Better Sintering through Green-State Deformation Processing

Aqueous colloidal suspensions of alumina were processed in the dispersed state and the flocculated state by controlling the double-layer interactions between the particles. Repulsive particle forces led to high packing densities but the green bodies were mechanically so weak that they were unable to retain their shape (the dispersed case). Attractive forces led to good green strength but the packing density was low and the particles were agglomerated (the flocculated case). The agglomerated structure of the flocced specimens could be fragmented by mechanical deformation of the green compact; the deformation was carried out under a superimposed hydrostatic pressure of less than 1 MPa. The flow stess of the flocculated structures depended on the deformation rate, and on the magnitude of the superimposed hydrostatic pressure. The flow stress was 2.5 kPa at a strain rate of 0.1 s⁻¹. Deformation processing of the flocced structures increased the green (relative) density from 0.51 to 0.62. The sintering behavior of underformed and deformation-processed flocced structures was studied. Deformation-processed green bodies sintered more rapidly and yielded a final grain size that was smaller and more uniform than that obtained from the undeformed specimens. The ability to homogenize and densify the packing of flocculated structures by deformation processing suggests new opportunities in green-state processing, for example (i) uniform mixing of more than one kind of particle or particles and fibers, and (ii) net shape forming by injection molding or extrusion, without the use of organic binders.     

Semi-empirical model for millimetre-wave vegetation attenuationrates

An improved empirical model of the attenuation rates due to propagation through vegetation at millimetre-wave frequencies is described. The measured vegetation attenuation rates of 38 GHz signals were fitted to a two-parameter model with a final slope of 0 dB/m, to give an improvement in fit over the current ITU recommendation. However, this final slope is not a typical characteristic and is not seen at other frequencies. A new three-parameter model has been developed, which may have a nonzero final slope, giving the model greater freedom and therefore a better fit to measured data at all frequencies     

电能计量IC配合闪存单片机,实现灵活创新的电表设计

近年来,市场上固定功能的电表集成电路（IC）不断增多,这使得在电表设计方面保持竞争力变得越来越困难。许多模拟前端（AFE）电能计量IC都采用Δ-∑ADC,并通过基于ROM的固定功能状态机来计算功率输出。这些IC不能进行修改,也不能用于电能测量之外的其他功能。     

High aperture efficiency symmetric reflector antennas with up to60° field of view

A microwave single-reflector scanning antenna derived from an ellipse (rather than the usual parabola) which gives a much greater field of view is presented. This reflector combines reasonable scanning in one plane with good focusing in the other, and its scanning ability is superior to the torus and other single reflectors because it has much greater aperture efficiency and is thus smaller while having the same performance. The reflector surface is derived in two steps: a fourth-order even polynomial profile curve in the scan plane is found using least squares to minimize the scanned ray errors; then even polynomial terms in x and y that minimize astigmatism for both the unscanned and maximally scanned beams are added to form the three-dimensional surface. Numerical simulations of radiation patterns for a variety of antenna diameter and field-of-view cases give excellent results. The 60° scan case with 30-λ-diameter aperture has only 0.2-dB peak gain deviation from ideal and first sidelobe levels below 14 dB down from peak gain. The 17°, 500-λ case has only 0.8-dB gain variation and -14 to -11 dB sidelobe levels for approximately ±68 beamwidths of scan, with focal length to aperture diameter ratio equal to about one     

Cons and pros: prison education through the eyes of the prison educated*

ABSTRACT

While much has been written within academic journals about prisoners, rarely is there anything written by prisoners. In this essay, we, a group of prisoners who are earning or have earned college degrees while incarcerated in Texas, address the purpose, merits, and pitfalls of prison education and reform. Written as a response to the essays appearing in this special issue, we discuss our experiences of being othered as inmates, the impact of societal bias against us, our perspectives on prison education, and our own ideas for reforming prisons and making them more humane.     

Radar cross section of trihedral corner reflectors using PO and MEC

Physical optics (po) and the method of equivalent currents (mec) are used for the formulation and calculation of the backscatter cross section of both the triangular and square trihedral corner reflectors. Scattering from a trihedral corner reflector is dominated by single, double, and triple reflections by the interior walls. A physical optics integration is performed on the entire surface of each plate for the evaluation of the singly reflected fields. Doubly and triply reflected fields are evaluated by first using geometrical optics (go) at initial reflections to calculate the incident plane wave on the plate where the last reflection occurs. Physical optics is then applied on the illuminated area of that plate. First-order diffractions, which are based on the fringe current expressions for the exterior edges of the trihedral, are also included in the analysis. Predictions compare very well with both experimental and fdtd data.     

Amplified spontaneous emission effects in semiconductor laseramplifiers

The analysis presented provides a quantitative method for predicting semiconductor laser amplifier performance in the presence of ASE (amplified spontaneous emission). It indicates that in order to increase the fraction of pump power that contributes to the amplification of the input laser field relative to that spent in overcoming internal losses, an amplifier should operate at as high an excitation level as possible. This may mean operating an amplifier above its free-running oscillation threshold. A limitation to the maximum pump power is the increase in ASE. With too high an excitation, ASE dominates over the amplified input laser field, resulting in a quenching of the amplifier gain, efficiency and coherence. ASE effects may be mitigated by increasing the input laser intensity, decreasing the amplifier facet reflectivities, or, in some cases, tuning the master oscillator so that it is resonant with the amplifier. The analysis indicates that minimizing the facet reflectivity is the most effective way to circumvent ASE limitations to power scaling semiconductor laser amplifiers     

A 0D Lead‐Free Hybrid Crystal with Ultralow Thermal Conductivity

Organic–inorganic hybrid materials are of significant interest owing to their diverse applications ranging from photovoltaics and electronics to catalysis. Control over the organic and inorganic components offers flexibility through tuning their chemical and physical properties. Herein, it is reported that a new organic–inorganic hybrid, [Mn(C₂H₆OS)₆]I₄, with linear tetraiodide anions exhibit an ultralow thermal conductivity of 0.15 ± 0.01 W m^?1 K^?1 at room temperature, which is among the lowest values reported for organic–inorganic hybrid materials. Interestingly, the hybrid compound has a unique 0D structure, which extends into 3D supramolecular frameworks through nonclassical hydrogen bonding. Phonon band structure calculations reveal that low group velocities and localization of vibrational energy underlie the observed ultralow thermal conductivity, which could serve as a general principle to design novel thermal management materials.     

Adhesion and Surface Interactions of a Self‐Healing Polymer with Multiple Hydrogen‐Bonding Groups

The surface properties and self‐adhesion mechanism of self‐healing poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) copolymers containing comonomers with 2‐ureido‐4[1H]‐pyrimidinone quadruple hydrogen bonding groups (UPy) are investigated using a surface forces apparatus (SFA) coupled with a top‐view optical microscope. The surface energies of PBA–UPy4.0 and PBA–UPy7.2 (with mole percentages of UPy 4.0% and 7.2%, respectively) are estimated to be 45–56 mJ m^?2 under dry condition by contact angle measurements using a three probe liquid method and also by contact and adhesion mechanics tests, as compared to the reported literature value of 31–34 mJ m^?2 for PBA, an increase that is attributed to the strong UPy–UPy H‐bonding interactions. The adhesion strengths of PBA–UPy polymers depend on the UPy content, contact time, temperature and humidity level. Fractured PBA–UPy films can fully recover their self‐adhesion strength to 40, 81, and 100% in 10 s, 3 h, and 50 h, respectively, under almost zero external load. The fracture patterns (i.e., viscous fingers and highly “self‐organized” parallel stripe patterns) have implications for fabricating patterned surfaces in materials science and nanotechnology. These results provide new insights into the fundamental understanding of adhesive mechanisms of multiple hydrogen‐bonding polymers and development of novel self‐healing and stimuli‐responsive materials.