Polymer 4D printing: Advanced shape-change and beyond

4D printing is an exciting branch of additive manufacturing. It relies on established 3D printing techniques to fabricate objects in much the same way. However, structures which fall into the 4D printed category have the ability to change with time, hence the “extra dimension.” The common perception of 4D printed objects is that of macroscopic single-material structures limited to point-to-point shape change only, in response to either heat or water. However, in the area of polymer 4D printing, recent advancements challenge this understanding. A host of new polymeric materials have been designed which display a variety of wonderful effects brought about by unconventional stimuli, and advanced additive manufacturing techniques have been developed to accommodate them. As a result, the horizons of polymer 4D printing have been broadened beyond what was initially thought possible. In this review, we showcase the many studies which evolve the very definition of polymer 4D printing, and reveal emerging areas of research integral to its advancement.     

砂土串囊式充气锚杆承载力的研究

在砂土地层中,串囊式充气锚杆的研究还比较少,其承载特性及受力机理尚不明确。本文基于莫尔-库仑模型和Vesic圆孔扩张理论法,分别对圆柱体、球体、组合体、椭球体假设下的串囊式充气锚杆的扩大段进行计算分析。并将计算结果与试验得到的实测值进行对比。结果表明:四种形状假设中椭球体的形状假设理论值与实测值的误差最小,仅为8.35%。通过拟合试验数据,并引入与端阻力和侧摩阻力有关的两个系数对承载力公式进行修正,得到了抗拔承载力的经验公式。     

3D‐morphology reconstruction of nanoscale phase‐separation in polymer memory blends

In many organic electronic devices functionality is achieved by blending two or more materials, typically polymers or molecules, with distinctly different optical or electrical properties in a single film. The local scale morphology of such blends is vital for the device performance. Here, a simple approach to study the full 3D morphology of phase‐separated blends, taking advantage of the possibility to selectively dissolve the different components is introduced. This method is applied in combination with AFM to investigate a blend of a semiconducting and ferroelectric polymer typically used as active layer in organic ferroelectric resistive switches. It is found that the blend consists of a ferroelectric matrix with three types of embedded semiconductor domains and a thin wetting layer at the bottom electrode. Statistical analysis of the obtained images excludes the presence of a fourth type of domains. The criteria for the applicability of the presented technique are discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1231–1237     

Metamorphic InAs(Sb)/InGaAs/InAlAs nanoheterostructures grown on GaAs for efficient mid-IR emitters

High-efficiency semiconductor lasers and light-emitting diodes operating in the 3–5?μm mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral range are currently of great demand for a wide variety of applications, in particular, gas sensing, noninvasive medical tests, IR spectroscopy etc. III-V compounds with a lattice constant of about 6.1?Å are traditionally used for this spectral range. The attractive idea to fabricate such emitters on GaAs substrates by using In(Ga,Al)As compounds is restricted by either the minimum operating wavelength of ～8?μm in case of pseudomorphic AlGaAs-based quantum cascade lasers or requires utilization of thick metamorphic In_xAl_1-xAs buffer layers (MBLs) playing a key role in reducing the density of threading dislocations (TDs) in an active region, which otherwise result in a strong decay of the quantum efficiency of such mid-IR emitters. In this review we present the results of careful investigations of employing the convex-graded In_xAl_1-xAs MBLs for fabrication by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs (001) substrates of In(Ga,Al)As heterostructures with a combined type-II/type-I InSb/InAs/InGaAs quantum well (QW) for efficient mid-IR emitters (3–3.6?μm). The issues of strain relaxation, elastic stress balance, efficiency of radiative and non-radiative recombination at T?=?10–300?K are discussed in relation to molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth conditions and designs of the structures. A wide complex of techniques including in-situ reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning and transmission electron microscopies, X-ray diffractometry, reciprocal space mapping, selective area electron diffraction, as well as photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy was used to study in detail structural and optical properties of the metamorphic QW structures. Optimization of the growth conditions (the substrate temperature, the As₄/III ratio) and elastic strain profiles governed by variation of an inverse step in the In content profile between the MBL and the InAlAs virtual substrate results in decrease in the TD density (down to 3?×?10⁷ cm^?2), increase of the thickness of the low-TD-density near-surface MBL region to 250–300?nm, the extremely low surface roughness with the RMS value of 1.6–2.4?nm, measured by AFM, as well as rather high 3.5?μm-PL intensity at temperatures up to 300?K in such structures. The obtained results indicate that the metamorphic InSb/In(Ga,Al)As QW heterostructures of proper design, grown under the optimum MBE conditions, are very promising for fabricating the efficient mid-IR emitters on a GaAs platform.     

Exploiting the diversity of time scales in the immune system: A B-cell antibody model

Using the continuous shape space formalism, we develop an immune system model involving both B lymphocytes and antibody molecules. The binding and cross-linking of receptors on B cells stimulates the cells to divide and, with a lag, to secrete antibody. Using the method of multiple scales, we show how to correctly formulate long-time-scale equations for the population dynamics of B cells, the total antibody concentration, and rate of antibody secretion. We compare our model with previous phenomenological formulations.     

Attractors for a Three-Dimensional Thermo-Mechanical Model of Shape Memory Alloys

Abstract In this note, we consider a Frémond model of shape memory alloys. Let us imagine a piece of a shape memory alloy which is fixed on one part of its boundary, and assume that forcing terms, e.g., heat sources and external stress on the remaining part of its boundary, converge to some time-independent functions, in appropriate senses, as time goes to infinity. Under the above assumption, we shall discuss the asymptotic stability for the dynamical system from the viewpoint of the global attractor. More precisely, we generalize the paper [12] dealing with the one-dimensional case. First, we show the existence of the global attractor for the limiting autonomous dynamical system; then we characterize the asymptotic stability for the non-autonomous case by the limiting global attractor. * Project supported by the MIUR-COFIN 2004 research program on “Mathematical Modelling and Analysis of Free Boundary Problems”.     

Electroactive conducting polymers for corrosion control

There is an intensive effort underway to develop new corrosion control coatings for structural metals. In part, this effort has been motivated by the desire to replace chromium(VI)-containing coatings currently used for corrosion control of iron and aluminum alloys. Cr(VI) has been shown to be hazardous to the environmental and to human health, and its use in many countries will be sharply curtailed in the coming years. Electroactive conducting polymers (ECPs) represent a class of interesting materials currently being explored for use in corrosion control coating systems, possibly as a replacement for Cr(VI)-based coatings. The electroactivity and the electronic conductivity (or semiconductivity) of ECPs set them apart from traditional organic coatings. As with chromate, interesting and potentially beneficial interactions of ECPs with active metal alloys such as steel and aluminum are anticipated, with concomitant alteration of their corrosion behavior. A review of this active research area will be presented in two parts. Here in Part 1, a general introduction to the topic of corrosion control by ECPs will be presented, including an overview of corrosion and its control by traditional methods, an introduction to ECPs and their properties, and a discussion of the processing issues surrounding the use of ECPs as coatings. Part 1 also includes a review of the literature on the use of ECPs as coatings (or components of coatings) on non-ferrous active metals, principally aluminum and aluminum alloys, although some work on zinc, copper, silver, titanium and silicon will also be described. In Part 2 of this review (to be published in the next issue of this journal), the rather extensive literature on the use of ECPs for the corrosion control of ferrous alloys (steels) will be reviewed. Electronic Publication     

Surface structures formed by individual adsorption and coadsorption of Mn and Bi on Cu(0 0 1), studied by LEED

We have studied the individual adsorption of Mn and Bi, and their coadsorption on Cu(0 0 1) by low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). For Mn, we have determined the c(2 × 2) structure formed at 300 K, whose structure had been determined by several methods. We reconfirmed by a tensor LEED analysis that it is a substitutional structure and that a previously reported large corrugation (0.30 Å) between substitutional Mn and remaining surface Cu atoms coincides perfectly with the present value. In the individual adsorption of Bi, we have found a c(4 × 2) structure, which is formed by cooling below ∼250 K a surface prepared by Bi deposition of ∼0.25 ML coverage at 300 K where streaky half-order LEED spots appear. The c(4 × 2) structure has been determined by the tensor LEED analysis at 130 K and it is a substitutional structure. In the coadsorption, we found a c(6 × 4) structure, which has been determined by the tensor LEED analysis. It is very similar to the previously determined structure of the c(6 × 4) formed by coadsorption of Mg and Bi, and embedded MnBi₄ clusters are arranged in the top Cu layer instead of MgBi₄. Large lateral displacements of Bi atoms in the c(6 × 4)-(Mn + Bi) suggest that the Mn atoms undergo the size-enhancement caused by their large magnetic moment.     

A comparative study of the structure and crystallization of bulk metallic amorphous rod Pr60Ni30Al10 and melt-spun metallic amorphous ribbon Al87Ni10Pr3

Pr-based bulk metallic amorphous （BMA） rods （Pr60Ni30Al10） and Al-based amorphous ribbons （Al87Ni10Pr3） have been prepared by using copper mould casting and single roller melt-spun techniques, respectively. Thermal parameters deduced from differential scanning calorimeter （DSC） indicate that the glass-forming ability （GFA） of Pr60Ni30Al10 BMA rod is far higher than that of Al87Ni10Pr3 ribbon. A comparative study about the differences in structure between the two kinds of glass-forming alloys, superheated viscosity and crystallization are also made. Compared with the amorphous alloy Al87Ni10Pr3, the BMA alloy Pr60Ni30Al10 shows high thermal stability and large viscosity, small diffusivity at the same superheated temperatures. The results of x-Ray diffraction （XRD） and transmission electron microscope （TEM） show the pronounced difference in structure between the two amorphous alloys. Together with crystallization results, the main structure compositions of the amorphous samples are confirmed. It seems that the higher the GFA, the more topological type clusters in the Pr-Ni-Al amorphous alloys, the GFAs of the present glass-forming alloys are closely related to their structures.     

CsI(Tl)晶体中反冲Cs和I核Quenching?Factor的测量

许多实验对用CsI(Tl)闪烁晶体作为探测器来寻找和探测暗物质的可行性进行了研究.本工作利用8MeV单能中子轰击CsI(Tl)晶体探测器来研究Cs核和I核的QuenchingFactor.在数据处理中,运用脉冲形状甄别(PSD)方法来分辨反冲核信号和本底信号.实验结果表明,在7keV到132keV的能区中,Quench ingFactor随着反冲核能量的减少而增加.在探测暗物质的实验中,这一性质对于CsI(Tl)晶体探测器获得较低的能量阈值是很有利的.