Adjacent Phases Research Articles

Thermodynamic properties of selected compounds of the Ag–In–Se system determined by the electromotive force method

The equilibrium phase space of the Ag–In–Se system in the part AgInSe2–InSe–Se below 500 K consists seven three-phase regions In2Se3–AgIn11Se17–Se (I), AgIn11Se17–AgIn5Se8–Se (II), AgIn5Se8–AgInSe2–Se (IІІ), In2Se3–In6Se7–AgIn11Se17 (ІV), In6Se7–AgIn11Se17–AgIn5Se8 (V), InSe–In6Se7–AgIn5Se8, and InSe–AgIn5Se8–AgInSe2 (VI). Division of the AgInSe2–InSe–Se into separate phase regions was performed based on electromotive force vs temperature dependences of six electrochemical cells (ECCs) of the type: (−) С | Ag | SЕ | R(Ag+) | PЕ | С (+), where C is the graphite (inert electrode), Ag is the left (negative) electrode, SE is the solid-state electrolyte (Ag3GeS3Br glass), PE is the right (positive) electrode, R(Ag+) is the buffer region of PE that contacts with SE. The process of forming of the thermodynamically stable set of phases from phase non-equilibrium mixture of compounds specified in (I)–(VI) is carried out in the R(Ag+) region. The Ag+ ions act as the small nucleation centers for stable phases. Based on the temperature dependences of the electromotive force of ECCs with PE of the (I)–(VI) phase regions, the standard thermodynamic functions of the binary In6Se7 and three ternary compounds in the adjacent phase regions were calculated for the first time. The agreement of the calculated values of the standard Gibbs energies of the AgIn5Se8 compound in two different phase regions (II) and (V): -(819,6±8,9) kJ·mol −1 and -(820,0±8,9) kJ·mol −1 characterizes the phase composition of the regions (I), (II), (IV), and (V) below 500 K as a combination of compounds of formulaic composition.

3D Impedance Modeling of Metal Anodes in Solid-State Batteries-Incompatibility of Pore Formation and Constriction Effect in Physical-Based 1D Circuit Models.

A non-ideal contact at the electrode/solid electrolyte interface of a solid-state battery arising due to pores (voids) or inclusions results in a geometric constriction effect that severely deteriorates the electric transport properties of the battery cell. The lack of understanding of this phenomenon hinders the optimization process of novel components, such as reversible and high-rate metal anodes. Deeper insight into the constriction phenomenon is necessary to correctly monitor interface degradation and to accelerate the successful use of metal anodes in solid-state batteries. Here, we use a 3D electric network model to study the fundamentals of the constriction effect. Our findings suggest that dynamic constriction as a non-local effect cannot be captured by conventional 1D equivalent circuit models and that its electric behavior is not ad hoc predictable. It strongly depends on the interplay of the geometry of the interface causing the constriction and the microscopic transport processes in the adjacent phases. In the presence of constriction, the contribution from the non-ideal electrode/solid electrolyte interface to the impedance spectrum may exhibit two signals that cannot be explained when the porous interface is described by a physical-based (effective medium theory) 1D equivalent circuit model. In consequence, the widespread assumption of a single interface contribution to the experimental impedance spectrum may be entirely misleading and can cause serious misinterpretation.

Vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy of thin film interfaces

We describe a basic theoretical treatment of how film-substrate and substrate-environment (air, water, and solution) interfaces can be selectively probed by controlling the film thickness and beam angles in a visible-infrared sum frequency generation experiment. In this model, we also account for the unique interfacial environment that may have optical properties that differ from the adjacent bulk phases. We see that this affects components of the electric field that are perpendicular to the surface such as when p-polarized light is used. We then provide an example using the glass-polydimethylsiloxane-air system and model the fields at both surfaces of the polymer. This is followed by some practical considerations for setting up such experiments and some typical experimental results.

HoloTile: Rapid and speckle-suppressed digital holography by matched sub-hologram tiling and point spread function shaping

In this work, a novel approach to rapid and speckle-reduced hologram generation is presented as HoloTile. HoloTile utilizes an analytic approach for Gaussian beam shaping to modify the Point Spread Function (PSF) of the holographic system into flat-top squares, such as to prevent interference between adjacent random phase values in the reconstruction plane. The PSF shape is determined by the inter-spectral spacing in the reconstruction plane that occurs due to tiling on the spatial light modulator. As such, the final hologram is the product of a once-calculated PSF shaping phase hologram and the tiled object holograms. HoloTile achieves speckle-reduced reconstructions and extremely fast hologram generation, due to the resolution of the object holograms.

Design Optimization of a Switched Reluctance Machine with an Improved Segmental Rotor for Electric Vehicle Applications

In this article, a switched reluctance machine (SRM) with six phases and a misaligned segmental rotor is proposed. The segmental rotor has an internal 15-degree misalignment, allowing the SRM structure to be a one-layer 2D structure with a short flux path structure. The proposed SRM produces a relatively low torque ripple by exciting two phases simultaneously. Additionally, an optimization method is applied, allowing for the maximum torque position of one phase to be aligned with the zero-torque position of the adjacent phase. The finite element method (FEM) is used to analyze and design the proposed SRM and to simulate the proposed liquid cooling system. The static torque waveforms are analyzed, and the dynamic torque waveforms are simulated with a drive using SiC MOSFETs. Finally, a prototype is manufactured, and the experiment is performed to validate the design and simulation results.

An Undoped Tri‐Phase Coexistent Cathode Material for Sodium‐Ion Batteries

AbstractThe layered transition‐metal‐oxide materials are one type of promising cathode materials for sodium‐ion batteries, which typically include P2, P3, and O3 phases, and each has its own advantages and challenges. Taking into account the complementarity of each single‐phase structure, constructing the composite structures is an efficient pathway to stabilize the structure and improve the electrochemical performance. Herein, three composite cathode materials owning the phase structures of P3/P2, P2/O3, and P3/P2/O3 are prepared by changing the calcinating conditions without introducing any doping element. Among them, the composite of P3/P2/O3 shows the best capacity retention of 80 mAh g–1 after 200 cycles and the highest rate performance of 100 mAh g–1 at a current density of 750 mA g–1. The improved electrochemical performance can be attributed to the staggered arrangement of different phase structures and the gradient Na‐extraction/intercalation voltages of different phases. The slip of the transition metal layer is subjected to the constraint of the adjacent phase structure, thus inhibiting the phase transformation for capacity fading. This work provides an easy way for the preparation of composite cathode structures and brings a clear case for understanding the advantage of composite structures on electrochemical performance.

Improving reliability using phase distribution aware LDPC code for holographic data storage.

The iterative Fourier transform (IFT) algorithm is an effective solution for phase retrieval in phase-type holographic data storage systems, but introduces a higher phase error rate. As a result, data reliability becomes a significant issue. In this paper, to improve reliability and decrease decoding latency, we propose a phase distribution aware low-density parity-check (LDPC) code [called point data abstraction library (PDAL)] with outstanding error correcting capability. After experiencing IFT, we first investigate the phase distribution characteristics and find that the adjacent phase distribution is more likely to cross, resulting in higher phase shift percentages. Then, using phase distribution, PDAL optimizes LDPC codes with higher precision decoding information by dynamically applying the phase threshold based on the phase error rate. When the phase error rate is 0.04, the bit error rate, decoding iteration times, and decoding failure rate are all reduced by 51.5%, 26.9%, and 51.8% on average, respectively, compared with traditional LDPC code without exploiting phase distribution. PDAL, which is an efficient and practical error correction approach for phase-modulated holographic data storage, can improve data reliability by boosting error correction performance.

High-Precision Control for Switched Reluctance Motor With Current Information

Magnetic characteristics of the SRM can be monitored directly in the detection of commutation instants. However, the mutual inductance effect between the adjacent phases is prominent for the switched reluctance motor when the adjacent phases are energized simultaneously. Consequently, mutual coupling will distort the response current profile of the injection voltage phase, thereby affecting position estimation precision. In order to acquire a precise estimation and accommodate it for the SRM drive system, it is necessary to take into consideration the modifications for the sensor-less scheme. This study presents a unique rotor position estimation approach to eliminate the mutual inductance effect by using the phase current slope difference method. The sensor-less scheme is achieved by setting a low and a high threshold, and a series of voltage pulses are injected in the idle phase alternately, synchronizing with the chopping current control. Without prior knowledge of mutual inductance and any additional position sensor, a precisely estimated rotor position is achieved. A dynamic model of a 12/8 SRM model is established to evaluate its validity, and both simulation results and experimental evaluation indicate that the proposed sensor-less control can be accomplished with an adequate precision used in a variety of applications.

Phase-specific RNA accumulation and duplex thermodynamics in multiphase coacervate models for membraneless organelles

Liquid-liquid phase separation has emerged as an important means of intracellular RNA compartmentalization. Some membraneless organelles host two or more compartments serving different putative biochemical roles. The mechanisms for, and functional consequences of, this subcompartmentalization are not yet well understood. Here we show that adjacent phases of decapeptide-based multiphase model membraneless organelles differ markedly in their interactions with RNA. Single- and double-stranded RNAs preferentially accumulate in different phases within the same droplet, and one phase is more destabilizing for RNA duplexes than the other. Single-phase peptide droplets did not capture this behaviour. Phase coexistence introduces new thermodynamic equilibria that alter RNA duplex stability and RNA sorting by hybridization state. These effects require neither biospecific RNA-binding sites nor full-length proteins. As such, they are more general and point to primitive versions of mechanisms operating in extant biology that could aid understanding and enable the design of functional artificial membraneless organelles.

Multiple Open-Circuit Faults Diagnosis in Six-Phase Induction Motor Drives Using Stator Current Analysis

In recent years, multiphase machines have been presented as a good alternative to the classical three-phase machines due to their ability to operate under fault-tolerant conditions. However, the transition from pre- to post-fault control needs a reliable fault diagnostics algorithm. Accordingly, this article presents a reliable diagnostics approach that allows the detection and identification of multiple open-switches and open-phase faults in power converters fed six-phase induction motors, including adjacent and nonadjacent phases. The proposed method provides normalized numerical signatures from the measured output currents without requiring either tuning effort or detection thresholds. The reliability and robustness of the proposed algorithm are proven through experimental tests.

Special assignments of adjacent output phase differences per input ports in generalized one-dimensional parallel switching matrices

Special assignments of adjacent output phase differences per input ports in generalized one-dimensional parallel switching matrices

Sensorless Control With Fault-Tolerant Ability for Switched Reluctance Motors

This paper presents a new sensorless control strategy with the fault-tolerant ability for switched reluctance motors (SRMs). Nowadays, many rotor position detection methods are utilized, but most of them increase the system cost due to the additional hardware or complex calculations. To address this problem, various methods of using phase inductance to estimate the rotor position and speed have been proposed. However, the traditional inductance detection method will cause signal distortion due to the presence of interference signals and the unbalanced phase inductance. In particular, the turn-ON angle is advanced. To further improve the stability of the control system, the interference signals are eliminated via establishing the reference time of the inductance characteristic point and the error band in this work. When the position signal disappears, the inductance characteristic points of adjacent phases will be adopted for signal compensation to realize fault-tolerant control. Finally, an SRM drive system is used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy.

Structural and Magnetic Phase Transitions in BiFe1 - xMnxO3 Solid Solution Driven by Temperature.

The crystal structure and magnetic state of the (1 − x)BiFeO3-(x)BiMnO3 solid solution has been analyzed by X-ray diffraction using lab-based and synchrotron radiation facilities, magnetization measurements, differential thermal analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry. Dopant concentration increases lead to the room-temperature structural transitions from the polar-active rhombohedral phase to the antipolar orthorhombic phase, and then to the monoclinic phase accompanied by the formation of two-phase regions consisting of the adjacent structural phases in the concentration ranges 0.25 < x1 < 0.30 and 0.50 ≤ x2 < 0.65, respectively. The accompanied changes in the magnetic structure refer to the magnetic transitions from the modulated antiferromagnetic structure to the non-colinear antiferromagnetic structure, and then to the orbitally ordered ferromagnetic structure. The compounds with a two-phase structural state at room temperature are characterized by irreversible temperature-driven structural transitions, which favor the stabilization of high-temperature structural phases. The magnetic structure of the compounds also exhibits an irreversible temperature-induced transition, resulting in an increase of the contribution from the magnetic phase associated with the high-temperature structural phase. The relationship between the structural parameters and the magnetic state of the compounds with a metastable structure is studied and discussed depending on the chemical composition and heating prehistory.

Coercivity enhancement of sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets by grain boundary diffusion with Pr80–x Al x Cu20 alloys

A grain boundary diffusion (GBD) process with Pr80 – x Al x Cu20 (x = 0, 10, 15, 20) low melting point alloys was applied to commercial 42M sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets. The best coercivity enhancement of a diffused magnet was for the Pr65Al15Cu20 GBD magnet, from 16.38 kOe to 22.38 kOe. Microstructural investigations indicated that increase in the Al content in the diffusion source can form a continuous grain boundary (GB) phase, optimizing the microstructure to enhance the coercivity. The coercivity enhancement is mainly due to the formation of a continuous GB phase to separate the main phase grains. Exchange decoupling between the adjacent main phase grains is enhanced after the GBD process. Meanwhile, the introduction of Al can effectively promote the infiltration of Pr into the magnet, which increases the diffusion rate of rare-earth elements within a certain range. This work provides a feasible method to enhance coercivity and reduce the use of rare-earth resources by partial replacement of rare-earth elements with non-rare-earth elements in the diffusion source.

A novel modified Modica–Mortola equation with a phase-dependent interfacial function

In this study, we propose a novel modified Modica–Mortola (MM) equation with a phase-dependent interfacial function. The classical MM functional has a multiple-well potential and the derived classical MM equation allows multiple local minima. The MM equation has a good property compared to its counterpart vector-valued Allen–Cahn (AC) system because the MM equation consists of a single equation. In the MM equation, one phase-field can represent multiple states. However, with a constant interfacial parameter, the interfacial transition layer is getting wider as the jump across two adjacent phases is higher. To overcome this unwanted phenomenon, we propose a phase-dependent interfacial function which has smaller value if gradient of phase-field is larger. We present several computational experiments to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed modified MM equation over the conventional MM equation.

A single foot-mounted pedestrian navigation algorithm based on the maximum gait displacement constraint in three-dimensional space

Inertial navigation technology composed of inertial sensors is widely used in foot-mounted pedestrian positioning. However, inertial sensors are susceptible to noise, which affects the performance of the system. Zero-velocity update (ZUPT) is a traditional method utilized to suppress the cumulative error. Unfortunately, the walking distance calculated by a Kalman filter still has positional error. To improve the positional accuracy, in this work we propose a nonlinear Kalman filter with a spatial distance inequality constraint for a single foot. Since the stride distance between adjacent stance phases has an upper bound in plane and height, an inertial navigation system established by one inertial measurement unit is adopted to constrain the stride process. Eventually, the performance of the proposed method is verified by experiments. Compared with the single foot-mounted ZUPT method, the proposed method suppresses the plane error and the height error by 46.04% and 65.48%, respectively. For the dual-foot constraint method, the proposed constraint method can reduce the number of sensors while ensuring positioning accuracy. Moreover, the height error is reduced by 59.98% on average by optimizing the constraint algorithm. The experimental results show that the trajectory estimated by the proposed method is closer to the actual path.

Interphase misorientation as a tool to study metamorphic reactions and crystallization in geological materials

AbstractInterphase boundaries are planar defects that separate two different minerals, which in general have different compositions and/or crystalline structures; they may play an important role as a pathway for fluids in rocks and affect their physical properties. To completely characterize interphase boundaries, one needs to define the misorientation between adjacent grains and the orientation of the grain boundary plane. The analysis performed here is limited to the misorientation characterization and the trace of the interphase boundary. Although the determination of possible orientation relationships between the two adjacent phases is routinely performed by selected-area electron diffraction in a transmission electron microscope, this method lacks statistical representativeness. With the advent of techniques like electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), it is possible to calculate orientation relationships not only in single pairs of crystals of the same phase but in full thin sections and between different minerals. The interphase misorientation is calculated from two orientations of two adjacent crystals of different phases. A set of single misorientations is then used to calculate the misorientation distribution function (MDF), from where it is possible to identify a maximum and its crystallographic interpretation. If we then know the misorientation and the unit-cell parameters of the individual phases, the crystal-lographic relationships between the different phases can be described with the pairs of parallel crystal-lographic planes and the pairs of crystallographic directions. In this paper, I present examples of the use of interphase misorientation analysis on the transformation of calcite-aragonite, olivine-antigorite, magnetite-hematite, and on the study of orientation relationships between plagioclase-olivine-ilmenite in mid-ocean ridges gabbros (ODP Hole 735).

A Mathematical Torque Ripple Minimization Technique Based on a Nonlinear Modulating Factor for Switched Reluctance Motor Drives

This article presents a method to reduce the torque ripple in an 8/6 four-phase switched reluctance motor (SRM). The proposed scheme introduces a nonlinear modulating factor dependent on the rotor position and magnitude of the phase currents. This factor manipulates the currents in two adjacent phases during commutation and reduces the torque ripple effectively. Unlike the conventionally available torque-sharing functions, the proposed method instantaneously modulates every phase current obtained mathematically based on the other phase current in order to maintain the net torque constant. The proposed method requires minimal offline analysis and offers maximum possible torque with a minimal ripple. The method is simple and easy to implement due to a low computational burden. The proposed algorithm is implemented using MATLAB/Simulink software and is also validated experimentally on a 0.6-hp 8/6 SRM using a field-programmable-gate-arrays-based hardware setup developed in the laboratory. Typical results are presented and compared with the existing techniques. A torque ripple of <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\approx 8\%$</tex-math></inline-formula> has been achieved.

Microfluidic Control of Coexisting Chemical Microenvironments within Multiphase Water-in-Fluorocarbon Droplets.

The use of aqueous polymer-based phase separation within water-in-oil emulsion droplets provides a powerful platform for exploring the impact of compartmentalization and preferential partitioning on biologically relevant solutes. By forming an emulsion, a bulk solution is converted into a large number of chemically isolated microscale droplets. Microfluidic techniques provide an additional level of control over the formation of such systems. This enables the selective production of multiphase droplets with desired solution compositions and specific characteristics, such as solute partitioning. Here, we demonstrate control over the chemical microenvironment by adjusting the composition to increase tie line length for poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)-dextran aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) encapsulated within multiphase water-in-fluorocarbon oil emulsion droplets. Through rational adjustment of microfluidic parameters alone, ATPS droplets containing differing compositions could be produced during the course of a single experiment, with the produced droplets demonstrating a controllable range of tie line lengths. This provided control over partitioning behavior for biologically relevant macromolecules such that the difference in local protein concentration between adjacent phases could be rationally tuned. This work illustrates a broadly applicable technique to rationally create emulsified multiphase aqueous systems of desired compositions through the adjustment of microfluidic parameters alone, allowing for easy and rapid screening of various chemical microenvironments.

Hierarchical design of material microstructures with thermal insulation properties

Composite materials with multiple properties are important for a range of engineering applications. Hence, this study focuses on topological design of hierarchical materials with multiple performance in both thermal insulation and mechanics. First, a novel multi-objective optimization function is defined to find a solution from the Pareto frontier, where the weight coefficients can be adjusted adaptively, to keep all the individual objective functions and their sensitivities stabilized at the same level during the optimization. Second, a new design strategy is proposed to achieve the hierarchical designs of biphasic material microstructures, they are periodically arranged by the porous base materials that are known in advance and independent of topology optimization. Third, sensitivity information and algorithm implementation are given in detail, and the bi-directional evolutionary structural optimization method is adopted to iteratively update the micro-structural topologies, by combining with the homogenization method. Last, numerical examples are provided to illustrate the benefits of the proposed design method, such as high efficiency, implementation easiness, good connectivity and clear interface between adjacent phases, etc.