Microsecond Lifetime of Exciton Spin Polarization in (In,Al)As/AlAs Quantum Dots

The time of spin relaxation of excitons in (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots with an indirect bandgap and type-I band alignment is determined by measuring the dynamics of photoluminescence circular polarization induced by a magnetic field B. The spin relaxation time τ _S increases with decreasing magnetic field in proportion to B ^?5; its value is ～40 µs in a magnetic field of 6 T at a temperature of 1.8 K. As the temperature T increases in a magnetic field of 7 T, the value of τ _S decreases as T ^?1.1. The character of the dependences of τ _S on the magnetic field and temperature evidences that spin relaxation of excitons is provided by a process with participation of one acoustic phonon.     

Characteristics of Al alloy surface after EDC with sintered Ti electrode and TiN powder additive

Electrical discharge coating (EDC) performs not only machining but also surface modification of workpiece by changing the polarity of the electrode and dielectric medium. As a candidate of metal bipolar plate in proton exchange membrane fuel cell application, machined Al alloy needs surface coating to overcome its poor corrosion resistance. The goal of this study was to investigate the coating characteristics of 6061-T6 aluminum (Al) alloy machined using titanium (Ti)-sintered electrodes in wet and dry EDC. The results show that in wet EDC using cathodic T-8 sintered electrode, both material removal rate (MRR) and tool wear rate (TWR) were kept reasonably low. Discharge current (I _p) and pulse duration (T _on) are the main determinants of the morphology of the EDCed Al alloy surface. The appropriate parameters for wet EDC are found to be 1 A?<?I _p?<?8 A and 9 μs?<?T _on?<?100 μs at DF?=?27 %. Adding TiN powder to kerosene not only improved the EDCed surface quality but also decreased the coefficient of friction. The formation of a TiC layer on the machined surface prolonged the onset of friction transition, which would in turn enhance the wear resistance of the machined surface. However, no TiN layer was formed during wet EDC. On the other hand, in dry EDC using anodic T-6 and T-8 sintered electrodes, both MRR and TWR were below zero. A pure TiN layer of 20-μm thickness was deposited on the EDCed surface and featured good spallation resistance. The appropriate dry EDC parameters for forming a pure TiN layer on a workpiece surface are found to be 1 A?<?I _p?<?30 A and 6 μs?<?T _on?<?72 μs at DF?=?16 %. From the experimental results of this study, the application of EDC to surface modification during fabrication of the fluid pattern on an Al metal bipolar plate can be expected.     

A study of die helical thread cavity surface finish made by Cu-W electrodes with planetary EDM

An experimental research study intended for the application of a planetary electrical discharge machining (EDM) process with copper-tungsten (Cu-W) electrodes in the surface micro-finishing of die helical thread cavities made with AISI H13 tool steel full-hardened at 53 HRC is presented. To establish the EDM parameters’ effect on various surface finishing aspects and metallurgical transformations, three tool electrode Cu-W compositions are selected, and operating parameters such as the open-circuit voltage (U ₀), the discharge voltage (u _e), the peak discharge current (î _e), the pulse-on duration (t _i), the duty factor (τ) and the dielectric flushing pressure (p _in), are correlated. The researched machining characteristics are the material removal rate (MRR—V _w), the relative tool wear ratio (TWR—?), the workpiece surface roughness (SR—Ra), the average white layer thickness (WLT—e _wl) and the heat-affected zone (HAZ—Z _ha). An empirical relation between the surface roughness (SR—Ra) and the energy per discharge (W _e) has been determined. It is analysed that copper-tungsten electrodes with negative polarity are appropriate for planetary EDM die steel surface micro-finishing, allowing the attaining of good geometry accuracy and sharp details. For die steel precision EDM, the relative wear ratio optimum condition and minor surface roughness takes place at a gap voltage of 280 V, discharge current of 0.5–1.0 A, pulse-on duration of 0.8 μs, duty factor of 50%, dielectric flushing pressure of 40 kPa and copper tungsten (Cu20W80) as the tool electrode material with negative polarity. The copper-tungsten electrode’s low material removal rate and low tool-wear ratio allows the machining of EDM cavity surfaces with an accurate geometry and a “mirror-like” surface micro-finishing. A planetary EDM application to manufacture helical thread cavities in steel dies for polymer injection is presented. Conclusions are appointed for the planetary EDM of helical thread cavities with Cu-W electrodes validating the accomplishment as a novel technique for manufacturing processes.     

A dual response surface-desirability approach to process modeling and optimization of Al2O3 powder-mixed electrical discharge machining (PMEDM) parameters

This paper presents an effort to model and optimize the process parameters involved in powder-mixed electrical discharge machining (PMEDM). Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) fine abrasive powders with particle concentration and size of 2.5–2.8 g/L and 45–50 μm, respectively, were added into the kerosene dielectric liquid of a die-sinking electrical discharge machine. The experiments were carried out in planing mode on a specially designed experimental set up developed in laboratory. The CK45 heat-treated die steel and commercial copper was used as work piece and tool electrode materials, respectively. Response surface methodology, employing a face-centered central composite design scheme, has been used to plan and analyze the experiments. Based on the preliminary and screening tests as well as the working characteristics of selected EDM machine, discharge current (I), pulse-on time (T _on), and source voltage (V) were designated as the independent input variables to assess the process performance in terms of material removal rate (MRR) and surface roughness (Ra). Suitable mathematical models for the response outputs were obtained using the analysis of variance technique, in which significant terms (main effects, two factor interactions, and pure quadratic terms) were chosen according to their p values less than 0.05 (95 % of confidence interval). Having established the suitable regression equations, a search optimization procedure, based on the use of desirability functions, optimizes the process performance in each machining regime of finishing (Ra?≤?3 μm), semifinishing (3 μm?≤?Ra?≤?4.5 μm), and roughing (Ra?≥?4.5 μm). The results are sets of optimum points which make the MRR as high as possible and keep the Ra and all machining parameters in their specified ranges simultaneously. Finally, the modeling and obtained optimization results were also discussed and verified experimentally. It was shown that the error between experimental and anticipated values at the optimal combination settings of input variables are all less than 11 %, confirming the feasibility and effectiveness of the adopted approach.     

Parametric optimization of CNC turning process for hybrid metal matrix composite

Machining of hybrid metal matrix composite is difficult as the particulates are abrasive in nature and they behave like a cutting edge during machining resulting in quick tool wear and induces vibration. An attempt was made in this experimental study to evaluate the machining characteristics of hybrid metal matrix composite, and a mathematical model was developed to predict the responses, namely surface finish, intensity of vibration and work-tool interface temperature for known cutting condition while machining was performed in computer numerical control lathe. Design of experiments approach was used to conduct the trials; response surface methodology was employed to formulate a mathematical model. The experimental study inferred that the vibration in V _x, V _y, and V _z were 41.59, 45.17, and 26.45 m/s², respectively, and surface finish R _a, R _q, and R _z were 1.76, 3.01, and 11.94 μm, respectively, with work-tool interface temperature ‘T’ of 51.74 °C for optimal machining parameters, say, cutting speed at 175 m/min, depth of cut at 0.25 mm and feed rate at 0.1 mm/rev during machining. Experimental results were in close conformity with response surface method overlay plot for responses.     

Experimental analysis of applicability of a picosecond laser for micro-polishing of micromilled Inconel 718 superalloy

An increasing number of recent technological advancement is linked to the widespread adoptions of ultra-short picosecond (ps) pulsed laser in various applications of material processing. The superior capability of this laser is associated with the precise control of laser–material interaction as an outcome of extremely short interaction times resulting in almost-negligible heat affected zones. In this context, the present study explores the applicability of a picosecond laser in laser micro-polishing (LμP) of Ni-based superalloy Inconel 718 (IN718). The specific research goals of the present study constitute determination of melting regime—a mandatory phase for LμP, establishing the concept of polishability of the spatial contents of the initial surface topography and experimental demonstration of the process capability of a ps laser for potential micro-polishing applications. The initial surface topography was prepared by micromilling operation with a step-over of 50 μm and scallop height of 2 μm. The LμP experiments were performed at five different levels of fluence associated with the melting regime by changing the focal offset, a parameter denoting the working distance between workpiece surface and focusing lens focal plane. The LμP performance was evaluated based on the line profiling average surface roughness (R _a) spectrum distributed at different spatial wavelength intervals along the laser path trajectory. Furthermore, additional statistical metrics such as material ratio and power spectral density functions were analyzed in order to establish the process parameters associated with best achievable surface finish. The applicability of ps LμP was demonstrated in two regimes—1D (line) and 2D (area) polishing. During 1D LμP, significant (～52 %) improvement of the surface quality was achieved by reducing an R _a value from 0.50 μm before polishing to an R _a value of 0.24 μm across the laser path trajectory on initially ground surface. In addition, an initially micromilled area of 4.5?×?4.5 mm was LμPed resulting in the reduction of an areal topography surface roughness (S _a) value from 0.435 to 0.127 μm (70.8 % surface quality improvement).     

Optimization and Simulation of Plastic Injection Process using Genetic Algorithm and Moldflow

The use of plastic-based products is continuously increasing. The increasing demands for thinner products, lower production costs, yet higher product quality has triggered an increase in the number of research projects on plastic molding processes. An important branch of such research is focused on mold cooling system. Conventional cooling systems are most widely used because they are easy to make by using conventional machining processes.However, the non-uniform cooling processes are considered as one of their weaknesses. Apart from the conventional systems, there are also conformal cooling systems that are designed for faster and more uniform plastic mold cooling. In this study, the conformal cooling system is applied for the production of bowl-shaped product made of PP AZ564. Optimization is conducted to initiate machine setup parameters, namely, the melting temperature, injection pressure, holding pressure and holding time. The genetic algorithm method and Moldflow were used to optimize the injection process parameters at a minimum cycle time. It is found that, an optimum injection molding processes could be obtained by setting the parameters to the following values: T_M= 180 °C; P_(inj)= 20 MPa;P_(hold)= 16 MPa and t_(hold)= 8 s, with a cycle time of 14.11 s. Experiments using the conformal cooling system yielded an average cycle time of 14.19 s. The studied conformal cooling system yielded a volumetric shrinkage of 5.61% and the wall shear stress was found at 0.17 MPa.The difference between the cycle time obtained through simulations and experiments using the conformal cooling system was insignificant(below 1%). Thus, combining process parameters optimization and simulations by using genetic algorithm method with Moldflow can be considered as valid.     

Investigation of machining parameters for the multiple-response optimization of micro electrodischarge milling

This paper investigated the influence of three micro electrodischarge milling process parameters, which were feed rate, capacitance, and voltage. The response variables were average surface roughness (R _a ), maximum peak-to-valley roughness height (R _y ), tool wear ratio (TWR), and material removal rate (MRR). Statistical models of these output responses were developed using three-level full factorial design of experiment. The developed models were used for multiple-response optimization by desirability function approach to obtain minimum R _a , R _y , TWR, and maximum MRR. Maximum desirability was found to be 88%. The optimized values of R _a , R _y , TWR, and MRR were 0.04, 0.34 μm, 0.044, and 0.08 mg min^?1, respectively for 4.79 μm s^?1 feed rate, 0.1 nF capacitance, and 80 V voltage. Optimized machining parameters were used in verification experiments, where the responses were found very close to the predicted values.     

A comparative study of residual stress and affected layer in Aermet100 steel grinding with alumina and cBN wheels

Residual stresses induced by finish machining processes have significant effect on fatigue strength of ultra-high strength steel in large structures. In this study, an experimental investigation was carried out to explore the residual stress and affected layer in grinding Aermet100 by using a resin bond white alumina (WA) wheel and cubic boron nitride (cBN) wheel, respectively. The grinding force and temperature were measured, and then the affected layer of residual stress, microhardness, and microstructure by a WA and a cBN wheel was obtained. The comparisons of surface residual stress studies and thermal–mechanical coupling mechanism on the affected layer were discussed in light of the current understanding of this subject. Experimental results show that grinding with cBN wheel can provide compressive residual stress and a smaller affected layer owing to its better thermal conductivity; the coupling effect of wheel speed and grinding depth plays a more significant role on surface residual stress; when grinding with parameters v _w?=?18 m/min, v _s?=?14 m/s, and a _p?=?0.01 mm, compressive residual stress and hardening effect appeared on ground surface, and the depth of residual stress layer is 40~50 μm; the depth of hardened layer is 30~40 μm and the depth of plastic deformation layer is 5~10 μm.     

Lubricity of Surface Hydrogel Layers

Many biological interfaces provide low friction aqueous lubrication through the generation and maintenance of a high water content polymeric surface gel. The lubricity of such gels is often attributed to their high water content, high water permeability, low elastic modulus, and their ability to promote a water film at the sliding interface. Such biological systems are frequently characterized as “soft,” where the elastic moduli are on the order of megapascals or even kilopascals. In an effort to explore the efficacy of such systems to provide lubricity, a thin and soft hydrogel surface layer (~5 μm in thickness) with a water content of over >80 % was constructed on a silicone hydrogel contact lens, which has a water content of approximately 33 %. Nanoindentation measurements with colloidal probes on atomic force microscopy (AFM) cantilevers revealed an exceedingly soft elastic modulus of ~25 kPa. Microtribological experiments at low contact pressures (6–30 kPa) and at slow sliding speeds (5–200 μm/s) gave average friction coefficients below μ = 0.02. However, at higher contact pressures, the gel collapsed and friction loops showed a pronounced stick–slip behavior with breakloose or static friction coefficient above μ = 0.5. Thus, the ability of the soft surface hydrogel layers to provide lubricity is dependent on their ability to support the applied pressure without dehydrating. These transitions were found to be reversible and experiments with different radii probes revealed that the transition pressures to be on the order of 10–20 kPa.     

Research on surface integrity of grinding Inconel718

Inconel718 is widely used in the aerospace industry; the finished surface quality has significant effect on service performance of component. The surface integrity in grinding Inconel718 respectively by using a vitrified bond single alumina (SA) wheel and a resin cubic boron nitride (CBN) wheel were investigated. First, effects of different grinding parameters on grinding temperature and grinding force and grinding chips feature by using a SA and a CBN wheel respectively were investigated. Then, the surface roughness and topography by using a SA and a CBN wheel through single factor experiment were compared, and in the grinding parameters range of the present study, the better surface can be obtained by a SA wheel. Finally, surface integrity by using a SA wheel and the different grinding depth was studied and analyzed by the grinding temperature and the grinding force. It was possible to conclude that better surface can be achieved by using a SA, and taking a _p?=?0.005 mm, v _w?=?16 m/min, v _s?=?25 m/s for grinding Inconel718. In this grinding case, the surface roughness was Ra0.112 μm, the surface residual stress was +700Mpa, and the surface hardness was 440 HV; the depth of residual stress layer was 40～60 μm, the depth of softened layer was 30～40 μm and the depth of plastic deformation layer was 10～15 μm.     

DETERMINATION AND SEPARATION MECHANISM OF ACRYLAMIDE BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY

High-performance liquid chromatography using the negative peak method was developed for the determination and separation of acrylamide in food with methanol-water containing a background reagent of 0.01 mmol L^?1 5-sulfosalicylic acid (15/85, v/v) as the mobile phase with an ultraviolet-visible detector (λ_sig = 320 nm, λ_ref = 210 nm). The method was simple, the correlation coefficients exceeded 0.9990, and the limit of detection for acrylamide was 0.07 μg kg^?1. The concentrations of acrylamide in food were between 81 and 910 μg kg^?1. The recoveries were greater than 81.0% and the relative standard deviation was between 0.24 and 3.6%. The results showed that this method was suitable for the determination of acrylamide in food.     

Surface finish of bulk metallic glass using sequential abrasive jet polishing and annealing processes

Surface finish plays an important role in product quality due to its direct effects on product appearance. Hence, improvement of the surface finish is an essential requirement in industrial products. In an attempt to improve the surface finish of bulk metallic glass (BMG) material, several common methods have been used, such as milling, grinding, and lapping. However, the BMG surface finish has not yet been significantly improved by using these methods. Therefore, this paper proposes sequential abrasive jet polishing (AJP) and annealing processes that can considerably improve the BMG surface finish. In addition, this paper also takes into account optimal parameters for the AJP and annealing processes based on the Taguchi’s L ₁₈ and L ₈ orthogonal array experimental results, respectively. The experimental results show that using optimal AJP parameters, the surface roughness (R _a) of the ground specimens can be significantly improved from 0.675 to 0.016 μm. After the AJP process, the surface roughness (R _a) of the polished specimens can be further improved from 5.7 to 2 nm within an area of 5?×?5 μm by using optimal annealing parameters.     

Thermal analysis of an Eyring fluid in elastohydrodynamic traction

Recent research into elastohydrodynamic (EHD) traction has shown that under high pressure and isothermal conditions the flow properties of typical lubricants follow the Eyring relation between shear stress τ and shear rate /.γ: $\text{η/.γ = τ}{}_0\text{sinh(}\text{τ}\text{τ}{}_0\text{)}$ where η is the Newtonian viscosity and τ₀ a representative stress. The maximum in the traction curve arises from shear heating, and Crook's thermal analysis for a Newtonian lubricant has been modified to apply to an Eyring lubricant.In an EHD contact the pressure and hence the viscosity η vary from inlet to outlet, but it is shown that under the conditions of maximum traction it is sufficiently accurate to use the average values of η and τ₀ associated with the average values of pressure and temperature through the length of the contact. A simple formula can then be derived for the maximum traction coefficient in terms of the properties of the fluid (viscosity, pressure and temperature indices, and the representative stress τ₀ and the operating conditions (contact pressure, speed and film thickness).     

Feasibility of nondestructive determination of the fatigue limit of steel 20H2M

The regularity of variations of the stray magnetic field of steel 20H2M specimens characterized by residual magnetization is studied in the ranges of elastic and plastic deformation. A correlation of the field value, i.e., variations of the magnetic parameters (H _τ, H _0τ, and H _n), with the fatigue limit was found to exist. This finding offers scope for the determination of the fatigue limit with the use of a prompt procedure for the nondestructive testing of magnetoelastic parameters.     

Observations of Stick-Slip Friction in Velcro®

Friction, and in particular stick-slip friction, occurs on every length scale, from the movement of atomic force microscope tips at the nanoscale to the movement of tectonic plates of the Earth’s crust. Even with this ubiquity, there still appears to be outstanding fundamental questions, especially on the way that frictional motion varies generally with the mechanical parameters of a system. In this study, the frictional dynamics of the hook-and-loop system of Velcro^® in shear is explored by varying the typical parameters of driving velocity, applied load, and apparent contact area. It is demonstrated that in Velcro^® both the maximum static frictional force and the average kinetic frictional force vary linearly with apparent contact area (hook number), and moreover, in the kinetic regime, stick-slip dynamics are evident. Surprisingly, the average kinetic friction force is independent of velocity over nearly two-and-a-half orders of magnitude (~2 × 10^?4 to ~6 × 10^?2 m/s). The frictional force varies as a power law on the applied load with an exponent of 0.28 and 0.24 for the maximum static and kinetic frictional forces, respectively. Furthermore, the evolution of stick-slip friction to more smooth sliding, as controlled by contact area, is demonstrated by both a decrease in the spread of the kinetic friction and the spread of the fluctuations of the average kinetic friction when normalized to the average kinetic friction; these decreases follow power-law behaviors with respect to the increasing contact area with exponents of approximately ?0.3 and ?0.8, respectively. Lastly, we note that the coefficients of friction μ _s and μ _k are not constant with applied load but rather decrease monotonically with power-law behavior with an exponent of nearly ?0.8. Phenomenologically, this system exhibits interesting physics whereby in some instances it follows classical Amontons–Coulomb (AC) behavior and in others lies in stark contrast and hopefully will assist in the understanding of the friction behavior in dry surfaces.     

Big data analysis of a mini three-axis CNC machine tool based on the tuning operation of controller parameters

The characteristic responses of a mini three-axis computer numerical control (CNC) machine tool based on the controller tuning operation were investigated for big data estimation. The major tuning parameters included the position control gains K _p, the position feed-forward control gains K _f, the speed control gains K _v, and the gain ratios K _g of the position and speed control values in manufacturing industries. K _p gains of 10, 30, 50, 80, 100, 200, 300, and 400 rad/s, K _f gains of 0, 30, 50, 60, 80, and 100 %, K _v gains of 30, 50, 70, 100, 300, 900, 2000, and 3000 rad/s, and K _g ratios of (1:1), (3:1), (5:1), and (7:1) were analyzed for smart productivity. The results show that the settling times at different K _p values were almost constant when the K _p gain was over 200 rad/s. The maximum overshoots, when the feed-forward gain is over 60 %, almost increased with increasing feed-forward gains. However, the overshoot of the three-axis CNC machine tool decreased as the K _v gain increased until the K _v gain reached 70 rad/s. The settling times at a constant K _g ratio decreased with an increase in the K _p and K _v gains. The characteristic responses of the tuning operations were enabled with connectivity to a cloud network to share the big data, to support decision making, and to adjust operations in real time.     

INHIBITIVE KINETIC SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF PROTEIN

A novel inhibitive kinetic spectrophotometric method for the determination of protein is proposed based on the principle that serum albumin (SA) has an inhibitive effect on the oxidation discoloring of p-acetylchlorophosphonazo (CPApA) by potassium periodate in the medium of 4.0 × 10^?4 mol/L H₂SO₄ at 100°C. The maximum absorption peak of SA – CPApA – KIO₄ system is located at 550 nm. The absorbance difference (ΔA) is linearly related with the concentration of SA over the range of 0.80–7.50 µg/mL at the wavelength and fitted the equation: ΔA = 0.064C (C: µg/mL) – 0.0173, with a correlation coefficient γ = 0.9973. The detection limit of the method was 0.30 μg/mL. The method was successfully used to determine protein content in milk and milk powder samples and the determined results were in good agreement with those of tribromoarsenazo spectrophotometry. The relative standard deviation for 13 replicate determinations of the method was 3.64–3.76%. The standard addition recovery of the method was 99.50–101.6%.     

SAR Remote Sensing of Buried Faults: Implications for Groundwater Exploration in the Western Desert of Egypt

The hydrological setting of a desert plain area located in Egypt, west of Aswan city, is still not well understood, and thus, its groundwater potential remains largely unknown. Images from the ALOS/PALSAR L-band sensor have been used to detect and delineate the subsurface structures in this area. Linear, elliptical and circular polarization transformations were applied to the ALOS/PALSAR full polarimetric data by changing the orientation angle (??°) and elliptical angle (??°). The circular polarization (?? = 0° and ?? = 45°) proved to be the best transformation for revealing buried faults in various strike directions, which have not been reported in the last version of the official geologic map of this area. Such derived circular polarization images were further enhanced by applying the Optimal Polarization Contrast Enhancement method. The moisture content (? _S ) of the study sites was generally low, with an average of roughly 0.01%. The average Root Mean Square Height (h_RMS) of the surface roughness was also low with 0.01 cm across all sites. The relative dielectric constant (?? _r ) of the sand in the study area produced a very low value of 3.04. The effects of ? _S , ?? _r and h_RMS on the radar backscattered signals turned out to be very low, thus providing, optimal conditions for L-band to penetrate relatively deeply. Moreover, 21 GPR profiles were acquired using 270 MHz shielded antennas to validate the radar remote sensing results. These GPR profiles reveal obvious offsets in the subsurface stratigraphy suggesting that such highly fractured zones are possibly favorable zones for groundwater accumulation.     

Research on accuracy analysis and performance verification test of micro-precise five-axis machine tool

In order to meet the increasing requirements of manufacturing complex micro-structures, a configuration method of small five-axis machine tool is proposed. The preliminary design of the machine tool includes the total layout, the counterweight part, tool align and monitor device, and so on. By analysis of finite element method, the paper focuses on the influence of position changing of counterweight force on the static displacement of the tool nose. The affect of X-axis unit load in the limit position on the deformation of X-axis unit is also studied. The result provides reasonable parameters for the device optimization. In order to meet requirement of the device’s total error, geometric accuracy of the gantry and position accuracy of the axis are analyzed theoretically, and targets of machining accuracy of the gantry and assembly accuracy of the axis are given. According to the theoretical analysis, a micro-precise five-axis machine tool is developed. Spherical surface and complex micro-structure optical compound eye is manufactured by the device. After processing, the deviation of morphology of the spherical surface, with width of 400 μm and depth of 20 μm, is about 0.133 μm, which is measured by surface profiler. Diameter of each ommatidium in the compound eye is 1.31 mm with the surface roughness R _a less than 0.12 μm. Results show that the performance of the device is good and the theoretical analysis is correct.