Characteristics and tribological properties in water of Si-DLC coatings

Si-containing diamond-like carbon (Si-DLC) coatings with a Si content ranging between 0 (DLC) and 10 at.% were deposited by thermal electron excited plasma CVD method, and their characteristics and the tribological properties in water environment were investigated. The results showed that doped Si had little effect on the hardness and Young's modulus of the coatings. Increasing Si content reduced the friction and the wear of the mated ball, although the wear of the coatings increased. The wear of the counter ball occurred mainly in the early stage of rubbing. The Raman and XPS analysis revealed that the tribochemical reaction of Si-DLC coating occurred in water, and SiO_x(OH)_y gel was formed on the mated ball surface. It is considered that the tribochemical reaction is also responsible for the tribological properties of the Si-DLC coating and the counter ball, and the reaction may be accelerated by increasing the Si content. Failure-resistant capability is strongly governed by the characteristics of the coating, and can be improved by doping Si. There is an optimum Si content for increasing the failure-resistant capability and it was 6.6 at.% in this work.     

Magnetic Field Measurement System in Superconducting Combined Function Magnets for the J-PARC Neutrino Beam Line

Magnetic field measurements have been performed for the first full-scale magnet system assembled with the cryostat for the J-PARC proton beam line of neutrino experiment. In the measurement system, the probe position with respect to magnet central axis is measured by a Helium Neon laser and a position sensitive detector, PSD, in order to obtain an exact dipole field strength. Errors associated with the PSD misalignment and influences on the PSD signals by the magnetic field were evaluated. The measured dipole components approached to the design values by compensating those with the probe position. The latest beam simulation indicated that the measured values of magnetic field were good enough for the primary proton beam transport.     

Different feeding and gustatory responses to ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone by larvae of the silkworm,Bombyx mori

The feeding and gustatory responses to ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone were investigated in the silkworm,Bombyx mori. 20-Hydroxyecdysone reduced feeding response strongly in fourth- and fifth-instar larvae, whereas ecdysone had no effect on feeding response. 20-Hydroxyecdysone stimulated the R receptor, the receptor to feeding deterrents, to a great degree. By contrast, ecdysone was much less effective for stimulating the R receptor. These results indicate that ecdysone and 20-hydroxyecdysone have different effects on feeding response due to different interactions with mouthpart chemoreceptors.     

Characterization of alicyclic polyimides based on cyclobutane ring dianhydride and aromatic diamine

Films of alicyclic polyamic acid and polyimide containing cyclobutane ring in dianhydride moiety and aromatic ring with p- or m-linkages in diamine moiety were characterized by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, dynamic viscoelasticity, differential-scanning calorimetry (DSC), density, and wide-angle X-ray diffraction analyses. Partially and fully imidized polyimides were obtained by varying the imidization temperature, e.g., 150°C, 250°C, and 350°C. It was found from the results of IR spectra, dynamic viscoelasticity, and DSC measurements that the imidization of alicyclic polyamic acid was reduced at about 150°C and needed a higher imidization temperature than aromatic polyamic acid. Alicyclic polyimide with m-linkage in the diamine moiety had a higher density and a much more ordered structure than with p-linkage. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Phase equilibria in TiB2-reinforced high modulus steel

An application of thermodynamic calculations to the phase equilibria in TiB₂-reinforced high modulus steel (HMS) is described. Titanium diboride (TiB₂) has been verified as the best reinforcement for improving isotropic Young’s modulus of steels. The TiB₂ particles can be synthesized in-situ in a ferrite matrix using a combination of ferrotitanium and ferroboron powders. The calculations reveal that impurities, such as oxygen, could promote the iron boride (Fe₂B) formation in a Fe-TiB₂ pseudobinary system, especially for the HMS processed through this powder metallurgical technique. Modification of the steel matrix of HMS by an addition of ferrite formers is encouraged based on the calculated (Fe-TiB₂)-X diagrams that show no significant change in the stability of TiB₂. In the development of HMS with an Fe-Cr matrix, the phase constitution was predicted successfully, and the highest Young’s modulus is reached with a proper control of titanium content.     

Photochemical reactions of high polymers. XIII. Photografting of methyl methacrylate onto the polymers bearing thiosulfate groups

Polymers bearing pendent thiosulfate groups, that is, sodium poly(vinyl benzyl thiosulfate) (PVBB) and the sodium salt of poly(vinyl hydrothiosulfatoacetate)(PV AcB), were prepared. The photograft polymerization of methyl methacrylate onto these polymers was carried out. The relationships between irradiation time and conversion, degree of grafting, and grafting efficiency were investigated in the photograft polymerization. It was ascertained that the pendent thiosulfate groups acted as effective initiators for the graft polymerization. From the number of endgroups in the homopolymer formed along with the graft polymer, the mechanism of the graft polymerization was discussed and it was verified that the graft polymerization was initiated by the thiyl radical formed by scission of the sulfur–sulfur bond of the pendent thiosulfate group. An unusually high degree of grafting and extremely rapid polymerization rate observed in the graft polymerization suggested the dual functions of thiosulfate-bearing polymer as initiator and emulsifier. It was found that addition of FeCl₂ to this polymerization system increased the rate of polymerization and the degree of grafting but decreased the grafting efficiency. The effect of FeCl₂ was interpreted by assumption of a photo-redox reaction between thiosulfate group and Fe²⁺.     

Iodine reaction of vinyl acetate/vinyl propionate copolymers. III. Iodine affinities of the radically polymerized copolymers and the copolymers derived from partially saponified polyvinyl acetate

The minimum sequence lengths (n_c) of vinyl acetate (VAc) units necessary to form a colored iodine complex were determined to be 4 and 17 for radically polymerized VAc/vinyl propionate (VPr) and VAc/isopropenyl acetate (IPAc) copolymers, respectively. The iodine affinities (I/VAc) of VAc/VPr copolymers (SP-series) obtained by propionylation of partially saponified polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) were remarkably affected by the saponification conditions. An increase of the water content in acetone/water mixture as saponification solvent brought about a decrease of the iodine affinities of the SP-series. The dependence of the iodine affinity on the saponification of monomer units in the SP-series was compared with that in the radically polymerized VAc/VPr copolymers by taking the sequence probability as the measure of monomer unit distribution. The results strongly supported an occurence of the slide fastener reaction at high degrees of saponification, which was well-known in the saponification of PVAc. Furthermore, it was found that the saponification mode of PVAc at low degrees of saponification was influenced uniquely by the water content in saponification solvents and the saponification temperature.     

Removal of nitrogen oxides from air by chemicals-impregnated carbons

Fixation of nitrogen oxides (NO_x) in air onto granular activated carbon impregnated with chemicals was attempted to improve removal efficiency of NO_x by activated carbon adsorption. Nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), were tried to remove by a flow test. Fixed-bed adsorption breakthrough curves were obtained when some kinds of carbon were used. The amount adsorbed of NO₂ changed with the amount and kinds of metallic salts impregnated. Chemicals-impregnated carbons were prepared from a commercial activated carbon. Among obtained carbons, the one which showed the highest selectivity for NO_x was chosen, and its performance with the change in humidity was determined. Removal mechanism of NO₂ was estimated, and the carbon impregnated with potassium hydroxide was found to be superior to any other carbon tested. The amount of the adsorbed NO and that produced by the reduction of NO₂ were determined from the breakthrough curves.     

Preparation and Faraday Effect of Fluoroaluminate Glasses Containing Divalent Europium Ions

Fluoroaluminate glasses containing various concentrations of Eu²⁺ were prepared under a reducing atmosphere for the present study, and the wavelength dependence of the Faraday rotation angle was examined. The magnitude of the Verdet constant (V_c) increased as the concentration of Eu²⁺ increased. In addition, the Verdet constant of glasses containing 5 cat.% Eu²⁺ was larger than that of fluoroaluminate glasses containing the same concentration of Tb³⁺ in the wavelength region from 400 to 600 nm. The effective transition wavelength, λ_t, for glasses containing Eu²+ as well as those containing Tb³+ was evaluated based on the Van Vleck and Hebb theory. Factors dominating the Verdet constant of those glasses are discussed in this report.     

Nitridation of the Sol–Gel-Derived Titanium Oxide Films by Heating in Ammonia Gas

Dip-coated sol–gel-derived TiO₂ films on an alumina substrate were converted to nonstoichiometric titanium nitride (TiN _x ( x ≦ 1)) films by heating at approxmately 1000°C in NH₃ gas. TiO₂ films made from TiO₂ sols prepared from Ti(O– i -C₃H₇)₄ and stabilized by diethanolamine were more easily nitrided than those from sols containing HCl as a deflocculant reagent. This appears to be a result of the more porous structure of the former films.