Magnetorheological finishing of chemical-vapor deposited zinc sulfide via chemically and mechanically modified fluids.

We describe the anisotropy in the material removal rate (MRR) of the polycrystalline, chemical-vapor deposited zinc sulfide (ZnS). We define the polycrystalline anisotropy via microhardness and chemical erosion tests for four crystallographic orientations of ZnS: (100), (110), (111), and (311). Anisotropy in the MRR was studied under magnetorheological finishing (MRF) conditions. Three chemically and mechanically modified magnetorheological (MR) fluids at pH values of 4, 5, and 6 were used to test the MRR variations among the four single-crystal planes. When polishing the single-crystal planes and the polycrystalline with pH 5 and pH 6 MR fluids, variations were found in the MRR among the four single-crystal planes and surface artifacts were observed on the polycrystalline material. When polishing the single-crystal planes and the polycrystalline with the modified MR fluid at pH 4, however, minimal variation was observed in the MRR among the four orientations and a reduction in surface artifacts was achieved on the polycrystalline material.

Improving the performance of high-laser-damage-threshold, multilayer dielectric pulse-compression gratings through low-temperature chemical cleaning.

A low-temperature chemical cleaning approach has been developed to improve the performance of multilayer dielectric pulse-compressor gratings for use in the OMEGA EP laser system. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results guided the selection of targeted cleaning steps to strip specific families of manufacturing residues without damaging the grating's fragile 3D profile. Grating coupons that were cleaned using the optimized method consistently met OMEGA EP requirements on diffraction efficiency and 1054 nm laser-damage resistance at 10 ps. The disappearance of laser-conditioning effects for the highest-damage-threshold samples suggests a transition from a contamination-driven laser-damage mechanism to defect-driven damage for well-cleaned components.

Designing antibiotic cycling strategies by determining and understanding local adaptive landscapes.

The evolution of antibiotic resistance among bacteria threatens our continued ability to treat infectious diseases. The need for sustainable strategies to cure bacterial infections has never been greater. So far, all attempts to restore susceptibility after resistance has arisen have been unsuccessful, including restrictions on prescribing [1] and antibiotic cycling [2], [3]. Part of the problem may be that those efforts have implemented different classes of unrelated antibiotics, and relied on removal of resistance by random loss of resistance genes from bacterial populations (drift). Here, we show that alternating structurally similar antibiotics can restore susceptibility to antibiotics after resistance has evolved. We found that the resistance phenotypes conferred by variant alleles of the resistance gene encoding the TEM ß-lactamase (bla(TEM)) varied greatly among 15 different ß-lactam antibiotics. We captured those differences by characterizing complete adaptive landscapes for the resistance alleles bla(TEM-50) and bla(TEM-85), each of which differs from its ancestor bla(TEM-1) by four mutations. We identified pathways through those landscapes where selection for increased resistance moved in a repeating cycle among a limited set of alleles as antibiotics were alternated. Our results showed that susceptibility to antibiotics can be sustainably renewed by cycling structurally similar antibiotics. We anticipate that these results may provide a conceptual framework for managing antibiotic resistance. This approach may also guide sustainable cycling of the drugs used to treat malaria and HIV.

Magnetic field effects on shear and normal stresses in magnetorheological finishing.

We use a recent experimental technique to measure in situ shear and normal stresses during magnetorheological finishing (MRF) of a borosilicate glass over a range of magnetic fields. At low fields shear stresses increase with magnetic field, but become field-independent at higher magnetic fields. Micromechanical models of formation of magnetic particle chains suggest a complex behavior of magnetorheological (MR) fluids that combines fluid- and solid-like responses. We discuss the hypothesis that, at higher fields, slip occurs between magnetic particle chains and the immersed glass part, while the normal stress is governed by the MRF ribbon elasticity.

Process parameter effects on material removal in magnetorheological finishing of borosilicate glass.

We investigate the effects of processing parameters on material removal for borosilicate glass. Data are collected on a magnetorheological finishing (MRF) spot taking machine (STM) with a standard aqueous magnetorheological (MR) fluid. Normal and shear forces are measured simultaneously, in situ, with a dynamic dual load cell. Shear stress is found to be independent of nanodiamond concentration, penetration depth, magnetic field strength, and the relative velocity between the part and the rotating MR fluid ribbon. Shear stress, determined primarily by the material mechanical properties, dominates removal in MRF. The addition of nanodiamond abrasives greatly enhances the material removal efficiency, with the removal rate saturating at a high abrasive concentration. The volumetric removal rate (VRR) increases with penetration depth but is insensitive to magnetic field strength. The VRR is strongly correlated with the relative velocity between the ribbon and the part, as expected by the Preston equation. A modified removal rate model for MRF offers a better estimation of MRF removal capability by including nanodiamond concentration and penetration depth.

Synthesis and corrosion study of zirconia-coated carbonyl iron particles.

This paper describes the surface modification of micrometer-sized magnetic carbonyl iron particles (CI) with zirconia from zirconium(IV) butoxide using a sol-gel method. Zirconia shells with various thicknesses and different grain sizes and shapes are coated on the surface of CI particles by changing the reaction conditions, such as the amounts of zirconia sol, nitric acid, and CI particles. A silica adhesive layer made from 3-aminopropyl trimethoxysilane (APTMS) can be introduced first onto the surface of CI particles in order to adjust both the size and the shape of zirconia crystals, and thus the roughness of the coating. The microanalyses on these coated particles are studied by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and X-ray-diffraction (XRD). Accelerated acid corrosion and air oxidation tests indicate that the coating process dramatically improved oxidation and acid corrosion resistances, which are critical issues in various applications of CI magnetic particles.

Zirconia-coated carbonyl-iron-particle-based magnetorheological fluid for polishing optical glasses and ceramics.

We report on magnetorheological finishing (MRF) spotting experiments performed on glasses and ceramics using a zirconia-coated carbonyl-iron (CI)-particle-based magnetorheological (MR) fluid. The zirconia-coated magnetic CI particles were prepared via sol-gel synthesis in kilogram quantities. The coating layer was approximately 50-100 nm thick, faceted in surface structure, and well adhered. Coated particles showed long-term stability against aqueous corrosion. "Free" nanocrystalline zirconia polishing abrasives were cogenerated in the coating process, resulting in an abrasive-charged powder for MRF. A viable MR fluid was prepared simply by adding water. Spot polishing tests were performed on a variety of optical glasses and ceramics over a period of nearly three weeks with no signs of MR fluid degradation or corrosion. Stable material removal rates and smooth surfaces inside spots were obtained.

Shear stress in magnetorheological finishing for glasses.

We report in situ, simultaneous measurements of both drag and normal forces in magnetorheological finishing (MRF) for what is believed to be the first time, using a spot taking machine (STM) as a test bed to take MRF spots on stationary parts. The measurements are carried out over the entire area where material is being removed, i.e., the projected area of the MRF removal function/spot on the part surface, using a dual force sensor. This approach experimentally addresses the mechanisms governing material removal in MRF for optical glasses in terms of the hydrodynamic pressure and shear stress, applied by the hydrodynamic flow of magnetorheological fluid at the gap between the part surface and the STM wheel. This work demonstrates that the volumetric removal rate shows a positive linear dependence on shear stress. Shear stress exhibits a positive linear dependence on a material figure of merit that depends upon Young's modulus, fracture toughness, and hardness. A modified Preston's equation is proposed that better estimates MRF material removal rate for optical glasses by incorporating mechanical properties, shear stress, and velocity.

High rate of mobilization for blaCTX-Ms.

We constructed a phylogenetic analysis of class A beta-lactamases and found that the blaCTX-Ms have been mobilized to plasmids approximately 10 times more frequently than other class A beta-lactamases. We also found that the blaCTX-Ms are descended from a common ancestor that was incorporated in ancient times into the chromosome of the ancestor of Kluyvera species through horizontal transfer. Considerable sequence divergence has occurred among the descendents of that ancestral gene sequence since that gene was inserted. That divergence has mainly occurred in the presence of purifying selection, which indicates a slow rate of evolution for blaCTX-Ms in the pre-antimicrobial drug era.

Removal rate model for magnetorheological finishing of glass.

Magnetorheological finishing (MRF) is a deterministic subaperture polishing process. The process uses a magnetorheological (MR) fluid that consists of micrometer-sized, spherical, magnetic carbonyl iron (CI) particles, nonmagnetic polishing abrasives, water, and stabilizers. Material removal occurs when the CI and nonmagnetic polishing abrasives shear material off the surface being polished. We introduce a new MRF material removal rate model for glass. This model contains terms for the near surface mechanical properties of glass, drag force, polishing abrasive size and concentration, chemical durability of the glass, MR fluid pH, and the glass composition. We introduce quantitative chemical predictors for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, into an MRF removal rate model. We validate individual terms in our model separately and then combine all of the terms to show the whole MRF material removal model compared with experimental data. All of our experimental data were obtained using nanodiamond MR fluids and a set of six optical glasses.

Subsurface damage and microstructure development in precision microground hard ceramics using magnetorheological finishing spots.

We demonstrate the use of spots taken with magnetorheological finishing (MRF) for estimating subsurface damage (SSD) depth from deterministic microgrinding for three hard ceramics: aluminum oxynitride (Al(23)O(27)N(5)/ALON), polycrystalline alumina (Al(2)O(3)/PCA), and chemical vapor deposited (CVD) silicon carbide (Si(4)C/SiC). Using various microscopy techniques to characterize the surfaces, we find that the evolution of surface microroughness with the amount of material removed shows two stages. In the first, the damaged layer and SSD induced by microgrinding are removed, and the surface microroughness reaches a low value. Peak-to-valley (p-v) surface microroughness induced from grinding gives a measure of the SSD depth in the first stage. With the removal of additional material, a second stage develops, wherein the interaction of MRF and the material's microstructure is revealed. We study the development of this texture for these hard ceramics with the use of power spectral density to characterize surface features.

Minimizing artifact formation in magnetorheological finishing of chemical vapor deposition ZnS flats.

The polishing performance of magnetorheological (MR) fluids prepared with a variety of magnetic and nonmagnetic ingredients was studied on four types of initial surface for chemical vapor deposition (CVD) ZnS flats from domestic and foreign sources. The results showed that it was possible to greatly improve smoothing performance of magnetorheological finishing (MRF) by altering the fluid composition, with the best results obtained for nanoalumina abrasive used with soft carbonyl iron and altered MR fluid chemistry. Surface roughness did not exceed 20 nm peak to valley and 2 nm rms after removal of 2 microm of material. The formation of orange peel and the exposure of a pebblelike structure inherent in ZnS from the CVD process were suppressed.

Subsurface damage in some single crystalline optical materials.

We present a nondestructive method for estimating the depth of subsurface damage (SSD) in some single crystalline optical materials (silicon, lithium niobate, calcium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, and sapphire); the method is established by correlating surface microroughness measurements, specifically, the peak-to-valley (p-v) microroughness, to the depth of SSD found by a novel destructive method. Previous methods for directly determining the depth of SSD may be insufficient when applied to single crystals that are very soft or very hard. Our novel destructive technique uses magnetorheological finishing to polish spots onto a ground surface. We find that p-v surface microroughness, appropriately scaled, gives an upper bound to SSD. Our data suggest that SSD in the single crystalline optical materials included in our study (deterministically microground, lapped, and sawed) is always less than 1.4 times the p-v surface microroughness found by white-light interferometry. We also discuss another way of estimating SSD based on the abrasive size used.

Electric-field-induced motion of polymer cholesteric liquid-crystal flakes in a moderately conductive fluid.

Polymer cholesteric liquid-crystal flakes suspended in a fluid with nonnegligible conductivity can exhibit motion in the presence of an ac electric field. The plateletlike particles with a Grandjean texture initially lie parallel to the cell substrates and exhibit a strong selective reflection that is diminished or extinguished as the flakes move. Flake motion was seen within a specific frequency bandwidth in an electric field as low as 5 mV(rms)/microm. Flakes reoriented about their longest axis to align parallel to theapplied field, and a rise time of 560 ms was seen in a 40-mV(rms)/microm field at 100 Hz.