Melt coaxial electrospinning: a versatile method for the encapsulation of solid materials and fabrication of phase change nanofibers

We have developed a method based on melt coaxial electrospinning for fabricating phase change nanofibers consisting of long-chain hydrocarbon cores and composite sheaths. This method combines melt electrospinning with a coaxial spinneret and allows for nonpolar solids such as paraffins to be electrospun and encapsulated in one step. Shape-stabilized, phase change nanofibers have many potential applications as they are able to absorb, hold, and release large amounts of thermal energy over a certain temperature range by taking advantage of the large heat of fusion of long-chain hydrocarbons. We have focused on compounds with melting points near room temperature (octadecane) and body temperature (eicosane) as these temperature ranges are most valuable in practice. We have produced thermally stable, phase change materials up to 45 wt % octadecane, as measured by differential scanning calorimetry. In addition, the resultant fibers display novel segmented morphologies for the cores due to the rapid solidification of the hydrocarbons driven by evaporative cooling of the carrier solution. Aside from the fabrication of phase change nanofibers, the melt coaxial method is promising for applications related to microencapsulation and controlled release of drugs.     

A DC-RF Substitution Error in Duel-Element Bolometer Mounts

Most of the coaxial type bolometer mounts in current use employ a pair of bolometer elements which are connected in series for the dc or audio-frequency bias powers, and in parallel at radio or microwave frequencies. In the frequency range where these techniques are most often employed, the dc-RF substitution error has been generally believed to be negligible. It is quite possible, however, for this to be true of the elements individually, and yet fail to be true of a pair of these elements as used in a typical coaxial mount. If only the sum of the resistances of the two elements is maintained at a constant value, and if the resistance division between the two elements changes with the application of RF power, an error is introduced which is given by the equation: e = [(1/?b)-(1/?a)]?r, where ?a and ?b are the "ohms per milliwatt" coefficients of the two bolometer elements, and ?r is the shift in resistance division. An experimental study indicates that, in the existing state-of-the-art, this error may be ignored in many applications but is large enough to be important in others, particularly at the higher power levels.     

Fabrication and photoconductivity of macroscopically long coaxial structured Ag/Ag2S nanowires with different core-to-shell thickness ratios

Macroscopically long core/shell structured Ag/Ag(2)S coaxial nanowires and Ag(2)S nanowires have been fabricated using the solid-state ionics method for Ag nanowires, combined with a subsequent gas-solid reaction, and characterized at different spatial scales. The photoconductive properties of such samples are investigated by performing transport measurements with 532 nm laser illumination ON/OFF cycles under different bias. A significant change in the photoconductivity from negative to positive has been observed in the coaxial structured Ag/Ag(2)S nanowires when the Ag(2)S layer thickness increases to a certain level. Such behaviors are ascribed to two photoconductive mechanisms in the Ag core and the Ag(2)S shell, respectively. These results indicate a promising approach to fabricate nanoscale photoswitches with different dark resistances and photoinduced currents based on the Ag/Ag(2)S coaxial nanowires for various optoelectronic applications.     

Nondiffracting interference patterns generated with programmable spatial light modulators

Nondiffracting beams are of interest for optical metrology applications because the size and shape of the beams do not change as the beams propagate. We have created a generating pattern consisting of a linear combination of two nondiffracting patterns. This pattern forms a nondiffracting interference pattern that appears as a circular array of nondiffracting spots. More complicated multiplexed arrays are also constructed that simultaneously yield two different nondiffracting patterns. We generate these Bessel function arrays with a programmable spatial light modulator. Such arrays would be useful for angular alignment and for optical interconnection applications.     

Statistical Tolerancing for Combinations of Coaxial Features and Clearance Fits

A method for statistically tolerancing the eccentricity of a mechanical assembly consisting of coaxial components has been developed. The method provides for a linear combination of variances of coaxial features within components and clearance fits between components. The resulting predicted tolerance of assembly eccentricity includes variation introduced by the manufacturing processes and by the assembly processes. Various conditions and the associated assumptions for both coaxial features and clearance fits are provided. Some application details are discussed.     

Microfluidic Generation of All‐Aqueous Double and Triple Emulsions

Higher order emulsions are used in a variety of different applications in biomedicine, biological studies, cosmetics, and the food industry. Conventional droplet generation platforms for making higher order emulsions use organic solvents as the continuous phase, which is not biocompatible and as a result, further washing steps are required to remove the toxic continuous phase. Recently, droplet generation based on aqueous two‐phase systems (ATPS) has emerged in the field of droplet microfluidics due to their intrinsic biocompatibility. Here, a platform to generate all‐aqueous double and triple emulsions by introducing pressure‐driven flows inside a microfluidic hybrid device is presented. This system uses a conventional microfluidic flow‐focusing geometry coupled with a coaxial microneedle and a glass capillary embedded in flow‐focusing junctions. The configuration of the hybrid device enables the focusing of two coaxial two‐phase streams, which helps to avoid commonly observed channel‐wetting problems. It is shown that this approach achieves the fabrication of higher‐order emulsions in a poly(dimethylsiloxane)‐based microfluidic device, and controls the structure of the all‐aqueous emulsions. This hybrid microfluidic approach allows for facile higher‐order biocompatible emulsion formation, and it is anticipated that this platform will find utility for generating biocompatible materials for various biotechnological applications.     

Boundary integral equations analysis of induction devices with rotational symmetry

The application of boundary integral equations (BIE's) for the analysis of linear induction devices with rotational symmetry is considered. One-dimensional Fredholm integral equations are derived for the tangential field components at the boundary of a conducting medium with constant scalar conductivity and permeability excited by a time-harmonic azimuthal current source. The important special case of a short right circular conducting cylinder (magnetic or nonmagnetic) coaxial with one or more short coils is treated in detail. The explicit form of the kernels and the numerical solution technique are presented. Numerical results are presented for typical induction heating applications where the load length as well as the coil length are finite. Results are also presented for the magnetostatic problem of finding the demagnetization factors for short magnetic rods. In each case the results are compared with published results and the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed approach are demonstrated.     

Production and characterization of coaxial nanotube junctions and networks of CNx/CNT

Novel coaxial structures consisting of nitrogen-doped carbon nanotube (MWNTs-CNx) cores with external concentric shells of pure carbon were produced by the pyrolysis of toluene over Fe-coated MWNTs-CNx. These materials were thoroughly characterized by SEM, HRTEM, X-ray diffraction, and TGA; a possible growth scenario for their formation is also proposed. In addition, these coaxial structures were able to form 2D and 3D covalent networks that mainly exhibited T-, Y-, and on-type morphologies. The two-step technique presented here could be further developed to fully control the growth of these new coaxial structures, study of individual junctions, and it could be used to create periodic nanotube networks, in which the heterocable structure could find applications in nanoelectronics.     

Study of a coaxial thermoacoustic-Stirling cooler

A coaxial thermoacoustic-Stirling cooler is built and performance measurements are performed. The cooler uses the acoustic power produced by a linear motor to pump heat through a regenerator from a cold heat exchanger to an ambient one. The cooler incorporates a compact acoustic network to create the traveling-wave phasing necessary for the operation in a Stirling cycle. The network has a coaxial geometry instead of the toroidal one usually used in such systems. The design, construction and performance measurements of the cooler are presented. A measured coefficient of performance relative to Carnot of 25% and a low temperature of −54 °C are achieved by the cooler. This efficiency surpasses the performance of the most efficient standing-wave cooler by almost a factor of two.     

Effects of symmetry breaking on plasmon resonance in a noncoaxial nanotube and nanotube dimer

The effects of symmetry breaking on plasmonic properties of one nanotube and three types of nanotube dimers are numerically investigated. It is found that increasing the coaxial offset can result in redshifting of the transmission spectra and the existence of more peaks in the nanoegglike structures, while the nanocuplike structures present the opposite and more complex behaviors. We also study the combined effects of coaxial offset and gap size. The results show that the nanoegglike spectra redshift with the increase of coaxial offset and the decrease of the gap size, and the nanocuplike spectra display opposite behaviors. The asymmetrical distribution of surface charges demonstrates that the hybridization of dipolar and multipolar plasmon polaritons exist in the cross section of these structures, and the electric field adjacent to the thinner side enhances greatly. The proposed nanostructures may have great potential applications in various near-field optics.     

Light absorption mechanism in single c-Si (core)/a-Si (shell) coaxial nanowires

We have carried out detailed investigations on the light absorption mechanism in single crystalline silicon (c-Si) (core)/amorphous Si (a-Si) (shell) coaxial nanowires (NWs). Based on the Lorenz-Mie light scattering theory, we have found that the light absorption in the coaxial NWs relies on the leaky mode resonances and that the light absorption can be optimized towards photovoltaic applications when the a-Si shell thickness is about twice the c-Si core radius. The photocurrent has been found to be enhanced up to ～ 560% compared to c-Si NWs, and to be further enhanced up to ～ 60% by coating the nonabsorbing dielectric shells.     

Selective formation of GaN-based nanorod heterostructures on soda-lime glass substrates by a local heating method

We report on the fabrication of high-quality GaN on soda-lime glass substrates, heretofore precluded by both the intolerance of soda-lime glass to the high temperatures required for III-nitride growth and the lack of an epitaxial relationship with amorphous glass. The difficulties were circumvented by heteroepitaxial coating of GaN on ZnO nanorods via a local microheating method. Metal-organic chemical vapor deposition of ZnO nanorods and GaN layers using the microheater arrays produced high-quality GaN/ZnO coaxial nanorod heterostructures at only the desired regions on the soda-lime glass substrates. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy examination of the coaxial nanorod heterostructures indicated the formation of an abrupt, semicoherent interface. Photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence spectroscopy was also applied to confirm the high optical quality of the coaxial nanorod heterostructures. Mg-doped GaN/ZnO coaxial nanorod heterostructure arrays, whose GaN shell layers were grown with various different magnesocene flow rates, were further investigated by using photoluminescence spectroscopy for the p-type doping characteristics. The suggested method for fabrication of III-nitrides on glass substrates signifies potentials for low-cost and large-size optoelectronic device applications.     

Hypersensitive luminescence of Eu3+ in dimethyl sulfoxide as a new probing for water measurement

Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) is a well-known organic solvent that can be used for biological applications. DMSO is miscible with water, and it is very common that the two solvents are mixed for some applications. It is important to detect water in DMSO, and this has been done using the luminescence decay lifetimes from Eu(3+) ions. We observed that the emissions of Eu(3+) in DMSO are very strong and very sensitive to water. The emission band from the (5)D(0) → (7)F(2) transition has two peaks at 613 and 617 nm, respectively, and these two peaks change in the opposite ways when water is added into DMSO. The intensity ratio of the two peaks follows nearly perfect linear dependence on the water concentration added in DMSO. This linear relationship provides a new and convenient method for water measurement in DMSO.     

Synthesis of ZnO nanotube arrays and heterostructures of Cu-ZnO coaxial nanotubes by electrodeposition-oxidation method

Semiconductor ZnO nanotube arrays and heterostructures of Cu-ZnO coaxial nanotubes have been synthesized by electrodeposition into porous anodic alumina membranes and subsequent oxidation. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy indicate that the ZnO nanotubular arrays and Cu-ZnO coaxial nanotubular arrays are of large-area and highly ordered. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the nanotubes are polycrystalline. Photoluminescence spectra of the Cu-ZnO nanotubes show that a violet peak, a blue peak and a green peak are centered at 422 nm, 480 nm and 537 nm, respectively. The ordered ZnO nanotube arrays and heterostructures of Cu-ZnO coaxial nanotubes may have promising potential applications in nanodevices.     

Three-dimensional numerical simulations of barchan dune interactions in unidirectional flow

ABSTRACT

In this study, a constitutive model based on fluvial hydrodynamics is coupled with a large eddy simulation to better understand barchan dune interactions from the perspective of morphological dynamics. The results show that the developed model can reproduce crescent-shaped dunes, as well as variations in turbulent flow structures above the dune surface. The interactions between two barchan dunes arranged in coaxial and staggered alignments are simulated by changes in their initial mass ratios. A critical moment of fast erosion is observed for the larger of the two coaxial dunes, and the value of this moment converges to a constant with a linear increase in the mass ratio. The interaction pattern of “coalescence” agrees with that of the experiments. These results provide deep insights into the transition of the barchan dune interaction patterns from “coalescence” to “ejection”, which corresponds to a dynamic mass equilibrium state in large dunes. In addition, one elongated horn created from merged barchans after a staggered collision reaffirms that dune collision and influx asymmetry are two potential mechanisms in barchan asymmetry.     

Investigations on the pitting load capacity of internal spur and helical gears

Forschung im Ingenieurwesen - Planetary gear boxes are suitable for numerous applications due to their compact design and high power density with coaxial in- and output. Especially in wind energy...     

Coaxial holographic encoding based on pure phase modulation

We describe a simple technique for coaxial holographic image recording and reconstruction, employing a spatial light modulator (SLM) modified in pure phase mode. In the image encoding system, both the reference beam in the outside part and the signal beam in the inside part are displayed by an SLM based on the twisted nematic LCD. For a binary image, the part with amplitude of "1" is modulated with random phase, while the part with amplitude of "0" is modulated with constant phase. After blocking the dc component of the spatial frequencies, a Fourier transform (FT) hologram is recorded with a uniform intensity distribution. The amplitude image is reconstructed by illuminating the reference beam onto the hologram, which is much simpler than existing phase modulated FT holography techniques. The technique of coaxial holographic image encoding and recovering with pure phase modulation is demonstrated theoretically and experimentally in this paper. As the holograms are recorded without the high-intensity dc component, the storage density with volume medium may be increased with the increase of dynamic range. Such a simple modulation method will have potential applications in areas such as holographic encryption and high-density disk storage systems.     

Compact beam expander with linear gratings

Novel compact beam expanders that could be useful for applications such as providing light to flat panel displays are presented. They are based on a planar configuration in which three spatially linear gratings are recorded on one transparent substrate, so as to expand a narrow incoming beam in two dimensions. We present the design and recording procedures along with results, showing a relatively uniform intensity of the wide output beam. Such expanders can serve for illuminating flat panel displays.     

Inductance of Bitter Coil with Rectangular Cross-section

The self-inductance of Bitter coil and mutual inductance between coaxial Bitter coils with rectangular cross-section using semi-analytical expressions based on two integrations were introduced. The current density of the Bitter coil in radial direction is inversely proportional to its radius. The obtained expressions can be implemented by Gauss integration method with FORTRAN programming. We confirm the validity of inductance results by comparing them with finite filament method and finite element method. The inductance values computed by three methods are in excellent agreement. The derived expressions of inductance of Bitter coils with rectangular cross-section allow a low computational time compared with finite filament method to a specific accuracy. The derived mutual inductance expressions can be used to accurately calculate the axial force between coaxial Bitter coils with mutual inductance gradient method.     

On the representation and implicit integration of general isotropic elastoplasticity based on a set of mutually orthogonal unit basis tensors

A simple and compact representation framework and the corresponding efficient numerical integration algorithm are developed for constitutive equations of isotropic elastoplasticity. Central to this work is the utilization of a set of mutually orthogonal unit tensor bases and the corresponding invariants. The set of bases can be regarded equivalently as a local cylindrical coordinate system in the three‐dimensional coaxial tensor subspace, namely, the principal space. The base tensors are given in the global coordinate system. Similar to the principal space approach, the proposed method reduces the problem dimension from six to three. In contrast to the conventional approach, the transformation procedure between the principal space and the general space is avoided and explicit computation of the principal axes is bypassed. With the proposed technique, the matrices, which need to be inverted during iteration, take a simple form for the great majority of constitutive equations in use. The tangent operator consistent with the proposed algorithm can be decomposed into the direct sum of two linear maps over the coaxial tensor subspace and the subspace orthogonal to it. Consequently, its closed form is derived in an extremely simple manner. Finally, numerical examples demonstrate the high quality performances of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.