Foaming of aluminium-silicon alloy using concentrated solar energy

Solar energy is used for the work reported here as a nonconventional heating system to produce aluminium foam from Al{single bond}Si alloy precursors produced by powder metallurgy. A commercial precursor in cylindrical bars enclosed in a stainless-steel mould was heated under concentrated solar radiation in a solar furnace with varied heating conditions (heating rate, time, and temperature). Concentrated solar energy close to 300 W/cm2 on the mould is high enough to achieve complete foaming after heating for only 200 s. Under these conditions, the density and pore distribution n the foam change depending on the solar heating parameters and mould design.Spanish CICYT. Project MAT 2003-08873-C03-02 and National R&D Programme Projects MAT 2006-13347-C03-02 and REN 2003- 09247-C04-01/TECNO

Futuros esperanzadores: Hacia una síntesis entre ecomodernismo y decrecimiento

II Encuentro Sociológico Internacional: Pensar y sentir el futuro. Alicante, marzo de 2026Las encuestas internacionales revelan una paradoja persistente: la mayoría de las personas se declaran optimistas sobre su propia vida, pero profundamente pesimistas sobre el futuro colectivo. Esta brecha entre optimismo individual y pesimismo social, documentada sistemáticamente por investigadores como Ritchie (2026) a partir de datos de Ipsos y YouGov en más de 30 países, tiene consecuencias directas sobre la capacidad de acción colectiva. Cuando la percepción dominante es que nada puede mejorar, se activan mecanismos de indefensión aprendida (Seligman, 1975) y se erosiona la autoeficacia colectiva (Bandura, 1997). Como argumenta Kay (2011), los seres humanos no procesan probabilidades sino narrativas, y la ausencia de visiones articuladas de un futuro deseable llena ese vacío con relatos distópicos que refuerzan la parálisis. Esta parálisis narrativa se manifiesta de manera particularmente aguda en el debate sobre sostenibilidad, actualmente polarizado entre dos posiciones aparentemente irreconciliables: el ecomodernismo, que confía en la innovación tecnológica y el desacoplamiento del crecimiento económico respecto del impacto ambiental (Nordhaus y Shellenberger, 2007; Asafu-Adjaye et al., 2015), y el decrecimiento, que propone reducir la producción material para vivir dentro de los límites planetarios (Latouche, 2009; Kallis, 2018; Hickel, 2020). Esta presentación argumenta que dicha dicotomía es falsa y contraproducente: el crecimiento en productividad e innovación no equivale al crecimiento en materialidad, y es posible integrar los elementos más valiosos de ambas corrientes — la capacidad innovadora y la descarbonización del ecomodernismo con los valores de suficiencia, comunidad y redefinición del bienestar del decrecimiento. Para articular esta síntesis en visiones concretas que orienten la acción colectiva, se propone recurrir al marco de la esperanza existencial (Existential Hope) y a las metodologías de worldbuilding prospectivo desarrolladas por instituciones como Foresight Institute. Mediante herramientas como el scenario planning, el backcasting y el design fiction, es posible construir escenarios de futuro (2045-2050) que sean simultáneamente deseables, plausibles y coherentes, superando tanto el tecno-optimismo ingenuo como el catastrofismo paralizante. La esperanza, así entendida, no es un estado emocional pasivo sino una herramienta intelectual rigurosa para la construcción colectiva del futuro

Analysis of the Long-Term Interaction Between Molten Core and Dry Concrete at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1

Volume 211, 2025 - Issue 10: Selected papers from the 20th International Topical Meeting on Nuclear Reactor Thermal Hydraulics (NURETH-20)The latest investigations of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 have demonstrated that corium attack to the pedestal walls and pedestal floor has occurred in Fukushima Daiichi Unit 1 to a certain extent. The results of past analytical benchmarks, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)/Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Benchmark Study of the Accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (BSAF project), have agreed with this finding. However, the latest investigation does not show evidence of unlimited molten core–concrete interaction (MCCI), which is one of the main discrepancies from the BSAF project. More recently a MCCI benchmark has been launched in the context of the OECD/NEA project ARC-F (Analysis of Information from Reactor Building and Containment Vessels of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station). In the benchmark, common geometry, boundary, and initial conditions have been selected among all the participants. The results show an improved agreement among different codes for what concerns overall erosion, corium temperature, and hydrogen generation, confirming that to some extent, the earlier scatter found in these variables came from differences in the MCCI scenario modeled by each partner. However, common unlimited erosion, not observed by onsite visual inspections, is still predicted. Understanding the origin of this deviation might provide insights into boundary conditions, model drawbacks, or ill-posed assumptions that might need to be revisited (e.g. interfacial temperature, effective heat transfer coefficients, concrete heat transfer). In this paper, a summary of the overall results and a discussion of modeling and boundary conditions is presented to disclose the results of the activity and the future steps to be taken in the OECD/NEA project FACE (Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Accident Information Collection and Evaluation)

Application of solar thermal desorption to remediation of mercury-contaminated soils

Solar thermal desorption at temperatures up to 500 C is an innovative technology applied to the removal of mercury and arsenic from soil polluted by mining operations. As the soil is heated in a low and high-temperature solar system, the pollutant vapor pressure rises, producing mass transfer to the gas phase, which is then extracted by vacuum pumps and blower systems. In the UPC low-temperature experiments, removal of mercury from the polluted soil was s much as 76%. The experimental results show that volatilization of mercury is only significant when the temperature is above approximately 130 C, which agrees with the predominant mercury solid phases detected. PSA middle-temperature experiments, showed that when soil and mine waste samples were heated to 400–500 C, mercury elimination was significant (41.3–87%). However, the results from heating to 320 C or below 300 C, indicated little or negligible removal, possibly, because the fluid dynamics in the fluidized-bed module and the presence of cinnabar and pyrite rich-Hg as dominant mineral phases. These results show the potential for efficiently removing mercury and other pollutants from solid matrices (soil, waste, etc.) at low temperatures.Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology (project REN2003-09247-C04-03 and ENE2006-13267-C05-01/ALT) and 2003–2004 Technical and Scientific Infrastructure Program (FEDER CIEM-E008

Role of Hydrogen in the Preparation of Amorphous Silicon Nanowires by Metal Assisted Chemical Etching

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) has recently proved to be a suitable base material for the synthesis of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) by metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE). The etching procedure on this material shows an extraordinary sensitivity to slight compositional changes and, although dopant influence on the process has been previously addressed, little is known on the role of hydrogen. In this article, we have studied the behavior of MACE on a-Si:H films with different hydrogen contents and bond configurations. As-grown films were studied by Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and ion beam analysis to obtain a complete description of the material composition. Additionally, these results were further correlated with the morphology and characteristics of the obtained SiNWs, showing that the material stability under MACE is reduced as the bond configuration is shifted from monohydrides to polyhydrides. The effect of bond configuration has an extraordinary importance regarding the material application, as it is intrinsically related to the content of hydrogen, which simultaneously controls the optical properties of the material. This study proves that bond configuration also affects the nanostructuration, which should be considered in future devices based on this material

One Health perspective: an integrated in-silico approach to assess the environmental fate of pesticides, the exposure of aquatic and soil organisms and the risks for human health

Within the One Health perspective, the health of humans, animals and ecosystems is highly interconnected. This study presents an in silico approach to assess the environmental fate of plant protection products (PPPs) in soil and water, as well organisms and humans exposure and associated risks. The methodology integrates scenarios, models, tools and approaches recognized and used by the European Food Safety Authority and the scientific community for PPP market authorization risk assessments. Three European Member States —Portugal (PT), Denmark (DK), and the Netherlands (NL) —were selected to demonstrate = model applicability, each representing a different EU Regulatory Zone. For each country, real PPP application data and site-specific meteorological and pedological information were collected, and environmental concentrations monitored. Results showed that the predicted environmental concentration in soil (PECsoil) was lower than the monitored concentrations in PT locations, whereas PECsoil was overestimated in both NL and DK. The toxicity to exposure ratio (TER) indicated low risk to earthworms in all simulations. For surface water (SW), PECSW was below the environmental quality standard (EQSSW) in PT, whereas significant exceedances occurred in NL and DK. However, in DK, PPP concentrations declined below EQSSW within one day post-application. Comparison with reference toxicological endpoints for fish and invertebrates suggested low risks. Estimated PPP concentrations in invertebrates and fish for human consumption indicated intake would not exceed the acceptable daily intake (ADI) in PT and NL. However, at the DK location, small consumption (>13 g) of a given invertebrate would exceed the ADI for prosulfocarb (5 μg kg− 1 ). Despite limited experimental dataset and some constraints in field data collection that influenced models performance and verification, this in-silico approach can serve as a useful screening tool for assessing PPP fate and exposure in soil, aquatic organisms, and humans, supporting the integrative perspective of the One Health approach

High-pressure sputtering deposition and in situ plasma oxidation of TiOx thin films as electron selective contact for photovoltaic applications

Abstract: In this article, we show the structural, optical, and electrical characterization of TiOx deposited by the unconventional technique of High-Pressure Sputtering (HPS). This technique has the potential to reduce the plasma-induced damage of the samples. To fabricate the TiOx, a 2-step process was used. Firstly, a thin Ti film was deposited in an Ar atmosphere. Secondly, O2 was introduced into the HPS chamber to create an Ar/O2 plasma that, along with low temperatures (150 °C or 200 °C), induces the oxidation of the deposited Ti film. With this approach, the Ti film is expected to behave as a capping layer that will reduce the oxidation of the Si substrate. This study aims to obtain a TiOx layer with low specific contact resistivity (ρc) and high minority carrier lifetime. These are crucial characteristics for obtaining high-quality selective contact. It was found that the 2-step process can oxidize the Ti layer. These HPS TiOx layers show a resistivity in the order of 0.3–10 Ωcm and a ratio Ti/O of ∼1.9. Moreover, the SiOx regrowth is minimal since this is comparable to the native oxide. This was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The samples fabricated with a Ti layer (∼4 nm) plus an oxidation temperature of 200 °C (duration of less than 2 h) show a low ρc of 0.02 Ωcm2, an excellent transmittance (>87 %) in the visible region and an optical bandgap of 2.8 eV. These TiOx layers are amorphous, although some anatase phase crystalline clusters appear for the 200 °C processes. However, the minority carrier lifetime results of Si passivated by TiOx were inadequate for fabricating efficient solar cells. We also found that using the RCA oxide improved lifetime. This indicates that introducing alternative low-temperature passivating layers can solve this issue

Study of the Effect of Different Atmospheric Conditions on the Temporal Evolution of the Mixing Layer over Madrid during the Year 2020 by Means of Two Different Methods: Ceilometer Signals and the ECMWF-IFS Meteorological Model

Abstract: Atmospheric aerosols are one of the main factors that contribute to poor air quality. These aerosols are mostly concentrated within the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and mixing layer (ML). The ABL extends from ground level to the lowest level of the troposphere directly affected by surface temperature, solar irradiance, the orography and its proximity to coastal areas, causing turbulence in a daily cycle. This turbulence controls the vertical mixing of aerosols and pollutants and their dispersion in the ML. Therefore, proper characterization of these layers is of crucial importance in numerical weather forecasting and climate models; however, their estimation nowadays presents some spatial and temporal limitations. In order to deal with these limitations and to assess the influence of different meteorological conditions on the temporal evolution of the aforementioned layers, the evolution of the ML over Madrid (Spain) has been studied for the year 2020 by means of ceilometer profiles fed into the STRATfinder algorithm. This algorithm is able to give reliable estimates of the height of the ABL (ABLH) and ML (MLH). The results are compared with the ECMWF-IFS model predictions, which is able to compute the MLH under any meteorological condition. Then, the influence of the meteorology in the estimation of MLHs was established by classifying data based on the season and six different prevalent synoptic meteorological situations defined using ground-level pressure fields, as well as by splitting the days into four periods (morning, daytime, evening and nighttime). Our results show that both datasets, the STRATfinder values and the ECMWF-IFS model computations, are very sensitive to the meteorological conditions that play a main role in the MLH temporal evolution. For instance, high solar irradiance and ground radiation cause high turbulence and convection that lead to a well-developed ML. In cases in which the ML is well developed, both methods show similar results, and there are therefore better correlations between them. On the contrary, the results presented here show that the presence of high relative humidity and low temperatures hamper the growth of the ML, causing different errors in both MLH estimations and poor correlations between them. Furthermore, the ECMWF-IFS model has shown a sharp decrease, identified as an artificial behavior from 16:00 UTC, because of the influence of low solar zenith angles and the temporal interpolation. The STRATfinder algorithm also shows a sharp decrease just before the sunset because of the way the algorithm distinguishes between the ML and the residual layer. Thus, this study concludes that the MLH temporal evolution still needs to be characterized using complementary tools, since the methods presented here are strongly affected by the meteorological conditions and do not show enough reliability to work individually. However, ceilometer measurements offer great potential as a correction tool for ABL heights derived from models involved in air pollution dispersion assessments.This work was funded by the H2020 program of the European Union (grant 654109, ACTRIS-2 project), the Madrid Regional Government (TIGAS-CM, Y2018/EMT-5177), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (CRISOL, CGL2017-85344-R; Retos-AIRE, RTI2018-099138-B-100 and AtPollenFluo Grant PID2020-117873RB-I00 funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033)

PEP-39 Update from JET-ILW: Configuration effects on L-H power threshold and H-mode

In JET-ILW Corner (CC) plasmas the L-H transition power threshold (PLH) is higher than in the Horizontal Target (HT) ones, indicating poorer L-mode confinement in Corner. The ne,min dependence on both plasma configuration and plasma current was shown. In D plasmas, typically ne,min(CC)~0.3 of the Greenwald density (nGW), while ne,min(HT)~0.4 nGW, for various Btor and Ip L-H transition datasets. A reduction in ne,min when Ip is lower was shown. Despite the fact that HT has lower PLH, for the same gas fuelling and input power, the H-mode in HT has poorer confinement than CC. In the CC time-window density is lower and temperatures higher, and steady large ELMs are observed. In the HT time window, pedestal density is higher and temperatures lower, a mixture of small and large ELMs is present. A higher ratio of heating power to PLH threshold does not correlate with good confinement or steady type I ELMy regime. Additional L-H transition experiments investigating the configuration effect and the relationship between Ip and ne,min (at fixed Btor) were requested, even if in Carbon devices.Work supported in part by Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation grant number PID2021-127727OB-I00, funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and ERDF ‘A way of making Europe