4,427 research outputs found
A Novel Engineering Evaluation Method for Pressure Piping Containing Circumferential Defects
AbstractSafety evaluation for in-service pressure piping containing defects plays an important role in ensuring safety production. Based on Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) Assessment of the Integrity of Structures Containing Defects (R6) revision 4 failure assessment diagram (FAD), a novel safety assessment method, named Q factor method, is presented for pressure piping containing circumferential surface defects through analysis and simplified in this paper. The Q factor method is simple and efficient, established and given in a more acceptable form in engineering application, and suitable for the safety assessment of defective piping of different materials, without complex fracture or limit load analysis. Besides, the nature of the Q factor approach is consistent with the FAD method, so its validation isn’t mentioned in this paper
Extended Analysis of Gravitomagnetic Fields in Rotating Superconductors and Superfluids
Applying the Ginzburg-Landau theory including frame dragging effects to the
case of a rotating superconductor, we were able to express the absolute value
of the gravitomagnetic field involved to explain the Cooper pair mass anomaly
previously reported by Tate. Although our analysis predicts large
gravitomagnetic fields originated by superconductive gyroscopes, those should
not affect the measurement of the Earth gravitomagnetic field by the Gravity
Probe-B satellite. However, the hypothesis might be well suited to explain a
mechanical momentum exchange phenomena reported for superfluid helium. As a
possible explanation for those abnormally large gravitomagnetic fields in
quantum materials, the reduced speed of light (and gravity) that was found in
the case of Bose-Einstein condensates is analysed
Path Integral Monte Carlo Approach to the U(1) Lattice Gauge Theory in (2+1) Dimensions
Path Integral Monte Carlo simulations have been performed for U(1) lattice
gauge theory in (2+1) dimensions on anisotropic lattices. We extractthe static
quark potential, the string tension and the low-lying "glueball" spectrum.The
Euclidean string tension and mass gap decrease exponentially at weakcoupling in
excellent agreement with the predictions of Polyakov and G{\" o}pfert and Mack,
but their magnitudes are five times bigger than predicted. Extrapolations are
made to the extreme anisotropic or Hamiltonian limit, and comparisons are made
with previous estimates obtained in the Hamiltonian formulation.Comment: 12 pages, 16 figure
Antiproton-deuteron annihilation at low energies
Recent experimental studies of the antiproton-deuteron system at low energies
have shown that the imaginary part of the antiproton-deuteron scattering length
is smaller than the antiproton-proton one. Two- and three-body systems with
strong annihilation are investigated and a mechanism explaining this unexpected
relation between the imaginary parts of the scattering lengths is proposed.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, to be published in The European Physical Journal
Speeds and arrival times of solar transients approximated by self-similar expanding circular fronts
The NASA STEREO mission opened up the possibility to forecast the arrival
times, speeds and directions of solar transients from outside the Sun-Earth
line. In particular, we are interested in predicting potentially geo-effective
Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections (ICMEs) from observations of density
structures at large observation angles from the Sun (with the STEREO
Heliospheric Imager instrument). We contribute to this endeavor by deriving
analytical formulas concerning a geometric correction for the ICME speed and
arrival time for the technique introduced by Davies et al. (2012, ApJ, in
press) called Self-Similar Expansion Fitting (SSEF). This model assumes that a
circle propagates outward, along a plane specified by a position angle (e.g.
the ecliptic), with constant angular half width (lambda). This is an extension
to earlier, more simple models: Fixed-Phi-Fitting (lambda = 0 degree) and
Harmonic Mean Fitting (lambda = 90 degree). This approach has the advantage
that it is possible to assess clearly, in contrast to previous models, if a
particular location in the heliosphere, such as a planet or spacecraft, might
be expected to be hit by the ICME front. Our correction formulas are especially
significant for glancing hits, where small differences in the direction greatly
influence the expected speeds (up to 100-200 km/s) and arrival times (up to two
days later than the apex). For very wide ICMEs (2 lambda > 120 degree), the
geometric correction becomes very similar to the one derived by M\"ostl et al.
(2011, ApJ, 741, id. 34) for the Harmonic Mean model. These analytic
expressions can also be used for empirical or analytical models to predict the
1 AU arrival time of an ICME by correcting for effects of hits by the flank
rather than the apex, if the width and direction of the ICME in a plane are
known and a circular geometry of the ICME front is assumed.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in "Solar Physics
Antibiotics Alter Pocillopora Coral-Symbiodiniaceae-Bacteria Interactions and Cause Microbial Dysbiosis During Heat Stress
Symbioses between eukaryotes and their associated microbial communities are fundamental processes that affect organisms’ ecology and evolution. A unique example of this is reef-building corals that maintain symbiotic associations with dinoflagellate algae (Symbiodiniaceae) and bacteria that affect coral health through various mechanisms. However, little is understood about how coral-associated bacteria communities affect holobiont heat tolerance. In this study, we investigated these interactions in four Pocillopora coral colonies belonging to three cryptic species by subjecting fragments to treatments with antibiotics intended to suppress the normal bacteria community, followed by acute heat stress. Separate treatments with only antibiotics or heat stress were conducted to compare the effects of individual stressors on holobiont transcriptome responses and microbiome shifts. Across all Pocillopora species examined, combined antibiotics and heat stress treatment significantly altered coral-associated bacteria communities and caused major changes in both coral and Cladocopium algal symbiont gene expression. Individually, heat stress impaired Pocillopora protein translation and activated DNA repair processes, while antibiotics treatments caused downregulation of Pocillopora amino acid and inorganic ion transport and metabolism genes and Cladocopium photosynthesis genes. Combined antibiotics-heat stress treatments caused synergistic effects on Pocillopora and Cladocopium gene expression including enhanced expression of oxidative stress response genes, programed cell death pathways and proteolytic enzymes that indicate an exacerbated response to heat stress following bacteria community suppression. Collectively, these results provide further evidence that corals and their Symbiodiniaceae and bacteria communities engage in highly coordinated metabolic interactions that are crucial for coral holobiont health, homeostasis, and heat tolerance
Multi-neutron transfer coupling in sub-barrier 32S+90,96Zr fusion reactions
The role of neutron transfers is investigated in the fusion process below the
Coulomb barrier by analyzing 32S+90Zr and 32S+96Zr as benchmark reactions. A
full coupled-channel calculation of the fusion excitation functions has been
performed for both systems by using multi-neutron transfer coupling for the
more neutron-rich reaction. The enhancement of fusion cross sections for
32S+96Zr is well reproduced at sub-barrier energies by NTFus code calculations
including the coupling of the neutron-transfer channels following the Zagrebaev
semiclassical model. We found similar effects for 40Ca+90Zr and 40Ca+96Zr
fusion excitation functions.Comment: Minor corrections, 11 pages, 4 figures, Fusion11 Conference, Saint
Malo, France, 2-6 mai 201
Modification of wetting property of Inconel 718 surface by nanosecond laser texturing
Topographic and wetting properties of Inconel 718 (IN718) surfaces were modified via nanosecond laser treatment. In order to investigate surface wetting behavior without additional post treatment, three kinds of microstructures were created on IN718 surfaces, including line pattern, grid pattern and spot pattern. From the viewpoint of surface morphology, the results show that laser ablated grooves and debris significantly altered the surface topography as well as surface roughness compared with the non-treated surfaces. The effect of laser parameters (such as laser scanning speed and laser average power) on surface features was also discussed. We have observed the treated surface of IN718 showed very high hydrophilicity just after laser treatment under ambient air condistion.And this hydrophicility property has changed rapidly to the other extreme; very high hydrophobicity over just about 20 days. Further experiments and analyses have been carried out in order to investigate this phenomena. Based on the XPS analysis, the results indicate that the change of wetting property from hydrophilic to hydrophobic over time is due to the surface chemistry modifications, especially carbon content. After the contact angles reached steady state, the maximum water contact angle (WCA) for line-patterned and grid-patterned surfaces increased to 152.3 1.2° and 156.8 1.1° with the corresponding rolling angle (RA) of 8.8 1.1° and 6.5 0.8°, respectively. These treated IN718 surfaces exhibited superhydrophobic property. However, the maximum WCA for the spot-patterned surfaces just increased to 140.8 2.8° with RA above 10°. Therefore, it is deduced that laser-inscribed modification of surface wettability has high sensitivity to surface morphology and surface chemical compositions. This work can be utilized to optimize the laser processing parameters so as to fabricate desired IN718 surfaces with hydrophobic or even superhydrophobic property and thus extend the applications of IN718 material in various fields
Phase Transformation of Nb in Carburized Zone of 25Cr35NiNb+MA Alloy After Service
Abstract25Cr35NiNb+MA alloy is widely used in ethylene pyrolysis furnace tube, the highest service temperature can be 1100°C, and has high resistance to creep and carburization. Ethylene pyrolysis furnace tube will suffer carburizing during service, which lead to phase transformation. Phase transformation of 25Cr35NiNb+MA heat-resistant ethylene pyrolysis furnace tube was investigated after service and the Nb transition during service was discussed. The phase transformation of ethylene pyrolysis furnace tube was characterized with field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectrum (EDS). Results reveal that the microstructure of as-cast 25Cr35NiNb+MA alloy contains NbC carbides on the dendrite boundaries. During service at high temperature, the NbC carbides transform to blocky G-phase (Ni16Nb6Si7) between M23C6 and matrix. As the carburizing process occurs, the blocky G-phase (Ni16Nb6Si7) gradually transforms to granular NbC, and distribute at the center of chromium carbide. The granular NbC will improve resistance of creep
Accuracy and Limitations of Fitting and Stereoscopic Methods to Determine the Direction of Coronal Mass Ejections from Heliospheric Imagers Observations
Using data from the Heliospheric Imagers (HIs) onboard STEREO, it is possible
to derive the direction of propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in
addition to their speed with a variety of methods. For CMEs observed by both
STEREO spacecraft, it is possible to derive their direction using simultaneous
observations from the twin spacecraft and also, using observations from only
one spacecraft with fitting methods. This makes it possible to test and compare
different analyses techniques. In this article, we propose a new fitting method
based on observations from one spacecraft, which we compare to the commonly
used fitting method of Sheeley et al. (1999). We also compare the results from
these two fitting methods with those from two stereoscopic methods, focusing on
12 CMEs observed simultaneously by the two STEREO spacecraft in 2008 and 2009.
We find evidence that the fitting method of Sheeley et al. (1999) can result in
significant errors in the determination of the CME direction when the CME
propagates outside of 60deg \pm 20 deg from the Sun-spacecraft line. We expect
our new fitting method to be better adapted to the analysis of halo or limb
CMEs with respect to the observing spacecraft. We also find some evidence that
direct triangulation in the HI fields-of-view should only be applied to CMEs
propagating approximatively towards Earth (\pm 20deg from the Sun-Earth line).
Last, we address one of the possible sources of errors of fitting methods: the
assumption of radial propagation. Using stereoscopic methods, we find that at
least seven of the 12 studied CMEs had an heliospheric deflection of less than
20deg as they propagated in the HI fields-of-view, which, we believe, validates
this approximation.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted to Solar Physic
- …