Analysis of neutron spectra and fluxes obtained with cold and thermal moderators at IBR-2 reactor: Experimental and computer-modeling studies

The results of experimental and computer-modeling investigations of neutron spectra and fluxes obtained with cold and thermal moderators at the IBR-2 reactor (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR), Dubna) are presented. These studies are for the YuMO small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) spectrometer (IBR-2 beamline 4). The neutron spectra have been measured for two methane cold moderators for the standard configuration of the SANS instrument. The data from both moderators under different conditions of their operation are compared. The ratio of experimentally determined neutron fluxes of cold and thermal moderators is shown at different wavelengths. Monte Carlo simulations have been carried out to determine the spectra for cold-methane and thermal moderators. The results of calculations of the ratio of neutron fluxes of cold and thermal moderators at different wavelengths are demonstrated. In addition, the absorption of neutrons in the air gaps on the way from the moderator to the investigated sample is presented. SANS with the protein apoferritin was done with both cold methane and a thermal moderator and the data were compared. The prospects for the use of a cold moderator for a SANS spectrometer at IBR-2 are discussed. The advantages of using the YuMO spectrometer with a thermal moderator with respect to the tested cold moderator are shown.     

(Anti)hydrogen recombination studies in a nested Penning trap

Extremely cold antiprotons, stored in a Penning trap at 4 K, open the way toward the production and study of cold antihydrogen. We have begun experimentally investigating the possibility to recombine cold positrons and antiprotons within nested Penning traps. Trap potentials are adjusted to allow cold trapped protons (and positive helium ions) to pass through cold trapped electrons. Electrons, protons and ions are counted by ejecting them to a cold channel plate and by nondestructive radiofrequency techniques. The effect of the space charge of one trapped species upon another trapped species passing through is clearly observed.     

冷库能耗问题及结构优化

比较系统地分析介绍了现阶段我国冷库能耗方面存在的问题,并阐述了解决问题提高节能效果的相关方案,列举了冷库地坪防冻的各种方法,指出传统冷库结构布置存在的问题,设计出一种冷库结构布置新形式。     

改进冷端换热器的大功率脉冲管制冷机

依据热力学非对称理论对脉冲管制冷机冷端的热力学过程进行分析 ,对脉冲管制冷机制冷功率的提高提出了改进方案 ,搭建了单级低频大功率脉冲管制冷机的实验台 ,在实验中首次采用新型的填料烧结型换热器作为脉冲管的冷头 ,对这种换热器的效率在不同实验条件下进行了计算 ,并通过实验验证了这种新型换热器在脉冲管制冷机中应用的可行性。实验表明 :改进冷端换热器是提高脉冲管制冷机制冷效率的关键问题。在使用烧结换热器的单级脉冲管制冷机实验台上 ,采用输出功率 3k W的压缩机在 80 K时得到了 35W的制冷量 ,在效率上属国内领先水平。     

不同倾角的脉管制冷机内自然对流影响的研究

本文通过对脉管内自然对流的数值模拟，讨论了当脉管冷端处在不同方向时，脉管内的自然对流对脉管制冷机性能的影响．数值模拟结果表明，当冷端在下时获得的制冷温度最低；当热端在下并与重力方向成３０°时制冷温度最高．结论与实验测量结果定性一致．所做的理论分析对实现脉管制冷机的良好运行有指导意义。     

Annealing texture of a cold-rolled Fe–Mn–Al–Si–C alloy

The study of recrystallization texture of a cold deformed Fe–Mn–Al–Si–C alloy, with about 30% Mn, has been discussed in this paper. The alloy is fully austenitic at room temperature, and therefore, principal FCC rolling textures were developed in this material at different stages of cold rolling. The present study was undertaken to observe the transformation of FCC rolling texture during recrystallization of a heavily cold deformed specimen. It was observed that isothermal annealing at 750 °C led to a weak recrystallisation texture, which was quite similar to the deformation texture developed at the early stage of cold rolling. During recovery stage, a strong Bs/Goss-type texture was developed, which was identified as a new observation in this work.     

Study on the concentration difference heat pump using fusion and freezing processes of acetic acid-acetamide system

The concentration difference heat pump using fusion and freezing processes to generate a cold fluid has been investigated. This heat pump system utilizes the acetic acid-acetamide pair as working material, and consists of a cold fluid generating and a separation process. The operation at the cooling capacity of 3.52 kW (1 ton of refrigeration) has been investigated in this study. At the cold fluid generating process, solid acetic acid at 15°C is fused into an acetamide solution at 15°C, such that the temperature and the concentration of acetamide of the solution decreases. This dilute solution at lower temperature can be used to generate a cold fluid. The lowest attainable temperature of the solution has been investigated experimentally, and also calculated from the energy balance equation. The decreasing rates of the temperature have also been studied. At the separation process, continuous distillation is adopted to concentrate the dilute solution sent from the cold fluid generating process. The data which support the possibility of separation by continuous distillation are presented. The energy demand at the separation process is investigated theoretically.     

Cold neutron moderator on an upgraded IBR-2 reactor: The first set of results

The first criticality of a new KZ-202 neutron moderator on the IBR-2M reactor is achieved. The moderator consists of thermal and cold units. The former is a room-temperature comb water moderator; the latter, a moderator using a mixture of aromatic hydrocarbons (mesitylene and m-xylene). The cold moderator is filled with granules of this mixture, which are supplied by a cold helium flow, and operates at 30 K. The combination of two units in one moderator makes it possible to simultaneously take the thermal and cold neutron spectra for extracted-beam spectrometers. The arrangement of the thermal and cold moderators is numerically optimized by the Monte Carlo method. The use of the cold moderator allows a 13-fold increase in the cold neutron intensity from its surface.     

Test of cold denaturation mechanism for proteins as a function of water's structure

At low temperatures and high pressures (ranging from approximately 200 up to 700 MPa), some proteins become thermodynamically unstable by means of a phenomenon know as cold denaturation. A microscopic understanding of the mechanisms leading to cold denaturation is very difficult to develop, due in part to the complexity of the protein–solvent interactions. A possible proposal to explain the cold denaturation of proteins based on a relation between hydrophobicity and the loss of the local low-density water structure at high pressures is explained in detail. In the present paper, this mechanism is tested for the first time by means of full atom numerical simulations. In good agreement with the proposal, cold denaturation resulting in the unfolded state has been found at the high-density liquid (HDL) state of water, at which the amount of open tetragonal hydrogen bonds decreases at cooling.     

Variations of the antioxidant system during development of the cold-tolerant beetle, Tenebrio molitor

Data relating to the peculiarities of antioxidant enzyme activities, glutathione (GSH) level and lipid peroxidation (LP) intermediates specific to at each ontogenic stage of Tenebrio molitor are presented. Metamorphosis is accompanied by a shift of prooxidant-antioxidant balance towards oxidative processes, since pupae have the highest levels of lipid peroxidation intermediates. Cold acclimation (4 degree C) can promote oxidative stress at the cold sensitive developmental stage--imagoes, which enhance their levels of diene conjugates and ketodienes after a 2-week cold acclimation. This enhancement is accompanied by an increase in catalase (CAT) activity. GSH levels undergo no changes in imagoes after cold acclimation. Neither larval nor pupal T. molitor show significant changes in LP product contents after cold acclimation. Chilling results in a significant increase in CAT activities in pupae, but not in larvae. GSH levels are reduced both in larvae and pupae after cold exposure. However, cold acclimation does not affect superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in any of the developmental stages of T. molitor.     

关于材料稀疏区的零温物态方程

 我们研究了材料在稀疏区的相互作用势，并提出了一个新的势形式，相应的冷压形式只有一个待定参数，它由常压声速来确定，所得的冷压曲线与常态、断裂、常压熔点以及临界点等条件下的冷压符合程度是令人满意的。     

Spontaneous evolution of rydberg atoms into an ultracold plasma

We have observed the spontaneous evolution of a dense sample of Rydberg atoms into an ultracold plasma, in spite of the fact that each of the atoms may initially be bound by up to 100 cm(-1). When the atoms are initially bound by 70 cm(-1), this evolution occurs when most of the atoms are translationally cold, <1 mK, but a small fraction, approximately 1%, is at room temperature. Ionizing collisions between hot and cold Rydberg atoms and blackbody photoionization produce an essentially stationary cloud of cold ions, which traps electrons produced later. The trapped electrons rapidly collisionally ionize the remaining cold Rydberg atoms to form a cold plasma.     

液化天然气(LNG)冷藏车冷量回收换热器的设计

液化天然气(LNG)用做优质"绿色"汽车燃料的同时,还具有大量的冷能,该冷能可回收用于冷藏车制冷,LNG冷藏车是一种节能环保型汽车。在LNG冷藏车冷量回收系统中,传统的方式是将LNG在换热器中直接气化,并向空气释放冷量,但这种方式中的换热器表面易结霜,对其性能造成很大危害。文中提出了采用热管技术回收LNG冷量并用于冷藏车制冷的方法;设计了新型的热管式LNG冷量回收换热器,该新型换热器具有高效、紧凑等特点。     

Measurement of cold neutron spectra using a model cryogenic moderator of the IBR-2M reactor

The method and results of an experiment to determine the cold neutron spectrum from solid mesitylene at moderator temperatures of 10–50 K are presented. This study was performed at the DIN-2PI spectrometer of the IBR-2 reactor. The objective of the study was to verify the system of constants used in the Monte Carlo simulation of cryogenic neutron moderators of the IBR-2M reactor and to obtain the cold neutron yield as a function of the moderator temperature. Satisfactory agreement between the experimental and calculated neutron spectra at a mesitylene temperature of 20 K has been obtained; the ratio of cold neutron intensities at 10 and 50 K is ∼1.8.     

基于涡流管能量分离效应的温度分布实验研究

在入口温度、压力不变的条件下,改变冷流比,分别对不同冷流比工况下的涡流管内温度分布进行了实验测试,同时对不同冷流比工况下的实验结果进行比较,研究表明:在同一轴向端面处,温度由轴心向壁面呈现不断增大的趋势,在壁面附近处达到最大值;在同一径向位置处,温度随着轴向位置的增大不断增大,在涡流室的轴心处,温度达到最低,而在热端出口的壁面处,温度达到最大。在冷流比为0.1563时,温度沿径向呈增大趋势,而在冷流比为0.7158时,温度沿径向呈现先降低后增大的趋势;在实验研究范围内,同一测点处,温度随冷流比的增大而增大。     

囚禁状态冷分子离子制备及应用

冷分子离子,尤其是在离子阱中空间囚禁起来的冷分子离子具有空间定域、可长时间存储以及和与环境分离的特性。这些特性使得空间囚禁的冷分子离子在分子光谱精密测量、探测分子离子与中性分子之间的碰撞反应等方面越来越受到人们的重视,并在最近几年得到了快速的发展。文章介绍了冷分子离子的产生方法,及其近几年在精密测量和低温下的碰撞反应等研究领域取得的主要研究成果。     

碳纳米管低温氢等离子体的微波吸收特性研究

运用双流体理论,在同时考虑了碳纳米管中低温氢等离子体的电子碰撞吸收和氢离子碰撞吸收的基础上,理论导出了铁催化高压歧化生成的碳纳米管中低温氢等离子体的微波吸收系数公式,数值计算了不同条件下的微波吸收系数.模拟结果表明,铁催化高压歧化生成的碳纳米管中低温氢等离子体对2.45GHz的微波产生强烈吸收.理论结果与实验数据相吻合.     

Are mummy characteristics reliable indicators of diapause and cold tolerance in the parasitoid wasp Aphidius rhopalosiphi (Braconidae, aphidiinae) ?

Many insect species have evolved different overwintering survival strategies such as cold tolerance or diapause. This study investigated the relationship between Aphidius rhopalosiphi mummy colour and cold tolerance and diapause. Mummy colour was insufficient to discriminate diapausing from non-diapausing individuals. This phenotypic character seems to reflect environmental conditions rather than direct developmental time and cocoon thickness (identification criteria of diapause). There is, however, a relationship between cold tolerance and mummy colour. Dark mummies exhibited significantly higher water content, survival at low temperature and lower supercooling point values than pale mummies. Mummy colour in Aphidius rhopalosiphi seems to be a phenotypic indicator of the cold tolerance.     

Rare cold nuclear processes — A review and some new results

The rare nuclear processes of cluster radioactivity, cold fission and cold fusion, studied on the basis of the quantum mechanical fragmentation theory (QMFT), are reviewed. This theory was advanced as early as in 1974–75 by the author and collaborators, first at Frankfurt and then developed both at Frankfurt and Chandigarh. The QMFT predicted all the three phenomena to occur most probable as cold processes, prior to their experimental observations. The success of experiments with respect to the QMFT and some new results are presented as predictions of this theory for future experiments.     

Rapid cold hardening in young hoppers of the migratory locust Locusta migratoria L. (Orthoptera: Acridiidae)

This paper describes a rapid cold hardening process for first instar hoppers of the migratory locust Locusta migratoria L. First instar hoppers of this species are often subjected to subzero temperatures or frosts in early April or May after their emergence from the soil. The mean supercooling point of hoppers is -13.0 +/- 1.4 degrees C; the fact that none could survive this temperature suggests they are freezing intolerant. When young hoppers were transferred directly from 30 degrees C to -7 degrees C for 2 h, there was only 35.8% survival. However, exposure to 0 degrees C for 2 h prior to transfer to -7 degrees C increased the apparent survival to 75%. A similar rapid cold hardening response can also be induced by gradual cooling at rates of between 0.05 and 0.1 degreess C min(-1). Rapid cold hardening also elevates the Ltime50 of first instar hoppers at -7 degrees C by approximately 3 fold, and reduces the lethal temperature from -10 degrees C to -12 degrees C. However, the protection from cold shock gained through rapid cold hardening was transient and easily lost within 2 h of hoppers being returned to 30 degrees C. The rapid cold hardening response is possibly advantageous to first instar hoppers that are often exposed to large temperature fluctuations in spring or early summer.