Crystal growth as an excitable medium

Crystal growth has been widely studied for many years, and, since the pioneering work of Burton, Cabrera and Frank, spirals and target patterns on the crystal surface have been understood as forms of tangential crystal growth mediated by defects and by two-dimensional nucleation. Similar spirals and target patterns are ubiquitous in physical systems describable as excitable media. Here, we demonstrate that this is not merely a superficial resemblance, that the physics of crystal growth can be set within the framework of an excitable medium, and that appreciating this correspondence may prove useful to both fields. Apart from solid crystals, we discuss how our model applies to the biomaterial nacre, formed by layer growth of a biological liquid crystal.     

Programmable birefringent lenses with a liquid-crystal display

We study the properties of a novel birefringent lens constructed by combination of a regular glass lens and a programmable diffractive lens addressed to a liquid-crystal display (LCD). The LCD affects only the vertical polarization state. Consequently the birefringent lens produces two images of an input object with different locations and magnifications for the two orthogonal polarization states. Using a properly oriented analyzer polarizer produces interference fringes. We then show how the imaging system acts as a common-path polarization interferometer for wave-front analysis of objects in the input plane. Finally, we subtract the two images to produce an edge-enhanced version of the input image. All these effects can be controlled because we can program lenses with different focal lengths onto the LCD.     

Cell design and multi-period machine loading in cellular reconfigurable manufacturing systems with alternative routing

This paper deals with the design and loading of Cellular Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems in the presence of alternative routing and multiple time periods. These systems consist of multiple reconfigurable machining cells, each of which has Reconfigurable Machine Tools and Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines. Each reconfigurable machine has a library of feasible auxiliary machine modules for achieving particular operational capabilities, while each CNC machine has an automatic tool changer and a tool magazine of a limited capacity. The proposed approach consists of two phases: the machine cell design phase which involves the grouping of machines into machine cells, and the cell loading phase that determines the routing mix and the tool and module allocation. In this paper, the cell design problem is modelled as an Integer Linear Programming formulation, considering the multiple process plans of each part type as if they were separate part types. Once the manufacturing cells are formed, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming model is developed for the cell loading problem, considering multi-period demands for the part types, and minimising transportation and holding costs while keeping the machine and cell utilisations in each period, and the system utilisation across periods, approximately balanced. An illustrative problem and experimental results are presented.     

Thermal conductivity anisotropy in polypropylene foams prepared by supercritical CO2 dissolution

Different relative density polypropylene foams were prepared by means of two foaming processes: chemical foaming by compression moulding and physical foaming by high pressure CO₂ dissolution. By controlling the foaming parameters, such as blowing agent concentration, foaming temperature, pressure drop and pressure drop rate, it was possible to regulate the cellular structure, foams showing from markedly isotropic-like cellular structures to ones with highly-elongated cells in the vertical foam growth direction (honeycomb-like cell orientation). The thermal conductivity was measured using the transient plane source method. Using this technique, it was possible to measure the global conductivity and the thermal conductivity in both the axial and radial directions of a given sample. Results show that the global thermal conductivity of foams was mainly regulated by their relative density. In addition, the honeycomb-like cell orientation of the CO₂ dissolution foams resulted in considerably higher values in axial direction when compared to radial, demonstrating that there was a direct influence of cellular structure on the thermal conduction behaviour of these foams, enabling the development of new polypropylene foams with direction-dependent thermal properties.     

Unit load and material-handling considerations in facility layout design

The effectiveness of a layout design cannot be completely measured if the operational characteristics of the manufacturing system are ignored. There is, therefore, a need to develop integrated manufacturing system design models. In this paper, the integration of unit load and material-handling considerations in a facility layout design is presented. This integration is based on a stochastic model that captures the operational characteristics of the manufacturing system and a nonlinear mixed-integer program that incorporates a department formation and facility layout. The non-linear mixed-integer program is solved using a simulated annealing-based algorithm. Analytical results for different manufacturing system scenarios are presented and compared with results obtained using alternative QAP-type formulations. Based on our experiments and the characteristics of the different formulations, key observations are presented and discussed.     

Hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions in cross-linked chitosan membranes

Chitosan membranes with different cross-linking density were prepared by modifying cross-linking time. Sodium tripolyphosphate was the cross-linking agent. A pulsed nuclear magnetic resonance study was performed on uncross-linked and cross-linked membranes. Different fraction of water molecules were identified in different zones within the membranes. The ratio of water molecules per chitosan repeating unit were calculated. A maximum of twelve water molecules were tightly coordinated to the chitosan repeating unit. Also, a very small water molecule fraction was identified but it was mobile enough as not to contribute to the dipolar interactions. The cross-linking reaction could lead to the formation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic interactions. These two types of interactions could result in the coexistence of a network formed by hydrophilic and hydrophobic micropores. This knowledge could be useful for the interpretation of results of hydrophobic drugs permeation across hydrophilic membranes. For example, the increment of estradiol fluxes across chitosan membranes with an increase in cross-linking density.     

Optical pattern recognition in motion acquired scenes using a binary joint transform correlation

Abstract

The problem of detecting patterns in moved scenes is analysed. The correlation when the input scene presents a relative motion with respect to the recording system image is studied analytically and an original method for detecting patterns by means of a binary joint transform correlator is presented. The method is based on the compensation of the sign errors introduced in the joint power spectrum by the transfer function of the degradation. Two alternatives to determine the sign of the transfer function are demonstrated: the first is based on an algorithm to extract information from the Fourier spectrum of the blurred image and the second method determines the sign errors by post-processing the correlation. Digital simulations and optical results are provided.     

Augmented fatigue performance and constant life diagrams of hierarchical carbon fiber/nanofiber epoxy composites

We report the results of an extensive multi-stress ratio experimental study on the axial fatigue behavior of an all-carbon hierarchical composite laminate, in which carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are utilized alongside traditional micron-sized carbon fibers. Primary carbon fibers were arranged in matrix-dominated biax ±45° lay-ups in order to establish matrix and matrix/fiber interaction based performance. CNFs were matrix dispersed by three-roll calender milling. Results indicate that the CNF-reinforced composites collectively possess improved fatigue and static properties over their unmodified counterparts. Large mean lifetime improvements of 150–670% were observed in fully compressive, tensile and tensile dominated loadings. Enhancements are attributed to the high interface density and damage shielding effect of the CNFs within the matrix. Further improvements are believed to occur when the nanofibers arrest and redistribute small scale, slowly propagating matrix cracks at low applied stresses. These results highlight the ability of a nanometer-sized reinforcing phase to actively participate and enhance matrix properties while moving toward a cost effective alternative to current material solutions.     

Infrared Permittivity of the Biaxial van der Waals Semiconductor α-MoO3 from Near- and Far-Field Correlative Studies

The biaxial van der Waals semiconductor α-phase molybdenum trioxide (α-MoO₃) has recently received significant attention due to its ability to support highly anisotropic phonon polaritons (PhPs)—infrared (IR) light coupled to lattice vibrations—offering an unprecedented platform for controlling the flow of energy at the nanoscale. However, to fully exploit the extraordinary IR response of this material, an accurate dielectric function is required. Here, the accurate IR dielectric function of α-MoO₃ is reported by modeling far-field polarized IR reflectance spectra acquired on a single thick flake of this material. Unique to this work, the far-field model is refined by contrasting the experimental dispersion and damping of PhPs, revealed by polariton interferometry using scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy (s-SNOM) on thin flakes of α-MoO₃, with analytical and transfer-matrix calculations, as well as full-wave simulations. Through these correlative efforts, exceptional quantitative agreement is attained to both far- and near-field properties for multiple flakes, thus providing strong verification of the accuracy of this model, while offering a novel approach to extracting dielectric functions of nanomaterials. In addition, by employing density functional theory (DFT), insights into the various vibrational states dictating the dielectric function model and the intriguing optical properties of α-MoO₃ are provided.     

Energy-consistent time integration for nonlinear viscoelasticity

This paper is concerned with the numerical solution of the evolution equations of thermomechanical systems, in such a way that the scheme itself satisfies the laws of thermodynamics. Within this framework, we present a novel integration scheme for the dynamics of viscoelastic continuum bodies in isothermal conditions. This method intrinsically satisfies the laws of thermodynamics arising from the continuum, as well as the possible additional symmetries. The resulting solutions are physically accurate since they preserve the fundamental physical properties of the model. Furthermore, the method gives an excellent performance with respect to robustness and stability. Proof for these claims as well as numerical examples that illustrate the performance of the novel scheme are provided.