Nonrelativistic phase in γ-ray burst afterglows

The discovery of multiband afterglows definitely shows that most γ-ray bursts are of cosmological origin. γ-ray bursts are found to be one of the most violent explosive phenomena in the Universe, in which astonishing ultra-relativistic motions are involved. In this article, the multiband observational characteristics of γ-ray bursts and their afterglows are briefly reviewed. The standard model of γ-ray bursts, i.e. the fireball model, is described. Emphasis is then put on the importance of the nonrelativistic phase of afterglows. The concept of deep Newtonian phase is elaborated. A generic dynamical model applicable in both the relativistic and nonrelativistic phases is introduced. Based on these elaborations, the overall afterglow behaviors, from the very early stages to the very late stages, can be conveniently calculated.     

Linear theory of the response of Na mixing ratio to gravity waves

The influence of gravity waves on the sodium layer is studied by using a linear photochemical-dynamical coupling gravity wave model. The model includes the back-ground photochemistry and the photochemical reactions in the sodium layer. The amplitude and phase difference of the response of sodium mixing ratio to gravity waves are calculated. The results indicate that the lower part of sodium layer is the most sensitive region responding to gravity waves. The perturbation of sodium mixing ratio is in phase with temperature in the lower part of the layer. However, it is out of phase with temperature fluctuation in the upper part.     

Phase-field simulation on microstructure evolution of D0_(19) phase in γ/γ′structure of Co–Al–W superalloys

The morphological evolution and precipitation kinetics of γ′ and D0_(19)(Co_3 W) phase in Co–Al–W alloys at 900 °C have been studied by applying Phase-field method and experiment in order to understand the transformation process of γ′ phase and D0_(19) phase. The growth processes of D0_(19) phase and precipitation of γ′ phase under elastic fields were simulated through coupling with thermodynamics and dynamics databases. The simulation results indicate that the misfit δ≥ 0.53% has a greater impact on γ′ particle morphology in γ/γ′ structure.Co–Al–W alloy with low Al and high W is one of the factors to promote the precipitation of D0_(19) phase. Three stages during aging, namely the γ′ phase incubation stage, the γ′ phase fast nucleation and growth stage, and the transformation from γ′ phase to D0_(19) phase stage can be observed with the non-constant coarsening rate that varying with the decrease of γ′ phase. The particle size distribution(PSD) during the precipitation of D0_(19) phase is more in line with MLSW theory than LSW theory. This simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment results to help analyze microstructure evolution of Co–Al–W alloy.     

Frequency-dependent dynamic effective properties of porous materials

The frequency-dependent dynamic effective properties (phase velocity, attenuation and elastic modulus) of porous materials are studied numerically. The coherent plane longitudinal and shear wave equations, which are obtained by averaging on the multiple scattering fields, are used to evaluate the frequency-dependent dynamic effective properties of a porous material. It is found that the prediction of the dynamic effective properties includes the size effects of voids which are not included in most prediction of the traditional static effective properties. The prediction of the dynamic effective elastic modulus at a relatively low frequency range is compared with that of the traditional static effective elastic modulus, and the dynamic effective elastic modulus is found to be very close to the Hashin-Shtrikman upper bound.     

Fluid Flow Behavior of Liquid in Cylindrical Vessels Stirred by One or Two Air Jets

Based on the two-phase model (Eulerian-Eulerian model), the three dimensional fluid flow in water and that liquid steel systems stirred by one or two multiple gas jets are simulated. In the Eulerian-Eulerian two-phase model, the gas and the liquid phase are considered to be two different continuous fluids interacting with each other through the finite inter-phase areas. The exchange between the phases is represented by source terms in conversation equations. Turbulence is assumed to be a property of the liquid phase. A new turbulence modification k-ε model is introduced to consider the bubbles movement contribution to k and ε. The dispersion of phases due to turbulence is represented by introducing a diffusion term in mass conservation equation. The mathematical simulation agrees well with the experiment results. The study results indicate that the distance of two nozzles has big effect on fluid flow behavior in the vessel. Using two gas injection nozzles at the half radii of one diameter of the bottom generates a much better mixing than with one nozzle under the condition of the same total gas flow rate.     

Atomic-scale computer simulation for early precipitation process of Ni75Al10V15 alloy

The kinetic model for a ternary system is introduced based on the microscopic diffusion form of the phase-field equations for a binary alloy. The equation is solved in the reciprocal space. This model is used to investigate the early precipitation process of Ni75-Al10V15 by simulating the atomic pictures of the two ordered phases and calculating the order parameters of γ′(Ni3Al) phase. Simulation results show that the γ′ ordered phases precipitate from the disordered matrix by a non-classical nucleation mechanism, and the nonstoichiometric γ′ ordered phase appears first and then transforms into the stoichiometric one. Clusters of V atoms appear at the γ′ phase boundaries followed by the formation of the nonstoichiometric θ ordered phase. The farther the location from γ′ phase boundary is, the lower the order degree of θ phase is. There exist two kinds of DO22 ordered domains: a horizontal one and a vertical one, related to their adjacent γ′ phase boundaries. The model could describe the atomic ordering and composition clustering simultaneously, and any a priori assumption about the new phase structure and precipitation mechanism etc. is unnecessary.     

Scaled down model design of shaking table test of Taizhou Bridge

Taizhou Bridge is the first kilometer level three-pylon two-span suspension bridge in the world and the structural complexity has significant effects on the seismic performance of the bridge. Shaking table test of Taizhou Bridge is arranged to investigate the effects of non-uniform ground motion input, collision between main and side spans and optimal seismic structural system. It’s very important and difficult to design and manufacture the scaled down model of Taizhou Bridge used during the shaking table test. The key point is that the girder and pylons are very hard to be manufactured if the similarity ratio is strictly followed. Based on the finite element method (FEM) analysis, a simplified scaled down model is designed and the bending stiffness of the girder and pylon are strictly simulated, and the torsion stiffness and axial stiffness are not strictly simulated. The inner forces and displacements of critical sections, points of simplified model and theoretical model are compared by FEM analysis, and it’s found out that the difference between the seismic responses is relatively small. So, the simplified model can be used to conduct the shaking table test by the FEM verification.     

Effects of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of Ni_3Al-based superalloys: A review

Ni_3Al-based alloys have drawn much attention as candidates for high-temperature structural materials due to their excellent comprehensive properties.The microstructure and corresponding mechanical properties of Ni_3Al-based alloys are known to be susceptible to heat treatment.Thus, a significant step is to employ various heat treatments to derive the desirable mechanical properties of the alloys.This paper briefly summarizes the recent advances in the microstructure evolution that occurs during the heat treatment of Ni_3Al-based alloys.Aside from γ′ phase and γ phase, the precipitations of β phase, α-Cr precipitates, and carbides are also found in Ni_3Al-based alloys with the addition of various alloying elements.The evolution in morphology, size, and volume fraction of various types of secondary phases during heat treatment are reviewed, involving γ′ phase, β phase, α-Cr precipitate, and carbides.The kinetics of the growth of precipitates are also analyzed.Furthermore,the influences of heat treatment on the mechanical properties of Ni_3Al-based alloys are discussed.     

Constitutive modeling for unsaturated soils considering gas hardening effect

The influence of gases on unsaturated soils is discussed in the paper.First,the selection of stress state variables is discussed.It is shown that gas pressure as well as generalized effective stress and modified suction are required to construct a constitutive model of an unsaturated soil.The deformation mechanisms of solid,liquid and gas phases in soils are then investigated.It is realized that the deformation of gas phase interacts with the deformations of the other two phases in soils.Gas laws are used to describe the gas behavior.Similar to the other two phases in soil,the change of gas volume can be divided into an elastic part and a plastic part, and the latter part is then introduced to the soil hardening equation to reflect the impact of the gas on the soil.Then,a simple elasto-plastic model considering the gas effect for isotropic states is developed.Finally,the model predictions are given and compared with existing experimental data.A good agreement between them is found.Comparisons of the predictions between our model and Wheeler’s model are also performed.     

Charge transport in organic semiconductors: From incoherent to coherent

Quantum decoherence in organic charge transport is a complicated but crucial topic. In this paper, several theoretical approaches corresponding to it, from incoherent to coherent, are comprehensively reviewed. We mainly focus on the physical insight provided by each theory and extent of its validity. The aim of this review is to clarify some contentious issues and elaborate on the promising perspectives provided by different approaches. The device model approaches based on both continuous and discretized treatments of the transporting layer will be first discussed. The prominent focus of this review will be devoted to the dynamic disorder model and its variants considering that it is the most promising approach to tackle charge transport problems in organic materials. We will also address other theories such as the variational method.     

Understanding atomic-scale phase separation of liquid Fe-Cu alloy

Using liquid Fe 60 Cu 40 alloy as a model, the structure of liquid Fe-Cu alloy systems is investigated in the temperature range 1200 2200 K, covering a large metastable undercooled regime, to understand the phase separation of liquid Fe-Cu alloys on the atomic scale. The total pair distribution functions (PDFs) indicate that liquid Fe 60 Cu 40 alloy is ordered in the short range and disordered in the long range. If the atom types are ignored, the total atom number densities and PDFs demonstrate that the atoms are distributed homogenously in the liquid alloy. However, the segregation of Fe and Cu atoms is very obvious with decreasing temperature. The partial PDFs and coordination numbers show that the Cu and Fe atoms are not apt to get together on the atomic scale at low temperatures; this will lead to large fluctuations and phase separation in liquid Fe-Cu alloy.     

Effects of disinhibition on spatiotemporal pattern of neuronalfirst recruitment in neuronal networks

The propagation of neuronal activities is a key feature to understanding information processing in networks. The analysis based on first-spikes of bursts in turn plays an important role in the research of neuronal activity propagation. Our focus here is to investigate how spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal first-spikes are affected by disinhibition. Multi-electrode arrays were used to record stimulationevoked bursts of multiple neurons in randomly cultured neuronal networks. Both the precise timing of and the rank relationships between first-spikes were analyzed. Compared with evoked bursts in the network’s native state, the precise first-spike latencies in its disinhibited state are more consistent and the propagation of its bursting activities is much faster. Additional points of interest are that disinhibited neuronal networks can be evoked to generate stable and distinguishable neuronal first recruitment spatiotemporal patterns specific to the stimulation site, and that the disinhibition may cause the original spatiotemporal patterns to change in a heterogeneous manner with regards to different propagation pathways.     

Hybrid Dynamic Modeling and Control of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cell Stack Shutdown

A hybrid automaton modeling approach that incorporates state space partitioning, phase dynamic modeling and control law synthesis by control strategy is utilized to develop a hybrid automaton model of molten carbonate fuel cell （MCFC） stack shutdown. The shutdown operation is divided into several phases and their boundaries are decided according to a control strategy, which is a set of specifications about the dynamics of MCFC stack during shutdown. According to the control strategy, the specification of increasing stack temperature is satisfied in a phase that can be modeled accurately. The model for phase that has complex dynamic is approximated. The duration of this kind of phase is decreased to minimize the error caused by model approximation.     

Plausible cloth animation using dynamic bending model

Simulating the mechanical behavior of a cloth is a very challenging and important problem in computer animation. The models of bending in most existing cloth simulation approaches are taking the assumption that the cloth is little deformed from a plate shape. Therefore, based on the thin-plate theory, these bending models do not consider the condition that the current shape of the cloth under large deformations cannot be regarded as the approximation to that before deformation, which leads to an unreal static bending. [This paper introduces a dynamic bending model which is appropriate to describe large out-plane deformations such as cloth buckling and bending, and develops a compact implementation of the new model on spring-mass systems. Experimental results show that wrinkles and folds generated using this technique in cloth simulation, can appear and vanish in a more natural way than other approaches.]     

Influence of oxide scales on the corrosion behaviors of B510L hot-rolled steel strips

The influence of oxide scales on the corrosion behaviors of B510L hot-rolled steel strips was investigated in this study. Focused ion beams and scanning electron microscopy were used to observe the morphologies of oxide scales on the surface and cross sections of the hot-rolled steel. Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction were used for the phase analysis of the oxide scales and corrosion products. The corrosion potential and impedance were measured by anodic polarization and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. According to the results, oxide scales on the hot-rolled strips mainly comprise iron and iron oxides. The correlation between mass gain and test time follows a power exponential rule in the damp-heat test. The corrosion products are found to be mainly composed of γ-FeOOH, Fe₃O₄, α-FeOOH, and γ-Fe₂O₃. The contents of the corrosion products are different on the surfaces of the steels with and without oxide scales. The steel with oxide scales is found to show a higher corrosion resistance and lower corrosion rate.     

Retrieval of urban slow deformation using the multi-baseline DInSAR technique

The investigation of slow displacement in urban areas using the multi-baseline DInSAR technique has been a hot research topic in the field of DlnSAR. The basic flow of this technique includes several steps such as the combination of interferometric image pairs, generation of differential interferograms, se- lection of high coherent points, generation of the Delaunay triangular network, calculation and integra- tion of increments in network, unwrapping and calibration of the residual phase, and the estimation of both atmospheric and nonlinear displacement phase. Among these steps, the calculation of increments is the key to retrieve linear displacement, while unwrapping and calibration of the residual phase are the keys to retrieve nonlinear displacement. In order to improve the performance of these two steps, this paper proposes a modified model coherence function for increments estimation, and a triangular ＂circle＂ algorithm to deal with phase unwrapping and calibration. Based on the above algorithms, the subsidence of Suzhou City is investigated using 24 ERS scenes from February 1993 to December 2000. The results show that the linear subsidence velocity of the most urban area is about -20 to -30 mm/a during the time, with a yearly decrease in velocity. The displacement seems to be stable after 2000. Leveling data validate our results and demonstrate the reliability of the algorithm.     

Break the Ties for NEH Heuristic in Solving the Permutation Flow Shop Problems

This study deals with the Permutation Flow Shop Scheduling Problem （PFSP） based on the maximum completion time （makespan）. NEH （ the algorithm of Nawaz, Eascore and Ham） is the concluded most efficient constructive method in solving this NP-hard problem. The principal features of its strengths are the initial arrangement of jobs and the job insertion phase. In some instances, ties will occur in both the initial permutation and the partial sequences. The problem of ties breaking may have a significant impact on the NEH performance, but evaluate all the ties will be non-polynomial in the worst case. Several kinds of methods are presented in the paper to break the ties in a quick time. Together with the basic one, all 22 methods are tested on the famous Taillard＇s benchmarks and the most suitable ties breaking policy is recommended.     

Impact of Web Site Functions on E-Business Success in Chinese Wholesale and Retail Industries

Web sites are very important and companies can attract customers by promoting various features of the web site. This paper presents an analysis of the relationship between web site functions and firm performance. A research model based on the DeLone and McLean （D＆M） model and customer service life cycle （CSLC） theory was used to investigate the impact of web site functions on e-business success. The research model considers web site functions, web site use, customer satisfaction, and firm performance. According to the CSLC theory, there are three stages in a customer service life cycle. Therefore, the web site functions are divided into three stages： requirements, acquisition, and ownership. The functions in each stage serve to encourage usage and thus, enhance customer satisfaction and firm performance. The theoretical model and hypotheses were tested using data collected from 72 wholesale and retail firms in China using the partial least squares （PLS） method. The results suggest that web site functions in the acquisition stage have the strongest impact on web site use and that the improvement of customer satisfaction can significantly increase firm performance.     

Numerical analysis and centrifugal modeling of LNAPLs transport in subsurface system

The transport of non-aqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) in unsaturated soils and groundwater is an important research topic in geo-environmental engineering. In this paper, the mechanism of light NAPLs (LNAPLs) transport in subsurface system is briefly introduced, and the mass transport equations, fluid flow equations, and the constitutive model of relative permeability - saturation - capillary pressure are discussed. Then the numerical method is introduced to simulate the multiphase flow problems in porous media, and the tempo-spatial distribution of LNAPLs is obtained. Moreover, different boundary conditions are employed in numerical simulation to investigate its effect on transport behavior. To verify the numerical data, centrifugal tests are conducted to model the LNAPLs migration in unsaturated soils and groundwater. The calculation results are agreeable with the experimental findings of centrifugal modeling, which indicates that LNAPLs from leaking point move downwards due to gravity force, and form a high concentration zone above the capillary fringe, and then spread out laterally along the groundwater table. Some LNAPL enters groundwater system to further migrate. The combination of numerical simulation and centrifuge modeling can be a useful means to study the transport behavior of LNAPLs in subsurface system.     

Chiral separation of racemic drugs using molecular imprinting

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) of (S)-ketoprofen and (S)-naproxen are prepared using non-covalent imprinting in the presence of template molecules. The prepared MIPs are used as the chiral stationary phase to separate ramemic naproxen and ketoprofen. The results show that racemic naproxen and ketoprofen are efficiently resolved on MIPs. The effect of concentration of acetic acid in the mobile phase is studied, and the data are analyzed using the affinity chromatography model, and the close agreement is achieved between the simulated and experimental curves. The results suggest that the affinity chromatography mechanism controls the retention in this system. Moreover, the affinity chromatography equilibrium constants on (S)-naproxen and (S)-ketoprofen are estimated.