Table of contents

In all previous works on the dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), the authors used two electrodes separated by one or more dielectric layers and a gas-filled gap between them. In this work a new DBD design is investigated, using ring electrodes (two or four) on the outside of a dielectric tube. The discharge inside the tube occurs as a result of the application of RF power (13.56 MHz). The VUV emission under high-pressure conditions for different gas mixtures is studied.

VUV emission at 130.3 and 121.5 nm (Lyman-α) is obtained by using an argon–oxygen mixture, and an argon (or neon)–hydrogen mixture, respectively. The emission spectra, the power density, the total power, the lifetime and the stability will be discussed.

This review presents recent developments in the design of transfer systems between electrochemical environments and ultra high vacuum (UHV). The parallel growth of traditional surface science under UHV and electrochemistry led progressively these last thirty years to a new interdisciplinary field—`surface science and electrochemistry'. The complementary information given by many analytical techniques from both sciences opened new perspectives in the understanding of molecular phenomena that occur at the surface of an electrode in contact with a solution. Various transfer systems have been developed and this review will focus on them. Theoretical aspects, as well as practical problems, of a correct transfer are approached. The technical solutions of different research groups are demonstrated.

Typical applications are shown as examples, and a problem–solution chart is proposed.

Magnetization sensitive second harmonic generation (MSHG) is a nonlinear optical technique that, due to the dipole selection rules, is specifically sensitive to surfaces and interfaces of centrosymmetric media. This surface/interface sensitivity of MSHG in combination with very large magneto-optical effects lead to a fast development of this technique over the past decade. The main attention of the present review is on the application of the MSHG technique to magnetic thin films and surfaces, with a focus on the achieved progress in understanding, with the help of MSHG, of the magnetic surface and interface phenomena. On the one hand, an extreme sensitivity of MSHG to the electronic and magnetic structure of clean surfaces has been successfully demonstrated. On the other hand, the penetration depth of light allowed one to use this sensitivity to study buried interfaces in multilayer systems. Various phenomena, such as surface states on magnetic metals, enhanced magnetic moments of low-coordinated atoms, and quantum well states, have been studied. Further experimental developments of the MSHG technique, like space- and time resolution as well as magnetization sensitive sum frequency generation, appear to be promising as well.

Nonlinear anisotropic materials were used to simulate the local effects of tensile stress concentrations on magnetic flux leakage (MFL) signals using three-dimensional finite element analysis (FEA). FEA was used to calculate the effects of near- or far-side pit depth and line-pressure induced simulated bulk tensile stress on radial MFL signals for pipelines with corrosion pits. It was found that the percentage changes increased with increasing degrees of anisotropy, simulating increasing stress concentrations, and also with greater far- or near-side pit depth for the three types of corrosion pit geometries studied.

We present a polymer-based mechanical sensor with an integrated strain sensor element. Conventionally, silicon has been used as a piezoresistive material due to its high gauge factor and thereby high sensitivity to strain changes in the sensor. By using the fact that the polymer SU-8 [1] is much softer than silicon and that a gold resistor is easily incorporated in SU-8, we have proven that a SU-8-based cantilever sensor is almost as sensitive to stress changes as the silicon piezoresistive cantilever. First, the surface stress sensing principle is discussed, from which it can be shown that the SU-8-based sensor is nearly as sensitive as the silicon based mechanical sensor. We hereafter demonstrate the chip fabrication technology of such a sensor, which includes multiple SU-8 and gold layer deposition. The SU-8-based mechanical sensor is finally characterized with respect to sensitivity, noise and device failure. The characterization shows that there is a good agreement between the expected and the obtained performance.

Time-resolved Fourier transform spectroscopy, with temporal and spectral resolutions respectively at best 1.6 μs and 0.014 cm⁻¹ (Doppler-limited), is applied as a new diagnostic tool to the characterization of nitrogen plasma. A spectral range extending from 0.93 to 1.85 μm is recorded at once. The rotational lines of the B ³Π_g→A ³Σ_u⁺, Δv = 0,−1,−2,−3 vibronic sequences are fully resolved. Thermodynamical plasma parameters are obtained from line intensity and width analysis. The relaxation of the B ³Π_g state of N₂ in a pulsed electrical discharge is observed under various pressures and pulse repetition rates. Evolutions of the low-lying vibrational levels B ³Π_g,v = 0,1,2 during the early afterglow (post-discharge time period ⩽150 μs) are analysed. A simplified kinetic model based on the strong couplings between B ³Π_g and A ³Σ_u⁺ states and between B ³Π_g and W ³Δ_u states is adopted. It is found appropriate for the interpretation of the spectra within a restricted range (pressure 16–53 Pa (0.12–0.40 Torr), repetition rate 50–200 Hz) of the experimental conditions. Collisional rate constants coupling the B v = 0 level to the levels A v = 7 and W v = 0 are estimated to be k_BW = 9×10⁻¹² cm³ s⁻¹ and k_BA = 3×10⁻¹² cm³ s⁻¹, in accordance with existing results.

An all-solid-state simultaneous green and red laser source is demonstrated based on a diode-pumped Nd³⁺-doped crystal operating in the ⁴F_3/2→⁴I_13/2 laser channel. Coherent green radiation was achieved by sum frequency mixing of pump (≅800 nm) and fundamental (≅1.3 μm) radiation inside an intracavity KTP crystal. At the same time, laser radiation in the red was obtained by second harmonic generation of infrared (IR) radiation in an additional intracavity KTP crystal. We have tested this scheme by using both YAG and YVO host crystals for the Nd³⁺ ions. The influence of IR multiline oscillation on the spectral and spatial characteristics of visible radiation is discussed.

We have experimentally studied the reduction in x-ray sensitivity of individual biased amorphous selenium (a-Se) detectors as a function of radiation dose. This study was performed to understand the effects of detector parameters on the reduction of sensitivity in a-Se active matrix flat panel imagers, which results in latent `ghost' images. The sensitivity was measured for various x-ray dose rates, electric field strengths, and effective photon energies. The reduction of sensitivity has a weak dependence on the incident dose rate (reduces to 0.67 and 0.63 of original value after 100 cGy for dose rates of 2.73 cGy min⁻¹ and 8.18 cGy min⁻¹, respectively), is strongly affected by the applied electric field (reduces to 0.32 and 0.73 of original value after 100 cGy for electric fields of 0.6 V μm⁻¹ and 5 V μm⁻¹, respectively), and is greater for higher-energy photons. The measured sensitivity curves were fitted using a linear-exponential equation (reduced χ² values averaging 0.73). Experiments demonstrated that a-Se recovers approximately 20% of its original sensitivity at 30 min post-irradiation. If a-Se is allowed to recover its sensitivity for 24 h between irradiation, the initial measured current is a linear function of both the dose rate and applied electric field.

The process of the coating profile formation in one-side confined narrow channels in the course of the gas-phase deposition was theoretically investigated for the aspect ratio exceeding 20. The coating thickness distribution along a channel was shown to be described analytically only for the first-order deposition process. The correlation in an analytic form was established between the conformity parameters for the deposition processes of any order neglecting the sink of the film-forming substance to the end wall of the channel. In double relative coordinates (x/l, δ/δ₀), where the distance is expressed in fractions of the channel length, the coating thickness distribution was shown to be described by a single universal curve for any fixed deposition order, operation conditions, channel shapes and sizes. The combined invariant parameter of the process was found, which is the only value defining the coating thickness distribution. The coating thickness distributions were also obtained by numerical methods for some non-first-order deposition processes using the fourth-order Runge–Kutta method. The effect of the main process parameter as well as temperature and pressure on the ratio of the minimum and maximum film thicknesses (step coverage quality) and the parameter of the film thickness nonuniformity was analysed. Comparison of the theoretical conclusions with the experimental results on the poly-p-xylylene (PPX-N) deposition demonstrated a good agreement. All qualitative conclusions made for infinitely long channels were shown to be valid for one-side confined channels.

The lateral epitaxial overgrowth of GaN was carried out by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and the cross section shape of the stripes was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Inclined {11–2n} facets (n≈1–2.5) were observed in the initial growth, and they changed gradually into the vertical {11–20} sidewalls in accordance with the process of the lateral overgrowth. A model was proposed utilizing diffusion equations and boundary conditions to simulate the concentration of the Ga species constituent throughout the concentration boundary layer. Solutions to these equations are found using the two-dimensional, finite element method. We suggest that the observed evolution of sidewall facets results from the variation of the local V/III ratio during the process of lateral overgrowth induced by the lateral supply of the Ga species from the SiN_x mask regions to the growing GaN regions.

A cascaded linear system model that includes incomplete charge collection and interaction-depth dependent conversion gain and charge collection stages is considered for the calculation of the zero spatial frequency detective quantum efficiency, DQE(0), of a direct conversion x-ray image detector. The model includes signal and noise propagations in the following stages: (1) x-ray attenuation, (2) conversion gain, (3) charge collection, and (4) addition of electronic noise. The primary x-ray photon interaction and also the secondary K-fluorescent photon interaction are included in determining the interaction-depth dependent conversion gain across the photoconductor. We examine DQE(0) of a-Se detectors for fluoroscopic applications as a function of photoconductor thickness with varying amounts of electronic noise and x-ray exposure under (a) constant field, and (b) constant voltage operating conditions. We show that there is an optimum photoconductor thickness, which maximizes DQE(0) under a constant voltage operation. The optimum thickness depends on the added electronic noise, x-ray exposure, charge collection efficiency and bias voltage. For the quantities mentioned above that are appropriate for a-Se detectors and fluoroscopic applications, the optimum a-Se thickness is ∼700 μm and the corresponding DQE is ∼0.4. It is shown that the DQE depends strongly on the charge transport properties of the photoconductors. With the radiation-receiving electrode negatively biased, the DQE is more dependent on electron lifetime (τ_e) than hole lifetime (τ_h). Full electron trapping, (τ_e = 0) reduces the DQE by about 73.3% at the detector thickness of 1000 μm whereas full hole trapping (τ_h = 0) reduces the DQE by about 43.7%. The DQE for the negative bias is lower than for the positive bias, and the difference in DQE, as expected, increases with the photoconductor thickness because of the asymmetric transport properties of holes and electrons in a-Se. The present results show that the DQE generally does not continue to improve with greater photoconductor thickness because of charge carrier trapping effects. The DQE of a polyenergetic x-ray beam is only slightly lower than a monoenergetic x-ray beam with the same average photon energy. The theoretical model shows a very good agreement with the experimental DQE versus exposure characteristics published in the literature.

Nanocrystalline K₂Ca₂(SO₄)₃ : Eu prepared by a co-precipitation method has been studied for its thermoluminescence (TL) and photoluminescence (PL) characteristics. The TL glow curve of the compound has a simple structure with a prominent peak at 406 K and a small peak at 462 K. TL sensitivity of the phosphor is found to be more than that of TLD-100 (LiF) but quite less compared to TLD-700H (LiF : Mg, Cu, P). The presence of two overlapping bands at around 400 and 450 nm in the PL emission spectra of the phosphor (both unexposed and exposed to gamma radiation) suggests the presence of Eu²⁺ in the host compound occupying two different lattice sites. Moreover a reduction in TL sensitivity on decreasing the particle size (from 125 μm to 18.6 nm) gives a better understanding of the TL mechanism involved in the concerned phosphor. Fading and reusability of the phosphor are also studied and it is found that the phosphor is quite suitable for radiation dosimetry.

A technique is discussed for calculating the electromagnetic field in two-dimensional inductive plasmas with an arbitrary number of magnetic materials and load coils. The method is a generalization of the boundary-relaxation technique for systems with an arbitrary number of conducting regions, and extends its applicability to systems which contain magnetically active materials.

Each material is defined on a distinct ortho-curvilinear numerical structured mesh. This facilitates the coupling of the electromagnetic model with the calculation of material transport, in which typically only one of these grids is involved. The method allows an exact and straightforward formulation of the boundary conditions and has the additional advantage that only current-carrying regions of space need to be discretized.

The technique has been verified by running the model for a number of test cases for which analytical solutions exist, and later applied to a geometry which is characteristic for plasma induction lamps. A selection of these results will be demonstrated and discussed.

Because of the high global warming potential of SF₆ gas, research on alternative gases for electrical insulation with a lower environmental impact is essential. Gas mixtures composed of electronegative gases and N₂ gas have the advantage of the reduction of the amount of SF₆ gas and of utilizing the synergistic effect in electrical insulation performance. We investigated the partial discharge (PD) and breakdown (BD) characteristics of SF₆/N₂ and PFC (C₃F₈/N₂ and C₂F₆/N₂) gas mixtures under non-uniform electric field conditions, by changing the dilute content of electronegative gases. As a result, the synergistic effect in SF₆/N₂ gas mixtures was verified to be higher than that in PFC/N₂ gas mixtures. The physical mechanism from PD inception to BD was discussed with consideration of the difference in electronegativity of SF₆ and PFC gases. Furthermore, we found that PD inception and PD-to-BD mechanisms changed at a content of 10 ppm for SF₆ due to the electron attachment activity of SF₆ gas. The change in the PD and BD mechanisms in C₃F₈/N₂ and C₂F₆/N₂ gas mixtures appeared at 0.1% content for C₃F₈ and at 1% content for C₂F₆.

Experiments show that abnormally high electron temperatures, previously reported in space charge limited diodes, are an artifact of the measuring technique employed. The true electron energy distribution is non-Maxwellian and broadened through electron interaction with space charge oscillations. This process is influenced by electron reflection from the anode surface. It is shown that even a small amount of atomic hydrogen, formed by dissociation of molecular hydrogen at the hot emitter, and adsorbed on the anode, can change the reflection of electrons, and thus significantly alter the electron space charge interaction.

Emission spectroscopy diagnostics of carbon plasma created by Nd–Yag laser ablation of a graphite target in nitrogen atmosphere is presented. The influence of the laser energy density in the range of 3–60 J cm⁻² on the evolution of the maximum emission intensity and the time of flight of the temporal profile of C₂ Swan band and CN violet system is studied at 3 mm from the target surface and at two nitrogen pressures 0.5 and 1 mbar. It has been observed that for fluences ⩽10 J cm⁻², the C₂ and CN evolutions have the same behaviour and for higher fluences, their evolutions are quite different. For this purpose, a study of the spatio-temporal evolution of the C₂ and CN as well as neutral and ionic atomic species of carbon and nitrogen is performed for two values of laser fluences, 8 and 35 J cm⁻². The different processes leading to CN formation are proposed and discussed.

This study discusses the development of an atmospheric pressure glow discharge enhanced CVD system for the catalytic growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). He/H₂/CH₄ (900 : 100 : 0–20 scc min⁻¹) gas mixture was processed in the barrier discharge reactor operated at 760 Torr. Ni-coated (20 nm) quartz substrate was used up to 600°C to achieve low temperature catalytic growth of CNTs. Special pretreatment of substrate using metal plating technique was employed for uniform growth; minimum requirements for CNTs growth were specified in terms of substrate temperature, H₂/CH₄ ratio and deposition time. SEM and TEM micrographs confirmed multi-wall CNTs with outside diameter and number density of 40–50 nm and 10⁹–10¹⁰ cm⁻², respectively. On the other hand, some of those CNTs included considerable wall defects associated with Ni particle aggregation. We also applied DBD enhanced catalytic CVD, but CNTs could not synthesized.

The spatio-temporal evolution of electric parameters of plasma and emission produced by high-voltage periodic pulsed discharge has been studied. The discharge was initiated by voltage pulses of 13.5 kV amplitude, 25 ns duration and 6 ns rise time with a repetition frequency of 40 Hz in molecular nitrogen at a pressure of 5 Torr. Differences between discharge characteristics for positive and negative polarities of the pulse has been investigated. The net electrical charge was measured by a calibrated capacitive gauge moving along the discharge tube. Time-resolved electric fields and electron densities at different distances from the high-voltage electrode were obtained. On the other hand, the electric field was derived from relative time-resolved emissions of second positive and first negative systems of molecular nitrogen. The spatial and temporal behaviour of the emission correlates with the behaviour of the electric field obtained from electrical measurements. A comparison of electric field values determined by different methods demonstrates a significant dependence of the results on the voltage polarity and leads to the conclusion that their differences, when working with positive polarity of voltage, is due to the non-local character of the discharge development.

The influence of temperature and hydrocarbon additives on NO_x removal and CO production has been studied by numerical modelling and process experiments for a synthetic gas mixture consisting of N₂, O₂, H₂O and CO₂ in a pulsed corona reactor. The NO reduction of more than 99% was achieved at the energy cost of ∼14 eV per NO molecule in the presence of 550 ppm C₃H₆ additive at T = 393 K. The simulated results agree well with the experimental data measured in the NO and NO_x removal and C₂H₄ and C₃H₆ decomposition. Within a limited framework of non-uniform modelling approach, the temperature effect on the streamer nature discharge has been taken into account. Main reaction paths for the C₂H₄ and C₃H₆ decomposition and leading reactions of NO_x conversion, CO, CH₂O, CH₃CHO productions are presented. Calculated concentrations of some by-products are given. The effect of the C₃H₆+O reaction on the NO_x oxidation and C₃H₆ decomposition using several channels and their rate constants taken from the literature has been examined numerically. The best fitting data for the C₃H₆+O reaction are chosen.

Investigations on the electron plasma parameters and ion energy distributions (IEDs) at the grounded electrode (anode) of an asymmetrical capacitively coupled rf discharge in argon are presented. These are compared with studies from previous papers related to the sheath formed in front of the powered electrode.

The I–V characteristics provided by a self-compensated Langmuir probe show the existence of a bi-Maxwellian distribution with a bulk cold electron group and a hot electron group. From mass spectrometric investigations, the IEDs exhibit a double peak shape. The theoretical model for transport of the ions and electrons in the sheath of a capacitively coupled, asymmetric rf discharge was considered. Combination of two effects, the rf modulation of the sheath potential and charge exchange as a dominant inelastic interaction process in the sheath, leads to pronounced and characteristic additional structures in the IEDs.

Spectroscopic diagnostic technique has been employed to investigate the characteristics of the unsteadiness of dc plasma spraying jets for two types of plasma torches. The continuous transient signal of the arc voltages and the spectral line intensities of the jets have been obtained, and their frequency characteristics have been studied by means of fast Fourier transform method. Three factors to jet fluctuation have been represented and distinguished from each other. Digital high-speed photography technique has also been introduced to investigate the fluctuation of plasma jet. Snapshots of the jet and the spectrum analysis result of arc voltage and spectral line intensity have indicated that the effect of the power supply occupies dominant proportion on the jet fluctuation for the argon plasma jet. The influence of gas flow rate on the arc restrike characteristics has been studied. Distributions of the jet temperature and number densities of nitrogen atom in the argon plasma jet region have been obtained with the distributions of line intensities of argon and nitrogen atom.

The electro-dynamical properties and the mutual influence of several simultaneously propagating streamers are investigated in a point-to-plane configuration in air at atmospheric pressure under impulse voltage. When a fast and short high voltage pulse is applied to the point, a bunch of streamer branches develops into the interval. Since no previous ionized path has been traced before in the gap, streamers spread in the whole gap, branching while propagating. This behaviour is quite different from streamers under DC voltage conditions, which successively extend on the point–plane axis. The aim of this work is an attempt to distinguish the properties of an individual streamer simultaneously propagating with the others, by means of fast techniques based on simultaneous streak and still photographs and space-time decoupled currents measurements. Especially, their mean velocity can be estimated. In most cases, an axial streamer is observed, propagating faster than the others. This result can be interpreted in terms of the electric field space distribution by means of a three-dimensional electrostatic solver. This analysis shows that a mutual electro-dynamical influence is exerted from one streamer on another.

High resolution transmission electron microscopy has been used to investigate the lattice damage dependence on the implantation temperature and ion flux in Zn+ implanted gallium arsenide (GaAs). The implantation parameters were chosen in the amorphization–crystallization transition regime in order to investigate the damage typology while the amorphization regime is approached. It is shown that the approach to the amorphization regime is related to the appearance of stacking faults related extended defects lying on (111) planes. Subsequently, the samples have been annealed by low-power pulsed-laser annealing (LPPLA). In the best annealing conditions the resulting structure is characterized by a low density of extended defects in the implanted layer showing that LPPLA induced solid phase epitaxial regrowth is able to anneal out even `crystalline' defects.

ZnO thin films have been deposited on Corning 7059 glass at room temperature using r.f. magnetron sputtering. Strong monochromatic blue emission located at 446 nm is observed when excited with 270 nm light. The photoluminescence intensity of the blue emission peak decreases with increasing oxygen pressure and substrate temperature during film deposition and it increases markedly by annealing in vacuum. The experiments proved that the 446 nm emission corresponds to the electron transition from the shallow donor level of oxygen vacancy and zinc interstitials to the valence band.

Thin films of barium aluminate (BaAl₂O)₄) doped separately with thulium, terbium, and europium were deposited by a spray pyrolysis method. The effects of preparation conditions on the structural and luminescence properties of the films were investigated. Polycrystalline BaAl₂O₄ films were formed at an annealing temperature above 700°C. Tm³⁺ and Tb³⁺-doped films deposited on glass emitted blue and green light, respectively. While in the films doped with europium, both red emission lines from Eu³⁺ and a broad blue or blue–green emission band from Eu²⁺ were observed. The BaAl₂O₄ : Tm³⁺ film had the main wavelength at 462 nm, and the highest cathodoluminescence (CL) luminance and efficiency at 5 kV and 57 μA cm⁻² were 25 cd m⁻² and 0.11 lm W⁻¹, respectively. For the BaAl₂O₄ : Tb³⁺ film with the main wavelength at 549 nm, the highest CL luminance and efficiency at the same condition were 120 cd m⁻² and 0.55 lm W⁻¹, respectively. A luminance of 50 cd m⁻² and efficiency of 0.23 lm W⁻¹ were obtained for red emission at 616 nm of the BaAl₂O₄ : Eu³⁺ film grown on glass. Bright blue emission peaking at 452 nm was obtained in the BaAl₂O₄ : Eu²⁺ film grown on an aluminosilicate ceramic plate and annealed in N₂ : H₂ (95 : 5) at 1100°C. Its luminance and efficiency were 640 cd m⁻² and 2.93 lm W⁻¹, respectively.

A concise formula expressing the entropy of adatoms as a divergence of their flow due to diffusion and deposition flux is presented. Adatom-elastic strain interaction is provided by a canonical coupling between the diffusion flow and the deformation gradient of the strained layer. It is found that the zero of the free energy of an adatom-strained layer continuum system should be that of a coherent unstrained layer, thus necessarily neglecting the cohesive energy contribution, while for the adatom-unstrained continuum layer the zero corresponds to an equilibrium between the adatoms and free atoms, which involves the cohesive energy.

Electrical conduction in non-conjugated insulating polymers such as Kapton^(R) films was studied as a function of temperature, T (15–500 K) and electric field F (⩽16 kV cm⁻¹). The time dependent isothermal transient currents (ITC) were also studied at different temperatures (15 K<T<500 K). Thermally stimulated discharge current (TSDC) studies were carried out as a function of initial poling conditions. A distinct change in conduction mechanism as a function of T was observed at T⩾300 K from DC conductivity, ITC and TSDC measurements. The origin of this behaviour is discussed in terms of transition of dipolar at low T to space charge mechanism at high T which can be attributed to carrier trapping and release of charge carriers from the trap states. The effective barrier energy, Δ, for transport and hopping parameter λ(T) are estimated for Kapton on the basis of these studies. The results obtained for Kapton suggest that, for T<T_g at low or moderate fields, the transient currents are essentially governed by dipolar relaxation mechanisms.

The enhancement of thermal radiation between two planar absorptive semi-infinite slabs, one hot one cold, is analysed by a new method. This method enables one to evaluate changes in the spectrum of radiation transfer when one of the slabs is replaced by a periodically layered structure. The effects of the grating and photoconductivity of the receiver on the proximity-enhanced power transfer are investigated.

Granular temperature theory is used to analyse slurry flow through a porous medium. The latter is characterized by mean properties and fluctuations. The latter cause structures formation on the scale of the pore sizes. Theoretical considerations lead to a classification of the structures: both streamwise (fingering) and cross-streamwise ones may occur, depending on the prevailing range of the constitutive parameters, notably the exponents that appear in the constitutive description. An experimental set-up is described in which structures can be observed during flow, making use of a refractive index matching technique. The experiment confirms the existence of cross-streamwise structures with a length scale of the order of the pore size for dense slurry flow in a porous medium.

The paper presents a combined solution for multi-body dynamics of a modified cycloidal cam to flat follower with transient lubricated finite line contact conjunction. The solution to the dynamics of the valve train system is undertaken in the Euler frame of reference, which includes valve surge due to the non-linear behaviour of the spring. The elastohydrodynamic transient contact conjunction is analysed in each integration step time by simultaneous solution of the Reynolds' equation in space-time co-ordinates with the instantaneous elastic film shape equation, taking into account the generalized contact elasticity for finite line contact geometry. This approach, not hitherto reported in the literature, yields high generated pressures and thin films at contact extremities that govern wear and fatigue spalling performance of such contacts. Results show that the usual approaches in both quasi-static analyses and transient line contact solutions yield results that are not in line with actual prevailing conditions.

The following paragraphs are corrected:

p2147 1st column, line 8:

The outer pressure may be then different from the far-field ambient pressure due to the velocity entrainment induced effect [3], which makes the outer pressure lower than the ambient pressure. Indeed for P_a=15 kPa, it is clear that the jet will induce a higher velocity in the outer flow than the jet with a higher background pressure (because the velocity gradient is larger); so a stronger deviation from the LTE is observed in the subsonic part of the mixing layer for this pressure (for Y/R = 0.6, figure 11(a).

p2147 2nd column, line 1:

...and increases more for the high background pressures. This fact is not surprising, because it has been noted that for low-pressure jets, the supersonic part is larger (figure 12), and the transition toward a fully turbulent flow occurs then more downstream. Consequently, for a low background pressure, the static temperature starts to decrease downstream compared to a higher background pressure, and the Saha computed values of electrons number density also decrease farther downstream than those for a higher P_a.

p2147 2nd column, 1st point of conclusion:

The total energy equation is solved for heavy particles, whereas in some previous studies [7, 20, 21], only the thermal part was considered.