Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPAD) in CMOS 0.35 µm technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pellion, D.; Jradi, K.; Brochard, N. [Le2i – CNRS/Univ. de Bourgogne, Dijon (France); Prêle, D. [APC – CNRS/Univ. Paris Diderot, Paris (France); Ginhac, D. [Le2i – CNRS/Univ. de Bourgogne, Dijon (France)

2015-07-01

Some decades ago single photon detection used to be the terrain of photomultiplier tube (PMT), thanks to its characteristics of sensitivity and speed. However, PMT has several disadvantages such as low quantum efficiency, overall dimensions, and cost, making them unsuitable for compact design of integrated systems. So, the past decade has seen a dramatic increase in interest in new integrated single-photon detectors called Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPAD) or Geiger-mode APD. SPAD are working in avalanche mode above the breakdown level. When an incident photon is captured, a very fast avalanche is triggered, generating an easily detectable current pulse. This paper discusses SPAD detectors fabricated in a standard CMOS technology featuring both single-photon sensitivity, and excellent timing resolution, while guaranteeing a high integration. In this work, we investigate the design of SPAD detectors using the AMS 0.35 µm CMOS Opto technology. Indeed, such standard CMOS technology allows producing large surface (few mm{sup 2}) of single photon sensitive detectors. Moreover, SPAD in CMOS technologies could be associated to electronic readout such as active quenching, digital to analog converter, memories and any specific processing required to build efficient calorimeters (Silicon PhotoMultiplier – SiPM) or high resolution imagers (SPAD imager). The present work investigates SPAD geometry. MOS transistor has been used instead of resistor to adjust the quenching resistance and find optimum value. From this first set of results, a detailed study of the dark count rate (DCR) has been conducted. Our results show a dark count rate increase with the size of the photodiodes and the temperature (at T=22.5 °C, the DCR of a 10 µm-photodiode is 2020 count s{sup −1} while it is 270 count s{sup −1} at T=−40 °C for a overvoltage of 800 mV). A small pixel size is desirable, because the DCR per unit area decreases with the pixel size. We also found that the adjustment

Avalanche risk assessment in Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Komarov, Anton; Seliverstov, Yury; Sokratov, Sergey; Glazovskaya, Tatiana; Turchaniniva, Alla

2017-04-01

The avalanche prone area covers about 3 million square kilometers or 18% of total area of Russia and pose a significant problem in most mountain regions of the country. The constant growth of economic activity, especially in the North Caucasus region and therefore the increased avalanche hazard lead to the demand of the large-scale avalanche risk assessment methods development. Such methods are needed for the determination of appropriate avalanche protection measures as well as for economic assessments during all stages of spatial planning of the territory. The requirement of natural hazard risk assessments is determined by the Federal Law of Russian Federation. However, Russian Guidelines (SP 11-103-97; SP 47.13330.2012) are not clearly presented concerning avalanche risk assessment calculations. A great size of Russia territory, vast diversity of natural conditions and large variations in type and level of economic development of different regions cause significant variations in avalanche risk values. At the first stage of research the small scale avalanche risk assessment was performed in order to identify the most common patterns of risk situations and to calculate full social risk and individual risk. The full social avalanche risk for the territory of country was estimated at 91 victims. The area of territory with individual risk values lesser then 1×10(-6) covers more than 92 % of mountain areas of the country. Within these territories the safety of population can be achieved mainly by organizational activities. Approximately 7% of mountain areas have 1×10(-6) - 1×10(-4) individual risk values and require specific mitigation measures to protect people and infrastructure. Territories with individual risk values 1×10(-4) and above covers about 0,1 % of the territory and include the most severe and hazardous mountain areas. The whole specter of mitigation measures is required in order to minimize risk. The future development of such areas is not recommended

Near-Saturation Single-Photon Avalanche Diode Afterpulse and Sensitivity Correction Scheme for the LHC Longitudinal density Monitor

CERN Document Server

Bravin, E; Palm, M

2014-01-01

Single-Photon Avalanche Diodes (SPADs) monitor the longitudinal density of the LHC beams by measuring the temporal distribution of synchrotron radiation. The relative population of nominally empty RF-buckets (satellites or ghosts) with respect to filled bunches is a key figure for the luminosity calibration of the LHC experiments. Since afterpulsing from a main bunch avalanche can be as high as, or higher than, the signal from satellites or ghosts, an accurate correction algorithm is needed. Furthermore, to reduce the integration time, the amount of light sent to the SPAD is enough so that pile-up effects and afterpulsing cannot be neglected. The SPAD sensitivity has also been found to vary at the end of the active quenching phase. We present a method to characterize and correct for SPAD deadtime, afterpulsing and sensitivity variation near saturation, together with laboratory benchmarking.

Quench gas and preamplifier selection influence on {sup 3}He tube performance for spent fuel applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henziova, Daniela; Menlove, Howard [Safeguards Science and Technology Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos (United States)

2012-06-15

Current {sup 3}He tubes utilized in neutron coincidence counting use different quench gas admixtures to shorten the avalanche process. In addition amplifier modules with different shaping characteristics are used to process detector signals. Both of these aspects affect the detector response. In the current paper, {sup 3}He tubes with several quench gas admixtures (CO{sub 2}, N{sub 2}, Ar+CH{sub 4} and CF{sub 4}) and amplifier modules (PDT, AMPTEK, BOT) are compared. The plateau characteristics, gamma-sensitivity and deadtime of individual counters in combination with the listed amplifier modules are compared to determine optimum amplifier module/counter performance for the spent fuel applications.

A probabilistic model for snow avalanche occurrence

Science.gov (United States)

Perona, P.; Miescher, A.; Porporato, A.

2009-04-01

Avalanche hazard forecasting is an important issue in relation to the protection of urbanized environments, ski resorts and of ski-touring alpinists. A critical point is to predict the conditions that trigger the snow mass instability determining the onset and the size of avalanches. On steep terrains the risk of avalanches is known to be related to preceding consistent snowfall events and to subsequent changes in the local climatic conditions. Regression analysis has shown that avalanche occurrence indeed correlates to the amount of snow fallen in consecutive three snowing days and to the state of the settled snow at the ground. Moreover, since different type of avalanches may occur as a result of the interactions of different factors, the process of snow avalanche formation is inherently complex and with some degree of unpredictability. For this reason, although several models assess the risk of avalanche by accounting for all the involved processes with a great detail, a high margin of uncertainty invariably remains. In this work, we explicitly describe such an unpredictable behaviour with an intrinsic noise affecting the processes leading snow instability. Eventually, this sets the basis for a minimalist stochastic model, which allows us to investigate the avalanche dynamics and its statistical properties. We employ a continuous time process with stochastic jumps (snowfalls), deterministic decay (snowmelt and compaction) and state dependent avalanche occurrence (renewals) as a minimalist model for the determination of avalanche size and related intertime occurrence. The physics leading to avalanches is simplified to the extent where only meteorological data and terrain data are necessary to estimate avalanche danger. We explore the analytical formulation of the process and the properties of the probability density function of the avalanche process variables. We also discuss what is the probabilistic link between avalanche size and preceding snowfall event and

Spatial shape of avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Zhaoxuan; Wiese, Kay Jörg

2017-12-01

In disordered elastic systems, driven by displacing a parabolic confining potential adiabatically slowly, all advance of the system is in bursts, termed avalanches. Avalanches have a finite extension in time, which is much smaller than the waiting time between them. Avalanches also have a finite extension ℓ in space, i.e., only a part of the interface of size ℓ moves during an avalanche. Here we study their spatial shape 〈S(x ) 〉 ℓ given ℓ , as well as its fluctuations encoded in the second cumulant 〈S2(x ) 〉 ℓ c. We establish scaling relations governing the behavior close to the boundary. We then give analytic results for the Brownian force model, in which the microscopic disorder for each degree of freedom is a random walk. Finally, we confirm these results with numerical simulations. To do this properly we elucidate the influence of discretization effects, which also confirms the assumptions entering into the scaling ansatz. This allows us to reach the scaling limit already for avalanches of moderate size. We find excellent agreement for the universal shape and its fluctuations, including all amplitudes.

Calibration of snow avalanche mathematical models using the data of real avalanches in the Ile (Zailiyskiy Alatau Range

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. P. Blagoveshchensky

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The calibration of the dry friction and turbulent friction coefficients is necessary for computer simulation of avalanches. The method of back calculation based on data on actual avalanches is used for this purpose. The article presents the results of the calibration of the Eglit’s and RAMMS models for Ile Alatau range condi‑ tions. The range is located in Kazakhstan. The data on six avalanches in the same avalanche site were used. Five avalanches were dry, and one avalanche was wet. Avalanches volume varied from 2000 to 12000  m3. Maximum speed avalanches were between 15 and 30  m/s, the flow height  – from 3 to 10  m. Series of back calculations with different values of the friction coefficients was made to obtain the calibrated coeffi‑ cients. The calibrated coefficients were chosen under condition of the best fit with real avalanches. The cal‑ ibrated coefficients were following. For the Eglit’s model for dry avalanches of the volume 2000–5000  m3 μ = 0.46÷0.48, k = 0.005–0.006, and the volume 8000–12000 m3 μ = 0.38÷0.42, k = 0.002÷0.003. For RAMMS model for dry avalanches of the volume of 2000–5000 m3 μ (dry friction coefficient = 0.35÷0.4, ξ (viscous friction coefficient = 1500÷2000 m/s2, and the volume 8,000–12,000 m3 μ = 0.3÷0.35, ξ = 2000÷3000 m/s2. For wet avalanches of the volume 12,000 m3 μ = 0.35, ξ = 1500 m/s2. The work on the calibration will be con‑ tinued to obtain the friction coefficients for the Eglit’s and RAMMS models. The additional data on real ava‑ lanches will be needed for this purpose.

Avalanches and Criticality in Driven Magnetic Skyrmions

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz, S. A.; Reichhardt, C.; Arovas, D. P.; Saxena, A.; Reichhardt, C. J. O.

2018-03-01

We show using numerical simulations that slowly driven Skyrmions interacting with random pinning move via correlated jumps or avalanches. The avalanches exhibit power-law distributions in their duration and size, and the average avalanche shape for different avalanche durations can be scaled to a universal function, in agreement with theoretical predictions for systems in a nonequilibrium critical state. A distinctive feature of Skyrmions is the influence of the nondissipative Magnus term. When we increase the ratio of the Magnus term to the damping term, a change in the universality class of the behavior occurs, the average avalanche shape becomes increasingly asymmetric, and individual avalanches exhibit motion in the direction perpendicular to their own density gradient.

Advanced active quenching circuit for ultra-fast quantum cryptography.

Science.gov (United States)

Stipčević, Mario; Christensen, Bradley G; Kwiat, Paul G; Gauthier, Daniel J

2017-09-04

Commercial photon-counting modules based on actively quenched solid-state avalanche photodiode sensors are used in a wide variety of applications. Manufacturers characterize their detectors by specifying a small set of parameters, such as detection efficiency, dead time, dark counts rate, afterpulsing probability and single-photon arrival-time resolution (jitter). However, they usually do not specify the range of conditions over which these parameters are constant or present a sufficient description of the characterization process. In this work, we perform a few novel tests on two commercial detectors and identify an additional set of imperfections that must be specified to sufficiently characterize their behavior. These include rate-dependence of the dead time and jitter, detection delay shift, and "twilighting". We find that these additional non-ideal behaviors can lead to unexpected effects or strong deterioration of the performance of a system using these devices. We explain their origin by an in-depth analysis of the active quenching process. To mitigate the effects of these imperfections, a custom-built detection system is designed using a novel active quenching circuit. Its performance is compared against two commercial detectors in a fast quantum key distribution system with hyper-entangled photons and a random number generator.

Avalanches in insulating gases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verhaart, H.F.A.

1982-01-01

Avalanches of charged particles in gases are often studied with the ''electrical method'', the measurement of the waveform of the current in the external circuit. In this thesis a substantial improvement of the time resolution of the measuring setup, to be used for the electrical method, is reported. The avalanche is started by an N 2 -laser with a pulse duration of only 0.6 ns. With this laser it is possible to release a high number of primary electrons (some 10 8 ) which makes it possible to obtain sizeable signals, even at low E/p values. With the setup it is possible to analyze current waveforms with a time resolution down to 1.4 ns, determined by both the laser and the measuring system. Furthermore it is possible to distinguish between the current caused by the electrons and the current caused by the ions in the avalanche and to monitor these currents simultaneously. Avalanche currents are measured in N 2 , CO 2 , O 2 , H 2 O, air of varying humidity, SF 6 and SF 6 /N 2 mixtures. Depending on the nature of the gas and the experimental conditions, processes as diffusion, ionization, attachment, detachment, conversion and secondary emission are observed. Values of parameters with which these processes can be described, are derived from an analysis of the current waveforms. For this analysis already published theories and new theories described in this thesis are used. The drift velocity of both the electrons and the ions could be easily determined from measured avalanche currents. Special attention is paid to avalanches in air becasue of the practical importance of air insulation. (Auth.)

Detection efficiency characteristics of free-running InGaAs/InP single photon detector using passive quenching active reset IC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Fu; Wang Chao; Sun Zhi-Bin; Zhai Guang-Jie

2016-01-01

InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiodes (APD) are rarely used in a free-running regime for near-infrared single photon detection. In order to overcome the detrimental afterpulsing, we demonstrate a passive quenching active reset integrated circuit. Taking advantage of the inherent fast passive quenching process and active reset to reduce reset time, the integrated circuit is useful for reducing afterpulses and is also area-efficient. We investigate the free-running single photon detector’s afterpulsing effect, de-trapping time, dark count rate, and photon detection efficiency, and also compare with gated regime operation. After correction for deadtime and afterpulse, we find that the passive quenching active reset free-running single photon detector’s performance is consistent with gated operation. (paper)

Energy and dissipated work in snow avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Bartelt, P.; Buser, O.

2004-12-01

Using the results of large scale avalanche experiments at the Swiss Vallée de la Sionne test site, the energy balance of several snow avalanches is determined. Avalanches convert approximately one-seventh of their potential energy into kinetic energy. The total potential energy depends strongly on the entrained snowcover, indicating that entrainment processes cannot be ignored when predicting terminal velocities and runout distances. We find energy dissipation rates on the order of 1 GW. Fluidization of the fracture slab can be identified in the experiments as an increase in dissipation rate, thereby explaining the initial and rapid acceleration of avalanches after release. Interestingly, the dissipation rates appear to be constant along the track, although large fluctuations in internal velocity exist. Thus, we can demonstrate within the context of non-equilibrium thermodynamics that -- in space -- granular snow avalanches are irreversible, dissipative systems that minimize entropy production because they appear to reach a steady-state non-equilibrium. A thermodynamic analysis reveals that fluctuations in velocity depend on the roughness of the flow surface and viscosity of the granular system. We speculate that this property explains the transition from flowing avalanches to powder avalanches.

Imaging findings of avalanche victims

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grosse, Alexandra B.; Grosse, Claudia A.; Anderson, Suzanne [University Hospital of Berne, Inselspital, Department of Diagnostic, Pediatric and Interventional Radiology, Berne (Switzerland); Steinbach, Lynne S. [University of California San Francisco, Department of Radiology, San Francisco, CA (United States); Zimmermann, Heinz [University Hospital of Berne, Inselspital, Department of Trauma and Emergency Medicine, Berne (Switzerland)

2007-06-15

Skiing and hiking outside the boundaries remains an attractive wilderness activity despite the danger of avalanches. Avalanches occur on a relatively frequent basis and may be devastating. Musculoskeletal radiologists should be acquainted with these injuries. Fourteen avalanche victims (11 men and 3 women; age range 17-59 years, mean age 37.4 years) were air transported to a high-grade trauma centre over a period of 2 years. Radiographs, CT and MR images were prospectively evaluated by two observers in consensus. Musculoskeletal findings (61%) were more frequent than extraskeletal findings (39%). Fractures were most commonly seen (36.6%), involving the spine (14.6%) more frequently than the extremities (9.8%). Blunt abdominal and thoracic trauma were the most frequent extraskeletal findings. A wide spectrum of injuries can be found in avalanche victims, ranging from extremity fractures to massive polytrauma. Asphyxia remains the main cause of death along with hypoxic brain injury and hypothermia. (orig.)

Measuring neuronal avalanches in disordered systems with absorbing states

Science.gov (United States)

Girardi-Schappo, M.; Tragtenberg, M. H. R.

2018-04-01

Power-law-shaped avalanche-size distributions are widely used to probe for critical behavior in many different systems, particularly in neural networks. The definition of avalanche is ambiguous. Usually, theoretical avalanches are defined as the activity between a stimulus and the relaxation to an inactive absorbing state. On the other hand, experimental neuronal avalanches are defined by the activity between consecutive silent states. We claim that the latter definition may be extended to some theoretical models to characterize their power-law avalanches and critical behavior. We study a system in which the separation of driving and relaxation time scales emerges from its structure. We apply both definitions of avalanche to our model. Both yield power-law-distributed avalanches that scale with system size in the critical point as expected. Nevertheless, we find restricted power-law-distributed avalanches outside of the critical region within the experimental procedure, which is not expected by the standard theoretical definition. We remark that these results are dependent on the model details.

Spatial determination of magnetic avalanche ignition points

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jaafar, Reem; McHugh, S.; Suzuki, Yoko; Sarachik, M.P.; Myasoedov, Y.; Zeldov, E.; Shtrikman, H.; Bagai, R.; Christou, G.

2008-01-01

Using time-resolved measurements of local magnetization in the molecular magnet Mn 12 -ac, we report studies of magnetic avalanches (fast magnetization reversals) with non-planar propagating fronts, where the curved nature of the magnetic fronts is reflected in the time-of-arrival at micro-Hall sensors placed at the surface of the sample. Assuming that the avalanche interface is a spherical bubble that grows with a radius proportional to time, we are able to locate the approximate ignition point of each avalanche in a two-dimensional cross-section of the crystal. We find that although in most samples the avalanches ignite at the long ends, as found in earlier studies, there are crystals in which ignition points are distributed throughout an entire weak region near the center, with a few avalanches still originating at the ends

Spatial determination of magnetic avalanche ignition points

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jaafar, Reem; McHugh, S.; Suzuki, Yoko [Physics Department, City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10031 (United States); Sarachik, M.P. [Physics Department, City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY 10031 (United States)], E-mail: sarachik@sci.ccny.cuny.edu; Myasoedov, Y.; Zeldov, E.; Shtrikman, H. [Department Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100 (Israel); Bagai, R.; Christou, G. [Department of Chemistry, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States)

2008-03-15

Using time-resolved measurements of local magnetization in the molecular magnet Mn{sub 12}-ac, we report studies of magnetic avalanches (fast magnetization reversals) with non-planar propagating fronts, where the curved nature of the magnetic fronts is reflected in the time-of-arrival at micro-Hall sensors placed at the surface of the sample. Assuming that the avalanche interface is a spherical bubble that grows with a radius proportional to time, we are able to locate the approximate ignition point of each avalanche in a two-dimensional cross-section of the crystal. We find that although in most samples the avalanches ignite at the long ends, as found in earlier studies, there are crystals in which ignition points are distributed throughout an entire weak region near the center, with a few avalanches still originating at the ends.

Real time avalanche detection for high risk areas.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-12-01

Avalanches routinely occur on State Highway 21 (SH21) between Lowman and Stanley, Idaho each winter. The avalanches pose : a threat to the safety of maintenance workers and the traveling public. A real-time avalanche detection system will allow the :...

Assessing the importance of terrain parameters on glide avalanche release

Science.gov (United States)

Peitzsch, E.; Hendrikx, J.; Fagre, D. B.

2013-12-01

Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite recent research there is still a lack of understanding regarding the controls of glide avalanche release. Glide avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually and observations suggest that topography may be critical. Thus, to gain an understanding of the terrain component of these types of avalanches we examined terrain parameters associated with glide avalanche release as well as areas of consistent glide crack formation but no subsequent avalanches. Glide avalanche occurrences visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in Glacier National Park, Montana from 2003-2013 were investigated using an avalanche database derived of daily observations each year from April 1 to June 15. This yielded 192 glide avalanches in 53 distinct avalanche paths. Each avalanche occurrence was digitized in a GIS using satellite, oblique, and aerial imagery as reference. Topographical parameters such as area, slope, aspect, elevation and elevation were then derived for the entire dataset utilizing GIS tools and a 10m DEM. Land surface substrate and surface geology were derived from National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring maps and U.S. Geological Survey surface geology maps, respectively. Surface roughness and glide factor were calculated using a four level classification index. . Then, each avalanche occurrence was aggregated to general avalanche release zones and the frequencies were compared. For this study, glide avalanches released in elevations ranging from 1300 to 2700 m with a mean aspect of 98 degrees (east) and a mean slope angle of 38 degrees. The mean profile curvature for all glide avalanches was 0.15 and a plan curvature of -0.01, suggesting a fairly linear surface (i.e. neither convex nor concave). The glide avalanches occurred in mostly bedrock made up of dolomite and limestone slabs and talus deposits with very few occurring in alpine meadows. However, not all glide

Assessing the importance of terrain parameters on glide avalanche release

Science.gov (United States)

Peitzsch, Erich H.; Hendrikx, Jordy; Fagre, Daniel B.

2014-01-01

Glide snow avalanches are dangerous and difficult to predict. Despite recent research there is still a lack of understanding regarding the controls of glide avalanche release. Glide avalanches often occur in similar terrain or the same locations annually and observations suggest that topography may be critical. Thus, to gain an understanding of the terrain component of these types of avalanches we examined terrain parameters associated with glide avalanche release as well as areas of consistent glide crack formation but no subsequent avalanches. Glide avalanche occurrences visible from the Going-to-the-Sun Road corridor in Glacier National Park, Montana from 2003-2013 were investigated using an avalanche database derived of daily observations each year from April 1 to June 15. This yielded 192 glide avalanches in 53 distinct avalanche paths. Each avalanche occurrence was digitized in a GIS using satellite, oblique, and aerial imagery as reference. Topographical parameters such as area, slope, aspect, elevation and elevation were then derived for the entire dataset utilizing GIS tools and a 10m DEM. Land surface substrate and surface geology were derived from National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring maps and U.S. Geological Survey surface geology maps, respectively. Surface roughness and glide factor were calculated using a four level classification index. . Then, each avalanche occurrence was aggregated to general avalanche release zones and the frequencies were compared. For this study, glide avalanches released in elevations ranging from 1300 to 2700 m with a mean aspect of 98 degrees (east) and a mean slope angle of 38 degrees. The mean profile curvature for all glide avalanches was 0.15 and a plan curvature of -0.01, suggesting a fairly linear surface (i.e. neither convex nor concave). The glide avalanches occurred in mostly bedrock made up of dolomite and limestone slabs and talus deposits with very few occurring in alpine meadows. However, not all glide

Rock-avalanche dynamics revealed by large-scale field mapping and seismic signals at a highly mobile avalanche in the West Salt Creek valley, western Colorado

Science.gov (United States)

Coe, Jeffrey A.; Baum, Rex L.; Allstadt, Kate E.; Kochevar, Bernard; Schmitt, Robert G.; Morgan, Matthew L.; White, Jonathan L.; Stratton, Benjamin T.; Hayashi, Timothy A.; Kean, Jason W.

2016-01-01

On 25 May 2014, a rain-on-snow–induced rock avalanche occurred in the West Salt Creek valley on the northern flank of Grand Mesa in western Colorado (United States). The avalanche mobilized from a preexisting rock slide in the Green River Formation and traveled 4.6 km down the confined valley, killing three people. The avalanche was rare for the contiguous United States because of its large size (54.5 Mm3) and high mobility (height/length = 0.14). To understand the avalanche failure sequence, mechanisms, and mobility, we conducted a forensic analysis using large-scale (1:1000) structural mapping and seismic data. We used high-resolution, unmanned aircraft system imagery as a base for field mapping, and analyzed seismic data from 22 broadband stations (distances earth and tracked these forces using curves in the avalanche path. Our results revealed that the rock avalanche was a cascade of landslide events, rather than a single massive failure. The sequence began with an early morning landslide/debris flow that started ∼10 h before the main avalanche. The main avalanche lasted ∼3.5 min and traveled at average velocities ranging from 15 to 36 m/s. For at least two hours after the avalanche ceased movement, a central, hummock-rich core continued to move slowly. Since 25 May 2014, numerous shallow landslides, rock slides, and rock falls have created new structures and modified avalanche topography. Mobility of the main avalanche and central core was likely enhanced by valley floor material that liquefied from undrained loading by the overriding avalanche. Although the base was likely at least partially liquefied, our mapping indicates that the overriding avalanche internally deformed predominantly by sliding along discrete shear surfaces in material that was nearly dry and had substantial frictional strength. These results indicate that the West Salt Creek avalanche, and probably other long-traveled avalanches, could be modeled as two layers: a thin, liquefied

Characterizing the nature and variability of avalanche hazard in western Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Shandro, Bret; Haegeli, Pascal

2018-04-01

The snow and avalanche climate types maritime, continental and transitional are well established and have been used extensively to characterize the general nature of avalanche hazard at a location, study inter-seasonal and large-scale spatial variabilities and provide context for the design of avalanche safety operations. While researchers and practitioners have an experience-based understanding of the avalanche hazard associated with the three climate types, no studies have described the hazard character of an avalanche climate in detail. Since the 2009/2010 winter, the consistent use of Statham et al. (2017) conceptual model of avalanche hazard in public avalanche bulletins in Canada has created a new quantitative record of avalanche hazard that offers novel opportunities for addressing this knowledge gap. We identified typical daily avalanche hazard situations using self-organizing maps (SOMs) and then calculated seasonal prevalence values of these situations. This approach produces a concise characterization that is conducive to statistical analyses, but still provides a comprehensive picture that is informative for avalanche risk management due to its link to avalanche problem types. Hazard situation prevalence values for individual seasons, elevations bands and forecast regions provide unprecedented insight into the inter-seasonal and spatial variability of avalanche hazard in western Canada.

Internal friction and dislocation collective pinning in disordered quenched solid solutions

Science.gov (United States)

D'Anna, G.; Benoit, W.; Vinokur, V. M.

1997-12-01

We introduce the collective pinning of dislocations in disordered quenched solid solutions and calculate the macroscopic mechanical response to a small dc or ac applied stress. This work is a generalization of the Granato-Lücke string model, able to describe self-consistently short and long range dislocation motion. Under dc applied stress the long distance dislocation creep has at the microscopic level avalanche features, which result in a macroscopic nonlinear "glassy" velocity-stress characteristic. Under ac conditions the model predicts, in addition to the anelastic internal friction relaxation in the high frequency regime, a linear internal friction background which remains amplitude-independent down to a crossover frequency to a strongly nonlinear internal friction regime.

Criticality and avalanches in neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zare, Marzieh; Grigolini, Paolo

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Temporal criticality is used as criticality indicator. • The Mittag–Leffler function is proposed as a proper form of temporal complexity. • The distribution of avalanche size becomes scale free in the supercritical state. • The scale-free distribution of avalanche sizes is an epileptic manifestation. -- Abstract: Experimental work, both in vitro and in vivo, reveals the occurrence of neural avalanches with an inverse power law distribution in size and time duration. These properties are interpreted as an evident manifestation of criticality, thereby suggesting that the brain is an operating near criticality complex system: an attractive theoretical perspective that according to Gerhard Werner may help to shed light on the origin of consciousness. However, a recent experimental observation shows no clear evidence for power-law scaling in awake and sleeping brain of mammals, casting doubts on the assumption that the brain works at criticality. This article rests on a model proposed by our group in earlier publications to generate neural avalanches with the time duration and size distribution matching the experimental results on neural networks. We now refine the analysis of the time distance between consecutive firing bursts and observe the deviation of the corresponding distribution from the Poisson statistics, as the system moves from the non-cooperative to the cooperative regime. In other words, we make the assumption that the genuine signature of criticality may emerge from temporal complexity rather than from the size and time duration of avalanches. We argue that the Mittag–Leffler (ML) exponential function is a satisfactory indicator of temporal complexity, namely of the occurrence of non-Poisson and renewal events. The assumption that the onset of criticality corresponds to the birth of renewal non-Poisson events establishes a neat distinction between the ML function and the power law avalanches generating regime. We find that

Oslo model, hyperuniformity, and the quenched Edwards-Wilkinson model

Science.gov (United States)

Grassberger, Peter; Dhar, Deepak; Mohanty, P. K.

2016-10-01

We present simulations of the one-dimensional Oslo rice pile model in which the critical height at each site is randomly reset after each toppling. We use the fact that the stationary state of this sand-pile model is hyperuniform to reach system of sizes >107 . Most previous simulations were seriously flawed by important finite-size corrections. We find that all critical exponents have values consistent with simple rationals: ν =4/3 for the correlation length exponent, D =9/4 for the fractal dimension of avalanche clusters, and z =10/7 for the dynamical exponent. In addition, we relate the hyperuniformity exponent to the correlation length exponent ν . Finally, we discuss the relationship with the quenched Edwards-Wilkinson model, where we find in particular that the local roughness exponent is αloc=1 .

A novel Silicon Photomultiplier with bulk integrated quench resistors: utilization in optical detection and tracking applications for particle physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Petrovics, Stefan, E-mail: stp@hll.mpg.de [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Andricek, Ladislav [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Diehl, Inge; Hansen, Karsten [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Jendrysik, Christian [Infineon Technologies AG, Am Campeon 1-12, D-85579 Neubiberg (Germany); Krueger, Katja [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Lehmann, Raik; Ninkovic, Jelena [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Reckleben, Christian [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany); Richter, Rainer; Schaller, Gerhard; Schopper, Florian [Halbleiterlabor der Max-Planck Gesellschaft, Otto-Hahn-Ring 6, D-81739 Munich (Germany); Sefkow, Felix [DESY, Notkestrasse 85, D-22607 Hamburg (Germany)

2017-02-11

Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs) are a promising candidate for replacing conventional photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) in many applications, thanks to ongoing developments and advances in their technology. Conventional SiPMs are generally an array of avalanche photo diodes, operated in Geiger mode and read out in parallel, thus leading to the necessity of a high ohmic quenching resistor. This resistor enables passive quenching and is usually located on top of the array, limiting the fill factor of the device. In this paper, a novel detector concept with a bulk integrated quenching resistor will be recapped. In addition, due to other advantages of this novel detector design, a new concept, in which these devices will be utilized as tracking detectors for particle physics applications will be introduced, as well as first simulation studies and experimental measurements of this new approach. - Highlights: • A novel SiPM concept with bulk integrated quenching resistor is shown. • First prototypes of these SiPMs as tracking detectors are proposed. • Simulations of the Geiger efficiency suggest feasible operations at low overbias. • First measurements of the electron detection efficiency show promising results. • Measurements are in good agreement with the simulations.

Avalanche photoconductive switching

Science.gov (United States)

Pocha, M. D.; Druce, R. L.; Wilson, M. J.; Hofer, W. W.

This paper describes work being done at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the avalanche mode of operation of laser triggered photoconductive switches. We have been able to generate pulses with amplitudes of 2 kV to 35 kV and rise times of 300 to 500 ps, and with a switching gain (energy of output electrical pulse vs energy of trigger optical pulse) of 10(exp 3) to over 10(exp 5). Switches with two very different physical configurations and with two different illumination wavelengths (1.06 micrometer, 890 nm) exhibit very similar behavior. The avalanche switching behavior, therefore, appears to be related to the material parameters rather than the optical wavelength or switch geometry. Considerable further work needs to be done to fully characterize and understand this mode of operation.

Avalanche photoconductive switching

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pocha, M.D.; Druce, R.L.; Wilson, M.J.; Hofer, W.W.

1989-01-01

This paper describes work being done at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on the avalanche mode of operation of laser triggered photoconductive switches. We have been able to generate pulses with amplitudes of 2 kV--35 kV and rise times of 300--500 ps, and with a switching gain (energy of output electrical pulse vs energy of trigger optical pulse) of 10{sup 3} to over 10{sup 5}. Switches with two very different physical configurations and with two different illumination wavelengths (1.06 {mu}m, 890 nm) exhibit very similar behavior. The avalanche switching behavior, therefore, appears to be related to the material parameters rather than the optical wavelength or switch geometry. Considerable further work needs to be done to fully characterize and understand this mode of operation. 3 refs., 6 figs.

First approximations in avalanche model validations using seismic information

Science.gov (United States)

Roig Lafon, Pere; Suriñach, Emma; Bartelt, Perry; Pérez-Guillén, Cristina; Tapia, Mar; Sovilla, Betty

2017-04-01

Avalanche dynamics modelling is an essential tool for snow hazard management. Scenario based numerical modelling provides quantitative arguments for decision-making. The software tool RAMMS (WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF) is one such tool, often used by government authorities and geotechnical offices. As avalanche models improve, the quality of the numerical results will depend increasingly on user experience on the specification of input (e.g. release and entrainment volumes, secondary releases, snow temperature and quality). New model developments must continue to be validated using real phenomena data, for improving performance and reliability. The avalanches group form University of Barcelona (RISKNAT - UB), has studied the seismic signals generated from avalanches since 1994. Presently, the group manages the seismic installation at SLF's Vallée de la Sionne experimental site (VDLS). At VDLS the recorded seismic signals can be correlated to other avalanche measurement techniques, including both advanced remote sensing methods (radars, videogrammetry) and obstacle based sensors (pressure, capacitance, optical sender-reflector barriers). This comparison between different measurement techniques allows the group to address the question if seismic analysis can be used alone, on more additional avalanche tracks, to gain insight and validate numerical avalanche dynamics models in different terrain conditions. In this study, we aim to add the seismic data as an external record of the phenomena, able to validate RAMMS models. The seismic sensors are considerable easy and cheaper to install than other physical measuring tools, and are able to record data from the phenomena in every atmospheric conditions (e.g. bad weather, low light, freezing make photography, and other kind of sensors not usable). With seismic signals, we record the temporal evolution of the inner and denser parts of the avalanche. We are able to recognize the approximate position

Anthropogenic effect on avalanche and debris flow activity

OpenAIRE

S. A. Sokratov; Yu. G. Seliverstov; A. L. Shnyparkov; K. P. Koltermann

2013-01-01

The paper presents examples of the change in snow avalanches and debris flows activity due to the anthropogenic pressure on vegetation and relief. The changes in dynamical characteristics of selected snow avalanches and debris flows due to the anthropogenic activity are quantified. The conclusion is made that the anthropogenic effects on the snow avalanches and debris flows activity are more pronounced than the possible effects of the climate change. The necessity is expressed on the unavoida...

Dealing with the white death: avalanche risk management for traffic routes.

Science.gov (United States)

Rheinberger, Christoph M; Bründl, Michael; Rhyner, Jakob

2009-01-01

This article discusses mitigation strategies to protect traffic routes from snow avalanches. Up to now, mitigation of snow avalanches on many roads and railways in the Alps has relied on avalanche sheds, which require large initial investments resulting in high opportunity costs. Therefore, avalanche risk managers have increasingly adopted organizational mitigation measures such as warning systems and closure policies instead. The effectiveness of these measures is, however, greatly dependent on human decisions. In this article, we present a method for optimizing avalanche mitigation for traffic routes in terms of both their risk reduction impact and their net benefit to society. First, we introduce a generic framework for assessing avalanche risk and for quantifying the impact of mitigation. This allows for sound cost-benefit comparisons between alternative mitigation strategies. Second, we illustrate the framework with a case study from Switzerland. Our findings suggest that site-specific characteristics of avalanche paths, as well as the economic importance of a traffic route, are decisive for the choice of optimal mitigation strategies. On routes endangered by few avalanche paths with frequent avalanche occurrences, structural measures are most efficient, whereas reliance on organizational mitigation is often the most appropriate strategy on routes endangered by many paths with infrequent or fuzzy avalanche risk. Finally, keeping a traffic route open may be very important for tourism or the transport industry. Hence, local economic value may promote the use of a hybrid strategy that combines organizational and structural measures to optimize the resource allocation of avalanche risk mitigation.

Statistics of Electron Avalanches and Streamers

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T. Ficker

2007-01-01

Full Text Available We have studied the severe systematic deviations of populations of electron avalanches from the Furry distribution, which has been held to be the statistical law corresponding to them, and a possible explanation has been sought. A  new theoretical concept based on fractal avalanche multiplication has been proposed and is shown to be a convenient candidate for explaining these deviations from Furry statistics. 

An improved design for AlGaN solar-blind avalanche photodiodes with enhanced avalanche ionization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Yin; Cai Qing; Chen Dun-Jun; Lu Hai; Zhang Rong; Zheng You-Dou; Yang Lian-Hong; Dong Ke-Xiu

2017-01-01

To enhance the avalanche ionization, we designed a new separate absorption and multiplication AlGaN solar-blind avalanche photodiode (APD) by using a high/low-Al-content AlGaN heterostructure as the multiplication region instead of the conventional AlGaN homogeneous layer. The calculated results show that the designed APD with Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 N/Al 0.45 Ga 0.55 N heterostructure multiplication region exhibits a 60% higher gain than the conventional APD and a smaller avalanche breakdown voltage due to the use of the low-Al-content Al 0.3 Ga 0.7 N which has about a six times higher hole ionization coefficient than the high-Al-content Al 0.45 Ga 0.55 N. Meanwhile, the designed APD still remains a good solar-blind characteristic by introducing a quarter-wave AlGaN/AlN distributed Bragg reflectors structure at the bottom of the device. (paper)

Transient events in bright debris discs: Collisional avalanches revisited

Science.gov (United States)

Thebault, P.; Kral, Q.

2018-01-01

Context. A collisional avalanche is set off by the breakup of a large planetesimal, releasing vast amounts of small unbound grains that enter a debris disc located further away from the star, triggering there a collisional chain reaction that could potentially create detectable transient structures. Aims: We investigate this mechanism, using for the first time a fully self-consistent code coupling dynamical and collisional evolutions. We also quantify for the first time the photometric evolution of the system and investigate whether or not avalanches could explain the short-term luminosity variations recently observed in some extremely bright debris discs. Methods: We use the state-of-the-art LIDT-DD code. We consider an avalanche-favoring A6V star, and two set-ups: a "cold disc" case, with a dust release at 10 au and an outer disc extending from 50 to 120 au, and a "warm disc" case with the release at 1 au and a 5-12 au outer disc. We explore, in addition, two key parameters: the density (parameterized by its optical depth τ) of the main outer disc and the amount of dust released by the initial breakup. Results: We find that avalanches could leave detectable structures on resolved images, for both "cold" and "warm" disc cases, in discs with τ of a few 10-3, provided that large dust masses (≳1020-5 × 1022 g) are initially released. The integrated photometric excess due to an avalanche is relatively limited, less than 10% for these released dust masses, peaking in the λ 10-20 μm domain and becoming insignificant beyond 40-50 μm. Contrary to earlier studies, we do not obtain stronger avalanches when increasing τ to higher values. Likewise, we do not observe a significant luminosity deficit, as compared to the pre-avalanche level, after the passage of the avalanche. These two results concur to make avalanches an unlikely explanation for the sharp luminosity drops observed in some extremely bright debris discs. The ideal configuration for observing an

Snow Avalanche Disturbance Ecology: Examples From the San Juan Mountains, Colorado.

Science.gov (United States)

Simonson, S.; Fassnacht, S. R.

2008-12-01

We evaluated landscape ecology approaches to characterize snow avalanche paths based on patterns of plant species composition and evidence of disturbance. Historical records of avalanche incidents, patterns in the annual growth layers of woody plants, and distributions of plant species can be used to quantify and map the frequency and magnitude of snow slide events. Near Silverton, Colorado, a series of snow storms in January of 2005 resulted in many avalanche paths running full track at 30 and 100 year return frequency. Many avalanches cut fresh trimlines, widening their tracks by uprooting, stripping, and breaking mature trees. Powerful avalanches deposited massive piles of snow, rocks, and woody debris in their runout zones. We used cross-section discs and cores of representative downed trees to detect dendro-ecological signals of past snow avalanche disturbance. Avalanche signals included impact scars from the moving snow and associated wind blast, relative width of annual growth rings, and development of reaction wood in response to tilting. Initial measurements of plant diversity and disturbance along the elevation gradient of an avalanche path near Silverton indicate that avalanche activity influences patterns of forest cover, contributes to the high local plant species diversity, and provides opportunities for new seedling establishment.

SNOW AVALANCHE ACTIVITY IN PARÂNG SKI AREA REVEALED BY TREE-RINGS

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F. MESEȘAN

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Snow Avalanche Activity in Parâng Ski Area Revealed by Tree-Rings. Snow avalanches hold favorable conditions to manifest in Parâng Mountains but only one event is historically known, without destructive impact upon infrastructure or fatalities and this region wasn’t yet the object of avalanche research. The existing ski infrastructure of Parâng resort located in the west of Parâng Mountains is proposed to be extended in the steep slopes of subalpine area. Field evidence pinpoints that these steep slopes were affected by snow avalanches in the past. In this study we analyzed 11 stem discs and 31 increment cores extracted from 22 spruces (Picea abies (L. Karst impacted by avalanches, in order to obtain more information about past avalanches activity. Using the dendrogeomorphological approach we found 13 avalanche events that occurred along Scărița avalanche path, since 1935 until 2012, nine of them produced in the last 20 years. The tree-rings data inferred an intense snow avalanche activity along this avalanche path. This study not only calls for more research in the study area but also proves that snow avalanches could constitute an important restrictive factor for the tourism infrastructure and related activities in the area. It must be taken into consideration by the future extension of tourism infrastructure. Keywords: snow avalanche, Parâng Mountains, dendrogeomorphology, ski area.

Relating rock avalanche morphology to emplacement processes

Science.gov (United States)

Dufresne, Anja; Prager, Christoph; Bösmeier, Annette

2015-04-01

The morphology, structure and sedimentological characteristics of rock avalanche deposits reflect both internal emplacement processes and external influences, such as runout path characteristics. The latter is mainly predisposed by topography, substrate types, and hydrogeological conditions. Additionally, the geological setting at the source slope controls, e.g. the spatial distribution of accumulated lithologies and hence material property-related changes in morphology, or the maximum clast size and amount of fines of different lithological units. The Holocene Tschirgant rock avalanche (Tyrol, Austria) resulted from failure of an intensely deformed carbonate rock mass on the southeast face of a 2,370-m-high mountain ridge. The initially sliding rock mass rapidly fragmented as it moved towards the floor of the Inn River valley. Part of the 200-250 x 106 m3 (Patzelt 2012) rock avalanche debris collided with and moved around an opposing bedrock ridge and flowed into the Ötz valley, reaching up to 6.3 km from source. Where the Tschirgant rock avalanche spread freely it formed longitudinal ridges aligned along motion direction as well as smaller hummocks. Encountering high topography, it left runup ridges, fallback patterns (i.e. secondary collapse), and compressional morphology (successively elevated, transverse ridges). Further evidence for the mechanical landslide behaviour is given by large volumes of mobilized valley-fill sediments (polymict gravels and sands). These sediments indicate both shearing and compressional faulting within the rock avalanche mass (forming their own morphological units through, e.g. in situ bulldozing or as distinctly different hummocky terrain), but also indicate extension of the spreading landslide mass (i.e. intercalated/injected gravels encountered mainly in morphological depressions between hummocks). Further influences on its morphology are given by the different lithological units. E.g. the transition from massive dolomite

Investigations of single-electron avalanches in a proportional drift tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anderson, W.S.; Armitage, J.C.; Chevreau, P.; Heinrich, J.G.; Lu, C.; McDonald, I.; McDonald, K.T.; Miller, B.; Secrest, D.; Weckel, J.

1990-01-01

Detailed information on single-electron drift and avalanche behavior has a basic interest in an investigation of gas-chamber performance. Its timing, avalanche distribution, attachment by the working gas mixtures, etc., provide various criteria for choosing the best suitable gas mixture under a specific experimental circumstance. Investigations of single-electron avalanches in a proportional drift tube have been carried out with a pulsed N 2 laser. The study consists of two aspects: timing properties, and fluctuations in the gas avalanche

Terrain Classification of Norwegian Slab Avalanche Accidents

Science.gov (United States)

Hallandvik, Linda; Aadland, Eivind; Vikene, Odd Lennart

2016-01-01

It is difficult to rely on snow conditions, weather, and human factors when making judgments about avalanche risk because these variables are dynamic and complex; terrain, however, is more easily observed and interpreted. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate (1) the type of terrain in which historical fatal snow avalanche accidents in Norway…

Discrimination capability of avalanche counters detecting different ionizing particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prete, G.; Viesti, G.; Padua Univ.

1985-01-01

The discrimination capability of avalanche counters to detect different ionizing particles has been studied using a 252 Cf source. Pulse height, pulse-height resolution and timing properties have been measured as a function of the reduced applied voltage for parallel-plate and parallel-grid avalanche counters. At the highest applied voltages, space charge effects shift the pulse-height signal of the avalanche counter away from being linearly proportional to the stopping power of the detected particles and cause the pulse-height resolution to deteriorate. To optimize the avalanche counter capability, without loss of time resolution, it appears better to operate the detector at voltages well below the breakdown threshold. Measurements with 32 S ions are also reported. (orig.)

Statistical evaluation of waveform collapse reveals scale-free properties of neuronal avalanches

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Aleena eShaukat

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Neural avalanches are a prominent form of brain activity characterized by network-wide bursts whose statistics follow a power-law distribution with a slope near 3/2. Recent work suggests that avalanches of different durations can be rescaled and thus collapsed together. This collapse mirrors work in statistical physics where it is proposed to form a signature of systems evolving in a critical state. However, no rigorous statistical test has been proposed to examine the degree to which neuronal avalanches collapse together. Here, we describe a statistical test based on functional data analysis, where raw avalanches are first smoothed with a Fourier basis, then rescaled using a time-warping function. Finally, an F ratio test combined with a bootstrap permutation is employed to determine if avalanches collapse together in a statistically reliable fashion. To illustrate this approach, we recorded avalanches from cortical cultures on multielectrode arrays as in previous work. Analyses show that avalanches of various durations can be collapsed together in a statistically robust fashion. However, a principal components analysis revealed that the offset of avalanches resulted in marked variance in the time-warping function, thus arguing for limitations to the strict fractal nature of avalanche dynamics. We compared these results with those obtained from cultures treated with an AMPA/NMDA receptor antagonist (APV/DNQX, which yield a power-law of avalanche durations with a slope greater than 3/2. When collapsed together, these avalanches showed marked misalignments both at onset and offset time-points. In sum, the proposed statistical evaluation suggests the presence of scale-free avalanche waveforms and constitutes an avenue for examining critical dynamics in neuronal systems.

Avalanche and streamer mode operation of resistive plate chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cardarelli, R.; Makeev, V.; Santonico, R.

1996-01-01

A resistive plate chamber was operated at voltages increasing in steps of 200 V over a 3 kV interval and the transition between the avalanche and streamer modes was studied. The avalanche amplitude was observed to be exponentially dependent on the operating voltage up to a value, characteristic of the gas, where the avalanche saturation occurs and delayed streamer signals start to appear. Signal waveforms, charge and timing distributions are reported. (orig.)

Avalanche localization and its effects in proportional counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, J.; Okuno, H.; Walenta, A.H.

1977-11-01

Avalanche development around the anode wire in a gas proportional counter is investigated. In the region of proportional gas amplification, the avalanche is found to be well localized on one side of the anode wire, where the electrons arrive along the field lines from the point of primary ionization. Induced signals on electrodes surrounding the anode wire are used to measure the azimuthal position of the avalanche on the anode wire. Practical applications of the phenomena such as left-right assignment in drift chambers and measurement of the angular direction of the primary ionization electrons drifting towards the anode wire are discussed

Automated identification of potential snow avalanche release areas based on digital elevation models

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Y. Bühler

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The identification of snow avalanche release areas is a very difficult task. The release mechanism of snow avalanches depends on many different terrain, meteorological, snowpack and triggering parameters and their interactions, which are very difficult to assess. In many alpine regions such as the Indian Himalaya, nearly no information on avalanche release areas exists mainly due to the very rough and poorly accessible terrain, the vast size of the region and the lack of avalanche records. However avalanche release information is urgently required for numerical simulation of avalanche events to plan mitigation measures, for hazard mapping and to secure important roads. The Rohtang tunnel access road near Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India, is such an example. By far the most reliable way to identify avalanche release areas is using historic avalanche records and field investigations accomplished by avalanche experts in the formation zones. But both methods are not feasible for this area due to the rough terrain, its vast extent and lack of time. Therefore, we develop an operational, easy-to-use automated potential release area (PRA detection tool in Python/ArcGIS which uses high spatial resolution digital elevation models (DEMs and forest cover information derived from airborne remote sensing instruments as input. Such instruments can acquire spatially continuous data even over inaccessible terrain and cover large areas. We validate our tool using a database of historic avalanches acquired over 56 yr in the neighborhood of Davos, Switzerland, and apply this method for the avalanche tracks along the Rohtang tunnel access road. This tool, used by avalanche experts, delivers valuable input to identify focus areas for more-detailed investigations on avalanche release areas in remote regions such as the Indian Himalaya and is a precondition for large-scale avalanche hazard mapping.

Automated identification of potential snow avalanche release areas based on digital elevation models

Science.gov (United States)

Bühler, Y.; Kumar, S.; Veitinger, J.; Christen, M.; Stoffel, A.; Snehmani

2013-05-01

The identification of snow avalanche release areas is a very difficult task. The release mechanism of snow avalanches depends on many different terrain, meteorological, snowpack and triggering parameters and their interactions, which are very difficult to assess. In many alpine regions such as the Indian Himalaya, nearly no information on avalanche release areas exists mainly due to the very rough and poorly accessible terrain, the vast size of the region and the lack of avalanche records. However avalanche release information is urgently required for numerical simulation of avalanche events to plan mitigation measures, for hazard mapping and to secure important roads. The Rohtang tunnel access road near Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India, is such an example. By far the most reliable way to identify avalanche release areas is using historic avalanche records and field investigations accomplished by avalanche experts in the formation zones. But both methods are not feasible for this area due to the rough terrain, its vast extent and lack of time. Therefore, we develop an operational, easy-to-use automated potential release area (PRA) detection tool in Python/ArcGIS which uses high spatial resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) and forest cover information derived from airborne remote sensing instruments as input. Such instruments can acquire spatially continuous data even over inaccessible terrain and cover large areas. We validate our tool using a database of historic avalanches acquired over 56 yr in the neighborhood of Davos, Switzerland, and apply this method for the avalanche tracks along the Rohtang tunnel access road. This tool, used by avalanche experts, delivers valuable input to identify focus areas for more-detailed investigations on avalanche release areas in remote regions such as the Indian Himalaya and is a precondition for large-scale avalanche hazard mapping.

Characterizing Water Quenching Systems with a Quench Probe

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, B. Lynn; Li, Zhichao; Freborg, Andrew M.

2014-12-01

Quench probes have been used effectively to characterize the quality of quenchants for many years. For this purpose, a variety of commercial probes, as well as the necessary data acquisition system for determining the time-temperature data for a set of standardized test conditions, are available for purchase. The type of information obtained from such probes provides a good basis for comparing media, characterizing general cooling capabilities, and checking media condition over time. However, these data do not adequately characterize the actual production quenching process in terms of heat transfer behavior in many cases, especially when high temperature gradients are present. Faced with the need to characterize water quenching practices, including conventional and intensive practices, a quench probe was developed. This paper describes that probe, the data collection system, the data gathered for both intensive quenching and conventional water quenching, and the heat transfer coefficients determined for these processes. Process sensitivities are investigated and highlight some intricacies of quenching.

Avalanches near a solid insulator in nitrogen gas at atmospheric pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahajan, S.M.; Sudarshan, T.S.; Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208)

1989-01-01

The pulsed Townsend (PT) technique was used to record the growth of avalanches near a solid insulator in nitrogen gas at 0.1 MPa. Several other nonconventional techniques for releasing initiatory electrons at the cathode are discussed. In this paper, experimental results of avalanches initiated by illuminating a fast (0.6-ns) nitrogen laser onto the cathode triple junction are presented. Data were recorded with plexiglas, Teflon, high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, Delrin, etc. Effect of surface condition, variation of the distance between insulator surface and the avalanche initiation region, and the effect of a large number of previous avalanches on the avalanche characteristics at a particular voltage were studied. The Townsend primary ionization coefficient, hereafter referred to as growth coefficient (α), and drift velocity (V/sub e/) were evaluated through the PT technique. Results indicate that the avalanche growth in the vicinity of a solid insulator is less than that in an identical plain gas gap. Existence of a nonuniform field as a result of surface charges on the insulator and/or field modifications due to the avalanche space charge are believed to be responsible for this behavior

Velocity distribution in snow avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Nishimura, K.; Ito, Y.

1997-12-01

In order to investigate the detailed structure of snow avalanches, we have made snow flow experiments at the Miyanomori ski jump in Sapporo and systematic observations in the Shiai-dani, Kurobe Canyon. In the winter of 1995-1996, a new device to measure static pressures was used to estimate velocities in the snow cloud that develops above the flowing layer of avalanches. Measurements during a large avalanche in the Shiai-dani which damaged and destroyed some instruments indicate velocities increased rapidly to more than 50 m/s soon after the front. Velocities decreased gradually in the following 10 s. Velocities of the lower flowing layer were also calculated by differencing measurement of impact pressure. Both recordings in the snow cloud and in the flowing layer changed with a similar trend and suggest a close interaction between the two layers. In addition, the velocity showed a periodic change. Power spectrum analysis of the impact pressure and the static pressure depression showed a strong peak at a frequency between 4 and 6 Hz, which might imply the existence of either ordered structure or a series of surges in the flow.

Anthropogenic effect on avalanche and debris flow activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. A. Sokratov

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents examples of the change in snow avalanches and debris flows activity due to the anthropogenic pressure on vegetation and relief. The changes in dynamical characteristics of selected snow avalanches and debris flows due to the anthropogenic activity are quantified. The conclusion is made that the anthropogenic effects on the snow avalanches and debris flows activity are more pronounced than the possible effects of the climate change. The necessity is expressed on the unavoidable changes of the natural environment as the result of a construction and of use of the constructed infrastructure to be account for in corresponding planning of the protection measures.

Beyond Critical Exponents in Neuronal Avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Nir; Butler, Tom; Deville, Robert; Beggs, John; Dahmen, Karin

2011-03-01

Neurons form a complex network in the brain, where they interact with one another by firing electrical signals. Neurons firing can trigger other neurons to fire, potentially causing avalanches of activity in the network. In many cases these avalanches have been found to be scale independent, similar to critical phenomena in diverse systems such as magnets and earthquakes. We discuss models for neuronal activity that allow for the extraction of testable, statistical predictions. We compare these models to experimental results, and go beyond critical exponents.

Quench origins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devred, A.

1990-03-01

Quenches can be divided into two categories; conductor-limited and energy-deposited quenches. A conductor-limited quench occurs when the current in the magnet exceeds the capacity of the superconductor; it is characterized by a strong correlation with temperature. An energy-deposited quench occurs when a disturbance releases enough energy to trigger a quench; the main disturbances during magnet energization are frictional movements of the conductor due to increasing Lorentz forces. The current level of the conductor-limited quenches defines the limit of the magnet performance, and can only be surpassed by lowering the operating temperature; the occurrence of a constant current at quench during the magnetic testing is called a plateau. Usually it takes a few energy-deposited quenches of increasing currents to reach the plateau; these first few steps are called the magnet's training. The goal in designing a magnet is to be able to energize it and to reliably operate it at the design current without training. This can be achieved by optimizing the magnet's operating margin, that is, by designing and building the magnet in such a way that the sizes of the mechanical disturbances needed to trigger a quench are much larger than the achievable mechanical tolerances. (N.K.) 112 refs

A novel approach to evaluate and compare computational snow avalanche simulation

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J.-T. Fischer

2013-06-01

Full Text Available An innovative approach for the analysis and interpretation of snow avalanche simulation in three dimensional terrain is presented. Snow avalanche simulation software is used as a supporting tool in hazard mapping. When performing a high number of simulation runs the user is confronted with a considerable amount of simulation results. The objective of this work is to establish an objective, model independent framework to evaluate and compare results of different simulation approaches with respect to indicators of practical relevance, providing an answer to the important questions: how far and how destructive does an avalanche move down slope. For this purpose the Automated Indicator based Model Evaluation and Comparison (AIMEC method is introduced. It operates on a coordinate system which follows a given avalanche path. A multitude of simulation runs is performed with the snow avalanche simulation software SamosAT (Snow Avalanche MOdelling and Simulation – Advanced Technology. The variability of pressure-based run out and avalanche destructiveness along the path is investigated for multiple simulation runs, varying release volume and model parameters. With this, results of deterministic simulation software are processed and analysed by means of statistical methods. Uncertainties originating from varying input conditions, model parameters or the different model implementations are assessed. The results show that AIMEC contributes to the interpretation of avalanche simulations with a broad applicability in model evaluation, comparison as well as examination of scenario variations.

Experimental method to predict avalanches based on neural networks

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V. V. Zhdanov

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The article presents results of experimental use of currently available statistical methods to classify the avalanche‑dangerous precipitations and snowfalls in the Kishi Almaty river basin. The avalanche service of Kazakhstan uses graphical methods for prediction of avalanches developed by I.V. Kondrashov and E.I. Kolesnikov. The main objective of this work was to develop a modern model that could be used directly at the avalanche stations. Classification of winter precipitations into dangerous snowfalls and non‑dangerous ones was performed by two following ways: the linear discriminant function (canonical analysis and artificial neural networks. Observational data on weather and avalanches in the gorge Kishi Almaty in the gorge Kishi Almaty were used as a training sample. Coefficients for the canonical variables were calculated by the software «Statistica» (Russian version 6.0, and then the necessary formula had been constructed. The accuracy of the above classification was 96%. Simulator by the authors L.N. Yasnitsky and F.М. Cherepanov was used to learn the neural networks. The trained neural network demonstrated 98% accuracy of the classification. Prepared statistical models are recommended to be tested at the snow‑avalanche stations. Results of the tests will be used for estimation of the model quality and its readiness for the operational work. In future, we plan to apply these models for classification of the avalanche danger by the five‑point international scale.

Spike avalanches exhibit universal dynamics across the sleep-wake cycle.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiago L Ribeiro

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Scale-invariant neuronal avalanches have been observed in cell cultures and slices as well as anesthetized and awake brains, suggesting that the brain operates near criticality, i.e. within a narrow margin between avalanche propagation and extinction. In theory, criticality provides many desirable features for the behaving brain, optimizing computational capabilities, information transmission, sensitivity to sensory stimuli and size of memory repertoires. However, a thorough characterization of neuronal avalanches in freely-behaving (FB animals is still missing, thus raising doubts about their relevance for brain function.To address this issue, we employed chronically implanted multielectrode arrays (MEA to record avalanches of action potentials (spikes from the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of 14 rats, as they spontaneously traversed the wake-sleep cycle, explored novel objects or were subjected to anesthesia (AN. We then modeled spike avalanches to evaluate the impact of sparse MEA sampling on their statistics. We found that the size distribution of spike avalanches are well fit by lognormal distributions in FB animals, and by truncated power laws in the AN group. FB data surrogation markedly decreases the tail of the distribution, i.e. spike shuffling destroys the largest avalanches. The FB data are also characterized by multiple key features compatible with criticality in the temporal domain, such as 1/f spectra and long-term correlations as measured by detrended fluctuation analysis. These signatures are very stable across waking, slow-wave sleep and rapid-eye-movement sleep, but collapse during anesthesia. Likewise, waiting time distributions obey a single scaling function during all natural behavioral states, but not during anesthesia. Results are equivalent for neuronal ensembles recorded from visual and tactile areas of the cerebral cortex, as well as the hippocampus.Altogether, the data provide a comprehensive link between behavior

Fully Integrated Linear Single Photon Avalanche Diode (SPAD) Array with Parallel Readout Circuit in a Standard 180 nm CMOS Process

Science.gov (United States)

Isaak, S.; Bull, S.; Pitter, M. C.; Harrison, Ian.

2011-05-01

This paper reports on the development of a SPAD device and its subsequent use in an actively quenched single photon counting imaging system, and was fabricated in a UMC 0.18 μm CMOS process. A low-doped p- guard ring (t-well layer) encircling the active area to prevent the premature reverse breakdown. The array is a 16×1 parallel output SPAD array, which comprises of an active quenched SPAD circuit in each pixel with the current value being set by an external resistor RRef = 300 kΩ. The SPAD I-V response, ID was found to slowly increase until VBD was reached at excess bias voltage, Ve = 11.03 V, and then rapidly increase due to avalanche multiplication. Digital circuitry to control the SPAD array and perform the necessary data processing was designed in VHDL and implemented on a FPGA chip. At room temperature, the dark count was found to be approximately 13 KHz for most of the 16 SPAD pixels and the dead time was estimated to be 40 ns.

Are dragon-king neuronal avalanches dungeons for self-organized brain activity?

Science.gov (United States)

de Arcangelis, L.

2012-05-01

Recent experiments have detected a novel form of spontaneous neuronal activity both in vitro and in vivo: neuronal avalanches. The statistical properties of this activity are typical of critical phenomena, with power laws characterizing the distributions of avalanche size and duration. A critical behaviour for the spontaneous brain activity has important consequences on stimulated activity and learning. Very interestingly, these statistical properties can be altered in significant ways in epilepsy and by pharmacological manipulations. In particular, there can be an increase in the number of large events anticipated by the power law, referred to herein as dragon-king avalanches. This behaviour, as verified by numerical models, can originate from a number of different mechanisms. For instance, it is observed experimentally that the emergence of a critical behaviour depends on the subtle balance between excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms acting in the system. Perturbing this balance, by increasing either synaptic excitation or the incidence of depolarized neuronal up-states causes frequent dragon-king avalanches. Conversely, an unbalanced GABAergic inhibition or long periods of low activity in the network give rise to sub-critical behaviour. Moreover, the existence of power laws, common to other stochastic processes, like earthquakes or solar flares, suggests that correlations are relevant in these phenomena. The dragon-king avalanches may then also be the expression of pathological correlations leading to frequent avalanches encompassing all neurons. We will review the statistics of neuronal avalanches in experimental systems. We then present numerical simulations of a neuronal network model introducing within the self-organized criticality framework ingredients from the physiology of real neurons, as the refractory period, synaptic plasticity and inhibitory synapses. The avalanche critical behaviour and the role of dragon-king avalanches will be discussed in

Advances in gas avalanche photomultipliers

CERN Document Server

Breskin, Amos; Buzulutskov, A F; Chechik, R; Garty, E; Shefer, G; Singh, B K

2000-01-01

Gas avalanche detectors, combining solid photocathodes with fast electron multipliers, provide an attractive solution for photon localization over very large sensitive areas and under high illumination flux. They offer single-photon sensitivity and the possibility of operation under very intense magnetic fields. We discuss the principal factors governing the operation of gas avalanche photomultipliers. We summarize the recent progress made in alkali-halide and CVD-diamond UV-photocathodes, capable of operation under gas multiplication, and novel thin-film protected alkali-antimonide photocathodes, providing, for the first time, the possibility of operating gas photomultipliers in the visible range. Electron multipliers, adequate for these photon detectors, are proposed and some applications are briefly discussed.

Catastrophic avalanches and methods of their control

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. A. Volodicheva

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Definition of such phenomenon as “catastrophic avalanche” is presented in this arti-cle. Several situations with releases of catastrophic avalanches in mountains of Caucasus, Alps, and Central Asia are investigated. Materials of snow-avalanche ob-servations performed since 1960s at the Elbrus station of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (Central Caucasus were used for this work. Complex-valued measures of engineering protection demonstrating different efficiencies are consid-ered.

Design and characterization of single photon avalanche diodes arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Neri, L.; Tudisco, S.; Lanzanò, L.; Musumeci, F.; Privitera, S.; Scordino, A.; Condorelli, G.; Fallica, G.; Mazzillo, M.; Sanfilippo, D.; Valvo, G.

2010-05-01

During the last years, in collaboration with ST-Microelectronics, we developed a new avalanche photo sensor, single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) see Ref.[S. Privitera, et al., Sensors 8 (2008) 4636 [1];S. Tudisco et al., IEEE Sensors Journal 8 (2008) 1324 [2

Quantum quenches with integrable pre-quench dynamics

OpenAIRE

Delfino, Gesualdo

2014-01-01

We consider the unitary time evolution of a one-dimensional quantum system which is in a stationary state for negative times and then undergoes a sudden change (quench) of a parameter of its Hamiltonian at t=0. For systems possessing a continuum limit described by a massive quantum field theory we investigate in general perturbative quenches for the case in which the theory is integrable before the quench.

Quantum quenches with integrable pre-quench dynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delfino, Gesualdo

2014-01-01

We consider the unitary time evolution of a one-dimensional quantum system which is in a stationary state for negative times and then undergoes a sudden change (quench) of a parameter of its Hamiltonian at t = 0. For systems possessing a continuum limit described by a massive quantum field theory we investigate in general perturbative quenches for the case in which the theory is integrable before the quench. (fast track communication)

Relation of the runaway avalanche threshold to momentum space topology

Science.gov (United States)

McDevitt, Christopher J.; Guo, Zehua; Tang, Xian-Zhu

2018-02-01

The underlying physics responsible for the formation of an avalanche instability due to the generation of secondary electrons is studied. A careful examination of the momentum space topology of the runaway electron population is carried out with an eye toward identifying how qualitative changes in the momentum space of the runaway electrons is correlated with the avalanche threshold. It is found that the avalanche threshold is tied to the merger of an O and X point in the momentum space of the primary runaway electron population. Such a change of the momentum space topology is shown to be accurately described by a simple analytic model, thus providing a powerful means of determining the avalanche threshold for a range of model assumptions.

Quench limits

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sapinski, M.

2012-01-01

With thirteen beam induced quenches and numerous Machine Development tests, the current knowledge of LHC magnets quench limits still contains a lot of unknowns. Various approaches to determine the quench limits are reviewed and results of the tests are presented. Attempt to reconstruct a coherent picture emerging from these results is taken. The available methods of computation of the quench levels are presented together with dedicated particle shower simulations which are necessary to understand the tests. The future experiments, needed to reach better understanding of quench limits as well as limits for the machine operation are investigated. The possible strategies to set BLM (Beam Loss Monitor) thresholds are discussed. (author)

Magnetic avalanches in manganese-acetate, "magnetic deflagration"

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Yoko

Mn12-acetate, first synthesized in 1980 by Lis, is one example of a class of many molecules called single molecule magnets (SMMs) or molecular nanomagnets. These molecules have several atomic spins strongly coupled together within each molecule. They exhibit interesting quantum mechanical phenomena at low temperatures such as quantum tunneling of magnetization, which was first found with Mn12-acetate in 1996 by Friedman, et al. , and Berry phase oscillations which were measured in Fe8 (another SMM) in 1999 by Wernsdorfer, et al. In addition to possible application as memory storage and qubits for quantum computers, these systems provide the means for studies of mesoscopic physics as well as the interactions of the molecules with their environment, such as phonon, photon, nuclear spin, intermolecular dipole, and exchange interactions. Mn12-acetate has twelve Mn ions magnetically coupled in the center of the molecule yielding a giant spin of S = 10 at low temperature. It also has a large uniaxial anisotropy of 65 K. Below 3 K, magnetization curves show strong hysteresis due to the anisotropy barrier. At thesis temperatures, the spin relaxes through the barrier by quantum tunneling of magnetization, which produces regularly-spaced multiple resonant steps in the hysteresis curve. Magnetic avalanches, first detected by Paulsen et al., also occur for some samples only at low temperature, leading to a very fast single-step reversal of the full magnetization, which clearly differs from relaxation by tunneling. In this thesis, I present the results of detailed experimental studies of two aspects of magnetic avalanche phenomenon: "conditions for the triggering of avalanches" and "propagation of the avalanche front". In the first study, we find the magnetic fields at which avalanches occur are stochastically distributed in a particular range of fields. For the second study, we conducted local time-resolved measurements. The results indicate the magnetization avalanches spread

La Carte de Localisation Probable des Avalanches (CPLA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilles BORREL

1994-12-01

Full Text Available La Carte de Localisation Probable des Avalanches (CPLA indique l’enveloppe des limites extrêmes connues atteintes par les avalanches, ainsi que les travaux de protection associés. Il s’agit d’un document informatif et non d’une carte de risque. Depuis 1990, les données thématiques sont numérisées.

Phase avalanches in near-adiabatic evolutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vertesi, T.; Englman, R.

2006-01-01

In the course of slow, nearly adiabatic motion of a system, relative changes in the slowness can cause abrupt and high magnitude phase changes, ''phase avalanches,'' superimposed on the ordinary geometric phases. The generality of this effect is examined for arbitrary Hamiltonians and multicomponent (>2) wave packets and is found to be connected (through the Blaschke term in the theory of analytic signals) to amplitude zeros in the lower half of the complex time plane. Motion on a nonmaximal circle on the Poincare-sphere suppresses the effect. A spectroscopic transition experiment can independently verify the phase-avalanche magnitudes

IFKIS - a basis for managing avalanche risk in settlements and on roads in Switzerland

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Bründl

2004-01-01

Full Text Available After the avalanche winter of 1999 in Switzerland, which caused 17 deaths and damage of over CHF 600 mill. in buildings and on roads, the project IFKIS, aimed at improving the basics of organizational measures (closure of roads, evacuation etc. in avalanche risk management, was initiated. The three main parts of the project were the development of a compulsory checklist for avalanche safety services, a modular education and training course program and an information system for safety services. The information system was developed in order to improve both the information flux between the national centre for avalanche forecasting, the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF, and the local safety services on the one hand and the communication between avalanche safety services in the communities on the other hand. The results of this project make a valuable contribution to strengthening organizational measures in avalanche risk management and to closing the gaps, which became apparent during the avalanche winter of 1999. They are not restricted to snow avalanches but can also be adapted for dealing with other natural hazard processes and catastrophes.

Quench origins

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devred, A.

1990-03-01

In this paper, I shall discuss the quench origins. I shall first establish a method of classification and introduce the notions of conductor-limited and energy-deposited quenches. Next the paper will be devoted to the study of conductor-limited quenches, and I shall introduce the notions of plateau and of fraction of short sample. Also the paper will be devoted to the study of energy-deposited quenches, and I shall introduce the notions of training and of minimum energy deposit; I shall then review the possible causes of energy release. Lastly, I shall introduce the notion of operating margin, and I shall indicate how to optimize the operating margin in order to limit the risk of premature quenching. 112 refs., 14 figs

Porous debris behavior modeling of QUENCH-02, QUENCH-03 and QUENCH-09 experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisselev, A.E.; Kobelev, G.V.; Strizhov, V.F.; Vasiliev, A.D.

2006-01-01

The heat-up, melting, relocation, hydrogen generation phenomena, relevant for high-temperature stages both in a reactor case and small-scale integral tests like QUENCH, are governed in particular by heat and mass transfer in porous debris and molten pools which are formed in the core region. Porous debris formation and behavior in QUENCH experiments (QUENCH-02, QUENCH-03, QUENCH-09) plays a considerable role and its adequate modeling is important for thermal analysis. In particular, the analysis of QUENCH experiments shows that the major hydrogen release takes place in debris and melt regions formed in the upper part of the fuel assembly. The porous debris model was implemented in the Russian best estimate numerical code RATEG/SVECHA/HEFEST developed for modelling thermal hydraulics and severe accident phenomena in a reactor. The original approach for debris evolution is developed in the model from classical principles using a set of parameters including debris porosity; average particle diameter; temperatures and mass fractions of solid, liquid and gas phases; specific interface areas between different phases; effective thermal conductivity of each phase, including radiative heat conductivity; mass and energy fluxes through the interfaces. The debris model is based on the system of continuity, momentum and energy conservation equations, which consider the dynamics of volume-averaged velocities and temperatures of fluid, solid and gaseous phases of porous debris. The model is used for calculation of QUENCH experiments. The results obtained by the model are compared to experimental data concerning different aspects of thermal behavior: thermal hydraulics of porous debris, radiative heat transfer in a porous medium, the generalized melting and refreezing behavior of materials, hydrogen production. (author)

Post-glacial rock avalanches in the Obersee Valley, Glarner Alps, Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Nagelisen, Jan; Moore, Jeffrey R.; Vockenhuber, Christoph; Ivy-Ochs, Susan

2015-06-01

The geological record of prehistoric rock avalanches provides invaluable data for assessing the hazard posed by these rare but destructive mass movements. Here we investigate two large rock avalanches in the Obersee valley of the Glarner Alps, Switzerland, providing detailed mapping of landslide and related Quaternary phenomena, revised volume estimates for each event, and surface exposure dating of rock avalanche deposits. The Rautispitz rock avalanche originated from the southern flank of the Obersee valley, releasing approximately 91 million m3 of limestone on steeply-dipping bedding planes. Debris had maximum horizontal travel distance of ~ 5000 m, a fahrboeschung angle (relating fall height to length) of 18°, and was responsible for the creation of Lake Obersee; deposits are more than 130 m thick in places. The Platten rock avalanche encompassed a source volume of 11 million m3 sliding from the northern flank of the Obersee valley on similar steeply-dipping limestone beds (bedrock forms a syncline under the valley). Debris had a maximum horizontal travel distance of 1600 m with a fahrboeschung angle of 21°, and is more than 80 m thick in places. Deposits of the Platten rock avalanche are superposed atop those from the Rautispitz event at the end of the Obersee valley where they dam Lake Haslensee. Runout for both events was simulated using the dynamic analysis code DAN3D; results showed excellent match to mapped deposit extents and thickness and helped confirm the hypothesized single-event failure scenarios. 36Cl cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating of 13 deposited boulders revealed a Younger Dryas age of 12.6 ± 1.0 ka for the Rautispitz rock avalanche and a mid-Holocene age of 6.1 ± 0.8 ka for the Platten rock avalanche. A seismological trigger is proposed for the former event due to potentially correlated turbidite deposits in nearby Lake Zurich.

New method for determining avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon photomultipliers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chirikov-Zorin, I.

2017-01-01

The avalanche breakdown and Geiger mode of the silicon p-n junction is considered. A precise physically motivated method is proposed for determining the avalanche breakdown voltage of silicon photomultipliers (SiPM). The method is based on measuring the dependence of the relative photon detection efficiency (PDE rel ) on the bias voltage when one type of carriers (electron or hole) is injected into the avalanche multiplication zone of the p-n junction. The injection of electrons or holes from the base region of the SiPM semiconductor structure is performed using short-wave or long-wave light. At a low overvoltage (1-2 V) the detection efficiency is linearly dependent on the bias voltage; therefore, extrapolation to zero PDE rel value determines the SiPM avalanche breakdown voltage with an accuracy within a few millivolts. [ru

Forecasting of wet snow avalanche activity: Proof of concept and operational implementation

Science.gov (United States)

Gobiet, Andreas; Jöbstl, Lisa; Rieder, Hannes; Bellaire, Sascha; Mitterer, Christoph

2017-04-01

State-of-the-art tools for the operational assessment of avalanche danger include field observations, recordings from automatic weather stations, meteorological analyses and forecasts, and recently also indices derived from snowpack models. In particular, an index for identifying the onset of wet-snow avalanche cycles (LWCindex), has been demonstrated to be useful. However, its value for operational avalanche forecasting is currently limited, since detailed, physically based snowpack models are usually driven by meteorological data from automatic weather stations only and have therefore no prognostic ability. Since avalanche risk management heavily relies on timely information and early warnings, many avalanche services in Europe nowadays start issuing forecasts for the following days, instead of the traditional assessment of the current avalanche danger. In this context, the prognostic operation of detailed snowpack models has recently been objective of extensive research. In this study a new, observationally constrained setup for forecasting the onset of wet-snow avalanche cycles with the detailed snow cover model SNOWPACK is presented and evaluated. Based on data from weather stations and different numerical weather prediction models, we demonstrate that forecasts of the LWCindex as indicator for wet-snow avalanche cycles can be useful for operational warning services, but is so far not reliable enough to be used as single warning tool without considering other factors. Therefore, further development currently focuses on the improvement of the forecasts by applying ensemble techniques and suitable post processing approaches to the output of numerical weather prediction models. In parallel, the prognostic meteo-snow model chain is operationally used by two regional avalanche warning services in Austria since winter 2016/2017 for the first time. Experiences from the first operational season and first results from current model developments will be reported.

Passive quench arrest by a chimney induced deluge at every quench front

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sydoriak, S.G.

1984-01-01

This chapter describes a magnet in which a growing quench stops itself spontaneously within a fraction of one winding turn because vapor in quench-heated channels generates a progressively increasing downflow of liquid in advance of each of the quench fronts. The downflow eventually becomes a deluge as the quench grows. The design of the multiple arrested quench magnet is discussed. It is shown how to construct a magnet so that if an arrested quench arises when it is at its highest operating current, peak nucleate boiling will exist in all quenching channels

Application of statistical and dynamics models for snow avalanche hazard assessment in mountain regions of Russia

Science.gov (United States)

Turchaninova, A.

2012-04-01

The estimation of extreme avalanche runout distances, flow velocities, impact pressures and volumes is an essential part of snow engineering in mountain regions of Russia. It implies the avalanche hazard assessment and mapping. Russian guidelines accept the application of different avalanche models as well as approaches for the estimation of model input parameters. Consequently different teams of engineers in Russia apply various dynamics and statistical models for engineering practice. However it gives more freedom to avalanche practitioners and experts but causes lots of uncertainties in case of serious limitations of avalanche models. We discuss these problems by presenting the application results of different well known and widely used statistical (developed in Russia) and avalanche dynamics models for several avalanche test sites in the Khibini Mountains (The Kola Peninsula) and the Caucasus. The most accurate and well-documented data from different powder and wet, big rare and small frequent snow avalanche events is collected from 1960th till today in the Khibini Mountains by the Avalanche Safety Center of "Apatit". This data was digitized and is available for use and analysis. Then the detailed digital avalanche database (GIS) was created for the first time. It contains contours of observed avalanches (ESRI shapes, more than 50 years of observations), DEMs, remote sensing data, description of snow pits, photos etc. Thus, the Russian avalanche data is a unique source of information for understanding of an avalanche flow rheology and the future development and calibration of the avalanche dynamics models. GIS database was used to analyze model input parameters and to calibrate and verify avalanche models. Regarding extreme dynamic parameters the outputs using different models can differ significantly. This is unacceptable for the engineering purposes in case of the absence of the well-defined guidelines in Russia. The frequency curves for the runout distance

High voltage short plus generation based on avalanche circuit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu Yuanfeng; Yu Xiaoqi

2006-01-01

Simulate the avalanche circuit in series with PSPICE module, design the high voltage short plus generation circuit by avalanche transistor in series for the sweep deflection circuit of streak camera. The output voltage ranges 1.2 KV into 50 ohm load. The rise time of the circuit is less than 3 ns. (authors)

Electric field distribution and simulation of avalanche formation due ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Electric field distributions and their role in the formation of avalanche due to the passage of heavy ions in parallel grid avalanche type wire chamber detectors are evaluated using a Monte Carlo simulation. The relative merits and demerits of parallel and crossed wire grid configurations are studied. It is found that the crossed ...

A new web-based system to improve the monitoring of snow avalanche hazard in France

Science.gov (United States)

Bourova, Ekaterina; Maldonado, Eric; Leroy, Jean-Baptiste; Alouani, Rachid; Eckert, Nicolas; Bonnefoy-Demongeot, Mylene; Deschatres, Michael

2016-05-01

Snow avalanche data in the French Alps and Pyrenees have been recorded for more than 100 years in several databases. The increasing amount of observed data required a more integrative and automated service. Here we report the comprehensive web-based Snow Avalanche Information System newly developed to this end for three important data sets: an avalanche chronicle (Enquête Permanente sur les Avalanches, EPA), an avalanche map (Carte de Localisation des Phénomènes d'Avalanche, CLPA) and a compilation of hazard and vulnerability data recorded on selected paths endangering human settlements (Sites Habités Sensibles aux Avalanches, SSA). These data sets are now integrated into a common database, enabling full interoperability between all different types of snow avalanche records: digitized geographic data, avalanche descriptive parameters, eyewitness reports, photographs, hazard and risk levels, etc. The new information system is implemented through modular components using Java-based web technologies with Spring and Hibernate frameworks. It automates the manual data entry and improves the process of information collection and sharing, enhancing user experience and data quality, and offering new outlooks to explore and exploit the huge amount of snow avalanche data available for fundamental research and more applied risk assessment.

Evaluation and operationalization of a novel forest detrainment modeling approach for computational snow avalanche simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Teich, M.; Feistl, T.; Fischer, J.; Bartelt, P.; Bebi, P.; Christen, M.; Grêt-Regamey, A.

2013-12-01

Two-dimensional avalanche simulation software operating in three-dimensional terrain are widely used for hazard zoning and engineering to predict runout distances and impact pressures of snow avalanche events. Mountain forests are an effective biological protection measure; however, the protective capacity of forests to decelerate or even to stop avalanches that start within forested areas or directly above the treeline is seldom considered in this context. In particular, runout distances of small- to medium-scale avalanches are strongly influenced by the structural conditions of forests in the avalanche path. This varying decelerating effect has rarely been addressed or implemented in avalanche simulation. We present an evaluation and operationalization of a novel forest detrainment modeling approach implemented in the avalanche simulation software RAMMS. The new approach accounts for the effect of forests in the avalanche path by detraining mass, which leads to a deceleration and runout shortening of avalanches. The extracted avalanche mass caught behind trees stops immediately and, therefore, is instantly subtracted from the flow and the momentum of the stopped mass is removed from the total momentum of the avalanche flow. This relationship is parameterized by the empirical detrainment coefficient K [Pa] which accounts for the braking power of different forest types per unit area. To define K dependent on specific forest characteristics, we simulated 40 well-documented small- to medium-scale avalanches which released in and ran through forests with varying K-values. Comparing two-dimensional simulation results with one-dimensional field observations for a high number of avalanche events and simulations manually is however time consuming and rather subjective. In order to process simulation results in a comprehensive and standardized way, we used a recently developed automatic evaluation and comparison method defining runout distances based on a pressure

Rock avalanches clusters along the northern Chile coastal scarp

Science.gov (United States)

Crosta, G. B.; Hermanns, R. L.; Dehls, J.; Lari, S.; Sepulveda, S.

2017-07-01

Rock avalanche clusters can be relevant indicators of the evolution of specific regions. They can be used to define: the type and intensity of triggering events, their recurrence and potential probability of occurrence, the progressive damage of the rock mass, the mechanisms of transport and deposition, as well as the environmental conditions at the time of occurrence. This paper tackles these subjects by analyzing two main clusters of rock avalanches (each event between 0.6 and 30 Mm3), separated by few kilometers and located along the coastal scarp of Northern Chile, south of Iquique. It lies, hence, within a seismic area characterized by a long seismic gap that ended on April 1st, 2014 with a Mw 8.2 earthquake. The scar position, high along the coastal cliff, supports seismic triggering for these clusters. The deposits' relative positions are used to obtain the sequence of rock avalanching events for each cluster. The progressive decrease of volume in the sequence of rock avalanches forming each cluster fits well the theoretical models for successive slope failures. These sequences seem to agree with those derived by dating the deposits with ages spanning between 4 kyr and 60 kyr. An average uplift rate of 0.2 mm/yr in the last 40 kyr is estimated for the coastal plain giving a further constraint to the rock avalanche deposition considering the absence of reworking of the deposits. Volume estimates and datings allow the estimation of an erosion rate contribution of about 0.098-0.112 mm km- 2 yr- 1 which is well comparable to values presented in the literature for earthquake induced landslides. We have carried out numerical modeling in order to analyze the mobility of the rock avalanches and examine the environmental conditions that controlled the runout. In doing so, we have considered the sequence of individual rock avalanches within the specific clusters, thus including in the models the confining effect caused by the presence of previous deposits. Bingham

Using stereo satellite imagery to account for ablation, entrainment, and compaction in volume calculations for rock avalanches on Glaciers: Application to the 2016 Lamplugh Rock Avalanche in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Bessette-Kirton, Erin; Coe, Jeffrey A.; Zhou, Wendy

2018-01-01

The use of preevent and postevent digital elevation models (DEMs) to estimate the volume of rock avalanches on glaciers is complicated by ablation of ice before and after the rock avalanche, scour of material during rock avalanche emplacement, and postevent ablation and compaction of the rock avalanche deposit. We present a model to account for these processes in volume estimates of rock avalanches on glaciers. We applied our model by calculating the volume of the 28 June 2016 Lamplugh rock avalanche in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. We derived preevent and postevent 2‐m resolution DEMs from WorldView satellite stereo imagery. Using data from DEM differencing, we reconstructed the rock avalanche and adjacent surfaces at the time of occurrence by accounting for elevation changes due to ablation and scour of the ice surface, and postevent deposit changes. We accounted for uncertainties in our DEMs through precise coregistration and an assessment of relative elevation accuracy in bedrock control areas. The rock avalanche initially displaced 51.7 ± 1.5 Mm3 of intact rock and then scoured and entrained 13.2 ± 2.2 Mm3 of snow and ice during emplacement. We calculated the total deposit volume to be 69.9 ± 7.9 Mm3. Volume estimates that did not account for topographic changes due to ablation, scour, and compaction underestimated the deposit volume by 31.0–46.8 Mm3. Our model provides an improved framework for estimating uncertainties affecting rock avalanche volume measurements in glacial environments. These improvements can contribute to advances in the understanding of rock avalanche hazards and dynamics.

Intermittent flow under constant forcing: Acoustic emission from creep avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Salje, Ekhard K. H.; Liu, Hanlong; Jin, Linsen; Jiang, Deyi; Xiao, Yang; Jiang, Xiang

2018-01-01

While avalanches in field driven ferroic systems (e.g., Barkhausen noise), domain switching of martensitic nanostructures, and the collapse of porous materials are well documented, creep avalanches (avalanches under constant forcing) were never observed. Collapse avalanches generate particularly large acoustic emission (AE) signals and were hence chosen to investigate crackling noise under creep conditions. Piezoelectric SiO2 has a strong piezoelectric response even at the nanoscale so that we chose weakly bound SiO2 spheres in natural sandstone as a representative for the study of avalanches under time-independent, constant force. We found highly non-stationary crackling noise with four activity periods, each with power law distributed AE emission. Only the period before the final collapse shows the mean field behavior (ɛ near 1.39), in agreement with previous dynamic measurements at a constant stress rate. All earlier event periods show collapse with larger exponents (ɛ = 1.65). The waiting time exponents are classic with τ near 2.2 and 1.32. Creep data generate power law mixing with "effective" exponents for the full dataset with combinations of mean field and non-mean field regimes. We find close agreement with the predicted time-dependent fiber bound simulations, including events and waiting time distributions. Båth's law holds under creep conditions.

Stellar Winds and Dust Avalanches in the AU Mic Debris Disk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chiang, Eugene; Fung, Jeffrey, E-mail: echiang@astro.berkeley.edu, E-mail: jeffrey.fung@berkeley.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of California at Berkeley, Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)

2017-10-10

We explain the fast-moving, ripple-like features in the edge-on debris disk orbiting the young M dwarf AU Mic. The bright features are clouds of submicron dust repelled by the host star’s wind. The clouds are produced by avalanches: radial outflows of dust that gain exponentially more mass as they shatter background disk particles in collisional chain reactions. The avalanches are triggered from a region a few au across—the “avalanche zone”—located on AU Mic’s primary “birth” ring at a true distance of ∼35 au from the star but at a projected distance more than a factor of 10 smaller: the avalanche zone sits directly along the line of sight to the star, on the side of the ring nearest Earth, launching clouds that disk rotation sends wholly to the southeast, as observed. The avalanche zone marks where the primary ring intersects a secondary ring of debris left by the catastrophic disruption of a progenitor up to Varuna in size, less than tens of thousands of years ago. Only where the rings intersect are particle collisions sufficiently violent to spawn the submicron dust needed to seed the avalanches. We show that this picture works quantitatively, reproducing the masses, sizes, and velocities of the observed escaping clouds. The Lorentz force exerted by the wind’s magnetic field, whose polarity reverses periodically according to the stellar magnetic cycle, promises to explain the observed vertical undulations. The timescale between avalanches, about 10 yr, might be set by time variability of the wind mass loss rate or, more speculatively, by some self-regulating limit cycle.

Time lapse photography as an approach to understanding glide avalanche activity

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrikx, Jordy; Peitzsch, Erich H.; Fagre, Daniel B.

2012-01-01

Avalanches resulting from glide cracks are notoriously difficult to forecast, but are a recurring problem for numerous avalanche forecasting programs. In some cases glide cracks are observed to open and then melt away in situ. In other cases, they open and then fail catastrophically as large, full-depth avalanches. Our understanding and management of these phenomena are currently limited. It is thought that an increase in the rate of snow gliding occurs prior to full-depth avalanche activity so frequent observation of glide crack movement can provide an index of instability. During spring 2011 in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA, we began an approach to track glide crack avalanche activity using a time-lapse camera focused on a southwest facing glide crack. This crack melted in-situ without failing as a glide avalanche, while other nearby glide cracks on north through southeast aspects failed. In spring 2012, a camera was aimed at a large and productive glide crack adjacent to the Going to the Sun Road. We captured three unique glide events in the field of view. Unfortunately, all of them either failed very quickly, or during periods of obscured view, so measurements of glide rate could not be obtained. However, we compared the hourly meteorological variables during the period of glide activity to the same variables prior to glide activity. The variables air temperature, relative humidity, air pressure, incoming and reflected long wave radiation, SWE, total precipitation, and snow depth were found to be statistically different for our cases examined. We propose that these are some of the potential precursors for glide avalanche activity, but do urge caution in their use, due to the simple approach and small data set size. It is hoped that by introducing a workable method to easily record glide crack movement, combined with ongoing analysis of the associated meteorological data, we will improve our understanding of when, or if, glide avalanche activity will ensue.

Avalanches and plastic flow in crystal plasticity: an overview

Science.gov (United States)

Papanikolaou, Stefanos; Cui, Yinan; Ghoniem, Nasr

2018-01-01

Crystal plasticity is mediated through dislocations, which form knotted configurations in a complex energy landscape. Once they disentangle and move, they may also be impeded by permanent obstacles with finite energy barriers or frustrating long-range interactions. The outcome of such complexity is the emergence of dislocation avalanches as the basic mechanism of plastic flow in solids at the nanoscale. While the deformation behavior of bulk materials appears smooth, a predictive model should clearly be based upon the character of these dislocation avalanches and their associated strain bursts. We provide here a comprehensive overview of experimental observations, theoretical models and computational approaches that have been developed to unravel the multiple aspects of dislocation avalanche physics and the phenomena leading to strain bursts in crystal plasticity.

La carte de localisation des phénomènes d'avalanche (CLPA : enjeux et perspectives The Localization Map of Avalanche Phenomena (CLPA in French: stakes and prospects

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Mylène Bonnefoy, Gilles Borrel, Didier Richard, Laurent Bélanger et Mohamed Naaim

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Après presque quarante ans d’existence, la carte de localisation des phénomènes d'avalanche (CLPA constitue aujourd’hui un outil incontournable pour la prise en compte du risque d’avalanche dans l’aménagement et la gestion des territoires de montagne. Pour optimiser la sécurité des zones urbanisées, ce dispositif a su se rénover par une mise à jour régulière et étendue des données et l'étude de nouvelles zones, mais aussi par une meilleure diffusion auprès des opérationnels et du public concernés. Les auteurs nous rappellent ici l'évolution du fonctionnement de la CLPA et l'intérêt d'élargir la valorisation de ses données dans de nouveaux outils scientifiques.The Localization Map of Avalanche Phenomena (CLPA in French was created in 1971 as a response to the deadly avalanche occurred in Val d’Isère (February 1970, 39 persons killed. The aim is to inventory and to memorize areas where avalanches occurred in the past in order to keep in memory precisely greatest limits of those avalanches. The CLPA was rapidly considered as an essential element for developing plan in mountain areas. After the other catastrophic avalanche, which occurred in the Montroc Village (Chamonix in February 1999, it was recommended “the mutual valuation of the EPA and the CLPA integrated into an information system containing the information on avalanches and the information on the other natural risks in mountain”. The ministry in charge of environment decided therefore to continue and to modernize the CLPA, mission that was assigned to the Cemagref with the ONF collaboration. This modernization was based on the end of maps and testimonies records digitizing, on the compilation of summary notes concerning main avalanches information in reference to a mountain massif, on the institution of a durable updating of the map and on the possibility of having all information on line on the website www.avalanches.fr. Information recorded in the

THEORY AND PRACTICE OF INDIVIDUAL SNOW AVALANCHE RISK ASSESSMENT IN THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC

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Aleksandr Shnyparkov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the Government of the Russian Federation considerably increased attention to the exploitation of the Russian Arctic territories. Simultaneously, the evaluation of snow avalanches danger was enhanced with the aim to decrease fatalities and reduce economic losses. However, it turned out that solely reporting the degree of avalanche danger is not sufficient. Instead, quantitative information on probabilistic parameters of natural hazards, the characteristics of their effects on the environment and possibly resulting losses is increasingly needed. Such information allows for the estimation of risk, including risk related to snow avalanches. Here, snow avalanche risk is quantified for the Khibiny Mountains, one of the most industrialized parts of the Russian Arctic: Major parts of the territory have an acceptable degree of individual snow avalanche risk (<1×10-6. The territories with an admissible (10-4–10-6 or unacceptable (>1×10-4 degree of individual snow avalanche risk (0.5 and 2% of the total area correspond to the Southeast of the Khibiny Mountains where settlements and mining industries are situated. Moreover, due to an increase in winter tourism, some traffic infrastructure is located in valleys with an admissible or unacceptable degree of individual snow avalanches risk.

Quench observation using quench antennas on RHIC IR quadrupole magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogitsu, T.; Terashima, A.; Tsuchiya, K.; Ganetis, G.; Muratore, J.; Wanderer, P.

1995-01-01

Quench observation using quench antennas is now being performed routinely on RHIC dipole and quadrupole magnets. Recently, a quench antenna was used on a RHIC IR magnet which is heavily instrumented with voltage taps. It was confirmed that the signals detected in the antenna coils do not contradict the voltage tap signals. The antenna also detects a sign of mechanical disturbance which could be related to a training quench. This paper summarizes signals detected in the antenna and discusses possible causes of these signals

Quench observation using quench antennas on RHIC IR quadrupole magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogitsu, T.; Terashima, A.; Tsuchiya, K.; Ganetis, G.; Muratore, J.; Wanderer, P.

1996-01-01

Quench observation using quench antennas is now being performed routinely on RHIC dipole and quadrupole magnets. Recently, a quench antenna was used on a RHIC IR magnet which is heavily instrumented with voltage taps. It was confirmed that the signals detected in the antenna coils do not contradict the voltage tap signals. The antenna also detects a sign of mechanical disturbance which could be related to a training quench. This paper summarizes signals detected in the antenna and discusses possible causes of these signals

High pressure pulsed avalanche discharges: Scaling of required preionization rate for homogeneity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenning, N.; Axnaes, I.; Nilsson, J.O.; Eninger, J.E.

1994-01-01

Homogeneous high-pressure discharges can be formed by pulsed avalanche breakdown, provided that the individual avalanche heads have diffused to a large enough radius to overlap before streamer breakdown occurs. The overlap condition can be met by using an external mechanism to preionize the neutral gas, e.g., x-rays or uv radiation. There are several scenarios, (1) to preionize the gas, and then trigger the discharge by the sudden application of an electric field, (2) to apply an overvoltage over the discharge and trigger the discharge by external ionization, or (3) to have a continuous rate of external ionization and let the E field rise, with a comparatively long time constant τ, across the breakdown value (E/n) 0 . The authors here study the last of these scenarios, which gives a very efficient use of the preionization source because the avalanche startpoint can accumulate during the pre-avalanche phase. The authors have found that the required avalanche startpoint density N st.p , defined as the density of individual single, or clusters of, electrons at the time when the electric field crosses the breakdown value, scales with pressure and rise time as N st.p ∝ p 21/4 τ -3/4 . This pressure scaling disagrees with the p 3/2 scaling found by Levatter and Lin (J. Appl. Phys. 51(1), 210), while the rise time scaling agrees satisfactorily with their results. For an E field which rises slowly across the breakdown value, the pre-avalanche accumulation of electrons must be taken into account, as well as the fact that the density n e of free electrons becomes larger than the density N st.p of independent avalanche heads: when electron impact ionization closely balances attachment, individual electrons are replaced by clusters of electrons which are too close to form individual avalanche heads

Quenches after LS1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verweij, A.P.

2012-01-01

In this paper I will give an overview of the different types of quenches that occur in the LHC, followed by an estimate of the number of quenches that we can expect after LS1. Beam-induced quenches and false triggering of the QPS will be the main cause of those quenches that cause a beam dump. Possibly in total up to 10-20 per year. After consolidation of the 13 kA joints, the approach for the BLM settings can be less conservative than in 2010-2012 in order to maximize beam time. This will cause some quenches but, anyhow, a beam.induced quench is not more risky than a quench provoked by false triggering. It is not easy to predict the number of BLM triggered beam dumps, needed to avoid magnet quenches, because it is not sure how to scale beam losses and UFO's from 3.5 TeV to 6.5 TeV, and it is not sure if the thresholds at 3.5 TeV are correct. Quench events will be much more massive (ex: RB quench at 6 kA → 2 MJ, RB quench at 11 kA → 6-20 MJ), and as a result cryo recuperation much longer. There will also be more ramp induced quenches after a FPA in other circuits due to higher ramp rates and smaller temperature margins (mutual coupling)

Stretched exponentials and power laws in granular avalanching

Science.gov (United States)

Head, D. A.; Rodgers, G. J.

1999-02-01

We introduce a model for granular surface flow which exhibits both stretched exponential and power law avalanching over its parameter range. Two modes of transport are incorporated, a rolling layer consisting of individual particles and the overdamped, sliding motion of particle clusters. The crossover in behaviour observed in experiments on piles of rice is attributed to a change in the dominant mode of transport. We predict that power law avalanching will be observed whenever surface flow is dominated by clustered motion.

Regional snow-avalanche detection using object-based image analysis of near-infrared aerial imagery

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K. Korzeniowska

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Snow avalanches are destructive mass movements in mountain regions that continue to claim lives and cause infrastructural damage and traffic detours. Given that avalanches often occur in remote and poorly accessible steep terrain, their detection and mapping is extensive and time consuming. Nonetheless, systematic avalanche detection over large areas could help to generate more complete and up-to-date inventories (cadastres necessary for validating avalanche forecasting and hazard mapping. In this study, we focused on automatically detecting avalanches and classifying them into release zones, tracks, and run-out zones based on 0.25 m near-infrared (NIR ADS80-SH92 aerial imagery using an object-based image analysis (OBIA approach. Our algorithm takes into account the brightness, the normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI, the normalised difference water index (NDWI, and its standard deviation (SDNDWI to distinguish avalanches from other land-surface elements. Using normalised parameters allows applying this method across large areas. We trained the method by analysing the properties of snow avalanches at three 4 km−2 areas near Davos, Switzerland. We compared the results with manually mapped avalanche polygons and obtained a user's accuracy of > 0.9 and a Cohen's kappa of 0.79–0.85. Testing the method for a larger area of 226.3 km−2, we estimated producer's and user's accuracies of 0.61 and 0.78, respectively, with a Cohen's kappa of 0.67. Detected avalanches that overlapped with reference data by > 80 % occurred randomly throughout the testing area, showing that our method avoids overfitting. Our method has potential for large-scale avalanche mapping, although further investigations into other regions are desirable to verify the robustness of our selected thresholds and the transferability of the method.

Emplacement of rock avalanche material across saturated sediments, Southern Alp, New Zealand

Science.gov (United States)

Dufresne, A.; Davies, T. R.; McSaveney, M. J.

2012-04-01

The spreading of material from slope failure events is not only influenced by the volume and nature of the source material and the local topography, but also by the materials encountered in the runout path. In this study, evidence of complex interactions between rock avalanche and sedimentary runout path material were investigated at the 45 x 106 m3 long-runout (L: 4.8 km) Round Top rock avalanche deposit, New Zealand. It was sourced within myolinitic schists of the active strike-slip Alpine Fault. The narrow and in-failure-direction elongate source scarp is deep-seated, indicating slope failure was triggered by strong seismic activity. The most striking morphological deposit features are longitudinal ridges aligned radially to source. Trenching and geophysical surveys show bulldozed and sheared substrate material at ridge termini and laterally displaced sedimentary strata. The substrate failed at a minimum depth of 3 m indicating a ploughing motion of the ridges into the saturated material below. Internal avalanche compression features suggest deceleration behind the bulldozed substrate obstacle. Contorted fabric in material ahead of the ridge document substrate disruption by the overriding avalanche material deposited as the next down-motion hummock. Comparison with rock avalanches of similar volume but different emplacement environments places Round Top between longer runout avalanches emplaced over e.g. playa lake sediments and those with shorter travel distances, whose runout was apparently retarded by topographic obstacles or that entrained high-friction debris. These empirical observations indicate the importance of runout path materials on tentative trends in rock avalanche emplacement dynamics and runout behaviour.

Quark contributions to baryon magnetic moments in full, quenched, and partially quenched QCD

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leinweber, Derek B.

2004-01-01

The chiral nonanalytic behavior of quark-flavor contributions to the magnetic moments of octet baryons is determined in full, quenched and partially quenched QCD, using an intuitive and efficient diagrammatic formulation of quenched and partially quenched chiral perturbation theory. The technique provides a separation of quark-sector magnetic-moment contributions into direct sea-quark loop, valence-quark, indirect sea-quark loop and quenched valence contributions, the latter being the conventional view of the quenched approximation. Both meson and baryon mass violations of SU(3)-flavor symmetry are accounted for. Following a comprehensive examination of the individual quark-sector contributions to octet baryon magnetic moments, numerous opportunities to observe and test the underlying structure of baryons and the nature of chiral nonanalytic behavior in QCD and its quenched variants are discussed. In particular, the valence u-quark contribution to the proton magnetic moment provides the optimal opportunity to directly view nonanalytic behavior associated with the meson cloud of full QCD and the quenched meson cloud of quenched QCD. The u quark in Σ + provides the best opportunity to display the artifacts of the quenched approximation

Nanomechanics of slip avalanches in amorphous plasticity

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Penghui; Dahmen, Karin A.; Kushima, Akihiro; Wright, Wendelin J.; Park, Harold S.; Short, Michael P.; Yip, Sidney

2018-05-01

Discrete stress relaxations (slip avalanches) in a model metallic glass under uniaxial compression are studied using a metadynamics algorithm for molecular simulation at experimental strain rates. The onset of yielding is observed at the first major stress drop, accompanied, upon analysis, by the formation of a single localized shear band region spanning the entire system. During the elastic response prior to yielding, low concentrations of shear transformation deformation events appear intermittently and spatially uncorrelated. During serrated flow following yielding, small stress drops occur interspersed between large drops. The simulation results point to a threshold value of stress dissipation as a characteristic feature separating major and minor avalanches consistent with mean-field modeling analysis and mechanical testing experiments. We further interpret this behavior to be a consequence of a nonlinear interplay of two prevailing mechanisms of amorphous plasticity, thermally activated atomic diffusion and stress-induced shear transformations, originally proposed by Spaepen and Argon, respectively. Probing the atomistic processes at widely separate strain rates gives insight to different modes of shear band formation: percolation of shear transformations versus crack-like propagation. Additionally a focus on crossover avalanche size has implications for nanomechanical modeling of spatially and temporally heterogeneous dynamics.

Spectral analysis of colour-quenched and chemically quenched C 14 samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grau Malonda, A.; Scott Guillearrd, P.E.

1987-01-01

Pairs of pulse height distribution curves, of C-14 samples, colour quenched and chemically quenched were obtained. The possibility to choose a counting window in order to obtain the counting efficiency curves, for both type of quenching was studied. (author). 7 figs., 7 refs

Spectral analysis of colour-quenched and chemically quenched C-14 samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scott, P. E.; Grau, A.

1987-01-01

In this paper pairs of pulse height distribution curves, of C-14 samples, colour-quenched and chemically quenched was obtained. The possibility to choose a counting window in order to obtain the counting efficiency curves, for both type of quenching was studied. (Author) 7 refs

Theory of suppressing avalanche process of carrier in short pulse laser irradiated dielectrics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, H. X., E-mail: hxdeng@uestc.edu.cn, E-mail: xtzu@uestc.edu.cn, E-mail: kaisun@umich.edu; Zu, X. T., E-mail: hxdeng@uestc.edu.cn, E-mail: xtzu@uestc.edu.cn, E-mail: kaisun@umich.edu; Xiang, X. [School of Physical Electronics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054 (China); Zheng, W. G.; Yuan, X. D. [Research Center of Laser Fusion, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China); Sun, K., E-mail: hxdeng@uestc.edu.cn, E-mail: xtzu@uestc.edu.cn, E-mail: kaisun@umich.edu [Department of Materials Engineering and Sciences, University of Michigan, 413B Space Research Building, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-2143 (United States); Gao, F. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, P. O. Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352 (United States)

2014-05-28

A theory for controlling avalanche process of carrier during short pulse laser irradiation is proposed. We show that avalanche process of conduction band electrons (CBEs) is determined by the occupation number of phonons in dielectrics. The theory provides a way to suppress avalanche process and a direct judgment for the contribution of avalanche process and photon ionization process to the generation of CBEs. The obtained temperature dependent rate equation shows that the laser induced damage threshold of dielectrics, e.g., fused silica, increase nonlinearly with the decreases of temperature. Present theory predicts a new approach to improve the laser induced damage threshold of dielectrics.

The December 2008 Crammont rock avalanche, Mont Blanc massif area, Italy

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P. Deline

2011-12-01

Full Text Available We describe a 0.5 Mm³ rock avalanche that occurred in 2008 in the western Alps and discuss possible roles of controlling factors in the context of current climate change. The source is located between 2410 m and 2653 m a.s.l. on Mont Crammont and is controlled by a densely fractured rock structure. The main part of the collapsed rock mass deposited at the foot of the rock wall. A smaller part travelled much farther, reaching horizontal and vertical travel distances of 3050 m and 1560 m, respectively. The mobility of the rock mass was enhanced by channelization and snow. The rock-avalanche volume was calculated by comparison of pre- and post-event DTMs, and geomechanical characterization of the detachment zone was extracted from LiDAR point cloud processing. Back analysis of the rock-avalanche runout suggests a two stage event.

There was no previous rock avalanche activity from the Mont Crammont ridge during the Holocene. The 2008 rock avalanche may have resulted from permafrost degradation in the steep rock wall, as suggested by seepage water in the scar after the collapse in spite of negative air temperatures, and modelling of rock temperatures that indicate warm permafrost (T > −2 °C.

Avalanches in functional materials and geophysics

CERN Document Server

Saxena, Avadh; Planes, Antoni

2017-01-01

This book provides the state-of-the art of the present understanding of avalanche phenomena in both functional materials and geophysics. The main emphasis of the book is analyzing these apparently different problems within the common perspective of out-of-equilibrium phenomena displaying spatial and temporal complexity that occur in a broad range of scales. Many systems, when subjected to an external force, respond intermittently in the form of avalanches that often span over a wide range of sizes, energies and durations. This is often related to a class of critical behavior characterized by the absence of characteristic scales. Typical examples are magnetization processes, plastic deformation and failure occuring in functional materials. These phenomena share many similarities with seismicity arising from the earth crust failure due to stresses that originate from plate tectonics.

Rockslide-debris avalanche of May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens Volcano, Washington

Science.gov (United States)

Glicken, Harry

1996-01-01

This report provides a detailed picture of the rockslide-debris avalanche of the May 18, 1980, eruption of Mount St. Helens volcano. It provides a characterization of the deposit, a reinterpretation of the details of the first minutes of the eruption of May 18, and insight into the transport mechanism of the mass movement. Details of the rockslide event, as revealed by eyewitness photographs, are correlated with features of the deposit. The photographs show three slide blocks in the rockslide movement. Slide block I was triggered by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time (P.D.T.). An exploding cryptodome burst through slide block II to produce the 'blast surge.' Slide block III consisted of many discrete failures that were carried out in continuing pyroclastic currents generated from the exploding cryptodome. The cryptodome continued to depressurize after slide block III, producing a blast deposit that rests on top of the debris-avalanche deposit. The hummocky 2.5 cubic kilometer debris-avalanche deposit consists of block facies (pieces of the pre-eruption Mount St. Helens transported relatively intact) and matrix facies (a mixture of rocks from the old mountain and cryptodome dacite). Block facies is divided into five lithologic units. Matrix facies was derived from the explosively generated current of slide block III as well as from disaggregation and mixing of debris-avalanche blocks. The mean density of the old cone was measured to be abut 20 percent greater than the mean density of the avalanche deposit. Density in the deposit does not decrease with distance which suggests that debris-avalanche blocks were dilated at the mountain, rather than during transport. Various grain-size parameters that show that clast size converges about a mean with distance suggest mixing during transport. The debris-avalanche flow can be considered a grain flow, where particles -- either debris-avalanche blocks or the clasts within the blocks -- collided and

Statistical analysis and trends of wet snow avalanches in the French Alps over the period 1959-2010

Science.gov (United States)

Naaim, Mohamed

2017-04-01

Since an avalanche contains a significant proportion of wet snow, its characteristics and its behavior change significantly (heterogeneous and polydisperse). Even if on a steep given slope, wet snow avalanches are slow. They can flow over gentle slopes and reach the same extensions as dry avalanches. To highlight the link between climate warming and the proliferation of wet snow avlanches, we crossed two well-documented avalanche databases: the permanent avalanche chronicle (EPA) and the meteorological re-analyzes. For each avalanche referenced in EPA, a moisture index I is buit. It represents the ratio of the thickness of the wet snow layer to the total snow thickness, at the date of the avalanche on the concerned massif at 2400 m.a.s.l. The daily and annual proportion of avalanches exceeding a given threshold of I are calculated for each massif of the French alps. The statistical distribution of wet avalanches per massif is calculated over the period 1959-2009. The statistical quantities are also calculated over two successive periods of the same duration 1959-1984 and 1984-2009, and the annual evolution of the proportion of wet avalanches is studied using time-series tools to detect potential rupture or trends. This study showed that about 77% of avalanches on the French alpine massif mobilize dry snow. The probability of having an avalanche of a moisture index greater than 10 % in a given year is 0.2. This value varies from one massif to another. The analysis between the two successive periods showed a significant growth of wet avalanches on 20 massifs and a decrease on 3 massifs. The study of time-series confirmed these trends, which are of the inter-annual variability level.

Lumped transmission line avalanche pulser

Science.gov (United States)

Booth, Rex

1995-01-01

A lumped linear avalanche transistor pulse generator utilizes stacked transistors in parallel within a stage and couples a plurality of said stages, in series with increasing zener diode limited voltages per stage and decreasing balanced capacitance load per stage to yield a high voltage, high and constant current, very short pulse.

Information processing occurs via critical avalanches in a model of the primary visual cortex

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bortolotto, G. S.; Girardi-Schappo, M.; Gonsalves, J. J.; Tragtenberg, M. H. R.; Pinto, L. T.

2016-01-01

We study a new biologically motivated model for the Macaque monkey primary visual cortex which presents power-law avalanches after a visual stimulus. The signal propagates through all the layers of the model via avalanches that depend on network structure and synaptic parameter. We identify four different avalanche profiles as a function of the excitatory postsynaptic potential. The avalanches follow a size-duration scaling relation and present critical exponents that match experiments. The structure of the network gives rise to a regime of two characteristic spatial scales, one of which vanishes in the thermodynamic limit. (paper)

Avalanches in the Bean critical-state model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barford, W.

1997-01-01

A macroscopic equation of motion for the flux density in dirty type-II superconductors is introduced. The flux density is subject to various types of spatially varying pinning force. When there is no stick-slip dynamics, i.e., when the static pinning force equals the dynamic pinning force, it is shown that in both one and two dimensions an increase in the surface magnetic field leads to an overall height change and hence to a change in magnetization equal to the change in the surface magnetic field. More interesting behavior occurs on introducing stick-slip dynamics, i.e., when the static pinning force exceeds the dynamic pinning force. In this limit a distribution of avalanche sizes over four orders of magnitude is found for a 100x100 lattice. Apart from the anomalous behavior at large sizes, this is shown to fit a distribution of the form P(s)∼s -ν exp(-s/α), where s is the avalanche size. The anomalous behavior for large sizes corresponds to avalanches which involve most of the lattice and, hence, cause the flux to open-quotes slide over the edge,close quotes as detected by a change in the edge magnetization. copyright 1997 The American Physical Society

Snow-avalanche impact craters in southern Norway: Their morphology and dynamics compared with small terrestrial meteorite craters

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, John A.; Owen, Geraint; McEwen, Lindsey J.; Shakesby, Richard A.; Hill, Jennifer L.; Vater, Amber E.; Ratcliffe, Anna C.

2017-11-01

This regional inventory and study of a globally uncommon landform type reveals similarities in form and process between craters produced by snow-avalanche and meteorite impacts. Fifty-two snow-avalanche impact craters (mean diameter 85 m, range 10-185 m) were investigated through field research, aerial photographic interpretation and analysis of topographic maps. The craters are sited on valley bottoms or lake margins at the foot of steep avalanche paths (α = 28-59°), generally with an easterly aspect, where the slope of the final 200 m of the avalanche path (β) typically exceeds 15°. Crater diameter correlates with the area of the avalanche start zone, which points to snow-avalanche volume as the main control on crater size. Proximal erosional scars ('blast zones') up to 40 m high indicate up-range ejection of material from the crater, assisted by air-launch of the avalanches and impulse waves generated by their impact into water-filled craters. Formation of distal mounds up to 12 m high of variable shape is favoured by more dispersed down-range deposition of ejecta. Key to the development of snow-avalanche impact craters is the repeated occurrence of topographically-focused snow avalanches that impact with a steep angle on unconsolidated sediment. Secondary craters or pits, a few metres in diameter, are attributed to the impact of individual boulders or smaller bodies of snow ejected from the main avalanche. The process of crater formation by low-density, low-velocity, large-volume snow flows occurring as multiple events is broadly comparable with cratering by single-event, high-density, high-velocity, small-volume projectiles such as small meteorites. Simple comparative modelling of snow-avalanche events associated with a crater of average size (diameter 85 m) indicates that the kinetic energy of a single snow-avalanche impact event is two orders of magnitude less than that of a single meteorite-impact event capable of producing a crater of similar size

Validating numerical simulations of snow avalanches using dendrochronology: the Cerro Ventana event in Northern Patagonia, Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Casteller

2008-05-01

Full Text Available The damage caused by snow avalanches to property and human lives is underestimated in many regions around the world, especially where this natural hazard remains poorly documented. One such region is the Argentinean Andes, where numerous settlements are threatened almost every winter by large snow avalanches. On 1 September 2002, the largest tragedy in the history of Argentinean mountaineering took place at Cerro Ventana, Northern Patagonia: nine persons were killed and seven others injured by a snow avalanche. In this paper, we combine both numerical modeling and dendrochronological investigations to reconstruct this event. Using information released by local governmental authorities and compiled in the field, the avalanche event was numerically simulated using the avalanche dynamics programs AVAL-1D and RAMMS. Avalanche characteristics, such as extent and date were determined using dendrochronological techniques. Model simulation results were compared with documentary and tree-ring evidences for the 2002 event. Our results show a good agreement between the simulated projection of the avalanche and its reconstructed extent using tree-ring records. Differences between the observed and the simulated avalanche, principally related to the snow height deposition in the run-out zone, are mostly attributed to the low resolution of the digital elevation model used to represent the valley topography. The main contributions of this study are (1 to provide the first calibration of numerical avalanche models for the Patagonian Andes and (2 to highlight the potential of Nothofagus pumilio tree-ring records to reconstruct past snow-avalanche events in time and space. Future research should focus on testing this combined approach in other forested regions of the Andes.

Massive Formation of Equiaxed Crystals by Avalanches of Mushy Zone Segments

Science.gov (United States)

Ludwig, A.; Stefan-Kharicha, M.; Kharicha, A.; Wu, M.

2017-06-01

It is well known that the growth and motion of equiaxed crystals govern important microstructural features, especially in larger castings such as heavy ingots. To determine the origin of the equiaxed crystals, heterogeneous nucleation, and/or fragmentation of dendrite arms from columnar regions are often discussed. In the present study, we demonstrate that under certain conditions relatively large areas of mushy regions slide downward and form spectacular crystal avalanches. These avalanches crumble into thousands of dendritic fragments, whereby the larger fragments immediately sediment and the smaller proceed to behave as equiaxed crystals. Traces of such crystal avalanches can be seen by conspicuous equiaxed layers in the lower part of the casting. From the arguments in the discussion, it is believed that such a phenomenon may occur in alloys which reveal an upward solutal buoyancy in the interdendritic mush. This would include certain steels and other alloys such as Cu-Al, Pb-Sn, or Ni-Al-alloys. Moreover, the occurrence of crystal avalanches contribute to the formation of V-segregations.

A concept for optimizing avalanche rescue strategies using a Monte Carlo simulation approach.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ingrid Reiweger

Full Text Available Recent technical and strategical developments have increased the survival chances for avalanche victims. Still hundreds of people, primarily recreationists, get caught and buried by snow avalanches every year. About 100 die each year in the European Alps-and many more worldwide. Refining concepts for avalanche rescue means to optimize the procedures such that the survival chances are maximized in order to save the greatest possible number of lives. Avalanche rescue includes several parameters related to terrain, natural hazards, the people affected by the event, the rescuers, and the applied search and rescue equipment. The numerous parameters and their complex interaction make it unrealistic for a rescuer to take, in the urgency of the situation, the best possible decisions without clearly structured, easily applicable decision support systems. In order to analyse which measures lead to the best possible survival outcome in the complex environment of an avalanche accident, we present a numerical approach, namely a Monte Carlo simulation. We demonstrate the application of Monte Carlo simulations for two typical, yet tricky questions in avalanche rescue: (1 calculating how deep one should probe in the first passage of a probe line depending on search area, and (2 determining for how long resuscitation should be performed on a specific patient while others are still buried. In both cases, we demonstrate that optimized strategies can be calculated with the Monte Carlo method, provided that the necessary input data are available. Our Monte Carlo simulations also suggest that with a strict focus on the "greatest good for the greatest number", today's rescue strategies can be further optimized in the best interest of patients involved in an avalanche accident.

Investigation of avalanche photodiodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Si Mohand, D.; Benhammou, Y.; Depasse, P.; Goyot, M.; Ille, B.; Linard, E.; Martin, F.; Musienko, Y.

1996-06-01

Some characteristics and performances of a set of nine Hamamatsu avalanche photodiodes have been investigated. These APDs have equipped a small 3x3 PbWO{sub 4} crystal matrix in X3 beam during the summer of 1995. This note summarizes the main results of this work. An electromagnetic calorimeter with a high resolution is necessary to search for the Higgs if it has a mass between 80 and 160 GeV. A PbWO{sub 4} crystal option has been chosen by the CMS collaboration to achieve this task. The light is collected and converted into an electric charge by an Avalanche Photodiode (APD) followed by a fast preamplifier. The advantage of the APDs is that they are not sensitive to the strong magnetic field when compared to photomultipliers and they are a small nuclear counter effect when compared to PIN diodes. In this study, we have tested nine low capacitance Hamamatsu APDs (S5345) received in spring, 1995 with an area of 0.2 cm{sup 2}. We have measured the capacitance and dark current for each APD. The gain measurements have also been done with gamma sources, continuous and pulsed light. The gain sensitivity versus bias and temperature have also been investigated succinctly. (author). 8 refs., 16 figs., 1 tab.

Investigation of avalanche photodiodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Si Mohand, D.; Benhammou, Y.; Depasse, P.; Goyot, M.; Ille, B.; Linard, E.; Martin, F.; Musienko, Y.

1996-06-01

Some characteristics and performances of a set of nine Hamamatsu avalanche photodiodes have been investigated. These APDs have equipped a small 3x3 PbWO 4 crystal matrix in X3 beam during the summer of 1995. This note summarizes the main results of this work. An electromagnetic calorimeter with a high resolution is necessary to search for the Higgs if it has a mass between 80 and 160 GeV. A PbWO 4 crystal option has been chosen by the CMS collaboration to achieve this task. The light is collected and converted into an electric charge by an Avalanche Photodiode (APD) followed by a fast preamplifier. The advantage of the APDs is that they are not sensitive to the strong magnetic field when compared to photomultipliers and they are a small nuclear counter effect when compared to PIN diodes. In this study, we have tested nine low capacitance Hamamatsu APDs (S5345) received in spring, 1995 with an area of 0.2 cm 2 . We have measured the capacitance and dark current for each APD. The gain measurements have also been done with gamma sources, continuous and pulsed light. The gain sensitivity versus bias and temperature have also been investigated succinctly. (author). 8 refs., 16 figs., 1 tab

Modeling the influence of snow cover temperature and water content on wet-snow avalanche runout

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Vera Valero

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Snow avalanche motion is strongly dependent on the temperature and water content of the snow cover. In this paper we use a snow cover model, driven by measured meteorological data, to set the initial and boundary conditions for wet-snow avalanche calculations. The snow cover model provides estimates of snow height, density, temperature and liquid water content. This information is used to prescribe fracture heights and erosion heights for an avalanche dynamics model. We compare simulated runout distances with observed avalanche deposition fields using a contingency table analysis. Our analysis of the simulations reveals a large variability in predicted runout for tracks with flat terraces and gradual slope transitions to the runout zone. Reliable estimates of avalanche mass (height and density in the release and erosion zones are identified to be more important than an exact specification of temperature and water content. For wet-snow avalanches, this implies that the layers where meltwater accumulates in the release zone must be identified accurately as this defines the height of the fracture slab and therefore the release mass. Advanced thermomechanical models appear to be better suited to simulate wet-snow avalanche inundation areas than existing guideline procedures if and only if accurate snow cover information is available.

Doubler system quench detection threshold

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuepke, K.; Kuchnir, M.; Martin, P.

1983-01-01

The experimental study leading to the determination of the sensitivity needed for protecting the Fermilab Doubler from damage during quenches is presented. The quench voltage thresholds involved were obtained from measurements made on Doubler cable of resistance x temperature and voltage x time during quenches under several currents and from data collected during operation of the Doubler Quench Protection System as implemented in the B-12 string of 20 magnets. At 4kA, a quench voltage threshold in excess of 5.OV will limit the peak Doubler cable temperature to 452K for quenches originating in the magnet coils whereas a threshold of 0.5V is required for quenches originating outside of coils

Hybrid phase transition into an absorbing state: Percolation and avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Deokjae; Choi, S.; Stippinger, M.; Kertész, J.; Kahng, B.

2016-04-01

Interdependent networks are more fragile under random attacks than simplex networks, because interlayer dependencies lead to cascading failures and finally to a sudden collapse. This is a hybrid phase transition (HPT), meaning that at the transition point the order parameter has a jump but there are also critical phenomena related to it. Here we study these phenomena on the Erdős-Rényi and the two-dimensional interdependent networks and show that the hybrid percolation transition exhibits two kinds of critical behaviors: divergence of the fluctuations of the order parameter and power-law size distribution of finite avalanches at a transition point. At the transition point global or "infinite" avalanches occur, while the finite ones have a power law size distribution; thus the avalanche statistics also has the nature of a HPT. The exponent βm of the order parameter is 1 /2 under general conditions, while the value of the exponent γm characterizing the fluctuations of the order parameter depends on the system. The critical behavior of the finite avalanches can be described by another set of exponents, βa and γa. These two critical behaviors are coupled by a scaling law: 1 -βm=γa .

High-Gain Avalanche Rushing amorphous Photoconductor (HARP) detector

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanioka, K. [NHK Science and Technical Research Laboratories, 1-10-11 Kinuta, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8510 (Japan)], E-mail: tanioka.k-jg@nhk.or.jp

2009-09-01

We have been studying a very sensitive image sensor since the early 1980s. In 1985, the author found for the first time that an experimental pickup tube with an amorphous selenium photoconductive target exhibits high sensitivity with excellent picture quality because of a continuous and stable avalanche multiplication phenomenon. We named the pickup tube with an amorphous photoconductive layer operating in the avalanche-mode 'HARP': High-gain Avalanche Rushing amorphous Photoconductor. A color camera equipped with the HARP pickup tubes has a maximum sensitivity of 11 lx at F8. This means that the HARP camera is about 100 times as sensitive as that of CCD camera for broadcasting. This ultrahigh-sensitivity HARP pickup tube is a powerful tool for reporting breaking news at night and other low-light conditions, the production of scientific programs, and numerous other applications, including medical diagnoses, biotech research, and nighttime surveillance. In addition, since the HARP target can convert X-rays into electrons directly, it should be possible to exploit this capability to produce X-ray imaging devices with unparalleled levels of resolution and sensitivity.

QUENCH: A software package for the determination of quenching curves in Liquid Scintillation counting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassette, Philippe

2016-01-01

In Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC), the scintillating source is part of the measurement system and its detection efficiency varies with the scintillator used, the vial and the volume and the chemistry of the sample. The detection efficiency is generally determined using a quenching curve, describing, for a specific radionuclide, the relationship between a quenching index given by the counter and the detection efficiency. A quenched set of LS standard sources are prepared by adding a quenching agent and the quenching index and detection efficiency are determined for each source. Then a simple formula is fitted to the experimental points to define the quenching curve function. The paper describes a software package specifically devoted to the determination of quenching curves with uncertainties. The experimental measurements are described by their quenching index and detection efficiency with uncertainties on both quantities. Random Gaussian fluctuations of these experimental measurements are sampled and a polynomial or logarithmic function is fitted on each fluctuation by χ"2 minimization. This Monte Carlo procedure is repeated many times and eventually the arithmetic mean and the experimental standard deviation of each parameter are calculated, together with the covariances between these parameters. Using these parameters, the detection efficiency, corresponding to an arbitrary quenching index within the measured range, can be calculated. The associated uncertainty is calculated with the law of propagation of variances, including the covariance terms. - Highlights: • The program “QUENCH” is devoted to the interpolation of quenching curves in LSC. • Functions are fitted to experimental data with uncertainties in both quenching and efficiency. • The parameters of the fitting function and the associated covariance matrix are evaluated. • The detection efficiency and uncertainty corresponding to a given quenching index is calculated.

effects of various effects of various quenching media on quenching

African Journals Online (AJOL)

eobe

ABSTRACT. Evaluation of palm kernel oil, cotton seed oil and olive oil as quenching media of 0.509Wt%C medium carbon steel ... Quenching is an essential element in developing the .... machine, heat treatment furnace, Avery Denison Izod.

High gain multigap avalanche detectors for Cerenkov ring imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilmore, R.S.; Lavender, W.M.; Leith, D.W.G.S.; Williams, S.H.

1980-10-01

We report on a continuing study of multigap parallel plate avalanche chambers, primarily as photoelectron detectors for use with Cerenkov ring imaging counters. By suitable control of the fields in successive gaps and by introducing screens to reduce photon feedback to the cathode the gain many be increased considerably. We have obtained gains in excess of 6 x 10/sup 7/ for photoelectrons with a good pulse height spectrum and expect to increase this further. We discuss the use of resistive anodes to give avalanche positions in two dimensions by charge division.

Dynamic avalanche behavior of power MOSFETs and IGBTs under unclamped inductive switching conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu Jiang; Tian Xiaoli; Lu Shuojin; Zhou Hongyu; Zhu Yangjun; Han Zhengsheng

2013-01-01

The ability of high-voltage power MOSFETs and IGBTs to withstand avalanche events under unclamped inductive switching (UIS) conditions is measured. This measurement is to investigate and compare the dynamic avalanche failure behavior of the power MOSFETs and the IGBT, which occur at different current conditions. The UIS measurement results at different current conditions show that the main failure reason of the power MOSFETs is related to the parasitic bipolar transistor, which leads to the deterioration of the avalanche reliability of power MOSFETs. However, the results of the IGBT show two different failure behaviors. At high current mode, the failure behavior is similar to the power MOSFETs situation. But at low current mode, the main failure mechanism is related to the parasitic thyristor activity during the occurrence of the avalanche process and which is in good agreement with the experiment result. (semiconductor devices)

New advances for modelling the debris avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Cuomo, Sabatino; Cascini, Leonardo; Pastor, Manuel; Castorino, Giuseppe Claudio

2013-04-01

Flow-like landslides are a major global hazard and they occur worldwide causing a large number of casualties, significant structural damages to property and infrastructures as well as economic losses. When involving open slopes, these landslides often occur in triangular source areas where initial slides turn into avalanches through further failures and/or eventual soil entrainment. This paper deals with the numerical modelling of the propagation stage of debris avalanches which provides information such as the propagation pattern of the mobilized material, its velocity, thickness and run-out distance. In the paper, a "depth integrated" model is used which allows: i) adequately taking into account the irregular topography of real slopes which greatly affect the propagation stage and ii) using a less time consuming model than fully 3D approaches. The used model is named "GeoFlow_SPH" and it was formerly applied to theoretical, experimental and real case histories (Pastor et al., 2009; Cascini et al., 2012). In this work the behavior of debris avalanches is analyzed with special emphasis on the apical angle, one of the main features of this type of landslide, in relation to soil rheology, hillslope geometry and features of triggering area. Furthermore, the role of erosion has been investigated with reference to the uppermost parts of open slopes with a different steepness. These analyses are firstly carried out for simplified benchmark slopes, using both water-like materials (with no shear strength) and debris type materials. Then, three important case studies of Campania region (Cervinara, Nocera Inferiore e Sarno) are analyzed where debris avalanches involved pyroclastic soils originated from the eruptive products of Vesusius volcano. The results achieved for both benchmark slopes and real case histories outline the key role played by the erosion on the whole propagation stage of debris avalanches. The results are particularly satisfactory since they indicate the

Scaling behavior of individual barkhausen avalanches in nucleation-mediated magnetization reversal processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Im, Mi-Young; Fischer, Peter; Kim, Dong-Hyun; Shin, Sung-Chul

2009-11-09

We report the scaling behavior of Barkhausen avalanches along the hysteresis loop of a CoCrPt alloy film with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy for every field step of 200 Oe. Individual Barkhausen avalanches are directly observed via high-resolution soft X-ray microscopy with a spatial resolution of 15 nm. The Barkhausen avalanches exhibit a power-law scaling behavior, where the scaling exponent of the power-law distribution drastically changes from 1 {+-} 0.04 to 1.47 {+-} 0.03 as the applied magnetic field approaches the coercivity of the CoCrPt film. We infer that this is due to the coupling of adjacent domains.

Angle sensitive single photon avalanche diode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Changhyuk, E-mail: cl678@cornell.edu; Johnson, Ben, E-mail: bcj25@cornell.edu; Molnar, Alyosha, E-mail: am699@cornell.edu [Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850 (United States)

2015-06-08

An ideal light sensor would provide exact information on intensity, timing, location, and angle of incoming photons. Single photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) provide such desired high (single photon) sensitivity with precise time information and can be implemented at a pixel-scale to form an array to extract spatial information. Furthermore, recent work has demonstrated photodiode-based structures (combined with micro-lenses or diffraction gratings) that are capable of encoding both spatial and angular information of incident light. In this letter, we describe the implementation of such a grating structure on SPADs to realize a pixel-scale angle-sensitive single photon avalanche diode (A-SPAD) built in a standard CMOS process. While the underlying SPAD structure provides high sensitivity, the time information of the two layers of diffraction gratings above offers angle-sensitivity. Such a unique combination of SPAD and diffraction gratings expands the sensing dimensions to pave a path towards lens-less 3-D imaging and light-field time-of-flight imaging.

First Townsend coefficient of organic vapour in avalanche counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sernicki, J.

1990-01-01

A new concept is presented in the paper for implementing the proven method of determining the first Townsend coefficient (α) of gases using an avalanche counter. The A and B gas constants, interrelated by the expression α/p=A exp[-B/(K/p)], are analyzed. Parallel-plate avalanche counters (PPAC) with an electrode spacing d from 0.1 to 0.4 cm have been employed for the investigation, arranged to register low-energy alpha particles at n-heptane vapour pressures of p≥5 Torr. An in-depth discussion is given, covering the veracity and the behaviour vs K/p, of the n-heptane A and B constants determined at reduced electric-field intensity values ranging from 173.5 to 940 V/cm Torr; the constants have been found to depend upon d. The results of the investigation are compared to available data of the α coefficient of organic vapours used in avalanche counters. The PPAC method of determining α reveals some imperfections at very low values of the pd product. (orig.)

AN MHD AVALANCHE IN A MULTI-THREADED CORONAL LOOP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hood, A. W.; Cargill, P. J.; Tam, K. V. [School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SS (United Kingdom); Browning, P. K., E-mail: awh@st-andrews.ac.uk [School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL (United Kingdom)

2016-01-20

For the first time, we demonstrate how an MHD avalanche might occur in a multithreaded coronal loop. Considering 23 non-potential magnetic threads within a loop, we use 3D MHD simulations to show that only one thread needs to be unstable in order to start an avalanche even when the others are below marginal stability. This has significant implications for coronal heating in that it provides for energy dissipation with a trigger mechanism. The instability of the unstable thread follows the evolution determined in many earlier investigations. However, once one stable thread is disrupted, it coalesces with a neighboring thread and this process disrupts other nearby threads. Coalescence with these disrupted threads then occurs leading to the disruption of yet more threads as the avalanche develops. Magnetic energy is released in discrete bursts as the surrounding stable threads are disrupted. The volume integrated heating, as a function of time, shows short spikes suggesting that the temporal form of the heating is more like that of nanoflares than of constant heating.

Observation of the Avalanche of Runaway Electrons in Air in a Strong Electric Field

Science.gov (United States)

Gurevich, A. V.; Mesyats, G. A.; Zybin, K. P.; Yalandin, M. I.; Reutova, A. G.; Shpak, V. G.; Shunailov, S. A.

2012-08-01

The generation of an avalanche of runaway electrons is demonstrated for the first time in a laboratory experiment. Two flows of runaway electrons are formed sequentially in an extended air discharge gap at the stage of delay of a pulsed breakdown. The first, picosecond, runaway electron flow is emitted in the cathode region where the field is enhanced. Being accelerated in the gap, this beam generates electrons due to impact ionization. These secondary electrons form a delayed avalanche of runaway electrons if the field is strong enough. The properties of the avalanche correspond to the existing notions about the runaway breakdown in air. The measured current of the avalanche exceeds up to an order the current of the initiating electron beam.

Evaluating terrain based criteria for snow avalanche exposure ratings using GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Delparte, Donna; Jamieson, Bruce; Waters, Nigel

2010-05-01

Snow avalanche terrain in backcountry regions of Canada is increasingly being assessed based upon the Avalanche Terrain Exposure Scale (ATES). ATES is a terrain based classification introduced in 2004 by Parks Canada to identify "simple", "challenging" and "complex" backcountry areas. The ATES rating system has been applied to well over 200 backcountry routes, has been used in guidebooks, trailhead signs and maps and is part of the trip planning component of the AVALUATOR™, a simple decision-support tool for backcountry users. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) offers a means to model and visualize terrain based criteria through the use of digital elevation model (DEM) and land cover data. Primary topographic variables such as slope, aspect and curvature are easily derived from a DEM and are compatible with the equivalent evaluation criteria in ATES. Other components of the ATES classification are difficult to extract from a DEM as they are not strictly terrain based. An overview is provided of the terrain variables that can be generated from DEM and land cover data; criteria from ATES which are not clearly terrain based are identified for further study or revision. The second component of this investigation was the development of an algorithm for inputting suitable ATES criteria into a GIS, thereby mimicking the process avalanche experts use when applying the ATES classification to snow avalanche terrain. GIS based classifications were compared to existing expert assessments for validity. The advantage of automating the ATES classification process through GIS is to assist avalanche experts with categorizing and mapping remote backcountry terrain.

Design considerations of high-performance InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes for quantum key distribution.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Jian; Bai, Bing; Wang, Liu-Jun; Tong, Cun-Zhu; Jin, Ge; Zhang, Jun; Pan, Jian-Wei

2016-09-20

InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) are widely used in practical applications requiring near-infrared photon counting such as quantum key distribution (QKD). Photon detection efficiency and dark count rate are the intrinsic parameters of InGaAs/InP SPADs, due to the fact that their performances cannot be improved using different quenching electronics given the same operation conditions. After modeling these parameters and developing a simulation platform for InGaAs/InP SPADs, we investigate the semiconductor structure design and optimization. The parameters of photon detection efficiency and dark count rate highly depend on the variables of absorption layer thickness, multiplication layer thickness, excess bias voltage, and temperature. By evaluating the decoy-state QKD performance, the variables for SPAD design and operation can be globally optimized. Such optimization from the perspective of specific applications can provide an effective approach to design high-performance InGaAs/InP SPADs.

A mineralogical and granulometric study of Cayambe volcano debris avalanche deposit

Science.gov (United States)

Detienne, M.; Delmelle, P.; Guevara, A.; Samaniego, P.; Bustillos, J.; Sonnet, P.; Opfergelt, S.

2013-12-01

Volcano flank/sector collapse represents one of the most catastrophic volcanic hazards. Various volcanic and non-volcanic processes are known to decrease the stability of a volcanic cone, eventually precipitating its gravitational failure. Among them, hydrothermal alteration of volcanic rocks leading to clay mineral formation is recognized as having a large negative impact on rock strength properties. Furthermore, the presence of hydrothermal clays in the collapsing mass influences the behavior of the associated volcanic debris avalanche. In particular, clay-containing debris avalanches seem to travel farther and spread more widely than avalanches of similar volume but which do not incorporate hydrothermally-altered materials. However, the relationship between hydrothermal alteration, flank collapse and debris avalanche behavior is not well understood. The objective of this study is to better determine the volume and composition of hydrothermal clay minerals in the poorly characterized debris avalanche deposit (DAD) of Cayambe composite volcano, located in a densely populated area ~70 km northeast of Quito, Ecuador. Cayambe DAD originated from a sector collapse, which occurred less than 200 ka ago. The DAD is 10-20 m thick and has an estimated total volume of ~0.85 Km3. The H/L ratio (where H is the vertical drop and L is the travel distance of the avalanche) for Cayambe DAD is ~0.095, suggesting a high mobility. In the medial-distal zone, at 9-20 km from its source, the DAD consists of an unstratified and unsorted matrix supporting millimetric to metric clasts. It has a matrix facies (i.e. rich in particles DAD behaved as a cohesive debris flow. Analysis of 13 matrix samples reveals a large variability in particle size distribution. This may reflect poor mixing of the collapsed material during transport. The clay fraction content in the matrix ranges from 15 to 30 wt.%, and does not show a relationship with the sample position in the DAD. Mineralogical

Critical state transformation in hard superconductors resulting from thermomagnetic avalanches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chabanenko, V.V.; Kuchuk, E.I.; Rusakov, V.F.; Abaloszewa, I.; Nabialek, A.; Perez-Rodriguez, F.

2016-01-01

The results of experimental investigations of magnetic flux dynamics in finite superconductors, obtained using integral and local measurements methods, are presented. Local methods were aimed at clarifying the role of demagnetizing factor in dynamic formation of a complex magnetic structure of the critical state of hard superconductors. To understand the reasons for cardinal restructuring of the induction, we further analyzed the literature data of flux dynamics visualization during avalanches, obtained by magneto-optical methods. New features in the behavior of the magnetic flux during and after the avalanche were discovered. Two stages of the formation of the induction structures in the avalanche area were established, i.e. of homogeneous and heterogeneous filling with the magnetic flux. The mechanism of the inversion of the induction profile was considered. Oscillations in the speed of the front of the magnetic flux were revealed. Transformation of the critical state near the edge of the sample was analyzed. The role of thermal effects and of de-magnetizing factor in the dissipative flux dynamics was shown. Generalized information allowed, in the framework of the Bean concept, to present a model the transformation of the picture of the induction of the critical state and of the superconducting currents of a finite superconductor as a result of flux avalanches for two regimes - of screening and trapping of the magnetic flux.

Avalanches in a Bose-Einstein condensate

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schuster, J.; Marte, A.; Amtage, S.; Sang, B.; Rempe, G.; Beijerinck, H.C.W.

2001-01-01

Collisional avalanches are identified to be responsible for an 8-fold increase of the initial loss rate of a large 87Rb condensate. We show that the collisional opacity of an ultracold gas exhibits a critical value. When exceeded, losses due to inelastic collisions are substantially enhanced. Under

Magnet Quench 101

OpenAIRE

Bottura, L.

2014-01-01

This paper gives a broad summary of the physical phenomena associated with the quench of a superconducting magnet. This paper gives a broad summary of the physical phenomena associated with the quench of a superconducting magnet.

High performance waveguide-coupled Ge-on-Si linear mode avalanche photodiodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Nicholas J D; Derose, Christopher T; Brock, Reinhard W; Starbuck, Andrew L; Pomerene, Andrew T; Lentine, Anthony L; Trotter, Douglas C; Davids, Paul S

2016-08-22

We present experimental results for a selective epitaxially grown Ge-on-Si separate absorption and charge multiplication (SACM) integrated waveguide coupled avalanche photodiode (APD) compatible with our silicon photonics platform. Epitaxially grown Ge-on-Si waveguide-coupled linear mode avalanche photodiodes with varying lateral multiplication regions and different charge implant dimensions are fabricated and their illuminated device characteristics and high-speed performance is measured. We report a record gain-bandwidth product of 432 GHz for our highest performing waveguide-coupled avalanche photodiode operating at 1510nm. Bit error rate measurements show operation with BER-12, in the range from -18.3 dBm to -12 dBm received optical power into a 50 Ω load and open eye diagrams with 13 Gbps pseudo-random data at 1550 nm.

Quenching experiments on niobium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwirtlich, I.A.; Schultz, H.; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Metallforschung, Stuttgart

1980-01-01

High-purity niobium wire specimens have been quenched in superfluid helium from near the melting point in order to obtain information on vacancies in this material. The quenched-in resistivity Δsub(pQ) for a quench from 2600 K was very small (approximately 0.3 x 10 -12 Ω m) and near the limit of detection. It is assumed that large quenching losses are responsible for the small quenched-in resistance. From the experimental cooling curve estimates have been made for the formation and migration enthalpies (Hsub(1V)sup(F), Hsub(1V)sup(M)), where Hsub(1V)sup(M)+Hsub(1V)sup(F)=Qsub(1V)sup(SD)=3.62 ev. For Ssub(1V)sup(F), the formation entropy, two different values were assumed. (author)

Simulation of quenches in SSC magnets with passive quench protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koepke, K.

1985-06-01

The relative ease of protecting an SSC magnet following a quench and the implications of quench protection on magnet reliability and operation are necessary inputs in a rational magnet selection process. As it appears likely that the magnet selection will be made prior to full scale prototype testing, an alternative means is required to ascertain the surviveability of contending magnet types. This paper attempts to provide a basis for magnet selection by calculating the peak expected quench temperatures in the 3 T Design C magnet and the 6 T Design D magnet as a function of magnet length. A passive, ''cold diode'' protection system has been assumed. The relative merits of passive versus active protection systems have been discussed in a previous report. It is therefore assumed that - given the experience gained from the Tevatron system - that an active quench protection system can be employed to protect the magnets in the eventuality of unreliable cold diode function

Avalanche effect in the planar array of superheated superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meagher, G.; Pond, J.; Kotlicki, A.; Turrell, B.G.; Eska, G.; Drukier, A.K.

1996-01-01

An avalanche effect has been observed in a cryogenic detector based on the planar array of superheated superconductors (PASS). The indium PASS, fabricated by photolithography on a mylar substrate, consisted of 40 well-separated lines each containing about 175 spheres of diameter 18 μm and separation 20 μm with those at the end being shielded by superconducting wire. The magnetic field was applied in the PASS plane parallel to the lines. Avalanche events in which several granules changed their state from superconducting to normal were triggered by the nucleation of the transition in a single grain by an alpha particle. (author)

Avalanche size scaling in sheared three-dimensional amorphous solid

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bailey, Nicholas; Schiøtz, Jakob; Lemaître, A.

2007-01-01

We study the statistics of plastic rearrangement events in a simulated amorphous solid at T=0. Events are characterized by the energy release and the "slip volume", the product of plastic strain and system volume. Their distributions for a given system size L appear to be exponential......, but a characteristic event size cannot be inferred, because the mean values of these quantities increase as L-alpha with alpha similar to 3/2. In contrast with results obtained in 2D models, we do not see simply connected avalanches. The exponent suggests a fractal shape of the avalanches, which is also evidenced...

Analysis of avalanche risk factors in backcountry terrain based on usage frequency and accident data in Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Techel, F.; Zweifel, B.; Winkler, K.

2015-09-01

Recreational activities in snow-covered mountainous terrain in the backcountry account for the vast majority of avalanche accidents. Studies analyzing avalanche risk mostly rely on accident statistics without considering exposure (or the elements at risk), i.e., how many, when and where people are recreating, as data on recreational activity in the winter mountains are scarce. To fill this gap, we explored volunteered geographic information on two social media mountaineering websites - bergportal.ch and camptocamp.org. Based on these data, we present a spatiotemporal pattern of winter backcountry touring activity in the Swiss Alps and compare this with accident statistics. Geographically, activity was concentrated in Alpine regions relatively close to the main Swiss population centers in the west and north. In contrast, accidents occurred equally often in the less-frequented inner-alpine regions. Weekends, weather and avalanche conditions influenced the number of recreationists, while the odds to be involved in a severe avalanche accident did not depend on weekends or weather conditions. However, the likelihood of being involved in an accident increased with increasing avalanche danger level, but also with a more unfavorable snowpack containing persistent weak layers (also referred to as an old snow problem). In fact, the most critical situation for backcountry recreationists and professionals occurred on days and in regions when both the avalanche danger was critical and when the snowpack contained persistent weak layers. The frequently occurring geographical pattern of a more unfavorable snowpack structure also explains the relatively high proportion of accidents in the less-frequented inner-alpine regions. These results have practical implications: avalanche forecasters should clearly communicate the avalanche danger and the avalanche problem to the backcountry user, particularly if persistent weak layers are of concern. Professionals and recreationists, on the

LHC magnet quench protection system

Science.gov (United States)

Coull, L.; Hagedorn, D.; Remondino, V.; Rodriguez-Mateos, F.

1994-07-01

The quench protection system for the superconducting magnets of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is described. The system is based on the so called 'cold diode' concept. In a group of series connected magnets if one magnet quenches then the magnetic energy of all the magnets will be dissipated in the quenched magnet so destroying it. This is avoided by by-passing the quenched magnet and then rapidly de-exciting the unquenched magnets. For the LHC machine it is foreseen to use silicon diodes situated inside the cryostat as by-pass elements - so called 'cold diodes'. The diodes are exposed to some 50 kGray of radiation during a 10 year operation life-time. The high energy density of the LHC magnets (500 kJ/m) coupled with the relatively slow propagation speed of a 'natural' quench (10 to 20 m/s) can lead to excessive heating of the zone where the quench started and to high internal voltages. It is therefore necessary to detect quickly the incipient quench and fire strip heaters which spread the quench out more quickly over a large volume of the magnet. After a quench the magnet chain must be de-excited rapidly to avoid spreading the quench to other magnets and over-heating the by-pass diode. This is done by switching high-power energy-dump resistors in series with the magnets. The LHC main ring magnet will be divided into 16 electrically separated units which has important advantages.

LHC magnet quench protection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coull, L.; Hagedorn, D.; Remondino, V.; Rodriguez-Mateos, F.

1994-01-01

The quench protection system for the superconducting magnets of the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is described. The system is based on the so called ''cold diode'' concept. In a group of series connected magnets if one magnet quenches then the magnetic energy of all the magnets will be dissipated in the quenched magnet so destroying it. This is avoided by by-passing the quenched magnet and then rapidly de-exciting the unquenched magnets. For the LHC machine it is foreseen to use silicon diodes situated inside the cryostat as by-pass elements--so called ''cold diodes''. The diodes are exposed to some 50 kGray of radiation during a 10 year operation life-time. The high energy density of the LHC magnets (500 kJ/m) coupled with the relatively slow propagation speed of a ''natural'' quench (10 to 20 m/s) can lead to excessive heating of the zone where the quench started and to high internal voltages. It is therefore necessary to detect quickly the incipient quench and fire strip heaters which spread the quench out more quickly over a large volume of the magnet. After a quench the magnet chain must be de-excited rapidly to avoid spreading the quench to other magnets and over-heating the by-pass diode. This is done by switching high-power energy-dump resistors in series with the magnets. The LHC main ring magnet will be divided into 16 electrically separated units which has important advantages

QUENCH: A software package for the determination of quenching curves in Liquid Scintillation counting.

Science.gov (United States)

Cassette, Philippe

2016-03-01

In Liquid Scintillation Counting (LSC), the scintillating source is part of the measurement system and its detection efficiency varies with the scintillator used, the vial and the volume and the chemistry of the sample. The detection efficiency is generally determined using a quenching curve, describing, for a specific radionuclide, the relationship between a quenching index given by the counter and the detection efficiency. A quenched set of LS standard sources are prepared by adding a quenching agent and the quenching index and detection efficiency are determined for each source. Then a simple formula is fitted to the experimental points to define the quenching curve function. The paper describes a software package specifically devoted to the determination of quenching curves with uncertainties. The experimental measurements are described by their quenching index and detection efficiency with uncertainties on both quantities. Random Gaussian fluctuations of these experimental measurements are sampled and a polynomial or logarithmic function is fitted on each fluctuation by χ(2) minimization. This Monte Carlo procedure is repeated many times and eventually the arithmetic mean and the experimental standard deviation of each parameter are calculated, together with the covariances between these parameters. Using these parameters, the detection efficiency, corresponding to an arbitrary quenching index within the measured range, can be calculated. The associated uncertainty is calculated with the law of propagation of variances, including the covariance terms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fractal multiplication of electron avalanches and streamers: new mechanism of electrical breakdown?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ficker, T

2007-01-01

Long-lasting problems concerning peculiar statistical behaviour of high populated electron avalanches have been analysed. These avalanches are precursors of streamer breakdown in gases. The present streamer theory fails in explaining severe systematic deviations from the Furry statistics that is believed to be a governing statistical law. Such a deviated behaviour of high populated avalanches seems to be a consequence of a special pre-breakdown mechanism that is rather different from that known so far in discharge physics. This analysis tends towards formulating a modified theoretical concept supplementing the streamer theory by a new statistical view of pre-streamer states. The correctness of the concept is corroborated by a series of experiments

Alpha- and gamma-detection by the avalanche detectors with metal-resistor-semiconductor structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vetokhin, S.S.; Evtushenko, V.P.; Zalesskij, V.B.; Malyshev, S.A.; Chudakov, V.A.; Shunevich, S.A.

1992-01-01

Possibility to use silicon avalanche photodetectors with metal-resistor-semiconductor structure with 0.12 cm 2 photosensitive area as detectors of α-particles, as well as, photodetector of γ-quanta scintillation detector is shown. When detection of α-particles the energy resolution reaches 10%. R energy resolution for avalanche photodetector-CsI(Tl) scintillator system cooled up to - 60 deg C at 59 keV ( 241 Am) and 662 keV ( 137 Cs) energy of γ-quanta constitutes 60% and 80%, respectively. R minimal value in the conducted experiments is determined by the degree of irregularity of avalanche amplification along the photodetector area

Lowering effect of radioactive irradiation on breakdown voltage and electron avalanche pulse characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawahashi, Akira; Nakano, Toru; Hosokawa, Tatsuzo; Miyoshi, Yosinori.

1976-01-01

In the time resolving measurement of the growing process and breakdown of electron avalanche in a gap of uniform electric field, the phenomenon that DC breakdown voltage slightly lowered was observed when β ray was irradiated as the initial electron source, as compared with unirradiated condition. Beta source used is 90 Sr- 90 Y of 2 mCi in radiative equilibrium. The experimental results and the examination are described in detail. In brief, the remarkable superposition of succeeding avalanche pulse over the preceeding avalanche pulse waveform was observed under the gap condition in which the breakdown voltage decreased in β-ray irradiation. Thus this superposition of avalanche pulses is considered as one of the causes of the breakdown voltage reduction. When β source is used as the initial electron source, the number of supplied initial electrons is very large as compared with unity, and at the same time, a great number of initial electrons can be supplied within the diffusion radius r of avalanche. Then the effect of initial electron number n 0 was considered by employing a diagram for breakdown scheme. The transition from Townsend type breakdown to streamer type breakdown occurs owing to increasing n 0 , and in that condition, the breakdown voltage lowers slightly. (Wakatsuki, Y)

Volcanic avalanche fault zone with pseudotachylite and gouge in French Massif Central

Science.gov (United States)

Bernard, Karine; van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin

2017-11-01

Structures and textures with sedimentological variations at different scales of the lithofacies assemblage help us to constrain the basal kinematic transition from non-depositional to depositional conditions during volcanic avalanche emplacement. In the well-exposed impact-sheared contact along volcanic avalanche fault zone in the French Massif Central, we observe how the granular textures of the pseudotachylite and fault gouge have recorded the propagation of shock wave with granular oscillatory stress. Sequential events of basal aggradation along avalanche fault zone have been established related to fractal D-values, temperature pressure regime and oscillatory stress during slow wave velocity. A typical lithofacies assemblage with a reverse grading shows the pseudotachylite and fault gouge. A cataclastic gradient is characterised by the fractal D-values from 2.7 in jigsaw breccias with pseudotachylite partial melt, to 2.6 in the polymodal gouge. Shock, brecciation and comminution produce cataclastic shear bands in the pseudotachylite and quartz microstructures along the basal contact of the volcanic debris-avalanche deposit. Gouge microstructures show granular segregation, cataclasis with antithetic rotational Riedel shear, and an arching effect between the Riedel shear bands. X-ray microtomography provided 3D microfabrics along the clastic vein in the sandy-gouge. From the available statistical dataset, a few equations have been developed implicating the same cataclastic origin with a co-genetic evolution of lithofacies. An impact wave during primary shear propagation may contribute to produce hydroclastic matrix, pseudotachylite partial melt and proximal gouge thixotropy with v 50m/s and a T < 654 °C. The interseismic period with oscillatory stress is related to crushed clasts and basaltic melt around 800 °C, Riedel shear bands with granular segregation along the fault gouge. The secondary shock by matrix-rich avalanche (ΔP = 10GPa, T ≥ 1000-1500 �

Prediction of picosecond voltage collapse and electromagnetic wave generation in gas avalanche switches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayhall, D.J.; Yee, J.H.; Duong-Van, M.; Villa, F.

1988-01-01

A picosecond speed switch, the Gas Avalanche Switch (GAS), has been proposed for GeV linear accelerators. The medium is gas at high pressure (100 - 700 atm). An avalanche discharge is induced between pulse-charged high voltage electrodes by electron deposition from a fast laser pulse. Avalanche electrons move to the positive electrode, causing the applied voltage to collapse in picoseconds. A two-dimensional (2D) electromagnetic electron fluid computer code calculates the avalanche evolution and voltage collapse in air for an infinite parallel plate capacitor with a 0.1 mm spacing. Calculations are done for an accelerator switch geometry consisting of a 0.7 mm wide by 0.8 mm high, rectangular, high voltage center electrode (CE) between the grounded plates of a parallel plate line of 2 mm spacing. Several variations of CE elevation and initial electron deposition are investigated The 2D character of the outgoing TEM waves is shown

Architecture of a software quench management system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jerzy M. Nogiec et al.

2001-01-01

Testing superconducting accelerator magnets is inherently coupled with the proper handling of quenches; i.e., protecting the magnet and characterizing the quench process. Therefore, software implementations must include elements of both data acquisition and real-time controls. The architecture of the quench management software developed at Fermilab's Magnet Test Facility is described. This system consists of quench detection, quench protection, and quench characterization components that execute concurrently in a distributed system. Collaboration between the elements of quench detection, quench characterization and current control are discussed, together with a schema of distributed saving of various quench-related data. Solutions to synchronization and reliability in such a distributed quench system are also presented

Infrasound array criteria for automatic detection and front velocity estimation of snow avalanches: towards a real-time early-warning system

Science.gov (United States)

Marchetti, E.; Ripepe, M.; Ulivieri, G.; Kogelnig, A.

2015-11-01

Avalanche risk management is strongly related to the ability to identify and timely report the occurrence of snow avalanches. Infrasound has been applied to avalanche research and monitoring for the last 20 years but it never turned into an operational tool to identify clear signals related to avalanches. We present here a method based on the analysis of infrasound signals recorded by a small aperture array in Ischgl (Austria), which provides a significant improvement to overcome this limit. The method is based on array-derived wave parameters, such as back azimuth and apparent velocity. The method defines threshold criteria for automatic avalanche identification by considering avalanches as a moving source of infrasound. We validate the efficiency of the automatic infrasound detection with continuous observations with Doppler radar and we show how the velocity of a snow avalanche in any given path around the array can be efficiently derived. Our results indicate that a proper infrasound array analysis allows a robust, real-time, remote detection of snow avalanches that is able to provide the number and the time of occurrence of snow avalanches occurring all around the array, which represent key information for a proper validation of avalanche forecast models and risk management in a given area.

Spatially Extended Avalanches in a Hysteretic Capillary Condensation System: Superfluid 4He in Nuclepore

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lilly, M.P.; Wootters, A.H.; Hallock, R.B.

1996-01-01

Capacitive studies of hysteretic capillary condensation of superfluid 4 He in Nuclepore have shown that the initial draining of the pores occurs over a small range of the chemical potential with avalanches present as groups of pores drain. In the work reported here, the avalanches in this system are shown to be nonlocal events which involve pores distributed at low density across the entire sample. The nonlocal avalanche behavior is shown to be enabled by the presence of a superfluid film connection among the pores. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

Hole-Initiated-Avalanche, Linear-Mode, Single-Photon-Sensitive Avalanche Photodetector with Reduced Excess Noise and Low Dark Count Rate, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — A radiation hard, single photon sensitive InGaAs avalanche photodiode (APD) receiver technology will be demonstrated useful for long range space based optical...

On the relativistic large-angle electron collision operator for runaway avalanches in plasmas

Science.gov (United States)

Embréus, O.; Stahl, A.; Fülöp, T.

2018-02-01

Large-angle Coulomb collisions lead to an avalanching generation of runaway electrons in a plasma. We present the first fully conservative large-angle collision operator, derived from the relativistic Boltzmann operator. The relation to previous models for large-angle collisions is investigated, and their validity assessed. We present a form of the generalized collision operator which is suitable for implementation in a numerical kinetic equation solver, and demonstrate the effect on the runaway-electron growth rate. Finally we consider the reverse avalanche effect, where runaways are slowed down by large-angle collisions, and show that the choice of operator is important if the electric field is close to the avalanche threshold.

The Role of Quench-back in the Passive Quench Protection of Long Solenoids with Coil Sub-division

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, Michael A.; Guo, XingLong; Wang, Li; Pan, Heng; Wu, Hong

2009-01-01

This paper describes how a passive quench protection system can be applied to long superconducting solenoid magnets. When a solenoid coil is long compared to its thickness, the magnet quench process will be dominated by the time needed for uench propagation along the magnet length. Quench-back will permit a long magnet to quench more rapidly in a passive way. Quenchback from a conductive (low resistivity) mandrel is essential for spreading the quench along the length of a magnet. The andrel must be inductively coupled to the magnet circuit that is being quenched. Current induced in the mandrel by di/dt in the magnet produces heat in the mandrel, which in turn causes the superconducting coil wound on the mandrel to quench. Sub-divisions often employed to reduce the voltages to ground within the coil. This paper explores when it is possible for quench-back to be employed for passive quench protection. The role of sub-division of the coil is discussed for long magnets.

Reducing financial avalanches by random investments

Science.gov (United States)

Biondo, Alessio Emanuele; Pluchino, Alessandro; Rapisarda, Andrea; Helbing, Dirk

2013-12-01

Building on similarities between earthquakes and extreme financial events, we use a self-organized criticality-generating model to study herding and avalanche dynamics in financial markets. We consider a community of interacting investors, distributed in a small-world network, who bet on the bullish (increasing) or bearish (decreasing) behavior of the market which has been specified according to the S&P 500 historical time series. Remarkably, we find that the size of herding-related avalanches in the community can be strongly reduced by the presence of a relatively small percentage of traders, randomly distributed inside the network, who adopt a random investment strategy. Our findings suggest a promising strategy to limit the size of financial bubbles and crashes. We also obtain that the resulting wealth distribution of all traders corresponds to the well-known Pareto power law, while that of random traders is exponential. In other words, for technical traders, the risk of losses is much greater than the probability of gains compared to those of random traders.

Avalanches in Mn12-Acetate: ``Magnetic Burning"

Science.gov (United States)

McHugh, Sean; Suzuki, Y.; Graybill, D.; Sarachik, M. P.; Avraham, N.; Myasoedov, Y.; Shtrikman, H.; Zeldov, E.; Bagai, R.; Chakov, N. E.; Christou, G.

2006-03-01

From local time-resolved measurements of fast reversal of the magnetization in single crystals of the molecular magnet Mn12-acetate, we have shown[1] that the magnetization avalanche spreads as a narrow interface that propagates through the crystal at a constant velocity roughly two orders of magnitude smaller than the speed of sound. This phenomenon is closely analogous to the propagation of a flame front (deflagration) through a flammable chemical substance. The propagation speed of the avalanche depends on the energy stored in each molecule, which can be controlled and tuned using an external magnetic field. We report studies of propagation speed with different external fields in Mn12-acetate. [1] Yoko Suzuki, M.P. Sarachik, E.M. Chudnovsky, S. McHugh, R. Gonzalez-Rubio, N. Avraham, Y. Myasoedov, H. Shtrikman, E. Zeldov, N.E. Chakov and G. Christou, Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 147201 (2005).

Using GIS and Google Earth for the creation of the Going-to-the-Sun Road Avalanche Atlas, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Peitzsch, Erich H.; Fagre, Daniel B.; Dundas, Mark

2010-01-01

Snow avalanche paths are key geomorphologic features in Glacier National Park, Montana, and an important component of mountain ecosystems: they are isolated within a larger ecosystem, they are continuously disturbed, and they contain unique physical characteristics (Malanson and Butler, 1984). Avalanches impact subalpine forest structure and function, as well as overall biodiversity (Bebi et al., 2009). Because avalanches are dynamic phenomena, avalanche path geometry and spatial extent depend upon climatic regimes. The USGS/GNP Avalanche Program formally began in 2003 as an avalanche forecasting program for the spring opening of the ever-popular Going-to-the-Sun Road (GTSR), which crosses through 37 identified avalanche paths. Avalanche safety and forecasting is a necessary part of the GTSR spring opening procedures. An avalanche atlas detailing topographic parameters and oblique photographs was completed for the GTSR corridor in response to a request from GNP personnel for planning and resource management. Using ArcMap 9.2 GIS software, polygons were created for every avalanche path affecting the GTSR using aerial imagery, field-based observations, and GPS measurements of sub-meter accuracy. Spatial attributes for each path were derived within the GIS. Resulting products include an avalanche atlas book for operational use, a geoPDF of the atlas, and a Google Earth flyover illustrating each path and associated photographs. The avalanche atlas aids park management in worker safety, infrastructure planning, and natural resource protection by identifying avalanche path patterns and location. The atlas was created for operational and planning purposes and is also used as a foundation for research such as avalanche ecology projects and avalanche path runout modeling.

Effects of quenching and partial quenching on QCD penguin matrix elements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Golterman, Maarten; Pallante, Elisabetta

2002-01-01

We point out that chiral transformation properties of penguin operators change in the transition from unquenched to (partially) quenched QCD. The way in which this affects the lattice determination of weak matrix elements can be understood in the framework of (partially) quenched chiral perturbation

The development of structures in analogue and natural debris avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Paguican, Engielle Mae; van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin; Mahar Francisco Lagmay, Alfredo; Grosse, Pablo

2010-05-01

All types of rockslide-debris avalanches present a plethora of internal structures that are also well observed on the surface. Many of these are seen as faults and folds that can be used to determine deformation history and kinematics. We present two sets of simple and well-constrained experiments of reduced basal friction laboratory rockslides, equivalent to a highly deformed simple shear layer, with plug-flow. These follow the original ramp-slide work of Shea and van Wyk de Vries (Geosphere, 2008). The experiments used a curved ramp where materials accelerate until reaching a gently-sloped depositional surface and a constantly inclined ramp with a more regular slope and longer slides. A detailed description of deposit structures, their sequential formation and morphology is then used to investigate the transport type and deformation chronology from slide initiation to runout stopping of avalanches. Results using a curved ramp show accumulation and thickening at where the slope decreases. The thickened mass then further remobilises and advances by secondary collapse of the mass. Such a stop-start process may be important in many mountainous avalanches where there are rapid changes in slope. The constantly inclined ramp shows shearing and extensional structures at the levees and a set of compression and extension structures in the middle. We noted that frontal accumulation during flow occurs as materials at the front move slower relative to those in the medial and proximal zones. This also leads to secondary frontal collapse, and helps to maintain a thicker mass that can flow further. Descriptions and analyses of these structures are then applied to the kinematics and dynamics of natural examples. We study the 2006 Guinsaugon Rockslide event in the Philippines and find that frontal accumulation and secondary avalanching had also occurred and were important in determining the distribution and runout of the mass. Frontal bulking and collapse may also have occurred at

Avalanche photodiodes for ISABELLE detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strand, R.C.

1979-01-01

At ISABELLE some requirements for detecting bursts of photons are not met by standard photomultiplier tubes. The characteristics of immunity to magnetic fields, small size (few mm), low power consumption (approx. 100 mW), insensitivity to optical overloads, and wide dynamic range (approx. 60 dB) are achieved with difficulty, if at all, with PMTs. These are characteristics of the solid state avalanche photodiode (APD), the preferred detector for light-wave communications. Successful field tests with APD detectors stimulated the design of standard optical-fiber communication systems to replace wire carriers by the early 1980's. In other characteristics, i.e., counting rate, pulse-height resolution, effective quantum efficiency, detection efficiency, and reliability, bare APDs are equivalent to standard PMTs. APDs with currently available amplifiers cannot resolve single photoelectrons but they could provide reasonable detection efficiencies and pulse-height resolution for packets of approx. > 100 photons. Commercially available APDs can cost up to 100 times as much as PMTs per active area, but they are potentially much cheaper. Six topics are discussed: (1) detectors for light-wave communication and detectors for particles, (2) avalanche photodiodes, (3) commercially available APDs, (4) dynamic response of PMTs and bare APDs, (5) photon counting with cold APDs, and (6) conclusions and recommendations

Low power wide spectrum optical transmitter using avalanche mode LEDs in SOI CMOS technology

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agarwal, V.; Dutta, S; Annema, AJ; Hueting, RJE; Steeneken, P.G.; Nauta, B

2017-01-01

This paper presents a low power monolithically integrated optical transmitter with avalanche mode light emitting diodes in a 140 nm silicon-on-insulator CMOS technology. Avalanche mode LEDs in silicon exhibit wide-spectrum electroluminescence (400 nm < λ < 850 nm), which has a significant

The Vaigat Rock Avalanche Laboratory, west-central Greenland

Science.gov (United States)

Dunning, S.; Rosser, N. J.; Szczucinski, W.; Norman, E. C.; Benjamin, J.; Strzelecki, M.; Long, A. J.; Drewniak, M.

2013-12-01

Rock avalanches have unusually high mobility and pose both an immediate hazard, but also produce far-field impacts associated with dam breach, glacier collapse and where they run-out into water, tsunami. Such secondary hazards can often pose higher risks than the original landslide. The prediction of future threats posed by potential rock avalanches is heavily reliant upon understanding of the physics derived from an interpretation of deposits left by previous events, yet drawing comparisons between multiple events is normally challenging as interactions with complex mountainous terrain makes deposits from each event unique. As such numerical models and the interpretation of the underlying physics which govern landslide mobility is commonly case-specific and poorly suited to extrapolation beyond the single events the model is tuned to. Here we present a high-resolution LiDAR and hyperspectral dataset captured across a unique cluster of large rock avalanche source areas and deposits in the Vaigat straight, west central Greenland. Vaigat offers the unprecedented opportunity to model a sample of > 15 rock avalanches of various age sourced from an 80 km coastal escarpment. At Vaigat many of the key variables (topography, geology, post-glacial history) are held constant across all landslides providing the chance to investigate the variations in dynamics and emplacement style related to variable landslide volume, drop-heights, and thinning/spreading over relatively simple, unrestricted run-out zones both onto land and into water. Our data suggest that this region represents excellent preservation of landslide deposits, and hence is well suited to calibrate numerical models of run out dynamics. We use this data to aid the interpretation of deposit morphology, structure lithology and run-out characteristics in more complex settings. Uniquely, we are also able to calibrate our models using a far-field dataset of well-preserved tsunami run-up deposits, resulting from the 21

Quench propagation and quench detection in the TF system of JT-60SA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacroix, Benoit; Duchateau, Jean-Luc; Meuris, Chantal; Ciazynski, Daniel; Nicollet, Sylvie; Zani, Louis; Polli, Gian-Mario

2013-01-01

Highlights: • The JT-60SA primary quench detection system will be based on voltage measurements. • The early quench propagation was studied in the JT-60SA TF conductor. • The impact of the conductor jacket on the hot spot criterion was quantified. • The detection parameters were investigated for different quench initiations. -- Abstract: In the framework of the JT-60SA project, France and Italy will provide to JAEA 18 Toroidal Field (TF) coils including NbTi cable-in-conduit conductors. During the tokamak operation, these coils could experience a quench, an incidental event corresponding to the irreversible transition from superconducting state to normal resistive state. Starting from a localized disturbance, the normal zone propagates along the conductor and dissipates a large energy due to Joule heating, which can cause irreversible damages. The detection has to be fast enough (a few seconds) to trigger the current discharge, so as to dump the stored magnetic energy into an external resistor. The JT-60SA primary quench detection system will be based on voltage measurements, which are the most rapid technology. The features of the detection system must be adjusted so as to detect the most probable quenches, while avoiding inopportune fast safety discharges. This requires a reliable simulation of the early quench propagation, performed in this study with the Gandalf code. The conductor temperature reached during the current discharge must be kept under a maximal value, according to the hot spot criterion. In the present study, a hot spot criterion temperature of 150 K was taken into account and the role of each conductor component (strands, helium and conduit) was analyzed. The detection parameters were then investigated for different hypotheses regarding the quench initiation

A method to harness global crowd-sourced data to understand travel behavior in avalanche terrain.

Science.gov (United States)

Hendrikx, J.; Johnson, J.

2015-12-01

To date, most studies of the human dimensions of decision making in avalanche terrain has focused on two areas - post-accident analysis using accident reports/interviews and, the development of tools as decision forcing aids. We present an alternate method using crowd-sourced citizen science, for understanding decision-making in avalanche terrain. Our project combines real-time GPS tracking via a smartphone application, with internet based surveys of winter backcountry users as a method to describe and quantify travel practices in concert with group decision-making dynamics, and demographic data of participants during excursions. Effectively, we use the recorded GPS track taken within the landscape as an expression of the decision making processes and terrain usage by the group. Preliminary data analysis shows that individual experience levels, gender, avalanche hazard, and group composition all influence the ways in which people travel in avalanche terrain. Our results provide the first analysis of coupled real-time GPS tracking of the crowd while moving in avalanche terrain combined with psychographic and demographic correlates. This research will lead to an improved understanding of real-time decision making in avalanche terrain. In this paper we will specifically focus on the presentation of the methods used to solicit, and then harness the crowd to obtain data in a unique and innovative application of citizen science where the movements within the terrain are the desired output data (Figure 1). Figure 1: Example GPS tracks sourced from backcountry winter users in the Teton Pass area (Wyoming), from the 2014-15 winter season, where tracks in red represent those recorded as self-assessed experts (as per our survey), and where tracks in blue represent those recorded as self-assessed intermediates. All tracks shown were obtained under similar avalanche conditions. Statistical analysis of terrain metrics showed that the experts used steeper terrain than the

Gas sampling calorimeter studies in proportional, saturated avalanche, and streamer modes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atac, M.; Bedeschi, F.; Yoh, J.; Morse, R.; Procario, M.

1982-01-01

Recently, satisfactory new results were obtained at SLAC from gas sampling calorimeters running in the saturated avalanche mode within the energy range of 1.5 to 17.5 GeV. To study the higher energy behavior of this mode, more tests were carried out in the M4 beamline at Fermilab. This paper contains results obtained from the MAC prototype electromagnetic and hadronic calorimeters running in the proportional, saturated avalanche, and the streamer regions for energies between 12 and 150 GeV

Temperature Profiles During Quenches in LHC Superconducting Dipole Magnets Protected by Quench Heaters

OpenAIRE

Maroussov, V; Sanfilippo, S; Siemko, A

1999-01-01

The efficiency of the magnet protection by quench heaters was studied using a novel method which derives the temperature profile in a superconducting magnet during a quench from measured voltage signals. In several Large Hadron Collider single aperture dipole models, temperature profiles and temperature gradients in the magnet coil have been evaluated in the case of protection by different sets of quench heaters and different powering and protection parameters. The influence of the insulation...

Quench detection and behaviour in case of quench in the ITER magnet systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coatanea-Gouachet, M.

2012-02-01

The quench of one of the ITER magnet system is an irreversible transition from superconducting to normal resistive state, of a conductor. This normal zone propagates along the cable in conduit conductor dissipating a large power. The detection has to be fast enough to dump out the magnetic energy and avoid irreversible damage of the systems. The primary quench detection in ITER is based on voltage detection, which is the most rapid detection. The very magnetically disturbed environment during the plasma scenario makes the voltage detection particularly difficult, inducing large inductive components in the coils and voltage compensations have to be designed to discriminate the resistive voltage associated with the quench. A conceptual design of the quench detection based on voltage measurements is proposed for the three majors magnet systems of ITER. For this, a clear methodology was developed. It includes the classical hot spot criterion, the quench propagation study using the commercial code Gandalf and the careful estimation of the inductive disturbances by developing the TrapsAV code. Specific solutions have been proposed for the compensation in the three ITER magnet systems and for the quench detection parameters, which are the voltage threshold (in the range of 0.1 V - 0.55 V) and the holding time (in the range of 1-1.4 s). The selected values, in particular the holding time, are sufficiently high to ensure the reliability of the system and avoid fast safety discharges not induced by a quench, which is a classical problem. (author)

Athermal avalanche in bilayer superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verma, V. B., E-mail: verma@nist.gov; Lita, A. E.; Stevens, M. J.; Mirin, R. P.; Nam, S. W. [National Institute of Standards and Technology, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80305 (United States)

2016-03-28

We demonstrate that two superconducting nanowires separated by a thin insulating barrier can undergo an avalanche process. In this process, Joule heating caused by a photodetection event in one nanowire and the associated production of athermal phonons which are transmitted through the barrier cause the transition of the adjacent nanowire from the superconducting to the normal state. We show that this process can be utilized in the fabrication of superconducting nanowire single photon detectors to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, reduce system jitter, maximize device area, and increase the external efficiency over a very broad range of wavelengths. Furthermore, the avalanche mechanism may provide a path towards a superconducting logic element based on athermal gating.

Deciphering jet quenching with JEWEL

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2018-01-01

In heavy ion collisions jets arising from the fragmentation of hard quarks and gluons experience strong modifications due to final state re-scattering. This so-called jet quenching is related to the emergence of collectivity and equilibration in QCD. I will give an introduction to jet quenching and its modeling in JEWEL, a Monte Carlo implementation of a dynamical model for jet quenching. I will then discuss examples highlighting how JEWEL can be used to elucidate the physical mechanisms relevant for jet quenching.  

Oscillatory regime of avalanche particle detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukin, K.A.; Cerdeira, H.A.; Colavita, A.A.

1995-06-01

We describe the model of an avalanche high energy particle detector consisting of two pn-junctions, connected through an intrinsic semiconductor with a reverse biased voltage applied. We show that this detector is able to generate the oscillatory response on the single particle passage through the structure. The possibility of oscillations leading to chaotic behaviour is pointed out. (author). 15 refs, 7 figs

Smartphone applications for communicating avalanche risk information - a review of existing practices

Science.gov (United States)

Charrière, M. K. M.; Bogaard, T. A.

2015-11-01

Every year, in all mountainous regions, people are victims of avalanches. One way to decrease those losses is believed to be informing about danger levels. The paper presents a study on current practices in the development of smartphones applications that are dedicated to avalanche risk communication. The analysis based on semi-structured interviews with developers of smartphone apps highlights the context of their development, how choices of content and visualization were made as well as how their effectiveness is evaluated. It appears that although the communicators agree on the message to disseminate, its representation triggers debate. Moreover, only simple evaluation processes are conducted but there is a clear awareness that further scientific efforts are needed to analyze the effectiveness of the smartphone apps. Finally, the current or planned possibility for non-experts users to report feedback on the snow and avalanches conditions open the doors to a transition of these apps from one-way communication tools to two-ways communication platforms. This paper also indicates the remaining challenges that avalanche risk communication is facing, although it is disputably the most advanced and standardized practice compared to other natural hazards. Therefore, this research is of interest for the entire field of natural hazards related risk communication.

Study of an avalanche-mode resistive plate chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ying, J.; Ban, Y.; Liu, H.T.; Zhu, Z.M.; Zhu, Z.Y.; Chen, T.; Ma, J.G.; Ye, Y.L.

2000-01-01

Resistive plate chambers (RPCs) are widely used to detect high-energy charged particles, especially muons, due to the high gain, moderate time and spatial resolution, simple design and low cost of these detectors. While the simple streamer mode is adequate for cosmic-ray and low-rate accelerator experiments, the avalanche mode is required for high-rate experiments such as CMS at LHC. In this paper construction of a medium-sized double-gap RPC made of Chinese materials is reported. The experimental set-up of cosmic-ray and muon beam tests are introduced. The avalanche mode was clearly observed. Good efficiency and time resolution were obtained from the beam test at CERN under normal irradiation conditions. At very high radiation background the chamber efficiency decreases, indicating the necessity to change the resistivity value of the Chinese bakelites. (author)

Parameters of an avalanche of runaway electrons in air under atmospheric pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Oreshkin, E. V.

2018-01-01

The features of runaway-electron avalanches developing in air under atmospheric pressures are investigated in the framework of a three-dimensional numerical simulation. The simulation results indicate that an avalanche of this type can be characterized, besides the time and length of its exponential growth, by the propagation velocity and by the average kinetic energy of the runaway electrons. It is shown that these parameters obey the similarity laws applied to gas discharges.

Quenches in large superconducting magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eberhard, P.H.; Alston-Garnjost, M.; Green, M.A.; Lecomte, P.; Smits, R.G.; Taylor, J.D.; Vuillemin, V.

1977-08-01

The development of large high current density superconducting magnets requires an understanding of the quench process by which the magnet goes normal. A theory which describes the quench process in large superconducting magnets is presented and compared with experimental measurements. The use of a quench theory to improve the design of large high current density superconducting magnets is discussed

Universal Critical Dynamics in High Resolution Neuronal Avalanche Data

Science.gov (United States)

Friedman, Nir; Ito, Shinya; Brinkman, Braden A. W.; Shimono, Masanori; DeVille, R. E. Lee; Dahmen, Karin A.; Beggs, John M.; Butler, Thomas C.

2012-05-01

The tasks of neural computation are remarkably diverse. To function optimally, neuronal networks have been hypothesized to operate near a nonequilibrium critical point. However, experimental evidence for critical dynamics has been inconclusive. Here, we show that the dynamics of cultured cortical networks are critical. We analyze neuronal network data collected at the individual neuron level using the framework of nonequilibrium phase transitions. Among the most striking predictions confirmed is that the mean temporal profiles of avalanches of widely varying durations are quantitatively described by a single universal scaling function. We also show that the data have three additional features predicted by critical phenomena: approximate power law distributions of avalanche sizes and durations, samples in subcritical and supercritical phases, and scaling laws between anomalous exponents.

A micropixel avalanche phototransistor for time of flight measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sadigov, A., E-mail: saazik@yandex.ru [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan); Suleymanov, S. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan); Ahmadov, F. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Ahmadov, G. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Dubna (Russian Federation); Abdullayev, K. [National Aviation Academy, Baku (Azerbaijan); Akberov, R. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan); Heydarov, N. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan); Madatov, R. [Institute of Radiation Problems, Baku (Azerbaijan); Mukhtarov, R. [National Aviation Academy, Baku (Azerbaijan); Nazarov, M.; Valiyev, R. [National Nuclear Research Center, Baku (Azerbaijan)

2017-02-11

This paper presents results of studies of the silicon based new micropixel avalanche phototransistor (MAPT). MAPT is a modification of well-known silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs) and differs since each photosensitive pixel of the MAPT operates in Geiger mode and comprises an individual micro-transistor operating in binary mode. This provides a high amplitude single photoelectron signal with significantly shorter rise time. The obtained results are compared with appropriate parameters of known SiPMs. - Highlights: • A new photo detector – micropixel avalanche phototransistor was developed. • MAPT has a matrix of microtransistors with fast output. • In these modules the duration of the leading edge of the signal from the photodetectors are not worse than 50–100 ps.

Optical fibers and avalanche photodiodes for scintillator counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borenstein, S.R.; Palmer, R.B.; Strand, R.C.

1980-01-01

Fine hodoscopes can be made of new scintillating optical fibers and one half inch end-on PMT's. An avalanche photodiode with small size and immunity to magnetic fields remains as a tempting new device to be proven as a photodetector for the fibers

The Quench Action

Science.gov (United States)

Caux, Jean-Sébastien

2016-06-01

We give a pedagogical introduction to the methodology of the Quench Action, which is an effective representation for the calculation of time-dependent expectation values of physical operators following a generic out-of-equilibrium state preparation protocol (for example a quantum quench). The representation, originally introduced in Caux and Essler (2013 Phys. Rev. Lett. 110 257203), is founded on a mixture of exact data for overlaps together with variational reasonings. It is argued to be quite generally valid and thermodynamically exact for arbitrary times after the quench (from short times all the way up to the steady state), and applicable to a wide class of physically relevant observables. Here, we introduce the method and its language, give an overview of some recent results, suggest a roadmap and offer some perspectives on possible future research directions.

Characterization of midwave infrared InSb avalanche photodiode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abautret, J., E-mail: johan.abautret@ies.univ-montp2.fr; Evirgen, A. [Université Montpellier, IES, UMR 5214, F-34095 Montpellier (France); CNRS, IES, UMR 5214, F-34095 Montpellier (France); SOFRADIR, BP 21, 38113 Veurey-Voroize (France); Perez, J. P.; Christol, P. [Université Montpellier, IES, UMR 5214, F-34095 Montpellier (France); CNRS, IES, UMR 5214, F-34095 Montpellier (France); Rothman, J. [CEA-LETI, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France); Cordat, A. [SOFRADIR, BP 21, 38113 Veurey-Voroize (France)

2015-06-28

This paper focuses on the InSb material potential for the elaboration of Avalanche Photodiodes (APD) for high performance infrared imaging applications, both in passive or active mode. The first InSb electron-APD structure was grown by molecular beam epitaxy, processed and electrically characterized. The device performances are at the state of the art for the InSb epi-diode technology, with a dark current density J(−50 mV) = 32 nA/cm{sup 2} at 77 K. Then, a pure electron injection was performed, and an avalanche gain, increasing exponentially, was observed with a gain value near 3 at −4 V at 77 K. The Okuto–Crowell model was used to determine the electron ionization coefficient α(E) in InSb, and the InSb gain behavior is compared with the one of InAs and MCT APDs.

Quenching behaviour of hot zircaloy tube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chinchole, A.S.; Kulkarni, P.P.; Nayak, A.K.; Vijayan, P.K.

2015-01-01

The quenching process plays a very important role in case of safety of nuclear reactors. During large break Loss of Coolant Accident in a nuclear reactor, the cooling water from the system is lost. Under this condition, cold water is injected from emergency core cooling system. Quenching behaviour of such heated rod bundle is really complex. It is well known that nanofluids have better heat removal capability and high heat transfer coefficient owing to enhanced thermal properties. Alumina nano-particles result in better cooling abilities compared with the traditionally used quenching media. In this paper, the authors have carried out experiments on quenching behaviour of hot zircaloy tube with demineralized water and nanofluids. It was observed that, the tube got quenched within few seconds even with the presence of decay heat and shows slightly reduced quenching time compared with DM water. (author)

Positron camera with high-density avalanche chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manfrass, D.; Enghardt, W.; Fromm, W.D.; Wohlfarth, D.; Hennig, K.

1988-01-01

The results of an extensive investigation of the properties of high-density avalanche chambers (HIDAC) are presented. This study has been performed in order to optimize the layout of HIDAC detectors, since they are intended to be applied as position sensitive detectors for annihilation radiation in a positron emission tomograph being under construction. (author)

Developing an Experimental Simulation Method for Rock Avalanches: Fragmentation Behavior of Brittle Analogue Material

Science.gov (United States)

Thordén Haug, Øystein; Rosenau, Matthias; Leever, Karen; Oncken, Onno

2013-04-01

Gravitational mass movement on earth and other planets show a scale dependent behavior, of which the physics is not fully understood. In particular, the runout distance for small to medium sized landslides (volume dynamics control small and large landslides/rock avalanches. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this scale dependent behavior, but no consensus has been reached. Experimental simulations of rock avalanches usually involve transport of loose granular material down a chute. Though such granular avalanche models provide important insights into avalanche dynamics, they imply that the material fully disintegrate instantaneously. Observations from nature, however, suggests that a transition from solid to "liquid" occurs over some finite distance downhill, critically controlling the mobility and energy budget of the avalanche. Few experimental studies simulated more realistically the material failing during sliding and those were realized in a labscale centrifuge, where the range of volumes/scales is limited. To develop a new modeling technique to study the scale dependent runout behavior of rock avalanches, we designed, tested and verified several brittle materials allowing fragmentation to occur under normal gravity conditions. According to the model similarity theory, the analogue material must behave dynamically similar to the rocks in natural rock avalanches. Ideally, the material should therefore deform in a brittle manner with limited elastic and ductile strains up to a certain critical stress, beyond which the material breaks and deforms irreversibly. According to scaling relations derived from dimensional analysis and for a model-to-prototype length ratio of 1/1000, the appropriate yield strength for an analogue material is in the order of 10 kPa, friction coefficient around 0.8 and stiffness in the order of MPa. We used different sand (garnet, quartz) in combination with different matrix materials (sugar, salt, starch, plaster) to cement

Quench Simulation Studies: Program documentation of SPQR

CERN Document Server

Sonnemann, F

2001-01-01

Quench experiments are being performed on prototypes of the superconducting magnets and busbars to determine the adequate design and protection. Many tests can only be understood correctly with the help of quench simulations that model the thermo-hydraulic and electrodynamic processes during a quench. In some cases simulations are the only method to scale the experimental results of prototype measurements to match the situation of quenching superconducting elements in the LHC. This note introduces the theoretical quench model and the use of the simulation program SPQR (Simulation Program for Quench Research), which has been developed to compute the quench process in superconducting magnets and busbars. The model approximates the heat balance equation with the finite difference method including the temperature dependence of the material parameters. SPQR allows the simulation of longitudinal quench propagation along a superconducting cable, the transverse propagation between adjacent conductors, heat transfer i...

A new solver for granular avalanche simulation: Indoor experiment verification and field scale case study

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, XiaoLiang; Li, JiaChun

2017-12-01

A new solver based on the high-resolution scheme with novel treatments of source terms and interface capture for the Savage-Hutter model is developed to simulate granular avalanche flows. The capability to simulate flow spread and deposit processes is verified through indoor experiments of a two-dimensional granular avalanche. Parameter studies show that reduction in bed friction enhances runout efficiency, and that lower earth pressure restraints enlarge the deposit spread. The April 9, 2000, Yigong avalanche in Tibet, China, is simulated as a case study by this new solver. The predicted results, including evolution process, deposit spread, and hazard impacts, generally agree with site observations. It is concluded that the new solver for the Savage-Hutter equation provides a comprehensive software platform for granular avalanche simulation at both experimental and field scales. In particular, the solver can be a valuable tool for providing necessary information for hazard forecasts, disaster mitigation, and countermeasure decisions in mountainous areas.

Classical vs. evolved quenching parameters and procedures in scintillation measurements: The importance of ionization quenching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bagan, H.; Tarancon, A.; Rauret, G.; Garcia, J.F.

2008-01-01

The quenching parameters used to model detection efficiency variations in scintillation measurements have not evolved since the decade of 1970s. Meanwhile, computer capabilities have increased enormously and ionization quenching has appeared in practical measurements using plastic scintillation. This study compares the results obtained in activity quantification by plastic scintillation of 14 C samples that contain colour and ionization quenchers, using classical (SIS, SCR-limited, SCR-non-limited, SIS(ext), SQP(E)) and evolved (MWA-SCR and WDW) parameters and following three calibration approaches: single step, which does not take into account the quenching mechanism; two steps, which takes into account the quenching phenomena; and multivariate calibration. Two-step calibration (ionization followed by colour) yielded the lowest relative errors, which means that each quenching phenomenon must be specifically modelled. In addition, the sample activity was quantified more accurately when the evolved parameters were used. Multivariate calibration-PLS also yielded better results than those obtained using classical parameters, which confirms that the quenching phenomena must be taken into account. The detection limits for each calibration method and each parameter were close to those obtained theoretically using the Currie approach

Swedish skiers knowledge, experience and attitudes towards off-piste skiing and avalanches

OpenAIRE

Mårtensson, Stefan; Wikberg, Per-Olov; Palmgren, Petter

2013-01-01

The winter of 2012/2013 was the most accident-prone season in the Swedish avalanche history with a total of seven dead Swedes. In April 2013 the Swedish Mountain Safety Council initiated a web-based survey aimed towards Swedish skiers. The aim was to identify the target group's knowledge, experience and attitudes towards off-piste skiing and avalanches. Respondents were asked to answer a total of 28 questions. 1047 Swedish off-piste skiers answered, and we analysed them in more detail. The Sw...

Analysis of the snow-atmosphere energy balance during wet-snow instabilities and implications for avalanche prediction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. Mitterer

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Wet-snow avalanches are notoriously difficult to predict; their formation mechanism is poorly understood since in situ measurements representing the thermal and mechanical evolution are difficult to perform. Instead, air temperature is commonly used as a predictor variable for days with high wet-snow avalanche danger – often with limited success. As melt water is a major driver of wet-snow instability and snow melt depends on the energy input into the snow cover, we computed the energy balance for predicting periods with high wet-snow avalanche activity. The energy balance was partly measured and partly modelled for virtual slopes at different elevations for the aspects south and north using the 1-D snow cover model SNOWPACK. We used measured meteorological variables and computed energy balance and its components to compare wet-snow avalanche days to non-avalanche days for four consecutive winter seasons in the surroundings of Davos, Switzerland. Air temperature, the net shortwave radiation and the energy input integrated over 3 or 5 days showed best results in discriminating event from non-event days. Multivariate statistics, however, revealed that for better predicting avalanche days, information on the cold content of the snowpack is necessary. Wet-snow avalanche activity was closely related to periods when large parts of the snowpack reached an isothermal state (0 °C and energy input exceeded a maximum value of 200 kJ m⁻² in one day, or the 3-day sum of positive energy input was larger than 1.2 MJ m⁻². Prediction accuracy with measured meteorological variables was as good as with computed energy balance parameters, but simulated energy balance variables accounted better for different aspects, slopes and elevations than meteorological data.

Neuronal avalanches and learning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Arcangelis, Lucilla de, E-mail: dearcangelis@na.infn.it [Department of Information Engineering and CNISM, Second University of Naples, 81031 Aversa (Italy)

2011-05-01

Networks of living neurons represent one of the most fascinating systems of biology. If the physical and chemical mechanisms at the basis of the functioning of a single neuron are quite well understood, the collective behaviour of a system of many neurons is an extremely intriguing subject. Crucial ingredient of this complex behaviour is the plasticity property of the network, namely the capacity to adapt and evolve depending on the level of activity. This plastic ability is believed, nowadays, to be at the basis of learning and memory in real brains. Spontaneous neuronal activity has recently shown features in common to other complex systems. Experimental data have, in fact, shown that electrical information propagates in a cortex slice via an avalanche mode. These avalanches are characterized by a power law distribution for the size and duration, features found in other problems in the context of the physics of complex systems and successful models have been developed to describe their behaviour. In this contribution we discuss a statistical mechanical model for the complex activity in a neuronal network. The model implements the main physiological properties of living neurons and is able to reproduce recent experimental results. Then, we discuss the learning abilities of this neuronal network. Learning occurs via plastic adaptation of synaptic strengths by a non-uniform negative feedback mechanism. The system is able to learn all the tested rules, in particular the exclusive OR (XOR) and a random rule with three inputs. The learning dynamics exhibits universal features as function of the strength of plastic adaptation. Any rule could be learned provided that the plastic adaptation is sufficiently slow.

Neuronal avalanches and learning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arcangelis, Lucilla de

2011-01-01

Networks of living neurons represent one of the most fascinating systems of biology. If the physical and chemical mechanisms at the basis of the functioning of a single neuron are quite well understood, the collective behaviour of a system of many neurons is an extremely intriguing subject. Crucial ingredient of this complex behaviour is the plasticity property of the network, namely the capacity to adapt and evolve depending on the level of activity. This plastic ability is believed, nowadays, to be at the basis of learning and memory in real brains. Spontaneous neuronal activity has recently shown features in common to other complex systems. Experimental data have, in fact, shown that electrical information propagates in a cortex slice via an avalanche mode. These avalanches are characterized by a power law distribution for the size and duration, features found in other problems in the context of the physics of complex systems and successful models have been developed to describe their behaviour. In this contribution we discuss a statistical mechanical model for the complex activity in a neuronal network. The model implements the main physiological properties of living neurons and is able to reproduce recent experimental results. Then, we discuss the learning abilities of this neuronal network. Learning occurs via plastic adaptation of synaptic strengths by a non-uniform negative feedback mechanism. The system is able to learn all the tested rules, in particular the exclusive OR (XOR) and a random rule with three inputs. The learning dynamics exhibits universal features as function of the strength of plastic adaptation. Any rule could be learned provided that the plastic adaptation is sufficiently slow.

Recalculation of an artificially released avalanche with SAMOS and validation with measurements from a pulsed Doppler radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Sailer

2002-01-01

Full Text Available A joint experiment was carried out on 10 February 1999 by the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SFISAR and the Austrian Institute for Avalanche and Torrent Research (AIATR, of the Federal Office and Re-search Centre for Forests, BFW to measure forces and velocities at the full scale experimental site CRÊTA BESSE in VALLÉE DE LA SIONNE, Canton du Valais, Switzerland. A huge avalanche could be released artificially, which permitted extensive investigations (dynamic measurements, im-provement of measurement systems, simulation model verification, design of protective measures, etc.. The results of the velocity measurements from the dual frequency pulsed Doppler avalanche radar of the AIATR and the recalculation with the numerical simulation model SAMOS are explained in this paper.

Plasma simulation of electron avalanche in a linear thyratron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kushner, M.J.

1985-01-01

Thyratrons typically operate at sufficiently small PD (pressure x electrode separation) that holdoff is obtained by operating on the near side of the Paschen curve, and by shielding the slot in the control grid so there is no straight line path for electrons to reach the anode from the cathode. Electron avalanche is initiated by pulsing the control grid to a high voltage. Upon collapse of voltage in the cathode-control grid space, the discharge is sustained by penetration of potential through the control grid slot into the cathode-control grid region. To better understand the electron avalanche process in multi-grid and slotted structures such as thyratrons, a plasma simulation code has been constructed. This effort is in support of a companion program in which a linear thyratron is being electrically and spectroscopically characterized

Rapid Quench in an Electrostatic Levitator

Science.gov (United States)

SanSoucie, Michael P.; Rogers, Jan R.; Matson, Douglas M.

2016-01-01

The Electrostatic Levitation (ESL) Laboratory at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) is a unique facility for investigators studying high-temperature materials. The ESL laboratory's main chamber has been upgraded with the addition of a rapid quench system. This system allows samples to be dropped into a quench vessel that can be filled with a low melting point material, such as a gallium or indium alloy, as a quench medium. Thereby allowing rapid quenching of undercooled liquid metals. Up to eight quench vessels can be loaded into a wheel inside the chamber that is indexed with control software. The system has been tested successfully with samples of zirconium, iron-cobalt alloys, titanium-zirconium-nickel alloys, and a silicon-cobalt alloy. This new rapid quench system will allow materials science studies of undercooled materials and new materials development. In this presentation, the system is described and some initial results are presented.

MSFC Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) Rapid Quench System

Science.gov (United States)

SanSoucie, Michael P.; Craven, Paul D.; Rogers, Jan R.

2014-01-01

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) Laboratory is a unique facility for investigators studying high-temperature materials. The laboratory boasts two levitators in which samples can be levitated, heated, melted, undercooled, and resolidified, all without the interference of a container or data-gathering instrument. The ESL main chamber has been upgraded with the addition of a rapid quench system. This system allows samples to be dropped into a quench vessel that can be filled with a low melting point material, such as a gallium or indium alloy. Thereby allowing rapid quenching of undercooled liquid metals. Up to 8 quench vessels can be loaded into the quench wheel, which is indexed with LabVIEW control software. This allows up to 8 samples to be rapidly quenched before having to open the chamber. The system has been tested successfully on several zirconium samples. Future work will be done with other materials using different quench mediums. Microstructural analysis will also be done on successfully quench samples.

Concentration quenching in Nd-doped glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stokowski, S.E.; Cook, L.; Mueller, H.; Weber, M.J.

1984-01-01

Fluorescence from trivalent Nd in solids is unfortunately quenched by interactions between Nd ions. Thus, laser materials with high Nd concentrations have reduced efficiencies because of this self-quenching, also known as concentration quenching. Nd self-quenching in different crystals and glasses varies considerably. We are therefore investigating this effect in a large number of materials in an effort to: (1) find those materials with long Nd fluorescent lifetimes at high Nd concentrations; and (2) elucidate the basic mechanisms of quenching and how the material structure controls its magnitude. We have concentrated on Nd-doped glasses because they provide a rich variety of structures, albeit complicated by Nd site inhomogeneities, and are easily and quickly made

Application of Best Estimate Approach for Modelling of QUENCH-03 and QUENCH-06 Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadas Kaliatka

2016-04-01

In this article, the QUENCH-03 and QUENCH-06 experiments are modelled using ASTEC and RELAP/SCDAPSIM codes. For the uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, SUSA3.5 and SUNSET tools were used. The article demonstrates that applying the best estimate approach, it is possible to develop basic QUENCH input deck and to develop the two sets of input parameters, covering maximal and minimal ranges of uncertainties. These allow simulating different (but with the same nature tests, receiving calculation results with the evaluated range of uncertainties.

Quenching and recovery experiments on molybdenum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwirtlich, I.A.; Schultz, H.; Max-Planck-Institut fuer Metallforschung, Stuttgart

1980-01-01

Quenching experiments in superfluid helium have been performed on high-purity wire specimens obtained from a Mo single crystal with a residual resistance ratio of 40 000. Quenching from various temperatures near the melting point to 1.5 K resulted in quenched-in resistivities which are interpreted in terms of quenched-in vacancies. The following parameters were derived: Hsub(1V)sup(F) = 3.2 eV (formation enthalpy of monovacancies) and Ssub(1V)sup(F) = 1.5 k (formation entropy). The recovery of the quenched-in resistivity showed a recovery stage at 520 K, which is compatible with a migration enthalpy of Hsub(1V)sup(M) = 1.35 eV. The results are compared with recently published positron annihilation data. (author)

Environmental Quenching of Low-Mass Field Galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Fillingham, Sean P.; Cooper, Michael C.; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Bullock, James S.; Garrison-Kimmel, Shea; Wheeler, Coral

2018-04-01

In the local Universe, there is a strong division in the star-forming properties of low-mass galaxies, with star formation largely ubiquitous amongst the field population while satellite systems are predominantly quenched. This dichotomy implies that environmental processes play the dominant role in suppressing star formation within this low-mass regime (M⋆ ˜ 105.5 - 8 M⊙). As shown by observations of the Local Volume, however, there is a non-negligible population of passive systems in the field, which challenges our understanding of quenching at low masses. By applying the satellite quenching models of Fillingham et al. (2015) to subhalo populations in the Exploring the Local Volume In Simulations (ELVIS) suite, we investigate the role of environmental processes in quenching star formation within the nearby field. Using model parameters that reproduce the satellite quenched fraction in the Local Group, we predict a quenched fraction - due solely to environmental effects - of ˜0.52 ± 0.26 within 1 systems observed at these distances are quenched via environmental mechanisms. Beyond 2 Rvir, however, dwarf galaxy quenching becomes difficult to explain through an interaction with either the Milky Way or M31, such that more isolated, field dwarfs may be self-quenched as a result of star-formation feedback.

Single-Photon-Sensitive HgCdTe Avalanche Photodiode Detector

Science.gov (United States)

Huntington, Andrew

2013-01-01

The purpose of this program was to develop single-photon-sensitive short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) and mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) avalanche photodiode (APD) receivers based on linear-mode HgCdTe APDs, for application by NASA in light detection and ranging (lidar) sensors. Linear-mode photon-counting APDs are desired for lidar because they have a shorter pixel dead time than Geiger APDs, and can detect sequential pulse returns from multiple objects that are closely spaced in range. Linear-mode APDs can also measure photon number, which Geiger APDs cannot, adding an extra dimension to lidar scene data for multi-photon returns. High-gain APDs with low multiplication noise are required for efficient linear-mode detection of single photons because of APD gain statistics -- a low-excess-noise APD will generate detectible current pulses from single photon input at a much higher rate of occurrence than will a noisy APD operated at the same average gain. MWIR and LWIR electron-avalanche HgCdTe APDs have been shown to operate in linear mode at high average avalanche gain (M > 1000) without excess multiplication noise (F = 1), and are therefore very good candidates for linear-mode photon counting. However, detectors fashioned from these narrow-bandgap alloys require aggressive cooling to control thermal dark current. Wider-bandgap SWIR HgCdTe APDs were investigated in this program as a strategy to reduce detector cooling requirements.

Stability of the discretization of the electron avalanche phenomenon

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Villa, Andrea, E-mail: andrea.villa@rse-web.it [Ricerca Sul Sistema Energetico (RSE), Via Rubattino 50, 20134, Milano (Italy); Barbieri, Luca, E-mail: luca.barbieri@rse-web.it [Ricerca Sul Sistema Energetico (RSE), Via Rubattino 50, 20134, Milano (Italy); Gondola, Marco, E-mail: marco.gondola@rse-web.it [Ricerca Sul Sistema Energetico (RSE), Via Rubattino 50, 20134, Milano (Italy); Leon-Garzon, Andres R., E-mail: andresricardo.leon@polimi.it [CMIC Department “Giulio Natta”, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci 32, 20133, Milano (Italy); Malgesini, Roberto, E-mail: roberto.malgesini@rse-web.it [Ricerca Sul Sistema Energetico (RSE), Via Rubattino 50, 20134, Milano (Italy)

2015-09-01

The numerical simulation of the discharge inception is an active field of applied physics with many industrial applications. In this work we focus on the drift-reaction equation that describes the electron avalanche. This phenomenon is one of the basic building blocks of the streamer model. The main difficulty of the electron avalanche equation lies in the fact that the reaction term is positive when a high electric field is applied. It leads to exponentially growing solutions and this has a major impact on the behavior of numerical schemes. We analyze the stability of a reference finite volume scheme applied to this latter problem. The stability of the method may impose a strict mesh spacing, therefore a proper stabilized scheme, which is stable whatever spacing is used, has been developed. The convergence of the scheme is treated as well as some numerical experiments.

Network dynamics in nociceptive pathways assessed by the neuronal avalanche model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wu José

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Traditional electroencephalography provides a critical assessment of pain responses. The perception of pain, however, may involve a series of signal transmission pathways in higher cortical function. Recent studies have shown that a mathematical method, the neuronal avalanche model, may be applied to evaluate higher-order network dynamics. The neuronal avalanche is a cascade of neuronal activity, the size distribution of which can be approximated by a power law relationship manifested by the slope of a straight line (i.e., the α value. We investigated whether the neuronal avalanche could be a useful index for nociceptive assessment. Findings Neuronal activity was recorded with a 4 × 8 multichannel electrode array in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1 and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC. Under light anesthesia, peripheral pinch stimulation increased the slope of the α value in both the ACC and S1, whereas brush stimulation increased the α value only in the S1. The increase in α values was blocked in both regions under deep anesthesia. The increase in α values in the ACC induced by peripheral pinch stimulation was blocked by medial thalamic lesion, but the increase in α values in the S1 induced by brush and pinch stimulation was not affected. Conclusions The neuronal avalanche model shows a critical state in the cortical network for noxious-related signal processing. The α value may provide an index of brain network activity that distinguishes the responses to somatic stimuli from the control state. These network dynamics may be valuable for the evaluation of acute nociceptive processes and may be applied to chronic pathological pain conditions.

Low Gain Avalanche Detectors (LGAD) for particle physics and synchrotron applications

Science.gov (United States)

Moffat, N.; Bates, R.; Bullough, M.; Flores, L.; Maneuski, D.; Simon, L.; Tartoni, N.; Doherty, F.; Ashby, J.

2018-03-01

A new avalanche silicon detector concept is introduced with a low gain in the region of ten, known as a Low Gain Avalanche Detector, LGAD. The detector's characteristics are simulated via a full process simulation to obtain the required doping profiles which demonstrate the desired operational characteristics of high breakdown voltage (500 V) and a gain of 10 at 200 V reverse bias for X-ray detection. The first low gain avalanche detectors fabricated by Micron Semiconductor Ltd are presented. The doping profiles of the multiplication junctions were measured with SIMS and reproduced by simulating the full fabrication process which enabled further development of the manufacturing process. The detectors are 300 μm thick p-type silicon with a resistivity of 8.5 kΩcm, which fully depletes at 116 V. The current characteristics are presented and demonstrate breakdown voltages in excess of 500 V and a current density of 40 to 100 nAcm‑2 before breakdown measured at 20oC. The gain of the LGAD has been measured with a red laser (660 nm) and shown to be between 9 and 12 for an external bias voltage range from 150 V to 300 V.

Assessing the value of real-time snow and avalanche information

Science.gov (United States)

Zeidler, Antonia; Adams, Marc; Schuster, Martin; Berner, Martin; Nagy, Wilhelm

2017-04-01

This poster presentation shows first results from a pilot study on exploring the possibilities of using existing and new information and communication technologies (ICT) for snow and avalanche assessments. Today, ICT solutions allow the utilisation of information at a high spatiotemporal resolution, due to the widespread availability of internet access, high computing power and affordable mobile devices. Therefore, there is an increasing request for up to date information on snow and avalanche decision-making. However, there are challenges that need to be addressed from different view points. These include topics in the field of technological feasibility of providing a stable network, exchanging trustworthy information and motivation of experts to participate. This contribution discusses the lessons-learnt, from the establishment of a platform to the user-experience.

The mass dependence of dwarf satellite galaxy quenching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Slater, Colin T.; Bell, Eric F.

2014-01-01

We combine observations of the Local Group with data from the NASA-Sloan Atlas to show the variation in the quenched fraction of satellite galaxies from low-mass dwarf spheroidals and dwarf irregulars to more massive dwarfs similar to the Magellanic Clouds. While almost all of the low-mass (M * ≲ 10 7 M ☉ ) dwarfs are quenched, at higher masses the quenched fraction decreases to approximately 40%-50%. This change in the quenched fraction is large and suggests a sudden change in the effectiveness of quenching that correlates with satellite mass. We combine this observation with models of satellite infall and ram pressure stripping to show that the low-mass satellites must quench within 1-2 Gyr of pericenter passage to maintain a high quenched fraction, but that many more massive dwarfs must continue to form stars today even though they likely fell into their host >5 Gyr ago. We also characterize how the susceptibility of dwarfs to ram pressure must vary as a function of mass if it is to account for the change in quenched fractions. Though neither model predicts the quenching effectiveness a priori, this modeling illustrates the physical requirements that the observed quenched fractions place on possible quenching mechanisms.

Investigation of the performance of alpha particle counting and alpha-gamma discrimination by pulse shape with micro-pixel avalanche photodiode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ahmadov, G.; Madatov, R.; Sadigov, A.; Sadygov, Z.; Jafarova, E.; Ahmadov, G.; Sadygov, Z.; Olshevski, A.; Zerrouk, F.; Mukhtarov, R.

2015-01-01

Being capable measuring small lights gives possibility to use micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes with scintillators. It is shown two prototypes to use micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes with and without scintillators as alpha and gamma counters in this paper. First prototype is to use two micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes. One for detecting alpha particles and closer to it, the second one with a thin plastic scintillator for detecting gamma rays. Second prototype is called two-layers configuration in which it is used only one micro-pixel avalanche photodiode, but two scntillators with different decay times. One can distinquish alpha particle and gamma ray events by using pulse shape discrimination techniques in the two-layer configuration. In this work an alpha particle and gamma ray counting performance of micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes without scintillators and its combination of plastic and BGO+ plastic scintillators was investigated. Obtained results showed the detection performance of the micro-pixel avalanche photodiodes in combination with plastic scintillator was about the same as conventional semiconductor detectors

Avalanches of Singing Sand in the Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Dagois-Bohy, Simon; Courrech Du Pont, Sylvain; Douady, Stéphane

2011-03-01

The song of dunes is a natural phenomenon that has arisen travellers' curiosity for a long time, from Marco Polo to R.A. Bagnold. Scientific observations in the XXth century have shown that the sound is emitted during a shear flow of these particular grains, the free surface of the flow having coherent vibrations like a loud speaker. The sound emission is also submitted to a threshold effect with many parameters like humidity, flow speed, surface of the grains. The sound has been reproduced in laboratory avalanche experiments close to the natural phenomenon on field, but set in a channel with a hard bottom and a few centimeters of sand flowing, which contradicts explanations of the sound that involve a sand dune under the avalanche flow. Flow rates measurements also show the presence of a plug region in the flow above the sheared band, with the same characteristic length as the coherence zones of the sound. Finally we show experimentally that the Froude number, once modified to take into account the height of this plug band, is the parameter that sets the amplitude of the sound, and produces a threshold that depends on the grain type.

Townsend coefficients of gases in avalanche counters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brunner, G.

1978-01-01

Though much work has been done by many authors in the last few years in the development and application of avalanche counters for ion radiation, it is based upon values of the Townsend coefficients as the essential gas parameter, which were determined many years ago for much lower reduced field strengths F/p than prevail in such counters. Therefore absolute determinations of α in vapours of methyl alcohol, cyclohexane, acetone, and n-heptene were performed under original conditions of avalanche counters. The values obtained do not differ by more than 30%-50% from the former values indeed, extrapolated over F/p for the first three mentioned substances, but the amounts of A and B in the usual representation α/p=A exp(-B(F/p)) are much greater for the stronger reduced fields. This is of importance for such counter properties as the dependence of pulse heights on pressure, voltage, electrode distance etc., which are governed by other combinations of A and B than α/p itself. A comparison of results for different ionic radiations shows a marked influence of the primary ionization density along the particle tracks which is hard to explain. (Auth.)

X-ray imaging with amorphous selenium: Pulse height measurements of avalanche gain fluctuations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lui, Brian J. M.; Hunt, D. C.; Reznik, A.; Tanioka, K.; Rowlands, J. A.

2006-01-01

Avalanche multiplication in amorphous selenium (a-Se) can provide a large, adjustable gain for active matrix flat panel imagers (AMFPI), enabling quantum noise limited x-ray imaging during both radiography and fluoroscopy. In the case of direct conversion AMFPI, the multiplication factor for each x ray is a function of its depth of interaction, and the resulting variations in gain can reduce the detective quantum efficiency (DQE) of the system. An experimental method was developed to measure gain fluctuations by analyzing images of individual x rays that were obtained using a video camera with an a-Se target operated in avalanche mode. Pulse height spectra (PHS) of the charge produced per x ray were recorded for monoenergetic 30.9, 49.4, and 73.8 keV x-ray sources. The rapid initial decay and long tail of each PHS can be explained by a model in which positive charge dominates the initiation of avalanche. The Swank information factor quantifies the effect of gain fluctuation on DQE and was calculated from the PHS. The information factor was found to be 0.5 for a 25 μm a-Se layer with a maximum gain of ∼300. Changing the energy of the incident x ray influenced the range of the primary photoelectron and noticeably affected the tail of the experimental PHS, but did not significantly change the avalanche Swank factor

Avalanche weak layer shear fracture parameters from the cohesive crack model

Science.gov (United States)

McClung, David

2014-05-01

Dry slab avalanches release by mode II shear fracture within thin weak layers under cohesive snow slabs. The important fracture parameters include: nominal shear strength, mode II fracture toughness and mode II fracture energy. Alpine snow is not an elastic material unless the rate of deformation is very high. For natural avalanche release, it would not be possible that the fracture parameters can be considered as from classical fracture mechanics from an elastic framework. The strong rate dependence of alpine snow implies that it is a quasi-brittle material (Bažant et al., 2003) with an important size effect on nominal shear strength. Further, the rate of deformation for release of an avalanche is unknown, so it is not possible to calculate the fracture parameters for avalanche release from any model which requires the effective elastic modulus. The cohesive crack model does not require the modulus to be known to estimate the fracture energy. In this paper, the cohesive crack model was used to calculate the mode II fracture energy as a function of a brittleness number and nominal shear strength values calculated from slab avalanche fracture line data (60 with natural triggers; 191 with a mix of triggers). The brittleness number models the ratio of the approximate peak value of shear strength to nominal shear strength. A high brittleness number (> 10) represents large size relative to fracture process zone (FPZ) size and the implications of LEFM (Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics). A low brittleness number (e.g. 0.1) represents small sample size and primarily plastic response. An intermediate value (e.g. 5) implies non-linear fracture mechanics with intermediate relative size. The calculations also implied effective values for the modulus and the critical shear fracture toughness as functions of the brittleness number. The results showed that the effective mode II fracture energy may vary by two orders of magnitude for alpine snow with median values ranging from 0

The production and confinement of runaway electrons with impurity ''killer'' pellets in DIII-D

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, T.E.; Taylor, P.L.; Whyte, D.G.

1998-12-01

Prompt runaway electron bursts, generated by rapidly cooling DIII-D plasmas with argon killer pellets, are used to test a recent knock-on avalanche theory describing the growth of multi-MeV runaway electron currents during disruptions in tokamaks. Runaway current amplitudes, observed during some but not all DIII-D current quenches, are consistent with growth rates predicted by the theory assuming a pre-current quench runaway electron density of approximately 10 15 m -3 . Argon killer pellet modeling yields runaway densities of between 10 15 --10 16 m -3 in these discharges. Although knock-on avalanching appears to agree rather well with the measurements, relatively small avalanche amplification factors combined with uncertainties in the spatial distribution of pellet mass and cooling rates make it difficult to unambiguously confirm the proposed theory with existing data

Quench simulation of SMES consisting of some superconducting coils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noguchi, S.; Oga, Y.; Igarashi, H.

2011-01-01

A chain of quenches may be caused by a quench of one element coil when SMES is consists of many element coils. To avoid the chain of quenches, the energy stored in element coil has to be quickly discharged. The cause of the chain of the quenches is the short time constant of the decreasing current of the quenched coil. In recent years, many HTS superconducting magnetic energy storage (HTS-SMES) systems are investigated and designed. They usually consist of some superconducting element coils due to storing excessively high energy. If one of them was quenched, the storage energy of the superconducting element coil quenched has to be immediately dispersed to protect the HTS-SMES system. As the result, the current of the other element coils, which do not reach to quench, increases since the magnetic coupling between the quenched element coil and the others are excessively strong. The increase of the current may cause the quench of the other element coils. If the energy dispersion of the element coil quenched was failed, the other superconducting element coil would be quenched in series. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the behavior of the HTS-SMES after quenching one or more element coils. To protect a chain of quenches, it is also important to investigate the time constant of the coils. We have developed a simulation code to investigate the behavior of the HTS-SMES. By the quench simulation, it is indicated that a chain of quenches is caused by a quench of one element coil.

Error diagrams and temporal correlations in a fracture model with characteristic and power-law distributed avalanches

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moreno, Y.; Vázquez-Prada, M.; Pacheco, A.F.

2003-01-01

to the heterogeneity of the system. In one regime, a characteristic event is observed while for the second regime a power-law spectrum of avalanches is obtained reminiscent of self-organized criticality. We find that both regimes are different when predicting large avalanches and that, in the second regime...

Quenching reactions of electronically excited atoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Setser, D.W.

2001-01-01

The two-body, thermal quenching reactions of electronically excited atoms are reviewed using excited states of Ar, Kr, and Xe atoms as examples. State-specific interstate relaxation and excitation-transfer reactions with atomic colliders are discussed first. These results then are used to discuss quenching reactions of excited-state atoms with diatomic and polyatomic molecules, the latter have large cross sections, and the reactions can proceed by excitation transfer and by reactive quenching. Excited states of molecules are not considered; however, a table of quenching rate constants is given for six excited-state molecules in an appendix

Emplacement mechanisms of contrasting debris avalanches at Volcán Mombacho (Nicaragua), provided by structural and facies analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Shea, Thomas; van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin; Pilato, Martín

2008-07-01

We study the lithology, structure, and emplacement of two debris-avalanche deposits (DADs) with contrasting origins and materials from the Quaternary-Holocene Mombacho Volcano, Nicaragua. A clear comparison is possible because both DADs were emplaced onto similar nearly flat (3° slope) topography with no apparent barrier to transport. This lack of confinement allows us to study, in nature, the perfect case scenario of a freely spreading avalanche. In addition, there is good evidence that no substratum was incorporated in the events during flow, so facies changes are related only to internal dynamics. Mombacho shows evidence of at least three large flank collapses, producing the two well-preserved debris avalanches of this study; one on its northern flank, “Las Isletas,” directed northeast, and the other on its southern flank, “El Crater,” directed south. Other south-eastern features indicate that the debris-avalanche corresponding to the third collapse (La Danta) occurred before Las Isletas and El Crater events. The materials involved in each event were similar, except in their alteration state and in the amount of substrata initially included in the collapse. While “El Crater” avalanche shows no signs of substratum involvement and has characteristics of a hydrothermal weakening-related collapse, the “Las Isletas” avalanche involves significant substratum and was generated by gravity spreading-related failure. The latter avalanche may have interacted with Lake Nicaragua during transport, in which case its run-out could have been modified. Through a detailed morphological and structural description of the Mombacho avalanches, we provide two contrasting examples of non-eruptive volcanic flank collapse. We show that, remarkably, even with two distinct collapse mechanisms, the debris avalanches developed the same gross stratigraphy of a coarse layer above a fine layer. This fine layer provided a low friction basal slide layer. Whereas DAD layering and

Quench/reflood modeling in MELCOR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gauntt, R.O.

2001-01-01

The authors describe the reactor accident simulation model MELCOR. It comprises hydrodynamic investigations on reactor core quenching, hydrogen generation in the reactor core vessel, quench front advances. Preliminary comparisons to data are reasonable but need further validation. (uke)

Meshfree simulation of avalanches with the Finite Pointset Method (FPM)

Science.gov (United States)

Michel, Isabel; Kuhnert, Jörg; Kolymbas, Dimitrios

2017-04-01

Meshfree methods are the numerical method of choice in case of applications which are characterized by strong deformations in conjunction with free surfaces or phase boundaries. In the past the meshfree Finite Pointset Method (FPM) developed by Fraunhofer ITWM (Kaiserslautern, Germany) has been successfully applied to problems in computational fluid dynamics such as water crossing of cars, water turbines, and hydraulic valves. Most recently the simulation of granular flows, e.g. soil interaction with cars (rollover), has also been tackled. This advancement is the basis for the simulation of avalanches. Due to the generalized finite difference formulation in FPM, the implementation of different material models is quite simple. We will demonstrate 3D simulations of avalanches based on the Drucker-Prager yield criterion as well as the nonlinear barodesy model. The barodesy model (Division of Geotechnical and Tunnel Engineering, University of Innsbruck, Austria) describes the mechanical behavior of soil by an evolution equation for the stress tensor. The key feature of successful and realistic simulations of avalanches - apart from the numerical approximation of the occurring differential operators - is the choice of the boundary conditions (slip, no-slip, friction) between the different phases of the flow as well as the geometry. We will discuss their influences for simplified one- and two-phase flow examples. This research is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and the FWF Austrian Science Fund.

Silicon avalanche photodiodes on the base of metal-resistor-semiconductor (MRS) structures

CERN Document Server

Saveliev, V

2000-01-01

The development of a high quantum efficiency, fast photodetector, with internal gain amplification for the wavelength range 450-600 nm is one of the critical issues for experimental physics - registration of low-intensity light photons flux. The new structure of Silicon Avalanche Detectors with high internal amplification (10 sup 5 -10 sup 6) has been designed, manufactured and tested for registration of visible light photons and charge particles. The main features of Metal-Resistor-Semiconductor (MRS) structures are the high charge multiplication in nonuniform electric field near the 'needle' pn-junction and negative feedback for stabilization of avalanche process due to resistive layer.

40 CFR 1065.675 - CLD quench verification calculations.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 40 Protection of Environment 32 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false CLD quench verification calculations... POLLUTION CONTROLS ENGINE-TESTING PROCEDURES Calculations and Data Requirements § 1065.675 CLD quench verification calculations. Perform CLD quench-check calculations as follows: (a) Perform a CLD analyzer quench...

Martian Dust Devil Electron Avalanche Process and Associated Electrochemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Telana L.; Farrell, William M.; Delory, Gregory T.; Nithianandam, Jeyasingh

2010-01-01

Mars' dynamic atmosphere displays localized dust devils and larger, global dust storms. Based on terrestrial analog studies, electrostatic modeling, and laboratory work these features will contain large electrostatic fields formed via triboelectric processes. In the low-pressure Martian atmosphere, these fields may create an electron avalanche and collisional plasma due to an increase in electron density driven by the internal electrical forces. To test the hypothesis that an electron avalanche is sustained under these conditions, a self-consistent atmospheric process model is created including electron impact ionization sources and electron losses via dust absorption, electron dissociation attachment, and electron/ion recombination. This new model is called the Dust Devil Electron Avalanche Model (DDEAM). This model solves simultaneously nine continuity equations describing the evolution of the primary gaseous chemical species involved in the electrochemistry. DDEAM monitors the evolution of the electrons and primary gas constituents, including electron/water interactions. We especially focus on electron dynamics and follow the electrons as they evolve in the E field driven collisional gas. When sources and losses are self-consistently included in the electron continuity equation, the electron density grows exponentially with increasing electric field, reaching an equilibrium that forms a sustained time-stable collisional plasma. However, the character of this plasma differs depending upon the assumed growth rate saturation process (chemical saturation versus space charge). DDEAM also shows the possibility of the loss of atmospheric methane as a function of electric field due to electron dissociative attachment of the hydrocarbon. The methane destruction rates are presented and can be included in other larger atmospheric models.

Early Holocene (8.6 ka) rock avalanche deposits, Obernberg valley (Eastern Alps): Landform interpretation and kinematics of rapid mass movement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ostermann, Marc; Sanders, Diethard; Ivy-Ochs, Susan; Alfimov, Vasily; Rockenschaub, Manfred; Römer, Alexander

2012-10-15

In the Obernberg valley, the Eastern Alps, landforms recently interpreted as moraines are re-interpreted as rock avalanche deposits. The catastrophic slope failure involved an initial rock volume of about 45 million m³, with a runout of 7.2 km over a total vertical distance of 1330 m (fahrböschung 10°). 36 Cl surface-exposure dating of boulders of the avalanche mass indicates an event age of 8.6 ± 0.6 ka. A 14 C age of 7785 ± 190 cal yr BP of a palaeosoil within an alluvial fan downlapping the rock avalanche is consistent with the event age. The distal 2 km of the rock-avalanche deposit is characterized by a highly regular array of transverse ridges that were previously interpreted as terminal moraines of Late-Glacial. 'Jigsaw-puzzle structure' of gravel to boulder-size clasts in the ridges and a matrix of cataclastic gouge indicate a rock avalanche origin. For a wide altitude range the avalanche deposit is preserved, and the event age of mass-wasting precludes both runout over glacial ice and subsequent glacial overprint. The regularly arrayed transverse ridges thus were formed during freezing of the rock avalanche deposits.

Avalanches and generalized memory associativity in a network model for conscious and unconscious mental functioning

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, Maheen; Wedemann, Roseli S.; Jensen, Henrik Jeldtoft

2018-01-01

We explore statistical characteristics of avalanches associated with the dynamics of a complex-network model, where two modules corresponding to sensorial and symbolic memories interact, representing unconscious and conscious mental processes. The model illustrates Freud's ideas regarding the neuroses and that consciousness is related with symbolic and linguistic memory activity in the brain. It incorporates the Stariolo-Tsallis generalization of the Boltzmann Machine in order to model memory retrieval and associativity. In the present work, we define and measure avalanche size distributions during memory retrieval, in order to gain insight regarding basic aspects of the functioning of these complex networks. The avalanche sizes defined for our model should be related to the time consumed and also to the size of the neuronal region which is activated, during memory retrieval. This allows the qualitative comparison of the behaviour of the distribution of cluster sizes, obtained during fMRI measurements of the propagation of signals in the brain, with the distribution of avalanche sizes obtained in our simulation experiments. This comparison corroborates the indication that the Nonextensive Statistical Mechanics formalism may indeed be more well suited to model the complex networks which constitute brain and mental structure.

Quench propagation in the SSC dipole magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, G.; Snitchler, G.

1990-09-01

The effects of quench propagation are modeled in 40mm and 50mm diameter collider dipole magnet designs. A comparative study of the cold diode (passive) and quench heater (active) protection schemes will be presented. The SSCQ modeling program accurately simulates the axial quench velocity and uses phenomenological time delays for turn-to-turn transverse propagation. The axial quench velocity is field dependent and consequently, each conductor's quench profile is tracked separately. No symmetry constraints are employed and the distribution of the temperatures along the conductor differs from the adiabatic approximation. A single magnet has a wide margin of self protection which suggests that passive protection schemes must be considered. 6 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

Quenched chiral logarithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharpe, S.R.

1992-04-01

I develop a diagrammatic method for calculating chiral logarithms in the quenched approximation. While not rigorous, the method is based on physically reasonable assumptions, which can be tested by numerical simulations. The main results are that, at leading order in the chiral expansion, (a) there are no chiral logarithms in quenched f π m u = m d ; (b) the chiral logarithms in B K and related kaon B-parameters are, for m d = m s the same in the quenched approximation as in the full theory (c) for m π and the condensate, there are extra chiral logarithms due to loops containing the η', which lead to a peculiar non-analytic dependence of these quantities on the bare quark mass. Following the work of Gasser and Leutwyler, I discuss how there is a predictable finite volume dependence associated with each chiral logarithm. I compare the resulting predictions with numerical results: for most quantities the expected volume dependence is smaller than the errors. but for B V and B A there is an observed dependence which is consistent with the predictions

First characterisation of the "Rumi-Pana" rock avalanche deposits (Famatina Range, La Rioja, Argentina)

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago Pullarello, José; Derron, Marc-Henri; Penna, Ivanna; Leiva, Alicia; Jaboyadoff, Michel

2017-04-01

Active mountain fronts are subject to large scale slope collapses which have the capacity to run long distances on piedmont areas. Along time, fluvial activity and other gravitatory processes can intensively erode and mask primary features related to the collapses. Therefore, to reconstruct the history of their occurrence, further analyses are needed, e.g. sedimentologic analyses. This work focuses on the occurrence of large rock avalanches in the Vinchina region, La Rioja (28°43'27.81'' S / 68°00'25.42'' W) on the western side of the Famatina range(Argentina). Here, photointerpretation of high resolution satellite images (Google Earth) allowed us to identify two rock avalanches, main scarps developed at 2575 and 2750 m a.s.l. . There are no absolute ages for these deposits, however, comparing their preservation degree with those dated further north (in similar climatic and landscape dynamics contexts [i]), we can suggest these rock avalanches took place during the Pleistocene. We carried out a fieldwork survey in this remote area, including classical landslide mapping, structural analysis, deposits characterization and sampling. The deposits reach the valley bottom (at around 1700 m a.s.l.) with runouts about 5 and 5.3 km long. In one of the cases, the morphology of the deposit is well preserved, allowing to reconstruct accurately its extension. However, in the second case, the deposits are strongly eroded by courses draining the mountain front, therefore further analyses should be done to reconstruct its extension. In addition to morphologic interpretations, a multiscale grain-size analysis was done to differentiate rock avalanches from other hillslope deposits: (1) 3D surface models of surface plots (5x5m) have been built by SfM photogrammetry; 2) classical sieving and 3) laser grain-size analysis of deposits. Samples were collected on different parts of the slope, but also along cross sections through the avalanche deposit. This deposits characterization will

The electromagnetic radiation fields of a relativistic electron avalanche with special attention to the origin of narrow bipolar pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Cooray, G. V.; Cooray, G. K.

2011-12-01

Gurevich et al. [1] postulated that the source of narrow bipolar pulses, a class of high energy pulses that occur during thunderstorms, could be a runaway electron avalanche driven by the intense electric fields of a thunderstorm. Recently, Watson and Marshall [2] used the modified transmission line model to test the mechanism of the source of narrow bipolar pulses. In a recent paper, Cooray and Cooray [3] demonstrated that the electromagnetic fields of accelerating charges could be used to evaluate the electromagnetic fields from electrical discharges if the temporal and spatial variation of the charges in the discharge is known. In the present study, those equations were utilized to evaluate the electromagnetic fields generated by a relativistic electron avalanche. In the analysis it is assumed that all the electrons in the avalanche are moving with the same speed. In other words, the growth or the decay of the number of electrons takes place only at the head of the avalanche. It is shown that the radiation is emanating only from the head of the avalanche where electrons are being accelerated. It is also shown that an analytical expression for the radiation field of the avalanche at any distance can be written directly in terms of the e-folding length of the avalanche. This makes it possible to extract directly the spatial variation of the e-folding length of the avalanche from the measured radiation fields. In the study this model avalanche was used to investigate whether it can be used to describe the measured electromagnetic fields of narrow bipolar pulses. The results obtained are in reasonable agreement with the two station data of Eack [4] for speeds of propagation around (2 - 2.5) x 10^8 m/s and when the propagation effects on the electric fields measured at the distant station is taken into account. [1] Gurevich et al. (2004), Phys. Lett. A., 329, pp. 348 -361. [2] Watson, S. S. and T. C. Marshall (2007), Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol. 34, L04816, doi: 10

Simulation of the Quench-06 experiment with Scdapsim; Simulacion del experimento Quench-06 con Scdapsim

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Angel M, E. del; Nunez C, A.; Amador G, R. [CNSNS, Dr. Barragan No. 779, 03020 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)]. e-mail: edangelm@cnsns.gob.mx

2003-07-01

The present work describes the pattern of the called Quench installation developed and used by the National Commission of Nuclear Security and Safeguards (CNSNS) for their participation in the International Standard Problem 45 (ISP), organized by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). The exercise consisted on the simulation of the denominated experiment Quench-06 carried out in the experimental installation Quench located in the Forschungszentrum laboratory in Karlsruhe, Germany. The experiment Quench-06 consisted on simulating the sudden and late injection of water in a fuel assemble for a pressurized reactor (PWR). The CNSNS uses the version bd of the SCDAPSIM code developed by the company Innovative Software Systems (ISS) to simulate this experiment. The obtained results showed that the code is able to predict the experiment partially when overestimating the hydrogen production and of the partial fused of some fuel pellets, but predicting correctly the damage in the shroud. (Author)

Minimum Quench Energy and Early Quench Development in NbTi Superconducting Strands

CERN Document Server

Breschi, M; Boselli, M; Bottura, Luca; Devred, Arnaud; Ribani, P L; Trillaud, F

2007-01-01

The stability of superconducting wires is a crucial task in the design of safe and reliable superconducting magnets. These magnets are prone to premature quenches due to local releases of energy. In order to simulate these energy disturbances, various heater technologies have been developed, such as coated tips, graphite pastes, and inductive coils. The experiments studied in the present work have been performed using a single-mode diode laser with an optical fiber to illuminate the superconducting strand surface. Minimum quench energies and voltage traces at different magnetic flux densities and transport currents have been measured on an LHC-type, Cu/NbTi wire bathed in pool boiling helium I. This paper deals with the numerical analysis of the experimental data. In particular, a coupled electromagnetic and thermal model has been developed to study quench development and propagation, focusing on the influence of heat exchange with liquid helium.

Experimental methods for quenching structures in lunar-analog silicate melts - Variations as a function of quench media and composition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyar, M.D.

1984-01-01

Compositions analogous to lunar green, orange, and brown glasses were synthesized under consistent conditions, then quenched into a variety of different media when the samples were removed from the furnace. Iron valence and coordination are a direct function of quench media used, spanning the range from brine/ice (most effective quench), water, butyl phthalate, silicone oil, liquid nitrogen, highly reducing CO-CO2 gas, to air (least efficient quench). In the green and brown glasses, Fe(3+) in four-fold and six-fold coordination is observed in the slowest-quenched samples Fe(2+) coordination varies directly with quench efficiency. Less pronounced changes were observed in the Ti-rich orange glass. Therefore the remote-sensed spectrum of a glass-bearing regolith on the moon may be influenced by the process by which the glass cooled, and extreme caution must be used when comparing spectra of synthetic glass analogs with real lunar glasses

Computational quench model applicable to the SMES/CICC

Science.gov (United States)

Luongo, Cesar A.; Chang, Chih-Lien; Partain, Kenneth D.

1994-07-01

A computational quench model accounting for the hydraulic peculiarities of the 200 kA SMES cable-in-conduit conductor has been developed. The model is presented and used to simulate the quench on the SMES-ETM. Conclusions are drawn concerning quench detection and protection. A plan for quench model validation is presented.

The quench detector on magnetic modulator for the UNK quench protection system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolotin, I.M.; Enbaev, A.V.; Erokhin, A.N.; Gridasov, V.I.; Priyma, M.V.; Sychev, V.A.; Vasiliev, L.M.

1992-01-01

When designing and constructing superconducting high energy accelerators, the development of the Quench Detection System (QDS) for superconducting (SC) magnets becomes an important and critical problem. At present there is experience in developing such systems for the Tevatron (FNAL, USA) and HERA (Hamburg, Germany). The machines for more than 3 TeV-the UNK (Russia) and SSC (USA), which are presently under construction, have very large circumferences, 21 and 87 km, respectively. The QDS's, similar to those of the Tevatron, require a larger part of the active components of the electronic equipment be placed in the machine tunnel close to the magnets, and protected from irradiation or additional surface buildings will have to be constructed. In either case the cost of such a QDS increases. In addition the former ones reliability decreases and maintenance becomes more difficult. For such machines, a QDS in which the quench signal, in each superconducting magnet (SCM) or groups of SCM'S, is extracted with the help of a bridge circuit (BC) appears to be more suitable. The half coils of SCM's are connected as two arms of the bridge and the resistors placed in the vacuum vessels of the magnet cryostats are connected to the other two. The off-balance signal of each BC is enhanced with the help of magnetic amplifiers. This note describes the experimental prototype of a bridge-type Quench Detector (QD) based on a magnetic amplifier Magnetic Modulator (MM) type, allowing one not only to detect a quench in a SCM, but also making feasible a wider system capability, namely: to record the signals from all SC elements during a quench for further analysis of its causes; to check the presence of short circuits of the ring electromagnet bus relative to the cryostats and to localize their position

Trigger mechanisms of debris avalanche. Comparison between Bandai-san 1888 and the other cases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ui, Tadahide

1988-08-25

This report describes a trial of classifying the trigger mechanisms of debris avalanche in a volcanic action, on the basis of a geography and the structure of the sedimentation. Reason of disintegration is diversified but the debris avalanche is caused by the destruction of the unstable mountain mass. In the case of the 1888 debris avalanche of Bandai-san, a small steam explosion at the end of the strato-volcanic activity caused the instability of a part of the mountain mass, inducing a landslide. At the active period of the volcano, a viscous magma penetrates into the volcano mass, sometimes deforming the mountain body and eventually reaching disintegration. Furthermore, an eroded valley on the surface of the volcano body develops and disintegrates and, also along the slope of the volcano, a disintegration towards the sea-bottom will occur. (4 figs, 4 tabs, 19 refs)

The Large-Scale Debris Avalanche From The Tancitaro Volcano (Mexico): Characterization And Modeling

Science.gov (United States)

Morelli, S.; Gigli, G.; Falorni, G.; Garduno Monroy, V. H.; Arreygue, E.

2008-12-01

The Tancitaro is an andesitic-dacitic stratovolcano located in the Michoacán Guanajuato volcanic field within the west-central portion of the trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. The volcanism in this area is characterized by two composite volcanoes, the highest of which is the Tancitaro volcanic edifice (3840 m), some low angle lava cones and more than 1,000 monogenetic cinder cones. The distribution of the cinder cones is controlled by NE-SW active faults, although there are also additional faults with NNW-SSE trends along which some cones are aligned. The Tancitaro stratovolcano is located at the intersection of the tectonical structures that originate these alignments. All this geological activity has contributed to the gravitational instability of the volcano, leading to a huge sector collapse which produced the investigated debris avalanche. The collapse structure is an east-facing horseshoe-shaped crater (4 km wide and 5.3 km long), related with a large fan that was deposited within the Tepalcatepec depression. The deposit starts only 7 km downslope from the failure scar, it is 66 km long and covers an area of approximately 1155 km2. The landslide magnitude is about 20 km3 and it was firstly determined by the reconstruction of the paleo-edifice using a GIS software and then validated by the observation of significant outcrops. The fan was primarily formed by the deposit of this huge debris avalanche and subsequently by debris flow and fluvial deposits. Field investigations on the fan area highlighted the presence of two texturally distinct parts, which are referred to the 'block facies' and the 'matrix facies'. The first sedimentary structure is responsible for the typical hummock morphologies in the proximal area, as seen in many other debris avalanche deposits. Instead in the distal zones, the deposit is made up by the 'mixed block and matrix facies'. Blocks and megablocks, some of which are characterized by a jigsaw puzzle texture, gradually decrease in size

Indirect flat-panel detector with avalanche gain: Fundamental feasibility investigation for SHARP-AMFPI (scintillator HARP active matrix flat panel imager)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Wei; Li Dan; Reznik, Alla; Lui, B.J.M.; Hunt, D.C.; Rowlands, J.A.; Ohkawa, Yuji; Tanioka, Kenkichi

2005-01-01

An indirect flat-panel imager (FPI) with avalanche gain is being investigated for low-dose x-ray imaging. It is made by optically coupling a structured x-ray scintillator CsI(Tl) to an amorphous selenium (a-Se) avalanche photoconductor called HARP (high-gain avalanche rushing photoconductor). The final electronic image is read out using an active matrix array of thin film transistors (TFT). We call the proposed detector SHARP-AMFPI (scintillator HARP active matrix flat panel imager). The advantage of the SHARP-AMFPI is its programmable gain, which can be turned on during low dose fluoroscopy to overcome electronic noise, and turned off during high dose radiography to avoid pixel saturation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the important design considerations for SHARP-AMFPI such as avalanche gain, which depends on both the thickness d Se and the applied electric field E Se of the HARP layer. To determine the optimal design parameter and operational conditions for HARP, we measured the E Se dependence of both avalanche gain and optical quantum efficiency of an 8 μm HARP layer. The results were used in a physical model of HARP as well as a linear cascaded model of the FPI to determine the following x-ray imaging properties in both the avalanche and nonavalanche modes as a function of E Se : (1) total gain (which is the product of avalanche gain and optical quantum efficiency); (2) linearity; (3) dynamic range; (4) gain nonuniformity resulting from thickness nonuniformity; and (5) effects of direct x-ray interaction in HARP. Our results showed that a HARP layer thickness of 8 μm can provide adequate avalanche gain and sufficient dynamic range for x-ray imaging applications to permit quantum limited operation over the range of exposures needed for radiography and fluoroscopy

Caldera formation at Volcán Colima, Mexico, by a large large holocene volcanic debris avalanche

Science.gov (United States)

Luhr, James F.; Prestegaard, Karen L.

1988-12-01

About 4,300 years ago, 10 km 3 of the upper cone of ancestral Volcán Colima collapsed to the southwest leaving a horseshoe-shaped caldera 4 km in diameter. The collapse produced a massive volcanic debris avalanche deposit covering over 1550 km 2 on the southern flanks of the volcano and extending at least 70 km from the former summit. The avalanche followed a steep topographic gradient unobstructed by barriers, resulting in an unusually high area/volume ratio for the Colima deposit. The apparent coefficient of friction (fall height/distance traveled) for the Colima avalanche is 0.06, a low value similar to those of other large-volume deposits. The debris avalanche deposit contains 40-75% angular volcanic clasts from the ancestral cone, a small proportion of vesicular blocks that may be juvenile, and in distal exposures, rare carbonate clasts plucked from the underlying surface by the moving avalanche. Clasts range in size to over 20 m in diameter and are brecciated to different degrees, pulverized, and surrounded by a rock-flour matrix. The upper surface of the deposit shows prominent hummocky topography with closed depressions and surface boulders. A thick, coarse-grained, compositionally zoned scoria-fall layer on the upper northeastern slope of the volcano may have erupted at the time of collapse. A fine-grained surge layer is present beneath the avalanche deposit at one locality, apparently representing an initial blast event. Most of the missing volume of the ancestral volcano has since been restored at an average rate of 0.002 km 3/yr through repeated eruptions from the post-caldera cone. As a result, the southern slope of Volcán Colima may again be susceptible to collapse. Over 200,000 people are now living on primary or secondary deposits of the debris avalanche, and a repetition of this event would constitute a volcanic disaster of great magnitude. Ancestral Volcán Colima grew on the southern, trenchward flank of the earlier and larger volcano Nevado de

Characterisation of Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes for medical imaging applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Britvitch, I. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland)]. E-mail: Ilia.britvitch@psi.ch; Johnson, I. [Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna (Russian Federation); Renker, D. [Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Stoykov, A. [Paul Scherrer Institut, CH-5232 Villigen PSI (Switzerland); Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, 141980 Dubna (Russian Federation); Lorenz, E. [Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, CH-8092 Zurich (Switzerland); Max Planck Institute for Physics, 80805 Munich (Germany)

2007-02-01

Recently developed multipixel Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (G-APDs) are very promising candidates for the detection of light in medical imaging instruments (e.g. positron emission tomography) as well as in high-energy physics experiments and astrophysical applications. G-APDs are especially well suited for morpho-functional imaging (multimodality PET/CT, SPECT/CT, PET/MRI, SPECT/MRI). G-APDs have many advantages compared to conventional photosensors such as photomultiplier tubes because of their compact size, low-power consumption, high quantum efficiency and insensitivity to magnetic fields. Compared to avalanche photodiodes and PIN diodes, they are advantageous because of their high gain, reduced sensitivity to pick up and the so-called nuclear counter effect and lower noise. We present measurements of the basic G-APD characteristics: photon detection efficiency, gain, inter-cell crosstalk, dynamic range, recovery time and dark count rate.

Characterisation of Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes for medical imaging applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Britvitch, I.; Johnson, I.; Renker, D.; Stoykov, A.; Lorenz, E.

2007-01-01

Recently developed multipixel Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes (G-APDs) are very promising candidates for the detection of light in medical imaging instruments (e.g. positron emission tomography) as well as in high-energy physics experiments and astrophysical applications. G-APDs are especially well suited for morpho-functional imaging (multimodality PET/CT, SPECT/CT, PET/MRI, SPECT/MRI). G-APDs have many advantages compared to conventional photosensors such as photomultiplier tubes because of their compact size, low-power consumption, high quantum efficiency and insensitivity to magnetic fields. Compared to avalanche photodiodes and PIN diodes, they are advantageous because of their high gain, reduced sensitivity to pick up and the so-called nuclear counter effect and lower noise. We present measurements of the basic G-APD characteristics: photon detection efficiency, gain, inter-cell crosstalk, dynamic range, recovery time and dark count rate

Quenches in the superconducting magnet CELLO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassenzahl, W.V.

1979-01-01

The superconducting magnet CELLO was tested with currents up to 3200 A at Saclay and has been installed at DESY in Hamburg where it will be used for particle physics experiments requiring colliding beams of electrons and positrons. The testing of this unique, large, one-layer solenoid provides an excellent opportunity to evaluate the theory of quench propagation under adiabatic conditions, that is, in a coil in which the conductors are not in direct contact with helium. In an early test of this coil, quenches that occurred, gives the details of the damaged conductor, and includes an analysis of the quenches. Observed axial quench velocities are compared to the calculated values based on both measurements and calculations of the thermal conductivity of the fabricated coil

Wave form of current quench during disruptions in tokamaks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugihara, Masayoshi; Gribov, Yuri; Shimada, Michiya; Lukash, Victor; Kawano, Yasunori; Yoshino, Ryuji; Miki, Nobuharu; Ohmori, Junji; Khayrutdinov, Rustam

2003-01-01

The time dependence of the current decay during the current quench phase of disruptions, which can significantly influence the electro-magnetic force on the in-vessel components due to the induced eddy currents, is investigated using data obtained in JT-60U experiments in order to derive a relevant physics guideline for the predictive simulations of disruptions in ITER. It is shown that an exponential decay can fit the time dependence of current quench for discharges with large quench rate (fast current quench). On the other hand, for discharges with smaller quench rate (slow current quench), a linear decay can fit the time dependence of current quench better than exponential. (author)

Large area avalanche MRS-photodiodes for nuclear spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ermalitski, F A; Zalesski, V B

1996-12-31

Problems of application of avalanche photodiodes (APD) in readout systems of nuclear spectrometers are considered. APD`s with a large sensitive area of a diameter 1-5 mm and a high multiplication coefficient 200-1000 are created. MPS-photodiodes provide for the energy resolution 80% at temperature 231 K for detecting gamma-quanta with energy 662 keV. 4 refs.

Statistical distributions of avalanche size and waiting times in an inter-sandpile cascade model

Science.gov (United States)

Batac, Rene; Longjas, Anthony; Monterola, Christopher

2012-02-01

Sandpile-based models have successfully shed light on key features of nonlinear relaxational processes in nature, particularly the occurrence of fat-tailed magnitude distributions and exponential return times, from simple local stress redistributions. In this work, we extend the existing sandpile paradigm into an inter-sandpile cascade, wherein the avalanches emanating from a uniformly-driven sandpile (first layer) is used to trigger the next (second layer), and so on, in a successive fashion. Statistical characterizations reveal that avalanche size distributions evolve from a power-law p(S)≈S-1.3 for the first layer to gamma distributions p(S)≈Sαexp(-S/S0) for layers far away from the uniformly driven sandpile. The resulting avalanche size statistics is found to be associated with the corresponding waiting time distribution, as explained in an accompanying analytic formulation. Interestingly, both the numerical and analytic models show good agreement with actual inventories of non-uniformly driven events in nature.

Studies on halogen quenching through the Stern-Volmer plot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takiue, Makoto; Ishikawa, Hiroaki.

1978-01-01

The quenching effect for halogenated benzenes, methanes and ethanes have been investigated. The halogen quenching was accurately measured using the internal conversion electrons emitted from 113 Sn-sup(113m)In. From the quenching constants determined by the Stern-Volmer plots with respect to various halogen quenchers, the following results have been obtained. (1) The quenching constants increase with the number of halogen substituents, so as linearly in halogenated benzenes and exponentially in halogenated methanes and ethanes. Even the isomers of halogenides have different quenching constants. (2) There is a linearity between logarithm of the quenching constant and a polarographic half-wave reduction potential. (3) Electron excitation provides larger quenching constants than UV excitation for halogenated methanes. Based on these results, the mechanism of halogen quenching have been discussed in connection with the exciplex formation. (auth.)

Quenching behaviour for a singular predator–prey model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ducrot, Arnaud; Guo, Jong-Shenq

2012-01-01

In this paper, we study the quenching behaviour for a system of two reaction–diffusion equations arising in the modelling of the spatio-temporal interaction of prey and predator populations in fragile environment. We first provide some sufficient conditions on the initial data to have finite time quenching. Then we classify the initial data to distinguish type I quenching and type II quenching, by introducing a delicate energy functional along with the help of some a priori estimates. Finally, we present some results on the quenching set. It can be a singleton, the whole domain, or a compact subset of the domain

Posttraumatic stress and other health consequences of catastrophic avalanches: A 16-year follow-up of survivors.

Science.gov (United States)

Thordardottir, Edda Bjork; Valdimarsdottir, Unnur Anna; Hansdottir, Ingunn; Resnick, Heidi; Shipherd, Jillian C; Gudmundsdottir, Berglind

2015-05-01

To date, no study has investigated the effects of avalanches on survivor's health beyond the first years. The aim of this study was to examine long-term health status 16 years after exposure to avalanches using a matched cohort design. Mental health, sleep quality and somatic symptoms among avalanche survivors (n=286) and non-exposed controls (n=357) were examined. Results showed that 16% of survivors currently experience avalanche-specific PTSD symptoms (PDS score>14). In addition, survivors presented with increased risk of PTSD hyperarousal symptoms (>85th percentile) (aRR=1.83; 98.3% CI [1.23-2.74]); sleep-related problems (PSQI score>5) (aRR=1.34; 95% CI [1.05-1.70]); PTSD-related sleep disturbances (PSQI-A score≥4) (aRR=1.86; 95% CI [1.30-2.67]); musculoskeletal and nervous system problems (aRR 1.43; 99% CI 1.06-1.93) and gastrointestinal problems (aRR 2.16; 99% CI 1.21-3.86) compared to the unexposed group. Results highlight the need for treatment for long-term PTSD symptoms and sleep disruption in disaster communities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Heater induced quenches in SSC [Superconducting Super Collider] model dipoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hassenzahl, W.V.

1986-10-01

A 1-m long SSC dipole constructed at the Lawrence Berkeley laboratory was subjected to a series of heater induced quenches to determine: axial quench propagation velocities, transverse quench propagation, and conductor temperature rise. Quenches were produced by 3 heaters at different locations in the magnet and at several currents. The results of these studies are described and are compared to previously published theoretical studies of quenches on the SSC dipoles. These results are shown to be in agreement with the calculations of the program ''QUENCH'', which includes an increase of the quench velocity during the first few milliseconds of the quench

Strain-based quench detection for a solenoid superconducting magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xingzhe; Guan Mingzhi; Ma Lizhen

2012-01-01

In this paper, we present a non-electric quench detection method based on the strain gauge measurement of a superconducting solenoid magnet at cryogenic temperature under an intense magnetic field. Unlike the traditional voltage measurement of quench detection, the strain-based detection method utilizes low-temperature strain gauges, which evidently reduce electromagnetic noise and breakdown, to measure the magneto/thermo-mechanical behavior of the superconducting magnet during excitation. The magnet excitation, quench tests and trainings were performed on a prototype 5 T superconducting solenoid magnet. The transient strains and their abrupt changes were compared with the current, magnetic field and temperature signals collected during excitation and quench tests to indicate that the strain gauge measurements can detect the quench feature of the superconducting magnet. The proposed method is expected to be able to detect the quench of a superconducting coil independently or utilized together with other electrical methods. In addition, the axial quench propagation velocity of the solenoid is evaluated by the quench time lags among different localized strains. The propagation velocity is enhanced after repeated quench trainings. (paper)

heat flow in a finite isolated pulsed avalanche semiconductor diode

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ES Obe

1981-03-01

Mar 1, 1981 ... high-power high-efficiency avalanche semiconductor devices. The ... computed, and useful practical design curves for a specified operation .... iv. For spherical shells of radius, ρ(x,y,z) = √x2+y2+z2. > R, the heat source.

A position sensitive parallel plate avalanche counter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lombardi, M.; Tan Jilian; Potenza, R.; D'amico, V.

1986-01-01

A position sensitive parallel plate avalanche counter with a distributed constant delay-line-cathode (PSAC) is described. The strips formed on the printed board were served as the cathode and the delay line for readout of signals. The detector (PSAC) was operated in isobutane gas at the pressure range from 10 to 20 torr. The position resolution is better than 1 mm and the time resolution is about 350 ps, for 252 Cf fission-spectrum source

Current oscillations in avalanche particle detectors with PNIPN-structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lukin, K.A.

1995-08-01

The model of an avalanche high energy particle detector consisting of two pn-junctions, connected through an intrinsic semiconductor with a reverse biased voltage applied. This detector is able to generate the oscillatory response on the single particle passage through the structure. The possibility of oscillations leading to chaotic behaviour is pointed out

A simulated avalanche search and rescue mission induces temporary physiological and behavioural changes in military dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Diverio, Silvana; Barbato, Olimpia; Cavallina, Roberta; Guelfi, Gabriella; Iaboni, Martina; Zasso, Renato; Di Mari, Walter; Santoro, Michele Matteo; Knowles, Toby G

2016-09-01

Saving human lives is of paramount importance in avalanche rescue missions. Avalanche military dogs represent an invaluable resource in these operations. However, their performance can be influenced by several environmental, social and transport challenges. If too severe, these are likely to activate a range of responses to stress, which might put at risk the dogs' welfare. The aim of this study was to assess the physiological and behavioural responses of a group of military dogs to a Simulated Avalanche Search and Rescue mission (SASR). Seventeen avalanche dogs from the Italian Military Force Guardia di Finanza (SAGF dogs) were monitored during a simulated search for a buried operator in an artificial avalanche area (SASR). Heart rate (HR), body temperature (RBT) and blood samples were collected at rest the day before the trial (T0), immediately after helicopter transport at the onset of the SASR (T1), after the discovery of the buried operator (T2) and 2h later (T3). Heart rate (HR), rectal body temperature (RBT), cortisol, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatine kinase (CK), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were measured. During the search mission the behaviour of each SAGF dog was measured by focal animal sampling and qualitatively assessed by its handler and two observers. Inter-rater agreement was evaluated. Snow and environmental variables were also measured. All dogs successfully completed their search for the buried, simulated victim within 10min. The SASR was shown to exert significant increases on RBT, NEFA and cortisol (Pdog's search mission ability was found only for motivation, signalling behaviour, signs of stress and possessive reward playing. More time signalling was related to shorter search time. In conclusion, despite extreme environmental and training conditions only temporary physiological and behavioural changes were recorded in the avalanche dogs. Their excellent performance in successful simulated SASR

SDSS-IV MaNGA: faint quenched galaxies - I. Sample selection and evidence for environmental quenching

Science.gov (United States)

Penny, Samantha J.; Masters, Karen L.; Weijmans, Anne-Marie; Westfall, Kyle B.; Bershady, Matthew A.; Bundy, Kevin; Drory, Niv; Falcón-Barroso, Jesús; Law, David; Nichol, Robert C.; Thomas, Daniel; Bizyaev, Dmitry; Brownstein, Joel R.; Freischlad, Gordon; Gaulme, Patrick; Grabowski, Katie; Kinemuchi, Karen; Malanushenko, Elena; Malanushenko, Viktor; Oravetz, Daniel; Roman-Lopes, Alexandre; Pan, Kaike; Simmons, Audrey; Wake, David A.

2016-11-01

Using kinematic maps from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey, we reveal that the majority of low-mass quenched galaxies exhibit coherent rotation in their stellar kinematics. Our sample includes all 39 quenched low-mass galaxies observed in the first year of MaNGA. The galaxies are selected with Mr > -19.1, stellar masses 109 M⊙ 1.9. They lie on the size-magnitude and σ-luminosity relations for previously studied dwarf galaxies. Just six (15 ± 5.7 per cent) are found to have rotation speeds ve, rot 5 × 1010 M⊙), supporting the hypothesis that galaxy-galaxy or galaxy-group interactions quench star formation in low-mass galaxies. The local bright galaxy density for our sample is ρproj = 8.2 ± 2.0 Mpc-2, compared to ρproj = 2.1 ± 0.4 Mpc-2 for a star-forming comparison sample, confirming that the quenched low-mass galaxies are preferentially found in higher density environments.

Quenching of p-Cyanophenylalanine Fluorescence by Various Anions.

Science.gov (United States)

Pazos, Ileana M; Roesch, Rachel M; Gai, Feng

2013-03-20

To expand the spectroscopic utility of the non-natural amino acid p -cyanophenylalanine (Phe CN ), we examine the quenching efficiencies of a series of commonly encountered anions toward its fluorescence. We find that iodide exhibits an unusually large Stern-Volmer quenching constant, making it a convenient choice in Phe CN fluorescence quenching studies. Indeed, using the villin headpiece subdomain as a testbed we demonstrate that iodide quenching of Phe CN fluorescence offers a convenient means to reveal protein conformational heterogeneity. Furthermore, we show that the amino group of Phe CN strongly quenches its fluorescence, suggesting that Phe CN could be used as a local pH sensor.

Prediction of electromagnetic pulse generation by picosecond avalanches in high-pressure air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayhall, D.J.; Yee, J.H.

1993-01-01

The gas avalanche switch is a laser-activated, high-voltage switch, consisting of a set of pulse-charged electrodes in a high-pressure gas. Induced electrons from a picosecond-scale laser pulse initiate an avalanche discharge between high-voltage and grounded electrodes. If the voltage, pressure, and dimensions are correct, the rapid avalanche, fueled by the immense number of electrons available in the gas, collapses the applied voltage in picoseconds and generates electromagnetic pulses with widths as short as 1-10 ps and 3 dB bandwidths of 20-120 GHz. With proper voltage or pressure detuning, wider pulses and lower bandwidths occur. In addition to picosecond electromagnetic pulse generation, application of this switch should result in ultra-fast Marx bank pulsers. A number of versions of the switch are possible. The simplest is a parallel plate capacitor, consisting of a gas between two parallel plate conductors. High voltage is applied across the two plates. A parallel plate, Blumlein geometry features a center electrode between two grounded parallel plates. This geometry emits a single pulse in each direction along the parallel plates. A frozen wave geometry with multiple, oppositely charged center electrodes will emit AC pulses. Series switches consisting of gas gaps between two electrodes are also possible

Progresses in the simulation of Resistive Plate Chambers in avalanche mode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbrescia, M.; Colaleo, A.; Iaselli, G.; Loddo, F.; Maggi, M.; Marangelli, B.; Natali, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Pugliese, G.; Ranieri, A.; Romano, F.; Altieri, S.; Bruno, G.; Gianini, G.; Ratti, S.P.; Viola, L.; Vitulo, P

1999-08-01

New results about the simulation of Resistive Plate Chambers are reported; particular emphasis is put in the understanding of charge spectra in regions where deviations from the pure avalanche mode of operation can be present.

The Chimborazo sector collapse and debris avalanche : deposit characteristics as evidence of emplacement mechanisms

OpenAIRE

Bernard, B.; Vries de, B. V.; Barba, D.; Leyrit, H.; Robin, Claude; Alcaraz, S.; Samaniego, Pablo

2008-01-01

Chimborazo is a Late Pleistocene to Holocene stratovolcano located at the southwest end of the main Ecuadorian volcanic arc. It experienced a large sector collapse and debris avalanche (DA) of the initial edifice (CH-1). This left a 4 km wide scar, removing 8.0 +/- 0.5 km(3) of the edifice. The debris avalanche deposit (DAD) is abundantly exposed throughout the Riobamba Basin to the Rio Chambo, more than 35 km southeast of the volcano. The DAD averages a thickness of 40 m, covers about 280 km...

Cataclysmic Rock Avalanche from El Capitan, Yosemite Valley, circa 3.6 ka

Science.gov (United States)

Stock, G. M.

2008-12-01

El Capitan in Yosemite Valley is one of the largest and most iconic granite faces in the world. Despite glacially steepened walls exceeding 90 degrees, a historic database shows relatively few rock falls from El Capitan in the past 150 years. However, a massive bouldery deposit beneath the southeast face suggests an earlier rock avalanche of unusually large size. Spatial analysis of airborne LiDAR data indicate that the rock avalanche deposit has a volume of ~2.70 x 106 m3, a maximum thickness of 18 m, and a runout distance of 660 m, roughly twice the horizontal extent of the adjacent talus. The deposit is very coarse on its distal edge, with individual boulder volumes up to 2500 m3. Cosmogenic 10Be exposure dates from boulders distributed across the deposit confirm this interpretation. Four 10Be samples are tightly clustered between 3.5 and 3.8 ka, with a mean age of 3.6 +/- 0.6 ka. A fifth sample gives a much older age of 22.0 ka, but a glacier occupied Yosemite Valley at this time, prohibiting deposition; thus, the older age likely results from exposure on the cliff face prior to failure. The similarity of ages and overall morphology suggest that the entire deposit formed during a single event. The mean exposure age coincides with inferred Holocene rupture of the northern Owens Valley and/or White Mountain fault(s) between 3.3 and 3.8 ka (Lee et al., 2001; Bacon and Pezzopane, 2007). This time coincidence, combined with the fact that historic rupture of the Owens Valley fault in A.D. 1872 generated numerous large rock falls in Yosemite Valley, strongly suggests that the El Capitan rock avalanche was triggered by a seismic event along the eastern margin of the Sierra Nevada circa 3.6 ka. As there is not an obvious "scar" on the expansive southeast face, the exact source area of the rock avalanche is not yet known. Detrital apatite U-Th/(He) thermochronometry can determine the elevation(s) from which rock fall boulders originate, but significant inter-sample age

Data collapse and critical dynamics in neuronal avalanche data

Science.gov (United States)

Butler, Thomas; Friedman, Nir; Dahmen, Karin; Beggs, John; Deville, Lee; Ito, Shinya

2012-02-01

The tasks of information processing, computation, and response to stimuli require neural computation to be remarkably flexible and diverse. To optimally satisfy the demands of neural computation, neuronal networks have been hypothesized to operate near a non-equilibrium critical point. In spite of their importance for neural dynamics, experimental evidence for critical dynamics has been primarily limited to power law statistics that can also emerge from non-critical mechanisms. By tracking the firing of large numbers of synaptically connected cortical neurons and comparing the resulting data to the predictions of critical phenomena, we show that cortical tissues in vitro can function near criticality. Among the most striking predictions of critical dynamics is that the mean temporal profiles of avalanches of widely varying durations are quantitatively described by a single universal scaling function (data collapse). We show for the first time that this prediction is confirmed in neuronal networks. We also show that the data have three additional features predicted by critical phenomena: approximate power law distributions of avalanche sizes and durations, samples in subcritical and supercritical phases, and scaling laws between anomalous exponents.

Quench simulation in the thin superconducting solenoid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tominaka, T.; Takasaki, M.; Wake, M.; Yamada, R.

1983-07-01

The propagation velocities of a normal zone were calculated for a 1 mdiameter x 1 m superconducting solenoid and for a 3 mdiameter x 5 m thin solenoid based on a simple model using the one-dimensional thermal equation. The quench back effect can be observed in certain conditions. The quench of the large thin solenoid was also simulated by using the computer program 'QUENCH'. (author)

Variation of Quench Propagation Velocities in YBCO Cables

CERN Document Server

Härö, E.; Stenvall, A.; 10.1007/s10948-015-2976-y

2015-01-01

changes during the quench. Due to the large temperature margin between the operation and the current sharing temperatures, the normal zone does not propagate with the temperature front. This means that the temperature will rise in a considerably larger volume when compared to the quenched volume. Thus, the evolution of the temperature distribution below current sharing temperature Tcs after the quench onset affects the normal zone propagation velocity in HTS more than in LTS coils. This can be seen as an acceleration of the quench propagation velocities while the quench evolves when margin to Tcs is high. In this paper we scrutinize quench propagation in a stack of YBCO cables with an in-house finite element method software which solves the heat diffusion equation. We compute the longitudinal and transverse normal zone propagation velocities at various distances from the hot spot to demonstrate the distance-variation...

A dichotomy in satellite quenching around L* galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, John I.; Wheeler, Coral; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Bullock, James S.; Cooper, Michael C.; Tollerud, Erik J.

2014-01-01

We examine the star formation properties of bright (˜0.1 L*) satellites around isolated ˜L* hosts in the local Universe using spectroscopically confirmed systems in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7. Our selection method is carefully designed with the aid of N-body simulations to avoid groups and clusters. We find that satellites are significantly more likely to be quenched than a stellar mass-matched sample of isolated galaxies. Remarkably, this quenching occurs only for satellites of hosts that are themselves quenched: while star formation is unaffected in the satellites of star-forming hosts, satellites around quiescent hosts are more than twice as likely to be quenched than stellar-mass-matched field samples. One implication of this is that whatever shuts down star formation in isolated, passive L* galaxies also play at least an indirect role in quenching star formation in their bright satellites. The previously reported tendency for `galactic conformity' in colour/morphology may be a by-product of this host-specific quenching dichotomy. The Sérsic indices of quenched satellites are statistically identical to those of field galaxies with the same specific star formation rates, suggesting that environmental and secular quenching give rise to the same morphological structure. By studying the distribution of pairwise velocities between the hosts and satellites, we find dynamical evidence that passive host galaxies reside in dark matter haloes that are ˜45 per cent more massive than those of star-forming host galaxies of the same stellar mass. We emphasize that even around passive hosts, the mere fact that galaxies become satellites does not typically result in star formation quenching: we find that only ˜30 per cent of ˜0.1L* galaxies that fall in from the field are quenched around passive hosts, compared with ˜0 per cent around star-forming hosts.

Avalanche diode having reduced dark current and method for its manufacture

Science.gov (United States)

Davids, Paul; Starbuck, Andrew Lee; Pomerene, Andrew T. S.

2017-08-29

An avalanche diode includes an absorption region in a germanium body epitaxially grown on a silicon body including a multiplication region. Aspect-ratio trapping is used to suppress dislocation growth in the vicinity of the absorption region.

Quantum Quenches in a Spinor Condensate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamacraft, Austen

2007-01-01

We discuss the ordering of a spin-1 condensate when quenched from its paramagnetic phase to its ferromagnetic phase by reducing the magnetic field. We first elucidate the nature of the equilibrium quantum phase transition. Quenching rapidly through this transition reveals XY ordering either at a specific wave vector, or the ''light-cone'' correlations familiar from relativistic theories, depending on the end point of the quench. For a quench proceeding at a finite rate the ordering scale is governed by the Kibble-Zurek mechanism. The creation of vortices through growth of the magnetization fluctuations is also discussed. The long-time dynamics again depends on the end point, conserving the order parameter in a zero field, but not at a finite field, with differing exponents for the coarsening of magnetic order. The results are discussed in the light of a recent experiment by Sadler et al

Secondary instability in drift wave turbulence as a mechanism for avalanche and zonal flow formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diamond, P.H.; Champeaux, S.; Malkov, M.

2001-01-01

We report on recent developments in the theory of secondary instability in drift-ITG turbulence. Specifically, we explore secondary instability as a mechanism for avalanche formation. A theory of radially extended streamer cell formation and self-regulation is presented. Aspects of streamer structure and dynamics are used to estimate the variance of the drift-wave induced flux. The relation between streamer cell structures and the avalanche concept is discussed, as are the implications of our results for transport modeling. (author)

Ultralow noise midwave infrared InAs-GaSb strain layer superlattice avalanche photodiode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mallick, Shubhrangshu; Banerjee, Koushik; Ghosh, Siddhartha; Plis, Elena; Rodriguez, Jean Baptiste; Krishna, Sanjay; Grein, Christoph

2007-01-01

Eye-safe midwavelength infrared InAs-GaSb strain layer superlattice p + -n - -n homojunction avalanche photodiodes (APDs) grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy were fabricated and characterized. Maximum multiplication gain of 1800 was measured at -20 V at 77 K. Excess noise factors between 0.8 and 1.2 were measured up to gain of 300. Gain of 200 was measured at 120 K. Exponential nature of the gain as a function of reverse bias along with low excess noise factor at higher gain confirms single carrier electron-only impact ionization in the avalanche regime. Decrease in the multiplication gain at higher temperatures correlates with standard APD characteristics

Superconducting synchrotron power supply and quench protection scheme

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stiening, R.; Flora, R.; Lauckner, R.; Tool, G.

1978-01-01

The power supply and quench protection scheme for the proposed Fermilab 6 km circumference superconducting synchrotron is described. Specifically, the following points are discussed: (1) the 46 MW thyristor power supply; (2) the 3 x 10 8 J emergency energy dump; (3) the distributed microprocessing system for the detection of quenches; (4) the thyristor network for shunting current around quenched magnets; and (5) the heaters internal to the magnets which cause rapid propagation of quenches. Test results on prototype systems are given

Influence of temperature to quenching on liquid scintillation measurement

CERN Document Server

Kato, T

2003-01-01

The amount of quench is measured with liquid scintillation spectrometer changing the temperature of the sample. The range of the changed temperature is between 0 deg C and 35 deg C. The measurement is carried out for three kinds of unquenched standard, two quenched standards and fifteen kinds of scintillation cocktail and the mixed sample. It is confirmed that the amount of quench increases for all samples as the temperature rises. The influence of the changed amount of quench to the quench correction is examined. (author)

Quench simulations for superconducting elements in the LHC accelerator

Science.gov (United States)

Sonnemann, F.; Schmidt, R.

2000-08-01

The design of the protection system for the superconducting elements in an accelerator such as the large Hadron collider (LHC), now under construction at CERN, requires a detailed understanding of the thermo-hydraulic and electrodynamic processes during a quench. A numerical program (SPQR - simulation program for quench research) has been developed to evaluate temperature and voltage distributions during a quench as a function of space and time. The quench process is simulated by approximating the heat balance equation with the finite difference method in presence of variable cooling and powering conditions. The simulation predicts quench propagation along a superconducting cable, forced quenching with heaters, impact of eddy currents induced by a magnetic field change, and heat transfer through an insulation layer into helium, an adjacent conductor or other material. The simulation studies allowed a better understanding of experimental quench data and were used for determining the adequate dimensioning and protection of the highly stabilised superconducting cables for connecting magnets (busbars), optimising the quench heater strip layout for the main magnets, and studying quench back by induced eddy currents in the superconductor. After the introduction of the theoretical approach, some applications of the simulation model for the LHC dipole and corrector magnets are presented and the outcome of the studies is compared with experimental data.

The characteristic patterns of neuronal avalanches in mice under anesthesia and at rest: An investigation using constrained artificial neural networks

Science.gov (United States)

Knöpfel, Thomas; Leech, Robert

2018-01-01

Local perturbations within complex dynamical systems can trigger cascade-like events that spread across significant portions of the system. Cascades of this type have been observed across a broad range of scales in the brain. Studies of these cascades, known as neuronal avalanches, usually report the statistics of large numbers of avalanches, without probing the characteristic patterns produced by the avalanches themselves. This is partly due to limitations in the extent or spatiotemporal resolution of commonly used neuroimaging techniques. In this study, we overcome these limitations by using optical voltage (genetically encoded voltage indicators) imaging. This allows us to record cortical activity in vivo across an entire cortical hemisphere, at both high spatial (~30um) and temporal (~20ms) resolution in mice that are either in an anesthetized or awake state. We then use artificial neural networks to identify the characteristic patterns created by neuronal avalanches in our data. The avalanches in the anesthetized cortex are most accurately classified by an artificial neural network architecture that simultaneously connects spatial and temporal information. This is in contrast with the awake cortex, in which avalanches are most accurately classified by an architecture that treats spatial and temporal information separately, due to the increased levels of spatiotemporal complexity. This is in keeping with reports of higher levels of spatiotemporal complexity in the awake brain coinciding with features of a dynamical system operating close to criticality. PMID:29795654

Xanthophyll cycle-dependent quenching of photosystem II chlorophyll a fluorescence: Formation of a quenching complex with a short fluorescence lifetime

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilmore, A.M.; Hazlett, T.L.; Govindjee [Univ. of Illinois, Urbana, IL (United States)

1995-03-14

Excess light triggers protective nonradiative dissipation of excitation energy in photosystem II through the formation of a trans-thylakoid pH gradient that in turn stimulates formation of zeaxanthin and antheraxanthin. These xanthophylls when combined with protonation of antenna pigment-protein complexes may increase nonradiative dissipation and, thus, quench chlorophyll a fluorescence. Here we measured, in parallel, the chlorophyll a fluorescence lifetime and intensity to understand the mechanism of this process. Increasing the xanthophyll concentration in the presence of a pH gradient (quenched conditions) decreases the fractional intensity of a fluorescence lifetime component centered at {approx}2 ns and increases a component at {approx}0.4 ns. Uncoupling the pH gradient (unquenched conditions) eliminates the 0.4-ns component. Changes in the xanthophyll concentration do not significantly affect the fluorescence lifetimes in either the quenched or unquenched sample conditions. However, there are differences in fluorescence lifetimes between the quenched and unquenched states that are due to pH-related, but nonxanthophyll-related, processes. Quenching of the maximal fluorescence intensity correlates with both the xanthophyll concentration and the fractional intensity of the 0.4-ns component. The unchanged fluorescence lifetimes and the proportional quenching of the maximal and dark-level fluorescence intensities indicate that the xanthophyllact on antenna, not reaction center processes. Further, the fluorescence quenching is interpreted as the combined effect of the pH gradient and xanthophyll concentration, resulting in the formation of a quenching complex with a short ({approx}0.4 ns) fluorescence lifetime. 33 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs.

Quenching of the He/sub μ/ +(2s) atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russell, J.E.

1986-01-01

Quenching of the metastable 2s state of the He/sub μ/ + atom in helium gas is discussed. The first part of the discussion, which is devoted entirely to processes occurring after the He/sub μ/ + has become bound to one or more ordinary helium atoms, is based partly on Cohen's calculations of rates of vibrational quenching and partly on estimates obtained in the present paper of rates of Burbidge--de Borde quenching and Ruderman quenching. It is concluded that Burbidge--de Borde quenching or Ruderman quenching, or both, are likely to be more effective than Cohen quenching if the vibrational level of the bound system is low. A recent experiment by von Arb et al. is then analyzed in the light of this conclusion. The analysis is based on the reported absence, or near absence, of Auger electrons accompanying 2s quenching. While it is agreed that the Cohen mechanism occurring in the molecular ion HeHe/sub μ/ + remains the most likely explanation of the experiment, it is concluded that the quenching occurs in comparatively high levels. It is then argued that this conclusion is in accord with some theoretical investigations of three-body association reactions and also with some elementary considerations regarding the relaxation of highly excited diatomic molecules, and it is further concluded that the quenching is most likely to occur in states with very low rotational quantum number and vibrational quantum number 8≤v≤14

Quench dynamics in SRF cavities: can we locate the quench origin with 2nd sound?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maximenko, Yulia; Segatskov, Dmitri A.

2011-01-01

A newly developed method of locating quenches in SRF cavities by detecting second-sound waves has been gaining popularity in SRF laboratories. The technique is based on measurements of time delays between the quench as determined by the RF system and arrival of the second-sound wave to the multiple detectors placed around the cavity in superfluid helium. Unlike multi-channel temperature mapping, this approach requires only a few sensors and simple readout electronics; it can be used with SRF cavities of almost arbitrary shape. One of its drawbacks is that being an indirect method it requires one to solve an inverse problem to find the location of a quench. We tried to solve this inverse problem by using a parametric forward model. By analyzing the data we found that the approximation where the second-sound emitter is a near-singular source does not describe the physical system well enough. A time-dependent analysis of the quench process can help us to put forward a more adequate model. We present here our current algorithm to solve the inverse problem and discuss the experimental results.

Avalanche analysis from multi-electrode ensemble recordings in cat, monkey and human cerebral cortex during wakefulness and sleep.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nima eDehghani

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Self-organized critical states are found in many natural systems, from earthquakes to forest fires, they have also been observed in neural systems, particularly, in neuronal cultures. However, the presence of critical states in the awake brain remains controversial. Here, we compared avalanche analyses performed on different in vivo preparations during wakefulness, slow-wave sleep and REM sleep, using high-density electrode arrays in cat motor cortex (96 electrodes, monkey motor cortex and premotor cortex and human temporal cortex (96 electrodes in epileptic patients. In neuronal avalanches defined from units (up to 160 single units, the size of avalanches never clearly scaled as power-law, but rather scaled exponentially or displayed intermediate scaling. We also analyzed the dynamics of local field potentials (LFPs and in particular LFP negative peaks (nLFPs among the different electrodes (up to 96 sites in temporal cortex or up to 128 sites in adjacent motor and pre-motor cortices. In this case, the avalanches defined from nLFPs displayed power-law scaling in double logarithmic representations, as reported previously in monkey. However, avalanche defined as positive LFP (pLFP peaks, which are less directly related to neuronal firing, also displayed apparent power-law scaling. Closer examination of this scaling using the more reliable cumulative distribution function (CDF and other rigorous statistical measures, did not confirm power-law scaling. The same pattern was seen for cats, monkey and human, as well as for different brain states of wakefulness and sleep. We also tested other alternative distributions. Multiple exponential fitting yielded optimal fits of the avalanche dynamics with bi-exponential distributions. Collectively, these results show no clear evidence for power-law scaling or self-organized critical states in the awake and sleeping brain of mammals, from cat to man.

Group Dynamics and Decision Making: Backcountry Recreationists in Avalanche Terrain

Science.gov (United States)

Bright, Leslie Shay

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study was to describe and determine the prevalence of decision-making characteristics of recreational backcountry groups when making a decision of where to travel and ride in avalanche terrain from the perspective of individuals. Decision-making characteristics encompassed communication, decision-making processes, leadership,…

Calculating Quench Propagation with ANSYS(regsign)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caspi, S.; Chiesa, L.; Ferracin, P.; Gourlay, S.A.; Hafalia, R.; Hinkins, R.; Lietzke, A.F.; Prestemon, S.

2002-01-01

A commercial Finite-Element-Analysis program, ANSYS(reg s ign), is widely used in structural and thermal analysis. With the program's ability to include non-linear material properties and import complex CAD files, one can generate coil geometries and simulate quench propagation in superconducting magnets. A 'proof-of-principle' finite element model was developed assuming a resistivity that increases linearly from zero to its normal value at a temperature consistent with the assumed B magnetic field. More sophisticated models could easily include finer-grained coil, cable, structural, and circuit details. A quench is provoked by raising the temperature of an arbitrary superconducting element above its T c . The time response to this perturbation is calculated using small time-steps to allow convergence between steps. Snapshots of the temperature and voltage distributions allow examination of longitudinal and turn-to-turn quench propagation, quench-front annihilation, and cryo-stability. Modeling details are discussed, and a computed voltage history was compared with measurements from a recent magnet test.

Tuning magnetization avalanches in Mn12-acetate

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Bo; McHugh, S.; Ma, Xiang; Sarachik, M. P.; Myasoedov, Y.; Shtrikman, H.; Zeldov, E.; Bagai, R.; Christou, G.

2009-03-01

We report the results of a systematic study of magnetic avalanches (abrupt magnetization reversals) in the molecular magnet Mn12-acetate using a micron-sized Hall sensor array. Measurements were taken for: (a) fixed magnetic field (constant barrier against spin reversal); and (b) fixed energy release obtained by adjusting the barrier and δM. A detailed comparison with the theory of magnetic deflagration of Garanin and Chudnovsky [1] will be presented and discussed. [1] D. A. Garanin and E. M. Chudnovsky, Phys. Rev. B 76, 054410 (2007)

System and method for quench protection of a superconductor

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Xianrui; Sivasubramaniam, Kiruba Haran; Bray, James William; Ryan, David Thomas

2008-03-11

A system and method for protecting a superconductor from a quench condition. A quench protection system is provided to protect the superconductor from damage due to a quench condition. The quench protection system comprises a voltage detector operable to detect voltage across the superconductor. The system also comprises a frequency filter coupled to the voltage detector. The frequency filter is operable to couple voltage signals to a control circuit that are representative of a rise in superconductor voltage caused by a quench condition and to block voltage signals that are not. The system is operable to detect whether a quench condition exists in the superconductor based on the voltage signal received via the frequency filter and to initiate a protective action in response.

Bar quenching in gas-rich galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Khoperskov, S.; Haywood, M.; Di Matteo, P.; Lehnert, M. D.; Combes, F.

2018-01-01

Galaxy surveys have suggested that rapid and sustained decrease in the star-formation rate (SFR), "quenching", in massive disk galaxies is frequently related to the presence of a bar. Optical and near-IR observations reveal that nearly 60% of disk galaxies in the local universe are barred, thus it is important to understand the relationship between bars and star formation in disk galaxies. Recent observational results imply that the Milky Way quenched about 9-10 Gyr ago, at the transition between the cessation of the growth of the kinematically hot, old, metal-poor thick disk and the kinematically colder, younger, and more metal-rich thin disk. Although perhaps coincidental, the quenching episode could also be related to the formation of the bar. Indeed the transfer of energy from the large-scale shear induced by the bar to increasing turbulent energy could stabilize the gaseous disk against wide-spread star formation and quench the galaxy. To explore the relation between bar formation and star formation in gas rich galaxies quantitatively, we simulated gas-rich disk isolated galaxies. Our simulations include prescriptions for star formation, stellar feedback, and for regulating the multi-phase interstellar medium. We find that the action of stellar bar efficiently quenches star formation, reducing the star-formation rate by a factor of ten in less than 1 Gyr. Analytical and self-consistent galaxy simulations with bars suggest that the action of the stellar bar increases the gas random motions within the co-rotation radius of the bar. Indeed, we detect an increase in the gas velocity dispersion up to 20-35 km s-1 at the end of the bar formation phase. The star-formation efficiency decreases rapidly, and in all of our models, the bar quenches the star formation in the galaxy. The star-formation efficiency is much lower in simulated barred compared to unbarred galaxies and more rapid bar formation implies more rapid quenching.

Optimization of a quench detection system for superconducting magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borlein, M.

2004-12-01

Subject of this report is the detection of a quench in a superconducting magnet. For the safe operation of superconducting magnets one of the most important issues is the quench detection system which controls the superconducting state of the magnet and triggers a safety discharge if necessary. If it comes to a breakdown of the superconductivity (quench), the magnet has to be discharged very quickly to avoid any damage or danger for the magnet or its environment. First an introducing overview is given. Next different methods of quench detection will be presented, partially on the basis of existing quench detection systems and the applicability of these methods in different states of the magnet operation will be shown. The different quench detection methods are compared and evaluated partially by using test experiments described in the appendix. As an application example this report contains a proposal for the quench detection system for the Wendelstein 7-X facility, actually built by the Institute for Plasma Physics, Garching [de

Quench simulations for superconducting elements in the LHC accelerator

CERN Document Server

Sonnemann, F

2000-01-01

The design of he protection system for he superconducting elements in an accel- erator such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC),now under construction at CERN, requires a detailed understanding of the hermo-hydraulic and electrodynamic pro- cesses during a quench.A numerical program (SPQR -Simulation Program for Quench Research)has been developed o evaluate temperature and voltage dis ri- butions during a quench as a func ion of space and ime.The quench process is simulated by approximating the heat balance equation with the finite di fference method in presence of variable cooling and powering conditions.The simulation predicts quench propagation along a superconducting cable,forced quenching with heaters,impact of eddy curren s induced by a magnetic field change,and heat trans- fer hrough an insulation layer in o helium,an adjacen conductor or other material. The simulation studies allowed a better understanding of experimental quench data and were used for determining the adequ...

Readout of scintillator light with avalanche photodiodes for positron emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Ruru; Fremout, A.; Tavernier, S.; Bruyndonckx, P.; Clement, D.; Loude, J.-F.; Morel, C.

1999-01-01

The noise properties and other relevant characteristics of avalanche photodiodes have been investigated with the perspective of replacing photomultiplier tubes in positron emission tomography. It is clearly demonstrated that they are a valid alternative to photomultiplier tubes in this application

Characteristics of debris avalanche deposits inferred from source volume estimate and hummock morphology around Mt. Erciyes, central Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Hayakawa, Yuichi S.; Yoshida, Hidetsugu; Obanawa, Hiroyuki; Naruhashi, Ryutaro; Okumura, Koji; Zaiki, Masumi; Kontani, Ryoichi

2018-02-01

Debris avalanches caused by volcano sector collapse often form characteristic depositional landforms such as hummocks. Sedimentological and geomorphological analyses of debris avalanche deposits (DADs) are crucial to clarify the size, mechanisms, and emplacement of debris avalanches. We describe the morphology of hummocks on the northeastern flank of Mt. Erciyes in Kayseri, central Turkey, likely formed in the late Pleistocene. Using a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) and the structure-from-motion and multi-view stereo (SfM-MVS) photogrammetry, we obtained high-definition digital elevation model (DEM) and orthorectified images of the hummocks to investigate their geometric features. We estimated the source volume of the DAD by reconstructing the topography of the volcano edifice using a satellite-based DEM. We examined the topographic cross sections based on the slopes around the scar regarded as remnant topography. Spatial distribution of hummocks is anomalously concentrated at a certain distance from the source, unlike those that follow the distance-size relationship. The high-definition land surface data by RPAS and SfM revealed that many of the hummocks are aligned toward the flow direction of the debris avalanche, suggesting that the extensional regime of the debris avalanche was dominant. However, some displaced hummocks were also found, indicating that the compressional regime of the flow contributed to the formation of hummocks. These indicate that the flow and emplacement of the avalanche were constrained by the topography. The existing caldera wall forced the initial eastward flow to move northward, and the north-side caldera wall forced the flow into the narrow and steepened outlet valley where the sliding debris underwent a compressional regime, and out into the unconfined terrain where the debris was most likely emplaced on an extensional regime. Also, the estimated volume of 12-15 × 108 m3 gives a mean thickness of 60-75 m, which is much

ITER Side Correction Coil Quench model and analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Nicollet, S.; Bessette, D.; Ciazynski, D.; Duchateau, J. L.; Gauthier, F.; Lacroix, B.

2016-12-01

Previous thermohydraulic studies performed for the ITER TF, CS and PF magnet systems have brought some important information on the detection and consequences of a quench as a function of the initial conditions (deposited energy, heated length). Even if the temperature margin of the Correction Coils is high, their behavior during a quench should also be studied since a quench is likely to be triggered by potential anomalies in joints, ground fault on the instrumentation wires, etc. A model has been developed with the SuperMagnet Code (Bagnasco et al., 2010) for a Side Correction Coil (SCC2) with four pancakes cooled in parallel, each of them represented by a Thea module (with the proper Cable In Conduit Conductor characteristics). All the other coils of the PF cooling loop are hydraulically connected in parallel (top/bottom correction coils and six Poloidal Field Coils) are modeled by Flower modules with equivalent hydraulics properties. The model and the analysis results are presented for five quench initiation cases with/without fast discharge: two quenches initiated by a heat input to the innermost turn of one pancake (case 1 and case 2) and two other quenches initiated at the innermost turns of four pancakes (case 3 and case 4). In the 5th case, the quench is initiated at the middle turn of one pancake. The impact on the cooling circuit, e.g. the exceedance of the opening pressure of the quench relief valves, is detailed in case of an undetected quench (i.e. no discharge of the magnet). Particular attention is also paid to a possible secondary quench detection system based on measured thermohydraulic signals (pressure, temperature and/or helium mass flow rate). The maximum cable temperature achieved in case of a fast current discharge (primary detection by voltage) is compared to the design hot spot criterion of 150 K, which includes the contribution of helium and jacket.

Fuel rod quenching with oxidation and precursory cooling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Davidi, A.; Elias, E.; Olek, S.

1999-01-01

During a loss-of-coolant-accident in LWR fuel rods may be temporarily exposed thus reaching high temperature levels. The injection of cold water into the core, while providing the necessary cooling to prevent melting may also generate steam inducing exothermal oxidation of the cladding. A number of high temperature quenching experiments [I] have demonstrated that during the early phase of the quenching process, the rate of hydrogen generation increased markedly and the surface temperatures rose rapidly. These effects are believed to result from thermal stresses breaking up the oxide layer on the zircalloy cladding, thus exposing the inner surface to oxidizing atmosphere. Steam reacts exothermally with the metallic components of the newly formed surface causing temporarily local temperature escalation. The main objective of this study is to develop and assess a one-dimensional time-dependent rewetting model to address the problem of quenching of hot surfaces undergoing exothermic oxidation reactions. Addressing a time-dependent problem is an important aspect of the work since it is believed that the progression of a quench-front along a hot oxidizing surface is an unsteady process. Several studies dealing with time-dependent rewetting problems have been published, e.g. [2]-[5], but none considers oxidation reactions downstream of the quench-front. The main difficulty in solving time-dependent rewetting problems stems from the fact that either the quench-front velocity or the quench-front positions constitute a time-dependent eigenvalue of the problem. The model is applied to describe the interrelated processes of cooling and exothermic steam-metal reactions at the vapor zirconium-cladding interface during quenching of degraded fuel rods. A constant heat transfer coefficient is assumed upstream of the quenching front whereas the combined effect of oxidation and post dry-out cooling is described by prescribing a heat flux distribution of general form downstream. The

Characterization of plasma current quench at JET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Riccardo, V; Barabaschi, P; Sugihara, M

2005-01-01

Eddy currents generated during the fastest disruption current decays represent the most severe design condition for medium and small size in-vessel components of most tokamaks. Best-fit linear and instantaneous plasma current quench rates have been extracted for a set of recent JET disruptions. Contrary to expectations, the current quench rate spectrum of high and low thermal energy disruptions is not substantially different. For most of the disruptions with the highest instantaneous current quench rate an exponential fit of the early phase of the current decay provides a more accurate estimate of the maximum current decay velocity. However, this fit is only suitable to model the fastest events, for which the current quench is dominated by radiation losses rather than the plasma motion

A high current, high speed pulser using avalanche transistors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosono, Yoneichi; Hasegawa, Ken-ichi

1985-01-01

A high current, high speed pulser for the beam pulsing of a linear accelerator is described. It uses seven avalanche transistors in cascade. Design of a trigger circuit to obtain fast rise time is discussed. The characteristics of the pulser are : (a) Rise time = 0.9 ns (FWHM) and (d) Life time asymptotically equals 2000 -- 3000 hr (at 50 Hz). (author)

Kinetic modelling of runaway electron avalanches in tokamak plasmas.

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Nilsson, E.; Decker, J.; Peysson, Y.; Granetz, R.S.; Saint-Laurent, F.; Vlainic, Milos

2015-01-01

Roč. 57, č. 9 (2015), č. článku 095006. ISSN 0741-3335 EU Projects: European Commission(XE) 633053 - EUROfusion Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : plasma physics * runaway electrons * knock-on collisions * tokamak * Fokker-Planck * runaway avalanches Subject RIV: BL - Plasma and Gas Discharge Physics OBOR OECD: Fluids and plasma physics (including surface physics) Impact factor: 2.404, year: 2015

Quench Tests of LHC Magnets with Beam: Studies on Beam Loss development and determination of Quench levels

CERN Document Server

Priebe, A; Sapinski, M

The application of superconducting materials in the field of high energy accelerator physics not only opens the doors to the generation of the magnetic fields unattainable to normal conductors but also demands facing new challenges. A transition fromthe superconducting state, which is characterized by a resistance-free flow of the electric current, to the normal conducting state is called quenching. This process might be extremely dangerous and even lead to destruction of amagnet superconducting coil if no protecting actions are taken. Therefore, the knowledge of a magnet quench level, i.e. amount of energy which causes the transition to the resistive state, is crucial for the safety and operational efficiency of the accelerator. Regarding that, specific thresholds are incorporated to dedicated quench prevention systems in order to suppress the origin of detected energy perturbation, for example beam losses, or mitigate the consequences of the quenching process by dissipating the energy stored in the magnetic...

Snow avalanche hazard of the Krkonose National Park, Czech Republic

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Blahůt, Jan; Klimeš, Jan; Balek, Jan; Hájek, P.; Červená, L.; Lysák, J.

2017-01-01

Roč. 13, č. 2 (2017), s. 86-90 ISSN 1744-5647 R&D Projects: GA MV VG20132015115 Institutional support: RVO:67985891 Keywords : snow avalanches * hazard * inventory * hazard mitigation * Krkonoše Subject RIV: DE - Earth Magnetism, Geodesy, Geography OBOR OECD: Physical geography Impact factor: 2.174, year: 2016

Quench behavior of a superconducting accelerator magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McInturff, A.D.; Sampson, W.B.; Garber, M.; Dahl, P.F.

1980-01-01

Data are presented on the minimum energy required to cause quenches to propagate in an accelerator dipole magnet. The amount of stored energy dissipated into the magnet was measured as a function of dipole excitation current. This in turn determines the maximum coil temperature reached in a given magnet. Quench velocities in the longitudinal direction of the conductor were as high as 11m/sec. The azimuthal velocities or turn to turn velocities were found to be a function of the number of fiberglass layers of insulation that the quench had to cross and were on the order of a few tens of centimeters/sec. The field shape of a given magnet was found to be unchanged for more than 100 quenches. The coil to coil connection and inter-coil splice resistances were found to be less than a namo-ohm and therefore of litle consequence in the cryogenic load considerations. No definitive answers were found on how to decrease the rate of training (130 Gauss/Quench average) required from 4.OT to 5.1T

Quenching phenomena in natural circulation loop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umekawa, Hisashi; Ozawa, Mamoru; Ishida, Naoki

1995-01-01

Quenching phenomena has been investigated experimentally using circulation loop of liquid nitrogen. During the quenching under natural circulation, the heat transfer mode changes from film boiling to nucleate boiling, and at the same time flux changes with time depending on the vapor generation rate and related two-phase flow characteristics. Moreover, density wave oscillations occur under a certain operating condition, which is closely related to the dynamic behavior of the cooling curve. The experimental results indicates that the occurrence of the density wave oscillation induces the deterioration of effective cooling of the heat surface in the film and the transition boiling regions, which results in the decrease in the quenching velocity

Quenching phenomena in natural circulation loop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Umekawa, Hisashi; Ozawa, Mamoru [Kansai Univ., Osaka (Japan); Ishida, Naoki [Daihatsu Motor Company, Osaka (Japan)

1995-09-01

Quenching phenomena has been investigated experimentally using circulation loop of liquid nitrogen. During the quenching under natural circulation, the heat transfer mode changes from film boiling to nucleate boiling, and at the same time flux changes with time depending on the vapor generation rate and related two-phase flow characteristics. Moreover, density wave oscillations occur under a certain operating condition, which is closely related to the dynamic behavior of the cooling curve. The experimental results indicates that the occurrence of the density wave oscillation induces the deterioration of effective cooling of the heat surface in the film and the transition boiling regions, which results in the decrease in the quenching velocity.

The quench detection system of Wendelstein 7-X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birus, Dietrich; Schneider, Matthias; Rummel, Thomas; Fricke, Marko

2011-01-01

The Quench Detection System of Wendelstein W7-X has been developed, pretested and manufactured during the last four years. This safety subsystem of the superconducting magnet power supply will guarantee the safe operating of the whole magnet system. The main targets of the Quench Detection System are the complete data acquisition of all the voltages along the superconducting components, i.e. non planar and planar coils, and bus bars, the evaluation of this data and the control of the magnet system safety discharges. The Quench Detection System is generating control commands for the magnet power supply control system and the electrical status of the superconducting components of W7-X. The Quench Detection System consists of nearly 580 Quench Detection Units (QDU) located in 10 QD-subsystems, 8 racks in each, one host system and two special interfaces for evaluation of the quench control commands and the failure signals. The operating software suite of the QD System allows the configuration, the operation and the maintenance of the whole system.

(Talk) Investigating The Star Formation Quenching Across Cosmic Time - A Methodology To Select Galaxies Just After The Quenching Of Star Formation

Science.gov (United States)

Citro, Annalisa; Pozzetti, Lucia; Quai, Salvatore; Moresco, Michele; Vallini, Livia; Cimatti, Andrea

2017-06-01

We propose a method aimed at identifing galaxies in the short evolutionary phase in which they quench their star-formation (SF). We rely on high- to low-ionization emission line ratios, which rapidly disappear after the SF halt due to the softening of the UV ionizing radiation. In particular, we focus on [O III] 5007/Halpha and [Ne III] 3869/[O II] 3727, simulating their time evolution by means of the CLOUDY photoionization code. We find that these two emission line ratios are able to trace the quenching on very short time-scales (i.e. 10-80 Myr), depending on if a sharp or a smoother SF quenching is assumed. We adopt the [N II] 6584/[O II] 3727 ratio as metallicity diagnostic to mitigate the metallicity degeneracy which affects our method. Using a Sloan Digital Sky Survey galaxy sample, we identify 11 examples of extreme quenching candidates within the [O III] 5007/Halpha vs. [N II] 6584/[O II] 3727 plane, characterized by faint [Ne III] 3869, blue dust-corrected spectra and blue (u-r) colours, as expected if the quenching occurred in the recent past. Our results also suggest that the observed fractions of quenching candidates can be used to constrain the quenching mechanism at work and its time-scales.

Novel water-air circulation quenching process for AISI 4140 steel

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Liyun; Zheng, Dawei; Zhao, Lixin; Wang, Lihui; Zhang, Kai

2013-11-01

AISI 4140 steel is usually used after quenching and tempering. During the heat treatment process in industry production, there are some problems, such as quenching cracks, related to water-cooling and low hardness due to oil quenching. A water-air circulation quenching process can solve the problems of quenching cracks with water and the high cost quenching with oil, which is flammable, unsafe and not enough to obtain the required hardness. The control of the water-cooling and air-cooling time is a key factor in the process. This paper focuses on the quenching temperature, water-air cycle time and cycle index to prevent cracking for AISI 4140 steel. The optimum heat treatment parameters to achieve a good match of the strength and toughness of AISI 4140 steel were obtained by repeated adjustment of the water-air circulation quenching process parameters. The tensile strength, Charpy impact energy at -10 °C and hardness of the heat treated AISI 4140 steel after quenching and tempering were approximately 1098 MPa, 67.5 J and 316 HB, respectively.

Quenching and recovery experiments on tungsten

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rasch, K.D.; Siegel, R.W.; Schultz, H.

1976-01-01

A short summary is given of new results concerning transmission electron microscopy and resistivity measurements on quenched tungsten. These results give evidence for the first time that the quenching and annealing of high purity tungsten leads to vacancy--defect clustering resulting in small voids observable in the electron microscope. 21 references

Cosmogenic Nuclide Exposure Dating of the Tiltill Rock Avalanche, Yosemite National Park

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, K. R.; Pluhar, C. J.; Stone, J. O.; Stock, G. M.; Zimmerman, S. R.

2013-12-01

Yosemite National Park serves as an excellent natural laboratory for studying rock falls and rock avalanches because these are the main processes modifying the nearly vertical slopes of this recently glaciated landscape. Mass wasting represents a significant hazard in the region and the database of previous rock falls and other mass wasting events in Yosemite is extensive, dating back to the mid-1800s. However, this record is too short to capture the recurrence characteristics and triggering mechanisms of the very largest events, necessitating studies of the geologic record of mass wasting. Rock falls and rock avalanches are readily dated by cosmogenic nuclide methods due to their instantaneous formation, and results can be tied to triggering events such as seismic activity (e.g. Stock et al., 2009). Here, we apply exposure dating to the Holocene Tiltill rock avalanche north of Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The deposit comprises what appear to be two separate lobes of rock and debris, yielding a total volume of ~3.1 x 106 m3. Assuming an erosion rate of 0.0006 cm/yr and neglecting snowpack shielding, preliminary data suggest a mean exposure age of 11,000 + 600 year B.P. for both deposits, indicating that they were emplaced in a single event. The age of the Tiltill 'slide' is similar to earthquakes on the Owens Valley Fault between 10,800 + 600 and 10,200 + 200 cal year B.P. (Bacon, 2007) and the White Mountain Fault, ~10,000 cal year B.P. (Reheis, 1996; DePolo, 1989). Given that movement on the Owens Valley fault in 1872 caused a number of rock falls in Yosemite and the coincidence of ages between the Tiltill 'slide' and paleoseismic events, a large earthquake in Eastern Sierra Nevada may have triggered this event. Other trigger events are also possibilities, but only through compilation of a database of large rock avalanches can statistically significant groupings of events begin to demonstrate whether seismic triggering is a dominant process.

High-Field Quench Behavior and Protection of $Bi_2 Sr_2 Ca Cu_2 O_x$ Coils: Minimum and Maximum Quench Detection Voltages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen, Tengming [Fermilab; Ye, Liyang [NCSU, Raleigh; Turrioni, Daniele [Fermilab; Li, Pei [Fermilab

2015-01-01

Small insert coils have been built using a multifilamentary Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox round wire, and characterized in background fields to explore the quench behaviors and limits of Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox superconducting magnets, with an emphasis on assessing the impact of slow normal zone propagation on quench detection. Using heaters of various lengths to initiate a small normal zone, a coil was quenched safely more than 70 times without degradation, with the maximum coil temperature reaching 280 K. Coils withstood a resistive voltage of tens of mV for seconds without quenching, showing the high stability of these coils and suggesting that the quench detection voltage shall be greater than 50 mV to not to falsely trigger protection. The hot spot temperature for the resistive voltage of the normal zone to reach 100 mV increases from ~40 K to ~80 K with increasing the operating wire current density Jo from 89 A/mm2 to 354 A/mm2 whereas for the voltage to reach 1 V, it increases from ~60 K to ~140 K, showing the increasing negative impact of slow normal zone propagation on quench detection with increasing Jo and the need to limit the quench detection voltage to < 1 V. These measurements, coupled with an analytical quench model, were used to access the impact of the maximum allowable voltage and temperature upon quench detection on the quench protection, assuming to limit the hot spot temperature to <300 K.

Galaxies in the act of quenching star formation

Science.gov (United States)

Quai, Salvatore; Pozzetti, Lucia; Citro, Annalisa; Moresco, Michele; Cimatti, Andrea

2018-04-01

Detecting galaxies when their star-formation is being quenched is crucial to understand the mechanisms driving their evolution. We identify for the first time a sample of quenching galaxies selected just after the interruption of their star formation by exploiting the [O III] λ5007/Hα ratio and searching for galaxies with undetected [O III]. Using a sample of ˜174000 star-forming galaxies extracted from the SDSS-DR8 at 0.04 ≤ z growth of the quiescent population at these redshifts. Their main properties (i.e. star-formation rate, colours and metallicities) are comparable to those of the star-forming population, coherently with the hypothesis of recent quenching, but preferably reside in higher-density environments.Most candidates have morphologies similar to star-forming galaxies, suggesting that no morphological transformation has occurred yet. From a survival analysis we find a low fraction of candidates (˜ 0.58% of the star-forming population), leading to a short quenching timescale of tQ ˜ 50 Myr and an e-folding time for the quenching history of τQ ˜ 90 Myr, and their upper limits of tQ < 0.76 Gyr and τQ <1.5 Gyr, assuming as quenching galaxies 50% of objects without [O III] (˜7.5%).Our results are compatible with a 'rapid' quenching scenario of satellites galaxies due to the final phase of strangulation or ram-pressure stripping. This approach represents a robust alternative to methods used so far to select quenched galaxies (e.g. colours, specific star-formation rate, or post-starburst spectra).

Generation efficiency of single-photon current pulses in the Geiger mode of silicon avalanche photodiodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Verkhovtseva, A. V.; Gergel, V. A.

2009-01-01

Statistical fluctuations of the avalanche's multiplication efficiency were studied as applied to the single-photon (Geiger) mode of avalanche photodiodes. The distribution function of partial multiplication factors with an anomalously wide (of the order of the average) dispersion was obtained. Expressions for partial feedback factors were derived in terms of the average gain and the corresponding dependences on the diode's overvoltage were calculated. Final expressions for the photon-electric pulse's conversion were derived by averaging corresponding formulas over the coordinate of initiating photoelectron generation using the functions of optical photon absorption in silicon.

Numerical Study of Quench Protection for Fast-Ramping Accelerator Magnets

CERN Document Server

Schwerg, N; Mess, K-N; Russenschuck, S

2009-01-01

The quench module of the ROXIE field computation program has been presented at previous conferences. In this paper we discuss recently implemented features that allow quench simulation of fast-ramping superconducting magnets. As the reliability of quench detection during the ramps depends on the signal to noise ratio, we simulate the influence of detection thresholds and the propagation of undetected quenches during the ramps. We also study the effect of an increased copper content and the feasibility of a self-protected magnet surviving a powering cycle with an undetected quench and without quench heater firing or energy-extraction system.

Quench antenna for superconducting particle accelerator magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogitsu, T.; Devred, A.; Kim, K.

1993-10-01

We report on the design, fabrication, and test of an assembly of stationary pickup coils which can be used to localize quench origins. After describing the pickup coils configuration, we develop a simple model of current redistribution which allows interpretation of the measured voltages and determination of the turn of the magnet coil in which the quench started. The technique is illustrated by analyzing the data from a quench of a 5-cm-aperture, 15-m-long SSC dipole magnet prototype

Radiation damage effect on avalanche photodiodes

CERN Document Server

Baccaro, S; Cavallari, F; Da Ponte, V; Deiters, K; Denes, P; Diemoz, M; Kirn, Th; Lintern, A L; Longo, E; Montecchi, M; Musienko, Y; Pansart, J P; Renker, D; Reucroft, S; Rosi, G; Rusack, R; Ruuska, D; Stephenson, R; Torbet, M J

1999-01-01

Avalanche Photodiodes have been chosen as photon sensors for the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at the LHC. These sensors should operate in the 4T magnetic field of the experiment. Because of the high neutron radiation in the detector extensive studies have been done by the CMS collaboration on the APD neutron radiation damage. The characteristics of these devices after irradiation have been analized, with particular attention to the quantum efficiency and the dark current. The recovery of the radiation induced dark current has been studied carefully at room temperature and at slightly lower and higher temperatures. The temperature dependence of the defects decay-time has been evaluated.

Practical photon number detection with electric field-modulated silicon avalanche photodiodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, O; Yuan, Z L; Shields, A J

2012-01-24

Low-noise single-photon detection is a prerequisite for quantum information processing using photonic qubits. In particular, detectors that are able to accurately resolve the number of photons in an incident light pulse will find application in functions such as quantum teleportation and linear optics quantum computing. More generally, such a detector will allow the advantages of quantum light detection to be extended to stronger optical signals, permitting optical measurements limited only by fluctuations in the photon number of the source. Here we demonstrate a practical high-speed device, which allows the signals arising from multiple photon-induced avalanches to be precisely discriminated. We use a type of silicon avalanche photodiode in which the lateral electric field profile is strongly modulated in order to realize a spatially multiplexed detector. Clearly discerned multiphoton signals are obtained by applying sub-nanosecond voltage gates in order to restrict the detector current.

Scintillator high-gain avalanche rushing photoconductor active-matrix flat panel imager: zero-spatial frequency x-ray imaging properties of the solid-state SHARP sensor structure.

Science.gov (United States)

Wronski, M; Zhao, W; Tanioka, K; Decrescenzo, G; Rowlands, J A

2012-11-01

The authors are investigating the feasibility of a new type of solid-state x-ray imaging sensor with programmable avalanche gain: scintillator high-gain avalanche rushing photoconductor active matrix flat panel imager (SHARP-AMFPI). The purpose of the present work is to investigate the inherent x-ray detection properties of SHARP and demonstrate its wide dynamic range through programmable gain. A distributed resistive layer (DRL) was developed to maintain stable avalanche gain operation in a solid-state HARP. The signal and noise properties of the HARP-DRL for optical photon detection were investigated as a function of avalanche gain both theoretically and experimentally, and the results were compared with HARP tube (with electron beam readout) used in previous investigations of zero spatial frequency performance of SHARP. For this new investigation, a solid-state SHARP x-ray image sensor was formed by direct optical coupling of the HARP-DRL with a structured cesium iodide (CsI) scintillator. The x-ray sensitivity of this sensor was measured as a function of avalanche gain and the results were compared with the sensitivity of HARP-DRL measured optically. The dynamic range of HARP-DRL with variable avalanche gain was investigated for the entire exposure range encountered in radiography∕fluoroscopy (R∕F) applications. The signal from HARP-DRL as a function of electric field showed stable avalanche gain, and the noise associated with the avalanche process agrees well with theory and previous measurements from a HARP tube. This result indicates that when coupled with CsI for x-ray detection, the additional noise associated with avalanche gain in HARP-DRL is negligible. The x-ray sensitivity measurements using the SHARP sensor produced identical avalanche gain dependence on electric field as the optical measurements with HARP-DRL. Adjusting the avalanche multiplication gain in HARP-DRL enabled a very wide dynamic range which encompassed all clinically relevant

Scintillator high-gain avalanche rushing photoconductor active-matrix flat panel imager: Zero-spatial frequency x-ray imaging properties of the solid-state SHARP sensor structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wronski, M.; Zhao, W.; Tanioka, K.; DeCrescenzo, G.; Rowlands, J. A.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The authors are investigating the feasibility of a new type of solid-state x-ray imaging sensor with programmable avalanche gain: scintillator high-gain avalanche rushing photoconductor active matrix flat panel imager (SHARP-AMFPI). The purpose of the present work is to investigate the inherent x-ray detection properties of SHARP and demonstrate its wide dynamic range through programmable gain. Methods: A distributed resistive layer (DRL) was developed to maintain stable avalanche gain operation in a solid-state HARP. The signal and noise properties of the HARP-DRL for optical photon detection were investigated as a function of avalanche gain both theoretically and experimentally, and the results were compared with HARP tube (with electron beam readout) used in previous investigations of zero spatial frequency performance of SHARP. For this new investigation, a solid-state SHARP x-ray image sensor was formed by direct optical coupling of the HARP-DRL with a structured cesium iodide (CsI) scintillator. The x-ray sensitivity of this sensor was measured as a function of avalanche gain and the results were compared with the sensitivity of HARP-DRL measured optically. The dynamic range of HARP-DRL with variable avalanche gain was investigated for the entire exposure range encountered in radiography/fluoroscopy (R/F) applications. Results: The signal from HARP-DRL as a function of electric field showed stable avalanche gain, and the noise associated with the avalanche process agrees well with theory and previous measurements from a HARP tube. This result indicates that when coupled with CsI for x-ray detection, the additional noise associated with avalanche gain in HARP-DRL is negligible. The x-ray sensitivity measurements using the SHARP sensor produced identical avalanche gain dependence on electric field as the optical measurements with HARP-DRL. Adjusting the avalanche multiplication gain in HARP-DRL enabled a very wide dynamic range which encompassed all

Fluorescence quenching of fluorescein by Merocyanine 540 in liposomes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toprak, Mahmut; Meryem Aydin, Burcu; Arik, Mustafa; Onganer, Yavuz

2011-01-01

The fluorescence quenching of fluorescein (FL) by merociyanine 540 (MC540) was examined in L-egg lecithin phosphatidycholine (PC) liposomes using spectroscopic methods. The type of quenching mechanism (dynamic or static) was evaluated using the Stern-Volmer plots. Findings were also supported by the temperature studies and florescence decay measurements. The Stern-Volmer equation was utilized to calculate bimolecular quenching constants (K q ). Furthermore, the bimolecular quenching constant of the quencher in the liposomes (K SV ), partition coefficient (K p ), binding constant (K), and corresponding thermodynamic parameters ΔH, ΔS, and ΔG were calculated. The quenching property was also used in determining quantitatively (K p ) the partition coefficient of Merociyanini 540 in PC liposome.The obtained data indicated that static quenching occurred in the system and the K SV values decreased with increasing lipid concentration. In addition, thermodynamic analysis suggested that van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonding were the main acting forces between fluorescein and merociyanine 540 molecules in the medium. - Highlights: → Fluorescence quenching of FL by MC540 in liposome system was analyzed. → Fluorescence quenching mechanism of FL by MC540 was consistent with the static model. → Binding FL to MC540 was spontaneous and carried out by hydrogen bond and van der Waals forces.

Quorum Quenching Revisited—From Signal Decays to Signalling Confusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kok-Gan Chan

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In a polymicrobial community, while some bacteria are communicating with neighboring cells (quorum sensing, others are interrupting the communication (quorum quenching, thus creating a constant arms race between intercellular communication. In the past decade, numerous quorum quenching enzymes have been found and initially thought to inactivate the signalling molecules. Though this is widely accepted, the actual roles of these quorum quenching enzymes are now being uncovered. Recent evidence extends the role of quorum quenching to detoxification or metabolism of signalling molecules as food and energy source; this includes “signalling confusion”, a term coined in this paper to refer to the phenomenon of non-destructive modification of signalling molecules. While quorum quenching has been explored as a novel anti-infective therapy targeting, quorum sensing evidence begins to show the development of resistance against quorum quenching.

FPGA-based quench detection system for super-FRS super-ferric dipole prototype

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Tongjun; Wu Wei; Yao Qinggao; Yuan Ping; He Yuan; Han Shaofei; Ma Lizhen

2011-01-01

The quench detection system for Super-FRS super-ferric dipole prototype magnet of FAIR has been designed and built. The balance bridge was used to detect quench signal. In order to avoid blind zone of quench detection, two independent bridges were used. NI PXI-7830R FPGA was used to implement filter to quench signal and algorithm of quench decision and to produce quench trigger signal. Pre-sample technique was used in quench data acquisition. The data before and after quench could be recorded for analysis later. The test result indicated that the quench of the dipole's superconducting coil could be reliably detected by the quench detection module. (authors)

Processing of the quench detection signals in W7-X

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Birus, Dietrich; Schneider, Matthias; Rummel, Thomas; Fricke, Marko; Petry, Klaus; Ebersoldt, Andreas

2009-01-01

The Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) project uses superconductive coils for generation of the magnetic field to keep the plasma. One of the important safety systems is the protection against quench events. The quench detection system of W7-X protects the superconducting coils, the superconducting bus bar sections and the high temperature superconductor of the current leads against the damage because of a quench and against the high stress by a fast discharge of the magnet system. Therefore, the present design of the quench detection system (QDS) uses a two-stage safety concept for discharging the magnetic system. This paper describes the present design of the system assembly from the quench detection unit (QDU) for the detection of the quench to the quench detection interface (QDI) to implement the two-stage safety concept.

Heating the quenched Eguchi-Kawai model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klinkhamer, F.R. (Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Netherlands). Sterrewacht)

1983-05-30

We consider the Eguchi-Kawaii reduction, in the momentum-quenched prescription, of the SU(N) lattice gauge theory for N -> infinite and address the problem of how finite temperature might be incorporated. This is of interest in order to establish quark deconfinement at high temperatures. We also show that different quenching procedures may be inequivalent.

Exciplex formation accompanied with excitation quenching.

Science.gov (United States)

Fedorenko, Stanislav G; Burshtein, Anatoly I

2010-04-08

The competence of the reversible exciplex formation and parallel quenching of excitation (by electron or energy transfer) was considered using a non-Markovian pi-forms approach, identical to integral encounter theory (IET). General equations accounting for the reversible quenching and exciplex formation are derived in the contact approximation. Their general solution was obtained and adopted to the most common case when the ground state particles are in great excess. Particular cases of only photoionization or just exciplex formation separately studied earlier by means of IET are reproduced. In the case of the irreversible excitation quenching, the theory allows specifying the yields of the fluorescence and exciplex luminescence, as well as the long time kinetics of excitation and exciplex decays, in the absence of quenching. The theory distinguishes between the alternative regimes of (a) fast equilibration between excitations and exciplexes followed by their decay with a common average rate and (b) the fastest and deep excitation decay followed by the weaker and slower delayed fluorescence, backed by exciplex dissociation.

Burial duration, depth and air pocket explain avalanche survival patterns in Austria and Switzerland.

Science.gov (United States)

Procter, Emily; Strapazzon, Giacomo; Dal Cappello, Tomas; Zweifel, Benjamin; Würtele, Andreas; Renner, Andreas; Falk, Markus; Brugger, Hermann

2016-08-01

To calculate the first Austrian avalanche survival curve and update a Swiss survival curve to explore survival patterns in the Alps. Avalanche accidents occurring between 2005/06 and 2012/13 in Austria and Switzerland were collected. Completely buried victims (i.e. burial of the head and chest) in open terrain with known outcome (survived or not survived) were included in the analysis. Extrication and survival curves were calculated using the Turnbull algorithm, as in previous studies. 633 of the 796 completely buried victims were included (Austria n=333, Switzerland n=300). Overall survival was 56% (Austria 59%; Switzerland 52%; p=0.065). Time to extrication was shorter in Austria for victims buried ≤60min (p15min. The survival curves resembled those previously published and support the idea that underlying survival patterns are reproducible. The results are in accordance with current recommendations for management of avalanche victims and serve as a reminder that expedient companion rescue within a few minutes is critical for survival. An air pocket was shown to be a positive prognostic factor for survival. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Azimuthal spread of the avalanche in proportional chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okuno, H.; Fischer, J.; Radeka, V.; Walenta, A.H.

1978-10-01

The angular distribution of the avalanche around the anode wire in the gas proportional counter is determined by measuring the distribution of positive ions arriving on cathode strips surrounding the anode wire for each single event. The shape and width of the distribution depend on such factors as the gas gain, the anode diameter, the counting gas and the primary ionization density. Effects of these factors are studied systematically, and their importance for practical counter applications is discussed

Validation of Quench Simulation and Simulation of the TWIN Solenoid

CERN Document Server

Pots, Rosalinde Hendrika

2015-01-01

For the Future Circular Collider at CERN a multi-purpose detector is proposed. The 6T TWIN Solenoid, a very large magnet system with a stored energy of 53 GJ, is being designed. It is important to protect the magnet against quenches in the system. Therefore several existing quench protection systems are evaluated and simulations have be performed on quenches in the TWIN Solenoid. The simulations on quenches in the TWIN Solenoid have been performed with promising results; the hotspot temperatures do not exceed 120 K and layer to layer voltages stay below 500 V. Adding quench heaters to the system might improve the quench protection system further.

Subsampling effects in neuronal avalanche distributions recorded in vivo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Munk Matthias HJ

2009-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Many systems in nature are characterized by complex behaviour where large cascades of events, or avalanches, unpredictably alternate with periods of little activity. Snow avalanches are an example. Often the size distribution f(s of a system's avalanches follows a power law, and the branching parameter sigma, the average number of events triggered by a single preceding event, is unity. A power law for f(s, and sigma = 1, are hallmark features of self-organized critical (SOC systems, and both have been found for neuronal activity in vitro. Therefore, and since SOC systems and neuronal activity both show large variability, long-term stability and memory capabilities, SOC has been proposed to govern neuronal dynamics in vivo. Testing this hypothesis is difficult because neuronal activity is spatially or temporally subsampled, while theories of SOC systems assume full sampling. To close this gap, we investigated how subsampling affects f(s and sigma by imposing subsampling on three different SOC models. We then compared f(s and sigma of the subsampled models with those of multielectrode local field potential (LFP activity recorded in three macaque monkeys performing a short term memory task. Results Neither the LFP nor the subsampled SOC models showed a power law for f(s. Both, f(s and sigma, depended sensitively on the subsampling geometry and the dynamics of the model. Only one of the SOC models, the Abelian Sandpile Model, exhibited f(s and sigma similar to those calculated from LFP activity. Conclusion Since subsampling can prevent the observation of the characteristic power law and sigma in SOC systems, misclassifications of critical systems as sub- or supercritical are possible. Nevertheless, the system specific scaling of f(s and sigma under subsampling conditions may prove useful to select physiologically motivated models of brain function. Models that better reproduce f(s and sigma calculated from the physiological

Investigation of an overheated PWR-type fuel rod simulator bundle cooled down by steam. Pt. 1: experimental and calculational results of the QUENCH-04 test. Pt. 2: application of the SVECHA/QUENCH code to the analysis of the QUENCH-01 and QUENCH-04 bundle tests

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sepold, L.; Hofmann, P.; Homann, C.

2002-04-01

The QUENCH experiments are to investigate the hydrogen source term that results from the water injection into an uncovered core of a light-water reactor (LWR). The test bundle is made of 21 fuel rod simulators with a length of approximately 2.5 m. 20 fuel rod simulators are heated over a length of 1024 mm, the one unheated fuel rod simulator is located in the center of the test bundle. Heating is carried out electrically using 6-mm-diameter tungsten heating elements installed in the center of the rods and surrounded by annular ZrO 2 pellets. The rod cladding is identical to that used in LWRs: Zircaloy-4, 10.75 mm outside diameter, 0.725 mm wall thickness. The test bundle is instrumented with thermocouples attached to the cladding and the shroud at 17 different elevations with an axial distance between the thermocouples of 100 mm. During the entire test up to the cooldown phase, superheated steam together with the argon as carrier gas enters the test bundle at the bottom end and leaves the test section at the top together with the hydrogen that is produced in the zirconium-steam reaction. The hydrogen is analyzed by three different instruments: two mass spectrometers and a ''Caldos 7 G'' hydrogen measuring device (based on the principle of heat conductivity). Part I of this report describes the results of test QUENCH-04 performed in the QUENCH test facility at the Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe on June 30, 1999. The objective of the experiment QUENCH-04 was to investigate the reaction of the non-preoxidized rod cladding on cooldown by steam rather than quenching by water. Part II of the present report deals with the results of the SVECHA/QUENCH (S/Q) code application to the FZK QUENCH bundle tests. The adaptation of the S/Q code to such kind of calculations is described. The numerical procedure of the recalculation of the temperature test data, and the preparation for the S/Q code input is presented. In particular, the results of the QUENCH-01 and QUENCH-04 test

Forced convective post CHF heat transfer and quenching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, R.A.

1980-01-01

This paper discusses mechanisms in the post-CHF region which provide understanding and qualitative prediction capability for several current forced convective heat transfer problems. In the area of nuclear reactor safety, the mechanisms are important in the prediction of fuel rod quenches for the reflood phase, blowdown phase, and possibly some operational transients with dryout. Results using the mechanisms to investigate forced convective quenching are presented. Data reduction of quenching experiments is discussed, and the way in which the quenching transient may affect the results of different types of quenching experiments is investigated. This investigation provides an explanation of how minimum wall superheats greater than the homogeneous nucleation temperature result, as well as how these may appear to be either hydrodynamically or thermodynamically controlled. Finally, the results of a parametric study of the effects of the mechanisms upon the LOFT L2-3 hotpin calculation are presented

Heating the quenched Eguchi-Kawai model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klinkhamer, F.R.

1983-01-01

We consider the Eguchi-Kawaii reduction, in the momentum-quenched prescription, of the SU(N) lattice gauge theory for N -> infinite and address the problem of how finite temperature might be incorporated. This is of interest in order to establish quark deconfinement at high temperatures. We also show that different quenching procedures may be inequivalent. (orig.)

Quench start localization in full-length SSC R ampersand D dipoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devred, A.; Chapman, M.; Cortella, J.; Desportes, A.; Kaugerts, J.; Kirk, T.; Mirk, K.; Schermer, R.; Tompkins, J.C.; Turner, J.; Bleadon, M.; Brown, B.C.; Hanft, R.; Kuchnir, M.; Lamm, M.; Mantsch, P.; Mazur, P.O.; Orris, D.; Peoples, J.; Strait, J.; Tool, G.; Caspi, S.; Gilbert, W.; Meuser, R.; Peters, C.; Rechen, J.; Royet, J.; Scanlan, R.; Taylor, C.; Zbasnik, J.

1989-04-01

Full-length SSC R ampersand D dipole magnets instrumented with four voltage taps on each turn of the inner quarter coils have been tested. These voltage taps enable accurate location of the point at which the quenches start and detailed studies of quench development in the coil. Attention here is focused on localizing the quench source. After recalling the basic mechanism of a quench (why it occurs and how it propagates), the method of quench origin analysis is described: the quench propagation velocity on the turn where the quench occurs is calculated, and the quench location is then verified by reiterating the analysis on the adjacent turns. Last, the velocity value, which appears to be higher than previously measured, is discussed

Reforestation and land use change as drivers for a decrease of avalanche damage in mid-latitude mountains (NW Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

García-Hernández, Cristina; Ruiz-Fernández, Jesús; Sánchez-Posada, Covadonga; Pereira, Susana; Oliva, Marc; Vieira, Gonçalo

2017-06-01

Natural conditions that explain the triggering of snow avalanches are becoming better-known, but our understanding of how socio-environmental changes can influence the occurrence of damaging avalanches is still limited. This study analyses the evolution of snow avalanche damage in the Asturian Massif (NW Spain) between 1800 and 2015, paying special attention to changes in land-use and land-cover patterns. A damage index has been performed using historical sources, photointerpretation and fieldwork-based data, which were introduced in a GIS and processed by means of statistical analysis. Mapping allowed connecting spatiotemporal variations of damage and changes in human-environment interactions. The total number of victims was 342 (192 dead and 150 injured). Results show stability in the number of avalanches during the study period, but a progressive decrease in the damage per avalanche. Changes in land use explain the evolution of damage and its spatial/temporal behaviour. The role played by vegetation cover is at the root of this process: damage was the highest during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when a massive deforestation process affected the protective forest. This deforestation was the result of demographic growth and intensive grazing, disentailment laws and emerging coal mining. Since the mid-20th century, the transformation of a traditional land-management system based on overexploitation into a system based on land marginalization and reforestation, together with the decline of deforestation due to industrial and legal causes, resulted in the decrease of avalanches that affected settlements (mostly those released below the potential timberline). The decrease of damage has been sharper in the western sector of the Asturian Massif, where oak deforestation was very intense in the past and where lithology allows for a more successful ecological succession at present. Taking into account that reforestation can be observed in mountain environments of

Characteristics of debris avalanche deposits inferred from source volume estimate and hummock morphology around Mt. Erciyes, central Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. S. Hayakawa

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Debris avalanches caused by volcano sector collapse often form characteristic depositional landforms such as hummocks. Sedimentological and geomorphological analyses of debris avalanche deposits (DADs are crucial to clarify the size, mechanisms, and emplacement of debris avalanches. We describe the morphology of hummocks on the northeastern flank of Mt. Erciyes in Kayseri, central Turkey, likely formed in the late Pleistocene. Using a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS and the structure-from-motion and multi-view stereo (SfM–MVS photogrammetry, we obtained high-definition digital elevation model (DEM and orthorectified images of the hummocks to investigate their geometric features. We estimated the source volume of the DAD by reconstructing the topography of the volcano edifice using a satellite-based DEM. We examined the topographic cross sections based on the slopes around the scar regarded as remnant topography. Spatial distribution of hummocks is anomalously concentrated at a certain distance from the source, unlike those that follow the distance–size relationship. The high-definition land surface data by RPAS and SfM revealed that many of the hummocks are aligned toward the flow direction of the debris avalanche, suggesting that the extensional regime of the debris avalanche was dominant. However, some displaced hummocks were also found, indicating that the compressional regime of the flow contributed to the formation of hummocks. These indicate that the flow and emplacement of the avalanche were constrained by the topography. The existing caldera wall forced the initial eastward flow to move northward, and the north-side caldera wall forced the flow into the narrow and steepened outlet valley where the sliding debris underwent a compressional regime, and out into the unconfined terrain where the debris was most likely emplaced on an extensional regime. Also, the estimated volume of 12–15 × 108 m3 gives a mean thickness of

Numerical modeling of debris avalanches at Nevado de Toluca (Mexico): implications for hazard evaluation and mapping

Science.gov (United States)

Grieco, F.; Capra, L.; Groppelli, G.; Norini, G.

2007-05-01

The present study concerns the numerical modeling of debris avalanches on the Nevado de Toluca Volcano (Mexico) using TITAN2D simulation software, and its application to create hazard maps. Nevado de Toluca is an andesitic to dacitic stratovolcano of Late Pliocene-Holocene age, located in central México near to the cities of Toluca and México City; its past activity has endangered an area with more than 25 million inhabitants today. The present work is based upon the data collected during extensive field work finalized to the realization of the geological map of Nevado de Toluca at 1:25,000 scale. The activity of the volcano has developed from 2.6 Ma until 10.5 ka with both effusive and explosive events; the Nevado de Toluca has presented long phases of inactivity characterized by erosion and emplacement of debris flow and debris avalanche deposits on its flanks. The largest epiclastic events in the history of the volcano are wide debris flows and debris avalanches, occurred between 1 Ma and 50 ka, during a prolonged hiatus in eruptive activity. Other minor events happened mainly during the most recent volcanic activity (less than 50 ka), characterized by magmatic and tectonic-induced instability of the summit dome complex. According to the most recent tectonic analysis, the active transtensive kinematics of the E-W Tenango Fault System had a strong influence on the preferential directions of the last three documented lateral collapses, which generated the Arroyo Grande and Zaguàn debris avalanche deposits towards E and Nopal debris avalanche deposit towards W. The analysis of the data collected during the field work permitted to create a detailed GIS database of the spatial and temporal distribution of debris avalanche deposits on the volcano. Flow models, that have been performed with the software TITAN2D, developed by GMFG at Buffalo, were entirely based upon the information stored in the geological database. The modeling software is built upon equations

Modelling of QUENCH-03 and QUENCH-06 Experiments Using RELAP/SCDAPSIM and ASTEC Codes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tadas Kaliatka

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To prevent total meltdown of the uncovered and overheated core, the reflooding with water is a necessary accident management measure. Because these actions lead to the generation of hydrogen, which can cause further problems, the related phenomena are investigated performing experiments and computer simulations. In this paper, for the experiments of loss of coolant accidents, performed in Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, QUENCH-03 and QUENCH-06 are modelled using RELAP5/SCDAPSIM and ASTEC codes. The performed benchmark allowed analysing different modelling features. The recommendations for the model development are presented.

Partially quenched gauge theories and an application to staggered fermions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernard, C.W.; Golterman, M.F.L.

1994-01-01

We extend our Lagrangian technique for chiral perturbation theory for quenched QCD to include theories in which only some of the quarks are quenched. We discuss the relationship between the partially quenched theory and a theory in which only the unquenched quarks are present. We also investigate the peculiar infrared divergences associated with the η' in the quenched approximation, and find the conditions under which such divergences can appear in a partially quenched theory. We then apply our results to staggered fermion QCD in which the square root of the fermion determinant is taken, using the observation that this should correspond to a theory with four quarks, two of which are quenched

Setting best practice criteria for self-differencing avalanche photodiodes in quantum key distribution

Science.gov (United States)

Koehler-Sidki, Alexander; Dynes, James F.; Lucamarini, Marco; Roberts, George L.; Sharpe, Andrew W.; Savory, Seb J.; Yuan, Zhiliang; Shields, Andrew J.

2017-10-01

In recent years, the security of avalanche photodiodes as single photon detectors for quantum key distribution has been subjected to much scrutiny. The most prominent example of this surrounds the vulnerability of such devices to blinding under strong illumination. We focus on self-differencing avalanche photodiodes, single photon detectors that have demonstrated count rates exceeding 1 GCounts/s resulting in secure key rates over 1 MBit/s. These detectors use a passive electronic circuit to cancel any periodic signals thereby enhancing detection sensitivity. However this intrinsic feature can be exploited by adversaries to gain control of the devices using illumination of a moderate intensity. Through careful experimental examinations, we define here a set of criteria for these detectors to avoid such attacks.

Quenching of liquid scintillator fluorescence by chloroalkanes and chloroalkenes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hariharan, Chithra; Mishra, A.K.

2000-01-01

The fluorescence quenching of 2,5-diphenyloxazole (PPO) by a series of chloroalkanes and chloroalkenes including carbon tetrachloride, chloroform, dichloroethane, tetrachloroethane, dichloroethylene, trichloroethylene and tetrachloroethylene was studied in toluene as solvent at room temperature. CCl 4 was found to be the most efficient quencher in the series. The quenching was found to be appreciable and a positive deviation from linearity was observed in the Stern-Volmer (SV) plots for all the quenchers in the concentration range studied. From the studies of effect of temperature, solvent viscosity and excitation wavelength dependence for the PPO-CCl 4 system, it was inferred that non-linearity is due to the presence of a minor static quenching component in an overall dynamic quenching. The static (K S ) and the dynamic (K D ) quenching constants were calculated from the modified SV equation using quadratic least square fits. Fluorescence quenching experiments with CCl 4 were done for four other scintillators (POPOP, α-NPO, BBO and PBBO). The mechanism of quenching was established to be via charge-transfer, with the direction of transfer being from the scintillators to the chloroalkanes and chloroalkenes

Investigation of thermal quenching and abnormal thermal quenching in mixed valence Eu co-doped LaAlO{sub 3} phosphor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, Jingjing [Tianjin Key Laboratory for Photoelectric Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China); Zhao, Yang [China academy of civil aviation science and technology, Beijing 100028 (China); Mao, Zhiyong, E-mail: mzhy1984@163.com [Tianjin Key Laboratory for Photoelectric Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China); Wang, Dajian [Tianjin Key Laboratory for Photoelectric Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China); Bie, Lijian, E-mail: ljbie@tjut.edu.cn [Tianjin Key Laboratory for Photoelectric Materials and Devices, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384 (China)

2017-06-15

Temperature dependent luminescence of mixed valence Eu co-doped LaAlO{sub 3} phosphors are deeply investigated in this work. Different temperature properties of Eu{sup 2+} and Eu{sup 3+} luminescence are observed as the phosphor excited by different incident light. Eu{sup 3+} luminescence shows normal thermal quenching when excited at 320 nm and abnormal thermal quenching as the excitation light changed into 365 nm, while Eu{sup 2+} luminescence exhibits a normal thermal quenching independent on the incident excitation lights. The origin of these novel normal/abnormal thermal quenching phenomena are analyzed and discussed by the excitation-emission processes in terms of the configuration coordinate model. The presented important experimental and analysis results give insights into the temperature properties of phosphors.

The LHC quench protection system

CERN Multimedia

2009-01-01

The new quench protection system (QPS) has the crucial roles of providing an early warning for any part of the superconducting coils and busbars that develop high resistance, as well as triggering the switch-off of the machine. Over 2000 new detectors will be installed around the LHC to make sure every busbar segment between magnets is monitored and protected. One of the major consolidation activities for the LHC is the addition of two new detectors to the quench protection system. A magnet quench occurs when part of the superconducting cable becomes normally-conducting. When the protection system detects an increased resistance the huge amount of energy stored in the magnet chains is safely extracted and ‘dumped’ into specially designed resistors. In the case of the main dipole chain, the stored energy in a single LHC sector is roughly the same as the kinetic energy of a passenger jet at cruising speed. The first new detector is designed to monitor the superconducting...

Avalanche fluctuations within the multigap resistive plate chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cerron Zeballos, E.; Crotty, I.; Lamas Valverde, J.; Veenhof, R.J.; Williams, M.C.S.; Zichichi, A.

1996-01-01

The multigap resistive plate chamber (MRPC) was originally designed to have improved time resolution (compared to the wide gap RPC), but also to keep the good high rate behaviour and ease of construction associated with the wide gap RPC. However in addition we observed a very long efficiency plateau, even at high rates. Here we consider fluctuations in avalanche growth, and show that the inherent ''averaging'' of these fluctuations can account for the enhanced performance of the multigap RPC. (orig.)

Quench propagation across the copper wedges in SSC dipoles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghosh, A.K.; Robins, K.E.; Sampson, W.B.

1986-01-01

The effect of copper wedges on quench propagation in SSC windings has been studied. The results indicate that the turn-to-turn quench transit time for conductors separated by an insulated copper wedge can be predicted with reasonable accuracy from the bulk quench properties and the mean wedge thickness

Effects of quenching and partial quenching on penguin matrix elements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Golterman, Maarten; Pallante, Elisabetta

2001-01-01

In the calculation of non-leptonic weak decay rates, a "mismatch" arises when the QCD evolution of the relevant weak hamiltonian down to hadronic scales is performed in unquenched QCD, but the hadronic matrix elements are then computed in (partially) quenched lattice QCD. This mismatch arises

Quench protection and safety of the ATLAS central solenoid

CERN Document Server

Makida, Y; Haruyama, T; ten Kate, H H J; Kawai, M; Kobayashi, T; Kondo, T; Kondo, Y; Mizumaki, S; Olesen, G; Sbrissa, E; Yamamoto, A; Yamaoka, H

2002-01-01

Fabrication of the ATLAS central solenoid was completed and the performance test has been carried out. The solenoid was successfully charged up to 8.4 kA, which is 10% higher than the normal operational current of 7.6 kA. Two methods for quench protection, pure aluminum strips accelerating quench propagation and quench protection heaters distributing normal zones, are applied in order to safely dissipate the stored energy. In this paper, quench characteristics and protection methods of the ATLAS central solenoid are described. (14 refs).

Propagation of avalanches in Mn12-acetate: magnetic deflagration.

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Yoko; Sarachik, M P; Chudnovsky, E M; McHugh, S; Gonzalez-Rubio, R; Avraham, Nurit; Myasoedov, Y; Zeldov, E; Shtrikman, H; Chakov, N E; Christou, G

2005-09-30

Local time-resolved measurements of fast reversal of the magnetization of single crystals of Mn12-acetate indicate that the magnetization avalanche spreads as a narrow interface that propagates through the crystal at a constant velocity that is roughly 2 orders of magnitude smaller than the speed of sound. We argue that this phenomenon is closely analogous to the propagation of a flame front (deflagration) through a flammable chemical substance.

Projected changes of snow conditions and avalanche activity in a warming climate: the French Alps over the 2020-2050 and 2070-2100 periods

Science.gov (United States)

Castebrunet, H.; Eckert, N.; Giraud, G.; Durand, Y.; Morin, S.

2014-09-01

Projecting changes in snow cover due to climate warming is important for many societal issues, including the adaptation of avalanche risk mitigation strategies. Efficient modelling of future snow cover requires high resolution to properly resolve the topography. Here, we introduce results obtained through statistical downscaling techniques allowing simulations of future snowpack conditions including mechanical stability estimates for the mid and late 21st century in the French Alps under three climate change scenarios. Refined statistical descriptions of snowpack characteristics are provided in comparison to a 1960-1990 reference period, including latitudinal, altitudinal and seasonal gradients. These results are then used to feed a statistical model relating avalanche activity to snow and meteorological conditions, so as to produce the first projection on annual/seasonal timescales of future natural avalanche activity based on past observations. The resulting statistical indicators are fundamental for the mountain economy in terms of anticipation of changes. Whereas precipitation is expected to remain quite stationary, temperature increase interacting with topography will constrain the evolution of snow-related variables on all considered spatio-temporal scales and will, in particular, lead to a reduction of the dry snowpack and an increase of the wet snowpack. Overall, compared to the reference period, changes are strong for the end of the 21st century, but already significant for the mid century. Changes in winter are less important than in spring, but wet-snow conditions are projected to appear at high elevations earlier in the season. At the same altitude, the southern French Alps will not be significantly more affected than the northern French Alps, which means that the snowpack will be preserved for longer in the southern massifs which are higher on average. Regarding avalanche activity, a general decrease in mean (20-30%) and interannual variability is

NASA MSFC Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) Rapid Quench System

Science.gov (United States)

SanSoucie, Michael P.; Craven, Paul D.

2014-01-01

Electrostatic levitation, a form of containerless processing, is an important tool in materials research. Levitated specimens are free from contact with a container; therefore, heterogeneous nucleation on container walls is not possible. This allows studies of deeply undercooled melts. Furthermore, studies of high-temperature, highly reactive materials are also possible. Studies of the solidification and crystallization of undercooled melts is vital to the understanding of microstructure development, particularly the formation of alloys with unique properties by rapid solidification. The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Electrostatic Levitator (ESL) lab has recently been upgraded to allow for rapid quenching of levitated materials. The ESL Rapid Quench System uses a small crucible-like vessel that can be partially filled with a low melting point material, such as a Gallium alloy, as a quench medium. An undercooled sample can be dropped into the vessel to rapidly quench the sample. A carousel with nine vessels sits below the bottom electrode assembly. This system allows up to nine rapid quenches before having to break vacuum and remove the vessels. This new Rapid Quench System will allow materials science studies of undercooled materials and new materials development. In this presentation, the system is described and initial results are presented.

Effects of the intrinsic layer width on the band-to-band tunneling current in p-i-n GaN-based avalanche photodiodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Ling; Bao, Xichang; Zhang, Wenjing; Li, Chao; Yuan, Yonggang; Xu, Jintong; Zhang, Yan; Li, Xiangyang

2009-01-01

Dark current is critical for GaN-based avalanche photodiodes because it significantly increases the noise current and limits the multiplication factor. It has been found that the band-to-band tunneling current is the dominant origin of the dark current for avalanche photodiodes at the onset of breakdown voltage. Experimentally, for GaN-based avalanche photodiodes with a thinner intrinsic layer, the dark current increases nearly exponentially with the applied voltage even at a lower bias voltage. In this paper, the intrinsic layer (i-layer) width of GaN-based avalanche photodiodes has been varied to study its effect on the band-to-band tunneling current. A widely used equation was used to calculate the band-to-band tunneling current of avalanche photodiodes with different i-layer widths (i-layer 0.1 µm, 0.2 µm and 0.4 µm). At −40 V, the band-to-band tunneling current significantly reduces by a magnitude of 10 −15 A with an increase in the i-layer width from 0.1 µm to 0.2 µm, and a magnitude of 10 −29 A with an increase in the i-layer width from 0.2 µm to 0.4 µm. Then, GaN-based avalanche photodiodes (i-layer 0.1 µm, 0.2 µm and 0.4 µm) with different-sized mesa were fabricated. Also, the measurement of dark current of all three different structures was performed, and their multiplication factors were given

On the rapid melt quenching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Usatyuk, I.I.; Novokhatskij, I.A.; Kaverin, Yu.F.

1994-01-01

Specific features of instrumentation of traditionally employed method of melt spinning (rapid quenching), its disadvantages being discussed, were analyzed. The necessity of the method upgrading as applied to the problems of studying fine structure of molten metals and glasses was substantiated. The principle flowsheet of experimental facility for extremely rapid quenching of the melts of metals is described, specificity of its original functional units being considered. The sequence and character of all the principal stages of the method developed were discussed. 18 refs.; 3 figs

40 CFR 86.327-79 - Quench checks; NOX analyzer.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... any flow rate into the reaction chamber. This includes, but is not limited to, sample capillary, ozone... Quench checks; NOX analyzer. (a) Perform the reaction chamber quench check for each model of high vacuum reaction chamber analyzer prior to initial use. (b) Perform the reaction chamber quench check for each new...

Quench detection, protection and simulation studies on SST-1 magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sharma, Aashoo N.; Khristi, Yohan; Pradhan, Subrata; Doshi, Kalpesh; Prasad, Upendra; Banaudha, Moni; Varmora, Pankaj; Praghi, Bhadresh R.

2015-01-01

Steady-state Superconducting Tokamak-1 (SST-1) is India's first tokamak with superconducting toroidal field (TF) and Poloidal Field (PF) magnets. These magnets are made with NbTi based Cable-In-Conduit-Conductors. The quench characteristic of SST-1 CICC has been extensively studied both analytically and using simulation codes. Dedicated experiments like model coil test program, TF coil test program and laboratory experiments were conducted to fully characterize the performance of the CICC and the magnets made using this CICC. Results of quench experiments performed during these tests have been used to design the SST-1 quench detection and protection system. Simulation results of TF coil quenches and slow propagation quench of TF busbars have been used to further optimize these systems during the SST-1 tokamak operation. Redundant hydraulic based quench detection is also proposed for the TF coil quench detection. This paper will give the overview of these development and simulation activities. (author)

A new CMOS SiGeC avalanche photo-diode pixel for IR sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Augusto, Carlos; Forester, Lynn; Diniz, Pedro C.

2009-05-01

Near-infra-red sensing with silicon is limited by the bandgap of silicon, corresponding to a maximum wavelength of absorption of 1.1 μm. A new type of CMOS sensor is presented, which uses a SiGeC epitaxial film in conjunction with novel device architecture to extend absorption into the infra-red. The SiGeC film composition and thickness determine the spectrum of absorption; in particular for SiGeC superlattices, the layer ordering to create pseudo direct bandgaps is the critical parameter. In this new device architecture, the p-type SiGeC film is grown on an active region surrounded by STI, linked to the S/D region of an adjacent NMOS, under the STI by a floating N-Well. On a n-type active, a P-I-N device is formed, and on a p-type active, a P-I-P device is formed, each sensing different regions of the spectrum. The SiGeC films can be biased for avalanche operation, as the required vertical electric field is confined to the region near the heterojunction interface, thereby not affecting the gate oxide of the adjacent NMOS. With suitable heterojunction and doping profiles, the avalanche region can also be bandgap engineered, allowing for avalanche breakdown voltages that are compatible with CMOS devices.

Lifetime of Bubble Rafts: Cooperativity and Avalanches

Science.gov (United States)

Ritacco, Hernán; Kiefer, Flavien; Langevin, Dominique

2007-06-01

We have studied the collapse of pseudo-bi-dimensional foams. These foams are made of uniformly sized soap bubbles packed in an hexagonal lattice sitting at the top of a liquid surface. The collapse process follows the sequence: (1) rupture of a first bubble, driven by thermal fluctuations and (2) a cascade of bursting bubbles. We present a simple numerical model which captures the main characteristics of the dynamics of foam collapse. We show that in a certain range of viscosities of the foaming solutions, the size distribution of the avalanches follows power laws as in self-organized criticality processes.

Short initial length quench on CICC of ITER TF coils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nicollet, S.; Ciazynski, D.; Duchateau, J.-L.; Lacroix, B. [CEA, IRFM, F-13108 Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France); Bessette, D.; Rodriguez-Mateos, F. [ITER Organization, Route de Vinon sur Verdon, 13115 Saint Paul Lez Durance (France); Coatanea-Gouachet, M. [ELC Engineering, 350 chemin du Verladet, F-13290 Les Milles (France); Gauthier, F. [Soditech Ingenierie, 4 bis allée des Gabians, ZI La Frayère, 06150 Cannes (France)

2014-01-29

Previous quench studies performed for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Toroidal Field (TF) Coils have led to identify two extreme families of quench: first 'severe' quenches over long initial lengths in high magnetic field, and second smooth quenches over short initial lengths in low field region. Detailed analyses and results on smooth quench propagation and detectability on one TF Cable In Conduit Conductor (CICC) with a lower propagation velocity are presented here. The influence of the initial quench energy is shown and results of computations with either a Fast Discharge (FD) of the magnet or without (failure of the voltage quench detection system) are reported. The influence of the central spiral of the conductor on the propagation velocity is also detailed. In the cases of a regularly triggered FD, the hot spot temperature criterion of 150 K (with helium and jacket) is fulfilled for an initial quench length of 1 m, whereas this criterion is exceed (Tmax ≈ 200 K) for an extremely short length of 5 cm. These analyses were carried out using both the Supermagnet(trade mark, serif) and Venecia codes and the comparisons of the results are also discussed.

Short initial length quench on CICC of ITER TF coils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nicollet, S.; Ciazynski, D.; Duchateau, J.-L.; Lacroix, B.; Bessette, D.; Rodriguez-Mateos, F.; Coatanea-Gouachet, M.; Gauthier, F.

2014-01-01

Previous quench studies performed for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Toroidal Field (TF) Coils have led to identify two extreme families of quench: first 'severe' quenches over long initial lengths in high magnetic field, and second smooth quenches over short initial lengths in low field region. Detailed analyses and results on smooth quench propagation and detectability on one TF Cable In Conduit Conductor (CICC) with a lower propagation velocity are presented here. The influence of the initial quench energy is shown and results of computations with either a Fast Discharge (FD) of the magnet or without (failure of the voltage quench detection system) are reported. The influence of the central spiral of the conductor on the propagation velocity is also detailed. In the cases of a regularly triggered FD, the hot spot temperature criterion of 150 K (with helium and jacket) is fulfilled for an initial quench length of 1 m, whereas this criterion is exceed (Tmax ≈ 200 K) for an extremely short length of 5 cm. These analyses were carried out using both the Supermagnet(trade mark, serif) and Venecia codes and the comparisons of the results are also discussed

Smooth and fast versus instantaneous quenches in quantum field theory

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Sumit R.; Galante, Damián A.; Myers, Robert C.

2015-08-01

We examine in detail the relationship between smooth fast quantum quenches, characterized by a time scale δ t, and instantaneous quenches, within the framework of exactly solvable mass quenches in free scalar field theory. Our earlier studies [1, 2] highlighted that the two protocols remain distinct in the limit δ t → 0 because of the relation of the quench rate to the UV cut-off, i.e., 1 /δ t ≪ Λ always holds in the fast smooth quenches while 1 /δ t ˜ Λ for instantaneous quenches. Here we study UV finite quantities like correlators at finite spatial distances and the excess energy produced above the final ground state energy. We show that at late times and large distances (compared to the quench time scale) the smooth quench correlator approaches that for the instantaneous quench. At early times, we find that for small spatial separation and small δ t, the correlator scales universally with δ t, exactly as in the scaling of renormalized one point functions found in earlier work. At larger separation, the dependence on δ t drops out. The excess energy density is finite (for finite mδ t) and scales in a universal fashion for all d. However, the scaling behaviour produces a divergent result in the limit mδ t → 0 for d ≥ 4, just as in an instantaneous quench, where it is UV divergent for d ≥ 4. We argue that similar results hold for arbitrary interacting theories: the excess energy density produced is expected to diverge for scaling dimensions Δ > d/2.

Solvent refined coal reactor quench system

Science.gov (United States)

Thorogood, Robert M.

1983-01-01

There is described an improved SRC reactor quench system using a condensed product which is recycled to the reactor and provides cooling by evaporation. In the process, the second and subsequent reactors of a series of reactors are cooled by the addition of a light oil fraction which provides cooling by evaporation in the reactor. The vaporized quench liquid is recondensed from the reactor outlet vapor stream.

History of Giant Resonances and Quenching

CERN Document Server

Arima, A

1999-01-01

The history of nuclear magnetic moments and Gamow-Teller transitions is reviewed. The importance of configuration mixing and core polarization to explain the quenching phenomena is shown, and discussed in the context of the recent measurement of the Gamow-Teller strength in sup 9 sup 0 Nb. It is confirmed that the contribution of the DELTA-hole excitation to the quenching of spin matrix elements is small.

Characterization of plasma current quench during disruptions at HL-2A

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Jinxia; Zhang, Yipo; Dong, Yunbo; HL-2A Team

2017-05-01

The most essential assumptions of physics for the evaluation of electromagnetic forces on the plasma-facing components due to a disruption-induced eddy current are characteristics of plasma current quenches including the current quench rate or its waveforms. The characteristics of plasma current quenches at HL-2A have been analyzed during spontaneous disruptions. Both linear decay and exponential decay are found in the disruptions with the fastest current quenches. However, there are two stages of current quench in the slow current quench case. The first stage with an exponential decay and the second stage followed by a rapid linear decay. The faster current quench rate corresponds to the faster movement of plasma displacement. The parameter regimes on the current quench time and the current quench rates have been obtained from disruption statistics at HL-2A. There exists no remarkable difference for distributions obtained between the limiter and the divertor configuration. This data from HL-2A provides basic data of the derivation of design criteria for a large-sized machine during the current decay phase of the disruptions.

Nano Precipitation and Hardening of Die-Quenched 6061 Aluminum Alloy.

Science.gov (United States)

Utsunomiya, Hiroshi; Tada, Koki; Matsumoto, Ryo; Watanabe, Katsumi; Matsuda, Kenji

2018-03-01

Die quenching is applied to an age-hardenable aluminium alloys to obtain super-saturated solid solution. The application is advantageous because it can reduce number of manufacturing processes, and may increase strength by strain aging. If die quenching is realized in forging as well as sheet forming, it may widen industrial applicability further. In this study, Al-Mg-Si alloy AA6061 8 mm-thick billets were reduced 50% in height without cracks by die-quench forging. Supersaturated solid solution was successfully obtained. The die-quenched specimen shows higher hardness with nano precipitates at shorter aging time than the conventional water-quenched specimen.

Avalanche breakdown and the probabilistic nature of laser failure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mitropol' skii, M M; Khote' enkov, V A; Khodakov, G S

1976-01-01

A study was made of the probabilistic aspects of the development of an electron avalanche arising under the influence of a powerful laser beam in a solid transparent dielectric. The distribution function of time and relative fluctuation of the number of electrons was found. The width of the probability function of failure was determined as a function of intensity. The relative dispersion of time of beginning of breakdown can also be determined. Its numerical value under identical conditions is +-7%. These results are similar to the experimentally defined dispersion from an earlier work. The data produced also show that, in spite of the clearly probabilistic nature of the development of an avalanche, the slight width of the distribution causes the use of the threshold criterion for rupture of transparent dielectrics by laser radiation to be practically correct. The dependence of I/sub 0/ on pulse length agrees with experimental data, whereas I/sub 0/ (V) is significantly weaker than the actually observed value. This disagreement can be explained by various imperfections in the structure of the crystals and by their contamination, the frequency of appearance of which, in the focal volume, is proportional to its size and which were not considered in the theoretical statements developed here.

A study on quench phenomena during reflood phase, 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murao, Yoshio; Sudoh, Takashi

1977-03-01

Based on the observation with an outside-heated quartz tube experiment of the reflood phase, three quench modes for bottom flooding are proposed : 1) liquid column type, 2) dryout type, 3) droplet-rewetting type. Using Blair's correlation for quench velocity, the approximate correlation for maximum liquid superheat, the assumption that the heat transfer upstream of the quench front is a function of the local liquid subcooling and the data of PWR-FLECHT experiments, the correlation for quench velocity of the liquid column type and of the dryout type are obtained. The quench temperature for the droplet-rewetting type is also derived. These relations are compared with the results of PWR-FLECHT Group 1 experiments and of Piggott and Porthouse's experiments. The agreements among them are fairly good. (auth.)

Thermo-hydraulic Quench Propagation at the LHC Superconducting Magnet String

CERN Document Server

Rodríguez-Mateos, F; Serio, L

1998-01-01

The superconducting magnets of the LHC are protected by heaters and cold by-pass diodes. If a magnet quenches, the heaters on this magnet are fired and the magnet chain is de-excited in about two minu tes by opening dump switches in parallel to a resistor. During the time required for the discharge, adjacent magnets might quench due to thermo-hydraulic propagation in the helium bath and/or heat con duction via the bus bar. The number of quenching magnets depends on the mechanisms for the propagation. In this paper we report on quench propagation experiments from a dipole magnet to an adjacent ma gnet. The mechanism for the propagation is hot helium gas expelled from the first quenching magnet. The propagation changes with the pressure opening settings of the quench relief valves.

Calculating Quenching Weights

CERN Document Server

Salgado, C A; Salgado, Carlos A.; Wiedemann, Urs Achim

2003-01-01

We calculate the probability (``quenching weight'') that a hard parton radiates an additional energy fraction due to scattering in spatially extended QCD matter. This study is based on an exact treatment of finite in-medium path length, it includes the case of a dynamically expanding medium, and it extends to the angular dependence of the medium-induced gluon radiation pattern. All calculations are done in the multiple soft scattering approximation (Baier-Dokshitzer-Mueller-Peign\\'e-Schiff--Zakharov ``BDMPS-Z''-formalism) and in the single hard scattering approximation (N=1 opacity approximation). By comparison, we establish a simple relation between transport coefficient, Debye screening mass and opacity, for which both approximations lead to comparable results. Together with this paper, a CPU-inexpensive numerical subroutine for calculating quenching weights is provided electronically. To illustrate its applications, we discuss the suppression of hadronic transverse momentum spectra in nucleus-nucleus colli...

Geiger-Mode Avalanche Photodiode Arrays Integrated to All-Digital CMOS Circuits.

Science.gov (United States)

Aull, Brian

2016-04-08

This article reviews MIT Lincoln Laboratory's work over the past 20 years to develop photon-sensitive image sensors based on arrays of silicon Geiger-mode avalanche photodiodes. Integration of these detectors to all-digital CMOS readout circuits enable exquisitely sensitive solid-state imagers for lidar, wavefront sensing, and passive imaging.

Neural avalanches at the critical point between replay and non-replay of spatiotemporal patterns.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Silvia Scarpetta

Full Text Available We model spontaneous cortical activity with a network of coupled spiking units, in which multiple spatio-temporal patterns are stored as dynamical attractors. We introduce an order parameter, which measures the overlap (similarity between the activity of the network and the stored patterns. We find that, depending on the excitability of the network, different working regimes are possible. For high excitability, the dynamical attractors are stable, and a collective activity that replays one of the stored patterns emerges spontaneously, while for low excitability, no replay is induced. Between these two regimes, there is a critical region in which the dynamical attractors are unstable, and intermittent short replays are induced by noise. At the critical spiking threshold, the order parameter goes from zero to one, and its fluctuations are maximized, as expected for a phase transition (and as observed in recent experimental results in the brain. Notably, in this critical region, the avalanche size and duration distributions follow power laws. Critical exponents are consistent with a scaling relationship observed recently in neural avalanches measurements. In conclusion, our simple model suggests that avalanche power laws in cortical spontaneous activity may be the effect of a network at the critical point between the replay and non-replay of spatio-temporal patterns.

The role of quench rate in colloidal gels.

Science.gov (United States)

Royall, C Patrick; Malins, Alex

2012-01-01

Interactions between colloidal particles have hitherto usually been fixed by the suspension composition. Recent experimental developments now enable the control of interactions in situ. Here we use Brownian dynamics simulations to investigate the effect of controlling interactions upon gelation, by "quenching" the system from an equilibrium fluid to a gel. We find that, contrary to the normal case of an instantaneous quench, where the local structure of the gel is highly disordered, controlled quenching results in a gel with a much higher degree of local order. Under sufficiently slow quenching, local crystallisation is found, which is strongly enhanced when a monodisperse system is used. The higher the degree of local order, the smaller the mean squared displacement, indicating an enhancement of gel stability.

Topological Rényi entropy after a quantum quench.

Science.gov (United States)

Halász, Gábor B; Hamma, Alioscia

2013-04-26

We present an analytical study on the resilience of topological order after a quantum quench. The system is initially prepared in the ground state of the toric-code model, and then quenched by switching on an external magnetic field. During the subsequent time evolution, the variation in topological order is detected via the topological Rényi entropy of order 2. We consider two different quenches: the first one has an exact solution, while the second one requires perturbation theory. In both cases, we find that the long-term time average of the topological Rényi entropy in the thermodynamic limit is the same as its initial value. Based on our results, we argue that topological order is resilient against a wide range of quenches.

Quench Protection of SC Quadrupole Magnets

Science.gov (United States)

Feher, S.; Bossert, R.; Dimarco, J.; Mitchell, D.; Lamm, M. J.; Limon, P. J.; Mazur, P.; Nobrega, F.; Orris, D.; Ozelis, J. P.; Strait, J. B.; Tompkins, J. C.; Zlobin, A. V.; McInturff, A. D.

1997-05-01

The energy stored in a superconducting accelerator magnet is dissipated after a quench in the coil normal zones, heating the coil and generating a turn to turn and coil to ground voltage drop. Quench heaters are used to protect the superconducting magnet by greatly increasing the coil normal zone thus allowing the energy to be dissipated over a larger conductor volume. Such heaters will be required for the Fermilab/LBNL design of the high gradient quads (HGQ) designed for the LHC interaction regions. As a first step, heaters were installed and tested in several Tevatron low-β superconducting quadrupoles. Experimental studies in normal and superfluid helium are presented which show the heater-induced quench response as a function of magnet excitation current, magnet temperature and peak heater energy density.

The mass dependence of satellite quenching in Milky Way-like haloes

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, John I.; Wheeler, Coral; Cooper, Michael C.; Boylan-Kolchin, Michael; Bullock, James S.; Tollerud, Erik

2015-02-01

Using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we examine the quenching of satellite galaxies around isolated Milky Way-like hosts in the local Universe. We find that the efficiency of satellite quenching around isolated galaxies is low and roughly constant over two orders of magnitude in satellite stellar mass (M⋆ = 108.5-1010.5 M⊙), with only ˜20 per cent of systems quenched as a result of environmental processes. While largely independent of satellite stellar mass, satellite quenching does exhibit clear dependence on the properties of the host. We show that satellites of passive hosts are substantially more likely to be quenched than those of star-forming hosts, and we present evidence that more massive haloes quench their satellites more efficiently. These results extend trends seen previously in more massive host haloes and for higher satellite masses. Taken together, it appears that galaxies with stellar masses larger than about 108 M⊙ are uniformly resistant to environmental quenching, with the relative harshness of the host environment likely serving as the primary driver of satellite quenching. At lower stellar masses (<108 M⊙), however, observations of the Local Group suggest that the vast majority of satellite galaxies are quenched, potentially pointing towards a characteristic satellite mass scale below which quenching efficiency increases dramatically.

A STELLAR MASS THRESHOLD FOR QUENCHING OF FIELD GALAXIES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geha, M.; Blanton, M. R.; Yan, R.; Tinker, J. L.

2012-01-01

We demonstrate that dwarf galaxies (10 7 stellar 9 M ☉ , –12 > M r > –18) with no active star formation are extremely rare ( Hα stellar 9 M ☉ below which quenched galaxies do not exist in the field. Below this threshold, we find that none of the 2951 field dwarf galaxies are quenched; all field dwarf galaxies show evidence for recent star formation. Correcting for volume effects, this corresponds to a 1σ upper limit on the quenched fraction of 0.06%. In more dense environments, quenched galaxies account for 23% of the dwarf population over the same stellar mass range. The majority of quenched dwarf galaxies (often classified as dwarf elliptical galaxies) are within 2 virial radii of a massive galaxy, and only a few percent of quenched dwarf galaxies exist beyond 4 virial radii. Thus, for galaxies with stellar mass less than 1.0 × 10 9 M ☉ , ending star formation requires the presence of a more massive neighbor, providing a stringent constraint on models of star formation feedback.

New Fast Response Thin Film-Based Superconducting Quench Detectors

CERN Document Server

Dudarev, A; van de Camp, W; Ravaioli, E; Teixeira, A; ten Kate, H H J

2014-01-01

Quench detection on superconducting bus bars and other devices with a low normal zone propagation velocity and low voltage build-up is quite difficult with conventional quench detection techniques. Currently, on ATLAS superconducting bus bar sections, superconducting quench detectors (SQD) are mounted to detect quench events. A first version of the SQD essentially consists of an insulated superconducting wire glued to a superconducting bus line or windings, which in the case of a quench rapidly builds up a relatively high resistance that can be easily and quietly detected. We now introduce a new generation of drastically improved SQDs. The new version makes the detection of quenches simpler, more reliable, and much faster. Instead of a superconducting wire, now a superconducting thin film is used. The layout of the sensor shows a meander like pattern that is etched out of a copper coated 25 mu m thick film of Nb-Ti glued in between layers of Kapton. Since the sensor is now much smaller and thinner, it is easi...

Quenched Chiral Perturbation Theory to one loop

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Colangelo, G.; Pallante, E.

The divergences of the generating functional of quenched Chiral Perturbation theory (qCHPT) to one loop are computed in closed form. We show how the quenched chiral logarithms can be reabsorbed in the renormalization of the B0 parameter of the leading order Lagrangian. Finally, we do the chiral

Temperature profile evolution in quenching high-Tc ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Abstract. Irreversible normal zones leading to quench is an important aspect of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) in all practical applications. As a consequence of quench, transport current gets diverted to the matrix stabilizer material of the high-Tc composite and causes Joule heating till the original conditions are ...

Intrinsic Bistability and Critical Slowing in Tm3+/Yb3+ Codoped Laser Crystal with the Photon Avalanche Mechanism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Li; Li-Xue, Chen; Xin-Lu, Zhang

2009-01-01

We present theoretically a novel intrinsic optical bistability (IOB) in the Tm 3+ /Yb 3+ codoped system with a photon avalanche mechanism. Numerical simulations based on the rate equation model demonstrate distinct IOB hysteresis and critical slowing dynamics around the avalanche thresholds. Such an IOB characteristic in Tm 3+ /Yb 3+ codoped crystal has potential applications in solid-state bistable optical displays and luminescence switchers in visible-infrared spectra. (fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications))

A microstrip gas avalanche chamber with two-dimensional readout

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angelini, F.; Bellazzini, R.; Brez, A.; Massai, M.M.; Spandre, G.; Torquati, M.R.

1989-01-01

A microstrip gas avalanche chamber with a 200 μm anode pitch has been built and successfully tested in our laboratory. A gas gain of 10 4 and an energy resolution of 18% (FWHM) at 6 keV have been measured using a gas mixture of argon-CO 2 at atmospheric pressure. A preliminary measurement of the positional sensitivity indicates that a spatial resolution of 50 μm can be obtained. (orig.)

Smooth and fast versus instantaneous quenches in quantum field theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Sumit R.; Galante, Damián A.; Myers, Robert C.

2015-01-01

We examine in detail the relationship between smooth fast quantum quenches, characterized by a time scale δt, and instantaneous quenches, within the framework of exactly solvable mass quenches in free scalar field theory. Our earlier studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.171601 and http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/JHEP02(2015)167 highlighted that the two protocols remain distinct in the limit δt→0 because of the relation of the quench rate to the UV cut-off, i.e., 1/δt≪Λ always holds in the fast smooth quenches while 1/δt∼Λ for instantaneous quenches. Here we study UV finite quantities like correlators at finite spatial distances and the excess energy produced above the final ground state energy. We show that at late times and large distances (compared to the quench time scale) the smooth quench correlator approaches that for the instantaneous quench. At early times, we find that for small spatial separation and small δt, the correlator scales universally with δt, exactly as in the scaling of renormalized one point functions found in earlier work. At larger separation, the dependence on δt drops out. The excess energy density is finite (for finite mδt) and scales in a universal fashion for all d. However, the scaling behaviour produces a divergent result in the limit mδt→0 for d≥4, just as in an instantaneous quench, where it is UV divergent for d≥4. We argue that similar results hold for arbitrary interacting theories: the excess energy density produced is expected to diverge for scaling dimensions Δ>d/2.

Fluorescence quenching of Rhodamine B base by two amines

Science.gov (United States)

Bakkialakshmi, S.; Selvarani, P.; Chenthamarai, S.

2013-03-01

Fluorescence quenching of Rhodamine B base (RhB) in DMF solution has been studied at different concentrations of the amine Triethyl amine (TEA) and n-butyl amine (NBA) at room temperature. It has been observed that the fluorescence intensity of RhB decrease with increase in the concentration of the TEA and NBA. It has been observed that the quenching due to amines proceeds via dynamic quenching process. The rate constants for the quenching process have been calculated using Stern-Volmer equation. Time resolved fluorescence study and 1H NMR spectral study have also been carried out and discussed.

Thermodynamics of the Heat-Flux Avalanches at the First-Order Magnetic Transition in Magnetocaloric Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Piazzi, Marco; Bennati, Cecilia; Basso, Vittorio

2017-10-01

We investigate the kinetics of first-order magnetic phase transitions by measuring and modeling the heat-flux avalanches corresponding to the irreversible motion of the phase-boundary interface separating the coexisting low- and high-temperature stable magnetic phases. By means of out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics, we encompass the damping mechanisms of the boundary motion in a phenomenological parameter αs. By analyzing the time behavior of the heat-flux signals measured on La (Fe -Mn -Si )13-H magnetocaloric compounds through Peltier calorimetry temperature scans performed at low rates, we relate the linear rise of the individual avalanches to the intrinsic-damping parameter αs.

Criterion for the onset of quench for low-flow reflood

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hsu, Y.Y.; Young, M.W.

1982-07-01

This study provides a criterion for the onset of quench for low flow reflood. The criterion is a combination of two conditions: T/sub clad/ < T/sub limiting quench/ where T = Temperature, and α < 0.95 where α = void fraction. This criterion was obtained by examining temperature data from tests simulating PWR reflood, such as FLECHT, THTF, PBF, CCTF, and FEBA tests, with void fraction data from CCTF, FEBA, and FLECHT low flood tests. The data show that quenching initiated at α = 0.95 and that the majority of quench occurred at void fractions near 0.85. The results show that rods can be completely quenched by entrained droplets even if the collapsed liquid level does not advance. A thorough discussion of the analysis which supports this quench criterion is given in the text of this report

Characterization of oil based nanofluid for quench medium

Science.gov (United States)

Mahiswara, E. P.; Harjanto, S.; Putra, W. N.; Ramahdita, G.; Yahya, S. S.; Kresnodrianto

2018-01-01

The choice of quench medium depends on the hardenability of the metal alloy, the thickness of the component, and the geometry of the component. Some of these will determine the cooling rate required to obtain the desired microstructure and material properties. Improper quench media will cause the material to become brittle, suffers from geometric distortion, or having a high undesirable residual stresses in the components. In heat treatment industries, oil and water are frequently used as the quench media. Recently, nanofluid as a quench medium has also been studied using several different fluids as the solvent. Examples of frequently used solvents include polymers, vegetable oils, and mineral oil. In this research, laboratory-grade carbon powder were used as nanoparticle. Oil was used as the fluid base in this research as the main observation focus. To obtain nanoscale carbon particles, planetary ball mill was used to ground laboratory grade carbon powder to decrease the particle size. This method was used to lower the cost for nanoparticle synthesis. Milling speed and duration were set at 500 rpm and 15 hours. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) measurement were carried out to determine the particle size, material identification, particle morphology, and surface change of samples. The carbon nanoparticle content in nanofluid quench mediums for this research were varied at 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4, and 0.5 % volume. Furthermore, these mediums were used to quench JIS S45C or AISI 1045 carbon steel samples which annealed at 1000°C. Hardness testing and metallography observation were then conducted to further examine the effect of different quench medium in steel samples.

Stratigraphic reconstruction of two debris avalanche deposits at Colima Volcano (Mexico): Insights into pre-failure conditions and climate influence

Science.gov (United States)

Roverato, M.; Capra, L.; Sulpizio, R.; Norini, G.

2011-10-01

Throughout its history, Colima Volcano has experienced numerous partial edifice collapses with associated emplacement of debris avalanche deposits of contrasting volume, morphology and texture. A detailed stratigraphic study in the south-eastern sector of the volcano allowed the recognition of two debris avalanche deposits, named San Marcos (> 28,000 cal yr BP, V = ~ 1.3 km 3) and Tonila (15,000-16,000 cal yr BP, V = ~ 1 km 3 ). This work sheds light on the pre-failure conditions of the volcano based primarily on a detailed textural study of debris avalanche deposits and their associated pyroclastic and volcaniclastic successions. Furthermore, we show how the climate at the time of the Tonila collapse influenced the failure mechanisms. The > 28,000 cal yr BP San Marcos collapse was promoted by edifice steep flanks and ongoing tectonic and volcanotectonic deformation, and was followed by a magmatic eruption that emplaced pyroclastic flow deposits. In contrast, the Tonila failure occurred just after the Last Glacial Maximum (22,000-18,000 cal BP) and, in addition to the typical debris avalanche textural characteristics (angular to sub-angular clasts, coarse matrix, jigsaw fit) it shows a hybrid facies characterized by debris avalanche blocks embedded in a finer, homogenous and partially cemented matrix, a texture more characteristic of debris flow deposits. The Tonila debris avalanche is directly overlain by a 7-m thick hydromagmatic pyroclastic succession. Massive debris flow deposits, often more than 10 m thick and containing large amounts of tree trunk logs, represent the top unit in the succession. Fluvial deposits also occur throughout all successions; these represent periods of highly localized stream reworking. All these lines of evidence point to the presence of water in the edifice prior to the Tonila failure, suggesting it may have been a weakening factor. The Tonila failure appears to represent an anomalous event related to the particular climatic

Color quench correction for low level Cherenkov counting.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsroya, S; Pelled, O; German, U; Marco, R; Katorza, E; Alfassi, Z B

2009-05-01

The Cherenkov counting efficiency varies strongly with color quenching, thus correction curves must be used to obtain correct results. The external (152)Eu source of a Quantulus 1220 liquid scintillation counting (LSC) system was used to obtain a quench indicative parameter based on spectra area ratio. A color quench correction curve for aqueous samples containing (90)Sr/(90)Y was prepared. The main advantage of this method over the common spectra indicators is its usefulness also for low level Cherenkov counting.

Characterization of water based nanofluid for quench medium

Science.gov (United States)

Kresnodrianto; Harjanto, S.; Putra, W. N.; Ramahdita, G.; Yahya, S. S.; Mahiswara, E. P.

2018-04-01

Quenching has been a valuable method in steel hardening method especially in industrial scale. The hardenability of the metal alloys, the thickness of the component, and the geometry is some factors that can affect the choice of quench medium. Improper quench media can cause the material to become too brittle, suffers some geometric distortion, and undesirable residual stress that will cause some effect on the mechanical property and fracture mechanism of a component. Recently, nanofluid as a quench medium has been used for better quenching performance and has been studied using several different fluids and nanoparticles. Some of frequently used solvents include polymers, vegetable oils, and mineral oil, and nanoparticles frequently used include CuO, ZnO, and Alumina. In this research, laboratory-grade carbon powder were used as nanoparticle. Water was used as the fluid base in this research as the main observation focus. Carbon particles were obtain using a top-down method, whereas planetary ball mill was used to ground laboratory grade carbon powder to decrease the particle size. Milling speed and duration were set at 500 rpm and 15 hours. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM), and Energy Dispersive X-Ray (EDX) measurement were carried out to determine the particle size, material identification, particle morphology, and surface change of samples. Nanofluid was created by mixing percentage of carbon nanoparticles with water using ultrasonic vibration for 280s. The carbon nanoparticle content in nanofluid quench mediums for this research were varied at 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4, and 0.5 % volume. Furthermore, these mediums were used to quench JIS S45C or AISI 1045 carbon steel samples which austenized at 1000°C. Hardness testing and metallography observation were then conducted to further check the effect of different quench medium in steel samples. Preliminary characterizations showed that carbon particles dimension after milling was still in sub

Characteristics of current quenches during disruptions in the J-TEXT tokamak

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Y; Chen, Z Y; Fang, D; Jin, W; Huang, Y H; Wang, Z J; Yang, Z J; Chen, Z P; Ding, Y H; Zhang, M; Zhuang, G

2012-01-01

Characteristics of tokamak current quenches are an important issue for the determination of electro-magnetic forces that act on the in-vessel components and vacuum vessel during major disruptions. The characteristics of current quenches in spontaneous disruptions in the J-TEXT tokamak have been investigated. It is shown that the waveforms for the fastest current quenches are more accurately fitted by linear current decays than exponential, although neither is a good fit in many slower cases. The minimum current quench time is about 2.4 ms for the J-TEXT tokamak. The maximum instantaneous current quench rate is more than seven times the average current quench rate in J-TEXT. (paper)

Vortex Avalanches with Periodic Arrays of Pinning Sites

Science.gov (United States)

Abbas, J.; Heckel, T.; Kakalios, J.

2001-03-01

Numerical simulations by Nori and co-workers of dynamical phase transitions for magnetic vortices in type II superconductors when the defects which act as pinning sites are arranged in a periodic array have found a dramatic non-linear relationship between vortex voltage and driving current.2,4 In order to experimentally test the predictions of these simulations, a macroscopic physical analog of an array of flux vortices in the presense of an ordered lattice of pinning sites has been constructed. This simple table-top experimental system consists of conventional household magnets, arranged in an ordered grid (serving as the lattice of fixed pinning centers). A plexiglass sheet is positioned above these fixed magnets, and another collection of magnets (representing the magnetic flux vortices), oriented so that they are attracted to the fixed magnets are placed on top of the sheet. The entire apparatus is then tilted to a given angle (the analog of the driving voltage) and the velocity of the avalanching magnets is recorded using the induced voltage in a pick-up coil. By varying the ratio of movable magnets to fixed pinning magnets, the filling fraction can be adjusted, as can the pinning strength, by adjusting the separation of the plexiglass sheet between the fixed and movable magnets. The velocity of the avalanching magnets as the filling fraction is varied displays a jamming transition, with a non-trivial dependence on the pinning strength of the lattice of fixed magnets below the sheet.

Space charge limited avalanche growth in multigap resistive plate chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akindinov, A.N.; Kaidalov, A.B.; Kisselev, S.M.; Alici, A.; Basile, M.; Cifarelli, L.; Anselmo, F.; Antonioli, P.; Romeo, G. Cara; Cindolo, F.; Baek, Y.; Kim, D.H.; Cosenza, F.; Caro, A. De; Pasquale, S. De; Bartolomeo, A. Di; Girard, M. Fusco; Guida, M.; Hatzifotiadou, D.; Kim, D.W.; Laurenti, G.; Lee, K.; Lee, S.C.; Lioublev, E.; Luvisetto, M.L.; Margotti, A.; Martemiyanov, A.N.; Nania, R.; Noferini, F.; Otiougova, P.; Pierella, F.; Polozov, P.A.; Scapparone, E.; Scioli, G.; Sellitto, S.B.; Smirnitski, A.V.; Tchoumakov, M.M.; Valenti, G.; Vicinanza, D.; Voloshin, K.G.; Williams, M.C.S.; Zagreev, B.V.; Zampolli, C.; Zichichi, A.

2004-01-01

Abstract The ALICE TOF array will be built using the Multigap Resistive Plate Chamber(MRPC) configured as a double stack. Each stack contains 5 gas gaps with width of 250 μm. There has been an intense R and D effort to optimise this new detector to withstand the problems connected with the high level of radiation at the LHC. One clear outcome of the R and D is that the growth of the gas avalanche is strongly affected by space charge. The effect of the space charge is a decrease in the rate of change in gain with electric field; this allows more stable operation of this detector. We have measured the gain as a function of the electric field and also measured the ratio of the fast charge to the total charge produced in the gas gap. It is well established that RPCs built with 250 μm gas gap have a much superior performance than 2 mm gaps; we discuss and compare the performance of 250 μm gap MRPCs with 2 mm gap RPCs to show the importance of space-charge limitation of avalanche growth. (orig.)

Automatic quench compensation for liquid scintillation counting system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nather, R.E.

1978-01-01

A method of automatic quench compensation is provided, where a reference measure of quench is taken on a sample prior to taking a sample count. The measure of quench is then compared with a reference voltage source which has been established to vary in proportion to the variation of the measure of quench with the level of a system parameter required to restore at least one isotope spectral energy endpoint substantially to a selected counting window discriminator level in order to determine the amount of adjustment of the system parameter required to restore the endpoint. This is followed by the appropriate adjustment of the system parameter required to restore the relative position of the discriminator windows and the sample spectrum and is followed in turn by taking a sample count

Multiple mechanisms quench passive spiral galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser-McKelvie, Amelia; Brown, Michael J. I.; Pimbblet, Kevin; Dolley, Tim; Bonne, Nicolas J.

2018-02-01

We examine the properties of a sample of 35 nearby passive spiral galaxies in order to determine their dominant quenching mechanism(s). All five low-mass (M⋆ environments. We postulate that cluster-scale gas stripping and heating mechanisms operating only in rich clusters are required to quench low-mass passive spirals, and ram-pressure stripping and strangulation are obvious candidates. For higher mass passive spirals, while trends are present, the story is less clear. The passive spiral bar fraction is high: 74 ± 15 per cent, compared with 36 ± 5 per cent for a mass, redshift and T-type matched comparison sample of star-forming spiral galaxies. The high mass passive spirals occur mostly, but not exclusively, in groups, and can be central or satellite galaxies. The passive spiral group fraction of 74 ± 15 per cent is similar to that of the comparison sample of star-forming galaxies at 61 ± 7 per cent. We find evidence for both quenching via internal structure and environment in our passive spiral sample, though some galaxies have evidence of neither. From this, we conclude no one mechanism is responsible for quenching star formation in passive spiral galaxies - rather, a mixture of mechanisms is required to produce the passive spiral distribution we see today.

The simulation of resistive plate chambers in avalanche mode: charge spectra and efficiency

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abbrescia, M. E-mail: Marcello.abbrescia@ba.infn.it; Colaleo, A.; Iaselli, G.; Loddo, F.; Maggi, M.; Marangelli, B.; Natali, S.; Nuzzo, S.; Pugliese, G.; Ranieri, A.; Romano, F.; Altieri, S.; Bruno, G.; Gianini, G.; Ratti, S.P.; Viola, L.; Vitulo, P

1999-07-21

A model to simulate the avalanche formation process and the induced signal in a Resistive Plate Chamber is presented. A first investigation of the effects of various parameters on the performance of this detector is reported. (author)

Numerical Study of Quench Protection for Fast-Ramping Accelerator Magnets

OpenAIRE

Schwerg, N; Auchman, B; Mess, K-N; Russenschuck, S

2009-01-01

The quench module of the ROXIE field computation program has been presented at previous conferences. In this paper we discuss recently implemented features that allow quench simulation of fast-ramping superconducting magnets. As the reliability of quench detection during the ramps depends on the signal to noise ratio, we simulate the influence of detection thresholds and the propagation of undetected quenches during the ramps. We also study the effect of an increased copper content and the fe...

Quench detection on a superconducting radio-frequency cavity

OpenAIRE

Lai, Ru-Yu; Spirn, Daniel

2017-01-01

We study quench detection in superconducting accelerator cavities cooled with He-II. A rigorous mathematical formula is derived to localize the quench position from dynamical data over a finite time interval at a second sound detector.

Revisiting the Role of Xanthophylls in Nonphotochemical Quenching

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Oort, Bart; Roy, Laura M; Xu, Pengqi; Lu, Yinghong; Karcher, Daniel; Bock, Ralph; Croce, Roberta

2018-01-01

Photoprotective nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ) of absorbed solar energy is vital for survival of photosynthetic organisms, and NPQ modifications significantly improve plant productivity. However, the exact NPQ quenching mechanism is obscured by discrepancies between reported mechanisms, involving

Energy pumping in electrical circuits under avalanche noise.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanazawa, Kiyoshi; Sagawa, Takahiro; Hayakawa, Hisao

2014-07-01

We theoretically study energy pumping processes in an electrical circuit with avalanche diodes, where non-Gaussian athermal noise plays a crucial role. We show that a positive amount of energy (work) can be extracted by an external manipulation of the circuit in a cyclic way, even when the system is spatially symmetric. We discuss the properties of the energy pumping process for both quasistatic and finite-time cases, and analytically obtain formulas for the amounts of the work and the power. Our results demonstrate the significance of the non-Gaussianity in energetics of electrical circuits.

Sixteen-year follow-up of childhood avalanche survivors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thordardottir, E.B.; Valdimarsdóttir, Unnur A; Hansdottir, Ingunn

2016-01-01

: Childhood survivors (aged 2-19 at the time of exposure) of two avalanches were identified through nationwide registers 16 years later. The PosttraumaticDiagnostic Scale was used to assess current PTSD symptoms. One-way ANOVA was used to explore PTSD symptoms by background and trauma-specific factors......, as well as associations with current SES. Predictors of PTSD symptoms were examined by multivariable regression analysis. Results: Response rate was 66% (108/163). Results from univariate ANOVA analysis revealed that female sex was associated with PTSD symptoms (F =5.96, p...

X-ray spectrometry with Peltier-cooled large area avalanche photodiodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fernandes, L.M.P.; Lopes, J.A.M.; Santos, J.M.F. dos; Conde, C.A.N.

2004-01-01

Performance characteristics of the response of a Peltier-cooled large-area avalanche photodiode are investigated. Detector gain, energy linearity, energy resolution and minimum detectable energy are studied at different operation temperatures. Detector energy resolution and lowest detectable X-ray energy present a strong improvement as the operation temperature is reduced from 25 to 15 deg. C and slower improvements are achieved for temperatures below 10 deg. C

Hotspot temperature calculation and quench analysis on ITER busbar

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rong, J.; Huang, X.Y.; Song, Y.T.; Wu, S.T.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The hotspot temperature is calculated in the case of different extra copper in this paper. • The MQE (minimum quench energy) is carried out as the external heating to trigger a quench in busbar. • The temperature changes after quench is analyzed by Gandalf code in the case of different extra copper and no helium. • The normal length is carried out in the case of different extra copper by Gandalf code. - Abstract: This paper describes the analysis of ITER feeder busbar, the hotspot temperature of busbar is calculated by classical method in the case of 0%, 50%, 75% and 100% extra copper (copper strands). The quench behavior of busbar is simulated by 1-D Gandalf code, and the MQE (minimum quench energy) is estimated in classical method as initial external heat in Gandalf input file. The temperature and the normal length of conductor are analyzed in the case of 0%, 50% and 100% extra copper and no helium. By hotspot temperature, conductor temperature and normal length are contrasted in different extra copper cases, it is shown that the extra copper play an important role in quench protecting

ALS-based hummock size-distance relationship assessment of Mt Shasta debris avalanche deposit, Northern California, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Tortini, Riccardo; Carn, Simon; van Wyk de Vries, Benjamin

2015-04-01

The failure of destabilized volcano flanks is a likely occurrence during the lifetime of a stratovolcano, generating large debris avalanches and drastically changing landforms around volcanoes. The significant hazards associated with these events in the Cascade range were demonstrated, for example, by the collapse of Mt St Helens (WA), which triggered its devastating explosive eruption in 1980. The rapid modification of the landforms due to these events makes it difficult to estimate the magnitude of prehistoric avalanches. However, the widespread preservation of hummocks along the course of rockslide-debris avalanches is highly significant for understanding the physical characteristics of these landslides. Mt Shasta is a 4,317 m high, snow-capped, steep-sloped stratovolcano located in Northern California. The current edifice began forming on the remnants of an ancestral Mt Shasta that collapsed ~300-380k years ago producing one of the largest debris avalanches known on Earth. The debris avalanche deposit (DAD) covers a surface of ~450 km2 across the Shasta valley, with an estimated volume of ~26 km3. We analyze ALS data on hummocks from the prehistoric Shasta valley DAD in northern California (USA) to derive the relationship between hummock size and distance from landslide source, and interpret the geomorphic significance of the intercept and slope coefficients of the observed functional relationships. Given the limited extent of the ALS survey (i.e. 40 km2), the high-resolution dataset is used for validation of the morphological parameters extracted from freely available, broader coverage DTMs such as the National Elevation Dataset (NED). The ALS dataset also permits the identification of subtle topographic features not apparent in the field or in coarser resolution datasets, including a previously unmapped fault, of crucial importance for both seismic and volcanic hazard assessment in volcanic areas. We present evidence from the Shasta DAD of neotectonic

Storage and methyl jasmonate in postharvest conservation of roses cv. Avalanche

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elka Fabiana Aparecida Almeida

2017-07-01

Full Text Available The use of methyl jasmonate has demonstrated its efficiency to extend the vase life of cut flowers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of methyl jasmonate associated with storage at low temperatures on the postharvest quality of Rosa cv. Avalanche stems. The treatments consisted of 125, 250, 500 and 1000 μM of methyl jasmonate, besides the control with distilled water. The flower buds were sprayed with 4 mL of the solution, according to the treatments, and then kept in a cold chamber (1 °C for periods of 2 and 6 days. Subsequently, the stems were taken to the postharvest laboratory at a temperature of 16 °C. Better quality, higher fresh weight and water absorption were observed in flower stems stored for 2 days. The application of methyl jasmonate caused less turgescence and greater darkening of roses. It was possible to conclude that two days is the best storage time at 1 °C and the use of methyl jasmonate does not maintain the quality of roses cv. Avalanche after harvest.

TCAD simulation of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

Science.gov (United States)

Dalal, Ranjeet; Jain, Geetika; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Ranjan, Kirti

2016-11-01

In the present work, detailed simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tool, Silvaco for non-irradiated and irradiated LGAD (Low Gain Avalanche Detector) devices has been carried out. The effects of different design parameters and proton irradiation on LGAD operation are discussed in detail. An already published effective two trap bulk damage model is used to simulate the radiation damage without implementing any acceptor removal term. The TCAD simulation for irradiated LGAD devices produce decreasing gain with increasing fluence, similar to the measurement results. The space charge density and electric field distribution are used to illustrate the possible reasons for the degradation of gain of the irradiated LGAD devices.

TCAD simulation of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalal, Ranjeet; Jain, Geetika; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh, E-mail: ashutosh.bhardwaj@cern.ch; Ranjan, Kirti

2016-11-11

In the present work, detailed simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tool, Silvaco for non-irradiated and irradiated LGAD (Low Gain Avalanche Detector) devices has been carried out. The effects of different design parameters and proton irradiation on LGAD operation are discussed in detail. An already published effective two trap bulk damage model is used to simulate the radiation damage without implementing any acceptor removal term. The TCAD simulation for irradiated LGAD devices produce decreasing gain with increasing fluence, similar to the measurement results. The space charge density and electric field distribution are used to illustrate the possible reasons for the degradation of gain of the irradiated LGAD devices.

TCAD simulation of Low Gain Avalanche Detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalal, Ranjeet; Jain, Geetika; Bhardwaj, Ashutosh; Ranjan, Kirti

2016-01-01

In the present work, detailed simulation using Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) tool, Silvaco for non-irradiated and irradiated LGAD (Low Gain Avalanche Detector) devices has been carried out. The effects of different design parameters and proton irradiation on LGAD operation are discussed in detail. An already published effective two trap bulk damage model is used to simulate the radiation damage without implementing any acceptor removal term. The TCAD simulation for irradiated LGAD devices produce decreasing gain with increasing fluence, similar to the measurement results. The space charge density and electric field distribution are used to illustrate the possible reasons for the degradation of gain of the irradiated LGAD devices.

Density of kinks just after a quench in an underdamped system

OpenAIRE

Dziarmaga, Jacek

1998-01-01

A quench in an underdamped one dimensional $\\phi^4$ model is studied by analytical methods. The density of kinks just after the transition is proportional to the square root of the rate of the quench for slow quenches. If the quench is shorter that the relaxation time, then the density scales like the third root of the rate.

The performance of photon counting imaging with a Geiger mode silicon avalanche photodiode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qu, Hui-Ming; Zhang, Yi-Fan; Ji, Zhong-Jie; Chen, Qian

2013-01-01

In principle, photon counting imaging can detect a photon. With the development of low-level-light image intensifier techniques and low-level-light detection devices, photon counting imaging can now detect photon images under extremely low illumination. Based on a Geiger mode silicon avalanche photodiode single photon counter, an experimental system for photon counting imaging was built through two-dimensional scanning of a SPAD (single photon avalanche diode) detector. The feasibility of the imaging platform was validated experimentally. Two images with different characteristics, namely, the USAF 1951 resolution test panel and the image of Lena, were chosen to evaluate the imaging performance of the experimental system. The results were compared and analysed. The imaging properties under various illumination and scanning steps were studied. The lowest illumination limit of the SPAD photon counting imaging was determined. (letter)

Numerical simulation for quenching meshes with TONUS platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bin, Chen; Hongxing, Yu

2009-01-01

For mitigation of hydrogen risks during severe accidents to protect the integrity of containment, PAR and ignitors are used in current advanced nuclear power plants. But multiple combustions induced by ignitors and consequent DDT phenomena are not practically eliminated. An innovative design call 'quenching meshes' is considered to confine hydrogen flame within one compartment by metallic meshes, so that hazardous flame propagation can be prevented. The numerical simulation results based on discretization of the full Navier-Stokes equations with global one-step reaction represented by Arrhenius laminar combustion model have shown the possibility of flame quenching 'numerically'. This is achieved via multiplication of the combustion rate expression by a Heaviside function having an ignition temperature as a parameter. Qualitative behavior of the computed flow shows that the flame velocity diminishes while passing through a quenching mesh, while qualitative analysis based on the energy balance reveals the mechanism of flame quenching. All the above analysis has been performed for a stoichiometric mixture and normal initial pressure and temperature for initial conditions. For further research we would like to suggest the investigation of the influence of the mixture composition, initial pressure and/or temperature on the quenching criteria

A discrete model of the development and relaxation of a local microbreakdown in silicon avalanche photodiodes operating in the Geiger mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanyushin, I. V.; Gergel, V. A.; Gontar', V. M.; Zimoglyad, V. A.; Tishin, Yu. I.; Kholodnov, V. A.; Shcheleva, I. M.

2007-01-01

A new discrete theoretical model of the development and relaxation of a local microbreakdown in silicon avalanche photodiodes operating in the Geiger mode is developed. It is shown that the spreading resistance in the substrate profoundly affects both the amplitude of a single-photon electrical pulse and the possibility of attaining the steady-state form of the avalanche breakdown excluding the Geiger mode of the photodiode's operation. The model is employed to interpret the experimental data obtained using test single-photon cells of avalanche photodiodes fabricated on the basis of the 0.25-μm silicon technology with the use of deep implantation to form the region of avalanche multiplication for the charge carriers. Excellent functional properties of the studied type of the single-photon (Geiger) cell are noted. A typical amplitude characteristic of the cell for optical radiation with the wavelength λ = 0.56 μm in the irradiance range of 10 -3 -10 2 lx is presented; this characteristic indicates that the quantum efficiency of photoconversion is extremely high

Self-quenching streamer discharge in a wire chamber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, G.D.; Kruglov, V.V.; Khazins, D.M.

1982-01-01

A summary is given of the investigation of a new mode of operation of a wire chamber involving a self-quenching streamer discharge. The history of the question is briefly discussed. The main characteristics of the self-quenching mode and the influence of the composition and pressure of the gas mixture and the geometrical parameters of the chamber on the characteristics are described. The mechanism of a self-quenching streamer discharge is analyzed. Detectors working in this mode are described, and the prospects for its future use are discussed

Simulation of jet quenching at RHIC and LHC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lokhtin, I P; Snigirev, A M

2007-01-01

A model to simulate the jet quenching effect in ultrarelativistic heavy ion collisions is presented. The model is the fast Monte Carlo tool implemented to modify a standard PYTHIA jet event. The model has been generalized to the case of the 'full' heavy ion event (the superposition of soft, hydro-type state and hard multi-jets) using a simple and fast simulation procedure for soft particle production. The model is capable of reproducing the main features of the jet quenching pattern at RHIC and is applied to analyse novel jet quenching features at LHC

First experience with the new Coupling Loss Induced Quench system

CERN Document Server

Ravaioli, E; Dudarev, A V; Kirby, G; Sperin, K A; ten Kate, H H J; Verweij, A P

2014-01-01

New-generation high-field superconducting magnets pose a challenge relating to the protection of the coil winding pack in the case of a quench. The high stored energy per unit volume calls for a very efficient quench detection and fast quench propagation in order to avoid damage due to overheating. A new protection system called Coupling-Loss Induced Quench (CLIQ) was recently, developed and tested at CERN. This method provokes a fast change in the magnet transport current by means of a capacitive discharge. The resulting change in the local magnetic field induces inter-filament and inter-strand coupling losses which heat up the superconductor and eventually initiate a quench in a large fraction of the coil winding pack. The method is extensively tested on a Nb-Ti single-wire test solenoid magnet in the CERN Cryogenic Laboratory in order to assess its performance, optimize its operating parameters, and study new electrical configurations. Each parameter is thoroughly analyzed and its impact on the quench effi...

Observations of environmental quenching in groups in the 11 Gyr since z = 2.5: Different quenching for central and satellite galaxies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tal, Tomer; Illingworth, Garth D.; Magee, Daniel; Dekel, Avishai; Oesch, Pascal; Van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Leja, Joel; Momcheva, Ivelina; Nelson, Erica J.; Muzzin, Adam; Franx, Marijn; Brammer, Gabriel B.; Marchesini, Danilo; Patel, Shannon G.; Quadri, Ryan F.; Rix, Hans-Walter; Skelton, Rosalind E.; Wake, David A.; Whitaker, Katherine E.

2014-01-01

We present direct observational evidence for star formation quenching in galaxy groups in the redshift range 0 < z < 2.5. We utilize a large sample of nearly 6000 groups, selected by fixed cumulative number density from three photometric catalogs, to follow the evolving quiescent fractions of central and satellite galaxies over roughly 11 Gyr. At z ∼ 0, central galaxies in our sample range in stellar mass from Milky Way/M31 analogs (M * /M ☉ = 6.5 × 10 10 ) to nearby massive ellipticals (M * /M ☉ = 1.5 × 10 11 ). Satellite galaxies in the same groups reach masses as low as twice that of the Large Magellanic Cloud (M * /M ☉ = 6.5 × 10 9 ). Using statistical background subtraction, we measure the average rest-frame colors of galaxies in our groups and calculate the evolving quiescent fractions of centrals and satellites over seven redshift bins. Our analysis shows clear evidence for star formation quenching in group halos, with a different quenching onset for centrals and their satellite galaxies. Using halo mass estimates for our central galaxies, we find that star formation shuts off in centrals when typical halo masses reach between 10 12 and 10 13 M ☉ , consistent with predictions from the halo quenching model. In contrast, satellite galaxies in the same groups most likely undergo quenching by environmental processes, whose onset is delayed with respect to their central galaxy. Although star formation is suppressed in all galaxies over time, the processes that govern quenching are different for centrals and satellites. While mass plays an important role in determining the star formation activity of central galaxies, quenching in satellite galaxies is dominated by the environment in which they reside.

Observations of environmental quenching in groups in the 11 Gyr since z = 2.5: Different quenching for central and satellite galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tal, Tomer; Illingworth, Garth D.; Magee, Daniel [UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States); Dekel, Avishai [Racah Institute of Physics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904 (Israel); Oesch, Pascal; Van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Leja, Joel; Momcheva, Ivelina; Nelson, Erica J. [Yale University Astronomy Department, P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Muzzin, Adam; Franx, Marijn [Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, NL-2300 RA Leiden (Netherlands); Brammer, Gabriel B. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); Marchesini, Danilo [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 (United States); Patel, Shannon G.; Quadri, Ryan F. [Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States); Rix, Hans-Walter [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Skelton, Rosalind E. [South African Astronomical Observatory, Observatory Road, Cape Town (South Africa); Wake, David A. [Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706 (United States); Whitaker, Katherine E., E-mail: tal@ucolick.org [Astrophysics Science Division, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

2014-07-10

We present direct observational evidence for star formation quenching in galaxy groups in the redshift range 0 < z < 2.5. We utilize a large sample of nearly 6000 groups, selected by fixed cumulative number density from three photometric catalogs, to follow the evolving quiescent fractions of central and satellite galaxies over roughly 11 Gyr. At z ∼ 0, central galaxies in our sample range in stellar mass from Milky Way/M31 analogs (M{sub *}/M{sub ☉} = 6.5 × 10{sup 10}) to nearby massive ellipticals (M{sub *}/M{sub ☉} = 1.5 × 10{sup 11}). Satellite galaxies in the same groups reach masses as low as twice that of the Large Magellanic Cloud (M{sub *}/M{sub ☉} = 6.5 × 10{sup 9}). Using statistical background subtraction, we measure the average rest-frame colors of galaxies in our groups and calculate the evolving quiescent fractions of centrals and satellites over seven redshift bins. Our analysis shows clear evidence for star formation quenching in group halos, with a different quenching onset for centrals and their satellite galaxies. Using halo mass estimates for our central galaxies, we find that star formation shuts off in centrals when typical halo masses reach between 10{sup 12} and 10{sup 13} M{sub ☉}, consistent with predictions from the halo quenching model. In contrast, satellite galaxies in the same groups most likely undergo quenching by environmental processes, whose onset is delayed with respect to their central galaxy. Although star formation is suppressed in all galaxies over time, the processes that govern quenching are different for centrals and satellites. While mass plays an important role in determining the star formation activity of central galaxies, quenching in satellite galaxies is dominated by the environment in which they reside.

Ground thermal and geomechanical conditions in a permafrost-affected high-latitude rock avalanche site (Polvartinden, northern Norway)

Science.gov (United States)

Frauenfelder, Regula; Isaksen, Ketil; Lato, Matthew J.; Noetzli, Jeannette

2018-04-01

On 26 June 2008, a rock avalanche detached in the northeast facing slope of Polvartinden, a high-alpine mountain in Signaldalen, northern Norway. Here, we report on the observed and modelled past and present near-surface temperature regime close to the failure zone, as well as on a subsequent simulation of the subsurface temperature regime, and on initial geomechanical mapping based on laser scanning. The volume of the rock avalanche was estimated to be approximately 500 000 m3. The depth to the actual failure surface was found to range from 40 m at the back of the failure zone to 0 m at its toe. Visible in situ ice was observed in the failure zone just after the rock avalanche. Between September 2009 and August 2013, ground surface temperatures were measured with miniature temperature data loggers at 14 different localities, close to the original failure zone along the northern ridge of Polvartinden and on the valley floor. The results from these measurements and from a basic three-dimensional heat conduction model suggest that the lower altitudinal limit of permafrost at present is at 600-650 m a.s.l., which corresponds to the upper limit of the failure zone. A coupling of our in situ data with regional climate data since 1958 suggests a general gradual warming and that the period with highest mean near surface temperatures on record ended four months before the Signaldalen rock avalanche detached. A comparison with a transient permafrost model run at 10 m depth, representative for areas where snow accumulates, strengthen these findings, which are also in congruence with measurements in nearby permafrost boreholes. It is likely that permafrost in and near the failure zone is presently subject to degradation. This degradation, in combination with the extreme warm year antecedent to the rock failure, is seen to have played an important role in the detaching of the Signaldalen rock avalanche.

Ground thermal and geomechanical conditions in a permafrost-affected high-latitude rock avalanche site (Polvartinden, northern Norway

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Frauenfelder

2018-04-01

Full Text Available On 26 June 2008, a rock avalanche detached in the northeast facing slope of Polvartinden, a high-alpine mountain in Signaldalen, northern Norway. Here, we report on the observed and modelled past and present near-surface temperature regime close to the failure zone, as well as on a subsequent simulation of the subsurface temperature regime, and on initial geomechanical mapping based on laser scanning. The volume of the rock avalanche was estimated to be approximately 500 000 m3. The depth to the actual failure surface was found to range from 40 m at the back of the failure zone to 0 m at its toe. Visible in situ ice was observed in the failure zone just after the rock avalanche. Between September 2009 and August 2013, ground surface temperatures were measured with miniature temperature data loggers at 14 different localities, close to the original failure zone along the northern ridge of Polvartinden and on the valley floor. The results from these measurements and from a basic three-dimensional heat conduction model suggest that the lower altitudinal limit of permafrost at present is at 600–650 m a.s.l., which corresponds to the upper limit of the failure zone. A coupling of our in situ data with regional climate data since 1958 suggests a general gradual warming and that the period with highest mean near surface temperatures on record ended four months before the Signaldalen rock avalanche detached. A comparison with a transient permafrost model run at 10 m depth, representative for areas where snow accumulates, strengthen these findings, which are also in congruence with measurements in nearby permafrost boreholes. It is likely that permafrost in and near the failure zone is presently subject to degradation. This degradation, in combination with the extreme warm year antecedent to the rock failure, is seen to have played an important role in the detaching of the Signaldalen rock avalanche.

Current–voltage characteristics of high-voltage 4H-SiC p{sup +}–n{sub 0}–n{sup +} diodes in the avalanche breakdown mode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ivanov, P. A., E-mail: Pavel.Ivanov@mail.ioffe.ru; Potapov, A. S.; Samsonova, T. P.; Grekhov, I. V. [Ioffe Physical–Technical Institute (Russian Federation)

2017-03-15

p{sup +}–n{sub 0}–n{sup +} 4H-SiC diodes with homogeneous avalanche breakdown at 1860 V are fabricated. The pulse current–voltage characteristics are measured in the avalanche-breakdown mode up to a current density of 4000 A/cm{sup 2}. It is shown that the avalanche-breakdown voltage increases with increasing temperature. The following diode parameters are determined: the avalanche resistance (8.6 × 10{sup –2} Ω cm{sup 2}), the electron drift velocity in the n{sub 0} base at electric fields higher than 10{sup 6} V/cm (7.8 × 10{sup 6} cm/s), and the relative temperature coefficient of the breakdown voltage (2.1 × 10{sup –4} K{sup –1}).

Study on quench effects in liquid scintillation counting during tritium measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ivana Jakonic; Jovana Nikolov; Natasa Todorovic; Miroslav Veskovic; Branislava Tenjovic

2014-01-01

Quench effects can cause a serious reduction in counting efficiency for a given sample/cocktail mixture in liquid scintillation counting (LSC) experiments. This paper presents a simple experiment performed in order to test the influence of quenching on the LSC efficiency of 3 H. The aim of this study was to investigate the behavior of several quench agents with different quench strengths (nitromethane, nitric acid, acetone, dimethyl-sulfoxide) added in different amounts to tritiated water in order to obtain standard sets for quench calibration curves. The OptiPhase HiSafe 2 and OptiPhase HiSafe 3 scintillation cocktails were used in this study in order to compare their quench resistance. Measurements were performed using a low-level LS counter (Wallac, Quantulus 1220). (author)

Quench detection of superconducting magnet by dual-core optical fiber

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsukamoto, O.; Kawai, K.; Kokubun, Y.; Takao, T.

1988-01-01

A quench-detecting technique using two single-mode optical cores in one fiber has been developed. The technique can detect quench from a temperature rise of 1.0 K at 4.2 K. An electromagnetic force-stress to the fiber did not deteriorate quench detection sensitivity. A quench detector using this method was immune from electromagnetic noise and free from troubles caused by high voltage tension. Problems arising when applying this method to a large scale magnet and possible improvements in the instrumentation are discussed

Mean secondary electron yield of avalanche electrons in the channels of a microchannel plate detector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funsten, H.O.; Suszcynsky, D.M.; Harper, R.W.

1996-01-01

By modeling the statistical evolution of an avalanche created by 20 keV protons impacting the input surface of a z-stack microchannel plate (MCP) detector, the mean secondary electron yield γ C of avalanche electrons propagating through a MCP channel is measured to equal 1.37 for 760 V per MCP in the z stack. This value agrees with other studies that used MCP gain measurements to infer γ C . The technique described here to measure γ C is independent of gain saturation effects and simplifying assumptions used in the segmented dynode model, both of which can introduce errors when inferring γ C through gain measurements. copyright 1996 American Institute of Physics

Supershort avalanche electron beam in SF6 and krypton

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Cheng; Tarasenko, Victor F.; Gu, Jianwei; Baksht, Evgeni Kh.; Beloplotov, Dmitry V.; Burachenko, Alexander G.; Yan, Ping; Lomaev, Mikhail I.; Shao, Tao

2016-03-01

Runaway electrons play an important role in the avalanche formation in nanosecond- and subnanosecond- pulse discharges. In this paper, characteristics of a supershort avalanche electron beam (SAEB) generated at the subnanosecond and nanosecond breakdown in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6 ) in an inhomogeneous electric field were studied. One pulser operated at negative polarity with voltage pulse amplitude of ˜130 kV and rise time of 0.3 ns. The other pulser operated at negative polarity with voltage pulse amplitude of 70 kV and rise time of ˜1.6 ns . SAEB parameters in SF6 are compared with those obtained in krypton (Kr), nitrogen (N2 ), air, and mixtures of SF6 with krypton or nitrogen. Experimental results showed that SAEB currents appeared during the rise-time of the voltage pulse for both pulsers. Moreover, amplitudes of the SAEB current in SF6 and Kr approximately ranged from several to tens of milliamps at atmospheric pressure, which were smaller than those in N2 and air (ranging from hundreds of milliamps to several amperes). Furthermore, the concentration of SF6 additive could significantly reduce the SAEB current in N2-SF6 mixture, but it slightly affected the SAEB current in Kr -SF6 mixture because of the atomic/molecular ionization cross section of the gas had a much greater impact on the SAEB current rather than the electronegativity.

High-field quench behavior and dependence of hot spot temperature on quench detection voltage threshold in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2Ox coil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Tengming; Ye, Liyang; Turrioni, Daniele; Li, Pei

2015-01-01

Small insert solenoids have been built using a multifilamentary Ag/Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O x round wire insulated with a mullite sleeve (∼100 μm in thickness) and characterized in background fields to explore the quench behaviors and limits of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O x superconducting magnets, with an emphasis on assessing the impact of slow normal zone propagation on quench detection. Using heaters of various lengths to initiate a small normal zone, a coil was quenched safely more than 70 times without degradation, with the maximum coil temperature reaching 280 K. Coils withstood a resistive voltage of tens of mV for seconds without quenching, showing the high stability of these coils and suggesting that the quench detection voltage should be greater than 50 mV in order not to falsely trigger protection. The hot spot temperature for the resistive voltage of the normal zone to reach 100 mV increased from ∼40–∼80 K while increasing the operating wire current density J o from 89 A mm −2 to 354 A mm −2 , whereas for the voltage to reach 1 V, it increased from ∼60–∼140 K. This shows the increasing negative impact of slow normal zone propagation on quench detection with increasing J o and the need to limit the quench detection voltage to <1 V. These measurements, coupled with an analytical quench model, were used to assess the impact of the maximum allowable detection voltage and temperature upon quench detection on the quench protection, assuming a limit of the hot spot temperature to <300 K. (paper)

A study of point defects in quenched stainless steels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kheloufi, Khelifa.

1977-07-01

Thin foils of stainless steels (18%Cr, 14%Ni) containing boron (50x10 -6 ) and stabilised with titanium have been quenched at different rates in order to observe secondary defects by transmission electron microscopy. A rapid quenching in gallium has not given any secondary defects either before or after annealing. But samples quenched from temperatures greater than 800 0 C-900 0 C exhibit a dislocation density approximately 10 9 cm/cm 3 . A vacancy concentration less than 10 -6 has been observed by positron annihilation technique. After a moderate quenching, any secondary defects has been observed. It is thus clear that boron does not favour the secondary defects formation as does phosphorus [fr

Comparison of the quench experiments CORA-12, CORA-13, CORA-17

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hagen, S.; Hofmann, P.; Noack, V.; Sepold, L.; Schanz, G.; Schumacher, G.

1996-08-01

The CORA quench experiments 12, 13 (PWR) und 17 (BWR) are in agreement with the inpile tests LOFT LP-FP-2 and PBF SFD-ST and the TMI accident: Flooding of hot Zircaloy clad fuel rods does not result in an immediate cooldown of the bundle, but produces a remarkable temporary temperature increase connected to a strong peak in hydrogen production. For the preparation of new quench bundle tests, necessary for the understanding of the mechanisms governing the quench process and support for validation of future quench models in SFD codes the three tests are compared to each other and to the relevant non-quench tests CORA-29 (PWR) and CORA-16 (BWR). The PWR tests CORA-12 and CORA-13 are of the same geometrical arrangement and test conduct. An exception is the shorter time between power shutdown and quench initiation for CORA 13, resulting in a higher temperature of the bundle at start of quenching. The BWR test CORA-17 used B 4 C absorber and Zircaloy channel box walls, but was in respect to the delay time between power shutdown and start of quenching similar to test CORA-12. (orig./GL) [de

Quench detection electronics testing protocol for SST-1 magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banaudha, Moni; Varmora, Pankaj; Parghi, Bhadresh; Prasad, Upendra

2017-01-01

Quench Detection (QD) system consisting 204 signal channels has been successfully installed and working well during plasma experiment of SST-1 Tokamak. QD system requires testing, validation and maintenance in every SST-1 campaign for better reliability and maintainability of the system. Standalone test of each channel of the system is essential for hard-ware validation. The standard Testing Protocol follow in every campaign which validate each section of QD electronics as well as voltage tap signal cables which are routed inside the cryostat and then extended outside of the SST-1 machine up-to the magnet control room. Fiber link for Quench signal transmission to the SST-1 magnet power supply is also test and validate before every plasma campaign. Precise instrument used as a dummy source of quench signal and for manual quench generation to test the each channel and Master Quench Logic. Each signal Integrated with the magnet DAQ system, signal observed at 1Hz and 50Hz configuration to validate the logging data, compare with actual and previous test data. This paper describes the testing protocol follow in every campaign to validate functionality of QD electronics, limitation of testing, test results and overall integration of the quench detection system for SST-1 magnet. (author)

EXTREME WINTERS IN XX–XXI CENTURIES AS INDICATORS OF SNOWINESS AND AVALANCHE HAZARD IN THE PAST AND EXPECTED CLIMATE CHANGE CONDITIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. D. Oleynikov

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Currently, due to the global climate change and increasing frequency of weather events focus is on prediction of climate extremes. Large-scale meteorological anomalies can cause long-term paralysis of social and economic infrastructure of the major mountain regions and even individual states. In winter periods, these anomalies are associated with prolonged heavy snowfalls and associated with them catastrophic avalanches which cause significant social and economic damage. The climate system maintains a certain momentum during periods of adjustment and transition to other conditions in the ratio of heat and moisture and contains a climate «signal» of the climates of the past and the future. In our view seasonal and yearly extremes perform the role of these indicators, study of which enables for a deeper understanding and appreciation of the real situation of the climate periods related to the modern ones. The paper provides an overview of the criteria for selection of extreme winters. Identification of extremely cold winters during the period of instrumental observation and assessment of their snowiness and avalanche activity done for the Elbrus region, which is a model site for study of the avalanche regime in the Central Caucasus. The studies aim to identify the extreme winters in the Greater Caucasus, assess their frequency of occurrence, characterize the scale and intensity of the avalanche formation. The data obtained can be used to identify winter-analogues in the reconstruction and long-term forecast of avalanches. 

Simulation of the Quench-06 experiment with Scdapsim

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angel M, E. del; Nunez C, A.; Amador G, R.

2003-01-01

The present work describes the pattern of the called Quench installation developed and used by the National Commission of Nuclear Security and Safeguards (CNSNS) for their participation in the International Standard Problem 45 (ISP), organized by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA). The exercise consisted on the simulation of the denominated experiment Quench-06 carried out in the experimental installation Quench located in the Forschungszentrum laboratory in Karlsruhe, Germany. The experiment Quench-06 consisted on simulating the sudden and late injection of water in a fuel assemble for a pressurized reactor (PWR). The CNSNS uses the version bd of the SCDAPSIM code developed by the company Innovative Software Systems (ISS) to simulate this experiment. The obtained results showed that the code is able to predict the experiment partially when overestimating the hydrogen production and of the partial fused of some fuel pellets, but predicting correctly the damage in the shroud. (Author)

Event-by-event jet quenching

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fries, R.J.; Rodriguez, R.; Ramirez, E.

2010-08-14

High momentum jets and hadrons can be used as probes for the quark gluon plasma (QGP) formed in nuclear collisions at high energies. We investigate the influence of fluctuations in the fireball on jet quenching observables by comparing propagation of light quarks and gluons through averaged, smooth QGP fireballs with event-by-event jet quenching using realistic inhomogeneous fireballs. We find that the transverse momentum and impact parameter dependence of the nuclear modification factor R{sub AA} can be fit well in an event-by-event quenching scenario within experimental errors. However the transport coefficient {cflx q} extracted from fits to the measured nuclear modification factor R{sub AA} in averaged fireballs underestimates the value from event-by-event calculations by up to 50%. On the other hand, after adjusting {cflx q} to fit R{sub AA} in the event-by-event analysis we find residual deviations in the azimuthal asymmetry v{sub 2} and in two-particle correlations, that provide a possible faint signature for a spatial tomography of the fireball. We discuss a correlation function that is a measure for spatial inhomogeneities in a collision and can be constrained from data.

Event-by-event jet quenching

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rodriguez, R. [Cyclotron Institute and Physics Department, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); Fries, R.J., E-mail: rjfries@comp.tamu.ed [Cyclotron Institute and Physics Department, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843 (United States); RIKEN/BNL Research Center, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, NY 11973 (United States); Ramirez, E. [Physics Department, University of Texas El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968 (United States)

2010-09-27

High momentum jets and hadrons can be used as probes for the quark gluon plasma (QGP) formed in nuclear collisions at high energies. We investigate the influence of fluctuations in the fireball on jet quenching observables by comparing propagation of light quarks and gluons through averaged, smooth QGP fireballs with event-by-event jet quenching using realistic inhomogeneous fireballs. We find that the transverse momentum and impact parameter dependence of the nuclear modification factor R{sub AA} can be fit well in an event-by-event quenching scenario within experimental errors. However the transport coefficient q extracted from fits to the measured nuclear modification factor R{sub AA} in averaged fireballs underestimates the value from event-by-event calculations by up to 50%. On the other hand, after adjusting q to fit R{sub AA} in the event-by-event analysis we find residual deviations in the azimuthal asymmetry v{sub 2} and in two-particle correlations, that provide a possible faint signature for a spatial tomography of the fireball. We discuss a correlation function that is a measure for spatial inhomogeneities in a collision and can be constrained from data.

Studies of light emission by continuously sensitive avalanche chambers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charpak, G.; Dominik, W.; Fabre, J.P.; Gaudaen, J.; Sauli, F.; Suzuki, M.

1988-01-01

The optimal conditions for the optical recording of images of electron avalanches between parallel meshes have been studied. The emission spectra of gas mixtures have been investigated, where triethylamine (TEA), tetrakis(dimethylamine)ethylene (TMAE), and nitrogen, are used as the photon-emitting agents. For a given charge gain, the photon intensity decreases with electric field. This favours amplification between parallel meshes instead of wires. The use of intensified CCD cameras permits the recording of the local energy loss along the tracks. (orig.)

Quenching of spin-flip quadrupole transitions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castel, B.; Blunden, P.; Okuhara, Y.

1985-01-01

An increasing amount of experimental data indicates that spin-flip quadrupole transitions exhibit quenching effects similar to those reported earlier in (p,n) reactions involving l = 0 and l = 1 transitions. We present here two model calculations suggesting that the E2 spin-flip transitions are more affected than their M1 and M3 counterparts by the tensor and spin-orbit components of the nuclear force and should exhibit the largest quenching. We also review the experimental evidence corroborating our observations

Computational and experimental progress on laser-activated gas avalanche switches for broadband, high-power electromagnetic pulse generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mayhall, D.J.; Yee, J.H.; Villa, F.

1991-01-01

This paper discusses the gas avalanche switch, a high-voltage, picosecond-speed switch, which has been proposed. The basic switch consists of pulse-charged electrodes, immersed in a high-pressure gas. An avalanche discharge is induced in the gas between the electrodes by ionization from a picosecond-scale laser pulse. The avalanching electrons move toward the anode, causing the applied voltage to collapse in picoseconds. This voltage collapse, if rapid enough, generates electromagnetic waves. A two-dimensional (2D), finite difference computer code solves Maxwell's equations for transverse magnetic modes for rectilinear electrodes between parallel plate conductors, along with electron conservation equations for continuity, momentum, and energy. Collision frequencies for ionization and momentum and energy transfer to neutral molecules are assumed to scale linearly with neutral pressure. Electrode charging and laser-driven electron deposition are assumed to be instantaneous. Code calculations are done for a pulse generator geometry, consisting of an 0.7 mm wide by 0.8 mm high, beveled, rectangular center electrode between grounded parallel plates at 2 mm spacing in air

Universal avalanche statistics and triggering close to failure in a mean-field model of rheological fracture

Science.gov (United States)

Baró, Jordi; Davidsen, Jörn

2018-03-01

The hypothesis of critical failure relates the presence of an ultimate stability point in the structural constitutive equation of materials to a divergence of characteristic scales in the microscopic dynamics responsible for deformation. Avalanche models involving critical failure have determined common universality classes for stick-slip processes and fracture. However, not all empirical failure processes exhibit the trademarks of criticality. The rheological properties of materials introduce dissipation, usually reproduced in conceptual models as a hardening of the coarse grained elements of the system. Here, we investigate the effects of transient hardening on (i) the activity rate and (ii) the statistical properties of avalanches. We find the explicit representation of transient hardening in the presence of generalized viscoelasticity and solve the corresponding mean-field model of fracture. In the quasistatic limit, the accelerated energy release is invariant with respect to rheology and the avalanche propagation can be reinterpreted in terms of a stochastic counting process. A single universality class can be defined from such analogy, and all statistical properties depend only on the distance to criticality. We also prove that interevent correlations emerge due to the hardening—even in the quasistatic limit—that can be interpreted as "aftershocks" and "foreshocks."

Ultrafast quenching of tryptophan fluorescence in proteins: Interresidue and intrahelical electron transfer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu Weihong; Li Tanping; Zhang Luyuan; Yang Yi; Kao Yating; Wang Lijuan [Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, Program of Biophysics, Chemical Physics, and Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States); Zhong Dongping [Department of Physics, Chemistry, and Biochemistry, Program of Biophysics, Chemical Physics, and Biochemistry, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210 (United States)], E-mail: dongping@mps.ohio-state.edu

2008-06-23

Quenching of tryptophan fluorescence in proteins has been critical to the understanding of protein dynamics and enzyme reactions using tryptophan as a molecular optical probe. We report here our systematic examinations of potential quenching residues with more than 40 proteins. With site-directed mutation, we placed tryptophan to desired positions or altered its neighboring residues to screen quenching groups among 20 amino acid residues and of peptide backbones. With femtosecond resolution, we observed the ultrafast quenching dynamics within 100 ps and identified two ultrafast quenching groups, the carbonyl- and sulfur-containing residues. The former is glutamine and glutamate residues and the later is disulfide bond and cysteine residue. The quenching by the peptide-bond carbonyl group as well as other potential residues mostly occurs in longer than 100 ps. These ultrafast quenching dynamics occur at van der Waals distances through intraprotein electron transfer with high directionality. Following optimal molecular orbital overlap, electron jumps from the benzene ring of the indole moiety in a vertical orientation to the LUMO of acceptor quenching residues. Molecular dynamics simulations were invoked to elucidate various correlations of quenching dynamics with separation distances, relative orientations, local fluctuations and reaction heterogeneity. These unique ultrafast quenching pairs, as recently found to extensively occur in high-resolution protein structures, may have significant biological implications.

First experience with the new coupling loss induced quench system

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ravaioli, Emanuele; Datskov, V.I.; Dudarev, A.V.; Kirby, G.; Sperin, K.A.; ten Kate, Herman H.J.; Verweij, A.P.

2014-01-01

New-generation high-field superconducting magnets pose a challenge relating to the protection of the coil winding pack in the case of a quench. The high stored energy per unit volume calls for a very efficient quench detection and fast quench propagation in order to avoid damage due to overheating. A

Performance and simulation of a double-gap resistive plate chamber in the avalanche mode

CERN Document Server

Ahn Sung Hwan; Hong Byung Sik; Hong Seong Jong; Ito, M; Kang, T I; Kim, B I; Kim, J H; Kim, Y J; Kim, Y U; Koo, D G; Lee Hyup Woo; Lee, K B; Lee Kyong Sei; Lee Seok Jae; Lim, J K; Moon, D H; Nam, S K; Park, S; Park, W J; Rhee June Tak; Ryu, M S; Sim Kwang Souk

2004-01-01

We present a detailed analysis of the time and the charge signals of a prototype double-gap resistive plate chamber for the endcap region of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The chamber was built with relatively low-resistivity bakelite. The time and the charge results demonstrate that the high- voltage plateau, which satisfies various CMS requirements for the efficiency, the noise cluster rate, the fraction of the large signal, and the streamer probability, can be extended at least up to 400 V with the present design. In addition, a simple avalanche multiplication model is studied in detail. The model can reproduce the experimental charge spectra reasonably well. The charge information enables us to estimate the effective Townsend coefficient in avalanche-mode operation.

Dust emission from wet, low-emission coke quenching process

Science.gov (United States)

Komosiński, Bogusław; Bobik, Bartłomiej; Konieczny, Tomasz; Cieślik, Ewelina

2018-01-01

Coke plants, which produce various types of coke (metallurgical, foundry or heating), at temperatures between 600 and 1200°C, with limited access to oxygen, are major emitters of particulates and gaseous pollutants to air, water and soils. Primarily, the process of wet quenching should be mentioned, as one of the most cumbersome. Atmospheric pollutants include particulates, tar substances, organic pollutants including B(a)P and many others. Pollutants are also formed from the decomposition of water used to quench coke (CO, phenol, HCN, H2S, NH3, cresol) and decomposition of hot coke in the first phase of quenching (CO, H2S, SO2) [1]. The development of the coke oven technology has resulted in the changes made to different types of technological installations, such as the use of baffles in quench towers, the removal of nitrogen oxides by selective NOx reduction, and the introduction of fabric filters for particulates removal. The BAT conclusions for coke plants [2] provide a methodology for the measurement of particulate emission from a wet, low-emission technology using Mohrhauer probes. The conclusions define the emission level for wet quenching process as 25 g/Mgcoke. The conducted research was aimed at verification of the presented method. For two of three quench towers (A and C) the requirements included in the BAT conclusions are not met and emissions amount to 87.34 and 61.35 g/Mgcoke respectively. The lowest particulates emission was recorded on the quench tower B and amounted to 22.5 g/Mgcoke, therefore not exceeding the requirements.

Enhanced Turbulence During the Energy Quench of Disruptions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Remkes, G. J. J.; Schüller, F. C.

1991-01-01

Enhanced electron density fluctuation levels with frequencies in the megahertz range have been observed during the energy quench phase of minor disruptions in the TORTUR Tokamak. The high frequencies of the phenomena indicate that the enhanced transport during the energy quench is caused by

Mapping flux avalanches in MgB2 films-equivalence between magneto-optical imaging and magnetic measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colauto, F; Choi, E M; Lee, J Y; Lee, S I; Yurchenko, V V; Johansen, T H; Ortiz, W A

2007-01-01

Vortex avalanches are known to occur in MgB 2 films within a certain range of temperatures and magnetic fields. These events, resulting from a thermomagnetic instability, were first revealed by real-time magneto-optical imaging, which exposed dendritic paths of abrupt flux propagation. This very powerful technique has, however, a practical limitation, since sensors that are currently available cannot be used at high magnetic fields. This letter shows that results obtained using dc magnetometry are in good correspondence with those furnished by magneto-optical imaging, demonstrating that the two techniques can be efficiently used as complementary tools to map vortex avalanches in superconducting films. (rapid communication)

Quenched Approximation to ΔS = 1 K Decay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christ, Norman H.

2005-01-01

The importance of explicit quark loops in the amplitudes contributing to ΔS = 1, K meson decays raises potential ambiguities when these amplitudes are evaluated in the quenched approximation. Using the factorization of these amplitudes into short- and long-distance parts provided by the standard low-energy effective weak Hamiltonian, we argue that the quenched approximation can be conventionally justified if it is applied to the long-distance portion of each amplitude. The result is a reasonably well-motivated definition of the quenched approximation that is close to that employed in the RBC and CP-PACS calculations of these quantities

Post CHF heat transfer and quenching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, R.A.; Condie, K.G.

1980-01-01

This paper describes quantitatively new mechanisms in the post-CHF regime which provide understanding and predictive capability for several current two-phase forced convective heat transfer problems. These mechanisms are important in predicting rod temperature turnaround and quenching during the reflood phase of either a hypothetical loss-of-coolant accident (LOCA) or the FLECHT and Semiscale experiments. The mechanisms are also important to the blowdown phase of a LOCA or the recent Loss-of-Fluid Test (LOFT) experiments L2-2 and L2-3, which were 200% cold leg break transients. These LOFT experiments experienced total core quenching in the early part of the blowdown phase at high (1000 psia) pressures. The mechanisms are also important to certain pressurized water reactor (PWR) operational transients where the reactor may operate in the post-CHF regime for short periods of time. Accurate prediction of the post-CHF heat transfer including core quench during these transients is of prime importance to limit maximum cladding temperatures and prevent cladding deformation

QUENCH-LOCA program at KIT and results of the QUENCH-L0 bundle test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stuckert, J.; Grosse, M.; Roessger, C.; Steinbrueck, M.; Walter, M.

2012-01-01

The current LOCA criteria and their safety goals are applied worldwide with minor modifications since the USNRC release in 1973. The criteria are given as limits on peak cladding temperature (T PCT ≤ 1200 C) and on oxidation level ECR (equivalent cladding reacted) calculated as a percentage of cladding oxidized (ECR ≤ 17% calculated using Baker-Just oxidation correlation). These two rules constitute the criterion of cladding embrittlement due to oxygen uptake. The results elaborated worldwide in the 1980s and 1990s on Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) cladding tubes behavior (oxidation, deformation and bundle coolability) under LOCA conditions constitute a detailed data base and an important input for the safety assessment of LWRs. In-pile test data (with burn-up up to 35 MWd/kgU) were consistent with the out-of-pile data and did not indicate an influence of the nuclear environment on cladding deformation. At high burn-up, fuel rods fabricated from conventional Zry-4 often exhibit significant oxidation, hydriding, and oxide spallation. Thus, many fuel vendors have proposed the use of recently developed cladding alloys, such as M5 registered , ZIRLO trademark and other. Therefore, it is important to verify the safety margins for high burn-up fuel and fuel claddings with new alloys. Due to long cladding hydriding period for the high fuel burn-up, post-quench ductility is strongly influenced not only by oxidation but also hydrogen uptake. The 17% ECR limit is inadequate to ensure post-quench ductility at hydrogen concentrations higher than ∼500 wppm. Due to so called secondary hydriding (during oxidation of inner cladding surface after burst), which was firstly observed in JAEA, the hydrogen content can reach 4000 wppm in Zircaloy cladding regions around burst. To investigate the influence of these phenomena on the applicability of the embrittlement criteria for the German nuclear reactors it was decided to perform the QUENCH-LOCA bundle test series at the Karlsruhe Institute

QUENCH-LOCA program at KIT and results of the QUENCH-L0 bundle test

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stuckert, J.; Grosse, M.; Roessger, C.; Steinbrueck, M.; Walter, M. [Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany)

2012-11-01

The current LOCA criteria and their safety goals are applied worldwide with minor modifications since the USNRC release in 1973. The criteria are given as limits on peak cladding temperature (T{sub PCT} {<=} 1200 C) and on oxidation level ECR (equivalent cladding reacted) calculated as a percentage of cladding oxidized (ECR {<=} 17% calculated using Baker-Just oxidation correlation). These two rules constitute the criterion of cladding embrittlement due to oxygen uptake. The results elaborated worldwide in the 1980s and 1990s on Zircaloy-4 (Zry-4) cladding tubes behavior (oxidation, deformation and bundle coolability) under LOCA conditions constitute a detailed data base and an important input for the safety assessment of LWRs. In-pile test data (with burn-up up to 35 MWd/kgU) were consistent with the out-of-pile data and did not indicate an influence of the nuclear environment on cladding deformation. At high burn-up, fuel rods fabricated from conventional Zry-4 often exhibit significant oxidation, hydriding, and oxide spallation. Thus, many fuel vendors have proposed the use of recently developed cladding alloys, such as M5 {sup registered}, ZIRLO trademark and other. Therefore, it is important to verify the safety margins for high burn-up fuel and fuel claddings with new alloys. Due to long cladding hydriding period for the high fuel burn-up, post-quench ductility is strongly influenced not only by oxidation but also hydrogen uptake. The 17% ECR limit is inadequate to ensure post-quench ductility at hydrogen concentrations higher than {approx}500 wppm. Due to so called secondary hydriding (during oxidation of inner cladding surface after burst), which was firstly observed in JAEA, the hydrogen content can reach 4000 wppm in Zircaloy cladding regions around burst. To investigate the influence of these phenomena on the applicability of the embrittlement criteria for the German nuclear reactors it was decided to perform the QUENCH-LOCA bundle test series at the

Observation of Spectral Signatures of 1/f Dynamics in Avalanches on Granular Piles

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yong W.; Nishino, Thomas K.

1997-03-01

Granular piles of monodisperse glass spheres, 0.46+0.03 mm in diameter, have been studied. The base diameter of the pile has been varied from 3/8" to 2" in 1/8" increments. A single-grain dispenser with greater than 95consisting of a stepping motor-actuated reciprocating arm with a single-grain scoop. Each grain is dropped on the apex of the pile with lowest possible landing velocity at intervals at least 30longer than the duration of largest avalanches for each given pile. Each grain being added and being lost in avalanches from the pile is optically detected and recorded. The power spectrum of the net addition of grains to the pile as a function of time is found to be robustly 1/f for all base sizes. A wide variety of dynamical properties of 1/f systems, as obtained from the high precision data, will be presented.

Quench detection/protection of an HTS coil by AE signals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoneda, M.; Nanato, N.; Aoki, D.; Kato, T.; Murase, S.

2011-01-01

A quench detection/protection system based on measuring AE signals was developed. The system was tested for a Bi2223 coil. Temperature rise after a quench occurrence was restrained at very low value. The normal zone propagation velocities in high T c superconductors are slow at high operation temperature and therefore local and excessive temperature rise generates at quench occurrence, and then the superconductors are degraded or burned. Therefore it is essential to detect the temperature rise in high T c superconducting (HTS) coils as soon as possible and protect them. The authors have presented a quench detection method for HTS coils by time-frequency visualization of AE signals and have shown its usefulness for a HTS coil with height and outer diameter of 40-50 mm. In this paper, the authors present a quench detection/protection system based on superior method in quench detection time to the previous method and show its usefulness for a larger HTS coil (height and outer diameter: 160-190 mm) than the previous coil.

Quench Protection and Magnet Powe Supply Requirements for the MICE Focusing and Coupling Magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, Michael A.; Witte, Holger

2005-01-01

This report discusses the quench protection and power supply requirements of the MICE superconducting magnets. A section of the report discusses the quench process and how to calculate the peak voltages and hotspot temperature that result from a magnet quench. A section of the report discusses conventional quench protection methods. Thermal quench back from the magnet mandrel is also discussed. Selected quench protection methods that result in safe quenching of the MICE focusing and coupling magnets are discussed. The coupling of the MICE magnets with the other magnets in the MICE is described. The consequences of this coupling on magnet charging and quenching are discussed. Calculations of the quenching of a magnet due quench back from circulating currents induced in the magnet mandrel due to quenching of an adjacent magnet are discussed. The conclusion of this report describes how the MICE magnet channel will react when one or magnets in that channel are quenched

In-pile behavior of controlled beta-quenched fuel channels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moeckel, Andreas; Pflaum, Wolfgang; Cremer, Ingo [AREVA NP GmbH, Erlangen (Germany); Zbib, Ali A. [AREVA NP Inc., Richland, WA (United States)

2011-07-01

Dimensional stability during in-reactor service is the major requirement that is put on fuel channels to provide good moderation and power distribution, and to guarantee unrestricted movement of the control blades during operation. High corrosion resistance and low hydrogen pick-up are required as well. The latter are usually not considered to be life limiting, but may contribute to channel deformation since increased oxide layers due to shadow corrosion on the control blade sides of a channel result in differential oxide thickness and differential volume expansion due to hydride formation. This would be in addition to the well known effects of irradiation induced channel deformation, especially channel growth and bow. In order to meet the trend toward increased fuel assembly discharge burnup levels and the industry wide need for improved dimensional stability of fuel channels, AREVA NP has developed the Controlled Beta-Quenching of fuel channels. The process combines the positive effect of randomization of the crystallographic texture by beta-quenching with the optimization of the microstructure for good corrosion resistance by providing intermetallic phase particles in the optimum size range. The Controlled Beta-Quenching is a continuous heat treatment operation. Its key features are the two-step induction heating to uniformly reach the target temperature, the tight control of the quench rate by cooling the fuel channel from the outer surface using a controlled argon mass flow for quenching, and the protection of the inner surface from oxidation by providing an argon atmosphere. Due to the utilization of argon, the surfaces of the channels remain metal bright after beta-quenching. All in all, the Controlled Beta-Quenching provides an overall 'clean' and environment friendly operation without the need of additional surface conditioning. The first set of beta-quenched fuel channels, exhibiting these optimized material properties, were inserted in the core

Photon-counting monolithic avalanche photodiode arrays for the super collider

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishaque, A.N.; Castleberry, D.E.; Rougeot, H.M.

1994-01-01

In fiber tracking, calorimetry, and other high energy and nuclear physics experiments, the need arises to detect an optical signal consisting of a few photons (in some cases a single photoelectron) with a detector insensitive to magnetic fields. Previous attempts to detect a single photoelectron have involved avalanche photodiodes (APDs) operated in the Geiger mode, the visible light photon counter, and a photomultiplier tube with an APD as the anode. In this paper it is demonstrated that silicon APDs, biased below the breakdown voltage, can be used to detect a signal of a few photons with conventional pulse counting circuitry at room temperature. Moderate cooling, it is further argued, could make it possible to detect a single photoelectron. Monolithic arrays of silicon avalanche photodiodes fabricated by Radiation Monitoring Devices, Inc. (RMD) were evaluated for possible use in the Super Collider detector systems. Measurements on 3 element x 3 element (2 mm pitch) APD arrays, using pulse counting circuitry with a charge sensitive amplifier (CSA) and a Gaussian filter, are reported and found to conform to a simple noise model. The model is used to obtain the optimal operating point. Experimental results are described in Section II, modeling results in Section III, and the conclusions are summarized in Section IV

Does Avalanche Shovel Shape Affect Excavation Time: A Pilot Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kurt Schindelwig

2017-05-01

Full Text Available In Europe and North America, approximately 150 fatalities occur as a result of avalanches every year. However, it is unclear whether certain shovel shapes are more effective than others in snow removal during avalanche victim recovery. The objective was to determine the performance parameters with a developed standardized test using different shovel shapes and to determine sex-specific differences. Hence, several parameters were determined for clearing the snow from a snow filled box (15 men, 14 women. A flat (F and a deep (D shovel blade with the shaft connected straight (S or in clearing mode (C were used for the investigation of the shovel shapes FS, DC and the subsequent use of DC&DS. Mean snow mass shifted per unit time increased significantly from 1.50 kg/s with FS to 1.71 kg/s (14% with DS and further to 1.79 kg/s (4% with DC&DS for all participants. Snow mass shifted per unit time was 44% higher (p < 0.05 for men than for women. In excavation operations, the sex-specific physical performance should be taken into account. The results were limited to barely binding snow, because only with this snow did the tests show a high reliability.

A novel approach to quench detection for high temperature superconducting coils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, W.J.; Fang, X.Y.; Fang, J.; Wei, B.; Hou, J.Z.; Liu, L.F.; Lu, K.K.; Li, Shuo

2015-01-01

Highlights: • We proposed a novel quench detection method mainly based on phase for HTS coil. • We showed theory model and numerical simulation system by LabVIEW. • Experiment results are showed and analyzed. • Little quench voltage will cause obvious change on phase. • The approach can accurately detect quench resistance voltage in real-time. - Abstract: A novel approach to quench detection for high temperature superconducting (HTS) coils is proposed, which is mainly based on phase angle between voltage and current of two coils to detect the quench resistance voltage. The approach is analyzed theoretically, verified experimentally and analytically by MATLAB Simulink and LabVIEW. An analog quench circuit is built on Simulink and a quench alarm system program is written in LabVIEW. Experiment of quench detection is further conducted. The sinusoidal AC currents ranging from 19.9 A to 96 A are transported to the HTS coils, whose critical current is 90 A at 77 K. The results of analog simulation and experiment are analyzed and they show good consistency. It is shown that with the increase of current, the phase undergoes apparent growth, and it is up to 60° and 15° when the current reaches critical value experimentally and analytically, respectively. It is concluded that the approach proposed in this paper can meet the need of precision and quench resistance voltage can be detected in time.

A novel approach to quench detection for high temperature superconducting coils

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, W.J., E-mail: songwenjuan@bjtu.edu.cn [School of Electrical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing (China); China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing (China); Fang, X.Y. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Victoria, PO Box 1700, STN CSC, Victoria, BC V8W 2Y2 (Canada); Fang, J., E-mail: fangseer@sina.com [School of Electrical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing (China); Wei, B.; Hou, J.Z. [China Electric Power Research Institute, Beijing (China); Liu, L.F. [Guangzhou Metro Design & Research Institute Co., Ltd, Guangdong (China); Lu, K.K. [School of Electrical Engineering, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing (China); Li, Shuo [College of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang (China)

2015-11-15

Highlights: • We proposed a novel quench detection method mainly based on phase for HTS coil. • We showed theory model and numerical simulation system by LabVIEW. • Experiment results are showed and analyzed. • Little quench voltage will cause obvious change on phase. • The approach can accurately detect quench resistance voltage in real-time. - Abstract: A novel approach to quench detection for high temperature superconducting (HTS) coils is proposed, which is mainly based on phase angle between voltage and current of two coils to detect the quench resistance voltage. The approach is analyzed theoretically, verified experimentally and analytically by MATLAB Simulink and LabVIEW. An analog quench circuit is built on Simulink and a quench alarm system program is written in LabVIEW. Experiment of quench detection is further conducted. The sinusoidal AC currents ranging from 19.9 A to 96 A are transported to the HTS coils, whose critical current is 90 A at 77 K. The results of analog simulation and experiment are analyzed and they show good consistency. It is shown that with the increase of current, the phase undergoes apparent growth, and it is up to 60° and 15° when the current reaches critical value experimentally and analytically, respectively. It is concluded that the approach proposed in this paper can meet the need of precision and quench resistance voltage can be detected in time.

Quench propagation and protection analysis of the ATLAS Toroids

OpenAIRE

Dudarev, A; Gavrilin, A V; ten Kate, H H J; Baynham, D Elwyn; Courthold, M J D; Lesmond, C

2000-01-01

The ATLAS superconducting magnet system consists of the Barrel Toroid, two End Cap Toroids and the Central Solenoid. However, the Toroids of eight coils each are magnetically separate systems to the Central Solenoid. The Toroids are electrically connected in series and energized by a single power supply. The quench protection system is based on the use of relatively small external dump resistances in combination with quench-heaters activated after a quench event detection to initiate the inte...

Generalized thermalization for integrable system under quantum quench.

Science.gov (United States)

Muralidharan, Sushruth; Lochan, Kinjalk; Shankaranarayanan, S

2018-01-01

We investigate equilibration and generalized thermalization of the quantum Harmonic chain under local quantum quench. The quench action we consider is connecting two disjoint harmonic chains of different sizes and the system jumps between two integrable settings. We verify the validity of the generalized Gibbs ensemble description for this infinite-dimensional Hilbert space system and also identify equilibration between the subsystems as in classical systems. Using Bogoliubov transformations, we show that the eigenstates of the system prior to the quench evolve toward the Gibbs Generalized Ensemble description. Eigenstates that are more delocalized (in the sense of inverse participation ratio) prior to the quench, tend to equilibrate more rapidly. Further, through the phase space properties of a generalized Gibbs ensemble and the strength of stimulated emission, we identify the necessary criterion on the initial states for such relaxation at late times and also find out the states that would potentially not be described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble description.

Anthracene Fluorescence Quenching by a Tetrakis (Ketocarboxamide Cavitand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tibor Zoltan Janosi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Quenching of both fluorescence lifetime and fluorescence intensity of anthracene was investigated in the presence of a newly derived tetrakis (ketocarboxamide cavitand at various concentrations. Time-correlated single photon counting method was applied for the lifetime measurements. A clear correlation between the fluorescence lifetime of anthracene as a function of cavitand concentration in dimethylformamide solution was observed. The bimolecular collisional quenching constant was derived from the decrease of lifetime. Fluorescence intensity was measured in the emission wavelength region around 400 nm as a result of excitation at 280 nm. Effective quenching was observed in the presence of the cavitand. The obtained Stern-Volmer plot displayed upward curvature. The results did not follow even extended Stern-Volmer behavior, often used to describe deviations from static bimolecular quenching. To explain our results we adopted the Smoluchowski model and obtained a reasonable estimate for the molecular radius of the cavitand in solution.

Critical properties of Sudden Quench Dynamics in the anisotropic XY Model

OpenAIRE

Guo, Hongli; Liu, Zhao; Fan, Heng; Chen, Shu

2010-01-01

We study the zero temperature quantum dynamical critical behavior of the anisotropic XY chain under a sudden quench in a transverse field. We demonstrate theoretically that both quench magnetic susceptibility and two-particle quench correlation can be used to describe the dynamical quantum phase transition (QPT) properties. Either the quench magnetic susceptibility or the derivative of correlation functions as a function of initial magnetic field $a$ exhibits a divergence at the critical poin...

Modelling of pressure tube Quench using PDETWO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parlatan, Y.; Lei, Q.M.; Kwee, M.

2004-01-01

Transient two-dimensional heat conduction calculations have been carried out to determine the time-dependent temperature distribution in an overheated pressure tube during quenching with water. The purpose of the calculations is to provide input for evaluation of thermal (secondary) stresses in the pressure tube due to quench. The quench phenomenon in pressure tubes could occur in several hypothetical accident scenarios, including incidents involving intermittent buoyancy-induced flow during outages. In these scenarios, there will be two (radial and axial) or three dimensional temperature gradients, resulting in thermal stresses in the pressure tube, as the water front reaches and starts to cool down the hot pressure tube. The transient, two-dimensional heat conduction equation in the pressure tube during quench is solved using a FORTRAN package called PDETWO, available in the open literature for solving time-dependent coupled systems of non-linear partial differential equations over a two-dimensional rectangular region. This routine is based on finite difference solution of coupled, non-linear partial differential equations. Temperature gradient in the circumferential gradient is neglected for conservatism and convenience. The advancing water front is not modelled explicitly, and assumed to be at a uniform temperature and moving at a constant velocity inferred from experimental data. For outer surface and both ends of the pressure tube in the axial direction, a zero-heat flux boundary condition is assumed, while for the inner surface a moving water-quench front is assumed by appropriately varying the fluid temperature and the heat transfer coefficient. The pressure tube is assumed to be at a uniform temperature of 400 o C initially, to represent conditions expected during an intermittent buoyancy-influenced flow scenario. The results confirm the expectations that axial temperature gradients and associated heat fluxes are small in comparison with those in the

Studies of quench propagation in a superconducting window frame magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allinger, J.; Carroll, A.; Danby, G.; DeVito, B.; Jackson, J.; Leonhardt, M.; Prodell, A.; Stoehr, R.

1981-01-01

During the testing of a meter long, superconducting window frame magnet, information from many spontaneously generated quenches have been recorded by an on-line computer system. Nearly every layer in an eleven layer dipole had a voltage tap and for some layers this subdivided into two halves. This allowed us to study development of the quenches in some detail. Knowledge of the resistances throughout the magnet also allowed the temperature distributions in the superconducting windings to be determined. A qualitative picture of the quench was developed and quantitative values of quench propagation velocities were compared to heat transfer calculations

Proof-of-concept and feasibility demonstrations for an avalanche photodiode/photoelastic modulator-based imaging polarimeter

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Building on the successful heritage of JPL’s Multiangle SpectroPolarimetric Imager (MSPI), we propose infusing HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) array technology...

Experimental determination of the electron-avalanche and the electron-ion recombination coefficient

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ernst, G.J.; Boer, A.G.

1980-01-01

The electron-ion recombination coefficient γ and the avalanche coefficient δ = (α − a) · vd, where α and a are the ionizat ion and attachment coefficients respectively and vd the drift velocity of the electrons, have been experimentally determined in a self-sustained CO2-laser system (1:1:3 mixture)

Submersion Quenching of Undercooled Liquid Metals in an Electrostatic Levitator

Science.gov (United States)

SanSoucie, Michael P.; Rogers, Jan R.

2016-01-01

The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) electrostatic levitation (ESL) laboratory has a long history of providing materials research and thermophysical property data. The laboratory has recently added a new capability, a rapid quench system. This system allows samples to be dropped into a quench vessel that can be filled with a low melting point material, such as a gallium or indium alloy. Thereby allowing rapid quenching of undercooled liquid metals and alloys. This is the first submersion quench system inside an electrostatic levitator. The system has been tested successfully with samples of zirconium, iron-cobalt alloys, titanium-zirconium-nickel alloys, and silicon-cobalt alloys. This rapid quench system will allow materials science studies of undercooled materials and new materials development, including studies of metastable phases and transient microstructures. In this presentation, the system is described and some initial results are presented.

Effect of quenching rate on precipitation kinetics in AA2219 DC cast alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elgallad, E.M., E-mail: eelgalla@uqac.ca; Zhang, Z.; Chen, X.-G.

2017-06-01

Slow quenching of direct chill (DC) cast aluminum ingot plates used in large mold applications is often used to decrease quench-induced residual stresses, which can deteriorate the machining performance of these plates. Slow quenching may negatively affect the mechanical properties of the cast plates when using highly quench-sensitive aluminum alloys because of its negative effect on the precipitation hardening behavior of such alloys. The effect of the quenching rate on precipitation kinetics in AA2219 DC cast alloy was systematically studied under water and air quenching conditions using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) technique. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was also used to characterize the precipitate microstructure. The results showed that the precipitation kinetics of the θ′ phase in the air-quenched condition was mostly slower than that in the water-quenched one. Air quenching continuously increased the precipitation kinetics of the θ phase compared to water quenching. These results revealed the contributions of the inadequate precipitation of the strengthening θ′ phase and the increased precipitation of the equilibrium θ phase to the deterioration of the mechanical properties of air-quenched AA2219 DC cast plates. The preexisting GP zones and quenched-in dislocations affected the kinetics of the θ′ phase, whereas the preceding precipitation of the θ′ phase affected the kinetics of the θ phase by controlling its precipitation mechanism.

Structure of partly quenched molten copper chloride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pastore, G.; Tosi, M.P.

1995-09-01

The structural modifications induced in a model of molten CuCl by quenching the chlorine component into a microporous disordered matrix are evaluated using the hypernetted-chain closure in Ornstein-Zernike relations for the pair distribution functions in random systems. Aside from obvious changes in the behaviour of long-wavelength density fluctuations, the main effect of partial quenching is an enhanced delocalization of the Cu + ions. The model suggests that the ionic mobility in a superionic glass is enhanced relative to the melt at the same temperature and density. Only very minor quantitative differences are found in the structural functions when the replica Ornstein-Zernike relations derived by Given and Stell for a partly quenched system are simplified to those given earlier by Madden and Glandt. (author). 19 refs, 6 figs

Group quenching and galactic conformity at low redshift

Science.gov (United States)

Treyer, M.; Kraljic, K.; Arnouts, S.; de la Torre, S.; Pichon, C.; Dubois, Y.; Vibert, D.; Milliard, B.; Laigle, C.; Seibert, M.; Brown, M. J. I.; Grootes, M. W.; Wright, A. H.; Liske, J.; Lara-Lopez, M. A.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.

2018-06-01

We quantify the quenching impact of the group environment using the spectroscopic survey Galaxy and Mass Assembly to z ˜ 0.2. The fraction of red (quiescent) galaxies, whether in groups or isolated, increases with both stellar mass and large-scale (5 Mpc) density. At fixed stellar mass, the red fraction is on average higher for satellites of red centrals than of blue (star-forming) centrals, a galactic conformity effect that increases with density. Most of the signal originates from groups that have the highest stellar mass, reside in the densest environments, and have massive, red only centrals. Assuming a colour-dependent halo-to-stellar-mass ratio, whereby red central galaxies inhabit significantly more massive haloes than blue ones of the same stellar mass, two regimes emerge more distinctly: at log (Mhalo/M⊙) ≲ 13, central quenching is still ongoing, conformity is no longer existent, and satellites and group centrals exhibit the same quenching excess over field galaxies at all mass and density, in agreement with the concept of `group quenching'; at log (Mh/M⊙) ≳ 13, a cut-off that sets apart massive (log (M⋆/M⊙) > 11), fully quenched group centrals, conformity is meaningless, and satellites undergo significantly more quenching than their counterparts in smaller haloes. The latter effect strongly increases with density, giving rise to the density-dependent conformity signal when both regimes are mixed. The star formation of blue satellites in massive haloes is also suppressed compared to blue field galaxies, while blue group centrals and the majority of blue satellites, which reside in low-mass haloes, show no deviation from the colour-stellar mass relation of blue field galaxies.

Group quenching and galactic conformity at low redshift

Science.gov (United States)

Treyer, M.; Kraljic, K.; Arnouts, S.; de la Torre, S.; Pichon, C.; Dubois, Y.; Vibert, D.; Milliard, B.; Laigle, C.; Seibert, M.; Brown, M. J. I.; Grootes, M. W.; Wright, A. H.; Liske, J.; Lara-Lopez, M. A.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.

2018-03-01

We quantify the quenching impact of the group environment using the spectroscopic survey Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) to z ˜ 0.2. The fraction of red (quiescent) galaxies, whether in groups or isolated, increases with both stellar mass and large-scale (5 Mpc) density. At fixed stellar mass, the red fraction is on average higher for satellites of red centrals than of blue (star-forming) centrals, a galactic conformity effect that increases with density. Most of the signal originates from groups that have the highest stellar mass, reside in the densest environments, and have massive, red only centrals. Assuming a color-dependent halo-to-stellar-mass ratio, whereby red central galaxies inhabit significantly more massive halos than blue ones of the same stellar mass, two regimes emerge more distinctly: at log (Mhalo/M⊙) ≲ 13, central quenching is still ongoing, conformity is no longer existent, and satellites and group centrals exhibit the same quenching excess over field galaxies at all mass and density, in agreement with the concept of "group quenching"; at log (Mh/M⊙) ≳ 13, a cutoff that sets apart massive (log (M⋆/M⊙) > 11), fully quenched group centrals, conformity is meaningless, and satellites undergo significantly more quenching than their counterparts in smaller halos. The latter effect strongly increases with density, giving rise to the density-dependent conformity signal when both regimes are mixed. The star-formation of blue satellites in massive halos is also suppressed compared to blue field galaxies, while blue group centrals and the majority of blue satellites, which reside in low mass halos, show no deviation from the color-stellar mass relation of blue field galaxies.

Stratigraphy, age, and correlation of voluminous debris-avalanche events from an ancestral Egmont Volcano : implications for coastal plain construction and regional hazard assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alloway, B.V.; McComb, P.; Neall, V.; Vucetich, C.; Gibb, J.; Sherburn, S.; Stirling, M.W.

2005-01-01

Two previously unrecognised debris-avalanche deposits have been identified on the eastern flanks of Egmont Volcano beneath a thick mantle of tephric and andic soil material that has mostly subdued their topographic expression. The Ngaere Formation is a c. 23 14 C ka large volume (>5.85 km 3 ) debris-avalanche deposit that is widely distributed over 320-500 km 2 of the north-east, south-east, and south portions of the Egmont ring plain. The second deposit, Okawa Formation, is a c. 105 ka large volume (>3.62 km 3 ) debris-avalanche deposit that has been mapped over a minimum area of 255 km 2 in northern and north-eastern Taranaki. Both debris-avalanche formations contain axial facies with hummocks composed mainly of block-supported brecciated andesitic debris. A less conspicuous marginal facies, texturally resembling a mudflow, is more extensive. A third debris-avalanche deposit (Motunui Formation) is extensively preserved along the north Taranaki coast where it is truncated by a c. 127 ka wave cut surface (NT2) and closely overlies a c. 210 ka wave cut surface (NT3). The source of this debris-avalanche deposit is unknown. Side-scan sonar and shallow seismic profiling have been useful in accurately delineating the distribution of combined Okawa and Motunui debris-avalanche deposits in the offshore environment but cannot distinguish between the two deposits or enable onshore spatial and volumetric estimates for each unit to be revised. However, the widespread occurrence of debris-avalanche rock material offshore does emphasise the importance of this lag material altering the orientation of the coast influencing both wave climate and rates of coastal erosion. Similarly, the extensive onshore occurrence of debris-avalanche rock material appears to be a significant factor in widening of the north Taranaki coastal plain and preservation of the NT2 and NT3 uplifted marine terrace surfaces. Initiation of collapse by magmatically-induced seismicity is apparently common at

Non-self-averaging nucleation rate due to quenched disorder

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sear, Richard P

2012-01-01

We study the nucleation of a new thermodynamic phase in the presence of quenched disorder. The quenched disorder is a generic model of both impurities and disordered porous media; both are known to have large effects on nucleation. We find that the nucleation rate is non-self-averaging. This is in a simple Ising model with clusters of quenched spins. We also show that non-self-averaging behaviour is straightforward to detect in experiments, and may be rather common. (fast track communication)

Thermalhydraulic phenomena governing the quenching of hot rods, and existing models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bestion, D.

2001-01-01

After a core dry-out and a period of rod clad overheating, which might occur in some postulated accidental sequences in a PWR, the actuation of safety injections allows to quench the hot rods. Both thermal and mechanical processes control the phenomenon of quenching. Quenching first requires that liquid water is present to release the heat stored in the rod. When water is present, a pre-cooling of the clad is also required before quenching. (author)

Thermalhydraulic phenomena governing the quenching of hot rods, and existing models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bestion, D. [CEA-Grenoble, DEN/DTP/SMTH (France)

2001-07-01

After a core dry-out and a period of rod clad overheating, which might occur in some postulated accidental sequences in a PWR, the actuation of safety injections allows to quench the hot rods. Both thermal and mechanical processes control the phenomenon of quenching. Quenching first requires that liquid water is present to release the heat stored in the rod. When water is present, a pre-cooling of the clad is also required before quenching. (author)

Quench tank in-leakage diagnosis at St. Lucie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, J.E.; Au-Yang, M.K.; Beckner, D.A.; Vickery, A.N.

1996-12-01

In February 1995, leakage into the quench tank of the St. Lucie Nuclear Station Unit 1 was becoming an operational concern. This internal leak resulted in measurable increases in both the temperature and level of the quench tank water, and was so severe that, if the trend continued, plant shut down would be necessary. Preliminary diagnosis based on in-plant instrumentation indicated that any one of 11 valves might be leaking into the quench tank. This paper describes the joint effort by two teams of engineers--one from Florida Power & Light, the other from Framatome Technologies--to identify the sources of the leak, using the latest technology developed for valve diagnosis.

The Inductive Coupling of the Magnets in MICE and its Effect on Quench Protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Green, Michael A.; Witte, Holger

2005-01-01

The inductive coupling between various MICE magnet circuits is described. The consequences of this coupling on magnet charging and quenching are discussed. Magnet quench protection is achieved through the use of quench-back. Calculations of the quenching of a magnet due to quench-back resulting from circulating currents induced in the magnet mandrel due to quenching of an adjacent magnet are discussed. This report describes how the MICE magnet channel will react when magnets in that channel are quenched

Necessary conditions for the homogeneous formation of a volume avalanche discharge with specific applications to rare gas-halide excimer laser discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levatter, J.I.

1979-01-01

Self-sustained/avalanche discharges are an efficient method of rare gas-halide excimer laser excitation in small systems. However, with the exceptions of the work reported here, experiments attempting to increase the laser energy output by scaling up the discharge volume and/or pulse duration have not been successful. The major problem encountered in scaling experiments has been the formation of arc channels in the discharge volume. The presence of arcing can totally disrupt proper laser operation. This problem stems from a general lack of understanding of high pressure avalanche discharge phenomena. Therefore, clarifying the basic discharge formation process and establishing a set of criteria under which a homogeneous avalanche discharge can be obtained is of central importance in defining the scaling limits of avalanche discharge lasers. The work presented here reviews the phenomena involved in high E/n (electric field to gas number density ratio) breakdown and its relationship to the formation of spatially homogeneous discharges. This relationship was first explored by A.J. Palmer in 1974. The basic requirement of his model was that the preionization density be large enough to cause an appreciable overlap of the primary electron avalanches and hence smooth out the ensuing space-charge fields to the extent that individual streamer formation would be prevented. This is the same basic model used in the more detailed discharge formation analysis developed here except that the effects of a time varying electric field caused by a finite voltage rise time and the effects due to the various electrochemical properties of the gas mixture are property taken into consideration

Measurement of cell volume changes by fluorescence self-quenching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hamann, Steffen; Kiilgaard, J.F.; Litman, Thomas

2002-01-01

At high concentrations, certain fluorophores undergo self-quenching, i.e., fluorescence intensity decreases with increasing fluorophore concentration. Accordingly, the self-quenching properties can be used for measuring water volume changes in lipid vesicles. In cells, quantitative determination...... concentrations of the fluorophore calcein suitable for measurement of changes in cell water volume by self-quenching. The relationship between calcein fluorescence intensity, when excited at 490 nm (its excitation maximum), and calcein concentration was investigated in vitro and in various cultured cell types...... to a decrease in calcein fluorescence with high signal-to-noise ratio (>15). Similar results were obtained with the fluorophore BCECF when excited at its isosbestic wavelength (436 nm). The present results demonstrate the usefulness of fluorescence self-quenching to measure rapid changes in cell water volume....

Quench Detection and Magnet Protection Study for MFTF. LLL final review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-06-01

The results of a Quench Detection and Magnet Protection Study for MFTF are summarized. The study was directed toward establishing requirements and guidelines for the electronic package used to protect the MFTF superconducting magnets. Two quench detection schemes were analyzed in detail, both of which require a programmable quench detector. Hardware and software recommendations for the quench detector were presented as well as criteria for dumping the magnet energy in the event of a quench. Overall magnet protection requirements were outlined in a detailed Failure Mode Effects and Criticality analysis, (FMECA). Hardware and software packages compatible with the FMECA were recommended, with the hardware consisting of flexible, dedicated intelligent modules specifically designed for magnet protection

Cosmic Ray Measurements by Scintillators with Metal Resistor Semiconductor Avalanche Photo Diodes