Effects of holding time and Zener-Hollomon parameters on deformation behavior of cast Mg-8Gd-3Y alloy during double-pass hot compression

Double-pass hot compression tests were carried out over a wide range of holding time (0–180?s) and Zener-Hollomon parameter (1.6E15–1.3E20) to study the deformation behavior of cast Mg-8Gd-3Y alloy. The flow curves show obvious work hardening and strain softening stages, leading to the peak stress of double-pass hot compression. Holding time and Zener-Hollomon parameter can significantly affect the second pass peak stress. It is found that increasing the holding time can cause a higher peak stress in the second pass deformation. The second pass stress reaches the peak stress of 71?MPa at Zener-Hollomom parameter of 1.6E15. When the parameter rises to 1.3E20, the second pass peak goes up to 237?MPa. In addition, the second pass peak stress is significantly higher than the unloading stress, which is opposite to the flow behavior of aluminum alloys. Residual stored deformation energy caused by the first pass deformation could be consumed by metadynamic recrystallization. Therefore, more strain energy is required for subsequent dynamic recrystallization, resulting in hardening behavior. A hardening fraction is defined to describe the deformation behavior quantitatively, which shows a positive correlation with the metadynamic recrystallization fraction. The metadynamic recrystallization leads to grain growth at the inter pass holding stage, diminishing dynamic recrystallization nucleation positions in the second pass deformation.     

Interferometric measurement of the refractive-index gradient distribution in gradient-index optical blanks

Anew interferometric method for measuring the refractive-index distribution in a plane-parallel section cut from a gradient-index lens blank is described. A standard double-pass interferometric scheme modified to provide a single pass of the beam through the investigated gradient-index sample is used. The two-dimensional variation of the refractive index in dimensions transverse to the sample surface is measured with an accuracy of better than 1 × 10(-4).     

Single- and double-pass FSW lap joining of AA5456 sheets with different thicknesses

Friction stir welding of AA5456 aluminium alloy with different thicknesses was investigated for single- and double-pass lap joint configurations. The influences of tool tilt angle in first and second passes, and rotational and welding speeds in second pass on metallurgical structure and joint strength were studied. The results indicated that tilt angle significantly influences material flow and imperfection formation, and accordingly controls the weld mechanical properties. The best results were achieved by tilt angle of 5° for single pass, and tilt angle, rotational speed and traverse speed of 5°, 250?rev?min^??1 an 50?mm?min^??1 respectively for double-pass. The characteristics of hooking and cold lap defects were used as criteria to recognise the influence of processing conditions on joint performance.     

Polarization and retinal image quality estimates in the human eye

We have previously studied how polarization affects the double-pass estimates of the retinal image quality by using an imaging polarimeter [Opt. Lett. 24, 64 (1999)]. A series of 16 images for independent combinations of polarization states in the polarimeter were recorded to obtain the spatially resolved Mueller matrices of the eye. From these matrices, double-pass images of a point source for light with different combinations of incoming (first-pass) and outcoming (second-pass) polarization states were reconstructed and their corresponding modulation transfer functions were calculated. We found that the retinal image or, alternatively, the ocular aberrations, are nearly independent of the state of polarization of the incident light (in the first pass). This means that a significant improvement in the ocular optics by using a specific type of polarized light could not be achieved. However, quite different estimates of the retinal image quality are obtained for combinations of polarization states in both the first and the second passes in the double-pass apparatus.     

Fatigue life assessment of improved joints welded with alternative welding techniques

In this study, the fatigue life improvement by adopting the toe weaving technique on non-load carrying cruciform welded joints has been investigated. Fatigue testing was conducted on two batches of specimens welded using double-pass manual welding. One batch had a straight second pass and the other was weaved. The influence of different weaving shape parameters was analyzed by performing crack growth analyses. The fatigue testing shows a slightly improved fatigue life for the two different batches compared to as-welded joints; the improvement is similar for both batches. The crack growth analysis concludes that the batch with the straight second pass should provide slightly higher fatigue life compared to the toe weaved batch. Measurements show a presence of undercuts in the vicinity of the crack initiation site. Nonetheless, an increased fatigue life is obtained, due to the low flank angle created during welding of the second pass, which reduces the stress concentration in the weld toe, prolonging the fatigue life.     

Measuring the nanomechanical properties of cancer cells by digital pulsed force mode imaging

In this paper, we demonstrate that the digital pulsed force mode data can distinguish two cancer cell lines (HeLa, Panc) by their mechanical properties. The live cells were imaged in buffer solution. The digital pulsed force mode measured 175 force-distance curves per second which, due to the speed of the measurement, were distorted by the viscous drag in the buffer. We show that this drag force causes a sinusoidal addition to the force-distance curves. By subtracting the viscous drag effect one obtains standard force-distance curves. The force-distance curves are then evaluated to extract key data on the curves, such as adhesion energies, local stiffness or the width of the hysteresis loop. These data are then correlated to classify the force-distance curves. We show examples based on the width of the hysteresis loop and the adhesion energies. Outliers in this classification scheme are points where, potentially, interesting new physics or different physics might happen. Based on classification schemes adapted to experimental settings, we propose that the digital pulsed force mode is a tool to evaluate the time evolution of the mechanical response of cells.     

High-rate tunable ultrasonic force regulated nanomachining lithography with an atomic force microscope

This paper describes a high-rate tunable nanomachining-based nanolithography technique using an atomic force microscope (AFM). Controlled vibration between the cantilever tip and the sample is introduced to increase the lithographical speed and controllability of the nanomachining process. In this approach, an ultrasonic z?vibration of the sample and the resulting ultrasonic force from the nonlinear force-distance interaction between the sample and the cantilever tip are utilized to regulate fabrication depth. A high frequency in-plane circular vibration is introduced between the tip and the sample to control the width of the fabricated features, and to improve the speed of nanolithography. Features (e.g.?slots) with dimensions spanning from tens of nanometers to hundreds of nanometers are fabricated in one scan. A lithography speed of tens of microns per second can be achieved, which is significantly higher than other known mechanical-modification-based nanolithography methods. The patterns, that are machined on a thin PMMA film, are transferred to silicon substrate through a reactive ion etching process, which provides a cost-effective tunable approach for the fabrication of nanostructures.     

Degree of polarization as an objective method of estimating scattering

A new method of determining objectively the amount of scattered light in an optical system has been developed. It is based on measuring the degree of polarization of the light in images formed after a double pass through the system. A dual apparatus composed of a modified double-pass imaging polarimeter and a wave-front sensor was used to measure polarization properties and aberrations of the system under test. We studied the accuracy of the procedure in a system that included a lanthanum-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) ceramic plate able to generate variable amounts of scattered light as a function of the applied voltage. Changes in the voltage applied to the ceramics plate modified significantly the scattering contribution while hardly altering the wave-front aberration. The degree of polarization was well correlated with the level of scattering in the system as determined by direct-intensity measurements at the tails of the double-pass images. This indicates that this polarimetric parameter provides accurate relative estimates of the amount of scattering generated in a system. The technique can be used in a number of applications, for example, to determine objectively the amount of scattered light in the human eye.     

Study on the interaction between a dislocation and impurities in KCl : Sr2+ single crystals by the Blaha effect Part II Interaction between a dislocation and aggregates for various force-distance relations between a dislocation and an impurity

A strain-rate cycling test during the Blaha effect measurement was carried out at 83–239 K for the purpose of studying the force-distance relation between a dislocation and the aggregate for KCl : Sr²⁺ (0.05 mol% in the melt) single crystals. On the basis of the dependence of strain-rate sensitivity due to the aggregates on temperature, it was found that the interaction between a dislocation and the aggregate in the specimen can not be approximated to the Fleischer's model taking account of the Friedel relation within the temperature. The square force-distance relation between a dislocation and an impurity seemed to be the most suitable model among the three: a square force-distance relation, a parabolic one and a triangular one, taking account of the Friedel relation for the specimen. In addition, the values of enthalpy and Gibbs free energy of activation for overcoming of the aggregate by a dislocation were obtained for the three force-distance relations.     

双程泵浦分立式拉曼放大特性的研究

采用后向泵浦的方案,对新型双程放大分立式光纤拉曼放大器(D-DFRA)的增益特性进行了理论计算,并在双程泵浦放大条件下对增益和噪声特性及受激布里渊散射(SBS)效应进行了实验测量,计算与测量结果较好符合.本文的研究表明:对分立式拉曼放大器通过反射机制实现泵浦光的双程泵浦,可在泵浦功率不变和保持较好噪声特性的同时,大大提升放大器的增益和功率转换效率.增益的提升上限取决于系统受激布里渊散射的阈值,在双程泵浦下增益的上限可得到提高.     

一种用于线膨胀系数测量的高稳定性激光干涉系统

介绍了一种可以对材料长度变化进行测量的高稳定性双光程激光干涉系统,由于该干涉系统的测量光路和参考光路具有相似的传播路径,光程差仅由被测试样的长度引起,干涉系统具有较强的抵抗环境温度变化和振动等外界干扰的能力。通过平晶反射膜测量试验,对干涉系统的稳定性进行了验证,结果表明在6. 5 h内测量数据的标准偏差为4. 2 nm。该激光干涉系统可用于材料尺寸变化(如线膨胀系数)的高准确度测量。     

Optimization of a chirped-pulse amplification Nd:glass laser

To allow us to achieve the highest focused intensity from a chirped-pulse amplification Nd:glass laser, a number of features of the system have been considered and optimized. These include the compressor geometry, the system aberrations, and the use of mixed glasses in the amplifier chain. Calculations for the laser with a single- or double-pass pulse compressor with 450-mm gratings are presented. These indicate that, for single pass, a reduction in pulse duration from 380 to 237 fs is possible when a phosphate is changed to a mixed phosphate-silicate glass system, and there is a corresponding increase of 44% in peak intensity at beam focus.     

Groping for a suitable force-distance relation between a dislocation and the impurity for KCl: Li+ and KCl: Na+ by the Blaha effect

A strain-rate cycling test during the Blaha effect measurement was carried out at 80–300 K for KCl:Li+ (0.5 mol % in the melt) and KCl: Na+ (0.5 mol % in the melt). We attempted to select the most suitable force-distance relation between a dislocation and the monovalent cation impurity among the three models, which are a square force-distance relation, a parabolic one, and a triangular one taking account of the Friedel relation the groping for the most suitable force-distance relation was conducted by following three relationships: the relation between effective stress and temperature, the dependence of strain-rate sensitivity due to the impurities on temperature, and the proportionality of H(T). The H(T) is the activation enthalpy for the interaction between a dislocation and an impurity as a function of temperature. As a result, the square force-distance relation seemed to be the most suitable of the three for KCl:Na+. However, it was difficult to select the most suitable relation of the three for KCl:Li+. Furthermore, on the three force-distance relations, critical temperature, Tc, and H(Tc) were obtained for both the specimens.     

Systematic design of an anastigmatic lens axicon

We present an analytical method for systematic optical design of a double-pass axicon that shows almost no astigmatism in oblique illumination compared to a conventional linear axicon. The anastigmatic axicon is a singlet lens with nearly concentric spherical surfaces applied in double pass, making it possible to form a long narrow focal line of uniform width. The front and the back surfaces have reflective coatings in the central and annular zones, respectively, to provide the double pass. Our design method finds the radii of curvatures and axial thickness of the lens for a given angle between the exiting rays and the optical axis. It also finds the optimal position of the reflecting zones for minimal vignetting. This method is based on ray tracing of the real rays at the marginal heights of the aperture and therefore is superior to any paraxial method. We illustrate the efficiency of the method by designing a test axicon with optical parameters used for a prototype axicon, which was manufactured and experimentally tested. We compare the optical characteristics of our test axicon with those of the experimental prototype.     

Flat broadband wavelength conversion based on cascaded second-harmonic generation and difference frequency generation in segmented quasi-phase matched gratings

Bandwidth enhancement and response flattening of wavelength conversion based on single-pass and double-pass cascaded second harmonic generation and difference frequency generation were investigated in segmented quasi-phase matched (QPM) gratings. It is shown that the signal and pump bandwidths are both efficiently widened by increasing the segment number of the QPM grating and optimising the poling period of each segment. The ripple on the matching response is also very small. The conversion bandwidth in a 3-cm-long three-segment waveguide reaches 150–160?nm, which is over the whole conventional band and long-wavelength band. Larger signal bandwidth can be obtained with a little response flatness penalty and conversion efficiency penalty, which can be compensated by increasing the input pump power. Compared with a sinusoidally chirped optical superlattice device, a wavelength converter based on the segmented gratings has higher conversion efficiency, broader bandwidth and better pump-wavelength tolerance, and is easier to fabricate in practice.     

Testing the effect of computer-generated hologram fabrication error in a cylindrical interferometry system

This paper presents a method of testing the effect of computer-generated hologram (CGH) fabrication error in a cylindrical interferometry system. An experimental system is developed for calibrating the effect of this error. In the calibrating system, a mirror with high surface accuracy is placed at the focal axis of the cylindrical wave. After transmitting through the CGH, the reflected cylindrical wave can be transformed into a plane wave again, and then the plane wave interferes with the reference plane wave. Finally, the double-pass transmitted wavefront of the CGH, representing the effect of the CGH fabrication error in the experimental system, is obtained by analyzing the interferogram. The mathematical model of misalignment aberration removal in the calibration system is described, and the feasibility is demonstrated via the simulation system established in Zemax. With the mathematical polynomial, most of the possible misalignment errors can be estimated with the least-squares fitting algorithm, and then the double-pass transmitted wavefront of the CGH can be obtained by subtracting the misalignment errors from the result extracted from the real experimental system. Compared to the standard double-pass transmitted wavefront given by Diffraction International Ltd., which manufactured the CGH used in the experimental system, the result is desirable. We conclude that the proposed method is effective in calibrating the effect of the CGH error in the cylindrical interferometry system for the measurement of cylindricity error.     

Finite element modelling on microstructure evolution during multi-pass hot compression for AZ31 alloys using incremental method

Based on the principle of piecewise linearization, the incremental forms of microstructure evolution models were integrated into the thermo-mechanical coupled finite element(FE) model to simulate nonlinear microstructure evolution during multi-pass hot deformation. This is an unsteady-state deformation where dynamic recrystallization(DRX), meta-dynamic recrystallization(MDRX), static recrystallization(SRX) and grain growth(GG) take place during hot deformation or deformation interval. The distributions of deformation and microstructure for cylindrical AZ31 sample during single-pass and double-pass hot compressions were quantitatively calculated and compared with the metallographic observation. It is shown that both the deformation and microstructure are non-uniformly distributed due to the presence of friction between the die and the flat end of sample. The average grain size and its standard deviation under the double-pass hot compression are slightly smaller than those under single-pass compression.The simulated average grain sizes agree well with the experiments, which validates that the developed FE model on the basis of incremental forms of microstructure evolution models is reasonable.     

Changes in collagen fibril pattern and adhesion force with collagenase-induced injury in rat Achilles tendon observed via AFM

The Achilles tendon consists mainly of type I collagen fibers that contain collagen fibrils. When the Achilles tendon is injured, it is inflamed. The collagenase-induced model has been widely used to study tendinitis. The major advantages of atomic force microscopy (AFM) over conventional optical and electron microscopy for bio-imaging include its non-requirement of a special coating and vacuum, and its capability to perform imaging in all environments. AFM force-distance measurements have become a fundamental tool in the fields of surface chemistry, biochemistry and materials science. Therefore, the changes in the ultrastructure and adhesion force of the collagen fibrils on the Achilles tendons of rats with Achilles tendinitis were observed using AFM. The changes in the structure of the Achilles tendons were evaluated based on the diameter and D-banding of the collagen fibrils. Collagenase-induced Achilles tendinitis was induced with the injection of 30 microl crude collagenase into 7-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were each sacrificed on the first, second, third, fifth and seventh day after the collagenase injection. The normal and injured Achilles tendons were fixed in 4% buffered formalin and dehydrated with increasing concentrations of ethanol. AFM was performed using the non-contact mode at the resolution of 512 x 512 pixels, with a scan speed of 0.8 line/sec. The adhesion force was measured via the force-distance curve that resulted from the interactions between the AFM tip and the collagen fibril sample using the contact mode. The diameter of the collagen fibrils in the Achilles tendons significantly decreased (p < 0.05) after the collagenase injection, and the pattern of the D-banding of the collagen fibrils was similar to that of the diameter changes. The adhesion force decreased until the fifth day after the collagenase injection, but increased on the seventh day after the collagenase injection (p < 0.0001).     

Evaluation of interaction between histidine binding Cu2+ ion and histidine by atomic force microscopy

This paper presents a direct interaction force measurement between histidine molecules using AFM force-distance curve measurement. AFM force-distance curves between the histidine-modified cantilever and substrate in the different conditions with or without intercalating Cu2+ ion were measured and interpreted via Gaussian curve fitting analyses. The adhesion force between histidine molecules was shown to be 110 pN under the presence of Cu2+. The result was compareable to the measured adhesion force about 0 pN, which was measured by the removal of Cu2+ ion with the addition of EDTA. The result indicated the direct histidine-histidie interaction was difficult without the role of the bridigible ionic component. From the results, the possibility of direct measurement on chemical affinities between biomolecules was suggested by using AFM force-distance curve analyses. Especially, the current approach showed the possible affinity measurement techniques that elucidate the role of bridge ions.     

Laser Ray Tracing versus Hartmann-Shack sensor for measuring optical aberrations in the human eye

A comparison and validation study of Laser Ray Tracing (LRT) and Hartmann-Shack wave-front-sensor (to be referred to as H-S) methods was carried out on both artificial and human eyes. The aim of this work was double. First, we wanted to verify experimentally the equivalence of single- and double-pass measurements for both H-S and LRT. This interest is due to the impossibility of making single-pass measurements in human eyes. In addition, we wanted to validate the LRT technique by comparing it with the H-S wave-front sensor, currently used in many physiological optics laboratories. Comparison of the different methods and configurations carried out in the artificial eye yielded basically the same results in all cases, which means a reciprocal validation of both LRT and H-S, in either single- or double-pass configurations. Other aspects, such as robustness against speckle noise or the influence of the size of the entrance (H-S) or exit (LRT) pupil were studied as well. As a global reference, the point-spread function (PSF) of the artificial eye was recorded directly on a CCD camera and compared with simulated PSF's computed from the experimental aberration data. We also applied these two methods to real eyes (double pass), finding again a close match between the resulting aberration coefficients and also between the standard errors for two normal subjects. However, for one myopic eye with an especially low optical quality (RMS wave-front error >2 microm) and asymmetric aberrations, the array of spots recorded with the H-S sensor was highly distorted and too difficult to analyze.