A time-domain symplectic method for finite viscoelastic cylinders

The symplectic method is introduced for boundary-condition problems of finite viscoelastic cylinders. On the basis of the state space formalism and the use of the Laplace integral transform, the general solution of the governing equations, zero- and nonzero-eigenvalue eigenvectors, are obtained. Since the eigenvectors are expressed in concise analytical forms, the adjoint symplectic relation of the Laplace domain is generalized to the time domain. Therefore, the particular solution and the eigenvector expansion method can be discussed directly in the eigenvector space of the time domain, without employing the iterative application of the inverse Laplace transformation. Using this method, various boundary conditions, the particular solution of nonhomogeneous equations, especially the interfacial continuity conditions of composite materials, can be conveniently described by combinations of the eigenvectors.     

A two-dimensional time-domain boundary element method for dynamic crack problems in anisotropic solids

A time-domain boundary element method (BEM) for transient dynamic crack analysis in two-dimensional, homogeneous, anisotropic and linear elastic solids is presented in this paper. Strongly singular displacement boundary integral equations (DBIEs) are applied on the external boundary of the cracked body while hypersingular traction boundary integral equations (TBIEs) are used on the crack-faces. The present time-domain method uses the quadrature formula of Lubich for approximating the convolution integrals and a collocation method for the spatial discretization of the time-domain boundary integral equations. Strongly singular and hypersingular integrals are dealt with by a regularization technique based on a suitable variable change. Discontinuous quadratic quarter-point elements are implemented at the crack-tips to capture the local square-root-behavior of the crack-opening-displacements properly. Numerical examples for computing the dynamic stress intensity factors are presented and discussed to demonstrate the accuracy and the efficiency of the present method.     

Macroporous ultramicroelectrodes for improved electroanalytical measurements

Recent work on the preparation of highly organized macroporous electrodes and nanoporous ultramicroelectrodes has been combined and extended to elaborate macroporous ultramicroelectrodes (UMEs) by template synthesis using colloidal crystals and following two different and complementary methods. On the one hand, arched porous UMEs were prepared, and on the other hand, cylindrical porous UMEs were obtained by using cavity UMEs. These macroporous UMEs have an active surface area which is up to 2 orders of magnitude higher compared to that of a classical disk UME as characterized by cyclic voltammetry. To study their analytical performance, the macroporous UMEs have been modified with a redox-active thiol and also a model bioelectrocatalytical system containing a redox mediator, a cofactor, and glucose-dehydrogenase. In both cases the electrochemical signal is amplified by up to 2 orders of magnitude, which increases significantly the analytical performance of such electrodes and therefore opens up new applications for this kind of miniaturized electrochemical system.     

Two-step preconditioning technique for hierarchical time-domain finite-element method

A two-step factorised sparse approximation inverse and symmetric successive over relaxation preconditioned conjugate gradient (CG) algorithm is proposed to solve the large system of linear equations resulted from the hierarchical implicit time-domain finite-element method (TDFEM). Convergence properties and CPU time of the proposed algorithm are compared with those of other preconditioned CG schemes. Numerical results demonstrate that the present approach is efficient for solving the large sparse system from hierarchical implicit TDFEM.     

A new method for high-sensitivity noise measurements

A new method for high-sensitivity noise measurement, based on the elaboration in the time domain of the signals coming from two identical amplifiers, is presented in this paper. The most important advantage of this method, which in most cases allows obtaining an equivalent background noise 30 dB below that of the amplifiers which are used in the measurement chain, lies in its simplicity and in the fact that it does not depend on the method used for the estimation of the noise spectra.     

Thermodynamic properties of two gaseous halogenated ethers from speed-of-sound measurements: Difluoromethoxy-difluoromethane and 2-difluoromethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoroethane

We present measurements of the speed of sound in gaseous difluoromethoxy-difluoromethane (CHF₂-O-CHF₂) and 2-difluoromethoxy-1,1,1-trifluoroethane (CF₃-CH₂-O-CHF₂). These measurements were performed in an all-metal apparatus between 255 and 384 K. We have obtained ideal-gas heat capacities and second acoustic virial coefficients from analysis of these measurements. Two methods of correlating the second acoustic virial coefficients, a square well model of the intermolecular interaction and a function due to Pitzer and Curl, are presented.     

水中目标强度的一致性时域有限差分计算

本文应用一致性时域有限差分法（FDTD）和近场-远场变换计算散射声目标的反射声压强度，找出反射声压级与目标声中心到换能器间距离的关系。数值计算中考虑了自由场和有海面及海面波浪影响时的不同情况。根据声源和目标的几何特征对入射波和散射波分别作了球面和柱面扩散修正，并将计算结果与水池实验结果进行了比较。本文的讨论可对水下目标强度测量方法提供参考。     

A novel time-domain method of analysis of pulsed sine wave signals

Sine wave packs are used in the nondestructive evaluation of materials, most commonly in the form of ultrasonic waves. An example of such methods is the use of electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) in the evaluation of metallic structures. Reflected EMAT signals are often highly polluted by noise. Elimination of noise and extraction of peak amplitude are important signal processing tasks associated with the analysis of EMAT signals. This paper presents a method of noise elimination and information extraction for pulsed sinusoids. The functionality of the proposed method is exemplified through noise reduction and peak detection of EMAT signals. The proposed method offers a simple and robust technique of signal analysis which is suitable for real-time industrial applications since it requires a relatively low level of computational resources.     

Quantitative measurements of amino acids by terahertz time-domain transmission spectroscopy

The quantitative analysis of amino acids by terahertz (THz) time-domain absorption spectroscopy is demonstrated. The optical densities of the amino acids were found to be linearly proportional to the concentration. The molar absorption coefficients of L-glutamic acid (L-Glu), L-glutamic acid sodium salt (Na-L-Glu), L-glutamic acid hydrochloric salt (HCl-L-Glu), L-cysteine (L-Cys), and L-histidine (L-His) were calculated by averaging the THz spectra of the amino acids at several different concentrations in approximately the 0.2-1.0 mol L(-1) range. The concentrations of L-Glu, L-Cys, and L-His mixed samples were successfully calculated with errors of less than 11% and 20% when their concentrations were higher than 0.45 and 0.22 mol L(-1), respectively, by using the obtained molar absorption coefficient.     

Calculation method of reflectance distributions for computer-generated holograms using the finite-difference time-domain method

The research on reflectance distributions in computer-generated holograms (CGHs) is particularly sparse, and the textures of materials are not expressed. Thus, we propose a method for calculating reflectance distributions in CGHs that uses the finite-difference time-domain method. In this method, reflected light from an uneven surface made on a computer is analyzed by finite-difference time-domain simulation, and the reflected light distribution is applied to the CGH as an object light. We report the relations between the surface roughness of the objects and the reflectance distributions, and show that the reflectance distributions are given to CGHs by imaging simulation.     

Development of a time-domain optical mammograph and first in vivo applications

We have developed a laser-pulse mammograph capable of recording optical mammograms within ~3 min by measuring time-resolved transmittance at each of typically 1500 scan positions, 2.5 mm apart. As a first application two patients who have tumors were investigated successfully. From measured distributions of times of flight of photons corrected for edge effects we derived (1) characteristic quantities, such as photon counts in selected time windows, to generate optical mammograms; (2) effective transport scattering and absorption coefficients of breast tissue at each scan position, assuming the breast to be homogeneous; and (3) optical properties of a selected tumor by applying the theory of diffraction of photon density waves by spherical inhomogeneity. Mammograms recorded at different lateral offsets between source and detector fiber were used to estimate the depth of inhomogeneities.     

A specific voxel phantom for in vivo measurements of 241Am in the knee

Calibration phantoms for in vivo measurements of low-energy photons should be anatomically realistic to minimise the uncertainties in the activity assessment. The calibration of the detection system can be performed using computational techniques based on numerical phantoms. The purpose of this work is to approach a numerical calibration by Monte Carlo (MC) technique of a Germanium detection system for the determination of 241Am in the knee. A specific voxel phantom was built from a computerised tomography of the calibration Spitz knee phantom. The phantom and the procedure to generate the associated input file for the MC code, namely MCNPX, have been described, as well as the characterisation of the detectors according to the manufacturer data and the energy calibration curves of the spectrometer. The detection efficiency and the pulse-height distribution have been determined for a homogeneous contamination of 241Am in bone.     

Virial equation of state of helium, xenon, and helium-xenon mixtures from speed-of-sound and burnettPρT measurements

The virial equation of state was determined for helium, xenon, and helium-xenon mixtures for the pressure and temperature ranges 0.5 to 5 MPa and 210 to 400 K. Two independent experimental techniques were employed: BurnettPρT measurements and speed-of-sound measurements. The temperature-dependent second and third density virial coefficients for pure xenon and the second and third interaction density virial coefficients for helium-xenon mixtures were determined. The present density virial equations of state for xenon and helium-xenon mixtures reproduce the speed-of-sound data within 0.01% and thePρT data within 0.02% of the pressures. All the results for helium are consistent, within experimental errors, with recent ab initio calculations, confirming the accuracy of the experimental techniques.     

A time-domain boundary element method for quasistatic thermoviscoelastic behavior modeling of the functionally graded materials

In the present paper, a boundary element formulation is presented for two-dimensional thermoviscoelasticity analysis of components fabricated from the functionally graded materials (FGMs). In this regard, a graded viscoelastic element capable of tracing gradual variations of the material properties is developed. Several attempts have been made so far to employ the integral equation approach for the heterogeneous viscoelastic materials. In the present research, Somigliana’s displacement identity is considered and implemented numerically for analyzing the two-dimensional exponentially graded viscoelastic components. Employing the common assumptions of the viscoelastic constitutive equations and the weighted residual technique, an efficient boundary element formulation is developed for the heterogeneous Kelvin–Voigt solid viscoelastic models. Finally, three numerical examples are provided to verify the proposed formulation and present practical conclusions.     

A novel method for velocity profile measurements in flowing polymer melts

This article introduced a novel technique for the determination of velocity profiles in flowing polymer melts in the barrel of an injection moulding machine, this technique being called Cooled-Stainless Tube (CST). An experimental arrangement of such technique involved making use of a novel temperature sensor coupled with an experimental test rig. The CST technique was found to be novel, simple, and reliable for velocity profile measurements of flowing polymer melts. The preliminary results showed that the velocity profiles in the barrel changed continuously with changing screw position. Received: 3 May 1999 / Reviewed and accepted: 8 May 1999