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At least 613 records · Page 34

Operation of the H- Linac at FNAL

The Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) Linac has been in operation for 52 years. In approximately four years, it will be replaced by a new 800 MeV superconducting machine, the PIP-II SRF Linac. In the current configuration, the Linac delivers H- ions at 400 MeV and injects protons by charge exchange into the Booster synchrotron. Despite its age, the Linac is the most stable accelerator in the FNAL complex, reliably sending 22 mA in daily operations. We will discuss the status of the operation, beam studies, and plans.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Perspectives on Gamma-Ray Pulsar Emission

Pulsars are powerful sources of radiation across the electromagnetic spectrum. This paper highlights some theoretical insights into non-thermal, magnetospheric pulsar gamma-ray radiation. These advances have been driven by NASA's Fermi mission, launched in mid-2008. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument on Fermi has afforded the discrimination between polar cap and slot gap/outer gap acceleration zones in young and middle-aged pulsars. Altitude discernment using the highest energy pulsar photons will be addressed, as will spectroscopic interpretation of the primary radiation mechanism in the LAT band, connecting to both polar cap/slot gap and outer gap scenarios. Focuses will mostly be on curvature radiation and magnetic pair creation, including population trends that may afford probes of the magnetospheric accelerating potential.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Optimal Pre-hydration Age for CO 2 Sequestration through Portland Cement Carbonation

An emerging technology of CO 2 sequestration in Portland cement (PC) is through accelerated carbonation, where PC is intentionally carbonated at early hydration age and reinitiates long-term hydration upon completion of carbonation. However, the current literature has overlooked a fact that different PC hydration ages prior to carbonation (pre-hydration) could lead to distinct carbonation efficiencies and subsequent hydration behaviors (post-hydration). Here, we examine the effects of length of pre-hydration period on CO 2 uptake and on the hydration extent and final strength at 28 days. The CO 2 and H 2 O profiles in the carbonated PC were examined with thermogravimetric analysis/derivative thermogravimetric analysis. The pre-hydration path was traced with isothermal calorimetry. Experimental results suggested that extension of pre-hydration decreased CO 2 uptake, but enhanced the extent of PC hydration at 28 days. It was found that a pre-hydration beyond the late deceleration period of PC hydration (where heat generation is slowing down) led to a higher hydrate content of cement paste, hence forming a higher compressive strength of mortar compared to the noncarbonated benchmarks at 28 days. The lesser carbonation-induced water loss and the nucleation seeding enabled by calcium carbonate are likely responsible for this effect. Furthermore, the finding reported here should be useful for fine tuning PC carbonation process for CO 2 sequestration in concrete.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effect of hypovolemia, infusion, and oral rehydration on gradual onset +Gz acceleration tolerance

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of blood withdrawal, blood infusion, and oral fluid intake on +Gz tolerance at an acceleration rate of 0.5 G/min. Six healthy men aged 21-27 yr were centrifuged after the withdrawal of 400 ml of blood (hypovolemia) from each man; they were centrifuged again following blood infusion (Phase I). Three weeks later the men were accelerated after similar hypovolemia and again after consuming 800 ml of an isotonic NaCl drink (Phase II). Phase I hypovolemia resulted in a reduction in tolerance in all subjects from a mean control level of 6.42 + or - 0.35 min to 5.45 + or - 0.17 min (-15.1%, p less than 0.05). Both infusion and drinking returned tolerances to control levels. During acceleration there were significant (p less than 0.05) increases in plasma vasopressin levels to 35 pg/ml; these were not influenced appreciably by infusion or drinking. In all acceleration runs there was an obligatory shift (loss) of plasma volume and electrolytes, especially potassium, regardless of the experimental treatments. Oral rehydration is shown to be as effective as blood replacement in restoring +Gz acceleration tolerance decrements due to hypovolemia.

Greenleaf, J. E.↗

Enhanced strength and electrical conductivity of ultrafine-grained Al-Mg-Si alloy processed by hydrostatic extrusion

Highlights: • Al-Mg-Si alloy was subjected to hydrostatic extrusion combined with aging treatment. • UFG Al-Mg-Si alloy with UTS of 332 MPa and conductivity of 58% IACS was obtained. • Precipitation process depended on applied strains and crystallographic texture. • Strengthening effect was achieved by UFG structure and needle-like β″ precipitates. • Precipitation of β″ and spherical β′/β particles at GB provided high conductivity. - Abstract: The effect of hydrostatic extrusion combined with an artificial aging on microstructure, mechanical and electrical properties of 6101 Al-Mg-Si alloy was investigated. It has been shown that such thermo-mechanical treatment is an effective method for producing of long wires with an ultrafine-grained microstructure (grain size of 300–400 nm) and enhanced ultimate tensile strength (> 330 MPa) and electrical conductivity (up to 58% IACS). The mechanical behavior of 6101 Al-Mg-Si alloy depended strongly on applied strains by hydrostatic extrusion and crystallographic texture. Higher accumulative strain accelerated the precipitation kinetics but decreased the age hardening response. The double fiber <100> and <111> texture was observed for hydrostatically extruded samples. The <001> grains with homogenously distributed needle-like β″ precipitates provided precipitation strengthening of material while <111> grains resulted in more efficient grain boundary strengthening. Quantitative microstructure characterization allowed adjusting physical model to estimate the electrical conductivity and compare it with experimental data. The high conductivity was provided mainly by decomposition of solid solution due to precipitation of needle-like β″ precipitates in the grain interior and spherical β′ or β particles located at grain boundaries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

System impacts of accelerated transfer of used nuclear fuel to dry storage - 15220

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, and again after the March 11, 2011, accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi station from the Great East Japan Earthquake/tsunami, concern was expressed regarding security of current spent fuel storage practices in the United States. An approach recurrently proposed to reduce the potential for fire and the release of radionuclides in an accident or sabotage scenario is to reduce the loading of the reactor fuel pools, which are frequently maintained near their full capacity at many reactor sites in the U.S. We assess the impact on the waste management system of different scenarios for accelerating the schedule of used nuclear fuel (UNF) transfer from reactor pools to dry storage casks. We consider scenarios where the spent fuel pools are drawn down to 50% or 25% of full capacity over 5- or 10-year schedules. The scenarios include status quo, where UNF continues to remain in dry storage at the reactor sites, as well as scenarios with UNF transfer to interim storage and eventually to a mined geologic repository. The primary purpose is to evaluate how the different scenarios for accelerating the transfer of UNF to at-reactor dry storage would affect the performance of the entire UNF management system. Areas that were considered include an estimate of the additional system costs that could be incurred and where the existing infrastructure at the reactor sites would come under stress from the transfer demands. This study considered only the fuel-handling logistics and rough-order-of-magnitude cost at reactor sites, interim storage facility, and operations to package UNF into disposal canisters. The effects of minimum fuel age that could be transferred and the accelerated transfer starting date are also examined, but found to have relatively little effect. Impacts on safety and worker dose are not evaluated quantitatively, although effects can be inferred from increases in handling operations, etc. from the scenarios considered. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Concepts of association between cancer and ionising radiation: accounting for specific biological mechanisms

The probability that an observed cancer was caused by radiation exposure is usually estimated using cancer rates and risk models from radioepidemiological cohorts and is called assigned share (AS). This definition implicitly assumes that an ongoing carcinogenic process is unaffected by the studied radiation exposure. However, there is strong evidence that radiation can also accelerate an existing clonal development towards cancer. In this work, we define different association measures that an observed cancer was newly induced, accelerated, or retarded. The measures were quantified exemplarily by Monte Carlo simulations that track the development of individual cells. Three biologically based two-stage clonal expansion (TSCE) models were applied. In the first model, radiation initiates cancer development, while in the other two, radiation has a promoting effect, i.e. radiation accelerates the clonal expansion of pre-cancerous cells. The parameters of the TSCE models were derived from breast cancer data from the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For exposure at age 30, all three models resulted in similar estimates of AS at age 60. For the initiation model, estimates of association were nearly identical to AS. However, for the promotion models, the cancerous clonal development was frequently accelerated towards younger ages, resulting in associations substantially higher than AS. This work shows that the association between a given cancer and exposure in an affected person depends on the underlying biological mechanism and can be substantially larger than the AS derived from classic radioepidemiology.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗

Re-acceleration model for radio relics with spectral curvature

Most of the observed features of radio gischt relics, such as spectral steepening across the relic width and a power-law-like integrated spectrum, can be adequately explained by a diffusive shock acceleration (DSA) model in which relativistic electrons are (re-)accelerated at shock waves induced in the intracluster medium. However, the steep spectral curvature in the integrated spectrum above ∼2 GHz detected in some radio relics, such as the Sausage relic in cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301, may not be interpreted by the simple radiative cooling of postshock electrons. In order to understand such steepening, we consider here a model in which a spherical shock sweeps through and then exits out of a finite-size cloud with fossil relativistic electrons. The ensuing integrated radio spectrum is expected to steepen much more than predicted for aging postshock electrons, since the re-acceleration stops after the cloud-crossing time. Using DSA simulations that are intended to reproduce radio observations of the Sausage relic, we show that both the integrated radio spectrum and the surface brightness profile can be fitted reasonably well, if a shock of speed u{sub s} ∼ 2.5–2.8 × 10{sup 3} km s{sup −1} and a sonic Mach number M{sub s} ∼ 2.7–3.0 traverses a fossil cloud for ∼45 Myr, and the postshock electrons cool further for another ∼10 Myr. This attempt illustrates that steep curved spectra of some radio gischt relics could be modeled by adjusting the shape of the fossil electron spectrum and adopting the specific configuration of the fossil cloud.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Dynamic Nanoscale Spatial Heterogeneity in a Perovskite-to-Brownmillerite Topotactic Phase Transformation

Phase transitions are omnipresent in modern condensed matter physics and its applications. In solids, first-order phase transformations typically occur by nucleation and growth under nonequilibrium conditions. Under constant external conditions, e.g., constant annealing temperature and pressure, the nucleation and growth dynamics are often thought of as spatially and temporally independent. Here, in situ Bragg X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) reveals nanoscale spatial and dynamical heterogeneity in the perovskite-to-brownmillerite topotactic phase transformation in La 0.7 Sr 0.3 CoO 3 thin films annealed under constant reducing conditions over a time span of multiple hours. Specifically, a time scale associated with domain growth remains stable, with a corresponding domain wall speed of v d = 6 ± 0.5 × 10 –4 nm/s (2 ± 0.2 nm/h), while a slower time scale, associated with temperature-driven depinning of domains, leads to accelerating dynamics with time scales following an aging power law with exponent −2.2 ± 0.5. This experiment demonstrates that Bragg XPCS is a powerful tool to study nanoscale dynamics in structural phase transformations, with the ability to extract quantitative average values related to nanodomain motion in situ. Furthermore, the results are relevant for phase engineering of phase-change devices, as they show that nanoscale dynamics, linked to domain and domain-wall motion, can continuously evolve and speed up with time, even hours after the initiation of the phase transformation, with potential repercussions on electrical performance.

X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy↗

Accelerated Leach Testing of GLASS (ALTGLASS): I. Informatics approach to high level waste glass gel formation and aging

Glass corrosion data from the ALTGLASS™ database were used to determine if gel compositions, which evolve as glass systems corrode, are correlated with the generation of zeolites and subsequent increase in the glass dissolution rate at long times. The gel compositions were estimated based on the difference between the elemental glass starting compositions and the measured elemental leachate concentrations from the long-term product consistency tests (ASTM C1285) at various stages of dissolution, ie, reaction progress. A well-characterized subset of high level waste glasses from the database was selected: these glasses had been leached for 15-20 years at reaction progresses up to ~80%. The gel composition data, at various reaction progresses, were subjected to a step-wise regression, which demonstrated that hydrogel compositions with Si*/Al* ratios of <1.0 did not generate zeolites and maintained low dissolution rates for the duration of the experiments. Glasses that formed hydrogel compositions with Si^*/Al^* ratios ≥1, generated zeolites accompanied by a resumption in the glass dissolution rate. Finally, the role of the gel Si/Al ratio, and the interactions with the leachate, provides the fundamental understanding needed to predict if and when the glass dissolution rate will increase due to zeolitization.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Revealing W51C as a cosmic ray source using Fermi-LAT data

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are commonly believed to be the primary sources of Galactic cosmic rays. Despite intensive study of the non-thermal emission of many SNRs the identification of the accelerated particle type relies heavily on assumptions of ambient-medium parameters that are only loosely constrained. Compelling evidence of hadronic acceleration can be provided by detecting a strong roll-off in the secondary γ-ray spectrum below the π{sup 0} production threshold energy of about 135 MeV, the so called “pion bump.” Here we use five years of Fermi-Large Area Telescope data to study the spectrum above 60 MeV of the middle-aged SNR W51C. A clear break in the power-law γ-ray spectrum at E{sub break}=290±20 MeV is detected with 9σ significance and we show that this break is most likely associated with the energy production threshold of π{sup 0}mesons. A high-energy break in the γ-ray spectrum at about 2.7 GeV is found with 7.5σ significance. The spectral index at energies beyond this second break is Γ{sub 2}=2.52{sub −0.07}{sup +0.06} and closely matches the spectral index derived by the MAGIC Collaboration above 75 GeV. Therefore our analysis provides strong evidence to explain the γ-ray spectrum of W51C by a single particle population of protons with a momentum spectrum best described by a broken power law with break momentum p{sub break}∼80 GeV/c. W51C is the third middle-aged SNR that displays compelling evidence for cosmic-ray acceleration and thus strengthens the case of SNRs as the main source of Galactic cosmic rays.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Fluid and electrolyte shifts in women during +Gz acceleration after 15 days' bed rest

Experiments were conducted on twelve women aged 23-34 yr - a bed rest (BR) group of eight subjects and an ambulatory (AMB) group of four subjects - to determine the effect of bed rest on shifts in plasma volume, electrolytes, and erythrocyte volume during +Gz acceleration on a centrifuge. The BR group underwent the +Gz acceleration during a two-week ambulatory control period, after 15 days of a 17-day BR period, and on the third day of ambulatory recovery. The AMB group underwent the same experimental procedures, but continued their normal daily routine during the BR period without additional prescribed physical exercise. Major conclusions are that (1) the higher the mean control tolerance, the greater the tolerance decline after BR; (2) relative confinement and reduced activity contribute as much to reduction in tolerance as does the horizontal body position during BR; (3) BR deconditioning has no effect on the erythrocyte volume during +3.0 Gz; and (4) about one-half the loss in tolerance after BR can be attributed to plasma volume and electrolyte shifts.

Greenleaf, J. E.↗

Development and applications of retro-reflective surfaces for ultrasound in LBE

The Belgian Nuclear Research Centre SCK-CEN is in the process of developing MYRRHA - a fast flux research reactor to replace the aging BR2. MYRRHA is conceptualized as an accelerator driven system cooled by lead bismuth eutectic mixture (LBE). As LBE is opaque to visual light, ultrasonic measurement techniques are employed as the main technology to provide feedback to submerged operations when needed. Conceptually, MYRRHA is a pool type reactor divided in a cold lower plenum and hot upper plenum separated by a diaphragm that forces the main flow through the core. The main flow is cooled by four heat exchangers and driven by two liquid metal pumps. One of the tasks tackled using ultrasound is locating a potentially lost fuel assembly to assist a recovery operation. As all fuel manipulations in MYRRHA are performed in the lower plenum, a potentially lost fuel assembly is located in the lower plenum. Buoyancy will force the lost fuel assembly to float against the diaphragm unless it is still partially inserted in the core. Because of the latter situation, an ultrasonic scan localizing the fuel assembly should be performed from a large distance to avoid a collision with such a partially inserted fuel assembly. Unfortunately, standard machined stainless steel objects, such as a fuel assembly, reflect an ultrasonic pulse in a specular way which induces stringent requirements on the alignment of the ultrasonic sensor with respect to the fuel assembly as we cannot rely on diffuse reflections and/or scattering of the ultrasonic pulse. Moreover, increasing the distance also increases geometric spreading and absorption of the pulse weakening the signal amplitude even faster to noise levels when deviating from perfect alignment. An alternative approach consists in relying on reflections from the known surroundings: a lost fuel assembly will block the line-of-sight to the diaphragm resulting in an anomaly in the reflection - either a shorter than expected time-of-flight of the pulse or a complete absence of a reflection like a shadow. In that way, it suffices to align the sensor with the diaphragm instead of the fuel assembly which is much easier to achieve as the robotics on which the sensor is mounted move parallel with the diaphragm. The alignment requirement in the latter approach can be further relaxed by using a tiling of retro-reflectors on the lower surface of the diaphragm. In that way, alignment becomes less vital and the main source of acoustic energy loss - geometric spread of the beam - is almost completely removed, leaving only absorption losses. In this paper, we present the first results in developing a retro reflectance surface for ultrasound in LBE. We present experimental results for different designs of retro-reflectors in both water and LBE. We discuss both linear and array retro-reflectors of different sizes and investigate the influence of the main relevant ultrasonic parameters such as wavelength and spot size on the strength of the received reflection under different alignment angles. We also demonstrate how retro-reflective surfaces can be exploited when localizing objects using linear and rotating scanning methods. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

Accelerated Stress Testing of Perovskite Photovoltaic Modules: Differentiating Degradation Modes with Electroluminescence Imaging

Herein, electroluminescence (EL) and thermal imaging are used to examine p–i–n metal halide perovskite (MHP) photovoltaic (PV) mini-modules (MA0.6FA0.4PbI3, 20 cells, 78 cm2) before and after indoor-accelerated stress testing or outdoor deployment. Distinct spatial patterns in the EL images emerge, which depend on the external stress conditions experienced by the mini-module. Imaging results highlight a distribution of dark speckle features that dominate after UV stress, attributed to widespread interfacial contact degradation. Lateral intensity gradients across cells dominate after thermal cycling (TC) stress, attributed to current crowding near scribe defects. While current–voltage analysis alone does not give full insight on the degradation process, this study shows that distinct degradation modes can be further defined by multimodal electro-optical imaging (i.e., EL combined with photoluminescence and dark lock-in thermography). Neither UV exposure nor TC-accelerated stress testing alone replicates the same degradation signatures observed after outdoor deployment, suggesting that multiple degradation modes occur under concurrent stressors outdoors. Finally, spatial characterization of degradation modes in MHP PV mini-modules before and after accelerated stress testing lays the groundwork for developing targeted accelerated stress testing procedures through comparison with outdoor aging.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Quantifying optical loss of high-voltage degradation modes in photovoltaic modules using spectral analysis

The direct current bias for photovoltaic (PV) modules interconnected in series-strings may include both high voltage negative (“HV-”) and positive (“HV+”) polarity with respect to the electrical ground. Multiple degradation modes, resulting in quantifiable optical loss, were found to occur during HV-/HV+ sequential stress, including corrosion of the external glass surface, encapsulant delamination (at its interfaces with the glass and the PV cell), internal haze formation (resulting from a chemical interaction between the glass and the encapsulant), corrosion and migration of the gridlines, and corrosion of the silicon nitride (Si x N y ) antireflective coating on the cell. The effects of these separate modes were examined using monolithic (e.g., glass or PV cell) and laminated-coupon (glass/encapsulant/glass or glass/encapsulant/cell/encapsulant/backsheet) specimens. Characterizations during and after unbiased accelerated testing at 85°C/85% relative humidity included spectrophotometry, optical microscopy, electron microscopy, and ellipsometry. For some module components (i.e., the glass and the Si x N y coating), the optical performance was determined through iterative analysis of empirical measurements. Concentrating on just their spectral effect, a novel model was then developed to estimate the transfer of light to the PV cell and the return of light from the PV module with simultaneous degradation mechanisms, which was compared with a mini-module previously subjected to HV-/HV+ stress. Here the model suggests that one third of the current loss observed for the mini-module can be attributed to the optical degradation of the packaging materials. The dominant degradation modes include encapsulant delamination and corrosion of the Si x N y coating. Recommendations are given so that the optical model may be improved relative to accelerated testing and validated relative to field aging.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Thermal stability of filler‐based ethylene/vinyl acetate/vinyl alcohol terpolymer in nitroplasticizer oxidative environment

Abstract To study the thermal stability of ethylene/vinyl acetate/vinyl alcohol (EVA‐OH) composite with filler particles, systematic thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) investigation was conducted in both nonisothermal and isothermal modes. The effect of polymer concentration on the aging behavior of EVA‐OH was investigated in the nitroplasticizer (NP) environment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was used to probe chemical structural changes in the EVA‐OH polymer before and after thermal aging. The results suggest that filler addition accelerates the rate of NP exudation out of the EVA‐OH composites and deteriorates the thermal stability of NP at moderate temperatures (up to 70°C). The degradation of NP, in turn, accelerates the degradation of EVA‐OH polymer in its composite form through oxidation and hydrolysis indicating the importance of antioxidants in such phase blends.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Heterogeneous creep deformation behavior of functionally graded transition joints (GTJs)

Dissimilar metal welds (DMWs) made between ferritic steels and austenitic alloys are used extensively in high-temperature power plant components. These DMWs experience premature creep failure in the ferritic steel’s heat affected zone (HAZ), close to the weld interface. Steep variations in microstructure and chemical composition across the dissimilar weld interface have been the contributing factors for the failure. Graded transition joints (GTJs), developed by functionally grading the chemical composition in layers, have been proposed as potential candidates to replace DMWs. In this research, GTJ coupons were fabricated between 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and Alloy 800H base material using two filler materials: (i) Inconel 82 and (ii) P87. These samples were aged at 600°C for 2000h to accelerate high-temperature microstructural evolution seen in service conditions, before subjecting them to short-term (~1 month) creep tests. Surface strains were measured using digital image correlation (DIC) technique to extract creep strain rates at different locations within GTJs. Both the GTJs exhibited heterogeneous creep strain distribution. Creep strain accumulated in the FGHAZ of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel, similar to type IV failure associated with Cr-Mo steel weldments. Microstructure based creep model framework was developed to describe the discrete creep strain rates observed in various 2.25Cr-1Mo steel regions of GTJs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Hydration of potassium citrate-activated BOF slag

Basic Oxygen Furnace (BOF) slag is currently utilized with low-grade applications or landfilled. Here, we investigate a novel route to upgrade BOF slag to a high-performance binder by chemical activation with tri-potassium citrate. The impact of tri-potassium citrate on hydration and phase assemblage of BOF slag is analyzed with a multi-technique approach. Results reveal that the addition of tri-potassium citrate considerably enhances the reactivity of brownmillerite and accelerates the hydration of belite at early ages. The majority of brownmillerite hydrates within 24 h, and the reaction kinetics is controlled by the activator dosage. The main products of BOF slag hydration are siliceous hydrogarnet and C-S-H gel. Acting as a strong water reducer, tri-potassium citrate enables the manufacture of slag pastes with high compressive strength (up to 75 MPa at 28 days) and low porosity. Leaching of heavy metals from the slag pastes fulfills the Dutch Soil Quality Decree limits.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗