Microstructure, Processing, Performance Relationships for High Temperature Coatings

HVOF coating have shown high resistance to corrosion in fossil energy applications and it is generally accepted that mechanical failure, e.g. cracking or spalling, ultimately will determine coating lifetime. The high velocity oxygen-fuel method (HVOF) of applying coatings is one of the most commercially viable and allows the control of various parameters including powder particle velocity and temperature which influence coating properties, such as residual stress, bond coat strength and microstructure. Methods of assessing the mechanical durability of coatings are being developed in order to explore the relationship between HVOF spraying parameters and the mechanical properties of the coating and coating bond strength. The room temperature mechanical strength, as well as the resistance of the coating to cracking/spalling during thermal transients, is of considerable importance. Eddy current, acoustic emission and thermal imaging methods are being developed to detect coating failure during thermal cycling tests and room temperature tensile tests. Preliminary results on coating failure of HVOF FeAl coatings on carbon steel, as detected by eddy current measurements during thermal cycling, are presented. The influence of HVOF coating parameters of iron aluminides - applied to more relevant structural steels, like 316 SS and Grade 91 steel, - on coating durability will be explored once reliable methods for identification of coating failure have been developed

Star Formation and Dynamics in the Galactic Centre

The centre of our Galaxy is one of the most studied and yet enigmatic places in the Universe. At a distance of about 8 kpc from our Sun, the Galactic centre (GC) is the ideal environment to study the extreme processes that take place in the vicinity of a supermassive black hole (SMBH). Despite the hostile environment, several tens of early-type stars populate the central parsec of our Galaxy. A fraction of them lie in a thin ring with mild eccentricity and inner radius ~0.04 pc, while the S-stars, i.e. the ~30 stars closest to the SMBH (<0.04 pc), have randomly oriented and highly eccentric orbits. The formation of such early-type stars has been a puzzle for a long time: molecular clouds should be tidally disrupted by the SMBH before they can fragment into stars. We review the main scenarios proposed to explain the formation and the dynamical evolution of the early-type stars in the GC. In particular, we discuss the most popular in situ scenarios (accretion disc fragmentation and molecular cloud disruption) and migration scenarios (star cluster inspiral and Hills mechanism). We focus on the most pressing challenges that must be faced to shed light on the process of star formation in the vicinity of a SMBH.Comment: 68 pages, 35 figures; invited review chapter, to be published in expanded form in Haardt, F., Gorini, V., Moschella, U. and Treves, A., 'Astrophysical Black Holes'. Lecture Notes in Physics. Springer 201

Carbon Characterization Laboratory Report

The newly completed Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Carbon Characterization Laboratory (CCL) is located in Lab-C20 of the Idaho National Laboratory Research Center. This laboratory was established under the Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Project to support graphite research and development activities. The CCL is designed to characterize and test carbon-based materials such as graphite, carbon-carbon composites, and silicon-carbide composite materials. The laboratory is fully prepared to measure material properties for nonirradiated carbon-based materials. Plans to establish the laboratory as a radiological facility within the next year are definitive. This laboratory will be modified to accommodate irradiated materials, after which it can be used to perform material property measurements on both irradiated and nonirradiated carbon-based material. Instruments, fixtures, and methods are in place for preirradiation measurements of bulk density, thermal diffusivity, coefficient of thermal expansion, elastic modulus, Young’s modulus, Shear modulus, Poisson ratio, and electrical resistivity. The measurement protocol consists of functional validation, calibration, and automated data acquisition

Modelling Prior and Retrospective Awareness of Actions

Abstract. Agents often may prepare for and perform actions without being conscious of these processes. However, in other cases, at some point in time the agent can develop some awareness state relating to the action. This can be an awareness state prior to the execution of the action. An awareness state can also develop in retrospect, after the action was performed. In this paper a neurologically inspired agent model is introduced that is able to make such distinctions. Scenarios are covered in which actions are prepared without being conscious at any point in time. Also scenarios are covered in which the agent develops proir awareness or retrospective awareness, or both. When prior awareness is developed it may be the case that this awareness has a decisive effect on actually executing the action, but it may equally well be the case that the awareness state has no effect on whether the action is performed. All these variations have been illustrated by a wide variety of simulation experiments