Integrated study of experiment and first‐principles computation for the characterization of a corium type ZrO8 complex in a Zr‐doped fluorite UO2

We, for the first time, observe ZrO₈ complex in Zr‐doped UO₂, which is a corium structure, using experimental characterization integrated with first‐principle computational validation. Atomic level structure of U_1?yZr_yO₂ pellets (y = 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, and 0.1) is identified using Raman spectroscopy measurement and X‐ray diffraction pattern analysis. The lattice constants shrink with increasing Zr doping levels, which consistently represents in the positive shift of T_2g Raman vibration peak around 445 cm^?1. More interestingly, conventionally unknown new Raman peak appears around 598 cm^?1, which has not been observed in neither a pure ZrO₂ nor UO₂ doped with tetravalent elements other than Zr. We unveil that the new peak originates from ZrO₈‐type complex formed on the fluorite UO₂. Our study provides precise understanding on the formation mechanisms and material properties of the corium in the hypervalent oxide.     

Structural Properties of Boron-Doped Germanium-Tin Alloys Grown by Molecular Beam Epitaxy

Boron-doped Ge_1?x Sn _x alloys with atomic fractions of tin up to x = 0.08 were grown on n-Ge(001) substrates using solid-source molecular beam epitaxy, in order to study their structural properties. The total boron concentration in the alloys was ~ 10¹⁸ cm^?3 as measured by secondary-ion mass spectroscopy, which also indicated low amounts of impurities such as carbon and oxygen. More than 90% of the Sn atoms occupied substitutional lattice sites in the alloy as determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. High-resolution x-ray diffraction showed that the boron-doped Ge_1?x Sn _x alloys were single crystals that were completely strained with low defect densities and coherent interfaces for thickness up to 90 nm, and for Sn composition of 8%. The boron-doped Ge_1?x Sn _x /n-Ge formed p–n junctions with conventional rectifying characteristics, indicating that the boron produced electrically active acceptor states.     

Android application that provides information on the foot and mouth disease in Korea

The foot and mouth disease is one of the most infectious diseases among artiodactyla. This occurred in and caused great damage to Korea in 2010. The effect was spread all over the country since it was not dealt with effectively at the early stages of the outbreak. Thus, this study aims to develop an application with the menu items such as the outbreak areas, and symptoms, and prompt reports of the foot and mouth disease so that stock farmers can download it through Smartphone and tablet PC web markets. The developed application enables stock farmers to get realtime information on the foot and mouth disease anywhere anytime, and to cope with this disease promptly when it occurs around their farming areas. It is expected that this application will be of help in preventing the foot and mouth disease from spreading further.     

Well‐Defined Functional Linear Aliphatic Diblock Copolyethers: A Versatile Linear Aliphatic Polyether Platform for Selective Functionalizations and Various Nanostructures

Low‐temperature anionic ring‐opening homopolymerizations and copolymerizations of two glycidol derivatives (allyl glycidyl ether (AGE) and ethoxyethyl glycidyl ether (EEGE)) are studied using a metal‐free catalyst system, 3‐phenyl‐1‐propanol (PPA) (an initiator) and 1‐tert‐butyl‐4,4,4‐tris(dimethylamino)‐2,2‐bis[tris‐(dimethylamino)phosphoranylidenamino]‐2Λ⁵,4Λ⁵‐catenadi(phosphazene) (t‐Bu‐P₄) (a promoter) in order to obtain well‐defined functional linear polyethers and diblock copolymers. With the aid of the catalyst system, AGE is found to successfully undergo anionic ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) even at room temperature (low reaction temperature) without any side reactions, producing well‐defined linear AGE‐homopolymer in a unimodal narrow molecular weight distribution. Under the same conditions, EEGE also undergoes polymerization, producing a linear EEGE‐homopolymer in a unimodal narrow molecular‐weight distribution. In this case, however, a side reaction (i.e., chain‐transfer reaction) is found to occur at low levels during the early stages of polymerization. The chemical properties of the monomers in the context of the homopolymerization reactions are considered in the design of a protocol used to synthesize well‐defined linear diblock copolyethers with a variety of compositions. The approach, anionic polymerization via the sequential step feed of AGE and EEGE as the first and second monomers, is found to be free from side reactions at room temperature. Each block of the obtained linear diblock copolymers undergoes selective deprotection to permit further chemical modification for selective functionalization. In addition, thermal properties and structures of the polymers and their post‐modification products are examined. Overall, this study demonstrates that a low‐temperature metal‐free anionic ROP using the PPA/t‐Bu‐P₄ catalyst system is suitable for the production of well‐defined linear AGE‐homopolymers and their diblock copolymers with the EEGE monomer, which are versatile and selectively functionalizable linear aliphatic polyether platforms for a variety of post‐modifications, nanostructures, and their applications.     

Highly efficient blue organic light-emitting diodes using quantum well-like multiple emissive layer structure

In this study, the properties of blue organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), employing quantum well-like structure (QWS) that includes four different blue emissive materials of 4,4′-bis(2,2′-diphenylyinyl)-1,1′-biphenyl (DPVBi), 9,10-di(naphth-2-yl)anthracene (ADN), 2-(N,N-diphenyl-amino)-6-[4-(N,N-diphenyl amine)styryl]naphthalene (DPASN), and bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolate)-4-(phenyl phenolato) aluminum (BAlq), were investigated. Conventional QWS blue OLEDs composed of multiple emissive layers and charge blocking layer with lower highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)-lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy level, and devices with triple emissive layers for more significant hole-electron recombination and a wider region for exciton generation were designed. The properties of triple emissive layered blue OLEDs with the structure of indium tin oxide (ITO) /N,N′-diphenyl-N,N′-bis(1-naphthyl-phenyl)-(1,1′-biphenyl)-4,4′-diamine (NPB) (700 Ǻ)/X (100 Ǻ)/BAlq (100 Ǻ)/X (100 Ǻ)/4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline (Bphen) (300 Ǻ)/lithium quinolate (Liq) (20 Ǻ)/aluminum (Al) (1,200 Ǻ) (X = DPVBi, ADN, DPASN) were examined. HOMO-LUMO energy levels of DPVBi, ADN, DPASN, and BAlq are 2.8 to 5.9, 2.6 to 5.6, 2.3 to 5.2, and 2.9 to 5.9 eV, respectively. The OLEDs with DPASN/BAlq/DPASN QWS with maximum luminous efficiency of 5.32 cd/A was achieved at 3.5 V.     

Interference-free tool path generation in five-axis machining of a marine propeller

The manufacture of a marine propeller typically requires long lead-time to generate five-axis tool paths. It usually takes several days to generate satisfactory tool paths with a general purpose CAD/CAM system. This paper proposes a novel methodology that generates effective five-axis tool paths for marine propellers. The machining of a propeller is accomplished in three steps: rough cut, semi-finish cut, and finish cut. For generating accurate finish cut tool paths, the proposed system computes check vectors that determine a maximum range of valid tool motion based upon tool size and passage width for each CL (Cutter Location) point along the tool path. Interference-free tool paths can be acquired by positioning the tool inside the two check vectors. The modelling capability for propellers is also of importance because it determines the eventual success or failure of the whole process. An iterative B-spline surface modelling technique is employed to improve the accuracy of the models and to increase the productivity. The proposed system generates interference-free tool paths with superior surface finish and reduces lead-time to manufacture a propeller. The system validation and sample results are given and discussed.     

Hydrogen production by steam reforming of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over mesoporous nickel–alumina xerogel catalysts prepared by a single-step carbon-templating sol–gel method

A series of mesoporous nickel–alumina xerogel catalysts (denoted as CNAX) were prepared by a single-step carbon-templating sol–gel method using different amount of carbon template (X), and they were applied to the hydrogen production by steam reforming of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Textural properties of CNAX catalysts were improved with increasing the amount of carbon template. CNAX catalysts exhibited diffraction peaks corresponding to nickel aluminate phase, while CNA18 and CNA24 catalysts showed additional bulk nickel oxide phase. From TPR measurements, it was revealed that the interaction between nickel species and alumina in the CNAX catalysts became weakened with increasing the amount of carbon template. Crystallite size of metallic nickel in the reduced CNAX catalysts showed a volcano-shaped trend with respect to the amount of carbon template. In the steam reforming of LNG, CNAX (X = 0, 6, 12, and 18) catalysts exhibited a stable catalytic performance during the reaction, while CNA24 catalyst showed a significant catalyst deactivation. Crystallite size of metallic nickel served as an important factor determining the catalytic performance in the steam reforming of LNG. Initial LNG conversion and initial hydrogen yield increased with decreasing crystallite size of metallic nickel of the catalysts. Among the catalysts tested, CNA12 catalyst with the smallest crystallite size of metallic nickel showed the best catalytic performance.     

Reliability-based design optimization applied to structures submitted to random fatigue loads

Structural and Multidisciplinary Optimization - The reliability-based design optimization (RBDO) aims to find the most balanced design through a compromise between cost and safety when...     

Studies of dynamic crack propagation and crack branching with peridynamics

In this paper we discuss the peridynamic analysis of dynamic crack branching in brittle materials and show results of convergence studies under uniform grid refinement (m-convergence) and under decreasing the peridynamic horizon (δ-convergence). Comparisons with experimentally obtained values are made for the crack-tip propagation speed with three different peridynamic horizons. We also analyze the influence of the particular shape of the micro-modulus function and of different materials (Duran 50 glass and soda-lime glass) on the crack propagation behavior. We show that the peridynamic solution for this problem captures all the main features, observed experimentally, of dynamic crack propagation and branching, as well as it obtains crack propagation speeds that compare well, qualitatively and quantitatively, with experimental results published in the literature. The branching patterns also correlate remarkably well with tests published in the literature that show several branching levels at higher stress levels reached when the initial notch starts propagating. We notice the strong influence reflecting stress waves from the boundaries have on the shape and structure of the crack paths in dynamic fracture. All these computational solutions are obtained by using the minimum amount of input information: density, elastic stiffness, and constant fracture energy. No special criteria for crack propagation, crack curving, or crack branching are used: dynamic crack propagation is obtained here as part of the solution. We conclude that peridynamics is a reliable formulation for modeling dynamic crack propagation.