Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The macroscopic behavior of magnetostrictive materials results from domain evolutions occurring at a microscopic scale. The author shows how to compute magnetization and magnetostriction curves by appraising the behavior of the underlying microstructures. The method hinges on an averaging device (Young measures), which allows one to pass from the microscopic to the macroscopic scale. He takes into account the kinematical constraints on the accommodation of elastic effects, and he highlights the role of material symmetry in the selection of energetically optimal microstructures.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The use of X-ray diffraction line profile analysis for the study of nanocrystalline powders is described. The fundamentals of the theory are presented in terms of crystallite/domain size, size distribution, lattice distortion, dislocations density and stacking faults. Line profile parameters and the methods of pattern fitting introduced to overcome the diffraction-line overlap problem are discussed. The approaches based of the integral breadth of the measured line profiles and the Fourier method are discussed. In addition, simplified approaches are also commented. Representative examples are selected to illustrate various cases of microstructure, such as nanomaterials with strain-free spherical nano crystallites, strain-free crystallites with anisotropic crystallite shape, anisotropic crystallites with microstrains and spherical crystallites with dislocation densities and crystallite size distributions. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scanning ion microscopy with polarization analysis (SIMPA) is used to study the spin-resolved surface magnetic structure of nano-sized magnetic systems. SIMPA is utilized for in situ topographic and spin-resolved magnetic domain imaging as well as for focused ion beam (FIB) etching of desired structures in magnetic or non-magnetic systems. Ultra-thin Co films are deposited on surfaces of Si(1 0 0) substrates, and ultra-thin, tri-layered, bct Fe(1 0 0)/Mn/bct Fe(1 0 0) wedged magnetic structures are deposited on fcc Pd(1 0 0) substrates. SIMPA experiments clearly show that ion-induced electrons emitted from magnetic surfaces exhibit non-zero electron spin polarization (ESP), whereas electrons emitted from non-magnetic surfaces such as Si and Pd exhibit zero ESP, which can be used to calibrate sputtering rates in situ. We report on new, spin-resolved magnetic microstructures, such as magnetic 'C' states and magnetic vortices, found at surfaces of ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heusler alloys are considered as interesting ferromagnetic electrode materials for magnetic tunnel junctions, because of their high spin polarization. We, therefore, investigated the micromagnetic properties in a prototypical thin film system comprising two different Heusler phases Co{sub 2}MnSi (CMS) and Co{sub 2}FeSi (CFS) separated by a MgO barrier. The magnetic microstructure was investigated by X-ray photoemission electron microscopy (XPEEM). We find a strong influence of the Heusler phase formation process on the magnetic domain patterns. SiO{sub 2}/V/CMS/MgO/CFS and SiO{sub 2}/V/CFS/MgO/CMS trilayer structures exhibit a strikingly different magnetic behavior, which is due to pinhole coupling through the MgO barrier and a strong thickness dependence of the magnetic ordering in Co{sub 2}MnSi.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nano photonic materials are synthetically manufactured crystals at the nano scale with the target of creating a microstructure with a special electro-magnetic periodicity. Such nano photonic materials have the ability to control light propagation and thus are capable of creating photonic bandgaps in the frequency domain. We propose using nano photonic crystals as sensors to detect microdamage in composite materials. We demonstrate using a simulation model that a nano photonic sensor attached to a composite bar experiences a significant change in its bandgap profile when damage is induced in the composite bar. The model predicts the frequency response of the nano photonic sensor using the transfer matrix method. A damage metric to evaluate the change in the frequency response is developed. Successful developments of nano photonic sensors allow damage identification at scales not attainable using current sensing technologies.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundProteins may evolve through the recruitment and modification of discrete domains, and in many cases, protein action can be dissected at the domain level. PDZ domains are...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanocrystalline Fe75Si20M5 (M = Al, B and Cr) powders were synthesized by mechanical alloying in a planetary ball mill from high purity elemental powders. Evolution of non-equilibrium solid solutions of ?-Fe[Si,(Al, B, Cr)] with a nanocrystalline structure was accompanied by the introduction of a large number of dislocation defects in the course of the milling process. Fe sites get substituted by Si and M (M = Al, B, Cr) atoms during the milling process. The structural change and the resulting disorder are reflected in the changes in the lattice parameter and average magnetic moment of the powders milled for various time periods. The effective magnetic anisotropy increases linearly with the milling time. An increase in coercivity with increasing milling time was observed which could be attributed to the introduction of dislocations and the reduction in the powder particle size during milling. The presence of dislocations and grain boundaries increases the possibility of ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryPAS domains sense oxygen, redox potential and light, and are implicated in behavior, circadian rhythmicity, development and metabolic regulation. Although PAS domains are...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The sequences of the peptide binding domains of 33 70 kd heat shock proteins (hsp70) have been aligned and a consensus secondary structure has been deduced. Individual members showed no significant...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

This paper presents some basic elements regarding the domain of the collaborative systems, a domain of maximum actuality and also the multiagent systems, developed as a result of a sound study on the one-agent systems.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

KoreaScience (Korea)

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Our institute has been investigating laser-produced tin, lithium and xenon plasma for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light source of EUV lithography system, and found the highest conversion efficiency of 3% at 13.5 nm in 2% bandwidth. In the present paper, we introduce fabrication methods of density-controlled tin targets to generate relatively monochromatic EUV, and higher conversion efficiency than bulk tin. The first method is the nano-template method, where liquid tin solution was immersed into a polymer film with monodispersed size nano-particle. The density can be controlled by tin concentration of the solution. The target can be classified into mass-limited target. We have shown a tendency of monochromatic EUV emission around 13.5 nm with decreasing of tin density. The intensity was higher than tin foil with bulk density. The tendency has a merit to mitigate heat effect of the first EUV mirror. The fabrication method has another merit to control not only density but also the pore ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The dependence of the photoluminescent properties of In{sub 0.48}(Al{sub {ital y}}Ga{sub 1{minus}{ital y}}){sub 0.52}P alloys (0{le}{ital y}{le}0.5) on growth temperature and substrate misorientation off GaAs(100) has been studied. Samples were grown using low-pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. By studying the dependence of ordering behavior in InGaP as a function of substrate misorientation and growth temperature simultaneously, a very large range in low-temperature photoluminescence emission energy---135 meV---has been obtained. The photoluminescence linewidth exhibits a strong, continuous dependence on the extent of atomic ordering (the emission energy) in the alloys. The results indicate that inhomogeneity in the microstructure of the material (i.e., between ordered'' domains and the disordered'' matrix) is the dominant photoluminescence broadening mechanism. This investigation has allowed a ...

KoreaScience (Korea)

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KoreaScience (Korea)

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CERN Document Server

We study the production of gravitational waves from cosmic domain walls created during phase transition in the early universe. We investigate the process of formation and evolution of domain walls by running three dimensional lattice simulations. If we introduce an approximate discrete symmetry, walls become metastable and finally disappear. We calculate the spectrum of gravitational waves produced by collapsing metastable domain walls. Extrapolating the numerical results, we find the signal of gravitational waves produced by domain walls whose energy scale is around 10^10-10^12GeV will be observable in the next generation gravitational wave interferometers.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

There is no possibility to check any inner part at real welded joint at nuclear power station (NPS) during operation because any destructive test cannot be used. In practice there is checked surface of weld. There are used four methodical instructions for the check of real welds: 1. The visual inspection, 2. The measurement of hardness, 3. The chemical composition checking and 4. The microstructure replica analysis. It is necessary to know how these information of weld surface are in accordance with characteristics of inner parts of weld. If there is not any difference between surface weld microstructure and internal weld microstructure of experimental weld it is supposed to that there is not any difference in other measured properties of welds. If is changed structural characteristics of microstructure, it is changed also hardness, chemical analysis etc. It was observed that the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

This paper presents a new methodology to create realistic 3D microstructures of polycrystals. The virtual microstructures are based on statistical data describing the morphological and crystallographic textures of a sample, obtained from an EBSD analysis. In addition, the methodology can reproduce the observed surface on top of the simulated microstructure. This feature allows finite element calculations on these virtual aggregates to be compared to experimental results of mechanical tests. Such a comparison leads to the identification of the mechanical parameters of constitutive laws, such as critical resolved shear stress and strain hardening, using an optimization algorithm. Two materials were simulated in this study: TiAl and grade 702 zirconium. The first one presents twins inside the microstructure and the second one has an anisotropic texture. Based on 2D simulations, the important parameters ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Peripheral subunit binding domains (PSBDs) are integral parts of large multienzyme complexes involved in carbohydrate metabolism. PSBDs facilitate shuttling of prosthetic groups between different catalytic...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Several central results of the method of structural formulae for some classes of analytic functions, which were known before for a disc and an annulus, are generalized to analytic functions in a finitely connected circular domain.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundEukaryotic DNA replication is regulated at the level of large chromosomal domains (0.5–5 megabases in mammals) within which replicons are activated relatively synchronously....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundZhx1 to 3 (zinc-fingers and homeoboxes) form a set of paralogous genes encoding multi-domain proteins. ZHX proteins consist of two zinc fingers followed...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

In this paper, the authors first describe a fourth order accurate finite difference discretization for both the Laplace equation and the heat equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions on irregular domains. In the case of the heat equation, they use an i...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundSteroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein related lipid transfer (START) domains are small globular modules that form a cavity where lipids and lipid hormones bind....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The 3-D spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images of the retina often do not reflect the true shape of the retina and are distorted differently along the x and y...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

... Verheij (1980) described how the frequency domain could be exploited using cross spectral density measurements to measure the flexural ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

Science.gov (United States)

Quantitative metallography is often used to confirm the proper processing of aerospace metallic materials. A microstructural feature of great importance for titanium alloys processed in the alpha-beta phase field is the volume fraction of primary alpha. S...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Polarized epithelial cells develop and maintain distinct apical and basolateral surface domains despite a continuous flux of membranes between these domains. The Na⁺/H⁺exchanger...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Magnetic field, thickness and magnetic forming effect on general mode and quantitative parameters of the domain structure (DS) of ferrite-garnet (EuEr)/sub 3/(FeGa)/sub 5/O/sub 12/ monocrystalline plates (111) is investigated. Field interval of circle (cone) and ring domain stability is determined. It is shown that DS of ferrite-garnet crystals with uniaxial an6sotropy has some peculiarities, that can be explained by cubic anisotropy effect.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To investigate the influence of equal channel angular pressing on the microstructure and texture of the magnesium alloy AZ31, electron backscattering diffraction and well as neutron diffraction experiments were carried out. Through these experiments it was possible to trace the microstructure and texture evolution with strain accumulated with the increasing number of equal channel angular pressing passes. It was further demonstrated by subsequent compression tests that the microstructural changes produced by equal channel angular pressing have a beneficial effect on both the compressive strength and ductility of AZ31. (orig.)

Science.gov (United States)

Not Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

By characterising the microstructure, quantitative image analysis allows to draw conclusions on the mechanical properties of materials. On fine microstructures with low contrast, e.g. of hardened steels, texture analysis has to be applied for quantification. Feeding texture parameters according to Haralick into a trained neural network, a correlation between the microstructure and the hardness of the steels C45 and 100Cr6 can be achieved. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Both microstructural graded and homogenous single-phase #alpha#-Sialon is obtained from Si_3N_4 powder for a broad range of compositions of practical interest. Elongated grains of #alpha#-Sialon could be developed in the monophase material by controlled mechanism of nucleation and growth. Tailoring of microstructure was realized through slow transformation reaction from Si_3N_4 to #alpha#-Sialon at lower temperature than sintering temperature when the composition is near the #alpha#-Sialon phase boundary. The mechanical properties are strongly correlated with the microstructure and are enhanced greatly in the optimized Sialon composition. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Two aspects of the deformation behavior of magnesium sheets are the subject of this paper. First it will give a mechanical characterization of a commercial magnesium with a focus on the anisotropy and the possible microstructural causes of this behavior. The rolling process will be part of the second aspect. The aim is to show the influence of the parameters on the microstructure and texture and how this could affect the anisotropy in the rolled sheets. (Abstract Copyright [2003], Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper, aluminium nitride synthesis is carried out by direct laser irradiation onto an aluminium target surface in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. The influence of various processing parameters on the microstructure of AlN thin films is investigated in order to improve their tribological properties. The main microstructural characteristics: nature, concentration, in depth distribution and morphology of various phases are studied versus processing parameters by TEM and GIXD. (author). 2 refs., 1 fig., 2 photos.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Water repellency en the microstructure super-hydrophobic cured surface is important for research and industrial purposes. This microstructure film can be cured on polyethylene terephthalate PET surface by electron beam (EB) at different irradiation doses 10-100 kGy. The microstructure formulation composed from hydrophobic acrylate oligomer (EB 244) and monomer (SR 440). The irradiation induced cross linking of the prepared microstructure was proved by FTIR spectroscopy and the adhesion force by abrasion test. Some factors affecting the adhesion force of the prepared microstructure film such as oligomer/monomer composition ratio and the thickness of the microstructure cured film were studied. The contact angles (8) were measured on cured surfaces before and after adding the super hydrophobic nanoparticles (Zonyl 9361). The super-hydrophobic cured surface showed ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Step-scan Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in conjunction with impulse stress on polymer films has been used to monitor dynamic rheological responses in real time. A novel piezo-electrically-driven polymer microrheometer was employed to apply repetitive impulses to the polymer sample while time-domain spectra were recorded. Recent results include the study of both semi-crystalline polymers such as isotactic polypropylene (iPP) and elastomers such as Estane polyester/polyurethane copolymer and Kraton tri-block copolymer. The spectral changes of iPP are consistent with frequency-domain results. For iPP at room temperature, large differences in the response times of different absorption bands are not seen. However, the orientation response of the CH{sub 3} rocking mode is slightly slower than the responses of the backbone modes. To the authors` knowledge, this is the first reported successful step-scan FTIR time-domain ...

Science.gov (United States)

We present evidence for the creation of an exchange spring in an antiferromagnet due to exchange coupling to a ferromagnet. X-ray magnetic linear dichroism spectroscopy on single crystal Co/NiO(001) shows that a partial domain wall is wound up at the surface of the antiferromagnet when the adjacent ferromagnet is rotated by a magnetic field. We determine the interface exchange stiffness and the antiferromagnetic domain wall energy from the field dependence of the direction of the antiferromagnetic axis, the antiferromagnetic pendant to a ferromagnetic hysteresis loop. The existence of a planar antiferromagnetic domain wall, proven by our measurement, is a key assumption of most exchange bias models.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In order to design the microstructure of ceramics with desired dielectric property, an estimation method of dielectric constant of ceramics taking into account the characteristics of microstructure of the ceramics is proposed. In the estimation model, the microstructure of ceramics is represented by the assembly of unit cells comprising of grain, pore and grain boundary. The sizes of grain and pore and the thickness of grain boundary in each unit cell were determined exactly according to their size and thickness distributions in a real ceramic. The dielectric constant of the assembly can be calculated on the basis of equivalent circuit theory. The estimated values of dielectric constant of ceramic BaTiO{sub 3} using the proposed estimation method agree well with experimental ones. The dependence of characteristics of microstructure on the dielectric constant was clarified by the estimation of dielectric ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

This paper examines theoretically the effects that restraints on the tertiary structure of a superhelical DNA domain exert on the energetics of linking and the onset of conformational transitions. The...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reflectometric methods like polarised neutron reflectometry (PNR) and synchrotron Moessbauer reflectometry (SMR) are capable of investigating the plane-perpendicular and lateral magnetic structure of multilayers (MLs). Previously, a variety of domain formation and transformation phenomena was found and systematically studied in a Fe/Cr ML of strong antiferromagnetic coupling by PNR and SMR. Growth of the primary domains on passing the bulk-spin-flop transition was established. The domains were found to revert to their native state only in a field considerably higher than the apparent saturation field, a phenomenon referred to as the supersaturation domain memory effect (SDME). We present a comparative PNR study of two antiferromagnetically coupled Fe/Cr MLs with different magnetisation curves. We show that the distribution of the layer-layer coupling rather than the magnetic structure of the Cr spacer ...

Science.gov (United States)

We set a symmetric boundary at x=200 and a conducting wall at z=150. The domain of 0200. 0150 is resolved by 60004500 grid cells. Harris sheet ...

CERN Document Server

We study dipolar bosons in a 1D optical lattice and identify a region in parameter space---strong coupling but relatively weak on-site repulsion---hosting a series of stable CDW states whose low-energy excitations, built from "fractional domain walls", are remarkably similar to those of non-abelian fractional quantum Hall states. Here, a conventional domain wall between translated CDW's may split by inserting strings of degenerate, but inequivalent, CDW states. Outside these insulating regions, we find numerous supersolids as well as a superfluid regime. The mentioned phases should be accessible experimentally, and in particular, the fractional domain walls can be created in the ground state using single-site addressing, i.e. by locally changing the chemical potential.

Science.gov (United States)

7.5.6 Conclusions of the Generic Metroplex Queueing Simulation . ...... the systemwide arrival delays incurred at the metroplex terminal-area ...... assignment rules, estimated nominal transit speeds or times by domain, and stochastic ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

No abstract prepared.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thermal analysis testing revealed slight weight changes, which were a function of gamma irradiation, in a highly reduced Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF) simulated waste glass. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was performed on this glass to determine if the weight change corresponded to microstructural variations. TEM analyses showed that no microstructural changes were attributable to gamma irradiation. Exposure of the samples to the electron beam in the TEM did cause changes in the glass microstructures in some cases. These changes were likely due to localized heating of the glass due to interactions with the transmitted electrons.

International Science & Technology Center (ISTC)

Development of Technology for Producing High-Effective Nitride Fuel UN with Controlled Microstructure for Advanced Fast Neutron Nuclear Reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mechanical alloying is an important pre-requisite for the manufacturing of heat resistant oxide-dispersion-strengthened superalloys. Though the microstructure of these materials after hot extrusion and recrystallization treatment is well documented, little is known about the microstructural evolution during ball-milling. A method was tested to prepare electron transparent foils and extraction replica from powder particles for TEM investigations. The microstructure was found to consist of a Ni-Cr-Al solid solution in which submicron particles of refractory metals were embedded. The extremely fine grainize of about 50 nm is the consequence of severe plastic deformation. Yttria particles could not be detected in the powder after ball milling, but after a heat treatment at 1000 C the well-known fine dispersion of oxide particles was evident. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The microstructural evolution of a AZ31 Mg alloy during hot rolling has been investigated using optical microscopy and texture (macro and micro) analysis as the main characterization tools. In particular, the differences between the microstructure obtained by unidirectional rolling (UR) and cross rolling (CR) are studied. Significant twinning activity is observed in both cases. Additionally, after cross rolling, a rather heterogeneous microstructure develops, with scattered regions populated by very fine grains. The strong basal fiber texture of the as-received material remains present after both hot rolling schemes. The impossibility to obtain accurate EBSD measurements within the twinned regions suggests that significant localized deformation takes place in those areas. Thus, these regions become preferential sites for the onset of recrystallization due to the increase in the local strain energy. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

(Feb 1972). United States Nelson, HG Williams, DP Stein, JE v. 3(2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An Fe-15Cr-20Ni ternary model alloy and a Type 316 stainless steel were irradiated by dual-ions at 1 to 50 appm of He/dpa ratios, to investigate the helium effects on microstructural development in austenitic alloys under irradiation. Quantitative analysis on resultant microstructures revealed that the Frank loop nucleation rate and the network dislocation density positively correlate and Frank loop growth rate negatively correlate with the He/dpa ratio, while the cavity growth rate has its peak at an intermediate helium injection rate. Although He/dpa dependence of various microstructural features were similar for the model alloy and the 316SS, the rates of their development and the mechanism which had assisted cavity growth were significantly different in these two materials. (orig.).

Science.gov (United States)

A common reinforced liner material is a cloth formed of PTFE fibers and fiber of ... and ablation protection provided. All of these methods of thermal ..... The influence of fiber content on the microstructures of the composites is ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A boundary value problem for Laplace?s equation in a bounded two-dimensional domain filled with a piecewise homogeneous medium is considered. The boundary of the inhomogeneity is assumed to be unknown. The inverse problem of determining the inhomogeneity boundary and the solution of the equation given the solution and its normal derivative on the boundary of the domain is discussed. Numerical methods are proposed for solving the inverse problem, and the results of numerical experiments are presented.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The structural changes attendant on intermartensitic transformation in a Ni-Mg-Ga shape memory alloy are considered using magneto-optical visualization with the help of ferrite-garnet monocrystalline films. It is established that on the intermartensitic transformation the complete reorganization of martensite macrostructure fails. Martensite crystals resulted from the basic transformation change somewhat their sizes on intermartensitic transition. The existence of large-scale labyrinth magnetic domain structure is revealed

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Four solutions of the Cauchy problem for Mathieu?s equation away from parametric resonance domains are analytically constructed using an asymptotic averaging method in the fourth approximation. Three solutions occur near fractional parameter values at which slow combination phases exist. The fourth solution occurs in the absence of slow phases away from parametric resonance domains and the fractional parameter values.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this study, deformation modes and precipitations have been characterized in test pieces made of alloy 800, grade 2 hyper-hardened state and age-conditioned for 3000 h at 550/sup 0/C, used for steam generator tubes of the Super Phenix Reactor, after continuous fatigue and fatigue-relaxation tests in the oligocyclic range. This microstructural study has provided an interpretation of the fatigue behaviour of the material.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The creep behaviour of different casts of Alloy 800, supplied by different sources, has been determined in multispecimen furnaces at 650, 750 and 800"0C and at different stress levels up to about 14,000 hs; the environment was initially helium and then air. The microstructural investigations were carried out by transmission electron microscopy. (Auth.).

Science.gov (United States)

The goal of the present study is to elucidate the effect of lipid domain formation on activities of Naja naja atra and Bungarus multicinctus phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)) enzymes. Sphingomyelin inhibited enzymatic activity and membrane-damaging activity of PLA(2) against egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (EYPC), while cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate abrogated the inhibitory effect of sphingomyelin. The ability of cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate to abolish the inhibitory effect of sphingomyelin was closely related to their capacity to induce domain formation in EYPC/sphingomyelin vesicles. Laurdan fluorescence measurement revealed that membrane packing of EYPC/sphingomyelin vesicles was differently affected by cholesterol and cholesterol sulfate. Unlike cholesterol, cholesterol sulfate was unable to promote domain formation in dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles. Cholesterol increased but cholesterol sulfate ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spray depositing allows the production of steels having a structure which is free of any macro-segregation, homogeneous and equiaxed. Nevertheless the spray deposition of steels shows some effects that have to be regarded as disadvantages. A porous region at the billet border and a rather coarse-grained microstructure can be noticed. As a result, in the presented work the influence of a subsequent hot rolling and a following heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical properties has been investigated. For this purpose the bearing steel SAE 52100 has been used as master material. The initial microstructure has been transformed to a homogeneous equiaxed fine-grained pearlitic microstructure without any remaining porosity. To get use of the characteristic properties of this high-strength steel an isothermal bainitic hardening has been carried out. Information about the mechanical properties of this ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The microstructural development and grain-coarsening behavior of WC-Co alloys, with and without a VC additive, were investigated. The primary goal was to determine the mechanism through which VC acts as a grain-growth inhibitor. The study involved long-time sintering experiments (1 to 100 hours) on fully dense material, nascent stage sintering (90 to 1,320 seconds) starting with the green compact, and surrogate liquid phase experiments to characterize the WC powder prior to sintering. Quantitative microstructural analysis using intercept length distributions was performed for the long-term sintering. The nascent stage experiments involved the measurement of the specific surface area (S_v) of each type of interface separately allowing the determination of the contribution of each developing entity to the overall microstructural evolution. The VC addition has been found to enhance the breakup of multigrained particles in the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buried silicon carbide (SiC) microstructures with lateral dimensions in the #mu#m range were formed by high-dose projection of 1.5 MeV C"2"+ ions in Si(100) at different doses and temperatures and subsequent annealing for 10 h at 1250 deg. C. Sections of individual SiC microstructures were prepared for cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis using a focused ion beam (FIB). Besides the possibility to select an individual microstructure, the FIB technique has the advantage of producing specimen foils of uniform thickness. Therefore, it was possible to map the carbon concentration of microstructures by energy filtered TEM (EFTEM) using the C_K absorption edge without the need of any sample thickness correction. Local overstoichiometric (>50%) carbon concentrations are shown to be correlated to the formation of an amorphous phase in the SiC and to significant swelling visible at ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strong perpendicular anisotropy systems consisting of Co/Pt multilayer stacks that are antiferromagnetically coupled via thin Ru or NiO layers have been used as model systems to study the competition between local interlayer exchange and long-range dipolar interactions [1,2]. Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) studies of such systems reveal complex magnetic configurations with a mix of antiferromagnetic (AF) and ferromagnetic (FM) phases. However, MFM allows detecting surface stray fields only and can interact strongly with the magnetic structure of the sample, thus altering the original domain configuration of interest [3,4]. In the current study they combine magnetometry and state-of-the-art soft X-ray transmission microscopy (MXTM) to investigate the external field driven FM phase evolution originating from the domain boundaries in such antiferromagnetically coupled perpendicular anisotropy films. MXTM allows directly imaging the perpendicular ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

To represent a heterogeneous unsaturated fractured rock by its homogeneous equivalent, Monte Carlo simulations are used to obtain upscaled (effective) flow properties. In this study, we present a numerical procedure for upscaling the van Genuchten parameters of unsaturated fractured rocks by conducting Monte Carlo simulations of the unsaturated flow in a domain under gravity-dominated regime. The simulation domain can be chosen as the scale of block size in the field-scale modeling. The effective conductivity is computed from the steady-state flux at the lower boundary and plotted as a function of the averaging pressure head or saturation over the domain. The scatter plot is then fitted using van Genuchten model and three parameters, i.e., the saturated conductivity K{sub s}, the air-entry parameter {alpha}, the pore-size distribution parameter n, corresponding to this model are considered as the effective K{sub s}, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper describes the Knowledge Encapsulation Framework (KEF), a suite of tools to enable knowledge inputs (relevant, domain-specific facts) to modeling and simulation projects, as well as other domains that require effective collaborative workspaces for knowledge-based task. This framework can be used to capture evidence (e.g., trusted material such as journal articles and government reports), discover new evidence (covering both trusted and social media), enable discussions surrounding domain-specific topics and provide automatically generated semantic annotations for improved corpus investigation. The current KEF implementation is presented within a wiki environment, providing a simple but powerful collaborative space for team members to review, annotate, discuss and align evidence with their modeling frameworks. The novelty in this approach lies in the combination of automatically tagged and user-vetted resources, ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Extracting mining subsidence land from remote sensing (RS) images is one of important research contents for environment monitoring in mining area. The accuracy of traditional extracting models based on spectral features is low. In order to extract subsidence land from RS images with high accuracy, some domain knowledge should be imported and new models should be proposed. This paper, in terms of the disadvantage of traditional extracting models, imports domain knowledge from practice and experience, converts semantic knowledge into digital information, and proposes a new model for the specific task. By selecting the Luan mining area as a study area, this new model is tested based on GIS and related knowledge. The result shows that the proposed method is more precise than traditional methods and can satisfy the demands of land subsidence monitoring in mining area. 10 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Assembly of icosahedral capsids of proper size and symmetry is not understood. Residue F170 in bacteriophage P22 coat protein is critical for conformational switching during assembly. Substitutions at this site cause assembly of tubes of hexamerically arranged coat protein. Intragenic suppressors of the ts phenotype of F170A and F170K coat protein mutants were isolated. Suppressors were repeatedly found in the coat protein telokin-like domain at position 285, which caused coat protein to assemble into petite procapsids and capsids. Petite capsid assembly strongly correlated to the side chain volume of the substituted amino acid. We hypothesize that larger side chains at position 285 torque the telokin-like domain, changing flexibility of the subunit and intercapsomer contacts. Thus, a sing...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The relationship between microstructure and macro properties of different cementitious materials has been investigated. This study consists of the following tasks: using NMR and IR to better characterize the amorphous and poorly crystalline phases that occur in blended cements; characterizing the microstructure of the hydration products of modified Portland cement as a function of different percentages of pozzolan replacements by ESEM, SEM, and EDS; comparing the properties of blended cement pastes with a control group of normal Portland cements; and studying the engineering aspects of blended cement that are important for identifying and characterizing fundamental phenomena that are responsible for their durability. The overall influence of the nanoscale and microscale structure of blended and Portland cement on the properties of the resultant composite will be discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The microstructure evolution of nine samples from three Ir-base ternary systems, Ir-Nb-Hf, Ir-Nb-Ta, and Ir-Nb-Ti, was investigated by microstructure observation using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), composition map-analysis using electron probe microscopy analysis (EPMA), and phase determination using X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The fcc/L1{sub 2} two-phase structure was detected in all the samples. Lattice misfits between fcc and L1{sub 2} phases were calculated. Ir-Nb-Ta and Ir-Nb-Ti alloys exhibited a microstructure quite similar to that of Ni-base superalloys, and the cuboidal L1{sub 2} precipitates in Ir-Nb-Ta and Ir-Nb-Ti alloys could maintain up to 1900 {sup o}C.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Microstructure and properties of a Mg AZ31B laser beam weld without filler are studied using electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and mechanical tests. The microstructure of the weld is characterized by a narrow heat affected zone, columnar grains and precipitate coarsening in the fusion zone. Texture in the fusion zone is significantly different from the texture of the base material. The residual stress distribution observed is similar at the top and the bottom of the weld, maximum tensile residual stress values are observed in the fusion zone. Tensile tests reveal differences in the mechanical behavior of the fusion zone and the parent material, which can be related to the differences of texture and the resulting deformation mechanisms.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Analytical TEM and high resolution TEM were used in the microstructural characterization of hot-press sintered Si_3N_4-SiC platelets composites. The quantity of sintering additives, Er_2O_3 and AlN, was varied to produce different matrices, e. g. Si_3N_4, #beta#'+#alpha#'-Sialon and #alpha#'-Sialon. Detailed analysis of platelet-sialon matrix interfaces revealed the presence of AlN polytypoids. The polytypoids nucleate preferentially onto the (0001) plane of SiC and growth epitaxially in several ten nanometer layers contributing in this way to crystallize, partially, the matrix intergranular glass pockets contacting the platelets. Possible applications of the phenomena to microstructural control, grain boundary phase control and enhanced creep resistance are discussed. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

AISI 316L stainless steel was welded by the electron beam (EB) and laser techniques. Microstructural characteristics, hardness profile, creep rupture properties and creep damage of the welds were investigated. Fully austenitic microstructure was obtained in the two welds. The solidification structure of the welds consisted of the cellular and equiaxed dendrites. The creep rupture lives of the two welds were almost the same, and they were reduced by a factor of about two compared to the base metal. Moreover, the rupture elongation of the welds was lower than that of the base metal. Creep damage was observed in the ``parting`` region of the welds and in the heat-affected zone (HAZ), respectively. Final creep fracture occurred in the ``parting`` region of the welds. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scanning thermal microscopy (SThM) was used to map thermal conductivity images in an ultrafine-grained copper surface layer produced by surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT). It is found that the deformed surface layer shows different thermal conductivities that strongly depend on the grain size of the microstructure: the thermal conductivity of the nanostructured surface layer decreases obviously when compared with that of the coarse-grained matrix of the sample. The role of the grain boundaries in thermal conduction is analyzed in correlation with the heat conduction mechanism in pure metal. A theoretical approach, based on this investigation, was used to calculate the heat flow from the probe tip to the sample and then estimate the thermal conductivities at different scanning positions. Experimental results and theoretical calculation demonstrate that SThM can be used as a tool for the thermal property and microstructural analysis of ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The microstructure of commercial rolled magnesium alloy AZ31B (nominal composition Mg-3Al-0.9Zn-0.15Mn in wt.%) was investigated with the help of light microscopy, electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and X-ray diffraction technique after annealing in the temperature range from room temperature (RT) to 400 deg. C. Tensile tests at RT were performed to show the influence of the microstructure on mechanical properties. Static recrystallization (SRX) was observed during annealing of as-received alloy at and above 150 deg. C. Twins play an important role during SRX and serve as nucleation sites and preferred paths for growth of grains. The strong basal texture caused by rolling was weakened by SRX. Significant differences in the stress strain curves were observed for as-received and annealed specimens.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Results of investigation on the effect of microstructure and deformation conditions (temperature and strain rate) on flow stress and critical strain in two phase #alpha# + #beta# titanium alloy Ti-6Al-5Mo-5V-1Cr-1Fe is presented in the paper. The alloy is deformed or torsional plastometer at temperature range 1073-1173 K and at the strain rate #epsilon# = 0.04-4.0 s"-"1. Sequential deformation at 1173 K at the strain rate of 0.4 s"-"1 was also performed with holding times in the range 1-100 s. The fraction of dynamically and metadynamically recrystallized #beta# phase was determined on the basis of results of sequential deformation test. Microstructure was examined using LM and TEM techniques. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spiral orbit tribometry friction tests performed on Ni-rich Ni55Ti45 titanium ball bearings indicate that this alloy is a promising candidate for future aerospace bearing applications. Microstructural characterization of the bearing specimens was performed using transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy, with NiTi, Ni4Ti3, Ni3Ti, and Ni2Ti4Ox phases identified within the microstructure of the alloy. Density functional theory was applied to predict the electronic structure of the NixTiy phases, including the band structure and site projected density of states. Ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy was used to verify the density of states results from the density functional theory calculations, with good agreement observed between experiment and theory.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Effector proteins expressed in the esophageal gland cells of cyst nematodes are delivered into plant cells through a hollow, protrusible stylet. Although evidence indicates that effector proteins function...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Cytosine methylation in DNA is a major epigenetic signal, and plays a central role in propagating chromatin status during cell division. However the mechanistic links between DNA methylation...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SUMMARYIn voltage-gated sodium, potassium, and calcium channels the functions of ion conduction and voltage sensing are performed by two distinct structural units: the pore domain...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundChromatin insulators or boundary elements are a class of functional elements in the eukaryotic genome. They regulate gene transcription by interfering with promoter-enhancer...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

In the American educational system, school transitions are frequent and predictable, but they can disrupt student functioning across developmental domains. How students experience school transitions...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryThe Hippo tumor-suppressor pathway controls tissue growth in Drosophila and mammals by regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. The Hippo pathway includes...Full Text Available

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Peptide toxins with high affinity, divergent pharmacological functions, and isoform-specific selectivity are powerful tools for investigating the structure-function relationships of voltage-gated...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The exocyst is an evolutionarily conserved octameric complex involved in polarized exocytosis from yeast to humans. The Sec3 subunit of the exocyst acts as a spatial landmark for exocytosis through...Full Text Available

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A previous report of high levels of members of the domain Archaea in Antarctic coastal waters prompted us to investigate the ecology of Antarctic planktonic prokaryotes. rRNA hybridization...Full Text Available

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Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase domain mutations hyperactivate the kinase and confer kinase addiction of the non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumor...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Specificity of the pulses mean frequency measurement (the pulses being generated in a stochastic process) is described. Status of the domain of analog frequency meters is presented. Methods of increasing accuracy of such meters are discussed. (author).

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Since 2002 we have been testing and refining a methodology for ontology development that is now being used by multiple groups of researchers in different life science domains. Gary Merrill,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) domain data obtained by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis with 18S rDNA and fingerprinting (M13) for clinical...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

In this study, we investigated on a systems level how complex protein interactions underlying cell polarity in yeast determine the dynamic association of proteins with the polar cortical domain (PCD)...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The RNA packaging process for retroviruses involves a recognition event of the genome-length viral RNA by the viral Gag polyprotein precursor (PrGag), an important step in particle morphogenesis. The...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Phenanthrene and naphthalene sorption isotherms were measured for three different series of kerogen materials using completely mixed batch reactors. Sorption isotherms were nonlinear for each sorbate-sorbent system, and the Freundlich isotherm equation fit the sorption data well. The Freundlich isotherm linearity parameter n ranged from 0.192 to 0.729 for phenanthrene and from 0.389 to 0.731 for naphthalene. The n values correlated linearly with rigidity and aromaticity of the kerogen matrix, but the single-point, organic carbon-normalized distribution coefficients varied dramatically among the tested sorbents. A dual-mode sorption equation consisting of a linear partitioning domain and a Langmuir adsorption domain adequately quantified the overall sorption equilibrium for each sorbent-sorbate system. Both models fit the data well, with r{sup 2} values of 0.965 to 0.996 for the Freundlich model and 0.963 to 0.997 for the dual-mode model for the ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Mitochondria must uptake some phospholipids from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) for the biogenesis of their membranes. They convert one of these lipids, phosphatidylserine, to phosphatidylethanolamine,...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundNew technology allows more precise definition of structural alterations of all retinal layers although it has not been used previously in cases of optic...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The Japanese medaka fish Oryzias latipes has an XX/XY sex-determination system. The Y-linked sex-determination gene DMY is a duplicate of the autosomal gene DMRT1, which encodes a DM-domain-containing...Full Text Available

Science.gov (United States)

Cyberspace and its associated operations present both opportunities and challenges for military and United States Government decision-makers and planners. The Pentagon has formally recognized cyberspace as a domain of warfare. Cyberspace is man-made, dyna...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We presented data showing that the CART-19 cells expressing the 4-1BB signaling domain can have unprecedented and massive in-vivo expansion, traffic to tumor sites, persist long term in vivo, and induce...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

PurposeTo establish normative values for macular light sensitivity and to determine the intrasession fluctuation of perimetric responses using the OPKO/OTI microperimeter.Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Amyloid precursor protein (APP), implicated in Alzheimer's disease, is a transmembrane protein of undetermined function. APP is cleaved by gamma-secretase that releases the APP intracellular domain...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Over the last century, anatomical studies have shown that the cerebral cortex can be subdivided into structurally distinct regions, giving rise to a new branch of neuroanatomy: ‘architectonics’....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Pestiviruses are positive-strand RNA viruses closely related to human hepatitis C virus. Gene expression of these viruses occurs via translation of a polyprotein, which is further processed by cellular...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

Motivated by the numerical investigations of Laval, Dubrulle & Nazarenko (1999), we develop a quasilinear theory of the 2D Euler equation and derive an integro-differential equation for the evolution of the coarse-grained vorticity. This equation respects all the invariance properties of the Euler equation and conserves angular momentum in a circular domain and linear impulse in a channel (as well as in an infinite domain). The explicit energy is not rigorously conserved as it is partly transfered into fine-grained fluctuations but the total energy is conserved. We prove a H-theorem for the Fermi-Dirac entropy and make the connection with statistical theories of 2D turbulence.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yucca Mountain, Nevada is a potential site for a high-level radioactive-waste repository. Uncertainty and sensitivity analyses were performed to estimate critical factors in the performance of the site with respect to a criterion in terms of pre-waste-emplacement ground-water travel time. The degree of failure in the analytical model to meet the criterion is sensitive to the estimate of fracture porosity in the upper welded unit of the problem domain. Fracture porosity is derived from a number of more fundamental measurements including fracture frequency, fracture orientation, and the moisture-retention characteristic inferred for the fracture domain.

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nonlinear distortion added by the loudspeaker in a hearing aid lowers the signal-to-noise ratio and may degrade the hearing aid user's ability to understand speech. The balancedarmature- type loudspeakers, predominantly used in hearing aids, are inherently nonlinear devices, as any displacement of the loudspeaker diaphragm inevitably changes the magnetic and electrical characteristics of the loudspeaker. A numerical time-domain model capable of describing these nonlinearities is presented. By simulation it is demonstrated how the output distortion could potentially be reduced significantly through careful design of the mechanical properties of the armature.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The fuzzy polar power system stabilizer (FPPSS) which has been recently developed is analyzed using frequency domain methods. the frequency domain approach allows the PSS designer to compare the new FPPSS with more conventional controllers. The significance of the three FPPSS design parameters are readily seen from the frequency response data, and their relationship to the conventional lead-lag design approach can be evaluated. Furthermore, the frequency response data for the FPPSS allows an alternate design approach for this stabilizer, and can be used to develop information concerning the small signal stability of the resulting system.

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Dynamic contingency analysis is certainly a demanding task in the context of dynamic performance evaluation. This paper presents the results of a test for checking the contingency screening capability of the IPEBS method. A brazilian 1100-bus, 112-gen system was used in the test; the ranking of the contingencies based on critical clearing times obtained with IPEBS, was compared with the ranking derived from detailed time-domain simulation. The results of this comparison encourages us to recommended the use of the method in industry applications, in a complementary basis to the current method of time domain simulation. (author) 5 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Generally, neutron, ion and electron Irradiations cause a substantial amount of hardening and significantly alter the deformation behavior of metals and alloys at relatively low irradiation temperatures. A radiation hardening is caused by the formation of microstructural defects such as dislocation loops, voids and precipitates under irradiation. Therefore, it is important to have a better knowledge of the irradiation induced microstructural defects under irradiation condition. As a part of the National mid- and long-term atomic energy R and D program, we are dealing with the radiation hardening behavior in Fe-Cr binary alloy. Fe-Cr binary alloy is a base alloy of Ferritic/Martensitic steel(F/M steel) planning to use for the Gen IV nuclear system. In this work, we investigated the radiation hardening and microstructural defect evolution in ion irradiated Fe-Cr alloys with irradiation temperature using nano-indentation ...

Science.gov (United States)

This study deals with the torsional response of Ti-8823 and 18Ni (200) maraging steel. The effect of different heat treatments and the subsequent change in microstructure are investigated. In the case of the Ti-8823, a comparison was made between the solu...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In the heat-affected zones (HAZ) of low alloy steels used for nuclear pressure vessel, microstructural changes, such as grain coarsening, carbide precipitation, and martensite formation, generally occur and cause a deterioration of toughness and an increase in sensitivity to brittle fracture. Metallographic analyses of low alloy steel welds reveal significantly different regions in HAZ microstructures. In 2-pass welds, there were seven characteristic regions in the HAZ determined by the peak temperature, to which the region was exposed during the weld thermal cycle: a coarse-grained region, a fine-grained region, an intercritical region, and subcritical region. The coarse-grained region can be categorized into four zones according to the reheating temperature as follows : an unaltered coarse-grained zone (UCGHAZ), a supercritically reheated coarse grained zone (SCRCGHAZ), an intercritically reheated coarse-grained zone (ICRCGHAZ), and an ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A micro-mechanistic understanding of bone fracture thatencompasses how cracks interact with the underlying microstructure anddefines their local failure mode is lacking, despite extensive research nthe response of bone to a variety of factors like aging, loading, and/ordisease.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The development of tough #alpha#-SiAlON with elongated grains in the last five years is summarized. This progress has been guided by the improved understanding of phase relations and nucleation/growth kinetics in SiAlON ceramics. Although most #alpha#-SiAlON compositions can be processed to contain some elongated grains, their microstructure, fracture toughness and R-curve behavior vary greatly. Such variability is due to the different phase stability of #alpha#-SiAlONs and the varying physical chemistry of the competing phases, including the transient/residual liquid. For this reason, microstructure control of #alpha#-SiAlON must pay close attention to the composition, starting powder and heating schedule. Seeding with single crystals of an appropriate #alpha#-SiAlON composition provides an attractive alternative that simplifies the task of microstructure control, since such seeds are thermodynamically stable and they ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper reports that grinding and polishing affected the orientation of 90[degrees] domains at the surface of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ceramics. This was quantified by using changes in the intensity ratio of the (002) and (200) X-ray reflections. Grinding unpoled PZT with 600-grit SiC paper gave X-ray intensity ratios similar to those of poled material. This implies that 90[degrees] domain realignments had occurred in the near surface region probed by the X-rays. Grinding poled samples with 600-grit SiC further increased the X-ray intensity ratio beyond that caused by poling, indicating that additional surface reorientation of 90[degrees] domains had occurred. The effects of diamond polishing depended on the size of the diamond particles. The use of 6-[mu]m diamond had no effect on the (002)/(200) intensity ratio of either poled or unpoled samples, while polishing with 15- or 45-[mu]m diamond significantly enhanced ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mg-3%Al-1%Zn (AZ31) alloy was subjected to ECAE processing at 523 and 573 K. Microstructure observation and texture analysis were carried out using optical microscope and SEM-EBSD technique in order to investigate the process of microstructural changes including texture development during ECAE processing. Grain refinement during ECAE processing is enhanced by dynamic continuous recrystallization. The texture of the ECAE-processed AZ31 alloy specimens change with ECAE processing temperature, and the textural changes relate to deformation mechanisms that change with ECAE processing temperature. (orig.)

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Mixed microstructures have been studied in low- carbon microalloyed steels suitable for automotive applications, after continuous cooling from the hot-rolled condition. Microstructural features such as polygonal ferrite, bainitic and acicular ferrite and microphase constituent are identified using transmission electron microscopy. The influence of these mixed structures on the tensile strength, impact toughness and fracture behaviour is examined. It is found that improvements in impact toughness as compared with microalloyed medium- carbon ferrite/pearlite steels can be achieved from these predominantly acicular structures developed by controlling alloy composition and continuous cooling of these lower carbon steels. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beta-C trademark is a metastable beta titanium alloy which can be heat treated to achieve a good combination of properties such as tensile strength, fatigue strength, ductility and toughness, such as needed in aircraft fasteners. Variations in hot and cold processing parameters and solution heat treatment can affect the resultant grain structure which in turn affects subsequent aging response and mechanical properties. Several processing/heat treating routes on round bar are explored in this study to determine the effects on microstructure and various mechanical properties.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An Al-5%Mg-0.18%Mn-0.2%Sc-0.08%Zr-0.002%Be was subjected to equal-channel angular extrusion up to true strains of #approx#3 and #approx#8, that resulted in the formation of partially recrystallized and fully recrystallized structure, respectively. It was shown that the alloy with partially recrystallized structure exhibits highest strength and ductility. The material with fully recrystallized structure showed lowest fatigue crack growth rate and highest value of fracture toughness. Reasons of this unusual effect of microstructure on crack propagation resistance under fatigue are discussed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The effect of aging on the microstructure and tensile properties of a type 316LN stainless steel/Alloy 800 joint, welded with 16-8-2 stainless steel consumable, has been studied to characterize and evaluate the joint for long-term elevated temperature service. The joint was subjected to accelerated againg heat treatments at 873 K up to 5000 h to simulate long-term service exposures. Analysis of the results from this investigation shows that this joint has adequate stability of microstructure and tensile properties even after prolonged exposure at elevated temperatures. (orig.)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This work presents the development of a streak camera 'jitter free' sweep unit synchronized on a femtosecond laser. This application of high voltage photoconductive switches ('High voltage Auston switch') yields subpicosecond resolution for accumulated images on streak camera on a few hundreds micro joule femtosecond laser. Two others applications of these photoconductive switches are studied: - ultrafast optical commutation by a Pockels cell directly driven by a photoconductive switch (rising edge < 100 ps and jitter < 2 ps), - laser pulse energy self-stabilization experimentally proving that driving a Pockels cell by a photoconductive switch can increase the stability of the laser pulse energy from 7 % to 0.7 % rms. Additionally, the application of the acoustic-optical programmable dispersive filter (Dazzler) to the self referenced spectral phase measurement is presented. As these measurements require a linear filter combined with a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Our inability to associate distant regulatory elements with the genes that they regulate has largely precluded their examination for sequence alterations contributing to human disease. One major obstacle is the large genomic space surrounding targeted genes in which such elements could potentially reside. In order to delineate gene regulatory boundaries we used whole-genome human-mouse-chicken (HMC) and human-mouse-frog (HMF) multiple alignments to compile conserved blocks of synteny (CBS), under the hypothesis that these blocks have been kept intact throughout evolution at least in part by the requirement of regulatory elements to stay linked to the genes that they regulate. A total of 2,116 and 1,942 CBS>200 kb were assembled for HMC and HMF respectively, encompassing 1.53 and 0.86 Gb of human sequence. To support the existence of complex long-range regulatory domains within these CBS we analyzed the prevalence and distribution of chromosomal aberrations ...

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Magnetic imaging in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) has been used to examine submicron elements with the aim of discovering down to what element size complex domain patterns can form. The elements were squares, circles, triangles, and pentagons in the size range 100{endash}500 nm and were made from 36 nm Co films or 8 nm Ni{sub 80}Fe{sub 20} (NiFe) with in-plane magnetization. The magnetic domain structures in these elements were imaged at high resolution using the differential phase contrast imaging mode in a TEM. Nonuniform magnetization structures were seen in the images. Vortices were present at remanence in all shapes of 36-nm-thick Co elements down to 100 nm size and in circular NiFe elements down to 116 nm diameter. Triangular NiFe elements did not have a vortex state at remanence, instead the magnetization curved round within the element but did not achieve complete flux closure. In simulations of square and circular NiFe ...

CERN Document Server

A Langmuir film is a molecularly thin film on the surface of a fluid; we study the evolution of a Langmuir film with two co-existing fluid phases driven by an inter-phase line tension and damped by the viscous drag of the underlying subfluid. Experimentally, we study an 8CB Langmuir film via digitally-imaged Brewster Angle Microscopy (BAM) in a four-roll mill setup which applies a transient strain and images the response. When a compact domain is stretched by the imposed strain, it first assumes a bola shape with two tear-drop shaped reservoirs connected by a thin tether which then slowly relaxes to a circular domain which minimizes the interfacial energy of the system. We process the digital images of the experiment to extract the domain shapes. We then use one of these shapes as an initial condition for the numerical solution of a boundary-integral model of the underlying hydrodynamics and compare the subsequent images of ...

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The influences of compressive stress on the dielectric properties of (1 - x)Pb(In{sub 1/2}Nb{sub 1/2})O{sub 3}-xPbTiO{sub 3} (x = 0.1-0.5) ceramics was investigated in this study. The dielectric properties were measured under compressive stress applied parallel and perpendicular to electric field. The results clearly showed that the superimposed compression stress had pronounced effects on the dielectric properties of PIN-PT ceramics. In general, with increasing compressive stress the dielectric constant of the ceramics increased and decreased when the stress was applied parallel and perpendicular, respectively, to the electric field direction. The dielectric loss tangent, however, decreased in both stress cases. The observations were mainly interpreted in terms of competing influences of the domain switching through non-180 deg. domain walls, clamping of domain walls, de-ageing and the stress-induced decrease in the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Research highlights: ? Correlations between microstructure and internal stress during Ti anodising are established. ? Large internal compressive stresses are accumulated in the film during anodising upto 12 V. ?A transition from compressive to tensile stress is observed when the cell voltage exceeds 12 V. ? At 40 V, the oxide films consist of two regions with different compositions and microstructures. Crystallisation of amorphous to anatase TiO2 contributes to the compressive stress relaxation. - Abstract: The relationship between the microstructural and internal stress evolution during Ti anodising is discussed. Samples anodised galvanostatically to 12 V and 40 V, corresponding to different stages of the internal stress evolution, were examined by in-plane and cross-section transmission electron microscopy. Electron diffraction patterns have been complemented with stoichiometry data obtained from energy loss near edge ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A dilute tungsten heavy alloy consisting of 50W-35Ni-15Fe (wt pct) was liquid phase sintered at 1,500 C for times ranging from 30 to 960 minutes. This alloy corresponds to a nominal solid content of 20 vol pct at the sintering temperature. Because of the excess liquid, the alloy densified easily and exhibited extensive liquid-solid separation due to the density difference between the phases. The solid content at the compact bottom ranged from 45 to 70 vol pct over position and time. The microstructure of the settled region was quantified for volume fraction of tungsten, grain size, connectivity, and settled solid angle of repose. These results provide a basis for extending the microstructural parameters to possible microgravity conditions. The grain growth rate constant varies with the inverse 2/3 power of the volume fraction of liquid, possibly reflecting combined coalescence and solution-reprecipitation processes. This volume-fraction effect ...

Science.gov (United States)

The papers contained in this volume provide an overview of recent theoretical and experimental research related to the fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth characteristics of titanium alloys. Topics discussed include room temperature fatigue crack propagation in beta-titanium alloys, fatigue crack growth rate acceleration in alpha+beta Ti alloys, influence of transformed beta microstructures on fatigue crack growth rates in Ti-6Al-4V, and the role of inclusion and pore content on the fracture toughness of powder processed blended elemental Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al. Papers are also presented on fatigue crack growth measurements in an alpha-beta titanium alloy, the effects of thermal processing variation on the properties of Ti-6Al-4V, and the effect of microstructure on ductility and fracture toughness of alpha+beta titanium alloys.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A micro-mechanistic understanding of bone fracture that encompasses how cracks interact with the underlying microstructure and defines their local failure mode is lacking, despite extensive research on the response of bone to a variety of factors like aging, loading, and/or disease. Micro-mechanical models for fracture incorporating such local failure criteria have been widely developed for metallic and ceramic materials systems; however, few such deliberations have been undertaken for the fracture of bone. In fact, although the fracture event in mineralized tissues such as bone is commonly believed to be locally strain controlled, until recently there has been little experimental evidence to support this widely held belief. In the present study, a series of in vitro experiments involving a double-notch bend test geometry are performed in order to shed further light on the nature of the local cracking events that precede catastrophic fracture in bone and to define ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Flow-curve characteristics of the heat-resistant steels X 20 CrMoV 12.1 and alloy 800 (X5NiCrTiAl32.20) were measured by tensile and compression tests at temperatures between room temperature and 800 C and strain rates {epsilon}{<=}10 s{sup -1} in connection with microstructure investigations (dislocation content, carbide precipitation) by TEM and X-ray diffraction analysis (XDA). Modelling the deformation behaviour of the steels in terms of the microstructure development indicates that it cannot be explained in a simple manner. The flow curves {sigma}={sigma}({epsilon}, {epsilon}, T) lie, in general, between those predicted by the Kocks-Mecking-Estrin model and a modified (i.e. two-parameter) Roberts model. Because of the less complicated nature of the deformation process the correspondence of experiment and modelling is more satisfying in the case of the material X 20 CrMoV 12.1. (orig.) 26 refs.

Science.gov (United States)

Target vessel materials used in spallation neutron source will be exposed to proton and neutron irradiation and mercury immersion environments. In order to evaluate the surface degradation of the vessel candidate materials due to such environment, the triple-ion beam irradiation taking the spallation reaction into account and mercury immersion tests were carried out. Mechanical properties of the gradient surface layer were evaluated by the inverse analysis with multi-layer model that considers distribution of surface characteristic was applied to the load and depth curves measured by using the instrumented indentation machine. Transmission electron microscopic observations were performed to evaluate the changes of microstructure in irradiated surface layer using focused ion-beam cut micro-specimen. The mechanical properties distributions in the surface layer were evaluated quantitatively and the changes in microstructures were correspondent to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

(001) CZ silicon wafers were implanted with arsenic (As"+) at energies of 10--50 keV to doses of 2 x 10"1"4 to 5 x 10"1"5/cm"2. All implants were amorphizing in nature. The samples were annealed at 700 C for 16 hrs. The resultant defect microstructures were analyzed by XTEM and PTEM and the As profiles were analyzed by SIMS. The As profiles showed significantly enhanced diffusion in all of the annealed specimens. The diffusion enhancement was both energy and dose dependent. The lowest dose implant/annealed samples did not show As clustering which translated to a lack of defects at the projected range. At higher doses, however, projected range defects were clearly observed, presumably due to interstitials generated during As clustering. The extent of enhancement in diffusion and its relation to the defect microstructure is explained by a combination of factors including surface recombination of point defects, As precipitation, As clustering and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Micropatterned surfaces with different chemical topographies were synthesised in order to investigate the influence of surface chemistry and topography on cell behaviour. The microstructured materials were synthesised by photoimmobilising natural Hyaluronan (Hyal) and its sulphated derivative (HyalS), both adequately functionalised with a photorective moiety, on glass substrates. Four different grating patterns (10, 25, 50 and 100 {mu}m) were used to pattern the hyaluronan. The micropatterned samples were analysed by Secondary Ions Mass Spectrometry, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Atomic Force Microscopy to investigate the chemistry and the topography of the surfaces. The spectroscopic and microscopic analysis of the microstructured surfaces revealed that the photoimmobilisation process was successful, demonstrating that the photomask patterns were well reproduced on the sample surface. The influence of chemical topographies on the cell ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Amyloid precursor protein (APP), a key protein in pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), is a type I transmembrane protein which can be cleaved by b- and g-secretase to release the amyloidogenic b-amyloid peptides (Ab) and the APP intracellular domain (AICD). While Ab has been widely believed to initiate pathogenic cascades culminating AD, the physiological functions and regulations of AICD remain elusive. In present study, endogenous AICD was demonstrated to be increased by canonical Wnt signal. Instead of due to g-secretase activity, enhanced AICD expression was found due to the increased protein stability by Wnt/b-catenin. b-Catenin was demonstrated to be an associating partner of AICD, capable of promoting AICD mediated transcriptional activity. Investigation by AICD mutants proved ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Problems experienced during Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) tandem offloading operations were investigated. The aim of this research was to improve the reliability of such systems, and it needed a means to assess them. Time-domain simulation and analysis of offloading systems was performed using the multi-body mooring software ARIANE 7.0. Hydrodynamic interaction between the vessels was considered. The responses of the offloading system in different loading cases, different parameters of offloading hawsers and the effects of challenging environmental conditions were calculated. There was a focus on the problems of relative motion between the two bodies and its effects on the intensity of hawser forces. Minimum relative distance, maximum relative headings and maximum tens...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

We conducted broadband absorption measurements of atmospheric water vapor in the ground state, X {sup 1}A{sub 1} (000), from 0.4 to 2.7 THz with a pressure broadening-limited resolution of 6.2 GHz using pulsed, terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS). We measured a total of seventy-two absorption lines and forty-nine lines were identified as H{sub 2}{sup 16}O resonances. All the H{sub 2}{sup 16}O lines identified were confirmed by comparing their center frequencies to experimental values available in the literature.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This report summarizes the work done at the University of Massachusetts in the area of Image Understanding of static scene domains. The goal of this research project was to demonstrate a practical knowledge-based approach to computer vision that utilized multiple levels of parallel processing. Some problems dealt with included extracting lines, grouping together regions and lines from the same surface, computing pose from geometry, and matching corresponding features in different views. Special attention was also given to the extraction of curved lines and curved surfaces. The static scene domains consisted of both ROAD and HOUSE scenes, each containing approximately fourteen (14) different objects per scene.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

PurposeTo evaluate pathologic features of the photoreceptors in myopic foveoschisis with the Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT).DesignObservational case series.MethodsSeventeen eyes of 15 patients with myopic foveoschisis (foveal detachment type, six eyes; foveoschisis type, 11 eyes) were included. We observed the photoreceptor inner and outer segments (IS/OS) and evaluated the morphologic status using FD-OCT. Fundus photographs and time-domain OCT (TD-OCT) images also were obtained.ResultsIS/OS defects, which are uncommon in retinal detachments in eyes with myopia, were seen clearly in five eyes (three eyes [50%] with the foveal detachment type; two eyes [18%] with the foveal schisis type). Fundus photographs showed myopic chorioretinal atrophy in eight study eyes (47%),...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Highly ordered arrays of Ni nanoholes and Fe20Ni80 antidots have been prepared, respectively, by replica/antireplica processing and sputtering techniques using nanoporous alumina membranes as templates. Geometrical characteristics as nanohole/antidot diameter, interpore distance and the overall hexagonal symmetry of arrays are controlled through the original templates. Experimental data on their hysteresis and magnetic domain structure have been taken by vibrating sample magnetometry and magnetic force microscopy, respectively. An analysis of the magnetization process, resulting magnetic anisotropy and magnetic domain structure is summarized considering the influence of those geometry aspects. In particular, the hexagonal symmetry and the density of nanohole/antidots determine the overall magnetic behavior, which is of interest in future high-density magnetic storage systems.

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The effects of spin diffusion on the free induction decay (FID) of protons associated with the noncrystalline domains of two polymers, polyethylene and blended Nylon 66 (ZYTEL-408), have been examined using Goldman--Shen NMR pulse sequence ((1/2)..pi..x-t/sub 0/-(1/2)..pi..x-bar-tau-(1/2)..pi..x-t). At tau< or approx. =100 ..mu..s, the FID is drastically distorted from the exponential form while at longer tau(tau> or approx. =500 ..mu..s) an exponential FID is observed; but its transverse spin relaxation rate is smaller than that of the FID obtained after a single (1/2)..pi..x pulse and approaches this value at the limit of large tau. These findings are interpreted in terms of the theory of rapid spin diffusion. The spatial variation in the spin relaxation rate within the noncrystalline domain is inferred.

CERN Document Server

The junction conditions for General Relativity in the presence of domain walls with intrinsic spin are derived in three and higher dimensions. A stress tensor and a spin current can be defined just by requiring the existence of a well defined volume element instead of an induced metric, so as to allow for generic torsion sources. In general, when the torsion is localized on the domain wall, it is necessary to relax the continuity of the tangential components of the vielbein. In fact it is found that the spin current is proportional to the jump in the vielbein and the stress-energy tensor is proportional to the jump in the spin connection. The consistency of the junction conditions implies a constraint between the direction of flow of energy and the orientation of the spin. As an application, we derive the circularly symmetric solutions for both the rotating string with tension and the spinning dust string in three dimensions. The rotating ...

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We investigate ordering properties of two-dimensional granular materials using several shapes created by welding ball bearings together. Ordered domains form much more easily in two than in three dimensions, even when configurations lack long-range order. The onset of ordered domains occurs near a packing density of 0.8, a phenomenon observed previously for disks. One of our shapes, the trapezoid, has packings that remain disordered and near the transition density even after annealing by shaking. Although random packings are unstable for disks and many other shapes in two dimensions, trapezoid packings provide an approach to studying two-dimensional randomness. We also find that the rotational symmetry of a shape is an excellent predictor of how easily it orders, and a potential guide to identifying two-dimensional shapes that remain random after annealing.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hydrophobic labelling is frequently used in the study of membrane-inserted domains of intrinsic proteins. However, the published procedures, fail to incorporate sufficient radioactivity into membrane immunoglobulins of B lymhocytes to permit investigation of their subunit structures and associations with other proteins. In order to increase the specific radioactivity of ["1"2"5I]iodonaphtylazide ["1"2"5I]INA), an improved method for the synthesis of the reagent was developed. In addition, the optimal conditions for labelling B lymhpocytes with ["1"2"5I]INA and commercially available reagent 3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-3-(3'-["1"2"5Iliodophenyl)diazirine (["1"2"5I]TID were isolated and analysed in detail by SDS-PAGE. The usefulness of the two reagents for the investigation of lipid-embedded domains of membrane proteins is discussed. (author). 28 refs.; 4 figs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A crack fault is one of the damage modes most frequently occurring in gears. Identifying different crack levels, especially for early cracks is a challenge in gear fault diagnosis. This paper aims to propose a method to classify the different levels of gear cracks automatically and reliably. In this method, feature parameters in time domain, specially designed for gear damage detection and in frequency domain are extracted to characterize the gear conditions. A two-stage feature selection and weighting technique (TFSWT) via Euclidean distance evaluation technique (EDET) is presented and adopted to select sensitive features and remove fault-unrelated features. A weighted K nearest neighbor (WKNN) classification algorithm is utilized to identify the gear crack levels. The gear crack experime...

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It is the intention of this paper to point to some of the problems due to molecular motion and to suggest a few solutions to those problems. A few examples will be presented of model systems which demonstrate the effects of motion on the NMR spectroscopy and a very qualitative example of severe spectral distortion in fulvic acids will be shown. In the following discussions we will use concepts derived from the oft repeated thermodynamic picture shown in figure 1. When dealing with a homogeneous, pure compound this picture is sufficient but in a heterogeneous mixture, it is likely that there will be different compounds and different domains all with slightly different versions of figure 1 with poor thermodynamic contact between them. Thus optimal conditions for cross polarization in one domain may be totally inappropriate for another. 59 refs., 10 figs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

An innovative hybrid powder prepared using computer simulation allowed development of a new foundation having a fine, smooth texture that has never been achieved before. The optical structure/design of the powder was based on the results of measurements and analyses conducted on the optical characteristics of a baby's delicate skin, which is the envy of many women. To obtain the optimal optical characteristics, the finite differential time domain (FDTD) method for solving Maxwell's differential equation by difference and time domain was applied to the computer simulation method. For synthesis of the hybrid powder based on the optical model, a proprietary shape regulation coating technology was used in which flaky substrates were coated with microspherical forms of barium sulfate crystals. ...

CERN Document Server

Assuming the hoop conjecture in classical general relativity and quantum mechanics, any observer who attempts to perform an experiment in an arbitrarily small region will be stymied by the formation of a black hole within the spatial domain of the experiment. This behavior is often invoked in arguments for a fundamental minimum length. Extending a proof of the hoop conjecture for spherical symmetry to include higher curvature terms we investigate this minimum length argument when the gravitational couplings run with energy in the manner predicted by asymptotically safe gravity. We show that argument for the mandatory formation of a black hole within the domain of an experiment fails. Neither is there a proof that a black hole doesn't form. Instead, whether or not an observer can perform measurements in arbitrarily small regions depends on the specific numerical values of the couplings near the UV fixed point. We further argue that when an ...

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The ASFIT (Anisotropic Source-Flux Iteration Technique) code was first developed in India about 1970 to solve the radiation transport equation represented in the form of coupled integral equations separating the spatial and energy-angular transmissions. The ASFIT code uses a nodal structure in the wavelength [lambda] domain in Compton units (CU) rather than in the energy domain. The ASFIT-VARI code is the latest version available from the Radiation Shielding Information Center. It incorporates variable dimensioning and has been adapted for use on MS-DOS personal computers using the Ryan-McFarland or Microsoft Version 5.0 FORTRAN compilers. While earlier versions used point cross sections (well suited for gamma-ray transport), the present version also allows multigroup cross sections for neutron and coupled neutron-gamma-ray transport.

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In this paper, the influence of plasma nitriding at temperature 720 deg. C for 20 h on the surface microstructure and interface microstructure of electroplated chromium coating was investigated. In these conditions, interdiffusion, mixing and reaction phenomena of elements originating from the substrate and coating material are more likely to occur, thus increasing the bonding strength between the coating and carbon steel substrate. The change of the structures from the substrate side to the coating surface, and the effect of the substrate steel on the interface structure were studied by cross-sectional transmission electron microscope observation (XTEM). The nitride layer formed on the surface was analyzed by X-ray diffraction method (XRD). After treatment at above conditions a 6-7 {mu}m thick nitride compound layer was formed in surface region and the same thick carbide compound layer was also formed in the interface region between ...

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Microstructure characterization is important for controlling the quality of laser welding. In the present work, a detailed microstructure characterization by transmission electron microscopy was carried out on the laser welding cast Ni-based superalloy K418 turbo disk and alloy steel 42CrMo shaft and an unambiguous identification of phases in the weldment was accomplished. It was found that there are {gamma}-FeCrNiC austenite solid solution dendrites as the matrix, (Nb, Ti) C type MC carbides, fine and dispersed Ni{sub 3} Al {gamma}' phase as well as Laves particles in the interdendritic region of the seam zone. A brief discussion was given for their existence based on both kinetic and thermodynamic principles.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We have investigated the microstructure evolutions in the Ti17 near #beta# titanium alloy during heat treatments. The phase transformation has first been studied experimentally by combining X-ray diffraction analysis, electrical resistivity and microscopy observations. From a series of isothermal treatments, a IT diagram has been determined, which takes into account the different morphologies. Then, a Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kolmogorov (JMAK) model has been successfully used to describe the phase transformation kinetics during either isothermal or cooling treatments. Finally, the coupling of the JMAK model to the finite element software ZeBuLoN allowed us to investigate the evolution of the spatial distribution of the different morphologies during the cooling of an aircraft engine shaft disk after forging.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An experimental study on superplastic forming behaviors and microstructure characters of commercial magnesium alloy sheet AZ31B is presented in this paper. The main experimental results show that the commercial magnesium alloy AZ31B sheet has superplastic capability. For the received sheet without any pre-processing, the maximum elongation is 295%. The dynamic recrystallization and grain refinement can be found, In the case of temperature =# 350 deg. C. The superplastic behaviors can be improved by controlling the dynamic recrystallization and grain refinement. Some experimental results of free superplastic bulging are presented in this paper. The results show that influence of temperature on forming capability is much less than the influences of temperature on elongation. In addition, the maximum principle strain.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

For an ultrafine grain ferrite/cementite (UGF/C) steel, the Charpy impact energy was measured at temperatures from 373K to 4.2K, and tensile tests were carried out at temperatures between 323K and 77K. For the steel with annealed microstructure, the ductile-to-brittle transition appearance temperature (DBTT) was lower than the Charpy transition temperature (CTT). With increasing annealing time at 873K, the DBTT and the CTT increased, and the DBTT approached the CTT. The DBTT decreased with decreasing effective grain size. The effective grain size correlated to the grain size of the larger grain size peak in the distribution of grains with {100} planes. The annealed microstructures had higher yield strength for equivalent toughness (including upper shelf energy, DBTT and CTT) compared to th...

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In situ X-Ray microtomography offers new opportunities for analysing sintering mechanisms since it allows 3D observation of the microstructural evolution of the powder all along a sintering cycle. With synchrotron radiation at ESRF, a 3D image with a resolution of 2 {mu}m can be obtained in about one minute. In addition to the visual examination of the images, relevant microstructural parameters can be measured through quantitative image analysis using recently developed tools. In this paper the results obtained with two materials, loose copper powder and compacted steel powder, are resumed. For copper powder, the dispersion of local parameters such as particle co-ordination number and porosity is investigated. Concerning steel compacts, data about pore morphology evolution and on local strains provides clues for understanding the anisotropic shrinkage of such compacts. (authors)

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The irradiation behavior of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} under a fusion reactor environment was simulated by simultaneous irradiation of Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} by the triple ion beams and the respective single ion beams of O{sup 2+}, He{sup +} and H{sup +}. The microstructural changes in Li{sub 2}TiO{sub 3} caused by the irradiation were measured by Raman spectroscopy and FT-IR photoacoustic spectroscopy. The results suggest that the formation of TiO{sub 2} due to displacements by irradiation occurs, and the irradiation defects generated by irradiation trap hydrogen and increase the amount of hydroxyl near the surface. Such phenomena are believed to significantly affect the chemical form of the released tritium and the tritium inventory in the breeding materials of a fusion reactor.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The percolated or active triple phase boundary (TPB) length per unit volume of Ni-YSZ anode hollow fibers (HFs) containing 60wt.% initial NiO and a spatially varying microstructure were measured using a focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM technique. The measured values of contiguous TPB density were interfaced with a 2-D distributed finite element model of a hollow fiber solid oxide fuel cell. The model was applied to simultaneously solve the ionic and electronic charge balances in the electrodes, which were modelled as overlying continuum materials with effective electronic and ionic conductivities. The model was used to predict the effects of anode microstructure on the distribution of current density, and anode activation polarization. Active TPB lengths of 2.63-8.63 m^-^2 were measured for the ...

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The use of selective additives such as MgO as a sintering aid and a rare earth oxide as a grain growth inhibitor, has allowed the manufacture of beryllia ceramics having close to theoretical density. The grain size and grain size distribution can be controlled by an optimum firing schedule leaving a remnant porosity which is extremely fine (0.2 {mu}m). This structure is compared with conventional BeO ceramics, densified by liquid phase sintering, which develops a glassy grain boundary and retains large pores up to 3 {mu}m. The significantly improved strength properties, extremely fine pores,the 'pinning effect' of rare earth oxide, and the superior surface finish both in the as-fired and polished state are discussed in relation to the micro-structure. (orig.).

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Conductive TiN/Si_3N_4 ceramic composites were processed by electrical discharge machining (EDM) and their microstructure and conductivity were investigated. The whole process of tool electrode wear is evaluated by sinker-EDM. The machined surfaces of TiN/Si_3N_4 ceramic composites were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometry to determine the surface finish. The electrode wear rate of brass is higher than copper electrode for all EDMed tests. The surface texture was found to have greater dependence on pulse energy. It was observed that the sinker-EDM at higher pulse energy caused severe microdamage in the surface. The surface roughness (Ra) values also increase with increasing pulse energy.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanometer Ce-W composite materials have been prepared by the method of freeze-drying. Microstructure and surface properties of materials were investigated by SEM and 'in situ' AES and emission characteristics have been determined. It is found that the nanometer materials have relatively small crystal particles with average dimensions in the order of 50 nm. Due to the results of matrix analysis, the cerium in the materials is uniformly distributed on submicron scale, which proves that the diffusion ability of cerium has been increased. Under high temperature, the active layer on the surface thickens simultaneously with the increase of cerium and oxygen. As a result, nanometer Ce-W materials exhibit excellent emission characteristics compared with those of micron-sized Ce-W materials.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minor addition of B to the Ti-6Al-4V alloy reduces the prior #beta# grain size by more than an order of magnitude. TiB formed in-situ in the process has been noted to decorate the grain boundaries. This microstructural modification influences the mechanical behavior of the Ti-6Al-4V alloy significantly. In this paper, an overview of our current research on tensile properties, fracture toughness as well as notched and un-notched fatigue properties of Ti-6Al-4V-xB with x varying between 0.0 to 0.55 wt.% is presented. A quantitative relationship between the microstructural length scales and the various mechanical properties have been developed. Moreover, the effect of the presence of hard and brittle TiB has also been studied.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Yb-, Y-, Yb/Y-, and Yb/Nd-doped -SiAlON ceramics with 5-wt% barium aluminosilicate (BAS) were synthesized by hot pressing. Typical self-reinforced microstructures were obtained in all investigated -SiAlONs in spite of the type of doped cations. This is attributed to the incorporation of BAS, which could supply suitable liquid phase to promote the anisotropic growth of the -SiAlON grains. All the composites exhibited excellent high-temperature mechanical properties and thermal shock resistance due to the formation of a self-reinforced microstructure and the complete crystallization of BAS additive.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We studied age-related microstructural changes in the subcortical white matter from adolescence to middle age in 16 healthy male subjects (age range: 12 to 47 years) using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (DWI). Mean diffusivity (MD) of subcortical white matter was mapped onto the overlying cortical surface using our original method. The mean MD values within 76 cortical regions were measured using atlas-based gray matter segmentation and then correlated with age. A significant negative correlation with age was observed in subcortical MD values in several cortical regions, primarily over the bilateral temporal and occipital lobes. Our results demonstrated subcortical microstructural change in postadolescence that may reflect continuing myelination. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Applications of magnesium alloys are motivated mainly by their lightweight. However, manufacturing cost should also be evaluated when considering applying them. From this point of consideration, adoption of sheet forming processes, which previously have not been heavily researched, should be an option. This paper is intended to pioneer the study of the formability of magnesium alloy AZ31 out of rolled sheets at elevated temperatures. The rolled microstructures are examined and correlated with their formability. Post-forming conditions will also be investigated. The tool employed to perform the sheet forming experiments was a punchless die-setting which used pressurized gas to press the sheet into a female die cavity. This technique applied to Mg-alloy is unconventional and warrants attention for its potential utilization in the industry. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Up to 90% of the life time of cyclically loaded components is determined by short crack initiation and propagation. This stage of the fatigue damage process is strongly influenced by microstructural features, e.g. grain boundaries and crystallographic grain orientation. Therefore LEFM can not be applied in a reasonable manner explaining the demand for a mechanism-related modelling method. The present study deals with mechanical testing and microstructural examinations applied to the relatively new #beta#-titanium alloy LCB. The results are used as data base to develop a new short crack model that is based on the model of Navarro and de los Rios. By using various techniques such as electron back-scattered diffraction and finite-element calculations the origin of crack initiation is revealed and the characteristics of crack propagation is determined. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Quantitative analytical electron microscopy study of dopant distribution in the microstructure of selected Nd-#alpha#-sialon samples revealed the presence of relatively large amounts of glassy phase at quadruple pockets, which exhibited a common composition similar to a melilite solution. Al segregants were depleted from adjacent grain boundaries to satisfy the 'stoichiometry' of such glass. Existence of this glass results in significant deviation of the Nd-#alpha#-sialon composition from the expected values, which shifts the #alpha#-#beta#-sialon phase boundary. Only extra Nd_2O_3 additives enable a monolithic #alpha#-sialon microstructure. The absence of similar glass in Yb-#alpha#-sialon materials keeps the phase relations from such deviations.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Effect of alcohol solvent in mixing process on process on the microstructure and sintering behavior of ceramic-based composites was inestigated in detail. The mixture of fine ceramic powders was prepared through the conventional ball-milling method with various alcohol media. The particle distributions of fine ceramic powders were strongly dependent on the kind of alcohol employed during ball-milling. Ceramic-based composites were fabricated by hot-pressing the mixture of fine ceramic powders. Their microstructures and some mechanical properties of the ceramic-based composites were evaluated. It was found that the viscosity of alcohol, surface tension and contat angle greatly affect the sinterbility and some of the mechanical properties of ceramic-based somposites. (author)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Recent developments on plastic forming technology of magnesium alloys are presented. Attempts have been undergoing with an aim at forming magnesium alloy parts at lower temperatures. It is believed that fine microstructure magnesium alloys usually have much higher plasticity at lower temperatures and even room temperatures. Extrusion is a method to form magnesium profile products and tube products, which is also one of the effective ways to make fine microstructure magnesium alloys. Superplasticity forming is another method to form high plasticity magnesium alloys. Hot forming of magnesium sheet parts is an important process to form magnesium products. Some developments related to above issues are discussed in the present paper. (orig.)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The examination of the high-temperature properties of the alloy Alloy 800HT has shown that both the creep performance and the microstructure of the material can be purposefully set by the initial heat treatment. At the high temperatures applied, (700-900 C), a rapid softening process sets in induced by carbide precipitation, stabilization, and coarsening. This softening process causes creep velocities strongly accelerating as a function of duration of the heat treatment prior to the creep test. The identified cause of the softening effect is a change in particle size that could be verified by SEM and TEM. It is shown that two different carbide precipitate size classes are responsible for the softening effect. While the precipitates dectable by TEM become effective primarily via interactions with dislocations, the carbide precipitates detectable only by SEM contribute to a hardening of the grain boundaries and the matrix.(orig./CB)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Car weight corresponds directly to fuel consumption and driving performance. So in order to improve the fuel efficiency and performance of a car the weight has to be reduced. Magnesium as a light metal offers a wide range of weight saving opportunities, especially Magnesium wrought alloys with their improved mechanical properties have a high potential for structural applications. Mechanical properties in terms of their quality and anisotropy are dependent on the microstructure of the material and can be characterized by their degree of inhomogeneity, their grain size distribution and their crystallographic texture. Therefore the orientation distribution of grains, the grain size, its size distribution, the chemical composition (precipitates) itself influence the mechanical parameters and their anisotropy. In this presentation first results of mechanical anisotropy are given: differences in yield stress, r-values and their relation to the texture. This correlation ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Basement membranes contain several proteoglycans, and those bearing heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans such as perlecan and agrin usually predominate. Most mammalian basement membranes also contain...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We solve an R -linear problem for a multiple-connected circular domain in a class of doubly periodic functions in analytic form by a method of functional equations. This problem models transport properties of two-dimensional composite materials made from a collection of disks embedded in an otherwise uniform host.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The nucleon axial charge is calculated as a function of the pion mass in full QCD. Using domain wall valence quarks and improved staggered sea quarks, we present the first calculation with pion masses as light as 354 MeV and volumes as large as (3.5 fm)3. We show that finite volume effects are small for our volumes and that a constrained fit based on finite volume chiral perturbation theory agrees with experiment within 5% statistical errors.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Hepatitis C virus NS3-4A is a membrane-bound enzyme complex that exhibits serine protease, RNA helicase, and RNA-stimulated ATPase activities. This enzyme complex is essential for viral genome replication...Full Text Available

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With the aim of an experimental check on the validity of the theory of molecular recognition, the authors have carried out the chemical-enzymatic synthesis and cloning of the gene of human calcitonin and also of the genes of antisense polypeptides to human calcitonin and miniproinsulin. It has been shown that recombinant plasmids obtained on the basis of these synthetic genes are capable of ensuring the biosynthesis of the given polypeptides in E. coli cells as hybrid proteins with the IgG-binding domain of staphylococcal protein A.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Researchers investigated several supercomputer architectures in the context of assessing their performance in solving PDE problems. Main results are: assessed various classes of paralled and vector supercomputers and parallel software issues toward solving PDE problems; developed a multipipeline networking technique for compound vector processing; developed an orthogonal multiprocessor for large-grain scientific computations; improved parallel efficiency of a domain decomposition method, the DD algorithm.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

It is necessary that reclaimed land from open pit mining operations has completely settled before it can be returned to the public domain. This paper reports on instrumentation installed to observe settlement of the spoil and behaviour of a prototype foundation on reclaimed land in Alberta, Canada. 6 refs., 7 figs.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Scyl1 is an evolutionarily conserved N-terminal protein kinase-like domain protein that plays a role in COP1-mediated retrograde protein trafficking in mammalian cells. Furthermore, loss of Scyl1 function...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

BackgroundCoiled-coil domain containing 115 (Ccdc115) or coiled coil protein-1 (ccp1) was previously identified as a downstream gene of Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (FGF2) highly expressed...Full Text Available

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This paper presents ionic conductivity results obtained with polymer electrolytes and also with propylene carbonate solutions. The domain of electrochemical activity of this salt has been determined using cycle volt-amperometry in propylene carbonate. Preliminary experiments on the stability of the polymer electrolyte with respect to the lithium electrode have been carried out for a possible subsequent use in lithium batteries. (J.S.) 4 refs.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Fiber optic metrology developed at the CEA LIST laboratories involves fiber Bragg grating sensors, distributed Brillouin optical time domain reflectometry and optically stimulated luminescence dosimetry. Recent activities in optical fiber sensing are reviewed from laboratory experiments to field trials.

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It is shown that de-noising a measured time signal by wavelet technique produces a rather good result in time domain, while it has unwanted consequences in spectrum estimation. Therefore it can be used for reconstruction of the picture of the physical process, but it should be avoided, when the aim is to reveal eigenfrequencies or transient behaviour of the spectra.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

SummaryThe transcriptional co-repressor SMRT utilizes two major receptor interacting domains (RID1 and RID2) to mediate nuclear receptor (NR) signaling through epigenetic modification....Full Text Available

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Peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-{gamma} (PPAR{gamma}) regulates metabolic homeostasis and adipocyte differentiation, and it is activated by oxidized and nitrated fatty acids. Here we report the crystal structure of the PPAR{gamma} ligand binding domain bound to nitrated linoleic acid, a potent endogenous ligand of PPAR{gamma}. Structural and functional studies of receptor-ligand interactions reveal the molecular basis of PPAR{gamma} discrimination of various naturally occurring fatty acid derivatives.

CERN Document Server

A qualitatively different manifestation of the Rayleigh instability is demonstrated, where, instead of the usual extended undulations and breakup of the liquid into many droplets, the instability is localized, leading to an isolated narrowing of the liquid filament. The localized instability, caused by a nonuniform curvature of the liquid domain, plays a key role in the evaporation of thin liquid films off solid surfaces.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We have isolated a human thrombomodulin cDNA, and a human genomic clone containing the putative promoter domain, as well as the translated and untranslated regions of the endothelial cell receptor....Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We report the presence of oligosaccharide structures on a glutamine residue present in the V_L domain sequence of a recombinant human IgG2 molecule. Residue Gln-106, present in the QGT sequence...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

We studied how the introduction of an additional ATP-consuming reaction affects the metabolic fluxes in Lactococcus lactis. Genes encoding the hydrolytic part of the F₁ domain...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

The p90 ribosomal S6 kinases (RSKs) also known as MAPKAP-Ks are serine/threonine protein kinases that are activated by ERK or PDK1 and act as downstream effectors of mitogen-activated protein kinase...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Two cellular DNA regions representing common domains for proviral DNA integration ( Mlvi -1 and Mlvi -2) have been identified in Moloney murine leukemia virus-induced rat thymic lymphomas. Cellular...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

We consider a nonlinear reaction-diffusion equation settled on the whole euclidean space. We prove the well-posedness of the corresponding Cauchy problem in a general functional setting, namely, when the initial datum is uniformly locally bounded in L^2. Then we adapt the short trajectory method to establish the existence of the global attractor and, if the space dimension is at most 3, we also find an upper bound of its Kolmogorov's entropy.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

A series of translocation break points found in a subset of human acute leukemias have one of the breaks on human chromosome 11q23. This region has recently been cloned and a large gene, ALL-1, with...Full Text Available

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Positioning of release factor eRF1 toward adenines and the ribose-phosphate backbone of the UAAA stop signal in the ribosomal decoding site was studied using messenger RNA (mRNA) analogs containing...Full Text Available

CERN Document Server

Leveraging the potential power of even small handheld devices able to communicate wirelessly requires dedicated support. In particular, collaborative applications need sophisticated assistance in terms of querying and exchanging different kinds of data. Using a concrete example from the domain of mobile learning, the general need for information dissemination is motivated. Subsequently, and driven by infrastructural conditions, realization strategies of an appropriate middleware service are discussed.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

We investigate an application of the method of fundamental solutions (MFS) to the one-dimensional inverse Stefan problem for the heat equation by extending the MFS proposed in [5] for the one-dimensional direct Stefan problem. The sources are placed outside the space domain of interest and in the time interval (-T,T). Theoretical properties of the method, as well as numerical investigations, are included, showing that accurate and stable results can be obtained efficiently with small computational cost.