Precipitation of β particles in a fully lamellar Ti-47Al-2Nb-1Mn-0.5W-0.5Mo-0.2Si (at.%) alloy

The precipitation of (B2) particles at intermediate temperatures, between 760°C and 1050°C, is investigated in a fully lamellar TiAl-WMoSi alloy. The particles, having a thin-plate shape, usually precipitate on the ₂ side of ₂/ interfaces at low aging temperatures in an uneven two-dimensional growth mode. While those formed at higher aging temperatures, growing extensively within the ₂ plate and into the adjacent lamellae, have an ellipsoid shape. The growth of particles at low aging temperatures yields an activation energy of about 366 kJ/mol. It is suggested that at low aging temperatures the growth of particles proceeds via an ₂ precipitation process controlled by diffusion of W and Mo along the /₂ and / interfaces.     

Constitution of the Ni3Cr-Ni3Al-Ni3W system

Isothermal sections of the Ni-Cr-Al-W system have been investigated at 75 at % Ni and temperatures of 1523 and 1273 K, by means of phase compositional analysis, X-ray diffraction and microscopical examination. The alloys studied lay in the range 2.5 to 10 at % Cr, 12.5 to 20 at% Al, 2.5 to 6.25 at % W, The phases formed were, and the bcc solid solution based on tungsten (designated ₂). The maximum extent of the region was found to be 3 at % each of chromium and tungsten. Preferential partitioning of tungsten to occurred. Study of an Ni-10Cr-12.5Al-2.5W alloy aged at 1273 and 1073 K, after quenching from 1573 K, showed that changes in and compositions and lattice parameters occur as a function of ageing time.     

On the analysis of tunneling data for A15 superconductors

We examine the applicability of the standard McMillan inversion of Eliashberg's equations for superconductors with a nonconstant electronic density of statesN(). We do this usign simple models forN() and a realistically shapedN() taken from recent band structure work for Nb₃Sn. It turns out that peak structure inN() near _F may lead to gross errors in the derived Eliashberg function ²F() when the energy dependence ofN() is omitted in the inversion procedure. For Nb₃Sn, this leads to a 40% overestimate of when ²F() is evaluated via the standard McMillan program.     

γ ? α2 Phase transformation in fractured high temperature stress rupture Ti-48Al-2Nb(at.%)

The ₂ phase transformation in fractured high temperature stress rupture Ti-48Al-2Nb(at.%) alloy has been studied by analytical electron microscopy. ₂ and phases were found at grain boundaries. ₂ layers that suspended in layers and interfacial ledge higher than 2d ₍₁₁₁₎ at /₂ interfaces were observed in the lamellar grains. These facts indicated that ₂ phase transformation and dynamic recrystallization have occurred during high temperature stress rupture deformation. It can be concluded that deformation induced ₂ phase transformation and dynamic recrystallization resulted in the presence of particles at grain boundaries. A structural and compositional transition area between deformation-induced ₂(or ) and its adjacently original (or ₂) phases was found by HREM and EDS and is suggested as a way to transform between and ₂ phase during high temperature stress rupture deformation. The transition area was formed by slide of partial dislocations on close-packed planes and diffusion of atoms.     

Specific heat near the lambda point in 4He and 3He-4He mixtures: Test of universality of the critical exponent and the amplitude ratio,and observation of the critical-tricritical crossover effect

The specific heat under saturated vapor pressure of pure ⁴He and of six ³He-⁴He mixtures up to X = 0.545 was measured in the temperature range 3 × 10^–6 <¦T-T ¦ <10^–2 K. The critical exponents and along the path = are independent of X up to X = 0.545, where (= ₃ – ₄) is the difference between chemical potentials. If we take account of higher order terms, the exponent (= ) and the amplitude ratio A /A are independent of X up to X = 0.545. The values of and A /A are –0.023 and 1.090, respectively. The critical-tricritical crossover effect was observed for X = 0.545 and the boundary of crossover region closest to the critical region was at /T = (1–2) × 10^–4, where is the distance ¦T – T ¦ along the path = . This value is in good agreement with the estimated value by Riedel et al. But, remarkably, in the case of X = 0.439 this effect was not observed.     

Temperature dependence of the experimental penetration depth of superconducting thin films

Experimental magnetic field penetration depths (t, d, H) of the stable and superheated Meissner state were calculated as a function of temperature for various applied magnetic fields and various film thicknesses for two cases: (1) (t)/d and (2) 2(t)/d ( is the Ginzburg-Landau penetration depth,d is the film thickness, is the GL parameter). The results of the first case should be a useful tool for obtaining (0) of amorphous superconducting thin films.¹ This work was supported in part by NSF Grant No. INT 8006927.     

Triple Approach to Determination of the c-Axis Penetration Depth in BSCCO Crystals

The c-axis penetration depth _c in Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈₊ (BSCCO) single crystals as a function of temperature has been determined using three high-frequency techniques, namely (1) measurements of the ac-susceptibility at a frequency of 100 kHz for different sample alignments with respect to the ac magnetic field; (2) measurements of the surface impedance in both superconducting and normal states of BSCCO crystals at 9.4 GHz; (3) measurements of the surface barrier field H_J(T) 1/_c(T) at which Josephson vortices penetrate into the sample. Careful analysis of these measurements, including both numerical solution of the electrodynamic problem of the magnetic field distribution in an anisotropic plate at an arbitrary temperature and influence of defects in the sample has allowed us to estimate _c(0) 50 m in BSCCO crystals overdoped with oxygen (T_c 84 K) and _c(0) 150 m at the optimal doping level (T_c 90 K). The results obtained by different techniques are in reasonable agreement.     

Mössbauer studies of α″-Fe16N2 and α′-Fe8N films

Conversion-electron Mössbauer spectra of epitaxial -Fe₁₆N₂ and -Fe₈N films have been studied and their differences are discussed in detail. The Mössbauer spectrum of -Fe₁₆N₂ can be decomposed into three subspectra, which correspond to the 4d, 8h and 4c sites. The Mössbauer spectrum of -Fe₈N can be fitted using four spectra based on a nitrogen-atom-random-distribution model. The average hyperfine field is larger (3%) for -Fe₁₆N₂ than for -Fe₈N, which is approximately consistent with a 4.1% enhancement of the magnetic moments for -Fe₁₆N₂. The iron moments tend to locate in the film plane for -Fe₁₆N₂ and to arrange perpendicularly to the film plane for -Fe₈N.     

Deformation in spinel

Stoichiometric MgAl₂O₄ spinel was deformed in compression at temperatures from 1790 to 1895 C and the dislocation structures analysed by transmission electron microscopy. {1 1 1}1 1 0 slip was observed on both the primary and cross-slip systems, and there was much secondary slip as well; all six 1 1 0 Burgers vectors were present in electron micrographs. This secondary slip leads to very high work-hardening rates, approximately/70 at 1790 C, where is the shear modulus. Since it is known that deformation in nonstoichiometric (alumina-rich) spinel crystals occurs by {1 1 0}1 1 0 slip, the electrostatic and geometric aspects of 1/4 110 dislocations moving on {1 1 1} and {1 1 0} planes are considered in some detail. It is porposed that the octahedral cation vacancies present in non-stoichiometric spinel diffuse to dislocations during deformation and thus favour {1 1 0} slip.     

Theory of RF SQUIDs Operating in the Presence of Large Thermal Fluctuations

A comprehensive analytical theory is presented for non-hysteretic RF SQUIDs operating in the adiabatic mode in the presence of large thermal fluctuations. When 1 ( = 2LI_c/₀ is the hysteresis parameter, L is the SQUID inductance, I_c is the critical current of the Josephson junction, and ₀ is the flux quantum) the theory is applicable also for RF SQUIDs operating in the non-adiabatic mode. In contrast to previous theories in which the noise is treated perturbatively and which therefore are applicable only if the product 1 ( = 2k_BT/ ₀ I_c is the noise parameter, k_B is the Boltzmann constant, and T is the absolute temperature)—the case of small thermal fluctuations—the present theory is valid for around unity or higher. In the limit 0 the theory reproduces the results of small thermal fluctuations theories. It has been found that in the presence of large thermal fluctuations the screening current in the SQUID inductance is suppressed by a factor that increases with increasing . Taking into account this new basic fact, all SQUID characteristics (output signal, transfer function, noise spectral density and energy sensitivity) have been recalculated and a good agreement with experimental data has been obtained. It has been also found that RF SQUIDs can be operated with substantially higher values of the inductance and of the noise parameter than DC SQUIDs. These two aspects, which are of particular importance at liquid nitrogen temperature, make high T_c RF SQUIDs very attractive.     

Application of coherent-optical methods in physical studies of evaporation

The application of the methods of laser and holographic interferometry to the problems of measuring evaporation rates is examined. Mass transfer accompanying evaporation in the region of extradiffusion monitoring is studied.Notation j_v specific mass flux of the vapor, kg/(m²·sec) - _c coefficient of condensation - _v coefficient of evaporation - D coefficient of diffusion - m²/sec, wetting angle - R radius of the vessel, m - time, sec - h height of the segment, m - wavelength of the laser radiation, m - N order of the interference fringe or the number of fringes passing through a given point - density of the matter, kg/m³ - length of the cell with the liquid of interest, m - T temperature, K - n refractive index of the medium - m mass - kg, V volume of the spheroidal segment, m³ - _liq and _g molar mass, kg/mole - C₀ and C_p concentration of vapor in the gas, kg/m³ - a and b semiaxes of the spheroid, m - _e ellipsoidal coordinate of a point on the surface, m² - c/n derivative along the normal - r coordinate of a point on the surface of evaporation, m - n change in the refractive index of the medium Indices st standard liquid - liq liquid - g gas - 0 starting state - p equilibrium pressure Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 55, No. 4, pp. 605–611, October, 1988.     

Numerical method for solving heat-conduction problems for two-dimensional bodies of complex shape

A finite-difference scheme is described for a curvilinear orthogonal net which permits the use of a single algorithm for calculating bodies of various shapes.Notation x, y independent variables - u, v orthogonal coordinates - F(w)=F(u + iv) function of a complex variable - g(u,v)= F(w)/w Jacobian of transformation from (u,v) to (x,y) - thermal conductivity - c volumetric heat capacity - Q heat release per unit volume - T temperature - f value of temperature on boundary of region - time - L, L₁, L₂ differential operators - (u,v) solution of differential problem in canonical region - ^j, ₁ ^j , ₂ ^j , t^J, t ₁ ^j , t ₂ ^j network functions in canonical region - ^j, t^*j solutions of difference problems using rectangular and orthogonal nets respectively - {u_i, v_k} rectangular net in canonical region G - {x_i,k, y_i, k} orthogonal net in given region G^* - u_i, v_k dimensions of cell of rectangular net - u_i,v _i,k dimensions of cell of orthogonal net - h, maximum dimension of cell for rectangular and orthogonal nets respectively - ₁, ₂, difference operators for rectangular and orthogonal nets - A, B, C, D, A^*, B^*, C^*, D^* coefficients of difference scheme for rectangular net - D, Ã, B coefficients of difference scheme for orthogonal net Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 40, No. 3, pp. 503–509, March, 1981.     

Shock response of stainless steel at high temperature

Measurements of the dynamic tensile strength of HR-2 (Cr-Ni-Mn-N) stainless steel have been carried out over the initial temperature range of 300 K–1000 K at shock stress of 8 GPa, the corresponding spall strength _f and Hugoniot elastic limit _HEL are determined from the wave profiles. In the temperature range of 300 K–806 K, _f and _HEL decrease linearly with increasing temperature T, i.e., _f = 5.63-4.32 × 10^–3T, _HEL = 2.08-1.54 × 10^–3T, but when heated to 980 K, _HEL increases from 0.84 GPa at 806 K to 0.93 GPa at 980 K and _f keeps at an almost fixed value of 2.15 GPa. The TEM analysis on recovery samples identified the existence of intermatallic compound Ni₃Al and the carbide Cr₂₃C₆ in the sample of 806 K, another intermatallic compound Ni₃Ti was found in the sample of 980 K. All these products emerge along crystal boundary. While no such products were found in the samples of 300 K and 650 K.     

Differential-flow-induced instability in a cubic autocatalator system

The formation of spatio-temporal stable patterns is considered for a reaction-diffusion-convection system based upon the cubic autocatalator, A + 2B 3B, B C, with the reactant A being replenished by the slow decay of some precursor P via the simple step P A. The reaction is considered in a differential-flow reactor in the form of a ring. It is assumed that the reactant A is immobilised within the reactor and the autocatalyst B is allowed to flow through the reactor with a constant velocity as well as being able to diffuse. The linear stability of the spatially uniform steady state (a, b) = (µ^–1, µ), where a and b are the dimensionless concentrations of the reactant A and autocatalyst B, and µ is a parameter reflecting the initial concentration of the precursor P, is discussed first. It is shown that a necessary condition for the bifurcation of this steady state to stable, spatially non-uniform, flow-generated patterns is that the flow parameter > _c(µ, ) where _c(µ,) is a (strictly positive) critical value of and is the dimensionless diffusion coefficient of the species B and also reflects the size of the system. Values of _c at which these bifurcations occur are derived in terms of µ and . Further information about the nature of the bifurcating branches (close to their bifurcation points) is obtained from a weakly nonlinear analysis. This reveals that both supercritical and subcritical Hopf bifurcations are possible. The bifurcating branches are then followed numerically by means of a path-following method, with the parameter as a bifurcation parameter, for representatives values of µ and . It is found that multiple stable patterns can exist and that it is also possible that any of these can lose stability through secondary Hopf bifurcations. This typically gives rise to spatio-temporal quasiperiodic transients through which the system is ultimately attracted to one of the remaining available stable patterns.     

Effect of Intense Self-Irradiation on the Phase Composition of Metallic Plutonium

The crystal structure of film samples of "high-level" (based on ²³⁸Pu) and low-level (based on ²³⁹Pu) metallic plutonium during their prolonged (up to 343 days) storage (self-irradiation) at room temperature was studied by X-ray diffraction. In the samples of high-level plutonium, the -Pu and -Pu lattices coexist. In the period of 40-60 days, the other known crystal modifications of plutonium (-Pu, -Pu, -Pu, and -Pu) are also present. Low-level plutonium had only the -Pu lattice. A possible origin of this phenomenon is discussed.     

Flow visualization glass-ceramic: Preliminary experimental and modelling results

A glass-ceramic material was developed to act as a flow visualization material. Preliminary experiments indicate that aperiodic, thermally induced, convective flows can be sustained at normal processing conditions. These flows and the stress and temperature gradients induced are most likely responsible for the anomalous behaviour seen in these materials and the difficulties encountered in their development and in their production on industrial and experimental scales. A simple model describing the dynamics of variable-viscosity fluids was developed and was shown to be in qualitative agreement with more sophisticated models as well as with experimental results. The model was shown to simulate the dependence of the critical Rayleigh number for the onset of convection on the viscous properties of the fluid at low T, and also to simulate quenching behaviour when the temperature differences were high.Nomenclature C _p Heat capacity - D, E, F Expansion coefficients - H Height of the roll cell - Pr Prandtl number - R _a Rayleigh number - R _c Critical Rayleigh number for the onset of convection in a constant-viscosity fluid - S Dimensionless stream function - T Temperature - T _m Mean temperature - T ₀ Bottom surface temperature - T _r Reference temperature - a Aspect ratio of cell - g Acceleration due to gravity - k Thermal conductivity - k ₁ Function related to ²v/T ² - k ₂ Function related to ⁴v/T ⁴ - r Rayleigh number ratioR _a/R _c - t Time - w Dimensionless vertical coordinate - w _m Mean cell height - x Horizontal coordinate - y Dimensionless horizontal coordinate - z Vertical coordinate - , Constants - _t Thermal expansion coefficient - Constant in viscosity function - T Temperature difference between top and bottom surfaces - _i Viscosity coefficients - Kinematic viscosity - _m Mean kinematic viscosity - Dimensionless kinematic viscosity - Thermal diffusivity - Non-linear temperature function - Dimensionless non-linear temperature function - _o - Stream function - Dimensionless time - Eigenvalues     

Low-temperature synthesis,pyrolysis and crystallization of tantalum oxide gels

Tantalum oxide gels in the form of transparent monoliths and powders have been prepared from hydrolysis of tantalum pentaethoxide under controlled conditions using different mole ratios of Ta(OC₂H₅)₅C₂H₅OHH₂OHCl. Alcohol acts as the mutual solvent and HCl as the deflocculating agent. For a fixed alkoxide water HCl ratio, the time of gel formation increased with the alcohol to alkoxide molar ratio. Thermal evolution of the physical and structural changes in the gel has been monitored by differential thermal analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy. On heating to 400 °C, the amorphous gel crystallized into the low-temperature orthorhombic phase -Ta₂O₅, which transformed into the high-temperature tetragonal phase -Ta₂O₅ when further heated to 1450 °C. The volume fraction of the crystalline phase increased with the firing temperature. The -Ta₂O₅ converted back into the low-temperature phase, -Ta₂O₅, on slow cooling through the transformation temperature of 1360 °C, indicating a slow but reversible transformation.     

Thermodynamic properties of the superconductorsBaPb 0.7 Bi 0.3 O 3 andBa 0.7 K 0.3 BiO 3 using Eliashberg theory

We present results of a thermodynamic analysis for the superconductors compounds BaPb_0.7Bi_0.3O₃ and Ba_0.7K_0.3BiO₃. The physical quantities are calculated making use of the Eliashberg theory and the electron-phonon spectra ²()F() as calculated by Shirai et al. For the superconductor BaPb_0.7Bi_0.3O₃, several models of the ²()F() were studied looking for a better agreement with experimental data. The best fit is achieved with a simple constant scaling (C = 1.25) of the Shirai's spectra. The functional derivative of the deviation function D(t) with respect to changes in ²()F() is also calculated.     

Transport results from untwinned YBCO: Washboard frequency of the vortex lattice,and the quasiparticle mean free path

The washboard frequency of the moving vortex lattice in untwinned YBa₂ Cu₃ O_6.93 may be observed through mode-locking to an externally applied ac current of frequency _ext. The interference between and _ext results in jumps in the dc current-voltage characteristics when and _ext are harmonically related¹. The interference effect disappears in the vortex liquid state. The Hall conductivity _xy below T_c in YBCO contains contributions² from a positive quasiparticle (qp) term (H) and a negative vortex term (1/H). The qp term is surprisingly large well below T_c and implies a large gap anisotropy and a long qp mean free path (mfp). The thermal Hall effect³ _xy is closely related to the qp _xy; _xy is produced by asymmetric scattering of qp by pinned vortices. The qp mfp at H = 0, extracted from _xy and extended to low T by _xy, increases remarkably from 90 Å at T_c to more than 0.5m at 22 K.     

Theory of periodically driven,current-carrying,superconducting filaments. I. Spatially homogeneous states

Starting from the nonequilibrium theory of dirty superconductors in the Ginzburg-Landau regime, spatially homogeneous states with an applied currentI=I ₀+I ₁ cos (t) are considered. Expressions for the linear response (I₁ small) valid up to high frequencies (k _BT_c) are derived and evaluated analytically for the experimentally important case of smallI ₀ and ₀(T). Then the nonlinear response is treated for frequencies with _E1. Interesting new behavior is found for frequencies ₀ 1, where ₀ is essentially the GL relaxation time.