High Flux Helium Irradiation of Dispersion-Strengthened Tungsten Alloys and Effects of Heavy Metal Impurity Layer Deposition

Tungsten has been chosen as the plasma-facing material (PFM) for the divertor region in ITER and also a candidate PFM for future plasma-burning nuclear fusion reactors. During fusion device operation, PFMs will be exposed to low-energy He irradiation at high temperatures, resulting in sub-surface bubbles and surface morphology changes such as pores and fuzz. Carbide dispersion-strengthened W materials may enhance the ductility of W, but their behavior under high flux He irradiation remains unclear. In this work, the response of dispersion-strengthened tungsten materials to high flux, low energy He irradiation at high temperature is examined. Tungsten alloyed with 1, 5, or 10 wt. % tantalum carbide or titanium carbide exposed to these conditions result in surface pores, coral-like feature growth and sub-surface helium bubbles. Reactor-relevant helium irradiation (5x10 26_ m-2_ fluence) combined with high powered laser pulses to simulate off-normal reactor events does not significantly alter the surface morphology, as the surface nanostructures appear stable and cracks are only observed on a localized region of one sample. However, specimens show the development of an impurity layer on the surface, likely impurity deposition from the sample holder during irradiation, resulting in a mixed material layer on the surface. Helium bubbles exist in this impurity layer, and obscure conclusions about helium interactions with the carbide dispersoids. Nonetheless, it is clear that the dispersoid microstructure limits He bubble formation and subsequent surface nanostructuring, attributed to the dispersoid composition.</p

Wheat Domestication Accelerated Evolution and Triggered Positive Selection in the β-Xylosidase Enzyme of Mycosphaerella graminicola

Plant cell wall degrading enzymes (PCWDEs) of plant pathogens are receiving increasing interest for their potential to trigger plant defense reactions. In an antagonistic co-evolutionary arms race between host and pathogen, PCWDEs could be under strong selection. Here, we tested the hypothesis that PCWDEs in the fungal wheat pathogen Mycosphaerella graminicola have been positively selected by analyzing ratios of non-synonymous and synonymous nucleotide changes in the genes encoding these enzymes. Analyses of five PCWDEs demonstrated that one (β-xylosidase) has been under strong positive selection and experienced an accelerated rate of evolution. In contrast, PCWDEs in the closest relatives of M. graminicola collected from wild grasses did not show evidence for selection or deviation from a molecular clock. Since the genealogical divergence of M. graminicola from these latter species coincided with the onset of agriculture, we hypothesize that the recent domestication of the host plant and/or agricultural practices triggered positive selection in β-xylosidase and that this enzyme played a key role in the emergence of a host-specialized pathogen

Biocontrol Potential of Forest Tree Endophytes

Peer reviewe

Some diagnostics for Markov random fields

The development of diagnostics to check the fit of a proposed Markov random field (MRP) to data is a very important problem in spatial statistics. In this article, the consequences of fitting a given MRF to spatial data are visualized using diagnostic plots. The Gaussian MRF known as the conditional autoregressive model is featured. Various types of departures of the data from the fitted MRF model are calculated, allowing locally influential observations to be highlighted using the MRF-Neighborhoods plot. Through a global summary statistic and the Model-Comparison plot, we compare MRF models that differ both in terms of the neighborhood structure and the parameterization of spatial dependence. © 2008 American Statistical Association, Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and Interface Foundation of North America

Investigation Of Heat Transfer Enhancement Within A Concentric Annulus Using Helicoil Turbulators

Effective heat exchange is key for many energy applications including heat exchangers, heat extraction from heat source, and heat rejection to ambient thermal sink. This paper focuses on the investigation for a specific heat exchange configuration, namely heat removal within a concentric annular passage. Numerical optimization was performed to increase heat transfer and minimize pressure drop within the annulus by using helicoil turbulators. A genetic algorithm was used to determine the most efficient design by changing the turbulator shape, pitch, and blockage ratio while maintaining a constant Reynolds number of 25,000. Results show that turbulence and heat transfer increase with a higher blockage ratio and smaller pitch but the pressure drop is subsequently increased as well

An Experimental Investigation Of Liquid Jet Impingement And Single-Phase Spray Cooling Using Polyalphaolefin

Experiments on triangular and rectangular array jet impingement and single-phase spray cooling have been performed to determine the effect of both cooling techniques on heat transfer coefficient ( h ) and the coolant mass flux required for a given cooling load. Experiments were performed with circular orifices and nozzles for different H / D values from 1.5 to 26 and Reynolds number range of 219 to 837, which is quite lower than the ranges employed in widely used correlations. The coolant used was polyalphaolefin. The experiments simulated the boundary condition produced at the surface of the stator of a high power low-density generator or motor. For the custom fabricated orifices, commercial nozzles, and conditions used in this study, both cooling configurations showed enhancement of heat transfer coefficient as H / D increases to a certain limit after which it starts to decrease. The heat transfer coefficient always increases with Reynolds number. In keeping with previous studies, single-phase spray cooling technique can provide the same heat transfer coefficient as jets at a slightly lower mass flux, but with much higher-pressure head. Special Nu d correlations that account for the range of parameters and coolant studied in this work are derived

Comparison Between Evm And Rsm Turbulence Models In Predicting Flow And Heat Transfer In Rib-Roughened Channels

A 3D analysis of two-equation eddy viscosity (EVMs) and Reynolds stress (RSM) turbulence models and their application to solve flow and heat transfer in rotating rib-roughened internal cooling channels is the main focus of this study. The flow in these channels is affected by ribs, rotation, buoyancy, bends and boundary conditions. The EVMs considered are the standard k-ε model of Launder and Spalding [1], the renormalization group k-ε model of Yakhot and Orszag [2], the realizable k-ε model of Shih et al. [3], the standard k-ω model of Wilcox [4] and the shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω model of Menter [5]. The viscosity-affected near-wall region is resolved by enhanced near-wall treatment using combined two-layer model with enhanced wall functions. The results for both stationary and rotating channels showed the advantages of Reynolds stress model (RSM), Gibson and Launder [6], Launder [7] and Launder et al. [8] in predicting the flow field and heat transfer compared to two-equation EVMs that need corrections to account for streamline curvature, buoyancy and rotation. © 2006 Taylor & Francis

Effect Of Coriolis And Centrifugal Forces On Turbulence And Heat Transfer At High Rotation And Buoyancy Numbers In A Rib-Roughened Internal Cooling Channel

Prediction of three-dimensional flow field and heat transfer in a two pass rib-roughened square internal cooling channel of turbine blades with rounded staggered ribs rotating at high rotation and density ratios is the main focus of this study. Rotation, buoyancy, ribs, and geometry affect the flow within these channels. The full two-pass channel with bend and with rounded staggered ribs with fillets (e/Dh =0.1 and P/e=10) as tested by Wagner et. al [1992] is investigated. RSM is used in this study and enhanced wall treatment approach to resolve the near wall viscosity-affected region. RSM model was validated against available experimental data (which are primarily at low rotation and buoyancy numbers). The model was then used for cases with high rotational numbers (0.24, 0.475, 0.74 and 1) and high-density ratios (0.13, 0.23, and 0.3). Particular attention is given to how secondary flow, Reynolds stresses, turbulence intensity, and heat transfer are affected by coriolis and buoyancy/centrifugal forces caused by high levels of rotation and density ratios. A linear correlation for 4-sideaverage Nusselt number as a function of rotation number is derived

Achieving monotonic variation of spectral composition in DC-DC converters using pulse skipping modulation

This paper presents a new type of pulse skipping modulation (PSM) in a dc-dc converter, which is controlled by a voltage mode scheme. The duty ratio of the pulses, instead of being constant as in the conventional PSM, is controlled using a voltage mode control scheme along with a feed-forward path of the input voltage and an adjustable voltage. In the conventional PSM, spectral composition varies nonmonotonically which results in problems due to electromagnetic interference (EMI). We show, both analytically and experimentally, that the proposed scheme results in monotonic spectral behavior for a wide range of input voltage and load resistance. Hence one can obtain the small signal model of the system. Because of the synchronism with the external clock, it facilitates the design of an input filter for reduction of EMI