Nanoscale cutting using self-excited microcantilever

The application of self-excitation is proposed to improve the efficiency of the nanoscale cutting procedure based on use of a microcantilever in atomic force microscopy. The microcantilever shape is redesigned so that it can be used to produce vibration amplitudes with sufficient magnitudes to enable the excitation force applied by an actuator to be transferred efficiently to the tip of the microcantilever for the cutting process. A diamond abrasive that is set on the tip is also fabricated using a focused ion beam technique to improve the cutting effect. The natural frequency of the microcantilever is modulated based on the pressing load. Under conventional external excitation conditions, to maintain the microcantilever in its resonant state, it is necessary to vary the excitation frequency in accordance with the modulation. In this study, rather than using external excitation, the self-excitation cutting method is proposed to overcome this difficulty. The self-excited oscillation is produced by appropriate setting of the phase difference between the deflection signal of the microcantilever and the feedback signal for the actuator. In addition, it is demonstrated experimentally that the change in the phase difference enables us to control the amplitude of the self-excitation. As a result, control of the cutting depth is achieved via changes in the phase difference.

Experimental amplitude and frequency control of a self-excited microcantilever by linear and nonlinear feedback

In recent years, measurement methods that use resonators as microcantilevers have attracted attention because of their high sensitivity, high accuracy, and rapid response time. They have been widely utilized in mass sensing, stiffness sensing, and atomic force microscopy (AFM), among other applications. In all these methods, it is essential to accurately detect shifts in the natural frequency of the resonator caused by an external force from a measured object or sample. Experimental approaches based on self-excited oscillation enable the detection of these shifts even when the resonator is immersed in a high-viscosity environment. In the present study, we experimentally and theoretically investigate the nonlinear characteristics of a microcantilever resonator and their control by nonlinear feedback. We show that the steady-state response amplitude and the corresponding response frequency can be controlled by cubic nonlinear velocity feedback and cubic nonlinear displacement feedback, respectively. Furthermore, the amplitude and frequency of the steady-state self-excited oscillation can be controlled separately. These results will expand application of measurement methods that use self-excited resonators.

Effect of external sound superimposed on the self-excited oscillation in loop-tube thermoacoustic system

The influence of application of external sound to loop-tube type thermoacoustic system on the energy conversion efficiency is experimentally examined. The investigation is carried out by paying attention on the effect of loudspeaker (SP) set as external sound source. As a result, it is found that the setting of SP affects the sound field in the system and the amount of energy generation increases or decreases. The increasing or decreasing effect differs depending on the setting position of SP. Furthermore, it is confirmed that, provided SP is set near the node of particle velocity, the sound energy can be increased by more than the input power to SP, without changing the sound field in the tube. From these results it can be confirmed that, similar to straight-tube type thermoacoustic system, the energy conversion efficiency can be enhanced by setting SP at suitable position even in loop-tube type without end surfaces.

Experimental Study on the Impingement Characteristics of Self-Excited Oscillation Supercritical CO2 Jets Produced by Organ-Pipe Nozzles

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SCO2) jets are a promising method to assist drilling, enhance oil–gas production, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. To further improve the drilling efficiency of SCO2 jet-assisted drilling, organ-pipe nozzles were applied to generate a self-excited oscillation SCO2 jet (SEOSJ). The impact pressure oscillation and rock erosion capability of SEOSJs under both supercritical and gaseous CO2 (GCO2) ambient conditions were experimentally investigated. It was found that the impact pressure oscillation characteristics of SEOSJs produced by organ-pipe nozzles are dramatically affected by the oscillation chamber length. The optimum range of the dimensionless chamber length to generate the highest impact pressure peak and the strongest pressure oscillation is within 7–9. The dimensionless pressure peak and the pressure ratio decreases gradually with increasing pressure difference, whereas the pressure oscillation intensity increases with increasing pressure difference and the increasing rate decreases gradually. The dominant frequency was observed to decrease monotonically with increasing chamber length but increases with the increase of pressure difference. Moreover, the comparison of impingement characteristics of SEOSJs under different ambient conditions showed that the values of dimensionless peak impact pressure are similar under the two ambient conditions, and the SEOSJ achieves higher pressure oscillation intensity and dominant frequency in SCO2 at the same pressure difference. The rock breaking ability of the SEOSJ is closely related to its axial impact pressure. The erosion depth and mass loss of sandstone caused by the organ-pipe nozzle with the best impact pressure performance is higher than those produced by other nozzles. The SEOSJ results in a deeper and narrower crater in SCO2 than in GCO2 under the same pressure difference. The reported results provide guidance for SEOSJ applications and the design of an organ-pipe nozzle used for jet-assisted drilling.