Density of xNa2S.(1 – x)B2S3 (x = 0 to 0.8) Glasses: Correlation with Short-Range Order

The densities of xNa₂S + (1 – x)B₂S₃ glasses have been measured for 0 ≤ x ≤ 0.80. The variation of the density with x is quite strong and is characterized by a sharp maximum at x ∼0.30. The density increases on the low-alkali side of the maximum from 1.7 g/mL for vitreous B₂S₃ up to 2.2 g/mL for the x = 0.3 glass and decreases on the highalkali side to 1.8 g/mL. The increase in the density at low alkali is associated with the increasing fraction of the heavy mass and relatively small volume tetrahedral boron group, Na⁺BS₄^–. The density decrease in the high-alkali range is associated with the decreasing fraction of these groups with the concomitant increase in the fraction of trigonal boron groups with increasing numbers of nonbridging (terminal) sulfurs. To model the density, a weighted fractional mass and volume model was used. The molar volumes of the individual short-range order (SRO) groups were determined from compositions where a particular SRO group was the single group in the glass, by fitting the density data, and by interpolating between groups of known volume. The composition dependence of the fractions of the individual SRO groups was developed by combining spectroscopic evidence with chemically reasonable hypotheses of the SRO of the glasses. In this way, the density was calculated from first principles with one adjustable parameter, that of the volume of the tetrahedral boron group. The calculated densities were found to agree well with the experimental values.     

Multiple-reflection effects in photoelastic stress analysis

The interpretation of fringes observed in photoelastic stress measurements made with coherent well-collimated optical radiation such as a laser beam and slab specimens with parallel surfaces is affected by multiple internal reflections of light within the sample, which are usually negligible when incoherent light is used. An analysis of the multiple-reflection effects in photoelastic measurements involving the plane polariscope configuration is presented. The results show that the isochromatic fringes are modified by the interference of multiply reflected waves. The multipass differential phase accumulations that display oscillatory magnitudes as functions of the model thickness and the optical wavelength result in a shifted and altered intensity profile across the isochromatic fringes. It is shown that for large values of reflectivity, as in the case of samples with reflective coating or partial mirrors, the bright fringes split into multiple peaks.     

Polygonal optical cavities

A general class of multifacet optical resonators that have uniform polygonal geometries is described. Expressions for the transmission of light through classical refractive escape from the cavities are presented. The conventional Fabry-Perot resonator is shown to be a special case of this general class of cavities. The effects of absorption and scattering of optical radiation on the transmission properties and cavity-quality factors are analyzed. These resonator structures have significant applications in a wide variety of optical devices.     

Modeling,analysis, and optimization of dimensional accuracy of FDM-fabricated parts using definitive screening design and deep learning feedforward artificial neural network

Additive manufacturing (AM) technologies such as fused deposition modeling (FDM) rely on the quality of manufactured products and the process capability.Current...     

Growth analysis of corn and soybean response to allelopathic effects of weed residues at various temperatures and photosynthetic photon flux densities

The effects of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) and yellow foxtail [Setariaglauca (L.) Beauv.] residues on corn (Zea mays L.) and soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] were evaluated at various temperatures and photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) in a Biotron. Mathematical growth analysis techniques were used for the evaluation. Redroot pigweed markedly reduced leaf area duration (LAD), leaf weight ratio (LWR), and total dry matter production in both crops. Yellow foxtail residue inhibited total dry matter production in corn and soybeans 20 and 30 days after planting (DAP). It also reduced growth rate (GR) and LAD in corn and biomass increment ( W) in soybeans. Biomass increment was more closely correlated to LAD than net assimilation rate (NAR) in soybeans, whereas in corn NAR contributed more to W than LAD. The 30/20 ° C temperature with a PPFD of 380 E/m²/sec produced a larger W with a greater NAR and larger LAD in corn, resulting in maximum dry matter accumulation than 20/10 ° C and other levels of PPFD. Under similar conditions, soybeans showed little or no response to the changes. The results demonstrate the allelopathic effects of weed residues on growth and dry matter production, affecting LAD, LWR, and GR. The results also show that environmental temperature and PPFD may alter the allelopathic effects of weeds on crops. The possible interference with photosynthesis and the partitioning of biomass into leaf component relative to the total biomass produced by the plant may be the inhibitory effects of allelochemicals present in redroot pigweed and yellow foxtail residues.     

Estimation of fracture toughness of 20MnMoNi55 steel in the ductile to brittle transition region using master curve method

Fracture toughness is an important material property to assess the critical load for structural integrity of reactor pressure vessel steel. In this paper, master curve method proposed by Kim Wallin is used to estimate the fracture toughness of 20MnMoNi55 steel in the ductile to brittle transition regime. Reference temperature (T₀) is evaluated using both single temperature and multi-temperature method for one inch thick compact tension (1T-CT) specimens. Reference temperature (T₀) is also determined from Charpy V-notch test data and compared. Effect of selection of temperature range and number of test temperatures on the value of T₀ is also studied. It is observed that Charpy test results yield lower values of unirradiated T₀ compared to 1T-CT specimen tests. It is also observed that most of the fracture toughness values fall between 5% and 95% boundary of fracture toughness curves for all the evaluations.     

Characterization and calibration of a SSNTD for heavy-ion detection and strangelet search in cosmic rays

A commercially available grade of polymer was investigated for its suitability as a solid state nuclear track detector (SSNTD) to look for rare events in cosmic rays at very high mountain altitudes. It was identified to be polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and found to have a higher detection threshold compared to many other widely used SSNTDs. Hence it is particularly suited for rare event search in cosmic rays by eliminating the dominant low Z background. Systematic studies were carried out to determine the ideal etching condition. Also the charge response of PET was studied using various ion beams from accelerators. The results of such studies were combined to obtain the calibration curve for PET as SSNTD, by which one can identify and characterize charged particles.     

Voltage sag ride-through for adjustable-speed drives with activerectifiers

Adjustable-speed drives (ASDs) trip due to voltage sags, interfering with production and resulting in financial losses. In this paper, a methodology for incorporating voltage sag ride-through in the design of ASDs with active rectifiers is presented. The magnitude of the voltage sag for which ride-through can be provided is determined by the current rating of the active rectifier and load condition of the ASD, but a sag of any duration can be compensated for     

Isothermal titration calorimetry, transmission electron microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy of a main-chain viologen polymer containing bromide as counterions

The interaction of a main-chain viologen polymer containing bromide as counterions with water and aqueous potassium bromide over a broad range of concentrations was studied with isothermal titration calorimetry. The dilution process of this polymer was endothermic as opposed to flexible poly(sodium acrylate) and poly(sodium styrenesulfonate). This result may be related to the different mechanism of hydration of pyridinium and bromide groups in the main chain. It also exhibited aggregation phenomenon in both water and aqueous potassium bromide solutions as detected by transmission electron microscopy like other flexible and rigid-rod polyelectrolytes. As the polymer concentrations in aqueous solutions increase, the aggregated polymer exhibited more defined ordered structures than random structures observed at low polymer concentrations. Field emission scanning electron microscopy also revealed the effect of variation of concentration of aqueous potassium bromide on the morphology of the polymer matrix. At increasing concentrations of aqueous potassium bromide, the polymer structures became more ordered than those in low concentrations.     

Reduced residual DC voltages in LCDs by using fluorinated polyimides

Abstract— The effect of a fluorinated alignment layer in reducing image retention in liquid‐crystal displays has been quantified. In our experiments, image retention is characterized by measuring the residual DC (RDC) value, which for both planar cells and vertical‐alignment cells are shown to be very small for a fluorinated alignment layer. The lowered dielectric constant of a fluorinated alignment layer is shown to be correlated with RDC improvement. A result of this work is the demonstration that fluorinated alignment layers have great potential to be used in low‐refresh‐rate LCDs for reducing power consumption.