Characteristic Angle Research Articles

Magnetic field induced phases in CuCrO2 : Monte Carlo and analytical investigations

Motivated by the strong magnetoelectric coupling in the multiferroic geometrically frustrated triangular antiferromagnet $\mathrm{Cu}\mathrm{Cr}{\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ and the high sensitivity of its magnetic structure to external fields, we investigate induced magnetic phases at very low temperatures under high magnetic fields ($B$) up to 325 T applied along the [001] direction. Analytical calculations and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations based on a realistic three-dimensional classical Heisenberg model are used to reveal these magnetic phases. Interestingly, our model mimics a real distorted crystal which considers exchange interactions up to third-nearest neighbors in the $ab$ plane and an interplane interaction, in addition to hard and easy axes anisotropies along the [110] and the [001] directions, respectively. For $B\ensuremath{\ge}70\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{T}$, both our MC and analytical results are in an excellent agreement and evidence three commensurate phases, namely, the commensurate Y (CY), the up-up-down (UUD), and the V phases as the magnetic field increases. The field dependence of the characteristic angles of the CY and V phases is determined. Moreover, the saturation field is estimated at 325 T, indicating that the previously predicted values obtained by extrapolation of experimental data are too small. Below 70 T, our MC results indicate that the CY phase is no more stable and several incommensurate Y phases appear. Overall, the observed magnetic phases at nearly 0 K are in a good agreement with a recently published experimental phase diagram. It should be noted that our MC data reject the incommensurate umbrella phase at very low temperatures, which was reported in previous studies.

Study on Mechanical Properties of Gravelly Sand under Different Stress Paths

To investigate the strength and deformation characteristics of gravelly sand on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under different stress paths, a series of triaxial shear tests was conducted under confining pressures of 50–400 kPa in four types of stress path conditions of conventional triaxial compression (CTC) (drained and undrained), triaxial compression (TC), and reduced triaxial compression (RTC). We can see from the test results that gravelly sand samples show strain hardening and shear contraction under the CTC (drained), TC, and RTC during the shearing process but exhibit strain softening under the CTC (undrained). To explore the microscopic deformation mechanism of gravelly sand, a characteristic angle θ was defined to reflect the relative movement of soil particles. The relationship between principal stress ratio σ1/σ3 and characteristic angle θ and that between void ratio e and characteristic angle θ were derived. Subsequently, the relationship expression of stress ratio η (q/p) and void ratio e was established, and the trend of void ratio e with the stress path was studied. To describe the strain hardening and strain softening characteristics of gravelly sand in different stress paths, a new dilatancy equation was obtained by introducing the characteristic state stress ratio Mc into the dilatancy equation of the modified Cam-Clay model based on the state-dependent dilatancy theory. Finally, an elastoplastic constitutive model of gravelly sand was established by applying a nonassociate flow rule. All model parameters can be determined by triaxial shear tests under different stress paths, and the comparison results show that the proposed model can well reflect the mechanical behaviors of gravelly sand under different stress paths.

Monochromatic Conical IR Emission from Decaying KrF Laser Filaments in Xenon as Coherent Stimulated Four-Wave Mixing Process

We develop theoretical background for the new nonlinear optical phenomenon of narrowly directed monochromatic IR conical emission which has been recently observed when 248-nm UV filaments propagate in xenon (V. D. Zvorykin, et al., Laser Phys. Lett. 13, 125404 (2016)). We treat it as coherent stimulated four-wave mixing process in which two pump KrF laser photons are converted into the coupled pair of resonance IR(828 nm) and VUV (147 nm) photons through 5p5(2P3/2)6p[1/2]0→5p5(2P3/2)6s[3/2]1o and 5p5(2P3/2)6s[3/2]1o→1S0 transitions. We explore the coherent interaction regime which proceeds at a time scale shorter than transverse relaxation time T2. The momentum and energy conservation laws determine the characteristic angle of conical emission. We find that the threshold of this coherent process is determined by the KrF laser pump pulse area.

Effects of base angle and wettability of nanostructures on droplet wetting behaviors

The wetting modes of droplet on nanostructure surface including Cassie, Partial Wenzel, and Wenzel are of great importance in enhancing the condensation heat transfer, surface self-cleaning and oil-water separation. Previous studies focused mainly on the behaviors of droplets on the surface of nano-pillar structures. In this work, the wetting behaviors of argon nanodroplet on platinum surface is investigated by the molecular dynamics simulations. The effects of nanostructure geometry parameters and characteristic contact angle <i>θ</i><sub>e</sub> on the wetting mode and the transition between different modes are investigated. The three-dimensional simulation box includes a bottom wall containing trapezoid wires (TWs) with different geometry parameters and other five surfaces. The TWs are populated on the wall based on the array arrangement. The periodic boundary conditions are imposed on the four side surfaces of the simulation box. The base angles of the side surface of TW with respect to horizontal plane are chosen as 60° (inverted TW), 90° (rectangular pin fin) and 120° (TW), respectively. For all the three base angles, the nanostructure surface can be completely wetted by liquid, behaving as the Wenzel mode when <i>θ</i><sub>e</sub> < 118°, under which the gaps of nanostructures are filled with liquid. However, when the characteristic contact angle <i>θ</i><sub>e</sub> is in a range of 118°–145°, the base angles of nanostructures have different effects on wetting modes. The surface with inverted TWs (60° base angle) is conducive to keeping droplet in Cassie mode, in which the liquid does not penetrate into any gap of nanostructures. The surface with rectangular pin fins behaves as either Partial Wenzel mode or Cassie mode. The transition between the two modes takes place at <i>θ</i><sub>e</sub> ～130°. The surface with TWs (120° base angle) keeps the droplet in Partial Wenzel mode, in which the gaps of nanostructures are partially wetted by liquid. For <i>θ</i><sub>e</sub> larger than 145°, the dewetting process takes place on the surface of the nanostructure, in which the droplet leaves the solid surface. We conclude that the wetting modes on nanostructured surface satisfy the minimum surface energy principle. Our work discloses a new finding that the surface with inverted TWs is easy to maintain Cassie mode, which is good for dropwise condensation applications.

Stochastic analysis of impact mixing of bulk materials in a rotary apparatus

The purpose of this work is to analyze the distribution of bulk materials according to the characteristic parameters of the mixing process at the second stage of processing in a rotary apparatus. The design of the rotary device has a wide range, including for the needs of agriculture, for example, when forming mixtures of mineral fertilizers and multifunctional pyrethroid drugs. At this mixing stage, impact interaction with the bump surface of rarefied flows of bulk components occurs, obtained by scattering the rotating drum by elastic blades at the previous stage of the technological chain. The obtained dependencies between the characteristic angle of dispersion of bulk materials by the specified mixing drum (at the first stage) and the angle of reflection of the corresponding flows from the baffle surface (at the second stage) are used in the stochastic analysis of impact mixing. Modeling of the differential functions of the distribution of the number of particles of mixed bulk components by the angle of reflection from the baffle surface is carried out taking into account the physical and mechanical characteristics of the working materials, design parameters, and operating parameters of the rotary apparatus. The calculation results made it possible to reveal the effective ranges of variation of the characteristic parameters for the shock mixing of bulk materials in a rotary apparatus.

Tiling a Plane with Semi-Regular Equilateral Polygons with 2m-Sides

In this paper, tiling a plane with equilateral semi-regular convex polygons is considered, and, that is, tiling with equilateral polygons of the same type. Tiling a plane with semi-regular polygons depends not only on the type of a semi-regular polygon, but also on its interior angles that join at a node. In relation to the interior angles, semi-regular equilateral polygons with the same or different interior angles can be joined in the nodes. Here, we shall first consider tiling a plane with semi-regular equilateral polygons with 2m-sides. The analysis is performed by determining the set of all integer solutions of the corresponding Diophantine equation in the form of , whereare the non-negative integers which are not equal to zero at the same time, and are the interior angles of a semi-regular equilateral polygon from the characteristic angle. It is shown that of all semi-regular equilateral polygons with 2m-sides, a plane can be tiled only with the semi-regular equilateral quadrilaterals and semi-regular equilateral hexagons. Then, the problem of tiling a plane with semi-regular equilateral quadrilaterals is analyzed in detail, and then the one with semi-regular equilateral hexagons. For these semi-regular polygons, all possible solutions of the corresponding Diophantine equations were analyzed and all nodes were determined, and then the problem for different values of characteristic elements was observed. For some of the observed cases of tiling a plane with these semi-regular polygons, some graphical presentations of tiling constructions are also given.

Tunable Lattice Reconstruction, Triangular Network of Chiral One-Dimensional States, and Bandwidth of Flat Bands in Magic Angle Twisted Bilayer Graphene.

The interplay between interlayer van der Waals interaction and intralayer lattice distortion can lead to structural reconstruction in slightly twisted bilayer graphene (TBG) with the twist angle being smaller than a characteristic angle θ_{c}. Experimentally, the θ_{c} is demonstrated to be very close to the magic angle (θ≈1.08°). Here we address the transition between reconstructed and unreconstructed structures of the TBG across the magic angle by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Our experiment demonstrates that both structures are stable in the TBG around the magic angle. By using a STM tip, we show that the two structures can be changed to each other and a triangular network of chiral one-dimensional states hosted by domain boundaries can be switched on and off. Consequently, the bandwidth of the flat band, which plays a vital role in the emergent strongly correlated states in the magic angle TBG, is tuned. This provides an extra control knob to manipulate the exotic electronic states of the TBG near the magic angle.

Wave Patterns of Gravity–Capillary Waves from Moving Localized Sources

We study wave patterns of gravity–capillary waves from moving localized sources within the classic setup of the problem of ship wakes. The focus is on the co-existence of two wave systems with opposite signatures of group velocity relative to the localized source. It leads to the problem of choice of signs for phase functions of the gravity (“slow”) and capillary (“fast”) branches of the dispersion relation: the question generally ignored when constructing phase patterns of the solutions. We detail characteristic angles of the wake patterns: (i) angle of demarcation of gravity and capillary waves—“the phase Mach” cone, (ii) angle of the minimal group velocity of gravity–capillary waves—“the group Mach” cone, (iii, iv) angles of cusps of isophases that appear after a threshold current speed. The outer cusp cone is naturally associated with the classic cone of Kelvin for pure gravity waves. The inner one results from the effect of capillarity and tends to the “group Mach” pattern at high speeds of current. Amplitudes of the wave patterns are estimated within the recently proposed approach of reference functions for the problem of propagation of packets of linear dispersive waves. The effect of shape is discussed for elliptic reference sources.

The predictive capacity of the MADYMO ellipsoid pedestrian model for pedestrian ground contact kinematics and injury evaluation

Pedestrian injuries occur in both the primary vehicle contact and the subsequent ground contact. Currently, no ground contact countermeasures have been implemented and no pedestrian model has been validated for ground contact, though this is needed for developing future ground contact injury countermeasures. In this paper, we assess the predictive capacity of the MADYMO ellipsoid pedestrian model in reconstructing six recent pedestrian cadaver ground contact experiments. Whole-body kinematics as well as vehicle and ground contact related aHIC (approximate HIC) and BrIC scores were evaluated. Reasonable results were generally achieved for the timings of the principal collision events, and for the overall ground contact mechanisms. However, the resulting head injury predictions based on the ground contact HIC and BrIC scores showed limited capacity of the model to replicate individual experiments. Sensitivity studies showed substantial influences of the vehicle-pedestrian contact characteristic and certain initial pedestrian joint angles on the subsequent ground contact kinematics and injury predictions. Further work is needed to improve the predictive capacity of the MADYMO pedestrian model for ground contact injury predictions.

Contributions of Adaptive Plant Architecture to Transgressive Salinity Tolerance in Recombinant Inbred Lines of Rice: Molecular Mechanisms Based on Transcriptional Networks.

Genetic novelties are important nucleators of adaptive speciation. Transgressive segregation is a major mechanism that creates genetic novelties with morphological and developmental attributes that confer adaptive advantages in certain environments. This study examined the morpho-developmental and physiological profiles of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) from the salt-sensitive IR29 and salt-tolerant Pokkali rice, representing the total range of salt tolerance including the outliers at both ends of the spectrum. Morpho-developmental and physiological profiles were integrated with a hypothesis-driven interrogation of mRNA and miRNA transcriptomes to uncover the critical genetic networks that have been rewired for novel adaptive architecture. The transgressive super-tolerant FL510 had a characteristic small tiller angle and wider, more erect, sturdier, and darker green leaves. This unique morphology resulted in lower transpiration rate, which also conferred a special ability to retain water more efficiently for osmotic avoidance. The unique ability for water retention conferred by such adaptive morphology appeared to enhance the efficacy of defenses mediated by Na+ exclusion mechanism (SalTol-effects) inherited from Pokkali. The super-tolerant FL510 and super-sensitive FL499 had the smallest proportions of differentially expressed genes with little overlaps. Genes that were steadily upregulated in FL510 comprised a putative cytokinin-regulated genetic network that appeared to maintain robust growth under salt stress through well-orchestrated cell wall biogenesis and cell expansion, likely through major regulatory (OsRR23, OsHK5) and biosynthetic (OsIPT9) genes in the cytokinin signaling pathway. Meanwhile, a constitutively expressed cluster in FL510 prominently featured two transcription factors (OsIBH1, TAC3) that control tiller angle and growth habit through the brassinosteroid signaling pathway. Both the putative cytokinin-mediated and brassinosteroid-mediated clusters appeared to function as highly coordinated network synergies in FL510. In contrast, both networks appeared to be sub-optimal and inferior in the other RILs and parents as they were disjointed and highly fragmented. Transgressively expressed miRNAs (miR169, miR397, miR827) were also identified as prominent signatures of FL510, with functional implications to mechanisms that support robust growth, homeostasis, and osmotic stress avoidance. Results of this study demonstrate how genetic recombination creates novel morphology that complements inducible defenses hence transgressive adaptive phenotypes.

Energy and Exergy Assessment of S-CO2 Brayton Cycle Coupled with a Solar Tower System

In this research, we performed energy and exergy assessments of a solar driven power plant. Supercritical carbon dioxide (S-CO2) Brayton cycle is used for the conversion of heat to work. The plant runs on solar energy from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and to account for the fluctuations in the solar energy, the plant is equipped with an auxiliary heater operating on hot combustion gases from the combustion chamber. The capital city of Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) is chosen in this study and the solar insolation levels for this location are calculated using the ASHRAE clear-sky model. The solar collector (central receiver) receives solar energy reflected by the heliostats; therefore, a radially staggered heliostat field is generated for this purpose. A suite of code is developed to calculate various parameters of the heliostat field, such as optical efficiencies, intercept factors, attenuation factors and heliostat characteristic angles. S-CO2 Brayton cycle is simulated in commercial software, Aspen HYSYS V9 (Aspen Technology, Inc., Bedford, MA, USA). The cycle is mainly powered by solar energy but assisted by an auxiliary heater to maintain a constant net power input of 80 MW to the cycle. The heliostat field generated, composed of 1207 rows, provides 475 watts per unit heliostat’s area to the central receiver. Heat losses from the central receiver due to natural convection and radiation are significant, with an average annual loss of 10 percent in the heat absorbed by the receiver. Heat collection rate at the central receiver reveals that the maximum support of auxiliary heat is needed in December, at nearly 13% of the net input energy. Exergy analysis shows that the highest exergy loss takes place in the heliostat field that is nearly 42.5% of incident solar exergy.

Three-Dimensional Atomic Structure of Grain Boundaries Resolved by Atomic-Resolution Electron Tomography

Summary Grain boundaries (GBs) determine the properties of polycrystals, and tailoring the GB structure offers a promising method for the discovery and engineering of new materials. However, GB structures are far from well understood because of their structural complexity and limitations of conventional projection imaging methods. Here, we decipher three-dimensional atomic structure and crystallography of GBs in nanometals using atomic-resolution electron tomography. Unlike conventional descriptions, whereby they are either straight or curved planar planes with one-dimensional translational symmetry, we show that the high-angle GBs completely lose translational symmetry due to undulated curvature related to configurations of structural units. Moreover, we directly visualize kinks and jogs at the single-atom scale in dislocation-type GBs and investigate their mobilities. Our findings bring new insights to the conventional wisdom of GBs and show the importance of developing methods to include the non-planar nature of GBs to statistically evaluate the behavior of GBs in modeling studies.

Magnetic (electric) drop deformation in uniform external fields: Volume averaged methods and formation of static and dynamic conical tips

Analytical relationships describing droplet deformation in external magnetic (electric) fields rely on spheroidal and ellipsoidal shape approximations. We show that the ellipsoidal shape approximations that assume a uniform internal magnetic field are only valid for small deformations (aspect ratio a/b ≈ 4). For large droplet deformations, the non-uniformity in the field within the droplet becomes substantial, rendering such approximations to be invalid. To overcome the limitations of ellipsoidal theory, we perform numerical simulations to determine volume averaged demagnetization factor and fields. Based on the numerical simulations, we propose semi-analytical relationships to describe small and large deformations for magnetic droplets using volume averaged methods. We test and validate our results with the existing experimental results and find an excellent agreement between our model and experimental studies. We extend our analysis and investigate static and dynamic droplets with conical tips. We show that droplets with conical tips could be defined solely by the characteristic half cone angle. We analyze unstable droplets with extremely high susceptibility χ → ∞ and find that conical tips with a half cone angle of θc ≈ 30° and an aspect ratio of ≈3.7 are formed prior to breakup, in agreement with the prior experimental studies of charged electric droplet breakup. We show that the volume averaged methods derived for droplets with finite tip curvature are also valid and in good agreement with the computational and previous experimental studies of magnetic droplets with conical tips.

Surface Roughness Influence on Néel-, Crosstie, and Bloch-Type Charged Zigzag Magnetic Domain Walls in Nanostructured Fe Films.

Charged magnetic domain walls have been visualized in soft magnetic nanostructured Fe thin films under both static and dynamic conditions. A transition in the core of these zigzagged magnetic walls from Néel-type to Bloch-type through the formation of crosstie walls has been observed. This transition in charged zigzagged walls was not previously shown experimentally in Fe thin films. For film thicknesses t < 30 nm, Néel-type cores are present, while at t ≈ 33 nm, walls with crosstie cores are observed. At t > 60 nm, Bloch-type cores are observed. Along with the visualization of these critical parameters, the dependence on the film thickness of the characteristic angle and length of the segments of the zigzagged walls has been observed and analyzed. After measuring the bistable magneto-optical behavior, the values of the wall nucleation magnetic field and the surface roughness of the films, an energetic fit to these nucleation values is presented.

Design of achromatic annular folded lens with multilayer diffractive optics for the visible and near-IR wavebands.

In this paper, the annular folded lens (AFL) is applied to the realization of a miniaturized system for the visible and near-IR spectrums (0.45-1.1μm). In order to correct the chromatic aberration, a hybrid AFL is designed with the multilayer diffractive optical element (MLDOE) in which the substrate materials are precision molded glasses. We propose a new design method of the MLDOE to improve the polychromatic integral diffraction efficiency (PIDE) that makes it suitable for the optical path of the AFL. By comparing the characteristic angle weighted PIDE (CAW-PIDE), the optimal microstructure heights of the MLDOE can be obtained, and the effect of diffraction efficiency on image quality can be minimized for the entire incident angle range. The design results show that the ratio of total length to the focal length is only 0.332, and comprehensive modulation transfer function considering the diffraction efficiency is larger than 0.26 at 166 lp/mm. This study can provide a new idea for designing a broadband, miniaturized, and low-cost imaging system.

Electrical Impedance Spectroscopy for Monitoring Chemoresistance of Cancer Cells.

Electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is an electrokinetic method that allows for the characterization of intrinsic dielectric properties of cells. EIS has emerged in the last decade as a promising method for the characterization of cancerous cells, providing information on inductance, capacitance, and impedance of cells. The individual cell behavior can be quantified using its characteristic phase angle, amplitude, and frequency measurements obtained by fitting the input frequency-dependent cellular response to a resistor–capacitor circuit model. These electrical properties will provide important information about unique biomarkers related to the behavior of these cancerous cells, especially monitoring their chemoresistivity and sensitivity to chemotherapeutics. There are currently few methods to assess drug resistant cancer cells, and therefore it is difficult to identify and eliminate drug-resistant cancer cells found in static and metastatic tumors. Establishing techniques for the real-time monitoring of changes in cancer cell phenotypes is, therefore, important for understanding cancer cell dynamics and their plastic properties. EIS can be used to monitor these changes. In this review, we will cover the theory behind EIS, other impedance techniques, and how EIS can be used to monitor cell behavior and phenotype changes within cancerous cells.

Adsorption transition of a grafted ferromagnetic filament controlled by external magnetic fields.

Extensive Langevin dynamics simulations are used to characterize the adsorption transition of a flexible magnetic filament grafted onto an attractive planar surface. Our results identify different structural transitions at different ratios of the thermal energy to the surface attraction strength: filament straightening, adsorption, and the magnetic flux closure. The adsorption temperature of a magnetic filament is found to be higher in comparison to an equivalent nonmagnetic chain. The adsorption has been also investigated under the application of a static homogeneous external magnetic field. We found that the strength and the orientation of the field can be used to control the adsorption process, providing a precise switching mechanism. Interestingly, we have observed that the characteristic field strength and tilt angle at the adsorption point are related by a simple power law.

Analysis and design of a high‐efficiency three‐coil WPT system with constant current output

The wireless power transfer (WPT) system has been widely researched due to its inherent advantages compared with the traditional plug-in charging system over security, flexibility, convenience and so on. Compared with the two-coil WPT system, the three-coil WPT system has been proven to have higher efficiency over a relatively long transmission distance. In many applications, WPT systems are required to have the load-independent constant current output (CCO) characteristic and zero phase angle (ZPA) operation. This study proposes a three-coil WPT system that can achieve the CCO and ZPA operation through flexible parameter design. First, the detailed mathematical deduction for the CCO and ZPA operation is given. Then, a comprehensive analysis of the three-coil WPT system is conducted in term of parameter design, the sensitivity of the CCO to changes in compensation parameters, implementation of zero voltage switching operation and efficiency analysis. Furthermore, a detailed efficiency comparison with the SS WPT system is performed to reflect the high efficiency of the proposed three-coil system, and the additional performance of the proposed three-coil system is compared with previous related works to verify its advantages further. Finally, the correctness of the theoretical analysis is verified by simulation and experiment.

Variable Stiffness Composites: Optimal Design Studies

This research work has two main objectives, being the first related to the characterization of variable stiffness composite plates’ behavior by carrying out a comprehensive set of analyses. The second objective aims at obtaining the optimal fiber paths, hence the characteristic angles associated to its definition, that yield maximum fundamental frequencies, maximum critical buckling loads, or minimum transverse deflections, both for a single ply and for a three-ply variable stiffness composite. To these purposes one considered the use of the first order shear deformation theory in connection to an adaptive single objective method. From the optimization studies performed it was possible to conclude that significant behavior improvements may be achieved by using variable stiffness composites. Hence, for simply supported three-ply laminates which were the cases where a major impact can be observed, it was possible to obtain a maximum transverse deflection decrease of 11.26%, a fundamental frequency increase of 5.61%, and a buckling load increase of 51.13% and 58.01% for the uniaxial and biaxial load respectively.

Experimental study on the fire shape and maximum temperature beneath ceiling centerline in utility tunnel under the effect of curved sidewall

To study the effect of curved sidewall on the fire shape and maximum temperature beneath ceiling centerline, a series of experiments were conducted in a scaled concrete utility tunnel model (at a ratio of 1:4 to the real size) with the centerlines of 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 cm. The flame height, temperature beneath ceiling centerline under different conditions were observed to analyze the influence of the curved sidewall in the utility tunnel. The results showed that: ① The flame shape can be bent by curved ceilings, while the flame did not touch the curved ceiling. This can be explained by Bernoulli principle. When flame touched the curved ceiling, a correlation for the transverse flame length was obtained in terms of flame height under free condition and the correlation was consistent with previous research. ② The characteristic temperature of smoke layer was employed to correct the ambient temperature considering the acceleration of smoke in the utility tunnel. ③ On this basis, relevant equations for maximum temperature beneath ceiling centerline were established. Referring to the maximum temperature under the inclined ceiling, the formula (Eq. (26)) was established if d ≠ 0. The concept of characteristic angle was employed to equal the buoyancy effect on jet under the curved ceiling. Referring to Li’s model, the formula (Eq. (28)) was established if d = 0 cm. These formulas above could predict the maximum temperature beneath the ceiling centerline with the relative error within 15% and 10%, respectively.