Synthesis,structural and optical properties of Er doped,Li doped and Er + Li co-doped ZnO nanocrystallites by solution-combustion method

Pure zinc oxide (ZnO) and 2 mol% of Er, 1 mol% of Li individually doped and Er + Li co-doped ZnO nanopowders were synthesized by auto-combustion method. Crystal structure and grain size were characterized by X-ray diffractometer and found that all synthesized samples have hexagonal wurtzite crystal structure. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies were used to determine the morphology and size of the nanocrystallites. A UV–VIS measurement shows four absorbance peaks in the visible regions and the band gap is slowly blue shifted after annealing at 800 °C. The presence of Er, Li and the hexagonal wurtzite structure was confirmed by FT-IR studies. FT-Raman spectroscopy has been employed to study the crystalline quality and structural disorders.     

α-Fe2O3/Pt hybrid nanorings and their enhanced photocatalytic activities

In this paper, α-Fe₂O₃ nanorings were synthesized and used as a support to further synthesize hybrid Pt/α-Fe₂O₃ nanorings. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses clearly suggest that Pt nanoparticles are deposited on the surface of α-Fe₂O₃ nanorings in a well-dispersed state. This metal–semiconductor hybrid system is expected to show high photocatalytic activity towards the degradation of environmental pollutants. Because of the Schottky contact between semiconductor and metal particles, the holes prefer to localize in energetically lower semiconductor, whereas the electrons can move through the heterointerface. This interfacial charge transfer and separation facilitate the redox reactions, results in a high photocatalytic activity. In our case, the as obtained α-Fe₂O₃/Pt hybrids exhibit enhanced photocatalytic performance with a degradation rate of 86.7% for methyl orange, which is much higher than that of pure α-Fe₂O₃ (33.2%).     

Electrochemical study of the corrosion of different alloys exposed to deaerated 80 °C geothermal brines containing CO2

Corrosion of metallic engineering materials accounts for problems during geothermal operation in the Upper Rhine Graben (URG). Herein, we study the electrochemical behaviour of various metal alloys in an 80 °C simulated geothermal environment by using potentiodynamic polarisation and open-circuit potential measurements. Two different natural geothermal waters from URG geothermal sites were used for the experiments. The measurements reveal spontaneous passivation to be a key process for all alloys. This ennoblement protects more noble alloys from significant corrosion (e.g. titanium gr. 2, alloy 625) and brings less noble alloys to failure, mostly due to pitting corrosion (e.g. 316L).     

Study on short ramie fiber/poly(lactic acid) composites compatibilized by maleic anhydride

Short ramie fiber reinforced poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composites without and with maleic anhydride (MA) were developed. The influence of PLA-g-MA as a compatibilizer on the properties of the composites was studied. The tensile, flexural and impact strength of the composites have improvements with the addition of PLA-g-MA. The morphology of fracture surface evaluated by SEM indicates that the composites with the addition of PLA-g-MA can get better adhesion between the fiber and the matrix. And the Vicat softening temperature and the degradation temperature of the composites are increased with the addition of PLA-g-MA. However, PLA-g-MA leads the glass transition temperature (T_g) decrease according to the DSC results.     

Electrochemical investigations on amorphous Fe-base alloys for alkaline water electrolysis

In this work different amorphous melt-spun Fe-alloys (Fe₈₂B₁₈, Fe₈₀Si₁₀B₁₀, Fe₆₀Co₂₀Si₁₀B₁₀) were investigated as cathode materials for the alkaline electrolysis of water. In particular, the influence of cobalt as well as the metalloids boron and silicon on the activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was studied in 1 M KOH at 298 K using cyclic voltammetric, galvanostatic and polarization techniques. The electrocatalytic activity was evaluated in the view of the overpotential. It was found that cyclic voltammetric techniques can be used to activate the melt-spun Fe-alloys strongly. Different cyclic voltammetric activation procedures are discussed and the influence of the sweep rate and the potential window on the HER activity was elucidated. The experimental data indicate that the addition of metalloids and, most importantly, of cobalt improves the HER activity of the materials. Thus, the overpotential can be reduced by 200 mV compared to polycrystalline Ni.     

1553B接口的曼彻斯特码解码器设计

介绍了采用VHDL语言在ISE9．2软件中实现1553B接口的曼彻斯特解码器的设计，使用ISE9．2I软件对设计进行综合、优化，并在ModelSimSE6．1软件中进行时序仿真。最终在XILINX公司的FPGA芯片XA3S400上进行了验证，结果表明，此设计是可行性的。     

Structural and mechanical stability of the nano-crystalline Ni–Ti (50.9 at.% Ni) shape memory alloy during short-term heat treatments

In this study, the nano-crystalline Nitinol (50.9 at.% Ni) was prepared by 40% cold deformation. Subsequently it was subjected to 15-min-heat treatments at 300–550 °C. Changes of the structure and mechanical properties were studied by transmission electron microscopy, micro X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, Vickers hardness measurements, tensile and bend-type fatigue testing. It was shown that the cold drawn material contains textured nano-crystalline B2 grains of 50 nm in thickness and a high concentration of lattice defects. Its tensile strength, hardness and fatigue life were 1521 MPa, 421 HV0.05 and 2435 bending cycles to fracture, respectively. After heat-treatment up to 450 °C/15 min the material underwent Ni₄Ti₃ precipitation and partial recovery processes. Heat-treatments at above 450 °C induced recrystallization, grain and precipitate growth. Hardness and fatigue lives showed maxima of 692 HV0.05 and 5883 cycles, respectively, after heat-treatments at 450 °C/15 min. In contrast, both tensile strength and B2 → B19′ transformation stress decreased with increasing heat-treatment temperature, but a decrease of the tensile strength after heat-treatments at 300–450 °C was slow (tensile strength after heat-treatment at 450 °C/15 min was 1486 MPa). The observed variations of mechanical characteristics were discussed in relation to structural changes observed.     

Origin of abnormal glass transition behavior in metallic glasses

In this paper, the phenomenon of two glass-transition-like appearance in the supercooled liquid region of metallic glasses was investigated. It is confirmed that this abnormal behavior is attributed to the transition process of an amorphous state from higher energy to lower energy. The amorphous state with higher energy comes from the uneven distribution of compositions in glasses, which is mainly caused by the component with significant differences in atomic size and nonnegative values of enthalpy of mixing. The results were verified by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectrometry.     

Safety assessment aspects of type B(U) packages containing wet intermediate level waste

Abstract

In Germany, the mechanical and thermal safety assessment of approved packages for the transport of RAM is carried out by BAM as the competent authority according to the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations. BAM was involved in several approval procedures with ductile cast iron containers containing wet intermediate level waste. These contents, which are not dried, only drained, consist of saturated ion exchange resin and a small amount of free water. Compared to the safety assessment of packages with dry content, attention must be paid to some more specific points. The physical and chemical compatibility of the content itself and of the content with materials of the package must be shown. From the mechanical resistance point of view, the package has to withstand the forces resulting from the freezing liquid. The most interesting point, however, is the pressure build-up inside the package due to vapourisation. This could be caused by radiolysis of the liquid and must be taken into account for the storage period. The paper deals primarily with the pressure build-up inside the package caused by the regulatory thermal test (30 min at 800°C) as part of the cumulative test scenario under accident conditions of transport. To determine the pressure, the temperature distribution in the content must be calculated for the whole period from the beginning of the thermal test until cooling down. In this case, calculating the temperature distribution requires, besides the consideration of conduction and heat radiation, consideration of evaporation and condensation including the associated processes of transport.     

The mechanical properties of natural fibre based honeycomb core materials

This paper investigates the compression properties of square and triangular honeycomb core materials based on co-mingled flax fibre reinforced polypropylene (PP) and polylactide (PLA) polymers. Initial testing focused on investigating the sensitivity of the tensile properties of the composites to variations in processing conditions. Following this, a range of triangular and square honeycomb structures were manufactured using a simple slotting technique. These structures were tested in compression at quasi-static rates of strain and their strength and specific energy absorption characteristics were determined. Finally, a finite element analysis was undertaken to accurately predict the strength, energy-absorbing characteristics, buckling behaviour and failure modes of these natural fibre based core materials.