Precracked reinforced concrete T-Beams repaired in shear with bonded carbon Fiber-Reinforced Polymer sheets

This study investigates the structural behavior of precracked reinforced concrete (RC) T-beams strengthened in shear with externally bonded carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets. It reports on seven tests on unstrengthened and strengthened RC T-beams, identifying the influence of load history, beam depth, and percentage of longitudinal steel reinforcement on the structural behavior. The experimental results indicate that the contributions of the external CFRP sheets to the shear force capacity can be significant and depend on most of the investigated variables. This study also investigates the accuracy of the prediction of the fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) contribution in ACI 440.2R-08, UK Concrete Society TR55, and fib Bulletin 14 design guidelines for shear strengthening. A comparison of predicted values with experimental results indicates that the guidelines can overestimate the shear contribution of the externally bonded FRP system. © 2012, American Concrete Institute.

Holographic offset launch for dynamic optimization and characterization of multimode fiber bandwidth

Optimization of the bandwidth of a 2 km 50 μm multimode fiber at 850 nm is investigated theoretically and experimentally by steering a single spot, or two in antiphase spots across the core of the fiber in two dimensions using a ferroelectric liquid-crystal-based spatial light modulator. This method not only allows an optimal offset launch position to be chosen in situ but can also characterize the geometry and position of the core, identify defects, and measure the maximum differential mode delay. Its ability to selectively excite specific mode groups is also of relevance to mode-group division multiplexing. © 2012 IEEE.

Characterization of multimode fiber by selective mode excitation

Each mode of a 2 km 50 μ OM2 grade multimode fiber is precisely excited at multiple orientations using a binary phase spatial light modulator (SLM) to generate a detailed modal description of the fiber and minimize modal dispersion over 4.5 THz of optical bandwidth. © 2012 IEEE.

Application of the fractional Fourier transform to the design of LCOS based optical interconnects and fiber switches

It is shown that reflective liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) spatial light modulator (SLM) based interconnects or fiber switches that use defocus to reduce crosstalk can be evaluated and optimized using a fractional Fourier transform if certain optical symmetry conditions are met. Theoretically the maximum allowable linear hologram phase error compared to a Fourier switch is increased by a factor of six before the target crosstalk for telecom applications of -40 dB is exceeded. A Gerchberg-Saxton algorithm incorporating a fractional Fourier transform modified for use with a reflective LCOS SLM is used to optimize multi-casting holograms in a prototype telecom switch. Experiments are in close agreement to predicted performance. © 2012 Optical Society of America.

All optical mode-multiplexing using holography and multimode fiber couplers

A spatial light modulator at the transmitter is used in conjunction with a standard multimode coupler at the receiver to modally multiplex 2 × 12.5 Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero channels using direct detection over 2 km of 940 MHz OM2 fiber without electronic processing. The wavelength dependence of this technique over a 4.5 THz band is also investigated. © 2012 IEEE.

500 fs wideband tunable fiber laser mode-locked by nanotubes

Sub-picosecond tunable ultrafast lasers are important tools for many applications. Here we present an ultrafast tunable fiber laser mode-locked by a nanotube based saturable absorber. The laser outputs ∼500fs pulses over a 33 nm range at 1.5μm. This outperforms the current achievable pulse duration from tunable nanotube mode-locked lasers. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Noncatalytic chemical vapor deposition of graphene on high-temperature substrates for transparent electrodes

A noncatalytic chemical vapor deposition mechanism is proposed, where high precursor concentration, long deposition time, high temperature, and flat substrate are needed to grow large-area nanocrystalline graphene using hydrocarbon pyrolysis. The graphene is scalable, uniform, and with controlled thickness. It can be deposited on virtually any nonmetallic substrate that withstands ∼1000 °C. For typical examples, graphene grown directly on quartz and sapphire shows transmittance and conductivity similar to exfoliated or metal-catalyzed graphene, as evidenced by transmission spectroscopy and transport measurements. Raman spectroscopy confirms the sp 2-C structure. The model and results demonstrate a promising transfer-free technique for transparent electrode production. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

On the percussion drilling of SI using a 20W MOPA based YB fiber laser

A study on the nanosecond fiber laser interaction with silicon was performed experimentally for the generation of percussion drilled holes. Single pulse ablation experiments were carried out on mono crystalline 650μm thick Si wafers. Changes of the mass removal mechanism were investigated by varying laser fluence up to 68 J/cm2 and pulse duration from 50 ns to 200 ns. Hole width and depth were measured and surface morphology were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical interferometric profilometry (Veeco NT3300). High speed photography was also used to examine laser generated plasma expansion rates. The material removal rate was found to be influenced by the pulse energy, full pulse duration and pulse peak power. Single pulse ablation depth of 4.42 μm was achieved using a 200 ns pulse of 13.3 J/cm 2, giving a maximum machining efficiency of 31.86 μm per mJ. Holes drilled with an increased fluence but fixed pulse length were deeper, exhibited low recast, but were less efficient than those produced at a lower fluence. The increased peak power in this case led to high levels of plasma and vapour production. The expansion of which, results in a strong driving recoil force, an increase in the rate and volume of melt ejection, and cleaner hole formation. The experimental findings show that for efficient drilling at a given energy, a longer, lower peak power pulse is more desirable than a high peak power short pulse.