Modification of Boundary Lubrication by Oil-Soluble Friction Modifier Additives

The molecular-level function of model and commercial friction modifier additives in lubricants of the type used at the wet clutch interface in automatic transmissions has been studied using a surface forces apparatus (SFA) modified for oscillatory shear. The nanorheological properties of tetradecane with and without a model friction modifier additive (1-hexadecylamine) were examined in the boundary lubrication regime and compared to a fully-formulated automatic transmission fluid (ATF). 1-Hexadecylamine adsorbed as a single layer on the sliding surfaces, reduced the static frictional force and the limiting shear stress, and eliminated the stick–slip transition that exists in pure tetradecane. The ATF, which contains commercial-grade friction modifiers, showed nanorheological properties similar to those observed for tetradecane containing 0.1–0.2 wt% 1-hexadecylamine.     

Thermodynamic evaluation of the phase equilibria and glass-forming ability of the Ti−Be system

The glass-forming ability of Ti−Be alloys is of great interest. Experimental and theoretical evaluations of the glass-forming ability of this binary alloy show that the formation of a metastable TiBe phase with a CsCl-type B2 structure controls the glass-forming ability in this system. However, there is no information on the thermochemical properties of metastable TiBe for the quantitative evaluation of the glass-forming ability using Davies-Uhlmann kinetic formulations. We have carried out a thermodynamic analysis using experimental phase diagram data and the energy of formation of the stoichiometric compounds from ab initio calculations. Furthermore, the Gibbs energy of formation for the body-centered cubic (bcc) phase was evaluated over the entire composition range by applying the cluster expansion method (CEM) to the total energy of some bcc-based ordered structures obtained from ab initio calculations. For the bcc phase, the two-sublattice formalism, (Ti, Be)_0.5(Ti,Be)_0.5, was adopted to describe the A2/B2 transformation. A good agreement between the calculated values and experimental phase equilibria was obtained. Evaluation of the glass-forming ability was also attempted utilizing the thermodynamic quantities obtained from the phase diagram assessment. The calculated glass-forming ability agrees well with the experimental results. This paper was presented at the International Symposium on User Aspects of Phase Diagrams, Materials Solutions Conference and Exposition. Columbus, Ohio, 18–20 October, 2004.     

Photocatalytic Preparation of Encapsulated Gold Nanoparticles by Jingle-bell-shaped Cadmium Sulfide–silica Nanoparticles

Gold (Au) nanoparticles were deposited inside silica: (SiO₂) shells containing cadmium sulfide (CdS) nanoparticles through photocatalytic reduction of potassium dicyanogold(I) by CdS. Photocatalytic Au deposition occurred only when core-shell nanoparticles having a void space between the core and shell, i.e., a jingle-bell-shaped structure, were used. These core-shell nanoparticles were prepared by size-selective photoetching of SiO₂ -covered CdS nanoparticles. The size of Au nanoparticles could be controlled by adjustment of the void space in SiO₂-covered CdS. Dissolution of CdS by acid treatment from the Au-deposited jingle-bell nanoparticles did not have any effect on the surface-plasmon absorption by Au. These facts indicate that Au nanoparticles of adjustable size can be prepared in an SiO₂ shell that prevents mutual coalescence of Au nanoparticles but allows permeation of molecules and ions.     

Solvothermal syntheses of semiconductor photocatalysts of ultra-high activities

Thermal treatment of titanium(IV) butoxide dissolved in 2-butanol at 573 K under autogenous pressure (alcohothermal treatment) yielded microcrystalline anatase-type titanium(IV) oxide (TiO₂). Thermal treatment of oxobis(2,4-pentanedionato-O,O′)titanium (TiO(acac)₂) in ethylene glycol (EG) in the presence of sodium acetate and a small amount of water at 573 K yielded microcrystalline brookite-type TiO₂. Tungsten(VI) oxide (WO₃) powders of monoclinic crystal structure with high crystallinity were synthesized by hydrothermal treatment (HTT), at 523 or 573 K, of aqueous tungstic acid (H₂WO₄) solutions prepared from sodium tungstate by ion-exchange (IE) with a proton-type resin. Anatase and brookite TiO₂ products were calcined at various temperatures and then used for photocatalytic mineralization of acetic acid in aqueous solutions under aerated conditions and dehydrogenation of 2-propanol under deaerated conditions. Almost all the anatase-type TiO₂ samples showed the activities more than twice higher than those of representative active photocatalysts, Degussa P-25 and Ishihara ST-01 in both reactions. A brookite sample with improved crystallinity and sufficient surface area obtained by calcination at 973 K exhibited the hydrogen evolution rate almost equal to P-25. HTT WO₃ powders with various physical properties were used as photocatalyst for evolution of oxygen (O₂) from an aqueous silver sulfate solution. WO₃ powder of high crystallinity, e.g., IE-HTT-WO₃ synthesized at 573 K, gave much higher O₂ yield than commercially available WO₃ samples.     

Indoor air quality for chemical and ultrafine particle contaminants from printers

There are various emission sources of chemical contaminants, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ozone and particulate matter. This report is a study into the indoor air of a room containing either a laser printer/ink-jet printer, and the air contaminations were monitored for VOCs, ozone and ultrafine particle. The result confirmed an increase in the concentration of ozone and ultrafine particle numbers in the printing processes of the printer. The emission of VOCs and ozone were measured by the use of a test chamber. The chamber concentrations of styrene, xylenes and ozone were increased in printing process of the laser printer, and pentanol was detected from the ink-jet printer. The results suggest that an office or residential printer may be a source of indoor air contamination. It is necessary for emission from printers to monitor not only VOCs and particle but also ultrafine particles and other contaminants in indoor air.     

Development of the residual sodium quantification method for a fuel pin bundle of SFRs before and after dry cleaning

ABSTRACT

In a fuel handling system of sodium-cooled fast reactors (SFRs), it is necessary to remove the sodium remaining on spent fuel assemblies (FAs) before storing them in a spent fuel water pool (SFP). A next-generation SFR in Japan has adopted an advanced dry-cleaning system that consists of argon gas blowing to remove the metallic residual sodium on the FA, which increases economic competitiveness and reduces waste products thanks to a waterless process. In this R&D work, the performance of the dry cleaning process has been investigated.

This paper describes experimental and analytical studies focusing on the amount of residual sodium remaining on a fuel pin bundle before and after the argon gas blowing process. The experiments were conducted using a sodium test loop and a short (approximately 1 m) specimen consisting of a 7-pin bundle. The effects of the blowing gas velocity and the blowing time were quantitatively analyzed in the experiments. The blowing gas velocity was varied from 3.9 to 31.3 m/s, and 113 data-points of the residual sodium were collected during the experiment. On the basis of these experimental results, the residual sodium quantification method for the fuel pin bundle was constructed.     

Influences of repetition rate of laser pulses on growth of crystalline AlN films on sapphire(0001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition

We investigated influences of a repetition frequency of laser pulses on growth of AlN crystalline films by pulsed laser deposition. The structural and morphological properties of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Employment of high frequency laser pulses not only enhanced the growth of AlN crystallites, but also afforded the crystal growth at higher nitrogen pressures. Growth of α-AlN was dramatically enhanced with an increase in the laser pulse frequency, while β-AlN was grown at the high frequency of laser pulses and high nitrogen pressures.     

Thermodynamic study of phase equilibria in strained III–V alloy semiconductors

Phase equilibria in GaSb-GaAs and InAs-GaAs thin films grown on GaAs and InP substrates were calculated, taking into consideration the elastic contribution caused by the lattice mismatch between the film and substrate. The basic concept used in describing the elastic free energy is that strain due to a lattice mismatch accumulates in a thin film and interfacial misfit dislocations form when the strain energy exceeds a certain energy barrier. Our calculations showed that the single-phase region of a zinc-blend-type compound forms in the GaSb-GaAs/InP and InAs-GaAs/InP systems. This result is in fairly good agreement with the experimental examination of epitaxially grown thin film. The compositional latching phenomenon frequently observed in alloy semiconductor systems can be interpreted in terms of the phase separation generated by the accumulated strain in the thin films.