Canonical normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction flows relevant to external compression inlets

The normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction is important to the operation and performance of a supersonic inlet, and the normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction is particularly prominent in external compression inlets. To improve understanding of such interactions, it is helpful to make use of fundamental flows that capture the main elements of inlets, without resorting to the level of complexity and system integration associated with full-geometry inlets. In this paper, several fundamental flowfield configurations have been considered as possible test cases to represent the normal shock wave/boundary-layer interaction aspects found in typical external compression inlets, and it was found that the spillage diffuser more closely retains the basic flow features of an external compression inlet than the other configurations. In particular, this flowfield allows the normal shock Mach number as well as the amount and rate of subsonic diffusion to all be held approximately constant and independent of the application of flow control. In addition, a survey of several external compression inlets was conducted to quantify the flow and geometric parameters of the spillage diffuser relevant to actual inlets. The results indicated that such a flow may be especially relevant if the terminal Mach number is about 1.3 to 1.4, the confinement parameter is around 10%, and the width is around twice or three times the height. In addition, the area expansion downstream of the shock should be limited to the conservative side of incipient stall based on incompressible diffusers. Copyright © 2013 by the authors.

Improved switching uniformity and low-voltage operation in TaO x-based RRAM using Ge reactive layer

Significant improvements in the spatial and temporal uniformities of device switching parameters are successfully demonstrated in Ge/TaOx bilayer-based resistive switching devices, as compared with non-Ge devices. In addition, the reported Ge/TaOx devices also show significant reductions in the operation voltages. Influence of the Ge layer on the resistive switching of TaOx-based resistive random access memory is investigated by X-ray spectroscopy and the theory of Gibbs free energy. Higher uniformity is attributed to the confinement of the filamentary switching process. The presence of a larger number of interface traps, which will create a beneficial electric field to facilitate the drift of oxygen vacancies, is believed to be responsible for the lower operation voltages in the Ge/TaO x devices. © 1980-2012 IEEE.

Transient terahertz spectroscopy of mono- and tri-layer CVD-grown MoS 2

Molybdenum disulpide, a novel two-dimensional semiconductor, was studied using optical-pump terahertz-probe spectroscopy. Mono and trilayer samples grown by chemical vapour deposition were compared to reveal their dynamic electrical response. © 2013 IEEE.

Ultrafast non-thermal electron dynamics in single layer graphene

We study the ultrafast dynamics of non-thermal electron relaxation in graphene upon impulsive excitation. The 10-fs resolution two color pump-probe allows us to unveil the nonequilibrium electron gas decay at early times. © OSA 2012.

Effects of buffer layer properties and annealing process on bulk heterojunction morphology and organic solar cell performance

The performance of polymer-fullerene bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells is strongly dependent on the vertical distribution of the donor and acceptor regions within the BHJ layer. In this work, we investigate in detail the effect of the hole transport layer (HTL) physical properties and the thermal annealing on the BHJ morphology and the solar cell performance. For this purpose, we have prepared solar cells with four distinct formulations of poly(3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) buffer layers. The samples were subjected to thermal annealing, applied either before (pre-annealing) or after (post-annealing) the cathode metal deposition. The effect of the HTL and the annealing process on the BHJ ingredient distribution - namely, poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) - has been studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry and atomic force microscopy. The results revealed P3HT segregation at the top region of the films, which had a detrimental effect on all pre-annealed devices, whereas PCBM was found to accumulate at the bottom interface. This demixing process depends on the PEDOT:PSS surface energy; the more hydrophilic the surface the more profound is the vertical phase separation within the BHJ. At the same time those samples suffer from high recombination losses as evident from the analysis of the J-V measurements obtained in the dark. Our results underline the significant effect of the HTL-active and active-ETL (electron transport layer) interfacial composition that should be taken into account during the optimization of all polymer-fullerene solar cells. © 2012 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Global linear stability of the boundary-layer flow over a rotating sphere

We consider the linear global stability of the boundary-layer flow over a rotating sphere. Our results suggest that a self-excited linear global mode can exist when the sphere rotates sufficiently fast, with properties fixed by the flow at latitudes between approximately 55°-65° from the pole (depending on the rotation rate). A neutral curve for global linear instabilities is presented with critical Reynolds number consistent with existing experimentally measured values for the appearance of turbulence. The existence of an unstable linear global mode is in contrast to the literature on the rotating disk, where it is expected that nonlinearity is required to prompt the transition to turbulence. Despite both being susceptible to local absolute instabilities, we conclude that the transition mechanism for the rotating-sphere flow may be different to that for the rotating disk. © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Binder free three-dimensional sulphur/few-layer graphene foam cathode with enhanced high-rate capability for rechargeable lithium sulphur batteries.

A novel ultra-lightweight three-dimensional (3-D) cathode system for lithium sulphur (Li-S) batteries has been synthesised by loading sulphur on to an interconnected 3-D network of few-layered graphene (FLG) via a sulphur solution infiltration method. A free-standing FLG monolithic network foam was formed as a negative of a Ni metallic foam template by CVD followed by etching away of Ni. The FLG foam offers excellent electrical conductivity, an appropriate hierarchical pore structure for containing the electro-active sulphur and facilitates rapid electron/ion transport. This cathode system does not require any additional binding agents, conductive additives or a separate metallic current collector thus decreasing the weight of the cathode by typically ∼20-30 wt%. A Li-S battery with the sulphur-FLG foam cathode shows good electrochemical stability and high rate discharge capacity retention for up to 400 discharge/charge cycles at a high current density of 3200 mA g(-1). Even after 400 cycles the capacity decay is only ∼0.064% per cycle relative to the early (e.g. the 5th cycle) discharge capacity, while yielding an average columbic efficiency of ∼96.2%. Our results indicate the potential suitability of graphene foam for efficient, ultra-light and high-performance batteries.

Active control of normal shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction using "Smart" piezoelectric flap actuators

This paper looks at active control of the normal shock wave/turbulent boundary layer interaction (SBLI) using smart flap actuators. The actuators are manufactured by bonding piezoelectric material to an inert substrate to control the bleed/suction rate through a plenum chamber. The cavity provides communication of signals across the shock, allowing rapid thickening of the boundary layer approaching the shock, which splits into a series of weaker shocks forming a lambda shock foot, reducing wave drag. Active control allows optimum control of the interaction, as it would be capable of positioning the control region around the original shock position and control the rate of mass transfer. © 2004 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Control of normal shock wave / turbulent boundary-layer interaction using streamwise slots

The effect of streamwise slots on the interaction of a normal shock wave / turbulent boundary layer has been investigated experimentally at a Mach number of 1.3. The surface pressure distribution for the controlled interaction was found to be significantly smeared, featuring a distinct plateau. This was due to a change in shock structure from a typical unseparated normal shock wave boundary layer interaction to a large bifurcated Lambda type shock pattern. Boundary layer velocity measurements downstream of the slots revealed a strong spanwise variation of boundary layer properties whereas the modified shock structure was relatively twodimensional. Oil flow visualisation indicated that in the presence of slots the boundary layer surface flow was highly three dimensional and confirmed that the effect of slots was mainly due to suction and blowing similar to that for passive control with uniform surface ventilation. Three hole probe measurements confirmed that the boundary layer was three dimensional and that the slots introduced vortical motion into the flowfield. Results indicate that when applied to an aerofoil, the control device has the potential to reduce wave drag while incurring only small viscous penalties. The introduction of streamwise vorticity may also be beneficial to delay trailing edge separation and the device is thought to be capable of postponing buffet onset. © 2001 by A N Smith.

Excitation energy dependent raman signatures of ABA- and ABC-stacked few-layer graphene

The dependence of the Raman spectrum on the excitation energy has been investigated for ABA-and ABC- stacked few-layer graphene in order to establish the fingerprint of the stacking order and the number of layers, which affect the transport and optical properties of few-layer graphene. Five different excitation sources with energies of 1.96, 2.33, 2.41, 2.54 and 2.81â €...eV were used. The position and the line shape of the Raman 2D, G*, N, M, and other combination modes show dependence on the excitation energy as well as the stacking order and the thickness. One can unambiguously determine the stacking order and the thickness by comparing the 2D band spectra measured with 2 different excitation energies or by carefully comparing weaker combination Raman modes such as N, M, or LOLA modes. The criteria for unambiguous determination of the stacking order and the number of layers up to 5 layers are established.

Rapid hologram generation utilizing layer-based approach and graphic rendering for realistic three-dimensional image reconstruction by angular tiling

An approach of rapid hologram generation for the realistic three-dimensional (3-D) image reconstruction based on the angular tiling concept is proposed, using a new graphic rendering approach integrated with a previously developed layer-based method for hologram calculation. A 3-D object is simplified as layered cross-sectional images perpendicular to a chosen viewing direction, and our graphics rendering approach allows the incorporation of clear depth cues, occlusion, and shading in the generated holograms for angular tiling. The combination of these techniques together with parallel computing reduces the computation time of a single-view hologram for a 3-D image of extended graphics array resolution to 176 ms using a single consumer graphics processing unit card. © 2014 SPIE and IS and T.