Interval spectral stochastic finite element analysis of structures with aggregation of random field and bounded parameters

This paper presents the study on non‐deterministic problems of structures with a mixture of random field and interval material properties under uncertain‐but‐bounded forces. Probabilistic framework is extended to handle the mixed uncertainties from structural parameters and loads by incorporating interval algorithms into spectral stochastic finite element method. Random interval formulations are developed based on K–L expansion and polynomial chaos accommodating the random field Young's modulus, interval Poisson's ratios and bounded applied forces. Numerical characteristics including mean value and standard deviation of the interval random structural responses are consequently obtained as intervals rather than deterministic values. The randomised low‐discrepancy sequences initialized particles and high‐order nonlinear inertia weight with multi‐dimensional parameters are employed to determine the change ranges of statistical moments of the random interval structural responses. The bounded probability density and cumulative distribution of the interval random response are then visualised. The feasibility, efficiency and usefulness of the proposed interval spectral stochastic finite element method are illustrated by three numerical examples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Polymorphic Spin,Charge, and Lattice Waves in Vanadium Ditelluride

Lattice distortion, spin interaction, and dimensional crossover in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have led to intriguing quantum phases such as charge density waves (CDWs) and 2D magnetism. However, the combined effect of many factors in TMDs, such as spin–orbit, electron–phonon, and electron–electron interactions, stabilizes a single quantum phase at a given temperature and pressure, which restricts original device operations with various quantum phases. Here, nontrivial polymorphic quantum states, CDW phases, are reported in vanadium ditelluride (VTe₂) at room temperature, which is unique among various CDW systems; the doping concentration determines the formation of either of the two CDW phases in VTe₂ at ambient conditions. The two CDW polymorphs show different antiferromagnetic spin orderings in which the vanadium atoms create two different stripe-patterned spin waves. First-principles calculations demonstrate that the magnetic ordering is critically coupled with the corresponding CDW in VTe₂, which suggests a rich phase diagram with polymorphic spin, charge, and lattice waves all coexisting in a solid for new conceptual quantum state-switching device applications.     

Oxide TFT with multilayer gate insulator for backplane of AMOLED device

Abstract— An indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) film with an amorphous phase was deposited and had a very flat morphology with a RMS value of 0.35 nm. IGZO TFTs were fabricated on a glass substrate by conventional photolithography and wet‐etching processes. IGZO TFTs demonstrated a high mobility of 124 cm²/V‐sec, a high on/off ratio of over 10⁸, a desirable threshold voltage of 0.7 V, and a sub‐threshold swing of 0.43 V/decade. High mobility partially resulted from the fringing‐electric‐field effect that leads to an additional current flow beyond the device edges. Therefore, considering our device geometry, the actual mobility was about 100 cm²/V‐sec, and had a very low dependence on the variation of W/L (channel width and length) and thickness of the active layer. IGZO TFTs were also fabricated on a flexible metal substrate for a conformable display application. TFT devices showed an actual mobility of 72 cm²/V‐sec, a high on/off ratio of ～10⁷, and a sub‐threshold swing of 0.36 V/decade. There was no significant difference before, during, or after bending. Moreover, an IGZO TFT array was fabricated and a top‐emitting OLED device was successfully driven by it. Therefore, the oxide TFT could be a promising candidate as a backplane for OLED devices.     

Rational design analysis of stub columns fabricated using very high strength circular steel tubes

The mechanics of the compressional behaviour of stub columns fabricated from Grade 350 steel plates welded to very high strength (VHS) circular tubes are investigated in this paper. In the investigations comparisons of experimental load-axial shortening curves are made with the results of a postulated design analysis set up to examine the complete load-shortening behaviour of such members. Ramberg-Osgood type stress–strain equations are set up for the plate and tube materials. A procedure is described to evaluate the loads in individual plate and tube elements as the axial shortening is increased until the 0.2% proof strain for the VHS tube material is attained. Upon reaching this strain it is assumed that failure ensues as the result of a simple plastic mechanism occurring in the tubes. Comparisons of the load-axial shortening curves given by this analysis and experimental results indicate good agreement.     

Elastic, full plastic and lateral torsional buckling analysis of steel single-angle section beams subjected to biaxial bending

Flexural strength limits of steel single-angle section beams should be calculated based on the full plastic moment capacities, local buckling resistance and lateral torsional buckling capacities of the angle sections. The angle section beams are generally under the effect of external loads applied along the direction of geometrical axes parallel to their legs, so that they cause simultaneous biaxial bending about both principal axes. The behavior of angle sections under biaxial bending is complicated. The stress distribution of the critical points of the section cannot be easily determined since all specific points need to be checked. Furthermore, the design specifications require the consideration of the full plastic moment capacities of angle sections. This brings up the question of determining the required increase in first yield moment in order to attain full plastic moment capacities. Since single-angle section beams are thin walled slender structural members, they cannot be designed only according to their elastic and plastic moment capacities. Lateral torsional buckling and local buckling cases need to be considered in determining nominal design moments. In this study, the bending moment about the minor principal axis is assumed to be less than or equal to the moment about the major principal axis. Under that condition the first yield moment capacities, the interaction diagrams between first yield and full plastic moment capacities and critical lateral torsional buckling moments are calculated. These values are obtained by means of dimensionless coefficients, and design procedures have been given for the case of biaxial bending for single-angle section beams taking LRFD [LRFD Load and resistance factor design of single-angle members. Chicago (IL): American Institute of Steel Construction; 2000] rules into account.     

Effective porothermoelastic properties of transversely isotropic rock-like composites

The present work is devoted to the determination of the overall porothermoelastic properties of transversely isotropic rock-like composites with transversely isotropic matrix and randomly oriented ellipsoidal inhomogeneities and/or pores. By using the solution of a single ellipsoidal inhomogeneity arbitrarily oriented in a transversely isotropic matrix presented by Giraud et al. [A. Giraud, Q.V. Huynh, D. Hoxha, D. Kondo, Effective poroelastic properties of transversely isotropic rocks-like composites with arbitrarily oriented ellipsoidal inclusions, Mechanics of Materials 39 (11) (2007) 1006-1024], it is possible to observe the effect of the shape and orientation distribution of inhomogeneities on the effective porothermoelastic properties. Based on recent works on porous rock-like composites such as shales or argillites, an application of the developed solution to a two-level microporomechanics model is presented. The microporosity is homogenized at the first level, and multiple solid mineral phase inclusions are added at the second level. The overall porothermoelastic coefficients are estimated in the particular context of heterogeneous solid matrix. The present model generalizes to transversely isotropic media a recently developed two-level model in the simpler case of isotropic media (see Giraud et al. [A. Giraud, D. Hoxha, D.P. Do, V. Magnenet, Effect of pore shape on effective thermoporoelastic properties of isotropic rocks, International Journal of Solids and Structures 45 (2008) 1-23]). Numerical results are presented for data representative of transversely isotropic rock-like composites.     

Effects of radiologists' skill and experience on patient doses in interventional examinations

In this study, effects of radiologists' skill and experience on patient doses were investigated. Dose-area product and entrance surface doses of two groups of patients, one examined by a number of junior radiologists and another one by a senior radiologist, have been compared for the diagnostic interventional examinations of cerebral and lower limbs. Collimation of the X-ray beam and shortening the fluoroscopy times by the senior radiologist considerably reduced the patient doses for interventional cerebral examinations.