Investigation of Mean-Time-to-Failure Measurements from AlGaN/GaN High-Electron-Mobility Transistors Using Eyring Model

We present the mean-time-to-failure (MTTF) calculations for AlGaN/GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) using two independent acceleration factors. MTTF predictions are generally calculated through the Arrhenius relationship, based on channel temperature and acceleration, depend only on one parameter. Although the failure modes of the AlGaN/GaN HEMTs depend largely on the applied electric fields, the Eyring model is introduced to investigate both voltage and temperature dependent degradation of AlGaN/GaN devices. In anticipation of adequate MTTF values, studies were conducted on non-commercial devices. Further, we distinguished the cumulative failure percentages through the Weibull and log-normal distributions. We also explored the increase in gate leakage current at high temperatures for early device deterioration.

Characterisation and Modelling of PLA Filaments and Evolution with Time

The properties of polylactic acid (PLA) filaments have not yet been analysed in detail, and they are strongly affected by the extrusion process used in some additive manufacturing systems. Here we present the mechanical, thermal, physical, and fractographical properties of an extruded filament (not the bulk material or scaffolds), the basic building block of any PLA structure printed via material extrusion. This research aims to create a reference point for the modelisation of additively manufactured structures via extrusion processes, as the main building block is characterised in detail for a deep understanding. Furthermore, we investigated the natural ageing (up to one year), the effect of the printing (extruding) temperature (180 and 190 °C), and the effect of the crosshead speed during the tensile tests (10−1 to 102 mm/min) to provide a deeper analysis of the material. The results showed that the material extruded at 190 °C performed better than the material extruded at 180 °C. However, after one hundred days of natural ageing, both materials behaved similarly. This was related to the flow-induced molecular orientation during the extrusion. The crosshead rate produced a logarithmic increase of the mechanical properties, consistent with the Eyring model. Additionally, the ageing produced significant changes in both the elastic modulus and the yield strength: from 2.4 GPa and 40 MPa, in one-day-aged samples, up to 4 GPa and 62 MPa once entirely aged. Finally, it was observed that the glass transition and the enthalpic relaxation increased with ageing, agreeing with the Kohlraushch–William–Watts model.

Functional Epithelium Remodeling in Response to Applied Stress under In Vitro Conditions

Mathematical modeling is often used in tissue engineering in order to overcome one of its major challenges: transformation of complex biological and rheological behaviors of cells and tissue in a mathematically predictive and physically manipulative engineering process. The successive accomplishment of this task will greatly help in quantifying and optimizing clinical application of the tissue engineering products. One of the problems emerging in this area is the relation between resting and migrating cell groups, as well as between different configurations of migrating cells and viscoelasticity. A deeper comprehension of the relation between various configurations of migrating cells and viscoelasticity at the supracellular level represents the prerequisite for optimization of the performance of the artificial epithelium. Since resting and migrating cell groups have a considerable difference in stiffness, a change in their mutual volume ratio and distribution may affect the viscoelasticity of multicellular surfaces. If those cell groups are treated as different phases, then an analogous model may be applied to represent such systems. In this work, a two-step Eyring model is developed in order to demonstrate the main mechanical and biochemical factors that influence configurations of migrating cells. This model could be also used for considering the long-time cell rearrangement under various types of applied stress. The results of this theoretical analysis point out the cause-consequence relationship between the configuration of migrating cells and rheological behavior of multicellular surfaces. Configuration of migrating cells is influenced by mechanical and biochemical perturbations, difficult to measure experimentally, which lead to uncorrelated motility. Uncorrelated motility results in (1) decrease of the volume fraction of migrating cells, (2) change of their configuration, and (3) softening of multicellular surfaces.

Probing large viscosities in glass-formers with nonequilibrium simulations

For decades, scientists have debated whether supercooled liquids stop flowing below a glass transition temperatureTg0or whether motion continues to slow gradually down to zero temperature. Answering this question is challenging because human time scales set a limit on the largest measurable viscosity, and available data are equally well fit to models with opposite conclusions. Here, we use short simulations to determine the nonequilibrium shear response of a typical glass-former, squalane. Fits of the data to an Eyring model allow us to extrapolate predictions for the equilibrium Newtonian viscosityηNover a range of pressures and temperatures that changeηNby 25 orders of magnitude. The results agree with the unusually large set of equilibrium and nonequilibrium experiments on squalane and extend them to higherηN. Studies at different pressures and temperatures are inconsistent with a diverging viscosity at finite temperature. At all pressures, the predicted viscosity becomes Arrhenius with a single temperature-independent activation barrier at low temperatures and high viscosities (ηN>103Pa⋅s). Possible experimental tests of our results are outlined.

Experimental measurements and modeling of solvent activity and surface tension of binary mixtures of polyvinylpyrrolidone in water and ethanol

In this paper, the density (?), viscosity (?) and surface tension (?) of solutions of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) with molecular weights of 25000 (K25) and 40000 g mol-1 (K40) in water and ethanol were measured in the temperature range 20?65?C and at various mass fractions of polymer (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.45). The solvent activity measurements were performed at 45 and 55?C. Thereafter, two thermodynamic models for predicting the solvent activity and surface tension of binary polymer mixtures (PVP in water and ethanol) were proposed. The Flory?Huggins theory and Eyring model were employed to calculate the surface tension of the solution and the solvent activity, respectively. Additionally, the proposed activity model was dependent on the density and viscosity of the solution. Afterwards, the ability of these models at various temperatures and mass fractions were investigated by comparing the results with the experimental data. The results confirmed that, in the investigated temperature range, these models have good accuracy.

Highly Accelerated Aging Method for Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Film Using Xenon Lamp with Heating System

PET films were degraded at temperature higher than 100°C with steam and xenon light by using the newly developed system. Degradation products obtained using the proposed and conventional systems were essentially the same, as indicated by the similar increase in the intensity of the carbonyl peak near 1685 cm−1 in the FT-IR spectra of irradiated specimens and spectrum of original PET film. Elastic moduli derived from the stress-strain (SS) curves obtained in tensile tests were almost the same in the case of the proposed and conventional systems and were independent of the heating temperature, light intensity, and irradiation time. Tensile strength of degraded PET films decreases with increasing heating temperature. Tensile strengths of PET films degraded at same temperature decrease linearly with increasing intensity of xenon light. The lifetime at 90% strength of PET films was calculated. Attempts were made to express this lifetime as functions of the light intensity and the reciprocal of the absolute temperature by using the Eyring model. Estimated lifetime 15.9 h of tensile test using Eyring model for PET film agreed with the lifetime 22.7 h derived from data measured using the xenon weather meter.