Microstructural characterization of pre-shocked and post-shocked powder

Issued as Monthly cost status reports [nos. 1-16], and Final technical report, Project E-18-X0

Mechanisms of shock-initiated intermetallic reactions

Issued as Final report, Project E-18-69

Unraveling the Role of Interfaces on the Spall Failure of Cu/Ta Multilayered Systems.

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are carried out to investigate the effects of the type and spacing of FCC/BCC interfaces on the deformation and spall behavior. The simulations are carried out using model Cu/Ta multilayers with six different types of interfaces. The results suggest that interface type can significantly affect the structure and intensity of the incoming shock wave, change the activated slip systems, alter dislocation slip and twinning behavior, affect where and how voids are nucleated during spallation and the resulting spall strength. Moreover, the above aspects are significantly affected by the interface spacing. A transition from homogeneous to heterogeneous dislocation nucleation occurs as the interface spacing is decreased to 6 nm. Depending on interface type and spacing, damage (voids) nucleation and spall failure is observed to occur not only at the Cu/Ta interfaces, but also in the weaker Cu layer interior, or even in the stronger Ta layer interior, although different mechanisms underlie each of these three distinct failure modes. These findings point to the fact that, depending on the combination of interface type and spacing, interfaces can lead to both strengthening and weakening of the Cu/Ta multilayered microstructures

Shockwave synthesis of a thallium-based superconductor with a novel defect microstructure

We report the shock-wave synthesis at a yield ≳80% by volume of the single copper layer thalliumsuperconductor of composition Tl2Ba2CuO6. The as-synthesized material displays zero resistance near 55 K and a diamagnetic onset to bulk superconductivity at 70 K. Lattice imaging indicates that the superconducting microcrystals consist of a novel defect microstructure involving an intergrowth of two copper-oxygen layers probably interleaved by partial thallium and barium occupancy

Serum phospholipid fraction of polyunsaturated fatty acids is the preferred indicator for nutrition and health status in hemodialysis patients

Long chain (LC) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) are major components of cell membrane phospholipids (PL) and serve as precursors for numerous bioactive lipid derivatives. Fatty acids (FA) are routinely analyzed in biological samples to assess composition of tissues, cells, and lipid fractions. In human studies, serum or plasma is often used because of their easy procurement. However, the lipid pool in serum and plasma is a mixture of triacylglycerol (TG), PL, cholesterol and its esters, and other components. Herein, we report findings from a serum FA analysis after fractionation of polar and neutral lipids by solid phase extraction in a large cohort of 400 hemodialysis patients. LC PUFA were found concentrated in the polar fraction compared to the total or the neutral lipid fraction. When correlated with clinical markers of disease, a greater number of significant correlations were found for PUFA in polar compared to total or the neutral fraction. We also observed that polar lipids are a reliable reflection of LC PUFA status compared to the total or neutral fractions because the latter are diluted by non-essential FA. The relative amounts of LC PUFA in the total and neutral fractions reflect the contribution of TG in blood that varies with diet, age, and physiologic state. Our data indicate that LC PUFA in the polar fraction are superior indicators of bioactive FA-status than in the total or the neutral fraction and should be used to establish important links between PUFA status, their bioactive substrates in hemodialysis patients

Wear Properties of A Shock Consolidated Metallic Glass and Glass-Crystalline Mixtures

Powder flakes prepared from 50 μm thick melt spun ribbons of Markomet 1064 (Ni_(52.5)Mo_(38)Cr_8 B_(1.5) wt%) were shock consolidatedin the unannealed and annealed condition. The unannealed flakes (microhardness 933 kg/mm^2) are amorphous while flakes annealed at 900ºC for 2 hours have an fcc structure with a grain size of 0.3 μm and microhardness of 800 kg/mm^2. The shock consolidated amorphous powder compact (250 kJ/kg shock energy) shows no crystal peaks in an X-ray diffractometer scan. Compacts of annealed powder (400 to 600 kJ/kg shock energies) contain amorphous material (18-21%) which was rapidly quenched from the melt formed at interparticle regions during the consolidation process. The microhardness of the amorphous interparticle material is 1100 kg/mm^2. Wear properties of the compacts measured in low velocity pin on disk tests show low average dynamic friction values (∿0.03). The 60 hour cumulative wear appears to correlate with the energy of shock compaction and surface porosity of the compacts rather than the metallic glass content