Effects of confinement on mechanical, structural and thermodynamic properties of uniform fluids are very well understood. In contrast, a general theory based on statistical thermodynamics for confined nonuniform and non-isotropic phases, such as the lamellar phase, is in its infancy. In this review we focus on the lamellar phase confined in a slit or in a pipe in order to illustrate various effects of confinement. We limit ourselves to the results obtained by M. Tasinkevych, V. Babin and the author for lamellar phases in oil-water-surfactant mixtures within a generic semi-microscopic model, using a mean-field approximation. We show that compared to isotropic fluids the excess grand potential contains additional terms associated with structural deformations. These terms depend on the type of the confining walls, the shape of the container and on the thickness of the lamella. As a result of the dependence of the structure of the confined lamellar phase on the shape of the container, capillary lamellarization and capillary delamellarization is found in slits and in pipes respectively.

With reference to the situation experienced in several Polish collieries where the risk of occurrence of gas-geodynamic phenomena is increasing and decisions to start the mining activities need to take numerous constraints associated with previous mining into account, this paper addresses certain geo-mechanical aspects of longwall mining in the zones of excavation edge interactions giving rise to major changes in the conditions of the deposit and rock strata, as a consequence of previous mining operations in adjacent coalbeds. Starting from the analytical description of displacements and stresses in the proximity of longwall mining systems, the paper summarizes the results of model tests and investiga-tions of the influence that the excavation edge has on the behavior and structural continuity of a portion of the coal body in the coalbed beneath or above an old excavation. Based on selected nonlinear functions emulating the presence of edges in the rock strata, a comparative study is carried out by investigating two opposite directions of workface advance, from the gob area towards the coal body and from the coal body towards the gobs. The discussion of the results relies on the analysis of roof deformation and the concentration factor of the vertical stress component at the workface front.

This paper investigates the behaviour of axially-loaded tubular columns filled with M20 grade concrete and partially replaced concrete. The parameters varying in the study are slenderness ratio (13.27, 16.58 & 19.9), and normal M20 grade concrete, partially replaced quarry dust and concrete debris. The effects of the various concrete mixes and composite action between the steel tube and the concrete core are studied and a graph visualizing the differences between the load carrying capacity and the axial deflection is plotted. Some of the performance indices like the Ductility Index (DI), Concrete Contribution Ratio (CCR), Confinement Index (θ) and Strength Index (SI) are also evaluated and compared amongst the CFST columns. From the results it has been noted that an increase in the L/D ratio decrease the behaviour of the composite columns irrespective of the in filled materials. The composite action was achieved in the CFST columns filled with partially replaced quarry dust and concrete debris when compared with hollow steel columns. The load carrying capacity of the CFST column increases by 32 % compared with the hollow tubular columns.

In this paper analyses of mode distribution, confinement and experimental losses of the photonic crystal fibers with different core sizes infiltrated with liquid crystal are presented. Four types of fibers are compared: with single-, seven-, nineteen- and thirty seven solid rods forming the core in the same hexagonal lattice of seven “rings” of unit cells (rods or capillaries). The experimental results confirming the influence of the core diameter on light propagation are also included. The diameter of cores determines not only the number of modes in the photonic liquid crystal fiber but also is correlated with experimentally observed attenuation. For fibers with larger cores confinement losses are expected to be higher, but the measured attenuation is smaller because the impact of liquid crystal material losses and scattering is smaller.

PCFs (Photonic Crystal Fibers) with ‘T’ – shaped core have been proposed in this paper. ‘T’ –shaped core PCF structures have been analyzed using two different background materials: silica and lead silicate. A total of 3600 rotation at an interval of 900 has been introduced in the design of PCF structures. PCF structures A, B, C and D with rotation of 00, 900, 1800 and 2700 have silica as wafer. Similarly PCF structures E, F, G and H with similar rotation have lead silicate as background material. Numerical investigations shows structures ‘D’, ‘F’, ‘G’ and ‘H’ to have anomalous dispersion. PCF structures ‘F’, ‘G’, and ‘H’ have reported birefringence of the order of 10-2. Besides, other PCF structures report birefringence of the order of 10-3. Ultra low confinement loss has been observed in all the investigated PCF structures. Moreover, splice loss observed by the structure is very low. Large mode area has been shown by all the designed PCF structures.

This paper presents the results of a numerical analysis of nitride-based edge-emitting lasers with an InGaN/GaN active region designed for continuous wave room temperature emission of green and blue light. The main goal was to investigate whether the indium thin oxide (ITO) layer can serve as an effective optical confinement improving operation of these devices. Simulations were performed with the aid of a self-consistent thermal-electrical-optical model. Results obtained for green- and blue-emitting lasers were compared. The ITO layer in the p-type cladding was found to effectively help confine the laser mode in the active regions of the devices and to decrease the threshold current density.

The molecular dynamics of the well-known nematic liquid crystal 4-n-pentyl-4′-cyanobiphenyl geometrically restricted in Anopore and Synpor porous membranes with various pore structure and treated by different surfactants (namely decanoic acid and lecithin) is compared. In the Anopore membrane the chosen surfactants induce the homeotropic orientation of the molecules on the walls of the cylindrical pores and observed corresponding relaxation processes (librational modes) are practically the same. The dielectric measurements of lecithin treated Synpor membranes reveals the reorientation of the molecules from planar to homeotropic on the complex multilayer structure present in their volume. The dielectric strengths of the observed two molecular processes (δ-process and librational mode) are inversed in the ratio compared to the untreated membranes. The observed differences in molecular dynamics results from the orientation of the liquid crystal molecules in untreated and treated membranes and the structure of the membranes themselves.

Confinement in concrete can improve the descending branch of the stress-strain relationship of concrete. The addition of steel fiber in concrete can also improve the descending branch of the stress-strain relationship of concrete. The combination of the use of both can double the impact significantly on the post-peak response. It can be seen from the trend of the post-peak response that the values of both 0.85fccf and 0.5fccf can be well predicted. The study involved an experimental investigation on the effect of confinement on square column specimens reinforced with steel fiber. From the experimental program, it is proven that the use of combination of confining steel and steel fiber works very well which is indicated by the better improvement on the post-peak response. The proposed equations can predict the actual stress-strain curves quite accurately which include the effects of confinement parameters (Zm) and steel fiber volumetric parameter (Vf).