Low Temperature Physics at the Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Pulsés in Toulouse

An overview over past and present activities and future developments at the Toulouse pulsed magnetic field facility is given, both as far as technical developments of the infrastructure, as well as low temperature physics performed at the LNCMP are concerned.     

Volumetric Change and Surface Properties of Temperature-Sensitive Polyvinylalcohol (PVA) Hydrogel

Polyvinylalcohol (PVA) polymer gel is a temperature sensitive polymeric gel, with a critical transition temperature (with H₂O) of 310 K. At higher than 310 K, this temperature sensitive polymer gel shrinks because of discharging water, whereas at lower temperatures, the gel swelled because of absorbing water. The reversibility of the gel's volume change was confirmed by temperature swing. The adsorption behavior of an organic compound onto the PVA polymer gel in water was tested at various temperatures. The amount of adsorbed organic compound increased remarkably at temperatures higher than about 310 K. Then, it was confirmed that the organic compound in PVA polymer gel could be reversibly adsorbed and desorbed by a temperature change between 293 and 323 K. The mechanism of adsorption of the organic compound onto the PVA polymer gel could be explained by hydration and dehydration of polymer gel.     

Quantifying and characterizing contemporary riparian sedimentation

Fluvial processes of erosion, sediment transport and deposition determine the changing form and sedimentary structure of naturally adjusting riparian zones. Riparian sediment storage has both scientific and management importance in relation to: (i) the quantities of sediment that are involved; (ii) the quality of the sediment; and (iii) the dispersal of biological materials, notably the vegetation propagules that are transported and deposited in association with the sediment. After discussing the significance of riparian sedimentation processes, this paper reviews methods for quantifying contemporary sediment deposition within water bodies and their margins. Methods for investigating contemporary riparian sedimentation are given particular emphasis, and the extent to which different methods provide comparable estimates and have been used to support the analysis of different physical and chemical properties of the sediment are outlined. The importance of the following are stressed: (i) selecting a sampling method that is suited to the sedimentation environment; (ii) incorporating careful cross‐calibration if measurements from different methods are to be combined; and (iii) replicating measurements to give more robust estimates if small traps are employed. It is concluded that artificial turf mats provide a useful design of sediment trap across a range of environmental conditions because: (i) their surface roughness reduces problems of sediment removal by flood waters or rainfall; (ii) their pliability permits installation on irregular surfaces; (iii) they can be securely attached to the ground with metal pins to resist high shear stresses from river flows; (iv) they are robust and light and so easily manipulated in the field and laboratory; (v) it is possible to fully recover the deposited sediment to accurately determine the amount of sediment deposited and to support a range of other analyses. Results are presented to illustrate how artificial turf mats can be used to estimate the quantity and quality of deposited sediment and to explore the associated deposition of viable seeds. This provides one example of the important hydroecological role of riparian sedimentation processes and of the potential for the development of innovative, interdisciplinary research on riparian sediment dynamics. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microstrip stepped impedance resonator bandpass filter with an extended optimal rejection bandwidth

Bandpass filters with an optimal rejection bandwidth are designed using parallel-coupled stepped impedance resonators (SIRs). The fundamental (f/sub o/) and higher order resonant harmonics of an SIR are analyzed against the length ratio of the high-Z and low-Z segments. It is found that an optimal length ratio can be obtained for each high-Z to low-Z impedance ratio to maximize the upper rejection bandwidth. A tapped-line input/output structure is exploited to create two extra transmission zeros in the stopband. The singly loaded Q(Q/sub si/) of a tapped SIR is derived. With the aid of Q/sub si/, the two zeros can be independently tuned over a wide frequency range. When the positions of the two zeros are purposely located at the two leading higher order harmonics, the upper rejection band can be greatly extended. Chebyshev bandpass filters with spurious resonances up to 4.4f/sub o/, 6.5f/sub o/, and 8.2f/sub o/ are fabricated and measured to demonstrate the idea.     

Mechanical spectroscopy in commercial Fe–6 wt.% Si alloys between 400 and 1000 K

Mechanical spectroscopy, neutron diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were performed on commercial Fe–6 wt.% Si alloy after quenching from high temperature. The damping spectrum shows a peak at around 800 K and an associated modulus defect. The modulus shows an increase during the second and subsequent heating runs. In addition, an anomaly in the modulus behavior has been found at around 400 K. Different thermal treatments allows to obtain two different recovery degrees of the quenched-in defects. The influence of the recovery degree on the 800 K internal friction peak and on the anelastic modulus has been evaluated and confirm the validity of the grain boundary mechanism associated to this peak. Experimental results are discussed on the basis of recovery and ordering processes.     

Wavelength-tunable 40-GHz picosecond harmonically mode-locked fiber laser source

We demonstrate a novel 40-GHz mode-locked fiber laser that utilizes a single active device to provide both gain and mode-locking. The laser produces pulses as short as 2.2 ps, is tunable over a 27-nm band centered at 1553 nm, and exhibits long-term stability without cavity-length feedback control. The pulse train at 1556 nm was used in a 40-Gb/s transmission experiment over 45 km with a low 0.4-dB power penalty.     

Anthocyanin composition of the red wine Babić affected by maceration treatment

Identification of anthocyanins in the wine made of the Croatian autochthonous grape variety of Babić (Vitis vinifera L.) was carried out and their profile was determined by means of high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array and mass spectrometric detection. Dependence of anthocyanins content and profile on maceration treatment conditions was investigated. Statistically significant differences of anthocyanins concentration in wines Babić produced by various maceration treatments were confirmed by the use of multivariate analysis of variances. The investigation results indicated that the maceration temperature exerts higher influence on anthocyanins concentration than the duration of maceration. In addition, on the basis of anthocyanin composition and using different multivariate statistical analyses, differentiation of wines Babić according to maceration treatments was procured.     

Modification of ASM3 for the determination of biomass adsorption/storage capacity in bulking sludge control.

The selector activated sludge (SAS) systems are known to prevent excessive growth of filamentous microorganisms responsible for bulking sludge, but these systems were hardly ever modelled. This study aimed to develop a model capable of predicting rapid substrate removal in the SAS systems. For this purpose, the Activated Sludge Model No. 3 (ASM3) was extended with three processes (adsorption, direct growth on the adsorbed substrate under aerobic or anoxic conditions). The modified ASM3 was tested against the results of batch experiments with the biomass originating from two full-scale SAS systems in Germany. The endogenous biomass was mixed with various readily biodegradable substrates (acetate, peptone, glucose and wastewater) and the utilisation of substrate (expresses as COD) and oxygen uptake rates (OURs) were measured during the experiments. In general, model predictions fitted to the experimental data, but a considerable number of kinetic (5) and stoichiometric (2) parameters needed to be adjusted during model calibration. The simulation results revealed that storage was generally a dominating process compared to direct growth in terms of the adsorbed substrate utilisation. The contribution of storage ranged from 65-71% (Plant A) and 69-92% (Plant B).