The nature and role of incoherent interphase interfaces in diffusional solid-solid phase transformations

In this article, some views on the nature of incoherent interphase interfaces, and their role in the nucleation and growth processes governing the evolution of microstructure in solid-state diffusional transformations (reconstructive transformations), are explored. It is argued that essentially incoherent interfaces can be involved in the initiation and propagation of polymorphic transformations and massive transformations as well as in various precipitation phenomena in metallic and ceramic systems. Similar views have already been advanced earlier in connection with studies of massive transformations. Faceting along the interphase interface during nucleation and growth can derive from thermodynamic, kinetic, and crystallographic factors independent of the bicrystallography of the conjugate phases. This idiomorphic behavior can be relevant to both intergranular and intragranular phase formation. The concept of one-dimensional (1-D) commensuration of phases through plane edge-to-edge/row matching is an interesting extension of the classic ideas of coherency and bicrystallography and potentially important in characterizing the behavior of certain types of boundaries. However, the general importance of these geometrical relations in real and reciprocal space will depend on the depth of the energy wells in orientation space associated with these special boundaries. This article is based on a presentation made in the “Hume-Rothery Symposium on Structure and Diffusional Growth Mechanisms of Irrational Interphase Boundaries,” which occurred during the TMS Winter meeting, March 15–17, 2004, in Charlotte, NC, under the auspices of the TMS Alloy Phases Committee and the co-sponsorship of the TMS-ASM Phase Transformations Committee.     

Evaluation of hydrological processes in a mountainous small basin using a quinone biomarker.

An applicability of quinone biomarker to the analysis of hillslope runoff was investigated. At first, quinone profiles of three streams as well as a hillslope runoff in a forested headwater catchment were compared. The quinone composition of hillslope runoff differed from others. Moreover, there were remarkable differences in quinone profile of hillslope runoff under different rainfall conditions. Then, the behavior of quinone biomarker during the increase and decrease of hillslope runoff after a rainfall event was examined. The fractional changes in Q-9 (H2), Q-10 (H2), Q-11, MK-6 and MK-10 suggested the effect of interflow.     

Synthesis of minerals using alternative energy sources

A technology for the synthesis of synthetic minerals (using the example of spinels) using a low-temperature plasma flame is developed. The diagnostic properties of spinels are identified.     

A fuzzy logic rule-based automatic target recognizer

Methods for modeling and managing uncertainty in computer vision systems have received increased attention in recent years. Automatic target recognition is one application area of computer vision where the demands are particularly acute. In this article, fuzzy logic is proposed as a means of handling uncertainty in an expert system structure for automatic target recognition. A new technique for logical inference is described which is well-suited for this type of application. A prototype system has been developed and tested on multisensor and temporal images. the results are compared to a similar expert system which used a numeric uncertainty calculus.     

Recursive regularization filters: design, properties, andapplications

Least squares approximation problems that are regularized with specified highpass stabilizing kernels are discussed. For each problem, there is a family of discrete regularization filters (R-filters) which allow an efficient determination of the solutions. These operators are stable symmetric lowpass filters with an adjustable scale factor. Two decomposition theorems for the z-transform of such systems are presented. One facilitates the determination of their impulse response, while the other allows an efficient implementation through successive causal and anticausal recursive filtering. A case of special interest is the design of R-filters for the first- and second-order difference operators. These results are extended for two-dimensional signals and, for illustration purposes, are applied to the problem of edge detection. This leads to a very efficient implementation (8 multiplies+10 adds per pixel) of the optimal Canny edge detector based on the use of a separable second-order R-filter     

Effect of the magnetic-flux variations on SQUID stability

The oscillation dynamics of a nonhysteretic, one-contact superconducting quantum interferometer under low-frequency modulation of an external magnetic flux has been studied. It is shown that even in the case of adiabatic, equilibrium, and nonhysteretic operation modes of a superconducting ring enclosed by a weak link, there can appear chaotic oscillations. The conditions of chaos arising have been considered analytically and numerically; mechanisms and destruction scenarios of periodic oscillations have been studied. The stochastic instability could impose limitations on the increase in sensitivity of nonhysteretic SQUIDs, which was earlier predicted to be high enough.     

Edge-to-edge matching in thin films

A peculiar type of preferential orientation was recently observed in polycrystalline films that are formed by a solid-state reaction on a single crystal substrate. This texture, for which the term axiotaxy was proposed, is characterized by the preferred alignment of a low-index plane in the film to a low-index plane with the same d-spacing in the substrate. The alignment of lattice planes with nearly identical d-spacings across the interface results in a periodic structure along one direction in the plane of the interface. As a consequence of the constraint that a set of planes in the film is preferentially parallel to a set of planes in the substrate, the texture manifests itself as an off-normal fiber texture. This article is based on a presentation made in the “Hume-Rothery Symposium on Structure and Diffusional Grwoth Mechanisms of Irrational Interphase Boundaries,” which occurred during the TMS Winter meeting, March 15–17, 2004, in Charlotte, NC, under the auspices of the TMS Alloy Phases Committee and the co-sponsorship of the TMS-ASM Phase Transformations Committee.     

Kinetic aspects of deactivation of catalysts in prolonged use

A theoretical approach to the dynamic analysis of deactivation and aging of heterogeneous catalysts is proposed — analysis of the rate derivative in a kinetic equation of a given form. Methodology was demonstrated for the simplest kinetic equations — zero-and first-order. Regardless of the form of the kinetic equation for the dynamic model of deactivation, the rate constant is a function of an independent reaction coordinate. The method can also be used for solving reactivation problems and for explaining the dynamics of cation exchange in zeolite. __________ Translated from Khimiya i Tekhnologiya Topliv i Masel, No. 1, pp. 3–34, January–February, 2006.