Development of Low-Cost Austenitic Stainless Gas-Turbine and Diesel Engine Components with Enhanced High-Temperature Reliability

In July of 1999, a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) was undertaken between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Solar Turbines, Inc. and Caterpillar, Inc. (Caterpillar Technical Center) to evaluate commercial cast stainless steels for gas turbine engine and diesel engine exhaust component applications relative to the materials currently being used. If appropriate, the goal was to develop cast stainless steels with improved performance and reliability rather than switch to more costly cast Ni-based superalloys for upgraded performance. The gas-turbine components considered for the Mercury-50 engine were the combustor housing and end-cover, and the center-frame hot-plate, both made from commercial CF8C cast austenitic stainless steel (Fe-l9Cr-12Ni-Nb,C), which is generally limited to use at below 650 C. The advanced diesel engine components considered for truck applications (C10, C12, 3300 and 3400) were the exhaust manifold and turbocharger housing made from commercial high SiMo ductile cast iron with uses limited to 700-750 C or below. Shortly after the start of the CRADA, the turbine materials emphasis changed to wrought 347H stainless steel (hot-plate) and after some initial baseline tensile and creep testing, it was confirmed that this material was typical of those comprising the abundant database; and by 2000, the emphasis of the CRADA was primarily on diesel engine materials. For the diesel applications, commercial SiMo cast iron and standard cast CN12 austenitic stainless steel (Fe-25Cr-13Ni-Nb,C,N,S) baseline materials were obtained commercially. Tensile and creep testing from room temperature to 900 C showed the CN12 austenitic stainless steel to have far superior strength compared to SiMo cast iron above 550 C, together with outstanding oxidation resistance. However, aging at 850 C reduced room-temperature ductility of the standard CN12, and creep-rupture resistance at 850 C was less than expected, which triggered a focused laboratory-scale alloy development effort on modified cast austenitic stainless steels at ORNL. Isothermal fatigue testing at 700 C also showed that standard CN12 was far superior to SiMo cast iron, but somewhat less than the desired behavior. During the first year, 3 new modified CF8C heats and 8 new modified CN12 heats were made, based on compositional changes specifically designed to change the nature, dispersion and stability of the as-cast and high-temperature aging-induced microstructures that consisted of carbides and other precipitate phases. Screening of the alloys at room-temperature and at 850 C (tensile and creep-rupture) showed -a ten-fold increase in rupture life of the best modified CN12 relative to the baseline material, better room-temperature ductility after aging, caused by less precipitation in the as-cast material and much less aging-induced precipitation. The best new modified CF8C steel showed strength at tensile and creep-rupture strength comparable to standard CN12 steel at 850 C, due to a unique and very stable microstructure. The CRADA was scheduled to end in July 2001, but was extended twice until July 2002. Based on the very positive results on the newly developed modified CF8C and CN12 cast austenitic stainless steels, a new CRADA with Caterpillar has been set up to commercially scale-up, test and evaluate, and make trial components from the new steels

Epstein-Barr virus and childhood Hodgkin's disease in Honduras and the United States

In industrialized populations, Hodgkin's disease (HD) has an initial peak in young adulthood, whereas in economically developing populations the initial peak occurs in childhood. This pattern resembles that of infection with poliovirus and suggests an infectious cofactor in the etiology. Serologic studies have linked Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) to young adult and adult HD, and viral nucleic acids and antigens have been detected in a subset of Hodgkin's tumor specimens. To investigate the association of childhood HD with EBV we studied tumor specimens from 11 children treated in Honduras and 25 children treated in the United States using in situ hybridization and antigen detection techniques. Among the patients from Honduras, tumor specimens from all cases were EBV positive. Among the patients from the United States, tumor specimens from six of seven patients with mixed cellularity histology, 2 of 15 with nodular sclerosis histology, and neither of two patients with lymphocyte-predominant histologies were EBV positive. These findings support the hypothesis that EBV contributes to the pathogenesis of HD in children, particularly in mixed cellularity HD, and raises the possibility that there are important geographic, racial, or ethnic factors in the EBV association with HD

Turbulent Compressible Convection with Rotation - Penetration above a Convection Zone

We perform Large eddy simulations of turbulent compressible convection in stellar-type convection zones by solving the Navi\'{e}r-Stokes equations in three dimensions. We estimate the extent of penetration into the stable layer above a stellar-type convection zone by varying the rotation rate ({\boldmath$\rm\Omega$}), the inclination of the rotation vector ($\theta$) and the relative stability ($S$) of the upper stable layer. The computational domain is a rectangular box in an f-plane configuration and is divided into two regions of unstable and stable stratification with the stable layer placed above the convectively unstable layer. Several models have been computed and the penetration distance into the stable layer above the convection zone is estimated by determining the position where time averaged kinetic energy flux has the first zero in the upper stable layer. The vertical grid spacing in all the model is non-uniform, and is less in the upper region so that the flows are better resolved in the region of interest. We find that the penetration distance increases as the rotation rate increases for the case when the rotation vector is aligned with the vertical axis. However, with the increase in the stability of the upper stable layer, the upward penetration distance decreases. Since we are not able to afford computations with finer resolution for all the models, we compute a number of models to see the effect of increased resolution on the upward penetration. In addition, we estimate the upper limit on the upward convective penetration from stellar convective cores.Comment: Accepted for Publication in Asttrophysics & Space Scienc

Recent Advances in Understanding Particle Acceleration Processes in Solar Flares

We review basic theoretical concepts in particle acceleration, with particular emphasis on processes likely to occur in regions of magnetic reconnection. Several new developments are discussed, including detailed studies of reconnection in three-dimensional magnetic field configurations (e.g., current sheets, collapsing traps, separatrix regions) and stochastic acceleration in a turbulent environment. Fluid, test-particle, and particle-in-cell approaches are used and results compared. While these studies show considerable promise in accounting for the various observational manifestations of solar flares, they are limited by a number of factors, mostly relating to available computational power. Not the least of these issues is the need to explicitly incorporate the electrodynamic feedback of the accelerated particles themselves on the environment in which they are accelerated. A brief prognosis for future advancement is offered.Comment: This is a chapter in a monograph on the physics of solar flares, inspired by RHESSI observations. The individual articles are to appear in Space Science Reviews (2011

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Characterisation of haemolytic RTX toxins produced by Australian isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

The haemolytic RTX toxins of 27 isolates of A. pleuropneumoniae , representing all serovars which have been isolated from pigs in Australia, were characterized. The quantity of protein secreted by these isolates into the media was not significantly different between serovars, but haemolytic activity was only detected in the unconcentrated supernatants from cultures of serovar 1 and 5 isolates. Haemolytic activity in supernatants of serovar 2, 3 and 7 isolates was detected only after the supernatants were concentrated. On Southern hybridization blots, genomic DNA of serovar 1 and 5 isolates contained regions which were similar to the cloned structural genes for ApxI (apxIA ) and for ApxII (apxIIA ). In contrast, genomic DNA of serovar 2, 3 and 7 isolates only contained regions similar to, if not identical with, the cloned apxIIA gene. The haemolytic activity of the culture supernatant depended on the type or composition of media and adaptability of the bacteria to in vitro cultivation. Low passage cultures of A. pleuropneumoniae , which were characterized by waxy colonies, produced significantly weaker haemolytic activity than A. pleuropneumoniae after several passages in vitro

Characterisation of haemolytic RTX toxins produced by Australian isolates of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

The haemolytic RTX toxins of 27 isolates of A. pleuropneumoniae , representing all serovars which have been isolated from pigs in Australia, were characterized. The quantity of protein secreted by these isolates into the media was not significantly different between serovars, but haemolytic activity was only detected in the unconcentrated supernatants from cultures of serovar 1 and 5 isolates. Haemolytic activity in supernatants of serovar 2, 3 and 7 isolates was detected only after the supernatants were concentrated. On Southern hybridization blots, genomic DNA of serovar 1 and 5 isolates contained regions which were similar to the cloned structural genes for ApxI (apxIA ) and for ApxII (apxIIA ). In contrast, genomic DNA of serovar 2, 3 and 7 isolates only contained regions similar to, if not identical with, the cloned apxIIA gene. The haemolytic activity of the culture supernatant depended on the type or composition of media and adaptability of the bacteria to in vitro cultivation. Low passage cultures of A. pleuropneumoniae , which were characterized by waxy colonies, produced significantly weaker haemolytic activity than A. pleuropneumoniae after several passages in vitro

Lithium modulates striatal reward anticipation and prediction error coding in healthy volunteers

Lithium is one of the most effective mood-stabilizing medications in bipolar disorder. This study was designed to test whether lithium administration may stabilize mood via effects on reward processing. It was hypothesized that lithium administration would modulate reward processing in the striatum and affect both anticipation and outcome computations. Thirty-seven healthy human participants (18 males, 33 with suitable fMRI data) received 11 (±1) days of lithium carbonate or placebo intervention (double-blind), after which they completed the monetary incentive delay task while fMRI data were collected. The monetary incentive delay task is a robust task with excellent test-retest reliability and is well suited to investigate different phases of reward processing within the caudate and nucleus accumbens. To test for correlations with prediction error signals a Rescorla–Wagner reinforcement-learning model was applied. Lithium administration enhanced activity in the caudate during reward anticipation compared to placebo. In contrast, lithium administration reduced caudate and nucleus accumbens activity during reward outcome. This latter effect seems related to learning as reward prediction errors showed a positive correlation with caudate and nucleus accumbens activity during placebo, which was absent after lithium administration. Lithium differentially modulates the anticipation relative to the learning of rewards. This suggests that lithium might reverse dampened reward anticipation while reducing overactive reward updating in patients with bipolar disorder. This specific effect of lithium suggests that a targeted modulation of reward learning may be a viable approach for novel interventions in bipolar disorder