Photo-ionization and residual electron effects in guided streamers

Complementary experiments and numerical modeling reveal the important role of photo-ionization in the guided streamer propagation in helium-air gas mixtures. It is shown that the minimum electron concentration ∼108 cm−3 is required for the regular, repeated propagation of the plasma bullets, while the streamers propagate in the stochastic mode below this threshold. The stochastic-to-regular mode transition is related to the higher background electron density in front of the propagating streamers. These findings help improving control of guided streamer propagation in applications from health care to nanotechnology and improve understanding of generic pre-breakdown phenomena.

Equivalent Circuit Analysis of Serpentine Folded-waveguide Slow-wave Structures for Millimeter-wave Traveling-wave Tubes

A simple equivalent circuit model for the analysis of dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics of serpentine folded-waveguide slow-wave structure was developed by considering the straight and curved portions of structure supporting the dominant TE10-mode of the rectangular waveguide. Expressions for the lumped capacitance and inductance per period of the slow-wave structure were derived in terms of the physical dimensions of the structure, incorporating the effects of the beam-hole in the lumped parameters. The lumped parameters were subsequently interpreted for obtaining the dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics of the structure. The analysis was simple yet accurate in predicting the dispersion and interaction impedance behaviour at millimeter-wave frequencies. The analysis was benchmarked against measurement as well as with 3D electromagnetic modeling using MAFIA for two typical slow-wave structures (one at the Ka-band and the other at the W-band) and close agreement observed.

Analysis of Rectangular Folded-Waveguide Millimeter-Wave Slow-wave Structures using Conformal Transformations

An analysis of rectangular folded-waveguide slow-wave structure was developed using conformal mapping technique through Schwarz's polygon transformation and closed form expressions for the lumped capacitance and inductance per period of the slow-wave structure were derived in terms of the physical dimensions of the structure, incorporating the effects of the beam hole in the lumped parameters. The lumped parameters were subsequently interpreted for obtaining the dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics of the structure. The analysis was benchmarked for two typical millimeter-wave structures, one operating in Ka-band and the other operating in Q-band, against measurement and 3D electromagnetic modeling using MAFIA.

SU-8-Based Microchips for Capillary Electrophoresis and Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Miniaturization of analytical instrumentation is attracting growing interest in response to the explosive demand for rapid, yet sensitive analytical methods and low-cost, highly automated instruments for pharmaceutical and bioanalyses and environmental monitoring. Microfabrication technology in particular, has enabled fabrication of low-cost microdevices with a high degree of integrated functions, such as sample preparation, chemical reaction, separation, and detection, on a single microchip. These miniaturized total chemical analysis systems (microTAS or lab-on-a-chip) can also be arrayed for parallel analyses in order to accelerate the sample throughput. Other motivations include reduced sample consumption and waste production as well as increased speed of analysis. One of the most promising hyphenated techniques in analytical chemistry is the combination of a microfluidic separation chip and mass spectrometer (MS). In this work, the emerging polymer microfabrication techniques, ultraviolet lithography in particular, were exploited to develop a capillary electrophoresis (CE) separation chip which incorporates a monolithically integrated electrospray ionization (ESI) emitter for efficient coupling with MS. An epoxy photoresist SU-8 was adopted as structural material and characterized with respect to its physicochemical properties relevant to chip-based CE and ESI/MS, namely surface charge, surface interactions, heat transfer, and solvent compatibility. As a result, SU-8 was found to be a favorable material to substitute for the more commonly used glass and silicon in microfluidic applications. In addition, an infrared (IR) thermography was introduced as direct, non-intrusive method to examine the heat transfer and thermal gradients during microchip-CE. The IR data was validated through numerical modeling. The analytical performance of SU-8-based microchips was established for qualitative and quantitative CE-ESI/MS analysis of small drug compounds, peptides, and proteins. The CE separation efficiency was found to be similar to that of commercial glass microchips and conventional CE systems. Typical analysis times were only 30-90 s per sample indicating feasibility for high-throughput analysis. Moreover, a mass detection limit at the low-attomole level, as low as 10E+5 molecules, was achieved utilizing MS detection. The SU-8 microchips developed in this work could also be mass produced at low cost and with nearly identical performance from chip to chip. Until this work, the attempts to combine CE separation with ESI in a chip-based system, amenable to batch fabrication and capable of high, reproducible analytical performance, have not been successful. Thus, the CE-ESI chip developed in this work is a substantial step toward lab-on-a-chip technology.

Effect of soil variability on the bearing capacity of clay and in slope stability problems

Site-specific geotechnical data are always random and variable in space. In the present study, a procedure for quantifying the variability in geotechnical characterization and design parameters is discussed using the site-specific cone tip resistance data (qc) obtained from static cone penetration test (SCPT). The parameters for the spatial variability modeling of geotechnical parameters i.e. (i) existing trend function in the in situ qc data; (ii) second moment statistics i.e. analysis of mean, variance, and auto-correlation structure of the soil strength and stiffness parameters; and (iii) inputs from the spatial correlation analysis, are utilized in the numerical modeling procedures using the finite difference numerical code FLAC 5.0. The influence of consideration of spatially variable soil parameters on the reliability-based geotechnical deign is studied for the two cases i.e. (a) bearing capacity analysis of a shallow foundation resting on a clayey soil, and (b) analysis of stability and deformation pattern of a cohesive-frictional soil slope. The study highlights the procedure for conducting a site-specific study using field test data such as SCPT in geotechnical analysis and demonstrates that a few additional computations involving soil variability provide a better insight into the role of variability in designs.

Volume change behaviour of fine grained solis

Soils in and and semi-arid zones undergoes volume changes due to wetting. Depending upon the type of clay minerals present, degree of saturation, externally applied load and bonding, the fine grained soils either swells or compresses. One of the parameter that affects the volume change behaviour is the primary clay mineral present in their clay size fraction. A simple method of identifying the same has been presented. It has been brought out that in an expansive unsaturated undisturbed soil, the diffuse double layer repulsion, the stress state and the bonding play significant role in their volume change behaviour. In non-expansive fine grained unsaturated undisturbed soils, the shearing resistance at particle level (including the matrix suction and bonding) and fabric play a significant role in influencing the volume change behaviour. While both the mechanism co-exist, one of them play a dominant role depending upon the primary clay mineral is swelling or non swelling.

A simple equivalent circuit analysis of rectangular folded-waveguide slow-wave structure

A simple yet accurate equivalent circuit model was developed for the analysis of slow-wave properties (dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics) of a rectangular folded-waveguide slow-wave structure. Present formulation includes the effects of the presence of beam-hole in the circuit, which were ignored in existing approaches. The analysis was benchmarked against measurement as well as with 3D electromagnetic modeling using MAFIA for two typical slow-wave structures operating in Ka- and Q-bands, and close agreements were observed. The analysis was extended for demonstrating the effect of the variation of beam-hole radius on the RF interaction efficiency of the device. (C) 2009 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Analysis of serpentine folded-waveguide slow-wave structure using elliptical conformal transformation

Elliptical conformal transformation was used to derive closed form expressions for the equivalent circuit series inductance and shunt capacitance per period of a serpentine folded-waveguide slow-wave structure including the effects of the beam-hole. The lumped parameters were subsequently interpreted for the dispersion and interaction impedance characteristics of the structure. The analysis was benchmarked for two typical millimeter-wave structures operating in Ka- and W-bands, against measurement, 3D electromagnetic modeling using CST Microwave Studio, parametric analysis and equivalent circuit analysis. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.

Non-resonant perturbation formula for interaction impedance measurement for a folded-waveguide SWS

The non-resonant perturbation formula for the measurement of interaction impedance of a folded-waveguide slow-wave structure was derived for the relevant electromagnetic field configuration at the axis of the beam-hole of the structure. Efficacy of the theory was benchmarked through virtual measurement using 3D electromagnetic modeling in CST-studio.

Rayleigh-Benard convection during solidification of an eutectic solution cooled from the top

The interaction between laminar Rayleigh-Benard convection and directional solidification is studied for the case of an eutectic solution kept in a rectangular cavity cooled from the top. Experiments and numerical simulations are carried out using an NH4Cl-H2O solution as the model fluid. The flow is visualized using a sheet of laser light scattered by neutrally buoyant, hollow-glass spheres seeded in the fluid. The numerical modeling is performed using a pressure-based finite-volume method according to the SIMPLER algorithm. The present configuration enables us to visualize flow vortices in the presence of a continuously evolving solid/liquid interface. Clear visualization of the Rayleigh-Benard convective cells and their interaction with the solidification front are obtained. It is observed that the convective cells are characterized by zones of up-flow and down-flow, resulting in the development of a nonplanar interface. Because of the continuous advancement of the solid/liquid interface, the effective liquid height of the cavity keeps decreasing. Once the height of the fluid layer falls below a critical value, the convective cells become weaker and eventually die out, leading to the growth of a planar solidification front. Results of flow visualization and temperature measurement are compared with those from the numerical simulation, and a good agreement is found.

Health Monitoring Of Composite Structures Based On Acoustic Wave Sensing Using Fiber Optic Sensors

Structural Health Monitoring has gained wide acceptance in the recent past as a means to monitor a structure and provide an early warning of an unsafe condition using real-time data. Utilization of structurally integrated, distributed sensors to monitor the health of a structure through accurate interpretation of sensor signals and real-time data processing can greatly reduce the inspection burden. The rapid improvement of the Fiber Optic Sensor technology for strain, vibration, ultrasonic and acoustic emission measurements in recent times makes it feasible alternative to the traditional strain gauges, PVDF and conventional Piezoelectric sensors used for Non Destructive Evaluation (NDE) and Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). Optical fiber-based sensors offer advantages over conventional strain gauges, and PZT devices in terms of size, ease of embedment, immunity from electromagnetic interference (EMI) and potential for multiplexing a number of sensors. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate the acoustic wave sensing using Extrinsic Fabry-Perot Interferometric (EFPI) sensor on a GFRP composite laminates. For this purpose experiments have been carried out initially for strain measurement with Fiber Optic Sensors on GFRP laminates with intentionally introduced holes of different sizes as defects. The results obtained from these experiments are presented in this paper. Numerical modeling has been carried out to obtain the relationship between the defect size and strain.

Influence of Spatial Scales on the Performance of Saturated Subsurface Flow and Transport Models

Numerical modeling of saturated subsurface flow and transport has been widely used in the past using different numerical schemes such as finite difference and finite element methods. Such modeling often involves discretization of the problem in spatial and temporal scales. The choice of the spatial and temporal scales for a modeling scenario is often not straightforward. For example, a basin-scale saturated flow and transport analysis demands larger spatial and temporal scales than a meso-scale study, which in turn has larger scales compared to a pore-scale study. The choice of spatial-scale is often dictated by the computational capabilities of the modeler as well as the availability of fine-scale data. In this study, we analyze the impact of different spatial scales and scaling procedures on saturated subsurface flow and transport simulations.

Geothermal reservoirs - A brief review

A brief discussion and review of the geothermal reservoir systems, geothermal energy and modeling and simulation of the geothermal reservoirs has been presented here. Different types of geothermal reservoirs and their governing equations have been discussed first. The conceptual and numerical modeling along with the representation of flow though fractured media, some issues related to non isothermal flow through fractured media, the efficiency of the geothermal reservoir, structure of the numerical models, boundary conditions and calibration procedures have been illustrated. A brief picture of the Indian scenario and some barriers related with geothermal power are discussed and presented thereafter. Finally some gaps of the existing knowledge and recent focuses of research are discussed.

Influence of Spatial Variation of Hydraulic Conductivity of Municipal Solid Waste on Performance of Bioreactor Landfill

The current study analyzes the leachate distribution in the Orchard Hills Landfill, Davis Junction, Illinois, using a two-phase flow model to assess the influence of variability in hydraulic conductivity on the effectiveness of the existing leachate recirculation system and its operations through reliability analysis. Numerical modeling, using finite-difference code, is performed with due consideration to the spatial variation of hydraulic conductivity of the municipal solid waste (MSW). The inhomogeneous and anisotropic waste condition is assumed because it is a more realistic representation of the MSW. For the reliability analysis, the landfill is divided into 10 MSW layers with different mean values of vertical and horizontal hydraulic conductivities (decreasing from top to bottom), and the parametric study is performed by taking the coefficients of variation (COVs) as 50, 100, 150, and 200%. Monte Carlo simulations are performed to obtain statistical information (mean and COV) of output parameters of the (1) wetted area of the MSW, (2) maximum induced pore pressure, and (3) leachate outflow. The results of the reliability analysis are used to determine the influence of hydraulic conductivity on the effectiveness of the leachate recirculation and are discussed in the light of a deterministic approach. The study is useful in understanding the efficiency of the leachate recirculation system. (C) 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

On the Origin of Steep I-V Nonlinearity in Mixed-Ionic-Electronic-Conduction-Based Access Devices

Numerical modeling is used to explain the origin of the large ON/OFF ratios, ultralow leakage, and high ON-current densities exhibited by back-end-of-the-line-friendly access devices based on copper-containing mixed-ionic-electronic-conduction (MIEC) materials. Hall effect measurements confirm that the electronic current is hole dominated; a commercial semiconductor modeling tool is adapted to model MIEC. Motion of large populations of copper ions and vacancies leads to exponential increases in hole current, with a turn-ON voltage that depends on material bandgap. Device simulations match experimental observations as a function of temperature, electrode aspect ratio, thickness, and device diameter.