Electron Transport in Carbon Nanotubes with Adsorbed Chromium Impurities

Topological Defects Created by Gamma Rays in a Carbon Nanotube Bilayer

Graphene sheets are a highly radiation-resistant material for prospective nuclear applications and nanoscale defect engineering. However, the precise mechanism of graphene radiation hardness has remained elusive. In this paper, we study the origin and nature of defects induced by gamma radiation in a graphene rolled-up plane. In order to reduce the environmental influence on graphene and reveal the small effects of gamma rays, we have synthesized a novel graphene-based nanocomposite material containing a bilayer of highly aligned carbon nanotube assemblies that have been decorated by organometallic compounds and suspended on nanoporous Al2O3 membranes. The bilayer samples were irradiated by gamma rays from a 137Cs source with a fluence rate of the order of 105 m-2s-1. The interaction between the samples and gamma quanta results in the appearance of three characteristic photon escape peaks in the radiation spectra. We explain the mechanism of interaction between the graphene sheets and gamma radiation using a pseudo-Majorana fermion graphene model, which is a quasi-relativistic N=3-flavor graphene model with a Majorana-like mass term. This model admits the existence of giant charge carrier currents that are sufficient to neutralize the impact of ionizing radiation. Experimental evidence is provided for the prediction that the 661.7-keV gamma quanta transfer enough energy to the electron subsystem of graphene to bring about the deconfinement of the bound pseudo-Majorana modes and involve C atoms in a vortical motion of the electron density flows in the graphene plane. We explain the radiation hardness of graphene by the topological non-triviality of the pseudo-Majorana fermion configurations comprising the graphene charge carriers.

Frictional Losses of Polyamides Mounted on Tensioning Guides in Contact with Chains

The development of polyamides has increased in recent years due to scientific research and the aim of the industry to find materials characterized by good frictional behavior at high temperatures, high loads and high speeds. The wide areas of application of polyamides in the mechanical contacts with relative motions offered new development opportunities for polyamides (PA), such as PA66, PA46 and PTFE mixed PA46. One of the applications of these polyamides in mechanical contacts with relative motions is the contact between the timing chains and the active part of the tensioning guides. For a comparison with a previous study of friction of PA66, PA46 and PTFE mixed PA46, performed on a pin-on-disk tribometer, this study is based on performing tests on the same materials, on the tensioning guide of a silent chain used as a timing chain in combustion engines, with lubricating conditions much closer to the application field. The diagrams comparatively present the variation of the percentage of frictional losses for PTFE mixed PA46, PA46 and PA66 polyamides mounted on tensioning guides in contact with chains. The results clearly show that the PTFE mixed PA46 polyamide has smaller frictional losses than the PA46 and the PA66 polyamides, but the influence of speed and tensioning is also important. A comparison with the previous study is also useful for making a decision on using a polyamide for the guide of a timing chain.

Effects of Electron Correlation inside Disordered Crystals

We propose a novel approach for characterising the electron spectrum of disordered crystals constructed from a Hamiltonian of electrons as well as phonons and a diagram approach for Green’s function. The system’s electronic states were modelled by means of the multi-band, tight-binding approach. The system’s Hamiltonian is described based on the electron wave functions at the field of the atom nucleus. Our novel approach incorporates the long-range Coulomb interplay of electrons located in different lattice positions. Explicit interpretations of Green’s functions are derived using a diagram method.Equations are obtained for the vertex components for the mass operators of the electron–electron as well aselectron–phonon interplays. A system of equations for the spectrum of elementary excitations in the crystal is obtained, in which the vertex components for the mass operators of electron–electron as well as electron–phonon interplays are renormalised. Thismakes it possible to perform numerical computationsfor the system’s energy spectrum with a predetermined accuracy. In contrast to other approaches in which electron correlations are only taken into account in the limiting cases of an infinitely large and infinitesimal electron density, in this method, electron correlations are described in the general case of an arbitrary density. We obtained the cluster expansion of the density of states (DOS) of the disordered systems. We demonstrate that the addition of the electron-scattering mechanismsto the clusters is decreasing. This happens due to a growing number of positions in the cluster, which hang ontothe small parameter. The computing exactness is fixed by a small parameter for cluster expansion of Green’s functions of electrons as well as phonons.

Theory of Electron Correlation in Disordered Crystals

This paper presents a new method of describing the electronic spectrum and electrical conductivity of disordered crystals based on the Hamiltonian of electrons and phonons. Electronic states of a system are described by the tight-binding model. Expressions for Green’s functions and electrical conductivity are derived using the diagram method. Equations are obtained for the vertex parts of the mass operators of the electron–electron and electron–phonon interactions. A system of exact equations is obtained for the spectrum of elementary excitations in a crystal. This makes it possible to perform numerical calculations of the energy spectrum and to predict the properties of the system with a predetermined accuracy. In contrast to other approaches, in which electron correlations are taken into account only in the limiting cases of an infinitely large and infinitesimal electron density, in this method, electron correlations are described in the general case of an arbitrary density. The cluster expansion is obtained for the density of states and electrical conductivity of disordered systems. We show that the contribution of the electron scattering processes to clusters is decreasing, along with increasing the number of sites in the cluster, which depends on a small parameter.

The Structural Performance of CFRP Composite Plates Assembled with Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) composites have been extensively used in airframes, train bodies, and engine blades for their properties of high strength, low weight, and good stability. The in-service structural performance of CFRP composites is always an important point to be investigated for its influence on structural safety. For this reason, CFRP composite plates assembled with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors were developed, and the in-service structural characteristics of the CFRP plates were interpreted by FBG signals measured through time. A theoretical analysis supported by a numerical method has been provided. Experimental testing was conducted to check the proposed sensing technique for the dynamic response identification of the CFRP plate. The curing process of the bilayer CFRP plated inserted with FBGs in series was also explored. The results showed that the surface-attached FBGs in series could accurately characterize the dynamic response of the CFRP plate, and a good agreement between the numerical and testing results was observed. The strain and temperature distributions during the curing process of the bilayer plate indicated that the in-service structural performance of bilayer CFRP plates can be configured by the assembled FBG sensors. This study can support the structural health monitoring of projects by using CFRP composites.

Behavior of the Energy Spectrum and Electric Conduction of Doped Graphene

We consider the effect of atomic impurities on the energy spectrum and electrical conductance of graphene. As is known, the ordering of atomic impurities at the nodes of a crystal lattice modifies the graphene spectrum of energy, yielding a gap in it. Assuming a Fermi level within the gap domain, the electrical conductance diverges at the ordering of graphene. Hence, we can conclude about the presence of a metal–dielectric transition. On the other hand, for a Fermi level occurring outside of the gap, we see an increase in the electrical conductance as a function of the order parameter. The analytic formulas obtained in the Lifshitz one-electron strong-coupling model, describing the one-electron states of graphene doped with substitutional impurity atoms in the limiting case of weak scattering, are compared to the results of numerical calculations. To determine the dependence of the energy spectrum and electrical conductance on the order parameter, we consider both the limiting case of weak scattering and the case of finite scattering potential. The contributions of the scattering of electrons on a vapor of atoms to the density of states and the electrical conductance of graphene with an admixture of interstitial atoms are studied within numerical methods. It is shown that an increase in the electrical conductance with the order parameter is a result of both the growth of the density of states at the Fermi level and the time of relaxation of electron states. We have demonstrated the presence of a domain of localized extrinsic states on the edges of the energy gap arising at the ordering of atoms of the admixture. If the Fermi level falls in the indicated spectral regions, the electrical conductance of graphene is significantly affected by the scattering of electrons on clusters of two or more atoms, and the approximation of coherent potential fails in this case.