Investigations on welding residual stresses in penetration nozzles by means of 3D thermal elastic plastic FEM and experiment

Recent discoveries of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) in weldments including penetration nozzles at pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and boiling water reactors (BWRs) have raised concerns about safety and integrity of plant components. It is well known that welding residual stress is an important factor resulting in SCC in weldments. In the present work, both experimental method and numerical simulation technology are used to investigate the characteristics of welding residual stress distribution in penetration nozzles welded by multi-pass J-groove joint. An experimental mock-up is fabricated to measure welding residual stress at first. In the experiment, each weld pass is performed using a semi-circle balanced welding procedure. Then, a corresponding finite element models with considering moving heat source, deposition sequence, inter-pass temperature, temperature-dependent thermal and mechanical properties, strain hardening and annealing effect is developed to simulate welding temperature and residual stress fields. The simulation results predicted by the 3D model are generally in good agreement with the measurements. Meanwhile, to clarify the influence of deposition sequence on the welding residual stress, the welding residual stress field in the same geometrical model induced by a continuous welding procedure is also calculated. Finally, the influence of a joint oblique angle on welding residual stress is investigated numerically. The numerical results suggest that both deposition sequence and oblique angles have effect on welding residual stress distribution.     

Alignment control technology of liquid crystal molecules

Liquid crystal displays are now indispensable in everyday life. The display characteristics considerably depend on the configuration of liquid crystal (LC) molecules and interactions between the LC molecules and an alignment film surface. In this paper, we introduce various methods to control parameters that dominate the LC alignment. These parameters include order parameters, the pretilt angle, the director direction, and surface anchoring strength. We also introduce their evaluation methods. In particular, recent alignment film‐free technology is explained in detail. In addition, details of how these parameters are related to the display characteristics, particularly wide viewing angles and fast response characteristics, are described primarily with reference to recent technologies.     

Recent progress of amorphous silicon solar cell applications and systems

Fifteen years have passed since the first industrial use of amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells for consumer products. At present, a-Si solar cells are entering a new age of use in power generating systems at private residences and other outdoor applications. This paper reviews recent advances in amorphous silicon (a-Si) solar cells and their applications. Technological developments in the field of a-Si solar cells are discussed. Various applications and systems that take advantage of the a-Si solar cell are then introduced. Finally, future prospects are discussed, including a new concept of GENESIS system for worldwide energy generation and transmission.     

Development of self-commutated SVC for power system

A 50-MVA self-commutated Static Var Compernsator (SVC) using the worlds's largest GTO thyristors rated 6 kV-2500 A has been developed for voltage control of electric power systems. The rated dc voltage is 16.8 kV which is four times higher than the highest one manufactured so far. To achieve the high dc voltage, eight GTO thyristors are connected in series. Voltage unbalance between GTOs during switching transient was investigated. A new overcurrent limiting method is proposed, since conventional fuse protection cannot be applied due to such high voltage. Newly developed technologies for this large and high-voltage self-commutated SVC are described. Although simple star-delta connection transformers are used, harmonics generated from SVC are almost equivalent to the 24-pulse converter by shifting the pulse timing appropriately. The PWM control based on 150 Hz is applied and the SVC is designed to continue operation during system faults. The performance of the controller is tested successfully by a simulator, and typical rest results are introduced.     

Anomaly of the thickness dependence of photodarkening in amorphous chalcogenide films

The reversible photodarkening phenomenon in evaporated films of amorphous As-S and As-Se was investigated as a function of film thickness. For stoichiometric films irradiated by band gap illumination at room temperature, the photodarkening disappears when the films are thinner than 50 nm. This anomaly implies that the structure of the films is dependent on the film thickness and /or that the photodarkening exhibits a surface behaviour that is different from bulk bahaviour.     

Relationship between segment structures and elastic properties of segmented poly(urethane‐urea) elastic fibers

Studies on segmented poly(urethane‐urea) (SPUU) elastic fibers having various segment structures were done in terms of elastic recovery and stress‐strain relationship (S‐S). Three kinds of segment structures were used: 1) the same composition having different sequences of segment units, 2) the same length of soft segments having different molecular weights of polyol, and 3) different segment structures having almost the same stress at 350% elongation. The SPUU elastic fibers having higher sequence numbers of both soft and hard segment units, that is, greater block structures, show better elastic recovery properties, especially delayed elastic recovery. The SPUU elastic fibers showing better elastic recovery take an optimum value for the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) of soft segments jointed with urethane bonds. Here the optimum M_n depends on the molecular weight of polytetramethyleneglycol (PTMG) as a starting material. The hysteresis loss in S‐S for the pre‐elongation decreases with an increase of M_n of PTMG. The SPUU elastic fibers having greater block structures show lower stress with lower 2C₁ and 2C₁ + 2C₂ of Mooney‐Rivilin plot constants for elastic fibers having the same composition. This indicates a lower density of crosslinks for finite deformation. An increase of the urea bonds or the molar ratio of urea bond to urethane bond raises the stress. It is found that the polymerization process, as well as composition, is important for design structures of SPUU elastic fibers.     

Synthesis and Phase Stability of Cotunnite-Type Zirconia

The phase boundary between two high-pressure phases (ortho I and ortho II) of ZrO₂ was obtained by synthesis experiments using a 6–8 anvil-type device. The phase boundary was linearly approximated, its slope being +400 K/GPa. The phase with cotunnite (PbCl₂) structure (ortho II) appeared above 15 GPa. A single phase of Y-doped ZrO₂ with the cotunnite structure was also synthesized, but the stabilized tetragonal phase remained unchanged after the treatments at conditions where the ortho I phase forms in pure ZrO₂.     

Effects of Hydrogen and Temperature on the Kinetics of the Fluidized-Bed Nitridation of Silicon

Silicon nitride was produced via direct nitridation of silicon powder, using nitrogen with 10–40 vol% hydrogen, in a fluidized-bed reactor, 55 mm in diameter, operated at temperatures in the range of 1200–1390°C. Hydrogen enhanced the nitridation of silicon toward its completion. The overall conversion of silicon as well as the yield of α-silicon nitride increased with an increase in reaction temperature, while the yield of β-silicon nitride decreased. In nitridation at 1300°C with 40 vol% hydrogen in nitrogen, 99% of silicon was nitrided in 24 h with a yield of α-silicon nitride of about 90% in the product. When the reactor temperature was raised stepwise from 1300° to 1390°C along with the progress of nitridation, 99% of silicon was nitrided in 2.5 h and 85% of the product was α-form.     

Endoscopic treatment of submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma with special reference to risk factors for lymph node metastasis

A clinicopathological analysis of the risk factors for lymph node metastasis was performed in 177 patients with submucosal invasive colorectal carcinoma (CRC). The submucosal deepest invasive portion was histologically subclassified as well (W), moderately (M), or poorly (Por) differentiated. M type was further subdivided into moderately-well (Mw) and moderately-poorly (Mp) differentiated. The pattern of tumor growth was classified as polypoid growth (PG) and non-polypoid growth (NPG). Lymph node metastasis was detected in 21 (12%) of the 177 patients. Macroscopically, type IIc and IIa + IIc lesions showed a significantly higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (44% and 30%) than type IIa and I (4% and 8%). Regarding the histologic subclassification, Por and Mp lesions showed a significantly higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (67% and 37%) than W and Mw lesions (4% and 14%). NPG tumors showed a significantly higher incidence of lymph node metastasis (29%) than PG tumors (7%). The depth of submucosal invasion and lymphatic invasion (ly) were also significantly correlated with the incidence of lymph node metastasis (submucosal scanty (sm-s) invasion 4%, massive invasion 20%; ly(+) 23%, ly(-) 5%). None of the lesions with both sm-s invasion and of W or Mw type showed lymph node metastasis. These results indicate that submucosal invasive CRC with both sm-s invasion and of W or Mw type, which shows no ly, is the appropriate indication for endoscopic curative treatment.     

Analysis of coupling noise between adjacent bit lines in megabitDRAMs

Different bit-line structures, bit-line materials, widths, spacings, and passivation materials were fabricated to analyze the effect of the coupling noise between adjacent bit lines in megabit DRAMs. Each component of total bit-line capacitance was measured to obtain the bit-line-to-bit-line capacitance and the other contributions to the total bit-line capacitance. Accelerated soft error tests were performed on each sample. The results suggest the existence of two types of noise effects. One is the READ-signal degradation just after the work-line rises. The other is the disturbance in sensing operation. The larger the ratio of the bit-line coupling capacitance to the other bit-line capacitance contributions the more serious both the noise effects are. These noise mechanisms can be explained by the charge conservation model and the simulation of sensing operation. A polycide bit-line structure is less susceptible to these noises than an Al bit line because its thickness and layer position