A Mathematical Model for the Growth of Aluminum Etch Tunnels

A simulation of the growth of pits on aluminum during anodic etching in hot chloride solutions was developed. The simulation is based on equations for mass transport and for the potential-controlled removal of chloride ions from the dissolving surface. The latter process initiates oxide passivation. Etch pits are found to transform into tunnels which at first maintain parallel sidewalls and then begin to taper. The predicted tunnel shapes agree quantitatively with those measured experimentally. Tunnel formation is possible only when the potential at the tunnel entrance during etching is within 20-30 mV of the repassivation potential; as a result, the size of the dissolving surface is nearly constant during pit growth. In the tapered-width regime of tunnel growth, the AlCl3 concentration at the end of the tunnel is near saturation, despite the absence of precipitation from the model equations. The model shows that this condition derives from the low conductivity of the concentrated solution, coupled with the sensitivity of the rate of surface chloride removal to changes in the potential at the dissolving surface

Solitons in Trapped Bose-Einstein condensates in one-dimensional optical lattices

We use Quantum Monte Carlo simulations to show the presence and study the properties of solitons in the one dimensional soft-core bosonic Hubbard model with near neighbor interaction in traps. We show that when the half-filled Charge Density Wave (CDW) phase is doped, solitons are produced and quasi long range order established. We discuss the implications of these results for the presence and robustness of this solitonic phase in Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC) on one dimensional optical lattices in traps and study the associated excitation spectrum. The density profile exhibits the coexistence of Mott insulator, CDW, and superfluid regions.Comment: 5 pages, Latex with figure

Effect of Impurities on Interfacial Void Formation in Aluminum

The effect of impurities on formation of interfacial metallic voids, during uniform dissolution of aluminum in 1 M NaOH, was investigated. These voids are thought to act as initiation sites for pitting corrosion, and were previously shown to be formed by NaOH dissolution. Samples of three different bulk purities were compared: 99.98, 99.997, and 99.9995%. Positron annihilation spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy revealed that nanometer-scale voids were formed by dissolution in each foil. For each sample, the void volume fraction interpreted from these measurements increased to a maximum during dissolution, and then declined. As the purity increased, more extensive dissolution was required to produce voids. Accumulation of near-surface Cu and Fe impurities during dissolution was characterized using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. The results suggested a possible general correlation of void volume fraction with copper surface concentration. Processes involving near-surface copper impurities may then at least partly control the formation of voids. © 2004 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved

Kinetic Model for Oxide Film Passivation in Aluminum Etch Tunnels

Aluminum etch tunnels are micrometer‐wide corrosion pits with large length‐width aspect ratios, in which dissolution proceeds from the tip or end surfaces, while the sidewalls are covered by oxide films. The dynamics of oxide film passivation in etch tunnels has been investigated using decreasing current ramps superimposed on the otherwise constant applied current during anodic etching in 1 N HCl at 70°C. The ramps cause the dissolving area on the tip to be continuously reduced by passivation around its perimeter. Analysis of potential transients along with tunnel width profiles shows that two additive processes contribute to the passivation rate, expressed as the rate of decrease of actively dissolving area: a potential‐dependent Tafel‐type kinetic expression and a term proportional to the time derivative of the potential. The potential driving force is the “repassivation overpotential,” the difference between the potential at the dissolving surface and the repassivation potential there. The kinetic model for passivation is consistent with both potential transients and tunnel width profiles, over a range of current ramp rates. The rate‐controlling step of passivation is considered to be potential‐dependent removal of chloride ions from the dissolving surface

Corrosion-Related Interfacial Defects Formed by Dissolution of Aluminum in Aqueous Phosphoric Acid

The mechanism was investigated by which pit initiation on aluminum foils during anodic etching is affected by the use of phosphoric acid as a pretreatment. Positron annihilation measurements, coupled with atomic force microscope images of foils with chemically stripped oxide layers, show evidence that the pretreatment introduces nanometer-scale voids in the metal, at or near the metal-oxide film interface. The location and morphology of voids compares favorably with those of pits, suggesting that voids act as pit initiation sites. The number of void sites was estimated to be 107 cm−2, the same magnitude as the maximum number of pits formed by anodic etching. Capacitance measurements further indicate that the treatment decreases the surface oxide thickness to about 2 nm. Formation of large numbers of pits during etching is promoted by either reduced oxide thicknesses or more positive etching potentials. It is suggested that the rate of initiation of pits at interfacial voids is determined by the electric field in the overlying surface oxide

Testing use of mitochondrial COI sequences for the identification and phylogenetic analysis of New Zealand caddisflies (Trichoptera)

We tested the hypothesis that cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) sequences would successfully discriminate recognised species of New Zealand caddisflies. We further examined whether phylogenetic analyses, based on the COI locus, could recover currently recognised superfamilies and suborders. COI sequences were obtained from 105 individuals representing 61 species and all 16 families of Trichoptera known from New Zealand. No sequence sharing was observed between members of different species, and congeneric species showed from 2.3 to 19.5% divergence. Sequence divergence among members of a species was typically low (mean = 0.7%; range 0.0–8.5%), but two species showed intraspecific divergences in excess of 2%. Phylogenetic reconstructions based on COI were largely congruent with previous conclusions based on morphology, although the sequence data did not support placement of the purse-cased caddisflies (Hydroptilidae) within the uncased caddisflies, and, in particular, the Rhyacophiloidea. We conclude that sequence variation in the COI gene locus is an effective tool for the identification of New Zealand caddisfly species, and can provide preliminary phylogenetic inferences. Further research is needed to ascertain the significance of the few instances of high intra-specific divergence and to determine if any instances of sequence sharing will be detected with larger sample sizes

Detection of Corrosion‐Related Defects in Aluminum Using Positron Annihilation Spectroscopy

Near‐surface atomic‐scale defects in aluminum foils of at least 99.98% purity were characterized with positron annihilation spectroscopy measurements of the Doppler‐broadening parameter S. Profiles of S vs. positron beam energy (i.e., vs. depth into the sample) were analyzed with a model for positron diffusion and trapping in order to characterize the defect layer structure. As‐received foils were shown to possess a defect layer within 10 to 100 nm of the oxide film/metal interface. Both dissolution in aqueous sodium hydroxide solution and anodic pitting corrosion in caused significant changes in the position spectra which were interpreted as increases in the defect population. On the basis of isochronal annealing, the defects were impurity‐complexed voids or vacancy clusters, or else interfacial voids at the metal/film boundary located at surface roughness features. Either case suggests a possible role for the defects as pit sites, since both near‐surface impurities and surface roughness are known to influence the number of pits on a surface. Defects found after pitting may be present in layers surrounding individual pits, and might have been produced in the process of pit initiation

Coaxial prime focus feeds for paraboloidal reflectors

A TE11 - TM11 dual mode coaxial feed for use in prime focus paraboloidal antenna systems is investigated. The scattering matrix parameters of the internal bifurcation junction was determined by the residue calculus technique. The scattering parameters and radiation fields of the aperture were found from the Weinstein solution. The optimum modeing ratio for minimum cross-polarization was determined along with the corresponding optimum feed dimensions. A peak cross-polarization level of -58 dB is predicted. The frequency characteristics were also investigated and a bandwidth of 5% is predicted over which the cross-polarization remains below -30 dB, the input VSWR is below 1.15, and the phase error is less than 10 deg. Theoretical radiation patterns and efficiency curves for a paraboloidal reflector illuminated by this feed were computed. The predicted sidelobe level is below -30 dB and aperture efficiencies greater than 70% are possible. Experimental results are also presented that substantiates the theoretical results. In addition, experimental results for a 'short-cup' coaxial feed are given. The report includes extensive design data for the dual-mode feed along with performance curves showing cross-polarization as a function of feed parameters. The feed is useful for low-cost ground based receiving antennas for use in direct television satellite broadcasting service