Local Dynamics of Adhesives in Aggressive Environment in the Pre-Damage Stage

Molecular aspects of chemical and physical changes in adhesive joints caused by absorbed moisture were investigated. The focus was on the pre-damage stage that precedes the formation of voids and microcracks. A model and a commercial epoxy-amine formulation were studied. Local dynamics were monitored by broad-band dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS). One portion of the absorbed water does not form hydrogen bonds with the network and gives rise to a fast relaxation process (termed γ) with activation energy of 28 kJ/mol. The local β dynamics are slowed down by the interactions between water and various sites on the network that include the ether oxygen, the hydroxyl group and the tertiary amine nitrogen. One particularly significant finding is that the average relaxation time for the β process above 20°C is of the order of nanoseconds or less and, hence, the detection and monitoring of this process hinges upon the ability to perform high-precision DRS at frequencies above 1 MHz. This is an important consideration in the ongoing efforts aimed at the implementation of DRS as nondestructive inspection (NDI) tool for adhesive joints.     

Hydrogen storage properties of sumanene

Numerous studies associated with carbon-based materials have shown excellent results for the adsorption of important molecules. Bearing in mind that hydrogen is important as an energy source in this paper we investigated the adsorption properties of sumanene toward hydrogen molecules. We used a theoretical and computational approach in the framework of density functional theory. Frontier molecular orbitals, HOMO and LUMO, are visualized and molecular electrostatic potential surfaces are created, in order to locate adsorption places. We determined H₂ adsorption binding energies, for which we obtained the applicable results. The adsorption properties of sumanene molecules toward hydrogen molecules were discussed through analysis of the density of states, partial density of states and overlap population density of states. Our results indicate that the sumanene can be very useful in the practical application for storage of hydrogen, which is the basis for its successful energy implementation.     

A new approach to static output feedback stabilization of linear dynamic systems

The topic of this study is output feedback control of linear control system with output. Use of condensed forms of the linear system under static output feedback (SOF) control is made to derive sufficient conditions for stabilization. A minimal-order control-free observer is presented.     

The holy grail of microfluidics: sub-laminar drag by layout of periodically embedded microgrooves

The sub-laminar drag effect of microgroove surfaces was studied numerically in a steady two-dimensional channel flow at subcritical Reynolds numbers. Considerations are restricted to grooves of a few viscous length scales in depth, which are assumed not to promote the laminar to turbulent transition process. It was found that the drag reduction effect is due to the layout of grooves with respect to the flow direction and contour geometry. Results of computations show that for grooves of curved contour placed normal to the flow direction, drag arising from viscous and pressure forces is modulated due to the functional dependence of forces on the surface area projected in the flow direction. Such a groove layout leads to a large skin-friction reduction, but a comparable increase in pressure drag results in sub-laminar drag if drag over flat surface is considered as a reference. For a curved groove contour, the drag reduction increases with increasing Reynolds number and reaches about 5 % at Reynolds numbers approaching critical.     

Adsorption–desorption noise in plasmonic chemical/biological sensors for multiple analyte environment

We investigated intrinsic noise in plasmonic sensors caused by adsorption and desorption of gaseous analytes on the sensor surface. We analyzed a general situation when there is a larger number of different analyte species. We applied our model to calculate various analyte mixtures, including some environmental pollutants, toxic and dangerous substances. The spectral density of mean square refractive index fluctuations follows a dependence similar to that of generation-recombination noise in photodetectors, flat at lower frequencies and sharply decreasing at higher. Some of the calculated noise levels are well within the detection range of conventional surface plasmon resonance sensors. An AD noise peak is observed in temperature dependence of mean square refractive index fluctuations, thus sensor operating temperature may be optimized to obtain larger signal to noise ratio. A significant property of AD noise is its rise with the decreasing plasmon sensor area, which means that it will be even more pronounced in modern nanoplasmonic devices. Our consideration is valid both for conventional surface plasmon resonance devices and for general nanoplasmonic devices.     

Strongly (J,J′)‐lossless rational matrices and ℋ∞ problem

We strengthen the existing definition of (J,J′)‐lossless rational matrices (RMs) and find an algebraic characterization of the newly defined class of strongly (J,J′)‐lossless RMs. The algebraic characterization is given for possibly improper RMs. A connection is presented to a rational ? _∞ problem, known as the Leech problem, which is elaborated on with necessary and sufficient conditions, given in terms of the strongly (J,J′)‐lossless property, as an alternative of the Leech conditions, which can be expressed with positivity of a kernel. An algorithm for solving the Leech problem is given and illustrated by examples.     

Microflow-based control of near-wall fluctuations for large viscous drag reduction

The stabilizing effect of microgroove surface morphology on viscous drag reduction was studied experimentally in the inlet region of a plane channel flow. The stabilization is thought to be due to the ability of a microgrooved surface pattern to suppress the velocity fluctuations in the spanwise direction on a restricted portion of the wetted surface, which prevents vorticity development at the wall and consequently across the entire flow field. This smart microflow control strategy, which works successfully only under very particular circumstances, was implemented in a microgroove-modified channel flow in which the front part has a microgrooved surface topology. The results of pressure drop measurements indicate that microgrooved surfaces can effectively stabilize laminar boundary layer development, leading to a significant reduction in the viscous drag. In the rear flat part of the microgroove-modified channel test section, a maximum drag reduction of DR @ 35%{rm DRsimeq 35%} was measured. This corresponds to an overall drag reduction of DR @ 16%{rm DRsimeq 16%} at a length Reynolds number of Re_x @ 10⁶.Re_xsimeq 10^6. The drag reduction effect persisted in a narrow range of flow velocities and for the reported experimental conditions corresponds to microgroove dimensions between 1.5 and 2.5 viscous length-scales.     

Optimal correlation attack on the multiplexer generator

The security of the well-known multiplexer generator with respect to correlation attacks on the data shift register is investigated. Apart from the basic correlation attack exploiting the bitwise correlation between the output sequence and any data input sequence, two new correlation attacks are introduced. One is based on computing the a posteriori probabilities and is statistically optimal, whereas the other makes use of the accumulated bitwise correlation to all data input sequences. It is theoretically argued and experimentally confirmed that the optimal attack requires a significantly shorter output sequence to be successful than the basic attack. The experiments also show that the less complex accumulated correlation attack requires a somewhat longer output sequence than the optimal attack.     

Interpolation formula for particle reflection coefficient of keV light ions obliquely incident on heavy solids

The particle reflection coefficient of light keV ions backscattered from heavy solids as a function of the ion incidence angle has been determined by a suitable interpolation formula. The formula has two fitting parameters which are obtained by using results from two limiting analytic approaches: by the single collision model - in case of nearly perpendicular incidence; and by the small-angle multiple scattering theory - in case of glancing angles of incidence. The obtained interpolation formula is a universal function of the scaled transport cross section and the angle of incidence. Comparison of our calculations with Monte Carlo simulation data and the experimental results of other authors gives good agreement for particle reflection coefficient.     

Correlations between dynamic mechanical properties and nodular morphology of cured epoxy resins

Various epoxy resin formulations, based on the diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) and cured with diethylene triamine (DETA) were studied. Dynamic mechanical measurements were used to characterize changes in mechanical properties as a function of temperature. The morphology of the cured resins was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Correlations between dynamic mechanical properties and morphology were described and discussed by applying the concept of inhomogeneous (nodular) thermoset morphology. The elastic storage modulus in the glassy state was determined primarily by the internodular matrix, whereas the glass transition of cured resins depended upon the intranodular crosslink density.