253 research outputs found
Determination of Activation Energy of Relaxation Events in Composite Solid Propellants by Dynamic Mechanical Analysis
The shelf life of a composite solid propellant is one of the critical aspects for the usage of solid propellants. To assess the ageing behavior of the composite solid propellant, the activation energy is a key parameter. The activation energy is determined by analysis of visco-elastic response of the composite solid propellant when subjected to sinusoidal excitation. In the present study, dynamic mechanical analyzer was used to characterize six different types of propellants based on hydroxyl terminated polybutadiene, aluminium, ammonium perchlorate cured with toluene diisocyanate having burning rates varying from 5 mm/s to 25 mm/s at 7000 kPa. Each propellant sample was given a multi-frequency strain of 0.01 percent at three discrete frequencies (3.5 Hz, 11 Hz, 35 Hz) in the temperature range -80 °C to + 80 °C. It was observed that all the propellants have shown two relaxation events (α- and β- transition) in the temperature range -80 °C to +80 °C. The α-transition was observed between -66 °C and -51 °C and β-transition between 7 °C and 44 °C for the propellants studied. The activation energy for both transitions was determined by Arrhenius plot from dynamic properties measured at different frequencies and also by time temperature superposition principle using Williams-Landel-Ferry and Arrhenius temperature dependence equations. The data reveal that the activation energy corresponding to α-transition varies from 90 kJ/mol to 125 kJ/mol for R-value between 0.7 to 0.9 while for β-transition the values are from 75 kJ/mol to 92 kJ/mol. The activation energy corresponding to β-transition may be used to predict the useful life of solid propellant.Defence Science Journal, 2014, 64(2), pp. 173-178. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.64.381
Interactions of inert confiners with explosives
The deformation of an inert confiner by a steady detonation wave in an
adjacent explosive is investigated for cases where the confiner is suciently strong
(or the explosive suciently weak) such that the overall change in the sound speed
of the inert is small. A coupling condition which relates the pressure to the deflection
angle along the explosive-inert interface is determined. This includes its dependence
on the thickness of the inert, for cases where the initial sound speed of the inert
is less than or greater than the detonation speed in the explosive (supersonic and
subsonic inert
ows, respectively). The deformation of the inert is then solved by
prescribing the pressure along the interface. In the supersonic case, the detonation
drives a shock into the inert, subsequent to which the
ow in the inert consists
of alternating regions of compression and tension. In this case reverberations or
`ringing' occurs along both the deflected interface and outer edge of the inert. For
the subsonic case, the
flow in the interior of the inert is smooth and shockless.
The detonation in the explosive initially defl
ects the smooth interface towards the
explosive. For sufficiently thick inerts in such cases, it appears that the deflection
of the confiner would either drive the detonation speed in the explosive up to the
sound speed of the inert or drive a precursor wave ahead of the detonation in the
explosive. Transonic cases, where the inert sound speed is close to the detonation
speed, are also considered. It is shown that the confinement affect of the inert on
the detonation is enhanced as sonic conditions are approached from either side
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Complexation of Plutonium (IV) With Sulfate At Variable Temperatures
The complexation of plutonium(IV) with sulfate at variable temperatures has been investigated by solvent extraction method. A NaBrO{sub 3} solution was used as holding oxidant to maintain the plutonium(IV) oxidation state throughout the experiments. The distribution ratio of Pu(IV) between the organic and aqueous phases was found to decrease as the concentrations of sulfate were increased. Stability constants of the 1:1 and 1:2 Pu(IV)-HSO{sub 4}{sup -} complexes, dominant in the aqueous phase, were calculated from the effect of [HSO{sub 4}{sup -}] on the distribution ratio. The enthalpy and entropy of complexation were calculated from the stability constants at different temperatures using the Van't Hoff equation
Skymrion lattice melting in the quantum Hall system
The melting and magnetic disordering of the skyrmion lattice in the quantum
Hall system at filling factor are studied. A
Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless renormalization group theory is employed to
describe the coupled magnetic and translational degrees of freedom. The
non-trivial magnetic properties of the skyrmion system stem from the in-plane
components of the non-collinear magnetization in the vicinity of skyrmions,
which are described by an antiferromagnetic XY model. In a Coulomb gas
formulation the `particles' are the topological defects of the XY model
(vortices) and of the lattice (dislocations and disclinations). The latter
frustrate the antiferromagnetic order and acquire fractional vorticity in order
to minimize their energy. We find a number of melting/disordering scenarios for
various lattice types. While these results do not depend on a particular model,
we also consider a simple classical model for the skyrmion system. It results
in a rich T=0 phase diagram. We propose that the triangular and square skyrmion
lattices are generically separated by a centered rectangular phase in the
quantum Hall system.Comment: 15 pages with 5 figures. Minor revisions. Important reference to M.
Rao, S. Sengupta, and R. Shankar, Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 3998 (1997) adde
Isolation and evolutionary analysis of Australasian topotype of bluetongue virus serotype 4 from India
Bluetongue (BT) is a Culicoides-borne disease caused by several serotypes of bluetongue virus (BTV). Similar to other insect-borne viral diseases, distribution of BT is limited to distribution of Culicoides species competent to transmit BTV. In the tropics, vector activity is almost year long, and hence, the disease is endemic, with the circulation of several serotypes of BTV, whereas in temperate areas, seasonal incursions of a limited number of serotypes of BTV from neighbouring tropical areas are observed. Although BTV is endemic in all the three major tropical regions (parts of Africa, America and Asia) of the world, the distribution of serotypes is not alike. Apart from serological diversity, geography-based diversity of BTV genome has been observed, and this is the basis for proposal of topotypes. However, evolution of these topotypes is not well understood. In this study, we report the isolation and characterization of several BTV-4 isolates from India. These isolates are distinct from BTV-4 isolates from other geographical regions. Analysis of available BTV seg-2 sequences indicated that the Australasian BTV-4 diverged from African viruses around 3,500 years ago, whereas the American viruses diverged relatively recently (1,684 CE). Unlike Australasia and America, BTV-4 strains of the Mediterranean area evolved through several independent incursions. We speculate that independent evolution of BTV in different geographical areas over long periods of time might have led to the diversity observed in the current virus population
Comparative neuropathology of major Indian Bluetongue virus serotypes in a neonatal BALB/c mouse model
Bluetongue virus (BTV) is neurotropic in nature, especially in ruminant fetuses and in-utero infection results in abortion and congenital brain malformations. The aim of the present study was to compare the neuropathogenicity of major Indian BTV serotypes 1, 2, 10, 16 and 23 by gross and histopathological lesions and virus distribution in experimentally infected neonatal BALB/c mice. Each BTV serotype (20 μl of inoculum containing 1 × 105 tissue culture infectious dose [TCID]50/ml of virus) was inoculated intracerebrally into 3-day-old mice, while a control group was inoculated with mock-infected cell culture medium. Infection with BTV serotypes 1, 2 and 23 led to 65–70% mortality at 7–9 days post infection (dpi) and caused severe necrotizing encephalitis with neurodegenerative changes in neurons, swelling and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, midbrain and brainstem. In contrast, infection with BTV serotypes 10 and 16 led to 25–30% mortality at 9–11 dpi and caused mild neuropathological lesions. BTV antigen was detected by immunohistochemistry, direct fluorescence antibody technique and confocal microscopy in the cytoplasm of neuronal cells of the hippocampus, grey matter of the cerebral cortex and vascular endothelial cells in the midbrain and brainstem of BTV-1, -2, -10, -16 and -23 infected groups from 3 to 20 dpi. BTV nucleic acid was detected in the infected brain tissues from as early as 24 h up to 20 dpi by VP7 gene segment-based one-step reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. This study of the relative neurovirulence of BTV serotypes is likely to help design suitable vaccination and control strategies for the disease
Gravitational Lensing at Millimeter Wavelengths
With today's millimeter and submillimeter instruments observers use
gravitational lensing mostly as a tool to boost the sensitivity when observing
distant objects. This is evident through the dominance of gravitationally
lensed objects among those detected in CO rotational lines at z>1. It is also
evident in the use of lensing magnification by galaxy clusters in order to
reach faint submm/mm continuum sources. There are, however, a few cases where
millimeter lines have been directly involved in understanding lensing
configurations. Future mm/submm instruments, such as the ALMA interferometer,
will have both the sensitivity and the angular resolution to allow detailed
observations of gravitational lenses. The almost constant sensitivity to dust
emission over the redshift range z=1-10 means that the likelihood for strong
lensing of dust continuum sources is much higher than for optically selected
sources. A large number of new strong lenses are therefore likely to be
discovered with ALMA, allowing a direct assessment of cosmological parameters
through lens statistics. Combined with an angular resolution <0.1", ALMA will
also be efficient for probing the gravitational potential of galaxy clusters,
where we will be able to study both the sources and the lenses themselves, free
of obscuration and extinction corrections, derive rotation curves for the
lenses, their orientation and, thus, greatly constrain lens models.Comment: 69 pages, Review on quasar lensing. Part of a LNP Topical Volume on
"Dark matter and gravitational lensing", eds. F. Courbin, D. Minniti. To be
published by Springer-Verlag 2002. Paper with full resolution figures can be
found at ftp://oden.oso.chalmers.se/pub/tommy/mmviews.ps.g
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