Plan for first phase of safety demonstration tests of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR)

Safety demonstration tests using the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) will be conducted for the purpose of demonstrating inherent safety features of High Temperature Gas-cooled Reactors (HTGRs) as well as providing the core and plant transient data for validation of HTGR safety analysis codes. The first phase safety demonstration test items include the reactivity insertion test and the coolant flow reduction test. In the reactivity insertion test, which is the control rod withdrawal test, one pair out of 16 pairs of control rods is withdrawn, simulating a reactivity insertion event. The coolant flow reduction test consists of the partial loss of coolant flow test and the gas circulators trip test. In the partial loss of coolant flow test, primary coolant flow rate is slightly reduced by control system. In the gas circulators trip test one and two out of three gas circulators are run down, simulating coolant flow reduction events. The gas circulators trip tests, in which position of control rods are kept unchanged, are simulation tests of anticipated transients without scram (ATWS).     

Strong Surface‐Termination Effect on Electroresistance in Ferroelectric Tunnel Junctions

Tunnel electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) has attracted considerable interest, because of a promising application to nonvolatile memories. Development of ferroelectric thin‐film devices requires atomic‐scale band‐structure engineering based on depolarization‐field effects at interfaces. By using FTJs consisting of ultrathin layers of the prototypical ferroelectric BaTiO₃, it is demonstrated that the surface termination of the ferroelectric in contact with a simple‐metal electrode critically affects properties of electroresistance. BaTiO₃ barrier‐layers with TiO₂ or BaO terminations show opposing relationships between the polarization direction and the resistance state. The resistance‐switching ratio in the junctions can be remarkably enhanced up to 10⁵% at room temperature, by artificially controlling the fraction of BaO termination. These results are explained in terms of the termination dependence of the depolarization field that is generated by a dead layer and imperfect charge screening. The findings on the mechanism of tunnel electroresistance should lead to performance improvements in the devices based on nanoscale ferroelectrics.     

Thermal diffusivity and porosity of solid materials by the electromagnetic ultrasonic technique. Part 3—simultaneous measurement of ultrasonic velocity and thermal diffusivity

The objective of this study is to evaluate simultaneously the time dependence of the thermal diffusivity of carbon-carbon composites (C/C composites) and their porosity during heat treatment using the electromagnetic ultrasonic technique. This paper describes two kinds of experiments conducted to confirm the principle for simultaneous measurement of both the ultrasonic velocity (used to evaluate the porosity) and the thermal diffusivity at room temperature. For each material, the samples used in both experiments were identical. The ultrasonic velocity of type 304 stainless steel and its thermal diffusivity were 5.85 km/s and 3.8 mm²/s with precisions of ±1.6 and ±8 percent, respectively. The ultrasonic velocity of a two-dimensional woven C/C composite and its thermal diffusivity were 2.86 km/s and 4.8 mm²/s with precisions of ±5.0 and ±8 percent, respectively. The results appear to indicate that the electromagnetic ultrasonic technique can measure the ultrasonic velocity and the thermal diffusivity simultaneously and that it is also applicable to C/C composites. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Heat Trans Jpn Res, 25(5): 308–322, 1996     

A molten metal jet impingement on a flat spreading surface

ABSTRACT

In the event of a severe accident, past experiences such as Three Mile Island and Fukushima Daichi have shown that the reactor core of a light-water nuclear reactor, if not properly safeguarded, could go through a meltdown. This will be followed by the formation of a corium, a mix of molten fuel elements, and liquid metals from the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV). In the worst-case scenario, a melt through from the RPV can occur and lead to the spreading of the corium, in the form of a molten element’s jet impinging on a flat concrete structure of the Primary Containment Vessel (PCV). To enhance the decommissioning and the safety procedure, scope of the present article is to deepen the understanding of the phenomena involved in the mentioned scenario, mainly jet-instability and molten material spreading. In the present study, experiments were carried out, by using corium simulant materials such as Copper and Tin, to investigate the link between the instability of the gravity-driven molten metal jet and the impinging followed by its spreading over a flat area.     

A Two-dimensional Stress Analysis and Strength of Single-lap Adhesive Joints of Dissimilar Adherends Subjected to External Bending Moments

The stress distributions of single-lap adhesive joints of dissimilar adherends subjected to external bending moments are analyzed as a three-body contact problem by using a two-dimensional theory of elasticity (plane strain). In the analysis, dissimilar adherends and an adhesive are replaced by finite strips. In the numerical calculations, the effects of the ratio of Young's moduli of adherends, the adherend thickness ratio and the adherend length ratio between dissimilar adherends on the stress distributions at the interfaces are examined. The results show that the stress singularity occurs at the ends of the interfaces, and its intensity is greater at the interface of the adherend with smaller Young's modulus. It is also noted that the singular stress is greater at the interface of the thinner adherend. It is found that the effect of the adherend length ratio on the stress singularity at the interfaces is very small. Joint strength is predicted by using the interface stress and it was measured by experiments. From the analysis and the experiments, it is found that the joint strength increases as Young's modulus of adherends and the adherend thickness increase while the effect of the adherend lengths on the joint strength is small. For verification of the analysis, a finite element analysis (FEA) is carried out. A fairly good agreement of the interface stress distribution is seen between the analytical and the FEA results.     

Growth and differentiation potentials in confluent state of culture of human skeletal muscle myoblasts

The transitional behaviors of myoblasts toward differentiation were investigated in the cultures at the low and high seeding densities (respectively, X₀ = 1.0 × 10³ and 2.0 × 10⁵ cells/cm²). In the culture at the low seeding density, an increase in confluence degree accompanied a decrease in growth potential (R_p), being R_p = 0.85 and 0.11 at t = 48 and 672 h, respectively. Myoblasts seeded at the high density resulted in the immediate cessation of growth with keeping the low range of R_p = 0.02–0.09 throughout the culture. The reduction of R_p led to the generation of three subpopulations of cells in proliferative, quiescent and differentiated states. Close cell contacts in the confluent state of high seeding culture induced cell quiescence to a higher extent with suppressing differentiation.     

Finite element stress analysis and strength evaluation of epoxy-steel cylinders subjected to impact push-off loads

The stress wave propagations and stress distributions in epoxy-steel cylinders in which the outside surface of a solid cylinder (steel) is adhered to the inside surface of a hollow cylinder (epoxy resin) subjected to impact push-off loads were analyzed using the finite element method (FEM). The impact push-off loads were applied to epoxy-steel cylinders on a solid cylinder by dropping a weight. The FEM code employed was ANSYS/LS-DYNA. It was found that the maximum principal stress occurs at the upper edge of the interface, where the rupture initiates in epoxy-steel cylinders under the impact push-off loads. Besides, it was also found that the normal stress near the upper edge of the interface increases as the rigidity and the initial impact velocity increase; meanwhile it decreases as the diameter and the height of the solid cylinder increase. The strength of epoxy-steel cylinders increases as the rigidity of the solid cylinder increases, and the diameter and the height of the solid cylinder decrease. In addition, it was observed that the characteristics of the joints subjected to the impact push-off loads are opposite to those of the joints subjected to the static push-off loads. Furthermore, experiments were carried out to measure the strain response of epoxy-steel cylinders subjected to impact and static push-off loads. Fairly good agreements were observed between the numerical and the measured results.     

TEM/STEM Observation of ZrC Coating Layer for Advanced High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Fuel, Part II

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has started to study and develop zirconium carbide (ZrC)-coated fuel particles for advanced high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The ZrC coating layer has been fabricated at JAEA by chemical vapor deposition using a pyrolytic reaction of zirconium bromide. The microstructures of the ZrC layers, whose nominal deposition temperatures could be measured and controlled during the deposition process, were characterized by means of TEM and STEM. In the present study, three batches were prepared and compared with each other as well as the previous batches. The crystallographic orientation of ZrC with regard to the growth direction in the ZrC layers deposited at a constant temperature of 1630 K was different from that deposited at varying temperatures in the 1493–1823 K range. A thin layer of turbostratic carbon was observed at the boundary between pyrolytic carbon and ZrC in particles deposited at the highest temperature among those used in this study (the nominal temperature was 1769 K); no such structure was found in a batch deposited at a lower temperature (the nominal temperature was 1632 K). Therefore, precise control of temperature is shown to be critical to the formation of good ZrC coatings.     

Effect of filler concentration on electrical conductivity andultralow-frequency dielectric properties

The effect of filler concentration on the dielectric properties in the ultralow-frequency region and on the electrical conductivity was studied for ethylene propylene rubber. First, we investigated the relation between the electrical conductivity and filler concentration: as the volume fraction of fillers q_a increased, the conductivity decreased in the low filler concentration region but increased abruptly in the high filler concentration region. The decrease and increase in conductivity can be explained with the action of carrier traps at the interface between EPR and fillers and with the formation of highly conductive paths of filler across the sample, respectively. Secondly, we studied the dielectric properties in the ultralow-frequency region which was obtained from the discharge current. As q_a increased, the relaxation time decreased in the low filler concentration region and then rose in the high filler concentration region. The polarization in the high filler concentration region can be explained by two-layer interfacial polarization between filler and rubber     

Inhibition of intimal hyperplasia after vein grafting by in vivo transfer of human senescent cell-derived inhibitor-1 gene

OBJECTIVE: To define the distribution and determinants of cardiovascular disease events among participants undergoing long-term antihypertensive therapy, and to stratify them into risk groups on the basis of pretreatment clinical profiles. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study of participants in a worksite-based antihypertensive treatment program in New York city (1973-1994). PATIENTS: We studied 8690 systematically treated patients who had at least 6 months of follow-up (average of 5.7 years) and, at entry, had had a systolic blood pressure of > or = 160 mmHg or a diastolic blood pressure of > or = 95 mmHg (after 1992 > or = 140/90 mmHg), or had been being administered antihypertensive medication. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Blood pressure and incidence of morbid and mortal cardiovascular events. RESULTS: Blood pressure control (to 140 +/- 3/87 +/- 7 mmHg) was achieved by the first year and maintained through 18 years of therapy. In nearly 50,000 person-years of follow-up, there were 468 cardiovascular disease events [myocardial infarction including revascularization (282), strokes (93), congestive heart failure (30) and other cardiovascular deaths (63)]. Deaths from cardiovascular disease events accounted for 68% of all deaths. Myocardial infarction was most common throughout, but congestive heart failure incidence surpassed stroke incidence after 10 years. A scheme for risk stratification was constructed after analysis of the independent association of baseline factors and incident cardiovascular events. Upon the basis of ease of ascertainment and their demonstrated associations with occurrence of cardiovascular disease during treatment, we selected five pretreatment factors (history of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, age > or = 55 years and pulse pressure > or = 60 mmHg) to stratify patients into four groups. Those with no risk factor had a low risk (n=2999), those with one had a moderate risk (3042), those with two had a high risk (2237), and those with three or more had a very high risk (412). Overall, the unadjusted rates of incidence of cardiovascular disease events per 1000 person-years for patients in very high and low risk groups differed by factors of six and 14 for men and women, respectively. CONCLUSION: These results demonstrate that long-term control of blood pressure can be achieved in a general population. Nevertheless, cardiovascular disease events still accounted for most morbidity and mortality among these 'recovered' hypertensive patients. At entry, on the basis of readily identifiable characteristics, it was possible to stratify patients according to likelihood of subsequent events occurring despite control of blood pressure. This scheme could provide the basis for targeting more aggressive therapy where the potential for further cardioprotection is greatest.