Metallurgical and corrosion characterization of structural materials for S-I cycle

Tensile testing involving Alloy C-22 and Nb1Zr exhibited reduced strength with increasing temperature within a range relevant to the Hlx decomposition process. A reduction in failure strain was however, noted, at 100°C possibly due to dynamic strain aging effect. Even though the ductility parameters were not influenced by the change in temperature in stress-corrosion-cracking (SCC) testing in an acidic solution the true in this alloy was reduced appreciably. Nb1Zr did not exhibit any failure stress conventional SCC pattern. The critical potentials for localized corrosion in both alloys became more active at higher temperatures. No cracking was observed with C-ring and U-bend specimens of Alloy C-22 in a similar environment at 150°C. The corrosion rate of Alloy C-22 was gradually reduced for exposure up to 28 days followed by an enhancement at a longer duration. The characterization of primary fracture surface of cylindrical specimens used in tensile and SCC testing exhibited dimpled microstructure, indicating ductile failures

Improving Access to Adult Home-Based Palliative Care Through Medicaid Expansion

Background: Palliative care is associated with a more than fifty percent reduction in costs associated with end-of-life care. Currently 30% of Vermonters receive their healthcare through Vermont’s state Medicaid program. Despite this large proportion of Medicaid recipients, there is no Medicaid-funded home-based palliative care program in the state. The objective of this project is to better understand the need for home-based palliative care and assess the barriers to these services. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted to develop a palliative care service package based on the models of Arizona, California, and Hawaii. Interviews with medical professionals and a focus group with representatives from multiple Home Health Agencies (HHAs) were conducted. The interviews and focus group were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were reviewed by two separate coders in NVivo software, and the codes reconciled to unify qualitative themes and quotes. Results: From qualitative data, several core themes were extracted such as: benefits to healthcare, staffing and reimbursement, and education. Overall, benefits to providers and patients and educational gaps were among the most emphasized themes. Staffing and reimbursement were the primary concerns for HHAs for whom fee-for-service models may not be sufficient. Conclusion: Implementation of home-based palliative care services can benefit patients and healthcare providers by reducing hospitalizations and enhancing patient care. Delivery of these services remains challenging due to a variety of factors, including financial and staffing constraints from HHAs and educational gaps within the healthcare community. Medicaid expansion may help ensure effective palliative care delivery in Vermont.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/comphp_gallery/1341/thumbnail.jp

Mineralogical composition and microalgae communities of solar salt tumuli from Tuticorin, Southeast coast of India

498-502The present work deals with the microbial population and mineralogical composition of solar salt pan tumuli (gypsum crust).  Tumuli containing multicolor layered microbial communities develop in the crystallizer ponds of commercial salterns. The upper crust is densely populated by orange unicellular cyanobacteria. Below is a layer of green- colored filamentous cyanobacteria. Bacillariophyta and Chlorophyta groups are also identified microscopically. X-ray powder diffractometer (XRD) patterns and the intensity peaks observed in tumuli indicated the predominance of gypsum, calcite and halite along with other associated minor minerals viz; quartz, chlorite, kaolinite, ilmenite and illite are confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The scanning electron microscopic (SEM) analysis of tumuli was also carried. Associated occurrence of mineralogical composition and microbial communities are highlighted and investigated

Characterization of Structural Materials for Nuclear Hydrogen Generation

Generation of hydrogen as an alternate source of energy using nuclear power is creating significant global attention. While different routes are being explored to achieve this goal, the use of thermochemical processes such as a sulfur-iodine (S-I) cycle is a leading technique, which is currently being preferred by the United States Department of Energy. The S-I cycle involves the decomposition of hydroiodic acid at elevated temperatures leading to the formation of hydrogen. A several structural materials have been identified to characterize their metallurgical and corrosion behavior in environments relevant to the nuclear hydrogen generation system. This paper presents the results of stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen embrittlement and localized corrosion studies of a few refractory materials such as Zr702, Zr705, Nb7.5Ta and Nb1Zr. In addition, the results of tensile testing of these materials at ambient and elevated (up to 400oC) temperatures will be included. The metallographic and fractographic data will also be presented in this paper