Synthesis and characterization of yttrium aluminum garnet nanostructures by cathodic electrodeposition method

Pure nanostructures of yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG) was prepared based on the cathodic electrodeposition method from the mixture of YCl₃ and AlCl₃ dissolved in water/ethanol solution. At first, hydroxide precursors cathodically were grown on the steel substrates then, the hydroxide powders heat treated at 850 °C for 4 h in dry air atmosphere. The formation of crystalline YAG nanopowder was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (DSC-TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The results of the SEM showed that applied current density and bath temperature have the prominent effect on the morphology and particle size of the products. The results revealed that cathodic electrodeposition followed by heat-treatment can be used as a facile method for preparation of YAG nanostructures with different morphology.     

Bridging cell multiscale modeling of fatigue crack growth in fcc crystals

The previously developed bridging cell method for modeling coupled continuum/atomistic systems at finite temperature is used to model fatigue crack growth in single crystal nickel under two crystal orientations at different temperatures. The method is expanded to implement a temperature‐dependent embedded atom method potential for finite temperature simulations avoiding time‐scale restrictions associated with small timesteps. Results for the fatigue simulation were compared with respect to deformation behavior, stress distribution, and crack length. Results showed very different crack growth mechanisms between the two crystal orientations as well as reduced resistance to crack growth with increased temperature. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Current and Temperature Dependent Matching Fields in Nb Film of Rectangular Array of Holes

Nanoengineered periodic array of holes on superconducting thin films have a great interest due to their excellence for the studies of the vortex pinning mechanisms in the type-II superconductors. Rectangular array of holes has been fabricated over a microbridge of Nb superconducting thin film by e-beam lithography. Rectangular array of holes have two type of scenario, at low magnetic fields matching effects are sharp and narrow while at high fields wide and shallower. In this work, we study the matching pinning effect by the artificial hole array in superconducting Nb thin films. We observed that as the inter distance between holes is decreased; the sharp matching effects become dominant and vice versa.     

Efficient Oxygen Evolution and Gas Bubble Release Achieved by a Low Gas Bubble Adhesive Iron–Nickel Vanadate Electrocatalyst

Surface chemistry is a pivotal prerequisite besides catalyst composition toward advanced water electrolysis. Here, an evident enhancement of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is demonstrated on a vanadate‐modified iron–nickel catalyst synthesized by a successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method, which demonstrates ultralow overpotentials of 274 and 310 mV for delivering large current densities of 100 and 400 mA cm^?2, respectively, in 1 m KOH, where vigorous gas bubble evolution occurs. Vanadate modification augments the OER activity by i) increasing the electrochemical surface area and intrinsic activity of the active sites, ii) having an electronic interplay with Fe and Ni catalytic centers, and iii) inducing a high surface wettability and a low‐gas bubble‐adhesion for accelerated mass transport and gas bubble dissipation at large current densities. Ex situ and operando Raman study reveals the structural evolution of β‐NiOOH and γ‐FeOOH phases during the OER through vanadate‐active site synergistic interactions. Operando dynamic specific resistance measurement evidences an accelerated gas bubble dissipation by a significant decrease in the variation of the interfacial resistance during the OER for the vanadate‐modified surface. Achievement of a high catalytic turnover of 0.12 s^?1 suggests metallic oxo‐anion modification as a versatile catalyst design strategy for advanced water oxidation.     

Coupled heat conduction and thermal stress analyses in particulate composites

This study introduces two micromechanical modeling approaches to analyze spatial variations of temperatures, stresses and displacements in particulate composites during transient heat conduction. In the first approach, a simple micromechanical model based on a first order homogenization scheme is adopted to obtain effective mechanical and thermal properties, i.e., coefficient of linear thermal expansion, thermal conductivity, and elastic constants, of a particulate composite. These effective properties are evaluated at each material (integration) point in three dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) models that represent homogenized composite media. The second approach treats a heterogeneous composite explicitly. Heterogeneous composites that consist of solid spherical particles randomly distributed in homogeneous matrix are generated using 3D continuum elements in an FE framework. For each volume fraction (VF) of particles, the FE models of heterogeneous composites with different particle sizes and arrangements are generated such that these models represent realistic volume elements “cut out” from a particulate composite. An extended definition of a RVE for heterogeneous composite is introduced, i.e., the number of heterogeneities in a fixed volume that yield the same expected effective response for the quantity of interest when subjected to similar loading and boundary conditions. Thermal and mechanical properties of both particle and matrix constituents are temperature dependent. The effects of particle distributions and sizes on the variations of temperature, stress and displacement fields are examined. The predictions of field variables from the homogenized micromechanical model are compared with those of the heterogeneous composites. Both displacement and temperature fields are found to be in good agreement. The micromechanical model that provides homogenized responses gives average values of the field variables. Thus, it cannot capture the discontinuities of the thermal stresses at the particle-matrix interface regions and local variations of the field variables within particle and matrix regions.     

Modeling of failure mode of laser welds in lap-shear specimens of HSLA steel sheets

Failure mode of laser welds in lap-shear specimens of high strength low alloy (HSLA) steel sheets is investigated in this paper. The experiments for laser welds in lap-shear specimens under quasi-static loading conditions are briefly reviewed first. The experimental results showed that the laser welds failed in a ductile necking/shear failure mode and the ductile failure was initiated at a distance away from the crack tip near the boundary of the base metal and heat affected zone. In order to understand the failure mode of these welds, finite element analyses under plane strain conditions were conducted to identify the effects of the different plastic behaviors of the base metal, heat affected zone, and weld zone as well as the weld geometry on the ductile failure. The results of the reference finite element analysis based on the homogenous material model show that the failure mode is most likely to be a middle surface shear failure mode in the weld. The results of the finite element analysis based on the multi-zone non-homogeneous material models show that the higher effective stress–plastic strain curves of the weld and heat affected zones and the geometry of the weld protrusion result in the necking/shear failure mode in the load carrying sheet. The results of another finite element analysis based on the non-homogeneous material model and the Gurson yield function for porous materials indicate that the consideration of void nucleation and growth is necessary to identify the ductile failure initiation site that matches well with the experimental observations. Finally, the results of this investigation indicate that the failure mode of the welds should be examined carefully and the necking/shear failure mode needs to be considered for development of failure or separation criteria for welds under more complex loading conditions.     

Determinants of traffic injuries in drivers and motorcyclists involved in an accident

Basic information on the risk factors of road traffic injuries in Iran is scarce. This case-control study was conducted to determine the association of potential risk factors with the incidence of injury among motor vehicle drivers and motorcyclists on Qazvin-Loshan Road. The cases were 175 drivers and motorcyclists who had a road traffic accident (RTA) and sustained an injury. The controls were 175 motorists who had a RTA, on the same road and over the same time period, without suffering any injury. The analyses were separately performed by comparing the controls with mildly and severely injured cases, using New Injury Severity Score (NISS) 15 as a threshold. The results showed that fire following collision was significant in the crude analysis of all 175 cases and controls. The severity of collision, vehicle type (motorcycle versus other vehicle crashes), and gender were significant in the multivariable analyses of both mildly and severely injured cases. Safety equipment use is only significant (adjusted odds ratio, AOR=0.44, 95% confidence interval, 95%CI=0.23-0.84) among mild cases. The number of collisions (AOR=3.87, 95%CI=1.64-9.10) and weather conditions (AOR=4.32, 95%CI=1.13-16.5) only associate significantly with the occurrence of road traffic injury in severe cases, in comparison with the controls.     

Fully coupled heat conduction and deformation analyses of visco-elastic solids

Visco-elastic materials are known for their capability of dissipating energy. This energy is converted into heat and thus changes the temperature of the materials. In addition to the dissipation effect, an external thermal stimulus can also alter the temperature in a visco-elastic body. The rate of stress relaxation (or the rate of creep) and the mechanical and physical properties of visco-elastic materials, such as polymers, vary with temperature. This study aims at understanding the effect of coupling between the thermal and mechanical response that is attributed to the dissipation of energy, heat conduction, and temperature-dependent material parameters on the overall response of visco-elastic solids. The non-linearly visco-elastic constitutive model proposed by Schapery (Further development of a thermodynamic constitutive theory: stress formulation, 1969, Mech. Time-Depend. Mater. 1:209?C240, 1997) is used and modified to incorporate temperature- and stress-dependent material properties. This study also formulates a non-linear energy equation along with a dissipation function based on the Gibbs potential of Schapery (Mech. Time-Depend. Mater. 1:209?C240, 1997). A numerical algorithm is formulated for analyzing a fully coupled thermo-visco-elastic response and implemented it in a general finite-element (FE) code. The non-linear stress- and temperature-dependent material parameters are found to have significant effects on the coupled thermo-visco-elastic response of polymers considered in this study. In order to obtain a realistic temperature field within the polymer visco-elastic bodies undergoing a non-uniform heat generation, the role of heat conduction cannot be ignored.