Crystallization kinetics of V2AlC

X-ray amorphous V₂AlC and hexagonal (V,Al)₂C_x thin films were synthesized by magnetron sputtering from a compound target with the composition of V₂AlC. The crystallization kinetics was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). During continuous heating up to 1200 °C, one exothermal peak is observed between 565 and 675 °C. XRD data suggest that the DSC peak is associated with the formation of V₂AlC. The activation energy of crystallization of V₂AlC is ~ 308 kJ/mol based on the Kissinger approach. This value is close to the 287 kJ/mol activation energy obtained here for the transformation of magnetron sputtered (V,Al)₂C_x thin films to V₂AlC. The here reported phase formation temperature of V₂AlC is about 800 °C lower than during hot pressing of elemental powders.     

Fast lateral hydrogen diffusion in magnesium-hydride films on sapphire substrates studied by electrochemical hydrogenography

Hydrogen diffusion in thin magnesium films in lateral film direction is studied by stepwise electrochemical loading via the change in optical light transmission (‘electrochemical hydrogenography’) during the dihydride formation. During the first loading step, the dihydride front propagation kinetics allows determining the lateral hydrogen diffusion coefficient in the film, by applying an analytical model and, alternatively, by comparison with finite-element simulations. Subsequent loading steps show a time lag behavior in the dihydride front propagation. Therefore, they can be regarded as permeation experiments. These subsequent loading steps can be explained by hydrogen diffusion along grain boundaries and by taking the Gaussian shape of the hydrogen site energy distribution in the grain boundaries into account. In average, an effective hydrogen diffusion coefficient of $3_{?2}^{+12}?{10}^{?12}\raisebox{1ex}{${\text{m}}^2$}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$\text{s}$}\right.$ was found in lateral film direction. This value is the highest value known for hydrogen diffusion in Mg-dihydride, at room temperature. Possible sources for this high lateral hydrogen diffusivity are discussed including preferential hydrogen diffusion along the Mg/Mg-oxide interface, anisotropy of diffusion coefficients and lowering of diffusion energy barrier upon anisotropic film expansion.     

Influence of Heat Treatment Parameters on the Carbide Morphology of PM High-Speed Steel HS 6-5-3-8

The influence of heat treatment parameters on the carbide morphology of the powder metallurgic high-speed steel HS 6-5-3-8 is examined. To that end, diverse heat treatment parameters are selected and applied by quenching dilatometry. In particular, different austenitizing temperatures, as well as an isothermal holding stage during quenching in the temperature regime of the transformation gap at temperatures between 450 and 600 °C, are produced. Extensive computer-aided image analysis is performed to investigate the carbide morphology. It is found that the circularity of the tungsten-rich M₆C carbides increases significantly after short holding times at a temperature of 550 °C due to the carbide precipitation from metastable and supersaturated austenite onto pre-existing carbides. Longer holding times lead to further growth of the carbides, while the circularity of the carbides does not change. It is further shown that the hardness of the isothermally treated material is increased, all other parameters being equal. Increased carbide circularity might be helpful for increasing the toughness while reaching the same hardness and wear resistance as the conventional heat-treated material. Moreover, it might be possible to enhance the austenitizing temperature with regain of positive carbide morphology properties during the isothermal holding stage. Thus, improved material properties could be achieved.     

Implementation of management recommendations in unweaned dairy calves in western Germany and associated challenges

To improve the welfare of livestock, it is important to assess management practices on farms and to identify areas where current scientific recommendations are rarely implemented. Differences in the implementation of recommendations might be explained by the individual farm as well as the characteristics of survey respondents and their attitude toward animal welfare. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess dairy calf management practices, compare them with current scientific recommendations, and to explore factors that influence implementation of the recommended management practices. A 1.5-h interview was performed with stockpersons on 42 dairy farms (mean herd size ± SD = 149.9 ± 16.6 cows) distributed across western Germany in 2018 to 2019. We observed that the management of unweaned calves varied greatly from farm to farm in aspects such as milk-feeding protocols; timing of grouping and disbudding; and access to water, roughage, and concentrate. Major deviations from management recommendations were (1) cleaning calving pen only by removal of bedding without a following disinfection before restocking on 23.8% farms, cleaning of teat buckets without detergents and disinfection (23.8 and 11.9% of farms, respectively), and failure to disinfect navels (29.3% of farms); (2) separating calf and dam after only 5 to 8 h postpartum for calving at night in 97.6% farms and unchecked colostrum quality by 23.8% of survey respondents; (3) feeding waste milk by 72.4% of the farms surveyed; and (4) removing supernumerary teats and disbudding without local anesthesia (90 and 80% farms surveyed, respectively). The number of implemented recommendations on the farms surveyed correlated with who was responsible for calf rearing, and whether prioritizing animal welfare was considered important by the respondents. This study indicated that limitations of individual housing systems, time management, the stockperson's knowledge, and the stockperson's ability to relate to animals posed challenges in implementation of the recommendations. Further research on challenges in calf management and how to overcome them would be helpful to improve calves' welfare in current husbandry systems.     

A Mass-Preserving Two-Step Lagrange–Galerkin Scheme for Convection-Diffusion Problems

Journal of Scientific Computing - In this paper, we propose and analyze a mixed finite element scheme for stationary inductionless magnetohydrodynamic equations on a general Lipschitz domain. We...     

A quantitative assessment of the hydrogen storage capacity of the UK continental shelf

Increased penetration of renewable energy sources and decarbonisation of the UK's gas supply will require large-scale energy storage. Using hydrogen as an energy storage vector, we estimate that 150 TWh of seasonal storage is required to replace seasonal variations in natural gas production. Large-scale storage is best suited to porous rock reservoirs. We present a method to quantify the hydrogen storage capacity of gas fields and saline aquifers using data previously used to assess CO₂ storage potential. We calculate a P50 value of 6900 TWh of working gas capacity in gas fields and 2200 TWh in saline aquifers on the UK continental shelf, assuming a cushion gas requirement of 50%. Sensitivity analysis reveals low temperature storage sites with sealing rocks that can withstand high pressures are ideal sites. Gas fields in the Southern North Sea could utilise existing infrastructure and large offshore wind developments to develop large-scale offshore hydrogen production.     

Synaptic reorganization in explanted cultures of rat hippocampus

Due to loss of afferent innervation, synaptic reorganization occurs in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. With extra- and intracellular recordings, we confirm that the excitatory loop from the dentate gyrus (DG) to CA3 and further to CA1 is preserved. However, hilar stimulation evoked antidromic population spikes in the DG which were followed by a population postsynaptic potential (PPSP); intracellularly, an antidromic spike with a broad shoulder or EPSP/IPSP sequences were induced. Synaptic responses were blocked by glutamate receptor antagonists. Stimulation of CA1 induced a PPSP in DG. Dextranamine stained pyramidal cells of CA1 were shown to project to DG. After removal of area CA3, DG's and mossy fibers' (MF) stimulation still elicited PPSPs and EPSP/IPSP sequences in area CA1 which disappeared when a cut was made through the hippocampal fissure. During bicuculline perfusion, hilar stimulation caused EPSPs in granule cells and spontaneous and evoked repetitive firing appeared even after its isolation from areas CA3 and CA1. Collateral excitatory synaptic coupling between granule cells was confirmed by paired recordings. Besides the preservation of the trisynaptic pathway in this preparation, new functional synaptic contacts appear, presumably due to MF collateral sprouting and formation of pathways between areas CA1 and DG.     

GaAs/AlGaAs nanowire heterostructures studied by scanning tunneling microscopy

We directly image the interior of GaAs/AlGaAs axial and radial nanowire heterostructures with atomic-scale resolution using scanning tunneling microscopy. We show that formation of monolayer sharp and smooth axial interfaces are possible even by vapor-phase epitaxy. However, we also find that instability of the ternary alloys formed in the Au seed fundamentally limits axial heterostructure control, inducing large segment asymmetries. We study radial core-shell nanowires, imaging even ultrathin submonolayer shells. We demonstrate how large twinning-induced morphological defects at the wire surfaces can be removed, ensuring the formation of wires with atomically flat sides.