Thermal-mechanical fatigue crack growth in Inconel X-750

Thermal-mechanical fatigue crack growth (TMFCG) was studied in a gamma-gamma' nickel base superalloy Inconel X-750 under controlled load amplitude in the temperature range from 300 to 650 C. In-phase (T sub max at sigma sub max), out-of-phase (T sub min at sigma sub max), and isothermal tests at 650 C were performed on single-edge notch bars under fully reversed cyclic conditions. A dc electrical potential method was used to measure crack length. The electrical potential response obtained for each cycle of a given wave form and R value yields information on crack closure and crack extension per cycle. The macroscopic crack growth rates are reported as a function of delta k and the relative magnitude of the TMFCG are discussed in the light of the potential drop information and of the fractographic observations

Enhancing the Accuracy of Advanced High Temperature Mechanical Testing through Thermography

This paper describes the advantages and enhanced accuracy thermography provides to high temperature mechanical testing. This technique is not only used to monitor, but also to control test specimen temperatures where the infra-red technique enables accurate non-invasive control of rapid thermal cycling for non-metallic materials. Isothermal and dynamic waveforms are employed over a 200–800 °C temperature range to pre-oxidised and coated specimens to assess the capability of the technique. This application shows thermography to be accurate to within ±2 °C of thermocouples, a standardised measurement technique. This work demonstrates the superior visibility of test temperatures previously unobtainable by conventional thermocouples or even more modern pyrometers that thermography can deliver. As a result, the speed and accuracy of thermal profiling, thermal gradient measurements and cold/hot spot identification using the technique has increased significantly to the point where temperature can now be controlled by averaging over a specified area. The increased visibility of specimen temperatures has revealed additional unknown effects such as thermocouple shadowing, preferential crack tip heating within an induction coil, and, fundamental response time of individual measurement techniques which are investigated further

The subthalamic nucleus keeps you high on emotion: behavioral consequences of its inactivation

International audienceThe subthalamic nucleus (STN) belongs to the basal ganglia and is the current target for the surgical treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's Disease (PD) and obsessive compulsive disorders (OCD), but also a proposed site for the treatment of addiction. It is therefore very important to understand its functions in order to anticipate and prevent possible side-effects in the patients. Although the involvement of the STN is well documented in motor, cognitive and motivational processes, less is known regarding emotional processes. Here we have investigated the direct consequences of STN inactivation by excitotoxic lesions on emotional processing and reinforcement in the rat. We have used various behavioral procedures to assess affect for neutral, positive and negative reinforcers in STN lesioned rats. STN lesions reduced affective responses for positive (sweet solutions) and negative (electric foot shock, Lithium Chloride-induced sickness) reinforcers while they had no effect on responses for a more neutral reinforcer (novelty induced place preference (NIPP)). Furthermore, when given the choice between saccharine, a sweet but non caloric solution, and glucose, a more bland but caloric solution, in contrast to sham animals that preferred saccharine, STN lesioned animals preferred glucose over saccharine. Taken altogether these results reveal that STN plays a critical role in emotional processing. These results, in line with some clinical observations in PD patients subjected to STN surgery, suggest possible emotional side-effects of treatments targeting the STN. They also suggest that the increased motivation for sucrose previously reported cannot be due to increased pleasure, but could be responsible for the decreased motivation for cocaine reported after STN inactivation

Energy recovery methodology in industrial processes

International audienceThrough the CERES -2 project, supported by the French Research National Agency (ANR), we have developed an open source software platform, called CERES, to optimize heat recovery in continuous industrial processes. This platform is based on a multi-scale and multi critera methodology for heat recovery optimisation. This methodology is based on the following calculation steps:1. Minimum Energy Requirement identification2. Minimum Exergy Requirement and utilities identification3. Exchanger network constructionAt each step we solve a linear mono-objective problem. The first step allows, from a set of heat flows, to build the composite curves and to determine the minimum heating and cooling energy requirements. With the set of heat flows and a solution of the first step, the second step proposes the introduction of utilities, such as heat pumps or organic Rankine cycle (ORC), to minimize the exergy destruction. The last step is based on an algorithm of heat exchanger network design (HEN) including utilities and heat recovery technologies sizing, based on economic criteria. The set of heat flows are constructed in the platform CERES from industrial processes Modelica models. CERES has been validated with 3 industrial case studies

Differential vulnerability to the punishment of cocaine related behaviours: effects of locus of punishment, cocaine taking history and alternative reinforcer availability.

BACKGROUND: The availability of alternative reinforcement has been shown to reduce drug use, but it remains unclear whether it facilitates a reduction or cessation of drug seeking or taking. OBJECTIVES: We compared the effects of punishment of cocaine seeking or taking behaviour after brief or extended cocaine-taking histories when behavioural reallocation was facilitated or not by making available an alternative ingestive reinforcer (sucrose). METHODS: In the first experiment, punishment of either seeking or taking responses was introduced immediately after training on the seeking-taking chained schedule. In the second experiment, punishment of cocaine seeking was introduced after 12 additional days of either 1 or 6 h daily access to cocaine self-administration. In both experiments, beginning 1 week before the introduction of punishment, a subset of rats had concurrent nose poke access to sucrose while seeking or taking cocaine. RESULTS: The presence of an alternative source of reinforcement markedly facilitated behavioural reallocation from punished cocaine taking after acquisition. It also facilitated punishment-induced suppression of cocaine seeking after an extensive cocaine self-administration history likely by prompting goal-directed motivational control over drug use. However, a significant proportion of rats were deemed compulsive-maintaining drug use after an extensive cocaine history despite the presence of abstinence-promoting positive and negative incentives. CONCLUSION: Making available an alternative reinforcer facilitates disengagement from punished cocaine use through at least two different processes but remains ineffective in a subpopulation of vulnerable animals, which continued to seek cocaine despite the aversive consequence of punishment and the presence of the alternative positive reinforcer.This work was supported by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council (MRC) Grant to BJE (G9536855) and was conducted within the MRC/Wellcome Trust Behavioural and Clinical Neuroscience Institute. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.This is the final published version, which can also be found on the publisher's website here: http://download.springer.com/static/pdf/914/art%253A10.1007%252Fs00213-014-3648-5.pdf?auth66=1404987650_ca63ac8614a2994c56b0f619563ee6af&ext=.pd

Contact resistances in trigate and FinFET devices in a Non-Equilibrium Green's Functions approach

We compute the contact resistances $R_{\rm c}$ in trigate and FinFET devices with widths and heights in the 4 to 24 nm range using a Non-Equilibrium Green's Functions approach. Electron-phonon, surface roughness and Coulomb scattering are taken into account. We show that $R_{\rm c}$ represents a significant part of the total resistance of devices with sub-30 nm gate lengths. The analysis of the quasi-Fermi level profile reveals that the spacers between the heavily doped source/drain and the gate are major contributors to the contact resistance. The conductance is indeed limited by the poor electrostatic control over the carrier density under the spacers. We then disentangle the ballistic and diffusive components of $R_{\rm c}$, and analyze the impact of different design parameters (cross section and doping profile in the contacts) on the electrical performances of the devices. The contact resistance and variability rapidly increase when the cross sectional area of the channel goes below $\simeq 50$ nm$^2$. We also highlight the role of the charges trapped at the interface between silicon and the spacer material.Comment: 16 pages, 15 figure

Tuning of pectin methylesterification: consequences for cell wall biomechanics and development.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00425-015-2358-5Recent publications have increased our knowledge of how pectin composition and the degree of homogalacturonan methylesterification impact the biochemical and biomechanical properties of plant cell walls, plant development, and plants' interactions with their abiotic and biotic environments. Experimental observations have shown that the relationships between the DM, the pattern of de-methylesterificaton, its effect on cell wall elasticity, other biomechanical parameters, and growth are not straightforward. Working towards a detailed understanding of these relationships at single cell resolution is one of the big tasks of pectin research. Pectins are highly complex polysaccharides abundant in plant primary cell walls. New analytical and microscopy techniques are revealing the composition and mechanical properties of the cell wall and increasing our knowledge on the topic. Progress in plant physiological research supports a link between cell wall pectin modifications and plant development and interactions with the environment. Homogalacturonan pectins, which are major components of the primary cell wall, have a potential for modifications such as methylesterification, as well as an ability to form cross-linked structures with divalent cations. This contributes to changing the mechanical properties of the cell wall. This review aims to give a comprehensive overview of the pectin component homogalacturonan, including its synthesis, modification, regulation and role in the plant cell wall.The financial support from the NSERC Postgraduate Scholarships (to G.L.-T.), the Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) to J.P. and a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship to K.M. is gratefully acknowledged

Multifunctional Home Battery Energy Storage with Enhanced Network Connectivity

In the event of a home power outage, loss of power can also be accompanied by loss of network connectivity, and lead to compromised safety and communications, since smart home devices such as security cameras may not be able to reach remote servers. This disclosure describes a smart home with an integrated/multifunctional battery energy storage system (ESS), along with backup connectivity based on satellite networks. The smart home can remain online for long periods of time during power outages, can smartly turn off power-hungry devices to conserve power, use the battery for redundant energy storage, and offer energy storage, connectivity, or other smart features to other homes in the vicinity. The described energy storage system can be a part of a smart home ecosystem