Current and voltage distribution in the diffuse vacuum arc

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schellekens, H.; Schram, D.C.

1985-01-01

On the basis of extensive measurements, a model is developed for the diffuse plasma of the high-current vacuum arc. The model shows that the current constriction and the voltage distribution in the diffuse vacuum arc prior to anode-spot formation are caused by the pressure source to which the

Coefficient of electrical transport vacuum arc for metals and alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markov, G.V.; Ehjzner, B.A.

1998-01-01

In this article the authors propose formulas for estimation coefficient of electrical transport vacuum arc for metals and alloys. They also represent results of analysis principal physical processes which take place in cathode spot vacuum arc

Recent advances in vacuum arc ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.G.; Anders, A.; Anders, S.; Dickinson, M.R.; MacGill, R.A.; Oks, E.M.

1995-07-01

Intense beams of metal ions can be formed from a vacuum arc ion source. Broadbeam extraction is convenient, and the time-averaged ion beam current delivered downstream can readily be in the tens of milliamperes range. The vacuum arc ion source has for these reasons found good application for metallurgical surface modification--it provides relatively simple and inexpensive access to high dose metal ion implantation. Several important source developments have been demonstrated recently, including very broad beam operation, macroparticle removal, charge state enhancement, and formation of gaseous beams. The authors have made a very broad beam source embodiment with beam formation electrodes 50 cm in diameter, producing a beam of width ∼35 cm for a nominal beam area of ∼1,000 cm 2 , and a pulsed Ti beam current of about 7 A was formed at a mean ion energy of ∼100 keV. Separately, they've developed high efficiency macroparticle-removing magnetic filters and incorporated such a filter into a vacuum arc ion source so as to form macroparticle-free ion beams. Jointly with researchers at the High Current Electronics Institute at Tomsk, Russia, and the Gesellschaft fuer Schwerionenforschung at Darmstadt, Germany, they've developed a compact technique for increasing the charge states of ions produced in the vacuum arc plasma and thus providing a simple means of increasing the ion energy at fixed extractor voltage. Finally, operation with mixed metal and gaseous ion species has been demonstrated. Here, they briefly review the operation of vacuum marc ion sources and the typical beam and implantation parameters that can be obtained, and describe these source advances and their bearing on metal ion implantation applications

Ecton mechanism of ion flow generation in vacuum arc

CERN Document Server

Mesyats, G A

2001-01-01

The basic characteristics of cathode plasma generation in vacuum arc (ion erosion, ion average charge) were studied from the point of an ecton model of a cathode spot in vacuum arc. The estimates of ion parameters obtained for a single cell of a cathode spot show qualitative conformity with the experimental data. One introduces the following mechanism of cathode plasma generation in vacuum arc. In case of explosion-like destruction of a cathode segment under the effect of the Joule heating the cathode matter changes sequentially its state: condensed one, nonideal and ideal plasma ones. During this change one observes formation of plasma charge composition and ion acceleration under the effect of plasma pressure gradient

Modelling vacuum arcs : from plasma initiation to surface interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timko, H.

2011-01-01

A better understanding of vacuum arcs is desirable in many of today's 'big science' projects including linear colliders, fusion devices, and satellite systems. For the Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) design, radio-frequency (RF) breakdowns occurring in accelerating cavities influence efficiency optimisation and cost reduction issues. Studying vacuum arcs both theoretically as well as experimentally under well-defined and reproducible direct-current (DC) conditions is the first step towards exploring RF breakdowns. In this thesis, we have studied Cu DC vacuum arcs with a combination of experiments, a particle-in-cell (PIC) model of the arc plasma, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of the subsequent surface damaging mechanism. We have also developed the 2D Arc-PIC code and the physics model incorporated in it, especially for the purpose of modelling the plasma initiation in vacuum arcs. Assuming the presence of a field emitter at the cathode initially, we have identified the conditions for plasma formation and have studied the transitions from field emission stage to a fully developed arc. The 'footing' of the plasma is the cathode spot that supplies the arc continuously with particles; the high-density core of the plasma is located above this cathode spot. Our results have shown that once an arc plasma is initiated, and as long as energy is available, the arc is self-maintaining due to the plasma sheath that ensures enhanced field emission and sputtering.The plasma model can already give an estimate on how the time-to-breakdown changes with the neutral evaporation rate, which is yet to be determined by atomistic simulations. Due to the non-linearity of the problem, we have also performed a code-to-code comparison. The reproducibility of plasma behaviour and time-to-breakdown with independent codes increased confidence in the results presented here. Our MD simulations identified high-flux, high-energy ion bombardment as a possible mechanism forming the early

Electrical and optical investigations on the low voltage vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Braic, M.; Braic, V.; Pavelescu, G.; Balaceanu, M.; Pavelescu, D.; Dumitrescu, G.; Gherendi, F.

2002-01-01

Preliminary investigations of a low voltage circuit breaker, adapted from a real industrial device, were carried out by electrical and optical methods. Electrical, parameters were measured in the high current arc period and in zero current moment (C.Z) and corroborated with the arc plasma spectroscopic investigations. For the first time in vacuum arc diagnostics, the paper presents results based on single shot time resolved emission spectroscopy around C.Z. The short-circuit current was produced in a special high power installation in order to reproduce exactly the short-circuit regimes developing in low voltage distribution networks. A stainless steel vacuum chamber with classical Cu-Cr electrodes was used. Tests were performed for different current values in the range 3 - 20 kA rms , the voltages being varied between 200 and 1000 V ac . Interruption processes in the different arc regimes (from the diffuse arc mode to the constricted column mode) were analyzed. The success of the arc interruption was analyzed in terms of electric arc energy achieved in the first current halfperiod. The results obtained were corroborated with arc plasma spectroscopic investigations. The emission spectroscopy setup, using an Acton spectrograph and an intensified CCD camera, allowed the spatial and time-resolved investigation of spectra emitted by the vacuum arc plasma. The first truly time-resolved spectroscopic measurements on a single half-period was proven to be a good method to investigate the vacuum arc. Using single shot time resolved spectroscopy around zero current on partial unsuccessful interruption we concluded that the Cu ions, more that Cr ions were responsible for the arc reignition. The financial support for this work comes from NATO-STI SfP /974083 and CORINT-Romania projects. (authors)

Installation for vacuum vapour deposition of nickel, more particularly for manufacturing neutron guides

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samuel, F.

1986-01-01

The present invention proposes an installation for vacuum vapour deposition of Ni of the type including in a vacuum chamber a device for heating a mass of at least one Ni isotope to be evaporated, and a surface to be covered with deposited Ni facing the heater, is claimed, in which the heater includes a ribbon of W conformed in a middle part into a container in which is placed a refractory crucible in which is placed the Ni to be evaporated, and adapted to be connected at two terminal zones to an electrical circuit. The crucible is Al203. The invention finds an application in neutron guide fabrication, more particularly for Ni58 vapour deposition on the surfaces of the neutron guide [fr

Simulation Research of Magnetic Constriction Effect and Controlling by Axial Magnetic Field of Vacuum Arc

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

王立军; 贾申利; 史宗谦; 荣命哲

2005-01-01

Based on magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model of vacuum arc, the computer simulation of vacuum arc was carried out in this paper. In the MHD model, mass conservation equation,momentum conservation equations, energy conservation equations, generalized ohm's law and Maxwell equation were considered. MHD equations were calculated by numerical method, and the distribution of vacuum arc plasma parameters and current density were obtained. Simulation results showed that the magnetic constriction effect of vacuum arc is primarily caused by the Hall effect. In addition, the inhibition of axial magnetic field (AMF) on constriction of vacuum arc was calculated and analyzed.

Dye laser spectrometer for the analysis of pulsed vacuum arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hargis, P.J. Jr.; Robertson, M.M.

1975-01-01

A pulsed dye laser spectrometer which is used to obtain detailed single shot spectroscopic measurements of the plasma in a pulsed vacuum arc was developed. The capabilities of this spectrometer are indicated by the detection of laser induced fluorescence signals from 10 6 neutral Ti atoms in the plasma of a pulsed vacuum arc with a Ti anode. (U.S.)

Behaviour of gas conditions during vacuum arc discharges used for deposition of thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strzyzewski, J.; Langner, J.; Sadowski, M.; Witkowski, J.; Mirowski, R.; Catani, L.; Cianchi, A.; Russo, R.; Tazzari, S.

2005-01-01

The vacuum arc, which is one of the oldest techniques used for the deposition of thin films, is now widely used for the Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation and Deposition (PIII and D) in laboratory and industry. Despite of high progress in this field observed during last three decades, involving e.g. magnetic filters for the elimination of micro-droplets, some problems have not been resolved so far. The paper concerns an important problem which is connected with the inclusion of some impurities in the deposited metal film. It was found that appearance of contaminants in the film is induced mainly by water vapour remnants inside the vacuum chamber. The high adsorption of such contaminants by the deposited thin films is observed particularly in so-called getter materials, as niobium and titanium. Such materials can absorb impurities from the surrounding and dissolve them inside the layer. In order to eliminate this problem, in 2000 a new approach was proposed to perform arc discharges at the ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. It was demonstrated experimentally that the deposited pure Nb-films have similar properties to the bulk-Nb samples. These results are very promising from the point of the application of such coating processes in super-conducting RF cavities of future charged-particle accelerators. The paper describes different methods used for the reduction of the background pressure in the UHV stand below 10 -10 hPa. The most important methods involve the selection of appropriate materials and the backing of whole vacuum system. In order to reduce the contaminants a laser triggering system has been applied instead of a common system, which used high-voltage discharges along the surface of an insulated trigger electrode. Particular attention is paid to a comparison of different gas conditions during arc discharges at high-vacuum conditions (background pressure in the range of 10 -8 -10 -7 hPa) and at UHV experiments (background pressure within the range of 10 -11

Modeling Vacuum Arcs On Spacecraft Solar Panel Arrays, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Spacecraft charging and subsequent vacuum arcing poses a significant threat to satellites in LEO and GEO plasma conditions. Localized arc discharges can cause a...

Experiments with background gas in a vacuum arc centrifuge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dallaqua, R.S.; Simpson, S.W.; Del Bosco, E.

1996-01-01

Since promising isotope separation results were first reported by Krishnan et al. in 1981, a range of vacuum arc centrifuge experiments have been conducted in laboratories around the world. The PCEN (Plasma CENtrifuge) vacuum arc centrifuge at the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research has been used for isotope separation studies with cathode materials of carbon and magnesium and also to investigate the performance in terms of the rotational velocity attained for different cathode materials. Here, a vacuum arc centrifuge has been operated with an initial filling gas of either argon or hydrogen for pressures ranging from 10 -3 to 10 -1 Pa. The angular velocity ω of the plasma has been determined by cross-correlating the signals from potential probes, and the electron temperature T has been deduced from Langmuir probe data. At high gas pressures and early times during the 14 ms plasma lifetime, high-frequency nonuniformities frequently observed in the vacuum discharge disappear, suggesting that the associated instability is suppressed. Under the same conditions, nonuniformities rotating with much lower angular velocities are observed in the plasma. Temperatures are reduced in the presence of the background gas, and the theoretical figure of merit for separation proportional to ω 2 /T is increased compared to its value in the vacuum discharge for both argon and hydrogen gas fillings

The interaction of vacuum arcs with magnetic fields and applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gorman, J.G.; Kimblin, C.W.; Slade, P.G.; Voshall, R.E.; Wien, R.E.

1983-01-01

Vacuum arc/magnetic field interactions are reviewed and extended. An axial magnetic field (parallel to current flow) produces a stable and diffuse vacuum arc. These properties have been used to build a reliable dc switch for the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor at Princeton. The switching duty for this Ohmic Heating Interrupter involves repetitive interruption of 24kA dc against a 27kV recovery voltage. A transverse magnetic field (perpendicular to current flow) produces an unstable arc with an ensuing high arc voltage. This property has been used to complete a metallic return transfer breaker for the Pacific HVDC Intertie, here the switching duty involves interruption of currents up to 2200A dc against an 80kV recovery voltage

Cathodic Vacuum Arc Plasma of Thallium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yushkov, Georgy Yu.; Anders, Andre

2006-01-01

Thallium arc plasma was investigated in a vacuum arc ion source. As expected from previous consideration of cathode materials in the Periodic Table of the Elements, thallium plasma shows lead-like behavior. Its mean ion charge state exceeds 2.0 immediately after arc triggering, reaches the predicted 1.60 and 1.45 after about 100 microsec and 150 microsec, respectively. The most likely ion velocity is initially8000 m/s and decays to 6500 m/s and 6200 m/s after 100 microsec and 150microsec, respectively. Both ion charge states and ion velocities decay further towards steady state values, which are not reached within the 300microsec pulses used here. It is argued that the exceptionally high vapor pressure and charge exchange reactions are associated with the establishment of steady state ion values

Modelling of crater formation on anode surface by high-current vacuum arcs

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Yunbo; Wang, Zhenxing; Jiang, Yanjun; Ma, Hui; Liu, Zhiyuan; Geng, Yingsan; Wang, Jianhua; Nordlund, Kai; Djurabekova, Flyura

2016-11-01

Anode melting and crater formation significantly affect interruption of high-current vacuum arcs. The primary objective of this paper is to theoretically investigate the mechanism of anode surface crater formation, caused by the combined effect of surface heating during the vacuum arc and pressure exerted on the molten surface by ions and electrons from the arc plasma. A model of fluid flow and heat transfer in the arc anode is developed and combined with a magnetohydrodynamics model of the vacuum arc plasma. Crater formation is observed in simulation for a peak arcing current higher than 15 kA on 40 mm diam. Cu electrodes spaced 10 mm apart. The flow of liquid metal starts after 4 or 5 ms of arcing, and the maximum velocities are 0.95 m/s and 1.39 m/s for 20 kA and 25 kA arcs, respectively. This flow redistributes thermal energy, and the maximum temperature of the anode surface does not remain in the center. Moreover, the condition for the liquid droplet formation on the anode surfaces is developed. The solidification process after current zero is also analyzed. The solidification time has been found to be more than 3 ms after 25 kA arcing. The long solidification time and sharp features on crater rims induce Taylor cone formation.

Vacuum arcing behavior between transverse magnetic field contacts subjected to variable axial magnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Hui; Wang, Jianhua; Liu, Zhiyuan; Geng, Yingsan; Wang, Zhenxing; Yan, Jing

2016-06-01

The objective of this work is to reveal the effects of an axial magnetic field (AMF) on the vacuum arc characteristics between transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts. These vacuum arc characteristics include the vacuum arcing behavior and the arc voltage waveform. In the experiments, an external AMF was applied to a pair of TMF contacts. The external AMF flux density BAMF can be adjusted from 0 to 110 mT. The arc current in the tests varied over a range from 0 to 20 kA rms at 45 Hz. The contact material was CuCr25 (25% Cr). A high-speed charge-coupled device video camera was used to record the vacuum arc evolution. The experimental results show that the application of the AMF effectively reduces the TMF arc voltage noise component and reduces the formation of liquid metal drops between the contacts. The diffuse arc duration increases linearly with increasing AMF flux density, but it also decreases linearly with increasing arc current under application of the external AMF. The results also indicate that the diffuse arc duration before the current zero is usually more than 1 ms under the condition that the value of the AMF per kiloampere is more than 2.0 mT/kA. Finally, under application of the AMF, the arc column of the TMF contacts may constrict and remain in the center region without transverse rotation. Therefore, the combined TMF-AMF contacts should be designed such that they guarantee that the AMF is not so strong as to oppose transverse rotation of the arc column.

Properties of DLC coatings deposited by dc and dc with superimposed pulsed vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavaleyev, V.; Walkowicz, J.; Aksyonov, D.S.; Luchaninov, A.A.; Reshetnyak, E.N.; Strel'nitskij, V.E.

2014-01-01

Comparative studies of the structure, mechanical and tribological properties of DLC coatings deposited in DC and DC with superimposed high current pulse modes of operation vacuum-arc plasma source with the graphite cathode are presented. Imposition the pulses of high current on DC vacuum-arc discharge allows both increase the deposition rate of DLC coating and reduce the residual compressive stress in the coatings what promotes substantial improvement the adhesion to the substrate. Effect of vacuum arc plasma filtration with Venetian blind filter on the deposition rate and tribological characteristics of the coatings analyzed.

Vacuum arcing behavior between transverse magnetic field contacts subjected to variable axial magnetic field

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, Hui; Wang, Jianhua; Liu, Zhiyuan, E-mail: liuzy@mail.xjtu.edu.cn; Geng, Yingsan; Wang, Zhenxing; Yan, Jing [State Key Laboratory of Electrical Insulation and Power Equipment, Xi' an Jiaotong University, Xi' an 710049 (China)

2016-06-15

The objective of this work is to reveal the effects of an axial magnetic field (AMF) on the vacuum arc characteristics between transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts. These vacuum arc characteristics include the vacuum arcing behavior and the arc voltage waveform. In the experiments, an external AMF was applied to a pair of TMF contacts. The external AMF flux density B{sub AMF} can be adjusted from 0 to 110 mT. The arc current in the tests varied over a range from 0 to 20 kA rms at 45 Hz. The contact material was CuCr25 (25% Cr). A high-speed charge-coupled device video camera was used to record the vacuum arc evolution. The experimental results show that the application of the AMF effectively reduces the TMF arc voltage noise component and reduces the formation of liquid metal drops between the contacts. The diffuse arc duration increases linearly with increasing AMF flux density, but it also decreases linearly with increasing arc current under application of the external AMF. The results also indicate that the diffuse arc duration before the current zero is usually more than 1 ms under the condition that the value of the AMF per kiloampere is more than 2.0 mT/kA. Finally, under application of the AMF, the arc column of the TMF contacts may constrict and remain in the center region without transverse rotation. Therefore, the combined TMF–AMF contacts should be designed such that they guarantee that the AMF is not so strong as to oppose transverse rotation of the arc column.

Vacuum arcing behavior between transverse magnetic field contacts subjected to variable axial magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Hui; Wang, Jianhua; Liu, Zhiyuan; Geng, Yingsan; Wang, Zhenxing; Yan, Jing

2016-01-01

The objective of this work is to reveal the effects of an axial magnetic field (AMF) on the vacuum arc characteristics between transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts. These vacuum arc characteristics include the vacuum arcing behavior and the arc voltage waveform. In the experiments, an external AMF was applied to a pair of TMF contacts. The external AMF flux density B AMF can be adjusted from 0 to 110 mT. The arc current in the tests varied over a range from 0 to 20 kA rms at 45 Hz. The contact material was CuCr25 (25% Cr). A high-speed charge-coupled device video camera was used to record the vacuum arc evolution. The experimental results show that the application of the AMF effectively reduces the TMF arc voltage noise component and reduces the formation of liquid metal drops between the contacts. The diffuse arc duration increases linearly with increasing AMF flux density, but it also decreases linearly with increasing arc current under application of the external AMF. The results also indicate that the diffuse arc duration before the current zero is usually more than 1 ms under the condition that the value of the AMF per kiloampere is more than 2.0 mT/kA. Finally, under application of the AMF, the arc column of the TMF contacts may constrict and remain in the center region without transverse rotation. Therefore, the combined TMF–AMF contacts should be designed such that they guarantee that the AMF is not so strong as to oppose transverse rotation of the arc column.

Investigation of carbon cathode surface before and after the passage of combined dc vacuum arc with superimposed high-current arc pulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zavaleyev, V.; Walkowicz, J.; Moszynski, D.

2016-01-01

The paper presents the results of studies of carbon cathode surface before and after the passage of the combined DC vacuum-arc with superimposed high-current arc pulses. Investigations of surface morphology of carbon cathode showed, that secondary nuclei of high-density are formed after passing of the combined DC-pulse vacuum-arc, which results in the formation of a globular structures. The phase structure analysis by Raman spectroscopy showed that even at a minimum operation time (5 s) of the combined DC-pulse vacuum-arc broadening of the peaks 1355 and 1583 cm-1 occurs, which means that the carbon cathode surface undergo phase transformation. Results obtained by XPS spectroscopy demonstrate that the globular structures formed on the cathode surface are composed of sp 3 -bonded carbon atoms and carbon-oxygen bonds.

Advances in high voltage insulation and arc interruption in SF6 and vacuum

CERN Document Server

Maller, V N

1982-01-01

Advances in High Voltage Insulation and Arc Interruption in SF6 and Vacuum deals with high voltage breakdown and arc extinction in sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and high vacuum, with special emphasis on the application of these insulating media in high voltage power apparatus and devices. The design and developmental aspects of various high voltage power apparatus using SF6 and high vacuum are highlighted. This book is comprised of eight chapters and opens with a discussion on electrical discharges in SF6 and high vacuum, along with the properties and handling of SF6 gas. The following chapters fo

Effects of an anode sheath on energy and momentum transfer in vacuum arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhenxing; Zhou, Zhipeng; Tian, Yunbo; Wang, Haoran; Wang, Jianhua; Geng, Yingsan; Liu, Zhiyuan

2017-01-01

Anode phenomena under high-current vacuum arcs have a significant impact on the interrupting capacity of vacuum interrupters. However, the vacuum arc energy flux and momentum flux on the anode—which are necessary boundary conditions for simulations—are either set to an imaginary distribution or calculated using simple formulas without considering anode sheath regulatory effects. The objective of this paper is to reveal the anode sheath effects on regulating the energy and momentum transfer from the arc column to the anode surface in vacuum arcs. A particle-in-cell model for the anode sheath is developed. The required input parameters are obtained from a magnetohydrodynamic model for the arc column. From the results, there exists a sheath near the anode with a negative voltage drop. Both the electron density and the ion density significantly decline in the anode sheath region. The kinetic energy of the ions absorbed by the anode consists of directed kinetic energy, random kinetic energy, and sheath acceleration energy. The sheath acceleration energy contribution is the largest, and the random kinetic energy also accounts for a large part that cannot be ignored. The arc pressure on the anode surface is mainly caused by ion impact, and the accelerating effect of the anode sheath on the ions cannot be neglected in pressure calculations. In addition, in the case of an arc current at 15 kA, the input energy and momentum upon the anode surface is not obviously affected by the evaporated atoms at surface temperatures of 1600 K and 2000 K. (paper)

Discharge modes at the anode of a vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, H.C.

1982-01-01

The two most common anode modes in a vacuum arc are the low current mode, where the anode is basically inert; and the high current mode with a fully developed anode spot. This anode spot is very bright, has a temperature near the boiling point of the anode material, and is a copious source of vapor and energetic ions. However, other anode modes can exist. A low current vacuum arc with electrodes of readily sputterable material will emit a flux of sputtered atoms from the anode. An intermediate currents an anode footpoint can form. This footpoint is luminous, but much cooler than a true anode spot. Finally, a high current mode can exist where several small anode spots are present instead of a single large anode spot

Vacuum arc ion sources - micro to macro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacGill, R.A.; Dickinson, M.R.; Brown, I.G.

1995-08-01

Vacuum arc ion sources provide a convenient tool for the production of intense beams of metal ions. The sources are relatively easy to construct and they can produce beams from all of the solid metals as well as of compounds, alloys and mixtures. We have made a number of different kinds of such sources over the course of our development work at LBL in the past decade, from very small open-quote thumb-size close-quote versions to a very large one with 50-cm diameter extractor. Beam current ranges from a few milliamperes up to almost 10 amperes and extraction voltage from about 1 kV to 100 kV. Multicathode versions have been made so that one can switch between metal ion species simply and quickly. Most of the sources have been operated in a repetitively pulsed mode, and we've tested a dc version also. Here we outline some construction features of the array of vacuum arc ion sources that we've developed and used, and describe their performance and limitations

Technological plasma source equipped with combined system of vacuum-arc discharge initiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sysoev, Yu.O.

2013-01-01

The construction and the operation principle of erosion plasma source with a three-stage system of vacuum-arc discharge excitation is described. As first two step was used the modified contactless start system with plasma injector, which was widely used in standard plasma sources of the ''Bulat'' systems. The operation principle of the third stage was based on the transition of glow discharge to arc discharge. Coordinated operation of three stages during various stages of coating deposition provided significant increasing of service life and reliability of the system of vacuum-arc discharge initiation and extended the functionality of the plasma source

Vacuum ARC ion sources - activities ampersand developments at LBL

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.

1996-01-01

The author describes work at LBL on the development and application of vacuum arc ion sources. Work has been done on vacuum spark sources - to produce very high charge states, studies of high charge states in magnetic field, hybrid ion source operation on metal/gas plasma, multipole operation, work on MEVVA V for implantation applications, development of broad beam sources, and removal of particles from the output of the source

Investigation of Vacuum Arc Voltage Characteristics Under Different Axial Magnetic Field Profiles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Shenli; Song Xiaochuan; Huo Xintao; Shi Zongqian; Wang Lijun

2010-01-01

Characteristics of the arc voltage under different profiles of axial magnetic field were investigated experimentally in a detachable vacuum chamber with five pairs of specially designed electrodes generating both bell-shaped and saddle-shaped magnetic field profile. The arc column and cathode spot images were photographed by a high speed digital camera. The dependence of the arc voltage on arcing evolution is analyzed. It is indicated that the axial magnetic field profile could affect the arc behaviors significantly, and the arc voltage is closely related to the arc light intensity.

Modelling of plasma generation and expansion in a vacuum arc: application to the vacuum arc remelting process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chapelle, P.; Bellot, J.P.; Duval, H.; Jardy, A.; Ablitzer, D.

2002-01-01

As part of a complete theoretical description of the behaviour of the electric arc in the vacuum arc remelting process, a model has been developed for the column of plasma generated by a single cluster of cathode spots. The model combines a kinetic approach, taking into account the formation of the plasma in the cathodic region, and a hydrodynamic approach, describing the expansion of the plasma in the vacuum between the electrodes. The kinetic model is based on a system of Boltzmann-Vlasov-Poisson equations and uses a particle-type simulation procedure, combining the PIC (particle in cell) and FPM (finite point set method) methods. In the two-dimensional hydrodynamic model, the plasma is assimilated to a mixture of two continuous fluids (the electrons and the ions), each described by a system of coupled transport equations. Finally, a simplified method has been defined for calculating the electric current density and the energy flux density transmitted by the plasma to the anode. The results of the numerical simulation presented are consistent with a certain number of experimental data available in the literature. In particular, the model predicts a percentage of the electric power of the cluster transmitted to the anode (25%) in good agreement with the value indicated in the literature. (author)

Thermionic vacuum arc (TVA) technique for magnesium thin film deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Balbag, M.Z., E-mail: zbalbag@ogu.edu.t [Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Education Faculty, Primary Education, Meselik Campus, Eskisehir 26480 (Turkey); Pat, S.; Ozkan, M.; Ekem, N. [Eskisehir Osmangazi University, Art and Science Faculty, Physics Department, Eskisehir 26480 (Turkey); Musa, G. [Ovidius University, Physics Department, Constanta (Romania)

2010-08-15

In this study, magnesium thin films were deposited on glass substrate by the Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) technique for the first time. We present a different technique for deposition of high-quality magnesium thin films. By means of this technique, the production of films is achieved by condensing the plasma of anode material generated using Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) under high vacuum conditions onto the surface to be coated. The crystal orientation and morphology of the deposited films were investigated by using XRD, EDX, SEM and AFM. The aim of this study is to search the use of TVA technique to coat magnesium thin films and to determine some of the physical properties of the films generated. Furthermore, this study will contribute to the scientific studies which search the thin films of magnesium or the compounds containing magnesium. In future, this study will be preliminary work to entirely produce magnesium diboride (MgB{sub 2}) superconductor thin film with the TVA technique.

Streaming metal plasma generation by vacuum arc plasma guns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacGill, R.A.; Dickinson, M.R.; Anders, A.; Monteiro, O.R.; Brown, I.G.

1998-01-01

We have developed several different embodiments of repetitively pulsed vacuum arc metal plasma gun, including miniature versions, multicathode versions that can produce up to 18 different metal plasma species between which one can switch, and a compact high-duty cycle well-cooled version, as well as a larger dc gun. Plasma guns of this kind can be incorporated into a vacuum arc ion source for the production of high-energy metal ion beams, or used as a plasma source for thin film formation and for metal plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition. The source can also be viewed as a low-energy metal ion source with ion drift velocity in the range 20 - 200 eV depending on the metal species used. Here we describe the plasma sources that we have developed, the properties of the plasma generated, and summarize their performance and limitations. copyright 1998 American Institute of Physics

Note: Triggering behavior of a vacuum arc plasma source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lan, C. H., E-mail: lanchaohui@163.com; Long, J. D.; Zheng, L.; Dong, P.; Yang, Z.; Li, J.; Wang, T.; He, J. L. [Institute of Fluid Physics, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang 621900 (China)

2016-08-15

Axial symmetry of discharge is very important for application of vacuum arc plasma. It is discovered that the triggering method is a significant factor that would influence the symmetry of arc discharge at the final stable stage. Using high-speed multiframe photography, the transition processes from cathode-trigger discharge to cathode-anode discharge were observed. It is shown that the performances of the two triggering methods investigated are quite different. Arc discharge triggered by independent electric source can be stabilized at the center of anode grid, but it is difficult to achieve such good symmetry through resistance triggering. It is also found that the triggering process is highly correlated to the behavior of emitted electrons.

Finite Element Analysis of a 3D Moving Vacuum Arc for Transverse Magnetic Field Contacts Based on Gundlach's Formula

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kwak, Chang-Seob; Kim, Hong-Kyu; Kim, Tae-Hoon; Lee, Se-Hee

2017-01-01

A systematic numerical method for analyzing a 3D moving vacuum arc was proposed and tested in this research by using a transverse magnetic field (TMF) contact. The analysis was carried out by employing the finite element method and the experimental energy equation defined by Gundlach's formula. In the literature, the vacuum interrupter has been widely applied to medium-voltage switching circuits. TMF-type contacts use the Lorentz force density to move a high-temperature arc so as to prevent the contacts from being melted and damaged. The material erosion caused by the arc on the electrode's surface is an important process that results in the interruptive capabilities of these vacuum interrupters. In a classical arc model, to move the vacuum arc, it is required that the magneto-hydrodynamics be analyzed in the arc region at each step. However, with this approach convergence is difficult, resulting in a very time-consuming. Therefore, we propose a new technique to predict the behaviors of vacuum arc between two electrodes. This new approach adopts the experimental arc voltage equation between two electrodes defined by Gundlach's formula. We verify our proposed model by comparing its results with the arcing behaviors obtained from earlier experiments.

High current vacuum arc ion source for heavy ion fusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qi, N.; Schein, J.; Gensler, S.; Prasad, R.R.; Krishnan, M.; Brown, I.

1999-01-01

Heavy Ion fusion (HIF) is one of the approaches for the controlled thermonuclear power production. A source of heavy ions with charge states 1+ to 2+, in ∼0.5 A current beams with ∼20 micros pulse widths and ∼10 Hz repetition rates are required. Thermionic sources have been the workhorse for the HIF program to date, but suffer from sloe turn-on, heating problems for large areas, are limited to low (contact) ionization potential elements and offer relatively low ion fluxes with a charge state limited to 1+. Gas injection sources suffer from partial ionization and deleterious neutral gas effects. The above shortcomings of the thermionic ion sources can be overcome by a vacuum arc ion source. The vacuum arc ion source is a good candidate for HIF applications. It is capable of providing ions of various elements and different charge states, in short and long pulse bursts, with low emittance and high beam currents. Under a Phase-I STTR from DOE, the feasibility of the vacuum arc ion source for the HIF applications is investigated. An existing ion source at LBNL was modified to produce ∼0.5 A, ∼60 keV Gd (A∼158) ion beams. The experimental effort concentrated on beam noise reduction, pulse-to-pulse reproducibility and achieving low beam emittance at 0.5 A ion current level. Details of the source development will be reported

Increasing of charge of uranium ion beam in vacuum-arc-type source (MEVVA)

CERN Document Server

Kulevoj, T V; Petrenko, S V; Seleznev, D N; Pershin, V I; Batalin, V A; Kolomiets, A A

2002-01-01

Research efforts with MEVVA type source (Metal Vapor Vacuum Arc) and with its modifications are in progress now in the ITEP. In the course of research one revealed possibility to increase charge state of generated beam of uranium ions. Increase of charge results from propagation of high-current vacuum-arc charge from the source cathode to the extra anode located in increasing axial magnetic field. One obtained uranium ion beam with 150 mA output current 10% of which were contributed by U sup 7 sup + uranium ions

Discharge behavior of vacuum arc ion source working in pulse mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tang Pingying; Dai Jingyi; Tan Xiaohua; Jin Dazhi; Liu Tie; Ding Bonan

2005-01-01

Discharge behavior of the vacuum arc ion source working in pulse mode was investigated using high-speed photography and spectrum diagnosis. The evolvement of cathode spot on hydrogen-impregnated electrode was captured by high-speed photography, and the emission spectra of cathode spot at different pulse currents were analyzed. The experimental results show that in most cases, only one cathode spot can be found in the discharge zone of vacuum arc ion source, and the spot moves a little during the same discharge. Temperature of the cathode spot may rise while the discharge current increases, and ultimately the density of hydrogen ion will be increased. At the same time, sputtering of the electrode is enhanced and the quality of ion plasma will be reduced. (authors)

Recent advances in high current vacuum arc ion sources for heavy ion fusion

CERN Document Server

Qi Nian Sheng; Prasad, R R; Krishnan, M S; Anders, A; Kwan, J; Brown, I

2001-01-01

For a heavy ion fusion induction linac driver, a source of heavy ions with charge states 1+-3+, approx 0.5 A current beams, approx 20 mu s pulse widths and approx 10 Hz repetition rates is required. Thermionic sources have been the workhorse for the Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) program to date, but suffer from heating problems for large areas and contamination. They are limited to low (contact) ionization potential elements and offer relatively low ion fluxes with a charge state limited to 1+. Gas injection sources suffer from partial ionization and deleterious neutral gas effects. The above shortcomings of the thermionic ion sources can be overcome by a vacuum arc ion source. The vacuum arc ion source is a good candidate for HIF applications. It is capable of providing ions of various elements and different charge states in short and long pulse bursts and high beam current density. Under a Phase-I STTR from DOE, the feasibility of the vacuum arc ion source for the HIF applications was investigated. We have modifie...

Cathode-constriction and column-constriction in high current vacuum arcs subjected to an axial magnetic field

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zaiqin; Ma, Hui; Liu, Zhiyuan; Geng, Yingsan; Wang, Jianhua

2018-04-01

The influence of the applied axial magnetic field on the current density distribution in the arc column and electrodes is intensively studied. However, the previous results only provide a qualitative explanation, which cannot quantitatively explain a recent experimental data on anode current density. The objective of this paper is to quantitatively determine the current constriction subjected to an axial magnetic field in high-current vacuum arcs according to the recent experimental data. A magnetohydrodynamic model is adopted to describe the high current vacuum arcs. The vacuum arc is in a diffuse arc mode with an arc current ranged from 6 kArms to 14 kArms and an axial magnetic field ranged from 20 mT to 110 mT. By a comparison of the recent experimental work of current density distribution on the anode, the modelling results show that there are two types of current constriction. On one hand, the current on the cathode shows a constriction, and this constriction is termed as the cathode-constriction. On the other hand, the current constricts in the arc column region, and this constriction is termed as the column-constriction. The cathode boundary is of vital importance in a quantitative model. An improved cathode constriction boundary is proposed. Under the improved boundary, the simulation results are in good agreement with the recent experimental data on the anode current density distribution. It is demonstrated that the current density distribution at the anode is sensitive to that at the cathode, so that measurements of the anode current density can be used, in combination with the vacuum arc model, to infer the cathode current density distribution.

Experimental investigation on the initial expansion stage of vacuum arc on cup-shaped TMF contacts

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ting; Xiu, Shixin; Liu, Zixi; Zhang, Yanzhe; Feng, Dingyu

2018-02-01

Arc behavior and measures to control it directly affect the properties of vacuum circuit breakers. Nowadays, transverse magnetic field (TMF) contacts are widely used for medium voltages. A magnetic field perpendicular to the current direction between the TMF contacts makes the arc move, transmitting its energy to the whole contact and avoiding excessive local ablation. Previous research on TMF arc behavior concentrated mainly on the arc movement and less on the initial stage (from arc ignition to an unstable arc column). A significant amount of experiment results suggest that there is a short period of arc stagnation after ignition. The duration of this arc stagnation and the arc characteristics during this stage affect the subsequent arc motion and even the breaking property of interrupters. The present study is of the arc characteristics in the initial stage. Experiments were carried out in a demountable vacuum chamber with cup-shaped TMF contacts. Using a high-speed camera, both single-point arc ignition mode and multiple-point arc ignition (MPAI) mode were observed. The experimental data show that the probability of MPAI mode occurring is related to the arc current. The influences of arc-ignition mode, arc current, and contact diameter on the initial expansion process were investigated. In addition, simulations were performed to analyze the multiple arc expansion process mechanically. Based on the experimental phenomena and simulation results, the mechanism of the arc expansion motion was analyzed.

Vacuum arc localization in CLIC prototype radio frequency accelerating structures

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2091976; Koivunen, Visa

2016-04-04

A future linear collider capable of reaching TeV collision energies should support accelerating gradients beyond 100 MV/m. At such high fields, the occurrence of vacuum arcs have to be mitigated through conditioning, during which an accelerating structure’s resilience against breakdowns is slowly increased through repeated radio frequency pulsing. Conditioning is very time and resource consuming, which is why developing more efficient procedures is desirable. At CERN, conditioning related research is conducted at the CLIC high-power X-band test stands. Breakdown localization is an important diagnostic tool of accelerating structure tests. Abnormal position distributions highlight issues in structure design, manufacturing or operation and may consequently help improve these processes. Additionally, positioning can provide insight into the physics of vacuum arcs. In this work, two established positioning methods based on the time-difference-ofarrival of radio frequency waves are extended. The first method i...

Scintillation screen applications in a vacuum arc ion source with composite hydride cathode

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, X. H.; Tuo, X. G.; Yang, Z.; Peng, Y. F.; Li, J.; Lv, H. Y.; Li, J. H.; Long, J. D.

2018-05-01

Vacuum arc ion source with composite hydride cathode was developed to produce intense ion beams which can be applied in particle accelerator injections. Beam profile and beam composition are two fundamental parameters of the beam for the vacuum arc ion source in such specific applications. An aluminum-coated scintillation screen with an ICCD camera readout was used to show the space-time distribution of the beam directly. A simple magnetic analysis assembly with the scintillation screen shows the beam composition information of this kind ion source. Some physical and technical issues are discussed and analyzed in the text.

Steady state behavior of rotating plasmas in a vacuum-arc centrifuge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bittencourt, J.A.; Ludwig, G.O.

1987-01-01

The steady state behaviour of the fully ionized, multiple species, rotating, magnetized plasma in a vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge is described in detail. The analysis is based on a multiple species fluid model which includes electromagnetic, pressure gradient, centrifugal and collisional forces, for each species, in cylindrical geometry. It is shown that there is a family of theoretically possible dynamical equilibrium configurations, which can be achieved by different combinations of ion rotation velocity, radial ion density distribution and radial dependence of internal electric potential. The parametric dependences of the various plasma parameters under equilibrium conditions, including the ion separation factor, are presented for a nickel-copper plasma. The numerical results are analysed and discussed in light of experimentally measured plasma characteristics in a vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge. (author)

Steady state behavior of rotating plasmas in a vacuum-arc centrifuge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bittencourt, J.A.; Ludwig, G.O.

1986-06-01

The steady state behavior of the fully ionized, multiple species, rotating, magnetized plasma in a vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge is described in detail. The analysis is based on a multiple species fluid model which includes electromagnetic, pressure gradient, centrifugal and collisional forces, for each species, in cylindrical geometry. It is showm that there is a family of theoretically possible dynamical equilibrium configurations, which can be achieved by different combinations of ion rotation velocity, radial ion density distribution and radial dependence of internal electric potential. The parametric dependences of the various plasma parameters under equilibrium conditions, including the ion separation factor, are presented for a nickel-copper plasma. The numerical results are analysed and discussed on light of experimentally measured plasma characteristics in a vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge. (Author) [pt

Experimental Investigation on the Influence of Axial Magnetic Field Distribution on Resisting the Constriction of a High-Current Vacuum Arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Zongqian; Liu Zhigang; Jia Shenli; Song Xiaochuan; Wang Lijun

2009-01-01

Effect of the axial magnetic field (AMF) on resisting the constriction of a high-current vacuum arc is studied in this paper. Two typical AMF distributions were investigated, i.e., the traditional bell-shaped AMF, and the saddle-shaped AMF. Experiments were conducted in a detachable vacuum chamber with a rms arc current in the range of 10 kA to 25 kA. The arc column was photographed by a high-speed digital camera with an exposure time of 2 microseconds. The constriction of the vacuum arc was compared by processing the images of the arc column under the two different field configurations and numerically determining the dimensions of the arc column near the electrodes. It was also confirmed that the AMF distribution had a significant influence on its effectiveness in resisting arc constriction. Furthermore, the AMF strength near the periphery of the arc is more influential than that at the centre of the electrodes in resisting arc constriction.

Protective coating of inner surface of steel tubes via vacuum arc deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maile, K.; Roos, E.; Lyutovich, A.; Boese, J.; Itskov, M. [Stuttgart Univ. (DE). Materialpruefungsanstalt (MPA); Ashurov, Kh.; Mirkarimov, A.; Kazantsev, S.; Kadirov, Kh. [Uzbek Academy of Science, Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Arifov Inst. of Electronics

2010-07-01

The Vacuum Arc Deposition (VAD) technique based on sputtering a chosen electrode material and its deposition via plasma allows highly-productive technology for creating a wide class of protecting coatings on complex structures. In this work, VAD was applied as a method for the protection of the inner surface of tubes for power-plant boilers against steam oxidation. For this aim, a source cathode of an alloy with high chromium and nickel content was employed in two different VAD treatment systems: a horizontal vacuum chamber (MPA) and a vertical system where the work-piece of the tubes to be protected served as a vacuum changer (Arifov Institute of Electronics). Surface coating with variation of deposition parameters and layer thickness was performed. Characterisation of coated tubes has shown that the method realised in this work allows attainment of material transfer from the cathode to the inner surface with nearly equal chemical composition. It was demonstrated that the initial martensitic structure of the tubes was kept after the vacuum-arc treatment which can provide for both the high mechanical robustness and the corrosion-resistance of the final material. (orig.)

Ion kinetic energy distribution in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Giuliani, L; Grondona, D; Kelly, H; Minotti, F

2008-01-01

In vacuum arcs of interest for film deposition the ion kinetic energy is of importance because it influences the coating properties. In this kind of discharge, the ions come out from the cathode spots with a high kinetic energy (20-150 eV). In the present work, we present measurements of vacuum arc ion energy distributions in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter. A retarding field analyser (RFA) was used to perform the measurements that were carried out with a variable magnetic field strength (of the order of 10 mT). Since the interpretation of the results obtained from the RFA lies in the knowledge of the plasma and floating potential values, we have employed also Langmuir probes for determining those quantities. The obtained results for the ion kinetic energy are similar to those reported by other authors, but they were also found to be independent of the magnetic field strength. The electron temperature was also found to be independent of the magnetic field strength and of the axial position along the filter, indicating the absence of collisions.

Vacuum arc anode plasma. I. Spectroscopic investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacon, F.M.

1975-01-01

A spectroscopic investigation was made of the anode plasma of a pulsed vacuum arc with an aluminum anode and a molybdenum cathode. The arc was triggered by a third trigger electrode and was driven by a 150-A 10-μs current pulse. The average current density at the anode was sufficiently high that anode spots were formed; these spots are believed to be the source of the aluminum in the plasma investigated in this experiment. By simultaneously measuring spectral emission lines of Al I, Al II, and Al III, the plasma electron temperature was shown to decrease sequentially through the norm temperatures of Al III, Al II, and Al I as the arc was extinguished. The Boltzmann distribution temperature T/subD/ of four Al III excited levels was shown to be kT/subD//e=2.0plus-or-minus0.5 V, and the peak Al III 4D excited state density was shown to be about 5times10 17 m -3 . These data suggest a non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium (non-LTE) model of the anode plasma when compared with the Al 3+ production in the plasma. The plasma was theoretically shown to be optically thin to the observed Al III spectral lines

Miniature pulsed vacuum arc plasma gun and apparatus for thin-film fabrication

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Ian G.; MacGill, Robert A.; Galvin, James E.; Ogletree, David F.; Salmeron, Miquel

1998-01-01

A miniature (dime-size in cross-section) vapor vacuum arc plasma gun is described for use in an apparatus to produce thin films. Any conductive material can be layered as a film on virtually any substrate. Because the entire apparatus can easily be contained in a small vacuum chamber, multiple dissimilar layers can be applied without risk of additional contamination. The invention has special applications in semiconductor manufacturing.

Ion spectra of the metal vapor vacuum arc ion source with compound and alloy cathodes

Science.gov (United States)

Sasaki, Jun; Brown, Ian G.

1990-01-01

In metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion sources, vacuum arc plasma with cathodes of single, pure elements has been utilized for the production of metal ions. In this study, we have investigated the charge state distributions of ions produced in vacuum arc plasmas in a MEVVA ion source for the case when the cathode is an alloy or a compound material. The ion charge state spectra were analyzed by means of a time-of-flight apparatus. We have compared the ion spectra for a cathode of an alloy or a compound material with its constituent elements: TiC/TiN/TiO2/Ti/C, SiC/Si/C, WC/W/C U/UN/(UN-ZrC)/Zr/C, and brass/Zn/Cu. We find that the MEVVA produces ions of all constituent elements in the compound and the alloy cathodes. The charge state distribution of each element differs, however, from the charge state distribution obtained in the vacuum arc with a cathode made of the pure, single constituent element. Fractional values of the total ion numbers of each constituent element in the extracted beam depart from the stoichiometry of the elements in the cathode material. In an operation with a TiC cathode, we irradiated a 304 stainless-steel plate with the extracted beam. Results from glow-discharge spectroscopy (GDS) of the surface show that both titanium and carbon are implanted in the substrate after the irradiation.

Instability of a Vacuum Arc Centrifuge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hole, M.J.; Dallaqua, R.S.; Bosco, E. del; Simpson, S.W.

2003-01-01

Ever since conception of the Vacuum Arc Centrifuge (VAC) in 1980, periodic fluctuations in the ion saturation current and floating potential have been observed in Langmuir probe measurements in the rotation region of a VAC. Our theoretical and experimental research suggests that these fluctuations are in fact a pressure-gradient driven drift mode. In this work, we summarise the properties of a theoretical model describing the range of instabilities in the VAC plasma column, present theoretical predictions and compare with detailed experiments conducted on the PCEN centrifuge at the Brazilian National Space Research Institute (INPE). We conclude that the observed instability is a 'universal' instability, driven by the density-gradient, in a plasma with finite conductivity

Fundamentals studies of a magnetically steered vacuum arc

Science.gov (United States)

Walke, Paul

In recent years demand from production industry for high performance cutting tools, aero and automobile engine parts has prompted research into both existing and novel methods of laying down hard, low friction coatings . A key process for the production of such coatings has been Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) which has proved to be a consistent and reliable tool for industry. For this technique to continue to be improved and more advanced coatings to be produced, research at the fundamental level is required. This thesis describes research investigating the behaviour of the steered arc cathode spot and methods of improving existing steered arc coating technology.The majority of existing steered arc systems use either permanent magnets or a combination of permanent and electromagnets to steer the arc. Described here is a novel system which employs a pair of electromagnetic coils of cylindrical geometry which enable the arc to be positioned on a circular orbit through a range of continuously variable radii. In addition to this the coils are capable of controlling the transverse and normal magnetic field profiles independently of the steering radius selected. This enables the behaviour of the arc spot to be investigated under a range of magnetic field conditions thus allowing the comparison of measured arc behaviour with a new model of arc motion. Care has described the motion of the arc spot as a biased random walk and has derived an analytical solution to describe the time dependent, probability density function for the arc position in two dimensions. Two distributions are proposed (one in each dimension); the first describes the probability density for the arc position in the direction of driven motion, the second the probability density in the direction of arc confinement. The shape of these distributions is dependent upon the transverse and normal components of the applied magnetic field.A series of experiments are described here that measure the shape of these

The vacuum-arc plasma motion in a toroidal magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Timoshenko, A.I.; Gnybida, M.V.; Taran, V.S.; Tereshin, V.I.; Chechelnitskij, O.G.

2005-01-01

The separation of the vacuum-arc plasma from macro-particles in the curvilinear plasma filters allows obtaining coatings with especially high characteristics. However, inside such filters the significant plasma losses also have been occurred. At the same time, increasing in the filter's efficiency is a difficult task without an effective mathematical model that really would describe the vacuum-arc plasma motion in a toroidal magnetic field. The description based on the flax-tube model was in fact only the first approximation in the decision of this problem. According to detailed flax-tube analysis of ions passage through the quarter torus plasma guide, the efficiency of the filter should grow up to 85% as the positive potential U, applied to the body of the plasma guide, is on the increase. However, the experiment showed that maximum of transparency reach up to ∼ 12%, at potential about of +18 Volts, and comes down under the further increase in potential. Such big digression from experiment does not justify the use of flux-tube model for designing of curvilinear plasma filters. We offer the new approach to the description of the vacuum-arc plasma motion in a toroidal magnetic field based on the solutions of steady-state (∂/∂t=0) Vlasov-Maxwell equations for the long plasma column aligned parallel to a constant axial magnetic field. The relations for the self-consistent electric polarization fields, which appear due to displacement of the electron component from ionic one on the curvilinear part of motion, were derived within a framework of the drift approximation. The dynamics of the central part of the plasma flow in the electric polarization fields was considered in detail. The displacement of the plasma flow at the output of the plasma guide was calculated for the carbon and titanium plasmas. The good agreement with the experimental data was obtained. (author)

High Charge State Ions Extracted from Metal Plasmas in the Transition Regime from Vacuum Spark to High Current Vacuum Arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yushkov, Georgy Yu.; Anders, A.

2008-01-01

Metal ions were extracted from pulsed discharge plasmas operating in the transition region between vacuum spark (transient high voltage of kV) and vacuum arc (arc voltage ∼ 20 V). At a peak current of about 4 kA, and with a pulse duration of 8 (micro)s, we observed mean ion charges states of about 6 for several cathode materials. In the case of platinum, the highest average charge state was 6.74 with ions of charge states as high as 10 present. For gold we found traces of charge state 11, with the highest average charge state of 7.25. At currents higher than 5 kA, non-metallic contaminations started to dominate the ion beam, preventing further enhancement of the metal charge states

High charge state metal ion production in vacuum arc ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.G.; Anders, A.; Anders, S.

1994-01-01

The vacuum arc is a rich source of highly ionized metal plasma that can be used to make a high current metal ion source. Vacuum arc ion sources have been developed for a range of applications including ion implantation for materials surface modification, particle accelerator injection for fundamental nuclear physics research, and other fundamental and applied purposes. Typically the source is repetitively pulsed with pulse length of order a millisecond and duty cycle or order 1% and operation of a dc embodiment has been demonstrated also. Beams have been produced from over 50 of the solid metals of the periodic table, with mean ion energy up to several hundred keV and with peak (pulsed) beam current up to several amperes. The ion charge state distribution has been extensively studied. Ion spectra have been measured for a wide range of metallic cathode materials, including Li, C, Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Ge, Sr, Y, Zr, Nb, Mo, Pd, Ag, Cd, In, Sn, Sb, Ba, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Ir, Pt, Au, Pb, Bi, Th and U, as well as compound and alloy cathode materials such as TiC, SiC, UC, PbS, brass, and stainless steel. The ions generated are in general multiply-stripped with a mean charge state of from 1 to 3, depending on the particular metal species, and the charge state distribution can have components from Q = 1+ to 6+. Here the authors review the characteristics of vacuum arc ion sources from the perspective of their high charge state metal ion production

Metal vapor vacuum arc ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.G.; Dickinson, M.R.; Galvin, J.E.; Godechot, X.; MacGill, R.A.

1990-06-01

We have developed a family of metal vapor vacuum are (MEVVA) high current metal ion sources. The sources were initially developed for the production of high current beams of metal ions for heavy ion synchrotron injection for basic nuclear physics research; more recently they have also been used for metal ion implantation. A number of different embodiments of the source have been developed for these specific applications. Presently the sources operate in a pulsed mode, with pulse width of order 1 ms and repetition rate up to 100 pps. Beam extraction voltage is up to 100 kV, and since the ions produced in the vacuum arc plasma are in general multiply ionized the ion energy is up to several hundred keV. Beam current is up to several Amperes peak and around 10 mA time averaged delivered onto target. Nearly all of the solid metals of the Periodic Table have been use to produce beam. A number of novel features have been incorporated into the sources, including multiple cathodes and the ability to switch between up to 18 separate cathode materials simply and quickly, and a broad beam source version as well as miniature versions. here we review the source designs and their performance. 45 refs., 7 figs

Influences of arc current on composition and properties of MgO thin films prepared by cathodic vacuum arc deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhu Daoyun; Zheng Changxi; Wang Mingdong; Liu Yi; Chen Dihu; He Zhenhui; Wen Lishi; Cheung, W.Y.

2010-01-01

MgO thin films with high optical transmittances (more than 90%) were prepared by cathodic vacuum arc deposition technique. With the increase of arc current from 40 to 80 A, the deposition pressure decreases and the film thickness increases; the atomic ratio of Mg/O in MgO thin films (obtained by RBS) increases from 0.97 to 1.17, giving that deposited at 50 A most close to the stoichiometric composition of the bulk MgO; the grains of MgO thin films grow gradually as shown in SEM images. XRD patterns show that MgO (1 1 0) orientation is predominant for films prepared at the arc currents ranged from 50 to 70 A. The MgO (1 0 0) orientation is much enhanced and comparable to that of MgO (1 1 0) for films prepared at the arc current of 80 A. The secondary electron emission coefficient of MgO thin film increases with arc current ranged from 50 to 70 A.

DC switch power supply for vacuum-arc coatings deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zalesskij, D.Yu.; Volkov, Yu.Ya.; Vasil'ev, V.V.; Kozhushko, V.V.; Luchaninov, A.A.; Strel'nitskij, V.E.

2008-01-01

Special DC Switch Power Supply for vacuum-arc deposition was developed and tested in the mode of depositing Al and AlN films. Maximum output power was 6 kW, maximum output current - 120 A, open-circuit voltage - 150 V. The Power Supply allows to adjust and stabilize output current in a wide range. Testing of the Power Supply revealed an advantages over the standard 'Bulat-6' power supply, especially for deposition of non-conductive AlN films.

Interelectrode plasma evolution in a hot refractory anode vacuum arc: Theory and comparison with experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beilis, I.I.; Goldsmith, S.; Boxman, R.L.

2002-01-01

In this paper a theoretical study of a hot refractory anode vacuum arc, which was previously investigated experimentally [Phys. Plasmas 7, 3068 (2000)], is presented. The arc was sustained between a thermally isolated refractory anode and a water-cooled copper cathode. The arc started as a multicathode-spot (MCS) vacuum arc and then switched to the hot refractory anode vacuum arc (HRAVA) mode. In the MCS mode, the cathodic plasma jet deposits a film of the cathode material on the anode. Simultaneously, the temperature of the thermally isolated anode begins to rise, reaching eventually a sufficiently high temperature to re-evaporate the deposited material, which is subsequently ionized in the interelectrode gap. The transition to the HRAVA mode is completed when the density of the interelectrode plasma consists mostly of ionized re-evaporated atoms--the anode plasma. The evolution of the HRAVA mode is characterized by the propagation of a luminous plasma plume from the anode to the cathode. The time dependent model of the various physical processes taking place during the transition to the HRAVA mode is represented by a system of equations describing atom re-evaporation, atom ionization through the interaction of the cathode jet and the interelectrode plasma with the anode vapor, plasma plume propagation, plasma radial expansion, plasma energy, and heavy particle density balance. The time dependence of the anode heat flux and the effective anode voltage were obtained by solving these equations. In addition, the time dependent plasma electron temperature, plasma density, anode potential drop, arc voltage, and anode temperature distribution were calculated and compared with previous measurements. It was shown that the observed decrease of the effective anode voltage with time during the mode transition is due to decrease of the heat flux incident on the anode surface from the cathode spot jets

Method of triggering the vacuum arc in source with a resistor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Le; Lan Zhaohui; Long Jidong; Peng Yufei; Li Jie; Yang Zhen; Dong Pan; Shi Jinshui

2014-01-01

Background: The metal vapor vacuum arc (MEVVA) ion source is a common source which provides strong metal ion flow. To trigger this ion source, a high-voltage trigger pulse generator and a high-voltage isolation pulse transformer are needed, which makes the power supply system complex. Purpose: To simplify the power supply system, a trigger method with a resistor was introduced, and some characteristics of this method were studied. Methods: The ion flow provided by different main arc current was measured, as well as the trigger current. The main arc current and the ion current were recorded with different trigger resistances. Results: Experimental results showed that, within a certain range of resistances, the larger the resistance value, the more difficult it was to success fully trigger the source. Meanwhile, the main arc rising edge became slower on the increasing in the trigger time. However, the resistance value increment had hardly impact on the intensity of ion flow extracted in the end, The ion flow became stronger with the increasing main arc current. Conclusion: The power supply system of ion source is simplified by using the trigger method with a resistor. Only a suitable resistor was needed to complete the conversion process from trigger to arc initiating. (authors)

Hot-wire chemical vapour deposition of carbon nanotubes

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Cummings, FR

2006-07-01

Full Text Available ablation of graphite, carbon-arc discharge and chemical vapour deposition (CVD). However, some of these techniques have been shown to be expensive due to high deposition temperatures and are not easily controllable. Recently hot-wire chemical vapour...

Post-arc current simulation based on measurement in vacuum circuit breaker with a one-dimensional particle-in-cell model

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Shenli; Mo, Yongpeng; Shi, Zongqian; Li, Junliang; Wang, Lijun

2017-10-01

The post-arc dielectric recovery process has a decisive effect on the current interruption performance in a vacuum circuit breaker. The dissipation of residual plasma at the moment of current zero under the transient recovery voltage, which is the first stage of the post-arc dielectric recovery process and forms the post-arc current, has attracted many concerns. A one-dimensional particle-in-cell model is developed to simulate the measured post-arc current in the vacuum circuit breaker in this paper. At first, the parameters of the residual plasma are estimated roughly by the waveform of the post-arc current which is taken from measurements. After that, different components of the post-arc current, which are formed by the movement of charged particles in the residual plasma, are discussed. Then, the residual plasma density is adjusted according to the proportion of electrons and ions absorbed by the post-arc anode derived from the particle-in-cell simulation. After this adjustment, the post-arc current waveform obtained from the simulation is closer to that obtained from measurements.

A Summary of Recent Experimental Research on Ion Energy and Charge States of Pulsed Vacuum Arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oks, Efim M.; Yushkov, Georgy Yu.; Anders, Andre

2008-01-01

The paper reviews the results of vacuum arc experimental investigations made collaboratively by research groups from Berkeley and Tomsk over the last two years, i.e. since the last ISDEIV in 2006. Vacuum arc plasma of various metals was produced in pulses of a few hundred microseconds duration, and the research focused on three topics: (i) the energy distribution functions for different ion charge states, (ii) the temporal development of the ion charge state distribution, and (iii) the evolution of the mean directed ion velocities during plasma expansion. A combined quadruple mass-to-charge and energy analyzer (EQP by HIDEN Ltd) and a time-of-flight spectrometer were employed. Cross-checking data by those complimentary techniques helped to avoid possible pitfalls in interpretation. It was found that the ion energy distribution functions in the plasma were independent of the ion charge state, which implies that the energy distribution on a substrate are not equal to due to acceleration in the substrate's sheath. In pulsed arc mode, the individual ion charge states fractions showed changes leading to a decrease of the mean charge state toward a steady-state value. This decrease can be reduced by lower arc current, higher pulse repetition rate and reduced length of the discharge gap. It was also found that the directed ion velocity slightly decreased as the plasma expanded into vacuum

Vacuum arc switched inverter tests at 2.5 MVA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, R.N.; Gilmour, A.S. Jr.

1979-01-01

A mathematical analysis of the unloaded vacuum arc switch (VAS) inverter is undertaken; a key element in this analysis is the assumption of a constant voltage drop of 50 volts across each VAS while it is conducting. From this analysis a constant VAS-voltage model is developed to explain the VAS inverter operation. A comparison of data obtained from laboratory tests of the inverter is made with data obtained from this model, and agreement is found to be within 10% for up to 15 alternations

Modification of anti-bacterial surface properties of textile polymers by vacuum arc ion source implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nikolaev, A.G.; Yushkov, G.Yu.; Oks, E.M.; Oztarhan, A.; Akpek, A.; Hames-Kocabas, E.; Urkac, E.S.; Brown, I.G.

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Ion implantation. • Anti-bacterial properties. • Textile polymer. • Vacuum arc ion source. - Abstract: Ion implantation provides an important technology for the modification of material surface properties. The vacuum arc ion source is a unique instrument for the generation of intense beams of metal ions as well as gaseous ions, including mixed metal–gas beams with controllable metal:gas ion ratio. Here we describe our exploratory work on the application of vacuum arc ion source-generated ion beams for ion implantation into polymer textile materials for modification of their biological cell compatibility surface properties. We have investigated two specific aspects of cell compatibility: (i) enhancement of the antibacterial characteristics (we chose to use Staphylococcus aureus bacteria) of ion implanted polymer textile fabric, and (ii) the “inverse” concern of enhancement of neural cell growth rate (we chose Rat B-35 neuroblastoma cells) on ion implanted polymer textile. The results of both investigations were positive, with implantation-generated antibacterial efficiency factor up to about 90%, fully comparable to alternative conventional (non-implantation) approaches and with some potentially important advantages over the conventional approach; and with enhancement of neural cell growth rate of up to a factor of 3.5 when grown on suitably implanted polymer textile material

Modification of anti-bacterial surface properties of textile polymers by vacuum arc ion source implantation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nikolaev, A.G., E-mail: nik@opee.hcei.tsc.ru [High Current Electronics Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634055 (Russian Federation); Yushkov, G.Yu.; Oks, E.M. [High Current Electronics Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk 634055 (Russian Federation); Oztarhan, A. [Izmir University, Izmir 35140 (Turkey); Akpek, A.; Hames-Kocabas, E.; Urkac, E.S. [Bioengineering Department, Ege University, Bornova 35100, Izmir (Turkey); Brown, I.G. [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94708 (United States)

2014-08-15

Highlights: • Ion implantation. • Anti-bacterial properties. • Textile polymer. • Vacuum arc ion source. - Abstract: Ion implantation provides an important technology for the modification of material surface properties. The vacuum arc ion source is a unique instrument for the generation of intense beams of metal ions as well as gaseous ions, including mixed metal–gas beams with controllable metal:gas ion ratio. Here we describe our exploratory work on the application of vacuum arc ion source-generated ion beams for ion implantation into polymer textile materials for modification of their biological cell compatibility surface properties. We have investigated two specific aspects of cell compatibility: (i) enhancement of the antibacterial characteristics (we chose to use Staphylococcus aureus bacteria) of ion implanted polymer textile fabric, and (ii) the “inverse” concern of enhancement of neural cell growth rate (we chose Rat B-35 neuroblastoma cells) on ion implanted polymer textile. The results of both investigations were positive, with implantation-generated antibacterial efficiency factor up to about 90%, fully comparable to alternative conventional (non-implantation) approaches and with some potentially important advantages over the conventional approach; and with enhancement of neural cell growth rate of up to a factor of 3.5 when grown on suitably implanted polymer textile material.

Direct-current cathodic vacuum arc system with magnetic-field mechanism for plasma stabilization.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, H-S; Komvopoulos, K

2008-07-01

Filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition is characterized by plasma beam directionality, plasma energy adjustment via substrate biasing, macroparticle filtering, and independent substrate temperature control. Between the two modes of FCVA deposition, namely, direct current (dc) and pulsed arc, the dc mode yields higher deposition rates than the pulsed mode. However, maintaining the dc arc discharge is challenging because of its inherent plasma instabilities. A system generating a special configuration of magnetic field that stabilizes the dc arc discharge during film deposition is presented. This magnetic field is also part of the out-of-plane magnetic filter used to focus the plasma beam and prevent macroparticle film contamination. The efficiency of the plasma-stabilizing magnetic-field mechanism is demonstrated by the deposition of amorphous carbon (a-C) films exhibiting significantly high hardness and tetrahedral carbon hybridization (sp3) contents higher than 70%. Such high-quality films cannot be produced by dc arc deposition without the plasma-stabilizing mechanism presented in this study.

Direct-current cathodic vacuum arc system with magnetic-field mechanism for plasma stabilization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, H.-S.; Komvopoulos, K.

2008-01-01

Filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition is characterized by plasma beam directionality, plasma energy adjustment via substrate biasing, macroparticle filtering, and independent substrate temperature control. Between the two modes of FCVA deposition, namely, direct current (dc) and pulsed arc, the dc mode yields higher deposition rates than the pulsed mode. However, maintaining the dc arc discharge is challenging because of its inherent plasma instabilities. A system generating a special configuration of magnetic field that stabilizes the dc arc discharge during film deposition is presented. This magnetic field is also part of the out-of-plane magnetic filter used to focus the plasma beam and prevent macroparticle film contamination. The efficiency of the plasma-stabilizing magnetic-field mechanism is demonstrated by the deposition of amorphous carbon (a-C) films exhibiting significantly high hardness and tetrahedral carbon hybridization (sp 3 ) contents higher than 70%. Such high-quality films cannot be produced by dc arc deposition without the plasma-stabilizing mechanism presented in this study

Formation of chemical compounds under vacuum plasma-arc deposition of nickel and its alloy onto piezoceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grinchenko, V.T.; Lyakhovich, T.K.; Prosina, N.I.; Khromov, S.M.

1988-01-01

The phase composition of the transition layer appearing during vacuum-arc coating of nickel and nickel alloy with copper on barium titanate and lead zirconate-titanate is identified. During vacuum plasma-arc coating of nickel and its alloy at the boundary with barium titanate and lead zirconate-titanate the Ni 2 Ti 4 O compound appears which has the crystal lattice type identical with substrate with the parity of lattice parameters. The transition layer contains nickel oxides and NiTiO 3 in the case of barium titanate. When titanate content in substrate increases the zone of reaction diffusion increases in value and becomes more complicate in composition

Design and analysis of high current DC power supply for vacuum arc melting furnace

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adhikary, Santu; Sharma, Vishnu Kumar; Sharma, Archana

2015-01-01

Vacuum Arc furnace (VAR), is used for melting of ingot in many industrial units. Till now in many industries the existing power supply for VAR is based on magnetic amplifier, which is a lossy component. Thus an efficient topology is needed to develop as a suitable alternative for the existing power supply. Basically Arc in electrical furnace is an unstable phenomena, it has drooping characteristic in nature so to stabilize the arc we need a power supply across the load (arc), which is more drooping in nature than arc characteristics. So this paper highlights the stability and response analysis of several alternative topologies and Stabilization of arc using the feedback and firing angle control in MATLAB. The work also covers comparison among those topologies to choose the optimized topology as a suitable alternative of the existing magnetic amplifier based power supply and the detail design of the proposed topology with a tested trail circuit in PROTEUS. (author)

Time dependence of vacuum arc parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, A.; Anders, S.; Brown, I.G.

1993-01-01

Time-resolved investigations of the expanded plasma of vacuum arc cathode spots are described, including the study of the ion charge state distribution, the random cathode spot motion, and the crater formation. It was found that the ion charge state distribution changes over a time scale on the order of hundreds of microseconds. For the random spot motion two time scales were observed: a very short spot residence time of tens of nanoseconds which gives, combined with the step width, the diffusion parameter of the random motion, and a longer time scale on the order of 100 μs during which the diffusion parameter changes. Crater formation studies by scanning electron microscopy indicate the occurrence of larger craters at the end of crater chains. The existence of a time scale, much longer than the elementary times for crater formation and spot residence, can be explained by local heat accumulation

The multilayered structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

KAUST Repository

Wang, Na; Komvopoulos, Kyriakos

2013-01-01

The structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron

Vacuum arc plasma generation and thin film deposition from a TiB{sub 2} cathode

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhirkov, Igor, E-mail: igozh@ifm.liu.se; Petruhins, Andrejs; Naslund, Lars-Ake; Rosen, Johanna [Thin Film Physics Division, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping (Sweden); Kolozsvári, Szilard; Polcik, Peter [PLANSEE Composite Materials GmbH, Siebenbürgerstraße 23, 86983 Lechbruck am See (Germany)

2015-11-02

We have studied the utilization of TiB{sub 2} cathodes for thin film deposition in a DC vacuum arc system. We present a route for attaining a stable, reproducible, and fully ionized plasma flux of Ti and B by removal of the external magnetic field, which leads to dissipation of the vacuum arc discharge and an increased active surface area of the cathode. Applying a magnetic field resulted in instability and cracking, consistent with the previous reports. Plasma analysis shows average energies of 115 and 26 eV, average ion charge states of 2.1 and 1.1 for Ti and B, respectively, and a plasma ion composition of approximately 50% Ti and 50% B. This is consistent with measured resulting film composition from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, suggesting a negligible contribution of neutrals and macroparticles to the film growth. Also, despite the observations of macroparticle generation, the film surface is very smooth. These results are of importance for the utilization of cathodic arc as a method for synthesis of metal borides.

Vacuum Arc Melting Processes for Biomedical Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloy

OpenAIRE

Tsai De-Chang; Chiang Chen-Hsueh

2015-01-01

This study primarily involved using a vacuum arc remelting (VAR) process to prepare a nitinol shape-memory alloy with distinct ratios of alloy components (nitinol: 54.5 wt% to 57 wt%). An advantage of using the VAR process is the adoption of a water-cooled copper crucible, which effectively prevents crucible pollution and impurity infiltration. Optimising the melting production process enables control of the alloy component and facilitates a uniformly mixed compound during subsequent processi...

Preparation and investigation of diamond-like carbon stripper foils by filtered cathodic vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fan, Qiwen; Du, Yinghui; Zhang, Rong; Xu, Guoji

2013-01-01

Thin diamond-like carbon (DLC) stripper foils ∼5μg/cm 2 in thickness were produced and evaluated as heavy-ion strippers for the Beijing HI-13 Tandem Accelerator. The DLC layers ∼4μg/cm 2 in thickness were produced by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc technology onto glass slides coated with betaine–saccharose as releasing agent, which were previously covered with evaporated carbon layers ∼1μg/cm 2 in thickness by the controlled ac arc-discharge method. Irradiation lifetimes of the DLC stripper foils were tested using the heavy-ion beams at the terminal of the Beijing HI-13 Tandem Accelerator, and compared with those of the standard carbon stripper foils made by the combined dc and ac arc-discharge method. The measurements indicate that the DLC stripper foils outlast the standard combined dc and ac arc-discharge carbon stripper foils by a factor of at least 13 and 4 for the 197 Au − (∼9MeV, ∼1μA) and 63 Cu − (∼9MeV, ∼1μA) ion beams, respectively. The structure and properties of the DLC foils deposited onto silicon substrates by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc technology were also evaluated and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscopy images show that the DLC foils contain hardly droplets through the double 90° filters. The X-ray photoelectron spectrum indicates that sp 3 bonds of the DLC foils exceed 70%. The integral intensity ratio of the D peak to the G peak (I D /I G ) measured by the Raman spectroscopy is 0.78

A high-current pulsed cathodic vacuum arc plasma source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oates, T.W.H.; Pigott, J.; Mckenzie, D.R.; Bilek, M.M.M.

2003-01-01

Cathodic vacuum arcs (CVAs) are well established as a method for producing metal plasmas for thin film deposition and as a source of metal ions. Fundamental differences exist between direct current (dc) and pulsed CVAs. We present here results of our investigations into the design and construction of a high-current center-triggered pulsed CVA. Power supply design based on electrolytic capacitors is discussed and optimized based on obtaining the most effective utilization of the cathode material. Anode configuration is also discussed with respect to the optimization of the electron collection capability. Type I and II cathode spots are observed and discussed with respect to cathode surface contamination. An unfiltered deposition rate of 1.7 nm per pulse, at a distance of 100 mm from the source, has been demonstrated. Instantaneous plasma densities in excess of 1x10 19 m -3 are observed after magnetic filtering. Time averaged densities an order of magnitude greater than common dc arc densities have been demonstrated, limited by pulse repetition rate and filter efficiency

Experimental investigation on the motion of cathode spots in removing oxide film on metal surface by vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Zongqian; Jia Shenli; Wang Lijun; Yuan Qingjun; Song Xiaochuan

2008-01-01

The motion of vacuum arc cathode spots has a very important influence on the efficiency of removing the oxide film on the metal surface. In this paper, the characteristics of cathode spot motion are investigated experimentally. Experiments were conducted in a detachable vacuum chamber with ac (50 Hz) arc current of 1 kA (rms). A stainless steel plate covered by an oxide layer was used as the cathode. The motion of cathode spots during the descaling process was photographed by a high-speed digital camera with an exposure time of 2 μs. Experimental results indicate that the motion of cathode spots is influenced by the interaction among individual cathode jets and the position of the anode as well as the surface condition. The waveform of arc voltage is also influenced by the motion of cathode spots

Modeling of the anode surface deformation in high-current vacuum arcs with AMF contacts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Xiaolong; Wang, Lijun; Deng, Jie; Jia, Shenli; Qin, Kang; Shi, Zongqian

2016-01-01

A high-current vacuum arc subjected to an axial magnetic field is maintained in a diffuse status. With an increase in arc current, the energy carried by the arc column to the anode becomes larger and finally leads to the anode temperature exceeding the melting point of the anode material. When the anode melting pool is formed, and the rotational plasma of the arc column delivers its momentum to the melting pool, the anode melting pool starts to rotate and also flow outwards along the radial direction, which has been photographed by some researchers using high-speed cameras. In this paper, the anode temperature and melting status is calculated using the melting and solidification model. The swirl flow of the anode melting pool and deformation of the anode is calculated using the magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) model with the volume of fraction (VOF) method. All the models are transient 2D axial-rotational symmetric models. The influence of the impaction force of the arc plasma, electromagnetic force, viscosity force, and surface tension of the liquid metal are all considered in the model. The heat flux density injected into the anode and the arc pressure are obtained from the 3D numerical simulation of the high-current vacuum arc using the MHD model, which gives more realistic parameters for the anode simulation. Simulation results show that the depth of the anode melting pool increases with an increase in the arc current. Some droplets sputter out from the anode surface, which is caused by the inertial centrifugal force of the rotational melting pool and strong plasma pressure. Compared with the previous anode melting model without consideration of anode deformation, when the deformation and swirl flow of the anode melting pool are considered, the anode temperature is relatively lower, and just a little more than the melting point of Cu. This is because of liquid droplets sputtering out of the anode surface taking much of the energy away from the anode surface. The

Identification by force modulation microscopy of nanoparticles generated in vacuum arcs Identification by force modulation microscopy of nanoparticles generated in vacuum arcs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Arroyave Franco

2006-06-01

Full Text Available An alternative method based on force modulation microscopy (FMM for identification of nanoparticles produced in the plasma generated by the cathode spots of vacuum arcs is presented. FMM technique is enabled for the detection of variations in the mechanical properties of a surface with high sensitiveness. Titanium nitride (TiN coatings deposited on oriented silicon by pulsed vacuum arc process have been analyzed. AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy and FMM images were simultaneously obtained, and in all cases it was possible to identify nanoparticle presence. Further X-ray Diffraction spectra of sample coating were taken. Existence of contaminant particles of 47 nanometers in diameter was reported.En este trabajo se presenta un método alternativo basado en microscopia de modulación de fuerza (FMM, para la identificación de nanogotas producidas en el plasma generado por los spots catódicos de los arcos en vacío. La técnica FMM esta habilitada para la detección de variaciones en las propiedades mecánicas de una superficie, con alta sensibilidad. Se han analizado recubrimientos de nitruro de titanio (TiN depositados sobre Silicio orientado por el proceso de arco en vacío pulsado. Se han obtenido simultáneamente imágenes de microscopia de fuerza atómica (AFM y de microscopia FMM mediante las cuales se ha podido identificar la presencia de nanogotas. Adicionalmente se han tomado espectros de difracción de rayos X (XRD de las muestras recubiertas. Se ha reportado la existencia de partículas contaminantes de 47 nanómetros de diámetro sobre los recubrimientos.

An apparatus for sequential pulsed plasma beam treatment in combination with Arc PVD deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stanislawski, J.; Werner, Z.; Piekoszewski, J.; Richter, E.

2002-01-01

A hybrid type of apparatus is described which enables one to form a thin multi-layer film on the surface of any kind of solid substrate. In one process, the surface is treated with a high intensity pulse plasma beam which introduces the chosen kind of atoms into the near-surface layer of the substrate. In the second process, following the first without breaking the vacuum, the coating is formed by arc PVD (physics vapour deposition) process. Two examples of coatings formed on metallic and ceramic substrates are presented. (author)

Researches on Position Detection for Vacuum Switch Electrode

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Huajun; Guo, Yingjie; Li, Jie; Kong, Yihan

2018-03-01

Form and transformation character of vacuum arc is important influencing factor on the vacuum switch performance, and the dynamic separations of electrode is the chief effecting factor on the transformation of vacuum arcs forms. Consequently, how to detect the position of electrode to calculate the separations in the arcs image is of great significance. However, gray level distribution of vacuum arcs image isn’t even, the gray level of burning arcs is high, but the gray level of electrode is low, meanwhile, the forms of vacuum arcs changes sharply, the problems above restrict electrode position detection precisely. In this paper, algorithm of detecting electrode position base on vacuum arcs image was proposed. The digital image processing technology was used in vacuum switch arcs image analysis, the upper edge and lower edge were detected respectively, then linear fitting was done using the result of edge detection, the fitting result was the position of electrode, thus, accurate position detection of electrode was realized. From the experimental results, we can see that: algorithm described in this paper detected upper and lower edge of arcs successfully and the position of electrode was obtained through calculation.

Study of the ionization rate of the released deuterium in vacuum arc discharges with metal deuteride cathodes

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Fei-Xiang; Long, Ji-Dong; Zheng, Le; Dong, Pan; Li, Chen; Chen, Wei

2018-02-01

The ionization rate of the released deuterium from a metal deuteride cathode in vacuum arc discharges is investigated by both experiments and modeling analysis. Experimental results show that the deuterium ionization rate increases from 2% to 30% with the increasing arc current in the range of 2-100 A. Thus the full ionization assumption, as is widely used in arc plasma simulations, is not satisfied for the released deuterium at low discharge current. According to the modeling results, the neutral-to-ion conversion efficiency for the deuterium traveling across the cathodic spot region can be significantly less than one, due to the fast plasma expansion and rarefaction in the vacuum. In addition, the model also reveals that, unlike the metal atoms which are mainly ionized in the sheath region and flow back to the cathode, the deuterium ionization primarily occurs in the quasi-neutral region and moves towards the anode. Consequently, the cathodic sheath layer acts like a filter that increases the deuterium fraction beyond the sheath region.

INFLUENCE OF VACUUM ARC PLASMA EVAPORATOR CATHODE GEOMETRY OF ON VALUE OF ADMISSIBLE ARC DISCHARGE CURRENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

I. A. Ivanou

2015-01-01

Full Text Available An analysis of main design parameters that determine a level of droplet formation intensity at the generating stage of plasma flow has been given in the paper. The paper considers the most widely used designs of water cooled consumable cathodes. Ti or Ti–Si and Fe–Cr alloys have been taken as a material for cathodes. The following calculated data: average ionic charge Zi for titanium plasma +1.6; for «titanium–silicon plasma» +1.2, an electronic discharge 1.6022 ⋅ 10–19 C, an ion velocity vi = 2 ⋅ 104 m/s, an effective volt energy equivalent of heat flow diverted in the cathode Uк = 12 V, temperature of erosion cathode surface Тп = 550 К; temperature of the cooled cathode surface То = 350 К have been accepted in order to determine dependence of a maximum admissible arc discharge current on cathode height. The calculations have been carried out for various values of the cathode heights hк (from 0.02 to 0.05 m. Diameter of a target cathode is equal to 0.08 m for a majority of technological plasma devices, therefore, the area of the erosion surface is S = 0.005 m2.A thickness selection for a consumable target cathode part in the vacuum arc plasma source has been justified in the paper. The thickness ensures formation of minimum drop phase in the plasma flow during arc cathode material evaporation. It has been shown that a maximum admissible current of an arc discharge is practically equal to the minimum current of stable arcing when thickness of the consumable cathode part is equal to 0.05 m. The admissible discharge current can be rather significant and ensure high productivity during coating process with formation of relatively low amount of droplet phase in the coating at small values of hк.

Solidification observations and sliding wear behavior of vacuum arc melting processed Ni–Al–TiC composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karantzalis, A.E.; Lekatou, A.; Tsirka, K.

2012-01-01

Monolithic Ni 3 Al and Ni–25 at.%Al intermetallic matrix TiC-reinforced composites were successfully produced by vacuum arc melting. TiC crystals were formed through a dissolution–reprecipitation mechanism and their final morphology is explained by means of a) Jackson's classical nucleation and growth phenomena and b) solidification rate considerations. The TiC presence altered the matrix microconstituents most likely due to specific melt–particle interactions and crystal plane epitaxial matching. TiC particles caused a significant decrease on the specific wear rate of the monolithic Ni 3 Al alloy and the possible wear mechanisms are approached by means of a) surface oxidation, b) crack/flaws formation, c) material detachment and d) debris–counter surfaces interactions. - Highlights: ► Vacuum arc melting (VAM) of Ni-Al based intermetallic matrix composite materials. ► Solidification phenomena examination. ► TiC crystal formation and growth mechanisms. ► Sliding wear examination.

The influence of gap distance on the random walk of cathode spot in vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shi Zongqian; Xiao Jia; Jia Shenli; Liu Zhigang; Wang Lijun

2007-01-01

Experiments were conducted in a detachable vacuum chamber for Cu vacuum arc with arc current in the range 19-24 A. Experimental results indicated that the gap distance had a distinct influence on the characteristics of the random walk of the cathode spot (CS) for the gap distance adopted, i.e. d = 4.8 mm and d = 6.8 mm. It was found that the increase in the gap distance could lead to a larger diffusion parameter. Based on the dynamics of fragments constituting the CS, it was proposed that with a longer gap distance, the magnetic interaction between fragments would be strengthened. It would result in the increase of the mean step length of the CS and the decrease of the mean step time, which would lead to a larger diffusion parameter as observed. The plasma density in the region of the CS was also found to decrease with the increase in the gap distance. It would result in the CS having a higher probability of jumping to the contaminated region but not to the vicinity of the existing crater

The Use of VMD Data/Model to Test Different Thermodynamic Models for Vapour-Liquid Equilibrium

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Abildskov, Jens; Azquierdo-Gil, M.A.; Jonsson, Gunnar Eigil

2004-01-01

Vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) has been studied as a separation process to remove volatile organic compounds from aqueous streams. A vapour pressure difference across a microporous hydrophobic membrane is the driving force for the mass transport through the membrane pores (this transport take...... place in vapour phase). The vapour pressure difference is obtained in VMD processes by applying a vacuum on one side of the membrane. The membrane acts as a mere support for the liquid-vapour equilibrium. The evaporation of the liquid stream takes place on the feed side of the membrane...... values; membrane type: PTFE/PP/PVDF; feed flow rate; feed temperature. A comparison is made between different thermodynamic models for calculating the vapour-liquid equilibrium at the membrane/pore interface. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved....

Interaction of a vacuum arc plasma beam with an obstacle positioned normal to the plasma flow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarchin, O; Zhitomirsky, V N; Goldsmith, S; Boxman, R L

2003-01-01

The effect of an obstacle positioned normal to a plasma jet produced by a vacuum arc plasma source on the radial distribution of ion flux in the vicinity of the obstacle was studied. This study was motivated by interest in the mutual influence of tightly packed substrates on coatings in industrial vacuum arc deposition systems. The experimental system consisted of a vacuum arc plasma source, a straight plasma duct, and a multi-probe consisting of a removable disc obstacle and a set of ring probes for measuring the radial ion flux. A dc arc discharge was ignited in vacuum between a truncated cone-shaped Cu cathode and an annular anode. The plasma jet produced by cathode spots passed through the anode aperture into the straight plasma duct. An axial magnetic field guided the plasma jet in the duct. The multi-probe consisted of a removable disc obstacle and a set of five ring probes for measuring the radial plasma flux as a function of distance from the disc obstacle. The rings and the disc probes were coaxially arranged on the multi-probe assembly and positioned so that plasma from the source passed through the ring probes and then encountered the disc. The influence of the obstacle was determined by measuring the ring ion currents, both in the presence of the obstacle, and when the disc obstacle was removed. The difference between the measured ion currents with and without the obstacle was interpreted to be the contribution of reflected or sputtered particles from the obstacle to the radial ion flux. The ring probes were biased by -60 V with respect to the grounded anode, to collect the saturated ion current. The multi-probe was connected to a movable stem, and positioned at different distances from the plasma source. A plasma density of ∼6 x 10 17 m -3 was estimated in this study based on the ion current to the obstacle. The radial ion flux collected by the ring probes increased by 20-25% due to the presence of the obstacle. As the calculated mean free path for

High ion charge states in a high-current, short-pulse, vacuum ARC ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, A.; Brown, I.; MacGill, R.; Dickinson, M.

1996-01-01

Ions of the cathode material are formed at vacuum arc cathode spots and extracted by a grid system. The ion charge states (typically 1-4) depend on the cathode material and only little on the discharge current as long as the current is low. Here the authors report on experiments with short pulses (several μs) and high currents (several kA); this regime of operation is thus approaching a more vacuum spark-like regime. Mean ion charge states of up to 6.2 for tungsten and 3.7 for titanium have been measured, with the corresponding maximum charge states of up to 8+ and 6+, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of Saha calculations and freezing of the charge state distribution

High ion charge states in a high-current, short-pulse, vacuum arc ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, A.; Brown, I.; MacGill, R.; Dickinson, M.

1995-09-01

Ions of the cathode material are formed at vacuum arc cathode spots and extracted by a grid system. The ion charge states (typically 1--4) depend on the cathode material and only little on the discharge current as long as the current is low. Here the authors report on experiments with short pulses (several micros) and high currents (several kA); this regime of operation is thus approaching a more vacuum spark-like regime. Mean ion charge states of up to 6.2 for tungsten and 3.7 for titanium have been measured, with the corresponding maximum charge states of up to 8+ and 6+, respectively. The results are discussed in terms of Saha calculations and freezing of the charge state distribution

Vacuum Arc Melting Processes for Biomedical Ni-Ti Shape Memory Alloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tsai De-Chang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This study primarily involved using a vacuum arc remelting (VAR process to prepare a nitinol shape-memory alloy with distinct ratios of alloy components (nitinol: 54.5 wt% to 57 wt%. An advantage of using the VAR process is the adoption of a water-cooled copper crucible, which effectively prevents crucible pollution and impurity infiltration. Optimising the melting production process enables control of the alloy component and facilitates a uniformly mixed compound during subsequent processing. This study involved purifying nickel and titanium and examining the characteristics of nitinol alloy after alloy melt, including its microstructure, mechanical properties, phase transition temperature, and chemical components.

Contamination due to memory effects in filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition systems

CERN Document Server

Martins, D R; Verdonck, P; Brown, I G

2002-01-01

Thin film synthesis by filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition is a widely used technique with a number of important emerging technological applications. A characteristic feature of the method is that during the deposition process not only is the substrate coated by the plasma, but the plasma gun itself and the magnetic field coil and/or vacuum vessel section constituting the macroparticle filter are also coated to some extent. If then the plasma gun cathode is changed to a new element, there can be a contamination of the subsequent film deposition by sputtering from various parts of the system of the previous coating species. We have experimentally explored this effect and compared our results with theoretical estimates of sputtering from the SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) code. We find film contamination of order 10-4 - 10-3, and the memory of the prior history of the deposition hardware can be relatively long-lasting.

Contamination due to memory effects in filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, D.R.; Salvadori, M.C.; Verdonck, P.; Brown, I.G.

2002-01-01

Thin film synthesis by filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition is a widely used technique with a number of important emerging technological applications. A characteristic feature of the method is that during the deposition process not only is the substrate coated by the plasma, but the plasma gun itself and the magnetic field coil and/or vacuum vessel section constituting the macroparticle filter are also coated to some extent. If then the plasma gun cathode is changed to a new element, there can be a contamination of the subsequent film deposition by sputtering from various parts of the system of the previous coating species. We have experimentally explored this effect and compared our results with theoretical estimates of sputtering from the stopping and range of ions in matter code. We find film contamination of the order of 10 -4 -10 -3 , and the memory of the prior history of the deposition hardware can be relatively long lasting

Contamination due to memory effects in filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Martins, D.R.; Salvadori, M.C.; Verdonck, P.; Brown, I.G.

2002-08-13

Thin film synthesis by filtered vacuum arc plasma deposition is a widely used technique with a number of important emerging technological applications. A characteristic feature of the method is that during the deposition process not only is the substrate coated by the plasma, but the plasma gun itself and the magnetic field coil and/or vacuum vessel section constituting the macroparticle filter are also coated to some extent. If then the plasma gun cathode is changed to a new element, there can be a contamination of the subsequent film deposition by sputtering from various parts of the system of the previous coating species. We have experimentally explored this effect and compared our results with theoretical estimates of sputtering from the SRIM (Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter) code. We find film contamination of order 10-4 - 10-3, and the memory of the prior history of the deposition hardware can be relatively long-lasting.

Device quality ZnO grown using a Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elzwawi, Salim; Kim, Hyung Suk; Heinhold, Robert; Lynam, Max; Turner, Gary; Partridge, Jim G.; McCulloch, Dougal G.

2012-01-01

In this paper we report on the structural, electrical and optical characteristics of unintentionally doped ZnO films grown on a-plane sapphire substrates using the Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc (FCVA) technique. The resulting films showed considerable promise for device applications with properties including high transparency, moderate intrinsic carrier concentrations (10 17 -10 19 cm -3 ), electron mobilities up to 30 cm 2 /Vs, low surface roughness (typically <2% of film thickness) and well-structured photoluminescence. Post-annealing in oxygen at temperatures up to 800 °C produced significant improvements in the properties of these films. Silver oxide Schottky diodes fabricated on FCVA ZnO showed ideality factors as low as 1.20 and good sensitivity to ultraviolet light.

Multilayer Ti-Cr-N Coatings Produced by the Vacuum-Arc Deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunchenko, Yu.V.; Kunchenko, V.V.; Neklyudov, I.M.; Kartmazov, G.N.; Andreev, A.A.

2007-01-01

A possibility is demonstrated for nanolayer TiN x /CrN x coating formation by the method of vacuum-arc deposition on the substrate, which being rotated around the 'Bulat'-type chamber axis intercepts sequentially the plasma flows generated by three evaporators. The model for calculating the coating deposition rate (thickness) was used to determine the geometrical parameters that provide the formation of layer structures in the nanometer range. The variations of phase-structure characteristics, compression microstresses (σ) microhardness (H v ) of the coating formed have been investigated as functions of nitrogen pressure (P N =0.001...1.0 Pa), bias voltage (U=-100...-300 V) and condensation temperature (T C =330...750 degree C) at focusing magnetic field strength H F =0; 35 and 100 Oe. The mentioned field strengths were responsible for the ion current densities (j∼5,8...10 and ≥15 mA/cm 2 ). A nonmonotonic behaviour of H v as a function of condensation temperature and of vacuum annealing temperature has been established. The maximum H v values (∼35...37 GPa) were observed in the 450...500 degree C range

The Studies of a Vacuum Gap Breakdown after High-Current Arc Interruption with Increasing the Voltage

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, A. V.; Popov, S. A.; Batrakov, A. V.; Dubrovskaya, E. L.; Lavrinovich, V. A.

2017-12-01

Vacuum-gap breakdown has been studied after high-current arc interruption with a subsequent increase in the transient recovery voltage across a gap. The effects of factors, such as the rate of the rise in the transient voltage, the potential of the shield that surrounds a discharge gap, and the arc burning time, have been determined. It has been revealed that opening the contacts earlier leads to the formation of an anode spot, which is the source of electrode material vapors into the discharge gap after current zero moment. Under the conditions of increasing voltage, this fact results in the breakdown. Too late opening leads to the breakdown of a short gap due to the high electric fields.

Boiling vapour-type fluids from the Nifonea vent field (New Hebrides Back-Arc, Vanuatu, SW Pacific): Geochemistry of an early-stage, post-eruptive hydrothermal system

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Katja; Garbe-Schönberg, Dieter; Hannington, Mark D.; Anderson, Melissa O.; Bühring, Benjamin; Haase, Karsten; Haruel, Christy; Lupton, John; Koschinsky, Andrea

2017-06-01

In 2013, high-temperature vent fluids were sampled in the Nifonea vent field. This field is located within the caldera of a large shield-type volcano of the Vate Trough, a young extensional rift in the New Hebrides back-arc. Hydrothermal venting occurs as clear and black smoker fluids with temperatures up to 368 °C, the hottest temperatures measured so far in the western Pacific. The physico-chemical conditions place the fluids within the two-phase field of NaCl-H2O, and venting is dominated by vapour phase fluids with Cl concentrations as low as 25 mM. The fluid composition, which differs between the individual vent sites, is interpreted to reflect the specific geochemical fluid signature of a hydrothermal system in its initial, post-eruptive stage. The strong Cl depletion is accompanied by low alkali/Cl ratios compared to more evolved hydrothermal systems, and very high Fe/Cl ratios. The concentrations of REY (180 nM) and As (21 μM) in the most Cl-depleted fluid are among the highest reported so far for submarine hydrothermal fluids, whereas the inter-element REY fractionation is only minor. The fluid signature, which has been described here for the first time in a back-arc setting, is controlled by fast fluid passage through basaltic volcanic rocks, with extremely high water-rock ratios and only limited water-rock exchange, phase separation and segregation, and (at least) two-component fluid mixing. Metals and metalloids are unexpectedly mobile in the vapour phase fluids, and the strong enrichments of Fe, REY, and As highlight the metal transport capacity of low-salinity, low-density vapours at the specific physico-chemical conditions at Nifonea. One possible scenario is that the fluids boiled before the separated vapour phase continued to react with fresh glassy lavas. The mobilization of metals is likely to occur by leaching from fresh glass and grain boundaries and is supported by the high water/rock ratios. The enrichment of B and As is further controlled

Amorphous boron coatings produced with vacuum arc deposition technology

CERN Document Server

Klepper, C C; Yadlowsky, E J; Carlson, E P; Keitz, M D; Williams, J M; Zuhr, R A; Poker, D B

2002-01-01

In principle, boron (B) as a material has many excellent surface properties, including corrosion resistance, very high hardness, refractory properties, and a strong tendency to bond with most substrates. The potential technological benefits of the material have not been realized, because it is difficult to deposit it as coatings. B is difficult to evaporate, does not sputter well, and cannot be thermally sprayed. In this article, first successful deposition results from a robust system, based on the vacuum (cathodic) arc technology, are reported. Adherent coatings have been produced on 1100 Al, CP-Ti, Ti-6Al-4V, 316 SS, hard chrome plate, and 52 100 steel. Composition and thickness analyses have been performed by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Hardness (H) and modules (E) have been evaluated by nanoindentation. The coatings are very pure and have properties characteristic of B suboxides. A microhardness of up to 27 GPa has been measured on a 400-nm-thick film deposited on 52 100 steel, with a corresp...

Vacuum arc cathode spot motion in oblique magnetic fields: An interpretation of the Robson experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beilis, I. I. [Electrical Discharge and Plasma Laboratory, School of Electrical Engineering, Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, P.O.B. 39040, Tel Aviv 69978 (Israel)

2016-09-15

A model was developed of vacuum arc cathode spot motion in a magnetic field that obliquely intercepts the cathode surface. The model takes into account a force under an electric field caused by retrograde spot motion across the normal component of the magnetic field, producing a drift velocity component in the direction of the acute angle between the magnetic field and the cathode surface. The relationship between velocity of the retrograde direction and drift velocity of the cathode spot motion to the acute angle was developed. The dependencies of the drift angle θ on the acute angle φ, magnetic field strength B, and arc current I were calculated. It was found that the calculated θ increased with φ, B, and I in accordance with Robson's measurements.

Spatial structure of the arc in a pulsed GMAW process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kozakov, R; Gött, G; Schöpp, H; Uhrlandt, D; Schnick, M; Häßler, M; Füssel, U; Rose, S

2013-01-01

A pulsed gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process of steel under argon shielding gas in the globular mode is investigated by measurements and simulation. The analysis is focussed on the spatial structure of the arc during the current pulse. Therefore, the radial profiles of the temperature, the metal vapour species and the electric conductivity are determined at different heights above the workpiece by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). It is shown that under the presence of metal vapour the temperature minimum occurs at the centre of the arc. This minimum is preserved at different axial positions up to 1 mm above the workpiece. In addition, estimations of the electric field in the arc from the measurements are given. All these results are compared with magneto-hydrodynamic simulations which include the evaporation of the wire material and the change of the plasma properties due to the metal vapour admixture in particular. The experimental method and the simulation model are validated by means of the satisfactory correspondence between the results. Possible reasons for the remaining deviations and improvements of the methods which should be aspired are discussed. (paper)

A One-Dimensional Particle-in-Cell Model of Plasma Build-Up in Vacuum Arcs

CERN Document Server

Timko, H; Kovermann, J; Taborelli, M; Nordlund, K; Descoeudres, A; Schneider, R; Calatroni, S; Matyash, K; Wuensch, W; Hansen, A; Grudiev, A

2011-01-01

Understanding the mechanism of plasma build-up in vacuum arcs is essential in many fields of physics. A one-dimensional particle-in-cell computer simulation model is presented, which models the plasma developing from a field emitter tip under electrical breakdown conditions, taking into account the relevant physical phenomena. As a starting point, only an external electric field and an initial enhancement factor of the tip are assumed. General requirements for plasma formation have been identified and formulated in terms of the initial local field and a critical neutral density. The dependence of plasma build-up on tip melting current, the evaporation rate of neutrals and external circuit time constant has been investigated for copper and simulations imply that arcing involves melting currents around 0.5-1 A/mu m(2),evaporation of neutrals to electron field emission ratios in the regime 0.01 - 0.05, plasma build-up timescales in the order of similar to 1 - 10 ns and two different regimes depending on initial ...

Avoiding vacuum arcs in high gradient normal conducting RF structures

CERN Document Server

Sjøbæk, Kyrre Ness; Adli, Erik; Grudiev, Alexej; Wuensch, Walter

In order to build the Compact LInear Collider (CLIC), accelerating structures reaching extremely high accelerating gradients are needed. Such structures have been built and tested using normal-conducting copper, powered by X-band RF power and reaching gradients of 100 MV/m and above. One phenomenon that must be avoided in order to reliably reach such gradients, is vacuum arcs or “breakdowns”. This can be accomplished by carefully designing the structure geometry such that high surface fields and large local power flows are avoided. The research presented in this thesis presents a method for optimizing the geometry of accelerating structures so that these breakdowns are made less likely, allowing the structure to operate reliably at high gradients. This was done primarily based on a phenomenological scaling model, which predicted the maximum gradient as a function of the break down rate, pulse length, and field distribution in the structure. The model is written in such a way that it allows direct comparis...

Combined electron beam and vacuum ARC melting for barrier tube shell material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worcester, S.A.; Woods, C.R.

1989-01-01

This patent describes a process of the type wherein zirconium tetrachloride is reduced to produce a metallic zirconium sponge. The sponge is distilled to generally remove residual magnesium and magnesium chloride, and the distilled sponge is melted to produce an ingot, the improvement for making a non-crystal bar material for use in lining the interior of zirconium alloy fuel element cladding which comprises: a. forming the distilled sponge into a consumable electrode; b. melting the consumable electrode in a multiple swept beam electron furnace with a feed rate between 1 and 20 inches per hour to form an intermediate ingot; and c. vacuum arc melting the intermediate ingot to produce a homogeneous final ingot, having 50-500 ppm iron

Vacuum arc behavior and its voltage characteristics in drawing process controlled by composite magnetic fields along axial and transverse directions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Lijun; Deng, Jie; Wang, Haijing; Jia, Shenli; Qin, Kang; Shi, Zongqian

2015-01-01

In this research, drawing vacuum arc (VA) experiments were conducted using composite contacts under currents ranging from 5 kA to 20 kA root mean square (rms). The new type of contact comprised an axial magnetic field (AMF) configuration and a transverse magnetic field (TMF) configuration. The TMF plate was in the center, surrounded by the AMF plate. The contact generated both AMFs and TMFs simultaneously. VA appearances and arc voltages were recorded, and the VA was modeled as a conductor for electromagnetic force analysis in ANSYS software. The results showed that the coaxiality of operating mechanisms significantly influenced arc behavior just as the arc was ignited. When arc brightness did not increase after ignition, there was a voltage drop accompanied with diffusion of the VA. As to VA development, when an arc was ignited on an AMF plate, it spread on the plate and rotated. Over time the arc current increased, the constricting arc forms, and the arc column rotated on the TMF plate under the action of Ampere's force. With regard to the influence of a magnetic field on a VA at different stages, in the initial drawing arc stage the TMF was dominant, and the arc started to rotate under the action of Ampere's force. Afterwards, the AMF was dominant, with a steadily burning arc. As for contact melting, in the initial arcing period, a contracted short arc caused severe melting and erosion of the contact plate. When the ignition spot or root was close to the slot of plate, the electromagnetic force pushed the arc toward slot and contact edge, resulting in local erosion of the slot region

Etching Effect of an Atmospheric DC Arc Plasmatron

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chun, Se Min; Kim, Ji Hun; Kang, In Je; Lee, Heon Ju

2010-01-01

Thermal plasmas (especially arc plasma) were extensively industrialized, principally by aeronautic sector. Cold plasma technologies have been developed in the microelectronics but their vacuum equipment limits their implantation. Plasmas used in dry etching, thin film deposition and surface treatment for display or semiconductor industries are operating at low pressures in very costly due to the use of vacuum equipment and vacuum components. Use of DC arc plasmatrons in welding, soldering, and cutting of metals is well known. A DC-arc plasmatron with high durability was reported to be a suitable device for etching silicon and photo-resist surfaces

Investigation of the crystallization process of titanium alloy ingots produced by vacuum arc melting method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tetyukhin, V.V.; Kurapov, V.N.; Trubin, A.N.; Demchenko, M.V.; Lazarev, V.G.; Ponedilko, S.V.; Dubrovina, N.T.; Kurapova, L.A.

1978-01-01

The process of crystallization and hardening of the VT3-1 and VT9 titanium alloys ingots during the vacuum-arc remelting (VAR) has been studied. In order to investigate the kinetics of the hole shape changing and the peculiarities of the ingot formation during the VAR, the radiography method has been used. It is established that the VAR of the titanium alloy ingots is basically a continuous process. An intense heating of the liquid bath mirror and the availability of high temperature gradients in the hole are the typical features of the VAR process

Some novel design features of the LBL metal vapor vacuum arc ion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

MacGill, R.A.; Brown, I.G.; Galvin, J.E.

1990-01-01

The family of MEVVA (metal vapor vacuum arc) high current metal ion sources developed at LBL over the past several years has grown to include a number of different source versions with a wide range of some of the design and operational parameters. The MicroMEVVA source is a particularly compact version, about 2 cm diam and 10 cm long, while the MEVVA IV weighs some 30 kG. MEVVAs IV and V incorporate multiple cathode assemblies (16 and 18 separate cathodes, respectively), and the operating cathode can be switched rapidly and without downtime. The new MEVVA V embodiment is quite compact considering its broad beam (10 cm), high voltage (100 kV), and multiple cathode features. The large-area extractor grids used in MEVVA V were fabricated using a particularly simple technique, and they are clamped into position and can thus be changed simply and quickly. The electrical system used to drive the arc is particularly simple and incorporates several attractive features. In this article we review and describe a number of the mechanical and electrical design features that have been developed for these sources

New developments in metal ion implantation by vacuum arc ion sources and metal plasma immersion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.G.; Anders, A.; Anders, S.

1996-01-01

Ion implantation by intense beams of metal ions can be accomplished using the dense metal plasma formed in a vacuum arc discharge embodied either in a vacuum arc ion source or in a metal plasma immersion configuration. In the former case high energy metal ion beams are formed and implantation is done in a more-or-less conventional way, and in the latter case the substrate is immersed in the plasma and repetitively pulse-biased so as to accelerate the ions at the high voltage plasma sheath formed at the substrate. A number of advances have been made in the last few years, both in plasma technology and in the surface modification procedures, that enhance the effectiveness and versatility of the methods, including for example: controlled increase of the in charge states produced; operation in a dual metal-gaseous ion species mode; very large area beam formation; macroparticle filtering; and the development of processing regimes for optimizing adhesion, morphology and structure. These complementary ion processing techniques provide the plasma tools for doing ion surface modification over a very wide parameter regime, from pure ion implantation at energies approaching the MeV level, through ion mixing at energies in the ∼1 to ∼100 keV range, to IBAD-like processing at energies from a few tens of eV to a few keV. Here the authors review the methods, describe a number of recent developments, and outline some of the surface modification applications to which the methods have been put. 54 refs., 9 figs

Incidence Angle Effect of Energetic Carbon Ions on Deposition Rate, Topography, and Structure of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Films Deposited by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc

KAUST Repository

Wang, N.; Komvopoulos, K.

2012-01-01

The effect of the incidence angle of energetic carbon ions on the thickness, topography, and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) was examined in the context of numerical

Interaction between computational modelling and experiments for vacuum consumable arc remelting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bertram, L. A.; Zanner, F. J.

1980-01-01

A combined computational-experimental modelling effort is currently underway to characterize the vacuum consumable arc remelt process. This effort involves the coupling of experimental results with a magnetohydrodynamic flow model which is capable of time accurate solutions of the interdependent fluid flow-solidification process in the ingot. Models such as this are driven by boundary conditions. Considerable data have been compiled from direct observation of the electrode tip and molten pool surface by means of high speed photography in order to gain an understanding of the processes at the pool surface and the appropriate corresponding boundary conditions. The crucible wall/molten metal miniscus conditions are less well understood. Pool volumes are computed at different melting currents and show reasonable agreement with experimentally determined values. Current flow through the ingot is evaluated numerically and the results indicate that a significant portion of the melt current does not reach the interior of the ingot. U-6 wt. % Nb alloy was used.

Influence of discharge gap on the discharge stability in a short vacuum arc ion source

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, L. [Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan 621900 (China); Department of Engineering Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084 (China); Zhang, G. L.; Jin, D. Z.; Dai, J. Y. [Institute of Electronic Engineering, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, Sichuan 621900 (China); Yang, L. [Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology, Louzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000 (China)

2012-02-15

The influence of the discharge gap between cathode and anode on the discharge stability in a short vacuum arc (SVA) ion source is presented in this paper. Planar cathode and cylindrical hollow anode made of titanium are investigated. There is a great need in present accelerator injection research for SVA source to produce the small deviation of the ion current beam. Current research shows that increasing the short discharge gap can reduce the level of ion current deviation and ion charge deviation from 29% and 31% to 15% and 17%, respectively. A microplasma plume generation mechanism in SVA and scanning electron microscopic results can be used to explain this interesting phenomenon.

Evaporation regularities for the components of alloys during vacuum melting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anoshkin, N.F.

1977-01-01

The peculiarities of changes in the content of alloying components in vacuum melting (exemplified by Ti and Mo alloys) and the formation of the ingot composition in the bottom, central, and peripheral portions are considered. For the purposes of the investigation a process model was adopted, which is characterized by negligibly small evaporation of the alloy base, complete smoothing-out of the composition in the liquid bath volume, the constancy of the temperature over the entire evaporation surface, and a number of other assumptions, whose correctness was confirmed by the experiment. It is shown that the best possibilities for suppression of evaporation of components with a high vapour pressure are offered by a vacuum arc or electric slag melting, because they make it possible to conduct the process at high pressures with minimum overheating. A method of refining by overheating was developed. A method for refining alloys with volatile components was found; it consists of the first remelting ro remove volatile impurities and their deposition in the peripheral layers of the ingot, and the second remelting, which ensures the averaging of the ingot composition. Typical versions of distribution of the volatile components or the impurity across the ingot are singled out

Evaporation of tungsten in vacuum at low hydrogen and water vapor pressures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrievskij, R.A.; Galkin, E.A.; Khromonozhkin, V.V.

1981-01-01

The results of experimental investigations of tungsten evaporation rates in the temperature range 1650-2500 K, partial hydrogen and water vapours pressures 1x10 -5 -10 Pa are presented. Experi-- mental plant, equipment employed and radiometric technique of tungsten evaporation study are described. The dependences of evaporation rate and probabilities of tungsten oxidation by residual vacuum water vapours and dependences of tungsten evaporation rate on partial hydrogen and water vapours pressures are determined [ru

Effect of Coil Current on the Properties of Hydrogenated DLC Coatings Fabricated by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc Technique

Science.gov (United States)

Liao, Bin; Ouyang, Xiaoping; Zhang, Xu; Wu, Xianying; Bian, Baoan; Ying, Minju; Jianwu, Liu

2018-01-01

We successfully prepared hydrogenated DLC (a-C:H) with a thickness higher than 25 μm on stainless steel using a filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA) technique. The structural and mechanical properties of DLC were systematically analyzed using different methods such as x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, Vickers hardness, nanohardness, and friction and wear tests. The effect of coil current on the arc voltage, ion current, and mechanical properties of resultant films was systematically investigated. The novelty of this study is the fabrication of DLC with Vickers hardness higher than 1500 HV, in the meanwhile with the thickness higher than 30 μm through varying the coil current with FCVA technique. The results indicated that the ion current, deposition rate, friction coefficient, and Vickers hardness of DLC were significantly affected by the magnetic field inside the filtered duct.

The spatial structure of cathode plasma jets in a vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krinberg, I.A.; Zverev, E.A.

1999-01-01

It is shown that, in cathode plasma jets of a vacuum arc with an interelectrode gap of up to 1 m and a current of 10 2 -10 3 A, there exist three characteristic regions with different ratios β of the plasma pressure to the magnetic field pressure. The plasma emitted from cathode microspots, in the form of microjets, is heated and accelerated predominantly in the region near the cathode (z -2 ), in which β≅10 2 -10 3 . After the microjets merge into one jet, the plasma in the region z≅0.03-3 cm begins to move toward the jet axis because of the compression of the jet by its own magnetic field (β<1). Just before the compression reaches its maximum, the density, temperature, and potential sharply increase, and the compression comes to an end. In the region z≥3 cm, the cathode plasma jet looks like a paraboloid of revolution, whose surface oscillates about the equilibrium position (β≅1), which causes the density, temperature, and potential to oscillate in a similar fashion

Preparation of hydrosol suspensions of elemental and core–shell nanoparticles by co-deposition with water vapour from the gas-phase in ultra-high vacuum conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Binns, Chris; Prieto, Pilar; Baker, Stephen; Howes, Paul; Dondi, Ruggero; Burley, Glenn; Lari, Leonardo; Kröger, Roland; Pratt, Andrew; Aktas, Sitki; Mellon, John K.

2012-01-01

We report a new method to produce liquid suspensions of nanoparticles by co-deposition with water vapour from the gas-phase in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) conditions. The water is injected from outside the vacuum as a molecular beam onto a substrate maintained at 77 K and forms an ice layer with a UHV vapour pressure. Molecular dynamics simulations confirm that the nanoparticles are soft-landed close to the surface of the growing ice layer. We show that the un-agglomerated size distribution within the liquid is similar to the gas-phase size distribution and demonstrate that the inclusion of surfactants in the injected water prevents agglomeration. The method allows the flexibility and tight size control available with gas-phase production methods to be applied to making nanoparticle suspensions with any desired properties. This is important for practical applications, especially in medicine. We have extended the method to include core–shell nanoparticles, in which there is flexible control over the core size and shell thickness and free choice of the material in either. Here, we report the production of suspensions of Cu, Ag and Au elemental nanoparticles and Fe-Au and Fe-Fe-oxide core–shell nanoparticles with diameters in the range 5–15 nm. We demonstrate the power of the method in practical applications in the case of Fe-Fe-oxide nanoparticles, which have a specific absorption rate of an applied oscillating magnetic field that is significantly higher than available Fe-oxide nanoparticle suspensions and the highest yet reported. These will thus have a very high-performance in the treatment of tumours by magnetic nanoparticle hyperthermia.

Vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge applied to stable isotope separation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Bosco, E.

1989-09-01

This work describes the results of a vacuum-arc plasma centrifuge experiment. A plasma centrifuge is an apparatus where a plasma column is produced due to the interaction of an electric current with an externally applied magnetic field, sup(→)J x sup(→)B. Among the applications of a rotating plasma, this work deals particularly with its utilization in an isotope enrichment device. The main characteristics of the plasma produced in this experiment are presented, with special attention to the plasma column rotation and the isotope enrichment. The analysis of the results is performed using a fluid model for a completely ionized rigid body rotating plasma column in steady state equilibrium. The main results are: a) rotation frequency of the plasma column in the range 2 x 10 sup(4) to 3 x 10 sup(5) rad/s; b) enrichment of 10 to 30% for the magnesium isotopes, and of 290 to 490% for the carbon 13 isotope; c) rigid body rotation of the plasma column only for radii smaller than the characteristic radius of the plasma column. re; d) linear dependence of the rotation frequency upon the magnetic field strength only for r < re; e) existence of an optimum value of the magnetic field for maximum enrichment; and f) dependence of the rotation frequency upon the inverse of the atomic mass. (author)

Synthesis and characterization of Ti-Si-C-N nanocomposite coatings prepared by a filtered vacuum arc method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thangavel, Elangovan, E-mail: t.elangophy@gmail.com [Advanced Thin Film Research Group, Materials Processing Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon 641-831 (Korea, Republic of); Center for Nano-Wear, Yonsei University, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Seunghun; Nam, Kee-Seok; Kim, Jong-Kuk [Advanced Thin Film Research Group, Materials Processing Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon 641-831 (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Do-Geun, E-mail: dogeunkim@kims.re.kr [Advanced Thin Film Research Group, Materials Processing Division, Korea Institute of Materials Science, Changwon 641-831 (Korea, Republic of)

2013-01-15

Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Preparation method was used as filtered vacuum arc (FVA) deposition. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Ternary coating obtained by using single carbon source with TMS gas. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Detailed discussion of chemical nature for these coating by using XPS. - Abstract: Ti-Si-C-N nanocomposite coatings were synthesized by a filtered vacuum arc (FVA) technique. A metal organic precursor, tetramethylsilane (TMS), was used as a source for silicon and carbon to deposit the Ti-Si-C-N nanocomposite coating with a Ti cathode source. The chemical and microstructural properties of the as-deposited coatings were systematically investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nanoindentation and scratch tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical and adhesion properties of the coatings. From the XPS analysis, it was found that the Si content in the coating increased from 2 to 16 at.% as the TMS flow rate was increased from 5 to 20 sccm. The TEM analysis clearly demonstrated that the coatings were composed of crystalline TiCN along with amorphous Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} as a secondary phase. From the XRD results, it was found that the crystallite size of TiCN increased with increasing Si content. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the TiSiCN coatings prepared by this method exhibited strong dependencies on the silicon content. A maximum hardness of 49 GPa and a coefficient of friction of 0.17 were obtained for the film with a silicon content of 3 at.%.

Effect of vacuum arc melting/casting parameters on shrinkage cavity/piping of austenitic stainless steel ingot

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamran, J.; Feroz, M.; Sarwar, M.

2009-01-01

Shrinkage cavity/piping at the end of the solidified ingot of steels is one of the most common casting problem in 316L austenitic stainless steel ingot, when consumable electrode is melted and cast in a water-cooled copper mould by vacuum arc re-melting furnace. In present study an effort has been made to reduce the size of shrinkage cavity/ piping by establishing the optimum value of hot topping process parameters at the end of the melting process. It is concluded that the shrinkage cavity/piping at the top of the solidified ingot can be reduced to minimum by adjusting the process parameters particularly the melting current density. (author)

Experimental Test Of Whether Electrostatically Charged Micro-organisms And Their Spores Contribute To The Onset Of Arcs Across Vacuum Gaps

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

none,; Grisham, Larry R.

2014-02-24

Recently it was proposed [L.R. Grisham, A. vonHalle, A.F. Carpe, Guy Rossi, K.R. Gilton, E.D. McBride, E.P. Gilson, A. Stepanov, T.N. Stevenson, Physics of Plasma 19 023107 (2012)] that one of the initiators of vacuum voltage breakdown between condu cting electrodes might be micro-organisms and their spores, previously deposited during exposure to air, which tnen become electrostatically charged when an electric potential is applied across the vacuum gap. The note describes a simple experiment to compare the number of voltage-conditioning pulses required to reach the nominal maxium operating voltage across a gap between two metallic conductors in a vacuum, comparing cases in which biological cleaning was done just prior to pump-down with cases where this was not done, with each preceded by exposure to ambient air for three days. Based upon these results, it does not appear that air-deposited microbes and their spores constitute a major pathway for arc initiation, at least for exposure periods of a few days, and for vacuum gaps of a few millimeters, in the regime where voltage holding is usually observed to vary linearly with gap distance

Cold-rolled sheets production of stainless martensite-ageing steel smelted by vacuum arc and electroslag techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rivkin, A A; Grishkov, A I; Suslin, A P; Nesterenko, A A; Lola, V N [Tsentral' nyj Nauchno-Issledovatel' skij Inst. Chernoj Metallurgii, Moscow (USSR)

1975-05-01

In cooperation with a number of metallurgical works the production of a high strength sheet stainless maraging steel EHP678 (000KH11N10M2T) has been tested by rolling cylindrical ingots of vacuum arc smelting at the blooming (the mass of rough ingots was 5.1 to 6.0 t, that of cleaned ingots - 3.8 to 5.1 t) or rectangular ingots of electroslag smelting (13 t) at the slabbing. The recommended regimes of heating and deformation are much similar to those used for the steel-KH18N10T. The output of valid cold-rolled sheets proved to be rather low (0.24 t/t for the vacuum arc smelting and 0.30 t/t for the electroslag smelting) mainly due to the losses on cleaning and a considerable portion of wrong-size slabs. The data are presented on the steel-EHP678 properties after various heat treatments. For the production of wide cold-rolled sheets of the steel EHP678 it is recommended to use steelmaking procedure with electroslag smelting including open-hearth melting in arc furnaces, rolling of ingots at the slabbing with heating up to 1260-1280 deg C (hold-up of 4.5 to 5 hrs); electroslag smelting for rectangular section slabs, rolling of ingots of electroslag smelting at the slabbing with their heating up to 1250 deg C (hold-up of 5.5 to 6 hrs), rolling at the 1680-type mill with heating up to 1250-1260 deg C (hold-up of 4 to 4.5 hrs ensuring the rolling temperature after a rough group not below 1100 deg C), quenching of hot-rolled sheets heating up to 920-940 deg C (hold-up of 3 to 3.5 min/mm), shot peening of sheets for descaling (provided the respective equipment is available) with a subsequent short-time pickling in an acid solution and cold rolling with a summary deformation of 35 to 45 %. The steelmaking with the electroslag smelting is much more profitable as regards to the fine technology of number of the main procedures, convenient cooperation of the works and a considerably greater output of the final products out of one ton of the steel produced.

The fractal nature of vacuum arc cathode spots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, Andre

2005-01-01

Cathode spot phenomena show many features of fractals, for example self-similar patterns in the emitted light and arc erosion traces. Although there have been hints on the fractal nature of cathode spots in the literature, the fractal approach to spot interpretation is underutilized. In this work, a brief review of spot properties is given, touching the differences between spot type 1 (on cathodes surfaces with dielectric layers) and spot type 2 (on metallic, clean surfaces) as well as the known spot fragment or cell structure. The basic properties of self-similarity, power laws, random colored noise, and fractals are introduced. Several points of evidence for the fractal nature of spots are provided. Specifically power laws are identified as signature of fractal properties, such as spectral power of noisy arc parameters (ion current, arc voltage, etc) obtained by fast Fourier transform. It is shown that fractal properties can be observed down to the cutoff by measurement resolution or occurrence of elementary steps in physical processes. Random walk models of cathode spot motion are well established: they go asymptotically to Brownian motion for infinitesimal step width. The power spectrum of the arc voltage noise falls as 1/f 2 , where f is frequency, supporting a fractal spot model associated with Brownian motion

Arcing phenomena in fusion devices workshop

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Clausing, R.E.

1979-01-01

The workshop on arcing phenomena in fusion devices was organized (1) to review the pesent status of our understanding of arcing as it relates to confinement devices, (2) to determine what informaion is needed to suppress arcing and (3) to define both laboratory and in-situ experiments which can ultimately lead to reduction of impurities in the plasma caused by arcing. The workshop was attended by experts in the area of vacuum arc electrode phenomena and ion source technology, materials scientists, and both theoreticians and experimentalists engaged in assessing the importance of unipolar arcing in today's tokamaks. Abstracts for papers presented at the workshop are included

Evaluation of niobium dimethylamino-ethoxide for chemical vapour deposition of niobium oxide thin films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dabirian, Ali; Kuzminykh, Yury; Wagner, Estelle; Benvenuti, Giacomo; Rushworth, Simon; Hoffmann, Patrik

2014-01-01

Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) processes depend on the availability of suitable precursors. Precursors that deliver a stable vapour pressure are favourable in classical CVD processes, as they ensure process reproducibility. In high vacuum CVD (HV-CVD) process vapour pressure stability of the precursor is of particular importance, since no carrier gas assisted transport can be used. The dimeric Nb 2 (OEt) 10 does not fulfil this requirement since it partially dissociates upon heating. Dimethylamino functionalization of an ethoxy ligand of Nb(OEt) 5 acts as an octahedral field completing entity and leads to Nb(OEt) 4 (dmae). We show that Nb(OEt) 4 (dmae) evaporates as monomeric molecule and ensures a stable vapour pressure and, consequently, stable flow. A set of HV-CVD experiments were conducted using this precursor by projecting a graded molecular beam of the precursor onto the substrate at deposition temperatures from 320 °C to 650 °C. Film growth rates ranging from 8 nm·h −1 to values larger than 400 nm·h −1 can be obtained in this system illustrating the high level of control available over the film growth process. Classical CVD limiting conditions along with the recently reported adsorption–reaction limited conditions are observed and the chemical composition, and microstructural and optical properties of the films are related to the corresponding growth regime. Nb(OEt) 4 (dmae) provides a large process window of deposition temperatures and precursor fluxes over which carbon-free and polycrystalline niobium oxide films with growth rates proportional to precursor flux are obtained. This feature makes Nb(OEt) 4 (dmae) an attractive precursor for combinatorial CVD of niobium containing complex oxide films that are finding an increasing interest in photonics and photoelectrochemical water splitting applications. The adsorption–reaction limited conditions provide extremely small growth rates comparable to an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process

Intrinsic stress of bismuth oxide thin films: effect of vapour chopping and air ageing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, R B; Puri, R K; Puri, V

2008-01-01

Bismuth oxide thin films of thickness 1000 A 0 have been prepared by thermal oxidation (in air) of vacuum evaporated bismuth thin films (on glass substrate) at different oxidation temperatures and duration. Both the vapour chopped and nonchopped bismuth oxide thin films showed polycrystalline and polymorphic structure. The monoclinic bismuth oxide was found to be predominant in both the cases. The effect of vapour chopping and air exposure for 40 days on the intrinsic stress of bismuth oxide thin films has been studied. The vapour chopped films showed low (3.92 - 4.80 x 10 9 N/m 2 ) intrinsic stress than those of nonchopped bismuth oxide thin films (5.77 - 6.74 x 10 9 N/m 2 ). Intrinsic stress was found to increase due to air ageing. The effect of air ageing on the vapour chopped films was found low. The vapour chopped films showed higher packing density. Higher the packing density, lower the film will age. The process of chopping vapour flow creates films with less inhomogenety i.e. a low concentration of flaws and non-planar defects which results in lower intrinsic stress

Introduction to vacuum technology: supplementary study material developed for IVS sponsored vacuum courses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhusan, K.G.

2008-01-01

Vacuum technology has advanced to a large extent mainly from the demands of experimental research scientists who have more than ever understood the need for clean very low pressure environments. This need only seems to increase as the lowest pressures achievable in a laboratory setup are dropping down by the decade. What is not usually said is that conventional techniques of producing ultrahigh vacuum have also undergone a metamorphosis in order to cater to the multitude of restrictions in modern day scientific research. This book aims to give that practical approach to vacuum technology. The basics are given in the first chapter with more of a definition oriented approach - which is practically useful. The second chapter deals with the production of vacuum and ultrahigh vacuum with an emphasis on the working principles of several pumps and their working pressure ranges. Measurement of low pressures, both total and partial is presented in the third chapter with a note on leak detection and mass spectrometric techniques. Chapter 4 gives an overview of the materials that are vacuum compatible and their material properties. Chapter 5 gives the necessary methods to be followed for cleaning of vacuum components especially critical if ultrahigh vacuum environment is required. The practical use of a ultrahigh vacuum environment is demonstrated in Chapter 6 for production of high quality thin films through vapour deposition

Model of liquid-metal splashing in the cathode spot of a vacuum arc discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gashkov, M. A.; Zubarev, N. M.; Zubareva, O. V.; Mesyats, G. A.; Uimanov, I. V.

2016-01-01

The formation of microjets is studied during the extrusion of a melted metal by the plasma pressure from craters formed on a cathode in a burning vacuum arc. An analytic model of liquid-metal splashing that includes two stages is proposed. At the first stage, the liquid motion has the axial symmetry and a liquid-metal wall surrounding the crater is formed. At the second stage, the axial symmetry is broken due to the development of the Plateau–Rayleigh instability in the upper part of the wall. The wall breakup process is shown to have a threshold. The minimal plasma pressure and the minimal electric current flowing through the crater required for obtaining the liquid-metal splashing regime are found. The basic spatial and temporal characteristics of the jet formation process are found using the analytic model.

Preparation of anatase TiO2 thin films by vacuum arc plasma evaporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miyata, Toshihiro; Tsukada, Satoshi; Minami, Tadatsugu

2006-01-01

Anatase titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) thin films with high photocatalytic activity have been prepared with deposition rates as high as 16 nm/min by a newly developed vacuum arc plasma evaporation (VAPE) method using sintered TiO 2 pellets as the source material. Highly transparent TiO 2 thin films prepared at substrate temperatures from room temperature to 400 deg. C exhibited photocatalytic activity, regardless whether oxygen (O 2 ) gas was introduced during the VAPE deposition. The highest photocatalytic activity and photo-induced hydrophilicity were obtained in anatase TiO 2 thin films prepared at 300 deg. C, which correlated to the best crystallinity of the films, as evidenced from X-ray diffraction. In addition, a transparent and conductive anatase TiO 2 thin film with a resistivity of 2.6 x 10 -1 Ω cm was prepared at a substrate temperature of 400 deg. C without the introduction of O 2 gas

Vacuum arc plasma deposition of thin titanium dioxide films on silicone elastomer as a functional coating for medical applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boudot, Cécile, E-mail: cecile.boudot@tum.de [Technical University of Munich, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Boltzmannstraße 15, D-85748 Garching bei München (Germany); Kühn, Marvin; Kühn-Kauffeldt, Marina; Schein, Jochen [Institute for Plasma Technology and Mathematics, University of Federal Armed Forces Munich, Werner-Heisenberg-Weg 39, D-85577 Neubiberg (Germany)

2017-05-01

Silicone elastomer is a promising material for medical applications and is widely used for implants with blood and tissue contact. However, its strong hydrophobicity limits adhesion of tissue cells to silicone surfaces, which can impair the healing process. To improve the biological properties of silicone, a triggerless pulsed vacuum cathodic arc plasma deposition technique was applied to deposit titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) films onto the surface. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and contact angle measurements were used for coating characterization. Deposited films were about 150 nm thick and exhibited good adhesion to the underlying silicone substrate. Surface wettability and roughness both increased after deposition of the TiO{sub 2} layer. In addition, cell-biological investigations demonstrated that the in-vitro cytocompatibility of TiO{sub 2}-coated samples was greatly improved without impacting silicone's nontoxicity. For validation of use in medical devices, further investigations were conducted and demonstrated stability of surface properties in an aqueous environment for a period of 68 days and the coating's resistance to several sterilization methods. - Highlights: • Vacuum arc plasma was applied to deposit titanium dioxide films onto silicone. • Thickness, roughness and composition of the films were determined. • Cytocompatibility of coated silicone elastomer is greatly improved. • Films have good adhesion to the substrate and are stable, non-toxic and sterilizable.

Model experiments to study the first wall erosion by vacuum arcs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karpov, D.A.; Saksagansky, G.L. (Leningradskij Nauchno-Issledovatel' skij Inst. (USSR). Electrophysical Apparatus); Paszti, F.; Szilagyi, E.; Manuaba, A. (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest. Central Research Inst. for Physics)

Unipolar arcs acting on the first wall of future thermonuclear reactors were modelled by bipolar arcs burning on the side surface of a cylindrical titanium cathode. Erosion rate and spatial distribution of the material sputtered in arcs were investigated by Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) analysis of collector probes. The obtianed results will be discussed as a function of arc current and the intensity of the applied vault-shaped magnetic field. (orig.).

Model experiments to study the first wall erosion by vacuum arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karpov, D.A.; Saksagansky, G.L.; Paszti, F.; Szilagyi, E.; Manuaba, A.

1989-01-01

Unipolar arcs acting on the first wall of future thermonuclear reactors were modelled by bipolar arcs burning on the side surface of a cylindrical titanium cathode. Erosion rate and spatial distribution of the material sputtered in arcs were investigated by Rutherford Backscattering (RBS) analysis of collector probes. The obtianed results will be discussed as a function of arc current and the intensity of the applied vault-shaped magnetic field. (orig.)

Carbon nanotubes and nanofibers synthesized by CVD on nickel coatings deposited with a vacuum arc

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Escobar, M. [LP and MC, Dep. de Fisica-FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Universitaria Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); DQIAQF-FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Universitaria Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); Giuliani, L. [INFIP, CONICET, Dep. de Fisica, FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Univ. Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); Candal, R.J. [INQUIMAE-FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Universitaria Pab.2, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); Lamas, D.G. [CINSO, CITEFA, CONICET, J.B. de La Salle 4397, (1603) V.Martelli, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Caso, A. [LP and MC, Dep. de Fisica-FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Universitaria Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); Rubiolo, G. [LP and MC, Dep. de Fisica-FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Universitaria Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); UAM-CNEA, Av. Gral Paz 1499, (1650) San Martin, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Grondona, D. [INFIP, CONICET, Dep. de Fisica, FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Univ. Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); Goyanes, S. [LP and MC, Dep. de Fisica-FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Universitaria Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina); Marquez, A., E-mail: amarquez@df.uba.a [INFIP, CONICET, Dep. de Fisica, FCEyN-UBA, Cdad. Univ. Pab.1, (1428), Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2010-04-16

Nanotubes and nanofibers were grown on Ni coatings deposited by plasma generated with a pulsed vacuum arc on silicon wafers using three different bias conditions: at floating potential (approximately +30 V respect to the grounded cathode); at ground potential; and at -60 V. An atomic force microscopy study showed that the Ni film morphology was affected by the bias condition of the substrate. The morphology of carbonaceous species depended on Ni-films characteristics. FE-SEM and TEM analyses have shown that nanofibers growth was favoured on Ni coatings deposited at -60 V whereas nanotubes grew mainly on Ni coatings obtained at floating and ground potentials. Hence, this new method to produce the precursor can be optimized to obtain nanotubes or nanofibers varying the substrate bias for the Ni deposition.

The mechanism of liquid metal jet formation in the cathode spot of vacuum arc discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Gashkov, M. A.; Zubarev, N. M.; Mesyats, G. A.; Uimanov, I. V.

2016-08-01

We have theoretically studied the dynamics of molten metal during crater formation in the cathode spot of vacuum arc discharge. At the initial stage, a liquid-metal ridge is formed around the crater. This process has been numerically simulated in the framework of the two-dimensional axisymmetric heat and mass transfer problem in the approximation of viscous incompressible liquid. At a more developed stage, the motion of liquid metal loses axial symmetry, which corresponds to a tendency toward jet formation. The development of azimuthal instabilities of the ridge is analyzed in terms of dispersion relations for surface waves. It is shown that maximum increments correspond to instability of the Rayleigh-Plateau type. Estimations of the time of formation of liquid metal jets and their probable number are obtained.

Arc tracks on nanostructured surfaces after microbreakdowns

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinelnikov, D; Bulgadaryan, D; Kolodko, D; Kurnaev, V; Hwangbo, D; Ohno, N; Kajita, S

2016-01-01

Studying of initial steps of unipolar arc ignition process is important for reduction of probability of arcing between the plasma and the wall in thermonuclear devices. Tungsten nano-fuzz surface formed by helium plasma irradiation at high fluences and temperatures is a perfect material for arc ignition. Snowflake-like craters were detected on the fuzzy surfaces after short micro-breakdowns. Such sort of craters have not been observed before on any other metallic surfaces. These specific traces are formed due to unique properties of the fuzz structure. The nano-fuzz could be easily melted and vaporized by micro-breakdown current, due to its porosity and bad thermal conductivity, and formation of low conducting metallic vapour under the cathode spot causes discharge movement to the nearest place. Thus, even low current arc can easily move and leave traces, which could be easily observed by a secondary electron microscope. (paper)

Achieving ultrahigh vacuum in an unbaked chamber with glow ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-12-06

Dec 6, 2016 ... An ultimate vacuum in any leak-tight chamber with a given pumping speed and ... chamber is exposed to atmospheric pressure, water vapour gets sorbed ... A variable DC power supply of 0–1000 V was con- nected in series ...

Effect of duct bias on transport of vacuum arc plasmas through curved magnetic filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, A.; Anders, S.; Brown, I.G.

1994-01-01

The plasma output of a 90 degree magnetic macroparticle filter of vacuum arc plasma was monitored by a Langmuir probe as a function of bias of the duct wall and guiding magnetic field. Maximum plasma transport through the filter was found at a positive bias of about 20 V. A relatively small magnetic field of 10--30 mT is sufficient for effective guiding of the plasma, and further increase of the guiding field improves the filter efficiency only gradually. The potential of a floating duct changes from negative to positive when the guiding field is increased. This can be explained by the balance of electron and ion flux transverse to the magnetic field. Saturation in the plasma output at high guiding field (>120 mT) is observed for carbon but not for heavy elements. The transport of plasma through bent ducts is made possible by the magnetic pressure of the guiding field, and by sheath and space-charge electric fields

Comparative study of titanium carbide and nitride coatings grown by cathodic vacuum arc technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Devia, D.M.; Restrepo-Parra, E.; Arango, P.J.

2011-01-01

Titanium nitride (TiN), titanium carbide (TiC) thin films and TiC/TiN bilayers have been deposited on AISI 304 stainless steel substrates by plasma assisted physical vapor deposition technique - reactive pulsed vacuum arc method. The coatings were characterized in terms of crystalline structure, microstructure and chemical nature by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Tribological behavior was investigated using ball on disc technique. The average coefficient of friction was measured, showing lower values for the TiN/TiC bilayer. Dynamic wear curves were performed for each coating, observing a better wear resistance for TiN/TiC bilayers, compared to TiN and TiC monolayers. On the other hand, the TiCN formation in the TiN/TiC bilayer was observed, being attributed to the interdiffusion between TiN and TiC at the interface. Moreover, the substrate temperature influence was analysing observing a good behavior at T S = 115 °C.

High rate deposition of transparent conducting oxide thin films by vacuum arc plasma evaporation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minami, Tadatsugu; Ida, Satoshi; Miyata, Toshihiro

2002-01-01

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films have been deposited at a high rate above 370 nm/min by vacuum arc plasma evaporation (VAPE) using sintered oxide fragments as the source material. It was found that the deposition rate of TCO films was strongly dependent on the deposition pressure, whereas the obtained electrical properties were relatively independent of the pressure. Resistivities of 5.6x10 -4 and 2.3x10 -4 Ω·cm and an average transmittance above 80% (with substrate included) in the visible range were obtained in Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited at 100 and 350 deg. C, respectively. In addition, a resistivity as low as 1.4x10 -4 Ω·cm and an average transmittance above 80% were also obtained in indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films deposited at 300 deg. C. The deposited TCO films exhibited uniform distributions of resistivity and thickness on large area substrates

Preparation of anatase TiO{sub 2} thin films by vacuum arc plasma evaporation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miyata, Toshihiro [Optoelectronic Device System R and D Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501 (Japan)]. E-mail: tmiyata@neptune.kanazawa-it.ac.jp; Tsukada, Satoshi [Optoelectronic Device System R and D Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501 (Japan); Minami, Tadatsugu [Optoelectronic Device System R and D Center, Kanazawa Institute of Technology, 7-1 Ohgigaoka, Nonoichi, Ishikawa 921-8501 (Japan)

2006-02-01

Anatase titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) thin films with high photocatalytic activity have been prepared with deposition rates as high as 16 nm/min by a newly developed vacuum arc plasma evaporation (VAPE) method using sintered TiO{sub 2} pellets as the source material. Highly transparent TiO{sub 2} thin films prepared at substrate temperatures from room temperature to 400 deg. C exhibited photocatalytic activity, regardless whether oxygen (O{sub 2}) gas was introduced during the VAPE deposition. The highest photocatalytic activity and photo-induced hydrophilicity were obtained in anatase TiO{sub 2} thin films prepared at 300 deg. C, which correlated to the best crystallinity of the films, as evidenced from X-ray diffraction. In addition, a transparent and conductive anatase TiO{sub 2} thin film with a resistivity of 2.6 x 10{sup -1} {omega} cm was prepared at a substrate temperature of 400 deg. C without the introduction of O{sub 2} gas.

High rate deposition of transparent conducting oxide thin films by vacuum arc plasma evaporation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minami, Tadatsugu; Ida, Satoshi; Miyata, Toshihiro

2002-09-02

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) thin films have been deposited at a high rate above 370 nm/min by vacuum arc plasma evaporation (VAPE) using sintered oxide fragments as the source material. It was found that the deposition rate of TCO films was strongly dependent on the deposition pressure, whereas the obtained electrical properties were relatively independent of the pressure. Resistivities of 5.6x10{sup -4} and 2.3x10{sup -4} {omega}{center_dot}cm and an average transmittance above 80% (with substrate included) in the visible range were obtained in Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films deposited at 100 and 350 deg. C, respectively. In addition, a resistivity as low as 1.4x10{sup -4} {omega}{center_dot}cm and an average transmittance above 80% were also obtained in indium-tin-oxide (ITO) films deposited at 300 deg. C. The deposited TCO films exhibited uniform distributions of resistivity and thickness on large area substrates.

Vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption spectroscopy of crystalline and amorphous benzene

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dawes, Anita; Pascual, Natalia; Hoffmann, Soren V.

2017-01-01

We present the first high resolution vacuum ultraviolet photoabsorption study of amorphous benzene with com parisons to annealed crystalline benzene and the gas phase. Vapour deposited benzene layers w ere grow n at 25 K and annealed to 90 K under conditions pertinent to interstellaricy dust grains...

Mo-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon deposited by dual filtered cathodic vacuum arc with selective pulsed bias voltage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pasaja, Nitisak; Sansongsiri, Sakon; Intarasiri, Saweat; Vilaithong, Thiraphat; Anders, Andre

2007-01-01

Metal-containing tetrahedral amorphous carbon films were produced by dual filtered cathodic vacuum arc plasma sources operated in sequentially pulsed mode. Negatively pulsed bias was applied to the substrate when carbon plasma was generated, whereas it was absent when the molybdenum plasma was presented. Film thickness was measured after deposition by profilometry. Glass slides with silver pads were used as substrates for the measurement of the sheet resistance. The microstructure and composition of the films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering, respectively. It was found that the electrical resistivity decreases with an increase of the Mo content, which can be ascribed to an increase of the sp 2 content and an increase of the sp 2 cluster size

Quality of the KhN73MBTYu alloy after electroslag remelting and vacuum arc remelting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shelgaeva, A.V.; Krichevets, M.I.; Shinkina, N.S.; Komissarov, A.I.

1978-01-01

The structure and properties of the heat-resisting KhN73MBTYu alloy are investigated after electroslag remelting (ESR) and vacuum arc (VAR) remelting in commercial furnaces. The complex investigations of the casted metal were carried out by modern methods along with the standard acceptance tests, and a number of service properties were determined. It is established that the ESR metal contains magnesium and has the reduced sulphur concentration; the alloy has more fine-grained structure at high isotropy of the properties at room and operating temperatures; higher endurance is achieved under reversal rotational bending; no laminated fractures are observed. According to the basic quality factors the ESR metal satisfies all requirements for the VAR metal. Due to exclusion of strippling of ESR electrodes and ingots the yield of steel forgings increases by 20-25% and the prime cost decreases in comparison with the industrial production of VAR metal

Effect of vacuum arc cathode spot distribution on breaking capacity of the arc-extinguishing chamber

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Can; Yuan, Zhao; He, Junjia

2017-10-01

A DC circuit breaker performs a key function in breaking an intermediate-frequency (IF) current since breaking a pure IF current is equivalent to breaking a very small DC with a reverse IF current. In this study, it is found that cathode spots show a ring-shaped distribution at 2000 Hz. An arc with an uneven distribution of cathode spots has been simulated. The simulation results show that the distribution of cathode spots significantly affect the microparameter distribution of arc plasma. The current distribution on the anode side differs from that on the cathode side under the total radial electric field. Specifically, the anode current distribution is both uneven and concentrated. The applied axial magnetic field, which cannot reduce the concentrated anode current distribution effectively, might increase the concentration of the anode current. Finally, the uneven distribution of cathode spots reduces the breaking capacity of the arc-extinguishing chamber.

The effect of substrate bias on titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite films deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Xu; Liang, Hong; Wu, Zhenglong; Wu, Xiangying; Zhang, Huixing

2013-01-01

The titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite films have been deposited on silicon substrate by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technology, the effects of substrate bias on composition, structures and mechanical properties of the films are studied by scanning electron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nano-indentation. The results show that the Ti content, deposition rate and hardness at first increase and then decrease with increasing the substrate bias. Maximum hardness of the titanium carbide/amorphous carbon nanocomposite film is 51 Gpa prepared at −400 V. The hardness enhancement may be attributed to the compressive stress and the fraction of crystalline TiC phase due to ion bombardment

The Properties of Binary and Ternary Ti Based Coatings Produced by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aurelia Mandes

2018-03-01

Full Text Available A series of the multicomponent thin films (binary: Ti-C; Ti-Ag and ternary: Ti-C-Ag; Ti-C-Al were fabricated by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA technology in order to study the wear resistance and the anticorrosion properties. The effects of Ti amount on the microstructure, tribological and morphological properties were subsequently investigated. TVA is an original deposition method using a combination of anodic arc and electron gun systems for the growth of films. The samples were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM and a transmission electron microscope (TEM accompanied by selected area electron diffraction (SAED. Tribological properties were studied by a ball-on-disc tribometer in the dry regime and the wettability was assessed by measuring the contact angle with the See System apparatus. Wear Rate results indicate an improved sliding wear behavior for Ti-C-Ag: 1.31 × 10−7 mm3/N m (F = 2 N compared to Ti-C-Al coating wear rate: 4.24 × 10−7 mm3/N m. On the other hand, by increasing the normal load to 3 N an increase to the wear rate was observed for Ti-C-Ag: 2.58 × 10−5 mm3 compared to 2.33 × 10−6 mm3 for Ti-C-Al coating.

Test of the beam effect on vacuum arc occurrence in a high-gradient accelerating structure for the CLIC project

CERN Document Server

AUTHOR|(CDS)2130409; Gagliardi, Martino

A new generation of lepton colliders capable of reaching TeV energies is pres- ently under development, and to succeed in this task it is necessary to show that the technology for such a machine is available. The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a possible design option among the future lepton collider projects. It consists of two normal-conducting linacs. Accelerating structures with a gradient of the order of 100 MV/m are necessary to reach the required high energies within a reasonable machine length. One of the strictest require- ments for such accelerating structures is a relatively low occurrence of vacuum arcs. CLIC prototype structures have been tested in the past, but only in absence of beam. In order to proof the feasibility of the high gradient technology for building a functional collider, it is necessary to understand the effect of the beam presence on the vacuum breakdowns. Tests of this type have never been performed previously. The main goal of this work is to provide a first measurement of t...

Progress in vacuum metal extraction, refining and consolidation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sundaram, C.V.; Mukherjee, T.K.; Sharma, B.P.

1973-01-01

The unique achievements in the process metallurgy of rare metals in the past quarter century should largely be attributed to advances in vacuum technology. New standards for high purity, increasing demand for pure metals and alloys for established applications, and steady improvement in sophistication and capacity of vacuum furnaces have provided the stimulus for developing and expanding vacuum metal extraction processes, and also exploring totally new processes. The paper discusses the thermochemistry of vacuum metallurgy, carbothermic and metallothermic reduction reactions, consolidation and refining by vacuum arc melting, electron beam melting and high temperature high vacuum sintering, and ultrapurification, with special reference to the reactive and refractory metals of Group IV to VI. (author)

The multilayered structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

KAUST Repository

Wang, Na

2013-08-01

The structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) deposition was investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Results of the plasmon excitation energy shift and through-thickness elemental concentration show a multilayered a-C film structure comprising an interface layer consisting of C, Si, and, possibly, SiC, a buffer layer with continuously increasing sp 3 fraction, a relatively thicker layer (bulk film) of constant sp 3 content, and an ultrathin surface layer rich in sp 2 hybridization. A detailed study of the C K-edge spectrum indicates that the buffer layer between the interface layer and the bulk film is due to the partial backscattering of C+ ions interacting with the heavy atoms of the silicon substrate. The results of this study provide insight into the minimum thickness of a-C films deposited by FCVA under optimum substrate bias conditions. Copyright © 2013 Materials Research Society.

Experimental laser fusion devices and related vacuum problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Neal, W.C.; Campbell, D.E.; Glaros, S.S.; Hurley, C.A.; Kobierecki, M.W.; McFann, C.B. Jr.; Monjes, J.A.; Patton, H.G.; Rienecker, F. Jr.

1977-01-01

Laser fusion experiments require hard vacuum in the laser-beam spatial filters, target chambers and for target diagnostics instruments. Laser focusing lenses and windows, and target alignment windows must hold vacuum without optical distortion, and must be protected from target debris. The vacuum must be sufficient to prevent residual gas breakdown in focused laser light, avoid arcing at high voltage terminals, minimize contamination and melting of cryogenic targets, and prevent adsorption of the target's microfusion radiation before it reaches the diagnostics instruments

High-vacuum plasma pump

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dorodnov, A.M.; Minajchev, V.E.; Miroshkin, S.I.

1980-01-01

The action of an electric-arc high-vacuum pump intended for evacuating the volumes in which the operation processes are followed by a high gas evolution is considered. The operation of the pump is based on the principle of controlling the getter feed according to the gas load and effect of plasma sorbtion pumping. The pump performances are given. The starting pressure is about 5 Pa, the limiting residual pressure is about 5x10 -6 Pa, the pumping out rate of nitrogen in the pressure range 5x10 -5 -5x10 -3 Pa accounts for about 4000 l/s, the power consumption comes to 6 kW. Analyzing the results of the test operation of the pump, it has been concluded that its principal advantages are the high starting pressure, controlled getter feed rate and possibility of pumping out the gases which are usually pumped out with difficulty. The operation reliability of the pump is defined mainly by reliable operation of the ignition system of the vacuum arc [ru

Research of influence of mobile cathodic stains of the vacuum arc for reception of the adjustable roughness of metal surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Anikeev, V. N.; Dokukin, M. Yu

2017-05-01

In the modern technics there is a requirement in micro- and macrorough surfaces of products for improvement of their operational characteristics (improvement of adhesive properties of various coverings, decrease in deterioration of rubbing details because of the best deduction of greasing, increase of the heat exchanging coefficient from a surface, stimulation of adhesive processes on sites of contact to a bone fabric of medical implants in stomatology and orthopedy etc.). In the given work the modes of reception regulated micro- and macrorough surfaces on samples from a titanic alloy and stainless steel by electrothermal influence of moving cathodic stains in the vacuum arc discharge are investigated. Chaotically moving stains, possessing high specific power allocation (∼ 107 W/cm2), “scan” the difficult design of a product, including “shadow” sites, doing rough its blanket. The sizes of roughnesses are regulated by a current and time of influence of the discharge, pressure in the vacuum chamber and a number of other parameters. The scheme of experimental device, photo and the characteristic of rough surfaces and technological modes of their reception are resulted.

The Formation of Composite Ti-Al-N Coatings Using Filtered Vacuum Arc Deposition with Separate Cathodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan A. Shulepov

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Ti-Al-N coatings were deposited on high-speed steel substrates by filtered vacuum arc deposition (FVAD during evaporation of aluminum and titanium cathodes. Distribution of elements, phase composition, and mechanical properties of Ti-Al-N coatings were investigated using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES, X-ray diffraction (XRD, transmission electron microscopy (TEM and nanoindentation, respectively. Additionally, tribological tests and scratch tests of the coatings were performed. The stoichiometry of the coating changes from Ti0.6Al0.4N to Ti0.48Al0.52N with increasing aluminum arc current from 70 A to 90 A, respectively. XRD and TEM showed only face-centered cubic Ti-Al-N phase with preferred orientation of the crystallites in (220 direction with respect to the sample normal and without precipitates of AlN or intermetallics inside the coatings. Incorporation of Al into the TiN lattice caused shifting of the (220 reflex to a higher 2θ angle with increasing Al content. Low content and size of microdroplets were obtained using coaxial plasma filters, which provides good mechanical and tribological properties of the coatings. The highest value of microhardness (36 GPa and the best wear-resistance were achieved for the coating with higher Al content, thus for Ti0.48Al0.52N. These coatings exhibit good adhesive properties up to 30 N load in the scratch tests.

Al-Co Alloys Prepared by Vacuum Arc Melting: Correlating Microstructure Evolution and Aqueous Corrosion Behavior with Co Content

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angeliki Lekatou

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Hypereutectic Al-Co alloys of various Co contents (7–20 weight % (wt.% Co were prepared by vacuum arc melting, aiming at investigating the influence of the cobalt content on the microstructure and corrosion behavior. Quite uniform and directional microstructures were attained. The obtained microstructures depended on the Co content, ranging from fully eutectic growth (7 wt.% and 10 wt.% Co to coarse primary Al9Co2 predominance (20 wt.% Co. Co dissolution in Al far exceeded the negligible equilibrium solubility of Co in Al; however, it was hardly uniform. By increasing the cobalt content, the fraction and coarseness of Al9Co2, the content of Co dissolved in the Al matrix, and the hardness and porosity of the alloy increased. All alloys exhibited similar corrosion behavior in 3.5 wt.% NaCl with high resistance to localized corrosion. Al-7 wt.% Co showed slightly superior corrosion resistance than the other compositions in terms of relatively low corrosion rate, relatively low passivation current density and scarcity of stress corrosion cracking indications. All Al-Co compositions demonstrated substantially higher resistance to localized corrosion than commercially pure Al produced by casting, cold rolling and arc melting. A corrosion mechanism was formulated. Surface films were identified.

Busbar arcs at large fusion magnets: Conductor to feeder tube arcing model experiments with the LONGARC device

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Klimenko, Dmitry, E-mail: dmitry.klimenko@kit.edu; Pasler, Volker

2014-10-15

Highlights: •The LONGARC device was successfully implemented for busbar to feeder tubes arcing model experiments. •Arcing at an ITER busbar inside its feeder tube was simulated in scaled model experiments. •The narrower half tubes imply a slight increase of the arc propagation speed in compare to full tube experiments. •All simulated half tubes experiments show severe damage indicating that the ITER inner feeder tube will not withstand a busbar arc. -- Abstract: Electric arcs moving along the power cables (the so-called busbars) of the toroidal field (TF) coils of ITER may reach and penetrate the cryostat wall. Model experiments with the new LONGARC device continue the VACARC (VACuum ARC) experiments that were initiated to investigate the propagation and destruction mechanisms of busbar arcs in small scale [1]. The experiments are intended to support the development and validation of a numerical model. LONGARC overcomes the space limitations inside VACARC and allows also for advanced 1:3 (vs. ITER full scale) model setups. The LONGARC device and first results are presented below.

Vacuum system design for the PEP-II B Factory High-Energy Ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, C.; Bostic, D.; Daly, E.

1994-06-01

The design of the vacuum system for the PEP-II B Factory High-Energy Ring is reviewed. The thermal design and vacuum requirements are particularly challenging in PEP-II due to high stored beam currents up to 3.0 amps in 1658 bunches. The vacuum chambers for the HER arcs are fabricated by electron beam welding extruded copper sections up to 6 m long. Design of these chambers and the vacuum PumPing configuration is described with results from vacuum and thermal analyses

Domino Platform: PVD Coaters for Arc Evaporation and High Current Pulsed Magnetron Sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vetter, J; Müller, J; Erkens, G

2012-01-01

AlTiN and CrN coatings were deposited in hybrid DOMINO platforms by magnetron sputtering (DC-MS, DC-MS+HCP-MS, HCP-MS) and vacuum arc evaporation. The ion cleaning was done by the AEGD process. The coating rates and the energy efficiency of both deposition processes were compared. The roughness effects of the different coating types were discussed. Preliminary results of the change of pulse characteristics during simultaneously running of HCP-MS plus vacuum arc evaporation are shown.

Characterisation of cathodic arc evaporated CrTiAlN coatings: Tribological response at room temperature and at 400 °C

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Georgiadis, Argyrios; Fuentes, Gonzalo G., E-mail: gfuentes@ain.es; Almandoz, Eluxka; Medrano, Angel; Palacio, José F.; Miguel, Adrián

2017-04-01

In this work, cathodic arc evaporation CrTiAlN coatings have been deposited on H13 hot work steel and the tribological behavior investigated at room temperature and at 400 °C. The microstructure, composition, roughness, indentation hardness and lattice parameter have been measured as a function of the deposition conditions, mainly given by the different Cr and TiAl vapour fluxes coming from the cathode arrangement in the vacuum reactor. The coating microstructures showed dense, compact columnar growth and a good film adhesion. The lattice parameter measured over the (002) diffraction peaks exhibited a quasi lineal correlation with the Ti/Cr+Al atomic ratio of the samples. In addition, the indentation hardness also increased as the lattice parameter increased. The coefficients of friction unveiled the different tribological behavior of the samples depending on the stoichiomentry and the temperature. At 400 °C, the coefficients of friction showed high dispersion, in contrast to the coherent evolution observed at room temperature. The wear damage at 400 °C was more intense than that observed at room temperature in agreement with the friction evolution observed. The coating with a stoichiometry of Cr{sub 0.23}Ti{sub 0.13}Al{sub 0.22}N{sub 0.42} showed a good wear performance at 400 °C. - Highlights: • CrTiAlN arc coatings deposited on hot work steel using different Cr and TiAl vapour fluxes. • Found correlation between Ti/Cr+Al atomic ratio, hardness and lattice parameters. • COF and wear show coherent evolution and low damage level at room temperature. • COF and wear at 400 °C exhibit higher level of damage than at room temperature. • Cr{sub 0.23}Ti{sub 0.13}Al{sub 0.22}N{sub 0.42} showed a good wear performance at 400 °C.

Vacuum-arc chromium coatings for Zr-1%Nb alloy protection against high-temperature oxidation in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuprin, A.S.; Belous, V.A.; Bryk, V.V.; Vasilenko, R.L.; Voevodin, V.N.; Ovcharenko, V.D.; Tolmacheva, G.N.; Kolodij, I.V.; Lunev, V.M.; Klimenko, I.O.

2015-01-01

The effect of vacuum-arc Cr coatings on the alloy E110 resistance to the oxidation in air at temperatures 1020 and 1100 deg C for 3600 s has been investigated. The methods of scanning electron microscope, X-ray analysis and nanoindentation were used to determine the thickness, phase, mechanical properties of coatings and oxide layers. The results show that the chromium coating can effectively protect fuel tubes against high-temperature oxidation in air for one hour. In the coating during oxidation at T = 1100 deg C a Cr 2 O 3 oxide layer of 5 μm thickness is formed preventing further oxygen penetration into the coating, and thus the tube shape is conserved. Under similar test conditions the oxidation of uncoated tubes with formation of a porous monocline oxide of ZrO 2 of a thickness more than ≥ 250 μm is observed, then the deformation and cracking of samples occur and the oxide layer breaks away

Nanodiamond embedded ta-C composite film by pulsed filtered vacuum arc deposition from a single target

Science.gov (United States)

Iyer, Ajai; Etula, Jarkko; Ge, Yanling; Liu, Xuwen; Koskinen, Jari

2016-11-01

Detonation Nanodiamonds (DNDs) are known to have sp3 core, sp2 shell, small size (few nm) and are gaining importance as multi-functional nanoparticles. Diverse methods have been used to form composites, containing detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) embedded in conductive and dielectric matrices for various applications. Here we show a method, wherein DND-ta-C composite film, consisting of DNDs embedded in ta-C matrix have been co-deposited from the same cathode by pulsed filtered cathodic vacuum arc method. Transmission Electron Microscope analysis of these films revel the presence of DNDs embedded in the matrix of amorphous carbon. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the presence of DNDs does not adversely affect the sp3 content of DND-ta-C composite film compared to ta-C film of same thickness. Nanoindentation and nanowear tests indicate that DND-ta-C composite films possess improved mechanical properties in comparison to ta-C films of similar thickness.

Superhard nanocomposite nc-TiC/a-C:H film fabricated by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yaohui; Zhang Xu; Wu Xianying; Zhang Huixing; Zhang Xiaoji

2008-01-01

Superhard nanocomposite nc-TiC/a-C:H films, with an excellent combination of high elastic recovery, low friction coefficient and good H/E ratio, were prepared by filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique using the C 2 H 2 gas as the precursor. The effect of C 2 H 2 flow rate on the microstructure, phase composition, mechanical and tribological properties of nanocomposite nc-TiC/a-C:H films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy disperse spectroscopy (EDS), microindentation and tribotester measurements. It was observed that the C 2 H 2 flow rate significantly affected the Ti content and hardness of films. Furthermore, by selecting the proper value for C 2 H 2 flow rate, 20 sccm, one can deposit the nanocomposite film nc-TiC/a-C:H with excellent properties such as superhardness (66.4 GPa), high elastic recovery (83.3%) and high H/E ratio (0.13)

Re-circulating linac vacuum system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, Russell P.; Corlett, John N.; Zholents, Alexander A.

2003-01-01

The vacuum system for a proposed 2.5 GeV, 10ΜA recirculating linac synchrotron light source [1] is readily achievable with conventional vacuum hardware and established fabrication processes. Some of the difficult technical challenges associated with synchrotron light source storage rings are sidestepped by the relatively low beam current and short beam lifetime requirements of a re-circulating linac. This minimal lifetime requirement leads directly to relatively high limits on the background gas pressure through much of the facility. The 10ΜA average beam current produces very little synchrotron radiation induced gas desorption and thus the need for an ante-chamber in the vacuum chamber is eliminated. In the arc bend magnets, and the insertion devices, the vacuum chamber dimensions can be selected to balance the coherent synchrotron radiation and resistive wall wakefield effects, while maintaining the modest limits on the gas pressure and minimal outgassing

Physical-mechanical properties of Ti-Al-N films, deposited from mixed two-component vacuum arc plasma stream

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aksenov, D.S.; Aksenov, I.I.; Luchaninov, A.A.; Reshetnyak, E.N.; Strel'nitskij, V.E.; Tolmacheva, G.N.; Yurkov, S.A.

2011-01-01

Ti-Al-N films were obtained by vacuum arc system equipped with two-channel T-shaped magnetic filter. The films were deposited by mixing of filtered plasma streams from two sources with cathodes made of aluminium and titanium in nitrogen environment. An influence of aluminium concentration and substrate bias on structure, hardness and elastic modulus of deposited films was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis and nanoindentation techniques. It was found that coatings with aluminium content in range from 13 to 47 at. % are characterized by cubic nitride based on TiN with NaCl structure. An increase of Al content to 71 at. % leads to the formation of hexagonal AlN-based nitride with wurtzite-like structure. Maximum hardness of 35 GPa is observed in films with 47 at. % aluminium concentration and -100 V substrate bias. Elastic modulus falls off along with increase of Al content and negative substrate bias.

Study of Arc-Related RF Faults in the CEBAF Cryomodules

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Douglas Curry; Ganapati Myneni; Ganapati Rao Myneni; John Musson; Thomas Powers; Timothy Whitlatch; Isidoro Campisi; Haipeng Wang

2004-07-01

A series of measurements has been conducted on two superconducting radio-frequency (RF) cavity pairs, installed in cryomodules and routinely operated in the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, in order to study the RF-vacuum interaction during an RF fault. These arc-related fault rates increase with increasing machine energy, contribute to system downtime, and directly affect the accelerator's availability. For this study, the fundamental power coupler waveguides have been instrumented with vacuum gauges, additional arc detectors, additional infrared sensors, and temperature sensors in order to measure the system response during both steady-state operations and RF fault conditions. Residual gas analyzers have been installed on the waveguide vacuum manifolds to monitor the gas species present during cooldown, RF processing, and operation. Measurements of the signals are presented, a comparison with analysis is shown and results are discussed. The goal of this study is to characterize the RF-vacuum interaction during normal operations. With a better understanding of the installed system response, methods for reducing the fault rate may be devised, ultimately leading to improvements in availability.

Multi-cathode metal vapor arc ion source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brown, I.G.; MacGill, R.A.

1988-01-01

This patent describes an apparatus for generating an ion beam. It comprises: a vacuum enclosure; a support member; cathodes; an anode; means for transporting; a source of electrical power; means for producing an electric arc; means for guiding; and means for extracting ions

Metal Droplet Formation in Gas Metal Arc Welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haidar, J.

2000-01-01

A two-dimensional dynamic treatment has been developed for description of arc and electrode properties in gas metal arc welding (GMAW). The theory is a unified treatment of the arc the welding wire anode and the cathode, and includes a detailed account of sheath effects near the anode. The wire anode is included as a dynamic entity and the volume of fluid method is used to handle the movement of the free surface of the molten metal at the tip of the wire, accounting for effects of surface tension, inertia, gravity, arc pressure, viscous drag force of the plasma, magnetic forces and Marangoni effect, and also for the effects of wire feed rate in GMAW. Results of calculations made for a mild steel wire of diameter 0.16 cm are in good agreement with experimental measurements of droplet diameter and droplet detachment frequency at currents between 150 and 330 A, which includes the transition between ''globular'' and ''spray'' transfer. Quantitative predictions are also made of the amount of metal vapour that is generated from the welding droplets at the tip of the welding wire. (author)

The vacuum system for technological unit development and design

Science.gov (United States)

Zhukeshov, A. M.; Gabdullina, A. T.; Amrenova, A. U.; Giniyatova, Sh G.; Kaibar, A.; Sundetov, A.; Fermakhan, K.

2015-11-01

The paper shows results of development of plasma technological unit on the basis of accelerator of vacuum arc and automated system. During the previous years, the authors investigated the operation of pulsed plasma accelerator and developed unique technologies for hardening of materials. Principles of plasma formation in pulsed plasma accelerator were put into basis of the developed unit. Operation of the pulsed arc accelerator was investigated at different parameters of the charge. The developed vacuum system is designed for production of hi-tech plasma units in high technologies in fields of nanomaterials, mechanical and power engineering and production with high added value. Unlike integrated solutions, the system is a module one to allow its low cost, high reliability and simple maintenance. The problems of use of robots are discussed to modernize the technological process.

The vacuum system for technological unit development and design

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhukeshov, A M; Gabdullina, A T; Amrenova, A U; Giniyatova, Sh G; Kaibar, A; Sundetov, A; Fermakhan, K

2015-01-01

The paper shows results of development of plasma technological unit on the basis of accelerator of vacuum arc and automated system. During the previous years, the authors investigated the operation of pulsed plasma accelerator and developed unique technologies for hardening of materials. Principles of plasma formation in pulsed plasma accelerator were put into basis of the developed unit. Operation of the pulsed arc accelerator was investigated at different parameters of the charge. The developed vacuum system is designed for production of hi-tech plasma units in high technologies in fields of nanomaterials, mechanical and power engineering and production with high added value. Unlike integrated solutions, the system is a module one to allow its low cost, high reliability and simple maintenance. The problems of use of robots are discussed to modernize the technological process. (paper)

Vacuum spark breakdown model based on exploding metal wire phenomena

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haaland, J.

1984-06-01

Spark source mass spectra (SSMS) indicates that ions are extracted from an expanding and decaying plasma. The intensity distribution shows no dependance on vaporization properties of individual elements which indicates explosive vapour formation. This seems further to be a requirement for bridging a vacuum gap. A model including plasma ejection from a superheated anode spot by a process similar to that of an exploding metal wire is proposed. The appearance of hot plasma points in low inductance vacuum sparks can then be explained as exploding micro particles ejected from a final central anode spot. The phenomenological model is compared with available experimental results from literature, but no extensive quantification is attempted

Bibliography and author index for electrical discharges in vacuum (1897-1978)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, H.C.

1980-01-01

This bibliography covers the field of electrical discharges in vacuum, comprising both electrical breakdown in vacuum and vacuum arcs. A breif review section lists some review papers which would be helpful to the novice in this field. The bulk of the paper consists of bibliographic listings, arranged by year of publication and within each year, alphabetically by first author. An author index refers one to all papers authored or coauthored by a particular person. There are 2032 papers listed through December 1978

Improving the conductance of ZnO thin film doping with Ti by using a cathodic vacuum arc deposition process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Chun-Sen; Lin, Bor-Tsuen; Jean, Ming-Der

2011-01-01

The Ti-doped ZnO films compared to un-doped ZnO films were deposited onto Corning XG glass substrates by using a cathodic vacuum arc deposition process in a mixture of oxygen and argon gases. The structural, electrical and optical properties of un-doped and Ti-doped ZnO films have been investigated. When the Ti target power is about 750 W, the incorporation of titanium atoms into zinc oxide films is obviously effective. Additionally, the resistivity of un-doped ZnO films is high and reduces to a value of 3.48 x 10 -3 Ω-cm when Ti is incorporated. The Ti doped in the ZnO films gave rise to the improvement of the conductivity of the films obviously. The Ti-doped ZnO films have > 85% transmittance in a range of 400-700 nm.

Non-platinum nanocatalyst on porous nitrogen-doped carbon fabricated by cathodic vacuum arc plasma technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sirirak, Reungruthai [Material Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry (PERCH-CIC), Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Sarakonsri, Thapanee, E-mail: tsarakonsri@gmail.com [Material Science Research Center, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Department of Chemistry and Center of Excellence for Innovation in Chemistry (PERCH-CIC), Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Medhesuwakul, Min [Plasma & Beam Physics Research Facility, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand)

2015-11-30

Highlights: • High surface area porous coral-like nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) and non-platinum nanocatalysts were fabricated on proton exchange membrane using the cathodic vacuum arc plasma (CVAP) technique. • It is a one-step catalysts preparation directly on nafion proton exchange membrane. This CVAP technique is the first new method that was applied in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) catalysts preparation. • Due to these excellent characteristics of nitrogen-doped carbon, it is expected to exhibit a good catalyst supporter for PEMFC. • In addition, the Fe–NC catalysts fabricated via this CVAP technique are sphere-like nanoparticle and well disperse on coral-like NC film, which particularity exhibits that these prepared catalysts ought to be a good oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst for PEMFC. • This approach can be extended to the synthesis of other non-platinum ORR catalyst for broad range applications in energy conversion. - Abstract: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy where catalysts composing of non-noble transition metals, nitrogen, and carbon compounds are the most promising materials to replace the expensive platinum catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this research, cathodic vacuum arc plasma (CVAP) technique was used to fabricate porous nitrogen doped carbon (NC) and non-platinum catalyst on porous NC (Fe–NC) directly on ion exchange membrane for being used as an ORR catalyst at the cathode. The porous NC layer was fabricated on silicon wafer at 0.05 mTorr, 0.1 mTorr, 0.5 mTorr, 1 mTorr, and 5 mTorr of nitrogen gas inlet. The AFM, and SEM images are observed to be regularly big with quite high hillocks and thin NC layers; these results indicate that the optimum process pressure of nitrogen gas inlet is 5 mTorr for porous NC fabrication. The SEM–EDS detects Fe, N, and C elements in the prepared catalysts, and the XRD pattern reviews

Non-platinum nanocatalyst on porous nitrogen-doped carbon fabricated by cathodic vacuum arc plasma technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sirirak, Reungruthai; Sarakonsri, Thapanee; Medhesuwakul, Min

2015-01-01

Highlights: • High surface area porous coral-like nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) and non-platinum nanocatalysts were fabricated on proton exchange membrane using the cathodic vacuum arc plasma (CVAP) technique. • It is a one-step catalysts preparation directly on nafion proton exchange membrane. This CVAP technique is the first new method that was applied in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) catalysts preparation. • Due to these excellent characteristics of nitrogen-doped carbon, it is expected to exhibit a good catalyst supporter for PEMFC. • In addition, the Fe–NC catalysts fabricated via this CVAP technique are sphere-like nanoparticle and well disperse on coral-like NC film, which particularity exhibits that these prepared catalysts ought to be a good oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) catalyst for PEMFC. • This approach can be extended to the synthesis of other non-platinum ORR catalyst for broad range applications in energy conversion. - Abstract: Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) convert chemical energy directly into electrical energy where catalysts composing of non-noble transition metals, nitrogen, and carbon compounds are the most promising materials to replace the expensive platinum catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this research, cathodic vacuum arc plasma (CVAP) technique was used to fabricate porous nitrogen doped carbon (NC) and non-platinum catalyst on porous NC (Fe–NC) directly on ion exchange membrane for being used as an ORR catalyst at the cathode. The porous NC layer was fabricated on silicon wafer at 0.05 mTorr, 0.1 mTorr, 0.5 mTorr, 1 mTorr, and 5 mTorr of nitrogen gas inlet. The AFM, and SEM images are observed to be regularly big with quite high hillocks and thin NC layers; these results indicate that the optimum process pressure of nitrogen gas inlet is 5 mTorr for porous NC fabrication. The SEM–EDS detects Fe, N, and C elements in the prepared catalysts, and the XRD pattern reviews

Bibliography and author index for electrical discharges in vacuum (1897--1976)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, H.C.

1978-01-01

This bibliography covers the field of electrical discharges in vacuum, comprising both electrical breakdown in vacuum and vacuum arcs. A brief review section lists some review papers that would be helpful to the novice in this field. The bulk of the report consists of bibliographic listings, arranged by year of publication, and within each year, alphabetically by first author. An author index refers one to all papers authored or coauthored by a particular person. A total of 1,813 papers from 1897 through December 1976 are listed

Industry-relevant magnetron sputtering and cathodic arc ultra-high vacuum deposition system for in situ x-ray diffraction studies of thin film growth using high energy synchrotron radiation

OpenAIRE

Schroeder, Jeremy; Thomson, W.; Howard, B.; Schell, N.; Näslund, Lars-Åke; Rogström, Lina; Johansson-Jöesaar, Mats P.; Ghafoor, Naureen; Odén, Magnus; Nothnagel, E.; Shepard, A.; Greer, J.; Birch, Jens

2015-01-01

We present an industry-relevant, large-scale, ultra-high vacuum (UHV) magnetron sputtering and cathodic arc deposition system purposefully designed for time-resolved in situ thin film deposition/annealing studies using high-energy (greater than50 keV), high photon flux (greater than10(12) ph/s) synchrotron radiation. The high photon flux, combined with a fast-acquisition-time (less than1 s) two-dimensional (2D) detector, permits time-resolved in situ structural analysis of thin film formation...

Vapour pressures and enthalpies of vapourization of a series of the linear aliphatic nitriles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emel'yanenko, Vladimir N.; Verevkin, Sergey P.; Koutek, Bohumir; Doubsky, Jan

2005-01-01

Vapour pressures and the molar enthalpies of vapourization ΔlgHm-bar of the linear aliphatic nitriles C 7 -C 17 have been determined by the transpiration method. Kovat's indices of these compounds were measured by capillary gas-chromatography. A linear correlation of enthalpies of vapourization ΔlgHm-bar at T=298.15 K of the nitriles studied with the Kovats indices has been found

Structure, phase composition and microhardness of vacuum-arc multilayered Ti/Al, Ti/Cu, Ti/Fe, Ti/Zr nano-structures with different periods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Demchishin, A.V., E-mail: ademch@meta.ua [Institute of Problems in Material Science, NASU, Kiev (Ukraine); Gnilitskyi, I., E-mail: iaroslav.gnilitskyi@unimore.it [DISMI – Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia (Italy); Orazi, L., E-mail: leonardo.orazi@unimore.it [DISMI – Department of Sciences and Methods for Engineering, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia (Italy); Ascari, A., E-mail: a.ascari@unibo.it [DIN – Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Bologna, Bologna (Italy)

2015-07-01

Highlights: • Multilayer coatings of Ti/Fe, Ti/Al, Ti/Cu and Ti/Zr are generated. • Microstructure and morphology of the different systems are investigated. • XR diffraction analysis was performed to investigate phases composition. • Effects of inter metallic phases on microhardess are investigated. • Correlations between parameters and layer thickness are outlined. - Abstract: The microstructure, phase composition and microhardness of multilayered Ti/Al, Ti/Cu, Ti/Fe and Ti/Zr condensates produced on stainless steel substrates via vacuum-arc evaporation of pure metals were studied. The sublayer periods (Λ) were regulated in the range 80–850 nm by varying the vacuum discharge current and the duration of the successive depositions of metallic plasma onto the substrates while maintaining the total deposition time constant. The regularity of the obtained nanostructures was investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy while phase compositions were identified with X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis in order to evidence the presence of interdiffusion and the amount of intermetallics. Condensates cross sections were mechanically characterized by means of microhardness tests. Measurements were correlated to the periods and to the presence of intermetallics.

Structure, phase composition and microhardness of vacuum-arc multilayered Ti/Al, Ti/Cu, Ti/Fe, Ti/Zr nano-structures with different periods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demchishin, A.V.; Gnilitskyi, I.; Orazi, L.; Ascari, A.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Multilayer coatings of Ti/Fe, Ti/Al, Ti/Cu and Ti/Zr are generated. • Microstructure and morphology of the different systems are investigated. • XR diffraction analysis was performed to investigate phases composition. • Effects of inter metallic phases on microhardess are investigated. • Correlations between parameters and layer thickness are outlined. - Abstract: The microstructure, phase composition and microhardness of multilayered Ti/Al, Ti/Cu, Ti/Fe and Ti/Zr condensates produced on stainless steel substrates via vacuum-arc evaporation of pure metals were studied. The sublayer periods (Λ) were regulated in the range 80–850 nm by varying the vacuum discharge current and the duration of the successive depositions of metallic plasma onto the substrates while maintaining the total deposition time constant. The regularity of the obtained nanostructures was investigated by scanning and transmission electron microscopy while phase compositions were identified with X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis in order to evidence the presence of interdiffusion and the amount of intermetallics. Condensates cross sections were mechanically characterized by means of microhardness tests. Measurements were correlated to the periods and to the presence of intermetallics

On generalization of electric field strength in longitudinally blown arcs

OpenAIRE

Yas'ko, O.I.; Esipchuk, A.M.; Qing, Z.; Schram, D.C.; Fauchais, P.

1997-01-01

Generalization of av. elec. field strength for different discharge conditions in longitudinally blown arcs is considered. Exptl. data for distinctive devices and different gases were used for phys. modeling. Anal. showed that heat transfer processes are responsible for I-E characteristic formation. Turbulent heat transfer is the most effective for atm. pressure discharges while convection plays the main role in vacuum arcs. A generalized I-E characteristic was obtained. [on SciFinder (R)

Bibliography and author index for electrical discharges in vacuum (1897 to 1980)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Miller, H.C.

1982-01-29

This bibliography covers the field of electrical discharges in vacuum, comprising both electrical breakdown in vacuum and vacuum arcs. A brief review section lists some review papers which would be helpful to the novice in this field. The bulk of the paper consists of bibliographic listings, arranged by year of publication and within each year, alphabetically by first author. An author index refers one to all papers authored or coauthored by a particular person. There are 2450 papers listed through December 1980.

Characterization of diamond-like carbon coatings prepared by pulsed bias cathodic vacuum arc deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Jinbao; Chang, J.-J.; Li, M.-Y.; Leu, M.-S.; Li, A.-K.

2007-01-01

Hydrogen free diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings have been deposited on Si(100) and stainless steel substrates by cathodic vacuum arc plasma deposition with pulse voltage. Adherent deposits on silicon can be obtained through applying gradient Ti/TiC/DLC layers. A pulse bias of - 100 V was applied to the substrate in order to obtain a denser structure of DLC coating approximately 1 μm thick. The microstructure and hardness value of DLC films were analyzed by using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nano-indenter. The experimental results show that the duty cycle strongly influenced the hardness and sp 3 content of the DLC coatings. We observed that when the duty cycle was raised from 2.5% to 12.5%, the hardness increased from 26 GPa to 49 GPa, and the sp 3 fraction of the DLC films measured by XPS increased from 39% to 50.8 % as well. But at constant duty cycle, say 12.5%, the hardness is dropped from 49 to 14 GPa in proportion to the increase of residual gas pressure from 3 x 10 -3 Pa to 1 Pa. As the residual gas pressure increased, collisional phenomenon will decrease the energy of the ions. Ions with low energy make more graphitic carbon links and result in a low hardness value

Fabrication of the vacuum vessel for JT-60 machine upgrade

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchikawa, T.; Takanabe, K.; Tsujimura, S.; Ue, K.; Oka, K.; Kuri, S.; Ioki, K.; Namiki, K.; Suzuki, Y.; Horliike, H.; Ninomiya, H.; Yamamoto, M.; Neyatani, Y.; Ando, T.; Matsukawa, M.

1992-01-01

The JT-60 tokamak was upgraded to double the plasma current to 6 MA. In the JT-60 machine upgrade (JT-60U), the vacuum vessel and poloidal field (PF) coils were renewed. The new vacuum vessel features a three-dimensionally curved, thin double-skin torus with multi-arc D-shaped cross section. The double-skin structure is strengthened with square pipes placed in between the outer and inner skins. Fabrication and site installation of the vessel was smoothly completed in February, 1991. This paper describes an overview of the JT-60U vacuum vessel construction

Technique eliminates high voltage arcing at electrode-insulator contact area

Science.gov (United States)

Mealy, G.

1967-01-01

Coating the electrode-insulator contact area with silver epoxy conductive paint and forcing the electrode and insulator tightly together into a permanent connection, eliminates electrical arcing in high-voltage electrodes supplying electrical power to vacuum facilities.

Simulation of cathode spot crater formation and development on CuCr alloy in vacuum arc

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Lijun; Zhang, Xiao; Wang, Yuan; Yang, Ze; Jia, Shenli

2018-04-01

The two-dimensional (2D) rotary axisymmetric model is used to describe the formation and development of a cathode spot on a copper-chromium alloy (CuCr) in a vacuum arc. The model includes hydrodynamic equations and the heat transfer equation. Parameters used in this model come from experiments and other researchers' work. The influence of parameters is analyzed, and the simulation results are compared with pure metal simulation results. In simulation, the depth of the cathode crater is from 0.5 μm to 1.1 μm, the radius of the cathode crater is from 1.6 μm to 2.6 μm, the maximum velocity of the droplet is from 200 m/s to 600 m/s, and the maximum temperature is from 3500 K to 5000 K which is located in the area with a radius of 0.5-1.5 μm. The simulation results show that a smooth cathode surface is advantageous for reducing ablation, the ablation on the CuCr alloy is smaller than that on the pure metal cathode electrode, and the cathode spot appears on the chromium grain only on CuCr. The simulation results are in good agreement with the experiment.

Laser-assisted vacuum arc extreme ultraviolet source: a comparison of picosecond and nanosecond laser triggering

Science.gov (United States)

Beyene, Girum A.; Tobin, Isaac; Juschkin, Larissa; Hayden, Patrick; O'Sullivan, Gerry; Sokell, Emma; Zakharov, Vassily S.; Zakharov, Sergey V.; O'Reilly, Fergal

2016-06-01

Extreme ultraviolet (EUV) light generation by hybrid laser-assisted vacuum arc discharge plasmas, utilizing Sn-coated rotating-disc-electrodes, was investigated. The discharge was initiated by localized ablation of the liquid tin coating of the cathode disc by a laser pulse. The laser pulse, at 1064 nm, was generated by Nd:YAG lasers with variable energy from 1 to 100 mJ per pulse. The impact of shortening the laser pulse from 7 ns to 170 ps on the EUV generation has been investigated in detail. The use of ps pulses resulted in an increase in emission of EUV radiation. With a fixed discharge energy of ~4 J, the EUV conversion efficiency tends to plateau at ~2.4  ±  0.25% for the ps laser pulses, while for the ns pulses, it saturates at ~1.7  ±  0.3%. Under similar discharge and laser energy conditions, operating the EUV source with the ps-triggering resulted also in narrower spectral profiles of the emission in comparison to ns-triggering. The results indicate an advantage in using ps-triggering in laser-assisted discharges to produce brighter plasmas required for applications such as metrology.

Installation of beam screens in LHC arc cryomagnets

CERN Document Server

Cruikshank, P; Schneider, G; Veness, R J M

1999-01-01

Beam screens will be installed in the cold bores of the LHC arc cryodipoles and Short Straight Sections (SSS). This note describes the constraints on the beam screen installation imposed by the beam vacuum interconnects and Beam Position Monitors (BPM), and explains the installation scenario which has been adopted.

Baking of tandem accelerator tube by low voltage arc discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Yutaka

1982-01-01

In designing the accelerating tube for a static tandem accelerator in Kyushu University, the basic policy was as described below: individual unit composing the accelerating tube should fully withstand the electric field of 2 MV/m, and electric discharge must not be propagated from one unit to the adjacent unit when these are assembled to the accelerating tube. The accelerating tube units are each 25 cm in length, and both high and low energy sides are composed of 20 units, respectively. Although about 10 -9 Torr vacuum was obtained at the both ends of the accelerating tube by baking the tube at 300 to 350 deg C with electric heaters wound outside the tube in the conventional method, vast outgas was generated, which decreased vacuum by two or three figures if breakdown occurred through the intermediary of outgas. As a method of positively outgassing and cleaning the electrodes inside the accelerating tube, it was attempted to directly bake all the electrodes in the accelerating tube by causing strong arc discharge flowing H 2 gas in the tube. As a result of considering the conditions for this method, the low voltage arc discharge was employed using oxide cathodes. Thus, after implementing 10A arc discharge for several hours, the voltage was able to be raised to 10 MV almost immediately after the vacuum recovery, and further, after another conditioning for several hours, it was successful to raise voltage up to 11 MV. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

Vacuum pyrolysis of swine manure : biochar production and characteristics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Verma, M. [Inst. de recherche et de developpement en agroenvironnement Inc., Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Centre de recherche industrielle du Quebec, Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Godbout, S.; Larouche, J.P.; Lemay, S.P.; Pelletier, F. [Inst. de recherche et de developpement en agroenvironnement Inc., Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Solomatnikova, O. [Centre de recherche industrielle du Quebec, Quebec City, PQ (Canada); Brar, S.K. [Inst. national de la recherche scientifique, eau, terre et environnement, Quebec City, PQ (Canada)

2010-07-01

Quebec accounts for nearly 25 per cent of swine production in Canada. The issue of swine manure is addressed through land spreading and conversion into fertilizer. However, current regulations restrict the use of swine manure as fertilizer on most farmlands due to the problem of surplus phosphorus and nitrogen. Although many technologies exist to separate phosphorus and nitrogen from the organic-rich dry matter in swine manure, about 40 per cent of the treated waste matter must still be disposed in an environmentally sound manner. This study investigated the technical feasibility of pretreating the swine manure solids into biofuels on a farm-scale basis using vacuum pyrolysis process. A custom built stainless steel pressure vessel was used to carry out pyrolysis reaction of swine manure biomass at a temperature range between 200 to 600 degrees C under vacuum. The pyrolytic vapour was condensed in 2 glass condensers in series. The biochar was collected directly from the pyrolysis vessel following completion of the pyrolysis batch. The non condensable vapour and gases were considered as losses. Biochar, bio-oil, an aqueous phase and a gas mixture were the 4 products of the pyrolysis process. A thermogravimetric analysis of the swine manure samples was conducted before the pyrolysis tests. The study showed that 238 degrees C is the optimal pyrolysis temperature for biochar production.

Analysis of an innovative solar water desalination system using gravity induced vacuum

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ayhan, T.; Al-Madani, H.

2007-01-01

This study presents the theoretical analysis, design and appropriate models of a new desalination system using gravity induced vacuum. The system utilizes natural means (gravity and atmospheric pressure) to create a vacuum under which water can be rapidly evaporated at much lower temperatures with less energy than conventional techniques. This technique is developed to overcome water storage, in the areas where good solar radiation (or waste heat sources) and sea water (or waste water sources). The developed system consists of an evaporator connected to condenser by means of a vacuum tank. The vapour produced in the evaporator is driven to condenser through the vacuum tank, where it condenses and collected as a product. Vacuum equivalent to 7 kPa (abs) or less can be created depending on ambient temperature of Bahrain climatic conditions. The effect of various operating conditions, namely water levels in condensation and evaporating columns on the system performance were studied. The theoretical analysis and preliminary experimental results show that the performance of this system depends on the condensation temperature

Synthesis of aluminium nanoparticles by arc evaporation of an ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

Abstract. Aluminium nanoparticles (Al Nps) are synthesized using arc discharge method by applying direct current between aluminium electrodes in liquid environment without any use of vacuum equipment, heat exchangers, high temperatures furnaces and inert gases. After synthesis of Al Nps, in situ coating process on.

Wills Plasma Physics Department annual progress report 1986

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

The experimental research program continues to have two major themes - the study of hydromagnetic waves and RF heating using the TORTUS tokamak and the development of diagnostic techniques. Gas discharge studies now include work on the characteristics of metal vapour vacuum arcs. Other areas include a study of the characteristics of the magnetron sputtering discharge used in the production of selective surfaces for solar collectors

The Liquid Vapour Interface

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Als-Nielsen, Jens Aage

1985-01-01

In this short review we are concerned with the density variation across the liquid-vapour interface, i.e. from the bulk density of the liquid to the essentially zero density of the vapour phase. This density variation can in principle be determined from the deviation of the reflectivity from...

Erosion properties of unipolar arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chekalin, Eh.K.

1982-01-01

Processes modelling the formation of unipolar arcs on the elements of the first wall in limiters of the vacuum chamber and on active elements of tokamak divertor, are experimentally investigated. Erosion, processes that take place at two types of non-stationary cathode spots are considered. Experimental data prove the possibility of reducing erosion intensity by coating the surface of electrodes by oxide films, reduction of the temperature of electrode and discharge current

Industry-relevant magnetron sputtering and cathodic arc ultra-high vacuum deposition system for in situ x-ray diffraction studies of thin film growth using high energy synchrotron radiation.

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, J L; Thomson, W; Howard, B; Schell, N; Näslund, L-Å; Rogström, L; Johansson-Jõesaar, M P; Ghafoor, N; Odén, M; Nothnagel, E; Shepard, A; Greer, J; Birch, J

2015-09-01

We present an industry-relevant, large-scale, ultra-high vacuum (UHV) magnetron sputtering and cathodic arc deposition system purposefully designed for time-resolved in situ thin film deposition/annealing studies using high-energy (>50 keV), high photon flux (>10(12) ph/s) synchrotron radiation. The high photon flux, combined with a fast-acquisition-time (film formation processes. The high-energy synchrotron-radiation based x-rays result in small scattering angles (industry-relevant processes. We openly encourage the materials research community to contact us for collaborative opportunities using this unique and versatile scientific instrument.

Arcing at B4C-covered limiters exposed to a SOL-plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laux, M.; Schneider, W.; Wienhold, P.; Juettner, B.; Huber, A.; Balden, M.; Linke, J.; Kostial, H.; Mayer, M.; Rubel, M.; Herrmann, A.; Pospieszczyk, A.; Jachmich, S.; Schweer, B.; Hildebrandt, D.; Bolt, H.

2003-01-01

Plasma sprayed B 4 C-layers considered as wall coatings for the W7X stellarator have been studied during and after exposure to TEXTOR and after arcing experiments in vacuum. Arcing through the B 4 C layer occurred favoured by high power fluxes and not restricted to less stable phases. But this arcing implies an especially noisy scrape-off layer (SOL). Instead of moving retrograde in the external magnetic field, the arc spot on the B 4 C-layer sticks to the same location for its whole lifetime. Consequently, the arc erodes the entire B 4 C layer, finally burning down to the Cu substrate. In the neighbourhood of craters the surface contains Cu originating from those craters. This material, hauled to the surface by the arc, is subject to subsequent erosion, transport, and redeposition by the SOL-plasma. The behaviour of arcs on B 4 C is most probably caused by the peculiar temperature dependences of the electrical and heat conductivity of B 4 C

Highly stable carbon nanotube field emitters on small metal tips against electrical arcing for miniature X-ray tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ha, Jun Mok; Kim, Hyun Jin; Kim, Hyun Nam; Raza, Hamid Saeed; Cho, Sung Oh

2015-01-01

If CNT emitters are operated at a high voltage or at a high electric field, electrical arcing (or vacuum breakdown) can occur. Arcing can be initiated by the removed CNTs, impurities on the CNTs or substrates, protrusion of CNTs, low operating vacuum, and a very high electric field. Since arcing is accompanied with a very high current flow and it can produce plasma channel near the emitter, CNTs are seriously damaged or sometimes CNTs are almost completely removed from the substrate by the arcing events. Detachment of CNTs from a substrate is an irreversible catastrophic phenomenon for a device operation. In addition to the detachment of CNTs, arcing induces a sudden voltage drop and thus device operation is stopped. The metal mixture strongly attached CNTs to the tip substrate. Due to the strong adhesion, CNT emitters could be pre-treated with electrical conditioning process without seriously damaging the CNTs even though many intense arcing events were induced at the small and sharp geometry of the tip substrate. Impurities that were loosely bound to the substrates were almost removed and CNTs heights became uniform after the electrical conditioning process

Overall behaviour of PFC integrated SST-1 vacuum system

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Ziauddin; Raval, Dilip C.; Paravasu, Yuvakiran; Semwal, Pratibha; Dhanani, Kalpeshkumar R.; George, Siju; Shoaib, Mohammad; Prakash, Arun; Babu, Gattu R.; Thankey, Prashant; Pathan, Firozkhan S.; Pradhan, Subrata

2017-04-01

As a part of phase-I up-gradation of Steady-state Superconducting Tokamak (SST-1), Graphite Plasma Facing Components (PFCs) have been integrated inside SST-1 vacuum vessel as a first wall (FW) during Nov 14 and May 2015. The SST-1 FW has a total surface area of the installed PFCs exposed to plasma is ∼ 40 m2 which is nearly 50% of the total surface area of stainless steel vacuum chamber (∼75 m2). The volume of the vessel within the PFCs is ∼ 16 m3. After the integration of PFCs, the entire vessel as well as the PFC cooling/baking circuits has been qualified with an integrated helium leak tightness of baked at 250 °C for nearly 20 hours employing hot nitrogen gas to remove the absorbed water vapours. Thereafter, Helium glow discharges cleaning were carried out towards the removal of surface impurities. The pump down characteristics of SST-1 vacuum chamber and the changes in the residual gaseous impurities after the installation of the PFCs will be discussed in this paper.

The ARCS radial collimator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stone, M.B.; Abernathy, D.L.; Niedziela, J.L.; Overbay, M.A.

2015-01-01

We have designed, installed, and commissioned a scattered beam radial collimator for use at the ARCS Wide Angular Range Chopper Spectrometer at the Spallation Neutron Source. The collimator has been designed to work effectively for thermal and epithermal neutrons and with a range of sample environments. Other design considerations include the accommodation of working within a high vacuum environment and having the ability to quickly install and remove the collimator from the scattered beam. The collimator is composed of collimating blades (or septa). The septa are 12 micron thick Kapton foils coated on each side with 39 microns of enriched boron carbide ( 10 B 4 C with 10 B > 96%) in an ultra-high vacuum compatible binder. The collimator blades represent an additional 22 m 2 of surface area. In the article we present collimator's design and performance and methodologies for its effective use

The vacuum system for the PEP II high energy ring straight sections

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wienands, U.; Daly, E.; Heifets, S.A.; Kulikov, A.; Kurita, N.; Nordby, M.; Perkins, C.; Reuter, E.; Seeman, J.T.; Belser, F.C.; Berg, J.; Holdener, F.R.; Kerns, J.A.; McDaniel, M.R.; Stoeffl, W.

1995-01-01

The six straight sections of the PEP II High Energy Ring (HER) serve various functions: lattice tuning, beam injection and abort, providing space for rf cavities, longitudinal and transverse feedback, beam diagnostics and the interaction point. A stainless steel vacuum system has been designed; prototypes are currently being built. Cooling is required due to radiation coming from the last arc dipole and resistive losses in the vacuum chamber. Although the nominal beam current of the HER is 1 A the vacuum system is designed for 3 A to provide margin and an upgrade path. 5 refs., 7 figs

Refusion of zircaloy scraps by VAR (vacuum arc remelting): preliminary results; Fusao de cavacos de zircaloy por VAR: resultados preliminares

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pereira, L.A.T.; Mucsi, C.S.; Sato, I.M.; Rossi, J.L.; Martinez, L.G., E-mail: lgallego@ipen.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Correa, H.P.S. [Universidade Federal do Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), Campo Grande, MS (Brazil); Orlando, M.T.D. [Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo (UFES), Vitoria, ES (Brazil)

2010-07-01

Fuel elements and structural components of the core of PWR nuclear reactors are made in zirconium alloys known as Zircaloy. Machining chips and shavings resulting from the manufacturing of these components can not be discarded as scrap, once these alloys are strategic materials for the nuclear area, have high costs and are not produced in Brazil on an industrial bases and, consequently, are imported for the manufacture of nuclear fuel. The reuse of Zircaloy chips has economic, strategic and environmental aspects. In this work is proposed a process for recycling Zircaloy scraps using a VAR (vacuum arc remelting) furnace in order to obtain ingots suitable for the manufacture of components of the reactors. The ingots obtained are being studied in order to verify the influence of processing on composition and microstructure of the remelted material. In this work are presented preliminary results of the composition of obtained ingots compared to start material and the resulting microstructure. (author)

Current-zero measurements of vacuum circuit breakers interrupting short-line faults

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smeets, R.P.P.; Linden, van der W.A.

2003-01-01

Current zero measurements are performed during short-line fault interruption tests of vacuum circuit breakers. This switching cycle is characterized by a very steep transient recovery voltage. High-resolution measurements of near current-zero arc current and voltage were carried out. Various

Radiation Dose for Equipment in the LHC Arcs

CERN Document Server

Wittenburg, K; Spickermann, T

1998-01-01

Collisions of protons with residual gas molecules or the beam screen installed in the vacuum chamber are the main sources for the radiation dose in the LHC arcs. The dose due to proton-gas collisions depends on gas pressure, energy and intensity of the circulating beam. The dose is about equally distributed along the arc and has been calculated in previous papers. Collisions of particles with the beam screen will take place where the beam size is largest - close to focusing quadrupole magnets. For this paper the radiation doses due to particles hitting the beam screen in a quadrupole were calculated with the shower codes GEANT3.21 and FLUKA96.

Modernization of serial facility 'BULAT-6' for synthesis of vacuum-arc coatings by the method of plasma-based ion implantation and deposition as well as ion hydrogen-free nitriding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shulaev, V.M.; Andreev, A.A.; Rudenko, V.P.

2008-01-01

The model of laboratory vacuum-arc facility for realization of the method of plasma-based ion implantation and deposition is worked out by means modernization of serial industrial facility 'BULAT-6'. The facility is suitable for surface modification of instrumental steel items, including the low-alloyed steels with low temperatures of tempering. The low-temperature deposition of coatings on the preliminary nitrided surface of instrument permits obtaining dense coating with minimum maintenance of macroparticles, as well as with coatings superhigh adhesion to the substrate and with superhardness. The coatings possess high property stableness in time.

Development of a camera casing suited for cryogenic and vacuum applications

Science.gov (United States)

Delaquis, S. C.; Gornea, R.; Janos, S.; Lüthi, M.; von Rohr, Ch Rudolf; Schenk, M.; Vuilleumier, J.-L.

2013-12-01

We report on the design, construction, and operation of a PID temperature controlled and vacuum tight camera casing. The camera casing contains a commercial digital camera and a lighting system. The design of the camera casing and its components are discussed in detail. Pictures taken by this cryo-camera while immersed in argon vapour and liquid nitrogen are presented. The cryo-camera can provide a live view inside cryogenic set-ups and allows to record video.

High thrust-to-power ratio micro-cathode arc thruster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joseph Lukas

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster (μCAT is an electric propulsion device that ablates solid cathode material, through an electrical vacuum arc discharge, to create plasma and ultimately produce thrust in the μN to mN range. About 90% of the arc discharge current is conducted by electrons, which go toward heating the anode and contribute very little to thrust, with only the remaining 10% going toward thrust in the form of ion current. A preliminary set of experiments were conducted to show that, at the same power level, thrust may increase by utilizing an ablative anode. It was shown that ablative anode particles were found on a collection plate, compared to no particles from a non-ablative anode, while another experiment showed an increase in ion-to-arc current by approximately 40% at low frequencies compared to the non-ablative anode. Utilizing anode ablation leads to an increase in thrust-to-power ratio in the case of the μCAT.

Vapour trap development and operational experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansing, W.; Kirchner, G.; Menck, J.

1977-01-01

Sodium aerosols have the unpleasant characteristic that they deposit at places with low temperature level. This effect can be utilized when sodium aerosols are to be trapped at places which are determined beforehand. Thus vapour traps were developed which can filter sodium vapour from the cover gas. By this means the necessity was eliminated to heat all gas lines and gas systems with trace heaters just as all sodium lines are heated. It was of special interest for the INTERATOM to develop vapour traps which must not be changed or cleaned after a certain limited operating period. The vapour traps were supposed to enable maintenance free operation, i.e. they were to operate 'self cleaning'

Ultrathin diamond-like carbon films deposited by filtered carbon vacuum arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, Andre; Fong, Walton; Kulkarni, Ashok; Ryan, Francis W.; Bhatia, C. Singh

2001-01-01

Ultrathin ( and lt; 5 nm) hard carbon films are of great interest to the magnetic storage industry as the areal density approaches 100 Gbit/in(sup 2). These films are used as overcoats to protect the magnetic layers on disk media and the active elements of the read-write slider. Tetrahedral amorphous carbon films can be produced by filtered cathodic arc deposition, but the films will only be accepted by the storage industry only if the ''macroparticle'' issue has been solved. Better plasma filters have been developed over recent years. Emphasis is put on the promising twist filter system - a compact, open structure that operates with pulsed arcs and high magnetic field. Based on corrosion tests it is shown that the macroparticle reduction by the twist filter is satisfactory for this demanding application, while plasma throughput is very high. Ultrathin hard carbon films have been synthesized using S-filter and twist filter systems. Film properties such as hardness, elastic modulus, wear, and corrosion resistance have been tested

The electrocatalytic oxidation of carbohydrates at a nickel/carbon paper electrode fabricated by the filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fu, Yingyi; Wang, Tong; Su, Wen; Yu, Yanan; Hu, Jingbo

2015-01-01

The direct electrochemical behaviour of carbohydrates at a nickel/carbon paper electrode with a novel fabrication method is investigated. The investigation is used for verification the feasibility of using monosaccharides and disaccharides in the application of fuel cell. The selected monosaccharides are glucose, fructose and galactose; the disaccharides are sucrose, maltose and lactose. The modified nickel/carbon paper electrode was prepared using a filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique. The morphology image of the nickel thin film on the carbon paper surface was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The existence of nickel was verified by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The contact angle measurement was also used to characterize the modified electrode. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was employed to evaluate the electrochemical behaviour of monosaccharides and disaccharides in an alkaline aqueous solution. The modified electrode exhibits good electrocatalytic activities towards carbohydrates. In addition, the stability of the nickel/carbon paper electrode with six sugars was also investigated. The good catalytic effects of the nickel/carbon paper electrode allow for the use of carbohydrates as fuels in fuel cell applications

Application of high speed photography for high current vacuum arcs

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Damstra, G.C.; Merck, W.F.H.; Vossen, J.W.G.L.; Janssen, M.F.P.; Bouwmeester, C.E.

1998-01-01

A high speed image detection system for 106 frames per second or 107 streaks per second has been developed for the testing of vacuum circuit breakers, using 10×16 optical fibres for light transfer to 160 fast photo diodes. The output of these diodes is multiplexed, AD converted in a 4 bit

2D arc-PIC code description: methods and documentation

CERN Document Server

Timko, Helga

2011-01-01

Vacuum discharges are one of the main limiting factors for future linear collider designs such as that of the Compact LInear Collider. To optimize machine efficiency, maintaining the highest feasible accelerating gradient below a certain breakdown rate is desirable; understanding breakdowns can therefore help us to achieve this goal. As a part of ongoing theoretical research on vacuum discharges at the Helsinki Institute of Physics, the build-up of plasma can be investigated through the particle-in-cell method. For this purpose, we have developed the 2D Arc-PIC code introduced here. We present an exhaustive description of the 2D Arc-PIC code in two parts. In the first part, we introduce the particle-in-cell method in general and detail the techniques used in the code. In the second part, we provide a documentation and derivation of the key equations occurring in the code. The code is original work of the author, written in 2010, and is therefore under the copyright of the author. The development of the code h...

Single layer and multilayer vacuum-arc coatings based on the nitride TiAlSiYN: composition, structure, properties

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beresnev, V.M.; Litovchenko, S.V.; Nemchenko, U.S.; Srebnyuk, P.A.; Mazilin, B.A.; Sobol, O.V.; Mejlekhov, A.A.; Barmin, A.E.; Serenko, TA.; Pogrebnyak, A.D.; Ivanov, O.N.; Kritsyna, E.V.; Stolbovoj, V.A.; Novikov, V.Yu.; Malikov, L.V.

2017-01-01

Using high-technological vacuum-arc evaporation in the atmosphere of nitrogen with ion bombardment, single- and multilayer coatings based on TiAlSiYN with high mechanical characteristics were obtained: hardness of the coatings reached 49.5 GPa, resistance to wear, with the value of the critical point L_C_5 reaching 184.92 N. The peculiarities of radiation-induced effect at applying bias potential U_b were found: formation of nitride coatings based on fcc metallic lattice with the preferred orientation of crystallites with the texture axis [111], as well as simultaneous growth of hardness. Hardness of both single- and multilayer coatings increases by 40...50% at the increase of U_b from 50 to 200 V. Formation of silicon-containing layers of TiAlSiYN during the deposition contributes to reaching increased hardness, which, in the case of single-layer coating obtained at U_b = -200 V is 49.5 GPa, which corresponds to superhard state. The mechanisms of structure formation, defining the resulting mechanical characteristics of single- and multi-layer coatings based on TiAlSiYN nitride have been discussed.

Structural and Mechanical Properties of Nanostructured C-Ag Thin Films Synthesized by Thermionic Vacuum Arc Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodica Vladoiu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Nanostructured C-Ag thin films of 200 nm thickness were successfully synthesized by the Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA method. The influence of different substrates (glass, silicon wafers, and stainless steel on the microstructure, morphology, and mechanical properties of nanostructured C-Ag thin films was characterized by High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HRTEM, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM, and TI 950 (Hysitron nanoindenter equipped with Berkovich indenter, respectively. The film’s hardness deposited on glass (HC-Ag/Gl = 1.8 GPa was slightly lower than in the case of the C-Ag film deposited on a silicon substrate (HC-Ag/Si = 2.2 GPa. Also the apparent elastic modulus Eeff was lower for C-Ag/Gl sample (Eeff = 100 GPa than for C-Ag/Si (Eeff = 170 GPa, while the values for average roughness are Ra=2.9 nm (C-Ag/Si and Ra=10.6 (C-Ag/Gl. Using the modulus mapping mode, spontaneous and indentation-induced aggregation of the silver nanoparticles was observed for both C-Ag/Gl and C-Ag/Si samples. The nanocomposite C-Ag film exhibited not only higher hardness and effective elastic modulus, but also a higher fracture resistance toughness to the silicon substrate compared to the glass substrate.

High-vacuum pumping out of hydrogen isotopes by compressed and electrophysical pumps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bychkova, A.D.; Ershova, Z.V.; Saksaganskij, G.L.; Serebrennikov, D.V.

1982-01-01

To explain the selection of parameters of vacuum systems of projected thermonuclear devices, experiments are performed on the pumping-out of deuterium and tritium by high-vacuum pumps of different types. The values of the fast response of turbomolecular, diffusion vapour-mercury, magneto-discharge and titanium getter pumps in the operation pressure range are determined. The rate of sorption of hydrogen isotopes by non-spraying gas absorber of cial alloy depending on the amount of the gas absorbed and temperature, is measured. Gas current is determined by the pressure drop on the diagram of the known conductivity. Individual calibration of manometric converters for different gases using a mercury burette is performed preliminarily. The means of high-vacuum pumping-out that have been studied have the following values of fast response for tritium (relatively to protium): turbomolecular pump-0.95; evaporation getter pump-0.25; magneto-discharge pumps-0.65-0.9; cial alloy-0.1...0.5

Synthesis method for ultrananocrystalline diamond in powder employing a coaxial arc plasma gun

Science.gov (United States)

Naragino, Hiroshi; Tominaga, Aki; Hanada, Kenji; Yoshitake, Tsuyoshi

2015-07-01

A new method that enables us to synthesize ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) in powder is proposed. Highly energetic carbon species ejected from a graphite cathode of a coaxial arc plasma gun were provided on a quartz plate at a high density by repeated arc discharge in a compact vacuum chamber, and resultant films automatically peeled from the plate were aggregated and powdered. The grain size was easily controlled from 2.4 to 15.0 nm by changing the arc discharge energy. It was experimentally demonstrated that the proposed method is a new and promising method that enables us to synthesize UNCD in powder easily and controllably.

Synthesis method for ultrananocrystalline diamond in powder employing a coaxial arc plasma gun

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naragino, Hiroshi; Tominaga, Aki; Yoshitake, Tsuyoshi; Hanada, Kenji

2015-01-01

A new method that enables us to synthesize ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) in powder is proposed. Highly energetic carbon species ejected from a graphite cathode of a coaxial arc plasma gun were provided on a quartz plate at a high density by repeated arc discharge in a compact vacuum chamber, and resultant films automatically peeled from the plate were aggregated and powdered. The grain size was easily controlled from 2.4 to 15.0 nm by changing the arc discharge energy. It was experimentally demonstrated that the proposed method is a new and promising method that enables us to synthesize UNCD in powder easily and controllably. (author)

Effect of high substrate bias and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporation on filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposited tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Panwar, O.S.; Khan, Mohd. Alim; Kumar, Mahesh; Shivaprasad, S.M.; Satyanarayana, B.S.; Dixit, P.N.; Bhattacharyya, R.; Khan, M.Y.

2008-01-01

The application of a sufficiently high negative substrate bias, during the growth of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), is usually associated with low sp 3 bonding configuration and stressed films. However, in an effort to understand and utilize the higher pseudo thermo dynamical conditions during the film growth, at high negative substrate bias (- 300 V), reported here is a study on ta-C films grown under different hydrogen and nitrogen concentration. As grown ta-C films were studied under different negative substrate bias conditions. The variation of the sp 3 content and sp 3 /sp 2 ratio in the ta-C films exhibits a trend similar to those reported in literature, with a subtle variation in this report being the substrate bias voltage, which was observed to be around - 200 V, for obtaining the highest sp 3 (80%) bonding and sp 3 /sp 2 (3.95) ratio. The hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films studied, at a bias of - 300 V, show an increase in sp 3 (87-91%) bonding and sp 3 /sp 2 (7-10) ratio in the range of studies reported. The inference is drawn on the basis of the set of data obtained from measurements carried out using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy of as grown and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films deposited using an S bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc system. The study indicates the possibility of further tailoring ta-C film properties and also extending capabilities of the cathodic arc system for developing carbon based films for electronics and tribological applications

Effect of high substrate bias and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporation on filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposited tetrahedral amorphous carbon films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Panwar, O.S. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India)], E-mail: ospanwar@mail.nplindia.ernet.in; Khan, Mohd. Alim [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India); Kumar, Mahesh; Shivaprasad, S.M. [Surface Physics and Nanostructures Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India); Satyanarayana, B.S. [MIT Innovation Centre and Electronics and Communication Department, Manipal Institute of Technology, Manipal-579104 (India); Dixit, P.N. [Plasma Processed Materials Group, National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi-110 012 (India); Bhattacharyya, R. [Emeritus Scientist, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi-110012 (India); Khan, M.Y. [Department of Physics, Jamia Millia Islamia, Central University, New Delhi-110025 (India)

2008-02-29

The application of a sufficiently high negative substrate bias, during the growth of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), is usually associated with low sp{sup 3} bonding configuration and stressed films. However, in an effort to understand and utilize the higher pseudo thermo dynamical conditions during the film growth, at high negative substrate bias (- 300 V), reported here is a study on ta-C films grown under different hydrogen and nitrogen concentration. As grown ta-C films were studied under different negative substrate bias conditions. The variation of the sp{sup 3} content and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} ratio in the ta-C films exhibits a trend similar to those reported in literature, with a subtle variation in this report being the substrate bias voltage, which was observed to be around - 200 V, for obtaining the highest sp{sup 3} (80%) bonding and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} (3.95) ratio. The hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films studied, at a bias of - 300 V, show an increase in sp{sup 3} (87-91%) bonding and sp{sup 3}/sp{sup 2} (7-10) ratio in the range of studies reported. The inference is drawn on the basis of the set of data obtained from measurements carried out using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray induced Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy of as grown and hydrogen and nitrogen incorporated ta-C films deposited using an S bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc system. The study indicates the possibility of further tailoring ta-C film properties and also extending capabilities of the cathodic arc system for developing carbon based films for electronics and tribological applications.

Characterization and modelling of low-pressure rf discharges at 2-500 MHz for miniature alkali vapour dielectric barrier discharge lamps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatraman, Vinu; Shea, Herbert; Pétremand, Yves; Rooij, Nico de

2012-01-01

Low-pressure dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) alkali vapour lamps are of particular interest for portable atomic clocks because they (1) could enable low-power operation, (2) generate the precise required wavelength, (3) are planar simplifying chip-level integration and (4) use external electrodes, which increases the lifetime. Given the stringent requirements on lamps for atomic clocks, it is important to identify the parameters that can be optimized to meet these performance requirements (size, power consumption, stability, reliability). We report on the electrical and optical characteristics of dielectric barrier plasma discharges observed in two configurations: (1) in a vacuum chamber over a wide low-pressure range (2-100 mbar) for three different buffer gases (He, Ar, N 2 ) driven at different frequencies between 2 and 500 MHz and (2) on microfabricated hermetically sealed Rb vapour cells filled with 30 and 70 mbar of Ar. We discuss the optimum conditions for a low-power and stable operation of a Rb vapour DBD lamp, aimed at chip-scale atomic clocks. We also present the electrical modelling of the discharge parameters to understand the power distribution mechanisms and the input power to discharge power coupling efficiency.

Emitter depletion studies on electrodes of 50 Hz mercury/noble gas discharge lamps during ignition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoek, W.J. van den; Thijssen, T.L.G.; Heijden, A.J.H. van der; Buijsse, B.; Haverlag, M.

2002-01-01

The depletion of emitter from the oxide cathodes during the glow switch starting of the discharge in 50 Hz operated low-pressure mercury/noble gas discharge lamps (fluorescent lamps) has been studied. It follows from pulse ignition studies and computer-controlled ignition experiments that two plasma modes exist during ignition: a glow discharge and a vapour-arc discharge. The occurrence of these modes depends on the point of interruption with respect to the phase of the 50 Hz preheat current. The vapour arc appears to be the dominant mechanism of emitter depletion. The average emitter loss per vapour-arc pulse has been quantified by radioactive Ba tracer experiments. The nature of the vapour arc has been studied by fast photography and SEM. The vapour arc involves dielectric breakdown over the non-conducting oxide mass and gives rise to explosive emitter vapourization. (author)

Vacuum arc plasma deposition of thin titanium dioxide films on silicone elastomer as a functional coating for medical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Boudot, Cécile; Kühn, Marvin; Kühn-Kauffeldt, Marina; Schein, Jochen

2017-05-01

Silicone elastomer is a promising material for medical applications and is widely used for implants with blood and tissue contact. However, its strong hydrophobicity limits adhesion of tissue cells to silicone surfaces, which can impair the healing process. To improve the biological properties of silicone, a triggerless pulsed vacuum cathodic arc plasma deposition technique was applied to deposit titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) films onto the surface. Scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and contact angle measurements were used for coating characterization. Deposited films were about 150nm thick and exhibited good adhesion to the underlying silicone substrate. Surface wettability and roughness both increased after deposition of the TiO 2 layer. In addition, cell-biological investigations demonstrated that the in-vitro cytocompatibility of TiO 2 -coated samples was greatly improved without impacting silicone's nontoxicity. For validation of use in medical devices, further investigations were conducted and demonstrated stability of surface properties in an aqueous environment for a period of 68days and the coating's resistance to several sterilization methods. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Qualitative Determination of Organic Vapour Using Violet and Visible Spectrum].

Science.gov (United States)

Jiang, Bo; Hu, Wen-zhong; Liu, Chang-jian; Zheng, Wei; Qi, Xiao-hui; Jiang, Ai-li; Wang, Yan-ying

2015-12-01

Vapours of organic matters were determined qualitatively employed with ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy. Vapours of organic matters were detected using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometer employing polyethylene film as medium, the ultraviolet and visible absorption spectra of vegetable oil vapours of soybean oil, sunflower seed oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, sesame oil, cotton seed oil, tung tree seed oil, and organic compound vapours of acetone, ethyl acetate, 95% ethanol, glacial acetic acid were obtained. Experimental results showed that spectra of the vegetable oil vapour and the organic compound vapour could be obtained commendably, since ultra violet and visible spectrum of polyethylene film could be deducted by spectrograph zero setting. Different kinds of vegetable oils could been distinguished commendably in the spectra since the λ(max), λ(min), number of absorption peak, position, inflection point in the ultra violet and visible spectra obtained from the vapours of the vegetable oils were all inconsistent, and the vapours of organic compounds were also determined perfectly. The method had a good reproducibility, the ultraviolet and visible absorption spectra of the vapours of sunflower seed oil in 10 times determination were absolutely the same. The experimental result indicated that polyethylene film as a kind of medium could be used for qualitative analysis of ultraviolet and visible absorption spectroscopy. The method for determination of the vapours of the vegetable oils and organic compounds had the peculiarities of fast speed analysis, well reproducibility, accuracy and reliability and low cost, and so on. Ultraviolet and visible absorption spectrum of organic vapour could provide feature information of material vapour and structural information of organic compound, and provide a novel test method for identifying vapour of compound and organic matter.

Stabilization of Leidenfrost vapour layer by textured superhydrophobic surfaces

KAUST Repository

Vakarelski, Ivan Uriev

2012-09-12

In 1756, Leidenfrost observed that water drops skittered on a sufficiently hot skillet, owing to levitation by an evaporative vapour film. Such films are stable only when the hot surface is above a critical temperature, and are a central phenomenon in boiling. In this so-called Leidenfrost regime, the low thermal conductivity of the vapour layer inhibits heat transfer between the hot surface and the liquid. When the temperature of the cooling surface drops below the critical temperature, the vapour film collapses and the system enters a nucleate-boiling regime, which can result in vapour explosions that are particularly detrimental in certain contexts, such as in nuclear power plants. The presence of these vapour films can also reduce liquid-solid drag. Here we show how vapour film collapse can be completely suppressed at textured superhydrophobic surfaces. At a smooth hydrophobic surface, the vapour film still collapses on cooling, albeit at a reduced critical temperature, and the system switches explosively to nucleate boiling. In contrast, at textured, superhydrophobic surfaces, the vapour layer gradually relaxes until the surface is completely cooled, without exhibiting a nucleate-boiling phase. This result demonstrates that topological texture on superhydrophobic materials is critical in stabilizing the vapour layer and thus in controlling-by heat transfer-the liquid-gas phase transition at hot surfaces. This concept can potentially be applied to control other phase transitions, such as ice or frost formation, and to the design of low-drag surfaces at which the vapour phase is stabilized in the grooves of textures without heating. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Stabilization of Leidenfrost vapour layer by textured superhydrophobic surfaces

KAUST Repository

Vakarelski, Ivan Uriev; Patankar, Neelesh A.; Marston, Jeremy; Chan, Derek Y C; Thoroddsen, Sigurdur T

2012-01-01

In 1756, Leidenfrost observed that water drops skittered on a sufficiently hot skillet, owing to levitation by an evaporative vapour film. Such films are stable only when the hot surface is above a critical temperature, and are a central phenomenon in boiling. In this so-called Leidenfrost regime, the low thermal conductivity of the vapour layer inhibits heat transfer between the hot surface and the liquid. When the temperature of the cooling surface drops below the critical temperature, the vapour film collapses and the system enters a nucleate-boiling regime, which can result in vapour explosions that are particularly detrimental in certain contexts, such as in nuclear power plants. The presence of these vapour films can also reduce liquid-solid drag. Here we show how vapour film collapse can be completely suppressed at textured superhydrophobic surfaces. At a smooth hydrophobic surface, the vapour film still collapses on cooling, albeit at a reduced critical temperature, and the system switches explosively to nucleate boiling. In contrast, at textured, superhydrophobic surfaces, the vapour layer gradually relaxes until the surface is completely cooled, without exhibiting a nucleate-boiling phase. This result demonstrates that topological texture on superhydrophobic materials is critical in stabilizing the vapour layer and thus in controlling-by heat transfer-the liquid-gas phase transition at hot surfaces. This concept can potentially be applied to control other phase transitions, such as ice or frost formation, and to the design of low-drag surfaces at which the vapour phase is stabilized in the grooves of textures without heating. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

Time and space resolved spectroscopic investigation during anode plume formation in a high-current vacuum arc

Science.gov (United States)

Khakpour, A.; Methling, R.; Uhrlandt, D.; Franke, St.; Gortschakow, S.; Popov, S.; Batrakov, A.; Weltmann, K. D.

2017-05-01

This paper presents time and space resolved results of spectroscopic measurements during the formation of an anode plume in the late current pulse phase of a high-current vacuum arc. The formation of the anode plume is investigated systematically based on the occurrence of high-current anode spots, depending on gap distance and current for AC 100 Hz and CuCr7525 butt contacts with a diameter of 10 mm. The anode plume is observed after the extinction of anode spot type 2 in which both the anode and cathode are active. It is concluded from the spatial profiles of the atomic and ionic radiation, parallel and perpendicular to anode surface, that the inner part of the plume is dominated by Cu I radiation, whereas a halo of light emitted by Cu II covers the plume. The radiation intensity of Cu III lines is quite low across the whole anode plume. Upper level excited state densities corresponding to Cu I lines at 510.55, 515.32, 521.82, 578.21 nm are determined. The temporal evolution of the resulting excitation temperature in the centre of the plume varies from 8500 K to 6000 K at 500 µs to 100 µs before current zero, respectively. The density calculated for Cu I at position in the plume is in the range of 1-5  ×  1019 m-3.

Effects of filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD) conditions on photovoltaic TiO{sub 2} films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aramwit, C. [Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Intarasiri, S. [Science and Technology Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, Commission on Higher Education, 328 Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand); Bootkul, D. [Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, Commission on Higher Education, 328 Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand); Department of General Science, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok 10110 (Thailand); Tippawan, U. [Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, Commission on Higher Education, 328 Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand); Supsermpol, B.; Seanphinit, N. [Department of General Science, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok 10110 (Thailand); Western Digital Thailand Co. Ltd., Ayutthaya 13160 (Thailand); Ruangkul, W. [Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, Commission on Higher Education, 328 Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand); Yu, L.D., E-mail: yuld@thep-center.org [Plasma and Beam Physics Research Facility, Department of Physics and Materials Science, Faculty of Science, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Thailand Center of Excellence in Physics, Commission on Higher Education, 328 Si Ayutthaya Road, Bangkok 10400 (Thailand)

2014-08-15

Highlights: • Titanium dioxide films were synthesized using the FCVAD technique. • Various FCVAD conditions were tested. • The TiO{sub 2} films were characterized. • The FCVAD condition effects on the film characteristics were studied. • The O{sub 2} pressure had the most important effect on the film quality. - Abstract: Titanium dioxide (TiO{sub 2}) films for photovoltaic applications were synthesized using filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD) technique. Various deposition conditions were tested for an optimal film formation. The conditions included the oxygen (O{sub 2}) pressure which was varied from a base pressure 10{sup −5} to 10{sup −4}, 10{sup −3}, 10{sup −2} and 10{sup −1} Torr, sample holder bias varied using 0 or −250 V, deposition time varied from 10, 20 to 30 min, and deposition distance varied from 1 to 3 cm. The deposited films were also annealed and compared with unannealed ones. The films under various conditions were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Raman spectroscopy techniques. The film transparency increased and thickness decreased to a nanoscale with increasing of the O{sub 2} pressure. The transparent deposited films contained stoichiometric titanium and oxygen under the medium O{sub 2} pressure. The as-deposited films were TiO{sub 2} containing some rutile but no anatase which needed annealing to form.

An ultra-high-vacuum multiple grating chamber and scan drive with improved grating change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hulbert, S.L.; Holly, D.J.; Middleton, F.H.; Wallace, D.J.; Wisconsin Univ., Stoughton, WI; Wisconsin Univ., Stoughton, WI

1989-01-01

We describe a new grating chamber and scan drive which has been designed, built, and tested by Physical Sciences Laboratory of the University of Wisconsin for the new high flux, high-resolution spectroscopy branch line of the TOK hybrid wiggler/undulator on the NSLS VUV ring. The chamber will contain spherical gratings to be used in the Spherical Grating Monochromator (SGM) configuration introduced by Chen and Sette. The grating chamber houses five 180 mm x 35 mm x 30 mm gratings capable of scanning a range of 12 degree (-14 degree to +8 degree with respect to the incoming beam direction) for VUV and soft X-ray diffraction. The gratings can be switched and precisely indexed while under ultra-high vacuum (UHV) at any scan angle and are mechanically isolated from the vacuum chamber to prevent inaccuracies due to chamber distortions. The gratings can separately be adjusted for height, yaw, pitch, and roll, with the latter three performed while in vacuo. The scan drive provides a resolution of 0.03 arc sec with linearity over the 12 degree range of ∼1.5 arc sec and absolute reproducibility of 1 arc sec. 5 refs., 5 figs

An externally heated copper vapour laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rochefort, P.A.; Sopchyshyn, F.C.; Selkirk, E.B.; Green, L.W.

1993-08-01

A pulsed Copper Vapour Laser (CVL), with a nominal 6 kHz repetition rate, was designed, build, and commissioned at Chalk River laboratories. The laser was required for Resonant Ionization Mass Spectroscopy (RIMS) experiments and for projects associated with Atomic Vapour laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS) studies. For the laser to operate, copper coupons position along the length of a ceramic tube must be heated sufficiently to create an appropriate vapour pressure. The AECL CVL uses an external heater element with a unique design to raise the temperature of the tube. The Cylindrical graphite heating element is shaped to compensate for the large radiation end losses of the laser tube. The use of an external heater saves the expensive high-current-voltage switching device from heating the laser tube, as in most commercial lasers. This feature is especially important given the intermittent usage typical of experimental research. As well, the heater enables better parametric control of the laser output when studying the lasing of copper (or other) vapour. This report outlines the lasing process in copper vapour, describes in detail all three major laser sub-systems: the laser body; the laser tube heater; the high voltage pulsed discharge; and, reports parametric measurements of the individual sub-systems and the laser system as a whole. Also included are normal operating procedures to heat up, run and shut down the laser

A Seemingly Simple Task: Filling a Solenoid Volume in Vacuum with Dense Plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anders, Andre; Kauffeldt, Marina; Roy, Prabir; Oks, Efim

2010-01-01

Space-charge neutralization of a pulsed, high-current ion beam is required to compress and focus the beam on a target for warm dense matter physics or heavy ion fusion experiments. We described attempts to produce dense plasma in and near the final focusing solenoid through which the ion beam travels, thereby providing an opportunity for the beam to acquire the necessary charge-compensating electrons. Among the options are plasma injection from four pulsed vacuum arc sources located outside the solenoid, and using a high current (> 4 kA) pulsed vacuum arc plasma from a ring cathode near the edge of the solenoid. The plasma distribution is characterized by photographic means and by an array of movable Langmuir probes. The plasma is produced at several cathode spots distributed azimuthally on the ring cathode. Beam neutralization and compression are accomplished, though issues of density, uniformity, and pulse-to-pulse reproducibly remain to be solved.

Cryogenic thermal storage system for discontinuous industrial vacuum processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Scaringella M.

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Phase Change Materials are proposed for refrigerating systems in discontinuous industrial vacuum processes where temperatures as low as −140 ÷ −100°C are necessary within time-frames representing 10÷20% of total operating time. An application is proposed for cooling systems used in a Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD apparatus. A prototype has been manufactured which couples a cryopump with a reservoir filled with MethylCycloPentane (MCP-C6H12 and a distribution line where nitrogen in the gaseous state is flowing. Preliminary tests show that temperatures of about −120°C are actually achieved within time windows compatible with PVD applications.

Production of ceramic-metal joints for high-vacuum applications and development of simulation program for discharge tube

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, S. H.; Chung, K. H. [Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea)

2000-04-01

To develop a ceramic-metal jointed tube for high-vacuum applications, metalizing process and active metal brazing were investigated. Active metal brazing was adopted as a joining process to produce a high-vacuum tube which had high joint strength and reliability. A possibility for the development of new composition of Mo-Mn paste was studied. Also, to improve the strength and reliability of active metal brazed joint, TiN coating was introduced as a diffusion barrier. It was revealed that TiN coating could improve the joint strength and reliability. 100mm {phi} tube joint was produced using incusil ABA brazing alloy. The strength and reliability of manufactured tube showed higher value than commercial one. The electric field distribution in ceramic tube under high voltage was analyzed. Two dimensional electric field distribution was investigated under the existence of charged particles. From this result, electric field distribution at the surface of ceramic tube and the location of high electric field was predicted. Finally, Arc discharge was simulated to analyze the effect of arc discharge on the discharge tube wall. The maximum temperature of arc was 12000-13000K. The wall temperature was increased 100-170K by the arc discharge. 45 refs., 57 figs., 4 tabs. (Author)

Cathodic arc sputtering of functional titanium oxide thin films, demonstrating resistive switching

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shvets, Petr, E-mail: pshvets@innopark.kantiana.ru; Maksimova, Ksenia; Demin, Maxim; Dikaya, Olga; Goikhman, Alexander

2017-05-15

The formation of thin films of the different stable and metastable titanium oxide phases is demonstrated by cathode arc sputtering of a titanium target in an oxygen atmosphere. We also show that sputtering of titanium in vacuum yields the formation of titanium silicides on the silicon substrate. The crystal structure of the produced samples was investigated using Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. We conclude that cathode arc sputtering is a flexible method suitable for producing the functional films for electronic applications. The functionality is verified by the memory effect demonstration, based on the resistive switching in the titanium oxide thin film structure.

Atomic origins of water-vapour-promoted alloy oxidation.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Langli; Su, Mao; Yan, Pengfei; Zou, Lianfeng; Schreiber, Daniel K; Baer, Donald R; Zhu, Zihua; Zhou, Guangwen; Wang, Yanting; Bruemmer, Stephen M; Xu, Zhijie; Wang, Chongmin

2018-05-07

The presence of water vapour, intentional or unavoidable, is crucial to many materials applications, such as in steam generators, turbine engines, fuel cells, catalysts and corrosion 1-4 . Phenomenologically, water vapour has been noted to accelerate oxidation of metals and alloys 5,6 . However, the atomistic mechanisms behind such oxidation remain elusive. Through direct in situ atomic-scale transmission electron microscopy observations and density functional theory calculations, we reveal that water-vapour-enhanced oxidation of a nickel-chromium alloy is associated with proton-dissolution-promoted formation, migration, and clustering of both cation and anion vacancies. Protons derived from water dissociation can occupy interstitial positions in the oxide lattice, consequently lowering vacancy formation energy and decreasing the diffusion barrier of both cations and anions, which leads to enhanced oxidation in moist environments at elevated temperatures. This work provides insights into water-vapour-enhanced alloy oxidation and has significant implications in other material and chemical processes involving water vapour, such as corrosion, heterogeneous catalysis and ionic conduction.

Welding distortion control in double walled KSTAR vacuum vessel fabrication

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oh, D. W.; Lee, G. T.; Kim, H. K.; Yang, H. L.; Bak, J. S.

2004-01-01

The KSTAR(Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research) vacuum vessel is designed to be a double walled structure made of 12mm thick 316LN stainless steel with a D shaped cross-section about 4 m height. Vacuum vessel was pre-fabricated in two parts, 180 degree and 157.5 degree sectors in toroidal direction to meet the transportation purpose. These two parts have to be welded on site with ±2mm allowable fabrication tolerances. 1/3 scaled mock-up model was used to estimate the welding distortion and to ensure the weld quality of vacuum vessel. Gas Tungsten Arc Welding(GTAW), which has been approved by procedure qualification test, was used during mock-up test and vacuum vessel site fabrication. Welding distortion could be managed by allowing for distortion in opposite direction, by applying high restraint using lots of strong backs, by controlling the welding heat input with symmetrical welding sequence. The integrity of the site welding joint was assured by radiographic test, ultrasonic test and leak test with helium detecting method

Vapour pressure of trideuterioammonia

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calado, J.C.G.; Lopes, J.N.C.; Rebelo, L.P.N. (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon (Portugal). Centro de Quimica Estrutural)

1992-09-01

The H-to-D vapour-pressure isotope effect in liquid ammonia has been measured at 62 temperatures between 228 K and 260 K. The vapour pressures, corrected to 100 per cent nuclidic purity, have been fitted to the equation: T ln r = A+B/T+CT, where r is the vapour-pressure ratio p(NH[sub 3])/p(ND[sub 3]). The fit yielded the parameters: A = -8.22508 K, B = 12338.2 K[sup 2], and C = -0.05544. Comparisons with the results of other authors were made in order to clarify some discrepancies found in the literature. Our values are in accord with the previous results of King et al. and an extrapolation of the fitted equation down to the triple-point temperature gave good agreement with the published results. The fitted equation was used in conjunction with the Clapeyron equation to calculate the difference in the molar enthalpies of vaporization between NH[sub 3] and ND[sub 3]. At T = 230 K that difference is -846 J.mol[sup -1] decreasing to -747 J.mol[sup -1] at 260 K. (author).

Nanašanje trdih zaščitnih prevlek s katodnim lokom: Cathodic arc plasma deposition of hard protective coatings:

OpenAIRE

Panjan, Peter

2002-01-01

The cathodic arc evaporation process is based upon the vacuum arc, the physics of which is still under investigation. This method is using almost exclusively for the deposition of wear-resistant coatings onto cutting and forming tools. The method is fast, effective, and relatively cost efficient. This paper reviews the arc evaporation process. Naparevanje s katodnim lokom temelji na plazemskem loku, ki ga prižegmo v vakuumu. Postopek se uporablja skoraj izključno za pripravo trdih zaščitni...

Influence of substrate bias on the structure and properties of (Ti, Al)N films deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng, Y.H.; Tay, B.K.; Lau, S.P.; Shi, X.

2001-01-01

(Ti, Al)N films were deposited by an off-plane, double-bend, filtered cathodic vacuum arc technique in N 2 atmosphere at room temperature. The (Ti, Al)N films deposited are atomically smooth. The influence of substrate negative bias at the wide range (0-1000 V) on the deposition rate, surface morphology, crystal structure, internal stress, and mechanical properties of (Ti, Al)N films were systematically studied. Increasing substrate bias results in the decrease of deposition rate and the increase of surface roughness monotonically. At the bias of 0 V, (Ti, Al)N films are amorphous, and the internal stress, hardness, and Young's modulus for the deposited films are fairly low. With increasing substrate bias to 200 V, single-phase face-centered cubic-type nanocrystalline (Ti, Al)N films can be obtained, and the internal stress, hardness, and Young's modulus increase to the maximum of 7 GPa, 28 GPa, and 240 GPa, respectively. Further increase of substrate bias results in the decrease of intensity and the broadening of x-ray diffraction lines, and the gradual decrease of internal stress, hardness, and Young's modulus in (Ti, Al)N films

Influence of pulsed substrate bias on the structure and properties of Ti-Al-N films deposited by cathodic vacuum arc

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, G.P., E-mail: princeterry@163.com [Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100080 (China); Gao, G.J. [Changchun University of Science and Technology, College of Science, Changchun 130000 (China); Wang, X.Q.; Lv, G.H.; Zhou, L.; Chen, H.; Pang, H.; Yang, S.Z. [Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100080 (China)

2012-07-15

Ti-Al-N films were deposited by cathodic vacuum arc (CVA) technique in N{sub 2} atmosphere with different pulsed substrate bias. The influence of pulsed substrate bias (0 to -800 V) on the deposition rate, surface morphology, crystal structure, and mechanical properties of the Ti-Al-N films were systematically investigated. Increasing pulsed bias voltage resulted in the decrease of deposition rate but the increase of surface roughness. It was found that there was a strong correlation between the pulsed bias and film structure. All the films studied in this paper were composed of TiN, AlN, and Ti-Al-N ternary phases. The grains changed from equiaxial to columnar and exhibited preferred orientation when the pulsed bias increased. With the increase of pulsed bias voltage, the atomic ratio of Ti to Al element increased gradually, while the N to (Ti + Al) ratio decreased. The composite films present an enhanced nanohardness compared with binary TiN and ZrN films. The film deposited with pulsed bias of -200 V possessed the maximum scratch critical load and nanohardness. The minimum friction coefficient with pulsed bias of -300 V was obtained.

Centrifugal vacuum casting for fuel cladding tube blanks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zelenskii, V.F.; Neklyudov, I.M.; Chernyi, B.P.; Zeidlits, M.P.; Vanzha, A.F.; Rubashko, V.G.; Ryabchikov, L.N.; Smirnov, Y.K.; Bespalova, V.R.; Mashkarova, V.T.; Rybal'chenko, N.D.

1990-01-01

An advanced technique for making tube blanks with an acceptable level of nonmetallic inclusions is vacuum induction melting combined with centrifugal casting, as the latter gives a cylindrical casting having an axial hole, while the cast metal has elevated density and contains fewer nonmetallic inclusions than does the metal cast in a stationary mold. The reduction in the nonmetallic inclusions occurs because of increased rates of floating up in the rotating mold on account of the centrifugal force and the rejection to the inner surface. One can choose the parameters such as the pouring speed, rotational speed, mold cooling, and liquid-metal temperature and can introduce a deoxidizer to remove the nonmetallic inclusions or reduce the grain size of them and produce an appropriate cast structure and obtain a metal whose quality is the same as that on vacuum induction melting with secondary arc remelting. For these purposes, the authors have developed centrifugal-casting machines for use under vacuum or in inert gases with horizontal and vertical mold rotation axes

Bi-Modal Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster for Cube Satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Chiu, Dereck

A new concept design, named the Bi-Modal Micro-Cathode Arc Thruster (BM-muCAT), has been introduced utilizing features from previous generations of muCATs and incorporating a multi-propellant functionality. This arc thruster is a micro-Newton level thruster based off of vacuum arc technology utilizing an enhanced magnetic field. Adjusting the magnetic field allows the thrusters performance to be varied. The goal of this thesis is to present a new generation of micro-cathode arc thrusters utilizing a bi-propellant, nickel and titanium, system. Three experimental procedures were run to test the new designs capabilities. Arc rotation experiment was used as a base experiment to ensure erosion was occurring uniformly along each electrode. Ion utilization efficiency was found, using an ion collector, to be up to 2% with the nickel material and 2.5% with the titanium material. Ion velocities were also studied using a time-of-flight method with an enhanced ion detection system. This system utilizes double electrostatic probes to measure plasma propagation. Ion velocities were measured to be 10km/s and 20km/s for nickel and titanium without a magnetic field. With an applied magnetic field of 0.2T, nickel ion velocities almost doubled to about 17km/s, while titanium ion velocities also increased to about 30km/s.

Autonomous Chemical Vapour Detection by Micro UAV

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kent Rosser

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The ability to remotely detect and map chemical vapour clouds in open air environments is a topic of significant interest to both defence and civilian communities. In this study, we integrate a prototype miniature colorimetric chemical sensor developed for methyl salicylate (MeS, as a model chemical vapour, into a micro unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, and perform flights through a raised MeS vapour cloud. Our results show that that the system is capable of detecting MeS vapours at low ppm concentration in real-time flight and rapidly sending this information to users by on-board telemetry. Further, the results also indicate that the sensor is capable of distinguishing “clean” air from “dirty”, multiple times per flight, allowing us to look towards autonomous cloud mapping and source localization applications. Further development will focus on a broader range of integrated sensors, increased autonomy of detection and improved engineering of the system.

Vacuum Large Current Parallel Transfer Numerical Analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enyuan Dong

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The stable operation and reliable breaking of large generator current are a difficult problem in power system. It can be solved successfully by the parallel interrupters and proper timing sequence with phase-control technology, in which the strategy of breaker’s control is decided by the time of both the first-opening phase and second-opening phase. The precise transfer current’s model can provide the proper timing sequence to break the generator circuit breaker. By analysis of the transfer current’s experiments and data, the real vacuum arc resistance and precise correctional model in the large transfer current’s process are obtained in this paper. The transfer time calculated by the correctional model of transfer current is very close to the actual transfer time. It can provide guidance for planning proper timing sequence and breaking the vacuum generator circuit breaker with the parallel interrupters.

Kinematic variables and water transport control the formation and location of arc volcanoes.

Science.gov (United States)

Grove, T L; Till, C B; Lev, E; Chatterjee, N; Médard, E

2009-06-04

The processes that give rise to arc magmas at convergent plate margins have long been a subject of scientific research and debate. A consensus has developed that the mantle wedge overlying the subducting slab and fluids and/or melts from the subducting slab itself are involved in the melting process. However, the role of kinematic variables such as slab dip and convergence rate in the formation of arc magmas is still unclear. The depth to the top of the subducting slab beneath volcanic arcs, usually approximately 110 +/- 20 km, was previously thought to be constant among arcs. Recent studies revealed that the depth of intermediate-depth earthquakes underneath volcanic arcs, presumably marking the slab-wedge interface, varies systematically between approximately 60 and 173 km and correlates with slab dip and convergence rate. Water-rich magmas (over 4-6 wt% H(2)O) are found in subduction zones with very different subduction parameters, including those with a shallow-dipping slab (north Japan), or steeply dipping slab (Marianas). Here we propose a simple model to address how kinematic parameters of plate subduction relate to the location of mantle melting at subduction zones. We demonstrate that the location of arc volcanoes is controlled by a combination of conditions: melting in the wedge is induced at the overlap of regions in the wedge that are hotter than the melting curve (solidus) of vapour-saturated peridotite and regions where hydrous minerals both in the wedge and in the subducting slab break down. These two limits for melt generation, when combined with the kinematic parameters of slab dip and convergence rate, provide independent constraints on the thermal structure of the wedge and accurately predict the location of mantle wedge melting and the position of arc volcanoes.

Capacitive-discharge-pumped copper bromide vapour laser

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sukhanov, V B; Fedorov, V F; Troitskii, V O; Gubarev, F A; Evtushenko, Gennadii S

2007-01-01

A copper bromide vapour laser pumped by a high-frequency capacitive discharge is developed. It is shown that, by using of a capacitive discharge, it is possible to built a sealed off metal halide vapour laser of a simple design allowing the addition of active impurities into the working medium. (letters)

Vapour pressure isotope effects in liquid hydrogen chloride

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lopes, J.N.C.; Calado, J.C.G. (Instituto Superior Tecnico, Lisbon (Portugal)); Jancso, Gabor (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest (Hungary). Central Research Inst. for Physics)

1992-08-10

The difference between the vapour pressures of HCl and DCl has been measured over the temperature range 170-203 K by a differential manometric technique in a precision cryostat. In this range the vapour pressure of HCl is higher than that of DCl by 3.2% at 170 K, decreasing to 0.9% at 200 K. The reduced partition function ratios f[sub l]/f[sub g] derived from the vapour pressure data can be described by the equation ln(f[sub l]/f[sub g]) = (3914.57[+-]10)/T[sup 2] - (17.730[+-]0.055)/T. The experimentally observed H-D vapour pressure isotope effect, together with the values on the [sup 35]Cl-[sup 37]Cl isotope effect available in the literature, is interpreted in the light of the statistical theory of isotope effects in condensed systems by using spectroscopic data of the vapour and liquid phases. The results indicate that the rotation in liquid hydrogen chloride is hindered. Temperature-dependent force constants for the hindered translational and rotational motions were invoked in order to obtain better agreement between the model calculation and experiment. (author).

Type II textured molybdenum disulphide films produced by direct vapour transport and rf-magnetron sputtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bohlken, S.F.; Lemon, K.D.; Jakovidis, G.; Taheri, E.H.

1999-01-01

Full text: Molybdenum disulphide (MoS 2 ) is one of the few naturally occurring Layered Transition Metal Dichalcogenides and is the primary source for elemental molybdenum. It displays exceptional lubrication performance in both vacuum and atmospheric conditions over a wide temperature range. An important emerging application of MoS 2 and related materials is photovoltaics. Films of MoS 2 exhibit several morphologies described by the orientation of platelets with respect to the substrate. Films with platelets perpendicular or parallel to the substrate are referred to by their morphology, which is type-I or type-II respectively. Production of exclusive type-II films is highly desirable in applications involving lubrication and photovoltaics. For example, type-II morphology reduces friction and minority carrier recombination centres, thus improving tribological and photovoltaic performance. We have successfully produced type-II films using both direct vapour transport and rf-magnetron sputtering Continuous polycrystalline films (∼ 10 μm thick) grown in our laboratory using vapour transport have typical areas 1000 mm 2 . A novel ejecta filtration technique was applied to rf-magnetron sputtering. Films produced using this approach retain exclusive type-II morphology at thicknesses where type-I would normally be observed (∼ 200nm)

Characterization of the behaviour of the electric arc during VAR of a Ti alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Chapelle, P.; Noël, C.; Risacher, A.; Jourdan, J.; Jourdan, J.; Jardy, A.

2016-07-01

In this paper, we report experimental results based on the direct observation of the electric arc behaviour during vacuum arc remelting of a Ti alloy. These results were obtained in a specifically instrumented industrial furnace using high speed framing camera and optical emission spectroscopy, for a current density level of the order of 10 A/cm2 and a gap length of a few centimetres. It was observed that the arc exhibits a similar operating regime to that described in the literature for the case of Inconel 718 and Zr alloy electrodes. The arc structure corresponds essentially to that of a diffuse metal vapor arc with separate and rapidly moving cathode spots. Several critical parameters of the cathode spots, including their current, size and velocity, and of the interelectrode plasma were evaluated. Also, the interactions between the arc operation and the transfer of metal drops in the interelectrode gap were investigated. Three modes of transfer of the liquid metal drops in the interelectrode gap have been identified depending on the gap length: drop falling, drip short and drop erosion induced by the cathode spots.

Medical cannabis use in Canada: vapourization and modes of delivery.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiplo, Samantha; Asbridge, Mark; Leatherdale, Scott T; Hammond, David

2016-10-29

The mode of medical cannabis delivery-whether cannabis is smoked, vapourized, or consumed orally-may have important implications for its therapeutic efficacy and health risks. However, there is very little evidence on current patterns of use among Canadian medical cannabis users, particularly with respect to modes of delivery. The current study examined modes of medical cannabis delivery following regulatory changes in 2014 governing how Canadians access medical cannabis. A total of 364 approved adult Canadian medical cannabis users completed an online cross-sectional survey between April and June 2015. The survey examined patterns of medical cannabis use, modes of delivery used, and reasons for use. Participants were recruited through a convenience sample from nine Health Canada licensed producers. Using a vapourizer was the most popular mode of delivery for medical cannabis (53 %), followed by smoking a joint (47 %). The main reason for using a vapourizer was to reduce negative health consequences associated with smoking. A majority of current vapourizer users reported using a portable vapourizer (67.2 %), followed by a stationary vapourizer (41.7 %), and an e-cigarette or vape pen (19.3 %). Current use of a vapourizer was associated with fewer respiratory symptoms (AOR = 1.28, 95 % CI 1.05-1.56, p = 0.01). The findings suggest an increase in the popularity of vapourizers as the primary mode of delivery among approved medical users. Using vapourizers has the potential to prevent some of the adverse respiratory health consequences associated with smoking and may serve as an effective harm reduction method. Monitoring implications of such current and future changes to medical cannabis regulations may be beneficial to policymakers.

Beam-profile monitor using a sodium-vapour

CERN Multimedia

1972-01-01

Beam-profile monitor using a sodium-vapour curtain at 45 degrees to the ISR beam in Ring I (sodium generator is in white cylinder just left of centre). Electrons produced by ionization of the sodium vapour give an image of the beam on a fluorescent screen that is observed by a TV camera (at upper right).

Medical cannabis use in Canada: vapourization and modes of delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samantha Shiplo

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The mode of medical cannabis delivery—whether cannabis is smoked, vapourized, or consumed orally—may have important implications for its therapeutic efficacy and health risks. However, there is very little evidence on current patterns of use among Canadian medical cannabis users, particularly with respect to modes of delivery. The current study examined modes of medical cannabis delivery following regulatory changes in 2014 governing how Canadians access medical cannabis. Methods A total of 364 approved adult Canadian medical cannabis users completed an online cross-sectional survey between April and June 2015. The survey examined patterns of medical cannabis use, modes of delivery used, and reasons for use. Participants were recruited through a convenience sample from nine Health Canada licensed producers. Results Using a vapourizer was the most popular mode of delivery for medical cannabis (53 %, followed by smoking a joint (47 %. The main reason for using a vapourizer was to reduce negative health consequences associated with smoking. A majority of current vapourizer users reported using a portable vapourizer (67.2 %, followed by a stationary vapourizer (41.7 %, and an e-cigarette or vape pen (19.3 %. Current use of a vapourizer was associated with fewer respiratory symptoms (AOR = 1.28, 95 % CI 1.05–1.56, p = 0.01. Conclusions The findings suggest an increase in the popularity of vapourizers as the primary mode of delivery among approved medical users. Using vapourizers has the potential to prevent some of the adverse respiratory health consequences associated with smoking and may serve as an effective harm reduction method. Monitoring implications of such current and future changes to medical cannabis regulations may be beneficial to policymakers.

Structure of MeCrAlY + AlSi coatings deposited by Arc-PVD method on CMSX4 single crystal alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swadzba, L.; Hetmanczyk, M.; Mendala, B.; Saunders, S.R.J.

2002-01-01

Investigations of depositing high temperature resistant coatings on the Ni base superalloys by Arc-PVD method using exothermic reaction processes between Ni and Al with NiAl intermetallic formation are presented in the article. By the diffusion heating at 1050 o C in vacuum, NiAl diffusion coating containing 21% at. Al and 50 μm thick were obtained. In the next stage coatings with more complex chemical composition - MeCrAlY were formed. The MeCrAlY coatings were made from two targets. Good correlation between the chemical composition of the targets and a uniform distribution of elements in the coatings was shown. Then the surface was also covered with aluminium by the Arc-PVD method . In the vacuum chamber of the equipment a synthesis reaction between NiCoCrAlY and Al with the formation of NiAl intermetallics of high Co, Cr, Y content was initiated. The final heat treatment of coatings was conducted in vacuum at 1323 K. Strong segregation of yttrium into the oxide scale in the specimens heated in the air was shown. It was possible to form NiAl and intermetallics phase coatings modified by Co, Cr and Y by the Arc-PVD method. The coatings were formed on a single crystal CMSX-4. The structure, morphology and phase composition of coatings was carried out. (author)

Ethanol vapour induced dilated cardiomyopathy in chick embryos

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamran, K.; Khan, M.Y.; Minhas, L.A.

2013-01-01

Objective: To study the effects of ethanol vapour inhalation on the heart chambers of chick embryo. Methods: The case-control study was conducted at the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan regional centre in Islamabad from January to October 2007. Both experimental and control groups were divided into three sub-groups each, based on the day of the sacrifice. Each group was dissected on day 7, day 10 and day 22 or hatching whichever was earlier. The experimental sub-groups sacrificed on day 7, day 10 and on hatching, were exposed to ethanol vapours till day 6, 9 and 9 of incubation respectively. The diameter of all 4 chambers was measured in experimental hearts and compared with age-matched controls. SPSS 10 was used for statistical analysis. Results: Ethanol vapour exposure caused widening of all heart chambers in the experimental chick embryos sacrificed on day 7 and day 10 compared to the controls. The chambers of newly hatched chick hearts showed dilatation in all the chambers except the left ventricle. Conclusion: Ethanol vapour exposure during development affects the heart, resulting in the widening of all heart chambers. The exposure is as dangerous as drinking alcohol. Alcohol vapour exposure during development leads to progressive dilatation in different heart chambers, producing dilated cardiomyopathy. (author)

No sodium in the vapour plumes of Enceladus.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Nicholas M; Burger, Matthew H; Schaller, Emily L; Brown, Michael E; Johnson, Robert E; Kargel, Jeffrey S; Dougherty, Michele K; Achilleos, Nicholas A

2009-06-25

The discovery of water vapour and ice particles erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus fuelled speculation that an internal ocean was the source. Alternatively, the source might be ice warmed, melted or crushed by tectonic motions. Sodium chloride (that is, salt) is expected to be present in a long-lived ocean in contact with a rocky core. Here we report a ground-based spectroscopic search for atomic sodium near Enceladus that places an upper limit on the mixing ratio in the vapour plumes orders of magnitude below the expected ocean salinity. The low sodium content of escaping vapour, together with the small fraction of salt-bearing particles, argues against a situation in which a near-surface geyser is fuelled by a salty ocean through cracks in the crust. The lack of observable sodium in the vapour is consistent with a wide variety of alternative eruption sources, including a deep ocean, a freshwater reservoir, or ice. The existing data may be insufficient to distinguish between these hypotheses.

Prediction of vapour-liquid and vapour-liquid-liquid equilibria of nitrogen-hydrocarbon mixtures used in J-T refrigerators

Science.gov (United States)

Narayanan, Vineed; Venkatarathnam, G.

2018-03-01

Nitrogen-hydrocarbon mixtures are widely used as refrigerants in J-T refrigerators operating with mixtures, as well as in natural gas liquefiers. The Peng-Robinson equation of state has traditionally been used to simulate the above cryogenic process. Multi parameter Helmholtz energy equations are now preferred for determining the properties of natural gas. They have, however, been used only to predict vapour-liquid equilibria, and not vapour-liquid-liquid equilibria that can occur in mixtures used in cryogenic mixed refrigerant processes. In this paper the vapour-liquid equilibrium of binary mixtures of nitrogen-methane, nitrogen-ethane, nitrogen-propane, nitrogen-isobutane and three component mixtures of nitrogen-methane-ethane and nitrogen-methane-propane have been studied with the Peng-Robinson and the Helmholtz energy equations of state of NIST REFPROP and compared with experimental data available in the literature.

Meat quality, microbiological status and consumer preference of beef gluteus medius aged in a dry ageing bag or vacuum.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xin; Babol, Jakub; Wallby, Anna; Lundström, Kerstin

2013-10-01

This study investigated meat quality and consumer preference after ageing beef gluteus medius in a water vapour-permeable dry-ageing bag or in vacuum for 14 days. Higher ageing and trim losses but lower thawing loss, cooking loss and water content were found in samples aged in dry ageing bags compared to those aged in vacuum. Samples aged in dry ageing bags had higher total bacteria and yeast counts but lower lactic acid bacteria counts than those aged in vacuum, both before and after trimming. Meat aged in dry ageing bag was more tender and juicier and overall preferred by consumers compared with samples aged in vacuum. Female participants outperformed the males in detecting differences in palatability. No differences were found in pH, smell, shear force, colour, Enterobacteriaceae, and mould counts. Thus, by using a dry ageing bag, it is possible to produce dry-aged meat in a more controlled condition without negative effects on sensory or other quality attributes. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Contribution to the liquid-vapour equilibrium of potassium and sodium mixtures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schreinlechner, I.; Schwarz, N.

1975-10-01

In this paper the phase diagram of the binary system potassium-sodium in the liquid-vapour range was calculated for different pressures and temperatures, assuming the two metals acting as ideal solution. The assumption was verified by experimental results. It is thus possible to calculate the separation factor for the rectification of potassium and to estimate the content of sodium in the vapour phase during experiments with vapourized potassium from the data of the vapour pressures of the pure metals. (author)

Mechanism of plasma-arc formation of fullerenes from coal and related materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pang, L S.K.; Wilson, M A; Quezada, R A [CSIRO Petroleum, North Ryde (Australia); and others

1996-12-31

When an arc is struck across graphite or coal electrodes in a helium atmosphere several products are formed including soot containing fullerenes. The mechanism by which fullerenes and nanotubes are formed is not understood. At arc temperatures exceeding 3000{degrees}C, highly ordered fullerenes might be expected to be less stable than graphite, and hence fullerene production is believed to proceed in cooler regions at the edge of the arc. There is irrefutable evidence that [C{sub 60}]-fullerene grows in a plasma from atomic carbon vapour or equivalent. When {sup 13}C-labelled carbon powder is packed into the anode, the fullerenes as produced contain a statistical distribution of {sup 13}C atoms. This implies that graphite has split into small units, predominantly C{sub 1} or C{sub 2} in the plasma and these units are involved in fullerene formation. When coal or other organic materials are used in the anode, weaker bonds are present, which may break preferentially. As a result, larger fragments, other than C{sub 1} and C{sub 2} units can exist in the plasma. This paper demonstrates the existence of such larger fragments when various coals are used and this implies that fullerenes can be formed from larger units than C{sub 1} and C{sub 2}. The distribution of polycyclic hydrocarbons formed depends very much on the structure of the coal used for the arcing experiments. The distribution of the natural abundance of {sup 13}C/{sup 12}C ratios in the fullerene products further supports this evidence.

Annealing effect of thermal spike in MgO thin film prepared by cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhu, Daoyun, E-mail: zhudy@gdut.edu.cn [Experiment Teaching Department, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510006 (China); State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Zhao, Shoubai [School of Physics and Electronic Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510400 (China); Zheng, Changxi; Chen, Dihu [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); He, Zhenhui, E-mail: stshzh@mail.sysu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, School of Physics and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China)

2013-12-16

MgO films were prepared by using pulsed cathodic vacuum arc deposition technique. The substrate bias voltage was in the range of −150 to −750 V. Film structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The annealing effect of thermal spike produced by the impacting of energetic ions was analyzed. The calculated results showed that the lifetime of a thermal spike generated by an energetic ion with the energy of 150 eV was less than one picosecond and it was sufficient to allow Mg{sup 2+} or O{sup 2-} to move one bond length to satisfy the intrinsic stress relief in the affected volume. The MgO(200) lattice spacings of the films deposited at different bias voltages were all larger than the ideal value of 2.1056 Å. As the bias amplitude increased the lattice spacing decreased, which indicated that the compressive stress in the film was partially relieved with increasing impacting ion energy. The stress relief also could be reflected from the film orientation with bias voltage. The biaxial elastic modulus for MgO(100), MgO(110) and MgO(111) planes were calculated and they were M{sub (100)} = 199 GPa, M{sub (110)} = 335 GPa and M{sub (111)} = 340 GPa, respectively. The M values indicated that the preferred orientation will be MgO(200) due to the minimum energy configuration when the lattice strain was large. It was confirmed by the XRD results in our experiments. - Highlights: • MgO thin films with preferred orientation were obtained by CVAD technique. • Annealing effect of a thermal spike in MgO film was discussed. • Lattice spacing of MgO film decreased with the increase of bias voltage. • Film preferred orientation changed from (200) to (220) as the bias voltage increased.

Self-Similar Vacuums Arc Plasma Cloud Expansion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gidalevich, E.; Goldsmith, S.; Boxman, R.L.

1999-01-01

A spherical plasma cloud generated by a vacuum are, is considered as expanding in an ambient neutral gas in a self-similar approximation. Under the assumption that the cathode erosion rate as well as density of the ambient neutral gas are constant during the plasma expansion, the self-similarity parameter is A = (1/ρ 3 dM/dt) 1/3 where ρ 3 is the density of undisturbed gas, M is the mass of the expanding metal vapor, and t is time, while the dimensionless independent variable is ξ = r/At 1/3 , where r is the distance from the cloud center. The equations of plasma motion and continuity are: ∂v/∂t + ∂n/∂r +1∂p/ρ∂r = 0 ∂ρ/∂t + ∂ρ/∂r + ρ(∂v/∂r + 2v/r) = 0 where v, ρ, P are plasma velocity, density and pressure, transformed in the self-similar form and solved numerically. Boundary conditions were formulated on the front of the plasma expansion taking into account that 1) the front edge of the shock wave expanding in the ambient neutral gas and 2) the rate of cathode erosion is a constant. For an erosion rate of 104 g/C, a cathode ion current of about 20 A and an ambient gas pressure about 0.1 Torr, the radius of the plasma cloud is r (m) = 0.834 x t 1/3 . At t = 10 -5 s, the plasma cloud radius is about 0.018 m, while the front velocity is v f = 600 m/s

Calculation of vapour bubble growth on the lower generatrix of horizontal tubes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chajka, V.D.

1987-01-01

The known models of vapour bubble growth are compared with experimental data. Cinematographic study of vapour formation during water boiling was carried out with elements of horizontal tubes of copper 10, 16, 24, 34 and 70 mm in diameter under the pressure of 100 kPa and specific thermal loadings of 20 and 40 kW/m 2 . According to the experimental data the main volume of vapour phase is occupied by vapour bubbles from the lower part of the horizontal tube. Five stages of vapour bubble growth on the lower generatrix of the horizontal tube: nucleation, growth to the point of breaking off from nucleate centre, the breaking off from the nucleate centre, the tube surface flowing around during floating up, the breaking off from the tube surface, were singled out. The shape of vapour volume varied during the whole period of the bubble growth and it was mainly determined by the horizontal tube diameter. The change of vapour bubble radius in time is the function of the horizontal tube diameter. Comparison of the experimental data with the known models of vapour bubble growth has shown, that every stage of vapour bubble growth on the lower generatrix of the tube is determined by the complex of thermal and hydrodynamic conditions, the effect of which depends on the horizontal tube diameter

Phase transitions of doped carbon in CrCN coatings with modified mechanical and tribological properties via filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guan, J.J.; Wang, H.Q.; Qin, L.Z.; Liao, B.; Liang, H.; Li, B.

2017-01-01

The CrCN coatings were fabricated onto Si (1 1 1) wafers and SUS304 stainless steel plates using filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD) technique under different flow ratios of N_2/C_2H_2 gas mixture. The morphology, crystalline structure and chemical composition of the coatings were characterized. It was found that the grain size reduce with increasing carbon content, which makes the CrCN coatings refined and smooth. The quasi-one-dimensional carbolite phase was also found in CrN host lattice with C_2H_2 content ranging from 5% to 20%, and it will be evolved into amorphous carbon and amorphous CN_x phases as C_2H_2 content exceeds 20%. Moreover, we examined the mechanical and tribological properties of the CrCN coatings, and the experimental results confirmed that the friction coefficient of the coatings descend to the lowest value as 0.39 with 30% C_2H_2 content, due to the graphite (sp"2 C−C) phase embed in CrN host lattice; while the chromium carbon (Cr_3C_2) and diamond (sp"3 C−C) phases may give rise to the increase of the coating hardness with the highest value at 23.97 GPa under 20% C_2H_2 content.

Phase transitions of doped carbon in CrCN coatings with modified mechanical and tribological properties via filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, J. J.; Wang, H. Q.; Qin, L. Z.; Liao, B.; Liang, H.; Li, B.

2017-04-01

The CrCN coatings were fabricated onto Si (1 1 1) wafers and SUS304 stainless steel plates using filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD) technique under different flow ratios of N2/C2H2 gas mixture. The morphology, crystalline structure and chemical composition of the coatings were characterized. It was found that the grain size reduce with increasing carbon content, which makes the CrCN coatings refined and smooth. The quasi-one-dimensional carbolite phase was also found in CrN host lattice with C2H2 content ranging from 5% to 20%, and it will be evolved into amorphous carbon and amorphous CNx phases as C2H2 content exceeds 20%. Moreover, we examined the mechanical and tribological properties of the CrCN coatings, and the experimental results confirmed that the friction coefficient of the coatings descend to the lowest value as 0.39 with 30% C2H2 content, due to the graphite (sp2 Csbnd C) phase embed in CrN host lattice; while the chromium carbon (Cr3C2) and diamond (sp3 Csbnd C) phases may give rise to the increase of the coating hardness with the highest value at 23.97 GPa under 20% C2H2 content.

Operation of arc heating furnace on manufacturing gigantic ingots and segregation of gigantic ingots

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niimi, Takayasu; Okamura, Masayoshi

1976-01-01

The techniques and procedure for manufacturing gigantic ingots heavier than 200 t are described. Especially, practical results of an arc heating furnace which plays an important role in the procedure and segregation of gigantic ingots are discussed in detail. By appropriate operations of the arc heating furnance, hydrogen and phosphorus are kept unchanged, and oxygen and sulphur decrease to very low levels. Furthermore, the temperature can be accurately controlled. The application of multipour technique reduces segregation and its degree is dependent on kinds of steel. V-segregation and inverted V-segregation in steel deoxidized with carbon in vacuum seem to be very slight. (auth.)

Ethanol vapour sensing properties of screen printed WO 3 thick films

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The ethanol vapour sensing properties of these thick films were investigated at different operating temperatures and ethanol vapour concentrations. The WO3 thick films exhibit excellent ethanol vapour sensing properties with a maximum sensitivity of ∼1424.6% at 400°C in air atmosphere with fast response and recovery ...

Studies of steered arc motion and macroparticle production in PVD processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Craven, A.L.

2000-03-01

During the past decade the production industry has constantly strived to improve performance and cut costs, this has been aided by the development of high performance tools. The advancement of these tools has been accomplished by the application of hard wearing, low friction, coatings. A key process in the production of such coatings is Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD). Interest in such thin films has led to much research effort, both academic and industrial, being devoted to the area. In order that these advancements in technology continue, research into the fundamental aspects of PVD is required. This thesis describes research and experimental studies which have been performed to study the effect of 'steering' an electric arc on various aspects of its behaviour. 'Steering' of the arc is achieved by applying external magnetic fields which allow the guidance of the path of the arc. Work by earlier authors has aimed to control the arc more fully. The research presented here is based of a novel electromagnetic three coil steering array of cylindrical geometry. With such coils it is possible to vary the field profiles to a greater degree than has been previously achieved, permitting a greater range of steering arrangements/fields to be applied. The research presented is divided into two distinct areas: Firstly a number of experiments were performed to assess the effectiveness of the new steering coils on the motion of the arc. A personal computer was used here along with new arc motion monitoring electronics. This enabled the simultaneous measurement of the orbital transit times and also the degree of travel perpendicular to the steered direction of motion of the arc, as it traversed the surface of the cathode. Such information was then used to produce values for standard deviation of the arc from its steered path, velocity of the arc and a diffusion constant related to the motion of the are. Such values then allowed evaluation of the stochastic model of arc motion

Intercomparison of TCCON and MUSICA Water Vapour Products

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, D.; Strong, K.; Deutscher, N. M.; Schneider, M.; Blumenstock, T.; Robinson, J.; Notholt, J.; Sherlock, V.; Griffith, D. W. T.; Barthlott, S.; García, O. E.; Smale, D.; Palm, M.; Jones, N. B.; Hase, F.; Kivi, R.; Ramos, Y. G.; Yoshimura, K.; Sepúlveda, E.; Gómez-Peláez, Á. J.; Gisi, M.; Kohlhepp, R.; Warneke, T.; Dohe, S.; Wiegele, A.; Christner, E.; Lejeune, B.; Demoulin, P.

2014-12-01

We present an intercomparison between the water vapour products from the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) and the MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water (MUSICA), two datasets from ground-based Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectrometers with good global representation. Where possible, comparisons to radiosondes are also included. The near-infrared TCCON measurements are optimized to provide precise monitoring of greenhouse gases for carbon cycle studies; however, TCCON's retrievals also produce water vapour products. The mid-infrared MUSICA products result from retrievals optimized to give precise and accurate information about H2O, HDO, and δD. The MUSICA water vapour products have been validated by extensive intercomparisons with H2O and δD in-situ measurements made from ground, radiosonde, and aircraft (Schneider et al. 2012, 2014), as well as by intercomparisons with satellite-based H2O and δD remote sensing measurements (Wiegele et al., 2014). This dataset provides a valuable reference point for other measurements of water vapour. This study is motivated by the limited intercomparisons performed for TCCON water vapour products and limited characterisation of their uncertainties. We compare MUSICA and TCCON products to assess the potential for TCCON measurements to contribute to studies of the water cycle, water vapour's role in climate and use as a tracer for atmospheric dynamics, and to evaluate the performance of climate models. The TCCON and MUSICA products result from measurements taken using the same FTIR instruments, enabling a comparison with constant instrumentation. The retrieval techniques differ, however, in their method and a priori information. We assess the impact of these differences and characterize the comparability of the TCCON and MUSICA datasets.

The role of current characteristics of the arc evaporator in formation of the surface metal-coating composite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plikhunov, V V; Petrov, L M; Grigorovich, K V

2016-01-01

The influence of current characteristics of the vacuum arc evaporator on the interaction process of plasma streams with the surface under treatment during generation of the physicochemical properties of the formed metal-coating composite is considered. It is shown that the interaction of plasma streams with the processed surface provides surface heating, defects elimination, change in energy properties, and mass transfer of plasma stream elements activating surface diffusion processes whose intensity is evaluated by the arc current magnitude and location of the processed surface relative to the cathode axis. (paper)

Numerical analysis of high-speed Lithium jet flow under vacuum conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gordeev, Sergej; Groeschel, Friedrich; Stieglitz, Robert

2016-01-01

The EVEDA Li test loop (ELTL) [1] is aimed at validating the hydraulic stability of the Lithium (Li) target at a velocity up to 20 m/s at vacuum (≈10 −3 Pa). The ELTL has been designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the major components providing a neutron production liquid Li target for IFMIF. The rectangular shaped Li jet (cross-section 25 mm × 100 mm) necessitates for heat removal flow velocities of 15–20 m/s along a concave shaped back wall (curvature radius 250 mm) towards the outlet pipe, where the Li jet is subjected to vacuum before it finally enters the collecting quench tank. During the validation experiments within the ELTL acoustic waves within the target outlet pipe have been recorded, indicating potential cavitation processes in the jet impinging region, which may cause premature failures. In order to identify potential cavitation phenomena in correlation with the free jet flow in the outlet pipe a numerical study has been performed. The comparison measured and simulated acoustic emissions exhibits that experimentally deduced cavitation area coincides with the location of the jet wall impingement. The simulations further reveal that a part of the fluid after striking the wall even flows opposite to the gravity vector. This reversed flow is inherently unstable and characterized by waves at first growing and then bursting into droplets. The intense generation of small droplets increases significantly the Li free surface area and lead to a production of Li vapour, which is captured by the jet flow and reintroduced in the main flow. As the static pressure is recovered downstream due to jet impact, the vapour bubbles collapse and hence cavitation likely occurs.

Numerical analysis of high-speed Lithium jet flow under vacuum conditions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gordeev, Sergej, E-mail: sergej.gordeev@kit.edu; Groeschel, Friedrich; Stieglitz, Robert

2016-11-01

The EVEDA Li test loop (ELTL) [1] is aimed at validating the hydraulic stability of the Lithium (Li) target at a velocity up to 20 m/s at vacuum (≈10{sup −3} Pa). The ELTL has been designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the major components providing a neutron production liquid Li target for IFMIF. The rectangular shaped Li jet (cross-section 25 mm × 100 mm) necessitates for heat removal flow velocities of 15–20 m/s along a concave shaped back wall (curvature radius 250 mm) towards the outlet pipe, where the Li jet is subjected to vacuum before it finally enters the collecting quench tank. During the validation experiments within the ELTL acoustic waves within the target outlet pipe have been recorded, indicating potential cavitation processes in the jet impinging region, which may cause premature failures. In order to identify potential cavitation phenomena in correlation with the free jet flow in the outlet pipe a numerical study has been performed. The comparison measured and simulated acoustic emissions exhibits that experimentally deduced cavitation area coincides with the location of the jet wall impingement. The simulations further reveal that a part of the fluid after striking the wall even flows opposite to the gravity vector. This reversed flow is inherently unstable and characterized by waves at first growing and then bursting into droplets. The intense generation of small droplets increases significantly the Li free surface area and lead to a production of Li vapour, which is captured by the jet flow and reintroduced in the main flow. As the static pressure is recovered downstream due to jet impact, the vapour bubbles collapse and hence cavitation likely occurs.

Characterization of Si:O:C:H films fabricated using electron emission enhanced chemical vapour deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Durrant, Steven F. [Laboratorio de Plasmas Tecnologicos, Campus Experimental de Sorocaba, Universidade Estadual Paulista-UNESP, Avenida Tres de Marco, 511, Alto da Boa Vista, 18087-180, Soracaba, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: steve@sorocaba.unesp.br; Rouxinol, Francisco P.M.; Gelamo, Rogerio V. [Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Trasferetti, B. Claudio [Present address: Superintendencia Regional da Policia Federal em Sao Paulo, Setor Tecnico-Cientifico, Rua Hugo d' Antola 95/10o Andar, Lapa de Baixo, 05038-090 Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil); Davanzo, C.U. [Instituto de Quimica, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, SP (Brazil); Bica de Moraes, Mario A. [Instituto de Fisica Gleb Wataghin, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, 13083-970, Campinas, SP (Brazil)

2008-01-15

Silicon-based polymers and oxides may be formed when vapours of oxygen-containing organosilicone compounds are exposed to energetic electrons drawn from a hot filament by a bias potential applied to a second electrode in a controlled atmosphere in a vacuum chamber. As little deposition occurs in the absence of the bias potential, electron impact fragmentation is the key mechanism in film fabrication using electron-emission enhanced chemical vapour deposition (EEECVD). The feasibility of depositing amorphous hydrogenated carbon films also containing silicon from plasmas of tetramethylsilane or hexamethyldisiloxane has already been shown. In this work, we report the deposition of diverse films from plasmas of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-argon mixtures and the characterization of the materials obtained. The effects of changes in the substrate holder bias (V{sub S}) and of the proportion of TEOS in the mixture (X{sub T}) on the chemical structure of the films are examined by infrared-reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) at near-normal and oblique incidence using unpolarised and p-polarised, light, respectively. The latter is particularly useful in detecting vibrational modes not observed when using conventional near-normal incidence. Elemental analyses of the film were carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which was also useful in complementary structural investigations. In addition, the dependencies of the deposition rate on V{sub S} and X{sub T} are presented.

Characterization of Si:O:C:H films fabricated using electron emission enhanced chemical vapour deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Durrant, Steven F.; Rouxinol, Francisco P.M.; Gelamo, Rogerio V.; Trasferetti, B. Claudio; Davanzo, C.U.; Bica de Moraes, Mario A.

2008-01-01

Silicon-based polymers and oxides may be formed when vapours of oxygen-containing organosilicone compounds are exposed to energetic electrons drawn from a hot filament by a bias potential applied to a second electrode in a controlled atmosphere in a vacuum chamber. As little deposition occurs in the absence of the bias potential, electron impact fragmentation is the key mechanism in film fabrication using electron-emission enhanced chemical vapour deposition (EEECVD). The feasibility of depositing amorphous hydrogenated carbon films also containing silicon from plasmas of tetramethylsilane or hexamethyldisiloxane has already been shown. In this work, we report the deposition of diverse films from plasmas of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS)-argon mixtures and the characterization of the materials obtained. The effects of changes in the substrate holder bias (V S ) and of the proportion of TEOS in the mixture (X T ) on the chemical structure of the films are examined by infrared-reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) at near-normal and oblique incidence using unpolarised and p-polarised, light, respectively. The latter is particularly useful in detecting vibrational modes not observed when using conventional near-normal incidence. Elemental analyses of the film were carried out by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which was also useful in complementary structural investigations. In addition, the dependencies of the deposition rate on V S and X T are presented

Considering the use of polyethylene vapour barriers in temperate climates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lawton, M.D. [Morrison Hershfield Ltd., Vancouver, BC (Canada); Brown, W.C. [Morrison Hershfield Ltd., Ottawa, ON (Canada)

2003-07-01

Most building envelope assemblies in Canada must include a vapour barrier in order to comply with Canadian building codes. The installation of sheet polyethylene between the studs and the interior sheathing has been the most common method because it provides more diffusion resistance than necessary to control condensation within a building envelope assembly. It has been suggested that the presence of a polyethylene vapour barrier on the warm-in-winter side of the insulation may actually cause moisture problems because a very low permeance material increases average moisture levels. This paper examined the theory that a vapour barrier at this location restricts drying of moisture that enters the building from outside. Pacific coastal regions of Canada and the United States were presented as examples. Other ways that a polyethylene vapour barrier affects wall performance were also presented. The advanced hygrothermal model HygIRC, developed by Canada's National Research Council, was used to simulate the performance of a wall assembly. Results indicate that eliminating the low permeance polyethylene vapour barrier does not necessarily reduce the risk of moisture problems. Removal of the vapour barrier may have some negative effects, such as increased risk of periodic moisture accumulation and mold growth on paper-faced gypsum board. 7 refs., 2 tabs., 7 figs.

Detection of polar vapours

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blyth, D.A.

1980-01-01

Apparatus for monitoring for polar vapours in a gas consists of (i) a body member defining a passage through which a continuous stream of the gas passes; (ii) an ionising source associated with a region of the passage such that ionization of the gas stream takes place substantially only within the region and also any polar vapour molecules present therein will react with the gas formed to generate ion clusters; and (iii) an electrode for collecting ions carried by the gas stream, the electrode being positioned in the passage downstream of the region and separated from the region by a sufficient distance to ensure that no substantial number of the gas ions formed in said region remains in the gas stream at the collector electrode whilst ensuring that a substantial proportion of the ion clusters formed in the region does remain in the gas stream at the collector electrode. (author)

The millennium water vapour drop in chemistry–climate model simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Brinkop

2016-07-01

Full Text Available This study investigates the abrupt and severe water vapour decline in the stratosphere beginning in the year 2000 (the "millennium water vapour drop" and other similarly strong stratospheric water vapour reductions by means of various simulations with the state-of-the-art Chemistry-Climate Model (CCM EMAC (ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry Model. The model simulations differ with respect to the prescribed sea surface temperatures (SSTs and whether nudging is applied or not. The CCM EMAC is able to most closely reproduce the signature and pattern of the water vapour drop in agreement with those derived from satellite observations if the model is nudged. Model results confirm that this extraordinary water vapour decline is particularly obvious in the tropical lower stratosphere and is related to a large decrease in cold point temperature. The drop signal propagates under dilution to the higher stratosphere and to the poles via the Brewer–Dobson circulation (BDC. We found that the driving forces for this significant decline in water vapour mixing ratios are tropical sea surface temperature (SST changes due to a coincidence with a preceding strong El Niño–Southern Oscillation event (1997/1998 followed by a strong La Niña event (1999/2000 and supported by the change of the westerly to the easterly phase of the equatorial stratospheric quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO in 2000. Correct (observed SSTs are important for triggering the strong decline in water vapour. There are indications that, at least partly, SSTs contribute to the long period of low water vapour values from 2001 to 2006. For this period, the specific dynamical state of the atmosphere (overall atmospheric large-scale wind and temperature distribution is important as well, as it causes the observed persistent low cold point temperatures. These are induced by a period of increased upwelling, which, however, has no corresponding pronounced signature in SSTs anomalies in the tropics

Magnetic hysterysis evolution of Ni-Al alloy with Fe and Mn substitution by vacuum arc melting to produce the room temperature magnetocaloric effect material

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Notonegoro, Hamdan Akbar [PPS Materials Science, FMIPA-Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424 (Indonesia); Mechanical Engineering Dept., FT-Universitas Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa, Cilegon 42435 (Indonesia); Kurniawan, Budhy; Manaf, Azwar, E-mail: azwar@sci.ui.ac.id [PPS Materials Science, FMIPA-Universitas Indonesia, Depok 16424 (Indonesia); Setiawan, Jan [Center for Nuclear Fuel Tecnology-Badan Tenaga Atom Nasional, Tangerang Selatan 15310 (Indonesia)

2016-06-17

The development of magnetocaloric effect (MCE) material is done in order to reduce the damage of the ozone layer caused by the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) emitted into the air. The research dealing with synthesis of magnetocaloric materials based of Ni-Al Heusler Alloy structure and by varying substitution some atoms of Ni with Fe and Al with Mn on Ni-Al Heusler Alloy structure to become Ni{sub 44}Fe{sub 6}Mn{sub 32}Al{sub 18}. Vacuum Arc Melting (VAM) equipment is used to form the alloys on vacuum condition and by flowing argon gas atmosphere and then followed by annealing process for 72 hours. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) reveals that crystallite structure of material is observed. We define that Ni{sub 44}Fe{sub 6} as X{sub 2}, Mn{sub 25} as Y, and Al{sub 18}Mn{sub 7} as Z. Based on the XRD result, we observed that the general formula X{sub 2}YZ is not changed. The PERMAGRAF measurement revealed that there exists of magnetic hysterysis. The hysterysis show that the magnetic structures of the system undego evolution from diamagnetic to soft ferromagnetic material which all of the compound have the same crystallite structure. This evolution indicated that the change in the composition has led to changes the magnetic composition. Mn is the major element that gives strong magnetic properties to the sample. When Mn partially replaced position of Al, the sample became dominant to be influenced to improve their magnetic properties. In addition, substitution a part of Ni by Fe in the composition reveals a pinning of the domain walls in the sample.

Vapour pressure of D2O - Ice at temperatures below 237 K

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heras, J.M.; Asensio, M.C.; Estiu, G.; Viscido, L.

1984-01-01

Accurate measurements of heavy water ice vapour pressures between 193 and 253 K have been carried out and an equation based on thermodynamic data has been derived in order to calculate the D 2 O-ice vapour pressures between 173 and 273 K. The agreement between our calculated vapour pressures and the available experimental data including those in this paper, is very good. The comparison between the theoretical calculations of H 2 O-ice and D 2 O-ice vapour pressures confirms the experimental evidence that H 2 O-ice is more volatile than D 2 O-ice at all temperatures in agreement with the vapour isotopic effect theory (VPIE).(author)

Design, fabrication and test of double-wall vacuum vessel for JT-60U

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uchikawa, Takashi; Ioki, Kimihiro; Ninomiya, Hiromasa.

1994-01-01

A double-wall vacuum vessel was designed and fabricated for JT-60U (an upgraded machine of JT-60), which has a plasma current up to 6 MA and a large plasma volume (100 m 3 ). A new concept of Inconel 625 all-welded structure was adopted to the vessel, that comprises an inner plate, square tubes and an outer plate. The vacuum vessel with a multi-arc D-shaped cross section was fabricated by using hot-sizing press. The electromagnetic and structural analysis has been performed for plasma disruption loads. Dynamic responses of the vessel were measured during plasma disruptions, and the observed displacement had a good agreement with the result of FEM analysis. (author)

Analysis of a combined Rankine-vapour-compression refrigeration cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aphornratana, Satha; Sriveerakul, Thanarath

2010-01-01

This paper describes a theoretical analysis of a heat-powered refrigeration cycle, a combined Rankine-vapour-compression refrigeration cycle. This refrigeration cycle combines an Organic Rankine Cycle and a vapour-compression cycle. The cycle can be powered by low grade thermal energy as low as 60 deg. C and can produce cooling temperature as low as -10 deg. C. In the analysis, two combined Rankine-vapour-compression refrigeration cycles were investigated: the system with R22 and the system with R134a. Calculated COP values between 0.1 and 0.6 of both the systems were found.

Is this an arc or a glow discharge?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Puchkarev, V.F.; Bochkarev, M.B.

1994-01-01

A well known criterion for distinguishing an arc discharge from a glow discharge is a low voltage drop (10--30 V) and a high current density that varies from a few tens to 10 6 A/cm 2 depending on arc type. The high current density is an attribute of arcs with cathode spots. The authors report here a study of the mechanism of emission in cathode spot arc where they realized a spotless discharge with a low voltage drop (30--50 V) and a high mean current density (10 4 --10 6 A/cm 2 ). The discharge was initiated between a broad cathode and point anode. The cathode was a smooth tungsten sphere electrode of about 100 μm in diameter. The point anode was made of various materials (Mo, Cu, Cd) with initial radius 1 μm. Before the experiment the cathode was cleaned by heating at 2,000 K at high vacuum (10 -8 Torr). The discharge was initiated by self-breakdown when electrodes under the voltage 200--500 V were brought to close proximity with each other. The cathode-anode spacing d at the moment of breakdown was estimated to be < 1 μm. The discharge current was varied within 1--3 A by changing the applied voltage and impedance of coaxial cable generator. The discharge burned during 100--1,000 ns. After the single discharge the cathode and anode were examined with a scanning electron microscope. The cathode surface exposed to the discharge was smooth, i.e. no erosion pits similar to arc craters were found on the cathode surface. The anode was shortened after discharge by 5--50 μm depending on current, material and cone angle. A high current density and low voltage drop implies that this is an arc discharge, while the cold cathode and the absence f cathode spot trace are pertinent to a dense glow discharge. The mechanism of emission involving secondary electron emission is to be discussed

Metal halide arc discharge lamp having short arc length

Science.gov (United States)

Muzeroll, Martin E. (Inventor)

1994-01-01

A metal halide arc discharge lamp includes a sealed light-transmissive outer jacket, a light-transmissive shroud located within the outer jacket and an arc tube assembly located within the shroud. The arc tube assembly includes an arc tube, electrodes mounted within the arc tube and a fill material for supporting an arc discharge. The electrodes have a spacing such that an electric field in a range of about 60 to 95 volts per centimeter is established between the electrodes. The diameter of the arc tube and the spacing of the electrodes are selected to provide an arc having an arc diameter to arc length ratio in a range of about 1.6 to 1.8. The fill material includes mercury, sodium iodide, scandium tri-iodide and a rare gas, and may include lithium iodide. The lamp exhibits a high color rendering index, high lumen output and high color temperature.

The vapour pressure of americium(III) chloride

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuster, W.

1983-01-01

Based on the method described by Fischer, an ultramicro-size appratus was developed for static determination of the saturation vapour pressure of highly radioactive materials. The apparatus was tested with MgCl 2 , MnCl 2 , HoCl 3 and ScF 3 . The vapour pressure curves of MgCl 2 and MnCl 2 were in good agreement with other publications and thus proved the efficiency of the apparatus in spite of its difficulties of handling. The values measured for HoCl 3 and ScF 3 differed from those of earlier publications. However, these deviations have been observed before and may be the result of the different measuring principles of static and dynamic methods. For AmCl 3 , the following vapour pressure equation was established: log psub(Torr)=-(11826/T)+10.7. The thermodynamic parameters of the evaporation process were calculated on this basis, and the values for AmBr 3 and PnCl 3 were determined by extrapolation. (orig.) [de

Study of the spray to globular transition in gas metal arc welding: a spectroscopic investigation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valensi, F; Pellerin, S; Castillon, Q; Zielinska, S; Boutaghane, A; Dzierzega, K; Pellerin, N; Briand, F

2013-01-01

The gas metal arc welding (GMAW) process is strongly influenced by the composition of the shielding gas. In particular, addition of CO 2 increases the threshold current for the transition from unstable globular to more stable spray transfer mode. We report on the diagnostics—using optical emission spectroscopy—of a GMAW plasma in pure argon and in mixtures of argon, CO 2 and N 2 while operated in spray and globular transfer modes. The spatially resolved plasma parameters are obtained by applying the Abel transformation to laterally integrated emission data. The Stark widths of some iron lines are used to determine both electron density and temperature, and line intensities yield relative contents of neutral and ionized iron to argon. Our experimental results indicate a temperature drop on the arc axis in the case of spray arc transfer. This drop reduces with addition of N 2 and disappears in globular transfer mode when CO 2 is added. Despite the temperature increase, the electron density decreases with CO 2 concentration. The highest concentration of iron is observed in the plasma column upper part (close to the anode) and for GMAW with CO 2 . Our results are compared with recently published works where the effect of non-homogeneous metal vapour concentration has been taken into account. (paper)

Effect of paint on vapour resistivity in plaster

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

de Villanueva, L.

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The vapour resistivity of plaster coatings such as paint and their effectiveness as water repellents were studied in several types of plaster. To this end, painted, unpainted and pigmented specimens were tested. Experimental values were collected on diffusion and vapour permeability, or its inverse, water vapour resistivity.The data obtained were very useful for evaluating moisture exchange between plaster and the surrounding air, both during initial drying and throughout the life of the material. They likewise served as a basis for ensuring the proper evacuation of water vapour in walls, and use of the capacity of the porous network in plaster products to regulate moisture content or serve as a water vapour barrier to avoid condensation.Briefly, the research showed that pigments, water-based paints and silicon-based water repellents scantly raised vapour resistance. Plastic paints, enamels and lacquers, however, respectively induced five-, ten- and twenty-fold increases in vapour resistivity, on average.Se estudia el fenómeno de la resistividad al vapor de los de yeso y el efecto impermeabilizante que producen los recubrimientos de pintura sobre diversos tipos de yeso y escayola. Para ello, se ensayan probetas desnudas y recubiertas con distintos tipos de pintura, así como coloreados en masa. Se obtienen valores experimentales de la difusividad o permeabilidad al vapor o su inverso la resistividad al vapor de agua.Los datos obtenidos son muy útiles para valorar el fenómeno del intercambio de humedad entre el yeso y el ambiente, tanto durante el proceso de su secado inicial, como en el transcurso de su vida. Así como para disponer soluciones adecuadas para la evacuación del vapor de agua a través de los cerramientos, para utilizar la capacidad de regulación de la humedad, que proporciona el entramado poroso de los productos de yeso, o para impedir el paso del vapor de agua y evitar condensaciones.Como resumen de la investigación, se

ARC: A compact, high-field, fusion nuclear science facility and demonstration power plant with demountable magnets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sorbom, B.N., E-mail: bsorbom@mit.edu; Ball, J.; Palmer, T.R.; Mangiarotti, F.J.; Sierchio, J.M.; Bonoli, P.; Kasten, C.; Sutherland, D.A.; Barnard, H.S.; Haakonsen, C.B.; Goh, J.; Sung, C.; Whyte, D.G.

2015-11-15

Highlights: • ARC reactor designed to have 500 MW fusion power at 3.3 m major radius. • Compact, simplified design allowed by high magnetic fields and jointed magnets. • ARC has innovative plasma physics solutions such as inboardside RF launch. • High temperature superconductors allow high magnetic fields and jointed magnets. • Liquid immersion blanket and jointed magnets greatly simplify tokamak reactor design. - Abstract: The affordable, robust, compact (ARC) reactor is the product of a conceptual design study aimed at reducing the size, cost, and complexity of a combined fusion nuclear science facility (FNSF) and demonstration fusion Pilot power plant. ARC is a ∼200–250 MWe tokamak reactor with a major radius of 3.3 m, a minor radius of 1.1 m, and an on-axis magnetic field of 9.2 T. ARC has rare earth barium copper oxide (REBCO) superconducting toroidal field coils, which have joints to enable disassembly. This allows the vacuum vessel to be replaced quickly, mitigating first wall survivability concerns, and permits a single device to test many vacuum vessel designs and divertor materials. The design point has a plasma fusion gain of Q{sub p} ≈ 13.6, yet is fully non-inductive, with a modest bootstrap fraction of only ∼63%. Thus ARC offers a high power gain with relatively large external control of the current profile. This highly attractive combination is enabled by the ∼23 T peak field on coil achievable with newly available REBCO superconductor technology. External current drive is provided by two innovative inboard RF launchers using 25 MW of lower hybrid and 13.6 MW of ion cyclotron fast wave power. The resulting efficient current drive provides a robust, steady state core plasma far from disruptive limits. ARC uses an all-liquid blanket, consisting of low pressure, slowly flowing fluorine lithium beryllium (FLiBe) molten salt. The liquid blanket is low-risk technology and provides effective neutron moderation and shielding, excellent

Claims in vapour device (e-cigarette) regulation: A Narrative Policy Framework analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Leary, Renée; Borland, Ron; Stockwell, Tim; MacDonald, Marjorie

2017-06-01

The electronic cigarette or e-cigarette (vapour device) is a consumer product undergoing rapid growth, and governments have been adopting regulations on the sale of the devices and their nicotine liquids. Competing claims about vapour devices have ignited a contentious debate in the public health community. What claims have been taken up in the state arena, and how have they possibly influenced regulatory outcomes? This study utilized Narrative Policy Framework to analyze the claims made about vapour devices in legislation recommendation reports from Queensland Australia, Canada, and the European Union, and the 2016 deeming rule legislation from the United States, and examined the claims and the regulatory outcomes in these jurisdictions. The vast majority of claims in the policy documents represented vapour devices as a threat: an unsafe product harming the health of vapour device users, a gateway product promoting youth tobacco uptake, and a quasi-tobacco product impeding tobacco control. The opportunity for vapour devices to promote cessation or reduce exposure to toxins was very rarely presented, and these positive claims were not discussed at all in two of the four documents studied. The dominant claims of vapour devices as a public health threat have supported regulations that have limited their potential as a harm reduction strategy. Future policy debates should evaluate the opportunities for vapour devices to decrease the health and social burdens of the tobacco epidemic. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Monitoring ARC services with GangliARC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cameron, D; Karpenko, D

2012-01-01

Monitoring of Grid services is essential to provide a smooth experience for users and provide fast and easy to understand diagnostics for administrators running the services. GangliARC makes use of the widely-used Ganglia monitoring tool to present web-based graphical metrics of the ARC computing element. These include statistics of running and finished jobs, data transfer metrics, as well as showing the availability of the computing element and hardware information such as free disk space left in the ARC cache. Ganglia presents metrics as graphs of the value of the metric over time and shows an easily-digestable summary of how the system is performing, and enables quick and easy diagnosis of common problems. This paper describes how GangliARC works and shows numerous examples of how the generated data can quickly be used by an administrator to investigate problems. It also presents possibilities of combining GangliARC with other commonly-used monitoring tools such as Nagios to easily integrate ARC monitoring into the regular monitoring infrastructure of any site or computing centre.

Retrieving mesospheric water vapour from observations of volume scattering radiances

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

P. Vergados

2009-02-01

Full Text Available This study examines the possibility for a theoretical approach in the estimation of water vapour mixing ratios in the vicinity of polar mesospheric clouds (PMC using satellite observations of Volume Scattering Radiances (VSR obtained at the wavelength of 553 nm. The PMC scattering properties perturb the underlying molecular Rayleigh scattered solar radiance of the background atmosphere. As a result, the presence of PMC leads to an enhancement in the observed VSR at the altitude of the layer; the PMC VSRs are superimposed on the exponentially decreasing with height Rayleigh VSR, of the PMC-free atmosphere. The ratio between the observed and the Rayleigh VSR of the background atmosphere is used to simulate the environment in which the cloud layer is formed. In addition, a microphysical model of ice particle formation is employed to predict the PMC VSRs. The initial water vapour profile is perturbed until the modelled VSRs match the observed, at which point the corresponding temperature and water vapour profiles can be considered as a first approximation of those describing the atmosphere at the time of the observations. The role of temperature and water vapour in the cloud formation is examined by a number of sensitivity tests suggesting that the water vapour plays a dominant role in the cloud formation in agreement with experimental results. The estimated water vapour profiles are compared with independent observations to examine the model capability in the context of this study. The results obtained are in a good agreement at the peak of the PMC layer although the radiance rapidly decreases with height below the peak. This simplified scenario indicates that the technique employed can give a first approximation estimate of the water vapour mixing ratio, giving rise to the VSR observed in the presence of PMC.

Arc Interference Behavior during Twin Wire Gas Metal Arc Welding Process

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dingjian Ye

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In order to study arc interference behavior during twin wire gas metal arc welding process, the synchronous acquisition system has been established to acquire instantaneous information of arc profile including dynamic arc length variation as well as relative voltage and current signals. The results show that after trailing arc (T-arc is added to the middle arc (M-arc in a stable welding process, the current of M arc remains unchanged while the agitation increases; the voltage of M arc has an obvious increase; the shape of M arc changes, with increasing width, length, and area; the transfer frequency of M arc droplet increases and the droplet itself becomes smaller. The wire extension length of twin arc turns out to be shorter than that of single arc welding.

Research regarding the vacuuming of liquid steel on steel degassing

Science.gov (United States)

Magaon, M.; Radu, M.; Şerban, S.; Zgripcea, L.

2018-01-01

When the liquid steel comes in contact with the atmosphere of the elaboration aggregates, a process of gas diffusion into the metal bath takes place on the one hand, and on the other hand a process that allows them to pass from the metal bath into the atmosphere. The meaning of these processes is determined by a number of factors as follows: the quality of raw and auxiliary materials (moisture content, oils, etc.), the boiling intensity, the evacuation duration, the properties of used slags, the values of the casting ladle processing parameters (bubbling, vacuuming, etc.). The research was carried out at an electrical steelwork, equipped with an electric arc furnace type EBT (Electric Bottom Tapping) capacity 100t, LF (Ladle-Furnace) and VD (Vacuum Degassing) facilities, establishing some correlations between the vacuuming parameters from the V.D.facility and the amounts of hydrogen and nitrogen removed from the metal bath, as well as their removal efficiency, were taken into consideration. The obtained data was processed in MATLAB calculation program, the established correlations form was presented both in analytical and graphical form. The validity of these correlations was verified in practice, being particularly useful in research.

Plasma arc melting of titanium-tantalum alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, P.; Patterson, R.A.; Haun, R.

1994-01-01

Los Alamos has several applications for high temperature, oxidation and liquid-metal corrosion resistant materials. Further, materials property constraints are dictated by a requirement to maintain low density; e.g., less than the density of stainless steel. Liquid metal compatibility and density requirements have driven the research toward the Ti-Ta system with an upper bound of 60 wt% Ta-40 wt% Ti. Initial melting of these materials was performed in a small button arc melter with several hundred grams of material; however, ingot quantities were soon needed. But, refractory metal alloys whose constituents possess very dissimilar densities, melting temperatures and vapor pressures pose significant difficulty and require specialized melting practices. The Ti-Ta alloys fall into this category with the density of tantalum 16.5 g/cc and that of titanium 4.5 g/cc. Melting is further complicated by the high melting point of Ta(3020 C) and the relatively low boiling point of Ti(3287 C). Previous electron beam melting experience with these materials resulted, in extensive vaporization of the titanium and poor chemical homogeneity. Vacuum arc remelting(VAR) was considered as a melting candidate and discarded due to density and vapor pressure issues associated with electron beam. Plasma arc melting offered the ability to supply a cover gas to deal with vapor pressure issues as well as solidification control to help with macrosegregation in the melt and has successfully produced high quality ingots of the Ti-Ta alloys

Fission product vapour - aerosol interactions in the containment: simulant fuel studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beard, A.M.; Benson, C.G.; Bowsher, B.R.

1988-12-01

Experiments have been conducted in the Falcon facility to study the interaction of fission product vapours released from simulant fuel samples with control rod aerosols. The aerosols generated from both the control rod and fuel sample were chemically distinct and had different deposition characteristics. Extensive interaction was observed between the fission product vapours and the control rod aerosol. The two dominant mechanisms were condensation of the vapours onto the aerosol, and chemical reactions between the two components; sorption phenomena were believed to be only of secondary importance. The interaction of fission product vapours and reactor materials aerosols could have a major impact on the transport characteristics of the radioactive emission from a degrading core. (author)

Sensing response of copper phthalocyanine salt dispersed glass with organic vapours

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ridhi, R.; Sachdeva, Sheenam; Saini, G. S. S.; Tripathi, S. K., E-mail: surya@pu.ac.in [Department of Physics, Center of Advanced Study in Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh-160 014 (INDIA) Fax: +91-172-2783336; Tel.:+91-172-2544362 (India)

2016-05-06

Copper Phthalocyanine and other Metal Phthalocyanines are very flexible and tuned easily to modify their structural, spectroscopic, optical and electrical properties by either functionalizing them with various substituent groups or by replacing or adding a ligand to the central metal atom in the phthalocyanine ring and accordingly can be made sensitive and selective to various organic species or gaseous vapours. In the present work, we have dispersed Copper Phthalocyanine Salt (CuPcS) in sol-gel glass form using chemical route sol-gel method and studied its sensing mechanism with organic vapours like methanol and benzene and found that current increases onto their exposure with vapours. A variation in the activation energies was also observed with exposure of vapours.

Phase transitions of doped carbon in CrCN coatings with modified mechanical and tribological properties via filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Guan, J.J. [Faculty of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715 (China); Wang, H.Q. [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Qin, L.Z., E-mail: qin8394@163.com [Faculty of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715 (China); Liao, B.; Liang, H. [College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Li, B. [Faculty of Materials and Energy, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715 (China)

2017-04-15

The CrCN coatings were fabricated onto Si (1 1 1) wafers and SUS304 stainless steel plates using filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition (FCVAD) technique under different flow ratios of N{sub 2}/C{sub 2}H{sub 2} gas mixture. The morphology, crystalline structure and chemical composition of the coatings were characterized. It was found that the grain size reduce with increasing carbon content, which makes the CrCN coatings refined and smooth. The quasi-one-dimensional carbolite phase was also found in CrN host lattice with C{sub 2}H{sub 2} content ranging from 5% to 20%, and it will be evolved into amorphous carbon and amorphous CN{sub x} phases as C{sub 2}H{sub 2} content exceeds 20%. Moreover, we examined the mechanical and tribological properties of the CrCN coatings, and the experimental results confirmed that the friction coefficient of the coatings descend to the lowest value as 0.39 with 30% C{sub 2}H{sub 2} content, due to the graphite (sp{sup 2} C−C) phase embed in CrN host lattice; while the chromium carbon (Cr{sub 3}C{sub 2}) and diamond (sp{sup 3} C−C) phases may give rise to the increase of the coating hardness with the highest value at 23.97 GPa under 20% C{sub 2}H{sub 2} content.

Fe3−δO4/MgO/Co magnetic tunnel junctions synthesized by full in situ atomic layer and chemical vapour deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mantovan, R; Vangelista, S; Kutrzeba-Kotowska, B; Lamperti, A; Fanciulli, M; Manca, N; Pellegrino, L

2014-01-01

Fe 3−δ O 4 /MgO/Co magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) are synthesized on top of ∼1 inch Si/SiO 2 substrates by conducting a full in situ chemical vapour and atomic layer deposition process with no vacuum break. Tunnel magnetoresistance up to 6% is measured at room temperature, increasing to 12.5% at 120 K. Our results demonstrate the possibility of using full-chemical processes to synthesize functional MTJs, and this could provide a path towards the use of cost-effective methods to produce magnetic devices on a large scale. (fast track communication)

Arc Shape Characteristics with Ultra-High-Frequency Pulsed Arc Welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mingxuan Yang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Arc plasma possesses a constriction phenomenon with a pulsed current. The constriction is created by the Lorentz force, the radial electromagnetic force during arc welding, which determines the energy distribution of the arc plasma. Welding experiments were carried out with ultra-high-frequency pulsed arc welding (UHFP-AW. Ultra-high-speed camera observations were produced for arc surveillance. Hue-saturation-intensity (HSI image analysis was used to distinguish the regions of the arc plasma that represented the heat energy distribution. The measurement of arc regions indicated that, with an ultra-high-frequency pulsed arc, the constriction was not only within the decreased arc geometry, but also within the constricted arc core region. This can be checked by the ratio of the core region to the total area. The arc core region expanded significantly at 40 kHz at 60 A. A current level of 80 A caused a decrease in the total region of the arc. Meanwhile, the ratio of the core region to the total increased. It can be concluded that arc constriction depends on the increased area of the core region with the pulsed current (>20 kHz.

Vapour Pressure of Diethyl Phthalate

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Roháč, V.; Růžička, K.; Růžička, V.; Zaitsau, D. H.; Kabo, G. J.; Diky, V.; Aim, Karel

2004-01-01

Roč. 36, č. 11 (2004), s. 929-937 ISSN 0021-9614 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4072921 Keywords : vapour pressure * diethyl phthalate * correlation Subject RIV: CF - Physical ; Theoretical Chemistry Impact factor: 1.144, year: 2004

High-temperature resistant MeCrAlY+Al coatings obtained by ARC-PVD method on Ni Base superalloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swadzba, L.; Maciejny, A.; Mendala, B.; Supernak, W.

1999-01-01

Investigations of obtaining high temperature coatings on the Ni base superalloys by the ARC-PVD method, using exothermic reaction processes between Ni and Al with NiAl intermetallic formation are presented in the article. By the diffusion heating at 1050 o C NiAl high temperature diffusion coating containing 21% at. Al and 50 μm thick was obtained. In the next stage coatings with more complex chemical composition NiCoCrAlY were formed. The two targets were applied for formation of complex NiCoCrAlY coatings. The good consistence between the chemical composition of the targets and the coatings and an uniform distribution of elements in the coatings were shown. Then the surface was covered with aluminium also by the ARC-PVD method. In the vacuum chamber of the equipment a synthesis reaction between NiCoCrAlY and Al with the formation NiAl intermetallics of high Co, Cr, Y content was initiated by the changes in process parameters. The final heat treatment of coatings was conducted in the air and vacuum at 1050 o C. The strong segregation of yttrium in to the oxide scale in the specimens heated in the air was shown. It was possible to obtain NiAl intermetallic phase coatings modified by Co, Cr and Y by the ARC-PVD method. An example of the application of this method for the aircraft engine turbine blades was presented. Method of ARC-PVD gives the possibility chemical composition and high resistance to oxidizing and hot corrosion. (author)

A model for prediction of fume formation rate in gas metal arc welding (GMAW), globular and spray modes, DC electrode positive.

Science.gov (United States)

Dennis, J H; Hewitt, P J; Redding, C A; Workman, A D

2001-03-01

Prediction of fume formation rate during metal arc welding and the composition of the fume are of interest to occupational hygienists concerned with risk assessment and to manufacturers of welding consumables. A model for GMAW (DC electrode positive) is described based on the welder determined process parameters (current, wire feed rate and wire composition), on the surface area of molten metal in the arc and on the partial vapour pressures of the component metals of the alloy wire. The model is applicable to globular and spray welding transfer modes but not to dip mode. Metal evaporation from a droplet is evaluated for short time increments and total evaporation obtained by summation over the life of the droplet. The contribution of fume derived from the weld pool and spatter (particles of metal ejected from the arc) is discussed, as are limitations of the model. Calculated droplet temperatures are similar to values determined by other workers. A degree of relationship between predicted and measured fume formation rates is demonstrated but the model does not at this stage provide a reliable predictive tool.

Estimation of vapour pressure and partial pressure of subliming ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Administrator

conditions of (total) pressure by using thermogravimetry under those conditions. Further, from the partial pressure P, it is possible to determine the number of moles of material in the vapour phase using the ideal gas equation, PV = nRT, where P is the partial pressure, V the volume, n number of moles (of the vapour), R the ...

Discrete vapour cavity model with improved timing of opening and collapse of cavities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bergant, A.; Tijsseling, A.S.; Vítkovský, J.P.; Simpson, A.R.; Lambert, M.F.

2007-01-01

Transient vaporous cavitation occurs in hydraulic piping systems when the liquid pressure falls to the vapour pressure. Cavitation may occur as a localized vapour cavity (large void fraction) or as distributed vaporous cavitation (small void fraction). The discrete vapour cavity model (DVCM) with

Modelling water vapour permeability through atomic layer deposition coated photovoltaic barrier defects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elrawemi, Mohamed, E-mail: Mohamed.elrawemi@hud.ac.uk [EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Advanced Metrology, School of Computing and Engineering, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield (United Kingdom); Blunt, Liam; Fleming, Leigh [EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Advanced Metrology, School of Computing and Engineering, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield (United Kingdom); Bird, David, E-mail: David.Bird@uk-cpi.com [Centre for Process Innovation Limited, Sedgefield, County Durham (United Kingdom); Robbins, David [Centre for Process Innovation Limited, Sedgefield, County Durham (United Kingdom); Sweeney, Francis [EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Advanced Metrology, School of Computing and Engineering, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield (United Kingdom)

2014-11-03

Transparent barrier films such as Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} used for prevention of oxygen and/or water vapour permeation are the subject of increasing research interest when used for the encapsulation of flexible photovoltaic modules. However, the existence of micro-scale defects in the barrier surface topography has been shown to have the potential to facilitate water vapour ingress, thereby reducing cell efficiency and causing internal electrical shorts. Previous work has shown that small defects (≤ 3 μm lateral dimension) were less significant in determining water vapour ingress. In contrast, larger defects (≥ 3 μm lateral dimension) seem to be more detrimental to the barrier functionality. Experimental results based on surface topography segmentation analysis and a model presented in this paper will be used to test the hypothesis that the major contributing defects to water vapour transmission rate are small numbers of large defects. The model highlighted in this study has the potential to be used for gaining a better understanding of photovoltaic module efficiency and performance. - Highlights: • A model of water vapour permeation through barrier defects is presented. • The effect of the defects on the water vapour permeability is investigated. • Defect density correlates with water vapour permeability. • Large defects may dominate the permeation properties of the barrier film.

Vapour phase motion in cryogenic systems containing superheated and subcooled liquids

Science.gov (United States)

Kirichenko, Yu. A.; Chernyakov, P. S.; Seregin, V. E.

The development of vent pipelines, and venting storage tanks for cryogenic liquids requires the knowledge of the law of motion as well as regularities of vapour content variation in the liquid and heat dissipation by the vapour phase. This is a theoretical study of the effect of superheating (subcooling) of the liquid, relative acceleration and reduced pressure upon the size and velocity of noninteracting vapour bubbles, moving in the liquid, and upon their resistance and heat transfer coefficients.

Design and operation of the wide angular-range chopper spectrometer ARCS at the Spallation Neutron Source

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abernathy, D. L.; Stone, M. B.; Loguillo, M. J.; Lucas, M. S.; Delaire, O.; Tang, X.; Lin, J. Y. Y.; Fultz, B.

2012-01-01

The wide angular-range chopper spectrometer ARCS at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is optimized to provide a high neutron flux at the sample position with a large solid angle of detector coverage. The instrument incorporates modern neutron instrumentation, such as an elliptically focused neutron guide, high speed magnetic bearing choppers, and a massive array of 3 He linear position sensitive detectors. Novel features of the spectrometer include the use of a large gate valve between the sample and detector vacuum chambers and the placement of the detectors within the vacuum, both of which provide a window-free final flight path to minimize background scattering while allowing rapid changing of the sample and sample environment equipment. ARCS views the SNS decoupled ambient temperature water moderator, using neutrons with incident energy typically in the range from 15 to 1500 meV. This range, coupled with the large detector coverage, allows a wide variety of studies of excitations in condensed matter, such as lattice dynamics and magnetism, in both powder and single-crystal samples. Comparisons of early results to both analytical and Monte Carlo simulation of the instrument performance demonstrate that the instrument is operating as expected and its neutronic performance is understood. ARCS is currently in the SNS user program and continues to improve its scientific productivity by incorporating new instrumentation to increase the range of science covered and improve its effectiveness in data collection.

Investigation of the structural, surface, optical and electrical properties of the Indium doped CuxO thin films deposited by a thermionic vacuum arc

Science.gov (United States)

Musaoğlu, Caner; Pat, Suat; Özen, Soner; Korkmaz, Şadan; Mohammadigharehbagh, Reza

2018-03-01

In this study, investigation of some physical properties of In-doped CuxO thin films onto amorphous glass substrates were done. The thin films were depsoied by thermionic vacuum arc technique (TVA). TVA technique gives a thin film with lower precursor impurity according to the other chemical and physical depsoition methods. The microstructural properties of the produced thin films was determined by x-ray diffraction device (XRD). The thickness values were measured as to be 30 nm and 60 nm, respectively. The miller indices of the thin films’ crystalline planes were determined as to be Cu (111), CuO (\\bar{1} 12), CuInO2 (107) and Cu2O (200), Cu (111), CuO (\\bar{1} 12), CuO (\\bar{2} 02), CuInO2 (015) for sample C1 and C2, respectively. The produced In-doped CuO thin films are in polycrystalline structure. The surface properties of produced In doped CuO thin films were determined by using an atomic force microscope (AFM) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) tools. The optical properties of the In doped CuO thin films were determined by UV–vis spectrophotometer, interferometer, and photoluminescence devices. p-type semiconductor thin film was obtained by TVA depsoition.

A static analytical apparatus for vapour pressures and (vapour + liquid) phase equilibrium measurements with an internal stirrer and view windows

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Hao; Gong, Maoqiong; Dong, Xueqiang; Wu, Jianfeng

2014-01-01

Highlights: • A new static analytical apparatus for vapour pressures and VLE data was designed. • The {R600a + R245fa} system was selected as a verification system. • Correlation of VLE data was made using PRvdWs and PRHVNRTL model. • Good agreement can be found with the literature data. - Abstract: A new static analytical apparatus for reliable vapour pressures and (vapour + liquid) equilibrium data of small-scale cell (≈150 mL) with internal stirrer and view windows was designed. In this work, the compositions of the phases were analyzed by a gas chromatograph connected on-line with TCD detectors. The operating pressure ranges from (0 to 3000) kPa, and the operating temperature range from (293 to 400) K. Phase equilibrium data for previously reported systems were first measured to test the credibility of the newly developed apparatus. The test included vapour pressure of 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane (R245fa) and isobutane (R600a), VLE of the (R600a + R245fa) system from T = (293.150 to 343.880) K. The measured VLE data are regressed with thermodynamic models using Peng–Robinson EoS with two different models, viz. the van der Waals mixing rule, and the Huron–Vidal mixing rule utilising the non-random two-liquid activity coefficient model. Thermodynamic consistency testing is also performed for the newly measured experimental data

Approach to modeling of the fast energy discharge in cryogenic systems in the form of an electric arc

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2016-01-01

Superconducting magnets are supplied with a few kA of electric current and can store a large amount of energy. Therefore, cryogenic systems which are comprised of such magnets are subject to the risk of fast energy discharge from the magnets themselves in the form of an electric arc. The arcing can be a result of failure in the insulation of an electric circuit or in the connection between the magnet and its current lead. During the discharge, energy can be partially dissipated into the cryogen and partially into the cryogenic system metallic structure. The part of the energy that is transferred to the metallic structure will strongly heat up the metal surface, which can lead to material burning. In this case, the cryogen will flow through the perforation to the insulation vacuum space, which can trigger a rapid increase in pressure in the vacuum enclosure. However, the discharged energy that has been stored in the cryogen also causes a rapid increase in cryogenic pressure. Hence, the proper estimation of the...

On the properties of nanocomposite amorphous carbon films prepared by off-plane double bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tay, B.K.; Zhang, P.

2002-01-01

It is known to deposit hard thin films, such as tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), using a filtered cathode vacuum arc (FCVA). These ta-C films have interesting and useful properties because of the high sp 3 fraction of carbon atoms (up to 87%) in the film. However, the high internal stress in the films can limit their applications as the film may flake away from the substrate. In order to reduce the internal stress of the ta-C films and in an attempt to improve adhesion of thick films of this type, growth modifications such as incorporating metal into the ta-C films have been carried out. Nanocomposite amorphous carbon films were deposited by FCVA technique using metal-carbon composite target. Atomic force microscopy, Raman, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology and structure of the films. Nanoindenter and surface profilometer were used to determine the hardness, Young's modulus, and internal stress. The same metal composition targets for different elements results in different metal composition in the corresponding nanocomposite amorphous carbon films. We attribute this observation to the dynamic balance deposition effect of the FCVA deposition process. The influence of the type of metallic elements and its composition in the films on the structural, mechanical properties, surface energy and field emission (FE) performance was studied. The incorporation of metal into the films results in the decrease of sp 3 fraction, internal stress in the films, but the hardness and Young's modulus remains at high level. The surface energy of the films increases with incorporating Ni atoms, but decreases after incorporating Fe and Al atoms into the films. After heat-treatment, the incorporation of metal into ta-C films can greatly improve the FE performance

The thermotidal exciting function for water vapour absorption of solar radiation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. BONAFEDE

1976-06-01

Full Text Available The thermotidal exciting function J is considered, for
the absorption of solar radiation by water vapour, according to the model
derived by Siebert. The Mugge-Moller formula for water vapour absorption
is integrated numerically, using experimental data for the water vapour
concentration in the troposphere and the stratosphere. It appears that
Siebort's formula is a reasonable approximation at low tropospheric levels
but it dramatically overestimates the water vapour thermotidal heating
in the upper troposphere and in the stratosphere. It seems thus possible
that, if the correct vertical profile is employed for J , the amplitudes and
phases of the diurnal temperature oscillations and of the tidal wind speeds
may suffer significant changes from those previously calculated and possibly explain the three hours delay of the observed phases from the computed values.

RF HEATING AND TEMPERATURE OSCILLATIONS DUE TO A SMALL GAP IN A PEP-II VACUUM CHAMBER

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novokhatski, Alexander

2003-01-01

Wake fields excited in a small gap of a vacuum chamber by ampere beams can have enough amplitude to heat the chamber. The electric component of these fields can be above the arcing limit. Usually flange connections in a vacuum chamber contain a vacuum gasket and an inner RF gasket. If a small gap occurs between the RF gasket and flange surface, wake fields can heat the flanges. The flanges are usually made of stainless steel, which efficiently absorbs RF power. Some flanges consist of two parts (like a vacuum valve flange) and are mechanically connected but have poor thermal contact. A temperature rise can lengthen the inner part of the flange and make firmer the thermal contact to the outer part of the flange. The heat will then flow to the outer part of the flange, which is air and water-cooled. This cooling lowers the flange temperature and the thermal contact becomes poor again. This ''quasi'' periodic mechanism can explain the nature of temperature oscillations observed at several locations in PEP-II, the SLAC B-factory

Microsphere formation in droplets using antisolvent vapour precipitation technique

OpenAIRE

Chew, Sean Jun Liang

2017-01-01

In previous studies, the antisolvent vapour precipitation method has been proven to produce uniformly sized lactose microspheres (1.0 µm) from a single droplet (1.2 mm diameter) at atmospheric pressure. These types of particles have potential applications in the pharmaceutical industry, especially due to their high dissolution rate. This project looked into the possibility of using antisolvent vapour precipitation to produce microspheres from finely atomised droplets. Microspheres in the sub-...

Numerical analysis of the influence of particle charging on the fume formation process in arc welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tashiro, Shinichi; Matsui, Sho; Tanaka, Manabu; Murphy, Anthony B

2013-01-01

In order to clarify the influence of electrostatic forces caused by charging of particles on the coagulation process in fume formation in arc welding, a previously developed fume formation model is modified to consider the influence of charging, for both local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE conditions. The model takes into account formation of the particles from metal vapour by nucleation, growth of the particles by condensation of metal vapour and coagulation of the particles by collisions to form secondary particles. Results are obtained for both ballistic and Brownian motion of the particles. It is found that the growth of secondary particles is suppressed when the average particle charge becomes significant, because charging of the particle hinders collisions among secondary particles through the strong repulsive electrostatic force. Furthermore, deviations from LTE strongly affect the coagulation process, because the increased electron density at a given gas temperature increases the charging of particles. Brownian motion leads to larger secondary particles, since the average particle speed is increased. The influence of Brownian motion and particle charging cancel each other to a large extent, particularly when deviations from LTE are considered. (paper)

Partitioning understory evapotranspiration in semi-arid ecosystems in Namibia using the isotopic composition of water vapour

Science.gov (United States)

de Blécourt, Marleen; Gaj, Marcel; Holtorf, Kim-Kirsten; Gröngröft, Alexander; Brokate, Ralph; Himmelsbach, Thomas; Eschenbach, Annette

2016-04-01

In dry environments with a sparse vegetation cover, understory evapotranspiration is a major component of the ecosystem water balance. Consequently, knowledge on the size of evapotranspiration fluxes and the driving factors is important for our understanding of the hydrological cycle. Understory evapotranspiration is made up of soil evaporation and plant transpiration. Soil evaporation can be measured directly from patches free of vegetation. However, when understory vegetation is present distinguishing between soil evaporation and plant transpiration is challenging. In this study, we aim to partition understory evapotranspiration based on an approach that combines the measurements of water-vapour fluxes using the closed chamber method with measurements of the isotopic composition of water vapour. The measurements were done in the framework of SASSCAL (Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management). The study sites were located in three different semi-arid ecosystems in Namibia: thornbush savanna, Baikiaea woodland and shrubland. At each site measurements were done under tree canopies as well as at unshaded areas between the canopies. We measured evaporation from the bare soil and evapotranspiration from patches covered with herbaceous species and shrubs using a transparent chamber connected with an infrared gas analyser (LI-8100A, LICOR Inc.). The stable isotope composition of water vapour inside the chamber and depth profiles of soil water stable isotopes were determined in-situ using a tuneable off-axis integrated cavity output spectroscope (OA-ICOS, Los Gatos Research, DLT 100). Xylem samples were extracted using the cryogenic vacuum extraction method and the isotopic composition of the extracted water was measured subsequently with a cavity-ring-down spectrometer (CRDS L2120-i, Picarro Inc.). We will present the quantified fluxes of understory evapotranspiration measured in the three different ecosystems, show the

On arc efficiency in gas tungsten arc welding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nils Stenbacka

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to review the literature on published arc efficiency values for GTAW and, if possible, propose a narrower band. Articles between the years 1955 - 2011 have been found. Published arc efficiency values for GTAW DCEN show to lie on a wide range, between 0.36 to 0.90. Only a few studies covered DCEP - direct current electrode positive and AC current. Specific information about the reproducibility in calorimetric studies as well as in modeling and simulation studies (considering that both random and systematic errors are small was scarce. An estimate of the average arc efficiency value for GTAW DCEN indicates that it should be about 0.77. It indicates anyway that the GTAW process with DCEN is an efficient welding method. The arc efficiency is reduced when the arc length is increased. On the other hand, there are conflicting results in the literature as to the influence of arc current and travel speed.

Characterisation and optical vapour sensing properties of PMMA thin films

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Capan, I. [Balikesir University, Science and Arts Faculty, Physics Department, 10100 Balikesir (Turkey)], E-mail: inci.capan@gmail.com; Tarimci, C. [Ankara University, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Engineering Physics, 06100, Tandogan, Ankara (Turkey); Hassan, A.K. [Sheffield Hallam University, Materials and Engineering Research Institute, City Campus, Pond Street, Sheffield S1 1WB (United Kingdom); Tanrisever, T. [Balikesir University, Science and Arts Faculty, Chemistry Department, 10100 Balikesir (Turkey)

2009-01-01

The present article reports on the characterisation of spin coated thin films of poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) for their use in organic vapour sensing application. Thin film properties of PMMA are studied by UV-visible spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. Results obtained show that homogeneous thin films with thickness in the range between 6 and 15 nm have been successfully prepared when films were spun at speeds between 1000-5000 rpm. Using SPR technique, the sensing properties of the spun films were studied on exposures to several halohydrocarbons including chloroform, dichloromethane and trichloroethylene. Data from measured kinetic response have been used to evaluate the sensitivity of the studied films to the various analyte molecules in terms of normalised response (%) per unit concentration (ppm). The highest PMMA film sensitivity of 0.067 normalised response per ppm was observed for chloroform vapour, for films spun at 1000 rpm. The high film's sensitivity to chloroform vapour was ascribed mainly to its solubility parameter and molar volume values. Effect of film thickness on the vapour sensing properties is also discussed.

Antifungal Activity of Clove Essential Oil and its Volatile Vapour Against Dermatophytic Fungi

OpenAIRE

Chee, Hee Youn; Lee, Min Hee

2007-01-01

Antifungal activities of clove essential oil and its volatile vapour against dermatophytic fungi including Candida albicans, Epidermophyton floccosum. Microsporum audouinii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Trichophyton rubrum were investigated. Both clove essential oil and its volatile vapour strongly inhibit spore germination and mycelial growth of the dermatophytic fungi tested. The volatile vapour of clove essential oil showed fungistatic activity whereas direct application of clove essen...

Film boiling heat transfer and vapour film collapse for various geometries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jouhara, H.I.; Axcell, B.P.

2005-01-01

Full text of publication follows: Film boiling heat transfer has application to the safe operation of water-cooled nuclear reactors under fault conditions and it has been studied using nickel-plated copper specimens in transient and steady state experiments. In the transient tests the specimens were held in a water flow; in the steady state investigation a specimen was mounted in an essentially quiescent pool of water. The transient investigation was conducted on two spheres with different diameters, two cylindrical specimens of different lengths in parallel flow, a short cylinder in cross flow and two flat plates with different lengths. The heat transfer coefficient, vapour film thickness (which was estimated from the heat transfer coefficient) and heat flux followed a similar behaviour with changing experimental conditions for all specimens studied. The heat transfer coefficient increased and the vapour film thickness and heat flux decreased as the specimen temperature decreased. As the water subcooling increased the heat transfer coefficient and the heat flux increased while the vapour film thickness decreased. The water velocity was found to have little influence on the film boiling heat transfer results except for the short cylinder in cross flow. The sphere diameter was found to affect the heat transfer results; the heat transfer coefficient and the heat flux were larger, for the larger sphere. No significant effect of the cylinder length on the heat transfer data was observed. However, the heat transfer coefficient was higher (and the average vapour film thinner) for the longer plate than for the shorter plate. Three vapour/liquid interface types were observed namely: 'smooth', 'rippled' and 'turbulent' depending largely on specimen and water temperatures. For all specimens, the maximum heat transfer coefficient, minimum heat flux and minimum film boiling temperature, occurring just before vapour film collapse, were found to increase as the water subcooling

X-ray absorption imaging of Hg vapour in a ceramic metal-halide lamp using synchrotron radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Curry, J J; Adler, H G; MacPhee, A; Narayanan, S; Wang, J

2004-01-01

The diagnostic technique of x-ray absorption imaging of Hg vapour in high-intensity discharge lamps has been extended. X-ray absorption imaging has been used previously to determine the time-averaged absolute Hg density (Curry J J, Sakai M and Lawler J E 1998 J. Appl. Phys. 84 3066). Now, using an intensified charge-coupled device detector and synchrotron radiation, time-resolved measurements have been made. Although no significant time-dependence was seen as a function of the electrical phase for an electronically ballasted lamp, real-time observations were made of the decaying Hg density during the cool-down period. The cold-spot temperature in a 150 W ceramic lamp containing Hg and rare-earth iodides decreased with a time constant of 48.4 s following arc extinction. The primary limitation to the sensitivity of these measurements has been identified, and methods for overcoming this limitation in future work are proposed. Other aspects of the technique are also discussed

ARC: A compact, high-field, disassemblable fusion nuclear science facility and demonstration power plant

Science.gov (United States)

Sorbom, Brandon; Ball, Justin; Palmer, Timothy; Mangiarotti, Franco; Sierchio, Jennifer; Bonoli, Paul; Kasten, Cale; Sutherland, Derek; Barnard, Harold; Haakonsen, Christian; Goh, Jon; Sung, Choongki; Whyte, Dennis

2014-10-01

The Affordable, Robust, Compact (ARC) reactor conceptual design aims to reduce the size, cost, and complexity of a combined Fusion Nuclear Science Facility (FNSF) and demonstration fusion pilot power plant. ARC is a 270 MWe tokamak reactor with a major radius of 3.3 m, a minor radius of 1.1 m, and an on-axis magnetic field of 9.2 T. ARC has Rare Earth Barium Copper Oxide (REBCO) superconducting toroidal field coils with joints to allow disassembly, allowing for removal and replacement of the vacuum vessel as a single component. Inboard-launched current drive of 25 MW LHRF power and 13.6 MW ICRF power is used to provide a robust, steady state core plasma far from disruptive limits. ARC uses an all-liquid blanket, consisting of low pressure, slowly flowing Fluorine Lithium Beryllium (FLiBe) molten salt. The liquid blanket acts as a working fluid, coolant, and tritium breeder, and minimizes the solid material that can become activated. The large temperature range over which FLiBe is liquid permits blanket operation at 800-900 K with single phase fluid cooling and allows use of a high-efficiency Brayton cycle for electricity production in the secondary coolant loop.

Incidence Angle Effect of Energetic Carbon Ions on Deposition Rate, Topography, and Structure of Ultrathin Amorphous Carbon Films Deposited by Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc

KAUST Repository

Wang, N.

2012-07-01

The effect of the incidence angle of energetic carbon ions on the thickness, topography, and structure of ultrathin amorphous carbon (a-C) films synthesized by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) was examined in the context of numerical and experimental results. The thickness of a-C films deposited at different incidence angles was investigated in the light of Monte Carlo simulations, and the calculated depth profiles were compared with those obtained from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The topography and structure of the a-C films were studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The film thickness decreased with the increase of the incidence angle, while the surface roughness increased and the content of tetrahedral carbon hybridization (sp 3) decreased significantly with the increase of the incidence angle above 45° , measured from the surface normal. TEM, AFM, and XPS results indicate that the smoothest and thinnest a-C films with the highest content of sp 3 carbon bonding were produced for an incidence angle of 45°. The findings of this study have direct implications in ultrahigh-density magnetic recording, where ultrathin and smooth a-C films with high sp 3 contents are of critical importance. © 2012 IEEE.

Interactions of fission product vapours with aerosols

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Benson, C G; Newland, M S [AEA Technology, Winfrith (United Kingdom)

1996-12-01

Reactions between structural and reactor materials aerosols and fission product vapours released during a severe accident in a light water reactor (LWR) will influence the magnitude of the radiological source term ultimately released to the environment. The interaction of cadmium aerosol with iodine vapour at different temperatures has been examined in a programme of experiments designed to characterise the kinetics of the system. Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) is a technique that is particularly amenable to the study of systems involving elemental iodine because of the high intensity of the fluorescence lines. Therefore this technique was used in the experiments to measure the decrease in the concentration of iodine vapour as the reaction with cadmium proceeded. Experiments were conducted over the range of temperatures (20-350{sup o}C), using calibrated iodine vapour and cadmium aerosol generators that gave well-quantified sources. The LIF results provided information on the kinetics of the process, whilst examination of filter samples gave data on the composition and morphology of the aerosol particles that were formed. The results showed that the reaction of cadmium with iodine was relatively fast, giving reaction half-lives of approximately 0.3 s. This suggests that the assumption used by primary circuit codes such as VICTORIA that reaction rates are mass-transfer limited, is justified for the cadmium-iodine reaction. The reaction was first order with respect to both cadmium and iodine, and was assigned as pseudo second order overall. However, there appeared to be a dependence of aerosol surface area on the overall rate constant, making the precise order of the reaction difficult to assign. The relatively high volatility of the cadmium iodide formed in the reaction played an important role in determining the composition of the particles. (author) 23 figs., 7 tabs., 22 refs.

Interactions of fission product vapours with aerosols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benson, C.G.; Newland, M.S.

1996-01-01

Reactions between structural and reactor materials aerosols and fission product vapours released during a severe accident in a light water reactor (LWR) will influence the magnitude of the radiological source term ultimately released to the environment. The interaction of cadmium aerosol with iodine vapour at different temperatures has been examined in a programme of experiments designed to characterise the kinetics of the system. Laser induced fluorescence (LIF) is a technique that is particularly amenable to the study of systems involving elemental iodine because of the high intensity of the fluorescence lines. Therefore this technique was used in the experiments to measure the decrease in the concentration of iodine vapour as the reaction with cadmium proceeded. Experiments were conducted over the range of temperatures (20-350 o C), using calibrated iodine vapour and cadmium aerosol generators that gave well-quantified sources. The LIF results provided information on the kinetics of the process, whilst examination of filter samples gave data on the composition and morphology of the aerosol particles that were formed. The results showed that the reaction of cadmium with iodine was relatively fast, giving reaction half-lives of approximately 0.3 s. This suggests that the assumption used by primary circuit codes such as VICTORIA that reaction rates are mass-transfer limited, is justified for the cadmium-iodine reaction. The reaction was first order with respect to both cadmium and iodine, and was assigned as pseudo second order overall. However, there appeared to be a dependence of aerosol surface area on the overall rate constant, making the precise order of the reaction difficult to assign. The relatively high volatility of the cadmium iodide formed in the reaction played an important role in determining the composition of the particles. (author) 23 figs., 7 tabs., 22 refs

Sound speed of isobaric heat capacity in the saturated and superheated vapour of cesium, rubidium and potassium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Novikov, I.I.; Roschupkin, V.V.

1985-01-01

The paper reviews the work carried out on the thermodynamic properties of alkali metal vapours. The most systematic investigations concern the sound velocity measurements for saturated and superheated vapours of caesium, for saturated vapour of rubidium, and for superheated vapour of potassium. The Joule-Thompson coefficient has been studied in caesium vapour, and the isobaric heat capacity of potassium vapour has also been examined. The experimental methods for all these experiments are described, and the data obtained are presented in tabular form. (U.K.)

VUV photoemission studies of candidate Large Hadron Collider vacuum chamber materials

CERN Document Server

Cimino, R; Baglin, V

1999-01-01

In the context of future accelerators and, in particular, the beam vacuum of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), a 27 km circumference proton collider to be built at CERN, VUV synchrotron radiation (SR) has been used to study both qualitatively and quantitatively candidate vacuum chamber materials. Emphasis is given to show that angle and energy resolved photoemission is an extremely powerful tool to address important issues relevant to the LHC, such as the emission of electrons that contributes to the creation of an electron cloud which may cause serious beam instabilities and unmanageable heat loads on the cryogenic system. Here we present not only the measured photoelectron yields from the proposed materials, prepared on an industrial scale, but also the energy and in some cases the angular dependence of the emitted electrons when excited with either a white light (WL) spectrum, simulating that in the arcs of the LHC, or monochromatic light in the photon energy range of interest. The effects on the materials ...

Antifungal activity of clove essential oil and its volatile vapour against dermatophytic fungi.

Science.gov (United States)

Chee, Hee Youn; Lee, Min Hee

2007-12-01

Antifungal activities of clove essential oil and its volatile vapour against dermatophytic fungi including Candida albicans, Epidermophyton floccosum. Microsporum audouinii, Trichophyton mentagrophytes, and Trichophyton rubrum were investigated. Both clove essential oil and its volatile vapour strongly inhibit spore germination and mycelial growth of the dermatophytic fungi tested. The volatile vapour of clove essential oil showed fungistatic activity whereas direct application of clove essential oil showed fungicidal activity.

Wear properties of metal ion implanted 4140 steel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, P.J.; Paoloni, F.J.

1994-01-01

AISI type 4140 (high tensile) steel has been implanted with tungsten and titanium using a metal vapour vacuum arc ion source. Doses in the range (1-5)x10 16 ionscm -2 were implanted to a depth of approximately 30nm. The relative wear resistance between non-implanted and implanted specimens has been estimated using pin-on-disc and abrasive wear tests. Implantation of titanium decreased the area of wear tracks by a factor of 5 over unimplanted steel. In some cases the steel was also hardened by a liquid carburization treatment before implantation. Abrasion tests revealed a further improvement in wear resistance on this material following ion irradiation. ((orig.))

Electrical and optical performance of transparent conducting oxide films deposited by electrostatic spray assisted vapour deposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Xianghui; Choy, Kwang-Leong; Liu, Jun-Peng

2011-09-01

Transparent conducting oxide (TCO) films have the remarkable combination of high electrical conductivity and optical transparency. There is always a strong motivation to produce TCO films with good performance at low cost. Electrostatic Spray Assisted Vapor Deposition (ESAVD), as a variant of chemical vapour deposition (CVD), is a non-vacuum and low-cost deposition method. Several types of TCO films have been deposited using ESAVD process, including indium tin oxide (ITO), antimony-doped tin oxide (ATO), and fluorine doped tin oxide (FTO). This paper reports the electrical and optical properties of TCO films produced by ESAVD methods, as well as the effects of post treatment by plasma hydrogenation on these TCO films. The possible mechanisms involved during plasma hydrogenation of TCO films are also discussed. Reduction and etching effect during plasma hydrogenation are the most important factors which determine the optical and electrical performance of TCO films.

Electron collision cross section sets of TMS and TEOS vapours

Science.gov (United States)

Kawaguchi, S.; Takahashi, K.; Satoh, K.; Itoh, H.

2017-05-01

Reliable and detailed sets of electron collision cross sections for tetramethylsilane [TMS, Si(CH3)4] and tetraethoxysilane [TEOS, Si(OC2H5)4] vapours are proposed. The cross section sets of TMS and TEOS vapours include 16 and 20 kinds of partial ionization cross sections, respectively. Electron transport coefficients, such as electron drift velocity, ionization coefficient, and longitudinal diffusion coefficient, in those vapours are calculated by Monte Carlo simulations using the proposed cross section sets, and the validity of the sets is confirmed by comparing the calculated values of those transport coefficients with measured data. Furthermore, the calculated values of the ionization coefficient in TEOS/O2 mixtures are compared with measured data to confirm the validity of the proposed cross section set.

The Seasonal Cycle of Water Vapour on Mars from Assimilation of Thermal Emission Spectrometer Data

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Liam J.; Lewis, Stephen R.; Patel, Manish R.; Montmessin, Franck; Forget, Francois; Smith, Michael D.

2014-01-01

We present for the first time an assimilation of Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) water vapour column data into a Mars global climate model (MGCM). We discuss the seasonal cycle of water vapour, the processes responsible for the observed water vapour distribution, and the cross-hemispheric water transport. The assimilation scheme is shown to be robust in producing consistent reanalyses, and the global water vapour column error is reduced to around 2-4 pr micron depending on season. Wave activity is shown to play an important role in the water vapour distribution, with topographically steered flows around the Hellas and Argyre basins acting to increase transport in these regions in all seasons. At high northern latitudes, zonal wavenumber 1 and 2 stationary waves during northern summer are responsible for spreading the sublimed water vapour away from the pole. Transport by the zonal wavenumber 2 waves occurs primarily to the west of Tharsis and Arabia Terra and, combined with the effects of western boundary currents, this leads to peak water vapour column abundances here as observed by numerous spacecraft. A net transport of water to the northern hemisphere over the course of one Mars year is calculated, primarily because of the large northwards flux of water vapour which occurs during the local dust storm around L(sub S) = 240-260deg. Finally, outlying frost deposits that surround the north polar cap are shown to be important in creating the peak water vapour column abundances observed during northern summer.

Comparison of interaction mechanisms of copper phthalocyanine and nickel phthalocyanine thin films with chemical vapours

Science.gov (United States)

Ridhi, R.; Singh, Sukhdeep; Saini, G. S. S.; Tripathi, S. K.

2018-04-01

The present study deals with comparing interaction mechanisms of copper phthalocyanine and nickel phthalocyanine with versatile chemical vapours: reducing, stable aromatic and oxidizing vapours namely; diethylamine, benzene and bromine. The variation in electrical current of phthalocyanines with exposure of chemical vapours is used as the detection parameter for studying interaction behaviour. Nickel phthalocyanine is found to exhibit anomalous behaviour after exposure of reducing vapour diethylamine due to alteration in its spectroscopic transitions and magnetic states. The observed sensitivities of copper phthalocyanine and nickel phthalcyanine films are different in spite of their similar bond numbers, indicating significant role of central metal atom in interaction mechanism. The variations in electronic transition levels after vapours exposure, studied using UV-Visible spectroscopy confirmed our electrical sensing results. Bromine exposure leads to significant changes in vibrational bands of metal phthalocyanines as compared to other vapours.

Clustering of arc volcanoes caused by temperature perturbations in the back-arc mantle.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Changyeol; Wada, Ikuko

2017-06-29

Clustering of arc volcanoes in subduction zones indicates along-arc variation in the physical condition of the underlying mantle where majority of arc magmas are generated. The sub-arc mantle is brought in from the back-arc largely by slab-driven mantle wedge flow. Dynamic processes in the back-arc, such as small-scale mantle convection, are likely to cause lateral variations in the back-arc mantle temperature. Here we use a simple three-dimensional numerical model to quantify the effects of back-arc temperature perturbations on the mantle wedge flow pattern and sub-arc mantle temperature. Our model calculations show that relatively small temperature perturbations in the back-arc result in vigorous inflow of hotter mantle and subdued inflow of colder mantle beneath the arc due to the temperature dependence of the mantle viscosity. This causes a three-dimensional mantle flow pattern that amplifies the along-arc variations in the sub-arc mantle temperature, providing a simple mechanism for volcano clustering.

Effect of modulation periods on the microstructure and mechanical properties of DLC/TiC multilayer films deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Zhaoying; Sun, H.; Leng, Y.X.; Li, Xueyuan; Yang, Wenmao; Huang, N.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • DLC/TiC multilayer films with different modulation periods at same modulation ratio 1:1 were deposited by FCVA. • The residual stress of DLC/TiC multilayer films decreases with the modulation periods decrease. • The hardness of the multilayer DLC films decreases with modulation periods increasing. - Abstract: The high stress of diamond-like carbon (DLC) film limits its thickness and adhesion on substrate. Multilayer structure is one approach to overcome this disadvantage. In this paper, the DLC/TiC multilayer films with different modulation periods (80 nm, 106 nm or 160 nm) at same modulation ratio of 1:1 were deposited on Si(1 0 0) wafer and Ti-6Al-4V substrate by filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA) technology. X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), nanoindention and wear test were employed to investigate the effect of modulation periods on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the multilayer films. The results showed that the residual stress of the DLC/TiC multilayer films could be effectively reduced and the residual stress decreased with the modulation periods decreasing. The hardness of the DLC/TiC multilayer films increased with modulation periods decreasing. The DLC/TiC multilayer film with modulation period of 106 nm had the best wear resistance due to the good combination of hardness, ductility and low compressive stress

Impact of major volcanic eruptions on stratospheric water vapour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Löffler

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Volcanic eruptions can have a significant impact on the Earth's weather and climate system. Besides the subsequent tropospheric changes, the stratosphere is also influenced by large eruptions. Here changes in stratospheric water vapour after the two major volcanic eruptions of El Chichón in Mexico in 1982 and Mount Pinatubo on the Philippines in 1991 are investigated with chemistry–climate model simulations. This study is based on two simulations with specified dynamics of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Hamburg – Modular Earth Submodel System (ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC model, performed within the Earth System Chemistry integrated Modelling (ESCiMo project, of which only one includes the long-wave volcanic forcing through prescribed aerosol optical properties. The results show a significant increase in stratospheric water vapour induced by the eruptions, resulting from increased heating rates and the subsequent changes in stratospheric and tropopause temperatures in the tropics. The tropical vertical advection and the South Asian summer monsoon are identified as sources for the additional water vapour in the stratosphere. Additionally, volcanic influences on tropospheric water vapour and El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO are evident, if the long-wave forcing is strong enough. Our results are corroborated by additional sensitivity simulations of the Mount Pinatubo period with reduced nudging and reduced volcanic aerosol extinction.

Spontaneuos and Parametric Processes in Warm Rubidium Vapours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dąbrowski M.

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Warm rubidium vapours are known to be a versatile medium for a variety of experiments in atomic physics and quantum optics. Here we present experimental results on producing the frequency converted light for quantum applications based on spontaneous and stimulated processes in rubidium vapours. In particular, we study the efficiency of spontaneously initiated stimulated Raman scattering in the Λ-level configuration and conditions of generating the coherent blue light assisted by multi-photon transitions in the diamond-level configuration. Our results will be helpful in search for new types of interfaces between light and atomic quantum memories.

Technical committee meeting on aerosol formation, vapour deposits and sodium vapour trapping. Summary report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1977-01-01

The papers presented at the LMFBR meeting on aerosol formation covered the following four main topics: theoretical studies on aerosol behaviour and comparison with experimental results; techniques for measurement of aerosols; techniques for trapping sodium vapour and aerosols in gas circuits; design of components having to cope with aerosol deposits. The resulting summaries, conclusions and recommendations which were were agreed upon are presented.

Technical committee meeting on aerosol formation, vapour deposits and sodium vapour trapping. Summary report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1977-01-01

The papers presented at the LMFBR meeting on aerosol formation covered the following four main topics: theoretical studies on aerosol behaviour and comparison with experimental results; techniques for measurement of aerosols; techniques for trapping sodium vapour and aerosols in gas circuits; design of components having to cope with aerosol deposits. The resulting summaries, conclusions and recommendations which were were agreed upon are presented

Performance analysis of a potassium-steam two stage vapour cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitachi, Kohshi; Saito, Takeshi

1983-01-01

It is an important subject to raise the thermal efficiency in thermal power plants. In present thermal power plants which use steam cycle, the plant thermal efficiency has already reached 41 to 42 %, steam temperature being 839 K, and steam pressure being 24.2 MPa. That is, the thermal efficiency in a steam cycle is facing a limit. In this study, analysis was made on the performance of metal vapour/steam two-stage Rankine cycle obtained by combining a metal vapour cycle with a present steam cycle. Three different combinations using high temperature potassium regenerative cycle and low temperature steam regenerative cycle, potassium regenerative cycle and steam reheat and regenerative cycle, and potassium bleed cycle and steam reheat and regenerative cycle were systematically analyzed for the overall thermal efficiency, the output ratio and the flow rate ratio, when the inlet temperature of a potassium turbine, the temperature of a potassium condenser, and others were varied. Though the overall thermal efficiency was improved by lowering the condensing temperature of potassium vapour, it is limited by the construction because the specific volume of potassium in low pressure section increases greatly. In the combinatipn of potassium vapour regenerative cycle with steam regenerative cycle, the overall thermal efficiency can be 58.5 %, and also 60.2 % if steam reheat and regenerative cycle is employed. If a cycle to heat steam with the bled vapor out of a potassium vapour cycle is adopted, the overall thermal efficiency of 63.3 % is expected. (Wakatsuki, Y.)

The water vapour flux above Switzerland and its role in the August 2005 extreme precipitation and flooding

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

N' Dri Koffi, Ernest; Maetzler, Christian [Bern Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. of Applied Physics; Graham, Edward [Bern Univ. (Switzerland). Inst. of Applied Physics; University of the Highlands and Islands, Stornoway, Scotland (United Kingdom). Lews Castle College

2013-10-15

The water budget approach is applied to an atmospheric box above Switzerland (hereafter referred to as the 'Swiss box') to quantify the atmospheric water vapour flux using ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalyses. The results confirm that the water vapour flux through the Swiss box is highly temporally variable, ranging from 1 to 5 x 10{sup 7} kg/s during settled anticyclonic weather, but increasing in size by a factor of ten or more during high speed currents of water vapour. Overall, Switzerland and the Swiss box 'import' more water vapour than it 'exports', but the amount gained remains only a small fraction (1% to 5%) of the total available water vapour passing by. High inward water vapour fluxes are not necessarily linked to high precipitation episodes. The water vapour flux during the August 2005 floods, which caused severe damage in central Switzerland, is examined and an assessment is made of the computed water vapour fluxes compared to high spatio-temporal rain gauge and radar observations. About 25% of the incoming water vapour flux was stored in Switzerland. The computed water vapour fluxes from ECMWF data compare well with the mean rain gauge observations and the combined rain-gauge radar precipitation products. (orig.)

The electrical, elemental, optical, and surface properties of Si-doped ZnO thin films prepared by thermionic vacuum arc

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadigharehbagh, Reza; Özen, Soner; Yudar, Hafizittin Hakan; Pat, Suat; Korkmaz, Şadan

2017-09-01

The purpose of this work is to study the properties of Si-doped ZnO (SZO) thin films, which were prepared using the non-reactive thermionic vacuum arc technique. The analysis of the elemental, optical, and surface properties of ZnO:Si thin films was carried out using energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, UV-VIS spectrophotometry, atomic force microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The current-voltage measurement was employed in order to study the electrical properties of the films. The effect of Si doping on the physical properties of ZnO films was investigated. The film thicknesses were measured as 55 and 35 nm for glass and PET substrates, respectively. It was clearly observed from the x-ray diffraction results that the Si and ZnO peaks were present in the coated SZO films for all samples. The morphological studies showed that the deposited surfaces are homogenous, dense, and have a uniform surface, with the existence of some cracks only on the glass substrate. The elemental composition has confirmed the existence of Zn, Si, and O elements within the prepared films. Using a UV-VIS spectrophotometer, the optical parameters such as transmittance, absorbance, refractive index, and reflectance were calculated. It should be noted that the transparency and refractive indices obtained from the measurements decrease with increasing Si concentration. The obtained optical bandgap values using transmittance spectra were determined to be 3.74 and 3.84 eV for the glass and PET substrates, respectively. An increase in the bandgap results demonstrates that the Si doping concentration is comparable to the pure ZnO thin films. The current versus voltage curves revealed the ohmic nature of the films. Subsequently, the development and fabrication of excellent transparent conducting electrodes enabled the appropriate use of Si-doped ZnO thin films.

(Vapour + liquid) equilibria for (2,2-dimethoxypropane + methanol) and (2,2-dimethoxypropane + acetone)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Hui; Li Haoran; Wang Congmin; Tan Taijun; Han Shijun

2003-01-01

The isothermal and isobaric (vapour + liquid) equilibria for (2,2-dimethoxypropane + methanol) and (2,2-dimethoxypropane + acetone) measured with an inclined ebulliometer are presented. The experimental results are analysed using the UNIQUAC equation with the temperature-dependent binary parameters with satisfactory results. Isobaric (vapour + liquid) equilibria data for these systems at p=99.99 kPa are compared with the literature data. Experimental vapour pressure of 2,2-dimethoxypropane are also included

Combined Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Electric-Arc Airspikes For Blunt Body at Mach 3

Science.gov (United States)

Misiewicz, C.; Myrabo, L. N.; Shneider, M. N.; Raizer, Y. P.

2005-04-01

Electric-arc airspike experiments were performed with a 1.25-inch diameter blunt body in the vacuum-driven Mach 3 wind tunnel at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Schlieren movies at 30-Hz frame rate were recorded of the airspike flowfields, revealing substantial evolution over the 6-second run durations. Arc powers up to 2-kW were delivered into the airspike by an arc-welding power supply, using zirconiated tungsten electrodes. Aerodynamic drag was measured with a piezo-electric load cell, revealing reductions up to 70% when the airspike was energized. The test article was a small-scale model of the Mercury lightcraft, a laser-propelled transatmospheric vehicle designed to transport one-person into orbit. Numerical modeling of this airspike is based on the Euler gasdynamic equations for conditions identical to those tested in the RPI supersonic tunnel. Excellent agreement between the shock wave shapes given by first-order asymptotic theory, numerical modeling, and experiment is demonstrated. Results of the numerical modeling confirm both the significant drag reduction potential and the energy efficiency of the airspike concept.

Critical Length Criterion and the Arc Chain Model for Calculating the Arcing Time of the Secondary Arc Related to AC Transmission Lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cong Haoxi; Li Qingmin; Xing Jinyuan; Li Jinsong; Chen Qiang

2015-01-01

The prompt extinction of the secondary arc is critical to the single-phase reclosing of AC transmission lines, including half-wavelength power transmission lines. In this paper, a low-voltage physical experimental platform was established and the motion process of the secondary arc was recorded by a high-speed camera. It was found that the arcing time of the secondary arc rendered a close relationship with its arc length. Through the input and output power energy analysis of the secondary arc, a new critical length criterion for the arcing time was proposed. The arc chain model was then adopted to calculate the arcing time with both the traditional and the proposed critical length criteria, and the simulation results were compared with the experimental data. The study showed that the arcing time calculated from the new critical length criterion gave more accurate results, which can provide a reliable criterion in term of arcing time for modeling and simulation of the secondary arc related with power transmission lines. (paper)

Experimental Study of Arcing on High-voltage Solar Arrays

Science.gov (United States)

Vayner, Boris; Galofaro, Joel; Ferguson, Dale

2005-01-01

The main obstacle to the implementation of a high-voltage solar array in space is arcing on the conductor-dielectric junctions exposed to the surrounding plasma. One obvious solution to this problem would be the installation of fully encapsulated solar arrays which were not having exposed conductors at all. However, there are many technological difficulties that must be overcome before the employment of fully encapsulated arrays will turn into reality. An alternative solution to raise arc threshold by modifications of conventionally designed solar arrays looks more appealing, at least in the nearest future. A comprehensive study of arc inception mechanism [1-4] suggests that such modifications can be done in the following directions: i) to insulate conductor-dielectric junction from a plasma environment (wrapthrough interconnects); ii) to change a coverglass geometry (overhang); iii) to increase a coverglass thickness; iiii) to outgas areas of conductor-dielectric junctions. The operation of high-voltage array in LEO produces also the parasitic current power drain on the electrical system. Moreover, the current collected from space plasma by solar arrays determines the spacecraft floating potential that is very important for the design of spacecraft and its scientific apparatus. In order to verify the validity of suggested modifications and to measure current collection five different solar array samples have been tested in large vacuum chamber. Each sample (36 silicon based cells) consists of three strings containing 12 cells connected in series. Thus, arc rate and current collection can be measured on every string independently, or on a whole sample when strings are connected in parallel. The heater installed in the chamber provides the possibility to test samples under temperature as high as 80 C that simulates the LEO operational temperature. The experimental setup is described below.

Arc saw development report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deichelbohrer, P.R.; Beitel, G.A.

1981-01-01

The arc saw is one of the key components of the Contaminated Equipment Volume Reduction (CEVR) Program. This report describes the progress of the arc saw from its inception to its current developmental status. History of the arc saw and early contributors are discussed. Particular features of the arc saw and their advantages for CEVR are detailed. Development of the arc saw including theory of operation, pertinent experimental results, plans for the large arc saw and advanced control systems are covered. Associated topics such as potential applications for the arc saw and other arc saw installations in the world is also touched upon

Factors affecting release of ethanol vapour in active modified atmosphere packaging systems for horticultural products

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weerawate Utto

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The active modified atmosphere packaging (active MAP system , which provides interactive postharvest control , using ethanol vapour controlled release, is one of the current interests in the development of active packaging for horticultural products. A number of published research work have discussed the relationship between the effectiveness of ethanol vapour and its concentration in the package headspace, including its effect on postharvest decay and physiological controls. This is of importance because a controlled release system should release and maintain ethanol vapour at effective concentrations during the desired storage period. A balance among the mass transfer processes of ethanol vapour in the package results in ethanol vapour accumulation in the package headspace. Key factors affecting these processes include ethanol loading, packaging material, packaged product and storage environment (temperature and relative h umidity. This article reviews their influences and discusses future work required to better understand their influences on ethanol vapour release and accumulations in active MAP.

Auroral arc classification scheme based on the observed arc-associated electric field pattern

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marklund, G.

1983-06-01

Radar and rocket electric field observations of auroral arcs have earlier been used to identify essentially four different arc types, namely anticorrelation and correlation arcs (with, respectively, decreased and increased arc-assocaited field) and asymmetric and reversal arcs. In this paper rocket double probe and supplementary observations from the literature, obtained under various geophysical conditions, are used to organize the different arc types on a physical rather than morphological basis. This classification is based on the relative influence on the arc electric field pattern from the two current continuity mechanisms, polarisation electric fields and Birkeland currents. In this context the tangential electric field plays an essential role and it is thus important that it can be obtained with both high accuracy and resolution. In situ observations by sounding rockets are shown to be better suited for this specific task than monostatic radar observations. Depending on the dominating mechanism, estimated quantitatively for a number of arc-crossings, the different arc types have been grouped into the following main categories: Polarisation arcs, Birkeland current arcs and combination arcs. Finally the high altitude potential distributions corresponding to some of the different arc types are presented. (author)

Leybold vacuum handbook

CERN Document Server

Diels, K; Diels, Kurt

1966-01-01

Leybold Vacuum Handbook presents a collection of data sets that are essential for numerical calculation of vacuum plants and vacuum processes. The title first covers vacuum physics, which includes gas kinetics, flow phenomena, vacuum gauges, and vapor removal. Next, the selection presents data on vacuum, high vacuum process technology, and gas desorption and gettering. The text also deals with materials, vapor pressure, boiling and melting points, and gas permeability. The book will be of great interest to engineers and technicians that deals with vacuum related technologies.

Organic Vapour Sensing Properties of Area-Ordered and Size-Controlled Silicon Nanopillar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Li

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Here, a silicon nanopillar array (Si-NPA was fabricated. It was studied as a room-temperature organic vapour sensor, and the ethanol and acetone gas sensing properties were detected with I-V curves. I-V curves show that these Si-NPA gas sensors are sensitive to ethanol and acetone organic vapours. The turn-on threshold voltage is about 0.5 V and the operating voltage is 3 V. With 1% ethanol gas vapour, the response time is 5 s, and the recovery time is 15 s. Furthermore, an evaluation of the gas sensor stability for Si-NPA was performed. The gas stability results are acceptable for practical detections. These excellent sensing characteristics can mainly be attributed to the change of the overall dielectric constant of Si-NPA caused by the physisorption of gas molecules on the pillars, and the filling of the gas vapour in the voids.

Vacuum Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Biltoft, P J

2004-10-15

The environmental condition called vacuum is created any time the pressure of a gas is reduced compared to atmospheric pressure. On earth we typically create a vacuum by connecting a pump capable of moving gas to a relatively leak free vessel. Through operation of the gas pump the number of gas molecules per unit volume is decreased within the vessel. As soon as one creates a vacuum natural forces (in this case entropy) work to restore equilibrium pressure; the practical effect of this is that gas molecules attempt to enter the evacuated space by any means possible. It is useful to think of vacuum in terms of a gas at a pressure below atmospheric pressure. In even the best vacuum vessels ever created there are approximately 3,500,000 molecules of gas per cubic meter of volume remaining inside the vessel. The lowest pressure environment known is in interstellar space where there are approximately four molecules of gas per cubic meter. Researchers are currently developing vacuum technology components (pumps, gauges, valves, etc.) using micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) technology. Miniature vacuum components and systems will open the possibility for significant savings in energy cost and will open the doors to advances in electronics, manufacturing and semiconductor fabrication. In conclusion, an understanding of the basic principles of vacuum technology as presented in this summary is essential for the successful execution of all projects that involve vacuum technology. Using the principles described above, a practitioner of vacuum technology can design a vacuum system that will achieve the project requirements.

Effect of water vapour absorption on hydroxyl temperatures measured from Svalbard

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. M. Chadney

2017-03-01

Full Text Available We model absorption by atmospheric water vapour of hydroxyl airglow emission using the HIgh-resolution TRANsmission molecular absorption database (HITRAN2012. Transmission coefficients are provided as a function of water vapour column density for the strongest OH Meinel emission lines in the (8–3, (5–1, (9–4, (8–4, and (6–2 vibrational bands. These coefficients are used to determine precise OH(8–3 rotational temperatures from spectra measured by the High Throughput Imaging Echelle Spectrograph (HiTIES, installed at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory (KHO, Svalbard. The method described in this paper also allows us to estimate atmospheric water vapour content using the HiTIES instrument.

Across-arc versus along-arc Sr-Nd-Pb isotope variations in the Ecuadorian volcanic arc

Science.gov (United States)

Ancellin, Marie-Anne; Samaniego, Pablo; Vlastélic, Ivan; Nauret, François; Gannoun, Adbelmouhcine; Hidalgo, Silvana

2017-03-01

Previous studies of the Ecuadorian arc (1°N-2°S) have revealed across-arc geochemical trends that are consistent with a decrease in mantle melting and slab dehydration away from the trench. The aim of this work is to evaluate how these processes vary along the arc in response to small-scale changes in the age of the subducted plate, subduction angle, and continental crustal basement. We use an extensive database of 1437 samples containing 71 new analyses, of major and trace elements as well as Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes from Ecuadorian and South Colombian volcanic centers. Large geochemical variations are found to occur along the Ecuadorian arc, in particular along the front arc, which encompasses 99% and 71% of the total variations in 206Pb/204Pb and 87Sr/86Sr ratios of Quaternary Ecuadorian volcanics, respectively. The front arc volcanoes also show two major latitudinal trends: (1) the southward increase of 207Pb/204Pb and decrease of 143Nd/144Nd reflect more extensive crustal contamination of magma in the southern part (up to 14%); and (2) the increase of 206Pb/204Pb and decrease of Ba/Th away from ˜0.5°S result from the changing nature of metasomatism in the subarc mantle wedge with the aqueous fluid/siliceous slab melt ratio decreasing away from 0.5°S. Subduction of a younger and warmer oceanic crust in the Northern part of the arc might promote slab melting. Conversely, the subduction of a colder oceanic crust south of the Grijalva Fracture Zone and higher crustal assimilation lead to the reduction of slab contribution in southern part of the arc.

Indian Vacuum Society: The Indian Vacuum Society

Science.gov (United States)

Saha, T. K.

2008-03-01

The Indian Vacuum Society (IVS) was established in 1970. It has over 800 members including many from Industry and R & D Institutions spread throughout India. The society has an active chapter at Kolkata. The society was formed with the main aim to promote, encourage and develop the growth of Vacuum Science, Techniques and Applications in India. In order to achieve this aim it has conducted a number of short term courses at graduate and technician levels on vacuum science and technology on topics ranging from low vacuum to ultrahigh vacuum So far it has conducted 39 such courses at different parts of the country and imparted training to more than 1200 persons in the field. Some of these courses were in-plant training courses conducted on the premises of the establishment and designed to take care of the special needs of the establishment. IVS also regularly conducts national and international seminars and symposia on vacuum science and technology with special emphasis on some theme related to applications of vacuum. A large number of delegates from all over India take part in the deliberations of such seminars and symposia and present their work. IVS also arranges technical visits to different industries and research institutes. The society also helped in the UNESCO sponsored post-graduate level courses in vacuum science, technology and applications conducted by Mumbai University. The society has also designed a certificate and diploma course for graduate level students studying vacuum science and technology and has submitted a syllabus to the academic council of the University of Mumbai for their approval, we hope that some colleges affiliated to the university will start this course from the coming academic year. IVS extended its support in standardizing many of the vacuum instruments and played a vital role in helping to set up a Regional Testing Centre along with BARC. As part of the development of vacuum education, the society arranges the participation of

Evaluation of blast wave damage from very large unconfined vapour cloud explosions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Munday, G.

1975-01-01

A mathematical model is described for estimating the damage potential from unconfined vapour cloud explosions. An attempt has been made to cover the salient details of the explosive phenomenon including finite flame accelerations and finite vapour cloud sizes. The model has been evaluated against two industrial incidents and the results extrapolated to large-volume vapour clouds. The authors conclude, on the evidence of this model, that great care must be taken in the evaluation of the explosion hazard from the probable occurrence of very large unconfined explosions even at distances in excess of 1 km from the centre of initiation. (author)

Effect of PbI2 deposition rate on two-step PVD/CVD all-vacuum prepared perovskite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ioakeimidis, Apostolos; Christodoulou, Christos; Lux-Steiner, Martha; Fostiropoulos, Konstantinos

2016-01-01

In this work we fabricate all-vacuum processed methyl ammonium lead halide perovskite by a sequence of physical vapour deposition of PbI 2 and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of CH 3 NH 3 I under a static atmosphere. We demonstrate that for higher deposition rate the (001) planes of PbI 2 film show a higher degree of alignment parallel to the sample's surface. From X-ray diffraction data of the resulted perovskite film we derive that the intercalation rate of CH 3 NH 3 I is fostered for PbI 2 films with higher degree of (001) planes alignment. The stoichiometry of the produced perovskite film is also studied by Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Complete all-vacuum perovskite solar cells were fabricated on glass/ITO substrates coated by an ultra-thin (5 nm) Zn-phthalocyanine film as hole selective layer. A dependence of residual PbI 2 on the solar cells performance is displayed, while photovoltaic devices with efficiency up to η=11.6% were achieved. - Graphical abstract: A two-step PVD/CVD processed perovskite film with the CVD intercalation rate of CH 3 NCH 3 molecules been fostered by increasing the PVD rate of PbI 2 and prolonging the CVD time. - Highlights: • A simple PVD/CVD process for perovskite film production. • Increased PVD rate yields better alignment of the PbI 2 (001) crystallite planes. • CH 3 NH 3 I intercalation process fostered by increased PbI 2 PVD rate. • Stoichiometric CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 suitable as absorber in photovoltaic applications • Reduced PbI 2 residue at the bottom of CH 3 NH 3 PbI 3 improves device performance.

Energy efficiency analysis of steam ejector and electric vacuum pump for a turbine condenser air extraction system based on supervised machine learning modelling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strušnik, Dušan; Marčič, Milan; Golob, Marjan; Hribernik, Aleš; Živić, Marija; Avsec, Jurij

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Steam ejector pump and electric liquid ring vacuum pump are analysed and modelled. • A supervised machine learning models by using real process data are applied. • The equation of ejector pumped mass flow from steam turbine condenser was solved. • The loss of specific energy capable of work in a SEPS or LRVP component was analysed. • The economic efficiency analysis per different coal heating values was made. - Abstract: This paper compares the vapour ejector and electric vacuum pump power consumptions with machine learning algorithms by using real process data and presents some novelty guideline for the selection of an appropriate condenser vacuum pump system of a steam turbine power plant. The machine learning algorithms are made by using the supervised machine learning methods such as artificial neural network model and local linear neuro-fuzzy models. The proposed non-linear models are designed by using a wide range of real process operation data sets from the CHP system in the thermal power plant. The novelty guideline for the selection of an appropriate condenser vacuum pumps system is expressed in the comparative analysis of the energy consumption and use of specific energy capable of work. Furthermore, the novelty is expressed in the economic efficiency analysis of the investment taking into consideration the operating costs of the vacuum pump systems and may serve as basic guidelines for the selection of an appropriate condenser vacuum pump system of a steam turbine.

The mechanical vapour compression process applied to seawater desalination

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murat, F.; Tabourier, B.

1984-01-01

The authors present the mechanical vapour compression process applied to sea water desalination. As an example, the paper presents the largest unit so far constructed by SIDEM using this process : a 1,500 m3/day unit installed in the Nuclear Power Plant of Flamanville in France which supplies a high quality process water to that plant. The authors outline the advantages of this process and present also the serie of mechanical vapour compression unit that SIDEM has developed in a size range in between 25 m3/day and 2,500 m3/day

Desalination using spray tower and vapour compression refrigeration system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sathish Kumar, S.; Mani, A.

2006-01-01

A desalination system using a spray tower and Vapour Compression Refrigeration (VCR) system is proposed for obtaining fresh water from brackish water. In the spray tower, simultaneous heat and mass transfer take place between the brackish water and air, which results in the evaporation of the brackish water and humidification of the air. Fresh water is obtained from the humidified air by condensing the water vapour using a VCR system. Parametric studies were carried out to study the effect of various operational parameters on the fresh water production rate. (author)

Influence of arc current and pressure on non-chemical equilibrium air arc behavior

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, WU; Yufei, CUI; Jiawei, DUAN; Hao, SUN; Chunlin, WANG; Chunping, NIU

2018-01-01

The influence of arc current and pressure on the non-chemical equilibrium (non-CE) air arc behavior of a nozzle structure was investigated based on the self-consistent non-chemical equilibrium model. The arc behavior during both the arc burning and arc decay phases were discussed at different currents and different pressures. We also devised the concept of a non-equilibrium parameter for a better understanding of non-CE effects. During the arc burning phase, the increasing current leads to a decrease of the non-equilibrium parameter of the particles in the arc core, while the increasing pressure leads to an increase of the non-equilibrium parameter of the particles in the arc core. During the arc decay phase, the non-CE effect will decrease by increasing the arc burning current and the nozzle pressure. Three factors together—convection, diffusion and chemical reactions—influence non-CE behavior.

Collective dynamics in dense Hg vapour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishikawa, D; Inui, M; Matsuda, K; Tamura, K; Baron, A Q R; Tsutsui, S; Tanaka, Y; Ishikawa, T

2004-01-01

The dynamic structure factor, S(Q,ο), of dense Hg vapour has been measured by high resolution inelastic x-ray scattering for densities of 3.0, 2.1 and 1.0 g cm -3 corresponding to 0.52, 0.36 and 0.17 times the critical density, respectively, and for momentum transfers between 2.0 and 48 nm -1 . Analysis of the longitudinal current-current correlation function in the framework of generalized hydrodynamics reveals that the frequencies of the collective excitations increase faster with Q than estimated from the macroscopic speed of sound. The ratios of the frequencies were found to be 1.27 at 3.0 g cm -3 , 1.12 at 2.1 g cm -3 and 1.10 at 1.0 g cm -3 . The sound velocity obtained from the present experiments is well reproduced by a wavenumber dependent adiabatic sound velocity, which means that the collective modes remain in the spectra of dense Hg vapour. (letter to the editor)

Influence of ion size asymmetry on the properties of ionic liquid-vapour interfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bresme, Fernando; Gonzalez-Melchor, Minerva; Alejandre, Jose

2005-01-01

The influence of ion size asymmetry on the properties of ionic liquid-vapour interfaces is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations of the soft primitive model. Ion size asymmetry results in charge separation at the liquid-vapour interface and therefore in a local violation of the electroneutrality condition. For moderate size asymmetries the electrostatic potential at the interface can reach values of the order of 0.1 V. Size asymmetry plays a very important role in determining ion adsorption at the liquid-vapour interface of ionic mixtures. The interfacial adsorption of the bigger component results in an increase of the electrostatic potential, and a reduction of the interfacial surface tension. Our results show that ionic mixtures provide a very efficient way to tune the electrostatics and surface properties of ionic liquid-vapour interfaces

Influence of ion size asymmetry on the properties of ionic liquid-vapour interfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bresme, Fernando [Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom); Gonzalez-Melchor, Minerva [Departamento de Fisica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Avenida San Rafael Atlixco 186, Colonia Vicentina, 09340 Mexico D.F. (Mexico); Alejandre, Jose [Departamento de QuImica, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Avenida San Rafael Atlixco 186, Colonia Vicentina, 09340 Mexico D.F. (Mexico)

2005-11-16

The influence of ion size asymmetry on the properties of ionic liquid-vapour interfaces is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations of the soft primitive model. Ion size asymmetry results in charge separation at the liquid-vapour interface and therefore in a local violation of the electroneutrality condition. For moderate size asymmetries the electrostatic potential at the interface can reach values of the order of 0.1 V. Size asymmetry plays a very important role in determining ion adsorption at the liquid-vapour interface of ionic mixtures. The interfacial adsorption of the bigger component results in an increase of the electrostatic potential, and a reduction of the interfacial surface tension. Our results show that ionic mixtures provide a very efficient way to tune the electrostatics and surface properties of ionic liquid-vapour interfaces.

On the Modeling of Thermal Radiation at the Top Surface of a Vacuum Arc Remelting Ingot

Science.gov (United States)

Delzant, P.-O.; Baqué, B.; Chapelle, P.; Jardy, A.

2018-06-01

Two models have been implemented for calculating the thermal radiation emitted at the ingot top in the VAR process, namely, a crude model that considers only radiative heat transfer between the free surface and electrode tip and a more detailed model that describes all radiative exchanges between the ingot, electrode, and crucible wall using a radiosity method. From the results of the second model, it is found that the radiative heat flux at the ingot top may depend heavily on the arc gap length and the electrode radius, but remains almost unaffected by variations of the electrode height. Both radiation models have been integrated into a CFD numerical code that simulates the growth and solidification of a VAR ingot. The simulation of a Ti-6-4 alloy melt shows that use of the detailed radiation model leads to some significant modification of the simulation results compared with the simple model. This is especially true during the hot-topping phase, where the top radiation plays an increasingly important role compared with the arc energy input. Thus, while the crude model has the advantage of its simplicity, use of the detailed model should be preferred.

A sensor of alcohol vapours based on thin polyaniline base film and quartz crystal microbalance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayad, Mohamad M; El-Hefnawey, Gad; Torad, Nagy L

2009-08-30

Thin films of polyaniline base, emeraldine base (EB), coating on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) electrode were used as a sensitive layer for the detection of a number of primary aliphatic alcohols such as ethanol, methanol, 2-propanol and 1-propanol vapours. The frequency shifts (Deltaf) of the QCM were increased due to the vapour adsorption into the EB film. Deltaf were found to be linearly correlated with the concentrations of alcohols vapour in part per million (ppm). The sensitivity of the sensor was found to be governed by the chemical structure of the alcohol. The sensor shows a good reproducibility and reversibility. The diffusions of different alcohols vapour were studied and the diffusion coefficients (D) were calculated. It is concluded that the diffusion of the vapours into the EB film follows Fickian kinetics.

The dual-electrode DC arc furnace-modelling brush arc conditions

OpenAIRE

Reynolds, Q.G.

2012-01-01

The dual-electrode DC arc furnace, an alternative design using an anode and cathode electrode instead of a hearth anode, was studied at small scale using computational modelling methods. Particular attention was paid to the effect of two key design variables, the arc length and the electrode separation, on the furnace behaviour. It was found that reducing the arc length to brush arc conditions was a valid means of overcoming several of the limitations of the dual-electrode design, namely high...

MeCrAl coatings obtained by arc PVD and pack cementation processes on nickel base superalloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Swadzba, L.; Maciejny, A.; Formanek, B.; Mendala, B.

1997-01-01

The paper presents the results of researches on obtaining and structure of high temperature resistance coatings on superalloys. The coatings were deposited on nickel and nickel base superalloys in two stages. During the first stage, the NiCr and NiCrHf coatings were obtained by arc-PVD method. Basic technology, bias, arc current, rotation, parameters of deposition of NiCr and MeCrHf coatings were defined. The high efficiency of deposition of both single and two sources was observed. The targets were made by vacuum melting and machining. An influence of targets chemical composition on coating structure and chemical coatings composition was described. The second stage was made by pack cementation HTLA (high temperature low activity) on 1323 K chromoaluminizing process. These arc-PVD and diffusion (pack cementation) connected processes permitted to obtain MeCrAl and MeCrAlHf type of coatings. The morphology, structure and microchemical composition were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray microanalysis, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction methods. (orig.)

Non-Vacuum Processed Polymer Composite Antireflection Coating Films for Silicon Solar Cells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdullah Uzum

2016-08-01

Full Text Available A non-vacuum processing method for preparing polymer-based ZrO2/TiO2 multilayer structure antireflection coating (ARC films for crystalline silicon solar cells by spin coating is introduced. Initially, ZrO2, TiO2 and surface deactivated-TiO2 (SD-TiO2 based films were examined separately and the effect of photocatalytic properties of TiO2 film on the reflectivity on silicon surface was investigated. Degradation of the reflectance performance with increasing reflectivity of up to 2% in the ultraviolet region was confirmed. No significant change of the reflectance was observed when utilizing SD-TiO2 and ZrO2 films. Average reflectance (between 300 nm–1100 nm of the silicon surface coated with optimized polymer-based ZrO2 single or ZrO2/SD-TiO2 multilayer composite films was decreased down to 6.5% and 5.5%, respectively. Improvement of photocurrent density (Jsc and conversion efficiency (η of fabricated silicon solar cells owing to the ZrO2/SD-TiO2 multilayer ARC could be confirmed. The photovoltaic properties of Jsc, the open-circuit photo voltage (VOC, the fill factor (FF, and the η were 31.42 mA cm−2, 575 mV, 71.5% and 12.91%. Efficiency of the solar cells was improved by the ZrO2-polymer/SD-TiO2 polymer ARC composite layer by a factor of 0.8% with an increase of Jsc (2.07 mA cm−2 compared to those of fabricated without the ARC.

Theoretical calculations of primary particle condensation for cadmium and caesium iodide vapours

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Buckle, E.R. [Division of Metallurgy, School of Materials, The University, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD (United Kingdom); Bowsher, B.R. [Chemistry Division, Atomic Energy Establishment, Winfrith, Dorchester, Dorset (United Kingdom)

1988-10-15

A theoretical approach to modelling aerosol nucleation from the vapour phase has been developed by Buckle. In this theory, the condensing vapour species are assumed to be transported from an evaporating source across a one-dimensional stagnant boundary layer into an unreactive vapour-free atmosphere. A slip-flow model for interfacial energy and mass flow is combined with this stagnant boundary layer model to yield a set of parameters that uniquely characterise the evaporative flow process (i.e. pressure, source and sink temperatures, sink concentration, and the flux density of heat or mass from the source). To obtain the initial conditions for nucleation the vapour saturation ratio p/p deg is plotted against temperature and compared with the minimum saturation ratio defined by homogeneous nucleation theory. The co-education be represented by a nucleation threshold (or F) diagram. The mass and energy equations of the flow are solved by introducing the Becker-Doering formula for the nucleation rate, and the Stefan diffusion model for particle growth. This gives the rise and fall of supersaturation and the evolution of the particle size distribution along the flow coordinate. In the present studies, the applicability of the model has been tested by considering the condensation of caesium iodide and cadmium vapours under a wide variety of pre-mixed flow conditions of interest to PWR severe accident studies. The model has been used to predict the onset of nucleation and the particle size distribution for single vapour species. Preliminary studies have demonstrated that conditions exist whereby both heterogeneous and homogeneous nucleation can occur simultaneously. This process could account for experimental observations of chemically-different aerosols being formed under severe reactor accident conditions. (author)

Continuous measurements of isotopic composition of water vapour on the East Antarctic Plateau

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Casado

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Water stable isotopes in central Antarctic ice cores are critical to quantify past temperature changes. Accurate temperature reconstructions require one to understand the processes controlling surface snow isotopic composition. Isotopic fractionation processes occurring in the atmosphere and controlling snowfall isotopic composition are well understood theoretically and implemented in atmospheric models. However, post-deposition processes are poorly documented and understood. To quantitatively interpret the isotopic composition of water archived in ice cores, it is thus essential to study the continuum between surface water vapour, precipitation, surface snow and buried snow. Here, we target the isotopic composition of water vapour at Concordia Station, where the oldest EPICA Dome C ice cores have been retrieved. While snowfall and surface snow sampling is routinely performed, accurate measurements of surface water vapour are challenging in such cold and dry conditions. New developments in infrared spectroscopy enable now the measurement of isotopic composition in water vapour traces. Two infrared spectrometers have been deployed at Concordia, allowing continuous, in situ measurements for 1 month in December 2014–January 2015. Comparison of the results from infrared spectroscopy with laboratory measurements of discrete samples trapped using cryogenic sampling validates the relevance of the method to measure isotopic composition in dry conditions. We observe very large diurnal cycles in isotopic composition well correlated with temperature diurnal cycles. Identification of different behaviours of isotopic composition in the water vapour associated with turbulent or stratified regime indicates a strong impact of meteorological processes in local vapour/snow interaction. Even if the vapour isotopic composition seems to be, at least part of the time, at equilibrium with the local snow, the slope of δD against δ18O prevents us from identifying

Helium pressures in RHIC vacuum cryostats and relief valve requirements from magnet cooling line failure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liaw, C.J.; Than, Y.; Tuozzolo, J.

2011-03-28

A catastrophic failure of the RHIC magnet cooling lines, similar to the LHC superconducting bus failure incident, would pressurize the insulating vacuum in the magnet and transfer line cryostats. Insufficient relief valves on the cryostats could cause a structural failure. A SINDA/FLUINT{reg_sign} model, which simulated the 4.5K/4 atm helium flowing through the magnet cooling system distribution lines, then through a line break into the vacuum cryostat and discharging via the reliefs into the RHIC tunnel, had been developed to calculate the helium pressure inside the cryostat. Arc flash energy deposition and heat load from the ambient temperature cryostat surfaces were included in the simulations. Three typical areas: the sextant arc, the Triplet/DX/D0 magnets, and the injection area, had been analyzed. Existing relief valve sizes were reviewed to make sure that the maximum stresses, caused by the calculated maximum pressures inside the cryostats, did not exceed the allowable stresses, based on the ASME Code B31.3 and ANSYS results. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The S/F simulation results show that the highest internal pressure in the cryostats, due to the magnet line failure, is {approx}37 psig (255115 Pa); (2) Based on the simulation, the temperature on the cryostat chamber, INJ Q8-Q9, could drop to 228 K, which is lower than the material minimum design temperature allowed by the Code; (3) Based on the ASME Code and ANSYS results, the reliefs on all the cryostats inside the RHIC tunnel are adequate to protect the vacuum chambers when the magnet cooling lines fail; and (4) In addition to the pressure loading, the thermal deformations, due to the temperature decrease on the cryostat chambers, could also cause a high stress on the chamber, if not properly supported.

Helium pressures in RHIC vacuum cryostats and relief valve requirements from magnet cooling line failure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liaw, C.J.; Than, Y.; Tuozzolo, J.

2011-01-01

A catastrophic failure of the RHIC magnet cooling lines, similar to the LHC superconducting bus failure incident, would pressurize the insulating vacuum in the magnet and transfer line cryostats. Insufficient relief valves on the cryostats could cause a structural failure. A SINDA/FLUINT(reg s ign) model, which simulated the 4.5K/4 atm helium flowing through the magnet cooling system distribution lines, then through a line break into the vacuum cryostat and discharging via the reliefs into the RHIC tunnel, had been developed to calculate the helium pressure inside the cryostat. Arc flash energy deposition and heat load from the ambient temperature cryostat surfaces were included in the simulations. Three typical areas: the sextant arc, the Triplet/DX/D0 magnets, and the injection area, had been analyzed. Existing relief valve sizes were reviewed to make sure that the maximum stresses, caused by the calculated maximum pressures inside the cryostats, did not exceed the allowable stresses, based on the ASME Code B31.3 and ANSYS results. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The S/F simulation results show that the highest internal pressure in the cryostats, due to the magnet line failure, is ∼37 psig (255115 Pa); (2) Based on the simulation, the temperature on the cryostat chamber, INJ Q8-Q9, could drop to 228 K, which is lower than the material minimum design temperature allowed by the Code; (3) Based on the ASME Code and ANSYS results, the reliefs on all the cryostats inside the RHIC tunnel are adequate to protect the vacuum chambers when the magnet cooling lines fail; and (4) In addition to the pressure loading, the thermal deformations, due to the temperature decrease on the cryostat chambers, could also cause a high stress on the chamber, if not properly supported.

Production of hyperthermal hydrogen atoms by an arc discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samano, E.C.

1993-01-01

A magnetically confined thermal electric arc gas heater has been designed and built as a suitable source of heat for dissociating hydrogen molecules with energy in the range of a few eV. Specifically, the average beam kinetic energy is determined to be 1.5 eV, the dissociation rate is 0.5 atoms per molecule and the atom beam intensity in the forward direction is 1018 atoms/sr-sec. The working pressure in the arc discharge region is from 15 to 25 torr. This novel atom source has been successfully ignited and operated with pure hydrogen during several hours of continuous performance, maintaining its characteristics. The hyperthermal hydrogen atom beam, which is obtained from this source is analyzed and characterized in a high vacuum system, the characterization of the atom beam is accomplished by two different methods: calorimetry and surface ionization. Calorimetic sensor were used for detecting the atom beam by measuring the delivered power of the impinging atoms on the sensor surface. In the second approach an H-surface production backscattering experiment from a low work function surface was conducted. The validity of these two methods is discussed, and the results are compared. The different collision mechanisms to dissociate and ionize hydrogen molecules in the arch discharge are reviewed, as well as the physics of electric arcs. Finally, a Monte Carlo simulation program is used to calculate the ionization probability of low energy atoms perpendicularly reflected from a surface converter, as a model for atom surface ionization

Modelling of vapour explosion in a stratified geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brayer, Claude

1994-01-01

A vapour explosion is the explosive vaporisation of a volatile liquid in contact with another hotter liquid. Such a violent vaporisation requires an intimate mixing and a fine fragmentation of both liquids. Based on a synthesis of published experimental results, the author of this research thesis reports the development of a new physical model which describes the explosion. In this model, the explosion propagation is due to the propagation of the pressure wave associated with this this explosion, all along the vapour film which initially separates both liquids. The author takes the presence of water in the liquid initially located over the film into account. This presence of vapour explains experimental propagation rates. Another consequence, when the pressure wave passes, is an acceleration of liquids at different rates below and above the film. The author considers that a mixture layer then forms from the point of disappearance of the film, between both liquids, and that fragmentation is due to the turbulence in this mixture layer. This fragmentation model is then introduced into an Euler thermodynamic, three-dimensional and multi-constituents code of calculation, MC3D, to study the influence of fragmentation on thermal exchanges between the various constituents on the volatile liquid vaporisation [fr

Temporal properties of coherent synchrotron radiation produced by an electron bunch moving along an arc of a circle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geloni, G.; Saldin, E.L.; Schneidmiller, E.A.; Yurkov, M.V.

2004-01-01

In the limit for a large distance between bunch and detector and under the assumption that the entire process, i.e. radiation and detection, happens in vacuum, one can use the well-known Schwinger formulas in order to describe the single-particle radiation in the case of circular motion. Nevertheless, these formulas cannot be applied for particles moving in an arc of a circle. In this paper, we present a characterization of coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) pulses in the time-domain as they are emitted by an electron bunch moving in an arc of a circle. This can be used in order to give a quantitative estimation of the effects of a finite bending magnet extension on the characteristics of the CSR pulse

Ethylene vinylacetate copolymer and nanographite composite as chemical vapour sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stepina, Santa; Sakale, Gita; Knite, Maris

2013-01-01

Polymer-nanostructured carbon composite as chemical vapour sensor is described, made by the dissolution method of a non-conductive polymer, ethylene vinylacetate copolymer, mixed with conductive nanographite particles (carbon black). Sensor exhibits relative electrical resistance change in chemical vapours, like ethanol and toluene. Since the sensor is relatively cheap, easy to fabricate, it can be used in air quality monitoring and at industries to control hazardous substance concentration in the air, for example, to protect workers from exposure to chemical spills

Effect of PbI{sub 2} deposition rate on two-step PVD/CVD all-vacuum prepared perovskite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ioakeimidis, Apostolos; Christodoulou, Christos; Lux-Steiner, Martha; Fostiropoulos, Konstantinos, E-mail: fostiropoulos@helmholtz-berlin.de

2016-12-15

In this work we fabricate all-vacuum processed methyl ammonium lead halide perovskite by a sequence of physical vapour deposition of PbI{sub 2} and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}I under a static atmosphere. We demonstrate that for higher deposition rate the (001) planes of PbI{sub 2} film show a higher degree of alignment parallel to the sample's surface. From X-ray diffraction data of the resulted perovskite film we derive that the intercalation rate of CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}I is fostered for PbI{sub 2} films with higher degree of (001) planes alignment. The stoichiometry of the produced perovskite film is also studied by Hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. Complete all-vacuum perovskite solar cells were fabricated on glass/ITO substrates coated by an ultra-thin (5 nm) Zn-phthalocyanine film as hole selective layer. A dependence of residual PbI{sub 2} on the solar cells performance is displayed, while photovoltaic devices with efficiency up to η=11.6% were achieved. - Graphical abstract: A two-step PVD/CVD processed perovskite film with the CVD intercalation rate of CH{sub 3}NCH{sub 3} molecules been fostered by increasing the PVD rate of PbI{sub 2} and prolonging the CVD time. - Highlights: • A simple PVD/CVD process for perovskite film production. • Increased PVD rate yields better alignment of the PbI{sub 2} (001) crystallite planes. • CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}I intercalation process fostered by increased PbI{sub 2} PVD rate. • Stoichiometric CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3} suitable as absorber in photovoltaic applications • Reduced PbI{sub 2} residue at the bottom of CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3} improves device performance.

THE REDSHIFT DISTRIBUTION OF GIANT ARCS IN THE SLOAN GIANT ARCS SURVEY

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayliss, Matthew B.; Gladders, Michael D.; Koester, Benjamin P.; Oguri, Masamune; Hennawi, Joseph F.; Sharon, Keren; Dahle, Haakon

2011-01-01

We measure the redshift distribution of a sample of 28 giant arcs discovered as a part of the Sloan Giant Arcs Survey. Gemini/GMOS-North spectroscopy provides precise redshifts for 24 arcs, and 'redshift desert' constrains for the remaining 4 arcs. This is a direct measurement of the redshift distribution of a uniformly selected sample of bright giant arcs, which is an observable that can be used to inform efforts to predict giant arc statistics. Our primary giant arc sample has a median redshift z = 1.821 and nearly two-thirds of the arcs, 64%, are sources at z ∼> 1.4, indicating that the population of background sources that are strongly lensed into bright giant arcs resides primarily at high redshift. We also analyze the distribution of redshifts for 19 secondary strongly lensed background sources that are not visually apparent in Sloan Digital Sky Survey imaging, but were identified in deeper follow-up imaging of the lensing cluster fields. Our redshift sample for the secondary sources is not spectroscopically complete, but combining it with our primary giant arc sample suggests that a large fraction of all background galaxies that are strongly lensed by foreground clusters reside at z ∼> 1.4. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests indicate that our well-selected, spectroscopically complete primary giant arc redshift sample can be reproduced with a model distribution that is constructed from a combination of results from studies of strong-lensing clusters in numerical simulations and observational constraints on the galaxy luminosity function.

He leaks in the CERN LHC beam vacuum chambers operating at cryogenic temperatures

CERN Document Server

Baglin, V

2007-01-01

The 27 km long large hadron collider (LHC), currently under construction at CERN, will collide protons beam at 14 TeV in the centre of mass. In the 8 arcs, the superconducting dipoles and quadrupoles of the FODO cells operate with superfluid He at 1.9 K. In the 8 long straight sections, the cold bores of the superconducting magnets are held at 1.9 or 4.5 K. Thus, in the LHC, 75% of the beam tube vacuum chamber is cooled with He. In many areas of the machine, He leaks could appear in the beam tube. At cryogenic temperature, the gas condenses onto the cold bores or beam screens, and interacts with the circulating beam. He leaks creates a He front propagating along the vacuum chambers, which might cause magnet quench. We discuss the consequences of He leaks, the possible means of detections, the strategies to localise them and the methods to measure their size.

Influence of deposition rate on the properties of tin coatings deposited on tool steels using arc method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akhtar, P.; Abbas, M.

2007-01-01

Titanium nitride (TiN) widely used as hard coating material, was coated on tool steels, namely on high-speed steel (HSS) and D2 tool steel by physical vapour deposition method. The study concentrated on cathodic arc physical vapour deposition (CAPVD), a technique used for the deposition of hard coatings for tooling applications, and which has many advantages. The main drawback of this technique, however, is the formation of macrodroplets (MD's) during deposition, resulting in films with rougher morphology. Various standard characterization techniques and equipment, such as electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, hardness testing machine, scratch tester and pin-on-disc machine, were used to analyze and quantify the following properties and parameters, surface morphology, thickness, hardness, adhesion and coefficient of friction (COF) of the deposited coatings. Surface morphology revealed that the MD's produced during the etching stage, protruded through the thin film, resulting in film with deteriorated surface features. Both coating thickness and indentation loads influenced the hardness of the deposited coatings. The coatings deposited on HSS exhibit better adhesion compared to those on D2 tool steel. Standard deviation indicates that the coating deposited with thickness around 6.7 macro m showed the most stable trend of COF versus sliding distance. (author)

VUV photoemission studies of candidate Large Hadron Collider vacuum chamber materials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Cimino

1999-06-01

Full Text Available In the context of future accelerators and, in particular, the beam vacuum of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC, a 27 km circumference proton collider to be built at CERN, VUV synchrotron radiation (SR has been used to study both qualitatively and quantitatively candidate vacuum chamber materials. Emphasis is given to show that angle and energy resolved photoemission is an extremely powerful tool to address important issues relevant to the LHC, such as the emission of electrons that contributes to the creation of an electron cloud which may cause serious beam instabilities and unmanageable heat loads on the cryogenic system. Here we present not only the measured photoelectron yields from the proposed materials, prepared on an industrial scale, but also the energy and in some cases the angular dependence of the emitted electrons when excited with either a white light (WL spectrum, simulating that in the arcs of the LHC, or monochromatic light in the photon energy range of interest. The effects on the materials examined of WL irradiation and /or ion sputtering, simulating the SR and ion bombardment expected in the LHC, were investigated. The studied samples exhibited significant modifications, in terms of electron emission, when exposed to the WL spectrum from the BESSY Toroidal Grating Monochromator beam line. Moreover, annealing and ion bombardment also induce substantial changes to the surface thereby indicating that such surfaces would not have a constant electron emission during machine operation. Such characteristics may be an important issue to define the surface properties of the LHC vacuum chamber material and are presented in detail for the various samples analyzed. It should be noted that all the measurements presented here were recorded at room temperature, whereas the majority of the LHC vacuum system will be maintained at temperatures below 20 K. The results cannot therefore be directly applied to these sections of the machine until

Lattice location of platinum ions implanted into single crystal zirconia and their annealing behaviour

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, D X [Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., VIC (Australia); Sood, D K [Academia Sinica, Shanghai, SH (China). Shanghai Inst. of Nuclear Research; Brown, I G [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)

1994-12-31

Single crystal samples of (100) oriented cubic zirconia stabilised with 9.5 mol % yttria were implanted with platinum ions, using a metal vapour vacuum arc (MEVVA) high current ion implanter, to a nominal dose of 1x10{sup 17} ions/cm{sup 2}. The implanted samples were annealed isothermally in air ambient at 1200 deg C, from 1-24 hours. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Channeling (RBSC) of 2 MeV He ions are employed to determine depth distributions of ion damage, Pt ions and substitutionality of Pt ions before and after annealing. The damage behaviour, Pt migration and lattice location are discussed in terms of metastable phase formation and solid solubility considerations. 7 refs., 3 figs.

Wear properties of metal ion implanted 4140 steel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Evans, P.J. (Applications of Nuclear Physics, Ansto, Private Mail Bag 1, Menai, NSW 2234 (Australia)); Paoloni, F.J. (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Wollongong, GPO Box 1144, Wollongong, NSW 2500 (Australia))

1994-07-01

AISI type 4140 (high tensile) steel has been implanted with tungsten and titanium using a metal vapour vacuum arc ion source. Doses in the range (1-5)x10[sup 16]ionscm[sup -2] were implanted to a depth of approximately 30nm. The relative wear resistance between non-implanted and implanted specimens has been estimated using pin-on-disc and abrasive wear tests. Implantation of titanium decreased the area of wear tracks by a factor of 5 over unimplanted steel. In some cases the steel was also hardened by a liquid carburization treatment before implantation. Abrasion tests revealed a further improvement in wear resistance on this material following ion irradiation. ((orig.))

Lattice location of platinum ions implanted into single crystal zirconia and their annealing behaviour

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cao, D.X. [Royal Melbourne Inst. of Tech., VIC (Australia); Sood, D.K. [Academia Sinica, Shanghai, SH (China). Shanghai Inst. of Nuclear Research; Brown, I.G. [Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (United States)

1993-12-31

Single crystal samples of (100) oriented cubic zirconia stabilised with 9.5 mol % yttria were implanted with platinum ions, using a metal vapour vacuum arc (MEVVA) high current ion implanter, to a nominal dose of 1x10{sup 17} ions/cm{sup 2}. The implanted samples were annealed isothermally in air ambient at 1200 deg C, from 1-24 hours. Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry and Channeling (RBSC) of 2 MeV He ions are employed to determine depth distributions of ion damage, Pt ions and substitutionality of Pt ions before and after annealing. The damage behaviour, Pt migration and lattice location are discussed in terms of metastable phase formation and solid solubility considerations. 7 refs., 3 figs.

Intercomparison of atmospheric water vapour measurements at a Canadian High Arctic site

Science.gov (United States)

Weaver, Dan; Strong, Kimberly; Schneider, Matthias; Rowe, Penny M.; Sioris, Chris; Walker, Kaley A.; Mariani, Zen; Uttal, Taneil; McElroy, C. Thomas; Vömel, Holger; Spassiani, Alessio; Drummond, James R.

2017-08-01

Water vapour is a critical component of the Earth system. Techniques to acquire and improve measurements of atmospheric water vapour and its isotopes are under active development. This work presents a detailed intercomparison of water vapour total column measurements taken between 2006 and 2014 at a Canadian High Arctic research site (Eureka, Nunavut). Instruments include radiosondes, sun photometers, a microwave radiometer, and emission and solar absorption Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometers. Close agreement is observed between all combination of datasets, with mean differences ≤ 1.0 kg m-2 and correlation coefficients ≥ 0.98. The one exception in the observed high correlation is the comparison between the microwave radiometer and a radiosonde product, which had a correlation coefficient of 0.92.A variety of biases affecting Eureka instruments are revealed and discussed. A subset of Eureka radiosonde measurements was processed by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper Air Network (GRUAN) for this study. Comparisons reveal a small dry bias in the standard radiosonde measurement water vapour total columns of approximately 4 %. A recently produced solar absorption FTIR spectrometer dataset resulting from the MUSICA (MUlti-platform remote Sensing of Isotopologues for investigating the Cycle of Atmospheric water) retrieval technique is shown to offer accurate measurements of water vapour total columns (e.g. average agreement within -5.2 % of GRUAN and -6.5 % of a co-located emission FTIR spectrometer). However, comparisons show a small wet bias of approximately 6 % at the high-latitude Eureka site. In addition, a new dataset derived from Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) measurements is shown to provide accurate water vapour measurements (e.g. average agreement was within 4 % of GRUAN), which usefully enables measurements to be taken during day and night (especially valuable during polar night).

The Droplets Condensate Centering in the Vapour Channel of Short Low Temperature Heat Pipes at High Heat Loads

Science.gov (United States)

Seryakov, A. V.; Shakshin, S. L.; Alekseev, A. P.

2017-11-01

The results of experimental studies of the process of condensate microdroplets centering contained in the moving moist vapour in the vapour channel of short heat pipes (HPs) for large thermal loads are presented. A vapour channel formed by capillary-porous insert in the form of the inner Laval-liked nozzle along the entire length of the HP. In the upper cover forming a condensation surface in the HP, on the diametrical line are installed capacitive sensors, forming three capacitors located at different distances from the longitudinal axis of the vapour channel. With increasing heat load and the boil beginning in the evaporator a large amount of moist vapour in the vapour channel of HP occur the pressure pulsation with frequency of 400-500 Hz and amplitude up to 1·104Pa. These pulsations affect the moving of the inertial droplets subsystem of the vapour and due to the heterogeneity of the velocity profile around the particle flow in the vapour channel at the diameter of microdroplets occurs transverse force, called the Saffman force and shear microdroplets to the center of vapour channel. Using installed in the top cover capacitors we can record the radial displacement of the condensable microdroplets.

Operating experience of RAPSODIE and PHENIX relating to sodium aerosols and vapours

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Delisle, J P; Reboul, M; Elie, X [DRNR/STRS - Centre de Cadarache, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance (France)

1977-01-01

The main difficulties resulting from sodium aerosols and vapours in the cover gas which have been encountered for 10 years in RAPSODIE and for 3 years in PHENIX are reviewed: condensation of sodium in annular spaces; plugging in primary gas pipes; plugging of filters and vapour traps. All those problems were easily overcome. (author)

Alcohol vapours sensor based on thin polyaniline salt film and quartz crystal microbalance.

Science.gov (United States)

Ayad, Mohamad M; Torad, Nagy L

2009-06-15

A sensor based on the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique was developed for detection of a number of primary aliphatic alcohols such as ethanol, methanol, 1-propanol, and 2-propanol vapours. Detection was based on a sensitive and a thin film of polyaniline, emeraldine salt (ES), coated the QCM electrode. The frequency shifts (Delta f) of the QCM were increased due to the vapour absorption into the ES film. The values of Delta f were found to be linearly correlated with the concentrations of alcohols vapour in mg L(-1). The changes in frequency are due to the hydrophilic character of the ES and the electrostatic interaction as well as the type of the alcohol. The sensor shows a good reproducibility and reversibility. The diffusion and diffusion coefficient (D) of different alcohols vapour were determined. It was found that the sensor follows Fickian kinetics.

Vacuum mechatronics

Science.gov (United States)

Hackwood, Susan; Belinski, Steven E.; Beni, Gerardo

1989-01-01

The discipline of vacuum mechatronics is defined as the design and development of vacuum-compatible computer-controlled mechanisms for manipulating, sensing and testing in a vacuum environment. The importance of vacuum mechatronics is growing with an increased application of vacuum in space studies and in manufacturing for material processing, medicine, microelectronics, emission studies, lyophylisation, freeze drying and packaging. The quickly developing field of vacuum mechatronics will also be the driving force for the realization of an advanced era of totally enclosed clean manufacturing cells. High technology manufacturing has increasingly demanding requirements for precision manipulation, in situ process monitoring and contamination-free environments. To remove the contamination problems associated with human workers, the tendency in many manufacturing processes is to move towards total automation. This will become a requirement in the near future for e.g., microelectronics manufacturing. Automation in ultra-clean manufacturing environments is evolving into the concept of self-contained and fully enclosed manufacturing. A Self Contained Automated Robotic Factory (SCARF) is being developed as a flexible research facility for totally enclosed manufacturing. The construction and successful operation of a SCARF will provide a novel, flexible, self-contained, clean, vacuum manufacturing environment. SCARF also requires very high reliability and intelligent control. The trends in vacuum mechatronics and some of the key research issues are reviewed.

Water vapour and methane coupling in the stratosphere observed using SCIAMACHY solar occultation measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Noël

2018-04-01

Full Text Available An improved stratospheric water vapour data set has been retrieved from SCIAMACHY/ENVISAT solar occultation measurements. It is similar to that successfully applied to methane and carbon dioxide. There is now a consistent set of data products for the three constituents covering the altitudes 17–45 km, the latitude range between about 50 and 70° N, and the period August 2002 to April 2012. The new water vapour concentration profiles agree with collocated results from ACE-FTS and MLS/Aura to within  ∼  5 %. A significant positive linear change in water vapour for the time 2003–2011 is observed at lower stratospheric altitudes with a value of about 0.015 ± 0.008 ppmv year−1 around 17 km. Between 30 and 37 km the changes become significantly negative (about −0.01 ± 0.008 ppmv year−1; all errors are 2σ values. The combined analysis of the SCIAMACHY methane and water vapour time series shows the expected anti-correlation between stratospheric methane and water vapour and a clear temporal variation related to the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation (QBO. Above about 20 km most of the additional water vapour is attributed to the oxidation of methane. In addition short-term fluctuations and longer-term variations on a timescale of 5–6 years are observed. The SCIAMACHY data confirm that at lower altitudes the amount of water vapour and methane are transported from the tropics to higher latitudes via the shallow branch of the Brewer–Dobson circulation.

The Cascaded Arc: High Flows of Rovibrationally Excited H2 and its Impact on H- Ion Formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gabriel, O.; Harskamp, W. E. N. van; Schram, D. C.; Sanden, M. C. M. van de; Engeln, R.

2009-01-01

The cascaded arc is a plasma source providing high fluxes of excited and reactive species such as ions, radicals and rovibrationally excited molecules. The plasma is produced under pressures of some kPa in a direct current arc with electrical powers up to 10 kW. The plasma leaves the arc channel through a nozzle and expands with supersonic velocity into a vacuum-chamber kept by pumps at low pressures. We investigated the case of a pure hydrogen plasma jet with and without an applied axial magnetic field that confines ions and electrons in the jet. Highly excited molecules and atoms were detected by means of laser-induced fluorescence and optical emission spectroscopy. In case of an applied magnetic field the atomic state distribution of hydrogen atoms shows an overpopulation between the electronic states p = 5, 4 and 3. The influence of the highly excited hydrogen molecules on H - ion formation and a possible mechanism involving this negative ion and producing atomic hydrogen in state p = 3 will be discussed.

Plan quality comparison between 4-arc and 6-arc noncoplanar volumetric modulated arc stereotactic radiotherapy for the treatment of multiple brain metastases.

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshio, Kotaro; Mitsuhashi, Toshiharu; Wakita, Akihisa; Kitayama, Takahiro; Hisazumi, Kento; Inoue, Daisaku; Shiode, Tsuyoki; Akaki, Shiro; Kanazawa, Susumu

2018-01-04

To compare the plans of 4-arc and 6-arc noncoplanar volumetric modulated arc stereotactic radiotherapy (VMA-SRT) for multiple brain metastases and to investigate the cutoff value for the tumor number and volume for 6-arc rather than 4-arc VMA-SRT. We identified 24 consecutive multiple-target cases (3 to 19 targets in each case) with 189 total targets. We constructed plans using both 4- and 6-arc noncoplanar VMA-SRT. The prescribed dose was 36 Gy/6 fr, and it was delivered to 95% of the planning target volume (PTV). The plans were evaluated for the dose conformity using the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group and Paddick conformity indices (RCI and PCI), fall-off (Paddick gradient index [PGI]), and the normal brain dose. The median (range) RCI, PCI, and PGI was 0.94 (0.92 to 0.99), 0.89 (0.77 to 0.94), and 3.75 (2.24 to 6.54) for the 4-arc plan and 0.94 (0.91 to 0.98), 0.89 (0.76 to 0.94), and 3.65 (2.24 to 6.5) for the 6-arc plan, respectively. The median (range) of the normal brain dose was 910.3 cGy (381.4 to 1268.9) for the 4-arc plan and 898.8 cGy (377 to 1252.9) for the 6-arc plan. The PGI of the 6-arc plan was significantly superior to that of the 4-arc plan (p = 0.0076), and the optimal cutoff values for the tumor number and volume indicative of 6-arc (and not 4-arc) VMA-SRT were cases with ≥ 5 metastases and a PTV of ≥ 12.9 mL, respectively. The PCI values, however, showed no significant difference between the 2 plans. We believe these results will help in considering the use of 6-arc VMA-SRT for multiple brain metastases. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Medical Dosimetrists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A centre-triggered magnesium fuelled cathodic arc thruster uses sublimation to deliver a record high specific impulse

Science.gov (United States)

Neumann, Patrick R. C.; Bilek, Marcela; McKenzie, David R.

2016-08-01

The cathodic arc is a high current, low voltage discharge that operates in vacuum and provides a stream of highly ionised plasma from a solid conducting cathode. The high ion velocities, together with the high ionisation fraction and the quasineutrality of the exhaust stream, make the cathodic arc an attractive plasma source for spacecraft propulsion applications. The specific impulse of the cathodic arc thruster is substantially increased when the emission of neutral species is reduced. Here, we demonstrate a reduction of neutral emission by exploiting sublimation in cathode spots and enhanced ionisation of the plasma in short, high-current pulses. This, combined with the enhanced directionality due to the efficient erosion profiles created by centre-triggering, substantially increases the specific impulse. We present experimentally measured specific impulses and jet power efficiencies for titanium and magnesium fuels. Our Mg fuelled source provides the highest reported specific impulse for a gridless ion thruster and is competitive with all flight rated ion thrusters. We present a model based on cathode sublimation and melting at the cathodic arc spot explaining the outstanding performance of the Mg fuelled source. A further significant advantage of an Mg-fuelled thruster is the abundance of Mg in asteroidal material and in space junk, providing an opportunity for utilising these resources in space.

Arc dynamics of a pulsed DC nitrogen rotating gliding arc discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Zhu, Fengsen; Zhang, Hao; Li, Xiaodong; Wu, Angjian; Yan, Jianhua; Ni, Mingjiang; Tu, Xin

2018-03-01

In this study, a novel pulsed direct current (DC) rotating gliding arc (RGA) plasma reactor co-driven by an external magnetic field and a tangential gas flow has been developed. The dynamic characteristics of the rotating gliding arc have been investigated by means of numerical simulation and experiment. The simulation results show that a highly turbulent vortex flow can be generated at the bottom of the RGA reactor to accelerate the arc rotation after arc ignition, whereas the magnitude of gas velocity declined significantly along the axial direction of the RGA reactor. The calculated arc rotation frequency (14.4 Hz) is reasonably close to the experimental result (18.5 Hz) at a gas flow rate of 10 l min-1. In the presence of an external magnet, the arc rotation frequency is around five times higher than that of the RGA reactor without using a magnet, which suggests that the external magnetic field plays a dominant role in the maintenance of the arc rotation in the upper zone of the RGA reactor. In addition, when the magnet is placed outside the reactor reversely to form a reverse external magnetic field, the arc can be stabilized at a fixed position in the inner wall of the outer electrode at a critical gas flow rate of 16 l min-1.

arcControlTower: the System for Atlas Production and Analysis on ARC

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Filipcic, Andrej

2011-01-01

PanDA, the Atlas management and distribution system for production and analysis jobs on EGEE and OSG clusters, is based on pilot jobs to increase the throughput and stability of the job execution on grid. The ARC middleware uses a specific approach which tightly connects the job requirements with cluster capabilities like resource usage, software availability and caching of input files. The pilot concept renders the ARC features useless. The arcControlTower is the job submission system which merges the pilot benefits and ARC advantages. It takes the pilot payload from the panda server and submits the jobs to the Nordugrid ARC clusters as regular jobs, with all the job resources known in advance. All the pilot communication with the PanDA server is done by the arcControlTower, so it plays the role of a pilot factory and the pilot itself. There are several advantages to this approach: no grid middleware is needed on the worker nodes, the fair-share between the production and user jobs is tuned with the arcControlTower load parameters, the jobs can be controlled by ARC client tools. The system could be extended to other submission systems using central distribution.

Review of cathodic arc deposition technology at the start of the new millennium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sanders, D M; Anders, A

2000-01-01

The vacuum cathodic arc has been known to provide a means of producing coatings since the second half of the 19th century. This makes it one of the oldest known means for making coatings in a vacuum. In the last century it has been recognized that the copious quantities of ions produced by the process offers certain advantages in terms of coating properties. Specifically, ions can be steered and/or accelerated toward the parts to be coated. This, in turn, can provide enhanced adhesion, film density, and composition stoichiometry in the case of compound coatings. The ions generated by the cathodic arc have high ''natural'' kinetic energy values in the range 20-200 eV, leading to enhanced surface mobility during the deposition process and even ion subplantation. In many cases, dense coatings are achieved even when non-normal arrival angles are involved. The ion energy can further manipulated by the plasma immersion biasing technique. The issue of macroparticle contamination has been addressed by a variety of novel plasma filters. In spite of all of these advantages, this deposition technique has not been widely adopted in the western nations for commercial coating except in the case of enhancing the performance of cutting tools. The purpose of the this review is to explore reasons for this lack of general use of the technology and to point out some encouraging recent developments which may lead to its accelerated adoption for a much wider variety of applications in the near future

Physically based arc-circuit interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhong-Lie, L.

1984-01-01

An integral arc model is extended to study the interaction of the gas blast arc with the test circuit in this paper. The deformation in the waveshapes of arc current and voltage around the current zero has been formulated to first approximation by using a simple model of arc voltage based on the arc core energy conservation. By supplementing with the time scale for the radiation, the time rates of arc processes were amended. Both the contributions of various arc processes and the influence of circuit parameters to the arc-circuit interaction have been estimated by this theory. Analysis generated a new method of calculating test circuit parameters which improves the accurate simulation of arc-circuit interaction. The new method agrees with the published experimental results

Utility of DMSP-SSM/I for integrated water vapour over the Indian seas

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging Solutions)

Recent algorithms for Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (DMSP-SSM/I) satellite data are used for estimating integrated water vapour over the Indian seas. Integrated water vapour obtained from these algorithms is compared with that derived from radiosonde observations at Minicoy and Port. Blair islands. Algorithm-3 of ...

PC-based arc ignition and arc length control system for gas tungsten arc welding

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Y.; Cook, G.E.; Barnett, R.J.; Springfield, J.F.

1992-01-01

In this paper, a PC-based digital control system for gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is presented. This system controls the arc ignition process, the arc length, and the process of welding termination. A DT2818 made by Data Translation is used for interface and A/D and D/A conversions. The digital I/O ports of the DT2818 are used for control of wirefeed, shield gas, cooling water, welding power supply, etc. The DT2818 is housed in a PC. The welding signals and status are displayed on the screen for in-process monitoring. A user can control the welding process by the keyboard

Sheath and arc-column voltages in high-pressure arc discharges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Benilov, M S; Benilova, L G; Li Heping; Wu Guiqing

2012-01-01

Electrical characteristics of a 1 cm-long free-burning atmospheric-pressure argon arc are calculated by means of a model taking into account the existence of a near-cathode space-charge sheath and the discrepancy between the electron and heavy-particle temperatures in the arc column. The computed arc voltage exhibits a variation with the arc current I similar to the one revealed by the experiment and exceeds experimental values by no more than approximately 2 V in the current range 20-175 A. The sheath contributes about two-thirds or more of the arc voltage. The LTE model predicts a different variation of the arc voltage with I and underestimates the experimental values appreciably for low currents but by no more than approximately 2 V for I ≳ 120 A. However, the latter can hardly be considered as a proof of unimportance of the space-charge sheath at high currents: the LTE model overestimates both the resistance of the bulk of the arc column and the resistance of the part of the column that is adjacent to the cathode, and this overestimation to a certain extent compensates for the neglect of the voltage drop in the sheath. Furthermore, if the latter resistance were evaluated in the framework of the LTE model in an accurate way, then the overestimation would be still much stronger and the obtained voltage would significantly exceed those observed in the experiment.

GPS water vapour tomography: preliminary results from the ESCOMPTE field experiment

Science.gov (United States)

Champollion, C.; Masson, F.; Bouin, M.-N.; Walpersdorf, A.; Doerflinger, E.; Bock, O.; Van Baelen, J.

2005-03-01

Water vapour plays a major role in atmospheric processes but remains difficult to quantify due to its high variability in time and space and the sparse set of available measurements. The GPS has proved its capacity to measure the integrated water vapour at zenith with the same accuracy as other methods. Recent studies show that it is possible to quantify the integrated water vapour in the line of sight of the GPS satellite. These observations can be used to study the 3D heterogeneity of the troposphere using tomographic techniques. We develop three-dimensional tomographic software to model the three-dimensional distribution of the tropospheric water vapour from GPS data. First, the tomographic software is validated by simulations based on the realistic ESCOMPTE GPS network configuration. Without a priori information, the absolute value of water vapour is less resolved as opposed to relative horizontal variations. During the ESCOMPTE field experiment, a dense network of 17 dual frequency GPS receivers was operated for 2 weeks within a 20×20-km area around Marseille (southern France). The network extends from sea level to the top of the Etoile chain (˜700 m high). Optimal results have been obtained with time windows of 30-min intervals and input data evaluation every 15 min. The optimal grid for the ESCOMTE geometrical configuration has a horizontal step size of 0.05°×0.05° and 500 m vertical step size. Second, we have compared the results of real data inversions with independent observations. Three inversions have been compared to three successive radiosonde launches and shown to be consistent. A good resolution compared to the a priori information is obtained up to heights of 3000 m. A humidity spike at 4000-m altitude remains unresolved. The reason is probably that the signal is spread homogeneously over the whole network and that such a feature is not resolvable by tomographic techniques. The results of our pure GPS inversion show a correlation with

Dew-point measurements at high water vapour pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Lomperski, S.; Dreier, J.

1996-05-01

A dew-point meter capable of measuring humidity at high vapour pressure and high temperature has been constructed and tested. Humidity measurements in pure steam were made over the temperature range 100 - 1500957-0233/7/5/003/img1C and a vapour pressure range of 1 - 4 bar. The dew-point meter performance was assessed by comparing measurements with a pressure transmitter and agreement between the two was within 0957-0233/7/5/003/img2% relative humidity. Humidity measurements in steam - air mixtures were also made and the dew-point meter readings were compared to those of a zirconia oxygen sensor. For these tests the dew-point meter readings were generally within 0957-0233/7/5/003/img2% relative humidity of the oxygen sensor measurements.

CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION FROM A RADIATION-SENSITIVE PRECURSOR

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2017-01-01

The present invention relates in one aspect to a method of depositing a thin film on a substrate by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) from a radiation-sensitive precursor substance. The method comprises the steps of: (i) placing the substrate in a reaction chamber of a CVD system; (ii) heating...... heating pulse followed by an idle period; (iii) during at least one of the idle periods, providing a pressure pulse of precursor substance inside the reaction chamber by feeding at least one precursor substance to the reaction chamber so as to establish a reaction partial pressure for thin film deposition...... is formed. According to a further aspect, the invention relates to a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) system for depositing a thin film onto a substrate using precursor substances containing at least one radiation sensitive species....

Water vapour loss measurements on human skin.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Valk, Petrus Gerardus Maria van der

1984-01-01

In this thesis, the results of a series of investigations into the barrier function of human skin are presented. In these investigations, the barrier function was assessed by water vapour loss measurements of the skin using a method based on gradient estimation.... Zie: Summary and conclusions

Surface polish of PLA parts in FDM using dichloromethane vapour

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Yifan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Fused deposition modelling has become one of the most diffused rapid prototyping techniques, which is widely used to fabricate prototypes. However, further application of this technology is severely limited by poor surface roughness. Thus it is necessary to adopt some operations to improve surface quality. Chemical finishing is typically employed to finish parts in fused deposition modelling (FDM. The purpose of this paper is to decrease the surface roughness for polylactic acid (PLA parts in FDM. The chemical reaction mechanism during the treating process is analysed. Then NaOH solution and dichloromethane vapour are used to treat FDM specimens respectively. A 3D laser microscope has been applied to assess the effects in terms of surface topography and roughness. The experimental results show that treatment using dichloromethane vapour performs much better than NaOH solution. Compared with the untreated group, surface roughness obtained through vapour treatment decreases by 88 per cent. This research has been conducted to provide a better method to treat PLA parts using chemical reagents.

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of nano-multilayered Zr-O/Al-O coatings deposited by cathodic vacuum arc plasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhitomirsky, V.N.; Kim, S.K.; Burstein, L.; Boxman, R.L.

2010-01-01

Nano-multilayered Zr-O/Al-O coatings with alternating Zr-O and Al-O layers having a bi-layer period of 6-7 nm and total coating thickness of 1.0-1.2 μm were deposited using a cathodic vacuum arc plasma process on rotating Si substrates. Plasmas generated from two cathodes, Zr and Al, were deposited simultaneously in a mixture of Ar and O 2 background gases. The Zr-O/Al-O coatings, as well as bulk ZrO 2 and Al 2 O 3 reference samples, were studied using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The XPS spectra were analyzed on the surface and after sputtering with a 4 kV Ar + ion gun. High resolution angle resolved spectra were obtained at three take-off angles: 15 o , 45 o and 75 o relative to the sample surface. It was shown that preferential sputtering of oxygen took place during XPS of bulk reference ZrO 2 samples, producing ZrO and free Zr along with ZrO 2 in the XPS spectra. In contrast, no preferential sputtering was observed with Al 2 O 3 reference samples. The Zr-O/Al-O coatings contained a large amount of free metals along with their oxides. Free Zr and Al were observed in the coating spectra both before and after sputtering, and thus cannot be due solely to preferential sputtering. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the Zr-O/Al-O coatings had a nano-multilayered structure with well distinguished alternating layers. However, both of the alternating layers of the coating contained of a mixture of aluminum and zirconium oxides and free Al and Zr metals. The concentration of Zr and Al changed periodically with distance normal to the coating surface: the Zr maximum coincided with the Al minimum and vice versa. However the concentration of Zr in both alternating layers was significantly larger than that of Al. Despite the large free metal concentration, the Knoop hardness, 21.5 GPa, was relatively high, which might be attributed to super-lattice formation or formation of a metal-oxide nanocomposite within the layers.

Single-Arc IMRT?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bortfeld, Thomas; Webb, Steve

2009-01-01

The idea of delivering intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with a multileaf collimator in a continuous dynamic mode during a single rotation of the gantry has recently gained momentum both in research and industry. In this note we investigate the potential of this Single-Arc IMRT technique at a conceptual level. We consider the original theoretical example case from Brahme et al that got the field of IMRT started. Using analytical methods, we derive deliverable intensity 'landscapes' for Single-Arc as well as standard IMRT and Tomotherapy. We find that Tomotherapy provides the greatest flexibility in shaping intensity landscapes and that it allows one to deliver IMRT in a way that comes close to the ideal case in the transverse plane. Single-Arc and standard IMRT make compromises in different areas. Only in relatively simple cases that do not require substantial intensity modulation will Single-Arc be dosimetrically comparable to Tomotherapy. Compared with standard IMRT, Single-Arc could be dosimetrically superior in certain cases if one is willing to accept the spreading of low dose values over large volumes of normal tissue. In terms of treatment planning, Single-Arc poses a more challenging optimization problem than Tomotherapy or standard IMRT. We conclude that Single-Arc holds potential as an efficient IMRT technique especially for relatively simple cases. In very complex cases, Single-Arc may unduly compromise the quality of the dose distribution, if one tries to keep the treatment time below 2 min or so. As with all IMRT techniques, it is important to explore the tradeoff between plan quality and the efficiency of its delivery carefully for each individual case. (note)

MEA vacuum system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stroo, R.; Schwebke, H.; Heine, E.

1984-01-01

This report describes construction and operation of the MEA vacuum system of NIKHEF (Netherlands). First, the klystron vacuum system, beam transport system, diode pump and a triode pump are described. Next, the isolation valve and the fast valves of the vacuum system are considered. Measuring instruments, vacuum system commands and messages of failures are treated in the last chapter. (G.J.P.)

Solvation-based vapour pressure model for (solvent + salt) systems in conjunction with the Antoine equation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Senol, Aynur

2013-01-01

Highlights: • Vapour pressures of (solvent + salt) systems have been estimated through a solvation-based model. • Two structural forms of the generalized solvation model using the Antoine equation have been performed. • A simplified concentration-dependent vapour pressure model has been also processed. • The model reliability analysis has been performed in terms of a log-ratio objective function. • The reliability of the models has been interpreted in terms of the statistical design factors. -- Abstract: This study deals with modelling the vapour pressure of a (solvent + salt) system on the basis of the principles of LSER. The solvation model framework clarifies the simultaneous impact of several physical variables such as the vapour pressure of a pure solvent estimated by the Antoine equation, the solubility and solvatochromic parameters of the solvent and the physical properties of the ionic salt. It has been analyzed independently the performance of two structural forms of the generalized model, i.e., a relation depending on an integration of the properties of the solvent and the ionic salt and a relation on a reduced property-basis. A simplified concentration-dependent vapour pressure model has been also explored and implemented on the relevant systems. The vapour pressure data of sixteen (solvent + salt) systems have been processed to analyze statistically the reliability of existing models in terms of a log–ratio objective function. The proposed vapour pressure models match relatively well the observed performance, yielding the overall design factors of 1.066 and 1.073 for the solvation-based models with the integrated and reduced properties, and 1.008 for the concentration-based model, respectively

Different physiological and behavioural effects of e-cigarette vapour and cigarette smoke in mice.

Science.gov (United States)

Ponzoni, L; Moretti, M; Sala, M; Fasoli, F; Mucchietto, V; Lucini, V; Cannazza, G; Gallesi, G; Castellana, C N; Clementi, F; Zoli, M; Gotti, C; Braida, D

2015-10-01

Nicotine is the primary addictive substance in tobacco smoke and electronic cigarette (e-cig) vapour. Methodological limitations have made it difficult to compare the role of the nicotine and non-nicotine constituents of tobacco smoke. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of traditional cigarette smoke and e-cig vapour containing the same amount of nicotine in male BALB/c mice exposed to the smoke of 21 cigarettes or e-cig vapour containing 16.8 mg of nicotine delivered by means of a mechanical ventilator for three 30-min sessions/day for seven weeks. One hour after the last session, half of the animals were sacrificed for neurochemical analysis, and the others underwent mecamylamine-precipitated or spontaneous withdrawal for the purposes of behavioural analysis. Chronic intermittent non-contingent, second-hand exposure to cigarette smoke or e-cig vapour led to similar brain cotinine and nicotine levels, similar urine cotinine levels and the similar up-regulation of α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in different brain areas, but had different effects on body weight, food intake, and the signs of mecamylamine-precipitated and spontaneous withdrawal episodic memory and emotional responses. The findings of this study demonstrate for the first time that e-cig vapour induces addiction-related neurochemical, physiological and behavioural alterations. The fact that inhaled cigarette smoke and e-cig vapour have partially different dependence-related effects indicates that compounds other than nicotine contribute to tobacco dependence. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Modelling of vapour explosion in stratified geometrie

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Picchi, St.

1999-01-01

When a hot liquid comes into contact with a colder volatile liquid, one can obtain in some conditions an explosive vaporization, told vapour explosion, whose consequences can be important on neighbouring structures. This explosion needs the intimate mixing and the fine fragmentation between the two liquids. In a stratified vapour explosion, these two liquids are initially superposed and separated by a vapor film. A triggering of the explosion can induce a propagation of this along the film. A study of experimental results and existent models has allowed to retain the following main points: - the explosion propagation is due to a pressure wave propagating through the medium; - the mixing is due to the development of Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities induced by the shear velocity between the two liquids behind the pressure wave. The presence of the vapour in the volatile liquid explains experimental propagation velocity and the velocity difference between the two fluids at the pressure wave crossing. A first model has been proposed by Brayer in 1994 in order to describe the fragmentation and the mixing of the two fluids. Results of the author do not show explosion propagation. We have therefore built a new mixing-fragmentation model based on the atomization phenomenon that develops itself during the pressure wave crossing. We have also taken into account the transient aspect of the heat transfer between fuel drops and the volatile liquid, and elaborated a model of transient heat transfer. These two models have been introduced in a multi-components, thermal, hydraulic code, MC3D. Results of calculation show a qualitative and quantitative agreement with experimental results and confirm basic options of the model. (author)

Effect of Organic Vapour on Porous Alumina Based Moisture Sensor in Dry Gases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saakshi DHANEKAR

2009-08-01

Full Text Available A capacitive porous alumina based trace moisture sensor in the range of 50 to 500 ppm (V was fabricated by low cost sol-gel technique. The cross-sensitivities due to the presence of organic vapours like ethanol, methanol, acetone and benzene were studied. The change in response and recovery time with ppm for moisture sensing was also calculated. The experimental results conclude that moisture sensor is responsive to the polar organic vapours but has almost negligible response to the nonpolar molecules like benzene. Response of the sensor to the organic vapours as compared to the moisture sensitivity is very less. The effect of ambient temperature was found to be negligible.

Insulation vacuum and beam vacuum overpressure release

CERN Document Server

Parma, V

2009-01-01

There is evidence that the incident of 19th September caused a high pressure build-up inside the cryostat insulation vacuum which the existing overpressure devices could not contain. As a result, high longitudinal forces acting on the insulation vacuum barriers developed and broke the floor and the floor fixations of the SSS with vacuum barriers. The consequent large longitudinal displacements of the SSS damaged chains of adjacent dipole cryo-magnets. Estimates of the helium mass flow and the pressure build- up experienced in the incident are presented together with the pressure build-up for an even more hazardous event, the Maximum Credible Incident (MCI). The strategy of limiting the maximum pressure by the installation of addition pressure relieve devices is presented and discussed. Both beam vacuum lines were ruptured during the incident in sector 3-4 giving rise to both mechanical damage and pollution of the system. The sequence, causes and effects of this damage will be briefly reviewed. We will then an...

The magnetic vapour shield effect at divertor plates during plasma disruptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piazza, G.; Goel, B.; Hoebel, W.; Wuerz, H.; Landman, I.

1995-01-01

Hard disruptions in a TOKAMAK cause a large thermal load on the divertor plates with an instantaneous ablation of a part of the heated material. The produced vapour cloud screens the plasma facing component from the direct interaction with the disrupting plasma (vapour shield effect). In order to quantify the damage to the divertor the magneto-hydrodynamic behaviour of the expanding vapour cloud has been investigated using an extended version of the 1-dimensional Lagrangian hydrodynamic code KATACO. Modelling of the magnetic field effects on the expanding plasma takes into account that the magnetic field is oblique to the divertor (1 1/2 dimensional model). The ''Radiation Heat Conduction Approximation'' has been used for describing the radiative energy transport. In this paper results are presented assuming graphite as divertor material, irradiated with a proton beam of an energy density of 12MJ/m 2 and a duration of 100μs. (orig.)

Atomic-scale Studies of Uranium Oxidation and Corrosion by Water Vapour.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, T L; Coe, C; Bagot, P A J; Morrall, P; Smith, G D W; Scott, T; Moody, M P

2016-07-12

Understanding the corrosion of uranium is important for its safe, long-term storage. Uranium metal corrodes rapidly in air, but the exact mechanism remains subject to debate. Atom Probe Tomography was used to investigate the surface microstructure of metallic depleted uranium specimens following polishing and exposure to moist air. A complex, corrugated metal-oxide interface was observed, with approximately 60 at.% oxygen content within the oxide. Interestingly, a very thin (~5 nm) interfacial layer of uranium hydride was observed at the oxide-metal interface. Exposure to deuterated water vapour produced an equivalent deuteride signal at the metal-oxide interface, confirming the hydride as originating via the water vapour oxidation mechanism. Hydroxide ions were detected uniformly throughout the oxide, yet showed reduced prominence at the metal interface. These results support a proposed mechanism for the oxidation of uranium in water vapour environments where the transport of hydroxyl species and the formation of hydride are key to understanding the observed behaviour.

Atomic-scale Studies of Uranium Oxidation and Corrosion by Water Vapour

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, T. L.; Coe, C.; Bagot, P. A. J.; Morrall, P.; Smith, G. D. W.; Scott, T.; Moody, M. P.

2016-07-01

Understanding the corrosion of uranium is important for its safe, long-term storage. Uranium metal corrodes rapidly in air, but the exact mechanism remains subject to debate. Atom Probe Tomography was used to investigate the surface microstructure of metallic depleted uranium specimens following polishing and exposure to moist air. A complex, corrugated metal-oxide interface was observed, with approximately 60 at.% oxygen content within the oxide. Interestingly, a very thin (~5 nm) interfacial layer of uranium hydride was observed at the oxide-metal interface. Exposure to deuterated water vapour produced an equivalent deuteride signal at the metal-oxide interface, confirming the hydride as originating via the water vapour oxidation mechanism. Hydroxide ions were detected uniformly throughout the oxide, yet showed reduced prominence at the metal interface. These results support a proposed mechanism for the oxidation of uranium in water vapour environments where the transport of hydroxyl species and the formation of hydride are key to understanding the observed behaviour.

Evolution of polarization in an atomic vapour with negative refractive index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuang Fei; Shen Jianqi

2006-01-01

A three-level Lambda-configuration atomic vapour may exhibit simultaneously negative permittivity and permeability in the optical frequency band, and an isotropic left-handed vapour medium could therefore be realized within the framework of quantum optics. One of the most remarkable features of the present scheme is that both the refractive index and the photon helicity reversal inside the vapour can be controllably manipulated by an external coupling light field. The phenomenological Hamiltonian that describes the process of helicity reversal is constructed and the time-dependent Schroedinger equation governing the time evolution of the polarization states of the lightwave is solved by means of the Lewis-Riesenfeld invariant theory. The transition between the polarization states (and hence the accompanied photon helicity reversal), which is exactly analogous to the transition operation between bits in digital circuit, may be valuable for the development of new techniques in quantum optics and would have potential applications in information technology

MEDUSA: The ExoMars experiment for in-situ monitoring of dust and water vapour

Science.gov (United States)

Colangeli, L.; Lopez-Moreno, J. J.; Nørnberg, P.; Della Corte, V.; Esposito, F.; Mazzotta Epifani, E.; Merrison, J.; Molfese, C.; Palumbo, P.; Rodriguez-Gomez, J. F.; Rotundi, A.; Visconti, G.; Zarnecki, J. C.; The International Medusa Team

2009-07-01

Dust and water vapour are fundamental components of the Martian atmosphere. In view of tracing the past environmental conditions on Mars, that possibly favoured the appearing of life forms, it is important to study the present climate and its evolution. Here dust and water vapour have (and have had) strong influence. Of major scientific interest is the quantity and physical, chemical and electrical properties of dust and the abundance of water vapour dispersed in the atmosphere and their exchange with the surface. Moreover, in view of the exploration of the planet with automated systems and in the future by manned missions, it is of primary importance to analyse the hazards linked to these environmental factors. The Martian Environmental Dust Systematic Analyser (MEDUSA) experiment, included in the scientific payload of the ESA ExoMars mission, accommodates a complement of sensors, based on optical detection and cumulative mass deposition, that aims to study dust and water vapour in the lower Martian atmosphere. The goals are to study, for the first time, in-situ and quantitatively, physical properties of the airborne dust, including the cumulative dust mass flux, the dust deposition rate, the physical and electrification properties, the size distribution of sampled particles and the atmospheric water vapour abundance versus time.

Vapours of US and EU Market Leader Electronic Cigarette Brands and Liquids Are Cytotoxic for Human Vascular Endothelial Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Putzhammer, Raphaela; Doppler, Christian; Jakschitz, Thomas; Heinz, Katharina; Förste, Juliane; Danzl, Katarina; Messner, Barbara; Bernhard, David

2016-01-01

The present study was conducted to provide toxicological data on e-cigarette vapours of different e-cigarette brands and liquids from systems viewed as leaders in the e-cigarette market and to compare e-cigarette vapour toxicity to the toxicity of conventional strong high-nicotine cigarette smoke. Using an adapted version of a previously constructed cigarette smoke constituent sampling device, we collected the hydrophilic fraction of e-cigarette vapour and exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to the mixture of compounds present in the vapour of 4 different single-use e-cigarettes, 6 different liquid vapours produced by the same refillable e-cigarette, and one e-cigarette with an exchangeable liquid cartridge. After incubation of cells with various concentrations and for various periods of time we analysed cell death induction, proliferation rates, the occurrence of intra-cellular reactive oxygen species, cell morphology, and we also measured e-cigarette heating coil temperatures. Overall, conventional cigarette smoke extract showed the most severe impact on endothelial cells. However, some e-cigarette vapour extracts showed high cytotoxicity, inhibition of cell proliferation, and alterations in cell morphology, which were comparable to conventional high-nicotine cigarettes. The vapours generated from different liquids using the same e-cigarette show substantial differences, pointing to the liquids as an important source for toxicity. E-cigarette vapour-mediated induction of oxidative stress was significant in one out of the 11 analysed vapours. There is a high variability in the acute cytotoxicity of e-cigarette vapours depending on the liquid and on the e-cigarettes used. Some products showed toxic effects close to a conventional high-nicotine cigarette. Liquid nicotine, menthol content, and the formation of acute intracellular reactive oxygen species do not seem to be the central elements in e-cigarette vapour toxicity. PMID:27351725

Vapours of US and EU Market Leader Electronic Cigarette Brands and Liquids Are Cytotoxic for Human Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Putzhammer, Raphaela; Doppler, Christian; Jakschitz, Thomas; Heinz, Katharina; Förste, Juliane; Danzl, Katarina; Messner, Barbara; Bernhard, David

2016-01-01

The present study was conducted to provide toxicological data on e-cigarette vapours of different e-cigarette brands and liquids from systems viewed as leaders in the e-cigarette market and to compare e-cigarette vapour toxicity to the toxicity of conventional strong high-nicotine cigarette smoke. Using an adapted version of a previously constructed cigarette smoke constituent sampling device, we collected the hydrophilic fraction of e-cigarette vapour and exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) to the mixture of compounds present in the vapour of 4 different single-use e-cigarettes, 6 different liquid vapours produced by the same refillable e-cigarette, and one e-cigarette with an exchangeable liquid cartridge. After incubation of cells with various concentrations and for various periods of time we analysed cell death induction, proliferation rates, the occurrence of intra-cellular reactive oxygen species, cell morphology, and we also measured e-cigarette heating coil temperatures. Overall, conventional cigarette smoke extract showed the most severe impact on endothelial cells. However, some e-cigarette vapour extracts showed high cytotoxicity, inhibition of cell proliferation, and alterations in cell morphology, which were comparable to conventional high-nicotine cigarettes. The vapours generated from different liquids using the same e-cigarette show substantial differences, pointing to the liquids as an important source for toxicity. E-cigarette vapour-mediated induction of oxidative stress was significant in one out of the 11 analysed vapours. There is a high variability in the acute cytotoxicity of e-cigarette vapours depending on the liquid and on the e-cigarettes used. Some products showed toxic effects close to a conventional high-nicotine cigarette. Liquid nicotine, menthol content, and the formation of acute intracellular reactive oxygen species do not seem to be the central elements in e-cigarette vapour toxicity.

Vapours of US and EU Market Leader Electronic Cigarette Brands and Liquids Are Cytotoxic for Human Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raphaela Putzhammer

Full Text Available The present study was conducted to provide toxicological data on e-cigarette vapours of different e-cigarette brands and liquids from systems viewed as leaders in the e-cigarette market and to compare e-cigarette vapour toxicity to the toxicity of conventional strong high-nicotine cigarette smoke. Using an adapted version of a previously constructed cigarette smoke constituent sampling device, we collected the hydrophilic fraction of e-cigarette vapour and exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs to the mixture of compounds present in the vapour of 4 different single-use e-cigarettes, 6 different liquid vapours produced by the same refillable e-cigarette, and one e-cigarette with an exchangeable liquid cartridge. After incubation of cells with various concentrations and for various periods of time we analysed cell death induction, proliferation rates, the occurrence of intra-cellular reactive oxygen species, cell morphology, and we also measured e-cigarette heating coil temperatures. Overall, conventional cigarette smoke extract showed the most severe impact on endothelial cells. However, some e-cigarette vapour extracts showed high cytotoxicity, inhibition of cell proliferation, and alterations in cell morphology, which were comparable to conventional high-nicotine cigarettes. The vapours generated from different liquids using the same e-cigarette show substantial differences, pointing to the liquids as an important source for toxicity. E-cigarette vapour-mediated induction of oxidative stress was significant in one out of the 11 analysed vapours. There is a high variability in the acute cytotoxicity of e-cigarette vapours depending on the liquid and on the e-cigarettes used. Some products showed toxic effects close to a conventional high-nicotine cigarette. Liquid nicotine, menthol content, and the formation of acute intracellular reactive oxygen species do not seem to be the central elements in e-cigarette vapour toxicity.

Evaluation of volumetric modulated arc therapy for cranial radiosurgery using multiple noncoplanar arcs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Audet, Chantal; Poffenbarger, Brett A.; Chang, Pauling; Jackson, Paul S.; Lundahl, Robert E.; Ryu, Stephen I.; Ray, Gordon R.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate a commercial volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), using multiple noncoplanar arcs, for linac-based cranial radiosurgery, as well as evaluate the combined accuracy of the VMAT dose calculations and delivery. Methods: Twelve patients with cranial lesions of variable size (0.1-29 cc) and two multiple metastases patients were planned (Eclipse RapidArc AAA algorithm, v8.6.15) using VMAT (1-6 noncoplanar arcs), dynamic conformal arc (DCA, ∼4 arcs), and IMRT (nine static fields). All plans were evaluated according to a conformity index (CI), healthy brain tissue doses and volumes, and the dose to organs at risk. A 2D dose distribution was measured (Varian Novalis Tx, HD120 MLC, 1000 MU/min, 6 MV beam) for the ∼4 arc VMAT treatment plans using calibrated film dosimetry. Results: The CI (0-1 best) average for all plans was best for ∼4 noncoplanar arc VMAT at 0.86 compared with ∼0.78 for IMRT and a single arc VMAT and 0.68 for DCA. The volumes of healthy brain receiving 50% of the prescribed target coverage dose or more (V 50% ) were lowest for the four arc VMAT [RA(4)] and DCA plans. The average ratio of the V 50% for the other plans to the RA(4) V 50% were 1.9 for a single noncoplanar arc VMAT [RA(1nc)], 1.4 for single full coplanar arc VMAT [RA(1f)] and 1.3 for IMRT. The V 50% improved significantly for single isocenter multiple metastases plan when two noncoplanar VMAT arcs were added to a full single coplanar one. The maximum dose to 5 cc of the outer 1 cm rim of healthy brain which one may want to keep below nonconsequential doses of 300-400 cGy, was 2-3 times greater for IMRT, RA(1nc) and RA(1f) plans compared with the multiple noncoplanar arc DCA and RA(4) techniques. Organs at risk near (0-4 mm) to targets were best spared by (i) single noncoplanar arcs when the targets are lateral to the organ at risk and (ii) by skewed nonvertical planes of IMRT fields when the targets are not lateral to the organ at risk. The highest dose gradient

Hybrid laser-arc welding

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hybrid laser-arc welding (HLAW) is a combination of laser welding with arc welding that overcomes many of the shortfalls of both processes. This important book gives a comprehensive account of hybrid laser-arc welding technology and applications. The first part of the book reviews...... the characteristics of the process, including the properties of joints produced by hybrid laser-arc welding and ways of assessing weld quality. Part II discusses applications of the process to such metals as magnesium alloys, aluminium and steel as well as the use of hybrid laser-arc welding in such sectors as ship...... building and the automotive industry. With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, Hybrid laser-arc welding, will be a valuable source of reference for all those using this important welding technology. Professor Flemming Ove Olsen works in the Department of Manufacturing...

Probabilistic risk assessment for six vapour intrusion algorithms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Provoost, J.; Reijnders, L.; Bronders, J.; Van Keer, I.; Govaerts, S.

2014-01-01

A probabilistic assessment with sensitivity analysis using Monte Carlo simulation for six vapour intrusion algorithms, used in various regulatory frameworks for contaminated land management, is presented here. In addition a deterministic approach with default parameter sets is evaluated against

Advanced light source vacuum policy and vacuum guidelines for beamlines and experiment endstations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hussain, Z.

1995-08-01

The purpose of this document is to: (1) Explain the ALS vacuum policy and specifications for beamlines and experiment endstations. (2) Provide guidelines related to ALS vacuum policy to assist in designing beamlines which are in accordance with ALS vacuum policy. This document supersedes LSBL-116. The Advanced Light Source is a third generation synchrotron radiation source whose beam lifetime depends on the quality of the vacuum in the storage ring and the connecting beamlines. The storage ring and most of the beamlines share a common vacuum and are operated under ultra-high-vacuum (UHV) conditions. All endstations and beamline equipment must be operated so as to avoid contamination of beamline components, and must include proper safeguards to protect the storage ring vacuum from an accidental break in the beamline or endstation vacuum systems. The primary gas load during operation is due to thermal desorption and electron/photon induced desorption of contaminants from the interior of the vacuum vessel and its components. The desorption rates are considerably higher for hydrocarbon contamination, thus considerable emphasis is placed on eliminating these sources of contaminants. All vacuum components in a beamline and endstation must meet the ALS vacuum specifications. The vacuum design of both beamlines and endstations must be approved by the ALS Beamline Review Committee (BRC) before vacuum connections to the storage ring are made. The vacuum design is first checked during the Beamline Design Review (BDR) held before construction of the beamline equipment begins. Any deviation from the ALS vacuum specifications must be approved by the BRC prior to installation of the equipment on the ALS floor. Any modification that is incorporated into a vacuum assembly without the written approval of the BRC is done at the user's risk and may lead to rejection of the whole assembly

Thermal diffusion of water vapour in porous materials: fact or fiction?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Janssen, Hans

2011-01-01

diffusion. Thermal diffusion opponents, on the other hand, assert that these thermal transports are negligibly small. This paper resolves that contradiction. A critical analysis of the investigations supporting the occurrence of thermal diffusion reveals that all are flawed. A correct reinterpretation...... its negligible magnitude. It can in conclusion be stated that thermal diffusion is of no importance for building science applications, leaving vapour pressure as the sole significant transport potential for the diffusion of water vapour in porous materials. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved....

Density profiles and collective excitations of a trapped two-component Fermi vapour

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amoruso, M.; Meccoli, I.; Minguzzi, A.; Tosi, M.P.

1999-08-01

We discuss the ground state and the small-amplitude excitations of a degenerate vapour of fermionic atoms placed in two hyperfine states inside a spherical harmonic trap. An equations-of-motion approach is set up to discuss the hydrodynamic dissipation processes from the interactions between the two components of the fluid beyond mean-field theory and to emphasize analogies with spin dynamics and spin diffusion in a homogeneous Fermi liquid. The conditions for the establishment of a collisional regime via scattering against cold-atom impurities are analyzed. The equilibrium density profiles are then calculated for a two-component vapour of 40 K atoms: they are little modified by the interactions for presently relevant values of the system parameters, but spatial separation of the two components will spontaneously arise as the number of atoms in the trap is increased. The eigenmodes of collective oscillation in both the total particle number density and the concentration density are evaluated analytically in the special case of a symmetric two-component vapour in the collisional regime. The dispersion relation of the surface modes for the total particle density reduces in this case to that of a one-component Fermi vapour, whereas the frequencies of all other modes are shifted by the interactions. (author)

Spiral patterns of gold nanoclusters in silicon (100) produced by metal vapour vacuum arc implantation of gold ions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Venkatachalam, Dinesh Kumar; Sood, Dinesh Kumar; Bhargava, Suresh Kumar

2008-01-01

Self-assembled gold nanoclusters are attractive building blocks for future nanoscale sensors and optical devices due to their exciting catalytic properties. In this work, we report direct bottom-up synthesis of spiral patterns of gold nanoclusters in silicon (100) substrates by Au ion implantation followed by thermal annealing. This unique phenomenon is observed only above a critical threshold implantation dose and annealing temperature. Systematic study by electron microscopy, analytical x-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy shows the temperature- and time-dependent nucleation, growth of Au nanoclusters and evolution of the spiral patterns. The observed patterns of gold nanoclusters bear a resemblance to the spiral growth prevalent in some directionally solidified eutectic alloys. Based on this systematic study of the growth and morphology of nanoclusters, a tentative model has been proposed for the formation mechanism of this unusual self-assembled pattern in an amorphous Si/Au system. This model shows that melting of the implanted layer is essential and without which no spiral patterns are observed. A better understanding of this self-assembly process will open up new ways to fabricate ordered arrays of gold nanoclusters in silicon substrates for seeding selective growth of one-dimensional nanostructures

Electric Arc Furnace Modeling with Artificial Neural Networks and Arc Length with Variable Voltage Gradient

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raul Garcia-Segura

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Electric arc furnaces (EAFs contribute to almost one third of the global steel production. Arc furnaces use a large amount of electrical energy to process scrap or reduced iron and are relevant to study because small improvements in their efficiency account for significant energy savings. Optimal controllers need to be designed and proposed to enhance both process performance and energy consumption. Due to the random and chaotic nature of the electric arcs, neural networks and other soft computing techniques have been used for modeling EAFs. This study proposes a methodology for modeling EAFs that considers the time varying arc length as a relevant input parameter to the arc furnace model. Based on actual voltages and current measurements taken from an arc furnace, it was possible to estimate an arc length suitable for modeling the arc furnace using neural networks. The obtained results show that the model reproduces not only the stable arc conditions but also the unstable arc conditions, which are difficult to identify in a real heat process. The presented model can be applied for the development and testing of control systems to improve furnace energy efficiency and productivity.

Regression Analysis of the Effect of Bias Voltage on Nano- and Macrotribological Properties of Diamond-Like Carbon Films Deposited by a Filtered Cathodic Vacuum Arc Ion-Plating Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shojiro Miyake

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Diamond-like carbon (DLC films are deposited by bend filtered cathodic vacuum arc (FCVA technique with DC and pulsed bias voltage. The effects of varying bias voltage on nanoindentation and nanowear properties were evaluated by atomic force microscopy. DLC films deposited with DC bias voltage of −50 V exhibited the greatest hardness at approximately 50 GPa, a low modulus of dissipation, low elastic modulus to nanoindentation hardness ratio, and high nanowear resistance. Nanoindentation hardness was positively correlated with the Raman peak ratio Id/Ig, whereas wear depth was negatively correlated with this ratio. These nanotribological properties highly depend on the films’ nanostructures. The tribological properties of the FCVA-DLC films were also investigated using a ball-on-disk test. The average friction coefficient of DLC films deposited with DC bias voltage was lower than that of DLC films deposited with pulse bias voltage. The friction coefficient calculated from the ball-on-disk test was correlated with the nanoindentation hardness in dry conditions. However, under boundary lubrication conditions, the friction coefficient and specific wear rate had little correlation with nanoindentation hardness, and wear behavior seemed to be influenced by other factors such as adhesion strength between the film and substrate.

Method to reduce arc blow during DC arc welding of pipelines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espina-Hernandez, J. H.; Rueda-Morales, G.L.; Caleyo, F.; Hallen, J. M. [Instituto Politecnico Nacional, Mexico, (Mexico); Lopez-Montenegro, A.; Perz-Baruch, E. [Pemex Exploracion y Produccion, Tabasco, (Mexico)

2010-07-01

Steel pipelines are huge ferromagnetic structures and can be easily subjected to arc blow during the DC arc welding process. The development of methods to avoid arc blow during pipeline DC arc welding is a major objective in the pipeline industry. This study developed a simple procedure to compensate the residual magnetic field in the groove during DC arc welding. A Gaussmeter was used to perform magnetic flux density measurements in pipelines in southern Mexico. These data were used to perform magnetic finite element simulations using FEMM. Different variables were studied such as the residual magnetic field in the groove or the position of the coil with respect to the groove. An empirical predictive equation was developed from these trials to compensate for the residual magnetic field. A new method of compensating for the residual magnetic field in the groove by selecting the number of coil turns and the position of the coil with respect to the groove was established.

Influence of N2 partial pressure on structural and microhardness properties of TiN/ZrN multilayers deposited by Ar/N2 vacuum arc discharge

Science.gov (United States)

Naddaf, M.; Abdallah, B.; Ahmad, M.; A-Kharroub, M.

2016-08-01

The influence of N2 partial pressure on structural, mechanical and wetting properties of multilayered TiN/ZrN thin films deposited on silicon substrates by vacuum arc discharge of (N2 + Ar) gas mixtures is investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the average texturing coefficient of (1 1 1) orientation and the grain size of both TiN and ZrN individual layers increase with increasing the N2 partial pressure. The Rutherford back scattering (RBS) measurements and analysis reveal that incorporation of the nitrogen in the film increases with increasing the N2 partial pressure and both TiN and ZrN individual layers have a nitrogen over-stoichiometry for N2 partial pressure ⩾50%. The change in the film micro-hardness is correlated to the changes in crystallographic texture, grain size, stoichiometry and the residual stress in the film as a function of the N2 partial pressure. In particular, stoichiometry of ZrN and TiN individual is found to play the vital role in determining the multilayer hardness. The multilayer film deposited at N2 partial pressure of 25% has the best stoichiometric ratio of both TiN and ZrN layers and the highest micro-hardness of about 32 GPa. In addition, water contact angle (WCA) measurements and analysis show a decrease in the work of adhesion on increasing the N2 partial pressure.

Influence of N_2 partial pressure on structural and microhardness properties of TiN/ZrN multilayers deposited by Ar/N_2 vacuum arc discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naddaf, M.; Abdallah, B.; Ahmad, M.; A-Kharroub, M.

2016-01-01

The influence of N_2 partial pressure on structural, mechanical and wetting properties of multilayered TiN/ZrN thin films deposited on silicon substrates by vacuum arc discharge of (N_2 + Ar) gas mixtures is investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that the average texturing coefficient of (1 1 1) orientation and the grain size of both TiN and ZrN individual layers increase with increasing the N_2 partial pressure. The Rutherford back scattering (RBS) measurements and analysis reveal that incorporation of the nitrogen in the film increases with increasing the N_2 partial pressure and both TiN and ZrN individual layers have a nitrogen over-stoichiometry for N_2 partial pressure ⩾50%. The change in the film micro-hardness is correlated to the changes in crystallographic texture, grain size, stoichiometry and the residual stress in the film as a function of the N_2 partial pressure. In particular, stoichiometry of ZrN and TiN individual is found to play the vital role in determining the multilayer hardness. The multilayer film deposited at N_2 partial pressure of 25% has the best stoichiometric ratio of both TiN and ZrN layers and the highest micro-hardness of about 32 GPa. In addition, water contact angle (WCA) measurements and analysis show a decrease in the work of adhesion on increasing the N_2 partial pressure.

Distribution of tritium in water vapour and precipitation around Wolsung nuclear power plant.

Science.gov (United States)

Chae, Jung-Seok; Lee, Sang-Kuk; Kim, Yongjae; Lee, Jung-Min; Cho, Heung-Joon; Cho, Yong-Woo; Yun, Ju-Yong

2011-07-01

The distribution of tritium in water vapour and precipitation with discharge of tritiated water vapour and meteorological factors was studied around the Wolsung nuclear power plant (NPP) site during the period 2004-2008. The tritium concentrations in atmospheric water vapour and precipitation had a temporal variation with relatively high values in the early summer. Spatial distribution of tritium concentrations was affected by various factors such as distance from the NPP site, wind direction, tritium discharge into the atmosphere and atmospheric dispersion factor. The annual mean concentrations of atmospheric HTO and precipitation were correlated with the amount of gaseous tritium released from the Wolsung NPP. The tritium concentrations in precipitation decrease exponentially with an increase of the distance from the Wolsung NPP site.

Using arc voltage to locate the anode attachment in plasma arc cutting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Osterhouse, D J; Heberlein, J V R; Lindsay, J W

2013-01-01

Plasma arc cutting is a widely used industrial process in which an electric arc in the form of a high velocity plasma jet is used to melt and blow away metal. The arc attaches inside the resulting cut slot, or kerf, where it both provides a large heat flux and determines the flow dynamics of the plasma. Knowledge of the position of the arc attachment is essential for understanding the phenomena present at the work piece. This work presents a new method of measuring the location of the arc attachment in which the arc voltage is measured during the cutting of a range of work piece thicknesses. The attachment location is then interpreted from the voltages. To support the validity of this method, the kerf shape, dross particle size and dross adhesion to the work piece are also observed. While these do not conclusively give an attachment location, they show patterns which are consistent with the attachment location found from the voltage measurements. The method is demonstrated on the cutting of mild steel, where the arc attachment is found to be stationary in the upper portion of the cut slot and in reasonable agreement with existing published findings. For a process optimized for the cutting of 12.7 mm mild steel, the attachment is found at a depth of 1.5–3.4 mm. For a slower process optimized for the cutting of 25.4 mm mild steel, the attachment is found at a depth of 3.4–4.8 mm, which enhances heat transfer further down in the kerf, allowing cutting of the thicker work piece. The use of arc voltage to locate the position of the arc attachment is unique when compared with existing methods because it is entirely independent of the heat distribution and visualization techniques. (paper)

Crustal growth of the Izu-Ogasawara arc estimated from structural characteristics of Oligocene arc

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, N.; Yamashita, M.; Kodaira, S.; Miura, S.; Sato, T.; No, T.; Tatsumi, Y.

2011-12-01

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) carried out seismic surveys using a multichannel reflection system and ocean bottom seismographs, and we have clarified crustal structures of whole Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Marina (IBM) arc since 2002. These refection images and velocity structures suggest that the crustal evolution in the intra-oceanic island arc accompanies with much interaction of materials between crust and mantle. Slow mantle velocity identified beneath the thick arc crusts suggests that dense crustal materials transformed into the mantle. On the other hand, high velocity lower crust can be seen around the bottom of the crust beneath the rifted region, and it suggests that underplating of mafic materials occurs there. Average crustal production rate of the entire arc is larger than expected one and approximately 200 km3/km/Ma. The production rate of basaltic magmas corresponds to that of oceanic ridge. Repeated crustal differentiation is indispensable to produce much light materials like continental materials, however, the real process cannot still be resolved yet. We, therefore, submitted drilling proposals to obtain in-situ middle crust with P-wave velocity of 6 km/s. In the growth history of the IBM arc, it is known by many papers that boninitic volcanisms preceded current bimodal volcanisms based on basaltic magmas. The current volcanisms accompanied with basaltic magmas have been occurred since Oligocene age, however, the tectonic differences to develop crustal architecture between Oligocene and present are not understood yet. We obtained new refraction/reflection data along an arc strike of N-S in fore-arc region. Then, we estimate crustal structure with severe change of the crustal thickness from refraction data, which are similar to that along the volcanic front. Interval for location of the thick arc crust along N-S is very similar to that along the volcanic front. The refection image indicates that the basement of the fore-arc

Diffuse and spot mode of cathode arc attachments in an atmospheric magnetically rotating argon arc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Tang; Wang, Cheng; Liao, Meng-Ran; Xia, Wei-Dong

2016-01-01

A model including the cathode, near-cathode region, and arc column was constructed. Specifically, a thermal perturbation layer at the arc fringe was calculated in order to couple sheath/presheath modelling with typical arc column modelling. Comparative investigation of two modes of attachment of a dc (100, 150, 200 A) atmospheric-pressure arc in argon to a thermionic cathode made of pure tungsten was conducted. Computational data revealed that there exists two modes of arc discharge: the spot mode, which has an obvious cathode surface temperature peak in the arc attachment centre; and the diffuse mode, which has a flat cathode surface temperature distribution and a larger arc attachment area. The modelling results of the arc attachment agree with previous experimental observations for the diffuse mode. A further 3D simulation is obviously needed to investigate the non-axisymmetrical features, especially for the spot mode. (paper)

Diffusion and flow of water vapours in chromatographic Alumina gel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M.; Shah, H. U.

2005-01-01

The kinetics of sorption of water vapours in chromatographic alumina gel was studied. Water vapours are adsorbed on the gel at temperature (15 degree C) at different constant relative pressure from 0.1-0.93 p/p. Rate constant, Effective diffusivities, Knudsen diffusivities and bulk diffusivities were determined through Fick type equation. Total pore volume is 0.498 cc g-1 and specific surface area comes to be 465 m2 g-1 as obtained by Gurvitsch rule and Kieselve's quantities respectively. An average pore radius (hydraulic) is 1.1x10/sub -7/ cm. The study of these quantities provide a strong basis for evaluating surface properties. (author)

Interactions between laser and arc plasma during laser-arc hybrid welding of magnesium alloy

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Liming; Chen, Minghua

2011-09-01

This paper presents the results of the investigation on the interactions between laser and arc plasma during laser-arc hybrid welding on magnesium alloy AZ31B using the spectral diagnose technique. By comparably analyzing the variation in plasma information (the shape, the electron temperature and density) of single tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding with the laser-arc hybrid welding, it is found that the laser affects the arc plasma through the keyhole forming on the workpiece. Depending on the welding parameters there are three kinds of interactions taking place between laser and arc plasma.

Solvent Vapour Detection with Cholesteric Liquid Crystals—Optical and Mass-Sensitive Evaluation of the Sensor Mechanism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adnan Mujahid

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs are used as sensitive coatings for the detection of organic solvent vapours for both polar and non-polar substances. The incorporation of different analyte vapours in the CLC layers disturbs the pitch length which changes the optical properties, i.e., shifting the absorption band. The engulfing of CLCs around non-polar solvent vapours such as tetrahedrofuran (THF, chloroform and tetrachloroethylene is favoured in comparison to polar ones, i.e., methanol and ethanol. Increasing solvent vapour concentrations shift the absorbance maximumto smaller wavelengths, e.g., as observed for THF. Additionally, CLCs have been coated on acoustic devices such as the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM to measure the frequency shift of analyte samples at similar concentration levels. The mass effect for tetrachloroethylene was about six times higher than chloroform. Thus, optical response can be correlated with intercalation in accordance to mass detection. The mechanical stability was gained by combining CLCs with imprinted polymers. Therefore, pre-concentration of solvent vapours was performed leading to an additional selectivity.

Vacuum mechatronics first international workshop

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Belinski, S.E.; Shirazi, M.; Hackwood, S.; Beni, G. (eds.) (California Univ., Santa Barbara, CA (USA))

1989-01-01

This report contains papers on the following topics: proposed epitaxial thin film growth in the ultra-vacuum of space; particle monitoring and control in vacuum processing equipment; electrostatic dust collector for use in vacuum systems; materials evaluation of an electrically noisy vacuum slip ring assembly; an overview of lubrication and associated materials for vacuum service; the usage of lubricants in a vacuum environment; guidelines and practical applications for lubrication in vacuum; recent development in leak detector and calibrator designs; the durability of ballscrews for ultrahigh vacuum; vacuum-compatible robot for self-contained manufacturing systems; the design, fabrication, and assembly of an advanced vacuum robotics system for space payload calibration; design criteria for mechanisms used in space; and concepts and requirements for semiconductor multiprocess integration in vacuum. These papers are indexed separately elsewhere.

Arc-to-arc mini-sling 1999: a critical analysis of concept and technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paulo Palma

2011-04-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to critically review the Arc-to-Arc mini-sling (Palma's technique a less invasive mid-urethral sling using bovine pericardium as the sling material. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Arc-to-Arc mini-sling, using bovine pericardium, was the first published report of a mini-sling, in 1999. The technique was identical to the "tension-free tape" operation, midline incision and dissection of the urethra. The ATFP (white line was identified by blunt dissection, and the mini-sling was sutured to the tendinous arc on both sides with 2 polypropylene 00 sutures. RESULTS: The initial results were encouraging, with 9/10 patients cured at the 6 weeks post-operative visit. However, infection and extrusion of the mini-sling resulted in sling extrusion and removal, with 5 patients remaining cured at 12 months. CONCLUSION: The Arc-to-Arc mini-sling was a good concept, but failed because of the poor technology available at that time. Further research using new materials and better technology has led to new and safer alternatives for the management of stress urinary incontinence.

Collisional effects on metastable atom population in vapour generated by electron beam heating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dikshit, B; Majumder, A; Bhatia, M S; Mago, V K

2008-01-01

The metastable atom population distribution in a free expanding uranium vapour generated by electron beam (e-beam) heating is expected to depart from its original value near the source due to atom-atom collisions and interaction with electrons of the e-beam generated plasma co-expanding with the vapour. To investigate the dynamics of the electron-atom and atom-atom interactions at different e-beam powers (or source temperatures), probing of the atomic population in ground (0 cm -1 ) and 620 cm -1 metastable states of uranium was carried out by the absorption technique using a hollow cathode discharge lamp. The excitation temperature of vapour at a distance ∼30 cm from the source was calculated on the basis of the measured ratio of populations in 620 to 0 cm -1 states and it was found to be much lower than both the source temperature and estimated translational temperature of the vapour that is cooled by adiabatic free expansion. This indicated relaxation of the metastable atoms by collisions with low energy plasma electrons was so significant that it brings the excitation temperature below the translational temperature of the vapour. So, with increase in e-beam power and hence atom density, frequent atom-atom collisions are expected to establish equilibrium between the excitation and translational temperatures, resulting in an increase in the excitation temperature (i.e. heating of vapour). This has been confirmed by analysing the experimentally observed growth pattern of the curve for excitation temperature with e-beam power. From the observed excitation temperature at low e-beam power when atom-atom collisions can be neglected, the total de-excitation cross section for relaxation of the 620 cm -1 state by interaction with low energy electrons was estimated and was found to be ∼10 -14 cm 2 . Finally using this value of cross section, the extent of excitational cooling and heating by electron-atom and atom-atom collisions are described at higher e-beam powers

Structural, mechanical, electrical and wetting properties of ZrNx films deposited by Ar/N2 vacuum arc discharge: Effect of nitrogen partial pressure

Science.gov (United States)

Abdallah, B.; Naddaf, M.; A-Kharroub, M.

2013-03-01

Non-stiochiometric zirconium nitride (ZrNx) thin films have been deposited on silicon substrates by vacuum arc discharge of (N2 + Ar) gas mixtures at different N2 partial pressure ratio. The microstructure, mechanical, electrical and wetting properties of these films are studied by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), micro-Raman spectroscopy, Rutherford back scattering (RBS) technique, conventional micro-hardness testing, electrical resistivity, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and contact angle (CA) measurements. RBS results and analysis show that the (N/Zr) ratio in the film increases with increasing the N2 partial pressure. A ZrNx film with (Zr/N) ratio in the vicinity of stoichiometric ZrN is obtained at N2 partial pressure of 10%. XRD and Raman results indicate that all deposited films have strained cubic crystal phase of ZrN, regardless of the N2 partial pressure. On increasing the N2 partial pressure, the relative intensity of (1 1 1) orientation with respect to (2 0 0) orientation is seen to decrease. The effect of N2 partial pressure on micro-hardness and the resistivity of the deposited film is revealed and correlated to the alteration of grain size, crystallographic texture, stoichiometry and residual stress developed in the film. In particular, it is found that residual stress and nitrogen incorporation in the film play crucial role in the alteration of micro-hardness and resistivity respectively. In addition, CA and AFM results demonstrate that as N2 partial pressure increases, both the surface hydrophobicity and roughness of the deposited film increase, leading to a significant decrease in the film surface free energy (SFE).

Study of the feasibility of distributed cathodic arc as a plasma source for development of the technology for plasma separation of SNF and radioactive wastes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amirov, R. Kh.; Vorona, N. A.; Gavrikov, A. V.; Liziakin, G. D.; Polistchook, V. P.; Samoylov, I. S.; Smirnov, V. P.; Usmanov, R. A., E-mail: ravus46@yandex.ru; Yartsev, I. M. [Russian Academy of Sciences, Joint Institute for High Temperatures (Russian Federation)

2015-12-15

One of the key problems in the development of plasma separation technology is designing a plasma source which uses condensed spent nuclear fuel (SNF) or nuclear wastes as a raw material. This paper covers the experimental study of the evaporation and ionization of model materials (gadolinium, niobium oxide, and titanium oxide). For these purposes, a vacuum arc with a heated cathode on the studied material was initiated and its parameters in different regimes were studied. During the experiment, the cathode temperature, arc current, arc voltage, and plasma radiation spectra were measured, and also probe measurements were carried out. It was found that the increase in the cathode heating power leads to the decrease in the arc voltage (to 3 V). This fact makes it possible to reduce the electron energy and achieve singly ionized plasma with a high degree of ionization to fulfill one of the requirements for plasma separation of SNF. This finding is supported by the analysis of the plasma radiation spectrum and the results of the probe diagnostics.

A mathematical model of vapour film destabilisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knowles, J.B.

1985-04-01

In a hypothetical reactor accident, destabilisation of an intervening vapour film between the molten fuel and liquid coolant by a weak shock wave (trigger), is considered likely to initiate the molten fuel-coolant interaction. The one-dimensional model presented here is part of a larger programme of fundamental research aimed at improved reactor safety. (U.K.)