1,339 research outputs found
Fracture criteria for discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites
Summarized is the progress achieved during the period September 16, 1987 to August 15, l988 on NASA Grant NAG1-724, Fracture Criteria for Discontinuously Reinforced Metal Matrix Composites. Appended are copies of three manuscripts prepared under NASA funding during the performance period
The potential hazard of staphylococci and micrococci to human subjects in a life support systems evaluator and on a diet of precooked freeze dehydrated foods
Distribution, and hazards of indigenous microbial populations in humans during prolonged space flight simulatio
Fracture criteria for discontinuously reinforced metal matrix composites
The effect of sample configuration on the details of initial crack propagation in discontinuously whisker reinforced aluminum metal matrix composites was investigated. Care was taken to allow direct comparison of fracture toughness values utilizing differing sample configurations and orientations, holding all materials variables constant, e.g., extrusion ration, heat treatment, and chemistry
Primary radiation damage in bone evolves via collagen destruction by photoelectrons and secondary emission self-absorption
X-rays are invaluable for imaging and sterilization of bones, yet the resulting ionization and primary radiation damage mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we monitor in-situ collagen backbone degradation in dry bones using second-harmonic-generation and X-ray diffraction. Collagen breaks down by cascades of photon-electron excitations, enhanced by the presence of mineral nanoparticles. We observe protein disintegration with increasing exposure, detected as residual strain relaxation in pre-stressed apatite nanocrystals. Damage rapidly grows from the onset of irradiation, suggesting that there is no minimal ‘safe’ dose that bone collagen can sustain. Ionization of calcium and phosphorous in the nanocrystals yields fluorescence and high energy electrons giving rise to structural damage that spreads beyond regions directly illuminated by the incident radiation. Our findings highlight photoelectrons as major agents of damage to bone collagen with implications to all situations where bones are irradiated by hard X-rays and in particular for small-beam mineralized collagen fiber investigations
Mixing instabilities during shearing of metals
Severe plastic deformation of solids is relevant to many materials processing techniques as well as tribological events such as wear. It results in microstructural refinement, redistribution of phases, and ultimately even mixing. However, mostly due to inability to experimentally capture the dynamics of deformation, the underlying physical mechanisms remain elusive. Here, we introduce a strategy that reveals details of morphological evolution upon shearing up to ultrahigh strains. Our experiments on metallic multilayers find that mechanically stronger layers either fold in a quasi-regular manner and subsequently evolve into periodic vortices, or delaminate into finer layers before mixing takes place. Numerical simulations performed by treating the phases as nonlinear viscous fluids reproduce the experimental findings and reveal the origin for emergence of a wealth of morphologies in deforming solids. They show that the same instability that causes kilometer-thick rock layers to fold on geological timescales is acting here at micrometer level
Fabrication, Dynamics, and Electrical Properties of Insulated SPM Probes for Electrical and Electromechanical Imaging in Liquids
Insulated cantilever probes with a high aspect ratio conducting apex have
been fabricated and their dynamic and electrical properties analyzed. The
cantilevers were coated with silicon dioxide and a via was fabricated through
the oxide at the tip apex and backfilled with tungsten to create an insulated
probe with a conducting tip. The stiffness and Q-factor of the cantilevers
increased after the modifications and their resonances shifted to higher
frequencies. The coupling strength between the cantilever and the coating are
determined. The applications to conductive and electromechanical imaging of
ferroelectric domains are illustrated, and a probe apex repair process is
demonstrated.Comment: 3 fig
What lies beneath? Interdisciplinary outcomes of the ANDRILL Coulman High Project site surveys on the Ross Ice Shelf
Author Posting. © The Oceanography Society, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of The Oceanography Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Oceanography 25, no. 3 (2012): 84-89, doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.79.Extensive field operations were conducted on the northwestern Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica from November 2010 through January 2011. A significant amount of equipment, supplies, and people safely traversed from McMurdo Station to establish a series of combined United States–New Zealand field camps at locations northeast of Ross Island. The ANDRILL (ANtarctic geological DRILLing) hot water drill system was used to melt multiple access holes through the ice shelf at each site to deploy a variety of sediment coring tools, cameras, and oceanographic instruments, as well as a remotely operated vehicle to characterize the ice shelf and sub-ice environment. These studies will contribute to future proposed geological drilling as part of the ANDRILL Coulman High Project.This work is funded by US NSF-OPP
Grant ANT-0838914 and by the NZ
Foundation for Research, Science and
Technology
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