Study of crater formation and sputtering process with large gas cluster impact by molecular dynamics simulations

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of large argon clusters impacting on silicon solid targets were performed in order to study the transient process of crater formation and sputtering. The MD simulations demonstrate that the initial momentum of incident cluster is transferred to target surface atoms through multiple collision mechanism, where the initial momentum, which is along to the surface normal before impact, is deflected to lateral direction. This momentum transfer process was analyzed by the calculation of the velocity at the crater edge (the interface between cluster and target). In the case of Ar₁₀₀₀ cluster impact on Si(1 0 0) target at low energy per atom less than 40 eV/atom, the maximum value of lateral velocity of the crater edge increases in proportional to the velocity of incident cluster atoms. On the other hand, the crater edge velocity saturates over 40 eV/atom of incident energy per atom. In this case, the whole of constituent cluster atoms are implanted into the target and expand in both lateral and reflective directions at the subsurface region of the target. These MD simulations demonstrated that this collisional process result in the high yield sputtering of the target atoms.     

Image blurring of thick specimens due to MeV transmission electron scattering: a Monte Carlo study

Image blurring of MeV transmission electrons for gold nanoparticles on the top surface of micrometer-thick specimens has been investigated using the Monte Carlo simulation. Both the simulated line density profile and therefore image blurring were in good agreement with the experimental ones in the ultrahigh voltage electron microscope. Quantitative effects of specimen thickness and electron energy on image blurring were presented, in which the specimen thickness had a greater influence. Image blurring was demonstrated to be caused mainly by multiple elastic scattering, but it could be reduced to several nanometers for a 5?μm thick epoxy-resin specimen at the electron energy of 2?MeV.     

Effect of Ba Filling Fraction on Thermoelectric Properties of p-type Ba_yFe_(1.6)Co_(2.4)Sb_(12)

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Mechanical properties of cross-ply and quasi-isotropic composite laminates processed using aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube/epoxy prepreg

This study examined the processing and mechanical properties of cross-ply and quasi-isotropic composite laminates processed using aligned multi-walled carbon nanotube/epoxy prepreg sheets. Three kinds of CNT/epoxy laminates, ([0°/90°]s, [60°/0°/?60°]s, [0°/45°/90°/?45°]s) were successfully fabricated using aligned CNT/epoxy prepreg sheets. The CNT volume fraction was approximately 10%. No visible void or delamination was observed in composite laminates, and the thickness of each layer was almost equal to that of the prepreg. To evaluate the elastic moduli, E₁₁, E₂₂, and G₁₂, of each ply in the laminates, on-axis and off-axis tensile tests (0°, 45°, 90°) were conducted of aligned CNT/epoxy lamina specimens. The Young’s modulus of CNT/epoxy cross-ply and quasi-isotropic laminates agreed with the theoretical values, which were calculated using classical laminate theory and elastic moduli of CNT/epoxy lamina. The respective failure strains of [0°/90°]s, [60°/0°/?60°]s, and [0°/45°/90°/?45°]s laminates are 0.65, 0.92, 0.63%, which are higher than that of 0° composite lamina (0.5%). Results suggest that the failure strain of 0° layer in composite laminates is improved because of the other layers.     

On the treatments of heterogeneities and periodic boundary conditions for isogeometric homogenization analysis

The treatments of heterogeneities and periodic boundary conditions are explored to properly perform isogeometric analysis (IGA) based on NURBS basis functions in solving homogenization problems for heterogeneous media with omni‐directional periodicity and composite plates with in‐plane periodicity. Because the treatment of the combination of different materials in IGA models is not trivial especially for periodicity constraints, the first priority is to clearly specify points at issue in the numerical modeling, or equivalently mesh generation, for IG homogenization analysis (IGHA). The most awkward, but important issue is how to generate patches for NURBS representation of the geometry of a rectangular parallelepiped unit cell to realize appropriate deformations in consideration of the convex‐hull property of IGA. The issue arises from the introduction of overlapped control points located at angular points in the heterogeneous unit cell, which must satisfy multiple point constraint (MPC) conditions associated with periodic boundary conditions (PBCs). Although two measures may be conceivable, we suggest the use of multiple patches along with double MPC that imposes PBCs and the continuity conditions between different patches simultaneously. Several numerical examples of numerical material and plate tests are presented to demonstrate the validity of the proposed strategy of IG modeling for IGHA. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interphase transfer of tackifier between poly(butadiene) and poly(styrene-co-butadiene)

The interphase transfer behavior of poly(styrene-co-α-methyl styrene), which is known as a tackifier in rubber industry, is investigated using poly(butadiene) rubber (BR) and poly(styrene-co-butadiene) rubber (SBR). The films of pure rubbers and the blends with the tackifier were prepared by a solution-cast method using toluene as a solvent. Two sheets composed of different rubbers, in which the tackifier was mixed at least in one rubber sheet, were piled together and annealed beyond the glass transition temperature T _g of the tackifier. The transfer phenomenon of the tackifier between the sheets was evaluated by the peak shift in the tensile loss modulus E″ curve, ascribed to T _g of the rubbers, which was measured by the dynamic mechanical analysis. Moreover, crystallization temperature of BR was also employed as a measure of the transfer, because the tackifier retards the crystallization of BR. It is found that the tackifier moves from one rubber to another during annealing procedure to reduce severe localization. When the content is the same in each rubber, the tackifier immigrates from BR to SBR, suggesting a better miscibility with SBR. This behavior is attributed to the small difference in the solubility parameter between SBR and the tackifier as compared to that between BR and the tackifier.     

Physical meaning of ΔKRP and fatigue crack propagation in the residual stress distribution field

Previous papers have shown ΔK_RP to be a useful parameter describing fatigue crack propagation behavior, where ΔK_RP is an effective stress intensity factor range corresponding to the excess RPG load (re-tensile plastic zone's generated load) in which the retensile plastic zone appears under the loading process. In this paper, the relationship between ΔK_RP and the zone size ( ) (which is smaller between the tensile plastic zone at maximum load and the compressive plastic zone at minimum load) was investigated using a crack opening/closing simulation model so as to consider a physical meaning of ΔK_RP. As a result, it becomes clear that ΔK_RP dominates the zone size where fatigue damage mostly occurs. This result supports the following crack propagation equation

where C and m are material constants.Simulation and fatigue crack propagation tests were then carried out for compact tension (CT), center cracked tension (CCT) and four points bend (4PB) specimens under constant amplitude loading to obtain C and m values for HT-50 steel. Fatigue crack propagation tests were also carried out under constant amplitude loading using CCT specimens with residual stress distribution due to flame gas heating at the center line or edge lines. The T specimen introduced tensile residual stress at the tip of a notch, and the C specimen introduced compressive residual stress. It therefore becomes clear that tensile residual stress leads to a decrease in RPG load, while compressive residual stress leads to increase in RPG load, and that the simulation results are in good agreement with the experimental RPG load. It also becomes clear that simulated crack growth curve using the simulated and the above equation is in good agreement with the experimental curve. It is understood that tensile residual stress creates only a slight increase in crack propagation rate and compressive residual stress create a big decrease a crack propagation rate.     

Preparation of SiB4±x and SiB6 plates by chemical vapour deposition of SiCl4 + B2H6 system

SiB_4±x and SiB₆ plates were prepared by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) using SiCl₄, B₂H₆ and H₂ gases under the conditions of deposition temperatures (T _dep) from 1323–1773 K, total gas pressures (P _tot) from 4–40 kPa and B/Si source gas ratio (m _B/Si=2B₂H₆/SiCl₄) from 0.2–2.8. The effects of CVD conditions on the morphology, structure and composition of the deposits were examined. High-purity and high-density SiB_4±x and SiB₆ plates about 1 mm thick were obtained at the deposition rates of 71 and 47 nm s⁻¹, respectively. The lattice parameter, composition and density of CVD SiB_4±x plates were dependent on their non-stoichiometry. The lattice parameter,a, was 0.6325 nm, butc ranged from 1.262–1.271 nm.The B/Si atomic ratio ranged from 3.1–5.0, and the density ranged from 2.39–2.45×10³ kg m⁻³. The CVD SiB₆ plates showed constant values of lattice parameters (a=1.444 nm,b=1.828 nm,c=0.9915 nm), composition (B/Si=6.0) and density (2.42×10³ kg m⁻³), independent of CVD conditions.     

Minor role of fractographic features in basic fatigue crack propagation properties

The fatigue crack propagation rate and the fatigue threshold were investigated for transverse-butt-welded joints of the austenitic stainless steel SUS304. Specimens were of the center-cracked type. In three sets of tests the fatigue crack passed through the weld metal, and in the other two sets, through the base metal. The fatigue crack propagation properties coincided with each other at different stress ratios for the weld metal, and at the higher stress ratios for the base metal. The propagation properties improved at the stress ratio of zero for the base metal. The absence of a stress ratio effect means that the coincided properties are basic ones in which fatigue crack closure does not occur. However, fractographic appearance and surface roughness were quite different between weld metal and base metal. The coincidence of fatigue crack propagation properties in spite of the difference in fractographic features reveals that the fractographic appearance and surface roughness only have a minor effect on basic fatigue crack propagation behaviour.     

Theory of the excitonic fluctuation in a strong magnetic field. I. Development of the physical picture and a self-consistent Hartree theory

The physical picture of the appearance of the excitonic correlation in a strong magnetic field is developed in an electron-hole system which consists of one conduction band and one valence band. The field is assumed to be sufficiently strong that all the electrons and holes occupy their lowest Landau levels. Kinematical and dynamical aspects of such a truncated system are discussed in detail. The discussion does not deny the possibility of the excitonic phase transition in a strong magnetic field. The essence of the present physics is in the high degeneracy of the single-particle state and the strong shrinking of the electron wave function due to the magnetic field. In order to study the physics explicitly we construct a self-consistent Hartree theory. Further introducing static and local approximations for the excitonic fluctuation. We can determine the quasiparticle state and the fluctuation exactly near the transition point. We present the transition temperature in two limiting cases of the band configuration. We indicate the self-consistent Hartree theory combined with the static and local approximations is an unsatisfactory theory in the light of our physical picture. We also discuss possible improvements of the theory briefly.