A simple criterion for filament break-up in drop-on-demand inkjet printing

Jets from drop-on-demand inkjet print-heads consist of a main drop with a trailing filament, which either condenses into the main drop, or breaks up into satellite drops. Filament behaviour is quantitatively similar to that of larger, free symmetrical filamentscan be predicted from the aspect ratio and Ohnesorge number. Symmetrical filaments generated from inkjet print-heads show the same behaviour. A simple model, based on competition between the processes of axial shortening and radial necking, predicts the critical aspect ratio below which the jet condenses into a single drop. The success of this simple criterion supports the underlying physical model. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.

Bayesian updating of a unified soil compression model

Some amount of differential settlement occurs even in the most uniform soil deposit, but it is extremely difficult to estimate because of the natural heterogeneity of the soil. The compression response of the soil and its variability must be characterised in order to estimate the probability of the differential settlement exceeding a certain threshold value. The work presented in this paper introduces a probabilistic framework to address this issue in a rigorous manner, while preserving the format of a typical geotechnical settlement analysis. In order to avoid dealing with different approaches for each category of soil, a simplified unified compression model is used to characterise the nonlinear compression behavior of soils of varying gradation through a single constitutive law. The Bayesian updating rule is used to incorporate information from three different laboratory datasets in the computation of the statistics (estimates of the means and covariance matrix) of the compression model parameters, as well as of the uncertainty inherent in the model.

Probabilistic soil identification based on cone penetration tests

In geotechnical engineering, soil classification is an essential component in the design process. Field methods such as the cone penetration test (CPT) can be used as less expensive and faster alternatives to sample retrieval and testing. Unfortunately, current soil classification charts based on CPT data and laboratory measurements are too generic, and may not provide an accurate prediction of the soil type. A probabilistic approach is proposed here to update and modify soil identification charts based on site-specific CPT data. The probability that a soil is correctly classified is also estimated. The updated identification chart can be used for a more accurate prediction of the classification of the soil, and can account for prior information available before conducting the tests, site-specific data, and measurement errors. As an illustration, the proposed approach is implemented using CPT data from the Treporti Test Site (TTS) near Venice (Italy) and the National Geotechnical Experimentation Sites (NGES) at Texas A&M University. The applicability of the site-specific chart for other sites in Venice Lagoon is assessed using data from the Malamocco test site, approximately 20 km from TTS.

Modeling of strain rate effects on clay in simple shear

The response of clay is highly dependent on straining and loading rate. To obtain a realistic prediction of the response for time dependent problems, it is essential to use a model that accounts for rate effects in the stress-strain-strength properties of soils. The proposed model has been expanded from the existing SIMPLE DSS framework to account for the strain rate effects on clays in simple shear conditions. In accordance with the findings in the existing literature, soil response displays a unique relationship between shear strength and strain rate. The predicting model is illustrated with a limited test data. Copyright ASCE 2006.

Taper-free and vertically oriented Ge nanowires on Ge/Si substrates grown by a two-temperature process

Taper-free and vertically oriented Ge nanowires were grown on Si (111) substrates by chemical vapor deposition with Au nanoparticle catalysts. To achieve vertical nanowire growth on the highly lattice mismatched Si substrate, a thin Ge buffer layer was first deposited, and to achieve taper-free nanowire growth, a two-temperature process was employed. The two-temperature process consisted of a brief initial base growth step at high temperature followed by prolonged growth at lower temperature. Taper-free and defect-free Ge nanowires grew successfully even at 270 °C, which is 90 °C lower than the bulk eutectic temperature. The yield of vertical and taper-free nanowires is over 90%, comparable to that of vertical but tapered nanowires grown by the conventional one-temperature process. This method is of practical importance and can be reliably used to develop novel nanowire-based devices on relatively cheap Si substrates. Additionally, we observed that the activation energy of Ge nanowire growth by the two-temperature process is dependent on Au nanoparticle size. The low activation energy (∼5 kcal/mol) for 30 and 50 nm diameter Au nanoparticles suggests that the decomposition of gaseous species on the catalytic Au surface is a rate-limiting step. A higher activation energy (∼14 kcal/mol) was determined for 100 nm diameter Au nanoparticles which suggests that larger Au nanoparticles are partially solidified and that growth kinetics become the rate-limiting step. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

Vertically oriented epitaxial germanium nanowires on silicon substrates using thin germanium buffer layers.

We demonstrate a method to realize vertically oriented Ge nanowires on Si(111) substrates. Ge nanowires were grown by chemical vapor deposition using Au nanoparticles to seed nanowire growth via a vapor-liquid-solid growth mechanism. Rapid oxidation of Si during Au nanoparticle application inhibits the growth of vertically oriented Ge nanowires directly on Si. The present method employs thin Ge buffer layers grown at low temperature less than 600 degrees C to circumvent the oxidation problem. By using a thin Ge buffer layer with root-mean-square roughness of approximately 2 nm, the yield of vertically oriented Ge nanowires is as high as 96.3%. This yield is comparable to that of homoepitaxial Ge nanowires. Furthermore, branched Ge nanowires could be successfully grown on these vertically oriented Ge nanowires by a secondary seeding technique. Since the buffer layers are grown under moderate conditions without any high temperature processing steps, this method has a wide process window highly suitable for Si-based microelectronics.

CdS/CdSe lateral heterostructure nanobelts by a two-step physical vapor transport method.

The two-dimensional heterostructure nanobelts with a central CdSe region and lateral CdS structures are synthesized by a two-step physical vapor transport method. The large growth rate difference between lateral CdS structures on both +/- (0001) sides of the CdSe region is found. The growth anisotropy is discussed in terms of the polar nature of the side +/- (0001) surfaces of CdSe. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals the CdSe central region covered with non-uniform CdS layer/islands. From micro-photoluminescence measurements, a systematic blueshift of emission energy from the central CdSe region in accordance with the increase of lateral CdS growth temperature is observed. This result indicates that the intermixing rate in the CdSe region with CdS increases with the increase of lateral CdS growth temperature. In conventional CdSSe ternary nanostructures, morphology and emission wavelength were correlated parameters. However, the morphology and emission wavelength are independently controllable in the CdS/CdSe lateral heterostructure nanobelts. This structure is attractive for applications in visible optoelectronic devices.

Vertically standing Ge nanowires on GaAs(110) substrates.

The growth of epitaxial Ge nanowires is investigated on (100), (111) B and (110) GaAs substrates in the growth temperature range from 300 to 380 °C. Unlike epitaxial Ge nanowires on Ge or Si substrates, Ge nanowires on GaAs substrates grow predominantly along the [Formula: see text] direction. Using this unique property, vertical [Formula: see text] Ge nanowires epitaxially grown on GaAs(110) surface are realized. In addition, these Ge nanowires exhibit minimal tapering and uniform diameters, regardless of growth temperatures, which is an advantageous property for device applications. Ge nanowires growing along the [Formula: see text] directions are particularly attractive candidates for forming nanobridge devices on conventional (100) surfaces.

Drop speeds from drop-on-demand ink-jet print heads

Measured drop speeds from a range of industrial drop-on-demand (DoD) ink-jet print head designs scale with the predictions of very simple physical models and results of numerical simulations. The main drop/jet speeds at a specified stand-off depend on fluid properties, nozzle exit diameter, and print head drive amplitude for fixed waveform timescales. Drop speeds from the Xaar, Spectra Dimatix, and MicroFab DoD print heads tested with (i) Newtonian, (ii) weakly elastic, and (iii) highly shear-thinning fluids all show a characteristic linear rise with drive voltage (setting) above an apparent threshold drive voltage. Jetting, simple modeling approaches, and numerical simulations of Newtonian fluids over the typical DoD printing range of surface tensions and viscosities were studied to determine how this threshold drive value and the slope of the characteristic linear rise depend on these fluid properties and nozzle exit area. The final speed is inversely proportional to the nozzle exit area, as expected from volume conservation. These results should assist specialist users in the development and optimization of DoD applications and print head design. For a given density, the drive threshold is determined primarily by viscosity, and the constant of proportionality k linking speed with drive above a drive threshold becomes independent of viscosity and surface tension for more viscous DoD fluid jetting. © 2013 Society for Imaging Science and Technology.

Between scylla and charybdis: Hydrophobic graphene-guided water diffusion on hydrophilic substrates

The structure of water confined in nanometer-sized cavities is important because, at this scale, a large fraction of hydrogen bonds can be perturbed by interaction with the confining walls. Unusual fluidity properties can thus be expected in the narrow pores, leading to new phenomena like the enhanced fluidity reported in carbon nanotubes. Crystalline mica and amorphous silicon dioxide are hydrophilic substrates that strongly adsorb water. Graphene, on the other hand, interacts weakly with water. This presents the question as to what determines the structure and diffusivity of water when intercalated between hydrophilic substrates and hydrophobic graphene. Using atomic force microscopy, we have found that while the hydrophilic substrates determine the structure of water near its surface, graphene guides its diffusion, favouring growth of intercalated water domains along the C-C bond zigzag direction. Molecular dynamics and density functional calculations are provided to help understand the highly anisotropic water stripe patterns observed.

Jetting of complex fluids

Recent results from a number of UK academic inkjet research studies advance the understanding of complex fluid jetting behavior and may be of interest to the wider digital fabrication community for the enhancement of inkjet printing applications. © 2013 Society for Imaging Science and Technology.

Inkjet printing of weakly elastic polymer solutions

Fluid assessment methods, requiring small volumes and avoiding the need for jetting, are particularly useful in the design of functional fluids for inkjet printing applications. With the increasing use of complex (rather than Newtonian) fluids for manufacturing, single frequency fluid characterisation cannot reliably predict good jetting behaviour, owing to the range of shearing and extensional flow rates involved. However, the scope of inkjet fluid assessments (beyond achievement of a nominal viscosity within the print head design specification) is usually focused on the final application rather than the jetting processes. The experimental demonstration of the clear insufficiency of such approaches shows that fluid jetting can readily discriminate between fluids assessed as having similar LVE characterisation (within a factor of 2) for typical commercial rheometer measurements at shearing rates reaching 104rads-1.Jetting behaviour of weakly elastic dilute linear polystyrene solutions, for molecular weights of 110-488. kDa, recorded using high speed video was compared with recent results from numerical modelling and capillary thinning studies of the same solutions.The jetting images show behaviour ranging from near-Newtonian to "beads-on-a-string". The inkjet printing behaviour does not correlate simply with the measured extensional relaxation times or Zimm times, but may be consistent with non-linear extensibility L and the production of fully extended polymer molecules in the thinning jet ligament.Fluid test methods allowing a more complete characterisation of NLVE parameters are needed to assess inkjet printing feasibility prior to directly jetting complex fluids. At the present time, directly jetting such fluids may prove to be the only alternative. © 2014 The Authors.