Soft Glass Research Articles

Design and development of bottle sorting machine using Arduino

Soft drinks glass bottles needs to be sorted as per brand after their use. Sorting of bottles can be achieved based on characteristic features of like shape, size, color, etc. This work focuses on design and development of bottle sorting machine using arduino. Here, height and color of glass bottles are the characteristics selected to segregate bottles of different brands. Currently, this is done manually in most of the scenario. The height and color of the bottles are detected using proximity sensors and color sensors. The bottles transported by the conveyer belt are sorted by activating the appropriate product gateway. The bottles are unloaded from the conveyor belt using a rotary actuator with an arm for sorting and subsequent processing. The LCD maintains track of total number of bottles that are sorted. This sorting machine prototype saves the time and money that would have been spent on a worker manually sorting the things.

Features of relaxation modes in soft magnetic metallic glasses and their correlation with magnetic ordering

Although the anneal-induced relaxation process of Fe-based metallic glasses has been widely reported, there is a lack of a systematic description of the relaxation modes of atoms. In this work, the relaxation modes of FeSiBPC metallic glasses and their relationship with magnetic ordering have been investigated. A two-stage relaxation behavior has been observed, and the pinning effect of Curie temperature is found in the first stage. The short-range ordering involved in the β relaxation in the first stage is confined and facilitated by magnetic ordering. It causes a smaller Eβ compared to that of non-magnetic metallic glasses. In the second stage, the pinning effect disappears. It is mainly the medium-range rearrangements involved in α relaxation that begins to yield the influence on magnetic ordering. This work uncovers the inner magnet-influenced β relaxation in Fe-based metallic glasses and provides insights into the interaction between structural arrangement during relaxation and magnetic ordering.

Contribution of meniscus force to friction of multi-asperity sliding contact

Capillary adhesion contributes to friction of sliding multi-asperity contact in humid environment by increasing the solid-solid contact area; whereas the increased adhesion from capillary meniscus is hard to measure due to elastic recovery of contacting asperities. Here, we report the first direct measurement of increased interfacial adhesion from mesoscopic menisci in a macroscale multi-asperity contact comprising soft elastomer and glass surfaces with a diminishing water film. Results also found capillary adhesion and its contribution to a high transient friction coefficient decrease with increased interfacial roughness, which is consistent with prior literature hypotheses.

History dependent plasticity of glass: A mapping between atomistic and elasto-plastic models

Mesoscale elasto-plastic models, with statistically distributed structural properties and elastic coupling between discrete blocks, have been shown to quantitatively reproduce the main phenomenology observed in the stationary flow state of glasses as modelled at the atomic scale [1]. In the present study, an extension of such approaches is proposed to describe the transient mechanical response of glasses from different off-equilibrium states in the athermal quasi-static limit. Equilibrated liquids are simulated using two-dimensional molecular dynamics, quenched instantaneously to zero temperature, and then sheared. The mechanical observables measured in atomistic and elasto-plastic models are compared at the same length scales to calibrate a state-dependent constitutive law. A physical mechanism is proposed where the structural properties’ evolution rate depends on the magnitude of local plastic deformation events, introducing an effective local memory of previous states in the system. This mechanism naturally leads to a brittle-ductile transition in the mechanical response of glasses, which depends exclusively on the quenched structure. Specifically, initially stable glasses exhibit strain-softening and localization, where the memory of the initial states is lost abruptly after the first plastic rearrangements. On the other hand, systems quenched from high-temperature liquids show a slow strain-hardening with statistically homogeneous plastic deformation. In these initially soft glasses, numerous plastic rearrangements are required to converge toward the stationary flow state. The elasto-plastic model successfully reproduces the stress-strain curves in the transient regime for the whole range of parent temperatures by including this local memory mechanism. The limitations of the model are finally discussed, together with possible improvements.

Towards Quantum Noise Squeezing for 2-Micron Light with Tellurite and Chalcogenide Fibers with Large Kerr Nonlinearity

Squeezed light—nonclassical multiphoton states with fluctuations in one of the quadrature field components below the vacuum level—has found applications in quantum light spectroscopy, quantum telecommunications, quantum computing, precision quantum metrology, detecting gravitational waves, and biological measurements. At present, quantum noise squeezing with optical fiber systems operating in the range near 1.5 μm has been mastered relatively well, but there are no fiber sources of nonclassical squeezed light beyond this range. Silica fibers are not suitable for strong noise suppression for 2 µm continuous-wave (CW) light since their losses dramatically deteriorate the squeezed state of required lengths longer than 100 m. We propose the generation multiphoton states of 2-micron 10-W class CW light with squeezed quantum fluctuations stronger than −15 dB in chalcogenide and tellurite soft glass fibers with large Kerr nonlinearities. Using a realistic theoretical model, we numerically study squeezing for 2-micron light in step-index soft glass fibers by taking into account Kerr nonlinearity, distributed losses, and inelastic light scattering processes. Quantum noise squeezing stronger than −20 dB is numerically attained for a customized As2Se3 fibers with realistic parameters for the optimal fiber lengths shorter than 1 m. For commercial As2S3 and customized tellurite glass fibers, the expected squeezing in the −20–−15 dB range can be reached for fiber lengths of the order of 1 m.

Supercontinuum generation and IR image transportation using soft glass optical fibers: a review [Invited

Soft glass optical fibers, especially highly nonlinear optical fibers, have expanded their application fields. We have been engaged in soft glass optical fibers, such fluoride, tellurite and chalcogenide glass, for optical signal processing, lightwave generation and waveguide applications. Furthermore, we have challenged the research on novel waveguides, for example, transverse Anderson localization of mid-infrared light using transversely disordered optical fiber. Here we report our achievements on SC generation and novel waveguides research using the soft glass highly nonlinear optical fibers.

Replica Symmetry Breaking in Dense Hebbian Neural Networks

Understanding the glassy nature of neural networks is pivotal both for theoretical and computational advances in Machine Learning and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence. Keeping the focus on dense associative Hebbian neural networks, the purpose of this paper is two-fold: at first we develop rigorous mathematical approaches to address properly a statistical mechanical picture of the phenomenon of {\em replica symmetry breaking} (RSB) in these networks, then -- deepening results stemmed via these routes -- we aim to inspect the {\em glassiness} that they hide. In particular, regarding the methodology, we provide two techniques: the former is an adaptation of the transport PDE to the case, while the latter is an extension of Guerra's interpolation breakthrough. Beyond coherence among the results, either in replica symmetric and in the one-step replica symmetry breaking level of description, we prove the Gardner's picture and we identify the maximal storage capacity by a ground-state analysis in the Baldi-Venkatesh high-storage regime. In the second part of the paper we investigate the glassy structure of these networks: in contrast with the replica symmetric scenario (RS), RSB actually stabilizes the spin-glass phase. We report huge differences w.r.t. the standard pairwise Hopfield limit: in particular, it is known that it is possible to express the free energy of the Hopfield neural network as a linear combination of the free energies of an hard spin glass (i.e. the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick model) and a soft spin glass (the Gaussian or "spherical" model). This is no longer true when interactions are more than pairwise (whatever the level of description, RS or RSB): for dense networks solely the free energy of the hard spin glass survives, proving a huge diversity in the underlying glassiness of associative neural networks.

Novel Fluoride- and Chloride-containing Bioactive Glasses for Use in Air Abrasion

ObjectivesTo investigate the degradation, fluorapatite formation, biological safety and cutting efficiency on dentine of the mixed fluoride- and chloride-containing bioactive glasses (BGs). MethodsTwo series of mixed fluoride- and chloride-containing glasses (GPFCl and GPF2.3Cl series) were synthesized using a melt-quench method. Glass transition temperature (Tg) and the bioactivity in term of glass degradation and fluorapatite formation were evaluated in Tris buffer solution. The cutting efficiency of the powdered BGs (GPF2.3Cl series) on dentine via air abrasion was investigated using white light profilometry and scanning electron microscope. The cytotoxicity of GPF2.3Cl series on human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPLSCs) and oral fibroblasts (OFB) were examined by MTT. ResultsThese BGs are highly degradable and able to form fluorapatite within 3h of immersion. The formation of CaF2 was also found in the high fluoride-containing BGs. The faster glass degradation was evidenced in the BGs with higher chloride. A significant reduction of Tg from 790°C to 463°C was seen with increasing in calcium halide content. Air abrasion on dentine using the low and intermediate chloride-containing glasses demonstrates clear depressions, while no depression was found using the high chloride-containing glass. Moreover, the studied BGs showed no cytotoxicity to hPLSCs and OFB. ConclusionsThe glasses with mixed fluoride and chloride integrate the benefits from the presence of both, showing rapid glass degradation, fast fluorapatite formation, excellent biocompatibility and controllable hardness to provide a selective cutting efficiency on dentine. Clinical SignificanceThe developed BGs air abrasive with tunable hardness by varying chloride content can selectively cut different dental tissues. In clinic, a relatively hard BG is of great interest for caries preparation, while a soft glass is attractive for tooth cleaning.

Design of hexagonal chalcogenide photonic crystal fiber with ultra-flattened dispersion in mid-infrared wavelength spectrum

In the last few decades, silica-based photonic crystal fibers (PCFs) have been the subject of extensive research. Traditional silica-based PCFs, however, experience considerable propagation loss when used beyond 3000 nm. On the other hand, soft glasses, notably tellurite, fluoride, and chalcogenide glasses, offer exceptional optical transparency in the mid-IR wavelength region and are a desirable replacement for silica in MIR applications. A comprehensive investigation of chromatic dispersion properties in the hexagonal chalcogenide photonic crystal fibers is presented. The dependency of fiber dispersion on the structural parameters of photonic crystal fibers is thoroughly described in this study. Utilizing the interaction between material and geometrical dispersion, we were able to develop a well-defined framework for making specific predefined dispersion curves. In the mid-infrared wavelength spectrum, we are concerned with flattened, if not ultra-flattened, dispersion behaviors. In the wavelength range of 3500–6500 nm, the hexagonal chalcogenide microstructured fiber was engineered to achieve a typical dispersion profile flattened to within −3.41 to 9.5 ps/[nm–km] for the six-ring structure and −3.91 to 8.17 ps/[nm–km] for the four-ring structure. This proposed chalcogenide PCF can be used for soliton generation, gas sensing, biomedical imaging, supercontinuum generation, and long-distance high-speed communication applications in the mid-infrared wavelength range due to its nearly zero ultra-flattened dispersion characteristics.

Impact of rare earth doping on the luminescence of lanthanum aluminum silicate glasses for radiation sensing

Large core soft glass fibers have been demonstrated to be promising candidates as intrinsic fiber sensors for radiation detection and dosimetry applications. Doping with rare earth ions enhanced their radiation sensitivity. SiO2-Al2O3-La2O3 (SAL) glasses offer easy fabrication of large core fibers with high rare earth concentration and higher mechanical strength than soft glasses. This paper evaluates the suitability of the SAL glass type for radiation dosimetry based on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) via a comprehensive investigation of the spectroscopic and dosimetric properties of undoped and differently rare earth doped bulk SAL glass samples. Due to the low intensity of the rare earth luminescence peaks in the 250–400 nm OSL detection range, the OSL response for all the SAL glasses is not caused by the rare earth ions but by radiation-induced defects that act as intrinsic centers for the recombination of electrons and holes produced by the ionizing radiation, trapped in fabrication induced defect centers, and then released via stimulation with 470 nm light. The rare earth ions interfere with these processes involving intrinsic centers. This dosimetric behavior of highly rare earth doped SAL glasses suggests that enhancement of OSL response requires lower rare earth concentrations and/or longer wavelength OSL detection range.

Field theory for zero temperature soft anharmonic spin glasses in a field

We introduce a finite dimensional anharmonic soft spin glass in a field and show how it allows the construction a field theory at zero temperature and the corresponding loop expansion. The mean field level of the model coincides with a recently introduced fully connected model, the KHGPS model, and it has a spin glass transition in a field at zero temperature driven by the appearance of pseudogapped non-linear excitations. We analyze the zero temperature limit of the theory and the behavior of the bare masses and couplings on approaching the mean field zero temperature critical point. Focusing on the so called replicon sector of the field theory, we show that the bare mass corresponding to fluctuations in this sector is strictly positive at the transition in a certain region of control parameter space. At the same time the two relevant cubic coupling constants g 1 and g 2 show a non-analytic behavior in their bare values: approaching the critical point at zero temperature, g 1 → ∞ while g 2 ∝ T with a prefactor diverging at the transition. Along the same lines we also develop the field theory to study the density of states of the model in finite dimension. We show that in the mean field limit the density of states converges to the one of the KHGPS model. However the construction allows a treatment of finite dimensional effects in perturbation theory.

Evidence for Chaotic Behavior during the Yielding of a Soft Particle Glass.

Materials comprised of deformable particles such as microgels and concentrated emulsions and foams display complex rheological behavior that includes a yielding transition from an elastic solid to viscous fluid. Most studies of this class of soft matter involve shear flows, and only a handful report both shear and normal stresses. We present measurements of the shear stress and two normal stress differences for a microgel subjected to constant shear rate flows. The shear stress evolves through the yield point in a manner indicative of simple yield stress fluid behavior. Prior to yielding, the normal stress differences are immeasurable; beyond the yield point, they evolve in a reproducibly chaotic manner.

Polyurethane shape memory filament yarns: Melt spinning, carbon-based reinforcement, and characterization

The aim of this work was to develop and characterize polyurethane-based shape memory polymer filament yarns of a suitable diameter and thermo-mechanical performance for use in tailored multi-sectorial applications. Different polymer compositions – pure shape memory polyurethane and shape memory polyurethane composites with 0.3 and 0.5 wt.% of multi-walled carbon nanotubes or carbon black as additives – were studied. Filaments were obtained using a melt spinning process that allowed the production of the permanent and temporary shape of the shape memory polyurethane filament. Two drawing speeds (20 and 32 m/min) were studied. Characterization techniques such as the tensile test, differential scanning calorimetry, and dynamic mechanical analysis were used to investigate the shape-memory effect of the filaments. Pure and additive shape memory polyurethane filament yarns of a controlled diameter were produced. The results indicated that the pure shape memory polyurethane on the temporary shape had the highest tensile strength (234 MPa). Filaments with carbon black revealed a significant strain (335%) in the permanent shape with respect to the other filaments. The melt spinning process influenced the soft segment glass transition temperature (Tgs) significantly, with a decrease in the temporary shape (first heating) as compared to the permanent shape (second and third heating). However, only the 0.5% multi-walled carbon nanotubes additive clearly influenced the filament, increasing the Tgs by 10°C. The additives also influenced the shape-memory effect, obtaining an increased fixity ratio (up to 97%) with the multi-walled carbon nanotubes additive and an increased recovery ratio (up to 86%) with the carbon black additive.

Fiber optical parametric oscillator made of soft glass

Fiber optical parametric oscillators (FOPOs) are compact optical sources of coherent and broadly tunable light compatible with operation in unconventional spectral bands. Highly nonlinear silica fibers have enabled the development of FOPOs in the telecommunication wavelength band, but the strong material absorption of silica glass at wavelengths >2 µm limits its applicability in the mid-infrared (MIR) spectral range. In this work, we overcome this issue and report a FOPO designed entirely out of soft glass fiber. For this purpose, we combine an As2Se3 single-mode fiber coupler, an As2Se3 parametric gain medium, and a low-loss ZBLAN delay fiber to build the first all-fiber laser cavity made of soft glass. Two proof-of-concept FOPOs are presented, one driven by pure parametric gain leading to wavelength-tunable Stokes emission within the range 2.088-2.139 µm, and the other driven by Raman-assisted parametric gain leading to Stokes emission within the range 2.023-2.048 µm. This demonstration is a promising first step toward the development of fully fiberized MIR light sources.

EXPANSE: A time-of-flight EXPanded Angle Neutron Spin Echo spectrometer at the Second Target Station of the Spallation Neutron Source

EXPANSE, an EXPanded Angle Neutron Spin Echo instrument, has been proposed and selected as one of the first suite of instruments to be built at the Second Target Station of the Spallation Neutron Source at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. This instrument is designed to address scientific problems that involve high-energy resolution (neV-μeV) of dynamic processes in a wide range of materials. The wide-angle detector banks of EXPANSE provide coverage of nearly two orders of magnitude in scattering wavenumbers, and the wide wavelength band affords approximately four orders of magnitude in Fourier times. This instrument will offer unique capabilities that are not available in the currently existing neutron scattering instruments in the United States. Specifically, EXPANSE will enable direct measurements of slow dynamics in the time domain over wide Q-ranges simultaneously and will also enable time-resolved spectroscopic studies. The instrument is expected to contribute to a diverse range of science areas, including soft matter, polymers, biological materials, liquids and glasses, energy materials, unconventional magnets, and quantum materials.

Transient dynamics of soft particle glasses in startup shear flow. Part II: Memory and aging

We explore the rheology during a startup flow of well-characterized polyelectrolyte microgel suspensions, which form soft glasses above the jamming concentration. We present and discuss results measured using different mechanical histories focusing on the variations of the static yield stress and yield strain. The behavior of the shear stress growth function is affected by long-lived residual stresses and strains that imprint a slowly decaying mechanical memory inside the materials. The startup flow response is not reversible upon flow reversal and the amplitude of the static yield stress increases with the time elapsed after rejuvenation. We propose an experimental protocol that minimizes the directional memory and we analyze the effect of aging. The static yield strain γp and the reduced static yield stress σp/σy, where σy is the dynamic yield stress measured from steady flow measurements, are in good agreement with our previous simulations [Khabaz et al., “Transient dynamics of soft particle glasses in startup shear flow. Part I: Microstructure and time scales,” J. Rheol. 65, 241 (2021)]. Our results demonstrate the need to consider memory and aging effects in transient measurements on soft particle glasses.

Role of Fe substitution for Co on thermal stability and glass-forming ability of soft magnetic Co-based Co-Fe-B-P-C metallic glasses

Soft magnetic Co-based bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) with large supercooled liquid region (ΔTx) of 47 K and high saturation magnetic flux density (Bs) up to 1.21 T have been developed in a new Co-Fe-B-P-C alloy system without early transition metal and rare earth elements. Substitution of Co by 10–35 at.% Fe in a Co75B10P7.5C7.5 alloy promotes the occurrence of glass transition and enhances the stability of supercooled liquid and glass-forming ability (GFA). The ΔTx of 37–47 K and a critical sample diameter up to 1.2 mm can be achieved for Co40–55Fe20–35B10P7.5C7.5 BMGs. The improved thermal stability and GFA are attributed to complicated primary crystallization phases and stabilized alloy melts, respectively. The addition of Fe enhances the Bs of the Co-based BMGs from 0.79 to 1.21 T, and increases coercivity from 1.1 to 7.2 A/m. The Co-based BMGs also exhibit high yield strength of 3243–3665 MPa with plastic strain up to 2.3% and low viscosity of around 3.0 × 109 Pa·s in the supercooled liquid state.

Marginal stability of soft anharmonic mean field spin glasses

We investigate the properties of the glass phase of a recently introduced spin glass model of soft spins subjected to an anharmonic quartic local potential, which serves as a model of low temperature molecular or soft glasses. We solve the model using mean field theory and show that, at low temperatures, it is described by full replica symmetry breaking. As a consequence, at zero temperature the glass phase is marginally stable. We show that in this case, marginal stability comes from a combination of both soft linear excitations—appearing in a gapless spectrum of the Hessian of linear excitations—and pseudogapped non-linear excitations—corresponding to nearly degenerate two level systems. Therefore, this model is a natural candidate to describe what happens in soft glasses, where quasi localized soft modes in the density of states appear together with non-linear modes triggering avalanches and conjectured to be essential to describe the universal low temperature anomalies of glasses.

Volumetric incorporation of NV diamond emitters in nanostructured F2 glass magneto-optical fiber probes

Integration of optically active diamond particles with glass fibers is a powerful method of scaling diamond's magnetic sensing functionality. We propose a novel approach for the integration of diamond particles containing nitrogen-vacancy centers directly into the fiber core. The core is fabricated by stacking the preform from 790 soft glass canes, drawn from a single rod dip-coated with submicron diamond particles suspended in isopropyl alcohol. This enables manual control over the distribution of nanoscale features, here – the diamond particles across the optical fiber core. We verify this by mapping the diamond distribution in the core using confocal microscopy. The particles are separated longitudinally by 12–29 μm, while in the transverse plane a separation of approximately 1.5–2.2 μm is observed, corresponding to the individual cane diameter in the final fiber, and without significant agglomeration. The fiber's magnetic sensitivity is confirmed in optically detected magnetic resonance recorded with a coiled, 60-cm-long fiber sample with readout contrast of 1.3% limited by microwave antenna coverage. Moreover, magnetic-field dependence of the NV─ fluorescence intensity is demonstrated in the absence of microwaves, allowing magnetometric applications with a large (from 0 to 35 mT) B-field dynamic range.

Underlying mechanism of shear-banding in soft glasses of charged colloidal rods with orientational domains

Soft glasses of colloidal rods (fd-virus particles) with orientational domains were recently shown to exhibit inhomogeneous flow profiles [Dhont et al., Phys. Rev. Fluids 2, 043301 (2017)]: fracture and accompanied plug flow at small shear rates, which transits to gradient shear-banding on increasing the shear rate, while a uniform flow profile develops at sufficiently high shear rates. These flow profiles coexist with Taylor-vorticity bands. The texture of such glasses under flow conditions consists of domains with varying orientations. The observed gradient shear-banding was solely attributed to the strong shear thinning behavior of the material inside the domains (henceforth abbreviated as domain-interior), without considering the texture stress that is due to interactions between the glassy domains. Here, we present new experiments on the shear-banding transition to assess the role played by the texture stress in comparison to the domain-interior stress. For a large concentration, well into the glassy state, it is found that both texture stress and domain-interior stress contribute significantly to the gradient shear-banding transition in the shear-rate region where it occurs. On the other hand, for a small concentration close to the glass-transition concentration, the domains are shown to coalesce within the shear-rate range where gradient shear-banding is observed. As a result, the texture stress diminishes and the domain-interior stress increases upon coalescence, leading to a stress plateau. Thus, a subtle interplay exists between the stresses arising from the structural order on two widely separated length scales from interactions between domains and from the rod-rod interactions within the domain-interior for both concentrations.