Coexisting fast–slow dendritic traveling waves in a 3D-array electric field coupled neuronal network

Coexistence of fast and slow traveling waves without synaptic transmission has been found in hhhippocampal tissues,which is closely related to both normal brain activity and abnormal neural activity such as epileptic discharge. However, the propagation mechanism behind this coexistence phenomenon remains unclear. In this paper, a three-dimensional electric field coupled hippocampal neural network is established to investigate generation of coexisting spontaneous fast and slow traveling waves. This model captures two types of dendritic traveling waves propagating in both transverse and longitude directions: the N-methyl-D-aspartate(NMDA)-dependent wave with a speed of about 0.1 m/s and the Ca-dependent wave with a speed of about 0.009 m/s. These traveling waves are synaptic-independent and could be conducted only by the electric fields generated by neighboring neurons, which are basically consistent with the in vitro data measured experiments. It is also found that the slow Ca wave could trigger generation of fast NMDA waves in the propagation path of slow waves whereas fast NMDA waves cannot affect the propagation of slow Ca waves. These results suggest that dendritic Ca waves could acted as the source of the coexistence fast and slow waves. Furthermore, we also confirm the impact of cellular spacing heterogeneity on the onset of coexisting fast and slow waves. The local region with decreasing distances among neighbor neurons is more liable to promote the onset of spontaneous slow waves which, as sources, excite propagation of fast waves. These modeling studies provide possible biophysical mechanisms underlying the neural dynamics of spontaneous traveling waves in brain tissues.

Effect of applied electric fields on supralinear dendritic integration of interneuron

Evidences show that electric fields(EFs)induced by the magnetic stimulation could modulates brain activities by regulating the excitability of GABAergic interneuron.However,it is still unclear how and why the EF-induced polarization affects the interneuron response as the interneuron receives NMDA synaptic inputs.Considering the key role of NMDA receptor-mediated supralinear dendritic integration in neuronal computations,we suppose that the applied EFs could functionally modulate interneurons’response via regulating dendritic integration.At first,we build a simplified multi-dendritic circuit model with inhomogeneous extracellular potentials,which characterizes the relationship among EF-induced spatial polarizations,dendritic integration,and somatic output.By performing model-based singular perturbation analysis,it is found that the equilibrium point of fast subsystem can be used to asymptotically depict the subthreshold input–output(sI/O)relationship of dendritic integration.It predicted that EF-induced strong depolarizations on the distal dendrites reduce the dendritic saturation output by reducing driving force of synaptic input,and it shifts the steep change of sI/O curve left by reducing stimulation threshold of triggering NMDA spike.Also,the EF modulation prefers the global dendritic integration with asymmetric scatter distribution of NMDA synapses.Furthermore,we identify the respective contribution of EF-regulated dendritic integration and EF-induced somatic polarization to an action potential generation and find that they have an antagonistic effect on AP generation due to the varied NMDA spike threshold under EF stimulation.

Phase-field lattice-Boltzmann study on fully coupled thermal-solute-convection dendrite growth of Al-Cu alloy

Dendrite growth is a complex liquid-solid phase transition process involving multiple physical factors.A phase-field lattice-Boltzmann method was developed to simulate the two-and three-dimension dendrite growth of Al-Cu alloy.The effect of fully coupled thermal-solute-convection interaction on the dendrite growth was investigated by incorporating a parallel-adaptive mesh refinement algorithm into the numerical model.By accurately reproducing the latent heat release,solute diffusion and convective transport behaviors at the liquidsolid interface,the interaction mechanism among thermal-solute-convection transport as well as their coupling effects on the dendrite growth dynamics were discussed.The simulation results show that the release of latent heat slows down the dendrite growth rate,and both natural and forced convection disrupt the symmetrical growth of dendrites.Their combination makes the growth of dendrites more complex,capturing important physical aspects such as recalescence,dendrite tip splitting,dendrite tilting,dendrite remelting,and solute plume in the simulation case.Based on the robustness and powerful ability of the numerical model,the formation mechanisms of these physical aspects were revealed.

Phase field simulation of the columnar dendritic growth and microsegregation in a binary alloy

This paper applies a phase field model for polycrystalline solidification in binary alloys to simulate the formation and growth of the columnar dendritic array under the isothermal and constant cooling conditions. The solidification process and microsegregation in the mushy zone are analysed in detail. It is shown that under the isothermal condition solidification will stop after the formation of the mushy zone, but dendritic coarsening will progress continuously, which results in the decrease of the total interface area. Under the constant cooling condition the mushy zone will solidify and coarsen simultaneously. For the constant cooling solidification, microsegregation predicted by a modified Brody- Flemings model is compared with the simulation results. It is found that the Fourier number which characterizes microsegregation is different for regions with different microstructures. Dendritic coarsening and the larger area of interface should account for the enhanced Fourier number in the region with well developed second dendritic arms.

Phase field modeling of dendritic coarsening during isothermal solidification

Dendritic coarsening in AI-2mol%Si alloy during isothermal solidification at 880K was investigated by phase field modeling. Three coarsening mechanisms operate in the alloy： （a） melting of small dendrite arms; （b） coalescence of dendrites near the tips leading to the entrapment of liquid droplets; （c） smoothing of dendrites. Dendrite melting is found to be dominant in the stage of dendritic growth, whereas coalescence of dendrites and smoothing of dendrites are dominant during isothermal holding. The simulated results provide a better understanding of dendrite coarsening during isothermal solidification.

Phase-field simulation of dendritic growth for binary alloys with complicate solution models

A phase-field method for simulation of dendritic growth in binary alloys with complicate solution models was studied. The free energy densities of solid and liquid used to construct the free energy of a solidification system in the phase-field model were derived from the Calphad thermodynamic modeling of phase diagram. The dendritic growth of Ti-Al alloy with a quasi-sub regular solution model was simulated in both an isothermal and a non-isothermal regime. In the isothermal one, different initial solute compositions and melt temperatures were chosen. And in the non-isothermal one, release of latent heat during solidification was considered. Realistic growth patterns of dendrite are derived. Both the initial compositions and melt temperatures affect isothermal dendritic morphology and solute distributions much, especially the latter. Release of latent heat will cause a less developed structure of dendrite and a lower interfacial composition.

Phase-field simulation of dendritic growth in a binary alloy with thermodynamics data

This paper simulates the dendrite growth process during non-isothermal solidification in the Al-Cu binary alloy by using the phase-field model. The heat transfer equation is solved simultaneously. The thermodynamic and kinetic parameters are directly obtained from existing database by using the Calculation of Phase Diagram （CALPHAD） method. The effects of the latent heat and undercooling on the dendrite growth, solute and temperature profile during the solidification of binary alloy are investigated. The results indicate that the dendrite growing morphologies could be simulated realistically by linking the phase-field method to CALPHAD. The secondary arms of solidification dendritic are better developed with the increase of undercooling. Correspondingly, the tip speed and the solute segregation in solid-liquid interface increase, but the tip radius decreases.

Numerical Simulation of Two-Dimensional Dendritic Growth Using Phase-Field Model

In this article, we study the phase-field model of solidification for numerical simulation of dendritic crystal growth that occurs during the casting of metals and alloys. Phase-field model of solidification describes the physics of dendritic growth in any material during the process of under cooling. The numerical procedure in this work is based on finite difference scheme for space and the 4th-order Runge-Kutta method for time discretization. The effect of each physical parameter on the shape and growth of dendritic crystal is studied and visualized in detail.

Effect of traveling-wave magnetic field on dendrite growth of high-strength steel slab: Industrial trials and numerical simulation

The dendrite growth behavior of high-strength steel during slab continuous casting with a traveling-wave magnetic field was studied in this paper. The morphology of the solidification structure and composition distribution were analyzed. Results showed that the columnar crystals could deflect and break when the traveling-wave magnetic field had low current intensity. With the increase in current intensity, the secondary dendrite arm spacing and solute permeability decreased, and the columnar crystal transformed into an equiaxed crystal. The electromagnetic force caused by the traveling-wave magnetic field changed the temperature gradient and velocity magnitude and promoted the breaking and fusing of dendrites. Dendrite compactness and composition uniformity were arranged in descending order as follows:columnar-toequiaxed transition (high current intensity), columnar crystal zone (low current intensity), columnar-to-equiaxed transition (low current intensity), and equiaxed crystal zone (high current intensity). Verified numerical simulation results combined with the boundary layer theory of solidification front and dendrite breaking–fusing model revealed the dendrite deflection mechanism and growth process. When thermal stress is not considered, and no narrow segment can be found in the dendrite, the velocity magnitude on the solidification front of liquid steel can reach up to 0.041 m/s before the dendrites break.

Differential interformational velocity analysis as an effective direct hydrocarbon indicator under velocity reversal conditions,an example from the anomalously high temperature and over-pressured DF1-1 Gas Field in the Yinggehai Basin,South China Sea

In the DF1-1 Gas Field in the Yinggehai Basin, South China Sea, the velocity-depth plot and velocity spectra show significant variations from a linear trend, exhibiting a distinct reversal phenomenon. Velocity parameters derived from velocity spectral analysis of the seismic data and sonic logs indicate that the interval velocity reverses below 2,100 m (2.2 s two-way time (TWT)) in the DF1-1 Gas Field. Some direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs) models developed for the shallow strata cannot be simply applied to the moderately to deeply buried strata for direct exploration target recognition because the velocity reversal has caused the middle-deep gas reservoirs to exhibit a moderate or weak seismic amplitude. The hydrocarbon indicator method of “Differential Interformational Velocity Analysis (DIVA)” with the aid of other hydrocarbon indicating techniques was employed to effectively identify DHIs in the middle-deep strata under velocity inversion. The result has shown that the DIVA technique can be effectively used as a DHI in both the shallow and the middle-deep strata in the study area with the shallow strata characterized by Type I DIVA anomaly and the middle-deep strata characterized by the Type II DIVA anomaly.

Phase-field simulation of dendritic sidebranching induced by thermal noise

The influence of undercooling and noise magnitude on dendritic sidebranching during crystal growth was investigated by simulation of a phase-field model which incorporates thermal noise. It is shown that, the sidebranching is not influenced with inclusion of the nonconserved noise, therefore, in order to save the computational costs it is often neglected; while conserved noise drives the morphological instability and is dominant origin of sidebranching. The dependence of temperature field on magnitude of thermal noise is apparent, when F_u gets an appropriate value, noise can induce sidebranching but not influence the dendritic tip operating state. In the small undercooled melt, the thermal diffusion layer collected around the dendrite is thick, which suppresses the growth of its sidebranching and makes the dendrite take on the morphology of no sidebranching, but when the undercooling is great, the thermal diffusion layer is thin, which is advantageous to the growth of the sidebranching and the dendrite presents the morphology of the developed sidebranching.

Effects of direct current electric field on corrosion behaviour of copper, Cl- ion migration behaviour and dendrites growth under thin electrolyte layer

Effect of direct current electric field （DCEF） on corrosion behaviour of copper printed circuit board （PCB-Cu）, Cl-ion migration behaviour, dendrites growth under thin electrolyte layer was investigated using potentiodynamic polarization and scanning electron microscopy （SEM） with energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）. Results indicate that DCEF decreases the corrosion of PCB-Cu;Cl-ions directionally migrate from the negative pole to the positive pole, and enrich on the surface of the positive pole, which causes serious localized corrosion; dendrites grow on the surface of the negative pole, and the rate and scale of dendrite growth become faster and greater with the increase of external voltage and exposure time, respectively.

Phase field model for strong interfacial energy anisotropy of HCP materials

Based on the Karma model and the Eggleston regularization technique of the strong interfacial energy anisotropy, a phase-field model was established for HCP materials. An explicit finite difference numerical method was used to solve phase field model and simulate the dendrite growth behaviors of HCP materials. Results indicate that the dendrite morphology presents obvious six-fold symmetry, and discontinuity in the variation of interface orientation occurs, resulting in a fact that the corners were formed at the tips of the main stem and side branches. When the interfacial energy anisotropy strength is lower than the critical value（1/35）, the steady-state tip velocity of dendrite increases with anisotropy as expected. As the anisotropy strength crosses the critical value, the steady-state tip velocity drops down by about 0.89%. With further increase in anisotropy strength, the steady-state tip velocity increases and reaches the maximum value at anisotropy strength of 0.04, then decreases.

非稳腔DF激光窗口热效应及其对远场光斑的影响

以非稳腔ＤＦ激光器ＣａＦ＿２输出窗口为例计算了不同输出功率情况下，窗口材料的温升、相应的波前位相变化以及有扩束系统和无扩束系统两种情况下，远场光斑所受的影响，给出了数值计算结果。

Directional growth behavior of a(Al) dendrites during concentration-gradientcontrolled solidification process in static magnetic field

The large and small sized Cu（solid）/Al（liquid） couples were prepared to investigate the directional growth behavior of primary a（Al） phase during a concentration-gradient-controlled solidification process under various static magnetic fields（SMFs）.The results show that in the large couples,the α（Al） dendrites reveal a directional growth character whether without or with the SMF.However,the 12 T magnetic field induces regular growth,consistent deflection and the decrease of secondary arm spacing of the dendrites.In the small couples,the α（Al） dendrites still reveal a directional growth character to some extent with a SMF of ≤5 T.However,an 8.8 T SMF destroys the directional growth and induces severe random deflections of the dendrites.When the SMF increases to 12 T,the a（Al） dendrites become quite regular despite of the consistent deflection.The directional growth arises from the continuous long-range concentration gradient field built in the melt.The morphological modification is mainly related to the suppression of natural convections and the induction of thermoelectric magnetic convection by the SMF.

基于相场方法的铀枝晶生长电化学-流场耦合研究

铀枝晶生长是导致乏燃料后处理电解精炼装置发生意外短路的潜在威胁因素,同时会使铀产物夹杂大量熔盐,影响产物纯度。为了更好地理解铀枝晶生长的微观机理,掌握阴极沉积形貌的控制方法,基于相场方法建立了铀在阴极的电沉积模型,研究了铀枝晶的底部沉积宽度、主枝晶干高度和总沉积面积等形貌参数对流场速度变化的依赖规律。发现外加流场的引入会使铀枝晶的底部沉积宽度降低37.18%,主枝晶干高度降低30.5%,总沉积面积降低49.3%。说明外加流场可以抑制铀枝晶生长,改善铀沉积形貌,但同时也会使破碎的枝晶须重新溶解到熔盐体系中,降低铀电解精炼效率。另外,通过对流场与电解电压、初始浓度等沉积条件耦合影响下铀枝晶形貌特征相图的分析可知,在实际电解精炼过程中,应在保证电解精炼效率的基础上尽量选择高初始浓度和高电解电压的沉积条件,同时设置合理的流场速度以获得理想的铀枝晶沉积形貌。

定制电解液或隔膜实现锂离子各向异性输运从而抑制枝晶生长:相场模拟研究

电池内部不可控的枝晶生长问题严重地影响着电池的循环性能和安全性能,这对于锂金属电池的实际应用是一个严峻的挑战。尽管已有较多的实验和理论研究工作聚焦于电极间锂离子各向异性输运特性对枝晶形貌的影响,但仍有一些开放性的问题有待进一步研究,例如,如何将枝晶生长的动态演变与电解液性质、电势分布或隔膜多孔结构诱导的锂离子各向异性输运关联起来。我们通过将锂离子在电解液中的扩散系数(D_(L))表示为二阶张量的形式并进行相场模拟,发现D_(yy):D_(xx)比值的增加,以及电势诱导的电极/电解液界面锂离子快速扩散层均可以降低界面处锂离子浓度梯度和电势梯度,从而减弱枝晶生长的驱动力。我们还发现隔膜基体与y方向之间夹角的增大也会显著促进电解质中的锂离子各向异性输运特性,以利于抑制枝晶生长。籍此本文提出设计D_(yy):D_(xx)=10:1的电解液和基体倾斜角为arctan(0.5)的隔膜用于锂金属电池。该相场研究有望为设计具有抑制枝晶能力的电解质或隔膜提供指导。

镍基高温合金SLM过程中熔池内的微观结构演变数值模拟

采用有限元耦合相场的方法研究IN718高温合金在激光选区熔化过程中熔池内的竞争性生长和晶粒/枝晶结构的演变。通过有限元解决热演化问题,然后将结果输入相场模型,相场模拟涉及晶粒成核、晶粒外延生长和晶粒竞争的微观结构演变。基于对熔池横向和纵向截面微观结构演变的分析,讨论SLM过程中枝晶竞争性生长的机制,并量化计算熔池中溶质元素Nb的浓度分布。结果表明,枝晶竞争性生长受温度梯度和晶体学取向的影响,具有高错配角(>22.5°)的不利取向晶粒将很快被有利取向晶粒淘汰。

Phase field method simulation of faceted dendrite growth with arbitrary symmetries

A numerical simulation based on a regularized phase field model is developed to describe faceted dendrite growth morphology. The effects of mesh grid, anisotropy, supersaturation and fold symmetry on dendrite growth morphology were investigated, respectively. These results indicate that the nucleus grows into a hexagonal symmetry faceted dendrite. When the mesh grid is above 640×640, the size has no much effect on the shape. With the increase in the anisotropy value, the tip velocities of faceted dendrite increase and reach a balance value, and then decrease gradually. With the increase in the supersaturation value, crystal evolves from circle to the developed faceted dendrite morphology. Based on the Wulff theory and faceted symmetry morphology diagram, the proposed model was proved to be effective, and it can be generalized to arbitrary crystal symmetries.

机器学习辅助相场模拟预测锂离子输运参数对电池枝晶最大生长高度和空间利用率的影响

在锂基电池反复充放电的过程中,锂离子在负极表面的不均匀沉积会导致不可控的枝晶生长,进而严重影响电池的安全性能。相场模拟方法是描述和预测枝晶生长的有力手段,然而求解描述场变量演化的偏微分方程组对计算资源的要求较高。机器学习因能快速拟合历史数据中的潜在规律以实现材料性能的预测,已被广泛用于电池材料性能预测与筛选、电池健康状况评估等方面。本文以锂离子输运参数对电池枝晶形貌的影响为例,通过相场模拟收集不同锂离子扩散系数与离子电导率对应的枝晶图像,基于这些数据训练机器学习模型,进而预测给定离子输运参数所对应的枝晶描述因子(枝晶最大生长高度和空间利用率)。结果表明K-最邻近(K-nearest neighbors)模型可以较为精准地刻画离子输运参数与两种枝晶描述因子之间的联系(R^(2)为0.995和0.992),同时机器学习模型对锂离子输运参数与枝晶描述因子间构效关系的挖掘方式及枝晶描述因子的区间范围都会影响预测结果的准确性。本文能够有效降低计算成本,有助于指导高效地设计具有枝晶抑制性能的电池材料体系。