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Microstructure and Hardness Evolution in Haynes 282 Nickel-Based Superalloy During Multi-variant Aging Heat Treatment

In this paper, the effect of applied multi-variant heat treatment on microstructure, phase composition and mechanical response of Haynes 282 nickel-based superalloy was investigated. For this reason, temperatures of both stages of standard two-stage aging treatment (i.e., 1010 °C/2 h + 780 °C/8 h) were extended to 900-1100 °C/2 h and 680-880 °C/8 h ranges, respectively. Consequently, 30 different variants of heat treatment were applied. The microstructural features of heat-treated samples were investigated by means of light microscopy and SEM/EDS methods, while mechanical properties were examined via microhardness measurements. It was found that by using various combinations of temperatures of the first and second stage of aging, the room temperature hardness of Haynes 282 alloy can be decreased by ~ 100 HV units or increased by up to 25 HV units as compared to that of the alloy subjected to the standard heat treatment schedule. The mechanical response of the alloy is determined by a complex structural evolution involving the secondary precipitation of γ′, M{sub 23}C{sub 6} and M{sub 6}C phases, as well as their interaction with the fcc γ matrix.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The influence of hydrological variability on inherent water use efficiency in forests of contrasting composition, age, and precipitation regimes in the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest (PNW) region of the United States has some of the most productive forests in the world. As precipitation regimes may shift with changing climate in this area, droughts are predicted to increase in both frequency and degree of severity, which will have a significant impact on already drought-prone ecosystems. When modeling ecosystem responses to drought, it is important to consider the physiology of individual tree species since the variations in drought sensitivity among species is easily overlooked when plants are characterized using broad plant functional types. In this report we explore the use of inherent water-use efficiency as an index of drought sensitivity in semi-arid young and mature ponderosa pine forests and a mesic mature Douglas-fir forest in the PNW. Summer maximum of an evapotranspiration-based WUE (WUE i ) was 2.5 times higher in young and mature pines in semi-arid climate than Douglas-fir in mesic climate (12.2 and 11.3 versus 4.7 g C kPa per kg H 2 O, respectively). In contrast, annually averaged WUE i was similar among the sites (2.8 g C kPa per kg H 2 O for pines and 2.4 g C kPa per kg H 2 O for Douglas-fir). The effect of drought stress on WUE i was most pronounced in young pine, followed by mature pine and Douglas-fir (32, 11, and 6% increase in WUE i per % decline in soil water content, respectively) which reflect differences in age-related ecosystem structure (root system, stem capacitance, and soil water holding capacity). Among sites, the responses of WUEi to climate variability were largely driven by changes in evapotranspiration (ET) compared to gross primary productivity (GPP). However, in areas where evaporation is the primary component of ET, such as the open canopy ponderosa forests of the PNW, the contribution of soil processes to ET can overshadow the reaction of vegetation transpiration (T) to changes in water availability. In these cases, utilizing a transpiration-based WUE (WUE i_T ) in vegetation models will yield a more accurate representation of plant activity during drought. These results highlight the importance of incorporating differences in species- and age-related WUEi in models in diverse forest types at regional and global scales to improve predictions in ecosystem responses to climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

The anti-aging protein Klotho is induced by GABA therapy and exerts protective and stimulatory effects on pancreatic beta cells

Systemic gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) therapy prevents or ameliorates type 1 diabetes (T1D), by suppressing autoimmune responses and stimulating pancreatic beta cells. In beta cells, it increases insulin secretion, prevents apoptosis, and induces regeneration. It is unclear how GABA mediates these effects. We hypothesized that Klotho is involved. It is a multi-functional protein expressed in the kidneys, brain, pancreatic beta cells, other tissues, and is cell-bound or soluble. Klotho knockout mice display accelerated aging, and in humans Klotho circulating levels decline with age, renal disease and diabetes. Here, we report that GABA markedly increased circulating levels of Klotho in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes. GABA also increased Klotho in the islet of Langerhans of normal mice, as well as the islets and kidneys of STZ-treated mice. In vitro, GABA stimulated production and secretion of Klotho by human islet cells. Knockdown (KD) of Klotho with siRNA in INS-1E insulinoma cells abrogated the protective effects of GABA against STZ toxicity. Following KD, soluble Klotho reversed the effects of Klotho deficiency. In human islet cells soluble Klotho protected against cell death, and stimulated proliferation and insulin secretion. NF-κB activation triggers beta-cell apoptosis, and both GABA and Klotho suppress this pathway. We found Klotho KD augmented NF-κB p65 expression, and abrogated the ability of GABA to block NF-κB activation. This is the first report that GABAergic stimulation increases Klotho expression. Klotho protected and stimulated beta cells and lack of Klotho (KD) was reversed by soluble Klotho. These findings have important implications for the treatment of T1D. - Highlights: • GABA markedly increased Klotho levels in the serum, kidneys and pancreatic islets. • GABA stimulated production and secretion of Klotho by human islet cells in vitro. • Klotho stimulated proliferation and insulin secretion by human islets. • GABA and Klotho both suppressed NF-κB activation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Ambient temperature and age-related notified Campylobacter infection in Israel: A 12-year time series study

Highlights: • High temperature increases the incidence of Campylobacter infection in Israel. • There is a higher risk for Campylobacter infection above a temperature threshold. • The patterns of temperature-Campylobacter infection curves are age-related. • Age–group 0–2 yr was the most sensitive to temperature effect on infection risk. Campylobacter spp. are the leading cause of foodborne infection worldwide, with a seasonal disease peak that might be affected by temperature increase. We studied the relationship between ambient temperature and weekly notified Campylobacter spp.infections.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Effects of Hydrothermal Aging on NH3-SCR reaction over Cu/zeolites

The effects of hydrothermal treatment on model Cu/zeolite catalysts were investigated to better understand the nature of Cu species for the selective catalytic reduction of NO{sub x} by NH{sub 3}. After hydrothermal aging at 800 C for 16 h, the NO{sub x} reduction performance of Cu-ZSM-5 and Cu-beta were significantly reduced at low temperatures, while that of Cu-SSZ-13 was not affected. When the zeolite framework aluminum species were probed using solid state {sup 27}Al-NMR, significant reduction in the intensities of the tetrahedral aluminum peak was observed for Cu-ZSM-5 and Cu-beta, although no increase in the intensities of the octahedral aluminum peak was observed. When the redox behavior of Cu species was examined using H{sub 2}-TPR, it was found that Cu{sup 2+} could be reduced to Cu{sup +} and to Cu{sup 0} fir Cu-ZSM-5 and Cu-beta catalysts, while Cu{sup 2+} could be reduced to Cu{sup +} only for Cu-SSZ-13. After hydrothermal aging, CuO and Cu-aluminate species were found to form in Cu-ZSM-5 and Cu-beta, while little changes were observed for Cu-SSZ-13.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Creating high-precision reference gas standards of 85Kr for groundwater age-dating

Absolute gas counting (AGC) was applied to two gas blends of 85Kr in argon-methane (P10) counting gas to establish a high-precision specific activity (Bq/cm3) reference value for characterizing 85Kr detection efficiency for groundwater age dating measurements. The AGC or length-compensated technique has been utilized by the metrology community for decades and is an accepted method for developing radioactive gas standards. The AGC capability at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) uses a set of nine unequal-length proportional counters with precisely-measured internal volumes, and a gas loading system with high-precision pressure and temperature sensors. A series of AGC measurements were collected at multiple pressures to determine the inverse pressure relationship (1/P) for 85Kr and define a wall-effect correction that accounts for events decaying into the detector wall and not depositing sufficient energy in the gas to be detected. In addition to the wall-effect, two additional corrections were evaluated and are discussed in detail. Specifically, the threshold effect which accounts for events deposited below the analysis threshold and a detection efficiency as a function of detector volume effect that was observed during analysis. A robust uncertainty model was developed using the Guide to the expression of Uncertainty in Measurements (GUM) approach. The combination of carefully scrutinized correction factors, precise measurements of pressure, temperature and detector volume, and robust counting statistics resulted in the determination of high-precision specific activity values with 0.50% or less total combined uncertainty for two Kr-in-P10 reference gas standards (KP10) that will enable new groundwater age-dating measurements at PNNL.

Kr-85↗

Reassessing early-age strength development of high-volume fly ash concretes for precast buildings

Increasing beneficial use of fresh or landfilled fly ash as a replacement for Portland cement can be more challenging for the construction of precast buildings or similar applications requiring rapid strength development. Therefore, the framework presented in this paper aims to reassess high-volume fly ash concretes but in the context of facilitating more sustainable precast buildings. More specifically, the framework was used to characterize strength development of concrete mixes with a target minimum 24-hour compressive strength of 24.1 MPa (3500 psi), selected as an example strength development metric to demonstrate the framework, and comprised of 40% Class C, Class F, and landfilled (harvested) fly ash – as a high-volume replacement of Type III or Type IL cement. High-early strength was driven by optimized dosages of commercial grade gypsum and accelerating admixtures, in addition to optimal aggregate packing and mix proportioning strategies. Early-age mechanical properties including compressive strength, modulus of rupture, and modulus of elasticity were reevaluated within 24 hours of batching with respect to common precast production demands. Simple data analyses were then used to highlight cases where currently accepted design provisions for the aforementioned properties are either overly-conservative or unconservative with respect to test data. Furthermore, the framework and demonstration of example mixes presented herein aim to promote confidence for using larger fractions of fresh or landfilled fly ashes for precast buildings to further enhance environmental benefits without sacrificing pertinent early-age structural performance.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Age hardening and creep resistance of cast Al–Cu alloy modified by praseodymium

The effects of praseodymium on age hardening behavior and creep resistance of cast Al–Cu alloy were investigated. The results indicated that praseodymium facilitated the formation of the θ′ precipitates during the age process and improved the hardness of the Al–Cu alloy. Besides, praseodymium resulted in the formation of the Al{sub 11}Pr{sub 3} phase in the grain boundaries and among the dendrites of the modified alloy. Because of the good thermal stability of Al{sub 11}Pr{sub 3} phase, it inhibits grain boundary migration and dislocation movement during the creep process, which contributes to the improvement in the creep resistance of the modified alloy at elevated temperatures. - Highlights: • Pr addition enhances the hardness and creep resistance of the Al–Cu alloy. • Pr addition facilitates the formation of the θ′ precipitates. • Pr addition results in the formation of the Al11Pr3 phase in the Al–Cu alloy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The effect of Sn addition on phase stability and phase evolution during aging heat treatment in Ti–Mo alloys employed as biomaterials

Increases in life expectancy and improvements in necessary healthcare attach great importance to the development of biomaterials. Ti alloys containing β stabilizing elements are often used as biomaterials due to their high specific strength, high corrosion resistance, unusual biocompatibility and low elastic moduli, which benefit bone tissues close to an implant. This study deals with phase stability in β Ti–Mo–Sn alloys processed under different conditions and was performed according to the following steps: a study of the effect of Sn content (a) on phase stability in Ti–Mo alloys, (b) on the suppression of α″ and ω phase precipitation; (c) on α-phase precipitation during aging heat treatments and (d) on mechanical properties, including the elastic modulus, as measured using tensile tests and acoustic techniques. The alloys were prepared by arc melting under a controlled atmosphere followed by homogenization heat treatment and hot rolling. Optical microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry were employed for characterization purposes. Samples were also submitted to solution treatment above the β transus temperature and aging heat treatments under a controlled atmosphere. The results suggest that Sn suppresses the formation of the ω and α″ phases in Ti–Mo system. - Highlights: • Sn addition to Ti alloys decreases elastic modulus by suppressing ω phase precipitation. • Sn addition decreases the temperature of martensite decomposition. • Sn addition decreases the temperature of α phase precipitation and β transus. • Mechanical strength decreases with increasing Sn content.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructure evolution in the fusion zone of laser-welded Mg–Gd–Y–Zr alloy during solution and aging treatment

The microstructure evolution in the fusion zone of laser-welded Mg-Gd-Y-Zr alloy during solution and aging treatment is investigated. The morphology of the Mg{sub 24}(Gd,Y){sub 5} in the divorced eutectic at the grain boundary transforms from a continuous network to disconnected and fragmentized islands and then to spheroidal particles before complete dissolution during the solution treatment at 430 °C. During the subsequent aging treatment at 225 °C, the precipitation sequence in the fusion zone follows the order of supersaturated solid solution (SSSS) → βʺ(D0{sub 19}) → βʹ(cbco) → β{sub 1}(fcc) → β(fcc). High-density precipitates are present at the original grain boundaries of the fusion zone from the welded structure but there are less precipitates in the interior of the original grains. The grain growth during the solution treatment at 430 °C comprises the slowly increasing stage, rapidly increasing stage, and stable stage. The network-distributed Mg{sub 24}(Gd,Y){sub 5} impedes migration of the grain boundaries, restricts grain growth in the first slowly increasing stage, and segregation of zirconium near the grain boundaries also affects migration of the grain boundaries. - Highlights: •Different quantities of precipitates are present at different location of grain. •The network-distributed Mg{sub 24}(Gd,Y){sub 5} restricts grain growth. •Segregation of Zr affects migration of grain boundaries.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructural evolution and thermal stability after aging of a cobalt-containing martensitic bearing steel

The microstructural changes and thermal stability of a cobalt-containing martensitic heat resistance bearing steel have been investigated in this paper. The hardness variation showed a progressive hardness decrease associated with coarsening of fine carbides at elevated temperatures. The precipitation of secondary phases during tempering at 500 °C for 10 h and 100 h has been characterized and identified in detail using transmission electron microscopy. The results revealed that the aging treatment induced very fine secondary M{sub 6}C precipitates which were responsible for the secondary hardening peak when tempered at 500 °C for 30 h. But the hardness gradually decreased due to the coarsening of M{sub 6}C carbide and other secondary phases (such as μ phase, σ phase, and χ phase) precipitation when the samples were tempered over 30 h at 500 °C. - Highlights: •Retained austenite fraction was reduced after cryogenic treatment. •Secondary hardening was responsible for M{sub 6}C precipitates. •TEM study to investigate different phases characteristics •Coarsening of carbides during aging has a significant effect on mechanical properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Microstructure evolution, grain morphology variation and mechanical property change of Cu-Sn intermetallic joints subjected to high-temperature aging

Highlights: • The δ-Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} could be formed by reaction of 11Cu{sub 3}Sn + 9Cu → Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} during aging above 350 °C. • The temperature effects on the growth rate and grain morphology of Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} phase were found. • The Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} joints with refined grains exhibited higher hardness and shear strength. • The Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} joints exhibited a combination of transgranular and intergranular fracture during shear test. - Abstract: In this work, the aging treatment was carried out on full Cu{sub 3}Sn joints at different temperatures for various durations, the microstructure evolution, grain morphology variation and mechanical property change of joints were investigated. The temperature effects on the growth rate and grain morphology of Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} phase were found: The complete transformation from Cu{sub 3}Sn phase to Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} phase in joints needed 300 h at 400 °C, but 4 h at 500 °C. The Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} phase formed at 400 °C consisted of columnar grains with an average width of 23.5 μm, while the Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} phase formed at 500 °C consisted columnar grains with an average width of 8.5 μm. The average hardness and shear strength values of the Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} joints formed at 400 °C were 432.5 HV and 62 MPa, while the joints formed at 500 °C exhibited higher hardness and shear strength (451.5 HV and 65 MPa). Besides, the Cu{sub 41}Sn{sub 11} joint was found to exhibit a combination of transgranular and intergranular fracture during shear test.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Strain age cracking in a simulated heat affected zone of Inconel 740H laser-powder bed fusion components

Inconel® 740H components produced via laser-powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) additive manufacturing are ideal for supercritical CO2 primary heat exchangers. Arc welding is often needed, and subsequent post-weld heat treatment aging at 790–840 °C is required to improve strength via gamma prime (γ’) precipitation; however, strain age cracking (SAC) can occur in the heat affected zone (HAZ) during this process. This study uses stress relaxation testing at 800 °C on simulated HAZ specimens from vertically and horizontally built L-PBF IN740H to assess SAC susceptibility across heating rates of 40–3480 °C/h and weld-induced strains of 3–10 %. Vertical builds require greater mechanical energy input and exhibit longer times to fracture than horizontal builds, and time to fracture occurs sooner at slower heating rates. Creep voids were observed in γ’-denuded regions along grain boundaries, and cracking propagated along migrated grain boundaries and at interfaces between elongated secondary phases (γ’ or carbides) and the γ-matrix.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Accelerated aging test of new plastic scintillators

Fogging in plastic scintillators is a degradation mechanism that reduces light collection efficiency. In an effort to reduce maintenance costs, multiple groups have attempted to understand and prevent this problem by changing plastic compositions and system level designs. New formulations have been produced that are promising with respect to fogging resistance. In this paper, we study a variety of new compositions by subjecting them to an accelerated aging experiment with varying temperature and humidity profiles. Compositions are analyzed for their resistance to degradation after saturation periods, with those containing polymethyl methacrylate and divinyl benzene being the most promising. Pulse height spectra revealed that after environmental aging, many of the samples suffered a reduction in light yield to different degrees, a result that could be due to heating of the samples and may be prevented by further production optimization.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Rate-induced aging effects on Parallel-Plate Avalanche Counter (PPAC) caused by heavy ion beams

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) is one of the premier scientific user facilities for nuclear science with radioactive beams, capable of producing most (approximately 80%) of the isotopes expected to exist, from oxygen to uranium, at energies up to 200 MeV/u. With the increase in beam power from the present 10 kW to the planned 400 kW, FRIB experiments are about to enter a new era. An unprecedented rate capability as well as stable performance of all the planned instrumentation intended for beam diagnostics and beam tuning is required at the expected high beam intensities (> 1 MHz). A summary of aging phenomena at high heavy-ion beam rates observed in the Advanced Rare Isotope Separator (ARIS) detectors for beam diagnostics, including Parallel Plate Avalanche Counters (PPAC) and plastic scintillation for time-of-flight measurements, is discussed. Current research and development project to mitigate rate-induced aging are presented.

Aging effects↗

Evaluation of the accuracy of an offline seasonally-varying matrix transport model for simulating ideal age

Newton-Krylov solvers for ocean tracers have the potential to greatly decrease the computational costs of spinning up deep-ocean tracers, which can take several thousand model years to reach equilibrium with surface processes. One version of the algorithm uses offline tracer transport matrices to simulate an annual cycle of tracer concentrations and applies Newton’s method to find concentrations that are periodic in time. Here we present the impact of time-averaging the transport matrices on the equilibrium values of an ideal-age tracer. We compared annually-averaged, monthly-averaged, and 5-day-averaged transport matrices to an online simulation using the ocean component of the Community Earth System Model (CESM) with a nominal horizontal resolution of 1° × 1° and 60 vertical levels. We found that increasing the time resolution of the offline transport model reduced a low age bias from 12% for the annually-averaged transport matrices, to 4% for the monthly-averaged transport matrices, and to less than 2% for the transport matrices constructed from 5-day averages. The largest differences were in areas with strong seasonal changes in the circulation, such as the Northern Indian Ocean. As a result, for many applications the relatively small bias obtained using the offline model makes the offline approach attractive because it uses significantly less computer resources and is simpler to set up and run.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Glassy polymers: Historical findings, membrane applications, and unresolved questions regarding physical aging

Polymers below their glass transition temperature (Tg) are non-equilibrium glasses because excess free volume “frozen” between kinetically-restricted polymer chains slowly relaxes over time towards equilibrium via local, segmental chain motion. This process, known as physical aging, is observed through time-dependent decreases in a polymer's specific volume, enthalpy, etc. This article focuses on the history of glassy polymers in membrane separation applications. Open questions regarding the influence of thickness (e.g., membrane geometry) and temperature on physical aging in glassy polymers are highlighted.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The effect of sanitary landfill leachate aging on the biological treatment and assessment of photoelectrooxidation as a pre-treatment process

Highlights: • Photoelectrooxidation (PEO) emerges as a new technology for leachate treatment. • Aging of sanitary landfills acts on leachate composition and biodegradability. • PEO is applied as leachate pretreatment before the biological processes. • PEO produced significant changes in the leachate matrix, easing biological process. - Abstract: The sanitary landfill leachate is a dark liquid, of highly variable composition, with recalcitrant features that hamper conventional biological treatment. The physical–chemical characteristics of the leachate along the landfill aging, as well as their effects on the efficiency of the conventional treatment, were evaluated at this paper. The feasibility of photoelectrooxidation process as an alternative technique for treatment of landfill leachates was also determined. Photoelectrooxidation experiments were conducted in a bench-scale reactor. Analysis of the raw leachate revealed many critical parameters demonstrating that the recalcitrance of leachate tends to increase with time, directly influencing the decline in efficiency of the conventional treatment currently employed. The effects of current density and lamp power were investigated. Using a 400 W power lamp and a current density of 31.5 mA cm{sup −2}, 53% and 61% efficiency for the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen and chemical oxygen demand were respectively achieved by applying photoelectrooxidation process. With the removal of these pollutants, downstream biological treatment should be improved. These results demonstrate that photoelectrooxidation is a feasible technique for the treatment of sanitary landfill leachate, even considering this effluent’s high resistance to treatment.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗