Very low noise mixer at 115 GHz using a Mott diode cooled to 20 K

Measurements on a cooled resistive mixer are reported using a Mott-barrier diode cooled to 20 K, operating at 115 GHz and pumped with a local oscillator power as low as 150 ?W. The mixer noise temperature of 200 K is not only the lowest reported for a resistive mixer above 90 GHz but indicates that some improvement in shot-noise models for resistive mixers is desirable.     

The influences of impurity content,tensile strength,and grain size on in-service temper embrittlement of CrMoV steels

The influences of impurity levels, grain size, and tensile strength on in-service temper embrittlement of CrMoV steels have been investigated. The samples for this study were taken from several steam turbine CrMoV rotors which had operated for 15 to 26 years. The effects of grain size and tensile strength on embrittlement susceptibility were separated by evaluating the embrittlement behavior of two rotor forgings, which were made from the same ingot, after giving an extended step-cooling treatment. The results reveal that among the residual elements in the steels, only P produces a significant embrittlement. The variation of P and tensile strength of the steels in the ranges investigated has no effect on in-service temper embrittlement susceptibility, as measured by the shift in fracture appearance transition temperature (FATT). However, the prior austenite grain size plays a major role on in-service embrittlement. The fine grain steels with a grain size of ASTM No. 9 or higher are virtually immune to in-service embrittlement. In steels having duplex grain sizes, the embrittlement susceptibility is controlled by the size of coarser grains. For a given steel chemistry, the coarse grain steel is more susceptible to in-service embrittlement, and a decrease in ASTM grain size number from 4 to 0/1 increases the shift in FATT by 61°C (110°F). It is demonstrated that long-term service embrittlement can be simulated, except in very coarse grain steels, by using the extended step-cooling, treatment. The results of step-cooling studies also show that the coarse grain rotor steels take longer time during service to reach a fully embrittled state than the fine grain rotor steels. This difference in the kinetics of embrittlement is believed to be related to the variations in Mo content in the matrix and the grain size of the steels.     

Effect of conductive thermal-control paint on spacecraft-antenna performance

The effect of applying a conductive thermal-control paint to the surface of a reflector antenna has been investigated at X band frequencies using a swept-frequency technique. With a particular space-qualified paint, a maximum boresight gain loss of 0.1 dB was recorded.     

Thermally initiated oxidation and ignition of flexible polyurethane foams

Oxidation and ignition of flexible polyurethane foams have been investigated by observing the effects of internal and external heating. External temperatures of some 190°C are required to induce combustion. Internal temperatures of 250 ?350°C initiate a self-propagating internal reaction which results in foam ignition when the reaction reaches the foam surface. The stability of a polyurethane foam to such heating increases with the age of the foam.     

A numerical study of high pressure,laminar, sooting,ethane–air coflow diffusion flames

A numerical study is conducted of ethane–air coflow diffusion flames at pressures from 2 to 15 atm. The model employed uses a detailed gas phase chemical kinetic mechanism that includes PAH formation and growth, and is coupled to a detailed sectional soot particle dynamics model. The model is able to accurately predict the trends observed experimentally with increasing pressure without any tuning of the model for different pressures. The model shows good agreement with the experimental data on both the flame wings and centerline regions. Peak wing and centerline soot volume fractions are found to scale with P^2.49 and P^2.02 respectively. This scaling compares well to that observed experimentally for methane–air and ethylene–air flames. As pressure is increased, the flame cross-sectional area decreases according to P^?1.0 due to a constant mass flux and a thinning of the flame, which is consistent with experimental observations. Soot formation along the wings is seen to be surface growth dominated, while PAH condensation dominates centerline soot formation. Surface growth and PAH condensation increase with increasing pressure primarily due to both of these processes being a function of surface area. This causes increases in soot volume fraction to further accelerate surface growth and PAH condensation, acting in a positive feedback manner. This positive feedback mechanism is initiated by increases in reaction rates caused by increases in gas phase density. Additionally, the significance of surface growth decreases with increasing pressure, while the role of PAH condensation increases.     

Sensory and meat quality traits of pork in relation to post-slaughter treatment and RN genotype

The effects on eating quality and meat quality of two different forms of post-slaughter treatment, performed in an abattoir, were studied in carriers and non-carriers of the RN(-) allele. Carcasses were subjected to rapid and slow chilling, and pelvic and Achilles suspension in a factorial experimental design. A temperature of 10?°C was achieved in the centre of M. longissimus dorsi (LD) within 3.5 h in rapidly chilled carcasses and within 8 h in slowly chilled carcasses. In deep M. semimembranosus (SM) a temperature of 10?°C was achieved within 11.5 h in rapidly chilled carcasses and within 14 h in slowly chilled carcasses. LD from slowly chilled RN(-) carriers suspended by the pelvis exhibited the greatest tenderness, while LD from rapidly chilled non-carriers suspended from the Achilles tendon exhibited the lowest tenderness. Pelvic suspension or slow chilling of non-carriers produced the same improvement in tenderness, and when combined the tenderness increased further. However, the tenderness of the RN(-) carriers was already high, and no significant improvement was seen following any of the studied post-slaughter treatments. Pelvic suspension prevented shortening of muscle fibres, as seen by longer sarcomeres in LD from pelvic-suspended sides. However, longer sarcomeres were associated with greater tenderness only in LD from non-carriers of the RN(-) allele. The presence of the RN(-) allele and a slow chilling regime increased the rate of pH decline in LD. Achilles suspension also increased the rate of pH fall in SM, in addition to the RN(-) allele and slow chilling. The overall tenderness of LD was mainly related to the course of pH decline during rigor; lower pH values between 3 and 7 h post-mortem contributing to greater tenderness. The myofibrillar length was predominantly related to RN genotype and was shorter in RN(-) carriers than in non-carriers. The RN(-) allele and slow chilling contributed to higher evaporation losses and RN(-) carriers exhibited increased frequency of PSE meat in the ham muscles. The use of pelvic suspension appears advantageous over slower chilling, since it improved tenderness without any negative influence on drip loss, evaporation or cooking loss.     

Enhanced biodegradation of carbamazepine after UV/H2O2 advanced oxidation

Carbamazepine is one of the most persistent pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater effluents due to its resistance to biodegradation-based conventional treatment. Advanced oxidation can efficiently degrade carbamazepine, but the toxicity and persistence of the oxidation products may be more relevant than the parent. This study sets out to determine whether the products of advanced oxidation of carbamazepine can be biotransformed and ultimately mineralized by developing a novel methodology to assess these sequential treatment processes. The methodology traces the transformation products of the (14)C-labeled carbamazepine during UV/hydrogen peroxide advanced oxidation and subsequent biotransformation by mixed, undefined cultures using liquid scintillation counting and liquid chromatography with radioactivity, mass spectrometry, and UV detectors. The results show that the oxidation byproducts of carbamazepine containing a hydroxyl or carbonyl group can be fully mineralized by a mixed bacterial inoculum. A tertiary treatment approach that includes oxidation and biotransformation has the potential to synergistically mineralize persistent pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater treatment plant effluents. The methodology developed for this study can be applied to assess the mineralization potential of other persistent organic contaminants.     

Mobilization of manufactured gas plant tar with alkaline flushing solutions

This experimental study investigates the use of alkaline and alkaline-polymer solutions for the mobilization of former manufactured gas plant (FMGP) tars. Tar-aqueous interfacial tensions (IFTs) and contact angles were measured, and column flushing experiments were conducted. NaOH solutions (0.01-1 wt.%) were found to significantly reduce tar-aqueous IFT. Contact angles indicated a shift to strongly water-wet, then to tar-wet conditions as NaOH concentration increased. Column experiments were conducted with flushing solutions containing 0.2, 0.35, and 0.5% NaOH, both with and without xanthan gum (XG). Between 10 and 44% of the residual tar was removed by solutions containing only NaOH, while solutions containing both NaOH and XG removed 81-93% of the tar with final tar saturations as low as 0.018. The mechanism responsible for the tar removal is likely a combination of reduced IFT, a favorable viscosity ratio, and tar bank formation. Such an approach may have practical applications and would be significantly less expensive than surfactant-based methods.     

Detailed numerical modeling of PAH formation and growth in non-premixed ethylene and ethane flames

A chemical kinetic mechanism for C₁ and C₂ fuel combustion and PAH growth, previously validated for laminar premixed combustion, has now been modified and applied to opposed flow diffusion flames. Some modifications and extensions have been made to the reaction scheme to take into account recent kinetic investigations, and to reduce the stiffness of the reaction model. Updates have been made to the cyclopentadienyl reactions, indene formation reactions, and aromatic oxidation and decomposition reactions. Reverse reaction rate parameters have been revised to account for numerical stiffness. Opposed flow diffusion flame simulation data for ethylene and ethane flames with the present mechanism are compared to data computed using two other mechanisms from the literature and to experimental data. Whereas the fuel oxidation chemistry in all three mechanisms are essentially the same, the PAH growth pathways vary considerably. The current mechanism considers a detailed set of PAH growth routes, and includes hydrogen atom migration, possible free radical addition schemes, methyl substitution/acetylene addition pathways, cyclopentadienyl moiety in aromatic ring formation, and numerous reactions between aromatic radicals and molecules. It is shown that while bulk flame properties and major species profiles are the same for the three mechanisms, the enhanced PAH growth routes in the present mechanism are necessary to numerically predict the correct order of magnitude of PAHs that were measured in the experimental studies. In particular, predicting concentrations of naphthalene, phenanthrene, and pyrene, to within the correct order of magnitude with the present mechanism show a significant improvement over predictions obtained using mechanisms in the literature. Sensitivity and production rate analyses show that this improvement is attributable to the enhanced PAH growth pathways and updated reaction rates in the present mechanism. The overreaching goal of this research is to generate and fully validate a detailed chemical kinetic mechanism, with as few fitted rates as possible, that can be applied to premixed or diffusion systems, and used with any type of soot model. To that end, in recently published works, the present mechanism has been used to simulate premixed flames, while coupled to a method of moments to determine soot formation, and to simulate diffusion flames, while coupled to a sectional representation for soot formation. The present work extends the validation of the mechanism by applying it to counterflow diffusion flames, for which measurements of large PAH molecules are uniquely available. The validation of PAH growth predictions are of key interest to soot modeling studies as soot inception from PAH combination and PAH condensation are often major constituents of soot production.