Analysis of rheological behaviour of titanium feedstocks formulated with a water-soluble binder system for powder injection moulding

Binder selection and formulation are critical in powder injection moulding. Binders play a key role in controlling the rheological properties of a feedstock and influence whether the resulting feedstock can be successfully injection moulded, debound and sintered without defects. A four-step process was used to mix hydride-dehydride titanium alloy (processed) powder (Ti-6Al-4 V) with a polyethylene glycol (PEG) based water soluble binder system. The rheological properties, including flow behaviour index, flow activation energy, fluidity and melt flow index of the homogeneous feedstock, were determined with a capillary rheometer. All feedstock formulations exhibited shear thinning flow behaviour. The optimum feedstock consisting of 60 vol.% powder content, 32 vol.% PEG, 6 vol.% polyvinyl butyryl and 2 vol.% stearic acid was suitable for titanium injection moulding

An estimate of the stratospheric contribution to springtime tropospheric ozone maxima using TOPSE measurements and beryllium-7 simulations

Measurements of tropospheric ozone (O3) between 30°N and 70°N show springtime maxima at remote locations. The contribution of seasonal changes in stratosphere–troposphere exchange (STE) to these maxima was investigated using measurements from the Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox Experiment (TOPSE) campaign and the beryllium-7 (7Be) distribution from a calculation driven by fields from the Goddard Earth Observing System Data Assimilation System (GEOS DAS). Comparison with TOPSE measurements revealed that upper tropospheric model-calculated 7Be mixing ratios were reasonable (a change from previous calculations) but that lower tropospheric mixing ratios were too low most likely due to an overestimation of scavenging. Temporal fluctuations were well captured although their amplitudes were often underestimated. Analysis of O3measurements indicated that O3 mixing ratios increased by 5–10% month−1 for θ \u3c 300 K (the underworld) and by 10–15% month−1 for θ \u3e 300 K (the tropospheric middleworld). 7Be mixing ratios decreased with time for θ \u3c 290 K and increased with time for θ \u3e 300 K. Model-calculated middleworld increases of 7Be were a factor of 2 less than measured increases. 7Be with a stratospheric source (strat-7Be) increased by 4.6–8.8% month−1 along TOPSE flight paths within the tropospheric middleworld. Increases in strat-7Be were not seen along TOPSE flight paths in the underworld. Assuming changes in tropospheric O3 with a stratospheric source are the same as changes in strat-7Be and that 50% of O3 in the region of interest is produced in the stratosphere, changes in STE explain 20–60% of O3 increases in the tropospheric middleworld and less than 33% of O3 increases in the underworld

Lightning NOx Production and Its Consequences for Tropospheric Chemistry

Cloud-resolving case-study simulations of convective transport and lightning NO production have yielded results which are directly applicable to the design of lightning parameterizations for global chemical transport models. In this work we have used cloud-resolving models (the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble Model (GCE) and MMS) to drive an off-line cloud-scale chemical transport model (CSCTM). The CSCTM, in conjunction with aircraft measurements of NO x in thunderstorms and ground-l;>ased lightning observations, has been used to constrain the amount of NO produced per flash. Cloud and chemistry simulations for several case studies of storms in different environments will be presented. Observed lightning flash rates have been incorporated into the CSCTM, and several scenarios of NO production per intracloud (IC) and per cloud-to-ground (CG) flash have been tested for each storm. The resulting NOx mixing ratios are compared with aircraft measurements taken within the storm (typically the anvil region) to determine the most likely NO production scenario. The range of values of NO production per flash (or per meter of lightning channel length) that have been deduced from the model will be shown and compared with values of production in the literature that have been deduced from observed NO spikes and from anvil flux calculations. Results show that on a per flash basis, IC flashes are nearly as productive of NO as CG flashes. This result simplifies the lightning parameterization for global models (ie., an algorithm for estimating the IC/CG ratio is not necessary). Vertical profiles of lightning NOx mass at the end of the 3-D storm simulations have been summarized to yield suggested profiles for use in global models. Estimates of mean NO production per flash vary by a factor of three from one simulated storm to another. When combined with the global flash rate of 44 flashes per second from NASA's Optical Transient Detector (OTD) measurements, these estimates and the results from other techniques yield global NO production rates of2-9 TgN/year. Simulations of the photochemistry over the 24 hours following a storm has been performed to determine the additional ozone production which can be attributed to lightning NO. Convective transport of HOx precursors leads to the generation of a HOx plume which substantially aids the downstream ozone production

The Bright and the Dark Side of Malin 1

Malin 1 has long been considered a prototype giant, dark matter dominated Low Surface Brightness galaxy. Two recent studies, one based on a re-analysis of VLA HI observations and the other on an archival Hubble I-band image, throw a new light on this enigmatic galaxy and on its dark/luminous matter properties.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to appear in the Proceedings of the 41st ESLAB Symposium "The Impact of HST on European Astronomy", 29 May to 1 June 2007, ESTEC, Noordwijk, N

Observations of ozone production in a dissipating tropical convective cell during TC4

From 13 July–9 August 2007, 25 ozonesondes were launched from Las Tablas, Panama as part of the Tropical Composition, Cloud, and Climate Coupling (TC4) mission. On 5 August, a strong convective cell formed in the Gulf of Panama. World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) data indicated 563 flashes (09:00–17:00 UTC) in the Gulf. NO2 data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) show enhancements, suggesting lightning production of NOx. At 15:05 UTC, an ozonesonde ascended into the southern edge of the now dissipating convective cell as it moved west across the Azuero Peninsula. The balloon oscillated from 2.5–5.1 km five times (15:12–17:00 UTC), providing a unique examination of ozone (O3) photochemistry on the edge of a convective cell. Ozone increased at a rate of 1.6–4.6 ppbv/hr between the first and last ascent, resulting cell wide in an increase of (2.1–2.5)×106 moles of O3. This estimate agrees to within a factor of two of our estimates of photochemical lightning O3 production from the WWLLN flashes, from the radar-inferred lightning flash data, and from the OMI NO2 data (1.2, 1.0, and 1.7×106 moles, respectively), though all estimates have large uncertainties. Examination of DC-8 in situ and lidar O3 data gathered around the Gulf that day suggests 70–97% of the O3 change occurred in 2.5–5.1 km layer. A photochemical box model initialized with nearby TC4 aircraft trace gas data suggests these O3 production rates are possible with our present understanding of photochemistry