The efficiency of thermal neutron detection and collimation with microchannel plates of square and circular geometry

Detectors with microchannel plates (MCPs) are currently widely used in photon and charged particle detection with high spatial (similar to 10 um) and temporal (< 0.5 ns) resolution. All the advances in MCP detection technologies can be successfully implemented for the detection of thermal neutrons by using MCPs manufactured from a modified glass mixture doped with neutron absorbing atoms. In this paper, we compare the efficiency of thermal neutron detection for two standard MCP geometries: circular-pore and square-pore MCPs doped with the B-10 isotope. The results of our modeling indicate that the detection of thermal neutrons with a square-pore MCP is 11%-23% more efficient than for the circular geometry, and can be higher than 70% for the existing MCP technology.The same MCPs can be used as very efficient and compact thermal neutron collimators. In this paper, we compare the efficiency of circular- and square-pore MCP collimators with the help of our model, the validity of which has already been verified by our experimental measurements reported last year. The rocking curve of 5-mm and 2.5-mm thick MCPs doped with 3 mole % of (nat)Gd2O3 is predicted to be only +/- 0.1 degrees and +/- 0.3 degrees wide, respectively, for both geometries. A very compact device with high thermal neutron detection efficiency and angular sensitivity can be built by combining an MCP neutron detector with an MCP collimator

The surface and solution properties of dihexadecyl dimethylammonium bromide

The surface adsorption behavior and solution aggregate microstructure of the dichain cationic surfactant dihexadecyl dimethylammonium bromide (DHDAB) have been studied using small angle neutron scattering (SANS), light scattering, neutron reflectivity (NR), and surface tension (ST). Using a combination of surface tension and neutron reflectivity, the DHDAB equilibrium surface excess at saturation adsorption has been measured as 2.60 ± 0.05 × 10 -10 mol'cni -2. The values obtained by both methods are in good agreement and are consistent with the values reported for other dialkyl chain surfactants. The critical aggregation concentration (CAC) values obtained from both methods (NR and ST) are also in good agreement, with a mean value for the CAC of 4 ± 2 × 10 -5 M. The surface equilibrium is relatively slow, and this is attributed to monomer depletion in the near surface region, as a consequence of the long monomer residence times in the surfactant aggregates. The solution aggregate morphology has been determined using a combination of SANS, dynamic light scattering (DLS), cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (CryoTEM), and ultrasmall angle neutron scattering (USANS). Within the concentration range 1.5-80 mM, the aggregates are in the form of bilamellar vesicles with a lamellar "d-spacing" of the order of 900 Å. The vesicles are relatively polydisperse with a particle size in the range 2000-4000 Å. Above 80 mM, the bilamellar vesicles coexist with an additional L ß lamellar phase. © 2008 American Chemical Society

Permeability, porosity, and mineral surface area changes in basalt cores induced by reactive transport of CO2-rich brine

Four reactive flow-through laboratory experiments (two each at 0.1 ml/min and 0.01 ml/min flow rates) at 150°C and 150 bar (15 MPa) are conducted on intact basalt cores to assess changes in porosity, permeability, and surface area caused by CO2-rich fluid-rock interaction. Permeability decreases slightly during the lower flow rate experiments and increases during the higher flow rate experiments. At the higher flow rate, core permeability increases by more than one order of magnitude in one experiment and less than a factor of two in the other due to differences in preexisting flow path structure. X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) scans of pre- and post-experiment cores identify both mineral dissolution and secondary mineralization, with a net decrease in XRCT porosity of ∼0.7% – 0.8% for all four cores. (Ultra) small-angle neutron scattering ((U)SANS) datasets indicate an increase in both (U)SANS porosity and specific surface area (SSA) over the ∼ 1 nm- to 10 µm-scale range in post-experiment basalt samples, with differences due to flow rate and reaction time. Net porosity increases from summing XRCT and (U)SANS analyses are consistent with core mass decreases. (U)SANS data suggest an overall preservation of the pore structure with no change in mineral surface roughness from reaction, and the pore structure is unique in comparison to previously published basalt analyses. Together, these datasets illustrate changes in physical parameters that arise due to fluid-basalt interaction in relatively low pH environments with elevated CO2 concentration, with significant implications for flow, transport, and reaction through geologic formations

Permeability, porosity, and mineral surface area changes in basalt cores induced by reactive transport of CO2-rich brine

Four reactive flow-through laboratory experiments (two each at 0.1 ml/min and 0.01 ml/min flow rates) at 150°C and 150 bar (15 MPa) are conducted on intact basalt cores to assess changes in porosity, permeability, and surface area caused by CO2-rich fluid-rock interaction. Permeability decreases slightly during the lower flow rate experiments and increases during the higher flow rate experiments. At the higher flow rate, core permeability increases by more than one order of magnitude in one experiment and less than a factor of two in the other due to differences in preexisting flow path structure. X-ray computed tomography (XRCT) scans of pre- and post-experiment cores identify both mineral dissolution and secondary mineralization, with a net decrease in XRCT porosity of ∼0.7% – 0.8% for all four cores. (Ultra) small-angle neutron scattering ((U)SANS) datasets indicate an increase in both (U)SANS porosity and specific surface area (SSA) over the ∼ 1 nm- to 10 µm-scale range in post-experiment basalt samples, with differences due to flow rate and reaction time. Net porosity increases from summing XRCT and (U)SANS analyses are consistent with core mass decreases. (U)SANS data suggest an overall preservation of the pore structure with no change in mineral surface roughness from reaction, and the pore structure is unique in comparison to previously published basalt analyses. Together, these datasets illustrate changes in physical parameters that arise due to fluid-basalt interaction in relatively low pH environments with elevated CO2 concentration, with significant implications for flow, transport, and reaction through geologic formations

Boehmite and Gibbsite Nanoplates for the Synthesis of Advanced Alumina Products

Boehmite (γ-AlOOH) and gibbsite (α-Al(OH) ) are important archetype (oxy)hydroxides of aluminum in nature that also play diverse roles across a plethora of industrial applications. Developing the ability to understand and predict the properties and characteristics of these materials, on the basis of their natural growth or synthesis pathways, is an important fundamental science enterprise with wide-ranging impacts. The present study describes bulk and surface characteristics of these novel materials in comprehensive detail, using a collectively sophisticated set of experimental capabilities, including a range of conventional laboratory solids analyses and national user facility analyses such as synchrotron X-ray absorption and scattering spectroscopies as well as small-angle neutron scattering. Their thermal stability is investigated using in situ temperature-dependent Raman spectroscopy. These pure and effectively defect-free materials are ideal for synthesis of advanced alumina products. ©