The Griffith energy problem for brittle polymers

A number of problems concerning the Griffith criterion for brittle polymers have been considered. A general formula for the energy of deformation of a stressed sample with surface and internal cracks has been derived. This energy was calculated simultaneously for the plane and plane-deformed states of this sample. The commonly accepted view that the Griffith criterion determines a quasi-safe stress that differs markedly from the athermal-fracture criterion was verified. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 156–165, January–February, 2007.     

Calculation of radiation fluxes to the surface of a space vehicle with the aid of a discrete ordinates method

A method and results of numerical modeling of radiative heating of the back surface of the MSRO (Mars Sample Return Orbiter) space vehicle of the European Space Agency are presented. To determine radiation heat fluxes, the method of discrete ordinates on unstructured tetrahedral grids is used. The radiative model is based on the radiation-transfer equation in a multigroup approximation. Numerical calculation has been performed for the most thermally stressed point of the assumed trajectory of the entry of an MSRO-type space vehicle into the Mars atmosphere. A comparison with the discrete ordinates method on structured grids is made. Good agreement between the results of calculations on structured and unstructured grids is demonstrated. The level of radiation heat fluxes to the back surface of the MSRO space vehicle is predicted. __________ Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 80, No. 2, pp. 71–78, March–April, 2007.     

Internal nonlinear four-mode interactions of capillary oscillations of a charged drop

Analytical expressions for the shape of a charged drop of an incompressible liquid nonlinearly oscillating upon multimode initial deformation have been obtained for the first time to within the third order of smallness. The second-order corrections to oscillation frequencies are calculated depending on the spectrum of modes determining the initial deformation. The third-order calculations show that the fundamental mode amplitude may increase due to the energy exchange with higher modes in a large number of possible four-mode resonance interactions.     

Local Structure and Valence State of Mn in Ga1−x Mn x N Epilayers

Mn has been incorporated in epilayers of the large-gap semiconductor GaN grown by molecular beam epitaxy using a nitrogen plasma cell. Detailed extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies of a Ga_0.98Mn_0.02N epilayer confirm that the Mn atoms substitute the Ga atoms, with an increase by 2.7% of the distance to the nearest nitrogen atoms. Near-edge spectroscopy results tend to indicate that the valence state of Mn is slightly higher than 3+, while EXAFS analysis suggests an electron transfer to the N neighbors.     

ESR Refining Potential for Titanium Alloys using a CaF2‐based Active Slag

Since the end of the Cold War and due to the needs to produce titanium more cost‐efficient and thus more attractive for its civilian use, the electroslag remelting (ESR) process has become an increasingly important topic of international research programmes, because titanium and titanium aluminides can be chemically refined by ESR in some degree. Using ESR, titanium turnings from machining steps and scrap from foundries can be remelted, refined and provided as secondary titanium for the market at relatively favourable prices. This article investigates the removability of the main impurities out of titanium and titanium‐aluminium alloys by electroslag remelting using the active slag system CaF₂‐Ca‐(CaO). Thermochemical and kinetic aspects of the ESR process are considered.     

Polygonal extrusion

A sweeping operation called polygonal extrusion is defined to improve the modeling power of CSG-based modeling. It is assumed that a 2D cross-sectional polygon (sweeping polygon) moves in space while its containing plane is kept orthogonal to the tangent direction of the trajectory curve, a planar polygonal chain having no self-intersections. The objective of the paper is to compute the boundary of the swept volume of the sweeping polygon as a set of polygons (or triangles). The most significant challenge to accomplishing this objective is the problem of trimming the swept volume. To solve the trimming problem, 2D-curve offsetting methods are employed. Two algorithms are presented for polygonal extrusion that are based on different offsetting methods, the Voronoi diagram and PWID offset. The proposed algorithms have been implemented and tested with various examples. Published online: 28 January 2003     

Mechanical improvement of hydroxyapatite by TiO<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> nanoparticles deposition

Deposition of Ti was carried out by laser ablation onto hydroxyapatite porous discs in an Ar atmosphere. Ti nanoparticles were deposited onto HAp surface in order to modify its roughness and morphology as it is observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). A homogeneous distribution of Ti over the disc surface was corroborated by elemental mapping. A comparison of the hydroxyapatite hardness before and after deposition was performed using SPM nanoindentation. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) showed that the Ti nanoparticles obtained were covered by an oxygen shell. It is shown that surface modifications of the covered HAp by Ti result in better mechanical properties, reducing the possible damage to the HAp ceramic by friction or impacts as it often happens in meniscus, bone junctions and the inclusion of prosthesis for human treatments.     

A novel fuzzy clustering algorithm for the analysis of axillary lymph node tissue sections

Recently Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic imaging has been used as a tool to detect the changes in cellular composition that may reflect the onset of a disease. This approach has been investigated as a mean of monitoring the change of the biochemical composition of cells and providing a diagnostic tool for various human cancers and other diseases. The discrimination between different types of tissue based upon spectroscopic data is often achieved using various multivariate clustering techniques. However, the number of clusters is a common unknown feature for the clustering methods, such as hierarchical cluster analysis, k-means and fuzzy c-means. In this study, we apply a FCM based clustering algorithm to obtain the best number of clusters as given by the minimum validity index value. This often results in an excessive number of clusters being created due to the complexity of this biochemical system. A novel method to automatically merge clusters was developed to try to address this problem. Three lymph node tissue sections were examined to evaluate our new method. These results showed that this approach can merge the clusters which have similar biochemistry. Consequently, the overall algorithm automatically identifies clusters that accurately match the main tissue types that are independently determined by the clinician.     

Squeeze-film effects in MEMS devices with perforated plates for small amplitude vibration

Squeeze-film effects of perforated plates for small amplitude vibration are analyzed through modified Reynolds equation (MRE). The analytical analysis reckons in most important influential factors: compressibility of the air, border effects, and the resistance caused by vertical air flow passing through perforated holes. It is found that consideration of air compressibility is necessary for high operating frequency and small ratio of the plate width to the attenuation length. The analytical results presented in this paper agree with ANSYS simulation results better than that under the air incompressibility assumption. The analytical analysis can be used to estimate the squeeze-film effects causing damping and stiffness added to the system. Since the value of Reynolds number involved in this paper is low (< 1), inertial effects are neglected.     

Comparative studies of defect production in heavily doped silicon under fast electron irradiation at different temperatures

Production processes of electrically active defects in degenerate silicon subjected to 2.5 MeV electron irradiation at T = 4.2 K and T = 300 K have been studied. The production rates of primary and secondary defects in irradiated samples are analyzed on the basis of the known properties of radiation-produced defects in Si. It has been demonstrated that a striking difference in the production rates of electrically active defects in n- and p-Si under irradiation at cryogenic temperatures may be related to the different fate of Frenkel pairs in both materials. The production rate of primary defects in degenerate Si was found to be between 1.5 cm⁻¹ and 2 cm⁻¹.