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Simulation approaches for nano-scale semiconductor devices

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Apart from conventional phase transitions driven by the thermal effects, quantum phase transitions generated by quantum fluctuations have their own mechanisms that are reflected in critical phenomena. Quantum phase transitions have an origin from spontaneous symmetry breaking commonly to thermal phase transitions. Even in this case, inherent quantum fluctuations substantially modify and yield new aspects. Quantum phase transitions have, however, another mechanism caused by topology changes, which gives completely new characters. Recently, a mechanism which connects these two has been found. Proimities from first-order transitions and phase separatins as well as from multiphase coexistence also generate characteristic and unconventional ...

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... fields magnetic moments neel temperature neutron diffraction order-disorder

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Iron undergoes a polymorphic phase transformation from alpha phase (bcc) to the epsilon phase (hcp) when compressed to stresses exceeding 13 CPa. Bccause the epsilon phase is denser than the alpha phase, a single shock wave is unstable and breaks up into an elastic wave, a plastic wave, and a phase transition wave. Examination of this structured wave coupled with various phase transformation models has been used to indirectly examine the transition kinetics. Recently, multimillion atom simulations (molecular dynamics) have been used to examine the shock-induced transition in single crystal iron illustrating an orientation dependence of the transition stress, mechanisms, and kinetics. The objective of the current work was to perform plate impact experiments to ...

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The Dynamic Transmission Electron Microscope (DTEM) is introduced as a novel tool for in situ processing of materials. Examples of various types of dynamic studies outline the advantages and differences of laser-based heating in the DTEM in comparison to conventional (resistive) heating in situ TEM methods. We demonstrate various unique capabilities of the drive laser, namely, in situ processing of nanoscale materials, rapid and high temperature phase transformations, and controlled thermal activation of materials. These experiments would otherwise be impossible without the use of the DTEM drive laser. Thus, the potential of the DTEM to as a new technique to process and characterize the growth of a myriad of micro and nanostructures is demonstrated.

CERN Document Server

We develop a theory of Smectic A - Smectic C phase transition with anomalously weak smectic layer contraction. We construct a phenomenological description of this transition by generalizing the Chen-Lubensky model. Using a mean-field molecular model, we demonstrate that a relatively simple interaction potential suffices to describe the transition. The theoretical results are in excellent agreement with experimental data.

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We present results from ab-initio electronic-structure calculations of mechanical properties of the rhombohedral phase of vanadium reported in recent experiments (R Ia), and other predicted high-pressure phases (R Ib and bcc), focusing on properties relevant to dynamic experiments. We find that of the three transitions the largest volume collapse (1.3%) is for the R Ia to R Ib transition. Calculations of the single crystal and polycrystal elastic constants reveal a remarkably small discontinuity across the phase transitions even at zero temperature where the transitions are first order.

CERN Document Server

Classic and recent results for gauge effects on the properties of the normal-to-superconducting phase transition in bulk and thin film superconductors are reviewed. Similar problems in the description of other natural systems (liquid crystals, quantum field theory, early universe) are also discussed. The relatively strong gauge effects on the fluctuations of the ordering field at low spatial dimensionality D and, in particular, in thin (quasi-2D) films are considered in details. A special attention is paid to the fluctuations of the gauge field. It is shown that the mechanism in which these gauge fluctuations affect on the order of the phase transition and other phase transition properties varies with the variation of the spatial dimensionality D. The problem for the experimental confirmation of the theoretical predictions about the order of the ...

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A simple tube-in-tube heat exchanger system for thermal energy storage employing stearic acid as PCM has been investigated. The performance and heat transfer characteristics of such a system were studied. Phase transition temperature range and times were measured and the speed of the phase transition front was computed. The melting front was found to move in the radial direction inward as well as in the axial direction from the top toward the bottom of the phase change material PCM tube. The speed of the melting front is enhanced by a convection heat transfer mechanism in the melted PCM. The heat transfer rate and, consequently, phase transition time can be altered by changing the water inlet temperature to the heat exchanger. In addition, a faster phase transition is realized by placing the heat ...

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This work concerns the development of a methodology the objective of which is to characterize and diagnose two-phase flow regime transitions. The approach is based on the fundamental assumption that a transition flow is less stationary than a flow with an established regime. During the first time, the efforts focused on: (1) the design and construction of an experimental loop, allowing to reproduce the main horizontal two-phase flow patterns, in a stable and controlled way; (2) the design and construction of an electrical impedance probe, providing an imaged information of the spatial phase distribution in the pipe; and (3) the systematic study of the joint time-frequency and time-scale analysis methods, which permitted to define an adequate parameter quantifying the unstationarity degree. During the second time, in order to verify the fundamental assumption, a series of experiments ...

Science.gov (United States)

Various measurement tools that are used in chaos theory were applied to analyze two-phase pressure signals with the objective of identifying and interpreting flow pattern transitions for two-phase flows in a small, horizontal rectangular channel. These me...

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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.

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Neutron diffraction was used to monitor elastic strains during in situ tension testing of a directionally solidified (DS) superalloy at 900 deg. C. Changes in misfit and thermal expansion coefficients of individual phases were obtained. In the {gamma} phase, it is demonstrated that elastic strains saturate at 350 MPa, which is well below the yield strength of the alloy. This is interpreted as the onset of dislocation glide through less stressed vertical channels. The critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) of {gamma} is found to be 143 {+-} 11 MPa, in agreement with a calculated CRSS that is dominated by Orowan bowing of dislocations through nanoscale-wide {gamma} channels. This provides confirmation of Orowan bowing in plasticity/creep of the {gamma} phase. Implications of CRSS and misfit in a 'threshold stress' for creep and rafting are discussed. The CRSS of {gamma}' is found ...

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Two-phase pressure drop and fluctuating static pressures were measured in a small horizontal rectangular channel (hydraulic diameter = 5.44 mm). The two-phase fluid was an air/water mixture at atmospheric pressure tested over a mass flux range of 50 to 2,000 kg/m[sup 2] [center dot] s. Two-phase flow patterns were identified and an objective method was found for determining the flow pattern transition from bubble or plug flow to slug flow. The method is based on an RMS static pressure measurement. In particular, it is shown that the transition is accompanied by a clear and abrupt increase in the RMS pressure when plotted as a function of mass quality. Use of the RMS pressure as a two-phase flow pattern transition indicator is shown to have advantages over pressure-versus-time trace evaluations reported in the literature. The ...

CERN Document Server

A fundamental and very well studied region of the Erd\\"os-R\\'enyi process is the phase transition at n/2 edges in which a giant component suddenly appears. We examine the process beginning with an initial graph. We further examine the Bohman-Frieze process in which edges between isolated vertices are more likely. While the positions of the phase transitions vary, the three processes belong, roughly speaking, to the same universality class. In particular, the growth of the giant component in the barely supercritical region is linear in all cases.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors observed an extremely high permittivity (#approx#35 000 at T_C) in barium zirconate titanate (BaZr_0_._1Ti_0_._9O_3) ceramics with holmium substitution (1-5 mol %) in Ba site. Careful microstructural investigation and energy dispersive spectroscopy analysis of the 1-2 mol % of Ho substituted ceramics showed the enrichment of a Ho-phase along the grain boundaries with a composition close to the Ho_2Ti_2O_7 pyrochlore. The formation of Ho rich phase resulted in the Maxwell-Wagner polarization mechanism, which leads to this unusually high permittivity. Ceramics with 3 mol % or higher Ho content showed lesser permittivity values compared to 1-2 mol %, probably due to the increase in pyrochlore phase. These high dielectric constant ceramics are useful in nanoscale devices.

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

This paper describes a novel psychophysical and analytical technique, called periodic perturbation, for creating and characterizing perceptual waves associated with transitions in visibility...Full Text Available

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this paper, the widely used models of Taitel-Dukler and Weisman et al. are extrapolated to microgravity levels to compare predicted flow pattern boundaries for horizontal and vertical flows. Efforts have been made to analyze how the two-phase flow models available in the literature predict flow regime transitions in microgravity. The models of Taitel-Dukler and Weisman et al. have been found to be more suitable for extrapolation to a wide range of system parameters than the other two-phase flow regime maps available in the literature. The original criteria for all cases are used to predict the transition lines, except for the transition to dispersed flow regime in case of the Weisman model for horizontal flow. The constant 0.97 on the righthand side of this correlation should be two times that value, i.e., 1.94, in order to match this transition line in their ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The two-phase flow regime transition in a large diameter (I.D.=200mm) vertical pipe was experimentally investigated using a dual-sensor optical probe. The flow transitions from bubbly to chum without an intermediate slug flow regime as the air flow rate is increased. The transition boundaries developed for bubbly to slug flow in small diameter pipes are compared to the bubbly to chum flow transition of the present experiment. The bubbly to chum transition occurs at a void fraction of about 0.15 compared to 0.25 for bubbly to slug transition in small diameter pipes. The radial distribution of bubble diameter, bubble frequency, bubble velocity and local void fraction were obtained using a dual-sensor optical probe at different flow conditions. The Probability Density Function (PDF) and Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of the bubble ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We study the possibility of utilizing the superfluid to Mott-insulator quantum phase transition in an array of quantum well exciton-polariton traps to generate indistinguishable single photons in a massive parallel fashion. By means of analytical and numerical methods, the device operations and system properties are examined using realistic experimental parameters. Such a deterministic, massive parallel generation may find new applications in photonic quantum information processing.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Two sets of analytical correlations describing transitions between two-phase flow regimes are reviewed and discussed. One, the T-D set, is based on mechanistic models; the other, the Weisman set, on experimental correlations. The T-D set is preferred for horizontal flow, whereas the Weisman set seems preferrable for vertical flow. A computer code (FLOP) based on the T-D theory is described and applied to validate the theory.

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A single-crystal x-ray study under pressure reveals a phase transition from an in-plane 2x2 commensurate potassium superstructure to a new ..sqrt..3x..sqrt..3 commensurate superstructure. This is the first such transition to be observed; it is related to the recently discovered staging transition of KC/sub 8/ under pressure. In addition this staging transition was observed to occur more slowly and at much lower pressures than in the reported neutron-scattering experiment on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite samples. 13 references, 2 figures.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A localization criterion is proposed for the crystal-liquid phase transition (PT). According to this criterion, the PT begins when the E d/k b T ratio reaches a boundary value E d(s)/k b T m such that a solid phase is present above it and a liquid phase is present below it in a phase diagram. Here, E d is the energy of atom delocalization, k b is the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature, and E d(s) is the delocalization energy for a solid phase at melting point T m. This criterion is shown to generalize the Lindemann criterion of melting to the case of crystallization and the L?ven criterion of crystallization to the case of melting. This localization criterion is found to be applicable for both normally melting substances and substances that melt with a decrease in the specific volume...

CERN Document Server

In studying the dynamics of large N_c SU(N_c) gauge theory with fundamental quark flavours in the quenched approximation, we observe a novel phase transition at finite temperature. A quark condensate forms at finite quark mass, and the value of the condensate varies smoothly with the quark mass for generic region in parameter space. At a particular value of the quark mass, there is a finite discontinuity in the condensate's vacuum expectation value, corresponding to a first order phase transition. We study this using holography, the string dual being the geometry of N_c D3--branes at finite temperature, AdS_5-Schwarzschild times S^5, probed by a D7-brane. The D7-brane has topology R^4 times S^3 times S^1, and allowed solutions correspond to either the S^3 or the S^1 shrinking away in the interior of the geometry. The phase transition represents a jump between ...

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Micron-size Ni-base alloy (NBA) powders were mixed with both 1.5 wt.% (hereinafter %) micron-size CeO{sub 2} (m-CeO{sub 2}) and also 1.5% and 3.0% nano-size CeO{sub 2} (n- CeO{sub 2}) powders. These mixtures were coated on low-carbon steel (Q235) by 2.0 kW CO{sub 2} laser cladding. The effects on the microstructures, phases and electrochemical corrosion of the coatings upon the addition of m- and n- CeO{sub 2} powders to NBA (m- and n- CeO{sub 2} /NBA) have been investigated. The results showed that a smooth coating was prepared under suitable processing parameters (P= 2.0 kW, V= 180 mm min{sup -1}) by adding 1.5% n- CeO{sub 2}. In addition to the primary phases of {gamma}-Ni, Cr{sub 23} C{sub 6} and Ni{sub 3} B in the Ni-base alloy coating, CeNi{sub 3} was formed in Ni-base alloy coatings with both n- CeO{sub 2} and m-CeO{sub 2} particles, and CeNi{sub 5} appeared in the coating upon decreasing the size of CeO{sub 2} particles. Well-developed ...

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Crystal structure of monoclinic telluric acid ammonium phosphate (TAAP) has been studied by an X-ray diffraction method in the paraelectric phase at 333 K and in the ferroelectric phase at room temperature. It is confirmed that the space group in the paraelectric phase is P2/n. Comparison of the results between the two temperatures suggests that the plane which is made by the PO{sub 4} tetrahedron linked by hydrogen bonds has an important role for the ferroelectric phase transition. This plane is almost parallel to the direction of spontaneous polarization.

Science.gov (United States)

The thermal conductivity of liquid CHCl3, C6H6, and CCl4 is measured by a steady-state method under saturated vapor pressure in the temperature regions corresponding to pre-crystallization temperatures. The experimental results obtained are used to investigate the isobaric thermal conductivity jump ??p at the crystal-liquid phase transition in CHCl3, C6H6, and CCl4. The contributions of the phonon-phonon and phonon-rotational interaction to the total thermal resistance in solid and liquid state are specified using a modified method of reduced coordinates. The decrease in the thermal conductivity at the crystal-liquid phase transition, ??p, is explained by a combined effect of variations in positional distribution of molecules and in the form of rotational molecular motion.

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A method for bistable storage of binary optical information includes an antiferroelectric (AFE) lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT) layer having a stable antiferroelectric first phase and a ferroelectric (FE) second phase obtained by applying a switching electric field across the surface of the device. Optical information is stored by illuminating selected portions of the layer to photoactivate an FE to AFE transition in those portions. Erasure of the stored information is obtained by reapplying the switching field.

CERN Document Server

We consider two-dimensional large N gauge theory with D adjoint scalars on a torus, which is obtained from a D+2 dimensional pure Yang-Mills theory on T^{D+2} with D small radii. The two dimensional model has various phases characterized by the holonomy of the gauge field around non-contractible cycles of the 2-torus. We determine the phase boundaries and derive the order of the phase transitions using a method developed in an earlier work (hep-th/0910.4526), which is nonperturbative in the 'tHooft coupling and uses a 1/D expansion. We embed our phase diagram in the more extensive phase structure of the D+2 dimensional Yang-Mills theory and match with the picture of a cascade of phase transitions found earlier in lattice calculations (hep-lat/0710.0098). We also propose a dual gravity system based on a Scherk-Schwarz ...

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AuxZn1-x alloys undergo a shape memory martensitic transformation whose temperature and nature (continuous or discontinuous) is strongly composition dependent. Neutron diffraction experiments were performed on single crystals of x=50 and 52 to explore the structural changes occurring at the transition temperature. A transverse modulation with wavevector q0=(1/3,1/3,0) develops below the transition temperature, with no observable change in lattice parameter. However, the Bragg peak width shows a broadening suggesting an unresolved rhombohedral distortion similar to what has been observed in NiTi-Fe alloys.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The problem on the ratio between the instability of physical systems and tachyons is discussed. It is shown that the tachyons participation in the real physical process of the system rearranging does not contradict any principles. It is noted that the tachyons constitute the most significant element of the systems, identifying the instability relative to the phase transition into the stable state.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

An important application of metal hydrides is as a moderator material in nuclear reactors. The fundamental properties of hydrides are illustrated and an impression given of the current research into hydrogen in transition metals. Phase diagrams, magnetic properties, temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficient, energy level schemes and superconductivity are considered. (C.F.).

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The 52 papers discuss the following subjects: 1. Preparation and structural development; 2. Structural constitution; 3. Structural formation and phase transition; 4. Structure and mechanical properties; 5. Structural formation of metallic and nonmetallic materials; 6. Quantitative metallography, and 7. Quality assurance.

Science.gov (United States)

It is shown that the extended softening in k space of the [111] transverse acoustic phonon in Nb3Sn seen recently by neutron measurements is in agreement with the predictions of a phenomenological Landau description of the structural phase transition in the A-15 compounds. This indicates the feasibility of a calculation of the partial phonon density of states of modes directly coupled to the order parameter driving the structural transition, as a function of temperature.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The martensitic phase transition in the A-15 compounds is treated by expanding the free energy in terms of the order parameters and its spatial gradients. The model used is a modified version of that recently proposed by Gorkov. The predictions for a wide range of physical properties are in good agreement with experimental results for V_3Si and Nb_3Sn lending support to the veracity of the model. 25 refs.

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Full text of publication follows: The heat transfer and flow in narrow channels has lots of advantages such as compact structure, high efficiency, design flexibility and so on. So it is widely used in the fields such as the new reactor core plate elements, the once-through stream generator, compact heat exchangers as well as electronic components. In recent years, more strong attentions have been attracted to the thermal-hydraulic characteristics and mechanism of the two-phase flow in narrow channels. As the flow regime characteristics of two-phase flow is fundamental one of them, the research on the two-phase flow regimes and the regime transitions in horizontal rectangular narrow heated channels can provide theoretical foundation and engineering directions to the whole research on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics and mechanism of the two-phase flow in narrow channels. The ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The results of dielectric measurements in a wide frequency range have been used to find that solid solution samples on the basis of PbSc_1_/_2Sb_1_/_2O_3 have blurred phase transitions. The Curie-Weiss law is performed for different compositions in the temperature range 10-150 K above Curie point. The change of value and sign of the difference between Curie and Curie-Weiss temperatures is connected with the change of phase transition blurring degree.

CERN Document Server

The confining effect of a spherical substrate inducing anchoring (normal to the surface) of rod-like liquid crystal molecules contained in a thin film spread over it has been investigated with regard to possible changes in the nature of the isotropic-to-nematic phase transition as the sample is cooled. The focus of these Monte Carlo simulations is to study the competing effects of the homeotropic anchoring due to the surface inducing orientational ordering in the radial direction and the inherent uniaxial order promoted by the intermolecular interactions. By adopting entropic sampling procedure, we could investigate this transition with a high temperature precision, and we studied the effect of the surface anchoring strength on the phase diagram for a specifically chosen geometry. We find that there is a threshold anchoring strength of the surface below which uniaxial nematic phase ...

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Ti honeycombs with the side of 800 and 400 nm were fabricated by focused ion beam (FIB), though the surfaces of the bottom and wall of the Ti honeycombs were rough, as compared with the surfaces of the bottom and wall of the Si honeycomb. It is demonstrated that the nanoscale Ti components can be fabricated in a short time by FIB.

CERN Document Server

We report a new tetragonal ground-state for perovskite-structured PbCrO3 from DFT+U calculations, and explain its anomalously large volume. The new structure is stabilized due to orbital ordering of Cr-d in the presence of a large tetragonal crystal field, mainly due to off-centering of the Pb atom. At higher pressures (smaller volumes) there is a first-order transition to a cubic phase where the Cr-d orbitals are orbitally liquid. This phase-transition is accompanied by a ~11.5% volume collapse, one of the largest known for transition-metal oxides. The large ferroelasticity and its strong coupling to the orbital degrees of freedom could be exploited to form potentially useful magnetostrictive materials

CERN Document Server

Mono-layers of stearic and behenic acids deposited with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, were used as aligning films in nematic liquid crystal cells. During the filling process the liquid crystal adopts a deformed quasi-planar alignment with splay-bend deformation and preferred orientation along the filling direction. This state is metastable and transforms with time into homeotropic once the flow has ceased. The transition is accompanied by formation of disclination lines which nucleate at the edges of the cell. The lifetime of the metastable splay-bend state was found to depend on the cell thickness. On heating, anchoring transition from quasi-homeotropic to degenerate tilted alignment in form of circular domains takes place near the transition to the isotropic phase. The anchoring transition is reversible with a small hysteresis.

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Dipole and quadrupole excitations in the semimagic N{sup .} = 50 nucleus {sup 88}Sr were investigated at the superconducting electron linear accelerator ELBE with bremsstrahlung produced at electron energies of 9.0, 13.2, and 16.0 MeV. About 160 {gamma} transitions were identified up to 12 MeV. By using polarized photons linear polarizations of about 50 {gamma} transitions were measured. In the energy range of 6 - 12 MeV there is only one M1 transition while all other transitions have E1 character. Statistical methods were applied in order to filter out inelastic transitions and to correct the intensities of the ground-state transitions for their branching ratios. The photoabsorption cross section obtained in this way provides information about the extension of the Giant Dipole Resonance towards energies below the neutron-separation energy. The experimental ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We review the current status of Andreev reflection spectroscopy on the heavy fermions, mostly focusing on the case of CeCoIn5, a heavy-fermion superconductor with a critical temperature of 2.3 K. This is a well-established technique to investigate superconducting order parameters via measurements of the differential conductance from nanoscale metallic junctions. Andreev reflection is clearly observed in CeCoIn5 as in other heavy-fermion superconductors. Considering the large mismatch in Fermi velocities, this observation seemingly appears to disagree with the Blonder-Tinkham-Klapwijk (BTK) theory. The measured Andreev signal is highly reduced to the order of maximum ?13% compared to the theoretically predicted value (100%). The background conductance exhibits a systematic evolution in its asymmetry over a wide temperature range from above the heavy-fermion coherence temperature down to well below the superconducting transition temperature. ...

CERN Document Server

Although hydrogen is the simplest of atoms, it does not form the simplest of solids or liquids. Quantum effects in these phases are considerable (a consequence of the light proton mass) and they have a demonstrable and often puzzling influence on many physical properties, including spatial order. To date, the structure of dense hydrogen remains experimentally elusive. Recent studies of the melting curve of hydrogen indicate that at high (but experimentally accessible) pressures, compressed hydrogen will adopt a liquid state, even at low temperatures. In reaching this phase, hydrogen is also projected to pass through an insulator-to-metal transition. This raises the possibility of new state of matter: a near ground-state liquid metal, and its ordered states in the quantum domain. Ordered quantum fluids are traditionally categorized as superconductors or superfluids; these respective systems feature dissipationless electrical ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Full text: It was recently-established for hexagonal barium ferrite-industrially important magnetically hard material that refinement of the crystallite dimensions into the nanoscale regime, typically #<=# 10 nm, leads after heat treatment at temperatures 800-1000 deg C to significant coercivity increase of up to 6.5 kOe (#approx#3-4 times) with saturation magnetisation values of 50-55 emu/g (#approx#95% of bulk at room temperature). High-energy mechanochemical processing has been applied to prepare nanostructural (nanocrystalline-amorphous) composites. High resolution electron microscopy studies reveal that the enhancement of the final magnetic properties was due to formation of magnetically noninteracting #approx#l,#mu#m Ba-ferrite particles with 5-10 nm amorphous surface layer - depending on annealing parameters. Similar situation was established also for ball milled strontium ferrite (SrFe_1_2O_1_9) powders where short annealing 4 h at 1000 deg C produced ...

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FLOWTRAN-TF is a new two-component, two-phase thermal-hydraulics code to capture the detailed assembly behavior associated with loss-of-coolant accident analyses in multichannel assemblies of the SRS reactors. The local interfacial area of the two-phase mixture is computed by summing the interfacial areas contributed by each of three flow regimes. For smooth flow regime transitions, the code uses an interpolation technique in terms of component void fraction for each basic flow regime.

CERN Document Server

We show that in the Landau gauge of the SU(2) Yang-Mills theory the residual global symmetry supports existence of the topological vortices which resemble disclination defects in the nematic liquid crystals and the Alice (half-quantum) vortices in the superfluid heluim 3 in the A-phase. The theory also possesses half-integer and integer charged monopoles which are analogous to the point-like defects in the nematic crystal and in the liquid helium. We argue that the deconfinement phase transition in the Yang-Mills theory in the Landau gauge is associated with the proliferation of these vortices and/or monopoles. The disorder caused by these defects is suggested to be responsible for the confinement of quarks in the low-temperature phase.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The phase transition behaviour of polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PE-b-PEO) diblock copolymer with relatively short chain lengths has been studied on the basis of temperature dependent infrared and Raman spectral measurements and synchrotron WAXD/SAXS simultaneous measurements, from which the concrete structural changes were deduced successfully from the various levels of molecular chain conformation, chain packing mode and higher-order structure. The higher-order structure has been found to transform between lamella, perforated lamella, gyroid, cylinder and sphere structures. The inner structural changes occurring in the polyethylene and poly(ethylene oxide) parts have been related with these morphological changes. The morphological transition from lamella to gyroid occurs with keeping the crystalline state of polyethylene parts. This apparently curious transition can be interpreted reasonably by ...

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We decided to investigate first the interaction of hydrogen with the 4d transition-metal series, with the first element being hcp Y. Because of the recent development of soft pseudopotentials, we chose to use the plane wave basis set to carry out the calculation. Since problems had been associated with the slow convergence in transition metals, we first tested the computational methods by studying the structural properties of Y; results were encouraging. We started the calculation of YH{sub x} with hydrogen occupying different interstitial sites.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to practice design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, one of the immediate concerns is improvement in its predictive capability of boiling transition phenomena on the fuel rod surface. This capability strongly depends on the modeling of thermohydraulics phenomena of interests: 1) vapor-liquid redistribution by inter-subchannel exchanges due to the diversion cross flow, turbulent mixing and void drift, 2) liquid film behaviors, 3) transition of two-phase flow regimes, 4) droplet entrainment and deposition and 5) spacer-droplet interactions. These are considered to be five key factors in understanding the BT in BWR fuel rod bundles. This paper describes a progress and current status in the second year of the three year project on developing generalized boiling transition models with the above five key factors ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In this work we study the structural and electronic properties of Be chalcogenides (BeS, BeSe and BeTe) using two different methods: the full-potential linear augmented-plane wave (FP-LAPW) and the plane-wave pseudopotential (PPsPW). The exchange-correlation effects are treated in the local-density approximation (LDA) and the generalized-gradient approximation (GGA). We have evaluated the ground-state quantities such as equilibrium volume, bulk modulus and its pressure derivative as well as the elastic constants. Various structural phase transitions were considered here in order to confirm the most stable structure and to predict the phase transition under hydrostatic pressure. In addition we have studied the band structure and the density of states, which show a wide indirect band gap for these compounds. These results were in favourable agreement with previous theoretical works and the existing ...

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The amorphization of a quenched sample of the GaSb-II high-pressure phase was studied at ambient pressure by real-time neutron diffraction in the course of the sample heating from 100 K to room temperature at a rate of 0.4 K min{sup -1}. The transformation to the amorphous state begins at 140 K and is completed near room temperature. The {beta}-Sn type structure was shown to represent only the mean lattice of the high-pressure GaSb-II phase. The superstructure of this phase widely varied with temperature and is caused by the ordered displacement of atoms. The temperature range of the metastable crystalline phase relaxation is divided into three intervals according to the temperature dependence of the tetragonality ratio (c/a). At the boundaries of these temperature intervals, i.e. temperatures T = 170 and 230 K, two second-order phase transitions are observed. ...

UK PubMed Central (United Kingdom)

Nucleic acids are molecules of choice for both established and emerging nanoscale technologies. These technologies benefit from large functional densities of ‘DNA processing elements’...Full Text Available

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We review recent development in separations and mass spectrometric instrumentation for sensitive and high-throughput proteomic analyses. These efforts have been primarily focused on the development of high-efficiency (separation peak capacity of ~103) nanoscale liquid chromatography (nanoLC; e.g., flow rates extending down to ~20 nL/min at optimal separation linear velocities through narrow packed capillaries) in combination with advanced mass spectrometry (MS), including high sensitivity and high resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) MS. This technology enables MS analysis of low nanogram-level proteomic samples (i.e., nanoscale proteomics) with individual protein identification sensitivity at the low zeptomole-level. The resultant protein measurement dynamic range can reach 106 for nanogram-sized proteomic samples, while more abundant proteins can be detected from complex sub-picogram size proteome samples. The average ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The n3 and n4 vibrational transitions of CH3 and CD3 isolated in solid parahydrogen were studied by high-resolution infrared spectroscopy. The radicals were produced by in situ UV photolysis of methyl iodides trapped in solid parahydrogen. The observed spectra showed clear rotational fine structures, which were subjected to further splitting due to the electrostatic field of solid parahydrogen. The molecular constants and crystal field parameters of the radicals in solid parahydrogen were determined by analyzing the spectral structures of the n3 and n4 transitions of CD3 by the crystal field theory. The rotational constants of the CD3 radical were found to be only a few percent smaller than those in the gas phase. The determined crystal field parameters indicated significant quantum effect...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The organization of organic semiconductor molecules in the active layer of organic electronic devices has important consequences to overall device performance. This is due to the fact that molecular organization directly affects charge carrier mobility of the material. Organic field-effect transistor (OFET) performance is driven by high charge carrier mobility while bulk heterojunction (BHJ) solar cells require balanced hole and electron transport. By investigating the properties and device performance of three structural variations of the fluorenyl hexa-peri-hexabenzocoronene (FHBC) material, the importance of molecular organization to device performance was highlighted. It is clear from {sup 1}H NMR and 2D wide-angle X-ray scattering (2D WAXS) experiments that the sterically demanding 9,9-dioctylfluorene groups are preventing {pi}-{pi} intermolecular contact in the hexakis-substituted FHBC 4. For bis-substituted FHBC compounds 5 and 6, {pi}-{pi} intermolecular contact was observed in ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

It is suggested that the model of a neutrino ball described in terms of the standard model extended by adding right-handed neutrinos and the Majorana scalar field can be presented in order to explain a body of weak interacting neutrinos. Neutrino interaction with the scalar Majorana field violates the lepton number and produces the mass splitting of neutrino due to the sea-saw mechanism. In this model a neutrino ball is an object which appears as a result of a first order cosmological phase transition. It can be regarded as a ball filled with Dirac neutrinos and can be treated as a remnant of the phase transition with unbroken global lepton symmetry. In this paper we study the macroscopic parameters of such a configuration. In the result the mass-radius curve M(R) for this object is obtained. (orig.).

CERN Document Server

Superfluidity in fermionic systems originates from pairing of fermions, and Bose condensation of these so-called Cooper pairs. The Cooper pairs are usually made of fermions of different species; for example in superconductors they are pairs of electrons with opposite spins. Thus the most favorable situation for pairing and superfluidity is when the two species of fermions that form pairs have the same density. This paper studies the possible superfluid states when the two pairing species have different densities, and show that the resultant states have remarkable similarities to the phases of liquid crystals. This enables us to provide a unified description of the possible pairing phases, and understand the phase transitions among them.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The authors present results of grazing incidence X-ray diffraction studies concerning the effect of pH (and thus, of headgroup dissociation) on Langmuir monolayers of fatty acids, in the absence of any divalent cations in the aqueous subphase. An increase in pH transforms the distorted-hexagonal S phase first to the partially disordered Rotator-I phase with less distortion, and then to the completely disordered Rotator-II phase with an undistorted hexagonal structure. The S-Rotator-I and Rotator-I-Rotator-II transitions are pushed to lower temperatures with increase in pH. The fact that the effects of pH increase are almost identical to the effects of increasing temperature indicates the important role of headgroup-headgroup interactions in these monolayer phases.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Two-phase flow, thermal management systems are currently being considered as an alternative to conventional, single phase systems for future space missions because of their potential to reduce overall system mass, size, and pumping power requirements. Knowledge of flow regime transitions, heat transfer characteristics, and pressure drop correlations is necessary to design and develop two-phase systems. This work is concerned with microgravity, two-phase flow regime analysis. The data come from a recent sets of experiments. The experiments were funded by NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and conducted by NASA JSC with Texas A ampersand M University. The experiment was on loan to NASA JSC from Foster-Miller, Inc., who constructed it with funding from the Air Force Phillips Laboratory. The experiment used R12 as the working fluid. A Foster-Miller two phase pump was ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aluminum-containing intergranular phases, forming intergranular films and secondary phase particles at triple-junctions in SiC hot-pressed with aluminum, boron, and carbon additions, were studied by transmission electron microscopy. Statistical high-resolution electron microscopy study of intergranular films indicated that a large fraction of the vitreous intergranular films in the s-hot-pressed SiC crystallized during postannealing in argon above 1000 C. However, brief heating to 1900 C indeed re-melted 25 percent of the crystallized intergranular films. The structural transitions were reflected in the statistical width distributions of the amorphous grain boundary layers. At triple-junctions, Al2O3, Al2OC-SiC solid solution, and mullite phases were newly identified. These phases,together with others reported before are represented in a quaternary phase diagram ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The ultrafine fibers based on the composites of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and a series of fatty acids, lauric acid (LA), myristic acid (MA), palmitic acid (PA), and stearic acid (SA), were prepared successfully via electrospinning as form-stable phase change materials (PCMs). The morphology and thermal properties of the composite fibers were studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), respectively. It was found that the average fiber diameter increased generally with the content of fatty acid (LA) in the LA/PET composite fibers. The fibers with the low mass ratio maintained cylindrical shape with smooth surface while the quality became worse when the mass ratio is too high (more than 100/100). Moreover, the latent heat of the composite fibers increased with the increase of LA content and the phase transition temperature of the fibers have no obvious ...

Science.gov (United States)

Determination of the trajectory of a phase transition front moving in a forward or reverse direction is reduced to the solution of an ordinary differential equation. A numerical check of the results shows the method to be highly accurate. The method was used recently over a period of several years to solve various problems connected with the thawing of frozen rocks and their refreezing; among the problems considered was that of the ablation of rocks during the channeling of well, in which the method invariably proved its effectiveness. This furnishes a basis for recommending it for broader usage.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The ongoing upgrade of the Los Alamos Free-Electron Laser (FEL) Facility involves the addition of a photoelectric injector (PEI) and acceleration capability to about 40 MeV. The electron-beam and high-speed diagnostics provide key measurements of charge, beam position and profile, divergence emittance, energy (centroid, spread, slew, and extraction efficiency), micropulse duration, and phase stability. Preliminary results on the facility include optical transition radiation interferometer measurements of divergence (1 to 2 mrad), FEL extraction efficiency (0.6 {plus_minus} 0.2%), and drive laser phase stability (< 2 ps [rms]). 10 refs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Traditional two-phase flow-regime criteria based on the gas and liquid superficial velocities may not be suitable to the analyses of rapid transient or entrance flows by the two-fluid model. Under these conditions, it is postulated that direct geometrical parameters such as the void fraction are conceptually simpler and therefore more reliable parameters to be used in flow-regime criteria than the traditional parameters. From this point of view, new flow-regime criteria for upward gas-liquid flow in vertical tubes have been developed considering the mechanisms of flow-regime transitions. These new criteria can be compared to existing criteria and experimental data under steady-state and fully developed flow conditions by using relative velocity correlations. The criteria showed reasonable agreements with the existing data for atmospheric air-water flows. Further comparisons with data for steam-water in round tubes and a rectangular channel at ...

Science.gov (United States)

Enthalpy relaxation properties of the ethylene glycol (EG) aqueous solutions confined within silica-gel void spaces of 1.1 nm in the average void thickness and 6, 12 and 52 nm in their average diameters were examined by an adiabatic calorimetry to understand the glass transition behavior of the solutions and the rearrangement processes of the molecules. The glass transition temperature Tg of EG was found to decrease with adding the water molecules which are mobile under the condition lacking in the full hydrogen-bond network. Meanwhile, the Tg in the water-rich region showed a rise towards pure water; after a phase separation in a 25 mol% (x = 0.25) EG solution, the Tg was 160 K which was higher than that derived by extrapolating the composition dependence to pure water. The Tg = 160 K is the same as observed in the pure water confined within 1.1 nm voids; this indicates the validity of the interpretation that the glass ...

Science.gov (United States)

Symplectic integrators designed for simulating soft matter at constant temperature and constant pressure (or constant surface tension) are presented. In addition to the well-known merits of symplectic integrators, such as long time stability, these methods allow the estimation of thermal heat production/absorption and thus entropy differences through a simple function of the time scaling factor ?. The relative entropy estimation around crystal-liquid phase transition is given for systems with soft core repulsive potential.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stable strange quark matter produced in the QCD phase transition in the early universe will trap neutrons and repel protons, thus reducing primordial helium production, Ysub(p). For reasonable values of Ysub(p), the radius of strange droplets must exceed 10/sup 6/ cm if strange matter shall solve the dark-matter problem without spoiling Big Bang helium synthesis. (orig.).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Time resolved phase transition and strain experiments have been performed on the millisecond time scale using a Bragg-edge transmission technique that has been developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The precision with which lattice parameters can be determined from edge positions is sufficient to perform high-resolution strain measurements in uniaxial stress.

CERN Document Server

This handbook is a unique compendium of knowledge on all aspects of the physics of liquid crystals. In over 500 pages it provides detailed information on the physical properties of liquid crystals as well as the recent theories and results on phase transitions, defects and textures of different types of liquid crystals. An in-depth understanding of the physical fundamentals is a prerequisite for everyone working in the field of liquid crystal research. With this book the experts as well as graduate students entering the field get all the information they need.

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The author draws the connections between the work he has done over the last ten years and related research. Connections with industry are also mentioned, and future prospects are considered. Topics discussed include research into the synthesis of olefins and into liquid phase oxidation, the catalytic effects of transition metal compounds, and coal liquefaction. (35 refs.) (In Japanese)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

According to its relation to the dielectric response, the potential structure of CsH{sub 2}PO{sub 4} can successfully be modelled either as a three-well or as a single-well potential. The deviation from the Curie-Weiss law of the dielectric response has an intimate relationship to the low central potential in the unit cells, while ordering P atoms are assumed to drive its ferroelectric phase transition. (author)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Comparative patterns of equilibrium adsorption of argon on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black (GCB) and the inhomogeneous surfaces of nongraphitized carbon black and silica at 77 and 87.3 K were considered. It was shown that argon acquires the properties of a special phase with a layered structure and exhibits two-dimensional phase transitions with the formation of crystal-like layers near the homogeneous surface of GCB even at a temperature exceeding the triple point. However, already at a distance of three-four molecular diameters from the surface, adsorbed argon behaves as a bulk phase in a weak external field. The defect surface of nongraphitized carbon black and the amorphous surface structure of silica destroy the longrange order of adsorbed argon and lower its solidific...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A flow pattern or flow regime is the characteristics spatial distribution of the phases of fluid in a duct. Since heat transfer and pressure drop are dependent on the characteristic distribution of the phases, it is necessary to describe flow patterns in an appropriate manner so that a hydrodynamic or heat transfer theory applicable to that pattern can be chosen. The objective of the present analysis is to create a flow regime map based on physical modeling of vapor/liquid interaction phenomena in a microgravity environment. In the present work, four basic flow patterns are defined: dispersed flow, stratified flow, slug flow, and annular flow. Fluid properties, liquid and vapor flow rates, and pipe size were chosen as the principal parameters. It is assumed that a transition from one flow pattern to another will occur when there is a change in the dominant force which controls that flow pattern. The forces considered in ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Complete text of publication follows. The stability regime of the incommensurate phase of quartz is influenced by uniaxial stress. Hence, the phase transition can be induced under isothermal conditions by the application of external mechanical forces. Using real-time neutron scattering the time evolution of structural changes is investigated id detail during stress variations. The time dependent behaviour of the satellite reflection is compared with that one of the fundamental Bragg reflection which - via primary extinction - gives information about the perfection of the crystal. On increasing stress the perfection of the lattice is destroyed immediately while the modulated structure is built up with a delay of about 1 s. Decreasing the stress leads to a reverse behaviour. Moreover, there is evidence that under periodical load residual non-relaxed strain fields survive leading to a different temperature dependence as ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The interfacial area transport equation dynamically models the two-phase flow regime transitions and predicts continuous change of the interfacial area concentration along the flow field. Hence, when employed in the numerical thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes, it eliminates artificial bifurcations stemming from the use of the static flow regime transition criteria. Accounting for the substantial differences in the transport phenomena of various sizes of bubbles, the two-group interfacial area transport equations have been developed. The group 1 equation describes the transport of small-dispersed bubbles that are either distorted or spherical in shapes, and the group 2 equation describes the transport of large cap, slug or churn-turbulent bubbles. The source and sink terms in the right-hand-side of the transport equations have been established by mechanistically modeling the creation and destruction of bubbles due to ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nickel-titanium alloys may coexist in more than one crystalline structure. There is a high temperature phase, austenite, and a low temperature phase, martensite. The metallurgical basis for the superelasticity and the shape memory effect relies in the ability of these alloys to transform easily from one phase to another. There are three essential factors for the orthodontist to understand nickel-titanium alloys behaviour: stress; deflection; and temperature. These three factors are related to each other by the stress-deflection, stress-temperature and deflection-temperature diagrams. This work was undertaken with the objective to analyse commercial nickel-titanium alloys for orthodontics application, using the dynamical mechanical analyser - DMA. Four NiTi 0,017 X 0,025'' archwires were studied. The archwires were Copper NiTi 35 deg C (Ormco), Neo Sentalloy F200 (GAC), Nitinol Superelastic (Unitek) and ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A visual study of film boiling is carried out to determine the flow regime transition in the post-CHF region. An idealized inverted annular flow is obtained by introducing a liquid jet of Freon 113 through a nozzle, precisely centered with respect to the internal diameter of the test section, with an annular gas flow. The respective ranges for liquid and gas velocities are 0.05-0.5 and 0.03-8.2 m s"-"1. Nitrogen and helium are used in the study. For the present configuration, there are four flow regimes; namely, the smooth inverted annular flow-section, the rough wavy, agitated and dispersed flow regimes. (author).

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

Antibacterial activity of Transition metals (Mn, Co) doped ZnO nanopowders prepared by a DC thermal plasma method against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus are investigated. The phase and morphology studies have been carried out by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) respectively. All the samples of the present investigation are found to have hexagonal wurtzite structure and crystallite sizes are found to vary from 25nm to 30nm. Our bacteriological study showed the enhanced antibacterial activity of transition metals doped ZnO nanoparticles than undoped ZnO indicating the great potential of ZnO nanoparticles in relevant clinical and biomedical applications.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The pressure dependence of the photoluminescence (PL) transition associated with the fundamental band gap of ZnO nanowires has been studied at pressures up to 15 GPa. ZnO nanowires are found to have a higher structural phase transition pressure around 12 GPa as compared to 9.0 GPa for bulk ZnO. The pressure-induced energy shift of the near band-edge luminescence emission yields a linear pressure coefficient of 29.6 meV/GPa with a small sublinear term of -0.43 meV/GPa{sup 2}. An effective hydrostatic deformation potential -3.97 eV for the direct band gap of the ZnO nanowires is derived from the result.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The crystal structure of Ca{sub 2}RuD{sub 6} has been determined by neutron powder diffraction: space group Fm3m, K{sub 2}PtCl{sub 6} structure, as found for other hexahydride salts of group 8 metals with alkaline earth or lanthanide counter ions. No structural phase transition was observed between 340 K and 50 K. The deuterium nuclear quadrupole coupling constant, 54.7 kHz, leads to an ionic character of the Ru-D bond of 76%. The known trends in the behaviour of A{sub 2}MH{sub 6} salts are interpreted in terms of the ionization energies of the cation and the central metal atom.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnetic properties of polycrystalline samples of RPd_2Si compounds (R = Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er) are presented. The Gd and Tb based compounds are antiferromagnetic with Neel temperatures of 13.5 and 21 K respectively. For both compounds a metamagnetic transition is observed in low field. Moreover, in TbPd_2Si a transition between two different antiferromagnetic phases is observed at 8.5 K. The Dy, Ho and Er based compounds are ferromagnetic with Curie temperatures of 9, 3.5 ad 2.8 K respectively. The observed properties result from indirect exchange interactions and crystal field effects acting on rare earth ions which lie in a very low symmetry site. (author).

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The observed inhibition of M4 transitions in A approx. 90 nuclei has represented a long standing theoretical problem. In particular by calculating first- and second-order configuration mixing contributions to the inhibited M4 lifetimes of /sup 89/Y and /sup 87/Sr, it is found that the first-order perturbative treatment of the residual interaction usually used in shell-model calculations is unjustified in this case. Using random-phase approximation techniques, the renormalization effects of collective (''giant'') M4 resonances in /sup 88/Sr on the low energy M4 transitions in /sup 89/Y and /sup 87/Sr are investigated. It is concluded that the observed retardation of M4 lifetimes in these nuclei is consistent with the manifestation of nuclear spin polarization.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The thermal performance and phase change stability of stearic acid as a latent heat energy storage material has been studied experimentally. The thermal performance and heat transfer characteristics of the stearic acid were tested and compared with other studies given in the literature. In the present study, parameters such as transition times, temperature range and propagation of the solid-liquid interface as well as the effect of heat flow rate on the phase change stability of stearic acid as a phase change material (PCM) were studied. The experimental results showed that the melting stability of the PCM is better in the radial direction than in the axial direction. The variation in the melting and solidification parameters of the PCM with the change of inlet water temperature is also studied. We observed that while the heat exchanger tube is in the horizontal position, the PCM has more effective and ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Between 25 and 30 percent of total known petroleum reserves are contained within oil-laden fractured reservoirs where the dominant flow path is through the fractures. Economic oil recoveries from fractured reservoirs depend on a better understanding of the flow in fractures and networks of fractures. However, the flow of heavy oil and water, and particularly the flow regime map for two-phase immiscible flow has received less attention in contrast with gas-liquid flow in fractures. This paper discussed the use of flow pattern observations in a Hele-Shaw cell to generate two-phase flow regime maps. The paper investigated the effect of fracture gap and fluid viscosities on flow regimes. A correlation based on different flow and fracture properties was developed to define flow transition conditions between flow regimes. The paper presented the experiments, with particular reference to the experimental apparatus and the ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A visual study of film boiling using photographic and high speed motion-picture methods was carried out to determine the flow regime transition criteria in the post-CHF region. An idealized inverted annular flow was obtained by introducing a liquid jet of Freon 113 through a nozzle, precisely centered with respect to the internal diameter of the test section, with an annular gas flow. The respective ranges for liquid and gas exit velocities were 0.05 to 0.5 and 0.03 to 7.9 m/s. Nitrogen and helium were used in the study. For the present configuration, there are four basic flow regimes. Beginning from the nozzle exit, there is a smooth, inverted annular flow section with liquid in the core and gas in the annulus; followed by the rough wavy section with an intact liquid core, the agitated and the dispersed flow regimes. For a given liquid jet velocity, the axial extent of each flow regime decreases with increasing gas velocity through the annulus. Generalized ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The primary E1, M1 and E2 ..gamma..-radiation in /sup 87,88,89/Sr observed after thermal neutron capture was compared with the predictions of single particle and giant resonance models. The nuclei feature a wide range of neutron binding energies between 6.3 and 11.1 MeV, which makes a 5.5 MeV spectrum of primary transition energies available for investigation. The (n, ..gamma..) reaction was used to estimate the parameters of the spin-flip M1 giant resonance in strontium. The total energy weighted M1 strength of this resonance exceeds the results of shell model and random phase approximation calculations for /sup 90/Zr by a factor of 3-4. The E1 strengths were found to agree with the established giant dipole resonance model. The few data on primary E2 transitions do not allow to differentiate between the giant quadrupole resonance and the single particle models.

CERN Document Server

One of the most active areas of physics in the last decades has been that of critical phenomena, and Monte Carlo simulations have played an important role as a guide for the validation and prediction of system properties close to the critical points. The kind of phase transitions occurring for the Betts lattice (lattice constructed removing 1/7 of the sites from the triangular lattice) have been studied before with the Potts model for the values q=3, ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic regime. Here, we add up to this research line the ferromagnetic case for q=4 and 5. In the first case, the critical exponents are estimated for the second order transition, whereas for the latter case the histogram method is applied for the occurring first order transition. Additionally, Domany's Monte Carlo based clustering technique mainly used to group genes similar in their expression levels is reviewed. Finally, a ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

As a three-year joint university-industry effort, development of a generalized boiling transition analysis method has been started in 2002 aiming at enhanced capabilities of subchannel analysis for a wide variety of BWR-type fuel bundle geometry from ordinary BWR to tight lattice fuel bundles. For this purpose, five dominant factors affecting boiling transition phenomena have been identified on which our efforts of experimentation and numerical analyses are focused. In this report, as the first-year achievement, we will describe a master plan of the development and contents for experimental approaches to construct thermal-hydraulic databases. The databases will be utilized for the developments of constitutive equations to describe the basic characteristics of the elementary processes. The planned experiments are divided into two groups. One is air-water experiments at atmospheric pressure, and the other is steam-water experiments up to 1 MPa. ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

When liquids are confined in nano-scopic dimensions, their properties differ from the corresponding bulk liquid, due to their reduced dimensionality and surface effects. Phase transition temperatures and pressures are often shifted from the bulk values and new phases can appear due to the strong interactions of the molecules with the confining walls. We have studied the structural and dynamical properties of aromatic liquids such as benzene, toluene, and ortho-terphenyl confined in nano-porous materials, MCM-41 and SBA-15, synthesized and characterized in our laboratory. A non-trivial dependence of the glass transition temperature, Tg, on the pore size and surface treatment of nano-porous materials is confirmed and interpreted as resulting from a competition between the fluid-wall and fluid-fluid intermolecular interactions. An increase of Tg is observed for small pore sizes and attractive surface while ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A method that employs simultaneous neutron and #gamma#-ray diffraction techniques is proposed for accurate measurements of strains with or without an applied electric field (0-100 kV m"-"1). Instead of an absolute determination of the position of the neutron Bragg peak, a relative measurement of the neutron and #gamma# peak positions is used and allows a determination of the lattice-parameter changes with an accuracy of within 2 x 10"-"6. This technique avoids systematic errors originating in sample rotations by taking advantage of a reference directly related to the crystal lattice. The method appears to be particularly important for crystals that exhibit structural phase transitions, as demonstrated by the measurement of the strain U_x_x in KH_2PO_4 crystals as a function of temperature and applied electric field. In this case the errors would amount to #+-#20%. The results demonstrate the need to re-examine the theory previously proposed by ...

CERN Document Server

The aim of this work was to study the possibility of producing a fast switching optical thin film device to react to laser radiation in the visible/near infrared region of the spectrum. The switching mechanism was to be thermally driven. A computer program was written to enable the effects of changes of the refractive index of a component of a multilayer thin film stack to be modelled. Attempts to use the phase transition in vanadium dioxide were unsuccessful because, in the spectral region of interest, the 'open-state' absorption was too great. A class of materials known as 'the bronzes' was identified as being potentially useful. Attempts were made to produce thin films of bronze compounds of vanadium, tungsten and molybdenum by the techniques of conventional thermal evaporation and laser ablation for further studies. The former technique appeared to suffer from problems of decomposition of the source material. The latter technique showed ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

It is shown that pure NQR can be utilized as a platform for quantum computing without applying a high external magnetic field. By exciting each resonance transition between quadrupole energy levels with two radio-frequency fields differing in phase and direction, the double degeneracy of the spin energy spectrum in an electric field gradient is removed. As an example, in the case of I=7/2 (nuclei {sup 133}Cs or {sup 123}Sb) the energy spectrum has eight levels which can be used as three qubits. (orig.)

Science.gov (United States)

We discuss how magnetic phenomena affect superconductivity in simple metals, transition metals and alloys thereof, and dilute Rare-Earth alloys. It is shown both qualitatively and quantitatively that superconductors are sensitive probes for studying itinerant spin excitations, local spin excitations associated with nearly magnetic impurities, the effect of the atomic environment on the stability of local magnetic moments, and the nature of the spin order in Rare-Earth alloys. Also, we discuss how magnetic impurities can be used to study the electronic configuration which is responsible for superconductivity in Laves-phase crystals like A-15 compounds and ..beta..-W crystals, for example.

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.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Use of hydrogen absorbing alloys in various practical applications is always connected with the problem of production of starting alloys. The transition from laboratory samples to small-scale production involves the change of furnace and its operation mode and this has an effect on the preparation method of mixture of starting metal. Also, for some applications such as thermosorption compressors the exact values of thermodynamical parameters of reaction are needed. In the present work we present the results of investigation of series Laves phase hydrogen-absorbing alloys which can be promising in for use in different devices. 1 ref.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A detailed treatment is introduced to measure the dynamic stability of the relativistic electrons in a self-amplified spontaneous emission free-electron laser (FEL) system, which includes the numerical approach of the Kolmogorov entropy (entropy-like quantity), the general equations of motion for a charged particle and the method of monitoring the simulation accuracy. Numerical experiments reveal a new phenomenon that there exists the possibility of the transition from chaotic to non-chaotic phase-space trajectories of the strongly relativistic electrons due to the effect of their self-fields. The adiabatic magnetic field of a one-dimensional wiggler may have a slight influence on the electron transportation in the absence of the FEL fields, but substantially affects the dynamic stability of the electrons in the process of the FEL interaction. Moreover, the laser fields diminish the dynamic stability of the electrons as the FEL interaction ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The phase diagram of Gdsub(x)Ysub(1-x)Th_4B_4 between the paramagnetic, superconducting and ferromagnetic state is reported. Low temperature dc-magnetization measurements reveal that macroscopic electro-magnetic effects are of minor importance for the suppression of Hsub(2c), which shows a smooth bell-shaped behavior for x >= 0.15 with no indication of an anomaly near Tsub(c2). At low temperature in samples with x >= 0.20 a transition from type II to type I superconductivity seems to occur. The low temperature normal state susceptibility follows a Curie-Weiss law indicating reentrant behavior for x >= 0.10. (orig.).

CERN Document Server

Effect of a planar texture quality and its thickness on lasing spectrums and thresholds in dye-doped cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) of steroid type is explored. Transition from the qualitative planar texture to the poor texture quality is accompanied by change of characteristic mode structures and by shift of barycentre in the long-wave side and the considerable growth of the lasing threshold. It is found that in the CLC texture created by substrates with perpendicular directions of orientation the stable single-mode lasing takes place. The nature of oscillated modes in such texture is caused by phase jump. The gained results show that in steroid CLC, unlike induced one, lasing spectrums is possible to feature with the coupled wave model. Key words: steroidal cholesteric liquid crystal, distributed feedback lasing, oscillation thresholds, phase defect of periodical structure, transmission and lasing spectra

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Within the framework of the Bianchi type-IX homogeneous space, we set up a system of coupled equations for the cosmic scale factors, scalar field, and radiative energy density. At the tree level, the equations are written in a self-consistent, Hartree-Fock form. For phi/sup 4/ theory, the system of nine first-order differential equations is solved numerically for a varying ratio of the energy of anisotropy to the vacuum energy. As the vacuum energy increases, there appears to be less reheating, since the energy of anisotropy is more efficiently converted into isotropic expansion. If the energy of anisotropy is large enough, the inflationary phase is prevented. In this case, a series of cosmological phase transitions will take place each time the square of the effective mass changes its sign.

CERN Document Server

In these lecture notes we derive a generic holographic string theory realization of a p-wave superconductor and superfluid. For this purpose we also review basic D-brane physics, gauge/gravity methods at finite temperature, key concepts of superconductivity and recent progress in distinct realizations of holographic superconductors and superfluids. Then we focus on a D3/D7-brane construction yielding a superconducting or superfluid vector-condensate. The corresponding gauge theory is 3+1-dimensional N=2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory with SU(N) color and SU(2) flavor symmetry. It shows a second order phase transition to a phase in which a U(1) subgroup of the SU(2) symmetry is spontaneously broken and typical superconductivity signatures emerge, such as a conductivity (pseudo-)gap and the Meissner-Ochsenfeld effect. Condensates of this nature are comparable to those recently found experimentally in p-wave superconductors ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A two-phase flow regime map is developed experimentally and theoretically for a vertical hexagonal flow channel with and without a 36-finned rod hexagonal bundle. This type of flow channel is of interest to MAPLE-type nuclear research reactors. The flow regime maps are determined by visual observations and observation of waveforms shown by a capacitance-type void fraction meter. The experimental results show that the inclusion of the finned hexagonal bundle shifts the flow regime transition boundaries toward higher water flow rates. Existing flow regime maps based on pipe flow require slight modifications when applied to the hexagonal flow channel with and without a MAPLE-type finned hexagonal bundle. The proposed theoretical model agrees well with experimental results.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Counter-current two-phase flows of air-water in narrow rectangular channels with offset-strip fins have been experimentally investigated in a 760 mm long and 100 mm wide test section with 3.0 and 5.0 mm gap widths. The two-phase flow regime, channel-average void fractions and two-phase pressure gradients were studied. Flow regime transition occurred at lower superficial velocities of air than in the channels without fins. In the bubbly and slug flow regimes, elongated bubbles rose along the subchannel formed by fins without lateral movement. The critical void fraction for the bubbly-to-slug transition was about 0.14 for the 3 mm gap channel and 0.2 for the 5 mm gap channel, respectively. Channel-average void fractions in the channels with fins were almost the same as those in the channels without fins. Void fractions increased as the gap width increased, especially at high ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A numerical study has been performed to investigate the hydrodynamic aspects of the pool boiling on horizontal-, vertical- and downward-facing surfaces. The FlowLab code, which is based on a Lattice-Boltzmann (LB) model of two-phase flows, is employed. Macroscopic properties, such as surface tension ({sigma}) and contact angle ({beta}), are implemented through the fluid-fluid (G{sub {sigma}}) and fluid-solid (G{sub t}) interaction potentials. The model is found to express a linear relation between the macroscopic properties ({sigma}, {beta}) and microscopic parameters (G{sub {sigma}}, G{sub t}). The simulation results on bubble departure diameter appear to have the same parametric dependence as the empirical correlation. Hydrodynamic aspects of two-phase flow regime transition mechanism are investigated for different surface-coolant configurations. Results of the LB simulation clearly demonstrate that not only the bubble ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The adhesion strength of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) on aluminum was investigated using density functional theory-based total energy calculations. Aluminum atom was connected to a PBT monomer at different orientations and total energies were calculated in order to determine the most stable orientation. The energy differences showed that the Al oriented at 180degree with the ester group of the monomer bonded strongly. Using this orientation, the PBT monomer-adhesion on aluminum surface and the aluminum atom adhesion on PBT bulk were also investigated.

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The molar heat capacities (C{sub p,m}) of crystalline potassium dichromate (K{sub 2}Cr{sub 2}O{sub 7} (cr)) and aqueous K{sub 2}Cr{sub 2}O{sub 7} solution (0.1699 mol.kg{sup -1}) were measured in the temperature range from 100 to 390 K and from 80 to 370 K by an automatic adiabatic calorimeter equipped with a small cell of internal volume of 6 cm{sup 3}, respectively. No phase transition took place in the temperature range from 100 to 390 K for K{sub 2}Cr{sub 2}O{sub 7} (cr). The relationships of C{sub p,m} of K{sub 2}Cr{sub 2}O{sub 7} (cr) with respect to T were established to be C{sub p,m} 177.53 + 161.92 X - 138.14 X{sup 2} - 209.67 X{sup 3} + 160.35 X{sup 4} + 137.44 X{sup 5} - 41.291 X{sup 6} and C{sub p,m} 177.52 + 171.66 X -149.59 X{sup 2} - 246.17 X{sup 3} + 194.79 X{sup 4} + 167.30 X{sup 5} - 64.368 X{sup 6} (X=(T-245.00)/145.00) for Series 1 and Series 2 experiments, respectively. No phase ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A new study on the pressure-induced phase transitions of TiO_2 has been performed using all-electron density-functional theory based computations with the projector augmented wave and the linearized augmented plane wave methods considering five experimentally observed structures. The static results yield a picture that is consistent with experiments, i.e., phase transitions with pressure are predicted as rutile #-># monoclinic baddeleyite (MI) #-># orthorhombic I (OI) #-># cotunnite (OII) on compression, and OII #-># OI #-># MI #-># columbite (TiO_2II) on decompression. The elasticities of these five polymorphs are compared. Except for the baddeleyite structure, which is considerably softer than the other polymorphs, all phases show a zero pressure bulk modulus in the range of 200-240 GPa, consistent with compression results and the single crystal elastic constant; ...

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The title of the workshop, ''The QCD Phase Transitions'', in fact happened to be too narrow for its real contents. It would be more accurate to say that it was devoted to different phases of QCD and QCD-related gauge theories, with strong emphasis on discussion of the underlying non-perturbative mechanisms which manifest themselves as all those phases. Before we go to specifics, let us emphasize one important aspect of the present status of non-perturbative Quantum Field Theory in general. It remains true that its studies do not get attention proportional to the intellectual challenge they deserve, and that the theorists working on it remain very fragmented. The efforts to create Theory of Everything including Quantum Gravity have attracted the lion share of attention and young talent. Nevertheless, in the last few years there was also a tremendous progress and even ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

In order to practice a design-by-analysis of thermohydraulics design of BWR fuel rod bundles, the subchannel analysis would play a major role. There, the immediate concern is improvement in its predictive capability of CHF due in particular to the film dryout (boiling transition phenomena: BT) on the fuel rod surface. Constitutive equations in the subchannel analysis formulation are responsible for the quality of calculated results. The constitutive equations are a result of integration of the local and instantaneous description of two-phase flows over the subchannel control volume. In general, they are expressed in terms of subchannel-control-volume- as well as area-averaged two-phase flow state variables. In principle the information on local and instantaneous physical phenomena taking place inside subchannels must be counted for in the algebraic form of the equations on the basis of a more mechanistic modeling approach. ...

Science.gov (United States)

Comparative patterns of equilibrium adsorption of argon on the surface of graphitized thermal carbon black (GCB) and the inhomogeneous surfaces of nongraphitized carbon black and silica at 77 and 87.3 K were considered. It was shown that argon acquires the properties of a special phase with a layered structure and exhibits two-dimensional phase transitions with the formation of crystal-like layers near the homogeneous surface of GCB even at a temperature exceeding the triple point. However, already at a distance of three-four molecular diameters from the surface, adsorbed argon behaves as a bulk phase in a weak external field. The defect surface of nongraphitized carbon black and the amorphous surface structure of silica destroy the longrange order of adsorbed argon and lower its solidification temperature. Therefore, argon adsorbed at a temperature of 77 K, i.e., below the triple point, exhibits the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brittleness and poor low-temperature thermal conductivity of A-15 compounds remain the major obstacles preventing the effective use of these superconductors in large-scale engineering applications. In order to circumvent these difficulties, a new type of ductile superconducting filamentary alloy has been developed recently by a simple metallurgical process which consists of melting the constituent elements and subsequent cold working and appropriate heat treatment. These superconducting materials are essentially Cu-base alloys containing a few percent of A-15 phase such as Nb_3Sn or V_3Ga which is in the form of fine filaments embedded in the Cu matrix. The emphasis of this work is on the formation of the A-15 phase in the Cu-base alloys and its correlation with superconducting properties such as transition temperature and critical current density. The formation of Nb_3Sn, Nb_3Al, V_3Si, and V_3Ga will serve as examples to ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Recently, many experiments designed to quantify the parameters involved in microgravity two-phase flow have been performed. These experiments give significant insight to the differences between the flow regimes in 1-g and microgravity. However, the new correlations for pressure drop, heat transfer, and the flow regime maps are yet to be implemented into analytical methods. The purpose of this study is to model a KC-135 microgravity experiment, using the thermal-hydraulic does RELAP5/MOD2 and ATHENA. A comparison of these experimental results to code calculations from RELAP5/MOD2 and ATHENA is shown. Results show little difference between the ATHENA and the RELAP5 calculations. Also, modifications are made to the two-phase flow regime map in RELAP5 to model microgravity predictions. There is a substantial difference between the code's calculation before and after the changes were implemented. The heat transfer correlations of the code should be ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Full text of publication follows:In the current thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes using the two-fluid model, the empirical correlations that are based on the two-phase flow regimes and regime transition criteria are being employed as closure relations for the interfacial transfer terms. Due to its inherent shortcomings, however, such static correlations are inaccurate and present serious problems in the numerical analysis. In view of this, a new dynamic approach employing the interfacial area transport equation has been studied. The interfacial area transport equation dynamically models the two-phase flow regime transitions and predicts continuous change of the interfacial area concentration along the flow field. Hence, when employed in the thermal-hydraulic system analysis codes, it eliminates artificial bifurcations stemming from the use of the static flow regime transition ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

We investigate the possibility of kaon condensation in the dense interior of neutron stars through the s-wave interaction of kaons with nucleons. We include nucleon-nucleon interactions by using simple parametrizations of realistic forces, and include electrons and muons in #beta#-equilibrium. The equation of state above the condensate threshold is derived in the mean field approximation. The conditions under which kaon condensed cores undergo a transition to quark matter containing strange quarks are also established.The critical density for kaon condensation lies in the range (2.3-5.0)#rho#_0, where #rho#_0=0.16 fm"-"3 is the equilibrium density of nuclear matter. The critical density depends largely on the value of the strangeness content of the proton, the size of which is controversial. For too large a value of the strangeness content, matter with a kaon condensate is not sufficiently stiff to support the lower limit of 1.44 M_o_e_d_o_t for a neutron star. ...

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Mixed-convection phenomena can occur within liquid-dominated geothermal reservoirs due to interactions of injected flows, or ground-water flows, with the buoyancy-induced fluid motion. This problem was studied experimentally and numerically for the case of opposing flows about a vertical heat source in a liquid-saturated porous medium. The ratio of the Rayleigh number (Ra) to the Peclet number (Pe) was identified as the nondimensional parameter which characterizes the relative influence of buoyancy-driven to pressure-gradient-driven fluid motion. The transition from mixed to forced convection was numerically determined to be (Ra/Pe) approx. = -0.5, where the minus sign denotes superimposed downflow. Agreement between measured and predicted thermal-field results showed that the finite-element code of Gartling and Hickox (1982 a,b) can be used to model low-temperature (single-phase) geothermal reservoirs throughout the natural, mixed, and forced ...

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LiNiO{sub 2} is one of the most promising material for positive electrodes of lithium-ion batteries. However, its behaviour during cycling and the existence of several phase transitions induced by the lithium ions de-intercalation process has not been explained so far. A transition electron microscopy study of various Li{sub x}NiO{sub 2} (0.25

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The magnetic properties of a single crystal of SmNiSn with the orthorhombic {epsilon}-TiNiSi-type crystal structure have been investigated by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and electrical resistivity measurements from 1.5 K to room temperature. Two anomalies have been found in the magnetic susceptibility, indicating an antiferromagnetic phase transition at T{sub N}=9.4 K and a second transition at 4.4 K. A large magnetic anisotropy has been found at low temperatures in the temperature and field dependencies of magnetic susceptibility and magnetization. Below 80 K, the easy axis of the magnetization is the c-axis. At T=2.0 K, the c-axis magnetization curve exhibits metamagnetic-like behavior at H{sub c}=42 kOe and reaches 0.54 emu/g at H=55 kOe, whereas for the a- and b-axis the magnetization is linear and smaller. The paramagnetic susceptibilities do not follow the Curie-Weiss law suggesting a large van Vleck ...

CERN Document Server

We report the first direct detection of an exoplanet in polarized scattered light. The transiting planet HD189733b is one of the very hot Jupiters with shortest periods and, thus, smallest orbits, which makes them ideal candidates for polarimetric detections. We obtained polarimetric measurements of HD189733 in the $B$ band well distributed over the orbital period and detected two polarization maxima near planetary elongations with the peak amplitude of $\\sim2\\cdot10^{-4}$. Assuming Rayleigh scattering, we estimated the effective size of the scattering atmosphere (Lambert sphere) to be 1.5$\\pm$0.2 $R_{\\rm J}$, which is 30% larger than the radius of the opaque body previously inferred from transits. If the scattering matter fills the planetary Roche lobe, the lower limit of the geometrical albedo can be estimated as 0.14. The phase dependence of polarization indicates that the planetary orbit is oriented almost in the ...

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The present study includes thermal stability of some fatty acids as phase change materials (PCMs). The selected fatty acids were stearic, palmitic, myristic and lauric acid with melting temperatures between 40-63{sup o}C and industrial-grade with 90-95% purity. Latent heat storage capacity and phase transition temperature of the PCMs were determined by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) technique as a function of after repeated thermal cycles such as 40, 410, 700 and 910. The present work also comprises the investigation of corrosion resistance of some construction materials to the fatty acids over a long period. The containment materials tested were stainless steel (SS 304 L), carbon steel (steel C20), aluminium (Al) and copper (Cu). Gravimetric analysis as mass loss (mg/cm{sup 2}), corrosion rate (mg/day) and a microscopic or metallographic investigation were performed for corrosion tests after 910 thermal cycles. ...

Science.gov (United States)

Lead-free piezoelectric ceramics (1-x)K0.5Na0.5NbO3-xAgSbO3+0.75 mol % MnO2 were prepared by a conventional solid-state sintering technique, and the piezoelectric and dielectric properties of the ceramics were studied. The results of x-ray diffraction suggest that AgSbO3 diffuses into the K0.5Na0.5NbO3 lattices to form a new solid solution with a single-phase orthorhombic perovskite structure. After the addition of AgSbO3, the paraelectric cubic-ferroelectric tetragonal phase transition temperature (TC) and the ferroelectric tetragonal-ferroelectric orthorhombic phase transition temperature (TO-T) decrease, and the ceramics become ``softened,'' resulting in significant improvements in the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties. The ceramics with x=0.03-0.10 exhibit excellent piezoelectric properties: d33=130-216 pC/N, kp=0.44-0.51, and kt=0.40-0.52. The ceramics also exhibit a ...

CERN Document Server

The combination of large thickness ($>3$ $\\mu$m), large--area uniformity (75 mm diameter), high growth rate (up to 0.4 $\\mu$m/min) in assemblies of complex--shaped nanowires on lithographically defined patterns has been achieved for the first time. The nanoscale and the microscale have thus been blended together in sculptured thin films with transverse architectures. SiO$_x$ ($x\\approx 2$) nanowires were grown by electron--beam evaporation onto silicon substrates both with and without photoresist lines (1--D arrays) and checkerboard (2--D arrays) patterns. Atomic self--shadowing due to oblique--angle deposition enables the nanowires to grow continuously, to change direction abruptly, and to maintain constant cross--sectional diameter. The selective growth of nanowire assemblies on the top surfaces of both 1--D and 2--D arrays can be understood and predicted using simple geometrical shadowing equations.

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International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

A series of hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycles have been performed on palladium wire samples, stressed by a constant mechanical tension, in order to investigate the changes in electrical and mechanical properties. A large increase of palladium electrical resistivity has been reported due to the combined effects of the production of defects linked to hydrogen insertion into the host lattice and the stress applied to the sample. An increase of the palladium sample strain due to hydrogenation/dehydrogenation cycles in ????? phase transitions is observed compared to the sample subjected to mechanical tension only. The loss of initial metallurgical properties of the sample occurs already after the first hydrogen cycle, i.e. a displacement from the initial metallic behavior (increase of the resistivity and decrease of thermal coefficient of resistivity) to a worse one occurs already after the first hydrogen cycle. A linear correlation between ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hydrostatic weighing was used to measure the pre-melt density of crystalline eutectic mixtures of alkaline metal chlorides of the compositions (mole fractions): 0.605 LiCl + 0.395 CsCl, 0.585 LiCl + 0.415 KCl, 0.297 NaCl + 0.246 KCl + 0.457 CsCl, and 0.348 NaCl + 0.652 CsCl with melting points 598, 628, 753, 763 K, respectively, as a function of temperature. In the same temperature ranges, the compressibility and molar volume of eutectics as well as their sudden change upon melting were estimated. Unusual variations of these properties were revealed near the crystal/liquid phase transition, which were related to local disordering of particle configuration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The electrical resistivity, Hall effect, and magnetic susceptibility of single-crystal UPd_2Si_2 have been studied between 4.2 and 300 K. A large anisotropy was observed in both the magnetic and transport properties. There is a quadratic temperature dependence of the resistivity for a range of temperatures between 4.2 and 80 K. At higher temperatures, the resistivity indicates a Kondo-type behavior. The behavior of these quantities is accounted for by the magnetic phase transitions at 108 and 136 K reported from neutron-scattering studies. At high temperatures, the magnetic susceptibility of UPd_2Si_2 is Curie-Wiess-like along the c axis. The temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient above 108 K is accounted for by a theoretical model invoking skew scattering of conduction electrons by localized magnetic moments.

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This renewal request for DOE grant DE-FG02-86ER45238, is dedicated to providing a complete thermodynamic profile of solids fluids, and fluid mixtures, over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. We are partially motivated by technological interest in detonation, combustion, superhard high pressure materials, and high temperature superconductors, which are important components of interest of various DOE laboratories. Our work on fluids and solids, composed of simple molecules, involves the determination of structures, phase transitions, pressure-volume relations, phonon, vibron, and libron modes of excitation, sound velocities, specific heats, thermal expansion, virial coefficients, sublimation energies, and orientational translational, and magnetic correlations. We hope that the study of these systems under extreme thermodynamic conditions will lead to exotic new materials of value, as well as enhanced fundamental understanding.

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We present a synchrotron x-ray diffraction study of melting in stacks of two-dimensional crystalline arrays of the membrane protein bacteriorhodopsin. Two distinct regimes have been found as a function of the intermembrane distance d . In the {open_quotes}coupled{close_quotes} regime for d{lt}250 {Angstrom} the temperature (T{sub m}) of the melting transition decreases with increasing d , demonstrating the effect of the repulsive membrane interactions on the intramembrane protein ordering. For d{gt}250 {Angstrom} a {open_quotes}decoupled{close_quotes} regime is found with higher T{sup *}{sub m} independent of d . Below T{sup *}{sub m} a solid-liquid-solid reentrant behavior is observed as d is increased. {copyright} {ital 1999} {ital The American Physical Society}

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The magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity in cerium and neodymium titanate bronzes in Ln/sub 2/3+x/TiO/sub 3+y/ of the perovskite structure were investigated in the temperature range 77-450/sup 0/K. The deviation of the 1/x = f(T) dependence from the Curie-Weiss law, found for a majority of the compositions, was interpreted from the crystal-field effect based on the state of the Ce/sup 3 +/ and Nd/sup 3 +/ cations. For a number of the phases, a transition from metallic conductivity at high temperatures to semiconducting conductivity was detected at temperatures below 200-250/sup 0/K, which agrees well with the conclusion about the temperature dependence of x, related to the subsystem of Ti/sup 3 +/ cations.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The cross-over from a magnetically ordered to a non-magnetic spin liquid state has been investigated in a series of resistance measurements under hydrostatic pressures of up to 30 kbar and at temperatures down to below 200 mK in the heavy fermion antiferromagnet CePd_2Si_2. The electrical resistivity changes dramatically with increasing pressure. Near the critical pressure, at which the magnetic ordering temperature is extrapolated to zero, it exhibits a quasi-linear variation over two orders of magnitude in temperature. This non-Fermi liquid form of #rho#(T) extends down to the onset of a new superconducting transition below 430 mK. (orig.).

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A new test methodology is described which allows access to loading rates that lie between split Hopkinson bar and shock-loading techniques. Gas gun experiments combined with velocity interferometry techniques have been used to experimentally determine the intermediate strain-rate loading behavior of Coors AD995 alumina and Cercom silicon-carbide rods. Graded-density materials have been used as impactors; thereby eliminating the tension states generated by the radial stress components during the loading phase. Results of these experiments demonstrate that the time-dependent stress pulse generated during impact allows an efficient transition from the initial uniaxial strain loading to a uniaxial stress state as the stress pulse propagates through the rod. This allows access to intermediate loading rates over 5 x 10{sup 3}/s to a few times 10{sup 4}/s.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The impact properties of high-strength low alloy TRIP steels such as 'TRIP-aided dual-phase steel' and 'TRIP-aided bainitic steel' associated with the transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) of retained austenite were investigated for some applications to the automotive impact members. The TRIP steels possessed far higher impact absorbed value and lower ductile-brittle transition temperature than the conventional ferrite-martensite and ferrite-pearlite steels. The stress relaxation resulting from the strain-induced transformation of retained austenite islands or films improved the impact properties in terms of suppressing void and/or crack initiation and these propagation. The best impact properties were completed in the steel composing of uniform fine bainitic lath structure and a large amount of stable interlath retained austenite films. (author)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Measurements of the electrical conductivity, dielectric constant and magnetic susceptibility of pellets of erbium tungstate are reported for the temperature range 300 to 1000 K. The known phase transition near 600 K is in evidence in all these measurements. The conductivity data for T>600 K have been analysed in terms of an exponential relation sigma=sigmasub(0)exp(-Esub(g)/2kT), giving sigma_0=8.892x10"2ohm"-"1cm"-"1 and Esub(g)=1.52eV. There is a weak dispersion in the dielectric constant at around 10"4Hz and a rapid increase above 600 K. The high-temperature data for the susceptibility obey a Curie-Weiss law that gives a value of 9.50 Bohr magneton for Er"3"+ ions and a (ferromagnetic) Curie temperature of 160 K. (author).

CERN Document Server

The Hamiltonian Mean Field model describes a system of N fully-coupled particles showing a second-order phase transition as a function of the energy. The dynamics of the model presents interesting features in a small energy region below the critical point. In particular, when the particles are prepared in a ``water bag'' initial state, the relaxation to equilibrium is very slow. In the transient time the system lives in a dynamical quasi-stationary state and exhibits anomalous (enhanced) diffusion and L\\'evy walks. In this paper we study temperature and velocity distribution of the quasi-stationary state and we show that the lifetime of such a state increases with N. In particular when the $N\\to \\infty$ limit is taken before the $t \\to \\infty$ limit, the results obtained are different from the expected canonical predictions. This scenario seems to confirm a recent conjecture proposed by C.Tsallis.

CERN Document Server

Two-dimensional simulations of the coarsening process of the isotropic/smectic-A phase transition are presented using a high-order Landau-de Gennes type free energy model. Defect annihilation laws for smectic disclinations, elementary dislocations, and total dislocation content are determined. The computed evolution of the orientational correlation length and disclination density is found to be in agreement with previous experimental observations showing that disclination interactions dominate the coarsening process. The mechanism of smectic disclination movement, limited by the absorption and emission of elementary dislocations, is found to be facilitated by curvature walls connecting interacting disclinations. At intermediate times in the coarsening process, split-core dislocation formation and interactions displaying an effective disclination quadrupole configuration are observed. This work provides the framework for further understanding of ...

CERN Document Server

The effects of strong Coulomb correlations in dense three-dimensional electron-hole plasmas are studied by means of unbiased direct path integral Monte Carlo simulations. The formation and dissociation of bound states, such as excitons and bi-excitons is analyzed and the density-temperature region of their appearance is identified. At high density, the Mott transition to the fully ionized metallic state (electron-hole liquid) is detected. Particular attention is paid to the influence of the hole to electron mass ratio $M$ on the properties of the plasma. Above a critical value of about M=80 formation of a hole Coulomb crystal was recently verified [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\\bf 95}, 235006 (2005)] which is supported by additional results. Results are related to the excitonic phase diagram of intermediate valent Tm[Se,Te], where large values of $M$ have been observed experimentally.

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We have studied the structure of both propanol isomers in their glassy and crystalline states by neutron diffraction. The glass-transition temperatures of 1- and 2-propanol are about 98 and 115 K, respectively and, surprisingly, even larger differences are observed for the melting temperatures of the stable crystals, which are 148 and 185 K, respectively. Their supercooled liquid phases show rather different relaxation spectra, 1-propanol manifesting strong deviations from Debye behavior, whereas 2-propanol shows a far weaker effect. We discuss the spectra obtained for the static structure factor and the static pair correlation function D(r). There is a noticeable difference in the position of the first sharp diffraction peak, which clearly indicates a density change, well correlated with the period of the intermolecular oscillations shown by D(r). (orig.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

In this study, we thoroughly analyzed abrupt behaviors, trends, and periodicity properties of water vapor flux and moisture budget entering and exiting the four edges of the Pearl River basin based on the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis dataset by using the continuous wavelet transform and the simple two-phase linear regression technique. Possible implications for hydrological cycle and water resource management of these changes are also discussed. The results indicate that: (1) the water vapor propagating through the four edges of the Pearl River basin is decreasing, and it is particularly true for the changes of the water vapor flux exiting from the north edge of the study river basin. The transition point from increase to decrease occurs in the early 1960s; (2) The wavelet transform spectra indica...

CERN Document Server

Mono-layers of stearic and behenic acids and mixtures of them in different proportions, deposited with the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, were used to study the alignment and the alignment dynamics in nematic liquid crystal cells. A relaxation process from a splay-bend flow induced metastable orientation to the homeotropic one occurs. The lifetime of the metastable state was found to depend on the mono-layer composition. The transition between the homeotropic and the conical anchoring was found to be irreversible in the case of the mixed aligning mono-layers: on cooling from the isotropic phase a quasi-planar nematic state (schlieren texture) appears. It is stable in a range of a few degrees below the clearing point and, on decreasing the temperature, relaxes to the homeotropic state in form of expanding domains.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A novel liquid phase alkylation of aniline with methanol over Zn/Cu salts modified kaolin assisted with a pair of porous carbon electrode in slurry-bed reactor under constant current intensity, room temperature and atmospheric pressure was reported. The Zn/Cu salts modified kaolin catalysts were synthesized and characterized by infrared spectrometer (IR), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which showed that the transition metals were completely supported on kaolins structure and formed a pored one. The effect parameters, such as initial pH, electrolysis time, metal ratio with kaolin and salts composition in this electrochemical catalytic system, were studied. The procedure was inspected by ultraviolet-visible spectrum (UV-vis), and the product distributi...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

... electron reactions electrons excitation inelastic scattering m1-transitions proton

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The classical theory of collisional broadening and shift parameters (?, ?) of an isolated spectral line was used to obtain simple analytical formulas for calculating both ? and ?. These formulas were obtained on the assumption that the short range interaction is effective only in the broadening while the long range is effective in the shift of the spectral line. These parameters ? and ? depend on the limiting phase shifts responsible for broadening ?b and shift ??. It was found that the values of ?b and ?? are not equal to each other as was proposed by Weisskopf ?b=??=1. The maximum and average values of ?b (?bmax, ?bav) and ?? (??max, ??av) were obtained by numerical evaluation, using different inverse power potentials. By introducing these parameters into the approximated formulas for ? and ? using Van der Waals and Lennard-Jones potential, it was found that the results of calculations for (? and ?) with different atomic transitions perturbed ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amphiphilic block copolymers are synthesized by sulfonation of poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) (PS-b-PMMA) using acetyl sulfate, and are blended with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) to prepare a new proton exchange membrane, in which PMMA is miscible with PVDF. The morphology and the transport properties of the membranes are investigated as functions of the degree of sulfonation as well as the blend ratio. Notable transition of phase-separated morphology is observed as the PVDF content of the blend is increased. Both the proton conductivity and the ion-exchange capacity (IEC) of the membrane increase with increasing the degree of sulfonation of PS-b-PMMA, and they are also enhanced as the phase-separated domains of blend membrane are well-ordered. Unlike the Nafion membrane, the proton conductivity of the blend membrane increases up to 90 C, indicating the blend membrane shows better thermal stability than the Nafion ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

High-purity and doped GaAs films have been grown by Liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) for development of a blocked impurity band (BIB) detector for far-infrared radiation. The film growth process developed has resulted in the capability to grow GaAs with a net active impurity concentration below 1 x 10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}, ideal for the blocking layer of the BIB detector. The growth of n-type LPE GaAs films with donor concentrations below the metal-insulator transition, as required for the absorbing layer of a BIB detector, has been achieved. The control of the donor concentration, however, was found to be insufficient for detector production. The growth by LPE of a high-purity film onto a commercially grown vapor-phase epitaxial (VPE) n-type GaAs doped absorbing layer resulted in a BIB device that showed a significant reduction in the low-temperature dark current compared to the absorbing layer only. Extended optical response was ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

A one-way coupling system between the plant simulator TRAC/BF1-ENTREE and the subchannel code with the improved cross flow model, NASCA, has been developed. Based on a scenario of turbine trip tests in the Peach Bottom Unit 2, the wide and rapid reactivity insertion transient induced by the system pressure rise was calculated. The pin power distribution in hot bundles was re-constructed considering heterogeneity of the fuel bundle. When the neighboring control blade is withdrawn, NASCA predicted that the steady-state bundle exit void distribution was nearly flat with regardless of the pin power distribution. However, void distributions in the middle and lower bundle regions became complicated depending on the pin power and the two-phase flow regime in each subchannel. The pin power distribution rapidly changed according to traveling of control blades. However, influence in the void distribution was delayed and damped due to the fuel heat conduction. The detailed ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Concerning high performance composite solid propellant BAMO and BAMO-based copolymers, synthetic method and properties of them were studied. Comparison graph of theoretical specific impulse for various propellants were shown, by that, reason why highest specific impulse BAMO was selected as direction of the study. As the orientation of synthesis, those were indicated that radicals at both ends should be hydroxyl so as urethane bonding was available, that liquid at normal temperature was required for easy handling, and that glass transition temperature is required to be low enough. Synthesis was conducted by ring-opening polymerization of ring ether detail procedures of which were explained. Measurements of properties was performed for thermochemical properties, thermal decomposition, combution heat, and friction sensitivity test to confirm safety. As the result, those were understood that thermal decomposition was divided into two phases, rapid ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The interdependence of thermodynamic parameters, phase equilibria, and electrochemical measurements can be used as a powerful tool in the development of high specific energy cells. These principles were used in the analysis of electrochemical experiments performed on ternary lithium-transition metal-oxide (M = Mn, Fe, and Co) positive electrodes. The free energies of formation of LiMnO/sub 2/, Li/sub 5/FeO/sub 4/, LiFeO/sub 2/, and LiCoO/sub 2/ were found to be -178.21, -399.88, -154.18, and 131.62 kcal/mol at 400/sup 0/C. The electrochemical displacement reactions were found to be reversible in LiCl/KCl molten salt cells over a range of 0.0-3.0 Li equivalents per mol at current densities of 5-15 mA/cm/sup 2/. The equilibrium potential vs. Li was found to be a logarithmic function of the calculated oxygen partial pressure for any tie triangle in which Li/sub 2/O is present, or for any tie triangle containing ternary oxide ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The thermal and heat transfer characteristics of lauric acid during the melting and solidification processes were determined experimentally in a vertical double pipe energy storage system. In this study, three important subjects were addressed. The first one is temperature distributions and temporal temperature variations in the radial and axial distances in the phase change material (PCM) during phase change processes. The second one is the thermal characteristics of the lauric acid, which include total melting and total solidification times, the nature of heat transfer in melted and solidified PCM and the effect of Reynolds and Stefan numbers as inlet heat transfer fluid (HTF) conditions on the phase transition parameters. The final one is to calculate the heat transfer coefficient and the heat flow rate and also discuss the role of Reynolds and Stefan numbers on the heat transfer parameters. The ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

In this study, liquid flame spray (LFS) was used to produce titania, silver and silver-titania deposits of nanoparticles. Titanium(IV)ethoxide (TEOT) and silver nitrate in ethanol solutions were used as precursors and sprayed into turbulent hydrogen-oxygen flame. Production rates of 1.5-40 mg/min of titania were used with silver additions of 1, 2, 4, and 8 wt% compared to titania. Nanoparticle deposits were collected by thermophoretic sampling at six different axial distances from the flame torch head: 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, and 20 cm, of which the all but the last one occurred inside the flame. The deposit samples were analysed by TEM and SAED analysis. The powder samples of the particles were also collected by electric precipitator to XPS and specific surface area analysis. Particle size and effective density after the flame in the aerosol were analysed with SMPS and ELPI. The results from the previous studies i.e. controlling the particle size by setting the production rates of the ...

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

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Million-atom molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to study the structure, mechanical properties, and dynamic fracture in nanophase Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}. The authors find that intercluster regions are highly disordered: 50% of Si atoms in intercluster regions are three-fold coordinated. Elastic moduli of nanophase Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} as a function of grain size and porosity are well described by a multiphase model for heterogeneous materials. The study of fracture in the nanophase Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} reveals that the system can sustain an order-of-magnitude larger external load than crystalline Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}. This is due to branching and pinning of the crack front by nanoscale microstructures.

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

The objective of materials research is the development of economical, safe and efficient synthesis routes that lead to the formation of a photocatalyst which is able to overcome performance problems related to particle size, crystallinity, or low surface area. Here, we report high-quality functional nanoparticles of calcium bismuth mixed oxide with 15nm nominal size corresponding to a specific surface area of 41m^2/g which were produced by single-step flame spray synthesis (FSS). The high temperature of the flame afforded creation of oxygen vacancies which were quantified by near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra. These two parameters, developed active surface area and created in the flame oxygen vacancies, allowed to enhance the photocatalytic activity of calcium bismu...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nanoscale islands of Cu2O have been synthesized on single-crystal SrTiO3 (100) substrates using oxygen plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy (OPA-MBE). Island growth location has been controlled by using an ex-situ Ga+ focused ion beam (FIB) to modify the growth surface in discrete locations prior to island synthesis. Analysis of Cu2O dot growth on unmodified substrate regions revealed an evolution of dot size and array density. Atomic force microscopy studies show that certain FIB substrate modification and MBE growth condition combinations lead to directed self-assembly of islands. Islands initially formed in the FIB-generated surface topography and filled those features before nucleating on neighboring unmodified surface regions.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nanoscale islands of Cu?O have been synthesized on single crystal SrTiO? (100) substrates using oxygen plasma assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Island growth location has been controlled by using an ex-situ Ga? focused ion beam (FIB) to modify the growth surface in discrete locations prior to island sythesis. The FIB modifications have generated surface topography with lateral dimensions of 150-200 nm. Ex-situ AFM study after island growth reveals that certain FIB substrate modification and MBE growth condition combinations lead to directed self-assembly of metal oxide islands at the edges of the FIB modified zones.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

There is currently great interest in combining focused ion beam (FIB) and scanning electron microscopy technologies for advanced studies of polymeric materials and biological microstructures, as well as for sophisticated nanoscale fabrication and prototyping. Irradiation of electrically insulating materials with a positive ion beam in high vacuum can lead to the accumulation of charge, causing deflection of the ion beam. The resultant image drift has significant consequences upon the accuracy and quality of FIB milling, imaging and chemical vapour deposition. A method is described for suppressing ion beam drift using a defocused, low-energy primary electron beam, leading to the derivation of a mathematical expression to correlate the ion and electron beam energies and currents with other parameters required for electrically stabilizing these challenging materials.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

To study the nanoscale electronic order in strongly correlated electron systems and vortex states in high-Tc superconductors in high magnetic fields, we have developed scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) for the 18 T cryocooled superconducting magnet (18T-CSM). The test results of the STM operation in the 18T-CSM at room temperature indicate that our STM has a good atomic resolution up to 18 T when we use the nonmagnetic vibration-isolation table which reduce the vibration noise from the cryocoolers of the 18T-CSM. In this paper, we report on the design of the high-field STM system for large-scale magnets and its performance.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Following comprehensive research nanomaterials or products which were either still in a re-search/development status or are already available in the marketplace were identified for the water and air sectors. Based on life cycle assessments for two case studies, it was checked how the potential benefits and impacts on the environment for nanotechnology products or processes compare with those for conventional solutions. The first case study deals with the solar treatment of water contami-nated with tetrachloroethylene, comparing nanoscale titanium dioxide (photo-catalysis) and a photo-Fenton process. The second case study on air filtration compares a passenger car cabin-air filter with nanofibres and a conventional filter. (orig.)

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

A ferritic steel with finely dispersed precipitates was investigated to reveal the fundamental strengthening mechanisms. The steel has a yield strength of 760MPa, approximately three times higher than that of conventional Ti-bearing high strength hot-rolled sheet steels, and its ultimate tensile strength reaches 850MPa with an elongation-to-failure value of 18%. Using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), fine carbides TiC with an average diameter of 10nm were observed in the ferrite matrix of the 0.08%Ti steel, and some cubic M23C6 precipitates were also observed at the grain boundaries and the interior of the grains. The finely dispersed TiC precipitates in the matrix provide matrix strengthening. The estimated magnitude of precipitation ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thermal energy storage performance of fatty acids and a eutectic mixture as phase change materials (PCMs) has been investigated experimentally. The selected PCMs for this study were palmitic acid, myristic acid, stearic acid, and a mixture of stearic and myristic acids in eutectic combination ratio of 65.7 wt% myristic acid and 34.3 wt% stearic acid. The PCMs have a melting temperature range of 50.0{sup o}C to 61.20{sup o}C and a latent heat range of 162.0 J/g to 204.5 J/g. The inlet temperature and the mass flow rate of heat transfer fluid (HTF) were selected as experimental parameters to test the thermal energy storage performance of the PCMs. The transition times, temperature range, propagation of the solid-liquid interface, as well as heat flow rate characteristics of the employed cylindrical tube storage system were studied at varied experimental parameters. The experimental results show that the melting front moves to inward in the radial ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

High voltage cathode materials Li-excess layered oxide compounds Li[Ni{sub x}Li{sub 1/3-2x/3}Mn{sub 2/3-x/3}]O{sub 2} (0 < x < 1/2) are investigated in a joint study combining both computational and experimental methods. The bulk and surface structures of pristine and cycled samples of Li[Ni{sub 1/5}Li{sub 1/5}Mn{sub 3/5}]O{sub 2} are characterized by synchrotron X-Ray diffraction together with aberration corrected Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (a-S/TEM). Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) is carried out to investigate the surface changes of the samples before/after electrochemical cycling. Combining first principles computational investigation with our experimental observations, a detailed lithium de-intercalation mechanism is proposed for this family of Li-excess layered oxides. The most striking characteristics in these high voltage high energy density cathode materials are (1) formation of tetrahedral lithium ions at voltage less than 4.45 V and (2) ...

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

Science.gov (United States)

Task, Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) Transition to Operations ... Related Tasks (36). Task, Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT) on ISS. Common Item(s) ...

Science.gov (United States)

MSC PATRAN & NASTRAN Licenses Contract (Transitioned Jun 2006). COTR Training Recompetition (Awarded Jan 2007). Closeout Services Contract ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This document is the annual update of the FFTF and Advanced Reactors Transition Program Resource Loaded Schedule for FY 2002 using current project direction and authorized funding levels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The project involved several studies of vesicles and micelles and their constituent surfactants. The primary objective of the project was an elucidation of factors involved in the stabilization and destabilization of vesicles and micelles. Work was performed on seven individual studies. Several different types of novel cleavable surfactants were synthesized, including systems with two chains and two head groups, and their aqueous micelles and vesicles were characterized by methods including dynamic laser light scattering (to give aggregate sizes) and differential scanning calorimetry (to give vesicle bilayer phase transition temperatures). A cleavable surfactant is stable under certain conditions but liable under other conditions with respect to cleavage to give nonsurfactant products and/or other surfactants with different properties. The destruction of several cleavable surfactant-derived aggregates was demonstrated, indicating that they have ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Three aspects of the research project Surface physics with cold and ultracold neutron reflectometry'' were stressed during the present first year: (1) Setup of the reflectometer facility at the research reactor of the Rhode Island Nuclear Science Center. The installation provides a narrow pencil beam'' analyzed by time of flight using a chopper system. Following beam characterization and a test measurement of the total cross section of copper single crystal first reflectivity measurements are currently performed using a supermirror. (2) Design stud for the ultracold neutron imaging system, with involvement of the relevant industry. Bids are available for several components indicating that it will be very difficult to build the entire system unless further funds become available. (3) Analysis of features of neutron reflection from surfaces with special emphasis on the effect of surface roughness both on the specular beam and the diffusely reflected ...

CERN Document Server

We review the interplay of frustration and strong electronic correlations in quasi-two-dimensional organic charge transfer salts, such as k-(BEDT-TTF)_2X and Et_nMe_{4-n}Pn[Pd(dmit)2]2. These two forces drive a range of exotic phases including spin liquids, valence bond crystals, pseudogapped metals, and unconventional superconductivity. Of particular interest is that in several materials there is a direct transition as a function of pressure from a spin liquid Mott insulating state to a superconducting state. Experiments on these materials raise a number of profound questions about the quantum behaviour of frustrated systems, particularly the intimate connection between spin liquids and superconductivity. Insights into these questions have come from a wide range of theoretical techniques including first principles electronic structure, quantum many-body theory and quantum field theory. In this review we introduce the basic ideas of the field ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thermochromic tungsten-doped vanadium dioxide (VO2) powders were successfully synthesized by thermal reduction using V2O5 as a vanadium precursor. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results indicated that W was successfully doped into the crystal lattice of VO2 matrix, and prepared tungsten-doped VO2 had a rod-like morphology. The effects of reducing temperature and annealing temperature on the crystallographic structures were also discussed. The phase transition temperature (Tt) of VO2 could be simply tuned by changing the doping concentration of tungsten. When the doping concentration was 1.58 mol%, the Tt could be reduced to 37.8 oC from initial 69.5 oC, suggesting that tungsten-doped VO2 possesses prominent thermochromic properties and optical switching characters. It has shown that this ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The authors have measured the magnetization of single-phase 90-K superconductors, GdBa_2Cu_3O/sub 6+#delta#/, EuBa_2Cu_3O/sub 6+#delta#/, and SmBa_2Cu_3O/sub 6+#delta#/ with a SQUID magnetometer. They have shown that, in the superconducting state, each magnetization-field curve exhibits a maximum at #approx# 100 G, followed by a linear increase of the magnetization with a slope only approximately one-fifth of the slope for a field smaller than 50 G. They have also investigated the effect of #gamma#-irradiation on YBa_2Cu_3O/sub 6+#delta#/, SmBa_2Cu_3O/sub 6+#delta#/, and have found that the radiation damage results in the appearance of a tail in the superconducting transition. They have also shown that the normal resistance decreases with increasing radiation exposure up to a dose of 10 Mrad.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The energy E(c/a) for a bcc element stretched along its [001] axis (the Bain path) has a minimum at c/a=1, a maximum at c/a=#sq root#(2), and an elastically unstable local minimum at c/a>#sq root#(2). An alternative path connecting the bcc and fcc structures is the rhombohedral lattice. The primitive lattice has R3m symmetry, with the angle #alpha# changing from 109.4 deg. (bcc), to 90 deg. (simple cubic), to 60 deg. (fcc). We study this path for the non-magnetic bcc transition metals (V, Nb, Mo, Ta, and W) using both all-electron linearized augmented plane wave and projector augmented wave VASP codes. Except for Ta, the energy E(#alpha#) has a local maximum at #alpha#=60 deg., with local minima near 55 deg. and 70 deg., the latter having lower energy, suggesting the possibility of a metastable rhombohedral state for these materials. We first examine the elastic stability of the 70 deg. minimum structure, and determine that only W is elastically stable in this ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Two examples of heavy-fermion systems are presented : CePd{sub 2}Si{sub 2}, an antiferromagnet with a quantum critical point at P{sub C}=28 kbar and UGe{sub 2} an itinerant ferromagnet which transits in a paramagnetic phase above P{sub C}=16 kbar. In CePd{sub 2}Si{sub 2} the superconductivity domain is centered on P{sub C}. Special attention was given to the superconducting and magnetic anomalies at their superconducting and Neel temperatures. In UGe{sub 2} superconductivity appears in 9 kbar at a temperature T{sub S}, more than two orders of magnitude lower than the Curie temperature; furthermore, it occurs only on the magnetic border (P<P{sub C}). Another characteristic temperature T{sub X} is detected by resistivity; the zigzag uranium chain of the lattice may favor a supplementary nesting in the majority spin band.

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ti-15Mo-2.7Nb-3Al-0.2Si (Timetal-21S), a metastable #beta#-titanium alloy, is a candidate material for titanium matrix composite structures in hydrogen-fueled hypersonic planes because of its excellent formability and adequate mechanical properties in the 500--800 C temperature range. The alloy is strengthened through the precipitation of fine #alpha# particles in the #beta# matrix. The mechanical properties and microstructures are controlled by a solutionizing/aging heat treatment. A major concern in using titanium alloys in hydrogen service is the embrittlement caused by the precipitation of hydrides. It is believed that the large solubility of hydrogen in the #beta#-phase would preclude the precipitation of hydrides in Beta titanium alloys, especially at low hydrogen pressures. However, depending on the hydrogen content, a shift in the ductile/brittle transition temperatures to levels much higher than room temperature has been reported for ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The effect of high-energy neutron irradiation (E greater than 1 MeV) at ambient reactor temperatures on the superconducting properties of a variety of superconducting compounds is reported. The materials studied include the A-15 compounds Nb_3Sn, Nb_3Al, Nb_3Ga, Nb_3Ge and V_3Si, the C-15 Laves phase HfV_2, the ternary molybdenum sulfide Mo_3Pb/sub 0.5/S_4 and the layered dichalcogenide NbSe_2. The superconducting transition temperature has been measured for all of the above materials for neutron fluences up to 5 x 10"1"9 n/cm"2. The critical current for multifilamentary Nb_3Sn has also been determined for fields up to 16 T and fluences between 3 x 10"1"7 n/cm"2 and 1.1 x 10"1"9 n/cm"2.

CERN Document Server

Gravitational waves were copiously produced in the early Universe whenever the processes taking place were sufficiently violent. The spectra of several of these gravitational wave backgrounds on subhorizon scales have been extensively studied in the literature. In this paper we analyze the shape and amplitude of the gravitational wave spectrum on scales which are superhorizon at the time of production. Such gravitational waves are expected from the self ordering of randomly oriented scalar fields which can be present during a thermal phase transition or during preheating after hybrid inflation. We find that, if the gravitational wave source acts only during a small fraction of the Hubble time, the gravitational wave spectrum at frequencies lower than the expansion rate at the time of production behaves as $\\Omega_{\\rm GW}(f) \\propto f^3$ with an amplitude much too small to be observable by gravitational wave observatories like LIGO, LISA or ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

This thesis enters the field of highly compressed materials equation of state studies. In particular, it focuses on the case of laser shock compressed iron. This work indeed aims at getting to the conditions of the earth's core, comprising a solid inner core and a liquid outer core. The understanding of phenomena governing the core's thermodynamics and the geodynamic process requires the knowledge of iron melting line locus around the solid-liquid interface at 3.3 Mbar. Several experiments were performed to that extent. First, an absolute measurement of iron Hugoniot was obtained. Following is a study of partially released states of iron into a window material: lithium fluoride (LiF). This configuration enables direct access to compressed iron optical properties such as reflectivity and self-emission. Interface velocity measurement is dominated by compressed LiF optical properties and is used as a pressure gauge. Using a dual wavelength reflectivity diagnostic, ...

British Library Electronic Table of Contents (United Kingdom)

BaxSr1-xTiO3 (x=0.6, 0.75, 0.80, 0.85 and 0.9) compositions are prepared by solid-state reaction route using controlled heating and cooling. Density optimization by varying sintering temperature was achieved. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis shows the phase pure materials. The lattice constant decreases from 3.9868A (x=0.90) to 3.9449A (x=0.60) with increasing Sr2+; the tetragonal distortion also decreases. Dielectric constant show sharp peaks for samples having low strontium content (0.10, 0.15) and gets smeared out as the strontium content is increased (0.20, 0.25). For further higher Sr2+ composition (0.40), the dielectric peak could not be observed in the measured temperature range. The peak broadening in Sr2+ rich compositions indicates that diffused transitions and is attributed to t...

CERN Document Server

A salient facet of Axelrod's model for culture dissemination or social influence is the existence of many multicultural absorbing states. The dependence of the number $C$ of different, coexisting cultures on the size $A$ of the territory or, equivalently, on the number of agents -- the culture-area relation -- is investigated through extensive simulations. This relation exhibits a strong qualitative dependence on the two parameters of the model, namely, the number $F$ of culture features and the number $q$ of values that each feature can take on. We find that a non-monotonous culture-area relation, for which the number of cultures decreases when the area grows beyond a certain size, occurs for $q$ smaller than a threshold value $q_c = q_c (F)$ provided that $F \\geq 3$. In the limit of infinite area, this threshold value signals the onset of a discontinuous phase transition between a homogeneous regime for which C=1, and a completely disordered ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

One purpose of this article is to alert state utility commissions involved in restructuring electric utilities to pay special attention to proposals that would fragment the utility's billing and metering (B and M) operations. Such fragmentation would essentially foreclose an important future option for handling all levels of retail deregulation. A fusing of B and M could become the linchpin for transitioning retail electricity from its present cost-based fixed rates to a market-based pricing regime fully exploiting the high economic efficiencies that are characteristic of most commodity pricing regimes. Realizing such economic efficiencies requires self enforcing economic discipline that makes and keeps retail pricing of electricity responsive to: imbalances in supply and demand (S and D), tensions between potential customers and competing suppliers, the need to meet a return-on-investment (ROI) objective, and the relative quality of product demanded. In ...

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

The work reported here concerns the evolution of the shape of a coherent, cubic precipitate as it grows by coarsening. The work was motivated by the need to explain recent experimental observations that show that cuboidal ..gamma.. Ni/sub 3/Al precipitates in Ni-Al alloys resist coarsening and decompose into doublets of parallel rectangular plates and octets of small cubes. The theoretical model assumes a precipitate of cubic phase with negative elastic anisotropy, and neglects any difference between the elastic constants of the precipitate and the matrix. The elastic energy of the precipitate is then calculated as a function of its morphology, including the possibility of decomposition into doublets or octets of discrete particles. The results show that a cuboidal precipitate with (100) faces and edge length, 2a, is metastable with respect to transition to a doublet of discrete plates, with dimensions a x 2a x 2a, that are separated by the ...

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

The electronic structure and properties of the cubic Laves phase (C15) compounds ZrZn_2 and ZrV_2 have been determined using our all-electron full-potential linearized-augmented-plane-wave (FLAPW) method for bulk solids. The computations were performed in two stages: (i) self-consistent warped muffin tin and (ii) self-consistent full potential. Spin-orbit coupling was included after either stage. The effects of the inclusion of the nonspherical terms inside the muffin tins on the eigenvalues is found to be small (of order 1 mRy). However, due to the fact that some of the bands near the Fermi level are flat, this effect leads to a much higher value of the density of states at E/sub F/ in ZnZr_2. The most important difference between the materials ZrZn_2 and ZrV_2 is the position of the d bands derived from the Zr and V atoms. Consequently, these materials have completely different Fermi surfaces. We have investigated the magnetic properties of these compounds by ...