Development of Saturable Absorbers for Laser Passive Q‐Switching near 1.5 μm Based on Transparent Ceramic Co2+:MgAl2O4

We describe the development of a reasonable cost Co²⁺:MgAl₂O₄ transparent ceramic plates fabrication technology that allows the producing of parts functioning as passive laser Q‐switches in the 1.3–1.7 μm domain. The main relevant material characteristics were measured. The absorption band, positioned between 1.2 and 1.7 μm, is typical of the ⁴A₂ (⁴F) → ⁴T₁ (⁴F) transition of Co²⁺ substituting Mg²⁺ ions in their T_d symmetry sites. The measured ground‐state absorption cross section σ_gs = 2.9 × 10^?19 cm², saturation contrast γ = 0.12, and depleted ground‐state recovery time τ₂ = 110–430 ns render such parts suitable for the intended application. The radiative lifetime was estimated as . The spin‐orbit splitting constant was estimated as ξ_SL??150 cm^?1 for the ⁴F parent ground state, and ξ_SL ? –575 cm^?1 for the ⁴P parent excited state. Obtained specimens had a transmission of ~80% (t = 2 mm, λ = 600 nm) and included some opaque, white spots. Further improvement of host optical transmission and resistance to laser damage are necessary.     

Effect of composition on the matrix transformation of the Co-Re-Cr-Ta-C alloys

Neutron diffraction measurement was performed in-situ at high temperatures on Co-Re-Ta-C alloys with and without Cr addition. This included alloys containing different C content with the C/Ta ratio varying between 0.5 and 1.0. The Co-Re-solid solution matrix of the experimental alloys is polymorphic (like in pure cobalt) and transformed from low temperature hexagonal ? phase to high temperature cubic γ phase on heating. This transformation is reversible and show hysteresis. The main alloying addition, Re, stabilizes the ? Co-phase and increases the transformation temperature to above 1273 K. The onset of the \(\varepsilon \rightleftharpoons \gamma\) transformation during heating and cooling was found to differ depending on the alloy composition. In alloys without Cr addition the transformation was not completed on cooling and the high temperature γ phase was partly retained at room temperature in metastable state with the amount depending on the cooling rate from high temperature. The diffraction and microstructural results showed that Cr is ? stabilizer (similar as Re) but the role of Ta is not clear. The C/Ta ratio has no direct effect on the matrix phase transformation. Nevertheless, it influences indirectly by determining the amount of Ta which is freely available in the matrix.     

Evaluation of surface/interface quality,microstructure and mechanical properties of hybrid additive-subtractive aluminium parts

A disadvantage of selective laser melting (SLM) processes for the manufacture of large parts is their slow build time per unit volume. A hybrid route is to generate core simple shapes traditionally, for example by machining, followed by adding final features by SLM. Here the mechanical integrity of such hybrid parts is studied, choosing the building of AlSi10Mg by SLM on a machined AA6082 base, in the shape of a tensile test piece, as a simple example. These materials are chosen for their relevance to lightweight parts. As-built parts fail at the SLM/machined interface but standard heat treatments transfer failures to the machined material. Optimised SLM processing conditions and microstructures of the SLM and interfacial regions are reported.     

Windshield recycling focused on effective separation of PVB sheet

The study is focused on windshield recycling process resulting in poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) sheets with very low amout of remain glass particles. PVB sheets were obtained from worldwide manufacturer DuPont and then they were laminated by standard autoclaving process. One sample of PVB sheet was modified by multi‐functional organic acid in order to compare various levels of adhesion. Three‐stage technology was proposed for recycling PVB sheets. In the first‐stage laminated safety glass was mechanically cracked. In the second‐stage the adhesion reduction to minimal degree was followed by chemical‐physical assisted separation. It causes self‐release of the glass out of the PVB sheet. The third‐stage was mechanical peeling of the remaining glass from the PVB sheet which completed the recycling process. The optimal process conditions for the most effective delamination process were found. Delamination technology produces PVB sheet with minimal residual glass content (up to 300 ppm) and minimal change in PVB sheet properties. Described recycling technology is ecologically friendly (the effluent is fully recyclable as well) and could reduce the worldwide problem with windshield waste disposal. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39879.     

Dispersive mixing efficiency of an elongational flow mixer on PP/EPDM blends: Morphological analysis and correlation with viscoelastic properties

Polypropylene and ethylene‐propylene‐diene terpolymer (PP/EPDM) blends were melt compounded in a new mixing device, designed in our laboratory under the trademark of RMX®, which predominantly generates elongational flows. Dispersion of the EPDM minor phase in PP was carried out in both RMX® and in an internal mixer (Haake Rheomix 600) at equivalent specific mixing energies and the resultant morphologies obtained by SEM were analyzed and compared. A better dispersive mixing efficiency of the RMX® mixer, i.e., lower D_n and D_v of the dispersed EPDM phase was observed. The impact of elongational flow was more pronounced for blends having a high viscosity ratio p, indicating an enhanced droplet break‐up mechanism, which was attributed to the combination of high shear rates inside the mixing element and important elongational flows in the convergent/divergent zones. The morphology of the blends was correlated with their linear viscoelastic properties by using the Palierne model. Very good agreement was found for the PP/EPDM 80/20 blends but for higher EPDM content, the Palierne model failed to describe the rheological behavior, which was attributed to percolation of the minor phase with increasing the concentration. Higher elasticity at low frequencies was observed for blends processed in the RMX®, which was attributed to a higher generated interfacial area. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 54:1444–1457, 2014. © 2013 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Spontaneous boiling up as a specific relaxation process in polymer–solvent systems

The phenomenon of spontaneous bubble nucleation in extremely supersaturated (superheated) polymer–solvent systems has been studied experimentally. Spontaneous boiling-up temperatures T^* for polystyrene and poly(ethylene glycol) solutions in a number of solvents have been measured at different values of pressure p and weight fraction of polymer c by the pulse heating method. The heating rate Ṫ varied from 10⁵ to 10⁷ K/s. For all systems studied, the values of T^* have been found to increase with increasing p and c. The T^*(p, c) dependence is discussed with the use of the data on the degree of compatibility of components. The peculiarities of polymeric solutions manifest themselves in the region c → 1, as follows: (i) an abrupt increase (by 1–2 orders of magnitude) in the slope of the T^*(c) dependence, and (ii) the appearance of the dependence of T^* values on the heating rate. Our approach to the interpretation of this result assumes a change in the initial composition of a solution in the course of heating due to polymer decomposition. An example of the extended phase diagram of a polymer–solvent system including the kinetic surface of T^*(p, c) is given. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The OpenView Enterprise Management Framework

In OpenView, Hewlett-Packard has concentrated on creating a multivendor management platform for TCP/IP-based internets. This plays to the company's strengths in LAN management, where it has been a major player in the LAN protocol analyzer market since the early 1980s, and its expertise in TCP/IP, which the company had been using internally since the early 1980s.     

Anticonvulsive Effects and Pharmacokinetic Profile of Cannabidiol (CBD) in the Pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) or N-Methyl-D-Aspartate (NMDA) Models of Seizures in Infantile Rats

In spite of use of cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, in pediatric patients with epilepsy, preclinical studies on its effects in immature animals are very limited. In the present study we investigated anti-seizure activity of CBD (10 and 60 mg/kg administered intraperitoneally) in two models of chemically induced seizures in infantile (12-days old) rats. Seizures were induced either with pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) or N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA). In parallel, brain and plasma levels of CBD and possible motor adverse effects were assessed in the righting reflex and the bar holding tests. CBD was ineffective against NMDA-induced seizures, but in a dose 60 mg/kg abolished the tonic phase of PTZ-induced generalized seizures. Plasma and brain levels of CBD were determined up to 24 h after administration. Peak CBD levels in the brain (996 ± 128 and 5689 ± 150 ng/g after the 10- and 60-mg/kg doses, respectively) were reached 1–2 h after administration and were still detectable 24 h later (120 ± 12 and 904 ± 63 ng/g, respectively). None of the doses negatively affected motor performance within 1 h after administration, but CBD in both doses blocked improvement in the bar holding test with repeated exposure to this task. Taken together, anti-seizure activity of CBD in infantile animals is dose and model dependent, and at therapeutic doses CBD does not cause motor impairment. The potential risk of CBD for motor learning seen in repeated motor tests has to be further examined.     

Viscosity of glass-forming melt at the bottom of high-level waste melter-feed cold caps: Effects of temperature and incorporation of solid components

During the final stages of conversion of melter feed (glass batch) to molten glass, the glass-forming melt becomes a continuous liquid phase that encapsulates dissolving solid particles and gas bubbles that produce primary foam at the bottom of the cold cap (the reacting melter feed in an electric glass-melting furnace). The glass-forming melt viscosity plays a dominant role in primary foam formation, stability, and eventual collapse, thus affecting the rate of melting (the glass production rate per cold-cap area). We have traced the glass-forming melt viscosity during the final stages of feed-to-glass conversion as it changes in response to changing temperature and composition (resulting from dissolving solid particles). For this study, we used high-level waste melter feeds—taking advantage of the large amount of data available to us—and a variety of experimental techniques (feed expansion test, evolved gas analysis, thermogravimetric analyzer-differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, and viscometer). Starting with a relatively low value at the moment when the melt connects, melt viscosity reached maximum within the primary foam layer and then decreased to its final melter operating temperature value. At the cold-cap bottom—the boundary between the primary foam layer and the thermal boundary layer—where physicochemical reactions of a melter feed influence the driving force of the heat transfer from the melt to the cold cap, the melt viscosity affects the rate of melting predominantly through its effect on the temperature at which primary foam is collapsing.     

Phase diagram of the Li2SO4–Na2SO4 system

The thermal analysis and X-ray powder diffraction studies of the Li₂SO₄–Na₂SO₄ system, including the high-temperature X-ray diffraction technique, have elucidated four phases of variable composition: three solid solutions based on the α-Li₂SO₄, α-Na₂SO₄, and α-LiNaSO₄ high-temperature polymorphs, and a low-temperature β-LiNaSO₄ phase. α-Na₂SO₄-Base solid solution disintegrates into two phases via a monotectoid phase transformation. It is quite probable that the monotectoid process is related to the conversion of the second-order phase transition to the first-order phase transition.