1,202 research outputs found
Annealing tests of in-pile irradiated oxide coated U–Mo/Al–Si dispersed nuclear fuel
Authors do acknowledge the MERARG team for their experimental work (CEA) and F. Charollais, J. Noirot and finally B. Kapusta for their advices and comments. This study was supported by a combined Grant (FRM0911) of the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF) and the Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst (StMWFK).U–Mo/Al based nuclear fuels have been worldwide considered as a promising high density fuel for the conversion of high flux research reactors from highly enriched uranium to lower enrichment. In this paper, we present the annealing test up to 1800°C of in-pile irradiated U–Mo/Al–Si fuel plate samples. More than 70% of the fission gases (FGs) are released during two major FG release peaks around 500°C and 670°C. Additional characterisations of the samples by XRD, EPMA and SEM suggest that up to 500°C FGs are released from IDL/matrix interfaces. The second peak at 670°C representing the main release of FGs originates from the interaction between U–Mo and matrix in the vicinity of the cladding
Strain induced pressure effect in pulsed laser deposited thin films of the strongly correlated oxide V2O3
V2O3 thin films about 10 nm thick were grown on Al2O3 (0001) by pulsed laser
deposition. The XRD analysis is in agreement with R-3c space group. Some of
them exhibit the metal / insulator transition characteristic of V2O3 bulk
material and others samples exhibit a metallic behavior. For the latter, the
XPS analysis indicates an oxidation state of +III for vanadium. There is no
metal / insulator transition around 150 K in this sample and a strongly
correlated Fermi liquid rho = AT2 behavior of the resistivity at low
temperature is observed, with a value of A of 1.2 10-4 ohm cm, 3 times larger
than the bulk value at 25 kbar
Ramsey interferometry with oppositely detuned fields
We report a narrowing of the interference pattern obtained in an atomic
Ramsey interferometer if the two separated fields have different frequency and
their phase difference is controlled. The width of the Ramsey fringes depends
inversely on the free flight time of ground state atoms before entering the
first field region in addition to the time between the fields. The effect is
stable also for atomic wavepackets with initial position and momentum
distributions and for realistic mode functions.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
Carbon nanotubes grown in situ by a novel catalytic method
Carbon nanotubes can be produced by the catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbons on small metal particles. However, nanotubes are generally produced together with non-tubular filaments and tubes coated by pyrolytic carbon. We propose a novel catalyst method for the in situ production, in a composite powder, of a huge amount
of single- and multiwalled carbon nanotubes, having a diameter between 1.5 and 15 nm and arranged in bundles up to 100 mm long. We anticipate that dense materials prepared from such composite powders could have interesting mechanical and physical properties
Microhardness and friction coefficient of multi-walled carbon nanotube-yttria-stabilized ZrO2 composites prepared by spark plasma sintering
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (eight walls) are mixed with an yttria-stabilized ZrO2 powder. The specimens are densified by spark plasma sintering. Compared to ZrO2, there is a 3.8-fold decrease of the friction coefficient against alumina upon the increase in carbon content. Examinations of the friction tracks show that wear is very low when the carbon content is sufficient. Exfoliation of the nanotubes due to shearing stresses and incorporation of the debris into a lubricating film over the contact area is probable
Carbon nanotube–metal–oxide nanocomposites: microstructure, electrical conductivity and mechanical properties
Carbon nanotube–metal–oxide composites (metal=Fe, Co or Fe/Co alloy; oxide=Al2O3, MgO or MgAl2O4) have been prepared by hot-pressing the corresponding composite powders, in which the carbon nanotubes, mostly single or double-walled, are very homogeneously dispersed between the metal–oxide grains. For the sake of comparison, ceramic and metal–oxide nanocomposites have also been prepared. The microstructure of the specimens has been studied and discussed in relation to the nature of the matrix, the electrical conductivity, the fracture strength and the fracture toughness. The carbon nanotube–metal–oxide composites are electrical conductors owing to the percolation of the carbon nanotubes
Double di ffential fragmentation cross sections measurements of 95 MeV/u 12C on thin targets for hadrontherapy
During therapeutic treatment with heavy ions like carbon, the beam undergoes
nuclear fragmentation and secondary light charged particles, in particular
protons and alpha particles, are produced. To estimate the dose deposited into
the tumors and the surrounding healthy tissues, an accurate prediction on the
fluences of these secondary fragments is necessary. Nowadays, a very limited
set of double di ffential carbon fragmentation cross sections are being
measured in the energy range used in hadrontherapy (40 to 400 MeV/u).
Therefore, new measurements are performed to determine the double di ffential
cross section of carbon on di erent thin targets. This work describes the
experimental results of an experiment performed on May 2011 at GANIL. The
double di ffential cross sections and the angular distributions of secondary
fragments produced in the 12C fragmentation at 95 MeV/u on thin targets (C,
CH2, Al, Al2O3, Ti and PMMA) have been measured. The experimental setup will be
precisely described, the systematic error study will be explained and all the
experimental data will be presented.Comment: Submitted to PR
An investigation of carbon nanotubes obtained from the decomposition of methane over reduced Mg1− xM xAl2O4 spinel catalysts
Carbon nanotubes produced by the treatment of Mg1−xMxAl2O4 (M = Fe, Co, or Ni; x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, or 0.4) spinels with an H2–CH4 mixture at 1070 °C have been investigated systematically. The grains of the oxide-metal composite particles are uniformly covered by a weblike network of carbon nanotube bundles, several tens of micrometers long, made up of single-wall nanotubes with a diameter close to 4 nm. Only the smallest metal particles (<5 nm) are involved in the formation of the nanotubes. A macroscopic characterization method involving surface area measurements and chemical analysis has been developed in order to compare the different nanotube specimens. An increase in the transition metal content of the catalyst yields more carbon nanotubes (up to a metal content of 10.0 wt% or x = 0.3), but causes a decrease in carbon quality. The best compromise is to use 6.7 wt% of metal (x = 0.2) in the catalyst. Co gives superior results with respect to both the quantity and quality of the nanotubes. In the case of Fe, the quality is notably hampered by the formation of Fe3C particles
Bulk high-Tc superconductors with drilled holes: how to arrange the holes to maximize the trapped magnetic flux ?
Drilling holes in a bulk high-Tc superconductor enhances the oxygen annealing
and the heat exchange with the cooling liquid. However, drilling holes also
reduces the amount of magnetic flux that can be trapped in the sample. In this
paper, we use the Bean model to study the magnetization and the current line
distribution in drilled samples, as a function of the hole positions. A single
hole perturbs the critical current flow over an extended region that is bounded
by a discontinuity line, where the direction of the current density changes
abruptly. We demonstrate that the trapped magnetic flux is maximized if the
center of each hole is positioned on one of the discontinuity lines produced by
the neighbouring holes. For a cylindrical sample, we construct a polar
triangular hole pattern that exploits this principle; in such a lattice, the
trapped field is ~20% higher than in a squared lattice, for which the holes do
not lie on discontinuity lines. This result indicates that one can
simultaneously enhance the oxygen annealing, the heat transfer, and maximize
the trapped field
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