Phase diagram of a hard-sphere system in a quenched random potential: A numerical study

We report numerical results for the phase diagram in the density-disorder plane of a hard-sphere system in the presence of quenched, random, pinning disorder. Local minima of a discretized version of the Ramakrishnan-Yussouff free energy functional are located numerically and their relative stability is studied as a function of the density and the strength of disorder. Regions in the phase diagram corresponding to liquid, glassy, and nearly crystalline states are mapped out, and the nature of the transitions is determined. The liquid to glass transition changes from first to second order as the strength of the disorder is increased. For weak disorder, the system undergoes a first-order crystallization transition as the density is increased. Beyond a critical value of the disorder strength, this transition is replaced by a continuous glass transition. Our numerical results are compared with those of analytical work on the same system. Implications of our results for the field-temperature phase diagram of type-II superconductors are discussed.

Two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy of connected transitions by linear combination of flip angle dependent cosy: An alternative scheme for E.COSY

An alternative pulse scheme which simplifies and improves the recently proposed P.E.COSY experiment is suggested for the retention of connected or unconnected transitions in a coupled spin system. An important feature of the proposed pulse scheme is the improved phase characteristics of the diagonal peaks. A comparison of various experiments designed for this purpose, namely COSY-45, E.COSY, P.E.COSY and the present scheme (A.E.COSY), is also presented. The suppression of unconnected transitions and the measurement of scalar coupling constants and their relative signs are illustrated from A.E.COSY spectra of 2,3-dibromopropionic acid and 2-(2-thienyl)pyridine.

Low-temperature preparation and characterization of phase-pure lanthanide chromates (V) by the citrate gel process

Phase-pure, crystalline lanthanide chromates LnCrO4 (V), where Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Yb, Lu and Y, have been prepared by the controlled combustion of the corresponding lanthanide biscitrato chromium (III) complexes at comparatively low temperatures. Formation of chromates (V) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction, infrared and electronic spectroscopy. Phase purity of the materials has also been confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.

Growth of Nanometric Gold Particles in Solution Phase

The time evolution of colloidal gold particles in the nanometric regime has been investigated by employing electron microscopy and electronic absorption spectroscopy. The particle size distributions are essentially Gaussian and show the same time dependence for both the mean and the standard deviation, enabling us to obtain a time-independent universal curve for the particle size. Temperature dependent studies show the growth to be an activated process with a barrier of about 18 kJ mol(-1). We present a phenomenological equation for the evolution of particle size and suggest that the growth process is stochastic.

Thermal Lipid Order−Disorder Transitions in Mixtures of Cationic Cholesteryl Lipid Analogues and Dipalmitoyl Phosphatidylcholine Membranes

Two types of cationic cholesteryl amphiphiles, one where the headgroup is attached to the steroid by an ester linkage and the second by an ether linkage, were synthesized. A third type of cholesteryl lipid bearing an oligoethylene glycol segment was also prepared. Each of these synthetic lipids generated vesicle-like aggregates with closed inner aqueous compartments from their aqueous suspensions. We examined their interaction with L-α-dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) membranes using fluorescence anisotropy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). When included in membranes, the synthetic cholesteryl lipids were found to quench the chain motion of the acyl chains of DPPC. This suggests that these cationic cholesteryl derivatives act as filler molecules despite modification at the headgroup level from the molecular structure of natural cholesterol. Careful analyses of DSC and fluorescence anisotropy data suggest that the nature of perturbation induced by each of these cationic cholesterol derivatives is dependent on the details of their molecular structure and provides significant information on the nature of interaction of these derivatives with phospholipid molecules. In general, amphiphiles that support structured water at the interfacial region tend to rigidify the fluid phase more than others. Importantly, these cholesteryl amphiphiles behave less like cholesterol in that their incorporation in DPPC not only abolishes the phase transition but also depresses the phase transition temperature.

Biaxial strain induced electrical inhomogenities and phase separation in the ferromagnetic metallic phase in thin films of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3: A scanning tunneling potentiometry/spectroscopy study

We have investigated the effect of biaxial strain on local electrical/electronic properties in thin films of La0.7Ca0.3MnO3 with varying degrees of biaxial strain in them. The local electrical properties were investigated as a function of temperature by scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) and scanning tunneling potentiometry (STP), along with the bulk probe like conductance fluctuations.The results indicate a positive correlation between the lattice mismatch biaxial strain and the local electrical/electronic inhomogenities observed in the strained sample. This is plausible since the crystal structure of the manganites interfere rather strongly with the magnetic/electronic degrees of freedom. Thus even a small imbalance (biaxial strain) can induce significant changes in the electrical properties of the system.

Micro stepping of Shape Memory Alloy based Poly Phase motor

In literature we find broadly two types of shape memory alloy based motors namely limited rotation motor and unlimited rotation motor. The unlimited rotation type SMA based motor reported in literature uses SMA springs for actuation. An attempt has been made in this paper to develop an unlimited rotation type balanced poly phase motor based on SMA wire in series with a spring in each phase. By isolating SMA actuation and spring action we are able achieve a constant force by the SMA wire through out its range of operation. The Poly phase motor can be used in stepping mode for generating incremental motion and servo mode for generating continuous motion. A method of achieving servo motion by micro stepping is presented. Micro stepping consists of controlling single-phase temperature with a position feedback. The motor has been modeled with a new approach to the SMA wire Hysterysis model. Motor is simulated for different responses and the results are compared with the experimental data.

Effect of pairing fluctuations on low-energy electronic spectra in cuprate superconductors

We describe here a minimal theory of tight-binding electrons moving on the square planar Cu lattice of the hole-doped cuprates and mixed quantum mechanically with their own Cooper pairs. The superconductivity occurring at the transition temperature T(c) is the long-range, d-wave symmetry phase coherence of these Cooper pairs. Fluctuations, necessarily associated with incipient long-range superconducting order, have a generic large-distance behavior near T(c). We calculate the spectral density of electrons coupled to such Cooper-pair fluctuations and show that features observed in angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) experiments on different cuprates above T(c) as a function of doping and temperature emerge naturally in this description. These include ``Fermi arcs'' with temperature-dependent length and an antinodal pseudogap, which fills up linearly as the temperature increases toward the pseudogap temperature. Our results agree quantitatively with experiment. Below T(c), the effects of nonzero superfluid density and thermal fluctuations are calculated and compared successfully with some recent ARPES experiments, especially the observed bending or deviation of the superconducting gap from the canonical d-wave form.

Sulphur potential measurements with a two phase sulphide oxide electrolyte

The open circuit potentials of the galvanic cell,Pt (or Au)¦(Ar + H2S + H2)primeparCaS + ZrO2(CaO)par (Ar + H2S+ H2)Prime£t (or Au) has been measured in the temperature range 1000 to 1660 K and PH2S:PH 2 ratios from 1.73×10–5 to 2.65×10–1. The solid electrolyte consists of a dispersion of calcium sulphide in a matrix of calcia-stabilized zirconia. The surface of the electrolyte is coated with a thin layer of calcium sulphide to prevent the formation of water vapour by reaction of hydrogen sulphide with calcium oxide or zirconia present in the electrolyte. The use of a lsquopoint electrodersquo with a catalytically active tip was necessary to obtain steady emfs. At low temperatures and high sulphur potentials the emfs agreed with the Nernst equation. Deviations were observed at high temperatures and low sulphur potentials, probably due to the onset of significant electronic conduction in the oxide matrix of the electrolyte. The values of oxygen and sulphur potentials at which the electronic conductivity is equal to ionic conductivity in the two-phase electrolyte have been evaluated from the emf response of the cell. The sulphide-oxide electrolyte is unsuitable for sulphur potential measurements in atmospheres with high oxygen potentials, where oxidation of calcium sulphide may be expected.

Mixed ionic and electronic conduction in zirconia and its applications in metallurgy

Mixed ionic and electronic conduction in Zr02-based solid electrolytes was studied.The effect of impurities and second-phase particles on the mixed conduction parameter, P,, was measured for different types of ZrOZ electrolytes. The performance of solid-state sensors incorporating ZrOZ electrolytes is sometimes limited by electronic conduction in ZrOZ, especially at temperatures >I800 K. Methods for eliminating or minimizing errors in measured emf due to electronically driven transport of oxygen anions are discussed. Examples include probes for monitoring oxygen content in liquid steel as well as the newly developed sulfur sensor based on a ZrOz(Ca0) + CaS electrolyte. The use of mixed conducting ZrOZ as a semipermeable membrane or chemically selective sieve for oxygen at high temperatures is discussed. Oxygen transport from liquid iron to CO + C& gas mixtures through a ZrOZ membrane driven by a chemical potential gradient, in the absence of electrical leads or imposed potentials, was experimentally observed.

System Nd-Pd-O: Phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of oxides using a solid-state cell with advanced features

An isothermal section of the phase diagram for the system Nd-Pd-O at 1350 K has been established by equilibration of samples representing 13 different compositions and phase identification after quenching by optical and scanning electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and energy dispersive analysis of x-rays. The binary oxides PdO and NdO were not stable at 1350 K. Two ternary oxides Nd4PdO7 and Nd2Pd2O5 were identified. Solid and liquid alloys, as well as the intermetallics NdPd3 and NdPd5, were found to be in equilibrium with Nd2O3. Based on the phase relations, three solidstate cells were designed to measure the Gibbs energies of formation of PdO and the two ternary oxides. An advanced version of the solid-state cell incorporating a buffer electrode was used for high-temperature thermodynamic measurements. The function of the buffer electrode, placed between reference and working electrodes, was to absorb the electrochemical flux of the mobile species through the solid electrolyte caused by trace electronic conductivity. The buffer electrode prevented polarization of the measuring electrode and ensured accurate data. Yttria-stabilized zirconia was used as the solid electrolyte and pure oxygen gas at a pressure of 0.1 MP a as the reference electrode. Electromotive force measurements, conducted from 950 to 1425 K, indicated the presence of a third ternary oxide Nd2PdO4, stable below 1135 (±10) K. Additional cells were designed to study this compound. The standard Gibbs energy of formation of PdO (†f G 0) was measured from 775 to 1125 Kusing two separate cell designs against the primary reference standard for oxygen chemical potential. Based on the thermodynamic information, chemical potential diagrams for the system Nd-Pd-O were also developed.

Switching Transients in Single-Phase Induction Motors

The subject of transients in polyphase induction motors and synchronous machines has been studied in very great detail by several investigators, but no published literature exists dealing exclusively with the analysis of the problem of transients in single-phase induction motors. This particular problem has been studied in this paper by applying the Laplace transform. The results of actual computation of the currents and developed electrical torque are compared with the data obtained by setting up the integro-differential equations of the machine on an electronic differential analyzer. It is shown that if the motor is switched on to the supply when the potential passes through its zero value, there is a pulsating fundamental frequency torque superimposed on the average steady-state unidirectional torque. If, on the other hand, the switch is closed when the applied potential passes through its maximum value, the developed electrical torque settles down to its final steady-state value during the first cycle of the supply voltage.

Control technique for non-linear and unbalance compensation of an integrated magnetics-based three-phase series-shunt-compensated uninterruptible power supply

Handling unbalanced and non-linear loads in a three-phase AC power supply has always been a difficult issue. This has been addressed in the literature by either using fast controllers in the fundamental rotating reference frame or using separate controllers in reference frames specific to the harmonics. In the former case, the controller needs to be fast and in the latter case, besides the need for many controllers, negative-sequence components need to be extracted from the measured signal. This study proposes a control scheme for harmonic and unbalance compensation of a three-phase uninterruptible power supply wherein the problems mentioned above are addressed. The control takes place in the fundamental positive-sequence reference frame using only a set of feedback and feed-forward compensators. The harmonic components are extracted by a process of frame transformations and used as feed-forward compensation terms in the positive-sequence fundamental reference frame. This study uses a method wherein the measured signal itself is used for fundamental negative-sequence compensation. As the feed-forward compensator handles the high-bandwidth components, the feedback compensator can be a simple low-bandwidth one. This control algorithm is explained and validated experimentally.

Gate Drive Card for High Power Three Phase PWM Converters

Gate driver is an integral part of every power converter, drives the power semiconductor devices and also provides protection for the switches against short-circuit events and over-voltages during shut down. Gate drive card for IGBTs and MOSFETs with basic features can be designed easily by making use of discrete electronic components. Gate driver ICs provides attractive features in a single package, which improves reliability and reduces effort of design engineers. Either case needs one or more isolated power supplies to drive each power semiconductor devices and provide isolation to the control circuitry from the power circuit. The primary emphasis is then to provide simplified and compact isolated power supplies to the gate drive card with the requisite isolation strength and which consumes less space, and for providing thermal protection to the power semiconductor modules for 3-� 3 wire or 4 wire inverters.