DLC

The United States video game industry has become a multi-billion dollar-a-year business, due in large part to the explosion of downloadable content (DLC). Video game DLC includes handheld gaming and additional content not found on software discs. The DLC trend is examined for its increasing exploitation of video game consumers through a perpetual form of commodification. This article will show that video game DLC is a cyclical form of commodification, though not simply immanent or intertextual. Meaning that players are not paying for a commodity that springs from a previous product, but continually coming back and paying for the same product over and over again. DLC multiplayer maps in the first-person shooter, additional music tracks in rhythm games, and MMORPG microtransactions are explored for the ways they exist to fill the monetary gap between game software releases, but end up simultaneously exploiting consumers and their free/ immaterial labor.

IC engines contribute to global warming through extensive use of fossil fuel energy and emission of combustion by-products. Innovative technologies such as cylinder de-activation (CDA), after-exhaust heat treatment, surface texturing and coatings are proposed to improve fuel economy and reduce emissions of the vehicle fleet. Therefore, study of coating technology through a comprehensive multi-physics analytical model of engine top compression ring is important to ascertain ways of promoting energy savings. This paper presents a multi-scale, multi-physics model of the compression ring-cylinder bore conjunction, using three alternative bore surfaces. The model comprises ring dynamics, contact tribology, heat transfer and gas blow-by. Tribological and thermal properties of advanced coatings, such as Nickel Nanocomposite (NNC) and diamond-like carbon (DLC) are compared with an uncoated steel bore surface as the base line configuration. Such a comprehensive analysis has not hitherto been reported in open literature, particularly with original contributions made through inclusion of salient properties of alternative bore materials for high performance race engines. Power loss and FMEP are evaluated in a dynamometric test, representative of the Worldwide harmonised Light vehicles Test Cycle (WLTC). The NNC coating shows promising tribological improvements. The DLC coating is detrimental in terms of frictional power loss and FMEP, although it can effectively improve sealing of the combustion chamber. The differences in power loss of nominated bore surfaces are represented as fuel mass and CO emissions, using theoretical and empirical relations. For the first time the paper shows that advanced coatings can potentially mitigate the adverse environmental impacts of spark ignition (SI) engines, with significant repercussions when applied to the global gasoline-powered vehicle fleet.

Tribological studies were carried out with tetrahedral amorphous diamond-like carbon (ta-C DLC) coatings, varying in thickness and roughness, using two different contact configurations lubricated with seven types of hydraulic oils. Tribopair of cast iron and ta-C coated steel were tested in both non-conformal and conformal, unidirectional sliding contacts. The friction and wear results were mainly affected by the thickness of the coating in the non-conformal contact and the surface roughness of the coating in the conformal contact. Tests done with mineral base oil containing rust inhibitor in the non-conformal contact and with Polyalphaolefins and synthetic ester base oils in the conformal contact resulted in the lowest friction while that with mineral base oil containing zinc resulted in high friction and counterface wear. The results highlight the interdependence of contact configuration, lubricant chemistry, coating's surface morphology and coating's thickness in determining the tribological behaviour of ta-C coatings under boundary lubrication. ARTICLE HISTORY

The result showed that the hardness test using Vickers method of the raw material gave an average hardness value of 327 VHN. Based on the tensile test to the raw material, the average tensile strength was measured for about 1146 MPa. The rotary bending fatigue test result was presented in the S-N diagram (Wohler diagram). It showed that the pressure of 1,4 millibars and coating duration of 5 hours were the optimum parameters for DLC coating. This produced a hardness rate of 625 VHN and a maximum fatigue stress (overload stress) of 744 MPa with a load of 38 kg/mm2. In addition, the fatigue cycle was 12400 cycles. The minimum strain (safe) for steel HQ 805-DLC coating was 516 MPa with the load of 28 kg/mm2 and a fatigue cycle that over 107 cycles. This was beyond the initial minimum strain of raw material that had a value of 400 MPa for the load of 20 kg/mm2. The lowest corrosion rate was 0,0177 mm/year and the lowest Ra roughness of 0,16 μm was reached at coating pressure of 1,4 millibars for 5 hours. It can be summarized that the use of the steel HQ 805-DLC coating on machining application and engine parts designing would be beneficial if operating at the safe condition with an applied load of 28 kg/mm2 and a strain of 516 MPa.

The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the effects of different laser irradiations including Nd-YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser; Nd:Y3Al5O12), Er-YAG (erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet laser, erbium YAG laser), and Carbon dioxide (CO2) infrared lasers on surface topography of zirconia-based ceramics samples which were prepared by copy milling technique. Three dimensional (3D) atomic force microscopy (AFM) images were applied to investigate surface properties by extracting information via MountainsMap® Premium software which divides the surface into peaks and pits and through watershed segmentation algorithm. This method made motif analysis possible by detecting surface dimensions, curvature, volume, perimeters, shape, structure, etc. © 2020 Elsevier B.V.

DLC is a promising material to be used in technological issues. However, its poor adhesion on steels keeps away from a wide range of applications. Thus, an understanding of the physicochemical structure of the DLC/interlayer/steel system in correlation with a mechanical model is mandatory in order to explain the tribological behavior as a whole. In this work, DLC was deposited on AISI 4140 low-alloy steel through a silicon-containing interlayer. Two different delamination critical loads were determined and they were associated with different failure mechanisms that took place at the outermost and at the innermost interfaces of the silicon-containing interlayer. The Hertz contact theory was used to evaluate the shear stress distribution at the applied normal loads during the scratch tests.

Surface textured and DLC coated (hydrogenated amorphous carbon) samples were assessed for their coating performance at 40 oC, 80 oC and 125 oC. As a result, textured a-C:H DLC demonstrated higher but stable coefficient of friction (COF) at high temperatures as compared to un-textured DLC samples. However, textured DLC samples showed higher wear resistance compared to un-textured DLC coating. The enhancement can be elucidated by the lower graphitization of textured DLC samples.

A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) in-silico study was performed to develop a mathematical model that correlates 2D and 3D descriptors of 37 antioxidant lubricant additives (compounds) with their properties. A molecular dynamics simulation study was also carried out to access these additives' binding strength on diamond-like carbon (DLC) and steel crystal surfaces. Five novel antioxidant lubricant additives were designed from the information derived from the QSPR mathematical model's high coefficient molecular descriptors. All the novel lubricant additive's antioxidant properties were found to be better than our previous study, with the lubricant additive (Z)-3-(4-(5-amino-1-phenyl-1Hpyrazol-3-yl)-3,5-dimethylphenyl)-2-phenyl-5-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene)-3,5dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-one found to possessed excellent antioxidant properties of 0.850281 total acid values (T.A.V 0.1g/L) than its co-additives. Moreover, all the designed additives dynamically bind ...

Effects of diamond-like carbon (DLC) and Ag nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on photoanode of quantum dot sensitized solar cell (QDSSCs) have studied for the first time. Photoanodes include thin films of the TiO2 deposited on the FTO substrate, subsequently, graphene and CdS quantum dots (QDs) added on. Some photoanodes decorate by Ag nanoparticles and DLC thin film. Current density-voltage (J-V) characterization showed that the short-circuit current density (J sc) and power conversion efficiency (PCE) of QDSSCs with localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of Ag NPs and anti-corrosion, photon and electron barrier properties of DLC thin film increase photon harvesting and improve solar cells performance. J sc of this configuration increased from about 8.87 to 14.6 mA cm-2, nearly doubled. The Ag NPs scatter photon and increase the photon harvesting in QDs. Results were showing that the presence of a thin film of DLC on TiO2/CdS/G photoanodes increased the efficiency by 97%, short circuit current by 64%, and open circuit voltage by 16%. Also, the efficiency change from 0.8 to 1.58 in the presence of both DLC and Ag NPs in cells in compare with cells without Ag NPs and DLC. © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) thin film material owing to its unique tribological properties that may open great opportunities for new applications. However, DLC presents low chemical affinity with metallic alloys and high intrinsic stress, prompting film delamination and poor adherence on the substrate. In the present work, we performed a systematic study about structural and tribological properties of a-C:H thin films grown on steel by introducing adhesive silicon-containing interlayers deposited at different processing temperatures and times. The studied bi-layers were deposited by electrostatic confinement plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (EC-PECVD) and were characterized by several techniques. The results showed that the adhesive interlayers produced from tetramethylsilane are chemically structured as a non-stoichiometry hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide alloy (a-SiC x :H). Its structure, chemical composition and thickness are very dependent on deposition conditions. The thickness of the interlayers increases with deposition time and decreases with deposition temperature. The interlayer contains less hydrogen and silicon atoms at higher deposition temperatures, with enhanced formation of Si–C bonds in its structure. This last chemical event is correlated with the rise in the critical load values found for a-C:H film delamination when the a-SiC x :H interlayers are deposited from 573 K to 823 K. On the other hand, the interlayer contains less carbon atoms at higher deposition times, decreasing the critical load values for a-C:H film delamination when the a-SiC x :H inter-layers are deposited from 5 min to 10 min.

There is a great interest in understanding the properties of sputtered DLC films in order to enable their wide application in electronic devices and sensors. In present study, metal-containing diamond-like carbon (Me-DLC) thin films were deposited on Si (100) substrates by DC magnetron co-sputtering using a carbon target under a fixed power (150 W) and a metal target (tin or tungsten) under varying power (10-30 W), while the other parameters were kept constant. The growth rate, chemical composition, structure and electrical resistivity of the Sn-DLC and W-DLC thin films were studied by mechanical profilometer, RBS, SEM, Raman spectroscopy and four points probe, respectively. The results showed that the growth rate of Sn-DLC thin film is higher than the W-DLC. Furthermore, the Sn incorporation in DLC films is higher than W-DLC for the same power applied to the metal target. Relationship between the electrical resistivity of both film types and the power applied was also observed.

A quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) in-silico study was performed to develop a mathematical model that correlates 2D and 3D descriptors of 37 antioxidant lubricant additives (compounds) with their properties. A molecular dynamics simulation study was also carried out to access these additives' binding strength on diamond-like carbon (DLC) and steel crystal surfaces. Five novel antioxidant lubricant additives were designed from the information derived from the QSPR mathematical model's high coefficient molecular descriptors. All the novel lubricant additive's antioxidant properties were found to be better than our previous study, with the lubricant additive (Z)-3-(4-(5-amino-1-phenyl-1Hpyrazol-3-yl)-3,5-dimethylphenyl)-2-phenyl-5-(thiophen-2-ylmethylene)-3,5dihydro-4H-imidazol-4-one found to possessed excellent antioxidant properties of 0.850281 total acid values (T.A.V 0.1g/L) than its co-additives. Moreover, all the designed additives dynamically bind to steel crystal surfaces excellently from our dynamic simulation study than the DLC crystal surface. The molecular dynamics simulation results were found to be better than the one reported by our previous study. This investigation will help synthesize novel and excellent antioxidant lubricant additives that will hinder the base oil from undergoing a complete oxidation cycle and meet environmental requirements as these novel additives do not contain Zinc and Phosphorus, which often rendered exhaust pipes catalytic converter inactive, thereby increasing environmental pollution.

Osteoarthritis-oriented synovial fluid (OASF), i.e., that typical of a patient with osteoarthritis, has different physical and biological characteristics than bovine serum (BS), a lubricant widely used in biotribological investigations. Micro-dimpled and diamond-like carbon-(DLC) coated surfaces are key emerging interfaces for orthopedic implants. In this study, tribological performances of dimpled surfaces, with and without DLC coating, have been investigated under both BS and OASF. The friction tests were performed utilizing a pin on a disk tribometer, whereas contact pressure, speed, and temperature were simulated to a 'medium walking gait' of hip joint conditions. The mechanical properties of the specimen and the physical properties of the lubricant were characterized before the friction test. Raman analysis was conducted to identify the coating condition both before and after the test. The DLC-coated dimpled surface showed maximum hardness and residual stress. A DLC-coated dimpled surface under an OASF lubricated condition yielded a lower friction coefficient and wear compared to those of plain and dimpled specimens. The higher graphitization of coated materials with increasing load was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.

Link to full text articles :
http://iopscience.iop.org/1468-6996/16/3/035002/pdf/1468-6996_16_3_035002.pdf

Osteoarthritis-oriented synovial fluid (OASF), i.e., that typical of a patient with osteoarthritis, has different physical and biological characteristics than bovine serum (BS), a lubricant widely used in biotribological investigations. Micro-dimpled and diamond-like carbon-(DLC) coated surfaces are key emerging interfaces for orthopedic implants. In this study, tribological performances of dimpled surfaces, with and without DLC coating, have been investigated under both BS and OASF. The friction tests were performed utilizing a pin on a disk tribometer, whereas contact pressure, speed, and temperature were simulated to a 'medium walking gait' of hip joint conditions. The mechanical properties of the specimen and the physical properties of the lubricant were characterized before the friction test. Raman analysis was conducted to identify the coating condition both before and after the test. The DLC-coated dimpled surface showed maximum hardness and residual stress. A DLC-coated dimpled surface under an OASF lubricated condition yielded a lower friction coefficient and wear compared to those of plain and dimpled specimens. The higher graphitization of coated materials with increasing load was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.

Link to full text articles :
http://iopscience.iop.org/1468-6996/16/3/035002/pdf/1468-6996_16_3_035002.pdf

This paper targets the unexplored problem of demand response within the context of power-grids that are allowed to regularly enforce blackouts as a mean to balance supply with demand:highly-stressed grids. Currently these utilities use as a cyclic and binary (power/no-power) schedule over consumer groups leading to significant wastage of capacity and long hours of no-power. We present here a novel building DLC system, Aashiyana, that can enforce several user-defined low-power states. We evaluate distributed and centralized load-shedding schemes using Aashiyana that can, compared to current load-shedding strategy, reduce the number of homes with no power by 80% for minor change in the fraction of homes with full-power.

We investigate the effects of different contents of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) on optical and electrical properties of polyaniline (PANI). The MWCNTs/PANI composites are deposited on glass substrates coated with indium tin oxide (ITO) by the spin-coating technique. The scanning electron microscopy shows that nanotubes are coated with the PANI layer and x-ray diffraction patterns show that all deposited composite films have an amorphous character. The analysis of a UV-vis spectrophotometer indicates the blue shift of the absorbance peak and a decrease in optical band gap value by the enhancement of the CNT content in the PANI matrix while the Urbach energy increases. The Raman spectrum shows the blue shift 1404→1417 cm-1 and photoluminescence spectra show an increase in the intensity of characteristic PANI peak at 436nm with the increasing CNT content. © 2016 Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd.

In the present study, Ag nanoparticles were synthesized in amorphous hydrogenated carbon films on glass substrates by RF-PECVD and RF-sputtering co-deposition method at the room temperature. Methyl orange was utilized as an analyte with different concentrations on Ag nanoparticles that were embedded in diamond-like carbon (DLC). Ultraviolet-visible (Uv-vis) spectroscopy, XRD analysis, Raman spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) were performed to characterize films. Ag-DLC with an average size of less than 14 nm was the active site for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Sensitivity of measurements in SERS spectra was increased by these types of thin films. This method of nano-particle synthesis is cost-effective and just requires a one-step synthesis. Such substrates can be used for several times. Moreover, they are useful for biosensors because of their hardness and other properties that may be subsequently referred.

In the present study, Ag nanoparticles were synthesized in amorphous hydrogenated carbon films on glass substrates by RF-PECVD and RF-sputtering co-deposition method at the room temperature. Methyl orange was utilized as an analyte with different concentrations on Ag nanoparticles that were embedded in diamond-like carbon (DLC). Ultraviolet-visible (Uv-vis) spectroscopy, XRD analysis, Raman spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) were performed to characterize films. Ag-DLC with an average size of less than 14 nm was the active site for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). Sensitivity of measurements in SERS spectra was increased by these types of thin films. This method of nano-particle synthesis is cost-effective and just requires a one-step synthesis. Such substrates can be used for several times. Moreover, they are useful for biosensors because of their hardness and other properties that may be subsequently referred.

It is well known that all biological systems which undergo oxidative metabolism or oxidative stress generate a small amount of light. Since the origin of excited states producing this light is generally accepted to come from chemical reactions, the term endogenous biological chemiluminescence is appropriate. Apart from biomedicine, this phenomenon has potential applications also in plant biology and agriculture like monitoring the germination rate of seeds. While chemiluminescence capability to monitor germination has been measured on multiple agriculturally relevant plants, the standard model plant Arabidopsis thaliana has not been analyzed for this process so far. To fill in this gap, we demonstrate here on A. thaliana that the intensity of endogenous chemiluminescence increases during the germination stage. We showed that the chemiluminescence intensity increases since the second day of germination, but reaches a plateau on the third day, in contrast to other plants germinating from larger seeds studied so far. We also showed that intensity increases after topical application of hydrogen peroxide in a dose-dependent manner. Further, we demonstrated that the entropy of the chemiluminescence time series is similar to random Poisson signals. Our results support a notion that metabolism and oxidative reactions are underlying processes which generate endogenous biological chemiluminescence. Our findings contribute to novel methods for non-invasive and label-free sensing of oxidative processes in plant biology and agriculture. Biological systems continuously generate a light (visible band electromagnetic radiation) of ultra-weak intensity 1. The currently accepted generating mechanism of this light is as follows 2. Organisms endogenously produce a small amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the course of their normal metabolism and in an enhanced manner when they undergo stress. A reaction of ROS with biomolecules leads to the formation of, apart from other products, unstable biomolecular intermediates such as dioxetanes and tetraoxides which can produce excited electron species when decomposed. The primary electron excited species considered to be generated are the triplet excited carbonyls and singlet oxygen. Excitation energy can also be transferred to energy acceptor to produce secondary electron excited species. If not deactivated or quenched, these excited states decay radiatively via emission of photons. Therefore, although through a chain of events, the intensity of photon emission reflects a rate of oxidative processes ongoing in the organism (Fig. 1). This connection suggests that detection and analysis of the endogenous biological chemiluminescence (EBC) could be used to monitor oxidative processes in a non-invasive and label-free manner 1. Majority of investigations on EBC, which appears in the literature under a variety of names such as ultra-weak photon emission 1 , biophoton emission or autoluminescence 3 , is focused on microorganisms and organisms from animal kingdom reaching to a human with potential relevance in biomedical research and applications. However, a great potential of EBC is also in plant biology and agriculture 4,5. A model organism in plant biology is A. thaliana (rockcress or thale cress). Botanists and biologists began to research A. thaliana in the early 1900s, and the first systematic description of mutants was done around 1945 6. A. thaliana is now widely used in plant sciences 7 , including genetics 8 , evolution 9 , population genetics 10 , and plant development 11. Although A. thaliana has a little direct significance for agriculture, it has several traits that make it a useful model for understanding the genetic, cellular, and molecular biology of flowering plants.

Further to traditional corrosion monitoring techniques for rated deteriorations, nowadays modern electrochemical monitoring methods are promising for the control of non-rated damage mechanisms. Considering carbon steel as the most commonly used alloy in the oil and gas industry, there are special grades under NACE MR0175 standard which are immune to sour corrosion. However, according to the industry reports, their immunity can be terminated by upset conditions or on site repairs. This issue will impose either a high operational risk or exorbitant maintenance and inspection costs. Hence, in this paper, a new monitoring technology framework is discussed to lessen a catastrophic failure risk for carbon steel under wet H 2 S corrosion. In this regard, the application of a developed hybridized ZnO-graphene micro-electrode (ZnOG) with a mix band gap of 1.17 eV is studied. Under hydrogen sulfide attack and when ZnOG hybrids are excited by UV illumination, their photo-electrochemical responses are analyzed. ZnOG hybrids emanate informative impedance signals in a response to the formation of ZnO (1-x) S x nano-crystals.

Surface textured and DLC coated (hydrogenated amorphous carbon) samples were assessed for their coating performance at 40 ºC, 80 ºC and 125 ºC. As a result, textured a-C:H DLC demonstrated higher but stable coefficient of friction (COF) at high temperatures as compared to untextured DLC samples. However, textured DLC samples showed higher wear resistance compared to un-textured DLC coating. The enhancement can be elucidated by the lower graphitization of textured DLC samples.

Analysis of Mechanically Stimulated Gas Emission Spectrometry data combined with characterization of chemical composition, structure and mechanical properties of various hydrogenated amorphous carbon coatings has allowed shedding light on the possible reactions of tribochemical degradation. These reactions are conceivably driven by the mechanical deformation and stress rather than by frictional heating. A close correlation between the increase in proportion of sp3 CHx groups in the coating and the rate of CH4 emission was observed.  Emission of methane is suggested to involve abstraction of methyl radical followed by recombination with hydrogen atom. Generation of ethane has to be due to recombination of two abstracted methyl radicals rather than an ethyl radical with hydrogen atom. The rate of H2 emission steeply and non-linearly increased with the hydrogen content in the coating. Hydrogen generation can involve both liberation of occluded H2 and re-combinative reaction.

Unusual carbonaceous matter (UCM) in the form of mostly centimeter-sized lumps and cobbles has been
sampled in the southeast Bavarian Alpine Foreland. It is a highly porous blackish material with a glassy luster
on freshly crushed surfaces. In some cases aerodynamically shaped cobbles like volcanic bombs were sampled.
The material is unknown from any industrial or other anthropogenic processes and thus appears to have a natural
origin, which is underlined by findings on a small island in the large Lake Chiemsee and at some altitude in the
pre-Alps mountains. Here we report a detailed analysis of this strange matter by a complex of high resolution
Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction, electron scanning and atomic force microscopy, transmission electron
microscopy and differential thermal analysis.