Creep and Superplasticity of Gadolinium-Doped Ceria Ceramics under AC Electric Current

Shaping of dense ceramics is difficult due to their inherent brittleness. Nanograined ceramics like tetragonal zirconia (TZP) can be superplastically deformed and shaped at high temperatures owing to grain boundary sliding (GBS). Herein, the enhanced plasticity of gadolinium-doped ceria (GDC) ceramics under mild and strong AC electric current in terms of steady state creep rate under both compressive and tensile loading is demonstrated. A current density of 25 and 200 mA mm⁻² is used for the creep deformation. The creep rate increases by up to two orders of magnitude under electric current. The stress exponent remains unchanged for creep experiments at 1200 °C with and without electric current, suggesting a GBS mechanism of plastic deformation in both cases. The field-enhanced creep rate is attributed to the interaction of space–charge layer and the electric field resulting in enhanced GBS. A higher current density results in enhanced ductility of GDC even when the Joule heating effect is compensated by reducing the furnace temperature.     

Limits and possibilities of laser speckle and white-light image-correlation methods: theory and experiments

A laser-speckle method and a white-light image-correlation method are used for strain mapping. A schematic model of the correlation function of two speckle patterns is proposed for investigation of strain influence on displacement-measurement accuracy. A specific software has been developed to calculate by direct correlation the displacement values between two pictures with a grainy pattern at any point on an object's surface. Its efficiency is demonstrated in several tests. Moreover, theoretical results are checked through experimental measurements. The limitations and performances of both optical techniques are discussed.     

Static and dynamic properties of highly turbid media determined by spatially resolved diffusive-wave spectroscopy

We show that spatially resolved backscattering can be used for simultaneous measurements of static and dynamic properties of highly turbid media. The spatial variation of the backscattered intensity gives access to the transport men free path. The decay of the temporal intensity-intensity correlation function depends on the point of observation. This property can be used to probe complex dynamics with several time scales. The implementation of the method and the data analysis are tested on concentrated suspensions of polystyrene spheres.     

EXAFS and XANES studies of retention of copper and lead by a lignocellulosic biomaterial

Lignocellulosic substrate (LS), which is a low cost biomaterial, has a strong complexing ability and can be used in the treatment of wastewaters as biosorbentto remove heavy metals. The speciation of copper and lead to this biomaterial has been studied by X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The copper(II) has a 6-coordinate structure with four oxygen atoms in the equatorial plane at 1.95 A and two in axial position at 2.35 A. In the case of lead a particularly low coordination number of about 3 has been obtained. The combination of extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) suggested that Cu and Pb are bound to the surface of LS through carboxylic moieties.     

A new version of the CADNA library for estimating round-off error propagation in Fortran programs

The CADNA library enables one to estimate, using a probabilistic approach, round-off error propagation in any simulation program. CADNA provides new numerical types, the so-called stochastic types, on which round-off errors can be estimated. Furthermore CADNA contains the definition of arithmetic and relational operators which are overloaded for stochastic variables and the definition of mathematical functions which can be used with stochastic arguments. On 64-bit processors, depending on the rounding mode chosen, the mathematical library associated with the GNU Fortran compiler may provide incorrect results or generate severe bugs. Therefore the CADNA library has been improved to enable the numerical validation of programs on 64-bit processors.

New version program summary

Program title: CADNACatalogue identifier: AEAT_v1_1Program summary URL:http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEAT_v1_1.htmlProgram obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. IrelandLicensing provisions: Standard CPC licence, http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/licence/licence.htmlNo. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 28 488No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 463 778Distribution format: tar.gzProgramming language: FortranNOTE: A C++ version of this program is available in the Library as AEGQ_v1_0Computer: PC running LINUX with an i686 or an ia64 processor, UNIX workstations including SUN, IBMOperating system: LINUX, UNIXClassification: 6.5Catalogue identifier of previous version: AEAT_v1_0Journal reference of previous version: Comput. Phys. Commun. 178 (2008) 933Does the new version supersede the previous version?: YesNature of problem: A simulation program which uses floating-point arithmetic generates round-off errors, due to the rounding performed at each assignment and at each arithmetic operation. Round-off error propagation may invalidate the result of a program. The CADNA library enables one to estimate round-off error propagation in any simulation program and to detect all numerical instabilities that may occur at run time.Solution method: The CADNA library [1-3] implements Discrete Stochastic Arithmetic [4,5] which is based on a probabilistic model of round-off errors. The program is run several times with a random rounding mode generating different results each time. From this set of results, CADNA estimates the number of exact significant digits in the result that would have been computed with standard floating-point arithmetic.Reasons for new version: On 64-bit processors, the mathematical library associated with the GNU Fortran compiler may provide incorrect results or generate severe bugs with rounding towards −∞ and +∞, which the random rounding mode is based on. Therefore a particular definition of mathematical functions for stochastic arguments has been included in the CADNA library to enable its use with the GNU Fortran compiler on 64-bit processors.Summary of revisions: If CADNA is used on a 64-bit processor with the GNU Fortran compiler, mathematical functions are computed with rounding to the nearest, otherwise they are computed with the random rounding mode. It must be pointed out that the knowledge of the accuracy of the stochastic argument of a mathematical function is never lost.Restrictions: CADNA requires a Fortran 90 (or newer) compiler. In the program to be linked with the CADNA library, round-off errors on complex variables cannot be estimated. Furthermore array functions such as product or sum must not be used. Only the arithmetic operators and the abs, min, max and sqrt functions can be used for arrays.Additional comments: In the library archive, users are advised to read the INSTALL file first. The doc directory contains a user guide named ug.cadna.pdf which shows how to control the numerical accuracy of a program using CADNA, provides installation instructions and describes test runs. The source code, which is located in the src directory, consists of one assembly language file (cadna_rounding.s) and eighteen Fortran language files. cadna_rounding.s is a symbolic link to the assembly file corresponding to the processor and the Fortran compiler used. This assembly file contains routines which are frequently called in the CADNA Fortran files to change the rounding mode. The Fortran language files contain the definition of the stochastic types on which the control of accuracy can be performed, CADNA specific functions (for instance to enable or disable the detection of numerical instabilities), the definition of arithmetic and relational operators which are overloaded for stochastic variables and the definition of mathematical functions which can be used with stochastic arguments. The examples directory contains seven test runs which illustrate the use of the CADNA library and the benefits of Discrete Stochastic Arithmetic.Running time: The version of a code which uses CADNA runs at least three times slower than its floating-point version. This cost depends on the computer architecture and can be higher if the detection of numerical instabilities is enabled. In this case, the cost may be related to the number of instabilities detected.References:

[1]

The CADNA library, URL address: http://www.lip6.fr/cadna.

[2]

F. Jézéquel, J.-M. Chesneaux, CADNA: a library for estimating round-off error propagation, Comput. Phys. Commun. 178 (12) (2008) 933-955.

[3]

N.S. Scott, F. Jézéquel, C. Denis, J.-M. Chesneaux, Numerical ‘health check’ for scientific codes: the CADNA approach, Comput. Phys. Commun. 176 (8) (2007) 507-521.

[4]

J. Vignes, A stochastic arithmetic for reliable scientific computation, Math. Comput. Simul. 35 (1993) 233-261.

[5]

J. Vignes, Discrete stochastic arithmetic for validating results of numerical software, Numer. Algorithms 37 (2004) 377-390.

     

Nearshore sea temperature variability off Rottnest Island (Western Australia) derived from satellite data

While satellite‐derived sea‐surface temperatures (SSTs) have been widely used in open ocean monitoring, they have rarely been applied to the nearshore region. In this study, full‐resolution Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite data were used to derive a sea temperature climatology for three nearshore sites at Rottnest Island (Western Australia) for the 7‐year period 1995 to 2001. Because of the proximity to the land, image geolocation and careful pixel selection were crucial. The mean annual cycle shows the influence of both air–sea heat flux in the shallow waters and the seasonal strengthening of the tropical Leeuwin Current. Self‐recording temperature loggers were installed on near‐surface buoys for a few months in 2001 to assess how reliably the satellite temperatures could be used in such a dynamic nearshore environment. About 80% of the individual satellite temperatures were within ±0.5°C of the logger measurements (at the same time of day) and over 95% were within ±1°C. Occasionally, however, the satellite temperatures differed from the in situ measurements by more than 2°C and possible reasons for this are discussed. The monthly mean satellite temperatures were generally within 0.3°C of the monthly logger averages, which may be taken as a practical reliability limit for the climatology.     

Synthesis,sintering, and effect of surface roughness on oxidation of submicron Ti2AlC ceramics

Submicron Ti₂AlC MAX phase powder was synthesized by molten salt shielded synthesis (MS³) using a Ti:Al:C molar ratio of 2:1:0.9 at a process temperature of 1000°C for 5  hours. The synthesized powder presented a mean particle size of ~0.9 µm and a purity of 91 wt. % Ti₂AlC, containing 6 wt. % Ti₃AlC₂. The Ti₂AlC powder was sintered by pressureless sintering, achieving a maximal relative density of 90%, hence field-assisted sintering technology/spark plasma sintering was used to enhance densification. The fine-grained microstructure was preserved, and phase purity of Ti₂AlC was unaltered in the latter case, with a relative density of 98.5%. Oxidation was performed at 1200°C for 50 hours in static air of dense monolithic Ti₂AlC with different surface finish, (polished, ground and sandblasted) which resulted in the formation of an approx. 8 µm thin aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) layer decorated with titanium dioxide (rutile, TiO₂) colonies. Surface quality had no influence on Al₂O₃ scale thickness, but the amount and size of TiO₂ crystals increased with surface roughness. A phenomenon of rumpling of the thermally grown oxide (TGO) was observed and a model to estimate the extent of deformation is proposed.     

In vitro fermentation of beet fibre and barley bran,of their insoluble residues after digestion and of ileal effluents

The main objective of this study was to determine the form in which beet and barley bran fibres reach the colon, and to evaluate the influence of endogeneous compounds on their patterns of fermentation. Raw fibres (RF), corresponding ileal effluents (IE) from pigs, and insoluble fibre residues (IR) extracted from IE, were fermented with human faecal inoculum for 24 h in an in vitro batch system. For beet fibre, rate but not extent of cell wall sugars degradation was increased (+34% at 6 h, P<0·05) after oroileal transit, due to a more porous structure. For barley bran, oroileal conditions degraded endosperm compounds such as β-glucans, leading to a lower extent of cell wall glucose fermentation compared with RF (-22% at 24 h, P<0·05). In the presence of endogeneous substances, degradation of beet fibre polysaccharides was delayed (P<0·05) at each incubation time but that of barley bran fibre was unaltered. Compared to RF, IR and IE significantly exhibited lower acetate production for beet fibre, and higher propionate and lower butyrate production for barley bran after 24 h. It is concluded that in vivo digestion modified fermentation patterns of both fibres in a manner depending on botanical structure. ©1997 SCI     

Synthesis of new soluble polybenzyls by Friedel–Crafts reactions

Soluble polybenzyls were prepared by a catalytic electrophilic Friedel–Crafts type polycondensation between α,α′-dichloro-p-xylene and substituted (by an alkyl or an alkoxy side-chain) mesitylene. The influence of the length of the side-chain on the solubility of the polymer was examined. The polymers were found to be soluble in common organic solvents. Polymer characterizations were made by ¹³C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and elemental analysis. © 1999 Society of Chemical Industry     

NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Controls Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Phenotypic Switch in Atherosclerosis

(1) Background: Monocytes and nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome orchestrate lipid-driven amplification of vascular inflammation promoting the disruption of the fibrous cap. The components of the NLRP3 inflammasome are expressed in macrophages and foam cells within human carotid atherosclerotic plaques and VSMCs in hypertension. Whether monocytes and NLRP3 inflammasome activation are direct triggers of VSMC phenotypic switch and plaque disruption need to be investigated. (2) Methods: The direct effect of oxLDL-activated monocytes in VSMCs co-cultured system was demonstrated via flow cytometry, qPCR, ELISA, caspase 1, and pyroptosis assay. Aortic roots of VSMCs lineage tracing mice fed normal or high cholesterol diet and human atherosclerotic plaques were used for immunofluorescence quantification of NLRP3 inflammasome activation/VSMCs phenotypic switch. (3) Results: OxLDL-activated monocytes reduced α-SMA, SM22α, Oct-4, and upregulation of KLF-4 and macrophage markers MAC2, F4/80 and CD68 expression as well as caspase 1 activation, IL-1β secretion, and pyroptosis in VSMCs. Increased caspase 1 and IL-1β in phenotypically modified VSMCs was detected in the aortic roots of VSMCs lineage tracing mice fed high cholesterol diet and in human atherosclerotic plaques from carotid artery disease patients who experienced a stroke. (4) Conclusions: Taken together, these results provide evidence that monocyte promote VSMC phenotypic switch through VSMC NLRP3 inflammasome activation with a likely detrimental role in atherosclerotic plaque stability in human atherosclerosis.