Volume 26, Issue 1-2

We are briefly reviewing the current status of elastic strain field determination in III–V heteroepitaxial nanostructures, linking finite elements (FE) calculations with quantitative nanoscale imaging and atomistic calculation techniques. III–V semiconductor nanostructure systems of various dimensions are evaluated in terms of their importance in photonic and microelectronic devices. As elastic strain distribution inside nano-heterostructures has a significant impact on the alloy composition, and thus their electronic properties, it is important to accurately map its components both at the interface plane and along the growth direction. Therefore, we focus on the determination of the stress-strain fields in III–V heteroepitaxial nanostructures by experimental and theoretical methods with emphasis on the numerical FE method by means of anisotropic continuum elasticity (CE) approximation. Subsequently, we present our contribution to the field by coupling FE simulations on InAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on (211)B GaAs substrate, either uncapped or buried, and GaAs/AlGaAs core-shell nanowires (NWs) grown on (111) Si, with quantitative high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) methods and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) calculations. Full determination of the elastic strain distribution can be exploited for band gap tailoring of the heterostructures by controlling the content of the active elements, and thus influence the emitted radiation.

In this article, the vibrational analysis of temperature-dependent cylindrical functionally graded (FG) microshells surrounded by viscoelastic a foundation is investigated by means of the modified couple stress theory (MCST). MCST is applied to this model to be productive in design and analysis of micro actuators and micro sensors. The modeled cylindrical FG microshell, its equations of motion and boundary conditions are derived by Hamilton’s principle and the first-order shear deformation theory (FSDT). For the first time, in the present study, functionally graded length scale parameter which changes along the thickness has been considered in the temperature-dependent cylindrical FG microshell. The accuracy of the present model is verified with previous studies and also with those obtained by analytical Navier method. The novelty of the current study is consideration of viscoelastic foundation, various thermal loadings and size effect as well as satisfying various boundary conditions implemented on the temperature-dependent cylindrical FG microshell using MCST. Generalized differential quadrature method (GDQM) is applied to discretize the equations of motion. Then, some factors are investigated such as the influence of length to radius ratio, damping, Winkler and Pasternak foundations, different temperature changes, circumferential wave numbers, and boundary conditions on natural frequency of the cylindrical FG microshell. The results have many applications such as modeling of microrobots and biomedical microsystems.

It is difficult to fusion weld Al alloy to Mg alloy, so by experimental optimization procedure (EOP) optimum parameters for FSW between Al alloy and Mg alloy were determined and experiment conducted using these parameters resulted in not only sound weld but also highest strength weld for 5 mm thickness of the alloys plates. One can arrive to optimum parameters by following the EOP in case of similar and dissimilar materials FSW, such as Al alloy and Mg alloy FSW. It has observed that tensile sample having least thickness intermetallics (IMs) layer has highest strength compared to sample with larger thickness of intermetallics layer and also it has observed that weld of lesser thickness plates have strength higher than welds of larger thickness plates. It has observed that, Vickers hardness in WN i.e. on the region containing layers of IMs is considerably higher, which leads to emerge of new type of laminated composite materials. It has observed that, it is the least thickness IMs layers in the weld are responsible for higher strength of weld not the ductility of the IMs formed owing to the insertion of intermediate material in the weld. It has found that coefficient of friction is =0.25, in case of bead on plate welding of Mg alloy.

Basic fluid mechanics equations are studied and revised under the prism of fractional continuum mechanics (FCM), a very promising research field that satisfies both experimental and theoretical demands. The geometry of the fractional differential has been clarified corrected and the geometry of the fractional tangent spaces of a manifold has been studied in Lazopoulos and Lazopoulos (Lazopoulos KA, Lazopoulos AK. Progr. Fract. Differ. Appl. 2016, 2, 85–104), providing the bases of the missing fractional differential geometry. Therefore, a lot can be contributed to fractional hydrodynamics: the basic fractional fluid equations (Navier Stokes, Euler and Bernoulli) are derived and fractional Darcy’s flow in porous media is studied.

In the frame of an extended research program dealing with wood shavings utilization in mortar, a set of procedures were developed for verifying effects of wood shavings addition to specific mortar properties. Mixes containing wood shavings replacing fine aggregates by 0, 30, 50 and 70% of their volume were made. Workability, fresh mortar unit weight, ultrasonic pulse velocity (UPV) and flexural and compressive strength were determined, based on measurements, at various curing ages. Measurement results and analysis suggest that compressive strength reduction caused by wood shavings addition could be predicted. The outcome was standardized in the form of a multifactorial sigmoidal model. It was also made evident that the mix proportion of cement increases when wood shavings are used as a by volume replacement of conventional fine aggregates, due to the low value of specific gravity of wood compared to conventional aggregates. Another procedure is suggested based on mass and volume measurements aiming at the verification of the mix proportions in the final mortar mixture.

Pop-in and pop-out effects in silicon (Si) have long been known. They were evidenced in the indentation loading-unloading curves as a sudden displacement discontinuity. They consist in a sudden contraction (pop-in) or a sudden expansion (pop-out) of the material underneath the indenter in a short period of time and are attributed to Si phase transformations that take place during the nanoindentation procedure. In this paper, first we provide a statistic analysis of such pop-in/pop-out events depending on the maximum indentation load and second we examine the dependence of their appearance on the indentation loading-unloading rate.