Dehydrogenative polycondensation of telechelically bis(dimethylsilyl)functionalized oligo(dimethylsiloxane)s or aromatics and 1,3,3,5,5,7,7,7-octamethyltetrasiloxane

Telechelically bis(hydrodimethylsilyl)-functionalized oligo(dimethylsiloxane)s or aromatics were found to give polymers constituting of alternating disilylene and oligodimethylsiloxane or 4,4′-diylaromatics as repeating units by dehydrogenative coupling reaction in the presence of palladium dibenzylideneacetone complex. The same catalyst gave polysilylenes with trisiloxane pendant from 1,1-dihydro-1,3,3,5,5,7,7,7-octamethyltetrasiloxane. Received: 18 October 1996/Accepted: 31 October 1996     

Thermal properties and aging characteristics of chemically modified oil palm ash-filled natural rubber composites

The chemically modified oil palm ash (OPA) with the cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) solution was prepared prior to compounding with the natural rubber and other curing ingredients. The aging resistance and thermal stability of CTAB-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites were evaluated in the same manner as non-modified OPA samples. The retention tensile properties after thermal aging was measured and based on the result shown, the CTAB-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites imparted insignificant effect to aging resistance as compared to the non-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites at very low OPA loading; however, the effect became apparent beyond 3 phr OPA loading where the CTAB-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites provided better aging resistance than the corresponding non-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites. The thermogravimetric analysis indicated that the CTAB-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites exhibited lower thermal stability which showed lower temperature at their respective weight loss and lesser char residue than that of non-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites. This was attributed to the CTAB which started to decompose at the temperature of 210 °C. However, for the range from ambient temperature to 210 °C, the CTAB-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites produce better thermal stability than those of non-modified OPA-filled natural rubber composites.     

A bond model for DEM simulation of cementitious materials and deformable structures

There is an increasing use of the discrete element method (DEM) to study cemented (e.g. concrete and rocks) and sintered particulate materials. The chief advantage of the DEM over continuum based techniques is that it does not make assumptions about how cracking and fragmentation initiate and propagate, since the DEM system is naturally discontinuous. The ability for the DEM to produce a realistic representation of a cemented granular material depends largely on the implementation of an inter-particle bonded contact model. This paper presents a new bonded contact model based on the Timoshenko beam theory which considers axial, shear and bending behaviour of the bond. The bond model was first verified by simulating both the bending and dynamic response of a simply supported beam. The loading response of a concrete cylinder was then investigated and compared with the Eurocode equation prediction. The results show significant potential for the new model to produce satisfactory predictions for cementitious materials. A unique feature of this model is that it can also be used to accurately represent many deformable structures such as frames and shells, so that both particles and structures or deformable boundaries can be described in the same DEM framework.     

Modelling crack propagation in reinforced concrete using a hybrid finite element–scaled boundary finite element method

A previously developed hybrid finite element–scaled boundary finite element method (FEM–SBFEM) is extended to model multiple cohesive crack propagation in reinforced concrete. This hybrid method can efficiently extract accurate stress intensity factors from the semi-analytical solutions of SBFEM and is also flexible in remeshing multiple cracks. Crack propagation in the concrete bulk is modelled by automatically inserted cohesive interface elements with nonlinear softening laws. The concrete–reinforcement interaction is also modelled by cohesive interface elements. The bond shear stress–slip relation of CEB-FIP Model Code 90 and an empirical confining stress–crack opening relation are used to characterise slip and split failure at the concrete–reinforcement interface, respectively. Three RC beams were simulated. The numerical results agreed well with both experimental and numerical results available in the literature. Parametric studies demonstrated the importance of modelling both slip and split failure mechanisms at the concrete–reinforcement interface.     

Unity PF current-source rectifier based on dynamic trilogic PWM

One remaining step in perfecting the stand-alone, unity power factor, regulated current-source pulse-width-modulated (PWM) rectifier is to reduce cost, by bringing the twelve-valve converter (consisting of three single-phase full bridges that operate with two-level or bilogic PWM) to the six-valve bridge. However, the six-valve topology requires a three-level or trilogic PWM strategy that can handle feedback signals. A general method of translating three-phase biologic PWM signals into three-phase trilogic PWM signals is presented. The method of translation retains the characteristics of the bilogic PWM, including the frequency bandwidth. Experiments show that the trilogic PWM signals produced by the method can handle not only stabilizing feedback signals but also signals for active filtering     

Detailed analysis of high‐quality symmetrical octagonal spiral inductors on Si substrate

Research studies of symmetrical spiral inductors for silicon technology have become very important and challenging. In this article, we attempt to give a detailed explanation of how symmetrical spiral inductors help to improve the quality factor (Q) as compared to conventional nonsymmetrical inductors. The experimental results are presented to verify our theory. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE, 2005.     

Multiple-wavelength integration in InGaAs-InGaAsP structures using pulsed laser irradiation-induced quantum-well intermixing

In this paper, we present the characteristics of a quantum-well intermixing technique using pulsed-photoabsorption-induced disordering. Photoluminescence, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the process. Using this technique, a differential wavelength shift between the intermixed and nonintermixed regions of over 160 nm has been observed from InGaAs-InGaAsP heterostructures. It was found from the micro-Raman measurements that a spatial resolution of better than 2.5 /spl mu/m can be achieved. A theoretical model has been developed to estimate the spatial resolution limit. Theoretical analysis has also been performed to investigate the effect of laser irradiation on the degree of intermixing in InGaAs-InGaAsP structures. To verify the capability of this process in monolithic photonic integration, high-quality bandgap tuned lasers, two-section extended cavity lasers, and multiple-wavelength laser chips have been fabricated.     

A single-phase controlled-current PWM rectifier

The analysis and test results are given for an experimental single-phase controlled-current PWM (pulse-width-modulated) rectifier that operates at unity power factor with near sinusoidal current waveform and that has power reversal capability. The twice-line-frequency AC power is identified as a source of voltage harmonics in the DC link. The harmonics enter into the voltage regulation feedback loop to distort the AC current waveform. These undesirable harmonics can be removed by a low-pass filter. It is noted that the overall design must address the possibility of instability due to the low-pass filter in the feedback path