Determination of phenomenological constants of shear-induced particle migration model

Particles in initially well-mixed suspensions subject to inhomogeneous shear flows will migrate and establish a particle concentration gradient and a non-Newtonian velocity profile. In this study, a phenomenological diffusive flux model coupled with flow equations was employed to describe the shear-induced particle migration in a concentrated suspension. The focus of the paper is on the determination of the two phenomenological constants in the diffusive flux model k_c and k_η. They were determined inversely by employing a least square analysis on the experimental pressure data with different capillary die ratios of length to diameter of the die. The pressures and the flow patterns of the non-Newtonian concentrated suspension were predicted in terms of these two phenomenological constants. The results indicated that particle migration should be accounted for to properly characterize the rheological behaviour of concentrated suspensions.     

Size-dependent fracture and higher order J-integral for solids characterized by strain gradient elasticity

Elastic fracture is governed by the material's strain energy released rate and depends on the applied loads and the stiffness of the structure. The effect of stiffness on fracture as a function of structural size is typically modeled using strain-based elastic fracture mechanics, but recent experimental evidence indicated that when the size of the structure is on the order of the higher order material length scale parameters, elastic strain gradients would stiffen the structure. In this paper, the higher order J-integral and energy-released rate for the analysis of fracture of strain gradient stiffened structures are developed. The effects of beam size on the fracture behaviors of strain gradient stiffened cantilevers on a substrate were analyzed using the higher order J-integral and the energy-released rate. Analyses revealed that the fracture load is elevated to more than 1.4 times of the un-stiffened case when the bending stiffness is doubled by strain gradient stiffening. Elastic fracture is shown to have an added dependence on the size of the structure when strain gradient stiffening is non-negligible.     

Phase I IASC-ASCE Structural Health Monitoring Benchmark Problem Using Simulated Data

Structural health monitoring (SHM) is a promising field with widespread application in civil engineering. Structural health monitoring has the potential to make structures safer by observing both long-term structural changes and immediate postdisaster damage. However, the many SHM studies in the literature apply different monitoring methods to different structures, making side-by-side comparison of the methods difficult. This paper details the first phase in a benchmark SHM problem organized under the auspices of the IASC–ASCE Structural Health Monitoring Task Group. The scale-model structure adopted for use in this benchmark problem is described. Then, two analytical models based on the structure—one a 12 degree of freedom (DOF) shear-building model, the other a 120-DOF model, both finite element based—are given. The damage patterns to be identified are listed as well as the types and number of sensors, magnitude of sensor noise, and so forth. MATLAB computer codes to generate the response data for the various cases are explained. The codes, as well as details of the ongoing Task Group activities, are available on the Task Group web site at 〈http://wusceel.cive.wustl.edu/asce.shm/〉.     

Mathematical analysis of oxygen transfer through polydimethylsiloxane membrane between double layers of cell culture channel and gas chamber in microfluidic oxygenator

For successful cell culture in microfluidic devices, precise control of the microenvironment, including gas transfer between the cells and the surrounding medium, is exceptionally important. The work is motivated by a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic oxygenator chip for mammalian cell culture suggesting that the speed of the oxygen transfer may vary depending on the thickness of a PDMS membrane or the height of a fluid channel. In this paper, a model is presented to describe the oxygen transfer dynamics in the PDMS microfluidic oxygenator chip for mammalian cell culture. Theoretical studies were carried out to evaluate the oxygen profile within the multilayer device, consisting of a gas reservoir, a PDMS membrane, a fluid channel containing growth media, and a cell culture layer. The corresponding semi-analytical solution was derived to evaluate dissolved oxygen concentration within the heterogeneous materials, and was found to be in good agreement with the numerical solution. In addition, a separate analytical solution was obtained to investigate the oxygen pressure drop (OPD) along the cell layer due to oxygen uptake of cells, with experimental validation of the OPD model carried out using human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured in a PDMS microfluidic oxygenator. Within the theoretical framework, the effects of several microfluidic oxygenator design parameters were studied, including cell type and critical device dimensions.     

Continuous Cell Separation Using Dielectrophoresis through Asymmetric and Periodic Microelectrode Array

The study presents a dielectrophoretic cell separation method via three-dimensional (3D) nonuniform electric fields generated by employing a periodic array of discrete but locally asymmetric triangular bottom microelectrodes and a continuous top electrode. Traversing through the microelectrodes, heterogeneous cells are electrically polarized to experience different strengths of positive dielectrophoretic forces, in response to the 3D nonuniform electric fields. The cells that experience stronger positive dielectrophoresis are streamed further in the perpendicular direction to the fluid flow, leaving the cells that experience weak positive dielectrophoresis, which continue to traverse the microelectrode array essentially along the laminar flow streamlines. The proposed method has achieved 87.3% pure live cells harvesting efficiency from a live/dead NIH-3T3 cells mixture, and separation of MG-63 cells from erythrocytes with a separation efficiency of 82.8%. The demonstrated cell separation shows promising applications of the DEP separator for cell separation in a continuous mode.     

Synthesis of monodisperse CdS nanowires and their photovoltaic applications

Cadmium sulphide (CdS) nanowires with a monodisperse diameter of 3.6 nm and an aspect ratio of 10–170 were successfully synthesized using a simple and reproducible hot coordinating solvents method. The morphology and optical properties of the CdS nanocrystals were investigated using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) absorption spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. It was found that using a long alkyl chain phosphonic acid-octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) causes a low diffusion rate and low reactivity which help to control the morphology of the nanocrystals. The timing of the injection process was also found to have critical effect on the morphology of the nanocrystals. Sharp peaks in both the UV–Vis absorption and PL spectra indicate that the size distribution of the diameter is nearly monodisperse. The photovoltaic properties of photovoltaic devices made with a blend of our nanowires and poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV) were also investigated. Devices made with the nanowires were found to have double the I_sc observed in devices made with lower aspect ratio CdS nanorods. The possible reason of low photocurrent and high V_oc is maybe due to the presence of ligand in the nanocrystals.     

Citywide: Supporting Interactive Digital Experiences Across Physical Space

The Citywide project is exploring ways in which technology can provide people with rich and engaging digital experiences as they move through physical space, including historical experiences, performances and games. This paper describes some initial results and experiences with this project based upon two prototype demonstrators. In the first, we describe an application in which a search party explores an archaeological site, uncovering enacted scenes within the virtual world that are of a historical relevance to their particular physical location. In the second, we describe a museum experience where participants explore an outdoors location, hunting for buried virtual artifacts that they then bring back to a museum for a more detailed study. Our demonstrators employ a varied set of devices, including mobile wireless interfaces for locating hotspots of virtual activity when outdoors, to give different experiences of the virtual world depending upon location, task, available equipment and accuracy of tracking. We conclude by discussing some of the potential advantages of using an underlying shared virtual world to support interactive experiences across extended physical settings.     

Domain–Specific High–Level Modeling and Synthesis for ATM Switch Prototyping

ATM switch, the core technology of an ATM networking system, is one of the major products in Fujitsu telecommunication business. However, current gate–level design methodology can no longer satisfy its stringent time–to–market requirement. It becomes necessary to exploit high–level methodology to specify and synthesize the design at an abstraction level higher than logic gates. This paper presents our prototyping experience on domain–specific high–level modeling and synthesis for Fujitsu ATM switch design. We propose a high–level design methodology using VHDL, where ATM switch architectural features are considered during behavior modeling, and a high–level synthesis compiler, MEBS, is prototyped to synthesize the behavior model down to a gate–level implementation. Since the specific ATM switch architecture is incorporated into both modeling and synthesis phases, a high–quality design is efficiently derived. The synthesis results shows that given the design constraints, the proposed high–level design methodology can produce a gate–level implementation by MEBS with about 15 percent area reduction in shorter design cycle when compared with manual design.