Field analysis of rectangular waveguide open junction

The problem of a rectangular waveguide open junction is investigated using field theory and the relevant model of two normally intersected, infinite parallel-planes waveguides. Evanescent waveguide modes generated by waveguide wall edges and/or the discontinuity in dielectric are taken into account; an infinite set of equations is derived, where the mode coupling is given by the dielectric slab modes. Proper pole handling is discussed, and a solution for the system is given. Expressions are derived for the reflected, transmitted, and radiated power, which are shown to be sufficiently reliable in the domain of practical interest, regarding the width and the dielectric loading of the gap. The analysis shows that a substantial fraction of the microwave power leaks from the dielectric gap, confirming the absolute necessity of using a choke-flange at the waveguide junction     

Macromolecular architectures by living and controlled/living polymerizations

The discovery of living anionic polymerization by Szwarc 50 years ago opened the way to the synthesis of model polymers. This ground-breaking discovery inspired many researchers to develop controlled/living routes for a plethora of monomers including those not compatible with anionic polymerization. These methods and their combinations serve as an arsenal for the synthesis of well-defined polymeric materials with predetermined properties and a rich variety of applications. A few representative examples of living and controlled/living methodologies for the synthesis of polymers with different macromolecular architectures are presented in this review.     

Asymmetric caging in soft colloidal mixtures

The long-standing observations that different amorphous materials exhibit a pronounced enhancement of viscosity and eventually vitrify on compression or cooling continue to fascinate and challenge scientists, on the ground of their physical origin and practical implications. Glass formation is a generic phenomenon, observed in physically quite distinct systems that encompass hard and soft particles. It is believed that a common underlying scenario, namely cage formation, drives dynamical arrest, especially at high concentrations. Here, we identify a novel, asymmetric glassy state in soft colloidal mixtures, which is characterized by strongly anisotropically distorted cages, bearing similarities to those of hard-sphere glasses under shear. The anisotropy is induced by the presence of soft additives. This phenomenon seems to be generic to soft colloids and its origins lie in the penetrability of the constituent particles. The resulting phase diagram for mixtures of soft particles is clearly distinct from that of hard-sphere mixtures and brings forward a rich variety of vitrified states that delineate an ergodic lake in the parameter space spanned by the size ratio between the two components and by the concentration of the additives. Thus, a new route opens for the rational design of soft particles with desired tunable rheological properties.     

Fibrillar Constructs from Multilevel Hierarchical Self‐Assembly of Discotic and Calamitic Supramolecular Motifs

We here report on polymeric solid‐state self‐assembly leading to organization over six length scales, ranging from the molecular scale up to the macroscopic length scale. We combine several concepts, i.e., rod‐like helical and disc‐like liquid crystallinity, block copolymer self‐assembly, DNA‐like interactions to form an ionic polypeptide–nucleotide complex and packing frustration to construct mesoscale fibrils. Ionic complexation of anionic deoxyguanosine monophosphate (dGMP) and triblock coil–rod–coil copolypeptides is used with cationic end blocks and a helical rod‐like midblock. The guanines undergo Hoogsteen pairing to form supramolecular discs, they π‐stack into columns that self‐assemble into hexagonal arrays that are controlled by the end blocks. Packing frustration between the helical rods from the block copolymer midblock and the discotic motif limits the lateral growth of the assembly thus affording mesoscale fibrils, which in turn, form an open fibrillar network. The concepts suggest new rational methodologies to construct structures on multiple length scales in order to tune polymer properties.     

A dynamic regulation and scheduling scheme for real-time trafficmanagement

Typical rate-based traffic management schemes for real-time applications attempt to allocate resources by controlling the packet delivery to the resource arbitrator (scheduler). This control is typically based only on the characteristics of the particular (tagged) traffic stream and would fail to optimally adjust to non-nominal network conditions such as overload. In this paper, a dynamic regulation and scheduling (dynamic-R&S) scheme is proposed whose regulation function is modulated by both the tagged stream's characteristics and information capturing the state of the coexisting applications as provided by the scheduler. The performance of the proposed scheme-versus an equivalent static one-is investigated under both underload and overload traffic conditions. The substantially better throughput/jitter characteristics of the dynamic-R&S scheme are established     

A quasi-optical mode converter with a bifocal mirror

This paper presents the design procedure of a quasi-optical mode converter to transform any kind of TE_mn mode into a Gaussian wave beam and experimental results obtained in the particular case of the TE₆₄ mode at 110 GHz. The quasi-optical system consists of a helical-cut launcher and a bifocal mirror, which is designed, using the techniques of geometric optics, to focus the radiation of the launcher into a Gaussian focal spot. Such a system was fabricated and tested for the transformation of the TE₆₄ mode. The experimental results showed that about 80% of the power incident in the focal plane is focused into a small Gaussian-like spot of less than 20 mm diameter, while 97% of the power is contained into the main TE₆₄ lobe     

Stress softening of multigraft copolymers

The hysteresis behaviour of multigraft (MG) copolymers, with a polyisoprene backbone and polystyrene (PS) side chains, was investigated by applying a modified softening model proposed by Elías-Zúñiga, which uses an approach of Ogden and Roxburgh. The model was combined with the non-affine tube model of rubber elasticity of Kaliske and Heinrich. Four parameters are obtained: chemical and physical cross-link moduli (G_c, G_e), the number of statistical segments between two successive entanglements (n_e/T_e) and a softening parameter (b). The model was proven to be valid by a comparison with other methods evaluating hysteresis behaviour. The characterization of the multigraft copolymers revealed a branch point and molecular architecture dependence of the softening parameter. b was low for tetrafunctional MG copolymers with cylindrical microdomains, and it was further reduced for a spherical morphology and for more complex molecular architectures. The magnitude of b also depends on the PS arm molecular weight for hexa- and tetrafunctional multigraft copolymers.