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At least 1,387 records · Page 77

A Study of Shape Memory Polymer Based Slat-Cove Filler

Aircraft noise reduction is an application of current intense interest for which smart materials show significant potential. Specifically, the aeroacoustic noise produced by the unsteady aerodynamic flow about the leading-edge high-lift device, such as leading-edge slat, of typical transport-aircraft wings is of particular interest. Concepts with the most promise to mitigate this noise source, most notably the slat-cove filler concept, have focused on highly reconfigurable structures that change shape between different phases of the flight envelope. These shape changes often involve large deformation, which has stimulated the consideration of shape memory materials. In recent years, shape memory materials (SMMs) have drawn greater interest for applications such as smart fabrics, intelligent medical devices, self-deployable space structures, morphing structures and packaging. Compared to other shape memory materials, like shape memory alloys (SMAs) or shape memory ceramics (SMCs), shape memory polymers (SMPs) have desirable advantages such as high elastic deformation to enable large shape change, broad tailorability of mechanical properties, potential biocompatibility and biodegradability, ductility, light weight and ease of processing. However, SMPs still have some critical disadvantages such as insufficient mechanical and thermal characteristics for structural applications, low recovery stress, and long response time. The new LaRC shape memory thermosetting polymer composite (LaRC-SMPC) discussed herein was synthesized with nontoxic monomers and conductive/magnetic fillers to yield enhanced thermal/mechanical characteristics and faster response times. LaRC-SMPCs with a variety of fiber reinforcements [Kevlar®, carbon fiber (standard and thin-ply), and carbon-nanotube (CNT) sheet] were fabricated to tailor the physical properties and test for suitability as a slat-cove filler (SCF). The performance of SCF prototypes fabricated with the developed LaRC-SMPCs was evaluated using a bench-top test apparatus. The SCFs made of Kevlar® fiber fabric or carbon fiber fabric infused shape memory polymer composite (SMPC) exhibited kinking during simulated deployment and stowage, which can be problematic during operation. The SCF made of CNT sheet/SMP composite did not exhibit kinking, but the deployment was sluggish compared to carbon fiber fabric/SMP composite. This report documents the evolution of designing SMPCs as slat-cove fillers for aircraft noise reduction. In the course of the investigation, several 2 approaches were investigated to address shortcomings in material characteristics based on performance requirements of operational slat-cove fillers.

Kang, Jin Ho↗

Thin‐Film Ferroelectrics

Abstract Over the last 30 years, the study of ferroelectric oxides has been revolutionized by the implementation of epitaxial‐thin‐film‐based studies, which have driven many advances in the understanding of ferroelectric physics and the realization of novel polar structures and functionalities. New questions have motivated the development of advanced synthesis, characterization, and simulations of epitaxial thin films and, in turn, have provided new insights and applications across the micro‐, meso‐, and macroscopic length scales. This review traces the evolution of ferroelectric thin‐film research through the early days developing understanding of the roles of size and strain on ferroelectrics to the present day, where such understanding is used to create complex hierarchical domain structures, novel polar topologies, and controlled chemical and defect profiles. The extension of epitaxial techniques, coupled with advances in high‐throughput simulations, now stands to accelerate the discovery and study of new ferroelectric materials. Coming hand‐in‐hand with these new materials is new understanding and control of ferroelectric functionalities. Today, researchers are actively working to apply these lessons in a number of applications, including novel memory and logic architectures, as well as a host of energy conversion devices.

Fernandez, Abel↗

In Situ/Operando (Soft) X-ray Spectroscopy Study of Beyond Lithium-ion Batteries

The lightweight, rechargeable lithium-ion battery is one of the dominant energy storage devices globally in portable electronics due to its high energy density, no memory effect, wide operating voltage, lightweight, and good charge efficiency. However, due to safety concerns, the depletion of lithium reserves, and the corresponding increase of cost, an alternative battery system becomes more and more desirable. To develop alternative battery systems with low cost and high material abundance, for example, sodium, magnesium, zinc, and calcium, it is important to understand the chemical and electronic structure of materials. Additionally, soft X-ray spectroscopy, for example, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), and resonant inelastic soft X-ray scattering (RIXS), is an element-specific technique with sensitivity to the local chemical environment and structural order of the element of interest. Modern soft X-ray systems enable operando experiments that can be applied to amorphous and crystalline samples, making it a powerful tool for studying the electronic and structural changes in electrode and electrolyte species. In this article, the application of in situ/operando (soft) X-ray spectroscopy in beyond lithium-ion batteries is reviewed to demonstrate how such spectroscopic characterizations could facilitate the interpretation of interfacial phenomena under in situ/operando condition and subsequent development of the beyond lithium-ion batteries.

(soft) X-ray spectroscopy↗

Design and biocompatibility of endovascular aneurysm filling devices

We report that the rupture of an intracranial aneurysm, which can result in severe mental disabilities or death, affects approximately 30,000 people in the United States annually. The traditional surgical method of treating these arterial malformations involves a full craniotomy procedure, wherein a clip is placed around the aneurysm neck. In recent decades, research and device development have focused on new endovascular treatment methods to occlude the aneurysm void space. These methods, some of which are currently in clinical use, utilize metal, polymeric, or hybrid devices delivered via catheter to the aneurysm site. In this review, we present several such devices, including those that have been approved for clinical use, and some that are currently in development. We present several design requirements for a successful aneurysm filling device and discuss the success or failure of current and past technologies. Lastly, we also present novel polymeric based aneurysm filling methods that are currently being tested in animal models that could result in superior healing.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Detailed investigation of defect states in Erbium doped In2O3 thin films

Highlights: • SIMS analysis confirmed the doping of Er into the In{sub 2}O{sub 3} TF. • I–V loop analysis gives reduced current memory window for In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er TF based device. • High ideality factor was determined at low temperature and explained. • Defect related photoconductivity was confirmed from low temperature measurement. • 10 K temporal response of the Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er/Si confirmed removal of oxygen defects. - Abstract: Erbium doped Indium Oxide (In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er) thin films (TFs) were synthesised by spin-on technique. Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry confirmed that Er is incorporated into the In{sub 2}O{sub 3} lattice and formed an In-O-Er layer. The current–voltage loop produced a lower loop current window of ∼3.6 × 10{sup −4} A for In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er TF based devices. The Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er/Si Schottky devices have lower ideality factor (∼6) and higher barrier height (∼0.63 eV) at 300 K than Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si control samples. A blue shift in the main band-gap (∼50 nm) was calculated for In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er TFs from 10 K photoresponse. The Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er/Si samples show higher photosensitivity in the temperature range 10 K–300 K and maximum (∼15 times) in the UV region at 10 K as compared to the Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si devices. In addition, the Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er/Si devices have better UV to visible cut-off ratio (∼3 times). Excellent temporal responses were recorded for Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}:Er/Si in the UV region as compared to Au/In{sub 2}O{sub 3}/Si.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Metall: A persistent memory allocator for data-centric analytics

Data analytics applications transform raw input data into analytics-specific data structures before performing analytics. Unfortunately, such data ingestion steps are often more expensive than analytics. In addition, various types of NVRAM devices are already used in many HPC systems today. Such devices will be useful for storing and reusing data structures beyond a single process life cycle. We developed Metall, a persistent memory allocator built on top of the memory-mapped file mechanism. Metall enables applications to transparently allocate custom C++ data structures into various types of persistent memories. Metall incorporates a concise and high-performance memory management algorithm inspired by Supermalloc and the rich C++ interface developed by Boost.Interprocess library. On a dynamic graph construction workload, Metall achieved up to 11.7x and 48.3x performance improvements over Boost.Interprocess and memkind (PMEM kind), respectively. We also demonstrate Metall’s high adaptability by integrating Metall into a graph processing framework, GraphBLAS Template Library. Here this study’s outcomes indicate that Metall will be a strong tool for accelerating future large-scale data analytics by allowing applications to leverage persistent memory efficiently.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Electrochemical strain microscopy with blocking electrodes: The role of electromigration and diffusion

Electrochemical strains are a ubiquitous feature of solid state ionic devices ranging from ion batteries and fuel cells to electroresistive and memristive memories. We proposed a scanning probe microscopy (SPM) based approach, referred as electrochemical strain microscopy (ESM), for probing local ionic flows and electrochemical reactions in solids based on bias-strain coupling. In ESM, the sharp SPM tip concentrates the electric field in a small (10-50 nm) region of material, inducing interfacial electrochemical processes and ionic flows. Furthermore, we use the resultant electrochemical strains to determine it from dynamic surface displacement and provide information on local electrochemical functionality. We also analyze image formation mechanism in ESM for a special case of mixed electronic-ionic conductor with blocking tip electrode, and determine frequency dependence of response, role of diffusion and electromigration effects, and resolution and detection limits.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Analysis of GPU Data Access Patterns on Complex Geometries for the D3Q19 Lattice Boltzmann Algorithm

GPU performance of the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) depends heavily on memory access patterns. When implemented with GPUs on complex domains, typically, geometric data is accessed indirectly and lattice data is accessed lexicographically. Although there are a variety of other options, no study has examined the relative efficacy between them. Here, we examine a suite of memory access schemes via empirical testing and performance modeling. We find strong evidence that semi-direct is often better suited than the more common indirect addressing, providing increased computational speed and reducing memory consumption. For the layout, we find that the Collected Structure of Arrays (CSoA) and bundling layouts outperform the common Structure of Array layout; on V100 and P100 devices, CSoA consistently outperforms bundling, however the relationship is more complicated on K40 devices. When compared to state-of-the-art practices, our recommendations lead to speedups of 10–40 percent and reduce memory consumption up to 17 percent. Using performance modeling and computational experimentation, we determine the mechanisms behind the accelerations. We demonstrate that our results hold across multiple GPUs on two leadership class systems, and present the first near-optimal strong results for LBM with arterial geometries run on GPUs.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Persistent optical phenomena in oxide semiconductors

The interaction of transparent oxide semiconductors with light is critically important for a range of applications. Persistent effects could be exploited for holographic memory or optically defined circuits. Conversely, they may also be detrimental to device operation. Large, room-temperature persistent photoconductivity (PPC) was discovered in strontium titanate (SrTiO 3 , STO) after annealing in a hydrogen-containing atmosphere. Barium titanate (BaTiO 3 , BTO), a ferroelectric material, was recently found to also exhibit PPC. Room-temperature photodarkening was observed in Cu-doped gallium oxide (β-Ga 2 O 3 ) after exposure to sub-bandgap light. Hydrogen is believed to play a central role in these persistent phenomena. In the proposed model, a photon excites substitutional hydrogen (a proton inside an oxygen vacancy), making the defect unstable. The proton leaves and binds to a host oxygen atom, forming an O-H bond that is observed with infrared spectroscopy. Here, an oxygen vacancy is left behind. Because oxygen vacancies in STO and BTO are shallow donors, this process results in PPC. In β-Ga 2 O 3 :Cu, however, the oxygen vacancy neighbors a Cu acceptor. In that case, photoexcitation results in the rare Cu 3+ state, which absorbs visible light. The effect can be “erased” by annealing at 300-400°C.

Annealing↗

The impact of cine EPID image acquisition frame rate on markerless soft-tissue tracking

Purpose: Although reduction of the cine electronic portal imaging device (EPID) acquisition frame rate through multiple frame averaging may reduce hardware memory burden and decrease image noise, it can hinder the continuity of soft-tissue motion leading to poor autotracking results. The impact of motion blurring and image noise on the tracking performance was investigated. Methods: Phantom and patient images were acquired at a frame rate of 12.87 Hz with an amorphous silicon portal imager (AS1000, Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA). The maximum frame rate of 12.87 Hz is imposed by the EPID. Low frame rate images were obtained by continuous frame averaging. A previously validated tracking algorithm was employed for autotracking. The difference between the programmed and autotracked positions of a Las Vegas phantom moving in the superior-inferior direction defined the tracking error (δ). Motion blurring was assessed by measuring the area change of the circle with the greatest depth. Additionally, lung tumors on 1747 frames acquired at 11 field angles from four radiotherapy patients are manually and automatically tracked with varying frame averaging. δ was defined by the position difference of the two tracking methods. Image noise was defined as the standard deviation of the background intensity. Motion blurring and image noise are correlated with δ using Pearson correlation coefficient (R). Results: For both phantom and patient studies, the autotracking errors increased at frame rates lower than 4.29 Hz. Above 4.29 Hz, changes in errors were negligible withδ < 1.60 mm. Motion blurring and image noise were observed to increase and decrease with frame averaging, respectively. Motion blurring and tracking errors were significantly correlated for the phantom (R = 0.94) and patient studies (R = 0.72). Moderate to poor correlation was found between image noise and tracking error with R −0.58 and −0.19 for both studies, respectively. Conclusions: Cine EPID image acquisition at the frame rate of at least 4.29 Hz is recommended. Motion blurring in the images with frame rates below 4.29 Hz can significantly reduce the accuracy of autotracking.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Electromagnetic Radiation Effects on MgO-Based Magnetic Tunnel Junctions: A Review

Magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) have been widely utilized in sensitive sensors, magnetic memory, and logic gates due to their tunneling magnetoresistance. Moreover, these MTJ devices have promising potential for renewable energy generation and storage. Compared with Si-based devices, MTJs are more tolerant to electromagnetic radiation. In this review, we summarize the functionalities of MgO-based MTJ devices under different electromagnetic irradiation environments, with a focus on gamma-ray radiation. We explore the effects of these radiation exposures on the MgO tunnel barriers, magnetic layers, and interfaces to understand the origin of their tolerance. This review enhances our knowledge of the radiation tolerance of MgO-based MTJs, improves the design of these MgO-based MTJ devices with better tolerances, and provides information to minimize the risks of irradiation under various irradiation environments. This review starts with an introduction to MTJs and irradiation backgrounds, followed by the fundamental properties of MTJ materials, such as the MgO barrier and magnetic layers. Then, we review and discuss the MTJ materials and devices’ radiation tolerances under different irradiation environments, including high-energy cosmic radiation, gamma-ray radiation, and lower-energy electromagnetic radiation (X-ray, UV–vis, infrared, microwave, and radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation). In conclusion, we summarize the radiation effects based on the published literature, which might benefit material design and protection.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Device for controlling additive manufacturing machinery

A computing device for controlling the operation of an additive manufacturing machine comprises a memory element and a processing element. The memory element is configured to store a three-dimensional model of a part to be manufactured, wherein the three-dimensional model defines a plurality of cross sections of the part. The processing element is in communication with the memory element. The processing element is configured to receive the three-dimensional model, determine a path across a surface of each cross section, wherein the path includes a plurality of parallel lines, calculate a power for a radiation beam to scan each of the lines, such that the power varies from line to line non-linearly according to a length of the line, and calculate a scan speed for the radiation beam for each of the lines, such that the scan speed varies line to line non-linearly according to the power of the radiation beam.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Device for controlling additive manufacturing machinery

A computing device for controlling the operation of an additive manufacturing machine comprises a memory element and a processing element. The memory element is configured to store a three-dimensional model of a part to be manufactured, wherein the three-dimensional model defines a plurality of cross sections of the part. The processing element is in communication with the memory element. The processing element is configured to receive the three-dimensional model, determine a plurality of paths, each path including a plurality of parallel lines, determine a radiation beam power for each line, such that the radiation beam power varies non-linearly according to a length of the line, and determine a radiation beam scan speed for each line, such that the radiation beam scan speed is a function of a temperature of a material used to manufacture the part, the length of the line, and the radiation beam power for the line.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Device for controlling additive manufacturing machinery

A computing device for controlling the operation of an additive manufacturing machine comprises a memory element and a processing element. The memory element is configured to store a three-dimensional model of a part to be manufactured, wherein the three-dimensional model defines a plurality of cross sections of the part. The processing element is in communication with the memory element. The processing element is configured to receive the three-dimensional model, determine a plurality of paths, each path including a plurality of parallel lines, determine a radiation beam power for each line, such that the radiation beam power varies non-linearly according to a length of the line, and determine a radiation beam scan speed for each line, such that the radiation beam scan speed is a function of a temperature of a material used to manufacture the part, the length of the line, and the radiation beam power for the line.

Barr, Christian↗

Device for controlling additive manufacturing machinery

A computing device for controlling the operation of an additive manufacturing machine comprises a memory element and a processing element. The memory element is configured to store a three-dimensional model of a part to be manufactured, wherein the three-dimensional model defines a plurality of cross sections of the part. The processing element is in communication with the memory element. The processing element is configured to receive the three-dimensional model, determine a path across a surface of each cross section, wherein the path includes a plurality of parallel lines, calculate a power for a radiation beam to scan each of the lines, such that the power varies from line to line non-linearly according to a length of the line, and calculate a scan speed for the radiation beam for each of the lines, such that the scan speed varies line to line non-linearly according to the power of the radiation beam.

Barr, Christian↗

Device for controlling additive manufacturing machinery

A computing device for controlling the operation of an additive manufacturing machine comprises a memory element and a processing element. The memory element is configured to store a three-dimensional model of a part to be manufactured, wherein the three-dimensional model defines a plurality of cross sections of the part. The processing element is in communication with the memory element. The processing element is configured to receive the three-dimensional model, determine a plurality of paths, each path including a plurality of parallel lines, determine a radiation beam power for each line, such that the radiation beam power varies non-linearly according to a length of the line, and determine a radiation beam scan speed for each line, such that the radiation beam scan speed is a function of a temperature of a material used to manufacture the part, the length of the line, and the radiation beam power for the line.

Barr, Christian↗

Logical memory address regions

Systems, apparatuses, and methods for implementing logical memory address regions in a computing system. The physical memory address space of a computing system may be partitioned into a plurality of logical memory address regions. Each logical memory address region may be dynamically configured at run-time to meet changing application needs of the system. Each logical memory address region may also be configured separately from the other logical memory address regions. Each logical memory address region may have associated parameters that identify region start address, region size, cell-level mode, physical-to-device mapping scheme, address masks, access permissions, wear-leveling data, encryption settings, and compression settings. These parameters may be stored in a table which may be used when processing memory access requests.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Current-induced switching of thin film α - Fe 2 O 3 devices imaged using a scanning single-spin microscope

Electrical switching of Néel order in an antiferromagnetic insulator is desirable as a basis for memory applications. Unlike electrically driven switching of ferromagnetic order via spin-orbit torques, electrical switching of antiferromagnetic order remains poorly understood. Here we investigate the low-field magnetic properties of 30-nm-thick, c-axis-oriented α-Fe 2 ⁢O 3 Hall devices using a diamond nitrogen-vacancy center scanning microscope. Using the canted moment of α-Fe 2⁢ O 3 as a magnetic handle on its Néel vector, we apply a saturating in-plane magnetic field to create a known initial state before letting the state relax in low field for magnetic imaging. Here, we repeat this procedure for different in-plane orientations of the initialization field. We find that the magnetic field images are characterized by stronger magnetic textures for fields along [$\overline{11}$20] and 11$\overline{2}$0, suggesting that despite the expected 3-fold magnetocrystalline anisotropy, our α-Fe 2 ⁢O 3 thin films have an overall in-plane uniaxial anisotropy. We also study current-induced switching of the magnetic order in α-Fe 2 ⁢O 3 . We find that the fraction of the device that switches depends on the current pulse duration, amplitude, and direction relative to the initialization field.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗