Rehabilitation of the radioactively contaminated objects and territory of the Russian Science Center Kurchatov Institute

This article is devoted to work done in 2002–2006 as part of the unified project Reabilitatsiya to rehabilitate radiation hazardous objects and sections of the radioactively contaminated territory of the Russian Science Center Kurchatov Institute. The main objects of the rehabilitation work were old storage sites built for radioactive wastes on the territory of the Institute when military and civilian nuclear technologies were under development. The structural features of the storage sites, including the volumes and characteristics of the wastes stored, are presented. The salient aspects of the disposal sites, taken into account during the rehabilitation work, are discussed. The organization of the rehabilitation operations and the sequence in which they are performed, the special features of the technical design solutions used, the technological methods, and ways for conducting the work are described. __________ Translated from Atomnaya énergiya, Vol. 102, No. 5, pp. 300–306, May, 2007.     

Effect of tempering temperature on the wear resistance and corrosive properties of nitrogen-bearing austenite-martensite steel 08Kh14AN4MDB

The effect of tempering temperature on the structure, wear resistance, and corrosive properties of steel 08Kh14AN4MDB is studied. The results of mechanical and corrosion tests are used for constructing an optimization matrix for determining the optimum tempering temperature. __________ Translated from Metallovedenie i Termicheskaya Obrabotka Metallov, No. 2, pp. 29–32, February, 2007.     

Electric discharge treatment of zeolites for purifying the waste water of polymer-manufacturing plants

We present the results of electric discharge treatment of zeolites for purifying the waste water from the manufacture of polymers. By application of the thermostimulated relaxation method, it has been revealed that in the zeolites, superficial and volumetric charges accumulate. It is shown that the electric discharge effects considerably enhance the efficiency of the adsorptive purification of waste water.     

On Pilot-Symbol-Assisted Carrier Synchronization for DVB-S2 Systems

We consider the problem of carrier synchronization in future 2nd-generation satellite digital video broadcasting (DVB-S2) receivers. In this scenario, this task is made harder by the complexity constraints, related to the use of consumer-grade equipment. Making use of the distributed pilot symbols of the DVB-S2 standard, low-complexity techniques for fine frequency estimation and for detection in the presence of a strong phase noise, typical of consumer-grade equipment, will be proposed. The performance of the described algorithms will be analysed in detail through computer simulations.     

Optical properties of doped bismuth telluride crystals in the region of plasma effects

The optical properties of bismuth telluride crystals doped with donor-and acceptor-type impurities are studied. The fact that energy corresponding to the resonance frequency of plasma oscillations of free charge carriers (plasmons) approaches the band-gap energy is detected in the infrared spectral region, where the main elementary excitations in the electronic system of these materials are observed. The mentioned approach of energies varies the intensity of electron-plasmon interaction, which affects the recombination processes in the materials widely used for the fabrication of thermoelectric energy converters.     

Pheromone Disruption of Argentine Ant Trail Integrity

Disruption of Argentine ant trail following and reduced ability to forage (measured by bait location success) was achieved after presentation of an oversupply of trail pheromone, (Z)-9-hexadecenal. Experiments tested single pheromone point sources and dispersion of a formulation in small field plots. Ant walking behavior was recorded and digitized by using video tracking, before and after presentation of trail pheromone. Ants showed changes in three parameters within seconds of treatment: (1) Ants on trails normally showed a unimodal frequency distribution of walking track angles, but this pattern disappeared after presentation of the trail pheromone; (2) ants showed initial high trail integrity on a range of untreated substrates from painted walls to wooden or concrete floors, but this was significantly reduced following presentation of a point source of pheromone; (3) the number of ants in the pheromone-treated area increased over time, as recruitment apparently exceeded departures. To test trail disruption in small outdoor plots, the trail pheromone was formulated with carnuba wax-coated quartz laboratory sand (1 g quartz sand/0.2 g wax/1 mg pheromone). The pheromone formulation, with a half-life of 30 h, was applied by rotary spreader at four rates (0, 2.5, 7.5, and 25 mg pheromone/m²) to 1- and 4-m² plots in Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. Ant counts at bait cards in treated plots were significantly reduced compared to controls on the day of treatment, and there was a significant reduction in ant foraging for 2 days. These results show that trail pheromone disruption of Argentine ants is possible, but a much more durable formulation is needed before nest-level impacts can be expected. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Folds on the temperature surfaces of heterogeneous multicomponent liquid-vapor systems

Regularities in the behavior of folds on the surface of equilibrium temperatures for multicomponent two-phase mixtures are studied. The concept of the multiplicity of a fold on the surface of temperatures is introduced.     

Serviceability of glass and glassware (review)

Research on the properties and characteristics of glass that determine the serviceability of the most massive glass objects and glassware is reviewed. The theoretical assumptions, general questions concerning the strength, chemical resistance (corrosion), and spectral characteristics of glass are noted. The properties and characteristics indicated are examined for sheet glass, glass fiber, and glassware.     

Gasification of low-grade fuels in a spouted bed for power generation

Experimental data on the autothermal gasification of wastes from the flotation of Kuzbass coal of grade Zh and low-ash coal from the Kansk-Achinsk Basin in a spouted bed of an inert material at atmospheric pressure are presented. Capabilities for the development and use of this process for power generation based on closed-cycle gas turbine plants are analyzed     

A Digital Scintillation Detector for the MEDIANA Medical Diagnostic Station

A digital position-sensitive X-ray imaging scintillation detector has been designed for the MEDIANA medical diagnostic station of the Kurchatov Synchrotron Radiation Center (the Kurchatov Institute). A single-crystal CsI(Tl) scintillator 8 mm thick is used as a screen with approximately 100% detection efficiency for X rays with energies as high as 100 keV. A CCD matrix of dimensions 1024 × 1024 pixels is the photodetector. The spatial resolution is five line pairs per mm in a field of vision of 35 × 35 mm for 100-keV X rays.