Reconstruction of radiation situation at Chernobyl NPP service area on the basis of γ-ray spectrometric analysis of soil samples and published data

Reconstruction of the radiation situation in areas subjected to nuclear accidents was done with an example of the Chernobyl accident (1986) on the basis of the radionuclidic composition of soil samples. The radionuclidic composition of γ-emitters was determined 19 years after the accident in a pulverescent sandstone sample collected in July 1986 at a distance of 1.5 km from the 4th block. Using reference data and data from original papers, reconstruction of the radionuclidic composition of the sample is done on the first ten days after the accident, and possible variations of the γ-radiation dose rate were determined within the framework of the thin film model. Based on the results obtained, variations of the absorbed dose of γ-radiation in 10 days are estimated, which is necessary for making urgent decisions in the initial period after the accident. The results are well consistent with the published data on the dose rates, validating the decision on evacuation of the people from Pripyat town and from the 30-km exclusion zone.     

Field evaporation of carbidized tungsten

The field evaporation of carbidized tungsten (ribbed crystals) was studied by the atom probe method at various temperatures of the sample in the regions of cryogenic, room, and elevated (1300–1600 K) temperatures. For a high pulsed (not less than 40%) component in the evaporating field, the room-temperature field evaporation mass spectra correctly reflect the surface composition of the evaporated sample. The mass spectra reveal a large number of molecular and polymerized (cluster) ions. Data from field ion desorption microscopy indicate that high-temperature field evaporation of a ribbed crystal proceeds via ion emission from walking and merging thermal-field microroughnesses.     

Three-Dimensional Dynamic Problems for an Elastic Body Containing a Shallow Crack

By combining the methods of boundary integral equations and small parameter, we solve a three-dimensional problem of low-frequency harmonic loading of the surfaces of a shallow crack in an infinite elastic body. The functions of crack opening displacements and the stress intensity factors are obtained in the form of double convergent power series in the wave number and in a geometric parameter characterizing the curvature of the crack. We study the influence of inertial terms on the level of stresses in the vicinity of spheroidal cracks with various values of eccentricity under the action of uniform dynamic pressure with constant amplitude.     

Hybridization of acoustic waves in piezoelectric plates

The conditions for hybridization of the zero-order and high-order acoustic waves propagating in a piezoelectric crystal plate have been studied. The dependence of the phase velocity of the hybrid waves on the parameter hf (h is the plate thickness and f is the wave frequency) is established for the potassium niobate and lithium niobate plates possessing various crystallographic orientations and conductivities. It is found that hybridization takes place when the conductivity of a thin surface layer exceeds a certain critical value, which can vary within broad limits depending on the plate material and orientation. The degree of dispersive repulsion of the coupled modes grows with increasing electromechanical coupling coefficient.     

Production of Functional Nanocrystalline Materials in Hydrogen

On the example of KS25 and KS37 samarium–cobalt-base commercial alloys and LaNi_4.5Al_0.5 alloy, we show the possibility, in principle, of obtaining functional materials in the nanocrystalline state with the help of a planetary mill in hydrogen medium. Milling with a rotational speed of 600 rpm during 24 h leads to the disproportionation of KS25 and KS37 alloys into samarium hydride and iron–cobalt (cobalt) and of LaNi_4.5Al_0.5 into Ni₃Al and amorphous products. After vacuum annealing up to 1181 K, the main phases of samarium–cobalt materials are recombined. The crystallite sizes after annealing are 58–72 and 70 nm for KS25 and KS37, respectively. We established that LaNi_4.5Al_0.5 alloy is not recombined in vacuum, and the nanocrystalline state in it can be reached by milling up to 30 min. The crystallite sizes constitute 45–78 nm.     

Elastic constants of face-centered cubic and L1<Subscript>2</Subscript> Ni-Si alloys: Composition and temperature dependence

The adiabatic elastic stiffness constants C _ij of Ni-Si single-crystal solid-solution alloys of two slightly different compositions, 10.78 and 11.17 at. pct Si, were measured over the temperature range from 20 °C to 900 °C using the rectangular parallelepiped resonance method. The isotropic elastic constants of the polycrystalline ordered intermetallic compound Ni₃Si containing 23 at. pct Si were also measured over this temperature range. Values of the C _ij for Ni₃Si were estimated from the data on the polycrystalline alloy, as well as from published data in the literature on isomorphous ternary ordered intermetallic compounds containing different amounts of Si. Using measured values and previously published data, the stiffness constants of Ni₃Ti were estimated; these are the only available data on this alloy. The estimated single-crystal elastic constants of Ni₃Si, as well as the experimentally measured bulk modulus, are considerably smaller than published values calculated from first-principles methods. The same is true for the C _ij of Ni₃Ti, but the discrepancies are smaller.     

Thin-film nickel coatings on fiber materials

Vacuum deposition of thin films onto fiber materials is a promising method of obtaining electromagnetic screens. We have studied the structure and the electromagnetic properties of machine-knitted fabric coated with nickel by means of magnetron sputtering. When the fabric is irradiated from the metal-coated side, the reflection coefficient is higher by a factor of 1.4 as compared to the case when the same source of electromagnetic radiation is situated on the opposite side (facing the uncoated surface), while the absorption coefficient in both cases is the same.     

Fabrication and Characterization of Two‐Photon Polymerized Features in Colloidal Crystals

The fabrication and characterization of two‐photon polymerized features written within and outside of colloidal crystals is presented. Two‐photon polymerization (TPP) response diagrams are introduced and developed to map the polymerization and damage thresholds for features written via modulated beam rastering. The use of tris[4‐(7‐benzothiazol‐2‐yl‐9,9‐diethylfluoren‐2‐yl)phenyl]amine (AF‐350) as an initiator for TPP is demonstrated for the first time and TPP response diagrams illustrate the polymerization window. These diagrams also demonstrate that the polymerization behavior within and outside of colloidal crystals is similar and electron microscopy reveals nearly identical resolution. Fluorescence confocal microscopy further enables visualization of non‐self‐supporting, three‐dimensional TPP features within self‐assembled photonic crystals. Finally, microspot spectroscopy is collected from a two‐photon feature written within a colloidal crystal and this is compared with simulation.     

The electrochemical behaviour of nitrogen-containing austenitic stainless steel in methanolic solution

The corrosion behaviour of nitrogen-containing austenitic stainless steel in methanol containing different concentrations of H₂SO₄, HCl, LiCl and H₂SO₄ + HCl has been investigated using a potentiostatic polarization method. The cathodic reaction in the H₂SO₄, HCl and H₂SO₄ + HCl solutions was proton reduction whereas in the neutral LiCl solution, oxygen reduction was the predominant cathodic reaction. Active, passive and transpassive behaviours were observed only for higher concentrations of H₂SO₄ (0.01–2.0 M) due to the inherent water content. A cathodic loop, characterized by measured negative current in the anodic region, was also observed in solutions, in which the concentration of H₂SO₄ was 1.0 M or higher. The relative stability of the passive films decreased as the H₂SO₄ concentration increased, and thus the steel suffered from mild pitting corrosion. In the chloride environment, the rate of corrosion increased as the Cl⁻ ion concentration increased. The presence of acid along with Cl⁻ ions enhanced corrosion, and the corrosion rate increased significantly. The steel suffered from mild intergranular corrosion in acidic chloride solutions of methanol. In the H₂SO₄ + HCl solutions, passive films were only formed when the H₂SO₄ to HCl concentration ratio was greater than ∼10:1.