Nonequilibrium microstructures and their evolution in a Fe-Cr-W-Ni-C laser clad coating

The laser-solidified microstructural and compositional characterization and phase evolution during tempering at 963 K were investigated using an analytical transmission electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The cladded alloy, a powder mixture of Fe, Cr, W, Ni, and C with a weight ratio of 10:5:1:1:1, was processed with a 3 kW continuous wave CO2 laser. The processing parameters were 16 mm/s beam scanning speed, 3 mm beam diameter. 2 kW laser power, and 0.3 g/s feed rate. The coating was metallurgically bonded to the substrate, with a maximum thickness of 730 mu m, a microhardness of about 860 Hv and a volumetric dilution ratio of about 6%. Microanalyses revealed that the cladded coating possessed the hypoeutectic microstructure comprising the primary dendritic gamma-austenite and interdendritic eutectic consisted of gamma-austenite and M7C3 carbide. The gamma-austenite was a non-equilibrium phase with extended solid solution of alloying elements and a great deal of defect structures, i.e. a high density of dislocations, twins, and stacking faults existed in gamma phase. During high temperature aging, in situ carbide transformation occurred of M7C3 to M23C6 and M6C. The precipitation of M23C6, MC and M2C carbides from austenite was also observed.

Influences of Hydration Force and Elastic Strain Energy on the Stability of Solid Film in a Very Thin Solid-on-Liquid Structure

Since hydration forces become very strong at short range and are particularly important for determining the magnitude of the adhesion between two surfaces or interaction energy, the influences of the hydration force and elastic strain energy due to hydration-induced layering of liquid molecules close to a solid film surface on the stability of a solid film in a solid-on-liquid (SOL) nanostructure are studied in this paper. The liquid of this thin SOL structure is a kind of water solution. Since the surface forces play an important role in the structure, the total free energy change of SOL structures consists of the changes in the bulk elastic energy within the solid film, the surface energy at the solid-liquid interface and the solid-air interface, and highly nonlinear volumetric component associated with interfacial forces. The critical wavelength of one-dimensional undulation, the critical thickness of the solid film, and the critical thickness of the liquid layer are studied, and the stability regions of the solid film have been determined. Emphasis is placed on calculation of critical values, which are the basis of analyzing the stability of the very thin solid film.

High speed liquid crystal over silicon display based on the flexoelectro-optic effect.

One of the key technologies to evolve in the displays market in recent years is liquid crystal over silicon (LCOS) microdisplays. Traditional LCOS devices and applications such as rear projection televisions, have been based on intensity modulation electro-optical effects, however, recent developments have shown that multi-level phase modulation from these devices is extremely sought after for applications such as holographic projectors, optical correlators and adaptive optics. Here, we propose alternative device geometry based on the flexoelectric-optic effect in a chiral nematic liquid crystal. This device is capable of delivering a multilevel phase shift at response times less than 100 microsec which has been verified by phase shift interferometry using an LCOS test device. The flexoelectric on silicon device, due to its remarkable characteristics, enables the next generation of holographic devices to be realized.

Component Assembling Model and Its Application to Quasi-Brittle Damage

Potential energy can be approximated by ‘‘pair-functional’’ potentials which is composed of pair potentials and embedding energy. Pair potentials are grouped according to discrete directions of atomic bonds such that each group is represented by an orientational component. Meanwhile, another kind of component, the volumetric one is derived from embedding energy. Damage and fracture are the changing and breaking of atomic bonds at the most fundamental level and have been reflected by the changing of these components’ properties. Therefore, material is treated as a component assembly, and its constitutive equations are formed by means of assembling these two kinds of components’ response functions. This material model is referred to as the component assembling model. Theoretical analysis and numerical computing indicate that the proposed model has the capacity of reproducing some results satisfactorily, with the advantages of physical explicitness and intrinsic induced anisotropy, etc.

Partition Energy Absorption of Axially Crushed Aluminum Foam-Filled Hat Sections

The "interaction effect" between aluminum foam and metal column that takes place when foam-filled hat sections (top-hats and double-hats) are axially crushed was investigated in this paper. Based on experimental examination, numerical simulation and analytical models, a systemic approach was developed to partition the energy absorption quantitatively into the foam filler component and the hat section component, and the relative contribution of each component to the overall interaction effect was therefore evaluated. Careful observation of the collapse profile found that the crushed foam filler could be further divided into two main energy-dissipation regions: densified region and extremely densified region. The volume reduction and volumetric strain of each region were empirically estimated. An analytical model pertinent to the collapse profile was thereafter proposed to find the more precise relationship between the volume reduction and volumetric strain of the foam filler. Combined the superfolding element model for hat sections with the current model according to the coupled method, each component energy absorption was subsequently derived, and the influence of some controlling factors was discussed. According to the finite element analysis and the theoretical modeling, when filled with foam, energy absorption was found to be increased both in the hat section and the foam filler, whereas the latter contributes predominantly to the interaction effect. The formation of the extremely densified region in the foam filler accounts for this effect.

High performance nanocomposite thin film transistors with bilayer carbon nanotube-polythiophene active channel by ink-jet printing

Nanocomposite thin film transistors (TFTs) based on nonpercolating networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polythiophene semiconductor [poly [5, 5′ -bis(3-dodecyl-2-thienyl)- 2, 2′ -bithiophene] (PQT-12)] thin film hosts are demonstrated by ink-jet printing. A systematic study on the effect of CNT loading on the transistor performance and channel morphology is conducted. With an appropriate loading of CNTs into the active channel, ink-jet printed composite transistors show an effective hole mobility of 0.23 cm 2 V-1 s-1, which is an enhancement of more than a factor of 7 over ink-jet printed pristine PQT-12 TFTs. In addition, these devices display reasonable on/off current ratio of 105-10 6, low off currents of the order of 10 pA, and a sharp subthreshold slope (<0.8 V dec-1). The work presented here furthers our understanding of the interaction between polythiophene polymers and nonpercolating CNTs, where the CNT density in the bilayer structure substantially influences the morphology and transistor performance of polythiophene. Therefore, optimized loading of ink-jet printed CNTs is crucial to achieve device performance enhancement. High performance ink-jet printed nanocomposite TFTs can present a promising alternative to organic TFTs in printed electronic applications, including displays, sensors, radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, and disposable electronics. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.

High temperature direct double side cooled inverter module for hybrid electric vehicle application

In this paper a novel approach to the design and fabrication of a high temperature inverter module for hybrid electrical vehicles is presented. Firstly, SiC power electronic devices are considered in place of the conventional Si devices. Use of SiC raises the maximum practical operating junction temperature to well over 200°C, giving much greater thermal headroom between the chips and the coolant. In the first fabrication, a SiC Schottky barrier diode (SBD) replaces the Si pin diode and is paired with a Si-IGBT. Secondly, double-sided cooling is employed, in which the semiconductor chips are sandwiched between two substrate tiles. The tiles provide electrical connections to the top and the bottom of the chips, thus replacing the conventional wire bonded interconnect. Each tile assembly supports two IGBTs and two SBDs in a half-bridge configuration. Both sides of the assembly are cooled directly using a high-performance liquid impingement system. Specific features of the design ensure that thermo-mechanical stresses are controlled so as to achieve long thermal cycling life. A prototype 10 kW inverter module is described incorporating three half-bridge sandwich assemblies, gate drives, dc-link capacitance and two heat-exchangers. This achieves a volumetric power density of 30W/cm3.

Square wine glass mode resonator with quality factor of 4 million

We report on the experimental characterization of a single crystal silicon square-plate microresonator. The resonator is excited in the square wine glass (SWG) mode at a mechanical resonance frequency of 2.065 MHz. The resonator displays quality factor of 9660 in air and an ultra-high quality factor of Q = 4.05 × 106 in 12 mtorr vacuum. The SWG mode may be described as a square plate that contracts along one axis in the fabrication plane, while simultaneously extending along an orthogonal axis in the same plane. The resonant structure is addressed in a 2-terminal configuration by utilizing equal and opposite drive polarities on surrounding capacitor electrodes, thereby decreasing the motional resistance of the resonator. The resonant micromechanical device has been fabricated in a commercial silicon-on-insulator process through the MEMSCAP foundry utilising a minimum electrostatic gap of 2 μm. © 2008 IEEE.

Carbon nanotube Schottky diode and directionally dependent field-effect transistor using asymmetrical contacts

We demonstrate the fabrication and operation of a carbon nanotube (CNT) based Schottky diode by using a Pd contact (high-work-function metal) and an Al contact (low-work-function metal) at the two ends of a single-wall CNT. We show that it is possible to tune the rectification current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the CNT through the use of a back gate. In contrast to standard back gate field-effect transistors (FET) using same-metal source drain contacts, the asymmetrically contacted CNT operates as a directionally dependent CNT FET when gated. While measuring at source-drain reverse bias, the device displays semiconducting characteristics whereas at forward bias, the device is nonsemiconducting. © 2005 American Institute of Physics.

Self-aligned, gated arrays of individual nanotube and nanowire emitters

We demonstrate the production of integrated-gate nanocathodes which have a single carbon nanotube or silicon nanowire/whisker per gate aperture. The fabrication is based on a technologically scalable, self-alignment process in which a single lithographic step is used to define the gate, insulator, and emitter. The nanotube-based gated nanocathode array has a low turn-on voltage of 25 V and a peak current of 5 μA at 46 V, with a gate current of 10 nA (i.e., 99% transparency). These low operating voltage cathodes are potentially useful as electron sources for field emission displays or miniaturizing electron-based instrumentation.

Study Of The Damage-Induced Anisotropy Of Quasi-Brittle Materials Using The Component Assembling Model

Damage-induced anisotropy of quasi-brittle materials is investigated using component assembling model in this study. Damage-induced anisotropy is one significant character of quasi-brittle materials coupled with nonlinearity and strain softening. Formulation of such complicated phenomena is a difficult problem till now. The present model is based on the component assembling concept, where constitutive equations of materials are formed by means of assembling two kinds of components' response functions. These two kinds of components, orientational and volumetric ones, are abstracted based on pair-functional potentials and the Cauchy - Born rule. Moreover, macroscopic damage of quasi-brittle materials can be reflected by stiffness changing of orientational components, which represent grouped atomic bonds along discrete directions. Simultaneously, anisotropic characters are captured by the naturally directional property of the orientational component. Initial damage surface in the axial-shear stress space is calculated and analyzed. Furthermore, the anisotropic quasi-brittle damage behaviors of concrete under uniaxial, proportional, and nonproportional combined loading are analyzed to elucidate the utility and limitations of the present damage model. The numerical results show good agreement with the experimental data and predicted results of the classical anisotropic damage models.

Numerical Simulation Of Horizontal Migration Of Proppant

The horizontal migration of proppant was numerically investigated with a two-fluid model, in which the interaction between fracturing fluid and proppant, along with that among proppants was taken into account through interphase forces. The migration process and the volumetric concentration of the proppant were examined under various conditions, and the. averaged volumetric concentration of the proppant was obtained. The present research might be useful in the process design of the hydraulic fracturing in the oilfields.

Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow Inside T-Junction

The oil/water two-phase flow inside T-junctions was numerically simulated with a 3-D two-fluid model, and the turbulence was described using the mixture k - epsilon model. Some experiments of oil/water flow inside a single T-junction were conducted in the laboratory. The results show that the separating performance of T-junction largely depends oil the inlet volumetric fraction and flow patterns. A reasonable agreement is reached between the numerical simulation and the experiments for both the oil fraction distribution and the separation efficiency.

Large Scale Fabrication Of Periodical Bowl-Like Micropatterns Of Single Crystal Zno

Nanostructured ZnO materials are of great significance for their potential applications in photoelectronic devices, light-emitting displays, catalysis and gas sensors. In this paper, we report a new method to produce large area periodical bowl-like micropatterns of single crystal ZnO through aqueous-phase epitaxial growth on a ZnO single crystal substrate. A self-assembled monolayer of polystyrene microspheres was used as a template to confine the epitaxial growth of single crystal ZnO from the substrate, while the growth morphology was well controlled by citrate anions. Moreover, it was found that the self-assembled monolayer of colloidal spheres plays an important role in reduction of the defect density in the epitaxial ZnO layer. Though the mechanism is still open for further investigation, the present result indicates a new route to suppress the dislocations in the fabrication of single crystal ZnO film. A predicable application of this new method is for the fabrication of two-dimensional photonic crystal structures on light emitting diode surfaces.

Microstructure Observation And Mechanical Behavior Modeling For Limnetic Nacre

In the present research, microstructure of a kind of limnetic shell (Hyriopsis cumingii) is observed and measured by using the scanning electron microscopy, and mechanical behavior experiments of the shell nacre are carried out by using bending and tensile tests. The dependence of mechanical properties of the shell nacre on its microstructure is analyzed by using a modified shear-lag model, and the overall stress-strain relation is obtained. The experimental results reveal that the mechanical properties of shell nacre strongly depend on the water contents of the limnetic shell. Dry nacre shows a brittle behavior, whereas wetting nacre displays a strong ductility. Compared to the tensile test, the bending test overestimates the strength and underestimates the Young's modulus. The modified shear-lag model can characterize the deformation features of nacre effectively.