Phase stability and lattice thermal conductivity reduction in CoSb{sub 3} skutterudites, doped with chalcogen atoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Battabyal, M., E-mail: manjusha.battabyal@project.arci.res.in; Priyadarshini, B.; Gopalan, R. [International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), IIT M Research Park, Taramani, Chennai-600113 (India); Pradipkanti, L.; Satapathy, Dillip K. [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai-600036 (India)

2016-07-15

We report a significant reduction in the lattice thermal conductivity of the CoSb{sub 3} skuttertudites, doped with chalcogen atoms. Te/Se chalcogen atoms doped CoSb{sub 3} skutterudite samples (Te{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}, Se{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}, Te{sub 0.05}Se{sub 0.05}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}) are processed by ball milling and spark plasma sintering. X-ray diffraction data combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectra indicate the doping of Te/Se chalcogen atoms in the skutterudite. The temperature dependent X-ray diffraction confirms the stability of the Te/Se doped CoSb{sub 3} skutterudite phase and absence of any secondary phase in the temperature range starting from 300 K to 773 K. The Raman spectroscopy reveals that different chalcogen dopant atoms cause different resonant optical vibrational modes between the dopant atom and the host CoSb{sub 3} skutterudite lattice. These optical vibrational modes do scatter heat carrying acoustic phonons in a different spectral range. It was found that among the Te/Se chalcogen atoms, Te atoms alter the host CoSb{sub 3} skutterudite lattice vibrations to a larger extent than Se atoms, and can potentially scatter more Sb related acoustic phonons. The Debye model of lattice thermal conductivity confirms that the resonant phonon scattering has important contributions to the reduction of lattice thermal conductivity in CoSb{sub 3} skutterudites doped with Te/Se chalcogen atoms. Lattice thermal conductivity ∼ 0.9 W/mK at 773 K is achieved in Te{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} skutterudites, which is the lowest value reported so far in CoSb{sub 3} skutterudites, doped with single Te chalcogen atom.

Preparation and thermopower of new mischmetal-based partially filled skutterudites Mm yFe4-x(Co/Ni) xSb12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourgoin, B.; Berardan, D.; Alleno, E.; Godart, C.; Rouleau, O.; Leroy, E.

2005-01-01

We report on sample preparation and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) in the series Mm y Fe 4-x (Co/Ni) x Sb 12 with Mm being mischmetal. We show the possibility of preparing mischmetal-based partially filled skutterudites without any segregation of the rare-earths. Room temperature thermopower is similar in mischmetal-based skutterudites to cerium- or ytterbium-based partially filled skutterudites

Electrical and thermal transport properties of Y bxCo4Sb12 filled skutterudites with ultrahigh carrier concentrations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yulong Li

2015-11-01

Full Text Available For filled skutterudites, element Yb is one of the most common and important fillers. However, the optimal carrier concentration range in Y bxCo4Sb12 filled skutterudites has not been determined as a result of the low Yb filling fraction limit. In this study, a non-equilibrium fabrication process (MS-SPS process, consisting of a melt-spinning method and a spark plasma sintering technique, has been applied to prepare Y bxCo4Sb12 samples. The Yb filling fraction is successfully extended to 0.35, which provides the possibility to clarify the optimal carrier concentration range for Yb-filled skutterudites. High carrier concentrations, with a maximum of around 1 × 1021 cm−3, were achieved in the MS-SPS Y bxCo4Sb12 samples due to the significantly enhanced Yb filling fractions. The phase compositions, lattice parameters, electrical and thermal transport properties of the MS-SPS Y bxCo4Sb12 samples with high carrier concentrations were systematically investigated. An optimal carrier concentration range of around 5 ∼ 6 × 1020 cm−3, corresponding to the actual Yb filling fraction of around 0.21∼0.26, has been determined, which displays the highest thermoelectric performance in Y bxCo4Sb12 thermoelectric materials.

Atomistic explanation of brittle failure of thermoelectric skutterudite CoSb3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Guodong; An, Qi; Goddard, William A.; Hanus, Riley; Zhai, Pengcheng; Zhang, Qingjie; Snyder, G. Jeffrey

2016-01-01

CoSb 3 based skutterudite thermoelectric material has superior thermoelectric properties, but the low fracture toughness prevents its widespread commercial application. To determine the origin of its brittle failure, we examined the response of shear deformation in CoSb 3 along the most plausible slip system (010)/<100>, using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the brittle failure of CoSb 3 arises from the formation of shear bands due to the destruction of Sb4-rings and the slippage of Co-octahedraes. This leads to the breakage of Co-octahedraes and cavitation, resulting in the crack opening and mechanical failure.

Preparation and chemical properties of the skutterudites (Ce-Yb) yFe4-x(Co/Ni) xSb12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berardan, D.; Alleno, E.; Godart, C.; Rouleau, O.; Rodriguez-Carvajal, J.

2005-01-01

The double-filled skutterudites Ce y/2 Yb y/2 Fe 4-x Co x Sb 12 and Ce y/2 Yb y/2 Fe 4-x Ni x Sb 12 have been synthesized as single phase materials. The evolution of the lattice parameters and of the filling fractions with substitutions on the transition metal site have been studied by X-ray diffraction and electron probe microanalysis, respectively. Both results were compared to that of single filled series (Ce/Yb) y Fe 4-x (Co/Ni) x Sb 12 . It shows that double-filled skutterudites can be understood as a solid solution between single filled ones. The valence states of Ce and Yb in all series have been studied using X-ray absorption spectroscopy at the L 3 edges, and we discuss their relationships with structural parameters. Ce is always trivalent, whereas Yb valence state decreases as Yb fraction increases. No distortion of the environment or sub-position of Yb in the cage have been seen by neutron diffraction. The Seebeck coefficient has been measured using a home made apparatus from 120 K to 300 K. It shows a crossover from p- to n-type conductivity for Co or Ni rich skutterudites in the six series. We discuss the influence on the room temperature thermopower of valence states, filling fractions and substitution rate on the transition metal site. Thermopower seems to be only driven by charge carriers concentration

Structural, electronic, and thermal properties of indium-filled InxIr4Sb12 skutterudites

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, M. K.; Li, Jun; Subramanian, M. A.

2018-06-01

The "phonon-glass/electron-crystal" approach has been implemented through incorporation of "rattlers" into skutterudite void sites to increase phonon scattering and thus increase the thermoelectric efficiency. Indium filled IrSb3 skutterudites are reported for the first time. Polycrystalline samples of InxIr4Sb12 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.2) were prepared by solid-state reaction under a gas mixture of 5% H2 and 95% Ar. The solubility limit of InxIr4Sb12 was found to be close to 0.18. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction refinements reveal all InxIr4Sb12 phases crystallized in body-centered cubic structure (space group : Im 3 bar) with ∼8% antimony site vacancy and with indium partially occupying the 16f site. Unlike known rattler filled skutterudites, under synthetic conditions employed, indium filling in IrSb3 significantly increases the electrical resistivity and decreases the Seebeck coefficient (n-type) while reducing the thermal conductivity by ∼30%. The resultant power factor offsets the decrease in total thermal conductivity giving rise to a substantial decrease in ZT. Principal thermoelectric properties of InxM4Sb12 (M = Co, Rh, Ir) phases are compared. As iridium is a 5d transition metal, zero field cooled (ZFC) magnetization were performed to unravel the effect of spin-orbit interaction on the electronic properties. These results serve to advance the understanding of filled skutterudites, and provide additional insight on the less explored smaller "rattlers" and their influence on key thermoelectric properties.

Novel strongly correlated electron states in filled skutterudite lanthanide osmium antimonides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maple, M.B.; Frederick, N.A.; Ho, P.-C.; Yuhasz, W.M.; Sayles, T.A.; Butch, N.P.; Jeffries, J.R.; Taylor, B.J.

2005-01-01

Recent measurements on the filled skutterudite compounds Pr(Os 1-x Ru x ) 4 Sb 12 , NdOs 4 Sb 12 , and SmOs 4 Sb 12 are discussed. Pr(Os 1-x Ru x ) 4 Sb 12 displays superconductivity for all values of x with a minimum at x=0.6, and only the compounds with x 4 Sb 12 and the BCS superconductivity of PrRu 4 Sb 12 . NdOs 4 Sb 12 is a heavy fermion ferromagnet, with a sharp transition observed at 1.0K. SmOs 4 Sb 12 is also a heavy fermion material, and it may display weak ferromagnetic behavior below 2.6K

Density-functional band-structure calculations for La-, Y-, and Sc-filled CoP3-based skutterudite structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loevvik, O.M.; Prytz, O.

2004-01-01

The crystal structure, thermodynamic stability, and electronic structure of La-, Y-, and Sc-filled CoP 3 are predicted from density-functional band-structure calculations. The size of the cubic voids in the skutterudite structure is changed much less than the difference in size between the different filling atoms, and we expect that the larger rattling amplitude of the smaller Sc and Y atoms may decrease the lattice thermal conductivity of Sc- and Y-filled structures significantly compared to La-filled structures. The solubility of La, Y, and Sc in CoP 3 is calculated to be around 5, 3-6 %, and below 1% at 0 K, respectively. Based on similar systems, this is expected to increase considerably if Fe is substituted for Co. Fe substitution is also expected to compensate the increased charge carrier concentration of the filled structures that is seen in the calculated electron density of states. In conclusion, Sc- or Y-filled (FeCo)P 3 skutterudite structures are promising materials for thermoelectric applications

Thermoelectric properties of RuSb2Te ternary skutterudites

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Navrátil, Jiří; Plecháček, T.; Drašar, Č.; Laufek, F.

2013-01-01

Roč. 42, č. 7 (2013), s. 1864-1869 ISSN 0361-5235 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP108/10/1315 Institutional support: RVO:61389013 Keywords : RuSb2Te * ternary skutterudite * doping Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry Impact factor: 1.675, year: 2013 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11664-012-2451-5

NMR study of partially filled skutterudites AxCo4Sb12 (A = Yb, Ba, Sr, Ca) and BaxYbyCo4Sb12.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yefan; Sirusi, Ali; Ross, Joseph; Ballikaya, Sedat; Uher, Ctirad; Chen, Yuqi; Sekine, Chihiro

Partially filled Co-Sb skutterudites have been of considerable interest as thermoelectric materials, particularly with multiple filling for which high ZT values can be obtained. This is due in part to control of phonon thermal conductivity, but also the change in composition leads to subtle changes in electronic behavior as well as magnetism due both to rare earth filler atoms and to native defects. We measured 59Co NMR on several partially filled AxCo4Sb12 skutterudites in order to investigate such behavior. From the T-dependent NMR shifts along with T1 relaxation times we can separate metallic shift contributions from those due to local moments. We compare the results to predicted band-edge behavior with multiple minima, and the estimated g factors, by matching this behavior to transport measurements. Also the behavior of Yb-filled samples provides an estimate of the conduction band mediation of the magnetic response, and we also find magnetic shifts in Ba-doped skutterudite which we address in terms of Co mixed-valence behavior. This work was supported by the Robert A. Welch Foundation, Grant No. A-1526. Synthesis work was partly supported by the Center for Solar and Thermal Energy Conversion and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (No. 23340092) from the Japan Society.

Bulk material engineering and procurement management of NPS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu Sanhong; Fan Kai

2005-01-01

In a nuclear power project, bulk material is often not in an outstanding position, compared to equipment, yet bulk material is one of most difficult part in engineering and procurement management. If the schedule is not in good control, it will seriously hamper the progress of the whole project. The article explores bulk material engineering and procurement management of NPS, illustrated with tables and graphs. First, major difficult aspects of bulk material procurement are described. On one hand, bulk material is really bulky in kind. We must have detail information of manufacturers, manufacture duration, and take good control of bidding schedule. On the other hand, when an order is placed, we need to make clear everything in the procurement package, such as material types, delivery batches, quantity of each batch and delivery schedule, which is a tremendous work. Then, a schedule conflict is analyzed: when an order is placed, the detail type and quantity cannot be defined (since the construction design is not finished yet). To settle this conflict, the concept 'Requirement Schedule Curve' is brought forward, along with the calculation method. To get this curve, we need to make use of the technical data of the reference power station, along with the site construction schedule, to produce a site quantity requirement curve varying from time, for each type of material. Last, based on the 'Requirement Schedule Curve', we are able to build a unified database to control the engineering, procurement, manufacturing and delivery schedule, so as to procure precisely, manufacture on time, and optimize the storage. In this way, the accurate control of bulk material engineering and procurement schedule can be achieved. (authors)

Investigations of structural, elastic, electronic and thermodynamic properties of lutetium filled skutterudite LuFe4P12 under pressure effect: FP-LMTO method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boudia Keltouma

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Structural, elastic, electronic and thermodynamic properties of ternary cubic filled skutterudite compound were calculated. We have computed the elastic modulus and its pressure dependence. From the elastic parameter behavior, it is inferred that this compound is elastically stable and ductile in nature. Through the quasi-harmonic Debye model, in which phononic effects are considered, the effect of pressure P (0 to 50 GPa and temperature T (0 to 3000 °C on the lattice constant, elastic parameters, bulk modulus B, heat capacity, thermal expansion coefficient α, internal energy U, entropy S, Debye temperature θD, Helmholtz free energy A, and Gibbs free energy G are investigated.

The structure of filled skutterudites and the local vibration behavior of the filling atom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Xiaojuan [Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science, Dongguan 523808 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zong, Peng-an [State Key Laboratory of New Ceramics and Fine Processing, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Chen, Xihong [Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Tao, Juzhou, E-mail: taoj@ihep.ac.cn [Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Dongguan Institute of Neutron Science, Dongguan 523808 (China); Lin, He, E-mail: linhe@sinap.ac.cn [Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Shanghai 201204 (China)

2017-02-15

Both of atomic pair distribution function (PDF) and extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) experiments have been carried out on unfilled and Yb-filled skutterudites Yb{sub x}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} (x=0, 0.15, 0.2 and 0.25) samples. The structure refinements on PDF data confirm the large amplitude vibration of Yb atom and the dependence of Yb vibration amplitude on the filling content. Temperature dependent EXAFS experiment on filled skutterudites have been carried out at Yb L{sub Ⅲ}-edge in order to explore the local vibration behavior of filled atom. EXAFS experiments show that the Einstein temperature of the filled atom is very low (70.9 K) which agrees with the rattling behavior.

Magnetic properties of Sm-based filled skutterudite phosphides

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giri, R.; Sekine, C.; Shimaya, Y.; Shirotani, I.; Matsuhira, K.; Doi, Y.; Hinatsu, Y.; Yokoyama, M.; Amitsuka, H

2003-05-01

Filled skutterudites SmFe{sub 4}P{sub 12} and SmOs{sub 4}P{sub 12} have been prepared at high temperature and high pressure. The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity in both compounds shows metallic behavior. The magnetic susceptibility and specific heat measurements indicate that SmFe{sub 4}P{sub 12} shows a ferromagnetic ordering at 1.5 K, whereas SmOs{sub 4}P{sub 12} is an antiferromagnet with a T{sub N} of 4.6 K.

Combining item and bulk material loss-detection uncertainties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eggers, R.F.

1982-01-01

Loss detection requirements, such as five formula kilograms with 99% probability of detection, which apply to the sum of losses from material in both item and bulk form, constitute a special problem for the nuclear material statistician. Requirements of this type are included in the Material Control and Accounting Reform Amendments described in the Advance Notice of Proposed Rule Making (Federal Register, 46(175):45144-46151). Attribute test sampling of items is the method used to detect gross defects in the inventory of items in a given control unit. Attribute sampling plans are designed to detect a loss of a specificed goal quantity of material with a given probability. In contrast to the methods and statistical models used for item loss detection, bulk material loss detection requires all the material entering and leaving a control unit to be measured and the calculation of a loss estimator that will be tested against an appropriate alarm threshold. The alarm threshold is determined from an estimate of the error inherent in the components of the loss estimator. In this paper a simple grahical method of evaluating the combined capabilities of bulk material loss detection methods and item attribute testing procedures will be described. Quantitative results will be given for several cases, indicating how a decrease in the precision of the item loss detection method tends to force an increase in the precision of the bulk loss detection procedure in order to meet the overall detection requirement. 4 figures

Bulk material management mode of general contractors in nuclear power project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Jinyong; Zhao Xiaobo

2011-01-01

The paper introduces the characteristics of bulk material management mode in construction project, and the advantages and disadvantages of bulk material management mode of general contractors in nuclear power project. In combination with the bulk material management mode of China Nuclear Power Engineering Co., Ltd, some improvement measures have been put forward as well. (authors)

Nanoscale thermoelectric materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Failamani, F.

2015-01-01

binary Zr-B system. Interestingly, the FeB phases are formed only by addition of small amounts of group IV metals to TaB. These high temperature phases may serve as nano particles to decrease the thermal conductivity of the composite by reducing the phonon mean free path on the grain boundaries, thus improving ZT. In order to define an electrode material suitable for long-term operation in contact with Sb-based skutterudite thermoelectrics at the hot end of the TE-device, the detailed knowledge of the binary metal - antimony phase diagrams and properties of phases formed in the diffusion zone are required. Hitherto, only the Nb-Sb phase diagram has been reported with some controversial results, whilst the {V,Ta}-Sb phase diagrams have not been constructed yet. Chapter 3 summarizes the investigation on the {V,Nb,Ta}-Sb systems to close this gap and to remove ambiguities from the Nb-Sb diagram. Moreover physical properties of {V,Nb,Ta}Sb2 that are formed in the diffusion zones have been studied in the temperature region relevant for automotive application of skutterudite thermoelectrics (up to 600°C). A novel ternary compound with composition close to “Ba2V5Sb9” was observed in the diffusion zones between V and n-type Ba0.3Co4Sb12 at 600°C. Structural investigation revealed the correct formula as Ba5V12Sb19+x, isotypic with Ba5Ti12Sb19+x, however, with some additional site occupation and disorder. Search for isotypic compounds among the rest of early transition metals revealed that Nb and Ta form the corresponding phases at 700°C. However, only the formation of Ba5Nb12Sb19+x was confirmed by both XRPD and XRSC data, while neither the bulk nor the single crystal of Ba5Ta12Sb19+x could be obtained to confirm its formation. A detailed study on the crystal structure and its impact on the physical (transport and thermal) properties of these compounds are presented in chapter 4. In our search for new TE materials we studied the {La,Ce}-(Ni,Zn)-Si systems. The

High temperature superconductor bulk materials. Fundamentals - processing - properties control - application aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krabbes, G.; Fuchs, G.; Canders, W.R.; May, H.; Palka, R.

2006-01-01

This book presents all the features of bulk high temperature superconducting materials. Starting from physical and chemical fundamentals, the authors move on to portray methods and problems of materials processing, thoroughly working out the characteristic properties of bulk superconductors in contrast to long conductors and films. The authors provide a wide range of specific materials characteristics with respect to the latest developments and future applications guiding from fundamentals to practical engineering examples. This book contains the following chapters: 1. Fundamentals 2. Growth and melt processing of YBCO 3. Pinning-relevant defects in bulk YBCO 4. Properties of bulk YBCO 5. Trapped fields 6. Improved YBCO based bulk superconductors and functional elements 7. Alternative systems 8. Peak effect 9. Very high trapped fields in YBCO permanent magnets 10. Engineering aspects: Field distribution in bulk HTSC 11. Inherently stable superconducting magnetic bearings 12. Application of bulk HTSCs in electromagnetic energy converters 13. Applications in magnet technologies and power supplies

Neutron diffraction and thermoelectric properties of indium filled In{sub x}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} (x = 0.05, 0.2) and indium cerium filled Ce{sub 0.05}In{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} skutterudites

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sesselmann, Andreas [Institute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Hoehe, 51147 Koeln (Germany); Klobes, Benedikt [Juelich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS und Peter Gruenberg Institute PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Dasgupta, Titas [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai (India); Gourdon, Olivier [Los Alamos National Laboratory, LANSCE, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545 (United States); Hermann, Raphael [Juelich Centre for Neutron Science JCNS und Peter Gruenberg Institute PGI, JARA-FIT, Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, 52425 Juelich (Germany); Faculte des Sciences, Universite de Liege, 4000 Liege (Belgium); Materials Science and Technology Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Mueller, Eckhard [Institute of Materials Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Linder Hoehe, 51147 Koeln (Germany); Institute of Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry, Justus Liebig University, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 58, 35392 Giessen (Germany)

2016-03-15

The thermoelectric properties on polycrystalline single (In) and double filled (Ce, In) skutterudites are characterized between 300 and 700 K. Powder neutron diffraction measurements of the skutterudite compositions In{sub x}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} (x = 0.05, 0.2) and Ce{sub 0.05}In{sub 0.1}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} as a function of temperature (12-300 K) were carried out, which gives more insight into the structural data of single and double-filled skutterudites. Results show that due to the annealing treatment, a Sb deficiency is detectable and thus verifies defects at the Sb lattice site of the skutterudite. Furthermore, we show by electron microprobe analysis that a considerable amount of indium is lost during synthesis and post-processing for the single indium filled samples, but not for the double cerium and indium skutterudite sample. In our experiments, the double-filled skutterudite is superior to the single-filled skutterudite composition due to a higher charge carrier density, a comparable lattice thermal resistivity, and a higher density of states effective mass. Furthermore, we obtained a significantly higher Einstein temperature for the double-filled skutterudite composition in comparison to the single-filled species, which reflects the high sensitivity due to filling of the void lattice position within the skutterudite crystal. (copyright 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

Epitaxially Grown Layered MFI–Bulk MFI Hybrid Zeolitic Materials

KAUST Repository

Kim, Wun-gwi

2012-11-27

The synthesis of hybrid zeolitic materials with complex micropore-mesopore structures and morphologies is an expanding area of recent interest for a number of applications. Here we report a new type of hybrid zeolite material, composed of a layered zeolite material grown epitaxially on the surface of a bulk zeolite material. Specifically, layered (2-D) MFI sheets were grown on the surface of bulk MFI crystals of different sizes (300 nm and 10 μm), thereby resulting in a hybrid material containing a unique morphology of interconnected micropores (∼0.55 nm) and mesopores (∼3 nm). The structure and morphology of this material, referred to as a "bulk MFI-layered MFI" (BMLM) material, was elucidated by a combination of XRD, TEM, HRTEM, SEM, TGA, and N2 physisorption techniques. It is conclusively shown that epitaxial growth of the 2-D layered MFI sheets occurs in at least two principal crystallographic directions of the bulk MFI crystal and possibly in the third direction as well. The BMLM material combines the properties of bulk MFI (micropore network and mechanical support) and 2-D layered MFI (large surface roughness, external surface area, and mesoporosity). As an example of the uses of the BMLM material, it was incorporated into a polyimide and fabricated into a composite membrane with enhanced permeability for CO2 and good CO2/CH4 selectivity for gas separations. SEM-EDX imaging and composition analysis showed that the polyimide and the BMLM interpenetrate into each other, thereby forming a well-adhered polymer/particle microstructure, in contrast with the defective interfacial microstructure obtained using bare MFI particles. Analysis of the gas permeation data with the modified Maxwell model also allows the estimation of the effective volume of the BMLM particles, as well as the CO2 and CH4 gas permeabilities of the interpenetrated layer at the BMLM/polyimide interface. © 2012 American Chemical Society.

Carbon nanotubes grown on bulk materials and methods for fabrication

Science.gov (United States)

Menchhofer, Paul A [Clinton, TN; Montgomery, Frederick C [Oak Ridge, TN; Baker, Frederick S [Oak Ridge, TN

2011-11-08

Disclosed are structures formed as bulk support media having carbon nanotubes formed therewith. The bulk support media may comprise fibers or particles and the fibers or particles may be formed from such materials as quartz, carbon, or activated carbon. Metal catalyst species are formed adjacent the surfaces of the bulk support material, and carbon nanotubes are grown adjacent the surfaces of the metal catalyst species. Methods employ metal salt solutions that may comprise iron salts such as iron chloride, aluminum salts such as aluminum chloride, or nickel salts such as nickel chloride. Carbon nanotubes may be separated from the carbon-based bulk support media and the metal catalyst species by using concentrated acids to oxidize the carbon-based bulk support media and the metal catalyst species.

Self-closing sheet for encapsulating and dumping a bulk of material

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

The invention relates to a sheet (1) to be placed in relation to a split barge (100) for encapsulating a bulk of material (101) to be dumped when the bulk of material is released, the sheet comprising a material containing portion (4) and at least one material free portion (3) extending from...

Materials processing and machine applications of bulk HTS

Science.gov (United States)

Miki, M.; Felder, B.; Tsuzuki, K.; Xu, Y.; Deng, Z.; Izumi, M.; Hayakawa, H.; Morita, M.; Teshima, H.

2010-12-01

We report a refrigeration system for rotating machines associated with the enhancement of the trapped magnetic flux of bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTS) field poles. A novel cryogenic system was designed and fabricated. It is composed of a low-loss rotary joint connecting the rotor and a closed-cycle thermosiphon under a GM cryocooler using a refrigerant. Condensed neon gas was adopted as a suitable cryogen for the operation of HTS rotating machines with field poles composed of RE-Ba-Cu-O family materials, where RE is a rare-earth metal. Regarding the materials processing of the bulks HTS, thanks to the addition of magnetic particles to GdBa2Cu3O7 - d (Gd123) bulk superconductors an increase of more than 20% in the trapped magnetic flux density was achieved at liquid nitrogen temperature. Field-pole Gd123 bulks up to 46 mm in diameter were synthesized with the addition of Fe-B alloy magnetic particles and assembled into the synchronous machine rotor to be tested. Successful cooling of the magnetized rotor field poles down to 35 K and low-output-power rotating operation was achieved up to 720 rpm in the test machine with eight field-pole bulks. The present results show a substantial basis for making a prototype system of rotating machinery of applied HTS bulks.

Materials processing and machine applications of bulk HTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miki, M; Felder, B; Tsuzuki, K; Xu, Y; Deng, Z; Izumi, M [Department of Marine Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, 2-1-6, Etchu-jima, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8533 (Japan); Hayakawa, H [Kitano Seiki Co. Ltd, 7-17-3, Chuo, Ohta-ku, Tokyo 143-0024 (Japan); Morita, M; Teshima, H, E-mail: d082025@kaiyodai.ac.j [Nippon Steel Co. Ltd, 20-1, Shintomi, Huttsu-shi, Chiba 293-8511 (Japan)

2010-12-15

We report a refrigeration system for rotating machines associated with the enhancement of the trapped magnetic flux of bulk high-temperature superconductor (HTS) field poles. A novel cryogenic system was designed and fabricated. It is composed of a low-loss rotary joint connecting the rotor and a closed-cycle thermosiphon under a GM cryocooler using a refrigerant. Condensed neon gas was adopted as a suitable cryogen for the operation of HTS rotating machines with field poles composed of RE-Ba-Cu-O family materials, where RE is a rare-earth metal. Regarding the materials processing of the bulks HTS, thanks to the addition of magnetic particles to GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-d} (Gd123) bulk superconductors an increase of more than 20% in the trapped magnetic flux density was achieved at liquid nitrogen temperature. Field-pole Gd123 bulks up to 46 mm in diameter were synthesized with the addition of Fe-B alloy magnetic particles and assembled into the synchronous machine rotor to be tested. Successful cooling of the magnetized rotor field poles down to 35 K and low-output-power rotating operation was achieved up to 720 rpm in the test machine with eight field-pole bulks. The present results show a substantial basis for making a prototype system of rotating machinery of applied HTS bulks.

The optimisation of transfer chutes in the bulk materials industry / M.N. van Aarde

OpenAIRE

Van Aarde, Michiel Nicolaas

2009-01-01

Bulk materials handling is a rapidly growing global industry. Immense challenges exist to improve the efficiency and cost effectiveness of transporting and handling bulk materials continuously. The nature and scale of bulk materials handling varies from country to country. This study specifically focuses on the handling of bulk materials in the mining sector. Within this industry, transfer chutes are a key component used for transferring bulk material from one conveyor to another. Among o...

Synthesis, crystal structure, and transport properties of Fe substituted rhombohedral skutterudite derivatives Co4−xFexGe6Se6

KAUST Repository

Wei, Kaya

2014-11-01

We report on the synthesis and low temperature transport properties of rhombohedral derivatives of the cubic skutterudite CoSb3, namely Co4-xFexGe6Se6 with x = 0, 1, 1.5. Rietveld refinement and elemental analyses were used to identify the structure and stoichiometry of the compositions. The thermal conductivity was investigated by employing the Debye model with different phonon-scattering parameters. This investigation demonstrates that Fe substitution is feasible in these skutterudite derivatives and can significantly affect the transport properties as compared with Co4Ge6Se6. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Synthesis, crystal structure, and transport properties of Fe substituted rhombohedral skutterudite derivatives Co4−xFexGe6Se6

KAUST Repository

Wei, Kaya; Dong, Yongkwan; Puneet, Pooja; Tritt, Terry M.; Nolas, George S.

2014-01-01

We report on the synthesis and low temperature transport properties of rhombohedral derivatives of the cubic skutterudite CoSb3, namely Co4-xFexGe6Se6 with x = 0, 1, 1.5. Rietveld refinement and elemental analyses were used to identify the structure and stoichiometry of the compositions. The thermal conductivity was investigated by employing the Debye model with different phonon-scattering parameters. This investigation demonstrates that Fe substitution is feasible in these skutterudite derivatives and can significantly affect the transport properties as compared with Co4Ge6Se6. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Charge fluctuation in Ce-based filled-skutterudite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yogi, M; Niki, H; Mukuda, H; Kitaoka, Y; Sugawara, H; Sato, H

2009-01-01

We carried out 121,123 Sb nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) measurement on CeOs 4 Sb 12 to investigate an anomaly observed in ReOs 4 Sb 12 . The full width of half maximum of the NQR spectrum shows a step-like increase at 115 K with decreasing temperature (T). The nuclear spin-spin relaxation rate 1/T 2 also shows a divergence at the same T. These results are considered to be caused by a distribution of the electric field gradient (EFG) and its fluctuation, which might arise from a small deformation of the cage which consists of twelve Sb. It is considered that the anomaly observed in ReOs 4 Sb 12 at T ∼ 120 K is originated from an unique crystal structure of the filled skutterudite.

Characterization of Zeolite in Zeolite-Geopolymer Hybrid Bulk Materials Derived from Kaolinitic Clays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hayami Takeda

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Zeolite-geopolymer hybrid materials have been formed when kaolin was used as a starting material. Their characteristics are of interest because they can have a wide pore size distribution with micro- and meso-pores due to the zeolite and geopolymer, respectively. In this study, Zeolite-geopolymer hybrid bulk materials were fabricated using four kinds of kaolinitic clays (a halloysite and three kinds of kaolinite. The kaolinitic clays were first calcined at 700 °C for 3 h to transform into the amorphous aluminosilicate phases. Alkali-activation treatment of the metakaolin yielded bulk materials with different amounts and types of zeolite and different compressive strength. This study investigated the effects of the initial kaolinitic clays on the amount and types of zeolite in the resultant geopolymers as well as the strength of the bulk materials. The kaolinitic clays and their metakaolin were characterized by XRD analysis, chemical composition, crystallite size, 29Si and 27Al MAS NMR analysis, and specific surface area measurements. The correlation between the amount of zeolite formed and the compressive strength of the resultant hybrid bulk materials, previously reported by other researchers was not positively observed. In the studied systems, the effects of Si/Al and crystalline size were observed. When the atomic ratio of Si/Al in the starting kaolinitic clays increased, the compressive strength of the hybrid bulk materials increased. The crystallite size of the zeolite in the hybrid bulk materials increased with decreasing compressive strength of the hybrid bulk materials.

The homogenisation of bulk material in blending piles.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gerstel, A.W.

1979-01-01

In this thesis the homogenisation of bulk material in three types of piles is dealt with. The homogenisation implies that the fluctuations of a material proprety in the input flow of the pile are transformed into output fluctuations, whereby the latter ones are evened out. Analyses are presented

Device for determining the content of bulk materials on conveyor belts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fritsche, D.

1983-01-01

On the basis of the forward scattering of photon radiation the invention is aimed at determining the content of bulk material, in particular the ash content of lignite, independently of the height of the material conveyed by belts. This could be achieved by making the radiation source support movable, so that the distance between source and conveyor belt is variable and adaptable to the mean height of the bulk material

Electronic and Transport Properties of LaNi4Sb12 Skutterudite: Modified Becke-Johnson Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Bhat, Tahir Mohiuddin; Singh, Srishti; Gupta, Dinesh C.

2018-05-01

We carried out an ab initio study of structural, electronic, thermodynamic, and thermoelectric properties of the lanthanum-filled skutterudite, LaNi4Sb12. Generalized gradient approximation and modified Becke-Johnson potentials were employed for the exchange-correlation potential. The electronic structure calculations display the metallic behavior of the compound. The alloy offers low lattice thermal conductivity along with a high Seebeck coefficient with a value of - 158 (μVK-1) at room temperature. The effect of high pressure and temperature on thermal properties like thermal expansion coefficient, heat capacity, and Grüneisen parameter are also investigated by means of a quasi-harmonic Debye model. The large Seebeck coefficient and high power factor exhibited by LaNi4Sb12 make it an attractive candidate for thermoelectric materials.

Cast bulk metallic glass alloys: prospects as wear materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hawk, Jeffrey A.; Dogan, Omer N.; Shiflet, Gary J. (Dept. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA)

2005-01-01

Bulk metallic glasses are single phase materials with unusual physical and mechanical properties. One intriguing area of possible use is as a wear material. Usually, pure metals and single phase dilute alloys do not perform well in tribological conditions. When the metal or alloy is lightweight, it is usually soft leading to galling in sliding situations. For the harder metals and alloys, their density is usually high, so there is an energy penalty when using these materials in wear situations. However, bulk metallic glasses at the same density are usually harder than corresponding metals and dilute single phase alloys, and so could offer better wear resistance. This work will discuss preliminary wear results for metallic glasses with densities in the range of 4.5 to 7.9 g/cc. The wear behavior of these materials will be compared to similar metals and alloys.

FP-LAPW calculations of the elastic, electronic and thermoelectric properties of the filled skutterudite CeRu4Sb12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shankar, A.; Rai, D.P.; Chettri, Sandeep; Khenata, R.; Thapa, R.K.

2016-01-01

We have investigated the electronic structure, elastic and thermoelectric properties of the filled skutterudite CeRu 4 Sb 12 using the density functional theory (DFT). The full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within a framework of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) approach is used to perform the calculations presented here. The electronic structure calculation suggests an indirect band gap semiconducting nature of the material with energy band gap of 0.08 eV. The analysis of the elastic constants at relaxed positions reveals the ductile nature of the sample material with covalent contribution in the inter-atomic bonding. The narrow band gap semiconducting nature with high value of Seebeck coefficient suggests the possibility of the thermoelectric application of the material. The analysis of the thermal transport properties confirms the result obtained from the energy band structure of the material with high thermopower and dimensionless figure of merit 0.19 at room temperature.

Apparatus for measuring moisture in moving bulk material using a lithium-7 radiation source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ashe, J.B.

1976-01-01

A nucleonic device is described for measuring the moisture content of bulk materials using a radioisotopic fast-neutron source such as lithium-7 admixed with an alpha-particle emitter such as americium-241 as a means of minimizing the thickness of the layer of bulk material required proximate to the moisture sensor for a neutron-reflection moisture gauge for proper operation of said gauge. Minimization of the required thickness of the bulk material permits use of a neutron-reflection moisture gauge for measurements of bulk materials on lightly-loaded belts and other types of conveyors where measurements have previously been impracticable

Design of solar drying-plant for bulk material drying

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Horbaj

2008-11-01

Full Text Available A generally well-known high energy requirement for technological processes of drying and the fact that the world’s supplyof the conventional energy sources has considerably decreased are the decisive factors forcing us to look for some new, if possible,renewable energy sources for this process by emphasising their environmental reliability. One of the possibilities how to replace, atleast partly, the conventional energy sources – heat in a drying process is solar energy.Air-drying of bulk materials usually has a series of disadvantages such as time expenditure, drying defects in the bulk materialand inadequate final moisture content. A method that obviates or reduces the disadvantages of air-drying and, at the same time, reducesthe costs of kiln drying, is drying with solar heat. Solar energy can replace a large part of this depletable energy since solar energy cansupply heat at the temperatures most often used to dry bulk material. Solar drying-plant offer an attractive solution.

Synthesis crystal stuctrure and thermoelectric properties of the ternary skutterudite Fe2Pd2Sb12

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Navrátil, Jiří; Laufek, F.; Plecháček, T.; Plášil, J.

2010-01-01

Roč. 493, 1-2 (2010), s. 50-54 ISSN 0925-8388 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA203/07/0267 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z40500505 Keywords : Fe2Pd2Sb12 * crystal structure * skutterudite Subject RIV: CA - Inorganic Chemistry Impact factor: 2.138, year: 2010

Characterisation of ferroelectric bulk materials and thin films

CERN Document Server

Cain, Markys G

2014-01-01

This book presents a comprehensive review of the most important methods used in the characterisation of piezoelectric, ferroelectric and pyroelectric materials. It covers techniques for the analysis of bulk materials and thick and thin film materials and devices. There is a growing demand by industry to adapt and integrate piezoelectric materials into ever smaller devices and structures. Such applications development requires the joint development of reliable, robust, accurate and - most importantly - relevant and applicable measurement and characterisation methods and models. In the past f

Enhancement of thermoelectric efficiency of CoSb3-based skutterudites by double filling with K and Tl

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ken eKurosaki

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The high-temperature thermoelectric properties of thallium (Tl and potassium (K double-filled cobalt antimonide (CoSb3-based skutterudites with nominal compositions TlxK0.3Co4Sb12 (x = 0.1–0.3 were investigated. The filling fraction of Tl in CoSb3 was enhanced by co-filling with K, which resulted in all of the samples showing the filled-skutterudite single phase. Owing to the high filling ratio, the carrier concentration in the sample with x = 0.3 was as high as 4.3 × 1020 cm−3 at room temperature. Furthermore, quite low lattice thermal conductivity (as low as 0.9 W m−1 K−1 was obtained for the sample with x = 0.3, probably because of strong phonon scattering by the Tl and K co-rattling effect, which resulted in a maximum zT of around one at 773 K.

Delignified and Densified Cellulose Bulk Materials with Excellent Tensile Properties for Sustainable Engineering.

Science.gov (United States)

Frey, Marion; Widner, Daniel; Segmehl, Jana S; Casdorff, Kirstin; Keplinger, Tobias; Burgert, Ingo

2018-02-07

Today's materials research aims at excellent mechanical performance in combination with advanced functionality. In this regard, great progress has been made in tailoring the materials by assembly processes in bottom-up approaches. In the field of wood-derived materials, nanocellulose research has gained increasing attention, and materials with advanced properties were developed. However, there are still unresolved issues concerning upscaling for large-scale applications. Alternatively, the sophisticated hierarchical scaffold of wood can be utilized in a top-down approach to upscale functionalization, and one can profit at the same time from its renewable nature, CO 2 storing capacity, light weight, and good mechanical performance. Nevertheless, for bulk wood materials, a wider multipurpose industrial use is so far impeded by concerns regarding durability, natural heterogeneity as well as limitations in terms of functionalization, processing, and shaping. Here, we present a novel cellulose bulk material concept based on delignification and densification of wood resulting in a high-performance material. A delignification process using hydrogen peroxide and acetic acid was optimized to delignify the entire bulk wooden blocks and to retain the highly beneficial structural directionality of wood. In a subsequent step, these cellulosic blocks were densified in a process combining compression and lateral shear to gain a very compact cellulosic material with entangled fibers while retaining unidirectional fiber orientation. The cellulose bulk materials obtained by different densification protocols were structurally, chemically, and mechanically characterized revealing superior tensile properties compared to native wood. Furthermore, after delignification, the cellulose bulk material can be easily formed into different shapes, and the delignification facilitates functionalization of the bioscaffold.

FP-LAPW calculations of the elastic, electronic and thermoelectric properties of the filled skutterudite CeRu{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shankar, A., E-mail: amitshan2009@gmail.com [Condensed Matter Theory Group, Department of Physics, Mizoram University, 796004 (India); Rai, D.P. [Department of Physics, Pachhunga University College, Aizawl 796001 (India); Chettri, Sandeep [Condensed Matter Theory Group, Department of Physics, Mizoram University, 796004 (India); Khenata, R. [Laboratoire de Physique Quantique et de Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), Département de Technologie, Université de Mascara, 29000 (Algeria); Thapa, R.K. [Condensed Matter Theory Group, Department of Physics, Mizoram University, 796004 (India)

2016-08-15

We have investigated the electronic structure, elastic and thermoelectric properties of the filled skutterudite CeRu{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} using the density functional theory (DFT). The full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within a framework of the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) approach is used to perform the calculations presented here. The electronic structure calculation suggests an indirect band gap semiconducting nature of the material with energy band gap of 0.08 eV. The analysis of the elastic constants at relaxed positions reveals the ductile nature of the sample material with covalent contribution in the inter-atomic bonding. The narrow band gap semiconducting nature with high value of Seebeck coefficient suggests the possibility of the thermoelectric application of the material. The analysis of the thermal transport properties confirms the result obtained from the energy band structure of the material with high thermopower and dimensionless figure of merit 0.19 at room temperature.

Preparation and thermoelectric properties of RF co-sputtered CoSb{sub 3} skutteruddite thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ahmed, Aziz [University of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Han, Seungwoo [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); University of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-11-15

Various skutterudites have been under investigation because of their potential application in thermoelectric materials and devices. These studies indicate that bulk materials with a skutterudite type structure show reasonable thermoelectric behaviors at elevated temperatures, which make them suitable for high-temperature thermoelectric applications. The results of thermoelectric-property measurements on skutterudite-phase CoSb{sub 3} thin films are presented in this study in order to extend the bulk material concept to micro-device applications by using thin film deposition technology. Thin films are deposited on oxidized silicon substrates by using the RF co-sputtering method. The film's composition is found to depend strongly on the deposition conditions. The temperature at which the deposited films transition from an amorphous state to a crystalline state has been reported to be about 153 .deg. C. Therefore, some experiments are performed with the substrate temperature kept at 200 .deg. C to obtain polycrystalline films. The crystal structure of the film is evaluated by using x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) is used to determine the film's composition whereas the surface morphology and the thickness are investigated and measured by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the thermoelectric properties, namely, the electrical resistivity and the Seebeck coefficient, are used to calculate the power factor of the deposited thin films and, their variations with temperature are measured. We report a maximum power factor of 0.41 mW/mK{sup 2} for the film deposited at a 200 .deg. C substrate temperature.

Specific heat of filled skutterudite PrOs4P12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuhira, Kazuyuki; Doi, Yoshihiro; Wakeshima, Makoto; Hinatsu, Yukio; Kihou, Kunihiro; Sekine, Chihiro; Shirotani, Ichimin

2005-01-01

We report the specific heat of filled skutterudite compounds PrOs 4 P 12 and LaOs 4 P 12 down to 1.8K. The specific heat divided by temperature C(T)/T in PrOs 4 P 12 shows a shoulder around 13K. This shoulder is caused by a Schottky anomaly due to a crystalline electric field effect. The electronic specific heat coefficients γ of PrOs 4 P 12 and LaOs 4 P 12 are estimated to be 56.5 and 21.6mJ/K 2 mol, respectively. The value of γ in PrOs 4 P 12 is 2.6 times larger than that in LaOs 4 P 12

Modelling dust liberation in bulk material handling systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Derakhshani, S.M.

2016-01-01

Dust has negative effects on the environmental conditions, human health as well as industrial equipment and processes. In this thesis, the transfer point of a belt conveyor as a bulk material handling system with a very high potential place for dust liberation is studied. This study is conducted

Integration of bulk piezoelectric materials into microsystems

Science.gov (United States)

Aktakka, Ethem Erkan

Bulk piezoelectric ceramics, compared to deposited piezoelectric thin-films, provide greater electromechanical coupling and charge capacity, which are highly desirable in many MEMS applications. In this thesis, a technology platform is developed for wafer-level integration of bulk piezoelectric substrates on silicon, with a final film thickness of 5-100microm. The characterized processes include reliable low-temperature (200°C) AuIn diffusion bonding and parylene bonding of bulk-PZT on silicon, wafer-level lapping of bulk-PZT with high-uniformity (+/-0.5microm), and low-damage micro-machining of PZT films via dicing-saw patterning, laser ablation, and wet-etching. Preservation of ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties is confirmed with hysteresis and piezo-response measurements. The introduced technology offers higher material quality and unique advantages in fabrication flexibility over existing piezoelectric film deposition methods. In order to confirm the preserved bulk properties in the final film, diaphragm and cantilever beam actuators operating in the transverse-mode are designed, fabricated and tested. The diaphragm structure and electrode shapes/sizes are optimized for maximum deflection through finite-element simulations. During tests of fabricated devices, greater than 12microm PP displacement is obtained by actuation of a 1mm2 diaphragm at 111kHz with integration of a 50-80% efficient power management IC, which incorporates a supply-independent bias circuitry, an active diode for low-dropout rectification, a bias-flip system for higher efficiency, and a trickle battery charger. The overall system does not require a pre-charged battery, and has power consumption of <1microW in active-mode (measured) and <5pA in sleep-mode (simulated). Under lg vibration at 155Hz, a 70mF ultra-capacitor is charged from OV to 1.85V in 50 minutes.

Bulk Material Based Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, W S; Magnin, W; Wang, N; Hayes, M; O'Flynn, B; O'Mathuna, C

2011-01-01

The trend towards smart building and modern manufacturing demands ubiquitous sensing in the foreseeable future. Self-powered Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are essential for such applications. This paper describes bulk material based thermoelectric generator (TEG) design and implementation for WSN. A 20cm 2 Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 based TEG was created with optimized configuration and generates 2.7mW in typical condition. A novel load matching method is used to maximize the power output. The implemented power management module delivers 651μW to WSN in 50 deg. C. With average power consumption of Tyndall WSN measured at 72μW, feasibility of utilizing bulk material TEG to power WSN is demonstrated.

Preparation and thermoelectric properties of p-Type PrzFe4-xCoxSb12 skutterudites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shin, Dong-Kil; Kim, Il-Ho

2014-01-01

p-Type Pr z Fe 4-x Co x Sb 12 (z = 0.8, 1.0 and x = 0, 0.5, 1.0) skutterudites were synthesized by encapsulated melting and annealing and were consolidated with hot pressing. The effects of Pr filling and Co substitution for Fe (charge compensation) on the transport and the thermoelectric properties were examined. A few secondary phases, such as Sb and FeSb 2 , were formed together with the skutterudite phase, but the formation was suppressed with increasing Pr and Co contents. We confirmed that Pr filled in the voids and that Co was substituted for Fe in all specimens because the lattice constant increased with increasing Pr content and decreased with increasing Co content. The electrical conductivity decreased slightly with increasing temperature, showing degenerate semiconductor characteristics. The Hall and the Seebeck coefficients showed positive signs, indicating that the major carriers were holes (p-type conduction). The electrical conductivity and the thermal conductivity were decreased due to a decrease in the carrier concentration with increasing Pr and Co contents. As a result, the dimensionless figure of merit, ZT, was improved by Pr filling and Co substitution, and a maximum ZT = 0.89 was obtained at 723 K for Pr 0.8 Fe 3 CoSb 12 .

Nuclear techniques for bulk and surface analysis of materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Agostino, M.D.; Kamykowski, E.A.; Kuehne, F.J.; Padawer, G.M.; Schneid, E.J.; Schulte, R.L.; Stauber, M.C.; Swanson, F.R.

1978-01-01

A review is presented summarizing several nondestructive bulk and surface analysis nuclear techniques developed in the Grumman Research Laboratories. Bulk analysis techniques include 14-MeV-neutron activation analysis and accelerator-based neutron radiography. The surface analysis techniques include resonant and non-resonant nuclear microprobes for the depth profile analysis of light elements (H, He, Li, Be, C, N, O and F) in the surface of materials. Emphasis is placed on the description and discussion of the unique nuclear microprobe analytical capacibilities of immediate importance to a number of current problems facing materials specialists. The resolution and contrast of neutron radiography was illustrated with an operating heat pipe system. The figure shows that the neutron radiograph has a resolution of better than 0.04 cm with sufficient contrast to indicate Freon 21 on the inner capillaries of the heat pipe and pooling of the liquid at the bottom. (T.G.)

Bulk nanoscale materials in steel products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chehab, B; Wang, X; Masse, J-P; Zurob, H; Embury, D; Bouaziz, O

2010-01-01

Although a number of nanoscale metallic materials exhibit interesting mechanical properties the fabrication paths are often complex and difficult to apply to bulk structural materials. However a number of steels which exhibit combinations of plasticity and phase transitions can be deformed to produce ultra high strength levels in the range 1 to 3 GPa. The resultant high stored energy and complex microstructures allow new nanoscale structures to be produced by combinations of recovery and recrystallisation. The resultant structures exhibit totally new combinations of strength and ductility to be achieved. In specific cases this also enables both the nature of the grain boundary structure and the spatial variation in structure to be controlled. In this presentation both the detailed microstructural features and their relation to the strength, work-hardening capacity and ductility will be discussed for a number of martensitic and austenitic steels.

Purity Evaluation of Bulk Single Wall Carbon Nanotube Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dettlaff-Weglikowska, U.; Hornbostel, B.; Cech, J.; Roth, S.; Wang, J.; Liang, J.

2005-01-01

We report on our experience using a preliminary protocol for quality control of bulk single wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) materials produced by the electric arc-discharge and laser ablation method. The first step in the characterization of the bulk material is mechanical homogenization. Quantitative evaluation of purity has been performed using a previously reported procedure based on solution phase near-infrared spectroscopy. Our results confirm that this method is reliable in determining the nanotube content in the arc-discharge sample containing carbonaceous impurities (amorphous carbon and graphitic particles). However, the application of this method to laser ablation samples gives a relative purity value over 100 %. The possible reason for that might be different extinction coefficient meaning different oscillator strength of the laser ablation tubes. At the present time, a 100 % pure reference sample of laser ablation SWNT is not available, so we chose to adopt the sample showing the highest purity as a new reference sample for a quantitative purity evaluation of laser ablation materials. The graphitic part of the carbonaceous impurities has been estimated using X-ray diffraction of 1:1 mixture of nanotube material and C60 as an internal reference. To evaluate the metallic impurities in the as prepared and homogenized carbon nanotube soot inductive coupled plasma (ICP) has been used

Large-scale Homogenization of Bulk Materials in Mammoth Silos

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schott, D.L.

2004-01-01

This doctoral thesis concerns the large-scale homogenization of bulk materials in mammoth silos. The objective of this research was to determine the best stacking and reclaiming method for homogenization in mammoth silos. For this purpose a simulation program was developed to estimate the

Belt conveyors for bulk materials. 6th ed.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-07-01

The 16 chapters are entitled: Belt conveyor general applications economics; Design considerations; Characteristics and conveyability of bulk materials; Capacities, belt widths and speeds; Belt conveyor idlers; Belt tension and power engineering; Belt selection; Pulleys and shafts; Curves; Steep angle conveying; Belt cleaners and accessories; Transfer points; Conveyor motor drives and controls; Operation, maintenance and safety; Belt takeups; and Emerging technologies. 6 apps.

Porous 3D graphene-based bulk materials with exceptional high surface area and excellent conductivity for supercapacitors

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Long; Zhang, Fan; Yang, Xi; Long, Guankui; Wu, Yingpeng; Zhang, Tengfei; Leng, Kai; Huang, Yi; Ma, Yanfeng; Yu, Ao; Chen, Yongsheng

2013-01-01

Until now, few sp2 carbon materials simultaneously exhibit superior performance for specific surface area (SSA) and electrical conductivity at bulk state. Thus, it is extremely important to make such materials at bulk scale with those two outstanding properties combined together. Here, we present a simple and green but very efficient approach using two standard and simple industry steps to make such three-dimensional graphene-based porous materials at the bulk scale, with ultrahigh SSA (3523 m2/g) and excellent bulk conductivity. We conclude that these materials consist of mainly defected/wrinkled single layer graphene sheets in the dimensional size of a few nanometers, with at least some covalent bond between each other. The outstanding properties of these materials are demonstrated by their superior supercapacitor performance in ionic liquid with specific capacitance and energy density of 231 F/g and 98 Wh/kg, respectively, so far the best reported capacitance performance for all bulk carbon materials. PMID:23474952

Displacement per atom profile in carbon nanotube bulk material under gamma irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leyva, A.; Pinnera, I.; Leyva, D.; Cruz, C.; Abreu, Y.

2011-01-01

Taking into account the physical properties and the displacement threshold energy values reported in literature for C atoms in single and multiple walled carbon nanotubes, the effective atomic displacement cross-section in carbon nanotube bulk materials exposed to the gamma rays were calculated. Then, using the mathematical simulation of photons and particles transport in the matter, energy fluxes distribution of electrons and positrons within the irradiated object were also calculated. Finally, considering both results, the atomic displacement damage profiles inside the analyzed carbon nanotube bulk materials were determined. (Author)

121Sb-NMR study of filled skutterudite CeOs4Sb12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yogi, M.; Niki, H.; Mukuda, H.; Kitaoka, Y.; Sugawara, H.; Sato, H.

2007-01-01

121 Sb nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of filled skutterudite compound CeOs 4 Sb 12 has been carried out to investigate a spin fluctuation below T∼25K. In spite of a powdered sample, many sharp peaks, similar to a data for single crystal, were observed because of an orientation of the sample from the anisotropy of the magnetization. A numerical calculation well reproduces resonance fields for Sb(1) sites with H parallel V zz . The nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate divided by temperature 1/T 1 T shows continuous decrease with increasing magnetic field, indicating a suppression of the spin fluctuation by the field

Low-temperature anomalies of photoinduced second harmonic generation in skutterudites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Viennois, R; Kityk, I V; Terki, F; Charar, S; Muntzer, A; Kasperczyk, J; Ravot, D; Tedenac, J C

2003-01-01

Photoinduced second harmonic generation (PISHG) was found in skutterudite compounds of CeFe 4 Sb 12 and Ce 0.7 Fe 3.5 Ni 0.5 Sb 12 . Measurements versus temperature, pump-probe delaying time and external magnetic field were performed. The studied compounds belong to moderate heavy fermion compounds (HFC) in the ground state. The PISHG signals appear at 6.8 and 4.9 K for CeFe 4 Sb 12 and Ce 0.7 Fe 3.5 Ni 0.5 Sb 12 , respectively. We suspect that these signals are due to anharmonic electron-phonon interactions creating a charge density non-centrosymmetry. The observed effects are caused either by a possible phase transition or by drastic changes in the electron structure of the HFC with decreasing temperature

Dependence of the superconducting transition temperature of the filled skutterudite compound PrPt{sub 4}Ge{sub 12} on hydrostatic pressure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Foroozani, N. [Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Hamlin, J.J. [Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States); Schilling, J.S., E-mail: jss@wuphys.wustl.edu [Department of Physics, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130 (United States); Baumbach, R.E.; Lum, I.K.; Shu, L.; Huang, K.; Maple, M.B. [Department of Physics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093 (United States)

2013-02-14

Highlights: ► Superconductivity in the filled skutterudite PrPt{sub 4}Ge{sub 12}. ► Dependence of T{sub c} on purely hydrostatic pressure to 0.6 GPa. ► Comparison of lattice pressure to external pressure effects on superconductivity. ► Evidence for magnetic pair-breaking effects. -- Abstract: The temperature-dependent ac susceptibility of the filled skutterudite superconductor PrPt{sub 4}Ge{sub 12} has been measured under hydrostatic He-gas pressure to 0.58 GPa. The superconducting transition temperature T{sub c} decreases linearly with pressure P from 7.91 K at ambient pressure to 7.83 K at 0.58 GPa, giving the rate dT{sub c}/dP = −0.19 ± 0.03 K/GPa. Evidence is presented that suggests that the value of T{sub c} in this compound is slightly reduced due to magnetic pair-breaking effects from the Pr{sup 3+} cations.

75 FR 34573 - Bulk Solid Hazardous Materials: Harmonization With the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-17

... reduced iron (DRI) as briquettes molded at a temperature of 650 [deg]C or higher that have a density of 5... temperature of 650 [deg]C or higher or had a density of 5.0 g/cm[sup3] or greater. In this proposed rule, we... bulk materials of Hazard Classes 4 through 9. c. One comment recommended that a DCM be required for...

Study of 5f electron based filled skutterudite compound EuFe{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}, a thermoelectric (TE) material: FP-LAPW method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shankar, A., E-mail: amitshan2009@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004 (India); Rai, D.P., E-mail: dibyaprakashrai@gmail.com [Beijing Computational Science Research Center, 3 Heqing Road, Beijing 100084 (China); Khenata, R. [Laboratoire de Physique Quantique et de Modlisation Mathmatique (LPQ3M), Dpartement de Technologie, Universit de Mascara, 29000 Mascara (Algeria); Maibam, J. [Department of Physics, Assam University, Silchar 788011 (India); Sandeep, E-mail: sndp.chettri@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004 (India); Thapa, R.K., E-mail: r.k.thapa@gmail.com [Department of Physics, Mizoram University, Aizawl 796004 (India)

2015-01-15

Highlights: • The compound EuFe{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} shows a semi-metallic behavior with pseudo gap. • The inherent dense band near E{sub F} facilitate the charge carriers. • The magnetic moment within LSDA and mBJ are underestimated. • The inclusion of onsite Coulomb repulsion (U) in LSDA has improved the result. • The results obtained from LSDA + U are consistent with the experimental data. - Abstract: We have studied the elastic, electronic and magnetic properties along with the thermoelectric properties of an undoped filled skutterudite EuFe{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} using full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The LSDA, LSDA + U and a new exchange-correlation functional called modified Becke Johnson (mBJ) potential based on density functional theory (DFT) were used for studying material properties. The Eu-f and Fe-d are strongly correlated elements thus the inclusion of Coulomb repulsion (U) expected to give an exact ground state properties. The exchange-splitting of Eu-4f states were analyzed to explain the ferromagnetic behavior of EuFe{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} (half-metallic behavior). The numerical values of isotropic elastic parameters and related properties are estimated in the framework of the Voigt–Reuss–Hill approximation. The calculation of thermal transport properties at various temperature shows the high value of Seebeck coefficient and figure of merit (ZT) = 0.25 at room temperature in consistent to the experimental results.

Measurement of particulate concentrations produced during bulk material handling at the Tarragona harbor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Artinano, B.; Gomez-Moreno, F.J.; Pujadas, M.; Moreno, N.; Alastuey, A.; Querol, X.; Martin, F.; Guerra, A.; Luaces, J.A.; Basora, J. [CIEMAT, Madrid (Spain)

2007-09-15

Bulk material handling can be a significant source of particles in harbor areas. The atmospheric impact of a number of loading/unloading activities of diverse raw materials has been assessed from continuous measurements of ambient particle concentrations recorded close to the emission sources. Two experimental campaigns have been carried out in the Tarragona port to document the impact of specific handling operations and bulk materials. Dusty bulk materials such as silica-manganese powder, tapioca, coal, clinker and lucerne were dealt with during the experiments. The highest impacts on ambient particle concentrations were recorded during handling of clinker. For this material and silica-manganese powder, high concentrations were recorded in the fine grain size ({lt}2.5 {mu}m). The lowest impacts on particulate matter concentrations were recorded during handling of tapioca and lucerne, mainly in the coarse grain size (2-5-10 {mu} m). The effectiveness of several emission abatement measures, such as ground watering to diminish coal particle resuspension, was demonstrated to reduce ambient concentrations by up to two orders of magnitude. The importance of other good practices in specific handling operations, such as controlling the height of the shovel discharge, was also evidenced by these experiments. The results obtained can be further utilized as a useful experimental database for emission factor estimations.

“Pesting”-like oxidation phenomenon of p-type filled skutterudite Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}CoSb{sub 12}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiu, Pengfei [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramic and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 DingXi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Xia, Xugui; Huang, Xiangyang; Gu, Ming [CAS Key Laboratory of Materials for Energy Conversion, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 DingXi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Qiu, Yuting [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramic and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 DingXi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China); Chen, Lidong, E-mail: chenlidong@mail.sic.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of High Performance Ceramic and Superfine Microstructure, Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1295 DingXi Road, Shanghai 200050 (China)

2014-11-05

Highlights: • Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}Co{sub 1}Sb{sub 12} exhibits “pesting”-like oxidation phenomenon at high temperature. • The highest oxidation rate of Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}Co{sub 1}Sb{sub 12} appears around 800 K. • Severe periodically oxide layer peeling-off behavior is observed around 800 K. • The co-existence of Fe and Co is responsible for the poor oxidation resistance. - Abstract: Oxidation behavior of p-type filled skutterudite Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}CoSb{sub 12} in air was investigated and the oxidation mechanism was discussed in this study. Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}CoSb{sub 12} exhibits interesting “pesting”-like oxidation phenomenon around 800 K. The bulk sample completely disintegrates into a crowd of plate-like particles under this temperature range after only 24 h exposure in air. However, this abnormal oxidation phenomenon is not observed at temperature below 750 K or above 850 K. This result is consistent with the thermogravimetry and derivative thermogravimetry measurements which show that the oxidation rate for Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}CoSb{sub 12} around 800 K is the highest among 650–900 K. Microstructure observations suggest that this “pesting”-like oxidation is related with the severe periodically oxide layer peeling-off behavior around 800 K, which makes the Ce{sub 0.9}Fe{sub 3}CoSb{sub 12} samples are easy to be oxidized because the fresh substrate surface is always exposed to high concentration oxygen atmosphere. X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements indicated that in the oxide scale the direct contact of Fe{sup 3+}-oxide and CoSb{sub 2}O{sub 4} which possess different formation/growth rate and volume expansion coefficient should be responsible for this peculiar oxide layer peeling-off behavior around 800 K. This work can serve as an important reference for the designation of M{sub y}Fe{sub 4−x}Co{sub x}Sb{sub 12}-based skutterudite thermoelectric device.

Bulk Building Material Characterization and Decontamination Using a Concrete Floor and Wall Contamination Profiling Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aggarwal, S.; Charters, G.; Blauvelt, D.

2002-01-01

The concrete profiling technology, RadPro(trademark) has four major components: a drill with a specialized cutting and sampling head, drill bits, a sample collection unit and a vacuum pump. The equipment in conjunction with portable radiometric instrumentation produces a profile of radiological or chemical contamination through the material being studied. The drill head is used under hammer action to penetrate hard surfaces. This causes the bulk material to be pulverized as the drill travels through the radioactive media efficiently transmitting to the sampling unit a representative sample of powdered bulk material. The profiling equipment is designed to sequentially collect all material from the hole. The bulk material samples are continuously retrieved by use of a specially designed vacuumed sample retrieval unit that prevents cross contamination of the clean retrieved samples. No circulation medium is required with this profiling process; therefore, the only by-product from drilling is the sample. The data quality, quantity, and representativeness may be used to produce an activity profile from the hot spot surface into the bulk building material. The activity data obtained during the profiling process is reduced and transferred to building drawings as part of a detailed report of the radiological problem. This activity profile may then be expanded to ultimately characterize the facility and expedite waste segregation and facility closure at a reduced cost and risk

Electronic structure and thermoelectricity of filled skutterudite CeRu{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shankar, A., E-mail: amitshan2009@gmail.com [Department of Physics, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, 734013 (India); Rai, D.P. [Department of Physics, Pachhunga University College, Aizawl, 796001 (India); Sandeep [Condensed Matter Theory Research Group, Department of Physics, Mizoram University, Aizawl, 796004 (India); Khenata, R. [Laboratoire de Physique Quantique et de Modélisation Mathématique (LPQ3M), Département de Technologie, Université de Mascara, 29000 (Algeria); Thapa, R.K. [Condensed Matter Theory Research Group, Department of Physics, Mizoram University, Aizawl, 796004 (India); Mandal, P.K. [Department of Physics, University of North Bengal, Darjeeling, 734013 (India)

2016-07-05

First-principles calculations of the energy band structure and density of states of filled skutterudite CeRu{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} have been performed to understand the origin of thermoelectricity. The calculations are carried out using the full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method within a framework of LDA approach. CeRu{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} is a metal with bands crossing Fermi energy level more than twice with indirect energy band gap of ∼0.09 eV above the Fermi energy level. The study of the elastic properties suggests the ductile nature of the material with covalent contribution in the atomic bonding. Our calculations performed for the density of electronic states near the Fermi energy level show that the large thermo-power at room temperature originates from the hybridized Ru-d and Sb-p orbitals. The study of the thermal transport properties suggests the high value of Seebeck coefficient with figure of merit (ZT) = 0.12, which is consistent to the values obtained for the analogous compounds. - Highlights: • CeRu{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} is ductile material with covalent contribution in bonding. • An indirect energy bandgap of 0.09 eV is present above the Fermi energy level. • The crossing of E{sub F} by the energy bands increases the number of DOS at E{sub F}. • Fermi level is situated within the valence region. • The thermal efficiency of the material is 0.12 at room temperature.

Dust prevention in bulk material transportation and handling

Science.gov (United States)

Kirichenko, A. V.; Kuznetsov, A. L.; Pogodin, V. A.

2017-10-01

The environmental problem of territory and atmosphere pollution caused by transportation and handling of dust-generating bulk cargo materials is quite common for the whole world. The reducing of weight of fine class coal caused by air blowing reaches the level of 0.5-0.6 t per railcar over the 500 km transportation distance, which is equal to the loss of 1 % of the total weight. The studies showed that all over the country in the process of the railroad transportation, the industry loses 3-5 metric tonnes of coal annually. There are several common tactical measurers to prevent dust formation: treating the dust-producing materials at dispatch point with special liquid solutions; watering the stacks and open handling points of materials; frequent dust removing and working area cleaning. Recently there appeared several new radical measures for pollution prevention in export of ore and coal materials via sea port terminals, specifically: wind-dust protection screens, the container cargo handling system of delivery materials to the hold of the vessels. The article focuses on the discussion of these measures.

A high energy microscope for local strain measurements within bulk materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lienert, U.; Poulsen, H.F.; Martins, R.V.

2000-01-01

A novel diffraction technique for local, three dimensional strain scanning within bulk materials is presented. The technique utilizes high energy, micro-focussed synchrotron radiation which can penetrate several millimeters into typical metals. The spatial resolution can be as narrow as 1 mum...... in one dimension and in three dimensions about 5x10x100 mum(3) Bulk properties are probed non-destructively and in-situ measurements during thermo-mechanical processing are feasible. A dedicated experimental station has been constructed at the ID11 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility...

Superhard MgB sub 2 bulk material prepared by high-pressure sintering

CERN Document Server

Ma, H A; Chen, L X; Zhu, P W; Ren, G Z; Guo, W L; Fu, X Q; Zou Guang Tian; Ren, Z A; Che, G C; Zhao, Z X

2002-01-01

Superhard MgB sub 2 bulk material with a golden metallic shine was synthesized by high-pressure sintering for 8 h at 5.5 GPa and different temperatures. Appropriate pressure and temperature conditions for synthesizing polycrystalline MgB sub 2 with high hardness were investigated. The samples were characterized by means of atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction. The Vickers hardness, bulk density, and electrical resistivity were measured at room temperature.

Thermoelectric property of fine-grained CoSb3 skutterudite compound fabricated by mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Weishu; Zhang Boping; Li Jingfeng; Zhao Lidong

2007-01-01

Skutterudite CoSb 3 polycrystalline materials were prepared using a combined process of mechanical alloying (MA) and spark plasma sintering (SPS). The influence of SPS temperature on the thermoelectric properties was focused in this work with a special emphasis on the analysis of the size effects of grains. The average grain sizes decreased from 300 to 50 nm with decreasing SPS temperatures from 600 to 300 deg. C. The electrical resistivities of samples spark plasma sintered at 300-600 deg. C all decreased with increasing temperature, indicating a classic intrinsic conduction behaviour of semiconductors. The samples spark plasma sintered at 300-500 deg. C showed a positive Seebeck coefficient while the sample spark plasma sintered at 600 deg. C showed a negative Seebeck coefficient. The room-temperature thermal conductivities were reduced from 4.30 to 2.92 W m -1 K -1 as the grain sizes were decreased from 300 to 100 nm corresponding to SPS at 600 and 400 deg. C, respectively. The present work indicates that MA and SPS is a good combination for fabricating fine-grained CoSb 3 thermoelectric materials

Bulk Materials Analysis Using High-Energy Positron Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Glade, S C; Asoka-Kumar, P; Nieh, T G; Sterne, P A; Wirth, B D; Dauskardt, R H; Flores, K M; Suh, D; Odette, G.R.

2002-01-01

This article reviews some recent materials analysis results using high-energy positron beams at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. We are combining positron lifetime and orbital electron momentum spectroscopic methods to provide electron number densities and electron momentum distributions around positron annihilation sites. Topics covered include: correlation of positron annihilation characteristics with structural and mechanical properties of bulk metallic glasses, compositional studies of embrittling features in nuclear reactor pressure vessel steel, pore characterization in Zeolites, and positron annihilation characteristics in alkali halides

Recent progress in material technology on RE-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Teshima, Hidekazu; Morita, Mitsuru

2011-01-01

The current status of large-grained RE-Ba-Cu-O (RE: Y or rare earth elements) bulk superconductors with excellent superconducting properties is described. Gd-Ba-Cu-O bulk superconductors can trap a very high magnetic field even if they are melt-processed in air. Although the electromagnetic force caused by the trapped field is larger for a larger sample and may break the sample, a large sample of Gd-Ba-Cu-O 46 mm in diameter has the potential of trapped magnetic fields greater than 10 T at around 40 K. In addition, single-grained bulk superconductors as large as 150 mm can be obtained using the RE compositional gradient method. Dy-Ba-Cu-O is an ideal material for current leads because it has low thermal conductivity and high critical current density at 77 K in high magnetic fields. Eu-Ba-Cu-O has low magnetic permeability, and is therefore suitable for bulk NMR applications. Progress in machining technology has made possible various bulk superconductors with complicated shapes such as coils, leading to small and strong electromagnets by stacking several coil-shaped bulk superconductors together. (author)

Shear bond strength of bulk-fill and nano-restorative materials to dentin.

Science.gov (United States)

Colak, Hakan; Ercan, Ertugrul; Hamidi, Mehmet Mustafa

2016-01-01

Bulk-fill composite materials are being developed for preparation depths of up to 4 mm in an effort to simplify and improve the placement of direct composite posterior restorations. The aim of our study was to compare shear-bond strength of bulk-fill and conventional posterior composite resins. In this study, 60 caries free extracted human molars were used and sectioned parallel to occlusal surface to expose midcoronal dentin. The specimens were randomly divided into four groups. Total-etch dentine bonding system (Adper Scotchbond 1XT, 3M ESPE) was applied to dentin surface in all the groups to reduce variability in results. Then, dentine surfaces covered by following materials. Group I: SonicFill Bulk-Fill, Group II: Tetric EvoCeram (TBF), Group III: Herculite XRV Ultra, and Group IV: TBF Bulk-Fill, 2 mm × 3 mm cylindrical restorations were prepared by using application apparatus. Shear bond testing was measured by using a universal testing machine. Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-tests were performed to evaluate the data. The highest value was observed in Group III (14.42 ± 4.34) and the lowest value was observed in Group IV (11.16 ± 2.76) and there is a statistically significant difference between these groups (P = 0.046). However, there is no statistically significant difference between the values of other groups. In this study, Group III was showed higher strength values. There is a need for future studies about long-term bond strength and clinical success of these adhesive and bulk-fill systems.

Optical characteristics of novel bulk and nanoengineered laser host materials

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, Narasimha S.; Sova, Stacey; Kelly, Lisa; Bevan, Talon; Arnold, Bradley; Cooper, Christopher; Choa, Fow-Sen; Singh, N. B.

2018-02-01

The hexagonal apatite single crystals have been investigated for their applications as laser host materials. Czochralksi and flux growth methods have been utilized to obtain single crystals. For low temperature processing (useful properties as laser hosts and bone materials. Calcium lanthanum silicate (Nd-doped) and lanthanum aluminate material systems were studied in detail. Nanoengineered calcium and lanthanum based silicates were synthesized by a solution method and their optical and morphological characteristics were compared with Czochralski grown bulk hydroxyapatite single crystals. Materials were evaluated by absorbance, fluorescence and Raman characteristics. Neodymium, iron and chromium doped crystals grown by a solution method showed weak but similar optical properties to that of Czochralski grown single crystals.

Local structure investigation of Ga and Yb dopants in Co4Sb12 skutterudites

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Yanyun; Chen, Ning; Clancy, J. P.; Salvador, James R.; Kim, Chang-Yong; Shi, Xiaoya; Li, Qiang; Kim, Young-June

2017-12-01

We report comprehensive x-ray absorption spectroscopy studies at both the Ga K edge and Yb L2 edge to elucidate the local structure of Ga and Yb dopants in YbxGayCo4Sb12 . Our extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) data confirm that Ga atoms occupy two crystallographic sites: one is the 24 g site replacing Sb, and the other is the 2 a site in the off-center void position. We find that the occupancy ratio of these two sites varies significantly as a function of the filling fraction of additional Yb, which exclusively occupies the 2 a on-center site. At low concentrations of Yb, Ga24 g and Ga2 a dopants coexist and they form a charge-compensated compound defect proposed by Qiu et al. [Adv. Funct. Mater. 23, 3194 (2013), 10.1002/adfm.201202571]. The Ga24 g occupancy increases gradually with increasing Yb concentration, and almost all Ga occupies the 24 g site for the highest Yb concentration studied (x =0.4 ). In addition to the local structural evidence provided by our EXAFS data, we also present x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra, which show a small Ga K -edge energy shift as a function of Yb concentration consistent with the change from predominantly Ga2 a to Ga24 g states. Our result suggests that the increased solubility of Yb in Yb-Ga co-doped Co4Sb12 skutterudites is due to the increased Ga24 g electron acceptor, and thus provides an important strategy to optimize the carrier concentration in partially filled skutterudites.

On-line analysis of bulk materials using pulsed neutron interrogation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lebrun, P.; Tourneur, P. Le; Poumarede, B.; Bach, P.; Moeller, H.

1999-01-01

On the basis of our joint experience in neutronics for SODERN and in cement plant engineering for KRUPP POLYSIUS, we have developed a new on-line bulk materials analyser for the cement industry. This equipment includes a pulsed neutron generator GENIE 16, some gamma ray and neutron detectors, specially designed electronics with high counting rate, software delivering the mean elemental composition of raw material, and adequate shielding. This material is transported through the equipment on a conveyor belt, the size of which is adapted to the requirements. This paper briefly describes the equipment and some results, as obtained in dynamic test from a demonstrator installed in Germany

On-line analysis of bulk materials using pulsed neutron interrogation

Science.gov (United States)

Lebrun, P.; Tourneur, P. Le; Poumarede, B.; Möller, H.; Bach, P.

1999-06-01

On the basis of our joint experience in neutronics for SODERN and in cement plant engineering for KRUPP POLYSIUS, we have developed a new on-line bulk materials analyser for the cement industry. This equipment includes a pulsed neutron generator GENIE 16, some gamma ray and neutron detectors, specially designed electronics with high counting rate, software delivering the mean elemental composition of raw material, and adequate shielding. This material is transported through the equipment on a conveyor belt, the size of which is adapted to the requirements. This paper briefly describes the equipment and some results, as obtained in dynamic test from a demonstrator installed in Germany.

Advanced thermoelectric materials and systems for automotive applications in the next millennium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morelli, D T

1997-07-01

A combination of environmental, economic, and technological drivers has led to a reassessment of the potential for using thermoelectric devices in several automotive applications. In order for this technology to achieve its ultimate potential, new materials with enhanced thermoelectric properties are required. Experimental results on the fundamental physical properties of some new thermoelectric materials, including filled skutterudites and 1-1-1 intermetallic semiconductors, are presented.

The split cube in a cage: bulk negative-index material for infrared applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andryieuski, Andrei; Menzel, C.; Rockstuhl, C.

2009-01-01

We propose the split cube in a cage (SCiC) design for application in producing a bulk metamaterial. Applying realistic material data for thin silver films, we observe an immediate convergence of the effective parameters obtained with a number of layers towards the bulk properties. Results...... are obtained by two different numerical techniques: the Fourier modal method and the finite integrals method, thus ensuring their validity. The SCiC exhibits a refractive index of −0.6 for frequencies close to the telecommunication bands. The fast convergence of effective parameters allows consideration...... of the SCiC as a bulk (effectively homogeneous) negative-index metamaterial even for a single layer. The bulk-like nature together with the cubic symmetry of the unit cell make the SCiC a promising candidate for potential applications at telecommunication frequencies....

Development of a novel filling technique. Loading bulk particulate materials into tankers or processes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Farnish, R.J.; Berry, R.; Bradley, M. [Greenwich Univ., Chatham Maritime, Kent (United Kingdom). Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology

2008-07-01

The majority of industrial dosing or filling operations demand high filling rates and often good repeatability of discharges. For coarse, free-flowing materials the issues of obtaining a high degree of filling efficiency are substantially less challenging than for less free-flowing or cohesive bulk particulates. Typical equipment arrangements for achieving a controlled (often dual rate) discharge of particles into a relatively small capacity container (flask, sack or big bag) often rely on either a mechanical extraction of material from a buffer (screw feeders) or the manipulation of a constricting arrangement to achieve a turn down in discharge rate. Where less freeflowing or very fine particles are being handled, the introduction of air into the powder is invariably used to modify the bulk condition of the material to a condition where discharge can be initiated and supported (typical examples being powder feed to an impeller packer, or discharge of powder into a rail or road wagon). This article will therefore report on some recent research that has been undertaken by The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology, University of Greenwich. (orig.)

Developing bulk exchange spring magnets

Science.gov (United States)

Mccall, Scott K.; Kuntz, Joshua D.

2017-06-27

A method of making a bulk exchange spring magnet by providing a magnetically soft material, providing a hard magnetic material, and producing a composite of said magnetically soft material and said hard magnetic material to make the bulk exchange spring magnet. The step of producing a composite of magnetically soft material and hard magnetic material is accomplished by electrophoretic deposition of the magnetically soft material and the hard magnetic material to make the bulk exchange spring magnet.

Environment-oriented life cycle analysis of bulk materials, applied in solar cell systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geelen, H.

1994-04-01

In the solar cell technology several bulk materials (glass, steel, aluminium, concrete, copper, zinc and synthetic materials) are applied intensively. By means of a life cycle analysis (LCA) the environmental effects and bottlenecks of the use of these materials is investigated in this report. Also attention is paid to the options to reduce the environmental effects of photovoltaic (PV) systems by changing processes and/or by redesign of the PV systems. Two systems are studied: solar cells, integrated in pitched roofs, and solar cells on the ground in solar cell arrays. The study is focused on the use of bulk materials in the solar module, the cables and the supporting construction. After brief introductions on the environment-oriented LCA method, the standard construction of PV modules and the principles of solar cells, an overview is given of the present and future material input for the above-mentioned PV-systems. Next, attention is paid to the energy consumption and the most important emissions of the production of the bulk materials. Based on these data three environmental effect scores of the PV systems are calculated and analyzed: the energy consumption, the greenhouse effect or global warming equivalent, and the acidifying effect or acidification equivalent. Also a fourth effect, for which the so-called environmental indicator human toxicity is defined, is described. By means of this indicator the hazardous effects for the public health can be indicated. The sum of the four indicators is a measure for the environmental profile of the roof PV-system and the ground PV-array system. Recommendations are given by which the systems and their environmental profiles can be improved. 29 figs., 50 tabs., 5 appendices, refs

Acoustic behavior of a fibrous bulk material. [Kevlar 29 sound absorber

Science.gov (United States)

Hersh, A. S.; Walker, B.

1979-01-01

A semiempirical model is presented describing the acoustic behavior of Kevlar 29, a bulk absorbing material. The model is based on an approximate solution to the one-dimensional equations representing conservation of fluctuating mass, momentum and energy. By treating the material as a momentum sink, theoretical expressions of the material complex propagation constants and characteristic impedance were derived in terms of a single constant. Evaluating the constant at a single frequency for a particular specimen, excellent agreement between prediction and measurement was achieved for a large range of sound frequencies and material porosities and thicknesses. Results show that Kevlar 29 absorbs sound efficiently even at low frequencies. This is explained in terms of a frequency dependent material phase speed.

Raman scattering study of filled skutterudite compounds

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogita, N; Kojima, R; Hasegawa, T; Takasu, Y; Udagawa, M; Kondo, T; Takeda, N; Ikeno, T; Ishikawa, K; Sugawara, H; Kikuchi, D; Sato, H; Sekine, C; Shirotani, I

2007-01-01

Raman scattering of skutterudite compounds RT 4 X 12 (R=La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm and Yb, T=Fe, Ru and Os, X=P and Sb) have been measured. All first-order Raman active phonons are observed and are assigned as the pnicogen vibrations. At the low energy region, the second-order phonons, due to the vibration of the rare earth ions with a flat phonon dispersion, are observed in the spectra of RRu 4 P 12 (R=La and Sm) and ROs 4 Sb 12 (R=La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Sm). The appearance of the second-order phonons in the spectra is caused by an anharmonic vibrations of rare earth ions in large cage space and a large density of state due to the flat phonon dispersion. However, in spite of the similar cage space, the 2nd-order phonons are hardly observed for RFe 4 Sb 12 and RRu 4 Sb 12 . Thus, these results suggest that the dynamics of the rare earth ion is closely related to not only the cage size but also the electronic state due to the transition metals. Raman spectra of PrRu 4 P 12 show the drastic spectral change due to the metal-insulator transition. The phonon spectra and crystal field excitations due to the structural change have been assigned above and below the transition temperature

Materials processing, pulsed field magnetization and field-pole application to propulsion motors on Gd123 bulk superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Izumi, M; Xu, C; Xu, Y; Morita, E; Kimura, Y; Hu, A; Ichihara, M; Murakami, M; Sakai, N; Hirabayashi, I; Sugimoto, H; Miki, M

2008-01-01

Gd123 bulk superconductor is one of the promising magnet materials. We studied the materials processing to grow high performance magnet with a doping of nano-sized metal oxides such as ZrO 2 as a candidature of pinning centre. The enhancement of the critical current density was obtained. Growth of nano-sized particles of Gd211 in addition to BaZrO 3 were observed by TEM. The formation of nano-sized particles appears a key to improve the integrated flux trapped inside the bulks and the TEM reveals an intriguing effect of the addition to the microstructure of bulk materials. Magnetization process is crucial especially for an extended machinery. Pulsed field magnetization was applied to the field-pole bulk on the rotor disk of the tested synchronous motor. The trapped flux density of 1.3 T for Gd123 bulk sample and of 60 mm diameter was reached in the limited dimension of the tested motor by a step cooling method down to 38 K with a closed-cycle condensed neon. The pulsed magnetic field was applied with a new type of split-armature coil. A large bulk of 140 mm diameter has also shown a potential flux trapping superior to other smaller specimens. The bulk magnet provides a strong magnetic field around the bulk body itself with high current density relative to a coil winding. A comparative drawing of a 'torque density' of a variety of motors which is defined as the torque divided by the volume of the motor indicates a potential advantage of bulk motor as a super permanent magnet motor

NMR study of magnetic properties in filled skutterudite compound EuRu4P12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magishi, Ko-ichi; Iwahashi, Yoshinori; Horimoto, Takuji; Sugawara, Hitoshi; Saito, Takahito; Koyama, Kuniyuki

2007-01-01

We report the results of 31 P NMR measurements on a Eu-based filled skutterudite phosphide EuRu 4 P 12 with ferromagnetic transition at T C =18K in order to investigate the magnetic properties from a microscopic point of view. The temperature dependence of the Knight shift is similar to that of the magnetic susceptibility. Also, the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate 1/T 1 is practically constant at higher temperatures above 50K due to the interaction of the 31 P nucleus with fluctuating local moments at the Eu 2+ sites, but decreases rapidly at low temperatures below T C , indicating the supression of the spin fluctuations by magnetic ordering

Analysis on approach of safeguards implementation at research reactor handling item count and bulk material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Hyun Jo; Lee, Sung Ho; Lee, Byung Doo; Jung, Juang

2016-01-01

KiJang research reactor (KJRR) will be constructed to produce the radioisotope such as Mo-99 etc., provide the neutron transmutation doping (NTD) service of silicon, and develop the core technologies of research reactor. In this paper, the features of the process and nuclear material flow are reviewed and the material balance area (MBA) and key measurement point (KMP) are established based on the nuclear material flow. Also, this paper reviews the approach on safeguards and nuclear material accountancy at the facility level for Safeguards-by-Design at research reactor handling item count and bulk material. In this paper, MBA and KMPs are established through the analysis on facility features and major process at KJRR handling item count and bulk material. Also, this paper reviews the IAEA safeguards implementation and nuclear material accountancy at KJRR. It is necessary to discuss the safeguards approach on the fresh FM target assemblies and remaining uranium in the intermediate level liquid wastes

Analysis on approach of safeguards implementation at research reactor handling item count and bulk material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Hyun Jo; Lee, Sung Ho; Lee, Byung Doo; Jung, Juang [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

KiJang research reactor (KJRR) will be constructed to produce the radioisotope such as Mo-99 etc., provide the neutron transmutation doping (NTD) service of silicon, and develop the core technologies of research reactor. In this paper, the features of the process and nuclear material flow are reviewed and the material balance area (MBA) and key measurement point (KMP) are established based on the nuclear material flow. Also, this paper reviews the approach on safeguards and nuclear material accountancy at the facility level for Safeguards-by-Design at research reactor handling item count and bulk material. In this paper, MBA and KMPs are established through the analysis on facility features and major process at KJRR handling item count and bulk material. Also, this paper reviews the IAEA safeguards implementation and nuclear material accountancy at KJRR. It is necessary to discuss the safeguards approach on the fresh FM target assemblies and remaining uranium in the intermediate level liquid wastes.

Investigation of the spin Seebeck effect and anomalous Nernst effect in a bulk carbon material

Science.gov (United States)

Wongjom, Poramed; Pinitsoontorn, Supree

2018-03-01

Since the discovery of the spin Seebeck effect (SSE) in 2008, it has become one of the most active topics in the spin caloritronics research field. It opened up a new way to create the spin current by a combination of magnetic fields and heat. The SSE was observed in many kinds of materials including metallic, semiconductor, or insulating magnets, as well as non-magnetic materials. On the other hand, carbon-based materials have become one of the most exciting research areas recently due to its low cost, abundance and some exceptional functionalities. In this work, we have investigated the possibility of the SSE in bulk carbon materials for the first time. Thin platinum film (Pt), coated on the smoothened surface of the bulk carbon, was used as the spin detector via the inverse spin Hall effect (ISHE). The experiment for observing longitudinal SSE in the bulk carbon was set up by applying a magnetic field up to 30 kOe to the sample with the direction perpendicular to the applied temperature gradient. The induced voltage from the SSE was extracted. However, for conductive materials, e.g. carbon, the voltage signal under this set up could be a combination of the SSE and the anomalous Nernst effect (ANE). Therefore, two measurement configurations were carried out, i.e. the in-plane magnetization (IM), and the perpendicular-to-plane magnetization (PM). For the IM configuration, the SSE + ANE signals were detected where as the only ANE signal existed in the PM configuration. The results showed that there were the differences between the voltage signals from the IM and PM configurations implying the possibility of the SSE in the bulk carbon material. Moreover, it was found that the difference in the IM and PM signals was a function of the magnetic field strength, temperature difference, and measurement temperature. Although the magnitude of the possible SSE voltage in this experiment was rather low (less than 0.5 μV at 50 K), this research showed that potential of using

On binding energy of trions in bulk materials

Science.gov (United States)

Filikhin, Igor; Kezerashvili, Roman Ya.; Vlahovic, Branislav

2018-03-01

We study the negatively T- and positively T+ charged trions in bulk materials in the effective mass approximation within the framework of a potential model. The binding energies of trions in various semiconductors are calculated by employing Faddeev equation in configuration space. Results of calculations of the binding energies for T- are consistent with previous computational studies and are in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements, while the T+ is unbound for all considered cases. The mechanism of formation of the binding energy of trions is analyzed by comparing contributions of a mass-polarization term related to kinetic energy operators and a term related to the Coulomb repulsion of identical particles.

A contribution to problems of clean transport of bulk materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fedora Jaroslav

1996-03-01

Full Text Available The lecture analyses the problem of development of the pipe conveyor with a rubber belt, the facitities of its application in the practice and environmental aspects resulting from its application. The pipe conveyor is a new perspective transport system. It enables ransporting bulk materials (coal, crushed, rock, coke, plant ash, fertilisers, limestones, time in a specific operations (power plants, heating plants.cellulose, salt, sugar, wheat and other materials with a minimum effect on the environment. The transported material is enclosed in the pipeline so that there is no escape of dust, smell or of the transported material itself. The lecture is aimed at: - the short description of the operating principle and design of the pipe conveyor which was developed in the firm Matador Púchov in cooperation with the firm TEDO, - the analysis of experiencie in working some pipe conveyors which were under operation for a certain

Bulk-Fill Resin Composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Benetti, Ana Raquel; Havndrup-Pedersen, Cæcilie; Honoré, Daniel

2015-01-01

the restorative procedure. The aim of this study, therefore, was to compare the depth of cure, polymerization contraction, and gap formation in bulk-fill resin composites with those of a conventional resin composite. To achieve this, the depth of cure was assessed in accordance with the International Organization...... for Standardization 4049 standard, and the polymerization contraction was determined using the bonded-disc method. The gap formation was measured at the dentin margin of Class II cavities. Five bulk-fill resin composites were investigated: two high-viscosity (Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill, SonicFill) and three low......-viscosity (x-tra base, Venus Bulk Fill, SDR) materials. Compared with the conventional resin composite, the high-viscosity bulk-fill materials exhibited only a small increase (but significant for Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill) in depth of cure and polymerization contraction, whereas the low-viscosity bulk...

Feasibility study on diagnosis of material damage using bulk wave mixing technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Jeong Seok; Cho, Youn Ho [Pusan National University, Busan (Korea, Republic of)

2016-02-15

Ultrasonic nonlinear evaluation is generally utilized for detection of not only defects but also microdamage such as corrosion and plastic deformation. Nonlinearity is determined by the amplitude ratio of primary wave second harmonic wave, and the results of its comparison are used for evaluation. Owing to the experimental features, the experimental nonlinearity result contains system nonlinearity and material nonlinearity. System nonlinearity is that which is unwanted by the user; hence, it acts as an error and interrupts analysis. In this study, a bulk wave mixing technique is implemented in order to minimize the system nonlinearity and obtain the reliable analysis results. The biggest advantage of this technique is that experimental nonlinearity contains less system nonlinearity than that for the conventional nonlinear ultrasonic technique. Theoretical and experimental verifications are performed in this study. By comparing the results of the bulk wave mixing technique with those of the conventional technique, the strengths, weaknesses, and application validity of the bulk wave mixing technique are determined.

Novel low temperature processing techniques for apatite ceramics and chitosan polymer composite bulk materials and its mechanical properties

Science.gov (United States)

Onoki, Takamasa; Nakahira, Atsushi; Tago, Tomoyuki; Hasegawa, Yoshiyuki; Kuno, Tomoaki

2012-12-01

A co-precipitation method was used for processing chitosan (CHI)/calcium hydrogen phosphate dehydrate (DCPD) hybrid material. CHI solution was mixed into 1.0-M calcium nitrate solution. CHI/DCPD hybrid material was prepared by the above explained addition of CHI and Ca ion source to 1.0-M diammonium hydrogen phosphate solution. It was observed by transmission electron microscopy that CHI and DCPD were mixed within submicron meter scale. CHI/HA bulk materials derived from the CHI/DCPD hybrid materials were obtained by using a hydrothermal hot-pressing (HHP) method. A pressure of 40 MPa was initially applied to the sample. An HHP autoclave was heated up to 150 °C for 2 h. Modified 3-point bending tests were conducted to obtain an easy estimate of the fracture toughness for the CHI/HA bulk materials made with the HHP method. The critical stress intensity factor Kc of the fabricated CHI/HA bulk materials was enhanced from 0.30 to 0.40 MPam1/2 by the hybridization of CHI into DCPD.

High mechanical Q-factor measurements on silicon bulk material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schwarz, Christian; Nawrodt, Ronny; Heinert, Daniel; Schroeter, Anja; Neubert, Ralf; Thuerk, Matthias; Vodel, Wolfgang; Seidel, Paul [Institut fuer Festkoerperphysik, Helmholtzweg 5, D-07743 Jena (Germany); Tuennermann, Andreas [Institut fuer Angewandte Physik, Albert-Einstein-Strasse 15, D-07745 Jena (Germany)

2008-07-01

The direct observation of gravitational waves is one of the biggest challenges in science. Current detectors are limited by different kinds of noise. One of the fundamental noise sources is thermal noise arising from the optical components. One of the most promising attempts to reduce the thermal noise contribution in future detectors will be the use of high Q-factor materials at cryogenic temperatures. Silicon seems to be the most interesting material due to its excellent optical and thermal properties. We present high Q-factor measurements on bulk samples of high purity silicon in a temperature range from 5 to 300 K. The sample dimensions vary between 76.2 mm x 12..75 mm. The Q-factor exceeds 4.10{sup 8} at 6 K. The influence of the crystal orientation, doping and the sample preparation on the Q-factor is discussed.

Method of altering the effective bulk density of solid material and the resulting product: hollow polymeric particles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kool, L.B.; Nolen, R.L.; Solomon, D.E.

1981-01-01

Hollow spherical particles are made by spraying a mixture of powdered solid material with a solution of a film-forming polymer in a solvent therefor into a heated chamber where the solvent evaporates. The powder is thereby captured in the wall of the hollow polymer particles formed. Such particles are used to form a suspension in a fluid material. The hollow particles are of such size and wall thickness, in relation to the bulk density of the powdered solid material, that the bulk density of each hollow spherical particle is commensurate with the density of the fluid material. The particles thereby remain in suspension over a substantial period of time with little or no agitation of the fluid. (author)

Composites of amorphous and nanocrystalline Zr–Cu–Al–Nb bulk materials synthesized by spark plasma sintering

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drescher, P., E-mail: philipp.drescher@uni-rostock.de [Fluidic Technology and Microfluidics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock (Germany); Witte, K. [Physics of New Materials, Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock (Germany); Yang, B. [Polymer Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock (Germany); Steuer, R.; Kessler, O. [Chair of Materials Science, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock (Germany); Burkel, E. [Physics of New Materials, Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock (Germany); Schick, C. [Polymer Physics, Institute of Physics, University of Rostock, 18051 Rostock (Germany); Seitz, H. [Fluidic Technology and Microfluidics, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Marine Technology, University of Rostock, 18059 Rostock (Germany)

2016-05-15

The fabrication of Zr{sub 70}Cu{sub 24}Al{sub 4}Nb{sub 2} bulk metallic glass composite samples by spark plasma sintering (SPS) process has been successfully realized. The unique characteristics of bulk metallic glasses could lead to the possibility of future applications as new structural and functional materials. The densification of an amorphous Zr{sub 70}Cu{sub 24}Al{sub 4}Nb{sub 2} powder was realized in a systematic study changing the sintering temperature in the SPS process leading to stable composites characteristic of amorphous and nanocrystalline structures. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) as well as hardness tests were applied to determine the structural and mechanical properties of the sintered materials. A stable amorphous bulk metallic glass based on Zr{sub 70}Cu{sub 24}Al{sub 4}Nb{sub 2} with a low fraction of crystallites could be fabricated applying a nominal sintering temperature of 400 °C. Higher sintering temperatures lead to composites with high fractions of nanocrystalline material with porosities below 0.5%.

Influence of Ni on the thermoelectric properties of the partially filled calcium skutterudites Ca.sub.y./sub.Co.sub.4-x./sub.Ni.sub.x./sub.Sb.sub.12./sub..

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Puyet, M.; Dauscher, A.; Lenoir, B.; Bellouard, C.; Stiewe, C.; Müller, E.; Hejtmánek, Jiří; Tobola, J.

2007-01-01

Roč. 75, č. 24 (2007), 245110/1-245110/9 ISSN 1098-0121 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : partially filled skutterudites * thermoelectric properties Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 3.172, year: 2007

Procedure and device for the radiometric determination of the quantity, quality and foreign substances in moved bulk materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krone, C.; Jentsch, G.; Berger, J.

1987-01-01

This invention has to do with a procedure and device for the simultaneous radiometric determination of quantity, quality and foreign substances in moved bulk materials in particular lignite at one measuring point. The section of the bulk material discharge is transmitted by nuclides for soft and hard gamma radiation in pairs. The pulse rates are registered in pairs by means of detectors and evaluated in real-time operation

Feasibility of introducing ferromagnetic materials to onboard bulk high-Tc superconductors to enhance the performance of present maglev systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, Zigang; Wang, Jiasu; Zheng, Jun; Zhang, Ya; Wang, Suyu

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► Ferromagnetic materials guide the flux distribution of the PMG to bulk positions. ► With ferromagnetic materials, guidance performance can be enhanced greatly. ► A new HTS Maglev system with onboard ferromagnetic materials is designed. ► The design can meet large guidance force requirements for practical applications. -- Abstract: Performance improvement is a long-term research task for the promotion of practical application of promising high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic levitation (maglev) vehicle technologies. We studied the feasibility to enhance the performance of present HTS Maglev systems by introducing ferromagnetic materials to onboard bulk superconductors. The principle here is to make use of the high magnetic permeability of ferromagnetic materials to alter the flux distribution of the permanent magnet guideway for the enhancement of magnetic field density at the position of the bulk superconductors. Ferromagnetic iron plates were added to the upper surface of bulk superconductors and their geometric and positioning effects on the maglev performance were investigated experimentally. Results show that the guidance performance (stability) was enhanced greatly for a particular setup when compared to the present maglev system which is helpful in the application where large guidance forces are needed such as maglev tracks with high degrees of curves

Semiconductor-diode-aided dosimetry of the irradiation of pourable bulk material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gruenewald, T.; Rudolf, M.

1987-01-01

The irradiation of unpackaged pourable bulk material requires the employment of a dosimeter which can be readily transported along with the material. Planar diffused silicon diodes have been found to be suitable for this purpose. To date these have been used solely for the purpose of dose rate measurements; however, it can be shown that the permanent change in reverse recover time at the p-n junction correlates with the absorbed irradiation dose in the range up to 10 kGy. Appropriate selection of the diode and thermal treatment lead to a linear dependence and enable the silicon dosimeter to be reused. (author). 16 refs, 4 figs

Surface, interface and bulk materials characterization using Indus synchrotron sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phase, Deodatta M.

2014-01-01

Synchrotron radiation sources, providing intense, polarized and stable beams of ultra violet, soft and hard x-ray photons, are having great impact on physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and other areas research. In particular synchrotron radiation has revolutionized materials characterization techniques by enhancing its capabilities for investigating the structural, electronic and magnetic properties of solids. The availability of synchrotron sources and necessary instrumentation has led to considerable improvements in spectral resolution and intensities. As a result, application scope of different materials characterization techniques has tremendously increased particularly in the analysis of solid surfaces, interfaces and bulk materials. The Indian synchrotron storage ring, Indus-1 and Indus-2 are in operation at RRCAT, Indore. The UGC-DAE CSR with the help of university scientist had designed and developed an angle integrated photoelectron spectroscopy (AlPES) beam line on Indus-1 storage ring of 450 MeV and polarized light beam line for soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy (SXAS) on Indus-2 storage ring of 2.5 GeV. (author)

Fabrication and Thermoelectric Properties of n-Type CoSb2.85Te0.15 Using Selective Laser Melting.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yonggao; Ke, Hongquan; Yang, Jihui; Uher, Ctirad; Tang, Xinfeng

2018-04-25

We report a nonequilibrium fabrication method of n-type CoSb 2.85 Te 0.15 skutterudites using selective laser melting (SLM) technology. A powder of CoSb 2.85 Te 0.15 was prepared by self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS) and served as the raw material for the SLM process. The effect of SLM processing parameters such as the laser power and scanning speed on the quality of the forming CoSb 2.85 Te 0.15 thin layers was systematically analyzed, and the optimal processing window for SLM was determined. A brief postannealing at 450 °C for 4 h, following the SLM process, has resulted in a phase-pure CoSb 2.85 Te 0.15 bulk material deposited on a Ti substrate. The Seebeck coefficient of the annealed SLM prepared bulk material is close to that of the sample prepared by the traditional sintering method, and its maximum ZT value reached 0.56 at 823 K. Moreover, a Ti-Co-Sb ternary compound transition layer of about 70 μm in thickness was found at a dense interface between CoSb 2.85 Te 0.15 and the Ti substrate. The contact resistivity was measured as 37.1 μΩcm 2 . The results demonstrate that SLM, coupled with postannealing, can be used for fabrication of incongruently melting skutterudite compounds on heterogeneous substrates. This lays an important foundation for the follow-up research utilizing energy efficient SHS and SLM processes in rapid printing of thermoelectric modules.

The theoretical justification for the fractionation of bulk materials during separation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piven Valery

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In separating lines at different stages of the technological process is carried out fractionation of the bulk material. These different quality streams subsequently processed on the working bodies or machines that are more suited for a specific faction. Fractionation can increase productivity, reduce costs, reduce the amount of material being processed through the working bodies of the passes. Criteria for selection of the working body for fractionation and its place in the production line depends on many factors and insufficiently developed. The aim of this work is to determine the criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the working body for the fractionation of the raw material on the basis of a possible increase productivity throughout the production line. The curves obtained by calculation, allow us to estimate the total increase in line speed. Obtained dependence can be used for calculations of separation processes of granular mixtures in the production of building materials, food industry, powder metallurgy, pharmaceutical and other.

The choice of nuclear material measurement strategy in bulk-form in material balance area

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smirnov, V.M.; Sergeev, S.A.; Kirsanov, V.S.

1999-01-01

Concepts have been defined such as Shipment batch, Technological batch, and Accounting batch, it has been found that Shipment and Technological batches should be formed through the arrangement of group of measured Accounting batches. The strategy for nuclear material (NM) measurement based on the Accounting batch is shown to give a possibility to use the advantages for the accounting purposes: ensure safeguards of non-diversion of NM at quantitative (numerical) level, which is a higher grade of safeguards compared to the systems of accounting and control now in force of the US and EURATOM; ensure a guaranteed accuracy and reliability (confidence level) when making up NM balance in Material Balance Area (MBA) and at Federal level, which has been realized only in part in the NM control and accounting systems. Strategy of NM measurement for MBAs counting NM in bulk form has been proposed [ru

Method and Apparatus of Measuring Velocity and Sound Attenuation Coefficient in Bulk Materials Based on the Analysis of the Structure of Sound-Insulation Materials on the Basis of Perlite

Science.gov (United States)

Kapranov, B. I.; Mashanov, A. P.

2017-04-01

This paper presents the results of research and describes the apparatus for measuring the acoustic characteristics of bulk materials. Ultrasound, it has passed through a layer of bulk material, is further passes through an air gap. The presence of air gap prevents from measuring tract mechanical contacts, but complicates the measurement technology Studies were conducted on the example of measuring the acoustic characteristics of the widely used perlite-based sound-proofing material.

Mechanical design engineering. NASA/university advanced design program: Lunar Bulk Material Transport Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Daugherty, Paul; Griner, Stewart; Hendrix, Alan; Makarov, Chris; Martiny, Stephen; Meyhoefer, Douglas Ralph; Platt, Cody Claxton; Sivak, John; Wheeler, Elizabeth Fitch

1988-01-01

The design of a Lunar Bulk Material Transport Vehicle (LBMTV) is discussed. Goals set in the project include a payload of 50 cubic feet of lunar soil with a lunar of approximately 800 moon-pounds, a speed of 15 mph, and the ability to handle a grade of 20 percent. Thermal control, an articulated steering mechanism, a dump mechanism, a self-righting mechanism, viable power sources, and a probable control panel are analyzed. The thermal control system involves the use of small strip heaters to heat the housing of electronic equipment in the absence of sufficient solar radiation and multi-layer insulation during periods of intense solar radiation. The entire system uses only 10 W and weighs about 60 pounds, or 10 moon-pounds. The steering mechanism is an articulated steering joint at the center of the vehicle. It utilizes two actuators and yields a turning radius of 10.3 feet. The dump mechanism rotates the bulk material container through an angle of 100 degree using one actuator. The self-righting mechanism consists of two four bar linkages, each of which is powered by the same size actuator as the other linkages. The LBMTV is powered by rechargeable batteries. A running time of at least two hours is attained under a worst case analysis. The weight of the batteries is 100 pounds. A control panel consisting of feedback and control instruments is described. The panel includes all critical information necessary to control the vehicle remotely. The LBMTV is capable of handling many types of cargo. It is able to interface with many types of removable bulk material containers. These containers are made to interface with the three-legged walker, SKITTER. The overall vehicle is about 15 feet in length and has a weight of about 1000 pounds, or 170 lunar pounds.

Effect of rare earth substitution in cobalt ferrite bulk materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulai, G.; Diamandescu, L.; Dumitru, I.; Gurlui, S.; Feder, M.; Caltun, O.F.

2015-01-01

The study was focused on the influence of small amounts of rare earth (RE=La, Ce, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Yb) addition on the microstructure, phase content and magnetic properties of cobalt ferrite bulk materials. The X-Ray diffraction measurements confirmed the formation of the spinel structure but also the presence of secondary phases of RE oxides or orthoferrite in small percentages (up to 3%). Density measurements obtained by Archimedes method revealed a ~1 g cm −3 decrease for the RE doped cobalt ferrite samples compared with stoichiometric one. Both the Mössbauer and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrocopy analysis results confirmed the formation of the spinel phase. The saturation magnetization and coercive field values of the doped samples obtained by Vibrating Sample Magnetometry were close to those of the pure cobalt ferrite. For magnetostrictive property studies the samples were analyzed using the strain gauge method. Higher maximum magnetostriction coefficients were found for the Ho, Ce, Sm and Yb doped cobalt ferrite bulk materials as related to the stoichiometric CoFe 2 O 4 sample. Moreover, improved strain derivative was observed for these samples but at higher magnetic fields due to the low increase of the coercive field values for doped samples. - Highlights: • Substitution by a large number of rare earth elements was investigated. • First reported results on magnetostriction measurements of RE doped cobalt ferrite. • The doped samples presented an increased porosity and a decreased grain size. • Increased magnetostrctive response was observed for several doped samples

Mesoscale structural characterization within bulk materials by high-energy X-ray microdiffraction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lienert, U.; Poulsen, H.F.; Kvick, Å.

2001-01-01

A novel diffraction technique for the local three-dimensional characterization within polycrystalline bulk materials is presented. The technique uses high-energy synchrotron radiation (40 keV materials. Focusing broadband optics have been developed...... experimental evidence that a longitudinal resolution down to 10 mum can be obtained. Fundamental materials properties such as the strain/stress state, grain-orientation, -size, and -surface topology can be probed and mapped in three dimensions in favorable cases. Imbedded volumes and interfaces become...... accessible. The technique is nondestructive and allows for in situ studies of samples in complicated environments. A dedicated experimental station has been constructed at the ID11 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility. On-line two-dimensional detectors and conical slits have been developed...

Module 13: Bulk Packaging Shipments by Highway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Przybylski, J.L.

1994-07-01

The Hazardous Materials Modular Training Program provides participating United States Department of Energy (DOE) sites with a basic, yet comprehensive, hazardous materials transportation training program for use onsite. This program may be used to assist individual program entities to satisfy the general awareness, safety training, and function specific training requirements addressed in Code of Federal Regulation (CFR), Title 49, Part 172, Subpart H -- ''Training.'' Module 13 -- Bulk Packaging Shipments by Highway is a supplement to the Basic Hazardous Materials Workshop. Module 13 -- Bulk Packaging Shipments by Highway focuses on bulk shipments of hazardous materials by highway mode, which have additional or unique requirements beyond those addressed in the ten module core program. Attendance in this course of instruction should be limited to those individuals with work experience in transporting hazardous materials utilizing bulk packagings and who have completed the Basic Hazardous Materials Workshop or an equivalent. Participants will become familiar with the rules and regulations governing the transportation by highway of hazardous materials in bulk packagings and will demonstrate the application of these requirements through work projects and examination

Laser-induced damage thresholds of bulk and coating optical materials at 1030  nm, 500  fs.

Science.gov (United States)

Gallais, Laurent; Commandré, Mireille

2014-02-01

We report on extensive femtosecond laser damage threshold measurements of optical materials in both bulk and thin-film form. This study, which is based on published and new data, involved simple oxide and fluoride films, composite films made from a mixture of two dielectric materials, metallic films, and the surfaces of various bulk materials: oxides, fluorides, semiconductors, and ionic crystals. The samples were tested in comparable conditions at 1030 nm, 375 to 600 fs, under single-pulse irradiation. A large number of different samples prepared by different deposition techniques have been tested, involving classical materials used in the fabrication of optical thin film components (Ag, AlF3, Al2O3, HfO2, MgF2, Nb2O5, Pt, Sc2O3, SiO2, Ta2O5, Y2O3, and ZrO2) and their combination with codeposition processes. Their behaviors are compared with the surfaces of bulk materials (Al2O3, BaF2, CaF2, Ge, KBr, LiF, MgF2, NaCl, Quartz, Si, ZnS, ZnSe, and different silica glasses). Tabulated values of results are presented and discussed.

Bulk and interface quantum states of electrons in multi-layer heterostructures with topological materials

Science.gov (United States)

Nikolic, Aleksandar; Zhang, Kexin; Barnes, C. H. W.

2018-06-01

In this article we describe the bulk and interface quantum states of electrons in multi-layer heterostructures in one dimension, consisting of topological insulators (TIs) and topologically trivial materials. We use and extend an effective four-band continuum Hamiltonian by introducing position dependence to the eight material parameters of the Hamiltonian. We are able to demonstrate complete conduction-valence band mixing in the interface states. We find evidence for topological features of bulk states of multi-layer TI heterostructures, as well as demonstrating both complete and incomplete conduction-valence band inversion at different bulk state energies. We show that the linear k z terms in the low-energy Hamiltonian, arising from overlap of p z orbitals between different atomic layers in the case of chalcogenides, control the amount of tunneling from TIs to trivial insulators. Finally, we show that the same linear k z terms in the low-energy Hamiltonian affect the material’s ability to form the localised interface state, and we demonstrate that due to this effect the spin and probability density localisation in a thin film of Sb2Te3 is incomplete. We show that changing the parameter that controls the magnitude of the overlap of p z orbitals affects the transport characteristics of the topologically conducting states, with incomplete topological state localisation resulting in increased backscattering.

Standard Guide for Unrestricted Disposition of Bulk Materials Containing Residual Amounts of Radioactivity

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2009-01-01

1.1 This guide covers the techniques for obtaining approval for release of materials encountered in decontamination and decommissioning (D&D) from restricted use. This would be addressed in the decommissioning plan (E 1281). It applies to materials that do not meet any of the requirements for regulatory control because of radioactivity content. Fig. 1 shows the logic diagram for determining the materials that could be considered for release. Materials that negotiate this logic tree are referred to as “candidate for release based on dose.” 1.2 The objective of this guide is to provide a methodology for distinguishing between material that must be carefully isolated to prevent human contact from that that can be recycled or otherwise disposed of. It applies to material in which the radioactivity is dispersed more or less uniformly throughout the volume of the material (termed residual in bulk form) as opposed to surface contaminated objects. 1.3 Surface contaminated objects are materials externally co...

Bulk and Thin film Properties of Nanoparticle-based Ionic Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Jason

2008-03-01

Nanoparticle-based ionic materials (NIMS) offer exciting opportunities for research at the forefront of science and engineering. NIMS are hybrid particles comprised of a charged oligomeric corona attached to hard, inorganic nanoparticle cores. Because of their hybrid nature, physical properties --rheological, optical, electrical, thermal - of NIMS can be tailored over an unusually wide range by varying geometric and chemical characteristics of the core and canopy and thermodynamic variables such as temperature and volume fraction. On one end of the spectrum are materials with a high core content, which display properties similar to crystalline solids, stiff waxes, and gels. At the opposite extreme are systems that spontaneously form particle-based fluids characterized by transport properties remarkably similar to simple liquids. In this poster I will present our efforts to synthesize NIMS and discuss their bulk and surface properties. In particular I will discuss our work on preparing smart surfaces using NIMS.

Color of bulk-fill composite resin restorative materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Barutcigil, Çağatay; Barutcigil, Kubilay; Özarslan, Mehmet Mustafa; Dündar, Ayşe; Yilmaz, Burak

2018-03-01

To evaluate the color stability of novel bulk-fill composite resins. Color measurements of a nanohybrid composite resin (Z550) and 3 bulk-fill composite resins (BLK, AFX, XTF; n = 45) were performed before polymerization. After polymerization, color measurements were repeated and specimens were immersed in distilled water or red wine, or coffee. Color change [CIEDE2000 (ΔE 00 )] was calculated after 24 h, 1 and 3 weeks. Data were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U and Wilcoxon tests (α = 0.05). Color changes observed after polymerization were significant for all groups. Color changes observed in distilled water for Z550 and AFX were significant. Color changes after stored in red wine and coffee were significant for all groups. Bulk-fill composite resin color change increased over time for all groups in red wine and coffee (P composite resin and bulk-fill composite resins. AFX had the highest color change in distilled water. The color of tested bulk-fill composite resins significantly changed after immersion in beverages and over time. Color change observed with the nanohybrid composite resin after 1 week was stable. Clinicians should keep in mind that tested composite resins may change color when exposed to water and significantly change color immediately after they are polymerized. In addition, the color change continues over time should the patient is a coffee and/or red wine consumer. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Photothermal Infrared Radiometry in Experimental Studies of the Pyroelectric Properties of Bulk Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Aleksandrov, S. E.; Gavrilov, G. A.; Kapralov, A. A.; Muratikov, K. L.; Sotnikova, G. Yu.

2017-12-01

A simple and efficient method for determining the pyrolelectric coefficients of ferroelectric and pyroelectric bulk materials by taking into account the heat exchange of a sample with the environment is proposed on the basis of the radiometric registration of the variation dynamics of the temperature of the surface when it is exposed to laser radiation in the form of a temporal step.

Feasibility of introducing ferromagnetic materials to onboard bulk high-T{sub c} superconductors to enhance the performance of present maglev systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, Zigang, E-mail: zgdeng@gmail.com [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASCLab), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); State Key Laboratory of Traction Power (TPL), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Wang, Jiasu [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASCLab), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Zheng, Jun; Zhang, Ya [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASCLab), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); State Key Laboratory of Traction Power (TPL), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China); Wang, Suyu [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory (ASCLab), Southwest Jiaotong University (SWJTU), Chengdu, Sichuan 610031 (China)

2013-02-14

Highlights: ► Ferromagnetic materials guide the flux distribution of the PMG to bulk positions. ► With ferromagnetic materials, guidance performance can be enhanced greatly. ► A new HTS Maglev system with onboard ferromagnetic materials is designed. ► The design can meet large guidance force requirements for practical applications. -- Abstract: Performance improvement is a long-term research task for the promotion of practical application of promising high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic levitation (maglev) vehicle technologies. We studied the feasibility to enhance the performance of present HTS Maglev systems by introducing ferromagnetic materials to onboard bulk superconductors. The principle here is to make use of the high magnetic permeability of ferromagnetic materials to alter the flux distribution of the permanent magnet guideway for the enhancement of magnetic field density at the position of the bulk superconductors. Ferromagnetic iron plates were added to the upper surface of bulk superconductors and their geometric and positioning effects on the maglev performance were investigated experimentally. Results show that the guidance performance (stability) was enhanced greatly for a particular setup when compared to the present maglev system which is helpful in the application where large guidance forces are needed such as maglev tracks with high degrees of curves.

Handling of bulk solids theory and practice

CERN Document Server

Shamlou, P A

1990-01-01

Handling of Bulk Solids provides a comprehensive discussion of the field of solids flow and handling in the process industries. Presentation of the subject follows classical lines of separate discussions for each topic, so each chapter is self-contained and can be read on its own. Topics discussed include bulk solids flow and handling properties; pressure profiles in bulk solids storage vessels; the design of storage silos for reliable discharge of bulk materials; gravity flow of particulate materials from storage vessels; pneumatic transportation of bulk solids; and the hazards of solid-mater

9 CFR 113.10 - Testing of bulk material for export or for further manufacture.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 9 Animals and Animal Products 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Testing of bulk material for export or for further manufacture. 113.10 Section 113.10 Animals and Animal Products ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH... manufacture. When a product is prepared in a licensed establishment for export in large multiple-dose...

Tribology of polymeric nanocomposites friction and wear of bulk materials and coatings

CERN Document Server

Friedrich, Klaus

2013-01-01

Tribology of Polymeric Nanocomposites provides a comprehensive description of polymeric nanocomposites, both as bulk materials and as thin surface coatings, and provides rare, focused coverage of their tribological behavior and potential use in tribological applications. Providing engineers and designers with the preparation techniques, friction and wear mechanisms, property information and evaluation methodology needed to select the right polymeric nanocomposites for the job, this unique book also includes valuable real-world examples of polymeric nanocomposites in a

Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and heat capacity of bulk and thin film materials using frequency-dependent transient thermoreflectance method.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jun; Zhu, Jie; Tian, Miao; Gu, Xiaokun; Schmidt, Aaron; Yang, Ronggui

2013-03-01

The increasing interest in the extraordinary thermal properties of nanostructures has led to the development of various measurement techniques. Transient thermoreflectance method has emerged as a reliable measurement technique for thermal conductivity of thin films. In this method, the determination of thermal conductivity usually relies much on the accuracy of heat capacity input. For new nanoscale materials with unknown or less-understood thermal properties, it is either questionable to assume bulk heat capacity for nanostructures or difficult to obtain the bulk form of those materials for a conventional heat capacity measurement. In this paper, we describe a technique for simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity κ and volumetric heat capacity C of both bulk and thin film materials using frequency-dependent time-domain thermoreflectance (TDTR) signals. The heat transfer model is analyzed first to find how different combinations of κ and C determine the frequency-dependent TDTR signals. Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity is then demonstrated with bulk Si and thin film SiO2 samples using frequency-dependent TDTR measurement. This method is further testified by measuring both thermal conductivity and volumetric heat capacity of novel hybrid organic-inorganic thin films fabricated using the atomic∕molecular layer deposition. Simultaneous measurement of thermal conductivity and heat capacity can significantly shorten the development∕discovery cycle of novel materials.

High temperature thermoelectric properties of p-type skutterudites BaxYbyCo4-zFezSb12

KAUST Repository

Dong, Y.

2012-01-01

Several polycrystalline p-type skutterudites with compositions Ba xYb yCo 4-zFe zSb 12, with varying filler concentrations x and y, and z = 1 to 2, were synthesized by reacting the constituents and subsequent solid state annealing, followed by densification by hot-pressing. Their thermoelectric properties were evaluated from 300 to 820 K. The Yb filling fraction increased with Fe content while the amount of Fe substitution had little influence on the Ba filling fraction. High purity specimens were obtained when the Fe content was low. Bipolar conduction contributed to the thermal conductivity at elevated temperatures. A maximum ZT value of 0.7 was obtained at 750 K for the specimen with the highest Fe content and filling fraction. The potential for thermoelectric applications is also discussed. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

46 CFR 148.04-23 - Unslaked lime in bulk.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Unslaked lime in bulk. 148.04-23 Section 148.04-23... HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN BULK Special Additional Requirements for Certain Material § 148.04-23 Unslaked lime in bulk. (a) Unslaked lime in bulk must be transported in unmanned, all steel, double-hulled barges...

Modelling of bulk superconductor magnetization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ainslie, M D; Fujishiro, H

2015-01-01

This paper presents a topical review of the current state of the art in modelling the magnetization of bulk superconductors, including both (RE)BCO (where RE = rare earth or Y) and MgB 2 materials. Such modelling is a powerful tool to understand the physical mechanisms of their magnetization, to assist in interpretation of experimental results, and to predict the performance of practical bulk superconductor-based devices, which is particularly important as many superconducting applications head towards the commercialization stage of their development in the coming years. In addition to the analytical and numerical techniques currently used by researchers for modelling such materials, the commonly used practical techniques to magnetize bulk superconductors are summarized with a particular focus on pulsed field magnetization (PFM), which is promising as a compact, mobile and relatively inexpensive magnetizing technique. A number of numerical models developed to analyse the issues related to PFM and optimise the technique are described in detail, including understanding the dynamics of the magnetic flux penetration and the influence of material inhomogeneities, thermal properties, pulse duration, magnitude and shape, and the shape of the magnetization coil(s). The effect of externally applied magnetic fields in different configurations on the attenuation of the trapped field is also discussed. A number of novel and hybrid bulk superconductor structures are described, including improved thermal conductivity structures and ferromagnet–superconductor structures, which have been designed to overcome some of the issues related to bulk superconductors and their magnetization and enhance the intrinsic properties of bulk superconductors acting as trapped field magnets. Finally, the use of hollow bulk cylinders/tubes for shielding is analysed. (topical review)

In Situ Formation of Carbon Nanomaterials on Bulk Metallic Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Y. Xu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Carbon nanomaterials were synthesized in situ on bulk 316L stainless steel, pure cobalt, and pure nickel by hybrid surface mechanical attrition treatment (SMAT. The microstructures of the treated samples and the resulted carbon nanomaterials were investigated by SEM and TEM characterizations. Different substrates resulted in different morphologies of products. The diameter of carbon nanomaterials is related to the size of the nanograins on the surface layer of substrates. The possible growth mechanism was discussed. Effects of the main parameters of the synthesis, including the carbon source and gas reactant composition, hydrogen, and the reaction temperature, were studied. Using hybrid SMAT is proved to be an effective way to synthesize carbon nanomaterials in situ on surfaces of metallic materials.

Tests results of skutterudite based thermoelectric unicouples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saber, Hamed H.; El-Genk, Mohamed S.; Caillat, Thierry

2007-01-01

Tests were performed of skutterudite based unicouples with (MAY-04) and without (MAR-03) metallic coating on the legs near the hot junction to quantify the effect on reducing performance degradation with operation time. The p-legs in the unicouples were made of CeFe 3.5 Co 0.5 Sb 12 and the n-legs of CoSb 3 . The MAY-04 test was performed in vacuum (∼9 x 10 -7 torr) for ∼2000 h at hot and cold junction temperatures of 892.1 ± 11.9 K and 316.1 ± 5.5 K, respectively, while the MAR-03 test was performed in argon cover gas (0.051-0.068 MPa) at 972.61 ± 10.0 K and 301.1 ± 5.1 K, respectively. The argon cover gas decreased antimony loss from the legs in the MAR-03 test, but marked degradation in performance occurred over time. Conversely, the metallic coating in the MAY-04 test was very effective in reducing performance degradation of the unicouple. Because the cross sectional areas of the legs in MAY-04 were larger than those in MAR-03, the measured electrical power of the former is much higher than that of the latter, but the Beginning of Test (BOT) open circuit voltages, V oc (204.2 mV) for both unicouples were almost the same. The peak electrical power of the MAY-04 unicouple decreased 12.35% from 1.62W e at BOT to 1.42W e after ∼2000 h of testing, while that of the MAR-03 unicouple decreased 25.37% from 0.67 to 0.5W e after 261 h of testing at the above temperatures. The estimated peak efficiency of the MAY-04 unicouple, shortly after BOT (10.65%), was only ∼0.37% points lower than the theoretical value, calculated assuming zero side heat losses and zero contact resistance per leg

Simulation of Field Dependence of Critical Current Densities of Bulk High Tc Superconducting Materials regarding Thermally Activated Flux Motion

Science.gov (United States)

Santosh, M.; Naik, S. Pavan Kumar; Koblischka, M. R.

2017-07-01

In the upcoming generation, bulk high temperature superconductors (HTS) will play a crucial and a promising role in numerous industrial applications ranging from Maglev trains to magnetic resonance imaging, etc. Especially, the bulk HTS as permanent magnets are suitable due to the fact that they can trap magnetic fields being several orders of magnitude higher than those of the best hard ferromagnets. The bulk HTS LREBa2Cu3O7-δ (LREBCO or LRE-123, LRE: Y, Gd, etc.,) materials could obtain very powerful compact superconducting super-magnets, which can be operated at the cheaper liquid nitrogen temperature or below due to higher critical temperatures (i.e., ∼90 K). As a result, the new advanced technology can be utilized in a more attractive manner for a variety of technological and medical applications which have the capacity to revolutionize the field. An understanding of the magnetic field dependence of the critical current density (J c(H)) is important to develop better adapted materials. To achieve this goal, a variety of Jc (H) behaviours of bulk LREBCO samples were modelled regarding thermally activated flux motion. In essence, the Jc (H) curves follows a certain criterion where an exponential model is applied. However, to fit the complete Jc (H) curve of the LRE-123 samples an unique model is necessary to explain the behavior at low and high fields. The modelling of the various superconducting materials could be understood in terms of the pinning mechanisms.

Characterisation of bulk solids

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

D. McGlinchey [Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow (United Kingdom). Centre for Industrial Bulk Solids Handling

2005-07-01

Handling of powders and bulk solids is a critical industrial technology across a broad spectrum of industries, including minerals processing. With contributions from leading authors in their respective fields, this book provides the reader with a sound understanding of the techniques, importance and application of particulate materials characterisation. It covers the fundamental characteristics of individual particles and bulk particulate materials, and includes discussion of a wide range of measurement techniques, and the use of material characteristics in design and industrial practice. Contents: Characterising particle properties; Powder mechanics and rheology; Characterisation for hopper and stockpile design; Fluidization behaviour; Characterisation for pneumatic conveyor design; Explosiblility; 'Designer' particle characteristics; Current industrial practice; and Future trends. 130 ills.

High-temperature thermoelectric properties of p-type skutterudites Ba0.15Yb x Co3FeSb12 and Yb y Co3FeSb9As3

KAUST Repository

Dong, Yongkwan

2014-08-28

Two series of p-type polycrystalline skutterudites, Ba0.15YbxCo3FeSb12 and YbyCo3FeSb9As3 with varying Yb concentrations, were synthesized by solid-state reaction and then densified by hot pressing. The phase and stoichiometries of the resulting materials were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive spectroscopy, while their high-temperature transport properties were investigated from 300 to 800 K. The Seebeck coefficients and electrical resistivities increased linearly with increasing temperature for the double-filled specimens. The Seebeck coefficients and electrical resistivities did not change very much for the As-substituted specimens. The thermal conductivity for all specimens decreased with increasing temperature up to 700 K, corresponding to the plateau in the Seebeck coefficient, and then increased again due to bipolar diffusion. We find that double filling is a more feasible approach to thermoelectric property optimization than single filling with As substitution. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.

Feasibility of introducing ferromagnetic materials to onboard bulk high-Tc superconductors to enhance the performance of present maglev systems

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Zigang; Wang, Jiasu; Zheng, Jun; Zhang, Ya; Wang, Suyu

2013-02-01

Performance improvement is a long-term research task for the promotion of practical application of promising high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic levitation (maglev) vehicle technologies. We studied the feasibility to enhance the performance of present HTS Maglev systems by introducing ferromagnetic materials to onboard bulk superconductors. The principle here is to make use of the high magnetic permeability of ferromagnetic materials to alter the flux distribution of the permanent magnet guideway for the enhancement of magnetic field density at the position of the bulk superconductors. Ferromagnetic iron plates were added to the upper surface of bulk superconductors and their geometric and positioning effects on the maglev performance were investigated experimentally. Results show that the guidance performance (stability) was enhanced greatly for a particular setup when compared to the present maglev system which is helpful in the application where large guidance forces are needed such as maglev tracks with high degrees of curves.

Magnetic properties of the filled skutterudite-type structure compounds GdRu4P12 and TbRu4P12 synthesized under high pressure

OpenAIRE

Sekine, C; Uchiumi, T; Shirotani, I; Matsuhira, kazuyuki; Sakakibara, T; Goto, T; Yagi, T

2000-01-01

We have succeeded in synthesizing filled skutterudite-type structure compounds GdRu4P12 and TbRu4P12 under high pressure. The magnetic properties of GdRu4P12 and TbRu4P12 have been studied by means of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and magnetization measurements. Magnetic experiments suggest that the Gd and Tb ions in the compounds have trivalent state. The compound GdRu4P12 displays features that suggest the occurrence of antiferromagnetic ordering below TN=22 K. In TbRu4P1...

Doping in controlling the type of conductivity in bulk and nanostructured thermoelectric materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuks, D.; Komisarchik, G.; Kaller, M.; Gelbstein, Y.

2016-01-01

Doping of materials for thermoelectric applications is widely used nowadays to control the type of conductivity. We report the results of ab-initio calculations aimed at developing the consistent scheme for determining the role of impurities that may change the type of conductivity in two attractive thermoelectric classes of materials. It is demonstrated that alloying of TiNiSn with Cu makes the material of n-type, and alloying with Fe leads to p-type conductivity. Similar calculations for PbTe with small amount of Na substituting for Pb leads to p-type conductivity, while Cl substituting for Te makes PbTe an n-type material. It is shown also that for nano-grained materials the n-type conductivity should be observed. The effect of impurities segregating to the grain boundaries in nano-structured PbTe is also discussed. - Highlights: • Bulk and nano-grained TE materials were analyzed by DFT. • The electronic effects on both PbTe and TiNiSn were demonstrated. • The role of impurities on the conductivity type was analyzed. • Interfacial states in nano-grained PbTe affect the conductivity type.

Physico-mechanical characteristics of commercially available bulk-fill composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Leprince, Julian G; Palin, William M; Vanacker, Julie; Sabbagh, Joseph; Devaux, Jacques; Leloup, Gaetane

2014-08-01

Bulk-fill composites have emerged, arguably, as a new "class" of resin-based composites, which are claimed to enable restoration in thick layers, up to 4mm. The objective of this work was to compare, under optimal curing conditions, the physico-mechanical properties of most currently available bulk-fill composites to those of two conventional composite materials chosen as references, one highly filled and one flowable "nano-hybrid" composite. Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill (Ivoclar-Vivadent), Venus Bulk Fill (Heraeus-Kulzer), SDR (Dentsply), X-tra Fil (VOCO), X-tra Base (VOCO), Sonic Fill (Kerr), Filtek Bulk Fill (3M-Espe), Xenius (GC) were compared to the two reference materials. The materials were light-cured for 40s in a 2mm×2mm×25mm Teflon mould. Degree of conversion was measured by Raman spectroscopy, Elastic modulus and flexural strength were evaluated by three point bending, surface hardness using Vickers microindentation before and after 24h ethanol storage, and filler weight content by thermogravimetric analysis. The ratio of surface hardness before and after ethanol storage was considered as an evaluation of polymer softening. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey's test (p=0.05). The mechanical properties of the bulk-fill composites were mostly lower compared with the conventional high viscosity material, and, at best, comparable to the conventional flowable composite. Linear correlations of the mechanical properties investigated were poor with degree of conversion (0.090.8). Softening in ethanol revealed differences in polymer network density between material types. The reduction of time and improvement of convenience associated with bulk-fill materials is a clear advantage of this particular material class. However, a compromise with mechanical properties compared with more conventional commercially-available nano-hybrid materials was demonstrated by the present work. Given the lower mechanical properties of most bulk-fill materials

Thermoelectric properties of In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} skutterudites with embedded PbTe or ZnO nanoparticles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chubilleau, C.; Lenoir, B.; Candolfi, C.; Masschelein, P. [Université de Lorraine, CNRS, UMR 7198, Institut Jean Lamour, Parc de Saurupt, 54011 Nancy (France); Dauscher, A., E-mail: anne.dauscher@univ-lorraine.fr [Université de Lorraine, CNRS, UMR 7198, Institut Jean Lamour, Parc de Saurupt, 54011 Nancy (France); Guilmeau, E. [Laboratoire CRISMAT, UMR 6508, 6 boulevard Maréchal Juin, 14050 Caen Cedex (France); Godart, C. [ICMPE-CMTR, CNRS-UMR 7182, 2-8 rue H. Dunant, 94320 Thiais (France)

2014-03-15

Highlights: • Fabrication of nanostructured skutterudites ZnO or PbTe/In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12.} • Thermal conductivity modeling accounts for experimental results. • Greater lattice thermal conductivity decrease in In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} than in CoSb{sub 3}. • A max ZT of 1.05 is obtained at 700 K in a 2 wt% ZnO-containing sample. -- Abstract: Transport properties of the skutterudite compound In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} containing ZnO or PbTe nano-sized particles (2–12 wt%) were investigated by means of electrical resistivity, thermopower and thermal conductivity between 5 and 800 K. The composite powders were prepared by freeze-drying the nanoparticles with micron-sized In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} powders. Densification was achieved by spark plasma sintering. All composites were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. All the transport coefficients show similar temperature dependences suggesting little influence of the nature, semiconducting or insulating, of the nanoparticles. Both the electrical and the thermal conductivities decrease with increasing the PbTe or ZnO content. The impact of ZnO and PbTe on the thermal conductivity was modelled based on the Debye model taking into account a relaxation time constant reflecting phonon scattering by spherical nanoparticles. A maximum dimensionless figure of merit ZT of 1.05 at 700 K was achieved in a sample containing 2 wt% ZnO, a value quite similar to that of the reference In{sub 0.2}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} compound.

Processing bulk natural wood into a high-performance structural material

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Jianwei; Chen, Chaoji; Zhu, Shuze; Zhu, Mingwei; Dai, Jiaqi; Ray, Upamanyu; Li, Yiju; Kuang, Yudi; Li, Yongfeng; Quispe, Nelson; Yao, Yonggang; Gong, Amy; Leiste, Ulrich H.; Bruck, Hugh A.; Zhu, J. Y.; Vellore, Azhar; Li, Heng; Minus, Marilyn L.; Jia, Zheng; Martini, Ashlie; Li, Teng; Hu, Liangbing

2018-02-01

Synthetic structural materials with exceptional mechanical performance suffer from either large weight and adverse environmental impact (for example, steels and alloys) or complex manufacturing processes and thus high cost (for example, polymer-based and biomimetic composites). Natural wood is a low-cost and abundant material and has been used for millennia as a structural material for building and furniture construction. However, the mechanical performance of natural wood (its strength and toughness) is unsatisfactory for many advanced engineering structures and applications. Pre-treatment with steam, heat, ammonia or cold rolling followed by densification has led to the enhanced mechanical performance of natural wood. However, the existing methods result in incomplete densification and lack dimensional stability, particularly in response to humid environments, and wood treated in these ways can expand and weaken. Here we report a simple and effective strategy to transform bulk natural wood directly into a high-performance structural material with a more than tenfold increase in strength, toughness and ballistic resistance and with greater dimensional stability. Our two-step process involves the partial removal of lignin and hemicellulose from the natural wood via a boiling process in an aqueous mixture of NaOH and Na2SO3 followed by hot-pressing, leading to the total collapse of cell walls and the complete densification of the natural wood with highly aligned cellulose nanofibres. This strategy is shown to be universally effective for various species of wood. Our processed wood has a specific strength higher than that of most structural metals and alloys, making it a low-cost, high-performance, lightweight alternative.

Frequency-domain Harman technique for rapid characterization of bulk and thin film thermoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Samuel

Nanostructured thermoelectrics, often in the form of thin films, may potentially improve the generally poor efficiency of bulk thermoelectric power generators and coolers. In order to characterize the efficiency of these new materials it is necessary to measure their thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT. The only direct measurement of ZT is based on the Harman technique and relies on measuring the voltage drop across a sample subjected to a passing continuous current. Application of this technique to thin films is currently carried out as a time-domain measurement of the voltage as the thermal component decays after switching off an applied voltage. This work develops a technique for direct simultaneous measurement of figure of merit and Seebeck coefficient from the harmonic response of a thermoelectric material under alternating current excitation. A thermocouple mounted on the top surface measures voltage across the device as the frequency of the applied voltage is varied. A thermal model allows the sample thermal conductivity to also be determined and shows good agreement with measurements. This technique provides improved signal-to-noise ratio and accuracy compared to time-domain ZT measurements for comparable conditions while simultaneously measuring Seebeck coefficient. The technique is applied to both bulk and thin film thermoelectric samples.

A setup for measuring the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity of bulk thermoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

Fu, Qiang; Xiong, Yucheng; Zhang, Wenhua; Xu, Dongyan

2017-09-01

This paper presents a setup for measuring the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity of bulk thermoelectric materials. The sample holder was designed to have a compact structure and can be directly mounted in a standard cryostat system for temperature-dependent measurements. For the Seebeck coefficient measurement, a thin bar-shaped sample is mounted bridging two copper bases; and two ceramic heaters are used to generate a temperature gradient along the sample. Two type T thermocouples are used to determine both temperature and voltage differences between two widely separated points on the sample. The thermocouple junction is flattened into a disk and pressed onto the sample surface by using a spring load. The flexible fixation method we adopted not only simplifies the sample mounting process but also prevents thermal contact deterioration due to the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficients between the sample and other parts. With certain modifications, the sample holder can also be used for four-probe electrical resistivity measurements. High temperature measurements are essential for thermoelectric power generation. The experimental system we developed is capable of measuring the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical resistivity of bulk thermoelectric materials in a wide temperature range from 80 to 500 K, which can be further extended to even higher temperatures. Measurements on two standard materials, constantan and nickel, confirmed the accuracy and the reliability of the system.

Large area bulk superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Dean J.; Field, Michael B.

2002-01-01

A bulk superconductor having a thickness of not less than about 100 microns is carried by a polycrystalline textured substrate having misorientation angles at the surface thereof not greater than about 15.degree.; the bulk superconductor may have a thickness of not less than about 100 microns and a surface area of not less than about 50 cm.sup.2. The textured substrate may have a thickness not less than about 10 microns and misorientation angles at the surface thereof not greater than about 15.degree.. Also disclosed is a process of manufacturing the bulk superconductor and the polycrystalline biaxially textured substrate material.

Effect of adding bulking materials over the composting process of municipal solid biowastes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ricardo Oviedo-Ocaña

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Biowastes (BW, the main raw materials for the composting installations in developing countries, are characterized for containing uncooked food wastes (FW, high moisture content, low porosity, acidic pH, and low C/N ratios which affects the overall composting process (CP. In this study, we evaluated the effect of adding sugarcane bagasse (SCB and star grass (SG (Cynodon plectostachyus (K. Schum. Pilg. as bulking materials (BM over the quality of the substrate, progress of the process, and quality of the obtained product. In this sense, two pilot-scale experiments were performed. The first one contained a substrate formed by 78% BW and 22% SCB (pile A. The second experiment contained a substrate formed by 66% BW and 34% SG (pile B. For each experiment, control treatments (piles A' and B' respectively were performed by using 100% BW without BM. The results showed that in both cases the adding of BM improved substrate quality (pH, moisture, and total organic C content [TOC], speeding up the starting step (2-3 d and reducing the duration of the thermophilic phase of CP (3 d. However, the physico-chemical properties of both BM increased cooling and maturation phases duration (between 15 and 20 d. Obtained products quality was improved in terms of higher TOC, cation-exchange capacity, bulk density, and higher water holding capacity. Application of obtained products A and B could improve some soil properties like major nutrient, water retention, and increasing the organic matter.

Mechanical characterization of selected adhesives and bulk materials at liquid nitrogen and room temperatures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fitzpatrick, C.M.; Stoddart, W.C.T.

1977-01-01

This paper presents the results of a series of mechanical tests on selected adhesives and bulk materials. The materials tested are of general interest to designers of magnets for cryogenic service and include several epoxies, a varnish, a B-stage glass cloth, insulation papers, and commercially available fiber-reinforced composites. These tests were performed at room temperature (293 K) and at liquid nitrogen temperature (77 K). The tests include both simple tension tests and lap shear tests with various adherends. The parameters critical to tensile or bond strength were varied as part of the test program. The procedures used to manufacture and test these specimens and the results of the tests are reported in this paper

Electrochemical Characteristics of Layered Transition Metal Oxide Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries: Surface, Bulk Behavior, and Thermal Properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Chixia; Lin, Feng; Doeff, Marca M

2018-01-16

Layered lithium transition metal oxides, in particular, NMCs (LiNi x Co y Mn z O 2 ) represent a family of prominent lithium ion battery cathode materials with the potential to increase energy densities and lifetime, reduce costs, and improve safety for electric vehicles and grid storage. Our work has focused on various strategies to improve performance and to understand the limitations to these strategies, which include altering compositions, utilizing cation substitutions, and charging to higher than usual potentials in cells. Understanding the effects of these strategies on surface and bulk behavior and correlating structure-performance relationships advance our understanding of NMC materials. This also provides information relevant to the efficacy of various approaches toward ensuring reliable operation of these materials in batteries intended for demanding traction and grid storage applications. In this Account, we start by comparing NMCs to the isostructural LiCoO 2 cathode, which is widely used in consumer batteries. Effects of changing the metal content (Ni, Mn, Co) upon structure and performance of NMCs are briefly discussed. Our early work on the effects of partial substitution of Al, Fe, and Ti for Co on the electrochemical and bulk structural properties is then covered. The original aim of this work was to reduce the Co content (and thus the raw materials cost) and to determine the effect of the substitutions on the electrochemical and bulk structural properties. More recently, we have turned to the application of synchrotron and advanced microscopy techniques to understand both bulk and surface characteristics of the NMCs. Via nanoscale-to-macroscale spectroscopy and atomically resolved imaging techniques, we were able to determine that the surfaces of NMC undergo heterogeneous reconstruction from a layered structure to rock salt under a variety of conditions. Interestingly, formation of rock salt also occurs under abuse conditions. The surface

Properties of thin N-type Yb0.14Co4Sb12 and P-type Ce0.09Fe0.67Co3.33Sb12 skutterudite layers prepared by laser ablation

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Zeipl, Radek; Walachová, Jarmila; Lorinčík, J.; Leshkov, Sergey; Josieková, M.; Jelínek, M.; Kocourek, Tomáš; Jurek, Karel; Navrátil, Jiří; Beneš, L.; Plecháček, T.

2010-01-01

Roč. 28, č. 4 (2010), s. 523-527 ISSN 0734-2101 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP108/10/1315; GA ČR GA203/07/0267 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20670512; CEZ:AV0Z40500505; CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : thermoelectrics * thin layers * skutterudites Subject RIV: JA - Electronics ; Optoelectronics, Electrical Engineering Impact factor: 1.291, year: 2010

Unlocking the Electrocatalytic Activity of Antimony for CO2 Reduction by Two-Dimensional Engineering of the Bulk Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Fengwang; Xue, Mianqi; Li, Jiezhen; Ma, Xinlei; Chen, Lu; Zhang, Xueji; MacFarlane, Douglas R; Zhang, Jie

2017-11-13

Two-dimensional (2D) materials are known to be useful in catalysis. Engineering 3D bulk materials into the 2D form can enhance the exposure of the active edge sites, which are believed to be the origin of the high catalytic activity. Reported herein is the production of 2D "few-layer" antimony (Sb) nanosheets by cathodic exfoliation. Application of this 2D engineering method turns Sb, an inactive material for CO 2 reduction in its bulk form, into an active 2D electrocatalyst for reduction of CO 2 to formate with high efficiency. The high activity is attributed to the exposure of a large number of catalytically active edge sites. Moreover, this cathodic exfoliation process can be coupled with the anodic exfoliation of graphite in a single-compartment cell for in situ production of a few-layer Sb nanosheets and graphene composite. The observed increased activity of this composite is attributed to the strong electronic interaction between graphene and Sb. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Femtosecond Laser Processing of Membranes for Sensor Devices on different Bulk Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Johann Zehetner

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We demonstrate that diaphragms for sensor applications can be fabricated by laser ablation in a~variety of substrates such as ceramics, glass, sapphire or SiC. However, ablation can cause pinholes in membranes made of SiC, Si and metals. Our experiments indicate that pinhole defects in the ablated membranes are affected by ripple structures related to the polarization of the laser. From our simulation results on light propagation in Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures (LIPSS we find out that they are acting as a slot waveguide in SiC material. The results further show that field intensity is enhanced inside LIPSS and spreads out at surface distortions promoting the formation of pinholes. The membrane corner area is most vulnerable for pinhole formation. Pinholes funnel laser radiation into the bulk material causing structural damage and stress in the membrane. We show that a~polarization flipping technique inhibits the formation of pin holes caused by LIPSS.

Molecular dynamics simulation of self-diffusion processes in titanium in bulk material, on grain junctions and on surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Sushko, Gennady B; Verkhovtsev, Alexey V; Yakubovich, Alexander V; Schramm, Stefan; Solov'yov, Andrey V

2014-08-21

The process of self-diffusion of titanium atoms in a bulk material, on grain junctions and on surface is explored numerically in a broad temperature range by means of classical molecular dynamics simulation. The analysis is carried out for a nanoscale cylindrical sample consisting of three adjacent sectors and various junctions between nanocrystals. The calculated diffusion coefficient varies by several orders of magnitude for different regions of the sample. The calculated values of the bulk diffusion coefficient correspond reasonably well to the experimental data obtained for solid and molten states of titanium. Investigation of diffusion in the nanocrystalline titanium is of a significant importance because of its numerous technological applications. This paper aims to reduce the lack of data on diffusion in titanium and describe the processes occurring in bulk, at different interfaces and on surface of the crystalline titanium.

Lower-energy neutron sources for increasing the sensitivity of nuclear gages for measuring the water content of bulk materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, S.M.

1977-01-01

The sensitivity of a gage using a nuclear source for measuring the water content of bulk materials, such as plastic concrete, is increased by use of a lithium or fluorine neutron nuclear source. 3 figures

Effect of bulk-fill base material on fracture strength of root-filled teeth restored with laminate resin composite restorations.

Science.gov (United States)

Taha, N A; Maghaireh, G A; Ghannam, A S; Palamara, J E

2017-08-01

To evaluate the effect of using a bulk-fill flowable base material on fracture strength and fracture patterns of root-filled maxillary premolars with MOD preparations restored with laminate restorations. Fifty extracted maxillary premolars were selected for the study. Standardized MOD cavities with endodontic treatment were prepared for all teeth, except for intact control. The teeth were divided randomly into five groups (n=10); (Group 1) sound teeth, (Group 2) unrestored teeth; (Group 3) MOD cavities with Vitrebond base and resin-based composite (Ceram. X One Universal); (Group 4) MOD cavities with 2mm GIC base (Fuji IX GP) and resin-based composite (Ceram. X One Universal) open laminate, (Group 5) MOD cavities were restored with 4mm of bulk-fill flowable base material (SDR) and resin-based composite (Ceram. X One Universal). All teeth were thermocycled and subjected to a 45° ramped oblique load in a universal testing machine. Fracture load and fracture patterns were recorded. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Dunnett's T3 test. Restoration in general increased the fracture strength compared to unrestored teeth. The fracture strength of group 5 (bulk-fill) was significantly higher than the fracture strength of the GIC laminate groups and not significantly different from the intact teeth (355±112N, P=0.118). The type of failure was unfavorable for most of the groups, with the majority being mixed failures. The use of a bulk-fill flowable base material significantly increased the fracture strength of extracted root-filled teeth with MOD cavities; however it did not improve fracture patterns to more favorable ones. Investigating restorative techniques that may improve the longevity of root-filled premolar teeth restored with direct resin restorations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent ARPES experiments on quasi-1D bulk materials and artificial structures.

Science.gov (United States)

Grioni, M; Pons, S; Frantzeskakis, E

2009-01-14

The spectroscopy of quasi-one-dimensional (1D) systems has been a subject of strong interest since the first experimental observations of unusual line shapes in the early 1990s. Angle-resolved photoemission (ARPES) measurements performed with increasing accuracy have greatly broadened our knowledge of the properties of bulk 1D materials and, more recently, of artificial 1D structures. They have yielded a direct view of 1D bands, of open Fermi surfaces, and of characteristic instabilities. They have also provided unique microscopic evidence for the non-conventional, non-Fermi-liquid, behavior predicted by theory, and for strong and singular interactions. Here we briefly review some of the remarkable experimental results obtained in the last decade.

Structure and Chemical Bond of Thermoelectric Ce-Co-Sb Skutterudites

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2001-01-01

The correlations among composition,structure,chemical bond and thermoelectric property of skutterudites CoSb3 and CeCo5Fe3Sb12 have been studied by using density function and discrete variation (DFT-DVM) method.Three models for this study were proposed and calculated by which the "rattling" pattern was described.Model 1 is with Ce in the center,model 2 is with Ce away the center and near to Sb,and model 3 is also with Ce away the center but near to Fe.The calculated results show that in model 3,the ionic bond is the strongest,but the covalent bond is the weakest.Due to the different changes between ionic and covalent bond,there is less difference in the stability among the models 1,2 and 3.Therefore,these different models can exist at the same time,or can translate from one to another more easily.In other words,the "rattling" pattern has taken place.Unfilled model of CoSb3,without Ce and Fe,is called model 4.The covalent bond of Co-Sb or Fe-Sb in models 1,2 and 3 is weaker than that of Co-Sb in model 4,as some electrical cloud of Sb takes part in the covalent bond of Ce-Sb in the filled models.The result is consistent with the experimental result that the thermal conductivity of CeCo5Fe3Sb12 is lower than that of CoSb3,and the thermoelectric property of CeCo5Fe3Sb12 is superior to that of CoSb3.

Time-resolved x-ray diffraction techniques for bulk polycrystalline materials under dynamic loading

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lambert, P. K.; Hustedt, C. J.; Zhao, M.; Ananiadis, A. G.; Hufnagel, T. C. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Vecchio, K. S. [Department of NanoEngineering, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093 (United States); Huskins, E. L. [Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37830 (United States); US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland 21005 (United States); Casem, D. T. [US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Aberdeen, Maryland 21005 (United States); Gruner, S. M. [Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Tate, M. W.; Philipp, H. T.; Purohit, P.; Weiss, J. T. [Department of Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Woll, A. R. [Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source (CHESS), Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 (United States); Kannan, V.; Ramesh, K. T. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Kenesei, P.; Okasinski, J. S.; Almer, J. [X-ray Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States)

2014-09-15

We have developed two techniques for time-resolved x-ray diffraction from bulk polycrystalline materials during dynamic loading. In the first technique, we synchronize a fast detector with loading of samples at strain rates of ∼10{sup 3}–10{sup 4} s{sup −1} in a compression Kolsky bar (split Hopkinson pressure bar) apparatus to obtain in situ diffraction patterns with exposures as short as 70 ns. This approach employs moderate x-ray energies (10–20 keV) and is well suited to weakly absorbing materials such as magnesium alloys. The second technique is useful for more strongly absorbing materials, and uses high-energy x-rays (86 keV) and a fast shutter synchronized with the Kolsky bar to produce short (∼40 μs) pulses timed with the arrival of the strain pulse at the specimen, recording the diffraction pattern on a large-format amorphous silicon detector. For both techniques we present sample data demonstrating the ability of these techniques to characterize elastic strains and polycrystalline texture as a function of time during high-rate deformation.

Synthesis of Bulk Superconducting Magnesium Diboride

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margie Olbinado

2002-06-01

Full Text Available Bulk polycrystalline superconducting magnesium diboride, MgB2, samples were successfully prepared via a one-step sintering program at 750°C, in pre Argon with a pressure of 1atm. Both electrical resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements confirmed the superconductivity of the material at 39K, with a transition width of 5K. The polycrystalline nature, granular morphology, and composition of the sintered bulk material were confirmed using X-ray diffractometry (XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX.

Electron and positron contributions to the displacement per atom profile in bulk multi-walled carbon nanotube material irradiated with gamma rays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leyva Fabelo, Antonio; Pinnera Hernandez, Ibrahin; Leyva Pernia, Diana

2013-01-01

The electron and positron contributions to the effective atom displacement cross-section in multi-walled carbon nanotube bulk materials exposed to gamma rays were calculated. The physical properties and the displacement threshold energy value reported in literature for this material were taken into account. Then, using the mathematical simulation of photon and particle transport in matter, the electron and positron energy flux distributions within the irradiated object were also calculated. Finally, considering both results, the atom displacement damage profiles inside the analyzed bulk carbon nanotube material were determined. The individual contribution from each type of secondary particles generated by the photon interactions was specified. An increasing behavior of the displacement cross-sections for all the studied particles energy range was observed. The particles minimum kinetic energy values that make probabilistically possible the single and multiple atom displacement processes were determined. The positrons contribution importance to the total number of point defects generated during the interaction of gamma rays with the studied materials was confirmed

The prospects for very high-power electron accelerators for processing bulk materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cleland, M.R.; Thompson, C.C.; Malone, H.F.

1977-01-01

The recent growth in the industrial usage of ionizing radiation has been stimulated by the development of reliable, high-power, electron beam generators which operate in the beam power range of 10 to 100 kilowatts. This high output has reduced the costs of radiation processes to about 0.001 dollars per megarad-pound of product material. At this rate electron beam treatment is now less expensive than conventional methods for curing plastic and rubber products and sterilizing medical disposables. Future applications of electron beam radiation to bulk chemicals and waste materials will require even larger generators operating in the power range of 100 to 1000 kilowatts to handle greater material thruputs. Unit processing costs must be further reduced because of the lower intrinsic values of these materials. Fortunately, lower unit costs will follow the development of more powerful equipment because most of the cost factors do not increase in proportion to the output power. This is demonstrated by analyzing the downward trends in radiation processing costs as the machine voltage and the beam current are increased. The Dynamitron accelerator technology is reviewed to show that this could be one method of achieving the projected power levels. Several large-scale radiation processes are discussed to show that applications can be found for electron beam systems operating in the projected range. (author)

Phonons of single quintuple Bi 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Se 3 films and bulk materials

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Wei; Ren, Shang-Fen

2011-01-01

Phonons of single quintuple films of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 and corresponding bulk materials are calculated in detail by MedeA (a trademark of Materials Design) and Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP). The calculated results with and without spin-orbit couplings are compared, and the important roles that the spin-orbit coupling plays in these materials are discussed. A symmetry breaking caused by the anharmonic potentials around Bi atoms in the single quintuple films is identified and discussed. The observed Raman intensity features in Bi 2Te3 and Bi2Se3 quintuple films are explained. © 2011 American Physical Society.

Phonons of single quintuple Bi 2 Te 3 and Bi 2 Se 3 films and bulk materials

KAUST Repository

Cheng, Wei

2011-03-10

Phonons of single quintuple films of Bi2Te3 and Bi2Se3 and corresponding bulk materials are calculated in detail by MedeA (a trademark of Materials Design) and Vienna ab initio simulation package (VASP). The calculated results with and without spin-orbit couplings are compared, and the important roles that the spin-orbit coupling plays in these materials are discussed. A symmetry breaking caused by the anharmonic potentials around Bi atoms in the single quintuple films is identified and discussed. The observed Raman intensity features in Bi 2Te3 and Bi2Se3 quintuple films are explained. © 2011 American Physical Society.

Stoichiometry control in quantum dots: a viable analog to impurity doping of bulk materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Luther, Joseph M; Pietryga, Jeffrey M

2013-03-26

A growing body of research indicates that the stoichiometry of compound semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) may offer control over the materials' optoelectronic properties in ways that could be invaluable in electronic devices. Quantum dots have been characterized as having a stoichiometric bulk-like core with a highly reconstructed surface of a more flexible composition, consisting essentially of ligated, weakly bound ions. As such, many efforts toward stoichiometry-based control over material properties have focused on ligand manipulation. In this issue of ACS Nano, Murray and Kagan's groups instead demonstrate control of the conductive properties of QD arrays by altering the stoichiometry via atomic infusion using a thermal evaporation technique. In this work, PbSe and PbS QD films are made to show controlled n- or p-type behavior, which is key to developing optimized QD-based electronics. In this Perspective, we discuss recent developments and the future outlook in using stoichiometry as a tool to further manipulate QD material properties in this context.

Mass production of bulk artificial nacre with excellent mechanical properties.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Huai-Ling; Chen, Si-Ming; Mao, Li-Bo; Song, Zhao-Qiang; Yao, Hong-Bin; Cölfen, Helmut; Luo, Xi-Sheng; Zhang, Fu; Pan, Zhao; Meng, Yu-Feng; Ni, Yong; Yu, Shu-Hong

2017-08-18

Various methods have been exploited to replicate nacre features into artificial structural materials with impressive structural and mechanical similarity. However, it is still very challenging to produce nacre-mimetics in three-dimensional bulk form, especially for further scale-up. Herein, we demonstrate that large-sized, three-dimensional bulk artificial nacre with comprehensive mimicry of the hierarchical structures and the toughening mechanisms of natural nacre can be facilely fabricated via a bottom-up assembly process based on laminating pre-fabricated two-dimensional nacre-mimetic films. By optimizing the hierarchical architecture from molecular level to macroscopic level, the mechanical performance of the artificial nacre is superior to that of natural nacre and many engineering materials. This bottom-up strategy has no size restriction or fundamental barrier for further scale-up, and can be easily extended to other material systems, opening an avenue for mass production of high-performance bulk nacre-mimetic structural materials in an efficient and cost-effective way for practical applications.Artificial materials that replicate the mechanical properties of nacre represent important structural materials, but are difficult to produce in bulk. Here, the authors exploit the bottom-up assembly of 2D nacre-mimetic films to fabricate 3D bulk artificial nacre with an optimized architecture and excellent mechanical properties.

In situ neutron scattering study of nanostructured PbTe-PbS bulk thermoelectric material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Fei [Temple University; Schmidt, Robert D [ORNL; Case, Eldon D [Michigan State University, East Lansing; An, Ke [ORNL

2016-01-01

Nanostructures play an important role in thermoelectric materials. Their thermal stability, such as phase change and evolution at elevated temperatures, is thus of great interest to the thermoelectric community. In this study, in situ neutron diffraction was used to examine the phase evolution of nanostructured bulk PbTe-PbS materials fabricated using hot pressing and pulsed electrical current sintering (PECS). The PbS second phase was observed in all samples in the as-pressed condition. The temperature dependent lattice parameter and phase composition data show an initial formation of PbS precipitates followed by a redissolution during heating. The redissolution process started around 570 600 K, and completed at approximately 780 K. During cooling, the PECS sample followed a reversible curve while the heating/cooling behavior of the hot pressed sample was irreversible.

Near surface bulk density estimates of NEAs from radar observations and permittivity measurements of powdered geologic material

Science.gov (United States)

Hickson, Dylan; Boivin, Alexandre; Daly, Michael G.; Ghent, Rebecca; Nolan, Michael C.; Tait, Kimberly; Cunje, Alister; Tsai, Chun An

2018-05-01

The variations in near-surface properties and regolith structure of asteroids are currently not well constrained by remote sensing techniques. Radar is a useful tool for such determinations of Near-Earth Asteroids (NEAs) as the power of the reflected signal from the surface is dependent on the bulk density, ρbd, and dielectric permittivity. In this study, high precision complex permittivity measurements of powdered aluminum oxide and dunite samples are used to characterize the change in the real part of the permittivity with the bulk density of the sample. In this work, we use silica aerogel for the first time to increase the void space in the samples (and decrease the bulk density) without significantly altering the electrical properties. We fit various mixing equations to the experimental results. The Looyenga-Landau-Lifshitz mixing formula has the best fit and the Lichtenecker mixing formula, which is typically used to approximate planetary regolith, does not model the results well. We find that the Looyenga-Landau-Lifshitz formula adequately matches Lunar regolith permittivity measurements, and we incorporate it into an existing model for obtaining asteroid regolith bulk density from radar returns which is then used to estimate the bulk density in the near surface of NEA's (101955) Bennu and (25143) Itokawa. Constraints on the material properties appropriate for either asteroid give average estimates of ρbd = 1.27 ± 0.33g/cm3 for Bennu and ρbd = 1.68 ± 0.53g/cm3 for Itokawa. We conclude that our data suggest that the Looyenga-Landau-Lifshitz mixing model, in tandem with an appropriate radar scattering model, is the best method for estimating bulk densities of regoliths from radar observations of airless bodies.

A quantitative study of valence electron transfer in the skutterudite compound CoP3 by combining x-ray induced Auger and photoelectron spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diplas, S; Prytz, Oe; Karlsen, O B; Watts, J F; Taftoe, J

2007-01-01

We use the sum of the ionization and Auger energy, the so-called Auger parameter, measured from the x-ray photoelectron spectrum, to study the valence electron distribution in the skutterudite CoP 3 . The electron transfer between Co and P was estimated using models relating changes in Auger parameter values to charge transfer. It was found that each P atom gains 0.24 e - , and considering the unit formula CoP 3 this is equivalent to a donation of 0.72 e - per Co atom. This is in agreement with a recent electron energy-loss spectroscopy study, which indicates a charge transfer of 0.77 e - /atom from Co to P

Muon spin relaxation and rotation studies of the filled skutterudite alloys praseodymium osmium ruthenium antimonide and praseodymium lanthanum osmium antimonide

Science.gov (United States)

Shu, Lei

Some filled skutterudite compounds have recently been found to exhibit very interesting properties. The first Pr-based heavy-fermion superconductor, PrOs4Sb12, is an intriguing material due to the unusual properties of both its normal and superconducting states. Comprehensive muon spin rotation and relaxation studies and magnetic susceptibility measurements, described in this dissertation, have been performed to investigate the microscopic properties of PrOs4Sb12 and its Ru and La doped alloys. The temperature dependence of penetration depth measured in the vortex state of PrOs4Sb12 using transverse-field muon spin rotation (TF-muSR) is weaker than those measured by radiofrequency measurements. A scenario based on two-band superconductivity in PrOs4Sb 12, is proposed to resolve this difference. TF-muSR experiments also suggest the suppression of superfluid density with Ru doping, probably due to impurity scattering. In addition, magnetic susceptibility data as well as analysis of the muSR data in PrOs4Sb12 reveal a nearly linear relation of mu+ Knight shift vs. magnetic susceptibility. This suggests that the muon charge does not affect the crystalline electric field splitting of Pr3+ near neighbors. Additional evidence comes from the fact that the superconducting transition temperature Tc measured from muSR is consistent with the bulk superconducting values. Zero-field muon spin relaxation (ZF-muSR) experiments have been carried out in the Pr(Os1-xRux) 4Sb12 and Pr1-yLayOs 4Sb12 alloy systems to investigate the time-reversal symmetry (TRS) breaking found in an earlier ZF-muSR study of the end compound PrOs 4Sb12. The results from measurements at KEK, Japan, suggest that Ru doping is considerably more efficient than La doping in suppressing TRS breaking superconducting in PrOs4Sb12. However, we think that the spontaneous local field that indicates TRS breaking detected by ZF-muSR may depend on sample quality if those fields are from inhomogeneity in the

Development of superconductor bulk for superconductor bearing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Chan Joong; Jun, Byung Hyuk; Park, Soon Dong (and others)

2008-08-15

Current carrying capacity is one of the most important issues in the consideration of superconductor bulk materials for engineering applications. There are numerous applications of Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) bulk superconductors e.g. magnetic levitation train, flywheel energy storage system, levitation transportation, lunar telescope, centrifugal device, magnetic shielding materials, bulk magnets etc. Accordingly, to obtain YBCO materials in the form of large, single crystals without weak-link problem is necessary. A top seeded melt growth (TSMG) process was used to fabricate single crystal YBCO bulk superconductors. The seeded and infiltration growth (IG) technique was also very promising method for the synthesis of large, single-grain YBCO bulk superconductors with good superconducting properties. 5 wt.% Ag doped Y211 green compacts were sintered at 900 .deg. C {approx} 1200 .deg.C and then a single crystal YBCO was fabricated by an infiltration method. A refinement and uniform distribution of the Y211 particles in the Y123 matrix were achieved by sintering the Ag-doped samples. This enhancement of the critical current density was ascribable to a fine dispersion of the Y211 particles, a low porosity and the presence of Ag particles. In addition, we have designed and manufactured large YBCO single domain with levitation force of 10-13 kg/cm{sup 2} using TSMG processing technique.

Pulsed laser deposition and thermoelectric properties of In-and Yb-doped CoSb3 skutterudite thin films

KAUST Repository

Sarath Kumar, S. R.; Alyamani, Ahmed Y.; Graff, Jennifer W.; Tritt, Terry M.; Alshareef, Husam N.

2011-01-01

was obtained at ∼700 K, which is nearly six times lower than that of bulk samples. This difference is attributed to grain boundary scattering that causes a drop in film conductivity. Copyright © Materials Research Society 2011.

Post-cure depth of cure of bulk fill dental resin-composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Alrahlah, A; Silikas, N; Watts, D C

2014-02-01

To determine the post-cure depth of cure of bulk fill resin composites through using Vickers hardness profiles (VHN). Five bulk fill composite materials were examined: Tetric EvoCeram(®) Bulk Fill, X-tra base, Venus(®) Bulk Fill, Filtek™ Bulk Fill, SonicFill™. Three specimens of each material type were prepared in stainless steel molds which contained a slot of dimensions (15 mm × 4 mm × 2 mm), and a top plate. The molds were irradiated from one end. All specimens were stored at 37°C for 24h, before measurement. The Vickers hardness was measured as a function of depth of material, at 0.3mm intervals. Data were analysed by one-way ANOVA using Tukey post hoc tests (α=0.05). The maximum VHN ranged from 37.8 to 77.4, whilst the VHN at 80% of max.VHN ranged from 30.4 to 61.9. The depth corresponding to 80% of max.VHN, ranged from 4.14 to 5.03 mm. One-way ANOVA showed statistically significant differences between materials for all parameters tested. SonicFill exhibited the highest VHN (pFill the lowest (p≤0.001). SonicFill and Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill had the greatest depth of cure (5.03 and 4.47 mm, respectively) and was significant's different from X-tra base, Venus Bulk Fill and Filtek Bulk Fill (p≤0.016). Linear regression confirmed a positive regression between max.VHN and filler loading (r(2)=0.94). Bulk fill resin composites can be cured to an acceptable post-cure depth, according to the manufacturers' claims. SonicFill and Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill had the greatest depth of cure among the composites examined. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photoemission study of the skutterudite compounds CoSb sub 3 and RhSb sub 3

CERN Document Server

Ishii, H; Fujimori, A; Nagamoto, Y; Koyanagi, T; Sofo, J O

2002-01-01

We have studied the electronic structure of the skutterudite compounds CoSb sub 3 and Co(Sb sub 0 sub . sub 9 sub 6 Te sub 0 sub . sub 0 sub 4) sub 3 by photoemission spectroscopy. Valence-band spectra revealed that a significant amount Sb 5p states are present near the Fermi level and are hybridized with Co 3d states just below it. The spectra are well reproduced by the band-structure calculation, suggesting that the effect of electron correlations is not important. When Te is substituted for Sb and n-type carriers are doped into CoSb sub 3 , the spectra are shifted to higher binding energies as described by the rigid-band model. From this shift and the free-electron model for the conduction and valence bands, we have estimated the band gap of CoSb sub 3 to be 0.03-0.04 eV, consistent with transport measurements. Photoemission spectra of RhSb sub 3 have also been measured and revealed expected similarities to and differences from those of CoSb sub 3. Unusual temperature dependence has been observed for the s...

Femtosecond laser damage threshold and nonlinear characterization in bulk transparent SiC materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DesAutels, G. Logan; Finet, Marc; Ristich, Scott; Whitaker, Matt; Brewer, Chris; Juhl, Shane; Walker, Mark; Powers, Peter

2008-01-01

Semi-insulating and conducting SiC crystalline transparent substrates were studied after being processed by femtosecond (fs) laser radiation (780 nm at 160 fs). Z-scan and damage threshold experiments were performed on both SiC bulk materials to determine each sample's nonlinear and threshold parameters. 'Damage' in this text refers to an index of refraction modification as observed visually under an optical microscope. In addition, a study was performed to understand the damage threshold as a function of numerical aperture. Presented here for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, are the damage threshold, nonlinear index of refraction, and nonlinear absorption measured values

Bulk-fill resin composites: polymerization contraction, depth of cure, and gap formation.

Science.gov (United States)

Benetti, A R; Havndrup-Pedersen, C; Honoré, D; Pedersen, M K; Pallesen, U

2015-01-01

The bulk-filling of deep, wide dental cavities is faster and easier than traditional incremental restoration. However, the extent of cure at the bottom of the restoration should be carefully examined in combination with the polymerization contraction and gap formation that occur during the restorative procedure. The aim of this study, therefore, was to compare the depth of cure, polymerization contraction, and gap formation in bulk-fill resin composites with those of a conventional resin composite. To achieve this, the depth of cure was assessed in accordance with the International Organization for Standardization 4049 standard, and the polymerization contraction was determined using the bonded-disc method. The gap formation was measured at the dentin margin of Class II cavities. Five bulk-fill resin composites were investigated: two high-viscosity (Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill, SonicFill) and three low-viscosity (x-tra base, Venus Bulk Fill, SDR) materials. Compared with the conventional resin composite, the high-viscosity bulk-fill materials exhibited only a small increase (but significant for Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill) in depth of cure and polymerization contraction, whereas the low-viscosity bulk-fill materials produced a significantly larger depth of cure and polymerization contraction. Although most of the bulk-fill materials exhibited a gap formation similar to that of the conventional resin composite, two of the low-viscosity bulk-fill resin composites, x-tra base and Venus Bulk Fill, produced larger gaps.

Electronic and magnetic properties of quasi-skutterudite PrCo2Ga8 compound

Science.gov (United States)

Ogunbunmi, Michael O.; Sondezi, Buyisiwe M.; Nair, Harikrishnan S.; Strydom, André M.

2018-05-01

PrCo2Ga8 is an orthorhombic quasi-skutterudite type compound which crystallizes in the CaCo2Al8 structure type, with space group Pbam (No. 55). The Pr3+ ion has a site symmetry of Cs which predicts a crystal electric field (CEF) level splitting into 9 singlets for J = 4. However, a phase transition at Tm = 1.28 K is observed in electrical resistivity and specific heat results and is reported in this paper. The electrical resistivity shows an upturn below Tm due to the superzone-gap formation. This transition is tuneable in fields and is suppressed to lower temperatures with applied magnetic fields. The electronic specific heat Cp(T) / T increases below Tm and reaches a value of 7.37 J/(mol K2) at 0.4 K. The Sommerfeld coefficient, γ extracted from the low temperature analysis of C4f(T) / T is 637 mJ/(mol K2) indicating a possible mass enhancement of the quasiparticles. The calculated entropy value of 3.05 J/(mol K) is recovered around Tm exhibiting almost 53% of Rln2, where R is the universal gas constant. Magnetic susceptibility results obeys the Curie-Weiss law for data above 100 K with an estimated effective magnetic moment, μeff = 3.37 μB/Pr and Weiss temperature, θp = -124 K.

Theoretical investigations of the bulk modulus in the tetra-cubic transition of PbTiO3 material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renan A. P. Ribeiro

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Resulting from ion displacement in a solid under pressure, piezoelectricity is an electrical polarization that can be observed in perovskite-type electronic ceramics, such as PbTiO3, which present cubic and tetragonal symmetries at different pressures. The transition between these crystalline phases is determined theoretically through the bulk modulus from the relationship between material energy and volume. However, the change in the material molecular structure is responsible for the piezoelectric effect. In this study, density functional theory calculations using the Becke 3-Parameter-Lee-Yang-Parr hybrid functional were employed to investigate the structure and properties associated with the transition state of the tetragonal-cubic phase change in PbTiO3 material.

Bulk fill restoratives: to cap or not to cap--that is the question?

Science.gov (United States)

Tomaszewska, Iwona M; Kearns, Jennifer O; Ilie, Nicoleta; Fleming, Garry J P

2015-03-01

To assess the cuspal deflection and cervical microleakage scores of standardised large mesio-occlusal-distal (MOD) cavities filled with different restoration protocols: (1) conventional resin restoratives, (2) bulk fill flowable base materials 'capped' with a conventional dimethacrylate resin-based composite (RBC) or (3) bulk fill resin restorative materials. Standardised MOD cavities were prepared in sixty-four sound maxillary premolar teeth and randomly allocated to eight groups. Restorations were placed in conjunction with a universal bonding system and resin restorative materials were irradiated with a quartz-tungsten-halogen light-curing-unit. Restoration protocol (eight oblique increments of conventional resin restorative, bulk fill flowable base and two occlusal 'capping' RBC increments (three increments in total) or bulk fill resin restorative (two increments)) was the dependent variable. A twin channel deflection measuring gauge measured the buccal and palatal cuspal deflections. Teeth were thermally fatigued, immersed in a 0.2% basic fuchsin dye for 24h, sectioned and examined for cervical microleakage score. Post hoc Tukey's tests highlighted significant differences in the mean total cuspal deflection values between resin restoratives (p fill flowable base materials with occlusal 'capping' RBC increments (restoration protocol 2) compared with bulk fill resin restoratives (restoration protocol 3). Not all bulk fill flowable materials or bulk fill resin restoratives behave in a similar fashion when used to restore standardised MOD cavities in maxillary premolar teeth and material selection is vital in the absence of clinical data. Poorly performing bulk fill flowable materials or bulk fill restoratives can be identified using the cuspal deflection and cervical microleakage protocol which could save the complications encountered clinically when restoring Class II restorations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bulk Nano-structured Materials for Turbomachinery Components, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This SBIR Phase I effort seeks to exploit some of the tremendous benefits that could be attained from a revolutionary new approach to grain refinement in bulk...

Processing and nanostructure influences on mechanical properties of thermoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Robert David

Thermoelectric (TE) materials are materials that can generate an electric current from a thermal gradient, with possible service in recovery of waste heat such as engine exhaust. Significant progress has been made in improving TE conversion efficiency, typically reported according to the figure of merit, ZT, with several recent papers publishing ZT values above 2. Furthermore, cost reductions may be made by the use of lower cost elements such as Mg, Si, Sn, Pb, Se and S in TE materials, while achieving ZT values between 1.3 and 1.8. To be used in a device, the thermoelectric material must be able to withstand the applied thermal and mechanical forces without failure. However, these materials are brittle, with low fracture toughness typically less than 1.5 MPa-m1/2, and often less than 0.5 MPa-m1/2. For comparison, window glass is approximately 0.75 MPa-m1/2. They have been optimized with nanoprecipitates, nanoparticles, doping, alterations in stoichiometry, powder processing and other techniques, all of which may alter the mechanical properties. In this study, the effect of SiC nanoparticle additions in Mg2Si, SnTe and Ag nanoparticle additions in the skutterudite Ba0.3Co 4Sb12 on the elastic moduli, hardness and fracture toughness are measured. Large changes (˜20%) in the elastic moduli in SnTe 1+x as a function of x at 0 and 0.016 are shown. The effect on mechanical properties of doping and precipitates of CdS or ZnS in a PbS or PbSe matrix have been reported. Changes in sintering behavior of the skutterudite with the Ag nanoparticle additions were explored. Possible liquid phase sintering, with associated benefits in lower processing temperature, faster densification and lower cost, has been shown. A technique has been proposed for determining additional liquid phase sintering aids in other TE materials. The effects of porosity, grain size, powder processing method, and sintering method were explored with YbAl3 and Ba0.3Co4Sb 12, with the porosity dependence of

Understanding bulk behavior of particulate materials from particle scale simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Deng, Xiaoliang

Particulate materials play an increasingly significant role in various industries, such as pharmaceutical manufacturing, food, mining, and civil engineering. The objective of this research is to better understand bulk behaviors of particulate materials from particle scale simulations. Packing properties of assembly of particles are investigated first, focusing on the effects of particle size, surface energy, and aspect ratio on the coordination number, porosity, and packing structures. The simulation results show that particle sizes, surface energy, and aspect ratio all influence the porosity of packing to various degrees. The heterogeneous force networks within particle assembly under external compressive loading are investigated as well. The results show that coarse-coarse contacts dominate the strong network and coarse-fine contacts dominate the total network. Next, DEM models are developed to simulate the particle dynamics inside a conical screen mill (comil) and magnetically assisted impaction mixer (MAIM), both are important particle processing devices. For comil, the mean residence time (MRT), spatial distribution of particles, along with the collision dynamics between particles as well as particle and vessel geometries are examined as a function of the various operating parameters such as impeller speed, screen hole size, open area, and feed rate. The simulation results can help better understand dry coating experimental results using comil. For MAIM system, the magnetic force is incorporated into the contact model, allowing to describe the interactions between magnets. The simulation results reveal the connections between homogeneity of mixture and particle scale variables such as size of magnets and surface energy of non-magnets. In particular, at the fixed mass ratio of magnets to non-magnets and surface energy the smaller magnets lead to better homogeneity of mixing, which is in good agreement with previously published experimental results. Last but not

Magnetism tuned by the charge states of defects in bulk C-doped SnO2 materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Ying-Bo; Ling, Z C; Cong, Wei-Yan; Zhang, Peng

2015-10-21

To analyze the controversial conclusions on the magnetism of C-doped SnO2 (SnO2:C) bulk materials between theoretical calculations and experimental observations, we propose the critical role of the charge states of defects in the geometric structures and magnetism, and carry out a series of first principle calculations. By changing the charge states, we can influence Bader charge distributions and atomic orbital occupancies in bulk SnO2:C systems, which consequently conduct magnetism. In all charged SnO2:C supercells, C-2px/py/pz electron occupancies are significantly changed by the charge self-regulation, and thus they make the C-2p orbitals spin polarized, which contribute to the dominant magnetic moment of the system. When the concentration of C dopant in the SnO2 supercell increases, the charge redistribution assigns extra electrons averagely to each dopant, and thus effectively modulates the magnetism. These findings provide an experimentally viable way for controlling the magnetism in these systems.

Diffusion or bulk flow

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schulz, Alexander

2015-01-01

is currently matter of discussion, called passive symplasmic loading. Based on the limited material available, this review compares the different loading modes and suggests that diffusion is the driving force in apoplasmic loaders, while bulk flow plays an increasing role in plants having a continuous...

The Effect of Bulk Depth and Irradiation Time on the Surface Hardness and Degree of Cure of Bulk-Fill Composites

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farahat F

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Statement of Problem: For many years, application of the composite restoration with a thickness less than 2 mm for achieving the minimum polymerization contraction and stress has been accepted as a principle. But through the recent development in dental material a group of resin based composites (RBCs called Bulk Fill is introduced whose producers claim the possibility of achieving a good restoration in bulks with depths of 4 or even 5 mm. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of irradiation times and bulk depths on the degree of cure (DC of a bulk fill composite and compare it with the universal type. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted on two groups of dental RBCs including Tetric N Ceram Bulk Fill and Tetric N Ceram Universal. The composite samples were prepared in Teflon moulds with a diameter of 5 mm and height of 2, 4 and 6 mm. Then, half of the samples in each depth were cured from the upper side of the mould for 20s by LED light curing unit. The irradiation time for other specimens was 40s. After 24 hours of storage in distilled water, the microhardness of the top and bottom of the samples was measured using a Future Tech (Japan- Model FM 700 Vickers hardness testing machine. Data were analyzed statistically using the one and multi way ANOVAand Tukey’s test (p = 0.050. Results: The DC of Tetric N Ceram Bulk Fill in defined irradiation time and bulk depth was significantly more than the universal type (p < 0.001. Also, the DC of both composites studied was significantly (p < 0.001 reduced by increasing the bulk depths. Increasing the curing time from 20 to 40 seconds had a marginally significant effect (p ≤ 0.040 on the DC of both bulk fill and universal studied RBC samples. Conclusions: The DC of the investigated bulk fill composite was better than the universal type in all the irradiation times and bulk depths. The studied universal and bulk fill RBCs had an appropriate DC at the 2 and 4 mm bulk depths respectively and

The effects of irradiance and exposure time on the surface roughness of bulk-fill composite resin restorative materials

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhudhairy, Fahad I.

2018-01-01

Objectives: To evaluate the surface roughness of 4 different bulk-fill resin-based composites cured using different irradiance levels. Methods: This in vitro study was performed in February 2017 to August 2017 at the College of Dentistry, King Saud University. Twenty-four specimens were prepared from each of the bulk-fill materials [Tetric N-Ceram (TNC), SonicFill (SF), Smart Dentin Replacement (SDR), and Filtek Bulk-Fill (FB)] using a brass metal mold, resulting in a total of 96 specimens, cured using a Bluephase N light curing unit. Half of the total number of specimens (N=48) were cured using high-power irradiance (1200 mW/cm2) for 20 seconds, while the remaining half (N=48) were cured using low power irradiance (650 mW/cm2) for 40 seconds. After 24 hours, baseline surface roughness of each specimen was analyzed using a profilometer, then polished using Sof-lex abrasive disks, and the surface roughness of all groups was assessed. Results: Post-polished SonicFill cured at high irradiance had the highest mean surface roughness (0.23±0.03), whereas pre-polished Smart Dentin Replacement (0.11±0.01) and SonicFill (0.11±0.02) cured at low irradiance had the lowest mean surface roughness. Conclusion: High curing irradiance (1,200 mW/cm2) had no positive influence on the surface roughness of Filtek Bulk Fill and Tetric N-Ceram bulk-fill RBCs compared with lower curing irradiance (650 mW/cm2). However, the difference of curing irradiance significantly affected the surface roughness in SDR and sonic fill RBCs. PMID:29436570

Magnetic levitation systems using a high-Tc superconducting bulk magnet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ohsaki, Hiroyuki [Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of Tokyo (Japan); Kitahara, Hirotaka [Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of Tokyo (Japan); Masada, Eisuke [Dept. of Electrical Engineering, Univ. of Tokyo (Japan)

1996-12-31

Recent development of high-performance high-Tc bulk superconductors is making their application for electromagnetic force use feasible. We have studied electromagnetic levitation systems using high-Tc bulk superconducting material. In this paper, after an overview of superconducting magnetic levitation systems, with an emphasis on high-Tc bulk superconductor applications, experimental results of a high-Tc bulk EMS levitation and FEM analysis results of magnetic gradient levitation using bulk superconductor are described. Problems to be solved for their application are also discussed. (orig.)

Ferromagnetic bulk glassy alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, Akihisa; Makino, Akihiro; Mizushima, Takao

2000-01-01

This paper deals with the review on the formation, thermal stability and magnetic properties of the Fe-based bulk glassy alloys in as-cast bulk and melt-spun ribbon forms. A large supercooled liquid region over 50 K before crystallization was obtained in Fe-(Al, Ga)-(P, C, B, Si), Fe-(Cr, Mo, Nb)-(Al, Ga)-(P, C, B) and (Fe, Co, Ni)-Zr-M-B (M=Ti, Hf, V, Nb, Ta, Cr, Mo and W) systems and bulk glassy alloys were produced in a thickness range below 2 mm for the Fe-(Al, Ga)-(P, C, B, Si) system and 6 mm for the Fe-Co-(Zr, Nb, Ta)-(Mo, W)-B system by copper-mold casting. The ring-shaped glassy Fe-(Al, Ga)-(P, C, B, Si) alloys exhibit much better soft magnetic properties as compared with the ring-shaped alloy made from the melt-spun ribbon because of the formation of the unique domain structure. The good combination of high glass-forming ability and good soft magnetic properties indicates the possibility of future development as a new bulk glassy magnetic material

46 CFR 153.900 - Certificates and authorization to carry a bulk liquid hazardous material.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... ship must have a Subchapter D or I Certificate of Inspection that is endorsed to allow the cargo tank... requirements for the bulk liquid cargo; and (2) The ship— (i) Has a Certificate of Inspection, Certificate of...) CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES SHIPS CARRYING BULK LIQUID, LIQUEFIED GAS, OR COMPRESSED GAS HAZARDOUS...

High Performance Bulk Thermoelectric Materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ren, Zhifeng [Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)

2013-03-31

Over 13 plus years, we have carried out research on electron pairing symmetry of superconductors, growth and their field emission property studies on carbon nanotubes and semiconducting nanowires, high performance thermoelectric materials and other interesting materials. As a result of the research, we have published 104 papers, have educated six undergraduate students, twenty graduate students, nine postdocs, nine visitors, and one technician.

A comparative study of bulk-fill composites: degree of conversion, post-gel shrinkage and cytotoxicity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flávia Gonçalves

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract: Bulk-fill composites are claimed to be restorative materials used in deep preparations and effectively photoactivated in layers up to 4 mm. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the degree of conversion, post-gel volumetric shrinkage, and cytotoxicity of six bulk-fill and two conventional composites. Degree of conversion was determined by FTIR spectroscopy; post-gel volumetric shrinkage was determined using the strain gauge method; and cytotoxicity in human fibroblasts was evaluated indirectly by the MTT assay. Data were subjected to one-way ANOVA/Tukey's test (α = 0.05. All materials, including bulk-fill and conventional composites, were classified as non-toxic, with cell viability higher than 70%. Bulk-fill composites exhibited volumetric shrinkage similar to or lower (1.4 to 0.4% than that of conventional composites (1.7–2.1%. However, only four of the bulk-fill composites were able to sustain a homogeneous conversion at the 4-mm depth. Despite their non-toxicity and shrinkage similar to that of conventional materials, not all commercial bulk-fill materials were able to maintain a conversion as high as 80% of the superficial layer, at the 4-mm depth, indicating some failure in the bulk-fill design of some commercial brands. Therefore, the use of bulk-fill materials in dental practice is advantageous, but special attention should be given to the selection and correct use of the materials.

Synthesis of bulk nanocrystalline Pb-Sn-Te alloy under high pressure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu, P W; Chen, L X; Jia, X; Ma, H A; Ren, G Z; Guo, W L; Liu, H J; Zou, G T

2002-01-01

Pb-Sn-Te bulk nanocrystalline (NC) materials are prepared successfully by quenching melts under high pressure. The mean particle size is about 100 nm and the crystal structure is NaCl type. The mechanism of formation of the bulk NC alloy is explained: there is an increasing of the nucleation rate and a decrease in the growth rate of nuclei with increase of pressure during the solidification processes. The thermoelectric properties of Pb-Sn-Te bulk NC alloy are enhanced. This method is promising for producing thermoelectric materials with improved high-energy conversion efficiency

Bulk-fill resin-based composites: an in vitro assessment of their mechanical performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ilie, N; Bucuta, S; Draenert, M

2013-01-01

The study aimed to assess the mechanical performance of seven bulk-fill RBCs (Venus Bulk Fill, Heraeus Kulzer; SureFil SDR flow, Dentsply Caulk; x-tra base and x-tra fil, VOCO; Filtek Bulk Fill, 3M ESPE; SonicFill, Kerr; Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill, Ivoclar Vivadent) by determining their flexural strength (σ), reliability (Weibull parameter, m), flexural modulus (Eflexural), indentation modulus (YHU), Vickers hardness (HV), and creep (Cr). The significant highest flexural strengths were measured for SonicFill, x-tra base, and x-tra fil, while x-tra base, SureFil SDR flow, and Venus Bulk Fill showed the best reliability. The differences among the materials became more evident in terms of Eflexural and YHU, with x-tra fil achieving the highest values, while Filtek Bulk Fill and Venus Bulk Fill achieved the lowest. The enlarged depth of cure in bulk-fill RBCs seems to have been realized by enhancing the materials' translucency through decreasing the filler amount and increasing the filler size. The manufacturer's recommendation to finish a bulk-fill RBC restoration by adding a capping layer made of regular RBCs is an imperative necessity, since the modulus of elasticity and hardness of certain materials (SureFil SDR flow, Venus Bulk Fill, and Filtek Bulk Fill) were considerably below the mean values measured in regular nanohybrid and microhybrid RBCs. The class of bulk-fill RBCs revealed similar flexural strength values as the class of nanohybrid and microhybrid RBCs, and significantly higher values when compared to flowable RBCs. The modulus of elasticity (Eflexural), the indentation modulus (YHU), and the Vickers hardness (HV) classify the bulk-fill RBCs as between the hybrid RBCs and the flowable RBCs; in terms of creep, bulk-fill and the flowable RBCs perform similarly, both showing a significantly lower creep resistance when compared to the nanohybrid and microhybrid RBCs.

Application of the simulation of a tank capacity proposal for loading and unloading process of bulk material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Janka Šaderová

2012-12-01

Full Text Available n this paper, the algorithm is given - how to design a tankfor bulk materials. An important part of the proposal is to setthe loading and unloading of a tank, which is also closely related to the proposal of its capacity and volume. Loading and unloadingprocess is dependent on several factors but the main are: method and speed of loading which represents the parameter - hour powerof loading device (e.g. continuous by a conveyor belt, method andspeed of unloading (continuousor at intervals and a typeand capacity of means of transport, in which the material loading (truck, rail car, conveyor belt system. The paper presents twomethods for determination of the loadingand unloading process - the graphic method and determination during the simulation -creating a simulation model.

Standard practice for bulk sampling of liquid uranium hexafluoride

CERN Document Server

American Society for Testing and Materials. Philadelphia

2001-01-01

1.1 This practice covers methods for withdrawing representative samples of liquid uranium hexafluoride (UF6) from bulk quantities of the material. Such samples are used for determining compliance with the applicable commercial specification, for example Specification C787 and Specification C996. 1.2 It is assumed that the bulk liquid UF6 being sampled comprises a single quality and quantity of material. This practice does not address any special additional arrangements that might be required for taking proportional or composite samples, or when the sampled bulk material is being added to UF6 residues already in a container (“heels recycle”). 1.3 The number of samples to be taken, their nominal sample weight, and their disposition shall be agreed upon between the parties. 1.4 The scope of this practice does not include provisions for preventing criticality incidents. 1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of th...

Mechanism of the thermal conductivity of type-I clathrates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, M. S.

2015-01-01

Due to their intrinsically low thermal conductivity, intermetallic type-I clathrates are promising candidates for thermoelectric energy conversion, most notably for waste-heat recovery above room temperature. Combining their low thermal conductivity with the enhanced electrical power factor of strongly correlated materials can be considered as one of the most promising routes to a next generation thermoelectric material. However, although much investigated, the physical origin of the low thermal conductivity of type-I clathrates is still debated. Therefore, the main goal of this thesis was to gain deeper insight into the mechanism of the low thermal conductivity of type-I clathrates. On the basis of recent inelastic neutron and X-ray scattering studies on type-I clathrates and skutterudites, an analytical model for describing the phonon thermal conductivity of such filled cage compounds was developed within this thesis. This model is based on the phononic filter effect and on strongly enhanced Umklapp scattering. Data on several Ge-based single crystalline type-I clathrates are discussed in the context of this model, revealing the influence of host framework vacancies, charge carriers, and large defects such as grain boundaries on the low-temperature thermal conductivity of type-I clathrates. Since for waste heat recovery the thermal conductivity at elevated temperatures is of interest, a sophisticated 3w-experiment for accurate measurements of bulk and thin film materials at elevated temperatures was developed. With the help of this experiment, a universal dependence of the intrinsic phonon thermal conductivity of type-I clathrates on the sound velocity and the lowest-lying guest Einstein mode was demonstrated for the first time. Further investigations on thermoelectric materials including the first Ce-containing type-I clathrate, skutterudites, and thin films complete this doctoral work. (author)

Thermal, spectral, and surface properties of LED light-polymerized bulk fill resin composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Pişkin, Mehmet Burçin; Atalı, Pınar Yılmaz; Figen, Aysel Kantürk

2015-02-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the thermal, spectral, and surface properties of four different bulk fill materials – SureFil SDR (SDR, Dentsplay DETREY), QuixFil (QF, Dentsplay DETREY), X-tra base (XB, Voco) X-tra fil (XF, Voco) – polymerized by light-emitting diode (LED). Resin matrix, filler type, size and amount, and photoinitiator types influence the degree of conversion. LED-cured bulk fill composites achieved sufficient polymerization. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis revealed different patterns of surface roughness, depending on the composite material. Bulk fill materials showed surface characteristics similar to those of nanohybrid composites. Based on the thermal analysis results, glass transition (T(g)) and initial degradation (T(i)) temperatures changed depending on the bulk fill resin composites.

Crystal structure and high temperature transport properties of Yb-filled p-type skutterudites YbxCo2.5Fe1.5Sb12

KAUST Repository

Dong, Yongkwan

2014-01-01

Partially Yb-filled Fe substituted polycrystalline p-type skutterudites with nominal compositions YbxCo2.5Fe1.5Sb 12, with varying filler concentrations x, were synthesized by reacting the constituent elements and subsequent solid state annealing, followed by densification by hot-pressing. The compositions and filling fractions were confirmed with a combination of Rietveld refinement and elemental analysis. Their thermoelectric properties were evaluated from 300 to 800 K. The Seebeck coefficients for the specimens increase with increasing temperature and plateau at around 750 K. The thermal conductivity decreases with increasing Yb filling fraction, and bipolar conduction becomes evident and increases at elevated temperatures. A maximum ZT value of 0.8 was obtained at 750 K for Yb 0.47Co2.6Fe1.4Sb12. The thermoelectric properties and potential for further optimization are discussed in light of our results. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Induction detection of concealed bulk banknotes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, Christopher; Chen, Antao

2011-01-01

Bulk cash smuggling is a serious issue that has grown in volume in recent years. By building on the magnetic characteristics of paper currency, induction sensing is found to be capable of quickly detecting large masses of banknotes. The results show that this method is effective in detecting bulk cash through concealing materials such as plastics, cardboards, fabrics and aluminum foil. The significant difference in the observed phase between the received signals caused by conducting materials and ferrite compounds, found in banknotes, provides a good indication that this process can overcome the interference by metal objects in a real sensing application. This identification strategy has the potential to not only detect the presence of banknotes, but also the number, while still eliminating false positives caused by metal objects

Transport properties of partially-filled Ce{sub y}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Uher, C; Chen, B; Hu, S; Morelli, D T; Meisner, G P

1997-07-01

The authors have investigated the magnetic and transport properties of Ce{sub y}Co{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} filled skutterudites with the filling fraction y {le} 0.1. These compounds are n-type materials that develop a magnetic moment upon the presence of trivalent cerium. Cerium has a strong influence on all transport properties and even in small amounts it drastically reduces the lattice thermal conductivity. The resulting figures of merit are comparable to the values established previously for the p-type filled skutterudites.

Curing characteristics of flowable and sculptable bulk-fill composites

OpenAIRE

Miletic, Vesna; Pongpruenska, Pong; De Munck, Jan; Brooks, Neil R; Van Meerbeek, Bart

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine and correlate the degree of conversion (DC) with Vickers hardness (VH) and translucency parameter (TP) with the depth of cure (DoC) of five bulk-fill composites. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six specimens per group, consisting of Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill ("TEC Bulk," Ivoclar Vivadent), SonicFill (Kerr), SDR Smart Dentin Replacement ("SDR," Dentsply), Xenius base ("Xenius," StickTech; commercialized as EverX Posterior, GC), Filtek Bul...

Enhanced bulk conductivity and bipolar transport in mixtures of MoOx and organic hole transport materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian, Baolin; Ban, Dayan; Aziz, Hany

2013-01-01

We study the conductivity of thin films of molybdenum oxide (MoO x ) mixed with an organic hole transport material, such as N,N′-bis(naphthalen-1-yl)-N,N′-bis (phenyl)benzidine or 4′,4″-tri(N-carbazolyl)triphenylamine, in lateral test devices. Contrary to previous reports, the conductivity of the mixture is found to exceed that of neat MoO x , exhibiting ∼ 5 orders of magnitude higher conductivity in comparison to the neat films. Studies also show that the mixing enhances both hole and electron transport. The higher conductivity may be attributed to a higher concentration of “free” carriers in the mixture, as a result of the formation of a charge transfer complex between the MoO x and the hole transport material. The findings shed light on the potential of hybrid composites of inorganic and organic materials in realizing enhanced conductivity. - Highlights: • We investigate the conductivity of mixtures of MoO x and hole transport material (HTM). • Materials are studied in lateral devices instead of conventional vertical devices. • Mixing MoO x with HTM brings > 5 orders of magnitude increase in bulk conductivity. • The mixture of MoO x and HTM enhances both hole and electron transport

Bulk metallic glass matrix composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi-Yim, H.; Johnson, W.L.

1997-01-01

Composites with a bulk metallic glass matrix were synthesized and characterized. This was made possible by the recent development of bulk metallic glasses that exhibit high resistance to crystallization in the undercooled liquid state. In this letter, experimental methods for processing metallic glass composites are introduced. Three different bulk metallic glass forming alloys were used as the matrix materials. Both ceramics and metals were introduced as reinforcement into the metallic glass. The metallic glass matrix remained amorphous after adding up to a 30 vol% fraction of particles or short wires. X-ray diffraction patterns of the composites show only peaks from the second phase particles superimposed on the broad diffuse maxima from the amorphous phase. Optical micrographs reveal uniformly distributed particles in the matrix. The glass transition of the amorphous matrix and the crystallization behavior of the composites were studied by calorimetric methods. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Characteristics of low polymerization shrinkage flowable resin composites in newly-developed cavity base materials for bulk filling technique.

Science.gov (United States)

Nitta, Keiko; Nomoto, Rie; Tsubota, Yuji; Tsuchikawa, Masuji; Hayakawa, Tohru

2017-11-29

The purpose of this study was to evaluate polymerization shrinkage and other physical properties of newly-developed cavity base materials for bulk filling technique, with the brand name BULK BASE (BBS). Polymerization shrinkage was measured according to ISO/FDIS 17304. BBS showed the significantly lowest polymerization shrinkage and significantly higher depth of cure than conventional flowable resin composites (p<0.05). The Knoop hardness, flexural strength and elastic modulus of that were significantly lower than conventional flowable resin composites (p<0.05). BBS had the significantly greatest filler content (p<0.05). SEM images of the surface showed failure of fillers. The lowest polymerization shrinkage was due to the incorporation of a new type of low shrinkage monomer, which has urethane moieties. There were no clear correlations between inorganic filler contents and polymerization shrinkage, flexural strength and elastic modulus. In conclusion, the low polymerization shrinkage of BBS will be useful for cavity treatment in dental clinics.

Structural determinants in the bulk heterojunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Acocella, Angela; Höfinger, Siegfried; Haunschmid, Ernst; Pop, Sergiu C; Narumi, Tetsu; Yasuoka, Kenji; Yasui, Masato; Zerbetto, Francesco

2018-02-21

Photovoltaics is one of the key areas in renewable energy research with remarkable progress made every year. Here we consider the case of a photoactive material and study its structural composition and the resulting consequences for the fundamental processes driving solar energy conversion. A multiscale approach is used to characterize essential molecular properties of the light-absorbing layer. A selection of bulk-representative pairs of donor/acceptor molecules is extracted from the molecular dynamics simulation of the bulk heterojunction and analyzed at increasing levels of detail. Significantly increased ground state energies together with an array of additional structural characteristics are identified that all point towards an auxiliary role of the material's structural organization in mediating charge-transfer and -separation. Mechanistic studies of the type presented here can provide important insights into fundamental principles governing solar energy conversion in next-generation photovoltaic devices.

Induction detection of concealed bulk banknotes

Science.gov (United States)

Fuller, Christopher; Chen, Antao

2012-06-01

The smuggling of bulk cash across borders is a serious issue that has increased in recent years. In an effort to curb the illegal transport of large numbers of paper bills, a detection scheme has been developed, based on the magnetic characteristics of bank notes. The results show that volumes of paper currency can be detected through common concealing materials such as plastics, cardboard, and fabrics making it a possible potential addition to border security methods. The detection scheme holds the potential of also reducing or eliminating false positives caused by metallic materials found in the vicinity, by observing the stark difference in received signals caused by metal and currency. The detection scheme holds the potential to detect for both the presence and number of concealed bulk notes, while maintaining the ability to reduce false positives caused by metal objects.

The influence of irradiation potential on the degree of conversion and mechanical properties of two bulk-fill flowable RBC base materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Finan, Leah; Palin, William M; Moskwa, Natalia; McGinley, Emma Louise; Fleming, Garry J P

2013-08-01

To assess the depth of cure claims of two bulk-fill flowable RBC bases (SDR and x-tra base) using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, biaxial flexure strength (BFS), and Vickers hardness number (VHN) for specimen depths of 8mm (in 1mm increments). The degree of conversion (DC) was measured by monitoring the peak height (6164cm(-1)) of specimens (11.0±0.1mm diameter, 1.0±0.1mm thickness) during light irradiation for 20s using a quartz tungsten halogen light curing unit at 650±26mW/cm(2). DC was measured up to 120s post irradiation and repeated (n=3) for irradiation depths up to 8mm (in 1mm increments). Further series (n=20) of eight discs were prepared, stacked, light irradiated and numbered from one to eight (distance from the LCU). The specimens were stored at 37±1°C for 24h and BFS tested with the fracture fragments used to determine the VHN for each specimen. X-tra base can be irradiated to 8mm without a change in DC, something the SDR material cannot claim. However, the DC results confirm both bulk-fill flowable RBC bases have a depth of cure in excess of 4mm. One-way ANOVAs of BFS and VHN data showed significant differences between irradiation depths for x-tra base and SDR with increasing irradiation depth (4mm) resulting in significant reductions in mean BFS and VHN. The claims that the bulk-fill flowable RBC bases have a depth of cure in excess of 4mm can be confirmed but the differing chemistry of the resin formulations and filler characteristics contribute to significant differences in DC, BFS and VHN data between the two materials tested. Copyright © 2013 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The impact of compaction, moisture content, particle size and type of bulking agent on initial physical properties of sludge-bulking agent mixtures before composting.

Science.gov (United States)

Huet, J; Druilhe, C; Trémier, A; Benoist, J C; Debenest, G

2012-06-01

This study aimed to experimentally acquire evolution profiles between depth, bulk density, Free Air Space (FAS), air permeability and thermal conductivity in initial composting materials. The impact of two different moisture content, two particle size and two types of bulking agent on these four parameters was also evaluated. Bulk density and thermal conductivity both increased with depth while FAS and air permeability both decreased with it. Moreover, depth and moisture content had a significant impact on almost all the four physical parameters contrary to particle size and the type of bulking agent. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the Phase Separation in n-Type Thermoelectric Half-Heusler Materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Schwall

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Half-Heusler compounds have been in focus as potential materials for thermoelectric energy conversion in the mid-temperature range, e.g., as in automotive or industrial waste heat recovery, for more than ten years now. Because of their mechanical and thermal stability, these compounds are advantageous for common thermoelectric materials such as Bi 2 Te 3 , SiGe, clathrates or filled skutterudites. A further advantage lies in the tunability of Heusler compounds, allowing one to avoid expensive and toxic elements. Half-Heusler compounds usually exhibit a high electrical conductivity σ , resulting in high power factors. The main drawback of half-Heusler compounds is their high lattice thermal conductivity. Here, we present a detailed study of the phase separation in an n-type Heusler materials system, showing that the Ti x Zr y Hf z NiSn system is not a solid solution. We also show that this phase separation is key to the thermoelectric high efficiency of n-type Heusler materials. These results strongly underline the importance of phase separation as a powerful tool for designing highly efficient materials for thermoelectric applications that fulfill the industrial demands of a thermoelectric converter.

Studies of nonlinear femtosecond pulse propagation in bulk materials

Science.gov (United States)

Eaton, Hilary Kaye

2000-10-01

Femtosecond pulse lasers are finding widespread application in a variety of fields including medical research, optical switching and communications, plasma formation, high harmonic generation, and wavepacket formation and control. As the number of applications for femtosecond pulses increases, so does the need to fully understand the linear and nonlinear processes involved in propagating these pulses through materials under various conditions. Recent advances in pulse measurement techniques, such as frequency-resolved optical gating (FROG), allow measurement of the full electric field of the pulse and have made detailed investigations of short- pulse propagation effects feasible. In this thesis, I present detailed experimental studies of my work involving nonlinear propagation of femtosecond pulses in bulk media. Studies of plane-wave propagation in fused silica extend the SHG form of FROG from a simple pulse diagnostic to a useful method of interrogating the nonlinear response of a material. Studies of nonlinear propagation are also performed in a regime where temporal pulse splitting occurs. Experimental results are compared with a three- dimensional nonlinear Schrödinger equation. This comparison fuels the development of a more complete model for pulse splitting. Experiments are also performed at peak input powers above those at which pulse splitting is observed. At these higher intensities, a broadband continuum is generated. This work presents a detailed study of continuum behavior and power loss as well as the first near-field spatial- spectral measurements of the generated continuum light. Nonlinear plane-wave propagation of short pulses in liquids is also investigated, and a non-instantaneous nonlinearity with a surprisingly short response time of 10 fs is observed in methanol. Experiments in water confirm that this effect in methanol is indeed real. Possible explanations for the observed effect are discussed and several are experimentally rejected. This

Temporary surface passivation for characterisation of bulk defects in silicon : a review

OpenAIRE

Grant, Nicholas E.; Murphy, John D.

2017-01-01

Accurate measurements of the bulk minority carrier lifetime in high-quality silicon materials is challenging due to the influence of surface recombination. Conventional surface passivation processes such as thermal oxidation or dielectric deposition often modify the bulk lifetime significantly before measurement. Temporary surface passivation processes at room or very low temperatures enable a more accurate measurement of the true bulk lifetime, as they limit thermal reconfiguration of bulk d...

Tests results and performance comparisons of coated and un-coated skutterudite based segmented unicouples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Genk, Mohamed S.; Saber, Hamed H.; Caillat, Thierry; Sakamoto, Jeff

2006-01-01

Skutterudite based thermoelectric unicouples are being considered for use in Advanced Radioisotope Power Systems (ARPSs) to support NASA's planetary exploration missions. For these systems, which would be much lighter than state of the art Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs), it is important to ensure minimal degradation in the performance of unicouples that may be caused by material sublimation. In this work, two unicouples, JAN-04 with a thin metallic coating on the legs near the hot junction to suppress antimony sublimation and SEP-03 without coating, are tested for >1000 and 3600 h, respectively. The legs in the two unicouples are of almost the same dimensions and compositions; the p-legs are made of CeFe 3.5 Co 0.5 Sb 12 and Bi 0.4 Sb 1.6 Te 3 segments and the n-legs are made of CoSb 3 and Bi 2 Te 2.95 Se 0.05 segments. SEP-03 is tested at average hot and cold junction temperatures of 961.5 ± 22.0 and 296.3 ± 5.7 K, respectively, in argon gas at ∼0.068 MPa, and JAN-04 is tested at 962.8 ± 20.5 and 294.5 ± 3.3 K, respectively, initially in argon gas at the same pressure for ∼26.5 h then in vacuum ∼9.0 x 10 -7 Torr for >973.5 h. The measured open circuit voltage V oc (240 mV) and peak electrical power (1.64 W e ) for SEP-03 at the beginning of test (BOT) are higher than those for JAN-04 (188 mV and 0.84 W e , respectively). Although the argon gas effectively decreased the antimony loss from the legs of SEP-03, marked degradations in performance occurred. The estimated peak efficiency for SEP-03 decreased from 13.8% at BOT to 5.8% at end of test (EOT), and the peak power decreased from 1.64 W e at BOT to 0.48 W e at EOT, however, V oc decreased by ∼14%. The latter for JAN-04 decreased only by ∼3%, the estimated peak efficiency (∼12%) changed very little and the peak power decreased by ∼20%. Unlike SEP-03, the measured total and contact resistances of the legs in JAN-04 changed very little

The filled skutterudite PrOs{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}: superconductivity and correlations; La skutterudite PrOs{sub 4}Sb{sub 12}: supraconductivite et correlations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Measson, M.A

2005-12-15

The filled skutterudite PrOs{sub 4}Sb{sub 12} is the first Pr-based heavy fermion superconductor. This thesis addresses several important open questions including the determination of the quasi-particle mass renormalisation, the nature and mechanism of superconductivity, and the intrinsic or extrinsic nature of the double superconducting transition seen in the specific heat. A fit of the specific heat with magnetic interactions between the ions Pr is proposed. We extract from it an electronic term of between 300-750 mJ/K{sup 2}.mol(Pr). Analysis of the specific heat jump provides evidence that heavy carriers are involved in Cooper pairing and that superconductivity is strongly coupled. Extensive characterizations by specific heat, resistivity, susceptibility measurements show that a double transition appears in the best samples. Nevertheless we bring the first serious doubts on the intrinsic nature of the double transition, because we have found samples with a single sharp transition at Tc2 and because the ratio of the two specific heat jumps shows strong dispersion among the samples. Furthermore we have measured the superconducting phase diagrams with an A.C. specific heat technique under magnetic field and under pressure up to 4.2 GPa, and we show that the two transitions, Tc1 and Tc2, exhibit similar behaviours with magnetic field and pressure. We find a strong change in the pressure dependence of Tc's above 2 GPa which might be related to a change in the nature of the superconductivity under pressure (at least partially mediated by fluctuations and only by phonons at respectively low and high pressure) which may be linked to the increase of the crystal field gap of the Pr ions. Analysis of the upper critical field shows the presence of at least two superconducting bands and concludes to a singlet nature of the pairing. A strong distortion of the flux-line lattice, which is constant with temperature and field, is obtained by small angle neutron scattering

Contribution of bulk mass spectrometry isotopic analysis to characterization of materials in the framework of CMX-4

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuchkin, A.; Stebelkov, V.; Zhizhin, K.; Lierse von Gostomski, Ch.; Kardinal, Ch.; Loi, E.; Keegan, E.; Kristo, M.J.

2018-01-01

Seven laboratories used the results of bulk uranium isotopic analysis by either inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) or thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) for characterization of the samples in the Nuclear Forensic International Technical Working Group fourth international collaborative material exercise, CMX-4. Comparison of the measured isotopic compositions of uranium in three exercise samples is implemented for identifying any differences or similarities between the samples. The role of isotopic analyses in the context of a real nuclear forensic investigation is discussed. Several limitations in carrying out ICP-MS or TIMS analysis in CMX-4 are noted. (author)

Gamma-ray attenuation to measure water contents and/or bulk densities of porous materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ferraz, E.S.B.

1983-01-01

Attenuation of gamma radiation during transmission through soil and porous materials has been used for approximately three decades as a method for determining volumetric water content, theta, and bulk density, rho. This method is particularly suited for laboratory determinations of theta and rho in soil columns but it also has been used with success under field conditions. Measurements of attentuation of a collimated beam of monoernergetic gamma-rays has been used successfully by many investigators to provide rapid, non-destructive determinations for small volumes of soil. For stable soils, i.e. soils which do not swell upon wetting or shrink upon drying, rho may be assumed to remain constant during water flow through the soil, and thus changes in intensity or transmitted radiation may be attributed to changes in water content, theta. However, for unstable soils, the dry bulk density is subject to change with time during water flow through the soil and cannot be assumed to be a constant. Several investigators have utilized either a single beam of dual-energy gamma photons or two separate monoenergetic photon beams with greatly different energies to simultaneously determine theta and rho in these soils. A general review of gamma-ray attenuation methods for determining theta and rho in laboratory soil cores and in field soil profiles is reported in this paper. Theoretical equations for transmission and attenuation of gamma radiation in soils are presented for both single and double beams of gamma photons. Sensitivity, precision, accuracy, and experimental errors for the method are evaluated and discussed with respect to the theory. (author)

High-precision Mg isotope measurements of terrestrial and extraterrestrial material by HR-MC-ICPMS—implications for the relative and absolute Mg isotope composition of the bulk silicate Earth

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bizzarro, Martin; Paton, Chad; Larsen, Kirsten Kolbjørn

2011-01-01

-isotope composition for Earth’s mantle – and hence that of the bulk silicate Earth – to be 25Mg/24Mg 1/4 0.126896 ¿ 0.000025 and 26Mg/24Mg 1/4 0.139652 ¿ 0.000033. Given the restricted range of m25Mg obtained for bulk planetary material by the sample-standard bracketing technique and the excellent agreement between...

Permanent magnet with MgB{sub 2} bulk superconductor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamamoto, Akiyasu, E-mail: yamamoto@appchem.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp [The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); JST-PRESTO, 4-1-8 Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012 (Japan); Ishihara, Atsushi; Tomita, Masaru [Railway Technical Research Institute, 2-8-38 Hikari, Kokubunji, Tokyo 185-8540 (Japan); Kishio, Kohji [The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan)

2014-07-21

Superconductors with persistent zero-resistance currents serve as permanent magnets for high-field applications requiring a strong and stable magnetic field, such as magnetic resonance imaging. The recent global helium shortage has quickened research into high-temperature superconductors (HTSs)—materials that can be used without conventional liquid-helium cooling to 4.2 K. Herein, we demonstrate that 40-K-class metallic HTS magnesium diboride (MgB{sub 2}) makes an excellent permanent bulk magnet, maintaining 3 T at 20 K for 1 week with an extremely high stability (<0.1 ppm/h). The magnetic field trapped in this magnet is uniformly distributed, as for single-crystalline neodymium-iron-boron. Magnetic hysteresis loop of the MgB{sub 2} permanent bulk magnet was determined. Because MgB{sub 2} is a simple-binary-line compound that does not contain rare-earth metals, polycrystalline bulk material can be industrially fabricated at low cost and with high yield to serve as strong magnets that are compatible with conventional compact cryocoolers, making MgB{sub 2} bulks promising for the next generation of Tesla-class permanent-magnet applications.

Optimization of a solar-blind and middle infrared two-colour photodetector using GaN-based bulk material and quantum wells

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long-Bin, Cen; Bo, Shen; Zhi-Xin, Qin; Guo-Yi, Zhang

2009-01-01

This paper calculates the wavelengths of the interband transitions as a function of the Al mole fraction of A1xGa 1–x N bulk material. It is finds that when the Al mole fraction is between 0.456 and 0.639, the wavelengths correspond to the solar-blind (250 nm to 280 nm). The influence of the structure parameters of A1yGa 1–y N/GaN quantum wells on the wavelength and absorption coefficient of intersubband transitions has been investigated by solving the Schrödinger and Poisson equations self-consistently. The A1 mole fraction of the A1yGa 1–y N barrier changes from 0.30 to 0.46, meanwhile the width of the well changes from 2.9 nm to 2.2 nm, for maximal intersubband absorption in the window of the air (3 μm < λ < 5 μm). The absorption coefficient of the intersubband transition between the ground state and the first excited state decreases with the increase of the wavelength. The results are finally used to discuss the prospects of GaN-based bulk material and quantum wells for a solar-blind and middle infrared two-colour photodetector. (classical areas of phenomenology)

An overview of rotating machine systems with high-temperature bulk superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Difan; Izumi, Mitsuru; Miki, Motohiro; Felder, Brice; Ida, Tetsuya; Kitano, Masahiro

2012-10-01

The paper contains a review of recent advancements in rotating machines with bulk high-temperature superconductors (HTS). The high critical current density of bulk HTS enables us to design rotating machines with a compact configuration in a practical scheme. The development of an axial-gap-type trapped flux synchronous rotating machine together with the systematic research works at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology since 2001 are briefly introduced. Developments in bulk HTS rotating machines in other research groups are also summarized. The key issues of bulk HTS machines, including material progress of bulk HTS, in situ magnetization, and cooling together with AC loss at low-temperature operation are discussed.

Organic hybrid planar-nanocrystalline bulk heterojunctions

Science.gov (United States)

Forrest, Stephen R [Ann Arbor, MI; Yang, Fan [Piscataway, NJ

2011-03-01

A photosensitive optoelectronic device having an improved hybrid planar bulk heterojunction includes a plurality of photoconductive materials disposed between the anode and the cathode. The photoconductive materials include a first continuous layer of donor material and a second continuous layer of acceptor material. A first network of donor material or materials extends from the first continuous layer toward the second continuous layer, providing continuous pathways for conduction of holes to the first continuous layer. A second network of acceptor material or materials extends from the second continuous layer toward the first continuous layer, providing continuous pathways for conduction of electrons to the second continuous layer. The first network and the second network are interlaced with each other. At least one other photoconductive material is interspersed between the interlaced networks. This other photoconductive material or materials has an absorption spectra different from the donor and acceptor materials.

Properties of CoSb{sub 3} films grown by pulsed laser deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christen, H M; Mandrus, D G; Norton, D P; Boatner, L A; Sales, B C

1997-07-01

Polycrystalline CoSb{sub 3} films were grown on a variety of electrically insulating substrates by pulsed laser ablation from a stoichiometric hot-pressed target. These films are fully crystallized in the skutterudite structure, and the grains exhibit a strongly preferred alignment of the cubic [310]-axis perpendicular to the substrate surface. The film quality is studied for different single-crystal substrates and as a function of growth temperature and background gas. Hall measurements show that the films are p-type semiconducting with a room-temperature carrier density of 3 x 10{sup 20} holes/cm{sup 3}. The Hall mobility is found to be 50 to 60 cm{sup 2}/Vs, which is high for such a heavily-doped material. The Seebeck coefficient and the resistivity are measured as a function of temperature and are compared to bulk measurements.

Bulk microstructure and local elastic properties of carbon nanocomposites studied by impulse acoustic microscopy technique

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, V.; Petronyuk, Yu.; Morokov, E.; Chernozatonskii, L.; Kuzhir, P.; Fierro, V.; Celzard, A.; Bellucci, S.; Bistarelli, S.; Mastrucci, M.; Tabacchioni, I.

2016-05-01

Bulk microstructure and elastic properties of epoxy-nanocarbon nanocomposites for diverse types and different content of carbon nanofiller has been studied by using impulse acoustic microscopy technique. It has been shown occurrence of various types of mesoscopic structure formed by nanoparticles inside the bulk of nanocomposite materials, including nanoparticle conglomerates and nanoparticle aerogel systems. In spite of the bulk microstructure, nanocarbon composites demonstrate elastic uniformity and negligible influence of nanofiller on elastic properties of carbon nanocomposite materials.

Preparation and characterization of rare-earth bulks with controllable nanostructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Xiaoyan; Zhang Jiuxing; Li Erdong; Lu Nianduan; Yin Fuxing

2006-01-01

The preparation and characterization of pure rare-earth-metal bulks with controllable nanostructures are reported in this paper. A novel 'oxygen-free' in situ synthesis technique that combines inert-gas condensation with spark plasma sintering (SPS) technology is proposed. Taking into account the special mechanisms of SPS consolidation and the scale effects of nanoparticles, we introduced practical procedures for preparing rare-earth bulks of amorphous, mixed amorphous and nanocrystals, and nanocrystalline microstructures, respectively. Compared with the conventional polycrystalline bulk, these nanostructured bulks exhibit substantially improved physical and mechanical properties. This technique enables comprehensive studies on the microstructures and properties of a large variety of nanostructured metallic materials that are highly reactive in the air

Material recycling of post-consumer polyolefin bulk plastics: Influences on waste sorting and treatment processes in consideration of product qualities achievable.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeisinger, Christian

2017-02-01

Material recycling of post-consumer bulk plastics made up of polyolefins is well developed. In this article, it is examined which effects on waste sorting and treatment processes influence the qualities of polyolefin-recyclats. It is shown that the properties and their changes during the product life-cycle of a polyolefin are defined by its way of polymerisation, its nature as a thermoplast, additives, other compound and composite materials, but also by the mechanical treatments during the production, its use where contact to foreign materials is possible and the waste sorting and treatment processes. Because of the sum of the effects influencing the quality of polyolefin-recyclats, conclusions are drawn for the material recycling of polyolefins to reach high qualities of their recyclats. Also, legal requirements like the EU regulation 1907/2006 concerning the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restrictions on chemicals are considered.

f-electron-nuclear hyperfine-coupled multiplets in the unconventional charge order phase of filled skutterudite PrRu4P12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aoki, Yuji; Namiki, Takahiro; Saha, Shanta R.; Sato, Hideyuki; Tayama, Takashi; Sakakibara, Toshiro; Shiina, Ryousuke; Shiba, Hiroyuki; Sugawara, Hitoshi

2011-01-01

The filled skutterudite PrRu 4 P 12 is known to undergo an unconventional charge order phase transition at 63 K, below which two sublattices with distinct f-electron crystalline-electric-field ground states are formed. In this paper, we study experimentally and theoretically the properties of the charge order phase at very low temperature, particularly focusing on the nature of the degenerate triplet ground state on one of the sublattices. First, we present experimental results of specific heat and magnetization measured with high quality single crystals. In spite of the absence of any symmetry breaking, the specific heat shows a peak structure at T p =0.30 K in zero field; it shifts to higher temperatures as the magnetic field is applied. In addition, the magnetization curve has a remarkable rounding below 1 T. Then, we study the origin of these experimental findings by considering the hyperfine interaction between 4f electron and nuclear spin. We demonstrate that the puzzling behaviors at low temperatures can be well accounted for by the formation of 4f-electron-nuclear hyperfine-coupled multiplets, the first thermodynamical observation of its kind. (author)

Zinc sulfide and zinc selenide immersion gratings for astronomical high-resolution spectroscopy: evaluation of internal attenuation of bulk materials in the short near-infrared region

Science.gov (United States)

Ikeda, Yuji; Kobayashi, Naoto; Kondo, Sohei; Yasui, Chikako; Kuzmenko, Paul J.; Tokoro, Hitoshi; Terada, Hiroshi

2009-08-01

We measure the internal attenuation of bulk crystals of chemical vapor deposition zinc selenide (CVD-ZnS), chemical vapor deposition zinc sulfide (CVD-ZnSe), Si, and GaAs in the short near-infrared (sNIR) region to evaluate the possibility of astronomical immersion gratings with those high refractive index materials. We confirm that multispectral grade CVD-ZnS and CVD-ZnSe are best suited for the immersion gratings, with the smallest internal attenuation of αatt=0.01 to 0.03 cm-1 among the major candidates. The measured attenuation is roughly in proportion to λ-2, suggesting it is dominated by bulk scattering due to the polycrystalline grains rather than by absorption. The total transmittance in the immersion grating is estimated to be at least >80%, even for the spectral resolution of R=300,000. Two potential problems, the scattered light by the bulk material and the degradation of the spectral resolution due to the gradient illumination in the diffracted beam, are investigated and found to be negligible for usual astronomical applications. Since the remaining problem, the difficulty of cutting grooves on CVD-ZnS and CVD-ZnSe, has recently been overcome by the nanoprecision fly-cutting technique, ZnS and ZnSe immersion gratings for astronomy can be technically realized.

High-pressure X-ray diffraction study of bulk- and nanocrystalline GaN

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jorgensen, J.E.; Jakobsen, J.M.; Jiang, Jianzhong

2003-01-01

Bulk- and nanocrystalline GaN have been studied by high-pressure energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction. Pressure-induced structural phase transitions from the wurtzite to the NaCl phase were observed in both materials. The transition pressure was found to be 40 GPa for the bulk-crystalline GaN, while...... the wurtzite phase was retained up to 60 GPa in the case of nanocrystalline GaN. The bulk moduli for the wurtzite phases were determined to be 187 ( 7) and 319 ( 10) GPa for the bulk- and nanocrystalline phases, respectively, while the respective NaCl phases were found to have very similar bulk moduli [ 208...

Micromegas in a bulk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giomataris, I.; De Oliveira, R.; Andriamonje, S.; Aune, S.; Charpak, G.; Colas, P.; Fanourakis, G.; Ferrer, E.; Giganon, A.; Rebourgeard, Ph.; Salin, P.

2006-01-01

In this paper, we present a novel way to manufacture the bulk Micromegas detector. A simple process based on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) technology is employed to produce the entire sensitive detector. Such a fabrication process could be extended to very large area detectors made by the industry. The low cost fabrication together with the robustness of the electrode materials will make it attractive for several applications ranging from particle physics and astrophysics to medicine

[Recycle of contaminated scrap metal]: Task 1.3.2, Bulk solids feed system. Topical report, October 1993-- January 1996

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-07-01

A critical requirement in DOE's efforts to recycle, reuse, and dispose of materials from its decontamination and decommissioning activities is the design of a robust system to process a wide variety of bulk solid feeds. The capability to process bulk solids will increase the range of materials and broaden the application of Catalytic Extraction Processing (CEP). The term bulk solids refers to materials that are more economically fed into the top of a molten metal bath than by submerged injection through a tuyere. Molten Metal Technology, Inc. (MMT) has characterized CEP's ability to process bulk solid feed materials and has achieved significant growth in the size of bulk solid particles compatible with Catalytic Extraction Processing. Parametric experimental studies using various feed materials representative of the components of various DOE waste streams have validated design models which establish the reactor operating range as a function of feed material, mass flow rate, and particle size. MMT is investigating the use of a slurry system for bulk solid addition as it is the most efficient means for injecting soils, sludges, and similar physical forms into a catalytic processing unit. MMT is continuing to evaluate condensed phase product removal systems and alternative energy addition sources to enhance the operating efficiency of bulk solids CEP units. A condensed phase product removal system capable of on-demand product removal has been successfully demonstrated. MMT is also investigating the use of a plasma arc torch to provide supplemental heating during bulk solids processing. This comprehensive approach to bulk solids processing is expected to further improve overall process efficiency prior to the deployment of CEP for the recycle, reuse, and disposal of materials from DOE decontamination and decommissioning Activities

Melt-growth bulk superconductors and application to an axial-gap-type rotating machine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Yufeng; Zhou, Difan; Ida, Tetsuya; Miki, Motohiro; Izumi, Mitsuru

2016-01-01

The present manuscript addresses key issues in the course of our study of materials processing of bulk high-temperature superconductors, trapped flux and its application to a prototype axial-gap-type rotating machine. The TUMSAT group has conducted a series of studies since 2003 on the growth of GdBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−δ bulk material and its application in a compact low-speed high-torque rotating machine. In the stage of material growth, gaining the advantage of a large motive torque density requires large integrated flux in the motor/generators. A large grain surface might be required with sophisticated techniques for the melt-growth texture in the bulk with optimal flux pinning. In the second stage, the in situ magnetization procedure for bulk superconductors in the applied machine is a crucial part of the technology. Pulsed current excitation by using an armature copper winding has magnetized field pole bulks on the rotor. The axial-gap flux synchronous machine studied in the past decade is a condensed technology and indicates that further scientific development is required for a future compact machine to be superior to conventional ones in accordance with the cryogenic periphery and flux stabilization. (paper)

Spark-plasma-sintering magnetic field assisted compaction of Co{sub 80}Ni{sub 20} nanowires for anisotropic ferromagnetic bulk materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ouar, Nassima; Schoenstein, Frédéric; Mercone, Silvana; Farhat, Samir; Jouini, Noureddine [Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux, CNRS, LSPM—UPR 3407, Université Paris 13, Sorbonne-Paris-Cité, 99 Avenue J.-B. Clément, 93430 Villetaneuse (France); Villeroy, Benjamin [Institut de Chimie et des Matériaux Paris Est, CNRS, ICMPE—UMR 7182, Equipe de Chimie Métallurgique des Terres Rares, 2-8 rue Henri Dunant, 94320 Thiais Cedex (France); Leridon, Brigitte [Laboratoire de Physique et d’Étude des Matériaux, LPEM, ESPCI-ParisTech, CNRS, UPMC, 10 rue Vauquelin, F-75231 Paris Cedex 5 (France)

2013-10-28

We developed a two-step process showing the way for sintering anisotropic nanostructured bulk ferromagnetic materials. A new reactor has been optimized allowing the synthesis of several grams per batch of nanopowders via a polyol soft chemistry route. The feasibility of the scale-up has been successfully demonstrated for Co{sub 80}Ni{sub 20} nanowires and a massic yield of ∼97% was obtained. The thus obtained nanowires show an average diameter of ∼6 nm and a length of ∼270 nm. A new bottom-up strategy allowed us to compact the powder into a bulk nanostructured system. We used a spark-plasma-sintering technique under uniaxial compression and low temperature assisted by a permanent magnetic field of 1 T. A macroscopic pellet of partially aligned nanowire arrays has been easily obtained. This showed optimized coercive properties along the direction of the magnetic field applied during compaction (i.e., the nanowires' direction)

The filled skutterudite PrOs4Sb12: superconductivity and correlations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Measson, M.A.

2005-12-01

The filled skutterudite PrOs 4 Sb 12 is the first Pr-based heavy fermion superconductor. This thesis addresses several important open questions including the determination of the quasi-particle mass renormalisation, the nature and mechanism of superconductivity, and the intrinsic or extrinsic nature of the double superconducting transition seen in the specific heat. A fit of the specific heat with magnetic interactions between the ions Pr is proposed. We extract from it an electronic term of between 300-750 mJ/K 2 .mol(Pr). Analysis of the specific heat jump provides evidence that heavy carriers are involved in Cooper pairing and that superconductivity is strongly coupled. Extensive characterizations by specific heat, resistivity, susceptibility measurements show that a double transition appears in the best samples. Nevertheless we bring the first serious doubts on the intrinsic nature of the double transition, because we have found samples with a single sharp transition at Tc2 and because the ratio of the two specific heat jumps shows strong dispersion among the samples. Furthermore we have measured the superconducting phase diagrams with an A.C. specific heat technique under magnetic field and under pressure up to 4.2 GPa, and we show that the two transitions, Tc1 and Tc2, exhibit similar behaviours with magnetic field and pressure. We find a strong change in the pressure dependence of Tc's above 2 GPa which might be related to a change in the nature of the superconductivity under pressure (at least partially mediated by fluctuations and only by phonons at respectively low and high pressure) which may be linked to the increase of the crystal field gap of the Pr ions. Analysis of the upper critical field shows the presence of at least two superconducting bands and concludes to a singlet nature of the pairing. A strong distortion of the flux-line lattice, which is constant with temperature and field, is obtained by small angle neutron scattering measurement

Finite element analysis and simulation of rheological properties of bulk molding compound (BMC)

Science.gov (United States)

Ergin, M. Fatih; Aydin, Ismail

2013-12-01

Bulk molding compound (BMC) is one of the important composite materials with various engineering applications. BMC is a thermoset plastic resin blend of various inert fillers, fiber reinforcements, catalysts, stabilizers and pigments that form a viscous, molding compound. Depending on the end-use application, bulk molding compounds are formulated to achieve close dimensional control, flame and scratch resistance, electrical insulation, corrosion and stain resistance, superior mechanical properties, low shrink and color stability. Its excellent flow characteristics, dielectric properties, and flame resistance make this thermoset material well-suited to a wide variety of applications requiring precision in detail and dimensions as well as high performance. When a BMC is used for these purposes, the rheological behavior and properties of the BMC is the main concern. In this paper, finite element analysis of rheological properties of bulk molding composite material was studied. For this purpose, standard samples of composite material were obtained by means of uniaxial hot pressing. 3 point flexural tests were then carried out by using a universal testing machine. Finite element analyses were then performed with defined material properties within a specific constitutive material behavior. Experimental and numerical results were then compared. Good correlation between the numerical simulation and the experimental results was obtained. It was expected with this study that effects of various process parameters and boundary conditions on the rheological behavior of bulk molding compounds could be determined by means of numerical analysis without detailed experimental work.

350 keV accelerator based PGNAA setup to detect nitrogen in bulk samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqvi, A.A., E-mail: aanaqvi@kfupm.edu.sa [Department of Physics and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Al-Matouq, Faris A.; Khiari, F.Z.; Gondal, M.A.; Rehman, Khateeb-ur [Department of Physics and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Isab, A.A. [Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Raashid, M.; Dastageer, M.A. [Department of Physics and King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

2013-11-21

Nitrogen concentration was measured in explosive and narcotics proxy material, e.g. anthranilic acid, caffeine, melamine, and urea samples, bulk samples through thermal neutron capture reaction using 350 keV accelerator based prompt gamma ray neutron activation (PGNAA) setup. Intensity of 2.52, 3.53–3.68, 4.51, 5.27–5.30 and 10.38 MeV prompt gamma rays of nitrogen from the bulk samples was measured using a cylindrical 100 mm×100 mm (diameter×height ) BGO detector. Inspite of interference of nitrogen gamma rays from bulk samples with capture prompt gamma rays from BGO detector material, an excellent agreement between the experimental and calculated yields of nitrogen gamma rays has been obtained. This is an indication of the excellent performance of the PGNAA setup for detection of nitrogen in bulk samples.

350 keV accelerator based PGNAA setup to detect nitrogen in bulk samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naqvi, A.A.; Al-Matouq, Faris A.; Khiari, F.Z.; Gondal, M.A.; Rehman, Khateeb-ur; Isab, A.A.; Raashid, M.; Dastageer, M.A.

2013-01-01

Nitrogen concentration was measured in explosive and narcotics proxy material, e.g. anthranilic acid, caffeine, melamine, and urea samples, bulk samples through thermal neutron capture reaction using 350 keV accelerator based prompt gamma ray neutron activation (PGNAA) setup. Intensity of 2.52, 3.53–3.68, 4.51, 5.27–5.30 and 10.38 MeV prompt gamma rays of nitrogen from the bulk samples was measured using a cylindrical 100 mm×100 mm (diameter×height ) BGO detector. Inspite of interference of nitrogen gamma rays from bulk samples with capture prompt gamma rays from BGO detector material, an excellent agreement between the experimental and calculated yields of nitrogen gamma rays has been obtained. This is an indication of the excellent performance of the PGNAA setup for detection of nitrogen in bulk samples

350 keV accelerator based PGNAA setup to detect nitrogen in bulk samples

Science.gov (United States)

Naqvi, A. A.; Al-Matouq, Faris A.; Khiari, F. Z.; Gondal, M. A.; Rehman, Khateeb-ur; Isab, A. A.; Raashid, M.; Dastageer, M. A.

2013-11-01

Nitrogen concentration was measured in explosive and narcotics proxy material, e.g. anthranilic acid, caffeine, melamine, and urea samples, bulk samples through thermal neutron capture reaction using 350 keV accelerator based prompt gamma ray neutron activation (PGNAA) setup. Intensity of 2.52, 3.53-3.68, 4.51, 5.27-5.30 and 10.38 MeV prompt gamma rays of nitrogen from the bulk samples was measured using a cylindrical 100 mm×100 mm (diameter×height ) BGO detector. Inspite of interference of nitrogen gamma rays from bulk samples with capture prompt gamma rays from BGO detector material, an excellent agreement between the experimental and calculated yields of nitrogen gamma rays has been obtained. This is an indication of the excellent performance of the PGNAA setup for detection of nitrogen in bulk samples.

Combating wear in bulk solids handling plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1986-01-01

A total of five papers presented at a seminar on problems of wear caused by abrasive effects of materials in bulk handling. Topics of papers cover the designer viewpoint, practical experience from the steel, coal, cement and quarry industries to create an awareness of possible solutions.

Using molecular mechanics to predict bulk material properties of fibronectin fibers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark J Bradshaw

Full Text Available The structural proteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM form fibers with finely tuned mechanical properties matched to the time scales of cell traction forces. Several proteins such as fibronectin (Fn and fibrin undergo molecular conformational changes that extend the proteins and are believed to be a major contributor to the extensibility of bulk fibers. The dynamics of these conformational changes have been thoroughly explored since the advent of single molecule force spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations but remarkably, these data have not been rigorously applied to the understanding of the time dependent mechanics of bulk ECM fibers. Using measurements of protein density within fibers, we have examined the influence of dynamic molecular conformational changes and the intermolecular arrangement of Fn within fibers on the bulk mechanical properties of Fn fibers. Fibers were simulated as molecular strands with architectures that promote either equal or disparate molecular loading under conditions of constant extension rate. Measurements of protein concentration within micron scale fibers using deep ultraviolet transmission microscopy allowed the simulations to be scaled appropriately for comparison to in vitro measurements of fiber mechanics as well as providing estimates of fiber porosity and water content, suggesting Fn fibers are approximately 75% solute. Comparing the properties predicted by single molecule measurements to in vitro measurements of Fn fibers showed that domain unfolding is sufficient to predict the high extensibility and nonlinear stiffness of Fn fibers with surprising accuracy, with disparately loaded fibers providing the best fit to experiment. This work shows the promise of this microstructural modeling approach for understanding Fn fiber properties, which is generally applicable to other ECM fibers, and could be further expanded to tissue scale by incorporating these simulated fibers into three dimensional

HIPPO, the high-pressure preferred orientation diffractometer at LANSCE for characterization of bulk materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bennett, K.; Dreele, R.B. von; Wenk, H.R.

2001-01-01

United States National Laboratory researchers and University of California faculty, representing a broad range of scientific disciplines, is building a novel time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffractometer and associated in situ equipment at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (Lujan Center), under the auspices of the United States Department of Energy. The goal with the High-Pressure Preferred Orientation Instrument (HIPPO) is to investigate dynamic processes in heterogeneous bulk materials in a variety of environments. The instrument, which will become available in summer 2001, has the extremely high count-rates necessary to study time-dependent processes in small (1-mm diameter) and large (2-cm diameter) samples, and in a large variety of environmental conditions (10-2000 K cryostats and furnaces, 0-20 GPa pressure vessels, straining cells, goniometers, magnets, etc.). The 3-D arrangement of detectors allows direct measurements of crystal orientation distributions in polycrystalline materials. The analysis of TOF diffraction patterns with versatile Rietveld codes provides simultaneous information on crystal structure, texture, microstructure and phase proportions. While this instrument has many applications in materials science, it is also of great interest for geology and geophysics. Some applications include: kinetics of reactions, structure of silicate glasses and melts, high-pressure investigations of complex systems, evolution of texture and anisotropy during deformation and recrystallization. The Lujan Center aims at creating an instrument with high data through-put and easy access to researchers and students. While the HIPPO instrument will be part of the national user facility operated by the Lujan Center, the scientific program will be guided by the University of California consortium with the goal of satisfying national priorities and establishing an environment of scientific excellence. (author)

HIPPO, the high-pressure preferred orientation diffractometer at LANSCE for characterization of bulk materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bennett, K.; Dreele, R.B. von [Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Wenk, H.R. [Department of Geology and Geophysics, Univ. of California, Berkely, CA (United States)

2001-03-01

United States National Laboratory researchers and University of California faculty, representing a broad range of scientific disciplines, is building a novel time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffractometer and associated in situ equipment at the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (Lujan Center), under the auspices of the United States Department of Energy. The goal with the High-Pressure Preferred Orientation Instrument (HIPPO) is to investigate dynamic processes in heterogeneous bulk materials in a variety of environments. The instrument, which will become available in summer 2001, has the extremely high count-rates necessary to study time-dependent processes in small (1-mm diameter) and large (2-cm diameter) samples, and in a large variety of environmental conditions (10-2000 K cryostats and furnaces, 0-20 GPa pressure vessels, straining cells, goniometers, magnets, etc.). The 3-D arrangement of detectors allows direct measurements of crystal orientation distributions in polycrystalline materials. The analysis of TOF diffraction patterns with versatile Rietveld codes provides simultaneous information on crystal structure, texture, microstructure and phase proportions. While this instrument has many applications in materials science, it is also of great interest for geology and geophysics. Some applications include: kinetics of reactions, structure of silicate glasses and melts, high-pressure investigations of complex systems, evolution of texture and anisotropy during deformation and recrystallization. The Lujan Center aims at creating an instrument with high data through-put and easy access to researchers and students. While the HIPPO instrument will be part of the national user facility operated by the Lujan Center, the scientific program will be guided by the University of California consortium with the goal of satisfying national priorities and establishing an environment of scientific excellence. (author)

Evaluation and remediation of bulk soap dispensers for biofilm.

Science.gov (United States)

Lorenz, Lindsey A; Ramsay, Bradley D; Goeres, Darla M; Fields, Matthew W; Zapka, Carrie A; Macinga, David R

2012-01-01

Recent studies evaluating bulk soap in public restroom soap dispensers have demonstrated up to 25% of open refillable bulk-soap dispensers were contaminated with ~ 6 log(10)(CFU ml(-1)) heterotrophic bacteria. In this study, plastic counter-mounted, plastic wall-mounted and stainless steel wall-mounted dispensers were analyzed for suspended and biofilm bacteria using total cell and viable plate counts. Independent of dispenser type or construction material, the bulk soap was contaminated with 4-7 log(10)(CFU ml(-1)) bacteria, while 4-6 log(10)(CFU cm(-2)) biofilm bacteria were isolated from the inside surfaces of the dispensers (n = 6). Dispenser remediation studies, including a 10 min soak with 5000 mg l(-1) sodium hypochlorite, were then conducted to determine the efficacy of cleaning and disinfectant procedures against established biofilms. The testing showed that contamination of the bulk soap returned to pre-test levels within 7-14 days. These results demonstrate biofilm is present in contaminated bulk-soap dispensers and remediation studies to clean and sanitize the dispensers are temporary.

Theoretical study on the electronic and optical properties of bulk and surface (001) InxGa1-xAs

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, XueFei; Ding, Zhao; Luo, ZiJiang; Zhou, Xun; Wei, JieMin; Wang, Yi; Guo, Xiang; Lang, QiZhi

2018-05-01

The optical properties of surface and bulk InxGa1-xAs materials are compared systematically first time in this paper. The band structures, density of states and optical properties including dielectric function, reflectivity, absorption coefficient, loss function and refractive index of bulk and surface InxGa1-xAs materials are investigated by first-principles based on plane-wave pseudo-potentials method within the LDA approximation. The results agree well with the available theoretical and experimental studies and indicate that the electronic and optical properties of bulk and surface InxGa1-xAs materials are much different, and the results show that the considered optical properties of the both materials vary with increasing indium composition in an opposite way. The calculations show that the optical properties of surface In0.75Ga0.25As material are unexpected to be far from the other two indium compositions of surface InxGa1-xAs materials while the optical properties of bulk InxGa1-xAs materials vary with increasing indium composition in an expected regular way.

Bulk metallic glass for low noise fluxgate, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The team of Prime Photonics, Virginia Tech, and Utron Kinetics propose to demonstrate a method for fabrication of a bulk, amorphous, cobalt-rich material that...

Bulk Crystal Growth, and High-Resolution X-ray Diffraction Results of LiZnAs Semiconductor Material

Science.gov (United States)

Montag, Benjamin W.; Reichenberger, Michael A.; Sunder, Madhana; Ugorowski, Philip B.; Nelson, Kyle A.; Henson, Luke C.; McGregor, Douglas S.

2017-08-01

LiZnAs is being explored as a candidate for solid-state neutron detectors. The compact form, solid-state device would have greater efficiency than present day gas-filled 3He and 10BF3 detectors. Devices fabricated from LiZnAs having either natural Li (nominally 7.5% 6Li) or enriched 6Li (usually 95% 6Li) as constituent atoms may provide a material for compact high efficiency neutron detectors. The 6Li( n, t)4He reaction yields a total Q-value of 4.78 MeV, an energy larger than that of the 10B reaction, which can easily be identified above background radiations. LiZnAs material was synthesized by preparing equimolar portions of Li, Zn, and As sealed under vacuum (10-6 Torr) in quartz ampoules lined with boron nitride and subsequently reacted in a compounding furnace (Montag et al. in J Cryst Growth 412:103, 2015). The raw synthesized LiZnAs was purified by a static vacuum sublimation in quartz (Montag et al. in J Cryst Growth 438:99, 2016). Bulk crystalline LiZnAs ingots were grown from the purified material with a high-temperature Bridgman-style growth process described here. One of the largest LiZnAs ingots harvested was 9.6 mm in diameter and 4.2 mm in length. Samples were harvested from the ingot and were characterized for crystallinity using a Bruker AXS Inc. D8 AXS Inc. D2 CRYSO, energy dispersive x-ray diffractometer, and a Bruker AXS Inc. D8 DISCOVER, high-resolution x-ray diffractometer equipped with molybdenum radiation, Gobel mirror, four bounce germanium monochromator and a scintillation detector. The primary beam divergence was determined to be 0.004°, using a single crystal Si standard. The x-ray based characterization revealed that the samples nucleated in the (110) direction and a high-resolution open detector rocking curve recorded on the (220) LiZnAs yielded a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.235°. Sectional pole figures using off-axis reflections of the (211) LiZnAs confirmed in-plane ordering, and also indicated the presence of multiple

Modelling of the Flow of Streams of Cohesionless and Cohesive Bulk Materials in a Conveyor Discharge Point with a Flat Conveyor Belt

Science.gov (United States)

Cyganiuk, J. A.; Kuryło, P.

2018-02-01

The paper presents the analysis of flow conditions of cohesive and cohesionless bulk materials in a conveyor discharge point of a flat conveyor belt. The analysis was carried out for stationary flows at high velocities. It presents mathematical methods for the description of the velocity of a material leaving a throwing point of a flat conveyor belt as well as final equations which enable the determination of velocity of the material after it has left the throwing point (with the accuracy sufficient for practical use). Next, the velocity calculated for the proposed mathematical description (for selected material groups) has been compared with the velocity obtained from mathematical relations commonly used by engineers. The proposed equations for determining the velocity of the material beyond the point have proved useful, since they enable excluding the indirect equations. Finally, the difference between the values of the velocity obtained with the proposed and indirect equations have been determined and the relative error for the proposed method has been calculated.

Band engineering and rational design of high-performance thermoelectric materials by first-principles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lili Xi

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Understanding and manipulation of the band structure are important in designing high-performance thermoelectric (TE materials. Our recent work has involved the utilization of band structure in various topics of TE research, i.e., the band convergence, the conductive network, dimensionality reduction by quantum effects, and high throughput material screening. In non-cubic chalcopyrite compounds, we revealed the relations between structural factors and band degeneracy, and a simple unity-η rule was proposed for selecting high performance diamond-like TE materials. Based on the deep understanding of the electrical and thermal transport, we identified the conductive network in filled skutterudites with the “phonon glass-electron crystal” (PGEC paradigm, and extended this concept to caged-free Cu-based diamond-like compounds. By combining the band structure calculations and the Boltzmann transport theory, we conducted a high-throughput material screening in half-Heusler (HH systems, and several promising compositions with high power factors were proposed out of a large composition collection. At last, we introduced the Rashba spin-splitting effect into thermoelectrics, and its influence on the electrical transport properties was discussed. This review demonstrated the importance of the microscopic perspectives for the optimization and design of novel TE materials.

Laser-induced damage of materials in bulk, thin-film, and liquid forms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Natoli, Jean-Yves; Gallais, Laurent; Akhouayri, Hassan; Amra, Claude

2002-01-01

Accurate threshold curves of laser-induced damage (7-ns single shot at 1.064 μm) are measured in bulk and at the surfaces of optical components such as substrates, thin films, multilayers, and liquids. The shapes and the slopes of the curves are related to the spot size and to the densities of the nanodefects that are responsible for damage. First, these densities are reported for bulk substrates. In surfaces and films the recorded extrinsic and intrinsic threshold curves permit the discrimination of the effects of microdefects and nanodefects. In all cases the density of nanocenters is extracted by means of a phenomenological approach. Then we test liquids and mixtures of liquids with controlled defect densities. The results emphasize the agreement between measurement and prediction and demonstrate the validity of the presence of different kinds of nanocenter as the precursors of laser damage

Free standing bulk metallic glass microcomponents: Tooling considerations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Byrne, Cormac; Eldrup, Morten Mostgaard; Ohnuma, Masato

2010-01-01

Bulk metallic glasses have enormous potential for use in small-scale devices such as MEMS and biomedical components. Thermoplastic forging of free standing components poses challenges unlike those seen when forging crystalline materials. Central to these challenges is the simultaneous advantage/disadvantage...

Materials process and applications of single grain (RE)-Ba-Cu-O bulk high-temperature superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li Beizhan; Zhou Difan; Xu Kun; Hara, Shogo; Tsuzuki, Keita; Miki, Motohiro; Felder, Brice; Deng Zigang [Laboratory of Applied Physics, Department of Marine Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT), 2-1-6, Etchu-jima, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8533 (Japan); Izumi, Mitsuru, E-mail: izumi@kaiyodai.ac.jp [Laboratory of Applied Physics, Department of Marine Electronics and Mechanical Engineering, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology (TUMSAT), 2-1-6, Etchu-jima, Koto-ku, Tokyo 135-8533 (Japan)

2012-11-20

This paper reviews recent advances in the melt process of (RE)-Ba-Cu-O [(RE)BCO, where RE represents a rare earth element] single grain high-temperature superconductors (HTSs), bulks and its applications. The efforts on the improvement of the magnetic flux pinning with employing the top-seeded melt-growth process technique and using a seeded infiltration and growth process are discussed. Which including various chemical doping strategies and controlled pushing effect based on the peritectic reaction of (RE)BCO. The typical experiment results, such as the largest single domain bulk, the clear TEM observations and the significant critical current density, are summarized together with the magnetization techniques. Finally, we highlight the recent prominent progress of HTS bulk applications, including Maglev, flywheel, power device, magnetic drug delivery system and magnetic resonance devices.

Materials process and applications of single grain (RE)-Ba-Cu-O bulk high-temperature superconductors

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Beizhan; Zhou, Difan; Xu, Kun; Hara, Shogo; Tsuzuki, Keita; Miki, Motohiro; Felder, Brice; Deng, Zigang; Izumi, Mitsuru

2012-11-01

This paper reviews recent advances in the melt process of (RE)-Ba-Cu-O [(RE)BCO, where RE represents a rare earth element] single grain high-temperature superconductors (HTSs), bulks and its applications. The efforts on the improvement of the magnetic flux pinning with employing the top-seeded melt-growth process technique and using a seeded infiltration and growth process are discussed. Which including various chemical doping strategies and controlled pushing effect based on the peritectic reaction of (RE)BCO. The typical experiment results, such as the largest single domain bulk, the clear TEM observations and the significant critical current density, are summarized together with the magnetization techniques. Finally, we highlight the recent prominent progress of HTS bulk applications, including Maglev, flywheel, power device, magnetic drug delivery system and magnetic resonance devices.

Surface-spin magnetism of antiferromagnetic NiO in nanoparticle and bulk morphology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jagodic, M; Jaglicic, Z; Jelen, A; Dolinsek, J; Lee, Jin Bae; Kim, Hae Jin; Kim, Young-Min

2009-01-01

The surface-spin magnetism of the antiferromagnetic (AFM) material NiO in nanoparticle and bulk morphology was investigated by magnetic measurements (temperature-dependent zero-field-cooled (zfc) and field-cooled (fc) dc susceptibility, ac susceptibility and zfc and fc hysteresis loops). We addressed the question of whether the multisublattice ordering of the uncompensated surface spins and the exchange bias (EB) effect are only present in the nanoparticles, originating from their high surface-to-volume ratio or if these surface phenomena are generally present in the AFM materials regardless of their bulky or nanoparticle morphology, but the effect is just too small to be detected experimentally in the bulk due to a very small surface magnetization. Performing experiments on the NiO nanoparticles of different sizes and bulk NiO grains, we show that coercivity enhancement and hysteresis loop shift in the fc experiments, considered to be the key experimental manifestations of multisublattice ordering and the EB effect, are true nanoscale phenomena only present in the nanoparticles and absent in the bulk.

Rat animal model for preclinical testing of microparticle urethral bulking agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mann-Gow, Travis K; Blaivas, Jerry G; King, Benjamin J; El-Ghannam, Ahmed; Knabe, Christine; Lam, Michael K; Kida, Masatoshi; Sikavi, Cameron S; Plante, Mark K; Krhut, Jan; Zvara, Peter

2015-04-01

To develop an economic, practical and readily available animal model for preclinical testing of urethral bulking therapies, as well as to establish feasible experimental methods that allow for complete analysis of hard microparticle bulking agents. Alumina ceramic beads suspended in hyaluronic acid were injected into the proximal urethra of 15 female rats under an operating microscope. We assessed overall lower urinary tract function, bulking material intraurethral integrity and local host tissue response over time. Microphotographs were taken during injection and again 6 months postoperatively, before urethral harvest. Urinary flow rate and voiding frequency were assessed before and after injection. At 6 months, the urethra was removed and embedded in resin. Hard tissue sections were cut using a sawing microtome, and processed for histological analysis using scanning electron microscopy, light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Microphotographs of the urethra showed complete volume retention of the bulking agent at 6 months. There was no significant difference between average urinary frequency and mean urinary flow rate at 1 and 3 months postinjection as compared with baseline. Scanning electron microscopy proved suitable for evaluation of microparticle size and integrity, as well as local tissue remodeling. Light microscopy and immunohistochemistry allowed for evaluation of an inflammatory host tissue reaction to the bulking agent. The microsurgical injection technique, in vivo physiology and novel hard tissue processing for histology, described in the present study, will allow for future comprehensive preclinical testing of urethral bulking therapy agents containing microparticles made of a hard material. © 2015 The Japanese Urological Association.

Nanoindentation creep versus bulk compressive creep of dental resin-composites.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Safty, S; Silikas, N; Akhtar, R; Watts, D C

2012-11-01

To evaluate nanoindentation as an experimental tool for characterizing the viscoelastic time-dependent creep of resin-composites and to compare the resulting parameters with those obtained by bulk compressive creep. Ten dental resin-composites: five conventional, three bulk-fill and two flowable were investigated using both nanoindentation creep and bulk compressive creep methods. For nano creep, disc specimens (15mm×2mm) were prepared from each material by first injecting the resin-composite paste into metallic molds. Specimens were irradiated from top and bottom surfaces in multiple overlapping points to ensure optimal polymerization using a visible light curing unit with output irradiance of 650mW/cm(2). Specimens then were mounted in 3cm diameter phenolic ring forms and embedded in a self-curing polystyrene resin. Following grinding and polishing, specimens were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24h. Using an Agilent Technologies XP nanoindenter equipped with a Berkovich diamond tip (100nm radius), the nano creep was measured at a maximum load of 10mN and the creep recovery was determined when each specimen was unloaded to 1mN. For bulk compressive creep, stainless steel split molds (4mm×6mm) were used to prepare cylindrical specimens which were thoroughly irradiated at 650mW/cm(2) from multiple directions and stored in distilled water at 37°C for 24h. Specimens were loaded (20MPa) for 2h and unloaded for 2h. One-way ANOVA, Levene's test for homogeneity of variance and the Bonferroni post hoc test (all at p≤0.05), plus regression plots, were used for statistical analysis. Dependent on the type of resin-composite material and the loading/unloading parameters, nanoindentation creep ranged from 29.58nm to 90.99nm and permanent set ranged from 8.96nm to 30.65nm. Bulk compressive creep ranged from 0.47% to 1.24% and permanent set ranged from 0.09% to 0.38%. There was a significant (p=0.001) strong positive non-linear correlation (r(2)=0.97) between bulk

Enhanced bulk heterojunction devices prepared by thermal and solvent vapor annealing processes

Science.gov (United States)

Forrest, Stephen R.; Thompson, Mark E.; Wei, Guodan; Wang, Siyi

2017-09-19

A method of preparing a bulk heterojunction organic photovoltaic cell through combinations of thermal and solvent vapor annealing are described. Bulk heterojunction films may prepared by known methods such as spin coating, and then exposed to one or more vaporized solvents and thermally annealed in an effort to enhance the crystalline nature of the photoactive materials.

Millimeter wave surface resistance of grain-aligned Y1Ba2Cu3Ox bulk material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wosik, J.; Kranenburg, R.A.; Wolfe, J.C.; Selvamanickam, V.; Salama, K.

1991-01-01

We report measurements of the millimeter wave surface resistance of grain-aligned YBa 2 Cu 3 O x bulk material grown by a liquid phase process. The measurements were performed by replacing the endplate of a TE 011 cylindrical copper cavity with the superconducting sample. Surface resistance was measured for samples with surfaces oriented perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis of the grains. We show that, for the parallel configuration, the surface resistance at 77 K and 80 GHz is typically near 100 mΩ. For a very well-aligned sample with a very low density of Y 2 BaCuO y precipitates, measured in the perpendicular configuration, the transition width (10%--90%) is about 2 K and the surface resistance is less than 50 mΩ at 88 K. The effect of microstructure on surface resistance is discussed

Use of thermal neutron reflection method for chemical analysis of bulk samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Papp, A.; Csikai, J.

2014-01-01

Microscopic, σ β , and macroscopic, Σ β , reflection cross-sections of thermal neutrons averaged over bulk samples as a function of thickness (z) are given. The σ β values are additive even for bulk samples in the z=0.5–8 cm interval and so the σ βmol (z) function could be given for hydrogenous substances, including some illicit drugs, explosives and hiding materials of ∼1000 cm 3 dimensions. The calculated excess counts agree with the measured R(z) values. For the identification of concealed objects and chemical analysis of bulky samples, different neutron methods need to be used simultaneously. - Highlights: • Check the proposed analytical expression for the description of the flux. • Determination of the reflection cross-sections averaged over bulk samples. • Data rendered to estimate the excess counts for various materials

Use of thermal neutron reflection method for chemical analysis of bulk samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Papp, A., E-mail: papppa@atomki.hu [Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, (ATOMKI), 4001 Debrecen, Pf. 51 (Hungary); Csikai, J. [Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, (ATOMKI), 4001 Debrecen, Pf. 51 (Hungary); Institute of Experimental Physics, University Debrecen (IEP), 4010 Debrecen-10, Pf. 105 (Hungary)

2014-09-11

Microscopic, σ{sub β}, and macroscopic, Σ{sub β}, reflection cross-sections of thermal neutrons averaged over bulk samples as a function of thickness (z) are given. The σ{sub β} values are additive even for bulk samples in the z=0.5–8 cm interval and so the σ{sub βmol}(z) function could be given for hydrogenous substances, including some illicit drugs, explosives and hiding materials of ∼1000 cm{sup 3} dimensions. The calculated excess counts agree with the measured R(z) values. For the identification of concealed objects and chemical analysis of bulky samples, different neutron methods need to be used simultaneously. - Highlights: • Check the proposed analytical expression for the description of the flux. • Determination of the reflection cross-sections averaged over bulk samples. • Data rendered to estimate the excess counts for various materials.

Bi2212 HTS Tubular Bulk with Conical Shape for Current Lead

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamura, H; Mito, T; Yamada, Y; Watanabe, M; Ohkubo, J; Heller, R

2006-01-01

Current leads using HTS material have been developed for application in a large scale superconducting magnet system. Tokai University and NIFS have developed Bi2212 tubular bulk which was prepared by a diffusion process. 8 kA of maximum transport current was achieved by a tubular bulk with a cylindrical shape. The maximum current was estimated to be 2 kA at 50 K for this tubular bulk. A current lead can be designed with this bulk the warm end of the HTS part being at 50 K and the cold end at 4.2 K. Under this condition, the cross section of the cold end of the bulk can be reduced. This type of HTS bulk has a great potential for flexible design since the Bi2212 layer can be reacted on the surface of any shapes of substrate. If a conical shaped HTS bulk was made, it could be an advantage for heat leakage to the cold end. To confirm this effect, we have made two types of conical bulk. The transport current of the specimen exceeds 7 kA at 4.2 K and 4 kA of stable current flow was achieved with a warm end temperature of 50 K

Microtensile bond strength of bulk-fill restorative composites to dentin.

Science.gov (United States)

Mandava, Jyothi; Vegesna, Divya-Prasanna; Ravi, Ravichandra; Boddeda, Mohan-Rao; Uppalapati, Lakshman-Varma; Ghazanfaruddin, M D

2017-08-01

To facilitate the easier placement of direct resin composite in deeper cavities, bulk fill composites have been introduced. The Mechanical stability of fillings in stress bearing areas restored with bulk-fill resin composites is still open to question, since long term clinical studies are not available so far. Thus, the objective of the study was to evaluate and compare the microtensile bond strength of three bulk-fill restorative composites with a nanohybrid composite. Class I cavities were prepared on sixty extracted mandibular molars. Teeth were divided into 4 groups (n= 15 each) and in group I, the prepared cavities were restored with nanohybrid (Filtek Z250 XT) restorative composite in an incremental manner. In group II, III and IV, the bulk-fill composites (Filtek, Tetric EvoCeram, X-tra fil bulk-fill restoratives) were placed as a 4 mm single increment and light cured. The restored teeth were subjected to thermocycling and bond strength testing was done using instron testing machine. The mode of failure was assessed by scanning electron microscope (SEM). The bond strength values obtained in megapascals (MPa) were subjected to statistical analysis, using SPSS/PC version 20 software.One-way ANOVA was used for groupwise comparison of the bond strength. Tukey's Post Hoc test was used for pairwise comparisons among the groups. The highest mean bond strength was achieved with Filtek bulk-fill restorative showing statistically significant difference with Tetric EvoCeram bulk-fill ( p composites. Adhesive failures are mostly observed with X-tra fil bulk fill composites, whereas mixed failures are more common with other bulk fill composites. Bulk-fill composites exhibited adequate bond strength to dentin and can be considered as restorative material of choice in posterior stress bearing areas. Key words: Bond strength, Bulk-fill restoratives, Configuration factor, Polymerization shrinkage.

Hydrogen-induced high damping of bulk metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hasegawa, M.

2009-01-01

There are two important topics concerned with the recent researches on the damping materials of hydrogenated metallic glasses (HMGs). One is the mechanism of the high hydrogen-induced internal friction of HMGs. The other is the materials processing of 'bulk' HMGs for engineering. This article describes the summary of our recent studies on these topics. The first one is closely related to the local structure of the metallic glasses. Therefore, our recent results on the intermediate-range local structure of the simple two Zr-based metallic glasses are described, which has been clarified by the Voronoi analysis using the experimental data of the neutron diffraction measurements. The hydrogen-induced internal friction of HMGs is also discussed on the basis of these recent results of the local structure of the metallic glasses. In terms of the second topic, the first successful preparation of heavily hydrogenated Zr-based bulk HMG rods without hydrogen-induced surface embrittlement is described. They are prepared by a powder-compact-melting and liquid-casting process using Zr-Al-Ni-Cu metallic glass and ZrH 2 powders as the starting materials. It has been found that they have high damping properties.

Bulk Soil Organic Matter d2H as a Precipitation Proxy

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, E. K.; Terwilliger, V. J.; Nakamoto, B. J.; Berhe, A. A.; Fogel, M. L.

2016-12-01

The stable hydrogen isotopic composition (d2H) of leaf waxes have traditionally been used to infer modern and paleoclimate precipitation sources. However, the extent to which evapotranspiration of leaf waters affects the d2H of plant leaf waxes remains hotly contested with offsets varying between species. Because of the relative importance of root organic matter contribution to bulk soil pools compared to litter/leaves and the minimal fractionation between soil water and root material, it is plausible that bulk soil organic matter d2H may be an option for modern and paleoclimate precipitation reconstructions. In this study, we analyzed the non-exchangeable d2H composition of roots, litter, leaves, and bulk soils along an elevation gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada range (USA). Our results show a consistent offset of 30 ± 3‰ in bulk soil organic matter in surface soils from the measured precipitation. This consistent relationship with precipitation was not found in any of the other organic materials that we measured and implies that d2H bulk soil organic matter can record precipitation signals regardless of above-ground species composition. Additionally, we utilized physical density fractionation to determine which fractions (which vary in level of mineral association and in turnover time) of the soil control this relationship. These findings and how this relationship holds with depth will be presented in conjunction with data from a soil profile on the Ethiopian plateau spanning 6000 years.

Millimeter wave surface resistance of grain-aligned Y1Ba2Cu3O(x) bulk material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wosik, J.; Kranenburg, R.A.; Wolfe, J.C.; Selvamanickam, V.; Salama, K.

1990-04-01

Measurements are reported of the millimeter-wave surface resistance of grain-aligned YBa2Cu3O(x) bulk material grown by a liquid-phase process. The measurements were performed by replacing the endplate of a TE(011) cylindrical copper cavity with the superconducting sample. Surface resistance was measured for samples with surfaces oriented perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis of the grains. For the parallel configuration, the surface resistance at 77 K and 80 GHz is given. For a very well-aligned sample with a very low density of Y2BaCuO(y) precipitates, measured in the perpendicular configuration, the transition width (10-90 percent) is about 2 K and the surface resistance is derived at 88 K. The effect of microstructure on surface resistance is discussed. 19 refs

Bulk oil clauses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gough, N.

1993-01-01

The Institute Bulk Oil Clauses produced by the London market and the American SP-13c Clauses are examined in detail in this article. The duration and perils covered are discussed, and exclusions, adjustment clause 15 of the Institute Bulk Oil Clauses, Institute War Clauses (Cargo), and Institute Strikes Clauses (Bulk Oil) are outlined. (UK)

Creep deformation of restorative resin-composites intended for bulk-fill placement.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Safty, S; Silikas, N; Watts, D C

2012-08-01

To determine the creep deformation of several "bulk-fill" resin-composite formulations in comparison with some other types. Six resin-composites; four bulk-fill and two conventional were investigated. Stainless steel split molds (4 mm × 6 mm) were used to prepare cylindrical specimens for creep testing. Specimens were thoroughly irradiated with 650 mW cm(-2). A total of 10 specimens for each material were divided into two groups (n = 5) according to the storage condition; Group A stored dry at 37 °C for 24h and Group B stored in distilled water at 37 °C in an incubator for 24h. Each specimen was loaded (20 MPa) for 2h and unloaded for 2h. The strain deformation was recorded continuously for 4h. Statistical analysis was performed using a two-way ANOVA followed by one-way ANOVA and the Bonferroni post hoc test at a significance level of a = 0.05. The maximum creep strain % ranged from 0.72% up to 1.55% for Group A and the range for Group B increased from 0.79% up to 1.80% due to water sorption. Also, the permanent set ranged from 0.14% up to 0.47% for Group A and from 0.20% up to 0.59% for Group B. Dependent on the material and storage condition, the percentage of creep strain recovery ranged between 64% and 81%. Increased filler loading in the bulk-fill materials decreased the creep strain magnitude. Creep deformation of all studied resin-composites increased with wet storage. The "bulk-fill" composites exhibited an acceptable creep deformation and within the range exhibited by other resin-composites. Copyright © 2012 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Superconductors, analysis and applications, with special reference to the utilisation of bulk (Re)BCO materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coombs, T.A., E-mail: tac1000@cam.ac.u [University of Cambridge, Department of Engineering, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ (United Kingdom)

2010-11-01

The Electrical Power and Energy Conversion (EPEC) superconductivity group at Cambridge University has been working on the application of superconductivity to large scale devices. This work is taking place over a range of areas which cover FCLs, motors and generators, SMES, accelerator magnets and MRI. The research is underpinned by advanced modelling techniques using both pure Critical State models and E-J models to analyse the behaviour of the superconductors. As part of the device design we are concentrating on the analysis of AC losses in complicated geometries such as are found in motor windings and the magnetisation of bulk superconductors to enable their full potential to be realised. We are interested in the full range of high-temperature superconductors and have measured and predicted the performance of YBCO, MgB{sub 2} and BSCCO at a range of temperatures and in wire, tape and bulk forms. This paper concentrates on recent work which includes: modelling of coils using formulations based on H and A. A critical state model for the analysis of coils in SMES; crossed field effects in bulk superconductors; a magnetic model together with experimental results which explain and describe the method of flux pumping whereby a bulk superconductor can be magnetised to a high flux density using a repeatedly applied field of low flux density and finally a new configuration for MRI magnets

27 CFR 24.301 - Bulk still wine record.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... produces or receives still wine in bond, (including wine intended for use as distilling material or vinegar.... The bulk still wine record will contain the following: (a) The volume produced by fermentation in wine... fermentation, amelioration, sweetening, addition of spirits, blending; (d) The volume of wine used and produced...

Solid state properties from bulk to nano

CERN Document Server

Dresselhaus, Mildred; Cronin, Stephen; Gomes Souza Filho, Antonio

2018-01-01

This book fills a gap between many of the basic solid state physics and materials science books that are currently available. It is written for a mixed audience of electrical engineering and applied physics students who have some knowledge of elementary undergraduate quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics. This book, based on a successful course taught at MIT, is divided pedagogically into three parts: (I) Electronic Structure, (II) Transport Properties, and (III) Optical Properties. Each topic is explained in the context of bulk materials and then extended to low-dimensional materials where applicable. Problem sets review the content of each chapter to help students to understand the material described in each of the chapters more deeply and to prepare them to master the next chapters.

Bulk characterization of pharmaceutical powders by low-pressure compression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, A.H.; Sonnergaard, Jørn; Hovgaard, L.

2005-01-01

Low-pressure compression of pharmaceutical powders using small amounts of sample (50 mg) was evaluated as an alternative to traditional bulk powder characterization by tapping volumetry. Material parameters were extrapolated directly from the compression data and by fitting with the Walker...

Synthesis and magnetic properties of bulk transparent PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposites

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shanghua; Qin, Jian; Fornara, Andrea; Toprak, Muhammet; Muhammed, Mamoun; Kim, Do Kyung

2009-05-01

PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposites are fabricated by a chemical method. Monodispersed Fe-oxide nanoparticles are well dispersed in the PMMA matrix by in situ polymerization, resulting in a bulk transparent polymeric nanocomposite. The magnetic behavior of the PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposites is investigated. The transparent PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposite has potentially interesting magneto-optic applications without compromising the advantages of a lightweight, noncorrosive polymeric material with very high transparency even for bulk samples.

Synthesis and magnetic properties of bulk transparent PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shanghua; Qin Jian; Fornara, Andrea; Toprak, Muhammet; Muhammed, Mamoun; Kim, Do Kyung

2009-01-01

PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposites are fabricated by a chemical method. Monodispersed Fe-oxide nanoparticles are well dispersed in the PMMA matrix by in situ polymerization, resulting in a bulk transparent polymeric nanocomposite. The magnetic behavior of the PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposites is investigated. The transparent PMMA/Fe-oxide nanocomposite has potentially interesting magneto-optic applications without compromising the advantages of a lightweight, noncorrosive polymeric material with very high transparency even for bulk samples.

Sink strengths of dislocations taking into account bulk recombination effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steinbach, E.

1988-01-01

The applicability of the rate theory to describe radiation damage processes is closely associated with the calculation of the various sink strengths. In this connection the effect of bulk recombination is usually neglected, because of the complexity of the problem. For this reason we present in this paper, for the first time, by means of the rigorous elastic-field model of a dislocation embedded in a lossy continuum, analytic expressions for the diffusion flux of irradiation-induced point defects into a dislocation, taking into account the elastic interaction, additional sinks and higher order bulk recombination effects. The resulting self-consistent formulae for the dislocation sink strengths clearly demonstrate the importance of the bulk recombination for the micro-structures of irradiated materials. In conjunction with the Harwell computer code VS5 it became clear that this new dislocation bias also leads to a change in the macrostructural observables. The order of magnitude of this effect emphasizes that neglecting bulk recombination as a general principle is not justified

First principles study of lithium insertion in bulk silicon

KAUST Repository

Wan, Wenhui; Zhang, Qianfan; Cui, Yi; Wang, Enge

2010-01-01

Si is an important anode material for the next generation of Li ion batteries. Here the energetics and dynamics of Li atoms in bulk Si have been studied at different Li concentrations on the basis of first principles calculations. It is found

Development of Bulk Nanocrystalline Cemented Tungsten Carbide for Industrial Applicaitons

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Z. Zak Fang, H. Y. Sohn

2009-03-10

This report contains detailed information of the research program entitled "Development of Bulk Nanocrystalline Cemented Tungsten Carbide Materials for Industrial Applications". The report include the processes that were developed for producing nanosized WC/Co composite powders, and an ultrahigh pressure rapid hot consolidation process for sintering of nanosized powders. The mechanical properties of consolidated materials using the nanosized powders are also reported.

Multilayer Integrated Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Yafei

2013-01-01

Multilayer Integrated Film Bulk Acoustic Resonators mainly introduces the theory, design, fabrication technology and application of a recently developed new type of device, multilayer integrated film bulk acoustic resonators, at the micro and nano scale involving microelectronic devices, integrated circuits, optical devices, sensors and actuators, acoustic resonators, micro-nano manufacturing, multilayer integration, device theory and design principles, etc. These devices can work at very high frequencies by using the newly developed theory, design, and fabrication technology of nano and micro devices. Readers in fields of IC, electronic devices, sensors, materials, and films etc. will benefit from this book by learning the detailed fundamentals and potential applications of these advanced devices. Prof. Yafei Zhang is the director of the Ministry of Education’s Key Laboratory for Thin Films and Microfabrication Technology, PRC; Dr. Da Chen was a PhD student in Prof. Yafei Zhang’s research group.

Millimeter wave surface resistance of grain-aligned Y1Ba2Cu3O(x) bulk material

Science.gov (United States)

Wosik, J.; Kranenburg, R. A.; Wolfe, J. C.; Selvamanickam, V.; Salama, K.

1991-01-01

Measurements of the millimeter wave surface resistance of grain-aligned YBa2Cu3O(x) bulk material grown by a liquid phase process are reported. The measurements were performed by replacing the endplate of a TE011 cylindrical copper cavity with the superconducting sample. Surface resistance was measured for samples with surfaces oriented perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis of the grains. It is shown that, for the parallel configuration, the surface resistance at 77 K and 80 GHz is typically near 100 milliohms. For a very well-aligned sample with a very low density of Y2BaCuO(y) precipitates, measured in the perpendicular configuration, the transition width (10-90 percent) is about 2 K, and the surface resistance is less than 50 milliohms at 88 K. The effect of microstructure on surface resistance is discussed.

Cuspal deflection and microleakage in premolar teeth restored with bulk-fill flowable resin-based composite base materials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moorthy, A; Hogg, C H; Dowling, A H

2012-01-01

To assess the cuspal deflection and cervical microleakage of standardised Class II cavities incrementally filled with a dimethacrylate RBC or bulk-fill flowable RBC bases.......To assess the cuspal deflection and cervical microleakage of standardised Class II cavities incrementally filled with a dimethacrylate RBC or bulk-fill flowable RBC bases....

Bulk delivery of explosives offers positive advantages

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1993-09-01

The bulk delivery of precisely-formulated explosives directly to the shothole is a safe, secure and cost effective way of bringing rock to the quarry floor. This article describes several of the latest generation of Anfo trucks. The typical Anfo truck carries ammonium nitrate and fuel oil in bulk, together with several other mix constituents, including an emulsifying agent. These are designed to form the basis of a range of emulsion-type explosives. In effect, these are water in oil emulsions where the water phase consists of droplets of a saturated solution of the oxidizing material suspended in oil. The formulations may be further tailored to the shothole requirements by the addition of oils or waxes, which can alter the viscosity of the explosive. The precise and programmable controls which determine the exact quantities of materials delivered to the mixer mean that the explosive mixtures can be tailored exactly to the requirements of the blasting operation, be it the amount of rock to be dislodged, the geological conditions, or the state of the shothole - either wet or dry. 4 systems are described in detail. 3 figs.

Faraday cage angled-etching of nanostructures in bulk dielectrics

OpenAIRE

Latawiec, Pawel; Burek, Michael J.; Sohn, Young-Ik; Lončar, Marko

2016-01-01

For many emerging optoelectronic materials, heteroepitaxial growth techniques do not offer the same high material quality afforded by bulk, single-crystal growth. However, the need for optical, electrical, or mechanical isolation at the nanoscale level often necessitates the use of a dissimilar substrate, upon which the active device layer stands. Faraday cage angled-etching (FCAE) obviates the need for these planar, thin-film technologies by enabling in-situ device release and isolation thro...

Anal Sphincter Augmentation Using Biological Material.

Science.gov (United States)

Alam, Nasra N; Narang, Sunil K; Köckerling, Ferdinand; Daniels, Ian R; Smart, Neil J

2015-01-01

The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the use of biological materials in the augmentation of the anal sphincter either as part of an overlapping sphincter repair (OSR) or anal bulking procedure. A systematic search of PubMed was conducted using the search terms "anal bulking agents," "anal sphincter repair," or "overlapping sphincter repair." Five studies using biological material as part of an overlapping sphincter repair (OSR) or as an anal bulking agent were identified. 122 patients underwent anal bulking with a biological material. Anorectal physiology was conducted in 27 patients and demonstrated deterioration in maximum resting pressure, and no significant change in maximum squeeze increment. Quality of life scores (QoLs) demonstrated improvements at 6 weeks and 6 months, but this had deteriorated at 12 months of follow up. Biological material was used in 23 patients to carry out an anal encirclement procedure. Improvements in QoLs were observed in patients undergoing OSR as well as anal encirclement using biological material. Incontinence episodes decreased to an average of one per week from 8 to 10 preoperatively. Sphincter encirclement with biological material has demonstrated improvements in continence and QoLs in the short term compared to traditional repair alone. Long-term studies are necessary to determine if this effect is sustained. As an anal bulking agent the benefits are short-term.

Suppression of bulk conductivity in InAs/GaSb broken gap composite quantum wells

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Charpentier, Christophe; Fält, Stefan; Reichl, Christian; Nichele, Fabrizio; Nath Pal, Atindra; Pietsch, Patrick; Ihn, Thomas; Ensslin, Klaus; Wegscheider, Werner [Laboratory for Solid State Physics, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich (Switzerland)

2013-09-09

The two-dimensional topological insulator state in InAs/GaSb quantum wells manifests itself by topologically protected helical edge channel transport relying on an insulating bulk. This work investigates a way of suppressing bulk conductivity by using gallium source materials of different degrees of impurity concentrations. While highest-purity gallium is accompanied by clear conduction through the sample bulk, intentional impurity incorporation leads to a bulk resistance over 1 MΩ, independent of applied magnetic fields. In addition, ultra high electron mobilities for GaAs/AlGaAs structures fabricated in a molecular beam epitaxy system used for the growth of Sb-based samples are reported.

Information or resolution: Which is required from an SEM to study bulk inorganic materials?

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Q

2016-11-01

Significant technological advances in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) have been achieved over the past years. Different SEMs can have significant differences in functionality and performance. This work presents the perspectives on selecting an SEM for research on bulk inorganic materials. Understanding materials demands quantitative composition and orientation information, and informative and interpretable images that reveal subtle differences in chemistry, orientation/structure, topography, and electronic structure. The capability to yield informative and interpretable images with high signal-to-noise ratios and spatial resolutions is an overall result of the SEM system as a whole, from the electron optical column to the detection system. The electron optical column determines probe performance. The roles of the detection system are to capture, filter or discriminate, and convert signal electrons to imaging information. The capability to control practical operating parameters including electron probe size and current, acceleration voltage or landing voltage, working distance, detector selection, and signal filtration is inherently determined by the SEM itself. As a platform for various accessories, e.g. an energy-dispersive spectrometer and an electron backscatter diffraction detector, the properties of the electron optical column, specimen chamber, and stage greatly affect the performance of accessories. Ease-of-use and ease-of-maintenance are of practical importance. It is practically important to select appropriate test specimens, design suitable imaging conditions, and analyze the specimen chamber geometry and dimensions to assess the overall functionality and performance of an SEM. For an SEM that is controlled/operated with a computer, the stable software and user-friendly interface significantly improve the usability of the SEM. SCANNING 38:864-879, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Sodium Flux Growth of Bulk Gallium Nitride

Science.gov (United States)

Von Dollen, Paul Martin

This dissertation focused on development of a novel apparatus and techniques for crystal growth of bulk gallium nitride (GaN) using the sodium flux method. Though several methods exist to produce bulk GaN, none have been commercialized on an industrial scale. The sodium flux method offers potentially lower cost production due to relatively mild process conditions while maintaining high crystal quality. But the current equipment and methods for sodium flux growth of bulk GaN are generally not amenable to large-scale crystal growth or in situ investigation of growth processes, which has hampered progress. A key task was to prevent sodium loss or migration from the sodium-gallium growth melt while permitting N2 gas to access the growing crystal, which was accomplished by implementing a reflux condensing stem along with a reusable sealed capsule. The reflux condensing stem also enabled direct monitoring and control of the melt temperature, which has not been previously reported for the sodium flux method. Molybdenum-based materials were identified from a corrosion study as candidates for direct containment of the corrosive sodium-gallium melt. Successful introduction of these materials allowed implementation of a crucible-free containment system, which improved process control and can potentially reduce crystal impurity levels. Using the new growth system, the (0001) Ga face (+c plane) growth rate was >50 mum/hr, which is the highest bulk GaN growth rate reported for the sodium flux method. Omega X-ray rocking curve (?-XRC) measurements indicated the presence of multiple grains, though full width at half maximum (FWHM) values for individual peaks were 1020 atoms/cm3, possibly due to reactor cleaning and handling procedures. This dissertation also introduced an in situ technique to correlate changes in N2 pressure with dissolution of nitrogen and precipitation of GaN from the sodium-gallium melt. Different stages of N2 pressure decay were identified and linked to

Electronic band structure, magnetic, transport and thermodynamic properties of In-filled skutterudites InxCo4Sb12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leszczynski, J; Da Ros, V; Lenoir, B; Dauscher, A; Candolfi, C; Masschelein, P; Hejtmanek, J; Kutorasinski, K; Tobola, J; Smith, R I; Stiewe, C; Müller, E

2013-01-01

The thermoelectric and thermodynamic properties of polycrystalline In x Co 4 Sb 12 (0.0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.26) skutterudites were investigated and analysed between 2 and 800 K by means of electrical resistivity, thermopower, thermal conductivity and specific heat measurements. Hall effect, sound velocity and thermal expansion measurements were also made in order to gain insights into the transport and elastic properties of these compounds. The impact of the In filling on the crystal structure as well as the thermal dynamics of the In atoms were tracked down to 4 K using powder neutron diffraction experiments. Analyses of the transport data were compared with the evolution of the electronic band structure with x determined theoretically within the Korringa–Kohn–Rostoker method with the coherent potential approximation. These calculations indicate that In gives rise to a remarkably large p-like density of states located at the conduction band edge. The electrical properties show typical trends of heavily doped semiconductors regardless of the In content. The thermal transport in CoSb 3 is strongly influenced by the presence of In in the voids of the crystal structure resulting in a drop in the lattice thermal conductivity values in the whole temperature range. The low value of the Grüneisen parameter suggests that this decrease mainly originates from enhanced mass-fluctuations and point-defect scattering mechanisms. The highest thermoelectric figure of merit ZT ∼ 1.0 at 750 K was achieved at the maximum In filling fraction, i.e. for x = 0.26. (paper)

Dynamic analysis of bulk-fill composites: Effect of food-simulating liquids.

Science.gov (United States)

Eweis, Ahmed Hesham; Yap, Adrian U-Jin; Yahya, Noor Azlin

2017-10-01

This study investigated the effect of food simulating liquids on visco-elastic properties of bulk-fill restoratives using dynamic mechanical analysis. One conventional composite (Filtek Z350 [FZ]), two bulk-fill composites (Filtek Bulk-fill [FB] and Tetric N Ceram [TN]) and a bulk-fill giomer (Beautifil-Bulk Restorative [BB]) were evaluated. Specimens (12 × 2 × 2mm) were fabricated using customized stainless steel molds. The specimens were light-cured, removed from their molds, finished, measured and randomly divided into six groups. The groups (n = 10) were conditioned in the following mediums for 7 days at 37°C: air (control), artificial saliva (SAGF), distilled water, 0.02N citric acid, heptane, 50% ethanol-water solution. Specimens were assessed using dynamic mechanical testing in flexural three-point bending mode and their respective mediums at 37°C and a frequency range of 0.1-10Hz. The distance between the supports were fixed at 10mm and an axial load of 5N was employed. Data for elastic modulus, viscous modulus and loss tangent were subjected to ANOVA/Tukey's tests at significance level p food-simulating liquids on the visco-elastic properties of bulk-fill composites was material and medium dependent. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bulk substrate porosity verification by applying Monte Carlo modeling and Castaing's formula using energy-dispersive x-rays

Science.gov (United States)

Yung, Lai Chin; Fei, Cheong Choke; Mandeep, Jit Singh; Amin, Nowshad; Lai, Khin Wee

2015-11-01

The leadframe fabrication process normally involves additional thin-metal layer plating on the bulk copper substrate surface for wire bonding purposes. Silver, tin, and copper flakes are commonly adopted as plating materials. It is critical to assess the density of the plated metal layer, and in particular to look for porosity or voids underneath the layer, which may reduce the reliability during high-temperature stress. A fast, reliable inspection technique is needed to assess the porosity or void weakness. To this end, the characteristics of x-rays generated from bulk samples were examined using an energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) detector to examine the porosity percentage. Monte Carlo modeling was integrated with Castaing's formula to verify the integrity of the experimental data. Samples with different porosity percentages were considered to test the correlation between the intensity of the collected x-ray signal and the material density. To further verify the integrity of the model, conventional cross-sectional samples were also taken to observe the porosity percentage using Image J software measurement. A breakthrough in bulk substrate assessment was achieved by applying EDX for the first time to nonelemental analysis. The experimental data showed that the EDX features were not only useful for elemental analysis, but also applicable to thin-film metal layer thickness measurement and bulk material density determination. A detailed experiment was conducted using EDX to assess the plating metal layer and bulk material porosity.

Organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic structures: design, morphology and properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bulavko, G V; Ishchenko, A A

2014-01-01

Main approaches to the design of organic bulk heterojunction photovoltaic structures are generalized and systematized. Novel photovoltaic materials based on fullerenes, organic dyes and related compounds, graphene, conjugated polymers and dendrimers are considered. The emphasis is placed on correlations between the chemical structure and properties of materials. The effect of morphology of the photoactive layer on the photovoltaic properties of devices is analyzed. Main methods of optimization of the photovoltaic properties are outlined. The bibliography includes 338 references

On the thermodynamic efficiency of a nickel-based multiferroic thermomagnetic generator: From bulk to atomic scale

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sandoval, Samuel M., E-mail: samuel.m.sandoval@gmail.com; Sepulveda, Abdon E., E-mail: abdon.sepulveda@gmail.com; Keller, Scott M., E-mail: smkeller@ucla.edu [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095 (United States)

2015-04-28

A model is developed to correlate the effects of size on the thermodynamic efficiency for a nickel-based multiferroic thermomagnetic generator device. Three existing models are combined in order to estimate this correlation, they are (1) thermodynamic efficiency relations, (2) a model of ferromagnetic transition behavior, and (3) the bond-order length strength correlation. At the smallest size considered, a monolayer of nickel atoms shows a reduction in Curie temperature from its bulk value of T{sub c,Bulk}=630 K to T{sub c,ML}=240 K. This difference is analytically shown to affect the thermodynamic efficiency values when compared to bulk. Various nickel nanofilms are considered as a working body, such that the combined model predicts relative efficiency values that are comparable to the bulk scale, but operating closer to room-temperature when compared to bulk form. This result is unexpected since the absolute efficiency is shown to increase as a function of decreasing size, this discrepancy is explained as a consequence of Curie point suppression. The combined model is also applied to a hypothetical composite made of separated layers of nickel with distinct thicknesses. This composite material is predicted to spread the ferromagnetic transition across a much larger temperature range as compared to bulk nickel, such that this material may be better suited for different applications; for example, as a sensor or thermal switch. Moreover, this combined model is also shown to give a lower-bound estimate for thermodynamic efficiency, since the actual performance depends on material characterizations that have yet to be determined.

Magnetic levitation force between a superconducting bulk magnet and a permanent magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, J J; He, C Y; Meng, L F; Li, C; Han, R S; Gao, Z X

2003-01-01

The current density J(ρ, z) in a disc-shaped superconducting bulk magnet and the magnetic levitation force F SBM z exerted on the superconducting bulk magnet by a cylindrical permanent magnet are calculated from first principles. The effect of the superconducting parameters of the superconducting bulk is taken into account by assuming the voltage-current law E = E c (J/J c ) n and the material law B = μ 0 H. The magnetic levitation force F SBM z is dominated by the remnant current density J' 2 (ρ, z), which is induced by switching off the applied magnetizing field. High critical current density and flux creep exponent may increase the magnetic levitation force F SBM z . Large volume and high aspect ratio of the superconducting bulk can further enhance the magnetic levitation force F SBM z

SWeRF--A method for estimating the relevant fine particle fraction in bulk materials for classification and labelling purposes.

Science.gov (United States)

Pensis, Ingeborg; Luetzenkirchen, Frank; Friede, Bernd

2014-05-01

In accordance with the European regulation for classification, labelling and packaging of substances and mixtures (CLP) as well as the criteria as set out in the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), fine fraction of crystalline silica (CS) has been classified as a specific target organ toxicity, the specific organ in this case being the lung. Generic cut-off values for products containing a fine fraction of CS trigger the need for a method for the quantification of the fine fraction of CS in bulk materials. This article describes the so-called SWeRF method, the size-weighted relevant fine fraction. The SWeRF method combines the particle size distribution of a powder with probability factors from the EN 481 standard and allows the relevant fine fraction of a material to be calculated. The SWeRF method has been validated with a number of industrial minerals. This will enable manufacturers and blenders to apply the CLP and GHS criteria for the classification of mineral products containing RCS a fine fraction of CS.

Batch and bulk removal of a triarylmethane dye, Fast Green FCF, from wastewater by adsorption over waste materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mittal, Alok; Kaur, Dipika; Mittal, Jyoti

2009-01-01

De-Oiled Soya, an agricultural waste material and Bottom Ash a waste of power plants, have been used as adsorbents for the removal and recovery of a triarylmethane dye Fast Green FCF from wastewater. Batch studies have been carried by observing the effects of pH, temperature, concentration of the dye, amount of adsorbents, sieve size of adsorbent, contact time, etc. Graphical correlation of various adsorption isotherm models like, Langmuir, Freundlich, Tempkin and Dubinin-Radushkevich have been carried out for both the adsorbents. The adsorption over both the materials has been found endothermic and feasible in nature. Various thermodynamic parameters, such as, Gibb's free energy, entropy and enthalpy of the on-going adsorption process have been calculated. The kinetic studies suggest the process following pseudo first order kinetics and involvement of particle diffusion mechanism. The bulk removal of the dye has been carried out by passing the dye solution through columns of Bottom Ash and De-Oiled Soya and saturation factor of each column has been calculated. Attempts have also been made to recover the dye by eluting dilute NaOH through the columns

Nanomorphological study of polymer bulk heterojuntion used in flexible solar devices

Science.gov (United States)

Calderón-Ortiz, Gabriel; Carrasco, Hector; Vedrine-Pauleus, Josee

2014-03-01

Solar cells fabricated with organic polymeric materials can enable large area fabrication on printable and flexible substrates, but increasing their efficiency is coupled to understanding their electrical properties and mechanical function on the nanoscale. In this study we measure the nanoscale conducting and mechanical properties of organic bulk heterojunction polymers coated on graphene and flexible PET or Si substrates. We characterize the nanomorphology of bulk heterojunction conducting polymers by applying conductive atomic force microscope (c-AFM), and force volume mapping for quantitative nanomechanical property calculations.

Estimation of Bulk modulus and microhardness of tetrahedral semiconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorai, Sanjay Kumar

2012-01-01

A general empirical formula was found for calculating of bulk modulus (B) and microhardness (H) from electronegativity and principal quantum number of II-VI, III-V semiconductors. Constant C1, appearing the in the expression of bulk modulus and constants C2 and C3, appearing in the expression of microhardness and the exponent M have following values respectively The numerical values of C1,C2, C3 and M are respectively 206.6, 8.234, 1.291, -1.10 for II-VI 72.4, 31.87, 7.592, -0.95 for III-V semiconductors. Both electro-negativity and principal quantum number can effectively reflect on the chemical bonding behaviour of constituent atoms in these semiconductors. The calculated values of bulk modulus and microhardness are in good agreement with the reported values in the literature. Present study helps in designing novel semiconductor materials, and to further explore the mechanical properties of these semiconductors.

Effect of density increase on self-absorption property of bulk samples

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dao Anh Minh; Tran Duc Thiep

1990-01-01

Asymptotic behaviour due to self-absorption of photon attenuation function in terms of material density for bulk samples has been considered. Some practical applications have also been presented. (author). 9 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

Simulation and analysis of microwave heating while joining bulk ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

ATHARVA

Processing of bulk metallic materials using microwave energy is challenging. ... The distributed power and heat source were computed in a stationary, .... the heat transfer equation is used in order to get the temperature distributions and other system properties. ... equation (2) to obtain the distribution of the E and H fields.

Bulk and contact resistances of gas diffusion layers in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Donghao; Gauthier, Eric; Benziger, Jay B.; Pan, Mu

2014-06-01

A multi-electrode probe is employed to distinguish the bulk and contact resistances of the catalyst layer (CL) and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) with the bipolar plate (BPP). Resistances are compared for Vulcan carbon catalyst layers (CL), carbon paper and carbon cloth GDL materials, and GDLs with microporous layers (MPL). The Vulcan carbon catalyst layer bulk resistance is 100 times greater than the bulk resistance of carbon paper GDL (Toray TG-H-120). Carbon cloth (CCWP) has bulk and contact resistances twice those of carbon paper. Compression of the GDL decreases the GDL contact resistance, but has little effect on the bulk resistance. Treatment of the GDL with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) increases the contact resistance, but has little effect on the bulk resistance. A microporous layer (MPL) added to the GDL decreases the contact resistance, but has little effect on the bulk resistance. An equivalent circuit model shows that for channels less than 1 mm wide the contact resistance is the major source of electronic resistance and is about 10% of the total ohmic resistance associated with the membrane electrode assembly.

Thermoelectric materials -- New directions and approaches. Materials Research Society symposium proceedings, Volume 478

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tritt, T M; Kanatzidis, M G; Lyon, Jr, H B; Mahan, G D [eds.

1997-07-01

field believe that future advances in thermoelectric applications will come through research in new materials. The authors have many new methods of materials synthesis and much more rapid characterization of these materials than were available 20--30 years ago. They have tried to focus the symposium on new directions and new materials such as skutterudites, quantum well and superlattice structures, new metal chalcogenides, rare earth systems, and quasicrystals. Other new materials are also presented in these proceedings. Separate abstracts were prepared for all the papers in this volume.

Bulk Thermoelectric Materials Reinforced with SiC Whiskers

Science.gov (United States)

Akao, Takahiro; Fujiwara, Yuya; Tarui, Yuki; Onda, Tetsuhiko; Chen, Zhong-Chun

2014-06-01

SiC whiskers have been incorporated into Zn4Sb3 compound as reinforcements to overcome its extremely brittle nature. The bulk samples were prepared by either hot-extrusion or hot-pressing techniques. The obtained products containing 1 vol.% to 5 vol.% SiC whiskers were confirmed to exhibit sound appearance, high density, and fine-grained microstructure. Mechanical properties such as the hardness and fracture resistance were improved by the addition of SiC whiskers, as a result of dispersion strengthening and microstructural refinement induced by a pinning effect. Furthermore, crack deflection and/or bridging/pullout mechanisms are invoked by the whiskers. Regarding the thermoelectric properties, the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity values comparable to those of the pure compound are retained over the entire range of added whisker amount. However, the thermal conductivity becomes large with increasing amount of SiC whiskers because of the much higher conductivity of SiC relative to the Zn4Sb3 matrix. This results in a remarkable degradation of the dimensionless figure of merit in the samples with addition of SiC whiskers. Therefore, the optimum amount of SiC whiskers in the Zn4Sb3 matrix should be determined by balancing the mechanical properties and thermoelectric performance.

U.S./Russian lab-to-lab materials protection, control and accounting program efforts at the Institute of Inorganic Materials. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruhter, W.D.; Kositsyn, V.; Rudenko, V.; Siskind, B.; Bieber, A.; Hoida, Hiroshi; Augustson, R.; Ehinger, M.; Smith, B.W.

1996-01-01

The All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM) performs research in nuclear power reactor fuel, spent fuel reprocessing and waste management, materials science of fissionable and reactor structural materials, metallurgy, superconducting materials, and analytical sciences. VNIINM supports the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (MINATOM) in technologies for fabrication and processing of nuclear fuel. As a participant in the US/Russian Lab-to-Lab nuclear materials protection, control and accounting (MPC and A) program, VNIINM is providing support for measurements of nuclear materials in bulk forms by developing specifications, test and evaluation, certification, and implementation of measurement methods for such materials. In 1996, VNIINM will be working with Brookhaven staff in developing and documenting material control and accounting requirements for nuclear materials in bulk form, Livermore and Los Alamos staff in testing and evaluating gamma-ray spectrometry methods for bulk materials, Los Alamos staff in test and evaluation of neutron-coincidence counting techniques, Oak Ridge staff in accounting of bulk materials with process instrumentation, and Pacific Northwest staff on automating VNIINM's coulometric titration system. In addition, VNIINM will develop a computerized accounting system for nuclear material within VNIINM and their storage facility. The paper will describe the status of this work and anticipated progress in 1996

Optical bulk and surface waves with negative refraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Agranovich, V.M.; Shen, Y.R.; Baughman, R.H.; Zakhidov, A.A.

2004-01-01

In materials with negative refraction, the direction of wave propagation is opposite to the direction of the wave vector. Using an approach that characterizes the optical response of a medium totally by a generalized dielectric permittivity, ε-bar (ω,k-bar), we discuss the possibility of seeing negative refraction for optical waves in a number of nonmagnetic media. These include bulk waves in organic materials and in gyrotropic materials where additional exciton-polariton waves can have a negative group velocity. It is known that dispersion of surface waves can be engineered by tailoring a surface transition layer. We show how this effect can be used to obtain surface waves with negative refraction

Magnetic levitation force between a superconducting bulk magnet and a permanent magnet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, J J; He, C Y; Meng, L F; Li, C; Han, R S; Gao, Z X [Department of Physics, Key Laboratory for Artificial Microstructure and Mesoscopic Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

2003-04-01

The current density J({rho}, z) in a disc-shaped superconducting bulk magnet and the magnetic levitation force F{sup SBM}{sub z} exerted on the superconducting bulk magnet by a cylindrical permanent magnet are calculated from first principles. The effect of the superconducting parameters of the superconducting bulk is taken into account by assuming the voltage-current law E = E{sub c}(J/J{sub c}){sup n} and the material law B = {mu}{sub 0}H. The magnetic levitation force F{sup SBM}{sub z} is dominated by the remnant current density J'{sub 2}({rho}, z), which is induced by switching off the applied magnetizing field. High critical current density and flux creep exponent may increase the magnetic levitation force F{sup SBM}{sub z}. Large volume and high aspect ratio of the superconducting bulk can further enhance the magnetic levitation force F{sup SBM}{sub z}.

Transformation of bulk alloys to oxide nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Danni; Benson, Jim; Magasinski, Alexandre; Berdichevsky, Gene; Yushin, Gleb

2017-01-01

One dimensional (1D) nanostructures offer prospects for enhancing the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of a broad range of functional materials and composites, but their synthesis methods are typically elaborate and expensive. We demonstrate a direct transformation of bulk materials into nanowires under ambient conditions without the use of catalysts or any external stimuli. The nanowires form via minimization of strain energy at the boundary of a chemical reaction front. We show the transformation of multimicrometer-sized particles of aluminum or magnesium alloys into alkoxide nanowires of tunable dimensions, which are converted into oxide nanowires upon heating in air. Fabricated separators based on aluminum oxide nanowires enhanced the safety and rate capabilities of lithium-ion batteries. The reported approach allows ultralow-cost scalable synthesis of 1D materials and membranes.

Materials with structural hierarchy

Science.gov (United States)

Lakes, Roderic

1993-01-01

The role of structural hierarchy in determining bulk material properties is examined. Dense hierarchical materials are discussed, including composites and polycrystals, polymers, and biological materials. Hierarchical cellular materials are considered, including cellular solids and the prediction of strength and stiffness in hierarchical cellular materials.

Anatase-rutile phase transformation of titanium dioxide bulk material: a DFT + U approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vu, Nam H; Le, Hieu V; Cao, Thi M; Pham, Viet V; Le, Hung M; Nguyen-Manh, Duc

2012-01-01

The anatase-rutile phase transformation of TiO 2 bulk material is investigated using a density functional theory (DFT) approach in this study. According to the calculations employing the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE) exchange-correlation functional with the Vanderbilt ultrasoft pseudopotential, it is suggested that the anatase phase is more energetically stable than rutile, which is in variance with the experimental observations. Consequently, the DFT + U method is employed in order to predict the correct structural stability in titania from electronic-structure-based total energy calculations. The Hubbard U term is determined by examining the band structure of rutile with various values of U from 3 to 10 eV. At U = 5 eV, a theoretical bandgap for rutile is obtained as 3.12 eV, which is in very good agreement with the reported experimental bandgap. Hence, we choose the DFT + U method (with U = 5 eV) to investigate the transformation pathway using the newly-developed solid-state nudged elastic band (ss-NEB) method, and consequently obtain an intermediate transition structure that is 9.794 eV per four-TiO 2 above the anatase phase. When the Ti-O bonds in the transition state are examined using charge density analysis, seven Ti-O bonds (out of 24 bonds in the anatase unit cell) are broken, and this result is in excellent agreement with a previous experimental study (Penn and Banfield 1999 Am. Miner. 84 871-6).

Characterization and bulk properties of oxides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonder, E.; Connolly, T.F.

1979-06-01

The bulk properties of oxides are divided into two classes, intrinsic properties which depend solely on the identity of the material, and extrinsic ones, which differ for different samples of the same compound. Sources of tabulated numerical values of intrinsic properties are given and modern developments in information storage and retrieval are discussed. Extrinsic properties are shown to depend on defects and trace impurities in the samples. Techniques of trace impurity analysis are discussed and realistic limits of detection and accuracies are given for routine analyses

Bulk contribution to magnetotransport properties of low-defect-density Bi2Te3 topological insulator thin films

Science.gov (United States)

Ngabonziza, P.; Wang, Y.; Brinkman, A.

2018-04-01

An important challenge in the field of topological materials is to carefully disentangle the electronic transport contribution of the topological surface states from that of the bulk. For Bi2Te3 topological insulator samples, bulk single crystals and thin films exposed to air during fabrication processes are known to be bulk conducting, with the chemical potential in the bulk conduction band. For Bi2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy, we combine structural characterization (transmission electron microscopy), chemical surface analysis as function of time (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and magnetotransport analysis to understand the low defect density and record high bulk electron mobility once charge is doped into the bulk by surface degradation. Carrier densities and electronic mobilities extracted from the Hall effect and the quantum oscillations are consistent and reveal a large bulk carrier mobility. Because of the cylindrical shape of the bulk Fermi surface, the angle dependence of the bulk magnetoresistance oscillations is two dimensional in nature.

Fluctuation effects in bulk polymer phase behavior

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bates, F.S.; Rosedale, J.H.; Stepanek, P.; Lodge, T.P.; Wiltzius, P.; Hjelm R, Jr.; Fredrickson, G.H.

1990-01-01

Bulk polymer-polymer, and block copolymer, phase behaviors have traditionally been interpreted using mean-field theories. Recent small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) studies of critical phenomena in model binary polymer mixtures confirm that non-mean-field behavior is restricted to a narrow range of temperatures near the critical point, in close agreement with the Ginzburg criterion. In contrast, strong derivations from mean-field behavior are evident in SANS and rheological measurements on model block copolymers more than 50C above the order-disorder transition (ODT), which can be attributed to sizeable composition fluctuations. Such fluctuation effects undermine the mean-field assumption, conventionally applied to bulk polymers, and result in qualitative changes in phase behavior, such as the elimination of a thermodynamic stability limit in these materials. The influence of fluctuation effects on block copolymer and binary mixture phase behavior is compared and contrasted in this presentation

Transport and first-principles study of novel thermoelectric materials

Science.gov (United States)

Chi, Hang

Thermoelectric materials can recover waste industrial heat and convert it to electricity as well as provide efficient local cooling of electronic devices. The efficiency of such environmentally responsible and exceptionally reliable solid state energy conversion is determined by the dimensionless figure-of-merit ZT = alpha2 sigmaT/kappa, where alpha is the Seebeck coefficient, sigma is the electrical conductivity, kappa is the thermal conductivity, and T is the absolute temperature. The goal of the thesis is to (i) illustrate the physics to achieve high ZT of advanced thermoelectric materials and (ii) explore fundamental structure and transport properties in novel condensed matter systems, via an approach combining comprehensive experimental techniques and state-of-the-art first-principles simulation methods. Thermo-galvanomagnetic transport coefficients are derived from Onsager's reciprocal relations and evaluated via solving Boltzmann transport equation using Fermi-Dirac statistics, under the relaxation time approximation. Such understanding provides insights on enhancing ZT through two physically intuitive and very effective routes: (i) improving power factor PF = alpha2sigma; and (ii) reducing thermal conductivity kappa, as demonstrated in the cases of Mg2Si1-xSnx solid solution and Ge/Te double substituted skutterudites CoSb3(1-x)Ge1.5x Te1.5x, respectively. Motivated by recent theoretical predictions of enhanced thermoelectric performance in highly mismatched alloys, ZnTe:N molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) films deposited on GaAs (100) substrates are carefully examined, which leads to a surprising discovery of significant phonon-drag thermopower (reaching 1-2 mV/K-1) at ~13 K. Further systematic study in Bi2Te3 MBE thin films grown on sapphire (0001) and/or BaF2 (111) substrates, reveal that the peak of phonon drag can be tuned by the choice of substrates with different Debye temperatures. Moreover, the detailed transport and structure studies of Bi2-xTl xTe3

Preparation and characterization of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses in form of plate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pilarczyk, Wirginia

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Zr-based BMGs in form of plate was successful produced by die pressure casting method. • Many techniques have been used to characterize the structure of Zr 55 Cu 30 Ni 5 Al 10 alloy. • The calculated GFA parameters show that the alloy exhibits satisfactory GFA. • The studies reveal that tested as-cast Zr-based alloy is in amorphous state. - Abstract: Zr-based bulk metallic glasses present an interesting combination of physical, chemical and mechanical properties. During the last decade, intensive progress has been made and a number of applications have been suggested for these materials. In order to successfully apply these materials, it is necessary to accurately characterize their structure, thermal stability and other properties accurately. The aim of the presented work is the manufacturing, examination of the structure of selected Zr-based bulk metallic alloys and confirmation of an amorphous structure using X-ray analysis, microscopic observation and thermal analysis. In this work, the Zr-based bulk metallic glasses in form of plate was successful produced by die pressure casting method. Designed scientific station for casting zirconium based amorphous alloys in the form of plates and rods with selected dimensions is in our university a comprehensive method for achieving amorphous materials which enables us to maintain repeatability of as-cast samples with the amorphous structure and the assumed dimensions range. The diffraction pattern and exothermic reaction as well as the fracture surface morphology reveal that studied as-cast Zr-based alloy is in amorphous state. The calculated GFA parameters show that the alloy exhibits satisfactory glass-forming ability in form of studied plate. These obtained values can suggest that studied alloys are suitable materials for further planned practical application at welding process. The success of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses production in form of plate with obtained sizes is important for future

Preparation and characterization of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses in form of plate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pilarczyk, Wirginia, E-mail: wirginia.pilarczyk@polsl.pl

2014-12-05

Highlights: • Zr-based BMGs in form of plate was successful produced by die pressure casting method. • Many techniques have been used to characterize the structure of Zr{sub 55}Cu{sub 30}Ni{sub 5}Al{sub 10} alloy. • The calculated GFA parameters show that the alloy exhibits satisfactory GFA. • The studies reveal that tested as-cast Zr-based alloy is in amorphous state. - Abstract: Zr-based bulk metallic glasses present an interesting combination of physical, chemical and mechanical properties. During the last decade, intensive progress has been made and a number of applications have been suggested for these materials. In order to successfully apply these materials, it is necessary to accurately characterize their structure, thermal stability and other properties accurately. The aim of the presented work is the manufacturing, examination of the structure of selected Zr-based bulk metallic alloys and confirmation of an amorphous structure using X-ray analysis, microscopic observation and thermal analysis. In this work, the Zr-based bulk metallic glasses in form of plate was successful produced by die pressure casting method. Designed scientific station for casting zirconium based amorphous alloys in the form of plates and rods with selected dimensions is in our university a comprehensive method for achieving amorphous materials which enables us to maintain repeatability of as-cast samples with the amorphous structure and the assumed dimensions range. The diffraction pattern and exothermic reaction as well as the fracture surface morphology reveal that studied as-cast Zr-based alloy is in amorphous state. The calculated GFA parameters show that the alloy exhibits satisfactory glass-forming ability in form of studied plate. These obtained values can suggest that studied alloys are suitable materials for further planned practical application at welding process. The success of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses production in form of plate with obtained sizes is

Structure, microstructure and microhardness of rapidly solidified Smy(FexNi1-x)4Sb12 (x = 0.45, 0.50, 0.70, 1) thermoelectric compounds

Science.gov (United States)

Artini, C.; Castellero, A.; Baricco, M.; Buscaglia, M. T.; Carlini, R.

2018-05-01

Skutterudites are interesting compounds for thermoelectric applications. The main drawback in the synthesis of skutterudites by solidification of the melt is the occurrence of two peritectic reactions requiring long annealing times to form a single phase. Aim of this work is to investigate an alternative route for synthesis, based on rapid solidification by planar flow casting. The effect of cooling rate on phases formation and composition, as well as on structure, microstructure and mechanical properties of the filled Smy(FexNi1-x)4Sb12 (x = 0.45, 0.50, 0.70, 1) skutterudites was studied. Conversely to slowly cooled ingots, rapidly quenched ribbons show skutterudite as the main phase, suggesting that deep undercooling of the liquid prevents the nucleation of high temperature phases, such as (Fe,Ni)Sb and (Fe,Ni)Sb2. In as-quenched samples, a slightly out of equilibrium Sm content is revealed, which does not alter the position of the p/n boundary; nevertheless, it exerts an influence on crystallographic properties, such as the cell parameter and the shape of the Sb4 rings in the structure. As-quenched ribbons show a fine microstructure of the skutterudite phase (grain size of 2-20 μm), which only moderately coarsens after annealing at 873 K for 4 days. Vickers microhardness values (350-400 HV) of the skutterudite phase in as-quenched ribbons are affected by the presence of softer phases (i.e. Sb), which are homogeneously and finely dispersed within the sample. The skutterudite hardens after annealing as a consequence of a moderate grain growth, which limits the matrix effect due to the presence of additional phases.

Photon interrogation for bulk measurement of transuranic materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nieschmidt, E.B.

1981-01-01

Investigation and assay of high atomic number materials may be accomplished in near real-time through use of photon interrogation. Photon interrogation, as used here, involves the use of high-energy photons to induce fission and then detect neutrons associated with the fission. This technique has the advantage that the interrogating particle and the detected particle are different. The discussion here will include: (1) neutron production; (2) photon production; (3) neutron counting; (4) sensitivity; and (5) problems associated with large containers. In summary, the attributes and limitations of photon interrogation can be stated as: near real-time accountability; interrogating particle different than detected particle; ability to count prompt or delayed neutrons depending on matrix; radiography or therapy accelerators available; cannot distinguish between fission and fertile material; and interrogated material must be well characterized to obtain safeguards quality results

The Effect of Aqueous Alteration in Antarctic Carbonaceous Chondrites from Comparative ICP-MS Bulk Chemistry

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso-Azcarate, J.; Trigo-Rodriguez, J. M.; Moyano-Cambero, C. E.; Zolensky, M.

2014-01-01

Terrestrial ages of Antarctic carbonaceous chondrites (CC) indicate that these meteorites have been preserved in or on ice for, at least, tens of thousands of years. Due to the porous structure of these chondrites formed by the aggregation of silicate-rich chondrules, refractory inclusions, metal grains, and fine-grained matrix materials, the effect of pervasive terrestrial water is relevant. Our community defends that pristine CC matrices are representing samples of scarcely processed protoplanetary disk materials as they contain stellar grains, but they might also trace parent body processes. It is important to study the effects of terrestrial aqueous alteration in promoting bulk chemistry changes, and creating distinctive alteration minerals. Particularly because it is thought that aqueous alteration has particularly played a key role in some CC groups in modifying primordial bulk chemistry, and homogenizing the isotopic content of fine-grained matrix materials. Fortunately, the mineralogy produced by parent-body and terrestrial aqueous alteration processes is distinctive. With the goal to learn more about terrestrial alteration in Antarctica we are obtaining reflectance spectra of CCs, but also performing ICP-MS bulk chemistry of the different CC groups. A direct comparison with the mean bulk elemental composition of recovered falls might inform us on the effects of terrestrial alteration in finds. With such a goal, in the current work we have analyzed some members representative of CO and CM chondrite groups.

Bulk hydrogen analysis, using neutrons. Final report of the first research co-ordination meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-07-01

There are many situations when hydrogen is required to be measured in a bulk medium. For this reason neutrons are used due to their high penetrating power in dense material. In addition, the mass attenuation coefficient for neutrons in hydrogen is significantly larger than for all other elements, meaning that neutrons have a higher probability of interacting with hydrogen than with other elements in the sample matrix. This CRP was recommended for further development of the techniques and new applications in the following areas: Fast Neutron/Gamma Transmission Technique; Digital Neutron Imaging; Hydrogen Detection by Epithermal Neutrons; Microscopic Behaviour of Hydrogen in Bulk Materials

Bulk characterization methods for non-centrosymmetric materials: second-harmonic generation, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, and ferroelectricity.

Science.gov (United States)

Ok, Kang Min; Chi, Eun Ok; Halasyamani, P Shiv

2006-08-01

Characterization methods for bulk non-centrosymmetric compounds are described. These methods include second-harmonic generation, piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity, and ferroelectricity. In this tutorial review with each phenomenon, details are given of the measurement techniques along with a brief history and background. Finally, data interpretation is discussed.

Bulk Concentration Dependence of Electrolyte Resistance Within Mesopores of Carbon Electrodes in Electric Double-Layer Capacitors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jaekwang; Kim, Daeun; Lee, Ilbok; Son, Hyungbin; Lee, Donghyun; Yoon, Songhun [Chung-Ang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shim, Hyewon [Korea Institute of Nuclear Nonproliferation and Control, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Jinwoo [POSTECH, Pohang (Korea, Republic of)

2016-02-15

Hexagonally ordered mesoporous carbon materials were prepared and used as electrode materials in an electric double-layer capacitor. Using this electrode, the change of electrolyte resistance within the mesopores was investigated according to the bulk electrolyte concentration. Using three different electrochemical transient experiments-imaginary capacitance analysis, chronoamperometry, and hronopotentiometry-the time constant associated with electrolyte transport was determined, which was then used to obtain the electrolyte resistance within the mesopores. With decreasing electrolyte concentration, the increase in electrolyte resistance was smaller than the increase in the resistivity of the bulk electrolyte, which is indicative of a different environment for ionic transport within the mesopores. On using the confinement effect within the mesopores, the predicted higher concentration within mesopore probably results in lower electrolyte resistance, especially under low bulk concentrations.

Elution of monomer from different bulk fill dental composite resins.

Science.gov (United States)

Cebe, Mehmet Ata; Cebe, Fatma; Cengiz, Mehmet Fatih; Cetin, Ali Rıza; Arpag, Osman Fatih; Ozturk, Bora

2015-07-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the elution of Bis-GMA, TEGDMA, HEMA, and Bis-EMA monomers from six bulk fill composite resins over four different time periods, using HPLC. Six different composite resin materials were used in the present study: Tetric Evo Ceram Bulk Fill (Ivoclar Vivadent, Amherst, NY), X-tra Fill (VOCO, Cuxhaven, Germany), Sonic Fill (Kerr, Orange, CA, USA), Filtek Bulk Fill (3M ESPE Dental Product, St. Paul, MN), SDR (Dentsply, Konstanz, Germany), EQUIA (GC America INC, Alsip, IL). The samples (4mm thickness, 5mm diameter) were prepared and polymerized for 20s with a light emitted diode unit. After fabrication, each sample was immediately immersed in 75wt% ethanol/water solution used as extraction fluid and stored in the amber colored bottles at room temperature. Ethanol/water samples were taken (0.5mL) at predefined time intervals:10m (T1), 1h (T2), 24h (T3) and 30 days (T4). These samples were analyzed by HPLC. The obtained data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey HSD at significance level of pcomposites (pcomposite resins in all time periods and the amount of eluted monomers was increased with time. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Zr-based bulk metallic glass for future stent applications: Materials properties, finite element modeling, and in vitro human vascular cell response.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Lu; Pu, Chao; Fisher, Richard K; Mountain, Deidra J H; Gao, Yanfei; Liaw, Peter K; Zhang, Wei; He, Wei

2015-10-01

Despite the prevalent use of crystalline alloys in current vascular stent technology, new biomaterials are being actively sought after to improve stent performance. In this study, we demonstrated the potential of a Zr-Al-Fe-Cu bulk metallic glass (BMG) to serve as a candidate stent material. The mechanical properties of the Zr-based BMG, determined under both static and cyclic loadings, were characterized by high strength, which would allow for the design of thinner stent struts to improve stent biocompatibility. Finite element analysis further complemented the experimental results and revealed that a stent made of the Zr-based BMG was more compliant with the beats of a blood vessel, compared with medical 316L stainless steel. The Zr-based BMG was found to be corrosion resistant in a simulated body environment, owing to the presence of a highly stable ZrO2-rich surface passive film. Application-specific biocompatibility studies were conducted using human aortic endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. The Zr-Al-Fe-Cu BMG was found to support stronger adhesion and faster coverage of endothelial cells and slower growth of smooth muscle cells than 316L stainless steel. These results suggest that the Zr-based BMG could promote re-endothelialization and potentially lower the risk of restenosis, which are critical to improve vascular stent implantation integration. In general, findings in this study raised the curtain for the potential application of BMGs as future candidates for stent applications. Vascular stents are medical devices typically used to restore the lumen of narrowed or clogged blood vessel. Despite the clinical success of metallic materials in stent-assisted angioplasty, post-surgery complications persist due to the mechanical failures, corrosion, and in-stent restenosis of current stents. To overcome these hurdles, strategies including new designs and surface functionalization have been exercised. In addition, the development of new materials with

Mechanisms of the anomalous Pockels effect in bulk water

Science.gov (United States)

Yukita, Shunpei; Suzuki, Yuto; Shiokawa, Naoyuki; Kobayashi, Takayoshi; Tokunaga, Eiji

2018-04-01

The "anomalous" Pockels effect is a phenomenon that a light beam passing between two electrodes in an aqueous electrolyte solution is deflected by an AC voltage applied between the electrodes: the deflection angle is proportional to the voltage such that the incident beam alternately changes its direction. This phenomenon, the Pockels effect in bulk water, apparently contradicts what is believed in nonlinear optics, i.e., macroscopic inversion symmetry should be broken for the second-order nonlinear optical effect to occur such as the first-order electro-optic effect, i.e., the Pockels effect. To clarify the underlying mechanism, the dependence of the effect on the electrode material is investigated to find that the Pockels coefficient with Pt electrodes is two orders of magnitude smaller than with indium tin oxide (ITO) electrodes. It is experimentally confirmed that the Pockels effect of interfacial water in the electric double layer (EDL) on these electrodes shows an electrode dependence similar to the effect in bulk water while the effects depend on the frequency of the AC voltage such that the interfacial signal decreases with frequency but the bulk signal increases with frequency up to 221 Hz. These experimental results lead to a conclusion that the beam deflection is caused by the refractive index gradient in the bulk water region, which is formed transiently by the Pockels effect of interfacial water in the EDL when an AC electric field is applied. The refractive index gradient is caused by the diffuse layer spreading into the bulk region to work as a breaking factor of inversion symmetry of bulk water due to its charge-biased ionic distribution. This mechanism does not contradict the principle of nonlinear optics.

Bulk single crystal ternary substrates for a thermophotovoltaic energy conversion system

Science.gov (United States)

Charache, Greg W.; Baldasaro, Paul F.; Nichols, Greg J.

1998-01-01

A thermophotovoltaic energy conversion device and a method for making the device. The device includes a substrate formed from a bulk single crystal material having a bandgap (E.sub.g) of 0.4 eVternary or quaternary III-V semiconductor active layers.

Nonlinear AC susceptibility, surface and bulk shielding

Science.gov (United States)

van der Beek, C. J.; Indenbom, M. V.; D'Anna, G.; Benoit, W.

1996-02-01

We calculate the nonlinear AC response of a thin superconducting strip in perpendicular field, shielded by an edge current due to the geometrical barrier. A comparison with the results for infinite samples in parallel field, screened by a surface barrier, and with those for screening by a bulk current in the critical state, shows that the AC response due to a barrier has general features that are independent of geometry, and that are significantly different from those for screening by a bulk current in the critical state. By consequence, the nonlinear (global) AC susceptibility can be used to determine the origin of magnetic irreversibility. A comparison with experiments on a Bi 2Sr 2CaCu 2O 8+δ crystal shows that in this material, the low-frequency AC screening at high temperature is mainly due to the screening by an edge current, and that this is the unique source of the nonlinear magnetic response at temperatures above 40 K.

Chirality-dependent friction of bulk molecular solids.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Dian; Cohen, Adam E

2014-08-26

We show that the solid-solid friction between bulk chiral molecular solids can depend on the relative chirality of the two materials. In menthol and 1-phenyl-1-butanol, heterochiral friction is smaller than homochiral friction, while in ibuprofen, heterochiral friction is larger. Chiral asymmetries in the coefficient of sliding friction vary with temperature and can be as large as 30%. In the three compounds tested, the sign of the difference between heterochiral and homochiral friction correlated with the sign of the difference in melting point between racemate (compound or conglomerate) and pure enantiomer. Menthol and ibuprofen each form a stable racemic compound, while 1-phenyl-1-butanol forms a racemic conglomerate. Thus, a difference between heterochiral and homochiral friction does not require the formation of a stable interfacial racemic compound. Measurements of chirality-dependent friction provide a unique means to distinguish the role of short-range intermolecular forces from all other sources of dissipation in the friction of bulk molecular solids.

Nitrogen Detection in Bulk Samples Using a D-D Reaction-Based Portable Neutron Generator

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. A. Naqvi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Nitrogen concentration was measured via 2.52 MeV nitrogen gamma ray from melamine, caffeine, urea, and disperse orange bulk samples using a newly designed D-D portable neutron generator-based prompt gamma ray setup. Inspite of low flux of thermal neutrons produced by D-D reaction-based portable neutron generator and interference of 2.52 MeV gamma rays from nitrogen in bulk samples with 2.50 MeV gamma ray from bismuth in BGO detector material, an excellent agreement between the experimental and calculated yields of nitrogen gamma rays indicates satisfactory performance of the setup for detection of nitrogen in bulk samples.

Bulk solar grade silicon: how chemistry and physics play to get a benevolent microstructured material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pizzini, S. [University of Milano-Bicocca, Department of Materials Science, Milan (Italy); Nedsilicon SpA, Osimo, Ancona (Italy)

2009-07-15

The availability of low-cost alternatives to electronic grade silicon has been and still is the condition for the extensive use of photovoltaics as an efficient sun harvesting system. The first step towards this objective was positively carried out in the 1980s and resulted in the reduction in cost and energy of the growth process using as feedstock electronic grade scraps and a variety of solidification procedures, all of which deliver a multi-crystalline material of high photovoltaic quality. The second step was an intense R and D activity aiming at defining and developing at lab scale a new variety of silicon, called ''solar grade'' silicon, which should fulfil the requirement of both cost effectiveness and high conversion efficiency. The third step involved and still involves the development of cost-effective technologies for the manufacture of solar grade silicon, in alternative to the classical Siemens route, which relays, as is well-known, to the pyrolitic decomposition of high-purity trichlorosilane and which is, also in its more advanced versions, extremely energy intensive. Aim of this paper is to give the author's viewpoint about some open questions concerning bulk solar silicon for PV applications and about challenges and chances of novel feedstocks of direct metallurgical origin. (orig.)

Hygroscopicity and bulk thermal expansion in Y2W3O12

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumithra, S.; Umarji, A.M.

2005-01-01

Negative thermal expansion material, Y 2 W 3 O 12 has been synthesized by the solid-state method and bulk thermal expansion of the material has been investigated from 300 to 1100 K. The material reversibly forms a trihydrate composition whose X-ray diffraction pattern can be indexed to an orthorhombic unit cell with a = 10.098(1) A, b = 13.315(3) A, c = 9.691(4) A. The cell volume of the hydrated pattern is 7% smaller than the unhydrated cell volume. According to the dilatometric studies, the material shows a 3-6% increase in the linear strain at about 400 K, which can be attributed to the removal of water. Sintering the material at 1473 K leads to large grain size of >100 μm, which results in a large hysteresis in the bulk thermal expansion behavior. Hot pressing at 1273 K under a uniaxial pressure of 25 MPa results in a fine-grained (2-5 μm) ceramic. Glazing the ceramic prevents moisture pick up and a linear thermal expansion over the entire temperature range 1100-300 K and an average linear thermal expansion co-efficient of -9.65 x 10 -6 /K is observed. The effect of water on the thermal expansion behavior of this system is discussed

U.S./Russian lab-to-lab materials protection, control and accounting program efforts at the Institute of Inorganic Materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruhter, W.D.; Kositsyn, V.; Rudenko, V.; Siskind, B.; Bieber, A.; Hoida, H.; Augustson; Ehinger, M.; Smith, B.W.

1996-01-01

The All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM) performs research in nuclear power reactor fuel,m spent fuel reprocessing and waste management, materials science of fissionable and reactor structural materials, metallurgy, superconducting materials, and analytical sciences. VNIINM supports the Ministry of Atomic Energy of the Russian Federation (MINATOM) in technologies for fabrication and processing of nuclear fuel. As a participant in the U. S./Russian Lab-to-Lab nuclear materials protection, control and accounting (MPC ampersand A) program, VNIINM is providing evaluation, certification, and implementation of measurement methods for such materials. In 1966, VNIINM will be working with Brookhaven staff in developing and documenting material control and accounting requirements for nuclear materials in bulk form, Livermore and Los Alamos staff in testing and evaluating gamma-ray spectrometry methods for bulk materials, Los Alamos staff in test and evaluation of neutron-coincidence counting techniques, Oak Ridge staff in accounting of bulk materials with process instrumentation, and Pacific Northwest staff on automating VNIINM's coulometric titration system. In addition, VNIINM will develop a computerized accounting system for nuclear material within VNIINM and heir storage facility. This paper describes the status of this work and anticipated progress in 1996

Epitaxially Grown Layered MFI–Bulk MFI Hybrid Zeolitic Materials

KAUST Repository

Kim, Wun-gwi; Zhang, Xueyi; Lee, Jong Suk; Tsapatsis, Michael; Nair, Sankar

2012-01-01

The synthesis of hybrid zeolitic materials with complex micropore-mesopore structures and morphologies is an expanding area of recent interest for a number of applications. Here we report a new type of hybrid zeolite material, composed of a layered

Effect of residual chips on the material removal process of the bulk metallic glass studied by in situ scratch testing inside the scanning electron microscope

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Huang

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Research on material removal mechanism is meaningful for precision and ultra-precision manufacturing. In this paper, a novel scratch device was proposed by integrating the parasitic motion principle linear actuator. The device has a compact structure and it can be installed on the stage of the scanning electron microscope (SEM to carry out in situ scratch testing. Effect of residual chips on the material removal process of the bulk metallic glass (BMG was studied by in situ scratch testing inside the SEM. The whole removal process of the BMG during the scratch was captured in real time. Formation and growth of lamellar chips on the rake face of the Cube-Corner indenter were observed dynamically. Experimental results indicate that when lots of chips are accumulated on the rake face of the indenter and obstruct forward flow of materials, materials will flow laterally and downward to find new location and direction for formation of new chips. Due to similar material removal processes, in situ scratch testing is potential to be a powerful research tool for studying material removal mechanism of single point diamond turning, single grit grinding, mechanical polishing and grating fabrication.

Microstructural characterization of Mg-based bulk metallic glass and nanocomposite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Babilas, Rafał, E-mail: rafal.babilas@polsl.pl [Institute of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18a St., 44-100 Gliwice (Poland); Nowosielski, Ryszard; Pawlyta, Mirosława [Institute of Engineering Materials and Biomaterials, Silesian University of Technology, Konarskiego 18a St., 44-100 Gliwice (Poland); Fitch, Andy [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CS40220, 38043 Grenoble (France); Burian, Andrzej [A. Chelkowski Institute of Physics, University of Silesia, Uniwersytecka 4 St., 40-007 Katowice (Poland)

2015-04-15

New magnesium-based bulk metallic glasses Mg{sub 60}Cu{sub 30}Y{sub 10} have been prepared by pressure casting. Glassy alloys were successfully annealed to become nanocomposite containing 200 nm crystallites in an amorphous matrix. The microstructure of bulk glassy alloy and nanocomposite obtained during heat treatment was examined by X-ray diffraction and scanning and high-resolution electron microscopy. Metallic glass has been also studied to explain the structural characteristics by the reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling based on the diffraction data. The HRTEM images allow to indicate some medium-range order (MRO) regions about 2–3 nm in size and formation of local atomic clusters. The RMC modeling results confirmed some kinds of short range order (SRO) structures. It was found that the structure of bulk metallic glass formed by the pressure casting is homogeneous. The composite material contained very small particles in the amorphous matrix. Homogeneous glassy alloy had better corrosion resistance than a composite containing nanocrystalline particles in a glassy matrix. - Highlights: • RMC modeling demonstrates some kinds of SRO structures in Mg-based BMGs. • HRTEM indicated MRO regions about 2–3 nm and SRO regions about 0.5 nm in size. • Mg-based glassy alloys were successfully annealed to become nanocomposite material. • Crystalline particles have spherical morphology with an average diameter of 200 nm. • Glassy alloy had higher corrosion resistance than a nanocomposite sample.

Electric field dependence of the electron mobility in bulk wurtzite ZnO

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

ZnO) material is studied. The low-field electron mobility is calculated as a function of doping concentration and lattice temperature. The results show that above nearly 50 K the electrical conduction is governed by activation through the bulk ...

Collection of Ni-bearing material from electroless plating waste by magnetic separation with HTS bulk magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, T.; Fukazawa, H.; Fukui, S.; Ogawa, J.; Sato, T.; Ooizumi, M.; Tsujimura, M.; Yokoyama, K.

2014-01-01

Highlights: ► The magnetic separation for Ni compounds was conducted by HTS bulk magnet. ► The coarse Ni-sulfate crystals were formed from the Ni-phosphite precipitates. ► Ni-sulfate crystals was separated from the mixture of Ni-sulfate and Ni-phosphite compounds. -- Abstract: The magnetic separation experiment to collect the Ni compounds from the waste liquid of electroless plating processes was conducted in the open-gradient magnetic separation process with the high temperature superconducting bulk magnet system. The magnetic pole containing Gd-based bulk superconductors was activated to 3.45 T at 35 K in the static magnetic field of 5 T with use of a superconducting solenoid magnet. The coarse Ni-sulfate crystals were formed by adding the concentrated sulfuric acid to the Ni-phosphite precipitates which yielded from the plating waste liquid by controlling the temperature and the pH value. The open-gradient magnetic separation technique was employed to separate the Ni-sulfate crystals from the mixture of the Ni-sulfate and Ni-phosphite compounds by the difference between their magnetic properties. And we succeeded in collecting Ni-sulfate crystals preferentially to the Ni-phosphite by attracting them to the magnetic pole soon after the Ni-sulfate crystals began to grow

Collection of Ni-bearing material from electroless plating waste by magnetic separation with HTS bulk magnet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oka, T., E-mail: okat@eng.niigata-u.ac.jp [Niigata University, 8050 Ikarashi-Ninocho, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181 (Japan); Fukazawa, H.; Fukui, S.; Ogawa, J.; Sato, T.; Ooizumi, M. [Niigata University, 8050 Ikarashi-Ninocho, Nishi-ku, Niigata 950-2181 (Japan); Tsujimura, M. [Aichi Giken Co., 50-1 Takeshita, Hitotugi-cho, Kariya, Aichi 448-0003 (Japan); Yokoyama, K. [Ashikaga Institute of Technology, 268-1 Ohmae-cho, Ashikaga, Tochigi 326-8558 (Japan)

2014-01-15

Highlights: ► The magnetic separation for Ni compounds was conducted by HTS bulk magnet. ► The coarse Ni-sulfate crystals were formed from the Ni-phosphite precipitates. ► Ni-sulfate crystals was separated from the mixture of Ni-sulfate and Ni-phosphite compounds. -- Abstract: The magnetic separation experiment to collect the Ni compounds from the waste liquid of electroless plating processes was conducted in the open-gradient magnetic separation process with the high temperature superconducting bulk magnet system. The magnetic pole containing Gd-based bulk superconductors was activated to 3.45 T at 35 K in the static magnetic field of 5 T with use of a superconducting solenoid magnet. The coarse Ni-sulfate crystals were formed by adding the concentrated sulfuric acid to the Ni-phosphite precipitates which yielded from the plating waste liquid by controlling the temperature and the pH value. The open-gradient magnetic separation technique was employed to separate the Ni-sulfate crystals from the mixture of the Ni-sulfate and Ni-phosphite compounds by the difference between their magnetic properties. And we succeeded in collecting Ni-sulfate crystals preferentially to the Ni-phosphite by attracting them to the magnetic pole soon after the Ni-sulfate crystals began to grow.

Laser ultrasonics for bulk-density distribution measurement on green ceramic tiles

Science.gov (United States)

Revel, G. M.; Cavuto, A.; Pandarese, G.

2016-10-01

In this paper a Laser Ultrasonics (LUT) system is developed and applied to measure bulk density distribution of green ceramic tiles, which are porous materials with low heat conductivity. Bulk density of green ceramic bodies is a fundamental parameter to be kept under control in the industrial production of ceramic tiles. The LUT system proposed is based on a Nd:YAG pulsed laser for excitation and an air-coupled electro-capacitive transducer for detection. The paper reports experimental apparent bulk-density measurements on white ceramic bodies after a calibration procedures. The performances observed are better than those previously achieved by authors using air-coupled ultrasonic probes for both emission and detection, allowing to reduce average uncertainty down to about ±6 kg/m3 (±0.3%), thanks to the increase in excitation efficiency and lateral resolution, while maintaining potential flexibility for on-line application. The laser ultrasonic procedure proposed is available for both on-line and off-line application. In this last case it is possible to obtain bulk density maps with high spatial resolution by a 2D scan without interrupting the production process.

High-temperature bulk acoustic wave sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fritze, Holger

2011-01-01

Piezoelectric crystals like langasite (La 3 Ga 5 SiO 14 , LGS) and gallium orthophosphate (GaPO 4 ) exhibit piezoelectrically excited bulk acoustic waves at temperatures of up to at least 1450 °C and 900 °C, respectively. Consequently, resonant sensors based on those materials enable new sensing approaches. Thereby, resonant high-temperature microbalances are of particular interest. They correlate very small mass changes during film deposition onto resonators or gas composition-dependent stoichiometry changes of thin films already deposited onto the resonators with the resonance frequency shift of such devices. Consequently, the objective of the work is to review the high-temperature properties, the operation limits and the measurement principles of such resonators. The electromechanical properties of high-temperature bulk acoustic wave resonators such as mechanical stiffness, piezoelectric and dielectric constant, effective viscosity and electrical conductivity are described using a one-dimensional physical model and determined accurately up to temperatures as close as possible to their ultimate limit. Insights from defect chemical models are correlated with the electromechanical properties of the resonators. Thereby, crucial properties for stable operation as a sensor under harsh conditions are identified to be the formation of oxygen vacancies and the bulk conductivity. Operation limits concerning temperature, oxygen partial pressure and water vapor pressure are given. Further, application-relevant aspects such as temperature coefficients, temperature compensation and mass sensitivity are evaluated. In addition, approximations are introduced which make the exact model handy for routine data evaluation. An equivalent electrical circuit for high-temperature resonator devices is derived based on the one-dimensional physical model. Low- and high-temperature approximations are introduced. Thereby, the structure of the equivalent circuit corresponds to the

High-temperature bulk acoustic wave sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Fritze, Holger

2011-01-01

Piezoelectric crystals like langasite (La3Ga5SiO14, LGS) and gallium orthophosphate (GaPO4) exhibit piezoelectrically excited bulk acoustic waves at temperatures of up to at least 1450 °C and 900 °C, respectively. Consequently, resonant sensors based on those materials enable new sensing approaches. Thereby, resonant high-temperature microbalances are of particular interest. They correlate very small mass changes during film deposition onto resonators or gas composition-dependent stoichiometry changes of thin films already deposited onto the resonators with the resonance frequency shift of such devices. Consequently, the objective of the work is to review the high-temperature properties, the operation limits and the measurement principles of such resonators. The electromechanical properties of high-temperature bulk acoustic wave resonators such as mechanical stiffness, piezoelectric and dielectric constant, effective viscosity and electrical conductivity are described using a one-dimensional physical model and determined accurately up to temperatures as close as possible to their ultimate limit. Insights from defect chemical models are correlated with the electromechanical properties of the resonators. Thereby, crucial properties for stable operation as a sensor under harsh conditions are identified to be the formation of oxygen vacancies and the bulk conductivity. Operation limits concerning temperature, oxygen partial pressure and water vapor pressure are given. Further, application-relevant aspects such as temperature coefficients, temperature compensation and mass sensitivity are evaluated. In addition, approximations are introduced which make the exact model handy for routine data evaluation. An equivalent electrical circuit for high-temperature resonator devices is derived based on the one-dimensional physical model. Low- and high-temperature approximations are introduced. Thereby, the structure of the equivalent circuit corresponds to the Butterworth

Neutron activation analysis of bulk samples from Chinese ancient porcelain to provenance research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jian Zhu; Wentao Hao; Jianming Zhen; Tongxiu Zhen; Glascock, M.D.

2013-01-01

Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is an important technique to determine the provenance of ancient ceramics. The most common technique used for preparing ancient samples for NAA is to grind them into a powder and then encapsulate them before neutron irradiation. Unfortunately, ceramic materials are typically very hard making it a challenge to grind them into a powder. In this study we utilize bulk porcelain samples cut from ancient shards. The bulk samples are irradiated by neutrons alongside samples that have been conventionally ground into a powder. The NAA for both the bulk samples and powders are compared and shown to provide equivalent information regarding their chemical composition. Also, the multivariate statistical have been employed to the analysis data for check the consistency. The findings suggest that NAA results are less dependent on the state of the porcelain sample, and thus bulk samples cut from shards may be used to effectively determine their provenance. (author)

Data about shipping of radioactive material for medical use; Datos sobre los envios de material radioactivo para uso medico

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sanches, M.P.; Rodrigues, D.L. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN, Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear - CNEN/SP, Av.Professor Lineu Prestes No. 2242, Zip Code 05508-000, Sao Paulo (Brazil)]. e-mail: msanches@ipen.br

2006-07-01

The transport of radioactive materials implies a risk for the personnel of the team, those members of the public and the environment. While the safety in the transports is based on the designs of the bulks, the programs of radiological protection are important to assure the radiological control to the workers, the public and the environment during the transport of these materials. Although the biggest interest in the transport of radioactive materials it spreads to be centered in the nuclear industry, the transport in great measure it happens for the materials of medical use. These are mainly transported in bulks of the A Type and excepted bulks. The transport ones are forced, by national regulations, to send to the competent authority, in our case the National Comissao of Nuclear Energy (CNEN), all the data of the transported materials. This work has by objective to aim the efforts made to settle down and to manage the data regarding the transported radioactive materials. The existent data in the Radiopharmaceuticals Center, of the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Investigations 'IPEN/CNEN' it contains the information on all the radioactive materials consigned for the transport during every year. A statistic of the number of deliveries of the radioactive material for the period from 2001 to 2005 is provided. Based on this statistic its are presented the number of bulks, the quantity of activity and the ways of the transport for the period in study. (Author)

Is the surface oxygen exchange rate linked to bulk ion diffusivity in mixed conducting Ruddlesden-Popper phases?

Science.gov (United States)

Tomkiewicz, Alex C; Tamimi, Mazin A; Huq, Ashfia; McIntosh, Steven

2015-01-01

The possible link between oxygen surface exchange rate and bulk oxygen anion diffusivity in mixed ionic and electronic conducting oxides is a topic of great interest and debate. While a large body of experimental evidence and theoretical analyses support a link, observed differences between bulk and surface composition of these materials are hard to reconcile with this observation. This is further compounded by potential problems with simultaneous measurement of both parameters. Here we utilize separate techniques, in situ neutron diffraction and pulsed isotopic surface exchange, to examine bulk ion mobility and surface oxygen exchange rates of three Ruddlesden-Popper phases, general form A(n-1)A(2)'B(n)O(3n+1), A(n-1)A(2)'B(n)X(3n+1); LaSrCo(0.5)Fe(0.5)O(4-δ) (n = 1), La(0.3)Sr(2.7)CoFeO(7-δ) (n = 2) and LaSr3Co(1.5)Fe(1.5)O(10-δ) (n = 3). These measurements are complemented by surface composition determination via high sensitivity-low energy ion scattering. We observe a correlation between bulk ion mobility and surface exchange rate between materials. The surface exchange rates vary by more than one order of magnitude with high anion mobility in the bulk of an oxygen vacancy-rich n = 2 Ruddlesden-Popper material correlating with rapid oxygen exchange. This is in contrast with the similar surface exchange rates which we may expect due to similar surface compositions across all three samples. We conclude that experimental limitations lead to inherent convolution of surface and bulk rates, and that surface exchange steps are not likely to be rate limiting in oxygen incorporation.

Welding of Zr-based bulk metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elahi, M.

2010-01-01

Recently, many bulk metallic glass (BMG) materials with high specific strength, hardness and superior corrosion resistance have been developed and the maximum thickness of some Zr-based BMGs have reached several tenths of millimeters. Nevertheless, homogeneous glassy BMGs are not thick enough to be used for structural applications. In order to extend the engineering applications of BMG materials, BMG welding technologies needed to be developed. Specifically, the welding technologies of dissimilar materials such as BMG materials to crystalline alloys are to be developed. The functional use of the specific properties of each material in dissimilar material combination provides flexible design possibilities for products. In this project electron beam welding is employed to join BMG with BMG of different composition as well as with different crystalline materials (i.e. Hastealoy C-276, Inconel-625 and pure Ti metal). Defects free weld joint was achieved in BMG-BMG welding. Some cracks were produced in melt zone of BMG-Ti and BMG-Hastealoy C-276 welding while at joint they fuse properly with BMG. Inconel-625 could not properly weld with BMG. In all cases, hardness of melt zone was found to be higher than the base metals and the heat affected zone (HAZ). (author)

Surface and Bulk Nanostructuring of Polymers Using Ionizing Radiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Güven, O.; Barsbay, M.; Ateş,; Akbulut, M. [Hacettepe University, Department of Chemistry, Ankara (Turkey)

2009-07-01

Ionizing radiation has long been known tobe a powerful tool in modifying and controlled the properties, forms and eventually end-uses of polymeric materials for a variety of applications. Industrial applications are full of successful examples of macro scale, bulk property modifications by radiation. Extremely short wavelength of ionizing radiation however, makes it an important and useful tool in creating very small size structures in polymers.

Surface and Bulk Nanostructuring of Polymers Using Ionizing Radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Güven, O.; Barsbay, M.; Ateş; Akbulut, M.

2009-01-01

Ionizing radiation has long been known tobe a powerful tool in modifying and controlled the properties, forms and eventually end-uses of polymeric materials for a variety of applications. Industrial applications are full of successful examples of macro scale, bulk property modifications by radiation. Extremely short wavelength of ionizing radiation however, makes it an important and useful tool in creating very small size structures in polymers

EDF's approach to determine specifications for nuclear power plant bulk chemicals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Basile, Alix; Dijoux, Michel; Le-Calvar, Marc; Gressier, Frederic; Mole, Didier

2012-09-01

Chemical impurities in the primary, secondary and auxiliary nuclear power plants circuits generate risks of corrosion of the fuel cladding, steel and nickel based alloys. The PMUC (Products and Materials Used in plants) organization established by EDF intends to limit this risk by specifying maximum levels of impurities in products and materials used for the operation and maintenance of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs). Bulk chemicals specifications, applied on primary and secondary circuit chemicals and hydrogen and nitrogen gases, are particularly important to prevent chemical species to be involved in the corrosion of the NPPs materials. The application of EDF specifications should lead to reasonably exclude any risk of degradation of the first and second containment barriers and auxiliary circuits Important to Safety (IPS) by limiting the concentrations of chlorides, fluorides, sulfates... The risk of metal embrittlement by elements with low melting point (mercury, lead...) is also included. For the primary circuit, the specifications intend to exclude the risk of activation of impurities introduced by the bulk chemicals. For the first containment barrier, to reduce the risk of deposits like zeolites, PMUC products specifications set limit values for calcium, magnesium, aluminum and silica. EDF's approach for establishing specifications for bulk chemicals is taking also into account the capacity of industrial production, as well as costs, limitations of analytical control methods (detection limits) and environmental releases issues. This paper aims to explain EDF's approach relative to specifications of impurities in bulk chemicals. Also presented are the various parameters taken into account to determine the maximum pollution levels in the chemicals, the theoretical hypothesis to set the specifications and the calculation method used to verify that the specifications are suitable. (authors)

Bulk handling benefits from ICT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2007-11-15

The efficiency and accuracy of bulk handling is being improved by the range of management information systems and services available today. As part of the program to extend Richards Bay Coal Terminal, Siemens is installing a manufacturing execution system which coordinates and monitors all movements of raw materials. The article also reports recent developments by AXSMarine, SunGuard Energy, Fuelworx and Railworx in providing integrated tools for tracking, managing and optimising solid/liquid fuels and rail car maintenance activities. QMASTOR Ltd. has secured a contract with Anglo Coal Australia to provide its Pit to Port.net{reg_sign} and iFuse{reg_sign} software systems across all their Australians sites, to include pit-to-product stockpile management. 2 figs.

High-Pressure Synthesis, Structure, and Magnetic Properties of Ge-Substituted Filled Skutterudite Compounds; LnxCo4Sb12−yGey, Ln = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hiroshi Fukuoka

2017-12-01

Full Text Available A series of new Ge-substituted skutterudite compounds with the general composition of LnxCo4Sb12−yGey, where Ln = La, Ce, Pr, and Nd, is prepared by high-pressure and high-temperature reactions at 7 GPa and 800 °C. They have a cubic unit cell and the lattice constant for each compound is 8.9504 (3, 8.94481 (6, 8.9458 (3, and 8.9509 (4 Å for the La, Ce, Pr, and Nd derivatives, respectively. Their chemical compositions, determined by electron prove microanalysis, are La0.57Co4Sb10.1Ge2.38, Ce0.99Co4Sb9.65Ge2.51, Pr0.97Co4Sb9.52Ge2.61, and Nd0.87Co4Sb9.94Ge2.28. Their structural parameters are refined by Rietveld analysis. The guest atom size does not affect the unit cell volume. The Co–Sb/Ge distance mainly determines the unit cell size as well as the size of guest atom site. The valence state of lanthanide ions is 3+.

Trapped magnetic field of a superconducting bulk magnet in high- Tc RE-Ba-Cu-O

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujimoto, Hiroyuki; Yoo, Sang Im; Higuchi, Takamitsu; Nakamura, Yuichi; Kamijo, Hiroki; Nagashima, Ken; Murakami, Masato

1999-01-01

Superconducting magnets made of high-T c superconductors are promising for industrial applications. It is well known that REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7-x and LRE (light rare-earth) Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7-x superconductors prepared by melt processes have a high critical current density, J c , at 77 K and high magnetic fields. Therefore, the materials are very prospective for high magnetic field application as a superconducting permanent/bulk magnet with liquid-nitrogen refrigeration. LREBaCuO bulks, compared with REBaCuO bulks, exhibit a larger J c in high magnetic fields and a much improved irreversibility field, H irr , at 77 K. In this study, we discuss the possibility and trapped field properties of a superconducting bulk magnet, as well as the melt processing for bulk superconductors and their characteristic superconducting properties. One of the applications is a superconducting magnet for the future magnetically levitated (Maglev) train

X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy and diffractometry of MnOx catalysts: surface to bulk composition relationships

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaki, M.I.; Kappenstein, C.

1992-01-01

Surface and bulk analyses of variously-composed, synthetic MnO x catalysts were carried out by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and diffractometry (XRD), respectively. The data obtained were processed for a comprehensive assessment of bulk and surface compositions, surface oxidation state, and crystalline size. The XPS data processing revealed that a credible assessment of the surface composition (MnO x (OH) y (OH 2 ) z necessitates: (i) the implementation of experimental sensitivity factors determined on a local reference surface maintaining a close chemical similarity to the test materials, and (ii) the fine evaluation of contributions of various oxygen-containing surface species to the O 1s electron emission. The most prominent result of the present investigation is that the exposure of the bulk composition at the surface is quite proportioned. Such a surface to bulk intimacy is thought to enable genesizing the surface composition appropriate for certain catalytic and selectivity, via a possible control over the bulk formation events. (orig.)

Quantum and Classical Magnetoresistance in Ambipolar Topological Insulator Transistors with Gate-tunable Bulk and Surface Conduction

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Jifa; Chang, Cuizu; Cao, Helin; He, Ke; Ma, Xucun; Xue, Qikun; Chen, Yong P.

2014-01-01

Weak antilocalization (WAL) and linear magnetoresistance (LMR) are two most commonly observed magnetoresistance (MR) phenomena in topological insulators (TIs) and often attributed to the Dirac topological surface states (TSS). However, ambiguities exist because these phenomena could also come from bulk states (often carrying significant conduction in many TIs) and are observable even in non-TI materials. Here, we demonstrate back-gated ambipolar TI field-effect transistors in (Bi0.04Sb0.96)2Te3 thin films grown by molecular beam epitaxy on SrTiO3(111), exhibiting a large carrier density tunability (by nearly 2 orders of magnitude) and a metal-insulator transition in the bulk (allowing switching off the bulk conduction). Tuning the Fermi level from bulk band to TSS strongly enhances both the WAL (increasing the number of quantum coherent channels from one to peak around two) and LMR (increasing its slope by up to 10 times). The SS-enhanced LMR is accompanied by a strongly nonlinear Hall effect, suggesting important roles of charge inhomogeneity (and a related classical LMR), although existing models of LMR cannot capture all aspects of our data. Our systematic gate and temperature dependent magnetotransport studies provide deeper insights into the nature of both MR phenomena and reveal differences between bulk and TSS transport in TI related materials. PMID:24810663

Fabrication and RF characterization of zinc oxide based Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Raju; Bansal, Deepak; Agrawal, Vimal Kumar; Rangra, Kamaljit; Boolchandani, Dharmendar

2018-06-01

This work reports fabrication and characterization of Film Bulk Acoustic Resonator (FBAR) to improve the performance characteristics for RF filter and sensing application. Zinc oxide as a piezoelectric (PZE) material was deposited on an aluminum bottom electrode using an RF magnetron sputtering, at room temperature, and gold as top electrode for the resonator. Tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) setup was used for bulk silicon etching to make back side cavity to confine the acoustic signals. The transmission characteristics show that the FBARs have a central frequency at 1.77 GHz with a return loss of -10.7 dB.

Neutron transport in Eulerian coordinates with bulk material motion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, Randal S., E-mail: rsb@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computational Physics Group, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Dahl, Jon A., E-mail: dahl@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computational Physics Group, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Fichtl, Erin J., E-mail: efichtl@lanl.gov [Los Alamos National Laboratory, Computational Physics Group, Los Alamos, NM (United States); Morel, Jim E., E-mail: morel@tamu.edu [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A& M University, College Station, TX (United States)

2015-12-15

A consistent, numerically stable algorithm for the solution of the neutron transport equation in the presence of a moving material background is presented for one-dimensional spherical geometry. Manufactured solutions are used to demonstrate the correctness and stability of our numerical algorithm. The importance of including moving material corrections is shown for the r-process in proto-neutron stars.

Thermal characterization of semiconducting polymer bulk heterojunctions

Science.gov (United States)

Remy, Roddel A.

Polymer semiconductors are intriguing due to their potential use in flexible electronics. Poly (3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT)--a very common polymer in this field--is semicrystalline and it is known that crystalline P3HT has a higher hole mobility than amorphous P3HT. Quantifying each fraction in the bulk and thin film states is therefore crucial to understanding its performance in transistor and other applications. In polymer solar cells, it acts as an electron donor and is typically mixed with the nanoparticle-like molecule, phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM)--an electron acceptor--in a thin film morphology termed a bulk heterojunction (BHJ). The structural hierarchy within the bulk heterojunction is complicated and its characterization, with a focus on P3HT morphology, is the topic of this dissertation. Calorimetry can play an important role in the elucidation of P3HT morphology with quantitative analysis of the crystalline and amorphous fractions present in the material. This was demonstrated by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to obtain the enthalpy of fusion of 100% crystalline P3HT (42.9 J/g) using oligomeric P3HT measurements. The more sensitive temperature modulated DSC (TMDSC) was then used to examine the glass transition of P3HT and the crystalline, mobile amorphous and rigid amorphous phases were quantified. The presence of these phases can play a large role in understanding the charge transfer process in polymer semiconductors. BHJ thin films of 50 wt.% PCBM were then analyzed and a polymer crystallinity of 30% was found after thermal annealing from initially non-crystalline polymer material. With assistance from previously acquired small angle neutron scattering data, a thorough analysis of the entire BHJ morphology was accomplished. A surprisingly large rigid amorphous polymer phase is present in the BHJ which could be located at the P3HT/PCBM interface, affecting charge transfer. Finally, interlayer diffusion of PCBM was

Bridgman growth and characterization of bulk single crystals of Ga1-xInxSb for thermophotovoltaic applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boyer, J.R.; Haines, W.T.

1997-12-01

Thermophotovoltaic generation of electricity is attracting renewed attention due to recent advances in low bandgap (0.5--0.7 eV) III-V semiconductors. The use of mixed pseudo-binary compounds allows for the tailoring of the lattice parameter and the bandgap of the material. Conventional deposition techniques (i.e., epitaxy) for producing such ternary or quaternary materials are typically slow and expensive. Production of bulk single crystals of ternary materials, for example Ga 1-x In x Sb, is expected to dramatically reduce such material costs. Bulk single crystals of Ga 1-x In x Sb have been prepared using a Bridgman technique in a two-zone furnace. These crystals are 19 mm in diameter by approximately 50 mm long and were produced using seeds of the same diameter. The effects of growth rate and starting materials on the composition and quality of these crystals will be discussed and compared with other attempts to produce single crystals of this material

Shelf life and outdoor degradation studies of organic bulk heterojunction solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Gergova, R.; Sendova-Vassileva, M.; Popkirov, G.; Gancheva, V.; Grancharov, G.

2018-03-01

We studied the degradation of different types of bulk heterojunction devices, in which the materials comprising the active layer and/or the materials used for the back electrode are varied. The devices are deposited on ITO covered glass and have the structure PEDOT:PSS/BHJ/Me, where PEDOT:PSS is the hole transport layer, BHJ (bulk heterojunction) is the active layer comprising a polymer donor (e.g. PTB7, PCDTBT) and a fullerene derivative acceptor (e.g. PC60BM, PC70BM) deposited by spin coating, Me is the metal back contact, which is either Ag or Al deposited by magnetron sputtering or thermal evaporation. The device performance was monitored after storage in the dark at ambient conditions by following the evolution of the J-V curve over time. Results of real conditions outdoor degradation studies are also presented. The stability of the different solar cell structures studied is compared.

Properties of plastic filtration material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paluch, W.

1988-01-01

Discusses properties of filters made of thermoplastic granulated material. The granulated plastic has a specific density of 10.3-10.6 kN/m/sup 3/ and a bulk density of about 6 kN/m/sup 3/. Its chemical resistance to acids, bases and salts is high but is it soluble in organic solvents. Filters made of this material are characterized by a porosity coefficient of 36.5% and a bulk density of 5.7-6.8 kN/m/sup 3/. Physical and mechanical properties of filter samples made of thermoplastic granulated material (50x50x50 mm) were investigated under laboratory conditions. Compression strength and influencing factors were analyzed (ambient temperature, manufacturing technology). Tests show that this filtration material developed by Poltegor is superior to other filtration materials used in Poland.

Nanoceria and bulk cerium oxide effects on the germination of asplenium adiantum-nigrum spores

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aranzazu Gomez-Garay

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Aim of study: The effect of cerium oxide engineered nanoparticles on the spore germination of the fern. Asplenium adiantum-nigrum. Area of study: France, Britanny Region, Finistére Department, Plougonvelin, in rocks near the sea. Material and methods: Asplenium spores were cultured in vitro on agar medium with Nano-CeO2 (less than 25 nm particle size and bulk-CeO2. The addition of each nano- and bulk particles ranged from 0 to 3000 mg L-1. Observations on rhizoidal and prothallial cells during first stages of gametophyte development were made. The No-Observed-Adverse-Effect concentration (NOAEC and Lowest-Observed-Adverse-Effect-Concentration (LOEC values for spore germination rate data were analyzed.  Main results: Germination was speeded up by 100 to 2000 mg L-1 nanoceria, while bulk cerium oxide had the same effect for 500 to 200 mg L-1 concentrations. Present results showed cellular damage in the protonema while rhizoid cells seemed not to be affected, as growth and membrane integrity remained. Research highlights: Both nanosized and bulk cerium oxide are toxic for the fern Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, although diverse toxicity patterns were shown for both materials. Diverse toxic effects have been observed: chloroplast membrane damage and lysis, cell wall and membrane disruption which leads to cell lysis; and alterations in morphology and development. Keywords: Nanoparticles; rhizoid; prothallus; chloroplast; fern.

Nanoceria and bulk cerium oxide effects on the germination of asplenium adiantum-nigrum spores

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gomez-Garay, A.; Pintos, B.; Manzanera, J.A.; Prada, C.; Martin, L.; Gabriel y Galan, J.M.

2016-07-01

Aim of the study: The effect of cerium oxide engineered nanoparticles on the spore germination of the fern. Asplenium adiantum-nigrum. Area of study: France, Britanny Region, Finistére Department, Plougonvelin, in rocks near the sea. Material and methods: Asplenium spores were cultured in vitro on agar medium with Nano-CeO2 (less than 25 nm particle size) and bulk-CeO2. The addition of each nano- and bulk particles ranged from 0 to 3000 mg L-1. Observations on rhizoidal and prothallial cells during first stages of gametophyte development were made. The No-Observed-Adverse-Effect concentration (NOAEC) and Lowest-Observed-Adverse-Effect-Concentration (LOEC) values for spore germination rate data were analyzed. Main results: Germination was speeded up by 100 to 2000 mg L-1 nanoceria, while bulk cerium oxide had the same effect for 500 to 200 mg L-1 concentrations. Present results showed cellular damage in the protonema while rhizoid cells seemed not to be affected, as growth and membrane integrity remained. Research highlights: Both nanosized and bulk cerium oxide are toxic for the fern Asplenium adiantum-nigrum, although diverse toxicity patterns were shown for both materials. Diverse toxic effects have been observed: chloroplast membrane damage and lysis, cell wall and membrane disruption which leads to cell lysis; and alterations in morphology and development. (Author)

Different Device Architectures for Bulk-Heterojunction Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Getachew Adam

2016-08-01

Full Text Available We report different solar cell designs which allow a simple electrical connection of subsequent devices deposited on the same substrate. By arranging so-called standard and inverted solar-cell architectures next to each other, a serial connection of the two devices can easily be realized by a single compound electrode. In this work, we tested different interfacial layer materials like polyethylenimine (PEI and PEDOT:PSS, and silver as a non-transparent electrode material. We also built organic light emitting diodes applying the same device designs demonstrating the versatility of applied layer stacks. The proposed design should allow the preparation of organic bulk-heterojunction modules with minimized photovoltaically inactive regions at the interconnection of individual devices.

Photoelectron spectroscopy bulk and surface electronic structures

CERN Document Server

Suga, Shigemasa

2014-01-01

Photoelectron spectroscopy is now becoming more and more required to investigate electronic structures of various solid materials in the bulk, on surfaces as well as at buried interfaces. The energy resolution was much improved in the last decade down to 1 meV in the low photon energy region. Now this technique is available from a few eV up to 10 keV by use of lasers, electron cyclotron resonance lamps in addition to synchrotron radiation and X-ray tubes. High resolution angle resolved photoelectron spectroscopy (ARPES) is now widely applied to band mapping of materials. It attracts a wide attention from both fundamental science and material engineering. Studies of the dynamics of excited states are feasible by time of flight spectroscopy with fully utilizing the pulse structures of synchrotron radiation as well as lasers including the free electron lasers (FEL). Spin resolved studies also made dramatic progress by using higher efficiency spin detectors and two dimensional spin detectors. Polarization depend...

Cuspal Deflection of Premolars Restored with Bulk-Fill Composite Resins.

Science.gov (United States)

Behery, Haytham; El-Mowafy, Omar; El-Badrawy, Wafa; Saleh, Belal; Nabih, Sameh

2016-01-01

This in vitro study compared cuspal deflection of premolars restored with three bulk-fill composite resins to that of incrementally-restored ones with a low-shrinkage silorane-based restorative material. Forty freshly-extracted intact human upper premolars were used. Reference points at buccal and palatal cusp tips were acid-etched and composite rods were horizontally bonded to them (TPH-Spectra-HV, Dentsply). Two acrylic resin guiding paths were made for each premolar to guide beaks of a digital micrometer used for cuspal deflection measurements. Standardized MOD cavities, 3 mm wide bucco-lingually and 3.5 mm deep, were prepared on each premolar. Prepared teeth were then equally divided into four groups (n = 10) and each group was assigned to one of four composite resin (QuiXX, Dentsply; X-tra fil, Voco; Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill, Ivoclar Vivadent; low-shrinkage Filtek LS, 3M/ESPE). Adper Single Bond-Plus, 3M/ESPE was used with all bulk-fill restoratives. LS-System Adhesive, 3M/ESPE was used with Filtek LS. For each prepared premolar, cuspal deflection was measured in microns as the difference between two readings between reference points before and after restoration completion. Means and SDs were calculated and data statistically-analyzed using One-way ANOVA and Tukey's test. Filtek LS showed the lowest mean cuspal deflection value 6.4(0.84)μm followed by Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill 10.1(1.2) μm and X-tra fil 12.4(1.35)μm, while QuiXX showed the highest mean 13(1.05)μm. ANOVA indicated significant difference among mean values of groups (p composite resins tested. Filtek LS had the lowest significant mean cuspal deflection in comparison to all tested bulk-fill restoratives. The use of Tetric EvoCeram Bulk fill composite resin restorative for class II MOD cavities resulted in reduced cuspal deflection in comparison to the two other bulk-fill composite resins tested. The silorane-based Filtek LS restorative resulted in the least cuspal deflection in

Stationary walking solitons in bulk quadratic nonlinear media

OpenAIRE

Mihalache, Dumitru; Mazilu, D; Crasonavn, L C; Torner Sabata, Lluís

1997-01-01

We study the mutual trapping of fundamental and second-harmonic light beams propagating in bulk quadratic nonlinear media in the presence of Poynting vector beam walk-off. We show numerically the existence of a two-parameter family of (2 + 1)-dimensional stationary, spatial walking solitons. We have found that the solitons exist at various values of material parameters with different wave intensities and soliton velocities. We discuss the differences between (2 + 1) and (1 + 1)-dimensional wa...

High surface area V-Mo-N materials synthesized from amine intercalated foams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krawiec, Piotr; Narayan Panda, Rabi; Kockrick, Emanuel; Geiger, Dorin; Kaskel, Stefan

2008-01-01

Nanocrystalline ternary V-Mo nitrides were prepared via nitridation of amine intercalated oxide foams or bulk ternary oxides. Specific surface areas were in the range between 40 and 198 m 2 g -1 and strongly depended on the preparation method (foam or bulk oxide). Foamed precursors were favorable for vanadium rich materials, while for molybdenum rich samples bulk ternary oxides resulted in higher specific surface areas. The materials were characterized via nitrogen physisorption at 77 K, X-ray diffraction patterns, electron microscopy, and elemental analysis. - Graphical abstract: Nanocrystalline ternary V-Mo nitrides were prepared via nitridation of amine intercalated oxide foams or bulk ternary oxides. Foamed precursors were favorable for vanadium rich materials, while for molybdenum rich samples bulk ternary oxides resulted in higher specific surface areas

Radiopacity of bulk fill flowable resin composite materials

African Journals Online (AJOL)

2015-08-23

Aug 23, 2015 ... 2017 Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow. Abstract ... one of the latest trends in dental materials research is the ..... Geneva: International Organisation for Standardization; 2000. 13.

Superconducting bulk magnet for maglev vehicle: Stable levitation performance above permanent magnet guideway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deng, Z.; Zheng, J.; Li, J.; Ma, G.; Lu, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, S.; Wang, J.

2008-01-01

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev vehicle is well known as one of the most potential applications of bulk high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) in transported levitation system. Many efforts have promoted the practice of the HTS maglev vehicle in people's life by enhancing the load capability and stability. Besides improving the material performance of bulk HTSC and optimizing permanent magnet guideway (PMG), magnetization method of bulk HTSC is also very effective for more stable levitation. Up to now, applied onboard bulk HTSCs are directly magnetized by field cooling above the PMG for the present HTS maglev test vehicles or prototypes in China, Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Japan. By the direct-field-cooling-magnetization (DFCM) over PMG, maglev performances of the bulk HTSCs are mainly depended on the PMG's magnetic field. However, introducing HTS bulk magnet into the HTS maglev system breaks this dependence, which is magnetized by other non-PMG magnetic field. The feasibility of this HTS bulk magnet for maglev vehicle is investigated in the paper. The HTS bulk magnet is field-cooling magnetized by a Field Control Electromagnets Workbench (FCEW), which produces a constant magnetic field up to 1 T. The levitation and guidance forces of the HTS bulk magnet over PMG with different trapped flux at 15 mm working height (WH) were measured and compared with that by DFCM in the same applied PMG magnetic field at optimal field-cooling height (FCH) 30 mm, WH 15 mm. It is found that HTS bulk magnet can also realize a stable levitation above PMG. The trapped flux of HTS bulk magnet is easily controllable by the charging current of FCEW, which implies the maglev performances of HTS bulk magnet above PMG will be adjustable according to the practical requirement. The more trapped flux HTS bulk magnet will lead to bigger guidance force and smaller repulsion levitation force above PMG. In the case of saturated trapped flux for experimental HTS bulk magnet, it is

Superconducting bulk magnet for maglev vehicle: Stable levitation performance above permanent magnet guideway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deng, Z.; Zheng, J.; Li, J.; Ma, G.; Lu, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, S. [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031 (China); Wang, J. [Applied Superconductivity Laboratory, Southwest Jiaotong University, Chengdu 610031 (China)], E-mail: jsywang@home.swjtu.edu.cn

2008-06-15

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) maglev vehicle is well known as one of the most potential applications of bulk high-temperature superconductors (HTSCs) in transported levitation system. Many efforts have promoted the practice of the HTS maglev vehicle in people's life by enhancing the load capability and stability. Besides improving the material performance of bulk HTSC and optimizing permanent magnet guideway (PMG), magnetization method of bulk HTSC is also very effective for more stable levitation. Up to now, applied onboard bulk HTSCs are directly magnetized by field cooling above the PMG for the present HTS maglev test vehicles or prototypes in China, Germany, Russia, Brazil, and Japan. By the direct-field-cooling-magnetization (DFCM) over PMG, maglev performances of the bulk HTSCs are mainly depended on the PMG's magnetic field. However, introducing HTS bulk magnet into the HTS maglev system breaks this dependence, which is magnetized by other non-PMG magnetic field. The feasibility of this HTS bulk magnet for maglev vehicle is investigated in the paper. The HTS bulk magnet is field-cooling magnetized by a Field Control Electromagnets Workbench (FCEW), which produces a constant magnetic field up to 1 T. The levitation and guidance forces of the HTS bulk magnet over PMG with different trapped flux at 15 mm working height (WH) were measured and compared with that by DFCM in the same applied PMG magnetic field at optimal field-cooling height (FCH) 30 mm, WH 15 mm. It is found that HTS bulk magnet can also realize a stable levitation above PMG. The trapped flux of HTS bulk magnet is easily controllable by the charging current of FCEW, which implies the maglev performances of HTS bulk magnet above PMG will be adjustable according to the practical requirement. The more trapped flux HTS bulk magnet will lead to bigger guidance force and smaller repulsion levitation force above PMG. In the case of saturated trapped flux for experimental HTS bulk

Polymerization stress evolution of a bulk-fill flowable composite under different compliances.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yongwen; Landis, Forrest A; Wang, Zhengzhi; Bai, Ding; Jiang, Li; Chiang, Martin Y M

2016-04-01

To use a compliance-variable instrument to simultaneously measure and compare the polymerization stress (PS) evolution, degree of conversion (DC), and exotherm of a bulk-fill flowable composite to a packable composite. A bulk-fill flowable composite (Filtek Bulk-fill, FBF) and a conventional packable composite (Filtek Z250, Z250) purchased from 3M ESPE were investigated. The composites were studied using a cantilever-beam based instrument equipped with an in situ near infrared (NIR) spectrometer and a microprobe thermocouple. The measurements were carried out under various instrumental compliances (ranging from 0.3327μm/N to 12.3215μm/N) that are comparable to the compliances of clinically prepared tooth cavities. Correlations between the PS and temperature change as well as the DC were interpreted. The maximum PS of both composites at 10min after irradiation decreased with the increase in the compliance of the cantilever beam. The FBF composite generated a lower final stress than the Z250 sample under instrumental compliances less than ca. 4μm/N; however, both materials generated statistically similar PS values at higher compliances. The reaction exotherm and the DC of both materials were found to be independent of compliance. The DC of the FBF sample was slightly higher than that of the packable Z250 composite while the peak exotherm of FBF was almost double that of the Z250 composite. For FBF, a characteristic drop in the PS was observed during the early stage of polymerization for all compliances studied which was not observed in the Z250 sample. This drop was shown to relate to the greater exotherm of the less-filled FBF sample relative to the Z250 composite. While the composites with lower filler content (low viscosity) are generally considered to have lower PS than the conventional packable composites, a bulk-fill flowable composite was shown to produce lower PS under a lower compliance of constraint as would be experienced if the composite was used as

Full in-vitro analyses of new-generation bulk fill dental composites cured by halogen light.

Science.gov (United States)

Tekin, Tuçe Hazal; Kantürk Figen, Aysel; Yılmaz Atalı, Pınar; Coşkuner Filiz, Bilge; Pişkin, Mehmet Burçin

2017-08-01

The objective of this study was to investigate the full in-vitro analyses of new-generation bulk-fill dental composites cured by halogen light (HLG). Two types' four composites were studied: Surefill SDR (SDR) and Xtra Base (XB) as bulk-fill flowable materials; QuixFill (QF) and XtraFill (XF) as packable bulk-fill materials. Samples were prepared for each analysis and test by applying the same procedure, but with different diameters and thicknesses appropriate to the analysis and test requirements. Thermal properties were determined by thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTG) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis; the Vickers microhardness (VHN) was measured after 1, 7, 15 and 30days of storage in water. The degree of conversion values for the materials (DC, %) were immediately measured using near-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). The surface morphology of the composites was investigated by scanning electron microscopes (SEM) and atomic-force microscopy (AFM) analyses. The sorption and solubility measurements were also performed after 1, 7, 15 and 30days of storage in water. In addition to his, the data were statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance, and both the Newman Keuls and Tukey multiple comparison tests. The statistical significance level was established at pfill, resin-based dental composites. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cuspal deflection and microleakage in premolar teeth restored with bulk-fill flowable resin-based composite base materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Moorthy, A; Hogg, C H; Dowling, A H; Grufferty, B F; Benetti, A R; Fleming, G J P

2012-06-01

To assess the cuspal deflection and cervical microleakage of standardised Class II cavities incrementally filled with a dimethacrylate RBC or bulk-fill flowable RBC bases. Twenty-four sound upper premolar teeth with Class II cavities were allocated to three groups (n=8). Restoration of the teeth involved the placement of an RBC (GrandioSO) in eight oblique increments (Group A) or Groups B and C were restored to within 2 mm of the palatal cusp in a single increment with bulk-fill flowable RBC bases (SDR and x-tra base) before the two occlusal cavity increments were placed with GrandioSO. Buccal and palatal cusp deflections were recorded postirradiation using a twin channel deflection measuring gauge. Following restoration, the teeth were thermocycled, immersed in 0.2% basic fuchsin dye for 24h, sectioned and examined for cervical microleakage. The mean total cuspal deflection for the oblique incremental restoration technique was 11.26 (2.56) μm (Group A) and 4.63 (1.19) μm (Group B) and 4.73 (0.99) μm (Group C) for the bulk-fill flowable RBC bases. A significant increase in the mean total cuspal deflection for the incrementally filled GrandioSO compared with the SDR (P=0.007) and x-tra base (P=0.005) restored teeth was evident. No significant difference in the cervical microleakage scores was recorded between groups AC (P>0.05). The bulk-fill flowable RBC bases significantly reduced cuspal deflection compared with a conventional RBC restored in an oblique incremental filling technique with no associated change in cervical microleakage recorded. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Magnetizing of permanent magnet using HTS bulk magnet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Tetsuo; Muraya, Tomoki; Kawasaki, Nobutaka; Fukui, Satoshi; Ogawa, Jun; Sato, Takao; Terasawa, Toshihisa

2011-01-01

A demagnetized Nd-Fe-B permanent magnet was scanned just above the magnetic pole containing the HTS bulk magnet, generating a magnetic field of 3.27 T. The magnet sample was subsequently found to be fully magnetized in the open space of the static magnetic fields. We examined the magnetic field distributions when the magnetic poles were scanned twice to activate the magnetic plates inversely with various overlap distances between the tracks of the HTS bulk magnet. The magnetic field of the 'rewritten' magnet reached the values of the magnetically saturated region of the material, showing steep gradients at the border of each magnetic pole. As a replacement for conventional pulse field magnetizing methods, this technique is proposed to expand the degree of freedom in the design of electromagnetic devices, and is proposed as a novel practical method for magnetizing rare-earth magnets, which have excellent magnetic performance and require intense fields of more than 3 T to be activated. (author)

Influence of the polymer architecture on morphology and device properties of polymer bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cells

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koetse, M.M.; Sweelssen, J.; Franse, T.; Veenstra, S.C.; Kroon, J.M.; Yang, X.N.; Alexeev, A.A.; Loos, J.; Schubert, U.S.; Schoo, H.F.M.; Kafafi, Z.H.; Lane, P.A.

2004-01-01

Polymer bulk hetero junction solar cells were made from poly(2-methoxy-5-(3,7-dimethyloctyloxy)-1,4-phenylene-vinylene) (MDMO-PPV) as donor and poly(cyanoetherphenylenevinylene) (PCNEPV) derivatives as acceptor material. In this paper we start out with discussing the synthesis of the materials.

Fabrication of Bi2223 bulks with high critical current properties sintered in Ag tubes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeda, Yasuaki, E-mail: ytakeda@g.ecc.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Shimoyama, Jun-ichi; Motoki, Takanori [Department of Physics and Mathematics, Aoyama Gakuin University, 5-10-1 Fuchinobe, Chuo-ku, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 252-5258 (Japan); Kishio, Kohji [Department of Applied Chemistry, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656 (Japan); Nakashima, Takayoshi; Kagiyama, Tomohiro; Kobayashi, Shin-ichi; Hayashi, Kazuhiko [Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. 1-1-3 Shimaya, Konohana-ku, Osaka 554-0024 (Japan)

2017-03-15

Highlights: • Fabrication conditions of Bi2223 bulks was reconsidered in terms of high J{sub c}. • Pressure of uniaxial pressing and heat treatment conditions were investigated. • The best sample showed higher J{sub c} than that of practically used Bi2223 bulks. - Abstract: Randomly grain oriented Bi2223 sintered bulks are one of the representative superconducting materials having weak-link problem due to very short coherence length particularly along the c-axis, resulting in poor intergrain J{sub c} properties. In our previous studies, sintering and/or post-annealing under moderately reducing atmospheres were found to be effective for improving grain coupling in Bi2223 sintered bulks. Further optimizations of the synthesis process for Bi2223 sintered bulks were attempted in the present study to enhance their intergrain J{sub c}. Effects of applied pressure of uniaxial pressing and sintering conditions on microstructure and superconducting properties have been systematically investigated. The best sample showed intergrain J{sub c} of 2.0 kA cm{sup −2} at 77 K and 8.2 kA cm{sup −2} at 20 K, while its relative density was low ∼65%. These values are quite high as for a randomly oriented sintered bulk of cuprate superconductors.

Quasiparticle interference of the Fermi arcs and surface-bulk connectivity of a Weyl semimetal.

Science.gov (United States)

Inoue, Hiroyuki; Gyenis, András; Wang, Zhijun; Li, Jian; Oh, Seong Woo; Jiang, Shan; Ni, Ni; Bernevig, B Andrei; Yazdani, Ali

2016-03-11

Weyl semimetals host topologically protected surface states, with arced Fermi surface contours that are predicted to propagate through the bulk when their momentum matches that of the surface projections of the bulk's Weyl nodes. We used spectroscopic mapping with a scanning tunneling microscope to visualize quasiparticle scattering and interference at the surface of the Weyl semimetal TaAs. Our measurements reveal 10 different scattering wave vectors, which can be understood and precisely reproduced with a theory that takes into account the shape, spin texture, and momentum-dependent propagation of the Fermi arc surface states into the bulk. Our findings provide evidence that Weyl nodes act as sinks for electron transport on the surface of these materials. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Simulation study of a chaotic cavity transducer based virtual phased array used for focusing in the bulk of a solid material.

Science.gov (United States)

Delrue, Steven; Van Den Abeele, Koen; Bou Matar, Olivier

2016-04-01

In acoustic and ultrasonic non-destructive testing techniques, it is sometimes beneficial to concentrate sound energy at a chosen location in space and at a specific instance in time, for example to improve the signal-to-noise ratio or activate the nonlinearity of damage features. Time Reversal (TR) techniques, taking advantage of the reversible character of the wave equation, are particularly suited to focus ultrasonic waves in time and space. The characteristics of the energy focusing in solid media using principles of time reversed acoustics are highly influenced by the nature and dimensions of the medium, the number of transducers and the length of the received signals. Usually, a large number of transducers enclosing the domain of interest is needed to improve the quality of the focusing. However, in the case of highly reverberant media, the number of transducers can be reduced to only one (single-channel TR). For focusing in a non-reverberant medium, which is impossible when using only one source, an adaptation of the single-channel reciprocal TR procedure has been recently suggested by means of a Chaotic Cavity Transducer (CCT), a single element transducer glued on a cavity of chaotic shape. In this paper, a CCT is used to focus elastic energy, at different times, in different points along a predefined line on the upper surface of a thick solid sample. Doing so, all focusing points can act as a virtual phased array transducer, allowing to focus in any point along the depth direction of the sample. This is impossible using conventional reciprocal TR, as you need to have access to all points in the bulk of the material for detecting signals to be used in the TR process. To asses and provide a better understanding of this concept, a numerical study has been developed, allowing to verify the basic concepts of the virtual phased array and to illustrate multi-component time reversal focusing in the bulk of a solid material. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All

Nanostructured Bulk Thermoelectric Generator for Efficient Power Harvesting for Self-powered Sensor Networks

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Yanliang [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Butt, Darryl [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Agarwal, Vivek [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

2015-07-01

The objective of this Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology research project is to develop high-efficiency and reliable thermoelectric generators for self-powered wireless sensors nodes utilizing thermal energy from nuclear plant or fuel cycle. The power harvesting technology has crosscutting significance to address critical technology gaps in monitoring nuclear plants and fuel cycle. The outcomes of the project will lead to significant advancement in sensors and instrumentation technology, reducing cost, improving monitoring reliability and therefore enhancing safety. The self-powered wireless sensor networks could support the long-term safe and economical operation of all the reactor designs and fuel cycle concepts, as well as spent fuel storage and many other nuclear science and engineering applications. The research is based on recent breakthroughs in high-performance nanostructured bulk (nanobulk) thermoelectric materials that enable high-efficiency direct heat-to-electricity conversion over a wide temperature range. The nanobulk thermoelectric materials that the research team at Boise State University and University of Houston has developed yield up to a 50% increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, compared with state-of-the-art bulk counterparts. This report focuses on the selection of optimal thermoelectric materials for this project. The team has performed extensive study on two thermoelectric materials systems, i.e. the half-Heusler materials, and the Bismuth-Telluride materials. The report contains our recent research results on the fabrication, characterization and thermoelectric property measurements of these two materials.

Application of textured YBCO bulks with artificial holes for superconducting magnetic bearing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dias, D H N; Sotelo, G G; Moysés, L A; Telles, L G T; Bernstein, P; Aburas, M; Noudem, J G; Kenfaui, D; Chaud, X

2015-01-01

The levitation force between a superconductor and a permanent magnet has been investigated for the development of superconducting magnetic bearings (SMBs). Depending on the proposed application, the SMBs can be arranged with two kinds of symmetries: rotational or linear. The SMBs present passive operation, low level of noise and no friction, but they need a cooling system for their operation. Nowadays the cooling problem may be easily solved by the use of a commercial cryocooler. The levitation force of SMBs is directly related to the quality of the superconductor material (which depends on its critical current density) and the permanent magnet arrangement. Also, research about the YBa 2 Cu 3 O x (Y123) bulk materials has shown that artificial holes enhance the superconducting properties, in particular the magnetic trapped field. In this context, this work proposes the investigation of the levitation force of a bulk Y123 sample with multiple holes and the comparison of its performances with those of conventional plain Y123 superconductors. (paper)

Probing the bulk ionic conductivity by thin film hetero-epitaxial engineering

KAUST Repository

Pergolesi, Daniele

2015-02-01

Highly textured thin films with small grain boundary regions can be used as model systems to directly measure the bulk conductivity of oxygen ion conducting oxides. Ionic conducting thin films and epitaxial heterostructures are also widely used to probe the effect of strain on the oxygen ion migration in oxide materials. For the purpose of these investigations a good lattice matching between the film and the substrate is required to promote the ordered film growth. Moreover, the substrate should be a good electrical insulator at high temperature to allow a reliable electrical characterization of the deposited film. Here we report the fabrication of an epitaxial heterostructure made with a double buffer layer of BaZrO3 and SrTiO3 grown on MgO substrates that fulfills both requirements. Based on such template platform, highly ordered (001) epitaxially oriented thin films of 15% Sm-doped CeO2 and 8 mol% Y2O3 stabilized ZrO2 are grown. Bulk conductivities as well as activation energies are measured for both materials, confirming the success of the approach. The reported insulating template platform promises potential application also for the electrical characterization of other novel electrolyte materials that still need a thorough understanding of their ionic conductivity.

The critical micelle concentration of lecithin in bulk oils and medium chain triacylglycerol is influenced by moisture content and total polar materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, JiSu; Kim, Mi-Ja; Lee, JaeHwan

2018-09-30

Effects of different moisture contents and oxidised compounds on the critical micelle concentration (CMC) of lecithin were determined in bulk oils and in medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCT). CMC of lecithin in MCT was significantly higher than that in other vegetable oils including olive, soybean, corn, and rapeseed oils (p < 0.05). Presence of moisture significantly affected the CMC of lecithin in MCT (p < 0.05). CMC of lecithin was high when the moisture content was below 900 ppm, whereas at a moisture content of 1000 ppm, CMC of lecithin decreased significantly (p < 0.05), and then started to increase. Addition of total polar materials (TPM), which are oxidation products, at 3 and 5% concentrations, decreased CMC of lecithin significantly (p < 0.05) in MCT, compared to when 0, 1, and 1.5% of TPM was added to MCT. As the degree of oxidation increased in corn oil, CMC of lecithin gradually decreased. Additionally, under different moisture contents, corn oils showed a similar pattern of CMC of lecithin in MCT, whereas oxidised corn oil had a little lower CMC of lecithin than unoxidised corn oil. The results clearly showed that the concentration of lecithin for the formation of micelles is greatly influenced by the presence of oxidation products and the moisture content in bulk oils. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Highly oriented Bi-system bulk sample prepared by a decomposition-crystallization process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xi Zhengping; Zhou Lian; Ji Chunlin

1992-01-01

A decomposition-crystallization method, preparing highly oriented Bi-system bulk sample is reported. The effects of processing parameter, decomposition temperature, cooling rate and post-treatment condition on texture and superconductivity are investigated. The method has successfully prepared highly textured Bi-system bulk samples. High temperature annealing does not destroy the growing texture, but the cooling rate has some effect on texture and superconductivity. Annealing in N 2 /O 2 atmosphere can improve superconductivity of the textured sample. The study on the superconductivity of the Bi(Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O bulk material has been reported in numerous papers. The research on J c concentrates on the tape containing the 2223 phase, with very few studies on the J c of bulk sample. The reason for the lack of studies is that the change of superconducting phases at high temperatures has not been known. The authors have reported that the 2212 phase incongruently melted at about 875 degrees C and proceeded to orient the c-axis perpendicular to the surface in the process of crystallization of the 2212 phase. Based on that result, a decomposition-crystallization method was proposed to prepare highly oriented Bi-system bulk sample. In this paper, the process is described in detail and the effects of processing parameters on texture and superconductivity are reported

A Generalizable Top-Down Nanostructuring Method of Bulk Oxides: Sequential Oxygen-Nitrogen Exchange Reaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Lanlee; Kang, Byungwuk; Han, Suyoung; Kim, Hee-Eun; Lee, Moo Dong; Bang, Jin Ho

2018-05-27

A thermal reaction route that induces grain fracture instead of grain growth is devised and developed as a top-down approach to prepare nanostructured oxides from bulk solids. This novel synthesis approach, referred to as the sequential oxygen-nitrogen exchange (SONE) reaction, exploits the reversible anion exchange between oxygen and nitrogen in oxides that is driven by a simple two-step thermal treatment in ammonia and air. Internal stress developed by significant structural rearrangement via the formation of (oxy)nitride and the creation of oxygen vacancies and their subsequent combination into nanopores transforms bulk solid oxides into nanostructured oxides. The SONE reaction can be applicable to most transition metal oxides, and when utilized in a lithium-ion battery, the produced nanostructured materials are superior to their bulk counterparts and even comparable to those produced by conventional bottom-up approaches. Given its simplicity and scalability, this synthesis method could open a new avenue to the development of high-performance nanostructured electrode materials that can meet the industrial demand of cost-effectiveness for mass production. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Raman Spectra of ZrS2 and ZrSe2 from Bulk to Atomically Thin Layers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel Mañas-Valero

2016-09-01

Full Text Available In the race towards two-dimensional electronic and optoelectronic devices, semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs from group VIB have been intensively studied in recent years due to the indirect to direct band-gap transition from bulk to the monolayer. However, new materials still need to be explored. For example, semiconducting TMDCs from group IVB have been predicted to have larger mobilities than their counterparts from group VIB in the monolayer limit. In this work we report the mechanical exfoliation of ZrX2 (X = S, Se from bulk down to the monolayer and we study the dimensionality dependence of the Raman spectra in ambient conditions. We observe Raman signal from bulk to few layers and no shift in the peak positions is found when decreasing the dimensionality. While a Raman signal can be observed from bulk to a bilayer for ZrS2, we could only detect signal down to five layers for flakes of ZrSe2. These results show the possibility of obtaining atomically thin layers of ZrX2 by mechanical exfoliation and represent one of the first steps towards the investigation of the properties of these materials, still unexplored in the two-dimensional limit.

Mechanical reliability of bulk high Tc superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Freiman, S.W.

1990-01-01

Most prospective applications for high T c superconductors in bulk form, e.g. magnets, motors, will require appreciable mechanical strength. Work at NIST [National Institute of Standards and Technology] has begun to address issues related to mechanical reliability. For example, recent studies on Ba-Y-Cu-O have shown that the intrinsic crack growth resistance, K IC , of crystals of this material is even smaller than was first reported, less than that of window glass, and is sensitive to moisture. Processing conditions, particularly sintering and annealing atmosphere, have been shown to have a major influence on microstructure and internal stresses in the material. Large internal stresses result from the tetragonal to orthorhombic phase transformation as well as the thermal expansion anisotropy in the grains of the ceramic. Because stress relief is absent, microcracks form which have a profound influence on strength

Fault current limiter using bulk oxides superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Belmont, O.; Ferracci, P.; Porcar, L.; Barbut, J.M.; Tixador, P.; Noudem, J.G.; Bourgault, D.; Tournier, R.

1998-01-01

We study the limitation possibilities of bulk Bi high T c materials. For this we test these materials with AC or DC currents above their critical currents. We study particularly the evolution of the voltage with time or with current. The material, the value of the current and the time duration play important parts. For sintered Bi samples the voltage depends only on the current even for values much larger than the critical current. With textured samples the V(I) curves shows an hysteretic behaviour due to a warming up. The textured materials are more interesting than sintered ones in terms of required volume for the current limitation. In both cases the superconductors are in a dissipative state but not in the normal state. This state is nevertheless reached if the dissipated energy inside the sample is sufficient. We have tried to apply a magnetic field on the samples in order to trigger a more effective limitation. The voltage increases but with a limited effect for currents much higher (3-4 times) than the critical zero field current. We think that the dissipative state is due mainly to the grain boundaries which become resistive above the critical current. (orig.)

Mining the bulk positron lifetime

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aourag, H.; Guittom, A.

2009-01-01

We introduce a new approach to investigate the bulk positron lifetimes of new systems based on data-mining techniques. Through data mining of bulk positron lifetimes, we demonstrate the ability to predict the positron lifetimes of new semiconductors on the basis of available semiconductor data already studied. Informatics techniques have been applied to bulk positron lifetimes for different tetrahedrally bounded semiconductors in order to discover computational design rules. (copyright 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

A novel in situ device based on a bionic piezoelectric actuator to study tensile and fatigue properties of bulk materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shupeng; Zhang, Zhihui; Ren, Luquan; Zhao, Hongwei; Liang, Yunhong; Zhu, Bing

2014-06-01

In this work, a miniaturized device based on a bionic piezoelectric actuator was developed to investigate the static tensile and dynamic fatigue properties of bulk materials. The device mainly consists of a bionic stepping piezoelectric actuator based on wedge block clamping, a pair of grippers, and a set of precise signal test system. Tensile and fatigue examinations share a set of driving system and a set of signal test system. In situ tensile and fatigue examinations under scanning electron microscope or metallographic microscope could be carried out due to the miniaturized dimensions of the device. The structure and working principle of the device were discussed and the effects of output difference between two piezoelectric stacks on the device were theoretically analyzed. The tensile and fatigue examinations on ordinary copper were carried out using this device and its feasibility was verified through the comparison tests with a commercial tensile examination instrument.

Roles of Co element in Fe-based bulk metallic glasses utilizing industrial FeB alloy as raw material

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shouyuan Wang

2017-08-01

Full Text Available A series of Fe-based bulk metallic glasses were fabricated by a conventional copper mold casting method using a kind of Fe-B industrial raw alloy. It is found that Fe-B-Y-Nb bulk metallic glass with 3 at% of Co addition possesses the best glass forming ability, thermal stability, hardness, magnetic property and anti-corrosion property. The hardness test result indicates a synchronically trend with glass-forming ability parameters. The excellent glass-forming ability and a combination of good mechanical and functional properties suggest that the alloys in this work might be good candidates for commercial use.

Growth of Bulk Wide Bandgap Semiconductor Crystals and Their Potential Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Kuo-Tong; Shi, Detang; Morgan, S. H.; Collins, W. Eugene; Burger, Arnold

1997-01-01

Developments in bulk crystal growth research for electro-optical devices in the Center for Photonic Materials and Devices since its establishment have been reviewed. Purification processes and single crystal growth systems employing physical vapor transport and Bridgman methods were assembled and used to produce high purity and superior quality wide bandgap materials such as heavy metal halides and II-VI compound semiconductors. Comprehensive material characterization techniques have been employed to reveal the optical, electrical and thermodynamic properties of crystals, and the results were used to establish improved material processing procedures. Postgrowth treatments such as passivation, oxidation, chemical etching and metal contacting during the X-ray and gamma-ray device fabrication process have also been investigated and low noise threshold with improved energy resolution has been achieved.

Properties of Bulk Sintered Silver As a Function of Porosity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wereszczak, Andrew A [ORNL; Vuono, Daniel J [ORNL; Wang, Hsin [ORNL; Ferber, Mattison K [ORNL; Liang, Zhenxian [ORNL

2012-06-01

This report summarizes a study where various properties of bulk-sintered silver were investigated over a range of porosity. This work was conducted within the National Transportation Research Center's Power Device Packaging project that is part of the DOE Vehicle Technologies Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Motors Program. Sintered silver, as an interconnect material in power electronics, inherently has porosity in its produced structure because of the way it is made. Therefore, interest existed in this study to examine if that porosity affected electrical properties, thermal properties, and mechanical properties because any dependencies could affect the intended function (e.g., thermal transfer, mechanical stress relief, etc.) or reliability of that interconnect layer and alter how its performance is modeled. Disks of bulk-sintered silver were fabricated using different starting silver pastes and different sintering conditions to promote different amounts of porosity. Test coupons were harvested out of the disks to measure electrical resistivity and electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, coefficient of thermal expansion, elastic modulus, Poisson's ratio, and yield stress. The authors fully recognize that the microstructure of processed bulk silver coupons may indeed not be identical to the microstructure produced in thin (20-50 microns) layers of sintered silver. However, measuring these same properties with such a thin actual structure is very difficult, requires very specialized specimen preparation and unique testing instrumentation, is expensive, and has experimental shortfalls of its own, so the authors concluded that the herein measured responses using processed bulk sintered silver coupons would be sufficient to determine acceptable values of those properties. Almost all the investigated properties of bulk sintered silver changed with porosity content within a range of 3-38% porosity. Electrical resistivity, electrical conductivity

Data about shipping of radioactive material for medical use

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanches, M.P.; Rodrigues, D.L.

2006-01-01

The transport of radioactive materials implies a risk for the personnel of the team, those members of the public and the environment. While the safety in the transports is based on the designs of the bulks, the programs of radiological protection are important to assure the radiological control to the workers, the public and the environment during the transport of these materials. Although the biggest interest in the transport of radioactive materials it spreads to be centered in the nuclear industry, the transport in great measure it happens for the materials of medical use. These are mainly transported in bulks of the A Type and excepted bulks. The transport ones are forced, by national regulations, to send to the competent authority, in our case the National Comissao of Nuclear Energy (CNEN), all the data of the transported materials. This work has by objective to aim the efforts made to settle down and to manage the data regarding the transported radioactive materials. The existent data in the Radiopharmaceuticals Center, of the Institute of Energy and Nuclear Investigations 'IPEN/CNEN' it contains the information on all the radioactive materials consigned for the transport during every year. A statistic of the number of deliveries of the radioactive material for the period from 2001 to 2005 is provided. Based on this statistic its are presented the number of bulks, the quantity of activity and the ways of the transport for the period in study. (Author)

Development of fabrication technique of bulk high superconductor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hong, Gye Won; Kim, Chang Joong; Kim, Ki Baik; Lee, Ho Jin; Lee, Hee Gyoun; Kwon, Sun Chil.

1997-05-01

In order to realize the commercial application of HTSC materials, it is necessary to develop the fabrication process of high Tc oxide superconductor materials with desired shape and for practical application and high critical current density as well as good mechanical strength which critical current density as well as good mechanical strength which can withstand high lorenz force generated at high magnetic field. Much studies have been concentrated to develop the fabrication technique for high critical current density but still there are a lot of gap which should be overcome for large scale application of HTSC materials at liquid nitrogen temperature. Recently some new fabrication techniques have been developed for YBCO bulk superconductor with high mechanical strength and critical current density. In this project, plastic extrusion and melt process techniques were studied. The components materials for the current lead and the flywheel application were fabricated and their characteristics were investigated from the view point of microstructure and phase formation during heat treatment process. (author). 64 refs., 59 figs

Sample dependent response of a LaCl{sub 3}:Ce detector in prompt gamma neutron activation analysis of bulk hydrocarbon samples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Naqvi, A.A., E-mail: aanaqvi@kfupm.edu.sa [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Al-Matouq, Faris A.; Khiari, F.Z. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Isab, A.A. [Department of Chemistry, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia); Khateeb-ur-Rehman,; Raashid, M. [Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Dhahran (Saudi Arabia)

2013-08-11

The response of a LaCl{sub 3}:Ce detector has been found to depend upon the hydrogen content of bulk samples in prompt gamma analysis using 14 MeV neutron inelastic scattering. The moderation of 14 MeV neutrons from hydrogen in the bulk sample produces thermal neutrons around the sample which ultimately excite chlorine capture gamma rays in the LaCl{sub 3}:Ce detector material. Interference of 6.11 MeV chlorine gamma rays from the detector itself with 6.13 MeV oxygen gamma rays from the bulk samples makes the intensity of the 6.13 MeV oxygen gamma ray peak relatively insensitive to variations in oxygen concentration. The strong dependence of the 1.95 MeV doublet chlorine gamma ray yield on hydrogen content of the bulk samples confirms fast neutron moderation from hydrogen in the bulk samples as a major source of production of thermal neutrons and chlorine gamma rays in the LaCl{sub 3}:Ce detector material. Despite their poor oxygen detection capabilities, these detectors have nonetheless excellent detection capabilities for hydrogen and carbon in benzene, butyl alcohol, propanol, propanic acid, and formic acid bulk samples using 14 MeV neutron inelastic scattering.

Elastic properties of superconducting bulk metallic glasses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hempel, Marius

2015-01-01

Within the framework of this thesis the elastic properties of a superconducting bulk metallic glass between 10 mK and 300 K were first investigated. In order to measure the entire temperature range, in particular the low temperature part, new experimental techniques were developed. Using an inductive readout scheme for a double paddle oscillator it was possible to determine the internal friction and the relative change of sound velocity of bulk metallic glasses with high precision. This allowed for a detailed comparison of the data with different models. The analysis focuses on the low temperature regime where the properties of glassy materials are governed by atomic tunneling systems as described by the tunneling model. The influence of conduction electrons in the normal conducting state and quasiparticles in the superconducting state of the glass were accounted for in the theoretical description, resulting in a good agreement over a large temperature range between measured data and prediction of the tunneling model. This allowed for a direct determination of the coupling constant between electrons and tunneling systems. In the vicinity of the transition temperature Tc the data can only be described if a modified distribution function of the tunneling parameters is applied.

Perspective: Web-based machine learning models for real-time screening of thermoelectric materials properties

Science.gov (United States)

Gaultois, Michael W.; Oliynyk, Anton O.; Mar, Arthur; Sparks, Taylor D.; Mulholland, Gregory J.; Meredig, Bryce

2016-05-01

The experimental search for new thermoelectric materials remains largely confined to a limited set of successful chemical and structural families, such as chalcogenides, skutterudites, and Zintl phases. In principle, computational tools such as density functional theory (DFT) offer the possibility of rationally guiding experimental synthesis efforts toward very different chemistries. However, in practice, predicting thermoelectric properties from first principles remains a challenging endeavor [J. Carrete et al., Phys. Rev. X 4, 011019 (2014)], and experimental researchers generally do not directly use computation to drive their own synthesis efforts. To bridge this practical gap between experimental needs and computational tools, we report an open machine learning-based recommendation engine (http://thermoelectrics.citrination.com) for materials researchers that suggests promising new thermoelectric compositions based on pre-screening about 25 000 known materials and also evaluates the feasibility of user-designed compounds. We show this engine can identify interesting chemistries very different from known thermoelectrics. Specifically, we describe the experimental characterization of one example set of compounds derived from our engine, RE12Co5Bi (RE = Gd, Er), which exhibits surprising thermoelectric performance given its unprecedentedly high loading with metallic d and f block elements and warrants further investigation as a new thermoelectric material platform. We show that our engine predicts this family of materials to have low thermal and high electrical conductivities, but modest Seebeck coefficient, all of which are confirmed experimentally. We note that the engine also predicts materials that may simultaneously optimize all three properties entering into zT; we selected RE12Co5Bi for this study due to its interesting chemical composition and known facile synthesis.

Systems and Methods for Implementing Bulk Metallic Glass-Based Strain Wave Gears and Strain Wave Gear Components

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmann, Douglas C. (Inventor); Wilcox, Brian (Inventor)

2016-01-01

Bulk metallic glass-based strain wave gears and strain wave gear components. In one embodiment, a strain wave gear includes: a wave generator; a flexspline that itself includes a first set of gear teeth; and a circular spline that itself includes a second set of gear teeth; where at least one of the wave generator, the flexspline, and the circular spline, includes a bulk metallic glass-based material.

Mechanical and thermal properties of bulk ZrB{sub 2}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakamori, Fumihiro [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (Japan); Ohishi, Yuji, E-mail: ohishi@ms.see.eng.osaka-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (Japan); Muta, Hiroaki; Kurosaki, Ken [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (Japan); Fukumoto, Ken-ichi [Research Institute of Nuclear Engineering, University of Fukui (Japan); Yamanaka, Shinsuke [Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (Japan); Research Institute of Nuclear Engineering, University of Fukui (Japan)

2015-12-15

ZrB{sub 2} appears to have formed in the fuel debris at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster site, through the reaction between Zircaloy cladding materials and the control rod material B{sub 4}C. Since ZrB{sub 2} has a high melting point of 3518 K, the ceramic has been widely studied as a heat-resistant material. Although various studies on the thermochemical and thermophysical properties have been performed for ZrB{sub 2}, significant differences exist in the data, possibly due to impurities or the porosity within the studied samples. In the present study, we have prepared a ZrB{sub 2} bulk sample with 93.1% theoretical density by sintering ZrB{sub 2} powder. On this sample, we have comprehensively examined the thermal and mechanical properties of ZrB{sub 2} by the measurement of specific heat, ultrasonic sound velocities, thermal diffusivity, and thermal expansion. Vickers hardness and fracture toughness were also measured and found to be 13–23 GPa and 1.8–2.8 MPa m{sup 0.5}, respectively. The relationships between these properties were carefully examined in the present study. - Highlights: • A ZrB{sub 2} bulk sample with 93.1% theoretical density was prepared by sintering ZrB{sub 2} powder. • We have evaluated mechanical and thermal properties such as Vickers hardness, fracture toughness and thermal conductivity. • The relationships between these properties were carefully examined.

Density functional theory study of bulk and single-layer magnetic semiconductor CrPS4

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Houlong L.; Zhou, Jia

2016-11-01

Searching for two-dimensional (2D) materials with multifunctionality is one of the main goals of current research in 2D materials. Magnetism and semiconducting are certainly two desirable functional properties for a single 2D material. In line with this goal, here we report a density functional theory (DFT) study of bulk and single-layer magnetic semiconductor CrPS4. We find that the ground-state magnetic structure of bulk CrPS4 exhibits the A-type antiferromagnetic ordering, which transforms to ferromagnetic (FM) ordering in single-layer CrPS4. The calculated formation energy and phonon spectrum confirm the stability of single-layer CrPS4. The band gaps of FM single-layer CrPS4 calculated with a hybrid density functional are within the visible-light range. We also study the effects of FM ordering on the optical absorption spectra and band alignments for water splitting, indicating that single-layer CrPS4 could be a potential photocatalyst. Our work opens up ample opportunities of energy-related applications of single-layer CrPS4.

Nanotetrapods: quantum dot hybrid for bulk heterojunction solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Hybrid thin film solar cell based on all-inorganic nanoparticles is a new member in the family of photovoltaic devices. In this work, a novel and performance-efficient inorganic hybrid nanostructure with continuous charge transportation and collection channels is demonstrated by introducing CdTe nanotetropods (NTs) and CdSe quantum dots (QDs). Hybrid morphology is characterized, demonstrating an interpenetration and compacted contact of NTs and QDs. Electrical measurements show enhanced charge transfer at the hybrid bulk heterojunction interface of NTs and QDs after ligand exchange which accordingly improves the performance of solar cells. Photovoltaic and light response tests exhibit a combined optic-electric contribution from both CdTe NTs and CdSe QDs through a formation of interpercolation in morphology as well as a type II energy level distribution. The NT and QD hybrid bulk heterojunction is applicable and promising in other highly efficient photovoltaic materials such as PbS QDs. PMID:24139059

Soliton interaction in quadratic and cubic bulk media

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johansen, Steffen Kjær; Bang, Ole

2000-01-01

Summary form only given. The understanding of how and to what extend the cubic nonlinearity affects beam propagation and spatial soliton formation in quadratic media is of vital importance in fundamental and applied nonlinear physics. We consider beam propagation under type-I SHG conditions...... in lossless bulk second order nonlinear optical materials with a nonvanishing third order nonlinearity. It is known that in pure second order systems a single soliton can never collapse whereas in systems with both nonlinearities and that stable single soliton propagation can only in some circumstances...

Trions in bulk and monolayer materials: Faddeev equations and hyperspherical harmonics.

Science.gov (United States)

Filikhin, I; Kezerashvili, R Ya; Tsiklauri, Sh M; Vlahovic, B

2018-03-23

The negatively T - and positively T + charged trions in bulk and monolayer semiconductors are studied in the effective mass approximation within the framework of a potential model. The binding energies of trions in various semiconductors are calculated by employing the Faddeev equation with the Coulomb potential in 3D configuration space. Results of calculations of the binding energies for T - are consistent with previous computational studies, while the T + is unbound for all considered cases. The binding energies of trions in monolayer semiconductors are calculated using the method of hyperspherical harmonics by employing the Keldysh potential. It is shown that 2D T - and T + trions are bound and the binding energy of the positive trion is always greater than for the negative trion due to the heavier effective mass of holes. Our calculations demonstrate that screening effects play an important role in the formation of bound states of trions in 2D semiconductors.

The thermoelectric performance of bulk three-dimensional graphene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Zhi, E-mail: yangzhi@tyut.edu.cn [Key Lab of Advanced Transducers and Intelligent Control System, Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); College of Physics and Optoelectronics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Lan, Guoqiang; Ouyang, Bin [Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C5 (Canada); Xu, Li-Chun; Liu, Ruiping [College of Physics and Optoelectronics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Liu, Xuguang, E-mail: liuxuguang@tyut.edu.cn [Key Lab of Interface Science and Engineering in Advanced Materials, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Song, Jun [Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C5 (Canada)

2016-11-01

The electronic and thermoelectric properties of a new carbon bulk material, three-dimensional (3D) graphene, are investigated in this study. Our results show that 3D graphene has unique electronic structure, i.e., near the Fermi level there exist Dirac cones. More importantly, the thermoelectric performance of 3D graphene is excellent, at room temperature the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) is 0.21, an order of magnitude higher than that of graphene. By introducing line defects, the ZT of 3D graphene could be enhanced to 1.52, indicating 3D graphene is a powerful candidate for constructing novel thermoelectric materials. - Highlights: • There exist Dirac cones in three-dimensional (3D) graphene. • The thermoelectric performance of 3D graphene is excellent. • The defective 3D graphene has better thermoelectric performance.

Collection of Ni-bearing material from electroless plating waste by magnetic separation with HTS bulk magnet

Science.gov (United States)

Oka, T.; Fukazawa, H.; Fukui, S.; Ogawa, J.; Sato, T.; Ooizumi, M.; Tsujimura, M.; Yokoyama, K.

2014-01-01

The magnetic separation experiment to collect the Ni compounds from the waste liquid of electroless plating processes was conducted in the open-gradient magnetic separation process with the high temperature superconducting bulk magnet system. The magnetic pole containing Gd-based bulk superconductors was activated to 3.45 T at 35 K in the static magnetic field of 5 T with use of a superconducting solenoid magnet. The coarse Ni-sulfate crystals were formed by adding the concentrated sulfuric acid to the Ni-phosphite precipitates which yielded from the plating waste liquid by controlling the temperature and the pH value. The open-gradient magnetic separation technique was employed to separate the Ni-sulfate crystals from the mixture of the Ni-sulfate and Ni-phosphite compounds by the difference between their magnetic properties. And we succeeded in collecting Ni-sulfate crystals preferentially to the Ni-phosphite by attracting them to the magnetic pole soon after the Ni-sulfate crystals began to grow.

Optical properties of single-layer, double-layer, and bulk MoS2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Molina-Sanchez, Alejandro; Wirtz, Ludger [University of Luxembourg (Luxembourg); Hummer, Kerstin [University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria)

2013-07-01

The rise of graphene has brought attention also to other layered materials that can complement graphene or that can be an alternative in applications as transistors. Single-layer MoS{sub 2} has shown interesting electronic and optical properties such as as high electron mobility at room temperature and an optical bandgap of 1.8 eV. This makes the material suitable for transistors or optoelectronic devices. We present a theoretical study of the optical absorption and photoluminescence spectra of single-layer, double-layer and bulk MoS{sub 2}. The excitonic states have been calculated in the framework of the Bethe-Salpeter equation, taking into account the electron-hole interaction via the screened Coulomb potential. In addition to the step-function like behaviour that is typical for the joint-density of states of 2D materials with parabolic band dispersion, we find a bound excitonic peak that is dominating the luminescence spectra. The peak is split due to spin-orbit coupling for the single-layer and split due to layer-layer interaction for few-layer and bulk MoS{sub 2}. We discuss the changes of the optical bandgap and of the exciton binding energy with the number of layers, comparing our results with the reported experimental data.

Cytotoxic and biological effects of bulk fill composites on rat cortical neuron cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamalak, Hakan; Kamalak, Aliye; Taghizadehghalehjoughi, Ali; Hacımüftüoğlu, Ahmet; Nalcı, Kemal Alp

2018-03-28

The aim of this study was to investigate potential cellular responses and biological effects of new generation dental composites on cortical neuron cells in two different exposure times. The study group included five different bulk-fill flow able composites; Surefil SDR Flow, X-tra Base Flow, Venus Bulk Flow, Filtek Bulk Flow and Tetric-Evo Flow. They were filled in Teflon molds (Height: 4 mm, Width: 6 mm) and irradiated for 20 s. Cortical neuron cells were inoculated into 24-well plates. After 80% of the wells were coated, the 3 µm membrane was inserted and dental filling materials were added. The experiment was continued for 24 and 72 h. Cell viability measured by MTT assay test, total antioxidant and total oxidant status were examined using real assay diagnostic kits. The patterns of cell death (apoptosis) were analyzed using annexin V-FITC staining with flow cytometry. Β-defensins were quantitatively assessed by RT-PCR. IL-6, IL-8 and IL-10 cytokines were measured from the supernatants. All composites significantly affected analyses parameters during the exposure durations. Our data provide evidence that all dental materials tested are cytotoxic in acute phase and these effects are induced cellular death after different exposure periods. Significant cytotoxicity was detected in TE, XB, SS, FBF and VBF groups at 24 and 72 h, respectively.

Characterisation of dust material emitted during harbour operations (HADA Project)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreno, N.; Alastuey, A.; Querol, X.; Artinano, B.; Guerra, A.; Luaces, J.A.; Lorente, A.; Basora, J. [CSIC, Institute of Earth Science ' Jaume Almera' , Barcelona (Spain)

2007-09-15

The aim of this work is to compile an inventory of the main characteristics (chemical, morphological, mineralogical and grain size parameters) of the bulk cargo materials and of the material emitted during different port operations for possible use as tracers of the fugitive PM emission sources. For all cases, the tracer characteristics determined for each bulk material were also identified in the corresponding PM material emitted. This inventory could assist the harbour authorities to identify the origin of high PM events recorded by air quality monitoring networks in harbour areas, and could also help modellers to predict the impact of harbour activities on ambient PM levels. The harbour of Tarragona (north-east Spain) was selected for this study given the high volume of solids in bulk handled. To this end, 12 handling operations of selected materials (clinker, phosphate, pyrite ash, Mn mineral, fine Si-Mn, coke (coal), bituminous coal, tapioca, soybean, alfalfa, corn, andalusite) were selected for the characterisation of suspended and deposited PM. In spite of the coarse grain size distribution of these bulk cargo materials, with a very low % in the fraction {lt}10 {mu}m, manipulation of these materials during harbour operations may result in high emissions of PM 10 with relatively high levels of potential toxic elements. Furthermore, ambient PM 10 in the area with the highest traffic density of the harbour was also sampled and characterised.

Recent developments in melt processed Gd-123 and MgB2 materials at RTRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muralidhar, M.; Fukumoto, Y.; Ishihara, A.; Suzuki, K.; Tomita, M.; Koblischka, M.R.; Yamamoto, A.; Kishio, K.

2014-01-01

Highlights: •Large size Gd-123 bulk material grown in air, using novel thin film Nd-123 seeds grown on MgO crystals. •Quality and uniformity of the Gd-123 materials are excellent. •Batch processed Gd-123 material was used for construction of chilled Maglev vehicle. •MgB 2 bulks can be utilized around 20 K similarly to the Gd-123 material at 77 K. -- Abstract: In this contribution we will report on the current status, recent developments in GdBa 2 Cu 3 O y “Gd-123” and MgB 2 material processing, characterization, and applications at the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI). Batch-processing of Gd-123 bulk material grown in air was performed using novel thin film Nd-123 seeds grown on MgO crystals. In this way, we are able to fabricate materials with good quality, and uniform performance. We examined the technology of the uniform performance of the large 45 mm diameter, single grain Gd-123 bulks for use in application of NMR. For this purpose, four 5 mm thick pieces are cut vertically from a single grain Gd-123 material and the magnetic field distribution is measured using a scanning hall sensor. We found that all four pieces are single domain and exhibit a quite uniform field distribution. Furthermore, the batch-processed bulk materials are used for the construction of a chilled Maglev vehicle. On the other hand, to optimize the trapped field performance of bulk MgB 2 material, several samples were prepared by solid state reaction at different temperatures ranging from 750 to 950 °C in pure argon atmosphere. X-ray diffraction results indicated that single phase and homogenous MgB 2 bulks are produced when sintering them around 775 °C. Further, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that an uniform grain size results by controlling the processing temperature. So, higher trapped fields can be achieved in sintered MgB 2 material

Joint ANSI-INMM 8.1: Nuclear Regulatory Commission study of uranium hexafluoride cylinder material accountability bulk measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pontius, P.E.; Doher, L.W.

1977-01-01

This paper reports the progress to date in a demonstration of the procedures in ANSI N15.18-1975, ''Mass Calibration Techniques for Nuclear Material Control,'' sponsored and funded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). The philosophy of mass measurement as a production process, as promulgated in ANSI N15.18-1975, is reviewed. Special emphasis is placed on the use of artifact Reference Mass Standards (RMS) as references for uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) calibration and bulk measurement processes. The history of the creation of the artifact concept and its adoption by ANSI N15.18-1975 and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is narrated. The program now under way is specifically described; including descriptions of the RMS, their calibration, and the assignment of uncertainties to them by the National Bureau of Standards (NBS). Instrument tests, in-house standards (IHS), and assignment of values relative to the RMS-NBS values at nuclear facilities which measure UF 6 cylinders are described. Comparisons and the data base are detailed to provide realistic measurement process parameters associated with accountable transfer of UF 6 . The as yet uncompleted part of the demonstration is described, that is, to further close the measurement loop by verification both between and within facilities

Processing bulk natural wood into a high-performance structural material

Science.gov (United States)

Jianwei Song; Chaoji Chen; Shuze Zhu; Mingwei Zhu; Jiaqi Dai; Upamanyu Ray; Yiju Li; Yudi Kuang; Yongfeng Li; Nelson Quispe; Yonggang Yao; Amy Gong; Ulrich H. Leiste; Hugh A. Bruck; J. Y. Zhu; Azhar Vellore; Heng Li; Marilyn L. Minus; Zheng Jia; Ashlie Martini; Teng Li; Liangbing Hu

2018-01-01

Synthetic structural materials with exceptional mechanical performance suffer from either large weight and adverse environmental impact (for example, steels and alloys) or complex manufacturing processes and thus high cost (for example, polymer-based and biomimetic composites)1–8. Natural wood is a low-cost and abundant material and has been used...

Thermally actuated magnetization flux pump in single-grain YBCO bulk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yan Yu; Li Quan; Coombs, T A, E-mail: yy300@cam.ac.u, E-mail: ql229@cam.ac.u, E-mail: tac1000@cam.ac.u [EPEC Superconductivity Group, Electrical Engineering Department, Cambridge University, 9 J J Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0FA (United Kingdom)

2009-10-15

Recent progress in material processing has proved that high temperature superconductors (HTS) have a great potential to trap large magnetic fields at cryogenic temperatures. For example, HTS are widely used in MRI scanners and in magnetic bearings. However, using traditional ways to magnetize, the YBCO will always need the applied field to be as high as the expected field on the superconductor or much higher than it, leading to a much higher cost than that of using permanent magnets. In this paper, we find a method of YBCO magnetization in liquid nitrogen that only requires the applied field to be at the level of a permanent magnet. Moreover, rather than applying a pulsed high current field on the YBCO, we use a thermally actuated material (gadolinium) as an intermedia and create a travelling magnetic field through it by changing the partial temperature so that the partial permeability is changed to build up the magnetization of the YBCO gradually after multiple pumps. The gadolinium bulk is located between the YBCO and the permanent magnet and is heated and cooled repeatedly from the outer surface to generate a travelling thermal wave inwards. In the subsequent experiment, an obvious accumulation of the flux density is detected on the surface of the YBCO bulk.

Thermally actuated magnetization flux pump in single-grain YBCO bulk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Yu; Li Quan; Coombs, T A

2009-01-01

Recent progress in material processing has proved that high temperature superconductors (HTS) have a great potential to trap large magnetic fields at cryogenic temperatures. For example, HTS are widely used in MRI scanners and in magnetic bearings. However, using traditional ways to magnetize, the YBCO will always need the applied field to be as high as the expected field on the superconductor or much higher than it, leading to a much higher cost than that of using permanent magnets. In this paper, we find a method of YBCO magnetization in liquid nitrogen that only requires the applied field to be at the level of a permanent magnet. Moreover, rather than applying a pulsed high current field on the YBCO, we use a thermally actuated material (gadolinium) as an intermedia and create a travelling magnetic field through it by changing the partial temperature so that the partial permeability is changed to build up the magnetization of the YBCO gradually after multiple pumps. The gadolinium bulk is located between the YBCO and the permanent magnet and is heated and cooled repeatedly from the outer surface to generate a travelling thermal wave inwards. In the subsequent experiment, an obvious accumulation of the flux density is detected on the surface of the YBCO bulk.

The single-phase multiferroic oxides: from bulk to thin film

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prellier, W; Singh, M P; Murugavel, P

2005-01-01

Complex perovskite oxides exhibit a rich spectrum of properties, including magnetism, ferroelectricity, strongly correlated electron behaviour, superconductivity and magnetoresistance, which have been research areas of great interest among the scientific and technological community for decades. There exist very few materials which exhibit multiple functional properties; one such class of materials is called the multiferroics. Multiferroics are interesting because they exhibit simultaneously ferromagnetic and ferroelectric polarizations and a coupling between them. Due to the nontrivial lattice coupling between the magnetic and electronic domains (the magnetoelectric effect), the magnetic polarization can be switched by applying an electric field; likewise the ferroelectric polarization can be switched by applying a magnetic field. As a consequence, multiferroics offer rich physics and novel devices concepts, which have recently become of great interest to researchers. In this review article the recent experimental status, for both the bulk single phase and the thin film form, has been presented. Current studies on the ceramic compounds in the bulk form including Bi(Fe,Mn)O 3 , REMnO 3 and the series of REMn 2 O 5 single crystals (RE = rare earth) are discussed in the first section and a detailed overview on multiferroic thin films grown artificially (multilayers and nanocomposites) is presented in the second section. (topical review)

Iterative absolute electroanalytical approach to characterization of bulk redox conducting systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewera, Adam; Miecznikowski, Krzysztof; Chojak, Malgorzata; Makowski, Oktawian; Golimowski, Jerzy; Kulesza, Pawel J

2004-05-15

A novel electroanalytical approach is proposed here, and it is demonstrated with the direct and simultaneous determination of two unknowns: the concentration of redox sites and the apparent diffusion coefficient for charge propagation in a single crystal of dodecatungstophosphoric acid. This Keggin-type polyoxometalate serves as a model bulk redox conducting inorganic material for solid-state voltammetry. The system has been investigated using an ultramicrodisk working electrode in the absence of external liquid supporting electrolyte. The analytical method requires numerical solution of the combination of two equations in which the first one describes current (or charge) in a well-defined (either spherical or linear) diffusional regime and the second general equation describes chronoamperometric (or normal pulse voltammetric current) under mixed (linear-spherical) conditions. The iterative approach is based on successive approximations through calculation and minimizing the least-squares error function. The method is fairly universal, and in principle, it can be extended to the investigation of other bulk systems including sol-gel processed materials, redox melts, and solutions on condition that they are electroactive and well behaved, they contain redox centers at sufficiently high level, and a number of electrons for the redox reaction considered is known.

Bulk hydrogen analysis, using neutrons. Final report of the second research co-ordination meeting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-11-01

The aims of the Second Co-ordination Meting (RCM) of the Coordinated Research Programme (CRP) were to report on and review progress against the work programme set at the beginning of the CRP and to discuss the work plans for the second half of the programme. In many cases hydrogen is required to be measured in a bulk medium rather than merely at a surface. For this reason neutrons are used due to their high penetrating power in dense material. In addition, the mass attenuation coefficient for neutrons in hydrogen is significantly larger than for all other elements, meaning that neutrons have a higher probability of interacting with hydrogen than with other elements in the sample matrix. Neutrons have been used in the following areas: Fast Neutron Transmission, Scattering and Activation Technique; Digital Neutron Imaging; Hydrogen Detection by Epithermal Neutrons; Microscopic Behaviour of Hydrogen in Bulk Materials

Atomistic materials modeling of complex systems: Carbynes, carbon nanotube devices and bulk metallic glasses

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Weiqi

The key to understanding and predicting the behavior of materials is the knowledge of their structures. Many properties of materials samples are not solely determined by their average chemical compositions which one may easily control. Instead, they are profoundly influenced by structural features of different characteristic length scales. Starting in the last century, metallurgical engineering has mostly been microstructure engineering. With the further evolution of materials science, structural features of smaller length scales down to the atomic structure, have become of interest for the purpose of properties engineering and functionalizing materials and are, therefore, subjected to study. As computer modeling is becoming more powerful due to the dramatic increase of computational resources and software over the recent decades, there is an increasing demand for atomistic simulations with the goal of better understanding materials behavior on the atomic scale. Density functional theory (DFT) is a quantum mechanics based approach to calculate electron distribution, total energy and interatomic forces with high accuracy. From these, atomic structures and thermal effects can be predicted. However, DFT is mostly applied to relatively simple systems because it is computationally very demanding. In this thesis, the current limits of DFT applications are explored by studying relatively complex systems, namely, carbynes, carbon nanotube (CNT) devices and bulk metallic glasses (BMGs). Special care is taken to overcome the limitations set by small system sizes and time scales that often prohibit DFT from being applied to realistic systems under realistic external conditions. In the first study, we examine the possible existence of a third solid phase of carbon with linear bonding called carbyne, which has been suggested in the literature and whose formation has been suggested to be detrimental to high-temperature carbon materials. We have suggested potential structures for

Effect of Opalescence(®) bleaching gels on the elution of bulk-fill composite components.

Science.gov (United States)

Schuster, Lena; Reichl, Franz-Xaver; Rothmund, Lena; He, Xiuli; Yang, Yang; Van Landuyt, Kirsten L; Kehe, Kai; Polydorou, Olga; Hickel, Reinhard; Högg, Christof

2016-02-01

Bleaching treatments can affect release of components from conventional composites. In this continuing study the influence of two different bleaching gels on the elution of bulk-fill composite components was investigated. The composites Tetric EvoCeram(®) Bulk Fill, QuiXFil™ and X-tra fil were treated with the bleaching gels Opalescence PF 15% (PF 15%) for 5 h and PF 35% (PF 35%) for 30 min and then stored in methanol and water for 24 h and 7 d. The eluates were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Unbleached specimens were used as control group. A total of 7 different elutable substances have been identified from the investigated composites after bleaching-treatment. Three of them were methacrylates: 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA), triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA). Compared to the unbleached controls an increase in elution after PF 15%-treatment of following compounds was found: HEMA (Tetric EvoCeram(®) Bulk Fill), TEGDMA (QuiXFil™, X-tra fil) and 4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzoic acid butyl ethoxy ester (DMABEE) (Tetric EvoCeram(®) Bulk Fill, QuiXFil™, X-tra fil). Following compounds showed a reduction in elution after PF 35%-treatment compared to controls: TEGDMA (QuiXFil™) and DMABEE (Tetric EvoCeram(®) Bulk Fill). The highest concentration of HEMA was 0.22 mmol/l (Tetric EvoCeram(®) Bulk Fill, methanol, 7 d, PF 15%), the highest concentration of TEGDMA was 0.3 mmol/l (X-tra fil, water, 7 d, PF 15%) and the highest concentration of DMABEE was 0.05 mmol/l (QuiXFil™, water, 7 d, PF 35%). PF 15% and PF 35% can lead to reduced and/or increased elution of some bulk-fill components, compared to unbleached bulk-fill composites. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coupling brane fields to bulk supergravity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Parameswaran, Susha L. [Uppsala Univ. (Sweden). Theoretical Physics; Schmidt, Jonas [Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY), Hamburg (Germany)

2010-12-15

In this note we present a simple, general prescription for coupling brane localized fields to bulk supergravity. We illustrate the procedure by considering 6D N=2 bulk supergravity on a 2D orbifold, with brane fields localized at the fixed points. The resulting action enjoys the full 6D N=2 symmetries in the bulk, and those of 4D N=1 supergravity at the brane positions. (orig.)

Studies of bulk heterojunction solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Cossel, Raquel; McIntyre, Max; Tzolov, Marian

We are studying bulk heterojunction solar cells that were fabricated using a mixture of PCPDTBT and PCBM­C60. The impedance data of the cells in dark responded like a simple RC circuit. The value of the dielectric constant derived from these results is consistent with the values reported in the literature for these materials. We are showing that the parallel resistance in the equivalent circuit of linear lump elements can be interpreted using the DC current­voltage measurements. The impedance spectra under light illumination indicated the existence of additional polarization. This extra feature can be described by a model that includes a series RC circuit in parallel with the equivalent circuit for a device in dark. The physical interpretation of the additional polarization is based on photo­generated charges getting trapped in wells, which have a characteristic relaxation time corresponding to the observed break frequency in the impedance spectra. We have studied the influence of the anode and cathode interface on this phenomena, either by using different interface materials, or by depositing the metal electrode while the substate is heated.

Structural, chemical, and thermoelectric properties of Bi2Te3 Peltier materials. Bulk, thin films, and superlattices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Peranio, Nicola

2008-01-01

In this work, the nature of the natural nanostructure (nns) was analysed and the correlations to the transport coefficients, particularly the lattice thermal conductivity, is discussed. Experimental methods are presented for the first time, yielding an accurate quantitative analysis of the chemical composition and of stress fields in Bi 2 Te 3 and in compounds with similar structural and chemical microstructures. This work can be subdivided as follows: (I) N-type Bi 2 (Te 0.91 Se 0.09 ) 3 and p-type (Bi 0.26 Sb 0.74 ) 1.98 (Te 0.99 Se 0.01 ) 3.02 bulk materials synthesised by the Bridgman technique. (II) Bi 2 Te 3 thin films and Bi 2 Te 3 /Bi 2 (Te 0.88 Se 0.12 ) 3 superlattices epitaxially grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on BaF 2 substrates with periods of δ-12 nm at the Fraunhofer-Institut fuer Physikalische Messtechnik (IPM). (III) Experimental methods, i.e., TEM specimen preparation, high-accuracy quantitative chemical analysis by EDX in the TEM, and image simulations of dislocations and the nns according to the two-beam dynamical diffraction theory. The nns was analysed in detail by stereomicroscopy and by image simulation and was found to be a pure sinusoidal displacement field with (i) a displacement vector parallel to and an amplitude of about 10 pm and (ii) a wave vector parallel to {1,0,10} and a wavelength of 10 nm. The results obtained here showed a significant amount of stress in the samples, induced by the nns which was still not noticed and identified. Both kinds of nanostructures, artificial (ans) and natural (nns) nanostructures, yielded in thermoelectric materials a low lattice thermal conductivity which was beneficial for the thermoelectric figure of merit ZT. (orig.)

Corrosion of lanthanum magnesium hexaaluminate as plasma-sprayed coating and as bulk material when exposed to molten V2O5-containing salt

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Xiaolong; Cao, Xueqiang; Zou, Binglin; Gong, Jun; Sun, Chao

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Corrosion behavior of LaMgAl 11 O 19 bulk and plasma sprayed coating has been compared. • Degradation mechanism is investigated based on LaMgAl 11 O 19 ’s crystal chemistry. • LaMgAl 11 O 19 coating displays inferior corrosion resistance to well crystallized bulk. - Abstract: Corrosion of LaMgAl 11 O 19 (LaMA) bulk and plasma sprayed coating was studied in molten V 2 O 5 -containing salt at 710–1050 °C in air. Results indicate that the well crystallized LaMA bulk exhibited prior corrosion resistance to the plasma sprayed LaMA coating with amorphous phase and reduced chemical bond strength in its crystal structure. La–O chemical bonds with the lowest bond energies were the easiest bonds in the LaMA crystal to be broken by molten V 2 O 5 -containing salt attack to form LaVO 4 at each temperature level for both LaMA bulk and coating. Corrosion products of the LaMA coating were much different at temperature below 900 °C

Development of a 20kA current feedthrough using YBCO bulk conductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maehata, Keisuke; Ishibashi, Kenji; Shintomi, Takakazu; Iwamoto, Akifumi; Maekawa, Ryuji; Mito, Toshiyuki

2004-01-01

In the phase II experiment of the Large Helical Device (LHD) of the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), it is planned to operate the helical coils at 1.8 K by employing pressurized superfluid cooling to raise the magnetic field to 4 T with 17.3 kA. It is important to develop a 20kA-class current feedthrough into the 1.8 K region, but it must have a high current capacity and low heat leakage in the maximum magnetic leakage field of 1 T. Rectangle-shaped YBCO bulk conductors measuring 20 mm wide, 140 mm long and 10 mm thick were manufactured from square-pillar-shaped YBCO bulk materials for a 20 kA current. To check the quality of the bulk conductors, internal defects or cracks were detected by carrying out a precise survey of trapped magnetic flux. An assembled 20 kA current feedthrough was mounted in the λ-plate of a pressurized superfluid cooling cryostat. Experiments of current feeding into the 1.8 K region were carried out by operating the 20 kA current feedthrough. In the experiments, the transport current was kept at 20 kA for longer than 1,200 s. During the 20 kA operation, the current transport section of the YBCO bulk conductors remained in the superconducting state and the voltage drop between the YBCO bulk conductors and the copper electrode was observed to be constant. A contact resistance and the Joule heat generation in the joint region between the YBCO bulk conductors and the copper electrode were obtained as 1.45 nΩ and 0.72 W, respectively in the 20 kA operation. We have demonstrated the feasibility of using a 20 kA current feedthrough for the phase II experiment of the LHD. (author)

Bulk viscosity of spin-one color superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sa' d, Basil A.

2009-08-27

The bulk viscosity of several quark matter phases is calculated. It is found that the effect of color superconductivity is not trivial, it may suppress, or enhance the bulk viscosity depending on the critical temperature and the temperature at which the bulk viscosity is calculated. Also, is it found that the effect of neutrino-emitting Urca processes cannot be neglected in the consideration of the bulk viscosity of strange quark matter. The results for the bulk viscosity of strange quark matter are used to calculate the r-mode instability window of quark stars with several possible phases. It is shown that each possible phase has a different structure for the r-mode instability window. (orig.)

Bulk viscosity of spin-one color superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sa'd, Basil A.

2009-01-01

The bulk viscosity of several quark matter phases is calculated. It is found that the effect of color superconductivity is not trivial, it may suppress, or enhance the bulk viscosity depending on the critical temperature and the temperature at which the bulk viscosity is calculated. Also, is it found that the effect of neutrino-emitting Urca processes cannot be neglected in the consideration of the bulk viscosity of strange quark matter. The results for the bulk viscosity of strange quark matter are used to calculate the r-mode instability window of quark stars with several possible phases. It is shown that each possible phase has a different structure for the r-mode instability window. (orig.)

A route to transparent bulk metals

KAUST Repository

Schwingenschlögl, Udo

2012-07-23

Hypothetical compounds based on a sapphire host are investigated with respect to their structural as well as electronic features. The results are obtained by electronic structure calculations within density functional theory and the generalized gradient approximation. A quarter of the Al atoms in Al 2O 3 is replaced by a 4d transition metal M ion, with d 0 to d 9 electronic configuration. We perform structure optimizations for all the compounds and analyze the electronic states. Due to the sizeable band gap of the Al 2O 3 host, we can identify promising candidates for transparent bulk metals. We explain the mechanisms leading to this combination of materials properties. © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effect of bulk modulus on deformation of the brain under rotational accelerations

Science.gov (United States)

Ganpule, S.; Daphalapurkar, N. P.; Cetingul, M. P.; Ramesh, K. T.

2018-01-01

Traumatic brain injury such as that developed as a consequence of blast is a complex injury with a broad range of symptoms and disabilities. Computational models of brain biomechanics hold promise for illuminating the mechanics of traumatic brain injury and for developing preventive devices. However, reliable material parameters are needed for models to be predictive. Unfortunately, the properties of human brain tissue are difficult to measure, and the bulk modulus of brain tissue in particular is not well characterized. Thus, a wide range of bulk modulus values are used in computational models of brain biomechanics, spanning up to three orders of magnitude in the differences between values. However, the sensitivity of these variations on computational predictions is not known. In this work, we study the sensitivity of a 3D computational human head model to various bulk modulus values. A subject-specific human head model was constructed from T1-weighted MRI images at 2-mm3 voxel resolution. Diffusion tensor imaging provided data on spatial distribution and orientation of axonal fiber bundles for modeling white matter anisotropy. Non-injurious, full-field brain deformations in a human volunteer were used to assess the simulated predictions. The comparison suggests that a bulk modulus value on the order of GPa gives the best agreement with experimentally measured in vivo deformations in the human brain. Further, simulations of injurious loading suggest that bulk modulus values on the order of GPa provide the closest match with the clinical findings in terms of predicated injured regions and extent of injury.

International Round-Robin Testing of Bulk Thermoelectrics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Hsin [ORNL; Porter, Wallace D [ORNL; Bottner, Harold [Fraunhofer-Institute, Freiburg, Germany; Konig, Jan [Fraunhofer-Institute, Freiburg, Germany; Chen, Lidong [Chinese Academy of Sciences; Bai, Shengqiang [Chinese Academy of Sciences; Tritt, Terry M. [Clemson University; Mayolett, Alex [Corning, Inc; Smith, Charlene [Corning, Inc; Harris, Fred [ZT-Plus; Sharp, Jeff [Marlow Industries, Inc; Lo, Jason [CANMET - Materials Technology Laboratory, Natural Resources of Canada; Keinke, Holger [University of Waterloo, Canada; Kiss, Laszlo I. [University of Quebec at Chicoutimi

2011-11-01

Two international round-robin studies were conducted on transport properties measurements of bulk thermoelectric materials. The study discovered current measurement problems. In order to get ZT of a material four separate transport measurements must be taken. The round-robin study showed that among the four properties Seebeck coefficient is the one can be measured consistently. Electrical resistivity has +4-9% scatter. Thermal diffusivity has similar +5-10% scatter. The reliability of the above three properties can be improved by standardizing test procedures and enforcing system calibrations. The worst problem was found in specific heat measurements using DSC. The probability of making measurement error is great due to the fact three separate runs must be taken to determine Cp and the baseline shift is always an issue for commercial DSC. It is suggest the Dulong Petit limit be always used as a guide line for Cp. Procedures have been developed to eliminate operator and system errors. The IEA-AMT annex is developing standard procedures for transport properties testing.

Experimenting with Different Bulking Agents in an Aerobic Food Waste Composter

Science.gov (United States)

Chann, S.

2016-12-01

With one third of Hong Kong's solid wastage being food scraps, reducing food waste has become crucial. The ISF Academy, a Hong Kong private school, had an A900 Rocket Food Composter installed in 2013, hoping to reduce its carbon footprint. The 27 metric tons of food wastage produced annually by the school is put through an aerobic process and the wastage is converted into humus. The composter has a capacity of 1750 litres of food and it produces humus every 14 days. The base of the humus consists of a bulking agent and food waste (2:1). A bulking agent is a carbon based material used to absorb moisture and odors, add structure and air and eliminate bugs from humus. This study contains comparative data on a few of the listed bulking agents: Hemp, Kenaf, rapeseed oil straw, miscanthus and shredded cardboard. The aim of this study is to determine an alternative reliable, affordable and suitable bulking agent to wood shavings: the current agent used. The humus produced must pass regulations for "general agricultural use" as it is used for experiential learning and gardening with primary school students. Over 500 children are participating in the school's plantation project, producing legumes for the school cafeteria. ISF pioneers and sets an example for other Hong Kong schools, showing that a composting and plantation scheme, not only proves to have environmental benefits but also educational uses.

Optimising mechanical strength and bulk density of dry ceramic bodies through mixture design

OpenAIRE

Correia, S. L.; Hotza, D.; Segadães, A. M.

2005-01-01

In industrial practice, it is desirable to be able to predict, in an expeditious way, what the effects of a change in raw materials or the proportions thereof might be in the various processing steps towards the final product. When the property of interest is basically determined by the combination (or mixture) of raw materials, an optimisation methodology specific to the design of mixture experiments can be successfully used. In the present study, dry bending strength and bulk density were s...

Advanced Magnetic Materials for Aircraft Power Applications

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

McHenry, Michael

2003-01-01

... new materials with improved magnetic and mechanical properties at high temperature. The group worked on the refinement of existing soft bulk materials while conducting research on novel nanocrystalline magnets in parallel...

Bulk-shield design for the Fusion Materials Irradiation Test facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carter, L.L.; Mann, F.M.; Morford, R.J.; Johnson, D.L.; Huang, S.T.

1982-07-01

The accelerator-based Fusion Materials Irradiation Test (FMIT) facility will provide a high-fluence, fusion-like radiation environment for the testing of materials. While the neutron spectrum produced in the forward direction by the 35 MeV deuterons incident upon a flowing lithium target is characterized by a broad peak around 14 MeV, a high energy tail extends up to about 50 MeV. Some shield design considerations are reviewed

Recent developments in melt processed Gd-123 and MgB{sub 2} materials at RTRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muralidhar, M., E-mail: miryala1@rtri.or.jp [Railway Technology Research Institute (RTRI), Applied Superconductivity, Materials Technology Division, 2-8-38 Hikari-cho, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo 185-8540 (Japan); Fukumoto, Y.; Ishihara, A.; Suzuki, K.; Tomita, M. [Railway Technology Research Institute (RTRI), Applied Superconductivity, Materials Technology Division, 2-8-38 Hikari-cho, Kokubunji-shi, Tokyo 185-8540 (Japan); Koblischka, M.R. [Institute of Experimental Physics, Saarland University, P.O. Box 151150, D-66041 Saarbrucken (Germany); Yamamoto, A.; Kishio, K. [Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-656 (Japan)

2014-01-15

Highlights: •Large size Gd-123 bulk material grown in air, using novel thin film Nd-123 seeds grown on MgO crystals. •Quality and uniformity of the Gd-123 materials are excellent. •Batch processed Gd-123 material was used for construction of chilled Maglev vehicle. •MgB{sub 2} bulks can be utilized around 20 K similarly to the Gd-123 material at 77 K. -- Abstract: In this contribution we will report on the current status, recent developments in GdBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub y} “Gd-123” and MgB{sub 2} material processing, characterization, and applications at the Railway Technical Research Institute (RTRI). Batch-processing of Gd-123 bulk material grown in air was performed using novel thin film Nd-123 seeds grown on MgO crystals. In this way, we are able to fabricate materials with good quality, and uniform performance. We examined the technology of the uniform performance of the large 45 mm diameter, single grain Gd-123 bulks for use in application of NMR. For this purpose, four 5 mm thick pieces are cut vertically from a single grain Gd-123 material and the magnetic field distribution is measured using a scanning hall sensor. We found that all four pieces are single domain and exhibit a quite uniform field distribution. Furthermore, the batch-processed bulk materials are used for the construction of a chilled Maglev vehicle. On the other hand, to optimize the trapped field performance of bulk MgB{sub 2} material, several samples were prepared by solid state reaction at different temperatures ranging from 750 to 950 °C in pure argon atmosphere. X-ray diffraction results indicated that single phase and homogenous MgB{sub 2} bulks are produced when sintering them around 775 °C. Further, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that an uniform grain size results by controlling the processing temperature. So, higher trapped fields can be achieved in sintered MgB{sub 2} material.

Trapped magnetic field of a superconducting bulk magnet in high- T sub c RE-Ba-Cu-O

CERN Document Server

Fujimoto, H; Higuchi, T; Nakamura, Y; Kamijo, H; Nagashima, K; Murakami, M

1999-01-01

Superconducting magnets made of high-T sub c superconductors are promising for industrial applications. It is well known that REBa sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - sub x and LRE (light rare-earth) Ba sub 2 Cu sub 3 O sub 7 sub - sub x superconductors prepared by melt processes have a high critical current density, J sub c , at 77 K and high magnetic fields. Therefore, the materials are very prospective for high magnetic field application as a superconducting permanent/bulk magnet with liquid-nitrogen refrigeration. LREBaCuO bulks, compared with REBaCuO bulks, exhibit a larger J sub c in high magnetic fields and a much improved irreversibility field, H sub i sub r sub r , at 77 K. In this study, we discuss the possibility and trapped field properties of a superconducting bulk magnet, as well as the melt processing for bulk superconductors and their characteristic superconducting properties. One of the applications is a superconducting magnet for the future magnetically levitated (Maglev) train.

Nickel silicide thin films as masking and structural layers for silicon bulk micro-machining by potassium hydroxide wet etching

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaskaran, M; Sriram, S; Sim, L W

2008-01-01

This paper studies the feasibility of using titanium and nickel silicide thin films as mask materials for silicon bulk micro-machining. Thin films of nickel silicide were found to be more resistant to wet etching in potassium hydroxide. The use of nickel silicide as a structural material, by fabricating micro-beams of varying dimensions, is demonstrated. The micro-structures were realized using these thin films with wet etching using potassium hydroxide solution on (1 0 0) and (1 1 0) silicon substrates. These results show that nickel silicide is a suitable alternative to silicon nitride for silicon bulk micro-machining

Mechanical Properties of Air Plasma Sprayed Environmental Barrier Coating (EBC) Materials

Science.gov (United States)

Richards, Bradley; Zhu, Dongming; Ghosn, Louis; Wadley, Haydn

2015-01-01

Development work in Environmental Barrier Coatings (EBCs) for Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) has focused considerably on the identification of materials systems and coating architectures to meet application needs. The evolution of these systems has occurred so quickly that modeling efforts and requisite data for modeling lag considerably behind development. Materials property data exists for many systems in the bulk form, but the effects of deposition on the critical properties of strength and fracture behavior are not well studied. We have plasma sprayed bulk samples of baseline EBC materials (silicon, ytterbium disilicate) and tested the mechanical properties of these materials to elicit differences in strength and toughness. We have also endeavored to assess the mixed-mode fracture resistance, Gc, of silicon in a baseline EBC applied to SiCSiC CMC via four point bend test. These results are compared to previously determined properties of the comparable bulk material.

New Directions of Research in Molecules and Materials

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Wintec

New Directions of Research in Molecules and Materials. Foreword. 'Materials' has ... Solution phase chemistry is a central aspect of materials as demonstrated by. Panchakarla and ... Changes at the atomic scale affect bulk properties such as ...

Electron and positron contributions to the displacement per atom profile in bulk multi-walled carbon nanotube material irradiated with gamma rays; Aporte de electrones y positrones al perfil de desplazamientos atomicos en materiales masivos de nanotubos de carbono de paredes multiples irradiados con rayos gamma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leyva Fabelo, Antonio; Pinnera Hernandez, Ibrahin; Leyva Pernia, Diana, E-mail: aleyva@ceaden.edu.cu [Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnologicas y Desarrollo Nuclear (CEADEN), La Habana (Cuba); others, and

2013-07-01

The electron and positron contributions to the effective atom displacement cross-section in multi-walled carbon nanotube bulk materials exposed to gamma rays were calculated. The physical properties and the displacement threshold energy value reported in literature for this material were taken into account. Then, using the mathematical simulation of photon and particle transport in matter, the electron and positron energy flux distributions within the irradiated object were also calculated. Finally, considering both results, the atom displacement damage profiles inside the analyzed bulk carbon nanotube material were determined. The individual contribution from each type of secondary particles generated by the photon interactions was specified. An increasing behavior of the displacement cross-sections for all the studied particles energy range was observed. The particles minimum kinetic energy values that make probabilistically possible the single and multiple atom displacement processes were determined. The positrons contribution importance to the total number of point defects generated during the interaction of gamma rays with the studied materials was confirmed.

Bulk - Samples gamma-rays activation analysis (PGNAA) with Isotopic Neutron Sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

HASSAN, A.M.

2009-01-01

An overview is given on research towards the Prompt Gamma-ray Neutron Activation Analysis (PGNAA) of bulk-samples. Some aspects in bulk-sample PGNAA are discussed, where irradiation by isotopic neutron sources is used mostly for in-situ or on-line analysis. The research was carried out in a comparative and/or qualitative way or by using a prior knowledge about the sample material. Sometimes we need to use the assumption that the mass fractions of all determined elements add up to 1. The sensitivity curves are also used for some elements in such complex samples, just to estimate the exact percentage concentration values. The uses of 252 Cf, 241 Arn/Be and 239 Pu/Be isotopic neutron sources for elemental investigation of: hematite, ilmenite, coal, petroleum, edible oils, phosphates and pollutant lake water samples have been mentioned.

Quasi-static and dynamic compressive deformation of a bulk nanolayered Ag–Cu eutectic alloy: Macroscopic response and dominant deformation mechanisms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kingstedt, O.T.; Eftink, B.; Lambros, J.; Robertson, I.M.

2014-01-01

Nanostructured multilayered material systems offer an attractive method of increasing material strength. This work examines the response of a bulk eutectic silver–copper material (Ag 60 Cu 40 , subscripts indicating atomic percent) which has a hierarchical structure of alternating Ag and Cu layers with thicknesses down to 50 nm. The hierarchical structure consists of two primary arrangements of layers, eutectic colonies of parallel layers, most commonly found at the material interior, and “grains” consisting of alternating Ag and Cu layers which emanate from a central region in a radial pattern, most commonly found at the material exterior surface. We show that the hierarchical structure causes a significant increase in the measured strength response when comparing the Ag 60 Cu 40 response to that of the constituent materials in their bulk nanograined or micrograined form. The deformation mechanisms of this material are studied under compressive loading over the quasi-static and dynamic regime (10 −3 –10 3 s −1 ) with strain between 5% and 50%

Polarized neutron powder diffraction studies of antiferromagnetic order in bulk and nanoparticle NiO

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brok, Erik; Lefmann, Kim; Deen, Pascale P.

2015-01-01

surface contribution to the magnetic anisotropy. Here we explore the potential use of polarized neutron diffraction to reveal the magnetic structure in NiO bulk and nanoparticle powders by applying the XYZ-polarization analysis method. Our investigations address in particular the spin orientation in bulk....... The results show that polarization analyzed neutron powder diffraction is a viable method to investigate magnetic order in powders of antiferromagnetic nanoparticles.......In many materials it remains a challenge to reveal the nature of magnetic correlations, including antiferromagnetism and spin disorder. Revealing the spin structure in magnetic nanoparticles is further complicated by the large incoherent neutron scattering cross section from water adsorbed...

Resolution of alarms for loss of bulk nuclear material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eggers, R.F.; Davenport, L.C.

1982-01-01

Under methods of material accountability considered in the NRC's Reform Amendment (Federal Register, 46(175):45144 to 45151 dated September 10, 1981) prompt detection of losses and resolution of alarms play a central role in the day-to-day activities of the Material Control and Accounting (MC and A) System. This paper will discuss the two basic pathways of alarm resolution, namely, verification of the magnitude of the loss indicated by the initial alarm, and detection of deliberate or accidental accounting discrepancies. Progress along these pathways leads to a consensus that either (1) a loss occurred, (2) the original alarm was caused by MC and A error, or (3) the cause of the original alarm is uncertain. Three phases of response will be outlined and an example of response to alarms will be given for a mixed oxide powder processing control unit

Photovoltaic characteristics of diffused P/+N bulk GaAs solar cells

Science.gov (United States)

Borrego, J. M.; Keeney, R. P.; Bhat, I. B.; Bhat, K. N.; Sundaram, L. G.; Ghandhi, S. K.

1982-01-01

The photovoltaic characteristics of P(+)N junction solar cells fabricated on bulk GaAs by an open tube diffusion technique are described in this paper.Spectral response measurements were analyzed in detail and compared to a computer simulation in order to determine important material parameters. It is projected that proper optimization of the cell parameters can increase the efficiency of the cells from 12.2 percent to close to 20 percent.

Processing of bulk Bi-2223 high-temperature superconductor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexander Polasek

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3 O10+x (Bi-2223 is one of the main high temperature superconductors for applications. One of these applications is the Superconductor Fault Current Limiter (SCFCL, which is a very promising high temperature superconducting device. SCFCL's can be improved by using bulk superconductors with high critical currents, which requires a sufficiently dense and textured material. In the present work, a process for improving the microstructure of Bi-2223 bulk samples is investigated. Pressed precursor blocks are processed by sintering with a further partial melting step, in order to enhance the Bi-2223 grain texture and to healing cracks induced by pressing. In order to improve the microstructure, the precursor is mixed with silver powder before pressing. Samples with and without silver powder have been studied, with the aim of investigating the influence of silver on the microstructure evolution. The phase contents and the microstructure obtained have been analyzed through XRD and SEM/EDS. The electromagnetic characterization has been performed by Magnetic Susceptibility Analysis. We present and discuss the process and the properties of the superconducting blocks. High fractions of textured Bi-2223 grains have been obtained.

Extended Polymorphism of Two-Dimensional Material

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Yoshida, Masaro; Ye, Jianting; Zhang, Yijin; Imai, Yasuhiko; Kimura, Shigeru; Fujiwara, Akihiko; Nishizaki, Terukazu; Kobayashi, Norio; Nakano, Masaki; Iwasa, Yoshihiro

When controlling electronic properties of bulk materials, we usually assume that the basic crystal structure is fixed. However, in two-dimensional (2D) materials, atomic structure or to functionalize their properties. Various polymorphs can exist in transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) from

78 FR 72841 - List of Bulk Drug Substances That May Be Used in Pharmacy Compounding; Bulk Drug Substances That...

Science.gov (United States)

2013-12-04

.... FDA-2013-N-1525] List of Bulk Drug Substances That May Be Used in Pharmacy Compounding; Bulk Drug... proposed rule to list bulk drug substances used in pharmacy compounding and preparing to develop a list of... Formulary monograph, if a monograph exists, and the United States Pharmacopoeia chapter on pharmacy...

Electrical and structural characterization of as-grown and annealed hydrothermal bulk ZnO

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kassier, G. H.; Hayes, M.; Auret, F. D.; Mamor, M.; Bouziane, K.

2007-01-01

Hall effect measurements in the range 20-370 K on as-grown and annealed hydrothermal bulk ZnO have been performed. The bulk conductivity in the highly resistive as-grown sample was found to decrease and then increase after annealing at 550 deg. C and 930 deg. C, respectively. The conduction in the as-grown material is attributed to a deep donor which is replaced by a much shallower donor after annealing at 930 deg. C. Annealing at both temperatures also produced strong surface conduction effects. Nondegenerate low-mobility surface conduction dominated the electrical properties of the sample annealed at 550 deg. C, while a degenerate surface channel was formed after annealing at 930 deg. C. In addition, Rutherford backscattering and channeling spectrometry (RBS/C) was used to assess the effect of annealing on the crystalline quality of the samples. RBS/C measurements reveal that annealing at 930 deg. C leads to significant improvement of the crystalline quality of the material, while annealing at 550 deg. C results in the segregation of a nonchanneling impurity at the surface

A comparative study of composting the solid fraction of dairy manure with or without bulking material: Performance and microbial community dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Xiao-Zhong; Ma, Shi-Chun; Wang, Shi-Peng; Wang, Ting-Ting; Sun, Zhao-Yong; Tang, Yue-Qin; Deng, Yu; Kida, Kenji

2018-01-01

The present study compared the development of various physicochemical properties and the composition of microbial communities involved in the composting process in the solid fraction of dairy manure (SFDM) with a sawdust-regulated SFDM (RDM). The changes in several primary physicochemical properties were similar in the two composting processes, and both resulted in mature end-products within 48days. The bacterial communities in both composting processes primarily comprised Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Firmicutes were predominant in the thermophilic phase, whereas Chloroflexi, Planctomycetes, and Nitrospirae were more abundant in the final mature phase. Furthermore, the succession of bacteria in both groups proceeded in a similar pattern, suggesting that the effects of the bulking material on bacterial dynamics were minor. These results demonstrate the feasibility of composting using only the SFDM, reflected by the evolution of physicochemical properties and the microbial communities involved in the composting process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Bulk viscosity in holographic Lifshitz hydrodynamics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoyos, Carlos; Kim, Bom Soo; Oz, Yaron

2014-01-01

We compute the bulk viscosity in holographic models dual to theories with Lifshitz scaling and/or hyperscaling violation, using a generalization of the bulk viscosity formula derived in arXiv:1103.1657 from the null focusing equation. We find that only a class of models with massive vector fields are truly Lifshitz scale invariant, and have a vanishing bulk viscosity. For other holographic models with scalars and/or massless vector fields we find a universal formula in terms of the dynamical exponent and the hyperscaling violation exponent

Longitudinal and bulk viscosities of expanded rubidium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zaheri, Ali Hossein Mohammad; Srivastava, Sunita; Tankeshwar, K

2003-01-01

First three non-vanishing sum rules for the bulk and longitudinal stress auto-correlation functions have been evaluated for liquid Rb at six thermodynamic states along the liquid-vapour coexistence curve. The Mori memory function formalism and the frequency sum rules have been used to calculate bulk and longitudinal viscosities. The results thus obtained for the ratio of bulk viscosity to shear viscosity have been compared with experimental and other theoretical predictions wherever available. The values of the bulk viscosity have been found to be more than the corresponding values of the shear viscosity for all six thermodynamic states investigated here

Analysis of long-term monomer elution from bulk-fill and conventional resin-composites using high performance liquid chromatography.

Science.gov (United States)

Alshali, Ruwaida Z; Salim, Nesreen A; Sung, Rehana; Satterthwaite, Julian D; Silikas, Nick

2015-12-01

The aim of this study was to assess monomer elution from bulk-fill and conventional resin-composites stored in different media using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for up to 3 months. Six bulk-fill (SureFil SDR, Venus Bulk Fill, X-tra base, Filtek Bulk Fill flowable, Sonic Fill, and Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill) and eight conventional resin-composites (Grandioso Flow, Venus Diamond Flow, X-Flow, Filtek Supreme XTE, Grandioso, Venus Diamond, TPH Spectrum, and Filtek Z250) were tested. Cylindrical samples (n=5) were immersed in water, 70% ethanol/water solution (70% E/W), and artificial saliva and stored at 37°C for 24h, 1 month, and 3 months. The storage solutions were analysed with HPLC. Data were analysed with repeated measures ANOVA, one-way ANOVA, and Tukey post hoc test at α=0.05. Monomers detected in water and artificial saliva were TEGDMA, DEGDMA, UDMA, and TCD-DI-HEA. No eluted monomers were detected from X-tra base and Sonic fill in these media. All monomers showed a variable extent of elution into 70% E/W with significantly higher amounts than those detected in water and artificial saliva. Significantly higher elution was detected from UDMA-BisEMA based composites compared to BisGMA and BisGMA-BisEMA based systems in 70% E/W. The rate of elution into different media varied between different monomers and was highly dependent on the molecular weight of the eluted compounds. Elution from bulk-fill resin-composites is comparable to that of conventional materials despite their increased increment thickness. Monomer elution is highly dependent on the hydrophobicity of the base monomers and the final network characteristics of the resin-matrix. Copyright © 2015 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mechanics of biopolymer materials: Single chains to bulk properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Amuasi, H.E.; Storm, C.

2010-01-01

We outline the first stages in the multiscale modeling of biopolymer materials, starting with the statistical mechanics of single stiff chains. In the first coarse graining step, we demonstrate how to integrate out the single polymer degrees of freedom in supramolecular assemblies of such

Determination of H, C, N, O content of bulk materials from neutron-attenuation measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Overley, J.C.

1985-01-01

Several bulk samples ranging from chemical compounds to cereal grains have been nondestructively analyzed through neutron-attenuation measurements. A fast-neutron continuum was produced by an accelerator. Attenuations were measured by pulsed-beam, time-of-flight techniques. Average hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen contents were deduced by comparing attenuations to those measured for pure elements. Statistical precisions of 0.3-0.7 atomic percent were achieved for each element in about 10 min. Comparisons with results of other analysis techniques indicate that similar levels of accuracy are possible, even in the presence of small amounts of heavier elements. (author)

Polymerization Behavior and Mechanical Properties of High-Viscosity Bulk Fill and Low Shrinkage Resin Composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Shibasaki, S; Takamizawa, T; Nojiri, K; Imai, A; Tsujimoto, A; Endo, H; Suzuki, S; Suda, S; Barkmeier, W W; Latta, M A; Miyazaki, M

The present study determined the mechanical properties and volumetric polymerization shrinkage of different categories of resin composite. Three high viscosity bulk fill resin composites were tested: Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill (TB, Ivoclar Vivadent), Filtek Bulk Fill posterior restorative (FB, 3M ESPE), and Sonic Fill (SF, Kerr Corp). Two low-shrinkage resin composites, Kalore (KL, GC Corp) and Filtek LS Posterior (LS, 3M ESPE), were used. Three conventional resin composites, Herculite Ultra (HU, Kerr Corp), Estelite ∑ Quick (EQ, Tokuyama Dental), and Filtek Supreme Ultra (SU, 3M ESPE), were used as comparison materials. Following ISO Specification 4049, six specimens for each resin composite were used to determine flexural strength, elastic modulus, and resilience. Volumetric polymerization shrinkage was determined using a water-filled dilatometer. Data were evaluated using analysis of variance followed by Tukey's honestly significant difference test (α=0.05). The flexural strength of the resin composites ranged from 115.4 to 148.1 MPa, the elastic modulus ranged from 5.6 to 13.4 GPa, and the resilience ranged from 0.70 to 1.0 MJ/m 3 . There were significant differences in flexural properties between the materials but no clear outliers. Volumetric changes as a function of time over a duration of 180 seconds depended on the type of resin composite. However, for all the resin composites, apart from LS, volumetric shrinkage began soon after the start of light irradiation, and a rapid decrease in volume during light irradiation followed by a slower decrease was observed. The low shrinkage resin composites KL and LS showed significantly lower volumetric shrinkage than the other tested materials at the measuring point of 180 seconds. In contrast, the three bulk fill resin composites showed higher volumetric change than the other resin composites. The findings from this study provide clinicians with valuable information regarding the mechanical properties and

Locality, bulk equations of motion and the conformal bootstrap

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kabat, Daniel [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Lehman College, City University of New York,250 Bedford Park Blvd. W, Bronx NY 10468 (United States); Lifschytz, Gilad [Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Natural Science, University of Haifa,199 Aba Khoushy Ave., Haifa 31905 (Israel)

2016-10-18

We develop an approach to construct local bulk operators in a CFT to order 1/N{sup 2}. Since 4-point functions are not fixed by conformal invariance we use the OPE to categorize possible forms for a bulk operator. Using previous results on 3-point functions we construct a local bulk operator in each OPE channel. We then impose the condition that the bulk operators constructed in different channels agree, and hence give rise to a well-defined bulk operator. We refer to this condition as the “bulk bootstrap.” We argue and explicitly show in some examples that the bulk bootstrap leads to some of the same results as the regular conformal bootstrap. In fact the bulk bootstrap provides an easier way to determine some CFT data, since it does not require knowing the form of the conformal blocks. This analysis clarifies previous results on the relation between bulk locality and the bootstrap for theories with a 1/N expansion, and it identifies a simple and direct way in which OPE coefficients and anomalous dimensions determine the bulk equations of motion to order 1/N{sup 2}.

Bulk photovoltaic effect in LiTaO3 : Fe crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karabekyan, S.I.; Odoulov, S.G.

1991-01-01

The bulk photovoltaic effect that arises in non centrosymmetric crystals is determined by the third rank tensor. In this work four independent components of photovoltaic tensor, responsible for 'linear' photovoltaic currents, are measured for the first time for LiTaO 3 : Fe crystals in the range of photon energy from 2.07 to 3.88 eV. The observed correlation of the spectral dependences of β 15 and β 22 components indicates common origin of the transverse photovoltaic currents in this material

Structural transformations of mechanically induced top-down approach BaFe12O19 nanoparticles synthesized from high crystallinity bulk materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Low, Zhi Huang; Chen, Soo Kien; Ismail, Ismayadi; Tan, Kim Song; Liew, J.Y.C.

2017-01-01

In this work, a top-down approach was applied to high crystallinity BaFe 12 O 19 bulks, breaking them into smaller nanoparticles by mechanochemical route. The effects of milling time, reaction mechanisms and structural information were investigated. Interestingly, three distinct stages of the mechanochemical mechanism were observed. The XRD results indicated that the BaFe 12 O 19 phase existed even though the mechanical energy had induced the formation of an amorphous phase in the material. The average crystallite size decreased during the first stage and the intermediate stage, and increased during the final stage of the mechanical alloying. A Rietveld refinement analysis suggested the deformation of a mechanically-triggered polyhedral in the magnetoplumbite structure. FESEM micrographs indicated that fragmentation predominated during the first and intermediate stages, until a steady equilibrium state was achieved at in the final stage, where a narrow particle size distribution was observed. HRTEM micrographs suggested the formation of a non-uniform nanostructure shell surrounding the ordered core materials at the edge-interface region. The thickness of the amorphous surface layer extended up to 12 nm during the first and intermediate stages, and diminished to approximately 3 nm after 20 h milling. VSM results showed a mixture of ferromagnetic, superparamagnetic, and paramagnetic behaviours. However, different magnetic behaviours predominated at different milling time, which strongly related to the defects, distorted polyhedra, and non-equilibrium amorphous layers of the material. - Highlights: • Nanoparticles of BaFe 12 O 19 are successfully prepared. • Morphological and structural properties rely on mechanochemical mechanism. • Three stages of mechanochemical mechanism was observed. • Core shell structures (3–12 nm) was found during by extending the milling time. • Magnetic properties were strongly related with the mechanically induced defects.

Thermal conductivity engineering of bulk and one-dimensional Si-Ge nanoarchitectures.

Science.gov (United States)

Kandemir, Ali; Ozden, Ayberk; Cagin, Tahir; Sevik, Cem

2017-01-01

Various theoretical and experimental methods are utilized to investigate the thermal conductivity of nanostructured materials; this is a critical parameter to increase performance of thermoelectric devices. Among these methods, equilibrium molecular dynamics (EMD) is an accurate technique to predict lattice thermal conductivity. In this study, by means of systematic EMD simulations, thermal conductivity of bulk Si-Ge structures (pristine, alloy and superlattice) and their nanostructured one dimensional forms with square and circular cross-section geometries (asymmetric and symmetric) are calculated for different crystallographic directions. A comprehensive temperature analysis is evaluated for selected structures as well. The results show that one-dimensional structures are superior candidates in terms of their low lattice thermal conductivity and thermal conductivity tunability by nanostructuring, such as by diameter modulation, interface roughness, periodicity and number of interfaces. We find that thermal conductivity decreases with smaller diameters or cross section areas. Furthermore, interface roughness decreases thermal conductivity with a profound impact. Moreover, we predicted that there is a specific periodicity that gives minimum thermal conductivity in symmetric superlattice structures. The decreasing thermal conductivity is due to the reducing phonon movement in the system due to the effect of the number of interfaces that determine regimes of ballistic and wave transport phenomena. In some nanostructures, such as nanowire superlattices, thermal conductivity of the Si/Ge system can be reduced to nearly twice that of an amorphous silicon thermal conductivity. Additionally, it is found that one crystal orientation, [Formula: see text]100[Formula: see text], is better than the [Formula: see text]111[Formula: see text] crystal orientation in one-dimensional and bulk SiGe systems. Our results clearly point out the importance of lattice thermal conductivity

High-intensity xenon plasma discharge lamp for bulk-sensitive high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Souma, S; Sato, T; Takahashi, T; Baltzer, P

2007-12-01

We have developed a highly brilliant xenon (Xe) discharge lamp operated by microwave-induced electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) for ultrahigh-resolution bulk-sensitive photoemission spectroscopy (PES). We observed at least eight strong radiation lines from neutral or singly ionized Xe atoms in the energy region of 8.4-10.7 eV. The photon flux of the strongest Xe I resonance line at 8.437 eV is comparable to that of the He Ialpha line (21.218 eV) from the He-ECR discharge lamp. Stable operation for more than 300 h is achieved by efficient air-cooling of a ceramic tube in the resonance cavity. The high bulk sensitivity and high-energy resolution of PES using the Xe lines are demonstrated for some typical materials.

On the role of API in determining porosity, pore structure and bulk modulus of the skeletal material in pharmaceutical tablets formed with MCC as sole excipient.

Science.gov (United States)

Ridgway, Cathy; Bawuah, Prince; Markl, Daniel; Zeitler, J Axel; Ketolainen, Jarkko; Peiponen, Kai-Erik; Gane, Patrick

2017-06-30

The physical properties and mechanical integrity of pharmaceutical tablets are of major importance when loading with active pharmaceutical ingredient(s) (API) in order to ensure ease of processing, control of dosage and stability during transportation and handling prior to patient consumption. The interaction between API and excipient, acting as functional extender and binder, however, is little understood in this context. The API indomethacin is combined in this study with microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) at increasing loading levels. Tablets from the defined API/MCC ratios are made under conditions of controlled porosity and tablet thickness, resulting from different compression conditions, and thus compaction levels. Mercury intrusion porosimetry is used to establish the accessible pore volume, pore size distribution and, adopting the observed region of elastic intrusion-extrusion at high pressure, an elastic bulk modulus of the skeletal material is recorded. Porosity values are compared to previously published values derived from terahertz (THz) refractive index data obtained from exactly the same tablet sample sets. It is shown that the elastic bulk modulus is dependent on API wt% loading under constant tablet preparation conditions delivering equal dimensions and porosity. The findings are considered of novel value in respect to establishing consistency of tablet production and optimisation of physical properties. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.