Carrier Network Structures and the Spatial Distribution of Air Traffic in the European Air Transport Market, 1996-2006

This paper characterises and compares the spatial distribution of air traffic in the US and Europe across the network of airports for both continents for the period 1996 to 2006, using annual airline schedules from the Official Airline Guide databases. Several measures of traffic concentration are presented. By decomposing the overall spatial distribution of traffic, aspects of individual airline behaviour may be measured and contrasted, along with measures of multi-market contact among groups of carriers. European and US airlines are characterised in terms of their network strategies and the extent of network competition that they face.

Towards large scale preparation of graphene in molten salts and its use in the fabrication of highly toughened alumina ceramics.

Highly crystalline graphene nanosheets were reproducibly generated by the electrochemical exfoliation of graphite electrodes in molten LiCl containing protons. The graphene product has been successfully applied in several applications. This paper discusses the effect of molten salt produced graphene on the microstructures and mechanical properties of alumina articles produced by slip casting and pressureless sintering, which is one of the most convenient methods for the commercial production of alumina ceramics. In addition to graphene, graphite powder and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were also used to prepare alumina articles for comparative purposes. A graphene strengthening effect was realized through microstructural refinement and by influencing the formation of alumina nanorods during the sintering of α-Al2O3 articles. The fracture toughness of the sintered alumina articles increased to an impressive value of 6.98 MPa m(1/2) by adding 0.5 wt% graphene nanosheets. This was attributed to the unique microstructure obtained, comprised of micrometer sized alumina grains separated by alumina nanorods.The Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers is thanked for funding support for this research.This is the author accepted manuscript. It is currently under an indefinite embargo pending publication by the Royal Society of Chemistry

Strong pinning at high growth rates in rare earth barium cuprate (REBCO) superconductor films grown with liquid-assisted processing (LAP) during pulsed laser deposition

Funder: SuNAM Co. Ltd.Abstract: We present a simple liquid-assisted processing (LAP) method, to be used in situ during pulsed laser deposition growth to give both rapid growth rates (50 Hz deposition leading to >250 nm min−1 with a single plume) and strong pinning (improved ×5–10 at 30 K and below, over plain standard YBCO films grown at similar rates). Achieving these two important features simultaneously has been a serious bottleneck to date and yet for applications, it is critical to overcome it. The new LAP method uses a non-stoichiometric target composition, giving rise to a small volume fraction of liquid phase during film growth. LAP enhances the kinetics of the film growth so that good crystalline perfection can be achieved at up to 60× faster growth rates than normal, while also enabling artificial pinning centres to be self-assembled into fine nanocolumns. In addition, LAP allows for RE mixing (80% of Y with 20% of Yb, Sm, or Yb + Sm), creating effective point-like disorder pinning centres within the rare earth barium cuprate lattice. Overall, LAP is a simple method for use in pulsed laser deposition, and it can also be adopted by other in situ physical or vapour deposition methods (i.e. MOCVD, evaporation, etc) to significantly enhance both growth rate and performance

Strong pinning at high growth rates in rare earth barium cuprate (REBCO) superconductor films grown with liquid-assisted processing (LAP) during pulsed laser deposition

Funder: SuNAM Co. Ltd.Abstract: We present a simple liquid-assisted processing (LAP) method, to be used in situ during pulsed laser deposition growth to give both rapid growth rates (50 Hz deposition leading to >250 nm min−1 with a single plume) and strong pinning (improved ×5–10 at 30 K and below, over plain standard YBCO films grown at similar rates). Achieving these two important features simultaneously has been a serious bottleneck to date and yet for applications, it is critical to overcome it. The new LAP method uses a non-stoichiometric target composition, giving rise to a small volume fraction of liquid phase during film growth. LAP enhances the kinetics of the film growth so that good crystalline perfection can be achieved at up to 60× faster growth rates than normal, while also enabling artificial pinning centres to be self-assembled into fine nanocolumns. In addition, LAP allows for RE mixing (80% of Y with 20% of Yb, Sm, or Yb + Sm), creating effective point-like disorder pinning centres within the rare earth barium cuprate lattice. Overall, LAP is a simple method for use in pulsed laser deposition, and it can also be adopted by other in situ physical or vapour deposition methods (i.e. MOCVD, evaporation, etc) to significantly enhance both growth rate and performance

Strong pinning at high growth rates in rare earth barium cuprate (REBCO) superconductor films grown with liquid-assisted processing (LAP) during pulsed laser deposition

Funder: SuNAM Co. Ltd.Abstract We present a simple liquid-assisted processing (LAP) method, to be used in situ during pulsed laser deposition growth to give both rapid growth rates (50 Hz deposition leading to >250 nm min−1 with a single plume) and strong pinning (improved ×5–10 at 30 K and below, over plain standard YBCO films grown at similar rates). Achieving these two important features simultaneously has been a serious bottleneck to date and yet for applications, it is critical to overcome it. The new LAP method uses a non-stoichiometric target composition, giving rise to a small volume fraction of liquid phase during film growth. LAP enhances the kinetics of the film growth so that good crystalline perfection can be achieved at up to 60× faster growth rates than normal, while also enabling artificial pinning centres to be self-assembled into fine nanocolumns. In addition, LAP allows for RE mixing (80% of Y with 20% of Yb, Sm, or Yb + Sm), creating effective point-like disorder pinning centres within the rare earth barium cuprate lattice. Overall, LAP is a simple method for use in pulsed laser deposition, and it can also be adopted by other in situ physical or vapour deposition methods (i.e. MOCVD, evaporation, etc) to significantly enhance both growth rate and performance.Grant from SuNAM Co. Ltd. Henry Royce Institute Equipment Grant: EP/P024947/