Frenkel pair accumulation induced crystallization of amorphous MgAl2O4

The epitaxial and homogeneous irradiation induced re-crystallization of amorphous MgAl₂O₄ was studied by means of continuous Frenkel pair accumulation in the molecular dynamics framework. Present results point out that the re-crystallization induced by Frenkel pair accumulation appears in both cases to be thermally enhanced but non diffusive. It is governed by a local rearrangement of each point defect in the homogeneous case, while spontaneous Frenkel pair recombination process in the crystalline part or at the interface drives the re-crystallization in the epitaxial case.     

成型冶金灰脱硫剂对烟气脱硫及其再生的研究

冶金灰(MD)因含大量的金属氧化物而有很强的脱硫能力.但是,MD颗粒细小,易被气流吹走,不能直接应用.必须将MD成型为有一定尺寸和足够机械强度后才能采用.研究了成型冶金灰脱硫剂(DSMD)的成型、脱硫和再生.实验结果指出,首先将诸如粘土,水玻璃,聚磷酸钠等粘结剂,水和MD混合,混合质量比MD:粘土:水玻璃:聚磷酸钠:水为100:3.3:3.3:3.3:5.0,然后将混合粉末压制成圆柱状块体,最后在973 K时结烧3 h.DsMD在烟气脱硫(FGD)过程中的脱硫率和MD相近,而且经过几次连续的脱硫-再生循环后,脱硫率仍保持稳定.此外,当DSMD未被贯透和DSMD的硫容量到达约5～6 mol/kg(＞773 K)之前,烟气出口处的H2S浓度可保持在小于10 mg/m3的水平.     

Dark-field transmission electron microscopy for a tilt series of ordering alloys: toward electron tomography

Here we show a technique to obtain a tilt series of dark-field (DF) transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images in ordering alloys for tomographic three-dimensional (3D) observations. A tilt series of DF TEM images of D1a-ordered Ni4Mo precipitates in a Ni-Mo alloy was successfully obtained by adjusting a diffraction condition for a superlattice reflection from the Ni4Mo precipitates. Since the superlattice reflection usually has a long extinction distance, dynamic diffraction effects such as thickness fringes can be suppressed to some extent with precise realignment of the diffraction condition. By using the tilt series of the DF TEM images, we attempted a computed TEM tomography to visualize 3D shapes and positions of the precipitates.     

Oxidation behavior of ytterbium silicide

Si-rich ytterbium silicide was fabricated by through an arc-melting technique for applying use as a bond coat material in an environmental barrier coating system. Evaluation of its potential was accomplished through oxidation tests in dry air and an inert atmosphere. The experimental results showed that the changes in weight and morphologies of ytterbium silicide observed after the tests depended on the oxygen partial pressure. Extensive oxidation and weight gain occurred after oxidation in air. In order to apply this material for hot structures, improvement of the oxidation resistance is needed.     

DNA ANALYSIS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF FOOD-ASSOCIATED FOREIGN SUBSTANCES

To identify food‐associated foreign substances, a DNA analysis consisting of 18S rDNA sequencing and homology search analysis has been developed. In this method, we designed universal primer pairs for specific amplification of animal and plant 18S rDNA and constructed an original DNA database storing partial 18S rDNA sequences of 222 organisms commonly used for culinary purposes. In the model experiments, food materials were successfully identified, indicating that our DNA analysis method can be practically applied to the identification of food‐associated foreign substances. It is also expected that this method complements conventional morphological and compositional analysis, leading to more accurate and reliable identification of food‐associated foreign substances.     

Study of temperature factors in cubic crystals by high-voltage electron diffraction

The critical voltages for systematic reflections and splits of Kikuchi lines were measured using a high-voltage electron microscope to investigate the atomic temperature factors in cubic crystals. The split of the Kikuchi line at the intersection with the forbidden 222 Kikuchi line as well as the critical voltage of the 333 reflection for Si and Ge decreased steeply with temperature. The temperature dependence showed that the anharmonic contribution to the atomic-temperature factor for Si and Ge is extremely weak in the temperature range 300 ～ 1078 K. On the contrary, the B factors obtained from the measured critical voltages for Al, Cu, and Fe varied nonlinearly with temperature, suggesting the importance of the anharmonic effect in the vibration of atoms. The observed temperature dependence of the critical voltages for the metals were compared with calculations based on harmonic, quasi-harmonic, and anharmonic approximations. The quasi-harmonic approximation that takes into account the thermal expansion modification reproduces well the observed values for Fe but not those for Al and Cu. The effect of intrinsic anharmonic vibration should be considered for reproducing the results for Al and Cu. Fitting the measured critical voltages with the calculated ones, we estimated the values for coefficients of the isolated atom potentials. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by neutron and X-ray diffraction.     

Self-propagating high-temperature synthesis of AlN in a graphite crucible in air by mechanical activation

Powders of Al and C were mixed in a molar ratio of Al :C = 3:1 and were then ground in a planetary ball mill. When the thus mechanically activated mixtures were transferred into a graphite crucible and exposed to air, they spontaneously ignited and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis took place in two successive steps. The products were sliced along the depth direction and examined by X-ray diffraction. Depending on the depth of the crucible, aluminium nitride, aluminium carbide, aluminium oxynitride, aluminium oxycarbide and alpha alumina were detected. From measurements of the lattice constant, it was found that aluminium nitride with a 97% purity could be obtained at the bottom of the graphite crucible. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Local structure investigations of accumulated damage in irradiated MgAl2O4

Damaged structures in the MgAl₂O₄ spinel induced by swift heavy ions were investigated using the X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Increasing the fluence of 100 MeV Xe ions leads to increased SAXS intensity and XANES spectral changes on both Mg and Al K-edges. The damaged regions of ion tracks were observed by SAXS to be cylindrical in shape with a diameter of 5 nm. The theoretical XANES spectra indicated that the changes in the experimental spectra were due to the cationic disordering between tetrahedral and octahedral sites. This disordering caused an increase in the inversion degree of the cations. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis of the XANES spectra revealed the preferential occupation of cations at the octahedral sites at high fluence.     

Optimizing the Enzymatic Maceration of Foliole Purée from Hard Pieces of Hearts of Palm (Euterpe edulis Mart.) using Response Surface Analysis

Response surface analysis was applied to investigate modifications in viscosity of foliole purée treated with commercial enzyme preparations high in cellulase and endopolygalacturonase (pectinase) with changes in enzyme concentration (0.3–1.2%), incubation time (3.3–6.7 hr) and temperature (40–50°C). Foliole purée was obtained by trituration of hard pieces of hearts of palm (Euterpe edulis) and incubated in a rotating agitator. After treatment with 0.81% cellulase for ～5 hr at 50°C, a fourfold reduction in viscosity was found relative to a control sample. The minimum viscosity for this treatment was within the experimental range investigated. Optimized experimental conditions for treatment with pectinase however were outside the experimental range. The application of the cellulase preparation to the purée resulted in a 10% increase in yield of edible palm.