Low-frequency Beats Produced by Interference of Laser Modes

Abstract

A helium-neon laser operating in three or more axial modes can generate, at a photo detector with a nonlinear response to intensity, beat signals with frequencies corresponding to the second differences between the frequencies of these modes. This paper presents a quantum-field theoretical treatment of the formation of such low-frequency beats, as well as experimental data demonstrating that interference effects corresponding to the production of such beats can be observed even at light levels at which the probability of at least one photon from each of the three modes being present simultaneously in the optical path is negligible.     

A homotopy analysis method for the nonlinear partial differential equations arising in engineering

In this article, we have established the homotopy analysis method (HAM) for solving a few partial differential equations arising in engineering. This technique provides the solutions in rapid convergence series with computable terms for the problems with high degree of nonlinear terms appearing in the governing differential equations. The convergence analysis of the proposed method is also discussed. Finally, we have given some illustrative examples to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the proposed method.     

A Concurrent Product-Development Approach for Friction-Stir Welded Vehicle-Underbody Structures

High-strength aluminum and titanium alloys with superior blast/ballistic resistance against armor piercing (AP) threats and with high vehicle light-weighing potential are being increasingly used as military-vehicle armor. Due to the complex structure of these vehicles, they are commonly constructed through joining (mainly welding) of the individual components. Unfortunately, these alloys are not very amenable to conventional fusion-based welding technologies [e.g., gas metal arc welding (GMAW)] and to obtain high-quality welds, solid-state joining technologies such as friction-stir welding (FSW) have to be employed. However, since FSW is a relatively new and fairly complex joining technology, its introduction into advanced military-vehicle-underbody structures is not straight forward and entails a comprehensive multi-prong approach which addresses concurrently and interactively all the aspects associated with the components/vehicle-underbody design, fabrication, and testing. One such approach is developed and applied in this study. The approach consists of a number of well-defined steps taking place concurrently and relies on two-way interactions between various steps. The approach is critically assessed using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.     

Experimental study and modelling of tool temperature distribution in orthogonal cutting of AISI 316L and AISI 3115 steels

Cutting tool temperature distribution was mapped using the IR-CCD technique during machining of carbon steel AISI 3115 and stainless steel AISI 316L under orthogonal cutting conditions using flat-face geometry inserts. The effect of work material treatment on tool temperature was investigated, and the results showed that AISI 3115 in heat-treated state displayed higher tool temperature than the as-rolled state. Stainless steel 316L with high sulphur content (0.027?wt.%) and calcium treatment displayed lower cutting tool temperature than the variant with low sulphur (0.009?wt.%). The experimental results were compared with theoretical tool temperature distributions based on a modified version of Komanduri and Hou??s analytical model. In particular, variable frictional heat source and secondary shear were introduced and modelling of the tool stress distribution on rake surface was also considered.     

High-sensitivity humidity sensor based on SnO2 nanoparticles synthesized by microwave irradiation method

Tin oxide hexagonal-shaped nanodiscs (SnO) and spherical nanoparticles (SnO₂) have been prepared by using a simple household microwave irradiation method with an operating frequency of 2.45 GHz. This technique permits us to produce gram quantity of homogeneous nanoparticles in just 10 min. The crystallite size was evaluated from powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies and was in the 20 to 25 nm range. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed that the as prepared SnO form as hexagonal-shaped nanodiscs and upon subsequent annealing at 500 °C for 5 h in air, the SnO gets converted to spherical-shaped nanoparticles of SnO₂. The SnO₂ sample shows good sensitivity towards the relative humidity. The calculated response and recovery time were found to be 32 s and 25 s respectively. These results indicate promising applications of SnO₂ nanoparticles in a highly sensitive environmental monitoring and humidity controlled electronic devices. The samples were further subjected to thermal analyses (TG–DTA) and UV–VIS diffusion reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) studies.     

Investigation on Phase Change Behavior of Paraffin Phase Change Material in a Spherical Capsule for Solar Thermal Storage Units

In this work, the melting and solidification behaviour of paraffin phase change material encapsulated in a stainless steel spherical container has been studied experimentally. A computational fluid dynamics analysis has also been performed for the encapsulated phase change material (PCM) during phase change process. In the melting process, the hot air, used as the heat transfer fluid enters the test section and flows over the spherical capsule resulting in the melting of phase change material. In the solidification process, the ambient air flows over the capsule and received heat from phase change material resulting in the solidification of phase change material. In the computational fluid dynamics, the constant wall boundary condition is employed for both melting (75°C) and solidification (36°C) processes since the internal conductive resistance offered by the PCM is much higher compared to the outer surface convective resistance. The time required for complete solidification and melting of the phase change material obtained from the computational fluid dynamics analysis are validated with the experimental results and a reasonable agreement is achieved. The reason for the deviation between the results are analyzed and reported.