Constitutive Equations for Use in Design Analyses of Long-life Elevated Temperature Components

Design analysis needs and procedures relative to elevated temperature components in liquid metal fast breeder reactor (LMFBR) system were examined. The effects of the thermal transients on the pressure boundary components are enhanced by the excellent heat transfer properties of the liquid sodium coolant. Design criteria for high temperature nuclear reactor components recognize the potential occurrence of inelastic structural response. Specifically, criteria and limits were developed which reflect a recognition of this potential and employ design by analysis concepts that requires that inelastic (elastic-plastic and creep) analyses be performed. Constitutive equations to represent multiaxial time-dependent responses of LMFBR alloys are established. The development of equations applicable under cyclic loading conditions are outlined

Correlations Between Metallurgical Characterization Studies, Exploratory Mechanical Tests, and Continuum Mechanics Approaches to Constitutive Equations

Austenitic stainless steels, such as types 316 and 304, are widely used as pressure vessel materials in the temperature range of 425 to 650 C. Stainless steel specimens were tested to rupture at two different stress levels sigma and sigma 2 sigma 1 sigma 2) to establish the normal stain-time behavior. A subsequent test was performed in which the specimen was crept at the higher stress (sigma 1) to the beginning of the secondary stage of creep, presumed to be the strain/time conditions at which a steady state microstructure is developed, and then the stress was reduced to the lower level (sigma 2). The associated microstructure, and significance of this microstructure on the creep strain-hardening model for variable uniaxial loads were assesed and found to be consistent with the use of creep-recovery models at high stresses and temperatures and strain-hardening models at low stresses and tempertures

Applications of elastic-viscoplastic constitutive models in dynamic analyses of crack run-arrest events

Applications of nonlinear techniques to the first series of six HSST wide-plate crack-arrest tests that were performed are described. The experiments include crack initiations at low temperatures and relatively long (20 cm) cleavage propagation phases which are terminated by arrest in high temperature regions. Crack arrest are then followed by ductile tearing events. Consequently, the crack front regions are exposed to wide ranges of strain rates and temperatures

Cataphoresis in rotating electric fields

A new method of making cataphoresis measurements on colloid particles has been developed and tested. The method makes use of a rotating electric field which causes the particles to move in circles. In this way it is easily possible to test the effect of variable speed of the particle on the distribution of the diffuse electric double layer surrounding it. The results obtained indicate that this effect is negligible. Furthermore, it has been discovered that the mobility of the small particles (below 10^-4 cm in diameter) fluctuates widely and this is made very evident to the eye by the fluctuations in the circular paths of the particles. The fluctuations are quite violent with particles as small as 10^-6 cm in diameter. Considerable study of these variations has been made as well as an attempt to explain them qualitatively

Properties of quasi-periodic pulsations in solar flares from a single active region

We investigate the properties of a set of solar flares originating from a single active region (AR) that exhibit QPPs, and look for signs of the QPP periods relating to AR properties. The AR studied, best known as NOAA 12192, was unusually long-lived and produced 181 flares. Data from the GOES, EVE, Fermi, Vernov and NoRH observatories were used to determine if QPPs were present in the flares. For the soft X-ray GOES and EVE data, the time derivative of the signal was used. Power spectra of the time series data (without any form of detrending) were inspected, and flares with a peak above the 95% confidence level in the spectrum were labelled as having candidate QPPs. The confidence levels were determined taking account of uncertainties and the possible presence of red noise. AR properties were determined using HMI line of sight magnetograms. A total of 37 flares (20% of the sample) show good evidence of having QPPs, and some of the pulsations can be seen in data from multiple instruments and in different wavebands. The QPP periods show a weak correlation with the flare amplitude and duration, but this may be due to an observational bias. A stronger correlation was found between the QPP period and duration of the QPP signal, which can be partially but not entirely explained by observational constraints. No correlations were found with the AR area, bipole separation, or average magnetic field strength. The fact that a substantial fraction of the flare sample showed evidence of QPPs using a strict detection method with minimal processing of the data demonstrates that these QPPs are a real phenomenon, which cannot be explained by the presence of red noise or the superposition of multiple unrelated flares. The lack of correlation between the QPP periods and AR properties implies that the small-scale structure of the AR is important, and/or that different QPP mechanisms act in different cases.Comment: 23 pages, 57 figures. Accepted for publication by Astronomy & Astrophysic

Oscillations in stellar superflares

Two different mechanisms may act to induce quasi-periodic pulsations (QPP) in whole-disk observations of stellar flares. One mechanism may be magneto-hydromagnetic (MHD) forces and other processes acting on flare loops as seen in the Sun. The other mechanism may be forced local acoustic oscillations due to the high-energy particle impulse generated by the flare (known as `sunquakes' in the Sun). We analyze short-cadence Kepler data of 257 flares in 75 stars to search for QPP in the flare decay branch or post-flare oscillations which may be attributed to either of these two mechanisms. About 18 percent of stellar flares show a distinct bump in the flare decay branch of unknown origin. The bump does not seem to be a highly-damped global oscillation because the periods of the bumps derived from wavelet analysis do not correlate with any stellar parameter. We detected damped oscillations covering several cycles (QPP), in seven flares on five stars. The periods of these oscillations also do not correlate with any stellar parameter, suggesting that these may be a due to flare loop oscillations. We searched for forced global oscillations which might result after a strong flare. To this end, we investigated the behaviour of the amplitudes of solar-like oscillations in eight stars before and after a flare. However, no clear amplitude change could be detected. We also analyzed the amplitudes of the self-excited pulsations in two delta Scuti stars and one gamma Doradus star before and after a flare. Again, no clear amplitude changes were found. Our conclusions are that a new process needs to be found to explain the high incidence of bumps in stellar flare light curves, that flare loop oscillations may have been detected in a few stars and that no conclusive evidence exists as yet for flare induced global acoustic oscillations (starquakes).Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, 3 table

Birth Order and Humor Styles

Humor can be used in a multitude of ways. Previously, Rod Martin has developed four distinct categories of individual humor style, which describes the way in which an individual uses humor on an everyday basis. The four styles are affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-deprecating. The question is what factors may be related to one’s humor style. It has been found that humor styles are correlated with one’s personality score on Five Factor Personality test. It has also been found that one’s order of birth is related to one’s personality. Therefore, it is reasonable to propose that one’s birth order may have a correlation with one’s style of humor. In the current research project, we aimed to investigate whether birth order is correlated to certain styles of humor. We predicted that the eldest child would show higher levels of self-enhancing humor, the middle child would show higher levels of affiliative humor, and the youngest child would show higher levels of self-deprecating humor. We are currently collecting data on student’s birth order and style of humor. Once the data has been collected and analyzed, statistical analysis will determine whether or not we should accept or reject the hypothesis. The data collection is still on going. We plan to present the preliminary results during the symposium

Pressure Vessel Research Users' Facility

The Pressure Vessel Technology Section at ORNL has an initiative under way in concert with the NRC to establish a Pressure Vessel Research Users' Facility (PVRUF) before the end of FY 1989. The facility is to be centered around a complete full-scale pressurized-water reactor (PWR) pressure vessel and will provide unique research and development (RandD) opportunities for a number of research organizations. It is anticipated that the NRC will use this facility to supplement its vessel integrity research program by conducting studies in several technical areas. 5 figs

RGS9-1 is required for normal inactivation of mouse cone phototransduction

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that Regulator of G-protein Signaling 9 (RGS9-1) is necessary for the normal inactivation of retinal cones. Methods: Mice having the gene RGS9-1 inactivated in both alleles (RGS9-1 -/-) were tested between the ages 8-10 weeks with electroretinographic (ERG) protocols that isolate cone-driven responses. Immunohistochemistry was performed with a primary antibody against RGS9-1 (anti-RGS9-1c), with the secondary conjugated to fluorescein isothiocyanate, and with rhodamine-conjugated peanut agglutinin. Results: (1) Immunohistochemistry showed RGS9-1 to be strongly expressed in the cones of wildtype (WT is C57BL/6) mice, but absent from the cones of RGS9-1 mice. (2) Cone-driven b-wave responses of dark-adapted RGS9-1 -/- mice had saturating amplitudes and sensitivities in the midwave and UV regions of the spectrum equal to or slightly greater than those of WT (C57BL/6) mice. (3) Cone-driven b-wave and a-wave responses of RGS9-1 -/- mice recovered much more slowly than those of WT after a strong conditioning flash: for a flash estimated to isomerize 1.2% of the M-cone pigment and 0.9% of the UV-cone pigment, recovery of 50% saturating amplitude was approximately 60-fold slower than in WT. Conclusions: (1) The amplitudes and sensitivities of the cone-driven responses indicate that cones and cone-driven neurons in RGS9-1 -/- mice have normal generator currents. (2) The greatly retarded recovery of cone-driven responses of RGS9-1 -/- mice relative to those of WT mice establishes that RGS9-1 is required for normal inactivation of the cone phototransduction cascades of both UV- and M-cones