Nucleation of highly oriented diamond on silicon

Highly oriented diamond particles were deposited on the mirror-polished (100) silicon substrates in the belljar type microwave plasma deposition system. The diamond films were deposited by a three-step process consisting of carburization, bias-enhanced nucleation and growth. The bias-enhanced nucleation was performed under the deposition conditions such as 2-3% of methane concentration in hydrogen, 1333-2666 Pa of total pressure, the negative bias voltage below 200V and the substrate temperature of 1073 K. By adjusting the geometry of the substrate and substrate holder, very dense disc-shaped plasma was formed on the substrate when the bias voltage was below 200V. As characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), almost perfectly oriented diamond particles were obtained only in this dense plasma. From the results of the optical emission spectra of disc-shaped dense plasma, it was found that the concentrations of atomic hydrogen and hydrocarbon radicals were increased with negative bias voltage. As a result, it was suggested that the highly oriented diamonds were obtained by the combination of the high dose of hydrocarbon radicals and the increased hydrogen etching effects.     

A study on carbon coating to silicon and electrochemical characteristics of Si-C/Li cells

The aim of this paper is to study the electrochemical behavior of Si-C material synthesized by heating a mixture of silicon and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) in the ratios of 5, 20, and 50 wt%. The particle size of the synthesized material was found to be increased with increase in the PVDF ratio. The coexistence of silicon with carbon was confirmed from the XRD analysis. A field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) study performed with the material proved the improvement in coating efficiency with increase in the PVDF ratio. Coin cells of the type 2025 were made by using the synthesized material, and the electrochemical properties were studied. An electrode was prepared by using the developed Si-C material. Si-C|Li cells were made with this electrode. A charge|discharge test was performed for 20 cycles at 0.1 C hour rate. Initial charge and discharge capacities of Si-C material derived from 20 wt% of PVDF was found to be 1,830 and 526 mAh|g, respectively. Initial charge/discharge characteristics of the electrode were analyzed. The level of reversible specific capacity was about 216mAh/g at Si-C material derived from 20 wt% of PVDF, initial intercalation efficiency (IIE), intercalation efficiency at initial charge/discharge, was 68%. Surface irreversible specific capacity was 31 mAh/g, and average specific resistance was 2.6 ohm * g.     

Development of an ozone gas sensor using single-walled carbon nanotubes

This study deals with the fabrication of an ozone gas sensor using single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as sensing material. The SWCNTs are dispersed by N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). The CNT-DMF solution was dropped between interdigitated electrodes’ fingers to fabricate ozone gas sensor. For ozone environment, a commercial ozone generator was introduced. To improve sensor response, the deposited carbon nanotubes network was thermally treated at high temperature in a furnace. The sensor exhibits high sensitivity to ozone gas at concentration as low as 50 ppb, and fast response time, which is promising for future commercialization of carbon nanotubes based ozone gas sensor.     

A distributed energy-efficient clustering scheme for deploying IDS in MANETs

Cluster-based intrusion detection systems, where cluster heads (CHs) detect misbehavior of their member nodes, have been proposed in mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) in order to protect the network and save the energy. However, long-term survival of all nodes is more important so as not to partition the network. The extension of the network lifetime in the cluster-based IDS depends on which nodes are selected as CHs, which consume much more energy than cluster members due to monitoring them and detecting intrusions. In this paper, we propose a Distributed Energy Efficient Cluster Formation (DEECF) scheme, which exploits the expected residual energy of mobile nodes to select CHs and starts the cluster formation from leaf nodes to reduce the number of clusters. The scheme consists of the cluster construction algorithm and the cluster maintenance algorithm, both of which can be performed at each node in a distributed way without any global knowledge. We prove the correctness of the algorithms, and show that the DEECF scheme is more energy efficient than other clustering schemes by extensive simulation.     

A joint normalcy index to evaluate patients with gait pathologies in the functional aspects of joint mobility

Gait analysis using 3D motion capture systems provides joint kinematic and kinetic analysis results such as joint relative angles and moments that can be use used to evaluate the degrees of pathological gait patterns. However, the complex data produced using these 3D motion capture systems can only analyzed by experts, because the gait analysis is highly coupled to the kinematics of each joint. Therefore, several Several previous studies using gait analysis have relied on the data compression technique to represent gait deviation from the average normal profiles as a single value. Even though it is important to evaluate gait pathologies at the joint level, all these previous studies have just used a single value to evaluate the pathological gait pattern. Using just one variable for evaluation of a gait is limited in terms of determining which joint movement patterns are getting better during rehabilitation. Therefore, in this study, a method suitable for evaluating gait deviation during a gait was developed to provide three indices for the hip, knee and ankle joints. In addition, to validate the proposed method in clinical cases, experimental tests were conducted on thirty thirty-six normal walkers and six patients with cerebral palsy. Furthermore, to validate the proposed method in regards to rehabilitation, experimental tests were conducted on three classified walking groups with imposed ankle equinus constraints. The JNI for the hip joint, knee joint and ankle were 8.78 (±3.70), 2.92 (±3.25) and 8.79 (±4.38), respectively, in the normal walking group. However, these values were significantly different for the pathological walking group with cerebral palsy. The JNI of the hip joint, knee joint and ankle joint were 203.73 (±171.59), 81.23 (±52.13) and 248.39 (±149.99), respectively, for this group. There were also differences between any two of the three classified groups with imposed ankle equinus constraints. In particular, the JNI of the ankle joint was statistically different at the p<0.01 level, and this parameter clearly increased as the degree of the imposed ankle equinus was increased. These results demonstrate that the proposed JNI can be used as a scalar factor to evaluate the angular deviation of each joint in normal and patient groups. In addition, this approach can be adapted to evaluate rehabilitation and pre/post surgery.     

One-Dimensional Coordination Polymer Assembled by Tetraaza Macrocyclic Nickel(II) Complex and trans-1,4-Cyclohexanedicarboxylate ligand

The reaction of [Ni(L)]Cl₂·2H₂O (L = 3.14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0^1.18,0^7.12]docosane) with trans-1,4-cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (H₂chdc) generates a 1D coordination and 2D hydrogen-bonded polymer {[Ni(L)(chdc)₂]·2H₂O}_n (1). The polymer complex was characterized by X-ray crystallography, spectroscopy and magnetic susceptibility. Each nickel(II) ion has a distorted octahedral coordination environment with the four secondary amines of the macrocycle in which two trans carboxylate anions of the chdc²⁻ ligand have assembled around each nickel center. The electronic spectrum of 1 in the solid state exhibits a high-spin octahedral environment. The magnetic behavior of 1 reveals a weak intramolecular antiferromagnetic interaction with J values of −1.15(2) cm⁻¹.     

Characteristics analysis of the developed surface modification technologies to improve the anti-corrosion performances for offshore equipments

In this study, we carried out the characteristics analysis and experiment research of the developed technologies based on surface modifications to enhance the anti-corrosion performance of offshore equipments. The developed technologies are the dipping method to generate super-hydrophilic surface which is then treated to be super-hydrophobic using chemical deposition and lubricant impregnation, and the spray coating method to generate super-hydrophobic surface. It is well-known that the super-hydrophilic and super-hydrophobic surfaces have good anti-corrosion performance. However, the mechanical properties should be maintained. We have verified the anticorrosion performance through the salt spray test and the measuring contact angle. And, we have evaluated the mechanical characteristics such as hardness. As the results, the dipping and the spray coating methods improved the anti-corrosion performance maintaining its mechanical properties at the same coating thickness of about 80 nm.

     

Interlaminar Fracture Toughness of CF/PEI and GF/PEI Composites at Elevated Temperatures

An experimental study has been conducted to assess temperature effects on mode-I and mode-II interlaminar fracture toughness of carbon fibre/polyetherimide (CF/PEI) and glass fibre/polyetherimide (GF/PEI) thermoplastic composites. Mode-I double cantilever beam (DCB) and mode-II end notched flexure (ENF) tests were carried out in a temperature range from 25 to 130°C. For both composite systems, the initiation toughness, G _IC,ini and G _IIC,ini, of mode-I and mode-II interlaminar fracture decreased with an increase in temperature, while the propagation toughness, G _IC,prop and G _IIC,prop, displayed a reverse trend. Three main mechanisms were identified to contribute to the interlaminar fracture toughness, namely matrix deformation, fibre/matrix interfacial failure and fibre bridging during the delamination process. At delamination initiation, the weakened fibre/matrix interface at elevated temperatures plays an overriding role with the delamination growth initiating at the fibre/matrix interface, rather than from a blunt crack tip introduced by the insert film, leading to low values of G _IC,ini and G _IIC,ini. On the other hand, during delamination propagation, enhanced matrix deformation at elevated temperatures and fibre bridging promoted by weakened fibre/matrix interface result in greater G _IC,prop values. Meanwhile enhanced matrix toughness and ductility at elevated temperatures also increase the stability of mode-II crack growth.     

Piezoelectric Anisotropy and Polarization Sublattice Coupling in Perovskite Crystals

Anisotropic piezoelectricity has been intensively investigated in PbZrO₃- or PbTiO₃-based perovskite ceramics, in comparison with the isotropic characteristic in the intermediate composition of the solid-solution Pb(Zr, Ti)O₃ system. In order to explain the piezoelectric anisotropy, a phenomenological treatment is proposed for a perovskite sublattice system, including electromechanical coupling terms. Electrostrictive couplings, especially between the two sublattices, provide significant contribution to the piezoelectric anisotropy.     

Free vibration analysis of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges

Presented herein is a finite element formulation for free vibration analysis of horizontally curved steel I-girder bridges. Stiffness as well as mass matrices of the curved and the straight beam elements is formulated. Each node of both of them possesses seven degrees of freedom including the warping degree of freedom. The curved beam element is derived based on the Kang and Yoo's thin-walled curved beam theory in 1994. A computer program is developed to carry out free vibration analyses of the various bridges. Comparing with the frequencies using the general purpose program ABAQUS, the validity of the presented numerical formulation is shown. The numerical formulation is extensively applied to investigate free vibration characteristics of the bridges considering effects of the initial curvature, boundary condition, modeling method, and degrees of freedom of cross frame. Invaluable information which help practicing engineers better understand the vibration characteristics is provided.