelength. To examine the leaf-shape effect, elliptic discs are used to model deciduous leaves, and needles are used to model coniferous leaves. The differences between the scattering characteristics of leaves of different shapes are illustrated numerically for various orientations, frequencies, and incidence angles. It is found that the scattering characteristics of elliptic disc-shaped leaves are sensitive to the three angles of orientation and disc ellipticity. In general, both like and cross polarizations may be needed to differentiate the difference in scattering due to the shapes of the leaves.

Digital holographic measurements of shape and 3D sound-induced displacements of Tympanic Membrane

PubMed Central

Lu, Weina; Dobrev, Ivo; Cheng, Jeffrey Tao; Furlong, Cosme; Rosowski, John J

2014-01-01

Acoustically-induced vibrations of the Tympanic Membrane (TM) play a primary role in the hearing process, in that these motions are the initial mechanical response of the ear to airborne sound. Characterization of the shape and 3D displacement patterns of the TM is a crucial step to a better understanding of the complicated mechanics of sound reception by the ear. In this paper, shape and sound-induced 3D displacements of the TM in cadaveric chinchillas are measured by a lensless Dual-Wavelength Digital Holography system (DWDHS). The DWDHS consists of Laser Delivery (LD), Optical Head (OH), and Computing Platform (CP) subsystems. Shape measurements are performed in double-exposure mode and with the use of two wavelengths of a tunable laser while nanometer-scale displacements are measured along a single sensitivity direction and with a constant wavelength. In order to extract the three principal components of displacement in full-field-of-view, and taking into consideration the anatomical dimensions of the TM, we combine principles of thin-shell theory together with both, displacement measurements along the single sensitivity vector and TM surface shape. To computationally test this approach, Finite Element Methods (FEM) are applied to the study of artificial geometries. PMID:24790255

Digital holographic measurements of shape and three-dimensional sound-induced displacements of tympanic membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaleghi, Morteza; Lu, Weina; Dobrev, Ivo; Cheng, Jeffrey Tao; Furlong, Cosme; Rosowski, John J.

2013-10-01

Acoustically induced vibrations of the tympanic membrane (TM) play a primary role in the hearing process, in that these motions are the initial mechanical response of the ear to airborne sound. Characterization of the shape and three-dimensional (3-D) displacement patterns of the TM is a crucial step to a better understanding of the complicated mechanics of sound reception by the ear. Sound-induced 3-D displacements of the TM are estimated from shape and one-dimensional displacements measured in cadaveric chinchillas using a lensless dual-wavelength digital holography system (DWDHS). The DWDHS consists of laser delivery, optical head, and computing platform subsystems. Shape measurements are performed in double-exposure mode with the use of two wavelengths of a tunable laser, while nanometer-scale displacements are measured along a single sensitivity direction with a constant wavelength. Taking into consideration the geometrical and dimensional constrains imposed by the anatomy of the TM, we combine principles of thin-shell theory together with displacement measurements along a single sensitivity vector and TM surface shape to extract the three principal components of displacement in the full-field-of-view. We test, validate, and identify limitations of this approach via the application of finite element method to artificial geometries.

Synthesis, characterization, and properties of low-dimensional nanostructured materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Xianluo

2007-05-01

Nanometer scale structures represent an exciting and rapidly expanding area of research. Studies on new physical/chemical properties and applications of nanomaterials and nanostructures are possible only when nanostructured materials are made available with desired size, morphology, crystal and microstructure, and composition. Thus, controlled synthesis of nanomaterials is the essential aspect of nanotechnology. This thesis describes the development of simple and versatile solution-based approaches to synthesize low-dimensional nanostructures. The first major goal of this research is to design and fabricate morphology-controlled alpha-Fe 2O3 nanoarchitectures in aqueous solution through a programmed microwave-assisted hydrothermal route, taking advantage of microwave irradiation and hydrothermal effects. Free-standing alpha-Fe2O3 nanorings are prepared by hydrolysis of FeCl3 in the presence of phosphate ions. The as-formed architecture of alpha-Fe2O 3 nanorings is an exciting new member in the family of iron oxide nanostructures. Our preliminary results demonstrate that sensors made of the alpha-Fe 2O3 nanorings exhibit high sensitivity not only for bio-sensing of hydrogen peroxide in a physiological solution but also for gas-sensing of alcohol vapor at room temperature. Moreover, monodisperse alpha-Fe 2O3 nanocrystals with continuous aspect-ratio tuning and fine shape control are achieved by controlling the experimental conditions. The as-formed alpha-Fe2O3 exhibits shape-dependent infrared optical properties. The growth process of colloidal alpha-Fe 2O3 crystals in the presence of phosphate ions is discussed. In addition, through an efficient microwave-assisted hydrothermal process, self-assembled hierarchical alpha-Fe2O3 nanoarchitectures are synthesized on a large scale. The second major goal of this research is to develop convenient microwave-hydrothermal approaches for the fabrication of carbon-based nanocomposites: (1) A one-pot solution-phase route, namely microwave-assisted hydrothermal reduction/carbonization (MAHRC), is developed to prepare coaxial Ag/amorphous-carbon (a-C) nanocables. The as-grown Ag/C nanocables can self-assemble in an end-to-end fashion. (2) A novel Se/C nanocomposite with core-shell structures is prepared. The new material consists of a trigonal-Se (t-Se) core and an amorphous-C (a-C) shell. The Se/C composite can be converted to hollow carbon capsules by thermal treatment. (3) A Fe 3O4/C nanocomposite is synthesized by a green wet-chemical approach. The product possesses porous microstructures and exhibits superparamagnetic behavior. The third major goal of this research is develop facile solution-based methods for preparing carbonaceous nano test tubes, thin films of metal iodides, and spherical selenium spheres: (1) Carbonaceous nano test tubes are fabricated by a facile "decoring" route using a core-sheath Te carbon nanocomposite as the precursor. The as-formed carbonaceous material looks like a "test tube" with an average diameter of about 120 nm and lengths up to 5 mum. (2) Tetrahedral-shaped CuI crystals were formed on a variety of copper substrates (e.g. grids, flat/porous foils, and macro-/nano- wires) via an interfacial reaction between a copper substrate and iodine in water at room temperature. This preparation approach can also be used to grow PbI2 and AgI nano- and micro-crystals with different morphologies on corresponding substrates. (3) Colloidal trigonal selenium (t-Se) microspheres are synthesized through a mild hydrothermal reduction reaction, using glucose as a reducing regent and water as an environmentally friendly solvent. Importantly, the resulting t-Se microspheres inherit functional groups from the starting materials and possess hydrophilic and biocompatible surfaces.

Phase behavior of a family of truncated hard cubes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gantapara, Anjan P., E-mail: A.P.Gantapara@uu.nl; Dijkstra, Marjolein, E-mail: M.Dijkstra1@uu.nl; Graaf, Joost de

2015-02-07

In continuation of our work in Gantapara et al., [Phys. Rev. Lett. 111, 015501 (2013)], we investigate here the thermodynamic phase behavior of a family of truncated hard cubes, for which the shape evolves smoothly from a cube via a cuboctahedron to an octahedron. We used Monte Carlo simulations and free-energy calculations to establish the full phase diagram. This phase diagram exhibits a remarkable richness in crystal and mesophase structures, depending sensitively on the precise particle shape. In addition, we examined in detail the nature of the plastic crystal (rotator) phases that appear for intermediate densities and levels of truncation.more » Our results allow us to probe the relation between phase behavior and building-block shape and to further the understanding of rotator phases. Furthermore, the phase diagram presented here should prove instrumental for guiding future experimental studies on similarly shaped nanoparticles and the creation of new materials.« less

Ultra-Sensitive Elemental Analysis Using Plasmas 3.For Understanding an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakata, Kenichi

Aplasma-interface is considered the most mysterious part of an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer system in terms of understanding its operational mechanism. After a brief explanation of the basic structure of the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer and how it works, the plasma-interface is discussed in regard to its complex operation and approaches to investigating its behavior. In particular, the position and shape of the plasma boundary seem to be important to understand the instrument's sensitivity.

Phase field benchmark problems for dendritic growth and linear elasticity

DOE PAGES

Jokisaari, Andrea M.; Voorhees, P. W.; Guyer, Jonathan E.; ...

2018-03-26

We present the second set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being jointly developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) along with input from other members in the phase field community. As the integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach to materials design has gained traction, there is an increasing need for quantitative phase field results. New algorithms and numerical implementations increase computational capabilities, necessitating standard problems to evaluate their impact on simulated microstructure evolution as well as their computational performance. We propose one benchmark problem formore » solidifiication and dendritic growth in a single-component system, and one problem for linear elasticity via the shape evolution of an elastically constrained precipitate. We demonstrate the utility and sensitivity of the benchmark problems by comparing the results of 1) dendritic growth simulations performed with different time integrators and 2) elastically constrained precipitate simulations with different precipitate sizes, initial conditions, and elastic moduli. As a result, these numerical benchmark problems will provide a consistent basis for evaluating different algorithms, both existing and those to be developed in the future, for accuracy and computational efficiency when applied to simulate physics often incorporated in phase field models.« less

Phase field benchmark problems for dendritic growth and linear elasticity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jokisaari, Andrea M.; Voorhees, P. W.; Guyer, Jonathan E.

We present the second set of benchmark problems for phase field models that are being jointly developed by the Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) along with input from other members in the phase field community. As the integrated computational materials engineering (ICME) approach to materials design has gained traction, there is an increasing need for quantitative phase field results. New algorithms and numerical implementations increase computational capabilities, necessitating standard problems to evaluate their impact on simulated microstructure evolution as well as their computational performance. We propose one benchmark problem formore » solidifiication and dendritic growth in a single-component system, and one problem for linear elasticity via the shape evolution of an elastically constrained precipitate. We demonstrate the utility and sensitivity of the benchmark problems by comparing the results of 1) dendritic growth simulations performed with different time integrators and 2) elastically constrained precipitate simulations with different precipitate sizes, initial conditions, and elastic moduli. As a result, these numerical benchmark problems will provide a consistent basis for evaluating different algorithms, both existing and those to be developed in the future, for accuracy and computational efficiency when applied to simulate physics often incorporated in phase field models.« less

Structural dynamic analysis of turbine blade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antony, A. Daniel; Gopalsamy, M.; Viswanadh, Chaparala B. V.; Krishnaraj, R.

2017-10-01

In any gas turbine design cycle, blade design is a crucial element which needs maximum attention to meet the aerodynamic performance, structural safety margins, manufacturing feasibility, material availability etc. In present day gas turbine engines, most of the failures occur during engine development test and in-service, in rotor and stator blades due to fatigue and resonance failures. To address this issue, an extensive structural dynamic analysis is carried out to predict the natural frequencies and mode shapes using FE methods. Using the dynamics characteristics, the Campbell diagram is constructed to study the possibility of resonance at various operating speeds. In this work, the feasibility of using composite material in place of titanium alloy from the structural dynamics point of view. This is being attempted in a Low-pressure compressor where the temperatures are relatively low and fixed with the casings. The analysis will be carried out using FE method for different composite material with different lamina orientations chosen through the survey. This study will focus on the sensitivity of blade mode shapes to different laminae orientations, which will be used to alter the natural frequency and tailor the mode shapes. Campbell diagrams of existing titanium alloy are compared with the composite materials with different laminae at all critical operating conditions. The existing manufacturing methods and the proven techniques for blade profiles will also be discussed in this report.

Closed-Loop Estimation of Retinal Network Sensitivity by Local Empirical Linearization

PubMed Central

2018-01-01

Abstract Understanding how sensory systems process information depends crucially on identifying which features of the stimulus drive the response of sensory neurons, and which ones leave their response invariant. This task is made difficult by the many nonlinearities that shape sensory processing. Here, we present a novel perturbative approach to understand information processing by sensory neurons, where we linearize their collective response locally in stimulus space. We added small perturbations to reference stimuli and tested if they triggered visible changes in the responses, adapting their amplitude according to the previous responses with closed-loop experiments. We developed a local linear model that accurately predicts the sensitivity of the neural responses to these perturbations. Applying this approach to the rat retina, we estimated the optimal performance of a neural decoder and showed that the nonlinear sensitivity of the retina is consistent with an efficient encoding of stimulus information. Our approach can be used to characterize experimentally the sensitivity of neural systems to external stimuli locally, quantify experimentally the capacity of neural networks to encode sensory information, and relate their activity to behavior. PMID:29379871

Porous inorganic-organic shape memory polymers.

PubMed

Zhang, Dawei; Burkes, William L; Schoener, Cody A; Grunlan, Melissa A

2012-06-21

Thermoresponsive shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a type of stimuli-sensitive materials that switch from a temporary shape back to their permanent shape upon exposure to heat. While the majority of SMPs have been fabricated in the solid form, porous SMP foams exhibit distinct properties and are better suited for certain applications, including some in the biomedical field. Like solid SMPs, SMP foams have been restricted to a limited group of organic polymer systems. In this study, we prepared inorganic-organic SMP foams based on the photochemical cure of a macromer comprised of inorganic polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) segments and organic poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) segments, diacrylated PCL(40)-block-PDMS(37)-block-PCL(40). To achieve tunable pore size with high interconnectivity, the SMP foams were prepared via a refined solvent-casting/particulate-leaching (SCPL) method. By varying design parameters such as degree of salt fusion, macromer concentration in the solvent and salt particle size, the SMP foams with excellent shape memory behavior and tunable pore size, pore morphology, and modulus were obtained.

Sensitivity and Uncertainty Analysis of the GFR MOX Fuel Subassembly

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lüley, J.; Vrban, B.; Čerba, Š.; Haščík, J.; Nečas, V.; Pelloni, S.

2014-04-01

We performed sensitivity and uncertainty analysis as well as benchmark similarity assessment of the MOX fuel subassembly designed for the Gas-Cooled Fast Reactor (GFR) as a representative material of the core. Material composition was defined for each assembly ring separately allowing us to decompose the sensitivities not only for isotopes and reactions but also for spatial regions. This approach was confirmed by direct perturbation calculations for chosen materials and isotopes. Similarity assessment identified only ten partly comparable benchmark experiments that can be utilized in the field of GFR development. Based on the determined uncertainties, we also identified main contributors to the calculation bias.

Learning context-sensitive shape similarity by graph transduction.

PubMed

Bai, Xiang; Yang, Xingwei; Latecki, Longin Jan; Liu, Wenyu; Tu, Zhuowen

2010-05-01

Shape similarity and shape retrieval are very important topics in computer vision. The recent progress in this domain has been mostly driven by designing smart shape descriptors for providing better similarity measure between pairs of shapes. In this paper, we provide a new perspective to this problem by considering the existing shapes as a group, and study their similarity measures to the query shape in a graph structure. Our method is general and can be built on top of any existing shape similarity measure. For a given similarity measure, a new similarity is learned through graph transduction. The new similarity is learned iteratively so that the neighbors of a given shape influence its final similarity to the query. The basic idea here is related to PageRank ranking, which forms a foundation of Google Web search. The presented experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach yields significant improvements over the state-of-art shape matching algorithms. We obtained a retrieval rate of 91.61 percent on the MPEG-7 data set, which is the highest ever reported in the literature. Moreover, the learned similarity by the proposed method also achieves promising improvements on both shape classification and shape clustering.

In-air microfluidics: Drop and jet coalescence enables rapid multi-phase 3D printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Visser, Claas Willem; Kamperman, Tom; Lohse, Detlef; Karperien, Marcel; University of Twente Collaboration

2016-11-01

For the first time, we connect and integrate the fields of microfluidics and additive manufacturing, by presenting a unifying technology that we call In-air microfluidics (IAMF). We impact two liquid jets or a jet and a droplet train while flying in-air, and control their coalescence and solidification. This approach enables producing monodisperse emulsions, particles, and fibers with controlled shape and size (10 to 300 µm) and production rates 100x higher than droplet microfluidics. A single device is sufficient to process a variety of materials, and to produce different particle or fiber shapes, in marked contrast to current microfluidic devices or printers. In-air microfluidics also enables rapid deposition onto substrates, for example to form 3D printed (bio)materials which are partly-liquid but still shape-stable.

On Theoretical Limits of Dynamic Model Updating Using a Sensitivity-Based Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

GOLA, M. M.; SOMÀ, A.; BOTTO, D.

2001-07-01

The present work deals with the determination of the newly discovered conditions necessary for model updating with the eigensensitivity approach. The treatment concerns the maximum number of identifiable parameters regarding the structure of the eigenvectors derivatives. A mathematical demonstration is based on the evaluation of the rank of the least-squares matrix and produces the algebraic limiting conditions. Numerical application to a lumped parameter structure is employed to validate the mathematical limits taking into account different subsets of mode shapes. The demonstration is extended to the calculation of the eigenvector derivatives with both the Fox and Kapoor, and Nelson methods. III conditioning of the least-squares sensitivity matrix is revealed through the covariance jump.

Nondestructive Structural Damage Detection in Flexible Space Structures Using Vibration Characterization

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ricles, James M.

1991-01-01

Spacecraft are susceptible to structural damage over their operating life from impact, environmental loads, and fatigue. Structural damage that is not detected and not corrected may potentially cause more damage and eventually catastrophic structural failure. NASA's current fleet of reusable spacecraft, namely the Space Shuttle, has been flown on several missions. In addition, configurations of future NASA space structures, e.g. Space Station Freedom, are larger and more complex than current structures, making them more susceptible to damage as well as being more difficult to inspect. Consequently, a reliable structural damage detection capability is essential to maintain the flight safety of these structures. Visual inspections alone can not locate impending material failure (fatigue cracks, yielding); it can only observe post-failure situations. An alternative approach is to develop an inspection and monitoring system based on vibration characterization that assesses the integrity of structural and mechanical components. A methodology for detecting structural damage is presented. This methodology is based on utilizing modal test data in conjunction with a correlated analytical model of the structure to: (1) identify the structural dynamic characteristics (resonant frequencies and mode shapes) from measurements of ambient motions and/or force excitation; (2) calculate modal residual force vectors to identify the location of structural damage; and (3) conduct a weighted sensitivity analysis in order to assess the extent of mass and stiffness variations, where structural damage is characterized by stiffness reductions. The approach is unique from other existing approaches in that varying system mass and stiffness, mass center locations, the perturbation of both the natural frequencies and mode shapes, and statistical confidence factors for structural parameters and experimental instrumentation are all accounted for directly.

Do different perceptual task sets modulate electrophysiological correlates of masked visuomotor priming? Attention to shape and color put to the test.

PubMed

Zovko, Monika; Kiefer, Markus

2013-02-01

According to classical theories, automatic processes operate independently of attention. Recent evidence, however, shows that masked visuomotor priming, an example of an automatic process, depends on attention to visual form versus semantics. In a continuation of this approach, we probed feature-specific attention within the perceptual domain and tested in two event-related potential (ERP) studies whether masked visuomotor priming in a shape decision task specifically depends on attentional sensitization of visual pathways for shape in contrast to color. Prior to the masked priming procedure, a shape or a color decision task served to induce corresponding task sets. ERP analyses revealed visuomotor priming effects over the occipitoparietal scalp only after the shape, but not after the color induction task. Thus, top-down control coordinates automatic processing streams in congruency with higher-level goals even at a fine-grained level. Copyright © 2012 Society for Psychophysiological Research.

Sonic Boom Mitigation Through Aircraft Design and Adjoint Methodology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rallabhandi, Siriam K.; Diskin, Boris; Nielsen, Eric J.

2012-01-01

This paper presents a novel approach to design of the supersonic aircraft outer mold line (OML) by optimizing the A-weighted loudness of sonic boom signature predicted on the ground. The optimization process uses the sensitivity information obtained by coupling the discrete adjoint formulations for the augmented Burgers Equation and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) equations. This coupled formulation links the loudness of the ground boom signature to the aircraft geometry thus allowing efficient shape optimization for the purpose of minimizing the impact of loudness. The accuracy of the adjoint-based sensitivities is verified against sensitivities obtained using an independent complex-variable approach. The adjoint based optimization methodology is applied to a configuration previously optimized using alternative state of the art optimization methods and produces additional loudness reduction. The results of the optimizations are reported and discussed.

Money, kisses, and electric shocks: on the affective psychology of risk.

PubMed

Rottenstreich, Y; Hsee, C K

2001-05-01

Prospect theory's S-shaped weighting function is often said to reflect the psychophysics of chance. We propose an affective rather than psychophysical deconstruction of the weighting function resting on two assumptions. First, preferences depend on the affective reactions associated with potential outcomes of a risky choice. Second, even with monetary values controlled, some outcomes are relatively affect-rich and others relatively affect-poor. Although the psychophysical and affective approaches are complementary, the affective approach has one novel implication: Weighting functions will be more S-shaped for lotteries involving affect-rich than affect-poor outcomes. That is, people will be more sensitive to departures from impossibility and certainty but less sensitive to intermediate probability variations for affect-rich outcomes. We corroborated this prediction by observing probability-outcome interactions: An affect-poor prize was preferred over an affect-rich prize under certainty, but the direction of preference reversed under low probability. We suggest that the assumption of probability-outcome independence, adopted by both expected-utility and prospect theory, may hold across outcomes of different monetary values, but not different affective values.

Enhancing and reducing chirality by opposite circularly-polarized light irradiation on crystalline chiral domains consisting of nonchiral photoresponsive W-shaped liquid crystal molecules.

PubMed

Choi, Suk-Won; Takezoe, Hideo

2016-09-28

We found possible chirality enhancement and reduction in chiral domains formed by photoresponsive W-shaped molecules by irradiation with circularly polarized light (CPL). The W-shaped molecules exhibit a unique smectic phase with spontaneously segregated chiral domains, although the molecules are nonchiral. The chirality control was generated in the crystalline phase, which shows chiral segregation as in the upper smectic phase, and the result appeared to be as follows: for a certain chiral domain, right-CPL stimuli enhanced the chirality, while left-CPL stimuli reduced the chirality, and vice versa for another chiral domain. Interestingly, no domain-size change could be observed after CPL irradiation, suggesting some changes in the causes of chirality. In this way, the present system can recognize the handedness of the applied chiral stimuli. In other words, the present material can be used as a sensitive chiral-stimuli-recognizing material and should find invaluable applications, including in chiroptical switches, sensors, and memories as well as in chiral recognition.

An image engineering system for the inspection of transparent construction materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hinz, S.; Stephani, M.; Schiemann, L.; Zeller, K.

This article presents a modular photogrammetric recording and image analysis system for inspecting the material characteristics of transparent foils, in particular Ethylen-TetraFluorEthylen-Copolymer (ETFE) foils. The foils are put under increasing air pressure and are observed by a stereo camera system. Determining the time-variable 3D shape of transparent material imposes a number of challenges: especially the automatic point transfer between stereo images and, in temporal domain, from one image pair to the next. We developed an automatic approach that accommodates for these particular circumstances and allows reconstruction of the 3D shape for each epoch as well as determining 3D translation vectors between epochs by feature tracking. Examples including numerical results and accuracy measures prove the applicability of the system.

Final Shape of Precision Molded Optics: Part 1 - Computational Approach, Material Definitions and the Effect of Lens Shape

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-05-15

subroutine by adding time-dependence to the thermal expansion coefficient. The user subroutine was written in Intel Visual Fortran that is compatible...temperature history dependent expansion and contraction, and the molds were modeled as elastic taking into account both mechanical and thermal strain. In...behavior was approximated by assuming the thermal coefficient of expansion to be a fourth order polynomial function of temperature. The authors

Three-dimensional shape transformations of hydrogel sheets induced by small-scale modulation of internal stresses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Zi Liang; Moshe, Michael; Greener, Jesse; Therien-Aubin, Heloise; Nie, Zhihong; Sharon, Eran; Kumacheva, Eugenia

2013-03-01

Although Nature has always been a common source of inspiration in the development of artificial materials, only recently has the ability of man-made materials to produce complex three-dimensional (3D) structures from two-dimensional sheets been explored. Here we present a new approach to the self-shaping of soft matter that mimics fibrous plant tissues by exploiting small-scale variations in the internal stresses to form three-dimensional morphologies. We design single-layer hydrogel sheets with chemically distinct, fibre-like regions that exhibit differential shrinkage and elastic moduli under the application of external stimulus. Using a planar-to-helical three-dimensional shape transformation as an example, we explore the relation between the internal architecture of the sheets and their transition to cylindrical and conical helices with specific structural characteristics. The ability to engineer multiple three-dimensional shape transformations determined by small-scale patterns in a hydrogel sheet represents a promising step in the development of programmable soft matter.

Delignified and Densified Cellulose Bulk Materials with Excellent Tensile Properties for Sustainable Engineering.

PubMed

Frey, Marion; Widner, Daniel; Segmehl, Jana S; Casdorff, Kirstin; Keplinger, Tobias; Burgert, Ingo

2018-02-07

Today's materials research aims at excellent mechanical performance in combination with advanced functionality. In this regard, great progress has been made in tailoring the materials by assembly processes in bottom-up approaches. In the field of wood-derived materials, nanocellulose research has gained increasing attention, and materials with advanced properties were developed. However, there are still unresolved issues concerning upscaling for large-scale applications. Alternatively, the sophisticated hierarchical scaffold of wood can be utilized in a top-down approach to upscale functionalization, and one can profit at the same time from its renewable nature, CO 2 storing capacity, light weight, and good mechanical performance. Nevertheless, for bulk wood materials, a wider multipurpose industrial use is so far impeded by concerns regarding durability, natural heterogeneity as well as limitations in terms of functionalization, processing, and shaping. Here, we present a novel cellulose bulk material concept based on delignification and densification of wood resulting in a high-performance material. A delignification process using hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid was optimized to delignify the entire bulk wooden blocks and to retain the highly beneficial structural directionality of wood. In a subsequent step, these cellulosic blocks were densified in a process combining compression and lateral shear to gain a very compact cellulosic material with entangled fibers while retaining unidirectional fiber orientation. The cellulose bulk materials obtained by different densification protocols were structurally, chemically, and mechanically characterized revealing superior tensile properties compared to native wood. Furthermore, after delignification, the cellulose bulk material can be easily formed into different shapes, and the delignification facilitates functionalization of the bioscaffold.

Structural Integrity of Intelligent Materials and Structures

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-03-01

Fortunately, one of the best biocompatible alloys in the class we are concerned with is NiTi . The main concern with regard to biocompatibility or...buildings, bridges and lifelines, and sensitive biocompatible medical instrumentation. The rebuilding and enhancement of our Nation’s...recoverable deflections. In addition, shape memory alloys are relatively lightweight, biocompatible , easy to manufacture and have a high force to weight ratio

Improvements on a non-invasive, parameter-free approach to inverse form finding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landkammer, P.; Caspari, M.; Steinmann, P.

2017-08-01

Our objective is to determine the optimal undeformed workpiece geometry (material configuration) within forming processes when the prescribed deformed geometry (spatial configuration) is given. For solving the resulting shape optimization problem—also denoted as inverse form finding—we use a novel parameter-free approach, which relocates in each iteration the material nodal positions as design variables. The spatial nodal positions computed by an elasto-plastic finite element (FE) forming simulation are compared with their prescribed values. The objective function expresses a least-squares summation of the differences between the computed and the prescribed nodal positions. Here, a recently developed shape optimization approach (Landkammer and Steinmann in Comput Mech 57(2):169-191, 2016) is investigated with a view to enhance its stability and efficiency. Motivated by nonlinear optimization theory a detailed justification of the algorithm is given. Furthermore, a classification according to shape changing design, fixed and controlled nodal coordinates is introduced. Two examples with large elasto-plastic strains demonstrate that using a superconvergent patch recovery technique instead of a least-squares (L2 )-smoothing improves the efficiency. Updating the interior discretization nodes by solving a fictitious elastic problem also reduces the number of required FE iterations and avoids severe mesh distortions. Furthermore, the impact of the inclusion of the second deformation gradient in the Hessian of the Quasi-Newton approach is analyzed. Inverse form finding is a crucial issue in metal forming applications. As a special feature, the approach is designed to be coupled in a non-invasive fashion to arbitrary FE software.

Improvements on a non-invasive, parameter-free approach to inverse form finding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landkammer, P.; Caspari, M.; Steinmann, P.

2018-04-01

Our objective is to determine the optimal undeformed workpiece geometry (material configuration) within forming processes when the prescribed deformed geometry (spatial configuration) is given. For solving the resulting shape optimization problem—also denoted as inverse form finding—we use a novel parameter-free approach, which relocates in each iteration the material nodal positions as design variables. The spatial nodal positions computed by an elasto-plastic finite element (FE) forming simulation are compared with their prescribed values. The objective function expresses a least-squares summation of the differences between the computed and the prescribed nodal positions. Here, a recently developed shape optimization approach (Landkammer and Steinmann in Comput Mech 57(2):169-191, 2016) is investigated with a view to enhance its stability and efficiency. Motivated by nonlinear optimization theory a detailed justification of the algorithm is given. Furthermore, a classification according to shape changing design, fixed and controlled nodal coordinates is introduced. Two examples with large elasto-plastic strains demonstrate that using a superconvergent patch recovery technique instead of a least-squares (L2)-smoothing improves the efficiency. Updating the interior discretization nodes by solving a fictitious elastic problem also reduces the number of required FE iterations and avoids severe mesh distortions. Furthermore, the impact of the inclusion of the second deformation gradient in the Hessian of the Quasi-Newton approach is analyzed. Inverse form finding is a crucial issue in metal forming applications. As a special feature, the approach is designed to be coupled in a non-invasive fashion to arbitrary FE software.

Impact of Material and Architecture Model Parameters on the Failure of Woven Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) via the Multiscale Generalized Method of Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Kuang C.; Arnold, Steven M.

2011-01-01

It is well known that failure of a material is a locally driven event. In the case of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), significant variations in the microstructure of the composite exist and their significance on both deformation and life response need to be assessed. Examples of these variations include changes in the fiber tow shape, tow shifting/nesting and voids within and between tows. In the present work, the effects of many of these architectural parameters and material scatter of woven ceramic composite properties at the macroscale (woven RUC) will be studied to assess their sensitivity. The recently developed Multiscale Generalized Method of Cells methodology is used to determine the overall deformation response, proportional elastic limit (first matrix cracking), and failure under tensile loading conditions. The macroscale responses investigated illustrate the effect of architectural and material parameters on a single RUC representing a five harness satin weave fabric. Results shows that the most critical architectural parameter is weave void shape and content with other parameters being less in severity. Variation of the matrix material properties was also studied to illustrate the influence of the material variability on the overall features of the composite stress-strain response.

Multi-classification of cell deformation based on object alignment and run length statistic.

PubMed

Li, Heng; Liu, Zhiwen; An, Xing; Shi, Yonggang

2014-01-01

Cellular morphology is widely applied in digital pathology and is essential for improving our understanding of the basic physiological processes of organisms. One of the main issues of application is to develop efficient methods for cell deformation measurement. We propose an innovative indirect approach to analyze dynamic cell morphology in image sequences. The proposed approach considers both the cellular shape change and cytoplasm variation, and takes each frame in the image sequence into account. The cell deformation is measured by the minimum energy function of object alignment, which is invariant to object pose. Then an indirect analysis strategy is employed to overcome the limitation of gradual deformation by run length statistic. We demonstrate the power of the proposed approach with one application: multi-classification of cell deformation. Experimental results show that the proposed method is sensitive to the morphology variation and performs better than standard shape representation methods.

Theoretical Model for Cellular Shapes Driven by Protrusive and Adhesive Forces

PubMed Central

Kabaso, Doron; Shlomovitz, Roie; Schloen, Kathrin; Stradal, Theresia; Gov, Nir S.

2011-01-01

The forces that arise from the actin cytoskeleton play a crucial role in determining the cell shape. These include protrusive forces due to actin polymerization and adhesion to the external matrix. We present here a theoretical model for the cellular shapes resulting from the feedback between the membrane shape and the forces acting on the membrane, mediated by curvature-sensitive membrane complexes of a convex shape. In previous theoretical studies we have investigated the regimes of linear instability where spontaneous formation of cellular protrusions is initiated. Here we calculate the evolution of a two dimensional cell contour beyond the linear regime and determine the final steady-state shapes arising within the model. We find that shapes driven by adhesion or by actin polymerization (lamellipodia) have very different morphologies, as observed in cells. Furthermore, we find that as the strength of the protrusive forces diminish, the system approaches a stabilization of a periodic pattern of protrusions. This result can provide an explanation for a number of puzzling experimental observations regarding cellular shape dependence on the properties of the extra-cellular matrix. PMID:21573201

On the Influence of Material Parameters in a Complex Material Model for Powder Compaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Staf, Hjalmar; Lindskog, Per; Andersson, Daniel C.; Larsson, Per-Lennart

2016-10-01

Parameters in a complex material model for powder compaction, based on a continuum mechanics approach, are evaluated using real insert geometries. The parameter sensitivity with respect to density and stress after compaction, pertinent to a wide range of geometries, is studied in order to investigate completeness and limitations of the material model. Finite element simulations with varied material parameters are used to build surrogate models for the sensitivity study. The conclusion from this analysis is that a simplification of the material model is relevant, especially for simple insert geometries. Parameters linked to anisotropy and the plastic strain evolution angle have a small impact on the final result.

Polarization-based material classification technique using passive millimeter-wave polarimetric imagery.

PubMed

Hu, Fei; Cheng, Yayun; Gui, Liangqi; Wu, Liang; Zhang, Xinyi; Peng, Xiaohui; Su, Jinlong

2016-11-01

The polarization properties of thermal millimeter-wave emission capture inherent information of objects, e.g., material composition, shape, and surface features. In this paper, a polarization-based material-classification technique using passive millimeter-wave polarimetric imagery is presented. Linear polarization ratio (LPR) is created to be a new feature discriminator that is sensitive to material type and to remove the reflected ambient radiation effect. The LPR characteristics of several common natural and artificial materials are investigated by theoretical and experimental analysis. Based on a priori information about LPR characteristics, the optimal range of incident angle and the classification criterion are discussed. Simulation and measurement results indicate that the presented classification technique is effective for distinguishing between metals and dielectrics. This technique suggests possible applications for outdoor metal target detection in open scenes.

Fast Atomic-Scale Chemical Imaging of Crystalline Materials and Dynamic Phase Transformations.

PubMed

Lu, Ping; Yuan, Ren Liang; Ihlefeld, Jon F; Spoerke, Erik David; Pan, Wei; Zuo, Jian Min

2016-04-13

Atomic-scale phenomena fundamentally influence materials form and function that makes the ability to locally probe and study these processes critical to advancing our understanding and development of materials. Atomic-scale chemical imaging by scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) is a powerful approach to investigate solid crystal structures. Inefficient X-ray emission and collection, however, require long acquisition times (typically hundreds of seconds), making the technique incompatible with electron-beam sensitive materials and study of dynamic material phenomena. Here we describe an atomic-scale STEM-EDS chemical imaging technique that decreases the acquisition time to as little as one second, a reduction of more than 100 times. We demonstrate this new approach using LaAlO3 single crystal and study dynamic phase transformation in beam-sensitive Li[Li0.2Ni0.2Mn0.6]O2 (LNMO) lithium ion battery cathode material. By capturing a series of time-lapsed chemical maps, we show for the first time clear atomic-scale evidence of preferred Ni-mobility in LNMO transformation, revealing new kinetic mechanisms. These examples highlight the potential of this approach toward temporal, atomic-scale mapping of crystal structure and chemistry for investigating dynamic material phenomena.

Metal hydride differential scanning calorimetry as an approach to compositional determination of mixtures of hydrogen isotopologues and helium

DOE PAGES

Robinson, David B.; Luo, Weifang; Cai, Trevor Y.; ...

2015-09-26

Gaseous mixtures of diatomic hydrogen isotopologues and helium are often encountered in the nuclear energy industry and in analytical chemistry. Compositions of stored mixtures can vary due to interactions with storage and handling materials. When tritium is present, it decays to form ions and helium-3, both of which can lead to further compositional variation. Monitoring of composition is typically achieved by mass spectrometry, a method that is bulky and energy-intensive. Mass spectrometers disperse sample material through vacuum pumps, which is especially troublesome if tritium is present. Moreover, our ultimate goal is to create a compact, fast, low-power sensor that canmore » determine composition with minimal gas consumption and waste generation, as a complement to mass spectrometry that can be instantiated more widely. We propose calorimetry of metal hydrides as an approach to this, due to the strong isotope effect on gas absorption, and demonstrate the sensitivity of measured heat flow to atomic composition of the gas. Peak shifts are discernible when mole fractions change by at least 1%. A mass flow restriction results in a unique dependence of the measurement on helium concentration. We present a mathematical model as a first step toward prediction of the peak shapes and positions. The model includes a useful method to compute estimates of phase diagrams for palladium in the presence of arbitrary mixtures of hydrogen isotopologues. As a result, we expect that this approach can be used to deduce unknown atomic compositions from measured calorimetric data over a useful range of partial pressures of each component.« less

Data encoding based on the shape of the ferroelectric domains produced by a scanning probe microscopy tip

DOE PAGES

Ievlev, Anton; Kalinin, Sergei V.

2015-05-28

Ferroelectric materials are broadly considered for information storage due to extremely high storage and information processing densities they enable. To date, ferroelectric based data storage has invariably relied on formation of cylindrical domains, allowing for binary information encoding. Here we demonstrate and explore the potential of high-density encoding based on domain morphology. We explore the domain morphogenesis during the tip-induced polarization switching by sequences of positive and negative pulses in a lithium niobate single-crystal and demonstrate the principal of information coding by shape and size of the domains. We applied cross-correlation and neural network approaches for recognition of the switchingmore » sequence by the shape of the resulting domains and establish optimal parameters for domain shape recognition. These studies both provide insight into the highly non-trivial mechanism of domain switching and potentially establish a new paradigm for multilevel information storage and content retrieval memories. Furthermore, this approach opens a pathway to exploration of domain switching mechanisms via shape analysis.« less

Identifying the Genotypes of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) with DNA Origami Label.

PubMed

Liu, Ke; Pan, Dun; Wen, Yanqin; Zhang, Honglu; Chao, Jie; Wang, Lihua; Song, Shiping; Fan, Chunhai; Shi, Yongyong

2018-02-01

The hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotyping may profoundly affect the accurate diagnosis and antiviral treatment of viral hepatitis. Existing genotyping methods such as serological, immunological, or molecular testing are still suffered from substandard specificity and low sensitivity in laboratory or clinical application. In a previous study, a set of high-efficiency hybridizable DNA origami-based shape ID probes to target the templates through which genetic variation could be determined in an ultrahigh resolution of atomic force microscopy (AFM) nanomechanical imaging are established. Here, as a further confirmatory research to explore the sensitivity and applicability of this assay, differentially predesigned DNA origami shape ID probes are also developed for precisely HBV genotyping. Through the specific identification of visualized DNA origami nanostructure with clinical HBV DNA samples, the genetic variation information of genotypes can be directly identified under AFM. As a proof-of-concept, five genotype B and six genotype C are detected in 11 HBV-infected patients' blood DNA samples of Han Chinese population in the single-blinded test. The AFM image-based DNA origami shape ID genotyping approach shows high specificity and sensitivity, which could be promising for virus infection diagnosis and precision medicine in the future. © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Shape Optimization of Supersonic Turbines Using Response Surface and Neural Network Methods

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Papila, Nilay; Shyy, Wei; Griffin, Lisa W.; Dorney, Daniel J.

2001-01-01

Turbine performance directly affects engine specific impulse, thrust-to-weight ratio, and cost in a rocket propulsion system. A global optimization framework combining the radial basis neural network (RBNN) and the polynomial-based response surface method (RSM) is constructed for shape optimization of a supersonic turbine. Based on the optimized preliminary design, shape optimization is performed for the first vane and blade of a 2-stage supersonic turbine, involving O(10) design variables. The design of experiment approach is adopted to reduce the data size needed by the optimization task. It is demonstrated that a major merit of the global optimization approach is that it enables one to adaptively revise the design space to perform multiple optimization cycles. This benefit is realized when an optimal design approaches the boundary of a pre-defined design space. Furthermore, by inspecting the influence of each design variable, one can also gain insight into the existence of multiple design choices and select the optimum design based on other factors such as stress and materials considerations.

Mean-intercept anisotropy analysis of porous media. II. Conceptual shortcomings of the MIL tensor definition and Minkowski tensors as an alternative.

PubMed

Klatt, Michael A; Schröder-Turk, Gerd E; Mecke, Klaus

2017-07-01

Structure-property relations, which relate the shape of the microstructure to physical properties such as transport or mechanical properties, need sensitive measures of structure. What are suitable fabric tensors to quantify the shape of anisotropic heterogeneous materials? The mean intercept length is among the most commonly used characteristics of anisotropy in porous media, e.g., of trabecular bone in medical physics. Yet, in this series of two papers we demonstrate that it has conceptual shortcomings that limit the validity of its results. We test the validity of general assumptions regarding the properties of the mean-intercept length tensor using analytical formulas for the mean-intercept lengths in anisotropic Boolean models (derived in part I of this series), augmented by numerical simulations. We discuss in detail the functional form of the mean intercept length as a function of the test line orientations. As the most prominent result, we find that, at least for the example of overlapping grains modeling porous media, the polar plot of the mean intercept length is in general not an ellipse and hence not represented by a second-rank tensor. This is in stark contrast to the common understanding that for a large collection of grains the mean intercept length figure averages to an ellipse. The standard mean intercept length tensor defined by a least-square fit of an ellipse is based on a model mismatch, which causes an intrinsic lack of accuracy. Our analysis reveals several shortcomings of the mean intercept length tensor analysis that pose conceptual problems and limitations on the information content of this commonly used analysis method. We suggest the Minkowski tensors from integral geometry as alternative sensitive measures of anisotropy. The Minkowski tensors allow for a robust, comprehensive, and systematic approach to quantify various aspects of structural anisotropy. We show the Minkowski tensors to be more sensitive, in the sense, that they can quantify the remnant anisotropy of structures not captured by the mean intercept length analysis. If applied to porous tissue and microstructures, this improved structure characterization can yield new insights into the relationships between geometry and material properties. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Dynamic behaviour of a planar micro-beam loaded by a fluid-gap: Analytical and numerical approach in a high frequency range, benchmark solutions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novak, A.; Honzik, P.; Bruneau, M.

2017-08-01

Miniaturized vibrating MEMS devices, active (receivers or emitters) or passive devices, and their use for either new applications (hearing, meta-materials, consumer devices,…) or metrological purposes under non-standard conditions, are involved today in several acoustic domains. More in-depth characterisation than the classical ones available until now are needed. In this context, the paper presents analytical and numerical approaches for describing the behaviour of three kinds of planar micro-beams of rectangular shape (suspended rigid or clamped elastic planar beam) loaded by a backing cavity or a fluid-gap, surrounded by very thin slits, and excited by an incident acoustic field. The analytical approach accounts for the coupling between the vibrating structure and the acoustic field in the backing cavity, the thermal and viscous diffusion processes in the boundary layers in the slits and the cavity, the modal behaviour for the vibrating structure, and the non-uniformity of the acoustic field in the backing cavity which is modelled in using an integral formulation with a suitable Green's function. Benchmark solutions are proposed in terms of beam motion (from which the sensitivity, input impedance, and pressure transfer function can be calculated). A numerical implementation (FEM) is handled against which the analytical results are tested.

A New Strategy to Prepare Polymer-based Shape Memory Elastomers.

PubMed

Song, Shijie; Feng, Jiachun; Wu, Peiyi

2011-10-04

A new strategy that utilizes the microphase separation of block copolymer and phase transition of small molecules for preparing polymer-based shape memory elastomer has been proposed. According to this strategy, a novel kind of shape memory elastomer comprising styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-styrene (SEBS) and paraffin has been prepared. Because paraffins are midblock-selective molecules for SEBS, they will preferentially enter and swell EB blocks supporting paraffins as an excellent switch phase for shape memory effect. Microstructures of SEBS/paraffin composites have been characterized by transmission electron microscopy, polarized light microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. The composites demonstrate various phase morphologies with regard to different paraffin loading. It has been found that under low paraffin loading, all the paraffins precisely embed in and swell EB-rich domains. While under higher loading, part of the paraffins become free and a larger-scaled phase separation has been observed. However, within wide paraffin loadings, all composites show good shape fixing, shape recovery performances, and improved tensile properties. Compared to the reported methods for shape memory elastomers preparation, this method not only simplifies the fabrication procedure from raw materials to processing but also offers a controllable approach for the optimization of shape memory properties as well as balancing the rigidity and softness of the material. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Colloidal Inorganic Nanocrystal Based Nanocomposites: Functional Materials for Micro and Nanofabrication

PubMed Central

Ingrosso, Chiara; Panniello, AnnaMaria; Comparelli, Roberto; Curri, Maria Lucia; Striccoli, Marinella

2010-01-01

The unique size- and shape-dependent electronic properties of nanocrystals (NCs) make them extremely attractive as novel structural building blocks for constructing a new generation of innovative materials and solid-state devices. Recent advances in material chemistry has allowed the synthesis of colloidal NCs with a wide range of compositions, with a precise control on size, shape and uniformity as well as specific surface chemistry. By incorporating such nanostructures in polymers, mesoscopic materials can be achieved and their properties engineered by choosing NCs differing in size and/or composition, properly tuning the interaction between NCs and surrounding environment. In this contribution, different approaches will be presented as effective opportunities for conveying colloidal NC properties to nanocomposite materials for micro and nanofabrication. Patterning of such nanocomposites either by conventional lithographic techniques and emerging patterning tools, such as ink jet printing and nanoimprint lithography, will be illustrated, pointing out their technological impact on developing new optoelectronic and sensing devices.

Bulk combinatorial synthesis and high throughput characterization for rapid assessment of magnetic materials: Application of laser engineered net shaping (LENS)

DOE PAGES

Geng, J.; Nlebedim, I. C.; Besser, M. F.; ...

2016-04-15

A bulk combinatorial approach for synthesizing alloy libraries using laser engineered net shaping (LENS; i.e., 3D printing) was utilized to rapidly assess material systems for magnetic applications. The LENS system feeds powders in different ratios into a melt pool created by a laser to synthesize samples with bulk (millimeters) dimensions. By analyzing these libraries with autosampler differential scanning calorimeter/thermal gravimetric analysis and vibrating sample magnetometry, we are able to rapidly characterize the thermodynamic and magnetic properties of the libraries. Furthermore, the Fe-Co binary alloy was used as a model system and the results were compared with data in the literature.

Getting the Word Out: A Practical Guide to AIDS Materials Development.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matiella, Ana Consuelo, Ed.

This book provides health professionals with a "how to" approach to developing culturally sensitive and effective Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) education materials. It is a collection of chapters written by community AIDS educators who have specialized knowledge and skill in developing educational materials in multi-ethnic…

Bypassing adverse injection reactions to nanoparticles through shape modification and attachment to erythrocytes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wibroe, Peter Popp; Anselmo, Aaron C.; Nilsson, Per H.; Sarode, Apoorva; Gupta, Vivek; Urbanics, Rudolf; Szebeni, Janos; Hunter, Alan Christy; Mitragotri, Samir; Mollnes, Tom Eirik; Moghimi, Seyed Moein

2017-07-01

Intravenously injected nanopharmaceuticals, including PEGylated nanoparticles, induce adverse cardiopulmonary reactions in sensitive human subjects, and these reactions are highly reproducible in pigs. Although the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood, roles for both the complement system and reactive macrophages have been implicated. Here, we show the dominance and importance of robust pulmonary intravascular macrophage clearance of nanoparticles in mediating adverse cardiopulmonary distress in pigs irrespective of complement activation. Specifically, we show that delaying particle recognition by macrophages within the first few minutes of injection overcomes adverse reactions in pigs using two independent approaches. First, we changed the particle geometry from a spherical shape (which triggers cardiopulmonary distress) to either rod- or disk-shape morphology. Second, we physically adhered spheres to the surface of erythrocytes. These strategies, which are distinct from commonly leveraged stealth engineering approaches such as nanoparticle surface functionalization with poly(ethylene glycol) and/or immunological modulators, prevent robust macrophage recognition, resulting in the reduction or mitigation of adverse cardiopulmonary distress associated with nanopharmaceutical administration.

Amperometric Detection in Microchip Electrophoresis Devices: Effect of Electrode Material and Alignment on Analytical Performance

PubMed Central

Fischer, David J.; Hulvey, Matthew K.; Regel, Anne R.; Lunte, Susan M.

2012-01-01

The fabrication and evaluation of different electrode materials and electrode alignments for microchip electrophoresis with electrochemical (EC) detection is described. The influences of electrode material, both metal and carbon-based, on sensitivity and limits of detection (LOD) were examined. In addition, the effects of working electrode alignment on analytical performance (in terms of peak shape, resolution, sensitivity, and LOD) were directly compared. Using dopamine (DA), norepinephrine (NE), and catechol (CAT) as test analytes, it was found that pyrolyzed photoresist electrodes with end-channel alignment yielded the lowest limit of detection (35 nM for DA). In addition to being easier to implement, end-channel alignment also offered better analytical performance than off-channel alignment for the detection of all three analytes. In-channel electrode alignment resulted in a 3.6-fold reduction in peak skew and reduced peak tailing by a factor of 2.1 for catechol in comparison to end-channel alignment. PMID:19802847

Generation of an ultra-flexible focused top-hat beam profile with aspheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Möhl, A.; Wickenhagen, S.; Fuchs, U.

2017-02-01

The demand for a uniform intensity distribution in the focal region of the working beam is growing steadily, especially in the field of laser material processing. To generate such a top-hat beam profile, it was shown in the past, that the use of refractive beam shaping solutions provides very good results. In this work, existing beam shaping knowledge is combined with an intelligent modular approach to create a new beam shaping solution, that simplifies both, handling and integration into existing set-ups. Furthermore, the present system enables not just a flattop intensity distribution, but even donut shaped beam profile without adding any further components to the system. Additionally, this beam shaping system is built and successfully tested. Some results of the characterization are presented.

Variational prediction of the mechanical behavior of shape memory alloys based on thermal experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junker, Philipp; Jaeger, Stefanie; Kastner, Oliver; Eggeler, Gunther; Hackl, Klaus

2015-07-01

In this work, we present simulations of shape memory alloys which serve as first examples demonstrating the predicting character of energy-based material models. We begin with a theoretical approach for the derivation of the caloric parts of the Helmholtz free energy. Afterwards, experimental results for DSC measurements are presented. Then, we recall a micromechanical model based on the principle of the minimum of the dissipation potential for the simulation of polycrystalline shape memory alloys. The previously determined caloric parts of the Helmholtz free energy close the set of model parameters without the need of parameter fitting. All quantities are derived directly from experiments. Finally, we compare finite element results for tension tests to experimental data and show that the model identified by thermal measurements can predict mechanically induced phase transformations and thus rationalize global material behavior without any further assumptions.

Mass production of shaped particles through vortex ring freezing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

An, Duo; Warning, Alex; Yancey, Kenneth G.; Chang, Chun-Ti; Kern, Vanessa R.; Datta, Ashim K.; Steen, Paul H.; Luo, Dan; Ma, Minglin

2016-08-01

A vortex ring is a torus-shaped fluidic vortex. During its formation, the fluid experiences a rich variety of intriguing geometrical intermediates from spherical to toroidal. Here we show that these constantly changing intermediates can be `frozen' at controlled time points into particles with various unusual and unprecedented shapes. These novel vortex ring-derived particles, are mass-produced by employing a simple and inexpensive electrospraying technique, with their sizes well controlled from hundreds of microns to millimetres. Guided further by theoretical analyses and a laminar multiphase fluid flow simulation, we show that this freezing approach is applicable to a broad range of materials from organic polysaccharides to inorganic nanoparticles. We demonstrate the unique advantages of these vortex ring-derived particles in several applications including cell encapsulation, three-dimensional cell culture, and cell-free protein production. Moreover, compartmentalization and ordered-structures composed of these novel particles are all achieved, creating opportunities to engineer more sophisticated hierarchical materials.

Tailor Made Synthesis of T-Shaped and π-STACKED Dimers in the Gas Phase: Concept for Efficient Drug Design and Material Synthesis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Sumit; Das, Aloke

2013-06-01

Non-covalent interactions play a key role in governing the specific functional structures of biomolecules as well as materials. Thus molecular level understanding of these intermolecular interactions can help in efficient drug design and material synthesis. It has been found from X-ray crystallography that pure hydrocarbon solids (i.e. benzene, hexaflurobenzene) have mostly slanted T-shaped (herringbone) packing arrangement whereas mixed solid hydrocarbon crystals (i.e. solid formed from mixtures of benzene and hexafluorobenzene) exhibit preferentially parallel displaced (PD) π-stacked arrangement. Gas phase spectroscopy of the dimeric complexes of the building blocks of solid pure benzene and mixed benzene-hexafluorobenzene adducts exhibit similar structural motifs observed in the corresponding crystal strcutures. In this talk, I will discuss about the jet-cooled dimeric complexes of indole with hexafluorobenzene and p-xylene in the gas phase using Resonant two photon ionzation and IR-UV double resonance spectroscopy combined with quantum chemistry calculations. In stead of studying benzene...p-xylene and benzene...hexafluorobenzene dimers, we have studied corresponding indole complexes because N-H group is much more sensitive IR probe compared to C-H group. We have observed that indole...hexafluorobenzene dimer has parallel displaced (PD) π-stacked structure whereas indole...p-xylene has slanted T-shaped structure. We have shown here selective switching of dimeric structure from T-shaped to π-stacked by changing the substituent from electron donating (-CH3) to electron withdrawing group (fluorine) in one of the complexing partners. Thus, our results demonstrate that efficient engineering of the non-covalent interactions can lead to efficient drug design and material synthesis.

Thermomechanical behavior of shape memory elastomeric composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Qi; Luo, Xiaofan; Rodriguez, Erika D.; Zhang, Xiao; Mather, Patrick T.; Dunn, Martin L.; Qi, H. Jerry

2012-01-01

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can fix a temporary shape and recover their permanent shape in response to environmental stimuli such as heat, electricity, or irradiation. Most thermally activated SMPs use the macromolecular chain mobility change around the glass transition temperature ( Tg) to achieve the shape memory (SM) effects. During this process, the stiffness of the material typically changes by three orders of magnitude. Recently, a composite materials approach was developed to achieve thermally activated shape memory effect where the material exhibits elastomeric response in both the temporary and the recovered configurations. These shape memory elastomeric composites (SMECs) consist of an elastomeric matrix reinforced by a semicrystalline polymer fiber network. The matrix provides background rubber elasticity while the fiber network can transform between solid crystals and melt phases over the operative temperature range. As such it serves as a reversible "switching phase" that enables shape fixing and recovery. Shape memory elastomeric composites provide a new paradigm for the development of a wide array of active polymer composites that utilize the melt-crystal transition to achieve the shape memory effect. This potentially allows for material systems with much simpler chemistries than most shape memory polymers and thus can facilitate more rapid material development and insertion. It is therefore important to understand the thermomechanical behavior and to develop corresponding material models. In this paper, a 3D finite-deformation constitutive modeling framework was developed to describe the thermomechanical behavior of SMEC. The model is phenomenological, although inspired by micromechanical considerations of load transfer between the matrix and fiber phases of a composite system. It treats the matrix as an elastomer and the fibers as a complex solid that itself is an aggregate of melt and crystal phases that evolve from one to the other during a temperature change. As such, the composite consists of an elastomer reinforced by a soft liquid at high temperature and a stiff solid at low temperature. The model includes a kinetic description of the non-isothermal crystallization and melting of the fibers during a temperature change. As the fibers transform from melt to crystal during cooling it is assumed that new crystals are formed in an undeformed state, which requires careful tracking of the kinematics of the evolving phases which comes at a significant computational cost. In order to improve the computational efficiency, an effective phase model (EPM) is adopted to treat the evolving crystal phases as an effective medium. A suite of careful thermomechanical experiments with a SMEC was carried out to calibrate various model parameters, and then to demonstrate the ability of the model to accurately capture the shape memory behavior of the SMEC system during complex thermomechanical loading scenarios. The model also identifies the effects of microstructural design parameters such as the fiber volume fraction.

Future trends in metal forming—equipment, materials and processes in automotive applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hitz, D.; Duggirala, R.

1995-10-01

Global competition in the automotive market has made a significant impact in the materials, processes, tools, and equipment used to make components. Steels are being replaced by other materials, such as aluminum, composites, and plastics, that meet the demand for a higher performance per weight ratio. From a processing viewpoint, the customers demand production of parts to near-net shape with little or no machining. Competition in business depends on understanding the needs of the customer in the coming years in the area of metal forming. A workshop was conducted using a novel approach to address the above issue. This presentation describes the approach and the results of the study.

Dimension- and shape-dependent thermal transport in nano-patterned thin films investigated by scanning thermal microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Yunfei; Zhang, Yuan; Weaver, Jonathan M. R.; Dobson, Phillip S.

2017-12-01

Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) is a technique which is often used for the measurement of the thermal conductivity of materials at the nanometre scale. The impact of nano-scale feature size and shape on apparent thermal conductivity, as measured using SThM, has been investigated. To achieve this, our recently developed topography-free samples with 200 and 400 nm wide gold wires (50 nm thick) of length of 400-2500 nm were fabricated and their thermal resistance measured and analysed. This data was used in the development and validation of a rigorous but simple heat transfer model that describes a nanoscopic contact to an object with finite shape and size. This model, in combination with a recently proposed thermal resistance network, was then used to calculate the SThM probe signal obtained by measuring these features. These calculated values closely matched the experimental results obtained from the topography-free sample. By using the model to analyse the dimensional dependence of thermal resistance, we demonstrate that feature size and shape has a significant impact on measured thermal properties that can result in a misinterpretation of material thermal conductivity. In the case of a gold nanowire embedded within a silicon nitride matrix it is found that the apparent thermal conductivity of the wire appears to be depressed by a factor of twenty from the true value. These results clearly demonstrate the importance of knowing both probe-sample thermal interactions and feature dimensions as well as shape when using SThM to quantify material thermal properties. Finally, the new model is used to identify the heat flux sensitivity, as well as the effective contact size of the conventional SThM system used in this study.

Geometric constraints for shape and topology optimization in architectural design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dapogny, Charles; Faure, Alexis; Michailidis, Georgios; Allaire, Grégoire; Couvelas, Agnes; Estevez, Rafael

2017-06-01

This work proposes a shape and topology optimization framework oriented towards conceptual architectural design. A particular emphasis is put on the possibility for the user to interfere on the optimization process by supplying information about his personal taste. More precisely, we formulate three novel constraints on the geometry of shapes; while the first two are mainly related to aesthetics, the third one may also be used to handle several fabrication issues that are of special interest in the device of civil structures. The common mathematical ingredient to all three models is the signed distance function to a domain, and its sensitivity analysis with respect to perturbations of this domain; in the present work, this material is extended to the case where the ambient space is equipped with an anisotropic metric tensor. Numerical examples are discussed in two and three space dimensions.

Shape memory polymer medical device

DOEpatents

Maitland, Duncan [Pleasant Hill, CA; Benett, William J [Livermore, CA; Bearinger, Jane P [Livermore, CA; Wilson, Thomas S [San Leandro, CA; Small, IV, Ward; Schumann, Daniel L [Concord, CA; Jensen, Wayne A [Livermore, CA; Ortega, Jason M [Pacifica, CA; Marion, III, John E.; Loge, Jeffrey M [Stockton, CA

2010-06-29

A system for removing matter from a conduit. The system includes the steps of passing a transport vehicle and a shape memory polymer material through the conduit, transmitting energy to the shape memory polymer material for moving the shape memory polymer material from a first shape to a second and different shape, and withdrawing the transport vehicle and the shape memory polymer material through the conduit carrying the matter.

Ion dynamics in nanocrystalline LiMnPO{sub 4} synthesised by novel template free hydrothermal approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vijayan, Lakshmi, E-mail: lakshmivijayan@gmail.com; Cheruku, Rajesh; Govindaraj, G.

A dense core rectangular shaped nanocrystalline LiMnPO{sub 4} material was synthesized by template free sucrose assisted hydrothermal synthesis. The material possess orthorhombic crystal structure with Pnma, space group having four formula units. The structural characterization was accomplished through X-ray diffraction, thermo gravimetry/differential thermal analysis. Morphology was identified by the SEM, VSM was used to verify the magnetic behavior of the material and electrical characterization was done through impedance spectroscopy and the results were reported.

Sobol method application in dimensional sensitivity analyses of different AFM cantilevers for biological particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korayem, M. H.; Taheri, M.; Ghahnaviyeh, S. D.

2015-08-01

Due to the more delicate nature of biological micro/nanoparticles, it is necessary to compute the critical force of manipulation. The modeling and simulation of reactions and nanomanipulator dynamics in a precise manipulation process require an exact modeling of cantilevers stiffness, especially the stiffness of dagger cantilevers because the previous model is not useful for this investigation. The stiffness values for V-shaped cantilevers can be obtained through several methods. One of them is the PBA method. In another approach, the cantilever is divided into two sections: a triangular head section and two slanted rectangular beams. Then, deformations along different directions are computed and used to obtain the stiffness values in different directions. The stiffness formulations of dagger cantilever are needed for this sensitivity analyses so the formulations have been driven first and then sensitivity analyses has been started. In examining the stiffness of the dagger-shaped cantilever, the micro-beam has been divided into two triangular and rectangular sections and by computing the displacements along different directions and using the existing relations, the stiffness values for dagger cantilever have been obtained. In this paper, after investigating the stiffness of common types of cantilevers, Sobol sensitivity analyses of the effects of various geometric parameters on the stiffness of these types of cantilevers have been carried out. Also, the effects of different cantilevers on the dynamic behavior of nanoparticles have been studied and the dagger-shaped cantilever has been deemed more suitable for the manipulation of biological particles.

Thermally responsive polymer systems for self-healing, reversible adhesion and shape memory applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Xiaofan

Responsive polymers are "smart" materials that are capable of performing prescribed, dynamic functions under an applied stimulus. In this dissertation, we explore several novel design strategies to develop thermally responsive polymers and polymer composites for self-healing, reversible adhesion and shape memory applications. In the first case described in Chapters 2 and 3, a thermally triggered self-healing material was prepared by blending a high-temperature epoxy resin with a thermoplastic polymer, poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL). The initially miscible system undergoes polymerization induced phase separation (PIPS) during the curing of epoxy and yields a variety of compositionally dependent morphologies. At a particular PCL loading, the cured blend displays a "bricks-and-mortar" morphology in which epoxy exists as interconnected spheres ("bricks") within a continuous PCL matrix ("mortar"). A heat induced "bleeding" phenomenon was observed in the form of spontaneous wetting of all free surfaces by the molten PCL, and is attributed to the volumetric thermal expansion of PCL above its melting point in excess of epoxy brick expansion, which we term differential expansive bleeding (DEB). This DEB is capable of healing damage such as cracks. In controlled self-healing experiments, heating of a cracked specimen led to PCL bleeding from the bulk that yields a liquid layer bridging the crack gap. Upon cooling, a "scar" composed of PCL crystals was formed at the site of the crack, restoring a significant portion of mechanical strength. We further utilized DEB to enable strong and thermally-reversible adhesion of the material to itself and to metallic substrates, without any requirement for macroscopic softening or flow. After that, Chapters 4--6 present a novel composite strategy for the design and fabrication of shape memory polymer composites. The basic approach involves physically combining two or more functional components into an interpenetrating fiber/matrix structure, allowing them to function in a synergistic fashion yet remain physically separated. This latter aspect is critical since it enables the control of overall composite properties and functions by separately tuning each component. Utilizing the intrinsic versatility of this approach, composites with novel properties and functions (in addition to "regular" shape memory) have been developed, including (1) shape memory elastomeric composites (SMECs; Chapter 4), (2) triple-shape polymeric composites (TSPCs; Chapter 5), and (3) electrically conductive nanocomposites (Chapter 6). Then in Chapter 7, by combining the success in both thermoplastic based self-healing and shape memory polymer composites, we demonstrate a thermally triggered self-healing coating. This coating features a unique "shape memory assisted self-healing" mechanism in which crack closure (via shape memory) and crack re-bonding (via melting and diffusion of the thermoplastic healing agent) are achieved simultaneously upon a single heating step, leading to both structural and functional (corrosion resistance) recovery. Finally, Chapter 8 presents for the first time the preparation of functionally graded shape memory polymers (SMPs) that, unlike conventional SMPs, have a range of glass transition temperatures that are spatially graded. This was achieved using a temperature gradient curing method that imposes different vitrification limits at different positions along the gradient. The resulting material is capable of responding to a wide range of thermal triggers and a good candidate for low-cost, material based temperature sensors. All the aforementioned materials and methods show great potential for practical applications due to their high performance, low cost and broad applicability. Some recommendations for future research and development are given in Chapter 9.

New Approach in Filling of Fixed-Point Cells: Case Study of the Melting Point of Gallium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bojkovski, J.; Hiti, M.; Batagelj, V.; Drnovšek, J.

2008-02-01

The typical way of constructing fixed-point cells is very well described in the literature. The crucible is loaded with shot, or any other shape of pure metal, inside an argon-filled glove box. Then, the crucible is carefully slid into a fused-silica tube that is closed at the top with an appropriate cap. After that, the cell is removed from the argon glove box and melted inside a furnace while under vacuum or filled with an inert gas like argon. Since the metal comes as shot, or in some other shape such as rods of various sizes, and takes more volume than the melted material, it is necessary to repeat the procedure until a sufficient amount of material is introduced into the crucible. With such a procedure, there is the possibility of introducing additional impurities into the pure metal with each cycle of melting the material and putting it back into the glove box to fill the cell. Our new approach includes the use of a special, so-called dry-box system, which is well known in chemistry. The atmosphere inside the dry box contains less than 20 ppm of water and less than 3 ppm of oxygen. Also, the size of the dry box allows it to contain a furnace for melting materials, not only for gallium but for higher-temperature materials as well. With such an approach, the cell and all its parts (pure metal, graphite, fused-silica tube, and cap) are constantly inside the controlled atmosphere, even while melting the material and filling the crucible. With such a method, the possibility of contaminating the cell during the filling process is minimized.

Determination of detonation wave boundary angles via hydrocode simulations using CREST

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Whitworth, N. J.; Childs, M.

2017-01-01

A key input parameter to Detonation Shock Dynamics models is the angle that the propagating detonation wave makes with the charge edge. This is commonly referred to as the boundary angle, and is a property of the explosive/confiner material combination. Such angles can be determined: (i) experimentally from measured detonation wave-shapes, (ii) theoretically, or (iii) via hydrocode simulations using a reactive burn model. Of these approaches: (i) is difficult because of resolution, (ii) breaks down for certain configurations, while (iii) requires a well validated model. In this paper, the CREST reactive burn model, which has previously been successful in modelling a wide range of explosive phenomena, is used to simulate recent Detonation Confinement Sandwich Tests conducted at LANL using the insensitive high explosive PBX 9502. Simulated detonation wave-shapes in PBX 9502 for a number of different confiner materials and combinations closely match those recorded from the experiments. Boundary angles were subsequently extracted from the simulated results via a wave-shape analysis toolkit. The results shown demonstrate the usefulness of CREST in determining detonation wave boundary angles for a range of explosive/confiner material combinations.

Material removal characteristics of orthogonal velocity polishing tool for efficient fabrication of CVD SiC mirror surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Hyunju; Han, Jeong-Yeol; Kim, Sug-Whan; Seong, Sehyun; Yoon, Siyoung; Lee, Kyungmook; Lee, Haengbok

2015-09-01

Today, CVD SiC mirrors are readily available in the market. However, it is well known to the community that the key surface fabrication processes and, in particular, the material removal characteristics of the CVD SiC mirror surface varies sensitively depending on the shop floor polishing and figuring variables. We investigated the material removal characteristics of CVD SiC mirror surfaces using a new and patented polishing tool called orthogonal velocity tool (OVT) that employs two orthogonal velocity fields generated simultaneously during polishing and figuring machine runs. We built an in-house OVT machine and its operating principle allows for generation of pseudo Gaussian shapes of material removal from the target surface. The shapes are very similar to the tool influence functions (TIFs) of other polishing machine such as IRP series polishing machines from Zeeko. Using two CVD SiC mirrors of 150 mm in diameter and flat surface, we ran trial material removal experiments over the machine run parameter ranges from 12.901 to 25.867 psi in pressure, 0.086 m/sec to 0.147 m/sec in tool linear velocity, and 5 to 15 sec in dwell time. An in-house developed data analysis program was used to obtain a number of Gaussian shaped TIFs and the resulting material removal coefficient varies from 3.35 to 9.46 um/psi hour m/sec with the mean value to 5.90 ± 1.26(standard deviation). We report the technical details of the new OVT machine, of the data analysis program, of the experiments and the results together with the implications to the future development of the OVT machine and process for large CVD SiC mirror surfaces.

Strain-Detecting Composite Materials

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wallace, Terryl A. (Inventor); Smith, Stephen W. (Inventor); Piascik, Robert S. (Inventor); Horne, Michael R. (Inventor); Messick, Peter L. (Inventor); Alexa, Joel A. (Inventor); Glaessgen, Edward H. (Inventor); Hailer, Benjamin T. (Inventor)

2016-01-01

A composite material includes a structural material and a shape-memory alloy embedded in the structural material. The shape-memory alloy changes crystallographic phase from austenite to martensite in response to a predefined critical macroscopic average strain of the composite material. In a second embodiment, the composite material includes a plurality of particles of a ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy embedded in the structural material. The ferromagnetic shape-memory alloy changes crystallographic phase from austenite to martensite and changes magnetic phase in response to the predefined critical macroscopic average strain of the composite material. A method of forming a composite material for sensing the predefined critical macroscopic average strain includes providing the shape-memory alloy having an austenite crystallographic phase, changing a size and shape of the shape-memory alloy to thereby form a plurality of particles, and combining the structural material and the particles at a temperature of from about 100-700.degree. C. to form the composite material.

Pulse shape discrimination for Gerda Phase I data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Agostini, M.; Allardt, M.; Andreotti, E.; Bakalyarov, A. M.; Balata, M.; Barabanov, I.; Barnabé Heider, M.; Barros, N.; Baudis, L.; Bauer, C.; Becerici-Schmidt, N.; Bellotti, E.; Belogurov, S.; Belyaev, S. T.; Benato, G.; Bettini, A.; Bezrukov, L.; Bode, T.; Brudanin, V.; Brugnera, R.; Budjáš, D.; Caldwell, A.; Cattadori, C.; Chernogorov, A.; Cossavella, F.; Demidova, E. V.; Domula, A.; Egorov, V.; Falkenstein, R.; Ferella, A.; Freund, K.; Frodyma, N.; Gangapshev, A.; Garfagnini, A.; Gotti, C.; Grabmayr, P.; Gurentsov, V.; Gusev, K.; Guthikonda, K. K.; Hampel, W.; Hegai, A.; Heisel, M.; Hemmer, S.; Heusser, G.; Hofmann, W.; Hult, M.; Inzhechik, L. V.; Ioannucci, L.; Janicskó Csáthy, J.; Jochum, J.; Junker, M.; Kihm, T.; Kirpichnikov, I. V.; Kirsch, A.; Klimenko, A.; Knöpfle, K. T.; Kochetov, O.; Kornoukhov, V. N.; Kuzminov, V. V.; Laubenstein, M.; Lazzaro, A.; Lebedev, V. I.; Lehnert, B.; Liao, H. Y.; Lindner, M.; Lippi, I.; Liu, X.; Lubashevskiy, A.; Lubsandorzhiev, B.; Lutter, G.; Macolino, C.; Machado, A. A.; Majorovits, B.; Maneschg, W.; Misiaszek, M.; Nemchenok, I.; Nisi, S.; O'Shaughnessy, C.; Pandola, L.; Pelczar, K.; Pessina, G.; Pullia, A.; Riboldi, S.; Rumyantseva, N.; Sada, C.; Salathe, M.; Schmitt, C.; Schreiner, J.; Schulz, O.; Schwingenheuer, B.; Schönert, S.; Shevchik, E.; Shirchenko, M.; Simgen, H.; Smolnikov, A.; Stanco, L.; Strecker, H.; Tarka, M.; Ur, C. A.; Vasenko, A. A.; Volynets, O.; von Sturm, K.; Wagner, V.; Walter, M.; Wegmann, A.; Wester, T.; Wojcik, M.; Yanovich, E.; Zavarise, P.; Zhitnikov, I.; Zhukov, S. V.; Zinatulina, D.; Zuber, K.; Zuzel, G.

2013-10-01

The Gerda experiment located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN searches for neutrinoless double beta (0 νββ) decay of 76Ge using germanium diodes as source and detector. In Phase I of the experiment eight semi-coaxial and five BEGe type detectors have been deployed. The latter type is used in this field of research for the first time. All detectors are made from material with enriched 76Ge fraction. The experimental sensitivity can be improved by analyzing the pulse shape of the detector signals with the aim to reject background events. This paper documents the algorithms developed before the data of Phase I were unblinded. The double escape peak (DEP) and Compton edge events of 2.615 MeV γ rays from 208Tl decays as well as two-neutrino double beta (2 νββ) decays of 76Ge are used as proxies for 0 νββ decay. For BEGe detectors the chosen selection is based on a single pulse shape parameter. It accepts 0.92±0.02 of signal-like events while about 80 % of the background events at Q ββ =2039 keV are rejected. For semi-coaxial detectors three analyses are developed. The one based on an artificial neural network is used for the search of 0 νββ decay. It retains 90 % of DEP events and rejects about half of the events around Q ββ . The 2 νββ events have an efficiency of 0.85±0.02 and the one for 0 νββ decays is estimated to be . A second analysis uses a likelihood approach trained on Compton edge events. The third approach uses two pulse shape parameters. The latter two methods confirm the classification of the neural network since about 90 % of the data events rejected by the neural network are also removed by both of them. In general, the selection efficiency extracted from DEP events agrees well with those determined from Compton edge events or from 2 νββ decays.

Pulse shape discrimination for Gerda Phase I data

DOE PAGES

Agostini, M.; Allardt, M.; Andreotti, E.; ...

2013-10-09

The GERDA experiment located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN searches for neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay of 76Ge using germanium diodes as source and detector. In Phase I of the experiment eight semi-coaxial and five BEGe type detectors have been deployed. The latter type is used in this field of research for the first time. All detectors are made from material with enriched 76Ge fraction. The experimental sensitivity can be improved by analyzing the pulse shape of the detector signals with the aim to reject background events. This paper documents the algorithms developed before the datamore » of Phase I were unblinded. The double escape peak (DEP) and Compton edge events of 2.615 MeV γ rays from 208Tl decays as well as two-neutrino double beta (2νββ) decays of 76Ge are used as proxies for 0νββ decay. For BEGe detectors the chosen selection is based on a single pulse shape parameter. It accepts 0.92 ± 0.02 of signal-like events while about 80 % of the background events at Qββ = 2039 keV are rejected. For semi-coaxial detectors three analyses are developed. The one based on an artificial neural network is used for the search of 0νββ decay. It retains 90 % of DEP events and rejects about half of the events around Qββ . The 2νββ events have an efficiency of 0.85±0.02 and the one for 0νββ decays is estimated to be 0.90 +0.05 -0.09 . A second analysis uses a likelihood approach trained on Compton edge events. The third approach uses two pulse shape parameters. The latter two methods confirm the classification of the neural network since about 90 % of the data events rejected by the neural network are also removed by both of them. In general, the selection efficiency extracted from DEP events agrees well with those determined from Compton edge events or from 2νββ decays.« less

Quasi-laminar stability and sensitivity analyses for turbulent flows: Prediction of low-frequency unsteadiness and passive control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mettot, Clément; Sipp, Denis; Bézard, Hervé

2014-04-01

This article presents a quasi-laminar stability approach to identify in high-Reynolds number flows the dominant low-frequencies and to design passive control means to shift these frequencies. The approach is based on a global linear stability analysis of mean-flows, which correspond to the time-average of the unsteady flows. Contrary to the previous work by Meliga et al. ["Sensitivity of 2-D turbulent flow past a D-shaped cylinder using global stability," Phys. Fluids 24, 061701 (2012)], we use the linearized Navier-Stokes equations based solely on the molecular viscosity (leaving aside any turbulence model and any eddy viscosity) to extract the least stable direct and adjoint global modes of the flow. Then, we compute the frequency sensitivity maps of these modes, so as to predict before hand where a small control cylinder optimally shifts the frequency of the flow. In the case of the D-shaped cylinder studied by Parezanović and Cadot [J. Fluid Mech. 693, 115 (2012)], we show that the present approach well captures the frequency of the flow and recovers accurately the frequency control maps obtained experimentally. The results are close to those already obtained by Meliga et al., who used a more complex approach in which turbulence models played a central role. The present approach is simpler and may be applied to a broader range of flows since it is tractable as soon as mean-flows — which can be obtained either numerically from simulations (Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS), Large Eddy Simulation (LES), unsteady Reynolds-Averaged-Navier-Stokes (RANS), steady RANS) or from experimental measurements (Particle Image Velocimetry - PIV) — are available. We also discuss how the influence of the control cylinder on the mean-flow may be more accurately predicted by determining an eddy-viscosity from numerical simulations or experimental measurements. From a technical point of view, we finally show how an existing compressible numerical simulation code may be used in a black-box manner to extract the global modes and sensitivity maps.

Smart Actuators and Adhesives for Reconfigurable Matter.

PubMed

Ko, Hyunhyub; Javey, Ali

2017-04-18

Biological systems found in nature provide excellent stimuli-responsive functions. The camouflage adaptation of cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish), rapid stiffness change of sea cucumbers, opening of pine cones in response to humidity, and rapid closure of Venus flytraps upon insect touch are some examples of nature's smart systems. Although current technologies are still premature to mimic these sophisticated structures and functions in smart biological systems, recent work on stimuli-responsive programmable matter has shown great progress. Stimuli-responsive materials based on hydrogels, responsive nanocomposites, hybrid structures, shape memory polymers, and liquid crystal elastomers have demonstrated excellent responsivities to various stimuli such as temperature, light, pH, and electric field. However, the technologies in these stimuli-responsive materials are still not sophisticated enough to demonstrate the ultimate attributes of an ideal programmable matter: fast and reversible reconfiguration of programmable matter into complex and robust shapes. Recently, reconfigurable (or programmable) matter that reversibly changes its structure/shape or physical/chemical properties in response to external stimuli has attracted great interest for applications in sensors, actuators, robotics, and smart systems. In particular, key attributes of programmable matter including fast and reversible reconfiguration into complex and robust 2D and 3D shapes have been demonstrated by various approaches. In this Account, we review focused areas of smart materials with special emphasis on the material and device structure designs to enhance the response time, reversibility, multistimuli responsiveness, and smart adhesion for efficient shape transformation and functional actuations. First, the capability of fast reconfiguration of 2D and 3D structures in a reversible way is a critical requirement for programmable matter. For the fast and reversible reconfiguration, various approaches based on enhanced solvent diffusion rate through the porous or structured hydrogel materials, electrostatic repulsion between cofacial electrolyte nanosheets, and photothermal actuation are discussed. Second, the ability to reconfigure programmable matters into a variety of complex structures is beneficial for the use of reconfigurable matter in diverse applications. For the reconfiguration of planar 2D structures into complex 3D structures, asymmetric and multidirectional stress should be applied. In this regard, local hinges with stimuli-responsive stiffness, multilayer laminations with different responsiveness in individual layers, and origami and kirigami assembly approaches are reviewed. Third, multistimuli responsiveness will be required for the efficient reconfiguration of complex programmable matter in response to user-defined stimulus under different chemical and physical environments. In addition, with multistimuli responsiveness, the reconfigured shape can be temporarily affixed by one signal and disassembled by another signal at a user-defined location and time. Photoactuation depending on the chirality of carbon nanotubes and composite gels with different responsiveness will be discussed. Finally, the development of smart adhesives with on-demand adhesion strength is critically required to maintain the robust reconfigurable shapes and for the switching on/off of the binding between components or with target objects. Among various connectors and adhesives, thermoresponsive nanowire connectors, octopus-inspired smart adhesives, and elastomeric tiles with soft joints are described due to their potential applications in joints of deformable 3D structures and smart gripping systems.

Multifunctional carbon nano-paper composite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhichun; Chu, Hetao; Wang, Kuiwen; Liu, Yanjv; Leng, Jinsong

2013-08-01

Carbon Nanotube (CNT), for its excellent mechanical, electrical properties and nano size, large special surface physical property, become the most promising material. But carbon nanotube can still fabricated in micro dimension, and can't be made into macro size, so to the carbon nanotube filled composite can't explore the properties of the CNT. Carbon nano-paper is made of pure CNT, with micro pore, and it turn micro sized CNT into macro shaped membrane. Based on the piezo-resistivity and electrical conductivity of the carbon nano-paper, we used the carbon nano-paper as functional layers fabricate functional composite, and studies its strain sensing, composite material deicing and shape memory polymer (SMP) material electric actuation performance. The results shown that the resin can pregnant the nano paper, and there was good bond for nano paper and composite. The functional composite can monitoring the strain with high sensitivity comparing to foil strain gauge. The functional composite can be heated via the carbon nano paper with low power supply and high heating rate. The composite has good deicing and heat actuation performance to composite material. For the good strain sensing, electric conductivity and self-heating character of the carbon nano-paper composite, it can be used for self sensing, anti lightning strike and deicing of composite materials in aircrafts and wind turbine blades.

Boron Carbide: Stabilization of Highly-Loaded Aqueous Suspensions, Pressureless Sintering, and Room Temperature Injection Molding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz-Cano, Andres

Boron carbide (B4C) is the third hardest material after diamond and cubic boron nitride. It's unique combination of properties makes B4C a highly valuable material. With hardness values around 35 MPa, a high melting point, 2450°C, density of 2.52 g/cm3, and high chemical inertness, boron carbide is used in severe wear components, like cutting tools and sandblasting nozzles, nuclear reactors' control rots, and finally and most common application, armor. Production of complex-shaped ceramic component is complex and represents many challenges. Present research presents a new and novel approach to produce complex-shaped B4C components. Proposed approach allows forming to be done at room temperatures and under very low forming pressures. Additives and binder concentrations are kept as low as possible, around 5Vol%, while ceramics loadings are maximized above 50Vol%. Given that proposed approach uses water as the main solvent, pieces drying is simple and environmentally safe. Optimized formulation allows rheological properties to be tailored and adjust to multiple processing approaches, including, injection molding, casting, and additive manufacturing. Boron carbide samples then were pressureless sintered. Due to the high covalent character of boron carbide, multiples sintering aids and techniques have been proposed in order to achieve high levels of densification. However, is not possible to define a clear sintering methodology based on literature. Thus, present research developed a comprehensive study on the effect of multiple sintering aids on the densification of boron carbide when pressureless sintered. Relative densities above 90% were achieved with values above 30MPa in hardness. Current research allows extending the uses and application of boron carbide, and other ceramic systems, by providing a new approach to produce complex-shaped components with competitive properties.

Rapid, Reliable Shape Setting of Superelastic Nitinol for Prototyping Robots

PubMed Central

Gilbert, Hunter B.; Webster, Robert J.

2016-01-01

Shape setting Nitinol tubes and wires in a typical laboratory setting for use in superelastic robots is challenging. Obtaining samples that remain superelastic and exhibit desired precurvatures currently requires many iterations, which is time consuming and consumes a substantial amount of Nitinol. To provide a more accurate and reliable method of shape setting, in this paper we propose an electrical technique that uses Joule heating to attain the necessary shape setting temperatures. The resulting high power heating prevents unintended aging of the material and yields consistent and accurate results for the rapid creation of prototypes. We present a complete algorithm and system together with an experimental analysis of temperature regulation. We experimentally validate the approach on Nitinol tubes that are shape set into planar curves. We also demonstrate the feasibility of creating general space curves by shape setting a helical tube. The system demonstrates a mean absolute temperature error of 10°C. PMID:27648473

Rapid, Reliable Shape Setting of Superelastic Nitinol for Prototyping Robots.

PubMed

Gilbert, Hunter B; Webster, Robert J

Shape setting Nitinol tubes and wires in a typical laboratory setting for use in superelastic robots is challenging. Obtaining samples that remain superelastic and exhibit desired precurvatures currently requires many iterations, which is time consuming and consumes a substantial amount of Nitinol. To provide a more accurate and reliable method of shape setting, in this paper we propose an electrical technique that uses Joule heating to attain the necessary shape setting temperatures. The resulting high power heating prevents unintended aging of the material and yields consistent and accurate results for the rapid creation of prototypes. We present a complete algorithm and system together with an experimental analysis of temperature regulation. We experimentally validate the approach on Nitinol tubes that are shape set into planar curves. We also demonstrate the feasibility of creating general space curves by shape setting a helical tube. The system demonstrates a mean absolute temperature error of 10°C.

Topology optimization for design of segmented permanent magnet arrays with ferromagnetic materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jaewook; Yoon, Minho; Nomura, Tsuyoshi; Dede, Ercan M.

2018-03-01

This paper presents multi-material topology optimization for the co-design of permanent magnet segments and iron material. Specifically, a co-design methodology is proposed to find an optimal border of permanent magnet segments, a pattern of magnetization directions, and an iron shape. A material interpolation scheme is proposed for material property representation among air, permanent magnet, and iron materials. In this scheme, the permanent magnet strength and permeability are controlled by density design variables, and permanent magnet magnetization directions are controlled by angle design variables. In addition, a scheme to penalize intermediate magnetization direction is proposed to achieve segmented permanent magnet arrays with discrete magnetization directions. In this scheme, permanent magnet strength is controlled depending on magnetization direction, and consequently the final permanent magnet design converges into permanent magnet segments having target discrete directions. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, three design examples are provided. The examples include the design of a dipole Halbach cylinder, magnetic system with arbitrarily-shaped cavity, and multi-objective problem resembling a magnetic refrigeration device.

Design and cost drivers in 2-D braiding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morales, Alberto

1993-01-01

Fundamentally, the braiding process is a highly efficient, low cost method for combining single yarns into circumferential shapes, as evidenced by the number of applications for continuous sleeving. However, this braiding approach cannot fully demonstrate that it can drastically reduce the cost of complex shape structural preforms. Factors such as part geometry, machine design and configuration, materials used, and operating parameters are described as key cost drivers and what is needed to minimize their effect on elevating the cost of structural braided preforms.

A new spinner magnetometer using high sensitivity magneto-impedance sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kodama, Kazuto

2016-04-01

A sensitive spinner magnetometer was developed using a pair of high-resolution Magneto-Impedance sensors. The MI sensor generally utilizes the MI effect of amorphous wire whose impedance changes by the application of a small magnetic field. Various kinds of MI sensors are currently used in many electric devices, for example, a magnetic compass chip built-in smart phones and car navigations. The MI sensor employed in this study is a pico-Tesla MI sensor, an especially sensitive MI sensor originally manufactured for industrial use to detect contamination of small magnetic particles in industrial materials such as fabrics. To detect weak magnetic signals from natural samples and avoid DC drift, a gradiometer system was employed that consists of a pair of the MI sensors and the electronics with analog filter and pre-amplification circuit. This MI gradiometer system was equipped to a commercial spinner magnetometer (SMD-88, Natsuhara Giken, Osaka) with the spinning rate of 5 Hz. It is demonstrated that this new spinner magnetometer is capable of measuring weak magnetic samples of 10-6 mAm2, with the highest resolution being 10-8 mAm2, approximately two orders of magnitude better than the previous one using a ring-core flux-gate sensor. One of the advantages of the MI spinner magnetometer is that it can be easily modified to accommodate samples of any shape and size. Moreover the slow-rotating speed (5 Hz) allows to measure samples for archeomagnetic studies that are usually irregular and fragile. Because the irregularity of shape increases errors in measuring the dipole component of the total magnetization, it is necessary to increase the distance between the sample and sensor, resulting in poorer sensitivity. The high-sensitivity MI sensor enables to measure the NRM of such irregular-shaped samples from an appropriate distance to the sample, with no significant loss of sensitivity.

AN APPROACH FOR SCREENING CHOLINESTERASE INHIBITORS IN DRINKING WATER USING AN IMMOBILIZED ENZYME ASSAY

EPA Science Inventory

A simple, inexpensive and sensitive method for detecting organophosphate and carbamate insecticides is reported. Acetylcholinesterase was immobilized to PorexR Lateral-FloTM membrane material and remained active for several months at room temperature. The assay was sensitive ...

Measurement of two-photon-absorption spectra through nonlinear fluorescence produced by a line-shaped excitation beam.

PubMed

Hasani, E; Parravicini, J; Tartara, L; Tomaselli, A; Tomassini, D

2018-05-01

We propose an innovative experimental approach to estimate the two-photon absorption (TPA) spectrum of a fluorescent material. Our method develops the standard indirect fluorescence-based method for the TPA measurement by employing a line-shaped excitation beam, generating a line-shaped fluorescence emission. Such a configuration, which requires a relatively high amount of optical power, permits to have a greatly increased fluorescence signal, thus avoiding the photon counterdetection devices usually used in these measurements, and allowing to employ detectors such as charge-coupled device (CCD) cameras. The method is finally tested on a fluorescent isothiocyanate sample, whose TPA spectrum, which is measured with the proposed technique, is compared with the TPA spectra reported in the literature, confirming the validity of our experimental approach. © 2018 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2018 Royal Microscopical Society.

Absolute second order nonlinear susceptibility of Pt nanowire arrays on MgO faceted substrates with various cross-sectional shapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogata, Yoichi; Mizutani, Goro

2013-08-01

We have measured optical second harmonic generation (SHG) intensity from three types of Pt nanowires with 7 nm widths of elliptical and boomerang cross-sectional shapes and with 2 nm width elliptical cross-sectional shapes on the MgO faceted templates. From the SHG intensities, we calculated the absolute value of the nonlinear susceptibility χ(2) integrated in the direction of the wire-layer thickness. The tentatively obtained bulk χ(2)B of the wire layer was very large, approaching the value of the well-known nonlinear optical material BaTiO3.

Integrating GLL-Weibull Distribution Within a Bayesian Framework for Life Prediction of Shape Memory Alloy Spring Undergoing Thermo-mechanical Fatigue

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kundu, Pradeep; Nath, Tameshwer; Palani, I. A.; Lad, Bhupesh K.

2018-06-01

The present paper tackles an important but unmapped problem of the reliability estimations of smart materials. First, an experimental setup is developed for accelerated life testing of the shape memory alloy (SMA) springs. Generalized log-linear Weibull (GLL-Weibull) distribution-based novel approach is then developed for SMA spring life estimation. Applied stimulus (voltage), elongation and cycles of operation are used as inputs for the life prediction model. The values of the parameter coefficients of the model provide better interpretability compared to artificial intelligence based life prediction approaches. In addition, the model also considers the effect of operating conditions, making it generic for a range of the operating conditions. Moreover, a Bayesian framework is used to continuously update the prediction with the actual degradation value of the springs, thereby reducing the uncertainty in the data and improving the prediction accuracy. In addition, the deterioration of material with number of cycles is also investigated using thermogravimetric analysis and scanning electron microscopy.

System performance and modeling of a bioaerosol detection lidar sensor utilizing polarization diversity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Glennon, John J.; Nichols, Terry; Gatt, Phillip; Baynard, Tahllee; Marquardt, John H.; Vanderbeek, Richard G.

2009-05-01

The weaponization and dissemination of biological warfare agents (BWA) constitute a high threat to civilians and military personnel. An aerosol release, disseminated from a single point, can directly affect large areas and many people in a short time. Because of this threat real-time standoff detection of BWAs is a key requirement for national and military security. BWAs are a general class of material that can refer to spores, bacteria, toxins, or viruses. These bioaerosols have a tremendous size, shape, and chemical diversity that, at present, are not well characterized [1]. Lockheed Martin Coherent Technologies (LMCT) has developed a standoff lidar sensor with high sensitivity and robust discrimination capabilities with a size and ruggedness that is appropriate for military use. This technology utilizes multiwavelength backscatter polarization diversity to discriminate between biological threats and naturally occurring interferents such as dust, smoke, and pollen. The optical design and hardware selection of the system has been driven by performance modeling leading to an understanding of measured system sensitivity. Here we briefly discuss the challenges of standoff bioaerosol discrimination and the approach used by LMCT to overcome these challenges. We review the radiometric calculations involved in modeling direct-detection of a distributed aerosol target and methods for accurately estimating wavelength dependent plume backscatter coefficients. Key model parameters and their validation are discussed and outlined. Metrics for sensor sensitivity are defined, modeled, and compared directly to data taken at Dugway Proving Ground, UT in 2008. Sensor sensitivity is modeled to predict performance changes between day and night operation and in various challenging environmental conditions.

A wave superposition method formulated in digital acoustic space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Yong-Sin

In this thesis, a new formulation of the Wave Superposition method is proposed wherein the conventional mesh approach is replaced by a simple 3-D digital work space that easily accommodates shape optimization for minimizing or maximizing radiation efficiency. As sound quality is in demand in almost all product designs and also because of fierce competition between product manufacturers, faster and accurate computational method for shape optimization is always desired. Because the conventional Wave Superposition method relies solely on mesh geometry, it cannot accommodate fast shape changes in the design stage of a consumer product or machinery, where many iterations of shape changes are required. Since the use of a mesh hinders easy shape changes, a new approach for representing geometry is introduced by constructing a uniform lattice in a 3-D digital work space. A voxel (a portmanteau, a new word made from combining the sound and meaning, of the words, volumetric and pixel) is essentially a volume element defined by the uniform lattice, and does not require separate connectivity information as a mesh element does. In the presented method, geometry is represented with voxels that can easily adapt to shape changes, therefore it is more suitable for shape optimization. The new method was validated by computing radiated sound power of structures of simple and complex geometries and complex mode shapes. It was shown that matching volume velocity is a key component to an accurate analysis. A sensitivity study showed that it required at least 6 elements per acoustic wavelength, and a complexity study showed a minimal reduction in computational time.

New solutions and technologies for uncooled infrared imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rollin, Joël.; Diaz, Frédéric; Fontaine, Christophe; Loiseaux, Brigitte; Lee, Mane-Si Laure; Clienti, Christophe; Lemonnier, Fabrice; Zhang, Xianghua; Calvez, Laurent

2013-06-01

The military uncooled infrared market is driven by the continued cost reduction of the focal plane arrays whilst maintaining high standards of sensitivity and steering towards smaller pixel sizes. As a consequence, new optical solutions are called for. Two approaches can come into play: the bottom up option consists in allocating improvements to each contributor and the top down process rather relies on an overall optimization of the complete image channel. The University of Rennes I with Thales Angénieux alongside has been working over the past decade through French MOD funding's, on low cost alternatives of infrared materials based upon chalcogenide glasses. A special care has been laid on the enhancement of their mechanical properties and their ability to be moulded according to complex shapes. New manufacturing means developments capable of better yields for the raw materials will be addressed, too. Beyond the mere lenses budget cuts, a wave front coding process can ease a global optimization. This technic gives a way of relaxing optical constraints or upgrading thermal device performances through an increase of the focus depths and desensitization against temperature drifts: it combines image processing and the use of smart optical components. Thales achievements in such topics will be enlightened and the trade-off between image quality correction levels and low consumption/ real time processing, as might be required in hand-free night vision devices, will be emphasized. It is worth mentioning that both approaches are deeply leaning on each other.

Clathrate Structure Determination by Combining Crystal Structure Prediction with Computational and Experimental 129Xe NMR Spectroscopy

PubMed Central

Selent, Marcin; Nyman, Jonas; Roukala, Juho; Ilczyszyn, Marek; Oilunkaniemi, Raija; Bygrave, Peter J.; Laitinen, Risto; Jokisaari, Jukka

2017-01-01

Abstract An approach is presented for the structure determination of clathrates using NMR spectroscopy of enclathrated xenon to select from a set of predicted crystal structures. Crystal structure prediction methods have been used to generate an ensemble of putative structures of o‐ and m‐fluorophenol, whose previously unknown clathrate structures have been studied by 129Xe NMR spectroscopy. The high sensitivity of the 129Xe chemical shift tensor to the chemical environment and shape of the crystalline cavity makes it ideal as a probe for porous materials. The experimental powder NMR spectra can be used to directly confirm or reject hypothetical crystal structures generated by computational prediction, whose chemical shift tensors have been simulated using density functional theory. For each fluorophenol isomer one predicted crystal structure was found, whose measured and computed chemical shift tensors agree within experimental and computational error margins and these are thus proposed as the true fluorophenol xenon clathrate structures. PMID:28111848

Synergistic toughening of composite fibres by self-alignment of reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes.

PubMed

Shin, Min Kyoon; Lee, Bommy; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Lee, Jae Ah; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Gambhir, Sanjeev; Wallace, Gordon G; Kozlov, Mikhail E; Baughman, Ray H; Kim, Seon Jeong

2012-01-31

The extraordinary properties of graphene and carbon nanotubes motivate the development of methods for their use in producing continuous, strong, tough fibres. Previous work has shown that the toughness of the carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer fibres exceeds that of previously known materials. Here we show that further increased toughness results from combining carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide flakes in solution-spun polymer fibres. The gravimetric toughness approaches 1,000 J g(-1), far exceeding spider dragline silk (165 J g(-1)) and Kevlar (78 J g(-1)). This toughness enhancement is consistent with the observed formation of an interconnected network of partially aligned reduced graphene oxide flakes and carbon nanotubes during solution spinning, which act to deflect cracks and allow energy-consuming polymer deformation. Toughness is sensitive to the volume ratio of the reduced graphene oxide flakes to the carbon nanotubes in the spinning solution and the degree of graphene oxidation. The hybrid fibres were sewable and weavable, and could be shaped into high-modulus helical springs.

Ignition at NIF: Where we have been, and where we are going

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosen, Mordecai

2014-10-01

This talk reviews results from the past several years in the pursuit of indirect-drive ignition on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), and summarizes ideas and plans for moving forward. We describe the challenging issues encountered by the low-adiabat (``low foot''), ``ignition point design'' approach, such as: hydrodynamic instability growth and ensuing mix of the CH ablator into the DT hot spot; very high convergence implosions with resultant imperfect symmetry; possible other issues such as hot electron preheat. The complex interplay among these issues is a key theme. We describe the progress that has been made in the understanding and diagnosis of these issues. We present the results from the high-adiabat (``high foot'') approach, with its property of relative hydrodynamic stability when compared to the low foot approach, its somewhat reduced convergence ratio, and its achievement of entering the alpha heating regime, an important milestone on the road to ignition. Paths forward towards ignition include excursions from the present approaches in pulse shape, hohlraum, and choice of ablator. Further pulse shaping can lower the adiabat of the high foot approach and lead to higher performance if it continues to retain its hydrodynamic stability properties. Conversely, pulse shaping can provide for ``adiabat-shaping'' for the low foot approach for it to try to attain better stability. A plethora of hohlraum approaches (size, shape, materials, gas fills) can improve the zero-order drive, as well as the low-mode shape of the implosion. Diagnosing, and then correcting, the time dependence of the symmetry is also a key issue. A variety of ablator materials, along with carefully engineering the drive spectrum, can increase implosion velocity. The high-density carbon ablator has shown promising results in this regard. Some combinations of these developments may allow for an operating space that has a relatively short pulse, in a near vacuum hohlraum. That combination has shown, to date, much better coupling efficiency, and a much lower level of laser plasma instabilities (thus, less electron preheat), than the longer pulse, full gas-fill, ignition hohlraums. Advances in modeling, experimental platforms, and diagnostic techniques developed over the past several years have been key enabling technologies in moving towards ignition, and we anticipate further advances as well. We gratefully acknowledge the dedicated efforts of many hundreds of personnel across the globe who have participated in the laser construction, operation, target fabrication, and all aspects of the target physics program, that have taken us this far towards ignition. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344.

Fano resonance assisting plasmonic circular dichroism from nanorice heterodimers for extrinsic chirality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Li; Huang, Yingzhou; Fang, Liang; Chen, Guo; Wei, Hua; Fang, Yurui

2015-11-01

In this work, the circular dichroisms (CD) of nanorice heterodimers consisting of two parallel arranged nanorices with the same size but different materials are investigated theoretically. Symmetry-breaking is introduced by using different materials and oblique incidence to achieve strong CD at the vicinity of Fano resonance peaks. We demonstrate that all Au-Ag heterodimers exhibit multipolar Fano resonances and strong CD effect. A simple quantitative analysis shows that the structure with larger Fano asymmetry factor has stronger CD. The intensity and peak positions of the CD effect can be flexibly tuned in a large range by changing particle size, shape, the inter-particle distance and surroundings. Furthermore, CD spectra exhibit high sensitivity to ambient medium in visible and near infrared regions. Our results here are beneficial for the design and application of high sensitive CD sensors and other related fields.

Ultrasensitive Mach-Zehnder Interferometric Temperature Sensor Based on Liquid-Filled D-Shaped Fiber Cavity.

PubMed

Zhang, Hui; Gao, Shecheng; Luo, Yunhan; Chen, Zhenshi; Xiong, Songsong; Wan, Lei; Huang, Xincheng; Huang, Bingsen; Feng, Yuanhua; He, Miao; Liu, Weiping; Chen, Zhe; Li, Zhaohui

2018-04-17

A liquid-filled D-shaped fiber (DF) cavity serving as an in-fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated for temperature sensing with ultrahigh sensitivity. The miniature MZI is constructed by splicing a segment of DF between two single-mode fibers (SMFs) to form a microcavity (MC) for filling and replacement of various refractive index (RI) liquids. By adjusting the effective RI difference between the DF and MC (the two interference arms), experimental and calculated results indicate that the interference spectra show different degrees of temperature dependence. As the effective RI of the liquid-filled MC approaches that of the DF, temperature sensitivity up to −84.72 nm/°C with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9953 has been experimentally achieved for a device with the MC length of 456 μm, filled with liquid RI of 1.482. Apart from ultrahigh sensitivity, the proposed MCMZI device possesses additional advantages of its miniature size and simple configuration; these features make it promising and competitive in various temperature sensing applications, such as consumer electronics, biological treatments, and medical diagnosis.

Rethinking CMB foregrounds: systematic extension of foreground parametrizations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chluba, Jens; Hill, James Colin; Abitbol, Maximilian H.

2017-11-01

Future high-sensitivity measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies and energy spectrum will be limited by our understanding and modelling of foregrounds. Not only does more information need to be gathered and combined, but also novel approaches for the modelling of foregrounds, commensurate with the vast improvements in sensitivity, have to be explored. Here, we study the inevitable effects of spatial averaging on the spectral shapes of typical foreground components, introducing a moment approach, which naturally extends the list of foreground parameters that have to be determined through measurements or constrained by theoretical models. Foregrounds are thought of as a superposition of individual emitting volume elements along the line of sight and across the sky, which then are observed through an instrumental beam. The beam and line-of-sight averages are inevitable. Instead of assuming a specific model for the distributions of physical parameters, our method identifies natural new spectral shapes for each foreground component that can be used to extract parameter moments (e.g. mean, dispersion, cross terms, etc.). The method is illustrated for the superposition of power laws, free-free spectra, grey-body and modified blackbody spectra, but can be applied to more complicated fundamental spectral energy distributions. Here, we focus on intensity signals but the method can be extended to the case of polarized emission. The averaging process automatically produces scale-dependent spectral shapes and the moment method can be used to propagate the required information across scales in power spectrum estimates. The approach is not limited to applications to CMB foregrounds, but could also be useful for the modelling of X-ray emission in clusters of galaxies.

Revealing Additional Dimensions of Globalisation and Cultural Hegemony: A Response to Roland S. Persson's Call for Cultural Sensitivity in Gifted Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ambrose, Don

2012-01-01

In this commentary, the author finds the interdisciplinary approach of Roland S. Persson's (2012a) target article refreshing. Persson's (2012a) additional emphases on ethnocentricity, cultural bias and strong threads of influence from the global economy also are helpful. They shed light on some strong contextual influences that shape the…

Morphology of seahorse head hydrodynamically aids in capture of evasive prey.

PubMed

Gemmell, Brad J; Sheng, Jian; Buskey, Edward J

2013-01-01

Syngnathid fish (seahorses, pipefish and sea dragons) are slow swimmers yet capture evasive prey (copepods) using a technique known as the 'pivot' feeding, which involves rapid movement to overcome prey escape capabilities. However, this feeding mode functions only at short range and requires approaching very closely to hydrodynamically sensitive prey without triggering an escape. Here we investigate the role of head morphology on prey capture using holographic and particle image velocimetry (PIV). We show that head morphology functions to create a reduced fluid deformation zone, minimizing hydrodynamic disturbance where feeding strikes occur (above the end of the snout), and permits syngnathid fish to approach highly sensitive copepod prey (Acartia tonsa) undetected. The results explain how these animals can successfully employ short range 'pivot' feeding effectively on evasive prey. The need to approach prey with stealth may have selected for a head shape that produces lower deformation rates than other fish.

Ultra-sensitive EUV resists based on acid-catalyzed polymer backbone breaking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manouras, Theodoros; Kazazis, Dimitrios; Koufakis, Eleftherios; Ekinci, Yasin; Vamvakaki, Maria; Argitis, Panagiotis

2018-03-01

The main target of the current work was to develop new sensitive polymeric materials for lithographic applications, focusing in particular to EUV lithography, the main chain of which is cleaved under the influence of photogenerated acid. Resist materials based on the cleavage of polymer main chain are in principle capable to create very small structures, to the dimensions of the monomers that they consist of. Nevertheless, in the case of the commonly used nonchemically amplified materials of this type issues like sensitivity and poor etch resistance limit their areas of application, whereas inadequate etch resistance and non- satisfactory process reliability are the usual problems encountered in acid catalysed materials based on main chain scission. In our material design the acid catalyzed chain cleavable polymers contain very sensitive moieties in their backbone while they remain intact in alkaline ambient. These newly synthesized polymers bear in addition suitable functional groups for the achievement of desirable lithographic characteristics (thermal stability, acceptable glass transition temperature, etch resistance, proper dissolution behavior, adhesion to the substrate). Our approach for achieving acceptable etch resistance, a main drawback in other main chain cleavable resists, is based on the introduction of polyaromatic hydrocarbons in the polymeric backbone, whereas the incorporation of an inorganic component further enhances the etch resistance. Single component systems can also be designed following the proposed approach by the incorporation of suitable PAGs and base quencher molecules in the main chain. Resist formulations based on a random copolymer designed according to the described rules evaluated in EUV exhibit ultrahigh sensitivity, capability for high resolution patterning and overall processing characteristics that make them strong candidates for industrial use upon further optimization.

Predictive framework for shape-selective separations in three-dimensional zeolites and metal-organic frameworks.

PubMed

First, Eric L; Gounaris, Chrysanthos E; Floudas, Christodoulos A

2013-05-07

With the growing number of zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) available, computational methods are needed to screen databases of structures to identify those most suitable for applications of interest. We have developed novel methods based on mathematical optimization to predict the shape selectivity of zeolites and MOFs in three dimensions by considering the energy costs of transport through possible pathways. Our approach is applied to databases of over 1800 microporous materials including zeolites, MOFs, zeolitic imidazolate frameworks, and hypothetical MOFs. New materials are identified for applications in gas separations (CO2/N2, CO2/CH4, and CO2/H2), air separation (O2/N2), and chemicals (propane/propylene, ethane/ethylene, styrene/ethylbenzene, and xylenes).

Single-nm resolution approach by applying DDRP and DDRM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shibayama, Wataru; Shigaki, Shuhei; Takeda, Satoshi; Nakajima, Makoto; Sakamoto, Rikimaru

2017-03-01

EUV lithography has been desired as the leading technology for 1x or single nm half-pitch patterning. However, the source power, masks and resist materials still have critical issues for mass production. Especially in resist materials, RLS trade-off has been the key issue. To overcome this issue, we are suggesting Dry Development Rinse Process (DDRP) and Materials (DDRM) as the pattern collapse mitigation approach. This DDRM can perform not only as pattern collapse free materials for fine pitch, but also as the etching hard mask against bottom layer (spin on carbon : SOC). In this paper, we especially propose new approaches to achieve high resolution around hp1X nm L/S and single nm line patterning. Especially, semi iso 8nm line was successfully achieved with good LWR (2.5nm) and around 3 times aspect ratio. This single nm patterning technique also helped to enhance sensitivity about 33%. On the other hand, pillar patterning thorough CH pattern by applying DDRP also showed high resolution below 20nm pillar CD with good LCDU and high sensitivity. This new DDRP technology can be the promising approach not only for hp1Xnm level patterning but also single nm patterning in N7/N5 and beyond.

Advancement of atmospheric-vacuum interfaces for mass spectrometers with a focus on increasing gas throughput for improving sensitivity.

PubMed

Prasad, Satendra; Wouters, Eloy R; Dunyach, Jean-Jacques

2015-08-18

Ion sampling from an electrospray ionization (ESI) source was improved by increasing gas conductance of the MS inlet by 4.3-fold. Converting the gas throughput (Q) into sensitivity improvement was dependent on ion desolvation and handling of the gas load. Desolvation was addressed by using a novel slot shaped inlet that exhibited desolvation properties identical to the 0.58 mm i.d capillary. An assay tailored for "small molecules" at high chromatographic flow rate (500 μL/min) yielded a compound dependent 6.5 to 14-fold signal gain while analysis at nano chromatographic flow rate (300 nL/min) showed 2 to 3.5-fold improvement for doubly charged peptides. Improvement exceeding the Q (4.3-fold) at high chromatographic flow rate was explained by superior sampling of the spatially dispersed ion spray when using the slot shaped capillary. Sensitivity improvement across a wide range of chromatographic flow rate confirmed no compromise in ion desolvation with the increase in Q. Another improvement included less overflow of gas into the mass analyzer from the foreline region owing to the slot shape of the capillary. By doubling the roughing pump capacity and operating the electrodynamic ion funnel (EDIF) at ∼4 Torr, a single pumping stage was sufficient to handle the gas load. The transport of solvent clusters from the LC effluent into the mass analyzer was prevented by a "wavy shaped" transfer quadrupole and was compared with a benchmark approach that delivered ions orthogonally into a differentially pumped dual EDIF at comparable gas Q.

A sensitivity-based approach to optimize the surface treatment of a low-height tramway noise barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jolibois, Alexandre

Transportation noise has become a main nuisance in urban areas, in the industrialized world and across the world, to the point that according to the World Health Organization 65% of the European population is exposed to excessive noise and 20% to night-time levels that may harm their health. There is therefore a need to find new ways to mitigate transportation noise in urban areas. In this work, a possible device to achieve this goal is studied: a low-height noise barrier. It consists of a barrier typically less than one meter high placed close to the source, designed to decrease significantly the noise level for nearby pedestrians and cyclists. A numerical method which optimizes the surface treatment of a low-height barrier in order to increase its insertion loss is presented. Tramway noise barriers are especially studied since the noise sources are in this case close to the ground and would be attenuated more by the barrier. The acoustic behavior of the surface treatment is modeled via its admittance. It can be itself described by a few parameters (flow resistivity, geometrical dimensions...), which can then be optimized. It is proposed to couple porous layers and micro-perforated panel (MPP) resonators in order to take advantage of their different acoustic properties. Moreover, the optimization is achieved using a sensitivity-based method, since in this framework the gradient of the attenuation can be evaluated accurately and efficiently. Several shapes are considered: half-cylinder, quarter-cylinder, straight wall, T-shape and square shape. In the case of a half-cylindrical geometry, a semi-analytical solution for the sound field in terms of a series of cylindrical waves is derived, which simplifies the sensitivity calculation and optimization process. The boundary element method (BEM) is used to evaluate the attenuation for the remaining shapes, and in this case the sensitivity is evaluated using the adjoint state approach. For all considered geometries, it is found that placing an absorbing treatment close to the source is indeed necessary to attenuate the multiple re ections happening between the tramway and the barrier, and that a tuned MPP resonator on the top of the barrier can yield better performance than a uniform absorbent treatment. More advanced numerical modeling and scale model measurements seem to confirm these results.

Shape memory polymer actuator and catheter

DOEpatents

Maitland, Duncan J.; Lee, Abraham P.; Schumann, Daniel L.; Matthews, Dennis L.; Decker, Derek E.; Jungreis, Charles A.

2004-05-25

An actuator system is provided for acting upon a material in a vessel. The system includes an optical fiber and a shape memory polymer material operatively connected to the optical fiber. The shape memory polymer material is adapted to move from a first shape for moving through said vessel to a second shape where it can act upon said material.

Shape memory polymer actuator and catheter

DOEpatents

Maitland, Duncan J.; Lee, Abraham P.; Schumann, Daniel L.; Matthews, Dennis L.; Decker, Derek E.; Jungreis, Charles A.

2007-11-06

An actuator system is provided for acting upon a material in a vessel. The system includes an optical fiber and a shape memory polymer material operatively connected to the optical fiber. The shape memory polymer material is adapted to move from a first shape for moving through said vessel to a second shape where it can act upon said material.

A new seamless, smooth, interior, absorptive finishing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

D'Antonio, Peter

2003-10-01

Government architecture typically employs classic forms of vaults, domes and other focusing or reflective shapes, usually created with hard materials like concrete and plaster. The use of conventional porous absorption is typically rejected as an acoustical surface material for aesthetic reasons. Hence, many of these new and existing facilities have compromised speech intelligibility and music quality. Acousticians have sought a field-applied, absorptive finishing system that resembles a smooth plaster or painted drywall surface, since the dawn of architectural acoustics. Some success has been achieved using sprayed cellulose or cementitious materials, but surface smoothness has been a challenge. A new approach utilizing a thin microporous layer of mineral particles applied over a mineral wool panel will be described. This material can be applied to almost any shape surface, internally pigmented to match almost any color and renovated. Because of these unique characteristics the new seamless, absorptive, finishing system is being specified for many new and renovated spaces. Application examples will be presented.

Physical Explanation of Archie's Porosity Exponent in Granular Materials: A Process-Based, Pore-Scale Numerical Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niu, Qifei; Zhang, Chi

2018-02-01

The empirical Archie's law has been widely used in geosciences and engineering to explain the measured electrical resistivity of many geological materials, but its physical basis has not been fully understood yet. In this study, we use a pore-scale numerical approach combining discrete element-finite difference methods to study Archie's porosity exponent m of granular materials over a wide porosity range. Numerical results reveal that at dilute states (e.g., porosity ϕ > 65%), m is exclusively related to the particle shape and orientation. As the porosity decreases, the electric flow in pore space concentrates progressively near particle contacts and m increases continuously in response to the intensified nonuniformity of the local electrical field. It is also found that the increase in m is universally correlated with the volume fraction of pore throats for all the samples regardless of their particle shapes, particle size range, and porosities.

Functional Nanoclay Suspension for Printing-Then-Solidification of Liquid Materials.

PubMed

Jin, Yifei; Compaan, Ashley; Chai, Wenxuan; Huang, Yong

2017-06-14

Additive manufacturing (AM) enables the freeform fabrication of complex structures from various build materials. The objective of this study is to develop a novel Laponite nanoclay-enabled "printing-then-solidification" additive manufacturing approach to extrude complex three-dimensional (3D) structures made of various liquid build materials. Laponite, a member of the smectite mineral family, is investigated to serve as a yield-stress support bath material for the extrusion printing of liquid build materials. Using the printing-then-solidification approach, the printed structure remains liquid and retains its shape with the help of the Laponite support bath. Then the completed liquid structures are solidified in situ by applying suitable cross-linking mechanisms. Finally, the solidified structures are harvested from the Laponite nanoclay support bath for any further processing as needed. Due to its chemical and physical stability, liquid build materials with different solidification/curing/gelation mechanisms can be fabricated in the Laponite bath using the printing-then-solidification approach. The feasibility of the proposed Laponite-enabled printing-then-solidification approach is demonstrated by fabricating several complicated structures made of various liquid build materials, including alginate with ionic cross-linking, gelatin with thermal cross-linking, and SU-8 with photo-cross-linking. During gelatin structure printing, living cells are included and the postfabrication cell viability is above 90%.

Submillimeter and far-infrared dielectric properties of thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cataldo, Giuseppe; Wollack, Edward J.

2016-07-01

The complex dielectric function enables the study of a material's refractive and absorptive properties and provides information on a material's potential for practical application. Commonly employed line shape profile functions from the literature are briefly surveyed and their suitability for representation of dielectric material properties are discussed. An analysis approach to derive a material's complex dielectric function from observed transmittance spectra in the far-infrared and submillimeter regimes is presented. The underlying model employed satisfies the requirements set by the Kramers-Kronig relations. The dielectric function parameters derived from this approachtypically reproduce the observed transmittance spectra with an accuracy of < 4%.

Spatial shaping for generating arbitrary optical dipole traps for ultracold degenerate gases

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Jeffrey G., E-mail: jglee@umd.edu; Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742; Hill, W. T., E-mail: wth@umd.edu

2014-10-15

We present two spatial-shaping approaches – phase and amplitude – for creating two-dimensional optical dipole potentials for ultracold neutral atoms. When combined with an attractive or repulsive Gaussian sheet formed by an astigmatically focused beam, atoms are trapped in three dimensions resulting in planar confinement with an arbitrary network of potentials – a free-space atom chip. The first approach utilizes an adaptation of the generalized phase-contrast technique to convert a phase structure embedded in a beam after traversing a phase mask, to an identical intensity profile in the image plane. Phase masks, and a requisite phase-contrast filter, can be chemicallymore » etched into optical material (e.g., fused silica) or implemented with spatial light modulators; etching provides the highest quality while spatial light modulators enable prototyping and realtime structure modification. This approach was demonstrated on an ensemble of thermal atoms. Amplitude shaping is possible when the potential structure is made as an opaque mask in the path of a dipole trap beam, followed by imaging the shadow onto the plane of the atoms. While much more lossy, this very simple and inexpensive approach can produce dipole potentials suitable for containing degenerate gases. High-quality amplitude masks can be produced with standard photolithography techniques. Amplitude shaping was demonstrated on a Bose-Einstein condensate.« less

A new ring-shaped graphite monitor ionization chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yoshizumi, M. T.; Caldas, L. V. E.

2010-07-01

A ring-shaped monitor ionization chamber was developed at the Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares. This ionization chamber presents an entrance window of aluminized polyester foil. The guard ring and collecting electrode are made of graphite coated Lucite plates. The main difference between this new ionization chamber and commercial monitor chambers is its ring-shaped design. The new monitor chamber has a central hole, allowing the passage of the direct radiation beam without attenuation; only the penumbra radiation is measured by the sensitive volume. This kind of ionization chamber design has already been tested, but using aluminium electrodes. By changing the electrode material from aluminium to a graphite coating, an improvement in the chamber response stability was expected. The pre-operational tests, as saturation curve, recombination loss and polarity effect showed satisfactory results. The repeatability and the long-term stability tests were also evaluated, showing good agreement with international recommendations.

Triple shape memory polymers by 4D printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bodaghi, M.; Damanpack, A. R.; Liao, W. H.

2018-06-01

This article aims at introducing triple shape memory polymers (SMPs) by four-dimensional (4D) printing technology and shaping adaptive structures for mechanical/bio-medical devices. The main approach is based on arranging hot–cold programming of SMPs with fused decomposition modeling technology to engineer adaptive structures with triple shape memory effect (SME). Experiments are conducted to characterize elasto-plastic and hyper-elastic thermo-mechanical material properties of SMPs in low and high temperatures at large deformation regime. The feasibility of the dual and triple SMPs with self-bending features is demonstrated experimentally. It is advantageous in situations either where it is desired to perform mechanical manipulations on the 4D printed objects for specific purposes or when they experience cold programming inevitably before activation. A phenomenological 3D constitutive model is developed for quantitative understanding of dual/triple SME of SMPs fabricated by 4D printing in the large deformation range. Governing equations of equilibrium are established for adaptive structures on the basis of the nonlinear Green–Lagrange strains. They are then solved by developing a finite element approach along with an elastic-predictor plastic-corrector return map procedure accomplished by the Newton–Raphson method. The computational tool is applied to simulate dual/triple SMP structures enabled by 4D printing and explore hot–cold programming mechanisms behind material tailoring. It is shown that the 4D printed dual/triple SMPs have great potential in mechanical/bio-medical applications such as self-bending gripers/stents and self-shrinking/tightening staples.

Numerical study on 3D composite morphing actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oishi, Kazuma; Saito, Makoto; Anandan, Nishita; Kadooka, Kevin; Taya, Minoru

2015-04-01

There are a number of actuators using the deformation of electroactive polymer (EAP), where fewer papers seem to have focused on the performance of 3D morphing actuators based on the analytical approach, due mainly to their complexity. The present paper introduces a numerical analysis approach on the large scale deformation and motion of a 3D half dome shaped actuator composed of thin soft membrane (passive material) and EAP strip actuators (EAP active coupon with electrodes on both surfaces), where the locations of the active EAP strips is a key parameter. Simulia/Abaqus Static and Implicit analysis code, whose main feature is the high precision contact analysis capability among structures, are used focusing on the whole process of the membrane to touch and wrap around the object. The unidirectional properties of the EAP coupon actuator are used as input data set for the material properties for the simulation and the verification of our numerical model, where the verification is made as compared to the existing 2D solution. The numerical results can demonstrate the whole deformation process of the membrane to wrap around not only smooth shaped objects like a sphere or an egg, but also irregularly shaped objects. A parametric study reveals the proper placement of the EAP coupon actuators, with the modification of the dome shape to induce the relevant large scale deformation. The numerical simulation for the 3D soft actuators shown in this paper could be applied to a wider range of soft 3D morphing actuators.

Strategic design and fabrication of acrylic shape memory polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Ju Hyuk; Kim, Hansu; Ryoun Youn, Jae; Song, Young Seok

2017-08-01

Modulation of thermomechanics nature is a critical issue for an optimized use of shape memory polymers (SMPs). In this study, a strategic approach was proposed to control the transition temperature of SMPs. Free radical vinyl polymerization was employed for tailoring and preparing acrylic SMPs. Transition temperatures of the shape memory tri-copolymers were tuned by changing the composition of monomers. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were carried out to evaluate the chemical structures and compositions of the synthesized SMPs. The thermomechanical properties and shape memory performance of the SMPs were also examined by performing dynamic mechanical thermal analysis. Numerical simulation based on a finite element method provided consistent results with experimental cyclic shape memory tests of the specimens. Transient shape recovery tests were conducted and optical transparence of the samples was identified. We envision that the materials proposed in this study can help develop a new type of shape-memory devices in biomedical and aerospace engineering applications.

Energy Based Topology Optimization of Morphing Wings a Multidisciplinary Global/Local Design Approach

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

subsystem that drives the active materials to achieve the desired shape changes. As opposed to fixed wing structures in which the aerodynamic and...structures and aerodynamics occur in conjunction with the active material and electronic subsystem interactions that involve transfer of energy from a source...which the aerodynamic and structure integration for the entire wing is the most important interaction mechanism, in the case of a morphing wing

Shape memory polymer foams for endovascular therapies

DOEpatents

Wilson, Thomas S.; Maitland, Duncan J.

2017-03-21

A system for occluding a physical anomaly. One embodiment comprises a shape memory material body wherein the shape memory material body fits within the physical anomaly occluding the physical anomaly. The shape memory material body has a primary shape for occluding the physical anomaly and a secondary shape for being positioned in the physical anomaly.

Shape memory polymer foams for endovascular therapies

DOEpatents

Wilson, Thomas S [Castro Valley, CA; Maitland, Duncan J [Pleasant Hill, CA

2012-03-13

A system for occluding a physical anomaly. One embodiment comprises a shape memory material body wherein the shape memory material body fits within the physical anomaly occluding the physical anomaly. The shape memory material body has a primary shape for occluding the physical anomaly and a secondary shape for being positioned in the physical anomaly.

Shape memory polymer foams for endovascular therapies

DOEpatents

Wilson, Thomas S.; Maitland, Duncan J.

2015-05-26

A system for occluding a physical anomaly. One embodiment comprises a shape memory material body wherein the shape memory material body fits within the physical anomaly occluding the physical anomaly. The shape memory material body has a primary shape for occluding the physical anomaly and a secondary shape for being positioned in the physical anomaly.

Sensitivity of resistive and Hall measurements to local inhomogeneities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koon, Daniel W.; Wang, Fei; Hjorth Petersen, Dirch; Hansen, Ole

2013-10-01

We derive exact, analytic expressions for the sensitivity of resistive and Hall measurements to local inhomogeneities in a specimen's material properties in the combined linear limit of a weak perturbation over an infinitesimal area in a small magnetic field. We apply these expressions both to four-point probe measurements on an infinite plane and to symmetric, circular van der Pauw discs, obtaining functions consistent with published results. These new expressions speed up calculation of the sensitivity for a specimen of arbitrary shape to little more than the solution of two Laplace equation boundary-value problems of the order of N3 calculations, rather than N2 problems of total order N5, and in a few cases produces an analytic expression for the sensitivity. These functions provide an intuitive, visual explanation of how, for example, measurements can predict the wrong carrier type in n-type ZnO.

Measurement of Mechanical Properties of Cantilever Shaped Materials

PubMed Central

Finot, Eric; Passian, Ali; Thundat, Thomas

2008-01-01

Microcantilevers were first introduced as imaging probes in Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) due to their extremely high sensitivity in measuring surface forces. The versatility of these probes, however, allows the sensing and measurement of a host of mechanical properties of various materials. Sensor parameters such as resonance frequency, quality factor, amplitude of vibration and bending due to a differential stress can all be simultaneously determined for a cantilever. When measuring the mechanical properties of materials, identifying and discerning the most influential parameters responsible for the observed changes in the cantilever response are important. We will, therefore, discuss the effects of various force fields such as those induced by mass loading, residual stress, internal friction of the material, and other changes in the mechanical properties of the microcantilevers. Methods to measure variations in temperature, pressure, or molecular adsorption of water molecules are also discussed. Often these effects occur simultaneously, increasing the number of parameters that need to be concurrently measured to ensure the reliability of the sensors. We therefore systematically investigate the geometric and environmental effects on cantilever measurements including the chemical nature of the underlying interactions. To address the geometric effects we have considered cantilevers with a rectangular or circular cross section. The chemical nature is addressed by using cantilevers fabricated with metals and/or dielectrics. Selective chemical etching, swelling or changes in Young's modulus of the surface were investigated by means of polymeric and inorganic coatings. Finally to address the effect of the environment in which the cantilever operates, the Knudsen number was determined to characterize the molecule-cantilever collisions. Also bimaterial cantilevers with high thermal sensitivity were used to discern the effect of temperature variations. When appropriate, we use continuum mechanics, which is justified according to the ratio between the cantilever thickness and the grain size of the materials. We will also address other potential applications such as the ageing process of nuclear materials, building materials, and optical fibers, which can be investigated by monitoring their mechanical changes with time. In summary, by virtue of the dynamic response of a miniaturized cantilever shaped material, we present useful measurements of the associated elastic properties. PMID:27879891

Teaching Prevention on Sensitive Topics: Key Elements and Pedagogical Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russell, Beth S.; Soysa, Champika K.; Wagoner, Marc J.; Dawson, Lori

2008-01-01

This paper presents a set of topical and pedagogical considerations for instructors teaching material on sensitive topics with either the primary or secondary aim of addressing prevention. Prevention can be approached as an effort to create changes in an individual's attitudes/beliefs, knowledge, and behavior. Following this framework, classroom…

Study on shape recovery speed of SMP, SMP composite, and SMP foam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xuelian; Liu, Yanju; Leng, Jinsong

2008-03-01

Shape memory polymer (SMP) receives increasing attention along with its derivants - SMP composite and SMP foam in recent years. In this paper, after fabricating thermoset styrene-based SMP, SMP/carbon black (CB) composite and SMP foam, we studied their shape recovery speed in bending. Different from those reported in the literature, we propose a new approach, i.e., using infrared light, for actuating SMP materials for shape recovery. The results show that SMP, SMP/CB composite and SMP foam can recover to their original shape perfectly in a wide temperature range. Shape recovery speed of SMP composite is not uniform during the overall recovery process, and it is the same trend with SMP but not prominent with SMP foam. Repeatability of shape recovery speed for styrene-based SMP and SMP/CB composite are similarly stable and the former is the better, but it is so worse for SMP foam. Temperature-dependent of shape recovery speed test for styrene-based SMP and SMP/CB composite reveal that higher temperature increases their shape recovery speed.

Sulfur containing nanoporous materials, nanoparticles, methods and applications

DOEpatents

Archer, Lynden A.; Navaneedhakrishnan, Jayaprakash

2018-01-30

Sulfur containing nanoparticles that may be used within cathode electrodes within lithium ion batteries include in a first instance porous carbon shape materials (i.e., either nanoparticle shapes or "bulk" shapes that are subsequently ground to nanoparticle shapes) that are infused with a sulfur material. A synthetic route to these carbon and sulfur containing nanoparticles may use a template nanoparticle to form a hollow carbon shape shell, and subsequent dissolution of the template nanoparticle prior to infusion of the hollow carbon shape shell with a sulfur material. Sulfur infusion into other porous carbon shapes that are not hollow is also contemplated. A second type of sulfur containing nanoparticle includes a metal oxide material core upon which is located a shell layer that includes a vulcanized polymultiene polymer material and ion conducting polymer material. The foregoing sulfur containing nanoparticle materials provide the electrodes and lithium ion batteries with enhanced performance.

Shape, Density, and Geology of the Nucleus of Comet 103P/Hartley 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thomas, P.C.; A'hearn, Michael F.; Veverka, Joseph; Belton, Michael J. S.; Kissel, Jochen; Belton, Michael J. S.; Klaasen, Kenneth P.; McFadden, Lucy A.; Melosh, H. Jay; Schultz, Peter H.;

Ice Shaping Properties, Similar to That of Antifreeze Proteins, of a Zirconium Acetate Complex

PubMed Central

Deville, Sylvain; Viazzi, Céline; Leloup, Jérôme; Lasalle, Audrey; Guizard, Christian; Maire, Eric; Adrien, Jérôme; Gremillard, Laurent

2011-01-01

The control of the growth morphologies of ice crystals is a critical issue in fields as diverse as biomineralization, medicine, biology, civil or food engineering. Such control can be achieved through the ice-shaping properties of specific compounds. The development of synthetic ice-shaping compounds is inspired by the natural occurrence of such properties exhibited by antifreeze proteins. We reveal how a particular zirconium acetate complex is exhibiting ice-shaping properties very similar to that of antifreeze proteins, albeit being a radically different compound. We use these properties as a bioinspired approach to template unique faceted pores in cellular materials. These results suggest that ice-structuring properties are not exclusive to long organic molecules and should broaden the field of investigations and applications of such substances. PMID:22028886

Towards a General Theory of Extremes for Observables of Chaotic Dynamical Systems.

PubMed

Lucarini, Valerio; Faranda, Davide; Wouters, Jeroen; Kuna, Tobias

2014-01-01

In this paper we provide a connection between the geometrical properties of the attractor of a chaotic dynamical system and the distribution of extreme values. We show that the extremes of so-called physical observables are distributed according to the classical generalised Pareto distribution and derive explicit expressions for the scaling and the shape parameter. In particular, we derive that the shape parameter does not depend on the chosen observables, but only on the partial dimensions of the invariant measure on the stable, unstable, and neutral manifolds. The shape parameter is negative and is close to zero when high-dimensional systems are considered. This result agrees with what was derived recently using the generalized extreme value approach. Combining the results obtained using such physical observables and the properties of the extremes of distance observables, it is possible to derive estimates of the partial dimensions of the attractor along the stable and the unstable directions of the flow. Moreover, by writing the shape parameter in terms of moments of the extremes of the considered observable and by using linear response theory, we relate the sensitivity to perturbations of the shape parameter to the sensitivity of the moments, of the partial dimensions, and of the Kaplan-Yorke dimension of the attractor. Preliminary numerical investigations provide encouraging results on the applicability of the theory presented here. The results presented here do not apply for all combinations of Axiom A systems and observables, but the breakdown seems to be related to very special geometrical configurations.

Towards a General Theory of Extremes for Observables of Chaotic Dynamical Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucarini, Valerio; Faranda, Davide; Wouters, Jeroen; Kuna, Tobias

2014-02-01

In this paper we provide a connection between the geometrical properties of the attractor of a chaotic dynamical system and the distribution of extreme values. We show that the extremes of so-called physical observables are distributed according to the classical generalised Pareto distribution and derive explicit expressions for the scaling and the shape parameter. In particular, we derive that the shape parameter does not depend on the chosen observables, but only on the partial dimensions of the invariant measure on the stable, unstable, and neutral manifolds. The shape parameter is negative and is close to zero when high-dimensional systems are considered. This result agrees with what was derived recently using the generalized extreme value approach. Combining the results obtained using such physical observables and the properties of the extremes of distance observables, it is possible to derive estimates of the partial dimensions of the attractor along the stable and the unstable directions of the flow. Moreover, by writing the shape parameter in terms of moments of the extremes of the considered observable and by using linear response theory, we relate the sensitivity to perturbations of the shape parameter to the sensitivity of the moments, of the partial dimensions, and of the Kaplan-Yorke dimension of the attractor. Preliminary numerical investigations provide encouraging results on the applicability of the theory presented here. The results presented here do not apply for all combinations of Axiom A systems and observables, but the breakdown seems to be related to very special geometrical configurations.

Rapid mapping of polarization switching through complete information acquisition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Somnath, Suhas; Belianinov, Alex; Kalinin, Sergei V.; Jesse, Stephen

2016-12-01

Polarization switching in ferroelectric and multiferroic materials underpins a broad range of current and emergent applications, ranging from random access memories to field-effect transistors, and tunnelling devices. Switching in these materials is exquisitely sensitive to local defects and microstructure on the nanometre scale, necessitating spatially resolved high-resolution studies of these phenomena. Classical piezoresponse force microscopy and spectroscopy, although providing necessary spatial resolution, are fundamentally limited in data acquisition rates and energy resolution. This limitation stems from their two-tiered measurement protocol that combines slow (~1 s) switching and fast (~10 kHz-1 MHz) detection waveforms. Here we develop an approach for rapid probing of ferroelectric switching using direct strain detection of material response to probe bias. This approach, facilitated by high-sensitivity electronics and adaptive filtering, enables spectroscopic imaging at a rate 3,504 times faster the current state of the art, achieving high-veracity imaging of polarization dynamics in complex microstructures.

Effect of Micro Porous Shape on Mechanical Properties in Polypropylene Syntactic Foams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mae, Hiroyuki; Omiya, Masaki; Kishimoto, Kikuo

The objective is to characterize the effect of the microstructure of the micro pores inside the matrix on the mechanical properties of the thermoplastic syntactic polypropylene (PP) foams at the intermediate and high strain rates. Tensile tests are conducted at the nominal strain rates from 3 x 10-1 to 102 s-1. In addition, the dart impact tests are conducted at the impact velocities of 0.1, 1 and 10 m/s. Then, the constitutive law with craze evolution is modified by introducing the relative density, the stress concentration coefficient and the volume fraction of cell edge, and then applied to the dart impact test mode for simulating the macroscopic load displacement history of the dart impact process. Moreover, the microstructural finite element analysis is conducted to characterize the local stress states in the microstructure. In the tensile loading, the elastic modulus is not influenced by the shape of the micro pores in the PP matrix while the yield stress and the strain energy up to failure are relatively influenced by the shape of micro pores. The microstructural finite element analysis shows that the magnitudes of the localized stresses at the edges and the ligaments of the elliptical-shape micro pores are larger than those at the spherical micro pores, leading to the early yielding and the small material ductility. In the case of the dart impact loading, the microstructure of pores has strong effect on the absorbed energy. This is because the elliptical-shape micro pores are very sensitive to the shear deformation, which is revealed by the microstructural finite element analysis. The modified constitutive law with the stress concentration coefficient and the volume fraction of the cell edges successfully predicts the load-displacement curve of the dart impact loading in the spherical micro-porous PP foam. It is concluded that the micro porous shape has strong effect on the material ductility especially in the dart impact test, leading to the possibility to control the material ductility by the shape of the micro pores in the polymeric foams.

Reduction of Noise from Disc Brake Systems Using Composite Friction Materials Containing Thermoplastic Elastomers (TPEs)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masoomi, Mohsen; Katbab, Ali Asghar; Nazockdast, Hossein

2006-09-01

Attempts have been made for the first time to prepare a friction material with the characteristic of thermal sensitive modulus, by the inclusion of thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) as viscoelastic polymeric materials into the formulation in order to the increase the damping behavior of the cured friction material. Styrene butadiene styrene (SBS), styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS) and nitrile rubber/polyvinyl chloride (NBR/PVC) blend system were used as TPE materials. In order to evaluate the viscoelastic parameters such as loss factor (tan δ) and storage modulus (E‧) for the friction material, dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA) were used. Natural frequencies and mode shapes of friction material and brake disc were determined by modal analysis. However, NBR/PVC and SEBS were found to be much more effective in damping behavior. The results from this comparative study suggest that the damping characteristics of commercial friction materials can be strongly affected by the TPE ingredients. This investigation also confirmed that the specimens with high TPE content had low noise propensity.

Exact Tuning of High-Q Optical Microresonators by Use of UV

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Savchankov, Anaotliy; Maleki, Lute; Iltchenko, Vladimir; Handley, Timothy

2006-01-01

In one of several alternative approaches to the design and fabrication of a "whispering-gallery" optical microresonator of high resonance quality (high Q), the index of refraction of the resonator material and, hence, the resonance frequencies. In this approach, a microresonator structure is prepared by forming it from an ultraviolet-sensitive material. Then the structure is subjected to controlled exposure to UV light while its resonance frequencies are monitored.

Star cell type core configuration for structural sandwich materials

DOEpatents

Christensen, Richard M.

1995-01-01

A new pattern for cellular core material used in sandwich type structural materials. The new pattern involves star shaped cells intermixed with hexagonal shaped cells. The new patterned cellular core material includes star shaped cells interconnected at points thereof and having hexagonal shape cells positioned adjacent the star points. The new pattern allows more flexibility and can conform more easily to curved shapes.

A VO-seeded Approach for the Growth of Star-shaped VO2 and V2O5 Nanocrystals: Facile Synthesis Structural Characterization and Elucidation of Electronic Structure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

L Whittaker; J Velazquez; S Banerjee

2011-12-31

Obtaining shape and size control of strongly correlated materials is imperative to obtain a fundamental understanding of the influence of finite size and surface restructuring on electronic instabilities in the proximity of the Fermi level. We present here a novel synthetic approach that takes advantage of the intrinsic octahedral symmetry of rock-salt-structured VO to facilitate the growth of six-armed nanocrystallites of related, technologically important binary vanadium oxides VO2 and V2O5. The prepared nanostructures exhibit clear six-fold symmetry and most notably show remarkable retention of electronic structure. The latter has been evidenced through extensive X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements.

AN ANTIFRAGILE APPROACH TO PREPARING FOR CYBER CONFLICT

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-04-05

Cyber Strategic Approach The need to protect critical infrastructure, sensitive unclassified and classified data, and Command and Control systems that...high-reward approaches , particularly those that are non -material in nature. Finally, a systemic focus on feedback, memory and continuous...AIR WAR COLLEGE AIR UNIVERSITY AN ANTIFRAGILE APPROACH TO PREPARING FOR CYBER CONFLICT by Lance Baxter, Lt Col, USAF A Research

An all-solid-state perovskite-sensitized solar cell based on the dual function polyaniline as the sensitizer and p-type hole-transporting material

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Yaoming; Han, Gaoyi; Chang, Yunzhen; Zhou, Haihan; Li, Miaoyu; Li, Yanping

2014-12-01

High performance dual function of polyaniline (PANI) with brachyplast structure is synthesized by using a two-step cyclic voltammetry (CV) approach onto the fluorinated tin oxide (FTO) glass substrate, which acts as the sensitizer and p-type hole-transporting material (p-HTM) for the all-solid-state perovskite-sensitized solar cell (ass-PSSC) due to its π-π* transition and the localized polaron. The ass-PSSC based on the PANI delivers a photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 7.34%, and reduces from 7.34% to 6.71% after 1000 h, thereby 91.42% of the energy conversion efficiency is kept, indicating the device has a good long-term stability.

An approach to predict the shape-memory behavior of amorphous polymers from Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuki, Ákos; Czifrák, Katalin; Karger-Kocsis, József; Zsuga, Miklós; Kéki, Sándor

2015-02-01

The prediction of shape-memory behavior is essential regarding the design of a smart material for different applications. This paper proposes a simple and quick method for the prediction of shape-memory behavior of amorphous shape memory polymers (SMPs) on the basis of a single dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) temperature sweep at constant frequency. All the parameters of the constitutive equations for linear viscoelasticity are obtained by fitting the DMA curves. The change with the temperature of the time-temperature superposition shift factor ( a T ) is expressed by the Williams-Landel-Ferry (WLF) model near and above the glass transition temperature ( T g ), and by the Arrhenius law below T g . The constants of the WLF and Arrhenius equations can also be determined. The results of our calculations agree satisfactorily with the experimental free recovery curves from shape-memory tests.

Shaping metallic glasses by electromagnetic pulsing

PubMed Central

Kaltenboeck, Georg; Demetriou, Marios D.; Roberts, Scott; Johnson, William L.

2016-01-01

With damage tolerance rivalling advanced engineering alloys and thermoplastic forming capabilities analogous to conventional plastics, metallic glasses are emerging as a modern engineering material. Here, we take advantage of their unique electrical and rheological properties along with the classic Lorentz force concept to demonstrate that electromagnetic coupling of electric current and a magnetic field can thermoplastically shape a metallic glass without conventional heating sources or applied mechanical forces. Specifically, we identify a process window where application of an electric current pulse in the presence of a normally directed magnetic field can ohmically heat a metallic glass to a softened state, while simultaneously inducing a large enough magnetic body force to plastically shape it. The heating and shaping is performed on millisecond timescales, effectively bypassing crystallization producing fully amorphous-shaped parts. This electromagnetic forming approach lays the groundwork for a versatile, time- and energy-efficient manufacturing platform for ultrastrong metals. PMID:26853460

Improved Functional Properties and Efficiencies of Nitinol Wires Under High-Performance Shape Memory Effect (HP-SME)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casati, R.; Saghafi, F.; Biffi, C. A.; Vedani, M.; Tuissi, A.

2017-10-01

Martensitic Ti-rich NiTi intermetallics are broadly used in various cyclic applications as actuators, which exploit the shape memory effect (SME). Recently, a new approach for exploiting austenitic Ni-rich NiTi shape memory alloys as actuators was proposed and named high-performance shape memory effect (HP-SME). HP-SME is based on thermal recovery of de-twinned martensite produced by mechanical loading of the parent phase. The aim of the manuscript consists in evaluating and comparing the fatigue and actuation properties of austenitic HP-SME wires and conventional martensitic SME wires. The effect of the thermomechanical cycling on the actuation response and the changes in the electrical resistivity of both shape memory materials were studied by performing the actuation tests at different stages of the fatigue life. Finally, the changes in the transition temperatures before and after cycling were also investigated by differential calorimetric tests.

Ethanol Gas Detection Using a Yolk-Shell (Core-Shell) α-Fe2O3 Nanospheres as Sensing Material.

PubMed

Wang, LiLi; Lou, Zheng; Deng, Jianan; Zhang, Rui; Zhang, Tong

2015-06-17

Three-dimensional (3D) nanostructures of α-Fe2O3 materials, including both hollow sphere-shaped and yolk-shell (core-shell)-shaped, have been successfully synthesized via an environmentally friendly hydrothermal approach. By expertly adjusting the reaction time, the solid, hollow, and yolk-shell shaped α-Fe2O3 can be selectively synthesized. Yolk-shell α-Fe2O3 nanospheres display outer diameters of 350 nm, and the interstitial hollow spaces layer is intimately sandwiched between the inner and outer shell of α-Fe2O3 nanostructures. The possible growth mechanism of the yolk-shell nanostructure is proposed. The results showed that the well-defined bilayer interface effectively enhanced the sensing performance of the α-Fe2O3 nanostructures (i.e., yolk-shell α-Fe2O3@α-Fe2O3), owing predominantly to the unique nanostructure, thus facilitated the transport rate and augmented the adsorption quantity of the target gas molecule under gas detection.

Mass production of shaped particles through vortex ring freezing

PubMed Central

An, Duo; Warning, Alex; Yancey, Kenneth G.; Chang, Chun-Ti; Kern, Vanessa R.; Datta, Ashim K.; Steen, Paul H.; Luo, Dan; Ma, Minglin

2016-01-01

A vortex ring is a torus-shaped fluidic vortex. During its formation, the fluid experiences a rich variety of intriguing geometrical intermediates from spherical to toroidal. Here we show that these constantly changing intermediates can be ‘frozen' at controlled time points into particles with various unusual and unprecedented shapes. These novel vortex ring-derived particles, are mass-produced by employing a simple and inexpensive electrospraying technique, with their sizes well controlled from hundreds of microns to millimetres. Guided further by theoretical analyses and a laminar multiphase fluid flow simulation, we show that this freezing approach is applicable to a broad range of materials from organic polysaccharides to inorganic nanoparticles. We demonstrate the unique advantages of these vortex ring-derived particles in several applications including cell encapsulation, three-dimensional cell culture, and cell-free protein production. Moreover, compartmentalization and ordered-structures composed of these novel particles are all achieved, creating opportunities to engineer more sophisticated hierarchical materials. PMID:27488831

Investigation of the photosensitivity of LiNbO3:BaFeO3 crystal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Darwish, Abdalla M.; Koplitz, Brent D.; Jackson, E.; Jalbout, F.; Jalbout, A.; Aggarwal, Mohan D.

2002-01-01

Ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) absorptions from six fine particle-samples of barium ferrite were studied over a temperature range of -195 degree(s)C to 500 degree(s)C. It was found that the shape of the FMR absorption signal is affected by the particle shape and crystalline anisotropy of each sample. From this analysis, the first magnetic anisotropy constant K1 was estimated approximately as a function of temperature. The estimation suggested that the value of K1 was sensitive to the condition of preparation of fine powders. In addition the photosensitivity of the LiNbO3:BaFe doped crystal was enhanced, suggesting the importance of Barium Ferrite powder as a potential candidate with NOL materials.

Final Shape of Precision Molded Optics: Part 2 - Validation and Sensitivity to Material Properties and Process Parameters

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-06-27

of the critical contributors to deviation include structural relaxation of the glass, thermal expansion of the molds, TRS and viscoelastic behavior...the critical contributors to deviation include structural relaxation of the glass, thermal expansion of the molds, TRS and viscoelastic behavior of the...data. In that article glass was modeled as purely viscous and thermal expansion was accounted for with a constant coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE

Star cell type core configuration for structural sandwich materials

DOEpatents

Christensen, R.M.

1995-08-01

A new pattern for cellular core material used in sandwich type structural materials is disclosed. The new pattern involves star shaped cells intermixed with hexagonal shaped cells. The new patterned cellular core material includes star shaped cells interconnected at points thereof and having hexagonal shape cells positioned adjacent the star points. The new pattern allows more flexibility and can conform more easily to curved shapes. 3 figs.

A computational approach for inferring the cell wall properties that govern guard cell dynamics.

PubMed

Woolfenden, Hugh C; Bourdais, Gildas; Kopischke, Michaela; Miedes, Eva; Molina, Antonio; Robatzek, Silke; Morris, Richard J

2017-10-01

Guard cells dynamically adjust their shape in order to regulate photosynthetic gas exchange, respiration rates and defend against pathogen entry. Cell shape changes are determined by the interplay of cell wall material properties and turgor pressure. To investigate this relationship between turgor pressure, cell wall properties and cell shape, we focused on kidney-shaped stomata and developed a biomechanical model of a guard cell pair. Treating the cell wall as a composite of the pectin-rich cell wall matrix embedded with cellulose microfibrils, we show that strong, circumferentially oriented fibres are critical for opening. We find that the opening dynamics are dictated by the mechanical stress response of the cell wall matrix, and as the turgor rises, the pectinaceous matrix stiffens. We validate these predictions with stomatal opening experiments in selected Arabidopsis cell wall mutants. Thus, using a computational framework that combines a 3D biomechanical model with parameter optimization, we demonstrate how to exploit subtle shape changes to infer cell wall material properties. Our findings reveal that proper stomatal dynamics are built on two key properties of the cell wall, namely anisotropy in the form of hoop reinforcement and strain stiffening. © 2017 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and Society for Experimental Biology.

Time correlated measurements using plastic scintillators with neutron-photon pulse shape discrimination

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richardson, Norman E., IV

Since the beginning of the nuclear age, there has been a strong demand for the development of efficient technologies for the detection of ionizing radiation. According to the United States' Department of Energy, the accurate assessment of fissile materials is essential in achieving the nonproliferation goals of enhancing safety and security of nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear energy facilities. Nuclear materials can be characterized by the measurement of prompt and delayed neutrons and gamma rays emitted in spontaneous or induced fission reactions and neutrons emitted in fission reactions are the distinctive signatures of nuclear materials. Today, the most widely used neutron detection technologies rely on thermal neutron capture reactions using a moderating material to cause the neutron to lose its energy prior to the detection event. This is necessary because as the fission event occurs, neutrons are emitted carrying high amounts of energy, typically on the order of mega electron volts (MeV). These energetic particles are classified as "fast" neutrons. For detecting the thermal neutrons, the Helium-3 (3He) gas-filled counters are arguably the most widely used technology of neutron detection. 3He counters have been the scientific standard for the nuclear engineering community for several decades, and have earned their place as a reliable technique for the detection of neutrons. However, 3He gas-filled counters have several disadvantages. First, gas-filled counters are not rigid and are sensitive to vibrations. Secondly, gas-filled counters are prone to the count rate limitations due to the physical processes of charge multiplication and transport in the gas medium in the electric field. Lastly, 3He gas-filled counters suffer from a supply shortage of the 3He isotope. As it is stated in [3], this shortage is created by the new demand for Helium-3 due to the deployment of neutron detectors at the borders after the 9/11 attack to help secure the nation against smuggled nuclear and radiological material. Moreover, the production of 3He isotope as a byproduct of security programs was drastically decreased. This isotope shortage coupled with the disadvantages of relying on a detector that requires neutron moderation before the detection of fission neutrons, poses a significant challenge in supporting the existing detection systems and the development of future technologies. To address this problem, a reliable and accurate alternative technology to detect neutrons emitted in fissions must be developed. One such alternative technology that shows promise in this application is the use of scintillators based on solid state materials (plastics) which are sensitive to fast neutrons. However, plastic scintillators are also sensitive to photons. Hence, it is necessary to separate the neutron signals from the photon signals, using the pulse shape discrimination (PSD) analysis. The PSD is based on the comparison of the pulse shapes of digitized signal waveforms. This approach allows for the measurement of fast neutrons without the necessity of their moderation. Because the fission spectrum neutrons are mainly fast, methods employing fast neutron detection are applicable for the assay of fissile materials. In addition, the average time of scintillation of the plastic medium is much shorter than those of the gaseous counters, thus allowing scintillation detectors to be used in high count rate environments. Furthermore, the temporal information of the fast neutron detection using multiple sensors enables the time correlation analysis of the fission neutron multiplicity. The study of time correlation measurements of fast neutrons using the array of plastic scintillators is the basis of this work. The array of four plastic scintillator detectors equipped with the digital data acquisition and analysis system was developed. The digital PSD analysis of detector signals "on-the-fly" was implemented for the array. The time coincidence measurement technique using the list mode was employed for two detectors operating on the single time scale. This was necessary as no fission source was available to be used as a fast neutron multiplicity source. The detection technology was tested using isotopic photon sources and a plutonium-beryllium neutron source. It was shown that the system can be effectively used for fast-neutron multiplicity measurements, through a "proof-of-concept" model, enabling a shorter width of the time coincidence window compared to the 3He counters. This result opens prospects to reduce the false coincidence rates in the neutron multiplicity measurements, thus increasing the sensitivity of nuclear material detection.

Compaction of granular materials composed of deformable particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nguyen, Thanh Hai; Nezamabadi, Saeid; Delenne, Jean-Yves; Radjai, Farhang

2017-06-01

In soft particle materials such as metallic powders the particles can undergo large deformations without rupture. The large elastic or plastic deformations of the particles are expected to strongly affect the mechanical properties of these materials compared to hard particle materials more often considered in research on granular materials. Herein, two numerical approaches are proposed for the simulation of soft granular systems: (i) an implicit formulation of the Material Point Method (MPM) combined with the Contact Dynamics (CD) method to deal with contact interactions, and (i) Bonded Particle Model (BPM), in which each deformable particle is modeled as an aggregate of rigid primary particles using the CD method. These two approaches allow us to simulate the compaction of an assembly of elastic or plastic particles. By analyzing the uniaxial compaction of 2D soft particle packings, we investigate the effects of particle shape change on the stress-strain relationship and volume change behavior as well as the evolution of the microstructure.

Integrated planar terahertz resonators for femtomolar sensitivity label-free detection of DNA hybridization.

PubMed

Nagel, Michael; Bolivar, Peter Haring; Brucherseifer, Martin; Kurz, Heinrich; Bosserhoff, Anja; Büttner, Reinhard

2002-04-01

A promising label-free approach for the analysis of genetic material by means of detecting the hybridization of polynucleotides with electromagnetic waves at terahertz (THz) frequencies is presented. Using an integrated waveguide approach, incorporating resonant THz structures as sample carriers and transducers for the analysis of the DNA molecules, we achieve a sensitivity down to femtomolar levels. The approach is demonstrated with time-domain ultrafast techniques based on femtosecond laser pulses for generating and electro-optically detecting broadband THz signals, although the principle can certainly be transferred to other THz technologies.

From the molecular structure to spectroscopic and material properties: computational investigation of a bent-core nematic liquid crystal.

PubMed

Greco, Cristina; Marini, Alberto; Frezza, Elisa; Ferrarini, Alberta

2014-05-19

We present a computational investigation of the nematic phase of the bent-core liquid crystal A131. We use an integrated approach that bridges density functional theory calculations of molecular geometry and torsional potentials to elastic properties through the molecular conformational and orientational distribution function. This unique capability to simultaneously access different length scales enables us to consistently describe molecular and material properties. We can reassign (13)C NMR chemical shifts and analyze the dependence of phase properties on molecular shape. Focusing on the elastic constants we can draw some general conclusions on the unconventional behavior of bent-core nematics and highlight the crucial role of a properly-bent shape. © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Chemical characterization of single micro- and nano-particles by optical catapulting-optical trapping-laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fortes, Francisco J.; Fernández-Bravo, Angel; Javier Laserna, J.

2014-10-01

Spectral identification of individual micro- and nano-sized particles by the sequential intervention of optical catapulting, optical trapping and laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy is presented. The three techniques are used for different purposes. Optical catapulting (OC) serves to put the particulate material under inspection in aerosol form. Optical trapping (OT) permits the isolation and manipulation of individual particles from the aerosol, which are subsequently analyzed by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). Once catapulted, the dynamics of particle trapping depends both on the laser beam characteristics (power and intensity gradient) and on the particle properties (size, mass and shape). Particles are stably trapped in air at atmospheric pressure and can be conveniently manipulated for a precise positioning for LIBS analysis. The spectra acquired from the individually trapped particles permit a straightforward identification of the material inspected. Variability of LIBS signal for the inspection of Ni microspheres was 30% relative standard deviation. OC-OT-LIBS permits the separation of particles in a heterogeneous mixture and the subsequent analysis of the isolated particle of interest. In order to evaluate the sensitivity of the approach, the number of absolute photons emitted by a single trapped particle was calculated. The limit of detection (LOD) for Al2O3 particles was calculated to be 200 attograms aluminium.

Near net shape processing: A necessity for advanced materials applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuhn, Howard A.

1993-01-01

High quality discrete parts are the backbones for successful operation of equipment used in transportation, communication, construction, manufacturing, and appliances. Traditional shapemaking for discrete parts is carried out predominantly by machining, or removing unwanted material to produce the desired shape. As the cost and complexity of modern materials escalates, coupled with the expense and environmental hazards associated with handling of scrap, it is increasingly important to develop near net shape processes for these materials. Such processes involve casting of liquid materials, consolidation of powder materials, or deformation processing of simple solid shapes into the desired shape. Frequently, several of these operations may be used in sequence to produce a finished part. The processes for near net shape forming may be applied to any type of material, including metals, polymers, ceramics, and their composites. The ability to produce shapes is the key to implementation of laboratory developments in materials science into real world applications. This seminar presents an overview of near net shapemaking processes, some application examples, current developments, and future research opportunities.

Virtual experiments, physical validation: dental morphology at the intersection of experiment and theory

PubMed Central

Anderson, P. S. L.; Rayfield, E. J.

2012-01-01

Computational models such as finite-element analysis offer biologists a means of exploring the structural mechanics of biological systems that cannot be directly observed. Validated against experimental data, a model can be manipulated to perform virtual experiments, testing variables that are hard to control in physical experiments. The relationship between tooth form and the ability to break down prey is key to understanding the evolution of dentition. Recent experimental work has quantified how tooth shape promotes fracture in biological materials. We present a validated finite-element model derived from physical compression experiments. The model shows close agreement with strain patterns observed in photoelastic test materials and reaction forces measured during these experiments. We use the model to measure strain energy within the test material when different tooth shapes are used. Results show that notched blades deform materials for less strain energy cost than straight blades, giving insights into the energetic relationship between tooth form and prey materials. We identify a hypothetical ‘optimal’ blade angle that minimizes strain energy costs and test alternative prey materials via virtual experiments. Using experimental data and computational models offers an integrative approach to understand the mechanics of tooth morphology. PMID:22399789

Automated feature extraction in color retinal images by a model based approach.

PubMed

Li, Huiqi; Chutatape, Opas

2004-02-01

Color retinal photography is an important tool to detect the evidence of various eye diseases. Novel methods to extract the main features in color retinal images have been developed in this paper. Principal component analysis is employed to locate optic disk; A modified active shape model is proposed in the shape detection of optic disk; A fundus coordinate system is established to provide a better description of the features in the retinal images; An approach to detect exudates by the combined region growing and edge detection is proposed. The success rates of disk localization, disk boundary detection, and fovea localization are 99%, 94%, and 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of exudate detection are 100% and 71%, correspondingly. The success of the proposed algorithms can be attributed to the utilization of the model-based methods. The detection and analysis could be applied to automatic mass screening and diagnosis of the retinal diseases.

Chemical processing of glasses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laine, Richard M.

1990-11-01

The development of chemical processing methods for the fabrication of glass and ceramic shapes for photonic applications is frequently Edisonian in nature. In part, this is because the numerous variables that must be optimized to obtain a given material with a specific shape and particular properties cannot be readily defined based on fundamental principles. In part, the problems arise because the basic chemistry of common chemical processing systems has not been fully delineated. The prupose of this paper is to provide an overview of the basic chemical problems associated with chemical processing. The emphasis will be on sol-gel processing, a major subset pf chemical processing. Two alternate approaches to chemical processing of glasses are also briefly discussed. One approach concerns the use of bimetallic alkoxide oligomers and polymers as potential precursors to mulimetallic glasses. The second approach describes the utility of metal carboxylate precursors to multimetallic glasses.

Potential High-Temperature Shape-Memory-Alloy Actuator Material Identified

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Noebe, Ronald D.; Gaydosh, Darrell J.; Biles, Tiffany A.; Garg, Anita

2005-01-01

Shape-memory alloys are unique "smart materials" that can be used in a wide variety of adaptive or "intelligent" components. Because of a martensitic solid-state phase transformation in these materials, they can display rather unusual mechanical properties including shape-memory behavior. This phenomenon occurs when the material is deformed at low temperatures (below the martensite finish temperature, Mf) and then heated through the martensite-to-austenite phase transformation. As the material is heated to the austenite finish temperature Af, it is able to recover its predeformed shape. If a bias is applied to the material as it tries to recover its original shape, work can be extracted from the shape-memory alloy as it transforms. Therefore, shape-memory alloys are being considered for compact solid-state actuation devices to replace hydraulic, pneumatic, or motor-driven systems.

Enhanced sensitivity for optical loss measurement in planar thin-films (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Hua-Kang

2016-09-01

An organic-inorganic hybrid material benefits from processing advantages of organics and high refractive indices of inorganics. We focus on a titanium oxide hydrate system combined with common bulk polymers. In particular, we target thin-film structures of a few microns in thickness. Traditional Beer-Lambert approaches for measuring optical losses can only provide an upper limit estimate. This sensitivity is highly limited when considering the low-losses required for mid-range optical applications, on the order of 0.1 cm-1. For intensity based measurements, improving the sensitivity requires an increase in the optical path length. Instead, a new sensitive technique suitable for simple planar thin films is required. A number of systems were modelled to measure optical losses in films of 1 micron thick. The presented techniques utilise evanescent waves and total internal reflection to increase optical path length through the material. It was found that a new way of using prism coupling provides the greatest improvement in sensitivity. In keeping the requirements on the material simple, this method for measuring loss is well suited to any future developments of new materials in thin-film structures.

Direct 4D printing via active composite materials.

PubMed

Ding, Zhen; Yuan, Chao; Peng, Xirui; Wang, Tiejun; Qi, H Jerry; Dunn, Martin L

2017-04-01

We describe an approach to print composite polymers in high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) architectures that can be rapidly transformed to a new permanent configuration directly by heating. The permanent shape of a component results from the programmed time evolution of the printed shape upon heating via the design of the architecture and process parameters of a composite consisting of a glassy shape memory polymer and an elastomer that is programmed with a built-in compressive strain during photopolymerization. Upon heating, the shape memory polymer softens, releases the constraint on the strained elastomer, and allows the object to transform into a new permanent shape, which can then be reprogrammed into multiple subsequent shapes. Our key advance, the markedly simplified creation of high-resolution complex 3D reprogrammable structures, promises to enable myriad applications across domains, including medical technology, aerospace, and consumer products, and even suggests a new paradigm in product design, where components are simultaneously designed to inhabit multiple configurations during service.

4D Printing of Shape Memory-Based Personalized Endoluminal Medical Devices.

PubMed

Zarek, Matt; Mansour, Nicola; Shapira, Shir; Cohn, Daniel

2017-01-01

The convergence of additive manufacturing and shape-morphing materials is promising for the advancement of personalized medical devices. The capability to transform 3D objects from one shape to another, right off the print bed, is known as 4D printing. Shape memory thermosets can be tailored to have a range of thermomechanical properties favorable to medical devices, but processing them is a challenge because they are insoluble and do not flow at any temperature. This study presents here a strategy to capitalize on a series of medical imaging modalities to construct a printable shape memory endoluminal device, exemplified by a tracheal stent. A methacrylated polycaprolactone precursor with a molecular weight of 10 000 g mol -1 is printed with a UV-LED stereolithography printer based on anatomical data. This approach converges with the zeitgeist of personalized medicine and it is anticipated that it will broadly expand the application of shape memory-exhibiting biomedical devices to myriad clinical indications. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Direct 4D printing via active composite materials

PubMed Central

Ding, Zhen; Yuan, Chao; Peng, Xirui; Wang, Tiejun; Qi, H. Jerry; Dunn, Martin L.

2017-01-01

We describe an approach to print composite polymers in high-resolution three-dimensional (3D) architectures that can be rapidly transformed to a new permanent configuration directly by heating. The permanent shape of a component results from the programmed time evolution of the printed shape upon heating via the design of the architecture and process parameters of a composite consisting of a glassy shape memory polymer and an elastomer that is programmed with a built-in compressive strain during photopolymerization. Upon heating, the shape memory polymer softens, releases the constraint on the strained elastomer, and allows the object to transform into a new permanent shape, which can then be reprogrammed into multiple subsequent shapes. Our key advance, the markedly simplified creation of high-resolution complex 3D reprogrammable structures, promises to enable myriad applications across domains, including medical technology, aerospace, and consumer products, and even suggests a new paradigm in product design, where components are simultaneously designed to inhabit multiple configurations during service. PMID:28439560

3D printed glass: surface finish and bulk properties as a function of the printing process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Susanne; Avery, Michael P.; Richardson, Robert; Bartlett, Paul; Frei, Regina; Simske, Steven

2015-03-01

It is impossible to print glass directly from a melt, layer by layer. Glass is not only very sensitive to temperature gradients between different layers but also to the cooling process. To achieve a glass state the melt, has to be cooled rapidly to avoid crystallization of the material and then annealed to remove cooling induced stress. In 3D-printing of glass the objects are shaped at room temperature and then fired. The material properties of the final objects are crucially dependent on the frit size of the glass powder used during shaping, the chemical formula of the binder and the firing procedure. For frit sizes below 250 μm, we seem to find a constant volume of pores of less than 5%. Decreasing frit size leads to an increase in the number of pores which then leads to an increase of opacity. The two different binders, 2- hydroxyethyl cellulose and carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt, generate very different porosities. The porosity of samples with 2-hydroxyethyl cellulose is similar to frit-only samples, whereas carboxymethylcellulose sodium salt creates a glass foam. The surface finish is determined by the material the glass comes into contact with during firing.

Kinematics, structural mechanics, and design of origami structures with smooth folds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peraza Hernandez, Edwin Alexander

Origami provides novel approaches to the fabrication, assembly, and functionality of engineering structures in various fields such as aerospace, robotics, etc. With the increase in complexity of the geometry and materials for origami structures that provide engineering utility, computational models and design methods for such structures have become essential. Currently available models and design methods for origami structures are generally limited to the idealization of the folds as creases of zeroth-order geometric continuity. Such an idealization is not proper for origami structures having non-negligible thickness or maximum curvature at the folds restricted by material limitations. Thus, for general structures, creased folds of merely zeroth-order geometric continuity are not appropriate representations of structural response and a new approach is needed. The first contribution of this dissertation is a model for the kinematics of origami structures having realistic folds of non-zero surface area and exhibiting higher-order geometric continuity, here termed smooth folds. The geometry of the smooth folds and the constraints on their associated kinematic variables are presented. A numerical implementation of the model allowing for kinematic simulation of structures having arbitrary fold patterns is also described. Examples illustrating the capability of the model to capture realistic structural folding response are provided. Subsequently, a method for solving the origami design problem of determining the geometry of a single planar sheet and its pattern of smooth folds that morphs into a given three-dimensional goal shape, discretized as a polygonal mesh, is presented. The design parameterization of the planar sheet and the constraints that allow for a valid pattern of smooth folds and approximation of the goal shape in a known folded configuration are presented. Various testing examples considering goal shapes of diverse geometries are provided. Afterwards, a model for the structural mechanics of origami continuum bodies with smooth folds is presented. Such a model entails the integration of the presented kinematic model and existing plate theories in order to obtain a structural representation for folds having non-zero thickness and comprised of arbitrary materials. The model is validated against finite element analysis. The last contribution addresses the design and analysis of active material-based self-folding structures that morph via simultaneous folding towards a given three-dimensional goal shape starting from a planar configuration. Implementation examples including shape memory alloy (SMA)-based self-folding structures are provided.

Novel Materials for 3D Printing by Photopolymerization.

PubMed

Layani, Michael; Wang, Xiaofeng; Magdassi, Shlomo

2018-05-13

The field of 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), is developing rapidly in both academic and industrial research environments. New materials and printing technologies, which enable rapid and multimaterial printing, have given rise to new applications and utilizations. However, the main bottleneck for achieving many more applications is the lack of materials with new physical properties. Here, some of the recent reports on novel materials in this field, such as ceramics, glass, shape-memory polymers, and electronics, are reviewed. Although new materials have been reported for all three main printing approaches-fused deposition modeling, binder jetting or laser sintering/melting, and photopolymerization-based approaches, apparently, most of the novel physicochemical properties are associated with materials printed by photopolymerization approaches. Furthermore, the high resolution that can be achieved using this type of 3D printing, together with the new properties, has resulted in new implementations such as microfluidic, biomedical devices, and soft robotics. Therefore, the focus here is on photopolymerization-based additive manufacturing including the recent development of new methods, novel monomers, and photoinitiators, which result in previously inaccessible applications such as complex ceramic structures, embedded electronics, and responsive 3D objects. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Transfer having a coupling coefficient higher than its active material

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lesieutre, George A. (Inventor); Davis, Christopher L. (Inventor)

2001-01-01

A coupling coefficient is a measure of the effectiveness with which a shape-changing material (or a device employing such a material) converts the energy in an imposed signal to useful mechanical energy. Device coupling coefficients are properties of the device and, although related to the material coupling coefficients, are generally different from them. This invention describes a class of devices wherein the apparent coupling coefficient can, in principle, approach 1.0, corresponding to perfect electromechanical energy conversion. The key feature of this class of devices is the use of destabilizing mechanical pre-loads to counter inherent stiffness. The approach is illustrated for piezoelectric and thermoelectrically actuated devices. The invention provides a way to simultaneously increase both displacement and force, distinguishing it from alternatives such as motion amplification, and allows transducer designers to achieve substantial performance gains for actuator and sensor devices.

Electromagnetic scattering analysis of a three-dimensional-cavity-backed aperture in an infinite ground plane using a combined finite element method/method of moments approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reddy, C. J.; Deshpande, Manohar D.; Cockrell, C. R.; Beck, F. B.

1995-01-01

A combined finite element method/method of moments (FEM/MoM) approach is used to analyze the electromagnetic scattering properties of a three-dimensional-cavity-backed aperture in an infinite ground plane. The FEM is used to formulate the fields inside the cavity, and the MoM (with subdomain bases) in both spectral and spatial domains is used to formulate the fields above the ground plane. Fields in the aperture and the cavity are solved using a system of equations resulting from the combination of the FEM and the MoM. By virtue of the FEM, this combined approach is applicable to all arbitrarily shaped cavities with inhomogeneous material fillings, and because of the subdomain bases used in the MoM, the apertures can be of any arbitrary shape. This approach leads to a partly sparse and partly full symmetric matrix, which is efficiently solved using a biconjugate gradient algorithm. Numerical results are presented to validate the analysis.

Indexing Volumetric Shapes with Matching and Packing

PubMed Central

Koes, David Ryan; Camacho, Carlos J.

2014-01-01

We describe a novel algorithm for bulk-loading an index with high-dimensional data and apply it to the problem of volumetric shape matching. Our matching and packing algorithm is a general approach for packing data according to a similarity metric. First an approximate k-nearest neighbor graph is constructed using vantage-point initialization, an improvement to previous work that decreases construction time while improving the quality of approximation. Then graph matching is iteratively performed to pack related items closely together. The end result is a dense index with good performance. We define a new query specification for shape matching that uses minimum and maximum shape constraints to explicitly specify the spatial requirements of the desired shape. This specification provides a natural language for performing volumetric shape matching and is readily supported by the geometry-based similarity search (GSS) tree, an indexing structure that maintains explicit representations of volumetric shape. We describe our implementation of a GSS tree for volumetric shape matching and provide a comprehensive evaluation of parameter sensitivity, performance, and scalability. Compared to previous bulk-loading algorithms, we find that matching and packing can construct a GSS-tree index in the same amount of time that is denser, flatter, and better performing, with an observed average performance improvement of 2X. PMID:26085707

Energy minimization for self-organized structure formation and actuation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kofod, Guggi; Wirges, Werner; Paajanen, Mika; Bauer, Siegfried

2007-02-01

An approach for creating complex structures with embedded actuation in planar manufacturing steps is presented. Self-organization and energy minimization are central to this approach, illustrated with a model based on minimization of the hyperelastic free energy strain function of a stretched elastomer and the bending elastic energy of a plastic frame. A tulip-shaped gripper structure illustrates the technological potential of the approach. Advantages are simplicity of manufacture, complexity of final structures, and the ease with which any electroactive material can be exploited as means of actuation.

In situ 3D nanoprinting of free-form coupling elements for hybrid photonic integration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dietrich, P.-I.; Blaicher, M.; Reuter, I.; Billah, M.; Hoose, T.; Hofmann, A.; Caer, C.; Dangel, R.; Offrein, B.; Troppenz, U.; Moehrle, M.; Freude, W.; Koos, C.

2018-04-01

Hybrid photonic integration combines complementary advantages of different material platforms, offering superior performance and flexibility compared with monolithic approaches. This applies in particular to multi-chip concepts, where components can be individually optimized and tested. The assembly of such systems, however, requires expensive high-precision alignment and adaptation of optical mode profiles. We show that these challenges can be overcome by in situ printing of facet-attached beam-shaping elements. Our approach allows precise adaptation of vastly dissimilar mode profiles and permits alignment tolerances compatible with cost-efficient passive assembly techniques. We demonstrate a selection of beam-shaping elements at chip and fibre facets, achieving coupling efficiencies of up to 88% between edge-emitting lasers and single-mode fibres. We also realize printed free-form mirrors that simultaneously adapt beam shape and propagation direction, and we explore multi-lens systems for beam expansion. The concept paves the way to automated assembly of photonic multi-chip systems with unprecedented performance and versatility.

Spheroidal and conical shapes of ferrofluid-filled capsules in magnetic fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wischnewski, Christian; Kierfeld, Jan

2018-04-01

We investigate the deformation of soft spherical elastic capsules filled with a ferrofluid in external uniform magnetic fields at fixed volume by a combination of numerical and analytical approaches. We develop a numerical iterative solution strategy based on nonlinear elastic shape equations to calculate the stretched capsule shape numerically and a coupled finite element and boundary element method to solve the corresponding magnetostatic problem and employ analytical linear response theory, approximative energy minimization, and slender-body theory. The observed deformation behavior is qualitatively similar to the deformation of ferrofluid droplets in uniform magnetic fields. Homogeneous magnetic fields elongate the capsule and a discontinuous shape transition from a spheroidal shape to a conical shape takes place at a critical field strength. We investigate how capsule elasticity modifies this hysteretic shape transition. We show that conical capsule shapes are possible but involve diverging stretch factors at the tips, which gives rise to rupture for real capsule materials. In a slender-body approximation we find that the critical susceptibility above which conical shapes occur for ferrofluid capsules is the same as for droplets. At small fields capsules remain spheroidal and we characterize the deformation of spheroidal capsules both analytically and numerically. Finally, we determine whether wrinkling of a spheroidal capsule occurs during elongation in a magnetic field and how it modifies the stretching behavior. We find the nontrivial dependence between the extent of the wrinkled region and capsule elongation. Our results can be helpful in quantitatively determining capsule or ferrofluid material properties from magnetic deformation experiments. All results also apply to elastic capsules filled with a dielectric liquid in an external uniform electric field.

Kinetic Energy Corrections for Slip-Stick Behavior in Brittle Adhesives

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macon, David J.; Anderson, Greg L.; McCool, Alex (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Fracture mechanics is the study of the failure of a body that contains a flaw. In the energy balance approach to fracture mechanics, contributions from the external work and elastic strain energy are accounted for but rarely are corrections for the kinetic energy given. Under slip-stick conditions, part of the external work is expended as kinetic energy. The magnitude of this kinetic energy depends upon the shape of the crack. A specimen with a blunt crack will fail at a high load and the crack will catastrophically travel through the material until the kinetic energy is dissipated. Material with a sharp crack will fail at a lower load but will still be catastrophic in nature. A kinetic term is incorporated into the energy balance approach. This term accounts for the velocity of the crack after failure and how far the crack travels before arresting. This correction makes the shape of the initiation crack irrelevant. When applied to data generated by tapered double cantilever beam specimens under slip-stick conditions, the scatter in the measured critical strain energy release rate is significantly reduced.

Computational Modeling of Shape Memory Polymer Origami that Responds to Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mailen, Russell William

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) transform in response to external stimuli, such as infrared (IR) light. Although SMPs have many applications, this investigation focuses on their use as actuators in self-folding origami structures. Ink patterned on the surface of the SMP sheet absorbs thermal energy from the IR light, which produces localized heating. The material shrinks wherever the activation temperature is exceeded and can produce out-of-plane deformation. The time and temperature dependent response of these SMPs provides unique opportunities for developing complex three-dimensional (3D) structures from initially flat sheets through self-folding origami, but the application of this technique requires predicting accurately the final folded or deformed shape. Furthermore, current computational approaches for SMPs do not fully couple the thermo-mechanical response of the material. Hence, a proposed nonlinear, 3D, thermo-viscoelastic finite element framework was formulated to predict deformed shapes for different self-folding systems and compared to experimental results for self-folding origami structures. A detailed understanding of the shape memory response and the effect of controllable design parameters, such as the ink pattern, pre-strain conditions, and applied thermal and mechanical fields, allows for a predictive understanding and design of functional, 3D structures. The proposed modeling framework was used to obtain a fundamental understanding of the thermo-mechanical behavior of SMPs and the impact of the material behavior on hinged self-folding. These predictions indicated how the thermal and mechanical conditions during pre-strain significantly affect the shrinking and folding response of the SMP. Additionally, the externally applied thermal loads significantly influenced the folding rate and maximum bending angle. The computational framework was also adapted to understand the effects of fully coupling the thermal and mechanical response of the material. This updated framework accounted for external heat sources, such as ambient temperature and incident surface heat flux, as well as internal temperature changes due to conduction and viscous heat generation. Viscous heating during the pre-strain sequence affected the residual stresses after cooling due to accelerated viscoelastic relaxation. This resulted in a delayed shrinking and folding response. Other factors that affected the folding response include sheet thickness, hinge width, degree of pre-strain, and hinge temperature. The predicted results indicated that the maximum bending angle can be increased for a folded structure by increasing the hinge width, degree of pre-strain, and hinge surface temperature. Folding time can be reduced by decreasing the sheet thickness, increasing the hinge width, and increasing the hinge temperature. The coupled thermo-mechanical approach was also extended to investigate both curved and folded structures by varying the ink pattern and the substrate geometry. With this approach, two continuous curvature mechanisms were obtained. One was an indirect curvature mechanism which resulted from internal stresses that evolved from the shrinking of activated regions of the material relative to unactivated regions. The second was a direct curvature mechanism that resulted from ink distributed in gradients across the surface of the material. Furthermore, the effects of hinge orientation, proximity of multiple hinges, sheet aspect ratio, and axisymmetric ink patterns were characterized for other shapes, such as rectangles and discs. The findings of this investigation clearly indicate that this validated computational approach can be used to predict and understand the myriad mechanisms of self-folding origami structures. By varying the location of ink on the polymer surface and making changes to the substrate geometry, complex 3D structures can be obtained. The developed thermo-mechanical framework can be used to design optimized origami structures for biomedical devices, space telescopes, and functional, engineered origami devices.

Sensitivity differences between microporous NaY and hierarchical ZSM-5 modified electrodes as ammonia gas sensor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lisnawati, E.; Agustin, I.; Krisnandi, Y. K.; Triyono, D.

2017-07-01

The hierarchical ZSM-5 had been successfully synthesized with double template using a hydrotermal method and microporous NaY zeolite had been successfully synthesized using a sol-gel method. XRD pattern confirmed hat the as-synthesized materials were ZSM-5 and NaY zeolites. SEM images of ZSM-5 showed that it has a hexagonal shape, which can be called coffin type,and rough surface. The EDS elemental analysis gives Si/Al molar ratio of 24.2. On the other hand, NaY crystals were intergrown in cuboid shapes with Si/Al molar ratio of 2. ZSM-5 and NaY were coated onto the surface of Interdigitated Capacitor (IDC) pattern made of gold/silver/quartz through spin coating method. IDC, ZSM-5/IDC and NaY/IDC were tested using Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) method. The composite has different sensitivity in range concentration of ammonia 20-300 ppm. IDC has no significant effect of the presence of various concentrations, NaY/IDC and ZSM-5/IDC composite have frequency 100 Hz with R2 = 0.8312 and R2 = 0.8037. The NaY/IDC has higher sensitivity compared toZSM-5/IDC, this could be caused by the higher polarity of NaY compared to ZSM-5 to attract ammonia.

Creating Quasi Two-Dimensional Cluster-Assembled Materials through Self-Assembly of a Janus Polyoxometalate-Silsesquioxane Co-Cluster.

PubMed

Wu, Han; Zhang, Yu-Qi; Hu, Min-Biao; Ren, Li-Jun; Lin, Yue; Wang, Wei

2017-05-30

Clusters are an important class of nanoscale molecules or superatoms that exhibit an amazing diversity in structure, chemical composition, shape, and functionality. Assembling two types of clusters is creating emerging cluster-assembled materials (CAMs). In this paper, we report an effective approach to produce quasi two-dimensional (2D) CAMs of two types of spherelike clusters, polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS), and polyoxometalates (POM). To avoid macrophase separation between the two clusters, they are covalently linked to form a POM-POSS cocluster with Janus characteristics and a dumbbell shape. This Janus characteristics enables the cocluster to self-assemble into diverse nanoaggregates, as conventional amphiphilic molecules and macromolecules do, in selective solvents. In our study, we obtained micelles, vesicles, nanosheets, and nanoribbons by tuning the n-hexane content in mixed solvents of acetone and n-hexane. Ordered packing of clusters in the nanosheets and nanoribbons were directly visualized using high-angle annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) technique. We infer that the increase of packing order results in the vesicle-to-sheet transition and the change in packing mode causes the sheet-to-ribbon transitions. Our findings have verified the effectivity of creating quasi 2D cluster-assembled materials though the cocluster self-assembly as a new approach to produce novel CAMs.

Modeling guided wave propagation in curved thick composites with ply drops and marcelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hakoda, Christopher; Choi, Gloria; Lissenden, Clifford

2018-04-01

Setting the process parameters for fabrication of thick composites having complex geometries is a challenging endeavor, with the best result being a high-quality part and less desirable results being parts that contain voids or fiber marcelling. An equal challenge is the nondestructive testing of these parts. Consider a U-shaped portion of a more complex part. The straight segments of the U-shape are approximately 10-mm thick, but a series of ply-drops reduce the thickness by one half at the center portion. Ultrasonic guided waves that have the potential to nondestructively test this part can be actuated by coupling transducers to the straight segments if and only if wave modes that are sensitive to the defects of interest can propagate through the ply drops, the curve, and the attenuation due to internal damping. A frequency domain finite element approach proposed in recent years for guided wave analysis is applied to this inhomogeneous waveguide problem in order to select modes and frequencies that are sensitive to marcelling.

Materials, methods and devices to detect and quantify water vapor concentrations in an atmosphere

DOEpatents

Allendorf, Mark D; Robinson, Alex L

2014-12-09

We have demonstrated that a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor coated with a nanoporous framework material (NFM) film can perform ultrasensitive water vapor detection at concentrations in air from 0.05 to 12,000 ppmv at 1 atmosphere pressure. The method is extendable to other MEMS-based sensors, such as microcantilevers, or to quartz crystal microbalance sensors. We identify a specific NFM that provides high sensitivity and selectivity to water vapor. However, our approach is generalizable to detection of other species using NFM to provide sensitivity and selectivity.

Three-dimensional x-ray diffraction nanoscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nikulin, Andrei Y.; Dilanian, Ruben A.; Zatsepin, Nadia A.; Muddle, Barry C.

2008-08-01

A novel approach to x-ray diffraction data analysis for non-destructive determination of the shape of nanoscale particles and clusters in three-dimensions is illustrated with representative examples of composite nanostructures. The technique is insensitive to the x-rays coherence, which allows 3D reconstruction of a modal image without tomographic synthesis and in-situ analysis of large (over a several cubic millimeters) volume of material with a spatial resolution of few nanometers, rendering the approach suitable for laboratory facilities.

Occupancy-driven smart register for building energy saving (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Zhangjie; Wang, Ya S.

2017-04-01

The new era in energy-efficiency building is to integrate automatic occupancy detection with automated heating, ventilation and cooling (HVAC), the largest source of building energy consumption. By closing off some air vents, during certain hours of the day, up to 7.5% building energy consumption could be saved. In the past, smart vent has received increasing attention and several products have been developed and introduced to the market for building energy saving. For instance, Ecovent Systems Inc. and Keen Home Inc. have both developed smart vent registers capable of turning the vent on and off through smart phone apps. However, their products do not have on-board occupancy sensors and are therefore open-loop. Their vent control was achieved by simply positioning the vent blade through a motor and a controller without involving any smart actuation. This paper presents an innovative approach for automated vent control and automatic occupancy (human subjects) detection. We devise this approach in a smart register that has polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) frame with embedded Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators. SMAs belong to a class of shape memory materials (SMMs), which have the ability to `memorise' or retain their previous form when subjected to certain stimulus such as thermomechanical or magnetic variations. And it can work as actuators and be applied to vent control. Specifically, a Ni-Ti SMA strip will be pre-trained to a circular shape, wrapped with a Ni-Cr resistive wire that is coated with thermally conductive and electrically isolating material. Then, the SMA strip along with an antagonistic SMA strip will be bonded with PZT sensor and thermal sensors, to be inserted into a 3D printed mould which will be filled with silicone rubber materials. In the end, a demoulding process yields a fully integrated blade of the smart register. Several blades are installed together to form the smart register. The PZT sensors can feedback the shape of the actuator for precise shape and air flow control. The performance and the specification of the smart registers will be characterized experimentally. Its capacity of regulating airflow, forming air curtain will be demonstrated.

Ultrasensitive Mach-Zehnder Interferometric Temperature Sensor Based on Liquid-Filled D-Shaped Fiber Cavity

PubMed Central

Zhang, Hui; Gao, Shecheng; Luo, Yunhan; Xiong, Songsong; Wan, Lei; Huang, Xincheng; Huang, Bingsen; Feng, Yuanhua; He, Miao; Liu, Weiping; Chen, Zhe; Li, Zhaohui

2018-01-01

A liquid-filled D-shaped fiber (DF) cavity serving as an in-fiber Mach–Zehnder interferometer (MZI) has been proposed and experimentally demonstrated for temperature sensing with ultrahigh sensitivity. The miniature MZI is constructed by splicing a segment of DF between two single-mode fibers (SMFs) to form a microcavity (MC) for filling and replacement of various refractive index (RI) liquids. By adjusting the effective RI difference between the DF and MC (the two interference arms), experimental and calculated results indicate that the interference spectra show different degrees of temperature dependence. As the effective RI of the liquid-filled MC approaches that of the DF, temperature sensitivity up to −84.72 nm/°C with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9953 has been experimentally achieved for a device with the MC length of 456 μm, filled with liquid RI of 1.482. Apart from ultrahigh sensitivity, the proposed MCMZI device possesses additional advantages of its miniature size and simple configuration; these features make it promising and competitive in various temperature sensing applications, such as consumer electronics, biological treatments, and medical diagnosis. PMID:29673220

Incorporation of a spatial source distribution and a spatial sensor sensitivity in a laser ultrasound propagation model using a streamlined Huygens' principle.

PubMed

Laloš, Jernej; Babnik, Aleš; Možina, Janez; Požar, Tomaž

2016-03-01

The near-field, surface-displacement waveforms in plates are modeled using interwoven concepts of Green's function formalism and streamlined Huygens' principle. Green's functions resemble the building blocks of the sought displacement waveform, superimposed and weighted according to the simplified distribution. The approach incorporates an arbitrary circular spatial source distribution and an arbitrary circular spatial sensitivity in the area probed by the sensor. The displacement histories for uniform, Gaussian and annular normal-force source distributions and the uniform spatial sensor sensitivity are calculated, and the corresponding weight distributions are compared. To demonstrate the applicability of the developed scheme, measurements of laser ultrasound induced solely by the radiation pressure are compared with the calculated waveforms. The ultrasound is induced by laser pulse reflection from the mirror-surface of a glass plate. The measurements show excellent agreement not only with respect to various wave-arrivals but also in the shape of each arrival. Their shape depends on the beam profile of the excitation laser pulse and its corresponding spatial normal-force distribution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

"Lollipop-shaped" high-sensitivity Microelectromechanical Systems vector hydrophone based on Parylene encapsulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yuan; Wang, Renxin; Zhang, Guojun; Du, Jin; Zhao, Long; Xue, Chenyang; Zhang, Wendong; Liu, Jun

2015-07-01

This paper presents methods of promoting the sensitivity of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) vector hydrophone by increasing the sensing area of cilium and perfect insulative Parylene membrane. First, a low-density sphere is integrated with the cilium to compose a "lollipop shape," which can considerably increase the sensing area. A mathematic model on the sensitivity of the "lollipop-shaped" MEMS vector hydrophone is presented, and the influences of different structural parameters on the sensitivity are analyzed via simulation. Second, the MEMS vector hydrophone is encapsulated through the conformal deposition of insulative Parylene membrane, which enables underwater acoustic monitoring without any typed sound-transparent encapsulation. Finally, the characterization results demonstrate that the sensitivity reaches up to -183 dB (500 Hz 0dB at 1 V/ μPa ), which is increased by more than 10 dB, comparing with the previous cilium-shaped MEMS vector hydrophone. Besides, the frequency response takes on a sensitivity increment of 6 dB per octave. The working frequency band is 20-500 Hz and the concave point depth of 8-shaped directivity is beyond 30 dB, indicating that the hydrophone is promising in underwater acoustic application.

Time-dependent breakdown of fiber networks: Uncertainty of lifetime

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mattsson, Amanda; Uesaka, Tetsu

2017-05-01

Materials often fail when subjected to stresses over a prolonged period. The time to failure, also called the lifetime, is known to exhibit large variability of many materials, particularly brittle and quasibrittle materials. For example, a coefficient of variation reaches 100% or even more. Its distribution shape is highly skewed toward zero lifetime, implying a large number of premature failures. This behavior contrasts with that of normal strength, which shows a variation of only 4%-10% and a nearly bell-shaped distribution. The fundamental cause of this large and unique variability of lifetime is not well understood because of the complex interplay between stochastic processes taking place on the molecular level and the hierarchical and disordered structure of the material. We have constructed fiber network models, both regular and random, as a paradigm for general material structures. With such networks, we have performed Monte Carlo simulations of creep failure to establish explicit relationships among fiber characteristics, network structures, system size, and lifetime distribution. We found that fiber characteristics have large, sometimes dominating, influences on the lifetime variability of a network. Among the factors investigated, geometrical disorders of the network were found to be essential to explain the large variability and highly skewed shape of the lifetime distribution. With increasing network size, the distribution asymptotically approaches a double-exponential form. The implication of this result is that, so-called "infant mortality," which is often predicted by the Weibull approximation of the lifetime distribution, may not exist for a large system.

Thermomechanical properties of polyurethane shape memory polymer-experiment and modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pieczyska, E. A.; Maj, M.; Kowalczyk-Gajewska, K.; Staszczak, M.; Gradys, A.; Majewski, M.; Cristea, M.; Tobushi, H.; Hayashi, S.

2015-04-01

In this paper extensive research on the polyurethane shape memory polymer (PU-SMP) is reported, including its structure analysis, our experimental investigation of its thermomechanical properties and its modelling. The influence of the effects of thermomechanical couplings on the SMP behaviour during tension at room temperature is studied using a fast and sensitive infrared camera. It is shown that the thermomechanical behaviour of the SMP significantly depends on the strain rate: at a higher strain rate higher stress and temperature values are obtained. This indicates that an increase of the strain rate leads to activation of different deformation mechanisms at the micro-scale, along with reorientation and alignment of the molecular chains. Furthermore, influence of temperature on the SMP’s mechanical behaviour is studied. It is observed during the loading in a thermal chamber that at the temperature 20 °C below the glass transition temperature (Tg) the PU-SMP strengthens about six times compared to the material above Tg but does not exhibit the shape recovery. A finite-strain constitutive model is formulated, where the SMP is described as a two-phase material composed of a hyperelastic rubbery phase and elastic-viscoplastic glassy phase. The volume content of phases is governed by the current temperature. Finally, model predictions are compared with the experimental results.

Using wire shaping techniques and holographic optics to optimize deposition characteristics in wire-based laser cladding.

PubMed

Goffin, N J; Higginson, R L; Tyrer, J R

2016-12-01

In laser cladding, the potential benefits of wire feeding are considerable. Typical problems with the use of powder, such as gas entrapment, sub-100% material density and low deposition rate are all avoided with the use of wire. However, the use of a powder-based source material is the industry standard, with wire-based deposition generally regarded as an academic curiosity. This is because, although wire-based methods have been shown to be capable of superior quality results, the wire-based process is more difficult to control. In this work, the potential for wire shaping techniques, combined with existing holographic optical element knowledge, is investigated in order to further improve the processing characteristics. Experiments with pre-placed wire showed the ability of shaped wire to provide uniformity of wire melting compared with standard round wire, giving reduced power density requirements and superior control of clad track dilution. When feeding with flat wire, the resulting clad tracks showed a greater level of quality consistency and became less sensitive to alterations in processing conditions. In addition, a 22% increase in deposition rate was achieved. Stacking of multiple layers demonstrated the ability to create fully dense, three-dimensional structures, with directional metallurgical grain growth and uniform chemical structure.

Using wire shaping techniques and holographic optics to optimize deposition characteristics in wire-based laser cladding

PubMed Central

Higginson, R. L.; Tyrer, J. R.

2016-01-01

In laser cladding, the potential benefits of wire feeding are considerable. Typical problems with the use of powder, such as gas entrapment, sub-100% material density and low deposition rate are all avoided with the use of wire. However, the use of a powder-based source material is the industry standard, with wire-based deposition generally regarded as an academic curiosity. This is because, although wire-based methods have been shown to be capable of superior quality results, the wire-based process is more difficult to control. In this work, the potential for wire shaping techniques, combined with existing holographic optical element knowledge, is investigated in order to further improve the processing characteristics. Experiments with pre-placed wire showed the ability of shaped wire to provide uniformity of wire melting compared with standard round wire, giving reduced power density requirements and superior control of clad track dilution. When feeding with flat wire, the resulting clad tracks showed a greater level of quality consistency and became less sensitive to alterations in processing conditions. In addition, a 22% increase in deposition rate was achieved. Stacking of multiple layers demonstrated the ability to create fully dense, three-dimensional structures, with directional metallurgical grain growth and uniform chemical structure. PMID:28119550

Granular convection observed by magnetic resonance imaging.

PubMed

Ehrichs, E E; Jaeger, H M; Karczmar, G S; Knight, J B; Kuperman, V Y; Nagel, S R

1995-03-17

Vibrations in a granular material can spontaneously produce convection rolls reminiscent of those seen in fluids. Magnetic resonance imaging provides a sensitive and noninvasive probe for the detection of these convection currents, which have otherwise been difficult to observe. A magnetic resonance imaging study of convection in a column of poppy seeds yielded data about the detailed shape of the convection rolls and the depth dependence of the convection velocity. The velocity was found to decrease exponentially with depth; a simple model for this behavior is presented here.

Structural Basis for Near Unity Quantum Yield Core/Shell Nanostructures

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McBride, James; Treadway, Joe; Pennycook, Stephen J

2006-01-01

Aberration-corrected Z-contrast scanning transmission electron microscopy of core/shell nanocrystals shows clear correlations between structure and quantum efficiency. Uniform shell coverage is obtained only for a graded CdS/ZnS shell material and is found to be critical to achieving near 100% quantum yield. The sublattice sensitivity of the images confirms that preferential growth takes place on the anion-terminated surfaces. This explains the three-dimensional "nanobullet" shape observed in the case of core/shell nanorods.

Wire-bonder-assisted integration of non-bondable SMA wires into MEMS substrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, A. C.; Gradin, H.; Schröder, S.; Braun, S.; Stemme, G.; van der Wijngaart, W.; Niklaus, F.

2012-05-01

This paper reports on a novel technique for the integration of NiTi shape memory alloy wires and other non-bondable wire materials into silicon-based microelectromechanical system structures using a standard wire-bonding tool. The efficient placement and alignment functions of the wire-bonding tool are used to mechanically attach the wire to deep-etched silicon anchoring and clamping structures. This approach enables a reliable and accurate integration of wire materials that cannot be wire bonded by traditional means.

Parametric design of pressure-relieving foot orthosis using statistics-based finite element method.

PubMed

Cheung, Jason Tak-Man; Zhang, Ming

2008-04-01

Custom-molded foot orthoses are frequently prescribed in routine clinical practice to prevent or treat plantar ulcers in diabetes by reducing the peak plantar pressure. However, the design and fabrication of foot orthosis vary among clinical practitioners and manufacturers. Moreover, little information about the parametric effect of different combinations of design factors is available. As an alternative to the experimental approach, therefore, computational models of the foot and footwear can provide efficient evaluations of different combinations of structural and material design factors on plantar pressure distribution. In this study, a combined finite element and Taguchi method was used to identify the sensitivity of five design factors (arch type, insole and midsole thickness, insole and midsole stiffness) of foot orthosis on peak plantar pressure relief. From the FE predictions, the custom-molded shape was found to be the most important design factor in reducing peak plantar pressure. Besides the use of an arch-conforming foot orthosis, the insole stiffness was found to be the second most important factor for peak pressure reduction. Other design factors, such as insole thickness, midsole stiffness and midsole thickness, contributed to less important roles in peak pressure reduction in the given order. The statistics-based FE method was found to be an effective approach in evaluating and optimizing the design of foot orthosis.

Tailoring vibration mode shapes using topology optimization and functionally graded material concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montealegre Rubio, Wilfredo; Paulino, Glaucio H.; Nelli Silva, Emilio Carlos

2011-02-01

Tailoring specified vibration modes is a requirement for designing piezoelectric devices aimed at dynamic-type applications. A technique for designing the shape of specified vibration modes is the topology optimization method (TOM) which finds an optimum material distribution inside a design domain to obtain a structure that vibrates according to specified eigenfrequencies and eigenmodes. Nevertheless, when the TOM is applied to dynamic problems, the well-known grayscale or intermediate material problem arises which can invalidate the post-processing of the optimal result. Thus, a more natural way for solving dynamic problems using TOM is to allow intermediate material values. This idea leads to the functionally graded material (FGM) concept. In fact, FGMs are materials whose properties and microstructure continuously change along a specific direction. Therefore, in this paper, an approach is presented for tailoring user-defined vibration modes, by applying the TOM and FGM concepts to design functionally graded piezoelectric transducers (FGPT) and non-piezoelectric structures (functionally graded structures—FGS) in order to achieve maximum and/or minimum vibration amplitudes at certain points of the structure, by simultaneously finding the topology and material gradation function. The optimization problem is solved by using sequential linear programming. Two-dimensional results are presented to illustrate the method.

Report From BPTCS Project Team On Evaluation Of Additive Manufacturing For Pressure Retaining Equipment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rawls, G.

ASME is evaluating the use of additive manufacturing (AM) for the construction of pressure equipment. The information in this report assesses available AM technologies for direct metal fabrication of pressure equipment. Background information is included in the report to provide context for those not experienced in AM technology. Only commercially available technologies for direct metal fabrication are addressed in the report because these AM methods are the only viable approaches for the construction of pressure equipment. Metal AM technologies can produce near-net shape parts by using multiple layers of material from a three dimensional (3D) design model of the geometry.more » Additive manufacturing of metal components was developed from polymer based rapid prototyping or 3D printing. At the current maturity level, AM application for pressure equipment has the potential to reduce delivery times and costs for complex shapes. AM will also lead to a reduction in the use of high cost materials, since parts can be created with corrosion resistant layers of high alloy material and structural layers of lower cost materials.« less

Social organization influences the exchange and species richness of medicinal plants in Amazonian homegardens.

PubMed

2016-03-01

Medicinal plants provide indigenous and peasant communities worldwide with means to meet their healthcare needs. Homegardens often act as medicine cabinets, providing easily accessible medicinal plants for household needs. Social structure and social exchanges have been proposed as factors influencing the species diversity that people maintain in their homegardens. Here, we assess the association between the exchange of medicinal knowledge and plant material and medicinal plant richness in homegardens. Using Tsimane' Amazonian homegardens as a case study, we explore whether social organization shapes exchanges of medicinal plant knowledge and medicinal plant material. We also use network centrality measures to evaluate people's location and performance in medicinal plant knowledge and plant material exchange networks. Our results suggest that social organization, specifically kinship and gender relations, influences medicinal plant exchange patterns significantly. Homegardens total and medicinal plant species richness are related to gardeners' centrality in the networks, whereby people with greater centrality maintain greater plant richness. Thus, together with agroecological conditions, social relations among gardeners and the culturally specific social structure seem to be important determinants of plant richness in homegardens. Understanding which factors pattern general species diversity in tropical homegardens, and medicinal plant diversity in particular, can help policy makers, health providers, and local communities to understand better how to promote and preserve medicinal plants in situ. Biocultural approaches that are also gender sensitive offer a culturally appropriate means to reduce the global and local loss of both biological and cultural diversity.

An imaging genetics approach to understanding social influence

PubMed Central

Falk, Emily B.; Way, Baldwin M.; Jasinska, Agnes J.

2012-01-01

Normative social influences shape nearly every aspect of our lives, yet the biological processes mediating the impact of these social influences on behavior remain incompletely understood. In this Hypothesis, we outline a theoretical framework and an integrative research approach to the study of social influences on the brain and genetic moderators of such effects. First, we review neuroimaging evidence linking social influence and conformity to the brain's reward system. We next review neuroimaging evidence linking social punishment (exclusion) to brain systems involved in the experience of pain, as well as evidence linking exclusion to conformity. We suggest that genetic variants that increase sensitivity to social cues may predispose individuals to be more sensitive to either social rewards or punishments (or potentially both), which in turn increases conformity and susceptibility to normative social influences more broadly. To this end, we review evidence for genetic moderators of neurochemical responses in the brain, and suggest ways in which genes and pharmacology may modulate sensitivity to social influences. We conclude by proposing an integrative imaging genetics approach to the study of brain mediators and genetic modulators of a variety of social influences on human attitudes, beliefs, and actions. PMID:22701416

A Bayesian approach to modelling the impact of hydrodynamic shear stress on biofilm deformation

PubMed Central

Wilkinson, Darren J.; Jayathilake, Pahala Gedara; Rushton, Steve P.; Bridgens, Ben; Li, Bowen; Zuliani, Paolo

2018-01-01

We investigate the feasibility of using a surrogate-based method to emulate the deformation and detachment behaviour of a biofilm in response to hydrodynamic shear stress. The influence of shear force, growth rate and viscoelastic parameters on the patterns of growth, structure and resulting shape of microbial biofilms was examined. We develop a statistical modelling approach to this problem, using combination of Bayesian Poisson regression and dynamic linear models for the emulation. We observe that the hydrodynamic shear force affects biofilm deformation in line with some literature. Sensitivity results also showed that the expected number of shear events, shear flow, yield coefficient for heterotrophic bacteria and extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) stiffness per unit EPS mass are the four principal mechanisms governing the bacteria detachment in this study. The sensitivity of the model parameters is temporally dynamic, emphasising the significance of conducting the sensitivity analysis across multiple time points. The surrogate models are shown to perform well, and produced ≈ 480 fold increase in computational efficiency. We conclude that a surrogate-based approach is effective, and resulting biofilm structure is determined primarily by a balance between bacteria growth, viscoelastic parameters and applied shear stress. PMID:29649240

High-sensitivity strain visualization using electroluminescence technologies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jian; Jo, Hongki

2016-04-01

Visualizing mechanical strain/stress changes is an emerging area in structural health monitoring. Several ways are available for strain change visualization through the color/brightness change of the materials subjected to the mechanical stresses, for example, using mechanoluminescence (ML) materials and mechanoresponsive polymers (MRP). However, these approaches were not effectively applicable for civil engineering system yet, due to insufficient sensitivity to low-level strain of typical civil structures and limitation in measuring both static and dynamic strain. In this study, design and validation for high-sensitivity strain visualization using electroluminescence technologies are presented. A high-sensitivity Wheatstone bridge, of which bridge balance is precisely controllable circuits, is used with a gain-adjustable amplifier. The monochrome electroluminescence (EL) technology is employed to convert both static and dynamic strain change into brightness/color change of the EL materials, through either brightness change mode (BCM) or color alternation mode (CAM). A prototype has been made and calibrated in lab, the linearity between strain and brightness change has been investigated.

Water as an agent for the morphology modification of metal oxalate materials on the nanoscale: from sheets to rods

PubMed Central

Kim, Minog; Kim, YooJin; Kwon, WonJong; Yoon, Sungho

2016-01-01

A number of approaches have been used to control the shape of metal oxalates, which often used as precursors for metal oxide nanomaterials. However, attempts to use water as a regulator have not been reported. Here in we report systematic studies on related topics: nanosheets, composed of 1-dimensional [M(C2O4)(EG)] (M = Zn or Co) polymeric structure, could be transformed into nanorods by using water as a shape-shifting agent because water can readily substitute EG ligand, leading alternation of inter-chain hydrogen bonding interactions. In addition, heat-treatment of these nanomaterials with diverse morphologies resulted in porous metal oxides with high degrees of shape retention. PMID:26763973

Adjoint shape optimization for fluid-structure interaction of ducted flows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heners, J. P.; Radtke, L.; Hinze, M.; Düster, A.

2018-03-01

Based on the coupled problem of time-dependent fluid-structure interaction, equations for an appropriate adjoint problem are derived by the consequent use of the formal Lagrange calculus. Solutions of both primal and adjoint equations are computed in a partitioned fashion and enable the formulation of a surface sensitivity. This sensitivity is used in the context of a steepest descent algorithm for the computation of the required gradient of an appropriate cost functional. The efficiency of the developed optimization approach is demonstrated by minimization of the pressure drop in a simple two-dimensional channel flow and in a three-dimensional ducted flow surrounded by a thin-walled structure.

Full-Field Strain Methods for Investigating Failure Mechanisms in Triaxial Braided Composites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Littell, Justin D.; Binienda, Wieslaw K.; Goldberg, Robert K.; Roberts, Gary D.

2008-01-01

Recent advancements in braiding technology have led to commercially viable manufacturing approaches for making large structures with complex shape out of triaxial braided composite materials. In some cases, the static load capability of structures made using these materials has been higher than expected based on material strength properties measured using standard coupon tests. A more detailed investigation of deformation and failure processes in large-unit-cell-size triaxial braid composites is needed to evaluate the applicability of standard test methods for these materials and to develop alternative testing approaches. This report presents some new techniques that have been developed to investigate local deformation and failure using digital image correlation techniques. The methods were used to measure both local and global strains during standard straight-sided coupon tensile tests on composite materials made with 12- and 24-k yarns and a 0 /+60 /-60 triaxial braid architecture. Local deformation and failure within fiber bundles was observed and correlations were made between these local failures and global composite deformation and strength.

A discrete spectral analysis for determining quasi-linear viscoelastic properties of biological materials

PubMed Central

Babaei, Behzad; Abramowitch, Steven D.; Elson, Elliot L.; Thomopoulos, Stavros; Genin, Guy M.

2015-01-01

The viscoelastic behaviour of a biological material is central to its functioning and is an indicator of its health. The Fung quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) model, a standard tool for characterizing biological materials, provides excellent fits to most stress–relaxation data by imposing a simple form upon a material's temporal relaxation spectrum. However, model identification is challenging because the Fung QLV model's ‘box’-shaped relaxation spectrum, predominant in biomechanics applications, can provide an excellent fit even when it is not a reasonable representation of a material's relaxation spectrum. Here, we present a robust and simple discrete approach for identifying a material's temporal relaxation spectrum from stress–relaxation data in an unbiased way. Our ‘discrete QLV’ (DQLV) approach identifies ranges of time constants over which the Fung QLV model's typical box spectrum provides an accurate representation of a particular material's temporal relaxation spectrum, and is effective at providing a fit to this model. The DQLV spectrum also reveals when other forms or discrete time constants are more suitable than a box spectrum. After validating the approach against idealized and noisy data, we applied the methods to analyse medial collateral ligament stress–relaxation data and identify the strengths and weaknesses of an optimal Fung QLV fit. PMID:26609064

General shape optimization capability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chargin, Mladen K.; Raasch, Ingo; Bruns, Rudolf; Deuermeyer, Dawson

1991-01-01

A method is described for calculating shape sensitivities, within MSC/NASTRAN, in a simple manner without resort to external programs. The method uses natural design variables to define the shape changes in a given structure. Once the shape sensitivities are obtained, the shape optimization process is carried out in a manner similar to property optimization processes. The capability of this method is illustrated by two examples: the shape optimization of a cantilever beam with holes, loaded by a point load at the free end (with the shape of the holes and the thickness of the beam selected as the design variables), and the shape optimization of a connecting rod subjected to several different loading and boundary conditions.

Deposition of Nanostructured Thin Film from Size-Classified Nanoparticles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Camata, Renato P.; Cunningham, Nicholas C.; Seol, Kwang Soo; Okada, Yoshiki; Takeuchi, Kazuo

2003-01-01

Materials comprising nanometer-sized grains (approximately 1_50 nm) exhibit properties dramatically different from those of their homogeneous and uniform counterparts. These properties vary with size, shape, and composition of nanoscale grains. Thus, nanoparticles may be used as building blocks to engineer tailor-made artificial materials with desired properties, such as non-linear optical absorption, tunable light emission, charge-storage behavior, selective catalytic activity, and countless other characteristics. This bottom-up engineering approach requires exquisite control over nanoparticle size, shape, and composition. We describe the design and characterization of an aerosol system conceived for the deposition of size classified nanoparticles whose performance is consistent with these strict demands. A nanoparticle aerosol is generated by laser ablation and sorted according to size using a differential mobility analyzer. Nanoparticles within a chosen window of sizes (e.g., (8.0 plus or minus 0.6) nm) are deposited electrostatically on a surface forming a film of the desired material. The system allows the assembly and engineering of thin films using size-classified nanoparticles as building blocks.

Polymeric Janus Nanoparticles: Recent Advances in Synthetic Strategies, Materials Properties, and Applications.

PubMed

Fan, Xiaoshan; Yang, Jing; Loh, Xian Jun; Li, Zibiao

2018-06-13

Polymeric Janus nanoparticles with two sides of incompatible chemistry have received increasing attention due to their tunable asymmetric structure and unique material characteristics. Recently, with the rapid progress in controlled polymerization combined with novel fabrication techniques, a large array of functional polymeric Janus particles are diversified with sophisticated architecture and applications. In this review, the most recently developed strategies for controlled synthesis of polymeric Janus nanoparticles with well-defined size and complex superstructures are summarized. In addition, the pros and cons of each approach in mediating the anisotropic shapes of polymeric Janus particles as well as their asymmetric spatial distribution of chemical compositions and functionalities are discussed and compared. Finally, these newly developed structural nanoparticles with specific shapes and surface functions orientated applications in different domains are also discussed, followed by the perspectives and challenges faced in the further advancement of polymeric Janus nanoparticles as high performance materials. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Topology optimization of hyperelastic structures using a level set method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Feifei; Wang, Yiqiang; Wang, Michael Yu; Zhang, Y. F.

2017-12-01

Soft rubberlike materials, due to their inherent compliance, are finding widespread implementation in a variety of applications ranging from assistive wearable technologies to soft material robots. Structural design of such soft and rubbery materials necessitates the consideration of large nonlinear deformations and hyperelastic material models to accurately predict their mechanical behaviour. In this paper, we present an effective level set-based topology optimization method for the design of hyperelastic structures that undergo large deformations. The method incorporates both geometric and material nonlinearities where the strain and stress measures are defined within the total Lagrange framework and the hyperelasticity is characterized by the widely-adopted Mooney-Rivlin material model. A shape sensitivity analysis is carried out, in the strict sense of the material derivative, where the high-order terms involving the displacement gradient are retained to ensure the descent direction. As the design velocity enters into the shape derivative in terms of its gradient and divergence terms, we develop a discrete velocity selection strategy. The whole optimization implementation undergoes a two-step process, where the linear optimization is first performed and its optimized solution serves as the initial design for the subsequent nonlinear optimization. It turns out that this operation could efficiently alleviate the numerical instability and facilitate the optimization process. To demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method, three compliance minimization problems are studied and their optimized solutions present significant mechanical benefits of incorporating the nonlinearities, in terms of remarkable enhancement in not only the structural stiffness but also the critical buckling load.

Determination of fermentable sugars in beer wort by gold nanoparticles@polydopamine: A layer-by-layer approach for Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance measurements at fixed wavelength.

PubMed

Scarano, S; Pascale, E; Palladino, P; Fratini, E; Minunni, M

2018-06-01

Polydopamine decorated in-situ with Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR)-active gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) may extend the applicability of nanoplasmonic materials to original and innovative applications in several fields. Here we report the modification of disposable UV-Vis polystyrene cuvettes with AuNPs@PDA for refractive index LSPR-based measurements. An original layer-by-layer deposition method of PDA followed by AuNPs growth is here developed, showing linear correlation between PDA thickness and optical properties. In particular, the modulation from wavelength sensitivity toward absorbance sensitivity is obtained, allowing measurements at fixed wavelength (578 nm). As applicative example of the photonic cuvettes, the measurement of fermentable sugars in beer wort is here reported. The analytical performance of our approach has been directly compared to portable refractometer of reference, displaying excellent results in terms of the precise estimation of sugars in beer wort (expressed in degrees Brix), reproducibility and sensitivity. The approach may be extended to other materials of interest in LSPR based optical sensors, e.g. optical fibers. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of the accuracy of plasma shape reconstruction by the Cauchy condition surface method in JT-60SA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miyata, Y.; Suzuki, T.; Takechi, M.; Urano, H.; Ide, S.

2015-07-01

For the purpose of stable plasma equilibrium control and detailed analysis, it is essential to reconstruct an accurate plasma boundary on the poloidal cross section in tokamak devices. The Cauchy condition surface (CCS) method is a numerical approach for calculating the spatial distribution of the magnetic flux outside a hypothetical surface and reconstructing the plasma boundary from the magnetic measurements located outside the plasma. The accuracy of the plasma shape reconstruction has been assessed by comparing the CCS method and an equilibrium calculation in JT-60SA with a high elongation and triangularity of plasma shape. The CCS, on which both Dirichlet and Neumann conditions are unknown, is defined as a hypothetical surface located inside the real plasma region. The accuracy of the plasma shape reconstruction is sensitive to the CCS free parameters such as the number of unknown parameters and the shape in JT-60SA. It is found that the optimum number of unknown parameters and the size of the CCS that minimizes errors in the reconstructed plasma shape are in proportion to the plasma size. Furthermore, it is shown that the accuracy of the plasma shape reconstruction is greatly improved using the optimum number of unknown parameters and shape of the CCS, and the reachable reconstruction errors in plasma shape and locations of strike points are within the target ranges in JT-60SA.

Characterization of mechanical properties of pseudoelastic shape memory alloys under harmonic excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Böttcher, J.; Jahn, M.; Tatzko, S.

2017-12-01

Pseudoelastic shape memory alloys exhibit a stress-induced phase transformation which leads to high strains during deformation of the material. The stress-strain characteristic during this thermomechanical process is hysteretic and results in the conversion of mechanical energy into thermal energy. This energy conversion allows for the use of shape memory alloys in vibration reduction. For the application of shape memory alloys as vibration damping devices a dynamic modeling of the material behavior is necessary. In this context experimentally determined material parameters which accurately represent the material behavior are essential for a reliable material model. Subject of this publication is the declaration of suitable material parameters for pseudoelastic shape memory alloys and the methodology of their identification from experimental investigations. The used test rig was specifically designed for the characterization of pseudoelastic shape memory alloys.

Colloquium: Astromaterial science and nuclear pasta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caplan, M. E.; Horowitz, C. J.

2017-10-01

"Astromaterial science" is defined as the study of materials in astronomical objects that are qualitatively denser than materials on Earth. Astromaterials can have unique properties related to their large density, although they may be organized in ways similar to more conventional materials. By analogy to terrestrial materials, this study of astromaterials is divided into hard and soft and one example of each is discussed. The hard astromaterial discussed here is a crystalline lattice, such as the Coulomb crystals in the interior of cold white dwarfs and in the crust of neutron stars, while the soft astromaterial is nuclear pasta found in the inner crusts of neutron stars. In particular, how molecular dynamics simulations have been used to calculate the properties of astromaterials to interpret observations of white dwarfs and neutron stars is discussed. Coulomb crystals are studied to understand how compact stars freeze. Their incredible strength may make crust "mountains" on rotating neutron stars a source for gravitational waves that the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) may detect. Nuclear pasta is expected near the base of the neutron star crust at densities of 1014 g /cm3 . Competition between nuclear attraction and Coulomb repulsion rearranges neutrons and protons into complex nonspherical shapes such as sheets (lasagna) or tubes (spaghetti). Semiclassical molecular dynamics simulations of nuclear pasta have been used to study these phases and calculate their transport properties such as neutrino opacity, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity. Observations of neutron stars may be sensitive to these properties and can be used to interpret observations of supernova neutrinos, magnetic field decay, and crust cooling of accreting neutron stars. This Colloquium concludes by comparing nuclear pasta shapes with some similar shapes seen in biological systems.

Biologically inspired dynamic material systems.

PubMed

Studart, André R

2015-03-09

Numerous examples of material systems that dynamically interact with and adapt to the surrounding environment are found in nature, from hair-based mechanoreceptors in animals to self-shaping seed dispersal units in plants to remodeling bone in vertebrates. Inspired by such fascinating biological structures, a wide range of synthetic material systems have been created to replicate the design concepts of dynamic natural architectures. Examples of biological structures and their man-made counterparts are herein revisited to illustrate how dynamic and adaptive responses emerge from the intimate microscale combination of building blocks with intrinsic nanoscale properties. By using top-down photolithographic methods and bottom-up assembly approaches, biologically inspired dynamic material systems have been created 1) to sense liquid flow with hair-inspired microelectromechanical systems, 2) to autonomously change shape by utilizing plantlike heterogeneous architectures, 3) to homeostatically influence the surrounding environment through self-regulating adaptive surfaces, and 4) to spatially concentrate chemical species by using synthetic microcompartments. The ever-increasing complexity and remarkable functionalities of such synthetic systems offer an encouraging perspective to the rich set of dynamic and adaptive properties that can potentially be implemented in future man-made material systems. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

DarkSide search for dark matter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, T.; Alton, D.; Arisaka, K.; Back, H. O.; Beltrame, P.; Benziger, J.; Bonfini, G.; Brigatti, A.; Brodsky, J.; Bussino, S.; Cadonati, L.; Calaprice, F.; Candela, A.; Cao, H.; Cavalcante, P.; Chepurnov, A.; Chidzik, S.; Cocco, A. G.; Condon, C.; D'Angelo, D.; Davini, S.; De Vincenzi, M.; De Haas, E.; Derbin, A.; Di Pietro, G.; Dratchnev, I.; Durben, D.; Empl, A.; Etenko, A.; Fan, A.; Fiorillo, G.; Franco, D.; Fomenko, K.; Forster, G.; Gabriele, F.; Galbiati, C.; Gazzana, S.; Ghiano, C.; Goretti, A.; Grandi, L.; Gromov, M.; Guan, M.; Guo, C.; Guray, G.; Hungerford, E. V.; Ianni, Al; Ianni, An; Joliet, C.; Kayunov, A.; Keeter, K.; Kendziora, C.; Kidner, S.; Klemmer, R.; Kobychev, V.; Koh, G.; Komor, M.; Korablev, D.; Korga, G.; Li, P.; Loer, B.; Lombardi, P.; Love, C.; Ludhova, L.; Luitz, S.; Lukyanchenko, L.; Lund, A.; Lung, K.; Ma, Y.; Machulin, I.; Mari, S.; Maricic, J.; Martoff, C. J.; Meregaglia, A.; Meroni, E.; Meyers, P.; Mohayai, T.; Montanari, D.; Montuschi, M.; Monzani, M. E.; Mosteiro, P.; Mount, B.; Muratova, V.; Nelson, A.; Nemtzow, A.; Nurakhov, N.; Orsini, M.; Ortica, F.; Pallavicini, M.; Pantic, E.; Parmeggiano, S.; Parsells, R.; Pelliccia, N.; Perasso, L.; Perasso, S.; Perfetto, F.; Pinsky, L.; Pocar, A.; Pordes, S.; Randle, K.; Ranucci, G.; Razeto, A.; Romani, A.; Rossi, B.; Rossi, N.; Rountree, S. D.; Saggese, P.; Saldanha, R.; Salvo, C.; Sands, W.; Seigar, M.; Semenov, D.; Shields, E.; Skorokhvatov, M.; Smirnov, O.; Sotnikov, A.; Sukhotin, S.; Suvarov, Y.; Tartaglia, R.; Tatarowicz, J.; Testera, G.; Thompson, J.; Tonazzo, A.; Unzhakov, E.; Vogelaar, R. B.; Wang, H.; Westerdale, S.; Wojcik, M.; Wright, A.; Xu, J.; Yang, C.; Zavatarelli, S.; Zehfus, M.; Zhong, W.; Zuzel, G.

2013-11-01

The DarkSide staged program utilizes a two-phase time projection chamber (TPC) with liquid argon as the target material for the scattering of dark matter particles. Efficient background reduction is achieved using low radioactivity underground argon as well as several experimental handles such as pulse shape, ratio of ionization over scintillation signal, 3D event reconstruction, and active neutron and muon vetos. The DarkSide-10 prototype detector has proven high scintillation light yield, which is a particularly important parameter as it sets the energy threshold for the pulse shape discrimination technique. The DarkSide-50 detector system, currently in commissioning phase at the Gran Sasso Underground Laboratory, will reach a sensitivity to dark matter spin-independent scattering cross section of 10-45 cm2 within 3 years of operation.

Graphene growth process modeling: a physical-statistical approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Jian; Huang, Qiang

2014-09-01

As a zero-band semiconductor, graphene is an attractive material for a wide variety of applications such as optoelectronics. Among various techniques developed for graphene synthesis, chemical vapor deposition on copper foils shows high potential for producing few-layer and large-area graphene. Since fabrication of high-quality graphene sheets requires the understanding of growth mechanisms, and methods of characterization and control of grain size of graphene flakes, analytical modeling of graphene growth process is therefore essential for controlled fabrication. The graphene growth process starts with randomly nucleated islands that gradually develop into complex shapes, grow in size, and eventually connect together to cover the copper foil. To model this complex process, we develop a physical-statistical approach under the assumption of self-similarity during graphene growth. The growth kinetics is uncovered by separating island shapes from area growth rate. We propose to characterize the area growth velocity using a confined exponential model, which not only has clear physical explanation, but also fits the real data well. For the shape modeling, we develop a parametric shape model which can be well explained by the angular-dependent growth rate. This work can provide useful information for the control and optimization of graphene growth process on Cu foil.

Shape control VO2 nanorods prepared by soft chemistry and electrochemical method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simo, A.; Sibanyoni, J.; Fuku, X.; Numan, N.; Omorogbe, S.; Maaza, M.

2018-07-01

"Bottom up" approach is of primary interest for chemistry and materials science because the fundamental building blocks are atoms. Thus colloidal chemical synthetic methods can be utilized to prepare uniform nanocrystals with controlled particle size. In the following work of study, thermochromic VO2 nanostructures were prepared by hydrothermal technique soft chemistry. We concentrate on solution phase synthetic methods that enable a proper shape and size control of metal oxide nanocrystals. Their structural properties were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform IR (FTIR) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). It is demonstrated that the surfactant assistance (NaOH) has great influence on the morphology-control of the material. Electrochemical properties of the nanospheres show good stability after 20 cycles and the surface diffusion coefficient was calculated to be 5 × 10-6 cm2 s-1.

Simulation Analysis of Tilted Polyhedron-Shaped Thermoelectric Elements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Xiangning; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

2015-06-01

The generation of thermoelectricity is considered a promising approach to harness the waste heat generated in industries, automobiles, gas fields, and other man-made processes. The waste heat can be converted to electricity via a thermoelectric (TE) generator. In this light, the generator performance depends on the geometric configuration of its constituent elements as well as their material properties. Our previous work reported TE behaviors for modules consisting of parallelogram-shaped elements, because elements with tilted laminate structures provide increased mechanical stability and efficient heat-transferring ability from the hot surface to the cold surface. Here, we study TE elements in the shape of a polyhedron that is obtained by mechanically truncating the edges of a parallelogram element in order to further enhance the generator performance and reduce TE material usage. The TE performance of the modules consisting of these polyhedron elements is numerically simulated by using the finite-volume method. The output power, voltage, and current of the polyhedral TE module are greater than those of the parallelogram-element module. The polyhedron shape positively affects heat transfer and the flow of electric charges in the light of increasing the efficiency of conversion from heat to electricity. By varying the shape of the truncated portions, we determine the optimal shape that enables homogeneous heat flux distribution and slow diffusion of thermal energy to obtain the better efficiency of conversion of heat into electricity. We believe that the findings of our study can significantly contribute to the design policy in TE generation.

Partitioning into hazard subregions for regional peaks-over-threshold modeling of heavy precipitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carreau, J.; Naveau, P.; Neppel, L.

2017-05-01

The French Mediterranean is subject to intense precipitation events occurring mostly in autumn. These can potentially cause flash floods, the main natural danger in the area. The distribution of these events follows specific spatial patterns, i.e., some sites are more likely to be affected than others. The peaks-over-threshold approach consists in modeling extremes, such as heavy precipitation, by the generalized Pareto (GP) distribution. The shape parameter of the GP controls the probability of extreme events and can be related to the hazard level of a given site. When interpolating across a region, the shape parameter should reproduce the observed spatial patterns of the probability of heavy precipitation. However, the shape parameter estimators have high uncertainty which might hide the underlying spatial variability. As a compromise, we choose to let the shape parameter vary in a moderate fashion. More precisely, we assume that the region of interest can be partitioned into subregions with constant hazard level. We formalize the model as a conditional mixture of GP distributions. We develop a two-step inference strategy based on probability weighted moments and put forward a cross-validation procedure to select the number of subregions. A synthetic data study reveals that the inference strategy is consistent and not very sensitive to the selected number of subregions. An application on daily precipitation data from the French Mediterranean shows that the conditional mixture of GPs outperforms two interpolation approaches (with constant or smoothly varying shape parameter).

Rapid mapping of polarization switching through complete information acquisition

DOE PAGES

Somnath, Suhas; Belianinov, Alex; Kalinin, Sergei V.; ...

2016-12-02

Polarization switching in ferroelectric and multiferroic materials underpins a broad range of current and emergent applications, ranging from random access memories to field-effect transistors, and tunnelling devices. Switching in these materials is exquisitely sensitive to local defects and microstructure on the nanometre scale, necessitating spatially resolved high-resolution studies of these phenomena. Classical piezoresponse force microscopy and spectroscopy, although providing necessary spatial resolution, are fundamentally limited in data acquisition rates and energy resolution. This limitation stems from their two-tiered measurement protocol that combines slow (~1 s) switching and fast (~10 kHz–1 MHz) detection waveforms. Here we develop an approach for rapidmore » probing of ferroelectric switching using direct strain detection of material response to probe bias. This approach, facilitated by high-sensitivity electronics and adaptive filtering, enables spectroscopic imaging at a rate 3,504 times faster the current state of the art, achieving high-veracity imaging of polarization dynamics in complex microstructures.« less

Rapid mapping of polarization switching through complete information acquisition

PubMed Central

Somnath, Suhas; Belianinov, Alex; Kalinin, Sergei V.; Jesse, Stephen

2016-01-01

Polarization switching in ferroelectric and multiferroic materials underpins a broad range of current and emergent applications, ranging from random access memories to field-effect transistors, and tunnelling devices. Switching in these materials is exquisitely sensitive to local defects and microstructure on the nanometre scale, necessitating spatially resolved high-resolution studies of these phenomena. Classical piezoresponse force microscopy and spectroscopy, although providing necessary spatial resolution, are fundamentally limited in data acquisition rates and energy resolution. This limitation stems from their two-tiered measurement protocol that combines slow (∼1 s) switching and fast (∼10 kHz–1 MHz) detection waveforms. Here we develop an approach for rapid probing of ferroelectric switching using direct strain detection of material response to probe bias. This approach, facilitated by high-sensitivity electronics and adaptive filtering, enables spectroscopic imaging at a rate 3,504 times faster the current state of the art, achieving high-veracity imaging of polarization dynamics in complex microstructures. PMID:27910941

Holographic photolysis of caged neurotransmitters

PubMed Central

Lutz, Christoph; Otis, Thomas S.; DeSars, Vincent; Charpak, Serge; DiGregorio, David A.; Emiliani, Valentina

2009-01-01

Stimulation of light-sensitive chemical probes has become a powerful tool for the study of dynamic signaling processes in living tissue. Classically, this approach has been constrained by limitations of lens–based and point-scanning illumination systems. Here we describe a novel microscope configuration that incorporates a nematic liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LC-SLM) to generate holographic patterns of illumination. This microscope can produce illumination spots of variable size and number and patterns shaped to precisely match user-defined elements in a specimen. Using holographic illumination to photolyse caged glutamate in brain slices, we demonstrate that shaped excitation on segments of neuronal dendrites and simultaneous, multi-spot excitation of different dendrites enables precise spatial and rapid temporal control of glutamate receptor activation. By allowing the excitation volume shape to be tailored precisely, the holographic microscope provides an extremely flexible method for activation of various photosensitive proteins and small molecules. PMID:19160517

Deep Neural Networks as a Computational Model for Human Shape Sensitivity

PubMed Central

Op de Beeck, Hans P.

2016-01-01

Theories of object recognition agree that shape is of primordial importance, but there is no consensus about how shape might be represented, and so far attempts to implement a model of shape perception that would work with realistic stimuli have largely failed. Recent studies suggest that state-of-the-art convolutional ‘deep’ neural networks (DNNs) capture important aspects of human object perception. We hypothesized that these successes might be partially related to a human-like representation of object shape. Here we demonstrate that sensitivity for shape features, characteristic to human and primate vision, emerges in DNNs when trained for generic object recognition from natural photographs. We show that these models explain human shape judgments for several benchmark behavioral and neural stimulus sets on which earlier models mostly failed. In particular, although never explicitly trained for such stimuli, DNNs develop acute sensitivity to minute variations in shape and to non-accidental properties that have long been implicated to form the basis for object recognition. Even more strikingly, when tested with a challenging stimulus set in which shape and category membership are dissociated, the most complex model architectures capture human shape sensitivity as well as some aspects of the category structure that emerges from human judgments. As a whole, these results indicate that convolutional neural networks not only learn physically correct representations of object categories but also develop perceptually accurate representational spaces of shapes. An even more complete model of human object representations might be in sight by training deep architectures for multiple tasks, which is so characteristic in human development. PMID:27124699

Improving soil bacterial taxa–area relationships assessment using DNA meta-barcoding

PubMed Central

Terrat, S; Dequiedt, S; Horrigue, W; Lelievre, M; Cruaud, C; Saby, N P A; Jolivet, C; Arrouays, D; Maron, P-A; Ranjard, L; Chemidlin Prévost-Bouré, N

2015-01-01

The evaluation of the taxa–area relationship (TAR) with molecular fingerprinting data demonstrated the spatial structuration of soil microorganisms and provided insights into the processes shaping their diversity. The increasing use of massive sequencing technologies in biodiversity investigations has now raised the question of the advantages of such technologies over the fingerprinting approach for elucidation of the determinism of soil microbial community assembly in broad-scale biogeographic studies. Our objectives in this study were to compare DNA fingerprinting and meta-barcoding approaches for evaluating soil bacterial TAR and the determinism of soil bacterial community assembly on a broad scale. This comparison was performed on 392 soil samples from four French geographic regions with different levels of environmental heterogeneity. Both molecular approaches demonstrated a TAR with a significant slope but, because of its more sensitive description of soil bacterial community richness, meta-barcoding provided significantly higher and more accurate estimates of turnover rates. Both approaches were useful in evidencing the processes shaping bacterial diversity variations on a broad scale. When different taxonomic resolutions were considered for meta-barcoding data, they significantly influenced the estimation of turnover rates but not the relative importance of each component process. Altogether, DNA meta-barcoding provides a more accurate evaluation of the TAR and may lead to re-examination of the processes shaping soil bacterial community assembly. This should provide new insights into soil microbial ecology in the context of sustainable use of soil resources. PMID:25293875

Sombrero-shaped plasmonic nanoparticles with molecular-level sensitivity and multifunctionality.

PubMed

Wi, Jung-Sub; Barnard, Edward S; Wilson, Robert J; Zhang, Mingliang; Tang, Mary; Brongersma, Mark L; Wang, Shan X

2011-08-23

We demonstrate top-down synthesis of monodisperse plasmonic nanoparticles designed to contain internal Raman hot spots. Our Raman-active nanoparticles are fabricated using nanoimprint lithography and thin-film deposition and are composed of novel internal structures with sublithographic dimensions: a disk-shaped Ag core, a Petri-dish-shaped SiO(2) base whose inner surface is coated with Ag film, and a sub-10 nm scale circular gap between the core and the base. Confocal Raman measurements and electromagnetic simulations show that Raman hot spots appear at the inside perimeter of individual nanoparticles and serve as the source of a 1000-fold improvement of minimum molecular detection level that enables detection of signals from a few molecules near hot spots. A multimodality version of these nanoparticles, which includes the functionality offered by magnetic multilayers, is also demonstrated. These results illustrate the potential of direct fabrication for creating exotic monodisperse nanoparticles, which combine engineered internal nanostructures and multilayer composite materials, for use in nanoparticle-based molecular imaging and detection. © 2011 American Chemical Society

Bioink properties before, during and after 3D bioprinting.

PubMed

Hölzl, Katja; Lin, Shengmao; Tytgat, Liesbeth; Van Vlierberghe, Sandra; Gu, Linxia; Ovsianikov, Aleksandr

2016-09-23

Bioprinting is a process based on additive manufacturing from materials containing living cells. These materials, often referred to as bioink, are based on cytocompatible hydrogel precursor formulations, which gel in a manner compatible with different bioprinting approaches. The bioink properties before, during and after gelation are essential for its printability, comprising such features as achievable structural resolution, shape fidelity and cell survival. However, it is the final properties of the matured bioprinted tissue construct that are crucial for the end application. During tissue formation these properties are influenced by the amount of cells present in the construct, their proliferation, migration and interaction with the material. A calibrated computational framework is able to predict the tissue development and maturation and to optimize the bioprinting input parameters such as the starting material, the initial cell loading and the construct geometry. In this contribution relevant bioink properties are reviewed and discussed on the example of most popular bioprinting approaches. The effect of cells on hydrogel processing and vice versa is highlighted. Furthermore, numerical approaches were reviewed and implemented for depicting the cellular mechanics within the hydrogel as well as for prediction of mechanical properties to achieve the desired hydrogel construct considering cell density, distribution and material-cell interaction.

Skew Projection of Echo-Detected EPR Spectra for Increased Sensitivity and Resolution

PubMed Central

Bowman, Michael K.; Krzyaniak, Matthew D.; Cruce, Alex A.; Weber, Ralph T.

2013-01-01

The measurement of EPR spectra during pulsed EPR experiments is commonly accomplished by recording the integral of the electron spin echo as the applied magnetic field is stepped through the spectrum. This approach to echo-detected EPR spectral measurement (ED-EPR) limits sensitivity and spectral resolution and can cause gross distortions in the resulting spectra because some of the information present in the electron spin echo is discarded in such measurements. However, Fourier Transformation of echo shapes measured at a series of magnetic field values followed by skew projection onto either a magnetic field or resonance frequency axis can increase both spectral resolution and sensitivity without the need to trade one against the other. Examples of skew-projected spectra with single crystals, glasses and powders show resolution improvements as large as a factor of seven with sensitivity increases of as much as a factor of five. PMID:23644351

Skew projection of echo-detected EPR spectra for increased sensitivity and resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bowman, Michael K.; Krzyaniak, Matthew D.; Cruce, Alex A.; Weber, Ralph T.

2013-06-01

The measurement of EPR spectra during pulsed EPR experiments is commonly accomplished by recording the integral of the electron spin echo as the applied magnetic field is stepped through the spectrum. This approach to echo-detected EPR spectral measurement (ED-EPR) limits sensitivity and spectral resolution and can cause gross distortions in the resulting spectra because some of the information present in the electron spin echo is discarded in such measurements. However, Fourier transformation of echo shapes measured at a series of magnetic field values followed by skew projection onto either a magnetic field or resonance frequency axis can increase both spectral resolution and sensitivity without the need to trade one against the other. Examples of skew-projected spectra with single crystals, glasses and powders show resolution improvements as large as a factor of seven with sensitivity increases of as much as a factor of five.

Optical properties of mineral dust aerosol including analysis of particle size, composition, and shape effects, and the impact of physical and chemical processing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, Jennifer Mary

Atmospheric mineral dust has a large impact on the earth's radiation balance and climate. The radiative effects of mineral dust depend on factors including, particle size, shape, and composition which can all be extremely complex. Mineral dust particles are typically irregular in shape and can include sharp edges, voids, and fine scale surface roughness. Particle shape can also depend on the type of mineral and can vary as a function of particle size. In addition, atmospheric mineral dust is a complex mixture of different minerals as well as other, possibly organic, components that have been mixed in while these particles are suspended in the atmosphere. Aerosol optical properties are investigated in this work, including studies of the effect of particle size, shape, and composition on the infrared (IR) extinction and visible scattering properties in order to achieve more accurate modeling methods. Studies of particle shape effects on dust optical properties for single component mineral samples of silicate clay and diatomaceous earth are carried out here first. Experimental measurements are modeled using T-matrix theory in a uniform spheroid approximation. Previous efforts to simulate the measured optical properties of silicate clay, using models that assumed particle shape was independent of particle size, have achieved only limited success. However, a model which accounts for a correlation between particle size and shape for the silicate clays offers a large improvement over earlier modeling approaches. Diatomaceous earth is also studied as an example of a single component mineral dust aerosol with extreme particle shapes. A particle shape distribution, determined by fitting the experimental IR extinction data, used as a basis for modeling the visible light scattering properties. While the visible simulations show only modestly good agreement with the scattering data, the fits are generally better than those obtained using more commonly invoked particle shape distributions. The next goal of this work is to investigate if modeling methods developed in the studies of single mineral components can be generalized to predict the optical properties of more authentic aerosol samples which are complex mixtures of different minerals. Samples of Saharan sand, Iowa loess, and Arizona road dust are used here as test cases. T-matrix based simulations of the authentic samples, using measured particle size distributions, empirical mineralogies, and a priori particle shape models for each mineral component are directly compared with the measured IR extinction spectra and visible scattering profiles. This modeling approach offers a significant improvement over more commonly applied models that ignore variations in particle shape with size or mineralogy and include only a moderate range of shape parameters. Mineral dust samples processed with organic acids and humic material are also studied in order to explore how the optical properties of dust can change after being aged in the atmosphere. Processed samples include quartz mixed with humic material, and calcite reacted with acetic and oxalic acid. Clear differences in the light scattering properties are observed for all three processed mineral dust samples when compared to the unprocessed mineral dust or organic salt products. These interactions result in both internal and external mixtures depending on the sample. In addition, the presence of these organic materials can alter the mineral dust particle shape. Overall, however, these results demonstrate the need to account for the effects of atmospheric aging of mineral dust on aerosol optical properties. Particle shape can also affect the aerodynamic properties of mineral dust aerosol. In order to account for these effects, the dynamic shape factor is used to give a measure of particle asphericity. Dynamic shape factors of quartz are measured by mass and mobility selecting particles and measuring their vacuum aerodynamic diameter. From this, dynamic shape factors in both the transition and vacuum regime can be derived. The measured dynamic shape factors of quartz agree quite well with the spheroidal shape distributions derived through studies of the optical properties.

Impact Of The Material Variability On The Stamping Process: Numerical And Analytical Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ledoux, Yann; Sergent, Alain; Arrieux, Robert

2007-05-01

The finite element simulation is a very useful tool in the deep drawing industry. It is used more particularly for the development and the validation of new stamping tools. It allows to decrease cost and time for the tooling design and set up. But one of the most important difficulties to have a good agreement between the simulation and the real process comes from the definition of the numerical conditions (mesh, punch travel speed, limit conditions,…) and the parameters which model the material behavior. Indeed, in press shop, when the sheet set changes, often a variation of the formed part geometry is observed according to the variability of the material properties between these different sets. This last parameter represents probably one of the main source of process deviation when the process is set up. That's why it is important to study the influence of material data variation on the geometry of a classical stamped part. The chosen geometry is an omega shaped part because of its simplicity and it is representative one in the automotive industry (car body reinforcement). Moreover, it shows important springback deviations. An isotropic behaviour law is assumed. The impact of the statistical deviation of the three law coefficients characterizing the material and the friction coefficient around their nominal values is tested. A Gaussian distribution is supposed and their impact on the geometry variation is studied by FE simulation. An other approach is envisaged consisting in modeling the process variability by a mathematical model and then, in function of the input parameters variability, it is proposed to define an analytical model which leads to find the part geometry variability around the nominal shape. These two approaches allow to predict the process capability as a function of the material parameter variability.

Universal robotic gripper based on the jamming of granular material

PubMed Central

Brown, Eric; Rodenberg, Nicholas; Amend, John; Mozeika, Annan; Steltz, Erik; Zakin, Mitchell R.; Lipson, Hod; Jaeger, Heinrich M.

2010-01-01

Gripping and holding of objects are key tasks for robotic manipulators. The development of universal grippers able to pick up unfamiliar objects of widely varying shape and surface properties remains, however, challenging. Most current designs are based on the multifingered hand, but this approach introduces hardware and software complexities. These include large numbers of controllable joints, the need for force sensing if objects are to be handled securely without crushing them, and the computational overhead to decide how much stress each finger should apply and where. Here we demonstrate a completely different approach to a universal gripper. Individual fingers are replaced by a single mass of granular material that, when pressed onto a target object, flows around it and conforms to its shape. Upon application of a vacuum the granular material contracts and hardens quickly to pinch and hold the object without requiring sensory feedback. We find that volume changes of less than 0.5% suffice to grip objects reliably and hold them with forces exceeding many times their weight. We show that the operating principle is the ability of granular materials to transition between an unjammed, deformable state and a jammed state with solid-like rigidity. We delineate three separate mechanisms, friction, suction, and interlocking, that contribute to the gripping force. Using a simple model we relate each of them to the mechanical strength of the jammed state. This advance opens up new possibilities for the design of simple, yet highly adaptive systems that excel at fast gripping of complex objects.

Shapes formed by interacting cracks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Daniels, Karen

2012-02-01

Brittle failure through multiple cracks occurs in a wide variety of contexts, from microscopic failures in dental enamel and cleaved silicon to geological faults and planetary ice crusts. In each of these situations, with complicated stress geometries and different microscopic mechanisms, pairwise interactions between approaching cracks nonetheless produce characteristically curved fracture paths. We investigate the origins of this widely observed ``en passant'' crack pattern by fracturing a rectangular slab which is notched on each long side and subjected to quasi-static uniaxial strain from the short side. The two cracks propagate along approximately straight paths until they pass each other, after which they curve and release a lens-shaped fragment. We find that, for materials with diverse mechanical properties, each curve has an approximately square-root shape, and that the length of each fragment is twice its width. We are able to explain the origins of this universal shape with a simple geometrical model.

An Approach to 3d Digital Modeling of Surfaces with Poor Texture by Range Imaging Techniques. `SHAPE from Stereo' VS. `SHAPE from Silhouette' in Digitizing Jorge Oteiza's Sculptures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

García Fernández, J.; Álvaro Tordesillas, A.; Barba, S.

2015-02-01

Despite eminent development of digital range imaging techniques, difficulties persist in the virtualization of objects with poor radiometric information, in other words, objects consisting of homogeneous colours (totally white, black, etc.), repetitive patterns, translucence, or materials with specular reflection. This is the case for much of the Jorge Oteiza's works, particularly in the sculpture collection of the Museo Fundación Jorge Oteiza (Navarra, Spain). The present study intend to analyse and asses the performance of two digital 3D-modeling methods based on imaging techniques, facing cultural heritage in singular cases, determined by radiometric characteristics as mentioned: Shape from Silhouette and Shape from Stereo. On the other hand, the text proposes the definition of a documentation workflow and presents the results of its application in the collection of sculptures created by Oteiza.

Crystal engineering of giant molecules based on perylene diimide conjugated polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane nano-atom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ren, He

Molecular architectures and topologies are found contributing to the formation of supramolecular structures of giant molecules. Dr. Cheng's research group developed a diverse of giant molecules via precisely controlled chemistry synthetic routes. These giant molecules can be categorized into several different families, namely giant surfactants, giant shape amphiphiles and giant polyhedron. By analyzing the hierarchical structures of these carefully designed and precisely synthesized giant molecules, the structural factors which affect, or even dominates, in some cases, the formation of supramolecular structures are revealed in these intensive researches. The results will further contribute to the understanding of dependence of supramolecular structures on molecular designs as well as molecular topology, and providing a practical solution to the scaling up of microscopic molecular functionalities to macroscopic material properties. Molecular Nano Particles (MNPs), including fullerene (C60), POSS, Polyoxometalate (POM) and proteins etc., is defined and applied as a specific type of building blocks in the design and synthesis of giant molecules. The persistence in shape and symmetry is considered as one of the major properties of MNPs. This persistence will support the construction of giant molecules for further supramolecular structures' study by introducing specific shapes, or precisely located side groups which will facilitate self-assembling behaviors with pre-programmed secondary interactions. Dictating material physical properties by its chemical composition is an attractive yet currently failed approach in the study of materials. However, the pursuit of determining material properties by microscopic molecular level properties is never seized, and found its solution when the idea of crystal engineering is raised: should each atom in the material is located exactly where it is designed to be and is properly bonded, the property of the material is hence determined. In such "bottom-up" approach, the precise fabrication of 2 nm 100 nm nanostructures, is of great research interest. In this thesis, crystal engineering of giant molecules based on PDI conjugated POSS Nano-Atom (PDI-BPOSS) nano-atoms via self-assembly is performed and studied. Herein, three different giant molecules were synthesized: shape amphiphile, m-phenyl-(PDI-BPOSS)2 (S1) and tetrahedron, R-(PDI-BPOSS)4 (S2) and S-(PDI-BPOSS)4 (S3). Single crystals were grown for S1 and S2, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were performed, and crystal structures of these samples were determined, while hexagonal superlattice without crystal order can be observed for S3 to exhibit crystal-like morphology.

Synergistic toughening of composite fibres by self-alignment of reduced graphene oxide and carbon nanotubes

PubMed Central

Shin, Min Kyoon; Lee, Bommy; Kim, Shi Hyeong; Lee, Jae Ah; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Gambhir, Sanjeev; Wallace, Gordon G.; Kozlov, Mikhail E.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

2012-01-01

The extraordinary properties of graphene and carbon nanotubes motivate the development of methods for their use in producing continuous, strong, tough fibres. Previous work has shown that the toughness of the carbon nanotube-reinforced polymer fibres exceeds that of previously known materials. Here we show that further increased toughness results from combining carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide flakes in solution-spun polymer fibres. The gravimetric toughness approaches 1,000 J g−1, far exceeding spider dragline silk (165 J g−1) and Kevlar (78 J g−1). This toughness enhancement is consistent with the observed formation of an interconnected network of partially aligned reduced graphene oxide flakes and carbon nanotubes during solution spinning, which act to deflect cracks and allow energy-consuming polymer deformation. Toughness is sensitive to the volume ratio of the reduced graphene oxide flakes to the carbon nanotubes in the spinning solution and the degree of graphene oxidation. The hybrid fibres were sewable and weavable, and could be shaped into high-modulus helical springs. PMID:22337128

Active hopper for promoting flow of bulk granular or powdered solids

DOEpatents

Saunders, Timothy; Brady, John D.

2013-04-02

An apparatus that promotes the flow of materials has a body having an inner shape for holding the materials, a wall having a shape that approximates a portion of the inner shape of the body, and a vibrator attached to the wall. The wall may be disposed vertically within the body close to the body's inner shape. The vibrator transfers vibrations to the wall to agitate the material and encourage material flow.

Cu-Al-Ni-SMA-Based High-Damping Composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

López, Gabriel A.; Barrado, Mariano; San Juan, Jose; Nó, María Luisa

2009-08-01

Recently, absorption of vibration energy by mechanical damping has attracted much attention in several fields such as vibration reduction in aircraft and automotive industries, nanoscale vibration isolations in high-precision electronics, building protection in civil engineering, etc. Typically, the most used high-damping materials are based on polymers due to their viscoelastic behavior. However, polymeric materials usually show a low elastic modulus and are not stable at relatively low temperatures (≈323 K). Therefore, alternative materials for damping applications are needed. In particular, shape memory alloys (SMAs), which intrinsically present high-damping capacity thanks to the dissipative hysteretic movement of interfaces under external stresses, are very good candidates for high-damping applications. A completely new approach was applied to produce high-damping composites with relatively high stiffness. Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloy powders were embedded with metallic matrices of pure In, a In-10wt.%Sn alloy and In-Sn eutectic alloy. The production methodology is described. The composite microstructures and damping properties were characterized. A good particle distribution of the Cu-Al-Ni particles in the matrices was observed. The composites exhibit very high damping capacities in relatively wide temperature ranges. The methodology introduced provides versatility to control the temperature of maximum damping by adjusting the shape memory alloy composition.

Principles of gas phase processing of ceramics during combustion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zachariah, Michael R.

1993-01-01

In recent years, ceramic materials have found applications in an increasingly wider range of industrial processes, where their unique mechanical, electrical and optical properties are exploited. Ceramics are especially useful for applications in high temperature, corrosive environments, which impose particularly stringent requirements on mechanical reliability. One approach to provide such materials is the manufacture of submicron (and more recently nanometer scale) particles, which may subsequently be sintered to produce a material with extremely high mechanical integrity. However, high quality ceramic materials can only be obtained if particles of known size, polydispersity, shape and chemical purity can be produced consistently, under well controlled conditions. These requirements are the fundamental driving force for the renewed interest in studying particle formation and growth of such materials.

3D printing of bacteria into functional complex materials.

PubMed

Schaffner, Manuel; Rühs, Patrick A; Coulter, Fergal; Kilcher, Samuel; Studart, André R

2017-12-01

Despite recent advances to control the spatial composition and dynamic functionalities of bacteria embedded in materials, bacterial localization into complex three-dimensional (3D) geometries remains a major challenge. We demonstrate a 3D printing approach to create bacteria-derived functional materials by combining the natural diverse metabolism of bacteria with the shape design freedom of additive manufacturing. To achieve this, we embedded bacteria in a biocompatible and functionalized 3D printing ink and printed two types of "living materials" capable of degrading pollutants and of producing medically relevant bacterial cellulose. With this versatile bacteria-printing platform, complex materials displaying spatially specific compositions, geometry, and properties not accessed by standard technologies can be assembled from bottom up for new biotechnological and biomedical applications.

Multi-stage responsive 4D printed smart structure through varying geometric thickness of shape memory polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teoh, Joanne Ee Mei; Zhao, Yue; An, Jia; Chua, Chee Kai; Liu, Yong

2017-12-01

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) have gained a presence in additive manufacturing due to their role in 4D printing. They can be printed either in multi-materials for multi-stage shape recovery or in a single material for single-stage shape recovery. When printed in multi-materials, material or material-based design is used as a controlling factor for multi-stage shape recovery. However, when printed in a single material, it is difficult to design multi-stage shape recovery due to the lack of a controlling factor. In this research, we explore the use of geometric thickness as a controlling factor to design smart structures possessing multi-stage shape recovery using a single SMP. L-shaped hinges with a thickness ranging from 0.3-2 mm were designed and printed in four different SMPs. The effect of thickness on SMP’s response time was examined via both experiment and finite element analysis using Ansys transient thermal simulation. A method was developed to accurately measure the response time in millisecond resolution. Temperature distribution and heat transfer in specimens during thermal activation were also simulated and discussed. Finally, a spiral square and an artificial flower consisting of a single SMP were designed and printed with appropriate thickness variation for the demonstration of a controlled multi-stage shape recovery. Experimental results indicated that smart structures printed using single material with controlled thickness parameters are able to achieve controlled shape recovery characteristics similar to those printed with multiple materials and uniform geometric thickness. Hence, the geometric parameter can be used to increase the degree of freedom in designing future smart structures possessing complex shape recovery characteristics.

Dipole saturated absorption modeling in gas phase: Dealing with a Gaussian beam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dupré, Patrick

2018-01-01

With the advent of new accurate and sensitive spectrometers, cf. combining optical cavities (for absorption enhancement), the requirement for reliable molecular transition modeling is becoming more pressing. Unfortunately, there is no trivial approach which can provide a definitive formalism allowing us to solve the coupled systems of equations associated with nonlinear absorption. Here, we propose a general approach to deal with any spectral shape of the electromagnetic field interacting with a molecular species under saturation conditions. The development is specifically applied to Gaussian-shaped beams. To make the analytical expressions tractable, approximations are proposed. Finally, two or three numerical integrations are required for describing the Lamb-dip profile. The implemented model allows us to describe the saturated absorption under low pressure conditions where the broadening by the transit-time may dominate the collision rates. The model is applied to two specific overtone transitions of the molecular acetylene. The simulated line shapes are discussed versus the collision and the transit-time rates. The specific collisional and collision-free regimes are illustrated, while the Rabi frequency controls the intermediate regime. We illustrate how to recover the input parameters by fitting the simulated profiles.

Implicit Coupling Approach for Simulation of Charring Carbon Ablators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, Yih-Kanq; Gokcen, Tahir

2013-01-01

This study demonstrates that coupling of a material thermal response code and a flow solver with nonequilibrium gas/surface interaction for simulation of charring carbon ablators can be performed using an implicit approach. The material thermal response code used in this study is the three-dimensional version of Fully Implicit Ablation and Thermal response program, which predicts charring material thermal response and shape change on hypersonic space vehicles. The flow code solves the reacting Navier-Stokes equations using Data Parallel Line Relaxation method. Coupling between the material response and flow codes is performed by solving the surface mass balance in flow solver and the surface energy balance in material response code. Thus, the material surface recession is predicted in flow code, and the surface temperature and pyrolysis gas injection rate are computed in material response code. It is demonstrated that the time-lagged explicit approach is sufficient for simulations at low surface heating conditions, in which the surface ablation rate is not a strong function of the surface temperature. At elevated surface heating conditions, the implicit approach has to be taken, because the carbon ablation rate becomes a stiff function of the surface temperature, and thus the explicit approach appears to be inappropriate resulting in severe numerical oscillations of predicted surface temperature. Implicit coupling for simulation of arc-jet models is performed, and the predictions are compared with measured data. Implicit coupling for trajectory based simulation of Stardust fore-body heat shield is also conducted. The predicted stagnation point total recession is compared with that predicted using the chemical equilibrium surface assumption

Near infrared harvesting dye-sensitized solar cells enabled by rare-earth upconversion materials.

PubMed

Li, Deyang; Ågren, Hans; Chen, Guanying

2018-02-01

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have been deemed as promising alternatives to silicon solar cells for the conversion of clean sunlight energy into electricity. A major limitation to their conversion efficiency is their inability to utilize light in the infrared (IR) spectral range, which constitutes almost half the energy of the sun's radiation. This fact has elicited motivations and endeavors to extend the response wavelength of DSSCs to the IR range. Photon upconversion through rare-earth ions constitutes one of the most promising approaches toward the goal of converting near-IR (NIR) or IR light into visible or ultraviolet light, where DSSCs typically have high sensitivity. In the present review, we summarize recent progress based on the utilization of various upconversion materials and device structures to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells.

The implementation of microstructural and heat treatment models to development of forming technology of critical aluminum-alloy parts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Biba, Nikolay; Alimov, Artem; Shitikov, Andrey; Stebunov, Sergei

2018-05-01

The demand for high performance and energy efficient transportation systems have boosted interest in lightweight design solutions. To achieve maximum weight reductions, it is not enough just to replace steel parts by their aluminium analogues, but it is necessary to change the entire concept of vehicle design. In this case we must develop methods for manufacturing a variety of critical parts with unusual and difficult to produce shapes. The mechanical properties of the material in these parts must also be optimised and tightly controlled to provide the best distribution within the part volume. The only way to achieve these goals is to implement technology development methods based on simulation of the entire manufacturing chain from preparing a billet through the forming operations and heat treatment of the product. The paper presents an approach to such technology development. The simulation of the technological chain starts with extruding a round billet. Depending on the extrusion process parameters, the billet can have different levels of material workout and variation of grain size throughout the volume. After extrusion, the billet gets formed into the required shape in a forging process. The main requirements at this stage are to get the near net shape of the product without defects and to provide proper configuration of grain flow that strengthens the product in the most critical direction. Then the product undergoes solution treatment, quenching and ageing. The simulation of all these stages are performed by QForm FEM code that provides thermo-mechanical coupled deformation of the material during extrusion and forging. To provide microstructure and heat treatment simulation, special subroutines has been developed by the authors. The proposed approach is illustrated by an industrial case study.

Overview of Sensitivity Analysis and Shape Optimization for Complex Aerodynamic Configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Newman, Perry A.; Newman, James C., III; Barnwell, Richard W.; Taylor, Arthur C., III; Hou, Gene J.-W.

1998-01-01

This paper presents a brief overview of some of the more recent advances in steady aerodynamic shape-design sensitivity analysis and optimization, based on advanced computational fluid dynamics. The focus here is on those methods particularly well- suited to the study of geometrically complex configurations and their potentially complex associated flow physics. When nonlinear state equations are considered in the optimization process, difficulties are found in the application of sensitivity analysis. Some techniques for circumventing such difficulties are currently being explored and are included here. Attention is directed to methods that utilize automatic differentiation to obtain aerodynamic sensitivity derivatives for both complex configurations and complex flow physics. Various examples of shape-design sensitivity analysis for unstructured-grid computational fluid dynamics algorithms are demonstrated for different formulations of the sensitivity equations. Finally, the use of advanced, unstructured-grid computational fluid dynamics in multidisciplinary analyses and multidisciplinary sensitivity analyses within future optimization processes is recommended and encouraged.

The Microwave Properties of Simulated Melting Precipitation Particles: Sensitivity to Initial Melting

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, B. T.; Olson, W. S.; Skofronick-Jackson, G.

2016-01-01

A simplified approach is presented for assessing the microwave response to the initial melting of realistically shaped ice particles. This paper is divided into two parts: (1) a description of the Single Particle Melting Model (SPMM), a heuristic melting simulation for ice-phase precipitation particles of any shape or size (SPMM is applied to two simulated aggregate snow particles, simulating melting up to 0.15 melt fraction by mass), and (2) the computation of the single-particle microwave scattering and extinction properties of these hydrometeors, using the discrete dipole approximation (via DDSCAT), at the following selected frequencies: 13.4, 35.6, and 94.0GHz for radar applications and 89, 165.0, and 183.31GHz for radiometer applications. These selected frequencies are consistent with current microwave remote-sensing platforms, such as CloudSat and the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. Comparisons with calculations using variable-density spheres indicate significant deviations in scattering and extinction properties throughout the initial range of melting (liquid volume fractions less than 0.15). Integration of the single-particle properties over an exponential particle size distribution provides additional insight into idealized radar reflectivity and passive microwave brightness temperature sensitivity to variations in size/mass, shape, melt fraction, and particle orientation.

Mathematical Identification of Influential Parameters on the Elastic Buckling of Variable Geometry Plate

PubMed Central

Tepic, Jovan; Kostelac, Milan

2013-01-01

The problem of elastic stability of plates with square, rectangular, and circular holes as well as slotted holes was discussed. The existence of the hole reduces the deformation energy of the plate and it affects the redistribution of stress flow in comparison to a uniform plate which causes a change of the external operation of compressive forces. The distribution of compressive force is defined as the approximate model of plane state of stress. The significant parameters of elastic stability compared to the uniform plate, including the dominant role of the shape, size, and orientation of the hole were identified. Comparative analysis of the shape of the hole was carried out on the data from the literature, which are based on different approaches and methods. Qualitative and quantitative accordance of the results has been found out and it verifies exposed methodology as applicable in the study of the phenomenon of elastic stability. Sensitivity factor is defined that is proportional to the reciprocal value of the buckling coefficient and it is a measure of sensitivity of plate to the existence of the hole. Mechanism of loss of stability is interpreted through the absorption of the external operation, induced by the shape of the hole. PMID:24453821

Integrated three-dimensional shape and reflection properties measurement system.

PubMed

Krzesłowski, Jakub; Sitnik, Robert; Maczkowski, Grzegorz

2011-02-01

Creating accurate three-dimensional (3D) digitalized models of cultural heritage objects requires that information about surface geometry be integrated with measurements of other material properties like color and reflectance. Up until now, these measurements have been performed in laboratories using manually integrated (subjective) data analyses. We describe an out-of-laboratory bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) and 3D shape measurement system that implements shape and BRDF measurement in a single setup with BRDF uncertainty evaluation. The setup aligns spatial data with the angular reflectance distribution, yielding a better estimation of the surface's reflective properties by integrating these two modality measurements into one setup using a single detector. This approach provides a better picture of an object's intrinsic material features, which in turn produces a higher-quality digitalized model reconstruction. Furthermore, this system simplifies the data processing by combining structured light projection and photometric stereo. The results of our method of data analysis describe the diffusive and specular attributes corresponding to every measured geometric point and can be used to render intricate 3D models in an arbitrarily illuminated scene.

Evaluation of fiber’s misorientation effect on compliance and load carry capacity of shaped composite beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Polilov, A. N.; Tatus’, N. A.

2018-04-01

The goal of this paper is analysis of design methods for composite beams and plates with curvilinear fiber trajectories. The novelty of this approach is determined by the fact that traditional composite materials are typically formed using prepregs with rectilinear fibers only. The results application area is associated with design process for shaped composite structure element by using of biomechanical principles. One of the related problems is the evaluation of fiber’s misorientation effect on stiffness and load carry capacity of shaped composite element with curvilinear fiber trajectories. Equistrong beam with constant cross-section area is considered as example, and it can be produced by unidirectional fiber bunch forming, impregnated with polymer matrix. Effective elastic modulus evaluation methods for structures with curvilinear fiber trajectories are validated. Misorientation angle range (up to 5o) when material with required accuracy can be considered as homogeneous, neglecting fiber misorientation, is determined. It is shown that for the beams with height-to-width ratio small enough it is possible to consider 2D misorientation only.

Mechanocaloric effects in shape memory alloys.

PubMed

Mañosa, Lluís; Planes, Antoni

2016-08-13

Shape memory alloys (SMA) are a class of ferroic materials which undergo a structural (martensitic) transition where the associated ferroic property is a lattice distortion (strain). The sensitiveness of the transition to the conjugated external field (stress), together with the latent heat of the transition, gives rise to giant mechanocaloric effects. In non-magnetic SMA, the lattice distortion is mostly described by a pure shear and the martensitic transition in this family of alloys is strongly affected by uniaxial stress, whereas it is basically insensitive to hydrostatic pressure. As a result, non-magnetic alloys exhibit giant elastocaloric effects but negligible barocaloric effects. By contrast, in a number of magnetic SMA, the lattice distortion at the martensitic transition involves a volume change in addition to the shear strain. Those alloys are affected by both uniaxial stress and hydrostatic pressure and they exhibit giant elastocaloric and barocaloric effects. The paper aims at providing a critical survey of available experimental data on elastocaloric and barocaloric effects in magnetic and non-magnetic SMA.This article is part of the themed issue 'Taking the temperature of phase transitions in cool materials'. © 2016 The Author(s).

A shape tailored gold-conductive polymer nanocomposite as a transparent electrode with extraordinary insensitivity to volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

PubMed Central

Khalil, Rania; Homaeigohar, Shahin; Häußler, Dietrich; Elbahri, Mady

2016-01-01

In this study, the transparent conducting polymer of poly (3,4-ethylenendioxythiophene): poly(styrene sulphonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was nanohybridized via inclusion of gold nanofillers including nanospheres (NSs) and nanorods (NRs). Such nanocomposite thin films offer not only more optimum conductivity than the pristine polymer but also excellent resistivity against volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Interestingly, such amazing properties are achieved in the diluted regimes of the nanofillers and depend on the characteristics of the interfacial region of the polymer and nanofillers, i.e. the aspect ratio of the latter component. Accordingly, a shape dependent response is made that is more desirable in case of using the Au nanorods with a much larger aspect ratio than their nanosphere counterparts. This transparent nanocomposite thin film with an optimized conductivity and very low sensitivity to organic gases is undoubtedly a promising candidate material for the touch screen panel production industry. Considering PEDOT as a known material for integrated electrodes in energy saving applications, we believe that our strategy might be an important progress in the field. PMID:27654345

A Two-Dimensional Liquid Structure Explains the Elevated Melting Temperatures of Gallium Nanoclusters.

PubMed

Steenbergen, Krista G; Gaston, Nicola

2016-01-13

Melting in finite-sized materials differs in two ways from the solid-liquid phase transition in bulk systems. First, there is an inherent scaling of the melting temperature below that of the bulk, known as melting point depression. Second, at small sizes changes in melting temperature become nonmonotonic and show a size-dependence that is sensitive to the structure of the particle. Melting temperatures that exceed those of the bulk material have been shown to occur for a very limited range of nanoclusters, including gallium, but have still never been ascribed a convincing physical explanation. Here, we analyze the structure of the liquid phase in gallium clusters based on molecular dynamics simulations that reproduce the greater-than-bulk melting behavior observed in experiments. We observe persistent nonspherical shape distortion indicating a stabilization of the surface, which invalidates the paradigm of melting point depression. This shape distortion suggests that the surface acts as a constraint on the liquid state that lowers its entropy relative to that of the bulk liquid and thus raises the melting temperature.

Effect of Nd:YAG laser beam welding on weld morphology and mechanical properties of Ti-6Al-4V butt joints and T-joints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kashaev, Nikolai; Ventzke, Volker; Fomichev, Vadim; Fomin, Fedor; Riekehr, Stefan

2016-11-01

A Nd:YAG single-sided laser beam welding process study for Ti-6Al-4V butt joints and T-joints was performed to investigate joining techniques with regard to the process-weld morphology relationship. An alloy compatible filler wire was used to avoid underfills and undercuts. The quality of the butt joints and T-joints was characterized in terms of weld morphology, microstructure and mechanical properties. Joints with regular shapes, without visible cracks, pores, and geometrical defects were achieved. Tensile tests revealed high joint integrity in terms of strength and ductility for both the butt joint and T-joint geometries. Both the butt joints and T-joints showed base material levels of strength. The mechanical performance of T-joints was also investigated using pull-out tests. The performance of the T-joints in such tests was sensitive to the shape and morphology of the welds. Fracture always occurred in the weld without any plastic deformation in the base material outside the weld.

New method of measuring low values of dielectric loss in the near millimetre wavelength region using untuned cavities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Llewellyn-Jones, D. T.; Knight, R. J.; Moffat, P. H.; Gebbie, H. A.

1980-11-01

In the near millimeter-wavelength region, low values of dielectric loss in a material can be readily measured by inserting a sample into an untuned cavity resonator. The high-Q values of the cavities give the technique great sensitivity to low values of loss tangent and, in contrast to other techniques, place very few restrictions on the shape, size, and position of the sample. The technique is demonstrated by measurements at 156 GHz on several polymer materials whose low loss factors are of practical interest. It is shown that the loading of an untuned cavity by a solid sample of low loss is proportional to its absorption cross section, which is the product of its volume and its linear absorption coefficient in the trivial case of n = 1. In the usual case of n greater than 1, reflection at the boundaries will affect the measured cross section in a way that has been investigated experimentally for a number of shapes, both simple and complex, and theoretically for the specific cases of slabs and cubes.

Identifying Mother-Child Interaction Styles Using a Person-Centered Approach.

PubMed

Nelson, Jackie A; O'Brien, Marion; Grimm, Kevin J; Leerkes, Esther M

2014-05-01

Parent-child conflict in the context of a supportive relationship has been discussed as a potentially constructive interaction pattern; the current study is the first to test this using a holistic analytic approach. Interaction styles, defined as mother-child conflict in the context of maternal sensitivity, were identified and described with demographic and stress-related characteristics of families. Longitudinal associations were tested between interaction styles and children's later social competence. Participants included 814 partnered mothers with a first-grade child. Latent profile analysis identified agreeable , dynamic , and disconnected interaction styles. Mothers' intimacy with a partner, depressive symptoms, and authoritarian childrearing beliefs, along with children's later conflict with a best friend and externalizing problems, were associated with group membership. Notably, the dynamic style, characterized by high sensitivity and high conflict, included families who experienced psychological and relational stressors. Findings are discussed with regard to how family stressors shape parent-child interaction patterns.

Identifying Mother-Child Interaction Styles Using a Person-Centered Approach

PubMed Central

Nelson, Jackie A.; O’Brien, Marion; Grimm, Kevin J.; Leerkes, Esther M.

2016-01-01

Parent-child conflict in the context of a supportive relationship has been discussed as a potentially constructive interaction pattern; the current study is the first to test this using a holistic analytic approach. Interaction styles, defined as mother-child conflict in the context of maternal sensitivity, were identified and described with demographic and stress-related characteristics of families. Longitudinal associations were tested between interaction styles and children’s later social competence. Participants included 814 partnered mothers with a first-grade child. Latent profile analysis identified agreeable, dynamic, and disconnected interaction styles. Mothers’ intimacy with a partner, depressive symptoms, and authoritarian childrearing beliefs, along with children’s later conflict with a best friend and externalizing problems, were associated with group membership. Notably, the dynamic style, characterized by high sensitivity and high conflict, included families who experienced psychological and relational stressors. Findings are discussed with regard to how family stressors shape parent-child interaction patterns. PMID:28751818

Shape sensitivity analysis of flutter response of a laminated wing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bergen, Fred D.; Kapania, Rakesh K.

1988-01-01

A method is presented for calculating the shape sensitivity of a wing aeroelastic response with respect to changes in geometric shape. Yates' modified strip method is used in conjunction with Giles' equivalent plate analysis to predict the flutter speed, frequency, and reduced frequency of the wing. Three methods are used to calculate the sensitivity of the eigenvalue. The first method is purely a finite difference calculation of the eigenvalue derivative directly from the solution of the flutter problem corresponding to the two different values of the shape parameters. The second method uses an analytic expression for the eigenvalue sensitivities of a general complex matrix, where the derivatives of the aerodynamic, mass, and stiffness matrices are computed using a finite difference approximation. The third method also uses an analytic expression for the eigenvalue sensitivities, but the aerodynamic matrix is computed analytically. All three methods are found to be in good agreement with each other. The sensitivities of the eigenvalues were used to predict the flutter speed, frequency, and reduced frequency. These approximations were found to be in good agreement with those obtained using a complete reanalysis.

Prototype Morphing Fan Nozzle Demonstrated

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lee, Ho-Jun; Song, Gang-Bing

2004-01-01

Ongoing research in NASA Glenn Research Center's Structural Mechanics and Dynamics Branch to develop smart materials technologies for aeropropulsion structural components has resulted in the design of the prototype morphing fan nozzle shown in the photograph. This prototype exploits the potential of smart materials to significantly improve the performance of existing aircraft engines by introducing new inherent capabilities for shape control, vibration damping, noise reduction, health monitoring, and flow manipulation. The novel design employs two different smart materials, a shape-memory alloy and magnetorheological fluids, to reduce the nozzle area by up to 30 percent. The prototype of the variable-area fan nozzle implements an overlapping spring leaf assembly to simplify the initial design and to provide ease of structural control. A single bundle of shape memory alloy wire actuators is used to reduce the nozzle geometry. The nozzle is subsequently held in the reduced-area configuration by using magnetorheological fluid brakes. This prototype uses the inherent advantages of shape memory alloys in providing large induced strains and of magnetorheological fluids in generating large resistive forces. In addition, the spring leaf design also functions as a return spring, once the magnetorheological fluid brakes are released, to help force the shape memory alloy wires to return to their original position. A computerized real-time control system uses the derivative-gain and proportional-gain algorithms to operate the system. This design represents a novel approach to the active control of high-bypass-ratio turbofan engines. Researchers have estimated that such engines will reduce thrust specific fuel consumption by 9 percent over that of fixed-geometry fan nozzles. This research was conducted under a cooperative agreement (NCC3-839) at the University of Akron.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Agostini, M.; Allardt, M.; Andreotti, E.

The GERDA experiment located at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso of INFN searches for neutrinoless double beta (0νββ) decay of 76Ge using germanium diodes as source and detector. In Phase I of the experiment eight semi-coaxial and five BEGe type detectors have been deployed. The latter type is used in this field of research for the first time. All detectors are made from material with enriched 76Ge fraction. The experimental sensitivity can be improved by analyzing the pulse shape of the detector signals with the aim to reject background events. This paper documents the algorithms developed before the datamore » of Phase I were unblinded. The double escape peak (DEP) and Compton edge events of 2.615 MeV γ rays from 208Tl decays as well as two-neutrino double beta (2νββ) decays of 76Ge are used as proxies for 0νββ decay. For BEGe detectors the chosen selection is based on a single pulse shape parameter. It accepts 0.92 ± 0.02 of signal-like events while about 80 % of the background events at Qββ = 2039 keV are rejected. For semi-coaxial detectors three analyses are developed. The one based on an artificial neural network is used for the search of 0νββ decay. It retains 90 % of DEP events and rejects about half of the events around Qββ . The 2νββ events have an efficiency of 0.85±0.02 and the one for 0νββ decays is estimated to be 0.90 +0.05 -0.09 . A second analysis uses a likelihood approach trained on Compton edge events. The third approach uses two pulse shape parameters. The latter two methods confirm the classification of the neural network since about 90 % of the data events rejected by the neural network are also removed by both of them. In general, the selection efficiency extracted from DEP events agrees well with those determined from Compton edge events or from 2νββ decays.« less

Asymptotic behavior of curvature of surface elements in isotropic turbulence

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Girimaji, S. S.

1991-01-01

The asymptotic behavior of the curvature of material elements in turbulence is investigated using Lagrangian velocity-gradient time series obtained from direct numerical simulations of isotropic turbulence. Several material-element ensembles of different initial curvatures and shapes are studied. It is found that, at long times, the (first five) moments of the logarithm of characteristic curvature and shape factor asymptote to values that are independent of the initial curvature or shape. This evidence strongly suggests that the asymptotic pdf's of the curvature and shape of material elements are stationary and independent of initial conditions. Irrespective of initial curvature or shape, the asymptotic shape of a material surface is cylindrical with a high probability.

An Example-Based Multi-Atlas Approach to Automatic Labeling of White Matter Tracts

PubMed Central

Yoo, Sang Wook; Guevara, Pamela; Jeong, Yong; Yoo, Kwangsun; Shin, Joseph S.; Mangin, Jean-Francois; Seong, Joon-Kyung

2015-01-01

We present an example-based multi-atlas approach for classifying white matter (WM) tracts into anatomic bundles. Our approach exploits expert-provided example data to automatically classify the WM tracts of a subject. Multiple atlases are constructed to model the example data from multiple subjects in order to reflect the individual variability of bundle shapes and trajectories over subjects. For each example subject, an atlas is maintained to allow the example data of a subject to be added or deleted flexibly. A voting scheme is proposed to facilitate the multi-atlas exploitation of example data. For conceptual simplicity, we adopt the same metrics in both example data construction and WM tract labeling. Due to the huge number of WM tracts in a subject, it is time-consuming to label each WM tract individually. Thus, the WM tracts are grouped according to their shape similarity, and WM tracts within each group are labeled simultaneously. To further enhance the computational efficiency, we implemented our approach on the graphics processing unit (GPU). Through nested cross-validation we demonstrated that our approach yielded high classification performance. The average sensitivities for bundles in the left and right hemispheres were 89.5% and 91.0%, respectively, and their average false discovery rates were 14.9% and 14.2%, respectively. PMID:26225419

An Example-Based Multi-Atlas Approach to Automatic Labeling of White Matter Tracts.

PubMed

Yoo, Sang Wook; Guevara, Pamela; Jeong, Yong; Yoo, Kwangsun; Shin, Joseph S; Mangin, Jean-Francois; Seong, Joon-Kyung

2015-01-01

We present an example-based multi-atlas approach for classifying white matter (WM) tracts into anatomic bundles. Our approach exploits expert-provided example data to automatically classify the WM tracts of a subject. Multiple atlases are constructed to model the example data from multiple subjects in order to reflect the individual variability of bundle shapes and trajectories over subjects. For each example subject, an atlas is maintained to allow the example data of a subject to be added or deleted flexibly. A voting scheme is proposed to facilitate the multi-atlas exploitation of example data. For conceptual simplicity, we adopt the same metrics in both example data construction and WM tract labeling. Due to the huge number of WM tracts in a subject, it is time-consuming to label each WM tract individually. Thus, the WM tracts are grouped according to their shape similarity, and WM tracts within each group are labeled simultaneously. To further enhance the computational efficiency, we implemented our approach on the graphics processing unit (GPU). Through nested cross-validation we demonstrated that our approach yielded high classification performance. The average sensitivities for bundles in the left and right hemispheres were 89.5% and 91.0%, respectively, and their average false discovery rates were 14.9% and 14.2%, respectively.

Kinetic approach to degradation mechanisms in polymer solar cells and their accurate lifetime predictions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arshad, Muhammad Azeem; Maaroufi, AbdelKrim

2018-07-01

A beginning has been made in the present study regarding the accurate lifetime predictions of polymer solar cells. Certain reservations about the conventionally employed temperature accelerated lifetime measurements test for its unworthiness of predicting reliable lifetimes of polymer solar cells are brought into light. Critical issues concerning the accelerated lifetime testing include, assuming reaction mechanism instead of determining it, and relying solely on the temperature acceleration of a single property of material. An advanced approach comprising a set of theoretical models to estimate the accurate lifetimes of polymer solar cells is therefore suggested in order to suitably alternate the accelerated lifetime testing. This approach takes into account systematic kinetic modeling of various possible polymer degradation mechanisms under natural weathering conditions. The proposed kinetic approach is substantiated by its applications on experimental aging data-sets of polymer solar materials/solar cells including, P3HT polymer film, bulk heterojunction (MDMO-PPV:PCBM) and dye-sensitized solar cells. Based on the suggested approach, an efficacious lifetime determination formula for polymer solar cells is derived and tested on dye-sensitized solar cells. Some important merits of the proposed method are also pointed out and its prospective applications are discussed.

Robust lung identification in MSCT via controlled flooding and shape constraints: dealing with anatomical and pathological specificity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fetita, Catalin; Tarando, Sebastian; Brillet, Pierre-Yves; Grenier, Philippe A.

2016-03-01

Correct segmentation and labeling of lungs in thorax MSCT is a requirement in pulmonary/respiratory disease analysis as a basis for further processing or direct quantitative measures: lung texture classification, respiratory functional simulations, intrapulmonary vascular remodeling evaluation, detection of pleural effusion or subpleural opacities, are only few clinical applications related to this requirement. Whereas lung segmentation appears trivial for normal anatomo-pathological conditions, the presence of disease may complicate this task for fully-automated algorithms. The challenges come either from regional changes of lung texture opacity or from complex anatomic configurations (e.g., thin septum between lungs making difficult proper lung separation). They make difficult or even impossible the use of classic algorithms based on adaptive thresholding, 3-D connected component analysis and shape regularization. The objective of this work is to provide a robust segmentation approach of the pulmonary field, with individualized labeling of the lungs, able to overcome the mentioned limitations. The proposed approach relies on 3-D mathematical morphology and exploits the concept of controlled relief flooding (to identify contrasted lung areas) together with patient-specific shape properties for peripheral dense tissue detection. Tested on a database of 40 MSCT of pathological lungs, the proposed approach showed correct identification of lung areas with high sensitivity and specificity in locating peripheral dense opacities.

Prediction of the niche effect for single flat panels with or without attached sound absorbing materials.

PubMed

Sgard, Franck; Atalla, Noureddine; Nélisse, Hugues

2015-01-01

The sound transmission loss (STL) of a test sample measured in sound transmission facilities is affected by the opening in which it is located. This is called the niche effect. This paper uses a modal approach to study the STL of a rectangular plate with or without an attached porous material located inside a box-shaped niche. The porous material is modeled as a limp equivalent fluid. The proposed model is validated by comparison with finite element/boundary element computations. Using a condensation of the pressure fields in the niche, the niche effect is interpreted in terms of a modification of the modal blocked pressure fields acting on the panel induced by the front cavity and by a modification of the radiation efficiency of the panel modes due to the presence of the back cavity. The modal approach is then used to investigate the impact of (1) the presence of a porous material attached to the panel on the niche effect and (2) the niche effect on the assessment of the porous material insertion loss. A simplified model for the porous material based on a transfer matrix approach is also proposed to predict the STL of the system and its validity is discussed.

Growth patterns for shape-shifting elastic bilayers.

PubMed

van Rees, Wim M; Vouga, Etienne; Mahadevan, L

2017-10-31

Inspired by the differential-growth-driven morphogenesis of leaves, flowers, and other tissues, there is increasing interest in artificial analogs of these shape-shifting thin sheets made of active materials that respond to environmental stimuli such as heat, light, and humidity. But how can we determine the growth patterns to achieve a given shape from another shape? We solve this geometric inverse problem of determining the growth factors and directions (the metric tensors) for a given isotropic elastic bilayer to grow into a target shape by posing and solving an elastic energy minimization problem. A mathematical equivalence between bilayers and curved monolayers simplifies the inverse problem considerably by providing algebraic expressions for the growth metric tensors in terms of those of the final shape. This approach also allows us to prove that we can grow any target surface from any reference surface using orthotropically growing bilayers. We demonstrate this by numerically simulating the growth of a flat sheet into a face, a cylindrical sheet into a flower, and a flat sheet into a complex canyon-like structure.

Growth patterns for shape-shifting elastic bilayers

PubMed Central

van Rees, Wim M.; Vouga, Etienne; Mahadevan, L.

2017-01-01

Inspired by the differential-growth-driven morphogenesis of leaves, flowers, and other tissues, there is increasing interest in artificial analogs of these shape-shifting thin sheets made of active materials that respond to environmental stimuli such as heat, light, and humidity. But how can we determine the growth patterns to achieve a given shape from another shape? We solve this geometric inverse problem of determining the growth factors and directions (the metric tensors) for a given isotropic elastic bilayer to grow into a target shape by posing and solving an elastic energy minimization problem. A mathematical equivalence between bilayers and curved monolayers simplifies the inverse problem considerably by providing algebraic expressions for the growth metric tensors in terms of those of the final shape. This approach also allows us to prove that we can grow any target surface from any reference surface using orthotropically growing bilayers. We demonstrate this by numerically simulating the growth of a flat sheet into a face, a cylindrical sheet into a flower, and a flat sheet into a complex canyon-like structure. PMID:29078336

Crescent shaped Fabry-Perot fiber cavity for ultra-sensitive strain measurement.

PubMed

Liu, Ye; Wang, D N; Chen, W P

2016-12-02

Optical Fabry-Perot interferometer sensors based on inner air-cavity is featured with compact size, good robustness and high strain sensitivity, especially when an ultra-thin air-cavity is adopted. The typical shape of Fabry-Perot inner air-cavity with reflection mode of operation is elliptic, with minor axis along with and major axis perpendicular to the fiber length. The first reflection surface is diverging whereas the second one is converging. To increase the visibility of the output interference pattern, the length of major axis should be large for a given cavity length. However, the largest value of the major axis is limited by the optical fiber diameter. If the major axis length reaches the fiber diameter, the robustness of the Fabry-Perot cavity device would be decreased. Here we demonstrate an ultra-thin crescent shaped Fabry-Perot cavity for strain sensing with ultra-high sensitivity and low temperature cross-sensitivity. The crescent-shape cavity consists of two converging reflection surfaces, which provide the advantages of enhanced strain sensitivity when compared with elliptic or D-shaped FP cavity. The device is fabricated by fusion splicing an etched multimode fiber with a single mode fiber, and hence is simple in structure and economic in cost.

Crescent shaped Fabry-Perot fiber cavity for ultra-sensitive strain measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ye; Wang, D. N.; Chen, W. P.

2016-12-01

Optical Fabry-Perot interferometer sensors based on inner air-cavity is featured with compact size, good robustness and high strain sensitivity, especially when an ultra-thin air-cavity is adopted. The typical shape of Fabry-Perot inner air-cavity with reflection mode of operation is elliptic, with minor axis along with and major axis perpendicular to the fiber length. The first reflection surface is diverging whereas the second one is converging. To increase the visibility of the output interference pattern, the length of major axis should be large for a given cavity length. However, the largest value of the major axis is limited by the optical fiber diameter. If the major axis length reaches the fiber diameter, the robustness of the Fabry-Perot cavity device would be decreased. Here we demonstrate an ultra-thin crescent shaped Fabry-Perot cavity for strain sensing with ultra-high sensitivity and low temperature cross-sensitivity. The crescent-shape cavity consists of two converging reflection surfaces, which provide the advantages of enhanced strain sensitivity when compared with elliptic or D-shaped FP cavity. The device is fabricated by fusion splicing an etched multimode fiber with a single mode fiber, and hence is simple in structure and economic in cost.

Bistable Microvalve For Use With Microcatheter System

DOEpatents

Seward, Kirk Patrick

2003-12-16

A bistable microvalve of shape memory material is operatively connected to a microcatheter. The bistable microvalve includes a tip that can be closed off until it is in the desired position. Once it is in position it can be opened and closed. The system uses heat and pressure to open and close the microvalve. The shape memory material will change stiffness and shape when heated above a transition temperature. The shape memory material is adapted to move from a first shape to a second shape, either open or closed, where it can perform a desired function.

Bistable microvalve and microcatheter system

DOEpatents

Seward, Kirk Patrick

2003-05-20

A bistable microvalve of shape memory material is operatively connected to a microcatheter. The bistable microvalve includes a tip that can be closed off until it is in the desired position. Once it is in position it can opened and closed. The system uses heat and pressure to open and close the microvalve. The shape memory material will change stiffness and shape when heated above a transition temperature. The shape memory material is adapted to move from a first shape to a second shape, either open or closed, where it can perform a desired function.

Improved Sensing Coils for SQUIDs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Penanen, Konstantin; Hahn, Inseob; Eom, Byeong Ho

2007-01-01

An improvement in the design and fabrication of sensing coils of superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometers has been proposed to increase sensitivity. It has been estimated that, in some cases, it would be possible to increase sensitivity by about half or to reduce measurement time correspondingly. The pertinent aspects of the problems of design and fabrication can be summarized as follows: In general, to increase the sensitivity of a SQUID magnetometer, it is necessary to maximize the magnetic flux enclosed by the sensing coil while minimizing the self-inductance of this coil. It is often beneficial to fabricate the coil from a thicker wire to reduce its self-inductance. Moreover, to optimize the design of the coil with respect to sensitivity, it may be necessary to shape the wire to other than a commonly available circular or square cross-section. On the other hand, it is not practical to use thicker superconducting wire for the entire superconducting circuit, especially if the design of a specific device requires a persistent-current loop enclosing a remotely placed SQUID sensor. It may be possible to bond a thicker sensing-coil wire to thinner superconducting wires leading to a SQUID sensor, but it could be difficult to ensure reliable superconducting connections, especially if the bonded wires are made of different materials. The main idea is to mold the sensing coil in place, to more nearly optimum cross sectional shape, instead of making the coil by winding standard pre-fabricated wire. For this purpose, a thin superconducting wire loop that is an essential part of the SQUID magnetometer would be encapsulated in a form that would serve as a mold. A low-melting-temperature superconducting metal (e.g., indium, tin, or a lead/tin alloy) would be melted into the form, which would be sized and shaped to impart the required cross section to the coil thus formed.

Material cutting, shaping, and forming: A compilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1974-01-01

Information is presented concerning cutting, shaping, and forming of materials, and the equipment and techniques required for utilizing these materials. The use of molds, electrical fields, and mechanical devices are related to forming materials. Material cutting methods by devices including borers and slicers are presented along with chemical techniques. Shaping and fabrication techniques are described for tubing, honeycomb panels, and ceramic structures. The characteristics of the materials are described. Patent information is included.

Pulse-Shaping-Based Nonlinear Microscopy: Development and Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flynn, Daniel Christopher

The combination of optical microscopy and ultrafast spectroscopy make the spatial characterization of chemical kinetics on the femtosecond time scale possible. Commercially available octave-spanning Ti:Sapphire oscillators with sub-8 fs pulse durations can drive a multitude of nonlinear transitions across a significant portion of the visible spectrum with minimal average power. Unfortunately, dispersion from microscope objectives broadens pulse durations, decreases temporal resolution and lowers the peak intensities required for driving nonlinear transitions. In this dissertation, pulse shaping is used to compress laser pulses after the microscope objective. By using a binary genetic algorithm, pulse-shapes are designed to enable selective two-photon excitation. The pulse-shapes are demonstrated in two-photon fluorescence of live COS-7 cells expressing GFP-variants mAmetrine and tdTomato. The pulse-shaping approach is applied to a new multiphoton fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) stoichiometry method that quantifies donor and acceptor molecules in complex, as well as the ratio of total donor to acceptor molecules. Compared to conventional multi-photon imaging techniques that require laser tuning or multiple laser systems to selectively excite individual fluorophores, the pulse-shaping approach offers rapid selective multifluorphore imaging at biologically relevant time scales. By splitting the laser beam into two beams and building a second pulse shaper, a pulse-shaping-based pump-probe microscope is developed. The technique offers multiple imaging modalities, such as excited state absorption (ESA), ground state bleach (GSB), and stimulated emission (SE), enhancing contrast of structures via their unique quantum pathways without the addition of contrast agents. Pulse-shaping based pump-probe microscopy is demonstrated for endogenous chemical-contrast imaging of red blood cells. In the second section of this dissertation, ultrafast spectroscopic techniques are used to characterize structure-function relationships of two-photon absorbing GFP-type probes and optical limiting materials. Fluorescence lifetimes of GFP-type probes are shown to depend on functional group substitution position, therefore, enabling the synthesis of designer probes for the possible study of conformation changes and aggregation in biological systems. Similarly, it is determined that small differences in the structure and dimensionality of organometallic macrocycles result in a diverse set of optical properties, which serves as a basis for the molecular level design of nonlinear optical materials.

Implementing an Accurate and Rapid Sparse Sampling Approach for Low-Dose Atomic Resolution STEM Imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kovarik, Libor; Stevens, Andrew J.; Liyu, Andrey V.

Aberration correction for scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEM) has dramatically increased spatial image resolution for beam-stable materials, but it is the sample stability rather than the microscope that often limits the practical resolution of STEM images. To extract physical information from images of beam sensitive materials it is becoming clear that there is a critical dose/dose-rate below which the images can be interpreted as representative of the pristine material, while above it the observation is dominated by beam effects. Here we describe an experimental approach for sparse sampling in the STEM and in-painting image reconstruction in order to reduce themore » electron dose/dose-rate to the sample during imaging. By characterizing the induction limited rise-time and hysteresis in scan coils, we show that sparse line-hopping approach to scan randomization can be implemented that optimizes both the speed of the scan and the amount of the sample that needs to be illuminated by the beam. The dose and acquisition time for the sparse sampling is shown to be effectively decreased by factor of 5x relative to conventional acquisition, permitting imaging of beam sensitive materials to be obtained without changing the microscope operating parameters. As a result, the use of sparse line-hopping scan to acquire STEM images is demonstrated with atomic resolution aberration corrected Z-contrast images of CaCO 3, a material that is traditionally difficult to image by TEM/STEM because of dose issues.« less

Implementing an Accurate and Rapid Sparse Sampling Approach for Low-Dose Atomic Resolution STEM Imaging

DOE PAGES

Kovarik, Libor; Stevens, Andrew J.; Liyu, Andrey V.; ...

2016-10-17

Aberration correction for scanning transmission electron microscopes (STEM) has dramatically increased spatial image resolution for beam-stable materials, but it is the sample stability rather than the microscope that often limits the practical resolution of STEM images. To extract physical information from images of beam sensitive materials it is becoming clear that there is a critical dose/dose-rate below which the images can be interpreted as representative of the pristine material, while above it the observation is dominated by beam effects. Here we describe an experimental approach for sparse sampling in the STEM and in-painting image reconstruction in order to reduce themore » electron dose/dose-rate to the sample during imaging. By characterizing the induction limited rise-time and hysteresis in scan coils, we show that sparse line-hopping approach to scan randomization can be implemented that optimizes both the speed of the scan and the amount of the sample that needs to be illuminated by the beam. The dose and acquisition time for the sparse sampling is shown to be effectively decreased by factor of 5x relative to conventional acquisition, permitting imaging of beam sensitive materials to be obtained without changing the microscope operating parameters. The use of sparse line-hopping scan to acquire STEM images is demonstrated with atomic resolution aberration corrected Z-contrast images of CaCO3, a material that is traditionally difficult to image by TEM/STEM because of dose issues.« less

Performance characterization of material identification systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Christopher D.; Green, Robert L.

2006-10-01

In recent years a number of analytical devices have been proposed and marketed specifically to enable field-based material identification. Technologies reliant on mass, near- and mid-infrared, and Raman spectroscopies are available today, and other platforms are imminent. These systems tend to perform material recognition based on an on-board library of material signatures. While figures of merit for traditional quantitative analytical sensors are broadly established (e.g., SNR, selectivity, sensitivity, limit of detection/decision), measures of performance for material identification systems have not been systematically discussed. In this paper we present an approach to performance characterization similar in spirit to ROC curves, but including elements of precision-recall curves and specialized for the intended-use of material identification systems. Important experimental considerations are discussed, including study design, sources of bias, uncertainty estimation, and cross-validation and the approach as a whole is illustrated using a commercially available handheld Raman material identification system.