812 research outputs found
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Development of improved TRISO-P fuel particle P-PyC coating
Low defect fuels are required for the MHTGR to meet tighter fuel performance for this reactor design (Ref. 1). Exposed heavy metal (HM) contamination levels must be reduced to {le} 1E-5 fraction. Particle coating breakage during the fuel compact fabrication process has been shown to be a major source of HM contamination in the final fuel compacts. Excessive forces are experienced by the coated fuel particles during matrix injection, which leads to coating failure. Adding a sacrificial, low Young`s modulus, overcoating of low density PyC in a fluidized particle bed, was shown to greatly increase the crush strength of TRISO coated fuel particles in 1986 studies (Ref. 2). The new TRISO coated fuel particle design was designated the TRISO-P coated fuel particle type. In 1987, the TRISO-P particle type was used to produce low defect fuel compacts for irradiation in the HRB-21 Capsule (Ref. 3). However, the exposed HM contamination levels for that fuel barely met the product specification limit of {le} 1.0E-5. The small margin of safety between product quality and the specification limit dictated that additional process development of the TRISO-P particle design must be conducted. This document discusses the program scope, requirements, documentation and schedule
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Defect fractions for fissile and fertile TRISO-coated fuel
High quality TRISCO-coated UCO and ThO{sub 2} particles with reference MHTGR dimensions were produced in a coating campaign in August and September 1986 for irradiation tests. The heavy metal contamination and the defect levels were below the limits established for the MHTGR fuel. Over 9 kg of uranium in UCO and 30 kg of thorium in ThO{sub 2} were TRISCO-coated in 4 fissile and 3 fertile batches in the 240mm Development Coater. These coated fuel particles will be used to produce fuel rods for testing in the irradiation validation tests to be conducted in capsules HRB-19, -20 and -21 on the DOE Fuel and Fission Product Technology Program. 3 refs., 6 figs., 6 tabs
Synthesis of Mono- and Diiron Dithiolene Complexes as Hydrogenase Models by Dithiolene Transfer Reactions, Including the Crystal Structure of [{Ni(S2C2Ph2)}6]
The dithiolene transfer reaction between the nickel bis(dithiolene) complex [Ni(S2C2Ph2)2] and iron carbonyls has been re-investigated, and the conditions for the production of the dinuclear product [Fe2(μ-S2C2Ph2)(CO)6] have been optimized. Interception of a purple intermediate, thought to be [Fe(CO)3(S2C2Ph2)], in the reaction of [Fe(CO)5] with [Ni(S2C2Ph2)2] by the addition of PPh3 affords the new dark blue mononuclear complex [Fe(CO)2(PPh3)(S2C2Ph2)] in good yield. The fate of the nickel dithiolene fragments in these reactions has also been established by crystallographic characterization of the hexamer [{Ni(S2C2Ph2)}6] and the trinuclear cluster [Ni3(μ-S2C2Ph2)3(PPh3)2]. The substitution reactions of [Fe2(μ-S2C2Ph2)(CO)6] with PPh3 in the presence of Me3NO to give monosubstituted [Fe2(μ-S2C2Ph2)(CO)5(PPh3)] and disubstituted [Fe2(μ-S2C2Ph2)(CO)4(PPh3)2] are also reported
The ideal trefoil knot
The most tight conformation of the trefoil knot found by the SONO algorithm
is presented. Structure of the set of its self-contact points is analyzed.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
Dithiolene transfer to the molybdenum nitrosyl complex [CpMo(CO)2(NO)]: Formation of bimetallic complexes
The reaction of the nitrosyl complex [CpMo(CO)2(NO)] (Cp = η-C5H5) with the nickel dithiolene complex [Ni(S2C2Ph2)2] produces the expected dimolybdenum complex [Mo2(NO)2(μ-S2C2Ph2)2Cp2], but only as a minor product (13% yield). The major product (41%) consists of two separable isomers of the tetranuclear complex [Mo2Ni2(NO)2(μ-S2C2Ph2)4Cp2], which comprises two CpMo(NO)Ni(S2C2Ph2)2units joined through bridging sulfur atoms. The isomers differ in the orientation of one dimeric unit in relation to the other. All three compounds have been structurally characterised
An Inquiry into the Practice of Proving in Low-Dimensional Topology
The aim of this article is to investigate specific aspects connected with visualization in the practice of a mathematical subfield: low-dimensional topology. Through a case study, it will be established that visualization can play an epistemic role. The background assumption is that the consideration of the actual practice of mathematics is relevant to address epistemological issues. It will be shown that in low-dimensional topology, justifications can be based on sequences of pictures. Three theses will be defended. First, the representations used in the practice are an integral part of the mathematical reasoning. As a matter of fact, they convey in a material form the relevant transitions and thus allow experts to draw inferential connections. Second, in low-dimensional topology experts exploit a particular type of manipulative imagination which is connected to intuition of two- and three-dimensional space and motor agency. This imagination allows recognizing the transformations which connect different pictures in an argument. Third, the epistemic—and inferential—actions performed are permissible only within a specific practice: this form of reasoning is subject-matter dependent. Local criteria of validity are established to assure the soundness of representationally heterogeneous arguments in low-dimensional topology
High Temperature Electron Localization in dense He Gas
We report new accurate mesasurements of the mobility of excess electrons in
high density Helium gas in extended ranges of temperature and density to ascertain
the effect of temperature on the formation and dynamics of localized electron
states. The main result of the experiment is that the formation of localized
states essentially depends on the relative balance of fluid dilation energy,
repulsive electron-atom interaction energy, and thermal energy. As a
consequence, the onset of localization depends on the medium disorder through
gas temperature and density. It appears that the transition from delocalized to
localized states shifts to larger densities as the temperature is increased.
This behavior can be understood in terms of a simple model of electron
self-trapping in a spherically symmetric square well.Comment: 23 pages, 13 figure
Expansion of a Bose-Einstein Condensate in an atomic waveguide
The expansion of a Bose-Einstein condensate in an atomic waveguide is
analyzed. We study different regimes of expansion, and identify a transient
regime between one-dimensional and three-dimensional dynamics, in which the
properties of the condensate and its further expansion can be well explained by
reducing the transversal dynamics to a two-level system. The relevance of this
regime in current experiments is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figs, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Compaction of Rods: Relaxation and Ordering in Vibrated, Anisotropic Granular Material
We report on experiments to measure the temporal and spatial evolution of
packing arrangements of anisotropic, cylindrical granular material, using
high-resolution capacitive monitoring. In these experiments, the particle
configurations start from an initially disordered, low-packing-fraction state
and under vertical vibrations evolve to a dense, highly ordered, nematic state
in which the long particle axes align with the vertical tube walls. We find
that the orientational ordering process is reflected in a characteristic, steep
rise in the local packing fraction. At any given height inside the packing, the
ordering is initiated at the container walls and proceeds inward. We explore
the evolution of the local as well as the height-averaged packing fraction as a
function of vibration parameters and compare our results to relaxation
experiments conducted on spherically shaped granular materials.Comment: 9 pages incl. 7 figure
Dark energy as a mirage
Motivated by the observed cosmic matter distribution, we present the
following conjecture: due to the formation of voids and opaque structures, the
average matter density on the path of the light from the well-observed objects
changes from Omega_M ~ 1 in the homogeneous early universe to Omega_M ~ 0 in
the clumpy late universe, so that the average expansion rate increases along
our line of sight from EdS expansion Ht ~ 2/3 at high redshifts to free
expansion Ht ~ 1 at low redshifts. To calculate the modified observable
distance-redshift relations, we introduce a generalized Dyer-Roeder method that
allows for two crucial physical properties of the universe: inhomogeneities in
the expansion rate and the growth of the nonlinear structures. By treating the
transition redshift to the void-dominated era as a free parameter, we find a
phenomenological fit to the observations from the CMB anisotropy, the position
of the baryon oscillation peak, the magnitude-redshift relations of type Ia
supernovae, the local Hubble flow and the nucleosynthesis, resulting in a
concordant model of the universe with 90% dark matter, 10% baryons, no dark
energy, 15 Gyr as the age of the universe and a natural value for the
transition redshift z_0=0.35. Unlike a large local void, the model respects the
cosmological principle, further offering an explanation for the late onset of
the perceived acceleration as a consequence of the forming nonlinear
structures. Additional tests, such as quantitative predictions for angular
deviations due to an anisotropic void distribution and a theoretical derivation
of the model, can vindicate or falsify the interpretation that light
propagation in voids is responsible for the perceived acceleration.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figs; v2: minor clarifications, results unchanged; v3:
matches the version published in General Relativity and Gravitatio
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