Glass-formation and hardness of Cu–Y alloys

Metallic glasses exhibit particularly attractive mechanical properties, like high stresses to fracture and large elastic strain (up to 2%), but they show generally low plasticity. Aim of this work is to investigate the glass forming range in the Cu–Y system, in order to form the ductile CuY phase (CsCl structure) upon crystallization. Cu₅₈Y₄₂, Cu₅₀Y₅₀ and Cu₃₃Y₆₇ alloys have been prepared by rapid solidification and copper mould casting, obtaining ribbons and cylindrical shaped ingots, with diameter of 2 mm. Fully amorphous, partially amorphous and fully crystalline samples have been obtained for different compositions and quenching conditions. In some cases, the X-ray diffraction results, analysed using the Rietveld method, showed CuY nanocrystals embedded in an amorphous matrix. The microstructure was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and the presence of nanocrystals of the ductile phase CuY has been confirmed. Microhardness results showed a softening of the amorphous phase due to the presence of CuY nanocrystals and a hardening due to the Cu₂Y phase.     

Simulation of Ground-Water Flow in Steep Basin with Shallow Surface Soil

A coupled ground-water∕channel flow distributed model has been developed for continuous simulation in a 123-km2 basin. The aim was to analyze the streamflow generation processes in natural vegetated environments. Finite-difference schemes have been used to solve conservation equations of the 2D saturated subsurface flow and the 1D kinematic surface flow. Because of the high hydraulic conductivity of the surface soil, only the saturation excess mechanism of runoff production has been considered. Parameter sensitivity analysis showed the overriding influence of soil storage capacity and conductivity. A grid discretization >100 m produces a hydraulic conductivity greater than physically meaningful, which considerably increases as the space-grid step increases. Results indicate that the model can satisfactorily simulate the water-flow behavior of the catchment after fitting the three parameters of surface hydraulic conductivity, effective porosity, and evapotranspiration losses. These are done after calculating the conductivity as a function of the height of the water table. The simulation efficiency has varied from 87% in the first 5-year calibration period to 85.8% in the subsequent 5-year validation period.     

An Integrated CAD Methodology for Yield Enhancement of VLSI CMOS Circuits Including Statistical Device Variations

In this paper a novel CAD methodology for yield enhancement of VLSI CMOS circuits including random device variations is presented. The methodology is based on a preliminary characterization of the technological process by means of specific test chips for accurate mismatch modeling. To this purpose, a very accurate position-dependent parameter mismatch model has been formulated and extracted. Finally a CAD tool implementing this model has been developed. The tool is fully integrated in an environment of existing commercial tools and it has been experimented in the STMicroelectronics Flash Memory CAD Group.As an example of application, a bandgap reference circuit has been considered and the results obtained from simulations have been compared with experimental data. Furthermore, the methodology has been applied to the read path of a complex Flash Memory produced by STMicroelectronics, consisting of about 16,000 MOSFETs. Measurements of electrical performances have confirmed the validity of the methodology, and the accuracy of both the mismatch model and the simulation flow.     

Methane steam reforming in a Pd-Ag membrane reformer: An experimental study on reaction pressure influence at middle temperature

In this experimental work, methane steam reforming (MSR) reaction is performed in a dense Pd-Ag membrane reactor and the influence of pressure on methane conversion, CO_x-free hydrogen recovery and CO_x-free hydrogen production is investigated. The reaction is conducted at 450 °C by supplying nitrogen as a sweep gas in co-current flow configuration with respect to the reactants. Three experimental campaigns are realized in the MR packed with Ni-ZrO catalyst, which showed better performances than Ni-Al₂O₃ used in a previous paper dealing with the same MR system. The first one is directed to keep constant the total pressure in both retentate and permeate sides of the membrane reactor. In the second case study, the total retentate pressure is kept constant at 9.0 bar, while the total permeate pressure is varied between 5.0 and 9.0 bar. As the best result of this work, at 450 °C and 4.0 bar of total pressure difference between retentate and permeate sides, around 65% methane conversion and 1.2 l/h of CO_x-free hydrogen are reached, further recovering 80% CO_x-free hydrogen over the total hydrogen produced during the reaction. Moreover, a study on the influence of hydrogen-rich gas mixtures on the hydrogen permeation through the Pd-Ag membrane is also performed and discussed.     

Pillar-assisted epitaxial assembly of toric focal conic domains of smectic-a liquid crystals

SU-8 pillar-assisted epitaxial assembly of toric focal conic domains (TFCDs) arrays of smectic-A liquid crystals is studied. The 3D nature of the pillar array is crucial to confine and direct the formation of TFCDs on the top of each pillar and between neighboring pillars, leading to highly ordered square and hexagonal array TFCDs. Excellent agreement between the experimentally obtained critical pillar diameter and elasticity calculation is found.     

Technique based on LED multispectral imaging and multivariate analysis for monitoring the conservation state of the Dead Sea Scrolls

The aim of this project is the development of a noninvasive technique based on LED multispectral imaging (MSI) for monitoring the conservation state of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) collection. It is well-known that changes in the parchment reflectance drive the transition of the scrolls from legible to illegible. Capitalizing on this fact, we will use spectral imaging to detect changes in the reflectance before they become visible to the human eye. The technique uses multivariate analysis and statistical process control theory. The present study was carried out on a "sample" parchment of calfskin. The monitoring of the surface of a commercial modern parchment aged consecutively for 2 h and 6 h at 80 °C and 50% relative humidity (ASTM) was performed at the Imaging Lab of the Library of Congress (Washington, DC, U.S.A.). MSI is here carried out in the vis-NIR range limited to 1 μm, with a number of bands of 13 and bandwidths that range from about 10 nm in UV to 40 nm in IR. Results showed that we could detect and locate changing pixels, on the basis of reflectance changes, after only a few "hours" of aging.     

Full scale experimental study of single-sided ventilation: Analysis of stack and wind effects

Natural ventilation can contribute to the reduction of the air conditioning demand and to the improvement of thermal comfort in buildings. In this paper, the flow field and the air change rate generated by a simple configuration of natural ventilation, namely single-sided ventilation, are examined experimentally. The experiments are realized in a full scale building exposed to outdoor conditions, using several measurement techniques. The main features of the flow generated by stack and wind effect are examined for different outdoor conditions (temperature difference, wind speed and direction). Finally, measured air change rates are compared to those calculated by existing correlations in order to analyze their applicability to the experimental configuration. Results show that the wind generates turbulence diffusion at the opening, counteracting the stack effect. Moreover, in the case of windward opening, there is an additional effect, namely the effect of mixing layer, which tends to increase the airflow rate. Existing correlations give reasonably good results in the case of windward opening, while in the case of leeward opening they overestimate the airflow rate.     

Some peculiarities of the diamond micro-powder sintering

Diamond micro-powders of 28/20 μm mean particle size were sintered under conditions of high pressure of 6.0 and 8.0 GPa at temperatures of 1600, 1700, and 1800 °C during various sintering times, aiming to obtain polycrystalline compacts with required strength. The experiments were carried out by using an anvil type high pressure device with toroidal concavity of 13.5 mm diameter. It was obtained samples with 4.5 mm diameter and 5.0 mm height. It was plotted the polycrystalline diamonds density dependency as a function of the process duration under the above mentioned sintering conditions. The kinetics of powder consolidation was studied by X-ray diffraction, which allowed the establishment of the correlation between the (3 3 1) plane enlargement of diamond and the structural transformations that took place during sintering. Another objective was the study of the graphitization kinetics of diamonds under the action of the sintering parameters. It was concluded that over the established consolidation mechanisms, also acts the partial shear mechanism.     

AQP4-MOG Double-Positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder: Case Report with Central and Peripheral Nervous System Involvement and Review of Literature

(1) The co-occurrence of AQP4 and myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibodies in patients with demyelinating disorders is extremely rare. In addition, a concomitant involvement of the peripheral nervous system (PNS) has been described either in association with AQP4 antibodies-positive neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD), or MOG-associated disease. We report on a case of NMOSD with co-occurrence of AQP4 and MOG antibodies and concomitant central and peripheral nervous system involvement. We also reviewed available cases of AQP4-MOG double-positive patients. (2) Brain and spine MRI, cerebrospinal fluid studies, and electrophysiological test were performed. Serum AQP4 and MOG positivity was assessed with live cell-based assay. (3) A 62-year-old woman presented with recurrent optic neuritis, myelitis, and radiculitis, tested positive for AQP4 and MOG antibodies, and was treated successfully with rituximab. (4) Although few cases of AQP4-MOG double-positive patients were already described mostly affecting females with a concomitant spinal cord and optical nerve involvement, we describe the first case of double-positive NMOSD with the peculiar involvement of both central and peripheral nervous system.