Real-time depth sectioning: Isolating the effect of stress on structure development in pressure-driven flow

Transient structure development at a specific distance from the channel wall in a pressure-driven flow is obtained from a set of real-time measurements that integrate contributions throughout the thickness of a rectangular channel. This “depth sectioning method” retains the advantages of pressure-driven flow while revealing flow-induced structures as a function of stress. The method is illustrated by applying it to isothermal shear-induced crystallization of an isotactic polypropylene using both synchrotron x-ray scattering and optical retardance. Real-time, depth-resolved information about the development of oriented precursors reveals features that cannot be extracted from ex-situ observation of the final morphology and that are obscured in the depth-averaged in-situ measurements. For example, at 137 °C and at the highest shear stress examined (65 kPa), oriented thread-like nuclei formed rapidly, saturated within the first 7 s of flow, developed significant crystalline overgrowth during flow and did not relax after cessation of shear. At lower stresses, threads formed later and increased at a slower rate. The depth sectioning method can be applied to the flow-induced structure development in diverse complex fluids, including block copolymers, colloidal systems, and liquid-crystalline polymers

Structural assessment of the gripper interlock of the DEMO breeding blanket transporter

The maintenance of the DEMO Breeding Blanket (BB) remotely is a crucial aspect in development of the DEMO power plant. It is a challenge due to the huge mass of the BB segment of about 180 tons. A new concept for the BB transporter has recently been developed. To properly grip and manipulate each BB segment, the BB transporter has been equipped with a gripper interlock. Due to the geometry of the BB and the vacuum vessel, the attachment point on the BB segment is not aligned with its center of gravity. Hence in addition to the vertical lifting load, large moments about the horizontal axes need to be reacted.The work discussed here concerns the structural analysis conducted on the gripper interlock; its structural integrity has been checked against the most severe load conditions that include also seismic loads according to the EN13001. Elastic analyses were performed using a finite element model in accordance with EN 13001-3-1:2012 + A2:2018, Cranes - General Design - Part 3-1: Limit States and proof competence of steel structure. The effect of the gap sizes at the contact surfaces between gripper interlock and BB after engagement as well as the effect of different friction coefficients on the sliding areas were assessed. The improvements of the design based on the structural analysis are presented, too

Impact of profile resilience on energy confinement

Multi-machine experimental observations indicate resilience in the temperature profiles at low pedestal temperatures, whereas at high pedestal temperatures the profile stiffness seems to disappear. The change of the profile behavior impacts the energy confinement, basically due to a strong non-linear dependence of the energy transport on the pedestal temperature together with different critical conditions for the onset of turbulence in the ions and electrons. This possible explanation for the different observations is based on the assumption that both ion and electron energy transport is governed by turbulence which sets in at a critical temperature gradient as well as on a significant energy equipartition between electrons and ions