Composite materials containing particulate BaTiO3 inclusion have been fabricated with BaZrO3-ZnO as the matrix. Giant anelastic responses (abrupt increase in modulus and damping vs. temperature) have been observed after 75 ◦C aging 24 h in these composites in the temperature region far below the Curie point of BaTiO3. Anomalies disappeared after 185 ◦C aging 4 h. Such responses are attributed t...

In this study, a novel multi-walled carbon nanotubes reinforced nanocrystalline copper matrix composite with super high strength and moderate plasticity was synthesized. We successfully overcome the agglomeration problem of the carbon nanotubes and the grain growth problem of the nanocrystalline copper matrix by combined use of the electroless deposition and spark plasma sintering methods. The ...

A valveless electromagnetic (EM) micropump with a matrix-patterned magnetic polymer composite actuator membrane structure was successfully designed and fabricated. The composite membrane structure is made of polydemethylsiloxane (PDMS) that is mixed with magnetic particles and patterned in matrix blocks. The matrix magnetic composite membrane was fabricated using a soft lithography process and ...

We review our recent works on solitons in U(NC) gauge theories with NF(≥ NC) Higgs fields in the fundamental representation, which possess eight supercharges. The moduli matrix is proposed as a crucial tool to exhaust all BPS solutions, and to characterize all possible moduli parameters. Since vacua are in the Higgs phase, we find domain walls (kinks) and vortices as the only elementary soliton...

A three-dimensional multi-scale computational homogenisation framework is developed for the prediction of nonlinear micro/meso-mechanical response of the fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. Two dominant damage mechanisms, i.e. matrix elasto-plastic response and fibre-matrix decohesion are considered and modelled using a non-associative pressure dependent paraboloidal yield criterion and ...

Efficient control of crystallization and crystal properties still represents a bottleneck in the manufacturing of crystalline materials ranging from pigments to semiconductor particles. In the case of pharmaceutical drug manufacture, current methods for controlling critical crystal properties such as size and morphology that dictates the product’s efficacy are inefficient and often lead to the ...

The effect of the dimensionality of metallic nanoparticle-and carbon nanotube-based fillers on the mechanical properties of an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) polymer matrix was examined. ABS composite films, reinforced with low dimensional metallic nanoparticles (MNPs, 0-D) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs, 1-D) as nanofillers, were fabricated by a combination of wet phase inversion and hot pr...

The SiC particles (SiCp, mass fraction 30 %) reinforced with the Al-Si-Cu-Mg matrix composite have been prepared using one-way press method, sintering, and hot extrusion. The composite was subjected to solid solution treatment at temperatures of 470 °C, 485 °C, 500 °C, 515 °C, and 530 °C for 4 h. The sample was then subjected to ageing treatment at temperatures of 160 °C and 180 °C during diffe...