Deep-collapse operation of capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducers (CMUTs) have been introduced as a promising technology for ultrasound imaging and therapeutic ultrasound applications which require high transmitted pressures for increased penetration, high signal-to-noise ratio, and fast heating. However, output power limitation of CMUTs compared with piezoelectrics has been a major drawback. In this work, we show that the output pressure of CMUTs can be significantly increased by deep-collapse operation, which utilizes an electrical pulse excitation much higher than the collapse voltage. We extend the analyses made for CMUTs working in the conventional (uncollapsed) region to the collapsed region and experimentally verify the findings. The static deflection profile of a collapsed membrane is calculated by an analytical approach within 0.6% error when compared with static, electromechanical finite element method (FEM) simulations. The electrical and mechanical restoring forces acting on a collapsed membrane are calculated. It is demonstrated that the stored mechanical energy and the electrical energy increase nonlinearly with increasing pulse amplitude if the membrane has a full-coverage top electrode. Utilizing higher restoring and electrical forces in the deep-collapsed region, we measure 3.5 MPa peak-to-peak pressure centered at 6.8 MHz with a 106% fractional bandwidth at the surface of the transducer with a collapse voltage of 35 V, when the pulse amplitude is 160 V. The experimental results are verified using transient FEM simulations.     

Determination of the Principal Volatile Compounds of Turkish Raki

Turkish Raki is a type of traditional aniseed spirit produced in different areas of Turkey. The amounts and the repartition of the alcoholic fermentation products (fusel alcohols, esters, and aldehydes) are mainly responsible for the flavours and quality of the spirit. Previous studies have been carried out on the quantification of the volatiles of the different aniseed spirits using GC and GC‐MS. In this study of 20 different commercial brands of bottled Raki and 5 homemade Turkish Raki products, the major volatiles and methanol were determined using direct injection with GC‐MS. SPME extraction was also used as a confirmation method for the separation of Raki volatiles. Eight different substances were successfully identified using SPME extraction. The results indicated that some homemade Turkish Raki products from the different regions contained slightly higher concentrations of the most studied compounds. The toxic compound methanol was detected only at a level far below the acceptable legal limit.     

A frequency domain boundary element formulation for dynamic interaction problems in poroviscoelastic media

A unified formulation is presented, based on the boundary element method, to perform the interaction analysis for the problems involving poroviscoelastic media. The proposed formulation permits the evaluation of all the elements of impedance and input motion matrices at a single step in terms of system matrices of boundary element method without solving any special problem, such as, unit displacement or load problem, as required by conventional methods. It further eliminates the complicated procedure and the need for using scattering analysis in the evaluation of input motion functions. The formulation is explained by considering a simple interaction problem involving an inclusion embedded in an infinite poroviscoelastic medium, which is under the influence of a dynamic excitation induced by seismic waves. In the formulation, an impedance relation is established for this interaction problem, suitable for performing the interaction analysis by substructure method, which permits carrying out the analysis for inclusion and its surrounding medium separately. The inclusion is first treated as poroviscoelastic, then viscoelastic and finally rigid, where the formulation in each of these cases is obtained consecutively as a special case of the previous one. It is remarkable to note that, a cavity problem where there is a hole in place of inclusion can be also considered within the framework of the present formulation. The formulation is assessed by applying it to some sample problems. The extension of the formulation to other types of interaction problems, such as, multi-inclusion problems, the analyses of foundations supported by a poroviscoelastic medium, etc., will be the subject of a separate study.     

Synthesis,characterization and thermal properties of a novel star polymer consisting of poly(ε-caprolactone) arms emanating from an octa-functional porphyrazine core

Octaarmed star-shaped poly(ε-caprolactone) (OSPCL) was successfully synthesized via the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of ε-caprolactone (ε-CL) with a magnesium porphyrazine as the multisite initiator and tin(II) 2-ethylhexanoate (Sn(Oct₂)) as the catalyst in bulk at 115 °C. The star polymer has a central Mg-porphyrazine surrounded by ε-CL arms. OSPCL was characterized by ¹H NMR, FTIR, GPC and UV–vis, and fluorescent spectroscopy. The effect of the molar ratio of the monomer to the initiator on molecular weight of the polymer was also investigated. The molecular weight of the polymer linearly increased with increasing molar ratio of the monomer to the initiator. The crystallization behavior of OSPCL was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and polarizing optical microscopy (POM). OSPCL displayed an interrupted crystal morphology owing to its highly branched architecture, and consequently, the degree of crystallinity was lower in comparison with the linear analogue. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) clearly indicated that incorporation of porphyrazine core enhanced the thermal stability of the resulting polymers.     

Preparation of novel UV-curable methacrylated urethane resins from a modified epoxy resin and isocyanatoethylmethacrylate (IEM)

Summary New UV curable methacrylated urethanes (PAPHEN-XIEM) were synthesized by substituting X percent (e.g., 10, 20, 30 %) of the total OH content of the PAPHEN-301 (Scheme 1) with isocyanatoethyl methacrylate (IEM). These resins were used alone (neat resin formulation) or as a mixture of 5, 10 and 13 % (w/w) respectively with methacrylated urethane prepolymer (PTHFUMA) in UV systems. For neat resin formulations, tensile strength and modulus values were observed to be inversely proportional with the modification degree of PAPHEN-301 as opposed to what is normally expected. This may be explained as a result of screening effect of increasing unsaturation. The water absorption capacities for neat resins and PTHFUMA-included formulations were decreased as the modification degree increased due to the replacement of hydrophilic OH groups of PAPHEN-301 by the hydrophobic methacrylate groups. TGA thermograms of neat resin formulation show that, initial weight loss temperatures are lower; possibly owing to the higher methacrylate content in the formulations. Received: 26 June 2001/Revised version: 5 April 2001/Accepted: 5 April 2001     

A spin wave resonance study on reentrant Au77Fe23 films

Thin films prepared by both flash and slow evaporation of the bulk Au₇₇Fe₂₃ alloy have been studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) technique at the temperature range between 77–300 K. A series of spin wave resonance (SWR) peaks were observed at all temperatures when the external de magnetic field is applied along the directions lying in a small angular interval with respect to the film normal. The classical spin wave model has been used to analyze the experimental data. The magnetic parameters, such as exchange stiffness constant, the effective bulk and the surface anisotropy energy parameters of the system have been derived as a function of temperature. While the easy plane surface anisotropy almost remains constant, considerable increments were found in the exchange parameter, the magnetization and the linewidth with decreasing temperature. The SWR linewidths for the films obtained by slow evaporation at higher substrate temperatures are noticeably smaller compared to those of the film prepared by flash evaporation technique.     

Electrochemical impedance study of polyaniline electrocoated porous carbon foam

Electropolymerization of aniline on mesophase pitch based carbon foam has been studied in order to evaluate the influence of conductive polymer coating on the properties of carbon foam. The surface morphology of the coating was determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to investigate the electrochemical properties of resulting modified carbon foam samples. Polyaniline (PANI) electrocoated-mesophase pitch based carbon foam showed good capacitor behavior in 0.5 M H₂SO₄. Better capacitive behavior is obtained for 100 and 150 mV/s compared to other scan rates, under these faster scan rates thinner films of PANI coatings were combined with more porous structure of carbon foam. Conductivity of the carbon foam was increased from 9.23 to 13.73 S/cm by electrocoating of PANI.     

Effects of minor Cu and Si additions on glass forming ability and mechanical properties of Co-Fe-Ta-B Bulk metallic glass

Effect of Cu and Si substitutions for Co and B on the glass forming ability (GFA) of Co_(43-x)Cu_xFe₂₀Ta_5.5B_(31.5-x)Si_y (x=0-1.5 and y=5-10) were systematically investigated by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. In order to evaluate the contribution of copper and silicon, appropriate amounts of copper and silicon were individually introduced to the base alloy composition. By using the effects of copper and silicon together, significant enhancement was obtained and the critical casting thickness (CCT) of the base alloy was increased three times from 2 mm to 6 mm. Moreover, mechanical properties of the alloys were examined by compression tests and Vickers hardness measurements. The compression test results revealed that the glassy alloys having enhanced GFA shows high strength of about 3500-4000 MPa. In addition, existence of (Co,Fe)₂B and (Co,Fe)_20.82Ta_2.18B₆ crystalline phases in glassy matrix influences the hardnesses of the alloys compared to monolitic glassy structure having hardness of about 1200 Hv.     

Phenolics profiles of olive fruits (Olea europaea L.) and oils from Ayvalık,Domat and Gemlik varieties at different ripening stages

Phenolic compounds in olive fruit and oils obtained from Ayval?k, Domat and Gemlik olive varieties collected at different ripening periods were evaluated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Gallic acid and p-cumaric acid were identified for Ayval?k and Domat at each period of ripening, respectively. In addition, gallic acid, p-cumaric acid, sinapinic and apigenin acids were detected in Gemlik olive fruit. Hydroxytyrosol, rutin, oleoropein, luteolin, tyrosol, vanilic acid and gallic acid in Ayval?k olive fruit in all ripening periods were determined. The tyrasol contents varied between 0.18 to 1.57 mg/kg. Luteolin contents of olive oils ranged at the levels between 0.12 to 2.28 mg/kg. In contrast, oils had the lowest syringic, p-cumaric, chlorogenic and ferulic acids. Vanillic acid contents of oils ranged between 0.08 to 2.38 mg/kg.     

Antioxidant,Antimicrobial, Antifungal,and Antiradical Activities of Cyclotrichium Niveum (BOISS.) Manden and Scheng

In Turkish kitchen, Cyclotrichium niveum, which is consumed as a dietary supplement, have been extensively used in soup and food for their odor and flavor. The present study examines the possible antioxidant, antimicrobial and radical scavenging capacity of Cyclotrichium niveum (Boiss.) Manden and Scheng. In order to evaluate antioxidant and radical scavenging activity different in vitro methodologies such as 2,2´-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging activity, 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH·) free radical scavenging, total antioxidant activity by ferric thiocyanate, total reducing power by potassium ferricyanide reduction method, superoxide anion radical scavenging, hydrogen peroxide scavenging, and ferrous ions chelating activities were used. In addition, antimicrobial and antifungal activity of the both extracts tested against twenty five microorganisms. Total phenolic compounds and total flavonoids contents in water extract of Cyclotrichium niveum (Boiss.) Manden. & Scheng (WECN) and ethanol extract of Cyclotrichium niveum (Boiss.) Manden. & Scheng (EECN) were determined.