Performance of a high T (sub c) superconducting ultra-low loss microwave stripline filter

Discussed here is the successful fabrication of a five-pole interdigital stripline filter made of the 93 K superconductor (Y1Ba2Cu3O sub y) coated on a silver substrate, with center frequency of 8.5 GHz and an extremely high rejection ratio of 80 dB. The lowest injection loss measured was 0.1 dB at 12 K, with a return loss of better than 16 dB, representing a significant improvement over a similar copper filter, and is comparable to low critical temperature filters. The insertion loss appears to be limited by extrinsic factors, such as tuning mismatch and joint losses, and not by superconducting material losses

EcoCTD for profiling oceanic physical-biological properties from an underway ship

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 37(5), (2020): 825-840, doi:10.1175/JTECH-D-19-0145.1.The study of ocean dynamics and biophysical variability at submesoscales of O(1) km and O(1) h raises several observational challenges. To address these by underway sampling, we recently developed a towed profiler called the EcoCTD, capable of concurrently measuring both hydrographic and bio-optical properties such as oxygen, chlorophyll fluorescence, and optical backscatter. The EcoCTD presents an attractive alternative to currently used towed platforms due to its light footprint, versatility in the field, and ease of deployment and recovery without cranes or heavy-duty winches. We demonstrate its use for gathering high-quality data at submesoscale spatiotemporal resolution. A dataset of bio-optical and hydrographic properties, collected with the EcoCTD during field trials in 2018, highlights its scientific potential for the study of physical–biological interactions at submesoscales.Authors would like to acknowledge Melissa Omand, Ben Pietro, and Jing He for their valuable input during the design phase of the EcoCTD, as well as for their support for deploying the EcoCTD in the field. We are grateful to Eva Alou, Andrea Carbonero, and John Allen for providing calibrated data from the shipboard CTD. Authors would also like to thank Don Peters along with Dynamics System Analysis Ltd. for facilitating access to ProteusDS and providing support in using the software. We are grateful to the crew of the RV Armstrong and NRV Alliance for their support in the field. Development of the EcoCTD is supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) through the CALYPSO Departmental Research Initiative (Grant N000141613130). Advanced field testing was supported by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution internal funding. MATLAB routines for data processing are publicly available at https://github.com/mfreilich1/ecoctd_processing.2020-11-0

Mechanical properties of high-temperature superconducting wires

Bending strength, fracture toughness, and elastic modulus data were acquired for YBa2Cu3O(x), Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(x) (Bi,Pb)2Sr2Ca2Cu3O(x), and Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O(x) bars. These data and thermal expansion coefficients strongly suggest that the maximum possible tensile strain without fracture of bulk tapes or wires is approximately equals 0.2%. In Ag-clad conductors, residual stresses will be of limited benefit, but fractures produced by larger strains can be accommodated by shunting current through the Ag

Lithium-ferrate-based cathodes for molten carbonate fuel cells

Argonne National Laboratory is developing advanced cathodes for pressurized operation of the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) at approximately 650 degrees Centigrade. These cathodes are based on lithium ferrate (LiFeO[sub 2]) which is attractive because of its very low solubility in the molten (Li,K)[sub 2]CO[sub 3] electrolyte. Because of its high resistivity, LiFeO[sub 2] cannot be used as a direct substitute for NiO. Cation substitution is, therefore, necessary to decrease resistivity. The effect of cation substitution on the resistivity and deformation of LiFeO[sub 2] was determined. The substitutes were chosen because their respective oxides as well as LiFeO[sub 2] crystallize with the rock-salt structure

Processing and properties of hot-forged bulk superconductors

(Bi,Pb){sub 2}Sr{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (Bi-2223) and TlBa{sub 2}Ca{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub x} (Tl-1223) bars were hot forged in air at 820--850C. Final stresses of 2--3 MPa were sufficient to produce >95% dense Bi-2223 bars. In contrast, stresses to {approx}42 MPa were able to produce only 75--80% dense Tl-1223 bars. The Bi-2223 bars were more phase-pure and exhibited much stronger c-axis textures than the Tl-1223. Maximum critical current densities at 77 K were 8 {times} 10{sup 4} A/cm{sup 2} for the Bi-2223 and 2 {times} 10{sup 4}/cm{sup 2} for the Tl-1223. Fracture strength and toughness values were 140 MPa and 2.9 MPa{radical}m for the Bi-2223 and 50 MPa and 0.5 MPa{radical}m for the Tl-1223

Fabrication and characterization of (Bi,Pb)-Sr-Ca-Cu-O (2223) bars

Bulk bars for current lead applications were fabricated from (Bi,Pb)- Sr-Ca-Cu-O (Bi-2223) for low thermal conductivity and high critical current. Bars measuring 17.8 cm in length were made by uniaxially pressing Bi-2223 powder of controlled (1.7/0.34)223 and (1.8/0.4)223 phase composition. The bulk bars were densified by subjecting them to a schedule of alternate liquid-phase sintering and cold isostatic pressing. Liquid phase sintering temperatures were optimized from differential thermal analysis and microstructure morphology. Phase purity and microstructure were evaluated by x-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Low-resistance silver contacts were applied to the bars by hot-pressing at 820{degrees}C and 3 MPa. Critical current densities {approx} 1000 A/cm{sup 3} (critical currents of 750 A at 77 K in self-field conditions) were achieved

UCTD and EcoCTD Observations from the CALYPSO Pilot Experiment (2018): Cruise and Data Report

From May 27, 2018 to June 02, 2018, a scientific campaign was conducted in the Alboran Sea as part of an ONR Departmental Research Initiative, CALYPSO. The pilot cruise involved two ships: the R/V Socib, tasked with sampling fixed lines repeatedly, and the NRV Alliance that surveyed along the trajectory of Lagrangian platforms. A large variety of assets were deployed from the NRV Alliance, with the objective to identify coherent Lagrangian pathways from the surface ocean to interior. As part of the field campaign, an Underway-CTD (UCTD) system was used to measure vertical profiles of salinity, temperature and other properties while steaming, to achieve closely spaced measurements in the horizontal along the ship's track. Both a UCTD probe and an biooptically augmented probe, named EcoCTD, were deployed. The EcoCTD collects concurrent physical and bio-optical observations. This report focuses exclusively on the data collected by these two underway systems. It describes th e datasets collected during the pilot cruise, as well as the important processing steps developed for the EcoCTD.Funding was provided by the Office of Naval Research under Contract #N00014161313

Questioning policy, youth participation and lifestyle sports

Young people have been identified as a key target group for whom participation in sport and physical activity could have important benefits to health and wellbeing and consequently have been the focus of several government policies to increase participation in the UK. Lifestyle sports represent one such strategy for encouraging and sustaining new engagements in sport and physical activity in youth groups, however, there is at present a lack of understanding of the use of these activities within policy contexts. This paper presents findings from a government initiative which sought to increase participation in sport for young people through provision of facilities for mountain biking in a forest in south-east England. Findings from qualitative research with 40 young people who participated in mountain biking at the case study location highlight the importance of non-traditional sports as a means to experience the natural environments through forms of consumption which are healthy, active and appeal to their identities. In addition, however, the paper raises questions over the accessibility of schemes for some individuals and social groups, and the ability to incorporate sports which are inherently participant-led into state-managed schemes. Lifestyle sports such as mountain biking involve distinct forms of participation which present a challenge for policy-makers who seek to create and maintain sustainable communities of youth participants

Superconducting wires

The requirement of high critical current density has prompted extensive research on ceramic processing of high-T/sub c/ superconductors. An overview of wire fabrication techniques and the limitations they impose on component design will be presented. The effects of processing on microstructure and critical current density will also be discussed. Particle alignment has been observed in extruded samples which is attributed to high shear stresses during plastic forming. Composites of superconductor and silver in several configurations have been made with little deleterious effect on the superconducting properties. 35 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab