Irreversible deformation and the superplasticity of a TN-1 alloy during thermal cycling through the martensitic transformations ranges under loading

The influence of the thermal cycling conditions on the thermal-cycling creep of a TN-1 alloy and the related irreversible deformations is studied. The conditions under which an anomalous increase in the irreversible deformations begins are determined. The structural mechanism of the irreversible deformations of an equiatomic alloy is shown to be analogous to the structural mechanism of metal creep at high temperatures: it predominantly has a dislocation character. It is proposed to use the effect of anomalous increase in the deformation of materials with reversible martensitic transformations for forming parts made of these materials at low temperatures.     

Light-induced electron spin polarization in the ground state of water-soluble copper porphyrins

Light-induced spin-polarized transient EPR spectra are reported for several water-soluble copper porphyrins. The spectra are assigned to the doublet ground state, with emissive spin polarization resulting from photoexcitation and subsequent electronic relaxation. In contrast to other systems for which polarization of a doublet ground state has been observed, the exchange interactions in the copper porphyrins are strong and the geometry is fixed. It is proposed that intersystem crossing from the photoexcited trip-doublet to the trip-quartet state can lead to net polarization of the spin system and that this polarization is maintained during electronic decay, possibly via charge-transfer and exciplex states. The intensity of the observed spin polarization is essentially independent of the molecular orientation in the external field, but is strongly dependent on the nature of the charged peripheral groups. Possible reasons for this behavior are discussed.     

Functional penetration of variability of motor neuron spike timing through a modulated neuromuscular system

Variability of the neuronal spike pattern is usually thought of in terms of the information that the different interspike intervals might be encoding. However, the very presence of the variability can have other kinds of functional significance. Here we consider the example of the B15/B16-ARC neuromuscular system of Aplysia, a model system for the study of neuromuscular modulation and control. We show that variability of motor neuron spike timing at the input to the system penetrates throughout the system, affecting all downstream variables including modulator release, modulator concentrations, modulatory actions, and the contraction of the muscle. Furthermore, not only does the variability penetrate through the system, but it is actually instrumental in maintaining its modulation and contractions at a robust, physiological level.     

Revamping of the process condensate treatment unit. G-43-107M/1 unit at LiNOS Ltd

Increasing attention at oil refineries is being focused on solving environmental problems caused by stiffening of the requirements for emissions of harmful substances into air and water. Advanced technologies that reduce the effect of industrial enterprises on the environment to the minimum are becoming increasingly in demand. Treatment of process wastewaters to remove hydrogen sulfide and ammonia is one such problem of the modern refinery with cat crackers. __________ Translated from Khimiya i Tekhnologiya Topliv i Masel, No. 3, pp. 52–55, May–June, 2006.     

Catalytic properties and electronic structure of copper ions in Cu-ZSM-5

The effect of ion exchange conditions, such as Si/Al ratio, precursor copper salt, pH and concentration of the solution, on the catalytic activity in SCR of NO by propane and on the electronic state of copper ions in Cu-ZSM-5 has been studied. The NO conversion in NO SCR by C₃H₈ has been found to reach a maximum value at Cu/Al ratio about 0.37–0.4 and remain constant at higher Cu/Al.

ESR and UV–vis DR spectroscopy have been used to elucidate stabilization conditions of copper ions in Cu-ZSM-5 zeolites as isolated Cu²⁺ ions, chain copper oxide structures and square-plain oxide clusters. The ability of copper ions for reduction and reoxidation in the chain structures may be responsible for the catalytic activity of Cu-ZSM-5. These transformations of copper ions are accompanied by the observation of intervalence transitions Cu²⁺–Cu⁺ and CTLM of the chain structures in the UV–vis spectra.     

Introduction of microdoses of germanium and indium dopants into the bulk and surface layers of semiconductor materials

A technique is proposed for introducing microdoses (10^?5–10^?10 g) of germanium and indium metals into semiconductor compounds by coulometric titration in a solid electrolyte cell. The solid electrolytes that are reversible with respect to germanium cations (the GeSe-GeI₂ system containing 5 mol % GeI₂) and indium cations (the InCl₃-MgCl₂ system containing 15 mol % MgCl₂, the InCl₃-CdCl₂ system containing 1.5 mol % CdCl₂, and the In₂S₃-InCl₃ system containing 5 mol % InCl₃) are chosen, and their electric transport properties are characterized. The optimum conditions for electrochemical doping (temperature, current density), under which the current efficiency reaches 90–100%, are determined. The doping with germanium and indium is performed for nonstoichiometric compounds, such as lead monotelluride, indium sulfide, and ternary chalcogenide spinel Cd_{1 ± δ}Cr₂Se₄. The doping efficiency is controlled by measuring the electromotive force of the corresponding electrochemical cells and the Hall effect, as well as using the electrical conductivity method. The solid electrolytes that are reversible with respect to indium are used to determine the standard Gibbs energies of formation of a number of indium-containing semiconductors.     

Phase local approximation (PhaseLa) technique for phase unwrap from noisy data.

The local polynomial approximation (LPA) is a nonparametric regression technique with pointwise estimation in a sliding window. We apply the LPA of the argument of cos and sin in order to estimate the absolute phase from noisy wrapped phase data. Using the intersection of confidence interval (HCI) algorithm, the window size is selected as adaptive pointwise varying. This adaptation gives the phase estimate with the accuracy close to optimal in the mean squared sense. For calculations, we use a Gauss-Newton recursive procedure initiated by the phase estimates obtained for the neighboring points. It enables tracking properties of the algorithm and its ability to go beyond the principal interval [-pi, pi] and to reconstruct the absolute phase from wrapped phase observations even when the magnitude of the phase difference takes quite large values. The algorithm demonstrates a very good accuracy of the phase reconstruction which on many occasion overcomes the accuracy of the state-of-the-art algorithms developed for noisy phase unwrap. The theoretical analysis produced for the accuracy of the pointwise estimates is used for justification of the HCI adaptation algorithm.     

Carbon nanofibers as hydrogen adsorbing materials for power sources

Porous carbon nanofibers are synthesized by CVD method from acetylene with use of iron-containing catalysts. Activation of the nanofibers in melted potassium hydroxide results in increasing surface area from initial 300–400 m² g⁻¹ to 1700 m² g⁻¹. As follows from XRD data, activated nanofibers do not contain regular packages of graphene layers, but retain high electric conductivity. Deposition of copper improves electrochemical hydrogen storing characteristics of carbon nanofibers. Carbon nanomaterials obtained can be used as hydrogen storing materials in batteries instead of hydride forming metals.