Critical exponents and unusual properties of the broken phase in the 3d-RP2 antiferromagnetic model
We present the results of a Monte Carlo simulation of the antiferromagnetic RP^2 model in three dimensions. 
With finite-size scaling techniques we accurately measure the critical exponents and compare them with those of 
O(N) models. We are able to parameterize the corrections-to-scaling. The symmetry properties of the broken 
phase are also studied.
Mean field and computer simulation study of a nematogenic lattice model including three-body interactions
Abstract By now, nematogenic lattice models have been extensively studied in the literature dealing with liquid crystals; they usually involve cylindrically symmetric (uniaxial) particles and pairwise additive interaction potentials. On the other hand, quantum mechanical perturbation theory shows that interatomic or intermolecular potentials are only approximately pairwise additive; the pairwise additivity approximation (PAA) of molecular interactions has been extensively and systematically used in the statistical mechanics of condensed matter, and has proven rather successful. As an attempt to move beyond the PAA in the simulation of mesogenic systems, we have considered here a nematogenic lattice model consisting of uniaxial particles, whose centres of mass are associated with a simple-cubic lattice, and whose interaction potentials consist of a pairwise additive dispersion (Nehring–Saupe) term, restricted to nearest neighbours (and already studied in the literature), plus a short-range triplet-additive one, i.e., the Kielich–Stogryn generalization of the Axilrod–Teller–Muto formula for three atoms. The model has been studied by Mean Field theory and Monte Carlo simulation; the three-body term was found to produce a recognizable quantitative effect on the nematic ordering transition.
EFFECT OF SAMPLE PREPARATION ON WATER TREE RESISTANCE OF XLPE/SEBS BLENDS
The effects of an aromatic polymer, such as poly[styrene-b-(ethylene-co-butylene)b-styrene] (SEBS), and its preparation processes on water tree resistance, morphology, crystallinity, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE)/SEBS and XLPE/SEBS/ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) blends were investigated. The XLPE/SEBS samples were characterized by means of differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, dielectric spectral analysis and the accelerated water treeing experiment. The results clearly showed that although SEBS was partially compatible with LDPE and it was dispersed evenly in XLPE matrix, the blends demonstrated excellent dielectric performances, such as dielectric constant and dissipation factor. The crystallinity of XLPE/SEBS blends was decreased with increase in SEBS content and it was further decreased with the addition of EVA. SEBS could effectively improve the water-tree resistance of XLPE and both SEBS and EVA were found to improve the water tree resistance of XLPE synergistically as expected. The differences in sample preparation processes could change the phase morphology and dielectric performance of the blends, and could also influence the dispersion of SEBS in XLPE matrix as well as the crystallinity of the blends. Different preparation processes led to different water tree resistance behaviours of the samples. The improvement of SEBS dispersion in XLPE matrix helped to improve the water tree resistance of XLPE.