Reading sensitivity of a new thermomechanical data-storage technique: The effect of reducing probe dimensions

Heat transfer in a thermomechanical probe operated in a noble gas is studied by computer simulation in the collisionless approximation. The study is motivated by the fact that heat transfer in the gaseous environment becomes the main factor affecting the data-reading sensitivity as the feature sizes of thermomechanical probes used in data-storage systems approach the mean free path in the gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. A mathematical model is constructed and implemented in software. This is employed to run a computer simulation with the aim of evaluating the data-reading sensitivity in the case of helium. The behavior of the sensitivity with decreasing probe size is examined.     

Nanoscale Crystallization in the Amorphous Alloy Fe79P14.2Si4.4Mn2.2V0.2 upon Pulsed Photon Annealing

The effect of pulsed photon annealing with energy densities from 1.4 to 42 J/cm² for various lengths of time on the structure of the amorphous alloy Fe₇₉P_14.2Si_4.4Mn_2.2V_0.2 was studied by x-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, and transmission electron microscopy. The results demonstrate that short-term irradiation with low energy densities leads to surface relaxation of the amorphous alloy, increases the strength of the surface layer, and reduces the internal-friction peak. Longer term photon annealing leads to crystallization of the alloy throughout the sample thickness.     

Integrated magnetic full wave converter with flexible output inductor

A new integrated magnetic full wave DC/DC power converter that provides flexible transformer design by incorporating an independent output inductor winding is introduced. The transformer is implemented on a traditional three-leg magnetic core. The inductor winding can be separately designed to control the output current ripple. The cross-sectional area of the inductor core leg can be reduced dramatically. The operation and performance of the proposed circuit are verified on a 100 W prototype converter.     

Accuracy of teacher judgments in predicting oral reading fluency.

The relationship between teachers' judgments versus actual performance on curriculum-based measures in reading was examined. A total of 30 regular education teachers were asked to predict the oral reading fluency score of students along with a rating scale of reading subskills. Correlations between teacher judgment measures and student performance found that teachers were accurate reporters of student performance levels in reading. However, some questions were raised whether teachers were accurate at predicting the actual level of student oral reading fluency when effect sizes were used to compare teacher judgment and actual student performance. Recommendations for continued research in understanding the parameters of the accuracy of teacher judgment are made. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability assessment of polysilicon MEMS structures under mechanical fatigue loading

This paper examines the current status and methodologies of study of material and system reliability in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS). This includes: a review of the current literature in the area of MEMS regarding failure analysis experimental investigations; testing methods and philosophies for material characterization and possible mechanistic analytical solutions for estimating material properties. The paper proposes a reliability framework that encompasses all the available information. This statistical platform will enable the MEMS design engineer to distill all the available information in the literature into a stand-alone semi-empirical material reliability model, and a holistic system-level model for a complete system.     

Elastic solutions of a cylindrical rod containing periodically distributed inclusions with axisymmetric eigenstrains

Summary. In this paper, we give the elastic solution for a special type of microstructure – a circular cylindrical rod containing periodically distributed inclusions along its axial direction. Each inclusion has the same uniform axisymmetric transformation strain (eigenstrain). Analytical elastic solutions are obtained for the displacements, stresses and elastic strain energy of the rod. The effects of microstructure and its evolution (growth of inclusions) on the elastic stress and strain fields as well as the strain energy of the rod are quantitatively demonstrated. As a result of such microstructure evolution nominal stress-strain relation with strain softening is derived for a rod under uniaxial tension.     

Efficient and accurate approach for powder compaction problems

 In this paper, a new approach for powder cold compaction simulations is presented. A density-dependent plastic model within the framework of finite strain multiplicative hyperelastoplasticity is used to describe the highly nonlinear material behaviour; the Coulomb dry friction model is used to capture friction effects at die-powder contact; and an Arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian (ALE) formulation is used to avoid the (usual) excessive distortion of Lagrangian meshes caused by large mass fluxes. Several representative examples, involving structured and unstructured meshes are simulated. The results obtained agree with the experimental data and other numerical results reported in the literature. It is shown that, contrary to other Lagrangian and adaptive h-remeshing approaches recently reported for this type of problems, the present approach verifies the mass conservation principle with very low relative errors (less than 1% in all ALE examples and exactly in the pure Lagrangian examples). Moreover, thanks to the use of an ALE formulation and in contrast with other simulations, the presented density distributions do not present spurious oscillations. Received: 20 March 2002 / Accepted: 15 October 2002 The partial financial support of the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología (grant number DPI 2001-2204) is gratefully acknowledged.     

Nanoweb Formation: 2D Self‐Assembly of Semiconductor Gallium Oxide Nanowires/Nanotubes

This paper reports a method to produce networks of crystalline gallium oxide comprised of one‐dimensional (1D) nanostructures. Because of the unique arrangement of wires, these crystalline networks are termed as ‘nanowebs’. Nanowebs are of great technological interest since they contain wire densities of the order of 10⁹ cm^–2. A possible mechanism for the fast self‐assembly of crystalline metal oxide nanowires involves multiple nucleation and coalescence via oxidation–reduction reactions at the molecular level. The preferential growth of nanowires parallel to the substrate enabled them to coalesce into regular polygonal networks. The individual segments of the polygonal network consist of both nanowires and nanotubules of β‐gallium oxide. Individual wire properties contribute to a nanoweb’s overall capacity and the implications for devices based on nanowebs are expected to be enormous.