Bemessungsnomogramme für Stahlbetonkonsolen

In diesem Beitrag werden Nomogramme für die Bemessung von Stahlbetonkonsolen vorgestellt. Basierend auf den entsprechenden Bemessungsmodellen kann für eine gegebene Stahlbetonkonsole und eine Beanspruchung die Bewehrungsmenge des Zuggurts bestimmt werden. In den Nomogrammen sind alle relevanten Anwendungsgrenzen eingearbeitet. Die Praxistauglichkeit der Nomogramme wird anhand eines Beispiels erläutert. Support for the analysis by concrete brackets. In this contribution nomograms are introduced for the structural analysis of concrete brackets. Based on the appropriate design codes the reinforcement for the tension strut can be determined. In these nomograms all relevant limitations are incorporated. The application of the nomograms is shown using an example.     

High-pressure freezing causes structural alterations in phospholipid model membranes

The influence of high-pressure freezing (HPF) on the lipid arrangement in phospholipid model membranes has been investigated. Liposomes consisting of pure dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) and of DPPC mixed with a branched-chain phosphocholine (1,2-di(4-dodecyl-palmitoyl)-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) have been analysed by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The liposomes were frozen either by plunging into liquid propane or by HPF. The characteristic macroripple-phase of the two-component liposome system is drastically changed in its morphology when frozen under high-pressure conditions. The influence of ethanol which acts as pressure transfer medium was ruled out by control experiments. In contrast, no high-pressure alterations of the pure DPPC bilayer membrane have been observed. We assume that the modification of the binary system is due to a pressure-induced relaxation of a stressed and unstable lipid molecule packing configuration. HPF was performed with a newly designed sample holder for using sandwiched copper platelets with the high-pressure freezing machine Balzers HPM010. The sandwich construction turned out to be superior to the original holder system with regard to freeze-fracturing of fluid samples. By inserting a spacer between the supports samples with a thickness of 20–100 μm can be high-pressure frozen. The sandwich holder is provided with a thermocouple to monitor cooling rates and allows exact sample temperature control. Despite a two-fold mass reduction compared to the original holder no HPF cooling rate improvement has been achieved (4000 °C s⁻¹). We conclude that the cooling process in high-pressure freezing is determined mainly by cryogen velocity.     

Spin-dependent transport in nanocomposite C:co films

The magneto-transport properties of nanocomposite C:Co (15 and 40 at.% Co) thin films are investigated. The films were grown by ion beam co-sputtering on thermally oxidized silicon substrates in the temperature range from 200 to 500 °C. Two major effects are reported: (i) a large anomalous Hall effect amounting to 2 μΩ cm, and (ii) a negative magnetoresistance. Both the field-dependent resistivity and Hall resistivity curves coincide with the rescaled magnetization curves, a finding that is consistent with spin-dependent transport. These findings suggest that C:Co nanocomposites are promising candidates for carbon-based Hall sensors and spintronic devices.     

Gettering layer for oxygen accumulation in the initial stage of SIMOX processing

A cavity layer or nano-bubble layer introduced by He implantation before the oxygen implantation collects the implanted oxygen and increases the oxygen concentration. The average size and density of the oxygen precipitates formed in the initial stage of the separation-by-implanted-oxygen (SIMOX) process is conform with the size and density of the cavities pre-formed by He implantation and annealing. The gettering ability of the cavity layer for oxygen is directly related to the area of the internal surface of the cavities. A nano-bubble layer accumulates oxygen in a very narrow range occurring between the damage maximum, D_P, and the mean projected ion range, R_P. Such a nano-bubble layer is most efficient in oxygen gettering due to their larger area of the internal surface and the small size of the oxide precipitates initially formed at the bubbles.     

Binary and ternary copolymerization in the system vinylchloride — maleic anhydride — butadiene

With free radical initiation, the addition of small quantities of butadiene to vinylchloride considerably reduces the rate of polymerization in the initial stages. If maleic anhydride is added as third monomer equimolar to or in molar excess over butadiene, the polymerization rate increases again. The accelerating effect is not due to a DIELS -ALDER -reaction between butadiene and maleic anhydride. It results instead from modification of the copolymerization process, most probably in such a way that the retarding growth step is suppressed. Vinylchloride and butadiene, within the range investigated, react in accordance with the rules of conventional free radical copolymerization kinetics. The system butadiene-maleic anhydride exhibits a strong “tendency toward alternation”. Vinyl chloride and maleic anhydride, on the other hand, except at unsuitable monomer compositions, form copolymers in which vinyl chloride is present in a molar excess. The ternary system behaves accordingly. At suitable monomer compositions, vinyl chloride is incorporated in the polymer chains in molar excess and at a higher partial rate than in the absence of maleic anhydride. Reaction mechanisms are discussed in the light of recent results on Donor-Acceptor-complex controlled polymerization as published in the literature.     

One night of total sleep deprivation impairs implicit learning in the serial reaction task, but not the behavioral expression of knowledge.

Implicit sequence learning in the serial reaction task suffers from total sleep deprivation. The authors compared implicit-learning scores in a sleep-deprivation (SD) group (n = 12) and a control group (n = 6). Both groups were tested immediately after learning a 1st sequence; a delayed test was conducted on the next day (after a night without sleep in the SD group). Immediately after the delayed test a 2nd sequence was learned, followed by an immediate test and a delayed test toward the end of the experiment. In the SD group implicit-learning scores were reduced in both tests of the 2nd sequence, but in neither test of the 1st sequence. Thus, 1 night of total sleep deprivation impairs the acquisition of implicit sequence knowledge, but not its behavioral expression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatially resolved Langmuir probe measurements of a magnetically enhanced hollow cathode arc plasma

Hollow cathode arc discharges are efficient plasma sources and are applied in substrate pretreatment or plasma-activated deposition processes. In order to generate large volume homogeneous plasmas to guarantee uniformity of plasma activation and coating properties, in the presented configuration a ring-shaped anode is positioned coaxially around the hollow cathode tube. A magnetic field is applied, which is axial within the cathode tube and spreads out in the deposition chamber. In order to characterize the hollow cathode plasma, spatially resolved Langmuir probe measurements have been carried out. The charge carrier density maximum on the cathode tube axis reaches values up to 10¹³ cm^? 3. With increasing distance from the plasma source, the plasma density decreases and shows a smoother lateral profile. Maxwellian electron energy distribution functions are observed with spatially homogeneous electron temperatures in the range 1–4 eV. Increasing the chamber pressure leads to higher plasma densities and lower electron temperatures. Reduction of the gas flow through the hollow cathode tube results in a strong rise of the plasma density over two orders of magnitude. The magnetic field supports the low gas flow mode and leads to higher plasma densities, too. The results of the Langmuir probe measurements are discussed by means of the active zone model and are further related to optical emission measurements performed in the vicinity of the hollow cathode orifice.     

Particulate Coatings with Optimized Haze Properties

The haze factor, which describes the fraction of light that is scattered when passing through a transparent material, is of general importance for any optical device, from milk glass shielding visibility while providing ambient lighting to solar cells that are optimized by sophisticated light management layers. Often, such active layers are fabricated from particulate materials that are deposited as thin films on a substrate. Here, the effect of structural arrangement, position, and orientation of particles on the resulting haze factor is investigated. A mathematical optimization model that iteratively alters the particle layer structure to maximize or minimize the haze factor for a range of optimization scenarios is designed. Colloidal self‐assembly techniques are then used to replicate typical particle structures found in the optimized designs and correlate the macroscopically measured haze values to the predictions of the optimization. The results indicate general design rules that control the haze value in particle layers. Non close‐packed structures with distributed scatterers and high degrees of order provide minimal haze values while chain‐like arrangements and small clusters maximize the haze of a particle layer. Finally, the findings are transferred to metal nanohole films as model transparent electrodes with controlled haze values.     

Massively parallelized replica-exchange simulations of polymers on GPUs

We discuss the advantages of parallelization by multithreading on graphics processing units (GPUs) for parallel tempering Monte Carlo computer simulations of an exemplified bead-spring model for homopolymers. Since the sampling of a large ensemble of conformations is a prerequisite for the precise estimation of statistical quantities such as typical indicators for conformational transitions like the peak structure of the specific heat, the advantage of a strong increase in performance of Monte Carlo simulations cannot be overestimated. Employing multithreading and utilizing the massive power of the large number of cores on GPUs, being available in modern but standard graphics cards, we find a rapid increase in efficiency when porting parts of the code from the central processing unit (CPU) to the GPU.