Time-Harmonic Solutions for Maxwell’s Equations in Anisotropic Media and Bochner–Riesz Estimates with Negative Index for Non-elliptic Surfaces

We solve time-harmonic Maxwell’s equations in anisotropic, spatially homogeneous media in intersections of $$L^p$$ L p -spaces. The material laws are time-independent. The analysis requires Fourier restriction–extension estimates for perturbations of Fresnel’s wave surface. This surface can be decomposed into finitely many components of the following three types: smooth surfaces with non-vanishing Gaussian curvature, smooth surfaces with Gaussian curvature vanishing along one-dimensional submanifolds but without flat points, and surfaces with conical singularities. Our estimates are based on new Bochner–Riesz estimates with negative index for non-elliptic surfaces.

Ultrasmooth Organic Films Via Efficient Aggregation Suppression by a Low-Vacuum Physical Vapor Deposition

Organic thin films with smooth surfaces are mandated for high-performance organic electronic devices. Abrupt nucleation and aggregation during film formation are two main factors that forbid smooth surfaces. Here, we report a simple fast cooling (FC) adapted physical vapor deposition (FCPVD) method to produce ultrasmooth organic thin films through effectively suppressing the aggregation of adsorbed molecules. We have found that thermal energy control is essential for the spread of molecules on a substrate by diffusion and it prohibits the unwanted nucleation of adsorbed molecules. FCPVD is employed for cooling the horizontal tube-type organic vapor deposition setup to effectively remove thermal energy applied to adsorbed molecules on a substrate. The organic thin films prepared using the FCPVD method have remarkably ultrasmooth surfaces with less than 0.4 nm root mean square (RMS) roughness on various substrates, even in a low vacuum, which is highly comparable to the ones prepared using conventional high-vacuum deposition methods. Our results provide a deeper understanding of the role of thermal energy employed to substrates during organic film growth using the PVD process and pave the way for cost-effective and high-performance organic devices.

Aerodynamic Shape Optimization Method of Non-Smooth Surfaces for Aerodynamic Drag Reduction on a Minivan

To reduce aerodynamic drag of a minivan, non-smooth surfaces are applied to the minivan’s roof panel design. A steady computational fluid dynamics (CFD) method is used to investigate the aerodynamic drag characteristics. The accuracy of the numerical method is validated by wind tunnel test. The drag reduction effects of rectangle, rhombus and arithmetic progression arrangement for circular concaves are investigated numerically, and then the aerodynamic drag coefficient of the rectangle arrangement with a better drag reduction effect is chosen as the optimization objective. Three parameters, that is, the diameter D of the circular concave, the width W and the longitudinal distance L among the circular concaves, are selected as design variables. A 20-level design of an experimental study using a Latin Hypercube scheme is conducted. The responses of 20 groups of sample points are obtained by CFD simulation, based on which a Kriging model is chosen to create the surrogate-model. The multi-island genetic algorithm is employed to find the optimum solution. The result shows that maximum drag reduction effects up to 7.71% can be achieved with a rectangle circular concaves arrangement. The reduction mechanism of the roof with the circular concaves was discussed. The circular concaves decrease friction resistance of the roof and change the flow characteristics of the recirculation area in the wake of the minivan. The roof with the circular concaves reduces the differential pressure drag of the front and rear of the minivan.

Wetting of the tarsal adhesive fluid determines underwater adhesion in ladybug beetles

Many insects can climb smooth surfaces using hairy adhesive pads on their legs mediated by tarsal fluid secretions. It was previously shown that a terrestrial beetle can even adhere and walk underwater. The naturally hydrophobic hairs trap an air bubble around the pads, allowing the hairs to make contact to the substrate like in air. However, it remained unclear to what extent such an air bubble is necessary for underwater adhesion. To investigate the role of the bubble, we measured the adhesive forces inindividual legs of live but constrained ladybug beetles underwater in the presence and absence of a trapped bubble and compared it with its adhesion in air. Our experiments revealed that on a hydrophobic substrate, even without a bubble, the pads show adhesion comparable to that in air. On a hydrophilic substrate, underwater adhesion is significantly reduced, with or without a trapped bubble. We modelled the adhesion of a hairy pad using capillary forces. Coherent with our experiments, the model demonstrates that the wetting properties of the tarsal fluid alone can determine the ladybugs’ adhesion to smooth surfaces in both air and underwater conditions and that an air bubble is not a prerequisite for their underwater adhesion. The study highlights how such a mediating fluid can serve as a potential strategy to achieve underwater adhesion via capillary forces, which could inspire artificial adhesives for underwater applications.