Three Design Basis Accidents’ Analysis on the HTR-10GT

The study simulated the design basis accidents (DBAs) sequences of the HTR-10GT core with THERMIX. When a DBA happens, the protection system will receive a scram signal which shall lead to active measures to shut down the reactor following it. In the paper, three typical DBA cases were studied. They include an accident induced by station blackout, a case caused by the withdrawal of one control rod out of the core by a mistake, and a case resulting from an earthquake, respectively. The simulation results illustrate that the fuel peak temperatures in the core during these accidents are 1066°C, 1201°C and 1067°C, respectively. It is shown that the HTR-10GT has a good safety characteristic

Occurrence of Perfluoroalkyl Compounds in Surface Waters from the North Pacific to the Arctic Ocean

Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration; National Natural Science Foundation of China [40776003]Perfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) were determined in 22 surface water samples (39-76 degrees N) and three sea ice core and snow samples (77-87 degrees N) collected from North Pacific to the Arctic Ocean during the fourth Chinese Arctic Expedition in 2010. Geographically, the average concentration of Sigma PFC in surface water samples were 560 +/- 170 pg L-1 for the Northwest Pacific Ocean, 500 +/- 170 pg L-1 for the Arctic Ocean, and 340 +/- 130 pg L-1 for the Bering Sea, respectively. The perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) were the dominant PFC class in the water samples, however, the spatial pattern of PFCs varied. The C-5, C-7 and C-8 PFCAs (i.e., perfluoropentanoate (PFPA), perfluoroheptanoate (PFHpA), and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA)) were the dominant PFCs in the Northwest Pacific Ocean while in the Bering Sea the PFPA dominated. The changing in the pattern and concentrations in Pacific Ocean indicate that the PFCs in surface water were influenced by sources from the East-Asian (such as Japan and China) and North American coast, and dilution effect during their transport to the Arctic. The presence of PFCs in the snow and ice core samples indicates an atmospheric deposition of PFCs in the Arctic. The elevated PFC concentration in the Arctic Ocean shows that the ice melting had an impact on the PFC levels and distribution. In addition, the C-4 and C-5 PFCAs (i.e., perfluorobutanoate (PFBA), PFPA) became the dominant PFCs in the Arctic Ocean indicating that PFBA is a marker for sea ice melting as the source of exposure

Spatial distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds in coastal waters from the East to South China Sea

The spatial distribution of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) were investigated in coastal waters collected onboard research vessel Snow Dragon from the East to South China Sea in 2010. All samples were prepared by solid-phase extraction and analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography/negative electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC/(-)ESI-MS/MS). Concentrations of 9 PFCs, including C4 and C8 (PFBS, PFOS) perfluoroalkyl sulfonate (PFSAs), C 5-C9 and C13 (PFPA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFTriDA) perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs), and N-ethyl perfluorooctane sulfonamide (EtFOSA) were quantified. The 危PFC concentrations ranged from 133 pg/L to 3320 pg/L, with PFOA (37.5-1541 pg/L), PFBS (23.0-941 pg/L) and PFHpA (0-422 pg/L) as dominant compounds. Concentrations of PFCs were greater in coastal waters along Shanghai, Ningbo, Taizhou, Xiamen and along coastal cities of the Guangdong province compared to less populated areas along the east Chinese coast. Additionally, the comparison with other seawater PFC measurements showed lower levels in this study. 漏 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

CFD Simulation and Performance Investigation on a Novel Bionic Spider-Web-Type Flow Field for PEM Fuel Cells

The products generated by the electrochemical reaction in the PEM fuel cell (PEMFC) are mainly concentrated in the flow field on the cathode side of the bipolar plate, and the oxygen introduced on the cathode has higher requirements to improve its diffusion performance by using the flow field structure. For this reason, the optimization of the cathode flow field of the PEMFC is essential. Inspired by the structure of a spider web, this paper proposes a novel spider-web-type flow field. In this kind of flow field, the shape of a polygonal structure and the number of layers of spiral flow channels are the two most crucial variables. In order to explore the impact of these two variables on the cathode flow field, complete three-dimensional PEMFC models with different values of the two variables were established, and the models were simulated by the method of CFD. By observing the results of oxygen distribution, the water removal performance and fuel cell output performance of different schemes, the optimal scheme of the polygonal structure and layer number are determined. Compared with the traditional flow field, it is proved that the optimization scheme is desirable in improving the performance of the cathode flow field in PEMFC

Geological Characteristics of Von Kármán Crater, Northwestern South Pole-Aitken Basin: Chang'E-4 Landing Site Region

International audienc

Sub-surface stratification and dielectric permittivity distribution at the Chang’E-4 landing site revealed by the lunar penetrating radar

Context. In 2019, China’s Chang’E-4 (CE-4) probe landed on the far side of the Moon: a first in lunar exploration. The Lunar Penetrating Radar (LPR) mounted on the Yutu-2 rover allows the mapping of the near-surface structure and the dielectric permittivity of the landing area. The dielectric properties of the lunar soil affect the propagation of the LPR signals, which can be used to infer the depth of sub-surface boundaries and derive the composition of the component materials. Aims. Our objectives are to estimate the fine-resolution spatial distribution of relative permittivity and to improve the interpretation of the geological processes combined with the radargram of the CE-4 landing area. Methods. We used a modified method that combines the F-K migration and the minimum entropy of the ground penetrating radar (GPR) signals to estimate the velocity and permittivity values; this has the advantage of obtaining the appropriate velocity and permittivity, even with the incomplete or unnoticeable hyperbolic curves in the radar image Results. The sub-surface stratification of the CE-4 landing area is seen in the first 31 lunar days of the LPR data. A fine-resolution dielectric permittivity profile ranging from ~2.3 to ~6.3 is obtained with our method, and the actual depths of the observed prominent sub-surface interfaces are determined, giving a maximum average depth of ~38 m. The thickness of the regolith layer is in the range of ~5.7–15.6 m, with an average of 11.8 m. The permittivity of the near-surface regolith (<30 cm) is ~2.78 ± 0.01, the bulk density is 1.57 ± 0.01 g cm−3, which is close to the results of ~1.61 g cm−3 at the Apollo 15 landing area. The permittivity map is consistent with the radargram; the regolith and the paleo-regolith layer have relatively low permittivity and low echo strengths, while the rock debris has high permittivity and shows strong echos in the radargram. Two buried craters of different diameters beneath the navigation sites 4–11 and 16–31 are revealed in the radar profile. The permittivity distribution map can show detailed variations of material properties both inside and outside craters

Thickness of Lunar Mare Basalts: New Results Based on Modeling the Degradation of Partially Buried Craters

International audiencePartially buried craters on the Moon are those craters whose distal ejecta are covered by lava flows and where the crater rim crest still protrudes above the mare plain. Based on the difference in rim heights between a partially buried crater and an unburied crater, previous studies estimated the thicknesses of the lunar mare basalts. However, these studies did not consider the erosion of the crater rim height, which can result in an overestimate in the derived thickness. By using recent high-resolution topographic data, we report a basalt thickness estimation method based on numerically modeling the topographic degradation of partially buried craters. We identified 661 buried craters over the lunar surface, and their spatial distribution suggests a preferential occurrence along the mare-highland boundaries. An elevation model of fresh lunar craters was derived, and the topographic diffusion equation was used to model crater degradation. By modeling the formation, degradation, and flooding of partially buried craters, basalt thicknesses were estimated for 41 mare craters whose rims are completely exposed. The resulting mare basalt thicknesses vary from 33 to 455 m, with a median value of 105 m that is 95 m smaller than that derived when not considering crater degradation. The estimated eruption rate of lunar mare basalts is found to have peaked at 3.4 Ga and then decreased with time, indicating a progressive cooling of the lunar interior. As a by-product from the crater degradation model, our results suggest that the topographic diffusivity of lunar craters increases with diameter. Plain Language Summary The thickness of mare basalts that partially cover a lunar crater can be estimated from the crater shape. To simplify this problem, previous studies used the shape of a fresh lunar crater, which had been well-characterized beforehand. In reality, however, the lunar crater degrades with time, which results in a more complicated, time-dependent crater shape. In this study, a crater degradation model is used to better estimate mare basalt thicknesses. Our results show that the mare basalt thickness could be overestimated by a factor of two when crater degradation is not considered. Our results constrain the volcanic eruption rate with time and imply that the crater degradation rate scales with crater size

Calcium carbonate promotes the formation and stability of soil macroaggregates in mining areas of China

We studied changes in the concentrations of aggregate-cementing agents after different reclamation times and with different fertilization regimes, as well as the formation mechanism of aggregates in reclaimed soil, to provide a theoretical basis for rapid reclamation of soil fertility in the subsidence area of coal mines in Shanxi Province, China. In this study, soil samples of 0–20 cm depth were collected from four fertilization treatments of a long-term experiment started in 2008: no fertilizer (CK), inorganic fertilizer (NPK), chicken manure compost (M), and 50% inorganic fertilizer plus 50% chicken manure compost (MNPK). The concentrations of cementing agents and changes in soil aggregate size distribution and stability were analysed. The results showed that the formation of >2 mm aggregates, the aggregate mean weight diameter (MWD), and the proportion of >0.25 mm water-stable aggregates (WR0.25) increased significantly after 6 and 11 years of reclamation. The concentration of organic cementing agents tended to increase with reclamation time, whereas free iron oxide (Fed) and free aluminium oxide (Ald) concentrations initially increased but then decreased. In general, the MNPK treatment significantly increased the concentrations of organic cementing agents and CaCO3, and CaCO3 increased by 60.4% at 11 years after reclamation. Additionally, CaCO3 had the greatest effect on the stability of aggregates, promoting the formation of >0.25 mm aggregates and accounting for 54.4% of the variance in the proportion and stability of the aggregates. It was concluded that long-term reclamation is beneficial for improving soil structure. The MNPK treatment was the most effective measure for increasing maize grain yield and concentration of organic cementing agents and CaCO3

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers vs Alternate Brominated Flame Retardants and Dechloranes from East Asia to the Arctic

Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, State Oceanic Administration of ChinaMarine boundary layer air and seawater samples taken during a polar expedition cruise from East China Sea to the Arctic were analyzed in order to compare the occurrence, distribution, and fate of the banned polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) with their brominated alternatives as well as the chlorinated Dechloranes. The sum of PBDEs (Sigma(10)PBDEs) in the atmosphere ranged from 0.07 to 8.1 pg m(-3) with . BDE-209 being the dominating congener and from not detected (n.d.) to 0.6 pg L(-1) in seawater. Alternate brominated flame retardants (BFRs), especially hexabromobenzene (HBB), (2,3-dibromopropyl-2,4,6-tribromophenyl ether (DPTE), pentabromotoluene (PBT), 2 ethylhexyl 2,3,4,5-tetrabromobenzoate (EHTBB), bis-(2-ethylhexyl)-tetrabromophthalate (TBPH), were detected in higher concentrations than PBDEs, even in the high Arctic (0.6 to 15.4 pg m(-3) for sum of alternate BFRs), indicating the change of PBDEs toward alternate BFRs in the environmental predominance. In addition, Dechlorane Plus (DP) as well as Dechlorane 602, 603, and 604 were detected both in the atmosphere and in seawater. The highest concentrations as well as the highest compound variability were observed in East Asian samples suggesting the Asian continent as source of these compounds in the marine environment The air-seawater exchange indicates strong deposition, especially of alternate BFRs, as well as dry particle-bound deposition of BDE-209 into the ocean