Experimental investigation and thermodynamic calculation of the phase equilibria in the Co-Nb-Ta ternary system

The isothermal sections of the Co-Nb-Ta ternary system at 900 °C, 1000 °C, 1100 °C, 1200 °C, 1300 °C have been experimentally determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques on the equilibrated alloys. On the basis of the experimental data investigated in the present work, the phase equilibria in the Co-Nb-Ta system has been thermodynamically assessed by using CALPHAD (CALculation of PHAse Diagrams) method, and a consistent set of the thermodynamic parameters leading to reasonable agreement between the calculated results and experimental data was obtained.     

NiCuZn ferrite flakes prepared using a sol-gel bubble method and its magnetic properties

Ni_0.23Cu_0.11Zn_0.66Fe₂O₄ ferrite flakes, with thickness of about 8 μm and average diameter of 20-35 μm, were prepared using a sol-gel bubble method. Morphology, phase evolution, static and dynamic magnetic properties of the flakes and their composites were studied. Magnetic measurements showed that easy magnetization direction of the flaky filler composite was parallel to its sample plane. Composites made of silicone resins and flakes had higher complex permeability, which can be attributed to the reduction in demagnetization factor due to their flaky shapes. This sol-gel bubble method should be also applicable to fabricating flakes of other multi-component oxides.     

Infrared emission properties and energy transfer in ZnO-SiO2:Yb composites

Intense near-infrared emission at 1 μm has been obtained in ZnO-SiO₂:Yb³⁺ composites via a facile sol-gel method upon broadband ultraviolet light excitation. Systematic optical measurements including static and time-resolved photoluminescence have been performed to elucidate the energy transfer from ZnO quantum dots to Yb³⁺ ions. The dependence of energy transfer efficiency on Yb³⁺ concentration has been investigated in detail. Codoping with Li⁺ ions leads to about twice enhancement of the near-infrared luminescence intensity around 1 μm at room temperature. The enhancement in the luminescence intensity could be mostly attributed to the modification of the local symmetry around Yb³⁺ ions by codoping with Li⁺ ions.     

Mechanical and moisture-dependent swelling properties of compressed Japanese cedar

In this research, five groups of compressed wood specimens were investigated, four made from compressed Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) with compression ratios (CR) of 33%, 50%, 67% and 70%, and one without compressing for control purpose. The measurements of moisture-dependent swelling of the specimens were carried out in the R, T and L directions, with typical strain values of 10%, 1.5% and 0.1% respectively corresponding to the CR = 67%. Mechanical property tests of the compressed wood were also undertaken. Material properties obtained cover radial and tangential swelling strain rates, shear moduli in LR, LT and RT planes, Young’s moduli in the L, R, T directions and Poisson ratios in all planes. The Young’s moduli along the longitudinal and radial directions have been increased by over 300% in relation to the CR of 70%.     

The influence of thermal annealing on the optical properties of nanocrystalline zinc sulfide films

The influence of thermal annealing on the photoluminescence, electroluminescence, and the transmission and reflection spectra in nanocrystalline zinc sulfide films has been studied. All the samples exhibit a broad emission band, the intensity of which depends on the annealing temperature. It is shown that luminophors, the crystal lattice of which includes imperfections that appeared in the transition from wurtzite to sphalerite, feature the highest emission intensity.     

Calculation of Microwave Attenuation Effect Due to Charged Sand Particles

Based on the forward scattering amplitude function for charged sand particles under the Rayleigh approximation and the effective permittivity method, a calculation model for microwave attenuation due to charged sand particles is given in terms of equal sized distribution and lognormal size distribution, and the attenuation is calculated and analyzed. The results show that the attenuation with charged sand is greater than the case of no charge, and the more concentrative the surface charges on sand particles are, the greater are the influences on microwave attenuation. When the frequency is not too high, natural sand and vehicular sand have little effect on microwave attenuation, whereas the attenuation of explosive sand need be considered.     

DUVEX: An X-ray counting system based on YAG:Ce scintillator

A detector system, called DUVEX, has been developed for the soft-x-ray and extreme ultraviolet domain. It consists of a YAG:Ce scintillator coupled to a photomultiplier module working under vacuum in counting mode. The design and the performances of this detector in terms of yield, absolute efficiency, response and noise are reported. Spectra in the soft x-ray range of different elements (W, Ag, Al, Mg, Cu, N, C and B) obtained in WDS mode using this detector are presented. DUVEX appears as a competitive detection tool in terms of cost and easiness of implementation.     

Thermal conductivity measurement of the epoxies and composite material for low temperature superconducting magnet design

The thermal conductivities of solid materials were measured by a G-M cryo-cooler based apparatus in the temperature range of 2.6–21.0 K. The performance of this apparatus was verified by measuring the thermal conductivity of 304-stainless steel, and good reproducibility as well as accuracy was shown when compared with the certified values. The thermal conductivities of EC1017 and Stycast2850FT and a composite material were measured. Similar behavior to amorphous materials was shown for EC1017 and Stycast2850FT in that there was an apparent plateau, which could be ascribed to a very lower crystallinity of epoxy. An equivalent model was proposed to predict the thermal conductivity of the composite material.