Termites live in a material world: exploration of their ability to differentiate between food sources.

Drywood termites are able to assess wood size using vibratory signals, although the exact mechanism behind this assessment ability is not known. Important vibratory characteristics such as the modal frequencies of a wooden block depend on its geometry and boundary conditions; however, they are also dependent on the material characteristics of the block, such as mass, density and internal damping. We report here on choice experiments that tested the ability of the drywood termite Cryptotermes secundus to assess wooden block size using a solid wooden block paired with a composite block, the latter made of either wood and aluminium or wood and rubber. Each composite block was constructed to match mass or low-frequency vibratory modes (i.e. fundamental frequency) of the solid wooden block. The termites always chose the blocks with more wood; they moved to the solid wooden blocks usually within a day and then tunnelled further into the solid wooden block by the end of the experiment. Termites offered composite blocks of wood and rubber matched for mass were the slowest to show a preference for the solid wooden block and this preference was the least definitive of any treatment, which indicated that mass and/or damping may play a role in food assessment. This result clearly shows that the termites were not fooled by composite blocks matched for mass or frequency, which implies that they probably employ more than a single simple measure in their food assessment strategy. This implies a degree of sophistication in their ability to assess their environment hitherto unknown. The potential importance of alternative features in the vibrational signals is discussed.     

Structural Appraisal of the Florentine Gothic Construction System

The nave of Santa Maria Novella, a Dominican church in Florence Italy is representative of a Florentine Gothic system of construction. This system, consisting of domical rib vaults on square nave bays, high side aisles, and crypto-buttressing, differs substantially from the French high Gothic system of even-level-crown rib vaults on rectangular bays, with flying buttresses over relatively low aisles. An investigation into the structural aspects of the Florentine Gothic construction system reveals that the domical vaults increase the longitudinal thrust and reduce the transverse thrust, which may require additional precautions to be taken during construction, but entails a less elaborate buttressing system. The domical vaults are found to perform well structurally, with an absence of tensile stresses, and are more suitable for a square bay. In general, the structural system of the nave of Santa Maria Novella is found to be the product of carefully considered structural design, which may be accepted as an alternative to the French Gothic construction system.     

Effect of Y2O3, CeO2 on Sintering Properties of Si3N4 Ceramics

The effect of rare earth oxides Y203 or Ce02 on sintering properties of Si3N4 ceramics was studied and the mechanism of assisting action during sintering was analyzed. The results in dicate that the best sintering properties appear in Si3N4 ceramics with 5% Y203 or 8% CeO2. Secondary crystallites are formed at grain boundaries after heat treatment,which decreases the amount of glass phase and contributes to the improvement of high-temperature mechanical properties of silicon nitride.     

Passivation effects of deuterium exposure on boron-doped CVD homoepitaxial diamond

The deuterium (hydrogen) passivation effect on acceptors in boron-doped CVD homoepitaxial diamond was studied by electrical (Hall-effect) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements. Deuterium was incorporated into the samples using microwave (MW) deuterium plasma at 673 K for 2–24 h. We observed the progress of acceptor passivation with p-type conduction, which finally resulted in a highly resistive state.     

Electrical/electronic effects of titanium and iron impurities in EFG and FZ solar cell silicon: SPV/EBIC analysis

In this paper results on surface photovoltage (SPV) and electron beam induced conductivity (EBIC) studies of edge-defined film-fed growth (EFG) and floating zone (FZ) silicon solar cell materials (both p-type) are presented. A systematic comparison based on minority carrier diffusion length and carrier recombination is made between: (i) samples contaminated with Ti and/or Fe, (ii) samples gettered by phosphorous diffusion, and (iii) as-received samples. Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements, together with the iron-boron (FeB) pairing kinetics [1] have successfully been used to detect the presence of Fe in the samples. Even though this process is effective in revealing Fe impurities in p-type FZ silicon it is evidently not suitable for Fe identification in p-type EFG silicon. Ti, like Fe, is found to be a prominent lifetime-limiting metallic impurity in both EFG and FZ silicon. Phosphorous diffusion is proven to be an effective external gettering technique for fast-diffusing impurities such as Fe, but not for Ti.     

Effect of type of processing on the microstructural features and mechanical properties of Al-Cu/SiC metal matrix composites

In this study, an aluminum based metallic matrix (Al-2wt.% Cu) was reinforced with SiC particulates using a conventional casting technique and a new disintegrated melt deposition technique. Microstructural characterization studies conducted on the samples taken from disintegrated melt deposition technique revealed a more uniform distribution of SiC particulates and good interfacial integrity between SiC particulates and metallic matrix when compared to the conventionally cast composite samples. Results of ambient temperature mechanical tests demonstrate an increase in 0.2% YS and ultimate tensile strength of samples taken from disintegrated melt deposition technique when compared with the unreinforced and conventionally cast composite samples. The results of microstructural characterization and mechanical testing were finally rationalized in terms of the nature of processing technique employed to reinforce Al-2wt.% Cu metallic matrix with SiC particulates.     

WC对Cu/WC_P复合材料性能及组织的影响

通过ＷＣ含量对ＷＣ／Ｃｕ复合材料性能的影响，确定了冷压－烧结法制备Ｃｕ／ＷＣ材料的适宜ＷＣ含量为１０ｖｏｌ％左右。并就ＷＣ对该材料组织和再结晶行为的影响进行了有益的探讨。     

Preparation of polyimide-epoxy composites

The formation of a three dimensional network of crosslinked epoxy leads all unmodified epoxies to have inherent brittleness and relatively low degradation temperatures. Polyimides, on the other hand, are widely used for applications that require high degrees of flexibility and thermal resistance. Here, we have focused on the preparation of epoxy systems cured with polyamic acids instead of traditional amino-group-containing hardening agents. The cure behavior and potential reaction mechanisms of EPON 828 resin and polyamic acid mixtures were evaluated by DSC and TGA. Thermal analysis showed a complex reaction sequence taking place in the mixture and also determined the extent of reaction of the polyamic acid with itself and the competitive reaction of the polyamic acid with the epoxy. The compositions of the mixtures were varied to see the dependence of the cure behavior on component concentrations. Solutions of the two components did not phase separate and also phase separation was not apparent either optically or microscopically in the cured samples. This phase behavior was attributed to a unique in situ reaction. A novel solvent system for the polyamic acid precursor was also used.     

反应堆材料热物性数据库管理系统

衡量一个数据库的质量，不以要看其所包含的数据还应考虑数据库管理系统的使用功能。为了更有效地实施ＩＡＥＡ的ＣＲＰ（ＣｏｏｒｄｉｎａｔｅｄＲｅｓｅａｒｃｈＰｒｏｇｒａｍｍｅ）中有关建立反应堆材料热物性数据库的计划，并考虑到能使所收集的数据方便地为用户服务和进行广泛的国际交流，为此设计并编制了该数据库的软件管理系统ＴＰＳＹＳ。这个系统可在ＩＢＭ－ＰＣ（３８６，４８６）等兼容机上运行，采用人机对话、菜单提示、全屏幕操作。其主要功能有：数据库维护、数据检索、与大型计算程序ＭＡＴ－ＰＲＯ接口和与国际上现有的数据库ＴＨＥＲＳＹＳＴ接口。