Alpha Induced Reaction Cross Section Calculations of Tantalum Nucleus

The fusion energy is attractive as an energy source because the fusion will not produce CO₂ or SO₂ and so fusion will not contribute to environmental problems, such as particulate pollution and excessive CO₂ in the atmosphere. The fusion reaction does not produce radioactive nuclides and it is not self-sustaining, as is a fission reaction when a critical mass of fissionable material is assembled. Since the fusion reaction is easily and quickly quenched the primary sources of heat to drive such an accident are heat from radioactive decay and heat from chemical reactions. Both the magnitude and time dependence of the generation of heat from radioactive decay can be controlled by proper selection and design of materials. Tantalum is one of the candidate materials for the first wall of fusion reactors and for component parts of irradiation chambers. Accurate experimental cross-section data of alpha induced reactions on Tantalum are also of great importance for thermonuclear reaction rate determinations since the models used in the study of stellar nucleosynthesis are strongly dependent on these rates (Santos et al. in J Phys G 26:301, 2000). In this study, neutron-production cross sections for target nuclei ¹⁸¹Ta have been investigated up to 100 MeV alpha energy. The excitation functions for (α, xn) reactions (x = 1, 2, 3) have been calculated by pre-equilibrium reaction mechanism. And also neutron emission spectra for ¹⁸¹Ta (α, xn) reactions at 26.8 and 45.2 MeV have been calculated. The mean free path multiplier parameters has been investigated. The pre-equilibrium results have been calculated by using the hybrid model, the geometry dependent hybrid (GDH) model. Calculation results have been also compared with the available measurements in literature.     

Freezing and thawing resistance of air-entrained concrete incorporating recycled coarse aggregate: The role of air content in demolished concrete

This study aims to introduce new information on freezing and thawing resistance when air-entrained or non-air-entrained concrete is used as recycled coarse aggregate into air-entrained concrete. The laboratory produced air-entrained and non-air-entrained concretes with a water/cement (w/c) ratio of 0.45 were recycled at the crushing age of 1 year to obtain the coarse aggregates used in the investigations. The recycling process was performed in three stages to produce recycled coarse aggregates with different adhered mortar contents. The results showed that recycled coarse aggregate produced from non-air-entrained concrete caused poor freezing and thawing resistance in concrete even when the new system had a proper air entrainment. Microstructural studies indicated that non-air-entrained adhered mortar caused disintegration of the recycled coarse aggregate in itself and disrupted the surrounding new mortar after a limited number of freezing and thawing cycles. Minimizing non-air-entrained adhered mortar or enhancing the performance of new surrounding matrix could not give satisfactory results for a long freezing and thawing exposure.     

New Magnesium Composite with Mg17Al12 Intermetallic Particles

Powder Metallurgy and Metal Ceramics - Although magnesium is one of the materials with the lowest density, its application is limited amongst other commercial materials due to insufficient...     

Effect of temperature on cosolvent flooding for the enhanced solubilization and mobilization of NAPLs in porous media

This paper examines the potential for enhanced NAPL recovery from the subsurface through the combined application of hot water and cosolvent flushing. Batch experiments were conducted to determine the effect of temperature on fluid properties and the multiphase behavior of the ethanol-water-toluene system and to assess the impact of temperature on the capillary, Bond and total trapping numbers and on flooding stability. Column flooding experiments were also conducted to evaluate toluene NAPL recovery efficiency for different ethanol contents and flushing solution temperatures. The ethanol content considered ranged from 20 to 100% by mass, while the flushing solution temperatures were varied from 10 to 40°C. It is shown that small variations in the system temperature can strongly influence the solubilization, mobilization and stability of the multiphase system, but that the impact of temperature on the enhanced NAPL recovery is also dependent on the ethanol content of the flushing solution. The impact of hot water on NAPL recovery was most pronounced at intermediate ethanol contents (40-60% by mass) where the increase in system temperature led to enhanced NAPL solubilization as well as NAPL mobilization. This study demonstrates that coupling of hot water with in situ cosolvent flooding is a potentially effective remedial alternative that can optimize NAPL recovery while reducing the amount of chemicals injected into the subsurface.     

Emissivity Measurements and Modeling of Silicon-Related Materials: An Overview

An overview of the emissivity measurements and modeling of silicon-related materials is presented. The experimental component of this investigation is based on results obtained utilizing spectral emissometry. An analysis of the comparison of the measured data with other similar approaches is made. In particular, the celebrated work of Sato is revisited to understand the implications of his study. Simulations of the temperature and wavelength dependent emissivity of silicon based on the semiempirical MULTIRAD model are presented. The influence of doping concentration, surface roughness, and coatings on the emissivity of silicon, as a function of temperature, is discussed.