Deuterium permeation behavior for damaged tungsten by ion implantation

The deuterium (D) permeation behaviors for ion-damaged tungsten (W) by 3 keV D₂⁺ and 10 keV C⁺ were studied. The D permeability was obtained for un-damaged W at various temperatures. For both D₂⁺ and C⁺ implanted W, the permeability was clearly reduced. But, for the D₂⁺ implanted W, the permeability was recovered by heating at 1173 K and it was almost consistent with that for un-damaged W. In the case of C⁺ implanted W, the permeability was not recovered even if the sample was heated at 1173 K, indicating that the existence of carbon would prevent the recovery of permeation path in W. In addition, transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation showed the voids were grown by heating at 1173 K and not removed, showing the existence of damages would not largely influence on the hydrogen permeation behavior in W in the present study.     

An Air Bearing Slider for Small Diameter Disk Storage Devices

The authors propose a novel slider design. The tri-pad slider has three separate air bearing surfaces, one in the front of the slider and the other two in the back of the slider. This design permits the optimization of the air bearing stiffness and flying attitude without changing the minimum flying height. It can minimize the effect of skew angle on the flying height, and offers ample room for a larger size thin film head element. Samples were fabricated and flying characteristics at several velocities, as well as the dynamic flying stability, were investigated.     

Ultrasonic welding of heat-treatable aluminium alloy A6061 sheet

In this study, the authors applied the ultrasonic welding method to weld A6061 heat treatable aluminium alloy and investigated the effects of clamping load and welding time on the properties of the weld. In addition, in order to improve the strength of the joint, the effectiveness of the ethanol droplet on the faying surface was examined. The following results were obtained.

The joint strength increased with clamping load and welding time. The fracture of the joint produced under the welding conditions of 1176 N clamping load and 1.5 s welding time occurred in the base metal. The ethanol droplet on the faying surface successfully produced the joint with a strength equivalent to that of the base metal under the welding conditions of smaller clamping load and shorter welding time than the case without ethanol droplet. The softening around the welded area that was performed with the ethanol droplet was smaller than that in the welded area produced by other methods such as TIG and friction stir welding. The fracture surface of the joint welded with the ethanol droplet was remarkably irregular and rough. A dimple pattern was observed over a wide area, indicating that the welded area was significantly expanded. The ethanol droplet made the temperature of the weld area higher than that without ethanol, resulting in improved joint strength with an increase of the plastic deformation at the interface.     

Reduction in polarization dependent loss of a planar lightwave circuit by ion-implantation-induced birefringence

Reduction in polarization dependent loss of a planar lightwave circuit was achieved by asymmetric birefringence formed by ion implantation, in which oxygen ions were implanted along a diagonal of a cross-section of the planar lightwave circuit. The induced birefringence has a slow axis along the line perpendicular to the diagonal. In the present research, a decrease in polarization dependent loss of up to 3.7 dB was obtained, indicating that the method is effective for reducing polarization dependent loss.     

Effect of Dehydration and Urea on Stability of Homosulfamine in Solid States

In the presence of urea in solid states, the stability of unpulverized homosulfamine hydrate (phase I; UHH) is significantly decreased whereas that of unpulverized homosulfamine anhydrate (UHA) is not. The stability of UHH is decreased slightly more by pulverization (PHH). The major objective of this study was to investigate the effects of urea, dehydration, and pulverization on the stability of homosulfamine in solid states. Binary mixtures of UHH and urea, PHH and urea, and UHA and urea in a ratio of 1:1 (wt/wt) were prepared as physical mixtures and were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy to study their appearance and structural changes before and after storage. PXRD analysis revealed that physical mixtures comprising UHH and urea and PHH and urea have the same diffraction pattern as that of the mixture of UHA and urea after preparation. The dehydration rate of the crystal water of UHH was accelerated by the presence of urea in addition to pulverization. Moreover, the PXRD patterns of the physical mixtures of UHH/urea and PHH/urea were significantly altered during storage, whereas that of UHA/urea was not, which was consistent with the SEM and FTIR results. The particle shape and appearance of UHH varied significantly as a result of pulverization. The stability of homosulfamine was influenced not only by the presence of urea and dehydration but also by the surface state and particle size of the crystalline form.     

Turbo-pump with Isolated Two Stage Impellers for Future Rocket Engine （Trial to Drive Impellers Independently）

To suppress the cavitation in the impellers and to make the turbo-pump lives longer, the inducer was separated from the main impeller and both impellers were driven independently. The performance of the pump and the flow conditions around the impellers were investigated experimentally and the following results were obtained. （1）The main impeller contributes to the flow interaction between the inducer and the main impeller. （2）The rotational speeds of both impellers can be controlled independently in order to suppress simultaneously the cavitation not only in the main impeller, but also in the inducer.     

Changes in the cycling of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in a dairy farming system

The objective of this study was to quantify nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) use and cycling in a dairy farming system. The data were collected from the experimental farm at the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, using about 11 ha of forage crop fields and about 30 dairy cows. Forage crops grown in the field were ensiled and offered to the cows, and the subsequent compost from the animals’ excretion was applied to the field. The dairy farming system consisted of soil/crop, feed storage, animal, and compost components. Nutrient inputs and outputs and flows of the soil–plant–animal pathway for the whole farm and each component were measured for 5 years. Nutrient utilization was evaluated using nutrient balances, use efficiencies, and cycling indices. The 5 year average nutrient balances and nutrient use efficiencies of N, P, and K for the whole farm (kg ha^?1 year^?1) were 378, 97, and 199 and 0.25, 0.19, and 0.18, respectively. The characteristics of nutrient balances and use efficiencies for each component differed among N, P, and K. The average cycling indices of N, P, and K were 0.12, 0.11, and 0.37, respectively. Significant positive relationships between use efficiencies and cycling indices were observed in N and K. Year-to-year variations in flows were relatively large for compost application. The results suggested that improving N balance would be the most effective option for solving many of the environmental problems related to dairy farming.