Effect of Pressure on Boundary Slip of Thin Film Lubrication Using Atomistic Simulation

Mechanical systems on all length scales may be subjected to nanoscale thin film lubrication(TFL). Molecular dynamics(MD) simulations were conducted to investigate the lubrication mechanism and boundary slip of squalane confined in nanogap at 293 K with two different film thicknesses and a wide range of pressures. The molecular distribution, density and velocity profiles of squalane were analyzed. The results show that the lubricant atoms tend to form layers parallel to the wall, but the lubricant molecules orient randomly throughout the film in the directions both parallel and perpendicular to the wall. Most squalane molecules appear twisted and folded, and extend to several atomic layers so that there are no slips between lubricant layers. The distances between the lubricant layers are irregular rather than broadening far away from the walls. The boundary slip at the interface of bcc Fe(001) and squalane only occurs at high pressure because of the strong nonbond interactions between lubricant atoms and wall atoms. The tendency of boundary slip is more obvious for films with thinner film thickness. According to the simulations, the relationship between the slip length and the pressure is given.     

Structural,anisotropic and thermodynamic properties of Imm2-BCN

Structural, anisotropic, and thermodynamic properties of Imm2-BCN were studied based on density function theory with the ultrasoft psedopotential scheme in the frame of the generalized gradient approximation(GGA). The elastic constants were confirmed that the predicted Imm2-BCN is mechanically stable. The anisotropy of elastic properties were also studied systematically. The anisotropy studies of Young's modulus, shear modulus, linear compressibility, and Poisson's ratio show that the Imm2-BCN exhibits a large anisotropy. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the relations between the equilibrium volume V, thermal expansion α, the heat capacity C_V and CP, the Grüneisen parameter γ, and the Debye temperature Θ_D with pressure P and temperature T were also studied systematically.     

Morphology study of oriented SmBCO film deposited by MOCVD

c-axis-oriented SmBa_2Cu_3O_7(SmBCO) films have been deposited on(100)- LaA1O_3(LAO)substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition(MOCVD) technique.The effects of deposition temperature(T_(dep)) and total pressure(P_(tot)) on the orientation and microstructure of SmBCO films were investigated.The orientation of SmBCO films transformed from α-axis to c-axis with increasing of T_(dep) from 900 to 1 100℃.At T_(dep)=1 050℃,SmBCO films had c-axis orientation and tetragon surface.At P_(tot)~(dep)=400-800 Pa and T_(dep)=1 050 ℃,totally c-axis-oriented SmBCO films were obtained.The R_(dep) of SmBCO films increased firstly and then decreased with increasing P_(tot).The surface of SmBCO films exhibited tetragon morphology at 1 050 ℃ and400 Pa.Maximum thickness of SmBCO film deposited was 1.2μm at P_(tot)= 600 Pa,and the corresponding R_(dep)was 7.2 μm·h~(-1).     

Experimental research on the heating performance of a single cylinder refrigerant injection rotary compressor heat pump with flash tank

A single cylinder rotary compressor was applied in the refrigerant injection air-source heat pump to improve the heating performance in cold regions. In this study, the performance of an R410 A single cylinder rotary compressor vapor injection(SCRCVI) system was measured and analyzed by varying the compressor frequency f and injection pressure Pi njat the ambient temperature To d=–10°C.The experimental results indicated that an optimum injection pressure to gain the maximum COP_h (coefficient of performance) existed in the SCRCVI cycle. However, the maximum COP_h of the SCRCVI system decreased as the increase of the frequency, and the maximum COPhwas even lower than that of the CSVC system at high compressor frequency. Therefore, in view of the energy saving and emission reduction, the SCRCVI system should be switched to single stage compression system when the heating capacity demand could be satisfied at high compressor frequency f. Compared to the conventional single-stage vapor compression(CSVC) system, refrigerant injection could enhance the heating capacities and COP_h by 28.2% and 7.91%, respectively. The average total mass flow rate of the SCRCVI system was 24.68% higher than that of the CSVC system. As the SCRCVI system worked at the optimum injection pressure, the variation trends of the different system parameters were investigated in detail. These trends were reliably used to optimize the refrigerant injection system design and the control strategy. The parameter of(P_(inj)–P_s) could be adopted as the signals to control the opening of the upper stage electronic expansion valve EEV1.     

Reaction mechanism and microstructure evolution of reaction sintered <Emphasis Type="Italic">h</Emphasis>-BN

Hexagonal boron nitride ceramic (h-BN) based on the nitridation of B powders was obtained by reaction sintering method. The effects of sintering temperature on the mechanical properties and microstructure of the resultant products were investigated and the reaction mechanism was discussed. Results showed that the reaction between B and N₂ occurred vigorously at temperatures ranging from 1 000 °C to 1 300 °C, which resulted in the generation of t-BN. When the temperature exceeded 1 450 °C, transformation from t-BN to h-BN began to occur. As the sintering temperature increased, the spherical particles of t-BN gradually transformed into fine sheet particles of h-BN. These particles subsequently displayed a compact arrangement to achieve a more uniform microstructure, thereby increasing the strength.     

YIG thin film for RF integrated inductor

The yttrium iron garnet(YIG) thin films prepared by the sol-gel method and rapid thermal annealing(RTA) process for integrated inductor are investigated. The X-ray diffraction(XRD) results indicate that the YIG film annealed above 650 ℃ is poly-crystalline with single-phase garnet structure. Moreover, it can be found that the initial permeability μi, saturation magnetization M_S and coercivity H_c of these YIG films increase with increasing RTA temperature. Low temperature annealing after crystallization can further improve the magnetic properties of YIG film. Thereby, a planar integrated inductor in the presence of Si substrate/SiO_2 layer/Y_(2.8)Bi_(0.2)Fe_5O_(12) thin film/Cu spiral coil structure is fabricated successfully by the standard IC processes. Due to the magnetic enhancement originated from YIG film, the inductance L and quality factor Q of the inductor with YIG film are improved in a certain frequency range.     

Elimination of Voids at Interface of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-SiC Films and Si Substrate by Laser CVD

Void-free β-SiC films were deposited on Si(001) substrates by laser chemical vapor deposition using hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) as the precursor. The effect of the time of introducing HMDS, i e, the substrate temperature when HMDS introduced (T_in), on the preferred orientation, surface microstructure and void was investigated. The orientation of the deposited SiC films changed from <001> to random to <111> with increasing T_in. The surface showed a layer-by-layer microstructure with voids above T_in ? 773 K, and then transformed into mosaic structure without voids at T_in= 298 K. The mechanism of the elimination of voids was discussed. At T_in =298 K, Si surface can be covered by an ultrathin SiC film, which inhibits the out-diffusion of Si atoms from substrate and prohibites the formation of the voids.     

Formation of Epitaxial Heavy-doped Silicon Films by PECVD Method

Plasma-enhanced CVD(PECVD) epitaxy at 200℃ was used to deposit heavy doped n-type silicon films. Post-annealing by rapid thermal processing was applied to improve the properties of the epitaxial layer. By analyzing the Raman spectra and the imaginary part of the dielectric constant spectra of the samples, it was found that high-quality heavy-doped epitaxial n-type silicon layer can be obtained by optimizing the parameters of the PECVD depositing process. Reducing the electrodes distance of the PECVD had a great effect on the crystallzation of the epitaxialed n-type silicon films. Sillicon films with high-crystallization were obtained with the electrodes distance of 18 mm. Post-annealing process can improve the crystallization and reduce the resistance of the epitaxial films. In our research, it was found that the sheet resistance(R_□) of the post-annealed films with thickness of about 50 nm has a simple relationship with RPH3/SiH_4(ratio of the flow rate of PH_3 and SiH_4) of the PECVD processing: R_□=-184-125 lg(R_(PH3/SiH4)). In the end, high-quality epitaxial n-type silicon film was obtained with R_□ of 15 Ω/□ and thickness of ~50 nm.     

Enhanced Ferroelectric Polarization in Laser-ablated Bi<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>12</Subscript> Thin Films by Controlling Preferred Orientation

Polycrystalline Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ thin films with various fractions of a-axis, c-axis and random orientations have been grown on Pt(111)/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by laser-ablation under different kinetic growth conditions. The relationship between the structure and ferroelectric property of the films was investigated, so as to explore the possibility of enhancing ferroelectric polarization by controlling the preferred orientation. The structural characterization indicated that the large growth rate and high oxygen background pressure were both favorable for the growth of non-c-axis oriented grains in the Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ thin films. The films with high fractions of a-axis and random orientations, i e, f (a-sxis) = 28.3% and f (random) = 69.6%, could be obtained at the deposition temperature of 973 K, oxygen partial pressure of 15 Pa and laser fluence of 4.6 J/cm², respectively. It was also noted that the variation of ferroelectric polarization was in accordance with the evolution non-c-axis orientation. A large value of remanent polarization (2Pr = 35.5 μC/cm²) was obtained for the Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ thin films with significant non-c-axis orientation, even higher than that of rare-earth-doped Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ films.     

Density function theory study of electronic,optical and thermodynamic properties of CaN<Subscript>2</Subscript>, SrN<Subscript>2</Subscript> and BaN<Subscript>2</Subscript>

We put forward a first-principles density-functional theory about the impact of pressure on the structural and elastic properties of bulk CaN₂, SrN₂ and BaN₂. The ground state properties of three alkaline earth diazenides were obtained, and these were in good agreement with previous experimental and theoretical data. By using the quasi-harmonic Debye model, the thermodynamic properties including the debye temperature Θ _D, thermal expansion coefficient α, and grüneisen parameter γ are successfully obtained in the temperature range from 0 to 100 K and pressure range from 0 to 100 GPa, respectively. The optical properties including dielectric function ε(?), absorption coefficient α(?), reflectivity coefficient R(?), and refractive index n(?) are also calculated and analyzed.     

Influence of deposition pressure on properties of ZnO: Al films fabricated by RF magnetron sputtering

Transparent conductive aluminum doped zinc oxide(ZnO:Al,AZO) films were prepared on glass substrates by rf(radio frequency) magnetron sputtering from ZnO: 3wt% Al_2O_3 ceramic target. The effect of argon gas pressure(PAr) was investigated with small variations to understand the influence on the electrical, optical and structural properties of the films. Structural examinations using X-ray diffraction(XRD) and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) showed that the ZnO:Al thin films were(002) oriented. The resistivity values were measured by four-point probe with the lowest resistivity of 5.76×10~(-4) Ω?cm(sheet resistance=9.6 Ω/sq. for a thickness=600 nm) obtained at the PAr of 0.3 Pa. The transmittance was achieved from ultravioletvisible(UV-VIS) spectrophotometer, 84% higher than that in the visible region for all AZO thin films. The properties of deposited thin films showed a significant dependence on the PAr.     

Microstructure and growth kinetics of silicide coatings for TiAl alloy

In order to improve the oxidation resistance of Ti Al alloy, silicide coatings were prepared by pack cementation method at 1273, 1323, and 1373 K for 1-3 hours. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), energy dispersive spectrometry(EDS) and X-ray diffraction(XRD) were employed to investigate the microstructures and phase constitutions of the coatings. The experimental results show that all silicon deposition coatings have multi-layer structure. The microstructure and composition of silicide coatings strongly depend on siliconizing temperatures. In order to investigate the rate controlling step of pack siliconizing on Ti Al alloy, coating growth kinetics was analyzed by measuring the mass gains per unit area of silicided samples as a function of time and temperature. The results showed that the rate controlling step was gas-phase diffusion step and the growth rate constant(k) ranged from 1.53 mg~2/(cm~4·h~2) to 2.3 mg~2/(cm~4·h~2). Activation energy(Q) for the process was calculated as 109 k J/mol, determined by Arrhenius' equation: k = k0 exp[–Q/(RT)].     

Effect of oxygen partial pressure on epitaxial growth and properties of laser-ablated AZO thin films

Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films were grown on c-sapphire substrates by laser ablation under different oxygen partial pressures (P _O2). The effect of PO2 on the crystal structure, preferred orientation as well as the electrical and optical properties of the films was investigated. The structure characterizations indicated that the as-grown films were single-phased with a wurtzite ZnO structure, showing a significant c-axis orientation. The films were well crystallized and exhibited better crystallinity and denser texture when deposited at higher P _O2. At the optimum oxygen partial pressures of 10 - 15 Pa, the AZO thin films were epitaxially grown on c-sapphire substrates with the (0001) plane parallel to the substrate surface, i e, the epitaxial relationship was AZO (000 1) // Al₂O₃ (000 1). With increasing P _O2, the value of Hall carrier mobility was increased remarkably while that of carrier concentration was decreased slightly, which led to an enhancement in electrical conductivity of the AZO thin films. All the films were highly transparent with an optical transmittance higher than 85 %.     

Stress-dilatancy of Zipingpu gravel in triaxial compression tests

Experimental investigations of the dilatancy and particle breakage of gravelly material from the Zipingpu concrete-faced rockfill dam, which was subjected to high-intensity seismic load during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, were conducted through a series of large-scale drained triaxial compression tests. A hyperbolic relation between the input plastic work and the degree of particle breakage was found for Zipingpu gravel, independent of the initial void ratio and confining pressures. The stress-dilatancy for Zipingpu gravel was analyzed and compared with data from two rounded alluvial and three angular quarried gravelly and rockfill materials in the literature. A nearly linear relationship between the dilatancy D~p and the stress ratio η was found at medium-to-large stress ratios before the peak stress ratio. The slope of the stress-dilatancy line before peak had slight dependence on the void ratio and confining pressure of the gravel. After peak, the stress-dilatancy relation shifts down compared with that before peak for the gravel specimen. The phase-transformation stress ratio decreased with increased confining pressure, with the exception of sub-rounded gravel with little particle breakage. A nearly linear relationship was found between the phase-transformation stress ratio M_f and the state parameter y for the Zipingpu gravel, regardless of the void ratio and confining pressure of the specimens.     

Preparation and Properties of Sapphire by Edge-defined Film-fed Growth (EFG) Method with Different Growth Directions

Sapphire, belonging to hexagonal crystal system, is typically anisotropic which makes it direction-sensitive. To research the effects of growth directions on properties of sapphire, c-[0001] seed(c-sapphire) and a-[11-20] seed(a-sapphire) were used to prepare sapphire by edge-defined film-fed growth(EFG) method. The samples were analyzed through lattice integrity, dislocation and corrosion performance by double-crystal XRD, OM, AFM, SEM and EDX. It was shown that the lattice integrities of two growth-direction crystals were both well due to the small FWHM values. While the average densities of dislocation in c-sapphire and a-sapphire were 9.2×103 and 3.9×103 cm-2 respectively, the energy of dislocation in c-sapphire was lower than that in a-sapphire. During Strong Phosphoric Acid(SPA) etching, the surface of c-sapphire basically kept smooth but in a-sapphire there were many point-like corrosion pits where aluminum and oxygen atoms lost by 2:1. Our work means that it will be promising for growing c-[0001] seed sapphire by EFG if aided by parameter optimization.     

Pressure-controlled elliptical cavity expansion under anisotropic initial stress: Elastic solution and its application

This paper presents an elastic solution to the pressure-controlled elliptical cavity expansion problem under the anisotropic stress conditions. The problem is formulated by the assumption that an initial elliptical cavity is expanded under a uniform pressure and subjected to an in-plane initial horizontal pressure Kσ_0 and vertical pressure σ_0 at infinity. A conformal mapping technique is used to map the outer region of the initial elliptical cavity in the physical plane onto the inner region of a unit circle in the phase plane. Using the complex variable theory, the stress functions are derived; hence, the stress and displacement distributions around the elliptical cavity wall can be obtained. Furthermore, a closed-form solution to the pressure-expansion relationship is presented based on the elastic solution to the stress and displacement. Next, the proposed analytical solutions are validated by comparing with the Kirsch's solution and the finite element method(FEM). The solution to the presented pressure-controlled elliptical cavity expansion can be applied to two cases in practice. One is to employ the solution to the interpretation of the shear modulus of the soil or rocks and the in-situ stress in the pre-bored pressuremeter test under the lateral anisotropic initial stress condition. The other is the interpretation of the membrane expansion of a flat dilatometer test using the pressure-controlled elliptical cavity expansion solution. The two cases in practice confirm the usefulness of the present analytical solution.     

Thermodynamic assessment of solar-aided carbon dioxide conversion into fuels via Tin oxides

The conversion of CO_2 to liquid hydrocarbon fuels using solar energy is gaining attraction as a means to deal with climate change and energy depletion,and assessment for related thermochemical cycles has attracted great interests in recent years.Here,we perform the thermodynamical analysis on solar-aided CO_2 conversion reactions based on Tin oxides.The equilibrium compositions,production purity and CO_2 conversion are obtained.Also,the variations of conversion efficiency with respect to temperature,normal beam solar insolation,mean flux concentration ratio,initial CO_2 to SnO ratio and heat recuperation percentage are revealed.Our results indicate the initial CO_2 to SnO ratio,χ_(ini),has an evident impact on conversion efficiency andχ_(ini)=0.5,T=700 K andχ_(ini)=1,T=950 K,are favourable for solid C and gaseous CO production,respectively.The calculated maximum cycle efficiency with direct work production is 0.340 at T=950 K andχ_(ini)=1,demonstrating the high conversion efficiency of the proposed system.     

First-Principles Study of the High-Temperature Behaviors of the Willemite-Ⅱ and Post-Phenacite Phases of Silicon Nitride

The structural and elastic properties of the recently-discovered wⅡ- and δ-Si_3N_4 are investigated through the plane-wave pseudo-potential method within ultrasoft pseudopotentials.The elastic constants show that wⅡ- and δ-Si_3N_4 are mechanically stable in the pressure ranges of 0-50 GPa and 40-50 GPa,respectively.The α→wⅡ phase transition can be observed at 18.6 GPa and 300 K.The β→δ phase transformation occurs at pressures of 29.6,32.1,35.9,39.6,41.8,and 44.1 GPa when the temperatures are100,200,300,400,500,and 600 K,respectively.The results show that the interactions among the N-2s,Si-3s,3p bands(lower valence band) and the Si-3p,N-2p bands(upper valence band) play an important role in the stabilities of the wⅡ and S phases.Moreover,several thermodynamic parameters(thermal expansion,free energy,bulk modulus and heat capacity) of δ-Si_3N_4 are also obtained.Some interesting features are found in these properties.δ-Si_3N_4 is predicted to be a negative thermal expansion material.The adiabatic bulk modulus decreases with applied pressure,but a majority of materials show the opposite trend.Further experimental investigations with higher precisions may be required to determine the fundamental properties of wⅡ- andδ-Si_3N_4.     

Microstructure and Mechanical Property of Magnetron Sputtering Deposited DLC Film

A diamond-like carbon (DLC) film was deposited on YT14 substrate using magnetron sputtering (MS). The surface morphologies, roughness and bonding spectra of obtained film were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively, and its mechanical property and bonding strength were measured using a nanoindentation and scratch tester, respectively. The results show that the C-enriched DLC film exhibits a denser microstructure and smoother surface with lower surface roughness of 21.8 nm. The ratio of C sp2 at 284.4 eV that corresponds to the diamond (111) and the C sp3 at 285.3 eV that corresponds to the diamond (220) plane for the as-received film is 0.36: 0.64, showing that the C sp3 has the high content. The hardness and Young’s modulus of DLC film by nanoindentation are 8.534 41 and 142.158 1 GPa, respectively, and the corresponding bonding strength is 74.55N by scratch test.     

Composition dependence of phase structure and electrical properties of (1−y)Bi1−xNdxFeO3−yBiScO3 ceramics

In this work, we have studied a new lead-free ceramic of(1-y)Bi_(1-x)Nd_xFeO_(3-y)BiScO_3(0.05≤x≤0.15 and 0.05≤y≤0.15) prepared by a conventional solid-state method, and the influences of Nd and Sc content on their phase structure and electrical properties were investigated in detail. The ceramics with 0.05≤x≤0.10 and 0.05≤y≤0.15 belong to an R3 c phase, and the rhombohedral-like and orthorhombic multiphase coexistence is established in the composition range of 0.125≤x≤0.15 and y=0. The electrical properties of the ceramics can be enhanced by modifying x and y values. The highest piezoelectric coefficient(d33~51 p C/N) is obtained in the ceramics with x=0.075 and y=0.125, which is superior to that of a pure BiFeO_3 ceramic. In addition, a lowest dielectric loss(tan δ~0.095%, f=100 k Hz) is shown in the ceramics with x=0.15 and y=0 due to the involvement of low defect concentrations, and the improved thermal stability of piezoelectricity at 20–600oC is possessed in the ceramics. We believe that the ceramics can play a meaningful role in the high-temperature lead-free piezoelectric applications.