Thermal Generation of Residual Stress Fields for Purpose of Distortion Minimization

Thermal treatments of steel components with the goal of hardening often result in distortion by releasing the residual stresses which were brought into the specimen during the preceding processing steps. The goal of the presented work is the minimization of this distortion. By generating definite residual stress fields and investigating the resulting distortion, the distortion mechanism can be observed in detail. A flexible and reproducible way to generate such residual stress fields inside a specimen is by means of local thermal treatment with a laser beam. Computer simulations as well as experiments were carried out using an idealized tooth of a gearwheel (finger sample) as a model system. The deformation of the samples due to the laser heat treatment and the stress fields generated inside the samples were determined with respect to different process parameters.     

Failure of Ixodes ticks to inherit Borrelia afzelii infection

To define conditions promoting inherited infection by Lyme disease spirochetes in Ixodes ticks, we variously infected ticks with Borrelia afzelii and examined their progenies by dark-field microscopy, immunofluorescence, PCR, and serial passage. No episode of inherited infection was evident, regardless of instar or gender infected or frequency of exposure. We suggest that these spirochetes rarely, if ever, are inherited by vector ticks.     

Packing-density calculation of thin fluoride films from infrared transmission spectra

Optical thin films of MgF(2) and NdF(3) have been made by molecular-beam deposition in ultrahigh vacuum. The film packing density was calculated from the water amount that filled the cavities of the films in air. For that the transmission in the IR spectral region with a characteristic water absorption band at a wave number of 3400 cm(-1) was measured. The influence on the packing density of a modification of thin-film morphology by stratification of very thin sublayers of different crystallizing fluorides is tested.     

Antireflection coatings for UV radiation obtained by molecular-beam deposition

We have developed fluoride antireflection (AR) coatings on MgF(2) substrates for a wavelength of 248 nm by molecular-beam deposition. Transmission and laser-induced damage threshold of the samples were measured and atomic force microscope (AFM) investigations were carried out. We compare a 14-layer design for AR coatings with sublayer thicknesses of 12 nm with a conventional two-layer design with quarter-wavelength thicknesses. The laser-induced damage threshold of the 14-layer coating is slightly higher than that of the two-layer coating. The AFM surface images show that the 14-layer coating has a smoother surface than the two-layer coating.     

Lagegeregelte servoantriebe ohne mechanische sensoren

Mechanische Sensoren zur Drehzahl- und Lageerfassung bei elektrischen Antrieben verursachen Kosten, vergrößern das Bauvolumen des Antriebs, bedingen die Datenübertragung zwischen Regler und Sensor und schränken das Einsatzgebiet des Antriebs ein. Daher wurden verschiedene Konzepte zum Ersatz dieser mechanischen Sensoren entwickelt. Sie unterscheiden sich durch den Aufwand, die benötigte Genauigkeit (Pumpenantrieb Servoantrieb) und dem gewünschten Betriebsbereich.In diesem Beitrag wird die Realisierung des sensorlosen Betriebs einer permanenterregten Synchronmaschine durch ein Kalman-Filter beschrieben. Durch Simulation und durch praktische Untersuchungen konnte gezeigt werden, daß die Schätzung von Lage und Drehzahl die Genauigkeitsanforderungen für eine indirekte Lageregelung erfüllt. Eine solche Lageregelung besitzt keinen mechanischen Sensor mehr.     

Microanalytical investigation of sintered SiC

UHV-fracture surfaces of different (B, C)- and (Al, C)-doped pressureless sintered SiC materials are investigated by using high resolution Auger electron spectroscopy (HRAES). The grain boundaries at intergranular fractured regions of (B, C)-doped materials are evidently free of any enrichment of impurity elements or sintering additives. In contrast, the (Al, C)-doped materials reveal the existence of thin Al-containing grain boundary films. Sputtering indicates their thickness to be less than 1 nm. The concentrations of the elements segregated in the grain boundary films are determined.     

Spherical sample holders to improve the susceptibility measurement of superparamagnetic materials

The design of two custom sample holders with a spherical cavity for commercial vibrating sample magnetometer systems is described. For such cavities, the magnetization M[over ->] and the internal magnetic field H(i)[over ->] of a sample are both homogeneous. Consequently, the material parameter M(H(i)) of a sample can be determined even for liquids and powders with a high magnetic susceptibility.     

Stability of discrete-time systems with quantized input and state measurements

This note focuses on linear discrete-time systems controlled using a quantized input computed from quantized measurements. Nominally stabilizing, but otherwise arbitrary, state feedback gains could result in limit cycling or nonzero equilibrium points. Although a single quantizer is a sector nonlinearity, the presence of a quantizer at each state measurement channel makes traditional absolute stability theory not applicable in a direct way. A global asymptotic stability condition is obtained by means of a result which allows us to apply discrete positive real theory to systems with a sector nonlinearity which is multiplicatively perturbed by a bounded function of the state. The stability result is readily applicable by evaluating the location of the polar plot of a system transfer function relative to a vertical line whose abcissa depends on the one-norm of the feedback gain. A graphical method is also described that can be used to determine the equilibrium points of the closed-loop system for any given feedback gain.