5,207 research outputs found
Thermal expansion method for lining tantalum alloy tubing with tungsten
A differential-thermal expansion method was developed to line T-111 (tantalum - 8 percent tungsten - 2 percent hafnium) tubing with a tungsten diffusion barrier as part of a fuel element fabrication study for a space power nuclear reactor concept. This method uses a steel mandrel, which has a larger thermal expansion than T-111, to force the tungsten against the inside of the T-111 tube. Variables investigated include lining temperature, initial assembly gas size, and tube length. Linear integrity increased with increasing lining temperature and decreasing gap size. The method should have more general applicability where cylinders must be lined with a thin layer of a second material
Epitaxial Growth of an n-type Ferromagnetic Semiconductor CdCr2Se4 on GaAs(001) and GaP(001)
We report the epitaxial growth of CdCr2Se4, an n-type ferromagnetic
semiconductor, on both GaAs and GaP(001) substrates, and describe the
structural, magnetic and electronic properties. Magnetometry data confirm
ferromagnetic order with a Curie temperature of 130 K, as in the bulk material.
The magnetization exhibits hysteretic behavior with significant remanence, and
an in-plane easy axis with a coercive field of ~125 Oe. Temperature dependent
transport data show that the films are semiconducting in character and n-type
as grown, with room temperature carrier concentrations of n ~ 1 x 10^18 cm-3.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure
Debris cover and surface melt at a temperate maritime alpine glacier: Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
Melt rates on glaciers are strongly influenced by the presence of supraglacial debris, which can either enhance or reduce ablation relative to bare ice. Most recently, Franz Josef Glacier has entered into a phase of strong retreat and downwasting, with the increasing emergence of debris on the surface in the ablation zone. Previously at Franz Josef Glacier, melt has only been measured on bare ice. During February 2012, a network of 11 ablation stakes was drilled into locations of varying supraglacial debris thickness on the lower glacier. Mean ablation rates over 9 days varied over the range 1.2â10.1 cm dâ1, and were closely related to debris thickness. Concomitant observations of air temperature allowed the application of a degree-day approach to the calculation of melt rates, with air temperature providing a strong indicator of melt. Degree-day factors (d f) varied over the range 1.1â8.1 mm dâ1 °Câ1 (mean of 4.4 mm dâ1 °Câ1), comparable with rates reported in other studies. Mapping of the current debris cover revealed 0.7 km2 of the 4.9 km2 ablation zone surface was debris-covered, with thicknesses ranging 1â50 cm. Based on measured debris thicknesses and d f, ablation on debris-covered areas of the glacier is reduced by a total of 41% which equates to a 6% reduction in melt overall across the entire ablation zone. This study highlights the usefulness of a short-term survey to gather representative ablation data, consistent with numerous overseas ablation studies on debris-covered glaciers
Non-Newtonian fluid flow through three-dimensional disordered porous media
We investigate the flow of various non-Newtonian fluids through
three-dimensional disordered porous media by direct numerical simulation of
momentum transport and continuity equations. Remarkably, our results for
power-law (PL) fluids indicate that the flow, when quantified in terms of a
properly modified permeability-like index and Reynolds number, can be
successfully described by a single (universal) curve over a broad range of
Reynolds conditions and power-law exponents. We also study the flow behavior of
Bingham fluids described in terms of the Herschel-Bulkley model. In this case,
our simulations reveal that the interplay of ({\it i}) the disordered geometry
of the pore space, ({\it ii}) the fluid rheological properties, and ({\it iii})
the inertial effects on the flow is responsible for a substantial enhancement
of the macroscopic hydraulic conductance of the system at intermediate Reynolds
conditions. This anomalous condition of ``enhanced transport'' represents a
novel feature for flow in porous materials.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures. This article appears also in Physical Review
Letters 103 194502 (2009
Spin-dependent electrical transport in ion-beam sputter deposited Fe-Cr multilayers
The temperature dependence of the electrical resistivity and
magnetoresistance of Xe-ion beam sputtered Fe-Cr multilayers has been
investigated. The electrical resistivity between 5 and 300 K in the fully
ferromagnetic state, obtained by applying a field beyond the saturation field
(H_sat) necessary for the antiferromagnetic(AF)-ferromagnetic(FM) field-induced
transition, shows evidence of spin-disorder resistivity as in crystalline Fe
and an s-d scattering contribution (as in 3d metals and alloys). The sublattice
magnetization m(T) in these multilayers has been calculated in terms of the
planar and interlayer exchange energies. The additional spin-dependent
scattering \Delta \rho (T) = \rho(T,H=0)_AF - \rho(T,H=H_sat)_FM in the AF
state over a wide range of temperature is found to be proportional to the
sublattice magnetization, both \Delta \rho(T) and m(T) reducing along with the
antiferromagnetic fraction. At intermediate fields, the spin-dependent part of
the electrical resistivity (\rho_s (T)) fits well to the power law \rho_s (T) =
b - cT^\alpha where c is a constant and b and \alpha are functions of H. At low
fields \alpha \approx 2 and the intercept b decreases with H much the same way
as the decrease of \Delta \rho (T) with T. A phase diagram (T vs. H_sat) is
obtained for the field- induced AF to FM transition. Comparisons are made
between the present investigation and similar studies using dc magnetron
sputtered and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) grown Fe-Cr multilayers.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Off-Equilibrium Dynamics in Finite-Dimensional Spin Glass Models
The low temperature dynamics of the two- and three-dimensional Ising spin
glass model with Gaussian couplings is investigated via extensive Monte Carlo
simulations. We find an algebraic decay of the remanent magnetization. For the
autocorrelation function a typical
aging scenario with a scaling is established. Investigating spatial
correlations we find an algebraic growth law of
the average domain size. The spatial correlation function scales with . The sensitivity of the
correlations in the spin glass phase with respect to temperature changes is
examined by calculating a time dependent overlap length. In the two dimensional
model we examine domain growth with a new method: First we determine the exact
ground states of the various samples (of system sizes up to )
and then we calculate the correlations between this state and the states
generated during a Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: 38 pages, RevTeX, 14 postscript figure
Water diffusion in atmospherically relevant α-pinene secondary organic material
Secondary organic material (SOM) constitutes a large mass fraction of atmospheric aerosol particles. Understanding its impact on climate and air quality relies on accurate models of interactions with water vapour. Recent research shows that SOM can be highly viscous and can even behave mechanically like a solid, leading to suggestions that particles exist out of equilibrium with water vapour in the atmosphere. In order to quantify any kinetic limitation we need to know water diffusion coefficients for SOM, but this quantity has, until now, only been estimated and has not yet been measured. We have directly measured water diffusion coefficients in the water soluble fraction of α-pinene SOM between 240 and 280 K. Here we show that, although this material can behave mechanically like a solid, at 280 K water diffusion is not kinetically limited on timescales of 1 s for atmospheric-sized particles. However, diffusion slows as temperature decreases. We use our measured data to constrain a Vignes-type parameterisation, which we extend to lower temperatures to show that SOM can take hours to equilibrate with water vapour under very cold conditions. Our modelling for 100 nm particles predicts that under mid to upper tropospheric conditions radial inhomogeneities in water content produce a low viscosity surface region and more solid interior, with implications for heterogeneous chemistry and ice nucleation
Publication and patent analysis of European researchers in the field of production technology and manufacturing systems
This paper develops a structured comparison among a sample of European researchers in the field of Production Technology and Manufacturing Systems, on the basis of scientific publications and patents. Researchers are evaluated and compared by a variegated set of indicators concerning (1) the output of individual researchers and (2) that of groups of researchers from the same country. While not claiming to be exhaustive, the results of this preliminary study provide a rough indication of the publishing and patenting activity of researchers in the field of interest, identifying (dis)similarities between different countries. Of particular interest is a proposal for aggregating analysis results by means of maps based on publication and patent indicators. A large amount of empirical data are presented and discusse
Validating a generic cancer consumer quality index in eight European countries, patient reported experiences and the influence of cultural differences
BackgroundTaking patient centeredness into account is important in healthcare. The European Cancer Consumer Quality Index (ECCQI) is a validated tool for international benchmarking of patient experiences and satisfaction.This study aimed to further validate the ECCQI in larger and more uniform groups of high volume tumours such as breast and prostate cancer. A second objective was the verification of the influence of cultural factors of the country to determine its possible use in international benchmarking.MethodsData from two survey studies in eight European countries were combined. Socio-demographic correlations were analysed with Kruskall-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. Cronbach's alpha was calculated to validate internal consistency. Influences of masculinity (MAS), power distance (PD) and uncertainty avoidance (UA) were determined by linear regression analysis in a general model and subgroup models.ResultsA total of 1322 surveys were included in the analysis (1093 breast- and 348 prostate cancer patients). Cronbach's alpha was good (alpha >= 0.7) or acceptable (0.5Peer reviewe
Operational experience, improvements, and performance of the CDF Run II silicon vertex detector
The Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF) pursues a broad physics program at
Fermilab's Tevatron collider. Between Run II commissioning in early 2001 and
the end of operations in September 2011, the Tevatron delivered 12 fb-1 of
integrated luminosity of p-pbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV. Many physics
analyses undertaken by CDF require heavy flavor tagging with large charged
particle tracking acceptance. To realize these goals, in 2001 CDF installed
eight layers of silicon microstrip detectors around its interaction region.
These detectors were designed for 2--5 years of operation, radiation doses up
to 2 Mrad (0.02 Gy), and were expected to be replaced in 2004. The sensors were
not replaced, and the Tevatron run was extended for several years beyond its
design, exposing the sensors and electronics to much higher radiation doses
than anticipated. In this paper we describe the operational challenges
encountered over the past 10 years of running the CDF silicon detectors, the
preventive measures undertaken, and the improvements made along the way to
ensure their optimal performance for collecting high quality physics data. In
addition, we describe the quantities and methods used to monitor radiation
damage in the sensors for optimal performance and summarize the detector
performance quantities important to CDF's physics program, including vertex
resolution, heavy flavor tagging, and silicon vertex trigger performance.Comment: Preprint accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods
A (07/31/2013
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