Magnetic structure and phase diagram of TmB4

Magnetic structure of single crystalline TmB4 has been studied by magnetization, magnetoresistivity and specific heat measurements. A complex phase diagram with different antiferromagnetic (AF) phases was observed below TN1 = 11.7 K. Besides the plateau at half-saturated magnetization (1/2 MS), also plateaus at 1/9, 1/8 and 1/7 of MS were observed as function of applied magnetic field B//c. From additional neutron scattering experiments on TmB4, we suppose that those plateaus arise from a stripe structure which appears to be coherent domain boundaries between AF ordered blocks of 7 or 9 lattice constants. The received results suggest that the frustration among the Tm3+ magnetic ions, which maps to a geometrically frustrated Shastry-Sutherland lattice lead to strong competition between AF and ferromagnetic (FM) order. Thus, stripe structures in intermediate field appear to be the best way to minimize the magnetostatic energy against other magnetic interactions between the Tm ions combined with very strong Ising anisotropy.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, conference contribution - CSMAG 0

Simplified liquid oxygen propellant conditioning concepts

Current liquid oxygen feed systems waste propellant and use hardware, unnecessary during flight, to condition the propellant at the engine turbopumps prior to launch. Simplified liquid oxygen propellant conditioning concepts are being sought for future launch vehicles. During a joint program, four alternative propellant conditioning options were studied: (1) passive recirculation; (2) low bleed through the engine; (3) recirculation lines; and (4) helium bubbling. The test configuration for this program was based on a vehicle design which used a main recirculation loop that was insulated on the downcomer and uninsulated on the upcomer. This produces a natural convection recirculation flow. The test article for this program simulated a feedline which ran from the main recirculation loop to the turbopump. The objective was to measure the temperature profile of this test article. Several parameters were varied from the baseline case to determine their effects on the temperature profile. These parameters included: flow configuration, feedline slope, heat flux, main recirculation loop velocity, pressure, bleed rate, helium bubbling, and recirculation lines. The heat flux, bleed rate, and recirculation configurations produced the greatest changes from the baseline temperature profile. However, the temperatures in the feedline remained subcooled. Any of the options studied could be used in future vehicles