Channel deformation analysis for fast reactor fuel assemblies undergoing swelling and thermal bowing

Differential thermal expansion and swelling of fuel pins, hexagonal flow ducts and fuel spin spacers, fuel pin bowing between the spacers due to subchannel temperature differentials, and fuel pin bundle bowing due to the cambered hexagonal wrapper tube were analyzed for sodium-cooled fast reactor fuel assemblies.     

Separation of Am(III) from Eu(III) by extraction based on in situ extractant formation of dithiocarbamate derivatives

A new solvent-extraction technique based on in situ formation of dithiocarbamate derivatives in order to separate Am(III) from Eu(III) was carried out. In this technique, the extractant is formed during the extraction course by the reaction between the organic materials, which are needed to synthesize the extractant. The synthesis of extractant in in situ extractant-formation method was carried out as follows. Di-substituted amine, such as dioctylamine (DOA), dibenzylamine (DBzA) and so on, and carbon disulfide (CS₂) were mixed in organic solvents, such as nitrobenzene, to produce dioctylammonium dioctyldithiocarbamate (DOA⁺·DODTC⁻), dibenzylammonium dibenzyldithiocarbamate (DBzA⁺·DODTC⁻), or so on. These organic solutions are also the organic phase in the solvent extraction, whereas the aqueous phase is 1.00 mol/dm³ (H, Na)NO₃ solution. The elements of Am(III) and Eu(III) were extracted into organic phase from different hydrogen ion concentrations of aqueous phase. The SF of Am(III)/Eu(III) is 3.2 × 10⁴ at pH_eq = 6.25 in DOA–CS₂/nitrobenzene system. This separation technique of Am(III) from Eu(III) by extraction based on in situ extractant formation has the following advantages. (a) It is unnecessary to take the chemical stability of extractant into account for storage purpose, and (b) Am(III) can be completely separated from Eu(III) by a single extraction procedure.     

Thermal conductivity of BaPuO3 at temperatures from 300 to 1500 K

Polycrystalline specimens of barium plutonate, BaPuO₃, have been prepared by mixing the appropriate amounts of PuO₂ and BaCO₃ followed by reacting and sintering at 1600 K under the flowing gas atmosphere of dry-air. The sintered specimens had a single phase of orthorhombic perovskite structure and were crack-free. The Debye temperature of BaPuO₃ was determined from the sound velocity and lattice parameter measurements. The elastic moduli were also determined from the longitudinal and shear sound velocity. The thermal conductivity of BaPuO₃ was calculated from the measured density at room temperature, literature values of heat capacity, and thermal diffusivity measured by a laser flash method in vacuum. The thermal conductivity of BaPuO₃ was roughly independent of the temperature and was almost the same magnitude as that of BaUO₃. This was markedly lower than the conductivities of other perovskite type oxides and was about one-tenth that of UO₂ around room temperature. The temperature dependence of the thermal conductivity of BaPuO₃ was found to be quite similar to that of BaUO₃.     

A modified model for non-newtonian viscosity behavior of Aureobasidium pullulans culture fluid

The culture fluid of the fungus Aureobasidium pullulans and the exopolysaccharide solution obtained by removal of the microbial cells exhibit a marked shear dependence of viscosity. The viscosity in a high shear rate region was a little higher than that predicted by a non-Newtonian viscosity equation derived previously on the basis of the concept of traveling force. In a sample exhibiting such high shear rate dependence, a hydrodynamic effect based on the fluid structure of the binding of contacting polymers and suspended microbial cells on viscosity becomes comparatively significant. A model for the shear rate dependence of the viscosity is needed to elucidate the mechanism of the viscosity behavior. A term concerning the increase in viscosity caused by the binding of polymers and the microbial cells suspended in a medium was added to the previous viscosity equation. The experimental shear dependence of the viscosity was well simulated by the modified viscosity equation.     

An implementation of a TMN-based SDH management system in Japan

Synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) equipment based on fiber optics, SDH interfaces, and supporting operation systems (OSs) was introduced into Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT)'s transmission-line networks beginning in 1989. One of the major problems in the first phase was less intelligent proprietary interfaces between network elements (NEs) and OSs, which caused limited connectivity among different types of NEs and OSs. A second problem was the lack of reusability of software modules for a specific type of equipment for other types of equipment. At the beginning of the second phase, the principles of the telecommunications management network (TMN) were adopted to provide good tools for defining standard interfaces and object oriented modeling. The article describes problems encountered in the first phase SDH network management system and summarizes advantages expected from making use of TMN-related standards available at the design stage of the second phase SDH network management system. It outlines the new SDH network management system, followed by results from the application of the TMN-related standards to real networks     

Transanal endoscopic microsurgery in Italy

The Italian experience with Transanal Endoscopic Microsurgery (TEM) started in 1991. Until April, 1994, 122 patients were operated on by such a technique in six centres. The surgical protocol in the 66 patients with benign lesions was similar to that described by Buess. In contrast to the German experience, the indications of TEM for cancer have been extended to more advanced tumours and in 22 out of 56 patients with rectal carcinoma adjuvant radiation- or radiation-chemotherapy have been applied according to various protocols. In 88% of TEM for rectal tumours the operation has been carried out according to a full-thickness technique, with or without perirectal fat excision. Postoperative morbidity of TEM for adenoma was 15.8% and that of TEM for carcinoma 29.6%. There was no postoperative mortality. Local recurrence rate after TEM for adenoma was 10.5%, while that after TEM for cancer was 9.25%. No local recurrence has been reported among patients treated with a combination of TEM and adjuvant radiation treatments. The median follow-up in the 6 centres ranged between 7 and 16 months. A randomised prospective clinical trial has been planned in order to evaluate the role of transanal endoscopic microsurgery in the treatment of locally advanced rectal cancer.     

铝酸钙水泥对焦宝石基喷涂料性能的影响

以焦宝石颗粒及细粉为主要原料，铝酸钙水泥为结合系统。分别研究了不同铝酸钙水泥含量对焦宝石基喷涂料性能的影响。结果表明．焦宝石基喷涂料的抗折强度随着铝酸钙水泥含量的增加呈上升趋势。但经过600℃、1000℃和1300℃烧结后的焦宝石基喷涂料的耐压强度随着铝酸钙水泥含量的增加呈先增加后减小的趋势。     

Carrier transport and structural properties of polysilicon films prepared by layer-by-layer technique

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films have been deposited on glass substrates by a layer-by-layer technique at very low temperature, 300°C, using fluorinated precursors. The electronic transport was characterized by Hall effect and conductivity measurements over a wide temperature range, 100 K to 400 K. The structure of the materials is a function of the film thickness. The measured Hall mobility increases as the thickness increases. The Hall mobility Arrhenius plot shows linear dependence with a negative slope over the temperature range examined, suggesting that carrier conduction is limited by grain boundary barriers.     

A 29-ns 64-Mb DRAM with hierarchical array architecture

A 29-ns (RAS access time), 64-Mb DRAM with hierarchical array architecture has been developed. For consistent high yields and high speed, a CMOS segment driver circuit is used as a hierarchical word line scheme. To achieve high speed, precharge signal (PC) drivers for equalizing the bit lines pairs, and shared sense amplifier signal (SHR) drivers are distributed in the array. To enhance sense amplifiers speed in low array voltage, an over driven sense amplifier is adopted. A hierarchical I/O scheme with semidirect sensing switch is introduced for high speed data transfer in the I/O paths. By combining these proposed circuit techniques and 0.25-μm CMOS process technologies with phase-shift optical lithography, an experimental 64-Mb DRAM has been designed and fabricated. The memory cell size is 0.71×1.20 μm ², and the chip size is 15.91×9.06 mm². A typical access time under 3.3 V power supply voltage is 29 ns     

Numerical diffusion in single-phase multi-dimensional thermal-hydraulic analysis

Higher-order difference schemes, including QUICK and its related schemes, are discussed through several numerical experiments with the focus on their performance to reduce numerical diffusion and to suppress local unphysical oscillations. Finally, these schemes are applied to in-vessel thermal-hydraulic analysis and their effectiveness on the analysis is demonstrated.