XPS analysis of UxCe1−xO2±δ and determination of oxygen to metal ratio

The chemical states of U and Ce in the solid solutions of UO₂ and CeO₂ are studied using the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. A detailed analyses on U 4f and Ce 3d photoelectron peaks revealed the presence of Ce³⁺ and U⁵⁺/U⁶⁺ states in the mixed oxides. The oxygen to metal ratios in different compositions of mixed oxides were estimated from the quantity of different chemical states of U and Ce present in mixed oxides.     

A Review of Standby Redundant Systems

This article critically reviews the existing literature on standby redundant systems. Concepts related to standby systems have been defined. Parameters in which system designers and engineers may be interested have been discussed. Some of these parameters are mean-time-to-system failure, s-expected number of visits to a state, steady-state availability, and s-expected profit rate of the system. The types of systems discussed in literature and various methods employed by different workers in the analysis have been reviewed. Existing literature has been classified with respect to above listed features of standby systems. An up-to-date bibliography is presented systematically.     

High order difference schemes for the wave equation

ADI difference schemes for the solution of the wave equation with variable coefficients are given. Mckee¹ has given a formula of order O(k² + h⁴), while Ciment and Leventhal² have given a formula of order O(k⁴ + h⁴). Both the formulas are conditionally stable with the condition λ√c λ √3?1. In this paper we have derived uncoditionally stable ADI schemes of orders O(k² + h²) and O(k² + h⁴). These schemes allow large time steps and the computational effort is thus reduced. Numerical experiments suggest the usefulness of our formulas.     

Electrical characteristics of GaAs MIS Schottky diodes

The current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of GaAs metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) Schottky barrier diodes are investigated over a wide temperature range and compared with MS diodes. The effects of the insulating layer on barrier height and carrier transport are delineated by an activation energy analysis. Excess currents observed at low forward and reverse bias have also been analyzed and their cause identified. A capacitance anomaly consistently noticed in MIS Schottky barriers is resolved by stipulating a non-uniform interfacial layer, and a self-consistent model of the GaAs MIS Schottky barrier is developed by analyzing I-V and C-V data of both MIS and MS diodes.     

Time Dependent Gaussian Equivalent Linearization of Duffing Oscillator Using Continuous Wavelet Transform

Evolutionary response analysis of Duffing oscillator using Gaussian equivalent linearization in wavelet based time-frequency frame work is presented here. Cubic （i.e., odd type） non-linearity associated with stiffness and damping is modeled. The goal of this research is to develop the mathematical model of an equivalent linear system which is applicable for different non-stationary input processes （i.e., either summation of amplitude modulated stationary orthogonal processes or digitally simulated non-stationary processes）. The instantaneous parameters of the ELTVS （equivalent linear time varying system） are evaluated by minimizing the error between the displacements of non-linear and equivalent linear systems in wavelet domain. For this purpose, three different basis functions （i.e., Mexican Hat, Morlet and a modified form of Littlewood-Paley） are used. The unknown parameters （i.e., natural frequency and damping） of the ELTVS are optimized in stochastic least square sense. Numerical results are presented for different types of input to show the applicability and accuracy of the proposed wavelet based linearization technique.     

Investigation of HMX‐Based Nanocomposites

Advanced munition systems require explosives which are more insensitive, powerful, and reactive. For this reason, nano‐crystalline explosives present an attractive alternative to conventional energetics. In this study, formulations consisting of 95 % octahydro‐1,3,5,7‐tetranitro‐1,3,5,7‐tetrazocine (HMX) and 5 % polyvinyl alcohol (PVOH) were prepared with mean crystal sizes ranging from 300 nm to 2 μm. The process to create these materials used a combination of mechanical particle size reduction and spray drying, which has the advantages of direct control of crystal size and morphology as well as the elimination of ripening of crystals (which occurs during slurry coating of nanomaterials). The basic physical characteristics of these formulations were determined using a variety of techniques, including scanning electron microscopy and X‐ray diffraction. Compressive stress‐strain tests on pressed pellets revealed that the mechanical properties of the compositions improved with decreasing crystal size, consistent with Hall‐Petch mechanics. The 300 nm HMX/PVOH composition demonstrated a 99 % and 129 % greater strength and stiffness, respectively, than the composition with 2 μm HMX. The formulations were subjected to the Small Scale Gap Test, revealing a significant reduction in shock sensitivity with decreasing crystal size. The formulation containing 300 nm HMX registered a shock initiation pressure 1.6 GPa above that of the formulation with 2 μm HMX, a 44 % improvement in sensitivity. These results serve to highlight the relevance of structure‐property relationships in explosive compositions, and particularly elucidate the substantial benefits of reducing the high explosive crystal size to nano‐scale dimensions.     

Genetically engineered elastin-protein A fusion as a universal platform for homogeneous, phase-separation immunoassay

A simple and universal platform for competitive phase-separation immunoassay is reported based on a fusion protein composed of a temperature-responsive elastin-like polypeptide (ELP) and the antibody-binding staphylococcal protein A (SpA). The basic principle is to take advantage of the ability of SpA to bind a variety of antibodies with high affinity, allowing simple separation of antigen-antibody complex by thermal precipitation. The resulting ELP-SpA fusion was shown to preserve the ability to reversibly precipitate as well as its high affinity toward different IgGs and IgMs. As a model system, a competitive phase-separation immunoassay based on the ELP-SpA format was established for paclitaxel (taxol) with IC(50) (20.18 nM) and the lower detection limit (2.94 nM) very similar to those reported for the ELISA format. Unlike the heterogeneous interaction in ELISA, which decreases the antibody-binding activity, the reported homogeneous immunoassay not only alleviates this problem but also enables the potential for high-throughput automation. We believe that the reported ELP-SpA fusion will find applications not only as a powerful diagnostic tool for diverse analytes but also a potential useful tool for purification and immobilization of antibody.