Improvement of laser damage thresholds of fused silica by ultrasonic-assisted hydrofluoric acid etching

Polished fused silica samples were etched for different durations by using hydrofluoric（HF） acid solution with HF concentrations in an ultrasonic field. Surface and subsurface polishing residues and molecular structure parameters before and after the etching process were characterized by using a fluorescence microscope and infrared（IR） spectrometer, respectively. The laser induced damage thresholds（LIDTs） of the samples were measured by using pulsed nanosecond laser with wavelength of 355 nm. The results showed that surface and subsurface polishing residues can be effectively reduced by the acid etching process, and the LIDTs of fused silica are significantly improved. The etching effects increased with the increase of the HF concentration from 5 wt.% to 40 wt.%. The amount of polishing residues decreased with the increase of the etching duration and then kept stable. Simultaneously, with the increase of the etching time, the mechanical strength and molecular structure were improved.

Experimental damage thresholds of a laser suppression imaging system using a cubic phase plate

The development of laser systems leads to an increasing threat to photoelectric imaging sensors.A cubic phase plate wavefront coding imaging system is proposed to reduce the risk of damage owing to intense laser radiation.Based on the wavefront coding imaging model,the diffracted spot profile and the light intensity distribution on the observation plane are simulated.An experimental device is set up to measure the laser-induced damage thresholds and investigate the morphology of laser-induced damage patterns of the conventional and the wavefront encoding imaging system.Simulations and experimental results manifest the superior laser suppression performance of the proposed method,which can help diminish the undesirable effects of laser irradiation on an imaging sensor.

Laser-induced damage thresholds of ultrathin targets and their constraint on laser contrast in laser-driven ion acceleration experiments

Single-shot laser-induced damage threshold(LIDT)measurements of multi-type free-standing ultrathin foils were performed in a vacuum environment for 800 nm laser pulses with durationsτranging from 50 fs to 200 ps.The results show that the laser damage threshold fluences(DTFs)of the ultrathin foils are significantly lower than those of corresponding bulk materials.Wide band gap dielectric targets such as SiN and formvar have larger DTFs than semiconductive and conductive targets by 1–3 orders of magnitude depending on the pulse duration.The damage mechanisms for different types of targets are studied.Based on the measurement,the constrain of the LIDTs on the laser contrast is discussed.

3D random Voronoi grain-based models for simulation of brittle rock damage and fabric-guided micro-fracturing

A grain-based distinct element model featuring three-dimensional （3D） Voronoi tessellations （randompoly-crystals） is proposed for simulation of crack damage development in brittle rocks. The grainboundaries in poly-crystal structure produced by Voronoi tessellations can represent flaws in intact rockand allow for numerical replication of crack damage progression through initiation and propagation ofmicro-fractures along grain boundaries. The Voronoi modelling scheme has been used widely in the pastfor brittle fracture simulation of rock materials. However the difficulty of generating 3D Voronoi modelshas limited its application to two-dimensional （2D） codes. The proposed approach is implemented inNeper, an open-source engine for generation of 3D Voronoi grains, to generate block geometry files thatcan be read directly into 3DEC. A series of Unconfined Compressive Strength （UCS） tests are simulated in3DEC to verify the proposed methodology for 3D simulation of brittle fractures and to investigate therelationship between each micro-parameter and the model＇s macro-response. The possibility of numericalreplication of the classical U-shape strength curve for anisotropic rocks is also investigated innumerical UCS tests by using complex-shaped （elongated） grains that are cemented to one another alongtheir adjoining sides. A micro-parameter calibration procedure is established for 3D Voronoi models foraccurate replication of the mechanical behaviour of isotropic and anisotropic （containing a fabric） rocks. 2014 Institute of Rock and Soil Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Production and hosting byElsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The influence of space environmental factors on the laser-induced damage thresholds in optical components

This paper systematically investigated the impact mechanisms of proton irradiation,atomic oxygen irradiation and space debris collision,both individually and in combination,on the laser damage threshold and damage evolution characteristics of HfO_(2)/SiO_(2) triple-band high-reflection films and fused silica substrates using a simulated near-Earth space radiation experimental system.For the high-reflection film samples,the damage thresholds decreased by 15.38%,13.12% and 46.80% after proton,atomic oxygen and simulated space debris(penetration) irradiation,respectively.The coupling irradiation of the first two factors resulted in a decrease of 26.93%,while the combined effect of all the three factors led to a reduction of 63.19%.Similarly,the fused silica substrates exhibited the same pattern of laser damage performance degradation.Notably,the study employed high-precision fixed-point in situ measurement techniques to track in detail the microstructural changes,surface roughness and optical-thermal absorption intensity before and after proton and atomic oxygen irradiation at the same location,thus providing a more accurate and comprehensive analysis of the damage mechanisms.In addition,simulations were conducted to quantitatively analyze the transmission trajectories and concentration distribution lines of protons and atomic oxygen incident at specific angles into the target material.The research findings contribute to elucidating the laser damage performance degradation mechanism of transmissive elements in near-Earth space environments and provide technical support for the development of high-damage-threshold optical components resistant to space radiation.

Thermal damage constitutive model for rock considering damage threshold and residual strength

With the gradual depletion of mineral resources in the shallow part of the earth,resource exploitation continues to move deeper into the earth,it becomes a hot topic to simulate the whole process of rock strain softening,deformation and failure in deep environment,especially under high temperature and high pressure.On the basis of Lemaitre’s strain-equivalent principle,combined with statistics and damage theory,a statistical constitutive model of rock thermal damage under triaxial compression condition is established.At the same time,taking into account the existing damage model is difficult to reflect residual strength after rock failure,the residual strength is considered in this paper by introducing correction factor of damage variable,the model rationality is also verified by experiments.Analysis of results indicates that the damage evolution curve reflects the whole process of rock micro-cracks enclosure,initiation,expansion,penetration,and the formation of macro-cracks under coupled effect of temperature and confining pressure.Rock thermal damage shows logistic growth function with the increase of temperature.Under the same strain condition,rock total damage decreases with the rise of confining pressure.By studying the electron microscope images(SEM)of rock fracture,it is inferred that 35.40 MPa is the critical confining pressure of brittle to plastic transition for this granite.The model parameter F reflects the average strength of rock,and M reflects the morphological characteristics of rock stress–strain curves.The physical meanings of model parameters are clear and the model is suitable for complex stress states,which provides valuable references for the study of rock deformation and stability in deep engineering.

Analysis of the damage threshold of the GaAs pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor induced by the electromagnetic pulse

An electromagnetic pulse（EMP）-induced damage model based on the internal damage mechanism of the Ga As pseudomorphic high electron mobility transistor（PHEMT） is established in this paper. With this model, the relationships among the damage power, damage energy, pulse width and signal amplitude are investigated. Simulation results show that the pulse width index from the damage power formula obtained here is higher than that from the empirical formula due to the hotspot transferring in the damage process of the device. It is observed that the damage energy is not a constant, which decreases with the signal amplitude increasing, and then changes little when the signal amplitude reaches up to a certain level.

Corneal damage effects induced by infrared optical parametric oscillator radiation at 3743 nm

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the corneal damage effects induced by mid-infrared optical parametric oscillator(OPO)radiation.Experiments were performed to determine the corneal damage thresholds of New Zealand white rabbit at the wavelength of 3743 nm for ex-posurédurations of 0.1 s,1.0 s and 10.0 s.Through slit-lamp biomicroscope and histopathology,corneal injury characteristics were revealed.The damage thresholds were 3.73 J/cm^(2),7.91 J/cm^(2)and 31.1 J/cm^(2),respectively,for exposure durations of 0.1 s,1.0 s and 10.0 s.The damage data was correlated by an empirical equation:Radiant exposure at the threshold=9.72×exposure duration,^(0.46)where the units of radiant exposure and exposure duration were J/cm^(2)and second.At near-threshold level,corneal injuries at 1 h post-exposure mainly involved the epithelium,and the epithelium damages repaired at 24-h post-exposure.There are sufficient safety margins be-tween the damage thresholds and the maximum permitted exposures from current international laser safety standard IEC 60825-1.

Two localized CO_2 laser treatment methods for mitigation of UV damage growth in fused silica

Two methods：high-power,short-time,single-shot irradiation（Method A） and low-power,long-time,multi-shot irradiation（Method B） are investigated to mitigate the UV damage growth in fused silica by using a 10.6-μm CO2 laser.To verify the mitigation effect of the two methods,the laser induced damage thresholds（LIDTs） of the mitigated sites are tested with a 355-nm,6.4-ns Nd：YAG laser,and the light modulation of the mitigation sites are tested with a 351-nm continuous Nd：YLF laser.The mitigated damaged sites treated with the two methods have almost the same LIDTs,which can recover to the level of pristine material.Compared with Method A,Method B produces mitigated sites with low crater depth and weak light modulation.In addition,there is no raised rim or re-deposited debris formed around the crater edge for Method B.Theoretical calculation is utilized to evaluate the central temperature of the CO2 laser beam irradiated zone and the radius of the crater.It is indicated that the calculated results are consistent with the experimental results.

Experimental verification of bridge seismic damage states quantified by calibrating analytical models with empirical field data

Bridges are one of the most vulnerable components of a highway transportation network system subjected to earthquake ground motions. Prediction of resilience and sustainability of bridge performance in a probabilistic manner provides valuable information for pre-event system upgrading and post-event functional recovery of the network. The current study integrates bridge seismic damageability information obtained through empirical, analytical and experimental procedures and quantifies threshold limits of bridge damage states consistent with the physical damage description given in HAZUS. Experimental data from a large-scale shaking table test are utilized for this purpose. This experiment was conducted at the University of Nevada, Reno, where a research team from the University of California, Irvine, participated. Observed experimental damage data are processed to identify and quantify bridge damage states in terms of rotational ductility at bridge column ends. In parallel, a mechanistic model for fragility curves is developed in such a way that the model can be calibrated against empirical fragility curves that have been constructed from damage data obtained during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. This calibration quantifies threshold values of bridge damage states and makes the analytical study consistent with damage data observed in past earthquakes. The mechanistic model is transportable and applicable to most types and sizes of bridges. Finally, calibrated damage state definitions are compared with that obtained using experimental findings. Comparison shows excellent consistency among results from analytical, empirical and experimental observations.

Mechanism of micro-waviness induced KH_2PO_4 crystal laser damage and the corresponding vibration source

The low laser induced damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal seriously restricts the output power of inertial confinement fusion.The micro-waviness on the KH2PO4 surface processed by single point diamond turning has a significant influence on the damage threshold.In this paper,the influence of micro-waviness on the damage threshold of the KH2PO4 crystal and the chief sources introducing the micro-waviness are analysed based on the combination of the Fourier modal theory and the power spectrum density method.Research results indicate that among the sub-wavinesses with different characteristic spatial frequencies there exists the most dangerous frequency which greatly reduces the damage threshold,although it may not occupy the largest proportion in the original surface.The experimental damage threshold is basically consistent with the theoretical calculation.For the processing parameters used,the leading frequency of micro-waviness which causes the damage threshold to decrease is between 350-1 μm-1 and 30-1 μm-1,especially between 90-1 μm-1 and 200-1 μm-1.Based on the classification study of the time frequencies of microwaviness,we find that the axial vibration of the spindle is the chief source introducing the micro-waviness,nearly all the leading frequencies are related to the practical spindle frequency（about 6.68 Hz,400 r/min） and a special middle frequency（between 1.029 Hz and 1.143 Hz）.

A Monte Carlo Simulation of Radiation Damage of SiC and Nb Using JA-IPU Code

MC （Monte Carlo） simulation code, JA-IPU is used to study radiation damage of SiC irradiated to spallation neutron and AmBe neutron spectra. The code is based on the major physical processes of radiation damage on incorporation of atomic collision cascade and limited to 10 MeV neutron energy. A phenomenological relation for radiation swelling is also derived. Based on the calculation of swelling, DPA （displacement per atom）, defect production efficiency and effective threshold energy, Efff from the data of MC simulation, SiC is inferred to be a highly radiation resistant material when compared with Nb and Ni metals which are used in composition of several reactor steels. Experimental results of hill-hock density measured using AFM （atomic force microscopy）, also confirm radiation resistant behavior of SiC.

Damage Mechanics of Ferrite Ductile Iron under Uniaxial Stress

According to the principle of damage mechanics,the damage characteristics of ferrite nodular cast iron under uniaxial stress were studied by measuring electric resistance. The results show that the damage in nodular cast iron occurs when the applied stress is more than a certain extent,and the damage variable increases with stress. The evolutional law of damage variable as a function of stress was obtained.The damage threshold of nodular cast iron increases with nodularity,but it is below the yield strength,which provides reference significance to the design of machinery structure and the choice of materials.The critical damage variable is not related to the nodularity,which is about 0. 060-0. 068.

Preparation and laser induced damage properties of rare earth doped BAS glass

Rare earth doped B2O3-Al2O3-SiO2 glass （RExBAS, x=5, 10, 20; RE=La, Sm） were prepared by solid state reaction method. Optical transmission spectra of such glass were characterized by ultraviolet spectrometers, and 1064 nm laser induced damage performance was investigated through the method of ＂1-on-1＂. The results indicated that there was a strong absorptive peak near 1064 nm in SmxBAS glass, the peak was enhanced with increasing x. While LaxBAS glass was transparent to 1064 nm laser, at the same time, the results of laser induced damage showed that the anti-laser induced damage performance of such glass was strengthened with the addition of rare earth oxide. Furthermore, the laser induced damage threshold （LIDT） of SmxBAS glass was significantly higher than that of LaxBAS glass. Consequently, Sm^3＋ doping was favor in the improvement of anti-laser induced damage performance for BAS glass.

Damage and economical threshold of yellow stem borer (Tryporyza incertulas) on rice

Systematic measurements to damage and yieldloss due to yellow stem borer (YSB) weremade in the single crop and double crop areasof Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou cities,northern Zhejiang Province in 1987-1994. YSBeggmasses were released on rice plants at 0,1, 3, 6, 9, 12 eggmasses per plot (equal to0, 495, 1 500, 3 000, 4 500, and 6 000eggmasses per hectare) from tillering to head-ing. The plot size was 20 m~2. There were 3replications randomly lined. The results in 6locations during 4-6 years of 1987-1994showed that the grain losses caused by eacheggmass at tillering stage was 59.11±2.99 g,elongating 63.18±1.51 g, and heading 74.58

Application of thermal stress model to paint removal by Q-switched Nd:YAG laser

In this paper, we demonstrate that thermal stress is the main mechanism in the process of paint removal by Q-switched Nd：YAG laser （λ = 1064 nm, τ = 10 ns）. A theoretical model ofpaint removal by short-pulse laser is established from the perspective of thermal stress. Thermal stress is generated by thermal expansion, and the temperatures of different samples are calculated according to the one-dimensional （1D） heat conduction equation. The theoretical cleaning threshold can be obtained by comparing thermal stress with the adhesion of paint, and the theoretical damage threshold is obtained by calculating the temperature. Moreover, the theoretical calculations are verified by experimental results. It is shown that the thermal stress model of the laser cleaning is very useful to choose the appropriate laser fluence in the practical applications of paint removal by Q-switched Nd： YAG laser because our model can validly balance the efficiency of laser cleaning and the safety of the substrate.

Effect of Mineral on Metallurgical Coke Solution Loss Reaction in Blast Furnace

According to the principle of damage mechanics, the damage characteristics of ferrite nodular cast iron under uniaxial stress were studied by measuring electric resistance. The results show that the damage in nodular cast iron occurs when the applied stress is more than a certain extent, and the damage variable increases with stress. The evolutional law of damage variable as a function of stress was obtained. The damage threshold of nodular cast iron increases with nodularity, but it is below the yield strength, which provides reference significance to the design of machinery structure and the choice of materials. The critical damage variable is not related to the nodularity, which is about 0 060-0 068.

Analysis of the spatial filter of a dielectric multilayer film reflective cutoff filter-combination device

The experiment setup of a reflecting combination device, which has more advantages than a transmitting combination device, is designed in this study. To achieve angular spectrum selectivity, only one type of reflective component is needed,so difficulties of design and preparation are reduced. A dielectric multilayer film is applied to the reflective component, and the long wave-pass coating stacks of the structure are designed. To achieve high stopband transmittance and reduce electric field intensity at a wavelength of 1053 nm, an objective function is proposed for designing an optimized coating. The final optimized coating has good spectral characteristics and a high laser-induced damage threshold. A dielectric multilayer film with high reflectance plays an important role in preparing and applying a dielectric multilayer film reflecting cutoff filter-combination device.

Structure realization method for collapse threshold of plastic deformation in train collision condition

To protect passengers, absorb enough kinetic energy and meet the special requirements for trains which are different from the other means of transportation, a method is presented to realize the plastic deformation threshold based on three main aspects of train connection structure, crashworthy vehicle structure, energy-absorbing component. In practical engineering, trains need enough strength and stiffness to transfer longitudinal force under the normal operation condition, and have to produce controllable large plastic dcfbrmation to absorb energy shortly under the collision condition. To realize the structural damage threshold of connecting structure in terminal end, two control methods are also proposed which can be divided as the parametric method based on ＇extrusion＇ and ＇cutting＇ theories; the method which can cut the connecting components between coupler-buffer devices and train bodies and separate them away when the damage thresholds of coupler-buffer devices are more than the pre-supposed damage thresholds. The damage thresholds can be realized based on changing the parameters of the number of shearing bolts, material parameters, etc. To realize the collision threshold of energy-absorbing components of trains, a control method is presented based on the ways of setting plastic deformation induced structure, local hole and pre-deformation structure. To realize the threshold of the controllable plastic structure of energy-absorbing vehicles, a control method is proposed for the multi-level longitudinal stiffness of train terminal structures.

Experimental demonstration of narrow-band rugate minus filters using rapidly alternating deposition technology

The design,fabrication and performance of narrow-band rugate minus filters are investigated in this paper.A method of fabricating graded-index coatings by rapidly alternating deposition of low(Si O_(2))and high(Al_(2)O_(3))refractive index materials is presented to fabricate a rugate structure.The narrow-band rugate minus filter design and fabrication approaches are discussed in detail.The experimental results,including transmittance spectrum,surface damage test and damage morphology investigated with a scanning electron microscope,demonstrate the high performance of the as-fabricated spatial filter and confirm the feasibility of the fabrication method for narrow-band rugate minus filters.