Effect of thermal noise on random lasers in diffusion regime

In this paper, we study the effects of thermal noise on the time evolution of a weak light pulse (probe) in the presence of a strong light pulse (pump) within a gain medium which includes random scatterer particles. Suitable thermal noise term is added to a set of four coupled equations including three diffusion equations for energy densities and a rate equation for the upper level population in a four-level gain medium. These equations have been solved simultaneously by Crank–Nicholson numerical method. The main result is that the back-scattered output probe light is increased as the thermal noise strength is increased and simultaneously, with the same rate, the amplified spontaneous emission is decreased. Therefore, the amplified response of the random laser in diffusion regime for the input probe pulse is enhanced due to effect of the thermal noise.     

Pressure wave behavior and its effects on structure under In-box LOCA in a helium-cooled lead lithium blanket of hydrogen fusion reactors

The helium-cooled lead lithium (PbLi) blanket is considered as one of the candidate blanket concepts selected for the hydrogen fusion DEMO reactors and beyond, which has the advantages of simple structure, strong heat removal capacity and high tritium breeding ratio. However, due to the harsh environment such as high-energy neutron irradiation, high thermal load and great pressure gradient, there is a high possibility that one or some of the thousands of coolant channels will break in the breeding zone, which is so-called In-box Loss of Coolant Accident (In-box LOCA). When the accident occurs, the high pressure helium will rapidly inject into the lead lithium flow channel, generating a complex two-phase flow and great pressure shock effect, which may cause the peak pressure to exceed the design limit and threaten the integrity of the blanket structure. Therefore, it is of great significance to perform the transient analysis of in-box LOCA to improve the safety of the blanket and avoid the leakage of radioactive materials. In this paper, a two-way coupling model for fluid-solid interaction was established based on the ANSYS Workbench, and the model were validated through the experimental data obtained by injecting the high pressure helium gas into liquid lithium lead. Then the validated model was applied to the transient pressure wave propagation analysis and structural stress analysis of the Dual-Functional Lithium Lead (DFLL) blanket in order to explore the integrity of blanket structure under In-box LOCA. In addition, the effects of break location on pressure and structural stress was also investigated through six cases. The study found that the transient pressure in the DFLL blanket gone through three stages in any case: step rise, oscillate, and flatten out. Pressure peaks occurred during oscillations and their values were strongly dependent on the break location. The closer to the inlet/outlet, the higher the peak pressure was. The maximum pressure reached more than twice of the inlet pressure (up to ~16 MPa). As a result, the structural stress in some local areas has exceeded the allowable limits, and the corresponding suggestions for improvement have also been put forward. This study can provide guidance for safety design, operation and accident mitigation measures of helium-cooled lead lithium blankets.     

Analytical Modeling for Translating Statistical Changes to Circuit Variability by Ultra-Deep Submicron Digital Circuit Design

This paper presents a physics-based compact gate delay model that includes all short-channel phenomena prevalent at the ultra-deep submicron technology node of 32 nm. To simplify calculations, the proposed model is connected to a compact α-power law-based (Sakurai-Newton) model. The model has been tested on a wide range of supply voltages. The model accurately predicts nominal delays and the delays under process variations. It has been shown that at lower technology nodes, the delay is more sensitive to threshold voltage variations, specifically at the sub-threshold operating region as compared with effective channel length variations above the threshold region.     

Self-consistent kinetic theory with nonlinear wave-particle resonances

We have developed, based on the oscillating-center transformation, a general theoretical approach for self-consistent plasma dynamics including, explicitly, effects of nonlinear(higherorder) wave-particle resonances. A specific example is then given for low-frequency responses of trapped particles in axisymmetric tokamaks. Possible applications to transport as well as nonlinear wave growth/damping are also briefly discussed.     

Trust based consensus model for social network in an incomplete linguistic information context

A theoretical framework to consensus building within a networked social group is put forward. This article investigates a trust based estimation and aggregation methods as part of a visual consensus model for multiple criteria group decision making with incomplete linguistic information. A novel trust propagation method is proposed to derive trust relationship from an incomplete connected trust network and the trust score induced order weighted averaging operator is presented to aggregate the orthopairs of trust/distrust values obtained from different trust paths. Then, the concept of relative trust score is defined, whose use is twofold: (1) to estimate the unknown preference values and (2) as a reliable source to determine experts’ weights. A visual feedback process is developed to provide experts with graphical representations of their consensus status within the group as well as to identify the alternatives and preference values that should be reconsidered for changing in the subsequent consensus round. The feedback process also includes a recommendation mechanism to provide advice to those experts that are identified as contributing less to consensus on how to change their identified preference values. It is proved that the implementation of the visual feedback mechanism guarantees the convergence of the consensus reaching process.     

Direction-dependent adhesion of micro-walls based biomimetic adhesives

The adhesive properties of a biomimetic anisotropic micro-structured surface are investigated. The system is constituted by parallel elastic wall-like structures topped with a thin film. The micro-walls are assumed in perfect contact with a rigid substrate and the adhesive interaction is modeled by considering full contact conditions. Because of its crack trapping behavior, this geometry, when loaded with an external moment acting perpendicularly to the walls direction, shows enhanced adhesive properties compared to the simple flat surface.In the present paper, we study how the adhesive properties depend on the direction of crack propagation. In particular, we determine how the applied moment needed to detach the adhesive depends on the angle that the crack propagation direction makes with the micro-walls one. We find that crack trapping occurs only when crack propagates perpendicularly to the walls. In all the other cases, the system compliance linearly increases with the crack length, causing the energy release rate at the crack to be constant during the crack propagation: crack trapping cannot occur in such conditions.We also propose a simplified analytical model, based on the Euler–Bernoulli beam theory, to calculate the adhesion strength of the system. Analytical solution and numerical calculations show perfect agreement for all directions of crack propagation and values of geometrical parameters.     

Impact of the occurrence probability of carbon black agglomerates on the measured and predicted durability of filled elastomers

This work analyses the impact of the sample geometry on the stress or strain concentration and the occurrence of big agglomerates in the investigated test volume. Although the three investigated dumbbell test specimens were loaded at the same stress level, there were significant differences in measured lifetime. These differences in the lifetime are due to the occurrence of the large agglomerates in the tested volume. The probability of occurrence of large agglomerates increases with increase in the investigated volume. In the lifetime prediction by Monte Carlo method, this effect is realized by changing the quantity of the distributed agglomerates in the mesh of the simulated model. The prediction of the different sample geometries shows a very good agreement with the measurement points. The numerical simulations illustrate the stress increase for the three used lifetime test samples.     

A superposition method of reflected wave for moving string vibration with nonclassical boundary

A reflected wave superposition method is proposed for an axially traveling string with classical and nonclassical boundaries, based on the reflection of the propagating wave on both sides of the string, combining its initial conditions and the continuity conditions in order to obtain the expressions for the reflected wave. The reflection process, in three phases, is deduced and a determinate expression for the transverse vibration is obtained. The correctness and superiority of the proposed method is verified by comparison with the Newmark-β method for an axially moving string with a fixed and a spring-dashpot boundary.     

Crack propagation behavior of solution annealed austenitic high interstitial steels

Austenitic stainless steels provide a beneficial combination of chemical and mechanical properties and have been used in a wide field of applications for over 100 years. Further improvement of the chemical and mechanical properties was achieved by alloying nitrogen. But the solubility of N within the melt is limited and can be increased in substituting Ni by Mn and melting under increased pressure. In order to avoid melting under pressure and decrease production costs, a part of N can also be substituted by C. This leads to austenitic high interstitial steels (AHIS). Within the solution annealed state strength and ductility of AHIS is comparable or even higher of those of AHNS and can be further improved by cold working. Unfortunately the endurance limit does not follow this trend as it is known from cold-worked austenitic CrNi steels. This is due to the differences of the slip behavior which is governed by the stacking fault energy as well as other near field effects. Construction components operating under cyclic loads over long periods of time cannot be considered being free of voids or even cracks. Thus the crack propagation behavior is of strong interest as well. This contribution presents the tensile, fatigue, crack propagation and fracture toughness properties of AHNS and AHIS in comparison to those of CrNi-steels. The differences are discussed in relation to microstructural characteristic as well as their alterations under cyclic loading.