2,912 research outputs found

    Microstructure evolution of Al–Mg–B thin films by thermal annealing

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    The growth of Al–Mg–B thin films on SiO2/Si(100) substrates was performed by nanosecond pulsed laser deposition at three different substrate temperatures (300 K, 573 K, and 873 K). The as-deposited films were then annealed at 1173 K or 1273 K for 2 h. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,x-ray diffraction(XRD), and atomic force microscope were employed to investigate the effects of processing conditions on the composition, microstructure evolution, and surface morphology of the Al–Mg–B films. The substrate temperatures were found to affect the composition of as-deposited films in that the Mg content decreases and C content increases at higher substrate temperatures, in particular for the 873 K-deposited film.XRD results show that the as-deposited films were amorphous, and this structure may be stable up to 1173 K. Annealing at 1273 K was found to fully crystallize the room temperature and 573 K-deposited Al–Mg–B films with the formation of the polycrystalline orthorhombic AlMgB14 phase, accompanied by the development of a pronounced (011) preferred orientation. Nevertheless, high C incorporation in the 873 K-deposited Al–Mg–B film inhibits the crystallization and the amorphous structure remains stable even during 1273 K annealing. The presence of Si in the room-temperature-deposited 1273 K-annealed film due to the interdiffusion between the substrate and film leads to the formation of an additional tetragonal α-FeSi2 phase, which is thought to cause the surface cracking and microstructural instability observed in this film

    Paper Session II-A - Meteoroid and Orbital Debris Protection for the International Space Station Alpha

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    The potential for collisions with natural particles (meteoroids) at relative velocities up to 72 km/sec (155,000 mph) has historically been a design consideration for spacecraft. The deposition of man-made particles, referred to as orbital debris, into orbit around the Earth presented an even more severe hypervelocity impact problem for spacecraft designers. This paper examines the threat to the International Space Station Alpha (ISSA) imposed by the meteoroid/orbital debris (M/OD) environment and the risk management approaches implemented to mitigate the threat. The ISSA program has established a balanced strategy for managing the risks associated with the M/OD threat based on the following three principles: 1) maximize design protection by implementing state-of-the-art shielding, 2) track and avoid the larger objects, and 3) minimize residual risk by implementing risk control and abatement features and procedures. Even though NASA is using effective hardware and operational risk mitigation approaches, there remains a residual risk of a penetrating impact. Due to weight, volume, and funding constraints, a gap exists between the passive protection (shielding) capability and active protection (collision avoidance) lower particle size tracking limits. Fortunately, the estimated number of impacts per year decreases exponentially as the size of the particle increases. With the implemented design and planned operational measures, the resulting residual risk of an impact that could potentially cause severe damage to the station is extremely small. Options are continually being assessed and implemented to reduce the residual risk and increase reliability. Control of the debris threat is being pursued by NASA through international treaties and agreements among all space-faring nations. These agreements refer to guidelines for the design, development and operation of satellites with the intent to reduce the evolving orbital debris environment

    Improved plasticity of Inconel 718 superalloy fabricated by selective laser melting through a novel heat treatment process

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    When Inconel 718 alloy is fabricated by selective laser melting and treated by traditional homogenization plus double aging heat treatment (HA), its strength improves greatly, but ductility decreases. A novel heat treatment (NHT) including higher temperature homogenization at 1150 °C for 2 h and one-time lower temperature aging treatment at 700 °C for 12 h is developed, which can overcome the strength-plasticity trade-off of Inconel 718 alloy. The results show that recrystallized grains with annealing twins and ultrafine strengthening phases form in the specimen subjected to the NHT. These microstructures differ from those in as-built and conventional heat-treated samples. Especially the morphology of strengthening phase γ″-Ni3Nb precipitated in the NHT specimen has changed a lot, it seems to be spherical rather than disc-like shape occurred in the traditional heat-treated samples. Consequently, the NHT process increases plasticity by 41%, while maintaining ultimate strength at the same level achieved by the traditional heat treatment. The enhanced ductility is attributed to the annealing twins and recrystallized grains without local strains, while the strength is provided by the smaller precipitates formed in the NHT one-time aging treatment

    Electrical transport in amorphous semiconducting AlMgB14 films

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    The electrical transport properties of semiconducting AlMgB14films deposited at room temperature and 573K are reported in this letter. The as-deposited films are amorphous, and they exhibit high n-type electrical conductivity, which is believed to stem from the conduction electrons donated by Al, Mg, and/or Fe impurities in these films. The film deposited at 573K is less conductive than the room-temperature-deposited film. This is attributed to the nature of donor or trap states in the band gap related to the different deposition temperatures

    meso-4,5-Diphenyl­imidazolidin-2-one

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    The crystal structure determination of the title compound, C15H14N2O, confirms the cis relationship between the phenyl groups at the 4- and 5-positions on the imidazolidine ring. The dihedral angle between the two phenyl rings is 48.14 (6)°. In the crystal structure, inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds link mol­ecules into centrosymmetric dimers. These dimers are, in turn, linked into a two-dimensional network via weak N—Hâ‹ŻÏ€(arene) inter­actions and π–π stacking inter­actions with centroid–centroid distances of 3.6937 (11) Å

    The effects of requiring different response strategies following caching in Clark’s nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana)

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    Clark’s nutcrackers use spatial memory to recover stored food in the field and have performed very well in laboratory tests of spatial memory. During the present experiment, two groups of nutcrackers cached seeds every 4 days. Following each cache session, the stay group was tested with seeds in their caches; the shift group found seeds in novel sites. The stay group performed accurately throughout the experiment, but the shift group gave no indication of being able to learn to avoid sites where they had stored seeds. These results suggest that although nutcrackers can learn to shift away from remembered locations during some memory experiments, they cannot learn to shift away from cache sites. This raises interesting questions about the relationship between task characteristics, response strategies, and memory

    Childhood Maltreatment and Adult Dispositional Mindfulness

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    Dispositional mindfulness has been conceptualized as both a trait and skill set for managing life stress. Levels of dispositional mindfulness appear to provide a meaningful barometer of emotional well-being and behavioral functioning. This chapter reviews selected literature regarding the potential effects of early life experience on the development of this important trait and coping skill. Empirical data regarding the developmental sources of this important psychological attribute has been surprisingly limited. Some prior research has implicated childhood maltreatment as disruptive to the development of this important coping skill. The present study examined the potential impact of six different forms of childhood maltreatment on dispositional mindfulness development. A number of parental relationship and resiliency protective factors were also added to the analysis. Survey respondents in this college sample (N = 978) completed indices of dispositional mindfulness, childhood maltreatment, parental relationship qualities, and resiliency factors. Respondents who described histories of sexual abuse, peer abuse, or sibling maltreatment showed lower levels of dispositional mindfulness. Parental temper was inversely related to dispositional mindfulness. Spirituality and larger childhood friendship circles provided favorable indicators. These results should encourage continued efforts to examine childhood maltreatment, early parent-child relationship qualities, and resiliency factors as potential sources of dispositional mindfulness development

    Performance of four seed-caching corvid species in the radial-arm maze analog.

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