Lowry Range Solar Station: Arapahoe County, Colorado (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Yoder, M.; Andreas, A.

2008-05-30

A partnership with industry and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect solar data to support future solar power generation in the United States. The measurement station monitors global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance to define the amount of solar energy that hits this particular location. The solar measurement instrumentation is also accompanied by meteorological monitoring equipment to provide scientists with a complete picture of the solar power possibilities.

Sun Spot One (SS1): San Luis Valley, Colorado (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Stoffel, T.; Andreas, A.

2008-06-10

A partnership with industry and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect solar data to support future solar power generation in the United States. The measurement station monitors global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance to define the amount of solar energy that hits this particular location. The solar measurement instrumentation is also accompanied by meteorological monitoring equipment to provide scientists with a complete picture of the solar power possibilities.

University of Nevada (UNLV): Las Vegas, Nevada (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Stoffel, T.; Andreas, A.

2006-03-18

A partnership with the University of Nevada and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect solar data to support future solar power generation in the United States. The measurement station monitors global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance to define the amount of solar energy that hits this particular location. The solar measurement instrumentation is also accompanied by meteorological monitoring equipment to provide scientists with a complete picture of the solar power possibilities.

Nevada Power: Clark Station; Las Vegas, Nevada (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Stoffel, T.; Andreas, A.

2006-03-27

A partnership with the University of Nevada and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect solar data to support future solar power generation in the United States. The measurement station monitors global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance to define the amount of solar energy that hits this particular location. The solar measurement instrumentation is also accompanied by meteorological monitoring equipment to provide scientists with a complete picture of the solar power possibilities.

Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD): Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (RSR); Anatolia - Rancho Cordova, California (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Maxey, C.; Andreas, A.

2009-02-03

A partnership with industry and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect solar data to support future solar power generation in the United States. The measurement station monitors global horizontal, direct normal, and diffuse horizontal irradiance to define the amount of solar energy that hits this particular location. The solar measurement instrumentation is also accompanied by meteorological monitoring equipment to provide scientists with a complete picture of the solar power possibilities.

Evaluation of scenario-specific modeling approaches to predict plane of array solar irradiation

DOE PAGES

Moslehi, Salim; Reddy, T. Agami; Katipamula, Srinivas

2017-12-20

Predicting thermal or electric power output from solar collectors requires knowledge of solar irradiance incident on the collector, known as plane of array irradiance. In the absence of such a measurement, plane of array irradiation can be predicted using relevant transposition models which essentially requires diffuse (or beam) radiation to be to be known along with total horizontal irradiation. The two main objectives of the current study are (1) to evaluate the extent to which the prediction of plane of array irradiance is improved when diffuse radiation is predicted using location-specific regression models developed from on-site measured data as againstmore » using generalized models; and (2) to estimate the expected uncertainties associated with plane of array irradiance predictions under different data collection scenarios likely to be encountered in practical situations. These issues have been investigated using monitored data for several U.S. locations in conjunction with the Typical Meteorological Year, version 3 database. An interesting behavior in the Typical Meteorological Year, version 3 data was also observed in correlation patterns between diffuse and total radiation taken from different years which seems to attest to a measurement problem. Furthermore, the current study was accomplished under a broader research agenda aimed at providing energy managers the necessary tools for predicting, scheduling, and controlling various sub-systems of an integrated energy system.« less

Evaluation of scenario-specific modeling approaches to predict plane of array solar irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moslehi, Salim; Reddy, T. Agami; Katipamula, Srinivas

Predicting thermal or electric power output from solar collectors requires knowledge of solar irradiance incident on the collector, known as plane of array irradiance. In the absence of such a measurement, plane of array irradiation can be predicted using relevant transposition models which essentially requires diffuse (or beam) radiation to be to be known along with total horizontal irradiation. The two main objectives of the current study are (1) to evaluate the extent to which the prediction of plane of array irradiance is improved when diffuse radiation is predicted using location-specific regression models developed from on-site measured data as againstmore » using generalized models; and (2) to estimate the expected uncertainties associated with plane of array irradiance predictions under different data collection scenarios likely to be encountered in practical situations. These issues have been investigated using monitored data for several U.S. locations in conjunction with the Typical Meteorological Year, version 3 database. An interesting behavior in the Typical Meteorological Year, version 3 data was also observed in correlation patterns between diffuse and total radiation taken from different years which seems to attest to a measurement problem. Furthermore, the current study was accomplished under a broader research agenda aimed at providing energy managers the necessary tools for predicting, scheduling, and controlling various sub-systems of an integrated energy system.« less

Enhancement of crop photosynthesis by diffuse light: quantifying the contributing factors

PubMed Central

Li, T.; Heuvelink, E.; Dueck, T. A.; Janse, J.; Gort, G.; Marcelis, L. F. M.

2014-01-01

Background and Aims Plants use diffuse light more efficiently than direct light. However, experimental comparisons between diffuse and direct light have been obscured by co-occurring differences in environmental conditions (e.g. light intensity). This study aims to analyse the factors that contribute to an increase in crop photosynthesis in diffuse light and to quantify their relative contribution under different levels of diffuseness at similar light intensities. The hypothesis is that the enhancement of crop photosynthesis in diffuse light results not only from the direct effects of more uniform vertical and horizontal light distribution in the crop canopy, but also from crop physiological and morphological acclimation. Methods Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops were grown in three greenhouse compartments that were covered by glass with different degrees of light diffuseness (0, 45 and 71 % of the direct light being converted into diffuse light) while maintaining similar light transmission. Measurements of horizontal and vertical photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) distribution in the crop, leaf photosynthesis light response curves and leaf area index (LAI) were used to quantify each factor's contribution to an increase in crop photosynthesis in diffuse light. In addition, leaf temperature, photoinhibition, and leaf biochemical and anatomical properties were studied. Key Results The highest degree of light diffuseness (71 %) increased the calculated crop photosynthesis by 7·2 %. This effect was mainly attributed to a more uniform horizontal (33 % of the total effect) and vertical PPFD distribution (21 %) in the crop. In addition, plants acclimated to the high level of diffuseness by gaining a higher photosynthetic capacity of leaves in the middle of the crop and a higher LAI, which contributed 23 and 13 %, respectively, to the total increase in crop photosynthesis in diffuse light. Moreover, diffuse light resulted in lower leaf temperatures and less photoinhibition at the top of the canopy when global irradiance was high. Conclusions Diffuse light enhanced crop photosynthesis. A more uniform horizontal PPFD distribution played the most important role in this enhancement, and a more uniform vertical PPFD distribution and higher leaf photosynthetic capacity contributed more to the enhancement of crop photosynthesis than did higher values of LAI. PMID:24782436

A method for estimating direct normal solar irradiation from satellite data for a tropical environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Janjai, Serm

In order to investigate a potential use of concentrating solar power technologies and select an optimum site for these technologies, it is necessary to obtain information on the geographical distribution of direct normal solar irradiation over an area of interest. In this work, we have developed a method for estimating direct normal irradiation from satellite data for a tropical environment. The method starts with the estimation of global irradiation on a horizontal surface from MTSAT-1R satellite data and other ground-based ancillary data. Then a satellite-based diffuse fraction model was developed and used to estimate the diffuse component of the satellite-derivedmore » global irradiation. Based on this estimated global and diffuse irradiation and the solar radiation incident angle, the direct normal irradiation was finally calculated. To evaluate its performance, the method was used to estimate the monthly average hourly direct normal irradiation at seven pyrheliometer stations in Thailand. It was found that values of monthly average hourly direct normal irradiation from the measurements and those estimated from the proposed method are in reasonable agreement, with a root mean square difference of 16% and a mean bias of -1.6%, with respect to mean measured values. After the validation, this method was used to estimate the monthly average hourly direct normal irradiation over Thailand by using MTSAT-1R satellite data for the period from June 2005 to December 2008. Results from the calculation were displayed as hourly and yearly irradiation maps. These maps reveal that the direct normal irradiation in Thailand was strongly affected by the tropical monsoons and local topography of the country. (author)« less

Enhancement of crop photosynthesis by diffuse light: quantifying the contributing factors.

PubMed

Li, T; Heuvelink, E; Dueck, T A; Janse, J; Gort, G; Marcelis, L F M

2014-07-01

Plants use diffuse light more efficiently than direct light. However, experimental comparisons between diffuse and direct light have been obscured by co-occurring differences in environmental conditions (e.g. light intensity). This study aims to analyse the factors that contribute to an increase in crop photosynthesis in diffuse light and to quantify their relative contribution under different levels of diffuseness at similar light intensities. The hypothesis is that the enhancement of crop photosynthesis in diffuse light results not only from the direct effects of more uniform vertical and horizontal light distribution in the crop canopy, but also from crop physiological and morphological acclimation. Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) crops were grown in three greenhouse compartments that were covered by glass with different degrees of light diffuseness (0, 45 and 71 % of the direct light being converted into diffuse light) while maintaining similar light transmission. Measurements of horizontal and vertical photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) distribution in the crop, leaf photosynthesis light response curves and leaf area index (LAI) were used to quantify each factor's contribution to an increase in crop photosynthesis in diffuse light. In addition, leaf temperature, photoinhibition, and leaf biochemical and anatomical properties were studied. The highest degree of light diffuseness (71 %) increased the calculated crop photosynthesis by 7·2 %. This effect was mainly attributed to a more uniform horizontal (33 % of the total effect) and vertical PPFD distribution (21 %) in the crop. In addition, plants acclimated to the high level of diffuseness by gaining a higher photosynthetic capacity of leaves in the middle of the crop and a higher LAI, which contributed 23 and 13 %, respectively, to the total increase in crop photosynthesis in diffuse light. Moreover, diffuse light resulted in lower leaf temperatures and less photoinhibition at the top of the canopy when global irradiance was high. Diffuse light enhanced crop photosynthesis. A more uniform horizontal PPFD distribution played the most important role in this enhancement, and a more uniform vertical PPFD distribution and higher leaf photosynthetic capacity contributed more to the enhancement of crop photosynthesis than did higher values of LAI. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Deployment and early results from the CanSIM (Canadian Solar Spectral Irradiance Meter) network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tatsiankou, Viktar; Hinzer, Karin; Schriemer, Henry; McVey-White, Patrick; Beal, Richard

2017-09-01

Three of seven stations have been deployed as part of the Canadian Solar Spectral Irradiance (CanSIM) network situated in Ottawa, Varennes and Egbert to measure long term spectral variation of the direct normal (DNI) and global horizontal irradiances (GHI) across the country. Every station is equipped with a solar tracker, SolarSIM-D2+, SolarSIM-G+, and SR20 pyranometer, reporting the spectral DNI, GHI, diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) and aerosol optical depth in the 280-4000 nm range, broadband DNI, GHI, and DHI, atmospheric total column ozone and water vapour amounts. The spectral GHI as measured by the SolarSIM-G+ was within 5% as compared to EKO MS-700 spectroradiometer in 350-1050 nm range on 17 March 2017. The difference in the GHI as reported by SolarSIM-G+ and SR20 pyranometer from all stations was within 2% on 14 April 2017. Furthermore, on this day, the daily GHI sum for the Ottawa, Varennes, and Egbert stations was 7.01, 6.95, and 7.11 kWh/m2, respectively, while the daily DNI sum was 10.65, 10.86, 10.04 kWh/m2, respectively.

Photovoltaic system derived data for determining the solar resource and for modeling the performance of other photovoltaic systems

DOE PAGES

Marion, Bill; Smith, Benjamin

2017-03-27

Using performance data from some of the millions of installed photovoltaic (PV) modules with micro-inverters may afford the opportunity to provide ground-based solar resource data critical for developing PV projects. Here, a method was developed to back-solve for the direct normal irradiance (DNI) and the diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) from the measured ac power of south-facing PV module/micro-inverter systems. The method was validated using one year of irradiance and PV performance measurements for five PV systems, each with a different tilt/azimuth orientation, and located in Golden, Colorado. Compared to using a measured global horizontal irradiance for PV performance model input,more » using the back-solved values of DNI and DHI only increased the range of mean bias deviations from measured values by 0.6% for the modeled annual averages of the global tilt irradiance and ac power for the five PV systems. Correcting for angle-of-incidence effects is an important feature of the method to prevent underestimating the solar resource and for modeling the performance of PV systems with more dissimilar PV module orientations. The results for the method were also shown more favorable than the results when using an existing power projection method for estimating the ac power.« less

Photovoltaic system derived data for determining the solar resource and for modeling the performance of other photovoltaic systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marion, Bill; Smith, Benjamin

Using performance data from some of the millions of installed photovoltaic (PV) modules with micro-inverters may afford the opportunity to provide ground-based solar resource data critical for developing PV projects. Here, a method was developed to back-solve for the direct normal irradiance (DNI) and the diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) from the measured ac power of south-facing PV module/micro-inverter systems. The method was validated using one year of irradiance and PV performance measurements for five PV systems, each with a different tilt/azimuth orientation, and located in Golden, Colorado. Compared to using a measured global horizontal irradiance for PV performance model input,more » using the back-solved values of DNI and DHI only increased the range of mean bias deviations from measured values by 0.6% for the modeled annual averages of the global tilt irradiance and ac power for the five PV systems. Correcting for angle-of-incidence effects is an important feature of the method to prevent underestimating the solar resource and for modeling the performance of PV systems with more dissimilar PV module orientations. The results for the method were also shown more favorable than the results when using an existing power projection method for estimating the ac power.« less

Barrier mechanism of multilayers graphene coated copper against atomic oxygen irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Haijing; Ren, Siming; Pu, Jibin; Xue, Qunji

2018-06-01

Graphene has been demonstrated as a protective coating for Cu under ambient condition because of its high impermeability and light-weight oxidation barrier. However, it lacks the research of graphene as a protective coating in space environment. Here, we experimentally and theoretically study the oxidation behavior of graphene-coated Cu in vacuum atomic oxygen (AO) condition. After AO irradiation, the experimental results show multilayer graphene has better anti-oxidation than monolayer graphene. Meanwhile, the calculation results show the oxidation appeared on the graphene's grain boundaries or the film's vacancy defects for the monolayer graphene coated Cu foil. Moreover, the calculation results show the oxidation process proceeds slowly in multilayers because of the matched defects overlaps each other to form a steric hindrance to suppress the O atom diffusion in the vertical direction, and the mismatched defects generates potential energy barriers for interlayer to suppress the O atom diffusion in the horizontal direction. Hence, multilayer graphene films could serve as protection coatings to prevent diffusion of O atom.

Identification of periods of clear sky irradiance in time series of GHI measurements

DOE PAGES

Reno, Matthew J.; Hansen, Clifford W.

2016-01-18

In this study, we present a simple algorithm for identifying periods of time with broadband global horizontal irradiance (GHI) similar to that occurring during clear sky conditions from a time series of GHI measurements. Other available methods to identify these periods do so by identifying periods with clear sky conditions using additional measurements, such as direct or diffuse irradiance. Our algorithm compares characteristics of the time series of measured GHI with the output of a clear sky model without requiring additional measurements. We validate our algorithm using data from several locations by comparing our results with those obtained from amore » clear sky detection algorithm, and with satellite and ground-based sky imagery.« less

Identification of periods of clear sky irradiance in time series of GHI measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reno, Matthew J.; Hansen, Clifford W.

In this study, we present a simple algorithm for identifying periods of time with broadband global horizontal irradiance (GHI) similar to that occurring during clear sky conditions from a time series of GHI measurements. Other available methods to identify these periods do so by identifying periods with clear sky conditions using additional measurements, such as direct or diffuse irradiance. Our algorithm compares characteristics of the time series of measured GHI with the output of a clear sky model without requiring additional measurements. We validate our algorithm using data from several locations by comparing our results with those obtained from amore » clear sky detection algorithm, and with satellite and ground-based sky imagery.« less

Reconstruction of daily solar UV irradiation from 1893 to 2002 in Potsdam, Germany

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Junk, Jürgen; Feister, Uwe; Helbig, Alfred

2007-08-01

Long-term records of solar UV radiation reaching the Earth’s surface are scarce. Radiative transfer calculations and statistical models are two options used to reconstruct decadal changes in solar UV radiation from long-term records of measured atmospheric parameters that contain information on the effect of clouds, atmospheric aerosols and ground albedo on UV radiation. Based on earlier studies, where the long-term variation of daily solar UV irradiation was derived from measured global and diffuse irradiation as well as atmospheric ozone by a non-linear regression method [Feister et al. (2002) Photochem Photobiol 76:281 293], we present another approach for the reconstruction of time series of solar UV radiation. An artificial neural network (ANN) was trained with measurements of solar UV irradiation taken at the Meteorological Observatory in Potsdam, Germany, as well as measured parameters with long-term records such as global and diffuse radiation, sunshine duration, horizontal visibility and column ozone. This study is focussed on the reconstruction of daily broad-band UV-B (280 315 nm), UV-A (315 400 nm) and erythemal UV irradiation (ER). Due to the rapid changes in cloudiness at mid-latitude sites, solar UV irradiance exhibits appreciable short-term variability. One of the main advantages of the statistical method is that it uses doses of highly variable input parameters calculated from individual spot measurements taken at short time intervals, which thus do represent the short-term variability of solar irradiance.

Assessment of uncertainty in the numerical simulation of solar irradiance over inclined PV panels: New algorithms using measurements and modeling tools

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Yu; Sengupta, Manajit; Dooraghi, Mike

Development of accurate transposition models to simulate plane-of-array (POA) irradiance from horizontal measurements or simulations is a complex process mainly because of the anisotropic distribution of diffuse solar radiation in the atmosphere. The limited availability of reliable POA measurements at large temporal and spatial scales leads to difficulties in the comprehensive evaluation of transposition models. This paper proposes new algorithms to assess the uncertainty of transposition models using both surface-based observations and modeling tools. We reviewed the analytical derivation of POA irradiance and the approximation of isotropic diffuse radiation that simplifies the computation. Two transposition models are evaluated against themore » computation by the rigorous analytical solution. We proposed a new algorithm to evaluate transposition models using the clear-sky measurements at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) and a radiative transfer model that integrates diffuse radiances of various sky-viewing angles. We found that the radiative transfer model and a transposition model based on empirical regressions are superior to the isotropic models when compared to measurements. We further compared the radiative transfer model to the transposition models under an extensive range of idealized conditions. Our results suggest that the empirical transposition model has slightly higher cloudy-sky POA irradiance than the radiative transfer model, but performs better than the isotropic models under clear-sky conditions. Significantly smaller POA irradiances computed by the transposition models are observed when the photovoltaics (PV) panel deviates from the azimuthal direction of the sun. The new algorithms developed in the current study have opened the door to a more comprehensive evaluation of transposition models for various atmospheric conditions and solar and PV orientations.« less

Assessment of uncertainty in the numerical simulation of solar irradiance over inclined PV panels: New algorithms using measurements and modeling tools

DOE PAGES

Xie, Yu; Sengupta, Manajit; Dooraghi, Mike

2018-03-20

Development of accurate transposition models to simulate plane-of-array (POA) irradiance from horizontal measurements or simulations is a complex process mainly because of the anisotropic distribution of diffuse solar radiation in the atmosphere. The limited availability of reliable POA measurements at large temporal and spatial scales leads to difficulties in the comprehensive evaluation of transposition models. This paper proposes new algorithms to assess the uncertainty of transposition models using both surface-based observations and modeling tools. We reviewed the analytical derivation of POA irradiance and the approximation of isotropic diffuse radiation that simplifies the computation. Two transposition models are evaluated against themore » computation by the rigorous analytical solution. We proposed a new algorithm to evaluate transposition models using the clear-sky measurements at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory (SRRL) and a radiative transfer model that integrates diffuse radiances of various sky-viewing angles. We found that the radiative transfer model and a transposition model based on empirical regressions are superior to the isotropic models when compared to measurements. We further compared the radiative transfer model to the transposition models under an extensive range of idealized conditions. Our results suggest that the empirical transposition model has slightly higher cloudy-sky POA irradiance than the radiative transfer model, but performs better than the isotropic models under clear-sky conditions. Significantly smaller POA irradiances computed by the transposition models are observed when the photovoltaics (PV) panel deviates from the azimuthal direction of the sun. The new algorithms developed in the current study have opened the door to a more comprehensive evaluation of transposition models for various atmospheric conditions and solar and PV orientations.« less

The Solar Ultraviolet Environment at the Ocean.

PubMed

Mobley, Curtis D; Diffey, Brian L

2018-05-01

Atmospheric and oceanic radiative transfer models were used to compute spectral radiances between 285 and 400 nm onto horizontal and vertical plane surfaces over water. The calculations kept track of the contributions by the sun's direct beam, by diffuse-sky radiance, by radiance reflected from the sea surface and by water-leaving radiance. Clear, hazy and cloudy sky conditions were simulated for a range of solar zenith angles, wind speeds and atmospheric ozone concentrations. The radiances were used to estimate erythemal exposures due to the sun and sky, as well as from radiation reflected by the sea surface and backscattered from the water column. Diffuse-sky irradiance is usually greater than direct-sun irradiance at wavelengths below 330 nm, and reflected and water-leaving irradiance accounts for <20% of the UV exposure on a vertical surface. Total exposure depends strongly on solar zenith angle and azimuth angle relative to the sun. Sea surface roughness affects the UV exposures by only a few percent. For very clear waters and the sun high in the sky, the UV index within the water can be >10 at depths down to two meters and >6 down to 5 m. © 2018 The American Society of Photobiology.

Evaluation of the Delta-T SPN1 radiometer for the measurement of solar irradiance components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estelles, Victor; Serrano, David; Segura, Sara; Wood, John; Webb, Nick; Utrillas, Maria Pilar

2016-04-01

In this study we analyse the performance of an SPN1 radiometer built by Delta-T Devices Ltd. to retrieve global solar irradiance at ground and its components (diffuse, direct) in comparison with measurements from two Kipp&Zonen CMP21 radiometers and a Kipp&Zonen CHP1 pirheliometer, mounted on an active Solys-2 suntracker at the Burjassot site (Valencia, Spain) using data acquired every minute during years 2013 - 2015. The measurement site is close to sea level (60 m a.s.l.), near the Mediterranean coast (10 km) and within the metropolitan area of Valencia City (over 1.500.000 inhabitants). The SPN1 is an inexpensive and versatile instrument for the measurement of the three components of the solar radiation without any mobile part and without any need to azimuthally align the instrument to track the sun (http://www.delta-t.co.uk). The three components of the solar radiation are estimated from a combination of measurements performed by 7 different miniature thermopiles. The SPN1 pyranometer measures the irradiance between 400 and 2700 nm, and the nominal uncertainty for the individual readings is about 8% ± 10 W/m2 (5% for the daily averages). The pyranometer Kipp&Zonen CMP21 model is a secondary standard for the measurement of broadband solar global irradiance in horizontal planes. Two ventilated CMP21 are used for the measurement of the global and diffuse irradiances. The expected total daily uncertainty of the radiometer is estimated to be 2%. The pirheliometer Kipp&Zonen CHP1 is designed for the measurement of the direct irradiance. The principles are similar to the CMP21 pyranometer. The results of the comparison show that the global irradiance from the SPN1 compares very well with the CMP21, with absolute RMSD and MBD differences below the combined uncertainties (15 W/m2 and -5.4 W/m2, respectively; relative RMSD of 3.1%). Both datasets are very well correlated, with a correlation coefficient higher than 0.997 and a slope and intercept very close to 1 and 0, respectively. The diffuse and direct irradiances do not compare as well as the global irradiance, although the deviations are below or close to the combined uncertainties. The diffuse irradiances have a RMSD and MBD of 15 W/m2 and 12 W/m2, similar to the global irradiance; the direct irradiance RMSD and MBD are 57 W/m2 and -44 W/m2. Both cases have a relative RMSD about 7.7-18%. Linearity is lower but still high (R=0.96). In conclusion, the SPN1 radiometer is a compact, robust and easy to maintain instrument that provides good results for the different solar irradiance components.

On the diffuse fraction of daily and monthly global radiation for the island of Cyprus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jacovides, C.P.; Hadjioannou, L.; Pashiardis, S.

1996-06-01

Six years of hourly global and diffuse irradiation measurements on a horizontal surface performed at Athalassa, Cyprus, are used to establish a relationship between the daily diffuse fraction and the daily clearness index. Two types of correlations - yearly and seasonal - have been developed. These correlations, of first and third order in the clearness index are compared to the various correlations established by Collares-Pereira and Rabl (1979), Newland (1989), Erbs et al. (1982), Rao et al. (1984), Page (1961), Liu and Jordan (1960) and Lalas et al. (1987). The comparison has been performed in terms of the widely usedmore » statistical indicators (MBE) and (RMSE) errors; and additional statistical indicator, the t-statistic, combining the earlier indicators, is introduced. The results indicate that the proposed yearly correlation matches the earlier correlations quite closely and all correlations examined yield results that are statistically significant. For large K{sub t} > 0.60 values, most of the earlier correlations exhibit a slight tendency to systematically overestimate the diffuse fraction. This marginal disagreement between the earlier correlations and the proposed model is probably significantly affected by the clear sky conditions that prevail over Cyprus for most of the time as well as atmospheric humidity content. It is clear that the standard correlations examined in this analysis appear to be location-independent models for diffuse irradiation predictions, at least for the Cyprus case. 13 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs.« less

Inferring ultraviolet anatomical exposure patterns while distinguishing the relative contribution of radiation components

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vuilleumier, Laurent; Milon, Antoine; Bulliard, Jean-Luc; Moccozet, Laurent; Vernez, David

2013-05-01

Exposure to solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the main causative factor for skin cancer. UV exposure depends on environmental and individual factors, but individual exposure data remain scarce. While ground UV irradiance is monitored via different techniques, it is difficult to translate such observations into human UV exposure or dose because of confounding factors. A multi-disciplinary collaboration developed a model predicting the dose and distribution of UV exposure on the basis of ground irradiation and morphological data. Standard 3D computer graphics techniques were adapted to develop a simulation tool that estimates solar exposure of a virtual manikin depicted as a triangle mesh surface. The amount of solar energy received by various body locations is computed for direct, diffuse and reflected radiation separately. Dosimetric measurements obtained in field conditions were used to assess the model performance. The model predicted exposure to solar UV adequately with a symmetric mean absolute percentage error of 13% and half of the predictions within 17% range of the measurements. Using this tool, solar UV exposure patterns were investigated with respect to the relative contribution of the direct, diffuse and reflected radiation. Exposure doses for various body parts and exposure scenarios of a standing individual were assessed using erythemally-weighted UV ground irradiance data measured in 2009 at Payerne, Switzerland as input. For most anatomical sites, mean daily doses were high (typically 6.2-14.6 Standard Erythemal Dose, SED) and exceeded recommended exposure values. Direct exposure was important during specific periods (e.g. midday during summer), but contributed moderately to the annual dose, ranging from 15 to 24% for vertical and horizontal body parts, respectively. Diffuse irradiation explained about 80% of the cumulative annual exposure dose.

Evaluation of various procedures transposing global tilted irradiance to horizontal surface irradiance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Housmans, Caroline; Bertrand, Cédric

2017-02-01

Many transposition models have been proposed in the literature to convert solar irradiance on the horizontal plane to that on a tilted plane. The inverse process, i.e. the conversion from tilted to horizontal is investigated here based upon seven months of in-plane global solar irradiance measurements recorded on the roof of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium's radiation tower in Uccle (Longitude 4.35° E, Latitude 50.79° N). Up to three pyranometers mounted on inclined planes of different tilts and orientations were involved in the inverse transposition process. Our results indicate that (1) the tilt to horizontal irradiance conversion is improved when measurements from more than one tilted pyranometer are considered (i.e. by using a multi-pyranometer approach) and (2) the improvement from using an isotropic model to anisotropic models in the inverse transposition problem is not significant.

Estimation of height-dependent solar irradiation and application to the solar climate of Iran

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Samimi, J.

1994-05-01

An explicitly height-dependent model has been used to estimate the solar irradiation over Iran which has a vast range of altitudes. The parameters of the model have been chosen on general grounds and not by parameters best fitting to any of the available measured irradiation data in Iran. The estimated global solar irradiation on the horizontal surface shows a very good agreement (4.1% deviation) with the 17-year long pyranometric measurements in Tehran, and also, is in good agreement with other, shorter available measured data. The entire data base of the Iranian meteorological stations have been used to establish a simplemore » relation between the sunshine duration records and the cloud cover reports which can be utilized in solar energy estimations for sites with no sunshine duration recorders. Clear sky maps of Iran for direct solar irradiation on tracking, horizontal, and south-facing vertical planes are presented. The global solar irradiation map for horizontal surface with cloudiness is zoned into four irradiation zones. In about four-fifths of the land in Iran, the annual-mean daily global solar irradiation on horizontal surface ranges from 4.5 to 5.4 kWh/m[sup 2].« less

Generation of daylight reference years for two European cities with different climate: Athens, Greece and Bratislava, Slovakia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Markou, M. T.; Kambezidis, H. D.; Bartzokas, A.; Darula, S.; Kittler, R.

2007-12-01

In this work, daylight reference years (DRYs), based on daylight and solar radiation measurements, are designed for two European cities, Athens, Greece and Bratislava, Slovakia, by using the Danish method, the Festa-Ratto technique and the Modified Sandia National Laboratories methodology. The data basis consists of 5-minute values of global and diffuse horizontal illuminance, global and diffuse horizontal irradiance, zenith luminance and solar altitude as well as of daily values of sunshine duration for 5 years for Athens and 8 years for Bratislava. Moreover, Linke's turbidity factor, luminous turbidity factor and relative sunshine duration are calculated and utilized. Then, for each DRY, the predominant sky-luminance distributions over Athens and Bratislava are identified, by using the methodology of Kittler et al., who corresponded the main sky conditions to 15 theoretical sky standards in diagrams of the ratio of zenith luminance to diffuse horizontal illuminance against solar altitude. For both cities the three aforementioned methods do not create identical DRYs. Despite the differences, the sky types defined for each of the two places seem not to depend on the choice of DRY. The predominant sky standard, for all of them, is a cloudless, polluted sky with a broad solar corona for Athens and an overcast sky with slight brightening towards the sun as well as very clear sky with low atmospheric turbidity for Bratislava. However, the selection of the DRY, which represents best the daylight conditions, is necessary for studies in saving energy in buildings. The DRY, which is created by the Modified Sandia National Laboratories method, is chosen for most cases, while the one created by the Danish method is also useful on certain occasions.

Spatial And Temporal Patterns As Well As Major Influencing Factors Of Global And Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance Over China: 1960-2014

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, H.; Sun, F.

2017-12-01

Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) on Earth is a central element of climate systems. With changes in the climate and regional development, the patterns and influencing factors of GHI, in addition to presenting global consistency, are increasingly showing regional particularities. Based on data for GHI, Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (DHI) and potential impact factors (geographical position, elevation, cloud cover, water vapor, and ground atmospheric transparency related variables) from 1960 to 2014 in China, we analyzed the pattern and major influencing factors of GHI and DHI. The results showed that the major influencing factors of the GHI spatial pattern were the total cloud cover (TCC) and relative humidity (RH) in China. Dividing all of China into two regions, the major factors were the water vapor pressure (WVP) in the northern region and TCC in the southern region. And we divided the GHI and DHI data into two periods (1960-1987 and 1988-2014) due to global dimming and brightening observed in China in the late 1980's. The temporal GHI showed that 31 of 58 decreased significantly with an average decreasing rate of 95 MJ.10yr-1 during the periods of 1960-2014 and 49 of 76 stations decreased significantly with an rate of 342 MJ.10yr-1 during 1960-1987, whereas 57 of 88 stations did not change and 24 stations increased significantly with an rate of 201 MJ.10yr-1 during the period of 1988-2014. The temporal DHI showed that 40 of 61sites did not change significantly from 1960 to 1987. The major influencing factors for temporal changes of GHI in nine typical cities from 1960 to 2013 were as follows: air quality-related variables in super cities, sandstorms and wind in desert oasis cities, clouds in cities with good air quality and a low cloud amount (LCA) and annual fog days (FD) in Chengdu. Overall, we identified characteristics of GHI and DHI based on global climate change and regional urban development and found that the spatial characteristics of GHI results for China are consistent with global trends, whereas the spatial characteristics of DHI and temporal characteristics of GHI and DHI have changed significantly.

Practice of Meteorological Services in Turpan Solar Eco-City in China (Invited)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Y.; Chang, R.; He, X.; Jiang, Y.; Zhao, D.; Ma, J.

2013-12-01

Turpan Solar Eco-City is located in Gobi in Northwest China, which is one of the National New Energy Demonstration Urban. The city was planed and designed from October of 2008 and constructed from May of 2010, and the first phase of the project has been completed by October of 2013. Energy supply in Turpan Solar Eco-City is mainly from PV power, which is installed in all of the roof and the total capacity is 13.4MW. During the planning and designing of the city, and the running of the smart grid, meteorological services have played an important role. 1) Solar Energy Resource Assessment during Planning Phase. According to the observed data from meteorological stations in recent 30 years, solar energy resource was assessed and available PV power generation capacity was calculated. The results showed that PV power generation capacity is 1.3 times the power consumption, that is, solar energy resource in Turpan is rich. 2) Key Meteorological Parameters Determination for Architectural Design. A professional solar energy resource station was constructed and the observational items included Global Horizontal Irradiance, Inclined Total Solar Irradiance at 30 degree, Inclined Total Solar Irradiance at local latitude, and so on. According these measured data, the optical inclined angle for PV array was determined, that is, 30 degree. The results indicated that the annual irradiation on inclined plane with optimal angle is 1.4% higher than the inclined surface with latitude angle, and 23.16% higher than the horizontal plane. The diffuse ratio and annual variation of the solar elevation angle are two major factors that influence the irradiation on inclined plane. 3) Solar Energy Resource Forecast for Smart Grid. Weather Research Forecast (WRF) model was used to forecast the hourly solar radiation of future 72 hours and the measured irradiance data was used to forecast the minutely solar radiation of future 4 hours. The forecast results were submitted to smart grid and used to regulate the local grid and the city gird.

Validation of the Five-Phase Method for Simulating Complex Fenestration Systems with Radiance against Field Measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Geisler-Moroder, David; Lee, Eleanor S.; Ward, Gregory J.

2016-08-29

The Five-Phase Method (5-pm) for simulating complex fenestration systems with Radiance is validated against field measurements. The capability of the method to predict workplane illuminances, vertical sensor illuminances, and glare indices derived from captured and rendered high dynamic range (HDR) images is investigated. To be able to accurately represent the direct sun part of the daylight not only in sensor point simulations, but also in renderings of interior scenes, the 5-pm calculation procedure was extended. The validation shows that the 5-pm is superior to the Three-Phase Method for predicting horizontal and vertical illuminance sensor values as well as glare indicesmore » derived from rendered images. Even with input data from global and diffuse horizontal irradiance measurements only, daylight glare probability (DGP) values can be predicted within 10% error of measured values for most situations.« less

Characterization and quantification of cerebral edema induced by synchrotron x-ray microbeam radiation therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Serduc, Raphaël; van de Looij, Yohan; Francony, Gilles; Verdonck, Olivier; van der Sanden, Boudewijn; Laissue, Jean; Farion, Régine; Bräuer-Krisch, Elke; Siegbahn, Erik Albert; Bravin, Alberto; Prezado, Yolanda; Segebarth, Christoph; Rémy, Chantal; Lahrech, Hana

2008-03-01

Cerebral edema is one of the main acute complications arising after irradiation of brain tumors. Microbeam radiation therapy (MRT), an innovative experimental radiotherapy technique using spatially fractionated synchrotron x-rays, has been shown to spare radiosensitive tissues such as mammal brains. The aim of this study was to determine if cerebral edema occurs after MRT using diffusion-weighted MRI and microgravimetry. Prone Swiss nude mice's heads were positioned horizontally in the synchrotron x-ray beam and the upper part of the left hemisphere was irradiated in the antero-posterior direction by an array of 18 planar microbeams (25 mm wide, on-center spacing 211 mm, height 4 mm, entrance dose 312 Gy or 1000 Gy). An apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) was measured at 7 T 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after irradiation. Eventually, the cerebral water content (CWC) was determined by microgravimetry. The ADC and CWC in the irradiated (312 Gy or 1000 Gy) and in the contralateral non-irradiated hemispheres were not significantly different at all measurement times, with two exceptions: (1) a 9% ADC decrease (p < 0.05) was observed in the irradiated cortex 1 day after exposure to 312 Gy, (2) a 0.7% increase (p < 0.05) in the CWC was measured in the irradiated hemispheres 1 day after exposure to 1000 Gy. The results demonstrate the presence of a minor and transient cellular edema (ADC decrease) at 1 day after a 312 Gy exposure, without a significant CWC increase. One day after a 1000 Gy exposure, the CWC increased, while the ADC remained unchanged and may reflect the simultaneous presence of cellular and vasogenic edema. Both types of edema disappear within a week after microbeam exposure which may confirm the normal tissue sparing effect of MRT. For more information on this article, see medicalphysicsweb.org

Estimation of atmospheric turbidity and surface radiative parameters using broadband clear sky solar irradiance models in Rio de Janeiro-Brasil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flores, José L.; Karam, Hugo A.; Marques Filho, Edson P.; Pereira Filho, Augusto J.

2016-02-01

The main goal of this paper is to estimate a set of optimal seasonal, daily, and hourly values of atmospheric turbidity and surface radiative parameters Ångström's turbidity coefficient ( β), Ångström's wavelength exponent ( α), aerosol single scattering albedo ( ω o ), forward scatterance ( F c ) and average surface albedo ( ρ g ), using the Brute Force multidimensional minimization method to minimize the difference between measured and simulated solar irradiance components, expressed as cost functions. In order to simulate the components of short-wave solar irradiance (direct, diffuse and global) for clear sky conditions, incidents on a horizontal surface in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ), Brazil (22° 51' 27″ S, 43° 13' 58″ W), we use two parameterized broadband solar irradiance models, called CPCR2 and Iqbal C, based on synoptic information. The meteorological variables such as precipitable water ( u w ) and ozone concentration ( u o ) required by the broadband solar models were obtained from moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor on Terra and Aqua NASA platforms. For the implementation and validation processes, we use global and diffuse solar irradiance data measured by the radiometric platform of LabMiM, located in the north area of the MARJ. The data were measured between the years 2010 and 2012 at 1-min intervals. The performance of solar irradiance models using optimal parameters was evaluated with several quantitative statistical indicators and a subset of measured solar irradiance data. Some daily results for Ångström's wavelength exponent α were compared with Ångström's parameter (440-870 nm) values obtained by aerosol robotic network (AERONET) for 11 days, showing an acceptable level of agreement. Results for Ångström's turbidity coefficient β, associated with the amount of aerosols in the atmosphere, show a seasonal pattern according with increased precipitation during summer months (December-February) in the MARJ.

Investigation of Oxygen Diffusion in Irradiated UO2 with MD Simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Günay, Seçkin D.

2016-11-01

In this study, irradiated UO2 is analyzed by atomistic simulation method to obtain diffusion coefficient of oxygen ions. For this purpose, a couple of molecular dynamics (MD) supercells containing Frenkel, Schottky, vacancy and interstitial types for both anion and cation defects is constructed individually. Each of their contribution is used to calculate the total oxygen diffusion for both intrinsic and extrinsic ranges. The results display that irradiation-induced defects contribute the most to the overall oxygen diffusion at temperatures below 800-1,200 K. This result is quite sensible because experimental data shows that, from room temperature to about 1,500 K, irradiation-induced swelling decreases and irradiated UO2 lattice parameter is gradually recovered because defects annihilate each other. Another point is that, concentration of defects enhances the irradiation-induced oxygen diffusion. Irradiation type also has the similar effect, namely oxygen diffusion in crystals irradiated with α-particles is more than the crystals irradiated with neutrons. Dynamic Frenkel defects dominate the oxygen diffusion data above 1,500—1,800 K. In all these temperature ranges, thermally induced Frenkel defects make no significant contribution to overall oxygen diffusion.

Application of a Global-to-Beam Irradiance Model to the NASA GEWEX SRB Dataset: An Extension of the NASA Surface Meteorology and Solar Energy Datasets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Taiping; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Chandler, William S.; Westberg, David J.

2014-01-01

The DIRINDEX model was designed to estimate hourly solar beam irradiances from hourly global horizontal irradiances. This model was applied to the NASA GEWEX SRB(Rel. 3.0) 3-hourly global horizontal irradiance data to derive3-hourly global maps of beam, or direct normal, irradiance for the period from January 2000 to December 2005 at the 1 deg. x 1 deg. resolution. The DIRINDEX model is a combination of the DIRINT model, a quasi-physical global-to-beam irradiance model based on regression of hourly observed data, and a broadband simplified version of the SOLIS clear-sky beam irradiance model. In this study, the input variables of the DIRINDEX model are 3-hourly global horizontal irradiance, solar zenith angle, dew-point temperature, surface elevation, surface pressure, sea-level pressure, aerosol optical depth at 700 nm, and column water vapor. The resulting values of the 3-hourly direct normal irradiance are then used to compute daily and monthly means. The results are validated against the ground-based BSRN data. The monthly means show better agreement with the BSRN data than the results from an earlier endeavor which empirically derived the monthly mean direct normal irradiance from the GEWEX SRB monthly mean global horizontal irradiance. To assimilate the observed information into the final results, the direct normal fluxes from the DIRINDEX model are adjusted according to the comparison statistics in the latitude-longitude-cosine of solar zenith angle phase space, in which the inverse-distance interpolation is used for the adjustment. Since the NASA Surface meteorology and Solar Energy derives its data from the GEWEX SRB datasets, the results discussed herein will serve to extend the former.

Fast All-Sky Radiation Model for Solar Applications (FARMS): A Brief Overview of Mechanisms, Performance, and Applications: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Yu; Sengupta, Manajit

Solar radiation can be computed using radiative transfer models, such as the Rapid Radiation Transfer Model (RRTM) and its general circulation model applications, and used for various energy applications. Due to the complexity of computing radiation fields in aerosol and cloudy atmospheres, simulating solar radiation can be extremely time-consuming, but many approximations--e.g., the two-stream approach and the delta-M truncation scheme--can be utilized. To provide a new fast option for computing solar radiation, we developed the Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS) by parameterizing the simulated diffuse horizontal irradiance and direct normal irradiance for cloudy conditions from the RRTMmore » runs using a 16-stream discrete ordinates radiative transfer method. The solar irradiance at the surface was simulated by combining the cloud irradiance parameterizations with a fast clear-sky model, REST2. To understand the accuracy and efficiency of the newly developed fast model, we analyzed FARMS runs using cloud optical and microphysical properties retrieved using GOES data from 2009-2012. The global horizontal irradiance for cloudy conditions was simulated using FARMS and RRTM for global circulation modeling with a two-stream approximation and compared to measurements taken from the U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility Southern Great Plains site. Our results indicate that the accuracy of FARMS is comparable to or better than the two-stream approach; however, FARMS is approximately 400 times more efficient because it does not explicitly solve the radiative transfer equation for each individual cloud condition. Radiative transfer model runs are computationally expensive, but this model is promising for broad applications in solar resource assessment and forecasting. It is currently being used in the National Solar Radiation Database, which is publicly available from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory at http://nsrdb.nrel.gov.« less

Computation of diffuse sky irradiance from multidirectional radiance measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahmad, Suraiya P.; Middleton, Elizabeth M.; Deering, Donald W.

1987-01-01

Accurate determination of the diffuse solar spectral irradiance directly above the land surface is important in characterizing the reflectance properties of these surfaces, especially vegetation canopies. This determination is also needed to infer the net radiation budget of the earth-atmosphere system above these surfaces. An algorithm is developed here for the computation of hemispheric diffuse irradiance using the measurements from an instrument called PARABOLA, which rapidly measures upwelling and downwelling radiances in three selected wavelength bands. The validity of the algorithm is established from simulations. The standard reference data set of diffuse radiances of Dave (1978), obtained by solving the radiative transfer equation numerically for realistic atmospheric models, is used to simulate PARABOLA radiances. Hemispheric diffuse irradiance is estimated from a subset of simulated radiances by using the algorithm described. The algorithm is validated by comparing the estimated diffuse irradiance with the true diffuse irradiance of the standard data set. The validations include sensitivity studies for two wavelength bands (visible, 0.65-0.67 micron; near infrared, 0.81-0.84 micron), different atmospheric conditions, solar elevations, and surface reflectances. In most cases the hemispheric diffuse irradiance computed from simulated PARABOLA radiances and the true irradiance obtained from radiative transfer calculations agree within 1-2 percent. This technique can be applied to other sampling instruments designed to estimate hemispheric diffuse sky irradiance.

Photovoltaic System Modeling. Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analyses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Clifford W.; Martin, Curtis E.

2015-08-01

We report an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for modeling AC energy from ph otovoltaic systems . Output from a PV system is predicted by a sequence of models. We quantify u ncertainty i n the output of each model using empirical distribution s of each model's residuals. We propagate uncertainty through the sequence of models by sampli ng these distributions to obtain a n empirical distribution of a PV system's output. We consider models that: (1) translate measured global horizontal, direct and global diffuse irradiance to plane - of - array irradiance; (2) estimate effective irradiance; (3) predict cell temperature;more » (4) estimate DC voltage, current and power ; (5) reduce DC power for losses due to inefficient maximum power point tracking or mismatch among modules; and (6) convert DC to AC power . O ur analysis consider s a notional PV system com prising an array of FirstSolar FS - 387 modules and a 250 kW AC inverter ; we use measured irradiance and weather at Albuquerque, NM. We found the uncertainty in PV syste m output to be relatively small, on the order of 1% for daily energy. We found that unce rtainty in the models for POA irradiance and effective irradiance to be the dominant contributors to uncertainty in predicted daily energy. Our analysis indicates that efforts to reduce the uncertainty in PV system output predictions may yield the greatest improvements by focusing on the POA and effective irradiance models.« less

Horizontal modular dry irradiated fuel storage system

DOEpatents

Fischer, Larry E.; McInnes, Ian D.; Massey, John V.

1988-01-01

A horizontal, modular, dry, irradiated fuel storage system (10) includes a thin-walled canister (12) for containing irradiated fuel assemblies (20), which canister (12) can be positioned in a transfer cask (14) and transported in a horizontal manner from a fuel storage pool (18), to an intermediate-term storage facility. The storage system (10) includes a plurality of dry storage modules (26) which accept the canister (12) from the transfer cask (14) and provide for appropriate shielding about the canister (12). Each module (26) also provides for air cooling of the canister (12) to remove the decay heat of the irradiated fuel assemblies (20). The modules (26) can be interlocked so that each module (26) gains additional shielding from the next adjacent module (26). Hydraulic rams (30) are provided for inserting and removing the canisters (12) from the modules (26).

A Comparison Between Heliosat-2 and Artificial Neural Network Methods for Global Horizontal Irradiance Retrievals over Desert Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghedira, H.; Eissa, Y.

2012-12-01

Global horizontal irradiance (GHI) retrievals at the surface of any given location could be used for preliminary solar resource assessments. More accurately, the direct normal irradiance (DNI) and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) are also required to estimate the global tilt irradiance, mainly used for fixed flat plate collectors. Two different satellite-based models for solar irradiance retrievals have been applied over the desert environment of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Both models employ channels of the SEVIRI instrument, onboard the geostationary satellite Meteosat Second Generation, as their main inputs. The satellite images used in this study have a temporal resolution of 15-min and a spatial resolution of 3-km. The objective of this study is to compare between the GHI retrieved using the Heliosat-2 method and an artificial neural network (ANN) ensemble method over the UAE. The high-resolution visible channel of SEVIRI is used in the Heliosat-2 method to derive the cloud index. The cloud index is then used to compute the cloud transmission, while the cloud-free GHI is computed from the Linke turbidity factor. The product of the cloud transmission and the cloud-free GHI denotes the estimated GHI. A constant underestimation is observed in the estimated GHI over the dataset available in the UAE. Therefore, the cloud-free DHI equation in the model was recalibrated to fix the bias. After recalibration, results over the UAE show a root mean square error (RMSE) value of 10.1% and a mean bias error (MBE) of -0.5%. As for the ANN approach, six thermal channels of SEVIRI were used to estimate the DHI and the total optical depth of the atmosphere (δ). An ensemble approach is employed to obtain a better generalizability of the results, as opposed to using one single weak network. The DNI is then computed from the estimated δ using the Beer-Bouguer-Lambert law. The GHI is computed from the DNI and DHI estimates. The RMSE for the estimated GHI obtained over an independent dataset over the UAE is 7.2% and the MBE is +1.9%. The results obtained by the two methods have shown that both the recalibrated Heliosat-2 and the ANN ensemble methods estimate the GHI at a 15-min resolution with high accuracy. The advantage of the ANN ensemble approach is that it derives the GHI from accurate DNI and DHI estimates. The DNI and DHI estimates are valuable when computing the global tilt irradiance. Also, accurate DNI estimates are beneficial for preliminary site selection for concentrating solar powered plants.

Ignition of Cellulosic Paper at Low Radiant Fluxes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, K. Alan

1996-01-01

The ignition of cellulosic paper by low level thermal radiation is investigated. Past work on radiative ignition of paper is briefly reviewed. No experimental study has been reported for radiative ignition of paper at irradiances below 10 Watts/sq.cm. An experimental study of radiative ignition of paper at these low irradiances is reported. Experimental parameters investigated and discussed include radiant power levels incident on the sample, the method of applying the radiation (focussed vs. diffuse Gaussian source), the presence and relative position of a separate pilot ignition source, and the effects of natural convection (buoyancy) on the ignition process in a normal gravity environment. It is observed that the incident radiative flux (in W/sq.cm) has the greatest influence on ignition time. For a given flux level, a focussed Gaussian source is found to be advantageous to a more diffuse, lower amplitude, thermal source. The precise positioning of a pilot igniter relative to gravity and to the fuel sample affects the ignition process, but the precise effects are not fully understood. Ignition was more readily achieved and sustained with a horizontal fuel sample, indicating the buoyancy plays a role in the ignition process of cellulosic paper. Smoldering combustion of doped paper samples was briefly investigated, and results are discussed.

Analysis of direct to diffuse partitioning of global solar irradiance at the radiometric station in Badajoz (Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, G.; Cancillo, M. L.; Serrano, A.

2010-09-01

This study is aimed at the analysis of the partitioning of global solar irradiance into its direct and diffuse components at the radiometric station in Badajoz (Spain). The detailed knowledge of the solar radiation field is of increasing interest in Southern Europe due to its use as renewable energy. In particular, the knowledge of the solar radiation partitioning into direct and diffuse radiation has become a major demand for the design and suitable orientation of solar panels in solar power plants. In this study the first measurements of solar diffuse irradiance performed in the radiometric station in Badajoz (Spain) are presented and analyzed in the framework of the partitioning of solar global radiation. Thus, solar global and diffuse irradiance were measured at one-minute basis from 23 November 2009 to 31 March 2010. Solar irradiances were measured by two Kipp&Zonen CMP11 pyranometers, using a Kipp&Zonen CM121 shadow ring for the measurements of solar diffuse irradiance. Diffuse measurements were corrected from the solid angle hidden by the ring and direct irradiance was calculated as the difference between global and diffuse measurements. Irradiance was obtained from the pyranomenters by applying calibration coefficients obtained in an inter-comparison campaign performed at INTA/El Arenosillo, in Huelva (Spain), last September 2009. There, calibration coefficients were calculated using as a reference a CMP11 pyranometer which had been previously calibrated by the Physikalisch-Meteorologisches Observatorium Davos/World Radiation Centre in Switzerland. In order to study the partitioning of the solar radiation, the global and diffuse irradiances have been analyzed for three typical different sky conditions: cloud-free, broken clouds and overcast. Particular days within the period of study have been selected by visual inspection. Along with the analysis of the global and diffuse irradiances themselves, ratios of these irradiances to the downward irradiance at the top of the atmosphere have also been analyzed. Several interesting features have been found. It is particularly worth to note the decreasing relative contribution of the direct component to the global irradiance as the solar zenith angle increases, due to a longer path crossed within the atmosphere. In broken clouds and overcast conditions, the diffuse component becomes the major contribution to the irradiance being the high-frequency variability the main difference between both type of cases. While in overcast conditions the global irradiance remains remarkably low, under broken clouds the global irradiance shows a very high variability frequently reaching values higher than the irradiance at the top of the atmosphere, due to multi-reflection phenomenon. The present study contributes to a better knowledge of the radiation field and its partitioning, involving original high-frequency measurements.

The growth of ultralong and highly blue luminescent gallium oxide nanowires and nanobelts, and direct horizontal nanowire growth on substrates.

PubMed

Kuo, Chi-Liang; Huang, Michael H

2008-04-16

We report the growth of ultralong β-Ga(2)O(3) nanowires and nanobelts on silicon substrates using a vapor phase transport method. The growth was carried out in a tube furnace, with gallium metal serving as the gallium source. The nanowires and nanobelts can grow to lengths of hundreds of nanometers and even millimeters. Their full lengths have been captured by both scanning electron microscope (SEM) and optical images. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns and transmission electron microscope (TEM) images have been used to study the crystal structures of these nanowires and nanobelts. Strong blue emission from these ultralong nanostructures can be readily observed by irradiation with an ultraviolet (UV) lamp. Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy measurements gave a band gap of 4.56 eV for these nanostructures. The blue emission shows a band maximum at 470 nm. Interestingly, by annealing the silicon substrates in an oxygen atmosphere to form a thick SiO(2) film, and growing Ga(2)O(3) nanowires over the sputtered gold patterned regions, horizontal Ga(2)O(3) nanowire growth in the non-gold-coated regions can be observed. These horizontal nanowires can grow to as long as over 10 µm in length. Their composition has been confirmed by TEM characterization. This represents one of the first examples of direct horizontal growth of oxide nanowires on substrates.

Elizabeth City State University: Elizabeth City, North Carolina (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Stoffel, T.; Andreas, A.

1985-09-25

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Solar Radiation Monitoring Network operated from July 1985 through December 1996. Funded by DOE, the six-station network provided 5-minute averaged measurements of direct normal, global, and diffuse horizontal solar irradiance. The data were processed at NREL to improve the assessment of the solar radiation resources in the southeastern United States. Historical HBCU data available online include quality assessed 5-min data, monthly reports, and plots. In January 1997 the HBCU sites became part of the CONFRRM solar monitoring network and data from the two remaining active stations, Bluefield State College and Elizabeth City State University, are collected by the NREL Measurement & Instrumentation Data Center (MIDC).

Bluefield State College: Bluefield, West Virginia (Data)

DOE Data Explorer

Stoffel, T.; Andreas, A.

1985-11-06

The Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Solar Radiation Monitoring Network operated from July 1985 through December 1996. Funded by DOE, the six-station network provided 5-minute averaged measurements of direct normal, global, and diffuse horizontal solar irradiance. The data were processed at NREL to improve the assessment of the solar radiation resources in the southeastern United States. Historical HBCU data available online include quality assessed 5-min data, monthly reports, and plots. In January 1997 the HBCU sites became part of the CONFRRM solar monitoring network and data from the two remaining active stations, Bluefield State College and Elizabeth City State University, are collected by the NREL Measurement & Instrumentation Data Center (MIDC).

Estimates of advection and diffusion in the Potomac estuary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Elliott, A.J.

1976-01-01

A two-layered dispersion model, suitable for application to partially-mixed estuaries, has been developed to provide hydrological interpretation of the results of biological sampling. The model includes horizontal and vertical advection plus both horizontal and vertical diffusion. A pseudo-geostrophic method, which includes a damping factor to account for internal eddy friction, is used to estimate the horizontal advective fluxes and the results are compared with field observations. A salt balance model is then used to estimate the effective diffusivities in the Potomac estuary during the Spring of 1974.

Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for photovoltaic system modeling.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hansen, Clifford W.; Pohl, Andrew Phillip; Jordan, Dirk

2013-12-01

We report an uncertainty and sensitivity analysis for modeling DC energy from photovoltaic systems. We consider two systems, each comprised of a single module using either crystalline silicon or CdTe cells, and located either at Albuquerque, NM, or Golden, CO. Output from a PV system is predicted by a sequence of models. Uncertainty in the output of each model is quantified by empirical distributions of each model's residuals. We sample these distributions to propagate uncertainty through the sequence of models to obtain an empirical distribution for each PV system's output. We considered models that: (1) translate measured global horizontal, directmore » and global diffuse irradiance to plane-of-array irradiance; (2) estimate effective irradiance from plane-of-array irradiance; (3) predict cell temperature; and (4) estimate DC voltage, current and power. We found that the uncertainty in PV system output to be relatively small, on the order of 1% for daily energy. Four alternative models were considered for the POA irradiance modeling step; we did not find the choice of one of these models to be of great significance. However, we observed that the POA irradiance model introduced a bias of upwards of 5% of daily energy which translates directly to a systematic difference in predicted energy. Sensitivity analyses relate uncertainty in the PV system output to uncertainty arising from each model. We found that the residuals arising from the POA irradiance and the effective irradiance models to be the dominant contributors to residuals for daily energy, for either technology or location considered. This analysis indicates that efforts to reduce the uncertainty in PV system output should focus on improvements to the POA and effective irradiance models.« less

Effects of cloudiness on global and diffuse UV irradiance in a high-mountain area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blumthaler, M.; Ambach, W.; Salzgeber, M.

1994-03-01

At the high-mountain station Jungfraujoch (3576 m a.s.l., Switzerland), measurements of the radiation fluxes were made during 16 periods of six to eight weeks by means of a Robertson—Berger sunburn meter (UVB data), an Eppley UVA radiometer and an Eppley pyranometer. Cloudiness, opacity and altitude of clouds were recorded at 30-minute intervals. A second set of instruments was employed for separate measurement of the diffuse radiation fluxes using shadow bands. The global and diffuse UVA- and UVB radiation fluxes change less with cloudiness than the corresponding total radiation fluxes. When the sun is covered by clouds, the global UVA- and UVB radiation fluxes are also affected less than the global total radiation flux. The roughly equal influence of cloudiness on the UVA- and UVB radiation fluxes suggests that the reduction is influenced more by scattering than by ozone. Also, the share of diffuse irradiance in global irradiance is considerably higher for UVA- and UVB irradiance than for total irradiance. At 50° solar elevation and 0/10 cloudiness, the share is 39% for UVB irradiance, 34% for UVA irradiance and 11% for total irradiance. The increased aerosol turbidity after the eruptions of El Chichon and Pinatubo has caused a significant increase in diffuse total irradiance but has not produced any significant changes in diffuse UVA- and UVB irradiances.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habte, Aron; Sengupta, Manajit; Lopez, Anthony

This paper validates the performance of the physics-based Physical Solar Model (PSM) data set in the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) to quantify the accuracy of the magnitude and the spatial and temporal variability of the solar radiation data. Achieving higher penetrations of solar energy on the electric grid and reducing integration costs requires accurate knowledge of the available solar resource. Understanding the impacts of clouds and other meteorological constituents on the solar resource and quantifying intra-/inter-hour, seasonal, and interannual variability are essential for accurately designing utility-scale solar energy projects. Solar resource information can be obtained from ground-based measurementmore » stations and/or from modeled data sets. The availability of measurements is scarce, both temporally and spatially, because it is expensive to maintain a high-density solar radiation measurement network that collects good quality data for long periods of time. On the other hand, high temporal and spatial resolution gridded satellite data can be used to estimate surface radiation for long periods of time and is extremely useful for solar energy development. Because of the advantages of satellite-based solar resource assessment, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed the PSM. The PSM produced gridded solar irradiance -- global horizontal irradiance (GHI), direct normal irradiance (DNI), and diffuse horizontal irradiance -- for the NSRDB at a 4-km by 4-km spatial resolution and half-hourly temporal resolution covering the 18 years from 1998-2015. The NSRDB also contains additional ancillary meteorological data sets, such as temperature, relative humidity, surface pressure, dew point, and wind speed. Details of the model and data are available at https://nsrdb.nrel.gov. The results described in this paper show that the hourly-averaged satellite-derived data have a systematic (bias) error of approximately +5% for GHI and less than +10% for DNI; however, the scatter (root mean square error [RMSE]) difference is higher for the hourly averages.« less

Evaluation of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) Using Ground-Based Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Y.; Sengupta, M.; Habte, A.; Lopez, A.

2017-12-01

Solar resource is essential for a wide spectrum of applications including renewable energy, climate studies, and solar forecasting. Solar resource information can be obtained from ground-based measurement stations and/or from modeled data sets. While measurements provide data for the development and validation of solar resource models and other applications modeled data expands the ability to address the needs for increased accuracy and spatial and temporal resolution. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed and regular updates modeled solar resource through the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB). The recent NSRDB dataset was developed using the physics-based Physical Solar Model (PSM) and provides gridded solar irradiance (global horizontal irradiance (GHI), direct normal irradiance (DNI), and diffuse horizontal irradiance) at a 4-km by 4-km spatial and half-hourly temporal resolution covering 18 years from 1998-2015. A comprehensive validation of the performance of the NSRDB (1998-2015) was conducted to quantify the accuracy of the spatial and temporal variability of the solar radiation data. Further, the study assessed the ability of NSRDB (1998-2015) to accurately capture inter-annual variability, which is essential information for solar energy conversion projects and grid integration studies. Comparisons of the NSRDB (1998-2015) with nine selected ground-measured data were conducted under both clear- and cloudy-sky conditions. These locations provide a high quality data covering a variety of geographical locations and climates. The comparison of the NSRDB to the ground-based data demonstrated that biases were within +/- 5% for GHI and +/-10% for DNI. A comprehensive uncertainty estimation methodology was established to analyze the performance of the gridded NSRDB and includes all sources of uncertainty at various time-averaged periods, a method that is not often used in model evaluation. Further, the study analyzed the inter-annual and mean-anomaly of the 18 years of solar radiation data. This presentation will outline the validation methodology and provide detailed results of the comparison.

Evaluation of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB): 1998-2015

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habte, Aron; Sengupta, Manajit; Lopez, Anthony

This paper validates the performance of the physics-based Physical Solar Model (PSM) data set in the National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB) to quantify the accuracy of the magnitude and the spatial and temporal variability of the solar radiation data. Achieving higher penetrations of solar energy on the electric grid and reducing integration costs requires accurate knowledge of the available solar resource. Understanding the impacts of clouds and other meteorological constituents on the solar resource and quantifying intra-/inter-hour, seasonal, and interannual variability are essential for accurately designing utility-scale solar energy projects. Solar resource information can be obtained from ground-based measurementmore » stations and/or from modeled data sets. The availability of measurements is scarce, both temporally and spatially, because it is expensive to maintain a high-density solar radiation measurement network that collects good quality data for long periods of time. On the other hand, high temporal and spatial resolution gridded satellite data can be used to estimate surface radiation for long periods of time and is extremely useful for solar energy development. Because of the advantages of satellite-based solar resource assessment, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed the PSM. The PSM produced gridded solar irradiance -- global horizontal irradiance (GHI), direct normal irradiance (DNI), and diffuse horizontal irradiance -- for the NSRDB at a 4-km by 4-km spatial resolution and half-hourly temporal resolution covering the 18 years from 1998-2015. The NSRDB also contains additional ancillary meteorological data sets, such as temperature, relative humidity, surface pressure, dew point, and wind speed. Details of the model and data are available at https://nsrdb.nrel.gov. The results described in this paper show that the hourly-averaged satellite-derived data have a systematic (bias) error of approximately +5% for GHI and less than +10% for DNI; however, the scatter (root mean square error [RMSE]) difference is higher for the hourly averages.« less

Convection currents in a water calorimeter.

PubMed

Schulz, R J; Weinhous, M S

1985-10-01

A flexible, temperature-regulated water calorimeter has been constructed containing two pairs of thermistor sensors at depths of 6.23 and 10.0 cm. It may be irradiated by vertical or horizontal beams, and operated at temperatures in the range from 3 to 40 degrees C. When irradiated at 30 degrees C with a vertically downward 19 MeV electron beam, the responses of the proximal and midline thermistors were in accordance with the depth-dose curve. When irradiated horizontally, the initial patterns of temperature rise were the same, but after about 30 s (4 Gy) the rate of temperature rise decreased at the proximal thermistors and increased at the midline thermistors. Shortly after irradiation, the temperature curve and increased at the midline thermistors. Shortly after irradiation, the temperature curve of the midline thermistors crossed that for the proximal thermistors, a pattern that suggested the presence of convection currents. To test this hypothesis, the calorimeter was operated at 4 degrees C. The temperature patterns for horizontal irradiation became the same as those obtained with vertical beams, thus demonstrating the production of convection currents in water at a temperature of 30 degrees C for temperature gradients as small as 10(-3) degrees C cm-1.

Evaluation of different models to estimate the global solar radiation on inclined surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demain, C.; Journée, M.; Bertrand, C.

2012-04-01

Global and diffuse solar radiation intensities are, in general, measured on horizontal surfaces, whereas stationary solar conversion systems (both flat plate solar collector and solar photovoltaic) are mounted on inclined surface to maximize the amount of solar radiation incident on the collector surface. Consequently, the solar radiation incident measured on a tilted surface has to be determined by converting solar radiation from horizontal surface to tilted surface of interest. This study evaluates the performance of 14 models transposing 10 minutes, hourly and daily diffuse solar irradiation from horizontal to inclined surface. Solar radiation data from 8 months (April to November 2011) which include diverse atmospheric conditions and solar altitudes, measured on the roof of the radiation tower of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium in Uccle (Longitude 4.35°, Latitude 50.79°) were used for validation purposes. The individual model performance is assessed by an inter-comparison between the calculated and measured solar global radiation on the south-oriented surface tilted at 50.79° using statistical methods. The relative performance of the different models under different sky conditions has been studied. Comparison of the statistical errors between the different radiation models in function of the clearness index shows that some models perform better under one type of sky condition. Putting together different models acting under different sky conditions can lead to a diminution of the statistical error between global measured solar radiation and global estimated solar radiation. As models described in this paper have been developed for hourly data inputs, statistical error indexes are minimum for hourly data and increase for 10 minutes and one day frequency data.

Assessment of diffuse radiation models in Azores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Magarreiro, Clarisse; Brito, Miguel; Soares, Pedro; Azevedo, Eduardo

2014-05-01

Measured irradiance databases usually consist of global solar radiation data with limited spatial coverage. Hence, solar radiation models have been developed to estimate the diffuse fraction from the measured global irradiation. This information is critical for the assessment of the potential of solar energy technologies; for example, the decision to use photovoltaic systems with tracking system. The different solar radiation models for this purpose differ on the parameters used as input. The simplest, and most common, are models which use global radiation information only. More sophisticated models require meteorological parameters such as information from clouds, atmospheric turbidity, temperature or precipitable water content. Most of these models comprise correlations with the clearness index, kt (portion of horizontal extra-terrestrial radiation reaching the Earth's surface) to obtain the diffuse fraction kd (portion of diffuse component from global radiation). The applicability of these different models is related to the local atmospheric conditions and its climatic characteristics. The models are not of general validity and can only be applicable to locations where the albedo of the surrounding terrain and the atmospheric contamination by dust are not significantly different from those where the corresponding methods were developed. Thus, models of diffuse fraction exhibit a relevant degree of location dependence: e.g. models developed considering data acquired in Europe are mainly linked to Northern, Central or, more recently, Mediterranean areas. The Azores Archipelago, with its particular climate and cloud cover characteristics, different from mainland Europe, has not yet been considered for the development of testing of such models. The Azorean climate reveals large amounts of cloud cover in its annual cycle, with spatial and temporal variabilities more complex than the common Summer/Winter pattern. This study explores the applicability of different existing correlation models of diffuse fraction and clearness index or other plain parameters to the Azorean region. Reliable data provided by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurements (ARM) Climate Research Facility from the Graciosa Island deployment of the ARM Mobile Facility (http://www.arm.gov/sites/amf/grw) was used to perform the analysis. Model results showed a tendency to underestimate higher values of diffuse radiation. From the performance results of the correlation models reviewed it was clear that there is room for improvement.

Investigation of a combined platinum and electron lifetime control treatment for silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jia, Yunpeng; Cui, Zhihang; Yang, Fei; Zhao, Bao; Zou, Shikai; Liang, Yongsheng

2017-02-01

In silicon, the effect of Combined Lifetime Treatment (CLT) involving platinum diffusion and subsequent electron irradiation is different from the separate treatments of platinum diffusion and electron irradiation, even the treatment of electron irradiation followed by platinum diffusion. In this paper, we investigated the experimental behavior of different kinds of lifetime treated samples. We found that the reverse leakage current (Irr) increases with the increasing platinum diffusion temperature or electron irradiation dose in the separate treatments. Conversely, Irr of the CLT samples decreased with rising platinum diffusion temperature at the same dose of subsequent electron irradiation. By deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), a new energy level E7 (Ec -0.376 eV) was found in our CLT samples. The new level E7 suppresses the dominance of the deeper level E8 (Ec -0.476 eV), which is caused by electron irradiation directly and results in Irr's increase. The formation of the level E7 comes from the complex defect-combined effect between platinum atoms and silicon vacancies, and it affects device's characteristics finally. These research will be helpful to the development of platinum-diffused devices used in intense electron irradiation environments.

Forecasting Plant Productivity and Health Using Diffuse-to-Global Irradiance Ratios Extracted from the OMI Aerosol Product

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knowlton, Kelly; Andrews, Jane C.; Ryan, Robert E.

2007-01-01

Atmospheric aerosols are a major contributor to diffuse irradiance. This Candidate Solution suggests using the OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) aerosol product as input into a radiative transfer model, which would calculate the ratio of diffuse to global irradiance at the Earth s surface. This ratio can significantly influence the rate of photosynthesis in plants; increasing the ratio of diffuse to global irradiance can accelerate photosynthesis, resulting in greater plant productivity. Accurate values of this ratio could be useful in predicting crop productivity, thereby improving forecasts of regional food resources. However, disagreements exist between diffuse-to-global irradiance values measured by different satellites and ground sensors. OMI, with its unique combination of spectral bands, high resolution, and daily global coverage, may be able to provide more accurate aerosol measurements than other comparable sensors.

Analysis of the solar radiation data for Beer Sheva, Israel, and its environs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kudish, A.I.; Ianetz, A.

The solar radiation climate of Beer Sheva, Israel, is reported upon in detail. The database utilized in this analysis consisted of global radiation on a horizontal surface, normal incidence beam radiation, and global radiation on a south-facing surface tilted at 40{degree}. Monthly-average hourly and daily values are reported for each of these three types of measured radiations, together with the calculated monthly-average daily values for the components of the global radiation, viz. the horizontal beam and diffuse radiations. The monthly-average hourly and daily clearness index values have also been calculated and analyzed. Monthly-average daily frequency distributions of the clearness indexmore » values are reported for each month. The solar radiation climate of Beer Sheva has also been compared to those reported for a number of countries in this region. The annual-average daily global radiation incident on a horizontal surface is 18.91 MG/m{sup 2} and that for normal incidence beam radiation is 21.17 MG/m{sup 2}. The annual-average daily fraction of the horizontal global radiation that is beam is 0.72. The annual-average daily value for the clearness index is 0.587 and the average frequency of clear days annually is 58.6%. The authors conclude, based upon the above analysis, that Beer Sheva and its environs are characterized by relatively high, average-daily irradiation rates, both global and beam, and a relatively high frequency of clear days.« less

Ambient-temperature diffusion and gettering of Pt atoms in GaN with surface defect region under 60Co gamma or MeV electron irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Ruixiang; Li, Lei; Fang, Xin; Xie, Ziang; Li, Shuti; Song, Weidong; Huang, Rong; Zhang, Jicai; Huang, Zengli; Li, Qiangjie; Xu, Wanjing; Fu, Engang; Qin, G. G.

2018-01-01

Generally, the diffusion and gettering of impurities in GaN needs high temperature. Calculated with the ambient-temperature extrapolation value of the high temperature diffusivity of Pt atoms in GaN reported in literature, the time required for Pt atoms diffusing 1 nm in GaN at ambient temperature is about 19 years. Therefore, the ambient-temperature diffusion and gettering of Pt atoms in GaN can hardly be observed. In this work, the ambient-temperature diffusion and gettering of Pt atoms in GaN is reported for the first time. It is demonstrated by use of secondary ion mass spectroscopy that in the condition of introducing a defect region on the GaN film surface by plasma, and subsequently, irradiated by 60Co gamma-ray or 3 MeV electrons, the ambient-temperature diffusion and gettering of Pt atoms in GaN can be detected. It is more obvious with larger irradiation dose and higher plasma power. With a similar surface defect region, the ambient-temperature diffusion and gettering of Pt atoms in GaN stimulated by 3 MeV electron irradiation is more marked than that stimulated by gamma irradiation. The physical mechanism of ambient-temperature diffusion and gettering of Pt atoms in a GaN film with a surface defect region stimulated by gamma or MeV electron irradiation is discussed.

Experimental determination of the reference plane of shaped diffusers by solar ultraviolet measurements.

PubMed

Gröbner, Julian; Blumthaler, Mario

2007-01-01

The optical reference plane of a J1002 shaped dome diffuser from CMS-Schreder was determined using direct normal spectral solar UV irradiance measurements relative to a flat Teflon diffuser. The spectroradiometers were calibrated relative to the same irradiance standard. The optical reference plane of the shaped J1002 diffuser is 5.3 mm behind the top of the dome with an uncertainty of 1.0 mm. Solar UV irradiance measurements based on a lamp calibration using the top of the dome as the reference will overestimate the global solar irradiance by 2.1% for the usual calibration distance of 500 mm.

Direct-to-diffuse UV Solar Irradiance Ratio for a UV rotating Shadowband Spectroradiometer and a UV Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lantz, K.; Kiedron, P.; Petropavlovskikh, I.; Michalsky, J.; Slusser, J.

2008-12-01

. Two spectroradiometers reside that measure direct and diffuse UV solar irradiance are located at the Table Mountain Test Facility, 8 km north of Boulder, CO. The UV- Rotating Shadowband Spectrograph (UV-RSS) measures diffuse and direct solar irradiance from 290 - 400 nm. The UV Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (UV-MFRSR) measures diffuse and direct solar irradiance in seven 2-nm wide bands, i.e. 300, 305, 311, 317, 325, and 368 nm. The purpose of the work is to compare radiative transfer model calculations (TUV) with the results from the UV-Rotating Shadowband Spectroradiometer (UV-RSS) and the UV-MFRSR to estimate direct-to-diffuse solar irradiance ratios (DDR) that are used to evaluate the possibility of retrieving aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) under a variety of atmospheric conditions: large and small aerosol loading, large and small surface albedo. For the radiative transfer calculations, total ozone measurements are obtained from a collocated Brewer spectrophotometer.

Smagorinsky-type diffusion in a high-resolution GCM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schaefer-Rolffs, Urs; Becker, Erich

2013-04-01

The parametrization of the (horizontal) momentum diffusion is a paramount component of a Global Circulation Model (GCM). Aside from friction in the boundary layer, a relevant fraction of kinetic energy is dissipated in the free atmosphere, and it is known that a linear harmonic turbulence model is not sufficient to obtain a reasonable simulation of the kinetic energy spectrum. Therefore, often empirical hyper-diffusion schemes are employed, regardless of disadvantages like the violation of energy conservation and the second law of thermodynamics. At IAP we have developed an improved parametrization of the horizontal diffusion that is based on Smagorinsky's nonlinear and energy conservation formulation. This approach is extended by the dynamic Smagorinsky model (DSM) of M. Germano. In this new scheme, the mixing length is no longer a prescribed parameter but calculated dynamically from the resolved flow such as to preserve scale invariance for the horizontal energy cascade. The so-called Germano identity is solved by a tensor norm ansatz which yields a positive definite frictional heating. We present results from an investigation using the DSM as a parametrization of horizontal diffusion in a high-resolution version of the Kühlungborn Mechanistic general Circulation Model (KMCM) with spectral truncation at horizontal wavenumber 330. The DSM calculates the Smagorinsky parameter cS independent from the resolution scale. We find that this method yields an energy spectrum that exhibits a pronounced transition from a synoptic -3 to a mesoscale -5-3 slope at wavenumbers around 50. At the highest wavenumber end, a behaviour similar to that often obtained by tuning the hyper-diffusion is achieved self-consistently. This result is very sensitive to the explicit choice of the test filter in the DSM.

Applying horizontal diffusion on pressure surface to mesoscale models on terrain-following coordinates

Treesearch

Hann-Ming Henry Juang; Ching-Teng Lee; Yongxin Zhang; Yucheng Song; Ming-Chin Wu; Yi-Leng Chen; Kevin Kodama; Shyh-Chin Chen

2005-01-01

The National Centers for Environmental Prediction regional spectral model and mesoscale spectral model (NCEP RSM/MSM) use a spectral computation on perturbation. The perturbation is defined as a deviation between RSM/MSM forecast value and their outer model or analysis value on model sigma-coordinate surfaces. The horizontal diffusion used in the models applies...

Abundance stratification in the atmospheres of blue horizontal-branch stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LeBlanc, F.

2013-12-01

Horizontal-branch stars with effective temperatures larger than approximately 11 500 K show abundance anomalies as well as other peculiar observational properties believed to be due to atomic diffusion in their atmosphere. These stars possess low rotational velocities that makes it possible for atomic diffusion to come into play and are therefore of great interest with respect to diffusion theory. Observational anomalies of blue horizontal-branch stars found in globular clusters such as photometric jumps and gaps are reviewed. Recent detections of vertical stratification of elements are also discussed. These results are compared to predictions of atmospheric modeling while including vertical stratification of the elements. The atmospheric structure of these models is calculated self-consistently while taking into account vertical stratification of the elements.

Atmospheric optical calibration system

DOEpatents

Hulstrom, Roland L.; Cannon, Theodore W.

1988-01-01

An atmospheric optical calibration system is provided to compare actual atmospheric optical conditions to standard atmospheric optical conditions on the basis of aerosol optical depth, relative air mass, and diffuse horizontal skylight to global horizontal photon flux ratio. An indicator can show the extent to which the actual conditions vary from standard conditions. Aerosol scattering and absorption properties, diffuse horizontal skylight to global horizontal photon flux ratio, and precipitable water vapor determined on a real-time basis for optical and pressure measurements are also used to generate a computer spectral model and for correcting actual performance response of a photovoltaic device to standard atmospheric optical condition response on a real-time basis as the device is being tested in actual outdoor conditions.

Gamma-Weighted Discrete Ordinate Two-Stream Approximation for Computation of Domain Averaged Solar Irradiance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kato, S.; Smith, G. L.; Barker, H. W.

2001-01-01

An algorithm is developed for the gamma-weighted discrete ordinate two-stream approximation that computes profiles of domain-averaged shortwave irradiances for horizontally inhomogeneous cloudy atmospheres. The algorithm assumes that frequency distributions of cloud optical depth at unresolved scales can be represented by a gamma distribution though it neglects net horizontal transport of radiation. This algorithm is an alternative to the one used in earlier studies that adopted the adding method. At present, only overcast cloudy layers are permitted.

Putting atomic diffusion theory of magnetic ApBp stars to the test: evaluation of the predictions of time-dependent diffusion models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kochukhov, O.; Ryabchikova, T. A.

2018-02-01

A series of recent theoretical atomic diffusion studies has address the challenging problem of predicting inhomogeneous vertical and horizontal chemical element distributions in the atmospheres of magnetic ApBp stars. Here we critically assess the most sophisticated of such diffusion models - based on a time-dependent treatment of the atomic diffusion in a magnetized stellar atmosphere - by direct comparison with observations as well by testing the widely used surface mapping tools with the spectral line profiles predicted by this theory. We show that the mean abundances of Fe and Cr are grossly underestimated by the time-dependent theoretical diffusion model, with discrepancies reaching a factor of 1000 for Cr. We also demonstrate that Doppler imaging inversion codes, based either on modelling of individual metal lines or line-averaged profiles simulated according to theoretical three-dimensional abundance distribution, are able to reconstruct correct horizontal chemical spot maps despite ignoring the vertical abundance variation. These numerical experiments justify a direct comparison of the empirical two-dimensional Doppler maps with theoretical diffusion calculations. This comparison is generally unfavourable for the current diffusion theory, as very few chemical elements are observed to form overabundance rings in the horizontal field regions as predicted by the theory and there are numerous examples of element accumulations in the vicinity of radial field zones, which cannot be explained by diffusion calculations.

Global spectral UV-radiometer with automatic shadow band.

PubMed

Rosales, Alejandro; Pedroni, Jorge V; Tocho, Jorge O

2006-01-01

A solar radiometer (GUV-511 C, Biospherical Instruments Inc., San Diego, CA) with four UV channels has been operating at Trelew (43.2 degrees S, 65.3 degrees W), Argentina, since the austral spring of 1997. The instrument provides global (direct + diffuse) irradiance on the horizontal plane year-round, with a 1 min period. On 1 January 1999, an automatic shadow band was added to calculate diffuse and direct radiation. The period of the measurements was increased to 2 min to keep the same signal to noise (S:N) ratio. Once the direct radiation values were available for the 305 nm and 320 nm spectral bands, the total ozone value was calculated and results were compared with data provided by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration for the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) on the Earth Probe satellite. Results show a root-mean-square (RMS) deviation within 4% compared with that of TOMS, so the quality of results is considered to be quite good. The importance of regular calibration to maintain long-term accuracy is stressed.

Crystal plasticity modeling of irradiation growth in Zircaloy-2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patra, Anirban; Tomé, Carlos N.; Golubov, Stanislav I.

2017-08-01

A physically based reaction-diffusion model is implemented in the visco-plastic self-consistent (VPSC) crystal plasticity framework to simulate irradiation growth in hcp Zr and its alloys. The reaction-diffusion model accounts for the defects produced by the cascade of displaced atoms, their diffusion to lattice sinks and the contribution to crystallographic strain at the level of single crystals. The VPSC framework accounts for intergranular interactions and irradiation creep, and calculates the strain in the polycrystalline ensemble. A novel scheme is proposed to model the simultaneous evolution of both, number density and radius, of irradiation-induced dislocation loops directly from experimental data of dislocation density evolution during irradiation. This framework is used to predict the irradiation growth behaviour of cold-worked Zircaloy-2 and trends compared to available experimental data. The role of internal stresses in inducing irradiation creep is discussed. Effects of grain size, texture and external stress on the coupled irradiation growth and creep behaviour are also studied and compared with available experimental data.

Modelling UV irradiances on arbitrarily oriented surfaces: effects of sky obstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, M.; Koepke, P.

2008-02-01

A method is presented to calculate UV irradiances on inclined surfaces that additionally takes into account the influence of sky obstructions caused by obstacles such as mountains, houses, trees, or umbrellas. Thus the method allows calculating the impact of UV radiation on biological systems, such as for instance the human skin or eye, in any natural or artificial environment. The method, a combination of radiation models, is explained and the correctness of its results is demonstrated. The effect of a natural skyline is shown for an Alpine ski area, where the UV irradiance even on a horizontal surface may increase due to reflection at snow by more than 10%. In contrast in a street canyon the irradiance on a horizontal surface is reduced down to 30% in shadow and to about 75% for a position in the sun.

Intercomparison of 51 radiometers for determining global horizontal irradiance and direct normal irradiance measurements

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habte, Aron; Sengupta, Manajit; Andreas, Afshin

Accurate solar radiation measurements require properly installed and maintained radiometers with calibrations traceable to the World Radiometric Reference. This study analyzes the performance of 51 commercially available and prototype radiometers used for measuring global horizontal irradiances or direct normal irradiances. These include pyranometers, pyrheliometers, rotating shadowband radiometers, and a pyranometer with an internal shading mask deployed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory. The radiometers in this study were deployed for one year (from April 1, 2011, through March 31, 2012), and their measurements were compared under clear-sky, partly cloudy, and mostly cloudy conditions to referencemore » values of low estimated measurement uncertainties. The intent of this paper is to present a general overview of each radiometer's performance based on the instrumentation and environmental conditions available at NREL.« less

Effect of horizontal molecular orientation on triplet-exciton diffusion in amorphous organic films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sawabe, T.; Takasu, I.; Yonehara, T.; Ono, T.; Yoshida, J.; Enomoto, S.; Amemiya, I.; Adachi, C.

2012-09-01

Triplet harvesting is a candidate technology for highly efficient and long-life white OLEDs, where green or red phosphorescent emitters are activated by the triplet-excitons diffused from blue fluorescent emitters. We examined two oxadiazole-based electron transport materials with different horizontal molecular orientation as a triplet-exciton diffusion layer (TDL) in triplet-harvesting OLEDs. The device characteristics and the transient electroluminescent analyses of the red phosphorescent emitter showed that the triplet-exciton diffusion was more effective in the highly oriented TDL. The results are ascribed to the strong orbital overlap between the oriented molecules, which provides rapid electron exchange (Dexter energy transfer) in the TDL.

Atmospheric optical calibration system

DOEpatents

Hulstrom, R.L.; Cannon, T.W.

1988-10-25

An atmospheric optical calibration system is provided to compare actual atmospheric optical conditions to standard atmospheric optical conditions on the basis of aerosol optical depth, relative air mass, and diffuse horizontal skylight to global horizontal photon flux ratio. An indicator can show the extent to which the actual conditions vary from standard conditions. Aerosol scattering and absorption properties, diffuse horizontal skylight to global horizontal photon flux ratio, and precipitable water vapor determined on a real-time basis for optical and pressure measurements are also used to generate a computer spectral model and for correcting actual performance response of a photovoltaic device to standard atmospheric optical condition response on a real-time basis as the device is being tested in actual outdoor conditions. 7 figs.

Atmospheric optical calibration system

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hulstrom, R.L.; Cannon, T.W.

1988-10-25

An atmospheric optical calibration system is provided to compare actual atmospheric optical conditions to standard atmospheric optical conditions on the basis of aerosol optical depth, relative air mass, and diffuse horizontal skylight to global horizontal photon flux ratio. An indicator can show the extent to which the actual conditions vary from standard conditions. Aerosol scattering and absorption properties, diffuse horizontal skylight to global horizontal photon flux ratio, and precipitable water vapor determined on a real-time basis for optical and pressure measurements are also used to generate a computer spectral model and for correcting actual performance response of a photovoltaic devicemore » to standard atmospheric optical condition response on a real-time basis as the device is being tested in actual outdoor conditions. 7 figs.« less

Cloud cover and horizontal plane eye damaging solar UV exposures.

PubMed

Parisi, A V; Downs, N

2004-11-01

The spectral UV and the cloud cover were measured at intervals of 5 min with an integrated cloud and spectral UV measurement system at a sub-tropical Southern Hemisphere site for a 6-month period and solar zenith angle (SZA) range of 4.7 degrees to approximately 80 degrees . The solar UV spectra were recorded between 280 nm and 400 nm in 0.5 nm increments and weighted with the action spectra for photokeratitis and cataracts in order to investigate the effect of cloud cover on the horizontal plane biologically damaging UV irradiances for cataracts (UVBE(cat)) and photokeratitis (UVBE(pker)). Eighty five percent of the recorded spectra produced a measured irradiance to a cloud free irradiance ratio of 0.6 and higher while 76% produced a ratio of 0.8 and higher. Empirical non-linear expressions as a function of SZA have been developed for all sky conditions to allow the evaluation of the biologically damaging UV irradiances for photokeratitis and cataracts from a knowledge of the unweighted UV irradiances.

UV hazard on Italian Apennines under different shading and ground cover conditions during peak tourist seasons of the year.

PubMed

Grifoni, Daniele; Carreras, Giulia; Sabatini, Francesco; Zipoli, Gaetano

2006-12-01

In solar UV irradiance monitoring and forecasting services UV information is generally expressed in terms of its effect on erythema and referred to horizontal surface. In this work we define the UV radiative regime, in terms of biologically effective UV irradiance (UVBE) for skin and eye, under full sun and shaded conditions, over a mountainous tourist area of central Italy by means of two all-day measurements (summer and early spring) with different ground albedo (grass and snow cover respectively). UV irradiance was monitored on tilted surfaces (the most frequent for people standing and walking). Results show the significant contribution of ground albedo and sun position in determining the incident UVBE irradiance. On early spring days the UVBE irradiance measured on horizontal surface was much lower than on tilted ones; the opposite condition was observed in summer. The highest UVBE irradiance values, in particular conditions of sun elevation and ground cover, were reached in periods different from the summer both in full sun and shaded condition.

Characterization of the oceanic light field within the photic zone: Fluctuations of downward irradiance and asymmetry of horizontal radiance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gassmann, Ewa

Two distinctive features of underwater light field in the upper ocean were examined: the wave-induced high-frequency light fluctuations within the near-surface layer under sunny skies, and the asymmetry of horizontal radiance within the photic layer of the ocean. To characterize the spatiotemporal statistical properties of the wave-induced light fluctuations, measurements of downward plane irradiance were made with novel instrumentation within the top 10 m layer of the ocean at depths as shallow as 10 cm under sunny skies, different solar zenith angles, and weak to moderate wind speeds. It was found that the maximum intensity of light fluctuations occurs at depths as shallow as 20 cm under the most favorable conditions for wave focusing, which correspond to high sun in a clear sky with weak wind. The strong frequency dependence of light fluctuations at shallow near-surface depths indicates dominant frequency range of 1 -- 3 Hz under favorable conditions that shifts toward lower frequencies with increasing depth. The light fluctuations were found to be spatially correlated over horizontal distances varying from few up to 10 -- 20 cm at temporal scales of 0.3 -- 1 sec (at the dominant frequency of 1 -- 3 Hz). The distance of correlation showed a tendency to increase with increasing depth, solar zenith angle, and wind speed. The observed variations in spatiotemporal statistical properties of underwater light fluctuations with depth and environmental conditions are driven largely by weakening of sunlight focusing which is associated with light scattering within the water column, in the atmosphere and at the air-sea interface. To investigate the underwater horizontal radiance field, measurements of horizontal spectral radiance in two opposite directions (solar and anti-solar azimuths) within the solar principal plane were made within the photic layer of the open ocean. The ratio of these two horizontal radiances represents the asymmetry of horizontal radiance field. In addition to measurements, the radiative transfer simulations were also conducted to examine variations in the asymmetry of horizontal radiance at different light wavelengths as a function of solar zenith angle at different depths within the water column down to 200 m. It was demonstrated that the asymmetry of horizontal radiance increases with increasing solar zenith angle, reaching a maximum at angles of 60° -- 80° under clear skies at shallow depths (1 -- 10 m). At larger depths the maximum of asymmetry occurs at smaller solar zenith angles. The asymmetry was also found to increase with increasing light wavelength. The results from radiative transfer simulations provided evidence that variations in the asymmetry with solar zenith angle are driven largely by the diffuseness of light incident upon the sea surface and the geometry of illumination of the sea surface, both associated with changing position of the sun. In addition to contributions to the field of ocean optics, the findings of this dissertation have relevance for oceanic animal camouflage and vision as well as photosynthesis and other photochemical processes.

A solar radiation database for Chile.

PubMed

Molina, Alejandra; Falvey, Mark; Rondanelli, Roberto

2017-11-01

Chile hosts some of the sunniest places on earth, which has led to a growing solar energy industry in recent years. However, the lack of high resolution measurements of solar irradiance becomes a critical obstacle for both financing and design of solar installations. Besides the Atacama Desert, Chile displays a large array of "solar climates" due to large latitude and altitude variations, and so provides a useful testbed for the development of solar irradiance maps. Here a new public database for surface solar irradiance over Chile is presented. This database includes hourly irradiance from 2004 to 2016 at 90 m horizontal resolution over continental Chile. Our results are based on global reanalysis data to force a radiative transfer model for clear sky solar irradiance and an empirical model based on geostationary satellite data for cloudy conditions. The results have been validated using 140 surface solar irradiance stations throughout the country. Model mean percentage error in hourly time series of global horizontal irradiance is only 0.73%, considering both clear and cloudy days. The simplicity and accuracy of the model over a wide range of solar conditions provides confidence that the model can be easily generalized to other regions of the world.

Modelling UV irradiances on arbitrarily oriented surfaces: effects of sky obstructions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hess, M.; Koepke, P.

2008-07-01

A method is presented to calculate UV irradiances on inclined surfaces that additionally takes into account the influence of sky obstructions caused by obstacles such as mountains, houses, trees, or umbrellas. With this method it is thus possible to calculate the impact of UV radiation on biological systems, such as, for instance, the human skin or eye, in any natural or artificial environment. The method, which consists of a combination of radiation models, is explained here and the accuracy of its results is demonstrated. The effect of a natural skyline is shown for an Alpine ski area, where the UV irradiance even on a horizontal surface may increase due to reflection from snow by more than 10 percent. In contrast, in a street canyon the irradiance on a horizontal surface is reduced to 30% in shadow and to about 75% for a position in the sun.

Effect of carbon ion irradiation on Ag diffusion in SiC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leng, Bin; Ko, Hyunseok; Gerczak, Tyler J.

Transport of Ag fission product through the silicon-carbide (SiC) diffusion barrier layer in TRISO fuel particles is of considerable interest given the application of this fuel type in high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) and other future reactor concepts. The reactor experiments indicate that radiation may play an important role in release of Ag; however so far the isolated effect of radiation on Ag diffusion has not been investigated in controlled laboratory experiments. In this study, we investigate the diffusion couples of Ag and polycrystalline 3C–SiC, as well as Ag and single crystalline 4H–SiC samples before and after irradiation with Cmore » 2+ ions. The diffusion couple samples were exposed to temperatures of 1500 °C, 1535 °C, and 1569 °C, and the ensuing diffusion profiles were analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). We found that diffusion coefficients calculated from these measurements indicate that Ag diffusion was greatly enhanced by carbon irradiation due to a combined effect of radiation damage on diffusion and the presence of grain boundaries in polycrystalline SiC samples.« less

Effect of carbon ion irradiation on Ag diffusion in SiC

DOE PAGES

Leng, Bin; Ko, Hyunseok; Gerczak, Tyler J.; ...

2015-11-14

Transport of Ag fission product through the silicon-carbide (SiC) diffusion barrier layer in TRISO fuel particles is of considerable interest given the application of this fuel type in high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) and other future reactor concepts. The reactor experiments indicate that radiation may play an important role in release of Ag; however so far the isolated effect of radiation on Ag diffusion has not been investigated in controlled laboratory experiments. In this study, we investigate the diffusion couples of Ag and polycrystalline 3C–SiC, as well as Ag and single crystalline 4H–SiC samples before and after irradiation with Cmore » 2+ ions. The diffusion couple samples were exposed to temperatures of 1500 °C, 1535 °C, and 1569 °C, and the ensuing diffusion profiles were analyzed by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). We found that diffusion coefficients calculated from these measurements indicate that Ag diffusion was greatly enhanced by carbon irradiation due to a combined effect of radiation damage on diffusion and the presence of grain boundaries in polycrystalline SiC samples.« less

Spatial interpolation of solar irradiation data over complex orography: Solar map of Canaries Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortegón Gallego, A.

2010-09-01

In this paper, we describe the calculation methodology we used to determine the spatial structure of solar irradiation over a very complex orography, such as the Canary archipelago, that is broken in seven islands, with only 7500 km2, and with heights in some of the islands upper than 1800 m, that reach to 3718 m in the case of Tenerife island. Starting with the method of Cumulative Semivariograms1, already used to face the irradiation spatial interpolation problem, although not for a complex orography. In this sense, some major modifications are introduced to deal with our needs, which can be summarized as: a) interpolation of clearness index data (Kcd, defined as the division of the global horizontal data, between the corresponding clear sky global horizontal values, obtained from a suitable model) instead of solar irradiation data; b) topographic considerations are included in the clear sky model, such as topographics shadows. This impacts directly over direct component of solar irradiation, and has a minor effect over the diffuse component, arising from a non plane visible horizon; c) the meteorological stations are selected by a criteria of weather proximity, instead of geographic proximity as it was proposed in the original methodology of Cumulative Semivariograms; d) the final result is obtained as the composition of various maps obtained from error minimization within a neighborhood of each available station, instead of using irradiation isolines. A preliminary result with data registered only by Canary Islands Institute of Technology's stations, spread over the whole archipelago, is showed. From our results we can see both, the power of the developed methodology and some limitations due to the extremely complex orography as it is the case of Canary Islands, which consists of a wide variety of microclimate regions. Whenever additional information is available, either in the form of empiric knowledge of the local weather, or in the form of other available radiometric data sources, the results do improve. In the case that all available stations are already used, the empirical knowledge of weather conditions can be introduced in our model by means of a strain parameter that modifies the statistical weight associated to the corresponding station in a given neighborhood. On the other hand, whenever it is possible to increase the spatial density of data sources, that is, to incorporate data from others stations, the result improves provided that data quality is good enough. To validate the results obtained with our methodology, we calculate the error between the estimated solar irradiation at the location of the stations with the records obtained by them.

Use of LiDAR for calculating solar irradiance on roofs and façades of buildings at city scale: Methodology, validation, and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Liang; Xu, Hao; Li, Shuyi; Chen, Yanming; Zhang, Fangli; Li, Manchun

2018-04-01

As the rate of urbanization continues to accelerate, the utilization of solar energy in buildings plays an increasingly important role in sustainable urban development. For this purpose, we propose a LiDAR-based joint approach for calculating the solar irradiance incident on roofs and façades of buildings at city scale, which includes a methodology for calculating solar irradiance, the validation of the proposed method, and analysis of its application. The calculation of surface irradiance on buildings may then inform photovoltaic power generation simulations, architectural design, and urban energy planning. Application analyses of the proposed method in the experiment area found that: (1) Global and direct irradiations vary significantly by hour, day, month and season, both following the same trends; however, diffuse irradiance essentially remains unchanged over time. (2) Roof irradiation, but not façade irradiation, displays distinct time-dependent patterns. (3) Global and direct irradiations on roofs are highly correlated with roof aspect and slope, with high global and direct irradiations observed on roofs of aspect 100-250° and slopes of 0-60°, whereas diffuse irradiation on roofs is only affected by roof slope. (4) The façade of a building receives higher levels of global and direct irradiations if facing southeast, south, and southwest; however, diffuse irradiation remains constant regardless of façade orientation.

Solutions Network Formulation Report. Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor Measurements of Diffuse-to-Global Irradiance Ratio for Improved Forecasting of Plant Productivity and Health

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Knowlton, Kelly; Andrews, Jane C.; Ryan, Robert E.

2007-01-01

Studies have shown that vegetation is directly sensitive to changes in the diffuse-to-global irradiance ratio and that increased percentage of diffuse irradiation can accelerate photosynthesis. Therefore, measurements of diffuse versus global irradiance could be useful for monitoring crop productivity and overall vegetative health as they relate to the total amount of particulates in the air that result from natural disasters or anthropogenic (manmade) causes. While the components of solar irradiance are measured by satellite and surface sensors and calculated with atmospheric models, disagreement exists between the results, creating a need for more accurate and comprehensive retrievals of atmospheric aerosol parameters. Two satellite sensors--APS and VIIRS--show promise for retrieving aerosol properties at an unprecedented level of accuracy. APS is expected to be launched in December 2008. The planned launch date for VIIRS onboard NPP is September 2009. Identified partners include the USDA s ARS, North Carolina State University, Purdue Climate Change Research Center, and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University. Although at present no formal DSSs (decision support systems) require accurate values of diffuse-to-global irradiance, this parameter is sufficiently important that models are being developed that will incorporate these measurements. This candidate solution is aligned with the Agricultural Efficiency and Air Quality National Applications.

Simulations of surface winds at the Viking Lander sites using a one-level model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bridger, Alison F. C.; Haberle, Robert M.

1992-01-01

The one-level model developed by Mass and Dempsey for use in predicting surface flows in regions of complex terrain was adapted to simulate surface flows at the Viking lander sites on Mars. In the one-level model, prediction equations for surface winds and temperatures are formulated and solved. Surface temperatures change with time in response to diabatic heating, horizontal advection, adiabatic heating and cooling effects, and horizontal diffusion. Surface winds can change in response to horizontal advection, pressure gradient forces, Coriolis forces, surface drag, and horizontal diffusion. Surface pressures are determined by integration of the hydrostatic equation from the surface to some reference level. The model has successfully simulated surface flows under a variety of conditions in complex-terrain regions on Earth.

Improvement of gray-scale representation of horizontally scanning holographic display using error diffusion.

PubMed

Matsumoto, Yuji; Takaki, Yasuhiro

2014-06-15

Horizontally scanning holography can enlarge both screen size and viewing zone angle. A microelectromechanical-system spatial light modulator, which can generate only binary images, is used to generate hologram patterns. Thus, techniques to improve gray-scale representation in reconstructed images should be developed. In this study, the error diffusion technique was used for the binarization of holograms. When the Floyd-Steinberg error diffusion coefficients were used, gray-scale representation was improved. However, the linearity in the gray-scale representation was not satisfactory. We proposed the use of a correction table and showed that the linearity was greatly improved.

[Investigation of permeability of intranasal formulations using Side-Bi-Side horizontal diffusion cell].

PubMed

Horváth Tamás; Ambrus, Rita; Szabóné, Révész Piroska

2015-01-01

Nowadays the nasal route has received a great attention as a reliable administration for the systemic administration. In the Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, University of Szeged, the main research work is the design and development of innovative nasal formulations, which can open new possibilities for some well-known agents and may also help some drug-candidates delivery problems. The aim of this work was to present some reliable models for investigation of permeability, such as Spectra/Por Dialisys Membran, ZelluTrans/Roth Mini Dialyzer, μFLUX diffusion Cell, Navicyte Vertical and Horizontal Diffusion Chamber System and In-line Cell. In addition, the horizontal membrane diffusion model (Side-Bi-Side) was used to investigate in vitro and ex vivo studies of permeability of meloxicam in comparison with the vertical diffusion cell (Franz). The present study investigated the meloxicam in different dosage forms (powder, spray, gel). It was found that the Side-Bi-Side cell is suitable to test the nasal formulations, but the uniform distribution of the active substance cannot be ensured in donor place by increasing the viscosity of the compositions, therefore the Franz cell is recommended for investigation of nasal gel. Previous measurement cannot be found related to this topic.

Damage and recovery characteristics of lithium-containing solar cells.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faith, T. J.

1971-01-01

Damage and recovery characteristics were measured on lithium-containing solar cells irradiated by 1-MeV electrons. Empirical expressions for cell recovery time, diffusion-length damage coefficient immediately after irradiation, and diffusion-length damage coefficient after recovery were derived using results of short-circuit current, diffusion-length, and reverse-bias capacitance measurements. The damage coefficients were expressed in terms of a single lithium density parameter, the lithium gradient. A fluence dependence was also established, this dependence being the same for both the immediate-post-irradiation and post-recovery cases. Cell recovery rates were found to increase linearly with lithium gradient.

Experimental investigation of turbulent diffusion of slightly buoyant droplets in locally isotropic turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalan, Balaji; Malkiel, Edwin; Katz, Joseph

2008-09-01

High-speed inline digital holographic cinematography is used for studying turbulent diffusion of slightly buoyant 0.5-1.2 mm diameter diesel droplets and 50 μm diameter neutral density particles. Experiments are performed in a 50×50×70 mm3 sample volume in a controlled, nearly isotropic turbulence facility, which is characterized by two dimensional particle image velocimetry. An automated tracking program has been used for measuring velocity time history of more than 17 000 droplets and 15 000 particles. For most of the present conditions, rms values of horizontal droplet velocity exceed those of the fluid. The rms values of droplet vertical velocity are higher than those of the fluid only for the highest turbulence level. The turbulent diffusion coefficient is calculated by integration of the ensemble-averaged Lagrangian velocity autocovariance. Trends of the asymptotic droplet diffusion coefficient are examined by noting that it can be viewed as a product of a mean square velocity and a diffusion time scale. To compare the effects of turbulence and buoyancy, the turbulence intensity (ui') is scaled by the droplet quiescent rise velocity (Uq). The droplet diffusion coefficients in horizontal and vertical directions are lower than those of the fluid at low normalized turbulence intensity, but exceed it with increasing normalized turbulence intensity. For most of the present conditions the droplet horizontal diffusion coefficient is higher than the vertical diffusion coefficient, consistent with trends of the droplet velocity fluctuations and in contrast to the trends of the diffusion timescales. The droplet diffusion coefficients scaled by the product of turbulence intensity and an integral length scale are a monotonically increasing function of ui'/Uq.

Empirical evaluation of global vitamin D effective ultraviolet irradiances under cloudy conditions for a subtropical southern hemisphere site.

PubMed

Turnbull, David J; Parisi, Alfio V; Schouten, Peter W

2010-05-01

This paper evaluates the global vitamin D effective UV (UV(vitd)) irradiances under cloudy conditions at a subtropical, southern hemisphere site. The UV(vitd) irradiances were analyzed on a horizontal plane and sampled at 5-min intervals over 18 months so that a wide range of parameters including cloud conditions, solar zenith angles (SZA) and ozone levels were taken into account. Cloud modification factors were determined from the influence of clouds on the global broadband solar radiation, and these were applied to the cloud-free vitamin D effective UV irradiance to evaluate the UV(vitd) irradiances on a horizontal plane for cloudy conditions. For vitamin D effective UV irradiance, cloud modification factors were found to range from 0.9 to 1.0 for no cloud and 0.4 to 0.5 for 8 octa of cloud cover. SZA played a minimal role in this variation. A comparison of the measured and calculated UV(vitd) irradiances for the 2004 data set in the range of SZA of 70 degrees or less provided an R(2) value of 0.90. The output of the model was compared to data measured during the first 6 months of 2005 for an SZA of 70 degrees or less and provided an R(2) value of approximately 0.82.

Report on simulation of fission gas and fission product diffusion in UO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andersson, Anders David; Perriot, Romain Thibault; Pastore, Giovanni

2016-07-22

In UO 2 nuclear fuel, the retention and release of fission gas atoms such as xenon (Xe) are important for nuclear fuel performance by, for example, reducing the fuel thermal conductivity, causing fuel swelling that leads to mechanical interaction with the clad, increasing the plenum pressure and reducing the fuel–clad gap thermal conductivity. We use multi-­scale simulations to determine fission gas diffusion mechanisms as well as the corresponding rates in UO 2 under both intrinsic and irradiation conditions. In addition to Xe and Kr, the fission products Zr, Ru, Ce, Y, La, Sr and Ba have been investigated. Density functionalmore » theory (DFT) calculations are used to study formation, binding and migration energies of small clusters of Xe atoms and vacancies. Empirical potential calculations enable us to determine the corresponding entropies and attempt frequencies for migration as well as investigate the properties of large clusters or small fission gas bubbles. A continuum reaction-­diffusion model is developed for Xe and point defects based on the mechanisms and rates obtained from atomistic simulations. Effective fission gas diffusivities are then obtained by solving this set of equations for different chemical and irradiation conditions using the MARMOT phase field code. The predictions are compared to available experimental data. The importance of the large Xe U3O cluster (a Xe atom in a uranium + oxygen vacancy trap site with two bound uranium vacancies) is emphasized, which is a consequence of its high mobility and high binding energy. We find that the Xe U3O cluster gives Xe diffusion coefficients that are higher for intrinsic conditions than under irradiation over a wide range of temperatures. Under irradiation the fast-­moving Xe U3O cluster recombines quickly with irradiation-induced interstitial U ions, while this mechanism is less important for intrinsic conditions. The net result is higher concentration of the Xe U3O cluster for intrinsic conditions than under irradiation. We speculate that differences in the irradiation conditions and their impact on the Xe U3O cluster can explain the wide range of diffusivities reported in experimental studies. However, all vacancy-­mediated mechanisms underestimate the Xe diffusivity compared to the empirical radiation-­enhanced rate used in most fission gas release models. We investigate the possibility that diffusion of small fission gas bubbles or extended Xe-­vacancy clusters may give rise to the observed radiation-­enhanced diffusion coefficient. These studies highlight the importance of U divacancies and an octahedron coordination of uranium vacancies encompassing a Xe fission gas atom. The latter cluster can migrate via a multistep mechanism with a rather low effective barrier, which together with irradiation-induced clusters of uranium vacancies, gives rise to the irradiation-enhanced diffusion coefficient observed in experiments.« less

Installation of a variable-angle spectrometer system for monitoring diffuse and global solar radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ormachea, O.; Abrahamse, A.; Tolavi, N.; Romero, F.; Urquidi, O.; Pearce, J. M.; Andrews, R.

2013-11-01

We report on the design and installation of a spectrometer system for monitoring solar radiation in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Both the light intensity and the spectral distribution affect the power produced by a photovoltaic device. Local variations in the solar spectrum (especially compared to the AM1.5 standard) may have important implications for device optimization and energy yield estimation. The spectrometer system, based on an Ocean Optics USB4000 (300-900nm) spectrometer, was designed to increase functionality. Typically systems only record the global horizontal radiation. Our system moves a fiber-optic cable 0-90 degrees and takes measurements in 9 degree increments. Additionally, a shadow band allows measurement of the diffuse component of the radiation at each position. The electronic controls utilize an Arduino UNO microcontroller to synchronizes the movement of two PAP bipolar (stepper) motors with the activation of the spectrometer via an external trigger. The spectrometer was factory calibrated for wavelength and calibrated for absolute irradiance using a Sellarnet SL1-Cal light source. We present preliminary results from data taken March-June, 2013, and comment on implications for PV devices in Cochabamba.

A model of the photosynthetically available and usable irradiance in the sea

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, Donald J.; Davis, Curtiss O.; Booth, C. Rockwell; Kiefer, Dale A.; Stallings, Casson

1988-01-01

A theoretical model describing the depth dependence of the solar irradiance available to phytoplankton for photosynthesis is developed for waters classified as Case I by Jerlov (1976). The techniques used to account for the effects of incident solar irradiance, pigment concentration, and the spectral diffuse attentuation coefficient are described; an expression for the photosynthetically usable irradiance is derived; and particular attention is given to the specific diffuse absorption coefficient for chlorophyll (Morel, 1978). The relationships among the primary model parameters are shown in graphs.

Aerosol Retrievals from ARM SGP MFRSR Data

DOE Data Explorer

Alexandrov, Mikhail

2008-01-15

The Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) makes precise simultaneous measurements of the solar direct normal and diffuse horizontal irradiances at six wavelengths (nominally 415, 500, 615, 673, 870, and 940 nm) at short intervals (20 sec for ARM instruments) throughout the day. Time series of spectral optical depth are derived from these measurements. Besides water vapor at 940 nm, the other gaseous absorbers within the MFRSR channels are NO2 (at 415, 500, and 615 nm) and ozone (at 500, 615, and 670 nm). Aerosols and Rayleigh scattering contribute atmospheric extinction in all MFRSR channels. Our recently updated MFRSR data analysis algorithm allows us to partition the spectral aerosol optical depth into fine and coarse modes and to retrieve the fine mode effective radius. In this approach we rely on climatological amounts of NO2 from SCIAMACHY satellite retrievals and use daily ozone columns from TOMS.

Can molecular diffusion explain Space Shuttle plume spreading?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meier, R. R.; Plane, John M. C.; Stevens, Michael H.; Paxton, L. J.; Christensen, A. B.; Crowley, G.

2010-04-01

The satellite-borne Global Ultraviolet Imager (GUVI) has produced more than 20 images of NASA Space Shuttle main engine plumes in the lower thermosphere. These reveal atomic hydrogen and, by inference, water vapor transport over hemispherical-scale distances with speeds much faster than expected from models of thermospheric wind motions. Furthermore, the hydrogen plumes expand rapidly. We find rates that exceed the horizontal diffusion speed at nominal plume altitudes of 104-112 km. Kelley et al. (2009) have proposed a 2-D turbulence mechanism to explain the observed spreading rates (and rapid advection) of the plumes. But upon further investigation, we conclude that H atom diffusion can indeed account for the observed expansion rates by recognizing that vertical diffusion quickly conveys atoms to higher altitudes where horizontal diffusion is much more rapid. We also find evidence for H atom production directly during the Shuttle's main engine burn.

Environmental stress cracking in gamma-irradiated polycarbonate - A diffusion approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Silva, Pietro Paolo J. C. de O.; Araújo, Patricia L. B.; da Silveira, Leopoldo B. B.; Araújo, Elmo S.

2017-01-01

Polycarbonate (PC) is an engineering polymer which presents interesting properties. This material has been also used in medical devices, which is frequently exposed to gamma radiosterilization and to chemical agents. This may produce significant changes in polymer structure, leading to failure in service. The present work brings about a new approach on environmental stress cracking (ESC) processes elucidation in 100 kGy gamma-irradiated PC, by evaluating the diffusion process of methanol or 2-propanol in test specimens and determining the diffusion parameters on solvent-irradiated polymer systems. A comparison of diffusion parameters for both solvents indicated that methanol has a considerable ESC action on PC, with diffusion parameter of 7.5×10-14±1% m2 s-1 for non-irradiated PC and 7.8×10-14±2.8% m2 s-1 for PC irradiated at 100 kGy. In contrast, 2-propanol did not act as an ESC agent, as it did promote neither swelling nor cracks in the test specimens. These results were confirmed by visual analysis and optical microscopy. Unexpectedly, structural damages evidenced in tensile strength tests suggested that 2-propanol is as aggressive as methanol chemical for PC. Moreover, although some manufacturers indicate the use of 2-propanol as a cleaning product for PC artifacts, such use should be avoided in parts under mechanical stress.

Use of ion beams to simulate reaction of reactor fuels with their cladding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birtcher, R. C.; Baldo, P.

2006-01-01

Processes occurring within reactor cores are not amenable to direct experimental observation. Among major concerns are damage, fission gas accumulation and reaction between the fuel and its cladding all of which lead to swelling. These questions can be investigated through simulation with ion beams. As an example, we discuss the irradiation driven interaction of uranium-molybdenum alloys, intended for use as low-enrichment reactor fuels, with aluminum, which is used as fuel cladding. Uranium-molybdenum coated with a 100 nm thin film of aluminum was irradiated with 3 MeV Kr ions to simulate fission fragment damage. Mixing and diffusion of aluminum was followed as a function of irradiation with RBS and nuclear reaction analysis using the 27Al(p,γ)28Si reaction which occurs at a proton energy of 991.9 keV. During irradiation at 150 °C, aluminum diffused into the uranium alloy at a irradiation driven diffusion rate of 30 nm2/dpa. At a dose of 90 dpa, uranium diffusion into the aluminum layer resulted in formation of an aluminide phase at the initial interface. The thickness of this phase grew until it consumed the aluminum layer. The rapid diffusion of Al into these reactor fuels may offer explanation of the observation that porosity is not observed in the fuel particles but on their periphery.

Radiation effects on interface reactions of U/Fe, U/(Fe+Cr), and U/(Fe+Cr+Ni)

DOE PAGES

Shao, Lin; Chen, Di; Wei, Chaochen; ...

2014-10-01

We study the effects of radiation damage on interdiffusion and intermetallic phase formation at the interfaces of U/Fe, U/(Fe + Cr), and U/(Fe + Cr + Ni) diffusion couples. Magnetron sputtering is used to deposit thin films of Fe, Fe + Cr, or Fe + Cr + Ni on U substrates to form the diffusion couples. One set of samples are thermally annealed under high vacuum at 450 C or 550 C for one hour. A second set of samples are annealed identically but with concurrent 3.5 MeV Fe++ ion irradiation. The Fe++ ion penetration depth is sufficient to reachmore » the original interfaces. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry analysis with high fidelity spectral simulations is used to obtain interdiffusion profiles, which are used to examine differences in U diffusion and intermetallic phase formation at the buried interfaces. For all three diffusion systems, Fe++ ion irradiations enhance U diffusion. Furthermore, the irradiations accelerate the formation of intermetallic phases. In U/Fe couples, for example, the unirradiated samples show typical interdiffusion governed by Fick’s laws, while the irradiated ones show step-like profiles influenced by Gibbs phase rules.« less

Accumulation of dislocation loops in the α phase of Zr Excel alloy under heavy ion irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Hongbing; Yao, Zhongwen; Idrees, Yasir; Zhang, He K.; Kirk, Mark A.; Daymond, Mark R.

2017-08-01

In-situ heavy ion irradiations were performed on the high Sn content Zr alloy 'Excel', measuring type dislocation loop accumulation up to irradiation damage doses of 10 dpa at a range of temperatures. The high content of Sn, which diffuses slowly, and the thin foil geometry of the sample provide a unique opportunity to study an extreme case where displacement cascades dominate the loop formation and evolution. The dynamic observation of dislocation loop evolution under irradiation at 200 °C reveals that type dislocation loops can form at very low dose (0.0025 dpa). The size of the dislocation loops increases slightly with irradiation damage dose. The mechanism controlling loop growth in this study is different from that in neutron irradiation; in this study, larger dislocation loops can condense directly from the interaction of displacement cascades and the high concentration of point defects in the matrix. The size of the dislocation loop is dependent on the point defect concentration in the matrix. A negative correlation between the irradiation temperature and the dislocation loop size was observed. A comparison between cascade dominated loop evolution (this study), diffusion dominated loop evolution (electron irradiation) and neutron irradiation suggests that heavy ion irradiation alone may not be enough to accurately reproduce neutron irradiation induced loop structures. An alternative method is proposed in this paper. The effects of Sn on the displacement cascades, defect yield, and the diffusion behavior of point defects are established.

Statistical analysis of global horizontal solar irradiation GHI in Fez city, Morocco

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bounoua, Z.; Mechaqrane, A.

2018-05-01

An accurate knowledge of the solar energy reaching the ground is necessary for sizing and optimizing the performances of solar installations. This paper describes a statistical analysis of the global horizontal solar irradiation (GHI) at Fez city, Morocco. For better reliability, we have first applied a set of check procedures to test the quality of hourly GHI measurements. We then eliminate the erroneous values which are generally due to measurement or the cosine effect errors. Statistical analysis show that the annual mean daily values of GHI is of approximately 5 kWh/m²/day. Daily monthly mean values and other parameter are also calculated.

Comparison of Pyranometers and Reference Cells on Fixed and One-Axis Tracking Surfaces: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dooraghi, Michael R; Sengupta, Manajit; Vignola, Frank

A wide variety of sensors are used to monitor the irradiance incident on solar modules to evaluate the performance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. These instruments range from secondary standard pyranometers to photodiode-based pyranometers to reference cells. Although instruments are mounted in the plane of array of the modules, a wide range of results have been obtained. Some of these difference have been assumed to come from systematic uncertainties associated with the irradiance sensors. This study is an attempt to quantify these differences by comparing the output of selected thermopile pyranometers to photodiode-based pyranometers and reference cells on a horizontal surface,more » a fixed-tilt surface, and a one-axis tracking surface. This analysis focuses on clear-sky results from two sites with different climatic conditions. Several important features were observed. Photodiode-based pyranometers and reference cells produce widely different results under clear skies, especially at larger angles of incidence, even though both instruments are based on measuring the short-circuit current of solar cells. The difference is caused by the scattering of light as it passes through the glazing of the reference cell or the diffuser lens of the photodioded-base pyranometer. Both instruments are shown to have similar response to the spectral distribution of the irradiance when compared to the thermopile-based pyranometer, which has a response nearly independent of the wavelength of light used by PV modules.« less

Effect of natural convection in a horizontally oriented cylinder on NMR imaging of the distribution of diffusivity

PubMed

Mohoric; Stepisnik

2000-11-01

This paper describes the influence of natural convection on NMR measurement of a self-diffusion constant of fluid in the earth's magnetic field. To get an estimation of the effect, the Lorenz model of natural convection in a horizontally oriented cylinder, heated from below, is derived. Since the Lorenz model of natural convection is derived for the free boundary condition, its validity is of a limited value for the natural no-slip boundary condition. We point out that even a slight temperature gradient can cause significant misinterpretation of measurements. The chaotic nature of convection enhances the apparent self-diffusion constant of the liquid.

Effect of MeV electron irradiation on the free volume of polyimide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alegaonkar, P. S.; Bhoraskar, V. N.

2004-08-01

The free volume of the microvoids in the polyimide samples, irradiated with 6 MeV electrons, was measured by the positron annihilation technique. The free volume initially decreased the virgin value from similar to13.70 to similar to10.98 Angstrom(3) and then increased to similar to18.11 Angstrom(3) with increasing the electron fluence, over the range of 5 x 10(14) - 5 x 10(15) e/cm(2). The evolution of gaseous species from the polyimide during electron irradiation was confirmed by the residual gas analysis technique. The polyimide samples irradiated with 6 MeV electrons in AgNO3 solution were studied with the Rutherford back scattering technique. The diffusion of silver in these polyimide samples was observed for fluences >2 x 10(15) e/cm(2), at which microvoids of size greater than or equal to3 Angstrom are produced. Silver atoms did not diffuse in the polyimide samples, which were first irradiated with electrons and then immersed in AgNO3 solution. These results indicate that during electron irradiation, the microvoids with size greater than or equal to3 Angstrom were retained in the surface region through which silver atoms of size similar to2.88 Angstrom could diffuse into the polyimide. The average depth of diffusion of silver atoms in the polyimide was similar to2.5 mum.

Lithium diffusion in polyether ether ketone and polyimide stimulated by in situ electron irradiation and studied by the neutron depth profiling method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vacik, J.; Hnatowicz, V.; Attar, F. M. D.; Mathakari, N. L.; Dahiwale, S. S.; Dhole, S. D.; Bhoraskar, V. N.

2014-10-01

Diffusion of lithium from a LiCl aqueous solution into polyether ether ketone (PEEK) and polyimide (PI) assisted by in situ irradiation with 6.5 MeV electrons was studied by the neutron depth profiling method. The number of the Li atoms was found to be roughly proportional to the diffusion time. Regardless of the diffusion time, the measured depth profiles in PEEK exhibit a nearly exponential form, indicating achievement of a steady-state phase of a diffusion-reaction process specified in the text. The form of the profiles in PI is more complex and it depends strongly on the diffusion time. For the longer diffusion time, the profile consists of near-surface bell-shaped part due to Fickian-like diffusion and deeper exponential part.

An unsupervised method for estimating the global horizontal irradiance from photovoltaic power measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nespoli, Lorenzo; Medici, Vasco

2017-12-01

In this paper, we present a method to determine the global horizontal irradiance (GHI) from the power measurements of one or more PV systems, located in the same neighborhood. The method is completely unsupervised and is based on a physical model of a PV plant. The precise assessment of solar irradiance is pivotal for the forecast of the electric power generated by photovoltaic (PV) plants. However, on-ground measurements are expensive and are generally not performed for small and medium-sized PV plants. Satellite-based services represent a valid alternative to on site measurements, but their space-time resolution is limited. Results from two case studies located in Switzerland are presented. The performance of the proposed method at assessing GHI is compared with that of free and commercial satellite services. Our results show that the presented method is generally better than satellite-based services, especially at high temporal resolutions.

Roles of Vacancy/Interstitial Diffusion and Segregation in the Microchemistry at Grain Boundaries of Irradiated Fe-Cr-Ni alloys

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Ying; Field, Kevin G.; Allen, Todd R.

2016-02-23

A detailed analysis of the diffusion fluxes near and at grain boundaries of irradiated Fe–Cr–Ni alloys, induced by preferential atom-vacancy and atom-interstitial coupling, is presented. The diffusion flux equations were based on the Perks model formulated through the linear theory of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. The preferential atom-vacancy coupling was described by the mobility model, whereas the preferential atom-interstitial coupling was described by the interstitial binding model. The composition dependence of the thermodynamic factor was modeled using the CALPHAD approach. The calculated fluxes up to 10 dpa suggested the dominant diffusion mechanism for chromium and iron is via vacancy,more » while that for nickel can swing from the vacancy to the interstitial dominant mechanism. The diffusion flux in the vicinity of a grain boundary was found to be greatly modified by the segregation induced by irradiation, leading to the oscillatory behavior of alloy compositions in this region.« less

--No Title--

Science.gov Websites

-Irradiance Model. Solar Energy Monthly and annual average direct normal irradiance for Hawaii and the normal (DNI). This is then adjusted as a function of the ratio of clear sky global horizontal (GHI) and , provided that this entire notice appears in all copies of the data. Further, the user of this data agrees

Experimental investigation on variation of physical properties of coal samples subjected to microwave irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Guozhong; Yang, Nan; Xu, Guang; Xu, Jialin

2018-03-01

The gas drainage rate of low-permeability coal seam is generally less than satisfactory. This leads to the gas disaster of coal mine, and largely restricts the extraction of coalbed methane (CBM), and increases the emission of greenhouse gases in the mining area. Consequently, enhancing the gas drainage rate is an urgent challenge. To solve this problem, a new approach of using microwave irradiation (MWR) as a non-contact physical field excitation method to enhance gas drainage has been attempted. In order to evaluate the feasibility of this method, the methane adsorption, diffusion and penetrability of coal subjected to MWR were experimentally investigated. The variation of methane adsorbed amount, methane diffusion speed and absorption loop for the coal sample before and after MWR were obtained. The findings show that the MWR can change the adsorption property and reduce the methane adsorption capacity of coal. Moreover, the methane diffusion characteristic curves for both the irradiated coal samples and theoriginal coal samples present the same trend. The irradiated coal samples have better methane diffusion ability than the original ones. As the adsorbed methane decreases, the methane diffusion speed increases or remain the same for the sample subjected to MWR. Furthermore, compared to the original coal samples, the area of the absorption loop for irradiated samples increases, especially for the micro-pore and medium-pore stage. This leads to the increase of open pores in the coal, thus improving the gas penetrability of coal. This study provides supports for positive MWR effects on changing the methane adsorption and improving the methane diffusion and the gas penetrability properties of coal samples.

Timing considerations for preclinical MRgRT: effects of ion diffusion, SNR and imaging times on FXG gel calibration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welch, M.; Foltz, W. D.; Jaffray, D. A.

2015-01-01

Sub-millimeter resolution images are required for gel dosimeters to be used in preclinical research, which is challenging for MR probed ferrous xylenol-orange (FXG) dosimeters due to ion diffusion and inadequate SNR. A preclinical 7 T MR, small animal irradiator and FXG dosimeters were used in all experiments. Ion diffusion was analyzed using high resolution (0.2 mm/pixel) T1 MR images collected every 5 minutes, post-irradiation, for an hour. Using Fick's second law, ion diffusion was approximated for the first hour post-irradiation. SNR, T1 map precision and calibration fit were determined for two MR protocols: (1) 10 minute acquisition, 0.35mm/pixel and 3mm slices, (2) 45 minute acquisition, 0. 25 mm/pixel and 2 mm slices. SNR and T1 map precision were calculated using a Monte Carlo simulation. Calibration curves were determined by plotting R1 relaxation rates versus depth dose data, and fitting a linear trend line. Ion diffusion was estimated as 0.003mm2 in the first hour post-irradiation. For protocols (1) and (2) respectively, Monte Carlo simulation predicted T1 precisions of 3% and 5% within individual voxels using experimental SNRs; the corresponding measured T1 precisions were 8% and 12%. The linear trend lines reported slopes of 27 ± 3 Gy*s (R2: 0.80 ± 0.04) and 27 ± 4 Gy*s (R2: 0.90 ± 0.04). Ion diffusion is negligible within the first hour post-irradiation, and an accurate and reproducible calibration can be achieved in a preclinical setting with sub-millimeter resolution.

Solute redistribution and phase stability at FeCr/TiO 2–x interfaces under ion irradiation

DOE PAGES

Xu, Y.; Aguiar, J. A.; Yadav, S. K.; ...

2015-02-26

Cr diffusion in trilayer thin films of 100 nm Fe–18Cr/125 nm TiO 2–x/100 nm Fe–18Cr deposited on MgO substrates at 500 °C was studied by either annealing at 500 °C or Ni 3+ ion irradiation at 500 °C. Microchemistry and microstructure evolution at the metal/oxide interfaces were investigated using (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Diffusion of Cr into the O-deficient TiO 2 layer, with negligible segregation to the FeCr/TiO 2–x interface itself, was observed under both annealing and irradiation. Cr diffusion into TiO 2–x was enhanced in ion-irradiated samples as compared to annealed.more » Irradiation-induced voids and amorphization of TiO 2–x was also observed. The experimental results are rationalized using first-principles calculations that suggest an energetic preference for substituting Ti with Cr in sub-stoichiometric TiO 2. Furthermore, the implications of these results on the irradiation stability of oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys are discussed.« less

Effects of consecutive irradiation and bias temperature stress in p-channel power vertical double-diffused metal oxide semiconductor transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davidović, Vojkan; Danković, Danijel; Ilić, Aleksandar; Manić, Ivica; Golubović, Snežana; Djorić-Veljković, Snežana; Prijić, Zoran; Prijić, Aneta; Stojadinović, Ninoslav

2018-04-01

The mechanisms responsible for the effects of consecutive irradiation and negative bias temperature (NBT) stress in p-channel power vertical double-diffused MOS (VDMOS) transistors are presented in this paper. The investigation was performed in order to clarify the mechanisms responsible for the effects of specific kind of stress in devices previously subjected to the other kind of stress. In addition, it may help in assessing the behaviour of devices subjected to simultaneous irradiation and NBT stressing. It is shown that irradiation of previously NBT stressed devices leads to additional build-up of oxide trapped charge and interface traps, while NBT stress effects in previously irradiated devices depend on gate bias applied during irradiation and on the total dose received. In the cases of low-dose irradiation or irradiation without gate bias, the subsequent NBT stress leads to slight further device degradation. On the other hand, in the cases of devices previously irradiated to high doses or with gate bias applied during irradiation, NBT stress may have a positive role, as it actually anneals a part of radiation-induced degradation.

Enhancement in Diffusion of Electrolyte through Membrane Using Ultrasonic Dialysis Equipment with Plane Membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Hui; Ohdaira, Etsuzo; Ide, Masao

1995-05-01

Application of ultrasound to accelerate the dialysis separation of electrolytes through a membrane was studied with ultrasonic dialysis equipment. The experiments were conducted with cellophane membrane and KCl solution, CH3COONa solution, and a mixture of KCl and saponin solutions. It was found that the diffusion velocity of electrolyte through a membrane with ultrasonic irradiation is faster than that without ultrasonic irradiation, and it increases with acoustic pressure. It has become clear that the reasons for enhancement caused by ultrasound are increase in liquid particle velocity and diffusion coefficient due to ultrasonic vibration. It was confirmed that the permeability of the membrane was not degraded by ultrasound in the ranges of acoustic pressure and irradiation time in this study.

Development of a robust modeling tool for radiation-induced segregation in austenitic stainless steels

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Ying; Field, Kevin G; Allen, Todd R.

2015-09-01

Irradiation-assisted stress corrosion cracking (IASCC) of austenitic stainless steels in Light Water Reactor (LWR) components has been linked to changes in grain boundary composition due to irradiation induced segregation (RIS). This work developed a robust RIS modeling tool to account for thermodynamics and kinetics of the atom and defect transportation under combined thermal and radiation conditions. The diffusion flux equations were based on the Perks model formulated through the linear theory of the thermodynamics of irreversible processes. Both cross and non-cross phenomenological diffusion coefficients in the flux equations were considered and correlated to tracer diffusion coefficients through Manning’s relation. Themore » preferential atomvacancy coupling was described by the mobility model, whereas the preferential atom-interstitial coupling was described by the interstitial binding model. The composition dependence of the thermodynamic factor was modeled using the CALPHAD approach. Detailed analysis on the diffusion fluxes near and at grain boundaries of irradiated austenitic stainless steels suggested the dominant diffusion mechanism for chromium and iron is via vacancy, while that for nickel can swing from the vacancy to the interstitial dominant mechanism. The diffusion flux in the vicinity of a grain boundary was found to be greatly influenced by the composition gradient formed from the transient state, leading to the oscillatory behavior of alloy compositions in this region. This work confirms that both vacancy and interstitial diffusion, and segregation itself, have important roles in determining the microchemistry of Fe, Cr, and Ni at irradiated grain boundaries in austenitic stainless steels.« less

EM Diffusion for a Time-Domain Airborne EM System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, C.; Qiu, C.; Liu, Y.; Cai, J.

2014-12-01

Visualization of EM diffusion for an airborne EM (AEM) system is important for understanding the transient procedure of EM diffusion. The current distribution and diffusion features also provide effective means to evaluate EM footprint, depth of exploration and further help AEM system design and data interpretation. Most previous studies on EM diffusion (or "smoke ring" effect) are based on the static presentation of EM field, where the dynamic features of EM diffusion were not visible. For visualizing the dynamic feature of EM diffusion, we first calculate in this paper the frequency-domain EM field by downward continuation of the EM field at the EM receiver to the deep earth. After that, we transform the results to time-domain via a Fourier transform. We take a homogeneous half-space and a two-layered earth induced by a step pulse to calculate the EM fields and display the EM diffusion in the earth as 3D animated vectors or time-varying contours. The "smoke ring" effect of EM diffusion, dominated by the resistivity distribution of the earth, is clearly observed. The numerical results for an HCP (vertical magnetic dipole) and a VCX (horizontal magnetic dipole) transmitting coil above a homogeneous half-space of 100 ohm-m are shown in Fig.1. We display as example only the distribution of EM field inside the earth for the diffusion time of 0.05ms. The detailed EM diffusion will be shown in our future presentation. From the numerical experiments for different models, we find that 1) the current for either an HCP or a VCX transmitting dipole propagates downward and outward with time, becoming wider and more diffuse, forming a "smoke ring"; 2) for a VCX transmitter, the underground current forms two ellipses, corresponding to the two polarities of the magnetic flux of a horizontal magnetic dipole, injecting into or ejected from the earth; 3) for a HCP transmitter, however, the underground current forms only one circle, corresponding to the polarity of the magnetic flux for a vertical magnetic dipole, injecting into the earth; 4) there exists no vertical current in an isotropic homogeneous half-space. The currents for both HCP and VCX transmitting dipole flow horizontally.

Technical report series on global modeling and data assimilation. Volume 2: Direct solution of the implicit formulation of fourth order horizontal diffusion for gridpoint models on the sphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Yong; Moorthi, S.; Bates, J. Ray; Suarez, Max J.

1994-01-01

High order horizontal diffusion of the form K Delta(exp 2m) is widely used in spectral models as a means of preventing energy accumulation at the shortest resolved scales. In the spectral context, an implicit formation of such diffusion is trivial to implement. The present note describes an efficient method of implementing implicit high order diffusion in global finite difference models. The method expresses the high order diffusion equation as a sequence of equations involving Delta(exp 2). The solution is obtained by combining fast Fourier transforms in longitude with a finite difference solver for the second order ordinary differential equation in latitude. The implicit diffusion routine is suitable for use in any finite difference global model that uses a regular latitude/longitude grid. The absence of a restriction on the timestep makes it particularly suitable for use in semi-Lagrangian models. The scale selectivity of the high order diffusion gives it an advantage over the uncentering method that has been used to control computational noise in two-time-level semi-Lagrangian models.

Clear-sky shortwave radiative closure for the Cabauw Baseline Surface Radiation Network site, the Netherlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, P.; Knap, W. H.; Kuipers Munneke, P.; Stammes, P.

2009-04-01

During the last two decades, several attempts have been made to achieve agreement between clear-sky shortwave broadband irradiance models and surface measurements of direct and diffuse irradiance. In general, models and measurements agreed well for the direct component but closing the gap for diffuse irradiances remained problematic. The number of studies reporting a satisfactory degree of closure for both direct and diffuse irradiance is still limited, which motivated us to perform the study presented here. In this paper a clear-sky shortwave closure analysis is presented for the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) site of Cabauw, the Netherlands (51.97 °N, 4.93 °E). The analysis is based on an exceptional period of fine weather in the first half of May 2008 during the Intensive Measurement Period At the Cabauw Tower (IMPACT), an activity of the European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions (EUCAARI). Although IMPACT produced a wealth of data, it was decided to conduct the closure analysis using routine measurements only, provided by BSRN and the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), completed with radiosonde obervations. The rationale for this pragmatic approach is the possibility of applying the method presented here to other periods and (BSRN) sites, where routine measurements are readily available, without having to deal with the investments and restrictions of an intensive observation period. The analysis is based on a selection of 72 comparisons on 6 days between BSRN measurements and Doubling Adding KNMI (DAK) model simulations of direct, diffuse, and global irradiance. The data span a wide range of aerosol properties, water vapour columns, and solar zenith angles. The model input consisted of operational Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) aerosol products and radiosonde data. On the basis of these data excellent closure was obtained: the mean differences between model and measurements are 2 W/m2 (+0.2%) for direct irradiance, 1 W/m2 (+0.8%) for diffuse irradiance, and 2 W/m2 (+0.3%) for global irradiance.

A reduction of diffusion in PVA Fricke hydrogels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smith, S. T.; Masters, K. S.; Hosokawa, K.; Blinco, J.; Crowe, S. B.; Kairn, T.; Trapp, J. V.

2015-01-01

A modification to the PVA-FX hydrogel whereby the chelating agent, xylenol orange, was partially bonded to the gelling agent, poly-vinyl alcohol, resulted in an 8% reduction in the post irradiation Fe3+ diffusion, adding approximately 1 hour to the useful timespan between irradiation and readout. This xylenol orange functionalised poly-vinyl alcohol hydrogel had an OD dose sensitivity of 0.014 Gy-1 and a diffusion rate of 0.133 mm2 h-1. As this partial bond yields only incremental improvement, it is proposed that more efficient methods of bonding xylenol orange to poly-vinyl alcohol be investigated to further reduce the diffusion in Fricke gels.

Diffusion length variation in 0.5- and 3-MeV-proton-irradiated, heteroepitaxial indium phosphide solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jain, Raj K.; Weinberg, Irving; Flood, Dennis J.

1993-01-01

Indium phosphide (InP) solar cells are more radiation resistant than gallium arsenide (GaAs) and silicon (Si) solar cells, and their growth by heteroepitaxy offers additional advantages leading to the development of light weight, mechanically strong, and cost-effective cells. Changes in heteroepitaxial InP cell efficiency under 0.5- and 3-MeV proton irradiations have been explained by the variation in the minority-carrier diffusion length. The base diffusion length versus proton fluence was calculated by simulating the cell performance. The diffusion length damage coefficient, K(sub L), was also plotted as a function of proton fluence.

The effects of diffusion in hot subdwarf progenitors from the common envelope channel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Byrne, Conor M.; Jeffery, C. Simon; Tout, Christopher A.; Hu, Haili

2018-04-01

Diffusion of elements in the atmosphere and envelope of a star can drastically alter its surface composition, leading to extreme chemical peculiarities. We consider the case of hot subdwarfs, where surface helium abundances range from practically zero to almost 100 percent. Since hot subdwarfs can form via a number of different evolution channels, a key question concerns how the formation mechanism is connected to the present surface chemistry. A sequence of extreme horizontal branch star models was generated by producing post-common envelope stars from red giants. Evolution was computed with MESA from envelope ejection up to core-helium ignition. Surface abundances were calculated at the zero-age horizontal branch for models with and without diffusion. A number of simulations also included radiative levitation. The goal was to study surface chemistry during evolution from cool giant to hot subdwarf and determine when the characteristic subdwarf surface is established. Only stars leaving the giant branch close to core-helium ignition become hydrogen-rich subdwarfs at the zero-age horizontal branch. Diffusion, including radiative levitation, depletes the initial surface helium in all cases. All subdwarf models rapidly become more depleted than observations allow. Surface abundances of other elements follow observed trends in general, but not in detail. Additional physics is required.

Operational performance of a low cost, air mass 2 solar simulator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yass, K.; Curtis, H. B.

1975-01-01

Modifications and improvements on a low cost air mass 2 solar simulator are discussed. The performance characteristics of total irradiance, uniformity of irradiance, spectral distribution, and beam subtense angle are presented. The simulator consists of an array of tungsten halogen lamps hexagonally spaced in a plane. A corresponding array of plastic Fresnel lenses shapes the output beam such that the simulator irradiates a 1.2 m by 1.2 m area with uniform collimated irradiance. Details are given concerning individual lamp output measurements and placement of the lamps. Originally, only the direct component of solar irradiance was simulated. Since the diffuse component may affect the performance of some collectors, the capability to simulate it is being added. An approach to this diffuse addition is discussed.

Limbal Stem Cell Preservation During Proton Beam Irradiation for Diffuse Iris Melanoma.

PubMed

Singh, Arun D; Dupps, William J; Biscotti, Charles V; Suh, John H; Lathrop, Kira L; Nairn, John P; Shih, Helen

2017-01-01

To report the outcome after limbal stem cell preservation during proton beam irradiation for diffuse iris melanoma. This is a single-case report of diffuse iris melanoma that was managed with proton beam radiation (53 Gy), wherein preemptively harvested superior and inferior limbal stem cells before radiation were replaced after irradiation. Regeneration of the palisades of Vogt and the limbal stem cells was documented by an optical coherence tomography-based imaging protocol. At 24 months after radiation therapy, best-corrected visual acuity was 20/25. The cornea was clear without evidence of limbal stem cell dysfunction. Clinical examination (including gonioscopy and ultrasound biomicroscopy [UBM]) was indicative of local control, and systemic surveillance was negative for metastatic disease. At posttransplant (21 months), there were more palisade structures visible in both anterior and posterior regions of the superior and inferior limbus, and the linear presentation of the inferior palisades appears to have regenerated. Diffuse iris melanoma can be managed successfully with proton beam radiation while preserving corneal limbal stem cells by harvesting them before radiation and then replacing them after irradiation. Regeneration of the palisades of Vogt could be documented by an optical coherence tomography-based imaging protocol.

Ag Transport Through Non-Irradiated and Irradiated SiC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Szlufarska, Izabela; Morgan, Dane; Blanchard, James

Silicon carbide is the main barrier to diffusion of fission products in the current design of TRistuctural ISOtropic (TRISO) coated fuel particles, and Ag is one of the few fission products that have been shown to escape through this barrier. Because the SiC coating in TRISO is exposed to radiation throughout the lifetime of the fuel, understanding of how radiation changes the transport of the fission products is essential for the safety of the reactor. The goals of this project are: (i) to determine whether observed variation in integral release measurements of Ag through SiC can be explained by differencesmore » in grain size and grain boundary (GB) types among the samples; (2) to identify the effects of irradiation on diffusion of Ag through SiC; (3) to discover phenomena responsible for significant solubility of Ag in polycrystalline SiC. To address these goals, we combined experimental analysis of SiC diffusion couples with modeling studies of diffusion mechanisms through bulk and GBs of this material. Comparison between results obtained for pristine and irradiated samples brings in insights into the effects of radiation on Ag transport.« less

Molecular structure effects on the post irradiation diffusion in polymer gel dosimeters.

PubMed

Mattea, Facundo; Romero, Marcelo R; Vedelago, José; Quiroga, Andrés; Valente, Mauro; Strumia, Miriam C

2015-06-01

Polymer gel dosimeters have specific advantages for recording 3D radiation dose distribution in diagnostic and therapeutic medical applications. But, even in systems where the 3D structure is usually maintained for long periods of time after irradiation, it is still not possible to eliminate the diffusion of the different species in the regions of dose gradients within the gel. As a consequence, information of the dose loses quality over time. In the pursuit of a solution and to improve the understanding of this phenomenon a novel system based on itaconic acid and N-N'-methylene-bisacrylamide (BIS) is hereby proposed. Effects of changes in the chemical structure of the monomers over the dosimetric sensitivity and over the post-irradiation diffusion of species was studied. In this study, one of the carboxylic groups of the itaconic acid molecule was modified with aniline to obtain molecules with similar reactivity but different molecular sizes. Then, dosimeters based on these modified species and on the original ITA molecules were irradiated in an X-ray tomography apparatus at different doses up to 173Gy. Afterwards, the resulting dosimeters were characterized by Raman spectroscopy and optical absorbance in order to study their feasibility and capabilities as dosimetric systems, and by optical-CT to analyze the post irradiation diffusion. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of 1.5 MeV electron irradiation on β-Ga2O3 carrier lifetime and diffusion length

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Jonathan; Flitsiyan, Elena; Chernyak, Leonid; Yang, Jiancheng; Ren, Fan; Pearton, Stephen J.; Meyler, Boris; Salzman, Y. Joseph

2018-02-01

The influence of 1.5 MeV electron irradiation on minority transport properties of Si doped β-Ga2O3 vertical Schottky rectifiers was observed for fluences up to 1.43 × 1016 cm-2. The Electron Beam-Induced Current technique was used to determine the minority hole diffusion length as a function of temperature for each irradiation dose. This revealed activation energies related to shallow donors at 40.9 meV and radiation-induced defects with energies at 18.1 and 13.6 meV. Time-resolved cathodoluminescence measurements showed an ultrafast 210 ps decay lifetime and reduction in carrier lifetime with increased irradiation.

Diffusion length damage coefficient and annealing studies in proton-irradiated InP

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hakimzadeh, Roshanak; Vargas-Aburto, Carlos; Bailey, Sheila G.; Williams, Wendell

1993-01-01

We report on the measurement of the diffusion length damage coefficient (K(sub L)) and the annealing characteristics of the minority carrier diffusion length (L(sub n)) in Czochralski-grown zinc-doped indium phosphide (InP), with a carrier concentration of 1 x 10(exp l8) cm(exp -3). In measuring K(sub L) irradiations were made with 0.5 MeV protons with fluences ranging from 1 x 10(exp 11) to 3 x 10(exp 13) cm(exp -2). Pre- and post-irradiation electron-beam induced current (EBIC) measurements allowed for the extraction of L(sub n) from which K(sub L) was determined. In studying the annealing characteristics of L(sub n) irradiations were made with 2 MeV protons with fluence of 5 x 10(exp 13) cm(exp -2). Post-irradiation studies of L(sub n) with time at room temperature, and with minority carrier photoinjection and forward-bias injection were carried out. The results showed that recovery under Air Mass Zero (AMO) photoinjection was complete. L(sub n) was also found to recover under forward-bias injection, where recovery was found to depend on the value of the injection current. However, no recovery of L(sub n) after proton irradiation was observed with time at room temperature, in contrast to the behavior of 1 MeV electron-irradiated InP solar cells reported previously.

The viscous lee wave problem and its implications for ocean modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shakespeare, Callum J.; Hogg, Andrew McC.

2017-05-01

Ocean circulation models employ 'turbulent' viscosity and diffusivity to represent unresolved sub-gridscale processes such as breaking internal waves. Computational power has now advanced sufficiently to permit regional ocean circulation models to be run at sufficiently high (100 m-1 km) horizontal resolution to resolve a significant part of the internal wave spectrum. Here we develop theory for boundary generated internal waves in such models, and in particular, where the waves dissipate their energy. We focus specifically on the steady lee wave problem where stationary waves are generated by a large-scale flow acting across ocean bottom topography. We generalise the energy flux expressions of [Bell, T., 1975. Topographically generated internal waves in the open ocean. J. Geophys. Res. 80, 320-327] to include the effect of arbitrary viscosity and diffusivity. Applying these results for realistic parameter choices we show that in the present generation of models with O(1) m2s-1 horizontal viscosity/diffusivity boundary-generated waves will inevitably dissipate the majority of their energy within a few hundred metres of the boundary. This dissipation is a direct consequence of the artificially high viscosity/diffusivity, which is not always physically justified in numerical models. Hence, caution is necessary in comparing model results to ocean observations. Our theory further predicts that O(10-2) m2s-1 horizontal and O(10-4) m2s-1 vertical viscosity/diffusivity is required to achieve a qualitatively inviscid representation of internal wave dynamics in ocean models.

Mediated Diffusion: Translating Professional Practice across Schools in a High-Stakes System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eddy-Spicer, David H.

2017-01-01

Educational systems across the globe are attempting to reshape the vertical and horizontal dimensions of school accountability. The vertical dimension involves devolution of responsibility to individual schools while the horizontal typically entails promoting the professionalism of leaders and teachers through school networks and school-to-school…

Comparison of High-Frequency Solar Irradiance: Ground Measured vs. Satellite-Derived

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lave, Matthew; Weekley, Andrew

2016-11-21

High-frequency solar variability is an important to grid integration studies, but ground measurements are scarce. The high resolution irradiance algorithm (HRIA) has the ability to produce 4-sceond resolution global horizontal irradiance (GHI) samples, at locations across North America. However, the HRIA has not been extensively validated. In this work, we evaluate the HRIA against a database of 10 high-frequency ground-based measurements of irradiance. The evaluation focuses on variability-based metrics. This results in a greater understanding of the errors in the HRIA as well as suggestions for improvement to the HRIA.

Proton irradiation effects on minority carrier diffusion length and defect introduction in homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial n-GaN [Proton irradiation effects on minority carrier diffusion length and defect introduction in homoepitaxial n-GaN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collins, K. C.; Armstrong, Andrew M.; Allerman, Andrew A.

Here, inherent advantages of wide bandgap materials make GaN-based devices attractive for power electronics and applications in radiation environments. Recent advances in the availability of wafer-scale, bulk GaN substrates have enabled the production of high quality, low defect density GaN devices, but fundamental studies of carrier transport and radiation hardness in such devices are lacking. Here, we report measurements of the hole diffusion length in low threading dislocation density (TDD), homoepitaxial n-GaN, and high TDD heteroepitaxial n-GaN Schottky diodes before and after irradiation with 2.5 MeV protons at fluences of 4–6 × 10 13 protons/cm 2. We also characterize themore » specimens before and after irradiation using electron beam-induced-current (EBIC) imaging, cathodoluminescence, deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS), steady-state photocapacitance, and lighted capacitance-voltage (LCV) techniques. We observe a substantial reduction in the hole diffusion length following irradiation (50%–55%) and the introduction of electrically active defects which could be attributed to gallium vacancies and associated complexes (V Ga-related), carbon impurities (C-related), and gallium interstitials (Ga i). EBIC imaging suggests long-range migration and clustering of radiation-induced point defects over distances of ~500 nm, which suggests mobile Ga i. Following irradiation, DLOS and LCV reveal the introduction of a prominent optical energy level at 1.9 eV below the conduction band edge, consistent with the introduction of Ga i.« less

Proton irradiation effects on minority carrier diffusion length and defect introduction in homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial n-GaN [Proton irradiation effects on minority carrier diffusion length and defect introduction in homoepitaxial n-GaN

DOE PAGES

Collins, K. C.; Armstrong, Andrew M.; Allerman, Andrew A.; ...

2017-12-21

Here, inherent advantages of wide bandgap materials make GaN-based devices attractive for power electronics and applications in radiation environments. Recent advances in the availability of wafer-scale, bulk GaN substrates have enabled the production of high quality, low defect density GaN devices, but fundamental studies of carrier transport and radiation hardness in such devices are lacking. Here, we report measurements of the hole diffusion length in low threading dislocation density (TDD), homoepitaxial n-GaN, and high TDD heteroepitaxial n-GaN Schottky diodes before and after irradiation with 2.5 MeV protons at fluences of 4–6 × 10 13 protons/cm 2. We also characterize themore » specimens before and after irradiation using electron beam-induced-current (EBIC) imaging, cathodoluminescence, deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS), steady-state photocapacitance, and lighted capacitance-voltage (LCV) techniques. We observe a substantial reduction in the hole diffusion length following irradiation (50%–55%) and the introduction of electrically active defects which could be attributed to gallium vacancies and associated complexes (V Ga-related), carbon impurities (C-related), and gallium interstitials (Ga i). EBIC imaging suggests long-range migration and clustering of radiation-induced point defects over distances of ~500 nm, which suggests mobile Ga i. Following irradiation, DLOS and LCV reveal the introduction of a prominent optical energy level at 1.9 eV below the conduction band edge, consistent with the introduction of Ga i.« less

Estimation of incident solar radiation on the roof of the cultural and sports university centre of the Foundation University Los Libertadores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiménez, S. A.; Carrillo, V. M.; Rátiva, L. C.

2016-02-01

This document shows the estimate of the total solar irradiance incident for the set of solar collectors to be located on the roof of cultural and sports university centre (CSUC) of the Foundation University Los Libertadores (FULL) in Bogotá, Colombia, and they will be part of the climate control system of the pool built inside. The calculation was based on experimental data of global solar radiation on the horizontal surface on March, July, October, November and December, through the three most commonly models used to determine the total solar radiation on tilted surfaces: isotropic sky, HDKR and Perez. The results show differences of less than 5% between the values calculated by the three models for December, the month with lower irradiance. For this month, reductions up to 15% and 19% were observed in the estimated irradiance, relative to those obtained on a horizontal surface on a surface under ideal orientation and inclination, respectively.

Simulation of radiation driven fission gas diffusion in UO 2, ThO 2 and PuO 2

DOE PAGES

Cooper, Michael William D.; Stanek, Christopher Richard; Turnbull, James Anthony; ...

2016-12-01

Below 1000 K it is thought that fission gas diffusion in nuclear fuel during irradiation occurs through atomic mixing due to radiation damage. Here we present a molecular dynamics (MD) study of Xe, Kr, Th, U, Pu and O diffusion due to irradiation. It is concluded that the ballistic phase does not sufficiently account for the experimentally observed diffusion. Thermal spike simulations are used to confirm that electronic stopping remedies the discrepancy with experiment and the predicted diffusivities lie within the scatter of the experimental data. Here, our results predict that the diffusion coefficients are ordered such that D* 0more » > D* Kr > D* Xe > D* U. For all species >98.5% of diffusivity is accounted for by electronic stopping. Fission gas diffusivity was not predicted to vary significantly between ThO 2, UO 2 and PuO 2, indicating that this process would not change greatly for mixed oxide fuels.« less

BCA-kMC Hybrid Simulation for Hydrogen and Helium Implantation in Material under Plasma Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kato, Shuichi; Ito, Atsushi; Sasao, Mamiko; Nakamura, Hiroaki; Wada, Motoi

2015-09-01

Ion implantation by plasma irradiation into materials achieves the very high concentration of impurity. The high concentration of impurity causes the deformation and the destruction of the material. This is the peculiar phenomena in the plasma-material interaction (PMI). The injection process of plasma particles are generally simulated by using the binary collision approximation (BCA) and the molecular dynamics (MD), while the diffusion of implanted atoms have been traditionally solved by the diffusion equation, in which the implanted atoms is replaced by the continuous concentration field. However, the diffusion equation has insufficient accuracy in the case of low concentration, and in the case of local high concentration such as the hydrogen blistering and the helium bubble. The above problem is overcome by kinetic Monte Carlo (kMC) which represents the diffusion of the implanted atoms as jumps on interstitial sites in a material. In this paper, we propose the new approach ``BCA-kMC hybrid simulation'' for the hydrogen and helium implantation under the plasma irradiation.

Irradiation resistance of silicon carbide joint at light water reactor–relevant temperature

DOE PAGES

Koyanagi, T.; Katoh, Y.; Kiggans, J. O.; ...

2017-03-10

We fabricated and irradiated monolithic silicon carbide (SiC) to SiC plate joints with neutrons at 270–310 °C to 8.7 dpa for SiC. The joining methods included solid state diffusion bonding using titanium and molybdenum interlayers, SiC nanopowder sintering, reaction sintering with a Ti-Si-C system, and hybrid processing of polymer pyrolysis and chemical vapor infiltration (CVI). All the irradiated joints exhibited apparent shear strength of more than 84 MPa on average. Significant irradiation-induced cracking was found in the bonding layers of the Ti and Mo diffusion bonds and Ti-Si-C reaction sintered bond. Furthermore, the SiC-based bonding layers of the SiC nanopowdermore » sintered and hybrid polymer pyrolysis and CVI joints all showed stable microstructure following the irradiation.« less

Significant Improvements in Pyranometer Nighttime Offsets Using High-Flow DC Ventilation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kutchenreiter, Mark; Michalski, J.J.; Long, C.N.

2017-05-22

Accurate solar radiation measurements using pyranometers are required to understand radiative impacts on the Earth's energy budget, solar energy production, and to validate radiative transfer models. Ventilators of pyranometers, which are used to keep the domes clean and dry, also affect instrument thermal offset accuracy. This poster presents a high-level overview of the ventilators for single-black-detector pyranometers and black-and-white pyranometers. For single-black-detector pyranometers with ventilators, high-flow-rate (50-CFM and higher), 12-V DC fans lower the offsets, lower the scatter, and improve the predictability of nighttime offsets compared to lower-flow-rate (35-CFM), 120-V AC fans operated in the same type of environmental setup.more » Black-and-white pyranometers, which are used to measure diffuse horizontal irradiance, sometimes show minor improvement with DC fan ventilation, but their offsets are always small, usually no more than 1 W/m2, whether AC- or DC-ventilated.« less

A modelling study of the inter-diffusion layer formation in U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel plates at high power

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, B.; Hofman, G. L.; Leenaers, A.; Bergeron, A.; Kuzminov, V.; Van den Berghe, S.; Kim, Y. S.; Wallin, H.

2018-02-01

Post irradiation examinations of full-size U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel plates fabricated with ZrN- or Si- coated U-Mo particles revealed that the reaction rate of irradiation-induced U-Mo-Al inter-diffusion, an important microstructural change impacting the performance of this type of fuel, transited at a threshold temperature/fission rate. The existing inter-diffusion layer (IL) growth correlation, which does not describe the transition behavior of IL growth, was modified by applying a temperature-dependent multiplication factor that transits around a threshold fission rate. In-pile irradiation data from four tests in the BR2 reactors, including FUTURE, E-FUTURE, SELEMIUM, and SELEMIUM-1a, were utilized to determine and validate the updated IL growth correlation. Irradiation behavior of the plates was simulated with the DART-2D computational code. The general agreement between the calculated and measured fuel meat swelling and constituent volume fractions as a function of fission density demonstrated the plausibility of the updated IL growth correlation. The simulation results also suggested the temperature dependence of the IL growth rate, similar to the temperature dependence of the inter-mixing rate in ion-irradiated bi-layer systems.

Theoretical investigation of microstructure evolution and deformation of zirconium under neutron irradiation

DOE PAGES

Barashev, A. V.; Golubov, S. I.; Stoller, R. E.

2015-06-01

We studied the radiation growth of zirconium using a reaction–diffusion model which takes into account intra-cascade clustering of self-interstitial atoms and one-dimensional diffusion of interstitial clusters. The observed dose dependence of strain rates is accounted for by accumulation of sessile dislocation loops during irradiation. Moreover, the computational model developed and fitted to available experimental data is applied to study deformation of Zr single crystals under irradiation up to hundred dpa. Finally, the effect of cold work and the reasons for negative prismatic strains and co-existence of vacancy and interstitial loops are elucidated.

The responses of light interception, photosynthesis and fruit yield of cucumber to LED-lighting within the canopy.

PubMed

Trouwborst, Govert; Oosterkamp, Joke; Hogewoning, Sander W; Harbinson, Jeremy; van Ieperen, Wim

2010-03-01

Mathematical models of light attenuation and canopy photosynthesis suggest that crop photosynthesis increases by more uniform vertical irradiance within crops. This would result when a larger proportion of total irradiance is applied within canopies (interlighting) instead of from above (top lighting). These irradiance profiles can be generated by Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). We investigated the effects of interlighting with LEDs on light interception, on vertical gradients of leaf photosynthetic characteristics and on crop production and development of a greenhouse-grown Cucumis sativus'Samona' crop and analysed the interaction between them. Plants were grown in a greenhouse under low natural irradiance (winter) with supplemental irradiance of 221 micromol photosynthetic photon flux m(-2) s(-1) (20 h per day). In the interlighting treatment, LEDs (80% Red, 20% Blue) supplied 38% of the supplemental irradiance within the canopy with 62% as top lighting by High-Pressure Sodium (HPS)-lamps. The control was 100% top lighting (HPS lamps). We measured horizontal and vertical light extinction as well as leaf photosynthetic characteristics at different leaf layers, and determined total plant production. Leaf mass per area and dry mass allocation to leaves were significantly greater but leaf appearance rate and plant length were smaller in the interlighting treatment. Although leaf photosynthetic characteristics were significantly increased in the lower leaf layers, interlighting did not increase total biomass or fruit production, partly because of a significantly reduced vertical and horizontal light interception caused by extreme leaf curling, likely because of the LED-light spectrum used, and partly because of the relatively low irradiances from above.

Modelling the effect of diffuse light on canopy photosynthesis in controlled environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cavazzoni, James; Volk, Tyler; Tubiello, Francesco; Monje, Oscar; Janes, H. W. (Principal Investigator)

2002-01-01

A layered canopy model was used to analyze the effects of diffuse light on canopy gross photosynthesis in controlled environment plant growth chambers, where, in contrast to the field, highly diffuse light can occur at high irradiance. The model suggests that high diffuse light fractions (approximately 0.7) and irradiance (1400 micromoles m-2 s-1) may enhance crop life-cycle canopy gross photosynthesis for hydroponic wheat by about 20% compared to direct light at the same irradiance. Our simulations suggest that high accuracy is not needed in specifying diffuse light fractions in chambers between approximately 0.7 and 1, because simulated photosynthesis for closed canopies plateau in this range. We also examined the effect of leaf angle distribution on canopy photosynthesis under growth chamber conditions, as these distributions determine canopy extinction coefficients for direct and diffuse light. We show that the spherical leaf angle distribution is not suitable for modeling photosynthesis of planophile canopies (e.g., soybean and peanut) in growth chambers. Also, the absorption of the light reflected from the surface below the canopy should generally be included in model simulations, as the corresponding albedo values in the photosynthetically active range may be quite high in growth chambers (e.g., approximately 0.5). In addition to the modeling implications, our results suggest that diffuse light conditions should be considered when drawing conclusions from experiments in controlled environments.

Simulations of Xe and U diffusion in UO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andersson, Anders D.; Vyas, Shyam; Tonks, Michael R.

2012-09-10

Diffusion of xenon (Xe) and uranium (U) in UO{sub 2} is controlled by vacancy mechanisms and under irradiation the formation of mobile vacancy clusters is important. Based on the vacancy and cluster diffusion mechanisms established from density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we derive continuum thermodynamic and diffusion models for Xe and U in UO{sub 2}. In order to capture the effects of irradiation, vacancies (Va) are explicitly coupled to the Xe and U dynamics. Segregation of defects to grain boundaries in UO{sub 2} is described by combining the bulk diffusion model with models of the interaction between Xe atoms andmore » vacancies with grain boundaries, which were derived from atomistic calculations. The diffusion and segregation models were implemented in the MOOSE-Bison-Marmot (MBM) finite element (FEM) framework and the Xe/U redistribution was simulated for a few simple microstructures.« less

A Comparison Between Modeled and Measured Clear-Sky Radiative Shortwave Fluxes in Arctic Environments, with Special Emphasis on Diffuse Radiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barnard, James C.; Flynn, Donna M.

2002-10-08

The ability of the SBDART radiative transfer model to predict clear-sky diffuse and direct normal broadband shortwave irradiances is investigated. Model calculations of these quantities are compared with data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) and North Slope of Alaska (NSA) sites. The model tends to consistently underestimate the direct normal irradiances at both sites by about 1%. In regards to clear-sky diffuse irradiance, the model overestimates this quantity at the SGP site in a manner similar to what has been observed in other studies (Halthore and Schwartz, 2000). The difference between the diffuse SBDARTmore » calculations and Halthore and Schwartz’s MODTRAN calculations is very small, thus demonstrating that SBDART performs similarly to MODTRAN. SBDART is then applied to the NSA site, and here it is found that the discrepancy between the model calculations and corrected diffuse measurements (corrected for daytime offsets, Dutton et al., 2001) is 0.4 W/m2 when averaged over the 12 cases considered here. Two cases of diffuse measurements from a shaded “black and white” pyranometer are also compared with the calculations and the discrepancy is again minimal. Thus, it appears as if the “diffuse discrepancy” that exists at the SGP site does not exist at the NSA sites. We cannot yet explain why the model predicts diffuse radiation well at one site but not at the other.« less

Formation of a uniform ion beam using octupole magnets for BioLEIR facility at CERN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Amin, T.; Barlow, R.; Ghithan, S.; Roy, G.; Schuh, S.

2018-04-01

The possibility to transform the Low Energy Ion Ring (LEIR) accelerator at CERN into a multidisciplinary, biomedical research facility (BioLEIR) was investigated based on a request from the biomedical community. BioLEIR aims to provide a unique facility with a range of fully stripped ion beams (e.g. He, Li, Be, B, C, N, O) and energies suitable for multidisciplinary biomedical, clinically-oriented research. Two horizontal and one vertical beam transport lines have been designed for transporting the extracted beam from LEIR to three experimental end-stations. The vertical beamline was designed for a maximum energy of 75 MeV/u, while the two horizontal beamlines shall deliver up to a maximum energy of 440 MeV/u. A pencil beam of 4.3 mm FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum) as well as a homogeneous broad beam of 40 × 40 mm2, with a beam homogeneity better than ±4%, are available at the first horizontal (H1) irradiation point, while only a pencil beam is available at the second horizontal (H2) and vertical (V) irradiation points. The H1 irradiation point shall be used to conduct systematic studies of the radiation effect from different ion species on cell-lines. The H1 beamline was designed to utilize two octupole magnets which transform the Gaussian beam distribution at the target location into an approximately uniformly distributed rectangular beam. In this paper, we report on the multi-particle tracking calculations performed using MAD-X software suite for the H1 beam optics to arrive at a homogeneous broad beam on target using nonlinear focusing techniques, and on those to create a Gaussian pencil beam on target by adjusting quadrupoles strengths and positions.

Localized traveling pulses in natural doubly diffusive convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo Jacono, D.; Bergeon, A.; Knobloch, E.

2017-09-01

Two-dimensional natural doubly diffusive convection in a vertical slot driven by an imposed temperature difference in the horizontal is studied using numerical continuation and direct numerical simulation. Two cases are considered and compared. In the first a concentration difference that balances thermal buoyancy is imposed in the horizontal and stationary localized structures are found to be organized in a standard snakes-and-ladders bifurcation diagram. Disconnected branches of traveling pulses TPn consisting of n ,n =1 ,2 ,⋯ , corotating cells are identified and shown to accumulate on a tertiary branch of traveling waves. With Robin or mixed concentration boundary conditions on one wall all localized states travel and the hitherto stationary localized states may connect up with the traveling pulses. The stability of the TPn states is determined and unstable TPn shown to evolve into spatio-temporal chaos. The calculations are done with no-slip boundary conditions in the horizontal and periodic boundary conditions in the vertical.

Thermal effects in tissues induced by interstitial irradiation of near infrared laser with a cylindrical diffuser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, Kelvin; Johsi, Chet; Figueroa, Daniel; Goddard, Jessica; Li, Xiaosong; Towner, Rheal A.; Saunders, Debra; Smith, Nataliya; Liu, Hong; Hode, Tomas; Nordquist, Robert E.; Chen, Wei R.

2011-03-01

Laser immunotherapy (LIT), using non-invasive laser irradiation, has resulted in promising outcomes in the treatment of late-stage cancer patients. However, the tissue absorption of laser light limits the clinical applications of LIT in patients with dark skin, or with deep tumors. The present study is designed to investigate the thermal effects of interstitial irradiation using an 805-nm laser with a cylindrical diffuser, in order to overcome the limitations of the non-invasive mode of treatment. Cow liver and rat tumors were irradiated using interstitial fiber. The temperature increase was monitored by thermocouples that were inserted into the tissue at different sites around the cylinder fiber. Three-dimensional temperature distribution in target tissues during and after interstitial laser irradiation was also determined by Proton Resonance Frequency. The preliminary results showed that the output power of laser and the optical parameters of the target tissue determined the light distribution in the tissue. The temperature distributions varied in the tissue according to the locations relative to the active tip of the cylindrical diffuser. The temperature increase is strongly related to the laser power and irradiation time. Our results using thermocouples and optical sensors indicated that the PRF method is reliable and accurate for temperature determination. Although the inhomogeneous biological tissues could result in temperature fluctuation, the temperature trend still can be reliable enough for the guidance of interstitial irradiation. While this study provides temperature profiles in tumor tissue during interstitial irradiation, the biological effects of the irradiation remain unclear. Future studies will be needed, particularly in combination with the application of immunostimulant for inducing tumor-specific immune responses in the treatment of metastatic tumors.

Laser induced Te diffusion in amorphous As50Se50 thin films probed by FTIR and XPS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behera, Mukta; Panda, Rozalin; Naik, Ramakanta

2017-05-01

In the present report, we have demonstrated the combine effect of deposition and photo diffusion of Te into As50Se50 chalcogenide thin films. The influence of Te deposition onto As50Se50 layer has modified the optical parameters. The thermally evaporated Te/As50Se50 bilayer film is irradiated with near bandgap laser light. The optical and structural property of Te/As50Se50 bilayer film under the influence of laser irradiation has been investigated by X-ray photo electron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The As3d, Se3d and Te4d core level peaks of the photo diffused film show significant changes in shape and position in comparisons with those obtained for non irradiated films. The extensive analysis by deconvoluting the spectra shows the Te diffusion into As50Se50 matrix by forming Te-As-Se layer. The optical band gap of the diffused region is found to be decreased with the increase of density of states in the band edge. The change in transmissivity and absorption coefficient modified the optical constants which is discussed in the light of the present result.

Comparison of Pyranometers and Reference Cells on Fixed and One-axis Tracking Surfaces

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dooraghi, Michael R; Sengupta, Manajit; Vignola, Frank

Photovoltaic (PV) system perfomance is monitored by a wide variety of sensors. These instruments range from secondary standard pyranometers to photodiode-based pyranometers to reference cells. Although instruments are mounted in the plane of array of the modules a wide range of results have been obtained. Some of these difference have been assumed to come from systematic uncertainties associated with the irradiance sensors. This study is an attempt to quantify these differences by comparing the output of selected thermopile-based pyranometers to photodiode-based pyranometers and reference cells on a horizontal surface, a fixed-tilt surface, and a one-axis tracking surface. This analysis focusesmore » on clear-sky results from two sites with different climatic conditions. Several important features were observed. Photodiode-based pyranometers and reference cells produce widely different results under clear skies, especially at larger angles-of-incidence even though both instruments are based on measuring the short circuit current of solar cells. The difference is caused by the scattering of light as it passes through the glazing of the reference cell or the diffuser lens of the photodioded- base pyranometer. Both instruments are shown to have similar response to the spectral distribution of the irradiance when compared to the thermopile-based pyranometer that has a response nearly independent of the wavelength of light used by PV modules.« less

Convection in a colloidal suspension in a closed horizontal cell

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smorodin, B. L., E-mail: bsmorodin@yandex.ru; Cherepanov, I. N.

2015-02-15

The experimentally detected [1] oscillatory regimes of convection in a colloidal suspension of nanoparticles with a large anomalous thermal diffusivity in a closed horizontal cell heated from below have been simulated numerically. The concentration inhomogeneity near the vertical cavity boundaries arising from the interaction of thermal-diffusion separation and convective mixing has been proven to serve as a source of oscillatory regimes (traveling waves). The dependence of the Rayleigh number at the boundary of existence of the traveling-wave regime on the aspect ratio of the closed cavity has been established. The spatial characteristics of the emerging traveling waves have been determined.

Theory of a time-dependent heat diffusion determination of thermal diffusivities with a single temperature measurement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perez, R. B.; Carroll, R. M.; Sisman, O.

1971-02-01

A method to measure the thermal diffusivity of reactor fuels during irradiation is developed, based on a time-dependent heat diffusion equation. With this technique the temperature is measured at only one point in the fuel specimen. This method has the advantage that it is not necessary to know the heat generation (a difficult evaluation during irradiation). The theory includes realistic boundary conditions, applicable to actual experimental systems. The parameters are the time constants associated with the first two time modes in the temperature-vs-time curve resulting from a step change in heat input to the specimen. With the time constants andmore » the necessary material properties and dimensions of the specimen and specimen holder, the thermal diffusivity of the specimen can be calculated.« less

Using Measured Plane-of-Array Data Directly in Photovoltaic Modeling: Methodology and Validation: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freeman, Janine; Freestate, David; Riley, Cameron

2016-11-01

Measured plane-of-array (POA) irradiance may provide a lower-cost alternative to standard irradiance component data for photovoltaic (PV) system performance modeling without loss of accuracy. Previous work has shown that transposition models typically used by PV models to calculate POA irradiance from horizontal data introduce error into the POA irradiance estimates, and that measured POA data can correlate better to measured performance data. However, popular PV modeling tools historically have not directly used input POA data. This paper introduces a new capability in NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) to directly use POA data in PV modeling, and compares SAM results frommore » both POA irradiance and irradiance components inputs against measured performance data for eight operating PV systems.« less

Using Measured Plane-of-Array Data Directly in Photovoltaic Modeling: Methodology and Validation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freeman, Janine; Freestate, David; Hobbs, William

2016-11-21

Measured plane-of-array (POA) irradiance may provide a lower-cost alternative to standard irradiance component data for photovoltaic (PV) system performance modeling without loss of accuracy. Previous work has shown that transposition models typically used by PV models to calculate POA irradiance from horizontal data introduce error into the POA irradiance estimates, and that measured POA data can correlate better to measured performance data. However, popular PV modeling tools historically have not directly used input POA data. This paper introduces a new capability in NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) to directly use POA data in PV modeling, and compares SAM results frommore » both POA irradiance and irradiance components inputs against measured performance data for eight operating PV systems.« less

Using Measured Plane-of-Array Data Directly in Photovoltaic Modeling: Methodology and Validation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Freeman, Janine; Freestate, David; Hobbs, William

2016-06-05

Measured plane-of-array (POA) irradiance may provide a lower-cost alternative to standard irradiance component data for photovoltaic (PV) system performance modeling without loss of accuracy. Previous work has shown that transposition models typically used by PV models to calculate POA irradiance from horizontal data introduce error into the POA irradiance estimates, and that measured POA data can correlate better to measured performance data. However, popular PV modeling tools historically have not directly used input POA data. This paper introduces a new capability in NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) to directly use POA data in PV modeling, and compares SAM results frommore » both POA irradiance and irradiance components inputs against measured performance data for eight operating PV systems.« less

The National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB): A Brief Overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habte, Aron M; Sengupta, Manajit; Lopez, Anthony

This poster presents a high-level overview of the National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB). The NSRDB uses the physics-based model (PSM), which was developed using: adapted PATMOS-X model for cloud identification and properties, REST-2 model for clear-sky conditions, and NREL's Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar Applications (FARMS) for cloudy-sky Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) solar irradiance calculations.

Vertical and horizontal resolution dependency in the model representation of tracer dispersion along the continental slope in the northern Gulf of Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bracco, Annalisa; Choi, Jun; Kurian, Jaison; Chang, Ping

2018-02-01

A set of nine regional ocean model simulations at various horizontal (from 1 to 9 km) and vertical (from 25 to 150 layers) resolutions with different vertical mixing parameterizations is carried out to examine the transport and mixing of a passive tracer released near the ocean bottom over the continental slope in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The release location is in proximity to the Deepwater Horizon oil well that ruptured in April 2010. Horizontal and diapycnal diffusivities are calculated and their dependence on the model set-up and on the representation of mesoscale and submesoscale circulations is discussed. Horizontal and vertical resolutions play a comparable role in determining the modeled horizontal diffusivities. Vertical resolution is key to a proper representation of passive tracer propagation and - in the case of the Gulf of Mexico - contributes to both confining the tracer along the continental slope and limiting its vertical spreading. The choice of the tracer advection scheme is also important, with positive definiteness in the tracer concentration being achieved at the price of spurious mixing across density surfaces. In all cases, however, the diapycnal mixing coefficient derived from the model simulations overestimates the observed value, indicating an area where model improvement is needed.

Direct comparison between the angular distributions of the erythemal and eye-damaging UV irradiances: a pilot study.

PubMed

Schouten, P; Parisi, A V

2011-02-07

Several broadband ultraviolet (UV) radiation angular distribution investigations have been previously presented. As the biologically damaging effectiveness of UV radiation is known to be wavelength dependent, it is necessary to expand this research into the distribution of the spectral UV. UV radiation is also susceptible to Rayleigh and Mie scattering processes, both of which are completely wavelength dependent. Additionally, the majority of previous measurements detailing the biologically damaging effect of spectral UV radiation have been oriented with respect to the horizontal plane or in a plane directed towards the sun (sun-normal), with the irradiance weighted against action spectra formulated specifically for human skin and tissue. However, the human body consists of very few horizontal or sun-normal surfaces. Extending the previous research by measuring the distribution of the spectral irradiance across the sky for the complete terrestrial solar UV waveband and weighting it against erythemal, photoconjunctivital and photokeratital action spectra allowed for the analysis of the differences between the biologically effective irradiance (UV(BE)) values intercepted at different orientations and the effect of scattering processes upon the homogeneity of these UV(BE) distributions. It was established that under the local atmospheric environment, the distribution profile of the UV(BE) for each biological response was anisotropic, with the highest intensities generally intercepted at inclination angles situated between the horizontal and vertical planes along orientations closely coinciding with the sun-normal. A finding from this was that the angular distributions of the erythemal UV(BE) and the photoconjunctivital UV(BE) were different, due to the differential scattering between the shorter and longer UV wavelengths within the atmosphere. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Visualization of UV exposure of the human body based on data from a scanning UV-measuring system.

PubMed

Hoeppe, P; Oppenrieder, A; Erianto, C; Koepke, P; Reuder, J; Seefeldner, M; Nowak, D

2004-09-01

In general, measurements of UV radition are related to horizontal surfaces, as in the case of the internationally standardized and applied UV index, for example. In order to obtain more relevant information on UV exposure of humans the new measuring system ASCARATIS (Angle SCAnning RAdiometer for determination of erythemally weighted irradiance on TIlted Surfaces) was developed and built. Three systems of ASCARATIS have been in operation at different locations in Bavaria for 3 years, providing erythemally weighted UV irradiation data for 27 differently inclined surfaces every 2 min. On the basis of these data virtual three-dimensional models of the human body surface consisting of about 20,000 triangles could be created and each of these triangles coloured according to its UV irradiation. This allowed the UV exposure of the human body to be visualized for any kind of body posture and spatial orientation on the basis of real measuring data. The results of the UV measurements on inclined surfaces have shown that measuring UV radiation on horizontal surfaces, as done routinely worldwide, often underestimates the UV exposure of the human skin. Especially at times of the day or year with low solar elevations the UV exposure of parts of the human skin can be many times higher than that of the horizontal surface. Examples of three-dimensional modelling of the human UV irradiation are shown for different times of the day and year, altitudes above sea level, body postures and genders. In these examples the UV "hotspots" can be detected and, among other things, used to inform and educate the public about UV radiation.

NEUTRON-IRRADIATED STRUCTURES

DOEpatents

Ashley, E.L.; Ashley, J.W.; Bowker, H.W.; Hall, R.H.; Kendall, J.W.

1959-02-01

A moderator structure is described for a nuclear reactor of the heterogensous type wherein a large mass of moderator is provided with channels therethrough for the introduction of uranium serving as nuclear fuel and for the passage of a cooling fluid. The structure is comprised of blocks of moderator material in superposed horizontal layers, the blocks of each layer being tied together with spaces between them and oriented to have horizontal Wigner growth. The ties are strips of moderator material, the same as the blocks, with transverse Wigner growth, disposed horizontally along lines crossing at vertical axes of the blocks. The blocks are preferably rectangular with a larger or length dimension transverse to the directions of Wiguer growth and are stood on end to provide for horizontal growth.

Irradiation effects and hydrogen behavior in H2+ and He+ implanted γ-LiAlO2 single crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Weilin; Zhang, Jiandong; Kovarik, Libor

2017-02-01

Gamma-phase lithium aluminate (gamma-LiAlO2) is a breeder material for tritium, a necessary substance for strategic stockpile and fusion power systems. A fundamental study of structural evolution and tritium diffusion in gamma-LiAlO2 under displacive irradiation is needed to fully assess the material performance. This study utilizes ion implantation of protium (surrogate for tritium) and helium in gamma-LiAlO2 single crystals at elevated temperatures to emulate the irradiation effects. The results show that at 573 K there are two distinct disorder saturation stages to 1 dpa without full amorphization; overlapping implantation of H2+ and He+ ions suggests possible formation of gas bubbles. Formore » irradiation to 1E21 H+/m2 (0.36 dpa at peak) at 773 K, amorphization occurs at surface with H diffusion and dramatic Li loss; the microstructure contains bubbles and cubic LiAl5O8 precipitates with sizes up to 200 nm or larger. In addition, significant H diffusion and release are observed during thermal annealing.« less

Nanofoams Response to Radiation Damage

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fu, Engang; Serrano De Caro, Magdalena; Wang, Yongqiang

2012-07-30

Conclusions of this presentation are: (1) np-Au foams were successfully synthesized by de-alloying process; (2) np-Au foams remain porous structure after Ne ion irradiation to 1 dpa; (3) SFTs were observed in irradiated np-Au foams with highest and intermediate flux, while no SFTs were observed with lowest flux; (4) SFTs were observed in irradiated np-Au foams at RT, whereas no SFTs were observed at LNT irradiation; (5) The diffusivity of vacancies in Au at RT is high enough so that the vacancies have enough time to agglomerate and thus collapse. As a result, SFTs were formed; (6) The high fluxmore » created much more damage/time, vacancies don't have enough time to diffuse or recombine. As a result, SFTs were formed.« less

Directional Degradation of Spectralon Diffuser Under Ionizing Radiation for Calibration of Space-Based Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georgiev, G. T.; Butler, J. J.; Kowalewski, M. G.; Ding, L.

2012-01-01

Assessment of the effect of Vacuum Ultra Violet (VUV) irradiation on the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) of Spectralon is presented in this paper. The sample was a 99% white Spectralon calibration standard irradiated with VUV source positioned at 60o off the irradiation direction for a total of 20 hours. The BRDF before and after VUV irradiation was measured and compared at number of wavelengths in the UV, VIS and IR. Non-isotropic directional degradation of Spectralon diffuser under ionizing radiation was detected at different BRDF measurement geometries primarily at UV spectral range. The 8o directional/hemispherical reflectance of the same sample was also measured and compared from 200nm to 2500nm. Index Terms BRDF, Reflectance, Multiangular, Spectralon, Remote Sensing

Recent Advancements in the Numerical Simulation of Surface Irradiance for Solar Energy Applications: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Yu; Sengupta, Manajit; Deline, Chris

This paper briefly reviews the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's recent efforts on developing all-sky solar irradiance models for solar energy applications. The Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS) utilizes the simulation of clear-sky transmittance and reflectance and a parameterization of cloud transmittance and reflectance to rapidly compute broadband irradiances on horizontal surfaces. FARMS delivers accuracy that is comparable to the two-stream approximation, but it is approximately 1,000 times faster. A FARMS-Narrowband Irradiance over Tilted surfaces (FARMS-NIT) has been developed to compute spectral irradiances on photovoltaic (PV) panels in 2002 wavelength bands. Further, FARMS-NIT has been extended for bifacialmore » PV panels.« less

Solar concentrator with diffuser segments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Esparza, Diego; Moreno, Ivan

2011-08-01

Solar energy systems use concentrating optics with photovoltaic cells for optimizing the performance. Advanced concentrators are designed to maximize both the light collection and the spatial uniformity of radiation. This is important because irradiance uniformity is critical for all types of photovoltaic cells. This is difficult to achieve with traditional concentrators, which are built with polished optical surfaces. In this work we propose a new concept of solar concentrator which uses small diffuser segments in key points to increase the irradiation uniformity. We experimentally demonstrate this new concept by analyzing the effects on both efficiency and irradiance uniformity due to the incorporation of scattering ribbons in a compound parabolic concentrator.

Modeling the Total Dose Radiation Effects of Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te Photodiodes Using Numerical Device Simulators

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-01-01

Dosimetry : Analysis of dosimetry in two dewar/liquid nitrogen systems. TIME Estimate: One hour for setup, irradiation and TLD reading/analysis. IV...point indicates both electron and hole trapping at the boundary ........................ 12 3.3 Relationship between current and dose for irradiated...peak value. Carriers are collected across the vertical junction within a diffusion length. Since the electron diffusion length is much larger than for

Non-Contact Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity in Ion-Implanted Nuclear Materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hofmann, F.; Mason, D. R.; Eliason, J. K.; Maznev, A. A.; Nelson, K. A.; Dudarev, S. L.

2015-11-01

Knowledge of mechanical and physical property evolution due to irradiation damage is essential for the development of future fission and fusion reactors. Ion-irradiation provides an excellent proxy for studying irradiation damage, allowing high damage doses without sample activation. Limited ion-penetration-depth means that only few-micron-thick damaged layers are produced. Substantial effort has been devoted to probing the mechanical properties of these thin implanted layers. Yet, whilst key to reactor design, their thermal transport properties remain largely unexplored due to a lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we demonstrate non-contact thermal diffusivity measurements in ion-implanted tungsten for nuclear fusion armour. Alloying with transmutation elements and the interaction of retained gas with implantation-induced defects both lead to dramatic reductions in thermal diffusivity. These changes are well captured by our modelling approaches. Our observations have important implications for the design of future fusion power plants.

Non-Contact Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity in Ion-Implanted Nuclear Materials

DOE PAGES

Hofmann, F.; Mason, D. R.; Eliason, J. K.; ...

2015-11-03

Knowledge of mechanical and physical property evolution due to irradiation damage is essential for the development of future fission and fusion reactors. Ion-irradiation provides an excellent proxy for studying irradiation damage, allowing high damage doses without sample activation. Limited ion-penetration-depth means that only few-micron-thick damaged layers are produced. Substantial effort has been devoted to probing the mechanical properties of these thin implanted layers. Yet, whilst key to reactor design, their thermal transport properties remain largely unexplored due to a lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we demonstrate non-contact thermal diffusivity measurements in ion-implanted tungsten for nuclear fusion armour. Alloying withmore » transmutation elements and the interaction of retained gas with implantation-induced defects both lead to dramatic reductions in thermal diffusivity. These changes are well captured by our modelling approaches. Our observations have important implications for the design of future fusion power plants.« less

Non-Contact Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity in Ion-Implanted Nuclear Materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hofmann, F.; Mason, D. R.; Eliason, J. K.

Knowledge of mechanical and physical property evolution due to irradiation damage is essential for the development of future fission and fusion reactors. Ion-irradiation provides an excellent proxy for studying irradiation damage, allowing high damage doses without sample activation. Limited ion-penetration-depth means that only few-micron-thick damaged layers are produced. Substantial effort has been devoted to probing the mechanical properties of these thin implanted layers. Yet, whilst key to reactor design, their thermal transport properties remain largely unexplored due to a lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we demonstrate non-contact thermal diffusivity measurements in ion-implanted tungsten for nuclear fusion armour. Alloying withmore » transmutation elements and the interaction of retained gas with implantation-induced defects both lead to dramatic reductions in thermal diffusivity. These changes are well captured by our modelling approaches. Our observations have important implications for the design of future fusion power plants.« less

Non-Contact Measurement of Thermal Diffusivity in Ion-Implanted Nuclear Materials

PubMed Central

Hofmann, F.; Mason, D. R.; Eliason, J. K.; Maznev, A. A.; Nelson, K. A.; Dudarev, S. L.

2015-01-01

Knowledge of mechanical and physical property evolution due to irradiation damage is essential for the development of future fission and fusion reactors. Ion-irradiation provides an excellent proxy for studying irradiation damage, allowing high damage doses without sample activation. Limited ion-penetration-depth means that only few-micron-thick damaged layers are produced. Substantial effort has been devoted to probing the mechanical properties of these thin implanted layers. Yet, whilst key to reactor design, their thermal transport properties remain largely unexplored due to a lack of suitable measurement techniques. Here we demonstrate non-contact thermal diffusivity measurements in ion-implanted tungsten for nuclear fusion armour. Alloying with transmutation elements and the interaction of retained gas with implantation-induced defects both lead to dramatic reductions in thermal diffusivity. These changes are well captured by our modelling approaches. Our observations have important implications for the design of future fusion power plants. PMID:26527099

Comparison of modeled and typical meteorological year. Diffuse, direct, and tilted solar radiation values with measured data in a cloudy climate: Seattle-Tacoma data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Straub, D.; Baylon, D.; Smith, O.

1980-01-01

Four commonly used solar radiation models that determine the diffuse and direct components of the solar radiation on a horizontal surface are compared against measured data to determine their predictive and modeling applicability. The John Hay model is determined to underpredict the diffuse and the Pereira/Rabl model to overpredict the diffuse radiation. The daily Liu and Jordan correlation and the hourly Boes correlation are shown to be better predictors.

Basic study of charring detection at the laser catheter-tip using back scattering light measurement during therapeutic laser irradiation in blood.

PubMed

Takahashi, Mei; Ito, Arisa; Kajihara, Takuro; Matsuo, Hiroki; Arai, Tsunenori

2010-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate transient process of the charring at the laser catheter-tip in blood during therapeutic laser irradiation by the back scattering light measurement to detect precursor state of the charring. We took account of using photodynamic therapy for arrhythmia in blood through the laser catheter. We observed the influence of the red laser irradiation (λ=663 nm) upon the shape of red blood cells (RBCs). The RBCs aggregation, round formation, and hemolysis were took place sequentially before charring. With a model blood sandwiched between glass plates simulated as a catheter-tip boundary, we measured diffuse-reflected-light power and transmitted-light power simultaneously and continuously by a microscopic optics during the laser irradiation. We found that measured light power changes were originated with RBCs shape change induced by temperature rise due to the laser irradiation. A gentle peak following a slow descending was observed in the diffuse-reflected-light power history. This history might indicate the precursor state of the charring, in which the hemolysis might be considered to advance rapidly. We think that the measurement of diffuse-reflected-light power history might be able to detect precursor state of charring at the catheter-tip in blood.

A modelling study of the inter-diffusion layer formation in U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel plates at high power

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ye, B.; Hofman, G. L.; Leenaers, A.

Post irradiation examinations of full-size U-Mo/Al dispersion fuel plates fabricated with ZrN- or Sicoated U-Mo particles revealed that the reaction rate of irradiation-induced U-Mo-Al inter-diffusion, an important microstructural change impacting the performance of this type of fuel, is temperature and fission-rate dependent. In order to simulate the U-Mo/Al inter-diffusion layer (IL) growth behavior in full-size dispersion fuel plates, the existing IL growth correlation was modified with a temperaturedependent multiplication factor that transits around a threshold fission rate. In-pile irradiation data from four tests in the BR2 reactors, including FUTURE, E-FUTURE, SELEMIUM, and SELEMIUM-1a, were utilized to determine and validate themore » updated IL growth correlation. Irradiation behavior of the plates was simulated with the DART-2D computational code. The general agreement between the calculated and measured fuel meat swelling and constituent volume fractions as a function of fission density demonstrated the plausibility of the updated IL growth correlation. The simulation results also suggested the temperature dependence of the IL growth rate, similar to the temperature dependence of the intermixing rate in ion-irradiated bi-layer systems.« less

The solar ultraviolet B radiation protection provided by shading devices with regard to its diffuse component.

PubMed

Kudish, Avraham I; Harari, Marco; Evseev, Efim G

2011-10-01

The composition of the incident solar global ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation with regard to its beam and diffuse radiation fractions is highly relevant with regard to outdoor sun protection. This is especially true with respect to sun protection during leisure-time outdoor sun exposure at the shore and pools, where people tend to escape the sun under shade trees or different types of shading devices, e.g., umbrellas, overhangs, etc., believing they offer protection from the erythemal solar radiation. The degree of sun protection offered by such devices is directly related to the composition of the solar global UVB radiation, i.e., its beam and diffuse fractions. The composition of the incident solar global UVB radiation can be determined by measuring the global UVB (using Solar Light Co. Inc., Model 501A UV-Biometer) and either of its components. The beam component of the UVB radiation was determined by measuring the normal incidence beam radiation using a prototype, tracking instrument consisting of a Solar Light Co. Inc. Model 501A UV-Biometer mounted on an Eppley Solar Tracker Model St-1. The horizontal beam component of the global UVB radiation was calculated from the measured normal incidence using a simple geometric correlation and the diffuse component is determined as the difference between global and horizontal beam radiations. Horizontal and vertical surfaces positioned under a horizontal overhang/sunshade or an umbrella are not fully protected from exposure to solar global UVB radiation. They can receive a significant fraction of the UVB radiation, depending on their location beneath the shading device, the umbrella radius and the albedo (reflectance) of the surrounding ground surface in the case of a vertical surface. Shading devices such as an umbrella or horizontal overhang/shade provide relief from the solar global radiation and do block the solar global UVB radiation to some extent; nevertheless, a significant fraction of the solar global UVB radiation does penetrate this supposedly 'protective or comfort zone'. As a result, it is imperative to either apply sunscreen or cover up the exposed body surfaces even when under such shading devices. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Cross-diffusive effects on the onset of double-diffusive convection in a horizontal saturated porous fluid layer heated and salted from above

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rajib, Basu; C. Layek, G.

2013-05-01

Double-diffusive stationary and oscillatory instabilities at the marginal state in a saturated porous horizontal fluid layer heated and salted from above are investigated theoretically under the Darcy's framework for a porous medium. The contributions of Soret and Dufour coefficients are taken into account in the analysis. Linear stability analysis shows that the critical value of the Darcy—Rayleigh number depends on cross-diffusive parameters at marginally stationary convection, while the marginal state characterized by oscillatory convection does not depend on the cross-diffusion terms even if the condition and frequency of oscillatory convection depends on the cross-diffusive parameters. The critical value of the Darcy—Rayleigh number increases with increasing value of the solutal Darcy—Rayleigh number in the absence of cross-diffusive parameters. The critical Darcy—Rayleigh number decreases with increasing Soret number, resulting in destabilization of the system, while its value increases with increasing Dufour number, resulting in stabilization of the system at the marginal state characterized by stationary convection. The analysis reveals that the Dufour and Soret parameters as well as the porosity parameter play an important role in deciding the type of instability at the onset. This analysis also indicates that the stationary convection is followed by the oscillatory convection for certain fluid mixtures. It is interesting to note that the roles of cross-diffusive parameters on the double-diffusive system heated and salted from above are reciprocal to the double-diffusive system heated and salted from below.

Diffuse ultraviolet erythemal irradiance on inclined planes: a comparison of experimental and modeled data.

PubMed

Utrillas, María P; Marín, María J; Esteve, Anna R; Estellés, Victor; Tena, Fernando; Cañada, Javier; Martínez-Lozano, José A

2009-01-01

Values of measured and modeled diffuse UV erythemal irradiance (UVER) for all sky conditions are compared on planes inclined at 40 degrees and oriented north, south, east and west. The models used for simulating diffuse UVER are of the geometric-type, mainly the Isotropic, Klucher, Hay, Muneer, Reindl and Schauberger models. To analyze the precision of the models, some statistical estimators were used such as root mean square deviation, mean absolute deviation and mean bias deviation. It was seen that all the analyzed models reproduce adequately the diffuse UVER on the south-facing plane, with greater discrepancies for the other inclined planes. When the models are applied to cloud-free conditions, the errors obtained are higher because the anisotropy of the sky dome acquires more importance and the models do not provide the estimation of diffuse UVER accurately.

Applicability of a diffusion model to lateral transport in the terrestrial and lunar exospheres.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hodges, R. R., Jr.

1972-01-01

Kinetic theory is used to determine a series expansion of the vertical flux of particles in an exosphere in terms of time and space derivatives of particle concentration, exobase velocity, and temperature. For sufficiently large scale variations of these parameters in time and space, the series can be truncated to a form that is similar to a diffusion equation. Owing to this analogy, it is possible to unite the mathematical description of molecular diffusion, which governs thermospheric flow, and the corresponding exospheric equation by using effective transport coefficients which change smoothly with altitude through the transition from thermosphere to exosphere. A new definition of the exobase for lateral flow emerges from the analogy of exospheric and thermospheric diffusion, as the altitude where the horizontal mean free path length equals the mean horizontal extent of ballistic trajectories of the transported gas, as opposed to the scale height of the dominant gas which determines the exobase for escape. It is shown that the approximation of exospheric lateral flow as a diffusion process is applicable to global scale problems concerning terrestrial helium and heavier gases, and lunar gases heavier than helium.

A critical examination of the validity of simplified models for radiant heat transfer analysis.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Toor, J. S.; Viskanta, R.

1972-01-01

Examination of the directional effects of the simplified models by comparing the experimental data with the predictions based on simple and more detailed models for the radiation characteristics of surfaces. Analytical results indicate that the constant property diffuse and specular models do not yield the upper and lower bounds on local radiant heat flux. In general, the constant property specular analysis yields higher values of irradiation than the constant property diffuse analysis. A diffuse surface in the enclosure appears to destroy the effect of specularity of the other surfaces. Semigray and gray analyses predict the irradiation reasonably well provided that the directional properties and the specularity of the surfaces are taken into account. The uniform and nonuniform radiosity diffuse models are in satisfactory agreement with each other.

Influence of low power CW laser irradiation on skin hemoglobin changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferulova, Inesa; Lesins, Janis; Lihachev, Alexey; Jakovels, Dainis; Spigulis, Janis

2012-06-01

Influence of low power laser irradiance on healthy skin using diffuse reflectance spectroscopy and multispectral imaging was studied. Changes of diffuse reflectance spectra in spectral range from 500 to 600 nm were observed after 405 nm, 473 nm and 532 nm laser provocation, leading to conclusion that the content of skin hemoglobin has changed. Peaks in spectral absorbance (optical density) curves corresponded to well-known oxy-hemoglobin absorbance peaks at 542 and 577 nm.

Random Forests (RFs) for Estimation, Uncertainty Prediction and Interpretation of Monthly Solar Potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Assouline, Dan; Mohajeri, Nahid; Scartezzini, Jean-Louis

2017-04-01

Solar energy is clean, widely available, and arguably the most promising renewable energy resource. Taking full advantage of solar power, however, requires a deep understanding of its patterns and dependencies in space and time. The recent advances in Machine Learning brought powerful algorithms to estimate the spatio-temporal variations of solar irradiance (the power per unit area received from the Sun, W/m2), using local weather and terrain information. Such algorithms include Deep Learning (e.g. Artificial Neural Networks), or kernel methods (e.g. Support Vector Machines). However, most of these methods have some disadvantages, as they: (i) are complex to tune, (ii) are mainly used as a black box and offering no interpretation on the variables contributions, (iii) often do not provide uncertainty predictions (Assouline et al., 2016). To provide a reasonable solar mapping with good accuracy, these gaps would ideally need to be filled. We present here simple steps using one ensemble learning algorithm namely, Random Forests (Breiman, 2001) to (i) estimate monthly solar potential with good accuracy, (ii) provide information on the contribution of each feature in the estimation, and (iii) offer prediction intervals for each point estimate. We have selected Switzerland as an example. Using a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) along with monthly solar irradiance time series and weather data, we build monthly solar maps for Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), Diffuse Horizontal Irradiance (GHI), and Extraterrestrial Irradiance (EI). The weather data include monthly values for temperature, precipitation, sunshine duration, and cloud cover. In order to explain the impact of each feature on the solar irradiance of each point estimate, we extend the contribution method (Kuz'min et al., 2011) to a regression setting. Contribution maps for all features can then be computed for each solar map. This provides precious information on the spatial variation of the features impact all across Switzerland maps. Finally, as RFs are based on bootstrap samples of the training data, they can produce prediction intervals by looking at the trees estimates distribution, instead of taking the mean estimate. To do so, a simple idea is to grow all trees fully so that each leaf has exactly one value, that is, a training sample value. Then, for each point estimate, we compute percentiles of the trees estimates data to build a prediction interval. Two issues arise from this process: (i) growing the trees fully is not always possible, and (ii) there is a risk of over-fitting. We show how to solve them. These steps can be used for any type of environmental mapping so as to extract useful information on uncertainty and feature impact interpretation. References -Assouline, D., Mohajeri, N., & Scartezzini, J. L. (2017). Quantifying rooftop photovoltaic solar energy potential: A machine learning approach. Solar Energy, 141, 278-296. -Breiman, L. (2001). Random forests. Machine learning, 45(1), 5-32. -Kuz'min, V. E., Polishchuk, P. G., Artemenko, A. G., & Andronati, S. A. (2011). Interpretation of QSAR models based on random forest methods. Molecular Informatics, 30(6-7), 593-603.

Parameterization of daily solar global ultraviolet irradiation.

PubMed

Feister, U; Jäkel, E; Gericke, K

2002-09-01

Daily values of solar global ultraviolet (UV) B and UVA irradiation as well as erythemal irradiation have been parameterized to be estimated from pyranometer measurements of daily global and diffuse irradiation as well as from atmospheric column ozone. Data recorded at the Meteorological Observatory Potsdam (52 degrees N, 107 m asl) in Germany over the time period 1997-2000 have been used to derive sets of regression coefficients. The validation of the method against independent data sets of measured UV irradiation shows that the parameterization provides a gain of information for UVB, UVA and erythemal irradiation referring to their averages. A comparison between parameterized daily UV irradiation and independent values of UV irradiation measured at a mountain station in southern Germany (Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeissenberg at 48 degrees N, 977 m asl) indicates that the parameterization also holds even under completely different climatic conditions. On a long-term average (1953-2000), parameterized annual UV irradiation values are 15% and 21% higher for UVA and UVB, respectively, at Hohenpeissenberg than they are at Potsdam. Daily global and diffuse irradiation measured at 28 weather stations of the Deutscher Wetterdienst German Radiation Network and grid values of column ozone from the EPTOMS satellite experiment served as inputs to calculate the estimates of the spatial distribution of daily and annual values of UV irradiation across Germany. Using daily values of global and diffuse irradiation recorded at Potsdam since 1937 as well as atmospheric column ozone measured since 1964 at the same site, estimates of daily and annual UV irradiation have been derived for this site over the period from 1937 through 2000, which include the effects of changes in cloudiness, in aerosols and, at least for the period of ozone measurements from 1964 to 2000, in atmospheric ozone. It is shown that the extremely low ozone values observed mainly after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 have substantially enhanced UVB irradiation in the first half of the 1990s. According to the measurements and calculations, the nonlinear long-term changes observed between 1968 and 2000 amount to +4%, ..., +5% for annual global irradiation and UVA irradiation mainly because of changing cloudiness and + 14%, ..., +15% for UVB and erythemal irradiation because of both changing cloudiness and decreasing column ozone. At the mountain site, Hohenpeissenberg, measured global irradiation and parameterized UVA irradiation decreased during the same time period by -3%, ..., -4%, probably because of the enhanced occurrence and increasing optical thickness of clouds, whereas UVB and erythemal irradiation derived by the parameterization have increased by +3%, ..., +4% because of the combined effect of clouds and decreasing ozone. The parameterizations described here should be applicable to other regions with similar atmospheric and geographic conditions, whereas for regions with significantly different climatic conditions, such as high mountainous areas and arctic or tropical regions, the representativeness of the regression coefficients would have to be approved. It is emphasized here that parameterizations, as the one described in this article, cannot replace measurements of solar UV radiation, but they can use existing measurements of solar global and diffuse radiation as well as data on atmospheric ozone to provide estimates of UV irradiation in regions and over time periods for which UV measurements are not available.

Stability of nanoclusters in an oxide dispersion strengthened alloy under neutron irradiation

DOE PAGES

Liu, Xiang; Miao, Yinbin; Wu, Yaqiao; ...

2017-06-01

In this paper, we report atom probe tomography results of the nanoclusters in a neutron-irradiated oxide dispersion strengthened alloy. Following irradiation to 5 dpa at target temperatures of 300 °C and 450 °C, fewer large nanoclusters were found and the residual nanoclusters tend to reach an equilibrium Guinier radius of 1.8 nm. With increasing dose, evident decrease in peak oxygen and titanium (but not yttrium) concentrations in the nanoclusters was observed, which was explained by atomic weight, solubility, diffusivity, and chemical bonding arguments. Finally, the chemical modifications indicate the equilibrium size is indeed a balance of two competing processes: radiationmore » enhanced diffusion and collisional dissolution.« less

Defects and annealing studies in 1-Me electron irradiated (AlGa)As-GaAs solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, S. S.; Wang, W. L.; Loo, R. Y.; Rahilly, W. P.

1982-01-01

The deep-level defects and recombination mechanisms in the one-MeV electron irradiated (AlGa)As-GaAs solar cells under various irradiation and annealing conditions are discussed. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and capacitance-voltage (CV) techniques were used to determine the defect and recombination parameters such as energy levels and defect density, carrier capture cross sections and lifetimes for both electron and hole traps as well as hole diffusion lengths in these electron irradiated GaAs solar cells. GaAs solar cells used in this study were prepared by the infinite solution melt liquid phase epitaxial (LPE) technique at Hughes Research Lab., with (Al0.9Ga0.1)-As window layer, Be-diffused p-GaAs layer on Sn-doped n-GaAs or undoped n-GaAs active layer grown on n(+)-GaAs substrate. Mesa structure with area of 5.86x1000 sq cm was fabricated. Three different irradiation and annealing experiments were performed on these solar cells.

Diffusion in thorium carbide: A first-principles study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pérez Daroca, D.; Llois, A. M.; Mosca, H. O.

2015-12-01

The prediction of the behavior of Th compounds under irradiation is an important issue for the upcoming Generation-IV nuclear reactors. The study of self-diffusion and hetero-diffusion is a central key to fulfill this goal. As a first approach, we obtained, by means of first-principles methods, migration and activation energies of Th and C atoms self-diffusion and diffusion of He atoms in ThC. We also calculate diffusion coefficients as a function of temperature.

A High Resolution Tampa Bay Hydrodynamic Model and its Application to Residence Time Estimation and Salt Balance Diagnosis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, L.; Weisberg, R. H.

2016-02-01

A 3D, numerical circulation model, with high resolution (20 m) at important mass conveyances (inlets and rivers etc.), is developed to estimate the bulk residence time and diagnose the salt balances and salt fluxes for Tampa Bay estuary. These analyses are justified via quantitative comparisons between the simulation and observations of sea level, velocity and salinity. The non-tidal circulation is the primary agent for the flushing of Tampa Bay. Tides alone have a minor effect. Exceptions pertain to within a tidal excursion from the bay mouth and regions with multiple inlets where different tide phases aid in flushing. The fully 3D salt flux divergences (SFD) and fluxes vary spatially throughout the estuary. On experimental duration (three month) average, the total advective SFD is balanced primarily by the vertical diffusive SFD, except near the bottom of the channel where the horizontal diffusive SFD is also important. Instantaneously, the local rate of salinity change is controlled primarily by the advective SFD, with a secondary contribution by the vertical diffusive SFD everywhere and the horizontal diffusive SFD near the channel bottom. After decomposing the advective salt fluxes and their divergences into mean quantity and tidal pumping, the horizontal and vertical advective SFDs by the mean quantities are large and counterbalance, with their sum being a small but significant residual. The horizontal and vertical advective SFDs by tidal pumping are relatively small (when compared with the mean quantities) and counterbalance; but, when summed, their residual is comparable in magnitude to that by the mean quantities. So whereas the salt fluxes by tidal pumping are secondary importance to the salt fluxes by the mean quantities, their total flux divergences are of comparable importance. The salt flux 3D components vary along the Tampa Bay axis, and these findings may be typical of coastal plain estuaries given their geometrical complexities.

High-temperature annealing of proton irradiated beryllium – A dilatometry-based study

DOE PAGES

Simos, Nikolaos; Elbakhshwan, Mohamed; Zhong, Zhong; ...

2016-04-07

S—200 F grade beryllium has been irradiated with 160 MeV protons up to 1.2 10 20 cm –2 peak fluence and irradiation temperatures in the range of 100–200 °C. To address the effect of proton irradiation on dimensional stability, an important parameter in its consideration in fusion reactor applications, and to simulate high temperature irradiation conditions, multi-stage annealing using high precision dilatometry to temperatures up to 740 °C were conducted in air. X-ray diffraction studies were also performed to compliment the macroscopic thermal study and offer a microscopic view of the irradiation effects on the crystal lattice. The primary objectivemore » was to qualify the competing dimensional change processes occurring at elevated temperatures namely manufacturing defect annealing, lattice parameter recovery, transmutation 4He and 3H diffusion and swelling and oxidation kinetics. Further, quantification of the effect of irradiation dose and annealing temperature and duration on dimensional changes is sought. Here, the study revealed the presence of manufacturing porosity in the beryllium grade, the oxidation acceleration effect of irradiation including the discontinuous character of oxidation advancement, the effect of annealing duration on the recovery of lattice parameters recovery and the triggering temperature for transmutation gas diffusion leading to swelling.« less

Diffusion in coastal and harbour zones, effects of Waves,Wind and Currents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diez, M.; Redondo, J. M.

2009-04-01

As there are multiple processes at different scales that produce turbulent mixing in the ocean, thus giving a large variation of horizontal eddy diffusivities, we use a direct method to evaluate the influence of different ambient parameters such as wave height and wind on coastal dispersion. Measurements of the diffusivity are made by digital processing of images taken from from video recordings of the sea surface near the coast. The use of image analysis allows to estimate both spatial and temporal characteristics of wave fields, surface circulation and mixing in the surf zone, near Wave breakers and inside Harbours. The study of near-shore dispersion [1], with the added complexity of the interaction between wave fields, longshore currents, turbulence and beach morphology, needs detailed measurements of simple mixing processes to compare the respective influences of forcings at different scales. The measurements include simultaneous time series of waves, currents, wind velocities from the studied area. Cuantitative information from the video images is accomplished using the DigImage video processing system [3], and a frame grabber. The video may be controlled by the computer, allowing, remote control of the processing. Spectral analysis on the images has also used n order to estimate dominant wave periods as well as the dispersion relations of dominant instabilities. The measurements presented here consist mostly on the comarison of difussion coeficients measured by evaluating the spread of blobs of dye (milk) as well as by measuring the separation between different buoys released at the same time. We have used a techniques, developed by Bahia(1997), Diez(1998) and Bezerra(2000)[1-3] to study turbulent diffusion by means of digital processing of images taken from remote sensing and video recordings of the sea surface. The use of image analysis allows to measure variations of several decades in horizontal diffusivity values, the comparison of the diffusivities between different sites is not direct and a good understanding of the dominant mixing processes is needed. There is an increase of diffusivity with wave height but only for large Wave Reynolds numbers. Other important factors are wind speed and tidal currents. The horizontal diffusivity shows a marked anisotropy as a function of wave height and distance from the coast. The measurements were performed under a variety of weather conditions conditional sampling has been used to identify the different influences of the environmental agents on the actual effective horizontal diffusion[4]. [1] Bahia E. (1998) "Un estudio numerico experimental de la dispersion de contaminantes en aguas costeras, PhD Tesis UPC, Barcelona. [2] Bezerra M.O., (2000) "Diffusion de contaminantes en la costa. , PhD Tesis Uni. De Barcelona, Barcelona. [3] Diez M. (1998) "Estudio de la Hidrodinamica de la zona de rompientes mediante el analisis digital de imagenes. Master Thesis, UPC, Barcelona. [4] Artale V., Boffetta G., Celani A., Cencini M. and Vulpiani A., 1997, "Dispersion of passive tracers in closed basins: Beyond the diffusion coefficient", Physics of Fluids, vol 9, pp 3162-1997

High-temperature Chemical Compatibility of As-fabricated TRIGA Fuel and Type 304 Stainless Steel Cladding

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dennis D. Keiser, Jr.; Jan-Fong Jue; Eric Woolstenhulme

2012-09-01

Chemical interaction between TRIGA fuel and Type-304 stainless steel cladding at relatively high temperatures is of interest from the point of view of understanding fuel behavior during different TRIGA reactor transient scenarios. Since TRIGA fuel comes into close contact with the cladding during irradiation, there is an opportunity for interdiffusion between the U in the fuel and the Fe in the cladding to form an interaction zone that contains U-Fe phases. Based on the equilibrium U-Fe phase diagram, a eutectic can develop at a composition between the U6Fe and UFe2 phases. This eutectic composition can become a liquid at aroundmore » 725°C. From the standpoint of safe operation of TRIGA fuel, it is of interest to develop better understanding of how a phase with this composition may develop in irradiated TRIGA fuel at relatively high temperatures. One technique for investigating the development of a eutectic phase at the fuel/cladding interface is to perform out-of-pile diffusion-couple experiments at relatively high temperatures. This information is most relevant for lightly irradiated fuel that just starts to touch the cladding due to fuel swelling. Similar testing using fuel irradiated to different fission densities should be tested in a similar fashion to generate data more relevant to more heavily irradiated fuel. This report describes the results for TRIGA fuel/Type-304 stainless steel diffusion couples that were annealed for one hour at 730 and 800°C. Scanning electron microscopy with energy- and wavelength-dispersive spectroscopy was employed to characterize the fuel/cladding interface for each diffusion couple to look for evidence of any chemical interaction. Overall, negligible fuel/cladding interaction was observed for each diffusion couple.« less

Progress in Solving the Elusive Ag Transport Mechanism in TRISO Coated Particles: What is new?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Isabella Van Rooyen

2014-10-01

The TRISO particle for HTRs has been developed to an advanced state where the coating withstands internal gas pressures and retains fission products during irradiation and under postulated accidents. However, one exception is Ag that has been found to be released from high quality TRISO coated particles when irradiated and can also during high temperature accident heating tests. Although out- of- pile laboratory tests have never hither to been able to demonstrate a diffusion process of Ag in SiC, effective diffusion coefficients have been derived to successfully reproduce measured Ag-110m releases from irradiated HTR fuel elements, compacts and TRISO particlesmore » It was found that silver transport through SiC does not proceed via bulk volume diffusion. Presently grain boundary diffusion that may be irradiation enhanced either by neutron bombardment or by the presence of fission products such as Pd, are being investigated. Recent studies of irradiated AGR-1 TRISO fuel using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), transmission kukuchi diffraction (TKD) patterns and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) have been used to further the understanding of Ag transport through TRISO particles. No silver was observed in SiC grains, but Ag was identified at triple-points and grain boundaries of the SiC layer in the TRISO particle. Cadmium was also found in some of the very same triple junctions, but this could be related to silver behavior as Ag-110m decays to Cd-110. Palladium was identified as the main constituent of micron-sized precipitates present at the SiC grain boundaries and in most SiC grain boundaries and the potential role of Pd in the transport of Ag will be discussed.« less

Analysis of localised dose distribution in human body by Monte Carlo code system for photon irradiation.

PubMed

Ohnishi, S; Odano, N; Nariyama, N; Saito, K

2004-01-01

In usual personal dosimetry, whole body irradiation is assumed. However, the opportunity of partial irradiation is increasing and the tendencies of protection quantities caused under those irradiation conditions are different. The code system has been developed and effective dose and organ absorbed doses have been calculated in the case of horizontal narrow photon beam irradiated from various directions at three representative body sections, 40, 50 and 60 cm originating from the top of the head. This work covers 24 beam directions, each 15 degrees angle ranging from 0 degrees to 345 degrees, three energy levels, 45 keV, 90 keV and 1.25 MeV, and three beam diameters of 1, 2 and 4 cm. These results show that the beam injected from diagonally front or other specific direction causes peak dose in the case of partial irradiation.

The calculated influence of atmospheric conditions on solar cell ISC under direct and global solar irradiances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mueller, Robert L.

1987-01-01

Calculations of the influence of atmospheric conditions on solar cell short-circuit current (Isc) are made using a recently developed computer model for solar spectral irradiance distribution. The results isolate the dependence of Isc on changes in the spectral irradiance distribution without the direct influence of the total irradiance level. The calculated direct normal irradiance and percent diffuse irradiance are given as a reference to indicate the expected irradiance levels. This method can be applied to the calibration of photovoltaic reference cells. Graphic examples are provided for amorphous silicon and monocrystalline silicon solar cells under direct normal and global normal solar irradiances.

Low Temperature Diffusion Transformations in Fe-Ni-Ti Alloys During Deformation and Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sagaradze, Victor; Shabashov, Valery; Kataeva, Natalya; Kozlov, Kirill; Arbuzov, Vadim; Danilov, Sergey; Ustyugov, Yury

2018-03-01

The deformation-induced dissolution of Ni3Ti intermetallics in the matrix of austenitic alloys of Fe-36Ni-3Ti type was revealed in the course of their cascade-forming neutron irradiation and cold deformation at low temperatures via employment of Mössbauer method. The anomalous deformation-related dissolution of the intermetallics has been explained by the migration of deformation-induced interstitial atoms from the particles into a matrix in the stress field of moving dislocations. When rising the deformation temperature, this process is substituted for by the intermetallics precipitation accelerated by point defects. A calculation of diffusion processes has shown the possibility of the realization of the low-temperature diffusion of interstitial atoms in configurations of the crowdions and dumbbell pairs at 77-173 K. The existence of interstitial atoms in the Fe-36Ni alloy irradiated by electrons or deformed at 77 K was substantiated in the experiments of the electrical resistivity measurements.

The spectral signature of cloud spatial structure in shortwave irradiance

PubMed Central

Song, Shi; Schmidt, K. Sebastian; Pilewskie, Peter; King, Michael D.; Heidinger, Andrew K.; Walther, Andi; Iwabuchi, Hironobu; Wind, Gala; Coddington, Odele M.

2017-01-01

In this paper, we used cloud imagery from a NASA field experiment in conjunction with three-dimensional radiative transfer calculations to show that cloud spatial structure manifests itself as a spectral signature in shortwave irradiance fields – specifically in transmittance and net horizontal photon transport in the visible and near-ultraviolet wavelength range. We found a robust correlation between the magnitude of net horizontal photon transport (H) and its spectral dependence (slope), which is scale-invariant and holds for the entire pixel population of a domain. This was surprising at first given the large degree of spatial inhomogeneity. We prove that the underlying physical mechanism for this phenomenon is molecular scattering in conjunction with cloud spatial structure. On this basis, we developed a simple parameterization through a single parameter ε, which quantifies the characteristic spectral signature of spatial inhomogeneities. In the case we studied, neglecting net horizontal photon transport leads to a local transmittance bias of ±12–19 %, even at the relatively coarse spatial resolution of 20 km. Since three-dimensional effects depend on the spatial context of a given pixel in a nontrivial way, the spectral dimension of this problem may emerge as the starting point for future bias corrections. PMID:28824698

The spectral signature of cloud spatial structure in shortwave irradiance.

PubMed

Song, Shi; Schmidt, K Sebastian; Pilewskie, Peter; King, Michael D; Heidinger, Andrew K; Walther, Andi; Iwabuchi, Hironobu; Wind, Gala; Coddington, Odele M

2016-11-08

In this paper, we used cloud imagery from a NASA field experiment in conjunction with three-dimensional radiative transfer calculations to show that cloud spatial structure manifests itself as a spectral signature in shortwave irradiance fields - specifically in transmittance and net horizontal photon transport in the visible and near-ultraviolet wavelength range. We found a robust correlation between the magnitude of net horizontal photon transport ( H ) and its spectral dependence (slope), which is scale-invariant and holds for the entire pixel population of a domain. This was surprising at first given the large degree of spatial inhomogeneity. We prove that the underlying physical mechanism for this phenomenon is molecular scattering in conjunction with cloud spatial structure. On this basis, we developed a simple parameterization through a single parameter ε , which quantifies the characteristic spectral signature of spatial inhomogeneities. In the case we studied, neglecting net horizontal photon transport leads to a local transmittance bias of ±12-19 %, even at the relatively coarse spatial resolution of 20 km. Since three-dimensional effects depend on the spatial context of a given pixel in a nontrivial way, the spectral dimension of this problem may emerge as the starting point for future bias corrections.

Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority (NELHA): Hawaii Ocean Science & Technology Park; Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

DOE Data Explorer

Olson, K.; Andreas, A.

2012-11-01

A partnership with the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority and U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to collect solar data to support future solar power generation in the United States. The measurement station monitors global horizontal horizontal irradiance to define the amount of solar energy that hits this particular location. The solar measurement instrumentation is also accompanied by meteorological monitoring equipment to provide scientists with a complete picture of the solar power possibilities.

Lagrangian Statistics of Slightly Buoyant Droplets in Isotropic Turbulence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalan, Balaji; Malkiel, Edwin; Katz, Joseph

2006-11-01

This project examines the dynamics of slightly buoyant diesel droplets in isotropic turbulence using high speed in-line digital Holographic PIV. A cloud of droplets with specific gravity of 0.85 is injected into the central portion of an isotropic turbulence facility. The droplet trajectories are measured in a 50x50x50 mm̂3 sample volume using high speed in-line digital holography. An automated program has been developed to obtain accurate time history of droplet velocities. Data analysis determines the PDF of velocity and acceleration in three dimensions. The time histories enable us to calculate the three dimensional Lagrangian velocity autocorrelation function, and from them the diffusion coefficients. Due to buoyancy the vertical diffusion time scale exceeds the horizontal one by about 65% .The diffusion coefficients vary between 2.8 cm̂2/sec in the horizontal direction to 5.5 cm̂2/sec in the vertical direction. For droplets with size varying from 2 to 11 Kolmogorov scales there are no clear trends with size. The variations of diffusion rates for different turbulent intensities and the effect of finite window size are presently examined. For shorter time scales, when the diffusion need not be Fickian the three dimensional trajectories can be used to calculate the generalized dispersion tensor and measure the time elapsed for diffusion to become Fickian.

Excess diffuse light absorption in upper mesophyll limits CO2 drawdown and depresses photosynthesis

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sun-grown and shade-grown leaves of some species absorb direct and diffuse light differently. Sun-grown leaves can photosynthesize ~10-15% less under diffuse compared to direct irradiance, while shade-grown leaves do not exhibit this sensitivity. In this study, we investigate if the spatial differen...

Derivation of effective fission gas diffusivities in UO2 from lower length scale simulations and implementation of fission gas diffusion models in BISON

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andersson, Anders David Ragnar; Pastore, Giovanni; Liu, Xiang-Yang

2014-11-07

This report summarizes the development of new fission gas diffusion models from lower length scale simulations and assessment of these models in terms of annealing experiments and fission gas release simulations using the BISON fuel performance code. Based on the mechanisms established from density functional theory (DFT) and empirical potential calculations, continuum models for diffusion of xenon (Xe) in UO 2 were derived for both intrinsic conditions and under irradiation. The importance of the large X eU3O cluster (a Xe atom in a uranium + oxygen vacancy trap site with two bound uranium vacancies) is emphasized, which is a consequencemore » of its high mobility and stability. These models were implemented in the MARMOT phase field code, which is used to calculate effective Xe diffusivities for various irradiation conditions. The effective diffusivities were used in BISON to calculate fission gas release for a number of test cases. The results are assessed against experimental data and future directions for research are outlined based on the conclusions.« less

Radiation-enhanced self- and boron diffusion in germanium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, S.; Bracht, H.; Klug, J. N.; Hansen, J. Lundsgaard; Larsen, A. Nylandsted; Bougeard, D.; Haller, E. E.

2013-03-01

We report experiments on proton radiation-enhanced self- and boron (B) diffusion in germanium (Ge) for temperatures between 515 ∘C and 720 ∘C. Modeling of the experimental diffusion profiles measured by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry is achieved on the basis of the Frenkel pair reaction and the interstitialcy and dissociative diffusion mechanisms. The numerical simulations ascertain concentrations of Ge interstitials and B-interstitial pairs that deviate by several orders of magnitude from their thermal equilibrium values. The dominance of self-interstitial related defects under irradiation leads to an enhanced self- and B diffusion in Ge. Analysis of the experimental profiles yields data for the diffusion of self-interstitials (I) and the thermal equilibrium concentration of BI pairs in Ge. The temperature dependence of these quantities provides the migration enthalpy of I and formation enthalpy of BI that are compared with recent results of atomistic calculations. The behavior of self- and B diffusion in Ge under concurrent annealing and irradiation is strongly affected by the property of the Ge surface to hinder the annihilation of self-interstitials. The limited annihilation efficiency of the Ge surface can be caused by donor-type surface states favored under vacuum annealing, but the physical origin remains unsolved.

Early changes in the apparent diffusion coefficient and MMP-9 expression of a cervical carcinoma U14 allograft model following irradiation.

PubMed

Huang, Yecai; Huang, Jianming; Feng, Mei; Ren, Jing; Mi, Kun; Cheng, Jia; Song, Bing; Lang, Jinyi

2017-12-01

A cervical carcinoma allograft model was designed to assess the correlation between early changes in the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values on diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) and the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in tumors. BALB/c mice with U14 tumor allografts on the right rear flank were irradiated with a single 20 Gy dose. All tumor-bearing mice were subjected to DW-MRI, followed by calculation of the ADC values and characterization of the T1 and T2 relaxation time constants. Pre- and post-irradiation ADC values were compared with the tumor volume, and the immunohistochemical staining of MMP-9 and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining of tumor allografts. However, no correlations between the pre-treatment ADC values and changes in tumor volumes following irradiation were observed. Notably, the mean ADC value was significantly higher in the irradiated tumors (0.756±0.102×10 -3 mm 2 /sec) as compared with those in the untreated tumors (0.501±0.052×10 -3 mm 2 /sec; P=0.002; r=0.682). Additionally, immunohistochemical staining demonstrated that MMP-9 expression in the irradiated tumors was significantly increased. The mean ADC value was significantly higher in the irradiated tumors with high MMP-9 expression levels (0.815±0.112×10 -3 mm 2 /sec), as compared with in the untreated tumors with low MMP-9 expression levels (0.631±0.068×10 -3 mm 2 /sec). Quantitative analysis determined that the ADC values were correlated with MMP-9 expression (r=0.752; P=0.003). Combined, these results suggest that radiation-induced increases in MMP-9 expression levels may be responsible for early changes in the mean ADC value and the response to irradiation in cervical carcinoma.

Global horizontal irradiance clear sky models : implementation and analysis.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stein, Joshua S.; Hansen, Clifford W.; Reno, Matthew J.

2012-03-01

Clear sky models estimate the terrestrial solar radiation under a cloudless sky as a function of the solar elevation angle, site altitude, aerosol concentration, water vapor, and various atmospheric conditions. This report provides an overview of a number of global horizontal irradiance (GHI) clear sky models from very simple to complex. Validation of clear-sky models requires comparison of model results to measured irradiance during clear-sky periods. To facilitate validation, we present a new algorithm for automatically identifying clear-sky periods in a time series of GHI measurements. We evaluate the performance of selected clear-sky models using measured data from 30 differentmore » sites, totaling about 300 site-years of data. We analyze the variation of these errors across time and location. In terms of error averaged over all locations and times, we found that complex models that correctly account for all the atmospheric parameters are slightly more accurate than other models, but, primarily at low elevations, comparable accuracy can be obtained from some simpler models. However, simpler models often exhibit errors that vary with time of day and season, whereas the errors for complex models vary less over time.« less

Hydrogen loss and its improved retention in hydrogen plasma treated a-SiNx:H films: ERDA study with 100 MeV Ag7+ ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bommali, R. K.; Ghosh, S.; Khan, S. A.; Srivastava, P.

2018-05-01

Hydrogen loss from a-SiNx:H films under irradiation with 100 MeV Ag7+ ions using elastic recoil detection analysis (ERDA) experiment is reported. The results are explained under the basic assumptions of the molecular recombination model. The ERDA hydrogen concentration profiles are composed of two distinct hydrogen desorption processes, limited by rapid molecular diffusion in the initial stages of irradiation, and as the fluence progresses a slow process limited by diffusion of atomic hydrogen takes over. Which of the aforesaid processes dominates, is determined by the continuously evolving Hydrogen concentration within the films. The first process dominates when the H content is high, and as the H concentration falls below a certain threshold (Hcritical) the irradiation generated H radicals have to diffuse through larger distances before recombining to form H2, thereby significantly bringing down the hydrogen evolution rate. The ERDA measurements were also carried out for films treated with low temperature (300 °C) hydrogen plasma annealing (HPA). The HPA treated films show a clear increase in Hcritical value, thus indicating an improved diffusion of atomic hydrogen, resulting from healing of weak bonds and passivation of dangling bonds. Further, upon HPA films show a significantly higher H concentration relative to the as-deposited films, at advanced fluences. These results indicate the potential of HPA towards improved H retention in a-SiNx:H films. The study distinguishes clearly the presence of two diffusion processes in a-SiNx:H whose diffusion rates differ by an order of magnitude, with atomic hydrogen not being able to diffuse further beyond ∼ 1 nm from the point of its creation.

How does natural groundwater flow affect CO2 dissolution in saline aquifers?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenzweig, R.; Michel-Meyer, I.; Tsinober, A.; Shavit, U.

2017-12-01

The dissolution of supercritical CO2 in aquifer brine is one of the most important trapping mechanisms in CO2 geological storage. Diffusion-limited dissolution is a very slow process. However, since the CO2-rich water is slightly denser than the CO2-free water, when CO2-free water is overlaid by heavier CO2-rich water, convective instability results in fingers of dense CO2-rich water that propagate downwards, causing CO2-unsaturated water to move upwards. This convection process significantly accelerates the dissolution rate of CO2 into the aquifer water.Most previous works have neglected the effect of natural groundwater flow and assumed it has no effect on the dissolution dynamics. However, it was found that in some of the saline aquifers groundwater flow rate, although small, is not zero. In this research, we study the effect of groundwater flow on dissolution by performing laboratory experiments in a bead pack cell using a mixture of methanol and ethylene-glycol as a CO2 analog while varying the water horizontal flow rate. We find that water horizontal flow decreases the number of fingers, their wavelength and their propagation velocity. When testing high water flow rates, no fingers were developed and the dissolution process was entirely diffusive. The effect of water flow on the dissolution rate did not show a clear picture. When increasing the horizontal flow rate the convective dissolution flux slightly decreased and then increased again. It seems that the combination of density-driven flow, water horizontal flow, mechanical dispersion and molecular diffusion affect the dissolution rate in a complex and non-monotonic manner. These intriguing dynamics should be further studied to understand their effect on dissolution trapping.

Separation of irradiance and reflectance from observed color images by logarithmical nonlinear diffusion process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Takahiro; Takahashi, Hiromi; Komatsu, Takashi

2006-02-01

The Retinex theory was first proposed by Land, and deals with separation of irradiance from reflectance in an observed image. The separation problem is an ill-posed problem. Land and others proposed various Retinex separation algorithms. Recently, Kimmel and others proposed a variational framework that unifies the previous Retinex algorithms such as the Poisson-equation-type Retinex algorithms developed by Horn and others, and presented a Retinex separation algorithm with the time-evolution of a linear diffusion process. However, the Kimmel's separation algorithm cannot achieve physically rational separation, if true irradiance varies among color channels. To cope with this problem, we introduce a nonlinear diffusion process into the time-evolution. Moreover, as to its extension to color images, we present two approaches to treat color channels: the independent approach to treat each color channel separately and the collective approach to treat all color channels collectively. The latter approach outperforms the former. Furthermore, we apply our separation algorithm to a high quality chroma key in which before combining a foreground frame and a background frame into an output image a color of each pixel in the foreground frame are spatially adaptively corrected through transformation of the separated irradiance. Experiments demonstrate superiority of our separation algorithm over the Kimmel's separation algorithm.

UV spectral irradiance measurements in New Zealand: Effects of Pinatubo volcanic aerosol

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mckenzie, Richard L.

1994-01-01

Since late 1989, regular UV spectral irradiance measurements have been made at Lauder, New Zealand (45 deg S, 170 deg E), whenever weather permits. Here, the instrumentation and measurement strategy are outlined, and early results are discussed. Following the eruption of Mt Pinatubo in June 1991, large amounts of volcanic aerosol were injected into the stratosphere and were subsequently transported to New Zealand's latitudes in the latter half of 1991. This provides an opportunity to investigate the effects of volcanic aerosols on UV irradiances measured at this clean-air site. Although changes in global (sum of diffuse plus direct) irradiances were below the detection threshold, there were significant changes in the partitioning of radiation between the direct beam and diffuse skylight. Decreases by nearly a factor of two in the direct/diffuse ratio were observed at longer wavelengths, and at smaller solar zenith angles (sza's). The aerosol optical depth due to volcanic aerosol over Lauder in December 1991 was 0.15 plus or minus 0.02 at 450 nm, with lower values at shorter wavelengths. Although effects were relatively small in the UVB region, an implication of the changes is that the contrast between shade and direct sun is reduced, so that shaded areas received relatively more radiation in the summer of 1991/92 in New Zealand.

Proton irradiation effects on minority carrier diffusion length and defect introduction in homoepitaxial and heteroepitaxial n-GaN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collins, K. C.; Armstrong, A. M.; Allerman, A. A.; Vizkelethy, G.; Van Deusen, S. B.; Léonard, F.; Talin, A. A.

2017-12-01

Inherent advantages of wide bandgap materials make GaN-based devices attractive for power electronics and applications in radiation environments. Recent advances in the availability of wafer-scale, bulk GaN substrates have enabled the production of high quality, low defect density GaN devices, but fundamental studies of carrier transport and radiation hardness in such devices are lacking. Here, we report measurements of the hole diffusion length in low threading dislocation density (TDD), homoepitaxial n-GaN, and high TDD heteroepitaxial n-GaN Schottky diodes before and after irradiation with 2.5 MeV protons at fluences of 4-6 × 1013 protons/cm2. We also characterize the specimens before and after irradiation using electron beam-induced-current (EBIC) imaging, cathodoluminescence, deep level optical spectroscopy (DLOS), steady-state photocapacitance, and lighted capacitance-voltage (LCV) techniques. We observe a substantial reduction in the hole diffusion length following irradiation (50%-55%) and the introduction of electrically active defects which could be attributed to gallium vacancies and associated complexes (VGa-related), carbon impurities (C-related), and gallium interstitials (Gai). EBIC imaging suggests long-range migration and clustering of radiation-induced point defects over distances of ˜500 nm, which suggests mobile Gai. Following irradiation, DLOS and LCV reveal the introduction of a prominent optical energy level at 1.9 eV below the conduction band edge, consistent with the introduction of Gai.

Design and performance evaluation of a cryogenic condenser for an in-pile experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graham, R. W.; Crum, R. J.; Hsu, Y.

1972-01-01

An apparatus was designed to enable in-pile irradiation of materials in liquid hydrogen at cryogenic temperatures. One of the principal components of this apparatus was a horizontal tube condenser. The performance of the condenser was evaluated by running a liquid-nitrogen prototype of the apparatus at heat loads comparable to or greater than those expected during the irradiation. The test showed that the condenser was capable of handling the design heat load and that the design procedure was sound.

Diffusion in the system K2O-SrO-SiO2. II - Cation self-diffusion coefficients.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Varshneya, A. K.; Cooper, A. R.

1972-01-01

The self-diffusion coefficients were measured by introducing a slab of glass previously irradiated in a reactor between two slabs of unirradiated glass. By heating the specimens, etching them sequentially and determining the radioactivity, self-diffusion coefficients for K and Sr were measured. It is pointed out that the results obtained in the investigations appear to support the proposal that the network of the base glass predominantly controls the activation energy for the diffusion of ions.

Temperature dependence of damage coefficient in electron irradiated solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Faith, T. J.

1973-01-01

Measurements of light-generated current vs cell temperature on electron-irradiated n/p silicon solar cells show the temperature coefficient of this current to increase with increasing fluence for both 10-ohm and 20-ohm cells. A relationship between minority-carrier diffusion length and light-generated current was derived by combining measurements of these two parameters: vs fluence at room temperature, and vs cell temperature in cells irradiated to a fluence of 1 x 10 to the 15th power e/sq cm. This relationship was used, together with the light-generated current data, to calculate the temperature dependence of the diffusion-length damage coefficient. The results show a strong decrease in the damage coefficient with increasing temperature in the range experienced by solar panels in synchronous earth orbit.

Recombination luminescence from electron-irradiated Li-diffused Si

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, E. S.; Compton, W. D.; Noonan, J. R.; Streetman, B. G.

1973-01-01

Lithium doping has a dramatic effect on the low-temperature photoluminescence of electron-irradiated Si. In oxigen-lean Si with Li doping, a new irradiation-dependent luminescence band between 0.75 and 1.05 eV is observed, which is dominated by a zero-phonon peak at 1.045 eV. This band is believed to be due to radiative transitions involving a Li-modified divacancy. This band is present also in oxygen-rich, Li-diffused Si and is accompanied by bands previously related to the Si-G15(K) center and the divacancy. The intensities of the Li-modified divacancy and Si-G15(K) center bands are relatively weak in the oxygen-rich material, apparently due to the formation of lithium-oxygen complexes which reduce the concentration of unassociated interstitial Li and O.

New challenges in solar energy resource and forecasting in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazantzidis, A.; Nikitidou, E.; Salamalikis, V.; Tzoumanikas, P.; Zagouras, A.

2018-05-01

Aerosols and clouds are the most important constituents in the atmosphere that affect the incoming solar radiation, either directly through absorbing and scattering processes or indirectly by changing the optical properties and lifetime of clouds. Under clear skies, aerosols become the dominant factor that affect the intensity of solar irradiance reaching the ground. Under cloudy skies, the high temporal and spatial variability of cloudiness is the key factor for the estimation of solar irradiance. In this study, recent research activities related to the climatology and the prediction of solar energy in Greece are presented with emphasis on new challenges in the climatology of global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and direct normal irradiance (DNI), the changes of DNI due to the decreasing aerosol optical depth and the short-term (15-240 min) forecasts of solar irradiance with the collaborative use of neural networks and satellite images.

The influence of radiation-induced vacancy on the formation of thin-film of compound layer during a reactive diffusion process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akintunde, S. O.; Selyshchev, P. A.

2016-05-01

A theoretical approach is developed that describes the formation of a thin-film of AB-compound layer under the influence of radiation-induced vacancy. The AB-compound layer is formed as a result of a chemical reaction between the atomic species of A and B immiscible layers. The two layers are irradiated with a beam of energetic particles and this process leads to several vacant lattice sites creation in both layers due to the displacement of lattice atoms by irradiating particles. A- and B-atoms diffuse via these lattice sites by means of a vacancy mechanism in considerable amount to reaction interfaces A/AB and AB/B. The reaction interfaces increase in thickness as a result of chemical transformation between the diffusing species and surface atoms (near both layers). The compound layer formation occurs in two stages. The first stage begins as an interfacial reaction controlled process, and the second as a diffusion controlled process. The critical thickness and time are determined at a transition point between the two stages. The influence of radiation-induced vacancy on layer thickness, speed of growth, and reaction rate is investigated under irradiation within the framework of the model presented here. The result obtained shows that the layer thickness, speed of growth, and reaction rate increase strongly as the defect generation rate rises in the irradiated layers. It also shows the feasibility of producing a compound layer (especially in near-noble metal silicide considered in this study) at a temperature below their normal formation temperature under the influence of radiation.

Effect of electron beam irradiation on bacterial cellulose membranes used as transdermal drug delivery systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stoica-Guzun, Anicuta; Stroescu, Marta; Tache, Florin; Zaharescu, Traian; Grosu, Elena

2007-12-01

Ionizing radiation is an effective energetic source for polymer surfaces modification in order to obtain transdermal systems with different controlled release properties. In this work, gamma rays have been applied to induce changes in bacterial cellulose membranes. Permeation of drug (tetracycline) was theoretically and experimentally investigated starting from the effect of γ-irradiation on membranes permeability. Release and permeation of drug from irradiated and non-irradiated membranes have been performed using a diffusion cell.

Erosion processes in molassic cliffs: the role of the rock surface temperature and atmospheric conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carrea, Dario; Abellán, Antonio; Guerin, Antoine; Jaboyedoff, Michel; Voumard, Jérémie

2014-05-01

The morphology of the Swiss Plateau is modeled by numerous steep cliffs of Molasse. These cliffs are mainly composed of sub-horizontal alternated layers of sandstone, shale and conglomerates deposed in the Alps foreland basin during the Tertiary period. These Molasse cliffs are affected by erosion processes inducing numerous rockfall events. Thus, it is relevant to understand how different external factors influence Molasse erosion rates. In this study, we focus on analyzing temperature variation during a winter season. As pilot study area we selected a cliff which is formed by a sub-horizontal alternation of outcropping sandstone and shale. The westward facing test site (La Cornalle, Vaud, Switzerland), which is a lateral scarp of a slow moving landslide area, is currently affected by intense erosion. Regarding data acquisition, we monitored both in-situ rock and air temperatures at 15 minutes time-step since October 2013: (1) on the one hand we measured Ground Surface Temperature (GST) at near-surface (0.1 meter depth) using a GST mini-datalogger M-Log5W-Rock model; (2) On the other hand we monitored atmospheric conditions using a weather station (Davis Vantage pro2 plus) collecting numerous parameters (i.e. temperature, irradiation, rain, wind speed, etc.). Furthermore, the area was also seasonally monitored by Ground-Based (GB) LiDAR since 2010 and monthly monitored since September 2013. In order to understand how atmospheric conditions (such as freeze and thaw effect) influence the erosion of the cliff, we modeled the temperature diffusion through the rock mass. To this end, we applied heat diffusion and radiation equation using a 1D temperature profile, obtaining as a result both temperature variations at different depths together with the location of the 0°C isotherm. Our model was calibrated during a given training set using both in-situ rock temperatures and atmospheric conditions. We then carried out a comparison with the rockfall events derived from the 3D GB-LiDAR datasets in order to quantify the erosion rates and to correlate it with atmospheric conditions, aiming to analyze which parameters influence Molasse erosion process.

The Hot Horizontal-Branch Stars in NGC288 - Effects of Diffusion and Stratification on Their Atmospheric Parameters*

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moehler, S.; Dreizler, S.; LeBlanc, F.; Khalack, V.; Michaud, G.; Richer, J.; Sweigart, Allen V.; Grundahl, F.

2014-01-01

Context. NGC288 is a globular cluster with a well developed blue horizontal branch covering the so-called u-jump which indicates the onset of diffusion. It is therefore well suited to study the effects of diffusion in blue horizontal branch (HB) stars. Aims. We compare observed abundances to predictions from stellar evolution models calculated with diffusion and from stratified atmospheric models. We verify the effect of using stratified model spectra to derive atmospheric parameters. In addition we investigate the nature of the overluminous blue HB stars around the u-jump. Methods. We define a new photometric index sz from uvby measurements that is gravity sensitive between 8 000K and 12 000 K. Using medium-resolution spectra and Stroemgren photometry we determine atmospheric parameters (Teff, logg) and abundances for the blue HB stars. We use both homogeneous and stratified model spectra for our spectroscopic analyses. Results. The atmospheric parameters and masses of the hot HB stars in NGC288 show a behaviour seen also in other clusters for temperatures between 9 000K and 14 000 K. Outside this temperature range, however, they follow rather the results found for such stars in (omega)Cen. The abundances derived from our observations are for most elements (except He and P) within the abundance range expected from evolutionary models that include the effects of atomic diffusion and assume a surface mixed mass of 10(exp -7) M. The abundances predicted by stratified model atmospheres are generally significantly more extreme than observed, except for Mg. The use of stratified model spectra to determine effective temperatures, surface gravities and masses moves the hotter stars to a closer agreement with canonical evolutionary predictions. Conclusions. Our results show definite promise towards solving the long-standing issue of surface gravity and mass discrepancies for hot HB stars, but there is still much work needed to arrive at a self-consistent solution.

Anomalous Kinetics of Diffusion-Controlled Defect Annealing in Irradiated Ionic Solids.

PubMed

Kotomin, Eugene; Kuzovkov, Vladimir; Popov, Anatoli I; Maier, Joachim; Vila, Rafael

2018-01-11

The annealing kinetics of the primary electronic F-type color centers (oxygen vacancies with trapped one or two electrons) is analyzed for three ionic materials (Al 2 O 3 , MgO, and MgF 2 ) exposed to intensive irradiation by electrons, neutrons, and heavy swift ions. Phenomenological theory of diffusion-controlled recombination of the F-type centers with much more mobile interstitial ions (complementary hole centers) allows us to extract from experimental data the migration energy of interstitials and pre-exponential factor of diffusion. The obtained migration energies are compared with available first-principles calculations. It is demonstrated that with the increase of radiation fluence both the migration energy and pre-exponent are decreasing in all three materials, irrespective of the type of irradiation. Their correlation satisfies the Meyer-Neldel rule observed earlier in glasses, liquids, and disordered materials.The origin of this effect is discussed. This study demonstrates that in the quantitative analysis of the radiation damage of real materials the dependence of the defect migration parameters on the radiation fluence plays an important role and cannot be neglected.

Gamma radiation effects on phenolics, antioxidants activity and in vitro digestion of pistachio ( Pistachia vera) hull

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Behgar, M.; Ghasemi, S.; Naserian, A.; Borzoie, A.; Fatollahi, H.

2011-09-01

The effect of gamma radiation (10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 kGy) on tannin, total phenolics, antioxidants activity and in vitro digestion of pistachio hulls has been investigated in this study. The possibility of using the radial diffusion method based on software measurement of the rings area has also been investigated in this study. The software based method in radial diffusion method showed a higher r2 (0.995) value when compared to the traditional method. Irradiation reduced the tannin content ( P<0.01) and activity of antioxidants ( P<0.05) of pistachio hull extracts but increased the total phenolic content ( P<0.05). There was no effect of gamma irradiation on the in vitro digestion of the pistachio hull. Irradiation decreased the digestion rate of the pistachio hull at the dose of 40 kGy when compared to the control. This study showed that gamma irradiation decreased tannin and antioxidants activity of pistachio hull.

Imaging the Impact of Proton Irradiation on Edge Terminations in Vertical GaN pin Diodes

DOE PAGES

Collins, Kimberlee C.; King, Michael P.; Dickerson, Jeramy R.; ...

2017-05-29

Devices based on GaN have shown great promise for high power electronics, including their potential use as radiation tolerant components. An important step to realizing high power diodes is the design and implementation of an edge termination to mitigate field crowding, which can lead to premature breakdown. However, little is known about the effects of radiation on edge termination functionality. We experimentally examine the effects of proton irradiation on multiple field ring edge terminations in high power vertical GaN pin diodes using in operando imaging with electron beam induced current (EBIC). We find that exposure to proton irradiation influences fieldmore » spreading in the edge termination as well as carrier transport near the anode. By using depth-dependent EBIC measurements of hole diffusion length in homoepitaxial n-GaN we demonstrate that the carrier transport effect is due to a reduction in hole diffusion length following proton irradiation.« less

Imaging the Impact of Proton Irradiation on Edge Terminations in Vertical GaN pin Diodes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Collins, Kimberlee C.; King, Michael P.; Dickerson, Jeramy R.

Devices based on GaN have shown great promise for high power electronics, including their potential use as radiation tolerant components. An important step to realizing high power diodes is the design and implementation of an edge termination to mitigate field crowding, which can lead to premature breakdown. However, little is known about the effects of radiation on edge termination functionality. We experimentally examine the effects of proton irradiation on multiple field ring edge terminations in high power vertical GaN pin diodes using in operando imaging with electron beam induced current (EBIC). We find that exposure to proton irradiation influences fieldmore » spreading in the edge termination as well as carrier transport near the anode. By using depth-dependent EBIC measurements of hole diffusion length in homoepitaxial n-GaN we demonstrate that the carrier transport effect is due to a reduction in hole diffusion length following proton irradiation.« less

Effects of irradiation on the microstructure of U-7Mo dispersion fuel with Al-2Si matrix

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keiser, Dennis D.; Jue, Jan-Fong; Robinson, Adam B.; Medvedev, Pavel; Gan, Jian; Miller, Brandon D.; Wachs, Daniel M.; Moore, Glenn A.; Clark, Curtis R.; Meyer, Mitchell K.; Ross Finlay, M.

2012-06-01

The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program is developing low-enriched uranium U-Mo dispersion fuels for application in research and test reactors around the world. As part of this development, fuel plates have been irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor and then characterized using optical metallography (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine the as-irradiated microstructure. To demonstrate the irradiation performance of U-7Mo dispersion fuel plates with 2 wt.% Si added to the matrix, fuel plates were tested to moderate burnups at intermediate fission rates as part of the RERTR-6 experiment. Further testing was performed to higher fission rates as part of the RERTR-7A experiment, and very aggressive testing (high temperature, high fission density, and high fission rate) was performed in the RERTR-9A, RERTR-9B, and AFIP-1 experiments. As-irradiated microstructures were compared to those observed after fabrication to determine the effects of irradiation on the microstructure. Based on comparison of the microstructural characterization results for each irradiated sample, some general conclusions can be drawn about how the microstructure evolves during irradiation: there is growth during irradiation of the fuel/matrix interaction (FMI) layer created during fabrication; Si diffuses from the FMI layer to deeper depths in the U-7Mo particles as the irradiation conditions are made more aggressive; lowering of the Si content in the FMI layer results in an increase in the size of the fission gas bubbles; as the FMI layer grows during irradiation, more Si diffuses from the matrix to the FMI layer/matrix interface; and interlinking of fission gas bubbles in the fuel plate microstructure that may indicate breakaway swelling is not observed.

A two-dimensional kinematic dynamo model of the ionospheric magnetic field at Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cravens, T. E.; Wu, D.; Shinagawa, H.

1990-01-01

The results of a high-resolution, two-dimensional, time dependent, kinematic dynamo model of the ionospheric magnetic field of Venus are presented. Various one-dimensional models are considered and the two-dimensional model is then detailed. In this model, the two-dimensional magnetic induction equation, the magnetic diffusion-convection equation, is numerically solved using specified plasma velocities. Origins of the vertical velocity profile and of the horizontal velocities are discussed. It is argued that the basic features of the vertical magnetic field profile remain unaltered by horizontal flow effects and also that horizontal plasma flow can strongly affect the magnetic field for altitudes above 300 km.

Cosmic-ray effects on diffuse gamma-ray measurements.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fishman, G. J.

1972-01-01

Evaluation of calculations and experimental evidence from 600-MeV proton irradiation indicating that cosmic-ray-induced radioactivity in detectors used to measure the diffuse gamma-ray background produces a significant counting rate in the energy region around 1 MeV. It is concluded that these counts may be responsible for the observed flattening of the diffuse photon spectrum at this energy.

Thermosolutal convection in high-aspect-ratio enclosures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, L. W.; Chen, C. T.

1988-01-01

Convection in high-aspect-ratio rectangular enclosures with combined horizontal temperature and concentration gradients is studied experimentally. An electrochemical system is employed to impose the concentration gradients. The solutal buoyancy force either opposes or augments the thermal buoyancy force. Due to a large difference between the thermal and solutal diffusion rates the flow possesses double-diffusive characteristics. Various complex flow patterns are observed with different experimental conditions.

Multiscale simulation of xenon diffusion and grain boundary segregation in UO₂

DOE PAGES

Andersson, David A.; Tonks, Michael R.; Casillas, Luis; ...

2015-07-01

In light water reactor fuel, gaseous fission products segregate to grain boundaries, resulting in the nucleation and growth of large intergranular fission gas bubbles. The segregation rate is controlled by diffusion of fission gas atoms through the grains and interaction with the boundaries. Based on the mechanisms established from earlier density functional theory (DFT) and empirical potential calculations, diffusion models for xenon (Xe), uranium (U) vacancies and U interstitials in UO₂ have been derived for both intrinsic (no irradiation) and irradiation conditions. Segregation of Xe to grain boundaries is described by combining the bulk diffusion model with a model formore » the interaction between Xe atoms and three different grain boundaries in UO₂ (Σ5 tilt, Σ5 twist and a high angle random boundary), as derived from atomistic calculations. The present model does not attempt to capture nucleation or growth of fission gas bubbles at the grain boundaries. The point defect and Xe diffusion and segregation models are implemented in the MARMOT phase field code, which is used to calculate effective Xe and U diffusivities as well as to simulate Xe redistribution for a few simple microstructures.« less

Fast and long-range triplet exciton diffusion in metal-organic frameworks for photon upconversion at ultralow excitation power.

PubMed

Mahato, Prasenjit; Monguzzi, Angelo; Yanai, Nobuhiro; Yamada, Teppei; Kimizuka, Nobuo

2015-09-01

The conversion of low-energy light into photons of higher energy based on sensitized triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion (TTA-UC) has emerged as a promising wavelength-shifting methodology because it permits UC at excitation powers as low as the solar irradiance. However, its application has been significantly hampered by the slow diffusion of excited molecules in solid matrices. Here, we introduce metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that promote TTA-UC by taking advantage of triplet exciton migration among fluorophores that are regularly aligned with spatially controlled chromophore orientations. We synthesized anthracene-containing MOFs with different molecular orientations, and the analysis of TTA-UC emission kinetics unveiled a high triplet diffusion rate with a micrometre-scale diffusion length. Surface modification of MOF nanocrystals with donor molecules and their encapsulation in glassy poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) allowed the construction of molecular-diffusion-free solid-state upconverters, which lead to an unprecedented maximization of overall UC quantum yield at excitation powers comparable to or well below the solar irradiance.

Ex vivo laser lipolysis assisted with radially diffusing optical applicator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hwang, Jieun; Hau, Nguyen Trung; Park, Sung Yeon; Rhee, Yun-Hee; Ahn, Jin-Chul; Kang, Hyun Wook

2016-05-01

Laser-assisted lipolysis has been implemented to reduce body fat in light of thermal interactions with adipose tissue. However, using a flat fiber with high irradiance often needs rapid cannula movements and even undesirable thermal injury due to direct tissue contact. The aim of the current study was to explore the feasibility of a radially diffusing optical applicator to liquefy the adipose tissue for effective laser lipolysis. The proposed diffuser was evaluated with a flat fiber in terms of temperature elevation and tissue liquefaction after laser lipolysis with a 980-nm wavelength. Given the same power (20 W), the diffusing applicator generated a 30% slower temperature increase with a 25% lower maximum temperature (84±3.2°C in 1 min p<0.001) in the tissue, compared with the flat fiber. Under the equivalent temperature development, the diffuser induced up to fivefold larger area of the adipose liquefaction due to radial light emission than the flat fiber. Ex vivo tissue tests for 5-min irradiation demonstrated that the diffuser (1.24±0.15 g) liquefied 66% more adipose tissue than the flat fiber (0.75±0.05 g). The proposed diffusing applicator can be a feasible therapeutic device for laser lipolysis due to low temperature development and wide coverage of thermal treatment.

The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB)

DOE PAGES

Sengupta, Manajit; Xie, Yu; Lopez, Anthony; ...

2018-03-19

The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB), consisting of solar radiation and meteorological data over the United States and regions of the surrounding countries, is a publicly open dataset that has been created and disseminated during the last 23 years. This paper briefly reviews the complete package of surface observations, models, and satellite data used for the latest version of the NSRDB as well as improvements in the measurement and modeling technologies deployed in the NSRDB over the years. The current NSRDB provides solar irradiance at a 4-km horizontal resolution for each 30-min interval from 1998 to 2016 computed bymore » the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Physical Solar Model (PSM) and products from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), the National Ice Center's (NIC's) Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Modern Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). The NSRDB irradiance data have been validated and shown to agree with surface observations with mean percentage biases within 5% and 10% for global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and direct normal irradiance (DNI), respectively. The data can be freely accessed via https://nsrdb.nrel.gov or through an application programming interface (API). During the last 23 years, the NSRDB has been widely used by an ever-growing group of researchers and industry both directly and through tools such as NREL's System Advisor Model.« less

The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sengupta, Manajit; Xie, Yu; Lopez, Anthony

The National Solar Radiation Data Base (NSRDB), consisting of solar radiation and meteorological data over the United States and regions of the surrounding countries, is a publicly open dataset that has been created and disseminated during the last 23 years. This paper briefly reviews the complete package of surface observations, models, and satellite data used for the latest version of the NSRDB as well as improvements in the measurement and modeling technologies deployed in the NSRDB over the years. The current NSRDB provides solar irradiance at a 4-km horizontal resolution for each 30-min interval from 1998 to 2016 computed bymore » the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Physical Solar Model (PSM) and products from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), the National Ice Center's (NIC's) Interactive Multisensor Snow and Ice Mapping System (IMS), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Modern Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). The NSRDB irradiance data have been validated and shown to agree with surface observations with mean percentage biases within 5% and 10% for global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and direct normal irradiance (DNI), respectively. The data can be freely accessed via https://nsrdb.nrel.gov or through an application programming interface (API). During the last 23 years, the NSRDB has been widely used by an ever-growing group of researchers and industry both directly and through tools such as NREL's System Advisor Model.« less

Improving oxidation resistance and thermal insulation of thermal barrier coatings by intense pulsed electron beam irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mei, Xianxiu; Liu, Xiaofei; Wang, Cunxia; Wang, Younian; Dong, Chuang

2012-12-01

In this paper, intense pulsed electron beam was used for the irradiation treatment of 6-8% Y2O3-stablized ZrO2 thermal barrier coating prepared by electron beam-physical vapor deposition to achieve the "sealing" of columnar crystals, thus improving their thermal insulation properties and high temperature oxidation resistance. The electron beam parameters used were: pulse duration 200 μs, electron voltage 15 kV, energy density 3, 5, 8, 15, 20 J/cm2, and pulsed numbers 30. 1050 °C cyclic oxidation and static oxidation experiments were used for the research on oxidation resistance of the coatings. When the energy density of the electron beam was larger than 8 J/cm2, ZrO2 ceramic coating surface was fully re-melted and became smooth, dense and shiny. The coating changed into a smooth polycrystalline structure, thus achieving the "sealing" effect of the columnar crystals. After irradiations with the energy density of 8-15 J/cm2, the thermally grown oxide coating thickness decreased significantly in comparison with non-irradiated coatings, showing that the re-melted coating improved the oxidation resistance of the coatings. The results of thermal diffusivity test by laser flash method showed that the thermal diffusion rate of the irradiated coating was lower than that of the coating without irradiation treatment, and the thermal insulation performance of irradiated coating was improved.

Controlled release of tyrosol and ferulic acid encapsulated in chitosan-gelatin films after electron beam irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benbettaïeb, Nasreddine; Assifaoui, Ali; Karbowiak, Thomas; Debeaufort, Frédéric; Chambin, Odile

2016-01-01

This work deals with the study of the release kinetics of antioxidants (ferulic acid and tyrosol) incorporated into chitosan-gelatin edible films after irradiation processes. The aim was to determine the influence of electron beam irradiation (at 60 kGy) on the retention of antioxidants in the film, their release in water (pH=7) at 25 °C, in relation with the barrier and mechanical properties of biopolymer films. The film preparation process coupled to the irradiation induced a loss of about 20% of tyrosol but did not affect the ferulic acid content. However, 27% of the ferulic acid remained entrapped in the biopolymer network during the release experiments whereas all tyrosol was released. Irradiation induced a reduction of the release rate for both compounds, revealing that cross-linking occurred during irradiation. This was confirmed by the mechanical properties enhancement which tensile strength value significantly increased and by the reduction of permeabilities. Although molecular weights, molar volume and molecular radius of the two compounds are very similar, the effective diffusivity of tyrosol was 40 times greater than that of ferulic acid. The much lower effective diffusion coefficient of ferulic acid as determined from the release kinetics was explained by the interactions settled between ferulic acid molecules and the gelatin-chitosan matrix. As expected, the electron beam irradiation allowed modulating the retention and then the release of antioxidants encapsulated.

Lithium - An impurity of interest in radiation effects of silicon.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Naber, J. A.; Horiye, H.; Passenheim, B. C.

1971-01-01

Study of the introduction and annealing of defects produced in lithium-diffused float-zone n-type silicon by 30-MeV electrons and fission neutrons. The introduction rate of recombination centers produced by electron irradiation is dependent on lithium concentration and for neutron irradiation is independent of lithium concentration. The introduction rate of Si-B1 centers also depends on the lithium concentration. The annealing of electron- and neutron-produced recombination centers, Si-B1 centers, and Si-G7 centers in lithium-diffused silicon occurs at much lower temperatures than in nondiffused material.

Physics of ultra-high bioproductivity in algal photobioreactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenwald, Efrat; Gordon, Jeffrey M.; Zarmi, Yair

2012-04-01

Cultivating algae at high densities in thin photobioreactors engenders time scales for random cell motion that approach photosynthetic rate-limiting time scales. This synchronization allows bioproductivity above that achieved with conventional strategies. We show that a diffusion model for cell motion (1) accounts for high bioproductivity at irradiance values previously deemed restricted by photoinhibition, (2) predicts the existence of optimal culture densities and their dependence on irradiance, consistent with available data, (3) accounts for the observed degree to which mixing improves bioproductivity, and (4) provides an estimate of effective cell diffusion coefficients, in accord with independent hydrodynamic estimates.

Focal exposure of limited lung volumes to high-dose irradiation down-regulated organ development-related functions and up-regulated the immune response in mouse pulmonary tissues.

PubMed

Kim, Bu-Yeo; Jin, Hee; Lee, Yoon-Jin; Kang, Ga-Young; Cho, Jaeho; Lee, Yun-Sil

2016-01-27

Despite the emergence of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for treatment of medically inoperable early-stage non-small-cell lung cancer patients, the molecular effects of focal exposure of limited lung volumes to high-dose radiation have not been fully characterized. This study was designed to identify molecular changes induced by focal high-dose irradiation using a mouse model of SBRT. Central areas of the mouse left lung were focally-irradiated (3 mm in diameter) with a single high-dose of radiation (90 Gy). Temporal changes in gene expression in the irradiated and non-irradiated neighboring lung regions were analyzed by microarray. For comparison, the long-term effect (12 months) of 20 Gy radiation on a diffuse region of lung was also measured. The majority of genes were down-regulated in the focally-irradiated lung areas at 2 to 3 weeks after irradiation. This pattern of gene expression was clearly different than gene expression in the diffuse region of lungs exposed to low-dose radiation. Ontological and pathway analyses indicated these down-regulated genes were mainly associated with organ development. Although the number was small, genes that were up-regulated after focal irradiation were associated with immune-related functions. The temporal patterns of gene expression and the associated biological functions were also similar in non-irradiated neighboring lung regions, although statistical significance was greatly reduced when compared with those from focally-irradiated areas of the lung. From network analysis of temporally regulated genes, we identified inter-related modules associated with diverse functions, including organ development and the immune response, in both the focally-irradiated regions and non-irradiated neighboring lung regions. Focal exposure of lung tissue to high-dose radiation induced expression of genes associated with organ development and the immune response. This pattern of gene expression was also observed in non-irradiated neighboring areas of lung tissue, indicating a global lung response to focal high-dose irradiation.

Spectral measurements and analyses of atmospheric effects on remote sensor data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hulstrom, R. L.

1975-01-01

The radiance as measured by a satellite remote sensor is determined by a number of different factors, including the intervening atmosphere, the target reflectivity characteristics, the characteristics of the total incident solar irradiance, and the incident solar irradiance/sensor viewing geometry. Measurement techniques and instrumentation are considered, taking into account total and diffuse solar irradiance, target reflectance/radiance, atmospheric optical depth/transmittance, and atmospheric path radiance.

Development of a Radial Deconsolidation Method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Helmreich, Grant W.; Montgomery, Fred C.; Hunn, John D.

2015-12-01

A series of experiments have been initiated to determine the retention or mobility of fission products* in AGR fuel compacts [Petti, et al. 2010]. This information is needed to refine fission product transport models. The AGR-3/4 irradiation test involved half-inch-long compacts that each contained twenty designed-to-fail (DTF) particles, with 20-μm thick carbon-coated kernels whose coatings were deliberately fabricated such that they would crack under irradiation, providing a known source of post-irradiation isotopes. The DTF particles in these compacts were axially distributed along the compact centerline so that the diffusion of fission products released from the DTF kernels would be radiallymore » symmetric [Hunn, et al. 2012; Hunn et al. 2011; Kercher, et al. 2011; Hunn, et al. 2007]. Compacts containing DTF particles were irradiated at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) at the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) [Collin, 2015]. Analysis of the diffusion of these various post-irradiation isotopes through the compact requires a method to radially deconsolidate the compacts so that nested-annular volumes may be analyzed for post-irradiation isotope inventory in the compact matrix, TRISO outer pyrolytic carbon (OPyC), and DTF kernels. An effective radial deconsolidation method and apparatus appropriate to this application has been developed and parametrically characterized.« less

Diffusion lengths in irradiated N/P InP-on-Si solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wojtczuk, Steven; Colerico, Claudia; Summers, Geoffrey P.; Walters, Robert J.; Burke, Edward A.

1996-01-01

Indium phosphide (InP) solar cells were made on silicon (Si) wafers (InP/Si) by to take advantage of both the radiation-hardness properties of the InP solar cell and the light weight and low cost of Si wafers. The InP/Si cell application is for long duration and/or high radiation orbit space missions. Spire has made N/P InP/Si cells of sizes up to 2 cm by 4 cm with beginning-of-life (BOL) AM0 efficiencies over 13% (one-sun, 28C). These InP/Si cells have higher absolute efficiency and power density after a high radiation dose than gallium arsenide (GaAs) or silicon (Si) solar cells after a fluence of about 2e15 1 MeV electrons/sq. cm. In this work, we investigate the minority carrier (electron) base diffusion lengths in the N/P InP/Si cells. A quantum efficiency model was constructed for a 12% BOL AM0 N/P InP/Si cell which agreed well with the absolutely measured quantum efficiency and the sun-simulator measured AM0 photocurrent (30.1 mA/sq. cm). This model was then used to generate a table of AM0 photocurrents for a range of base diffusion lengths. AM0 photocurrents were then measured for irradiations up to 7.7e16 1 MeV electrons/sq. cm (the 12% BOL cell was 8% after the final irradiation). By comparing the measured photocurrents with the predicted photocurrents, base diffusion lengths were assigned at each fluence level. A damage coefficient K of 4e-8 and a starting (unirradiated) base electron diffusion length of 0.8 microns fits the data well. The quantum efficiency was measured again at the end of the experiment to verify that the photocurrent predicted by the model (25.5 mA/sq. cm) agreed with the simulator-measured photocurrent after irradiation (25.7 mA/sq. cm).

Effects of proton irradiation on structural and electrochemical charge storage properties of TiO 2 nanotube electrodes for lithium-ion batteries

DOE PAGES

Smith, Kassiopeia A.; Savva, Andreas I.; Deng, Changjian; ...

2017-03-23

The effects of proton irradiation on nanostructured metal oxides have been investigated. Recent studies suggest that the presence of structural defects (e.g. vacancies and interstitials) in metal oxides may enhance the material's electrochemical charge storage capacity. A new approach to introduce defects in electrode materials is to use ion irradiation as it can produce a supersaturation of point defects in the target material. In this work we report the effect of low-energy proton irradiation on amorphous TiO 2 nanotube electrodes at both room temperature and high temperature (250 °C). Upon room temperature irradiation the nanotubes demonstrate an irradiation-induced phase transformationmore » to a mixture of amorphous, anatase, and rutile domains while showing a 35% reduction in capacity compared to anatase TiO 2. On the other hand, the high temperature proton irradiation induced a disordered rutile phase within the nanotubes as characterized by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, which displays an improved capacity by 20% at ~240 mA h g –1 as well as improved rate capability compared to an unirradiated anatase sample. Voltammetric sweep data were used to determine the contributions from diffusion-limited intercalation and capacitive processes and it was found that the electrodes after irradiation had more contributions from diffusion in lithium charge storage. Finally, our work suggests that tailoring the defect generation through ion irradiation within metal oxide electrodes could present a new avenue for designing advanced electrode materials.« less

Effects of proton irradiation on structural and electrochemical charge storage properties of TiO 2 nanotube electrodes for lithium-ion batteries

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Smith, Kassiopeia A.; Savva, Andreas I.; Deng, Changjian

The effects of proton irradiation on nanostructured metal oxides have been investigated. Recent studies suggest that the presence of structural defects (e.g. vacancies and interstitials) in metal oxides may enhance the material's electrochemical charge storage capacity. A new approach to introduce defects in electrode materials is to use ion irradiation as it can produce a supersaturation of point defects in the target material. In this work we report the effect of low-energy proton irradiation on amorphous TiO 2 nanotube electrodes at both room temperature and high temperature (250 °C). Upon room temperature irradiation the nanotubes demonstrate an irradiation-induced phase transformationmore » to a mixture of amorphous, anatase, and rutile domains while showing a 35% reduction in capacity compared to anatase TiO 2. On the other hand, the high temperature proton irradiation induced a disordered rutile phase within the nanotubes as characterized by Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, which displays an improved capacity by 20% at ~240 mA h g –1 as well as improved rate capability compared to an unirradiated anatase sample. Voltammetric sweep data were used to determine the contributions from diffusion-limited intercalation and capacitive processes and it was found that the electrodes after irradiation had more contributions from diffusion in lithium charge storage. Finally, our work suggests that tailoring the defect generation through ion irradiation within metal oxide electrodes could present a new avenue for designing advanced electrode materials.« less

Technical Report Series on Global Modeling and Data Assimilation. Volume 22; A Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Radiative Model for Global Ocean Biogeochemical Models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, Watson W.; Suarez, Max J. (Editor)

2002-01-01

An ocean-atmosphere radiative model (OARM) evaluates irradiance availability and quality in the water column to support phytoplankton growth and drive ocean thermodynamics. An atmospheric component incorporates spectral and directional effects of clear and cloudy skies as a function of atmospheric optical constituents, and spectral reflectance across the air-sea interface. An oceanic component evaluates the propagation of spectral and directional irradiance through the water column as a function of water, five phytoplankton groups, and chromophoric dissolved organic matter. It tracks the direct and diffuse streams from the atmospheric component, and a third stream, upwelling diffuse irradiance. The atmospheric component of OARM was compared to data sources at the ocean surface with a coefficient of determination (r2) of 0.97 and a root mean square of 12.1%.

Local effects of partly-cloudy skies on solar and emitted radiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitney, D. A.; Venable, D. D.

1982-01-01

A computer automated data acquisition system for atmospheric emittance, and global solar, downwelled diffuse solar, and direct solar irradiances is discussed. Hourly-integrated global solar and atmospheric emitted radiances were measured continuously from February 1981 and hourly-integrated diffuse solar and direct solar irradiances were measured continuously from October 1981. One-minute integrated data are available for each of these components from February 1982. The results of the correlation of global insolation with fractional cloud cover for the first year's data set. A February data set, composed of one-minute integrated global insolation and direct solar irradiance, cloud cover fractions, meteorological data from nearby weather stations, and GOES East satellite radiometric data, was collected to test the theoretical model of satellite radiometric data correlation and develop the cloud dependence for the local measurement site.

Advantages of diffuse light for horticultural production and perspectives for further research

PubMed Central

Li, Tao; Yang, Qichang

2015-01-01

Plants use diffuse light more efficiently than direct light, which is well established due to diffuse light penetrates deeper into the canopy and photosynthetic rate of a single leaf shows a non-linear response to the light flux density. Diffuse light also results in a more even horizontal and temporal light distribution in the canopy, which plays substantial role for crop photosynthesis enhancement as well as production improvement. Here we show some of the recent findings about the effect of diffuse light on light distribution over the canopy and its direct and indirect effects on crop photosynthesis and plant growth, and suggest some perspectives for further research which could strengthen the scientific understanding of diffuse light modulate plant processes and its application in horticultural production. PMID:26388890

The influence of artificial radiation damage and thermal annealing on helium diffusion kinetics in apatite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shuster, David L.; Farley, Kenneth A.

2009-01-01

Recent work [Shuster D. L., Flowers R. M. and Farley K. A. (2006) The influence of natural radiation damage on helium diffusion kinetics in apatite. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.249(3-4), 148-161] revealing a correlation between radiogenic 4He concentration and He diffusivity in natural apatites suggests that helium migration is retarded by radiation-induced damage to the crystal structure. If so, the He diffusion kinetics of an apatite is an evolving function of time and the effective uranium concentration in a cooling sample, a fact which must be considered when interpreting apatite (U-Th)/He ages. Here we report the results of experiments designed to investigate and quantify this phenomenon by determining He diffusivities in apatites after systematically adding or removing radiation damage. Radiation damage was added to a suite of synthetic and natural apatites by exposure to between 1 and 100 h of neutron irradiation in a nuclear reactor. The samples were then irradiated with a 220 MeV proton beam and the resulting spallogenic 3He used as a diffusant in step-heating diffusion experiments. In every sample, irradiation increased the activation energy ( E a) and the frequency factor ( D o/ a2) of diffusion and yielded a higher He closure temperature ( T c) than the starting material. For example, 100 h in the reactor caused the He closure temperature to increase by as much as 36 °C. For a given neutron fluence the magnitude of increase in closure temperature scales negatively with the initial closure temperature. This is consistent with a logarithmic response in which the neutron damage is additive to the initial damage present. In detail, the irradiations introduce correlated increases in E a and ln( D o/a 2) that lie on the same array as found in natural apatites. This strongly suggests that neutron-induced damage mimics the damage produced by U and Th decay in natural apatites. To investigate the potential consequences of annealing of radiation damage, samples of Durango apatite were heated in vacuum to temperatures up to 550 °C for between 1 and 350 h. After this treatment the samples were step-heated using the remaining natural 4He as the diffusant. At temperatures above 290 °C a systematic change in T c was observed, with values becoming lower with increasing temperature and time. For example, reduction of T c from the starting value of 71 to ˜52 °C occurred in 1 h at 375 °C or 10 h at 330 °C. The observed variations in T c are strongly correlated with the fission track length reduction predicted from the initial holding time and temperature. Furthermore, like the neutron irradiated apatites, these samples plot on the same E a - ln( D o/ a2) array as natural samples, suggesting that damage annealing is simply undoing the consequences of damage accumulation in terms of He diffusivity. Taken together these data provide unequivocal evidence that at these levels, radiation damage acts to retard He diffusion in apatite, and that thermal annealing reverses the process. The data provide support for the previously described radiation damage trapping kinetic model of Shuster et al. (2006) and can be used to define a model which fully accommodates damage production and annealing.

Short-Term Global Horizontal Irradiance Forecasting Based on Sky Imaging and Pattern Recognition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hodge, Brian S; Feng, Cong; Cui, Mingjian

Accurate short-term forecasting is crucial for solar integration in the power grid. In this paper, a classification forecasting framework based on pattern recognition is developed for 1-hour-ahead global horizontal irradiance (GHI) forecasting. Three sets of models in the forecasting framework are trained by the data partitioned from the preprocessing analysis. The first two sets of models forecast GHI for the first four daylight hours of each day. Then the GHI values in the remaining hours are forecasted by an optimal machine learning model determined based on a weather pattern classification model in the third model set. The weather pattern ismore » determined by a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The developed framework is validated by the GHI and sky imaging data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Results show that the developed short-term forecasting framework outperforms the persistence benchmark by 16% in terms of the normalized mean absolute error and 25% in terms of the normalized root mean square error.« less

LASER APPLICATIONS AND OTHER TOPICS IN QUANTUM ELECTRONICS Fibreoptic diffuse-light irradiators of biological tissues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volkov, Vladimir V.; Loshchenov, V. B.; Konov, Vitalii I.; Kononenko, Vitalii V.

2010-10-01

We report techniques for the fabrication of laser radiation diffusers for interstitial photodynamic therapy. Using chemical etching of the distal end of silica fibre with a core diameter of 200 — 600 μm, we have obtained long (up to 40 mm) diffusers with good scattering uniformity. Laser ablation has been used to produce cylindrical diffusers with high emission contrast and a scattering uniformity no worse than ~10 % in their middle part. The maximum length of the diffusers produced by this method is 20 — 25 mm.

Crystal plasticity modeling of irradiation growth in Zircaloy-2

DOE PAGES

Patra, Anirban; Tome, Carlos; Golubov, Stanislav I.

2017-05-10

A reaction-diffusion based mean field rate theory model is implemented in the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) crystal plasticity framework to simulate irradiation growth in hcp Zr and its alloys. A novel scheme is proposed to model the evolution (both number density and radius) of irradiation-induced dislocation loops that can be informed directly from experimental data of dislocation density evolution during irradiation. This framework is used to predict the irradiation growth behavior of cold-worked Zircaloy-2 and trends compared to available experimental data. The role of internal stresses in inducing irradiation creep is discussed. Effects of grain size, texture, and external stress onmore » the coupled irradiation growth and creep behavior are also studied.« less

Crystal plasticity modeling of irradiation growth in Zircaloy-2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Patra, Anirban; Tome, Carlos; Golubov, Stanislav I.

A reaction-diffusion based mean field rate theory model is implemented in the viscoplastic self-consistent (VPSC) crystal plasticity framework to simulate irradiation growth in hcp Zr and its alloys. A novel scheme is proposed to model the evolution (both number density and radius) of irradiation-induced dislocation loops that can be informed directly from experimental data of dislocation density evolution during irradiation. This framework is used to predict the irradiation growth behavior of cold-worked Zircaloy-2 and trends compared to available experimental data. The role of internal stresses in inducing irradiation creep is discussed. Effects of grain size, texture, and external stress onmore » the coupled irradiation growth and creep behavior are also studied.« less

A semiparametric spatio-temporal model for solar irradiance data

DOE PAGES

Patrick, Joshua D.; Harvill, Jane L.; Hansen, Clifford W.

2016-03-01

Here, we evaluate semiparametric spatio-temporal models for global horizontal irradiance at high spatial and temporal resolution. These models represent the spatial domain as a lattice and are capable of predicting irradiance at lattice points, given data measured at other lattice points. Using data from a 1.2 MW PV plant located in Lanai, Hawaii, we show that a semiparametric model can be more accurate than simple interpolation between sensor locations. We investigate spatio-temporal models with separable and nonseparable covariance structures and find no evidence to support assuming a separable covariance structure. These results indicate a promising approach for modeling irradiance atmore » high spatial resolution consistent with available ground-based measurements. Moreover, this kind of modeling may find application in design, valuation, and operation of fleets of utility-scale photovoltaic power systems.« less

Mechanisms of Mixed-Layer Salinity Seasonal Variability in the Indian Ocean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Köhler, Julia; Serra, Nuno; Bryan, Frank O.; Johnson, Benjamin K.; Stammer, Detlef

2018-01-01

Based on a joint analysis of an ensemble mean of satellite sea surface salinity retrievals and the output of a high-resolution numerical ocean circulation simulation, physical processes are identified that control seasonal variations of mixed-layer salinity (MLS) in the Indian Ocean, a basin where salinity changes dominate changes in density. In the northern and near-equatorial Indian Ocean, annual salinity changes are mainly driven by respective changes of the horizontal advection. South of the equatorial region, between 45°E and 90°E, where evaporation minus precipitation has a strong seasonal cycle, surface freshwater fluxes control the seasonal MLS changes. The influence of entrainment on the salinity variance is enhanced in mid-ocean upwelling regions but remains small. The model and observational results reveal that vertical diffusion plays a major role in precipitation and river runoff dominated regions balancing the surface freshwater flux. Vertical diffusion is important as well in regions where the advection of low salinity leads to strong gradients across the mixed-layer base. There, vertical diffusion explains a large percentage of annual MLS variance. The simulation further reveals that (1) high-frequency small-scale eddy processes primarily determine the salinity tendency in coastal regions (in particular in the Bay of Bengal) and (2) shear horizontal advection, brought about by changes in the vertical structure of the mixed layer, acts against mean horizontal advection in the equatorial salinity frontal regions. Observing those latter features with the existing observational components remains a future challenge.

Analysis of intergranular fission-gas bubble-size distributions in irradiated uranium-molybdenum alloy fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rest, J.; Hofman, G. L.; Kim, Yeon Soo

2009-04-01

An analytical model for the nucleation and growth of intra and intergranular fission-gas bubbles is used to characterize fission-gas bubble development in low-enriched U-Mo alloy fuel irradiated in the advanced test reactor in Idaho as part of the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program. Fuel burnup was limited to less than ˜7.8 at.% U in order to capture the fuel-swelling stage prior to irradiation-induced recrystallization. The model couples the calculation of the time evolution of the average intergranular bubble radius and number density to the calculation of the intergranular bubble-size distribution based on differential growth rate and sputtering coalescence processes. Recent results on TEM analysis of intragranular bubbles in U-Mo were used to set the irradiation-induced diffusivity and re-solution rate in the bubble-swelling model. Using these values, good agreement was obtained for intergranular bubble distribution compared against measured post-irradiation examination (PIE) data using grain-boundary diffusion enhancement factors of 15-125, depending on the Mo concentration. This range of enhancement factors is consistent with values obtained in the literature.

Methods to Estimate Solar Radiation Dosimetry in Coral Reefs Using Remote Sensed, Modeled, and in Situ Data.

EPA Science Inventory

Solar irradiance has been increasingly recognized as an important determinant of bleaching in coral reefs, but measurements of solar radiation exposure within coral reefs have been relatively limited. Solar irradiance and diffuse down welling attenuation coefficients (Kd, m-1) we...

The Social Fabric and Innovation Diffusion: Symbolic Adoption of Food

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sapp, Stephen G.; Korsching, Peter F.

2004-01-01

This study used a longitudinal, panel design to examine the effects of negative information acquisition, compliance with opinion leader endorsements, and social demographic characteristics on consumers' symbolic adoption of food irradiation. Data collection coincided with the first market test of irradiated food conducted by a commercial firm,…

Bio-Optical Properties of the Arabian Sea as Determined by In Situ and Sea WiFS Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Trees, Charles C.

1997-01-01

The overall objective of this work was to characterize optical and fluorescence properties in the euphotic zone during two British Ocean Flux Study (BOFS) Arabian Sea cruises. This was later expanded in 1995 to include three U.S. JGOFS Arabian Sea Cruises. The region was to be divided into one or more "bio-optical provinces," within each of which a single set of regression models was to be developed to relate the vertical distribution of irradiance attenuation and normalized fluorescence (SF and NF) to remote sensing reflectance and diffuse attenuation coefficient. The working hypothesis was that over relatively large spatial and temporal scales, the vertical profiles of bio-optical properties were predictable. The specific technical objectives were: (1) To characterize the vertical distribution of the inherent and apparent optical properties by measuring downwelling and upwelling irradiances, upwelling radiances, scalar irradiance of PAR, and beam transmissions at each station - from these data, spectral diffuse attenuation coefficients, irradiance reflectances, remote sensing reflectances, surface-leaving radiances and beam attenuation coefficients were determined; (2) To characterize the spectral absorption of total particulate, detrital, and dissolved organic material at each station from discrete water samples; (3) To describe the vertical distribution of photoadaptive properties in the water column by measuring profiles of stimulated (SF) and natural (NF) fluorescence and examining relationships between SF and NF as a function of diffuse optical depth, pigment biomass and primary productivity; and (4) To establish locally derived, in-water algorithms relating remote sensing reflectance spectra to diffuse attenuation coefficients, phytoplankton pigment concentrations and primary productivity, through intercomparisons with in situ measurements, for application to SeaWiFS data.

Effects of temperature during the irradiation of calcium carbonate.

PubMed

Negrón-Mendoza, Alicia; Camargo-Raya, Claudia; Gómez-Vidales, Virginia; Uribe, Roberto M; Ramos-Bernal, Sergio

2016-05-01

Calcium carbonate received gamma irradiation at different doses (0-309kGy) and temperature regimes (77-298K) to study the effects of irradiation temperature. The changes were followed by EPR spectroscopy. We observed the formation of a composite EPR spectrum, even at low radiation doses and temperature. There was a strong effect on the evaluation of the radicals formed as a function of irradiation temperature, probably due to the diffusion in the frozen powder and the recombination of some radicals at room temperature. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-time temperature monitoring with fiber Bragg grating sensor during diffuser-assisted laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy.

PubMed

Pham, Ngot Thi; Lee, Seul Lee; Park, Suhyun; Lee, Yong Wook; Kang, Hyun Wook

2017-04-01

High-sensitivity temperature sensors have been used to validate real-time thermal responses in tissue during photothermal treatment. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the feasible application of a fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor for diffuser-assisted laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (LITT) particularly to treat tubular tissue disease. A 600 - ? m core-diameter diffuser was employed to deliver 980-nm laser light for coagulation treatment. Both a thermocouple and a FBG were comparatively tested to evaluate temperature measurements in ex vivo liver tissue. The degree of tissue denaturation was estimated as a function of irradiation times and quantitatively compared with light distribution as well as temperature development. At the closer distance to a heat source, the thermocouple measured up to 41% higher maximum temperature than the FBG sensor did after 120-s irradiation (i.e., 98.7 ° C ± 6.1 ° C for FBG versus 131.0 ° C ± 5.1 ° C for thermocouple; p < 0.001 ). Ex vivo porcine urethra tests confirmed the real-time temperature measurements of the FBG sensor as well as consistently circumferential tissue denaturation after 72-s irradiation ( coagulation thickness = 2.2 ± 0.3 ?? mm ). The implementation of FBG can be a feasible sensing technique to instantaneously monitor the temperature developments during diffuser-assisted LITT for treatment of tubular tissue structure.

A diffusion-free and linear-energy-transfer-independent nanocomposite Fricke gel dosimeter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maeyama, T.; Fukunishi, N.; Ishikawa, K. L.; Furuta, T.; Fukasaku, K.; Takagi, S.; Noda, S.; Himeno, R.; Fukuda, S.

2014-03-01

We report a new magnetic-resonance-imaging (MRI) based nanocomposite Fricke gel (NC-FG) dosimeter system, which is free from two main drawbacks of conventional Fricke gel dosimeters, namely, the diffusion of the radiation products and the linear-energy-transfer (LET) dependence of the radiation sensitivity when used for ion beams. The NC-FG dosimeter was prepared by incorporating 1% (w/w) clay nanoparticles into deaerated Fricke gel. We have dosimetrically characterized the NC-FG by using MRI measurements after irradiation with a monoenergetic 290 MeV/nucleon carbon beam. No diffusion of the radiation products was observed during nine days after the irradiation. Moreover, its response faithfully reproduced the depth-dose distribution measured by an ionization chamber, which indicates the absence of the LET dependence. Also, the NC-FG dosimeter exhibited a good linearity up to 800 Gy.

Breakdown of dynamic balance of a particle in a quadrupole cell by laser-induced aerosol heating.

PubMed

Itoh, M; Lwamoto, T; Takahashi, K; Kuno, S

1992-08-20

The retention stability of an aerosol particle in a quadrupole cell exposed to horizontal irradiation with a CO(2) laser is investigated for several sizes of single spherical carbon particles. The stability of dynamic balance for the particle levitation is affected significantly by the irradiation and breaks down at a power higher than 10(5) W/m(2). The particle is pushed away along the beam line, and its trajectory is slightly upward owing to the laser-induced aerosol heating.

Longitudinal diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging study of radiation-induced white matter damage in a rat model.

PubMed

Wang, Silun; Wu, Ed X; Qiu, Deqiang; Leung, Lucullus H T; Lau, Ho-Fai; Khong, Pek-Lan

2009-02-01

Radiation-induced white matter (WM) damage is a major side effect of whole brain irradiation among childhood cancer survivors. We evaluate longitudinally the diffusion characteristics of the late radiation-induced WM damage in a rat model after 25 and 30 Gy irradiation to the hemibrain at 8 time points from 2 to 48 weeks postradiation. We hypothesize that diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI) indices including fractional anisotropy (FA), trace, axial diffusivity (lambda(//)), and radial diffusivity (lambda( perpendicular)) can accurately detect and monitor the histopathologic changes of radiation-induced WM damage, measured at the EC, and that these changes are dose and time dependent. Results showed a progressive reduction of FA, which was driven by reduction in lambda(//) from 4 to 40 weeks postradiation, and an increase in lambda( perpendicular) with return to baseline in lambda(//) at 48 weeks postradiation. Histologic evaluation of irradiated WM showed reactive astrogliosis from 4 weeks postradiation with reversal at 36 weeks, and demyelination, axonal degeneration, and necrosis at 48 weeks postradiation. Moreover, changes in lambda(//) correlated with reactive astrogliosis (P < 0.01) and lambda( perpendicular) correlated with demyelination (P < 0.01). Higher radiation dose (30 Gy) induced earlier and more severe histologic changes than lower radiation dose (25 Gy), and these differences were reflected by the magnitude of changes in lambda(//) and lambda( perpendicular). DTI indices reflected the histopathologic changes of WM damage and our results support the use of DTI as a biomarker to noninvasively monitor radiation-induced WM damage.

Investigation of instability of M23C6 particles in F82H steel under electron and ion irradiation conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kano, Sho; Yang, Huilong; Shen, Jingjie; Zhao, Zishou; McGrady, John; Hamaguchi, Dai; Ando, Mamami; Tanigawa, Hiroyasu; Abe, Hiroaki

2018-04-01

In order to clarify the instability of M23C6 in F82H steel under irradiation, both electron irradiation using a high voltage electron microscope (HVEM) and ion irradiation using an ion accelerator were performed. For the electron irradiation, in-situ observation under 2 MV electron irradiation and ex-situ high resolution electron microscopic (HREM) analysis were utilized to evaluate the response of M23C6 against irradiation. The temperature dependence of the irradiation induced instability of the carbide was first confirmed: 293 K < T < 573 K, by observation of lowering in contrast at the periphery of carbides, 698 K < T < 773 K, fragmentation at the interface between carbides and matrix, and at 773 K, formation and coarsening of new particles near the periphery of M23C6. HREM analysis showed the loss of the lattice fringe contrast at the pre-existing M23C6 precipitates at temperatures ranging from 473 to 773 K, indicating severe loss of crystallinity due to dissolution of the constituent atoms though irradiation-enhanced diffusion under the vacancy diffusion by the focused electron beam irradiation. For the ion irradiation, 10.5 MeV-Fe3+ ion was applied to bombard the F82H steel at 673 K to achieve the displacement damage of ≈20 dpa at the depth of 1.0 μm from surface. Cross-section TEM specimens were prepared by a focused ion beam technique. The shrinkage of carbide particles was observed especially near the irradiation surface. Besides, the lattice fringes at the periphery of carbide were observed in the irradiated M23C6 by the HREM analysis, which is different from that observed in the electron irradiation. It was clarified that the instability of M23C6 is dependent on the irradiation conditions, indicating that the flow rate of vacancy type defects might be the key factor to cause the dissolution of constituent atoms of carbide particles into matrix under irradiation.

Association of adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with thoracic irradiation (RT)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Byhardt, R.W.; Abrams, R.; Almagro, U.

1988-12-01

The authors report two cases of apparent adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) following limited thoracic irradiation for lung cancer. Respiratory failure followed rapidly after irradiation with diffuse bilateral infiltrates, both in and out of the irradiated volume along with progressive hypoxemia unresponsive to oxygen management. Other potential causes of lung injury such as lymphangitic tumor, cardiac failure, and infections were excluded by both premortem and postmortem examination. Autopsy findings in both irradiated and unirradiated volumes of lung were consistent with hyaline membrane changes. The possible relationship between radiation therapy to limited lung volumes and the development of adult respiratory distressmore » syndrome is discussed.« less

A Horizontal Multi-Purpose Microbeam System.

PubMed

Xu, Y; Randers-Pehrson, G; Marino, S A; Garty, G; Harken, A; Brenner, D J

2018-04-21

A horizontal multi-purpose microbeam system with a single electrostatic quadruplet focusing lens has been developed at the Columbia University Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). It is coupled with the RARAF 5.5 MV Singleton accelerator (High Voltage Engineering Europa, the Netherlands) and provides micrometer-size beam for single cell irradiation experiments. It is also used as the primary beam for a neutron microbeam and microPIXE (particle induced x-ray emission) experiment because of its high particle fluence. The optimization of this microbeam has been investigated with ray tracing simulations and the beam spot size has been verified by different measurements.

A horizontal multi-purpose microbeam system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Y.; Randers-Pehrson, G.; Marino, S. A.; Garty, G.; Harken, A.; Brenner, D. J.

2018-04-01

A horizontal multi-purpose microbeam system with a single electrostatic quadruplet focusing lens has been developed at the Columbia University Radiological Research Accelerator Facility (RARAF). It is coupled with the RARAF 5.5 MV Singleton accelerator (High Voltage Engineering Europa, the Netherlands) and provides micrometer-size beam for single cell irradiation experiments. It is also used as the primary beam for a neutron microbeam and microPIXE (particle induced x-ray emission) experiment because of its high particle fluence. The optimization of this microbeam has been investigated with ray tracing simulations and the beam spot size has been verified by different measurements.

Horizontal convection with mechanical stirring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Griffiths, Ross; Stewart, Kial; Hughes, Graham

2012-11-01

The effects of turbulent mixing on convective circulation forced by a horizontal gradient of buoyancy at the surface is examined using laboratory experiments in which a salt flux is introduced at the surface, at one end of a box, and a freshwater buoyancy condition is applied over the rest of the surface. Horizontal rods are oscillated and yo-yoed continuously through the water column, providing a diffusivity that can be calibrated. The convection reaches a stationary state having zero net salt flux. We find that for small stirring rates the small but finite volume flux from the dense source is significant and a virtual source correction is required to take this into account. The density stratification and overturning volume transport are consistent with a theoretical model for high Rayleigh numbers: the transport ψ increases with diffusivity κ (ψg ~ gκ 1 / 4) . The results show that vertical mixing in the boundary layer is important, particularly in setting the density of the interior and the overturning rate. However, interior mixing is unimportant, which raises an interesting question over whether abyssal mixing rates in the ocean play any significant role in setting the abyssal ocean density or the transport in the Meridional Overturning Circulation.

Field evaluation of a horizontal well recirculation system for groundwater treatment: Field demonstration at X-701B Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Piketon, Ohio

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Korte, N.; Muck, M.; Kearl, P.

1998-08-01

This report describes the field-scale demonstration performed as part of the project, In Situ Treatment of Mixed Contaminants in Groundwater. This project was a 3{1/2} year effort comprised of laboratory work performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and fieldwork performed at the US Department of Energy (DOE) Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PORTS). The overall goal of the project was to evaluate in situ treatment of groundwater using horizontal recirculation coupled with treatment modules. Specifically, horizontal recirculation was tested because of its application to thin, interbedded aquifer zones. Mixed contaminants were targeted because of their prominence at DOE sites and becausemore » they cannot be treated with conventional methods. The project involved several research elements, including treatment process evaluation, hydrodynamic flow and transport modeling, pilot testing at an uncontaminated site, and full-scale testing at a contaminated site. This report presents the results of the work at the contaminated site, X-701B at PORTS. Groundwater contamination at X-701B consists of trichloroethene (TCE) (concentrations up to 1800 mg/L) and technetium-998 (Tc{sup 99}) (activities up to 926 pCi/L).« less

Preliminary dosimetric study on feasibility of multi-beam boron neutron capture therapy in patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma without craniotomy.

PubMed

Lee, Jia-Cheng; Chuang, Keh-Shih; Chen, Yi-Wei; Hsu, Fang-Yuh; Chou, Fong-In; Yen, Sang-Hue; Wu, Yuan-Hung

2017-01-01

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a very frustrating disease. Since the tumor infiltrates the brain stem, surgical removal is often impossible. For conventional radiotherapy, the dose constraint of the brain stem impedes attempts at further dose escalation. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a targeted radiotherapy, carries the potential to selectively irradiate tumors with an adequate dose while sparing adjacent normal tissue. In this study, 12 consecutive patients treated with conventional radiotherapy in our institute were reviewed to evaluate the feasibility of BNCT. NCTPlan Ver. 1.1.44 was used for dose calculations. Compared with two and three fields, the average maximal dose to the normal brain may be lowered to 7.35 ± 0.72 Gy-Eq by four-field irradiation. The mean ratio of minimal dose to clinical target volume and maximal dose to normal tissue was 2.41 ± 0.26 by four-field irradiation. A therapeutic benefit may be expected with multi-field boron neutron capture therapy to treat diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma without craniotomy, while the maximal dose to the normal brain would be minimized by using the four-field setting.

Preliminary dosimetric study on feasibility of multi-beam boron neutron capture therapy in patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma without craniotomy

PubMed Central

Lee, Jia-Cheng; Chuang, Keh-Shih; Chen, Yi-Wei; Hsu, Fang-Yuh; Chou, Fong-In; Yen, Sang-Hue

2017-01-01

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is a very frustrating disease. Since the tumor infiltrates the brain stem, surgical removal is often impossible. For conventional radiotherapy, the dose constraint of the brain stem impedes attempts at further dose escalation. Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), a targeted radiotherapy, carries the potential to selectively irradiate tumors with an adequate dose while sparing adjacent normal tissue. In this study, 12 consecutive patients treated with conventional radiotherapy in our institute were reviewed to evaluate the feasibility of BNCT. NCTPlan Ver. 1.1.44 was used for dose calculations. Compared with two and three fields, the average maximal dose to the normal brain may be lowered to 7.35 ± 0.72 Gy-Eq by four-field irradiation. The mean ratio of minimal dose to clinical target volume and maximal dose to normal tissue was 2.41 ± 0.26 by four-field irradiation. A therapeutic benefit may be expected with multi-field boron neutron capture therapy to treat diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma without craniotomy, while the maximal dose to the normal brain would be minimized by using the four-field setting. PMID:28662135

Changes in surface solar UV irradiances and total ozone during the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zerefos, C. S.; Balis, D. S.; Meleti, C.; Bais, A. F.; Tourpali, K.; Kourtidis, K.; Vanicek, K.; Cappellani, F.; Kaminski, U.; Colombo, T.; Stübi, R.; Manea, L.; Formenti, P.; Andreae, M. O.

2000-11-01

During the solar eclipse of August 11, 1999, intensive measurements of UV solar irradiance and total ozone were performed at a number of observatories located near the path of the Moon's shadow. At the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics (LAP) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, global and direct spectra of UV solar irradiances (285-365 nm) were recorded with a double monochromator, and erythemal irradiances were measured with broadband pyranometers. In addition, higher-frequency measurements of global and direct irradiances at six UV wavelengths were performed with a single Brewer spectrophotometer. Total ozone measurements were also performed with Dobson and Brewer spectrophotometers at Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic), Ispra (Italy), Sestola (Italy), Hohenpeissenberg (Germany), Bucharest (Romania), Arosa (Switzerland), and Thessaloniki (Greece). From the spectral UV measurements the limb darkening effect of the solar disk was tentatively quantified from differences of measured solar spectral irradiances at the peak of the eclipse (near to limb conditions) and before the eclipse. Two blackbody curves were fit to the preeclipse and peak eclipse spectra, which have shown a difference in effective temperatures of about 165°K between the limb and the whole of the solar disk. The limb darkening effect is larger at the shorter UV wavelengths. The ratio of the diffuse to direct solar irradiances during the eclipse shows that the diffuse component is reduced much less compared to the decline of the direct solar irradiance at the shorter wavelengths. Moreover, a 20-min oscillation of erythemal UV-B solar irradiance was observed before and after the time of the eclipse maximum under clear skies, indicating a possible 20-min fluctuation in total ozone, presumably caused by the eclipse-induced gravity waves. This work also shows that routine total ozone measurements with a Brewer or a Dobson spectrophotometer should be used with caution during a solar eclipse. This is because the diffuse light increases by more than 30% with respect to the direct solar radiation, increasing more at the shorter wavelength side of the UV spectrum. This plausible mechanism introduces an artificial decrease in total ozone during solar eclipse of more than 30 Dobson units (DU), which is confirmed by all Brewer and Dobson measurements. Changes in total ozone cited earlier in the refereed literature have not been confirmed in the present study.

Directional and Spectral Irradiance in Ocean Models: Effects on Simulated Global Phytoplankton, Nutrients, and Primary Production

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gregg, Watson W.; Rousseaux, Cecile S.

2016-01-01

The importance of including directional and spectral light in simulations of ocean radiative transfer was investigated using a coupled biogeochemical-circulation-radiative model of the global oceans. The effort focused on phytoplankton abundances, nutrient concentrations and vertically-integrated net primary production. The importance was approached by sequentially removing directional (i.e., direct vs. diffuse) and spectral irradiance and comparing results of the above variables to a fully directionally and spectrally-resolved model. In each case the total irradiance was kept constant; it was only the pathways and spectral nature that were changed. Assuming all irradiance was diffuse had negligible effect on global ocean primary production. Global nitrate and total chlorophyll concentrations declined by about 20% each. The largest changes occurred in the tropics and sub-tropics rather than the high latitudes, where most of the irradiance is already diffuse. Disregarding spectral irradiance had effects that depended upon the choice of attenuation wavelength. The wavelength closest to the spectrally-resolved model, 500 nm, produced lower nitrate (19%) and chlorophyll (8%) and higher primary production (2%) than the spectral model. Phytoplankton relative abundances were very sensitive to the choice of non-spectral wavelength transmittance. The combined effects of neglecting both directional and spectral irradiance exacerbated the differences, despite using attenuation at 500 nm. Global nitrate decreased 33% and chlorophyll decreased 24%. Changes in phytoplankton community structure were considerable, representing a change from chlorophytes to cyanobacteria and coccolithophores. This suggested a shift in community function, from light-limitation to nutrient limitation: lower demands for nutrients from cyanobacteria and coccolithophores favored them over the more nutrient-demanding chlorophytes. Although diatoms have the highest nutrient demands in the model, their relative abundances were generally unaffected because they only prosper in nutrient-rich regions, such as the high latitudes and upwelling regions, which showed the fewest effects from the changes in radiative simulations. The results showed that including directional and spectral irradiance when simulating the ocean light field can be important for ocean biology, but the magnitude varies with variables and regions. The quantitative results are intended to assist ocean modelers when considering improved irradiance representations relative to other processes or variables associated with the issues of interest.

Considering the antibacterial activity of Zataria multiflora Boiss essential oil treated with gamma-irradiation in vitro and in vivo systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Faezeh, Fatema; Salome, Dini; Abolfazl, Dadkhah; Reza, Zolfaghari Mohammad

2015-01-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the antibacterial activities of essential oils (EOs) obtained from the aerial parts of Zataria multiflora Boiss against Bacillus cereus, Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus by in vivo and in vitro methods. Also, the effects of gamma-irradiation (0, 10 and 25 kGy) as a new microbial decontamination on the antibacterial activities of Z. multiflora were examined. For this purpose, the collected herbs were exposed to radiation at doses of 0, 10 and 25 kGy following essential oil (EOs) extraction by steam distillation. Then, the in vitro antibacterial potency of the irradiated and non-irradiated oils was determined by using disc diffusion, agar well diffusion and MIC and MBC determination assays. The in vivo antibacterial activity was also studied in sepsis model induced by CLP surgery by Colony forming units (CFUs) determination. The results showed that the extracted oils were discovered to be effective against all the gram positive and gram negative pathogens in vitro system. In addition, the oil significantly diminished the increased CFU count observed in CLP group. Moreover, the irradiated samples were found to possess the antibacterial activities as the non-irradiated ones both in vitro and in vivo systems. These data indicated the potential use of gamma-irradiation as a safe technique for preservation of Z. multiflora as a medicinal plant with effective antibacterial activities.

Mesoscale modeling of vacancy-mediated Si segregation near an edge dislocation in Ni under irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Zebo; Trinkle, Dallas R.

2017-04-01

We use a continuum method informed by transport coefficients computed using self-consistent mean field theory to model vacancy-mediated diffusion of substitutional Si solutes in FCC Ni near an a/2 [1 1 ¯0 ] (111 ) edge dislocation. We perform two sequential simulations: first under equilibrium boundary conditions and then under irradiation. The strain field around the dislocation induces heterogeneity and anisotropy in the defect transport properties and determines the steady-state vacancy and Si distributions. At equilibrium both vacancies and Si solutes diffuse to form Cottrell atmospheres with vacancies accumulating in the compressive region above the dislocation core while Si segregates to the tensile region below the core. Irradiation raises the bulk vacancy concentration, driving vacancies to flow into the dislocation core. The out-of-equilibrium vacancy fluxes drag Si atoms towards the core, causing segregation to the compressive region, despite Si being an oversized solute in Ni.

ELECTRON IRRADIATION OF SOLIDS

DOEpatents

Damask, A.C.

1959-11-01

A method is presented for altering physical properties of certain solids, such as enhancing the usefulness of solids, in which atomic interchange occurs through a vacancy mechanism, electron irradiation, and temperature control. In a centain class of metals, alloys, and semiconductors, diffusion or displacement of atoms occurs through a vacancy mechanism, i.e., an atom can only move when there exists a vacant atomic or lattice site in an adjacent position. In the process of the invention highenergy electron irradiation produces additional vacancies in a solid over those normally occurring at a given temperature and allows diffusion of the component atoms of the solid to proceed at temperatures at which it would not occur under thermal means alone in any reasonable length of time. The invention offers a precise way to increase the number of vacancies and thereby, to a controlled degree, change the physical properties of some materials, such as resistivity or hardness.

The three-zone composite productivity model for a multi-fractured horizontal shale gas well

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Qian; Zhu, Weiyao

2018-02-01

Due to the nano-micro pore structures and the massive multi-stage multi-cluster hydraulic fracturing in shale gas reservoirs, the multi-scale seepage flows are much more complicated than in most other conventional reservoirs, and are crucial for the economic development of shale gas. In this study, a new multi-scale non-linear flow model was established and simplified, based on different diffusion and slip correction coefficients. Due to the fact that different flow laws existed between the fracture network and matrix zone, a three-zone composite model was proposed. Then, according to the conformal transformation combined with the law of equivalent percolation resistance, the productivity equation of a horizontal fractured well, with consideration given to diffusion, slip, desorption, and absorption, was built. Also, an analytic solution was derived, and the interference of the multi-cluster fractures was analyzed. The results indicated that the diffusion of the shale gas was mainly in the transition and Fick diffusion regions. The matrix permeability was found to be influenced by slippage and diffusion, which was determined by the pore pressure and diameter according to the Knudsen number. It was determined that, with the increased half-lengths of the fracture clusters, flow conductivity of the fractures, and permeability of the fracture network, the productivity of the fractured well also increased. Meanwhile, with the increased number of fractures, the distance between the fractures decreased, and the productivity slowly increased due to the mutual interfere of the fractures.

Solar Radiation Patterns and Glaciers in the Western Himalaya

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dobreva, I. D.; Bishop, M. P.

2013-12-01

Glacier dynamics in the Himalaya are poorly understood, in part due to variations in topography and climate. It is well known that solar radiation is the dominant surface-energy component governing ablation, although the spatio-temporal patterns of surface irradiance have not been thoroughly investigated given modeling limitations and topographic variations including altitude, relief, and topographic shielding. Glaciation and topographic conditions may greatly influence supraglacial characteristics and glacial dynamics. Consequently, our research objectives were to develop a GIS-based solar radiation model that accounts for Earth's orbital, spectral, atmospheric and topographic dependencies, in order to examine the spatio-temporal surface irradiance patterns on glaciers in the western Himalaya. We specifically compared irradiance patterns to supraglacial characteristics and ice-flow velocity fields. Shuttle Radar Mapping Mission (SRTM) 90 m data were used to compute geomorphometric parameters that were input into the solar radiation model. Simulations results for 2013 were produced for the summer ablation season. Direct irradiance, diffuse-skylight, and total irradiance variations were compared and related to glacier altitude profiles of ice velocity and land-surface topographic parameters. Velocity and surface information were derived from analyses of ASTER satellite data. Results indicate that the direct irradiance significantly varies across the surface of glaciers given local topography and meso-scale relief conditions. Furthermore, the magnitude of the diffuse-skylight irradiance varies with altitude and as a result, glaciers in different topographic settings receive different amounts of surface irradiance. Spatio-temporal irradiance patterns appear to be related to glacier surface conditions including supraglacial lakes, and are spatially coincident with ice-flow velocity conditions on some glaciers. Collectively, our results demonstrate that glacier sensitivity to climate change is also locally controlled by numerous multi-scale topographic parameters.

OMPS TC EDR Algorithm: Improvement and Verification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novicki, M.; Sen, B.; Hao, X.; Qu, J. J.

2009-12-01

The Ozone Mapper and Profiler Suite (OMPS) is scheduled to be launched on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) platform in early 2011. The OMPS will continue monitoring ozone from space, using three instruments, namely the Total Column Mapper (heritage: TOMS), the Nadir Profiler (heritage: SBUV) and the Limb Profiler (heritage: SOLSE/LORE). The Total Column Mapper (TC) sensor images the Earth through a slit, nadir-cell horizontally spaced at 49.5 km cross-track with an along-track reporting interval of 50 km. The total field of view (FOV) cross track is 110 degrees to provide daily global coverage. The TC sensor, a grating spectrometer, provides 0.45 nm spectral sampling across the wavelength range of 300-380 nm. The calibration stability, which is essential to enable long-term ozone monitoring, is maintained by periodic observations of the Sun, using a diffuser to redirect the solar irradiance into the sensor. We describe the data analysis method being presently implemented to retrieve the total column ozone Earth Data Record (EDR) from the radiance data measured by the TC sensor. We discuss the software changes, the test data used to verify the functional performance and the test results.

OMPS SDR Calibration and Validation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sen, B.; Done, J.; Buss, R.; Jaross, G. R.; Kelly, T. J.

2009-12-01

The Ozone Mapper and Profiler Suite (OMPS) is scheduled to be launched on the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) platform in early 2011. The OMPS will continue monitoring ozone from space, using three instruments, namely the Total Column Mapper (heritage: TOMS), the Nadir Profiler (heritage: SBUV) and the Limb Profiler (heritage: SOLSE/LORE). The Total Column Mapper (TC) sensor images the Earth through a slit, nadir-cell horizontally spaced at 49.5 km cross-track with an along-track reporting interval of 50 km. The total field of view (FOV) cross-track is 110 degree to provide daily global coverage. The TC sensor, a grating spectrometer, provides 0.45 nm spectral sampling across the wavelength range of 300-380 nm. The calibration stability, which is essential to enable long-term ozone monitoring, is maintained by periodic observations of the Sun, using a diffuser to redirect the solar irradiance into the sensor. We describe the plans to calibrate the TC sensor and validate the radiance data (TC Sensor Data Record or TC SDR) after launch. We discuss the measurements planned during the Intensive Cal/Val (ICV) phase of NPP mission, the data analysis methodology and results from the analysis of OMPS calibration measurements.

Radiosurgery with a linear accelerator. Methodological aspects.

PubMed

Betti, O O; Galmarini, D; Derechinsky, V

1991-01-01

Based on the concepts of Leksell and on recommendations of different Swedish physicists on the use of linear accelerator for radiosurgical use, we developed a new methodology coupling the Talairach stereotactic system with a commercial linac. Anatomical facts encouraged us to use coronal angles of irradiation employing the angular displacement of the linac above the horizontal plane. Different coronal planes are obtained by rotation of the stereotactic frame. The center of the irradiated target coincides with the irradiation and rotation center of the linear accelerator. Multiple targets can be irradiated in the same session. We use as recommended a secondary collimator in heavy alloy. Special software was prepared after different dosimetric controls. The use of a PC allows us to employ 1-6 targets and different collimators to displace the isocenters in order to obtain geometrical isodose modification, and to change the value of each irradiation arc or portions of each arc in some minutes. Simple or sophisticated neurosurgical strategies can be applied in the treatment of frequently irregular shape and volume AVMs.

Irradiation response and stability of nanoporous materials

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fu, Engang; Wang, Yongqiang; Serrano De Caro, Magdalena

2012-08-28

Nanoporous materials consist of a regular organic or inorganic framework supporting a regular, porous structure. Pores are by definition roughly in the nanometre range, that is between 0.2 nm and 100 nm. Nanoporous materials can be subdivided into 3 categories (IUPAC): (1) Microporous materials - 0.2-2 nm; (2) Mesoporous materials - 2-50 nm; and (3) Macroporous materials - 50-1000 nm. np-Au foams were successfully synthesized by de-alloying process. np-Au foams remain porous structure after Ne ion irradiation to 1 dpa. Stacking Fault Tetrahedra (SFTs) were observed in RT irradiated np-Au foams under the highest and intermediate fluxes, but not undermore » the lowest flux. SFTs were not observed in LNT irradiated np-Au foams under all fluxes. The vacancy diffusivity in Au at RT is high enough so that the vacancies have enough time to agglomerate and then collapse to form SFTs. The high ion flux creates more damage per unit time; vacancies don't have enough time to diffuse or recombine. As a result, SFTs were formed at high ion fluxes.« less

Suppression of vacancy cluster growth in concentrated solid solution alloys

DOE PAGES

Zhao, Shijun; Velisa, Gihan; Xue, Haizhou; ...

2016-12-13

Large vacancy clusters, such as stacking-fault tetrahedra, are detrimental vacancy-type defects in ion-irradiated structural alloys. Suppression of vacancy cluster formation and growth is highly desirable to improve the irradiation tolerance of these materials. In this paper, we demonstrate that vacancy cluster growth can be inhibited in concentrated solid solution alloys by modifying cluster migration pathways and diffusion kinetics. The alloying effects of Fe and Cr on the migration of vacancy clusters in Ni concentrated alloys are investigated by molecular dynamics simulations and ion irradiation experiment. While the diffusion coefficients of small vacancy clusters in Ni-based binary and ternary solid solutionmore » alloys are higher than in pure Ni, they become lower for large clusters. This observation suggests that large clusters can easily migrate and grow to very large sizes in pure Ni. In contrast, cluster growth is suppressed in solid solution alloys owing to the limited mobility of large vacancy clusters. Finally, the differences in cluster sizes and mobilities in Ni and in solid solution alloys are consistent with the results from ion irradiation experiments.« less

Measurement of the solar ultraviolet radiation at ground level in Bangi, Malaysia

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aljawi, Ohoud; Gopir, Geri; Duay, Abdul Basit

2015-04-24

Understanding the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation received by human, plant, and animal organisms near the earth’s surface is important to a wide range of fields such as cancer research, agriculture and forestry. The solar ultraviolet spectral irradiance at ground level was measured using the Avantes spectrometer for the period of January to March 2014 at Bangi (2°55´N, 101°46´E, 50 m above sea level) in Malaysia. These data were used to estimate the diurnal variation of UV irradiance (300 – 400 nm). The maximum irradiance of UV radiation was 45 W m{sup −2} on horizontal surface. The maximum irradiance ofmore » UV received in the local noon time, and the minimum values of UV irradiance was received in the local morning time. It is found a bigger value of UV radiation was observed on clear sky in January. The estimation of daily flux average of UV irradiance was (921± 91) kJ m{sup −2}.« less

Leaf color is fine-tuned on the solar spectra to avoid strand direct solar radiation.

PubMed

Kume, Atsushi; Akitsu, Tomoko; Nasahara, Kenlo Nishida

2016-07-01

The spectral distributions of light absorption rates by intact leaves are notably different from the incident solar radiation spectra, for reasons that remain elusive. Incident global radiation comprises two main components; direct radiation from the direction of the sun, and diffuse radiation, which is sunlight scattered by molecules, aerosols and clouds. Both irradiance and photon flux density spectra differ between direct and diffuse radiation in their magnitude and profile. However, most research has assumed that the spectra of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) can be averaged, without considering the radiation classes. We used paired spectroradiometers to sample direct and diffuse solar radiation, and obtained relationships between the PAR spectra and the absorption spectra of photosynthetic pigments and organs. As monomers in solvent, the spectral absorbance of Chl a decreased with the increased spectral irradiance (W m(-2) nm(-1)) of global PAR at noon (R(2) = 0.76), and was suitable to avoid strong spectral irradiance (λmax = 480 nm) rather than absorb photon flux density (μmol m(-2) s(-1) nm(-1)) efficiently. The spectral absorption of photosystems and the intact thallus and leaves decreased linearly with the increased spectral irradiance of direct PAR at noon (I dir-max), where the wavelength was within the 450-650 nm range (R(2) = 0.81). The higher-order structure of photosystems systematically avoided the strong spectral irradiance of I dir-max. However, when whole leaves were considered, leaf anatomical structure and light scattering in leaf tissues made the leaves grey bodies for PAR and enabled high PAR use efficiency. Terrestrial green plants are fine-tuned to spectral dynamics of incident solar radiation and PAR absorption is increased in various structural hierarchies.

Formation of tungsten oxide nanowires by ion irradiation and vacuum annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Xu-Dong; Ren, Feng; Wu, Heng-Yi; Qin, Wen-Jing; Jiang, Chang-Zhong

2018-04-01

Here we reported the fabrication of tungsten oxide (WO3-x ) nanowires by Ar+ ion irradiation of WO3 thin films followed by annealing in vacuum. The nanowire length increases with increasing irradiation fluence and with decreasing ion energy. We propose that the stress-driven diffusion of the irradiation-induced W interstitial atoms is responsible for the formation of the nanowires. Comparing to the pristine film, the fabricated nanowire film shows a 106-fold enhancement in electrical conductivity, resulting from the high-density irradiation-induced vacancies on the oxygen sublattice. The nanostructure exhibits largely enhanced surface-enhanced Raman scattering effect due to the oxygen vacancy. Thus, ion irradiation provides a powerful approach for fabricating and tailoring the surface nanostructures of semiconductors.

Polarization radiation in the planetary atmosphere delimited by a heterogeneous diffusely reflecting surface

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Strelkov, S. A.; Sushkevich, T. A.

1983-01-01

Spatial frequency characteristics (SFC) and the scattering functions were studied in the two cases of a uniform horizontal layer with absolutely black bottom, and an isolated layer. The mathematical model for these examples describes the horizontal heterogeneities in a light field with regard to radiation polarization in a three dimensional planar atmosphere, delimited by a heterogeneous surface with diffuse reflection. The perturbation method was used to obtain vector transfer equations which correspond to the linear and nonlinear systems of polarization radiation transfer. The boundary value tasks for the vector transfer equation that is a parametric set and one dimensional are satisfied by the SFC of the nonlinear system, and are expressed through the SFC of linear approximation. As a consequence of the developed theory, formulas were obtained for analytical calculation of albedo in solving the task of dissemination of polarization radiation in the planetary atmosphere with uniform Lambert bottom.

Vibration effect on the Soret-induced convection of ternary mixture in a rectangular cavity heated from below

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lyubimova, T. P.; Zubova, N. A.

2017-06-01

This paper presents the results of numerical simulation of the Soret-induced convection of ternary mixture in the rectangular cavity elongated in horizontal direction in gravity field. The cavity has rigid impermeable boundaries. It is heated from the bellow and undergoes translational linearly polarized vibrations of finite amplitude and frequency in the horizontal direction. The problem is solved by finite difference method in the framework of full unsteady non-linear approach. The procedure of diagonalization of the molecular diffusion coefficient matrix is applied, allowing to eliminate cross-diffusion components in the equations and to reduce the number of the governing parameters. The calculations are performed for model ternary mixture with positive separation ratios of the components. The data on the vibration effect on temporal evolution of instantaneous and average fields and integral characteristics of the flow and heat and mass transfer at different levels of gravity are obtained.

Phosphorus out-diffusion in laser molten silicon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Köhler, J. R.; Eisele, S. J.

2015-04-14

Laser doping via liquid phase diffusion enables the formation of defect free pn junctions and a tailoring of diffusion profiles by varying the laser pulse energy density and the overlap of laser pulses. We irradiate phosphorus diffused 100 oriented p-type float zone silicon wafers with a 5 μm wide line focused 6.5 ns pulsed frequency doubled Nd:YVO{sub 4} laser beam, using a pulse to pulse overlap of 40%. By varying the number of laser scans N{sub s} = 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40 at constant pulse energy density H = 1.3 J/cm{sup 2} and H = 0.79 J/cm{sup 2} we examine the out-diffusion of phosphorus atoms performing secondary ionmore » mass spectroscopy concentration measurements. Phosphorus doping profiles are calculated by using a numerical simulation tool. The tool models laser induced melting and re-solidification of silicon as well as the out-diffusion of phosphorus atoms in liquid silicon during laser irradiation. We investigate the observed out-diffusion process by comparing simulations with experimental concentration measurements. The result is a pulse energy density independent phosphorus out-diffusion velocity v{sub out} = 9 ± 1 cm/s in liquid silicon, a partition coefficient of phosphorus 1 < k{sub p} < 1.1 and a diffusion coefficient D = 1.4(±0.2)cm{sup 2}/s × 10{sup −3 }× exp[−183 meV/(k{sub B}T)].« less

Effects of Irradiation on the Microstructure of U-7Mo Dispersion Fuel with Al-2Si Matrix

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dennis D. Keiser, Jr.; Jan-Fong Jue; Adam B. Robinson

2012-06-01

The Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor program is developing low-enriched uranium U-Mo dispersion fuels for application in research and test reactors around the world. As part of this development, fuel plates have been irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor and then characterized using optical metallography (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to determine the as-irradiated microstructure. To demonstrate the irradiation performance of U-7Mo dispersion fuel plates with 2 wt% Si added to the matrix, fuel plates were tested to medium burnups at intermediate fission rates as part of the RERTR-6 experiment. Further testing was performed to higher fissionmore » rates as part of the RERTR-7A experiment, and very aggressive testing (high temperature, high fission density, high fission rate) was performed in the RERTR-9A, RERTR-9B and AFIP-1 experiments. As-irradiated microstructures were compared to those observed after fabrication to determine the effects of irradiation on the microstructure. Based on comparison of the microstructural characterization results for each irradiated sample, some general conclusions can be drawn about how the microstructure evolves during irradiation: there is growth of the fuel/matrix interaction layer (FMI), which was present in the samples to some degree after fabrication, during irradiation; Si diffuses from the FMI layer to deeper depths in the U-7Mo particles as the irradiation conditions are made more aggressive; lowering of the Si content in the FMI layer results in an increase in the size of the fission gas bubbles; as the FMI layer grows during irradiation more Si diffuses from the matrix to the FMI layer/matrix interface, and interlinking of fission gas bubbles in the fuel plate microstructure that may indicate breakaway swelling is not observed.« less

Diffusion radiomics analysis of intratumoral heterogeneity in a murine prostate cancer model following radiotherapy: Pixelwise correlation with histology.

PubMed

Lin, Yu-Chun; Lin, Gigin; Hong, Ji-Hong; Lin, Yi-Ping; Chen, Fang-Hsin; Ng, Shu-Hang; Wang, Chun-Chieh

2017-08-01

To investigate the biological meaning of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values in tumors following radiotherapy. Five mice bearing TRAMP-C1 tumor were half-irradiated with a dose of 15 Gy. Diffusion-weighted images, using multiple b-values from 0 to 3000 s/mm 2 , were acquired at 7T on day 6. ADC values calculated by a two-point estimate and monoexponential fitting of signal decay were compared between the irradiated and nonirradiated regions of the tumor. Pixelwise ADC maps were correlated with histological metrics including nuclear counts, nuclear sizes, nuclear spaces, cytoplasmic spaces, and extracellular spaces. As compared with the nonirradiated region, the irradiated region exhibited significant increases in ADC, extracellular space, and nuclear size, and a significant decrease in nuclear counts (P < 0.001 for all). Optimal ADC to differentiate the irradiated from nonirradiated regions was achieved at a b-value of 800 s/mm 2 by the two-point method and monoexponential curve fitting. ADC positively correlated with extracellular spaces (r = 0.74) and nuclear sizes (r = 0.72), and negatively correlated with nuclear counts (r = -0.82, P < 0.001 for all). As a radiomic biomarker, ADC maps correlating with histological metrics pixelwise could be a means of evaluating tumor heterogeneity and responses to radiotherapy. 1 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:483-489. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Total body calcium analysis. [neutron irradiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lewellen, T. K.; Nelp, W. B.

1974-01-01

A technique to quantitate total body calcium in humans is developed. Total body neutron irradiation is utilized to produce argon 37. The radio argon, which diffuses into the blood stream and is excreted through the lungs, is recovered from the exhaled breath and counted inside a proportional detector. Emphasis is placed on: (1) measurement of the rate of excretion of radio argon following total body neutron irradiation; (2) the development of the radio argon collection, purification, and counting systems; and (3) development of a patient irradiation facility using a 14 MeV neutron generator. Results and applications are discussed in detail.

Ti diffusion in ion prebombarded MgO(100). I. A model for quantitative analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, M.; Lupu, C.; Styve, V. J.; Lee, S. M.; Rabalais, J. W.

2002-01-01

Enhancement of Ti diffusion in MgO(100) prebombarded with 7 keV Ar+ has been observed. Diffusion was induced by annealing to 1000 °C following the prebombardment and Ti evaporation. Such a sample geometry and experimental procedure alleviates the continuous provision of freely mobile defects introduced by ion irradiation during annealing for diffusion, making diffusion proceed in a non-steady-state condition. Diffusion penetration profiles were obtained by using secondary ion mass spectrometry depth profiling techniques. A model that includes a depth-dependent diffusion coefficient was proposed, which successfully explains the observed non-steady-state radiation enhanced diffusion. The diffusion coefficients are of the order of 10-20 m2/s and are enhanced due to the defect structure inflected by the Ar+ prebombardment.

Can the Ocean's Heat Engine Control Horizontal Circulation? Insights From the Caspian Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bruneau, Nicolas; Zika, Jan; Toumi, Ralf

2017-10-01

We investigate the role of the ocean's heat engine in setting horizontal circulation using a numerical model of the Caspian Sea. The Caspian Sea can be seen as a virtual laboratory—a compromise between realistic global models that are hampered by long equilibration times and idealized basin geometry models, which are not constrained by observations. We find that increases in vertical mixing drive stronger thermally direct overturning and consequent conversion of available potential to kinetic energy. Numerical solutions with water mass structures closest to observations overturn 0.02-0.04 × 106 m3/s (sverdrup) representing the first estimate of Caspian Sea overturning. Our results also suggest that the overturning is thermally forced increasing in intensity with increasing vertical diffusivity. Finally, stronger thermally direct overturning is associated with a stronger horizontal circulation in the Caspian Sea. This suggests that the ocean's heat engine can strongly impact broader horizontal circulations in the ocean.

Dispersion/dilution enhances phytoplankton blooms in low-nutrient waters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehahn, Yoav; Koren, Ilan; Sharoni, Shlomit; D'Ovidio, Francesco; Vardi, Assaf; Boss, Emmanuel

2017-03-01

Spatial characteristics of phytoplankton blooms often reflect the horizontal transport properties of the oceanic turbulent flow in which they are embedded. Classically, bloom response to horizontal stirring is regarded in terms of generation of patchiness following large-scale bloom initiation. Here, using satellite observations from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre and a simple ecosystem model, we show that the opposite scenario of turbulence dispersing and diluting fine-scale (~1-100 km) nutrient-enriched water patches has the critical effect of regulating the dynamics of nutrients-phytoplankton-zooplankton ecosystems and enhancing accumulation of photosynthetic biomass in low-nutrient oceanic environments. A key factor in determining ecological and biogeochemical consequences of turbulent stirring is the horizontal dilution rate, which depends on the effective eddy diffusivity and surface area of the enriched patches. Implementation of the notion of horizontal dilution rate explains quantitatively plankton response to turbulence and improves our ability to represent ecological and biogeochemical processes in oligotrophic oceans.

Lidocaine permeation from a lidocaine NaCMC/gel microgel formulation in microneedle-pierced skin: vertical (depth averaged) and horizontal permeation profiles.

PubMed

Nayak, Atul; Short, Liam; Das, Diganta B

2015-08-01

Common local anaesthetics such as lidocaine are administered by the hypodermic parenteral route but it causes pain or anxiety to patients. Alternatively, an ointment formulation may be applied which involves a slow drug diffusion process. In addressing these two issues, this paper aims to understand the significance of the 'poke and patch' microneedle (MN) treatment on skin in conjunction to the lidocaine permeation, and in particular, the vertical (depth averaged) and horizontal (e.g. lateral) permeation profiles of the drug in the skin. The instantaneous pharmacokinetics of lidocaine in skin was determined by a skin denaturation technique coupled with Franz diffusion cell measurements of the drug pharmacokinetics. All pharmacokinetic profiles were performed periodically on porcine skin. Three MN insertion forces of 3.9, 7.9 and 15.7 N were applied on the MN to pierce the skin. For the smaller force (3.9 N), post MN-treated skin seems to provide an 'optimum' percutaneous delivery rate. A 10.2-fold increase in lidocaine permeation was observed for a MN insertion force of 3.9 N at 0.25 h and similarly, a 5.4-fold increase in permeation occurred at 0.5 h compared to passive diffusional delivery. It is shown that lidocaine permeates horizontally beyond the area of the MN-treated skin for the smaller MN insertion forces, namely, 3.9 and 7.9 N from 0.25 to 0.75 h, respectively. The lateral diffusion/permeation of lidocaine for larger MN-treated force (namely, 15.7 N in this work) seems to be insignificant at all recorded timings. The MN insertion force of 15.7 N resulted in lidocaine concentrations slightly greater than control (passive diffusion) but significantly less than 3.9 and 7.9 N impact force treatments on skin. We believe this likelihood is due to the skin compression effect that inhibits diffusion until the skin had time to relax at which point lidocaine levels increase.

Buoyancy-driven convection around chemical fronts traveling in covered horizontal solution layers.

PubMed

Rongy, L; Goyal, N; Meiburg, E; De Wit, A

2007-09-21

Density differences across an autocatalytic chemical front traveling horizontally in covered thin layers of solution trigger hydrodynamic flows which can alter the concentration profile. We theoretically investigate the spatiotemporal evolution and asymptotic dynamics resulting from such an interplay between isothermal chemical reactions, diffusion, and buoyancy-driven convection. The studied model couples the reaction-diffusion-convection evolution equation for the concentration of an autocatalytic species to the incompressible Stokes equations ruling the evolution of the flow velocity in a two-dimensional geometry. The dimensionless parameter of the problem is a solutal Rayleigh number constructed upon the characteristic reaction-diffusion length scale. We show numerically that the asymptotic dynamics is one steady vortex surrounding, deforming, and accelerating the chemical front. This chemohydrodynamic structure propagating at a constant speed is quite different from the one obtained in the case of a pure hydrodynamic flow resulting from the contact between two solutions of different density or from the pure reaction-diffusion planar traveling front. The dynamics is symmetric with regard to the middle of the layer thickness for positive and negative Rayleigh numbers corresponding to products, respectively, lighter or heavier than the reactants. A parametric study shows that the intensity of the flow, the propagation speed, and the deformation of the front are increasing functions of the Rayleigh number and of the layer thickness. In particular, the asymptotic mixing length and reaction-diffusion-convection speed both scale as square root Ra for Ra>5. The velocity and concentration fields in the asymptotic dynamics are also found to exhibit self-similar properties with Ra. A comparison of the dynamics in the case of a monostable versus bistable kinetics is provided. Good agreement is obtained with experimental data on the speed of iodate-arsenous acid fronts propagating in horizontal capillaries. We furthermore compare the buoyancy-driven dynamics studied here to Marangoni-driven deformation of traveling chemical fronts in solution open to the air in the absence of gravity previously studied in the same geometry [L. Rongy and A. De Wit, J. Chem. Phys. 124, 164705 (2006)].

Turbulent dispersion of slightly buoyant oil droplets and turbulent breakup of crude oil droplets mixed with dispersants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopalan, Balaji

In part I, high speed in-line digital holographic cinematography is used for studying turbulent diffusion of slightly buoyant 0.5-1.2 mm diameter diesel droplets (specific gravity of 0.85) and 50 mum diameter neutral density particles. Experiments are performed in a 50x50x70 mm3 sample volume in a controlled, nearly isotropic turbulence facility, which is characterized by 2-D PIV. An automated tracking program has been used for measuring velocity time history of more than 17000 droplets and 15000 particles. The PDF's of droplet velocity fluctuations are close to Gaussian for all turbulent intensities ( u'i ). The mean rise velocity of droplets is enhanced or suppressed, compared to quiescent rise velocity (Uq), depending on Stokes number at lower turbulence levels, but becomes unconditionally enhanced at higher turbulence levels. The horizontal droplet velocity rms exceeds the fluid velocity rms for most of the data, while the vertical ones are higher than the fluid only at the highest turbulence level. The scaled droplet horizontal diffusion coefficient is higher than the vertical one, for 1 < u'i /Uq < 5, consistent with trends of the droplet velocity fluctuations. Conversely, the scaled droplet horizontal diffusion timescale is smaller than the vertical one due to crossing trajectories effect. The droplet diffusion coefficients scaled by the product of turbulence intensity and an integral length scale is a monotonically increasing function of u'i /Uq. Part II of this work explains the formation of micron sized droplets in turbulent flows from crude oil droplets pre-mixed with dispersants. Experimental visualization shows that this breakup starts with the formation of very long and quite stable, single or multiple micro threads that trail behind millimeter sized droplets. These threads form in regions with localized increase in concentration of surfactant, which in turn depends on the flow around the droplet. The resulting reduction of local surface tension, aided by high oil viscosity and stretching by the flow, suppresses capillary breakup and explains the stability of these threads. Due to increasing surface area and diffusion of dispersants into the continuous phase, the threads eventually breakup into ˜3 mum droplets.

Seaglider surveys at Ocean Station Papa: Diagnosis of upper-ocean heat and salt balances using least squares with inequality constraints

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pelland, Noel A.; Eriksen, Charles C.; Cronin, Meghan F.

2017-06-01

Heat and salt balances in the upper 200 m are examined using data from Seaglider spatial surveys June 2008 to January 2010 surrounding a NOAA surface mooring at Ocean Station Papa (OSP; 50°N, 145°W). A least-squares approach is applied to repeat Seaglider survey and moored measurements to solve for unknown or uncertain monthly three-dimensional circulation and vertical diffusivity. Within the surface boundary layer, the estimated heat and salt balances are dominated throughout the surveys by turbulent flux, vertical advection, and for heat, radiative absorption. When vertically integrated balances are considered, an estimated upwelling of cool water balances the net surface input of heat, while the corresponding large import of salt across the halocline due to upwelling and diffusion is balanced by surface moisture input and horizontal import of fresh water. Measurement of horizontal gradients allows the estimation of unresolved vertical terms over more than one annual cycle; diffusivity in the upper-ocean transition layer decreases rapidly to the depth of the maximum near-surface stratification in all months, with weak seasonal modulation in the rate of decrease and profile amplitude. Vertical velocity is estimated to be on average upward but with important monthly variations. Results support and expand existing evidence concerning the importance of horizontal advection in the balances of heat and salt in the Gulf of Alaska, highlight time and depth variability in difficult-to-measure vertical transports in the upper ocean, and suggest avenues of further study in future observational work at OSP.

Diffusion of hydrogen in a hydrogen-saturated tungsten

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krstic, Predrag; Kaganovich, Igor

2015-11-01

Hydrogen diffusion in monoscrystalline tungsten is studied by molecular dynamics with BOP potential in function of hydrogen concentration and temperature. Tungsten surface is prepared by cumulative irradiation of the 25 eV deuterium atoms at various fluences. The diffusion coefficients for T>500K and various D concentrations were calculated from the average slope of the mean square displacements of deuterium as functions of time. The accumulation of deuterium suppresses its diffusion at all temperatures. The results are in a reasonable agreement with the existing experiments. Supported by the LDRD of PPPL.

Deuterium diffusion and retention in tungsten coated with barrier layer during ion irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Begrambekov, L. B.; Kaplevsky, A. S.; Dovganyuk, S. S.; Evsin, A. E.; Baryshnikova, I. E.

2017-12-01

The results of the comparative analysis of low-temperature desorption of deuterium from tungsten coated with aluminum and yttrium films under the irradiation by hydrogen plasma with oxygen impurity are presented. The irradiation of aluminum or yttrium coating by H2+1%O2 plasma leads to the desorption of implanted deuterium from the samples. It was shown that the number of atoms desorbed depends on the sign of enthalpy of hydrogen solution in the metal film.

Investigation of defect clusters in ion-irradiated Ni and NiCo using diffuse X-ray scattering and electron microscopy

DOE PAGES

Olsen, Raina J.; Jin, Ke; Lu, Chenyang; ...

2015-11-23

The nature of defect clusters in Ni and Nimore » $$_{50}$$Co$$_{50}$$ (NiCo) irradiated at room temperature with 2–16 MeV Ni ions is studied using asymptotic diffuse X-ray scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Analysis of the scattering data provides separate size distributions for vacancy and interstitial type defect clusters, showing that both types of defect clusters have a smaller size and higher density in NiCo than in Ni. Diffuse scattering results show good quantitative agreement with TEM results for cluster sizes greater than 4 nm diameter, but find that the majority of vacancy clusters are under 2 nm in NiCo, which, if not detected, would lead to the conclusion that defect density was actually lower in the alloy. Interstitial dislocation loops and stacking fault tetrahedra are identified by TEM. Lastly comparison of diffuse scattering lineshapes to those calculated for dislocation loops and SFTs indicates that most of the vacancy clusters are SFTs.« less

Design and Analysis of Horizontal Axial Flow Motor Shroud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Shiming; Shen, Yu

2018-01-01

The wind turbine diffuser can increase the wind energy utilization coefficient of the wind turbine, and the addition of the shroud to the horizontal axis wind turbine also plays a role of accelerating the flow of the condensate. First, the structure of the shroud was designed and then modeled in gambit. The fluent software was used to establish the mathematical model for simulation. The length of the shroud and the opening angle of the shroud are analyzed to determine the best shape of the shroud. Then compared the efficiency with or without the shroud, through the simulation and the experiment of the water tank, it is confirmed that the horizontal axis of the shroud can improve the hydrodynamic performance.

Density-driven transport of gas phase chemicals in unsaturated soils

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fen, Chiu-Shia; Sun, Yong-tai; Cheng, Yuen; Chen, Yuanchin; Yang, Whaiwan; Pan, Changtai

2018-01-01

Variations of gas phase density are responsible for advective and diffusive transports of organic vapors in unsaturated soils. Laboratory experiments were conducted to explore dense gas transport (sulfur hexafluoride, SF6) from different source densities through a nitrogen gas-dry soil column. Gas pressures and SF6 densities at transient state were measured along the soil column for three transport configurations (horizontal, vertically upward and vertically downward transport). These measurements and others reported in the literature were compared with simulation results obtained from two models based on different diffusion approaches: the dusty gas model (DGM) equations and a Fickian-type molar fraction-based diffusion expression. The results show that the DGM and Fickian-based models predicted similar dense gas density profiles which matched the measured data well for horizontal transport of dense gas at low to high source densities, despite the pressure variations predicted in the soil column were opposite to the measurements. The pressure evolutions predicted by both models were in trend similar to the measured ones for vertical transport of dense gas. However, differences between the dense gas densities predicted by the DGM and Fickian-based models were discernible for vertically upward transport of dense gas even at low source densities, as the DGM-based predictions matched the measured data better than the Fickian results did. For vertically downward transport, the dense gas densities predicted by both models were not greatly different from our experimental measurements, but substantially greater than the observations obtained from the literature, especially at high source densities. Further research will be necessary for exploring factors affecting downward transport of dense gas in soil columns. Use of the measured data to compute flux components of SF6 showed that the magnitudes of diffusive flux component based on the Fickian-type diffusion expressions in terms of molar concentration, molar fraction and mass density fraction gradient were almost the same. However, they were greater than the result computed with the mass fraction gradient for > 24% and the DGM-based result for more than one time. As a consequence, the DGM-based total flux of SF6 was in magnitude greatly less than the Fickian result not only for horizontal transport (diffusion-dominating) but also for vertical transport (advection and diffusion) of dense gas. Particularly, the Fickian-based total flux was more than two times in magnitude as much as the DGM result for vertically upward transport of dense gas.

Global Mapping of Underwater UV Irradiances and DNA-Weighted Exposures using TOMS and SeaWiFS Data Products

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vasilkov, Alexander; Krotkov, Nickolay; Herman, Jay; McClain, Charles; Arrigo, Kevin; Robinson, Wayne

1999-01-01

The global stratospheric ozone-layer depletion results In an increase in biologically harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation reaching the surface and penetrating to ecologically significant depths in natural waters. Such an increase can be estimated on a global scale by combining satellite estimates of UV irradiance at the ocean surface from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite instrument with the SeaWIFS satellite ocean-color measurements in the visible spectral region. In this paper we propose a model of seawater optical properties in the UV spectral region based on the Case I water model in the visible range. The inputs to the model are standard monthly SeaWiFS products: chlorophyll concentration and the diffuse attenuation coefficient at 490nm. Penetration of solar UV radiation to different depths in open ocean waters is calculated using the RT (radiative transfer) quasi-single scattering approximation (QSSA). The accuracy of the QSSA approximation in the water is tested using more accurate codes. The sensitivity study of the underwater UV irradiance to atmospheric and oceanic optical properties have shown that the main environmental parameters controlling the absolute levels of the UVB (280-320nm) and DNA-weighted irradiance underwater are: solar-zenith angle, cloud transmittance, water optical properties, and total ozone. Weekly maps of underwater UV irradiance and DNA-weighted exposure are calculated using monthly-mean SeaWiFS chlorophyll and diffuse attenuation coefficient products, daily SeaWiFS cloud fraction data, and the TOMS-derived surface UV irradiance daily maps. The final products include global maps of weekly-average UVB irradiance and DNA-weighted daily exposures at 3m and 10m, and depths where the UVB irradiance and DNA-weighted dose rate at local noon are equal to 10% of their surface values.

Chlorine Diffusion in Uranium Dioxide: Thermal Effects versus Radiation Enhanced Effects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pipon, Yves; Moncoffre, Nathalie; Bererd, Nicolas

2007-07-01

Chlorine is present as an impurity in the UO{sub 2} nuclear fuel. {sup 35}Cl is activated into {sup 36}Cl by thermal neutron capture. In case of interim storage or deep geological disposal of the spent fuel, this isotope is known to be able to contribute significantly to the instant release fraction because of its mobile behavior and its long half life (around 300000 years). It is therefore important to understand its migration behavior within the fuel rod. During reactor operation, chlorine diffusion can be due to thermally activated processes or can be favoured by irradiation defects induced by fission fragmentsmore » or alpha decay. In order to decouple both phenomena, we performed two distinct experiments to study the effects of thermal annealing on the behaviour of chlorine on one hand and the effects of the irradiation with fission products on the other hand. During in reactor processes, part of the {sup 36}Cl may be displaced from its original position, due to recoil or to collisions with fission products. In order to study the behavior of the displaced chlorine, {sup 37}Cl has been implanted into sintered depleted UO{sub 2} pellets (mean grain size around 18 {mu}m). The spatial distribution of the implanted and pristine chlorine has been analyzed by SIMS before and after treatment. Thermal annealing of {sup 37}Cl implanted UO{sub 2} pellets (implantation fluence of 10{sup 13} ions.cm{sup -2}) show that it is mobile from temperatures as low as 1273 K (E{sub a}=4.3 eV). The irradiation with fission products (Iodine, E=63.5 MeV) performed at 300 and 510 K, shows that the diffusion of chlorine is enhanced and that a thermally activated contribution is preserved (E{sub a}=0.1 eV). The diffusion coefficients measured at 1473 K and under fission product irradiation at 510 K are similar (D = 3.10{sup -14} cm{sup 2}.s{sup -1}). Considering in first approximation that the diffusion length L can be expressed as a function of the diffusion coefficient D and time t by : L=(Dt)1/2, the diffusion distance after 3 years is L=17 {mu}m. It results that there is a great probability for the chlorine contained in the UO{sub 2} grains to have reached the grain boundaries after 3 years, in the core of the fuel rod as well as at its periphery. Moreover, diffusion and concentration of chlorine at grain boundaries has been evidenced using SIMS mapping. Our results indicate therefore, that, during reactor operation and after, the majority of {sup 36}Cl is likely to have moved to grain boundaries, rim and gap. This fraction might then significantly contribute to the rapid or instant release of chlorine. This could have important consequences for safety assessment. During reactor operation, chlorine ({sup 35}Cl), an impurity of the nuclear fuel, is activated into {sup 36}Cl, a long lived mobile isotope. Because of its long half life and its mobility, this isotope may contribute significantly to the instant release fraction under disposal conditions. Thermal annealing of Cl implanted UO{sub 2} sintered pellets show that it is mobile from temperatures as low as 1273 K (E{sub a} = 4.3 eV). Chlorine diffusion induced by irradiation with fission products preserves a thermally activated contribution. The radiation induced defects significantly enhance chlorine migration. (authors)« less

Study on depth profile of heavy ion irradiation effects in poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-ethylene)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gowa, Tomoko; Shiotsu, Tomoyuki; Urakawa, Tatsuya; Oka, Toshitaka; Murakami, Takeshi; Oshima, Akihiro; Hama, Yoshimasa; Washio, Masakazu

2011-02-01

High linear energy transfer (LET) heavy ion beams were used to irradiate poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-ethylene) (ETFE) under vacuum and in air. The irradiation effects in ETFE as a function of the depth were precisely evaluated by analyzing each of the films of the irradiated samples, which were made of stacked ETFE films. It was indicated that conjugated double bonds were generated by heavy ion beam irradiation, and their amounts showed the Bragg-curve-like distributions. Also, it was suggested that higher LET beams would induce radical formation in high density and longer conjugated C=C double bonds could be generated by the second-order reactions. Moreover, for samples irradiated in air, C=O was produced correlating to the yield of oxygen molecules diffusing from the sample surface.

78 FR 45575 - Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC; Oconee Nuclear Station Units 1, 2, and 3; Independent Spent Fuel...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-07-29

... will allow Oconee to effectively manage its spent fuel inventory to meet decay heat zoning requirements... thermal stresses, including potential elongation from decay heat and irradiation. In addition, the NRC...] system provides for the horizontal dry storage of canisterized spent fuel assemblies in a concrete...

Vertical length scale selection for pancake vortices in strongly stratified viscous fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godoy-Diana, Ramiro; Chomaz, Jean-Marc; Billant, Paul

2004-04-01

The evolution of pancake dipoles of different aspect ratio is studied in a stratified tank experiment. Two cases are reported here for values of the dipole initial aspect ratio alpha_0 = L_v/L_h (where L_v and L_h are vertical and horizontal length scales, respectively) of alpha_0 = 0.4 (case I) and alpha_0 = 1.2 (case II). In the first case, the usual decay scenario is observed where the dipole diffuses slowly with a growing thickness and a decaying circulation. In case II, we observed a regime where the thickness of the dipole decreases and the circulation in the horizontal mid-plane of the vortices remains constant. We show that this regime where the vertical length scale decreases can be explained by the shedding of two boundary layers at the top and bottom of the dipole that literally peel off vorticity layers. Horizontal advection and vertical diffusion cooperate in this regime and the decrease towards the viscous vertical length scale delta = L_hRe(-1/2) occurs on a time scale alpha_0 Re(1/2) T_A, T_A being the advection time L_h/U. From a scaling analysis of the equations for a stratified viscous fluid in the Boussinesq approximation, two dominant balances depending on the parameter R = ReF_h(2) are discussed, where F_h = U/NL_h is the horizontal Froude number and Re = UL_h/nu is the Reynolds number, U, N and nu being, respectively, the translation speed of the dipole, the Brunt Väisälä frequency and the kinematic viscosity. When R≫ 1 the vertical length scale is determined by buoyancy effects to be of order L_b = U/N. The experiments presented in this paper pertain to the case of small R, where viscous effects govern the selection of the vertical length scale. We show that if initially L_v ≤ delta, the flow diffuses on the vertical (case I), while if L_v ≫ delta (case II), vertically sheared horizontal advection decreases the vertical length scale down to delta. This viscous regime may explain results from experiments and numerical simulations on the late evolution of stratified flows where the decay is observed to be independent of the buoyancy frequency N.

Relative dispersion of clustered drifters in a small micro-tidal estuary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suara, Kabir; Chanson, Hubert; Borgas, Michael; Brown, Richard J.

2017-07-01

Small tide-dominated estuaries are affected by large scale flow structures which combine with the underlying bed generated smaller scale turbulence to significantly increase the magnitude of horizontal diffusivity. Field estimates of horizontal diffusivity and its associated scales are however rare due to limitations in instrumentation. Data from multiple deployments of low and high resolution clusters of GPS-drifters are used to examine the dynamics of a surface flow in a small micro-tidal estuary through relative dispersion analyses. During the field study, cluster diffusivity, which combines both large- and small-scale processes ranged between, 0.01 and 3.01 m2/s for spreading clusters and, -0.06 and -4.2 m2/s for contracting clusters. Pair-particle dispersion, Dp2, was scale dependent and grew as Dp2 ∼ t1.83 in streamwise and Dp2 ∼ t0.8 in cross-stream directions. At small separation scale, pair-particle (d < 0.5 m) relative diffusivity followed the Richardson's 4/3 power law and became weaker as separation scale increases. Pair-particle diffusivity was described as Kp ∼ d1.01 and Kp ∼ d0.85 in the streamwise and cross-stream directions, respectively for separation scales ranging from 0.1 to 10 m. Two methods were used to identify the mechanism responsible for dispersion within the channel. The results clearly revealed the importance of strain fields (stretching and shearing) in the spreading of particles within a small micro-tidal channel. The work provided input for modelling dispersion of passive particle in shallow micro-tidal estuaries where these were not previously experimentally studied.

Topographic Correction Module at Storm (TC@Storm)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaksek, K.; Cotar, K.; Veljanovski, T.; Pehani, P.; Ostir, K.

2015-04-01

Different solar position in combination with terrain slope and aspect result in different illumination of inclined surfaces. Therefore, the retrieved satellite data cannot be accurately transformed to the spectral reflectance, which depends only on the land cover. The topographic correction should remove this effect and enable further automatic processing of higher level products. The topographic correction TC@STORM was developed as a module within the SPACE-SI automatic near-real-time image processing chain STORM. It combines physical approach with the standard Minnaert method. The total irradiance is modelled as a three-component irradiance: direct (dependent on incidence angle, sun zenith angle and slope), diffuse from the sky (dependent mainly on sky-view factor), and diffuse reflected from the terrain (dependent on sky-view factor and albedo). For computation of diffuse irradiation from the sky we assume an anisotropic brightness of the sky. We iteratively estimate a linear combination from 10 different models, to provide the best results. Dependent on the data resolution, we mask shades based on radiometric (image) or geometric properties. The method was tested on RapidEye, Landsat 8, and PROBA-V data. Final results of the correction were evaluated and statistically validated based on various topography settings and land cover classes. Images show great improvements in shaded areas.

Fabrication, characterization, and thermal property evaluation of silver nanofluids

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Silver nanoparticles were successfully prepared in two different solvents using a microwave heating technique, with various irradiation times. The silver nanoparticles were dispersed in polar liquids (distilled water and ethylene glycol) without any other reducing agent, in the presence of the stabilizer polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The optical properties, thermal properties, and morphology of the synthesized silver particles were characterized using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, photopyroelectric technique, and transmission electron microscopy. It was found that for the both solvents, the effect of microwave irradiation was mainly on the particles distribution, rather than the size, which enabled to make stable and homogeneous silver nanofluids. The individual spherical nanostructure of self-assembled nanoparticles has been formed during microwave irradiation. Ethylene glycol solution, due to its special properties, such as high dielectric loss, high molecular weight, and high boiling point, can serve as a good solvent for microwave heating and is found to be a more suitable medium than the distilled water. A photopyroelectric technique was carried out to measure thermal diffusivity of the samples. The precision and accuracy of this technique was established by comparing the measured thermal diffusivity of the distilled water and ethylene glycol with values reported in the literature. The thermal diffusivity ratio of the silver nanofluids increased up to 1.15 and 1.25 for distilled water and ethylene glycol, respectively. PMID:25489293

Progress on Fabrication of Planar Diffusion Couples with Representative TRISO PyC/SiC Microstructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hunn, John D.; Jolly, Brian C.; Gerczak, Tyler J.

Release of fission products from tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel limits the fuel’s operational lifetime and creates potential safety and maintenance concerns. A need for diffusion analysis in representative TRISO layers exists to provide fuel performance models with high fidelity data to improve fuel performance and efficiency. An effort has been initiated to better understand fission product transport in, and release from, quality TRISO fuel by investigating diffusion couples with representative pyrocarbon (PyC) and silicon carbide (SiC). Here planar PyC/SiC diffusion couples are being developed with representative PyC/SiC layers using a fluidized bed chemical vapor deposition (FBCVD) system identical tomore » those used to produce laboratory-scale TRISO fuel for the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Qualification and Development Program’s (AGR) first fuel irradiation. The diffusivity of silver, the silver and palladium system, europium, and strontium in the PyC/SiC will be studied at elevated temperatures and under high temperature neutron irradiation. The study also includes a comparative study of PyC/SiC diffusion couples with varying TRISO layer properties to understand the influence of SiC microstructure (grain size) and the PyC/SiC interface on fission product transport. The first step in accomplishing these goals is the development of the planar diffusion couples. The diffusion couple construction consists of multiple steps which includes fabrication of the primary PyC/SiC structures with targeted layer properties, introduction of fission product species and seal coating to create an isolated system. Coating development has shown planar PyC/SiC diffusion couples with similar properties to AGR TRISO fuel can be produced. A summary of the coating development process, characterization methods, and status are presented.« less

Forecasting Global Horizontal Irradiance Using the LETKF and a Combination of Advected Satellite Images and Sparse Ground Sensors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harty, T. M.; Lorenzo, A.; Holmgren, W.; Morzfeld, M.

2017-12-01

The irradiance incident on a solar panel is the main factor in determining the power output of that panel. For this reason, accurate global horizontal irradiance (GHI) estimates and forecasts are critical when determining the optimal location for a solar power plant, forecasting utility scale solar power production, or forecasting distributed, behind the meter rooftop solar power production. Satellite images provide a basis for producing the GHI estimates needed to undertake these objectives. The focus of this work is to combine satellite derived GHI estimates with ground sensor measurements and an advection model. The idea is to use accurate but sparsely distributed ground sensors to improve satellite derived GHI estimates which can cover large areas (the size of a city or a region of the United States). We use a Bayesian framework to perform the data assimilation, which enables us to produce irradiance forecasts and associated uncertainties which incorporate both satellite and ground sensor data. Within this framework, we utilize satellite images taken from the GOES-15 geostationary satellite (available every 15-30 minutes) as well as ground data taken from irradiance sensors and rooftop solar arrays (available every 5 minutes). The advection model, driven by wind forecasts from a numerical weather model, simulates cloud motion between measurements. We use the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF) to perform the data assimilation. We present preliminary results towards making such a system useful in an operational context. We explain how localization and inflation in the LETKF, perturbations of wind-fields, and random perturbations of the advection model, affect the accuracy of our estimates and forecasts. We present experiments showing the accuracy of our forecasted GHI over forecast-horizons of 15 mins to 1 hr. The limitations of our approach and future improvements are also discussed.

Effect of ternary addition and gamma-irradiation on the characteristics of rapidly solidified Pb-base alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abd El-Khalek, A. M.

The properties of a series of rapidly solidified Pb-Sb-3-Sn-x alloys ( x =0-2.5 wt.%) irradiated with gamma-rays were studied. Variations in the internal friction, Q(-1) , thermal diffusivity D th and dynamic Young's modulus Y were traced before and after irradiation by applying the resonance technique. Variations of specific heat C-p were obtained from DTA thermograms. Structure parameters were obtained from the X-rays diffraction patterns. A marked change in the behaviour of the measured parameters was observed at 1.5 wt.% Sn addition. Besides, irradiation induced defects increased the level of the measured hardening parameters.

Long-range effect of ion irradiation on Cu surface segregation in a Cu sbnd Ni system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Li; Tang, Guangze; Ma, Xinxin; Russell, F. Michael; Cao, Xingzhong; Wang, Baoyi; Zhang, Peng

2011-05-01

Ni films were deposited on one side of single crystal Cu substrate discs of 1.0 and 1.5 mm thickness. These discs were irradiated on the Cu side with argon ions. Evidence for enhanced Cu segregation at the Ni surface was found for both thicknesses. This effect decreased with increasing distance between the diffusion zone and the irradiated surface. Slow positron annihilation results indicate lower vacancy-like defects at the subsurface layer after Ar irradiation on the other surface of Cu disks. Such long-range effect is here interpreted on the basis of a particular type of mobile discrete breather called quodon.

The importance of vertical resolution in the free troposphere for modeling intercontinental plumes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Jiawei; Jacob, Daniel J.; Eastham, Sebastian D.

2018-05-01

Chemical plumes in the free troposphere can preserve their identity for more than a week as they are transported on intercontinental scales. Current global models cannot reproduce this transport. The plumes dilute far too rapidly due to numerical diffusion in sheared flow. We show how model accuracy can be limited by either horizontal resolution (Δx) or vertical resolution (Δz). Balancing horizontal and vertical numerical diffusion, and weighing computational cost, implies an optimal grid resolution ratio (Δx / Δz)opt ˜ 1000 for simulating the plumes. This is considerably higher than current global models (Δx / Δz ˜ 20) and explains the rapid plume dilution in the models as caused by insufficient vertical resolution. Plume simulations with the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Finite-Volume Cubed-Sphere Dynamical Core (GFDL-FV3) over a range of horizontal and vertical grid resolutions confirm this limiting behavior. Our highest-resolution simulation (Δx ≈ 25 km, Δz ≈ 80 m) preserves the maximum mixing ratio in the plume to within 35 % after 8 days in strongly sheared flow, a drastic improvement over current models. Adding free tropospheric vertical levels in global models is computationally inexpensive and would also improve the simulation of water vapor.

Ebullition, Plant-Mediated Transport, and Subsurface Horizontal Water Flow Dominate Methane Transport in an Arctic Sphagnum Bog

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehr, R. A.; McCalley, C. K.; Logan, T. A.; Chanton, J.; Crill, P. M.; Rich, V. I.; Saleska, S. R.

2017-12-01

Emission of the greenhouse gas methane from wetlands is of prime concern in the prediction of climate change - especially emission associated with thawing permafrost, which may drive a positive feedback loop of emission and warming. In addition to the biochemistry of methane production and consumption, wetland methane emission depends critically on the transport mechanisms by which methane moves through and out of the ecosystem. We therefore developed a model of methane biochemistry and transport for a sphagnum bog representing an intermediate permafrost thaw stage in Stordalen Mire, Sweden. In order to simultaneously reproduce measured profiles of both the concentrations and isotopic compositions of both methane and carbon dioxide in the peat pore water (Fig. 1) - as well as the surface methane emission - it was necessary for the model to include ebullition, plant-mediated transport via aerenchyma, and subsurface horizontal water flow. Diffusion of gas through the pore water was relatively unimportant. As a result, 90% of the produced methane escaped the wetland rather than being consumed by methanotrophic organisms in the near-surface pore water. Our model provides a comprehensive picture of methane emission from this bog site by quantifying the vertical profiles of: acetoclastic methanogenesis, hydrogenotrophic methanogenesis, methane oxidation, aerobic respiration, ebullition, plant-mediated transport, subsurface horizontal water flow, and diffusion.

Performance characteristics of a perforated shadow band under clear sky conditions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brooks, Michael J.

2010-12-15

A perforated, non-rotating shadow band is described for separating global solar irradiance into its diffuse and direct normal components using a single pyranometer. Whereas shadow bands are normally solid so as to occult the sensor of a pyranometer throughout the day, the proposed band has apertures cut from its circumference to intermittently expose the instrument sensor at preset intervals. Under clear sky conditions the device produces a saw tooth waveform of irradiance data from which it is possible to reconstruct separate global and diffuse curves. The direct normal irradiance may then be calculated giving a complete breakdown of the irradiancemore » curves without need of a second instrument or rotating shadow band. This paper describes the principle of operation of the band and gives a mathematical model of its shading mask based on the results of an optical ray tracing study. An algorithm for processing the data from the perforated band system is described and evaluated. In an extended trial conducted at NREL's Solar Radiation Research Laboratory, the band coupled with a thermally corrected Eppley PSP produced independent curves for diffuse, global and direct normal irradiance with low mean bias errors of 5.6 W/m{sup 2}, 0.3 W/m{sup 2} and -2.6 W/m{sup 2} respectively, relative to collocated reference instruments. Random uncertainties were 9.7 W/m{sup 2} (diffuse), 17.3 W/m{sup 2} (global) and 19.0 W/m{sup 2} (direct). When the data processing algorithm was modified to include the ray trace model of sensor exposure, uncertainties increased only marginally, confirming the effectiveness of the model. Deployment of the perforated band system can potentially increase the accuracy of data from ground stations in predominantly sunny areas where instrumentation is limited to a single pyranometer. (author)« less

Modeling the erythemal surface diffuse irradiance fraction for Badajoz, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, Guadalupe; Serrano, Antonio; Cancillo, María Luisa

2017-10-01

Despite its important role on the human health and numerous biological processes, the diffuse component of the erythemal ultraviolet irradiance (UVER) is scarcely measured at standard radiometric stations and therefore needs to be estimated. This study proposes and compares 10 empirical models to estimate the UVER diffuse fraction. These models are inspired from mathematical expressions originally used to estimate total diffuse fraction, but, in this study, they are applied to the UVER case and tested against experimental measurements. In addition to adapting to the UVER range the various independent variables involved in these models, the total ozone column has been added in order to account for its strong impact on the attenuation of ultraviolet radiation. The proposed models are fitted to experimental measurements and validated against an independent subset. The best-performing model (RAU3) is based on a model proposed by Ruiz-Arias et al. (2010) and shows values of r2 equal to 0.91 and relative root-mean-square error (rRMSE) equal to 6.1 %. The performance achieved by this entirely empirical model is better than those obtained by previous semi-empirical approaches and therefore needs no additional information from other physically based models. This study expands on previous research to the ultraviolet range and provides reliable empirical models to accurately estimate the UVER diffuse fraction.

IMPLEMENTATION OF FIRST-PASSAGE TIME APPROACH FOR OBJECT KINETIC MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF IRRADIATION

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nandipati, Giridhar; Setyawan, Wahyu; Heinisch, Howard L.

2014-06-30

The objective of the work is to implement a first-passage time (FPT) approach to deal with very fast 1D diffusing SIA clusters in KSOME (kinetic simulations of microstructural evolution) [1] to achieve longer time-scales during irradiation damage simulations. The goal is to develop FPT-KSOME, which has the same flexibility as KSOME.

A study of atmospheric diffusion from the LANDSAT imagery. [pollution transport over the ocean

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dejesusparada, N. (Principal Investigator); Viswanadham, Y.; Torsani, J. A.

1981-01-01

LANDSAT multispectral scanner data of the smoke plumes which originated in eastern Cabo Frio, Brazil and crossed over into the Atlantic Ocean, are analyzed to illustrate how high resolution LANDSAT imagery can aid meteorologists in evaluating specific air pollution events. The eleven LANDSAT images selected are for different months and years. The results show that diffusion is governed primarily by water and air temperature differences. With colder water, low level air is very stable and the vertical diffusion is minimal; but water warmer than the air induces vigorous diffusion. The applicability of three empirical methods for determining the horizontal eddy diffusivity coefficient in the Gaussian plume formula was evaluated with the estimated standard deviation of the crosswind distribution of material in the plume from the LANDSAT imagery. The vertical diffusion coefficient in stable conditions is estimated using Weinstock's formulation. These results form a data base for use in the development and validation of meso scale atmospheric diffusion models.

Combined effects of wind and solar irradiance on the spatial variation of midday air temperature over a mountainous terrain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Soo-Ock; Kim, Jin-Hee; Kim, Dae-Jun; Shim, Kyo Moon; Yun, Jin I.

2015-08-01

When the midday temperature distribution in a mountainous region was estimated using data from a nearby weather station, the correction of elevation difference based on temperature lapse caused a large error. An empirical approach reflecting the effects of solar irradiance and advection was suggested in order to increase the reliability of the results. The normalized slope irradiance, which was determined by normalizing the solar irradiance difference between a horizontal surface and a sloping surface from 1100 to 1500 LST on a clear day, and the deviation relationship between the horizontal surface and the sloping surface at the 1500 LST temperature on each day were presented as simple empirical formulas. In order to simulate the phenomenon that causes immigrant air parcels to push out or mix with the existing air parcels in order to decrease the solar radiation effects, an advection correction factor was added to exponentially reduce the solar radiation effect with an increase in wind speed. In order to validate this technique, we estimated the 1500 LST air temperatures on 177 clear days in 2012 and 2013 at 10 sites with different slope aspects in a mountainous catchment and compared these values to the actual measured data. The results showed that this technique greatly improved the error bias and the overestimation of the solar radiation effect in comparison with the existing methods. By applying this technique to the Korea Meteorological Administration's 5-km grid data, it was possible to determine the temperature distribution at a 30-m resolution over a mountainous rural area south of Jiri Mountain National Park, Korea.

Film boiling of mercury droplets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumeister, K. J.; Schoessow, G. J.; Chmielewski, C. E.

1975-01-01

Vaporization times of mercury droplets in Leidenfrost film boiling on a flat horizontal plate are measured in an air atmosphere. Extreme care was used to prevent large amplitude droplet vibrations and surface wetting; therefore, these data can be compared to film boiling theory. Diffusion from the upper surface of the drop appears as a dominant mode of mass transfer from the drop. A closed-form analytical film boiling theory is developed to account for the diffusive evaporation. Reasonable agreement between data and theory is seen.

Morphology variation, composition alteration and microstructure changes in ion-irradiated 1060 aluminum alloy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Hao; Si, Naichao; Wang, Quan; Zhao, Zhenjiang

2018-02-01

Morphology variation, composition alteration and microstructure changes in 1060 aluminum irradiated with 50 keV helium ions were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) equipped with x-ray elemental scanning, 3D measuring laser microscope and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The results show that, helium ions irradiation induced surface damage and Si-rich aggregates in the surfaces of irradiated samples. Increasing the dose of irradiation, more damages and Si-rich aggregates would be produced. Besides, defects such as dislocations, dislocation loops and dislocation walls were the primary defects in the ion implanted layer. The forming of surface damages were related with preferentially sputtering of Al component. While irradiation-enhanced diffusion and irradiation-induced segregation resulted in the aggregation of impurity atoms. And the aggregation ability of impurity atoms were discussed based on the atomic radius, displacement energy, lattice binding energy and surface binding energy.

Fission neutron source in Rome

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppola, Mario; Di Majo, V.; Ingrao, G.; Rebessi, S.; Testa, A.

1997-02-01

A fission neutron source is operating in Rome at the ENEA Casaccia Research Center since 1971, consisting of a low power fast reactor named RSV-Tapiro. it is employed for a variety of experiments, including dosimetry, material testing, radiation protection and biology. In particular, application to experimental radiobiology includes studies of the biological action of neutrons in the whole-body irradiated animal, or in specialized systems in vivo or in vitro. For his purpose a vertical irradiation facility was originally constructed. Recently, a new horizontal irradiation facility has been designed to allow the exposure of larger samples or larger sample batches at one time. Dosimetry at the sample irradiation positions is routinely carried out by the conventional method of using two ion chambers. This physical dosimetry has recently been compared with the results of biological dosimetry based on the detection of chromosomal aberrations in peripheral blood human lymphocytes irradiated in vitro. A characterization of the radiation quality in the two configurations has been carried out by tissue equivalent proportional counter microdosimetry measurements. Information about the main characteristics of the reactor and the two irradiation facilities is provided and relevant results of the various measurements are summarized. Radiobiological results obtained using this neutron source are also briefly outlined.

Evaluation of WRF model-derived direct irradiance for solar thermal resource assessment over South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jin-Young; Yun, Chang-Yeol; Kim, Chang Ki; Kang, Yong-Heack; Kim, Hyun-Goo; Lee, Sang-Nam; Kim, Shin-Young

2017-06-01

The South Korean government has been started monitoring and reassessment for new and renewable resource under greenhouse reduction related with the climate agreement in Paris. This study investigated characteristics of the model-derived direct normal irradiance(DNI) using ten-minute data of the Weather Research and Forecasting(WRF) model with 1 km grid spacing. First, ground horizontal irradiance(GHI) and direct normal irradiance(DNI) from the model was compared with those of ground stations throughout South Korea to evaluate the uncertainty of the GHI-derived DNI. Then solar thermal resource potential was assessed using a DNI map. Uncertainty of irradiances appeared highly dependent on sky conditions. Root mean square errors in DNI(GHI) was 45.39%(18.06%) for all sky with the range of 9.92˜51.93%(14.49˜51.47%) for clear to overcast sky. These indicate DNI is further sensitive to cloud condition in Korea which is around 72% of cloud days during a whole year. Finally DNI maps showed high value over most areas except southeastern areas and Jeju island which is humid regions in South Korea.

Diffusion length variation and proton damage coefficients for InP/In(x)Ga(1-x)As/GaAs solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jain, R. K.; Weinberg, I.; Flood, D. J.

1993-01-01

Indium phosphide solar cells are more radiation resistant than gallium arsenide and silicon solar cells, and their growth by heteroepitaxy offers additional advantages leading to the development of lighter, mechanically strong and cost-effective cells. Changes in heteroepitaxial InP cell efficiency under 0.5 and 3 MeV proton irradiations are explained by the variation in the minority-carrier diffusion length. The base diffusion length versus proton fluence is calculated by simulating the cell performance. The diffusion length damage coefficient K(L) is plotted as a function of proton fluence.

Recent upgrades and new scientific infrastructure of MARIA research reactor, Otwock-Swierk, Poland

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

The MARIA reactor is open-pool type, water and beryllium moderated. It has two independent primary cooling systems: fuel and pool cooling system. Each fuel assembly is cooled down separately in pressurized channels with individual performances characterization. The fuel assemblies consist of five layers of bent plates or six concentric tubes. Currently it is one of the most powerful research reactors in Europe with operation availability at least up to 2030. Its nominal thermal power is 30 MW. It is characterized by high neutron flux density: up to 3x10{sup 14} n cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in case of thermal neutrons, andmore » up to 2x10{sup 13} n cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} in case of fast neutrons. The reactor is operated for ca. 4000 h per year. The reactor facility is equipped with fully equipped three hot cells with shielding up to 10{sup 15} Bq. Adjacent to the reactor facility, the radio-pharmaceutics plant (POLATOM) and Material Research Laboratory are located. They are equipped with a number of hot cells with instrumentation. The transport system of radioactive materials from reactor facility to Material Research Laboratory is available. During 2014 the MARIA reactor has been operated with three different types of fuel the same time: previous 36% enriched fuel, and two types of new LEU fuels. In the meantime, molybdenum irradiation programme has been developed. Maria is a multifunctional research tool, with a notable application in production of radioisotopes, radio-pharmaceutics manufacturing (ca. 600 TBq/y), {sup 99}Mo for medical scintigraphy (ca. 6000 TBq/y), neutron transmutation doping of silicon single crystals, wide scientific research based on neutron beams utilization. From the beginning MARIA reactor was intended for loop and fuel testing research activities. Currently it is used mostly as material testing and irradiation facility and for that reason it has wide experimental capabilities. There are eight horizontal irradiation channels from among whom six of them are equipped with instrumentation for condensed matter physics research: - H3 - spectrometer and diffractometer with double monochromator; - H4 - small angle scattering spectrometer; - H5 - polarized neutrons spectrometer; - H6, H7 - two 3-axial crystal neutron spectrometers; - H8 - neutron radiography stand. For two horizontal channels are ongoing exploitation programs: - H2 - station with epithermal neutron beam produced in uranium converter is being developed. Intelligent converter will be installed on the periphery of reactor core. The intensity of the beam will be at the level 2x10{sup 9} n cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} what makes the beam unique in the Europe. - H1 - special pneumatic horizontal mail is being developed for irradiation material samples in the vicinity of the core i.e. in the distal part of the H1 channel. The number of neutron irradiation facilities in MARIA reactor is increasing every year. Numerous of thermal neutron irradiation channels including fast hydraulic rabbit system and large size channels for fast neutron irradiation are used routinely. Recently new in-pile facility with ITER-like neutron energy spectrum for 14 MeV neutron irradiation has been constructed. Taking into account its performance and ability of almost incessant operation the facility appears as one of the most powerful 14 MeV neutron sources. The facility shall be used for material research connected with thermonuclear devices (ITER) and 4. generation nuclear reactors. The system of independent fuels channels used in MARIA reactor appear to be very flexible and very convenient to be used as irradiation channels for uranium targets for {sup 99}Mo production. Currently, MARIA reactor supplies ca. 18% world production of {sup 99}Mo. The MARIA reactor research activities are still extended. The current scientific projects are connected e.g. with silicon neutron transmutation doping, in-pile gamma heating measurements, French calculation codes implementation (TRIPOLI4, APOLLO2). The horizontal neutron beams utilization is also developed. The MARIA reactor, due to its primary application connected with loop and fuel testing, is very convenient for testing the nuclear instrumentation, control and measurement systems.« less

Numerical method for angle-of-incidence correction factors for diffuse radiation incident photovoltaic modules

DOE PAGES

Marion, Bill

2017-03-27

Here, a numerical method is provided for solving the integral equation for the angle-of-incidence (AOI) correction factor for diffuse radiation incident photovoltaic (PV) modules. The types of diffuse radiation considered include sky, circumsolar, horizon, and ground-reflected. The method permits PV module AOI characteristics to be addressed when calculating AOI losses associated with diffuse radiation. Pseudo code is provided to aid users in the implementation, and results are shown for PV modules with tilt angles from 0° to 90°. Diffuse AOI losses are greatest for small PV module tilt angles. Including AOI losses associated with the diffuse irradiance will improve predictionsmore » of PV system performance.« less

The 1996 North American Interagency Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers

PubMed Central

Early, Edward; Thompson, Ambler; Johnson, Carol; DeLuisi, John; Disterhoft, Patrick; Wardle, David; Wu, Edmund; Mou, Wanfeng; Ehramjian, James; Tusson, John; Mestechkina, Tanya; Beaubian, Mark; Gibson, James; Hayes, Douglass

1998-01-01

Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. To assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks, the third North American Interagency Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers was held June 17–25, 1996 at Table Mountain outside Boulder, Colorado, USA. This Intercomparison was coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Participating agencies were the Environmental Protection Agency; the National Science Foundation; the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center; the Department of Agriculture; and the Atmospheric Environment Service, Canada. The spectral irradiances of participants’ calibrated standard lamps were measured at NIST prior to the Intercomparison. The spectral irradiance scales used by the participants agreed with the NIST scale within the combined uncertainties, and for all lamps the spectral irradiance in the horizontal position was lower than that in the vertical position. Instruments were characterized for wavelength uncertainty, bandwidth, stray-light rejection, and spectral irradiance responsivity, the latter with NIST standard lamps operating in specially designed field calibration units. The spectral irradiance responsivity demonstrated instabilities for some instruments. Synchronized spectral scans of the solar irradiance were performed over several days. Using the spectral irradiance responsivities determined with the NIST standard lamps, the measured solar irradiances had some unexplained systematic differences between instruments. PMID:28009358

Improved entrance optic for global irradiance measurements with a Brewer spectrophotometer.

PubMed

Gröbner, Julian

2003-06-20

A new entrance optic for a Brewer spectrophotometer has been designed and tested both in the laboratory and during solar measurements. The integrated cosine response deviates by 2.4% from the ideal, with an uncertainty of +/- 1%. The systematic uncertainties of global solar irradiance measurements with this new entrance optic are considerably reduced compared with measurements with the traditional design. Simultaneous solar irradiance measurements between the Brewer spectrophotometer and a spectroradiometer equipped with a state-of-the-art shaped diffuser agreed to within +/- 2% during a five-day measurement period.

Features of degradation and recovery of the optical properties of coatings based on ZnO powder modified with nanoparticles after irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikhailov, M.; Neschimenko, V.; Sokolovskiy, A.

2018-04-01

The effect of electron irradiation with energy of 30 keV and fluence up to 7 × 1016 cm-2 on diffuse reflection spectra in situ of coatings based on ZnO powders unmodified and modified with zirconium dioxide and aluminum oxide nanopowders was investigated. The higher radiation stability of coatings based on modified pigments in comparison to unmodified pigments has been established. A significant recovery of the reflection spectra of irradiated coatings after exposure to residual vacuum and air was shown.

Proceedings (1st) of the Topical Meeting on the Microphysics of Surfaces, Beams, and Adsorbates Held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on 4-6 February 1985.

DTIC Science & Technology

1985-12-18

by other molecules within the area of irradiation were desorbed with methods. Therefore, the laser thermal desorption techrique a single pulse . This...of 30 ns irradiated on W surfaces covered with D face temperature raised by a laser pulse . The problem asso- atoms. D, desorption time-of-flight was...surface region which cm- I.2411a The desorption yield (Y) dependence on the laser was not irradiated by the laser pulses . The diffusion coeffi

Ion beam synthesis of Au nanoparticles embedded nano-composite glass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varma, Ranjana S.; Kothari, D. C.; Kumar, Ravi; Kumar, P.; Santra, S. S.; Thomas, R. G.

2013-02-01

Ion beam mixing using low energy (LE) ion beams (100 keV Ar+) has been used to form Au nanoparticles in the near-surface region of fused silica glasses. Effect of swift heavy ion (SHI) irradiation (with 120 MeV Ag9+), on the nanoparticles has been studied. Diffusion length of Au after the beam mixing and the irradiation has been found to be 14nm. SHI irradiation causes the increase in the size of the nanoparticles, reduction in size-distribution and increase in number density.

The 1994 North American Interagency Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers

PubMed Central

Thompson, Ambler; Early, Edward A.; DeLuisi, John; Disterhoft, Patrick; Wardle, David; Kerr, James; Rives, John; Sun, Yongchen; Lucas, Timothy; Mestechkina, Tanya; Neale, Patrick

1997-01-01

Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. To assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks, the first North American Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers was held September 19–29, 1994 at Table Mountain outside Boulder, Colorado, USA. This Intercomparison was coordinated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Participating agencies were the Environmental Protection Agency, National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and Atmospheric Environment Service, Canada. Instruments were characterized for wavelength accuracy, bandwidth, stray-light rejection, and spectral irradiance responsivity, the latter with a NIST standard lamp calibrated to operate in the horizontal position. The spectral irradiance responsivity was determined once indoors and twice outdoors, and demonstrated that, while the responsivities changed upon moving the instruments, they were relatively stable when the instruments remained outdoors. Synchronized spectral scans of the solar irradiance were performed over several days. Using the spectral irradiance responsivities determined with the NIST standard lamp, and a simple convolution technique to account for the different bandwidths of the instruments, the measured solar irradiances agreed within 5 %. PMID:27805148

Buoyancy forcing and the MOC: insights from experiments, simulations and global models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

White, B. L.; Passaggia, P. Y.; Zemskova, V.

2017-12-01

The driving forces behind the Meridional Overturning Circulation (MOC) have been widely debated, with wind-driven upwelling, surface buoyancy fluxes due to heating/cooling/freshwater input, and vertical diffusion due to turbulent mixing all thought to play significant roles. To explore the specific role of buoyancy forcing we present results from experiments and simulations of Horizontal Convection (HC), where a circulation is driven by differential buoyancy forcing applied along a horizontal surface. We interpret these results using energy budgets based on the local Available Potential Energy framework introduced in [Scotti and White, J. Fluid Mech., 2014]. We first describe HC experiments driven by the diffusion of salt in water across membranes localized at the surface, at Schmidt numbers {Sc}≈ 610 and Rayleigh numbers in the range 1012 < Ra=Δ b L3/(ν κ ) < 1017, where ν is the kinematic viscosity of water, κ is the diffusion coefficient of salt, L=[.5,2,5]m is the length of the different tanks and Δ b=g(ρ salt}-ρ {fresh}/ρ_{fresh is the reduced gravity difference. We show that the scaling follows a Nu ˜ Ra1/4 type scaling recently theorized by Shishkina et; al. (2016). We then present numerical results for rotating horizontal convection with a zonally re-entrant channel to represent the Southern Ocean branch of the MOC. While the zonal wind stress profile is important to the spatial pattern of the circulation, perhaps surprisingly, the energy budget shows only a weak dependence on the magnitude of the wind input, suggesting that surface APE generation by buoyancy forcing is dominant in driving the overturning circulation.

Study on low intensity aeration oxygenation model and optimization for shallow water

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xiao; Ding, Zhibin; Ding, Jian; Wang, Yi

2018-02-01

Aeration/oxygenation is an effective measure to improve self-purification capacity in shallow water treatment while high energy consumption, high noise and expensive management refrain the development and the application of this process. Based on two-film theory, the theoretical model of the three-dimensional partial differential equation of aeration in shallow water is established. In order to simplify the equation, the basic assumptions of gas-liquid mass transfer in vertical direction and concentration diffusion in horizontal direction are proposed based on engineering practice and are tested by the simulation results of gas holdup which are obtained by simulating the gas-liquid two-phase flow in aeration tank under low-intensity condition. Based on the basic assumptions and the theory of shallow permeability, the model of three-dimensional partial differential equations is simplified and the calculation model of low-intensity aeration oxygenation is obtained. The model is verified through comparing the aeration experiment. Conclusions as follows: (1)The calculation model of gas-liquid mass transfer in vertical direction and concentration diffusion in horizontal direction can reflect the process of aeration well; (2) Under low-intensity conditions, the long-term aeration and oxygenation is theoretically feasible to enhance the self-purification capacity of water bodies; (3) In the case of the same total aeration intensity, the effect of multipoint distributed aeration on the diffusion of oxygen concentration in the horizontal direction is obvious; (4) In the shallow water treatment, reducing the volume of aeration equipment with the methods of miniaturization, array, low-intensity, mobilization to overcome the high energy consumption, large size, noise and other problems can provide a good reference.

NMR Observation of Mobile Protons in Proton-Implanted ZnO Nanorods

PubMed Central

Park, Jun Kue; Kwon, Hyeok-Jung; Lee, Cheol Eui

2016-01-01

The diffusion properties of H+ in ZnO nanorods are investigated before and after 20 MeV proton beam irradiation by using 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Herein, we unambiguously observe that the implanted protons occupy thermally unstable site of ZnO, giving rise to a narrow NMR line at 4.1 ppm. The activation barrier of the implanted protons was found to be 0.46 eV by means of the rotating-frame spin-lattice relaxation measurements, apparently being interstitial hydrogens. High-energy beam irradiation also leads to correlated jump diffusion of the surface hydroxyl group of multiple lines at ~1 ppm, implying the presence of structural disorder at the ZnO surface. PMID:26988733

Diffusion and aggregation of subsurface radiation defects in lithium fluoride nanocrystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Voitovich, A. P.; Kalinov, V. S.; Martynovich, E. F.; Stupak, A. P.; Runets, L. P.

2015-09-01

Lithium fluoride nanocrystals were irradiated by gamma rays at a temperature below the temperature corresponding to the mobility of anion vacancies. The kinetics of the aggregation of radiation-induced defects in subsurface layers of nanocrystals during annealing after irradiation was elucidated. The processes that could be used to determine the activation energy of the diffusion of anion vacancies were revealed. The value of this energy in subsurface layers was obtained. For subsurface layers, the concentrations ratio of vacancies and defects consisting of one vacancy and two electrons was found. The factors responsible for the differences in the values of the activation energies and concentration ratios in subsurface layers and in the bulk of the crystals were discussed.

Diffusion lengths in irradiated N/P InP-on-Si solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wojtczuk, Steven; Colerico, Claudia; Summers, Geoffrey P.; Walters, Robert J.; Burke, Edward A.

1995-01-01

Indium phosphide (InP) solar cells are being made on silicon (Si) wafers (InP/Si) to take advantage of both the radiation-hardness properties of the InP solar cell and the light weight and low cost of Si wafers compared to InP or germanium (Ge) wafers. The InP/Si cell application is for long duration and/or high radiation orbit space missions. InP/Si cells have higher absolute efficiency after a high radiation dose than gallium arsenide (GaAs) or silicon (Si) solar cells. In this work, base electron diffusion lengths in the N/P cell are extracted from measured AM0 short-circuit photocurrent at various irradiation levels out to an equivalent 1 MeV fluence of 1017 1 MeV electrons/sq cm for a 1 sq cm 12% BOL InP/Si cell. These values are then checked for consistency by comparing measured Voc data with a theoretical Voc model that includes a dark current term that depends on the extracted diffusion lengths.

Effect of gravity modulation on thermosolutal convection in an infinite layer of fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saunders, B. V.; Murray, B. T.; McFadden, G. B.; Coriell, S. R.; Wheeler, A. A.

1991-10-01

The effect of time-periodic vertical gravity modulation on the onset of thermosolutal convection in an infinite horizontal layer with stress free boundaries is studied using Floquet theory for the linear stability analysis. Situations are considered for which the fluid layer is stably stratified in either the fingering or diffusive regimes of double diffusive convection. Results are presented both with and without steady background acceleration. Modulation may stabilize an unstable base solution or destabilize a stable base solution. In addition to synchronous and subharmonic response to the modulation frequency, instability in the double diffusive system can occur via a complex conjugate mode. In the diffusive regime, where oscillatory onset occurs in the unmodulated system, regions of resonant instability occur and exhibit strong coupling with the unmodulated oscillatory frequency.

Survival benefit for patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) undergoing re-irradiation at first progression: A matched-cohort analysis on behalf of the SIOP-E-HGG/DIPG working group.

PubMed

Janssens, Geert O; Gandola, Lorenza; Bolle, Stephanie; Mandeville, Henry; Ramos-Albiac, Monica; van Beek, Karen; Benghiat, Helen; Hoeben, Bianca; Morales La Madrid, Andres; Kortmann, Rolf-Dieter; Hargrave, Darren; Menten, Johan; Pecori, Emilia; Biassoni, Veronica; von Bueren, Andre O; van Vuurden, Dannis G; Massimino, Maura; Sturm, Dominik; Peters, Max; Kramm, Christof M

2017-03-01

Overall survival (OS) of patients with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is poor. The purpose of this study is to analyse benefit and toxicity of re-irradiation at first progression. At first progression, 31 children with DIPG, aged 2-16 years, underwent re-irradiation (dose 19.8-30.0 Gy) alone (n = 16) or combined with systemic therapy (n = 15). At initial presentation, all patients had typical symptoms and characteristic MRI features of DIPG, or biopsy-proven high-grade glioma. An interval of ≥3 months after upfront radiotherapy was required before re-irradiation. Thirty-nine patients fulfilling the same criteria receiving radiotherapy at diagnosis, followed by best supportive care (n = 20) or systemic therapy (n = 19) at progression but no re-irradiation, were eligible for a matched-cohort analysis. Median OS for patients undergoing re-irradiation was 13.7 months. For a similar median progression-free survival after upfront radiotherapy (8.2 versus 7.7 months; P = .58), a significant benefit in median OS (13.7 versus 10.3 months; P = .04) was observed in favour of patients undergoing re-irradiation. Survival benefit of re-irradiation increased with a longer interval between end-of-radiotherapy and first progression (3-6 months: 4.0 versus 2.7; P < .01; 6-12 months: 6.4 versus 3.3; P = .04). Clinical improvement with re-irradiation was observed in 24/31 (77%) patients. No grade 4-5 toxicity was recorded. On multivariable analysis, interval to progression (corrected hazard ratio = .27-.54; P < .01) and re-irradiation (corrected hazard ratio = .18-.22; P < .01) remained prognostic for survival. A risk score (RS), comprising 5 categories, was developed to predict survival from first progression (ROC: .79). Median survival ranges from 1.0 month (RS-1) to 6.7 months (RS-5). The majority of patients with DIPG, responding to upfront radiotherapy, do benefit of re-irradiation with acceptable tolerability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Atmospheric turbulence effects measured along horizontal-path optical retro-reflector links.

PubMed

Mahon, Rita; Moore, Christopher I; Ferraro, Mike; Rabinovich, William S; Suite, Michele R

2012-09-01

The scintillation measured over close-to-ground retro-reflector links can be substantially enhanced due to the correlations experienced by both the direct and reflected echo beams. Experiments were carried out at China Lake, California, over a variety of ranges. The emphasis in this paper is on presenting the data from the 1.1 km retro-reflecting link that was operated for four consecutive days. The dependence of the measured irradiance flux variance on the solar fluence and on the temperature gradient above the ground is presented. The data are consistent with scintillation minima near sunrise and sunset, rising rapidly during the day and saturating at irradiance flux variances of ~10. Measured irradiance probability distributions of the retro-reflected beam are compared with standard probability density functions. The ratio of the irradiance flux variances on the retro-reflected to the direct, single-pass case is investigated with two data sets, one from a monostatic system and the other using an off-axis receiver system.

Method for analyzing passive silicon carbide thermometry with a continuous dilatometer to determine irradiation temperature

DOE PAGES

Campbell, Anne A.; Porter, Wallace D.; Katoh, Yutai; ...

2016-01-14

Silicon carbide is used as a passive post-irradiation temperature monitor because the irradiation defects will anneal out above the irradiation temperature. The irradiation temperature is determined by measuring a property change after isochronal annealing, i.e., lattice spacing, dimensions, electrical resistivity, thermal diffusivity, or bulk density. However, such methods are time-consuming since the steps involved must be performed in a serial manner. This work presents the use of thermal expansion from continuous dilatometry to calculate the SiC irradiation temperature, which is an automated process requiring minimal setup time. Analysis software was written that performs the calculations to obtain the irradiation temperaturemore » and removes possible user-introduced error while standardizing the analysis. In addition, this method has been compared to an electrical resistivity and isochronal annealing investigation, and the results revealed agreement of the calculated temperatures. These results show that dilatometry is a reliable and less time-intensive process for determining irradiation temperature from passive SiC thermometry.« less

Method for analyzing passive silicon carbide thermometry with a continuous dilatometer to determine irradiation temperature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Campbell, Anne A.; Porter, Wallace D.; Katoh, Yutai; Snead, Lance L.

2016-03-01

Silicon carbide is used as a passive post-irradiation temperature monitor because the irradiation defects will anneal out above the irradiation temperature. The irradiation temperature is determined by measuring a property change after isochronal annealing, i.e., lattice spacing, dimensions, electrical resistivity, thermal diffusivity, or bulk density. However, such methods are time-consuming since the steps involved must be performed in a serial manner. This work presents the use of thermal expansion from continuous dilatometry to calculate the SiC irradiation temperature, which is an automated process requiring minimal setup time. Analysis software was written that performs the calculations to obtain the irradiation temperature and removes possible user-introduced error while standardizing the analysis. This method has been compared to an electrical resistivity and isochronal annealing investigation, and the results revealed agreement of the calculated temperatures. These results show that dilatometry is a reliable and less time-intensive process for determining irradiation temperature from passive SiC thermometry.

Sensitivity of the RMI's MAGIC/Heliosat-2 method to relevant input data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Demain, C.; Journée, M.; Bertrand, C.

2013-01-01

Appropriate information on solar resources is very important for a variety of technological areas. Based on the potential of retrieving global horizontal irradiance from satellite data, an enhanced version of the Heliosat-2 method has been implemented at the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium to estimate surface solar irradiance over Belgium from Meteosat Second Generation at the SEVIRI spatial and temporal resolution. In this contribution, sensitivity of our retrieval scheme to surface albedo, atmospheric aerosol and water vapor contents is investigated. Results indicate that while the use of real-time information instead of climatological values can help to reduce to some extent the RMS error between satellite-retrieved and ground-measured solar irradiance, only the correction of the satellite-derived data with in situ measurements allows to significantly reduce the overall model bias.

Solar radiation over Egypt: Comparison of predicted and measured meteorological data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kamel, M.A.; Shalaby, S.A.; Mostafa, S.S.

1993-06-01

Measurements of global solar irradiance on a horizontal surface at five meteorological stations in Egypt for three years 1987, 1988, and 1989 are compared with their corresponding values computed by two independent methods. The first method is based on the Angstrom formula, which correlates relative solar irradiance H/H[sub o] to corresponding relative duration of bright sunshine n/N. Regional regression coefficients are obtained and used for prediction of global solar irradiance. Good agreement with measurements is obtained. In the second method an empirical relation, in which sunshine duration and the noon altitude of the sun as inputs together with appropriate choicemore » of zone parameters, is employed. This gives good agreement with the measurements. Comparison shows that the first method gives better fitting with the experimental data.« less

Calibration requirements and methodology for remote sensors viewing the ocean in the visible

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gordon, Howard R.

1987-01-01

The calibration requirements for ocean-viewing sensors are outlined, and the present methods of effecting such calibration are described in detail. For future instruments it is suggested that provision be made for the sensor to view solar irradiance in diffuse reflection and that the moon be used as a source of diffuse light for monitoring the sensor stability.

Facile fabrication of a near-infrared responsive nanocarrier for spatiotemporally controlled chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Hao; Zhang, Yi; Liu, Zheyi; Xu, Guiju; Huang, Guang; Ji, Yongsheng; Xiong, Zhichao; Zhang, Quanqing; Dong, Jing; Zhang, Weibing; Zou, Hanfa

2014-07-01

Remote-controlled nanocarriers for drug delivery are of great promise to provide timely, sensitive and spatiotemporally selective treatments for cancer therapy. Due to convenient and precise manipulation, deep penetration through tissues and excellent biocompatibility, near-infrared (NIR) irradiation is a preferred external stimulus for triggering the release of loaded drugs. In this work, for spatiotemporally controlled chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy, a NIR responsive nanocarrier was fabricated using reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rNGO) decorated with mesoporous silica shell and the subsequent functionalization of the thermoresponsive polymer brushes (pNIPAM-co-pAAm) at the outlet of the silica pore channels. rNGO, which combined with the mesoporous silica shell provide a high loading capacity for anticancer drugs (doxorubicin, DOX), was assigned to sense NIR irradiation for the manipulation of pNIPAM-co-pAAm valve to control the diffusion of loaded DOX. Under NIR irradiation, rNGO would generate heat, which could not only elevate the surrounding temperature over the low critical solution temperature (LCST) of pNIPAM-co-pAAm to open the thermoresponsive polymer valve and promote the diffusion of DOX, but also kill the cancer cells through the hypothermia effect. By manipulating NIR irradiation, the nanocarrier exhibited efficiently controlled release of loaded DOX both in the buffer and in living HeLa cells (the model cancer cells), providing powerful and site-targeted treatments, which can be attributed to synergistic effects of chemo-photothermal therapy. To sum up, this novel nanocarrier is an excellent drug delivery platform in remote-controlled chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy via NIR irradiation.Remote-controlled nanocarriers for drug delivery are of great promise to provide timely, sensitive and spatiotemporally selective treatments for cancer therapy. Due to convenient and precise manipulation, deep penetration through tissues and excellent biocompatibility, near-infrared (NIR) irradiation is a preferred external stimulus for triggering the release of loaded drugs. In this work, for spatiotemporally controlled chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy, a NIR responsive nanocarrier was fabricated using reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rNGO) decorated with mesoporous silica shell and the subsequent functionalization of the thermoresponsive polymer brushes (pNIPAM-co-pAAm) at the outlet of the silica pore channels. rNGO, which combined with the mesoporous silica shell provide a high loading capacity for anticancer drugs (doxorubicin, DOX), was assigned to sense NIR irradiation for the manipulation of pNIPAM-co-pAAm valve to control the diffusion of loaded DOX. Under NIR irradiation, rNGO would generate heat, which could not only elevate the surrounding temperature over the low critical solution temperature (LCST) of pNIPAM-co-pAAm to open the thermoresponsive polymer valve and promote the diffusion of DOX, but also kill the cancer cells through the hypothermia effect. By manipulating NIR irradiation, the nanocarrier exhibited efficiently controlled release of loaded DOX both in the buffer and in living HeLa cells (the model cancer cells), providing powerful and site-targeted treatments, which can be attributed to synergistic effects of chemo-photothermal therapy. To sum up, this novel nanocarrier is an excellent drug delivery platform in remote-controlled chemo-photothermal synergistic cancer therapy via NIR irradiation. Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: 10.1039/c4nr01044b

Semianalytical Solutions for Transport in Aquifer and Fractured Clay Matrix System

EPA Science Inventory

A three-dimensional mathematical model that describes transport of contaminant in a horizontal aquifer with simultaneous diffusion into a fractured clay formation is proposed. A group of analytical solutions is derived based on specific initial and boundary conditions as well as ...

Surface modification of an amorphous Si thin film crystallized by a linearly polarized Nd:YAG pulse laser beam

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Horita, Susumu; Kaki, Hirokazu; Nishioka, Kensuke

2007-07-01

Amorphous Si films of 60 and 10 nm thick on glass substrates were irradiated by a linearly polarized Nd:YAG pulse laser with the wavelength {lambda}=532 nm at the incident angle {theta}{sub i}=0. The surface of the irradiated 60-nm-thick film had both periodic ridges perpendicular to the electric field vector E and aperiodic ridges roughly parallel to E, where the spatial period of the periodic ridges was almost {lambda}. From the continuous 10-nm-thick film, the separate rectangular Si islands were formed with a periodic distance of {lambda}, with the edges parallel or perpendicular to E. When {theta}{sub i} was increased frommore » normal incidence of the s-polarized beam for a 60-nm-thick film, the aperiodic ridges were reduced while the periodic ridges were still formed. For a 10-nm-thick film, the Si stripes were formed perpendicular to E, using the s-polarized beam at {theta}{sub i}=12 deg. In order to investigate the mechanisms of the surface modifications of, in particular, aperiodic ridges, islands, and stripes, we improved the previous theoretical model of the periodic distribution of the beam energy density (periodic E-D) generated by irradiation of the linearly polarized laser beam, taking account of the multireflection effect in the Si film which is semitransparent for {lambda}. Further, the calculated E-D was corrected with respect to the thermal diffusion in the irradiated Si film. The calculation results show that the two-dimensional E-D consists of a constant or a dc term and a sinusoidal or an ac term which contains various spatial periods. The multireflection effect strongly influences the amplitude and phase of every ac term, which means that the amplitude and phase depend on the film thickness. The thermal diffusion during the heating of the irradiated film greatly reduces the amplitudes of the ac terms with periods below the thermal diffusion length. The theoretical calculation showed that, by increasing {theta}{sub i}, the temperature distribution in the irradiated Si film was changed from two-dimensional toward one-dimensional, which can explain the above experimental results reasonably.« less

Development of an electrochemical process for production of nano-copper oxides: Agglomeration kinetics modeling.

PubMed

Shahcheraghi, Seyed Hadi; Schaffie, Mahin; Ranjbar, Mohammad

2018-06-01

The main objective of this study was the development of a simple, clean, and industrial applicable electrochemical process for production of high pure nano-copper oxides from mining and industrial resources (e.g., ore, spent, slag and wastewater). To conduct the proposed process, a special set up containing an electrochemical cell in an ultrasonic system (28 kHz and 160 W) was proposed. Accordingly, using this set up and applying appropriate voltage (≈ 5 V) at 25 °C, in the presence of N 2 gas, the simultaneous anode dissolution and nano-copper oxides formation (≈ 24 nm) can be occurred, rapidly (less than 45 min). Then, the effect of N 2 gas and free radicals generated by ultrasonic irradiation was studied. The results showed, in the absence of ultrasonic irradiation and N 2 , an increase of electrolyte pH from 6.42 to 10.92, a decrease of electrolyte Eh from 285 mV to -1.14 V, and formation of copper nanoparticles. While, in the presence of ultrasonic and N 2 , the CuO nanoparticles were formed due to presence of H 2 O 2 generated by interaction of free radicals. Moreover, a novel method for kinetics modeling of nanoparticles agglomeration was proposed according to distributed activation energy model and Arrhenius parameters variation. The results showed that, in the absence of ultrasonic irradiation, the nanoparticle agglomerates were firstly formed (interface controlled mechanism) and then, the diffusion of nanoparticle agglomerates was occurred (diffusion controlled mechanism). Therefore, the control of nanoparticles size and shape may be impossible without surfactant. Also, in the presence of ultrasonic irradiation, the whole of agglomeration process followed interface controlled mechanism. Therefore, using ultrasonic irradiation, the nanoparticles shape and size don't change due to prevention of agglomerates diffusion. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Parallel computation safety analysis irradiation targets fission product molybdenum in neutronic aspect using the successive over-relaxation algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susmikanti, Mike; Dewayatna, Winter; Sulistyo, Yos

2014-09-01

One of the research activities in support of commercial radioisotope production program is a safety research on target FPM (Fission Product Molybdenum) irradiation. FPM targets form a tube made of stainless steel which contains nuclear-grade high-enrichment uranium. The FPM irradiation tube is intended to obtain fission products. Fission materials such as Mo99 used widely the form of kits in the medical world. The neutronics problem is solved using first-order perturbation theory derived from the diffusion equation for four groups. In contrast, Mo isotopes have longer half-lives, about 3 days (66 hours), so the delivery of radioisotopes to consumer centers and storage is possible though still limited. The production of this isotope potentially gives significant economic value. The criticality and flux in multigroup diffusion model was calculated for various irradiation positions and uranium contents. This model involves complex computation, with large and sparse matrix system. Several parallel algorithms have been developed for the sparse and large matrix solution. In this paper, a successive over-relaxation (SOR) algorithm was implemented for the calculation of reactivity coefficients which can be done in parallel. Previous works performed reactivity calculations serially with Gauss-Seidel iteratives. The parallel method can be used to solve multigroup diffusion equation system and calculate the criticality and reactivity coefficients. In this research a computer code was developed to exploit parallel processing to perform reactivity calculations which were to be used in safety analysis. The parallel processing in the multicore computer system allows the calculation to be performed more quickly. This code was applied for the safety limits calculation of irradiated FPM targets containing highly enriched uranium. The results of calculations neutron show that for uranium contents of 1.7676 g and 6.1866 g (× 106 cm-1) in a tube, their delta reactivities are the still within safety limits; however, for 7.9542 g and 8.838 g (× 106 cm-1) the limits were exceeded.

Nutrient fluxes via radium isotopes from the coast to offshore and from the seafloor to upper waters after the 2009 spring bloom in the Yellow Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Ni; Du, Jinzhou; Liu, Sumei; Zhang, Jing

2013-12-01

The horizontal and vertical transport of nutrient-rich water both from the coast and from the seafloor to the overlying water column should play an important role in supplying nutrients required for the periods of vegetative or reproductive growth of phytoplankton. In the present work, radium isotopes (223Ra, 224Ra and 226Ra) in the southern Yellow Sea were measured after a spring bloom in June 2009. The exponential-like decrease of 223Ra away from the coast to offshore waters yielded horizontal eddy diffusivities (Kh) of (2.93±1.47)×107 cm2 s-1 by neglecting the advection. This estimate was smaller than that with advection indicator by as much as 21% when using an analytic model for 223Ra and 226Ra. The corresponding horizontal nutrient fluxes were 1525 µmol m-2 d-1 (DIN), 15.9 µmol m-2 d-1 (DIP) and 826 µmol m-2 d-1 (DSi), which would supply around 16% of N and 3% of P requirements based on the primary productivity. The decrease of 224Ra and 223Ra activities from sediments to the upper water column suggests the vertical eddy diffusion coefficient (Kz) of 6.23±5.58 cm2 s-1 below the thermocline, which was within the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM). The calculated vertical fluxes of nutrient were 4945 μmol m-2 d-1 (DIN), 236 μmol m-2 d-1 (DIP) and 5315 μmol m-2 d-1 (DSi), accounting for up to 52% of N and 40% of P requirements for the phytoplankton growth. These results demonstrate the role of YSCWM as a relative nutrient-rich pool for the supply of nutrient to the southern Yellow Sea via the vertical diffusion process relative to the horizontal process during the summer season. Such processes will be strengthened during the weak density stratification in spring when algal blooms occur.

Tolerance of canine anastomoses to intraoperative radiation therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tepper, J.E.; Sindelar, W.; Travis, E.L.

1983-07-01

Radiation has been given intraoperatively to various abdominal structures in dogs, using a fixed horizontal 11 MeV electron beam at the Armed Forces Radiobiologic Research Institute. Animals were irradiated with single doses of 2000, 3000 and 4500 rad to a field which extended from the bifurcation of the aorta to the rib cage. All animals were irradiated during laparotomy under general anesthesia. Because the clinical use of intraoperative radiotherapy in cancer treatment will occasionally require irradiation of anastomosed large vessels and blind loops of bowel, the tolerance of aortic anastomoses and the suture lines of blind loops of jejunum tomore » irradiation were studied. Responses in these experiments were scored at times up to one year after irradiation. In separate experiments both aortic and intestinal anastomoses were performed on each animal for evaluation of short term response. The dogs with aortic anastomoses showed adequate healing at all doses with no evidence of suture line weakening. On long-term follow-up one animal (2000 rad) had stenosis at the anastomosis and one animal (4500 rad) developed an arteriovenous fistula. Three of the animals that had an intestinal blind loop irradiated subsequently developed intussusception, with the irradiated loop acting as the lead point. One week after irradiation, bursting pressure of an intestinal blind loop was normal at 3000 rad, but markedly decreased at 4500 rad. No late complications were noted after the irradiation of the intestinal anastomosis. No late complicatons were observed after irradiation of intestinal anastomoses, but one needs to be cautious with regards to possible late stenosis at the site of an irradiated vascular anastomosis.« less

Improving enzymatic hydrolysis of industrial hemp ( Cannabis sativa L.) by electron beam irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shin, Soo-Jeong; Sung, Yong Joo

2008-09-01

The electron beam irradiation was applied as a pretreatment of the enzymatic hydrolysis of hemp biomass with doses of 150, 300 and 450 kGy. The higher irradiation dose resulted in the more extraction with hot-water extraction or 1% sodium hydroxide solution extraction. The higher solubility of the treated sample was originated from the chains scission during irradiation, which was indirectly demonstrated by the increase of carbonyl groups as shown in diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) spectra. The changes in the micro-structure of hemp resulted in the better response to enzymatic hydrolysis with commercial cellulases (Celluclast 1.5L and Novozym 342). The improvement in enzymatic hydrolysis by the irradiation was more evident in the hydrolysis of the xylan than in that of the cellulose.

Large-scale deformation associated with ridge subduction

USGS Publications Warehouse

Geist, E.L.; Fisher, M.A.; Scholl, D. W.

1993-01-01

Continuum models are used to investigate the large-scale deformation associated with the subduction of aseismic ridges. Formulated in the horizontal plane using thin viscous sheet theory, these models measure the horizontal transmission of stress through the arc lithosphere accompanying ridge subduction. Modelling was used to compare the Tonga arc and Louisville ridge collision with the New Hebrides arc and d'Entrecasteaux ridge collision, which have disparate arc-ridge intersection speeds but otherwise similar characteristics. Models of both systems indicate that diffuse deformation (low values of the effective stress-strain exponent n) are required to explain the observed deformation. -from Authors

UV hazard on a summer's day under Mediterranean conditions, and the protective role of a beach umbrella

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grifoni, D.; Carreras, G.; Sabatini, F.; Zipoli, G.

2005-11-01

Mediterranean beaches are very crowded during summer and, because of the high values of solar UV radiation, the potential risk for human health is relevant. In this study, all-day measurements of biologically effective global and diffuse UV radiation for skin (UVBEeryt) and eye (UVBEpker, UVBEpconj, UVBEcat) disorders were carried out on differently tilted surfaces on a summer’s day on a Mediterranean beach. The role played by beach umbrellas in protection from excessive sun exposure was also investigated. Erythema, photokeratitis and cataract seem to require almost the same exposure time to reach the risk threshold dose. Under full sunlight, the highest global and diffuse UV values are reached on surfaces normally oriented towards sunlight and on horizontal surfaces, respectively. Over vertical surfaces, at this northern hemisphere site, global and diffuse UV radiation reaches maxima values in the south-facing direction around noon, while maxima values are reached early in the morning and late in the afternoon over surfaces facing east and west, respectively. The quality of the beach umbrella’s protection (efficiency in blocking solar UV radiation) varies with surface orientation; the highest efficiency for our specific site and geometrical conditions occurs over horizontal surfaces, with efficiency being least over vertical surfaces when incident radiation values are still relevant.

Technique for determining the amount of hydrogen diffusing through a steel membrane

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kardash, N.V.; Batrakov, V.V.

1995-07-01

Hydrogen diffusion through steel membranes still attracts much attention from scientists, and during recent years new results have been reported. Hydrogen diffusion is usually studied in the cell designed by M.A. Devanathan, but there are also other techniques for determining hydrogen permeability, namely: from the change in the solution volume in a horizontal or gas microburette; from the hydrogen ionization current; from the penetration current; and from the buckling of the cathode. The authors developed an analytical method using autocatalytic titration for determining the amount of hydrogen passed through a steel membrane. The method is based on permanganatometry which ismore » widely used in analytical chemistry.« less

Photocarrier Radiometry for Non-contact Evaluation of Monocrystalline Silicon Solar Cell Under Low-Energy (< 200 keV) Proton Irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oliullah, Md.; Liu, J. Y.; Song, P.; Wang, Y.

2018-06-01

A three-layer theoretical model is developed for the characterization of the electronic transport properties (lifetime τ, diffusion coefficient D, and surface recombination velocity s) with energetic particle irradiation on solar cells using non-contact photocarrier radiometry. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is carried out to obtain the depth profiles of the proton irradiation layer at different low energies (< 200 keV). The monocrystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells are investigated under different low-energy proton irradiation, and the carrier transport parameters of the three layers are obtained by best-fitting of the experimental results. The results show that the low-energy protons have little influence on the transport parameters of the non-irradiated layer, but high influences on both of the p and n-region irradiation layers which are consisted of MC simulation.

A Novel Murine Model for Localized Radiation Necrosis and its Characterization Using Advanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jost, Sarah C.; Hope, Andrew; Kiehl, Erich

Purpose: To develop a murine model of radiation necrosis using fractionated, subtotal cranial irradiation; and to investigate the imaging signature of radiation-induced tissue damage using advanced magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Methods and Materials: Twenty-four mice each received 60 Gy of hemispheric (left) irradiation in 10 equal fractions. Magnetic resonance images at 4.7 T were subsequently collected using T1-, T2-, and diffusion sequences at selected time points after irradiation. After imaging, animals were killed and their brains fixed for correlative histologic analysis. Results: Contrast-enhanced T1- and T2-weighted magnetic resonance images at months 2, 3, and 4 showed changes consistent with progressivemore » radiation necrosis. Quantitatively, mean diffusivity was significantly higher (mean = 0.86, 1.13, and 1.24 {mu}m{sup 2}/ms at 2, 3, and 4 months, respectively) in radiated brain, compared with contralateral untreated brain tissue (mean = 0.78, 0.82, and 0.83 {mu}m{sup 2}/ms) (p < 0.0001). Histology reflected changes typically seen in radiation necrosis. Conclusions: This murine model of radiation necrosis will facilitate investigation of imaging biomarkers that distinguish between radiation necrosis and tumor recurrence. In addition, this preclinical study supports clinical data suggesting that diffusion-weighted imaging may be helpful in answering this diagnostic question in clinical settings.« less

H6+ in irradiated solid para-hydrogen and its decay dynamics: reinvestigation of quartet electron paramagnetic resonance lines assigned to H2-.

PubMed

Kumada, Takayuki; Tachikawa, Hiroto; Takayanagi, Toshiyuki

2005-03-07

The quartet electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) lines observed in gamma- and X-ray irradiated solid para-H2, which have previously been assigned to H2-, are reinvestigated. We have reassigned the quartet lines to H6 rather than H2- mainly due to comparison of experimentally obtained EPR parameters to theoretical results. Based on the new assignment, trapping site, rotation, ortho-para conversion, quantum diffusion and isotope effect of H+ have been reinterpreted by the precise reanalysis as follows. The H6+ ion is composed of the collinearly aligned H2+ core at the center and two H2 rotors at both ends, occupies a single substitutional site, and has a precession motion around a crystalline axis with the angle of approximately 57 degrees. The ortho-para conversion of H2+ core of H6+ is completed within the time-scale of hours, whereas ortho-H2 molecules near H6+ convert much faster. H6+ diffuses quantum mechanically by the repetition of H6+ + H2 --> H2 + H6+ reaction. The diffusion terminates by the reaction, H6(+) + HD --> H5D(+) + H2, with a HD impurity contained in the para-H2 sample at natural abundance. Finally, we will propose a possible reason why H6+ is produced instead of H3+ in the irradiated solid H2.

In Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy Study of Electron Beam-Induced Transformations in Colloidal Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals.

PubMed

Dang, Zhiya; Shamsi, Javad; Palazon, Francisco; Imran, Muhammad; Akkerman, Quinten A; Park, Sungwook; Bertoni, Giovanni; Prato, Mirko; Brescia, Rosaria; Manna, Liberato

2017-02-28

An increasing number of studies have recently reported the rapid degradation of hybrid and all-inorganic lead halide perovskite nanocrystals under electron beam irradiation in the transmission electron microscope, with the formation of nanometer size, high contrast particles. The nature of these nanoparticles and the involved transformations in the perovskite nanocrystals are still a matter of debate. Herein, we have studied the effects of high energy (80/200 keV) electron irradiation on colloidal cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr 3 ) nanocrystals with different shapes and sizes, especially 3 nm thick nanosheets, a morphology that facilitated the analysis of the various ongoing processes. Our results show that the CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals undergo a radiolysis process, with electron stimulated desorption of a fraction of bromine atoms and the reduction of a fraction of Pb 2+ ions to Pb 0 . Subsequently Pb 0 atoms diffuse and aggregate, giving rise to the high contrast particles, as previously reported by various groups. The diffusion is facilitated by both high temperature and electron beam irradiation. The early stage Pb nanoparticles are epitaxially bound to the parent CsPbBr 3 lattice, and evolve into nonepitaxially bound Pb crystals upon further irradiation, leading to local amorphization and consequent dismantling of the CsPbBr 3 lattice. The comparison among CsPbBr 3 nanocrystals with various shapes and sizes evidences that the damage is particularly pronounced at the corners and edges of the surface, due to a lower diffusion barrier for Pb 0 on the surface than inside the crystal and the presence of a larger fraction of under-coordinated atoms.

Short-term solar irradiance forecasting via satellite/model coupling

DOE PAGES

Miller, Steven D.; Rogers, Matthew A.; Haynes, John M.; ...

2017-12-01

The short-term (0-3 h) prediction of solar insolation for renewable energy production is a problem well-suited to satellite-based techniques. The spatial, spectral, temporal and radiometric resolution of instrumentation hosted on the geostationary platform allows these satellites to describe the current cloud spatial distribution and optical properties. These properties relate directly to the transient properties of the downwelling solar irradiance at the surface, which come in the form of 'ramps' that pose a central challenge to energy load balancing in a spatially distributed network of solar farms. The short-term evolution of the cloud field may be approximated to first order simplymore » as translational, but care must be taken in how the advection is handled and where the impacts are assigned. In this research, we describe how geostationary satellite observations are used with operational cloud masking and retrieval algorithms, wind field data from Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), and radiative transfer calculations to produce short-term forecasts of solar insolation for applications in solar power generation. The scheme utilizes retrieved cloud properties to group pixels into contiguous cloud objects whose future positions are predicted using four-dimensional (space + time) model wind fields, selecting steering levels corresponding to the cloud height properties of each cloud group. The shadows associated with these clouds are adjusted for sensor viewing parallax displacement and combined with solar geometry and terrain height to determine the actual location of cloud shadows. For mid/high-level clouds at mid-latitudes and high solar zenith angles, the combined displacements from these geometric considerations are non-negligible. The cloud information is used to initialize a radiative transfer model that computes the direct and diffuse-sky solar insolation at both shadow locations and intervening clear-sky regions. Here, we describe the formulation of the algorithm and validate its performance against Surface Radiation (SURFRAD; Augustine et al., 2000, 2005) network observations. Typical errors range from 8.5% to 17.2% depending on the complexity of cloud regimes, and an operational demonstration outperformed persistence-based forecasting of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) under all conditions by ~10 W/m2.« less

Short-term solar irradiance forecasting via satellite/model coupling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, Steven D.; Rogers, Matthew A.; Haynes, John M.

The short-term (0-3 h) prediction of solar insolation for renewable energy production is a problem well-suited to satellite-based techniques. The spatial, spectral, temporal and radiometric resolution of instrumentation hosted on the geostationary platform allows these satellites to describe the current cloud spatial distribution and optical properties. These properties relate directly to the transient properties of the downwelling solar irradiance at the surface, which come in the form of 'ramps' that pose a central challenge to energy load balancing in a spatially distributed network of solar farms. The short-term evolution of the cloud field may be approximated to first order simplymore » as translational, but care must be taken in how the advection is handled and where the impacts are assigned. In this research, we describe how geostationary satellite observations are used with operational cloud masking and retrieval algorithms, wind field data from Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), and radiative transfer calculations to produce short-term forecasts of solar insolation for applications in solar power generation. The scheme utilizes retrieved cloud properties to group pixels into contiguous cloud objects whose future positions are predicted using four-dimensional (space + time) model wind fields, selecting steering levels corresponding to the cloud height properties of each cloud group. The shadows associated with these clouds are adjusted for sensor viewing parallax displacement and combined with solar geometry and terrain height to determine the actual location of cloud shadows. For mid/high-level clouds at mid-latitudes and high solar zenith angles, the combined displacements from these geometric considerations are non-negligible. The cloud information is used to initialize a radiative transfer model that computes the direct and diffuse-sky solar insolation at both shadow locations and intervening clear-sky regions. Here, we describe the formulation of the algorithm and validate its performance against Surface Radiation (SURFRAD; Augustine et al., 2000, 2005) network observations. Typical errors range from 8.5% to 17.2% depending on the complexity of cloud regimes, and an operational demonstration outperformed persistence-based forecasting of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) under all conditions by ~10 W/m2.« less

FluorMODgui V3.0: A graphic user interface for the spectral simulation of leaf and canopy chlorophyll fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zarco-Tejada, P. J.; Miller, J. R.; Pedrós, R.; Verhoef, W.; Berger, M.

2006-06-01

The FluorMODgui Graphic User Interface (GUI) software package developed within the frame of the FluorMOD project Development of a Vegetation Fluorescence Canopy Model is presented in this manuscript. The FluorMOD project was launched in 2002 by the European Space Agency (ESA) to advance the science of vegetation fluorescence simulation through the development and integration of leaf and canopy fluorescence models based on physical methods. The design of airborne or space missions dedicated to the measurement of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence using remote-sensing instruments require physical methods for quantitative feasibility analysis and sensor specification studies. The FluorMODgui model developed as part of this project is designed to simulate the effects of chlorophyll fluorescence at leaf and canopy levels using atmospheric inputs, running the leaf model, FluorMODleaf, and the canopy model, FluorSAIL, independently, through a coupling scheme, and by a multiple iteration protocol to simulate changes in the viewing geometry and atmospheric characteristics. Inputs for the FluorMODleaf model are the number of leaf layers, chlorophyll a+ b content, water equivalent thickness, dry matter content, fluorescence quantum efficiency, temperature, species type, and stoichiometry. Inputs for the FluorSAIL canopy model are a MODTRAN-4 6-parameter spectra or measured direct horizontal irradiance and diffuse irradiance spectra, a soil reflectance spectrum, leaf reflectance & transmittance spectra and a excitation-fluorescence response matrix in upward and downward directions (all from FluorMODleaf), 2 PAR-dependent coefficients for the fluorescence response to light level, relative azimuth angle and viewing zenith angle, canopy leaf area index, leaf inclination distribution function, and a hot spot parameter. Outputs available in the 400-1000 nm spectral range from the graphical user interface, FluorMODgui, are the leaf spectral reflectance and transmittance, and the canopy reflectance, with and without fluorescence effects. In addition, solar and sky irradiance on the ground, radiance with and without fluorescence on the ground, and top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiances for bare soil and surroundings same as target are also produced. The models and documentation regarding the FluorMOD project can be downloaded at http://www.ias.csic.es/fluormod.

A geometric ultraviolet-B radiation transfer model applied to vegetation canopies

Treesearch

Wei Gao; Richard H. Grant; Gordon M. Heisler; James R. Slusser

2002-01-01

The decrease in stratospheric ozone (O3) has prompted continued efforts to assess the potential damage to plant and animal life due to enhanced levels of solar ultraviolet (UV)-B (280-320 nm) radiation. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate an analytical model to simulate the UV-B irradiance loading on horizontal below- canopy...

Microstructural analysis of as-processed U-10 wt.%Mo monolithic fuel plate in AA6061 matrix with Zr diffusion barrier

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perez, E.; Yao, B.; Keiser, D. D., Jr.; Sohn, Y. H.

2010-07-01

For higher U-loading in low-enriched U-10 wt.%Mo fuels, monolithic fuel plate clad in AA6061 is being developed as a part of Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactor (RERTR) program. This paper reports the first characterization results from a monolithic U-10 wt.%Mo fuel plate with a Zr diffusion barrier that was fabricated as part of a plate fabrication campaign for irradiation testing in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR). Both scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) were employed for analysis. At the interface between the Zr barrier and U-10 wt.%Mo, going from Zr to U(Mo), UZr 2, γ-UZr, Zr solid-solution and Mo 2Zr phases were observed. The interface between AA6061 cladding and Zr barrier plate consisted of four layers, going from Al to Zr, (Al, Si) 2Zr, (Al, Si)Zr 3 (Al, Si) 3Zr, and AlSi 4Zr 5. Irradiation behavior of these intermetallic phases is discussed based on their constituents. Characterization of as-fabricated phase constituents and microstructure would help understand the irradiation behavior of these fuel plates, interpret post-irradiation examination, and optimize the processing parameters of monolithic fuel system.

Longitudinal changes in gray matter regions after cranial radiation and comparative analysis with whole body radiation: a DTI study.

PubMed

Watve, Apurva; Gupta, Mamta; Khushu, Subash; Rana, Poonam

2018-06-01

Radiation-induced white matter changes are well known and vastly studied. However, radiation-induced gray matter alterations are still a research question. In the present study, these changes were assessed in a longitudinal manner using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and further compared for cranial and whole body radiation exposure. Male mice (C57BL/6) were irradiated with cranial or whole body radiation followed by DTI study at 7T animal MRI system during predose, subacute and early delayed phases of radiation sickness. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) values were obtained from brain's gray matter regions. Decreased FA with increased MD was observed prominently in animals exposed to cranial radiation showing most changes at 8 months post irradiation. However, whole body radiation induced FA changes were mostly observed at 1 month post irradiation as compared to controls. The differential response after whole body and cranial irradiation observed in the study depicts that radiation exposure of 5 Gy could induce permanent alterations in gray matter regions prominently as observed in Caudoputamen region at all the time points. Thus, our study has bolstered the role of DTI to probe microstructural changes in gray matter regions of brain after radiation exposure.

Linear lesions in heart tissue using diffused laser radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fried, Nathaniel M.; Lardo, Albert C.; Berger, Ronald D.; Calkins, Hugh; Halperin, Henry R.

2000-05-01

Transmural, continuous, and linear lesions may be necessary for successful catheter ablation of cardiac arrythmias such as atrial fibrillation. Laser ablation was studied as an alternative to radiofrequency ablation, which is noted to produce superficial and discontinuous lesions as well as tissue charring and vaporization. Samples of canine myocardium were placed in a saline bath and irradiated with an 1.06- micrometer Nd:YAG laser operated in either pulsed or continuous mode. For pulsed mode, the laser pulse duration was 10 s with 10 s cooling between pulses. Laser radiation was delivered radially through diffusing optical fiber tips oriented parallel to the endocardial surface. In CW mode, transmural (6-mm-deep), linear (16-mm-long), and continuous lesions were produced using a laser power of 30 W and an irradiation time of 180 s. Peak tissue temperatures measured 51 plus or minus 1 degree Celsius at the endocardial surface, 61 plus or minus 6 degrees Celsius in the mid-myocardium, and 55 plus or minus 6 degree Celsius at the epicardial surface. There was no evidence of tissue charring or vaporization. Pulsed laser irradiation produced comparable lesion depths to CW irradiation with more uniform heating of the subsurface myocardium, but at the expense of longer operation times. Further in vivo study of laser ablation is warranted for possible clinical applications.

Spatial Estimation of Sub-Hour Global Horizontal Irradiance Based on Official Observations and Remote Sensors

PubMed Central

Gutierrez-Corea, Federico-Vladimir; Manso-Callejo, Miguel-Angel; Moreno-Regidor, María-Pilar; Velasco-Gómez, Jesús

2014-01-01

This study was motivated by the need to improve densification of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) observations, increasing the number of surface weather stations that observe it, using sensors with a sub-hour periodicity and examining the methods of spatial GHI estimation (by interpolation) with that periodicity in other locations. The aim of the present research project is to analyze the goodness of 15-minute GHI spatial estimations for five methods in the territory of Spain (three geo-statistical interpolation methods, one deterministic method and the HelioSat2 method, which is based on satellite images). The research concludes that, when the work area has adequate station density, the best method for estimating GHI every 15 min is Regression Kriging interpolation using GHI estimated from satellite images as one of the input variables. On the contrary, when station density is low, the best method is estimating GHI directly from satellite images. A comparison between the GHI observed by volunteer stations and the estimation model applied concludes that 67% of the volunteer stations analyzed present values within the margin of error (average of ±2 standard deviations). PMID:24732102

Spatial estimation of sub-hour Global Horizontal Irradiance based on official observations and remote sensors.

PubMed

Gutierrez-Corea, Federico-Vladimir; Manso-Callejo, Miguel-Angel; Moreno-Regidor, María-Pilar; Velasco-Gómez, Jesús

2014-04-11

This study was motivated by the need to improve densification of Global Horizontal Irradiance (GHI) observations, increasing the number of surface weather stations that observe it, using sensors with a sub-hour periodicity and examining the methods of spatial GHI estimation (by interpolation) with that periodicity in other locations. The aim of the present research project is to analyze the goodness of 15-minute GHI spatial estimations for five methods in the territory of Spain (three geo-statistical interpolation methods, one deterministic method and the HelioSat2 method, which is based on satellite images). The research concludes that, when the work area has adequate station density, the best method for estimating GHI every 15 min is Regression Kriging interpolation using GHI estimated from satellite images as one of the input variables. On the contrary, when station density is low, the best method is estimating GHI directly from satellite images. A comparison between the GHI observed by volunteer stations and the estimation model applied concludes that 67% of the volunteer stations analyzed present values within the margin of error (average of ±2 standard deviations).

HINTS to diagnose stroke in the acute vestibular syndrome: three-step bedside oculomotor examination more sensitive than early MRI diffusion-weighted imaging.

PubMed

Kattah, Jorge C; Talkad, Arun V; Wang, David Z; Hsieh, Yu-Hsiang; Newman-Toker, David E

2009-11-01

Acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) is often due to vestibular neuritis but can result from vertebrobasilar strokes. Misdiagnosis of posterior fossa infarcts in emergency care settings is frequent. Bedside oculomotor findings may reliably identify stroke in AVS, but prospective studies have been lacking. The authors conducted a prospective, cross-sectional study at an academic hospital. Consecutive patients with AVS (vertigo, nystagmus, nausea/vomiting, head-motion intolerance, unsteady gait) with >or=1 stroke risk factor underwent structured examination, including horizontal head impulse test of vestibulo-ocular reflex function, observation of nystagmus in different gaze positions, and prism cross-cover test of ocular alignment. All underwent neuroimaging and admission (generally <72 hours after symptom onset). Strokes were diagnosed by MRI or CT. Peripheral lesions were diagnosed by normal MRI and clinical follow-up. One hundred one high-risk patients with AVS included 25 peripheral and 76 central lesions (69 ischemic strokes, 4 hemorrhages, 3 other). The presence of normal horizontal head impulse test, direction-changing nystagmus in eccentric gaze, or skew deviation (vertical ocular misalignment) was 100% sensitive and 96% specific for stroke. Skew was present in 17% and associated with brainstem lesions (4% peripheral, 4% pure cerebellar, 30% brainstem involvement; chi(2), P=0.003). Skew correctly predicted lateral pontine stroke in 2 of 3 cases in which an abnormal horizontal head impulse test erroneously suggested peripheral localization. Initial MRI diffusion-weighted imaging was falsely negative in 12% (all <48 hours after symptom onset). Skew predicts brainstem involvement in AVS and can identify stroke when an abnormal horizontal head impulse test falsely suggests a peripheral lesion. A 3-step bedside oculomotor examination (HINTS: Head-Impulse-Nystagmus-Test-of-Skew) appears more sensitive for stroke than early MRI in AVS.

Performance, Defect Behavior and Carrier Enhancement in Low Energy, Proton Irradiated p(+)nn(+) InP Solar Cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weinberg, I.; Rybicki, G. C.; Vargas-Aburto, C.; Jain, R. K.; Scheiman, D.

1994-01-01

InP p(+)nn(+) cells, processed by MOCVD, were irradiated by 0.2 MeV protons and their performance and defect behavior observed to a maximum fluence of 10(exp 13)/sq cm. Their radiation induced degradation, over this fluence range, was considerably+less than observed for similarly irradiated, diffused junction n p InP cells. Significant degradation occurred in both the cell's emitter and base regions the least degradation occurring in the depletion region. A significant increase in series resistance occurs at the highest fluenc.e. Two majority carrier defect levels, E7 and E10, are observed by DLTS with activation energies at (E(sub C) - 0.39)eV and (E(sub C) - 0.74)eV respectively. The relative concentration of these defects differs considerably from that observed after 1 MeV electron irradiation. An increased carrier concentration in the cell's n-region was observed at the highest proton fluence, the change in carrier concentration being insignificant at the lower fluences. In agreement with previous results, for 1 and 1.5 MeV electron irradiated InP p(+)n junctions, the defect level E10 is attributed to a complex between zinc, diffused into the n-region from the zinc doped emitter, and a radiation induced defect. The latter is assumed to be either a phosphorus vacancy or interstitial. The increased, or enhanced carrier concentration is attributed to this complex acting as a donor.

Toward Improved Modeling of Spectral Solar Irradiance for Solar Energy Applications: Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Xie, Yu; Sengupta, Manajit

This study introduces the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) recent efforts to extend the capability of the Fast All-sky Radiation Model for Solar applications (FARMS) by computing spectral solar irradiances over both horizontal and inclined surfaces. A new model is developed by computing the optical thickness of the atmosphere using a spectral irradiance model for clear-sky conditions, SMARTS2. A comprehensive lookup table (LUT) of cloud bidirectional transmittance distribution functions (BTDFs) is precomputed for 2002 wavelength bands using an atmospheric radiative transfer model, libRadtran. The solar radiation transmitted through the atmosphere is given by considering all possible paths of photon transmissionmore » and the relevent scattering and absorption attenuation. Our results indicate that this new model has an accuracy that is similar to that of state-of-the-art radiative transfer models, but it is significantly more efficient.« less

Quantitative comparison between radial and cylindrically diffusing fibers for photothermal treatment of varicose vein disease (Conference Presentation)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Truong Van, Gia; Kang, Hyun Wook

2017-02-01

For last two decades, endovenous laser therapy (EVLT) is one of the most widely accepted surgical options for treating incompetent great and small saphenous veins. However, due to excessive heating during EVLT, the major complications include pain and burning that often increase the risk of dermatitis disease. The aim of the current study was to quantitatively compare commercially-available radial fibers with newly-developed diffusing applicators for 1470 nm-EVLA in terms of temperature elevation and vein deformation. Rabbit veins were used as an ex vivo model for EVLA. A 5-W 1470 nm laser system in conjunction with the radial and diffusing fibers was employed to thermally coagulate the venous tissue. A goniometric measurement validated uniform and isotropic distribution of laser light in polar and longitudinal directions (i.e., normalized intensity = 0.84±0.08). The diffusing applicator induced a 20 % lower maximum temperature than the radial fiber did (maximum temperature = 79.2 °C for radial vs. 63.3 °C for diffusing). Due to higher irradiance, the radial fiber was associated with a transient temperature change of 5.9 °C/s, which was 1.5-fold faster than the diffusing applicator (i.e., 2.4 °C/s). However, the degree of cross-sectional area reduction in the veins was almost comparable for both the fibers (i.e., 53% for radial vs. 48% for diffusing). Due to longer irradiation length, the diffusing applicator demonstrated wider treatment coverage and less fiber speed-dependent. On account of easy pullback technique and uniform thermal effect, the proposed cylindrically diffusing applicator can be a feasible optical device to effectively treat varicose veins. Further in vivo studies will be performed to identify the complete removal of the vein disease and healing response of the venous tissue.

Microstructural, thermal and antibacterial properties of electron beam irradiated Bombyx mori silk fibroin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asha, S.; Sangappa, Naik, Prashantha; Chandra, K. Sharat; Sanjeev, Ganesh

2014-04-01

The Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) films were prepared by solution casting method and the effects of electron beam on structural, thermal and antibacterial responses of the prepared films were studied. The electron irradiation for different doses was carried out using 8 MeV Microtron facility at Mangalore University. The changes in microstructural parameters and thermal stability of the films were investigated using Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) respectively. Both microstructuralline parameters (crystallite size and lattice strain (g in %)) and thermal stability of the irradiated films have increased with radiation dosage. Agar diffusion method demonstrated the antibacterial activity of SF film which was increased after irradiation on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species.

Emittance matching of a slow extracted beam for a rotating gantry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fujimoto, T.; Iwata, Y.; Matsuba, S.; Fujita, T.; Sato, S.; Shirai, T.; Noda, K.

2017-09-01

The introduction of a heavy-ion rotating gantry is in progress at the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC) for realizing high-precision cancer therapy using heavy ions. A scanning irradiation method will be applied to this gantry course with 48-430 MeV/u beam energy. In the rotating gantry, the horizontal and vertical beam parameters are coupled by its rotation. To maintain a circular spot shape at the isocenter irrespective of the gantry angle, achieving symmetric phase space distribution of the horizontal and vertical beam at the entrance of the rotating gantry is necessary. Therefore, compensating the horizontal and vertical emittance is necessary. We consider using a thin scatterer method to compensate the emittance. After considering the optical design for emittance matching, the scatterer device is located in the high-energy beam transport line. In the beam commissioning, we confirm that the symmetrical spot shape is obtained at the isocenter without depending on the gantry angle.

Microstructural characterization of a thin film ZrN diffusion barrier in an As-fabricated U-7Mo/Al matrix dispersion fuel plate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keiser, Dennis D.; Perez, Emmanuel; Wiencek, Tom; Leenaers, Ann; Van den Berghe, Sven

2015-03-01

The United States High Performance Research Reactor Fuel Development program is developing low enriched uranium fuels for application in research and test reactors. One concept utilizes U-7 wt.% Mo (U-7Mo) fuel particles dispersed in Al matrix, where the fuel particles are coated with a 1 μm-thick ZrN coating. The ZrN serves as a diffusion barrier to eliminate a deleterious reaction that can occur between U-7Mo and Al when a dispersion fuel is irradiated under aggressive reactor conditions. To investigate the final microstructure of a physically-vapor-deposited ZrN coating in a dispersion fuel plate after it was fabricated using a rolling process, characterization samples were taken from a fuel plate that was fabricated at 500 °C using ZrN-coated U-7Mo particles, Al matrix and AA6061 cladding. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy analysis were performed. Data from these analyses will be used to support future microstructural examinations of irradiated fuel plates, in terms of understanding the effects of irradiation on the ZrN microstructure, and to determine the role of diffusion barrier microstructure in eliminating fuel/matrix interactions during irradiation. The as-fabricated coating was determined to be cubic-ZrN (cF8) phase. It exhibited a columnar microstructure comprised of nanometer-sized grains and a region of relatively high porosity, mainly near the Al matrix. Small impurity-containing phases were observed at the U-7Mo/ZrN interface, and no interaction zone was observed at the ZrN/Al interface. The bonding between the U-7Mo and ZrN appeared to be mechanical in nature. A relatively high level of oxygen was observed in the ZrN coating, extending from the Al matrix in the ZrN coating in decreasing concentration. The above microstructural characteristics are discussed in terms of what may be most optimal for a diffusion barrier in a dispersion fuel plate application.

Study of photosensitization reaction progress in a 96 well plate with photosensitizer rich condition using Talaporfin sodium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ogawa, Emiyu; Takahashi, Mei; Arai, Tsunenori

2013-02-01

To quantitatively investigate photosensitization reaction in vitro against myocardial cells with photosensitizer rich condition in solution using Talaporfin sodium in the well of a 96 well plate, we studied photosensitization reaction progress in this well. We have proposed non-thermal conduction block of myocardium tissue using the photosensitization reaction with laser irradiation shortly after Talaporfin sodium injection. In above situation, the photosensitizer is located outside the myocardial cells in high concentration. To understand interaction of the photosensitization reaction in which the photosensitizer distributes outside cells, the photosensitization reaction progress in the well was studied. Talaporfin sodium (799.69 MW) solution and a 663 nm diode laser were used. The photosensitizer solution concentrations of 12.5-37.5 μM were employed. The photosensitizer fluorescence with 0.29 W/cm2 in irradiance, which was optimized in previous cell death study, was measured during the laser irradiation until 40 J/cm2. The photosensitizer solution absorbance and dissolved oxygen pressure after the laser irradiation were also measured. We found that the photosensitization reaction progress had 2 distinctive phases of different reaction rate: rapid photosensitization reaction consuming dissolved oxygen and gentle photosensitization reaction with oxygen diffusion from the solution-air boundary. The dissolved oxygen pressure and photosensitizer solution absorbance were 30% and 80% of the initial values after the laser irradiation, respectively. Therefore, oxygen was rate-controlling factor of the photosensitization reaction in the well with the photosensitizer rich condition. In the oxygen diffusion phase, the oxygen pressure was maintained around 40 mmHg until the laser irradiation of 40 J/cm2 and it is similar to that of myocardium tissue in vivo. We think that our 96 well plate in vitro system may simulate PDT in myocardial tissue with photosensitization reaction parameters mentioned above.

Gravity Wave Mixing and Effective Diffusivity for Minor Chemical Constituents in the Mesosphere/Lower Thermosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grygalashvyly, M.; Becker, E.; Sonnemann, G. R.

2012-06-01

The influence of gravity waves (GWs) on the distributions of minor chemical constituents in the mesosphere-lower thermosphere (MLT) is studied on the basis of the effective diffusivity concept. The mixing ratios of chemical species used for calculations of the effective diffusivity are obtained from numerical experiments with an off-line coupled model of the dynamics and chemistry abbreviated as KMCM-MECTM (Kuehlungsborn Mechanistic general Circulation Model—MEsospheric Chemistry-Transport Model). In our control simulation the MECTM is driven with the full dynamical fields from an annual cycle simulation with the KMCM, where mid-frequency GWs down to horizontal wavelengths of 350 km are resolved and their wave-mean flow interaction is self-consistently induced by an advanced turbulence model. A perturbation simulation with the MECTM is defined by eliminating all meso-scale variations with horizontal wavelengths shorter than 1000 km from the dynamical fields by means of spectral filtering before running the MECTM. The response of the MECTM to GWs perturbations reveals strong effects on the minor chemical constituents. We show by theoretical arguments and numerical diagnostics that GWs have direct, down-gradient mixing effects on all long-lived minor chemical species that possess a mean vertical gradient in the MLT. Introducing the term wave diffusion (WD) and showing that wave mixing yields approximately the same WD coefficient for different chemical constituents, we argue that it is a useful tool for diagnostic irreversible transport processes. We also present a detailed discussion of the gravity-wave mixing effects on the photochemistry and highlight the consequences for the general circulation of the MLT.

Horizontal density-gradient effects on simulation of flow and transport in the Potomac Estuary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schaffranek, Raymond W.; Baltzer, Robert A.; ,

1990-01-01

A two-dimensional, depth-integrated, hydrodynamic/transport model of the Potomac Estuary between Indian Head and Morgantown, Md., has been extended to include treatment of baroclinic forcing due to horizontal density gradients. The finite-difference model numerically integrates equations of mass and momentum conservation in conjunction with a transport equation for heat, salt, and constituent fluxes. Lateral and longitudinal density gradients are determined from salinity distributions computed from the convection-diffusion equation and an equation of state that expresses density as a function of temperature and salinity; thus, the hydrodynamic and transport computations are directly coupled. Horizontal density variations are shown to contribute significantly to momentum fluxes determined in the hydrodynamic computation. These fluxes lead to enchanced tidal pumping, and consequently greater dispersion, as is evidenced by numerical simulations. Density gradient effects on tidal propagation and transport behavior are discussed and demonstrated.

Numerical modeling of temperature and species distributions in hydrocarbon reservoirs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bolton, Edward W.; Firoozabadi, Abbas

2014-01-01

We examine bulk fluid motion and diffusion of multicomponent hydrocarbon species in porous media in the context of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, with particular focus on the phenomenology induced by horizontal thermal gradients at the upper and lower horizontal boundaries. The problem is formulated with respect to the barycentric (mass-averaged) frame of reference. Thermally induced convection, with fully time-dependent temperature distributions, can lead to nearly constant hydrocarbon composition, with minor unmixing due to thermal gradients near the horizontal boundaries. Alternately, the composition can be vertically segregated due to gravitational effects. Independent and essentially steady solutions have been found to depend on how the compositions are initialized in space and may have implications for reservoir history. We also examine injection (to represent filling) and extraction (to represent leakage) of hydrocarbons at independent points and find a large distortion of the gas-oil contact for low permeability.

The effect of gravity modulation on thermosolutal convection in an infinite layer of fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saunders, B. V.; Murray, B. T.; McFadden, G. B.; Coriell, S. R.; Wheeler, A. A.

1992-06-01

The effect of time-periodic vertical gravity modulation on the onset of thermosolutal convection in an infinite horizontal layer with stress-free boundaries is investigated using Floquet theory for the linear stability analysis. Situations for which the fluid layer is stably stratified in either the fingering or diffusive regimes of double-diffusive convection are considered. Results are presented both with and without steady background acceleration. Modulation may stabilize an unstable base solution or destabilize a stable base solution. In addition to synchronous and subharmonic response to the modulation frequency, instability in the double diffusive system can occur via a complex conjugate mode. In the diffusive regime, where oscillatory onset occurs in the unmodulated system, regions of resonant instability occur and exhibit strong coupling with the unmodulated oscillatory frequency. The response to modulation of the fundamental instability of the unmodulated system is described both analytically and numerically; in the double-diffusive system this mode persists under subcritical conditions as a high-frequency lobe.

The effect of gravity modulation on thermosolutal convection in an infinite layer of fluid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, B. V.; Murray, B. T.; Mcfadden, G. B.; Coriell, S. R.; Wheeler, A. A.

1992-01-01

The effect of time-periodic vertical gravity modulation on the onset of thermosolutal convection in an infinite horizontal layer with stress-free boundaries is investigated using Floquet theory for the linear stability analysis. Situations for which the fluid layer is stably stratified in either the fingering or diffusive regimes of double-diffusive convection are considered. Results are presented both with and without steady background acceleration. Modulation may stabilize an unstable base solution or destabilize a stable base solution. In addition to synchronous and subharmonic response to the modulation frequency, instability in the double diffusive system can occur via a complex conjugate mode. In the diffusive regime, where oscillatory onset occurs in the unmodulated system, regions of resonant instability occur and exhibit strong coupling with the unmodulated oscillatory frequency. The response to modulation of the fundamental instability of the unmodulated system is described both analytically and numerically; in the double-diffusive system this mode persists under subcritical conditions as a high-frequency lobe.

Noninvasive photoacoustic measurement of absorption coefficient using internal light irradiation of cylindrical diffusing fiber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Dong-qing; Zhu, Li-li; Li, Zhi-fang; Li, Hui

2017-09-01

Absorption coefficient of biological tissue is an important parameter in biomedicine, but its determination remains a challenge. In this paper, we propose a method using focusing photoacoustic imaging technique and internal light irradiation of cylindrical diffusing fiber (CDF) to quantify the target optical absorption coefficient. Absorption coefficients for ink absorbers are firstly determined through photoacoustic and spectrophotometric measurements at the same excitation, which demonstrates the feasibility of this method. Also, the optical absorption coefficients of ink absorbers with several concentrations are measured. Finally, the two-dimensional scanning photoacoustic image is obtained. Optical absorption coefficient measurement and simultaneous photoacoustic imaging of absorber non-invasively are the typical characteristics of the method. This method can play a significant role for non-invasive determination of blood oxygen saturation, the absorption-based imaging and therapy.

Influence of ground level SO2 on the diffuse to direct irradiance ratio in the middle ultraviolet

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klenk, K. F.; Green, A. E. S.

1977-01-01

The dependence of the ratio of the diffuse to direct irradiances at the ground were examined for a wavelength of 315.1 nm. A passive remote sensing method based on ratio measurements for obtaining the optical thickness of SO2 in the vertical column was proposed. If, in addition to the ratio measurements, the SO2 density at the ground is determining using an appropriate point-sampling technique then some inference on the vertical extent of SO2 can be drawn. An analytic representation is presented of the ratio for a wide range of SO2 and aerosol optical thicknesses and solar zenith angles which can be inverted algebraically to give the SO2 optical thickness in terms of the measured ratio, aerosol optical thickness and solar zenith angle.

Light-induced spatial control of pH-jump reaction at smart gel interface.

PubMed

Techawanitchai, Prapatsorn; Ebara, Mitsuhiro; Idota, Naokazu; Aoyagi, Takao

2012-11-01

We proposed here a 'smart' control of an interface movement of proton diffusion in temperature- and pH-responsive hydrogels using a light-induced spatial pH-jump reaction. A photoinitiated proton-releasing reaction of o-nitrobenzaldehyde (NBA) was integrated into poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-o-2-carboxyisopropylacrylamide) (P(NIPAAm-co-CIPAAm)) hydrogels. NBA-integrated hydrogels demonstrated quick release of proton upon UV irradiation, allowing the pH inside the gel to decrease below the pK(a) of P(NIPAAm-co-CIPAAm) within a minute. The NBA-integrated gel was shown to shrink rapidly upon UV irradiation without polymer "skin layer" formation due to a uniform decrease of pH inside the gel. Spatial control of gel shrinking was also created by irradiating UV light to a limited region of the gel through a photomask. The interface of proton diffusion ("active interface") gradually moved toward non-illuminated area. The apparent position of "active interface", however, did not change remarkably above the LCST, while protons continuously diffused outward direction. This is because the "active interface" also moved inward direction as gel shrank above the LCST. As a result, slow movement of the apparent interface was observed. The NBA-integrated gel was also successfully employed for the controlled release of an entrapped dextran in a light controlled manner. This system is highly promising as smart platforms for triggered and programmed transportation of drugs. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bioturbation, advection, and diffusion of a conserved tracer in a laboratory flume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Work, P. A.; Moore, P. R.; Reible, D. D.

2002-06-01

Laboratory experiments indicating the relative influences of advection, diffusion, and bioturbation on transport of NaCl tracer between a stream and streambed are described. Data were collected in a recirculating flume housing a box filled with test sediments. Peclet numbers ranged from 0 to 1.5. Sediment components included a medium sand (d50 = 0.31 mm), kaolinite, and topsoil. Lumbriculus variegatus were introduced as bioturbators. Conductivity probes were employed to document the flux of the tracer solution out of the bed. Measurements are compared to one-dimensional effective diffusion models assuming one or two horizontal sediment layers. These simple models provide a good indication of tracer half-life in the bed if a suitable effective diffusion coefficient is chosen but underpredict initial flux and overpredict flux at long times. Organism activity was limited to the upper reaches of the sediment test box but eventually exerts a secondary influence on flux from deeper regions.

Diffusive-convective physical vapor transport of PbTe from a Te-rich solid source

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zoutendyk, J.; Akutagawa, W.

1982-01-01

Crystal growth of PbTe by physical vapor transport (sublimation) in a closed ampoule is governed by the vapor species in thermal equilibrium with the solid compound. Deviations from stoichiometry in the source material cause diffusion limitation of the transport rate, which can be modified by natural (gravity-driven) convection. Mass-transport experiments have been performed using Te-rich material wherein sublimation rates have been measured in order to study the effects of natural convection in diffusion-limited vapor transport. Linear velocities for both crystal growth and evaporation (back sublimation) have been measured for transport in the direction of gravity, horizontally, and opposite to gravity. The experimental results are discussed in terms of both the one-dimensional diffusive-advective model and current, more sophisticated theory which includes natural convection. There is some evidence that convection effects from radial temperature gradients and solutal density gradients have been observed.

Alpha-particle radiotherapy: For large solid tumors diffusion trumps targeting.

PubMed

Zhu, Charles; Sempkowski, Michelle; Holleran, Timothy; Linz, Thomas; Bertalan, Thomas; Josefsson, Anders; Bruchertseifer, Frank; Morgenstern, Alfred; Sofou, Stavroula

2017-06-01

Diffusion limitations on the penetration of nanocarriers in solid tumors hamper their therapeutic use when labeled with α-particle emitters. This is mostly due to the α-particles' relatively short range (≤100 μm) resulting in partial tumor irradiation and limited killing. To utilize the high therapeutic potential of α-particles against solid tumors, we designed non-targeted, non-internalizing nanometer-sized tunable carriers (pH-tunable liposomes) that are triggered to release, within the slightly acidic tumor interstitium, highly-diffusive forms of the encapsulated α-particle generator Actinium-225 ( 225 Ac) resulting in more homogeneous distributions of the α-particle emitters, improving uniformity in tumor irradiation and increasing killing efficacies. On large multicellular spheroids (400 μm-in-diameter), used as surrogates of the avascular areas of solid tumors, interstitially-releasing liposomes resulted in best growth control independent of HER2 expression followed in performance by (a) the HER2-targeting radiolabeled antibody or (b) the non-responsive liposomes. In an orthotopic human HER2-negative mouse model, interstitially-releasing 225 Ac-loaded liposomes resulted in the longest overall and median survival. This study demonstrates the therapeutic potential of a general strategy to bypass the diffusion-limited transport of radionuclide carriers in solid tumors enabling interstitial release from non-internalizing nanocarriers of highly-diffusing and deeper tumor-penetrating molecular forms of α-particle emitters, independent of cell-targeting. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Coupled elasticity–diffusion model for the effects of cytoskeleton deformation on cellular uptake of cylindrical nanoparticles

PubMed Central

Wang, Jizeng; Li, Long

2015-01-01

Molecular dynamic simulations and experiments have recently demonstrated how cylindrical nanoparticles (CNPs) with large aspect ratios penetrate animal cells and inevitably deform cytoskeletons. Thus, a coupled elasticity–diffusion model was adopted to elucidate this interesting biological phenomenon by considering the effects of elastic deformations of cytoskeleton and membrane, ligand–receptor binding and receptor diffusion. The mechanism by which the binding energy drives the CNPs with different orientations to enter host cells was explored. This mechanism involved overcoming the resistance caused by cytoskeleton and membrane deformations and the change in configurational entropy of the ligand–receptor bonds and free receptors. Results showed that deformation of the cytoskeleton significantly influenced the engulfing process by effectively slowing down and even hindering the entry of the CNPs. Additionally, the engulfing depth was determined quantitatively. CNPs preferred or tended to vertically attack target cells until they were stuck in the cytoskeleton as implied by the speed of vertically oriented CNPs that showed much faster initial engulfing speeds than horizontally oriented CNPs. These results elucidated the most recent molecular dynamics simulations and experimental observations on the cellular uptake of carbon nanotubes and phagocytosis of filamentous Escherichia coli bacteria. The most efficient engulfment showed the stiffness-dependent optimal radius of the CNPs. Cytoskeleton stiffness exhibited more significant influence on the optimal sizes of the vertical uptake than the horizontal uptake. PMID:25411410

Unimodal primary sensory cortices are directly connected by long-range horizontal projections in the rat sensory cortex.

PubMed

Stehberg, Jimmy; Dang, Phat T; Frostig, Ron D

2014-01-01

Research based on functional imaging and neuronal recordings in the barrel cortex subdivision of primary somatosensory cortex (SI) of the adult rat has revealed novel aspects of structure-function relationships in this cortex. Specifically, it has demonstrated that single whisker stimulation evokes subthreshold neuronal activity that spreads symmetrically within gray matter from the appropriate barrel area, crosses cytoarchitectural borders of SI and reaches deeply into other unimodal primary cortices such as primary auditory (AI) and primary visual (VI). It was further demonstrated that this spread is supported by a spatially matching underlying diffuse network of border-crossing, long-range projections that could also reach deeply into AI and VI. Here we seek to determine whether such a network of border-crossing, long-range projections is unique to barrel cortex or characterizes also other primary, unimodal sensory cortices and therefore could directly connect them. Using anterograde (BDA) and retrograde (CTb) tract-tracing techniques, we demonstrate that such diffuse horizontal networks directly and mutually connect VI, AI and SI. These findings suggest that diffuse, border-crossing axonal projections connecting directly primary cortices are an important organizational motif common to all major primary sensory cortices in the rat. Potential implications of these findings for topics including cortical structure-function relationships, multisensory integration, functional imaging, and cortical parcellation are discussed.

Unimodal primary sensory cortices are directly connected by long-range horizontal projections in the rat sensory cortex

PubMed Central

Stehberg, Jimmy; Dang, Phat T.; Frostig, Ron D.

2014-01-01

Research based on functional imaging and neuronal recordings in the barrel cortex subdivision of primary somatosensory cortex (SI) of the adult rat has revealed novel aspects of structure-function relationships in this cortex. Specifically, it has demonstrated that single whisker stimulation evokes subthreshold neuronal activity that spreads symmetrically within gray matter from the appropriate barrel area, crosses cytoarchitectural borders of SI and reaches deeply into other unimodal primary cortices such as primary auditory (AI) and primary visual (VI). It was further demonstrated that this spread is supported by a spatially matching underlying diffuse network of border-crossing, long-range projections that could also reach deeply into AI and VI. Here we seek to determine whether such a network of border-crossing, long-range projections is unique to barrel cortex or characterizes also other primary, unimodal sensory cortices and therefore could directly connect them. Using anterograde (BDA) and retrograde (CTb) tract-tracing techniques, we demonstrate that such diffuse horizontal networks directly and mutually connect VI, AI and SI. These findings suggest that diffuse, border-crossing axonal projections connecting directly primary cortices are an important organizational motif common to all major primary sensory cortices in the rat. Potential implications of these findings for topics including cortical structure-function relationships, multisensory integration, functional imaging, and cortical parcellation are discussed. PMID:25309339

Measuring soil moisture content non-invasively at intermediate spatial scale using cosmic-ray neutrons 1986

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soil moisture content on a horizontal scale of hectometers and at depths of decimeters can be inferred from measurements of low-energy cosmic-ray neutrons that are generated within soil, moderated mainly by hydrogen atoms, and diffused back to the atmosphere. These neutrons are sensitive to water co...

Parallel SOR methods with a parabolic-diffusion acceleration technique for solving an unstructured-grid Poisson equation on 3D arbitrary geometries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zapata, M. A. Uh; Van Bang, D. Pham; Nguyen, K. D.

2016-05-01

This paper presents a parallel algorithm for the finite-volume discretisation of the Poisson equation on three-dimensional arbitrary geometries. The proposed method is formulated by using a 2D horizontal block domain decomposition and interprocessor data communication techniques with message passing interface. The horizontal unstructured-grid cells are reordered according to the neighbouring relations and decomposed into blocks using a load-balanced distribution to give all processors an equal amount of elements. In this algorithm, two parallel successive over-relaxation methods are presented: a multi-colour ordering technique for unstructured grids based on distributed memory and a block method using reordering index following similar ideas of the partitioning for structured grids. In all cases, the parallel algorithms are implemented with a combination of an acceleration iterative solver. This solver is based on a parabolic-diffusion equation introduced to obtain faster solutions of the linear systems arising from the discretisation. Numerical results are given to evaluate the performances of the methods showing speedups better than linear.

Biased Brownian motion in narrow channels with asymmetry and anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

To, Kiwing; Peng, Zheng

2016-11-01

We study Brownian motion of a single millimeter size bead confined in a quasi-two-dimensional horizontal channel with built-in anisotropy and asymmetry. Channel asymmetry is implemented by ratchet walls while anisotropy is introduced using a channel base that is grooved along the channel axis so that a bead can acquire a horizontal impulse perpendicular to the longitudinal direction when it collides with the base. When energy is injected to the channel by vertical vibration, the combination of asymmetric walls and anisotropic base induces an effective force which drives the bead into biased diffusive motion along the channel axis with diffusivity and drift velocity increase with vibration strength. The magnitude of this driving force, which can be measured in experiments of tilted channel, is found to be consistent to those obtained from dynamic mobility and position probability distribution measurements. These results are explained by a simple collision model that suggests the random kinetic energies transfer between different translational degrees of freedom may be turned into useful work in the presence of asymmetry and anisotropy.

Biased Brownian motion in narrow channels with asymmetry and anisotropy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Zheng; To, Kiwing

2016-08-01

We study Brownian motion of a single millimeter size bead confined in a quasi-two-dimensional horizontal channel with built-in anisotropy and asymmetry. Channel asymmetry is implemented by ratchet walls while anisotropy is introduced using a channel base that is grooved along the channel axis so that a bead can acquire a horizontal impulse perpendicular to the longitudinal direction when it collides with the base. When energy is injected to the channel by vertical vibration, the combination of asymmetric walls and anisotropic base induces an effective force which drives the bead into biased diffusive motion along the channel axis with diffusivity and drift velocity increase with vibration strength. The magnitude of this driving force, which can be measured in experiments on a tilted channel, is found to be consistent with those obtained from dynamic mobility and position probability distribution measurements. These results are explained by a simple collision model that suggests the random kinetic energy transfer between different translational degrees of freedom may be turned into useful work in the presence of asymmetry and anisotropy.

Current understanding of the effects of enviromental and irradiation variables on RPV embrittlement

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Odette, G.R.; Lucas, G.E.; Wirth, B.

1997-02-01

Radiation enhanced diffusion at RPV operating temperatures around 290{degrees}C leads to the formation of various ultrafine scale hardening phases, including copper-rich and copper-catalyzed manganese-nickel rich precipitates. In addition, defect cluster or cluster-solute complexes, manifesting a range of thermal stability, develop under irradiation. These features contribute directly to hardening which in turn is related to embrittlement, manifested as shifts in Charpy V-notch transition temperature. Models based on the thermodynamics, kinetics and micromechanics of the embrittlement processes have been developed; these are broadly consistent with experiment and rationalize the highly synergistic effects of most important irradiation (temperature, flux, fluence) and metallurgical (copper,more » nickel, manganese, phosphorous and heat treatment) variables on both irradiation hardening and recovery during post-irradiation annealing. A number of open questions remain which can be addressed with a hierarchy of new theoretical and experimental tools.« less

A review of the irradiation evolution of dispersed oxide nanoparticles in the b.c.c. Fe-Cr system: Current understanding and future directions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wharry, Janelle P.; Swenson, Matthew J.; Yano, Kayla H.

2017-04-01

Thus far, a number of studies have investigated the irradiation evolution of oxide nanoparticles in b.c.c. Fe-Cr based oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) alloys. But given the inconsistent experimental conditions, results have been widely variable and inconclusive. Crystal structure and chemistry changes differ from experiment to experiment, and the total nanoparticle volume fraction has been observed to both increase and decrease. Furthermore, there has not yet been a comprehensive review of the archival literature. In this paper, we summarize the existing studies on nanoparticle irradiation evolution. We note significant observations with respect to oxide nanoparticle crystallinity, composition, size, and number density. We discuss four possible contributing mechanisms for nanoparticle evolution: ballistic dissolution, Ostwald ripening, irradiation-enhanced diffusion, and homogeneous nucleation. Finally, we propose future directions to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of irradiation effects on oxide nanoparticles in ODS alloys.

On the Potential of MAX phases for Nuclear Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tallman, Darin Joseph

Materials within nuclear reactors experience some of the harshest environments currently known to man, including long term operation in extreme temperatures, corrosive media, and fast neutron fluences with up to 100 displacements per atom, dpa. In order to improve the efficiency and safety of current and future reactors, new materials are required to meet these harsh demands. The M n+1AXn phases, a growing family of ternary nano-layered ceramics, possess a desirable combination of metallic and ceramic properties. They are composed of an early transition metal (M), a group 13--16 element (A), and carbon and/or nitrogen (X). The MAX phases are being proposed for use in such extreme environments because of their unique combination of high fracture toughness values and thermal conductivities, machinability, oxidation resistance, and ion irradiation damage tolerance. Previous ion irradiation studies have shown that Ti3SiC2 and Ti3AlC2 resist irradiation damage, maintaining crystallinity up to 50 dpa. The aim of this work was to explore the effect of neutron irradiation, up to 9 dpa and at temperatures of 100 to 1000 °C, on select MAX phases for the first time. The MAX phases Ti3SiC2, Ti 3AlC2, Ti2AlC, and Ti2AlN were synthesized, and irradiated in test reactors that simulate in-pile conditions of nuclear reactors. X-ray diffraction, XRD, pattern refinements of samples revealed a distortion of the crystal lattice after low temperature irradiation, which was not observed after high temperature irradiations. Additionally, the XRD results indicated that Ti3AlC2 and Ti2AlN dissociated after relatively low neutron doses. This led us to focus on Ti 3SiC2 and Ti2AlC. For the first time, dislocation loops were observed in Ti3SiC 2 and Ti2AlC as a result of neutron irradiation. At 1 x 1023 loops/m3, the loop density in Ti2 AlC after irradiation to 0.1 dpa at 700°C was 1.5 orders of magnitude greater than that observed in Ti3SiC2, at 3 x 1021 loops/m3. The Ti2AlC composition appeared more prone to microcracking that Ti3SiC2. Additionally, exceptionally large denuded zones, up to 1 mum in width after 9 dpa irradiations at 500°C, were observed in Ti3SiC2, indicating that point defects readily diffuse to the grain boundaries. Denuded zones of this width, to our knowledge, have never been observed. In comparison, TiC impurity particles were highly damaged with various dislocation loops and defect clusters after irradiation. It is thus apparent that the A-layer, interleaved between MX blocks in the MAX phase nanolayered structure, readily accommodates and/or annihilates point defects, providing significant irradiation damage tolerance. Comparison of defect densities, post-irradiation microstructure, and electrical resistivity showed Ti3SiC2 to have the highest irradiation tolerance. Diffusion bonding of MAX phases to Zircaloy-4 was studied in the 1100 to 1300°C temperature range. The out diffusion of the A-group element into Zircaloy-4 formed Zr-intermetallic compounds that were roughly an order of magnitude thicker in Ti2AlC than Ti3SiC 2. Helium permeability results suggest that the MAX phases behave similarly to other sintered ceramics. Based on the totality of our results, Ti 3SiC2 remains a promising candidate for high temperature nuclear applications, and warrants future exploration. This work provides the foundation for understanding the response of the MAX phases to neutron irradiation, and can now be used to finely tune ion irradiation studies to accurately simulate reactor conditions.

Laser-induced amorphization of silicon during pulsed-laser irradiation of TiN/Ti/polycrystalline silicon/SiO2/silicon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chong, Y. F.; Pey, K. L.; Wee, A. T. S.; Thompson, M. O.; Tung, C. H.; See, A.

2002-11-01

In this letter, we report on the complex solidification structures formed during laser irradiation of a titanium nitride/titanium/polycrystalline silicon/silicon dioxide/silicon film stack. Due to enhanced optical coupling, the titanium nitride/titanium capping layer increases the melt depth of polycrystalline silicon by more than a factor of 2. It is found that the titanium atoms diffuse through the entire polycrystalline silicon layer during irradiation. Contrary to the expected polycrystalline silicon growth, distinct regions of polycrystalline and amorphous silicon are formed instead. Possible mechanisms for the formation of these microstructures are proposed.

Modeling irradiation creep of graphite using rate theory

DOE PAGES

Sarkar, Apu; Eapen, Jacob; Raj, Anant; ...

2016-02-20

In this work we examined irradiation induced creep of graphite in the framework of transition state rate theory. Experimental data for two grades of nuclear graphite (H-337 and AGOT) were analyzed to determine the stress exponent (n) and activation energy (Q) for plastic flow under irradiation. Here we show that the mean activation energy lies between 0.14 and 0.32 eV with a mean stress-exponent of 1.0 ± 0.2. A stress exponent of unity and the unusually low activation energies strongly indicate a diffusive defect transport mechanism for neutron doses in the range of 3-4 x 10 22 n/cm 2.

Results of a real-time irradiation of lithium P/N and conventional N/P silicon solar cells.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reynard, D. L.; Peterson, D. G.

1972-01-01

Eight types of lithium-diffused P/N and three types of conventional 10 ohm-cm N/P silicon solar cells were irradiated at four different temperatures with a strontium-90 radioisotope at a rate typical of that expected in earth orbit. The six-month irradiation confirmed earlier accelerator results, showed that certain cell types outperform others at the various temperatures, and, in general, verified the recent improvements and potential usefulness of lithium solar cells. The experimental approach and statistical methods and analyses employed yielded increased confidence in the validity of the results. Injection level effects were observed to be significant.

Thermal defect annealing of swift heavy ion irradiated ThO 2

DOE PAGES

Palomares, Raul I.; Tracy, Cameron L.; Neuefeind, Joerg; ...

2017-05-19

Neutron total scattering and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the structural recovery of irradiated polycrystalline ThO 2 (2.2 GeV Au, = 1 x 10 13 ions/cm 2) during isochronal annealing. Here, neutron diffraction patterns showed that the Bragg signal-to-noise ratio increases and the unit cell parameter decreases as a function of isochronal annealing temperature, with the latter reaching its pre-irradiation value by 750 °C. Diffuse neutron scattering and Raman spectroscopy measurements indicate that an isochronal annealing event occurs between 275$-$425 °C. This feature is attributed to the annihilation of oxygen point defects and small oxygen defect clusters.

A3 Subscale Rocket Hot Fire Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Saunders, G. P.; Yen, J.

2009-01-01

This paper gives a description of the methodology and results of J2-X Subscale Simulator (JSS) hot fire testing supporting the A3 Subscale Diffuser Test (SDT) project at the E3 test facility at Stennis Space Center, MS (SSC). The A3 subscale diffuser is a geometrically accurate scale model of the A3 altitude simulating rocket test facility. This paper focuses on the methods used to operate the facility and obtain the data to support the aerodynamic verification of the A3 rocket diffuser design and experimental data quantifying the heat flux throughout the facility. The JSS was operated at both 80% and 100% power levels and at gimbal angle from 0 to 7 degrees to verify the simulated altitude produced by the rocket-rocket diffuser combination. This was done with various secondary GN purge loads to quantify the pumping performance of the rocket diffuser. Also, special tests were conducted to obtain detailed heat flux measurements in the rocket diffuser at various gimbal angles and in the facility elbow where the flow turns from vertical to horizontal upstream of the 2nd stage steam ejector.

In-vivo measurement of lithium in the brain and other organs

DOEpatents

Vartsky, D.; Wielopolski, L.; LoMonte, A.F.; Ellis, K.J.; Cohn, S.H.

1983-08-26

An in-vivo method of measurement of the amount of lithium present in tissue and organs of breathing animals is described. The basis for the technique is the lithium-1 neutron interaction - /sup 6/Li(n,..cap alpha..)T. The lithium is irradiated with thermal neutrons to produce tritium atoms. The tritium diffuses into the tissues and is exhaled. By measuring the amount of tritium exhaled, the lithium concentration in the irradiated zone is determined.

Sweat Rate Prediction Equations for Outdoor Exercise with Transient Solar Radiation

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

AD] 15 Interchangeable variables gSL W/m2 Global solar load Direct weather station data; pyranometer values 25 Direct measurement from weather station ...Fanger equations 2, 4, 13, Direct or weather station values Rdif W Diffuse irradiance Rref W Reflected irradiance AD m2 Body surface area (BSA) from DuBois...assuming the given weather station uses standard meteorological measuring instru- ments. In the heat flow form expressed by Matthew et al. (25

Dynamics of A + B --> C reaction fronts in the presence of buoyancy-driven convection.

PubMed

Rongy, L; Trevelyan, P M J; De Wit, A

2008-08-22

The dynamics of A+B-->C fronts in horizontal solution layers can be influenced by buoyancy-driven convection as soon as the densities of A, B, and C are not all identical. Such convective motions can lead to front propagation even in the case of equal diffusion coefficients and initial concentration of reactants for which reaction-diffusion (RD) scalings predict a nonmoving front. We show theoretically that the dynamics in the presence of convection can in that case be predicted solely on the basis of the knowledge of the one-dimensional RD density profile across the front.

Numerical simulation of the interaction of transport, diffusion and chemical reactions in an urban plume

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vogel, Bernhard; Vogel, Heike; Fiedler, Franz

1994-01-01

A model system is presented that takes into account the main physical and chemical processes on the regional scale here in an area of 100x100 sq km. The horizontal gridsize used is 2x2 sq km. For a case study, it is demonstrated how the model system can be used to separate the contributions of the processes advection, turbulent diffusion, and chemical reactions to the diurnal cycle of ozone. In this way, typical features which are visible in observations and are reproduced by the numerical simulations can be interpreted.

Effects of variable thermal diffusivity on the structure of convection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shcheritsa, O. V.; Getling, A. V.; Mazhorova, O. S.

2018-03-01

The structure of multiscale convection in a thermally stratified plane horizontal fluid layer is investigated by means of numerical simulations. The thermal diffusivity is assumed to produce a thin boundary sublayer convectively much more unstable than the bulk of the layer. The simulated flow is a superposition of cellular structures with three different characteristic scales. In contrast to the largest convection cells, the smaller ones are localised in the upper portion of the layer. The smallest cells are advected by the larger-scale convective flows. The simulated flow pattern qualitatively resembles that observed on the Sun.

In situ TEM observation of alpha-particle induced annealing of radiation damage in Durango apatite.

PubMed

Li, Weixing; Shen, Yahui; Zhou, Yueqing; Nan, Shuai; Chen, Chien-Hung; Ewing, Rodney C

2017-10-26

A major issue in thermochronology and U-Th-Pb dating is the effect of radiation damage, created by α-recoils from α-decay events, on the diffusion of radiogenic elements (e.g., He and Pb) in host mineral. Up until now, thermal events have been considered as the only source of energy for the recovery of radiation-damage. However, irradiation, such as from the α-particle of the α-decay event, can itself induce damage recovery. Quantification of radiation-induced recovery caused by α-particles during α-decay events has not been possible, as the recovery process at the atomic-scale has been difficult to observe. Here we present details of the dynamics of the amorphous-to-crystalline transition process during α-particle irradiations using in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and consecutive ion-irradiations: 1 MeV Kr 2+ (simulating α-recoil damage), followed by 400 keV He + (simulating α-particle annealing). Upon the He + irradiation, partial recrystallization of the original, fully-amorphous Durango apatite was clearly evident and quantified based on the gradual appearance of new crystalline domains in TEM images and new diffraction maxima in selected area electron diffraction patterns. Thus, α-particle induced annealing occurs and must be considered in models of α-decay event damage and its effect on the diffusion of radiogenic elements in geochronology and thermochronology.

Effect of solute concentration on grain boundary migration with segregation in stainless steel and model alloys

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanda, H.; Hashimoto, N.; Takahashi, H.

The phenomenon of grain boundary migration due to boundary diffusion via vacancies is a well-known process for recrystallization and grain growth during annealing. This phenomenon is known as diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM) and has been recognized in various binary systems. On the other hand, grain boundary migration often occurs under irradiation. Furthermore, such radiation-induced grain boundary migration (RIGM) gives rise to solute segregation. In order to investigate the RIGM mechanism and the interaction between solutes and point defects during the migration, stainless steel and Ni-Si model alloys were electron-irradiated using a HVEM. RIGM was often observed in stainless steels during irradiation. The migration rate of boundary varied, and three stages of the migration were recognized. At lower temperatures, incubation periods up to the occurrence of the boundary migration were observed prior to first stage. These behaviors were recognized particularly for lower solute containing alloys. From the relation between the migration rates at stage I and inverse temperatures, activation energies for the boundary migration were estimated. In comparison to the activation energy without irradiation, these values were very low. This suggests that the RIGM is caused by the flow of mixed-dumbbells toward the grain boundary. The interaction between solute and point defects and the effective defect concentration generating segregation will be discussed.

SiC layer microstructure in AGR-1 and AGR-2 TRISO fuel particles and the influence of its variation on the effective diffusion of key fission products

DOE PAGES

Gerczak, Tyler J.; Hunn, John D.; Lowden, Richard A.; ...

2016-08-15

Tristructural isotropic (TRISO) coated particle fuel is a promising fuel form for advanced reactor concepts such as high temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGR) and is being developed domestically under the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Reactor Technologies Initiative in support of Advanced Reactor Technologies. The fuel development and qualification plan includes a series of fuel irradiations to demonstrate fuel performance from the laboratory to commercial scale. The first irradiation campaign, AGR-1, included four separate TRISO fuel variants composed of multiple, laboratory-scale coater batches. The second irradiation campaign, AGR-2, included TRISO fuel particles fabricated by BWX Technologies with a larger coater representativemore » of an industrial-scale system. The SiC layers of as-fabricated particles from the AGR-1 and AGR-2 irradiation campaigns have been investigated by electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) to provide key information about the microstructural features relevant to fuel performance. The results of a comprehensive study of multiple particles from all constituent batches are reported. The observations indicate that there were microstructural differences between variants and among constituent batches in a single variant. Finally, insights on the influence of microstructure on the effective diffusivity of key fission products in the SiC layer are also discussed.« less

Microstructural, thermal and antibacterial properties of electron beam irradiated Bombyx mori silk fibroin films

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Asha, S.; Sanjeev, Ganesh, E-mail: ganeshsanjeev@rediffmail.com; Sangappa

The Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) films were prepared by solution casting method and the effects of electron beam on structural, thermal and antibacterial responses of the prepared films were studied. The electron irradiation for different doses was carried out using 8 MeV Microtron facility at Mangalore University. The changes in microstructural parameters and thermal stability of the films were investigated using Wide Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) respectively. Both microstructuralline parameters (crystallite size and lattice strain (g in %)) and thermal stability of the irradiated films have increased with radiation dosage. Agar diffusion method demonstrated themore » antibacterial activity of SF film which was increased after irradiation on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative species.« less

THE TIME INTERVAL AFTER PULSED IRRADIATION WITHIN WHICH INJURY TO BACTERIA CAN BE MODIFIED BY DISSOLVED OXYGEN. I. A SEARCH FOR AN EFFECT OF OXYGEN 0.02 SECOND AFTER PULSED IRRADIATION. II. THE HYPOTHESIS THAT THE OXYGEN EFFECT INVOLVES A CARBON RADICAL: AND THE TIME TAKEN BY OXYGEN TO DIFFUSE TO AND REACT WITH SUCH A RADICAL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Howard-Flanders, P.; Moore, D.

1958-10-01

An investigation was made of the radiosensitivity of the dysentery bacillus Shigella flexneri to a shcrt pulsed irradiation with 1.2-Mev electrons delivered either before or after a sudden change in oxygen pressure. Results show that the stage in the development of the radiation injury at which oxygen may intervene does not extend for as long as 0.01 second after irradiation. The nature of this stage was investigated and an hypothesis is presented for the mechanism of radiation injury. (C.H.)

Effect of sound on gap-junction-based intercellular signaling: Calcium waves under acoustic irradiation.

PubMed

Deymier, P A; Swinteck, N; Runge, K; Deymier-Black, A; Hoying, J B

2015-01-01

We present a previously unrecognized effect of sound waves on gap-junction-based intercellular signaling such as in biological tissues composed of endothelial cells. We suggest that sound irradiation may, through temporal and spatial modulation of cell-to-cell conductance, create intercellular calcium waves with unidirectional signal propagation associated with nonconventional topologies. Nonreciprocity in calcium wave propagation induced by sound wave irradiation is demonstrated in the case of a linear and a nonlinear reaction-diffusion model. This demonstration should be applicable to other types of gap-junction-based intercellular signals, and it is thought that it should be of help in interpreting a broad range of biological phenomena associated with the beneficial therapeutic effects of sound irradiation and possibly the harmful effects of sound waves on health.

Toward Distinguishing Recurrent Tumor From Radiation Necrosis: DWI and MTC in a Gamma Knife–Irradiated Mouse Glioma Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Perez-Torres, Carlos J.; Engelbach, John A.; Cates, Jeremy

Purpose: Accurate noninvasive diagnosis is vital for effective treatment planning. Presently, standard anatomical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is incapable of differentiating recurring tumor from delayed radiation injury, as both lesions are hyperintense in both postcontrast T1- and T2-weighted images. Further studies are therefore necessary to identify an MRI paradigm that can differentially diagnose these pathologies. Mouse glioma and radiation injury models provide a powerful platform for this purpose. Methods and Materials: Two MRI contrasts that are widely used in the clinic were chosen for application to a glioma/radiation-injury model: diffusion weighted imaging, from which the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) ismore » obtained, and magnetization transfer contrast, from which the magnetization transfer ratio (MTR) is obtained. These metrics were evaluated longitudinally, first in each lesion type alone–glioma versus irradiation – and then in a combined irradiated glioma model. Results: MTR was found to be consistently decreased in all lesions compared to nonlesion brain tissue (contralateral hemisphere), with limited specificity between lesion types. In contrast, ADC, though less sensitive to the presence of pathology, was increased in radiation injury and decreased in tumors. In the irradiated glioma model, ADC also increased immediately after irradiation, but decreased as the tumor regrew. Conclusions: ADC is a better metric than MTR for differentiating glioma from radiation injury. However, MTR was more sensitive to both tumor and radiation injury than ADC, suggesting a possible role in detecting lesions that do not enhance strongly on T1-weighted images.« less

Parallel computation of multigroup reactivity coefficient using iterative method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susmikanti, Mike; Dewayatna, Winter

2013-09-01

One of the research activities to support the commercial radioisotope production program is a safety research target irradiation FPM (Fission Product Molybdenum). FPM targets form a tube made of stainless steel in which the nuclear degrees of superimposed high-enriched uranium. FPM irradiation tube is intended to obtain fission. The fission material widely used in the form of kits in the world of nuclear medicine. Irradiation FPM tube reactor core would interfere with performance. One of the disorders comes from changes in flux or reactivity. It is necessary to study a method for calculating safety terrace ongoing configuration changes during the life of the reactor, making the code faster became an absolute necessity. Neutron safety margin for the research reactor can be reused without modification to the calculation of the reactivity of the reactor, so that is an advantage of using perturbation method. The criticality and flux in multigroup diffusion model was calculate at various irradiation positions in some uranium content. This model has a complex computation. Several parallel algorithms with iterative method have been developed for the sparse and big matrix solution. The Black-Red Gauss Seidel Iteration and the power iteration parallel method can be used to solve multigroup diffusion equation system and calculated the criticality and reactivity coeficient. This research was developed code for reactivity calculation which used one of safety analysis with parallel processing. It can be done more quickly and efficiently by utilizing the parallel processing in the multicore computer. This code was applied for the safety limits calculation of irradiated targets FPM with increment Uranium.

Exciton diffusion coefficient measurement in ZnO nanowires under electron beam irradiation.

PubMed

Donatini, Fabrice; Pernot, Julien

2018-03-09

In semiconductor nanowires (NWs) the exciton diffusion coefficient can be determined using a scanning electron microscope fitted with a cathodoluminescence system. High spatial and temporal resolution cathodoluminescence experiments are needed to measure independently the exciton diffusion length and lifetime in single NWs. However, both diffusion length and lifetime can be affected by the electron beam bombardment during observation and measurement. Thus, in this work the exciton lifetime in a ZnO NW is measured versus the electron beam dose (EBD) via a time-resolved cathodoluminescence experiment with a temporal resolution of 50 ps. The behavior of the measured exciton lifetime is consistent with our recent work on the EBD dependence of the exciton diffusion length in similar NWs investigated under comparable SEM conditions. Combining the two results, the exciton diffusion coefficient in ZnO is determined at room temperature and is found constant over the full span of EBD.

Comparison of silver, cesium, and strontium release predictions using PARFUME with results from the AGR-1 irradiation experiment

DOE PAGES

Collin, Blaise P.; Petti, David A.; Demkowicz, Paul A.; ...

2015-08-22

Here, the PARFUME (PARticle FUel ModEl) code was used to predict the release of fission products silver, cesium, and strontium from tristructural isotropic coated fuel particles and compacts during the first irradiation experiment (AGR-1) of the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification program. The PARFUME model for the AGR-1 experiment used the fuel compact volume average temperature for each of the 620 days of irradiation to calculate the release of silver, cesium, and strontium from a representative particle for a select number of AGR-1 compacts. Post-irradiation examination measurements provided data on release of these fission products from fuel compactsmore » and fuel particles, and retention of silver in the compacts outside of the silicon carbide (SiC) layer. PARFUME-predicted fractional release of silver, cesium, and strontium was determined and compared to the PIE measurements. For silver, comparisons show a trend of over-prediction at low burnup and under-prediction at high burnup. PARFUME has limitations in the modeling of the temporal and spatial distributions of the temperature and burnup across the compacts, which affects the accuracy of its predictions. Nevertheless, the comparisons on silver release lie in the same order of magnitude. Results show an overall over-prediction of the fractional release of cesium by PARFUME. For particles with failed SiC layers, the over-prediction is by a factor of up to 3, corresponding to a potential over-estimation of the diffusivity in uranium oxycarbide (UCO) by a factor of up to 250. For intact particles, whose release is much lower, the over-prediction is by a factor of up to 100, which could be attributed to an over-estimated diffusivity in SiC by about 40% on average. The release of strontium from intact particles is also over-predicted by PARFUME, which also points towards an over-estimated diffusivity of strontium in either SiC or UCO, or possibly both. The measured strontium fractional release from intact particles varied considerably from compact to compact, making it difficult to assess the effective over-estimation of the diffusivities. Moreover, the release of strontium from particles with failed SiC is difficult to observe experimentally due to the release from intact particles, preventing any conclusions to be made on the accuracy or validity of the PARFUME predictions and the modeled diffusivity of strontium in UCO.« less

Comparison of silver, cesium, and strontium release predictions using PARFUME with results from the AGR-1 irradiation experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collin, Blaise P.; Petti, David A.; Demkowicz, Paul A.; Maki, John T.

2015-11-01

The PARFUME (PARticle FUel ModEl) code was used to predict the release of fission products silver, cesium, and strontium from tristructural isotropic coated fuel particles and compacts during the first irradiation experiment (AGR-1) of the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification program. The PARFUME model for the AGR-1 experiment used the fuel compact volume average temperature for each of the 620 days of irradiation to calculate the release of silver, cesium, and strontium from a representative particle for a select number of AGR-1 compacts. Post-irradiation examination (PIE) measurements provided data on release of these fission products from fuel compacts and fuel particles, and retention of silver in the compacts outside of the silicon carbide (SiC) layer. PARFUME-predicted fractional release of silver, cesium, and strontium was determined and compared to the PIE measurements. For silver, comparisons show a trend of over-prediction at low burnup and under-prediction at high burnup. PARFUME has limitations in the modeling of the temporal and spatial distributions of the temperature and burnup across the compacts, which affects the accuracy of its predictions. Nevertheless, the comparisons on silver release lie in the same order of magnitude. Results show an overall over-prediction of the fractional release of cesium by PARFUME. For particles with failed SiC layers, the over-prediction is by a factor of up to 3, corresponding to a potential over-estimation of the diffusivity in uranium oxycarbide (UCO) by a factor of up to 250. For intact particles, whose release is much lower, the over-prediction is by a factor of up to 100, which could be attributed to an over-estimated diffusivity in SiC by about 40% on average. The release of strontium from intact particles is also over-predicted by PARFUME, which also points towards an over-estimated diffusivity of strontium in either SiC or UCO, or possibly both. The measured strontium fractional release from intact particles varied considerably from compact to compact, making it difficult to assess the effective over-estimation of the diffusivities. Furthermore, the release of strontium from particles with failed SiC is difficult to observe experimentally due to the release from intact particles, preventing any conclusions to be made on the accuracy or validity of the PARFUME predictions and the modeled diffusivity of strontium in UCO.

Simulation of temperature effect on microalgae culture in a tubular photo bioreactor for local solar irradiance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shahriar, M.; Deb, Ujjwal Kumar; Rahman, Kazi Afzalur

2017-06-01

Microalgae based biofuel is now an emerging source of renewable energy alternative to the fossil fuel. This paper aims to present computational model of microalgae culture taking effect of solar irradiance and corresponding temperature in a photo bioreactor (PBR). As microalgae is a photosynthetic microorganism, so irradiance of sunlight is one of the important limiting factors for the proper growth of microalgae cells as temperature is associated with it. We consider the transient behaviour of temperature inside the photo bioreactor for a microalgae culture. The optimum range of temperature for outdoor cultivation of microalgae is about 16-35°c and out of this range the cell growth inhibits. Many correlations have already been established to investigate the heat transfer phenomena inside a tubular PBR. However, none of them are validated yet numerically by using a user defined function in a simulated model. A horizontal tubular PBR length 20.5m with radius 0.05m has taken account to investigate the temperature effect for the growth of microalgae cell. As the solar irradiance varies at any geographic latitude for a year so an empirical relation is established between local solar irradiance and temperature to simulate the effect. From our simulation, we observed that the growth of microalgae has a significant effect of temperature and the solar irradiance of our locality is suitable for the culture of microalgae.

Difference of Horizontal-to-Vertical (H/V) Spectral Ratios of Microtremors and Earthquake Motions: Theory and Observation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kawase, H.; Nagashima, F.; Matsushima, S.; Sanchez-Sesma, F. J.

2013-05-01

Horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVRs) of microtremors have been traditionally interpreted theoretically as representing the Rayleigh wave ellipticity or just utilized a convenient tool to extract predominant periods of ground. However, based on the diffuse field theory (Sánchez-Sesma et al., 2011) the microtremor H/V spectral ratios (MHVRs) correspond to the square root of the ratio of the imaginary part of horizontal displacement for a horizontally applied unit harmonic load and the imaginary part of vertical displacement for a vertically applied unit load. The same diffuse field concept leads us to derive a simple formula for earthquake HVRs (EHVRs), that is, the ratio of the horizontal motion on the surface for a vertical incidence of S wave divided by the vertical motion on the surface for a vertical incidence of P wave with a fixed coefficient (Kawase et al., 2011). The difference for EHVRs comes from the fact that primary contribution of earthquake motions would be of plane body waves. Traditionally EHVRs are interpreted as the responses of inclined SV wave incidence only for their S wave portions. Without these compact theoretical solutions, EHVRs and MHVRs are either considered to be very similar/equivalent, or totally different in the previous studies. With these theoretical solutions we need to re-focus our attention on the difference of HVRs. Thus we have compared here HVRs at several dozens of strong motion stations in Japan. When we compared observed HVRs we found that EHVRs tend to be higher in general than the MHVRs, especially around their peaks. As previously reported, their general shapes share the common features. Especially their fundamental peak and trough frequencies show quite a good match to each other. However, peaks in EHVRs in the higher frequency range would not show up in MHVRs. When we calculated theoretical HVRs separately at these target sites, their basic characteristics correspond to these observed differences. At this stage of research we found that the underground structures that are optimized for EHVRs would not explain perfectly MHVRs. This strongly suggests that we need to optimize underground structures to explain both EHVRs and MHVRs at the same time.

Decay of the zincate concentration gradient at an alkaline zinc cathode after charging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kautz, H. E.; May, C. E.

1979-01-01

The study was carried out by observing the decay of the zincate concentration gradient at a horizontal zinc cathode after charging. This decay was found to approximate first order kinetics as expected from a proposed boundary layer model. The decay half life was shown to be a linear function of the thickness of porous zinc deposit on the cathode indicating a very rapid transport of zincate through porous zinc metal. The rapid transport is attributed to an electrochemical mechanism. The data also indicated a relatively sharp transition between the diffusion and convection transport regions. The diffusion of zincate ion through asbestos submerged in alkaline electrolyte was shown to be comparable with that predicted from the bulk diffusion coefficient of the zincate ion in alkali.

Chaotic dynamics of large-scale double-diffusive convection in a porous medium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kondo, Shutaro; Gotoda, Hiroshi; Miyano, Takaya; Tokuda, Isao T.

2018-02-01

We have studied chaotic dynamics of large-scale double-diffusive convection of a viscoelastic fluid in a porous medium from the viewpoint of dynamical systems theory. A fifth-order nonlinear dynamical system modeling the double-diffusive convection is theoretically obtained by incorporating the Darcy-Brinkman equation into transport equations through a physical dimensionless parameter representing porosity. We clearly show that the chaotic convective motion becomes much more complicated with increasing porosity. The degree of dynamic instability during chaotic convective motion is quantified by two important measures: the network entropy of the degree distribution in the horizontal visibility graph and the Kaplan-Yorke dimension in terms of Lyapunov exponents. We also present an interesting on-off intermittent phenomenon in the probability distribution of time intervals exhibiting nearly complete synchronization.

Distribution of temperature elevation caused by moving high-intensity focused ultrasound transducer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Jungsoon; Jung, Jihee; Kim, Moojoon; Ha, Kanglyeol; Lee, Eunghwa; Lee, Ilkwon

2015-07-01

Ultrasonic thermal treatment for dermatology has been developed using a small high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer. The transducer moves horizontally at a constant while it emits focused ultrasound because the treatment needs a high-temperature area in skin tissue over a wide range of depths. In this paper, a tissue-mimicking phantom made of carrageenan and a thermochromic film were adopted to examine the temperature distribution in the phantom noninvasively when the focused ultrasound was irradiated from the moving transducer. The dependence of the high-temperature area on the irradiated acoustic energy and on the movement interval of the HIFU was analyzed experimentally. The results will be useful in ensuring safety and estimating the remedial value of the treatment.

[Application of BaSO4 diffuser plate in 250-400 nm spectral radiance calibration].

PubMed

Jia, Hui; Li, Fu-tian

2004-01-01

Sprayed BaSO4 diffuser plate is the most Lambertian surface actually used in spectral radiance calibration known by now. Its hemispheric reflectance and Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Functions (BRDF) were measured in the experiment. Its diffuse characteristics were compared with Lambertian surface. In order to calibrate spectral radiance more accurately, the small variation of diffuser's BRDF with scattered angles and the nonuniformity of spectral irradiance on diffuser surface illuminated by the standard lamp should be considered. By integrating the radiation flux reflected by the element area and that entering the entrance slit within the viewing area of spectrometer, the measured spectral radiance can be calculated. Furthermore, the spectral radiance of Lambertian surface whose BRDF was derived from hemispheric reflectance was compared with that from the average of the measured BRDF.

A detailed study of the photo-injection annealing of thermally diffused InP solar cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walters, R. J.; Summers, G. P.; Bruening, J.

1993-01-01

A detailed analysis of the annealing of thermally diffused InP solar cells fabricated by the Nippon Mining Co. is presented. The cells were irradiated with 1 MeV electrons, and the induced degradation is measured using deep level transient spectroscopy and low temperature (86 K) IV measurements. Clear recovery of the photovoltaic parameters is observed during low temperature (T is less than 300 K) solar illuminations (1 sun, AMO) with further recovery at higher temperatures (300 less than T less than 500 K). For example, the output of a cell which was irradiated up to a fluence of 1 x 10(exp 16) cm(sup -2) was observed to recover to within 5 percent of the pre-irradiation output. An apparent correlation between the recovery of I(sub sc) and the annealing of the H4 defect and of the minority carrier trapping centers is observed. An apparent correlation between the recovery of VO, and the annealing of the H5 defect is also observed. These apparent correlations are used to develop a possible model for the mechanism of the recovery of the solar cells.

Effects of oversized solutes on radiation-induced segregation in austenitic stainless steels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hackett, M. J.; Busby, J. T.; Miller, M. K.; Was, G. S.

2009-06-01

Zirconium or hafnium additions to austenitic stainless steels caused a reduction in grain boundary Cr depletion after proton irradiations for up to 3 dpa at 400 °C and 1 dpa at 500 °C. The predictions of a radiation-induced segregation (RIS) model were also consistent with experiments in showing greater effectiveness of Zr relative to Hf due to a larger binding energy. However, the experiments showed that the effectiveness of the solute additions disappeared above 3 dpa at 400 °C and above 1 dpa at 500 °C. The loss of solute effectiveness with increasing dose is attributed to a reduction in the amount of oversized solute from the matrix due to growth of carbide precipitates. Atom probe tomography measurements indicated a reduction in amount of oversized solute in solution as a function of irradiation dose. The observations were supported by diffusion analysis suggesting that significant solute diffusion by the vacancy flux to precipitate surfaces occurs on the time scales of proton irradiations. With a decrease in available solute in solution, improved agreement between the predictions of the RIS model and measurements were consistent with the solute-vacancy trapping process, as the mechanism for enhanced recombination and suppression of RIS.

Phase-field modeling of void anisotropic growth behavior in irradiated zirconium

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Han, G. M.; Wang, H.; Lin, De-Ye

2017-06-01

A three-dimensional (3D) phase field model was developed to study the effects of surface energy and diffusivity anisotropy on void growth behavior in irradiated Zr. The gamma surface energy function, which is used in the phase field model, was developed with the surface energy anisotropy calculated from the molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. It is assumed that vacancies have much larger mobility in c-axis than a- and b- axes while interstitials have much larger mobility in basal plane then that in c-axis. With the model, the equilibrium void morphology and the effect of defect concentrations and defect mobility anisotropy on voidmore » growth behavior were simulated. The simulations demonstrated that 1) The developed phase-field model can correctly reproduce the faceted void morphology predicted by the Wullf construction. 2) With isotropic diffusivity the void prefers to grow on the basal plane. 3) When the vacancy has large mobility along c-axis and interstitial has a large mobility on the basal plane of hexagonal closed packed (hcp) Zr alloys a platelet void grows in c-direction and shrinks on the basal plane, which is in agreement with the experimental observation of void growth behavior in irradiated Zr.« less

MARMOT simulations of Xe segregation to grain boundaries in UO2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Andersson, Anders D.; Tonks, Michael; Casillas, Luis

2012-06-20

Diffusion of Xe and U in UO{sub 2} is controlled by vacancy mechanisms and under irradiation the formation of mobile vacancy clusters is important. We derive continuum thermodynamic and diffusion models for Xe and U in UO{sub 2} based on the vacancy and cluster diffusion mechanisms established from recent density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Segregation of defects to grain boundaries in UO{sub 2} is described by combining the diffusion model with models of the interaction between Xe atoms and vacancies with grain boundaries derived from separate atomistic calculations. The diffusion and segregation models are implemented in the MOOSE/MARMOT (MBM) finitemore » element (FEM) framework and we simulate Xe redistribution for a few simple microstructures. In this report we focus on segregation to grain boundaries. The U or vacancy diffusion model as well as the coupled diffusion of vacancies and Xe have also been implemented, but results are not included in this report.« less

Palate morphogenesis in mouse embryos after x-irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Callas, Gerald; Walker, Bruce E.

1963-01-01

The development of cleft palate was investigated by irradiating pregnant female C57BL and A/Jax mice on the 11 1/3 day of gestation with 300-r, whole-body doses and examining the fetuses at subsequent intervals. When palate stage was compared with chronological age, morphological rating, or embryonic weight, it was obvious that intermediate stages of palate closure persisted in x-irradiated embryos long after such stages had been passed in normal embryos. Thus, movement of the palatine shelves from the sagittal to the horizontal plane was retarded by x irradiation. Measurements of head and palate did not show any consistent disproportionality of palatemore » growth in the xirradiated embryos except that which resulted from retardation of shelf movement. X irradiation affected A/Jax strain litters more severely than C57BL strain litters according to cleft palate frequency and average palate stage at 18 1/3 days postconception. Cleft palate was seen in 73.1% of strain C57BL fetuses and in 99.5% of A/Jax fetuses. A variety of malformations other than cleft palate were also observed in the offspring of treated mice. Morphologic analysis of cleft palate development after xray treatment gave essentially the same results as comparable analyses of cleft palates produced by cortisone, hypervitaminosis A, and riboflavin deficiency. (TCO)« less

Convection with a simple chemically reactive passive scalar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herring, J. R.; Wyngaard, J. C.

Convection between horizontal stress-free perfectly conducting plates is examined in the turbulent regime for air. Results are presented for an additional scalar undergoing simple linear decay. We discuss qualitative aspects of the flow in terms of spectral and three-dimensional contour maps of the velocity and scalar fields. The horizontal mean profiles of scalar gradients and fluxes agree rather well with simple mixing-length concepts. Further, the mean profiles for a range of the destruction-rate parameter are shown to be nearly completely characterized by the boundary fluxes. Finally, we shall use the present numerical data as a basis for exploring a generalization of eddy-diffusion concepts so as to properly incorporate non-local effects.

Nicotine-selective radiation-induced poly(acrylamide/maleic acid) hydrogels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saraydin, D.; Karadağ, E.; Çaldiran, Y.; Güven, O.

2001-02-01

Nicotine-selective poly(acrylamide/maleic acid) (AAm/MA) hydrogels prepared by γ-irradiation were used in experiments on swelling, diffusion, and interactions of the pharmaceuticals nicotine, nicotinic acid, nicotinamide, and nikethamide. For AAm/MA hydrogel containing 60 mg maleic acid and irradiated at 5.2 kGy, the studies indicated that swelling increased in the following order; nicotine>nicotinamide>nikethamide>nicotinic acid>water. Diffusions of water and the pharmaceuticals within the hydrogels were found to be non-Fickian in character. AAm/MA hydrogel sorbed only nicotine and did not sorb nicotinamide, nikethamide and nicotinic acid in the binding experiments. S-type adsorption in Giles's classification system was observed. Some binding and thermodynamic parameters for AAm/MA hydrogel-nicotine system were calculated using the Scatchard method. The values of adsorption heat and free energy of this system were found to be negative whereas adsorption entropy was found to be positive.

Reactive nanolaminate pulsed-laser ignition mechanism: Modeling and experimental evidence of diffusion limited reactions

DOE PAGES

Yarrington, C. D.; Abere, M. J.; Adams, D. P.; ...

2017-04-03

We irradiated Al/Pt nanolaminates with a bilayer thickness (tb, width of an Al/Pt pair-layer) of 164 nm with single laser pulses with durations of 10 ms and 0.5 ms at 189 W/cm 2 and 1189 W/cm 2, respectively. The time to ignition was measured for each pulse, and shorter ignition times were observed for the higher power/shorter pulse width. While the shorter pulse shows uniform brightness, videographic images of the irradiated area shortly after ignition show a non-uniform radial brightness for the longer pulse. A diffusion-limited single step reaction mechanism was implemented in a finite element package to model themore » progress from reactants to products at both pulse widths. Finally, the model captures well both the observed ignition delay and qualitative observations regarding the non-uniform radial temperature.« less

Self-consistent approach to the solution of the light transfer problem for irradiances in marine waters with arbitrary turbidity, depth, and surface illumination. I. Case of absorption and elastic scattering.

PubMed

Haltrin, V I

1998-06-20

A self-consistent variant of the two-flow approximation that takes into account strong anisotropy of light scattering in seawater of finite depth and arbitrary turbidity is presented. To achieve an appropriate accuracy, this approach uses experimental dependencies between downward and total mean cosines. It calculates irradiances, diffuse attenuation coefficients, and diffuse reflectances in waters with arbitrary values of scattering, backscattering, and attenuation coefficients. It also takes into account arbitrary conditions of illumination and reflection from the bottom with the Lambertian albedo. This theory can be used for the calculation of apparent optical properties in both open and coastal oceanic waters, lakes, and rivers. It can also be applied to other types of absorbing and scattering medium such as paints, photographic emulsions, and biological tissues.

Heating of solid targets with laser pulses

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bechtel, J. H.

1975-01-01

Analytical and numerical solutions to the heat-conduction equation are obtained for the heating of absorbing media with pulsed lasers. The spatial and temporal form of the temperature is determined using several different models of the laser irradiance. Both surface and volume generation of heat are discussed. It is found that if the depth of thermal diffusion for the laser-pulse duration is large compared to the optical-attenuation depth, the surface- and volume-generation models give nearly identical results. However, if the thermal-diffusion depth for the laser-pulse duration is comparable to or less than the optical-attenuation depth, the surface-generation model can give significantly different results compared to the volume-generation model. Specific numerical results are given for a tungsten target irradiated by pulses of different temporal durations and the implications of the results are discussed with respect to the heating of metals by picosecond laser pulses.

A sensitivity analysis of low salinity habitats simulated by a hydrodynamic model in the Manatee River estuary in Florida, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, XinJian

2012-06-01

This paper presents a sensitivity study of simulated availability of low salinity habitats by a hydrodynamic model for the Manatee River estuary located in the southwest portion of the Florida peninsula. The purpose of the modeling study was to establish a regulatory minimum freshwater flow rate required to prevent the estuarine ecosystem from significant harm. The model used in the study was a multi-block model that dynamically couples a three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model with a laterally averaged (2DV) hydrodynamic model. The model was calibrated and verified against measured real-time data of surface elevation and salinity at five stations during March 2005-July 2006. The calibrated model was then used to conduct a series of scenario runs to investigate effects of the flow reduction on salinity distributions in the Manatee River estuary. Based on simulated salinity distribution in the estuary, water volumes, bottom areas and shoreline lengths for salinity less than certain predefined values were calculated and analyzed to help establish the minimum freshwater flow rate for the estuarine system. The sensitivity analysis conducted during the modeling study for the Manatee River estuary examined effects of the bottom roughness, ambient vertical eddy viscosity/diffusivity, horizontal eddy viscosity/diffusivity, and ungauged flow on the model results and identified the relative importance of these model parameters (input data) to the outcome of the availability of low salinity habitats. It is found that the ambient vertical eddy viscosity/diffusivity is the most influential factor controlling the model outcome, while the horizontal eddy viscosity/diffusivity is the least influential one.

Chronic Actinic Keratopathy—A Condition Associated with Conjunctival Elastosis (Pingueculae) and Typified by Characteristic Extracellular Concretions

PubMed Central

Klintworth, Gordon K.

1972-01-01

Morphologic observations on a peculiar type of corneal reaction with a predisposition for the superficial stroma of the interpalpebral portion of the cornea are reviewed. Histochemical evidence is provided which indicates that the corneal concretions, though not homogenous, are proteinaceous in nature and contain amino acids not normally detectable in the cornea. The corneal concretions were associated with conjunctival elastosis (pingueculae) in all 22 instances in which the eyes were sectioned in the horizontal plane. Identical concretions were identified within these associated pingueculae, as well as in a large percentage of other pingueculae and cutaneous lesions with actinic elastosis. The findings suggest that the abnormal material arises in the pericorneal conjunctival connective tissue from whence it diffuses into, and deposits in, the superficial corneal stroma. The data also raise the possibility that the concretions may be derived, at least in part, from altered elastic tissue. Morphologic and epidemiologic observations on the condition taken together strongly suggest that this unique reaction is a sequel to the cumulative effect of chronic actinic irradiation. Further observations on this keratopathy are needed to establish whether this unique response can be provoked by other noxious stimuli. ImagesFig 5Fig 6Fig 7Fig 8Fig 9Fig 10Fig 11Fig 12Fig 1Fig 2Fig 3Fig 4Fig 13Fig 14Fig 15 PMID:5021106

Thermal defect annealing of swift heavy ion irradiated ThO2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palomares, Raul I.; Tracy, Cameron L.; Neuefeind, Joerg; Ewing, Rodney C.; Trautmann, Christina; Lang, Maik

2017-08-01

Isochronal annealing, neutron total scattering, and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the structural recovery of polycrystalline ThO2 irradiated with 2-GeV Au ions to a fluence of 1 × 1013 ions/cm2. Neutron diffraction patterns show that the Bragg signal-to-noise ratio increases and the unit cell parameter decreases as a function of isochronal annealing temperature, with the latter reaching its pre-irradiation value by 750 °C. Diffuse neutron scattering and Raman spectroscopy measurements indicate that an isochronal annealing event occurs between 275-425 °C. This feature is attributed to the annihilation of oxygen point defects and small oxygen defect clusters.

Enhanced electrochemical etching of ion irradiated silicon by localized amorphization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dang, Z. Y.; Breese, M. B. H.; Lin, Y.

2014-05-12

A tailored distribution of ion induced defects in p-type silicon allows subsequent electrochemical anodization to be modified in various ways. Here we describe how a low level of lattice amorphization induced by ion irradiation influences anodization. First, it superposes a chemical etching effect, which is observable at high fluences as a reduced height of a micromachined component. Second, at lower fluences, it greatly enhances electrochemical anodization by allowing a hole diffusion current to flow to the exposed surface. We present an anodization model, which explains all observed effects produced by light ions such as helium and heavy ions such asmore » cesium over a wide range of fluences and irradiation geometries.« less

Au particle formation on the electron beam induced membrane

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Seong Soo; Park, Myoung Jin; Han, Chul Hee; Oh, Sae-Joong; Kim, Sung-In; Park, Nam Kyou; Park, Doo-Jae; Choi, Soo Bong; Kim, Yong-Sang

2017-02-01

Recently the single molecules such as protein and deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) have been successfully characterized by using a portable solidstate nanopore (MinION) with an electrical detection technique. However, there have been several reports about the high error rates of the fabricated nanopore device, possibly due to an electrical double layer formed inside the pore channel. The current DNA sequencing technology utilized is based on the optical detection method. In order to utilize the current optical detection technique, we will present the formation of the Au nano-pore with Au particle under the various electron beam irradiations. In order to provide the diffusion of Au atoms, a 2 keV electron beam irradiation has been performed During electron beam irradiations by using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), Au and C atoms would diffuse together and form the binary mixture membrane. Initially, the Au atoms diffused in the membrane are smaller than 1 nm, below the detection limit of the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), so that we are unable to observe the Au atoms in the formed membrane. However, after several months later, the Au atoms became larger and larger with expense of the smaller particles: Ostwald ripening. Furthermore, we also observe the Au crystalline lattice structure on the binary Au-C membrane. The formed Au crystalline lattice structures were constantly changing during electron beam imaging process due to Spinodal decomposition; the unstable thermodynamic system of Au-C binary membrane. The fabricated Au nanopore with an Au nanoparticle can be utilized as a single molecule nanobio sensor.

H and Au diffusion in high mobility a-InGaZnO thin-film transistors via low temperature KrF excimer laser annealing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bermundo, Juan Paolo S.; Ishikawa, Yasuaki; Fujii, Mami N.; Ikenoue, Hiroshi; Uraoka, Yukiharu

2017-03-01

We report the fabrication of high mobility amorphous InGaZnO (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) irradiated by a single shot of a 248 nm KrF excimer laser. Very high mobilities (μ) of up to 43.5 cm2/V s were obtained after the low temperature excimer laser annealing (ELA) process. ELA induces high temperatures primarily in the upper layers and maintains very low temperatures of less than 50 °C in the substrate region. Scanning Transmission Electron micrographs show no laser induced damage and clear interfaces after the laser irradiation. In addition, several characterization studies were performed to determine the μ improvement mechanism. The analysis of Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy suggests incorporation of H mainly from the hybrid passivation layer into the channel. Moreover, Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy results show that Au diffused into the channel after ELA. Both KrF ELA-induced H and Au diffusion contributed to the higher μ. These results demonstrate that ELA can greatly enhance the electrical properties of a-IGZO TFTs for promising applications in large area, transparent, and flexible electronics.

Radiative Energy Budgets of Phototrophic Surface-Associated Microbial Communities and their Photosynthetic Efficiency Under Diffuse and Collimated Light

PubMed Central

Lichtenberg, Mads; Brodersen, Kasper E.; Kühl, Michael

2017-01-01

We investigated the radiative energy budgets of a heterogeneous photosynthetic coral reef sediment and a compact uniform cyanobacterial biofilm on top of coastal sediment. By combining electrochemical, thermocouple and fiber-optic microsensor measurements of O2, temperature and light, we could calculate the proportion of the absorbed light energy that was either dissipated as heat or conserved by photosynthesis. We show, across a range of different incident light regimes, that such radiative energy budgets are highly dominated by heat dissipation constituting up to 99.5% of the absorbed light energy. Highest photosynthetic energy conservation efficiency was found in the coral sediment under low light conditions and amounted to 18.1% of the absorbed light energy. Additionally, the effect of light directionality, i.e., diffuse or collimated light, on energy conversion efficiency was tested on the two surface-associated systems. The effects of light directionality on the radiative energy budgets of these phototrophic communities were not unanimous but, resulted in local spatial differences in heat-transfer, gross photosynthesis, and light distribution. The light acclimation index, Ek, i.e., the irradiance at the onset of saturation of photosynthesis, was >2 times higher in the coral sediment compared to the biofilm and changed the pattern of photosynthetic energy conservation under light-limiting conditions. At moderate to high incident irradiances, the photosynthetic conservation of absorbed energy was highest in collimated light; a tendency that changed in the biofilm under sub-saturating incident irradiances, where higher photosynthetic efficiencies were observed under diffuse light. The aim was to investigate how the physical structure and light propagation affected energy budgets and light utilization efficiencies in loosely organized vs. compact phototrophic sediment under diffuse and collimated light. Our results suggest that the optical properties and the structural organization of phytoelements are important traits affecting the photosynthetic efficiency of biofilms and sediments. PMID:28400749

Radiative Energy Budgets of Phototrophic Surface-Associated Microbial Communities and their Photosynthetic Efficiency Under Diffuse and Collimated Light.

PubMed

Lichtenberg, Mads; Brodersen, Kasper E; Kühl, Michael

2017-01-01

We investigated the radiative energy budgets of a heterogeneous photosynthetic coral reef sediment and a compact uniform cyanobacterial biofilm on top of coastal sediment. By combining electrochemical, thermocouple and fiber-optic microsensor measurements of O 2 , temperature and light, we could calculate the proportion of the absorbed light energy that was either dissipated as heat or conserved by photosynthesis. We show, across a range of different incident light regimes, that such radiative energy budgets are highly dominated by heat dissipation constituting up to 99.5% of the absorbed light energy. Highest photosynthetic energy conservation efficiency was found in the coral sediment under low light conditions and amounted to 18.1% of the absorbed light energy. Additionally, the effect of light directionality, i.e., diffuse or collimated light, on energy conversion efficiency was tested on the two surface-associated systems. The effects of light directionality on the radiative energy budgets of these phototrophic communities were not unanimous but, resulted in local spatial differences in heat-transfer, gross photosynthesis, and light distribution. The light acclimation index, E k , i.e., the irradiance at the onset of saturation of photosynthesis, was >2 times higher in the coral sediment compared to the biofilm and changed the pattern of photosynthetic energy conservation under light-limiting conditions. At moderate to high incident irradiances, the photosynthetic conservation of absorbed energy was highest in collimated light; a tendency that changed in the biofilm under sub-saturating incident irradiances, where higher photosynthetic efficiencies were observed under diffuse light. The aim was to investigate how the physical structure and light propagation affected energy budgets and light utilization efficiencies in loosely organized vs. compact phototrophic sediment under diffuse and collimated light. Our results suggest that the optical properties and the structural organization of phytoelements are important traits affecting the photosynthetic efficiency of biofilms and sediments.

The cervical cancer detection system based on an endoscopic rotary probe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Yanshuang; Hou, Qiang; Zhao, Huijuan; Qin, Zhuanping; Gao, Feng

2012-03-01

To acquire the optical diffuse tomographic image of the cervix, a novel endoscopic rotary probe is designed and the frequency domain measurement system is developed. The finite element method and Gauss-Newton method are proposed to reconstruct the image of the phantom. In the optical diffuse tomographic imaging of the cervix, an endoscopic probe is needed and the detection of light at different separation to the irradiation spot is necessary. To simplify the system, only two optical fibers are adopted for light irradiation and collection, respectively. Two small stepper motors are employed to control the rotation of the incident fiber and the detection fiber, respectively. For one position of source fiber, the position of the detection fiber is changed from -61.875° to -50.625° and 50.625° to 61.875° to the source fiber, respectively. Then, the position of the source fiber is changed to another preconcerted position, which deviates the precious source position in an angle of 11.25°, and the detection fiber rotates within the above angles. To acquire the efficient irradiation and collection of the light, a gradient-index (GRIN) lens is connected at the head of the optical fiber. The other end of the GRIN lens is cut to 45°. With this design, light from optical fiber is reflected to the cervix wall, which is perpendicular to the optical fiber or vice versa. Considering the cervical size, the external diameter of the endoscopic probe is made to 20mm. A frequency domain (FD) near-infrared diffuse system is developed aiming at the detection of early cervical cancer, which modulates the light intensity in radio frequency and measures the amplitude attenuation and the phase delay of the diffused light using heterodyne detection. Phantom experiment results demonstrate that the endoscopic rotary scan probe and the system perform well in the endoscopic measurement.

Effect of high-frequency near-infrared diode laser irradiation on periodontal tissues during experimental tooth movement in rats.

PubMed

Gunji, Hidemi; Kunimatsu, Ryo; Tsuka, Yuji; Yoshimi, Yuki; Sumi, Keisuke; Awada, Tetsuya; Nakajima, Kengo; Kimura, Aya; Hiraki, Tomoka; Hirose, Naoto; Yanoshita, Makoto; Tanimoto, Kotaro

2018-02-05

Tooth movement during orthodontic treatment is associated with bone neoplasticity and bone resorption on the tension and pressure sides. Previous clinical studies have suggested that low-power laser irradiation can accelerate tooth movement during orthodontic treatment, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we used a high-frequency near-infrared diode laser that generates less heat and examined the histologic changes in periodontal tissue during experimental tooth movement with laser irradiation. A nickel-titanium closed coil was mounted between the maxillary left side first molar and incisor of rats to model experimental tooth movement. The laser-irradiation and the control groups were set, and the amount of movement of the first molar on 7th and 14th days after the start of pulling of the first molar tooth on the maxillary left was measured by three-dimensional analysis of µCT. After tooth movement, tissue samples from the mesial and tension sides were collected, and successive horizontal sections were prepared and examined using hematoxylin-eosin and TRAP staining and immunohistochemical staining for RANKL, OPG, ALP, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Changes in tissue temperature following laser irradiation were also examined. Laser irradiation significantly increased tooth movement compared with non-irradiated controls. Histologic staining of the pressure-side mesial root in laser-irradiated rats revealed enhanced RANKL expression and increased numbers of TRAP-positive cells compared with controls. By contrast, on the tension side, laser irradiation led to increased expression of ALP and PCNA. These data indicate that high-frequency near-infrared diode laser irradiation on the pressure side upregulates RANKL expression and accelerates osteoclast differentiation, facilitating bone resorption, whereas bone formation is induced on the tension side. This study demonstrates that high-frequency near-infrared diode laser irradiation of periodontal tissue leads to metabolic activation, which ultimately increases the rate of tooth movement. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Analysis of the response of PVA-GTA Fricke-gel dosimeters with clinical magnetic resonance imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Collura, Giorgio; Gallo, Salvatore; Tranchina, Luigi; Abbate, Boris Federico; Bartolotta, Antonio; d'Errico, Francesco; Marrale, Maurizio

2018-01-01

Fricke gel dosimeters produced with a matrix of Poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) cross-linked with glutaraldehyde (GTA) were analyzed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Previous studies based on spectrophotometry showed valuable dosimetric features of these gels in terms of X-ray sensitivity and diffusion of the ferric ions produced after irradiation. In this study, MRI was performed on the gels at 1.5 T with a clinical scanner in order to optimize the acquisition parameters and obtain high contrast between irradiated and non-irradiated samples. The PVA gels were found to offer good linearity in the range of 0-10 Gy and a stable signal for several hours after irradiation. The sensitivity was about 40% higher compared to gels produced with agarose as gelling agent. The effect of xylenol orange (XO) on the MRI signal was also investigated: gel dosimeters made without XO show higher sensitivity to x-rays than those made with XO. The dosimetric accuracy of the 3D gels was investigated by comparing their MRI response to percentage depth dose and transversal dose profile measurements made with an ionization chamber in a water phantom. The comparison of PVA-GTA gels with and without XO showed that the chelating agent reduces the MRI sensitivity of the gels. Depth-dose and transversal dose profiles acquired by PVA-GTA gels without XO are more accurate and consistent with the ionization chamber data. However, diffusion effects hinder accurate measurements in the steep dose gradient regions and they should be further reduced by modifying the gel matrix and/or by minimizing the delay between irradiation and imaging.

Numerical and analytical modelling of the MHD buoyancy-driven flow in a Bridgman crystal growth configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davoust, L.; Moreau, R.; Cowley, M. D.; Tanguy, P. A.; Bertrand, F.

1997-10-01

We present analytical and numerical models of magnetohydrodynamic(MHD) buoyancy-driven flow within the liquid pool of a horizontal Bridgman crystal growth furnace, under the influence of a uniform vertical magnetic field B0. A horizontal differentially heated cylinder, whose aspect ratio (radius to length) is small enough for a fully developed regime to be established in the central core, is considered. With Hartmann layers remaining electrically inactive, a modified Rayleigh number RaG, which is the ration of the ordinary Rayleigh number to the square of the Hartmann number, is found to control the MHD reorganisation of the flow. This modified Rayleigh number is a measure of the importance of thermal convection relative to diffusion if velocity is estimated from the balance between the torques of buoyancy and the Laplace force. When RaG is much smaller than unity (quasi-diffusive regime), an analytical modelling of the flow, based on a power series of RaG, demonstrates that this balance requires secondary vortices within vertical mid-planes of the cylinder, both within the core flow and near the end walls. A 3-D numerical calculation of the flow provides evidence of the transition from a convective MHD flow (when RaG is still of the order of unity) to the quasi-diffusive flow, analytically studied. Indeed, this transition takes the form of a rather complex 3-D MHD organisation of the flow which is due to the nonuniformity of the axial temperature gradient along the cylinder.

Coupled elasticity-diffusion model for the effects of cytoskeleton deformation on cellular uptake of cylindrical nanoparticles.

PubMed

Wang, Jizeng; Li, Long

2015-01-06

Molecular dynamic simulations and experiments have recently demonstrated how cylindrical nanoparticles (CNPs) with large aspect ratios penetrate animal cells and inevitably deform cytoskeletons. Thus, a coupled elasticity-diffusion model was adopted to elucidate this interesting biological phenomenon by considering the effects of elastic deformations of cytoskeleton and membrane, ligand-receptor binding and receptor diffusion. The mechanism by which the binding energy drives the CNPs with different orientations to enter host cells was explored. This mechanism involved overcoming the resistance caused by cytoskeleton and membrane deformations and the change in configurational entropy of the ligand-receptor bonds and free receptors. Results showed that deformation of the cytoskeleton significantly influenced the engulfing process by effectively slowing down and even hindering the entry of the CNPs. Additionally, the engulfing depth was determined quantitatively. CNPs preferred or tended to vertically attack target cells until they were stuck in the cytoskeleton as implied by the speed of vertically oriented CNPs that showed much faster initial engulfing speeds than horizontally oriented CNPs. These results elucidated the most recent molecular dynamics simulations and experimental observations on the cellular uptake of carbon nanotubes and phagocytosis of filamentous Escherichia coli bacteria. The most efficient engulfment showed the stiffness-dependent optimal radius of the CNPs. Cytoskeleton stiffness exhibited more significant influence on the optimal sizes of the vertical uptake than the horizontal uptake. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Phase I study of temozolomide in paediatric patients with advanced cancer. United Kingdom Children's Cancer Study Group.

PubMed Central

Estlin, E. J.; Lashford, L.; Ablett, S.; Price, L.; Gowing, R.; Gholkar, A.; Kohler, J.; Lewis, I. J.; Morland, B.; Pinkerton, C. R.; Stevens, M. C.; Mott, M.; Stevens, R.; Newell, D. R.; Walker, D.; Dicks-Mireaux, C.; McDowell, H.; Reidenberg, P.; Statkevich, P.; Marco, A.; Batra, V.; Dugan, M.; Pearson, A. D.

1998-01-01

A phase I study of temozolomide administered orally once a day, on 5 consecutive days, between 500 and 1200 mg m(-2) per 28-day cycle was performed. Children were stratified according to prior craniospinal irradiation or nitrosourea therapy. Sixteen of 20 patients who had not received prior craniospinal irradiation or nitrosourea therapy were evaluable. Myelosuppression was dose limiting, with Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) grade 4 thrombocytopenia occurring in one of six patients receiving 1000 mg m(-2) per cycle, and two of four patients treated at 1200 mg m(-2) per cycle. Therefore, the maximum-tolerated dose (MTD) was 1000 mg m(-2) per cycle. The MTD was not defined for children with prior craniospinal irradiation because of poor recruitment. Plasma pharmacokinetic analyses showed temozolomide to be rapidly absorbed and eliminated, with linear increases in peak plasma concentrations and systemic exposure with increasing dose. Responses (CR and PR) were seen in two out of five patients with high-grade astrocytomas, and one patient had stable disease. One of ten patients with diffuse intrinsic brain stem glioma achieved a long-term partial response, and a further two patients had stable disease. Therefore, the dose recommended for phase II studies in patients who have not received prior craniospinal irradiation or nitrosoureas is 1000 mg m(-2) per cycle. Further evaluation in diffuse intrinsic brain stem gliomas and other high-grade astrocytomas is warranted. Images Figure 5 p658-b Figure 6 p659-b PMID:9744506

Retardation of mobile radionuclides in granitic rock fractures by matrix diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hölttä, P.; Poteri, A.; Siitari-Kauppi, M.; Huittinen, N.

Transport of iodide and sodium has been studied by means of block fracture and core column experiments to evaluate the simplified radionuclide transport concept. The objectives were to examine the processes causing retention in solute transport, especially matrix diffusion, and to estimate their importance during transport in different scales and flow conditions. Block experiments were performed using a Kuru Grey granite block having a horizontally planar natural fracture. Core columns were constructed from cores drilled orthogonal to the fracture of the granite block. Several tracer tests were performed using uranine, 131I and 22Na as tracers at water flow rates 0.7-50 μL min -1. Transport of tracers was modelled by applying the advection-dispersion model based on the generalized Taylor dispersion added with matrix diffusion. Scoping calculations were combined with experiments to test the model concepts. Two different experimental configurations could be modelled applying consistent transport processes and parameters. The processes, advection-dispersion and matrix diffusion, were conceptualized with sufficient accuracy to replicate the experimental results. The effects of matrix diffusion were demonstrated on the slightly sorbing sodium and mobile iodine breakthrough curves.

Effect of thermal diffusion on the stability of strongly tilted mantle plume tails

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kerr, R. C.; MéRiaux, C.; Lister, J. R.

2008-09-01

The effect of thermal diffusion on the stability of strongly tilted mantle plume tails is explored by investigating experimentally and numerically the gravitational instability of a rising horizontal cylindrical region of buoyant viscous fluid. At large viscosity ratios, we find that the instability is unaffected by diffusion when the Rayleigh number Ra is greater than about 300. When Ra is less than 300, diffusion significantly increases the time for instability, as the rising fluid region needs to grow substantially by entrainment before it becomes unstable. When Ra is less than about 140 and the rise height available H is less than about 40 times the cylinder radius, the rising region of fluid is unable to grow sufficiently and instability is prevented. When our results are applied to the Earth, we predict that thermal diffusion will stabilize plume tails in both the upper and lower mantle. We also predict that some of the buoyancy flux in mantle plumes is lost during ascent to form downstream thermal wakes in any larger-scale mantle flow.

Parameterization and sensitivity analyses of a radiative transfer model for remote sensing plant canopies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hall, Carlton Raden

A major objective of remote sensing is determination of biochemical and biophysical characteristics of plant canopies utilizing high spectral resolution sensors. Canopy reflectance signatures are dependent on absorption and scattering processes of the leaf, canopy properties, and the ground beneath the canopy. This research investigates, through field and laboratory data collection, and computer model parameterization and simulations, the relationships between leaf optical properties, canopy biophysical features, and the nadir viewed above-canopy reflectance signature. Emphasis is placed on parameterization and application of an existing irradiance radiative transfer model developed for aquatic systems. Data and model analyses provide knowledge on the relative importance of leaves and canopy biophysical features in estimating the diffuse absorption a(lambda,m-1), diffuse backscatter b(lambda,m-1), beam attenuation alpha(lambda,m-1), and beam to diffuse conversion c(lambda,m-1 ) coefficients of the two-flow irradiance model. Data sets include field and laboratory measurements from three plant species, live oak (Quercus virginiana), Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius) and grapefruit (Citrus paradisi) sampled on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center Florida in March and April of 1997. Features measured were depth h (m), projected foliage coverage PFC, leaf area index LAI, and zenith leaf angle. Optical measurements, collected with a Spectron SE 590 high sensitivity narrow bandwidth spectrograph, included above canopy reflectance, internal canopy transmittance and reflectance and bottom reflectance. Leaf samples were returned to laboratory where optical and physical and chemical measurements of leaf thickness, leaf area, leaf moisture and pigment content were made. A new term, the leaf volume correction index LVCI was developed and demonstrated in support of model coefficient parameterization. The LVCI is based on angle adjusted leaf thickness Ltadj, LAI, and h (m). Its function is to translate leaf level estimates of diffuse absorption and backscatter to the canopy scale allowing the leaf optical properties to directly influence above canopy estimates of reflectance. The model was successfully modified and parameterized to operate in a canopy scale and a leaf scale mode. Canopy scale model simulations produced the best results. Simulations based on leaf derived coefficients produced calculated above canopy reflectance errors of 15% to 18%. A comprehensive sensitivity analyses indicated the most important parameters were beam to diffuse conversion c(lambda, m-1), diffuse absorption a(lambda, m-1), diffuse backscatter b(lambda, m-1), h (m), Q, and direct and diffuse irradiance. Sources of error include the estimation procedure for the direct beam to diffuse conversion and attenuation coefficients and other field and laboratory measurement and analysis errors. Applications of the model include creation of synthetic reflectance data sets for remote sensing algorithm development, simulations of stress and drought on vegetation reflectance signatures, and the potential to estimate leaf moisture and chemical status.

Investigation of solar cells fabricated on low-cost silicon sheet materials using 1 MeV electron irradiation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kachare, A. H.; Hyland, S. L.; Garlick, G. F. J.

1981-01-01

The use of high energy electron irradiation is investigated as a controlled means to study in more detail the junction depletion layer processes of solar cells made on various low-cost silicon sheet materials. Results show that solar cells made on Czochralski grown silicon exhibit enhancement of spectral response in the shorter wavelength region when irradiated with high energy electrons. The base region damage can be reduced by subsequent annealing at 450 C which restores the degraded longer wavelength response, although the shorter wavelength enhancement persists. The second diode component of the cell dark forward bias current is also reduced by electron irradiation, while thermal annealing at 450 C without electron irradiation can also produce these same effects. Electron irradiation produces small changes in the shorter wavelength spectral responses and junction improvements in solar cells made on WEB, EFG, and HEM silicon. It is concluded that these beneficial effects on cell characteristics are due to the reduction of oxygen associated deep level recombination centers in the N(+) diffused layer and in the junction.

Light-attenuating effect of dentin on the polymerization of light-activated restorative resins.

PubMed

Arikawa, Hiroyuki; Kanie, Takahito; Fujii, Koichi; Ban, Seiji; Takahashi, Hideo

2004-12-01

The light-attenuating effect of dentin on the mechanical properties of light-activated composite resins was evaluated using a simple experimental filter. The filter was designed to simulate the light transmittance and light diffusion characteristics of 1.0-mm thick dentin. The depth of cure, surface hardness, and flexural strength for 13 shades of three light-activated restorative resins were examined. These resins were cured either using direct irradiation with a light source, or indirect irradiation through the filter. The attenuation of light intensity by 1.0-mm thick dentin reached 85-90% in the 400-550 nm wavelength region. For all materials, the values of depth of cure, surface hardness on the top and bottom surfaces, and flexural strength of specimens irradiated indirectly through the simulated 1.0-mm thick dentin filter decreased by 37-60%, 16-55%, 50-83%, and 44-82% in comparison with those by direct irradiation, respectively. Recovery from mechanical properties' reduction was achieved when materials were irradiated 1.5-4 times longer than the standard irradiation time.

Lamp system with conditioned water coolant and diffuse reflector of polytetrafluorethylene(PTFE)

DOEpatents

Zapata, Luis E.; Hackel, Lloyd

1999-01-01

A lamp system with a very soft high-intensity output is provided over a large area by water cooling a long-arc lamp inside a diffuse reflector of polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) and titanium dioxide (TiO.sub.2) white pigment. The water is kept clean and pure by a one micron particulate filter and an activated charcoal/ultraviolet irradiation system that circulates and de-ionizes and biologically sterilizes the coolant water at all times, even when the long-arc lamp is off.

Live-monitoring of Te inclusions laser-induced thermo-diffusion and annealing in CdZnTe crystals

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zappettini, A.; Zambelli, N.; Benassi, G.

2014-06-23

The presence of Te inclusions is one of the main factors limiting performances of CdZnTe crystals as X-ray detectors. We show that by means of infrared laser radiation it is possible to move and anneal tellurium inclusions exploiting a thermo-diffusion mechanism. The process is studied live during irradiation by means of an optical microscope equipment. Experimental conditions, and, in particular, energy laser fluence, for annealing inclusions of different dimensions are determined.

Synthesis of PbTe thermoelectric film by high energy heavy ion beam mixing

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gupta, Srashti; Neeleshwar, S.; Agarwal, D. C.

2011-12-12

The Te/Pb bilayer samples were prepared by sequential thermal evaporation of Pb and Te on glass substrate. These bilayer samples were irradiated by 100 MeV Ag{sup 9+} at different fluences (3x10{sup 12}, 1x10{sup 13}, and 3x10{sup 13} ions/cm{sup 2}) to synthesis PbTe by ion beam mixing. The samples were characterized by RBS to study composition and X-ray diffraction (XRD) for phase identification before and after irradiation. Thickness of Pb and Te were 75 nm and 105 nm respectively in pristine film as deduced from RBS analysis. The RBS of irradiated sample indicates the mixing between Pb and Te layers. XRDmore » revealed phases of PbTe in sample irradiated at 3x10{sup 13} ions/cm{sup 2}. This phase formation may be due to inter diffusion across the interface induced by swift heavy ion irradiation.« less

Enhanced structural stability of nanoporous zirconia under irradiation of He

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Tengfei; Huang, Xuejun; Wang, Chenxu

2012-01-01

This work reports a greatly enhanced tolerance for He irradiation-induced swelling in nanocrystalline zirconia film with interconnected nanoporous structure (hereinafter referred as to NC-C). Compared to bulk yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) and another nanocrystalline zirconia film only with discrete nano voids (hereinafter referred as to NC-V), the NC-C film reveals good tolerance for irradiation of high-fluence He. No appreciable surface blistering can be found even at the highest fluence of 6 1017 cm2 in NCC film. From TEM analysis of as-irradiated samples, the enhanced tolerance for volume swelling in NCC film is attributed to the enhanced diffusion mechanism of deposited Hemore » via widely distributed nano channels. Furthermore, the growth of grain size is quite small for both nanocrystalline zirconia films after irradiation, which is ascribed to the decreasing of area of grain boundary due to loose structure and low energy of primary knock-on atoms for He ions.« less

X-ray spectroscopy study of electronic structure of laser-irradiated Au nanoparticles in a silica film

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jonnard, P.; Bercegol, H.; Lamaignère, L.; Morreeuw, J.-P.; Rullier, J.-L.; Cottancin, E.; Pellarin, M.

2005-03-01

The electronic structure of gold nanoparticles embedded in a silica film is studied, both before and after irradiation at 355nm by a laser. The Au 5d occupied valence states are observed by x-ray emission spectroscopy. They show that before irradiation the gold atoms are in metallic states within the nanoparticles. After irradiation with a fluence of 0.5J/cm2, it is found that gold valence states are close to those of a metal-poor gold silicide; thanks to a comparison of the experimental Au 5d states with the calculated ones for gold silicides using the density-functional theory. The formation of such a compound is driven by the diffusion of the gold atoms into the silica film upon the laser irradiation. At higher fluence, 1J/cm2, we find a higher percentage of metallic gold that could be attributed to annealing in the silica matrix.

Determining biological tissue optical properties via integrating sphere spatial measurements

DOEpatents

Baba, Justin S [Knoxville, TN; Letzen, Brian S [Coral Springs, FL

2011-01-11

An optical sample is mounted on a spatial-acquisition apparatus that is placed in or on an enclosure. An incident beam is irradiated on a surface of the sample and the specular reflection is allowed to escape from the enclosure through an opening. The spatial-acquisition apparatus is provided with a light-occluding slider that moves in front of the sample to block portions of diffuse scattering from the sample. As the light-occluding slider moves across the front of the sample, diffuse light scattered into the area of the backside of the light-occluding slider is absorbed by back side surface of the light-occluding slider. By measuring a baseline diffuse reflectance without a light-occluding slider and subtracting measured diffuse reflectance with a light-occluding slider therefrom, diffuse reflectance for the area blocked by the light-occluding slider can be calculated.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Streza, M.; Dadarlat, D.; Strzałkowski, K.

An accurate determination of thermophysical properties such as thermal diffusivity, thermal effusivity and thermal conductivity is extremely important for characterization and quality assurance of semiconductors. Thermal diffusivity and effusivity of some binary semiconductors have been investigated. Two experimental techniques were used: a contact technique (PPE calorimetry) and a non contact technique (lock-in thermography). When working with PPE, in the back (BPPE) configuration and in the thermally thick regim of the pyroelectric sensor, we can get the thermal diffusivity of the sample by performing a scanning of the excitation frequency of radiation. Thermal effusivity is obtained in front configuration (sensor directlymore » irradiated and sample in back position) by performing a thickness scan of a coupling fluid. By using the lock-in thermography technique, the thermal diffusivity of the sample is obtained from the phase image. The results obtained by the two techniques are in good agreement. Nevertheless, for the determination of thermal diffusivity, lock-in thermography is preferred.« less

FIRE extended time/limited area observations at Palisades, New York

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Robinson, David A.; Kukla, George; Frei, Alan

1990-01-01

Downwelling shortwave and longwave irradiation are being continuously monitored at Palisades, New York as part of the First International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) Regional Experiment (FIRE) Extended Time/Limited Area Initiative. In addition, fisheye (180 degree) sky photographs are taken at the times of NOAA 9 and LANDSAT satellite overpasses on select days, particularly when cirrus clouds are present. Measurements of incoming shortwave (0.28 to 2.80 microns) hemispheric and diffuse, hemispheric near infrared (0.7 to 2.80 microns), and downwelling hemispheric infrared (4.0 to 50.0 microns) irradiation have been made from a rooftop location on the grounds of the Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory since December 1986. The three Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometers and the Eppley Pyrgeometer used to measure these variables were calibrated with Colorado State University instruments at Madison, Wisconsin as part of the FIRE Intensive Laboratory. Pyrgeometer output contains an adjustment for body temperature but not for dome temperature. Data are transmitted to a Campbell CR-21 Digital Recorder, where one minute averages of ten second samples are stored and subsequently dumped to a cassette recorder. Using a Campbell C-20 Cassette Interface, these data are transferred to an Apple Macintosh computer for analysis and for archiving on floppy disks. In addition to the raw irradiances collected, variables derived from these data are generated and stored. These include: the ratio of near infrared irradiation to visible irradiation and the fraction of the full shortwave irradiation which is diffuse; and will soon include: shortwave transmissivity and optical depth in the shortwave. Sky photographs are taken with an Olympus OM2-N 35 mm camera and are timed to be coincident with overpassing NOAA and LANDSAT satellites. Palisades is within the field of view of the NOAA 9 daily in the middle to late afternoon. The satellite viewing angle is within 45 degrees of nadir over Palisades on approximately half of the passes.

Irradiation-induced Ag nanocluster nucleation in silicate glasses: Analogy with photography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Espiau de Lamaestre, R.; Fontainebleau Research Center, Corning SA, 77210 Avon; Bea, H.

2007-11-15

The synthesis of Ag nanoclusters in soda lime silicate glasses and silica was studied by optical absorption and electron spin resonance experiments under both low (gamma ray) and high (MeV ion) deposited energy density irradiation conditions. Both types of irradiation create electrons and holes whose density and thermal evolution--notably via their interaction with defects--are shown to determine the clustering and growth rates of Ag nanocrystals. We thus establish the influence of redox interactions of defects and silver (poly)ions. The mechanisms are similar to the latent image formation in photography: Irradiation-induced photoelectrons are trapped within the glass matrix, notably on dissolvedmore » noble metal ions and defects, which are thus neutralized (reverse oxidation reactions are also shown to exist). Annealing promotes metal atom diffusion, which, in turn, leads to cluster nuclei formation. The cluster density depends not only on the irradiation fluence but also--and primarily--on the density of deposited energy and the redox properties of the glass. Ion irradiation (i.e., large deposited energy density) is far more effective in cluster formation, despite its lower neutralization efficiency (from Ag{sup +} to Ag{sup 0}) as compared to gamma photon irradiation.« less

Radiometric ratio characterization for low-to-mid CPV modules operating in variable irradiance conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vorndran, Shelby; Russo, Juan; Zhang, Deming; Gordon, Michael; Kostuk, Raymond

2012-10-01

In this work, a concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) design methodology is proposed which aims to maximize system efficiency for a given irradiance condition. In this technique, the acceptance angle of the system is radiometrically matched to the angular spread of the site's average irradiance conditions using a simple geometric ratio. The optical efficiency of CPV systems from flat-plate to high-concentration is plotted at all irradiance conditions. Concentrator systems are measured outdoors in various irradiance conditions to test the methodology. This modeling technique is valuable at the design stage to determine the ideal level of concentration for a CPV module. It requires only two inputs: the acceptance angle profile of the system and the site's average direct and diffuse irradiance fractions. Acceptance angle can be determined by raytracing or testing a fabricated prototype in the lab with a solar simulator. The average irradiance conditions can be found in the Typical Metrological Year (TMY3) database. Additionally, the information gained from this technique can be used to determine tracking tolerance, quantify power loss during an isolated weather event, and do more sophisticated analysis such as I-V curve simulation.

A preliminary investigation of high dose ion irradiation response of a lanthana-bearing nanostructured ferritic steel processed via spark plasma sintering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasebani, Somayeh; Charit, Indrajit; Guria, Ankan; Wu, Yaqiao; Burns, Jatuporn; Butt, Darryl P.; Cole, James I.; Shao, Lin

2017-11-01

A nanostructured ferritic steel with nominal composition of Fe-14Cr-1Ti-0.3Mo-0.5La2O3 (wt.%) was irradiated with Fe+2 ions at 475 °C for 100, 200, 300 and 400 dpa. Grain coarsening was observed for the samples irradiated for 200-400 dpa resulting in an increase of the average grain size from 152 nm to 620 nm. Growth of submicron grains at higher radiation doses is due to decreased pinning effect imparted by Cr-O rich nanoparticles (NPs) that underwent coarsening via Ostwald ripening. Dislocation density consistently increased with increasing irradiation dose at 300 and 400 dpa. The mean radius of lanthanum-containing nanoclusters (NCs) decreased and their number density increased above 200 dpa, which is likely due to solutes ejection caused by ballistic dissolution and irradiation-enhanced diffusion. Chromium, titanium, oxygen and lanthanum content of nanoclusters irradiated at 200 dpa and higher got reduced by almost half the initial value. The reduction in size of the nanoclusters accompanied with their higher number density and higher dislocation density led to significant radiation hardening with increasing irradiation dose.

Does Environmental Instability Favor the Production and Horizontal Transmission of Knowledge regarding Medicinal Plants? A Study in Southeast Brazil

PubMed Central

Soldati, Gustavo Taboada; Hanazaki, Natália; Crivos, Marta; Albuquerque, Ulysses Paulino

2015-01-01

Greater socio-environmental instability favors the individual production of knowledge because innovations are adapted to new circumstances. Furthermore, instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge because this mechanism disseminates adapted information. This study investigates the following hypothesis: Greater socio-environmental instability favors the production of knowledge (innovation) to adapt to new situations, and socio-environmental instability stimulates the horizontal transmission of knowledge, which is a mechanism that diffuses adapted information. In addition, the present study describes “how”, “when”, “from whom” and the “stimulus/context”, in which knowledge regarding medicinal plants is gained or transferred. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews from three groups that represented different levels of socio-environmental instability. Socio-environmental instability did not favor individual knowledge production or any cultural transmission modes, including vertical to horizontal, despite increasing the frequency of horizontal pathways. Vertical transmission was the most important knowledge transmission strategy in all of the groups in which mothers were the most common models (knowledge sources). Significantly, childhood was the most important learning stage, although learning also occurred throughout life. Direct teaching using language was notable as a knowledge transmission strategy. Illness was the main stimulus that triggered local learning. Learning modes about medicinal plants were influenced by the knowledge itself, particularly the dynamic uses of therapeutic resources. PMID:25992578

A wind tunnel study of gaseous tracer dispersion in the convective boundary layer capped by a temperature inversion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedorovich, E.; Thäter, J.

Results are presented from wind tunnel simulations of gaseous pollutant dispersion in the atmospheric convective boundary layer (CBL) capped by a temperature inversion. The experiments were performed in the thermally stratified wind tunnel of the University of Karlsruhe, Germany. In the tunnel, the case of horizontally evolving, sheared CBL is reproduced. This distinguishes the employed experimental setup from the preceding laboratory and numerical CBL dispersion studies. The diffusive and mixing properties of turbulence in the studied CBL case have been found to be essentially dependent on the stage of the CBL evolution. Effects of the point source elevation on the horizontal variability of the concentration field, and on the ground level concentration as function of distance from the source have been investigated. The applicability of bottom-up/top-down diffusion concept in the simulated CBL case has been evaluated. The influence of surface wind shear and capping inversion strength on the pollutant dispersion and turbulent exchange across the CBL top has been demonstrated. The imposed positive shear across the inversion has been identified as inhibitor of the CBL growth. Comparisons of concentration patterns from the wind tunnel with water tank data are presented.

Evolution of Radiation Induced Defects in SiC: A Multiscale Simulation Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Hao

Because of various excellent properties, SiC has been proposed for many applications in nuclear reactors including cladding layers in fuel rod, fission products container in TRISO fuel, and first wall/blanket in magnetic controlled fusion reactors. Upon exposure to high energy radiation environments, point defects and defect clusters are generated in materials in amounts significantly exceeding their equilibrium concentrations. The accumulation of defects can lead to undesired consequences such as crystalline-to-amorphous transformation1, swelling, and embrittlement, and these phenomena can adversely affect the lifetime of SiC based components in nuclear reactors. It is of great importance to understand the accumulation process of these defects in order to estimate change in properties of this material and to design components with superior ability to withstand radiation damages. Defect clusters are widely in SiC irradiated at the operation temperatures of various reactors. These clusters are believed to cause more than half of the overall swelling of irradiated SiC and can potentially lead to lowered thermal conductivity and mechanical strength. It is critical to understand the formation and growth of these clusters. Diffusion of these clusters is one importance piece to determine the growth rate of clusters; however it is unclear so far due to the challenges in simulating rare events. Using a combination of kinetic Activation Relaxation Technique with empirical potential and ab initio based climbing image nudged elastic band method, I performed an extensive search of the migration paths of the most stable carbon tri-interstitial cluster in SiC. This research reveals paths with the lowest energy barriers to migration, rotation, and dissociation of the most stable cluster. Based on these energy barriers, I concluded defect clusters are thermally immobile at temperatures lower than 1500 K and can dissociate into smaller clusters and single interstitials at temperatures beyond that. Even though clusters cannot diffuse by thermal vibrations, we found they can migrate at room temperature under the influence of electron radiation. This is the first direct observation of radiation-induced diffusion of defect clusters in bulk materials. We show that the underlying mechanism of this athermal diffusion is elastic collision between incoming electrons and cluster atoms. Our findings suggest that defect clusters may be mobile under certain irradiation conditions, changing current understanding of cluster annealing process in irradiated SiC. With the knowledge of cluster diffusion in SiC demonstrated in this thesis, we now become able to predict cluster evolution in SiC with good agreement with experimental measurements. This ability can enable us to estimate changes in many properties of irradiated SiC relevant for its applications in reactors. Internal interfaces such as grain boundaries can behave as sinks to radiation induced defects. The ability of GBs to absorb, transport, and annihilate radiation-induced defects (sink strength) is important to understand radiation response of polycrystalline materials and to better design interfaces for improved resistance to radiation damage. Nowadays, it is established GBs' sink strength is not a static property but rather evolves with many factors, including radiation environments, grain size, and GB microstructure. In this thesis, I investigated the response of small-angle tilt and twist GBs to point defects fluxes in SiC. First of all, I found the pipe diffusion of interstitials in tilt GBs is slower than bulk diffusion. This is because the increased interatomic distance at dislocation cores raises the migration barrier of interstitial dumbbells. Furthermore, I show that both the annihilation of interstitials at jogs and jog nucleation from clusters are diffusion-controlled and can occur under off-stoichiometric interstitial fluxes. Finally, a dislocation line model is developed to predict the role of tilt GBs in annihilating radiation damage. The model predicts the role of tilt GBs in annihilating defects depends on the rate of defects segregation to and diffusion along tilt GBs. Tilt GBs mainly serve as diffusion channel for defects to reach other sinks when defect diffusivity is high at boundaries. When defect diffusivity is low, most of the defects segregated to tilt GBs are annihilated by dislocation climb. Up-to-date, the response of twist GBs under irradiation has been rarely reported in literature and is still unclear. It is important to develop atom scale insight on this question in order to predict twist GBs' sink strength for a better understanding of radiation response of polycrystalline materials. By using a combination of molecular dynamics and grand canonical Monte Carlo, here I demonstrate the defect kinetics in {001} and {111} twist GBs and the microstructural evolution of these GBs under defect fluxes in SiC. I found due to the deep potential well for interstitials at dislocation intersections within the interface, the mobility of defects on dislocation grid is retard and this leads to defect accumulation at GBs for many cases. Furthermore, I conclude both types of twist GBs have to form mixed dislocations with edge component in order to absorb accumulated interstitials at the interface. The formation of mixed dislocation is either by interstitial loop nucleation or by dislocation reactions at the interface. The continuous formation and climb of these mixed dislocations make twist GBs unsaturatable sinks to radiation induced defects.

Manipulation and simulations of thermal field profiles in laser heat-mode lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Tao; Wei, Jingsong; Wang, Yang; Zhang, Long

2017-12-01

Laser heat-mode lithography is a very useful method for high-speed fabrication of large-area micro/nanostructures. To obtain nanoscale pattern structures, one needs to manipulate the thermal diffusion channels. This work reports the manipulation of the thermal diffusion in laser heat-mode lithography and provides methods to restrain the in-plane thermal diffusion and improve the out-of-plane thermal diffusion. The thermal field profiles in heat-mode resist thin films have been given. It is found that the size of the heat-spot can be decreased by decreasing the thickness of the heat-mode resist thin films, inserting the thermal conduction layers, and shortening the laser irradiation time. The optimized laser writing strategy is also given, where the in-plane thermal diffusion is completely restrained and the out-of-plane thermal diffusion is improved. The heat-spot size is almost equal to that of the laser spot, accordingly. This work provides a very important guide to laser heat-mode lithography.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Habte, A.; Lopez, A.; Sengupta, M.

Typical Meteorological Year (TMY) data sets provide industry standard resource information for building designers and are commonly used by the solar industry to estimate photovoltaic and concentrating solar power system performance. Historically, TMY data sets were only available for certain station locations, but current TMY data sets are available on the same grid as the National Solar Radiation Database data and are referred to as the gridded TMY. In this report, a comparison of TMY, typical direct (normal irradiance) year (TDY), and typical global (horizontal irradiance) year (TGY) data sets were performed to better understand the impact of ancillary weathermore » variables upon them. These analyses identified geographical areas of high and low temporal and spatial variability, thereby providing insight into the representativeness of a particular TMY data set for use in renewable energy as well as other applications.« less

EFFECTS OF LASER RADIATION ON MATTER. LASER PLASMA: Emission of charged particles from the surface of a moving target acted on by cw CO2 laser radiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuznetsov, S. I.; Petrov, A. L.; Shadrin, A. N.

1990-06-01

An experimental investigation was made of the emission of charged particles due to the irradiation of moving steel and graphite targets with cw CO2 laser radiation. The characteristics of the emission current signals were determined for different laser irradiation regimes. The maximum emission current density from the surface of a melt pool ( ~ 1.1 × 10 - 2 A/cm2) and the average temperature of the liquid metal (~ 2040 K) were measured for an incident radiation power density of 550 W and for horizontal and vertical target velocities of respectively ~ 1.5 mm/s and ~ 0.17 mm/s. The authors propose to utilize this phenomenon for monitoring the laser processing of materials.

Cr incorporated phase transformation in Y 2O 3 under ion irradiation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Nan; Yadav, Satyesh Kumar; Xu, Yun

Under irradiation, chemical species can redistribute in ways not expected from equilibrium behavior. In oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys, the phenomenon of irradiation-induced Cr redistribution at the metal/oxide interfaces has drawn recent attention. Here, the thermal and irradiation stability of the FeCr/Y 2O 3 interface has been systematically studied. Trilayer thin films of 90 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (1 st layer)/100 nm Y 2O 3 (2 nd layer)/135 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (3 rd layer) were deposited on MgO substrates at 500 °C. After irradiation, Cr diffuses towards and enriches the FeCr/Y 2O 3 interface. Further, correlated withmore » Cr redistributed into the oxide, an amorphous layer is generated at the interface. In the Y 2O 3 layer, the original cubic phase is observed to transform to the monoclinic phase after irradiation. Meanwhile, nanosized voids, with relatively larger size at interfaces, are also observed in the oxide layer. First-principles calculations reveal that Cr substitution of Y interstitials in Y 2O 3 containing excess Y interstitials is favored and the irradiation-induced monoclinic phase enhances this process. Lastly, our findings provide new insights that may aid in the development of irradiation resistant oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys.« less

Cr incorporated phase transformation in Y2O3 under ion irradiation

PubMed Central

Li, N.; Yadav, S. K.; Xu, Y.; Aguiar, J. A.; Baldwin, J. K.; Wang, Y. Q.; Luo, H. M.; Misra, A.; Uberuaga, B. P.

2017-01-01

Under irradiation, chemical species can redistribute in ways not expected from equilibrium behavior. In oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys, the phenomenon of irradiation-induced Cr redistribution at the metal/oxide interfaces has drawn recent attention. Here, the thermal and irradiation stability of the FeCr/Y2O3 interface has been systematically studied. Trilayer thin films of 90 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (1st layer)/100 nm Y2O3 (2nd layer)/135 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (3rd layer) were deposited on MgO substrates at 500 °C. After irradiation, Cr diffuses towards and enriches the FeCr/Y2O3 interface. Further, correlated with Cr redistributed into the oxide, an amorphous layer is generated at the interface. In the Y2O3 layer, the original cubic phase is observed to transform to the monoclinic phase after irradiation. Meanwhile, nanosized voids, with relatively larger size at interfaces, are also observed in the oxide layer. First-principles calculations reveal that Cr substitution of Y interstitials in Y2O3 containing excess Y interstitials is favored and the irradiation-induced monoclinic phase enhances this process. Our findings provide new insights that may aid in the development of irradiation resistant oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys. PMID:28091522

Cr incorporated phase transformation in Y 2O 3 under ion irradiation

DOE PAGES

Li, Nan; Yadav, Satyesh Kumar; Xu, Yun; ...

2017-01-16

Under irradiation, chemical species can redistribute in ways not expected from equilibrium behavior. In oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys, the phenomenon of irradiation-induced Cr redistribution at the metal/oxide interfaces has drawn recent attention. Here, the thermal and irradiation stability of the FeCr/Y 2O 3 interface has been systematically studied. Trilayer thin films of 90 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (1 st layer)/100 nm Y 2O 3 (2 nd layer)/135 nm Fe - 20 at.% Cr (3 rd layer) were deposited on MgO substrates at 500 °C. After irradiation, Cr diffuses towards and enriches the FeCr/Y 2O 3 interface. Further, correlated withmore » Cr redistributed into the oxide, an amorphous layer is generated at the interface. In the Y 2O 3 layer, the original cubic phase is observed to transform to the monoclinic phase after irradiation. Meanwhile, nanosized voids, with relatively larger size at interfaces, are also observed in the oxide layer. First-principles calculations reveal that Cr substitution of Y interstitials in Y 2O 3 containing excess Y interstitials is favored and the irradiation-induced monoclinic phase enhances this process. Lastly, our findings provide new insights that may aid in the development of irradiation resistant oxide-dispersed ferritic alloys.« less

A novel method for computing effective diffusivity: Application to helium implanted α-Fe thin films

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dunn, Aaron; Agudo-Merida, Laura; Martin-Bragado, Ignacio; McPhie, Mathieu; Cherkaoui, Mohammed; Capolungo, Laurent

2014-05-01

The effective diffusivity of helium in thin iron films is quantified using spatially resolved stochastic cluster dynamics and object kinetic Monte Carlo simulations. The roles of total displacement dose (in DPA), damage rate, helium to DPA ratio, layer thickness, and damage type (cascade damage vs Frenkel pair implantation) on effective He diffusivity are investigated. Helium diffusivity is found to decrease with increasing total damage and decreasing damage rate. Arrhenius plots show strongly increased helium diffusivity at high temperatures, high total implantation, and low implantation rates due to decreased vacancy and vacancy cluster concentrations. At low temperatures, effective diffusivity is weakly dependent on foil thickness while at high temperatures, narrower foils prevent defect accumulation by releasing all defects at the free surfaces. Helium to DPA ratio is not shown to strongly change helium diffusivity in the range of irradiation conditions simulated. Frenkel pair implantation is shown to cause higher effective diffusivity and more complex diffusion mechanisms than cascade implantation. The results of these simulations indicate that the differences in damage rates between implantation experiments and fission or fusion environments may result in differences in the final microstructure.

The dwarf spheroidal galaxy in Draco. I - New BV photometry. II - Galactic foreground reddening

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stetson, P. B.

1979-01-01

BV photoelectric photometry for 39 stars and BV photographic photometry for 514 stars in the field of the Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy are presented. The color-magnitude diagram for 512 of these field stars is found to display a well-defined red horizontal branch as well as a red giant branch whose observed width is comparable to the accidental photometric error. The results also indicate that a more diffuse sequence of stars lies about 0.1 mag to the blue of the giant branch and that an upper horizontal branch of more massive core helium-burning stars may also be present. The foreground reddening toward Draco is then determined by narrow-band uvby-beta photometry of galactic B-A-F stars.

Oxygen adsorption and incorporation at irradiated GaN(0001) and GaN(0001¯) surfaces: First-principles density-functional calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Qiang; Selloni, Annabella; Myers, T. H.; Doolittle, W. Alan

2006-11-01

Density functional theory calculations of oxygen adsorption and incorporation at the polar GaN(0001) and GaN(0001¯) surfaces have been carried out to explain the experimentally observed reduced oxygen concentration in GaN samples grown by molecular beam epitaxy in the presence of high energy (˜10keV) electron beam irradiation [Myers , J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 18, 2295 (2000)]. Using a model in which the effect of the irradiation is to excite electrons from the valence to the conduction band, we find that both the energy cost of incorporating oxygen impurities in deeper layers and the oxygen adatom diffusion barriers are significantly reduced in the presence of the excitation. The latter effect leads to a higher probability for two O adatoms to recombine and desorb, and thus to a reduced oxygen concentration in the irradiated samples, consistent with experimental observations.

Laser irradiation of carbon nanotube films: Effects and heat dissipation probed by Raman spectroscopy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mialichi, J. R.; Brasil, M. J. S. P.; Iikawa, F.

We investigate the thermal properties of thin films formed by single- and multi-walled carbon nanotubes submitted to laser irradiation using Raman scattering as a probe of both the tube morphology and the local temperature. The nanotubes were submitted to heating/cooling cycles attaining high laser intensities ({approx}1.4 MW/cm{sup 2}) under vacuum and in the presence of an atmosphere, with and without oxygen. We investigate the heat diffusion of the irradiated nanotubes to their surroundings and the effect of laser annealing on their properties. The presence of oxygen during laser irradiation gives rise to an irreversible increase of the Raman efficiency ofmore » the carbon nanotubes and to a remarkable increase of the thermal conductivity of multi-walled films. The second effect can be applied to design thermal conductive channels in devices based on carbon nanotube films using laser beams.« less

Growth of the 889 per cm infrared band in annealed electron-irradiated silicon

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Svensson, B. G.; Lindstrom, J. L.; Corbett, J. W.

1985-01-01

Isothermal annealing of electron-irradiated Czochralski silicon has been studied at four different temperatures ranging from 304 to 350 C using infrared spectroscopy. At annealing temperatures above 300 C the irradiation-induced band at 830 per cm, usually attributed to a vacancy-oxygen complex (the A center), disappears and a new band at 889 per cm grows up. Within the experimental accuracy, the activation energy for the growth of this band is found to be identical with the value given by Stavola et al. for 'anomalous' oxygen diffusion in silicon. Also the frequency factors for the two processes are in reasonable agreement. The results show that a vacancy-assisted process may provide an explanation for enhanced motion of oxygen in silicon.

Targets and methods for target preparation for radionuclide production

DOEpatents

Zhuikov, Boris L; Konyakhin, Nicolai A; Kokhanyuk, Vladimir M; Srivastava, Suresh C

2012-10-16

The invention relates to nuclear technology, and to irradiation targets and their preparation. One embodiment of the present invention includes a method for preparation of a target containing intermetallic composition of antimony Ti--Sb, Al--Sb, Cu--Sb, or Ni--Sb in order to produce radionuclides (e.g., tin-117 m) with a beam of accelerated particles. The intermetallic compounds of antimony can be welded by means of diffusion welding to a copper backing cooled during irradiation on the beam of accelerated particles. Another target can be encapsulated into a shell made of metallic niobium, stainless steel, nickel or titanium cooled outside by water during irradiation. Titanium shell can be plated outside by nickel to avoid interaction with the cooling water.

Controlled growth-reversal of catalytic carbon nanotubes under electron-beam irradiation.

PubMed

Stolojan, Vlad; Tison, Yann; Chen, Guan Yow; Silva, Ravi

2006-09-01

The growth of carbon nanotubes from Ni catalysts is reversed and observed in real time in a transmission electron microscope, at room temperature. The Ni catalyst is found to be Ni3C and remains attached to the nanotube throughout the irradiation sequence, indicating that C most likely diffuses on the surface of the catalyst to form nanotubes. We calculate the energy barrier for saturating the Ni3C (2-13) surface with C to be 0.14 eV, thus providing a low-energy surface for the formation of graphene planes.

Synthesis and characterization of silver/diatomite nanocomposite by electron beam irradiation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hanh, Truong Thi; Thu, Nguyen Thi; Quoc, Le Anh; Hien, Nguyen Quoc

2017-10-01

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) with diameter about 9 nm were deposited on diatomite by irradiation under electron beam of diatomite suspension containing 10 mM AgNO3 in 1% chitosan solution, at the dose of 20.2 kGy. The AgNPs/diatomite nanocomposite was characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, TEM image and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The antibacterial activity of the AgNPs/diatomite against E. coli and S. aureus was evaluated by reduction of bacterial colonies on spread plates and inhibition zone diameter on diffusion disks.

Adsorption and diffusion of Ga and N adatoms on GaN surfaces: Comparing the effects of Ga coverage and electronic excitation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takeuchi, Noboru; Selloni, Annabella; Myers, T. H.; Doolittle, A.

2005-09-01

We present density-functional-theory calculations of the binding and diffusion of Ga and N adatoms on GaN (0001) and (000-1) surfaces under different conditions, including stoichiometric and Ga-rich surfaces, as well as in the presence of electron-hole (e-h) pairs induced by light- or electron-beam irradiation. We find that both Ga-rich conditions and electronic excitations cause a significant reduction of the adatom diffusion barriers, as required to improve the quality of the material. However, the two effects are nonadditive, as the influence of e-h pairs are found to be less important for the more metallic situations.

OBJECT KINETIC MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS OF RADIATION DAMAGE IN BULK TUNGSTEN

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nandipati, Giridhar; Setyawan, Wahyu; Heinisch, Howard L.

2015-09-22

We used our recently developed lattice based OKMC code; KSOME [1] to carryout simulations of radiation damage in bulk W. We study the effect of dimensionality of self interstitial atom (SIA) diffusion i.e. 1D versus 3D on the defect accumulation during irradiation with a primary knock-on atom (PKA) energy of 100 keV at 300 K for the dose rates of 10-5 and 10-6 dpa/s. As expected 3D SIA diffusion significantly reduces damage accumulation due to increased probability of recombination events. In addition, dose rate, over the limited range examined here, appears to have no effect in both cases of SIAmore » diffusion.« less

Immunocytology on microwave-fixed cells reveals rapid and agonist-specific changes in subcellular accumulation patterns for cAMP or cGMP.

PubMed Central

Barsony, J; Marx, S J

1990-01-01

We developed a method for cAMP and cGMP immunocytology based upon fixation by microwave irradiation. Fixation by microwave irradiation prevented three problems found with other fixation methods: nucleotide loss from cells, nucleotide diffusion within cells, and chemical modification of immunologic epitopes. Six agonists (four that stimulate adenylate cyclase and two that stimulate guanylate cyclase) produced cAMP or cGMP accumulation patterns that were agonist-specific, dose-dependent, detectable at physiologic concentrations of hormone, and time-dependent within 15 sec to 30 min. cAMP accumulation after 1 mM forskolin was greatest in the nucleus. Isoproterenol, prostaglandin E2, or calcitonin caused initial accumulation of cAMP along the plasma membrane, but later accumulation was greater in the cytoplasm. With calcitonin the later accumulation of cAMP was selectively perinuclear and along the nuclear membrane. Sodium nitroprusside stimulated cGMP accumulation diffusely throughout the cytoplasm. Atrial natriuretic peptide initiated cGMP accumulation near the plasma membrane, and cGMP accumulation moved from there into the cytoplasm. In conclusion, microwave irradiation preserved cell structure and allowed visualization of expected as well as unsuspected changes in intracellular accumulation patterns of cAMP and cGMP. Images PMID:2153973

The influence of cladding on fission gas release from irradiated U-Mo monolithic fuel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burkes, Douglas E.; Casella, Amanda J.; Casella, Andrew M.

2017-04-01

The monolithic uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) alloy has been proposed as a fuel design capable of converting the world's highest power research reactors from use of high enriched uranium to low enriched uranium. However, a zirconium (Zr) diffusion barrier must be used to eliminate interactions that form between the U-Mo monolith and aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061) cladding during fabrication and are enhanced during irradiation. One aspect of fuel development and qualification is to demonstrate an appropriate understanding of the extent of fission product release from the fuel under anticipated service environments. An exothermic reaction has previously been observed between the AA6061 cladding and Zr diffusion layer. In this paper, two fuel segments with different irradiation history were subjected to specified thermal profiles under a controlled atmosphere using a thermogravimetric/differential thermal analyzer coupled with a mass spectrometer inside a hot cell. Samples from each segment were tested with cladding and without cladding to investigate the effect, if any, that the exothermic reaction has on fission gas release mechanisms. Measurements revealed there is an instantaneous effect of the cladding/Zr exothermic reaction, but not necessarily a cumulative effect above approximately 973 K (700 °C). The mechanisms responsible for fission gas release events are discussed.

Intrapulpal temperatures during pulsed Nd:YAG laser treatment of dentin, in vitro.

PubMed

White, J M; Fagan, M C; Goodis, H E

1994-03-01

Lasers are being used for soft tissue removal, caries removal, and treatment of root surface sensitivity. One concern for laser safety is that the heat produced at the irradiated root surface may diffuse to the pulp causing irreversible pulpal damage. To test this heat diffusion, copper-constantan thermocouples were inserted into the radicular pulp canals of extracted teeth. Simulating direct exposure which might occur during gingival excision, superficial caries removal, and modification of the dentin surface for treatment of root surface sensitivity, a 2 mm2 area of the external root surface was uniformly irradiated with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser using a 320 microns diameter fiber optic contact probe. Power was varied from 0.3 to 3.0 W with frequencies of 10 and 20 Hz. Temperature changes during cavity preparations using a high speed handpiece with air coolant were also recorded. Repeated measures ANOVA (P < or = 0.05) indicated that intrapulpal temperatures increased as a function of power, frequency, and time. Intrapulpal temperatures decreased as remaining dentin thickness (0.2 to 2.0 mm) increased for each laser parameter. Irradiation of dentin using a Nd:YAG pulsed laser, within the treatment times, powers, and frequencies with adequate remaining dentin thickness, as outlined in this paper, should not cause devitalizing intrapulpal temperature rises.

The influence of cladding on fission gas release from irradiated U-Mo monolithic fuel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Burkes, Douglas E.; Casella, Amanda J.; Casella, Andrew M.

2017-04-01

The monolithic uranium-molybdenum (U-Mo) alloy has been proposed as a fuel design capable of converting the world’s highest power research reactors from use of high enriched uranium to low enriched uranium. However, a zirconium (Zr) diffusion barrier must be used to eliminate interactions that form during fabrication and are enhanced during irradiation between the U-Mo monolith and aluminum alloy 6061 (AA6061) cladding. One aspect of fuel development and qualification is to demonstrate appropriate understanding of the extent of fission product release from the fuel under anticipated service environments. An exothermic reaction has previously been observed between the AA6061 cladding andmore » Zr diffusion layer. In this paper, two fuel segments with different irradiation history were subjected to specified thermal profiles under a controlled atmosphere using a thermogravimetric/differential thermal analyzer coupled with a mass spectrometer inside a hot cell. Samples from each segment were tested with cladding and without cladding to investigate the effect, if any, that the exothermic reaction has on fission gas release mechanisms. Measurements revealed there is an instantaneous effect of the cladding/Zr exothermic reaction, but not necessarily a cumulative effect above approximately 973 K (700 oC). The mechanisms responsible for fission gas release events are discussed.« less

Titanium-Water Thermosyphon Gamma Radiation Exposure and Results

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sanzi, James, L.A; Jaworske, Donald, A.; Goodenow, Debra, A.

2012-01-01

Titanium-water thermosyphons are being considered for use in heat rejection systems for fission power systems. Their proximity to the nuclear reactor will result in some gamma irradiation. Noncondensable gas formation from radiation-induced breakdown of water over time may render portions of the thermosyphon condenser inoperable. A series of developmental thermosyphons were operated at nominal operating temperature under accelerated gamma irradiation, with exposures on the same order of magnitude as that expected in 8 years of heat rejection system operation. Temperature data were obtained during exposure at three locations on each thermosyphon: evaporator, condenser, and condenser end cap. Some noncondensable gas was evident; however, thermosyphon performance was not affected because the noncondensable gas was compressed into the fill tube region at the top of the thermosyphon, away from the heat rejecting fin. The trend appeared to be an increasing amount of noncondensable gas formation with increasing gamma irradiation dose. Hydrogen is thought to be the most likely candidate for the noncondensable gas and hydrogen is known to diffuse through grain boundaries. Post-exposure evaluation of one thermosyphon in a vacuum chamber and at temperature revealed that the noncondensable gas diffused out of the thermosyphon over a relatively short period of time. Further research shows a number of experimental and theoretical examples of radiolysis occurring through gamma radiation alone in pure water.